I realized today that it has been almost a week since my last post. I knew that I was going to be bad at this blogging thing, but I feel like I'm worse at this than I thought I would be. Oh well!
One of the reasons I have been neglecting my blog is because I have begun to have a social life again. I was really, really busy this weekend, so by the time I was getting ready for bed, I was not interested in writing down my thoughts. I'll try and do a rundown of events.
Saturday was insane. We woke up in the morning to watch my little sister Kristina play rugby. She is such a beast. I don't know how she does it. Rugby is really intense. I don't know how everybody doesn't end up with hundreds of concussions or torn muscles or broken bones. I mean, it does happen sometimes. My sister tore her ACL last year playing rugby. However, she loves it so much (and is literally insane) that she decided to do it again. Rugby is fun to watch, that's for sure. There constant action, and I much prefer fast paced sports like that. The hardest thing about watching rugby is that I have literally NO IDEA what the rules are. When the ref blows the whistle and takes the ball away from our team, I always wonder WHAT HAPPENED? But, I mean, part of the fun of the game is my mom and I trying to figure out what the heck is going on. My sister's team creamed the other team, which was from Pocatello. I don't know what the score was, but they scored at least 7 times, and the other team didn't score once. The state championship is this upcoming Saturday, and I'm really excited for my sister to compete. I hope that they win it, because it would be such an exciting way for her to end her senior year. Like I said, she is a beast, and one of the best players, so she really deserves the success.
After the rugby game, we went to visit my grandma who is recovering from knee replacement surgery. It was so fun to see her, and we talked for a while about how life is going, and what her recovery has been like. Now that I'm a nursing student, learning about recovery processes and medications and such is much more interesting to me. The thing that was crazy to me is the fact that she is already walking! I mean, not constantly, obviously. She uses a walker and tries to get up for 10-20 minutes every 2 hours. I can't believe that! A lot of post-surgical patients aren't supposed to walk for a while, but she was up walking the same day as her surgery. I find that fascinating, and it is amazing to me how strong she is.
We said our goodbyes, and I headed home, because Saturday was KENTUCKY DERBY DAY!!! Short backstory- I grew up in Louisville, KY. The Kentucky Derby is a huge, huge thing out there. Every year, they do a fireworks show called Thunder over Louisville that hundreds of thousands of people attend. In elementary school, we'd make fake derby floats and have a "parade" down the hallways of the school. They were really just decorated shoe boxes that we glued wheels onto and attached to strings. We would make derby hats and glue enormous amounts of fake flowers on them. The Derby is, like, a week long event out there, and I love it so much. I miss it a lot. Idaho is cool, but we don't do anything fun like that. The one tradition we have kept over the years is our derby party. We invite friends over and make food and derby pie, and we watch the race. All of our friends, at first, thought we were the weirdest people. Over time, though, they have grown to love the derby like us. We all get a horse (we don't bet, we draw names out of a hat) to cheer for during the race, and we have a bucket full of candy. If your horse wins, you get to pick your candy first. It's so silly, but we are all competitive, so it's a big deal. My horse won last year, so it was only normal that my horse would suck this year. I think he got 12th or 13th, I'm not sure. It was still so fun though, and I had a great time with my family and friends.
The rest of that night we just chilled out. We played some games with our friends, and went to go get burritos at Los Betos as midnight. I ran some errands in between to get presents and flowers for Mother's Day.
Sunday was really chill. We went through the normal routine of getting ready for church and going to church. However, we did make a bit fancier breakfast than the normal meal of cereal. We had apple strudel muffins, which were homemade, and berries. It was so delicious. We went to church, which seems to take the whole day. Don't get me wrong, I love it. However, my church is three hours long and our ward starts at 1 pm this year. 1 pm church is a blessing and a curse, because you can sleep in and spend a lot of time getting ready. When it's over, though, your whole day is over! We get home at 4 pm, and by that time, we need to be cooking dinner and preparing for family to come over. There's less time for things like Sunday naps or strolls.
For dinner we had pork and black beans and rice. It was so delicious. My uncle makes some of the best pork on this planet. He smokes it for like 18 hours, and it is so tender and juicy. If it didn't take so much time and require special equipment, I would always cook my meat like that. Also, if you can't tell, I love food. Sunday dinners are the best because of the company we share. My grandparents normally come over, but they didn't because my grandma didn't feel up to it. However, my aunt and uncle and their four kids came. Their four kids are so fun. I think, in a way, they feel like my little siblings or my nieces and nephews. Since my siblings are so close in age, I never really got to experience having a much younger sibling. And because I'm the second oldest, I probably won't have nieces and nephews before I have my own kids. So, while these kids are my cousins, we have such a strong bond and I love them more than most people love their cousins. The youngest kid is almost 8 months old now, and she is so adorable. She was kind of fussy on Sunday, so I was able to rock her to sleep, and we cuddled. It was SO CUTE. I couldn't put her down, though, because she's a light sleeper, so I just held her for an hour and enjoyed every second. She is so sweet and I love her so much. I will really miss my aunt and uncle and their kiddos when I'm on my mission. They will be so grown up by the time I come home, and it's going to be crazy! My older sister also surprised us, and came home for Mother's Day. Spending time with her was so fun throughout the weekend. I hardly get to see her now, because we are normally both at our separate schools, so every time I see her is precious. She is the coolest person, and such a great example to me.
After they left, I spent some time with my momma. We watched a show called The District, which is a show about missionaries in the field and the experiences they have. I didn't think I would like it, because church films can tend to be dry, but it's so powerful, and I really think it's preparing me for what I will do on my mission. Afterwards, we talked a bit about her mission experience, which was fun and interesting. We've watched a few more episodes of that show since then, and it is surprising to me how much I enjoy it. If you're interested in missionary work, and what we do, it's something cool to look into. They probably have it online somewhere, like on byutv or lds.org.
Monday was a very relaxed day. I didn't really do much. I honestly can't remember if I did anything at all, during the day. In the evening, my younger sister, Danielle, and I went to Zumba. I am probably the worst dancer in the world, and I look so dumb doing it, but for some reason I just LOVE Zumba. It's fun and it works my whole body and gets my heart beating. I enjoy it so much that I am able to ignore the pain and just have fun. I would do Zumba every day if it worked with my schedule. After Zumba, we came home and had Family Home Evening. Family Home Evening, or FHE, is our once a week time to learn a lesson as a family. This week, we read from Preach My Gospel, the missionary handbook, about the importance of having the Spirit in our lives to guide us. I know I'm using a lot of church lingo, but if you are interested or have questions, feel free to ask me! I'd love to share anything about what I believe, and answer any questions. I love FHE because we are able to all give our input and learn together, rather than just reading some verses from the scriptures.
On Tuesday, I also didn't do a lot. However, my mom took me to go get a massage because I had been feeling some lower back pain. All I have to say about that is professional massages are amazing. If you feel stressed or tense, go take some time and get one. They are pricey (mine was $55 for an hour massage), but I feel so much better, and all my muscle tension is gone. It was one of the most relaxing experiences I have ever had.
Once we got home, my mom and I made dinner for the family. We had chicken gyros which were so delicious. My sister, Capri, and I played Mario Party 2 for hours that night, which was so fun. It was really nostalgic, because my siblings and I grew up playing those games together. Capri is hilarious, though, because she begged me not to steal a star from her, and then she stole one from me. The next game we played, I stole her star as payback and she was so pissed at me for the rest of the game. It was HILARIOUS. I love her and her spunky attitude so much, and while other people may be annoyed at her hypocrisy, I found it endearing. She won the first map and I won the second, so I'd say it was a pretty successful and equal experience.
Yesterday my mom and I ran a ton of errands. We bought every toiletry and medicine that I would need for my mission. Then we went and bought necklaces and earrings for all of my outfits. Shopping with her has been fun, but I feel so bad about the money my parents are spending on me. They say they are happy to do it, and it's the last time she'll be able to do it for 18 months, but every time I see the total I cringe. I guess going from being on a strict budget every month to living with my parents has been weird. In June, though, I'm going back to a strict budget, and I feel much better about that.
Today, my mom and our family friend Krista and I took a road trip to Twin Falls, which is about 2 hours away. We went to the temple there, because the one in Boise is closed for cleaning. It's always fun to see a new temple, and have a new experience. We had great conversations in the car ride up and down, and we had a delicious lunch. We went to Culver's, which is a burger/expensive fast food joint. The thing they have there that I LOVED was frozen custard. Frozen custard is like ice cream but a thousand times betters. I got a bacon cheeseburger with french fries and a raspberry brownie custard. I didn't want to think about how many calories that was, but that was pretty much all I've eaten today, so I don't feel SO bad about it. And it was delicious so it was totally worth it. The temple itself was amazing, like usual. I just feel the Spirit so strong in the temple, and I feel so close to God when I'm there. I've truly enjoyed going every week, and I hope that I will be able to go at least a few times when I'm in Kansas.
Now, I'm watching Twitch streams and getting ready for bed. It's been a long, but exciting day. Life has been busy but exciting, and I've been so much happier lately. I know that God heard my prayers the day of my meltdown and has given me more opportunities to be busy and to enjoy my last few weeks home. I'm grateful for the fun experiences I've had, and for the time I've been able to spend with friends and family. 20 days until I leave. It's getting more real every day.
Anyway, if you made it through this novel, congrats! You're much more dedicated than I am. Thanks for spending the time to read this, and supporting me. Life is good.
~Sienna
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