20 MINUTES!!!

"We need to go swing," said Mal upon our arrival home from FHE.

And from that point on, we had a goal that would not falter. Even if Taylor did have a paper to write!

Kelsie, Mallory, and I were in a state of ultimate elation. SWINGS!!! Let's Go!!!

We just had to convince Taylor and Michelle that they wanted to come. We barged into Taylor's room with rantings and ravings. I was begging, and pleading, and screaming for Taylor to come swing with us. We would only be gone for "20 Minutes!!!" I promised!

We were carrying on, and on, and on. Taylor had to have wanted to slap us all silly. "20 Minutes!!! 20 Minutes!!! That's all! You can wait to write your paper for 20 more minutes!" Taylor was still hesitant, but we continued to nag. Taylor stopped us and asked if Michelle was coming. We all stopped and looked at each other....

"MICHELLE!!!!!"

Michelle stepped out of our room laughing while putting on her jacket. "How could I not go?" *Me punching air* YES!

We had Michelle coming, now there was no way that Taylor wouldn't come! Haha! Fact. She caved to our ultimate peer-pressure with a smile on her face.

"20 MINUTES!!!!"

We piled into Taylor's car and struggled to find Adam's park. But when we found that open field, we jumped out of the car and bolted to the swings!

Swinging is the nearest thing to flying that I will ever experience (minus a plane, minus rides at Lagoon, minus jumping off a diving board). It had been so long! It was so invigorating. :)

Kelsie and Michelle had a dance party with the music on Kelsie's phone and the rest of us were their captivated audience.

When we had enough air-time, Kelsie asked Mallory to teach her the art of cartwheeling. 

We all got off our swings and Mallory attempted to teach me, Kelsie, and Taylor how to cartwheel- Michelle already had the skills.

If you know me, you will know that I have lacked the ability to do a cartwheel for all of my life. I have had so, so, so many people attempt to teach me to kick my legs up over my head. It has never happened. Until now!!!!

JESSICA CAN DO A CARTWHEEL!!!!

Kelsie pretty much got it, and Taylor was close. We had been there for 40 minutes (...fail). We could have left after 30 minutes, but Taylor, of all people, wasn't ready to go until she had this thing figured out. How ironic. :)

So within a half-hour period, we swung and learned cartwheels. That night is a keeper!

Kelsie, Mallory, Michelle, Taylor and Me

The DOs and DON'Ts of a Campfire Gathering

DO bring Hot dogs. Buns. Graham Crackers. Mallows. Strawberries. Reese's. Startbursts. These are the requirements for an excellent bonfire that runs amongst the sizes of small.

DON'T become jealous of the steaks that the guys made. Be content with your three hot dogs.

 

DO bring men who have muscle and can drag a tree through the woodsen. This tree will be used as a bench for many generations to come.

DON'T forget to bring your roasting sticks. If you do, you will be required to use the wire hangers found in Mandy's trunk. If those are all in use, you must go along the river banks and find yourself a really green stick that smells of incense when placed over heat.

DO remember to go rock jumping, even when rocks are spaced too far apart. It's a necessary requirement in order to flag fellow group members down without sitting in the middle of the road trying to gain their attention...or you could sit in the middle of the road.

DON'T forget to wear spark resistant clothing. If you do forget, do as Mary does, and avoid the spark at all costs. This means sacrificing your body off a log. Tip off log, straight onto back, legs erect in the air. At least you will not burn.

DO eat a Reese's s'more. *Warning: You will never go back to your old ways of a classic s'more*

DO remember to bring a levi blanket for star-gazing after everyone departs.

DO shake off Lightning McQueen blanket after laying in open field. Otherwise you will wake up one morning, two days from this gathering, and find a creepy crawly worm in your sheets...*cringe.* This will cause you to rise to alarm and start researching bed bugs via google. You will realize that this was a false alarm, and will forever know how to recognize a bed bug if you were ever to come across one.

DO blog about the occassion so that you will forever remember that you were once an adventurous college student.

Ryan, Mallory, Mary, Kaitlin, and Jenessa

A Celebration of LIFE!

My dearest roommate Mallory is brilliant. She invited us to her LIFE Party via Facebook. It was scheduled for Friday, April 16, 2010 at 8:35 PM in our apartment. Of course I accepted her invitation!

So 8:35 PM rolled around and the LIFE Party began!

We ate LIFE cereal while we waited for everyone to trickle in for the party.

When everyone was there, we pulled out The Game of LIFE. We had so many people in attendance that we all partnered up. So Shanna and I were a couple. I can honestly say, after this game that we played, I have never correctly played it (and we still fudged some of the rules in the end!). I think that's why I've always been so bored with it in the past! This game really does rock though - and I'm sorry that I ever dissed it in the past.

L to R: Tim, Mike, Ryan, Rachel, Michelle, Mallory, Jordan, and Phil

We had an affluence of boy pegs, but girl pegs, we were lacking. So to make-up for our gender inequality, the girls were represented by half a tooth-pick. This was slightly problematic - our vehicle experienced many a roll-over thanks to the females. But thankfully, no one was ever hurt...you think this would have been an indication to purchase car insurance (...which we did not).

Tim is excited about LIFE

Every team that chose to play took the college route...except Phil and Tim. May it be noted that they who skip school, make bank! Dang! The luck Phil and Tim had was absolutely ridiculous. Shanna and I were in quite the opposite position. We had loans coming out of our ears! We had so much debt, that at one point, there wasn't enough loan notes to give to us - we had to resort to sticky notes! The life of an entertainer is extremely rough. 

Our collection of loans

We're failing!

But then came our big break! We became superstars!!!! And all was well with us as we quickly pulled out of debt and rose to the bedazzling life of a performer....but Phil and Tim still had us beat....and Rachel and Mallory...haha. Michelle and Jordan were on the bumpy road...and Mike and Ryan....well, once we hit it big, they floundered. ;)

Our Big Break! Sha-Bang!

The light shines on those who are patient!

Shanna spun and landed us on a space that caused quite the uproar. It claimed that we went in for plastic surgery and it cost us a boat load! We laughed as we argued over which one of us it was that went in for it. Shanna shot me down - "I don't need it." Ouch. Thanks Shanna. ;) Haha.

After our epic game of LIFE, we got together and watched a cute movie called "Dan in Real LIFE." Me gusta! Mallory and Rachel bought LIFEsavors to be eaten, but we forgot to open them that night (so Mal brought them to church today and we ate them in sacrament meeting).  

It was just a fun night. A Celebration of LIFE and the blessed opportunity we have to be LIVING. 

I LOVE LIFE!!!!!!!!!

Cache Valley - You Are Beautiful

There are moments when being alone is the perfect remedy. A perfect time to let go of every care you are holding in. A time to let your mind focus on one thing, or absolutely nothing. I like alone time. :)

For the longest time, I have looked out my kitchen window and noticed a canyon. I never knew how to get there or what it was called. The other day I was looking up directions on how to get to my Bishop's house, and lo' behold, I notice a road leading up to the mountain - and a name. Green Canyon. Turn up 1900 East. I knew that was it!

So I drove and found my Bishop's house. On the return home, I took a slight detour and headed up 1900. It was glorious! It dead ends with a loop - hiking and camping spots all along the way. I turned into a park at the mouth of the canyon and saw a trailhead that was very well defined. I thought to myself, "Self, please remember that hiking trail for later."

Two days later, the most beautiful spring day arrived! It was incredible and beyond words! We had a picnic and everyone was outside enjoying the warm air.

After an appointment with my academic advisor (and finding out the BLESS-ED news that I can minor in Marketing OR Business!!!!)  and working with my group on our paper-product bridge, I decided I needed to enjoy this beautiful day too. I remembered my mental note. I came home and picked up my keys and changed my shoes. I decided today would be the day in which I would go exploring!

I drove back to that park where the trail began. I didn't know what to be prepared for, but I had a hoody and a waterbottle. I started to climb up the trail, and it was incredibly steep...and it stayed steep the entire time! It was so stellar! I swear, if it weren't for the kick-boxing class I currently am in, I don't think I would be able to have handled that vertical climb!

It was quiet. It was clean. It was beautiful.

I discovered where lost balloons land. The tops of mountains.

I discovered deer who stared me down as I walked by.

I discovered that I had no idea where the trail would end. I gave myself until 7:30 PM. When 7:30 arrived, I stopped and looked at the valley below me. --- Cache Valley. You are beautiful.

I saw my building where I have lived over the past seven months, and I wondered how I could have let such an opportunity such as this pass me by for so long.

The sun was setting and it was time for me to head back down. What took me 40 minutes to hike up, I ran down in 10 minutes. It was so invigorating...

Dear Logan,

      I will no longer let these moments pass me by. I will wander and explore your streets and take in all your beauty - from the tops of mountains, from the bottom of the island. Logan, you're the greatest.

Much Love,
Jess 

Caja Cafe

3-D Design is a core class for all those wishing to be an art major here at USU.

*Side note: I got accepted as an Art major! I'm in!!!!*
And there was MUCH rejoicing!

Everyone I've talked to had something to say about the class...and it was never very enlightening. Needless to say, I was frightened of what was to come when I stepped into the sculpture lab back behind the dumpsters that first day of class.

I have spent hours, mind you HOURS!!!!!, working on projects for this class. I'm sick of whatever medium I work with after each project. I'm sick of wire, pasta noodles, paper, magazines, clay, and cardboard. I have no desire to ever look at them again! EVER. But quite frankly, that desire is futile. ;) 

Bless my roommates' hearts. These projects are not only time consuming, they are space consuming! I always have a mass take over of the table, or of the floor.  But despite the three o'clock/four o'clock mornings, I'm proud of the things I've been able to create. It's basically what I always did as a kid. My creations were more along the lines of beanie baby houses, paper bird cages, and anything to do with staples, tape, and duct tape. This class...took these creative elements to an all new level.

Metamorphism across five relief tiles - Watery Grave

It also took us to an engineering level. Boo.

With a partner, we were required to come up with some sort of design made solely of paper products. It then had to be able to transport one person 25 feet. Paper products? The weight of one person? Moves? GAH!!!! My brain was not prepared for this. Julia and I worked on a design that began with the concepts of a tricycle and a chariot. After consulting our engineering neighbors, we were given a lot of advice. Maybe more than we ever needed, but nonetheless, it was helpful. With all the information being fed to us, we came up with a fairly fabulous design.

My living room was consumed with shreds of cardboard for many days. The neighbors next door spent many hours checking in on us and watching us create this monstrosity. I think it was more fun for them watching us put this thing together, than it was for us! This project was large-scale, so we used drills and saws and box cutters...plus 8 bottles of Elmer's glue. With all these dangerous and sharp tools at our desposal, I managed to shove a paper clip through my thumb. That was slightly disconcerting...

We went cardboard scavenging. Lee's gave us 30 boxes, and we've officially annoyed the tar out of JoAnn's by making several returning trips to obtain sturdy cardboard tubes. We also went to the Herald Journal and bought roles of butcher paper for $1. We didn't use the butcher paper. We only wanted the tube it was on. :)

We were also allowed to use hemp rope...because it's natural fiber...with all of these things, we created our masterpiece, Caja Cafe. Translation: Brown Box.

It was a proud and happy moment when I sat on the box and it actually supported my weight. It was an even prouder and happier moment when I was able to roll down the hallway all by myself - wheelchair style!

Me and Julia

We packed Caja Cafe into the trunk of my car and transported it to class the next day. As I was pulling it out of my car, I noticed the axel of the wheel was coming unraveled! WHAT?!?! No way! Not now! Not when we had worked this hard! It just had to hold!

Everyone's paper product "vehicles" were intense! I couldn't believe the ingenuity behind some of them, but then, looking at ours...it was pretty ingenius too. ;) It looked so sharp and stable. Mandy, our teacher, was impressed and talked highly of the design, but when it came time to try it out, I sat on it, and the axel unraveled even more. It didn't hold. After all that - knowing that it worked! - we couldn't even show everyone. It was one of the biggest let downs of my life! Julia and I were crushed! But we weren't the only ones with failures. More than half the class had similar issues. I still don't know our grade on the project, but I hope Mandy is generous and realizes what we put into it!

The saddest moment was chucking Caja Cafe into the recylce bin. After all that time put into it, not being able to show it off, and having it end up in the dumpster? Oh how sad the moment was....but I tell you what, I learned a lot. That was the whole point of the project. We weren't focusing on the artsy element, but rather a mental process.

It was stressful, beyond belief! But in retrospect, it was a great project...I will grudingly admit.

Now we have to create a suspension bridge that spans 6 feet and holds two person's weights....also only using paper products. I think we have a pretty sturdy design. Jealous? I'll be sure to report. ;)

Fred Gets Baptized

Yesterday was my sister Fred's (aka: Marie's) baptism. It was a busy and wonderful day!

Mom had a class, Dad took Val to get dance pictures, and Jord was on a walk with a friend. That left me and Freddy to get ourselves ready for her big day. Bishop Jenkins, the new bishop of the family's new ward, brought Marie a white towell with her name sewn in pink along the edge, along with a poem. It was so cute. Marie read the poem to me and was all grins. She was jumping up and down and wanting to show everyone her awesome special towell. :)

I fell asleep on the couch watching tv, but Marie wasn't going to let anything stop her. Dad had asked me to help Marie start getting ready by 3:00, and she wasn't going to forget it. She kept asking me how much longer it was until 3:00. I told her 15 minutes and she came and laid with me on the couch. FINALLY 3:00 came around and we went into her room and put on her baptism dress - which also happens to be the dress that Valerie wore, which I wore, which Ariel wore, which somebody else probably wore as well. ;) She looked so pretty! Then she put on her tights and her new sparkly "high-heel" shoes. The combination of tights and new shoes was tricky business walking around because it was slippery. But Fred was a master. I still can't walk in heels. ;) She also had a sparkly headband studded with "pearls and diamonds," which I was informed from the get-go, that weren't real. If they were, it would be a "super, super, super, SUPER expensive headband" - and "it was cheap." What a princess. :)

Finally everyone came home and we were off to the baptism! Me and Dallon (my seven year-old cousin) sat next to one another. We couldn't even see Marie because she was "so short." But then Bro. Crowell asked all the candidates to stand up in front - and Marie was head and shoulders above them all! Dang - those high-heels were definitely working for her. ;)

After Marie's friend Jade was baptized, it was our family's turn to go to the baptismal room. I couldn't really see her as she was immersed by the water, but I could feel her excitement and the Spirit in the room. :) I sure am proud of her! And my Pops - for being worthy to baptize her.

Freddy and Pops

She walked into the "Family History Room" glowing like a princess - princess dress included. :) And then she was confirmed! With all of our family shoved in there, I realized how many people were there that loved Marie. Over and over and over the speakers had all told the kids how much everyone loved them, but it finally sunk in when I saw everyone there. :) I love my family!

Our family! 

We went back to the house to eat dinner and my, my - it was delish! It got a little bit nippy as the evening went on, but nothing a jacket couldn't fix.

Dallon had permission to use Gramp's mini-video recorder. I told him we should make a super-hero movie and jump on the tramp and pretend like we were flying - and he wouldn't let me forget that all night. I didn't really want to make a movie, but I did want to jump on the tramp. It had been ages! So I got on with Erin and we jumped and jumped, and pretty soon Dallon and Marie got on, then Phoenix, then Val, and Kaleb near the end. It was so fun! I love jumping on the tramp! We played Marco Polo, Dead Man, Motor Boat, and Shark Attack. To keep everyone entertained we had to constantly switch back and forth between games, but it was a total blast!

The evening came to a delightful end and I had to go back up to Logan. I said good-bye to all mi familia --multiple times because I kept forgetting things: my shoes, a cd, a drill and saw, questions for dad, questions for mom-- and I said "I love you! Good-bye!" At least a dozen times before I ever actually left. :)

I hugged Freddy good-bye and choked up a little bit inside. I love her so much, and that was such a special day for her. I hope she always remembers it! I'm pretty sure I will...especially now that I have it written down. ;)

Where Did Our Furniture Go?

We had an appointment for the temple and Mallory got a phonecall from Rachel and walked out the door for a stroll around the block. We were unsure if she had a key or not and we didn't want to leave her stranded! So we shut the front, turned off the lights, and left the back door open just a smidgeon...all with Mallory in mind.

When we came back from the temple, we walked in through the backdoor -as always- and walked into a baren living room. All our furniture was gone. We looked across the hall and the guy's door was closed -unlike always.

We instantly pinned it on the Demon Child. Ryan.
But truth be told, it was Mike's and Tim's doing.

We found Mallory sitting in her room reading...except something was amiss. All her stuff had been transferred to the opposite side of the room. She asked who had let Ryan in. None of us had - and we explained the situation. Turns out, Mallory did have a key and we didn't even need to leave the backdoor open...

But we decided to make the most of bareness of our room! We had been dying for a picnic all week, but the weather had been absolutely crazy and uncooperative. So I put a frozen pizza in the oven and when it was done, we laid Taylor's levi blanket out on the floor and feasted. We got our fancy picnic afterall! Ha! Nothing can rain on our parade!

Michelle, Me, Taylor, and Mallory enjoying a picnic

Eventually Tim and Ryan came in and we demanded an explanation as to where our furniture was residing. They explained to us that they noticed our door was slightly ajar and came to say hi...and when they saw nobody was home, they struck! They didn't know when we would be home so they worked quickly to transfer all of our furniture to their apartment. We walked across the hall, and sure enough, there was two of everything in their living room.

Take that Tim.

Instead of being kind and courteous, the men refused to transport our furniture back. So it was with us. We had to move it ourselves. Tim and Ryan got a huge kick out of Shanna and Taylor attempting to move the table back through the door way. Tim was recording the whole process - and even more priceless was the epic moment when Taylor turned around and yelled an emphatic, "You guys suck!" to the camera. Priceless and forever captured. :)

Peace was restored once more and happy were we when all our furniture was back in it's proper place...but our remote has yet to be recovered. Be it made known that it is VERY missed!

Helicon West

Taylor told us once long ago that there is a place in town where you can go listen to people read poetry. It is called Helicon West. It happens at the True Aggie Cafe on Main every second and fourth Thursday.

I asked dear Google to define Helicon for me, and it dispersed all my curiosities.

Helicon: A part of the Parnassus, a mountain range in Greece, which was the home of the Muses. The name is used as an allusion to poetic inspiration.

I highly recommend attending a poetry jam sometime in your life. Greatest. Thing. Ever. :)

Taylor and I drove around town and found the cafe, but realized that parking was best found behind the building. This led us to the backside of Main, a street I've only seen at night. I was instantly in love! In love!!! Taylor noticed that all the buildings were different sizes and heights and different brick colors, and as we stepped out of the car, I suddenly felt like I was about to run into the Jets and the Sharks from West Side Story. Who knew that our friendly, quiet, little Logan had New York like qualities?

So we walked to the backdoor of the cafe and popped our head inside. We felt completely awkward because walking in from the back would require us walking in front of the performers. So I pulled Taylor around and we walked through the back door of the Sportsman. Little did we know that they were closing! But the guy in the back told us to walk to the front and have the lady open the locked door for us. What an inconvenience we were! But the lady was kind and let us walk through the store to get to the front of the cafe next door.

We walked in on a lady reading a short story, that I'm assuming she wrote. Something about her racist father and her being out when she wasn't supposed to. She was nervous and read quickly. But after her reading (I'm sorry to say that we didn't snap, but clapped), the woman directing the readings of the night got up and explained that each reader is allowed seven minutes at the pulpit. I liked this lady - she was quick on her feet and bursting with quiet energy. We were trying to place her accent, but we still haven't a clue. :) She proceeded to announce the next three readers and provided us with bouts of trivia.

If you were wondering, Siddhartha Gautama was born this day many hundreds of years ago. She encouraged us to write poetry about Buddha. Yes.

The variety of people who got up to read were of all walks of life! We had a poetry professor with gray hair pulled into a pony-tail, a few of his students, an older man reading about growing old and two stanzas inspired by Lord of the Rings, a man with a speech impediment (but I loved listening to him spout off words about The Best is Yet to Come), a girl who is in charge of the new forth-coming poetry magazine, English nerds... :) And late comers who wished to read whatever it was that struck their fancy. I was shocked to see my Policitical Science S.I. instructor get up and utter words about late-blooming golden rods? But it was his alter ego! His other half. This man is brilliant at Political Science, and yet here he was in this cafe with a ball-cap placed backwards on his head. The contrast made me laugh! It was like living a life that you only see in movies!

The time had come for the readings to commence, and music began to play as we walked out the building. I turned to see an older woman dancing and loving life. I couldn't believe we had really been there. It was so fun!

So maybe I enjoy poetry and prose...and maybe it's over my head...but maybe even more I love people watching. It was cause for much fondness to swell in my heart.

Thank you Taylor for introducing my to Helicon West. It will forever be a spark of joy in my life. :)