Sciency Stuff

March 24th

Kris was gone on vacation the whole week of her birthday. Maybe you've caught the drift that birthdays are big deal, even at work, and we weren't going to let her sneak away without celebrating. Whenever the office slowed down we worked on this awesome poster. The theme was 50s so we had lots of old celebrities, politicians, and styles on the billboard. She loved it. Another win for the party planning committee. ;)

This was brought on by a Meme Monday. Utah weather is such a tease. Every few days it would feel like spring... but then the snow would be back. It's not even one day of cold. Full on winter bounces back in. I liked the snow at first. March is supposed to be spring though. I wonder if I started to get SAD. Everyone is Arizona was swimming and wearing shorts. I was having a dance party every time it hit fifty degrees.

March 26th

Who is qualified to be a judge for the state science fair? Apparently me. Skinner asked our Geology 101 class to volunteer to be judges for the elementary and middle schools. We received extra credit and a bunch of free food, so who was going to say no? I do not consider myself good at science in any aspect. It was fun to walk through the displays though and interview fifth graders about their physical science experiments. The kids ranged from enthusiasts about their topic to kids presenting their parent's work. I wish Arizona did something similar to this. It is a good way to promote education, even though science is hard. ;)  

This is my name tag. It matched my outfit. Win. 

Congrats science fair kids. Some of you are smarter than me.

Red Velvet Cake

I'm not the biggest fan of red velvet cake. Sure I'll eat it, cake is cake. However, I prefer chocolate or even vanilla. Red velvet cake seems a little suspicious.

Jenni, on the other hand, loves red velvet cake. She said that every year for her birthday she wishes there was a way to make green, red velvet cake. Hasn't been accomplished yet, to my knowledge. 

I don't know where this cake mix came from, but suddenly Melissa wanted to make it. Her real goal was to make a fancy three layered cake. We spent the afternoon walking through the hall asking for cake pans. Success. We found three that were similar enough in size that we baked a three layer cake.

Melissa was out and about when Marie and I couldn't stand it any longer, we had to frost the cake. Melissa's one condition is that it turn out classy. 

Anna Sue came to borrow/return something and decided to stay for our baking night. She has a whirley pop. I love whirley pops. We called Sister Stock from back home and got her recipe for cinnabun popcorn. The specialty popcorn was a little labor intensive, but it was delicious. The bowl was empty again in no time.

Class.

After the cake and popcorn were done we watched "Once Upon a Time" with Jenni. Melissa made it back just as the home teachers arrived since she rescheduled with them. The first two times our home teachers visited us this semester we were having parties. Therefore, they now expect a party to begin when they come over. We don't disappoint. 

Several other girls in the hall were home taught while eating our cake and popcorn. Here's Marie cutting it like a pro.

March 23rd

Not that we have a super popular or partying apartment, but late night pillow talks and other shenanigans usually happen in mine and Marie's room. This masterpiece on the batman board stayed up for weeks. Roommates would erase the words and create their own meme with the sketch of Boromir emphasizing the importance of the script. I love Marie. Who else can do this with a giant expo marker?!

Are You on a Mission?

My favorite kind of nights are the busy nights. Sometimes nothing is planned and you just hang out with your roommates, which is fun. Even better is the weekend where you have to rush from event to event. 

March 19th.

Top 20% of the Freshman Class. I felt super cool. There was a dinner hosted for us in the Ballroom. The theme was Peter Pan and a lady from the Accessibility Center spoke. I was so thankful to eat food someone else had made. I love cooking, but there usually isn't time for it. I think I came just in time to this from a cleaning check.

The more events I go to, the more I appreciate center pieces. I think they are extremely important and say a lot about the event. I must be an adult or business major... or both. 

After dinner I rushed over to the HFAC to see "A Man of All Seasons." The show was fantastic. One of the best straight plays I've ever seen. It played in the Margetts Theatre which is a black box. Usually I do not like how intimate the black box is, but the show was so real and the emotions seemed so raw. I laughed. I cried. I love theatre. I also love desserts. When one of the hosts from the banquet realized I had to leave early they gave me a to go box. It was so nice of them. I just wanted to sit in the HFAC and cry that people go out of their way like that just to make my day a little bit better.

I believe it was the 20th when we borrowed bananagrams from the building office. This game is way fun and very competitive. We were so excited just to finish. It's a hard game.I think I ended up beating Marie and Sam. Win.

Barbie on a shopping spree at Walmart. You never know what you'll see in a parking lot. Jenni and I saw this doll waving at us at the same time. Creepy.

During sacrament meeting I like to fold the program. This Sunday I made a family fleet of boats. I left them on a chair like this for the next ward. Hopefully they sail into some adventures.

Long Story, but here's the whole gang (minus Jacey) at Rylee's farewell. A few days ago I got a call from Daniel. He thanked me for the letter I wrote him and asked if I was going to Rylee's farewell.... Daniel is suppose to be on a mission. It was so confusing. I finally got it out of him that he dislocated his shoulder again during his first week at the MTC. He was sent home for surgery and physical therapy. No one really knew he was sitting at home instead of on his mission, but he wanted to see us again and go to Rylee's farewell. Daniel reports again in April. Rylee has a beautiful voice. She sang with her family after she gave a very fast-paced and funny talk. It was worth the drive out to see her.

Jenni's Birthday

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! The parties at work just don't stop. Why should they? Here are the delicious sugar cookies I made for our Saint Patrick's Day party with Processing. Madi brought frosting in to go with them. A full-timer at work brought in very similar cookies that looked much prettier, but they weren't nearly as good as ours. Don't let looks deceive!

We called Jenni's parents to find some fun treat for Jenni's birthday. Her dad said that every year when Jenni was little she would ask for cereal for dinner and her parents would never get it. Being the fabulous roommates we are, we bought her Lucky Charms and all ate that for her birthday dinner.

I picked out this box special for Jenni because Lucky had crazy eyes on the front. We took our sharpie and gave him crazy eyes on the rest of the box. Little more sinister than a family cereal should be.

Haha got it. Jenni didn't notice for at least an hour. I'm not even sure what the sticky said.

Hiding from my roommates underneath the kitchen counter. Sometimes Marie and Jenni go crazy and start throwing things at each other. It's joke fighting, but I still end up in the middle of it most days. They're wonderful, except when Jenni pretends to pull out a knife. ;)

Wonderful idea by Joe Anderson for Bishop's gift. He got the whole war to sign it and then gave it to Bishop the next time he spoke in church. It was pretty funny. Joe even announced Bishop's secret from the pulpit, he's Batman.

Spring at last! Spring at last! Thank God almighty, it's spring at last!

Winter was beautiful and I liked it much more than I thought I would. Seeing the daffodils brought on this wave of freedom though. It is finally spring. We won't drop below 40 now or suffer spontaneous snow storms. These flowers remind me of Mom. I'm not sure if they really are her favorite, but they are in my mind. A few years back she was teaching an Easter lesson in Young Women and pointed out the daffodils in the painting of Christ talking to Mary outside the tomb.

On March 14th Jenni and Marie embarked on a quest to see the cast of their favorite tv show. Supernatural was having a convention in Las Vegas. They drove down with Marie's old friend, Holly, and were able to listen to panels from various people that work on the show, take pictures with props, shop for fandom trinkets, and much more I'm sure. Due to an extremely kind stranger, Holly was able to meet Misha Collins. They came back with anti-possession henna tattoos and Marie had lost her voice from screaming over Jensen Ackles. College is great. 

Attempted Dancing

The face of someone who gets stood up. 

Okay okay it didn't really happen like that. Taking a dance class at BYU means you get to compete at DanceSport in the Marriott Center. It's a really cool competition that runs three days. The dances range from beginning BYU kids to elementary school kids (who are way better than us) to pros. So many dances are performed by people all over the U.S. Briggs and I were suppose to compete in the Silver Waltz in the the 8am heat on Saturday. I didn't plan on spending $10 and waking up at 7am on a Saturday just to watch everyone else dance, but Briggs slept through his alarm and didn't text me apologizing till noon. I knew we wouldn't place and that it was just for fun, but it was disappointing and a little embarrassing since so many people are there. The next week of classes he apologized profusely. Oh well. We can't get everything.

March 15th

Awful picture, I know. However, there is significance behind it. I got free nail polish at the Women in Business meeting. It was clear and sparkly. I was walking to a ward activity and happened to glance down. RED NAILS! For a minute I thought my nails were bleeding. ;) After closer inspection I realized the nail polish changes in the sun. Outside, my nails turn almost red while as inside they are clear and sparkly. I don't know how this is accomplished, but it's really cool. 

Ward Activity: Bowling in the Wilk. 46th Ward rented out the whole alley for two hours and we played as many games as we could. Bowling is not my forte, but it was fun. Kaylie is taking a bowling class so she had lots of tips and facts for us. Joelle and Dillon really dominated since it is a frequent date night for them. I'm most proud of staying on the strike streak during the first fame. Only strike I got the whole time.

A Night in New Orleans? Not really. I showed up to the dance to find Miranda stranded on a chair, waiting for medics to get there. She had twisted her ankle and her foot swelled twice its normal size. Her boot was really difficult to take off, but nothing was broken. She was stuck with crutches for two weeks. Dancing wasn't really an option with her giant foot, so we picked up a pizza and went to her apartment for movie night. "The Croods" is a surprisingly good movie. We finished a carton of ice cream while cracking up during the movie even though some of her friends had already fallen asleep. I can't wait to be roommates.

Fail.

Meeting Sister Dalton

 I love the General Young Women Broadcast. It was never a burden to go to that fireside as a youth. Not only did our ward always go out to dinner together afterwards, but President Uchtdorf and Sister Dalton spoke. I love both of them. I especially love Sister Dalton since we don't often hear from her during General Conference. Shortly after I left the Young Women program, Sister Dalton was released. As silly as it is, I was heartbroken. She was a wonderful president. At least she finished out with me. 

At the Women in Business event for March I was able to meet Sister Dalton. She is just as wonderful in person. You can feel the love she has for all of us radiating off of her. She's getting older now, but she was just as classy, fun, and uplifting as always. I wish I had a better picture with her. The girl who took the pictures didn't seem to realize how awkward these are. Oh well. Experience documented. The whole event was great. The Women in Business Club rocks. I honestly don't know why more women aren't drawn to major in business.

Marie accompanied me to the club major fair and we saw this seen as we were walking back. ...? The "teacher" had a box on his head and was teaching to a classroom of horse heads, box heads, and people with masks I think. Too weird. It must have been a class assignment, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was just for fun. Music video perhaps?

Recently Anna Sue made Melissa a little pig out of playdoh. The pig sits on top of our living room window. Marie and I decided the pig needed some friends. We picked up the leafy green giant and his pet bull at the Women in Business meeting. Free stuff rocks. 

March 14 - Pi Day! The reception after Brent's recital was pie in honor of our dorky math holiday. The pie was delicious, so no complaining here.

Too many people to name, but here is 46th ward supporting Brent at his oboe recital. He is really really good. Shout out to the old man photo bombing.

Melissa's and Dillon's soccer game was after the recital. Don't they look like a cute little soccer family? <3 Joelle and I went to watch them destroy the other team. For finals they were moved up to the top bracket so they didn't place, but their team was really good. Sometimes Joelle and Dillon feel like our parents. They're always making food, studying, going on adventures, and planning out their future home. I can't wait for the wedding! 

Swimmin in the Mainstream

On a roll with the bread (no pun intended)! This is crock-pot bread that I found on pinterest after talking to Moony about it. It was really easy and I would definitely make it again. This bread was consumed when we had #4204 over for dinner on Sunday, April 9th. Our friends next door were nice enough to invite us over the next week. Having dinner plans make meals much more fun and all of us more motivated to make and eat real food. The first time we had baked potatoes at our place and the second time Michaela made lasagna next door.  

Melissa posing with more food. I love her funny t-shirts like this one and her galaxy shirt. This one is suppose to be a natural shot from our dorm life... I'm not sure if we succeeded. ;)  Seems to fit with the food theme to this post though.

Birthdays at work always call for a party and March is the months of birthdays. I think there was one every single week. Usually Emmy leads planning the parties, but this time it was her special day. Emmy loves to talk about hipsters, so I decided we needed a mainstream party for her. How does one throw a mainstream party? Well, we could have made a generic birthday banner and then celebrated by playing the top 40 songs while eating out of the vending machines. However, that didn't sound as fun as a main-STREAM party. All of the treats were ocean or water themed. Here are some pics of the mint sharks I made swimming in a sea of vanilla frosting with a funfetti beach. 

Marie was a huge help creating the ocean scene on each cupcake. Naturally Melissa wanted to help too. Her cupcake was a little more hipster than mainstream, but this octopus was too cute for us to care

Shark cupcakes, Goldfish, and Hawaiian Punch. 

Mack's blue ocean jello with vanilla wafers crushed to be a beach. I forgot the little umbrellas to stick on the beach, but he still had other beach accessories and fish swimming in the ocean. This tasted much better than I though it would. Blue jello may be hipster, but it was pretty delicious.

Happy Birthday Emmy! I'm surprised she hasn't drown in all the mistakes we make that she has to correct. I think she was happy with her ocean party.

One party down, several to go. No one parties like Imaging.

Night at the Capitol

After weeks of apartment hunting, Miranda and I finally signed with Regency Apartments south of campus. It's all girl housing and just across the street from J-Dawgs, the Copy Center, and campus. There were lots of good options, but this one seemed best. I can't wait to room with her and start with a new ward.

Friday, March 7th - Our new room! 301

March 8th - Marie, Sarah and I went on an adventure Saturday morning to south of campus. We visited a traveling boutique at The Village and ended up touring a room. The Village lives up to its reputation. Afterwards we got crepes at the Awful Waffle. Don't let the name throw you off, this place is delicious. A little pricey, but what can you expect being housed in The Village? I would definitely go again. 

The whole restaurant had a fun feel with mismatched chairs, chalk tables, and an industrial design. The girl working the counter still had us take a number even though it was so early we were the only people there. Sometimes I wonder what everyone is doing on Saturdays or after school. Housing seems to be deserted. Passing periods are so crowded during the day. Where does everyone go? 

The Heritage Halls and Wyview Park's Formal Dance.

The theme? Hunger Games!

Our R.A. didn't promote the dance too much. We didn't realize till we got there and saw how classy everyone looked that it was a serious dance. To be honest, we mostly just went for the food. Marie and I still dressed up and did our make up a little crazy though. We ran into a few friends at the dance and took pictures. We didn't stay for long though due to homework and being tired from the random morning adventures. The dance would have been an awesome date if we were asked or had the persistence to find enough people to make it a group.

Everyone was a little wary to taste the blueberries. ;)

I described the large number of people in formals, but there were many people in costume too. Here are our friends Sam and Caleb dressed very to theme. My favorite themed outfit was probably a man who had drawn on the Seneca Crane beard and resembled him so much it was scary. Another weekend to show why I love BYU.