Christmas Vacation...Finally

All the fun we had really wore us out this vacation. My family got to come out this winter break to see all the family out west. First my Grandma took all of us to Disneyland to the place where all your dreams come true. We were in Provo for Christmas and then went up to Idaho for New Years. Sorry for all the pictures but just bear with me. There were so many good ones and I couldn't leave any out. Let the good times roll...

The best man made hill ever!

We went to Gertie's all you can eat pizza. Every kind of pizza you could possibly imagine. Some of the favorites included: Idaho, Seafood, Meat Lovers, California, Hot Mama, Ranch & Cheese and the desserts: toffee, Butterfinger, Reeses Pieces, and Oreo. My mom and aunt kept a tab on all the pizza they ate...but I just ate to my heart's content.

We got to do baptisms for our family at the newly dedicated temple in Twin Falls, Idaho. All of the family together!

He's the cutest Grandpa ever!At the Sephor at Disneyland. Who knew?

With Goofy

Bug's Life: It's a Tough World

All of us girls with Minnie

Colton hasn't got his muscles yet

Poor ducks. Patrick shot them both. And Amy caught 12 fish so we had a feast that night.

At night in Disneyland. We went on all the rides the first day.

Being in the front is scarier than you think. You literally go straight down vertically into the water.

All of the cousins with Grandma

The best roller coaster in Disneyland: California Screamin', even my 10 year old cousin went on it, and my grandma, and my carsick mother.

Pipelinin' Patrick with Tubular Toby. Dude...totally awesome

Amy's favorite character Woody

Scared out our minds. This is the most thrilling ride ever

Smiling like the chestershire cat

Be a blueberry! very nice

Sad day. It actually started raining one day we were there so we got very fashionable raincoats to wear instead of bumming it inside. They didn't really work anyways and we went on the wet rides too so they didn't really surve a purpose.

My family is too cool

roar!

haha

double haha

AmY and AubreY

We also went to do baptisms at the LA temple where Patrick served his mission.

Leftover coats and hats on the farm are the best!

Playing airplane, which sadly they had to leave on the next day. I miss them!

A banana a day keeps the doctor away

Everything I love about bananas:
1. Isopentyl Acetate is the banana oil that gives bananas their fruity smell.
2. A banana can be split into 3 equal parts without a knife.
3. During the superbowl, the players ate bananas so they wouldn't get cramps in the humid stadium.
4. Don't put bananas in the fridge, they turn bad quickly.
5. The expression "going bananas" has to do with the effects of banana on the brain.
6. Banana is the number 1 fruit among the world's leading athletes.
7. Boosts brain power.
8. Known to make you relax, improve your mood, and generally make you feel happier.
9. The inside of a banana skin can reduce swelling and irritation due to a mosquito bite.
10. 4x the protein of an apple, 2x the carbohydrate, 3x the phosphorous, 5x the vitamin A and iron, and 2x the other vitamins and minerals.
What more could you ask of a fruit?

A is for aging

Normally I get B's and C's on tests so I was stoked when I took my first test of the new year and I didn't get the scores back but I'm pretty sure I got an A! It was just a safety quiz for OChem but it means a lot to me to start the year off right. Oh and yesterday I told a friend that I had never gotten an A before on a test at the testing center, but I realized that that was a lie, so I just wanted to clear that up. Last semester I got an A on my Math 302 final. That is a great score for a hard class and I now feel qualified to use words like diagonalizable and photoisomerization. Now if only I could transfer that success to my basketball games. Today was our first game and we lost by a lot, too much to say to online, but it was fun to get out there and play with my cool basketball shoes. Too bad I now feel like an old person; my back is aching from falling down and my calves are totally shot. I also just peeled off a whole layer of skin from my feet. I feel like I'm 40 but I'm really the youngest person in my apartment and only have half a year of teenager left in me. Better live it up!

Inventing Human Flight

I just finished a physics problem that I thought I would share with the blogger world:

In order to lift a 200 lb. man with a single helium balloon off the ground, the diameter of the balloon would have to be 5.4 m!

So to put worrying mothers at ease, NO, your child will not fly away if you leave him/her alone at an amusement park with too many balloons.

Check out this guy who set a record for highest flight with ordinary helium balloons getting to a height of 11,000 feet before the balloons started popping like a machine gun going off, and parachuting back down:
http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2001/10/47965

Or this other guy: who flys in his lawn chair with helium balloons and a BB gun to pop the balloons to bring him safely over the Oregon border. Unfortunately, we'll have to get costs down before we can make this an effective air travel option to get to work everyday:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/05/kent-couch-tries-flying-l_n_110980.html

New Year

Well I was gonna write a post about the start of a great new year with my awesome new years resolutions...till I read my horoscope.

2009 Cancer Forecast : You may have to work hard during this period but will be unable to do so. Continuous hard work will tire you easily hindering your capacity to work. There will be a tendency to do bad deeds. You may be engaged in unscruplous activities. Ill health of parents may cause worries. Do not be rash while driving.

Horoscope 2009 for Cancer : You will look forward to life with a great deal of zeal and enthusiasm during this time. At the same time you will be bold and courageous but violent in temper. This period is unfavourable for love and romance. Contemplation may cause losses hence it must be avoided. Children may suffer from diseases or ill health. There might be a possibility of sudden travel.

Kind of a downer, isn't it? Everyone should stay far away from the new unscrupulous me, especially when I am driving!

Note to self: Check up on parents more often this year. Try my hardest to not do bad things. Work as hard as I can but try to sleep too. Try to control my temper. Don't lash out at friends. Don't get my hopes up for love. Don't contemplate too much. Keep a couple bucks out for any sudden road trip that may present itself.

Then again, maybe I'll just keep my new years resolutions.

The Hope of Christ

Finally, the first snowman of the season. I'm finaly getting into the Christmas spirit this year, even with it being finals week. With one snowman made and one final down, I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. This year, for me, Christmastime is about the hope of Christ. The hope that the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings into my life and the hope for Eternal Life. I'm so grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ and the knowledge that if we submit ourselves to Him and come unto Him with all our heart, we can be made perfect through Him. I'm grateful for the time that I will be able to spend with my family this Christmas. Being at college makes me so much more thankful for them since I don't get to see them everyday. I'm grateful that we can have hope that we will have eternally many more Christmases to come together. This hope that I feel now gives me so much joy and happiness that I want to share it with everyone. This semester has been a tough one for me but I know that life is full of trials. Sometimes I feel that the Lord may let go of us for a little bit so that later, we can know who we are coming home to. So 1 week to go and I am so happy to be able to spend time with my family, and of course, I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!

Ruler of the Elves

There was no Santa this year, so my brother got to dress up as an elf for the kids and hand out presents at my families Christmas party. I decided elves need more credit. They're so cute and plus they do all the work too! My favorite is Bernard, fondly known as Barabus, on The Santa Clause. Also, the coolest thing is that my name actually means Ruler of the Elves. Now Bernard points out in the movie that the ruler of the elves, the guy in charge, is Santa, so the name Aubrey means Santa. How incredibly cool is that?!