love love love all over her face

My friend Emily made a blog post about this song and I feel like it's a good one for me to listen to right now.

I have dropped out of BYU for the time being and I am back in Greensboro indefinitely. I don't really know whether or not I will return to BYU, or transfer somewhere closer to home, like UNCG.

I have my reasons for being home. I am trying to make the best of my time here. As of right now, I am registered for winter classes at BYU, but again - we'll see. I am taking this time to work on healing myself. To work on becoming a better person, to work on feeling better about myself as a person. To fix the things I don't like, and to embrace the things I do. To lose myself in the service of others. To figure out what I want out of my life on this earth. To start working towards that, whatever it may be.

You may not understand what is going on, but just know that it is good.

just came here to say...

i've hit my 20 lbs mark! woohoo! only 80 more to go...

Oh look, it's 4 a.m. again...

So, today will be my 8th day of school (it already feels like I've been in school much longer...uh-oh) and I can confidently say that it is going quite well. I really love all of my classes. I was a bit worried about my French class because I am now in INTERMEDIATE french (ooh la la) but I talked to my teacher and he seemed to think I am in a good position to do well in the class and I seem to think that I'm in a good position to do well in the class so it must be so. I LOVE having late classes! I am never taking morning classes again! Here are the things I love about my classes: I took AP stats in high school, so my statistics class is a cinch! Which is awesome. My french class is small and the people seem to be really great. I am currently working on reading the Book of Mormon in french. My sociology class - current social problems - is wonderful. I am a nerd and I love discussing the root causes of problems like racism, sexism, classism...every -ism you could possibly name. love it. My art history class is great! I remember a lot of the works from when I took AP art history in high school, and my teacher is a little dry but from what I hear his class is the easiest art history class. My LDS marriage and family class is pretty cool too. I like learning about doctrine in regards to marriage in the LDS church... since I grew up in a non-lds home, a lot of the things taught are new and exciting concepts to me! i can't wait to get married! (just kidding. if anything the class makes me feel woefully inadequate/like i am never going to get married.)

let's see, let's see. I officially am obsessed with online shopping. I need to quit. Also I need a job to support this awful habit of mine. I'm a sucker for the deals, what can I say.

Oh! I made a recent large purchase. It's a ... wait for it... NETBOOK. What is a netbook, you might ask? Well, let me tell you. It is the cutest computer in the history of mankind! It is teeny tiny and lightweight and PERFECT for taking notes in class! I adore my netbook. It's the best purchase I've ever purchased ever. I bought a HP mini. It's great. Seriously great.

Okay well, I don't know if I've formally introduced you, my readers, to my new roommates. So here goes:

Brittany #1, also called Taylor Swift: Brittany is a junior at BYU, is tall, beautiful, and SINGLE (if you are a boy reading this you should definitely get on that) and obsessed with Disney. She worked at Disneyworld this past summer and she also has a crush on Zac Efron.

Nadine: Nadine is British. She's from Preston, England and I love her a lot. I imitate her accent on the daily and our apartment has dubbed Mondays as "Nadine day" where we all talk in British accents all day when we're around her. She pretends to hate it but she actually loves it. Nadine spent her summer in Ghana volunteering at an orphanage. Nadine is waiting on a hottie missionary who only has 11 months left on his mission! Yay!

Laura: Laura is really cool! She's artsy and dresses in a bohemian-inspired style. Laura is a returned missionary and served her mission in San Fernando, California Spanish Speaking. She is super sweet and loves to give hugs. She just transferred to BYU from Utah State.

Brittany #2, also called Butters: Butters is petite and sweet and funny. Her laugh is out of this world and she is the most precious human being on the planet. Butters also served a mission, in the same mission as Laura! They were never companions, but they lived together for a transfer. Butters is adorable and has many friends.

Nicole: Nicole is my room roommate and she has incredible amounts of stuff. She loves animals (current pet count: 2 fishbowls, 1 aquarium, a turtle, and 2 rats) and she is obsessed with Star Wars. She even has a real live lightsaber! She also loves music and has a keyboard and four guitars.

So basically I have the coolest roommates ever, you should all be jealous, etc. I've been super busy but I am truly happy and excited for what's to come this semester. I'll make sure to update if anything important happens.... haha.

Catch ya on the flipside...

LJ

Baby I Like It

Okay so apparently I only make blog posts at 4 am. Why am I awake? No idea. So today was my first day of classes. They were great. I am excited about all of them, although I can already tell that this is going to be my hardest semester thus far and I'm gonna have to work my tail off. It's worth it though. Straight As this semester? Oh heck yeah. Aaaaanyways. Last week, I really wanted some southern food. The kind that warms your heart. The kind that is so bad for you it's good. So my old roommate Rosalia (she's from Louisiana) and I decided to make a sunday dinner together of some good old fashioned southern home cooking. And it was a complete success. Everyone's plates were completely cleared by the end of it...and there were nine people there. Yeah, if that's not a success I don't know what is. This experience helped me in my domestic goddess-ship. I can do anything. Anyways, if you can't tell, my life is wonderful right now. The southern food hit the spot, I'm taking awesome classes, my ward is the best, I have great friends, etc. Oh and I lost 12 pounds in a week, despite the Southern food. Can I get a heck yeah? HECK YEAHHHHH!

On to the picture portion of this post:

3 lbs of fresh green beans. It took me like an hour, no seriously, an HOUR to snap the ends off of all those babies.

Cooked the right way. Bacon and onions and chicken stock. so delicious. they smelled like home and made me a little homesick, I can't lie.

Fried okra. a.k.a. my favorite food in the whole universe. The universe is a pretty large place, ya know.

Homemade mashed potatoes. The kind with two sticks of butter and real cream. Paula Deen would be proud. This picture sucks but I assure you, they were great.

In addition to these three wonderful meal items, Rose made homemade baked beans and also sausage. Delicious. I didn't get pictures of those though unfortunately.

This is my roommate Brittany. She enjoys wearing footie pajamas and licking lollipops.

This is me, 12 pounds lighter.

and this is the biggest zucchini I've ever seen.

OH and I forgot. I decided to go by LJ this year. It's been a success switching over. I got tired of people saying, "Oh, your name is Linda? You know, Linda means pretty in Spanish." Okay cool story I've heard it a million times go away. I harbor a certain vitriol for people who tell me. Obviously I'm not stupid, I took four years of Spanish in high school and my mom has been telling me SINCE I WAS BORN what my name means. Seriously shut up. So anyways, to avoid that drama, I decided to start going by LJ. Also Linda is a boring and old-fashioned name and I am neither of those things. Plus this year is my new beginning as a sane person. I mean, new beginnings, a new camera, and a new name. You can't beat that.

Until next time,
LJ

You really got a hold on me

Okay, I admit it. I. love. going back to school. I am so excited. I feel like I've had my mental refreshment period and now it's time to get back to business. In order to prepare for said business, I covered some notebooks in fabulous scrapbooking paper to give them a unique look:

I'm pretty proud actually. I'm taking five classes this semester: Current Social Problems, the first half of Art History, Statistics, LDS Marriage and Family, and French. I am most excited about Current Social Problems and most worried about French. At least I have that cool French notebook up there to take notes in.
I got a new camera. It's a Nikon D70 and it is already my child. I won't let it out of my sight. Seriously. I'm still learning how to use it but I've taken a few good pictures with it thus far.

This fish. I don't know it's name but I'm sure it has one.


Our turtle Aayla.

My new roommate Brittany

Anyways, those are just a few of the pictures because I'm too lazy to put them all here. But I am pretty pleased. So yeah. Oh! The other day I got to go to a She & Him concert...FOR FREE! It was so great! Best concert EVER. Except I forgot my camera so I have to wait for my old roommate Sydni to upload the pics of us.

Adieu!

You don't even want to know what time it is

So, it is late. like 4:41 am late. The kind of late where it's so late it's early. I hate being up this late. Unfortunately I am the most productive at this hour. For instance, tonight I did the dishes, I watched Man vs. Wild (a shirtless man surviving in the wilderness with nothing but his backpack and his own two hands is so hot for some reason), and I moved some of my stuff into THE BIG BEDROOM. This is in all caps because it's been a long time coming, this event. I have been envious of THE BIG BEDROOM since I moved into Centennial Apartments, and now it is mine! I feel so triumphant. However, just like every time I move, I find myself wondering why I have so much CRAP. Seriously what is my problem, I can't throw away anything. Everything is sentimental. I guess I'm just a sentimental person, and that's okay. What is not okay are the boxes and boxes of junk that I have accumulated. I have dubbed tomorrow "throw everything away" day. I am going to go through my junk and keep the good stuff and throw away everything else. I need to stop holding onto those pants from three years ago that I keep around on the off chance that I will lose weight and fit into them again. Seriously Linda. It's okay to let go. Honestly the more I think of it, I have a hard time letting go of anything. If I do say so myself, I'm pretty good at forgiving and forgetting. But when it comes to letting go of people in my life, or letting go of sentimental items, I fail horribly. And you know, maybe that isn't such a bad thing (the people part). Sometimes though, it's exhausting. It's hard when you never stop caring about this person that you met once that time you were at that party and you hit it off. It's even harder when it's someone you were close to once and you grew apart. What's hardest is when the other person has let go of you completely, so it's just you and your heart full of care thinking about that person who couldn't care less about you. But sometimes it pays off to care so much. Because there are people who appreciate this gift (and curse) that you have. There are people who love you because you put your whole heart into everything you do, into all of your friendships. These people are the ones who make caring worth it.

la vie en rose

i like singing in french.

Kathy's Fabulous Bachelorette Party

So, last Sunday, my roommate Tippe and I were talking to Kathy, a girl in our ward who is very sweet but a little shy, very eloquent, intelligent, and sometimes a little awkward. We knew Kathy was getting married, so we asked her the obligatory questions -- how excited are you? are you nervous? did you have a bridal shower? did you have a bachelorette party?
What?! NO BACHELORETTE PARTY?! WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO. So then we crafted a brilliant plan.

The first part of our plan was to call Kathy and say we are taking her out to a celebratory dinner on Thursday night -- this was so she wouldn't make plans for that night. Then, we went shopping and found some fabulous accessories - a sash that said BACHELORETTE and had pink sparklies on it and a kid's dress up bridal veil. We found decorations -- caution tape that said "caution: bachelorette party. danger: wild women.", and a big banner that said BACHELORETTE PARTY. We called the bishop's wife and asked if we could have it at their house. We called around and found people who were willing to come and bring snacks. We made a super secret facebook invitation. We photoshopped Nathan (Kathy's fiance) and Kathy's faces onto Disney Princess coloring pages for a fun activity to do while at the party. We bought margarita mix and pina colada mix and daiquiri mix, with sprite and ginger ale to mix into it. We were ready.

So on Thursday, we showed up at Kathy's apartment. We drove around a little bit, stopped to get gas, and I received a very interesting phone call from the "bishop" (actually Sydni) saying I had left something at his house. "Oh, Kathy, do you mind if we stop at the Bishop's house? I accidentally left some of my work stuff there and I need it before tomorrow." "No problem!" So we headed to the bishop's house and I said, "Oh Kathy, do you want to come inside with me? You can say goodbye to the bishop for the very last time." "Oh, that's a good idea," she said.

SURPRISE! Happy bachelorette-ness, Kathy! The whole plan went off without a hitch. Kathy had scheduled her cleaning check for that night, so a bunch of us went to her apartment to help her pass the check, then came back and partied. We colored pictures, we talked, we chatted, we heard about Cinder-Edna and we drank our "mocktails". In short, a good time was had by all .

AND I TOOK PICTURES, OF COURSE:

the banner and caution tape


some of the coloring pages (Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Mickie and Minnie)


the blushing bachelorette in veil and sash


the awesome party planners! (tippe and I)

second post in one day, just because...

today i feel pretty. and that is a rare feeling (my fellow girls can sympathize)! but i wanted to make a post so i can say "i was pretty that day" or "today might not be my day, but there are days when i'm pretty." i apologize for being a little vain.

Back in Provo!

I am back in Provo! I saw not one, not two, but three rainbows on the drive from Morgan, UT to Provo... a sign that I am definitely supposed to be here! So far I've been pretty lazy while I have been here...I finished up my very first embroidery project.


it was an apron! that i embroidered for mckenna's wedding gift. it was the first time i ever embroidered anything so I am quite proud of it.


the big monogrammed M was made out of french knots, which look like little roses close up:


while i was still in greensboro, i tie dyed t-shirts with my sister and cousin:



and I played checkers with my brother:



and he beat me. badly.

Anyways, I am getting excited for school to start! I was able to qualify this year again for independent status, so hopefully I will get a good amount of financial aid. Here's to the 2010-2011 school year!

Sorry guys, no time to update in my BUSY life. :)

I've been spending a lot of time catching up with old friends, playing with recipes, and also making more crafts. I finally finished my letter L to hang up in my room!


I used an antique book that was falling apart -- had no cover, etc. and ripped up the pages.

In other news, my cousin Tiffany has moved into my mom's house. It's been interesting... but we've been looking for the ideal paint color for the walls. Haven't found it yet! Oh but I took some pictures of her as well as of Luke and Eli, Jan's grandkids.

Luke

Tiffany

Eli

Babysitting Takes A Toll...

So this week, I babysat. and babysat. and babysat. and when I was tired of babysitting, I babysat some more. And it's funny because really, I only babysat for about 20 hours. But man, kids are hard! I love taking care of kids, and there are those moments where you just realize how wonderful and perfect and innocent and sweet they are - for instance, one of the little boys said, "Linda, I love your beautiful face. It's just BEAUTIFUL." He's four! And not to mention, I live for those cuddles and hugs and kisses and compliments and cute words. But then there are those other moments, like when a kid has diarrhea and he's screaming and you just changed his diaper for the 10th time and you have no idea how to make him feel better and you want to cry because there is nothing you can do. Or those moments where the kids make you feel bad - I put one of the boys in time-out and he said, "You're evil! You're breaking my heart! I don't deserve this!" - Same four year old, by the way. Babysitting makes me nervous because I feel like it is pretend parenting -- and sometimes, you just don't feel adequate. I get scared, like -- would I ever be a good mom? I don't know. I hope so.

Summer Squash

One of my favorite summer vegetables is yellow squash. Delectable, sweet, a little crunchy... yum. My mom's boyfriend, George, has a friend at work who farms summer squash, and surprise surprise, we got a ton of it for free! So I decided to try out this recipe from the fat-free vegan kitchen! It's super simple - you slice some squash (I used three small yellow squash), slice some onion (I used half of a large vidalia onion), and spray a baking sheet with fat free cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 425, and put all the squash on the baking sheet. Sprinkle the onions on top, and if you want, lightly garnish with salt, pepper, and garlic. Then pop it in the oven for 15 minutes. Take it out, flip the squash, and cook for another 15 minutes. Presto! Delicious yellow squash in 30 minutes. I love this recipe because it's easy, tasty, and filling, not to mention only 77 calories per serving. I ate it with a small salad -- I just tossed romaine lettuce, chopped cucumbers, ranch dressing (hey -- this is the south), and a sprinkle of cheese, but I imagine it would be a great side dish to some grilled chicken. Yum.

North Carolina's Very Own Domestic Goddess

I am in the wonderful (and humid, and very hot) state of North Carolina! It was a long drive, but so worth it. Liisa Mecham's friend Jennifer was kind enough to give me a ride to Moab, where Liisa and her family live. Four days, 5 kids, 1 Liisa, 1 Linda, 5 million cheez-its/fruit snacks, 2 family visits, 2 hotel stays, 500 side-of-the-road bathroom stops (poor Alex and his teeny bladder) and 2000 sweaty miles, I was home. So far I've been bouncing back and forth between my mom's house and Jan's house, visiting friends, watching movies, and the past few days -- crafting! My best friend Rachel and I went to Michael's Craft Store today. I picked up $40 worth of craft supplies!! Dang. But alas, I am content. I am a domestic goddess. I taught myself how to embroider. I taught myself how to decoupage. I taught myself how to sew buttons. I even taught myself how to do French knots. I rule.

i have also been playing around with smoothie recipes! yum.

Au revoir!

This week, my first year at BYU draws to a close...

As of this week, I have been in Provo, UT for an entire year. Isn't it crazy how quickly time passes? I have finals this week... Today, Monday, I have to go take a physiology exam. Then tomorrow I study study study, and Wednesday, I take my physiology and intro to public health finals. Thursday, at 8 a.m. I get picked up by Liisa Mecham's friend Jennifer, who is driving me to Moab. And from Moab, we begin the long haul to North Carolina! Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!

Nothing is Happening

Not much is really going on, but I just dropped by ye olde blog to say that I am headed home to NC in ELEVEN days!!!!!!! I can't wait! I talked to my siblings on the phone the other day and I was ready to hitchhike across the US just to see them again. I'm pretty sure my brother Hunter is the cutest small human being on the entire Earth, and my sister Katie is the sweetest/funniest. I enjoy my siblings so much that I feel like I probably shouldn't even have my own small human beings in the future, because these ones are fine, even though eventually they'll be big human beings. Hunter picked up the phone and said, "LINDA. Did you miss me?" and I laughed and said of course and he said " YEAH, well I haven't seen you in many days. A LONG TIME. MANY DAYS, LINDA." It was so cute I could've cried. He then told me he hated school, had no friends, and that he was too busy to talk to me anymore but that he loved me very much and that he was excited to see me soon. Most. precious. human. being. on. earth. Katie's favorite thing to do on the phone with me is brag about her good grades/test scores. She's a little smarty and I can't believe she's gonna be in 6th grade next year! Anyways my point is I have the best most precious cutest siblings ever and I love them!

OLDIE PICTURES:Katie and I, circa 2007 or maybe 2006

Hunter and I, also circa 2007 or 2006

ANYWAYS my point is they are perfect and I love them and also, NC here I come!

Guess what this weekend is...

My birthday! I'll be 19!

Here is me as a baby:

me 10 years ago:
and me now:

happy birthday to me :)

I have been thinking seriously about deferring fall semester. I need a break from school. I am tired. I am not just tired but I am weary. All I want to do is to sleep. I feel like I've been carrying around this huge weight on my shoulders, this huge burden of stress, and I am at the point where I cannot move forward any longer. Being mentally exhausted is much worse, from my perspective, than being physically exhausted. I am completely worn down. School is hard and I feel like I am breaking under all the stress. Finals are coming up in 2 and a half weeks for spring term and I feel like I haven't learned anything because I've just been so tired. So as of right now, my plan is to come back here in August, and find a full-time job, and just work. Do menial tasks and let my brain rest. Because I am tired. I am really, really tired.

Love to all :)
Linda

I got my hair cut last week by the fabulous Josalyn! She's great.
This is me and her, fall semester at a BYU game:

Anyways...here it is...the new hair:

Other than that, nothing is really going on. My 19th birthday is two weeks from Sunday! I can't believe I've been out here in UT for almost a year...It'll be a year at the beginning of June! Crazy, huh? I moved downstairs into an apartment, so I have one roommate, named Sam. We get along really well and we're both pretty messy and laid-back so we don't get on each other's nerves. I'm still really close with my old roommates and I go visit them all the time. It's crazy to reflect on how many new friends I've made this year. It is also crazy to think about how many friends I have serving missions currently: Sam - Trujillo, Peru; Cory - Antofagasta, Chile; Matt - Tucson, Arizona; Juan - Las Vegas, Nevada; Ricky - Anchorage, Alaska; Tommy - Oaxaca, Mexico; Tyler - California; Jarett - California; Ethan - Baltimore, Maryland; Grant - Chihuahua, Mexico; Cameron - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
CRAZY. That is a lot of people, and I know of many more going out in the next few months. Exciting!

I got my grades for last semester! A-, B-, and two C+s. They could've been better, but they also could have been worse. I'm okay with them for now. So far I've been in spring classes for a week! I'm taking Missionary Preparation, Introduction to Public Health, and Human Physiology. It's definitely a full load but I know that if I apply myself I'll get straight As this term. The hardest part so far has been waking up for my physiology class -- it's at 10 a.m. For most people that is no big deal, but I have THE HARDEST TIME getting up before noon, no matter when I go to bed the night before. When I try going to bed early (10-11ish), I toss and turn all night long. So it's either not be well-rested or not rest long enough...I just can't win. During this term I'm going to be working about 12 hours a week....not bad! My mission prep class is amazing! I love it. That's really all that's going on here...

Linda

La Fin du Semestre

Well, it's that time again folks....finals week. This semester passed by so quickly! I can't believe it's already over. It's sad. I feel like I've learned a lot in the last year though. I have been through the gauntlet as far as medical issues are concerned, and I came out a little bruised but generally okay. I learned how it really feels to be independent. I learned more about my own capacity to do things -- like fixing food for myself, going grocery shopping for myself, and most importantly asking others for help when I need it. It's been a rough school year, physically, emotionally, and financially, but you know what? I'm alright. And maybe I won't get into med school because my grades suffered this year, and maybe I'll have to adjust my plans for the future, but that's okay. I don't feel like I've screwed up. I've just learned. Learned and gained experience, which, after all, is the point of this life here on earth.

The rest of this week is going to be busy. I have my French Final at 7 am Friday. I have a few review sessions to attend tomorrow, as well as some Thursday morning. I work Thursday from 3-9 and Friday from 5-9. Life feels good right now. Working, finishing up classes, everything. Things are finally falling into place for me and that is a wonderful feeling.

Spring classes start the 27th -- in two weeks! After that, it's straight to NC -- I couldn't be more excited.

Love,
Linda

Still Ill

So lately I've felt really ill. Everyday I am exhausted and just plain worn out from doing nothing. I've also had headaches and a persistent sore throat, and so I've been pretty sure that I've had mono these past few weeks, but I'm too cheap to see a doctor (I'm broker than broke right now). Even though I've missed a million classes and a ton of material I still feel pretty confident when it comes to my classes this semester. In chemistry, I should be able to pull a B (probably a B-), a B in French, a B in PdBio 120, and an A?? in International Health. Not too shabby, and compared to last semester - downright fabulous. I know I can do better though, and I honestly think that being really homesick has a lot to do with me feeling ill. I'm not saying I'm depressed, but at the same point, I think I am, somewhat. I miss my siblings and I am stressed all the time -- which definitely contributes to my physical and mental wellbeing. You can only be stressed for so long before it starts to wear on you. I am in need of a break, and so I have decided to take one. For the month of July I will be going home to NC, living with my "second mom" Jan, and getting a little break from being so dang stressed constantly. I feel pretty fragile, in all honesty, mentally and physically, just because of finances and school. A friend of mine's facebook status stated the following: BYU, where your best just isn't enough since 1875, or something along those lines. It's hard, really really hard. What makes things harder is being so far away from everything and everyone I hold dear. If you know me, you know that I am a worrier. I fret easily and often, about small things and big things. It's part of who I am. And although I don't necessarily feel that I am needed at home, I worry about the things that happen while I'm gone, whether they're positive or negative. I worry that my siblings don't know how much I really adore them. I worry that something bad will happen to someone I love dearly (even the little things scare me. Skipper got a staph infection and had to have surgery last week and all I wanted to do was come home and be there, even if there was nothing I could do.). I miss my dang cat. I miss being in a family ward and feeling like I had a family. I miss not having to worry about paying rent, utilities, tuition, grocery bills, medical bills, loans....I hate feeling powerless when I don't have money. My car broke down and there is nothing I can do about it. My computer crashed and there is nothing I can do about it. My health is subpar and there is nothing I can do about it. Anyways, I just feel like going home for a little while will do me a lot of good. Kind of like when I went to missouri that one summer, except opposite. Here's to finals and things working out alright!

Gooood Weekend

This weekend my best friend Megan came down from Logan, UT. We were both pretty broke, and worried about what we could do for cheap. Friday night, we went to our friend McKenna's bridal shower (she's getting married in June). Then, we picked up The Princess and the Frog and New Moon at redbox. We went home to my apartment and watched those and then fell asleep. Saturday, we got up and drove to Spanish Fork, UT for the Hare Krishna Holi Festival of Colors. It was awesome!


This video shows what it was like to be in the crowd. The color cloud lasted for about two minutes, and it was very fun but inhaling the chalk was not so fun. When we blew our noses, our boogers were purple. We got a kick out of that. After the color festival, we went to our friend Lorraine's house, watched The Errand of Angels, and slept over. This morning, we got up, went to church, and went to Megan's roommate Reannon's house for dinner and to drop Meg off, because Reannon was her ride back to Logan. All in all, a very eventful weekend.

Here's some pictures from the past couple weeks:

my roommates, amberlea and aubrey, and i dancing to irish music at a St. Patrick's Day Party.


the HUGE bonfire at aforementioned party.


myself with a bunch of gents. as you can tell, i am clearly popular with the men.


a baby bonfire that we had up in the canyon.


one of the bridal shower games was to make a gown out of toilet paper - ours won.


our gown, the bride-to-be judge, and the competition


we also made masks - the bride to be is very into theater.


we celebrated with martinellis.


a few weeks ago, we had a church date night that was superhero-themed. my partner and i went as teenage mutant ninja turtles - donatello and michelangelo.


the temple was beautiful. and there were SO MANY PEOPLE.


crazy amounts of people.


seriously beautiful building. and it was a great day also, weather-wise.


here we are all clean, taking a shuttle bus to the temple.


and here we are after a couple hours. this was before the big color cloud though - i didn't really take pictures of that.

the end!