Parents, Parks, Deserts, and Concerts

Hello lovely cyber-world!

Again, it's been a while since I have written.  I've just accepted that I'm bad at writing regularly.  Oops. It is what it is. I hope you are as ok with it as I am.

Anyway...well, my life is absolutely crazy and lovely right now. SO many new things happening!

I guess I'll begin with life in the desert.  2 shifts ago, I was fortunate enough to be back with my girls!  It had been 3 weeks since that happened.  It was one of the best shifts ever.  It was just me and a buddy of mine.  He reminds me of all my uncles/male cousins/any guy in my life who consistently teases me.  I felt so at home.  As weird as it is, I absolutely love being teased.  I grew up with it and it brings me a sense of comfort.  You only tease someone if you like them and if you are comfortable with them.  When someone teases me, I know we are friends.  Well, like I said, working with the girls was a blast.  Most of my work till now has been in girls groups and girls camps.  Yes, they try to manipulate the crap out of you, especially if they find out that you are new, but it's really easy to see though it if you know what you're looking for.  And the girls that were there that week were pretty awesome.  It felt good to walk into a group and feel comfortable.

This last shift was, by far, the craziest one I have had out here.  I started out in the girls group.  We had 2 girls groups, but because we are discharging so many kids, we combined groups.  I was super psyched to see my girls from the week before and to meet some new faces too.  Well, I spent Thurs and Fri with the girls, then found out that one of the boys groups had a runner and that they needed extra staff in that group.  Well, off I went to meet a new group.  I was just starting to get comfortable with that group when, on Tues night, I found out that I was being transferred to the other boys group.  They needed an additional staff for transporting purposes.  So, in 1 week, I saw every group and met all the kids.  It was actually really hard for me.  I felt like I would finally settle in with a group and then be uprooted.  It made me feel like I couldn't do my job well.  But I guess it taught me a lot about getting to know people and investing even though I may never see them again and that I can gain absolutely nothing from them.  Good lessons...hard way to learn them!

Well, in between these 2 shifts, my wonderful parents came out to visit me!!! I picked them up from the airport on Fri night and they were here until Wed afternoon.  It was absolutely fabulous to spend an entire off shift with them.  We basically did the whirlwind tour of Utah.  We started off their time on Sat by visiting the farmers' market in the city, then headed up to Park City to see some of the mountains and visit the Olympic Training Center and check out all the memorabilia from the 2002 Olympics.  Then, Sun morning, we caught an early church service and headed south.  We hung out at Zion National Park until Sun afternoon, then busted it over to Bryce National Park.  We spent the afternoon there, then that night (yes, you heard me right...THAT NIGHT!) headed out to go see Arches.  Now, this would be cool if the parks were, say, an hour apart...but it's Utah and they aren't.  It takes 4 hours to get from my apartment to Zion, 1.5 hours to get from Zion to Bryce, and another 4 hours to get from Bryce to Arches and another 4 hours to get from Arches back to my apartment.  The sights were absolutely amazing, but, by the end of that adventure, I was totally pooped.  We headed back up to my apartment on Tues afternoon, picked up some dinner, and relaxed with a movie...and laughed our heads off.  I forget what it was called, but it was something about a wedding.  The Big Wedding maybe?  I don't remember.  But it was hilarious! Wed morning brought some mommy/daughter time.  Did a little shopping and got a (much needed, in my case) pedicure.  Brought them back to the airport and then had to get ready to head back to work the next day.  It was definitely busy, but totally worth it.  I didn't realize how much I missed them!

(The 3 Patriarchs at Zion)

(On the walk through "The Queen's Garden" at Bryce)

(A really awesome quote from one of the displays at Bryce)

(One of the "Window Arches" at Arches)

Lastly...I have recently returned from a rather interesting adventure.  I decided to go see Sara Bareilles in concert.  She came to Utah, but by the time I was ready to buy tickets, Utah had sold out.  That woman is easily my favorite artist and she has come to Boston several times.  Was I able to see her at any of those shows...no.  So I decided to be a little gutsy and buy a single ticket to see her at her next closest show in Boise, Idaho.  I scooted out right after church on Sunday, hopped on the freeway and booked it north.  It took me 5 hours to get there, but it was worth every penny!  I would argue that Sara is equally good live as she is on her record.  She is hilarious and has a fantastic stage presence.  Basically, I have the biggest friend-crush in the world on her.  I would love it if we could hang out.  Anyway...after she finished, the other half of the show began.  One Republic!!!  While I don't listen to them as often, I most definitely respect their talent.  They definitely put on a good show.  So, the concert ended around 10:30.  It took me another half hour (because of stupid traffic) to get back to the highway and another 5 hours to get home.  Add rain, lots of construction, and a nap (at a rest stop...I promise!) and I didn't get home until around 5AM.  While I'm not sure I want to ever make that drive home EVER again, it was so worth it.  Everyone should go to a concert by themselves!  I met some really cool people and had an absolute blast.

(A cool shot from Sara singing "Eden")

(Isn't she just a champ...love this woman)

Well, I just word vomited that and I'm not going back to edit it (maybe spell check...I should probably do that...) so, I hope you enjoy it!

I love all of you so much!  Your support while I am far away means the world...really.  Knowing that people out there care about me and what I am up to is priceless.  Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Love,
L