I Put on My Blue Suede Shoes as I Boarded the Plane...

...Touched down in the land of the cactus trees in the middle of the blazin' heat.  Okay that is quite enough of my terribly written lyrics to 'Walking in Memphis.'

This passed week I had the wonderful opportunity to go see my family!!! I flew to Mesa Thursday night and my family was there waiting at the airport:) I felt so special.  Everyone looks great and so grown up.  Little Caleb lost a tooth and is just about as "black as a berry from ridin' on the prairie," as Grandma DuRee would say.  They are all so tan! I glow next to them... :/ Bummer. 

Because they all moved in May, it was so weird that I was just seeing the city and house for the first time.   The house is so so huge and gorgeous!!! But mom swears that so much is wrong with it. hahaha.  Maybe I just haven't been there long enough to notice. and the pool in the backyard is great! We went swimming that night and watched Bryson jump off of the wall that separates our house from the neighbor's house right into the pool.  That scared me a bit.  Then he found a baby scorpion.  Fantastic.  I will never walk outside without shoes on in Gilbert because scorpions are scary.  Very Scary.  Earlier this Summer Dad even got stung by one and still hasn't gotten feeling back in his hand.  Gilbert is a beautiful place, besides the scorpions, and the heat. Holy Hades! It is so very hot--and I wasn't even there during the day! The next morning we drove to California.  Sticking 7 of us in a car for 13 hours will definitely provide a lot of bonding time, like sleeping hahah and sharing new music, and chitchatting about what's new in Colorado:) but oddly enough, it wasn't enough bonding! 

Camilla and I, the BYUidaho fans, on the road trip :) I love her!!

On Friday night my grandparents came to my Uncle Mark's house for dinner and Grandma showed me the quilt she made for my graduation/marriage gift.  It is huge and goreous, with pinks and purples and flowers.  "Stitched with Love," she said, because she seriously stitched everything by hand.  Incredible:) I also showede my Grandpa my portfolio I brought and he studied the pieces for a bit...I always feel awkward when people look at my work because I never know what they really think and I worry that they don't like it.  oh Well.  Grandma gave me the first painting she ever did as an adult. It is of a flower and it is very pretty.  I love it.  She also gave me a painting of some pigs that her dad did on the back of a cornflake box.  It is so good!  I had no idea artistness ran in the family on this side too.

Saturday we went to the Trout Farm because Bryson needed to catch some fish for his scouting badge.  That was so nasty! I love fishing but I don't like to kill the fish.  It is sad and gross, but there was a rule.  No throwing the fish back.  So... I caught one and yuck! I felt like a murderer especially because I figured we probably would not get around to eating them because none of us even really like fish besides my dad. 

YUCK YUCK YUCK!!

He was trying to flip flop out of my hands..

Then, we went to Columbia! We go there every time we go to California.  It is like a small pioneer town type of thing with little shops and great ice cream and sarsaparilla.  

This girl is so pretty :) I love her

Ice cream....never gets old.

Silly Daddy

Columbia with Mommy and Megan

Sunday we went to Hughson Ward, where my mom was raised and I grew up in that ward for a while too.  Lots of the same people, always surprised to see how much the family has grown up and stuff.

Monday we went to Turlock Lake, a gorgeous lake in the middle of no where.



My friend Sarah and her boyfriend came and we had a great time catching up.  We went to the boat docks and jumped off of them and swam around and it was just such a great day! Later, we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the reunion and played games and ate amazing food. I taught Caleb and Lydia how to make volcanoes out of cups, food coloring, baking soda, and vinegar.  It was awesome!! They were amazed.  So cute :) Grandpa gave the Family Home Evening lesson out on the lawn.  He told us stories about his side of the family.  We always hear about Grandma's side, and never Grandpa's so it was really really great to hear him talk about his family. 

Tuesday we went up to Pine Crest.  I remember when I was a little kid we used to go camping there all the time.  We used to play in the shore and get the chocolate ice cream cones from the little snack shack.  This time, we hiked all around the lake, a total of 4 miles.  Bryson and my Dad jogged practically the whole way.  That is what crazy looks like.  Caleb, Megan, and I enjoyed the lengthy pace.   We also rented a paddle boat--let me just tell you a little secret before you go rentin' paddle boats-- it is a SERIOUS work out.  My legs were like jello afterwards and so so sunburned.  Dad also took us out on a little motor boat he rented. Lydia (5 I think) practically forced me to jump off by pushing on my bum.  It was adorable, but I was terrified.  Something about jumping off into the unknown is not appealing to me.  I can jump off docks because I know that the dock will be there when I come up and I can easily get right back out.  Boats are very different. I would have regretted it if I didn't jump off though, and I knew that.  Afterwards, I got a chocolate ice cream cone just like old times :)  That night we took turns shooting and the little ones rode on uncle Mark's tractor.  We also did skit"s" haha.  My family put together the cutest skit and I can honestly say that because the one other skit that we thought we were going to see was just my Uncle VV announcing that his skit was having my mom do karaoke. That was pretty funny.  I don't think that I have ever actually seen my mom dance like that.  It was awesome!! 

 Me and my favorite 13 year old stud brother :)  What a handsome guy! I love him so much 

Megan and Caleb after the long hike.  Way to go Bubs!

My last day in California I walked over with the kids to see the alpacas next door.  Llamas? I have no idea what the difference is.

 

Llama! Alpaca?...hmmm

Have you ever seen a Llama on two legs? That is okay, I hadn't either..

Caleb!!!

Then, home sweet home. :) Matthew picked me up from the airport and we had one of those moments that you only see in movies..and airports I guess.  Coming up the escalador, seeing him behind the rope, running, and a hug.  He's a sweetie. ..and this is for my Dad: "we are really good friends;)" I had the greatest time in California seeing my family that I miss so much. See you guys again soon.  I am so making the most of being home :) Trying to pack in as much stuff to do that I can in about 3 weeks.

You'll Never Know If You Don't Give It a Shot

I have come to appreciate the principle of trying things even if you have no idea how they will turn out!

At the end of my Junior year in Highschool I was debating in my head whether or not I would take AP Studio Art my Senior year.  I decided against it and the first week of my Senior Year I decided to change my mind and switch from Art 3 to AP with out actually thinking too much about it. 

Ap Art was so hard and took up the majority of all my time. I spent hours and hours in the studio and hours and hours at home trying to start and finish project after project.  Part of me hated all of the work and thought multiple times of completely dropping the class, but the other part was curious as to how I would do in the end.  When I finally submitted my Portfolio to the Ap Center I had no idea what was going to come of it.  I had seen all of my fellow AP classmates (all 7 or so of them haha) excell and go above and beyond and had seen all of the INCREDIBLE pieces of art that they had all worked so hard on.  I had watched their portfolios progress and seen how fantastically their pieces tied together.  Basically  I was thinking, ugh..these people are all going to get 5s and I am going to get a 2!  I was almost embarrassed by my portfolio compared to all of theirs.

I just received my AP scores last night and I got a ...Drum roll please...

4!!!

If I would not have switched from Art 3 to AP, or if I would have given up half way through it I would not have had this and would not have gotten this credit! I am so so happy.  All of the work, blood, sweat, and tears,--seriously ALL of that--were actually worth it! Who would have thought!?

Okay, another one about art :) Earlier this year my Grandpa DuRee mailed me this flier about an International Art Competition that the church was putting on for the Youth.   The theme was 'Arise and Shine Forth' and you could submit anything.  So I worked on a piece of a young woman cutting her hair.  Tied up in her hair were words that dealt with worldy things and imperfections.  Cutting her hair symbolized cutting out all of these worldly things and imperfections.  I thought that this would be one of the very first steps in arising and shining forth because in order to set an example for others, you have to first cleanse yourself of your sins and such.  First they judge the digital pieces and the essays, then they select some to be sent to the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City, UT.  There, they will be displayed from November 2012 to June 2013, and they will all be judged a second time.  Twenty will be selected for awards.  I submitted it in the spring and I just heard back a few days ago.  And guess what!?  My piece is going to the Church History Museum baby!!! This is very exciting for me because I never win anything. haha   If my Grandpa hadn't pushed me to go for this competition, I definitely wouldn't have.  So I am thankful for him and glad that I was willing to give it a shot.   Everything is at least worth trying--okay everything that is good is at least worth trying.

    

I Love to See the Temple

This is kind of late but I really wanted to write about it.  a few weeks ago Stacey and I went to the Denver Temple to do baptisms.  For the both of us, it was our first times doing baptisms on our own--like, without going for a ward temple trip.

We had a wonderful time! We got there extra early so that we could walk around the Temple Grounds, and have solo experiences.  At first I walked around to the back of the temple and sat in this gorgeous gazibo, but it was so blazin' hot that I couldn't focus so I moved to a rock.  I had such a spiritual experience there as I talked to my Heavenly Father about the little worries and struggles that I was going through at the time and some still.  As I was studying and praying, I came across a quote written in my scriptures by Dieter F. Uchtdorf from a General Conference Talk titled, "You Matter to Him."  It says,

"Please understand that what you feel and experiene now is not what forever will be."

As I pondered this quote I came to the conclusion that even though right now these problems are important to me, I don't need to be stressing and worrying so much about them, because I have my Heavenly Father to communicate with and help me get through my trials, and years from now, even weeks maybe, these hard times may pass and won't matter so much.  I am so thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Because of it, I know that I am never alone.  Christ did not just suffer for the sins of the world.  He sufferred so that He could know what every single person who ever lived, lives, and will live, goes through and feels like, not just the sins, but every single feeling and emotion and situation, Christ knows and THAT is why we are NEVER alone.  Because Christ knows us and has felt what we go through, and loves.  I spoke with an old friend on the phone today who just returned from his misison and I asked him what the greatest lesson he learned was and his response was that no one is alone.  And he went into greater detail, but just in case he reads this, maybe I shouldn't say anything, also because I might get it wrong. But he bore his testimony to me about the atonement of Jesus Christ and I couldn't help but think of my experience at the temple.  I am very thankful for his willingness to share with me such deep thoughts and I really appreciate him bearing his testimony to me of Heavenly Father's love for us and the atonement of Jesus Christ. 

After the Temple we went out to Panda Express with a friend and debated the use of chopsticks.

I get to see my family in 5 days!!!! I cannot tell you enough how much I miss them. I can hardly talk on the phone with my mom without my voice cracking or quivering!  I can't wait to go to California for our DuRee Family Reunion and see my cousins and Grandparents! Lately my Grandpa and I have been writing eachother back and forth and I just love hearing from him!  I can't wait to sit with grandma and hear her stories over and over because they NEVER get old, and hopefully garden with Grandpa. ("hopefully" because I asked him, but I havent heard back yet. hahaha)

See you Soon guys!!! 5 DAYS BABY!!!

Bring on the Rain

Right now I am sitting in the dining room listening to thunder and rain which is a very, very good thing right now.  Rain is so peaceful and I love the smell.  People can smell rain hours before it even drops, and I wonder how that even happens!  Some one still needs to invent a perfume or room spray or something that carries the scent of rain because let me tell you, I'd wear it all the time!  Eh, probably not. BUT!! I would buy it, maybe. 

Hopefully this rain finishes off putting out the Waldo Canyon Fire.  I guess I should have mentioned that one first.  There was a HUGE fire in Waldo Canyon in Colorado Springs on June 23rd.  I was working on Pikes Peak  that day and we got evacuated down.  It is currently still going, but it's 90% contained.  The fire was awful and heated up the entire city.  Our temperatures broke city records reaching 104F-ish.  There were evacuations everywhere.  The other side of the freeway (about 2 miles away from our house) was on a pre-evacuation, but luckily evacuations never reached us.  It was so smoky and the Allred's house smelled like camping all week.  Tuesday was the fire storm.  The fire spread so fast, so far and caught part of the city on fire.  Flying W Ranch was burned to the ground and many homes and buildings in Mountain Shadows were also burned.  Here is a time lapsed video.  I know it is very, very long, but it is worth your time.

Here are some pictures I took from the Peak on the way down due to the evacuation.

 Many prayers go out to the families who have lost their homes during this tragic fire.  We love you and we are praying for you and thinking of you. 

Stacey and I had a wonderful Fourth of July together:)  We went to Rudy's and washed the cars and tanned (and got totally fried!!) My back hurts so bad. Lobstery.  Here are some pictures of our fun day.

Our matching Shirts! :) Old Navy. 5 Bucks baby!

More rain, figuratively this time.  Tears:) haha. 

I made it passed the first round of judging in the International Art Competition for LDS Youth!!! I entered the piece of the Young Woman cutting her worldly ties. Now I get to send it to the Church History Museum where it will be displayed from Novemeber 2012 to June 2013 and will be judged again where hopefully it will be selected as one of the 20 that...I have no idea what happens after that! haha but I guess we will just take it one step at a time and see what happens:) I will get to go see it over Thanksgiving break!! How crazy is that!!!!???? YAY!!! :) :)   This is the piece!! Check it out :) emsrightbrain.blogspot.com. Water Color, Ink, and White Chalk, and pastel.

 

 

My face has been raining a lot lately... I miss my family a ton. And all of a sudden, as it gets closer to seeing my grandparents in like, two and a half weeks, I cry about missing my grandparents! I don't know what the heck is wrong with me, but I feel so pathetic sometimes, because I can just rain and rain and never stop.  Also, I feel like my life is just moving right along.  I'm moving on, and have things to worry about, and it is sad.  Stacey has gotten so used to me randomly bursting into tears. I feel bad for her because she puts up with it, but I am thankful for her support and comfort and slight teasing to lighten the mood.      

 

Okay! Enough with the face rain already! I am making a time capsule! We started it as a mutual activity project.  It is a marraige time capsule and apparently you open it with your fiance. I am working on putting pictures of wedding/reception idea stuff from Pinterest in it and letters. One to me from me now, and one to my fiance from me now, and one from my parents now to my fiance.  So! I will open it when I get engaged and find lots of cutsie ideas and letters.  My fiance will probably be like...what the heck Emily, you were such a freak.  But I will thoroughly enjoy opening it!!!

 

This is an adventure, but I am just about ready to come home :)