Viva la France!

For your reading pleasure, here is a thrilling excerpt from an email I received today.

Dear Summer White:

Congratulations on your acceptance to BYU's Winter 2008 Paris SA program.

Participation in an international experience can be life-changing and I encourage you to do all you can to prepare for this experience by studying the basic geography, cultural customs, and the history of the places you will visit. You will be required to attend a preparation class which will further orient you for your in-country experience. We have found that the better prepared students are for these experiences, the more they get out of them.

We are happy that you have chosen such an excellent complement to your education at BYU. Previous students have unanimously referred to their international study as one of the most significant experiences of their entire college career. We welcome you to the growing number of BYU students who believe "The world is our campus."

I'm so excited!!!

Date #2

Last night I had dinner with Long, Kaci's friend from BU who is now a grad student at BYU. We ate at Costa Vida, which is quality Utah Mexican food and conveniently close to my place...but I was coming from campus because, long story short, I waited for 3 hours to give blood and couldn't wait any longer. And I am scheduled to work 4-9 on Friday nights, so I got someone to cover 4-7 but no one for 7-9. So we ate early and then he walked me to the MOA, where I found out for some reason they weren't planning on me coming in and had rearranged the schedule accordingly. So I went home and then to the dollar movies with Kristin because our other two roomies were at Homecoming Spectacular. So in a nutshell, yesterday didn't go as planned. But the date was good. Long was really nice. This is a random picture of him from Facebook.

President Hinckley!

That's right, he came to BYU on Tuesday! Last year he came on Halloween and it was awesome except I was sitting in the back because I came right from class, and consequently I was sitting with people I didn't know. This time was even better because miraculously, my three roommates and my roommate's boyfriend and I all got to sit together even though we didn't plan it. I worked early and when I came out of the museum at 9:15, the line to get into the Marriott Center was already to the end of the building and getting longer by the second. (And devotionals, or devos as we like to call them, start at 11:05.) I don't know how far it is between the buildings, but it must have been a pretty long line. So I decided to skip my 9:30 class (don't worry, this is not habitual) and get in line. Natalie's class got canceled (lucky), so she joined me soon after I got there and helped me save seats.

This was about an hour before it started.


The men half of the choir, who sang a pretty English song called "To Be A Pilgrim" in honor of Pres. H.'s missionary service in England.
Waiting for Pres. H. Susan Tanner, YW General Pres., was there with her husband who's an academic VP. Elder and Sis. Hales were there, and our friends the Kerrs. :)
When he walked in and sat down and people started taking pictures like crazy, he covered his face. He is so cute!
Pretty packed! They estimated there were over 22,000 people there.

Highlights: He started off congratulating us on earning the #1 spot in the Princeton Review's "Stone Cold Sober" ranking for the 10th year in a row. That was cute. The business school was also #1. He talked about the 13th Article of Faith, the difference between being honest and true, and chaste and virtuous. He told us to be grateful that we can attend BYU (which I am) and mentioned Karl G. Maeser and how he taught Pres. H.'s father back in the day. (Dr. Maeser was the second president of BY Academy and is the founder being honored this week for Homecoming. Without his support, BYA probably wouldn't have made it.) He emphasized honesty and that there are no shortcuts to the top (which, coincidentally, is the name of a book he recently read about an amazing mountain climber). He said the key to greatness is hard work, and talent has little to do with it. He ended early and it seemed way too short, which was disappointing, but it was awesome to be in the same room as the prophet! What made it even cooler is that I'm taking teachings of the living prophets for a religion elective and guess who we've been talking about? I'm loving him more and more!

Date #1

So Robby challenged me to a dating contest...whoever goes on more dates between now and Thanksgiving will buy dinner for the other person when I'm in Arizona. Ground rules:

1. I have to post a picture of my date on my blog.
2. "Hanging out" doesn't count. Thank you, Elder Oaks.
3. For Robby and Sharon's dates to be valid, no kids.

So it looks like I'm winning! Last night I went on a group date with my friends Candice and Stephy and three guys from their ward. We had dinner and then went to a women's soccer game. (Which we won!) My date, Marcus, just happens to be a big fan of Boston, the Red Sox, and Fenway Park. I thought you'd appreciate that, Kaci. :)

Game 1: BYU vs Arizona

Rise and shout, the Cougars are out! Natalie and I met Candice and Stephy and some of the other 41 people we got all-sports passes with and walked to the stadium together. As expected, we coded sorry b's! I was a little disappointed that it wasn't a shutout. (Arizona scored with 53 seconds left, for a final score of 20-7.) But it was fun, except the part when Candice and I very nearly passed out and consequently missed most of halftime. My roommate Kristin is on the cymbal line and had lots of fun, although she also almost passed out after their long march-in. (She commented, though, that they took care of her and were nice about letting her sit out pre-game, which wouldn't happen at LHS. DC and the DC jrs, aka section leaders, would act like it was the end of the world if someone needed to sit out.) It was b's hot. It wasn't too bad later in the game when it was a little cooler and we were actually hydrated, but we were out there for four hours. At halftime Ty Detmer and Gifford Nielsen's jerseys were retired and they spoke and LaVell and Pres. Packer were there. Kristin was on the field pretty close to them, so she thought that was way cool.

Oooooh. Crooked lines.

If you look closely you can see that they're spelling out "COUGARS" upside down. This would have been a better picture if it was more centered, I know. We were on the 10 yard line but not too far up.

Road Trip!

Last Thursday (was it only 8 days ago? It feels like months) Stephy and I drove to Utah! We caravaned with two other people but I was in her car the whole time.

Cranking up the tunes somewhere in Wyoming!

It was interesting trying to get a picture of both of us while she was driving...and not look directly into the sun.

And there was a beautiful rainbow! Driving through Provo Canyon was a little scary because it was stormy and very dark, but we made it! It was wonderful to see my roommates again, especially Natalie who I hadn't seen all summer.

Denver Zoo

Last Tuesday when I was visiting my friend Stephy in LOUISVILLE, Colorado (that's right, like our Lewisville), our amiga Candice met us at the zoo, where we had a lot of fun and fit right in. :) First, here's an animal quiz for Molly. Can you name them all?





This was funny. It was an indoor exhibit, and one of the zoo people came through the door to give the animals water or something. But while she was trying to corral another one, this one got on top of the door and it took her several minutes to get him down. When the door opened wider we saw a sign on the inside: "CAUTION. MALE LIKES TO SIT ON DOOR."



We all did individual monkey-face shots too but I chose the more flattering pictures. :)

I was trying to look scary but then started smiling so...it's goofy.

Petting the nice gorilla statue.

All of us! It was so great to see them again.

Goofy Burpems

I miss Eli! This post makes me happy, though. It's from the last time Logan and I babysat him, August 25. He was tired, but happy. Good combination. It makes for loopiness and snuggliness. :)

Goodbye, summer!

Heehee I'm so punny. :) I flew to Colorado on Monday to chill with my friend Stephanie (who lives in Louisville--isn't that precious?) and we're driving to Provo today! I miss you all already but can't wait to get back and see my roommies. And to go to football games with the 41 people that picked up their all sport passes with me. :)

Frito-Lay Week 14

I'm done with Frito, at least until Christmas break. Hope you enjoy the last post in a long time!

Best names
Women
Sonji
Teneisha
Ceira (hard C sound)
Artiemisha
Dowla
Debi
Lacasha
Shantia

Men
Jeremie
Mersaydez (that was a little boy...I think)

Last names
Speletich
Guggenberger

Best cities
Lewisville, TX 75067! It's great when I know the zip before they say it.
Carrollton, TX (close 2nd)
St Hedwig, TX (If you're a Harry Potter fan you know that Hedwig is his pet owl. Apparently he was a saint too.)
Fremont and Bennington, NE (Just for Dad...they're a hop, skip and a jump away from Blair.)
Summerland Key, FL (That one's obvious)
Happy Valley, PA (That should be in Utah)
Normal, IL
Nevada, TX
Wyoming, PA
Poland, OH
Bolivia, NC
I only got two calls from Utah this week, and they were both from Orem and both today. Weird.

Weirdest foreign matter
rag
pebble (in sunflower seeds that would not be weird, but this one was embedded in a chip...maybe it's not really a pebble)
lots and lots of hair. Other than that, this week has been good in terms of foreign matter.

Funniest reason to call
To see if your child has been calling and "scamming." One mother did. She said they've been getting letters and coupons from several different companies. I guess her kids are doing the rounds.

Dumbest complaint
Cracker Jack boxes are too hard to open. "Have you ever opened one? Try it. You'll be amazed how hard it is." Good grief. If you don't like the boxes, buy the bags.

Most precise way of stating the exact reason for calling
"I didn't need to call you, but I'm calling you." Huh?

Best jokes
These are from an interesting lady who kept me on the phone for at least 15 minutes. She just rattled off joke after joke. Most of them are inappropriate. These were my favorites:

What did Baby Corn say to Mommy Corn?
Where's Pop Corn?

What was Mark Twain's friend's name?
Choo Choo Twain.

Dirtiest use of a non-dirty word
"I don't want to sound offensive, but they almost tasted like…knockoff Doritos."

Best misnomer
The man who called a "gecko" a "geico" like the insurance company.

Firsts
I got my first complaint about a commercial (boy, was she fired up!) and my first compliment about Cracker Jack. No one calls to compliment Cracker Jack. Those are some of my least favorite calls, and I can usually tell when they're coming. Most of them are old people who tell me how old they are and how long they've been eating Cracker Jack, and they go on and on about how they took the peanuts out and they took the great prizes out and it's not what it used to be.

Biggest Fattest New England accent
The guy I just talked to from Manchestah, New Hampshah. Wow. Kaci, I thought of you.

People who really like being on hold
When I answered the phone this woman didn't say, "Hi! How are you?" or "These chips are stale." She said, "Oh, I love that song!" (Her tone of voice said, "Why did you pick up the phone so fast?" like I should be sorry.) "My 4-yr-old granddaughter knows the words. She sings along, something about carving my name into the seat, smashing headlights, slashing tires, and she has a Louisville Slugger..." She went on and on, which I thought was very disturbing because it's a very bitter Kelly Clarkson song about getting revenge on a boy that no little girl should know. But this woman seemed to think it was funny.

I was trying to get this kid off the phone who was just calling to get coupons and ask dumb questions because she was bored. (I noticed she's called at least once a year since 2003.) Finally she asked me something I had to look up, and I could have done it in 5 seconds, but she said, "Can you put me back on the phone?" which means "Can you put me on hold?" So I did. I'll put her on hold whenever she wants.

Captain Obvious of the week
After I asked him for the guaranteed fresh date and he said he didn't see it, I asked him again (politely, of course) and told him exactly where to look. He said, "There's no date on here except Sept 25."

Weirdest weirdies
All of these women hung up on me...this was the entire conversation.
1. "Why are the chips brown? Is this a good date?" She gave me an October date and I assured her that it was from this year. Then she said, "Can you check the date on the computer?" and hung up. This might have been a prank...I'm not sure that flat, extremely nasal voice was real. If it was, that's scary.

2. "Do you sell the corn chips from your place?" Once I figured out she was referring to here at hq as opposed to somewhere else like my house, I said no, and is there a particular flavor that she's looking for? She said, "Um...the flavor's not on here." Then she hung up.

3. Unlike the other two who sounded drowsy or maybe drugged, this lady started off ranting. "Why do you only fill the bags halfway? Why not just make the bag smaller? I should pay the same price for a bag half the size." I tried to interrupt and explain that we can't fill the bags to the top, but she just hung up on me.

Longest, weirdest and funniest coupon request
This lady had a strong accent, south Asian I think. She told me how much she loves Rold Gold pretzels and then asked for coupons, and when I said yes she said, "Oh bless you! I'm so excited I love the pretzels!" Then she asked if I could send some to her boyfriend, who apparently is Rold Gold's biggest fan. So she gave me his address, then launched into an effusive monologue about his devotion to pretzels that went something like this. "I call him Mr. Pretzel. I say to him, 'Mark, what is your favorite food?' And he say, 'Pretzel!' He is 52 years old and takes a bag of pretzels every day for lunch in his briefcase. And every day I say to him, 'Mark, what did you eat today?' And he say, 'What else? Pretzel!' And I say to him, 'Your name is not Mark. It's Mr. Pretzel.'"

Top nine callers
The numbers are weird this week.
1. CA 22
2. TX 17
3. NY 16
4. IL 12
5. OH 11
6. FL, CT 9
7. PA, TN 7
8. MI, MN 6
9. IN, NC, MD 5

Weirdest letter
There was a bag and a note that said, "Please forward my winner to the above address. Thank you." Apparently he thought he won something.

Longest sentence in a letter
Please find enclosed a bar code and a bag from a 24 pack of assorted chips. There were 2 bags of Doritos that a tear in the bag which made the Doritos stale so we ended up with 22 bags of chips instead of the 24 I wouldn't of minded it so much but my grandchildren were here on vacation and they took these goodies to the beach each day with a drink when they went to eat there chips they spit them out as they were stale so 2 kids out of 4 ended up with no goodies this day. Were they ever upset which ended up making grandma up set with Frito-Lay.

Most repetitive and ding-dong letter
Let me tell you, there is no way these pretzels were fresh, and I can't imagine what they would taste like in October. They are STALE-STALE-STALE. Quite a disappointment! Does Walgreens get inferior packages? Very disappointed. By the way, why can't you be contacted on the net? All companies have a website.

I hate driving complaints...at least she didn't call and cuss someone out.
While driving to work today at approximately 7:45 am one of your drivers was driving very wreck less, cutting in and out of traffic at speeds, which far exceeded the speed limit on Highway US 1 in Cocoa, Florida. Highway US 1 in heavily traveled during this time as drivers are commuting to Kennedy Space Center. The driver went north pass the 528 on ramp. I would appreciate it if you would consider the seriousness of this complaint and let your personnel know human lives are far more important than delivery of snacks. Thanks so much.

Best demonstration of where not to put the apostrophe
Dear: Frito Lay I received your letter on 8-17-07 and thank you 4 the 2 coupon's, I always will be you'r big fan of Doritos chip's and good luck with all the comments from the consumer Just keep it up, and I hope we keep in touch. You'r consumer: Mr. Molina

Tag

I'm it! Thanks, Abbie. :)

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Starting 4th grade with Miss Spellman.
2. Playing with Danielle, Lauren, Megan, and Hailey.
3. Playing with adorable 3-year-old Logan.
4. Launching into a new repertoire of books, including Little Women, Jane Austen novels, and The Work and the Glory series.
5. Looking forward to Robby and Sharon's wedding.

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. Call people.
2. Write to people.
3. Watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
4. Make a packing list.
5. Chill.

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. fresh fruit, especially peaches, berries, cherries, and watermelon
2. fresh veggies, especially carrots, celery, cukes, and bell peppers
3. ice cream
4. cookies
5. kettle corn!

5 songs I know the lyrics to:
1. Almost like being in love
2. If you chance to meet a frown
3. Take me home, country roads
4. Rhode Island is famous for you (Mandy Patinkin)
5. numerous camp songs

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. donate to humanitarian organizations
2. travel, travel, travel
3. have fun decorating a beautiful house
4. shop for a new wardrobe
5. buy a sweet ride...Pixie the Pony

5 bad habits:
1. sleeping in on the weekend
2. eating too much Blue Bell
3. being too slow getting ready in the morning
4. not keeping in touch with people as much as I should
5. not staying organized after I get organized and vow to stay organized

5 things I'd never wear again:
1. leggings, especially the kind with a strap that goes under your foot
2. overalls (unless my Farmer Pride prompts me to buy a new pair)
3. platform sandals
4. cheerleading uniform
5. mushroom haircut

5 favorite toys:
1. my banjo, Jebediah
2. my flute, Susie
3. my laptop, Gloria
4. my camera and Nero Photosnap, or whatever it's called
5. my iPod and iTunes

People Tagged:
1. Natalie B.
2. Kristin W.
3. Mom
4. Logan

Logan's birthday

Look out everyone, Logan's a teenager! We had a fun family get-together on Thursday to celebrate the big day.

Mom's lovely setup in the dining room.




Eli loved the balloons.








Forrest tried to tie the balloons on Eli...



Wendy's yummy white cake with cream cheese frosting. Molly helped Logan put the candles in.



About 6 matches later, we finally got them all lit.







Forrest and Eli being goofy.







Presents!








I know this one would have been cuter without the mismatched eyes. I blame the red-eye corrector in my photo editor.


Closeup!

Logan was messing around with the camera and took this one. I think it looks cool, especially with the cute deer-in-headlights look on his face.

Molly got all lovey on Will and then asked to hold him. He was very patient with her even though her head support was lacking.

I don't know what she was doing. She got really loopy.



Okay, I took a lot of pictures of Will hoping to get a really good smile because he was being really cute. I got some good ones, though.