Christmas Break Catch-Up

Sorry its been awhile, our internet upstairs (where I blog) has been down, but luckily Dad got a new router today, so now I can blog!

Christmas Eve we went to my grandma's house, and my aunt Elisa, Uncle Glenn, cousin Joshua and wife Jessica were there with Grandma and Joe. We had a program to follow, everyone had to perform, or contribute. I won't list everything people did, it would take too much time, but Lex, Mike, Joshua and Jess sang a Christmas song and sounded really good.

Our neighbors asked us to dog-sit (actually puppy-sit) for them on Christmas Eve, 2 puppies they were giving to their kids for X-mas. So we brought the two adorable puggle puppies to grandmas! I am going to have to post pictures later.

Our family rule is we cannot wake up the parents until 7, or touch any of the presents until they say so. It was hard. But worth the anticipation! We got Rock Band, which is really fun. I also got a Office Calendar, which is awesome, and one of my good friend's Thomas got the same one! (He just started a blog, check sidebar. Shoutout to T-Bone: AY-OH!)

Christmas Day we all went to my cousins house, the Barazotos. It was fun; I always love going over there!

Tonight for New Years I am going to the New Years Dance. It is going to be packed, hot, sweaty, loud, but hopefully tons of fun! My mom is insisting I wear my boot; I didn't wear it all day and it feels OK, but better safe than sorry, right?

Well It's Official

I went to the doctor, again, today and its official. I have stress fractures in my right leg. I can't play basketball for eight weeks, which is the entire season, and I have to wear a boot.

Here is my boot! Its metal and Velcro, and I'm getting used to walking with it.

Here are my MRI results. See the white, shiny parts? Thats bad. It shouldn't be like that. Thats where my fracture is, going about halfway through my bone.

Again, all thost white shiny parts shouldn't be there; that shows stress on my muscles and tib-fib.

I'm pretty bummed. But I don't think its hit me yet that I won't be playing in a basketball game during my junior year, our first year as a Varsity team. Sorry, I'm kind of a downer...

Only one more day til Christmas!

Weekend Activities/ Christmas

My friend Kalyn organized a date night/Christmas party for Friday night, and it was going to be at her house, but that didnt work out so it ended up being at my house. Some of our friends couldnt find dates so we just told them to come anyway, so it ended up being more of a party then a date. We ate pizza, really good ceaser salad, bread, and smoothies. We played games the whole night, like CatchPhrase, and hide and seek outside even though it was freezing! We made smores, talked around our fire pit until we all agreed it was time to come inside and drink hot coco. We warmed up and played Guitar Hero for awhile. It was really fun! Even though I talked to Kalyn the next day and she had a fever and was feeling sick and I think it was because she was outside at our party without a jacket! Sorry Kalyn! Thanks mom for helping out so our party could be a success.

Yesterday I was really getting into the spirit of Christmas and was taking pictures of the house:

And I was experimenting with my camera and got this cool one of Lexi reading:

I love Christmas time so much. All the twinkle lights everywhere... I remember a few years ago I got a few strands of colored lights and put them up in my room, around my headboard... They really bugged Lexi, I think. :) I hate the cold, but I love Christmas.

Update

I got an MRI last night, all the way in Phoenix at this small doctors office place. It was short; only about 20 minutes. It was nice because I was really tired, so I just shut my eyes and tried to sleep but I never ended up falling asleep because the machine was making too much noise and vibrating! I just pretended I was in getting a massage. :) Very relaxing. So the technician wouldnt tell us what the film showed because technically she is not my doctor and couldnt make a judgement about my legs. I just wanted to know if I had stress fractures or not. So mom asked her, "Hypothetically speaking, could Katie practice tomorrow for a game on Friday?" and the lady said no. Mom set up an appointment with my doctor at Core Inst. on Tuesday, so I will know for sure what the deal is then. But when mom was on the phone with them, she was exasperated from being put on hold FOUR times that she just said "Can't he just tell us what the results are over the phone???" but the lady said no, we have to come in and meet with the doctor. Bummer.

I have missed five games now. Not including the Copper Canyon Tournament, which we won. We are 3-2. We lost to Seton and A.J. Beat Higley, Queen Creek and Verrado.

I am SOOO glad that I only have... 5 more hours of school until Christmas Break!! But I have FOUR finals tomorrow: Weights (yes, we have a written final for weights class A-hour. It's about muscles), AP English, Pre-Calc., and Ceramics. Our final for ceramics is written too and is going to be hard and stupid because we have to know all the tools, like 15 of them and we have to draw them. LAME.

Eight days til Christmas.

More stuff...

My seminary teacher has been gone because he had a baby (ok his wife did....) and has been gone the whole week and I can't wait til he comes back tomorrow!!

Finals are next week. Where did the whole semester go???!? It doesnt seem like it has been a whole semester already. I am three semesters away from graduating. wow.

I haven't gotten an MRI yet because the doctors are still talking with the insurance company to see if they will cover it, I really hope they do because I want to know once and for all if I have stress fractures, or learn how bad of shape my legs are in. It feels ok walking around, going up stairs, and I even jump roped a little today without too much uncomfortableness. (is that a word?) I am so tired of not contributing to my team in games, it makes me sick, missing so many games. I have already missed three. I am sure you know how it feels, where everything seems to be going great and then all of a sudden something hits you, and brings you down (or tries to, at least).

I just want to say that I am so grateful for my mom, for everything she does for me, for putting up with me, even though she's not always simpathetic :) and for being the only one who comments on my blog on a regular basis :) Thanks mom!!

Good news: The Office is on tonight!

Exciting Stuff

So this past weekend, including Thursday and Friday, my basketball team was in Globe for a tournament, the Copper Cities Tournament. I missed school on those days :) So we went in a school bus up to Globe, a drive a little more than an hour long, and played two games a day, one in the morning/early afternoon and one at night/late afternoon. We lost our first game to Globe. They weren't a good team and it was really bad that we lost to them. But we won our next game at four that day, Superior I think was the name. Then on Friday, we lost the first game to San Antonio or something (I know that wasnt the name, maybe San Carlos or something). We won our next game that night at SEVEN at night. That game ended at 9, so we didnt get home until about 11. Then we had to be at the school at 7 Saturday morning for a 10 o'clock game in Globe. That morning we got revenge on San Carlos school, and won, so that means that we were going to the Championship game later that day at six! Globe lost to Miami, so we were going to play Miami in the championship game. We were so pumped. It helped that Miami was undefeated in the tournament. So we were stranded in Globe all day, and there is nothing to do in Globe at all. So we slept on the bus :) I didn't get to play much at all because coach said that she would rather me not hurt my shins in a tournament that doesnt matter as much as our region games and stuff, and my shins and knee were hurting really bad. But I still wish I got to play longer than 20 seconds in the Championship game... Anyways, I thought we were going to crush Miami, but we were down at halftime. Our coach was very upset. But we closed the gap with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter, we were down by one. I was freaking out on the bench, we were so close! So they fouled us, and she made both of her free throws, so we were up by one. And we managed to keep our lead and WE WON!! I would go into more detail but this post would be much longer than it already is... but it was very exciting!! So our girls varsity basketball is the first team at our school to bring home a trophy (it is actually a plaque) for a Varsity Championship!!

Thanksgiving Pics!

Sorry if you see these same pictures on my mom's blog! :) (sorry mom...)

Thanksgiving

This year we had Thanksgiving at our house, and my cousins and grandparents came over. It was really fun to hang with my cousins, and to eat, and talk and stuff. And it was pretty amazing that it rained, because it never rains, and my seminary teacher informed me that it only rains on Thanksgiving once every twelve years. Cool, huh?

My legs are getting better, I can pretty much walk normally now. The specialist I went to on Tuesday said that the reason there is so much stress on my shins is because my knees are so messed up, and I have no arch support in my feet, so all the tension meets in my shins and messes them up. This problem in my shins was bound to happen sooner or later, so it is good that it happened now so I can fix the problem and only miss one game. I am bummed that I am missing the first game of my Varsity career, but hopefully it will be better in the long run. And I have to start up re-hab again for my knees :( But it is a good thing I guess...

Stress

Ah. Stress is a suffocating thing.

Saturday was good, except that I was limping because my right leg hurt so bad but I kept walking on it at Kohl's and the movies. The reason I went shopping and to see Twilight was because I didnt want a basketball injury to keep me from doing everything I wanted to do. It was like I was sticking it to my injuries by doing all those things. But it came back to bite me in the butt when I woke up Sunday morning and couldn't stand up without falling over. Mom took me to Urgent Care to see it anything was fractured in my right leg, and nothing was, so the doctor said i needed to stay off my leg, to let the inflamation cool down and to heal the tears in my muscles. So I didnt go to school today until fifth hour, and then I had to crutch all the way from the Seminary building to ceramics, and I was so tired. During practice, I was in the trainers, icing my leg. The bad thing is that I have shin splints in both legs, not just my right one. So my left one is very painful... it is a vicious circle. I do not want to use crutches tomorrow. I am walking now, with a limp of course, but it isnt too bad. sigh. there is too much going on right now.

I am glad this is Thanksgiving Week.

Scrimmage

We just won our first ever scrimmage as a Varsity team!! The score was like 56-32, or something, so it wasn't even close. There were six 8-minute quarters (don't ask me why...) and no half time, which kinda stunk. We had good runs, and bad times where we weren't there mentally, but overall it was a good game and good practice for our real first game that is coming up here soon, in December. So things are looking pretty good, even though I know we will face MUCH better teams during the real season.

Tomorrow is the last day in our current Seminary building. Monday we are moving into our brand new building right across the street! I am going to miss the bus ride, and Jerry, the bus driver, and being able to chill for about 10 minutes there and back...but am excited for the new building.

I need some major sleep really bad... this whole basketball thing wears me out...zzz... :o)

Long Week

This has been a crazy busy week. There was school on Monday, but not Tuesday, which threw off my whole week. I had three hour basketball practices every day after school, leaving me sore and exhausted. Wednesday was Mike's 18th birthday!! We went out to dinner with Grandma, Joe, and Pop. Thursday was the opening night of Lexi's play (see my moms blog). It was also the CHAMPIONSHIP football game for our school!!! I went to that, and we won! So we are now the independent league champs. YAY. Friday night I went straight from practice to Lexi's play, and she did really well in it, then she, mom and I went to Kona Grill to get some food and one of their excellent brownies. We got home at around 11, then I had to get up at 6:30 to babysit a family with five kids (no worries, they are all really cute kids). Lexi and I went together, then I left at nine to go to B-ball practice, then went back at one, and Lexi had to leave to go to her play practice. We were tag-teaming it. I was going to go out to the movies with some friends tonight, but I am too tired...

I am so grateful for Seminary. This is the first year that I have ever had a calling in class, and I am the Pres., and I have to play the piano every day (very badly, I might add) but I am so grateful for the responsibility it provides me with. I love going every day, it makes my day better because I have it 5th hour, and my 6th hour is full of...filth, basically. In general content. And I am usually stressing about after school activities, so going to Seminary and changing my perspective really helps my day! I love it.

Bruise

Ok I couldn't help posting this picture:

I am very proud of all my bruises, but this one on my arm is pretty nasty! (I'll give you one guess about where its from... correct: basketball!)

So today for practice, we met at the school at 7, had a team meeting, had practice from 8-10, then a parent meeting til noon. The JV and Freshman teams just watched us practice for two hours; it was their easiest practice ever :)

I just got finished filling in my school planner with my B-Ball schedule and had the wild thought "What did I get myself into??"

I will try not to only talk about basketball in this blog, just hit the highlights!

Varsity

I found out tonight that I made the Varsity Basketball Team! It was very nerve racking having to walk down the court to where my coach had set up a table with her and three other coaches, waiting for her to tell me what team I made. This week of tryouts has been really hard, (luckily I have no lasting injuries) but I think it was worth it. I am so glad that as people, we sort of forget what pain feels like, or at least I do, so after we go through something hard we can go to sleep that night and go back at it the next day. (this is not always the case though). I am referring to practices with Melvin, of course :) I expect this next season to be hard, alot harder than last year, more stressful, more physically and mentally demanding, and it is going to be a big challenge for me especially, being the only Mormon on my team. I am in a unique situation, and hope to come out a better person on the other side when all this is over.

I have practice tomorrow at seven. ugh. :)

TRYOUTS!!

So this is the second day of tryouts for basketball. Yesterday, we ran the mile. 7:23. That's all I have to say about that. (But I am SO happy). My legs are sore, but I think I am holding up pretty well in the gym part of tryouts. We have practice (I call it that, but its really tryouts) from 5-7. I love that time slot because I can just go home from school and chill for a few hours, I mean do my homework cough cough then go to practice, then come home and go to sleep. The boys are in the gym before us, so it kinda stinks (literally) by the time we get in there. But I am actually enjoying it! My knees are holding up, and I feel good. I wonder how long this will last... knock on wood...

Camping

I went camping this weekend, at a campsite that was about 45 minutes away. I went with six other junior girls from my basketball team, and my coach. We all rode in a short white bus! So we got there Saturday in the early afternoon, and it was really hot. We made t-shirts, played football, and talked the whole time. That day I got stung by a bee. Twice. I was the only one to get stung and it happened twice. I am glad that I am not allergic, because that would have been bad. But it kinda hurt. :)

Tomorrow is the first day of try-outs. I am pretty nervous, but I am sure it will be fine.

My week

This week was really good. I had basketball Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and I am getting back into the habit of going to practice for at least two hours every day. I am still a little internally torn about playing this year because I am so focused on the negatives of playing; I can't even remember the good parts sometimes.

I don't have much to say...except that I am so glad it is Friday. This is my last free weekend before Basketball. sad thought... sigh... it sounds like b-ball is a terrible thing, re-reading what I wrote, and I don't necessarily want to come off that way. I just need to prepare myself mentally for the season because it really affects me, and I am super nervous for tryouts and how I will hold up.

On a lighter note, we found out this week that my cousin Ben is going to Columbia for his mission!!! They taped him opening it (he is at college right now) and put it up on YouTube, so if you want to see it, here it is.

That's all I got.

You know basketball season is coming up when...

...when it takes me almost a week to blog! I have been so busy lately! Yesterday (Saturday) I played in three Fall League games; one at three, six, and eight. They have 2 20-minute halfs. Last week there were only six of us and this week there was twice that many, so it was nice. I have several nice bruises now, one little teeny one right under my eye from someone's elbow, and one on the back of my head, it is still kind of a blur how I got that one... anyways we were done at around nine, so mom picked me up, got me Subway, and then we decided to go to Serranos to get some awesome bean dip! Lucky for us they close at 10 on Saturdays. YUM.

Friday night I went on a date, and had a great time!! We went to the haunted house by Fiesta Mall. It was really fun :)

I have about two weeks until tryouts. I am very nervous for them but only because the girls who want to make Varsity have to make a 7:30 mile. And I don't think I am ever going to make that. AH!!

Bryndee tagged me

Ok, so I got this from Bryndee, who no doubt got it from a huge chain of bloggers, and I have to list seven things that people don't really know about me.

1) I have a funky birthmark on my tummy that is pretty big.
2) I am left eye dominant (if that makes sense).
3) I am very fidgety, I am always moving my hands and have a hard time just sitting still during class. It is something I struggle with.
4) I am jealous of my brother Luke's eyelashes, because they are longer and thicker than mine.
5) I have not gotten my Personal Progress Medallion yet (still working on it!)
6) I really enjoy vacuuming.
7) I am so sick of Little Ceaser's Pizza!!

Here is where I would tag people, but no one would probably do it because they have already been tagged so I am just skipping that step of awkwardness and not tagging anyone! :) That was fun.

Wow.

This week has gone by so fast!! I cannot believe that it is already Saturday!! Here is what I did this week:

A bunch of my friends and I went to the movies to see Eagle Eye, and we stopped in at HDOS to visit Mike, who was working. Here is Trent, Janessa, and Sam after we visited Mike.

Then, the next day, we all went over to Polar Ice to go ice skating:

Here is Chelsea- Right before I took this one, I tried to take another one, but she totally almost fell and the picture was hilarious and embarrassing so I chose to put this one up instead!

Mike. I thought this picture looked cool! Roxy and Matt

Nick, Keillor and Lexi

Then we went to a person's house to watch Ace Ventura, which is hilarious.

The next day we went to another persons house, and certain events led to some of us jumping into her pool. When it was really windy outside, at night. Smart, I know.

Ya, this picture is not embarrassing at all! ~ Don't we look like we are having fun?? :)

~~~So today I played in a basketball game in Mesa with girls from our team at school. I thought we were only playing one game (2 20-minute halves) but at the end of the game, our coach surprised us by telling us that we had another one - in ten minutes. There were only six of us, so we only had one sub. Well, I was pretty beat by the end of the second one. But it was good practice!!

Fall Break

This is my second day into Fall Break (technically it has been four since school ended, but the weekend does not count) and I am not really bored yet. I haven't left the house much; tonight was Nick's band concert so I had to leave, but they sounded really good, so it was worth it. I am planning to do stuff later on this week, and it has been really nice just staying at home, playing Guitar Hero, watching TV and movies. I helped Lexi start a blog, which she wasnt very excited about but I needed a project and she is warming up to it. Check it out.

Friday Night Football!

Last night was our Homecoming Football game, versus Perry. We totally beat them, 38-11. It was awesome because there were so many people there and everyone was so pumped and everything. And it was the first game where our mascot Anthony was in his blackhawk suit! We weren't sitting in the student section because there is too much bad language, especially with my younger brother there, so we sat by the band with a bunch of people. Here is Keillor and Nick, blinded by the flash of the camera. I think Nick was eating at the time...
Here is Mckay, Anika, and Keillor. I don't think I gave Keillor enough time to get ready to smile before I took the picture! :) Mckay is dressed up because he was nominated for Homecoming Court. Sadly, he didn't win. Better luck next year Mckay!
Here is our stud-football team running onto the field.

This isn't a good picture, but this is our marching band and flag team getting ready for the half time show. They are actually really good; they just went to a competition last week and got superior in all five categories. So ya, they are pretty good. :)

This is a little belated but here is Mike and Kayla last week at Homecoming.

This was the first day of Fall Break, and I didn't leave the house once! YAY for lounging around!

Powderpuff and More...

Last night was our school's Powderpuff football game, junior girls vs sophomore girls. I am so mad that I forgot to bring my camera to the game!! But it was so funny because there were about six Varsity football boys that were cheerleaders, doing little routines and acting like girls; it was sooo funny! The juniors ended up losing big time; they crushed us! But only because one girl on their team scored 4 times herself because she is crazy fast and our defense (and offense) stunk. But it was still fun!

I hate to say it, but the D-Backs did not make the playoffs. I am very sad that we could not pull it together, but the stinking Dogders were en fuego... I don't know who I want to win the World Series yet... I need some time for mourning before I can even think about it.

Fall Break starts tomorrow!!! I have no homework tonight and tomorrow I doubt we will do much in classes because we are on assembly schedule because tomorrow night is the Homecoming football game vs Perry. I am going to that (and taking pictures) but not to the dance. We have TEN days off! Can you believe that?! Ah I am so happy...

The Office

It finally happened. The Office Season 5 premiere finally came!!! I was so excited to watch it! One of my best friends and I were texting each other the whole time, commenting about everything that happened. I won't give details about my favorite parts because that would be bad if I gave anything away or anything, but I will say that I really really enjoyed it!!!

**T-Bone, you are still lame that your party was canceled. You are still dead to G-Dawg. You can redeem yourself by letting us play your Office game one of these days... :) **

Diamondbacks Game

Last night, Mom, Nick, Brad and I went to the D-Backs game vs the Giants. Luke was going to come with us but couldn't, so Brad got to come. We arrived at the stadium right on time, right before first pitch. It was such a good game; our pitcher Dan Harren got his career first complete game shut-out. So, obviously, we won. One of my favorite players, Drew, got a homerun. So it was a great night all around! My mom was very excited that we won! This is me and Brad (surprise surprise I am showing a toothy grin...weird...)

Nick and Brad pretending to be the players on the jumbo-tron, they were basically making fun of them.

p.s. Thanks Uncle David for the sweet tickets!!

I don't know...

It feels like I only blog to summarize my week, which usually isn't very interesting. So instead of boring you with a play by play summary, I will try to just hit the interesting highlights: Brandon Webb just got his 20th win (FINALLY), Mike asked a girl to homecoming and she answered him by sticky-noting his car. She said yes.

Basketball pre-season conditioning oficially starts next week. What I have been doing the past two weeks is pre-pre-season conditioning. It is very confusing.

My awesome Uncle David scored us tickets to Tuesday nights' DBacks game against the Giants, which I am very excited for. Thanks Uncle David! (Rico...)

Lexi, Nick, Luke and I went to last Saturday's football game, where we crushed Mountain View (I think that was the school...)

I helped Luke buy a hat; isn't he so cute? (Don't tell him I said that)

Summary

Here is a summary of my week: Monday was No School (excellent) so this week seemed really short. Monday, we all went over to our cousins house because my oldest cousin was leaving for BYU Idaho. It was nice to spend time with them all. We played ping pong, swam and talked for the afternoon. It was really fun. Tuesday I went to mutual, and Wednesday I went to pre-season conditioning with Coach and other girls from the Basketball team. We ran about a mile around the school then did several 100 m. sprints. It was really hot outside but I survived! Then on Thursday I had piano lessons with Brad, then on Friday I went to running again. That time we only ran three laps! Yes! But it was still hot... and on Friday during school I went with mom to get a brace for my left knee, so running with it for the first time was kinda weird. (All these things are in addition to school, obviously) Then my friend Thomas came over and brought with him the complete Season 4 of The Office! (thanks Thomas!) So we watched that for a few hours. Then once he left, Lex, mom and I watched The Great Debators with Denzel Washington. I really liked it. Then I watched about an hour of Nightmare Before Christmas before falling asleep at about 1:00. After I woke up this morning, I made homemade brownies and they smell delicious; they are still in the oven. Tonight is the Varsity Football Game, and I really want to go to that.

Football

Friday was our school's first Varsity Football game! It was very exciting because channel three news came out to the school to do a segment on us, and I was at school by the football field from 5:45 til 9:00! It was so hot but fun. And I was on the news! But we lost the game that night :( I only stayed for the first half because my mom and younger brothers went too and right before half time it started pouring rain so the band couldn't play, so we decided to leave... personally I think that that is the reason we lost, because I wasn't there...Just kidding! I am part of the school's Loud Crowd, a group of students who go to any athletic event to cheer on our school. So I had alot of fun for the time I was there, even though we ended up losing the game. I tried to take pictures of the game, but none turned out well...

This week was Spirit Week, in preparation for the football game. Each day had a specific theme that we had to dress up as. For example, one day was '80's day, and that was the most fun one!

Here is most of the basketball team on '80's day!
Here are some friends at lunch this week, even though no one was dressed up for Spirit Week... But still cute!

Stuff

I could not think of a more creative title for this entry...But I am busy doing stuff!! This week was a busy one where I was tired every day at school; I was going to bed too late. I had an NHS project to help out with, we are having a donation drive for a local orphanage. I babysat yesterday from 3:15 til 8:30. Then this morning I had to get up at 8 to go to a basketball fundraising car wash thing at Applebee's, and that lasted until 1. I was so tired after it was over! On top of that, I have sooo much homework!! It is crazy. But I am keeping my head above water.

I have been tagged!

Rules: List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 current goals, 3 current obsessions, and 3 random facts about yourself.
3 joys: 1) my family 2) parts of school and church 3) friends
3 fears: 1) losing my family 2) becoming deathly allergic to my favorite foods and animals 3) that the world will get much worse before it gets better (which will probably happen anyways)
3 current goals: 1) finish Personal Progress! 2) start training for basketball 3) do my homework
3 current obsessions: 1) reading 2) Guitar Hero 3) computer/ watching Gilmore Girls!
3 random facts: 1) I don't bite my nails 2) I want a Mini Cooper 3) I like quoting movies and TV shows

I tag Kami, Mike and Jake!
p.s. thanks, Bryndee!

The Weekend

This has been a good weekend. On Friday I had an NHS Meeting, which was fun, actually, because our advisor used to be my science teacher but now she is not so I miss her. After we dropped my friend Kalyn off, we went home for a while then met her, Aubrey and Joel at the mall because we were all going to hang out and see Batman again. (all of them still had not seen it!) We met up with a whole bunch of people, I am not going to name them all, sorry, but had a blast! Then on Saturday I literally spent the whole day reading a book my friend Kalyn wrote and emailed to me, it was about 300 pages long!! It was so good and could not stop reading it! I put it on the labtop so I could read it while eating lunch, and move around the house! So I just finished it. That is what I have been up to!

Homework...

I am supposed to be doing my Chemistry homework right now but thought it is a good time to blog! School is going well; I still do not like my Ceramics class, because I am not an artist at all. But I love my other classes! I really like our new Seminary teacher, Bro. G. And most importantly, he is a Diamondbacks fan! But he is making me play the piano in class! And I just barely started lessons! It is a little nerve-racking, but I bet it will make me a better player...
I am getting alot of homework already. And I am still not used to waking up at five in the morning, so I am exhausted during the day.

I am really enjoying the Olympics, even though I stay up watching them late into the night... I am sure you agree with me when I say Michael Phelps is a stud, and the Chinese gymnists do not look 16.

That is basically what I am up to!

First Day of School!

Today was the first day of school! It was pretty good; I started out in weights class for A hour, and there are 60 kids in it! It is sooo full. Then I went to my block AP English and AP U.S. History class, which should be fun because I know everyone in it (but my teacher gave us homework, a 3 paragraph essay on why we should take AP classes). Then I went to Pre- AP Chemistry, which is a very full class, then Dual Enrollment Pre-ap Calculus, which was really full too, then lunch. After that I went on the bus that takes us over to Higley's Seminary building for Seminary. There are only 12 kids in my class!! That is completely opposite from last year, where there weren't enough seats on the bus for everyone in my hour. Then I was off to..drumroll please... ceramics. It is terrible. I hate it. The teacher seems nice enough, it is just that I only know a couple of people. But hopefully I will be able to have a good year in that class...
Today I saw Bryndee, looking super cute in her cheer stuff, she gave me candy! yum. I saw Jessie B. briefly too. And Lexi G. has my seminary class (YAY) so we will be spending alot of time together because of the size of the class! :) So, overall, I am excited for this year!!!
I will keep you updated about what is going on at school!

Last Chance

Today is the last day of summer. Actually, yesterday was because today is Sunday, but still... this is the last chance to sleep in...until next Sunday... The past few days have been pretty busy for me: I went to a party Friday night, stayed until a little before midnight, then Mike drove Lexi and I to Walmart where we waited in line for Breaking Dawn! We each got a copy, then went to Jack in the Box, then came home where Lexi and I went straight upstairs to read. We were tired but stayed up and read for about 7 hours, then crashed. I slept until 2:30! I forgot that I had to babysit at 4, so I was lucky I woke up with enough time to get ready. After the kids that I was babysitting went to bed, my dad brought over Breaking Dawn so that I could read it. And i finished it! I loved it!

This summer has been a summer of firsts for alot of things, and it has been wonderful. I learned alot of things, about myself and other people, and had a lot of other learning experiences as well. This has been one of the best summers ever! There are a list of things that I did not get accomplished in the past three months, but that's allright. There will be more time to get things done, right? (I can just hear my dad saying "If you do your homework and budget your time wisely...")

I am sooooo excited for the new, and last, book in the Twilight Series, Breaking Dawn!!! It comes out Saturday morning, that is only five days!! Lexi and I are each going to get a copy, and are going to read all Saturday, and into the night, whatever it takes to finish the book! I can't wait!

School starts next Monday. I cannot believe this is our last week of summer; there is so much I still have to do! But I am looking forward to the year, I am excited about the classes I am in and the teachers I have (with a few exceptions). I am also excited for school to start because that means that basketball will start soon; we start pre-season training in September. Actually, I am not ready to give up most of my free time, and to be sore all the time. Not yet. :)

Even though my Swiss Adventure is over, I am still going to blog, but it will be a little less interesting.

I am still going to basketball conditioning which includes an hour in the weight room and an hour in the gym. After the first two days of Lexi and I going we were SO sore, but we are on our second week now and are doing well.

A bunch of people from my ward went to go see Batman on opening night. Mike, Lex and I got to the movie theatre at 8:00, and the movie started at 12:00. I was so tired, just sitting there. But the movie was great!

I still have summer homework that I have to do; a ten page historical fiction project that is due on the first day of school. Ugh.

Today we went to registration at our school, which was exciting. I saw alot of friends and people I knew, paid all the fees, got my official schedule, got my I.D. card, and showed my little brothers around because I am a big junior now! I am so excited to be a junior, even though everyone I talk to says that their junior year was the hardest year, I am still excited!

One Week

Well, I haven't blogged in a whole week! I have really enjoyed being home, obviously, and have eased myself back into life in Arizona. I started basketball conditioning on Monday with Lexi, and it was soooo hard! Being in Switzerland for 5 weeks, and not working out in months made in that way...

I have already gone swimming about 5 times, been to several parties of friends, and gotten alot tanner than I was when I got home. My family kept teasing me for how white I had gotten so it was nice to spend some time in the sun. It is also nice to be able to text again because I couldn't while I was in Switzerland!

Church on Sunday was amazing, because it is so much easier to feel the spirit and stuff when you are listening to people talking and singing in English! I loved the welcome I got from all the Young Women and leaders and everyone. I felt so special :) It was so nice to see all the girls I care about.

Today is a pretty momentous day, because I am going on my first date. I am going with a boy named Trent, Lexi (my sister) is going with his older brother and Mike (my brother) is going too with a nice girl, and we are also going with another couple. It is going to be a big group date. I am so excited! But whenever I thought about my first date I didn't think that Lexi and Mike would be there too! But I am sure it will be so much fun.

Today is also a good day because I am going to the midnight premiere of Batman! I am sooo excited! I heard that there are already people standing in line for it, and it is't 2 o'clock yet! We are going with a big group and are leaving for the theatre at 8'ish, so we can all get seats together!
So that is what I have been up to since I have been home!

p.s. Have I ever mentioned that Arizona is hot?

Home Sweet Home

I got into Sky Harbor Airport last night at around 6:40, late by about 15 minutes. I walked out of the gate and saw my dad standing there waiting for me and felt SOO happy to see him! We walked down the familiar, hot brownish hallways of the airport to baggage claim where I saw the rest of my family standing there. Nick looks so much taller, Lexi tanner, mom tanner too, same with Luke. I dont know if i can say the same about Mike but I bet he was tanner too. After hugs all around, we got my stuff and talked the whole time.
My flight over here was...good. We left from home in Zurich at 6:30 in the morning to catch the 6:40 bus. Which means that I alone had to drag my two suitcases plus my carry on up a hill on the sidewalk to the bus stop, pull them onto the bus, pull them off the bus and through the train station, onto the train, off the train, through the train station to the airport, throught the airport to the baggage check in place. Then I dropped them off. But I was so tired from pulling those bags everywhere! My left forearm/arm/shoulder hurts especially, even typing this! But once we dropped them off I felt so much better. We found our gate and waited to board. When we did, I got an aisle seat, which was awesome. Nine hours later we got off the plane in Philadelphia and got our bags and dragged them more to another security check point and customs and stuff like that, then dropped our bags off again (yay) then found our other gate. Then Jenna, the girls and I went and got Chick Fil A, which was so good, then boarded the plane. This time I wasn't sitting next to Jenna and all them, I was sitting about 10 rows behind them, in a window seat, next to an old man so smelled so terrible, it almost made me sick. That flight was terrible because I didn't have my neck pillow and I just wanted to go home! That flight was about 5 hours long. Then we got off and, well you know what happened after that. When I got home, I ate some salsa, hung out with my family for about an hour, then went to sleep, with the help of some Tylenol PM, before 10. I had been awake for more than 24 hours because I had not slept on the plane at all, so I was a tired wreck! It was so nice to sleep in my own bed. I am so glad to be home safely!

Ice Cream

Since I have been in Switzerland, I have eaten soooo much ice cream! The ice cream here is so good, we get Movenpick, the best ice cream company around, everywhere we go, sometimes even twice a day. We always joke about getting some, and we always do. 

    It is a real comfort food, but once I get home there is no way I am eating any, for at least a couple weeks!! 

   I usually get chocolate (as shown in picture) but there are lots of other yummy flavors. Just tonight, Jenna made us skookies with barely baked cookie dough and Movenpick vanilla ice cream. It was so good. I just thought that I would blog about ice cream because it is a big joke with Jenna and my family!