All Hallow's Eve

This is the problem with Halloween. People dress up as terrorists. The picture at the left is of my brothers and their roommate. I think it's pretty fair to say that none of these boys will go on to work for the government. I will go ahead and blame it on the spirit of Halloween. One of my least favorite things to do is think of Halloween costumes. The singles ward supposedly has a rockin' Halloween party every year here at Tech, so I have been forced to contemplate a costume. I've got nothing ... and the dance is on Saturday. Booooooo. Maybe I'll go as an Assistant GM of a baseball team ...

The best part about Halloween is that it's another excuse to listen to Michael Jackson's Thriller. For those who aren't MJ enthusiasts like me, let me enlighten you. MJ's Thriller album still remains the best-selling album of all time. That's a fact. They've sold somewhere between 65 and 110 million copies of it worldwide. What the heck. Now that is something to celebrate. Check out the track listings for Thriller:

1. Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'

2. Baby Be Mine

3. The Girl Is Mine

4. Thriller

5. Beat It

6. Billie Jean

7. Human Nature

8. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

9. The Lady in My Life

Can you believe that seven of those nine tracks were released as singles!?! MJ never ceases to amaze me. So much talent, it's ridiculous. Speaking of talent, you should see me carve a pumpkin. As I sat at our pumpkin carving activity for the singles ward, I had no clue what I was going to carve. Then I received inspiration from across the table ... a girl from the ward had a I HEART NY shirt on. Classic. And even though I love New York, I decided to honor the San Francisco Giants this Halloween. I felt like they deserved it. Although, I want everyone to be clear that my favorite team of all time is the Seattle Mariners, and it always will be ... especially considering the current path that my career has taken ;)

I HEART SAN FRANCISCO ... And Giant pitcher Madison Bumgarner :)

Got to love the red eye.

I thought it turned out pretty nice.

I'm a Struggla

So if you know me, you probably know that I'm not one of those happy camper people that loves to get out and enjoy nature. Don't get me wrong, I love observing nature ... I just prefer it while I'm on a snowboard. But everyone around here is constantly inviting me to enjoy the great outdoors of southern Virginia ... an invitation to which I succumbed to this weekend. Please keep in mind that I haven't been camping since Young Womens ... unless the Jensen's RV counts. No, of course it doesn't count ... that is sleeping on a moving house. The shot to the right is of the bridge that led over to our campground. And the shot below is of the river that was right next to our campground. For some reason, it reminds me of the river from "O' Brother, Where Art Thou?". I know, very random.

So a bunch of us from the Singles Ward took to the woods to have a little camp out. We roasted hot dogs, ate s'mores, and played truth or dare until midnight. Good times. The location was beautiful and very picturesque. And thank the high heavens, there weren't many bugs.

The men got a pretty good fire going, so we didn't have to worry about heat ... until later. Once we finally got to bed, I realized why I don't camp very often. It was freezing. I was uncomfortable. I wanted to just shut myself up in my mummy sleeping bag, but apparently my body also needs oxygen along with heat. So I tossed and turned for about an hour, and then I fell asleep for what felt like a second. I woke up about three times over the course of the night ... Oh, how I love a good camp out. I was once again reminded of the fact that I would have been one of the mediocre pioneer women.

But even though I'm a wuss, I struggled through it ... and I had a good time. I got to know some really cool people in my ward, and I didn't die. So what more can you ask for? I can only figure that the more you do it, the more fun it gets. Maybe? One thing I'm sure of: the Lord will give me the Camp Leader calling one day, and I will just have to suck it up and deal with it. But lets be honest, I was made for the 21st century.

Trees and Turkeys

I feel like I am literally out in the woods here in southwest VA. On the way home from the ballpark the other day I almost hit a group of like 15 turkeys! And I'm pretty sure it's not called a "group" of turkeys. Actually, I'm not sure what it is called ... A flock? A herd? Whatever ... There were a lot of them, hopefully that is clear enough. So naturally I got out my camera and got a pic. Also, the leaves are changing, which means a bit more when there are trees everywhere you look. I took a picture of a tree that I see on my way to the ballpark. It is beautiful. It's glowing at me every time I drive by. I'm very thankful for fall. I'm thankful for the drop in temperature. I'm thankful for the colorful leaves. The only thing that I'm NOT thankful for is the dreadful holiday that is Halloween. If it weren't for adorable little children in cow costumes, I would say lets abolish it.

Caution: Turkey crossing

My special tree. This tree almost got me into a wreck ... twice.

Turkeys roaming the backyard.

Feliz Cumpleaños to you

I had to take a second to wish two of my favorite cousins a happy birthday. Eileen had hers on the 12th and Miranda's is tomorrow, October 14th. So naturally, I put up a birthday song by New Kids on the Block. Don't worry that I used to have a New Kids pillowcase that I practically worshiped. Hahaha. Anyway, that's beside the point. I just wanted them to know how much I love them both ... and I hope they have/had a fantastic day, because they both deserve it. They are two of the many great influences that I have in my life. Feliz cumple chicas :)

Another Taste of Chile ...

So I thought I would put up a few more pics from my retreat to Chile. It was a great chance to see Chile through the eyes of a tourist opposed to the eyes of a missionary. We hit up parties, concerts, the beach, and were able to shop in a relaxed state. I loved every minute of it. I continued to soak up the culture and learn everything I could about these people. They have so much pride in their country. It was great to experience their independence day as a normal "chilean". Haha. I can usually convince people that I am chilean while I'm there ... but my friend Amanda just can't fool them with the blond hair and the blue eyes :)

The Valparaiso tram thingy.

That is called a completo. Stuffed inside that homemade bread is a hot dog, diced tomatoes, and smashed avocado. Rico rico rico.

Rodeo ... Chilean style

This is Andrea and her two girls Karen and Romina ... Her husband was the Bishop of Las Condes when I served there.

Pia and Tomas eating some DELICIOUS empanadas. They were the best I have ever had, plain and simple.

When the lights go down in the city ...

In Valparaiso

This is where all the action happened. They sold shish kabobs, empanadas, sausages, and a whole lot of alcohol.

Preciosa.

Another snippet of the light show that happened downtown.

Coolest walkway ever ... at the Wulff Castle.

Perfect location for future vacation home. Yes, please.

So there was this hippie roping off sections of the beach so he could make these sand creations, and then he put out a towel to put donations on. Not a bad way to make a living, I guess.

The gang after we walked along the boardwalk in Viña.

One of my favorite people in the world. Dominique Gachon is one of the most amazing converts in all of Chile.

Some more of the Cueca

"Todos los Domingos" is a fantastic song. It basically means "every single Sunday" and it's a song about a guy trying to convince a girl to go to mass on Sunday. It was a party seeing it performed live.

This is what they do at the ward activities in Chile. They are dancing the cueca. The cueca is a dance that was created to model or mimic the courting ritual of a rooster and a hen. The way they stomp or kick their feet and wave their handkerchief over their head kind of looks like a rooster and hen. Very cool tradition.

Celebrating 26 years in NC

I couldn't think of anything more fun than spending my birthday with little Mercedes Olivia and her parents. So this past weekend I went down to Greenville and had a great time with my cousins. We chilled around the house for a couple days, then we took off to the Outer Banks. We stayed in Kitty Hawk, which, as many of you know, is the town where the Wright Brothers first flew. Richard was working up north in Corolla, so Eileen, Livi Girl, and I took some quality time to shop. The greatest find of the century was at Room Rack Shoes. I bought Livi some hot pink Converse All-Stars for $7.50. I also bought some gold Sperry boat shoes for $29.99 ... which was a fantastic deal. It successful weekend overall. Nothing wrong with a weekend of shopping, great food, and family.

Sissy decided that she wanted to cuddle with me for a few minutes.

The cutest BYU fan ever.

Sissy rocking the "Aunt Jemima" look.

Adorable.

A replica of the Wright Brothers flyer.

Amelia Earhart: "You haven't been able to take your cheaters off my chassy since we met."

Larry Daley: "I literally didn't understand a word you just said."

Great quote from Wilbur ...

Chillin' at the Memorial

Sissy and Eileen

Mercedes' new kicks

My new kicks. That's right, they're gold.

I love the skinny jeans with the All-Stars. Great combo.

The beach at Nags Head

Livi wanted to get into the water so bad. She's gonna be a surfer girl.

There weren't any guards on duty, and the waves were crazy.

She started waving to me right after she spilled water all over herself. Haha.

It rained over 2 feet in Greenville over the weekend. That was a car that I spotted on the side of the road. It made us a little anxious.

This was the way we were supposed to go home. Didn't happen.

I don't want to reveal too much, but this is Olivia's Halloween costume. So cute.

Dancing Queen