Even though I'm back home now, I'm still going to address this post to you... just to keep with tradition.
Flat Stanley enjoyed his time in Provo, although I feel as if I could have let Stan do more with me. I DID take pictures though, and there were other pictures that I did not post on this blog that I am sure you will like to have.
I guess I slept too much on the car ride home, because the time just flew by and we didn't get any cool pictures. I guess that's what you get when you've spent the past week on scant amounts of sleep... you just crash at the end.
Stan would like to thank you for letting him come to Provo...
And I would like to thank you for sending him to me. It was a fun little project, and it definitely gave me something to blog about!
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And so ends the Adventures of Flat Stanley.
It was fun while it lasted...
And now I'm home!
Full steam ahead for the wedding plans!
And less than 4 weeks to go until I see Doug again.
(I miss you!)
It's hard to believe our wedding is only a little more than a month away...
Wow!
Time flies, doesn't it?!?!!
Flat Stanley survived the night at Doug's house just fine.
I finished cleaning my apartment and packed everything up, and now my room is completely empty (other than the beds and desks).
Once I got to Doug's house, I retrieved the naughty little stow-away from the bag that he hid in, and then Doug and I took him with us for a short walk up in Rock Canyon, which is just behind the Provo Temple. We did not hike very far, just about 10 minutes in (if even that), but there was still a great view of the valley.
The mountains are so bare! So different from the mountains we have near Fresno that are covered with trees... but the mountains around Provo are still cool!
Before I knew it, Stan and I were packed up in my friend Katie's car, and I was saying goodbye to Doug. I won't be seeing him for 4 weeks... but I get to see you guys tomorrow! I will probably see you before you even read this!
It's hard to think that there's about a month until the wedding. So. Weird.
But I'm very excited.
What a semester! And what wonderful times are ahead!
We're staying at Katie's aunt's house for the night. She lives in St. George, and they have a pretty good view of the city. I'll have to see if I can remember to take a picture of the scenery before we leave tomorrow morning. Well, I am TIRED. I got three hours of sleep last night... that's what cleaning and packing does to ya, I guess!
More will be added to this post later. I'm watching a movie, and it won't be done till after midnight... but I wanted to be sure that this post was registered for "Friday" not "Saturday". I'll post when the movie is done.
LATER........
Okay Jenna.
So, I've been packing ALL day today, so I haven't had much time for anything else. I finally got my things loaded into a car and over to Doug's house (all my stuff is staying there until we get married and move in to our apartment.)
Once everything was unloaded, I watched Inception with Doug and my roommate Allison.
Once that was done, I was planning on finishing my cleaning, and then taking Hipster pictures in my empty room with Flat Stanley.
And THEN I realized that someone decided to sneak away for the night.
Sneaky little Stan snuck into one of my bags that I was taking to Doug's house, and so now he's over there for the night. So... Stan is spending the night at Doug's house. He's by himself though because nobody knows he's over there except me, so hopefully he won't get too freaked out about being by himself.
In any case... I had to take a Hipster photo by myself. But it's more hipster to put a photo on a Flat Stanley blog when Stan isn't even in the picture. I mean, it's super unusual. You probably haven't heard of it.
It was my last day of work for the semester today!
Stan got to check out where I work, and he thought it was a bit interesting. Nothing too fancy, but still...
Here's Stan at the bottom of the spiral staircase that I climb everyday to get up to where I work at.
And here is the front of the store!
However, I spend more time working at the Subway Island that's next to the main store. We open it when it's super busy. Stan got a picture in front of it when it was closed already.
Fun fact: our Subway here in the Cougareat of BYU is the busiest Subway in the world. It sells more items than any other Subway. And I work there! Wow, don't I feel cool...
Now I really need to get packing. I did not end up packing like I should have today, so I think that once I post this blog entry, I'll do a bit so that I do not have to do it all tomorrow morning.
Before I know it, we'll be back in Fresno! Stan is excited for all the things he'll see on the trip home. He'll get to take pictures in Vegas! Whoo hoo.......
I was rather busy today... I had a test at 7-9 in the morning, then I studied for another test and took half of it, then I worked for 3 hours, then I took my dance final, then I returned home and finished the second half of my test and turned it in online... and finally, I crashed on my bed and took a well-needed nap.
Needless to say, Stan did not really do much with me today.
He gave me a high-five for finishing, though! And now I'm done with finals!!!!
I start packing tomorrow, so Stan and I are planning on rocking out to music while I do. I also have my last shift of work, so Stan will also be getting a back-stage tour of where I work!
We'll try to take more pictures, because I am sure you think that seeing pictures is more fun than reading words.
Doug and I had dinner with Uncle Potato-Head, and Stan wanted to come along!
We ate at this place called Cafe Rio.
Personally, I think it's better than Chipotle!
I always get a huuuuuuge chicken breast taco salad when I go there. (And when I say always... I mean all 3 times that I went there. Actually, one of the times I might have had pulled pork instead of chicken... but I always get a salad. SO good.)
*Fun fact: Cafe Rio is what Doug and I had on our first date. Awwwwww, how cuuuuuuuute!!!!!
It was fun to see Eric! He says hello to you and the family :)
Before I say anything else, I would just like to point out that THIS IS MY 100th BLOG POST! Wow, what a landmark... I must say, I really enjoy this blogging business. My blog may not be "cutesy" like some other girls' blogs are, but I sure do have a lot of fun writing on it and then looking back at what I write.
Stan got to come with me to a BBQ tonight for the very last Family Home Evening activity that I will ever attend in this ward. We went to the home of the second counselor of the bishopric for the activity. They had hens in a little chicken coop, and Stan wanted to be sure to grab a picture of it.
While Stan laughed at the chickens, I was more interested in the little waterfall that they have in their backyard. I love it when there are landscaping elements that are not finely trimmed hedges and precise rows of planted flowers. Trees, rugged bushes, waterfalls and ponds, walkways with little rustic benches... I love it. I have seen some cute landscaping here in Provo.
The house is located on a hill that overlooks the Provo valley. Isn't it a great view? Stan insisted that we take a picture of this as well. If he likes great views like this, then I am almost tempted to have him "hike the Y" with me. (We hike up to this big white "Y" that is located on the mountain right by BYU.) There is a fairly good view from there...
I had a final at 7 AM this morning... and now I have 3 finals left. All of which are scheduled for/due on Wednesday. Finish those, pack up, and before I know it I'll be on my way home! Stan's excited to see you in a week!
It is Sunday, and so Stan is taking a well-needed rest. He'll be back again tomorrow though!
In other news, Pottermore is finally open to the whole public!
And my first final starts tomorrow at 7:00 in the morning!
Doug and I made pizza today. And had ice-cream. And lay outside in the sunshine. He read... I took a nap. And it was my sister-in-law-to-be's birthday today. And my last day of church with this ward.
Last but not least, I got to hold a gecko. He belongs to my friend Larissa. She's from Germany.
Here's a picture of the little... guy... girl... ?????? (we don't know if it's a boy or girl haha)
Well, time to go do a little bit more studying for the test I have to take tomorrow!
I had a bridal shower today! My friends came to celebrate me getting married. We had food and played games... and I got some pretty cool things... so Stan wanted to get pictures with a few of them. A lot of the presents were even bigger than him!
Do you recognize this? Mommy has one of these, and now I have one too! Stan isn't even half as big as it.
Movie night! Complete with popcorn! You know how much popcorn I eat when I'm home... and did you know that Stan has NEVER had popcorn??!?! I was so surprised! We need to fix that...
Aaaaaand since Doug and I will be going to Disneyland, Doug's sister Susan got me a mickey mouse hat with a veil on it that I can wear while I'm there. Stan loves Disney, and so do I!
I thought that I would be taking way cooler pictures with Stanley now that my classes are done. However... I did not take any pictures with him today. So today, there were no adventures for Flat Stanley. None whatsoever. However, I think there will be a picture or two tomorrow, and definitely some on Sunday, so have no fear!
Oh, and I got into the play I auditioned for! Yay, my first play since I finished Big River in my senior year of high school over 2 years ago...
Flat Stanley says hi. He's excited to see you again in a week or so. I still don't know the exact day that I'm coming home. But we shall see!
So... I'm not gonna lie... Stan and I did not really have any adventures together today. I had work, then Doug and I went to dinner and Stan did not come along...
That's okay though. It was the first "reading day" today. Reading days are the two days right before our final tests for our classes start. We use those days to study. So here's me and Stan, hunkering on down for the evening. I am also sitting and waiting for the email that will if I got a role in the play that I auditioned for. Stan's cheering me on! He's so sweet. :)
Keeping our fingers crossed!
Waiting.
Pillows, comfy clothes, messy hair, candy, and all.
Just... waiting.
Today was my last day of classes! You'd think that we would do something special to celebrate... but we did not. However, Stan and I noticed this really pretty tree when we walked home. The flowers are purple! I've never seen trees like this before! Well, I suppose I have, but I've never noticed it before.
So Stan wanted a picture with the pretty flowers. And all the other colorful trees/flowers that we pass by on the walk home from school. The BYU campus is rather pretty in the springtime... enjoy!
These are the purple flowers. They look more pink in this picture...
but they're actually light purple.
And the tree looks like this! Only more purple-ish.
And it's bigger. I only got part of the tree in the photo.
Yellow!
White flowers that are pink before they bloom
Light pink
Dark pink
These tulips are so pretty!!!!!!
You can see some pink and yellow tulips in the back, along with daffodils.
Purple!!!
This campus is so pretty.
If only Flat Stanley could see it during the fall...
Robert Seely from VOCAL POINT! He sings the bass!
(Aaaaaaand the flash from the camera made my face look weird. Meh.)
In any case... Whoo!!!!!!! Yay for Vocal Point members!
Robert is famous. He and the rest of Vocal Point were on tv last fall for The Sing-Off on NBC. We just had our own Sing-Off here at BYU this evening, and Robert was one of the judges. Two previous members of Vocal Point - Paul Bodily and Grant Zabriskie - were the other judges. It's too bad McKay Crockett couldn't have been a judge... Stan really wanted to meet him. I've chatted with him more than once. He's super nice.
Well, now Stan can say he's met someone famous who's been on a tv show!
Check out Robert, rocking out on the bass in this video from The Sing-Off. He even has a little bass solo in there! His voice is so deep!!!!
And for the record... Every Little Step is one of my favorites that they sang on that show.
Flat Stanley has officially been here for a week now! He's finally getting used to this weird world that we call Provo. I only have two more days of classes: Tuesday and Wednesday... then maybe Doug and I can take Stan on some fun adventures.
We had a Ward Talent show today. Doug and I sang a song called The Prayer. For some reason, I cannot get it to upload directly onto my blog, so perhaps you can watch it on Facebook. Tell mommy to use Johnathon's account. I think the performance went really well... if I do say so myself.
In any case, Stan really wanted to be in on the action.
So guess what we let the little rock star do?
He has a real talent for drumming, that's for sure! We should let him be in a band. Go Stan, go!!!
Oh... and I'll be home in about 2 weeks, give or take a couple days. I still do not know the exact day I'll be coming home. We'll see.
But in the meantime... Stan and I have plenty of things to do!
Stan was a little sad that he couldn't be back home for Easter, but we still made sure he had some fun. Since we already did 2 Easter egg hunts yesterday, I decided to show Stan what it was like to dye eggs. He thought it was so cool! He decided his favorite color is green (since he wears a lot of green), so he really liked all the eggs that were colored green.
Here's Allison helping him out...
And Donnie & Emilee being... well... strange. They make Stan laugh though, so that's good!
It was a good Easter. I hope your Easter was super fun too, Jenna!
Lots of love... from Stan, Doug, and I!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
As for the rest of my readers...
I hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter Sunday. Hopefully, you all kept in mind the whole reason why we celebrate Easter.
I know that my Savior Jesus Christ died for me and was resurrected and lives in eternal glory and splendor. He is risen! He is wonderful and loving! He is the gateway to my exaltation! I'm thankful for His atoning sacrifice and the opportunity that I will have to kneel at His feet in gratitude someday.
We kinda celebrated Easter a day early. This morning, Stan came with me on an Easter egg hunt that my Relief Society put together. Yum yum, candy!!!
Then, Stan came with Doug and I to see The Hunger Games. It was a good movie, and Stan was super excited to watch it. Here we are in the movie theatre! (Eewww, I don't look good in movie theatre photos!)
Then, we had a Ward Party in the evening out at this barn that our Bishop owns. Stan got to ride a... "horse"... and we had yet another Easter egg hunt! Two in one day! We were booking it!
We don't have any particular plans for Easter tomorrow other than church... so we'll see what things we can find to do. Perhaps Stan can give you a tour of our apartment! He's been here long enough to know where everything is. We'll see what happens.
Stan got to see snow today! Even though it is April and got up to 70 degrees a few days ago, it snowed this morning. I told Stan that he could take a picture with the snow once classes were done and I got off work... but it was all melted again before any pictures could be taken.
However, Stan and I got to learn a Haka dance today!
Haka dances are war dances done by tribes. They do them before wars and battles, and they also do them before rugby games! Rugby is a sport that is kind of like soccer and football.
Here is the class doing the Haka, and then Stan got a picture with the lady who was teaching it.
Also, (if you want to watch it) here's what a rugby Haka dance looks like.
Later, Stan came with Doug and I to go ice skating at the Seven Peaks Ice Arena here in Provo. The 2002 Olympic Ice Hockey games were held in this arena, and now we all get to use it to skate. Doug plays hockey here sometimes.
Stan liked the ice. He looked like a natural!
Go Flat Stanley, go!!!
He then joined us at a Divine Comedy show. We got free glow-sticks!
Here's the whole room of people with glow-sticks, and then me, Stan, and Doug with glow-sticks.
Do you remember anything about Divine Comedy? Just to refresh your memory... they made this video. And lots of other videos. And we got to see them live. And it was funny.
Yay for glow-sticks, laughter, skating, and Haka dances!!!!!
Tomorrow should be fun too!
I have decided to address all my future Flat Stanley posts directly to you, since you're the whole reason that Flat Stanley is visiting me in the first place. Hopefully, it will make it more fun for you to look at Stan's adventures if I'm directly talking to you in my blog posts.
Stan likes Provo so far, but he hasn't gotten to see much of it yet. This week has been busy with projects for school, but we have some fun plans for the weekend. Stan is excited, and so am I!
Today we did not do anything too special. I tried out for another play while he sat there in my backpack, waiting to see how I did. He came with me to my singing practice too, and then my roommate Allison wanted to make cookies for me for a late birthday present, so we made no-bake cookies.
Believe it or not, Stan had NEVER heard of no-bake cookies before!
So I just had to show him what they were.
He likes them.
A lot.
I'm gonna have to hide the plate so he doesn't eat more during the night.
We have some fun things planned for the weekend, so keep your eyes peeled for those posts.
Oh... and Stan says "Hi!"
We took things up a notch today, and Flat Stanley got to witness some sword fighting! Things were getting a little intense, but Stan handled it just fine. (I'm gonna call him Stan now. It's quicker to say and type. Yay for nicknames!)
Just watching wasn't good enough for him though. He was just dying to get in on the action... so I let him bring out the broadsword.
These things are heavy... I've never gotten to work with one. I've only worked with these. Stan looks like a pro though!
He also cheered me on as I auditioned for a play today.
The Legend of Sleepy Hallow... it's a Young Company production. In other words, we perform the show for elementary school kids. Ii would be so much fun! Stan wanted pictures with the auditioners, but I told him it would be too unprofessional. Now I wish I had let him do it because he seemed a little sad. Maybe if I get callbacks, he can get a picture with them.
It's been too long since I've been in a legit play. 2 years, to be exact. College just keeps me too busy!
Today was a rather relaxed day for Flat Stanley and I. He joined me in my Directing Fundamentals class and was able to witness the performance of my first ever directing project!
I got to co-direct a scene for my final project in this class. I was worried that my teacher would tear it apart. He is rather picky when it comes to directing... but when he called us over to get feedback, the first words out of his mouth were, "I was really really really really excited about this scene."
!!!!!!!!!!
And he had only one small critique to make. The rest was praise.
SEE???!?!? I CAN direct! I was a little worried...
And Flat Stanley got to witness it all!
He even got a shot with the lovely Beth, who was a star actress in another scene. Here they are on the NELKE theatre stage, on the set of another students' directing project. Lovely.
I think Flat Stanley is feeling slightly homesick. The first day away from home is always a little hard... and so to make him feel better, my roomies and I invited him to have a sleepover with us tonight. In our living room. With all our mattresses squished side-by-side.
