Hunger Games

Okay, so... During this trip I got the chance to finally read for fun! And I took full advantage of this and read all three of the Hunger Games books. They were really good, even though I didn't like the ending of the whole thing  (I know a lot of people are wanting to read them so I won't give it away... Just saying I went to bed angry.) Anyway, they are making a movie that comes out in March. I am definitely making it to that midnight showing! I decided to look up who is playing what. A lot of the times I don't like who they choose to play certain people (Twilight for a HUGE example.) Anyway, here are my favorites that they chose so far.

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss

I can totally see this.  She is really pretty but a little tomboyish.  I really liked her in X-Men . It is rare that I like the main female role in a movie from a book but I am super excited and I think she will do awesome.

Josh Hutcherson as Peeta

Peeta can't be super sexy but he has to be cute and grow on you as the book/movie goes on.  I see Josh doing just that.  He is cute, yes, but he isn't supposed to be the hottest thing you have ever seen.  I just hope that he plays the part well.

Liam Hemsworth as Gale

Now, Gale is supposed to be hot.  And Liam is just that.  SOOOO excited!!! :) He is definitely the one I am the most excited to watch.  I just wish he would be in the books more often so we could see more of him in the movie!

Donald Sutherland as President Snow

I don't know if anyone else would be able to portray what President Snow looks like in my head better than he can.

Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy

 Now, I imagined someone bigger.. Like Hagrid. But I can see him playing a good drunk.  And I kind of pictured him a little creepy, and I know he can do that.


All the others I didn't really picture or their actors just weren't that interesting.  I am so excited for this movie to come out! If you haven't read the books, get them.  I read them on Kindle Cloud reader.  My mom has a Kindle and I can read her books online for free. Wait no, it's offline... which is even better.  Read them to prepare yourself for the movie :)

Working our way up the East Coast!

Well, we have made it to our final destination! Cape Cod! I have realized how much I miss the ocean.  When we were growing up a lot of our vacations were to the coast.  I have been to a few sunny beaches in the past few years but there is something about the cooler temperatures and the ocean that I just love.  We drove around today after church to look around at all the different beaches and houses (and many Dunkin' Donuts, Bank of  Americas and Post Offices).

Since my last post Marissa and mom caught you up on most of it. Also, if you got my dad's email, they all three cover what has happened pretty well.  So check them out.

I do want to tell a little story that happened at our first condo.
So while everyone else is in their rooms Marissa and I are laying out in the living room. Me trying to sleep and Marissa reading. All of a sudden she says, "Ohhhh gosh.... that is huge!!!!" in a freaked out voice.  I immediately know that she has seen some kind of bug.  It's a spider. And it has made it's way under the bed. Perfect. So we freak out a bit, pick up our bags off the ground. I sit there well awake now and Marissa is telling me to just go to bed.  I hate spiders.  No way.  Mom comes out to read for a bit and we tell her about the spider.  A few minutes later she says in a semi calm voice, "Oh, there's your spider."  We tell her to kill it and she says she wants to kill it just as much as we do.  She tries to get it with the trash can (Marissa won't lend her super heavy nursing books) and the spider takes off.  All of us freaking out once more.  We tell mom to turn off the light as she makes her way back into the bedroom so we don't have to get out of bed.  She stands in the doorway and gives a slight good luck-so long-I'm going to protect myself first wave and shuts her door.  Thanks mom.  We never did kill that spider, we only saw it once in a while the next couple nights.

When mom first planned this trip she didn't think that Washington D.C. would fit  in, but I was happy that it did.  Besides New York (which we also got to drive through) this is a place I have always wanted to go that is on the east coast.  We got to see the Lincoln Memorial (but the hot security officer wouldn't take his picture with us) and we got to see three of the memorial sites.  Going and seeing the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials was very nice.  I have always really wanted to see was the National Law Enforcement Memorial one.  It's very different knowing a family that has a loved one engraved in the stone.  There were a lot less people here so it was easier to have a more private experience.  We were able to sketch over names and hear my dad talk about a few that I didn't get a chance to know.  Washington D.C. was definitely one of my favorite stops so far.

Like I said before we were able to drive through NY, more specifically... Queens. Where Zachary Scoffield is serving! It was really exciting for Marissa and I, even though we didn't seen him... It was the closest we will be to him for the next year and a half.

While at Philly we were able to have some Philly Cheese Steaks. Cheese Whiz makes them just that much better! We got to walk around with dad at night and go to LOVE park and hold some snakes :)  Marissa and I went out a little later to get some food.  There is a curfew for teens and some cops came in to the diner and saw me, stared at me, and kinda smiled before taking their seats. Obviously I didn't look old enough to them or something.. haha

We still have a week left and that means many more stories to tell!!

Finally, summer vacation.

A couple weeks ago was the England family reunion.  Marissa and I headed up for the weekend bringing along some cousins.  The weekend included food, swimming, food, pictures,  helicopter rides, jet ski, food and a whole lot of catching up with family.  I am so happy my boss let me go home for the weekend!

 While playing with Rock I had the following conversation:

Me: Rock, I missed you.

Rock: I missed you too Whitmi

Me: I missed you more.

Rock: No, I missed you more!

Me: I missed you more times infinity (thinking he wouldn't have a comeback)

Rock: I missed you more infinity and beyond!!

I have missed that boy.

I went back to Utah so take a CPR class, pack and move out of my apartment (that I couldn't be more happy to get away from.) Javi was leaving to go back home on the 6th and we weren't sure when or if we would see him before he left on his mission (which he didn't find out until that night) so we went and had a farewell dinner at Tucanos.  As always, it was amazing. And the perfect going away dinner. 

He is going to do awesome, and the people of Chile are seriously some of the the luckiest people.

My dad flew down Friday night to drive up with me.  I guess even though I am 20 I am still my parent's little baby and can't drive home by myself because I may fall asleep. It is always better to drive with someone, though.  And having it be my dad that I don't get to spend very much time with anymore, I was more than happy to have him as a traveling companion.  And you now when it has been awhile when he can't believe how fast I eat. On the way home we made a stop at Cabela's.  How have I never been there before? I definitely need to head back again when I have enough time.  He bought us all very nice shirts to wick away the sweat while out here on the east coast.  Just so ya know, the under armour polyester (I think?) v-necks are amazing.  

We flew out Monday morning after spending the night at the Demeesters.  Besides the fact that I can't listen to directions when the TSA worker tells me to stand still for 8 seconds and right after I move, everything went fine. Until we hit Atlanta.  Although I do have to say being surprised by Linds and Travis was pretty dang amazing.  Our flight ended up being delayed 3 hours after already having a fourish hour layover.  We did have a nice little show of two tatted up girls yelling to the workers and complaining that their seats were taken but they had been in the area for an hour (dad and I saw them walk by not even ten minutes before.) They totally got what they were looking for all along, first class.  Even though it was ridiculous, they put on quite the show that dad and I did not want to miss.

We finally made it to our condo to pick up Marissa and go eat at IHOP, where mom and Marissa were surprised at how good the pancakes really were and understood why it was called the International House of Pancakes.  I'm proud they finally made that discovery.

Today we hit up Williamsburg, so much fun.  I know my mom has lots to say I will let her catch you all up on her blog.  Here are a couple pictures for now :)

Pictures with Brock

Here are some of the pictures from when we saw Brock!

Wanna play catch

...up?


Alrighty... Here it goes. :)

So my momma came down, did I mention that? If I did, it is worth mentioning twice. It was SO good to see her. She helped me get ready for my CNA program, updated my closet a bit and made sure the AC in my "new" car was fixed.  It was so good to see her all that week! I miss her still and cannot wait to see her again in a week!

That being said, I got my schedule for the next 2 weeks. I usually work at least Friday or Saturday but this weekend he didn't have me scheduled from Friday to Monday. That has never happened. Soooo I got really excited that I could go to the England family reunion and see my whole fam damily. Then he emailed another schedule and had me for Saturday night. I quickly asked him if were possible to change. No one can say no to this face about having the chance to see her whole family PLUS her sister that she doesn't know when she will see again.  I get to go and I am stoked!

My life for the past two weeks really have not been that eventful.  I have spent 80 hours in a single classroom and 16 doing clinicals. Lucky me, right? There were two days that we were to go do clinicals.  My group was able to go to Orem Rehab, a pretty nice facility.  I was paired up with this big guy that was definitely the one designated to lift the heavy weights.  He was a great teacher and I learned a ton from him.  After we were done with our hours my instructor pulls us into the break room and tells us that the facility made a mistake and we couldn't come back for our second day due to them overbooking. Guess where we got to go... Murray.  When we thought we would be going somewhere close we were wrong.  We went to Silverado. It was an Alzheimer and rehab center.  I worked in the Alzheimer's section. It was difficult but the CNA I followed was great and knew exactly how to care for them.  I am now done with the class! Finally... Now just looking for jobs :)

We went up to Idaho Falls to see Brock one more time... I am seriously going to miss him! (By the way, Javi got his papers in!!!)  Brock is going to Guatemala and is going to do fabulous! We took pictures with him but they haven't been added to facebook yet. Here is one on the way up, though.

GOOD LUCK B-ROCK! WE LOVE YOU!

Am I done yet?

Don't worry. I'm still alive. It has been a very long two weeks but Monday is the last of my CNA program. I'll tell stories then.

In the meantime, I have been in a country craze lately so you can enjoy these videos of songs that I love right now. :)

Missionaries!

Last summer I thought I was done saying goodbye to my friends while they left on their missions.  I was dead wrong.  In the last month we have said goodbye to Zach and now to two more.  Last night we said goodbye to one of our friends, Stephen.  He is leaving for summer semester and we won't see him before he leaves for his mission.  He is going to Boise, Idaho and couldn't be more excited to serve.  He will do awesome!!

We also said a temporary good bye to Brock.  He is going to Guatemala in a few weeks and since he lives in Idaho Falls we decided we couldn't miss the opportunity to go to his farewell.  So excited for him.  We got him and Stephen both journals with their names engraved.  We also got Brock a Spanish hymn book (also with his name on it), a t shirt of the Guatemala flag with a message from each of us and a key chain with the flag on it. Like Javi told him, "Guatemala better be ready for the big white man!"

We had a little bonfire for him last weekend.

Speaking of Javier, he will be the last good bye to missionaries (I hope, because I am sick of having to say goodbye to people. But it is SO good that they are going.)  He just started his papers and is so stoked!

I am excited for all these guys and I can't wait to hear all the stories they have.  They are/will do amazing.  One thing that has been pointed out to me in the last couple months is it isn't where you are serving but what your assignment is.  It is such  a good mindset when getting callings because certain places aren't as popular as others.  When Stephen got his mission call everyone kind of laughed but Javi pointed out to him that he is going on a mission and that alone is one of the greatest opportunities.  I have kind of been thinking about that lately.  For the past few years I have been wanting to go help somewhere in another country and do some service.  I have been kind of stubborn about it and not understanding why it wasn't working for me.  Hearing these guys talk about their chance to serve the people in Boise, New York or Guatemala makes me feel guilty for wanting so badly to go out of the Unites States.  I have had many chances to serve and they have helped me grow in many ways.  I haven't started yet but when my background check clears (which it will, promise) I am going to start volunteering at the Women and Children's shelter.  I eventually want to join the Rape Crisis team.  Also starting in September I will be volunteering once in awhile at the hospital.  I am really excited and will not longer complain about not being able to travel and help somewhere else.

Small Lime Rickey-Sumo Style

3 things that I have been stressing out about lately:
1. Getting a job
2. Anatomy finals
3. Physiology midterm and final.

I'm happy to say that I am employed and don't have to worry about number one on that list.  It's not much, but I am now working at a Shave Ice stand called Sumo's Shave Ice.  It  is not a high stress job and the owners are super cool. Perfect summer job when I have other things to worry about.  I have already worked 2 days and just got my schedule for the next 2 weeks.  :)

Truly An Inspiration

Sheri LaMar was my first grade teacher.  She truly understood what it took to be exceptional.  I have learned so much from her not just by being her student but by seeing her through her fight with cancer. She always had a positive attitude which is difficult for many people that went through similar trials.  I had the chance to talk about her in one of my Consumer Health lectures.  We were talking about how our attitude can change outcomes on situations.  My professor was very touched by the story and could tell that she was an extraordinary individual.  She had a very clear understanding of Heavenly Father's plan and accepted this challenge.  I am very lucky to have had her in my life.

"You'll know when I don't have enough air when I stop breathing."

While we were stressing out about tests, homework, work, school and all our personal lives we decided that a vacation was needed.  Stacey, Javier, Pepe, Marissa and I headed down to Moab. None of us have ever gone so it was an adventure for all of us.  We headed down Saturday afternoon, checked into our (tiny, gross, spiders in the pool, women's flip flops under the beds) motel room then headed down to the arches!!!

We first went to see Cache Valley.  There was a cut in the rocks that kinda looked like a unfinished heart.  Marissa decided to finish it.

Stacey got attacked by a bush and decided to fight back by falling on it.

After cleaning her up we went to the Balanced Rock.  Which looked like a fish. Just not in any of these pictures.

Then we made our way to the Delicate Arch.  This is where we first got a taste of the wind. And yes, we did taste it. Well, all the dirt that was flying around.  We also said goodbye to Pepe's hat which was taken by the wind.  We just hope some kind of rodents are enjoying it as a new home.

We went out to eat in downtown MOAB.  I was being tortured by all the jeeps and Javi was being tortured by all the motorcycles.

We were going to wake up early to get some sunrise pictures.  We are college students on vacation, you really think we would? Woke up just in time to get ready and check out before noon and headed back to the arches.

First was the Sand Dune Arch which Javi and I climbed on top of.  Don't worry, mom, I was careful.  This is where we had tons of sand in our shoes.  Not smart enough to take off our shoes.  

Further past this arch was the (not very broken) Broken Arch which Javi and Pepe climbed to the top of.  A lady there reminded me of mom because she had to look away because she was so worried.  They were careful too and survived.  

We then headed out to hike the 17ish mile hike around the rest of the arches.  It was so much fun.  The beginning was a paved walkway that just seemed too touristy.  Once we got up higher we got to climb random rocks, get scared we were on the wrong trail if on one at all, were by ourselves for a majority of the time and got to see some sweet sights.  We were like little kids jumping around the rocks and getting excited about different places to climb and explore.  Marissa peed on me, made me throw up my Crystal Light by making me laugh and jumped up and down clapping her hands when we met people from Washington.  She is glad I am her sister because if she peed on anyone else they probably would have cried, no one else laughed at the joke she made when I threw up my Crystal Light and I am the only one who understands why she got so excited when we met someone from Washington. 

The trip was so much fun!!