Life Lately

Let's jump back to December for just a moment. I was trying to make a lot of difficult life choices back then. One day I was applying for grad programs, the next I was going to work as a country director for HELP International, another day I would be making elaborate travel plans, and a day later I was on to something else. The whole process was becoming exhausting, this was especially true for my parents. One day my dad called me and said frankly (more frankly than I would have liked) "Jari, you're 22 years old. It's time to grow up and make a decision so pick whichever one is right and stick to it. You're done flip-flopping around." So I thought a lot about it, I prayed about it, and that night I decided that the plan that I liked best, and the one that felt the most right was to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So that's what I am doing. On May 16th I will report to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah then approximately 9 weeks later I will head to the Morristown, New Jersey Mission. So there you have it, I am capable of making decisions and I'm rather excited about this one.

Since I am reporting just a little over a month from when I graduated I decided to play pretty much the entire time in-between the two. First stop, Utah. I only stayed two days but I was able to visit with some of my most favorite people chatting, eating, and enjoying the lovely spring weather. Brenna made a delicious Easter dinner, Michelle taught me how to skip a rock, Holly and I had a lovely chat, and Sean even recounted all his favorite things about Utah and college life. Those were three days well spent. 

Second stop, Chicago. I wanted to spend time with my dear friend, Courtney. She is getting married in August to another friend of mine, Israel. Since I decided to serve a mission I will no longer be able to stand as her bridesmaid which breaks my heart. I still wanted to be a small part of the planning and see her before I left. We spent the week trying food and exploring the venue for her reception, shopping for dresses with the bridesmaids, laughing at wedding comedy movies in the man cave, baking treats, and oohing and awing over shoes, cakes, and Ryan Gosling. I adore Courtney and her family, they are so fun-loving and easy to get along with. Thank you again Shade family for letting me join in on the fun for a week. 

Now I'm home in perfect, sunny, wonderful Florida. About a week ago my aunt and uncle flew in from Brazil so we headed off to the emerald coast for five days. Make that 7 Brazilians, 3 Americans, 4 Halvsies, and 1 RV. It was a party. Lots of beach volleyball, frescoball, fruit, golden corral stops, made up sign language/English/Portuguese/Spanish communication, singing, and lots of laughing. I'm rather fond of hanging out with my huge, crazy family. Of course there is no such thing as a vacation without an adventure, so it shouldn't have been a surprise when the RV broke down for a little bit. Luckily everything got fixed and we were able to all travel back home together, and we definitely made the most of it. You haven't lived until you've had a traveling karaoke night complete with dance instruction courtesy of my father. It was a happy vacation full of sweet memories and gorgeous scenery. I'm so lucky to live in such a beautiful state. 

You would think that maybe I'd slow down for just a second, but that would be completely out of character. The first night back from the beach my family "surprised" me with tickets to the Lion King Broadway tour. I'm terrible about finding out about surprises just barely too early, but at least we had an extra ticket and were able to surprise Blake's mom, Liz. Surprise or not the show was beautiful. The Lion King has always been one of my favorite movies, and the show was just that more striking and emotional. Personally I feel that there are so many levels past entertainment and towards spiritual that the story line is capable of covering. If you ever have a chance it see to I would definitely recommend it. 

And the adventure continues...

Before the 16th the agenda still includes a Honduran dinner, two Brazilian dinners (can you tell my family is into food), scuba diving, blueberry picking, and a little Utahan get together with some family there. Life lately is pretty good. 

Teary Goodbyes, Happy Hellos

2012. This is it.

New Year's Eve is always one of my favorite parts of the holiday season. I feel like sometimes it doesn't get enough credit for how fantastic of a holiday it is. For the past five years I have been attending the annual Russ fire. This generally guarantees really tall structures that, when lit, become burning towers of pyromanic joy. If you want to know what I mean you should check out the videos here and here. Really. I'm serious. Go watch the videos.

This year was a tad on a lower key.  There was less in the way of tower height and people attending, and more in the way of fireworks. Which is also fantastic. I do not discriminate in my love and appreciation for explosions of any type. I leave that for people who understand big words and physics.

It was nice to spend the evening with a smaller group of people who I really love. I was in a bit of a funk for most the night. A funk which only got worse after getting marshmallow in my hair and then later accidentally burning off some of my hair. It was one of those times when all the little things weighing on my mind were given permission to break the surface at once. At one point I may have curled up into a ball, buried my head in my friend's chest, and shed a few tears. Which is always awkward for me, but it turned out alright.

2011 was an incredible year, one that I didn't let go of easily. Here are the highlights:

Baby: Going to Detroit to help welcome baby Andrew Rice into the world.

Medieval Times: Celebrating my little sister's 20th birthday with some good old fashioned jousting.

Disney: Reunion with Courtney and Israel. Eating lots of delicious foods, riding all my favorite rides, seeing all my favorite shows, and talking talking talking with some very dear friends. Glorious.

Shows: Going to Wicked with Mom and Adam. They loved it as much as I do. We may have sang Defying Gravity together once or twice on the way home.

South Africa: No one specific story or event, just all of it. The people, the places, the food, the UNIC, the everything. A piece of my heart has taken up permanent residence in Pretoria, South Africa and will live there forever more. I never thought I would grow so much, love a place so much, learn so much in that small of a time. There aren't really enough words to express how perfectly tailored this experience was for me and my needs at that specific time. Perfect.

EFY: The name-tag rebellion. Trying to determine if I ever have felt like a plastic bag. Harry Potter. New friends. The kids. The wonderful, smart, spiritual, good kids. The learning we did together. It was great. Believe, Hope, Edure that's all I got to say.

Provo: Julie. Hollie. Sean. Boyd and Lloyd, the best hometeachers and dear friends. Michelle. 191st ward. HELP International. Figuring out my life. Learning how to knit. Talking into the night. Doing Utah specific things. Jane Austen movies. Fall colors. All good.

Thanksgiving: Family, Friends, Muppets, and gluttony. 

Costa Rica: Vacation bliss. 

And now it's over. It went fast.

Maybe it's because everyone is growing up. Maybe it's because I'm graduating. Maybe it's because I'm going on a mission. Maybe it's because of a lot of things all together. All I know is that the end of a lot of things felt tangible as 11:59 turned to 12:00 and took away 2011 with it.

I'm grateful for good memories though, they add to the excitement of the future.  I'm trying to keep in mind what Jeffrey R. Holland said, "We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives." 

On the agenda for 2012 are a lot of unknowns. Graduation and mission are the only certainties. I don't exactly know what to expect with either endeavor, which made resolution making difficult this year. So I only have three:

1. Follow the Spirit

2. Be happy while I'm here, because there's no here there

3. Don't pick at zits

Pura Vida

The last of my Utah days were spent eating all kinds of delicious foods, dancing, laughing, knitting, visiting typical Provo places, and staying up until the wee hours of the morning with my favorite friends. Not much to report, just that it was lovely. It was like TV life...expect for the part where everyone was drowning in finals week horror and I made myself into a constant distraction. Oh well.

On the 13th Provo decided to snow, and I decided to peace out. I boarded a big plane that brought me back to the land of sunshine, bliss, and clammy hands and feet. I finally got to see Blake and Annalee's new place in Miami and meet my niece, Bogie, the flying squirrel. They also took me to eat baleadas for the first time. All I have to say is thank you Honduras! Then I passed out in the back of their car and they drove me to my parents house in Belleview.

We were supposed to leave for Costa Rica the next day. Everyone woke up, sort of got their bags packed, and Dad was even ready to go by 10:30. But, a bank mishap, some traffic, and a bad stewardess later we had missed our flight. So we spent the evening roaming Orlando instead. We hit up Golden Corral and the outlet mall...which probably made us look very much like Brazilian tourists. Then finished off with a bell choir, Christmas decorations, and fireworks at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort. When in doubt Disney property always has something that will brighten your day. We went to bed happy, and tried the airport thing again the next morning. We made it that time.

It's fun landing in places where you disembark the plane outdoors using those too-narrow, stand-up stairs. It's fun being a little too warm in December. It's fun having your passport checked in a country where the workers don't stare at and interrogate you like you just threatened everything dear to them. It's fun having a short man shout out your family name to which your oh-so-tourist-looking mother responds. Thus causing a rush of workers to whisk away your bags while you wonder whether or not you'll ever see them again. It's fun renting a mini van where the middle bench is completely detached from the rest of the car. It's fun showing up at a resort where they think your reservation has been canceled. It's fun having everything taken care of while you eat in the sun. It's fun being in Costa Rica.

During the week we floated around on the waves, watched as Blake made friends with all the iguanas and pizotes, attempted to convince our new Costa Rican friends that snow is the most terrible thing on earth, ordered lots and lots of flat iron steak and tres leches cake, went exploring on different rocks, watched Italian soap operas, and slept, and laughed, and got sunburnt, and climbed trees, and looked at stars, and spoke gringo, and drank virgin everything, and slept, and tried to convince my dad that vacations aren't so bad after all.

One of the highlights of the trip, for me anyway, was scuba diving at the Catalina Islands. I just recently got certified and this was my first time not in a pool or a crater in Utah. I was excited, and I was not let down. I'm terrible at remembering names of fish, sharks, and rays, but we saw some of them all while being tossed around by the current. It was great. Apparently the visibility wasn't fantastic, but I don't really have much to compare to. All I know is that being underwater with nothing to listen to but the sound of your breathing...it's glory. There's nothing to disturb your thoughts, everything to see is new and exciting, and in a non-verbal way there are people to share it with. Then there's the boat ride. Cruising along in the sunshine on the deep blue water and seeing the different views of somewhere you've never been while listening to the random conversations of strangers is happy. Really, it's one of those things that watching as an outsider looks like a fantastic time; and when you're the one living it, it's even better!

My only disappointment is that it took me so long to get certified. This is a beautiful hobby and I highly recommend it. The only downside is that now all I want to do is get back in the water and I don't exactly have the funds to support that desire. So I'll just dream until next time.

The vacation finished out nicely. We even made our flight home with no problems. I got stuck sitting next to a couple beer crazed, California-beach-bum-wannabees, but there are worse things in life. Overall I'm going to have to rack this up as an absolute success.

Holidaze

Remember a few weeks ago when everyone was talking about turkeys, pies, family, and things they're thankful for? That was a good time. Let's go back there for a moment. My Thanksgiving time was chaotic, tasty, sleep deprived, and full of love. Just the way I like it.

On Wednesday before Thanksgiving I helped cook a turkey for a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner with my cousins Lala and Leilane and some other friends. Let it be known that I have never in my life cooked a turkey, and granted my only role was to babysit it while it sat in the oven, I was terrified. Especially when smoke started billowing out of my oven after it had only been in there for 10 minutes! But alas, all was well, the turkey did not explode. Mission accomplished.

Throughout the morning I had a couple adorable visitors. Tiago, Lucas, and Derek are three of the sweetest boys you will ever meet. I taught Tiago how to play Phase 10 and he kicked my butt. Then I took them all to the park and let them show off their monkey bar skills for me.  Right before dinner I brought them back to my apartment and let them help me with the mashed potatoes while rocking out to Disney music. During the potato making process Tiago and Lucas got in a fight over who was the better and faster potato peeler and Derek got a penny stuck between his bottom front teeth. I laughed hysterically through all of this, then wondered if that means that I am completely devoid of motherly sympathy.

Lucas

Tiago

Derek

So then it was off to Leilane's for round 1 of Thanksgiving deliciousness. I love being surrounded by people I love (I mean, who doesn't?). The jokes are better, the conversation more meaningful, it just makes life a lot more fun. Daniel, Leilane's husband, had never tried candied yams before. Watching him eat them for the first time was hilarious. He took a tiny bite and his face looked prepared for disgust. Then all of a sudden his eyes got the size of golf balls and a huge smile showed up. He was sold. We finished the night with a few rounds of Apples to Apples and pie. Fantastic, right?

The next day brought rounds 2 and 3 of Thanksgiving glutton happiness. The first with some family from my mom's side...

Actually, let's back up for a second. There was a lot of family from my mom's side, about 20-something people. But, both my parents are the 5th of 7 children so family, extended family, and friend-amily is nothing I am short on; and 20-something can still feel like there are some people missing.

Anyway, so we all piled into my Aunt Rochelle's house and talked and talked and talked about gluten free recipes, about football, about politics, about religion, and about the future. I like to talk. I like to listen. This was a pretty good gig for me. Dinner was delicious and oh-so-aesthetically pleasing. It looked like one of those Thanksgiving dinner's you see in magazine. We had name cards for our dishes, leaves on the table, the food was all brightly colored and color coordinated...oh, and the turkey and had cooked with a blanket of bacon on it. Take that.

I'm pretty sure poker, tim tam slams, a Winnie the Pooh marathon, Nertz, and pie were also involved in round 2. Let's get a couple things straight. My family is awesome. They do holidays right. I love them.

Now on to round 3. Dear friends who live far from home and family, Cracker Barrel, and The Muppets. Early on in the semester my Thanksgiving plans were Puerto Rico bound to visit some of my favorite friends, Courtney and Israel. Then I remembered that I'm super poor and couldn't swing that. I was explaining this to another friend, Sean, and it turns out he didn't have dinner plans at all. Neither did my friend Andre. Then Sean mentioned Cracker Barrel and all these things changed from a string of disconnected thoughts into an outing. Cracker Barrel makes dang good food, and they don't make you clean up. So after the turkey coma had worn off a tad from round 2 I went out with them.

Then off to the Muppets. I grew up watching The Muppet Show. In fact the very first time I heard that when you take an elephant and a rhino you get an "ellifIknow" was from The Muppet Show. Great children's humor, am I right? Anyway, I was bound and determined to see this movie. Lucky me Sean and Andre were happy to accompany. If you like The Muppets you should probably go watch it as soon as possible and get your giggle on. Then I'll tell you all about how Animal is the greatest and best Muppet  and how he makes me laugh uncontrollably. Then I might favor your with a round of "I've Got Everything That I Need."  You know you want to hear all about it. Just go watch it. Just go.

So to review: lots of food, lots of family, lots of laughing, Muppets, card games, sweets, zombies (yeah...that was in there somewhere), lots of talking, and getting just enough sleep to get by = Happy Jari. The end.

Bring it on Christmas! 

Family Matters

I am a member of a dysfunctional family. Now, I say that with all the love and adoration that is generally reserved to describe a sleeping baby or a cute puppy, and I love everyone I’m related to more than anything. But seriously, we’re nuts. However, it is the harebrained environment in which I was raised that helped create the person I am now.

Me and Daddy-O, dancing of course.

My dad is king of the crazies. He seldom sleeps or takes a day off work. He is a huge fan of kicking his leg up to his head when he’s excited about something, or whenever there’s a camera on him. He has a tendency to break into song, usually something by Cher or Madonna. He is smart, loud, sweet, and hyperactive. My dad taught me how to debate, how to see beauty within myself, how to dance like nobody’s watching and sing like nobody can hear (I realize that those are probably song lyrics and make me sound super cliché, but I mean it!), he taught me how to study, how to defend myself, he taught me to have passion, how to be aware of myself, how to be responsible…I could go on and on.

Me and the lady, right after parasailing. She's adventurous, it's true.

My mother is an angel. She puts up with all the insanity our small family provides. She’s the calm one, she’s the rock. She’s stubborn, hardworking, and takes time to enjoy the small things in life. She taught me how to love, even when it’s hard. She taught me how to cook, how to be brave, how to enjoy adventure, how to cherish home, how to depend on family and be dependable to them, she taught me that I don’t have to be the best at everything but I do have to try my best at everything, she taught me to never quit. She has supported me in everything I do in life, and not only tells me that I can do anything, but also truly believes that I can.

All but one of the siblings. This photo started with us standing a normal distance apart, then the photographer asked if we were close, being cousins and all, the hugging was our response.

Then there are my siblings. Biologically I only have two. I claim seven: Annalee and Adam (the actual ones), Lala, Junior, Gigi, Amanda, and Germania. The last five lived with us off and on throughout my growing up. These are the people that I played and fought with. The ones that I wanted to be like when I was older, the ones I still try to emulate now. These are the people who I would build forts with, play cops and robbers with, sneak ice cream from the freezer with. The ones I would pray for by my bed at night. Now that I’m older they’re the ones I go on vacation to visit, the ones I tell stories to my roommates about, the ones who listen to me cry, who listen to and influence my goals, and who make me laugh. I could not ask for better people in my life.

Then there is my extended family. I won’t go into detail. Let’s just say there are lots of stories. I have an uncle who lived in the Amazon, a grandma who faked like her cane was a gun to scar away a robber, an aunt who runs half marathons, another aunt who gives me great books to read and who justifies my quasi-feminist tendencies, another uncle who builds his kids miniature monster trucks, another aunt who takes ridiculous amounts of pictures and is prone to making friends with strangers regardless of the occasional language barrier…

The moral of the story is that I adore my family. I recognize that they are my backbone. Now for the part where this ties in with “the quest.” Mostly I just realized how much I take my family for granted. I love them. My family is an enormous part of who I am. Sometimes I get the "bright" idea to try and detach myself from that fact. However, now more than ever I have realized that is stupid. Why would I ever want to be detached from such wonderful, ambitious, and inspiring people? I wouldn't, I don't. So instead of pointing out their faults and trying desperately to separate myself from them I'm just embracing it. More than that I'm going to take time to appreciate them each. We'll see where this takes me.