WEDDING BLISS

Wedding bliss was in the air. We had surfed the morning, and we were now on track to arrive for the guys to get their tuxes and be fitted for everything. Austin met us there a bit late, which unfortunately wasn't the last time something or someone was late during the weekend. We got things done, and drove to the rehearsal. My favorite part of it was that I didn't have to do anything during the rehearsal! We next went to JoTo's, which was one of Austin's favorite places to eat, and we had a great meal. Morning came fast. I couldn't believe that Austin was getting married. Just like that we were in the Orlando temple with two of my favorite people in the whole world. It was so special. I felt bad for the family that couldn't come and couldn't be inside the temple, but I was so proud of Austin and Kenzie for making such a tough choice. The rest of the week was just fun. Bayba and Chris and I just hit the beach, surfed, swam, and played all Monday. I somehow didn't drink enough water, and the sunshine/humidity combo just ate me alive. Tuesday I was sick, I couldn't sleep, I was up all night, I was sick all day, I ached, and had a fever, and couldn't eat, and took pain meds and slept the whole day. By the end of the night things were ok, and I was able to play my last day which was Wednesday. We hit the beach for some waves, but there were none, and so we just swam and laid out on the beach. I couldn't believe that my week in paradise was almost already over. It was a sad fact for me, because it meant that not only was my vacation over, but it also meant I was over half way through the 7 week break that I had off from school. I flew into Salt Lake, and immediatly was in a rental car and on my way to Great Falls MT where Mom and Dad were waiting for me. I had been summoned home for my little sis' baptism and family pictures and things. I was so disappointed. I was going to miss the best concert ever. It was going to be Relient K, Something Corporate, Allred, Deathcab for Cutie, and Dashboard Confessionals in an acoustic show. It was crazy. It seemed like just as soon as I was home in Canada, I was back on the road to Utah taking Jessica to school. We moved her in and made a small vacation out of it. Just like that, my break was over. I waited around in Salt Lake for Austin and Kenzie to return from their honeymoon, and I picked them up from the airport, and just like that, we were on our way, but not without a stop at Moki's with Austin and my's son, Elder Echols. It was great fun, and then the drive was long and ready quiet!

7 Weeks

My thoughts are on a rampage right now. Where to begin? Its been so long since I put thoughts down on paper. I guess we should go back to where I left off.

Last semester ended well. I did better then I expected on a few of my finals, and on the rest I just had a prayer that I would do ok. Things didn't quite work out perfect, I got an A- in my Economics class, and so I lost my wonderful 4.0 GPA, but I learned a lot, and I found a new calling in life. I love Economics. It relates to every part of life, including the gospel. It is one of the greatest things to have a knowledge of, and I feel that pursuing it is a smart life plan. I was one of the last in our apartment to move out, and bloody hell, did people leave a lot of stupid stuff behind. Sadly, I think after 12 hours straight of cleaning I threw out 200 dollars worth of opened food that wouldn't keep over the 7 week summer break. Austin and I finished up the last touches and we were off. We stopped at Cafe Rio, and then headed on our journey to Salt Lake. I had agreed to take my best friend to the airport. It was a joyous, and yet sad event. Austin would no longer be my roommate after this trip. We had our one last night as roommates at a families house in Salt Lake, and after staying up way too late, I dropped him off way to early at the SLC Airport. I drove back to this family's house I was staying at, and they were not home, so I let myself back inside. They came home, and found me, a guest they had only met a few times, sleeping on their couch. I was quick to put my things together and get out while they ran a few errands, and I was on my way for 7 weeks of adventure. I had planned to work during the break. I first intended to work on the farm for the harvest, but things got planted really slow, and harvest was going to be a bit late. Because of plans to go to harvest I purchased my plane ticket to Austin and Kenzie's wedding in Florida from Salt Lake, being as it was the closest major airport, and the closest to Rexburg. When harvest fell through, I still had a ticket for August from Salt Lake, and so I made arrangements to stay with a family I knew and work. I spent the first 3 weeks of my break doing concrete repairs at the new Herriman High School. I worked my butt off, knowing that the job needed to be done, and needed to be done right. It was hot. We spent almost as much time wiping sweat off as we did sweeping up broken concrete. I didn't think that job would ever end. It was honestly the largest concrete palace I had seen. There were more cracks, and shifts, and heaves than I had ever seen, and when we fixed one, someone else broke another. Finally my time to leave Utah had come. I climbed on board my flight to paradise and headed to the wedding. After spending a 6 hour layover in Denver, looking for the conspiracy paintings and trying to stay amused, I jumped on my final plane to Orlando. It was a longer flight, but it worked out well. My good friends and former roommates, Chris Peebles and Andrew Bayba picked me up at the airport. This is where the adventure begins. After we got back to Bayba's house in Cocoa Beach Florida we headed to the beach. I absolutely have to live near the ocean. I love the smell, the breeze, the sound of the waves crashing. It is the most surreal place to be. It was dark, and we had in hand, one tube sock each, a large 5 gallon bucket, and 3 flashlights. We all started up the beach, shining our lights, and trying to avoid sea turtles. I soon learned, as we saw one climbing up the beach, that sea turtles are protected, and shining lights at them can land one in prison. We weren't actually looking for turtles however. We were crab hunting. We would shine the light on them, and then desparately run after them, and try to pin them with our hand covered in a tube sock. We would quickly swoop them into the bucket, and watch as they all tried to gain an advantage against the other crabs in the bucket. We had great success doing this, and we found a half a pail full of crab. We took them home, and cooked them up and ate what we could. The next day was the day of Rehearsal for the wedding. We all got up early, however, and headed to the beach. The surf was up, and we were all going to bust out the boards. I had never surfed before, and hence was a bit nervous stepping onto a board, in open water, water that I couldn't see the bottom of. We kept trying to ride the waves, and after a few long hours of nearly standing, and falling, my chest had taken enough... Not only was my chest hair full of board wax, but I felt as though I had bruised each and every rib in my body, and my chest just ached. We hopped in the car, grabbed showers, and were on the way to Orlando for the weekend that Austin and Kenzie would never forget. My eyes are droopy as I write these words, I will continue my coastal adventure another night. Until then, TO BE CONTINUED!

My Life as a Sitcom

I love drama.... on television that is. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to spend an almost obsessive amount of free time watching all my favorite dramas commercial free online or on my computer. The series just depends on the mood I am in, whether it be Grey's Anatomy, Friday Night Lights, One Tree Hill, The OC, Smallville, 24, Heroes, House, Prison Break, or my latest addiction Private Practice, I watch them, consecutively and relentlessly and find myself living vicariously through their hollywood experiences. Part of this I think comes to clever screen play and writing, and the other part, that they mimic things that happen in everyone's lives and we watch, and search, and hope that these fictitious characters have a solution to the difficult challenges of our lives. It caused me to think, why do I loves these shows so much, and who am I relating too. I think in my thoughts of this I realized a lot more about who I am, who I want to become, and why these characters can speak to me. If you haven't watched any of these shows, I would recommend them to anyone, but only if your going to watch them on DVD with pause, and stop and commercial free.

First, I started watching drama's on TV in my junior year in high school. This memory alone is enjoyable for me because I was with a dear friend whom I haven't seen in years. Juan Pablo Busso, my Argentinian exchange student. He had a love for American Television. One night as we sat talking, we discovered one of his favorite shows was on. Smallville, the WB show depicting the early years of Clark Kent. The show introduces the characters from the popular comic, and shows their relationships intertwine through high school and college. Now I know that this show is completely insane to start with, but I became so interested. I started watching one single episode, which is usually how it happens I guess, and I was hooked. Since the episode was in the middle of the 3rd or 4th season so many questions arose about character development, and history of the little town of Smallville Kansas. I immediately downloaded the first 2 seasons and I have so many memories of my sister, brother, Juan, and myself laying on the ground in our family office, heads under the piano, as we watched episode after episode on the computer screen. Season after season we were caught up to the episodes as they appeared on TV. The love story between Clark and Lana, it captures me. I could related, I had a girl, a crush, a love, someone I would have, at that time, done anything for, and yet it was a secret. Now I am not saying at all that I had super powers like Clark Kent, but I had to keep it a secret, my unprofessed love for this girl, because she didn't see me that way, and never would. Yet every move Clark made gave me hope, and being able to see what Lana wanted, and was searching for, she knew... she loved Clark, and just wanted him to be honest with him. For years (in the show, a mere matter of months in my life) I watched them and their relationship grow, and shrink, and end abruptly, and start again fresh. I longed for the guts and courage to tell the girl in my life all my secrets and propose to her like Clark did as he exposed all his abilities to Lana in the fortress, but wait, that episode was too good to be true, on her way home she was in an accident, and died and Clark rewound time, and got her back, only to not repeat the proposal, and to lose his father in the end. I couldn't let it out, my secret was buried, and would stay that way, forever. Yet I could relate myself to Clark, and to this day, in season 8 with another season approved by the CW (formerly the WB) I continue to watch, and hope, and pray that one day, the love story of Clark and Lana will work out, because if they can do it, perhaps one day I could do it to, but I won't, and it won't, because its simply changing history and you can't rewrite a classic comic book, nor will I rewrite the choices I made in high school.

Wow, that was cool, I am realizing a lot about myself in this little rant. I have again discovered that I have a fear of realizing my true emotions because somehow it never seems to work out. That is one of my character flaws, and when someone can figure out how to figure me out, both that person and I will be very happy together, I have a feeling.

Secondly... My next addiction started my senior year. I remember this one vividly. I was in my room doing homework, (something that never happened in high school, so that speaks of itself to me) and I turned on the TV. Now understand, in my little farm town at that time I only had 3 channels in my room. Peasant vision, as it is called. Two of the three channels had news, and I was not interested in the news at that point. The other channel, at 9:45 PM revealed 2 beautiful girls in swim suits breaking into what appeared to be someone else's backyard pool. I was intrigued for sure, due to the exposure of these two teenage beauties and as I watched, not having any idea what I was watching, I saw one of the girls drive away with a boy, and a few seconds later she was being carried away from a wreckage, and in the arms of her lover, died. I was heartbroken. I had no idea what had just happened, but I realized what show I was watching, and it was one I knew a good friend of mine watched. The OC. We went out for shakes so he could explain where I had just jumped in, turns out that was the season finale of season 3. Within a week I had finished downloading and watching season 1, the next week season 2 was finished, with a near 24 hour marathon. I loved it. Ryan, Marissa, Seth, and Summer. The escapades of those four were real to me. I grew up with 3 best friends in a similar way. The "quad" we called ourselves. 2 boys, 2 girls, and our endless adventures during our adolescence. Ryan loved Marissa, and Seth and Summer had nearly every curveball a relationship could take, and yet Marissa dies. I could relate myself to both Ryan and Seth. Parts of both of their characters was me. I related to Ryan in the fact that I always wanted to save everyone. I have a complex I think, I can't let anyone go without if its within my means. I pay for people who can't pay, and I never let a girl go without. I want to be a rescuer to all that I can touch, and yet I fail, and Ryan failed Marissa, after so many times where he had to save her, he failed, and he watched her die, and their love, die. I can feel that, yet I don't want love to end that way to me. Seth, funny, sarcastic Seth, is just so clueless. I relate to him in the fact that I am a nervous speaker sometimes. I do things, act on an impulse, and can get in trouble because I run my mouth, or I talk under my breath. I loved it, I loved them, the characters, and yet despite their high rolling lifestyle in Southern California, we had differences. But I was addicted. Season 4 ended, early, and it killed me, but I could always remember the first three seasons, and how I felt when Marissa died.

What I learned about myself. I always root for the underdog. Always. I want that underdog to succeed, and excel. Ryan came from the slums and with a little help and a few good friends succeeded. I want to succeed, or help someone else. I always root for the underdog.

I could keep going about every way I discover a new show, and how I relentlessly watch them, episode after episode commercial free, but I will wrap it up with a few more of my favorite characters. I love Derek from Grey's. He is almost always so straight and honest. Almost, because obviously cheating on a spouse is not honest, but he has pure desires, and he is the best at what he does. I love thinking that I can one day become the best. I love Jason Street from Friday Night Lights, a superstar quarterback, who had everything ripped away from him with an injury. Being paralyzed it not something I wish for myself, but I can relate to his strength in having a trial. Being hurt sucks, missing a game you love sucks, and yet he found something else to utilize his talents. I love Dr. House in House MD. He is so smart, and always right. Always. I may never achieve that feat, but I want to be good, great, at whatever I do. I don't want to always be an ass about it like perhaps he is, but I want to the the go to guy. The guy with the solution. I can live up to that. I feel its an admirable aspiration. I love Michael Scoffield from Prison Break. He went to Prison for his brother because of unfailing love and trust in his brother. I do not condone breaking out of prison in any way, but I do value the unwavering trust in his brother. Trust to the point that the last option was to break out, and in the end he died for his brother's freedom. I wish I had a mind like him, a perfect, genius mind, and yet I don't, but perhaps I can have his love, and trust in my family and friends. I would be willing to do a lot of things for them, but when you lose my trust, it takes ALOT to gain it back, and if your not willing to work for it... good luck. I love the broodiness of Lucas Scott, and the struggles of Nathan and Hayley. I love the relationships and follies of Brooke Davis, and I hope that one day I will find my Peyton Sawyer. Lastly, in my newest addiction, Private Practice, I want to say that I relate to all of the characters, but mostly because in all the episodes that I have watched the reoccurring theme is that they are all searching for something more than a physical relationship. I feel that most everyone in life has had those. Purely physical attraction, and while it is important, I am starting to realize more and more that it is not the most essential. I think I am finally at a point where I am searching for something deeper. Something, someone, that will make me a better person as a whole. Not a physical partnership, but a personal, intimate, loving relationship. Something deeper, and so I can relate to the struggle of Addison, Naomi, Sam, Violet, Cooper, and Pete as they search, and experiment, and make mistakes, and find... as they find that other.

Time will tell if they do, but I know with patience and with a little luck things will work out for me. I love these shows. I love how I get into them, and how I feel for them and with them for all their triumphs and sorrows. I love them because they are clever. I love them because they are fun. I love them because they intrigue me, and make me think. They make me feel, they make me search, and I want to find most all of the things they find.

To some this seems insane, but to me its part of my life. I love my sitcom life. I love the character that I am becoming, and I can just see, in a slightly humorous way, God sitting there, watching me, and feeling with me, and loving with me, and hoping for my triumphs in my journey. This is not meant to be sac-religious in any way. I am a son of God, a creation of him. I am his character, and he, the co author of my screenplay called LIFE. As I make choices, good or bad, I know he feels with me. I know he loves me. You may not make this same connection, but hey, this is who I am. The more I realize about myself, the more comfortable I become with who I am.

Top 10

Today Austin and I were at Craigo's and we were talking about how we hate/love certain things. We talked about insecurities, feelings of doubt, the future, friendships, love, and many other things. I was pondering upon it when I decided that I have a lot... A LOT of top 10's. I just wanted to share a few of them.... or put them in concrete terms.

Top 10 Favorite Foods

1. Pizza at Craigo's

2. Ramirez Burritos

3. Apples 2 for 20

4. Chile's Chips and Salsa

5. Texas Road house steak (if I was only allowed to eat one food the rest of my life it would be steak)

6. Mamma S's desserts

7. Mandi Storer'r homemade anything

8. Chris and Austin's Enchilada's

9. My chicken Alfredo

10. Pork Salad from Cafe Rio

Favorite Movies

1. Transformers

2. Transformers 2

3. Iron Man

4. Iron Man 2

5. Remember the Titans

6. Friday Night Lights

7. Moster's Inc.

8. Cars

9. Walk the Line

10. Pirates of the Caribbean

Top 10 Favorite Places

1. Draper Utah

2. Herriman Utah

3. Waterton Lakes Nation Park

4. My Apartment

5. The Gym

6. Outside.... anywhere outside, doing any outside activity

7. Grand Targee

8. California Beaches

9. Temple

10. The Farm

Top 10 Favorite Things to do: (in no particular order)

1. Swimming

2. Soccer

3. Snowboarding

4. Driving Tractors

5. Lifting Weights

6. Eating

7. Watching movies

8. Cuddling

9. Eating... did I say that already.... well eating out then...

10. Random Road trips just for fun!

Top 10 Qualities I think I possess:

1. Honesty

2. Reliability

3. Dependability

4. Loyalty

5. Respect

6. Work Ethic

7. Desire

8. Motivation

9. Lovability

10. Protectiveness

Top 10 Negative Qualities

1. I complain when I don't know what else to do

2. I sometimes just get frustrated and so I clean... clean clean clean.... its annoying

3. I have to pay for girls (its a complex thing... so don't go places with me if you plan on not getting something for the "no money" reason.. because I will force you to let me pay)

4. I try to be too many things to too many people

5. I sometimes cuss (thanks for teaching me those words dad!)

6. I sometimes don't do things until last minute

7. If you tell me I can't do something... it drives me even more to do it...

8. I am Canadian (that can be good and bad, right now its bad... because I can't work in the US)

9. I can be really shy

10. I sometimes listen to bad music!

Top 10 Career Options:

1. Medical Doctor

2. Chiropractor

3. Custom Orthotics and Prosthetics

4. Business Law

5. Patent Law

6. Health Care Administrator

7. Farmer

8. Financial Planner

9. Entrepreneur

10. Teacher (religion, education... whatever)

Top 10 Favorite Bands

1. The Rocket Summer

2. Coldplay

3. Relient K

4. Hawk Nelson

5. Keane

6. My Chemical Romance

7. Billy Talent

8. Rascal Flatts

9. Garth Brooks

10. Eminem? yup.. this week for sure!

Top 10 Clothing Brands

1. Hurley

2. Quicksilver

3. Old Navy

4. Gap

5. Bluenotes

6. Vans

7. Nike

8. Jordan

9. Raymond Comet gear!

10. Burton

Top 10 Qualities I look for in a Girl:

1. Smile - It has to be perfect... if its not, and I can't get lost looking at it... your out... no offense.. its just critical

2. Eyes - same goes with the smile.. you have to be willing to look me in the eyes and just not blink.

3. Personality - do you like sports? outdoors? can you hang with the guys and still get dolled up? are you hard working? can you cook? clean? love? be a good mom? snowboard? swim? run? work out? do you like movies? music? random conversations? random road trips? can you hardly wait for me to get home from work? will you text me messages all day saying you miss me? If not.. sorry... thats important for me!

4. Tall - I am 6'4'' so I need to have someone that I don't have to look down to TOOO much!

5. Athletic - its a must, I love playing sports

6. Loving - I need to have it... not a lot of it.. but I need some loving

7. Independent - as much as I want you to always need me, or want me in your life at all times... you also need to stand on your own. I need to be able to go out with the guys... and or work a late night, or take a golf trip, and you can be on your own.. and be content!

8. Gospel Strength - I want you to be better than me. I know its true, I served 2 years. I need you to make me better... if you can make me better we are good to go.

9. Family Oriented - I came from a big family, I want kids. If your wanting to go small and simple... not my style.

10. Growth - I am searching for constant growth. I don't settle, I never will, so lets keep working, keep stretching, keep growing. There is no growth in your comfort zone and no comfort in your growing zone.

Top 10 Fears

1. Being Alone

2. Being underappreciated

3. Being buried alive

4. Dying by bee sting

5. Afraid of open water

6. Afraid of losing my family early

7. Sharks, I have never seen one, nor do I want to

8. Heights, sometimes.... I love climbing mountains, but I would hate to fall off a cliff or bridge without choosing to jump

9. Being broke - its a huge fear. Growing up with no money was a challenge that we made fun, but I wouldn't ever choose it again.

10. Losing my faith - I hope to never experience this, but I don't want to chance it. I will stay strong.. keep on me!

Top 10 Important things: (random or whatever)

1. Friendships - I depend on them

2. Family - I love them

3. Exercise

4. Service

5. Food/Cooking/Sushi! (yum)

6. Being Outside

7. Love

8. Summer/Sun

9. Chevy Trucks

10. Bigger Chevy Trucks than the next guy!

Hope you like at least a few of the same things as me! I love life, life is great. Music is awesome, sports are a part of me. I love being.... just being is enough. Make the best of it. Make a friend, ask someone out. What do you have to lose? Find something you like, stick with it.. cherish it.. share it.. teach it.. and most importantly LOVE IT!

Name, Identity, Duality?

At the time of my birth, February 6, 1988, smack dab during the opening ceremonies of the Calgary Olympic games, my dearest parents named me, Justin (just so happened to be the most popular name of 1988, trust me, there were 4 in my graduating class of 68) Rex (after my grandfather, Rex Fuller Baker) and Baker, being my father's surname. Their intentions were never to call me Justin, or Rex, but rather JR. Unfortunately, the name never stuck for anyone more than my father, and his mother. Every now and again a cousin, or sometimes my mother calls me by J, or JR but not as it was supposed to be. I dreamed as a kid of having that be my name, I had friends that were JD's and CJ's and JJ's and I wanted to be an initial name. I decided in the 8th grade that I could not ever have that identity until I was on my own, and I would force myself to start introducing myself as what I wanted to be called, but my friends beat me to it. I did try though, looking through my old CD collections I realized that not only did I have an extreme fetish with making a new mix every day, I called them all by the same name. JR Tunes followed by a number. I was not sure what it would become, but one day, when I am rich and famous, I want my industry to be JR (fill in the blank)... But why is naming, and identity so important?

For me it came down to was I was not sure who I wanted to be, until I was assumed to be someone else. Ok, let me explain. I always went by Justin, up until my mission. I was given a new name then, Elder Baker. It was an honor, and a privilege to have that title. During my service I made a friend, and he found out my full birth name. I don't blame him for this, but he stripped me of my title. He started to call me Rex. He, not knowing that that bothered me, stopped for a while, and then it spilled out amongst all the others, and it was too late. They knew that it bothered me, and they also knew that I couldn't do anything about it. I was humiliated to a point, and then I stopped letting it bother me. With some council from a dear friend, and some insight into the word Rex, I realized that Rex in Latin means King. I can deal with people calling me a king. I somehow became roommates with most of these missionaries that assumed me the identity of Rex, and now, half of the campus that knows me, knows me by Rex, because I was introduced by someone else. But, I just couldn't have that... the people that I meet, the ones I want to become my true friends know me as Justin, because that is where I was most comfortable with my life. I introduce myself as Justin, and I have that identity. I want to be him, fun, exciting, musical, athletic, charming, witty, sarcastic, loving Justin. I don't want to be Rex anymore. I could live with JR. Perhaps that page has yet to be turned.

Next semester, nearly everyone who knows me as Rex will be gone... both those who introduce me as Rex, and those who assume me to be him. Perhaps I can change their thinking, and my identity can remain unscathed, but perhaps not. I guess the question comes down to myself. Can I, being myself, have the same identity, despite what I am called? Or will there always be a duality that exists? I guess only time will tell.

1,3,4 ,5

I know it seems like I can't count from the title, but I promise, the events of the 2nd are not nearly as important as the events of the 1,3,4 or 5. I can't even begin to explain how much I miss going home for July 1. Anyone who does not understand this, can ask any American who is living abroad how it feels for them to not be in the US on July 4. It is a very big deal for my town, especially because not only is it Canada's birthday, it is also Raymond's birthday as well. I missed it, 3 years in a row now, and I just wanted to go home, not be in class, and taking tests all weekend. Some professors have no mercy over long weekends. We almost got my D&C teacher to drop our quiz for the Canadians in our class, but we ended up still taking it, which I aced so it was no big deal, but then a miracle happened. For the first time ever in economics Chris and I did well! We played jeopardy for test prep. and we never answer, and the one time we did in previous games we went into the negatives. We, however, this time got 700 points, and no one else was even close. We won jeopardy by a landslide, and got bonus credit for our exam. It was a beautiful thing. I studied all afternoon for that test, and ended up doing pretty well. Psychology on Friday however.. was not as good. I studied all morning as well, but no matter how much studying I did, I can blame my knee for this EPIC failure. I was out of class 2 times, where the majority of the class we video lectures, which I missed, and which test questions I also missed. I do not like psychology, and I dislike my professor even more. He is the kind of person who wants you to KNOW that he is smarter than you at all costs.. including have tests that are INSANELY hard and then just flaunting all his smarts in class during lectures. Whoopty freaking doo.. you are a psychology professor at a church school were you have to take that class.. couldn't you find a real job? Man I just get so frustrated, why can't he be a little more vague in the test questions that happen to cover nearly 600 pages of a text book.... Do I need to just memorize the names index..... APPARENTLY so. But oh well... such is life...

Austin and I bucked hay today for several hours, and I am beat up. I told you that today's events just weren't that special. I did come home and clean a little bit, but less than I wanted to. I watched a great musical. "Chicago" was the title, and I loved it. It was all about deceit and lies, and presentation. It was amazing, and the cinematography was fantastic. I thought a lot about the correlation to my life, and that I am sure others have made. Haven't we at one point been in a situation where we in that moment, imagine ourselves doings something opposite, or doing what we are doing only we are famous and on stage and people love us while we do whatever we were doing. I often dream about being a performer, and would love that idea, and as I watched this film that was precisely what happened. Roxie would see herself doing things that weren't real, and I loved it.

Tomorrow brings excitement to me, its the "not" 4th of July day. My family is going to be coming to Rexburg! I am so excited for them to visit me, they haven't been here in since I have been to school, and know nothing about my new town. I am excited to see the fireworks with them, and to eat birthday cake with my almost 8 year old lil sis! They are here for the 3, 4, 5.. hence why the dates! I love them, and am excited to play hooky from church and have a picnic, and just spend some time with them. I hope I get all my cleaning done today, and we can just PARTAE and weekend long! No school Monday means either a hike or a 4 wheeling adventure... anybody have 6 four wheelers I can borrow? Please and thanks!? Well, I guess in short, my life is awesome, full of adventure, and hopefully having many more in store!

Holiday Weekend and Thunderstoms

Ya for me, I get to again celebrate in the American celebration. I have celebrated the last 2 years July 4 being as I was on my mission, and now that I am at school in the US I get to do it again. I really wanted to go home this weekend, but somehow it just wasn't going to happen. I feel so behind, so stressed, I have 4 quizzes and 2 exams that are going to take place this weekend, and I want to be able to celebrate my countries birthday on July 1, but I just can't afford to go home. I wish I could. I love July 1 in Raymond. My little town of 3000 people grows, and swells, the campgrounds all around are booked to the max, and peoples back yards, open lots, and driveways become places for extra campers to stay. 10000 people line the streets the morning of the 1st for the parade, and nearly 200-300 people participate in the 5K/10K road-race. I miss those times, working at the pool, kicking out all the moto cross kids who are breaking the rules, and just being with my family for the parade, fireworks, and sometimes sneaking into the rodeo to watch the bull riding.

In light of not being able to go home I might just dress up on Thursday, just enough that I can wear my Canada flag tie. Who knows. Part of me wants to cling on to my small amount of Canadian heritage that I have left, but the bigger part of me knows that my future will be the best that it can be only as I pursue a career and family, and life here in the United States. The people that I love the most besides my parents are here, I want to stay close to my converts from my mission, I want to be close, to the church, the temples, and maybe one day a beach somewhere. Things will somehow work themselves out. I don't know at all what I want to do yet, but somehow I am thinking that someone does, and if I just pay attention to a few details, I will one day learn it, and be able to succeed.

I was caught in a rain storm today, and for some reason I just thought, and I thought about me, who I am, who I want to be, what I want to be remembered by. Somethings in my life just turned around in the past little while, and I didn't know what to do. What to think, what to say, who I wanted to be. I felt myself slipping away a little bit, feeling slightly lethargic from school. I think its the fact that its July, and its finally getting warm. It is not supposed to be this cold this long. But anyways, back to the rain. I had just had a not great day, and then to make matters worse, I had planned on not being able to do much of anything today because its hay bailin season and I was planning on being out til 4 am driving a tractor, but dumb Idaho has to have a 90 degree day, with 5 percent chance of rain and get a flash flood thunderstorm. So as I was driving, to the shop because hay was an epic fail, I saw a car on the side of the road, and with all the time I had to reflect and realize a lot about me, I stopped and pulled over. In the ten steps that it took me to get from my car to his I was drenched from head to toe, completely soaked, no joke, not a dry spot on me. I asked if they needed up and they had someone coming already... times like those I wish I was a bit more mechanical, but I just knew that at least they would know someone in this world cared. How many times do people just drive past the car on the side of the road with the lights on. Do we stop? Do you ever wonder what those people think!? Why are we always so rushed that we can't just stop for a minute and check on the well being of someone else? That's when I realized a bit about who I am, and what I want in my life. I would like to think that I am a pretty nice guy. I mean sure, I have moments where I am mean, but for the most part I bend over backwards for people, friends or strangers... I am known to pull over most of the time and help, or at least make sure there isn't something I could do. I love my friends, even though sometimes it feels like its one sided, like I am always doing, or paying, or helping them, and yet my pride doesn't let me take things in return very much. I just do things, I don't think, or make a fuss. So why bring this up!? I have realized that I miss intimacy in my relationships. I feel like I haven't been myself lately, I have always been trying to impress because someone made me feel like I wasn't good enough. I constantly fight a battle with myself to add up to everyone else's expectations, and yet what about mine, what about my dreams and goals and wants and needs? Not many care, and those that do I consider my truest friends. But as I pondered this thought, I realized that I miss the intimate relationships of trust with the opposite sex. Not sexual relationships, but intimate, deep, passionate relationships of trust and love. It has been a very long time since I felt that way about anyone, and Lord knows its been a lot longer since anyone has felt that way about me. So what to do? I don't believe there is anything I can do, but I sure don't want to have to change me to accomplish it. I don't need to be anyone other than what I want to be, I know that I want to leave behind a legacy of love, patience, trust, and charity. I want people to remember me by the things I willingly, faithfully did out of the goodness of my heart. I want to be soft spoken and wise, and have others truly look up to me, not for me, but because I follow a plan much greater than my own. With God as a witness I want to be honest and true, and I want people to never doubt my integrity. With all these things that I want I need to have someone who wants me for all those same reasons. It is hard to love, or to let love in, and yet when you do it can be one of the most rewarding things on earth, but can you force it? No, but you can certainly influence it, and let it start to develop. Nothing can be worse than cutting yourself off, and being reclusive, you never learn, never grow. I want to be wanted, is ultimately what I learned today. I want to have the one person who can't wait for me to get home from work, who tries their best to stay up late when its a late night, or to just always remind me how much they miss me. I want someone who can't wait to hear about my days follies or triumphs, and who can't wait to share theirs with me. I want someone who looks into my eyes, and melts me, and who I just can't wait to see, someone who the moments apart seem like forever until we can reunite. That is not an impossible thing to find, what is hard it letting it happen. Being not afraid, to open up, to gamble everything for love. If it pans out it is worth it. It becomes the most important and valuable thing we can find and treasure. It becomes the purpose of life, and creating life. When I find that, I realized tonight, I will die a happy man. A man whose purpose was fulfilled, and who found all the things in life he desired and dreamed. But its two way, people have to open up, we have to trust, its our nature, its built in, and yet we fight it, hide it, hide ourselves. Don't hide ourselves, or our talents... its not ultimately in the best interest of anyone.

Summer Sun, Soccer, Swimming, Sushi, Singing, and Sleeping... Sometimes

Today seems to be as good a day as ever to update again. I am starting to spread this blogging addiction around, a few good friends are doing it, and more and more of my family are online updating their "journal" of their life. I love reading my families adventures and seeing me cousins and their children grow. I am grateful for the wonderful technology at our fingertips.

This past week has been a great week of re-connecting. I have been on the same campus as an old mission companion for the past 5 months, and we had not been able to connect until this weekend. It took another friends birthday party, a random trip to Walmart (where we saw him and invited him to the party) and a blind date gone sour that we were all going on to be the buffer/protection for a great friend. In the process we realized how much of an error it was to not be friends for so long... our adventure started out at a super fun birthday party, with ice cream cake and soda pong, but that was a small time together. Saturday started with soccer, the US vs Ghana, and after 123 minutes of play, 2 overtime periods, Ghana defeated the miracle team, and my heart sunk. My friend says, "I can run home and make us a few sushi rolls if you want..." "HECK YA" was my answer, he had started my crazy addiction to 3 things I never thought I would eat, let alone eat them together at the same time, raw fish, seaweed, and hot sauce..... I am so glad I can enjoy the wonderful flavors, and the amazing textures of sushi. We ate the rolls, but it was all to quick, and we decided that we wanted to have a Sushi party. We first want to swim, so a group of us went to the Sand dunes to swim in the lake there. It was a blast, I soaked up as much sun as I could and we enjoyed the lake. We spent the better part of a few hours out there we came back home and made some more delicious sushi. It was fantastic. I realized at the moment that I had outgrown most of the tastes that were influenced on me by my parents. I had been trained to not like fish, and I had been trained to not eat certain things because my parents didn't like them, and hence never eating them of course I would not like them. We feasted upon that sushi as people came over to play games. We had a fairly good turnout for fugitive. I was supposed to be a cop and drive with my knee, but I ended up running, and we made it to the end point without being caught. A lot of people cheated or went home, and so that wasn't fun, but we did have one good round. And that was mostly the end of my night. Today brings clear skies, sunshine, sacrament, more sushi, soccer (world cup not me playing) perhaps some songs sung with my guitar, hopefully a little sleep, and to top off the night I think I get peach cobbler tonight! I love my new friends, I love summer, I love having fun, and being me. I don't have to pretend, I don't have to work hard, I just have some amazing friends who just like me for me!

*noidon'thateyou,don'twannafightyou,youknowi'llalwaysloveyou,butrightnowIjustdon'tlikeyou*

Adventures=Pictures!

We were a little excited to be here, we were of course listening to the Beverly Hills song by Weezer, as Clayton drove us around in his dad's BMW. It was a great day!
LA TEMPLE! BEAUTIFUL!

FUN TIME, GHETTO HILL, MORE GHETTO CHAIR LIFT!

Can You Ever Be TOO Nice?

I am starting this post in a very unusual way. I typically have a title in mind when I start a post, and a theme of what I want to talk about, and it usually involves fun times and adventures, and while I am sure this post will include that, I have been thinking a lot about personality lately. I had a conversation with a new friend last night while driving around the farms of Rexburg and surrounding area and we got on the subject of personal conversion, convictions, and the individual decisions that brought us together at BYU I. It was not supposed to happen with either of us, and yet we were both there, in that moment, having a very deep and bonding conversation. How do things like this happen? What drives people to do the things they do? How can we understand more about others that will benefit us in the future, and in the very choices we make every day. I have learned over the past few months, and years what type of personality I have, and based on the "color" scheme you choose, here are some of the details of how I tick, you may find this helpful, you may not, but I feel its important. I am a "blue" personality, with a dominant "white" 2nd personality. This ultimately means that I form connections with people and I love using words, and intellectual conversations to become friends with people. If I know you, and if I trust you, I will tell you nearly anything you want to know, and I have no problem listening either. I also love to put people first. I am one of the nicest people I know, not to boost my self esteem, but to relate to other nice people out there. The "white" part of my personality happens to also be a major source of the internal struggle I have with myself. I hate confrontation. I don't like to fight, or argue, I don't like the feeling it brings, I don't like the way it makes other people feel, and it is a WHOLE lot easier for me to just take the abuse of the fight, and hold it in, and let the other person win to boost their ego. That is just how I operate, I will tell you anything that you think you want to know if it keeps us from fighting.

Now, I suppose that there was a reason for this little rant, and there was. I played maid today, as I have found myself doing nearly every day since the beginning of the year. I have great roommates whom I love to death, but they are not neat. I may or may not be slightly OCD with cleanliness and order, and I just didn't want to do it all. I had some help today, which was greatly appreciated, but I found myself this entire week running from what I knew was inevitable. I never cooked at home in the past 2 weeks, or spent more than an hour during the waking hours in our house. I was always gone, gone so that I knew, and no one could doubt, that the mess that is always left behind is and was not mine. Then it builds up. Then it just gets bigger and bigger, and I come home later and later, so that I don't have to spend time in it, or look at it, and then it happens, class gets cancelled, I get home way earlier than I am used to, and I can't function. I start thinking I will just do the dishes that we need to cook our chocolate chip pancakes, and I end up doing all the dishes, cleaning the counters, stove, island, microwave... mopping the floor, gathering the trash (someone else took it out for me) and picking up the living room. I really didn't mind doing it, we had some great music, and at least I had company, but I just was so frustrated, because nothing, not one dish that I did, was dirtied by me. I just don't understand why the concept of "if you use it, wash it, dry it, and put it away" is so hard for people to get. Simple, and yet never does it happen. Well thats enough of my vent for today. I just thought about the simple fact that my personality is such that I avoid confrontation. To me it is easier to just suck it up, and use my free time, to benefit everyone else and avoid a fight, or even having to have an awkward conversation about it. Moral of the story...

Nice people get screwed over, not just a few times, but most times, but nice people don't worry, we will always win in the end. I can't tell you how many times I made a new friend, and that that friend became someone whom I could entrust my life with, as I did acts of kindness to them. The other day I was standing in a ticket line, and the people next to me didn't have enough cash to pay for their tickets. Without even hestitating I slapped down 10 dollars for their tickets, just as they found the missing dollar in their purse. Sure, 1o dollars seems like a lot for a college kid, but its a small price to pay to be the helping hand. I just felt happy after that. A week ago I was with my friends on a Horkley's fun, and I had to charge $2.00 in order to use my debit, and I only had $1.30 or so, and so I picked up the girls tab behind me without her even knowing it. I didn't mind, again, small price to make someone smile. And lastly, the big finale, a mix up in the orders at a friends birthday party left me paying the tab for 3 steak dinners. At first I thought I would make a big deal about it, but then I changed my mind, for friends, anything is worth it. I will just have to work a little harder, save a little more, and I got the satisfaction of seeing them, engaged and in love, on a special birthday event. Being nice has its advantages, because we get to have the personal feelings, and so to those of you out there who are struggling with the fact that you may be getting taken for all you're worth, then you just have to sit back, smile, and say that it's all in a days work!

Make a goal, set a plan, to help someone, or to say something nice to someone on a daily basis. These are small things I have noticed start to help with any problem. Depression!? No problem, a bit of exercise, service, and trusting God, and that is done. Having a bad day!? No problem, just suck it up, smile, and see how many people will smile back, shoot, you might even meet someone special as they gaze into your pearly whites. When all is said and done, we don't get to take all the riches and fame with us after death, so a spending a few pennies is just that... pennies, to what the happiness you can receive from helping out someone in need. And to those of you who get helped by a super nice person.... Thanks goes a long way!

College is great, school is tough, exams are rough, people are fun, dating is stressful, and I have a knee injury, but on the bright side, more girls than I thought I knew brought me treats... I almost had a handi-cap parking sticker, I get to talk to a lot of people who ask "what happened?" and I tell them and become friends. I am sure that many adventures await, and that I have a lot lot more to look forward to this summer, and early fall. Until next time, help someone out, say thanks to a stranger, and smile. It goes a LONG ways!

Quizzes, Tests, Stress, and FUN!

What a week! I can't believe all the things that happened. First I guess I will start with the beginning. Monday was a hectic day. I didn't do much, I was feeling slightly handicapped, but I ended up going out to the farm and planting some more corn. I did that Saturday as well. Farming+Tractors+Guns+Horses+Motor bikes= my new addictions! Well Tuesday proved to be a miserable day. I had realized much to late that after working all day homework was to be done. I spent well into the AM working on what I thought was all my assignments..... I was wrong! Tuesday came and I had missed a quiz in Economics, I was quite upset about that. Tuesday was just a long day in general. We had a soccer game... GOT our Killin Em Softly shirts and that was sweet! I found any excuse I could to procrastinate my homework as much as I could and found myself up again, really late doing things that could have easily been accomplished earlier that day. I got up for class Wednesday and was beat. I don't want to encourage this, but if you have an injury, and show up to a 7:45 class and talk to your professors they usually let you go home and take of things.... I went home to sleep, but no one needs to know that! I had my MRI that morning, and that was a painful experience. That is the last time I let a middle aged balding Asian man touch my leg. He clamped me into this harness and shoved a block in to keep my knee straight.... Thank Goodness for the lousy elevator music playing in my earphones, yet every so often, just as I would forget how much it was hurting to have my knee straight, I would hear him come through the phones and say, "this scan will take about 2 minutes..." or "this one will be about 30 seconds..." So much for sleeping to block pain receptors.... after that was all said and done how about the old fat guy in the parking lot who is supposed to shuttle everyone from their cars to the front doors in his souped up golf cart... He sat there and watched me hobble and limp to my car.... HOW RUDE!!! I was not a happy camper that day, and I still haven't hear back from them with the results... its been nearly a week. Canada might have slow health care, but at least they are gentle! Wow, ok... calm down J, just relax.... I have to talk myself through things like that sometimes~.... Planted more corn Wednesday, but if anyone asks it was Tyson. My drill stopped spitting down seed on the middle disc and I am not sure at what point that happened, but a chain fell off, and the middle row didn't get planted for a certain section of the field.... HMMMM but don't tell... I don't want to get in trouble! haha, we fixed the ditches, and ran home for dinner and on to the end of the week. I realized that I had 2 exams that I had yet to open a book for. I was still finding myself ignoring my homework, and I took a hit.... B and C on the exams... hopefully there is a little mercy with the one, and we get to have a curve... but I doubt it. I had a study party... well we tried... Matt planned his weekend, we laughed, got Horkley's and pretty much did nothing... Friday I woke up, studied, wrote out every terms definition for 340 pages, and went to take the test.... not great.. but I am happy I passed.... I watched some world cup, went to work and fixed some stuff, cleaned the shop... and we had a HUGE bonfire Friday night! It was great, I was a human blanket to people, and we roasted some starburst.... I thought Curtis Tucker was going to die again as he climbed to the top of our 10x10x10 pile of wood to pour diesel fuel on it and ignite it... there was someone underneath of him... not sure why... lighting the same fire... not smart... but hey, thats life!~ We partied it up that night, and I don't remember when I got to bed, around 3... but we got up and went fishing at 7 and what an adventure that was. Not a bite... I think the fish knew that it was free fish day and we didn't have any luck. I pulled out alot of stuck hooks, and fixed a few lines and supplied the car and spitz for the adventure so I can't complain. Went to the farm for the remainder of the day, and just chilled, dug in a culvert with Tyson, pulled out my car stereo that I now have to put back in... and then realized that I was late for my date! Guitars unplugged.... shoot... ran home.. coasted into the tesoro on fumes cuz my fuel level was beyond empty... and I got ready and was only a few minutes late.. The show was great, we cooked pancakes and had whip cream and strawberries after and just chilled. Last minute decisions always end up being the most fun I realized, as at 12 midnight be started packing the car and Estaban, Shayne, Alex and I crammed into my car, and headed to Utah. We left Rexburg at 1 AM, got to Shwendiman's at 4:45, slept til church, enjoyed a wonderful homecoming, reunited with a friend, and enjoyed the company of many of my old mission friends and then headed back to Rexburg. I think my friends will eventually kill me... but who knows... I love em all anyways! I love spontaneity! It was great fun... highlights of the trip.... not dying... everyone sleeping but me... playing the singing game where you have to sing the next line of a song.. i think its called singing bee.. and just chilling with some of the coolest people I know! Good times!~

2 Semester Highlights so far!

This semester was turning out to be a lot more challenging than the first. I was able to maintain a 4.0 GPA during my first semester, which also gave me the opportunity for BYU I to pay for my tuition! I had to get into classes, and because of the system here I had a very difficult time getting anything that I wanted or needed. Online classes, and a few other not so exciting classes filled my schedule at first, all the while the pressures of keeping my grades high lingered in the balance. I need to have my tuition paid for so I don't have to go home to Canada. My classes became a challenge, and all my friends that I had met seemed to be equally busy. Our relationships began to fade and I slowly found myself isolating myself from the world. It was not a bad thing at all, I found great things to do: watching 3 seasons of 24, 3 seasons of One Tree Hill, finishing Glee, finishing OTH Season 7, finishing House Season 6, catching up on Friday Night Lights, and watching movies with Gage, until that wasn't enough and I started him on One Tree Hill. Between my TV shows, sleep, and music (learning the piano even more, and playing guitar) I was doing just fine! Things began to look bad to my roommates though, either that or they have always just pitied me, probably more of the 2nd, and Austin started to take me places. We started working out on an every other day basis, and I loved getting back active. We would hit up worlds, come back and do ab ripper x and then have our protein. Over the next several weeks we became great friends again, partly because of our time spent together, and partly because he seemed to sleep on my floor for nearly 3 weeks straight because he didn't want to clean off his bed. It was just like old times when we were missionaries. I planned my next great adventure- going to Orlando for his wedding. Kenzie had a small part to play in that as I sat through her trying on wedding dresses on our trip to Salt Lake. It was either that bonding, or the bonding at Tucano's as they told me to stop eating every piece of meat that was brought by, but how could I... I had paid 20 dollars, and for pete's sake I was going to get my money's worth. I couldn't wait to get through the first half of the semester, for multiple reasons, it was a-half over, b-it would get warmer, c-it would be soccer season. I had secretly been hoping for the longest time that we would get a better record than our intramural basketball team who unfortunately went 0-9 in our season. We started with a 2-0 record so far, but I took a few terrible spills after scoring my first goal and here I sit, typing my life story to a webpage who has no feelings because I can't play. I tore my MCL and damaged my meniscus in my left knee. No fun. Classes are going well and I felt the desire over the past few weeks to meet people. I went to Green Canyon with a new group of friends and had a blast! I have now met a few different groups that with time I could find myself opening up to, and perhaps actually enjoying! One other group that is just amazing is our FHE group! We love them to death. I never thought I would enjoy it, heck, last semester I made up every excuse in the book not to go... mostly just the fact that it was time to prepare for planting on the farm, and that took a lot of hours. I have learned a lot about farming this year as well. We did vaccinations a few times on 800 cows, calving season is all but gone past us now, and I have learned to plough and prepare a field for planting, how to plant, and even am learning how to repair the ditches so we can irrigate. Its been an adventure in and of it self going to work with one of my best friends. Tyson, my cousin's husband has been so great. He teaches me many things, like how to tear a radiator out of a semi so we can fix it. I am learning to drive almost anything, and to even fix things now. Its a blast. I am glad I have family here in Rexburg, my cousin and her husband ROCK! Mandi, first off, is the most amazing cook ever, and I will say that til I am married so I don't bite the very hand that feeds me, and Tyson is just one of the funniest people I know.

Things noteworthy of mention of the past few months: first back flip snowboarding (should have been attached in the last section, new friends, new adventures, warm weather, still getting good grades, still not dating (which is fine with me), still watching my drama as often as I can, and still trying to have adventures. We eat out often, Big Jud's, Applebee's, Taco Time, Craigo's at least 2 or 3 times a month with Gage. Going home to Canada 2 times, and tearing my MCL. My brothers amazing starring lead in Raymond Junior High's Beauty and the Beast... and finally getting a new car. Things are great, life is meant to be lived and the newest trend among my blogs will be to close with a line from my favorite song of the week/month....

*todayisthefirstdayofmylife,ithinkiwasblindbeforeimetyou....rememberthetimeyoudroveallnightjusttomeetmeinthmorning*e

Random Events

Where to start, I could take this way back, and just write all the small random events that have begun to shape the person that I am, but lets start with college for now. I enrolled in college while serving in Salt Lake City South Utah. I was positive at first that I was going to be going to Provo to BYU and yet I somehow (personally I still am puzzled) ended up at BYU Idaho where this particular segment of randomness occurred. I went to Canada on November 5th and re united with my family after 2 very short years apart. Tears flowed from my eyes like a raging waterfall as I sobbed to my dad and told him I wanted to go back. I was so petrified to make yet another life altering change and I couldn't contain my emotions. After some chinese food that I didn't eat, and my family relentlessly asking questions and me telling stories I was released from my 2 year calling. I had learned to love the people of Salt Lake City; it being challenging at first. I poured my heart and soul into my work, and was blessed as a result. The next few days were surely going to be long I thought as I sat there, shocked and in awe. My family all ate their cheesecake and we drove the rather unfamiliar roads home. Everything had been turned upside down. No more freeways, no more miles per hour signs, everything was smaller, slower, and less crowded. I called my old boss, and started working the 2nd day home. The first day home I spent unpacking and settling my life due to an uncontrollable urge to be organized (OCD perhaps). Work was great, it kept me occupied and it wore me out. Concrete is a job I think every young man should have some experience in. Coming home exhausted, and literally being able to fall asleep in mid chew of dinner is such a great feeling. I often found myself driving around listening to my old favorite songs and thinking about all the things that were ahead of me. A curious romantic potential arose and fell giving my poor exhausted heart its fare share of wear and tear. I just had to wait a few more weeks and I could find my way back. A visit back to SLC over Thanksgiving proved to be what the doctor ordered, until I ran out of gas 40 miles from home and had no way to get there. We slept in a cold car until a father of a friend rescued us and brought a gas can. I switched jobs to make a bit more money, and a week before Christmas got in my first car wreck. I couldn't believe it. It was the most horrible day already, we had built 15 sections of cedar fence, and I was just not wanting to be out in the -10 degree weather anymore. We were finished and on our way home when the wife of a cop slid through her intersection and hit me on the front drivers side. My car was written off, and my dad had to pack my sister and I in the car, and be apart from his wife for the first time in 22 years over New Years to drop us of at our colleges. I was excited to be gone from home again. I had planned, and somehow it all came together, to be roommates with my old mission friends. We all had so much fun those first few weeks... meeting people and just talking to everyone (still habitual from the mission I guess). Classes started and we all began to buckle down. I made a few great friends in the first few weeks, and again had a small heart break. With it, went my friends for a while, but this is where the adventures began. Clayton Williams, my big red head comedian friend invited me go with him home for spring break. I of course jumped at the opportunity because my family was going to be in Hawaii without me during that time. We flew into LA and I was like a small child as he saw all the gifts Christmas morning. "Palm trees! Can we pull over here and take a picture!?" "I have three in my backyard Rex...." said Clayton in response to my perhaps overly excited request. That week proved to be amazing. We partied it up Saturday, and I found myself sitting out at the pool in the sun as often as the others were napping. Sunday we toured LA and it was great, we saw the temple and the normal Hollywood stuff. Monday was another adventure of itself. We all went to 6 flags and heard "have a 6 flags day." It started off that way, we went on any ride we wanted, without a line. That was true the whole day, but Jordan put a damper on it for 2 of the gang. Jordan's phone fell out of his pocket on a ride, and he was mad. Ryan and JD went over a fence looking, and pretty soon there was security everywhere looking for them because of the obvious danger of being hit by a roller coaster. They were escorted out of the park and we had to just send them text messages to sooth the pain. Tuesday we saw Dr. Phil in his finest, and Wednesday we dropped half our gang off at the airport. The other highlights of the trip: bonfire and guitar on the beach til 2 AM, horseback riding in the mountains of Cali, seeing dolphins swimming the waves, body surfing, soccer on the beach, 3rd street promenade, fish and chips on the pier, the BMW on the free way, the street dancers, in and out, of course getting lost during fugitive, sailing a real boat in the ocean, and finally the awesome people we met as we saw the world our friends grew up in. The next semester was sure to bring about its fair share of challenges and fun times, but I had no idea what I was in for!