Happiness.

Today was a good day.

I reinstated my Chacos tan. (What took me 4 months in Jerusalem I restored almost completely during 1 day in Mexico.)

Wandering the streets and having a free afternoon. Especially since we had a good (i.e. small) group. Plus, somehow, Kayla and I lucked out and had 3 (and then 4) men in our group. And there are only 7 on the tour...

The best part though was walking through the market. Which reminded me a little bit of the Shuk (still don't know how to spell that word... shuq? shuk?). And sometimes, it smelled just like the Old City. And everytime I got that familiar whiff, I would just start smiling. :)

I miss the days we spent walking through Jerusalem. I guess walking through various towns in Mexico is close enough.

Minus the Hebrew, Arabic, Dome of the Rock, the Jerusalem Center and the dreaded hike through up the Kidron Valley.

While on the bus today, I also found myself singing (in my head) the Hebrew alphabet. So great. :)

I think I have a new schooling plan in the works and I'm excited to see if I can pursue it. :)

Until next time.

Blessed.

Today, I'm so grateful for education.

And especially the fact that I have the opportunity to go to school and get an education.

Today, we had an privilege of going to the LDS Institute, here in Puebla Mexico and have the chance to meet with students who are a part of the BYU-Idaho Pathways program.

We ate dinner (delicious mole) with them and then we had the chance to participate in their classes with them.

It was seriously so great.

Seeing the BYU-Idaho learning model, in action here in Mexico is mindblowing.

The dedication that these people have is inspiring.

They're in their mid to late twenties (or early 30's) and the set so much time aside to getting their education, even though it cuts into their other activities.

They have jobs and families and they take time to learn English and get an education that will help their lives immeasurably.

I'm blown away because our life, in little Rexburg Idaho, is so simple and easy.

I am so grateful for all that I have. And meeting the students today, interacting with them and hearing their amazing stories has given me greater perspective.

They are truly amazing and I feel like the experience.at the little Institute building here in Puebla will definitely be one of my most memorable experiences of the trip.

Leavin' on a jetplane.

Tomorrow is the day.

After a weekend filled with Jerusalem reminicsing, delicious food and lots of laughter, all with Little Lottie, I'm going to get on an airplane tomorrow.

Off to Mexico City I go.

And I will return to this lovely city near Salt Lake in 25 days.

Just in time for my 21st birthday/Charlotte's farewell and bonding time with my new favorite family.

It's going to be great.

But in the meantime, I need to go and hang out with some manatees, sharks, rays and most importantly, see lots of ancient ruins.

I'll be back.

(I might or might not be updating my travel blog. Just fyi.)

Sometimes I feel famous.

{because I know famous people.}

Remember this day?

I mean, of course you remember when the day that I got engaged/married/whatever.

(Especially since he was 16 years old.)

But what I'm talking about is the very bottom.

Where I talk about my future grandfather-in-law.

Well, remember how I saw Victor Ludlow walking through the Jerusalem Center one evening? While I was being super studious and doing my homework?

Apparently, when I saw both Ludlow's walk into the Jerusalem Center office, they were going to to this.

When Poppa Hunts posted about this on facebook the other day, I thought that it was recent. But NOPE.

They recorded this on that October day when I saw Victor and Jared Ludlow walking through the Jerusalem Center.

The '60 sisters' that Marissa or Melia prays about?

I'm one of them.

Actually, this whole thing just warms my heart.

So great to hear their voices!

And to hear their testimonies and their love of the scriptures and the Holy Land.

And especially, their testimonies of Christ.

I love them all.

I forgot how much I missed that place.

(Okay, not really but maybe a little bit.)

And is it a coincidence that "Viva la Vida" (by Coldplay) just came on pandora?

(I love that song because it mentions Jerusalem. hahaha)

Anywho, I just figured I'd post this little thing. It's funny how famous all my Jerusalem professors are, in real life.

Love it.

I was also reminded today of Brother Skinner and his wise advice to not go on my MesoAmerica trip. Mostly because he had a bit of a traumatic experience trying to change his clothes, while in a sleeping bag, while on a hammock. So great.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) we won't be sleeping in hammocks. But if we did, I would undoubtedly think about him and his experience. haha

At this point.

Let's see.

I still feel like walking death.

I don't even want to go on my trip.

I don't want to go to class.

I can't even focus on anything.

I don't even want to watch movies.

Here is what I want:

I want to go home, to California.

I want to go to the appropriate medical facility and let them rip out my tonsils (or I guess do it nicer than ripping.)

I want to sit on the couch/bed and watch movies or tv shows all day long, while recovering.

I want to eat delicious smoothies and popsicles.

I want to be done with these stupid, swollen tonsils forever.

Unfortunately, I still have two point five days of school left.

And then apparently a three point five week trip.

Yay.

I can hardly contain my excitement.

:(

Sick on Sabbath.

There is nothing I love more than visiting the doctor.

On a Sunday.

And not having them know what is wrong with me.

Mono Test: Negative

Strep Test: Negative.

Culture: Pending (we'll get the results in 72 hours).

What is positive? The fact that my whole neck hurts because my tonsils are so swollen.

And that my tonsils look absolutely disgusting at this present moment.

And that for breakfast and lunch today I had popsicles and frozen peas.

(Oh, and the fact that I'm already planning on getting those puppies removed in late May.)

With stronger antibiotics and a shot of steroids, hopefully I'll be feeling better soon.

:)

Especially because in a 8 days, I'm supposed to get on a flight to Mexico City.

Time to write some papers,

eat more popsicles,

and rest.

Friday the Thirteenth.

Normally this day is just that, normal.

Today however, it lived up to it's superstitions.

I woke up with a sore throat.

Which normally you would just say, oh, bummer.

You have a sore throat.

But nope.

Not me.

It's always some sort of infection.

Strep/Tonsillitis/etc.

I had to go to the doctor anyway today,

to have them check my TB test from Wednesday

so I just figured I'd have them run a strep test really fast and I'd get some drugs.

(Sidenote: I lovelovelove my doctor here in Rexburg. As in, I love the entire staff. They're so great.)

I went in, explained the situation and after a couple of minutes, my favorite nurse came back and got me. She took my temperature, blood pressure, etc (all of which she had just done two days earlier on a healthier me). I also had to give her my immunization records so she could finish my mission health stuff. Woo!

Then Dr. David Day walked in, checked my ears and approximately two seconds after looking at my throat he was like "So did you actually want us to do a strep test or did you just want us to treat you? Because there is definitely some sort of infection back there. It's all red and you're even getting the white stripe." I told him I didn't really want to do the strep test (because it's always negative anyway) So he printed off a prescription, signed it and I was out the door.

Unfortunately, I then had to walk to the pharmacy and wait for them to fill my prescription.

That was quick but I was impatient because I still had to walk home and classtime was approaching.

Luckily, I got home with just enough time to grab my backpack and hurry to class.

Which was dreadfully boring.

Especially since I felt like crap (because I didn't have a chance to take my drugs.

And I started getting a throbbing headache.

It was so nice when class was finally out for the day.

And I have a couple people who are interested in my bike so hopefully that'll be gone soon. I went and got it this afternoon from Birch and it was nastyyyy. Covered in 8 months worth of dust and dirt. Yummy.

I cleaned it all off and it's sitting in my apartment, shiny and bright.

Time to watch a movie and then go to sleep. haha

I'm missing so many fun activities. :(

Ten for Thursday.

1. I got to sleep in today. Until 9:15. Which is longer than I've gotten to sleep in for weeks. And it was lovely. (Although I didn't have class until noon... so I could've slept longer. I also went to sleep at approximately 11 last night. So great.

2. I've taken two showers today. And in less than 12 hours. Don't judge me.

3. My two favorite classes ran long (which was great) and my least favorite class got out an hour early. So once our professor left, we all just hung out and talked and watched this. We were in tears because we were laughing so hard. Wonderful.

4. I swam for 30 minutes or so. Which was lovely. Especially since I'm like friends with the Hart lady now, apparently. And the lifeguard still looks at me suspiciously. It's fun to have access to a pool again.

5. Haven't done any homework. (Juuuust kidding. I forgot I started my essay.) I feel so bored all the time. I should've taken 11 credits like I had planned.

6. I want to KILL my internet. It takes approximately 400 hours to load anything. Good thing I'm only here for another week.

7. Hung out with Jared today. He surprised me in the library and we chatted about me being a traveling slacker, Jerusalem, Turkey, etc. Fun.

8. I've eating a nice little bowl of ice cream, almost three nights in a row. (Tonight will make three).

9. I found my birthdaybirthdaybirthday twin yesterday. She's a geology major on the tour with me. Which is weird because I thought about geology. But both of us were born on May 18, 1991. :) Exciting. But the thing that makes it kinda funny is that when we were in Jerusalem, Nicole found her birthdaybirthdaybirthday twin with Kelly.

10. 8 more days until I see the fambam, 9 more days until I see Little Lottie, 11 more days until I fly to Mexico! And then 36 days until my birthday. :) Yippee!

p.s. if you have a little time (aka 76 minutes) and you love british people, top gear, cars or the middle east, watch this little gem. I love three of those things and i loved this. Hilariously great entertainment. Makes me miss Galilee/Israel/etc.

Loves.

Jerusalem Dreaming.

I had a busy day today.

Class at 7:45.

Then print out stuff for the doctor at the library.

Which turned into a 45 minute Jerusalem talk with a girl working there who is going in the Spring. Aka she leaves in a couple of weeks. It was so great talking to her about Jerusalem and giving her inside tips and such. Makes me kinda wish I had better friends who went over there before me. But it was so fun to talk about Jerusalem with someone who is excited about it. And I gave her my number in case she has further questions. She's going to LOVE it there. I'm excited. :)

I then hurried home, ate breakfast, got all my stuff ready and then walked to the doctor.

My appointment was at 10:30 and I was out of there at 10:45. I did also get there at 10:15 because I told them I had class to hurry too but it was great. I was afraid I was going to have to go immediately to class after.

I then came home and wrote a lovely letter to Junior.

He's a funny kid. This is how he started out his letter:

" Jonah, Gen 1:21, Ezek 32:2, Ether 6:10. Like a boss."

Clearly, my whale obsession has rubbed off on him. SO funny.

I then got to go to 4 wonderful hours of class which involved talk about Jerusalem.

And I walk past a picture of the Jerusalem Center everyday on my way to class. Makes me sad. (I always want to take a picture of it, but that seems creepy. Because it's a poster about President Hunter...)

And I doodled the Jerusalem Center, the Dome of the Rock and practiced my script Hebrew alphabet during English. I'd say that was productive (although I had to look up 'chet' online because I couldn't remember it...)

And now I'm procrastinating homework.

Typical.

I'm waiting for the thunderstorms that I've been waiting on all day long.

Soon.

Back to the 'Burg.

Well folks, the day has come.

I am officially back in Rexburg.

I got here late last night and after an adventurous car ride, we got to Rexburg and moved in.

Lovely.

Being back in the dorms (for just two weeks people) has brought back floods of memories. haha it was funny reminiscing with Erin about all sorts of adventures that we had.

I also met most of my roommates last night and they're pretty cool. They're all going on the Humanities' Europe tour so we won't be touring together but that's alright. Maybe it'll be kinda good anyway.

But classes started today. But really we just had a long meeting to discuss the trip and such.

Think Dr. Kearl's speech but... way less intense.

A lot of the stuff they told us was important for people to hear because many haven't been outside of Idaho but it was a little repetitive, I felt.

Like, don't make eye contact with boys. Check.

Don't drink sketch water. Check (Thanks Doctor Chapman!)

Be super careful of pickpocketers. Check.

Be on time for events. (Definitely got this down, thanks Dr. Steve and Poppa Hunts!)

Etc.

Let's just say that I now miss Jerusalem more than I have in a while.

I know that this trip will be really fun... but I'm already expecting it to be sub-par to Jerusalem and the experiences of the Holy Land that are so near and dear to my heart.

Now I need to do homework, unpack, go to class, get groceries, hang out with Erin, etc.

I also feel kinda bad because I didn't really celebrate Easter at all... which probably makes me miss Jerusalem even more. :(

Anywhooooo, time to unpack I think.

It's good to be back, I hope.

It's also funny, because it has been exactly 4 months since I've been in school. Wow.

Finals Week.

I'm not in school right now.

But if I was, this would be my finals week.

This week still feels just as crazy and stressful as a normal finals week.

Things I've done in the past 48 hours (or so):

-Worked 10 consecutive hours.

-And then 8+ consecutive hours.

-Assembled 50+ tax returns.

-Read almost an entire novel.

-Taken a 3 hour nap at work.

-Missed an opportunity to have my first encounter with Jehovah's Witnesses (because of said nap.)

-Spent 2 hours driving.

-etc.

Things I have for the rest of the week (aka before I leave on Sunday):

-Babysitting every night. (Aka like 7-10 or so.)

-Working ALL day. (That means 9-5 or 6. And then a babysitting job on top of that.)

-Meet with the Bishop.

-Fit in some more work.

-Pack for 3 trips in one: Idaho winter, Mexico/Belize spring/summer, Utah spring. Great.

-Figure out my life (ha. I just feel like I always have to throw this in here... but it doesn't really apply here. Too bad.)

-Pack.

-Etc.

Let's just say, it's going to be mighty crazy for the next couple of days.

And I'm already looking forward to spending my entire Easter Sunday traveling back to my lovely tundra. (Although, technically, it might be nice because it won't make me supes homesick for Jerusalem.)

Oh, and I just got my class schedule for the next two weeks: Kill me.

Almost 7 straight hours of class. Almost everyday. But I guess that's what I get when I try to take 11 credits in two weeks. HA.

And yes, I did make this schedule for a little while tonight instead of starting the packing process. Don't judge me.

The only thing that will get me through that torture is:

A) a free swimming pool. Which I'm beyond excited about, honestly. Thank you, Hart building!

B) Random adventures with Jaybee cakes (hopefully!)

C) seeing my fambam at the end of two weeks and showing them around the lovely city of Rexburg.

D) Having a lovely sleepover with Charlotte the night before I leave for:

E) Mexico and most importantly BELIZE.

F) Birthday weekend (+ Sister Searle's farewell!) with my lovelies. (Most importantly, Lottie, Nicole and Suzical.) It'll be stupendous.

G) A magical letter awaiting me at home from President Monson.

H) A carefree summer (that will include a roadtrip to Oregonia to see Sister Young off!)

I) And most importantly, knowing that I won't have to take classes for another 5 semesters. WOOT.

Bring on the rest of the week. And wish me luck in my endeavors. Uhlll.

Red Toes.

Every Friday night, I get to babysit my favorite kid(s). I guess I have to call them all my favorite but really, just one is my favorite. We'll call him Andrew.

It's fun though because his dad (whom we'll call R) is my second cousin.

And for those of you who aren't following, R's dad and my mom are cousin's.

R is married to a lovely lady whom we'll call M.

And I babysit R +M's kids.

They have three.

Anyway.

One time, I went on a date with M's brother.

Which was awkward because Andrew (who is now two) knows me more than his uncle.

And (obviously) likes me more.

Back to the story.

Every Friday, I fight rush hour traffic on 101 to drive 20+ minutes to their house.

This past Friday though, both of Andrew's older brothers were going to their own playdate/birthday party so I got to have a supes presh date with Andrew.

Here is the adorable proof that he actually knows my name. :)

We ate pizza.

Played with trucks.

Read books.

Ate hot dogs.

Made the trucks all crash.

Drove them through tunnels.

Painted our toe nails.

Read more books.

And cuddled on the couch.

Oh, did I say that I painted a two year old boy's toes? Yes.

And it was literally adorable.

Here's what went down:

I had a little hole in my sock right where my big toe is. And my toes were painted pink but the paint has chipped off all my toes except my big toes.

So he saw the pink/red because of the hole and he was intrigued. So I took my sock off to show him why it was pink. And then I took the other off to show him my other toe.

(And he so adorably took my socks and put them in the laundry for me.)

I asked him if he wanted red toes too and he would try and grab the red on my toes and put it on his.

I figured his mom would have nail polish so I went in her bathroom and found some almost immediately.

And then I painted his. And it was adorbs.

He was literally obsessed with his toes.

It was all he would talk about the rest of the night.

Even as we were 'sleeping' on the couch, he would just grab his toes and talk about them.

(He also informed me that I'm his favorite babysitter, of course.)

It was a marvelous evening.

And once his parents got home, I explained the whole thing to them and they thought it was super cute. Which was good because right after I did it, I texted Jack one of those above pictures and said "R is going to kill me." But they thought it was great.

Today, M emailed me (about the logistics for this coming Friday) but the first thing she said in the email was:

"Have I told you that you are wonderful? Andrew talked about you all day on Saturday and his "red toes." I love them and wish I could put sparkly flip flops on them. :) "

Moral of the story:

I love dates with two year olds.

{And sorry my blogs are so frequently about small children. I am starting to feel like an annoying mommy blogger who only posts the "adorable things" their kids do. That'll stop soon, I promise. Aka this is probs my last post about little kids. I just don't have an exciting life.

And I also have a bunch more funny videos but I refrained from posting. So you just got the shortest ones of the batch.}