WE DID IT, WE DID IT!!!!

WE HIT 100% TODAY! Which means we are going on a trip! Jenn and Loren kept us in suspense until they booked our airfare, but we are headed to . . .

COSTA RICA!!!!!!!

I'm still in shock a little bit, but we are headed to Costa Rica from October 23rd-28th. Check out the house that we will be staying in http://www.casaoceanocostarica.com/ it is INCREDIBLE!

WAHOO!!!

WHAT A DAY!

This has to be one of the busiest and craziest days I have had in a while. Got ready for church and found out that I would be going to a different Sunday School than normal. I learned how to index names in a church database, and started doing that. After the class, the counselor of the bishopric that was there asked us to put down our names for being in the class, and I thought nothing of it . . . until he announced that as my calling in Sacrament! All the people who had written down their names were apparently called as indexers. Wow. Jessie and I looked at each other and were pretty surprised. At least I know it will be fun!

After church was choir practice, which was pretty fun. There were a lot of people there this week, so it didn't seem like Jess and I were singing solos. :) Right after choir I jetted to Anne's so I could give her a birthday gift. We chatted for a while, then went to the Break the Fast for my old ward and said hello to a lot of my friends who are still there.

BUT WAIT!!! It's not over!

I said goodbye to Anne and the crew, and headed over to our new RS president's house for dinner. It was a great pasta and salad combo. We tried to make ice cream with this new gadget she had, but it didn't really turn out. So we shipped it up and had some great Grecian desserts with it! Right after that we had our new home teachers come over for a visit to get to know us, and it turns out that they both had lived in past wards of mine- SMALL world!

Right after their visit it was time for ward prayer. And after that came Jessie and my weekly walk around the neighborhood. Only this time we were joined by one of our new friends, Bryan. He wanted to show us his house, so we headed over there and just chatted for awhile.
WHEW! It makes me tired just looking at this post. I'm going to bed. :)

Tailgating & RS broadcast

Today was pretty busy- Jess and I had a ward activity where they brought in barbecued beef from a local restaurant, and then played volleyball and bocci ball. It was great because we started to really meet a lot more people in our ward. Because our ward is so huge, its kind of hard to get to know people. Jessie has been saying that we need to go to smaller activities so people aren't just thrown together, and it is easier to get to know more about them. I really felt like I got to know a few people so it was great! And it's never a bad thing to eat some good food!

We watched part of the BYU game, and were assured by halftime that BYU was going to be fine, so we got ready to go to campus to watch the Relief Society broadcast. After a quick room change, we settled in to learn some awesome lessons. I was especially touched by Sister Thompson's remarks about how life did not go as she planned. I often feel really frustrated that things never go the way I plan. It just taught me to have a little more patience.

Our stake had a brownie bar set up in one of the rooms of the Wilk, so Jess and I had a great time gorging ourselves on mint brownies with fudge and vanilla ice cream with caramel on top. YUM!!!

Into the Woods!

Jess and I have been talking about how we wanted to go to some local theater, and we saw that the Scera was doing a production of Into the Woods. Jessie loves this show, so she wanted to go. I had seen a movie of it a long time ago, and had forgotten most of the music and plot. So I was excited too!

The show was a lot of fun, and most of the singers were very good. Their witch absolutely KILLED the show! She was so fantastic, and it is a really difficult role to sing. Lots of quick dialogue and acting. I also found out that one of my friends that used to live in Branbury was one of the actors. He did a great job and it was good to see him on the stage.

If you are in Provo, I would recommend going to see this production! It's a lot of fun and has great dialogue. Jess and I had a blast!

It really is a small world!

Today while I was watching the front desk an older man came in and asked to see one of our residents. I told him I was going to call the resident, and when I asked for his name, the man said he was Bob Turney. He had an English accent, so I knew he was from out of town. I also knew that I had met one of Lindsay's friends in England who was named Roo Turney. So I asked if Bob knew her, and as it turned out, he was her FATHER! I had even visited their home for a few minutes, since we stopped there before going to the London temple. Who would have thunk?!

Steak & Salmon BBQ At Branbury!

Tonight was the Steak & Salmon BBQ that Branbury holds annually. I have been planning this event for weeks, and it finally came to fruition! We had a huge grill for the steak, and a smoker for the salmon. Surprisingly, the salmon went first! 200 lbs of steak, and 80 lbs. of salmon. Can you believe it?! That is two peoples' weight in meat.

The inflatable toys were great, only one injury to report! A girl was hit in the nose while she was racing against her friend on the bungee run, and it became really swollen. There was a little bit of blood, but I was pretty sure she hadn't broken it. Thankfully my friend Rachel was there- the poor girl that was hurt was deaf, and so it was hard to communicate. Rachel knows sign language and was able to help me talk to the girl. THANKS RACH!
So I took a break from serving food and went to see how the games were going. I was challenged by a few people on the bungee run, so I gave it a go. The best part of the run is that you get thrown backward after you place your beanbag. It really is fun getting tossed backward! It does get exhausting though, and is pretty tough on your body. My abs are so sore!

Here are a few pics of me running the bungee run. I rocked the guy in the run, but then Aimmie took me out! We ran the game a few times and it just wore me out! I was too tired to do the joust or the sumo suits, but I had a ton of fun watching people play. It seemed to be a huge success! I was there for an incredibly long day, but it was worth it to see so many people having fun and smiling. It just reminded me why I do my job the way I do. Making the residents happy makes me happy. Now I just have to get started on the October activities!

Game and Birthdays!

We had a ton of people over here to watch the BYU vs. FSU game today. I expected it to be a great game, but it turned out to be a walloping! FSU snapped our 18 game home winning streak, and handed us a bad loss. For some reason the guys just couldn't deliver today. Oh well. We still had a lot of fun having people over. And I think people had a good time despite the loss.

We celebrated three birthdays during halftime, and then celebrated another one after the game! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADAM! We went to a huge house in the foothills and sat on the back porch and talked. It was a gorgeous night out, too, until it started raining. I laughed so hard that my ridges hurt! It was great. I'm exhausted, but it's the good kind- it means I had a great day.

Email from Grandma

Today I got an email from Granny Slash updating me on how she is doing. I cannot even say how excited I was to see that email in my inbox! It's so great hearing from her, even though she is SUCH a busy lady! Even though she is supposed to be retired, she has a lot to keep her busy.

Thanks for emailing, Grandma. I love you! And remember this one? "Hi diddly dee! We have the best Grammy!" Still so true.

Baby announcement

Today was kind of a bittersweet day. I found out that my boss is pregnant (YAY!) but that she is also leaving to take over another property in North Carolina (BOO!). And she leaves in a month (DOUBLE BOO!). I think I will just try and focus on the positive and FORGET the negative!

INDIA FEST!

This was such a crazy but fun day! Jessie wanted to see the Hare Krishna temple down in Spanish Fork and visit, so when she saw there would be an India Fest held there, she had to go. I got pretty excited too, and brought Angela and Shauntelle along for the ride!

We drove up to the temple, took a few wrong turns, and waited in a looooonnnnnnggggggg line to park, but when we got up to the temple the first thing we did was rent sari's. There was a woman named Nemo who got us all dressed with the help of her daughter. SO GREAT! She picked out fabulous colors for us, and even sold us some bindi's (the jewels that go on your forehead) to complete the outfit!
We looked so great and were having such a great time that an event photographer asked to take a picture of us! All of us were kind of getting into the mood. It was all so exciting! WE decided to try and tackle everything that was happening in a little bit of methodical way- going around and looking at all the different things in sections. After we got our sari's we watched some of the dancing that was going on. Man, some of the positions those girls moved themselves into were UNBELIEVABLE! I was just watching with my jaw hanging open the entire time!

We decided to head into the temple and see what was going on in there as well. We removed our shoes and thankfully convinced Angela to do the same, and went inside. I'm not going to lie, the smell was kind of bad: spicy food, feet, sweat, and lots of bodies. But, we listened to some rad chanting and got to watch people dance around. The chanting was musical, so it was fun to listen to.

After we slipped downstairs to the gift shop and cafeteria, we headed back outside to the llama pens. On the way we saw the effigy that was to be burned at the end of the evening. Wow. Ten heads and twenty feet tall. Pretty impressive! But we were a little nervous about him. Can you tell? :)

The llama pens were fun- we made friends with one. I christened him "Osama Bin Llama, Jr.". That's for you, Lindz! We also saw albino peacocks, blue peacocks, macaw's, some weird looking mini-cows, and a cockatoo that was a little cranky.

We decided the day wouldn't be complete unless we had henna tattoo's and some authentic Indian food, so while we waited in line for hennas, Jessie went and got us a meal to share. It was a big step for Angela, Shauntelle, and I because we hadn't ever tried real Indian food. We sucked it up, and most of it wasn't half bad! But it still was not my favorite. I am glad I tried it though!
Here is the product of waiting a half hour in line! Angela and I got hennas on our hands, and Shauntelle got one on her foot. They all turned out really well! They lasted a week and I really liked it. I would never get anything permanent, but it was fun to have for the time being. It reminded me of an amazing night capped off with . . . . .

BURNING THE EFFIGY!!!! It exploded into a shower of fireworks and flames all of a sudden! I just barely kept the "oooohhhh!" from flying out of my mouth when it happened! The fireworks show was pretty impressive!

I tell you what, Indians sure know how to fest it up! Nemo, our sari expert, even got our contact information. She wants us to come up and dance at the temple in Sandy. She offered to teach us the dance and dress us up so we would be "true Indians". She was so nice! It just made me realize how fun it can be learning about other cultures and religions. Props to JI, she found the festival and made it fun! Thanks, girl!

BRADEN TURNS 2!!!

Today is Braden's 2nd birthday and we celebrated with some of his favorites. Ashley is so friggin' good at doing stuff like this and incorporating people's favorite things into important days. Example: Braden loves Sesame Street, so Ash made him a Cookie Monster cake. And it was SO good! It looked just like Cookie and must have taken hours to make! Also, Braden has gotten into counting a lot these days. So his table with his cake had little decorations on it that were foam numbers. So cute. And lastly, Braden ADORES the Wii! So as a special treat, he and all his guests (family of course) played Wii games! It was a great party.

Braden, you are one special little guy. I love you so much and am so blessed to be living so close to you. You are always ready to play and run around with me. I get tired sometimes, but I have SO much fun with you! Here are some of my favorite memories of you so far:

1. I had a large purple purse that I decided you would fit quite nicely into. So I had you step into it, and I picked you up and carried you around in my purse. In revenge, you got into my wallet while we weren't looking, and pulled out all my pictures, cards, and money. Nice.
2. You had a bouncer that you absolutely ADORED! Kyle and Ash caught you falling asleep in it, but then waking up suddenly just so you could bounce some more. Oh, it was so cute!
3. When I would come over, you would answer the door. The first thing I would see was a big smile on your face and a "Ilsa!" I loved that!
4. My favorite thing right now is how excited you get when you go potty. I love the happy exclamation of "pee pee!!!" and the high fives given to anyone in the room. You are so cute.

Elder Isenbarger's Release Date!

In today's email that we get weekly from Cole, who is serving a mission in Russia, he told us his release date! He is coming home on December 23, JUST before Christmas! Woo hoo!!!! I really am ridiculously excited. It has been a long time, and it will be good to have all the family home for the holiday. Now I need to find a countdown widget to add to my blog!

Tribute to Curt Dawg

Today is Curt's berfday. And I wanted to write down some of my favorite memories of him from over the years.

1. Last Thanksgiving Curt decided to do some impromptu choreography to Trinity's constant playing of Jingle Bells on the player piano at Grammy's house. It. Was. Hilarious. I have not laughed that hard for a very long time! Check out this to see what I mean:


2. Curt used to have this weird need to mark his territory. If you went in his room, you would see Curt's name on everything. Folders, pencils, books, the carpet, carved into the desk, the dresser, etc. I can remember watching him trying to get his name that he had written in green marker out of the carpet before Mom saw it. Oh beautiful.

3. Curt and I only had one year of high school together, but I can remember being so happy to see him in the halls. He would still say hello to me, even though I was his annoying older sister!

4. Curt dancing around Kyle and Ashley's kitchen with his brand new nephew, Braden. He and Cole decided that Braden needed to start working on his dance moves at an early age.

5. Curt & Cole are the best of buds. They didn't do anything without the other during the years they were in high school together. AT ALL! Inseparable. And they fed off each other too when it came to humor. It made for some incredible family dinners and get-togethers.

6. Curt and I used to grab hot chocolate a lot of mornings before seminary. We would stop at the gas station and load up our refillable plastic mugs that we bought. It was great!

7. Curt used to get bored while waiting for nap time to be over. So he got creative and started going out on the roof to play around. Too bad Maxine Bell was a good neighbor and let Mom know.

There are too many to mention, but Curt, I hope you know how much I love you! You are fantastic and I am very privileged to be related to such a great person.

BYU vs. Oklahoma

Tonight Jessie and I decided to have friends over for a combination house warming, football season opener party. BYU had all the odds against them, and it was an absolute FANTASTIC game! The final score was 14-13, and it was a nail-biter to the very finish!

We had a lot of great friends over for tons of food and lots of loud cheering. I think we might have raised the roof off the house a few times, but it was worth it! We even taught Braden to make the touchdown signal, and do a touchdown dance!

2 Down, 11 To Go!

Jess texted me yesterday and suggested we knock off another Utah temple on our list tonight, so we headed to Mt. Timpanogos for a session. It was awesome! We got a little lost on the way, but we could still see the temple from a distance, so we kept saying, "You're never lost if you see the temple!" Loved that Conference talk. Anyways, we got there in time for the 7:00 session, but it was PACKED! There were two guys going through for the first time, and they brought along around 50-60 people with them! It was pretty crazy. But we got in the session and I had a really neat experience.

Through the session I just kept thinking about how much I love the temple and the ordinances performed there. The Celestial Room was especially beautiful, and it was really nice to be with family so I get a taste of what heaven is like.

We got lost *again* while driving home, but we had a lot of fun doing it. There were a few goofy moments and a few moments where we did or said the exact same thing at the exact same moment. Creepy . . . But we stopped at Denny's for dinner and had a great time swapping memories from our childhood. It just reminded us once again how amazing our family, especially our parents, is.

Provo and Mt. Timp down, TONS left to go!!! :)

The Mayan

Tonight I went to a work dinner at the Mayan, which is a Mexican restaurant that features a huge waterfall and pool in the middle, and every half hour people dive off into the pool for entertainment. It's a lot of fun. Tonight, however, I was reminded of a funny story . . .

I was eating my dinner when one of the divers from the restaurant came up behind us and started messing with my coworker. You know, putting pepper on her arm and pretending she was going to eat it, only grunting instead of talking, she was playing the part of a "jungle native" I guess. This started some of my coworkers on a trip down memory lane of the last time an entertainer startled me.

We were in Vegas for a work retreat and they took us to the Cirqu du Soliel show, Kaa. The show hadn't even started and there were people zooming across the theater above us on zip lines. To get us all into the setting of an Amazonian jungle, they had actors running around in loincloths, body paint, and spears. I turned to talk to a coworker, and one of these actors came up from behind me, perched on the arm of the chair, leaned forward, and grunted right in my ear. Without thinking I screamed and swung around and flailed my arm- he got smacked off the chair, and fell into the aisle and just looked at me with a dazed look on his face. The people around me were laughing uproariously, but all I could do was go beet red. Oh geez. The actor winked at me as he was getting up, but he sure as heck didn't mess with me any more!

Maybe I should have smacked the girl at the Mayan. Would make for a funny story. :)