Movie Stars Love Lake Powell

So life is blissful under the Southern Utah sun :) I got to go to lake powell the weekend after I got home from d.c. and the weekend before I got knee surgery. I'm completely in love with wakeboarding and boating in general.

The other thing of note lately is that the movie that I was an extra in, approximately 6 years ago finally came to theaters! Its called "The Flyboys". My role in it is one of those things where if you blink you miss it, but I think that you can see me in a couple of the scenes when they are at school. It's a pretty good kids movie though even if you don't see me (I didn't even see myself, but other people claim they have). There are some excellent stunts, good acting for the most part, and the main characters reaffirm my desire to have mostly sons :) I love boys! So anyway, I'm officially famous now. Oh, and if anyone reading this knows Laurel Snow Horchem, she plays the snotty sister in the film, and she did a really good job, it was fun to see her up there:)

A super weird and funny coincidence is that one of my best friends, Keith, is an extra in a movie that is in theaters currently as well. His movie his called "The Errand of Angels" which is about sister missionaries. Its also a pretty good movie that I recommend seeing. Its like a step down in goodness from "The Best Two Years", but I still enjoyed it, probably because seeing Keith in it was like the happy surprise of my life! It was filmed in Austria where he is serving his mission so I haven't seen him in a year and a half, but there he was up on that huge screen, and I almost screamed. Truly. The amount of screen time he gets is significant. The camera loved him :)

The Big D.C.

So I went to Washington D.C. for a week to visit my sister Andrea who lives out there with her husband Adam. He is going to George Washington University for law school, and Andrea just got her paralegal degree from there and is now working for a law firm. Needless to say, they are both crazy cool people who are very accomplished.
I had the privilege of having my wonderful friend Audrey come with me on the trip, and I am so glad that she did. I had so much more fun because she was with me! My sister had to work during the weekdays, and so Audrey and I kept ourselves very entertained by running around D.C. to all of the monuments, memorials, and Smithsonian museums that we possibly could. It was excellent. Audrey was in her history-nerd happy-place, and I had a blast observing her joy. And I loved going to see everything as well. Both me and Auds loved the mall the best, and the outdoor memorials and monuments surrounding it. We saw all of them at least once, and then went back to see our favorites at night. We went to the Air and Space Museum, the Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Engraving and Printing, the Holocaust Museum, the Library of Congress, the Capitol (we got a tour through our senator's office), the Supreme Court, the National Archives, Arlington National Cemetary, and other places I am sure that I am just forgetting at the moment. I also made Audrey go through the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden of Contemporary and Modern Art, which was totally awesome and amazing, and I loved :) It reminded me of how much I totally love art! Which is a lot.
This whole trip brought back so many memories of my trip through Europe it was crazy. It made me miss Europe and that whole experience so much! And the architecture of all of our national buildings didn't help. They were all designed by European architects, and are therefore all totally reminiscent of Roman, Greek, and especially French architecture. Like for example, the Library of Congress looks so much like the Paris Opera house on the outside, it is crazy. And the whole layout of Washington D.C. was done by some french dude who modelled it after Paris after the Hausmannization. The mall is completely reminiscent of the Champs-Elysees... Anyway, you can imagine me talking about the European influences on architecture and Audrey spouting off facts about U.S. Presidents and various historical events, and it is easy to see that we weren't the typical tourists. We saw about three times more of D.C. than Andrea has seen of it, and she has lived there for a year :) I am so proud. Audreys feet were literally bleeding by the end of the trip because of all the walking we did. It was hard-core. Go big or go home, and we really didn't want to come home :)
P.s. the first picture is of a group of college students protesting abortion on the steps of congress (congress is currently not is session and we were wondering if they knew that). props to them, and i love this country's freedom of speech. it was cool to see it in action in our nation's capital.
p.p.s. the bottom two pictures are of the library of congress and the paris opera house. they are ridiculously similar! there is just a lack of unique creative thought that makes our national buildings "American" rather than just copies of European grandeur. this reminds us of how young our nation was when these things were being built. craziness!

Oops I did it again

So, what do you know! Rachelle is home for the summer and dying her hair! Just two tasteful purple streaks in blonde... I love them! :) but this is better than the pink tipped hair I did last time, because i don't have to cut my hair when I want it gone.  but truly, will I ever want these gone?  i think not!  My mom's reaction was wonderful.  I really think she is getting used to me coming home from Tami with completely different hair :) I am so proud!

Florida and Finally Home

The fam and I went on vacation to Florida!  I flew there from London (by myself I might add - I didn't see anyone I knew for over 32 hours) and met them at the airport.  

We had a fabulous time despite the rain. We went snorkeling, safari-ing (in a wet bayou kind of way), and beaching :)  I loved being with everyone!  Including the gators, racoons, and jellyfish :) And I am loving life here in St. George!  Its good to be home :)  

The Best Days of Our Lives

A song came on my ipod in the middle of one of my "adventures" that sums up this trip quite well. the chorus:
"i guess when it comes down to it being grown up isnt half as fun as growing up

these are the best days of our lives

the only thing that matters is just following your heart and eventually you'll finally get it right"

In the past few days i have had lots of things happen that make life interesting and it is so true that as my dad says, there is "never a dull moment!". For example, so far in paris alone, i have walked home at like two in the morning because of train issues, walked for a day with only one heel on my new pair of yellow high heels, and realized that there is dried hairspray that soaked some of my clothes and then hardened them into stiff little lumps :) but these events make life exciting, and give me awesome stories to tell everyone. and the "never a dull moment" aspect of life keeps me laughing all the time :) when things go so wrong it is really quite funny. i love this trip! :)

Saint Chapelle! I only have a billion pictures

with the eiffel tower, but this one is funny :)

and this is the painting that i presented on in the Louvre, but this picture doesn't do it justice at all. the presentation was fun to give, and it went pretty well i think.

au revoire!

Shortest Post Ever

Hey everyone!
So I have one week left on this trip as of tomorrow!! Ack! I am so torn because I am so excited to come back to see my family and friends, but I don't want this experience to be over! I wish I could post pictures, but that will have to happen later.
So far in Paris I have spent a day in the Louvre which was amazing, and I only saw half of what I want to see (I'm going back before we leave) and I've been to the top of the Eiffel tower, and the top of the Arc de Triumph, and I just spent the day in Versailles. (Don't worry Audrey, I took lots of pictures just for you). Crepes are amazing, and the bread here is even better :) I had bread and water for breakfast this morning, and if you think that sounds drab, you've never had good french bread :) It was amazing!
Send me emails because I am missing home! Got to run! Places to go, and more weird Europeans to see and sneakily take picutres of! hahaha people watching is the best :)
If I could spell goodbye in french i would say it. :) i will say it in spanish - its okay though because I get my languages confused now sometimes anyway
Adios amigos!

Home Away from Home

A bunch of us girls went to the temple and did baptisms for the dead yesterday, and it was such an awesome experience! I seriously felt like I was home. It was so nice. I haven't felt that good in awhile. None of us wanted to leave. I would have loved to just sit in there after we were done and just chill. One of the members of the temple presidency spoke to us before we started which was awesome, and it was so nice to be there with other members of the church from Spain, and to hear everything in Spanish. I love the temple, and we are already planning on going again in England :) I can't wait!