Pics from August!

Me and Kris at our favorite Santa Cruz beach. We have had so many good memories here, us two. I love you sis!

Dad and Mom treated us to a Saturday afternoon at the movies a couple weeks ago. We went to see Toy Story 3, Dad and Chelle hadn't seen it yet...We went to see it at the Vine Cinemas. They have totally up-ed the Vine. There are couches!!! Yep! It was awesome. We three squished on the couch, mom and dad on the couch next to us. We ordered yummy pizza and popcorn. So fun! And that movie, you can't go wrong! We laughed out loud during the whole thing.

Sisters Oh how I love these girls. And I love this pic :)

The Phelps girls at the etrance of the boardwalk <3>
Dad rallied up the troops for a late night ride on the Log Ride at the Boardwalk. Mom and Kris were our cheer squad down below. We went twice in a row on this ride. We all laughed SO hard. We all got soaked, our faces were dripping with water. Good times!

The night Jordan had his Board of Review for his Eagle!

Michelle and I having fun with our new curlers we bought. It brought back so many childhood memories of nights in curlers :)

Mom, Jordan, me, and Chelle at the USS Submarine Site on our afternoon in the city.

Time Flying By

It's amazing how time really does fly by. I feel like I haven't done much while I have been home. But then I think about it and I have done a lot. And I have been home for basically 3 1/2 weeks! That's insane. I kind of freaked out yesterday when I realized this is the last full week of August. And then September will hit, and then I will be changing my life completely. It really is a good thing. I am SO excited and happy to serve a mission and to finally start that journey. But I am not going to lie, its weird to leave behind all you know- completely and know that it won't ever be the same. Things will only get better, which is the thing that keeps me going. Faith. Yes! All about faith!

Things at home have been great! We have done a lot as a family, which is awesome. Jordan, the stud he is, received his Eagle Scout Award! He passed! Now just prepping for his Court of Honor. Our whole family is so proud of him. And I am so proud of him as a sister. It's been great to be able to spend more time with him. Jordan is seriously one of the best guys in the world. I am so blessed to have him as a brother! We played a lot before Jordan started school, this last Monday. Sophomore year! woohoo! One afternoon, Mom and us kids went to the city to see this submarine behind Fishermans' Warf. - Jordan's idea! It was really neat to be inside an old World War II Submarine. Then we were treated to a dinner at Bubba Gumps and watched about an hour of graffiti art on the Embarcadero. It is pretty sweet. I even invested in a $5 graffiti art of Bob Marley on behalf of my island/reggae love. :)

Kristen came to visit this last week, which has been quite the highlight! It was so fun to be able to have our family together again- weird not to have Aaron around, since he really has become such a big part of our family. We all missed him..But it was a pretty neat thing to have it be the 6 of us again. We watched 'Somewhere in Time' for most of all of our first time. Man, I BAWLED my eyes out. wow. That was intense! It was a really good movie. I am glad Mom and Dad had us all watch it together. It was a fun; even with the crying! lol. We also got to go to Santa Cruz, our favorite/tradition beach. It was a perfect clear day there, where we go to eat our yummy Togo's Sandwiches. Hmmm. Turkey and Avocado! My favorite! And then lay on the beach, play catch with the football, and walk along the waves. It was beautiful. Followed by a few hours on the boardwalk. $1 soda and hotdog night! A try on the new Haunted House ride, the notorious Giant Dipper Roller Coaster, and our all time favorite, Ghost Blasters. That ride has the catchiest music and the funnest memories, shooting at targets and trying to earn the most points. I beat dad this time! I think I am learning the techniques, finally after 10 years of playing that game. Or maybe this time I just didn't get a broken gun. haha. The trip was a success.

Needless to say, time with Kris was great. We got to see Eat, Pray, Love and Step Up 3, 2movies we both wanted to see, as well as getting to chat. Sister chats are really the best :) . It was hard to say goodbye to her, knowing I would only see her one more time before I leave on my mission. But it meant to much for me to have her come for a visit. And her baby. Oh man, it was so fun to be a part of feeling Kris' tummy to feel the baby girl moving around...It's all such a miracle.

Kristen left on Monday, and since then, its been pretty chill. I got hit with a bad cold, so I have been watching movies and being completely lazy. Which is good for a while, but you start to have those desires of wanting to run 10 miles and to be all productive. But I am trying to take advantage of this time so I can enjoy the moments without anything to do...Since I won't have time to have movie days and lazy afternoons much on the mission :) But besides feeling gross, I am happy. Trying to live each day with a good attitude and to embrace it all. I am looking forward to recovering so I can start finalizing shopping, etc for my mission so it starts to feel more real. :) Oh! and I have to write a talk for this Sunday. I am speaking in my Singles' Ward on Sunday. That should be interesting! Good thing the masses of kids will have left for school again! Well, until next time!

Back in Cali

After an amazing summer in Provo, hanging out with friends and family, preparing for my mission, going through the temple, and finishing work at Heritage Makers, I have moved on the second half of my summer: time at home in California.

On Monday, Kris drove me and Michelle to the airport. We had TONS of luggage to bring. After trying to persuade our SkyCap man to let us bring on an extra bag without paying $50 ($50 for an extra bag!!?!?!), we decided to shift items in different bags and try to take on an extra carry on bag instead. We then ran inside the airport, ran through security, trying to hide our extra bag. We must have looked pathetic. We laughed the whole way through the airport, with our arms so tired from carrying pounds of crap. Oh man. I looked down at my watch. Five minutes before we were suppose to take off!!!! I told Michelle, "Run!!! We have 5 min!" I took of my shoes and we started to bolt. Come to find out, my watch was fast and we really had 25 minutes. And the plane was a little late. Needless to say, we made it to the gate, with a few minutes to spare. It was hilarious. We laughed out of lack of sleep and utter stupidity as we thought of what we just ran through to get there in time. It was an adventure.

We then arrived in beautiful Oakland, CA, where mom was there to pick us up. Yay! Wendy's for lunch. Then pool time and chinese food. It was great. Dad and Jordan were on a camping trip, so it was just us girls for the first few days. It's been a lot of fun. Now the boys are back in the house and we are going to embark on our "List" of things to do before Michelle and I leave again. Among the many items on the list, we have things to do like, "Ghiradelli Square Ice Cream, Pool, Star Wars marathon, tons of our childhood memory movies, re-inact Elf scenes, Golden Gate Park, museums, maybe the zoo..." the list goes on and on. And we only have 2 1/2 weeks til Jordan starts school! So we have a lot to do- but we are very excited. Time will fly, so we know we can't waste a single minute. I am here at home until Sep. 20th, and then its back to Provo, to the MTC to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! August here we come! Let the fun begin!