a little chuckle

Real quick, I just want to say something. I think we've already established the fact that I am a huge freaking advocate of avoidance. It's good and bad. I have been physically able to be a part of babylon and watch movies and stuff for awhile now, but i've been scared. so i've just avoided it.

but, this thanksgiving break, it was time to finally see harry potter. 

a few things. i've forgotten how much i LOVE harry potter. i have been semi indoctrinated by my dang english minor and the inevitable conversation about how terrid jk rowling is from all the bitter and forlorn amateur writers. i fancy her writing gosh dangit. i think she is a freaking genius. you make up an alternate world from everything down to the coinage why doncha. freak. i love her work. and i'll proclaim it until the day i die.

so that was fun. almost better than the movie, however, was the hilarious dialogue that happened. christensens....are sooo stinkin good at watching movies. oh yeah. we call out all the crap, all the hilariosity, all the unrealistic garbage, you name it. we spice things up. and it makes it....so wonderful.  here are some quotes that i had to write down. enjoy. (i understand if you can't--inside jokes are never fun to try to get in on.) (and ps. this is for hp 7.2. yes. 7.1 was also great entertaining, but i wasn't conscious of all the hilarious remarks around me at that time.)

Why do they wear that garbage? Put it in hermiones endless bag of wisdom. 

Cheapest wreath on the block. You could've spent a bit more money mate. 

Chronicles of Narnpotilight

Harry looks like he got kicked in the face by another stripper

Make funny and ask questions. 

Oh yeah, Headmaster McGonagal, I remember now.

Isn't it obvious? In the room with all the other sacred hidden artifacts-where else would it be?

You'll learn to not set a curse that doesn't freakin kill you. Fag. 

Just give him some Bertie botts every flavor beans. He'll be alright. 

What the--Michael Myers?! Straight replica!

He wants to snog.

Twilight is supreme garbage. 

Lotta good wizards. Only a few good bad ones. 

Now he feels like a ba even though he just screwed himself without even realizing it. 

Kill that ugly aaa. 

Their red babies would be like the clumsiest most annoying ever. 

Let the pahtee begin. Take off my cartigan. 

This one's for real: "Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic." Thank you, Dumbledore.

and thank you, jk rowling, for creating such goodness. the books are endlessly better, but we can get such great entertainment value out of the movies. so thank you. we are all endebted to you.

and it was worth the wait by the way. yeah. duh.

certain that same moment

i'm driving up the hill to byu and pandora really throws me a gem. i love her for her endless box of treasures.

this song starts playing and i literally said, out loud, "i'm already likin' how this sounds." wow. i had no idea what was coming. i almost cried when he started singing and this song hasn't stopped playing since. 

this. is. g o r g e o u s.

might've changed my life

this one's for you, whit

(and kristen)

(and everyone else who wants to understand grace a bit better).

thank you, brother brad, for changing our missions and our life. your explanations are clarísimo and your examples unbelievably real and understandable. thank you for bringing grace and the atonement so close to home.

thought of the day

"You and I cannot possibly know the hidden pain eating holes in individual lives, so if we want to be saviors, in partnership with the Lord, we will be kind to everyone, everywhere, all the time."

-virginia pearce

A Heart Like His

get out there

i'd enjoy showing you some photos from some of my recent adventures.

the earth is beautiful. 

...

so this one time my family went camping up in aspen grove. my uncles asked me if i wanted to go on a "hike" and i was like, hey yeah sure, why not? i thought it was strange when they said we were leaving at five in the morning, but whatever. so we started hiking and when we got the to grovey area above aspen i was like, "okay cool, that's good for me. we almost done?" ha ha, oooh no. turns out our "hike" was actually climbing a MOUNTAIN. over 12,000 feet of a mountain in fact. ha ha. i had been deceived, but we still conquered that mountain! 

so, on that exact day ten-ish years later, we hiked it again. it was a lovely "hike" up our local mountain. i was much more prepared--especially mentally--for the task at hand. and i was with some of the koolest kats around: trev, rob, meg, carts and erin. total blast.

 

 

  

(this picture is for you, whit. remember how you told me to take a picture of some mountain goats? ha.)

and this is where we live? unreal. if you've been upon timp...you know what i'm talking about.

 

until next year!

...

i then had the sweet sweet chance to go see my dear canadian cousins whom i love a whole lot and haven't seen for far too long. 

this is the vista from their balcony. absolutely stunning.

we went camping and fishing...

...and hiking around the finger lakes.  no big.

all of us. :)

jo the bear

carly the rabs

and clara the eeper'

(this was the best sunday nap er' cuddling with the largest cat on earth.)

"everybody loves him."

oh, there may or may not have been objects thrown at the black bear that was chillin right outside their house... 

I said it best, "We're very intelligent obviously throwing freakin apples." Ha ha.

...

then i hit up santa jorge with these clowns for a beautiful weekend of "paying to torture ourselves."

pam took this right outta the swim. ha ha. so happy! 

just before we drove home. st. george is so beautiful and it was a blast of a weekend! thanks k'n'colb! love you two!

...

then it was suddenly fall in utah valley and the leaves were changing around here. i love riding my bike up the canyon always, but there is something so humbling and stunning about provo canyon with those vibrant colors.

sun rays poking through...ah. gorgeous!

...

life's good. 

too good.

A little plug...

I'm...not as involved politically as I should be (sorry Michelle P.S!). I know. I'm trying to be better, be more aware and have more of a justified opinion. I've been better this election and am anxious to see the outcome of our votes--like the rest of the world.

I just want to say that it is such a blessing to be able to vote and to live in a democratic country. Allllll over the BOM it talks about how this land has been prepared, how it is a choice land above all lands. I can't help but think about how proud I am to be American and how much I truly do love my country. We're so lucky to be able to vote, and I hope that you have already voted or that you're planning on being there the big day. And if you are in the same boat as some of my family or friends who aren't registered...repent! Haha. No, but seriously. Get registered and be ready next time. Seriously. Our forefathers died so we could have this right and Heavenly Father wants us to exercise our agency and contribute to the preservation of this tierra santa.

I'll keep it fair, how about? A little plug for each side:

I believe in America, too!

a whole new spin on setting goals.

A special thanks to elder oaks and whit for the splendid message: