Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again

Last week I not only returned from the below mentioned family vaca, but I also moved my little sister down to UofA. Let me tell you, it was weird to put her in a dorm. It reminded me about how I felt four years ago and how far I've come since then. But the weirdest part is the fact that her dorm room looked almost exactly like mine did, it kinda freaked me out. It's so exicting to see her go off to college and start a process that I've already finished (in fact, I recieved my diploma in the mail today, w00t!). It's exactly like we switched places and now I'm here with the crew and she's gone off to do her own thing. The best part though is reclaiming my room, which is a lot bigger than any of the ones I had in Tucson so I get to decorate it super cute style and have fun with that. Also, we shaved her cat, which makes life that much better (no more hair everywhere)...

Dancing Through Life

My family went on a vacation about a week ago and it truly was fantastic. We were able to go to Washington, D.C., Philidelphia, New York, and Boston. They each had some good parts but overall Boston was the best looking/cleanest/seemed-to-be-friendly city. Although I would highly recommend not going in the summer because even though we Arizonan's have it hot we do not have the humidity. I decided that hell must be humid because there is nothing so awful. In D.C. I got burned to a crisp because we just had a day and so I spent it with my mom looking at the memorials and outside things instead of going into a museum. Then in Philidelphia the Art Museum is one of the coolest I've ever been to because of the design of their exhibits. And Isaac ran up the stairs like Rocky, which I didn't actually see, but I heard about it.

In New York we went to see Wicked on Broadway and I fell in love with that show just like every other person who's ever seen it. I haven't really stopped listening to the soundtrack since. Even my brother Ben was impressed and he's not easily impressable ("I'm Ben, I like invented being cool"). And we went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island which I had never gone to before. It's really quite amazing how reverant it feels in those places. Finally, we walked the Freedom Trail in Boston. Well, we didn't really walk it because by that point we were all pooped out and just wanted to ride a bus, but it's close to the same thing. Overall, a great trip and a chance to spend some quality time with my fam. The following pictures are definitely not even close to how many I took, it's just the select best of, if you want a full picture album go to my facebook page where I should be putting them up in a few days. Also, the order I saw all these things is from bottom to top I just didn't want to spend time rearranging them.

My mom, Isaac, and Ben on a battleship in the Boston harbor.

This picture is for Megan, I saw/heard him playing on the Boston Commons and immediately thought of you...

Here's Ben trying to stretch in front of a cool fountain, and Isaac stepped in just as I took the picture. I think it looks pretty sweet though because Ben seems to be some kind of tiny person.

OH! and we saw famous people in one of the Boston grave yards! These are two of the main people from the new Fox show Glee.

This is one of the many public parks in Boston (and it seems that every park has a fountain that people can splash in, I think that's great!) Here are my Dad, Isaac, and Ben in a movie-type shot (think walking into the sunset).

Isaac inside the main building on Ellis Island.

Isaac and Ben eating at Pat's Steak, one of two original homes of the Philly Cheese-steak (Pat's and Geno's both claim they invented it, and are located right across the street from each other).

Emma, Ben, Mom, and Isaac inside a Macy's in Philidelphia. Above them is the largest working Organ in the world. We listened to the concert and it was beautiful.

Mom, Dad (what a dork), and Emma (covering her face) in my Dad's bachelor pad in Philly (not really, it's his apartment but he's working there for a few years so it's cheaper then a hotel).

Inside the Philidelphia Art Museum they recreated actual rooms of ancient architecture, also, unlike most museums, they let you take as many pictures as you want.

A D.C. metro stop, pretty cool coffered ceilings.

Emma, Ben, and Isaac in front of the Washington Monument, we were able to go up to the top.

The mosaic ceiling of the Library of Congress, the whole building is beautiful.

Home Again, Home Again, Lickety-Split.

I never thought that I would move home after I left four years ago, but here I am. I'll probably write about all the craziness that happens here in the future but for now I'm actually excited to be here. I really enjoy spending time with my family and have found that reconnecting with my old friends is not as daunting as I imagined it would be. Anyway, last night I hung-out with my old YW's leader and her husband, Jeanette and Jim, and the crew, which is a tradition for many years and had a blast. One hilarious thing Jim said (keep in mind he's in his late 50's early 60's), "The only thing harder than getting up at my age is getting up and not passing gas at the same time." Hahaha! He's an amazing guy who is always recalling his rocker days (he's a drummer and still rocks out with his band). Anyway, after dinner last night with the family (fast sunday= enchiladas) we all sat around and most of the boys fell asleep:

From left to right: Ben, Jacob, Isaac, Dad (Don)

My mom and I thought it was a cool looking arrangement but I don't know if that transfered to film. So, there's your Elspeth-fix for a bit... hope you can last until the next one.

"Oh Sweet Spirit you're so... nice..."

If you guys weren't at my FHE on Monday, then you missed out. A group of us performed a musical that was awesome! It was called The Sweet Spirit Bride and was basically a Mormon/musical version of The Princess Bride. We had so much fun putting it together and performing it, even though it was kind of a rush because we only did it in a week, and in fact, I only learned it the day before. Everyone did such an amazing job though. But, I gotta say, the music was the best part, and most especially Adam W. singing "Unchained Melody"... *sigh*... okay moment over. We also used the "Sweet Spirit" song from Sons of Provo and a different version of "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid called "I Need a Man". The best line from that one was "Why don't they think, and see me now? I am a woman worth more than eight cows! I'm really great, I need a date, I need a man" and then immediately after that line a guy from the audience yelled, "Tomorrow at 7!"

The Single Ladies (we sang the "I Need a Man" song)

It was so much fun to perform, a heart's desire moment definitely, but it may have been even better watching it afterward with the cast because we knew all the little quirky things that happened on stage. We're thinking of putting it on YouTube, so I'll keep you updated on that.

Oh my beloved Tucson...

For those of you who don't know, which I think is none of you but whatever, I love Tucson. My brother Ben calls it a "love-affair" and most of my family makes fun of me for it, but I do not care. Tucson has been very good to me for the last four years. I came down here thinking that I was going to a trash/practically Mexico dump, but I am leaving it with much regret. Sure, at first all I could see were the couches/actual trash that people left on their front lawns, the awful conditions of the roads, and even the non-existant drainage plan when it rains. But since I've lived here I've learned that when people leave their furniture out it not only gets picked up by the city, but it also makes for excellent "dumpster-diving" items. I've also learned that when driving a truck, a raging river down your street is the coolest thing since sliced-bread!

Tucson feels like a small town even though it is huge. I still have not seen all of it, not that I've really tried. I love that the people on the west side of the freeway rarely interact with people on the east side, and the same goes for north and south Tucson. I love that while my neighbor is creepy because he's a trench-coat wearing weirdo who's constantly on the phone outside and makes it awkward to walk to and from my car I can still feel comfortable having his parents tease us about our very loud sing-along/dance parties. I also love that I can feel comfortable walking down the street with my roommates dispite the fact that we've actually called the police on our neighbors and had a stake-out waiting for some "Cops"-type action (which was a complete let down). I also love that in my little neck of the town I know exactly where I am or where I'm going based on street address alone. And the fact that the streets change names frequently makes that accomplishment worth-while.

On a list of my favorite places in Tucson The Big Bump out west on Grant where I have driven my truck over with screaming people in the car is definitely at the top, followed closely by the north end of Campbell where you can sit and watch the city lights and then the drive back that twists and turns. I love the view from Mt. Lemon where you can see exactly how much you have misjudged the size of the city. I also love the University of Arizona with its charming brick buildings, and especially the musical rocks by Old Main.

Yep, Tucson is great. I know that it is ghetto and kinda scary, but it's also original. There are few cookie-cutter developments and even less cookie-cutter people. You are allowed to be eccentric and quirky here and believe me, I've met plenty of people who are. This place has made for great stories and great friends who I hope never to forget!

Book of Possibilities

I just watched "Last Holiday" with Queen Latifah, which I loved! It is really one of her best films, and it made me feel so good inside! Anyway, this movie is all about living your life fully every day, and in it Q.Lat. has a book of possibilities in which she has made cut outs or stored brochures, or even pictures about things she wants to do with her life. I love that idea, but I love more the fact that Sasha has made her own book because of this movie. So I decided that, at least for this post but maybe more in the future, I'm going to describe the possibilities I want to happen in my life. Starting with a few of the places I'm dying to travel to:

Palace of Versailles, France

Palace of Knossos, Crete

Notre Dame, Paris

Temple of Apollo at Delphi, Greece

Castier Castle, Britain

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

As you can tell, they mostly have to do with buildings. I love architecture. I don't want to have to design anything myself, but I love the amazing structures that people have built over time. Don't get me wrong, I love most of the other forms of art too, but there is something so majestic and magical about walking into a great building that is either beautiful just by its construction or the ornate decorations which someone has imagined and put on display for everyone to walk through. I think what I love most about seeing architectural things in person is the fact that you never really can get an accurate picture of the thing in your head before you experience it live. I mean, with paintings it is pretty much what it looks like in the print, but with a building it's either grander or smaller or just a different dimension than you thought, so it still has the ability to surprise and amaze you. I want to see so many buildings, I hope someday I can!

Cause of Death

So, as previously mentioned I am in a Death and Loss class this summer and one of our assignments this week was to write our own obituary. At first I thought it was a lame thing to do but then I started brain-storming with my rommates and we came up with something that I think is a great way to go:

Elspeth Anderson choked to death last night on the dance floor, aka her living room. Elspeth was eating an otter pop and having a dance party with her roommates and the plastic caught in her throat and cut off her airways. She will be mourned by her family and friends.

Isn't that excellent?! Who wouldn't want to die in the middle of a dance party? And I think the otter pops add character... and anyone who knows me knows that it is most likely that I will die choking, I have a problem.

I also had to write a will and decide where all my things would go, I thought I really had nothing that anyone would want except my couch (which I would give to my brother Jacob). But then I realized that I had my gnomes to find a home for. I decided that those would go to Bethany (because I think you would appreciate them the most). And I would also let Emma have first pick of my movies (because we share that passion). Those are about all I have to give away.

So, here's the question for the readers: how would you like to die? Or, what do you think is the most likely way that you will die?