The Post that Took a Week to Write

We have gone to quite a few Easter Egg Markets (well, my mom has...I've gone to one) and I am so amazed by all of the different ways there are to decorate eggs. So amazed. I'll have to post pictures of some soon! We bought really pretty ones. One is all carved out and another is decorated with little lady bugs. So cuuute!


Evening walks are now enjoyable! It's been months since Germany has seen the sun and it's finally making an appearance again! I don't think anybody understands how much I've missed this ball of fire. With the days getting longer and warmer, we have been able to go to different places for our walks. Last weekend we went to the Landstuhl castle. We had fun. Minus the mud.

My dad went through a lot of his things before heading off to Florida. Underneath a bunch of old papers, he found two letters that I wrote at different times. Both were to the tooth fairy and both showed my complete determination to figure out whether the tooth fairy really existed or not. These two letters go with a third that my mom had in her drawer.

The first says:

Dear Tooth Fairy,
I'm sorry I lost my tooth this morning. Do I still get anything?
Like crayons?

The second says:

Tooth Fairy-

I lost my tooth again. Can you bring me notebooks, crayons, pencils and pencil sharpeners?
And write on the back of this note otherwise I don't believe in you.

The third says:

Dear Tooth Fairy,

Leave fifty dollars under my pillow tonight or I won't believe in you anymore.

I know my parents don't have fifty dollars to fork over to me so if I get it, I'll know it's you.

Obviously I had the concept of ultimatums down. I believe I got five dollars with that third note. I was happy with that. Five dollars is like fifty when you're seven.

I am officially registered for Spring semester classes! I'm pretty proud over how my schedule turned out. First of all, I was able to get into a few psych classes before they filled up. And, secondly, look at the shape! I thought that was pretty cool. It wasn't on purpose, I promise.

My mom and I started decorating the tree outside for Easter. This is a normal thing in Germany. We're not weird, kay? My mom and I are planning on buying more eggs later this week. Colorful ones, of course. This is actually my favorite tree in the backyard. I had never seen any like it until moving here. It looks like it was planted upside down!

I feel like I should just live at the Landstuhl Hospital for the next week. I've had so many appointments there already over the past week and I only have more to come this following week. I am thankful that I am not having more serious work done though. I pass the signs on my way through the hospital that say "Neurosurgery" "MRI" "Nuclear Medicine" "Labor & Delivery." So really, I should be thankful that I am just returning over and over again for minor things but it's still a pain. One that they aren't helping.


My dad's cat, George, is a freaking psycho. I'm supposed to keep him in line while Papa Bear is away but it's close to impossible! H&M is now using bags with David Beckham on the front and it's beautiful, but that's not the point. The point is that I heard a crinkling noise in my room and I walk in to find George carrying around David. It's like they were just taking a lovely passeggiata through my room. George has also learned how to open my drawers. He now finds my hidden chocolate and drops it on the floor. Then the dogs get it and I'm pretty sure that's not okay. Most recently, George destroyed the bathroom. We woke up to a huge mess. We cleaned it up and he did it again. You can't win.

This post took a week to complete. I don't even know why, either. It's just been pulled up in a tab and I've been writing on it whenever I get bored. A lot is different now from the beginning of the post though. I feel you should all be aware that there are now six inches of snow on the ground, schools had early release and stores shut down. Also, my class schedule is a bit different now but it's still in the shape of a pyramid/temple/taylor building so no worries there. And, Papa Bear, if you're reading this, come home now. Pleaaaaase :).

Favorite Moments of 2012:

• Driving to Metz, France for Sephora with the Amanda.
• Finding an egg in my calzone. Darn French.
• Going to London with my mother.
• Going to Florida with Papa Bear.
• Stealing oranges from the neighbor's orange trees in the dark with the cousin. Bringing them home and realizing they were all rotten. All that sneaking around for nothing.
• Getting stranded at sea, or, in this case, river, and having Eva pull us back to shore.
• Getting videos like this one from Jana:
  
  
• Going to New York for Spring Break and seeing the Crandalls. Minus one.
• Eating my first panini, drinking pear juice for the first time, laying in Central Park, walking through Times Square at night.
• Bringing my mom to experience Rexburg.
• "Deep Talk" with the roommate every night before bed.
• Driving to Jackson Hole with Amanda.
• Going to Nauvoo and all the places in between.
• New York for the 4th of July and surviving the firetruck sirens during the parade.
• Having study sessions with this kid and having it go more like this. But with pizza, of course.
  
  
• Going with Parker and Jana to their grandparents home in Wyoming. First time canoeing, roasting starbursts and riding on a four wheeler.
• Rigby lake with Clarice, Spencer and Jana. I made Clarice swim across it with me since she was getting married. It made sense then.
• Visiting Amanda and her grandparents.
• Daily City Creek runs in Utah with Amanda.
• Almost falling in the fountain in Temple Square.
• Visiting Papa Bear in New York and learning how to drive.
• Visiting Kayla at her home in Park City, Utah. Wedding dress hunting!
• Staying with Jana for three weeks in August/September. So thankful.
• Road tripping with Jana to Virginia and visiting Lindsay.
• Giving myself a black eye as a nine year old watched.
• Labor Day celebration at West Point.
• Giving my first talk ever in church. I'll write it out next time.
• Going to Prague with the Cherringtons.
• Watching these dorks chant with an "indian" homeless man.
  
  

• My dad brought home two cute kittens. George and Wincy.
• Seeing President Monson's talk in Frankfurt then seeing him at the temple!
• Going to the Christmas market in Cologne.
• Getting Taylor Swift tickets.
• Christmas morning with the fam bam.
• Getting my new camera!

Pictures:

The closest Sephora is here. It's a blessing in disguise. 

There were tears 'cause ew.

Momma Bear at Buckingham Palace. Attractive.

Beautiful Florida!

Shipwrecked. Eva stepped on a few stingrays. That's why I'm in the boat.

Rotten orange thieves.

Walking in the footsteps of Chris Evans.

Chillin' in Central Park where the thugs tell me I have a cute smile.

I like it here. It's fun. I miss them terribly. Btw, we're in the same house. : )

Yeah, I stole Kayla's hoodie. I'm doing an excellent job canoeing. About to crash. Like the Titanic.

We sent pictures to Parker 'cause we missed him. And I have a black eye.

George and Winston napping. Such cute kittens.

 We like to take pictures from the car. While it's moving. Sometimes it works.

Cherringtons & I in Prague.

Alison and I at the Hard Rock. We have a tease/laugh/love relationship.

President Monson at the Frankfurt Temple.

Momma and I at the temple.

Christmas Market food!

Christmas Market in Cologne!

New Year's Eve party food!

Bringing in the New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been back in New York for a week now. I've been having a good time minus the fact that I've been  dealing with the worst cold I've had in forever. No joke. I think it's almost gone though. Fingers crossed.

Since I've been back, I've already navigated through Grand Central Station during rush hour, braved the pre-holiday madness at the grocery stores, ate my favorite New York pizza, and walked all through Cornwall taking pictures. I just love it here.

My absolute favorite part about being back in New York right now is the fact that I get to spend time with the ENTIRE family. This almost never happens. One of the cousins is always off at school or working in the city or just off living life away from the safety of the Cornwall bubble. Holidays are the only times my family is ever fully together. It's the best.

Thanksgiving was yesterday and we all had a great time. I'd list all the many things I'm grateful for here but the list would be too long and I don't think anyone would actually read it. Instead, I'll just say that I'm thankful for my many friends and family members that are always there for me. I don't tell them enough how much I love and appreciate them but they really are what's most important. No matter how far apart we are, I know I can always count on them to be there. Even if it is via Skype : )

July 4th in New York!

My mom was nice and decided to buy me a ticket so I could spend the 4th at home with family & friends. I'm freakin' STOKED! I'm going to drag my aunt out of the house at 10am and not waste one minute of the day.

The Fourth of July has always been my favorite holiday to spend in New York. I love how Cornwall celebrates. There's something going on every minute of the whole day. It's impossible to be bored. Ever seen Gilmore Girls? Cornwall is Stars Hollow. It da bestest!

There's one part of the 4th that I'm not too much of a fan of. It's the parade. Ever since I was two, I sit there and hold onto my cousin. Loud noises are not my thing and the parade is filled with sirens, horns and gun shots. Awesome. For whatever reason, fireworks don't bother me but this parade? My Fourth of July Hell. But I'm even looking forward to that this year. It's been a while since the last time I saw it. Who knows...maybe I've manned up since then. We'll see.


I leave for New York at 2 in the morning next Tuesday. I get to New York around 3pm and I'm taking the bus to Grand Central & then a train from there to my town. I'm SCAAAAARED. Waaaah. I don't want to go alone. I'm just a baby. What if I get lost? Or miss my stop? Or die? This isn't okay. Hopefully I can remember everything Jana taught me when I was down there last. Hopefully. Fingers crossed.

I'm requesting pizza my first night back. I should probably let someone know so I actually get it. I'll do that later. Then it's the Fourth of July! Ahhh :) Then I plan on just relaxing and enjoying my time away from school (while keeping up with the work, of course). Somewhere in those two "relaxing" days, I plan on eating ice cream, going to Dunkin' Donuts (because Emily runs on Dunkin'), and reading. Yes, I plan on reading. There's never time to read at school. It's sad.

Wish me luck on my trip! And by "my trip" I'm referring to the horrible bus/train situation going on.

Thanksgiving in Arizona

For Thanksgiving, my roommates and I decided to go down to Arizona. This could most possibly be the best decision I've made this semester. It's so warm here and there are palm trees!

We ate Thanksgiving dinner at my roommate's sister's in-law's house (that was confusing). It was sooo good. The best part was being able to eat dinner outside. Never in my life have I been able to eat Thanksgiving dinner outside. It's always been too cold and snowy. We actually had to fry last year's turkey out in the snow so this weather is definitely a treat.

Thanksgiving night we went to the Mesa Temple to see the Christmas lights. They were soo pretty. We also visited the cactus garden there. Of course I had to get a picture with a cactus!

So pretty! 

I didn't realize how close I was to it.

After spending an hour or so there, we went back to the house to pack up and head down to Benson, Arizona. On the way there, we stopped at a Walmart to participate in some Black Friday chaos. Never have I ever seen a checkout line that wraps around the perimeter of the store. Definitely not something I care to relive.

We finally arrived at my roommate's house in Benson. Benson is a cute little town but when I say 'little', I mean little. Smaller than Rexburg and that's pretty amazing. I loved the house though. It's so big and cozy at the same time.

Friday morning rolled around and I was made aware of all the sales going on online. Good sales too. And I went crazy. We're lucky I still have money in my bank account 'cause I was using my debit card like no other. Too bad I didn't realize until after the fourth order that I hadn't been putting my apartment number in the address....ooops. We'll see how that goes.

The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxing and now I'm back in Mesa getting my stuff together for the trip back to Rexburg in the morning. I'm not ready to go back to snowy Idaho yet. It's too nice here. So looong lovely, warm, sunny Arizona. I shall miss you!