I love being in utah because...

I get to be closer to my favorite nieces and nephews, like this super cute kid!

Happy Halloween!

and yes, i did only see this after i covered him with my arm. GROSS!!

*sorry, i don't know how this my blog font got changed to webdings,! hopefully it works not!

internet woes...among other things

hello everyone!

yes... i am alive here at byu. i have oh so much to blog, but i have to figure out how to get my camera and my computer to work together, so i can actually post them! BYU is great! i LOVE it here and am learning alot for sure, but i'm so glad i chose to come here. i promise, i'll be blogging (with pictures) soon!

LAST DAY IN BOSTON

On my last day here, we went as LaPierre as it gets... a trip to Plum Island with whole family (extended, not immediate), eating beans and mollasses cookies. It doesn't get much better than that!

8-2 days...

wednesday was my last day of work, then it was packing packing and more packing.
my bus stop

good bye CRDA, see you next summer!

this was the luncheon they set up for me on tuesday. they are so so nice!

i was playing with my manual settings again

yup, still playing.
i've been seeing those digits on my clock alot this week!

not yet packed...

things i would like to pack.

things i was either packing or leaving for mom to sell in her yard sale

the many things i left for mom. i had lots of stuff :)... not anymore!

9 days...temple visit

last sunday i visited the arlington ward for a final good-bye to all of them. while i was there, i went up to the temple to take some pictures, the flowers are always so so pretty up there, and the temple too of course.

i wish i could have taken more (there are more than this) but it was SO SO hot!!

Laundry

I just did my last free load of laundry for a while...

10 Days...playing with my expensive toy

On Saturday (the 10 days day) we went to York Beach. Then Jarick and Darell, friends of ours from one of the LP wards came over with their photographer friend to take pictures for their magazine. Here is an unintentional collage of pictures from York and a few of Renee's photoshoot:

















































(proof that i was there)






























we were definately not the only ones who thought it'd be a good idea to go to the beach










































































































*disclamer: I've been trying to teach myself manual settings on, yes, my new camera, so some of the pictures may be a little off. also, i'm not sure alot of them look quite as in focus as they do on the lcd screen, or on the file on the computer. dad also took a couple of these too.

countdown continuation

in consequence of not having blogged now for at least a couple weeks, i have now consolidated my countdown to just one blog for all the lost time, so i can catch up.

here is what i've been doing for the past little bit, in "preparation" for school:

31 DAYS.... i did a little cleaning/ organizing of my room in anticipation of leaving. and to prep myself for packing, which i have done none of yet (as of sunday august 16th).

30-22 days: this was when i was up in Lake Winnepesauke, it was so much fun!

21-16 days: ugh, i started work again, after being gone for a week. that was painful. why is it that when you get your body out of it's "regular" sleep schedule, it is so painfully difficult to get it back to what you thought it was origionally?

15-11 days to go: we went to a baptism on friday of a boy in one of the somerville wards. it was so nice, and so much fun to be there. one of the families in belmont hosted a pool party afterward, which was also a lot of fun. these past couple weeks especially have been very sad because i've been saying goodbyes to everyone. friday night was especially sad because it was my last time with alot of leaders and people in the stake that i won't be able to see much anymore.
another highlight of this week was making a certain purchase to which i am very excited about! it made a heavy dent in my wallet, but it's already been well worth the buy, and i am sure it will become even more so in the future! i think it will make this blog so much more interesting too.

10 -9 days will have their own separate posts in the future. but to calm the curiosity that i'm sure you're feeling right now, regarding what i did for these 2 days (because of course you have nothing better to do than to sit around all day, wondering what i'm doing right?) i will let you in on the activities of the days. yesterday, we headed out to york beach in maine in the a.m. and walked around and such for a while. it is so fun and cute up there, but it was HOT! i also went babysitting that night too, which was fun, and oh so easy! then today, i visited arlington for my final good bye with the arlingtoners. wow, that ward has changed!! i went up for the temple after for a few minutes, but that part is for a later blog.

catch y'all later!

32 Days...Shopping

tonight i went shopping in an effort to find a cover for my swimsuit. why you may ask? so that i can successfully walk around in a bathing suit for most of the days next week and not feel uncomfortable. i'll be in new hampshire next week babysitting for a family there, a different one from the family i was babysitting for last time.
anyways, so seriously, i was lucky finding one for 20 bucks and then i found a cute bathing suit top (tank top that is...no worries) for kind of cheap too.

why is this applicable to my going away in 32 days? because guess where i'll be using this babysitting money... BYU!!

Summer

Pardon me for my lack of bloggings. I simply do it this way so that when i do blog, you can read these essays of posts!

I feel like alot has happened over these past few months, which maybe it has and maybe it hasn't, that's just what it seems like. My summer has consisted of going to Utah for Betsy's wedding, coming back, graduating, starting work, going to youth conference, and then getting everything underway for BYU.

There have also been many exciting things going on this summer. Namely: I finally turned 18, which means I am legally an adult and can now do exciting things like buy cigarettes and get tattoos, and live on the edge. All the things I would never do no matter my age. I can even vote and be on juries. woohoo! But, I can also do other things, to which it will only take me a small while to figure out what those exciting things may be i am sure. For now, I keep myself busy making money. My second very exciting thing about this summer despite the major change that comes to the end of it, is that I got my AP scores back this past week! And thanks to my English and Human Geography test, I have two classes I don't have to worry about next year! I was so excited! I attribute much of my Human Geography grade to the fact that there was a major essay on Mormons. I totally had that one owned.

So these are two of my exciting things happening this summer, but I will be sure to keep you much more up to date in the next month about my whereabouts. I was actually just thinking about doing a daily blog post about what thing I do that day in lieu of my very soon departure, but we'll see.

If you'd like to see all the fun things I deal with on a day to day basis, click here

last day of high school

tomorrow will be my last day of high school. today, we had our yearbook ceremony. i surprised myself, i cried, one of the things i least expected to do. i always thought i was SO excited to get to college as quickly as i could, but now i'm not so sure.
my junior and sophomore years i half-seriously contemplated graduating a year early. but looking back on the past year, i know i chose well. i've learned and grown so much more than i ever would have had i not had these experiences. having the ward split, to having to make new friends in our newish ward, to getting more involved in the school, etc. i've gotten an extra footing on my life and on who i am. i love woburn! i love the people, the culture, the support and love i've felt here! there are so many great things about home that i'm going to miss oh so much when i go out to utah. i've always just been watching older siblings leave for college. now that it's my turn, i'm not really sure how i feel. i guess the change really hasn't sunk in yet, but when it does, it'll be hard.
anywho, tomorrow is prom so i get one last hoorah before it's all done!

for more information

if you haven't found them already, there are several articles written up about the event. it's well documented on boston.com. you should be able to see the link fight when you get to the website. it's been pretty big news. apparently all of the big news stations were there today. how sad is this?!

LP Chapel Burning

I think this picture speaks for itself. I got it off of Rachel Sorensen's facebook. so so sad

Amazing

this is really good. no lies.

Response to Betsy's blog

and katy's comment, to which i HAD to verify! this was one of my favorite books of all time!

for those confused outsiders....

if you've seen any of my siblings' blogs today and been completely confused, let me explain... when i was younger, i had quite the imagination. i mean, a really really active imagination. one of my many imaginative victims was st. patrick's day.

i have no idea how it started (keep in mind though, i was also a very gullible child), but my best friend and i believed that there truly was a real live leprechaun named, of course, Lucky. much to the dismay of her mom (unknown to us at the time) and the glee of my sisters, we would sometimes spend our time together, making "gifts" for our little friend. we'd hide them behind a rock, or place them in a small area, announce to Lucky that the coast was clear, and then walk away. after counting to about 100 "child seconds" (aprox. 30 to the rest of the world) we'd come back to the site where the treat was placed. sometimes, we'd find it replaced by a little note, or even a return gift, or sometimes, it was just the same treat we had left for him. this was a year-round tradition, not particualarly attatched to st. patrick's day, until the holiday came. otherwise, lucky was his own separate part of our imaginations. looking back, i think it was an excuse to find magic in the every day routine of life. and no worries, it worked.

so, on to the big day...ST. PATRICK'S DAY!! My mom was very much at fault for this part of Lucky's existance in my life. on St. Patrick's day, she always did scavenger hunts for us younger siblings around the house. These were supposed to be from Lucky and were just a fun tradtion to have, we all knew that they weren't really from him (at least as far as i can remember, i knew...) but it just added to the magic of the day for me. i remember in elementary school going out for recess on st. patrick's day (and sometimes other days too) and searching for Lucky's footprints in the sand of the playground, or looking for any other remnants of his being there.

the thought that a happy (and very clever) little green leprechaun could actually exist (much like Santa and the Easter Bunny for other kids) made things magical to me. and now, not only does it give me something to smile about, but st. patrick's day is an especially happy day for me, because i get to celebrate memories i have with emily. in almost every childhood memory i have tied to this holiday, emily was right there beside me. she is one of my hereos. st. patrick's day is and always will be for me one of my favorite days becuase i get to remember those happy memories, but more importantly the support that emily has given me for the past fourteen years.

the holiday still gets me all gittery and happy inside, i can't help but still feel the magic of it! this morning, as i was driving to seminary, without even thinking it, i thought i saw a small movement in the dark, and automatically thought: "it must be Lucky!"

so, i hope y'all are wearing your green today!!! Lucky will gettcha if you don't! watch out too, he's quick! and thanks to the fam, for making the memories come even moreso alive! i loved it!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

love,
laree...
and Lucky too

goodies

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me. My choice. For you. (I know...a little scary, but maybe fun, huh?)
This offer does have some restrictions and limitations

1- I make no guarantees that you will like it .
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done by the end of March.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a loaf of homemade bread. It may be a bag, a card, an apron. It may be a book, a scarf, a poem. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did it will then win a Fabulous homemade something made by me! Ready, Set,....GO!!

no pressure. contrary to the rules--- i do accept ideas/suggestions!

provo

okay, okay, who am i kidding?
i'm going to provo next year of course. but for all you byu-i fans out there, be comforted in knowing that it was a tough decision...i just don't like being cold.

V.I.E.- Very Important E-mail

Well, after lots and lots of waiting...my e-mail has finally come!!! this one:

A decision has been reached on your application for BYU. Please go to the BYU Decision Notification page where you can view the decision and related information. Remember, if you have applied to other CES schools you will receive a separate notification when they have made their decision.

drum roll please
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I'm Admitted!!!!


lest you think i've already packed my bags for utah,
i still have some thinking to do...

but i thought you'd like to be updated! YAY!

Six More Weeks 'Til Spring!!!

And for now, you can enjoy this little glimpse into last spring...



this is one makes me laugh every time i look at it!

HAPPY GROUNDHOG'S DAY (+ 1 DAY)!!!!!!!!!

Toilet Paper Dodgeball

Apparently a favorite mutual activity in the Lynnfield Ward. We've only played it once. It's not for the recyclists out there, but it's fun!

No Sugar Diet

So a few weeks ago, I decided that I needed to learn to be a bit more disciplined. So, I planned a little test to "teach" myself to be so. I decided that for one week, I would give up something [not to be confused with Lent], each week increasing the difficulty of the sacrifice and the seriousness of the distraction/problem it was. The first week, would be to not eat any sugar(i was eating ridiculously unhealthy amounts of it), the next week would be music (it's a bad distraction), and the last was to give up the computer. well...the plan went through some adjustment.

not eating sugar has forced me to eat much more fruits and especially vegetables. it's been nice to feel healthy for once! so, instead of just doing this for one week, i've extended it indefinitely. i only eat sugar on the weekends. my first "free" weekend, i ate half a bag of jelly bellys and realized i really don't miss sugar all that much. i felt so sick afterward! as for the no music and no computer, i've also learned that being disciplined in one area of life helps with being disciplined in other areas as well. i definately still get distracted from doing what i should schoolwork wise, but i do feel like i have a better grasp of myself. it's been kind of fun. so in case you were wondering what i am up to, this should help satisfy you at least a little bit. no new news on college yet, you'll have to wait a while on that one. laters! i'm off to bed...seminary is cancelled tomorrow as it was today, school was too! if i'm lucky all that rain in the streets right now will freeze over, but i think i'm pushing my luck this time.
*small sidenote: i watched masterpiece's northanger abbey today and highly recommend it to any jane austen fan. it was so good!

taken right from my application...

School	Term	Application Status
BYU	Fall 2009	Complete - Click here to withdraw application
BYU-Idaho		Admitted - Click here for additional instructions

it's a good one

i definitely don't suggest watching it with the wee ones though. it's a bit more intense than the first one. but SO GOOD!!!