Whisperings

I was reading in my Missing Book today.  I have sections of Grampa's journal in it, and as I was going through it reading about him, I read this poem that was written by my great, great uncle:

Whisperings by Uncle Arville

If you have a tender message

Or a loving word to say,

Don't wait till you forget it,

But whisper it today.

Tomorrow is a mystery,

Today is all we own,

We are living in the present,

The future is unknown.

The tender word unspoken,

The letter never sent,

The long forgotten messages,

The wealth of love unspent,

It isn't the thing you do, my boy,

It's the things you leave undone

Which give you a bit of heartache

At the setting of the Sun.

The tender words forgotten,

The letters you did not write,

The flowers you might have sent, my boy,

Are haunting your dreams tonight.

For these messages some heart is breaking

For these, some loved ones wait,

So show them that you care today,

Before it is too late.

Just a little food for thought.

>Siiiiigh<.... life. :]

I haven't written for a while.

And I apologize.

I have been, however, occupied the last little while in moving myself and my belongings 200 miles.  That's right.  I have left home again and now find myself in Provo, ready to begin a new year at school. ...Or so I hope.

It was interesting coming here.  I felt almost as nervous as I did the first time because I knew everything was going to be so different.  Good, but different.  Yes there have been a few little glitches (like trying to rent a computer and having it not work at all), but for the most part, its been okay. :) I think I should tell you some things that have made me happy:

• I'm living with Liza.  I can't tell you how nice it is to live with a sister away from home.  She's a sweetie-pie, and she takes good care of me.
• Liza unpacked and put all my stuff away.  I told you she's wonderful.
• She decorated our apartment all cute.  This is good because, as of now, I have not grown a cutesy bone in my body.
• We have two roommates—one I have yet to meet, and the other is CoUrTnEy the CUTE.  She's soooooo unbelievably sweet, and I am a big fan of her already.
• There is a dishwasher in our apartment.
• Our apartment is tall enough that I can't touch the ceiling without tip-toeing.  This is important.
• Wyview is still a wonderful place I can go to visit Mike, Marie, Jocelynn, Alex, and Kyle.  It makes me happy :)
• I live close to campus
• There is a pool in my housing complex
• I have to walk through a terraced garden to get to school.  Bad—that's a lot of stairs  Good—The gardens are sooooo B-E-A-Utiful, and it keeps me healthy.
• Yesterday, I quoted Nacho Libre with another girl at the public computers in the HFAC.  We didn't even look at each other, but we were grateful to laugh together.
• Megan-Dear helped me decide what job to take, and Sam cheered me up yesterday.  They're perfect for each other and so good to me.
• Liza warmed up my voice for Womens' Chorus auditions.  She's silly, and so fun.
• I love running into people I love and getting hugs from them.  It's great :)
• Mom and I visit on the phone sometimes, and we have a goofy time visiting
• I am surrounded by people who love me.
• Courtney gives me hugs when I have a bad day, and she read me scriptures last night.  People, she's awesome.
• I made a Missing Book.  I can read it when I miss people that I love.  I read it a lot—needless to say.
• As of right now, I can depend on myself to make money, pay for everything I need, and do what I'm supposed to.  It's a lot of pressure, but its nice to know I'm not a burden on anyone.
• Jason Alma and Kaleb Larson are coming to Provo to visit.  This is good because I miss them already.  We had lots of good chats all summer.
• I'm not starving, freezing, or un-loved.
• Life is good :)

The goofuses :]

Meet the goofuses:

Goofus #1 - Madi-Kakes

Goofus #2 - Max-a-million

In chipmunk voice: Apple?  Ees good!

Can I just say these kids are great?  They're champs.  We've had some awfully silly adventures this summer, and it's come time for me to praise them by telling you a few.

On days when it's not too hot we take Reggie (my futbol) to the school and play us a little soccer.  Just the three of us.  We pass and run and giggle and play.  We tell jokes and tease each other, and we just have a fun time.  One such day, I ran them through a drill.  One person lays on the ground, knees up.  The other stands on their toes and tosses the ball down.  Thus, the person on the ground does a sit-up to head the ball back.

Hilarious.

Max has the goofiest laugh I think I've ever heard.  It didn't matter if he was throwing the ball or heading it, he was cracking us up, and we had to stop the drill early because our abs couldn't handle the rigorous exercise of sit-ups and laughing to death. :)

On Sunday we went to Utah, and on the ride home, they'd do the craziest stuff to make me laugh.  Reciting movie lines, telling dumb jokes, being goofy, making strange sounds...  needless to say, it was a very entertaining 3 hours.  3 hours that I rather enjoyed. :)

Also, when I came home from college, I listened to music that...well... lets just say, they hated it. :)  As we've lived together, I've toned it down, and they've toned it up.  We're awesome together.

Yesterday, we went to Jillian Nicole's house for another successful end-of-summer party.  Madi and Max came, and they made the car ride rather entertaining.  And they loved being with a jillion people who were just as goofy as them.

Just some other things:

• They're both ticklish. Score!
• Madi likes it when I fix her hair.  Which I think is fun.  Win-win :)
• Max lets me waltz and quickstep with him.  Which is good because he's taller than me, and I'd make him whether he let me or not.  I'm such a good big sister.
• They keep me in line.  It's true.
• They think I'm cool, so when I want to do something crazy, they TOTALLY go along with it. (Please don't tell them I'm not!)
• We have the same sense of humor...which no one in this world gets.  It's nice to be understood.
• Max likes to test his Old-Spice and killer outfits on me.  Makes me feel special.
• Madi is a sweet little thing.
• Max cracks me up.
• The three of us fit on the love-seat to cuddle and watch movies.

Dressin' up for Harry Potter.

(Yes, Max is holding a wand.)

I just love us.

:)

In the morning.

Sometimes my family gets together at 7-sharp on Sundays to visit.  And sometimes we visit for a very long time.  And sometimes after these visits, Granny decides to let all her grandchildren sleep at her house.

Which you would find strange.  Because we all live right by her.

And sometimes after such a statement, there arises a cheer from said grandchildren, and we rush to get our things and go to Granny's.  And sometimes we stay up even later talking some more.  And sometimes we eventually fall asleep.  Sometimes...

And in the morning, Gramma always makes her world-famous pancakes and Grandpa always fixes eggs or sausage.  And we children always crowd into one room—laying across each other, and being awfully goofy—because there just shouldn't be room for all of us to watch a movie...

And sometimes I am, by far, too old to be part of such traditions.

Sometimes.  But not today.   :)

The Silly Saga of an Epic Enterprise: Epilogue

Okay, I know this is a long time from the rest of them, but there's a grand part that I never told you.  And it's wonderful, and you should know it.

After our lovely adventure in St. George, we drove the rest of the way to Provo.  I was pulled over for the first time ever, in Orem, and it was all very nice.  It went something like this:

Both of us are rummaging around trying to find the car registration.  We couldn't find it.  Thank goodness he didn't ask me for it.

Me talking to Mike:  Why is he pulling me over?  Was I speeding?
Mike: Yeah.  You were going 45 in a 30.
Me (not paying attention to what Mike just said):  Well, I hope my ticket isn't too big.
Officer:  Do you know why I pulled you over?
Me to the officer:  Actually...no.

>Mike shakes his head, ashamed of me for lying to a cop<

Officer: You were going 45 in a 30.
Me (thinking this sounds vaguely familiar):  Was I?  I'm sorry.
Officer:  May I see your license?
Me:  Yes.  (Mike and I struggle for about 3 minutes, trying to get it out of my wallet. Mike finally succeeds.) (Officer takes it back to his car.)

Mike (as the officer leaves):  You know you didn't have to lie to him.
>Abi doesn't know what Mike means, so she just sits there, puzzling.  (I didn't get what he meant until about 2 days later.)<
Officer comes back, gives me back my license.
Officer: Okay, I'm just going to give you a warning.  Just slow down.
Me in my mind:  Thank you, thank you, you're my favorite policeman ever! (Besides Grandpa of course!)

Poor Mike, there were at least two instances of me not paying any attention to what he was trying to tell me.  Sometimes I ignore him.  And I feel bad about it sometimes.

Anyways, from thence, I took Mike home, and went to Liza's to sleep the night.  It was nice, and I loved it.

Now we get to the part I really wanted to tell you.

I needed to get home that day, so I left Provo.  Which wasn't a big deal.  Until I realized that I'd just spent a week with a whole bunch of awesome and attractive brothers and sisters that I was leaving behind.  And that there was just me.  Only me.  By myself.  In the car.  For 4 hours.

I was sad.  Very sad.

And I decided that I was only going to make it to Granny's before I needed a break.  It's a good thing I did.  I walked in, and she took one look at me before she grabbed me, sat me down, fed me lunch, and entertained me with stories and oodles of fun things she had found when cleaning out her closets.

It was awesome!  There were old film slides and pictures of trips.  Family, play programs, certificates, etc.  Tons of odds and ends that just made my day :)

Black and white ones.  (Isn't he cute?)

 Grandma and grandpa.  They're a good-lookin couple. :)

 Old film pictures.  The bottom left is early BYU campus. :)

 Pictures of Grandpa fulfilling his judge-ly duties...

Okay, read the invitation.  It's the CUTEST thing ever. :)

 Handsome Grand-pappy  :)  It was hard for him to be humble because he was perfect in every way.

 My family's got skill.

 I love how they used to paint black and white pictures.

And right in the middle of this splendid nostalgia-fest, who walks in but some glorious people to make my day even better.

My beloved Aunt brought these little monsters...

 These absolutely wonderful little monsters. :)

 They crack me up, and they made my day.

 They're goofy :]

 Reeaaally goofy. :)

 I wonder where it comes from.... ;)

Needless to say, I wasn't sad anymore.  And I was able to continue my journey in a happy manner. :)

Why I LOVE Idaho

Now, let it be known that this is in no way a comprehensive list... but it is a list.  A list of wonderful things! :)

1 - Space

• As a tall person, this is always important.  While I'm here, it's nice to know that I can see for miles and that no one else is breathing the exact air I am.  Not even the cows.  Which is sayin' something.  :)

2 - Work

• I grew up in a place where it was normal for the farm kids to work at least 13 hour days.  We all know how to work hard, and if you don't, that just might be the first thing that gets teased (or beat) out o' ya.  I'm just kidding!  Kinda.

3 - People

• Or the lack thereof.  I did grow up with a whole side of my family right next to me.  Almost all of us are lined up on the same dirt road.  (With plenty of space in between.)  And I love it.  And, being from...not even a town, everyone knows who you are and what you're up to.  This may bother some, but it's kept me in line, and I'm glad of it.

4 - Country Roads

• Okay, whoever invented them is the greatest.  I've never been able to get to a place so fast!  I wasn't speeding too much...  Okay, don't tell Mom and Dad.  Anyways, they're wonderful!

5 - Dirt

• I love it.  The smell, the look, even the taste sometimes! (Some kind of mineral deficiency runs in my family, I promise!)  I can't resist a mud puddle.  Even when I'm in my Sunday best.  And there's plenty of it to be had here!  My little sister just asked me how I know it's mud and not...something else. .....................  hehe  :]

6 - How to keep things clean

• Sometimes the best and only wash a car may get here is from the wheel lines and pivots on the road. Come to think of it, my face has been power-sprayed a few times when I've driven past pivots with my windows down. :)

7 - Smell

• It's a perfect cocktail of dirt, river, dairy, sagebrush, beets, mud, rain, summer breeze, poplar leaves, fresh-cut alfalfa, and glory.  It's pretty much the best smell known to man.

8 - Sunsets

• This is what the sky looked like yesterday evening:

It's soooooooo beautiful.  Always.

9 - Weather

• Idaho winds that bend the trees to 180 degrees.  Hardly any rain (except this year.  Weird.)  Hot and dry in the Summer, beautiful in the Fall, frozen and dry in the Winter, and...well, Spring kinda falls in the 'Winter' category.  Oh, and the sky looked like this tonight:

This pictures were recorded through Abi's expertise, and they were not altered in any way.

Cool huh.

10 - Sometimes

• You just gotta figure out how to accomplish jillions of things at a time.  Take Wednesday for instance.  I wanted to go outside and enjoy the beautiful day.

But I had to sew, and my hair needed to be blow-dryed before Institute. ...So why not do it all outside?

The wind blew my hair dry, and Betsy and I enjoyed the beautiful sunshine. :)  Best idea I think I've ever had.

11 - FUN—because we play every bit as hard as we work.

• When you grow up here, you don't have the concerts to go to, or the beach to visit, or plays and arcades, and we're not too keen on spending all that cash we earned hoeing beets...or milking cows...or moving lines...or hauling hay...or...you get the idea.  So we find entertainment.  Here are some of the better ideas:
• Racing.  Anywhere.  We've all done it.  Heck, Tommy and I used to race to school every morning.  :)
• Driving to the train-bridge over the river, climbing below the tracks onto the pillars that hold it, and sitting there while the train goes over you at 11:18 P.M.
• Snowboarding, sledding, snowmobiling, and skiing in the winter.  Wake-boarding, skiing, tubing, and surfing on the Snake in the summer.
• Mud football.  What else are you supposed to do with such an abundance of it?
• Floating down the river on inner tubes or with life-jackets.
• Soccer, Ultimate Frisbee, Fugitive (we play it for Mutual here), Capture the Flag—we play it all at night games.
• Some of us have been on dates where we moved hand-lines together.  How romantic!  ;)
• There are a lot of things we find to do, but one of the funnest, greatest, most awesome ones is this:

 He's gonna go wake-boarding...

 In a canal...

 Pulled behind a TRUCK!  (It was a standard transmission.  Makes it so much more legit.)

:D  Hahahaha!  This was fun, and these guys are awesome!  I'm a fan.

We do lots o' crazy stuff like this.  I just can't think of any more examples at the moment.

12 - The Spudman

• My hometown hosts an annual Olympic Triathlon called the Spudman.  It's perty much a big deal.  :)  Dad's done the bike as part of a team before, but this year, my sisters Lizer-Lou and Beks decided to try it.  The whole thing. By themselves.   1 mile swim, 25 mile bike, and then run a 10k.

 All done!  The champs.

Li'l Blakers was so proud o' his mommy :)  And he had a right to be.

Ain't he the cutest thing!  I'm so happy to be Aunt "Babi!"  Hehe :)

They've almost got me inspired.  If Liza can get me to like running while we're roommates together, I may just try my luck at it next year.  :)

13 - I live in just one of the most wonderful places in the world.  It's just beautiful and grand.  And I love it.  So much. :)