The Ball of Winter. Whoo!

December 14 was Deer Valley High School's  WINTER BALL. A night to wear a beautiful dress, get your hair done, your makeup done, your nails done, and to have a time to feel gorgeous.

All of which I hate.

Sooo.. I was set on not going. It's not my thing. But Jason and I were talking about it, and we were looking at the pro's and con's, and we realized that this would be Jason's and Gina's very last year, and this would be the last chance that we'd have to go to a formal dance like this together. And Jason also promised to save me a slow dance. :D Awww! Hahaha

So three days before Winter Ball, I got my ticket. I got my dress the next day, and my accessories the day after that. Those three days were torture. Trying things on... Comparing colors and contrasts... Looking at which shoes go with which nail polish... WHO CARES?! But apparently girls do... So I was stuck. But I ended up getting to "Jenna" it up - adding a bow tie, and a guy jacket in a girl cut. :D

The fortunate part was that my best friend did all of the girly stuff for me! I took a shower, and then I didn't see myself until I was completely ready. Talk about a difference. Hahaha

I ended up having an absolute blast. I'm so happy I went, and it was fun to be with Jason and Gina. And yes, Jason and I got our dance in. :D So I ended up loving it. And whether I'll do it next year... I'm not sure. Hahaha, without Jason, I don't have much of a motivation.

And we did take some fabulous pictures... :D

A picture says a thousand words.

 Our only normal picture. :D

  She fixes him.

 He fixes her.

 Haley gets a picture, too!

 My creator. :D (Who is wearing heels, I'm not that short.)

UTAH! ONCE AGAIN!

So I took a fabulous trip to the ever loved (aka, my second home) UTAH! T'was just as amazing as I had hoped. I knew it wouldn't fail me. It never does. It's Utah. SOO, while there, I had an amazing time with GRANDMA and GRANDPA. On Sunday the whole family came down and the was PHENOMENAL. The family learned about Cydie. That was indeed a fun story to tell, and of course I broght Cydie to the most majestic thing that happened on Monday... I had the most FABULOUS of EFY reunions! Dah! Only about half the group was able to come, BUT STILL! It was extravagant. And Tuesday morning, I was hit so lovely with the sick bug.

I really don't know what's up with me getting sick in Utah, but yeah, it happened again.

So I threw my guts up about three times that day, and somehow miraculously became good e

nough to fly home! Without throwing up on the plane at all! I was proud of my stomach. Insomuch that when I felt better, it was rewarded handsomely. Too handsomely looking back now actually... But that's ok! It was sooo amazing.

And one of my favorite parts of the whole trip was the COLD!! That was too fabulous for words. Sunday, I stepped outside and, to my most highest delight, found some snow still on Grandma and Grandpa's yard! I ran quickly and made and snowman, name him Conquestielmo. He was gorgeous. I fell in love. :D

This was only about half of the group that actually came... and Cydie's missing. :(

Conquestielmo.

Yes on Proposition 8!

So proposition 8 is this huge deal that's going on in California. It says that marriage is only between a man and a woman. So obviously, we're for that. Our ward, as an activity, decided that with the youth, we would take a Saturday out and wave "Yes on 8" banners and posters and such. We had a HUGE group go. We had 50 people and we completely covered all four corners of an intersection. We were out there for at least an hour. We had a lot of support and, yes, there were some negative things, but it was light and the support was a lot more than not-so-much-support! I had an absolute BLAST! It was so much fun! I put on a banner as a shirt and I was dancing around. Hahaha, not to mention that the weather that day was GORGEOUS!! It was the first overcast and rainy day we've had so far. It made the whole deal so much better when we got rained on. :D

WATCH THIS VIDEO!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dISXHuVa2uM

Jason and I out there supporting!

Heck yessss.

Spontaneity = Disneyland

So our family decided to take a weekend off. And we didn't just go to the movies. Why do that when you're as spontaneous as us? We had to keep it interesting. So we set out to go to DISNEYLAND.

Well, our friends were getting married in the San Diego temple, so my parents thought that they should go, bring the kids, and go to Disneyland after the wedding! We left right after Dad got home from work, got there at about 2 in the morning, woke up the next day at 7 and went to the San Diego temple, went to Disneyland straight after that until 12am, then drove the whole day Sunday back home. It was definitely a great idea! I absolutely loved the whole trip! Oh, and for those of you who don't know, Gina is my other sister, and treated as such. Which is why she came with us. :D

Outside the San Diego temple. Man it was beautiful.

The picture us kids took outside the temple. We call it our "TV show" picture because it looks like the cover of a show we should be on!

Them teenagers with Mary Poppins! I love her!

Outside of Disneyland! (Yes, this was taken at night)

The Ball of Volley.

Yes, t'is the beginning of the year, which means VOLLEYBALL.

All Day. Every Day.

But this year is sooo much different from last year! I am absolutely IN LOVE with my team this year. Everything we do together is an absolute blast. And not to mention that we play like BEASTS out on the court! My closest friends are all on the team with me, which is probably why I love it so much. We've been doing very well, and having a lot of fun while we're doing it. At the beginning of the season, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to try-out or not. But I'm so glad that I did! I know I was meant to! The Lord knew better than I did!

Go Deer Valley!

The big story in my volleyball life this year is my fantastic BLACK EYE.

Yes! You read correctly! I got an AMAZING black eye from practice one day when my middle blocker elbowed me hardcore right in the eye. It left the most amazing battle scar that I've ever had in my life! I was so happy! She felt bad, but I loved it! It made me look way intense. :D

We actually call our team the cursed team. I DEFINITELY was not the only one to get hurt. One of our middle blockers got two sprained ankles (one at different times, each one once), We got a cracked jaw, a broken thumb, a slightly sprained ankle, tendinitis in the shoulder, disconnected knees, jammed fingers, COUNTLESS bruises/scratches (mainly from diving), and many smacks from the volleyballs. 

Just because we're in spandex doesn't mean we don't get nasty.

I still think it's beautiful. :)

Random News.

School started. That was fun. Except for the school part. The big tenth grader this year. Jason a Senior, which is weird. and Haley is a big fifth grader!

Matt and Lori visited and that was PHENOMENAL. As always.

Having fun this year, not much going on. But I'm planning on auditioning for the musical! Yayy!

UTAH!

Which means - Birthday, BYU Volleyball Camp, Family Reunion, and EFY!!!

So basically,

Birthday.

I'd say one of the most fabulous of birthdays I've ever had. I celebrated my big 1-5! Whoo! It started the day before at Grandma's house celebrating with the family. That was fabulous! A dinner with my family and then present-opening downstairs with Mummy, Papa, and Siblers! My official birthday, however, was spent at BYU Volleyball Camp, alone in my dorm room throwing up with what we believed was a virus going around. Gee whiz. But it was so much fun with my friends! Even though I was sick! I loved it! :D

Birthday with my friends at the mall!

Birthday with the cousins at Grandma's!

Next, 

BYU Volleyball Camp.

Throw up. Sleep. Random pictures. Dorm-room. That's about all that came up with that. I got sick the very first day, and was in bed until the very last day. It was a blast! LUCKILY my room just happened to be the one closest to the bathroom. What are the odds? But I still had so much fun! And a special thanks to Kara (my roommate) for putting up with my sickness the whole week! Whoo!

Before the illness struck...

... After the illness struck.

Then,

Family Reunion.

T'was beyond fantastic for what I was there for! I missed the first day due to BYU Volleyball Camp, but I think all they did was go to dinner or something. Seeing everybody was AMAZING! Not to mention how incredible going to the Alpine Slides basically every day, and staying in the absolute most fabulous house that I've ever stayed in my entire life. I would live there without a moment's hesitation. My little cousins were the most fun to hang out with! They all fell in love with my hats and glasses and such and took MANY pictures with them! They were quite entertaining indeed. :D I wish I could post all the videos I took with those little ones! Jason and I also got a caricature done. That was fun! All of it was!

And lastly,

EFY.

Phenomenal. Inexplicably phenomenal. Nay! Phenomenal is an UNDERSTATEMENT! If it was possible to truly have heaven on Earth, it was this week. Something too great to express into any string of English words imaginable. The people, the session director, the friends, the compliments, the fun, and, my favorite, THE SPIRIT! Holy dang! Going to two EFY's this year was something too great for words. I believe I had the greatest group in the history of the world. With the greatest counselors and all! Every single little thing about that week was too great to even describe. I wish I could describe it! But I just can't! Just know that it truly was the greatest week of my life. I'm too blessed. I love the Lord more than anything else!

The guys and I with CYDIE! (My ever loved apple cider bottle)

The greatest EFY group known to man. GLORY OF THE MOON!

Golly Gee It's been a long time.

I'm so sorry! It's been just about forever and a day since the last time that I made a post! But I'm finally getting to it, so I'm going to catch up on super high speed right now! Unfortunately, I won't be able to make them as in depth, and I'm going to clump most of them together, but something is better than nothing! So here I go! :D

Memory Lane! Whoo!

Memory Lane... the tag that gets everyone involved. Got this from a few friends and I thought I would play the game. Here's how you play

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and i had together. it doesn't mater if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory of you. it's actually pretty funny to the responses. if you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to tag your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave me memory of you in my comments.

EFY!!!!

Before I begin, I will say that I know I skipped Girls Camp, but I don't have pictures from that yet, so I will wait. But right now...

EFY HAWAII!!! Oh my goodness. It was everything I could have ever wanted and more. It was absolutely flawless. I met the most incredible people, felt the most incredible spirit, and had the most incredible time! And I owe every good time I had to my absolutely beyond inexplicably phenomenal counselor Meg. :D I just get so happy thinking about her! She did so much for me it's crazy. I wouldn't even be able to explain it all on here. Just know that I love her oh so much and she's nothing less than an answered prayer and a miracle in my life! We took sooo many pictures together because we just couldn't find "the right one." Hahaha. We had these three random guys take so many pictures of us and we were laughing that they were probably really scared of us. Hahah. But we finally ended up on our favorite one! Which is the one below. :) But yeah, Meg is just like such a role model to me. I mean, you have not lived a complete life until you've met her. She's just too great for words!

Our picture! We finally both love it! Haha.

But yeah, so the whole experience was insanely spiritual. I got closer to Heavenly Father than I think I ever have before. It's absolutely fantastic. All of it. I'm so sad it's over! It went by way too fast. But now I'm so lucky that I get to go to EFY again in three weeks in Provo! Man, I can't wait. And with Allison, too! I just wish Meg could go... :( Then it would be perfect. :)

EFY was just too great of an experience to actually write about. I covered the basics. Just know that it was the greatest experience I've ever had. I didn't know if it could top last year, yet it did. I'm so grateful I got to go! Man I'm so blessed I can't even believe it.