SCUBA

Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.

A few years back, my dad, sister and I took up SCUBA diving. We went quite a bit that first year, but now we only go every once in a while to keep up with it all. My dad and I went out once this summer on a really fun boat with some friends from Church.

The boat was HUGE and we had it mostly to ourselves which was sweet. I only did two dives, everyone else did three (it's just such a pain and I was getting all kinds of water in my dry-suit and so I was very cold and tired). They were some really great dives. There were a lot of really pretty purple coral and it was just all around pretty.

The cook on the boat was an actual chef and so we ate really well. Sometimes you go on a dive boat and you get a giant stake for lunch.

More on Cub Scout Camp

I never included the pictures from my Cub Safari! My little boys!!! Archery, knot tying, crafts, a big slide - I miss my boys.

Disneyland

So I took some pictures of my new apartment to blog about and then realized that I had quite a few pictures on my camera and things to blog about. So this is the first in a series of posts about fun things.

We begin with Disneyland! Some of our best friends came for a visit in the middle of summer (they were coming from AZ, so it was a break from the heat hahaha) and we went to Disneyland, which is really the happiest place on Earth. I'm not much of a picture-taker, but I did get a shot of my mom and me with our new, matching phone covers. And of my sister, one of our friends, and the Little Man.

Aren't we cute :)





Ok, I know there are two pictures of this moment, but the first one is cute with the baby even though my sister and Sam look possessed with red eyes. So I had to include it so they looked normal at lest once.


Kaylee and her mom on the Matterhorn! I love that ride - I still jump a little bit when the snowman pops out at you.

Finding the Internets

I have never been in charge of getting the Internets. It's always just been there. Not so much this time around. I'm living in a condo, so it's owned by a private party. Cable was 'provided' - provided that you had the necessary equipment and the people who lived in the apartment before you removed their names from the cable agreement.

I had to call Comcast to figure out why our TV wasn't working and they told me to go to the service center (which is about 20 minutes away). I talked to my dad about getting Internets and we decided to do it all in one go.

This morning, after Yoga, I went to the service center. They hooked me up! I got a new cable box thingy and an internet modem and a big red bag. Rather than wait(and pay) for someone to come install it, I decided to just do it myself. Easy, right? Just plug it all in.

Hours later and talking with no less than four different Comcast people at various times and going BACK to the service station because the power cable didn't fit into the hole on the modem, someone is coming to fix it all on Wednesday.

Luckily, we have a lovely downstairs neighbor whom we begged to let us borrow some Internets for a few days. We are going to buy her some mint choco-chip ice cream because that's her favorite.

The Internship

So I'm 'done' with my internship and had some time to think about the experience and now is time for a blog.

I say 'done,' but I don't really think that I will be truly done with this. For one thing I have a few projects that are still in the works. For example, I worked on a bunch of lesson plans to go with a video the Church produced about the Mormon Battalion/Mexican War/Gold Rush/trails west. Those activities are still being edited and whatnot, but I've turned in my draft. Also, there is all the money from the Uchtdorf event (on May 26th) that is still being settled. There is one guy that owes $1,700 for his tickets.

Overall, it was a pretty amazing experience. I learned a lot about the inner workings of my Church which most people don't get to see. Quite honestly, there is a lot more politics then I realized. I can understand why people are so against organized religion - it could be a tool for great evil. But that's why there is so much care that needs to be taken. It's not like I think they are hiding things up in Salt Lake at Church HQ, but more about that they have to be careful about what they say and do because so many people are watching. Because we are a church that believes in modern day revelation, anything that any of the Leaders say could be construed as coming from God, rather than just the comment of a man. Does that make sense? Who would have thought my Faith would be tried while working for the Church - I didn't. But it was a little bit and I've been made stronger for it.

Mostly, I got to work with some amazing people. The Smiths, Faye and Rodger, were the senior missionaries in the office. They are two of the sweetest people and are just filled with love. Matt, my boss, is a character! He has so much energy and love for what he does. He is a great teacher.

In the end, I'm ready to go back to school. I've ordered my books and have a huge stack of novels to be read this year. I love to learn :)

Buying Books and Dance Lessons

I love the "getting ready for school" stage. I love getting new books (not paying for them)and notebooks and pencils and the way that first day feels. Every first day feels the same way - full of anticipation and wonder and excitement and nervousness.

I leave in just under 4 weeks to go back to Provo by way of Gilbert, AZ and Cedar City, UT. I will have totally new roommates and a new place to live. The weird thing is that, if all goes as planned, I'll be leaving again in January for a mission.

On a different note, I've been taking some dance classes again and I love it! My sister is the receptionist/manager of a studio in NoHo and she lets me take classes for free. Of course, it's more of a kid's studio so I'm taking classes with pre-teens and teens. I'm usually the oldest one by at least five years. But it's free and it's fun and it's something to do.

Cub Safari

So I was roped into helping out for a week at Cub Scout day camp. 5 days, 8-4, little boys. I have nine boys in my den, they are about 6-7 years old and very energetic. I'm the main leader, but there is another woman who helps me out and we have den chiefs (Scout-aged boys/girls) every now and again. I have a vegan in my group and one who just kind of chills out with me or the other leader rather than doing any of the activities. Reminds me a bit of myself at camp - I was always with the leaders.

We do all kinds of activities: archery, giant water slide, map/compass activities, arts and crafts, kitchen crafts, games. It's a fun camp. Some of the activities are a bit too short for the time, and those moments are the hardest.

My favorite part is how these little boys have attached to me. They get excited to see me in the morning, and like to show me what they make or tell me stories. I am not all that patient all the time, but I love these little boys.