This is a video of me (Tori) being attacked and tickled. It's kinda of embarrassing but it's too funny not to show. Hopefully it's clear enough to see. Also there's a part that my Mom and I realized sounds bad, but I promise I'm saying "My Abs!" Because I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe and it was quite the work out. Haha!
Oct 15, 2010
Torture Tickling Tori
This is a video of me (Tori) being attacked and tickled. It's kinda of embarrassing but it's too funny not to show. Hopefully it's clear enough to see. Also there's a part that my Mom and I realized sounds bad, but I promise I'm saying "My Abs!" Because I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe and it was quite the work out. Haha!
Oct 5, 2010
Mindlessness
Christine here!!
Here's a mindless video that Tori sent to me that makes me quite happy because it's just so funny...
So last Friday I got to go down to Sydney for a YSA cruise in the Harbour. It was AMAZING! We were on a boat with almost 700 other YSA's and the whole bottom floor was a dance floor. We could also go along the side, or up on top. It was PACKED! The theme was crazy hair if you see any strange hair-do's. This first picture is of me on the boat (docked) in front of the Harbour bridge :) That's my "crazy" hair... all I did was make it like crimped and frizzy and wore a sparkly headband. You can't tell in the picture at all though.
This one is called Orphan Rock. You used to be able to walk around it and stuff, but then they declared it to be unsafe in the 1970s or something. Bummer, it looks heaps cool! You can't tell from this angle, but there's also a hole right in the middle of the rock.
This is the waterfall Vanessa and I climbed up. We are excellent waterfall climbers!
Aparently this Indian man posed on this rock all contemplative, so we copied him. It does seem like a very good place to do some big thinking.
Ashleigh and I... epic poses again.
Beatles.
We rode the "railway" down to another part of the mountains. It was like as steep as a roller coaster, it was so awesome! This picture was before... I just took it from above the gate that kept us from falling out.
This was another waterfall we climbed that turned out to not be a real waterfall. They just had water running down from a pipe! Lame sauce!! posers.
I'm on a horse... HYA!!!
Ashleigh's very serene...
I'm riding this horse backwards... HYA!!
These tree branch things are like the ones Tarzan would swing from. They're really thick but very bendy like giant ropes. Pretty awesome!
You can't tell but it's pouring rain in this picture. Kinda like we're dancing in the rain with statues! haha. Also, my statue had a naked butt, that's why I'm posing like that... I accidentally covered it up! Dang it!
The snake I got to hold at the Gardens! This is the first snake I've ever held!!
Here's just a taste of what the gardens were like. Pretty amazing :)
So also, for more recent news... Sister Julie B. Beck is coming to speak in Sydney October 17th and I'm going to see her!! As far as I know, there will be a YSA Fireside with her and Elder Callister at 5:30 and then a Relief Society Fireside at 7. So I think I'll get to listen to her twice in one night! That's almost as good as general conference! Speaking of Gen. Conference... I haven't watched any of it yet because we're 17 hours ahead of Provo, so we would have had to watch Conference on Sunday and Monday instead of Sat and Sun... so we all just gather at the stake center and will watch it next weekend. I could watch it online, but I figure I'll get more out of it if I actually go to watch. I am very excited about it... I heard lots of good things about it. Also... I got asked to give a talk in Sacrament on the 31st! I don't know my topic yet, but will soon I hope. I'm actually excited about it. It'll be good.
So my time here is almost halfway over! There's so much that I still want to do, but the weekends don't give me enough time to do it all! It's crazy how fast it's going by! I do really really want to go home and see everybody, but I'm going to miss it here a lot. I'll mostly miss "my family"... that's what I call them at least... I'll miss the family I'm working for, and most of all the girls. Once I go, they're going to grow up so fast and I'm going to miss every single moment! So sad!
Um, another Aussie update: The Commonwealth games are going on right now, and it's something that I've never heard of before... I'm not really sure what the deal with it is... it seems like the olympics, but not all of the countries compete (like the US doesn't for example). Anyway, I'm not quite sure what all that is about, but I like the Olympics! So I'm okay with it.
Well I think that's everything. I love and miss all of you who may be reading!
Here's a mindless video that Tori sent to me that makes me quite happy because it's just so funny...
So last Friday I got to go down to Sydney for a YSA cruise in the Harbour. It was AMAZING! We were on a boat with almost 700 other YSA's and the whole bottom floor was a dance floor. We could also go along the side, or up on top. It was PACKED! The theme was crazy hair if you see any strange hair-do's. This first picture is of me on the boat (docked) in front of the Harbour bridge :) That's my "crazy" hair... all I did was make it like crimped and frizzy and wore a sparkly headband. You can't tell in the picture at all though.
Ashleigh and I and some other YSA's (I forget their names... oopsie) and the harbour bridge behind us! This was taken on the top level of the boat.
And THIS is the best part. The one in the white shirt, his name is Vitalii (from the Ukraine). He introduced himself, then stayed by my side for the rest of the cruise. I got to know him a bit, he seemed pretty nice but he was really touchy!! Weird for not knowing him. So I was supposed to go on a date with him last night, but I made an excuse not to go because he's not a member and was already super touchy so I didn't want him to try and put any moves on me haha. So I asked if we could go some other time (hopefully do something else in the daytime). I could be just paranoid but hey, better safe than sorry. Anyway, this is him... he's quite muscly...
On Saturday Ashleigh, Vanessa, Emily and I headed over to the Blue Mountains! The weather was not-so-great, but the mountains were beautiful! This picture here is of the Three Sisters. Funny, because we have Three Sisters in Oregon as well... they're a bit different though.
This one is called Orphan Rock. You used to be able to walk around it and stuff, but then they declared it to be unsafe in the 1970s or something. Bummer, it looks heaps cool! You can't tell from this angle, but there's also a hole right in the middle of the rock.
This is the waterfall Vanessa and I climbed up. We are excellent waterfall climbers!
Aparently this Indian man posed on this rock all contemplative, so we copied him. It does seem like a very good place to do some big thinking.
Ashleigh and I... epic poses again.
Beatles.
We rode the "railway" down to another part of the mountains. It was like as steep as a roller coaster, it was so awesome! This picture was before... I just took it from above the gate that kept us from falling out.
This was another waterfall we climbed that turned out to not be a real waterfall. They just had water running down from a pipe! Lame sauce!! posers.
I'm on a horse... HYA!!!
Ashleigh's very serene...
I'm riding this horse backwards... HYA!!
These tree branch things are like the ones Tarzan would swing from. They're really thick but very bendy like giant ropes. Pretty awesome!
You can't tell but it's pouring rain in this picture. Kinda like we're dancing in the rain with statues! haha. Also, my statue had a naked butt, that's why I'm posing like that... I accidentally covered it up! Dang it!
The face paint that I got when I went to Hunter Valley Gardens a week before the cruise. Pretty legit, I think.
The snake I got to hold at the Gardens! This is the first snake I've ever held!!
Here's just a taste of what the gardens were like. Pretty amazing :)
So also, for more recent news... Sister Julie B. Beck is coming to speak in Sydney October 17th and I'm going to see her!! As far as I know, there will be a YSA Fireside with her and Elder Callister at 5:30 and then a Relief Society Fireside at 7. So I think I'll get to listen to her twice in one night! That's almost as good as general conference! Speaking of Gen. Conference... I haven't watched any of it yet because we're 17 hours ahead of Provo, so we would have had to watch Conference on Sunday and Monday instead of Sat and Sun... so we all just gather at the stake center and will watch it next weekend. I could watch it online, but I figure I'll get more out of it if I actually go to watch. I am very excited about it... I heard lots of good things about it. Also... I got asked to give a talk in Sacrament on the 31st! I don't know my topic yet, but will soon I hope. I'm actually excited about it. It'll be good.
So my time here is almost halfway over! There's so much that I still want to do, but the weekends don't give me enough time to do it all! It's crazy how fast it's going by! I do really really want to go home and see everybody, but I'm going to miss it here a lot. I'll mostly miss "my family"... that's what I call them at least... I'll miss the family I'm working for, and most of all the girls. Once I go, they're going to grow up so fast and I'm going to miss every single moment! So sad!
Um, another Aussie update: The Commonwealth games are going on right now, and it's something that I've never heard of before... I'm not really sure what the deal with it is... it seems like the olympics, but not all of the countries compete (like the US doesn't for example). Anyway, I'm not quite sure what all that is about, but I like the Olympics! So I'm okay with it.
Well I think that's everything. I love and miss all of you who may be reading!
Sep 14, 2010
Phobias
I was stumbling and found a list of phobias. Here are some of mine along with some funny ones.
Christine's Fears:
Automysophobia - Fear of being dirty.
Cacophobia - Fear of ugliness. Hehehe just kidding... maybe, ugliness is quite scary for me.
Entomophobia - Fear of insects. Most definitely scared of insects! Especially after that tick!
Anuptaphobia - Fear of staying single. Just kidding.... maybe...
Tori's Fears:
Athazagoraphobia - Fear of being forgotten ignored or forgetting.
Coulrophobia - Fear of clowns...Okay let's be honest, who isn't?
Monophobia - Fear of solitude or being alone.
Testophobia - Fear of taking tests...ha ha this one is so true!
Ariel's Fears:
Gephyrophobia, - Fear of crossing bridges
Haha Ariel probably has other ones too but she's never really on here, and I know from experience that she hates crossing bridges. Funny:
Arrhenphobia - Fear of men
Apeirophobia - Fear of infinity
Bibliophobia - Fear of books. Hahaha bibliophobia...
Dishabiliophobia - Fear of undressing in front of someone.
Japanophobia - Fear of Japanese.
Judeophobia - Fear of Jews.
Ephebiphobia - Fear of teenagers. Haha
Logophobia - Fear of words. Just think that one is ironic... such a long word...
Sesquipedalophobia - Fear of long words. HAHA! That one's even longer! So ironic
Peladophobia - Fear of bald people.
Pteronophobia - Fear of being tickled by feathers.
Xanthophobia - Fear of the color yellow or the word yellow.....Haha! "No PLEASE! Anything but yellow! AHHHH!!!!"
Zemmiphobia - Fear of the great mole rat....Totally makes me think of Kim Possible!
Sep 11, 2010
1 Apostle+ Two Seventies= AMAZING Fireside
Tonight 16 Stakes of YSA's in the Eugene, OR area (pretty much anywhere in the state) gathered to listen to Elder Bednar speak. He came with two members of the seventy, Elder Ringwood, and Elder Malm. I got there early enough that I could sit up front, and lucky me, I honestly think that I had the best seat even though I was in a side bench, occasionally they each looked me straight in the eye when they spoke and it made it feel like they were really talking to me. It was such a spiritual night. When Elder Bednar first walked into the chapel everyone stood and for the first time since I had been sitting there the entire chapel was silent. It was awesome.
Elder Ringwood was the first to speak to us, he said that when he entered the room he had an experience, that we had reminded him of a scripture that says, "the foundation of God standeth sure". Instantly you could feel the spirit and already I was trying not cry. He only spoke for maybe 5 minutes bearing his testimony.
Then Elder Malm stood and also spoke to us for only 5 minutes bearing his testimony. He had such a genuine smile that you just knew it was because he could feel the spirit. He also has a Swedish accent so it was really fun to hear him speak.
By now only 15 min of the two hour allotted time had gone by, so I figured that Elder Bednar must be speaking to us for the rest. When he stood, all I could think was "this is amazing, this is amazing!" First he bore his testimony, it was such a blessing to be in the presence of an Apostle, the truthfulness of this gospel was just overwhelming my heart and I couldn't stop smiling for most of the fireside.
But it was really interesting when Elder Bednar finished his testimony he told us that this fireside would probably be different from any other church meeting we had ever attended. He told us that we would do a question and answer type of session. They had a couple microphones spread out across the chapel and gym and they let us ask questions. (not silly questions like "Just how far is Kolob?" he said he didn't know or care haha he's actually really really funny and had everyone laughing multiple times and said "It's called the plan of Happiness, so we should take advantage of it.") But he wanted really sincere questions. It was so neat because Elder Bednar would direct and usually answer part of the question and then call upon Elder Ringwood and/or Elder Malm and have them answer it too. The best part was because they couldn't possibly know what we were going to ask them, all the answers they gave us were led by the spirit. I can't even remember everything they taught us, all I know is that with everything they were saying, in my heart all I was feeling was 'this is true'.
At the very end Elder Brinkerhoff(our area seventy), Elder Malm, Elder Ringwood, and Elder Bednar all bore there testimonies. Even though they had already given them a few times through out the meeting, the ones they left us with were even more spiritual and watching them bear witness with tears running down there faces was an experience I will never forget. After the meeting I had the opportunity to shake all of there hands. I knew that I was in the presence of great men.
It was one of the most spiritually amazing nights that I have ever had. I love this Gospel, it just makes so much sense.
ToRi
Elder Ringwood was the first to speak to us, he said that when he entered the room he had an experience, that we had reminded him of a scripture that says, "the foundation of God standeth sure". Instantly you could feel the spirit and already I was trying not cry. He only spoke for maybe 5 minutes bearing his testimony.
Then Elder Malm stood and also spoke to us for only 5 minutes bearing his testimony. He had such a genuine smile that you just knew it was because he could feel the spirit. He also has a Swedish accent so it was really fun to hear him speak.
By now only 15 min of the two hour allotted time had gone by, so I figured that Elder Bednar must be speaking to us for the rest. When he stood, all I could think was "this is amazing, this is amazing!" First he bore his testimony, it was such a blessing to be in the presence of an Apostle, the truthfulness of this gospel was just overwhelming my heart and I couldn't stop smiling for most of the fireside.
But it was really interesting when Elder Bednar finished his testimony he told us that this fireside would probably be different from any other church meeting we had ever attended. He told us that we would do a question and answer type of session. They had a couple microphones spread out across the chapel and gym and they let us ask questions. (not silly questions like "Just how far is Kolob?" he said he didn't know or care haha he's actually really really funny and had everyone laughing multiple times and said "It's called the plan of Happiness, so we should take advantage of it.") But he wanted really sincere questions. It was so neat because Elder Bednar would direct and usually answer part of the question and then call upon Elder Ringwood and/or Elder Malm and have them answer it too. The best part was because they couldn't possibly know what we were going to ask them, all the answers they gave us were led by the spirit. I can't even remember everything they taught us, all I know is that with everything they were saying, in my heart all I was feeling was 'this is true'.
At the very end Elder Brinkerhoff(our area seventy), Elder Malm, Elder Ringwood, and Elder Bednar all bore there testimonies. Even though they had already given them a few times through out the meeting, the ones they left us with were even more spiritual and watching them bear witness with tears running down there faces was an experience I will never forget. After the meeting I had the opportunity to shake all of there hands. I knew that I was in the presence of great men.
It was one of the most spiritually amazing nights that I have ever had. I love this Gospel, it just makes so much sense.
ToRi
Bridie's Birthday!
Hooray! Bridie is one year old!! We had a nice party today in celebration, and I had way too much pizza/cake/sweet things. Bridie had a good time and looked SO STINKIN CUTE in her party dress! Here are some pictures... and an extra special video after the pictures. Liv and I recorded a song for Bridie. All of it was made up as we went along, my lines aren't that interesting, but Liv's are really impressive. It's a long vid so maybe skip over the first half.
Isn't that dress adorable??
THE IMPROVISED BIRTHDAY SONG
Isn't that dress adorable??
THE IMPROVISED BIRTHDAY SONG
PS: I have resolved to go check out the Blue Mountains and Jenolan Caves. I asked Ashleigh a YSA in my ward, and she would like to make a long weekend out of it so we could go! I hope it works out, the mountains and caves seem AMAZING! And I have nationals for ultimate in October, and a few YSAs might drive down with me and watch and cheer us on, so that will be a fun roadtrip. And there is also a possibilty (the same group of us) may drive up to Brisbane. That'd be awesome too! I'm excited to get to see things finally, I'm realizing that there's so much that I want to do while I'm still here, and I shouldn't take advantage of the opportunity. Also, with my family (I call them my family, the Thomas family...) we're possibly going to go to "Amazement" which is a place with a bunch of mazes in hedges and things. Also we might try to do tree top adventures with ropes course type things. Should be fun. Well it's really late, I should be in bed, Stake Conference tomorrow!
Which reminds me!! I got a calling!
Young Women's Secretary!! :D I couldn't have asked for a better calling, I am soo so excited! yay!
Sep 9, 2010
Harry Potter Legs
A random post so Christine won't feel like she's hogging the blog:
Last night I was sitting holding my neighbors baby, when my little cousin Braedyn(3) comes in and sits next to me. She loves to stroke baby Anders hair because it is so soft. When she went to put her arm down she bumped my leg. Feeling the tiny hairs, she started rubbing my leg. And this is how the conversation went...
Tori- "Sorry, my legs are hairy. I need to shave."
Braedyn-"Your legs are hairy?"
Continues to feel my leg
Tori-"yep."
Braedyn- "Like Harry Potter?"
Hahaha!!! At that moment I almost felt epic with my unshaved legs.
Hakuna Matata!
ToRi
Last night I was sitting holding my neighbors baby, when my little cousin Braedyn(3) comes in and sits next to me. She loves to stroke baby Anders hair because it is so soft. When she went to put her arm down she bumped my leg. Feeling the tiny hairs, she started rubbing my leg. And this is how the conversation went...
Tori- "Sorry, my legs are hairy. I need to shave."
Braedyn-"Your legs are hairy?"
Continues to feel my leg
Tori-"yep."
Braedyn- "Like Harry Potter?"
Hahaha!!! At that moment I almost felt epic with my unshaved legs.
Hakuna Matata!
ToRi
Aug 29, 2010
Christine likes to hog the blog
So I've been waiting for Tori or Ariel to post something so I wouldn't consume the blog... but of course Ariel never will, and Tori's a bum... so here I am. I have quite a few updates! I don't even know where to begin! I'll start most recently...
Yesterday a YSA from my ward (yes, a boy) took me mountain biking! Oh man, it was HARDCORE! I would freak out at every rock or root that I saw, thinking that if I'd hit it I'd crash, but then by trying to avoid it, I crashed anyway... I think I suck at steering too... I never fell completely off the bike though! That's an accomplishment. So the trail was mostly through the woods, but it went by a great view of the ocean (which there will be a picture of) so we took a rest there, and rode all the way back... and not only to the end of the trail, but all the way home! I was so pooped afterwards, we probably went like 30km or so we guessed. Anywho, really sick, nasty, icky, disgusting, makes me want to vomit when I think about it, horrible, nasty thing happened when I got home!! Or I guess it happened when I was mountain biking, but I noticed it at home a few hours later... I found a TICK HALFWAY INTO MY SKIN!!! Where? I would rather not say... Ew ew ew ew! Even thinking about it I freak out. I noticed something odd, I thought it was like a scab, and I tried to pick it off with my finger but didn't come off, so I grabbed tweezers realizing it wasn't a scab, and I was getting a little weirded out not knowing what the crap was growing out of me... and then I had to pull really hard (it hurt like a mother!) and it came out, I dropped it in my hand and realized it was a bug!!! COMPLETELY grossed out I flung it on the ground and stood there in shock for who knows how long! EW! SO GROSS! I couldn't sleep last night thinking about it. Yuck yuck yuck!
NEW SUBJECT:
I got a letter from Barry Jacobsen (Elder Jacobsen) on Thursday! That was super exciting! I even got some pictures.... Um what else? I joined a mixed ultimate league that plays every wednesday! That's way fun and they're all really good! I get to play in a tournament with some of them this weekend in Wollongong which is south of Sydney. I'm really excited! If we do well we get to go to Nationals! How awesome is that??? I could possibly be an Australian champion! Haha.
Yesterday I had my first "Tim Tam Slam"... Tim Tams are like chocolate covered chocolate biscuits, and you drink hot chocolate through it until it's about to fall apart, and then you eat the tim tam. It's pretty delicious, but super fatty! I don't know why, but that reminds me of the recent shopping success I had! I decided to go to Salvation Army just for fun to see what I could find... And I found TREASURE!! I found a vintage looking (but new with tags) dress that's high necked, and pencil skirt... it's red and has a belt attatched, hard to describe, but uber cute! And I got another dress that's eyelit and red and white, I got some shorts that will be perfect for the beach and swimming, and I got a knit shirt. I got all of it for $32! Booya! The Salvation Armies here aren't as big of a thing as back in the States, but I think less people shop at them too because I found SO many good things! I found even more than that too, it just didn't fit or I thought I'd save my money. Other new news... Nicci is going back to work 4 days a week now instead of 3, so I'll be watching both girls on Thursday now, instead of cooking and cleaning on Thursday. I also get to take Liv to ballet. I went last Thursday and it was a lot of fun to watch. Well I don't want to bore you all with every boring detail, so I will leave you now with some pictures :) Cheers.
Yesterday a YSA from my ward (yes, a boy) took me mountain biking! Oh man, it was HARDCORE! I would freak out at every rock or root that I saw, thinking that if I'd hit it I'd crash, but then by trying to avoid it, I crashed anyway... I think I suck at steering too... I never fell completely off the bike though! That's an accomplishment. So the trail was mostly through the woods, but it went by a great view of the ocean (which there will be a picture of) so we took a rest there, and rode all the way back... and not only to the end of the trail, but all the way home! I was so pooped afterwards, we probably went like 30km or so we guessed. Anywho, really sick, nasty, icky, disgusting, makes me want to vomit when I think about it, horrible, nasty thing happened when I got home!! Or I guess it happened when I was mountain biking, but I noticed it at home a few hours later... I found a TICK HALFWAY INTO MY SKIN!!! Where? I would rather not say... Ew ew ew ew! Even thinking about it I freak out. I noticed something odd, I thought it was like a scab, and I tried to pick it off with my finger but didn't come off, so I grabbed tweezers realizing it wasn't a scab, and I was getting a little weirded out not knowing what the crap was growing out of me... and then I had to pull really hard (it hurt like a mother!) and it came out, I dropped it in my hand and realized it was a bug!!! COMPLETELY grossed out I flung it on the ground and stood there in shock for who knows how long! EW! SO GROSS! I couldn't sleep last night thinking about it. Yuck yuck yuck!
NEW SUBJECT:
I got a letter from Barry Jacobsen (Elder Jacobsen) on Thursday! That was super exciting! I even got some pictures.... Um what else? I joined a mixed ultimate league that plays every wednesday! That's way fun and they're all really good! I get to play in a tournament with some of them this weekend in Wollongong which is south of Sydney. I'm really excited! If we do well we get to go to Nationals! How awesome is that??? I could possibly be an Australian champion! Haha.
Yesterday I had my first "Tim Tam Slam"... Tim Tams are like chocolate covered chocolate biscuits, and you drink hot chocolate through it until it's about to fall apart, and then you eat the tim tam. It's pretty delicious, but super fatty! I don't know why, but that reminds me of the recent shopping success I had! I decided to go to Salvation Army just for fun to see what I could find... And I found TREASURE!! I found a vintage looking (but new with tags) dress that's high necked, and pencil skirt... it's red and has a belt attatched, hard to describe, but uber cute! And I got another dress that's eyelit and red and white, I got some shorts that will be perfect for the beach and swimming, and I got a knit shirt. I got all of it for $32! Booya! The Salvation Armies here aren't as big of a thing as back in the States, but I think less people shop at them too because I found SO many good things! I found even more than that too, it just didn't fit or I thought I'd save my money. Other new news... Nicci is going back to work 4 days a week now instead of 3, so I'll be watching both girls on Thursday now, instead of cooking and cleaning on Thursday. I also get to take Liv to ballet. I went last Thursday and it was a lot of fun to watch. Well I don't want to bore you all with every boring detail, so I will leave you now with some pictures :) Cheers.
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