Who Knew Ward Choir Was Good For a Laugh

It all started with the xylophone. Pete brought it in our house to show my mom, the choir director of my home ward. 

"There is a young man in our ward who wants to play his trumpet in church," Pete said. "I thought this might be a better alternative..." 

That made us all laugh. We started rehearsing for the Christmas program. I joined in since I will be home for the holidays. My mom thought the small xylophone would be cool on the "ahh" parts. She tried to play it while directing and it resulted in both tasks not really being completed well.

"I can't play this," she said. "But Jess, come do it!"

That caught me off guard and said laughing, "Oh, cause I can play it!" Everyone laughed, especially my mom. But she was definitely serious. So, I played it while they were singing and I have to admit that it was fun.

About ten minutes later my mom raised her arm to lead and exclaimed, "Ow!" Her hand went to her back, and she seemed to be in a lot of pain. She took a second and then went on, but struggling a little more.

Ward choir ended right on time, which hardly ever happens. I stayed in the front room to talk with some people I hadn't seen in a while. I noticed that my mom had disappeared.  

After everyone left, I told my dad that mom had vanished. I called loudly, "Mom? Are you alright?" I heard a groan and "No, I'm not." 

We went in her bedroom and saw her lying flat on her back. She looked at us, half laughed and half groaned. "My back is killing me." 

The muscles in her back were seizing up. She was in a lot of pain but she took ibuprofen and laid on the heat pad. The whole situation was so funny though and my dad kept teasing her that he was going to have to ask the bishop to release her because she injured herself leading the ward choir.

The last funny thing that occurred from ward choir was that my 10-year-old sister LOVED the xylophone. It was left at our house and she spent a couple hours figuring out how to play Jingle Bells and other songs.

She came downstairs and said, "Guess what Jess, I am joining the ward choir."

"Oh really? You're singing?" 

"No I'm not singing."

"Then what are you doing?"

"I am playing the bells!" (she meant the xylophone)

So, the laughter all goes back to the xylophone and ward choir. 

Dance Parties Erryday

This weekend was full of dance parties. But that is nothing unusual. Friday night ended up with all of us dancing in the living room and showing some friends all our favorite songs.

On Saturday night I came home from the library with my roommate Elizabeth. We walked in and the apartment was completely rearranged, lights outlined the windows, the Christmas tree was lit up, Christmas music was playing, and our roommates, along with a few of our guy friends, were sitting in the front room.

We were so excited! It was like walking into a winter wonderland. We couldn't stop looking at everything. It was just so happy!

Both Ashlyn and I had dates about an hour later. So what did we do to pass the time? We all started dancing to Justin Bieber's "Mistletoe" single. Of course. We were all going a little crazy and the blinds were open.  

We heard a knock and yelled in unison, "Come in!"  Ashlyn's date entered the room dancing and joined right in.  Immediate points for him. We all laughed.

A minute later I got a text from my date saying, "Umm is this you guys having the Christmas themed dance party? Cause I am a huge Mariah fan!" We all laughed again. Instant points as well.

Both Ashlyn and I left with our dates, laughing and already starting off on a good note. 

Dancing in your living room with the blinds open makes for a successful weekend and gains friends.

A Christmas Miracle

Yesterday... we experienced a Christmas miracle. Yes, it's true. We walked into our apartment last night and there was a Christmas tree lit up in the front room. We were shocked. 

We then discovered the wonderful scent of cinnamon. We looked around and realized that there were two bowls of cinnamon-scented pine cones sitting on our table. How was this possible?

Our reactions to the scene were priceless. Jess M jumped up and down, Elizabeth and I stared in disbelief, and Kirsten... I am not sure what she did, but she was excited!

Jenny and Ashlyn came home today and didn't notice everything since we were in the midst of a Thanksgiving feast and a rearranged apartment. Jenny was sitting next to me and said, "It smells like cinnamon, it smells so good!"  

I got soo excited and grabbed her arm and said, "Oh, we had a Christmas miracle!"  (I had told everyone this all day, I was so excited)

This was unfortunate timing because Ashlyn was about to say a prayer on the food and Jenny was so caught off guard by my reaction that we both started shaking with laughter - trying not to disrupt the prayer. 

Well... we finally found out who was responsible. It was who I had expected all along. Ryan and Bailey. If we had guy roommates, it would be these two. They practically live here, and we love it. 

Needless to say, we were in shock that they had been so kind. And we had to find some way to thank them. 

So naturally we blew up balloons, wrote Merry Christmas on them in different languages, and each brought an "offering for their table."  I brought two beautifully colored eggs, Ashlyn took a pie, Jenny offered tea, Jess had some bubbles, and Elizabeth relinquished our rubber duck.  

We knocked on their door and a girl answered. We were slightly confused but Jenny and I had been there before so we were still confident when we asked, "Do Bailey and Ryan live here?" She replied, "No."

"No?" We were lost. They were either ghosts or they had been transported. We knocked on two more doors with no luck. One guy looked them up in the directory and let us know that they indeed lived in apartment #10. But that random girl said they didn't. 

So we called them, and sure enough, they came out of apartment #10. We put on a little show and Elizabeth completely failed and couldn't stop laughing when she went to say, "Mitt Romney is coming to town. Ho, ho, ho."  (he is coming to speak on Tuesday)

We put on the little show with the balloons outside, and then presented our offerings by literally placing them on the table. 

We were all pretty loopy and couldn't stop laughing. They probably thought we were a little strange but I think they enjoyed it. It was the least we could do. After all, they did provide us with a Christmas miracle.

Naturally

This week provided two simple, but very funny moments.  

The first was at a birthday party. But not just any party, a waffle party. And a waffle party involves whipped cream. Naturally. 

And what do you do with whipped cream? You put it on your wrist, hit your arm which launches it in the air, and catch the whipped cream in your mouth. Naturally.

Well, that is how it is supposed to happen anyway. That's not what happened for me! I froze with everyone watching me and ... let's just say that my nose got the brunt of it. The picture below says it all. But it provided a lot of good laughs for everyone watching, myself, and anyone who has seen the picture.

The second experience was even more entertaining. My family came to Provo to see a concert that my cousin was performing in. We went to Rita's afterwards. Naturally. 

Now a little background, my 9-year-old sister Lauren loves her American girl doll named Nellie and brings her everywhere.  And so naturally, she brought said-doll inside to Rita's.  

But who ended up having to hold it while Lauren ate her treat? My dad. Naturally.

A guy came and asked my dad if he was in line and then remarked on how relieved he was to see that the doll my dad was holding wasn't actually a child. Then my dad proceeded to tell the guy that "Nellie" was his youngest child. She was so well-behaved and never cried. He just had to shake her a few times and she was completely fine (which he then proceeded to demonstrate).

This story is difficult to describe because the combination of actually seeing my very masculine dad holding this girly doll and talking about her as if she is a real child can never be recreated. My mom, grandma, aunt, me, and this random guy we were talking to, were all laughing so hard. 

I can't do the story justice. But maybe this picture can help you get a better idea.

My dad is pretty much the best. He is fully confident in everything, and he does anything for us. That includes holding an American girl doll in a store full of people. Naturally. 

Eggs, Plastic Bags, and a GPS

Eggs, plastic bags, and a GPS made for one of the most creative and fun dates I have been on in a while.  When my date Ryan picked me up, my roommates proceeded to interrogate him.  Is that unusual? Definitely not.  Elizabeth and I have been doing that since freshman year and it's caught on with every group that we have lived with.  Ashlyn and Kirsten did the honors this time and I have to say... I have taught them well.  They asked surprising questions, tried to look intimidating, made everyone laugh, and made my date just a little uncomfortable.  He did well though!  He responded with appropriate answers, some of which were very unique.  

After passing inspection, we drove off.  Ryan had still not told me what we were going to be doing.  We parked at the base of campus.  We loaded a carton of eggs into his backpack and he handed me a hand-held GPS.  I was completely clueless.  I was instructed to carefully follow the purple line that marked our path, and that it was all up to me.  He would not be helping me. 

So, I followed the purple line in a wavy path through campus.  I kept laughing. It was so funny as I struggled staying on this line.  We arrived at the JFSB.  I was still so confused.  We headed up to the fourth floor and out on the balcony.  I looked at him skeptically and asked, "We aren't going to throw eggs off of here right?"  He jokingly acted offended and said, "Who do you think I am? NO we are not going to throw them off the balcony!"

He continued, "Using the things in my backpack, you have to get an egg down to the first floor without it cracking."  I laughed again.  It was such a random but fun idea.  He pulled out a lot of plastic bags, a roll of fishing line, some duct tape, and a pocket knife.

I decided to make mine by cutting plastic bags in order to reach their maximum length and proceeded to tie the ends together, making a long chain. The additional length needed was provided by the fishing line.  Ryan, on the other hand, made a very creative parachute with plastic bags and some tape.

It was time to test out our creations.  First, Ryan let go of his parachute with much trepidation, fearful that it would plummet to the ground.  But it filled with air just as it was supposed to and floated gracefully to the bottom.  My experiment took much longer. We laughed as it inched its way down the side of the whole JFSB.  (And four levels is really tall)  

Slowly but surely, my little egg reached the ground.  The whole front of the building is windows and I wish I could have seen the faces of people inside cleaning the building or finishing their studying as this long "thing" traveled towards the ground.  

The moment of truth arrived when we went down stairs to see the state of our eggs. Now, I had just written my name on my egg and Ryan drew a face sticking out its tongue.  I warned him that being cocky doesn't help anything. And sure enough, his had a nice crack and mine did not.  Winner :)

Who knew that eggs, plastic bags, and a GPS could create such a fun night.