El Paso Adventure - Summer Paradise

I think my steam for posting kind'a died after Monday's big adventure. I haven't really taken anymore picture, but we have been haven more fun!

Last night (after I posted) we tried picking a movie to watch for the longest time, and when we finally picked A Cinderella Story - we got totally trolled! Kayla went to go put the DVD in, and guess what she found instead? Another Cinderella Story. You know? The crappy remake with Selena Gomez that is more about showing off her dancing than it is about good story? Needless to say, we were livid.

So we took awhile longer to find something, and decided on The Secret Garden. Guys. I love that movie so much. It is just everything pure and wonderful about my childhood. It is one of the only stories that I have a) Read the book, b) Watched the movie, and c) Seen the musical. And the musical! It really is my all-time favorite show. When my high school did it, I was still a sophomore, so I wasn't really lead-matitial, and only two sophomores actually got into the show. So instead, I volunteered for stage crew, because I just wanted to be apart of the show so badly. Maybe someday I will still get the chance.

Kayla fell asleep halfway into the movie (I guess my witty comments weren't enough to keep her awake.) But I stayed up, and once the movie was over, I crept away and listened to some of the musical sound trace before falling asleep. Some tears may have been shed...

Anyway, I feel bad, because my current sleeping schedule is so messed up, that I keep sleeping in really late and making Kayla wait for me to wake up. It means that half the day is gone before we get to do anything. This morning, however, Kayla and her family all had somewhere to be, so I guess me sleeping in was not all that bad. When they got back, we all went out to Peter Piper Pizza (they don't have it in my town, so for all those who don't know - it's a pizza buffet with a coin/ticket arcade) As you would expect any 19 year old girls to do, Kayla and I got ourselves $8 dollars worth of coins to play with. It was for her younger brother, of course...

Compared to other arcades I have been to, this one was kind'a a rip-off. The games didn't give nearly as many tickets, and more of them were games of chance, where you might win 100 tickets, but will actually get 3. One of the games did not even give me my tickets after I played! We thought it was jammed, but then some kid played after and he was fine. Figures. Then, there was this other kid who must have just pawns 20 bucks off his parents, because he had an arm full of coins and was just shoveling them into one of those chance games as fast as possible. All you had to do was press a button to drop a ball and see what numbered hole it landed in. All Kayla and I could do was stand back and watch as this kid kept hitting the 75 ticket and 100 ticket slot. It was ridiculous! We stuck three coins in that thing and only got, like, 35 tickets to show for it. This little goober walked away with 450 tickets!

But I guess we still got our moneys worth more than he did. Cuz I'd rather get tickets by playing something fun, then just wasting $20 on dropping a ball. I think the best game there, though, was Fruit Ninja. They had one of those giant touch screens you could play it on, and it actually gave a reasonable amount of tickets. I think the most we got out of that was 35 in one game. In the end, we got 215 tickets. Not bad for 8 dollars worth. Kayla said her family had enough random toys at their house, so I got myself a slinky and three jumping frogs. Her brother and I had a fun time trying to bounce the frogs into the slinky goal. He's like six years old. And so am I.

Later, after we'd been home from the arcade awhile, we all went swimming! I love to go swimming, but honestly, I never learned how to swim. I have gotten fairly good at this point, but still not great. We went over to the house of an older lady in Kayla;s ward. She has a pool, and I guess likes it let people in the ward use it a lot. But, only as long as her husband is not home...not really sure what that is all about. Maybe he hates loud kids. Anyway, we (meaning me, Kayla, her mom, and five of her siblings) hung out for like two hours and played different pool games. Man, I really sucked at all of them. The only reason I did not lose constantly, was because everyone would rather tackle their sibling than some random other girl. It was still lot's of fun though, and I got to talk some smack while losing at Shakes and Minos. Boom!

We went home and everyone kind'a crashed after swimming. We roasted hot dogs and s'mores over the fire pit for dinner, and I have to say - today was quite possibly the perfect summer's day. This trip has been so much fun, and I have loved getting to know Kayla's family. I am rather sad I will be leaving tomorrow. :( But than I can just head on to the next adventure!

Fair-faring, friends!

El Paso Adventure - Lazy Day

Yup. Today was a lazy day.

Not quite as much to report.

I woke up late and eat food. Kayla and I tried playing Mario, but when the level got too hard we decided to give up.

Instead, I played Thrillville for who knows how long. Too long, probably.

Than, we went and saw Tommorowland. Oh my beautiful goodness, that movie was so great. It was lovely and inspiring, and I came out of it feeling like the world was bright and the future was mine. I could do anything - until we went out to eat and now I am feeling fast-food lethargic. But what can you do, maybe I'll feel up to life tomorrow.

A sunset is always a sign of hope, like the last clear note 
at the end of a sad song. 
-I made that up

For now, I think I am going to go to sleep. Or watch Netflix. Probably Netflix.

Fair-faring, friends. Go change the world or something.

El Paso Adventure - Makin My Way Downtown

Today, the real fun started! We went and hung out in downtown El Paso, and guess what we saw!!!!!!!!

EH, just kidding, but that would have been awesome! We were outside the theater just as they were taking the sign down because closing night was last night. Still, downtown was way fun. 

We started out by trying to go to the museums . . . but I did not realized that every museum ever is closed on a Monday. Seriously, why is that a thing? Instead we went and wondered around and did some window shopping.

And, just like any white girl would do when out on the town with there best friend, Kayla and I got matching shoes.

They were just some comfy sandals I got at Payless, and she said she like them, so we got her a pair too :)

After we bummed around for a hour or so, got some food and took more pictures, than we headed to the nights main event - my first ever baseball game!!!

I know it's completely un-American of me, but yes, this was my first real baseball game at an actual stadium! And I loved it! It was so much fun and we actually got into the game by the end.

I wish we had someone to take pictures of us together.

His face was better looking

The home team was the El Paso Chihuahuas, but we quickly decided we liked the Iowa Cubs better. Mostly because they had the team with the hottest member. But they also proved to be the better team.  0 to 0 quickly turned into 0 to 5 ... than 0 to 9 ... than 14 ... and finally in the last two innings, the Chihuahuas decided to get hit by the batter a couple of times and have a few too main balls, so they got like 4 points. The last inning had us on the edge of our seats, just to see how long they would last before striking out. They held on pretty well.

But probably the most entertaining part of the game the crazy fan who sat in front of us. 

A losing team and some alcohol are a quick recipe for a lack of judgement skills. This guy kept yelling at the pitcher and yelling at the batters; "HEY PITCHER, ARE YOU DONE YET!?" (done with what, my good sir?) "YOU GOT NO SWING, BABY!!!" (pardon me sir, but I am not your baby) But his meaningless outburst because more frequent and more vulgar as the game went on. At times, you could see the strain in his face as he tried to come up with new things to say. But alas, what came out of his mouth was still none the wiser for it. By the seventh inner, the players (or their manager or something)  had had enough of this mans foul play. And the fool got the cops called on his sorry butt. 

With a hand shake for the cop, and a laugh with his friend, this fine gentleman stood and proclaimed, "LOOKS LIKE WE'RE ADDA HERE!" and left with three officers tailing him.

All and all, not a bad way to spend the day.

Fair-faring, friends!

El Paso Adventure - A Fond Farewell

No, I am not leaving yet. But today Kayla had her mission farewell in her home ward. That is the real reason we wanted to visit each other, Kayla, Morgan, and Briauna are all leaving on their missions this summer, and we won't see each other for two years! Usually, we could just hang out again in the fall when we return to school, but they are not going to be there! (I really wish I could visit Morgan and Briauna as well, but schedules and money are never on my side.) 

However, this morning I woke up with seven mosquito bites on my legs. SEVEN. I haven't been outside or anything, but they were still there! Kayla said she has not even been bite once this year, but one day in Texas, I have seven. And this is bad, because I am allergic to mosquito bites, and they swell up big. Last summer, I got a bite on my thigh the size of my face. I usually have to just sleep through it so I don't feel the itch, but I have become an expert at not starching them. . . ugh, but they are freaking annoying. I swear, I am like candy to mosquitos! They seek me out and FEAST. I'm a fine white wine amongst a sea of cheap beverages. Maybe it's because I have a rare blood type or something. (I wish boys were this attracted to me...) 

Anyway, Kayla gave a talk today in church for her farewell, and I thought it was beautiful. She won't believe me, but I felt the spirit so much while she was speaking, and I thought her testimony was so heartfelt. She is going to do great out there, and I wish her all the luck in the world. My prayers are wish you, Kayla!

She had a party tonight with the people from her ward and it was a lot of fun. At first, I was my regular anti-social self, but than I started talking with her friends and we hit it off. We hangout outside a lot, so chances are I will wake up with even more mosquito bites.

Also, birds are crazy in Texas. They never shut up. There are loud, annoying calls I have never hear before, and they are all murderous. Kayla said they have to pick up dead birds all the time because they, like, fall and attack each other. I don't think they will attack us, but I am planning on climbing the trees here at some point, so I will keep you posted.

Fair-faring,  friends!

El Paso Adventure - Take Off

So here is a crazy story.

Hm. I just realized this is where I am
in the country.

 Before the school year ended, my roommates and I were joking around about visiting each other back at home, and Kayla and I threw the idea around for awhile, until we thought - well, why not? Once summer started, I had nothing to take up my time, so why couldn't I take a trip? Well, one think lead to another (and one mom talked to another), and we bought me a ticket to EL PASO TEXAS!!!

T-8 hours tip take off

Today, I embarked on my journey to this far away land!...sure.
But before that, I thought it would be a good idea to stay up until 5:00 in the morning watching Chuck and finally packing (guys Chuck is so good and I will never stop watching it) But, like, it's ok, I could just sleep on the plane!

jk, we forgot something

When my mom woke me up five hours later, my body felt like a rock and I imminently regretted every choice I had ever made. But we eventually made it out of the house and on our way to the airport
 . . . until I realized I had forgotten the gift for Kayla . . .

When we finally made it to the airport, I had to rush through everything and hop strait onto my plane. It involved a lot of me questioning my mom because I have never flown in a plane by myself before, so I had every fear I was going to do something wrong. I flew once with Rachel, just the two of us. Although I was not tectonically an "unaccompanied minor" at the time,  but Rachel still was and I was not old enough to "accompany" her - SO, we had to sit in the employee lounge for like an hour until our parents could come pick us up. It was awkward to say the least. But this time, I am not a miner of ANY KIND!!! (*casually throws pick axes away*)

 I surprisingly got on the plane without a hitch. I kept expecting my ticket to be declined, or my bag to be too big, or a bomb to go off, or some top secret spys to come running down the terminal chasing a terrorist before taking me on a government mission to save the world, because I am an invaluable asset to the nations security (Seriously, I have been watching too much Chuck.) By some miracle, I got a window seat on every flight, I love window seats. Not only to you get to stare out on the great world falling below you as you lift off into the sky, but you don't have to sit between people or be noticed by the flight attendants. The couple sitting next to me seemed petty absorbed in their books, so there was no fear of conversation there. I heard some whimpering sound going on that was either a crying baby, or a meowing cat. Although logic tells me it was the first, I would bet my life that it was a cat.

As the plane took off, I listened to the song Wake Up  by Arcade Fire. It's the song that played in the The Secret Life of Walter Mitty as he embarks on his adventure to find the missing picture - man, I felt freaking awesome. Trust me, if you are flying anywhere soon, make sure you buy this song and listen to it as the plane starts down the runway. You won't regret it.

Look! I can see my house from here!

The flight went pretty well, until I split ginger ale on myself halfway through.

But I just sat there.

Suffering in silence.

Praying my neighbors did not notice.




But it was over before I knew it, and we landed - in Phoenix. Layovers. What can you do?

Look at all those planes

I grabbed some pizza and the time went by quickly. I had a quick panic attack when Kayla refused to answer my texts and I had to get on the plane soon with no knowledge that she was actually going to come pick me up or if she even lived in El Paso and maybe this was all a big mistake and I just got on a plan for no reason and I was going to have to live out the rest of my life in Arizona with only a pizza box and fifty dollars to my name.

But really the only interesting thing there was the carpet.




The plane I got on after was really tiny. It was weird. I have never been on one of those huge planes that has rows going down the center or anything, but this plane was tiny. Again, I had the window seat and again, I got to stare out at the wonders of the land and sky. But the rest of the time I played candy crush.

To make a long story short (too late) my plane landed safely and the lovely Kayla was waiting for me by the baggage claim. All and all, I think I handled my first solo flight pretty well (besides the ginger ale) And I am really happy I get to spend this week with my friend. It is going to be an adventure, and I can't wait to get started!

Fair-faring, friends!

Curse You, Bedtime!

I need someone to explain to me why I only feel like getting important things accomplished in the middle of the night? All my good ideas only seem to pop up at the unholy hours of the night, when every other sane person is fast asleep. I hate going to bed! Hate it! Man, do I love sleeping, but the actual act of getting ready and going to sleep is strait up the pits. It takes we forever to fall asleep at night, it always has! For as long as I can remember, I have been developing new tactics to try and help me fall asleep faster - counting, reciting the alphabet, singing calming songs, thinking of some repetitive acting, trying to think of nothing at all - you name it! But I can never seem to calm my mind down enough to fall asleep faster.

Consequently, I have a hard time actually trying to sleep now. With school out and all that, I have no real reason to wake up early, so I see no purpose in going to bed at a decent time. And if I ever think "Maybe I could go to bed right now" my mind is suddenly flooded with all the things I could get down in the time it takes me to fall asleep. I am just going to lay there awake, why shouldn't I be using that time to do something useful? So, because I never actually go to bed, I really never fall asleep. AND, it seems that when ever I do try to go to bed at a decent hour - even if I am already feeling tired - I end up tossing and turning even more than I normally do all night long. (Man, my husband is going to hate sharing a bed with me.) A lot of the time while I am sleeping, I feel like I am still partially conscience and I move soooo freaking much. 

Minus jumping in the air, of course.

I have literally found myself doing things like this with my legs in the middle of the night. > > >

Basically, I suck at sleeping. But, I do rock at dreaming and staying asleep for as long as possible. 

Also, I am writing this blog post at 1:00 in the morning. This is what happens when all you want to do is binge watch, but your sister has to go to bed instead of watch it with you. 

Thanks a lot, Rachel.

Binge Watching

Pros of finding a friend/sibling to binge watch the same series as you:
-You have someone who can truly understand all the feels you have
-You are completely on the same page
-You can run your series theories by the person, and not have to worry that they will tell you how it really ends - or vis versa
-You don't feel as completely anti-social while you do nothing but stare at a screen
-You are never at a lose of conversation topic, or hang out activity with said person
-You can constantly comment with them on how freaking charming the main character is. It's not even fair, just look at his FACE.


Cons of finding a friend/sibling to binge watch the same series as you:
-You're schedules never match up, so you can never truly binge watch
-Their stamina for watching TV is never as strong as yours
-These two reasons make it the worst decision you could choose.

Just watch it by yourself, man. You'll thank me later.