Animal House

I have heard life be compared to a zoo. After looking through my phone pictures, I realized that who ever made that analogy may not be too far off... For your viewing pleasure (and to make room on my phone) I give you the Farnsworth Zoo.
Okay so this guy doesn't live at my house, but I still wanted to get the picture off of my phone and share him with you. He lives in Mt. Pleasant right next to my cabin. I caught him for my niece and when it was time to let him go home I asked her if we should name him. Of course she said yes. So I asked her what his name should be. She thought long and hard but eventually came up with "Fred." Good times. We hope you're still alive and happy Fred.
I know what it looks like. Just seconds before this photo was taken, she was chasing the dog while holding that bat. True story.
If you see a pair of eyes watching you while visiting my house, it is not Cruella De Vil. Those eye belong to the resident cat, Sushi. She stole that skirt from me.
My new watering buddy! What a funny funny dog Edison is. He belongs to my brother next door but I guess we have become his second home. I returned from watering some plants to see a body without a head! Another time when I returned to refill my pale, he was arming crawling across the grass. I still have no idea why.
Wake up to this, and the rest of your day will go better. I knew there are reasons that you should never leave your drink unattended... but I never imagined this to be one of them.
The problem with bed buddies. I love Ginger. Ginger loves the teddy bear. Thank you for taking your time to meet the exhibits.
I finally figured out how to change my layout! And I did it all by myself! (Que triumphant music.) I hope to get some videos off my phone and have a "video post", so be on the look out for that.

In other news...
My family hosted a HUGE family reunion. I'm proud to announce that I had a BLAST! Possibly a huge highlight of my summer. I met some super awesome cousins. (and truth be told, I miss them.) I was so busy having fun that I didn't take any pictures. Sad, right? But no worries. I will take pictures at the next "cousins" get together. Who knew cousins could be so much fun?
Congrats to my mother who has officially started her blog! Good luck!

I am Indeed 16 going on 17... This Week

It all started at the 4th of July Provo parade. My grandma insisted that my uncle play happy birthday to me on his trumpet after the parade, then another idea came along. I am 16 going on 17! Why not play that instead? We all forgot about the song so I never got played to, but I'm more then okay with that. Ever since the song was brought up though, I've had the craving for sound of music. Also, (as most of you know) I am indeed single therefore, why not look for a guy who is 17 going on 18? I think it's a good idea. My birthday has official been extended to a birthWEEK. That's right! We'll see how well that goes, but for your enjoyment, here is the best version of "16 going on 17" that I could find. Enjoy!

What Comes in Bloom

So I pretty much stink at this blog thing. I didn't want to post anything until I could change my blog's background but oh well... (If anyone can help me change it, I would be very grateful to you!)
With spring and summer here, things tend to take bloom. Both flowers and children! It is my blessed job to water the plants and every now and then a little bloomer will come and assist me.

Watch out world or else this little fairy will come to your garden and take over your watering pot! This is my niece, Sarah, and she LOVES to help water the plants! It's her favorite thing to do at Aunt "Arbry's" house. To take this picture I took the step of letting her hold the can herself and look how well she did even the the watering bucket's as big as her! She's amazing! If I could water with her everyday, I would.
This little elf is my youngest nephew, Coleman. He's a little like Sarah in the way that if he wants to do something, he'll do it. He's also a BIG help! I got to take care of him for a weekend and I'm so glad I did! He's a whipper-snapper! ha ha The funny story picture behind this picture is that we had too many (3 people is too many, we had 4) helpers so we used an actual bucket and a bunch of cups. The garden fairies would follow me with their cups and water whatever plant I had just watered. Eventually the water line in the bucket would get to low for kiddies to reach, but that wouldn't stop Cole! Just moments before I took the picture he had his feet off the ground while he reached inside. So cute! I bet you had nephews and nieces like mine.
I got an award! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! ha ha This would be my first award thus far. I would like to thank Ashley for making my blog, Ashley for giving me the award, my family for giving me something to blog about (and for) and Ashley for nudging me to post every now and then. To see what I got the award for visit http://ashleyserena.blogspot.com/2010/06/youre-going-places-award.html and enjoy! Thank you Thank you Thank you Ashley!!

Life Changing

"If your actions inspire others to do more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader."

-John Quincy Adams
If you want to hear about it, I'm afraid you'l just have to ask me. Why? Because htere's so much to tell! To tease you, I'll leave you with this picture. HOBY truly is an experience I shall never forget. Oh! And i you ask me I'll hopefully havepictures to show you by then.
Happy Trails.

HOBY HOBY HOBY HOBY HOBY

The Brilliant Roger Anthony

"Always take another step. If that is to no avail take another, and yet another. One step at a time is not too difficult."
-Og Mandino-

Guess what's been on my mind. HOBY!!!! For those of you who don't know what HOBY is, let me break it down for you. Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership. It's a 3 day seminar for sophomores and it's just pure awesomeness. I get to go up to Aspen Grove for 4 days (Wednesday to Saturday) and be a junior counselor. That means I get to help be in charge of about 10 or so sophomores and unlock their potential! What could be better?
The pictures above are from something I did with a few other HOBY alumni called a CLeW (Community Leadership Workshop). We planned it and everything. My brother-in-law attended as a panelist and we were honored to have him there. It was then I found out that he's a HOBY alumni too! Cool, eh?
Anyways, we had our focus on the preforming arts. I got to be in charge of the drama kids. (I can't imagine why.) The girl in the picture above is my group. ha ha We combined a few groups to make everything better. And it was!
One of the most memorable things about HOBY is Roger Anthony. He's Australian and an absolutely amazing motivational speaker. I never get tired of listening to him. We were honored to have him be the keynote speaker at our CLeW. Who knew listening to someone for 4 hours could be so entertaining?
Well anyways, That's what I shall be up to this week and I am EXCITED!!!!! Can't you tell? I figured I'd stick this info up here for two reasons. 1) I'm terribly excited. 2) You'll know what I'm talking about in future reference. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures up at the end... of next week.
Wish me luck!

And Another Thought...

You may remember sometime last summer I posted a little something about how my perspective on life has somehow changed and I said that I would continue on another thought later. Well almost one year later I intend to fulfil that promise. So strap yourself in and let's get started!

While contemplating my unexplainable happiness (For a refresh-er, check out my blog and either click on "contemplations" or go to August 08 2009) and my desire to want to share it, the thought occurred to me that self-discovery might have something to do with it. It's like listening to a friend's problem. The answer may be obvious to you but no matter how many times you explain it to your friend they won't understand it. Some things you "get" to find out for yourself.

I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This means I'm a mainstream Mormon. (NOT polygamist) I have often been told that we're here on earth to get bodies and that life is a test. Although this my be true, it's never been quite satisfactory for me. If God is all knowing, then why does he "test" something that he already knows the answer to? I'd like to take this a step further. I think this life is more about self-discovery.

A missionary might be able to relate to what I'm trying to say. If you just tell someone about the gospel and just say it's try you're not going to get very far. There is a reason why we are asked do have personal prayer and study. An investigator is asked to read the scriptures themselves. I'm sure conversion would not be as effective if the missionaries just read the scriptures to them. Would artifacts be as precious if we didn't have to look and dig for them? Would love be as cherished if it was shoved down our throats?

It's difficult me for me to put my thoughts into words. Sometimes I wounder if I was more eloquent if I'd be able to be more inspirational, but lame man terms are better when it comes to explaining things. Are you picking up when I'm laying down? Is it a lost cause? Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree. Maybe, just maybe, this is something you'll just have to find out for yourself. What do you think?

God speed!

My Bad = Your Entertainment

Sorry I've been gone for so long! I was on bed rest for 3 weeks.... I had pneumonia. But that's a story for another day!
While I was sick I had a lot of time to think. (Obviously) One of the thoughts that came to mind is how today's movies are all focused on someones mistake. All movies. Do we really enjoy watching other people mess up their lives or do we just lack creativity? Or is it both? Someday I shall write a movie that is not about someone making a mistake or causing trouble. Yes, there are a few exceptions like... I can't think of any. I know you think that we need it for story line and conflict and all that jazz but look at Beauty and the Beast! Maybe not the best example but there are some dang good old fashion movies. (I was wondering why I enjoy them so much.) Not that any of this is vital to your being but it's nice to get the idea and realization out there. Sorry if from now on you can't enjoy a movie because you realize it's just the same story over and over again. I still enjoy movies but of course I'm the kind of girl who does brand work then goes home to eat some steak.
Speaking of movies, here's a short film I find very funny. I watched it a lot when I was sick and I hope you'll appreciate it. It's called the Lady and the Ripper and was nominated for an Oscar. My advice is to watch it twice. (For those of you who know my cousin Rachel Anderson, the old lady reminds me of her... can't imagine why.)