Another Side of Heaven

Every summer my family leaves the green of Oregon to enjoy yet another side of heaven, Bear Lake, Utah. There are so many things to do, and see, at Bear Lake. We stay at my wonderful, aunt Laura's house. The house sits right on the lake; so close, you can fall asleep to the sound of the tide coming in and out.

We've been going to Bear Lake for only six years and the traditions that we enjoy year after year feel decades old. Shakes at La Beau's, famous Bear Lake Pizza, tee time (yes, golf), smores, Phase10, midnight star gazing, the grandma catcher, and Laura's cookies. These are only a few of the little things that have left a big impact on my childhood memory.

There are fish in lakes, right? Yes. I am scared to death of fish. My cousins just love to shout "fish!" as we swim out to the dock. I, on the other hand, jump in fear every time they do it.

There are tons, and I mean tons, of frogs by the lake. No matter how long or how hard I try to catch a pet froggy, I never seem to catch one.

Not one single Fotheringham leaves Bear Lake without pigging out at the famous Bear Lake Pizza place.

Every one in my family knows how much I love strawberries. They don't last very long when I get to them. Because of my mad affair with strawberries, my mom has to get the jumbo pack at Costco so that the rest of the family can have a few. Anyways, my grandma brought strawberries and chocolate to the house one night. Oh boy, did she win my heart that night.

Back home Sarah and I always jump in the car late at night, drive out to the country, and go on what we call "Scary Drives." We get a sick thrill out of it. Becca, Sarah, and I decided to go on a "Scary Swim." Yes, it was creepy.

Bear Lake is a beautiful place to be, especially when your family is with you. I cant wait to get back.

The Nagging Can Stop

For two years my family and friends have been nagging me about getting my permit. One, I am a little scared of cops, two, I don't want to crash, and three, I don't want to fail the test. None of my brothers or sisters had to read the book before taking the permit test, but I just knew I would be the one who has to read it in order to pass. Sarah convinced me that all I had to do was lightly skim over the pages. And I believed her. I went in February to take the test and...failed. I failed the test by one question. Yeah, I was pretty disappointed. After that, I wasn't in any hurry to take it again.

My family began to pester me about driving again. So this time, I read the whole book...twice. I got to the DMV and passed with a 94%....drastically better than before.

I proudly stuck my temporary paper permit in my wallet.

Oh, and acording to my permit, my last name is Otheringham.

All I have to do now is muster up the guts to get behind the wheel and drive. The way I see it, I've been doing the community a great service by staying in the passenger seat. Well, don't blame me for the dents and scratches to come...you are the ones who nagged me to get behind the wheel.

"Fall For You"

Once again, LHS Leadership puts together a great dance. Ever since last Homecoming's success, I was determined to never miss a dance after that. Up until 30 minutes before the dance, I had planned on not going. Not because I didn't want to, but because I wasn't too excited about the price. I mean, seriously... 15 bucks for a school dance. I wasn't about to be robbed. After my friends reminded me about how much fun I had at the last dance, I still wouldn't budge. However, I couldn't let my friends go to the dance without taking some pictures. So I offered up my services for the night.

It was 10 minutes before I was about to drive over for pictures, and I think I might as well see if Sarah has any dresses that I can use, just in case I have to go for Yearbook. So I find a dress and I eventually decide to attend the dance...and I got Sarah to come too, BONUS!

Before going to the dance, a group of my friends and I went to Chang's Mongolian Grill. One word yum. It turned out to be a great night, and I thank Sarah for having so many dresses in her closet for me to choose from.

Christmas at the cabin...

This year was possibly the best Christmas I've had in a long time. Ever since my brothers and Melissa have grown up and moved away, Christmas has been very different. It is a rare occasion for all of us to be together in one state at a time. Usually someone is gone. It couldn't have been a better time to have the whole family together for the announcement of Melissa and Brett having a baby. We spent most of our time up at our family cabin. One of my favorite places in the whole world is the cabin that my best memories have been made at. Close to what I think heaven looks like is this cabin and the nature surrounding it.

Melly's Eggo is Preggo...

My family and I went to Utah for Christmas this year, and we are sure glad we did. The night we arrived at Melissa and Brett's house, Brett seemed anxious for present time. Eventually we started to open presents. It came down to mom opening a gift from Brett and Melissa. While unwrapping it, she froze and looked up at Melissa. None of us knew why she had stopped opening the present. Knowing my sister and Brett I honestly thought they had given my parents a cruse. Boy was I wrong. Once mom showed everyone a mug that said "Worlds Greatest Grandma!" on it, we all freaked out.

After a long wait, Melissa is finally carrying a beautiful baby in her belly. I am extremely excited for this new and first edition to Melissa and Brett's family. I think I might be looking forward mostly for the time that I get to start spoiling him/her. My friend has two new baby sisters, so I find myself over there holding the babies all the time. I know Brett and Melissa will be amazing parents.

(and no we're not drinking wine in the video)

New Moon, Midnight Showing....

Last year the wonderful Kelly Burton organized a Twilight party for the midnight showing. It was amazing. This year Kelly has done it again.

With boat loads of homework, Sarah and I drove over to Kelly's house for the New Moon party. We watched Twilight and hung out with a ton of friends.

Kelly decorated her house for the occasion...red carpet and all.

Sarah and Shayna with their vampire fangs.

I have never, and will never, read the Twilight books. But I am always willing to stay up till 4am to watch the movies. It being a school night I was dreading the fact that I had 2 hours to sleep before getting up and going to school. I missed first period and I had planned on "missing" second period to get in some more sleep and to try and study for an up coming test. I called it my "rebel" day. But before I could fully experience my rebellion, I had to tell a past teacher of mine about my midnight adventures. After I had shared my thoughts on New Moon, she asked me what class I was supposed to be in. I knew I was caught. She gave me the you-should-be- disappointed-in-yourself talk. I gave her the evil eye and said she was ruining my life. What a teenager response, I know. After "slamming" her class room door, I was still determined to live out my "rebel" day with Shayna. I got to where Shayna was and I panicked. I felt so guilty for skipping class. I called my mom to tell her what I had done. She laughed and said it was fine. Then I got a pass to go to my class. The guilt was gone and I felt good about not totally skipping out on my classes. But I did make sure to tell my teacher how guilty she had made me feel. Next time I feel the need to be a "rebel" I'm staying far away from Ms. GiultTrip.