The Great Pumpkin!

Okay. So there are no pumpkins in this post. Not a single pumpkin. But this post DOES have everything to do with Halloween, and everyone knows pumpkins and Halloween are closely related... possibly double-cousins or something wild like that. Anyway, as you know by now Halloween has made its yearly round once more. After buying a myriad of random costume pieces at DI for costumes that I knew would never be identified by modern society (or possibly any society for that matter), I ended up using none of them and went instead as an Angry Bird from the same-named game. DIY tip on the netting for my skirt... it's like 90 cents a yard at Wal-Mart (which everyone knows is the fourth coolest store after DI, Costco on a sample day, and WINCO on any day). My roommates were adorable (as usual) and went as a Cereal-Killer and a witch-in-training.

(this is us!)

Other costumes at our ward party that deserve mention: a set of goldfish, "Shawn Spencer" from the tv show "Psych", Grapes of Wrath (she drew angry faces on purple balloons and taped them to her shirt...), and Catniss from "The Hunger Games".

Of course, two costumes that really took my breath away...

Although I have never seen Hot Rod, Brandon gets points for wearing a fake mustache and for squeezing into that snow suit. And Eric gets points for emulating both Princess Bride (great book) and Cary Elwes (dreamiest man to be resurrected in a movie). Good job, guys!

Yeah. Pretty awesome, huh? And if you STILL feel like you need something to inspire you for the week, check out this awesome video a friend of mine recently posted:

Wow. Yeah. I've got it pretty good you know, and not just because I have arms and legs... I have the support of some really incredible people in my life--my parents, my sisters, my friends... and I am SOOOOO grateful for that! Don't forget how good life is, okay?

Thanks for all your support lovelies,

me

Do the CREEP!

So. This weekend I finally tracked down one of my BFs... Casey-girl! Why is this girl one of my favorite people? For starters, because when I told her that I had recently acquired a set of fake mustaches, this is what happened next:

Yes, we really are this cool :)

Anyways... that of course sparked the topic of creeps with mustaches, culminating in watching "Do The Creep" by The Lonely Island and Nicki Minaj (note to readers, you may want to censor parts of the music video if you decide to watch it on Youtube). As everyone knows, if you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to want some milk to go with it... and if you give two silly girls fake mustaches and show them "The Creep", well, you can imagine what will happen:

(They'll get their arms T-rexin'!)

Oh yeah, and we made hair clips with fabric and a whole lotta' hot-glue-gunnin'.

Yep. Pretty epic weekend. Speaking of other epic things, I'd like to give a little shout-out to Eric and his family for running their SECOND Ragnar relay run this year in Las Vegas! Woot! This makes them proud owners of the much-coveted "Saints & Sinners" medals (yes, I am jealous. You should be, too.) Check out the bling and this beast of a final run Eric had to do:

(10.2 miles. 1283 foot incline. wow.)

Oh, and I finally worked up the courage to go back to my academic counselor and defer my graduation... that's right folks, I will be here at BYU for one more semester! Taking 8 more credits of chemistry isn't really what I had in mind for my life at the beginning of the year (or EVER in my life really), but plans change. And as hard as it can be to let go of where you thought life was taking you, sometimes you just gotta' go with your gut feeling and trust that things will work out, you know? I love this quote by Neil A. Maxwell:

"Those with true hope often see their personal circumstances shaken,

like a kaleidoscope, again and again.

Yet with the 'eye of faith' they still see divine pattern and purpose.

By pressing forward, we can stand on what was yesterday's horizon,

thereby drawing hope from our own experiences."

Well, have a lovely week all y'alls,

me

Homecoming!

So. The past several weeks have been a series of homecomings. Which for all those of you who don't know, is really cool. First homecoming to be mentioned:

BYU HOMECOMING!

Confession--I am not actually a very avid participant in Homecoming festivities. But I do enjoy seeing the "Y" lit up on the mountain every year. And there is one homecoming tradition I have embraced whole-heartedly... BLUE PANCAKES! Imagine if you will, a fluffy, warm, delicious pancake. Now imagine that it's blue, covered in melting chocolate chips, drizzled in syrup, and then generously doused in whipped cream. Oh, and you can add butter, if you want:) Talk about a sugar smorgasbord! You are guaranteed to go home sleepy and content! How neat is that? ;)

So anyways, Eric was a great sport and let me drag him there with me:

(Blue pancakes... yum!)

I had to work that night and missed the homecoming football game. Bummer :( But look what some sneaky person (who's name just might rhyme with 'Derrick') drew on my car while I was at work:

Other homecomings worthy of mention: my little sisters' high school homecoming (Royalty & Powderpuff participants!):

(She's the cutie in the purple dress!)

(My sisters are so tough!)

My friend Andy from freshman year's mission homecoming:

So yeah. Pretty awesome month so far :) The only thing that would make it better is if --I-- could go home for a little while... but alas, it seems I am destined to be in school/working for the rest of my life... not really:) But I am re-evaluating my graduation plan since the U is requiring--get this--TWO THOUSAND HOURS of work experience before I can apply to their program!!! Grrrr... But I guess that's why John Lennon used to say that "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." Then again, who ever said John Lennon was an expert on anything? :D

Keep up the good work,

me

RUN!

So. My mom is boss. I mean, quite literally, she is one of the coolest, most accomplished people I know. This weekend she ran in the St. George Marathon. Yes, she is really that hard-core :)

This is right before she smoked these two older guys and beat them to the finish line:

Look, you can't even tell she just ran 26.2 miles:

Taking pictures with the little sis (I LOVE sisters!!!):

Oh, and we got to go to Tuacahn and see "The Little Mermaid" with the grandparents while we were there--it was UH-MAZE-ING!!! All the actors had wheels on the bottom of their shoes so they looked like they were "swimming" across the stage, they had real-life WATER pour across the stage at one point, and they projected images onto a fountain of water that spanned the stage... so cool!

I love family. I loved this weekend.

Peace yo,

me

"Mawage is What Bwings Us Together"

So. Eric's brother Greg got married a week ago. Such a beautiful day. And the couple... radiant. They were both just so happy :) It has been so much fun to see them fall in love and grow together the past year, and I felt so lucky to be there and be part of their wedding with Eric (thanks, Eric!)

Being the musical maestros (maestras?) that they are, Eric's sisters played all the music for the reception and first dances. They are pretty flippin' talented, just so ya' know :)

I had so much fun being there! I learned the ancient art of flower de-petaling as we pulled apart roses to throw at the newlyweds when they left, I held the CUTEST niece ever, observed the timeless Turkish tradition of feeding your spouse a chocolate covered strawberry (we're pretty sure Ashley is Turkish), and pretty much spent the day with some of my favorite people outside of my family.

(You know you can't resist those chocolate-y lips!)

Favorite picture of the day:

Gosh, I love that boy :)

You know those days that are so lovely and happy that you want to hold on to them forever? Those days you want to stop time and hold on to the way you feel, the way things are just in that moment? This was one of those days. Billy Crystal once said that "Change is such hard work." I'm one of those girls who kind of fights change. Which is silly, I know, I know. But it was nice to see at the wedding how--even when things change--some things remain constant. Life is so good! Don't forget it, okay?

Love,

me