My friend Laura is getting ready to leave on her mission on Monday. She will leave to Spain and serve for a year and a half in the Malaga mission. I have very mixed feelings about her leaving. Part of my just longs to have her stay, but the other part of me knows that missions are the most incredible thing a person could experience. I know that she is doing a good thing.
But I want to say a little farewell to her, and thank her for all that she has done for me the past few months of my life.
Laura and I met the day I returned home from my own mission. She came over once that fall and we watched Modern Family, but then we didn't really hang out again for a long time after that. I was still strange and fresh from my mission, not really knowing what my interests were, my likes or dislikes. I was trying to find out who I was again, but in a real world sense. Anyway, I changed a lot since the first time we hung out.
Then, this past summer we ran into each other once on campus, said the usual "hey we should hang out soon" and then didn't talk to each other the rest of summer, until I invited her to come to the Iron and Wine concert at the end of August. She came, and we were able to talk a lot. Laura is really good at carrying a conversation. She can make anybody feel comfortable.
That's kind of the whole introduction of how we met. And then, from there, that's when we really started to meet. Laura moved just down the street from me, and we hung out practically everyday. We became best friends. We had an instant connection that doesn't come along that often. It was one of those feelings that we just understood each other from the very get go. And as I got to know Laura more and more, she taught me a lot of things about life, things I want to keep and implement into my own life.
Laura helped me to realize that the life I have imagined in my head can really come to fruition. It is real and can happen - if you make it happen. The key word is make. I used to think that some people were born lucky, born to have extraordinary lives. I always wanted that, but thought that it was not within my power to make that happen. But I have come to learn that I was wrong. Laura has shown me that amazing things happen to people because they go out and make them happen. They create their own luck, as it were. I have learned that I can no longer be passive in my pursuit of life, but that I need to be active and proactive in how I take on the events life has to offer. I have to seize the day, YOLO (you only live once), or FOMO (fear of missing out), however you would like to call it. The life that I have lived the past 7 or so months has been one I have always dreamed of. It has been more fun that I honestly could have ever hoped for. I have found a friend who views life the same way I do. And that makes a big difference. I mean, Laura is fun by herself, but honestly, when I am there with her, I think that we are even more fun together.
Laura has shown and taught me the importance of being confident, but not overconfident, in oneself. This is something that I have always struggled with in my own life. I have always found it hard to accept myself for who I am. But, I look at the way she sees herself. She doesn't boast or brag of things she does, and often she will never mention something great that she has done. Yet, she believes in herself and in her own abilities.
She has taught me the importance of not judging others. Since we have hung out, there have been a million ideas tossed out that many people would say are silly, stupid, or dumb, but we have never once judged each other for our ideas. And because of that, you feel loved and respected by those around you. You don't have to feel like you need to always please them because you know they will be happy with whatever you say or do. She has not only accepted me for my quarks and strange behavior, but she loves me for it. And that makes you feel really good about yourself.
She has taught me about he importance of saying yes to things. I think we have helped each other out in that, actually. We have talked about how we feel bad for so many people who say no to ideas or opportunities for no good reason. They are missing out on so much of life! They are missing a lot of they joy that comes from the details and experiences that life has to offer, if only you will go out and grab them. Whenever one of us throws out an idea for something to do, we say yes, and because of that we have so many memories and good times together.
Laura has taught me how important it is to make others feel loved and needed. This is a gift that Laura definitely has. People love her because she loves them. And it feels good to be loved by somebody.
Laura has a real testimony. She is always the first to want to go to firesides, church, the temple, etc. She knows what she wants and she knows how important the gospel is to her life. She is a great example to me of what a member of the church should be like.
Honestly, I will really miss Laura. I have never had a friend like her. She helped bring out the best in me and helped me want to get better. I have never had so much fun with one person. She has made me louder and more outgoing. I will be sad to see her leave, and I hope that one day I will get to see her again, and that our friendship will be as strong and bright as it is now.
So long...
Friday, March 15, 2013
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Sundance
I am finally getting to Saturday's story.
So, on the last night of Sundance, we decided to go up to Park City and hit the streets and maybe get into a party if we could find one. So we got up there, walked around Main Street for a little while, and finally decided to get some food. We ate, and hit the streets some more.
Anyway, Renan knew where the big after party was taking place, so we decided to go there and see how we could get in. So we got outside of the building, and we were trying to plot our entrance, but we kept running into problems. So we decided to split up and scope out the building a little bit. Laura and Sydney went one way, Renan and Brandon went another, and I just kind of just sat there for a minute. Anyway, we regroup, but Laura and Sydney are missing. We can't get ahold of them either. Finally, they call us and they got in because some lady gave them two tickets. So now we HAVE to find a way in.
We keep searching around the building and try checking doors. We find one, but it is right by the DJ and the stage, so we worry that it might be really hard to just sneak in that way. So we continue looking. No luck. All the other doors are locked. Finally we decide that our only one hope is the door we previously checked. So we go back to check it out, and there is a guy peeing outside against the wall. So we wait for him to finish peeing and Brandon goes up and asks him if we can follow him back in. He says sure, but that he can't vouch for us and that he can't be sure we won't be kicked out. So, we follow. We get right into the building and the guy in front of us walks straight, but for some reason Brandon takes a right, where a group of people are sitting and they immediately ask "Hey, where are your passes?" Brandon stopped, but Renan and I kept walking and just walked in and there we were, on the dance floor. We had no idea what happened to Brandon. After about 20 minutes, we ran into him and all was good. We spent the rest of the night dancing and having fun up at Sundance.
So, on the last night of Sundance, we decided to go up to Park City and hit the streets and maybe get into a party if we could find one. So we got up there, walked around Main Street for a little while, and finally decided to get some food. We ate, and hit the streets some more.
Anyway, Renan knew where the big after party was taking place, so we decided to go there and see how we could get in. So we got outside of the building, and we were trying to plot our entrance, but we kept running into problems. So we decided to split up and scope out the building a little bit. Laura and Sydney went one way, Renan and Brandon went another, and I just kind of just sat there for a minute. Anyway, we regroup, but Laura and Sydney are missing. We can't get ahold of them either. Finally, they call us and they got in because some lady gave them two tickets. So now we HAVE to find a way in.
We keep searching around the building and try checking doors. We find one, but it is right by the DJ and the stage, so we worry that it might be really hard to just sneak in that way. So we continue looking. No luck. All the other doors are locked. Finally we decide that our only one hope is the door we previously checked. So we go back to check it out, and there is a guy peeing outside against the wall. So we wait for him to finish peeing and Brandon goes up and asks him if we can follow him back in. He says sure, but that he can't vouch for us and that he can't be sure we won't be kicked out. So, we follow. We get right into the building and the guy in front of us walks straight, but for some reason Brandon takes a right, where a group of people are sitting and they immediately ask "Hey, where are your passes?" Brandon stopped, but Renan and I kept walking and just walked in and there we were, on the dance floor. We had no idea what happened to Brandon. After about 20 minutes, we ran into him and all was good. We spent the rest of the night dancing and having fun up at Sundance.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Fairy Tale Kind of Life
I just finished reading my post from one year ago today (Janaury 27, 2012) and wow has my life changed. It didn't come easy and and wasn't quick at all, but it sure did a 180 degree change. And I am very grateful.
I just want to say that I have such a fairy tale life right now! I love my friends. I honestly cannot think of a better group of friends than I have right now. They are always up for adventures and it is a rare case when they say no to an idea. They are not judgemental at all and they accept me and everybody else for being crazy and weird and silly. I honestly don't think I could ask for a better group of friends.
But this past weekend was so much fun. It seemed so fake! First, on Friday night, Brett and Selya were putting on a show that we were invited to via Facebook. So Renan and I decided to go, but we of course invited a few more people. Only Sydney and Matt were able to make it that night, but it was incredible. The show ended up being played at some guys home near the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. The house was incredible. He had a whole reception center on the back of his house and that is where the show was played. I have never seen a house so amazing in my life. We were all in awe the whole time. I wish that you could see the house, then you would understand.
Anyway, after snooping around the house and seeing all that it had to offer, it was finally time for the show to start. All I can say about it is wow. They are amazing! Brett is so talented musically and can play almost any instrument. He also has a very nice voice. But Selya's voice is incredible. I could have listened to her sing and them play for hours. We all felt that way. It was like some private little show that they had put on just for us. It really set the mood for the rest of the night.
As we were walking out, Matt made one of the funniest comments I have ever heard him say. He said "Guys, now, I am not one to use "YOLO" very often, but tonight it definitely one of those moments. I am YOLOing tonight. I feel like what just happened is fake. I came with the impression that we were going to see some of your old high school friends play in some band at some random place. I did no expect what just happened. I am willing to go to dinner and drop a hundred bucks tonight". So that was our plan. We decided to go walk around downtown and hit up some restaurant.
We picked up Laura, and then headed downtown. We were all walking around looking for a place to eat when we ran into a nature conservation effort. There was music playing and then a projection of the northern lights shining on the whole side of this building. We almost walked right on by, buy somebody (either Laura or Sydney) suggested that we go and dance on this black rug that was set up in between the two buildings. So we went in and danced. It was great. The first song wasn't very good to dance to, but then a song by ratatat came on and did we ever dance! It was great, because all of the sudden a guy who had been standing there the whole time came up an started taking pictures of us dancing, and then suddenly out of nowhere this other guy came up with a really nice professional camera came up and started recording us dancing! We danced the whole song as people walked by and stopped and watched us. (It was a very long song). It was amazing. We were having so much fun! And then the song ended, and no new song came on. The guy filming us just walked away to who knows where, they guy taking pictures of us disappeared, and suddenly it was just us. We were wondering what happened and why the music stopped. We were also confused at who it was who was recording us! We really want to find that video! It felt like they were just waiting for us the whole night to come and show up and dance, and then once we left, their whole nights work was accomplished. We aren't even sure if the people who recorded us were with the nature conservancy!
We ended up walking to Redrock, where we all shared a table, got some hot wings, a pitcher of cream soda, and some fries and just talked. It was so much fun!
After dinner we went to Brandon's and watched a movie. He had all of my blankets and pads, so I was super comfortable and fell asleep for the movie. But the way home was so much fun! I gave Laura and Sydney a ride home, and they were in a crazy tired mood, so it was fun to tease them! We went around the round a bout multiple times, drove through dark alley ways, and then finally took them home.
I love my friends, and I love my life. It is a fairy tale. Saturday's story will be posted shortly.
I just want to say that I have such a fairy tale life right now! I love my friends. I honestly cannot think of a better group of friends than I have right now. They are always up for adventures and it is a rare case when they say no to an idea. They are not judgemental at all and they accept me and everybody else for being crazy and weird and silly. I honestly don't think I could ask for a better group of friends.
But this past weekend was so much fun. It seemed so fake! First, on Friday night, Brett and Selya were putting on a show that we were invited to via Facebook. So Renan and I decided to go, but we of course invited a few more people. Only Sydney and Matt were able to make it that night, but it was incredible. The show ended up being played at some guys home near the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. The house was incredible. He had a whole reception center on the back of his house and that is where the show was played. I have never seen a house so amazing in my life. We were all in awe the whole time. I wish that you could see the house, then you would understand.
Anyway, after snooping around the house and seeing all that it had to offer, it was finally time for the show to start. All I can say about it is wow. They are amazing! Brett is so talented musically and can play almost any instrument. He also has a very nice voice. But Selya's voice is incredible. I could have listened to her sing and them play for hours. We all felt that way. It was like some private little show that they had put on just for us. It really set the mood for the rest of the night.
As we were walking out, Matt made one of the funniest comments I have ever heard him say. He said "Guys, now, I am not one to use "YOLO" very often, but tonight it definitely one of those moments. I am YOLOing tonight. I feel like what just happened is fake. I came with the impression that we were going to see some of your old high school friends play in some band at some random place. I did no expect what just happened. I am willing to go to dinner and drop a hundred bucks tonight". So that was our plan. We decided to go walk around downtown and hit up some restaurant.
We picked up Laura, and then headed downtown. We were all walking around looking for a place to eat when we ran into a nature conservation effort. There was music playing and then a projection of the northern lights shining on the whole side of this building. We almost walked right on by, buy somebody (either Laura or Sydney) suggested that we go and dance on this black rug that was set up in between the two buildings. So we went in and danced. It was great. The first song wasn't very good to dance to, but then a song by ratatat came on and did we ever dance! It was great, because all of the sudden a guy who had been standing there the whole time came up an started taking pictures of us dancing, and then suddenly out of nowhere this other guy came up with a really nice professional camera came up and started recording us dancing! We danced the whole song as people walked by and stopped and watched us. (It was a very long song). It was amazing. We were having so much fun! And then the song ended, and no new song came on. The guy filming us just walked away to who knows where, they guy taking pictures of us disappeared, and suddenly it was just us. We were wondering what happened and why the music stopped. We were also confused at who it was who was recording us! We really want to find that video! It felt like they were just waiting for us the whole night to come and show up and dance, and then once we left, their whole nights work was accomplished. We aren't even sure if the people who recorded us were with the nature conservancy!
We ended up walking to Redrock, where we all shared a table, got some hot wings, a pitcher of cream soda, and some fries and just talked. It was so much fun!
After dinner we went to Brandon's and watched a movie. He had all of my blankets and pads, so I was super comfortable and fell asleep for the movie. But the way home was so much fun! I gave Laura and Sydney a ride home, and they were in a crazy tired mood, so it was fun to tease them! We went around the round a bout multiple times, drove through dark alley ways, and then finally took them home.
I love my friends, and I love my life. It is a fairy tale. Saturday's story will be posted shortly.
The past 6 months
I have been very awful at posting here on my blog the last year, so I want to get into a better habit of recording my life on here.
So I will try to catch up on my life the past couple of months. Ahem:
First and foremost I just want to say that the last six months of my life have been some of the best, most fun times of my life. I have found the greatest group of friends who accept me for my craziness and odd quirks. They are so accepting of everybody and they never turn down a fun idea (or even not so fun idea). Fun things that have happened include dancing, throwing holiday parties, going to the keyhole, cooking dinner together, going to horchata weekly, Idaho trips, hot springs, sledding, sleeping on the roof, etc...
I have this philosophy that I live by and it came to me shortly before my mission. One day when I was watching a movie (I used to watch many movies with my friends) I decided that people in movies had incredible lives, lives that people would say could only happen in the movies. At that moment I decided that I wanted my life to be one that people could make movies about. Since then, I have tried to do that, and I believe it has turned out to be so. I have moments where I catch myself thinking that I live in some sort of sitcom. Anyway, I guess what I am really trying to say here, is that the past 6 months of my life have been what I have dreamed life should be like. I absolutely love my life.
Now, I will just go to my most recent adventure.
This past weekend a bunch of friends and I went up to Sun Valley, Idaho to go spend a night in a yurt at Galina's Lodge. Renan, Karen, Sydney and I all rode up in my car, while David, Brandon, Hillary, and Laura rode up in Laura's. The ride up there was so much fun. We just talked and listened to music, but it was so nice. However, we stopped at Laura's parents place to drop off some of our gear so that the hike up to the yurt wouldn't be so difficult. We quickly got ready and started on our half hour drive to the parking lot. That part of the ride was so fun! It was so beautiful driving up the canyon at night with a clear sky and the moon lighting our way. There is something very romantic about the moon light and nighttime. The mountains were so beautiful and we put on some good music, and none of us really wanted the ride to end. But soon we arrived at our destination, unloaded our gear and started the trek up to our lodgings for the night.
The climb up was steep, tiring, and dark, and since we didn't have a flashlight, I found myself walking off the trail and sinking into feet of powder. But as we started getting closer, suddenly Laura and David came down the trail, hugged us and helped us find our way to the yurt. The yurt itself was very cozy and friendly. We cooked some tacos, and then decided to go for a night walk. On our way out, a little fox was sitting outside of our yurt waiting for some dinner, so we decided to go and give him some left over hamburger from the burritos we cooked. Foxley (as we decided to name him) was well pleased, and didn't stray too far from our yurt the rest of the trip.
The walk was amazing! It wasn't even that cold, especially compared to the nasty weather we have been having lately in Salt Lake. We walked around and looked at the whole night sky, with all its stars and a beautiful moon. We threw snowballs, tackled each other, ran through the snow, yelled, and just had a nice time walking in the beauty that surrounded us.
After the walk it was time to hit the sauna. We put some fire in the stove and waited for it to heat up, all while David told us some ghost stories that weren't that scary and which he made up on the spot. Good attempt for trying though.
Anyway, the rest of the night was filled with steamrolling, games, and just talking as we all cuddled up together in the center of the yurt. Then, it was sleepy time.
In the morning it was great because everybody in the group was very happy in them morning. I woke up to Karen warmly greeting me, and then to some steamrolling. I love steamrolling!
But soon enough it was time to check out of the yurt and move on to snowmobiling. I don't know how many of you have ever been snowmobiling before, but it is great fun, and hurts a little bit. You hook up tubes to the back of a snowmobile and then they drive you around and try to throw you off. It is fun. However, since there were so many of us, and Matt, Lexi, and Erin ended up finding us later, we had to take turns on the snowmobile, and so the rest of us went sledding while that happened. The hill was long and steep, which made for some really fantastic sledding, but also wore you out by the time you got to the top of the hill. I made it a goal to carry Hillary to the top of the hill and I did after many breaks and falling over. But it was worth it.
After snowmobiling, we went back to Laura's where we showered, ate, and got ready for the next leg of the journey. We decided to go to a hockey game at the Sun Valley resort. While we were waiting to get in for free, we hung out at the Lodge. David had stayed there a few times in the past with his dad, and so he knew that they set out chocolates on the pillows of some of the rooms. So we ended up finding the maid and he asked her if we could get some chocolates. She asked what room we were in and David calmly responded that we were just downstairs. She gave us chocolates. They were delicious. By then we were ready to go to the hockey game. The Sun Valley Suns were playing the Las Vegas Hookers (yes, that was their real name, unfortunately). The game was fun and exciting, however the Suns lost in a shootout. It was a close game. We were all very worn out and ready for bed after that.
Next came Sunday. We went to church, came back and ate, and then we decided we wanted to go ice skating. Luckily for us, there was a free rink in Hailey, so we drove there and ice skated. It was so much fun! I haven't been ice skating in years, so my skills were not up to par. Anyway, they also had hockey goals, pucks, and hockey sticks, so as a group we decided to play a game of hockey. Boy we were awful! But by, did that make things fun! It was hilarious because people were slipping and falling all over the place. Once Sydney was wide open in front of the goal, Brandon passed it to her for a shot, and and she went to swing, her legs slipped out from under her and she plopped to the ground! Next it was Lexi's turn. She finally got the puck and took a shot, but her momentum was too much for her and she also gave into ice and gravity. Finally it was my turn. I got the puck and while speedily (in my own eyes) skating down the rink, I took a shot from over half rink and made it. So I started celebrating, and Laura was on my team, so she was yelling too! My momentum was leading me towards her, and as we got closer, my legs started spreading farther apart, and I thought to myself "If I can only make it to Laura, I won't fall). Well, the second I got to Laura, we embraced in celebration, and I fell backwards, pulling her down with me. It was hilarious!
Well, we had all had our fill of hockey and ice skating, and we really wanted to make it to the hot springs, so we went home, ate, and got ready. Unfortunately for me and to the girls delight, I had forgotten my speedo at home. However, Laura found some of her brothers swim trunks that he would wear. They were tiny short shorts. I was thrilled. I put them on and they were great! However, it was a little nerve racking walking up stairs in front of people because as I mentioned, these shorts were short, and I didn't have anything on underneath that could provide support! So that was great.
On the way to the hot springs, it got really hot in the car, so I decided to take off my shirt. I thought this as harmless seeing as we were about to be swimming anyway, but Laura and Sydney thought otherwise. They demanded that I put my shirt back on, but I refused. So, to try and force me into wearing a shirt, they rolled down the windows and turned on the AC. I still refused to put my shirt on. Fortunately for me, I was sitting in the front middle of the Suburban, so the cold air wasn't hitting me so much. Unfortunately for the people in the back of the car, they were getting blasted with cold air! And they hated it. So they wanted me to put my shirt on as well. I still refused. So people started slapping my back and yelling at me to put my shirt back on. Some of those slaps really hurt! It hurt Erin's hand so much that she didn't want to slap me again. Finally, after a few minutes I decided to be kind and I put my shirt back on. The windows went up, and everybody was relatively happy.
Still on the way up we passed a few dear, we saw another fox, and lastly we saw an animal that we weren't sure what it was! As we found out the next day, it was a wolverine! That's neat! That is the first time I have ever seen a wolverine before.
We finally got to the hot springs, which were burning hot where we first got in, and then they cooled down a bit as we moved to a better part of the pot. It was nice and relaxing. I love hot pots.
We got back to Laura's house for the night, decided to watch a movie, and then to go to bed. I don't know what it is about late night, but the later it gets, the more energy and fewer inhibitions I seem to have. So, still wearing only my short swim trunks I decided to sneak up on a few people while they were trying to fall asleep. Sydney and Erin were my main targets as they had the cozy bed all to themselves and were in a separate room. I scared Sydney a good deal of times, and I think just weirded out Erin. They were both grossed out when I slinked into their bed. Needless to say, I was the only one sleeping in the bed that night. Erin and Sydney moved out into the living room with the rest of the gang.
That was the trip. It was filled full of activities, and was so much fun with a great group of friends. I did not want to come home after such a great weekend! These memories will stick with me for years to come.
So I will try to catch up on my life the past couple of months. Ahem:
First and foremost I just want to say that the last six months of my life have been some of the best, most fun times of my life. I have found the greatest group of friends who accept me for my craziness and odd quirks. They are so accepting of everybody and they never turn down a fun idea (or even not so fun idea). Fun things that have happened include dancing, throwing holiday parties, going to the keyhole, cooking dinner together, going to horchata weekly, Idaho trips, hot springs, sledding, sleeping on the roof, etc...
I have this philosophy that I live by and it came to me shortly before my mission. One day when I was watching a movie (I used to watch many movies with my friends) I decided that people in movies had incredible lives, lives that people would say could only happen in the movies. At that moment I decided that I wanted my life to be one that people could make movies about. Since then, I have tried to do that, and I believe it has turned out to be so. I have moments where I catch myself thinking that I live in some sort of sitcom. Anyway, I guess what I am really trying to say here, is that the past 6 months of my life have been what I have dreamed life should be like. I absolutely love my life.
Now, I will just go to my most recent adventure.
This past weekend a bunch of friends and I went up to Sun Valley, Idaho to go spend a night in a yurt at Galina's Lodge. Renan, Karen, Sydney and I all rode up in my car, while David, Brandon, Hillary, and Laura rode up in Laura's. The ride up there was so much fun. We just talked and listened to music, but it was so nice. However, we stopped at Laura's parents place to drop off some of our gear so that the hike up to the yurt wouldn't be so difficult. We quickly got ready and started on our half hour drive to the parking lot. That part of the ride was so fun! It was so beautiful driving up the canyon at night with a clear sky and the moon lighting our way. There is something very romantic about the moon light and nighttime. The mountains were so beautiful and we put on some good music, and none of us really wanted the ride to end. But soon we arrived at our destination, unloaded our gear and started the trek up to our lodgings for the night.
The climb up was steep, tiring, and dark, and since we didn't have a flashlight, I found myself walking off the trail and sinking into feet of powder. But as we started getting closer, suddenly Laura and David came down the trail, hugged us and helped us find our way to the yurt. The yurt itself was very cozy and friendly. We cooked some tacos, and then decided to go for a night walk. On our way out, a little fox was sitting outside of our yurt waiting for some dinner, so we decided to go and give him some left over hamburger from the burritos we cooked. Foxley (as we decided to name him) was well pleased, and didn't stray too far from our yurt the rest of the trip.
The walk was amazing! It wasn't even that cold, especially compared to the nasty weather we have been having lately in Salt Lake. We walked around and looked at the whole night sky, with all its stars and a beautiful moon. We threw snowballs, tackled each other, ran through the snow, yelled, and just had a nice time walking in the beauty that surrounded us.
After the walk it was time to hit the sauna. We put some fire in the stove and waited for it to heat up, all while David told us some ghost stories that weren't that scary and which he made up on the spot. Good attempt for trying though.
Anyway, the rest of the night was filled with steamrolling, games, and just talking as we all cuddled up together in the center of the yurt. Then, it was sleepy time.
In the morning it was great because everybody in the group was very happy in them morning. I woke up to Karen warmly greeting me, and then to some steamrolling. I love steamrolling!
But soon enough it was time to check out of the yurt and move on to snowmobiling. I don't know how many of you have ever been snowmobiling before, but it is great fun, and hurts a little bit. You hook up tubes to the back of a snowmobile and then they drive you around and try to throw you off. It is fun. However, since there were so many of us, and Matt, Lexi, and Erin ended up finding us later, we had to take turns on the snowmobile, and so the rest of us went sledding while that happened. The hill was long and steep, which made for some really fantastic sledding, but also wore you out by the time you got to the top of the hill. I made it a goal to carry Hillary to the top of the hill and I did after many breaks and falling over. But it was worth it.
After snowmobiling, we went back to Laura's where we showered, ate, and got ready for the next leg of the journey. We decided to go to a hockey game at the Sun Valley resort. While we were waiting to get in for free, we hung out at the Lodge. David had stayed there a few times in the past with his dad, and so he knew that they set out chocolates on the pillows of some of the rooms. So we ended up finding the maid and he asked her if we could get some chocolates. She asked what room we were in and David calmly responded that we were just downstairs. She gave us chocolates. They were delicious. By then we were ready to go to the hockey game. The Sun Valley Suns were playing the Las Vegas Hookers (yes, that was their real name, unfortunately). The game was fun and exciting, however the Suns lost in a shootout. It was a close game. We were all very worn out and ready for bed after that.
Next came Sunday. We went to church, came back and ate, and then we decided we wanted to go ice skating. Luckily for us, there was a free rink in Hailey, so we drove there and ice skated. It was so much fun! I haven't been ice skating in years, so my skills were not up to par. Anyway, they also had hockey goals, pucks, and hockey sticks, so as a group we decided to play a game of hockey. Boy we were awful! But by, did that make things fun! It was hilarious because people were slipping and falling all over the place. Once Sydney was wide open in front of the goal, Brandon passed it to her for a shot, and and she went to swing, her legs slipped out from under her and she plopped to the ground! Next it was Lexi's turn. She finally got the puck and took a shot, but her momentum was too much for her and she also gave into ice and gravity. Finally it was my turn. I got the puck and while speedily (in my own eyes) skating down the rink, I took a shot from over half rink and made it. So I started celebrating, and Laura was on my team, so she was yelling too! My momentum was leading me towards her, and as we got closer, my legs started spreading farther apart, and I thought to myself "If I can only make it to Laura, I won't fall). Well, the second I got to Laura, we embraced in celebration, and I fell backwards, pulling her down with me. It was hilarious!
Well, we had all had our fill of hockey and ice skating, and we really wanted to make it to the hot springs, so we went home, ate, and got ready. Unfortunately for me and to the girls delight, I had forgotten my speedo at home. However, Laura found some of her brothers swim trunks that he would wear. They were tiny short shorts. I was thrilled. I put them on and they were great! However, it was a little nerve racking walking up stairs in front of people because as I mentioned, these shorts were short, and I didn't have anything on underneath that could provide support! So that was great.
On the way to the hot springs, it got really hot in the car, so I decided to take off my shirt. I thought this as harmless seeing as we were about to be swimming anyway, but Laura and Sydney thought otherwise. They demanded that I put my shirt back on, but I refused. So, to try and force me into wearing a shirt, they rolled down the windows and turned on the AC. I still refused to put my shirt on. Fortunately for me, I was sitting in the front middle of the Suburban, so the cold air wasn't hitting me so much. Unfortunately for the people in the back of the car, they were getting blasted with cold air! And they hated it. So they wanted me to put my shirt on as well. I still refused. So people started slapping my back and yelling at me to put my shirt back on. Some of those slaps really hurt! It hurt Erin's hand so much that she didn't want to slap me again. Finally, after a few minutes I decided to be kind and I put my shirt back on. The windows went up, and everybody was relatively happy.
Still on the way up we passed a few dear, we saw another fox, and lastly we saw an animal that we weren't sure what it was! As we found out the next day, it was a wolverine! That's neat! That is the first time I have ever seen a wolverine before.
We finally got to the hot springs, which were burning hot where we first got in, and then they cooled down a bit as we moved to a better part of the pot. It was nice and relaxing. I love hot pots.
We got back to Laura's house for the night, decided to watch a movie, and then to go to bed. I don't know what it is about late night, but the later it gets, the more energy and fewer inhibitions I seem to have. So, still wearing only my short swim trunks I decided to sneak up on a few people while they were trying to fall asleep. Sydney and Erin were my main targets as they had the cozy bed all to themselves and were in a separate room. I scared Sydney a good deal of times, and I think just weirded out Erin. They were both grossed out when I slinked into their bed. Needless to say, I was the only one sleeping in the bed that night. Erin and Sydney moved out into the living room with the rest of the gang.
That was the trip. It was filled full of activities, and was so much fun with a great group of friends. I did not want to come home after such a great weekend! These memories will stick with me for years to come.
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