when I have grown a foot or two...

Err body has been all up in my grill about how I'm being such a bad blogger. My apologies! Unfortunately, our house has been under attack and people think it's okay to steal our belongings (aka laptops)... so my circumstances of being computer-less have set me back a little bit. I'll try to catch up in the next little while!!

I know I've told just about everyone (in the entire world), but I'll mention it again. I GOT MY MISSION CALL!! That's right. Come July 28, 2010, I'll be Sister Perry -- called to serve in the Belgium Brussels/Netherlands mission, Dutch speaking. My little brother got his call the same day I did! How cool is that? He also reports on July 28, and he'll be going to the Ukraine Donetsk mission, Russian speaking. Isn't that just perfect?! Keith has been such a good example to me and I am looking forward to sharing this experience with him!



I couldn't be happier about my call. I've told a lot of you this already, but even if I didn't end up actually going, merely deciding to serve a mission has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. I've learned more in the last 8 months about the gospel through mission prep efforts than ever before, and my testimony has been strengthened so much through study/prep/working often with local priesthood leaders. I am so anxious to serve and to testify of all the things I know to be true. I know that the Gospel blesses lives and I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to spread some joy!

LONG LIVE BELGIAN WAFFLES AND EUROPEAN CHOCOLATE!!

dooo you canooooe?

"What about you, Jaime? Have you ever camped before?"

"Uh.... I don't think so."

"Did you ever go to Girl's Camp for Young Womens?"

"Uh.... Yes. But we had Olive Garden/Cafe Rio for our meals and hot showers, so..."

"Oh. Weird. So what about with your family?"

"Uh.... Well, kinda I guess. But it was at Cherry Hill. And they had waterslides, so..."

Given my history, I impressed myself with my outdoorsiness at the Pierside Canoe Trip down the Colorado River a la Hoover Dam this last weekend. But let's be honest. I always impress myself. bahaha - just kidding!! Good joke, Jaim.... Ope... There I go again... Being funny and impressive and stuff...

Just love me, okay?

Tiffani and Grant (the "light canoe") and Daile and I started the trip out right by driving to Boulder City, NV and checking into the 5-diamond Hacienda Hotel, where we met up with the rest of the par-tay.

Friday morning started out early. We were shuttled down to the Hoover Dam launch point where I paired up with my life, ahem, I mean CANOE partner: Brother Richard K. Miller, ward clerk extraordinaire. I'll be stuck on a boat with him ANY day of the week. Richard will be receiving many blessings due to his many hours of practiced patience regarding my paddle technique (or lack of technique). He put his shoulder to the wheel and I am so lucky that I had such an awesome companion down the river. I'm smarter now, merely due to high volume of Richard K. Miller exposure. Go ahead. Ask me a question.

We went exploring in sauna-caves, hiked around the hot springs, sang Italian songs while steering the canoe like a Gondola, and enjoyed a ward-size session of cliff jumping. I may have plugged my nose, but I jumped. Put that on my review! (Below: See my main man, Richard K. Miller: diving expert.



The rest of the trip consisted of campfires, group naps on rocks, bed time on rocks, hanging out with the YMCA "Indian Princess" group next to our campsite, enjoying a study sesh with the beautiful and wise Rhyll Smith, and spending QT (my fave) with all of the ward members I've been so fortunate to meet and love.



Colorado River? Check.

attention, fellow addicts...

I love Reese's. My roommate Britney pronounces it ree-sees and I laugh every time... So Madyson and I went on a delicious outing to Sankai sushi today and thought we should swing by the market to get some dessert, and this is what I found:



Holy. Crap.

Reese's has done it again and I could not be more thrilled. This candy bar has about 600 calories and 36 grams of fat. But once you look past the nutritional facts label, you'll find the most delicious thing since the Reese's fast break. For those of you with any sense of self-control, this candy bar could be a blessing. It comes in break-apart squares, similar to your traditional Hershey's bar. For me, this makes no difference because I ate the entire thing in one breath.

I'd recommend it. Neil, this may be a way to get your fix without having to purchase a bag of Reese's Eggs...

wuuuut?

Today, I had a total out-of-body experience.

"My mind was telling me no, but my body was telling me yes."
--R. Kelly

Does this ever happen to anyone else? Cassidy?

yellow mustard

I thought I'd let you in on some of the good quotes that have come from recent GChat sessions. Sometimes I don't realize how, um, unintelligible <--- (is that even a word?) my daily conversation is. But whatever. Here it is:

Jaime: "Yellow mustard is totally underrated"
Cassidy: "Amen"

Cassidy: "Give me that filet o' fish. Give me that fish."
Jaime: "Ew. What? Don't."

In reference to her unborn baby girl:
Cassidy: "I will even name her after you."
Jaime: "Okay"
Cassidy: "Like middle name or something"

In reference to PetVille (FB app):
Cassidy: "I am creating a pet right now."
Katie Dahl: "Good. Be my neighbor."
Jaime: "Stop it"

Cassidy: "Do you want to hear something great?"
Jaime: "Nah"
Cassidy: "Screw you"

AND NOW FOR MY FAVORITE QUOTE OF ALL TIME: (drumroll, yo)

Cassidy: "I just figured out how to track where an email originated from the IP address.. I am going to figure out where those emails came from"

team harry potter - champions and scholars.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire? I DON'T THINK SO!! Try, Harry Potter and the Golden Globes of Dodgeball! I don't mean to boast (and really, I can't, because I didn't even touch a dodgeball the entire night-- cheering is apparantly my thing), but our team dominated at the ward dodge ball tournament a few weeks ago.

It all started Friday night with a team dinner at BJ's pizza where we talked strategy and bonded over a delicious carbo-loading feast. We went to our team captain, Meredith "Luna Lovegood" Conroy's house and made Gryffindor crests and pipe-cleaner glasses for our costumes. "Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban" was the background noise and we had a great night! (Please note my unbelievably posh 'Gryffindor' themed fingernails. I am such an artist.)



Saturday night, we all hopped on our brooms and headed over to the church to begin this night of sportsmanship. There were some fierce competitors with some great costumes; I just knew it in my heart that our team looked too good not to win. Seriously though. We looked REALLY good.



After many rounds of intense catch-throw-deflect-dodge-athleticism, Team Harry Potter was deemed CHAMPION.

Wizards: 1
Muggles: 0

go disney...

(Sorry that some of the pictures are teensy-tiny. Just squint or somesing.)



I feel like I do a fairly good job at expressing my love for Disneyland on a regular basis, but I don't want Mickey to think I'm an ingrate, so I'll express it again...



If I'm ever having a less-than-optimal day, all I need is a little bit of Space Mountain and a visit to the Hollywood Tower of Terror and I am set! (It helps that Madyson and I always have the BEST ghetto jam sessions on the drive to Anaheim...)



Speaking of Madyson: I love her. I spend 40+ hours a week with this lovely lady and she is LEGIT. Here's a picture of her on crack. HAHAHA!!! Just kidding. I chose this pic because I feel like it accurately displays her shared enthusiasm for D-Land.



Please notice Chelsea's face, on the left. That is pure terror, yo.



P.S. I'm watching a show on HGTV right now and the boyfriend is about 5'6" and the girlfriend is probably 5'11". I'm not exaggerating. And they have a mean looking little puppy. A bit of a mismatch. I don't know what to think right now.