Welcome to BYU-I

I can’t believe it… a week and a half before I start school. 13 days. 432 hours. 25,920 minutes. 1,555,200 seconds. Am I excited? Yes. April to September. Six months is too long to be at home. I don’t care who you are. Going back to Brigham Young University – Idaho will bring many adventures. New roommates, new apartment, new classes, new friends, and… new dating experiences. Yes. It is true. Dating is part of college life. A good/bad part. For example: when you go on a date and he proposes the first date = bad. Do I know from experience? What? As a wise friend recently pointed out, dating is like a game at BYU-I. No wait. It is a game. At first it is incredibly exciting, but as time wears on, you begin to grow tired of the game. The rules are always the same. Ten steps to eternal happiness:

1. You see the guy for the first time. Whether he is in your class, or you seem him across the row at devotional, or maybe you just pass him every day on the way to your religion class. You think he is gorgeous/attractive/good-looking. Well, he is enough to catch your eye.

2. You play the eye tag game. He catches you staring at him and you feel flustered but you want to play it cool. So you smile a little as you look away. He is hooked. This can go on for days/weeks/months depending on where it takes place and the kind of guy he is.

3. He will finally work up the courage to talk to you. Or maybe vice versa. Either way, you will talk about classes, the weather, the devotional that you just had… trivial things.

4. He will ask for your number. You give it to him.

5. He asks you to devotional. You go with him. The devotional is about marriage. You feel kind of awkward.

6. He asks you on a real date. You go to Twizzle Berry. You find that you have a lot of things in common. You go on a walk around campus. He takes you home five minutes before curfew. You tell each other you had a great time. He will hug you. You do not let him kiss you.

7. He asks you to hang out. You oblige. You enjoy yourself. At the end, he asks you if you will go home with him to meet his roommates. You do so. They are nice. You take him to meet your roommates. As soon as he leaves, you all gather around and they tell you how they feel about him. Whether or not they think he is cute, if they think he likes you, if you should date him… etc,etc.

8. He asks you to hang out yet again. This time he suggests that you go home with him to meet his parents and family. You do. You like them. They like you. You invite him to meet your family. He likes them. They like him.

9. He asks you to marry him. You say yes. You get married in the temple for time and all eternity four months later.

10. You have five kids.

The end. The same. Welcome to BYU-I.

Do You Hear the People Sing?

Much has indeed happened since I have last written:

1. It is now August. The summer is almost over. My paper chain that I made back in May is getting very short. I leave in one month to go back to school. September 9^th. The same day Harry Potter left to go to Hogwarts. Just putting it out there.

2. I saw Les Miserables last Saturday night. It is perhaps the greatest musical ever conceived. No. It IS the greatest musical ever conceived. I cried and cried throughout the entire play. At the end I was a wreck. There was not a single dry eye to be seen in the theater. The hero of the story, Jean Valjean, is perhaps the greatest man ever known. No. He IS the greatest man ever known.

                Dear Victor Hugo,

Thanks for writing such a great story. I don’t know if you know this, but it has been turned into a musical. A good play. A little raunchy in some parts (okay… a lot) but a good play nonetheless. You are a wonderful, brilliant man. You should win a prize or something. Maybe a gold star. I just wanted to let you know that I am now reading your book. Yes, the unabridged 1222 page, three inches thick book. I’m not planning on finishing it for a while. Probably a few years.

                Much Love,

                Rachel

3. One of my good friends is getting married. Soon. Before the year is over. Am I in shock? Why yes I am.

4. I have decided that next summer I am taking the Disneyworld internship (if I get it of course…). End of discussion.

5. I have decided that the next summer I am going to do study abroad. I will be going to Europe and traveling all around the different European countries.

Do you know what this all means? That I don’t think that I can get married any time soon.

I Hope They Call Me on a Mission...

Today I had the privilege and honor of saying good-bye to the world’s greatest soon-to-be missionary. Elder Jonathan Kiser will be leaving to report to the Provo MTC on July 26^th 2011. It has been a privilege to be his friend and I know he will be a wonderful missionary serving the good people of Brazil. Good-bye Elder Kiser! You are going to be such a fantastic missionary! You will be missed!

Yesterday, my family went on a wonderful boating trip all day. Can anyone say sunburn? Yes. I have never been more burned in my life. My thighs are so burned that they are swollen twice their size, and are covered in blisters. I have almost used an entire bottle of refrigerated aloe vera but it seems to evaporate right when I put it on. Ouch? You got it. This morning I could hardly get out of bed. It hurt so incredibly bad to stand up, my legs were so stiff and swollen that I couldn’t straighten them. My arms and shoulders look like a lobster. I have a pretty cool swimsuit line though. Luckily my face didn’t get burned at all. But was it all worth it? Oh yeah. I basically had thee best experience. We learned how to water ski, knee board, surf, and then we went tubing. Whoever thought of it deserves a gold star. What a great way to spend a Saturday with my family.

So now, all my good friends from BYU-I are back. Do you know what this means? Yes, it means we get to party, but it also means that there are only seven more weeks until I get to go back to school!!! Yee-haw! I am sooo close now baby! I can see the finish line.

Gavin. Dear Gavin. Gives me a panic attack almost every day. Yes. He has learned it. He has learned how to climb the stairs. This wouldn’t be a problem, except for the fact that there aren’t enough gates to cover all the staircases, and the stairs are all hardwood floor. I just feel like I can never relax unless he is sleeping. But the good news is this: he is at the age where he knows who I am. Whenever I pick him up he just cuddles into my shoulder and gives me snuggles. BEST part of the job. Right there. Makes it totally worth it. No matter how nasty his poopy diaper is. I am trying to teach him how to say my name. Except Rachel is kind of hard to say, so I am trying to just teach him how to say nanna. It is easy to say for a baby, even though it kind of sounds like grandma. Which I’m not… but nanny and nanna sound pretty similar. Don’t worry. He will learn how to soon. I will make sure of it.

Did You Know?

Did you know? In Disneyland while you are waiting in line to ride the thrilling ride Indiana Jones, all the props that you see are authentic antiques or movie props from the Indiana Jones series. Like outside is one of the German Patrol-Trucks used in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. There are handlebars with golf balls on the top of the front bumper which were put there specifically for a car chase stunt in the film. Yes. I bet you did not know this. Well, now you do. You’re welcome.  Next time you go to Disneyland it will just be that much more magical.

Gavin can crawl forwards now. This is bad. If I don’t keep an eye on him he gets into things he is not supposed to. Like the electrical outlet on the wall. That seems to be his favorite.  Oh and the laundry room. You gotta love that laundry soap. On Thursday he called me momma. It warmed my little heart. Too bad I don’t think he knows what it means…

I am pleased to announce that I will be in Rexburg in four days. Four. It seems like an eternity away. I am so very excited to get out of Oregon and experience the beautiful Idaho weather. My brother is quite excited to go as well. But I think it’s just because of all the cute college girls he will be meeting. 12 hour road trip anyone?

Tyler just got back from EFY on Saturday which caused me to reflect on my own EFY experiences. I went three times… when I was 14, 15 and 16 and I went to BYU all three times. Ohh what a great experience they were.  It is funny how much time has passed. My COW is now on his mission serving the good people of Texas, and is doing very well. My one goal in life is to become an EFY counselor.  The end.

Also. I made a new friend. Her name is Aly Rutter.

Also. My birthday is a week from tomorrow. Woohoo. I will be the big one nine. Woohoo.

Life is Good

Today was… uneventful. Just like every other day of my life. Want me to prove it to you? Here is my schedule. Monday through Friday:

1.       7:00 a.m. -- Get up

2.       7:05-8:00 -- Take a shower, put on makeup, put my hair up, eat breakfast, brush my teeth

3.       8:00 – Leave the house and drive to work in my hot minivan

4.       8:30 – Arrive at my destination (work)

5.       9:00 – Feed Gavin breakfast (usually 1 tbs. oatmeal with 3 tbs. breast milk and I mix in mango and pear baby food)

6.       9:30 – Gavin goes down for a nap

7.       10:25 – Gavin wakes up from his nap

8.       10:30 – Heat up 5 oz. of breast milk and feed it to him

9.       10:30-11:30 – Play with Gavin’s toys

10.   11:30-12:25 – Embark on a walk around the incredibly hilly neighborhood

11.   12:30 – Feed Gavin Yobaby yogurt (vanilla flavored) and some vegetable baby food (his favorite are prunes)

12.   12:30 – Gavin goes down for a nap

13.   1:25 – Gavin wakes up from a nap

14.   1:30 – Heat up 6 oz. of breast milk and feed it to him

15.   1:45- 3:00 – Play with Gavin’s toys

16.   3:00 – Gavin goes down for a nap

17.   4:00 – Gavin wakes up from a nap

18.   4:30 – Mommy comes home!

19.   4:30 – Leave work and drive home in my hot minivan

20.   5:00 -- Arrive at my destination (home)

21.   5:00-10:00 – You don’t want to know

Yes. You can see plainly here that there is something wrong with this picture. Do I have a life? Not really. But that is a-okay.  Because I am going to Rexburg in the Fall. Woohoo!

But you know what? It is nice being at home. Free laundry. Free food. Free room and board. I get to spend time with my family. I get to spend time with my friends before they leave on their missions. No homework. No tests or projects. No stressful finals. Life is great here at home.

4^th of July was so great. Polly and A.J. came over. I love those two. It was great to spend time with my family and friends while we watched all the illegal fireworks from my front porch. They remind me of Disneyland. I want to go back. End of story. For dinner, my dad made delicious salmon and a yummy fruit salad and watermelon. Then we had a superb jello cake. Yum Yum!

Life is good.   

A Moment of Silence...

I would like to call a moment of silence for Grommit Beta who passed away June 30^th at approximately 5:00 p.m. We mourn for him. His beautiful red color brightened the room. He was kind to everyone. He was gentle and loving. He loved to play in the rocks. He loved to hide behind his pink tree. He loved to starve himself.  This was most likely the cause of his death. My heart aches as I think of him and the wonderful, fulfilling life he led. One can only hope to have the kind of life that dear Grommit had. Wallace Beta is heartbroken that his best friend now is dead. As I write this, tears are streaming down my face. Grommit: I know you are listening. Thank you for being such a wonderful fish the past six days. No one could have asked for better. You will be missed.

This past week has been quite good. I went back to work and was pleased to find that baby Gavin still remembered me. He is now such a big boy! He is now starting to crawl, except he still can’t figure out how to crawl forwards. He can only scoot backwards and he backs himself into corners and gets stuck. It’s pretty funny. He also figured out that if he doesn’t like the food I am giving him he just has to spray it all over me and I will stop feeding him. I have many orange and green stained shirts from his food. Mmmmmm. Yummy.

This past week, my family went camping without me. I was home alone. I watched Criminal Minds. Big mistake. I had to sleep with a butcher knife. Don’t worry though. That serial rapist that broke into my room? I got him.

And last before I close, I would like to talk about someone very special to me. It was her birthday yesterday but I did not get to write about her in my blog because my internet was down. So here I go: Quinci Whatcott. My husband. As a new freshman in college, she was thee best roommate anyone could ask for.  I will never forget throwing bubble gum at her our first night. Singing A Whole New World. Practicing our princess walks. Heart shaped waffles with peanut butter. Talking about marriage. Talking about marriage. Oh, and did I say talking about marriage? Criminal Minds. Glee. Eating Top Ramen. Eating picnics in our living room. Taking care of our two children. Watching Jurassic Park. Hulu videos. Sending our children off to sketchy college dances. Baseball games. Playing MASH. Stalking attractive men at devotionals. Facebook stalking. Stealing cookie bars from Kiah. The late night one-way talks. Talking in our sleep to each other. She always put up with my crazy Disneyland-ness. Hanging laundry all over our room. Going out to dinner and watching her stuff herself. Staying up for me when I was on a date and then eagerly waiting to hear all the horrors about it. Stadium singing. The list goes on and on… She became one of my best friends and still is. She always listens to what I have to say… even if it’s two in the morning. She can make me laugh, and she puts up with me and all my craziness. She is smart and kind. She thinks of others before she thinks of herself. She is an incredibly wonderful person. And I am so blessed to have been her first husband and to be her friend. So Quinci? I love you. And happy birthday.

Wallace and Grommit

I am officially a new mommy to two new fish. Two new beta fish. Yes. I own two beta fish. And they share a fish tank. Don’t worry though. I put a divider in between them so they won’t kill each other. See? I am going to be a good mom. The blue one is Wallace and the red one is Grommit. They live in a very happy home with rocks on the bottom. They each get their own plant to swim in. So they don’t have to fight. Wallace is doing just wonderful. He eats his food twice a day and is a healthy bouncing boy. Grommit on the other hand… well, I’m a little worried about him. He won’t eat his food. I think he is anorexic. Or just trying to starve himself to death. He could just be a little bit mad at me for naming him Grommit. I think it is a beautiful name, but to each his own right?

This past week has been verrry long. Why you may ask? Probably because I didn’t work this entire week. Gavin and his family went out of town so I was stuck at home mooching around. It’s fine really. I just went on random errands and watched random t.v. shows. I went on lots of bike rides with my family through the beautiful town of Sherwood. Don’t fret though. I go back on Monday. Thank goodness. I miss him so much. His poopy diapers and all.

Confession: I have been listening to Christmas music. I have nothing to say to defend myself. It just happened. I can’t do anything about it. My mom gets mad at me when I play Christmas music on the piano (I think it’s because it is the middle of June, although I can’t be sure) so I just resort to listening to it. I am actually listening to it right now. Carol of the Bells. What a beautiful song. I found out that my middle name, Noel, literally means Christmas in French. I did not know this. It is a part of me. Unavoidable. Inescapable.

Today, my family and I had our family pictures taken. A very nice lady named Annie did them for us. They turned out very nicely. Actually I don’t know, I haven’t seen them yet. But I bet they turned out just lovely.

Tomorrow I am teaching the eight year old primary class. About the Parable of the Talents. My little brother happens to be in this class.  So I am pretty excited.

On Monday, my family is leaving to go camping without me. This grieves me greatly. I can’t go because I have to work. They will be gone for three whole days. I happen to just love camping.  My family has been going every year since I was ten. We always go to the same lake (Lost Lake), camp at the same campsite, eat the same food (pizza, and beef stew, peach cobbler, s’mores, oatmeal, hot chocolate) while my dad tells stories around the campfire. We go on a hiking trip as a family up to a beautiful view of Mount Hood, and we go canoeing around the lake while we fish. Then we search for the hidden waterfall (we still haven’t found it yet… after all this time, I’m starting to think it doesn’t exist) and then take another hike around the lake. And I am going to miss it all. Cheer up Rachel…

And last before I close, I would like to talk about someone very special to me. It was her birthday yesterday but I did not get to write about her in my blog because my internet was down. So here I go: Quinci Whatcott. My husband. As a new freshman in college, she was thee best roommate anyone could ask for.  I will never forget throwing bubble gum at her our first night. Singing A Whole New World. Practicing our princess walks. Heart shaped waffles with peanut butter. Talking about marriage. Talking about marriage. Oh, and did I say talking about marriage? Criminal Minds. Glee. Eating Top Ramen. Eating picnics in our living room. Taking care of our two children. Watching Jurassic Park. Hulu videos. Sending our children off to sketchy college dances. Baseball games. Playing MASH. Stalking attractive men at devotionals. Facebook stalking. Stealing cookie bars from Kiah. The late night one-way talks. Talking in our sleep to each other. She always put up with my crazy Disneyland-ness. Hanging laundry all over our room. Going out to dinner and watching her stuff herself. Staying up for me when I was on a date and then eagerly waiting to hear all the horrors about it. Stadium singing. The list goes on and on… She became one of my best friends and still is. She always listens to what I have to say… even if it’s two in the morning. She can make me laugh, and she puts up with me and all my craziness. She is smart and kind. She thinks of others before she thinks of herself. She is an incredibly wonderful person. And I am so blessed to have been her first husband and to be her friend. So Quinci? I love you. And happy birthday.