Expecto Patronum

I've been thinking a lot about Harry Potter lately (typical I know). It might have something to do with the fact that I watched all five of the movies with Mom in the last few weeks but I couldn't tell for sure. Anyway in the third movie Harry learns how to produce the Patronus charm to ward off the dementors that attack him. For the spell to work you have to have a really powerful/strong happy memory that basically forces the dementors away. I've been thinking about my most happy memory and I finally decided when I was the most happy. Get ready...

Thanksgiving of 2007 was the best family holiday I think I have ever had with my family. Tears come to my eyes when I think about how perfect that week was but one moment sticks out in particular. On Thanksgiving day we all kneeled together for family prayer. It was my turn to say the prayer and I got all choked up because I was so joyful with my family and just having the idea that we can have an eternity of thanksgiving weeks together in heaven. I don't know words cannot express how those few minutes in prayer changed my outlook on life. I feel extremely blessed everytime I get together with my family and I must say I cannot wait until the day we can all be reunited together in heaven once again without the stress of the world.
Okay now I want to know what memory you would use to keep the dementors away from you. I'm not gonna lie mine is pretty solid so dementors if you're reading now you know you have no chance of getting my soul!

Little Things

I'm sitting here at the computer in my house, on a Monday night, all by myself. I really have nothing planned tonight and I don't think there is any way for me to be more content. Today was it's usual productive day with a few little bits of heaven interspersed to make it extraordinary.
Today I got my first AP Biology test back. I had prepped myself for the worst as our teacher told us not many people did well on it. I thought Oh well I've got the rest of the semester anyway. I finally got it back I and was so excited 52/56! I had recieved one of three A's in the entire class. If I had been by myself I would have cried. Ah! I was and still am way excited about it.
Second bit of heaven came at work when I found a large basket of funsized Milkyways sitting out for us to eat.
Third and probably the bit I was counting on all day was my fantastic dinner of my two most favorite things on earth. For dinner I ate chips and homemade bean dip and salsa. Both were poor imatations of the real things made by people I dearly love but still I couldn't have been any more happy as I ate until I was stuffed of something oh so delicious.
The last bit of heaven comes with the rest of my night. I don't have anything planned. I'm already in my pj's and soon I will climb into bed to read my dragon book and watch some tv before I sleep so I can do it all again tomorrow.
Look for the little things in your life that make you happy. I'm sure if I were a more mature person I would have some more fulfilling things on my list but for now I am utterly and blissfully happy.

Six Unspectacular Things About Me

1. I really love to be alone and dictate how I want my time to be spent. I could just lay around the house all day. But still I love being busy. I think it makes the down times more exciting.

2. Acne is the worst thing in the world. I'm sorry fellow friends who suffer from it because it hurts. Honestly I've wanted to scratch my face off all weekend.

3. They just built a Sonic in Wilsonville and I just went to it. AHH! It was so delicious! Honestly I have been thinking about that Sonic burger and Cherry limeade all weekend.

4. While going to the above mentioned Sonic I was on a date. Honestly I just want to hold this boys hand SO bad. Too bad I feel he is too shy and the move to make our relationship more official will never happen. New goal: Hold a boys hand for real before I graduate high school. 8 months and counting.

5. I think half of having a beautiful singing voice is having the confidence to sing loud and proud and make it beautiful in your own way. I mean come, on very few people have truly awful voices but still I am left one of about 20 girls that actually sings in Young Women.

6. When I watch those Celebrity Lifestyle shows on VH1 I find myself getting weird about money. I get to a point where I'm like 3 million dollars isn't that much compared to the 20 million spent on another celebrity home. Then I get my little $115 check from work and suddenly things snap back into focus.

In A Perfect World

Being the lowly girl of seventeen that I am I will not be able to vote in the next election. I doesn't matter really that much because I already have my canidates in mind. This, in my eyes, would make for the perfect P and VP.

I want to know if any of you have the perfect people for our new P and VP

Disappointment

I thought tomorrow was a payday. Turns out it isn't. Suddenly the weekend doesn't seem as exciting.

Bless the Monday's That Go By Quickly

Today was such a good quick day that you could hardly call it a Monday. Perhaps I am getting use to this school thing or maybe I was just busy enough that things went quick but it was very nice. Let me give you a little run down of my day.
5:18am---rise and shine Mallory it's time to wake up
6:10am---I better be out of the house or I will for sure be late for seminary
7:20am---Jazz Choir (actually really fun and probably one of the favorite parts of my day)
8:20am---Study period. I'm not assigned to a class so I do homework/study and stuff
9:26am---Organic and Biochemistry. I am really suprised how much chem I remember from sophomore year.
10:28am---Fiber arts. I will learn to knit and right now we are working on batiks. A really good social period.
11:30am---Lunch time! I usually eat lunch with my friend Michelle and a lot of the time we go home to her house for lunch.
12:10pm---Symphonic Choir. Really a ton of fun. This year I am singing alto which is new because she thinks I will give the altos a nice rich tone.
1:06pm---Ap Biology. A lot of work. I love biology but I still do homework for this class everynight. It's strange
2:08pm---Advanced Literature or contemporary novels. I love this discussions we have in this class. The only negative I have about this class is this one stupid girl likes to rag on Stephanie Mayer. I don't tell people I love twilight.
3:10pm---Schools out!
3:26pm---I clock in at work where I file papers. I really enjoy the people at work.
5:04pm---I'm on my way home!
The rest of the night consists of dinner and homework and if I'm lucky a little relax time. Suprisingly I am still doing all right and I can't complain about too much. Tonight I had a meeting about my rugby-disneyland trip and my choir-new york trip. Oh I am so excited! I am going to make HSM:3 look boring. hahaha

My How the Time Flys

Four years of High School. Four years of ugly ID photos to prove it.

WHOOO! I'm finally a senior!!!

Party Animal

The rumors are true. I did have a party this weekend. I don't know if you could really call it a party but more or less a gathering of a few kids all in the pursuit of something to do on a saturday night. I did practice my skill at the culinary art of cupcake making. Many thanks go to Nat Pat who is the master maker and who taught me some of her skills. Here is a look at my lemon cheesecake with blackberry puree and lemon cheesecake with coconut cupcakes.

The other thing that has filled my last weekend of freedom has been the reading of the book Socrates Cafe. It's a big change from the teen fiction I've been reading all summer but I have to say I'm enjoying it. This book is not long but it is full of so much that I often find myself rereading things to better understand. It's a philosopy book and the ideas that are proposed in it are really interesting. The whole premise is about the socratic method which is a way of thinking well a way of questioning really. I don't know just reading it makes me think of things I've never thought of before. There are ideas about friendship, self worth, silence, love. Things that you know about but things that you have never really thought about in that much depth because you feel them more than think them. It is really cool to actually read the dialogues that provoke questions in your life that will in turn lead to more questions but still somehow you feel that you reach some sort of an answer in the end. Well anyway if you want a book that will challenge you a lead you to some thought this is the book for you.

Jeans and Junk

Well since my summer is coming to an end and I am once again the only child left at home I figured it was time for an update. We had a whirlwind trip down to Utah and the two words to describe it would be Divine and Stressful. I got to do everything I wanted which included seeing Gabbe and my lovely cousin Rachel, help set up Kendall's new room, see G+G, eat at the Roadhouse, eat smothered burritos, stay the night at Alaina's, and play with that awesome baby Adrie. I also got to do some other things that I wasn't expecting like buying a nightgown from Victoria's Secret (lets just say it's taken comfort to a whole new level) and dye my shadow box black, again.

The first thing I did the day after we got home was go and buy a pair of designer jeans that I have been saving for all summer. If you have not experience the pleasure of wearing a nice pair of jeans you are missing something great. Words cannot describe the luxury of a pair of jeans that fit oh so nicely. So without further ado I give you my new People's Liberations jeans. I got them for a steal.

The next day my life started as a responsible adult. For the last three true days of summer I got to work. Hooray for growing up. It wasn't all bad. Payday (today) was awesome.
I did get to go mini golfing on a priest-laurel activity.

Farewell summer. I will miss you.

Missing

I feel like so much has happened in the last eight months but I still wish almost everyday we could be together. I love you family. This was honestly one of my favorite parts of this year.

Shoes and Stuff

Honestly I have a few true obsessions but once I get started on them it is hard to stop them! I love shoes. I love shoes so much and I'll say it loud and proud. The greatest part about my shoe obsession is that I often buy shoes that my sisters don't fully appreciate.
Exibit A---My gladiator sandals.
True they buckle three times on my leg but I love them! Why follow the trends if you only follow them halfway right? They are silver with the coolest buckles ever and I am sure I will maybe once in my life see someone with the same ones. Stay tuned for my much awaited senior pics and maybe you will catch a glimpse of them.
Exibit B---My moccasin boots.
They are new and they are the black boots I have been dreaming about for quite a while now. Once again they are a little over the top but I am sure that I will never be caught wearing them the same time as someone else. They have two rows of black suede fringe and white and turquoise bead designs on top. They are SO awesome!
So all I have to say is I'm okay if you don't love my shoes. I am just way excited that I am happy with my self that I can wear shoes that are so one of a kind. Fashion is delightful and my favorite part is that it is okay to be a weirde sometimes.

Past, Present, & Future

It has been a not really eventful summer so I think a quick recap of a few things is in order.
PAST:
Girls Camp. My last year was fun as always but I was missing a few important people in my life. I had a good time getting to know my friend Michelle better and I learned that nine 13 year old girls are a few too many. I think the hike was one of my favorite parts (weird I know) but more for the socializing part rather than the hiking part. I loved running all the way down the steep trail which seems to have become a ward tradition. All in all by the end of the week I was ready to say goodbye to my girls camp years.


PRESENT:
Alaina and Adrie left this morning. The house feels empty without Adrie screaming around. Not really screaming but just making noise in general. I am currently realizing how much I need to get done today and knowing that there is no way it will all get accomplished because it's a SYTYCD night. I burned myself for the first time EVER on the oven. It's okay...don't freak out or anything I just burned myself on the wire rack. My thumb is all pink. Adrie looked so funny eating breakfast this morning.


Future:
(this is the exciting part)
I finally started working this summer. A lady in our ward has asked me for some help with their small business (filing and stuff) and on Friday I will start training to work at the Women's Clinic with Kendall. I am getting ready for my senior year of High school where I will be in Jazz choir, the treasurer for the Symphonic choir, and have early release. Travel plans for the year include Seattle for Jazz choir, Disney land for Rugby, Eugene, Oregon for model UN, and New York for Symphonic choir. Breaking Dawn comes out on friday. Harry Potter 6 movie comes our in 114 days. Twilight movie December 12. And who could forget HSM3 (thanks nat) Life is great and it keeps getting better. I am so blessed to have all that I do and I am very very very excited for the future! I just have to somehow manage to muddle through the present.

My Fourth of July

Here we are a whole five days after the fourth and here I am sharing it with you. Better late than never I guess. The weekend was lovely. Joshua came down for Washington play with us and it was a nice addition to our little family. Friday morning we went off to see Hancock. Of course anything with Will Smith is bound to be good. The movie was pretty good not my fav but still entertaining. Here we are in the car. Mom refused to look for her picture.


For the first time EVER M&D bought us fireworks. Kendall assured me they only did it because Josh was there and I'm pretty sure she was right. We had a blast (haha) lighting off these fireworks. We let the piromaniacs in all of us let loose. Our favorite thing to do was read the name of the firework and then analyze how the name fit the fire show. It was funny.


Finally how can you forget our bonfire? We enjoyed burning what use to be our hot tub deck, making smores, and generally just smelling like smoke. The evening was complete and my patriotism was renewed. I love America!

If Life Could Still Be So Entertaining

Little kids are so weird. I just watched 6 children throw water bottles up into the air, run after them (with screams), and then throw them again(with more screams). The loudest part was when the water bottles started exploding their water all over the place. Soone after that kids were no longer throwing them up into the air but chucking them at the ground to try and get them to explode. It kept them entertained for atleast 30 minutes.

Summer Stories

WHoo! Summer! I am having a great time being out of school but I still feel like I am super busy. I turned 17 and it's weird that I actually feel so much older. Kendall was a little bit jealous.



The weather here has been phenominal! The day school got out Michelle, Alyssa and I went out to lunch and had our first lunch together as seniors.



Playgroup is going and I guess it's alright. I still wish I had a job. I am working hard to stay productive this summer and that includes reading tons of books so if you have any suggestions I am open to them. I'm currently reading my first lds romance novel and I don't think I like it very much. The girl crys all the time! My new favorite song is I'm Yours. It's the new Jason Mraz single and it is SO good!

I have so enjoyed getting to play with Kendall this summer. Favorite times include watching LOTR and going to Wal-Mart looking like white trash. We so enjoy anything that has to do with magic and any thing that is funny. I love 17 amd summer! I am having a great time.

I'm Sorry It's Been So Long

I just don't have any motivation to blog. It seems like too much work! So while I gather my thoughts I have this for you to ponder. When Natalie was here living with Kendall and me I went outside to check the mail. Our mother had been digging in the dirt, because that is what yard people do, and in the bottom of one of the holes I found this.

Meet my friend the mole. Doesn't his coat look beautiful! Kendall wouldn't let me touch it but it looks so soft! What is up with it's ugly little nose and those feet digger pattle things on the front are disgusting.

List

Things to be happy about:

I am now 17 Whooo!!!!
I am treasurer for symphonic choir next year.
I am in Jazz Choir next year!!! AHHHHH!!!!
I get to go to Utah tomorrow.
No more school until Tuesday.
Natalie is in town.
Did I mention I'm 17?
Kendall and I haven't been fighting like we usually do.
I think it's because I'm 17.
Arrested Development is SO funny
So you think you can dance starts on Thursday!!!
I'm in Jazz choir.
I have a tan line from the actual sun.
Only one more year left of high school.
I'm friends with Mom.
Adrie is possibly the cutest baby ever.
I have not been this excited in a long time.
I made JAZZ CHOIR!!!

Three Cheers for the Great Life

Life has been so exciting lately and still I cannot get the motivation to blog!
First and most importantly my rugby team ranked second in the region. That means we are second out of 22 teams! It is amazing. I had a blast going to Washington last weekend to play. The championship game was super physical against the Amazons from Sacramento, CA. Thanks to Alaina who took some amazing pictures.

After the game I was lucky enough to get a Black Angus dinner. So delicious.

Alaina and Adrie came up to Oregon last week and it was so great to be together. Seriously is Adrie not the cutest kid ever. Well I think so. I love being friends with my sisters. Everytime I am with them I love them even more.
Skip foward past a regular boring week and you get to the weekend. I got to go and visit Gabbe in Newberg this weekend and as always I had a blast! One other suprise.

I was ready for a little change.
Happy Mother's Day! I love you all!

We WON!!!

Our fifth year as state champion. Man it feels good. Regionals are next weekend in Washington. If we win both games we will go to Nationals. Please bless we win both games. I have a few more beautiful bruises to add to my collection.
Before the game:
Fierce

After the game:
Gabbe refused to touch me

Having Kendall, Gabbe, and Mom&Dad there was a blast. I can't wait for Alaina to be here next weekend.
The weather was beautiful, I couldn't have asked for a better day. I do have an awesome sock tan though.

Gabbe, Movies, Rugby and Oregon

Another awesome weekend in Oregon! Gabbe came friday night and stayed with me. She's gone now and life doesn't seem the same with her gone. We had a ton of fun watching movies and tv. Saturday was the quarter-final rugby game for state and our coach chose me to be captain! AHHH! It was so crazy scary and such a good feeling at the same time. We played awesome and it felt oh so good. The weather here is CRAZY. One second it was sunny and then the next five minutes it was hailing pea size pellets that stung on our bare skin but never mind we still won 70 some to 5. Today was the semi-final game. I didn't play but my parents were lovely enough to let me go and watch and we won again! You guys have no idea how psyched I am to go to state again. Next Saturday at 12:30 at Delta park we will once again play Canby to contest for our fifth straight state championship. I think you all should come and cheer us on. This is one of my awesome bruises from this weekend.