Raw

I've been crappy at blogging lately, but I've been rocking at emailing Tessa on her mission!  I figured I'd just copy and paste part of the letter I wrote to her.  It's a little more raw than my blogs normally are, more personable.  Life's so great :)  

  Tami came on Friday and it was so fun having her!  I just love her!  We had so much fun shopping and talking all evening Friday.  We went to dinner at Zupas and then to Cold Stone where we met up with Mary and Ryan.  When we got home we talked with Ashlee and her sister-in-law for quite a while and talked about how we wish we were as good as you at turning awkward situations onto the other people around you!  Haha!  Every time you get in an awkward situation, you are so good at getting out of it!  Example A: Your birth control shot and Toomer and Thompson.  Example B: When you farted on that date.  I literally have NO examples of getting myself out of humiliating situations.  I normally just make it worse.  haha! Anyways, we were talking and laughing our heads off!  I seriously haven't laughed that hard in quite some time!  Then Tam and I came into my room and talked for far too long!  I slept on the floor and her in my bed.  I love that us sisters all have such awesome relationships.  Seriously.  Taffy is 12 years older than me and Tami 10, and they both have come and had sleepovers with me this semester.  I'm so lucky to have my sisters as my best friends.  

  We shopped all day again Saturday.  It was so fun to shop with her because all I ever shop for is clothes, and I have done NONE of that this semester. (I'm so poor!)  We shopped for all of this fun home decor stuff and storage and home improvement stuff!  So fun!  I just dreamed of how I'm going to decorate my log cabin some day ;)  We left Provo around 3:00 and parted ways.  I went to Taffy's and she went home. 

 I went to Taf's to babysit her kids Sunday.  Her and Tone are in New Zealand and Mom was in charge of the kids.  Well Mom needed to go to Mya's blessing, so I went to get the kids up and dressed and to church and then took them to Angela's.  There's a reason why we have children one at a time.  Zero to 5 overnight probably isn't the best way.  haha!  They were really good though!  We had a little birthday party for Mariah (she turns 8 tomorrow?!)  It was fun and the kids were just so cute!  They were excited to see me, which always makes ya feel good ya know?  Us adults need to love more like kids do.  

  Anyways, I sure love ya Tess!  Sorry there's not much about school, but I figure it would be super boring to you.  My brain is going a million miles an hour about a million things right now though.  Boys, school, future teaching plans, January plans, my next trip, how I'm going to have $5 after I pay rent next month, ya know, all the things :)  I do know that my Savior loves me though.  He wants me to be happy, and he's trying to help me continue to love life!  I'm not sure what He's got up His sleeve on this next one, but it's gotta be good, I'm sure!  In Relief Society today it just really hit me that I need to just rely on him.  I'm just so dang independent that it's killing me to not feel good about what I WANT to do and that I actually NEED to do something else.  I'm going with it though Tess.  I'm taking a leap of faith!  Look out world!  Thanks for always walking by Faith.  Thanks for serving a mission.  I am just so proud of you!  You are definitely toppy on my list of awesome/best people and I feel so blessed that I get to be so close with someone as great as you!  Love you Sis!  Can't wait to hear from you!  Have the best week!!  

Love, Livi :)  

Peru!!!! .....again :)

I had the awesome opportunity to go back to Cusco, Peru.  I lived in Cusco for 3 months back in the fall of 2014, and I never dreamed I'd be able to go back this soon?!  This time I even got to take my mom!!  It was so great!  We went with our high school Spanish Club and community members and it was so fun to go with friends :)  Here are some of my favorite moments in pictures. 

The best juice in the world is found at San Pedro Market :)

 Pig head anyone??

Familia Delgado.  I lived with these sweet people the three months I was in Cusco.  I was able to go over one evening and have dinner with them.  They are so great!  

So many people on the trip brought suitcases full of clothes down to donate.  We left them with Flor, Andres, and Daniel to distribute where they see need, because they know.  I taught preschool with Flor and she is probably the most Christ-like person I have ever met.  Such a blessing to know her and I am so glad I was able to go to their home and introduce so many friends to her and her family.  

 Stairs to Cristo Blanco.  These people are troopers!

The view of Cusco from up there is fabulous!

The Plaza at night

Mom and Brooklyn in a doorway in Saqsayhuaman.  

Pano of the ruins. 

I look like this in so many pictures.  It's just incredible?!  Anyways, this guy was playing some fun Peruvian music.

The Sacred Valley coming into view. 

 Mom having a stare down with the Condor. 

 The alpaca vest that I wanted SO BAD!

 Awesome niches in Ollantaytambo.  

So many stairs!

 All of the group in Ollantaytambo. 

 The sun coming up on our hike up to Machu Picchu.  

 With my mom :) :) 

 Mom and Carol Clark.  Two amazing ladies!

 These guys are just too much fun! 

The sign of a dang good day--dirty feet.  

We just had so so so much fun in and around Cusco.  I just felt so comfortable there this time around and it was so fun to see everything that was still so familiar.  The people, the streets, the smells.  Memories just came flooding back and so many new memories were made.  I love that place.  'Til next time :)   

The Amazon

We went to the Amazon at the start of our trip.  There was a group of 14 of us.  We got to go on jungle walks, fishing, visit a village, cruise along the Amazon River, and so much more!  We stayed at Heliconia Lodge about an hour and a half out of Iquitos, Peru via boat.  The accommodations were great!   We had the best time!  Here are some of my favorite pictures.  

Mom feeding a monkey.

So picturesque.  

You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy.  Their vine lassos were the best!  

The leaf fans were very needed!

 Some cows shading up. 

These kids.  So dang cute! 

 Dinner time! 

 Carol killed us all in sapo!

 Giant lily pad

 Lunch.  They always made it look so pretty. 

 Some homes up on stilts.  These were right where we were getting off the boat in Iquitos.  

The little wooden chair on the bike was my favorite! 

The rooftops, the greenery, the sky.  

And here's a fun little video of parts of the trip :)

The Farm Next Door

I've always wanted chickens, and living next door to some boisterous roosters hasn't changed my mind yet!  I actually kind of love sharing a front yard with these crazy animals.  

These animals are these people's pride and joy.  There is always someone there watching them, and so I asked what the purpose for these creatures was.  The roosters are trained to cock fight!  How fun is that?!  I have to go to one of the fights!

The pigs are just being fattened up to eat at the next party :)

Even though the roosters are SO noisy and never seem to stop, I still think they're pretty cool.  They're so pretty too, so that's redeeming.  

I took this video at 5:11 am.  I'm telling you, they are always squawking!  I recorded this in my room with the windows closed and our fan blowing.  

Homecoming at BYU

This week was Homecoming at BYU.  So much fun!  There's a lot of fun stuff going on all week, and everyone just seems a little more excited about life.  The fun started on Tuesday when instead of devotional we had a Homecoming assembly.  It was really fun and exciting with a performance by Vocal Point (the acapella group here at BYU), and then David Archuleta.  So much talent!

Friday my parents came down and we went to the BYU Spectacular.  Here I was able to see some more amazing performances including some dance companies, choirs, the orchestra, and once again, David Archuleta.  My parents and I went together, and we were so impressed by all of the talented individuals and groups that performed.  Afterwards we went and got some blizzard's at the DQ :)

Saturday was so great!  Having my parents in town is always fun!  We started out the day with a fun bike ride on the Provo River Trail out to Utah Lake.  

The Y, the Temple, and three of my favorite people.  What a view!

After the bike ride Tess and I had our Saturday session of Stake Conference and then a kickball game.  My parents met back up with us at the kickball game (which we won!) and then we went and caught the end of the Homecoming parade.  That was fun!  Afterwards Mom, Tess, and I went to go and hit up my favorite antique store, Block 100.  It's the best you guys.  I'm pretty obsessed with almost all of the stuff in there.  We got some fun purchases, and then met my dad for lunch (he opted to go up to campus and watch some football games instead of come with us.  After lunch we headed to the Bean Museum and the Museum of Art.  Both have some pretty great exhibits up right now.  They're both free ALL year round, and if you're ever in Provo, you should go and visit one or the other.  If you have kids, definitely go to the Bean Museum.  It's full of taxidermified (is that even a word?!) animals from all over the world and is so cool!!! Finally, Tessa, Dad, and I headed to the football game.  The Cougs won, so that was good!  And the sunset was beautiful!  

This weekend I decided that I think Homecoming week would be a good time to try and come and visit my Provo.  Although I know that I don't want to live my whole life down here, this place definitely has a piece of my heart.  When I leave here, I definitely don't want to leave here for good.  I want to be able to share some of the magic of BYU and Provo with my future family.  

1st Graders Rock!

So, I've taken about a month long hiatus from blogging, and basically everything else of normal life.  The reason: I've been doing a month long practicum (field experience) in a first grade classroom in Hobble Creek Elementary up in Mapleton.  What a fun month it's been!  

I went to school every day like a teacher would, arriving thirty minutes early, but I left about an hour before school got out.  I was blessed to have an awesome mentor teacher.  Miss Johnson was so sweet and helpful.  She is one of the most patient people I have ever met and I admire her so much!  She let me take on quite a few responsibilities and it was such a great experience.  I taught the morning routine each day, which in first grade takes about an hour.  Then I would teach one or two other lessons that I had planned throughout the day as well as help with any activity that we were doing.  While teaching was fun, the kids were definitely the best part!  I love those little kids so much.  They are so patient and forgiving.  We all truly do need to become as little children.  They just captured my heart.  

Seriously, BYU's elementary education program does an awesome job of getting you prepared.  If I ever needed questions answered, someone was there to answer them for me.  They came and observed me teach lessons and gave me super helpful feedback.  I gained a lot of confidence in my teaching ability this past month, which was very needed.  I've been questioning my decision of major on and off the last year, but this experience helped remind me I'm making the right choice for now :)  

All of my education classes went on hold for the month, and today it was back up to campus.  I actually quite enjoyed it.  I also got to return to my beloved Upholstery Shop.  That place just makes me so happy.  Here's to the last (roughly) 4 weeks of school!!  

Cuscotopia!

Well folks, the time is almost here!  I fly out for my next big adventure (well, my biggest adventure probably EVER) on Saturday!  

So here's a little Q and A about what I'm about to do!

Q: Where are you going?

A: I'm going to Cusco, Peru.

Q: Is this for school?

A: No. It's not through BYU or any university and I will not be receiving any credits.  I'm going with a group called International Volunteers HQ.  

Q: What will you be doing?

A: I will be doing service with children in a setting like an elementary school, orphanage, day care, etc.   

Q: Where will you be living?

A: I will be living with a host family where I will be immersed in Peruvian culture and the Spanish language :)

Q: How long will you be there?

A: My volunteer time is 12 weeks, but I'm going to stay an extra week to make sure I do all the things I want while I'm living among Incan ruins.

Q: Are you nervous?

A: Yes and no.  I'm nervous of the unknowns (which is just about EVERYTHING!), but I'm not nervous about loving it.

Q: Are your parents nervous about it?

A: I think they are more nervous than they let on.  They are excited that I am excited to go. They're the best!

Q: Do you know Spanish?

A: A little bit.  I've taken Spanish in high school and 5 semesters of it in college, so hopefully I can conversate.

Q: Is it close to Machu Picchu? 

A: Yes!  And I'm definitely going to hike it!

(Isn't it beautiful?!)

Q: What made you decide to do this?

A: My sister Tami and cousin Camille went to Ecuador and worked in an orphanage when they were about this age, and ever since them I've dreamed of doing this!  Now is just the perfect time to do it.

Hopefully this answers some of your questions about my trip!  Most of you probably already know about it cause I'm so excited I have to tell everybody!  I feel so blessed to have the opportunity and ability to go and do this.  I can't wait to see how it all goes!  

I LOVE NYC

A while back Tess and I decided we were going to go on a trip to New York City!  Well, mainly I decided and Tessa hesitantly followed…but she followed, and that's what's important!  So, in December we had enough money from scrimping and saving and slaving away at the plasma center and we announced our big trip!  Dad didn't think we were serious. Mom was a little nervous.  Our brothers wondered why in the heck we would want to go to New York City of all places.  Our sisters were excited for us, slightly worried, and a lot jealous.  We opened the invitation up to all, but we didn't have any sure takers.  Taffy was kind enough to lend us her services as an awesome travel agent and she found us some cheap plane tickets and a hotel for a great price at a great location!  Through all the planning she caught the bug and decided to come along for the first couple of days.  We're so glad she did!  So, here's the rundown of our trip :)

Wednesday April 23rd: 

We left Cokeville around 7:15 to meet Taffy in Evanston and we headed down to the airport for our 11:59 pm flight.  The flight got cancelled, we had to rebook for a 5 am flight and we slept (or didn't sleep) in the airport.  

Thursday April 24th:

Because of some complications at the ticket counter we were running a little late, so we ran to the gate, but despite our efforts, we barely missed our flight… And yes, this candid photo is one of pure devastation.  

But, things always seem to work out and they rebooked us with a direct flight to JFK leaving at 8:30.  Thank you, sweet ticket lady!

When we got there we checked into our hotel, Hotel Carter.  This little gem of a hotel was half a block from Times Square.  The location couldn't have been better!  It was a little dumpy, but the price and location made it totally worth it!  And let's be honest, all we did in there was sleep and shower, so we didn't need anything too fancy.

Then, that night we just walked around Times Square and tried to get a little bit more familiar with our surroundings.   

Friday April 25th:

We picked up our New York Passes (a must have if you plan on doing touristy things in NYC) and headed off!  The first thing on our list was biking in Central Park.  It was amazing!  We laughed and talked and just had a ball!

Next, the Empire State Building.  We did the audio tour and learned so much about NYC.  I seriously felt like I was in the movies way up there!

Then we did the New York Skyride.  Seriously people, don't waste your time.  It's supposed to be a simulation of hang gliding over the city, but it was really horrible.  I had to close my eyes halfway through because I was so motion sick.  It took me about an hour to recover.  

That evening we went on a twilight river tour around the south end of Manhattan.  It was so much fun! The views were surreal!  

Saturday April 26th:

Our morning started out with a beautiful run in Central Park.  We really loved that place. 

Then we cleaned up and headed to Discovery Times Square where the Body Worlds exhibit was on display.  It made me a little queasy, but it was still pretty interesting.  Taffy and Tessa loved it and took their time in there exploring every detail of the human body while I chilled outside.

Then they humored me and we went to a couple museums.  First stop was the Museum of Natural History.  Then we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I loved it!  I got to see the original of one of my favorite paintings, Washington Crossing the Delaware.

We also got to see some really cool Egyptian stuff that dated back to about 2000 BC.  

Next was my long awaited trip to the Brooklyn Bridge.  I finally got to walk it, in the rain no less, and it was everything I always dreamed of :)

That night we went out to eat at a place called Stardust Diner.  It was so fun!  They entertain you while you eat some good ol' fashioned diner food.  We loved every second of it!

After dinner we headed to Madam Tussaud's Wax museum where we snapped some shots with our favorite celebrities.  It was more fun than any of us expected!

The last stop of the night was Cold Stone where we ended up enjoying ice cream 4 times throughout the week :)

Sunday April 27th:

First thing in the morning we took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  The Spirit was so strong at both places and I learned so much about how important the birth of our country was, and how important immigration was from the audio tours. 

Brooklyn from the ferry

 The Registry room at Ellis Island

When we got back we went to the 9/11 Memorial.  This was the site in NYC I was most excited to see.  The attack on the Twin Towers changed my life, and I loved learning about the details of the events that occurred that day.  So many people volunteered and helped out in a time of crisis.  Americans came together to help out in a time of terror and even though I was just a young 3rd grader, that was the first time I remember feeling proud to be an American.  Going to the memorial and the tribute museum have just made me prouder.  I love America.  

We walked around the financial district a little more and then went to a Jewish Heritage Museum that was very interesting as well.  

Then we headed uptown and saw the temple and went to the Art Students League of New York where my great grandma Minerva Teichert attended art school.  We were pretty pumped about being there.  

Monday April 28th:

Taffy headed back to Wyoming really early.  We LOVED having her with us!  I'm so glad we have such a great relationship with her even though we're so far apart in age.  We had so much fun together!  After she left, it was just the two of us in the big city!  A little intimidating, but we did pretty darn good, if I do say so myself :)

Our morning started with a beautiful run along the East River.  Isn't Tess a babe?!

Then we went and walked around Little Italy, Chinatown, and Soho and did a little shopping.

Later in the day we headed up to the Bronx and Yankees Stadium. We couldn't go inside, but it was still really cool to see it! 

We got off the subway at Rockefeller Plaza and had fun walking around there for a bit.  

We did some more shopping and just walked around Times Square and enjoyed being in the big city.  

Tuesday April 29th:

First thing in the morning we made a quick stop by Madison Square Garden.

Then we headed to the High Line.  We LOVED this!  They restored a section of the old high line railroad system that ran in Manhattan and turned it into a garden/walkway.  The views were great, the gardens were beautiful, and we just loved it.  I snapped this gorgeous pic of Tess while we were there.  

Then we headed up to the Temple.  The city is so busy and crazy, and you walk through the doors and it is so calm and peaceful.  It was so refreshing.  We performed baptisms for the dead and it was such a great experience.  The Church is true people. 

That night was the big finale: WICKED!!  We were so excited, and it definitely did not disappoint!  Those people are so talented and the story line was great!  We left speechless.  We've been talking about it and singing to the soundtrack ever since.  

Wednesday April 30th:

This was our last day and we had to check out of our hotel at 11:00, so we decided to just take a good run in Central Park.  Well, it was pouring rain!  We did it anyways and loved every second!  We were soaked to the bone.  

Then we came back to our hotel to shower and clean up, but there was no water that morning at our hotel because of a fire hydrant that was gushing water out in the street…  So, we cleaned up as best we could, checked out of our hotel, hauled our luggage to the bus stop in the rain, and said our last goodbyes to the city.  

We sure loved you New York City!  Don't worry, I'll be back :)

(If you made it to the end of this, you're a champ!  But seriously, sorry it was SO long!)