Homecoming

Ah, Homecoming. I glad I went since I wasn't old enough to go last year, but it was very tiring day due to nine hours of band followed by a date.


Basically I have decided that being in a group with Benny is purely fantastic. Not only do we get to go to a super fancy restaurant for free because of his awesome connections, we also don't have to talk very much because Benny has so many fabulous things to say! Double bonus! Anyway, dinner was fantastic. We ate at a restaurant called Communal, and it's a really fancy place. We got some pretty yummy foods. They actually had some tasty spinach and I really liked their gnocchi. My favorite part was the peach cobbler though. Wow, that was delicious. The dance was kinda fun too, so it was great! It was also fun to combine with Rye's group for the after party.


I don't really have much else to say, so I'll just put up the pictures, which are the important part. I only really got pictures of the after party though, and most of them are kinda random.

 Benny and Jane. Presh.

 Me and my awesome date. :)

 So typical.

 Jessica's beautiful!

 Karli's beautiful too, but she wasn't my Homecoming date.

 Jane's fantastic. Really.

 This is the only known picture of Kristen, since apparently she hates pictures for some reason.

 What a great group.

 We're cute.

 I guess he doesn't like pictures either.

Happiness

There are many things in this world that make me happy. Some of them come in the form of food; some in the form of music; some in the form of adventure; some in the form of people. Today, I was fortunate enough to enjoy an absolute amazing mix of all of those. Except food, but we can pretend that was there too. Anyway, it was simply a marching band rehearsal. Except it was much better, for it was raining. I'm not sure why, but marching Ice Dance in the rain is one of the most pleasant experiences that I've ever gone through. Now I just need to cuddle up on the couch with a book and a milkshake and my day is perfect! Really. Basically every good thing that I could've possibly dreamed could happen happily happened, from playing band all day to having awesome seminary parties to just laughing with awesome friends. So today is a good day. Celebrate.

Take a Hike

Subway. No, not the sandwich, I'm not very fond of Subway sandwiches, seeing as they probably contain food poisoning. When I say Subway, I am referring to that glorious slot canyon in Zions National Park that I want to hike again ever so badly. Where else can you feel the fantastic rush of cooling off by swimming through ice cold water while simultaneously warming up in the high noon sun that's reflecting off the magnificent stone walls surrounding you on all sides? It's one of the most perfect hikes I've ever had the fortune to be able to hike. A beautiful mix of climbing, swimming, descending, playing, and marveling at the beautiful scenery that is the constant companion of this hike. Little natural swimming pools and water slides that adorn the trail provide refreshing breaks along the way, and it's always fun to try to catch some cute little froggies off to the side of the river.  Here's a couple pictures from this amazing experience.

 I love this part. It's like something from a movie.

 Beautiful

 All the natural tunnels are amazing!

 Going down that = party!

 Nature is so cool.

 Dinosaur tracks! This hike has everything!

 Nice cold swimming pools.

 Ruby spotted skimmer. So cool.

I think it should rain like this sometimes.

While we're kind of on the subject of waterfalls, this one was amazing to rappel down. Battle creek falls. Only 40 or 50 feet, but really slippery and cold. Quite the adventure. Much more intense than it looks.

Now, back to the subject of slot canyons. More that I love a ton: 

Ding Dang Dome. Mostly just super fun, jumping over boulders and logs, and then walking along a 2 inch ledge above a 40 foot drop right at the very end. You really get a false sense of security with that one.

Escalante. This one is just fun and easy going the whole way. A bit of a hike in to get to the slot canyon, but really beautiful when you get there. Escalante river is always a great place to relax, unless of course you step on a tiny pebble and it goes in your foot so you have to hike with it in your foot the 14 miles back out of the place. Yeah, that was fun.

Hidden Canyon. This is a great story to tell. Okay, during the Bryce and Zions trip with the Germans, our little group decided to hike hidden canyon in Zions National Park. Well, for some reason we all failed to see the signs indicating that the trip is only around 2 miles, or the big sign that says "TRAIL ENDS HERE!!!" So, naturally, we kept going. We scaled some pretty impressive obstacles, and pushed through some dense foresty areas and climbed and climbed and climbed. Well, we finally made it to the top, which was never intended to be reached. It was a wonderful moment, except that there wasn't really anything special at the top at all, and it kinda looked just like everything else in the canyon, but it was satisfying none the less. Then we started to go back down. At first it was fairly easy, we just followed the same path that we took on the way up. And then we ran into a spot that we had climbed up with relative ease. Unfortunately, it was not possible to climb down the same way we had come up, due to the way gravity works, and nobody could really see the ground over the edge. We were trapped. Whenever you're climbing, always remember that going up is easier than going down unless you intend to rappel or fall. We contemplated a bit, wondering what to do, and then came up with a decision. So, of course I was stupid enough to just go and jump off the edge, and I was lucky enough to not die or break anything. I found a log and put it in place so that the others could get down. It may have been a really stupid idea, but it saved our group from perishing in that dismal little canyon. I also now pay attention to signs. Usually.

Hmm. It's late and I need to sleep now, but I want to talk about one more thing while I'm on this subject. Arches National Park. I love the arches. They are super amazing and they inspire me. There's one really cool arch that hidden down a short little sandy slot canyon, and that one is extremely easy to get to and fun once you get there. But what I really want to talk about is delicate arch. This is the one that everybody  has seen at one time or another because it's so immensely popular, but that is because it really is absolutely amazing. Think about it, a random arch in the middle of nowhere, just happily sitting on top of the world. It's amazing.

 Yes, that's delicate arch reflected in my sun glasses. 

And that's delicate arch. Absolutely gorgeous.

In conclusion, I love hikes. Who wants to go on an awesome hike with me?

I'm not sure a picture is quite worth a thousand words, but maybe a bunch of pictures could be.

Fish

This is my attempt at a fishtail braid. I think it's alright, and Sarah loved it, so basically, success.



Excerpt From my Life

The following is an excerpt from a talk by President Monson during the priesthood session of the April 2009 conference:

Several years ago, a marching band from a large high school in Utah had auditioned for and had received one of the coveted entries to march in the Calgary Stampede Parade. Months of fund-raising, early-morning practices up and down the streets, and other preparations were undertaken in order for the band to travel to Calgary and participate in the parade, where one band would be selected to receive the first-place honor.

Finally the day for departure arrived, with the eager students and their leaders boarding the buses and heading north for the long journey to Calgary.

While en route, the caravan stopped in Cardston, Alberta, Canada, where the group remained for an overnight stay. The local Relief Society sisters there prepared sack lunches for the band members to enjoy before departing again. Brad, one of the band members, who was a priest in the Aaronic Priesthood, was not hungry and decided to keep his lunch until later.

Brad liked to sit in the back of the bus. As he took his usual seat there in preparation for the remainder of the journey to Calgary, he tossed his sack lunch on the shelf behind the last row of seats. There the lunch sat by the rear window as the July afternoon sun shone through. Unfortunately, the sack lunch contained an egg salad sandwich. For those of you who don’t understand the significance of this, may I just say that egg salad must be refrigerated. If it is not, and if it is subjected to high heat such as that which would be produced by the sun beating through a bus window on a sunny day, it becomes a rather efficient incubator for various strains of bacteria that can result in what may commonly be referred to as food poisoning.

Sometime before arriving in Calgary, Brad grew hungry. Remembering the sack lunch, he gulped down the egg salad sandwich. As the buses arrived in Calgary and drove around the city, the members of the band grew excited—all except for Brad. Unfortunately, all that grew within him were severe stomach pains and other discomforts associated with food poisoning. You know what they are.

Upon arriving at their destination, the band members exited the bus. Brad, however, did not. Although he knew his fellow band members were counting on him to play his drum in the parade the following morning, Brad was doubled over in pain and was too sick to leave the bus. Providentially for him, two of his friends, Steve and Mike, who had recently graduated from high school and who had also recently been ordained to the office of elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood, found that Brad was missing and decided to look for him.

Finding Brad in the rear of the bus and learning what the problem was, Steve and Mike felt helpless. Finally it occurred to them that they were elders and held the power of the Melchizedek Priesthood to bless the sick. Despite their total lack of experience in giving a priesthood blessing, these two new elders had faith in the power they held. They laid their hands on Brad’s head and, invoking the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, in the name of Jesus Christ uttered the simple words to bless Brad to be made well.

From that moment, Brad’s symptoms were completely gone. The next morning he took his place with the rest of the band members and proudly marched down the streets of Calgary. The band received first-place honors and the coveted blue ribbon. Far more important, however, was that two young, inexperienced but worthy priesthood holders had answered the call to represent the Lord in serving their fellow man. When it was necessary for them to exercise their priesthood in behalf of one who was desperately in need of their help, they were able to respond because they lived their lives righteously.

The following is an excerpt from my life:

Last year, the marching band from Timpview high school in Utah had decided to go to California for their annual band tour. Months of hard work, practicing, and other preparations were undertaken in order for the band to travel to California and participate in a marching band competition, where one band would be selected to receive the sweepstakes award.

Finally the day for departure arrived, with the eager students and their leaders boarding the buses and heading west for the long journey to Cali.

While en route, the caravan stopped somewhere in California where the group was set free to go buy lunches in the local fast food restaurants close by. John, one of the band members, who was almost a priest in the Aaronic Priesthood, decided to buy a meatball sandwich from Subway.

In case you were unaware, the very nature of a meatball sandwich is apparently a very good incubator for various strains of bacteria that can result in what may commonly be referred to as food poisoning.

Sometime before arriving at the field where the Timpview band would rehearse, John ate the meatball sandwich. As the buses approached the field, the members of the band grew excited--all except for John. Unfortunately, all that grew within him were severe stomach pains and other discomforts associated with food poisoning. You know what they are.

Upon arriving at their destination, the band members exited the bus, including John. John knew that his fellow band members were counting on him to play his insanely amazing vibraphone part in the performance the following morning, so he needed to rehearse with the band. However, he threw up five times in a garbage can next to the field and sat down instead of rehearsing.

Then the lucky band got to go to the beach. Fortunately, John was feeling a tiny bit better after throwing up, so he curled up on the bus and fell asleep. The next thing he knew, he woke up. On the bus. By himself. Not at the beach. John was lucky in the fact that he had his cell phone with him, so he called his band director who arranged for someone to come fetch him from his lonely bus. Fifteen minutes later, one of the band parents arrived in a truck to give John a ride to the party on the beach.

When John arrived at the beach, however, he was again feeling like dying would be pleasurable. Providentially for him, two of the band parents, Brother Santa Maria and Brother somebody else, (for some reason John cannot recall who the other person was,) noticed that John was not dancing with the rest of the band, but rather doubled up in pain and sitting on the ground.

Finding John on the ground, the two brethren immediately sprung into action. They laid their hands on John's head and, invoking the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, in the name of Jesus Christ uttered the simple words to bless John to be made well.

John still felt terrible, but the next morning his symptoms were completely gone, and he was able to take his place with the rest of the band members and proudly perform in the California Competition. The band received the sweepstakes award and the coveted trophy. Far more important, however, was that two worthy priesthood holders had answered the call to represent the Lord in serving their fellow man. When it was necessary for them to exercise their priesthood in behalf of one who was desperately in need of their help, they were able to respond because they lived their lives righteously.

I just need to say that it is extremely amazing and testimony building to live a conference talk that closely. Sure, my circumstances were a tiny bit different, but most of it was basically the exact same. I look back now and realize what an incredible experience this was, and even though I missed the last rehearsal and threw up and got stranded on the bus and missed the party at the beach, I'm very glad that it happened. I know that the gospel is true and that the power of the priesthood is very real, and I immensely appreciate those elders that lived their lives righteously and in a such a way that they were able to give me a blessing to get well. I know that Joseph smith was a prophet and that he restored the Gospel and the Priesthood to this earth, and I know that President Monson is a prophet today. I say these things in the name of our savior and redeemer Jesus Christ, amen.

An Epic Discovery

Indeed, yesterday I made the epic discovery that if I make the text color the same as the highlight, the post is unreadable unless you highlight it with your mouse. So basically I can now type secret messages that take a little bit more effort to read. Now you can waste even more time trying to read my blog!

Oh Yes

This is probably just a picture of a strawberry.

But it could be something much more. It could be a picture of a loyal friend, or it could be symbolizing something significant, or it could even be a portion of a secret code. This could be a gift, or a smile, or a fortelling of the dessert to come. It might even be a threat, or a warning, or an enemy.

Turns out, it's just a picture of a strawberry.

This had deep significance in my mind, and it was applicable to many other areas of my life. What does this mean, you ask? It means I need more sleep. Goodnight!

I also want to try changing the size of random words like the cool people do in their blogs. Maybe I'll even throw in some fancy highlighting. That's right. My blog is now officially less bland.

I'm not crazy.

They Come in Pints?

Yesterday I gave blood for the first time. I decided that I didn't need all six pints, so I could give one away. I'm sure that somebody else will benefit from it a lot more than me.
This got me to thinking. Maybe I should donate my brain. After all, I'm not really using it and there are some people out there who desperately need one. The theory makes perfect sense.
It doesn't sound very fun though. I think I'll be selfish, keep my brain, and just stick to donating blood.

Wham!

There once was a tiny man.
There was also a three year ban
On his beloved Raisin Bran,
So he hid it away in a can,
To keep it away from his clan.
One day he tripped over a crayon,
And got laughed at by his friend Dan,
And his girl friend named Ann,
Who was also his biggest fan,
So he dished up his Bran in a pan,
All as a part of his plan.
Then he took his pan of Bran and ran.
As he ran, the pan of Bran he did scan,
With his skills, a bridge he did span,
And he stayed in the sun and got tan,
As opposed to driving a van.
Then he ran into an Afghan,
Who saw his pan of Bran!
He recognized the three year ban,
and dumped the man into an ashcan.
But wait, the story just barely began!
Then along came a scary caiman.
It was doing a creepy cancan!
It also happened to be captain
Of the imperious vessel "Caveman"
From the distant land of Cheyanne.
It's scales shone bright Cyan,
And it saw the bran man in the ashcan,
So it got him out with a four foot dustpan.
"At last I am a freeman!" Cried he, "Now time for revenge on that he-man!"
He then sailed of to Japan.
You'd think he was a madman!
His crew consisted of a jazzman,
And a Mailman, and a Newsman, and a Milkman, and a Merman.
In Japan he met Queen Anne, and asked "Will you lift this Raisin Bran ban?"
And then they built a snowman,
And jumped into a white sedan.
Then for some reason they met Tarzan,
And a he had a talking toucan,
Which announced Tarzan was vegan,
And it had an impressive wingspan.
Then Tarzan hopped in the sedan,
And they set of down the Autobahn,
And naturally they all spoke German!
As they did, they yelled "for Aslan!"
Which was caught on film by the cameraman,
Who happened to be a middleman,
For a much much much bigger plan.
He then called up the signalman,
And that guy signalled Peter Pan,
Who was hanging out with Superman, and Spiderman, and an Orangutan,
Who got into their own sedan,
And brought along THEIR Raisin Bran,
Which they waved in front of the Bran deprived man,
And turned on their powerful turbofan,
"You can have it," They said. "Catch us if you think you are able to."



I hoped you liked this. I thought it was grand.

Meanwhile...
A man in the sand started a band.
The band had planned to play in a stand....

To be continued...

FAQ

What is my favorite color? Blue or Green. Or a combination.
What is my favorite food? Fruit. But I also love ice cream, hence my love for milkshakes.
What is my favorite number? Pi
What is my favorite ancient civilization? Do the Nephites count?
What is my favorite pH? 7.2
Who is my hero? I have lots of heroes. Joseph Smith is one of my heroes, my Dad is one of my heroes, Jimmer is one of my heroes, and Dr. Seuss is one of my heroes. There are many more.
Do I like tomatoes? Yes
If I could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? On a mission
If I had one wish, what would it be? To be able to go into a book and interact with the characters inside and even pull stuff out of or take stuff into the book.
If I had to replace one of my limbs with a kitchen appliance, what would it be?
A peg leg with a blender inside would be pretty legit.
What is the hardest question anybody's ever asked me? Probably that one.
What was the answer? Probably that one.
What's my favorite game? Call me nerdy if you want, but I really like chess.
What's the stupidest thing I've ever done? Break both my arms.
What's my favorite subject? Seminary. Then Music. Then Language.
If I had to appoint a dictator, who would it be? DF
What's my favorite time signature? I once saw something in Pi/4 timing, but that's just ridiculous. I played something in 7/8 timing before, and that was pretty fun!
What's my favorite tempo? Prestissimo squared
What kind of music do I like? Marching band music. Lots of stuff. I kinda listen to a little of everything as long as it is virtuous, lovely or of good report or praiseworthy.
What's my favorite book? The Book of Mormon, Closely followed by the Pearl of Great Price. Apart from those, usually it's whatever I happen to be reading.
What is my favorite element? Xenon
What's my favorite movie? I don't usually watch a lot of movies, but I like Disney stuff.
What do I do in my spare time? Write dumb stuff on my blog.
What are some of my pet peeves? I don't really know. I know I have some. I think about it some more and do a big post on it later. Maybe.
If I had a super power, what would it be? Physics control.
If I could turn into an animal, what would it be? A little emerald green humming bird with bright sapphire blue splotches & eyes, and a ruby red beak & feet, and a cool purple stripe down the back and splashed out onto my tail. My wings would be all these colors with a dash of yellow so they'd look like a whirl of color when I flapped them.
If I could be one other person for a day, who would it be? Moroni
What's one thing that's hard for me? Writing without bias. 

Feel free to ask any more questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

This Post Counts

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Get it?

I'm sorry, I just do like puns ever so much.

Journalism?

I've recently discoved that I have been having struggles writing in newpaper mode. I can write an essay just fine, but articles are not my forte.
For example:

Migrating Vending Machines

            As some of the more astute students of Timpview High School may have noticed, the Vending machines seem to have relocated over the summer, but we can’t be entirely sure until we get at least a few quality quotes from various sources verifying the fact that our beloved vending machines have indeed decided to move. When asked whether or not the vending machines actually moved, Katherine Moulton, Senior, 17, Red Hair, Book club president said “yes.” While this one person certainly believes that the vending machines are in a different place than last year, some of the freshmen don’t seem too sure.

            For clarification purposes, it has been verified that last year some of the vending machines were in the front lobby, but over the summer assistant principal Mr. White decided to move them  in order to change the lobby into a reception area.  Thus, the vending machines have migrated into the narrow hallway leading past the cafeteria into the industrial area of the school.

 Senior Heather Ivans says “I think it’s pointless to have them there. Nobody wants to go clear over there to get a snack.” However, Senior Mike Whitney disagrees, saying “It’s nice because they’re close to the gyms. You can just grab a snack when you’re hungry after working out.” When the second vending machine from the right was asked how it felt about its new home it gave the confusing response of “Deposit $1.25.” None of the other machines seemed to be of much help either, so I assume they’re happy.

One problem with their new location is that they seem to cause traffic jams in the miniscule hallway in which they are positioned. Between classes, people line up behind the vending machines to purchase their daily meal; this causes a roadblock of people to stretch across the hallway, making it take three times as long for students to get to their class, which already takes 6 and a half minutes to get to because it’s in the furthest corner of the industrial area, and this results in excessive tardies. Some students have even resorted to going around the school or parking on the driving range in order to be on time.

Overall, life at Timpview seems relatively unaffected by the change.

They call it a rough draft for a reason.

Life Could not Better be

'Tis true.
Zippity doo dah, zippity ay, my oh my what a wonderful day! Pleanty of sunshine headin' my way, zippity doo dah, zippity ay! Mr Blue Bird's on my shoulder. Tt's the truth; it's actual; everything is satisfactual. Zippity doo dah, zippity ay, wonderful feelin' wonderful day!

I am excited. Really I am. I'm excited for tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. I'm excited for each of our upcoming reahearsals and performances for band (especially the performances.) I'm excited for my classes and I'm excited for after school every day. I'm excited to see the musical and I'm extra extra extra excited for Pearl Harbor (68 days!)

I've a skip in my step and a twinkle in my eye and I'm happy to walk beneath the bright blue sky. I just want to dance, I just want to run, I just want to lay there and soak up the sun. I have no great reason to feel this way, I just simply do cuz it's that kind of day!

Which reminds me...

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You'll be off to great places!
You'll be off and away!
You've got brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You're on your own, and you know what you know, and YOU are the person who'll decide where you go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.
And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. It’s opener there in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.
Oh! The Places You’ll Go!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.
You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.
You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And if you go in, should you turn left or right…or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.
No! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don’t. Because, sometimes, they won’t.
I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.
And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.
But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)
Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!

That may have been slightly random, but I feel it was wonderful, don't you?
Please circle one answer with sharpie:

                      Yes                                                 No

You're my favorite, and don't you forget it.

Also, as a side note, I've noticed that the quality of my posts might possibly be directly linked to the time of day at which I post them, so if you see a really lamepost, assume I typed it in the middle of the night and ignore it. Sleep well!

12

I once heard a story of a man who was taken by his friend to see a famous piano player in a concert. After the concert, the man found out that the piano player had six fingers on each of his hands. "How can he play piano with twelve fingers?" The man asked his friend. "The extra fingers would get in the way." His friend simply responded by saying "That last song can only be played with 12 fingers."

This 12 fingered man could have seen his extra fingers in the way that the man who watched his concert did, as only an extra burden and a problem to make his life more difficult. He could of sulked his life away wondering why he had to have this terrible punishment. Instead, this Piano player saw his extra fingers in a way that others could not; he realized that he could use them to make something incredible that nobody else could, and in doing so was able to figure out that this was not a curse, but a gift.

I believe that everybody has something unique and special, and all they need to do is realize the potential of their gift and they can take it far and create something of incredible value. Something may seem at first to be a punishment or burden to carry, but turn out to be able to bless not only the life of the carrier, but a blessing to the lives of those around him as well. It is a terribly sad thing when a person has a unique gift and they can only see it as a problem because they aren't trying to look for the bigger picture or see what could come of it, so it goes to waste.

I encourage each person to take their extra fingers and make unique and magical music for the world to hear. There's not much greater than that.

Attempt #1

I attempted using the Paint program on my computer to make a picture of some of my awesome friends.

You can click on it to make it bigger.

I guess it's not too bad.

Unfortunately my resizing skills failed so some people are too small. For the record, the size does not in any way reflect how much I like you. If it did, any one of you would take up the whole thing.

Also I did not put everyone in here that I would've liked to include, I just got lazy with it and ended it early. Also I couldn't find any good pictures of some people. If I left you out, don't worry, I still love you.

My Family

It's about time I blogged about my family, because basically they're the best people ever.

My Mother and Father are absolutely fantastic. I'm very grateful to be lucky enough to be born as Nephi of old, to goodly parents who love the Lord. I'm glad to have been taught and to understand that we must do as the Lord commands. (I love that song.) I cannot express how thankful I am to have parents who always encourage righteousness and hold FHE every Monday, as well as family scriptures and prayers every day. They have really given me most of the building blocks that make up my testimony. What could they possibly give that could be better?
I am extremely grateful to my Dad for always planning super fun family activities and always being there to talk to or laugh with.
I am especially grateful to my Mom for being an amazing cook and an incredible teacher. My Parents are the best.

My brother Will is one of my very best friends, and also a great example to me. I have tried hard to follow in his footsteps in things like scouting, band, and academic achievements, but I'm afraid he's got me beat. I'm still good competition for him when we play games or sports though. I'm really glad to have an older brother, and I wish I had more older siblings.

Paul is fabulous too. I feel bad for him that he has to endure through all these surgeries and things from his appendix exploding, but he's getting better. He'll be able to come to school tomorrow, which is definitely a good thing. I'm sad that he wasn't able to do band this year because of it; it would've been really fun to have him as a band buddy now that Will is graduated.

Robert skipped a grade and is now a 13 year old Freshman who doesn't turn 14 until June. Yeah, he's cool. It would be really great if he was going to Timpview so there would be three of us there at once, but I guess Meridian is cool too. I'm still going to try to convince him to go to Timpview next year though because Timpview needs someone like him; he's a great example to all those around him (including me,) and he may be tiny, but he has a huge testimony and a huge brain. That kid is going places. I'm glad I'm his brother.

Jacob turns 11 tomorrow. Yes, I already made him his Hogwarts acceptance letter. Holy cow. How can he be turning 11? I still remember him being 5. Anyway, he's a really hard worker. It seems like he's always busy with music or dance or school, and he always strives to become exceptional at whatever he does. Look out world, Jacob's coming.

Sarah's a real sweetie. She's really inspiring because she loves everything so much! I've never heard her say that she hates something. She loves dancing, she loves horses, she loves her friends and her toys and her blankets and her room and anything else that she comes in contact with. She's definitely delightful to be around.

Elizabeth is adorable. She is a pure bundle of cuteness with maybe a little bit of destruction mixed in. I remember one time that she poured a box of cereal on the carpet, and while I was getting stuff to clean it up with she added the milk. She loves commanding around her toys and being the boss, and you can't help but love her to death because she's so adorable. I'm pretty sure all the boys in her Sunday school class are in love with her.

David can do anything. He's going to be famous when he grows up, and probably for at least seven different things. He loves climbing and playing music and hanging out with his older siblings and his friends. Whenever I leave to go somewhere he always wants to come with me. The only problem with him is tracking him down.

Basically my family is amazing and I love them more than I love milkshakes. And that is saying something.

Of course I can't forget all of my friends either, because we're all spirit siblings! You're all my family and I love you a ton!

Deutsch

Okay, I'm not sure why, but German has really been exciting me lately. I really enjoy speaking it and listening to it and reading in it etc... I even switched the default language of my blog and my facebook to German, and lately I've been reading the BOM auf Deutsch. Basically it's great. Aufwiedersehen!