Summertime and the living is HOT

Oh goodness, I'm getting worse and worse about updating this thing.

Summer is going great.
Six Flags was fun. We camped on the beach for a night and then stayed at a sketchy hotel room! It was pretty great. We went on all of the rides we wanted to and it was a pretty cheap trip considering.
I stayed in Yuma with the Williams for awhile afterward (and awhile before, the trip kept getting postponed due to various things including stomach flu and lack of places to stay). It was really enjoyable, his family is very hospitable.

Then I went back to Avondale and stayed there for two weeks. It was quite relaxing, kind of lonely at times since all my siblings are in Lakeside with my dad (or Boise as is the case with Wade). I got offered an acting job in a movie produced by an independent company. It was a zombie movie and it didn't pay so I turned it down. I looked up tons of jobs and volunteer opportunities but none of them seem to work (either they need it year round or I would have to go to a training orientation that is only held once a month or I need TB testing... etc etc.) So this is the first summer in 5 years that I don't have a job. I feel pretty useless. Thankfully my savings are adequate to cover my expenses.

I went back to Yuma to visit Jenkin this past week. It was fun. We floated down the Colorado River, swam 2 times, trimmed an orange tree, got DQ, hiked Telegraph Pass (almost completely and with a few wild animal scares), got muffins TWICE, saw X-Men First Class and Super 8, tried to teach Luna to swim, ate at Chile Pepper and Wildstix (wildsticks? I'm not sure how they spell it), fell asleep watching TV almost every night, walked in the wetlands (I saw an OWL!), chanced a Chinese buffet... We had a fun time.

 Now I am back in Avondale, trying to long-distance find someone with a truck to help me move my stuff out of my apartment in Tucson sometime this week... Next week Jenkin is coming to Avondale to hang out and then I'll be going to Lakeside towards the end of the week (I have a teeth cleaning and hopefully an eye appointment wootwoot). Arizona is my romping grounds, I'll have crossed the state like 3 times in one month.

Bryce Addison is in the area for part of this month, I'm REEEEEALLLLY hoping to see him :) I love him and miss him.

Kalee has written and emailed a few times, I need to write her back. Her letters and emails make my heart smile. That's the one good thing about my friends going on missions, I'll be so much more excited to hear from them when it is rare. (I love hearing from my friends now, but I forget how much I love hearing from them because it happens... Truth be told it doesn't happen very often now. But its simple to do, not much thought goes into it. A letter on the other hand.. That takes some TLC to send to a friend.)

Speaking of missionary friends. Zac is going to Kentucky, William is going to Fiji, Jenkin is going to Guatemala, Ali is going to Canada, Monte is going to SLC, and Kalee is in Peru. There are tons of other missionaries but I'm ignoring them right now. So woooohooo for friends across the continent.

My mom sent me the link to this amazing blog: check it: http://twocatsandawindchime.blogspot.com/.
She is hilarious and I really appreciate a lot of her views.

Well I am going to continue my quest for a truck and stuff. Probably watch some Scrubs or Psych.

Movies I can't wait for:
Green Lantern: this Thursday.
Harry Potter: July 15th.
Captain America: July 22nd.
Transformers: July 1st (I think).
So far this summer has had AWESOME movies. Thor was amazing, as was X-Men. Super 8 was very enjoyable also. 3 for 3. I hope the rest of the summer doesn't disappoint. (If you are wondering if Super 8 is worth seeing, there is a Harry Potter trailer before it. So the answer is yes. I almost peed my pants I was so excited.)

Finals are OVER

Ahhh. Feels so nice. I am done with my finals.
Finally.
Ha.

I am done with my Freshman year.
I love college. I didn't at the beginning of last semester.
But I get it now.
College is great.
Papers suck, studying is terrible, tests are stressful.
But the rest of college definitely makes up for it.

I did pretty well on my finals I think.
So far I know I have one B and one A.
But basically 4 more As are in the bag.
So that is fantastic.

Now I'm cleaning up my apartment so I can head to Lakeside and see my dad.
After that it is back to Tucson to pick up Jenkin's things, Avondale to drop some of my things off, Yuma to pick up Kira, and Cali for a week. WOOHOO!

I loved this semester. I have been so lucky this year.
I can't wait to come back.

Chanda C.

Packing

I packed the other day.

I teared up a few times.

I feel like I finally got really good at life, and now it is all changing again.

I have an amazing roommate who I love dearly and will miss like crazy.

An awesome boyfriend who is super fun to be around.

Good grades and interesting classes.

And now I have to pack and move back with my family.
And readjust to that life.
:( boo.
And then I'll move again back to school with different roommates in a different place.
And relearn everything.

Ahhh. Trying to be positive is hard today.
Tomorrow should be brighter though :)

The other night I watched Thor with a group of friends.Jenkin and I went and ate dinner with Bethany and Justin.
That was fun.
Thor was suuuuuper good. I very much enjoyed it.


This weekend Bethany and I dog sat for her brother. The dogs are so cute.
There is two big ones and a tiny one.
They're great dogs, very obedient.
I've had fun.
Justin and Jenkin came and visited us yesterday and today.
We went to Ikea and Yum Yum China and World Marketplace.
I got Happy Hippos and Tabasco chocolate and some raspberry cookies from Sweden or something. Mmmm.
I'm so happy.AAAAAAhhhhh. I'm going to miss this life.


Chanda C.

We the Kings

I went to a concert with Sterling, Victoria, and Jenkin tonight. Brittany showed up for a bit but then left.
We the Kings and The Cab played.
It was good, but it got boring after awhile.

Then Jenkin and I went and got Chipotle and Los Alzanes (or something like that). I love sketchy mexican food restaurants. It has fantastic carne asada fries. We split a steak burrito and an order of the fries.

So not healthy, but still delicious.

My classes are oooooooovvvvvveeeeerrrrrrrrr! Now I just have finals :P pleh.
I have a final Friday, two on Monday, and one on Wednesday then I'm done!! I can't wait.
I got an A on my oral exam in Italian :) so that was great.

This semester has been great.
Life is great.

Great.great.great.

Chanda C.

Rice Explosions

You know when you are eating something and you feel like laughing but you hold it in and then eventually it spews out of your mouth because the force and power of your laughter was greater than the force of your lips pressing against each other?

That has happened to me twice in 24 hours. I love it.

First time was with rice and the second time was with mouthwash.

Poor Jenkin was the target for these mouth explosions.

But he also was the one that made me laugh so I think he deserved it.

I went to Into the Woods today. It was fantastic. UA did a great job putting it together.

Chanda C.

Naps at 4

I took a nap today from 4-6pm.
I'm not at all tired right now.

In other news, I hurt my thumb but it is showing remarkable improvement.
And I had a turkey cranberry sandwich today which was seriously fantastic.

This week I went to a dance recital with Sara.
And a symphonic band concert with Jenkin's parents.
And I will go to a musical on Saturday with Jenkin.
I support UA Arts.

I performed my monologue today.
It went well.
I spoke too fast but I got all my lines in the right order and my professor said she liked it.

My oral exam for Italian is next week.
I have two tests tomorrow.
And then finals in two weeks.
Then I'll go to Six Flags.
Then I'll go to Avondale.
It is going to be difficult to live with my family after getting used to living with Brittany.
It potentially will be the death of me.

I love my family. But I have found that it is easier to long-distance love them.

Chanda C.

Motivation?

I've been so busy. But not really. I just haven't felt like updating my blog.

My month has been good.
Filled with fun times with friends and homework.
I'm rocking school still. Mostly. Not as much as I was earlier, but still holding on to my grades pretty solidly.
House hunting. We found somewhere. Changed our minds. Now we're probably going to stay in the complex that Amy and Kirstin live in now. Maybe get a duplex up front. That would be fun.
I saw my family.
They're doing well.
Went shooting and to Guayo's with my dad.
Just stayed at home with my mom.
I've received two letters from Hermana Jones. I love her. She makes me so happy. Her weekly emails cheer up my life. She is doing well. She makes me laugh SO hard! Oh my goodness. I want to be like her when I grow up.
Oh yeah.
JENKIN GOT HIS MISSION CALL! He is going to the Guatemala Retalhuleu mission (or something like that). He'll be speaking Spanish. He is so excited. So is his family.
That was an awkward situation. I drove him to meet his family so he could open his call. So it was this tender little Williams family gathering.....and me. But they are super nice and were very welcoming (his dad called me Jenkin's sugarmama because I have a car..... that was right after Jenkin reassured me that it wasn't awkward because I was there as his friend). His mom is from Guatemala- she seemed pretty stoked. He reports August 10th (Aaron's birthday). He is so excited. He'll be a fantastic missionary.
I have LunaBug with me this week. <3 She's so wonderful.
I did Relay for Life last weekend. With Jenkin. And Luna. It was fun. We walked for 5 hours straight. Wooh.
I have started writing a brief summary of my day and thoughts in a journal. I'm not to the point where I would call it a habit, but I'm getting better. I figure that is a good thing.
Today I took a mental health day. It was nice.
I'm going to play volleyball later tonight. I do that now. On Wednesdays. I wish I were better at volleyball. I just make a fool out of myself continually. But it is fun and I've met some cool people doing it.
I also play Ultimate Frisbee on Mondays after FHE. Also a sport I'm terrible at. But I meet cool people and get some exercise. And honestly I'm becoming better.
The AC in my apartment is turned on. That's a relief. I had resorted to sleeping in underwear and a tshirt the nights were getting so hot. That may be TMI for my blog. I'm not going to erase it though. I wear pjs now that the AC is on. Never fear.
I like watermelon a lot. But eating watermelon that isn't sweet is such a disappointing feeling. And watermelon is very deceiving. It always looks great. But doesn't always taste great. Unlike bananas, you can tell how bananas are going to taste just by looking at them. Not watermelon though... :(
Luna cuddles me at night and anytime I'm on my bed or the floor. I love it. She's so tender.
I'm probably going to room with Chloe. That is Bert's younger sister. I don't think that it will be awkward, but the possibility has entered my mind.
I have an Italian test tomorrow that I should study for.... However, I just don't feel like it. Haha.

Chanda C. :)