trekkin!

I leave tomorrow at four o clock.  In the AM.  And we're riding school busses for six hours.  Then we're walking all around Wyoming in long skirts, aprons, long sleeve button up shirts and pulling handcarts.

I seriously cannot wait to go.  Because, despite all that up there, I'm going to help my testimony grow.  I'm not going because my parents are forcing me to go (though it may have started out that way...)  And  I'm sure as heck not going to pull a handcart over 20 miles.  Nope.  I'm going so that I can experience even in the smallest bit a part of the sacrifice and dedication given by the pioneers.  They left their homes, their friends, their... everything for this.  And I'm going to walk in their footsteps.

After I finally realized this a couple of weeks ago, I tried to really prepare for trek.  I read Fire of the Covenant (which, if you haven't read, read it right now.  I'm serious.  Right now.)  I learned more about the woman I'm portraying- Elizabeth Horrocks Jackson- who is an amazing woman by the way.  She's now one of my heroes.  Read her story and your eyes just might fog up...  And I have become amazed at all that the wonderful people of 1856 went through.  Especially those in the Martin and Willie handcart companies.

So imagine that you have come to love this experience already and then you hear this:

"They gave me some stupid name... Louisa or something like that."

"I got Meat.  Or Meeta or something like that." (I don't know exactly what she was trying to say there, so I'm guessing.

"Ugh.  It's just such a stupid name."

I could not take it.  Perhaps it was my newly found friendship with Elizabeth that pushed me to say this but I couldn't just stand by.  (Now is when you roll your eyes at me, tell me what a nerd I am and how I should just get over these things.  I know.)

So I said, "You know those are real people who went on the actual pioneer trek, right?  It's not just some made up name they decided to give you."  I figured I better stop there before I really let my mouth run off with me.  So I stopped.

The two girls who earlier couldn't seem to find enough to say about their "weird" names just looked at me.  One nodded her head.  And they turned around and talked a bit quieter about how she didn't know if her name was Meat or not.  I had hoped that I would make the difference, but obviously, I just made them lower their voices.  Oh well.  At least I tried.

So, for the next four days, I will be Elizabeth and perhaps I'll be luck enough to have a dream like hers... "Cheer up Tacie, Deliverance is at hand."  (I mean it.  Read her story.)  So, farewell till we meet again!

Girls Camp! Logos! Prettiness!

So, I designed a logo for girls camp.  Finally.  Well, I designed two of them.  And I'm kind of really proud of them.  And there's one that I like much better than the other, but you have to guess which one it is.  So without further ado...

Logo 1:

Logo 2:

Guess which I like better and tell me which one you like better... You know you want to.

Oh, and I just had a moment of panic... you can tell that they're lighthouses, right?

The Death of the Sugar Cookie House

We don't always destroy gingerbread (or sugar cookie) houses, but when we do, we do it in style.  Actually, we always destroy our gingerbread houses.  It's become a tradition.  We've blown them up with firecrackers, run over them with vehicles... We get a strange little kick out of destroying these things.  So this cute little Easter Sugar Cookie house (yeah, I know Easter was a while ago, and yes, it has been sitting around our house since then...) ended it's life with the same fate.  We ran over it.  With a truck.  But enough words, you want to see pictures and video, huh?  Well, here ya go...

Before:

After:

 The Damage:

The Video:

Pfffttt.  (That's the sound you hear when it gets run over.)  Oh, and that voice you hear in the background, that's my Auntie Carol.  She's funny. :)

Ha ha!  Oh dear, you've gotta love my family.  And I hope you enjoyed watching this completely random post.  Because I have.  Immensely.

Oh the Places You'll Go!

Seeing as how I graduate in a year, I've been considering what to do with my life.  And if I had my way I would take off the first year or two and travel.  But I'm not bathing in money and I'm don't know of any rich great-uncles anywhere who will give me piles of money.  So I'll just have to dream about it until I can actually afford it.  Do you want to dream with me?  It'll be super exciting.

First off we've got Castelejo Beach, Portugal.  Look at those stars!  And the beach!  One ticket, por favor!

This is Barcelona.  Tacie wants to go to Barcelona.

I need to find out where this one is... It's somewhere in Italy.  I'm in love.

This is slightly more attainable.  This is in Montana.  Isn't she gorgeous?

Horsetail Falls, Yosemite.  Apparently, "Every year for a few days in the month of February, the sun’s angle is such, that it lights up Horsetail Falls in Yosemite, as if it were on fire.."  I really want to see that.

So there you go, now you can wish that you could travel just like I do.  You're welcome.

Sources:  Castelejo Beach (unknown)  Barcelona (here)  Italy (here)  Montana (here) Horsetail Falls (here)