BYS ~ Boise Youth Spectacular!!!

This occured just last month, and I have to say, IT WAS THE BEST!!!!!
I was nervous about things like, "Will my group like me?" and "Will I know where to go?"
Turns out I didn't need to worry. Our counselor, Sarah Egbert, was AWESOME!!! So was our group!!!! It just so happened that I already knew two of the guys who happened to end up in our group!
One funny experience I had was when our group was walking toward our meeting spot. We saw a group of boys and girls who had been paired up together and were walking with their arms linked. So I thought, "Is there some kind of fancy dance going on or something?" However, no one was dressed for anything special. Later we found out that the girls of each group would have to be escorted from place to place by the guys of the group. I then thought, "OH. OK." Two of the guys had to have two girls each, since we had seven girls and five guys.
We also had a lot of spiritual experiences, as a group and as BYS in a whole. I loved the speakers that we listened to. One of them told of a seminary experience they had. Their teacher told them, "Close your eyes and imagine your future wife/husband. Now imagine they're just ending a date. The guy walks the girl to the door. They tell each other good night, oh! Now they're giving each other a hug. Oh! Now they're kissing......" The longer they kissed, the madder and madder the speaker got. When the imaginary couple stopped kissing, the teacher asked the speaker how he felt. The speaker said, "I feel so MAD!!!" The teacher said, "Very good. If you kiss your date before leaving, that's someone's future spouse you're kissing." He said something like that, but it hit me. Although I still want the fairytale-like first kiss, I thought about how I would more than likely be kissing someone else's future spouse.
We were also priveledged to see Jenny Jordan Frogley, who also held a concert!! It was SO FUN!!!
We also went to a dance after the concert. With it being 104 degrees outside and around 800 youth crowded on a cement patio, it wasn't exactly an exhilarating experience. I thought it was kind of funny that I was asked to dance three times, the first of which was 15, the second 14, and the third my age who also happened to be in my group.
We also had fun putting together a skit to try out for! The only rule was that the song that the skit was done to had to be a primary song or a Disney song. Our group decided to do a Disney song. After tossing around some suggestions, it was unanimous that we perform the song "I Wanna Be Like You" from The Jungle Book. We also decided to act out the whole song and talking scenes. Choosing parts was really fun. Right away, everyone agreed that Regan Thurgood should play Mowgli, which was kind of funny; Sarah said, "Who should play Mowgli?" and everyone turned and looked at Regan! Riley Busby was chosen to play Baloo, Janessa Pieksma played the short white-haired monkey, Stacey (can't remember last name) played Bagheera, and who played King Louie? Yours truly, funnily enough! I said that I would do it if no one else would, so I immediately got the part! Everyone else played the rest of the monkeys. I wish that we could've had more time to practice, not only because we weren't that prepared, but it was so fun!!!
I was nervous about coming, but on our last day, I just about broke down when Mom came to get me because I didn't want to leave my awesome new friends!

A Scary Experience

Something very scary happened to me yesterday...

We're taking swimming lessons Mon-Thurs for 2 weeks. I've been going home earlier (because I can and Mom said I could) because swimming lessons go from 10-about 12:30, and I don't like sticking around for that long......
Anyways, I got home as quickly as I could yesterday to get ready to go to my clogging class (I had already missed 2 classes....), and when I got home, got onto our back porch, to my surprise, the back door was locked. So I went around to the front, opened the screen door, and found the front door to be locked as well.
I went back to my car, fuming all the way, and drove back to swimming lessons in a rage. I told my mom what I found, and she told me that my brother was on the way and to just wait for him (He's been riding his bike to lessons every day. Mom said she didn't lock the doors; we usually never do!). So I went back home and waited and waited and waited....all the while frustrated and angry. On occasion, I would bang on the back window in anger and frustration. I had considered breaking a window to get in before, but then I thought, "No; I'll get in major trouble." At one point, I beat my fist against the window. Suddenly, to my great dismay and shock, the window broke, leaving a huge hole. I looked at my hand, which now had a pretty nasty cut. Blood started streaming down my arm. Scared and sobbing, I reached in the hole, unlocked the door, and went inside to stop the bleeding. The phone was ringing. I answered; it was Mom.
Sobbing and sweeping, I tearfully tried to explain what happened just as my siblings (Brandon (my brother) had also taken Braydon and Breanna w/ him) got home and were coming in the door. "Don't come in!" I screamed, as there still was glass everywhere. "Whoa! What happened?" Braydon asked. "Don't ask," I choked back. Mom told me she would clean up my mess and told me to go to clogging.
Brandon took care of my cut before I left to catch my ride that I was blessed for and ever thankful to get......

I had to have my hand wrapped in gauze and have 2 waterproof bandaids layered over the cut yesterday, and we just took it off today, so now I have a regular bandaid on.....I hope I don't have to get stitches. I might have a scar, though......how weird will that be.....

Girl Friends

I LOVE ALL MY GIRL FRIENDS!!!
Elora is so sweet and kind. Sometimes it's like she's the older cousin! She's also beautiful and loves to be a peacemaker and a help!
Jessie is very cool and an example to me. She loves wearing lots of layers of shirts, which I think is cool. :) She's also not only beautiful, but tough as nails!
Bobbie is a total tomboy! She really REALLY dislikes shopping! She also plays guitar and sings very well. She encourages and compliments me a lot, which is a great confidence booster for me! :)
Rachel is beautiful, sings very well also, and is very funny! She comes up with the cutest things, and is just plain cute, even when she doesn't mean to be!
Logan is very kind and generous. She's also very funny and beautiful! Even though she's a state away, I STILL LOVE HER!!! :)
Taylor is very cute and friendly. I look up to her as well, and love her charm!
Carlyn is so funny! She cracks me up! I love her spirit and how she can be so outgoing!
Kiley is beautiful, funny and AWESOME! She's a great example and is very kind.
All of my girl friends are beautiful, intelligent, funny, and kind!!!!!!
I LOVE THEM ALL!!! I'll be there for them like they have been for me!

Guy Friends

I have a few friends that happen to be guys (as you probably guessed from the title), and THEY'RE AWESOME!!!
One of which is Bryson, who is fun, kind, and patient. He has to be in order to teach me how to do different dances! :) He is also hardworking and a gentleman.
Terrell is a gentleman as well! He plays guitar and likes to tease me A LOT, but he's still kind about it. He's very funny and likes to make me laugh when I'm down in the dumps.
Sam is cool, also plays guitar, and loves to give hugs! Sometimes my girl friends and I think he should have a hugging class! :P He is also kind and not only plays guitar, but the piano as well.
They have most of the same qualities, like singing well and showing kindness when it's needed.
They're all also cool, smart, and just plain FUN TO BE AROUND!!!

My Silly Family!!!

I have a crazy family that consists of 7 siblings, all of whose names start with "Br!" It can get confusing, and although we like to fight often, we still love each other.
I am the eldest. The next after me is Brandon. He is 13 and likes to play basketball with our dad and XBOX, which he's very good at. He has good wit, which is very annoying because I can almost never win in an arguement with him! He's also GIGANTIC at 5'9' and a size 13 shoe!
Braydon is 11 and likes playing XBOX with Brandon as well as playing with Legos. He loves them!!!!!!!!!!!
Breanna is one of our bookworms. As far as I'm concerned, she's very advanced for a 9-year-old. She knows words like "replusive" and "acramonious." She also is a very good peacemaker and an excellent pianist.
Brooklyn is just like Brandon in attitude. She is also very clever and loves to color and draw. She and Breanna could probably be considered twins! They're both very thin and are about the same height! To think they're a year apart...
Bryan is 6, and crazy! He thinks of the weirdest things...but he's still very funny. Personally, I call him "Sticks" because he looks like a stick figure!
Brinley is a total girly-girl. She's an adorable 4-year-old and loves pink, purple, makeup, Barbie dolls, dresses (she wears them even when she's playing!), pretty much anything girly. She has a kind heart and loves to help her baby sister.
Brennalyn is the baby and THE CUTEST!!!!!!!! At age 2, she knows what a cow, snake, monkey, sheep, and a kitty say, and it is so CUTE to hear! Unfortunately, she also knows how to say things like,"No" and "Give me that." She's also a climber and has already had some close calls.
My mom (Liz) is gorgeous and loves us all, even though we DRIVE HER CRAZY!!!!!!!!!! Not only is she hardworking and loving, she also loves to crochet, sew, and read in the spare time that she has.
Dad (Doug) is tall, a computer and TV brainiac, and a good-way goofball! He loves to golf, work with computers, and spend as much time as possible with the love of his life!
So, you've now met my big family, and we're happy, love the gospel, and love each other!