Oregon Trip

Okay, get ready for your brief synopsis of my Oregon trip as promised! We finally made it to my grandparents house in Grants Pass after squeezing in Astoria, Fort Clatsop, Newport Aquarium, and Heceta Lighthouse into our itinerary. Megan and I had to sleep in my grandparents little trailer. She was so kind to give me the tiny bed (which I fell off of one night).

The next day, Thursday, we spent a lot of time just hanging out. We played a lot of ping pong and darts, and we spent a lot of time hanging out on the patio visiting, reading, etc. It was really hot that day, so we went to a park along the Rogue River, had a picnic, and played in the water. Well, only Megan, Stuart, and Laura got in the water. Megan was trying to catch a fish with her bare hands. That didn't really work. She screamed when one of them got brave enough to touch her. Stuart got out of the water around that time as one of the fish decided to come up and smack him. But at least he didn't scream :)

Friday, we all went out to breakfast to Elmers as is tradition when we make our Oregon trips. It was pretty much delicious even though their hash browns suck compared to my dad's (heck, I think all hash browns suck compared with my dad's!). At the front desk they have dum dums for you to take. They should know not to give dum dums to a group of dum dums because something like this might happen:

Saturday was a very exciting day. We got to go to "America's largest wild animal petting park!" That's right. I got to pet a lion cub, leopard cub, a lynx, and other animals with smaller claws/teeth. We even got to hold a possum in a sack! I discovered that possums have really ugly feet. I'm just saying... I would post a picture of me holding the possum but as soon as Megan handed him to me, he ducked into his sack and wouldn't come out again. As soon as I gave him to someone else to hold, he decided to make an appearance. Rude!

We also spent some time on the coast. It was really windy and therefore really cold! It was pretty though and we got to go the the top of a lighthouse. To go to the top, you had to be wearing closed toed shoes. Megan and I were both wearing flip flops, so we had to trade with Josh and his girlfriend, Heather, after they went up and came back down.

Sunday was your average sunday. We went to church and some of us got to witness a fight among some women (don't worry it wasn't a physical fight. They just started yelling at each other. That type of fight.). That was...exciting?

Monday was our last day. We went on a hike to Rainie Falls. I'd been there once before and I remembered the hike being easier than it actually was. It wasn't too bad though and I think the view at the end is worth it.

Tuesday morning we said our goodbyes and made the trip back home! Now I have one week (from yesterday!) before I leave back to school. It's almost nerve wracking now that it's so close! But there are definitely some things I'm looking forward to back in Idaho...one of them is not the weather...

It's Late, But I Love You So....

Hey all. I will give you a proper update later.... That's the plan anyway. Whenever I put something like this off and say I'll tell you what happened in my recent past later, it usually doesn't happen. But I have faith. Just in case, here's a brief sketch as I am wont to give.

I just got back from a vacation in Oregon to visit my grandparents and I loved it! It's really nice to get a change of scenery every once and a while. It felt good to get away for a little bit. We made some stops on the way down that we don't normally take. I can now officially say I've been to Astoria, OR! Huzzah! What's so cool about Astoria you may ask? Shame on you for not knowing!! But I forgive you. First, it's kind of a cute little town that I wish I would have had more time to explore. But the biggest reason why I wanted to stop there was because that's where "The Goonies" was filmed. We stopped (very briefly) at some key Goonies sights including the Goonies house! That was fun, especially since once my dad and I walked up the private drive (it was allowed I promise!!!) it took us a bit to figure out which one was actually the Goonies house. We kind of guessed and took a picture. Luckily we guessed correctly.

We also made a stop at an aquarium and Heceta lighthouse. That wasn't the lighthouse we were planning on seeing but we couldn't find the other one. A little disappointing, but I was happy to get to see a lighthouse instead of not seeing one at all. Oh I forgot! We also stopped at Fort Clatsop just outside of Astoria. For those who don't know, Fort Clatsop is where Louis and Clark stayed for a time. It was very cool.

Hmm I'm getting very sleepy. I'll give you more details (including pictures!!) on Oregon later. I only have a little bit left until I take off for school again for my last two semesters at BYU-Idaho. I'm starting (starting probably isn't correct as this isn't the first time I've had this feeling) to feel the pressure of figuring out what to do with my life after college. My dad pointed it out today that I should have some idea of a plan or career. Either that or I can marry a rich guy. Thanks dad, but I don't think that's going to happen :)

I'm secretly hoping I'll become instantly famous somehow. I'm not sure how, but it could happen, right? Good news though: my creative writing juices are beginning to come back. I probably didn't mention that I thought they'd died and I lost them forever (definitely not a good thing for an English major with an emphasis in creative writing who planned on writing books for a living.......yeah I should find a back up plan). While on my vacation I spent some time reading and some time writing and my love for reading and writing is slowly reviving. I need to devote more time to books and my characters who are dying to be shared with the world. I've been working on a story for a very long time and I hope I'll soon be able to finish it. Even if it doesn't get anywhere, I want to finish it. The only thing is once I finish it I have to go back and edit it and probably re-edit it. I should have written a children's book instead....


Well I hope all's well for you in the big world out there. Good luck with your ambitions and dreams! And always make time to settle down and read a good book :) Or spend a few hours playing your favorite video game. Haha. That's one thing that really took my time away from books and writing. Silly "Kingdom Hearts". Why do I love you so? Until next time! Enjoy the rest of your summer while you still can (unless it's ended for you already!!!).

Idea Inspired by the Journal Jar

What's this? Two posts in one day within minutes of each other?! THAT'S RIGHT!!!!! I just had this feeling that you were all craving just a little bit more. So a little bit more you shall have! Okay so here's my idea: I have this old journal jar from back in my Young Women days (take a moment for nostalgia to kick in, take a deep breath, and focus back to the present). Since I seem to have trouble coming up with topics lately I thought perhaps it's about time I actually use the thing. So every so often, I will pull a slip of paper from the jar and write on whatever topic is written there. It's been so long I don't even remember what some of the topics are. You may also use the topics to inspire your own writing. I think I will post some topics on the side and rotate them. You better use some of these topics just because I am really curious what is in there and what people will say about them. I hope there's some good ones in there!! That is all.

I Want To Be A Superhero

Okay so in my head I'm thinking "I have nothing new to talk about", but I'm hoping if I just keep typing something will come up because I feel like I somewhat neglect my poor little blog.

I suppose I could talk about how I'm a "closet gamer" according to Stuart (Laura just calls me a geek). I spent most of Saturday finishing 'Kingdom Hearts II'. Totally worth it, although I think I like the first one a little bit better.

Or I could talk about how Stuart and I have been discussing time and time travel. Stuart and I have differing views on the subject. Maybe I just don't think about things enough or I'm just too stubborn. I don't know. I'm not even going to attempt to explain all of Stuart's points (which I'll admit were valid. Is that good enough for you ?) :P

Okay so neither of those topics are really any good. Not good enough for an entire post anyway....

Well why I don't I just give you a brief synopsis of my life now and in the near future. Sounds riviting, eh?

I'm currently working at Jansport just like last summer. Some of you may remember those few Jansport posts. Here's a review. People ask me what it is I do all day and it's actually very simple. I take a box which has a label on it telling what other box or boxes to go to in order to retrieve the backpack(s) the customer ordered (take note I'm in a warehouse and don't actually deal with customers myself). I take the backpacks from the boxes they are all cozied up in and stuff them into the new box. I then tape the box and send it on it's way. Very exciting stuff. And that's what I do from 6-2:30 Monday through Friday.

So it might not be that exciting, but it pays well and I'm just lucky I was able to get my same job back!! Nobody likes job hunting. And now I will be able to afford food when I return to BYU-Idaho at the beginning of September. Hooray!

My last day of work is next Wednesday as my family is heading down to Oregon to hang with the grandparents. Woot!! I'm actually really excited. I need a change of scenery or something. Plus I love my grandparents and Oregon! So it pretty much equals happiness all around.

Once we get back, it won't be long till I'm off for my last two semesters in Rexburg. Yay! That's exciting and kind of scary since I don't know what I'm going to do with my life after I graduate. That's all part of the adventure right? Besides, if all else fails, I can just live in my parents' basement for the rest of my life while continuing to be a closet gamer!! Sounds good to me....

I'm actually not to worried about it right now. Maybe that's a bad thing, but I just feel like everything will work out somehow. Right now the important thing is to graduate! Then I can decide if I should do more schooling, or do service for my church, or dig a giant hole in my backyard for a pool. Sometimes we just have to take things one step at a time.

I think I just made up my mind right now. I'm definitely going with that pool option. Either that or I'm becoming a superhero... Someone find my a radioactive spider! Quick!

Maybe I Do Have Some Creativity After All

So I decided to take another stab at digital scrapbooking and this is what I came up with. I was putting it together while watching "Just Like Heaven" with my family. My dad peeked over my shoulder and asked what program I was using. I hesitated before admitting to using paint and powerpoint. I don't have any of that fancy stuff and I was much to lazy to download some sort of free rip off or something. Besides, I like experimenting. And it didn't turn out half bad, right?

I love this picture. I came across it as I was stealing old photos and things from my mom (and when I say stealing I mean scanning with permission). This is a picture of my mom with her grandpa, Jackson. She talked to me a little bit about the memories she has associated with this picture. That's one reason I love going through my mom's old photos: I get to hear stories I haven't heard before and I get to put faces to familiar names.

I'd like to know your thoughts on my scrapbooking attempt. You even have permission to make fun of me for using paint as a resource :) I think it's kind of funny. Have a great day!!!