Pageant of the Masters

Last night my family and I made our newly acquired yearly trip down to Laguna Beach for Pageant of the Masters. Many SoCal residents are not aware of the this gem of an event, even I wasn't until about 3 years ago, even though it is in it's 75th year now. Pageant of the Masters takes place in the Laguna Canyon at an open air theater where they show famous works of art, set to music and script. The catch is that the people in the paintings are real people, who must hold their pose for 2 minutes or more. Works of art are taken from it's original size of about poster size and then re-created on a large backdrop or canvas. Real people are dressed up, have hair and make-up applied and then become apart of the piece. It's quite interesting and awe inspiring.

Wicked & Cirque du Soleil

What a fabulous Saturday I had with my friend Brooke!!!! It started when we drove down to LA and I got a bit lost but still knew where I was going, or at least how to correct it. We wanted to grab a bite to eat before the show so we stopped at this hot dog stand called Scooby's on Hollywood Blvd, which was quite tasty. We then made our way to the grand Pantages Theater and with awe and excitement watched WICKED!!!

For those of you who don't know what this is, you are missing out. It is the story before and leading up to the movie The Wizard of Oz, the classic that everyone knows and has seen. It is the story of Elphaba, commonly known as the Wicked Witch of the West, and how she becomes viewed as wicked. It explains how she became green, how her and Glinda the Good Witch used to be good friends. There are some interesting love interests, the fight between good and bad and who gets to decided what is good or bad, and is filled with inspiring and delightful music the whole way through. If ever given the opportunity to witness this beauty of a show, take it!

We then made our way down to Inglewood for our next big show. We ate dinner at Denny's and had some extra time to kill so we decided to drive down to the beach. Oh how refreshing and pleasant the beach is. I just love being there and it renews me everytime.

Back at The Forum we parked the car and made our way to the Cirque du Soleil show, Corteo. Eagerly we entered the Big Top and were shown to our seats, well at least the seats we assumed were ours. The show started and we were loving it but then about 20 minutes into it, an usher came to our row and asked to see our our tickets. She motioned for us to get up and come to the aisle. So looking like fools we did, wondering the whole time what as going on. She said that we were in the wrong section and that the people whose seats we were in were really mad. Well sorry, but 1. the workers are the ones who put us there, and 2. if you show up 20 minutes late to a show you automatically forfeit your seats. Sorry buddy, your fault! It actually made us quite peeved that they would make us get up 20 minutes into the show looking like idiots, when it wasn't our fault. Anyways, the rest of the show was spectacular and mind blowing. We sat in amazement at what some people can do with their bodies and there were many times where we actually gasped with astonishment and excitement.

Lunch with the girls

Seeing that everyone was back in town again we decided to get together for lunch and share our adventures from the summer. We ate at Cheesecake Factory and then had the dessert back at my new apartment.

Divining Rods make a comeback

I spent 4 cold but fabulous months in Nauvoo, Illinois back in 2004 and learned some amazing things. One crazy but cool thing I learned was while we were on our Western field trip and were in Mt Pisgah, Iowa. You loosely hold two metal wands/sticks parallel in your hands and walk. The wands will cross each other when there is a water source, or will indicate where the earth has been disturbed for say an old building. You see this things in old movies or cartoons and think that its all crockery, but in fact they worked while we were there.

Brother Lambert getting a kick out of the divining rods

My good friend Kara amazed at the possibility

Now I write about this because yesterday as I was driving home from some errands and was waiting in the left turn lane I noticed a workman off to my left with these two rods in his hands. He then proceeded to venture into the street, when no cars were coming, and would spray paint on the asphalt at the location that his rods would magically cross. It instantly made me think of Mt Pisgah and astonished me that with all the sophistry of instruments and technology he could be using, instead he was using two humble metal rods.

My New Apartment

I'm moving! Well, technically I've moved, but all my stuff isn't in my new place yet. I painted my room yesterday and one wall of the living room today. I plan to move my stuff from my dad's warehouse to my new apartment as soon as my dad gets done with work.

Bottom apartment Hallway leading to roommate's room Roommate's bathroom

Living Room

My closet!!!! which i adore!!!!!!

My bathroom
Bad picture of my room (hard to get good angle)
Front door, closet and buffet, dining area
Kitchen
Floorplan

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Camp

As mentioned earlier our girls camp went from 44 girls to 128 girls when our stake boundaries were changed. Now, this had its good and bad sides. Here's a run down of the good and the bad:

1. T-shirts we ordered were not ready to be picked up until the morning of camp. Bad.


2. T-shirt color was drab and somewhat depressing looking. Bad.


3. Most of our YCL 1 & 2's showed up on time and helped get everything ready for when the Level 1-4 campers showed up. Good.


4. My committee actually came up with and performed a skit, something I refused to do the 2 previous years. It was to the tune of "Lean like a cholo" for those of you who are interested. We even wore some flashy purple capes. Good.


5. Wednesday breakfast was 10 minutes late being ready, which cut into the Camp & Cabin Caper cleaning time. Bad.


6. My committee girls worked hard in the camp store while the younger girls went crazy with excitement. For most of the girls this was the first time they had a camp store while at camp. Good.


7. Dessert was not served directly after dinner like asked for and promised. Bad.


8. The program for when the Stake Presidency was in attendance was AMAZING!!!! Good.


9. 5 of the girls in our cabin pulled 2 mattresses off the bunks late in the night and slept on them on the floor only after toilet papering themselves so as to make a fort. Unsure.


10. Thursday breakfast, some funky biscuits with gravy, was 15 minutes late. Bad.


11. I literally caught a girl as she fell from a rope 10 feet up and over a huge boulder. Good.


12. The painting service project Level 3 campers were to perform ended with them putting hand prints on rocks, hand prints of paint. Definitely a bad thing.


13. Dessert was not served directly after dinner Thursday night, even though requested and promised. Bad & frustrating.


14. Bishops Night activities were fun and entertaining. Good.


15. All of the 9 Bishops were there except for the one from my ward. We heard that a counselor would be filling his spot, but he never showed. Bad and sad for the girls in my ward.


16. The girls in my cabin pushed 2 bunk beds together, with 6 girls sleeping on the bottom and 3 sharing the top. Unsure.


17. Someone stole the big heavy bell that weighs about 30 pounds and is at the top of a 6 foot pole. Bad and not funny, cuz we use it to keep everyone on schedule.


18. While at the lake a girl got whiplash as she was catapulted off a floating trampoline. She was put on a stretcher, taken to the hospital and had x-rays taken. Bad.


19. The chance to wear shorts and flip flops while at the lake and park. Always a good thing. I hate to wear pants and shoes and must make a sacrifice every time I go to camp.


20. The fun slide show made from pictures taken during camp. Extremely good.


21. The Parable of the Ten Virgins that we had the girls personally take part in as a surprise. Good and Bad. Good that they got to experience it and to use the oil lamps they had made earlier, but bad that only about 10 out of 128 girls were prepared for when the Bridegroom came.


22. Testimony meeting at the Fire Ring. Spiritually good beyond compare.


23. The girls in our cabin pushed 3 bunk beds together and squeezed 9 girls onto the bottom and 4 on the top. Unsure, and not sure how well they slept.


24. Many wards and cabins wanting to leave early without helping to do the final capers and camp sweep. Bad and rude.


25. Did I mention that practically every meal was at least 10-20 minutes late, thus messing up our entire schedule everyday. I don't mind having to wait for good food, but this wasn't worth the wait. Bad and hungry.

Camp Makye

Well, I survived a week of girls camp and am finally home. I will post more after I have rested, am refreshed and have been able to process all that happened.

Week in Nature

Starting tomorrow I will have the distinct pleasure of sleeping on a hard bunkbed, getting up early to ensure a warm shower, having to wear full pants and full coverage shoes, getting dust up the nose which makes your buggers turn brown, trying to get 16 & 17 year old girls to go to bed at a decent time and many other wonderful things that come along with girls camp. Really, I'm excited, but will not be able to post for the rest of the week. Until then, may the spirit of Camp MaKye be with you all.

Paper Brides

So this morning I attended a bridal shower for a friend I know from BYU who lives in Glendora. We had a fabulous brunch, opened some boring gifts full of dish towels and measuring cups and also a few scandalous and fun gifts, and played those silly bridal shower games. You know, the ones where you have to design a bridal gown out of toilet paper. New, not used, mind you. This is the lovely bride-to-be in our very own creation.

Just an information note: when Mr. Right does come and sweep me off my feet and I decide to settle down, I believe that bridal shower gifts should be for the bride, not the house. Kitchenware and bath towels should be saved for the reception. Whereas fun, flirty and frilly items are best to receive at said bridal shower.

Meetings, meetings, meetings

I wish I could write that I've been busy with exciting adventures for the past couple of days, but that is not the case. I have been busy with a ton of meetings for girls camp, which is coming dangerously soon. Other than meetings, I have been going to the gym everyday, which I am quite proud of. Not only am I going to the gym but I feel as though I am getting in some very effective workouts. So I guess this post would be considered the non-adventure aspect of my title. My adventures come in spurts. Better every once in awhile than never at all, right?

Dodger Game

So Thursday night I had the opportunity to go to a Dodger game. My good friend Cindy is an avid Dodger fan and goes to about 2 games a week. When I got to Dodger Stadium I found out that they were playing the Giants and that Barry Bonds was playing. He is 1 home run shy of matching the home run record of Hank Aaron. I also found out that he was born in Riverside, California, my hometown. With the score 3-0 in favor of the Giants for most of the evening, the Dodgers did have ample opportunity to catch up when they had bases loaded a total of 3 different times. They were never able to capitalize and lost the game 2-4.

Busy But Bored

We left Idaho Sunday after a family dinner and made it down to American Fork to visit my other grandma, before stopping in Fillmore for the night. Since getting home Monday night I have been attempting to attack the ever growing pile of mail that has accumulated over the past month, and am having some success in cleaning and organizing my room. Nothing much exciting happening compared to what I was doing in Costa Rica or Idaho, just trying to get things ready for Girls Camp, which is in 1 1/2 weeks.

The Spudman

Burley, Idaho is the proud sponsor of the Spudman Triathlon, which has been up and running for the past 21 years. My uncle Brent participated in it last year, along with my cousin, and he recruited many of us from the family to sign up and participate in it this year. My mother, sister and I signed up as a team with each of us doing a different event, but then my mother had to back out due to some health issues. So my aunt Lisa jumped in and took my mom's biking portion.

You are supposed to wear these timers on your ankles that keeps your time and this is my face when we realized that we had forgotten it back in the truck .5 miles away with only 8 minutes left before I was to get in the water.

Preparing for the start of my 1 mile swim/float down the Snake River

My aunt Lisa setting out on the 26 mile bike portion My sister Erin getting ready to sprint through her 6 mile run section

Team Lauritzen at the end of the race

I plan on signing up for the Spudman next year and training to do the whole thing myself. My uncle Brian would also like all to know that he completed the whole thing himself in 2 hours 31 minutes.

Our results are finally in.....3 hours 17 minutes 16 seconds 34 miliseconds

Snake River

So we are here now in Burley, Idaho, the place where my mother was born and raised and where my grandparents still live. Friday we went to the Snake River where we had a wonderful bbq and fabulous time on the river.

Me having fun on the rope swing

Me and my sister on the innertube

Me and my sister doing the splits off a 25-30 foot rock

Home at last

We got to the airport with plenty of time this morning seeing that our hotel was only a 5 minute shuttle ride away. About halfway through the check-in line we remembered that we were flying First Class due to an upgrade with my mom's Sky Miles. Our tickets only cost $30 each and we got to fly First Class.

Once we arrived in Atlanta we ate a late lunch at Chili's, where I had chips and salsa, and then we hunkered down for our 6 hour layover. We were heading over to some seats near the window when I heard my name. I turned around to see who in the Atlanta airport could possibly know me and it was Sister Scharffs from Nauvoo. The Scharffs are currently serving a mission in Scotland, but her father is having health problems so she was flying back to SLC to see him. It was really good to see her and catch up seeing it had been about 3 years since I had last seen her. She still looks as young and chic as ever.

We landed in Ontario around 10:30 pm and were home by 11pm. It is now 2:30 am and I have just finished with my third load of laundry. I will wake at 5 am, shower, re-pack, and we will be leaving at 6 am for the wonderful 14 hour drive to Idaho.

Medical Clinic

So we were supposed to be on Delta flight #244 Tuesday morning at 8 am but something came up and out and all over.

Around 2 am my mom got up from the bed and went into our green and white checkered bathroom and started throwing up.

She came back to bed for only 20-30 minutes before getting out to throw up again. This continued for about 2.5 hours with details I will spare you all. We were supposed to catch a taxi to the airport at 5:30 but that was not going to happen, not with her in this state. The B&B owner had her son walk us up 3 blocks to the local medical clinic/hospital where my mom was admitted. She was briefly checked out, given an IV and asked to rest on a cushioned bench. There were many other people in this hallway attached to hanging IV bags and one of them was this big guy who kept moaning for an hour and a half straight. Good thing I brought my book to keep my occupied until I finally asked if we could see a doctor. There was some issues with the computer system when I went to pay the 38,ooo colones which equals to about $80. What a deal huh?Before heading to the clinic I called Delta and got our flight changed to tomorrow. We are now staying at the Hampton Inn which is soooooo comfortable and only 5 minutes from the airport.

Massage

Monday started out peaceful and relaxing as we treated ourselves to massages at the Spa. The 2 hour 20 minute pampering fest started out with reflexology on our feet but to be honest mine felt more like a soft rub-down. I then was treated to a facial which included hot volcanic stones and felt like heaven. The rest of my body was then massaged and melted like butter under the caress of hot volcanic stones. At 1:30 pm we were picked up by Interbus for our 3 hour drive to San Jose. I think I saw more fear on my moms face during this treacherous drive than when we were on the small plane getting to La Fortuna. I'm not sure if our transfer bus had trouble shifting or if it was our driver but it was not a pleasant drive. We really wished we would have flown the 20 minutes instead of drive the 3 hours, and even my mom said she felt safer on the small plane.

We finally arrived at our small bed and breakfast in a nice part of town but our b&b wasn't quite as nice. We had met this lady our first Sunday in San Jose at church and she gave us her business card stating that she owned a b&b if we ever needed a place to stay in SJ. We took her up on that and sort of regretted it once we go there and saw the place. One cool thing is that it butts up to the backside of the Mexican Embassy so I have a picture of me half in Costa Rica and half in Mexico. I will have to upload pictures later when I'm on a computer that has a USB port.

We ate at this really cool restaurant called Cafe Mundo that was this cool victorian home turned chic restaurant. The location of our B&B is in an area with a lot of restored European looking buildings with lots of character.

Volcano Arenal

This post is post script to my last one. After canyoning we showered quickly and then got a taxi to take us over to the observatory side of Volcano Arenal seeing that it was a clear night with no clouds covering the top. The ride ended up being 30 minutes long, 15 minutes longer than we expected, but it was worth it. We had a clear view of the top with lava pouring down at times and red hot rocks bouncing down the face.

There is a restaurant at the observatory point and before we left for the observatory we thought about eating there but when we asked our taxi driver if she would wait for us she didn't seem too willing. So as we were standing there on the deck enjoying the night show, she came up to us and told us that she had been invited to eat dinner by the staff. Well, we figured if she was going to eat we might as well too. We paid $16 each for a nasty and very disappointing buffet. I cant believe they charge that much, and I cant believe we paid that much. Had we known how bad the food was we wouldn't have. Although the one good thing about the place is that they had chips and salsa. So we sat at the same table with our taxi driver and tried to enjoy our sorry excuse for a meal.

Canyoning

My mother is demanding that I correct an an error from my last post and give more accurate information. I stated that she fell off her ATV on the rather difficult section, but in fact the ATV tipped over, spilling her from her seat and started to roll down on her until she stuck out her foot and saved her own life. She said that it was much more eventful and life threatening than the way I reported the incident by her simply falling off. Is that better mom?

After a lazy morning, where I ended up locking myself out of our cabina, we set out to do some canyoning. What is canyoning you ask? I wondered the same thing at first. Simply put, it is rappelling down a slot canyon that also has waterfalls. We went with the company Pure Trek which is co-owned by a lady from CA. It was a ton of fun and I wish it lasted longer. There were 5 descents and 4 of them had waterfalls. One of the guides told me I should apply, so it looks like I could easily stay in Costa Rica if I wanted to with job offers here at Pure Trek or at the canopy place.

Two thumbs up for this adventure

My mom Enjoying the waterfall

Riding ATVs can be muddy

We attempted to hike down this trail to the river below but it got a bit steep and slippery, so we turned back. On the way back up we came upon a creature in the middle of the trail which surprised and frightened me enough to make me scream. It was an armadillo and I'm not sure who was freaked out more, me or the armadillo that tore off as soon as I screamed. My question is, what are armadillos doing in Costa Rica? I had no idea they were residents here.

Our hotel has some natural hot spring pools that progressively get hotter the further up you go. They are quite nice and relaxing.

Our hotel also has some really amazing flora and fauna.

The main reason we came to the La Fortuna area is because of the Volcano Arenal. We can view it right out our front door and were able to see the top of it this morning while at breakfast.

Strapping on a helmet does not make one an expert ATV rider, just ask my mother. We signed up for an ATV tour today and set out with our group on a semi difficult and technical course. There was this steep part with uneven terrain and mud at the bottom, and what does my mother do but fall off. Don't worry she is okay and is quite the trooper because she got right back on, but her behind was quite muddy.

We rode all the way over to La Fortuna falls but didn't make the hike down because it would have taken too long.

On the open stretches I got up to speeds of 75 and hit a mud puddle that was a lot bigger and deeper than I realized while going about 30, causing a wall of mud to envelope me. No worries we just went across a river so that I could get the mud off.