I used to...

...do a little thing called Sunday Sunshine, and it made me feel like this

(Little Miss Sunshine was one of the happiest people in the world, besides Mr. Happy and Mr. Cheerful...)

So I'm brining it back. This week in sunshine:

1. Sticking to goals. I only had two sweets this week, and I think they both counted as 'experiences.' The first, a chocolate covered cake roll thing. I don't know exactly what it was, but it was the first chocolate I have had all year. Amazingly I only ate two, but it was divine! The second, an apple/sweet potato/tofu pie. That one was definitely counted as an experience, and it wasn't so bad.

2. Florida weather. I love that it is the early part of January, and I am enjoying temperatures of 65. Glorious!

3. Imaginary gun fights. Yep. When my brother and I are home walking around the living room has become a small scale version of this:

4. Knowing Heavenly Father is in charge. I do not understand the order of all things, my mind just can't comprehend it all. But, I do know that Heavenly Father loves and is aware of all his children and provides for them. I'm very grateful for the blessings in my life that are always catered to my needs and my wants.

5. Speaking of blessings, the CES fireside tonight. It felt as though Elder Christofferson was saying "Dear Jari, I know exactly what is weighing on your mind and heart. Here are some things that will help you out." Now a new goal I have is to simply do the best I can one day at a time. Also, I had a lovely driving companion. I truly enjoyed the company of Tori Johnson, it's always nice to share a conversation based around how to better ourselves.

6. Peace of mind. A woman in our ward used to work for the United Nations, and has spent a good deal of time in the Pretoria area. She has offered to put me in contact with people who will help me find housing arrangements for the time I spend there. I am so thrilled! (Only 81 days til I get to Africa, yikes!)

7. Zumba. Dance meets toning. It may be silly, and I may share the class with a bunch of women more than twice my age, but I LOVE zumba. It's just a really fun way to exercise, and it makes me feel a little bit like I'm back in Brazil.

Summer Sunshine

I just realized today that my summer is more than half over, and I've barely documented any of it. So here it is in the brief :

I went to Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize for a Travel Study program. Basically the coolest experience of my life. Some highlights you ask? I hiked a volcano (it erupted two weeks later), snorkeled in a torrential rainstorm, got stopped by some Zappatistas, hand fed a howler monkey, zip lined over one of the seven wonders of the world, saw lots of ruin sites, parasailed with an old man....and a million more things

Then I headed back to Idaho, threw Annalee a couple bridal showers, visited Timber in Oakley Idaho and hiked in City of Rocks, hung out with Bruce, reunited with a few of the 206 girls and ran a million errands. It was lovely.

Then I headed off to Chicago to be with my Disney friends Courtney and Israel who I hadn't seen in a year and a half, plus I'd never been to Chicago.

And now I'm in Florida. It really hasn't been that interesting since my return. I've seen a couple friends here and there, but mostly I've just bummed around the house. I went to Kansas City to see Annalee complete her term as National Post Secondary President of the club SkillsUSA. That was a fun trip, and it was really cool to see all the hard work that she has put into that organization, and how empowering of a group it is for those kids.

The most recent of my adventures has been EFY, a church camp for youth from ages 14-18. They spend a week in the care of young single adult counselors; during the week they attend religious classes, play games, go to dances, and basically just have a rockin week. I was able to be a counselor, I was over a group of 10 girls most of which were 16-17ish. My co-counselor, Matt, was amazing! He was over 10 boys who were the same age as the girls. As a company we played, laughed, learned, and taught together. I was able to share my testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ (more information can be found here) and help build the testimonies of these youth. They were amazing, and SO energetic. I loved every minute of my week, and would give ANYTHING to get to do it over again!