roller coasters

Last week while in Disneyland I went on my first roller coaster. I know, I know, you must be thinking that I'm a pretty lameo 18 year old. I've never been kissed, been arrested, or gone on a roller coaster. I hear that I'm missing out. Anyways, I decided to face my lifetime fear and get on a roller coaster. Granted the rides at Disneyland aren't the most terrifying roller coasters in the world, but I was still dreading the experience. The night before we went, the only thing anyone could talk about was how excited they were to go to Disneyland the next day, and the only thing I could think about was how I was going to fake sick so I wouldn't have to go. But the time came, I decided I would rather face my fears then being left behind and I boarded the bus.
We went on Pirates first. My friends assured me that this was a slow boat ride that quietly drifts along, so when it went dark and the boat hit a steep drop, I stopped trusting my friends.
We decided to go on Splash Mountain next. Now I was really scared. I could hardly walk because I was shaking so hard. But I looked fear right in the face, okay maybe it was the knees because I was bent over with nerves, and got in that infamous log. All my friends cheered me on, but Kevin was especially comforting. He informed me that the scariest part of the whole ride would be the parts where the log slowly climbed up a vertical track. Everyone who's been on a roller coaster knows the unsettling feeling of being painfully dragged up a hill not knowing what's on the other side. So every time the little log would start to turn upward, Kevin would turn around and say, "Okay, be prepared to drop in 5,4, 3, 2, 1" Some of the times we didn't actually drop, but the time that we did, I held on to the side and tried to scream, unfortunately nothing came out, but I reached the bottom with a small smile on my face. I had done it, I had conquered my fear.
Right now I feel like I'm on a roller coaster being pulled upward. It's the end of high school, childhood, my home, everything. I've reached the end and it's dreadfully scary because I have no idea what to expect on the other side of the hill. All these end of year experiences have been bittersweet; fun and happy, but sad and foreboding. I feel change in the air. It's just right over the hump. Come June 4th life as I know it will be over and I'll be set free in the real world. And let me tell you, it's going to come extremely fast. I'm moving out of my home, then I'm off to India for a month, then off to college, which will be a whole new adventure. I'm really not ready to leave my friends, family, and room behind. I hope this period of not knowing is scarier than the actual adventures.
But the future is pulling at me slowly.... so... 5,4,3,2,1 HERE I COME!

I'm homeless

So it happened. My childhood home is no longer mine. I've had so many memories here. We moved to Uintah Circle when I was in 1st grade. So I've experienced grade school, middle school, and high school from my snug little room. When living in this house, I learned how to read and write, ride a two-wheel bike, shoot a basket, play the flute. I learned how to drive. I learned how to be a friend. I learned to appreciate Jack Beur and Michael Scott. I fell in love. I raised two goats, lots of fish and birds, a dog, a cat, and a sister. I came to love Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Stand By Me, and Half-baked ice cream. I learned how to read through the night without my parents noticing, thanks to my nifty flashlight and extra batteries hidden under my pillow. I learned who I was and where I wanted to go. I learned to tell stories here. I learned the borat voice. I learned how to touch my elbows to each other behind my back. I grew to know Harry Potter and Elizabeth Bennet. I came to understand injustices around the world. I learned how to be a good neighbor, even if it did cost us a 150 year old tree. I learned to ski. I learned to swim. I learned to run. I learned to laugh at myself. I learned to laugh at others. I learned to stand up for what I believe in. I learned to study hard. I learned German (kinda). I learned to organize. I came to love swimsuit running in snow. I loved "24" family home evenings. I loved delivering food to shut-ins. I loved young womens. Night games. Airsoft wars. Movies in the backyard. Secret rooms. Lighting hitting our house. The bath tub falling through the ceiling. The boxing matches between my dad and I. Me and Karen's dance parties. Yard makeover. Black and White party. My Fair Lady party. I was stretched in all different directions while living in this house. I would hardly recognize that small first grader who moved here 11 years ago.
I can't believe that when I come home from college I won't really be coming home. Sure we'll still have another house, but really, this is and forever will be my home.

My Crazy Parental Unit

My parents are crazy. Flat out. If they read this (which they probably will) they can confirm the facts. They are crazy and they know it. What kind of people say to themselves, "hey, if I rent a car and start driving I could get to San Francisco tomorrow for the protest?" or "Hey, they paved the road up to Mt. Everest base camp,so I want to be the first person to longboard down it!" ?? Well what kind of rash people do that?! None... but hey, my parents are... different.
Ah, lets start with a brief history of them. My mom was the editor of a magazine that she helped organize called Sunstone, one day she hired my dad. Ah, that's when the magic began. My mom was (still is) a crazy liberal, who transfered schools as often as she could... she went to like 5 colleges. My dad on the other hand, was just hard core crazy for the moment he was born. Too many stories for a short blog entry. Anyways... they meet...eventually get married... and take all the money that they got from wedding presents and moved to Africa. They had no jobs or connections, they just got on a plane and moved to Africa. They lived there, doing what they love to do... writing and taking photos. Then they moved back to New York City... had Jamie and I, then back to SLC to have the twins.
So they've been through quite their share of adventures... I would say. I've grown up with my mother telling my dad, "Mike, don't scare the children" almost right after he would start telling us stories. Oh the stories my dad tells. Once, he read out loud the TV guide and instead of telling about real plot summaries, he made up completely new tv shows. But when we said we wanted to watch the one he was describing, he would make up some excuse like, "oh we need cable to watch that one."
Two years ago, he said to my brother, "Let's go to Tibet" and they did. That's just the kind of dad my father is.
He goes longboarding, windsurfing, skiing, and the usual protest.
So the latest crazy thing my parents thought up happened Sunday. They came home from a nice drive in the neighborhood, and they call the real estate agent and wants to sell our house. They saw a house that they wanted to buy... and well... now I get kicked out for a few hours every day so people are come investigate our living space. But really, mom and dad, what are you thinking? Why would you want to buy an even bigger house?! I love our house, it's small, but cute. I've actually always been proud of the fact that I grew up in a house with only one bathroom and no air conditioning. I feel good about not having a big house... and here we are considering this house more than twice the size of our current one! I thought we always planned on downsizing instead of upgrading. I just think it's unnecessary to have a big house... why do we need it for? We don't even have furniture to fill it up? I think we could do much better things with the money that we are going to spend on buying and fixing up this new house.They say that they will sell the house in a few years and give the money to us to start our own families... but I kinda think that they are trying to justify buying an expense house. But hey, I could be totally wrong. Hey, I do love my parents and I think they are amazing... but really, is this what they really want? Hey, they can do whatever they want... but I think they might want to think this one through!
Anyways... I think they'll still be crazy no matter what I say!

High School Musical and such....

Two thoughts today:
The first one happened while I was at the SLC temple. Ah, let it be May... I witnessed 7 beautiful brides with their smiling grooms being received by crowds of family and friends. SEVEN! I was only there for about 40 minutes, and I saw 7 couples begin their journey towards eternal bliss (or something like it). Wow, people are getting hitched left and right. Oh boy in stake conference the SLC temple president spoke, and he said there were 74 marriages yesterday!
Second thought... why in the universe do people worship people who spend their life pretending to be other people? does that even have any merit? Ah, well not to be hypocritical or anything, but I've caught the High School Musical high and have signed up as an extra. I'm super excited to tell my grandchildren that not only was all the HSMs filmed at my high school, but I was actually in one!
Oh brother.... the problem with this blog is that I don't feel like I can write anything, unless it's terribly witty and makes everyone fall off their chairs laughing. So I haven't really written that much... and Miss Garfield hasn't either,( although now she actually has exciting stuff to say). As a result, this blog doesn't have very many entries.
Oh hey... announcement! I'm betraying everything I've believed in all of my life and heading down South.... the dreaded Utah county, for college. The "Lord's university" will never know what hit them!