institute dance!

Last night was the first YSA dance of the semester! it was super fun! i love dances where people actually dance! And meeting new people is always way fun too! Church and Institute are the only places i really find people my age, I'm taking more advanced classes and my house mates are all older so the people they hang out with are all older as well.
anyway! it was really fun!
and afterwards we snuck into best western's pool!  that was my favorite! there was a hot tub and a really nice (not pond) pool! we just couldn't be very loud, which was even more entertaining because everyone was jumping into the pool funny to keep their splash smaller, as well as everyone was running around speaking really quietly and every once in a while someone would laugh and everyone would like duck or shoot a dirty look around the pool. which made me giggle so i'd have to cover my mouth!

it was a good night! I'm excited for Devotional on Tuesday!

leaky roof

the phrase "it doesnt rain in Thatcher" was said a billion times last week. and then what do you know? it rained. hard. for two days straight. it was amazing and now everything smells so much fresher! the only down fall to all that rain was mine and Blythe's ceiling. it started to sag kind of funny on the first day and then the second day BOOM. it came through. then Blythe went around the room popping the little bulges so it would just come out!

we've emailed the land lord and talked to one of our friends that does roofs for a living. and although Nancy (the land lady) hasn't responded Josh (the roofer) says we need to keep trying before it end up molding!

sounds lovely huh? i just want to stop stepping in puddles, there are a ton in our room!

care package

this is me in my cool new EA shirt! but that's not what this post is about...

so i went to the mail box this afternoon and found a really really cool package from my mom! It was full of soup (which was perfect timing because today has been cold and rainy and basically a soup kind of day!)
it also had all my mail and a very cute shirt!

i love my mom!(:

holding in farts

living with other girls that are only slightly gross. its hard! everyone talks about "that one time" when Melissa pooped and the whole house smelt! so this is the trick i learned, SHOWER. fart in the shower.

i realize that this is probably the grossest post of all time, but its so hard to be secretly as gross as i am!

your mom goes to college

i started school today! i love it! I'm taking some cool classes-
Psych 101
Gen Chem (with my room mate!- so were splitting the cost of the book! woot!)
Gen Bio
Eng 101
Institute
Physicals (which is basically a gym membership and i have to go in for about 2 hours a week)

even though it wasn't my first day of college, and I'm not in grade school, i woke up with first day gitters.
i picked out a cute outfit and did my hair cute and i stayed awake in every single class!

for lunch the institute made us food! i guess its a way of getting people in there and having them actually sign up for classes! although. i must say. their actual "class" hours are sooo wanky. and i have classes during that time! so I'm going to go to Seminar and Devotional because that is at a normal time. hopefully next semester ill work out my classes better! I'm excited though! on Tuesdays for devotional its church dress! so ill just look super classy for Chem Lab!

and tonight is Family Home Evening! (if you're my uncle Bryan it's family home ev-uh-ning or if you're baby Paige it's family home-nevning)
 i got really sick on Sunday so i'm excited to go and hang out with some church kids! i missed my Mormon interactions. after a while those become necessary.

weekend date

i went on a crazy date this weekend and in case you were wondering- that is why i haven't updated anything!
so this date was out in Wilcox (about 45 min. from my house).
there was a buuuunch of couples all at my friend Josh's Moms house. so we drive out there, make dinner and watch a movie! and the boys go and sleep outside while the girls spent the night inside! (this was the strangest date i have ever been on) but it was way fun! there was tons of girly stuff going on like talking about the boys outside and painting our nails and stuff!
in the morning we got all pretty- which took forever! i thought it would take a while but holey moley. it took forever. eventually we all got together and set up a picnic and hit the road again. i cant remember the name of the mountain we went to but it was all grey and misty outside! compared to the broken AC and heat of thatcher it was heaven up there! so we hiked around and ate yummy food. there was a little stream that a bunch of us went and climbed around in (mostly the couples that didn't involve over done up or super prissy girls) it was a blast! and everyone was super awesome and fun to hang out with!

at the end of the night we went to a little farm in Wilcox where a bunch of people bought fresh goats milk! i thought it tasted gross but most of them liked it! we fed piggies and goats and there were plenty of little cats and dogs following us around. i love farms. my dog came from a farm. shes pretty cool.

anyway! after that we all packed up and came home! it was really really fun! i don't think ill do it again, just because it was a little weird to stay at a strangers house with people i barely knew but hey! gotta try it before you say you don't like it, right?

Moped Story.

so today im out running around, just getting stuff done! library, post office, and other small trips were on that list.
on my way home im at a stop light and it turns green so i rev my engine and try to pull across the intersection. and the bike putts out. it would not go. so i pulled it off to the side as the light goes green again. im looking at it and trying to figure out what the problem is. i pulled the breaks and pushed start so i could hear the engine and it starts! so im like sweet ill just drive it back over to where im supposed to be in the intersection.

the bike takes off. like a mad man, im holding on and trying to put my legs up so i can at least control it. that doesn't work, instead i end up getting dragged. and finally the bike just falls on top of me.
> mind you, my light is red still, so there is traffic that could kill me so fast.

so im lying there under my bike and at some point in the take off process i lost a shoe. so i get the bike up- wheel it back to where im supposed to be. park it. wait until traffic is clear. run for my shoe. and run back for the bike.

i got it running again after that and made it home safe and sound. minus a few scrapes to the both of us and some bruises on me. we're alright.

but the best part of this story was the van next to me in the intersection- where the parents looked on in horror (and did nothing at all) the children in the back were cheering me on and i'm certain one of them was pointing and laughing as i put my shoe back on.

FHE ditchers!

back story:
the institute building is under construction so the singles have been meeting at this building that's pretty far from the house- i went on Sunday and it took me about 15 min. by moped. (everything around here is closer than 5 min.)  so its a distance!

anyway! so last night it was getting dark and i decided not to go to FHE, but don't fret! i was still being social! a group of kids all went out the the ponds again! it was Blythe, Bryan (the nervous kid earlier mentioned as Brandon. he is a veeeryy quite guy but hes a sweet heart and i think there's something between him and B but im not 100% sure). a kid named Farrin, David- John, and Melissa and boyfriend Josh.

we same across the pond and back, which really doesn't sound like much. but this pond is much more like a small lake.. with islands to explore. we went to look in a cave but all the goopy moss and mud under my toes was tooooo much. so i didn't go very far! and everyone made fun of me calling em a city girl. which is so weird to me. i don't feel like a city child at all but i guess im not very "country" either.
it was a good work out though! then we went to all the guy's house to watch Dream House and play a game called Magic. i guess it was the very first card game like Pokeman. and its a big deal around here- i guess there is even big huge tournaments and stuff all the time. i find that so comical. its like there really is nothing to do here so they sit around playing this AWFUL card game that doesn't even make much sense. and in the words of David-John, "i don't know the real rules, i just make it up as i go."

okay so let me tell you about these kids,
we'll start with Josh. He's Melissa's (house mate)  boy friend. he calls me hiccup because i got the hiccups while we were out in the pond! hes a huge guy and hes kind of strange. he grew up here so hes a self proclaimed expert on a whole bunch of the weird things they do here. last night at the pond he did a flip off of a rope swing (unknowingly) into super shallow water and now hes got these big gashes in his hair and he called himself a shark fighter all afternoon.

then there's David-John. hes like 30 something years old and he still hangs out with kids way younger than him. i'm pretty sure hes related to a bunch of people here so he just sticks around. plus i think he works at the mine. umm! hes dating this girl who is my age, i find that super freaking weird. but everyone says i'll have to meet the girl before i can say its weird.... uh. we'll see.

Farrin is this little guy who is super goofy. i think hes got some kind of handicap. but i could be wrong. Blythe talks to him like he is.. so maybe.
Melissa says that he is into me "because im new" and because "they always want to keep the group close so it would be the perfect fit." i kindly declined that offer. hes not really my type.

so day two was pretty dang fun! i learned that im pretty great at frisbee when i try! so im going with Melissa to a big game tonight! im excited!

Thatcher Hick.

okay lets start with yesterday morning! sunday- church. no one else in the house was going due to a broken radiator (so no car) and no real desire to. so i got up early and got as cute as i could. grabbed the MoPed and took off. in my church clothes. so, some pretty high heels and a skirt. i felt pretty boss. i was even fast enough to pass a tractor! cool stuff. so church was interesting. i got some nasty looks when i walked into RS. while that was cool and all i had to giggle because i don't consider myself much a a threat. i mean come on. i burp and fart like a man and sometimes i choose not to shower. 

this is the best part though, one of the girls that gave me the stink eye was sitting there in class totally picking her nose. not even trying to hide it or anything. just stinking her finger up there and then straight back down to her mouth! i remembered her face from when i was visiting Tali! so im pretty sure she works at the beauty school. ohh pretty girls are gross too. good to know. 

in sunday school is was asked to read a scripture full of names i couldnt pronounce. so i turned red and that was lovely. And in sacrament all the girls who talked had a sort of introduction to their talks that sounded like they were trying to sell themselves. i guess that is why singles ward is made fun of so much. people there are freaks. to say the least. 

after church Ed came over to hang out and when he heard that i hadn't ever shot a gun he jumped up and called  his brother and we all went over to his sisters house. they loaded up a crazy bunch of kids and we all went out further into the middle of no where! and shot at golf balls! i shot 3 different knids of guns! i couldnt tell you when kinds but one of them gave me a big huge bruise on the kick back! and then a different kind of gun had hot brass (thats what they called it) that flew at me after B shot it and it burnt my arm! so i have a cool scar from my first real day in Thatcher. 

we hung out with Ed's family for a while! theyre all really cool! his pregnant sister never missed the target when she was shooting- which was kind of scary. and the other 3 kids were super cute and welcomed me really quickly so i had a blast! Emm (a 4 year old) kept grabbing my ankles and asked me to pull her around as i walked "like uncle Eddie does"

then Carter (3 years old) with is lasso string would run around hitting B and I and tell us that he was being a cow boy! and lastly Claire (1) would ask to be twirled around like a princess! and when i would stop she would say "again! again! pleeeeeaseeeee"  

B and Ed and I road in the back of the truck on the way back from shooting (we sat there on the way out too) which was a first for me. but the little kids would knock on the window from inside and play peek-a-boo. while we threw golf balls out the back! 

on the way back to Ed's brother house we were talking about what everyone does for fun here and he asked me if i had ever been swimming in a pond. my answer was something like "um, no. that sounds a little gross."

and then we went to a pond. luckily it was dark so it didn't look suuuuper gross or anything. it was actually kind of fun- a little freaky though because there was no touching the bottom of this thing. you just jump off this huge floating dock! and you're in. 

afterwards  we crammed back in Eds teeny car (me on B's lap) and drove home! 

we actually got pulled over put it was super weird. the cop didnt really look into the window, so B and Ed think that he didnt know we were piled into the passenger seat. i think he knew but that we looked like stupid college kids so he just let us off. but who knows! either way its kind of funny! 

it was a pretty great first day! ending with home made biscuits and gravy! and shooting stars! 

 i can now add HICK to my resume. cool beans. 

house mates and Ed.

so lets start with my roomie, Blythe. She is a super cute girl and she is super goofy too. When she talks there is always a movie quote involved and its always said in a silly voice. B sleeps on a cot and wears bball shorts and tee shirts all the time. if i was going to compare her to anyone i know it would have to be my aunt Kathy Strode. with a hint of Seth in there. She is a huge tom boy and she listens to awesome music! so far i like her a lot. She is super weird- not gonna lie, but its the good kind of weird.

then there's Jazymn. (i don't think im spelling that right but i do know there is a Z in there.) she is the house artist. shes super crafty and has piles of old weird things laying around that will soon turn into house deco. she doesn't talk to me and only hardly cares i exist. Shes like those girls that are secretly rude. to the point where everyone is like "oh, her. i know her" but has nothing else to really say about her. but when she is with her group of friends she just kind of sulks with them. thats all they do, sit on the couch and kind of mumble at each other. so maybe its a good thing we dont really mix well. i don't want to mix with her.  she is super hipster but not the cute kind. the freak kind.

and my other home buddy, Melissa. She is really cute and super cool too! last night we were talking and she said that she doesn't really agree with the other girls on a lot of things and that they are pretty different from her too. i don't think she likes their loud craziness. (maybe its the Strode part of me that gets a long with the cuckoos) but i find Melissa very fun to talk to! shes always got these crazy stories about goofy people here and the weird things they do! but I like her! and so far we get on great!

Ed is the first person, aside from the home bodies, that i met! he is a lot like my uncle Mike. Hes always got a bandanna on or around his wrist, hes scraggly and funny. hes always wearing cut offs and all of his belongings are in his car at all times. He has told me about how he aspired to be a hobo when he was a kid so he did it. he went around California and New mexico and a bunch of other places. just living! him and his shot gun. he learned Spanish and Portuguese  on his mission in Kentucky. and so sometimes he just says stuff in those languages, sometimes its mumbling and other times its yelling to the world. he has big huge chops for side burns- like my uncle Matt. and he goes barefoot everywhere he possible can. he says 'Right on' an awful lot and he has a funny accent. but its a made up one im sure. I've never heard anyone talk like him.  hes 24 and he lives here with his sister and brother in-law. and all they're really cute kids! but he hangs out here at the house a lot!

Blythe talks about this kid named Bryan a lot. hes supposed to come over later to do his laundry. B said the house gets quiet when hes around because hes a nervous person. so that should be cool!

new house, new people

so i moved out to go to college at Eastern Arizona College in Safford/ Thatcher Arizona. (those towns are so small that they're basically linked together and i'm not really sure where one ends and the other starts because  its all on one road.
everything here is really old and kind of falling apart- its all part of the charm though. its also small enough that everyone pretty much knows everyone. and if they don't know them on a personal level they at least know of them!  let me introduce my house mates first and as i go ill tell you about everyone in town. since i'm bound to meet a bunch of them.

my house is called Shrubbery. its the house that looks like a bush is eating it. its right down the street from the Math and Sciences building! which is prefect for me because that's where most of my classes are at!  anyway! back to the house..  its full of all this cute art work and as Tori put it "it looks like Pintrest addicts live here" and i don't doubt that many of the ideas came from there.

when you first walk in there's this little living room with a big ugly couch covered by a lime green bed comforter and other various seats that match the couch. there are Chinese lanterns hanging in the corner and skateboard shelves filled with books. the plain beige walls are covered in maps and quotes and  paintings. drift wood, key racks, old luggage, type writers, and so on decorate the room! its so cute and odd all at the same time. and there are always boys in the living room playing call of duty or some other intense game while they're laundry goes though our machines for cheaper than the laundry mat.

then you walk through a stickered  door way to the kitchen. which is packed full of food- im not sure how much of it (aside from mine) is good. anyway! There is a big light strand on the wall thats spells out "home" and sheet music and book pages cover all the very ugly unsightly parts of the kitchen (the box of wires and such). our oven reminds me a lot of an old dryer we had when i was younger called Napoleon. its cute and old but it makes the house sooo hot! (and the AC doesn't work so it gets hell hot in this little place.) the fridge is covered in chalk board paint and written on all over the place! there are only 2 drawings that dont change. an Anchor made of words from a love song and a compass key. i have no idea why those get to stay but they do. and all that's left in there is a little creeky table.

a door in the kitchen leads to the laundry room, and a door in there leads to the back yard. its pretty simple.

the other side of the house is our bedrooms and bathroom! the hall in between is filled with magazine collages. they hold everything from good looking men to quotes from the office, and even old school newspapers that are from the 1930s or something like that.

our bedrooms are pretty much a good description of who we are which cracks me up. if you didn't know us, spending about 20 mins on each side of the bedroom would give you a pretty decent idea of what we like and how we act.  (that goes for each bedroom)

the bathroom is gross. thats the best word i have for it. but it has a flushing toilet and running shower. although the shower feels like its stabbing you the whole time youre in. which makes for some short showers. i think that's the point though. move fast don't waste water, don't die.

thats the house. its a pretty cool place.