Rise. And. Shout.

Ok. So, to finish off my summer, I kicked the pants off of the chorus part of Sweeney Todd.

Then I toured the Mall of America with my dear, wonderful, gorgeous guy-friend Kyle. I had been told by a few sources that it wasn't that great, and that the Canadian version (the West Edmonton Mall, which I visited last year with my darling friend Carissa) was much better.

I was misinformed.

The Nickelodeon-themed amusement park was fantastic! Somewhere in between Six Flags and Oaks Park. The rides were a blast, and there were all my favorite characters walking around, including THE BACKYARDIGANS!!!!
The mall's aquarium was also fantastic. Less big animals (Edmonton had some sea lions), but some amazing sharks and fish, including a few species I hadn't seen before outside of books. I spent far too much in that gift shop, but I'm afraid it was like an addict in a meth lab.

What a goof-ball. After a bit of cajoling, he took me to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Possibly the best restaurant ever. We were lucky to be seated right next to an aquarium/fishtank, and got to make faces at the fish.

Then, to start off the new year right, I chopped off all my hair, and went from this:

(I'm sad 'cuz my hair is so ridiculous (p.s., that isn't even all of it. Half of it is on a bun on my head)

to this:

You can tell I'm happy, 'cuz I'm kissing a moose in Park City.

Since getting back to school, I have moved into Arcadia Apartments, started hacking away at my class schedule (see below), made some new friends, including some fantastic roommates, and spent some quality time with good 'ol friends from last year.

My schedule... Not sure why it's being so small. I'll fix it later.

Austie took Cody, Nick, and I up to Eden, UT, where we ate at this Mexican restaurant, then headed back. It was silly, but a really great day.

The next day was Nick's farewell. Apparently, in UT, right after Sacrament meeting, you leave church and go to the missionary's luncheon. I didn't realize that until it happened, but I was pleasantly surprised.

These two boys saved my sorry freshman hiney last year, in so many ways. I am so scared of doing this year without them, but I know that them leaving me for the Lord is where I really want them to be. Nick is already in the MTC, getting ready to head to Guatemala City, Guatemala. Cody leaves in November for Lisbon, Peru. Oh, and remember Kyle, my guy-friend from before? He heads to Paraguay at the end of this month.

I struggled a bit at the start of this semester. I mean, I made friends last year, why should I have to do it again? With that attitude in mind, I'm sorta letting friends make me. I'm not going out of way to find people to fill the aching void (that's what family and OIMB friends are for =P ). Instead, I'm sort of letting friends make me, if that makes any sense. A couple new friends and lab partners in class, and new people in my apartment complex, and personalities of the ward, are all finding their way into my friend circle. I'm excited to make it to church next Sunday (I missed last week when I went to Nick's farewell), to make even more friends.

I am very much looking forward to the long weekend. I'm using this semester concentrate much more on academics and much less on the social scene. It's an especially good goal, as I'm taking so many more credits than last year. I've been able to keep up with all my classes thus far, and even get a little bit of head. So far so good!