festival of colors

Yesterday was quite the adventure as we went to the Holi Festival of Colors at the Hare Krishna temple in Spanish Fork. I had heard so much about it, I thought it was time to experience it for myself. Basically, it was thousands of people throwing colored chalk at each other to celebrate the coming of spring. It was crazy! When they gave the signal, everyone started throwing chalk and we couldn't breathe for a while because the chalk cloud was so strong. We ended up covered in chalk with purple snot and a lovely new lavendar shirt that used to be white. It was fun to see the temple and the llamas and listen to the Hare Krishna band, but it was quite the crazy crowd experience and I'm still finding bits of sand all over, even after washing my hair twice!

Before. We wore white because its the best to see the colors, but please observe how pristene they were.

During. This is after most of the chalk had settled and I figured it was safe to take out my camera, so most of the color cloud has gone away. There were atleast this many people behind us, too.After. The colors mushed to make a weird brown color that turned our shirts pinky purple when we washed them. It took lots of washing to get even remotely clean!

bliss

things I'm loving lately...
1. the Regina Spektor Pandora station- hello, springtime!
2. PR majors- I'm amazed at the talent of the people I interact with everyday
3. The Slavic language hallway of the JFSB- I currently have a nook to myself with a comfy chair and a view of the snowy mountains-perfection.
4. this kid
5. MEXICO! I leave in 54 days
6. Oregon Trail- yes, the 1985 classic computer game is back. I accidentaly killed 3 of my roommates whilst crossing the plains yesterday
7. being on the front page of the DU yesterday
8. General Conference is next weekend
9. Baseball season starts oh so soon and Griffey is back in Seattle!

a celebration of sorts

We went out to dinner for Tara's birthday on Friday, which just happened to be the first day of spring! I love the chance to wear my favorite sun glasses-- they were free and I have two pairs, so it isn't as painful when I lose them. The weather recently has been delicious and sunny, I even had a few reports today that I am looking tan from my time spent studying in the sun. But of course, in true Utah fashion, the weather was cold and windy today with a sputtering of snow.

haha number 2

We declared this week "roommate appreciation week" so we could focus on being nice to each other and appreciating each other and on having roommate prayer every night so we don't get super stressed. I've been thinking about how great my roommates are, and their wonderful qualities that aren't the superficial 'you're so cute' things. On an unrelated note, yesterday was the first day I really appreciated daylight savings time. Walking home at 5 and having it feel like the middle of the day? wonderful.

Kylie

Kylie is probably the only roommate that will read this, so she gets to go first (also alphabetical). Also, she has put up with me for the past 2-ish years. Even when I try to mother her and wake her up in the morning, she has never gotten mad or frustrated at me. Kylie is also on the receiving end of most of my rants about other people/things, and she listens. Plus, she is super fun and makes me laugh. And she can quote just about everything.

Rachel

Rachel is from England, she therefore she is cool. I am her roommate, therefore I am cool. Rachel knows things about everything, and can talk intelligently about just about any topic. She keeps me on my toes, humble and level-headed. She is honest and always checks my grammar so I don't sound stupid.

Sian-Amy

Sian-Amy lets me escort her on the way to school sometimes. She has taught me lots of English words like 'bum' and 'can't be bothered'. Sian-Amy gives good advice and always listens to my problems. She is good at blanket walks and talks and is super friendly to everyone. She is very good at empathizing with others and lets me borrow her beads.Tara

Tara is ridiculously talented in so many ways. She is always thinking of other people and things she can do to help them. She is super smilely and happy and always asks how my day is. Tara is very put-together kind. She is a hard worker and involved in just about everything!

Wallis

Wallis is a great example of hard work. She is always busy with a project of some sort, and lets her testimony show through her actions. Wallis is also super compassionate and notices things about people that I never realize. Plus, she (and Tara) make delicious cookies and other delicious things.Yay for apartment 2!

I love to see the temple...

I got the awesome opportunity to go to the Draper Temple Open House with my ward on Wednesday night. I didn't take any pictures of my own because it was snowing (yeah, random) while we were there and I wanted to stay in the warm tunnel thing. But oh my goodness, it is beautiful! I had never been in an un-dedicated temple before, and it was quite the experience. Even though it has yet to be dedicated, there is still a special spirit in there. The rooms are all so beautiful and peaceful, and only the best materials are used. It definitely motivated me to keep working towards my goal of going through the temple someday!

http://www.lds.org/temples

a taste of summer

What a beautiful few days it has been! We went to one of BYU's first baseball games (in February!) on Friday afternoon and it felt just like summer, except for when the sun went down around the 8th inning and it got really cold. I was walking home from campus tonight at 7 in a t-shirt and jeans because it was too hot to wear my cardigan. Crazy.

Also, my Mexico class started last week and I am so excited to go! It was great to meet the other people going and look at pictures of all the cool things we get to do and people we get to work with. We get to have a pizza party at an orphanage, build a hut out of adobe bricks, have a fiesta with indigenous people and roasted goat, and so much more. I am so very excited!!