I hope you had a great birthday! How did you celebrate? I hope it involved lots of delicious food and presents. Did you get the cool pen that I sent? If you didn't, please go pick it up from wherever you pick up packages. It is awesome. It has both a 4gb USB drive and a laser pointer. That's right. A laser pointer. Whaaaat?! I figured you could use it to play with small animals when you are very carefully not touching them as per Dad's instructions. Hopefully it works. It seemed like one of those things that might not be the most reliable.
Also, you're 9 months in, which means that you might finally be feeling like you have some idea of what you're doing as a missionary. This surely means that you are about to get transferred or put in a leadership position. We have received instructions from your mission president not to make you trunky, so forget that I mentioned you coming home. "You didn't hear anything."
It's great that your comps with a ginger. I keep thinking of Dr. Who every time he regenerates saying, "still not a ginger," but he does like his ginger companions. Donna and Amy are both pretty gingers.
Anyway, I think it's awesome that you're having good teaching times. It sounds like your investigator pool has filled out a bit. That's good. The longer you are in an area, the more fluctuations you will see in your teaching pool. It's like the economy, it comes in waves. That's right. I just made an economics joke.
So, it might surprise you to hear (or maybe not considering the frequency of my little adventures) that I'm not in Provo at the moment. I'm in Las Vegas. Daniel and I decided to elope. Please send gifts to my Provo address.
Pscyh! No, a girl in our ward is from Vegas and she invites a bunch of people down from the ward to visit her family every year, so we came down to enjoy the company and Red Rocks Canyon, which is a super popular climbing area just outside of town. We drove down yesterday afternoon because Daniel is in men's chorus and had a concert yesterday morning.
It was a great concert. I got to see Daniel do the haka because they sang a Maori song and combined it with an abbreviated haka. It was excellent.
On the way down to Vegas, we stopped in St George to do some climbing. We got lost trying to find the first spot we wanted to go to (this happens a lot. I feel like I spend 80% of my climbing time figuring out where the heck we can go.) So, we gave up after a few minutes and drove back down the road to a crag that was easily accessible from the road. We only had time to do two routes. Daniel led his first route outside, and I led a 10.C. Then the sun was setting, so we got on the road and kept driving to Vegas.
When we got here, we ate some dinner and then we headed down to the strip where we were going to get frozen hot chocolate, but then it was $11 a cup!! And we was like, "Ain't nobody got money for dat!" Instead, we just watched the fountain show at the Belagio and were entertained by this street magician who did some impressive sleight of hand with two red foam balls. The people you meet in Vegas.
I forgot how diverse the rest of the world not-Provo is. It was good to see people from different walks of life. I did realize that there is a whole culture involving the consumption of alcohol that I just don't understand. I think that's OK, though, but it does create an understanding barrier between me and all the people who spend $30 for a yard-long margarita.
Anyway, we went to church this morning and now we're just chilling together and getting ready for dinner. Tomorrow we're going climbing, and it's going to be awesome! I will send you pics.
Other things that happened this week was a great Valentines day with Daniel. We went out on Thursday because Daniel had to work on Friday. The near-hour long wait was worth it partially because Daniel and I read The Economist while we waited. That's right. We're nerds.
After dinner, we went to see the Saratov Approach at the dollar theater. This movie is about two missionaries who get kidnapped while serving in Russia. In the end, the kidnappers release them after the Church and their family refuse to pay the ransom as it would set a bad precedent for kidnapping hopefuls all over the world.
It was kind of a miracle that they didn't just kill them. You should see it. It's neat. I think you're probably at a low-risk for kidnapping as you are not in Russia, so no worries.
I wish that I could update you on the Olympics, but I know nothing. I've only seen two events: the men's slalom skiing and the men's long-program skating. This Japanese guy in the most hideous, sparkly shirt I've ever seen won. This cute half-Chinese Canadian came in second, so that was nice. I think that men's skating is n excuse for the world's costume designers to show off all their worst designs at a venue where no one can tell them no. Blech.
Your quote this week is from when the Doctor introduces himself to Rose for the first time, and talks about how awesome he is: " It's like when you're a kid. The first time they tell you that the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it 'cause everything looks like it's standin' still. I can feel it. The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinnin' at 1,000 miles an hour and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're fallin' through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go...That's who I am."
I love you!!
Tonya
