Basket-Ball Games, Caveman Style.

First of all, I am not a big sports person. I like to bike ride, I can play tag, sometimes I'll serve a volley-ball, and every once in a while I can smack a baseball.

. . . once in a while.

I can't dribble a basket-ball down the court to save my life.

I detest swimming.

Golfing is ridiculous.

I don't can't usually throw Frisbees in a straight line.

And if you ever see me playing football, just pray that I don't get tackled and die.

Thank you.

Let's just say that if I didn't have sports in my life, I could survive.

But there are sometimes when even I enjoy/attempt playing the afore mentioned sports, and then there are those increasingly frequent times where I will even attend such sporting events.

Unbeknownst to me, American Fork High has a pretty decent basket-ball team which has a few traditions of it's own.

My friend invited me to attend the AFHS Varsity basket-ball game on Friday night. I mostly went because I wanted to take a break. And (don't tell anyone) I was just a little bit scared to go. You see, I have never . . .

*clearing of throat*

never been to a basket-ball game at AFHS.

All you lovely sophomores out there, take advantage of that wonderful activity card that displays your beautiful face to the whole world and GO TO THE GAMES!!!!

We found a pretty decent seat. I wasn't expecting much because even if it is decent, I'll wind up standing on my tip toes because everyone in the student section stands up the whole time. Even when I'm standing on the bleacher seats, I still can't see. But hey, that's what happens when you're the minority. Anyway, the game starts and before you know it, we've scored eleven points. And then, one of our Cavemen shoots a three pointer and makes it.

All of a sudden, just as I'm about to shout hooray, everybody - everybody - takes a step back and sits down. Pretty soon, I've got three people in my face. I was practically in shock.

Yes, my dear friends. Apparently, it is tradition for us to do that every time we shoot and make a three pointer.

It seems weird. I mean, they shoot a three-pointer and you sit down when it seems you should jump up for joy. I've never actually sat down for joy, but, hey, there's a first for everything.

We won the game, something like fifty-eight to thirty-five. And it was honestly the funnest sports game I've been to since football ended.

Actually, it was pretty fun to play basket-ball with the girl cheerleaders in my PE class. It's a good thing they chose to be cheerleaders. But we won't go into that :)

And it was pretty fun to watch how those guys could pick up the ball with one hand. I have to hold it with two, and even then it's huge.

So, the moral of this story?

It's fun to watch them score the points.

As for me? I am content to sit down for joy.

:)

Love, sunshine.

The Spirit of Christmas

Christmas.

I believe it is a year round holiday.
I believe it's okay to sing Christmas songs in June and July and August and September.
I believe it's okay to count down the days.
And I believe it's okay to love baking Christmas treats and putting up ornaments.
That doesn't mean that every Sunday we have to sing "Christmas Songs," nor does it mean our tree must stay standing until Valentines day. It doesn't even mean that we have to keep our lights on the house year round.

I believe in many traditions about Christmas -  traditions like reading the nativity and putting up stockings.

I also believe in Santa Claus.

Why?

He comes in the night.
He wears red.
He knows when we are good.
He is sad when we are bad.
He loves little children.
He brings gifts.

I also believe in Christ.

Why?

He comes in the night.
He wears red.
He knows when we are good.
He is sad when we are bad.
He loves little children.
He brings gifts.

And so I believe Christmas is for every day.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Below is a link to a beautiful video the LDS Church has made. Please take 3 min and 58 seconds to watch it :) It's worth it.

"To catch the real meaning of Christmas, we need only to drop the last syllable, and it becomes the Spirit of Christ." Thomas S. Monson.

Merry Christmas!

And a Happy new year :)

https://lds.org/youth/video/the-christmas-spirit?lang=eng

love, sunny

Shopping.

It's got to be one of my least favorite things to do

of ALL time.

The only fun thing to do is watch all those Fancy Nancy's

walk in and out of the shoe store talking to each other:
"I saw a girl wearing these boots today. . . And I really love them." (Pointing to knee-high gray boots)
"Do they have these in brown? Do they have these in brown? Do they have these in brown? HEY do they have these in brown?"
"Actually I like them all."

*actuall snippets of conversation.*

Even though it is fun to watch Fancy Nancy's go shoe shopping, it is also pretty fun to go with your fam. Just the sisters and mom, that is :)

(pointing to flat sunday shoe): "Ah!It looks like a snake!"
". . . I think it is."

"How do people walk in  . . . whoa . . ."

"Waitstopnomom!"
*spoken in one breath*

"I was trying on older girl shoes and she told me I would ruin them."
"Who, the employee?"
"No, Amber."

"I don't like shoes with netting." They make me feel like I'm fishing.

"These are great shoes! Perfect for summer and wearing skirts!"
" . . .Too bad it's winter."

"Hey, someone smells good!"
"It's me."
"No, it's Melanie."
"What, did she put on the Justin Beiber perfume?"
" :P "

"Who's that??"
"That is Emma Watson."
"Oooh."

"Where's mom?"
"Trying on earrings."
" . . . You can't try on earrings."

"Where's Amber?"
"We lost her."
"That's not good."

"Look how cute those shoes are! You should get them." (pointing at rainbow colored shoes that add about six inches to one's height.)
"There is no way you are getting me to wear those to high school."

But I do love being fancy.
Shopping is only fun if you go with the right people. And it's only rewarding if you go with mom. :D



Radiant Tales: Chapter Seventeen

Once upon a time, there was a girl with red hair and freckles.

This girl believed in many things. She believed in skirts with pockets and salad with ranch dressing. She never failed her math tests and always chewed her gum with her mouth closed. She went to high school and moved out of elementary school and junior high, continuing on to bigger and better things in life. She had three pairs the same brand of jeans and got new tennis shoes every year in August.

And she was happy.

This week, something happened to this girl.

This week, she learned more about herself in ways she never would have imagined.

She still believed in skirts with pockets and salad with ranch dressing, but she failed her math test. Twice. She went to high school and felt that everything was too big for her, and she felt out of place in her jeans that always looked the same, even if she wore a different pair.

But she learned that it is more important to focus on the needs of others than on her own wishes and desires.

She learned that even though she got a bad grade on two of her tests, things would work out. Heavenly Father might not be able to fix her score, but he could fix her heart.

And He did.

She felt alone every day and broke down at 6:30 on Thursday morning because things couldn't possibly get  any worse.

But then her dad walked in and saw her crying there on the floor, staring at her text book and blank page of homework problems. All he did was sit and hug her and tell her he didn't care about her grades. He told her that even if she didn't qualify for scholarships or anything else, what mattered most to him was that she keeps trying.

And she was grateful for him.

But she still felt alone.

She sat alone at lunchtime because she had homework to do before her next class. She drove to school alone because she is the only one in high school in her family. She cried alone at night and sometimes she ate dinner and breakfast alone because she was hardly ever there for her family's meals.

She didn't know what she was doing wrong. All she knew was that she was at the end of her rope and losing her grip quickly.

She'd been taught all her life that the Saviour loved her and that because of His sacrifice, she would never walk alone.

So why did she feel alone?

The answer was simply this:

She had lost her faith.

She let her trials and challenges interfere with her love of the Saviour and her Heavenly Father, so they couldn't help her. She unintentionally put up a door between herself and them. And she didn't realise that they were still knocking;

That they didn't leave.

She just wasn't listening.

One night, she asked for forgiveness. With tears running down her face, she told her Heavenly parents that she felt like giving up. Her math was too hard, her french too confusing, and her trials too heavy,

But then she remembered, "When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done."

and so she did.

And the next day was still the worst day of the week. But Heavenly Father prompted her friend to give her a note. Then as she was reading her scriptures, He told her, "I am mindful of you always in my prayers." (Moroni 8:3).

And she was puzzled. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ praying for me?

Yes.

And then she felt peace wash over her and she knew that everything would work out. Even if she felt like it would not, it would.

And it did.

And now her faith is strengthened in God because He didn't fail her. He never has and He never will.

She realised that He knew all along the struggles she would face. Even when she felt like she was alone, truly, He was there. And He never left.

 All she had to do was pray, look up, and reach out.

And He did the rest.

Love,

Sunshine

Ten things the Average High School Senior Would LOOOOVE to Tell You

. . . but cant.

1. CTE Credits are stupid.
2. High School counsellor's aren't doing anyone a favour when they give you an SEOP appointment during your AP class.
3. The Renaissance Assembly makes no sense. Can you just see the teachers getting together in their meetings? "How should we reward the good grade students?" "Ooh, I know! Let's see if they can maintain their grades, and let's tempt them with cinnamon rolls and a game of bingo during class!" Rewarding good grade students by giving them the option to miss class and thus lose their grade . . . hmmm . . . "But the Cinnamon roll was so good!"
. . .
4. Red headed counsellors hate red headed students. Especially the students who have lives and so are slowly completing online classes. But it was too slow for ya, huh? Thanks for taking away my internship and complicating my already overly complicated life.
5. Six revisions of an essay = lots of pain + an "A" paper. Teachers forget about the lots of pain part.
6. The Inferno is not an uplifting book.
7. These ugly wrinkles, dark shadows around my eyes, and the redness in my eyes are all due to your class. :)
8. No one cares about bowling.
9. AP Nap Class would be a sinch.
10. If college is like thirteenth grade, I quit.

Here's to another week of death.

Woot woot.


And . . .



FOURTEEN DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have never been so happy in my life.

Love, Sunshine