The Prodigal Daughter Returns

I wrote this a couple weeks ago and forgot to post...

I am back in Austin! I can't believe that I have returned already. The past week has been a blur because of the jet lag but I now feel coherent enough to give an update. The whole week before I left was crazy. I hope I packed everything, I raided the kids room, but I am sure that some things are still hidden.

I actually had an easier trip back than I thought I would. I was 9kg's over weight with my luggage! I was expecting to have to leave valuable things behind, but for some reason Air New Zealand said "oh, well your only 9kg's over, just remember not to do it next time". I was surprised and relieved, but then thought of how forgiving American Airlines is and knew I would be in big trouble when I got to LA. I decided not to think about it. Whilst I was packing Rossanna kept giving me more and more stuff from Hayley, Tirol, and Kiri. It got to the point where I thought I might have taken a good chunk of their wardrobe...well, actually it was Hayley's wardrobe. The kids would just "borrow" her clothes and claim them as their so it probably felt as though I really was taking their stuff. Poor Tirol got the worst of it. We were sitting at the table enjoying my final meal (sushi) and Tirol walked in with a bright red arena shirt on. Dialog below:

Sarah M: Tirol that color looks really nice on you!

Rossanna: That is nice...Take it off and give it to Sarah

Tirol: What?!

Rossanna: Take it off! Its a good shirt and you should give it to Sarah, its not ever yours anyways it Hayley's

Tirol: But mum, Hayley gave me this shirt it's one of my favorites!

Rossanna: Well don't you want to give Sarah your favorite shirt?

Tirol: NO!!!

(meanwhile me and Sarah M don't know whether to laugh or just sit there... I think we both took the safe route and just sat there)

Rossanna: TAKE IT OFF!

Tirol: UGH!!

(Tirol turns to go upstairs to change)

Rossanna: No take it off now! Don't go upstairs! Take it off now!

Tirol: What?!

At this point I broke into laughter, Tirol was so shocked at the prospect of stripping in front of us all, her reaction and facial expression were classic! She was finally released to change shirts. Don't worry, I left one of my shirts behind for her so I think she is satisfied.

We spent the drive to the airport laughing about what had just happened. When it came time for me to go through security I promised myself I wouldn't cry, but of course I couldn't stop myself. I was a mess! I miss my 2nd family!

My flight was actually nice. I had the aisle seat on a full flight...except for the one seat next to me. Luckiest person award goes to me! When I got to LA I knew a storm of stress was coming since I was so over weight. When I finally got up to the counter to get the tags for my bags the women there told me to try to rearrange my things so that my bags would be lighter, I told her that that was impossible, but she insisted and moved me to the side. I was so not in the mood to rummage through everything so I literally took 10lbs of clothes out of my bags and put them on the cart I had. I then put my bags on the scale and the lady checked me off and put my tags on. I then put all the clothes back in my bags, and lugged them over to the checked baggage screening. No fuss at all. I now consider myself a full fledged criminal! Out smarting the airlines! What else could I get away with? Of course I told my family when I arrived and they were appalled, but I knew they were thinking ("why hadn't I ever thought of that before?") So I arrived a hero. What can I say? I am amazing.

The Jump Video

OK, I finally got it all put together. I had to sift through about 10min of video that Hayley took and also what was taken from the Wharf (located across the bridge) where the rest of the Palmer's were watching. I am the greyish speck falling at that part. I will try to get the video in a bigger size so you can see it better, but I wanted to get this up asap. ENJOY!

5-4-3-2-1...GO!!

Yes, I did it. I actually did it. I am sure everyone is wondering why I didn't post about my choice of jump or my last will and testament, but I figured it would be better not to for fear of getting too many comments like "you are crazy!"and "don't do it!" which would have made me 10x more nervous. This particular jump (head first into water) is the one I fear the most, the one I promised myself I would never do, the one that makes me cringe thinking about it. I was given the option of the Sky Tower, but I knew Brian would never let me live that down if I chose that. A controlled fall is for sissy's.

So to Tirol's great dismay I didn't die, unfortunately I can now hold this one over her head for the rest of her life because I know she would never be able to jump. HA! So I feel quite accomplished. This birthday present definitely ranks up there with best ever! Hayley got the whole thing on tape which I will post when we get it all edited and whatnot.

So dooms day was yesterday. We decided that Hayley would come up to the little cockpit tucked right under the bridge. We had about 20 people jumping in my group and it took forever to get everyone harnessed! Hayley got to wear one as well since we would be scaling the bridge. It took about 10min to walk all the way up. On the last little bit of stairs to the cockpit I began to get a little anxious. The guys strapping everyone in were covered in tattoo's and piercings...typical. I looked down and discovered that it wasn't nearly as far as I thought it would be, but as the first person went I counted the seconds he was falling in my head...1-2-3-4-5...6!!! Ahhh!! The fact that I was looking down at water completely distorted my depth perception. I knew that as long as I wasn't last then I would be fine. I waited and waited and waited for my turn. The names were being called randomly. No one had backed out and no one had died...yet. So after about 12 people had gone I started to feel more comfortable being so high. You would think that being up there longer would make it worse, but it actually made it a little better. I could also asses what way i should jump and which would be the least detrimental to my neck. I decided I would do a graceful swan dive.

After an hour of waiting I started to notice that there were not many people left...at all!! Fate had put me last!! What a cruel world!! Hayley of course noticed this as well and was highly enjoying herself and the situation. So my name was finally called. I sat in the chairs that elevate your feet so I could be strapped in. I looked at the actual bungee cord...well I wouldn't even call it that, it was tiny! It looked like a bunch of rubber bands all weaved together. At this point I started to hyperventilate. Hayley was filming the whole time and trying to make me laugh and I was trying to focus all energy on making my self jump. When I was strapped in I hopped over the to plank...yes an actual plank! I was grabbing the guys shirt as he practically shoved me up to the edge. During this whole process they make you take pictures and smile, I was trying not to vomit. They also tell you that because of the boat traffic you had to jump on their count down otherwise you will die. So not only did i have to worry about sharks, but I also get to worry about being impaled by a boat mast! Anyways, I am standing at the edge of this plank and realizing that I actually cannot do this. There is no possible way I am going to jump off this thing. I am going to die! Then I hear the count down..."We are go for jump...OK Sarah in 5-4-3-2-1 GO!"

I don't remember much from that point. I remember watching my sights of the bridge disappear and then having my cord kick in to pull me up. At that point I realized that this was actually really fun. I can't possibly explain the feeling. Its was nothing like i thought it would be, very serene and peaceful mixed with terror, adrenaline, and awesomeness! Oh wow! I felt no pain, all my limbs were still attached, and i was still breathing. They pulled me back up to the bridge and did all the unstrapping. I was so relieved and could not believe I had actually done it. I had to have Hayley show me the video she took cause I couldn't remember how I jumped. So I have done it! Nothing will ever be as terrifying/amazing/cool/fun as that! I think all those years of standing at the edge of a freezing pool every morning and making my self jump have finally paid off.

The Birthday Present

I have successfully turned 24, I think that may be a bit of a problem considering I still can't get over the fact that I ever turned 21...Oh the curse of time! I recently watched Bridget Jones and feel as though I should mimic her yearly summary's:

Age:24
Pounds lost:0
Pounds gained due to recent AUS/NZ excursion: 10
Number of boyfriends: 1
Number of prison stays: 0
Number of countries I have been in: 3
Number of personal items lost (aka stolen by Tirol): 5
Number of near death experiences: 1 (skydiving!)
Number of times Tirol has made a complete fool of herself which results in me and Hayley laughing hysterically: priceless!

I will soon be adding another near death experience to my list! Since Brian and Rosanna have had wind of my skydiving antics and my adventurous nature, they have decided to add another death defying feat to my resume. For my birthday present I am allowed to choose between two options, "there is no third option"-Brian. I can either jump off the Sky Tower or jump off the Harbor Bridge. Now when one first glances at the two the first instinct would be to chose the Sky Tower because it is much taller, but the Sky Tower is a tethered fall which means i will be jumping feet first and be in controlled fall the entire way down. The Harbor Bridge is an actual bungee jump head first. Now if I was thinking of going for a less dangerous option I might choose the Sky Tower, but if i really wanted to test my fear of heights and jumping off things the bridge might be a better option. So since I cannot decide for myself I am putting it to a vote. Majority wins. Choose my death! Now please consider every possible extreme. If my strapping were to break I would rather just be done with it than live as a vegetable. The Sky Tower would be a sure thing on putting me out of my misery, but the bridge could leave me alive...but not kicking. So think about it, choose wisely, and remember my life is in your hands!

http://www.skyjump.co.nz/
http://www.tikitouring.co.nz/auckland-bridge-bungy.htm

Harbor Bridge




Sky Tower

NZ/AUS TRIP!

So the past couple weeks I have been traveling around the pacific area. My parents were in Australia so I went over to spend a week with them and then we all planned to go trip around NZ South Island the following week. Looking back at the past couple of weeks, I must say the trip was a complete success...minus a couple bumps. I will try to summarize the best parts of our adventure.

The first week was spent in Melbourne which was really an amazing city. I have always heard it referred to as being home to the best food in the world so I did some taste testing. We went to a different place every night, the coolest one was a place called the Stone Grill. All you do is order a raw slab a meat and then they give it to you on a personal grilling stone cook your meat to perfection your own way. We also went to a place called Movida. This was famous for its Tappas and I have never tasted or seen food anywhere as creative and delicious. Japanese, Indian, and Italian were also must haves. Everything was perfect. I couldn't chose a favorite, you really can't pick just one. I am such a foodie and this was my paradise! Along with the excellent meals, we also heard the Wicked was playing and decided to try out luck at the lottery for tickets. I was thinking it would be much like the lottery in NY with hundreds of people, but apparently they only average about 50 entries so the chances were really really good. My mother won and we got little pins that said "I won Wicked lottery". So cute! The show was really really really good. I wasn't expecting it to be comparable to the NY one, but I was blown away. I also found it interesting that this Aussie cast put on American accents for the show. I must say that there was something funky with Fierro's face, some kind of scaring that probably would not have been noticeable from a distance, but from the front row it was a bit distracting. The next thing we did was the Great Ocean Road drive. This was a trip driving along the coast of Southeastern Australia. It was famous for being extremely scenic and also contained the 12 pillars of rocks called the Twelve Apostles. I was really excited for the drive and to see everything, but about an hour in i got a bit sick. The Great Ocean Road turned out to be the smallest windiest road known to man. A couple hours in I was on my death bed..or car seat. We finally made it to the twelve apostles and right when we parked I threw up. I was able to hold off all that time, but I failed. When we drove back to Melbourne we took a different route with straighter roads. All in all the week was great!











Now when we got to the airport my mother told me that when i travel with then that I don't need to worry about keeping track of anything because she or my dad always do it. So of course I instantly checked out of keeping track of things...Big mistake. We got a couple cute Aussie T-shirts and I gave the bag to my dad who put everything in the compartment above our seats on the plane. We were late for our connection to Auckland and were in a huge hurry to get off the plane. My dad grabbed the bags and we ran. It wasn't until we were in the next terminal that I realized the T-shirt's were left on the plane. We tried to send in a report or get them back but no one would help. We were not able to report it until 2 days later because Qantas was so difficult to deal with. I was a bit gutted cause I had spent a lot of time looking for the perfect T-shirt. So anyways, we had one night in Auckland and then straight on to Queenstown. The flight in was very very very bumpy. It also didn't help the we were scaling mountains getting a bit too close in my opinion. My parents have sworn never to fly into Queenstown again for fear of death. I thought it was a bit hilarious. Went drove to Milford Sound and Mt Cook and all through Lord of The Rings country. It was spectacular...more than that...so amazing! I took loads of pictures, but nothing was doing it justice. We didn't understand how a person would want to spend so much time at a lake or a mountain until we actually got there and saw it. We could have easily spent weeks at these places. My parents have been all over the world and have seen everything and it was nice to hear that they had never seen anything that compared to this.





































So now it is back to normal for 30 days and then I am off to Texas. I can't believe it is that close. I definitely know i will be coming back, there is still so much to do and see.

Good Hair Day

I finally got a hair cut!! It has been 6 months and my hair had become a mess. I don't know what it is about tropical weather, but my hair has decided that no matter what i do to it that it will not cooperate. I decided to go to the place Hayley went to since they did a really good job taming her hair. I was a bit nervous when i found out an Asian woman would be cutting my hair. It took a little while to communicate what i wanted and even then i wasn't sure that she understood. I decided to just go with it and pray i wouldn't resemble a poodle. It took 2 and a half hours for her to cut my hair. I knew my hair was in bad shape, but i didn't realize it was that bad. So I kinda didn't really pay attention to what she was doing and waited until she was completely done to open my eyes. The end result was amazing! Best hair cut ever! If I had my millions I would bring this woman with me everywhere. I love getting hair cuts! I feel 10lbs lighter!

What arrrr you doing?

Well I see my hold habits have got the best of me. I have not updated my blog as I should be doing and now I have too much to update on for one post. I will do my best to condense everything.

So for the past 3 weeks me, Hayley, and the kids were on our own. Running the house was a lot of work at first. The kids seemed to think that no parents=party time. Kiri was the first to have this hope shot down. During dinner on our first night alone she took more food than she could eat. I told her that she needed to eat everything on her plate and she assured me that she would. 5 min later she tried to dump nearly everything that was originally on her plate. She has had a really bad habit of doing this so i decided to stop it. She was not allowed to leave the table until she finished her food. She ended up staying at the table for 1.5 hours. I am very experienced with rebellious children (me having been one myself) and so I knew I could out wait her. After falling asleep a couple times and whimpering She finally finished her food and we have not had a problem in a month. As the week went on we all started getting accustomed to doing more chores and helping each other around the house. It worked out quite well.









The last week in September was Spring Nationals. Me, Hayley, and Tirol drove down to Tuaranga. We took the scenic route and as a result ended up stopping a little on the way for some photo ops. We spent the whole 4 hours singing at the top of out lungs and quoting our favorite movies. I have not laughed so hard in forever! We stayed with Penny (one of our teammates who lived there) along with 5 other swimmers. Penny's mother cooked for us each night and i was completely astonished! I have been living in a household with 3 swimmers and I see how much they eat, I couldn't possibly imagine cooking for 6 girl swimmers on my own! We were all miraculously fed and had a marvelous time. The drive home was much more somber and Tirol got an ear infection so we had to make stops to get her pain killers. All in all it was fun.

Favorite movies this month include: Pirates 2 and 3, Lady in The Water, Sydney White, A Walk to Remember (Hayley and Tirol were balling!), Just Friends, John Tucker Must Die, and all Monty Python.

Rosanna returned a week ago and things are pretty much back to normal now. I am going to visit my parents in Australia the first 2 weeks in November and also tour the South Island. I am soooo excited! I have realized that my time here is coming to an end. I only have 60 days left. I am excited to see friends and family, but at the same time I will be leaving friends and family...you can never win! I am determined to enjoy every last second of my time here.

Homecoming

Hayley has finally come back home! The family and I went to the air port yesterday morning to greet her thinking there would be some media and only the athletes families, but oh were we wrong. The place was packed!! It also didn't help that they held the athletes back from entering until all the other flights had been cleared from the baggage and customs area which meant we ended up waiting for 2 extra hours. We could see them all waiting to be ushered through the exit the whole time. The media got so jammed into the walkway that it only left about 10ft for the athletes to walk before they all go bombarded by cameras. Absolutely ridiculous! The first athletes to come out where all the medal winners and then near the back of the line we saw Hayley! We were all so happy to have her back, I had totally forgotten what it felt like to have someone closer to my age in the house. So we are now a complete family unit again...at lest for another week. Brian leaves soon for the States again on business and then Rosanna will follow very soon after to be with Hannah and Oliver. So me and Hayley will be playing mum and dad for a while. Since I work at nights Hayley will have to make dinner during the week...please pray for us!

Olympic Count Down

Dearest Hayley has left us. She departed for Japan on Monday and will be there for a few days with the training camp for the NZ Olympic team and then head off to Beijing. Me and the family all woke up before dawn to take Hayley to the airport and hang out with her before she left. One boy on the team had a huge group of his school friends come to see him off. They were dressed in their school uniforms which made them all look like nuns. I will never understand school uniform fashion. As the team headed to go through security a group of the boys got together and a did a Hakka. It was soooo cool!! I have only seen the All Blacks do Hakka's, but this one was much longer and way cooler. So once I figure out how to post a video you can all see it. Other than that i am currently very happy to have my own room and car while Hayley is having the time of her life. It is really lonely without her though. Good Luck Hayley!!!

Twilight

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How Time Flys

It has been another wonderful month. Hannah left us mid June as well as Brian a week later. So me, Rosanna, Hayley, and the kids have been holding down the fort. Whilst Hannah was here we all enjoyed hearing Lena's baby talk and mimicking the words she would try to say. She was very good at keeping herself entertained by having conversations with herself. Quite amusing to watch. We still use Lena words when ever we feel they are appropriate, and then we laugh, and then we cry because she is not hear. Vicious cycle. Well anyways, one of Lena's permanent marks she left with all of is was her love of a certain television show called "In The Night Garden". This is made by the same people who do teletubies so you can only imagine what it is like. Unfortunately Lena had to watch this program every morning because it was the only time she would actually sit still. So this meant that we all started singing the songs and saying the names of all the characters (maka paka, iggle piggle, tumblyboos, linky lonk, pinky ponk, harboos) everyday. At this point in time Kiri had to write a 3 minute speech for a speech competition at her school. And of course she chose to write it on Lena's Favorite show. Kiri kept nagging us for weeks about her speech, but of course we kept putting it off and putting it off until it got the the night before it was due. Kiri reminded us again that it was due. We all looked at each other and wanted to tell her to tell her teacher that it would have to be late, but unfortunately we knew we had to get it done right then or else it would never get done. So we all sat around the table and helped Kiri write her speech. After all of this 'In the Night Garden' rubbish I don't think I will ever be able to get it out of my head. Kiri actually did really well in her speech competition and made it to the finals for the first time ever. We were very proud, but unfortunately this also meant we had to keep hearing and reviewing her speech over and over and over each time she gave it in order to get to the finals. "Yes my name is iggle piggle....", "some body's not in be, whose not in bed? Iggle Piggle's not in bed", "Goodnight Harboos"


22 days and counting until the Olympics. Hayley has been so ridiculously busy. She finally got her Olympic uniform and kit. The box it all came in was so big that Hayley easily fit into it. She got 3 bags, and the one big one was stuffed with her shirts, shoes, formal uniform, sunglasses, hats, etc. So many clothes!!! So for FHE one night we had all the family over and Hayley did a little fashion show for us. Unfortunately the NZ gear is not as fashionable as other countries. Everything was black and white. The worst part is that they were given these hideous crock sandals to wear with everything...even their formal uniform. Hayley has been trying to wear them in the past couple of days but they are pure plastic and so uncomfortable. Well, even though it is not the best looking uniform at least she gets to go, that's the important thing. Her coaches have allowed her to walk in the opening ceremony's so look out for Hayley when the NZ team walks!! Yay!!

Well I think that is about all that has happened so far. Training, sleeping, eating, and working take up most of my days. It is very interesting to live in a house where everyone eats just as much or more than I do. Food goes really fast, especially if its something the kids like. There are 3 athletes in the house so i am sure you can only imagine the kitchen raids before and after practices. I love my coaching job. The kids are so great and my coaching partner, George, is really nice to work with. Our kids are out preforming all the other squads. Its a lot of work, but its worth it.

Well that's it for now. I will be sure to post every month, i promise!!

Just keep swimming swimming swimming

Well I guess it is time once again to give an update. Since my arrival I have been thrown into New Zealand culture and oh is it interesting. I thought I would have no problem understanding what people are saying with their accents, but on the contrary I am really struggling. I keep having to say "what? sorry I can't hear you, Huh?" etc. I have just finished my first week of swimming. By the end of the week I was able to finish an entire workout...I might have cheated a bit, but I made it to the end. So while I am in the pool area, I usually have no problem translating what coaches tell me through the echo and loud continuous noises. Now that there is an accent attached to that I can not understand a word!! It is so frustrating and I have gotten to the point where I just smile and nod...a lot.

Now that I live on the other side of the world I am also driving on the other side of the road. I really had to focus at first because I would always turn into the wrong lane if I wasn't thinking about it. After driving on the wrong side of the road I actually prefer it to the American way. I love that the indicator is on the right side instead of the left and for some reason it just seems easier. So if anyone is traveling to a country where they drive on the wrong side of the road and need some one to navigate I would be happy to oblige.

The dominant race here is Polynesian, Maori, and Samoan. I am not sure whether I spelled those correctly but I am sure you know what I am saying. When I go to church I am nearly the only white person there!! Its a real shock and I stand out even more because I am at least 6 inches taller than everyone. I haven't really found any of the men attractive which is a great relief to my mother who was afraid I would marry one of them. Wait...I guess that's kind of a lie because I did find the surf saver guys nice to look at. Surf saving is a huge sport out here where they compete in life saving in beaches. Weird, but it's quite popular.

I have just got a job coaching the youth squads at the youth squads on the team I train with. The kids are completely fascinated with my accent. Its really funny and and the kids are really nice. The guys I coach with are really fun as well so I have a great set up. I am just so amazed with how much the coaches here care about the kids and the quality of training they get. So different from the States!! I am also going to be teaching at the swim school so I will have a very full schedule!! I am really excited to get back in shape. I shoulders have grown so much already! I did an ab set with the kids on Saturday and I came home so sore!! How pathetic!!

So all in all...Training is great, coaching is fun, I stand out like a sore thumb, and the food is amazing. I think I might grow really attached to New Zealand, its been the prefect fit so far but I promise I will come home for the summer at least

Shout out to Miss Anderson and all my NY kids...I love you!!!

Middle Earth

Well...I bet you are all surprised that I am actually blogging! I am a bit surprised myself that I am making the effort, but I already have some good stories that I am really glad I will only have to write about them once. Blogging isn't so bad after all I guess.

So I made the big move to New Zealand on the 14th of May and arrived in NZ on the morning of the 16th. The journey over started out crazy as usual. I booked my flight on two separate airlines which meant I had to go to baggage claim once I entered LA and then go to a different terminal and recheck in. I got to the United ticket desk in Austin and found out the hard way that they had aquired new baggage standards. You are now only allowed to check one bag, not two. The fee for over 50lbs is $25 and the fee for an additional bag is $100. Seeing that I had both of these violations I was looking at an extra payment that would have been more than the cost of my ticket to LA. So at the ticket desk we proceeded to empty out things in my over weight bag which basically consisted of my swimming equipment in order to eliminate that fee, but there was no way I could only check one bag since I am going to be in New Zealand for about a year. Rediculous I know!! So after that fiasco I was running late for my flight and of course the security line took forever. I was sure that I would miss my flight but fortunately I it was running late. I hoped on the plane and found that an Asian guy was in my window seat, but at this point I was just glad to be on the plane so I didn't fight it. I got to LA, changed terminals quite easily and then met up with Hannah, Evan, and Lena. It was a wonderful reunion. Brian, Hannah's dad, arrived a bit later and then we all went up to the club lounge. It was sooooo nice! The 3 hours lay over flew by and before we knew it we were on our flight. Hannah had reserved us seats right at the bulk head, which I think are the best seat in the place. We had soooo much leg room and the flight was only half full so we got to stretch out as well and get a proper sleep in. On the last leg of the flight we plotted how we would surprise the rest of the Palmer family with the arrival of Hannah and Evan. For those of you who don't know, I am living with the Palmer family while I reside in NZ and they were only expecting me and Brian, not H, E, and L. So we decided that we would use the video on my camera and pretend we were taking pictures right when we arrived. I would have them turn their backs to the entry and that way Hannah and Evan could make a grand entrance and really surprise them. So it all worked out perfectly. I got the whole thing on tape and when I figure out how to do it I will post it. Also I must say that going through NZ customs is extremely easy!! So nice and quick!!

So I have been here for about 3 days now and I am still trying to get used to the time change. It is absolutely beautiful! It actually reminds me a lot of Austin and San Diego. Hayley , Hannahs sister is a huge celebrity down here. She recently made the Olympic team for NZ swimming and people here pretty much bow down to her. Its insane. Me and the rest of the family treat her no different. I just got back from a fireside with a man who is running for Prime Minister of New Zealand. Very interesting. Hayley brought me early because she had "some gathering" to go to before hand. I was fully intending to bring a book and read for an hour but that did not happen. We arrived at the stake center and Hayley had to request that I be brought in because the "gathering" turned out to be a VIP meeting with the politician. Only famous Mormon kids were invited. I felt so out of place I cannot not even begin to explain. Everyone came over to Hayley and was so amazed with her Olympic stuff, and then I would be right next to her and she would introduce me and then they would ask what amazing thing I did to which I would reply "Um I am actually here just visiting with Hayley". The reply to this was polite, but it was so embarrassing!!! I have never felt so awkward in my life! There were a few Mormon celebrities there and I had no idea who they were but I was thrown into the mix because I was "Hayleys friend". They would even throw me into pictures with Hayley and these famous people. Then at the end of it they formed a lined with the politicians and all the other VIP Mormon kids to have an opportunity to shake hands with everyone and introduce themselves. When they made this announcement they said "Hello everyone, we are so glad you could be here. We have gathered New Zealands elite to meet with out special guests today. We have students, doctors, lawyers, and an olympic swimmer, Hayley where are you?" Hayley was not expecting this kind of attention at all and was completely thrown off at the mention of her name. Someone came up to her an ushered her to the front of the line and then at the end the politicians requested a special audience with her while they walked to the stand to give their talks. Where was I in all this? Sitting on my own when Hayley went in the reception line, and then I was pulled up to join her in all the picture taking and talking. I can't tell you how unimportant I felt at that moment. So crazy and absolutely hilarious to anyone who was watching. When Hayley was walking with the politicians I was tagging along behind and then they went through this private entrance and once again I was pulled along by Hayley who, at this point, looked just as awkward. So during the fireside Hayley had to leave early, right before the key not speaker. We were making jokes about how the guy would bring Hayley up in his talk and call her out and her not being there. When we got home Hayley got a text from a cousin who notified her that that actually happened. Hayley was horrified and I couldn't stop laughing. Oh the tough life of a celebrity!!

Well thats about it for now folks. I will try to keep you updated as much as possible but I am sure that So much will happen that it would take me hours to write it all. I am working on my accent!!!

Ezma put your hands in the air!!

Erika Anderson came to visit me this past weekend and oh what an amazing weekend it was! The question is not what did we do, but what didn't we do. From the time Erika planned to come to visit me in Austin we had talked about going sky diving. We have always talked about doing crazy super hero stuff, but never did it. So when Erika came we decided that we would be hard core and do it!! I made the reservation at Capital Skydiving for 12pm on Friday the 11Th. That whole week my mother was taunting me about how I was going to die and that because I was being stupid that I would be buried in a pink Costco Coffin. So the big day came and I got a call from Mike (Skydiving Scheduler guy) and he said that the wind was too strong so we would have to wait till later in the day to jump. In the mean time I gave Erika the grand tour of Austin. To her surprise it was not a barren waste land, but extremely green with rolling hills and lakes/rivers. We also went to Amy's Ice Cream and while there I decided to call Mike for a weather check. He told me that it was looking great and to head down. Erika and I had only taken one bite of our ice cream when we were told to come and our stomachs started to churn so we threw it away and headed to Capital Skydiving. We drove up to a wide open field with a tiny plane to the side and a small building in the front. Me and Erika looked at each other and then looked at the tiny plane and both thought that it would be a miracle if we even made off the ground. We entered the building and filled out all the necessary paper work. More people showed up to jump and the place was soon buzzing. There was a couple that was going to be jumping before us so we would be able to judge how good this place was. While we were waiting Erika had a minor panic attack because the place didn't take pictures, only video....actually they did take pictures but it was only with the deluxe package which was paying for another guy to jump with you and have him fall in front of you with a camera on his head. This was an additional $80 and Erika would not have it. The only other option was to have the guy who was strapped to us film with a camera attached to his hand. Erika settled for the hand cam. I wasn't going to get anything, but my instructor, Eric, told me he was going to film me anyways and if i didn't want it at the end then i didn't have to get it....of course after I saw it i decided to get it. In honor of my threat of getting a pink casket I wanted to wear the bright pink jump suit, I started to put it on and it was really small, but Eric said it was perfect and that it was supposed to be tight. I looked absolutely ridiculous, but it was fun.

So skydiving was incredible! Terrifying, but incredible and I think everyone should do it! Such a freeing experience. I think we all picture it as falling like in a huge steep roller coaster drop, but its not at all. Once you leave the plane you feel like you are floating, there is no feeling like your stomach is in your throat.... Seriously! It feels like you are in floating with a ton of wind in your face. It is so peaceful. I will be posting my skydiving video once i figure out how to put it on. It is really embarrassing because when I am freaked out about something I giggle and become extremely awkward. There was also another guy in our plane from the Air Force doing a jump on his own and just jumped out of the plane and waved at me while he fell, I totally freaked out!! That was Erika's favorite part in my video. My instructor was so hilarious and made fun of me a lot. I was not to impressed at first because he was jumping in jean shorts and a long sleeved t-shirt, but he was really good and really safe. Me and Erika would ask questions like "How long have you guys been doing this?" to which they would reply "um... since October I guess", they had actually been doing it for years. I asked my instructor in the plane how many jumps he had done and he said " uh, 18". I laughed nervously and he was like no I've actually done 10,876. He was really good at freaking me out but then making me laugh. So I hope you like the video, I didn't look at the camera to much because I was totally fascinated with everything else. When Eric looked over the video when after the jump he kinda freaked out about the fact that my shoot didn't open properly. You can see it really well in the video. I had no idea, I thought it was all normal, but apparently I was lucky.

The First Try...

Ok...so this is it....I have finally started a blog!! I feel that it is necessary considering my upcoming adventures and knowing that all of those who read this will be living vicariously through me while they are stuck at work behind desks. I guess I should start out with a little summary of where I am at right now. I have been living in New York City since April 30th 2007 and moved back to Austin Texas on March 1st 2008. Why you ask? I have been given an opportunity to go to New Zealand for a year on a working holiday. Yes it was sad leaving Erika, Rachel, and Chelsie. Yes I will miss it terribly, but I am so happy to be back in Texas! So the plan is to spend time at home with my parents for 6-8 weeks before I go on my great adventure. I am so excited!! I am going to try really hard to give as many updates as possible, but as all of you know...I am terrible at doing this kind of stuff so bare with me.

So I guess it is traditional to share stories and what better story to tell than the one about my mother (seasoned world traveler) barely making the flight back home this past weekend. Together me and my mother had 6 bags huge bags. Thanks to Erika we were able to get them all down to the car in one trip. Our driver was a little old black guy and I felt so bad that he had to haul my bags in the back because they were at least 70 lbs each. It took him a little while, but he managed to get all the bags in. Our driver took the "scenic" route to JFK Ariport and as a result we were left with 20min to get to our gate. My mother got one of those push cart things and told me to let her push it in while i go and check us both in. I looked at her trying with all her might to push the cart that she couldn't even see over because our bags were so huge. I insisted that I do it but she said no. A couple minutes later I see her and two other men pushing the cart in. We checked our bags and went to the security check in. I made it through fine, my mother on the other hand forgot that she put all her toiletries in her carry-on bag. So she had to go back to the ticket counter and try to get the bag checked. She found out that she would have to pay an extra $75 to check it. So she decided to just throw all of her products away. She went back through security and when she got to the front of the line she couldn't find her ticket....Sooooo she went back to the ticket counter to get it reprinted. By this time we had 15 minutes until our flight left and of course our gate was the furthest away and involved getting on a shuttle bus. So we get to the gate and make it on "by the skin of our teeth" as my mother would say. So I don't know how, but we made it home. I LOVE TEXAS!!!