Halloween

I promised Chelsey I would take lots of pictures of my adorable 1950s costume that my mom sewed for me for Halloween. I've always loved the clothes from the 1950s and the 1960s, and I've always wanted to own a piece of clothing from those eras. So I thought that Halloween would be the perfect time to get a dress from the 1950s. With Chelsey help, I picked out a pattern and some cute fabric. My mom found a vintage store down in downtown Salt Lake City, and she bought me a couple of really cute hats and a pair of gloves. Hopefully, I get to back to that store one day (Decades) and browse around for some other cute stuff! I thought the dress turned out really well, and the hat and the gloves just made the ensemble. So here it is:

Christmas toys bring great joy

Ok, first I wanted to say that I missed the first anniversary of the Blog--and I was to write a special annivesary post--and I'm very upset about that. Anyway, the past is the past, so we'll move forward.

How was everyone's Christmas? Mine was amazing, thanks for asking! One of the best parts of my Christmas was the fact that my sister, Chelsey, her husband, Aaron, and their three kids came up from Albequerque to be with us. That way, the entire family was together, and that always makes me VERY HAPPY. The second best part of the Christmas season was my BRAND NEW COMPUTER that I received on Christmas Day. It's beautiful, and fast, and I love it! My last computer was on the verge of committing suicide, so it really is a very good thing that I got a new one.

I'll have to tell you about the Christmas movies we saw: The Princess & the Frog and Sherlock Holmes. I love all things Disney, and this new movie from Disney lived up to their reputation. It was so much fun and Kiera and I really enjoyed going to see it with Heather and Danny (my second oldest sister and her husband). The story was awesome, the songs were fun, and it was very visually pleasing--just as all the Princess movies are. I'm going to have to say that Beauty & the Beast is still my favorite--as it always be--but The Princess & the Frog is definitely my second favorite of the Princess movies. Now, Sherlock Holmes was the complete opposite of The Princess & the Frog. It was definitely a hardcore action movie, and I absolutely loved it! Oh yes, I can love both cheesy Disney movies and hardcore action movies. I'm just a little strange that way. Anyway, Robert Downy Jr. and Jude Law make the perfect Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson team. Of course, Sherlock Holmes holds a special place in my heart, so I probably would have defended it no matter what. But it really was awesome, so I don't need to defend it, and I can't wait for the sequel, which will clearly feature Professor Moriarty.

I hope that everyone had fabulous Christmas, wherever you are, and I hope the New Year brings hopes and wishes and dreams that will be fulfilled.

In the words of Cassandra Ball...

..."Happy Turkey Day!" (I know it was yesterday, but give me a break; I was helping with dinner) Yesterday was amazing, partly because of the DELICIOUS food that Dad cooked up. Let me just break down the menu: smoked turkey, cheesy mashed potatoes, rolls, artichoke dip, green beans, sweet potato casserole, a cheese roll, shrimp scampi, tri-tip steak, Waldorf salad, Caesar salad, and home-made cranberry sauce. And for dessert: strawberry pie, pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie, and turtle cheesecake--all home-made, of course. Can you say YUM?!

While it was delicious, Thanksgiving wasn't just about the dinner, and I wanted to give my thanks. First off, I am incredibly grateful to my parents. I owe them basically everything. I'm grateful for their support (both emotional/spiritual and monetary, ha ha) in everything I do, especially in my schooling decisions. I am grateful for my sisters--I know that they're always there for me. I'm grateful for my amazing friends, especially Hannah and Maddie. You guys are practically my sisters, and I wouldn't be the same without you. And, most importantly, I'm grateful for my knowledge that the gospel is true. That knowledge changes my life every day, and I know it changes me for the better.

So that's my short list of what I'm most grateful for. What was on your mind this Thanksgiving? Let me know.

Thailand!

This trip was incredible! It definitely made my "Top 5 Vacations" list (in case you were curious, here is the top 5 list: 1. Mexico, 2. England/Scotland/Italy, 3. Thailand, 4. Ireland, 5. Italy). Both Phuket and Bangkok were so much fun, in their own way. Phuket is definitely a beach island--besides the beach and beachy outings such as scuba diving or snorkling, the only thing to occupy a tourist's time is the very small markets found here and there, and, of course, Thai massages. Bangkok is a major city, with all the attractions, including Australia beef (!), of a very nice, very clean, very efficient city (those attractions also included huge malls with IMAX theaters). Of course, the best part was the Tiger Temple. I don't think words can describe how amazing it is to have a sleepy (but not drugged) tiger laying it's head in your lap. Here are some of my favorite pictures from our trip (all ten albums of photos from Thailand can be found on my Facebook page):

Have an awesome HOLIday

One good thing about India is that it has incredible holidays. Take Diwali for example. Diwali--the festival of lights--is like the Fourth of July on steroids. It simply amazes me that the city hasn't burned down in all these years because there are so many fireworks and candles, and everything in between, being lit in one night. Indeed, I have heard of many cases where batches of fireworks have gone AWOL say to speak and flown into the house, after it was lit. Inspite of all the potential dangers, Diwali is still an awesome festival (and not just because you can buy fireworks that are illegal in the States).

One of the coolest holidays I have ever taken part in, however, is Holi. Holi is a lot of things--it's the festival of spring, love, and color. And Holi doesn't just happen, like every other holiday. You have to go play Holi. It's pretty easy to play; all you have to do is buy colors (they typically only come in yellow, pink, blue, green, and red), go outside, and throw colors at everyone and everything (including cars, dogs, and cows). Here are a few photos of what people did to look like at the end of this absolutely incredible holiday (a holiday which I plan on continuing to celebrate when I move back to the States):

It's a New Year!

Happy New Year's everyone!


I'm going to steal from Chelsey's blog, just so you all know. She invited all of us (those who read her blog) to list some positive things which happened in the year 2008. I know this may seem a little contradictory, since the title of this post implies that we will be discussing the year 2009, but we'll get to that later, I promise. So here it is, the best of 2008:

• My second niece was born! Her name is Averi Noelle and she is so sweet. We got to cuddle a lot at Christmas .
• I got to go to London at the beginning of the year with my theater class and do workshops at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London).
• I became close friends with Maddie Stoker, who now attends BYU (so now there's someone else I can play with in Utah).
• I finished the first year of the International Baccalaureate.
• I finished writing the first 25 pages (or three chapters and a prologue) of my novel (which is impressive for me because I usually only write about ten pages of novels).

2008 was a truly amazing year (I attribute that to the fact that it was my "magic year"; I turned 17 on the 17th of January), so it would be extremely difficult to list all of the highlights. Those were just a few that really stuck out in my mind. As for 2009, I have high hopes for this year. First of all, I graduate from high school. Yay! And it will be just in time too because senior-itis is really getting to me. Also, I've been accepted into two of the BYU campasses, Idaho and Hawaii, so I know I'm going to college one way or another. It's nice to have that knowledge, believe me. Some of my resolutions for 2009 are:

• Write in my journal every day
• Finish a good chunk of the novel I've been working on ("a good chunk" would imply at least another hundred pages).

I hope you all have an amazing 2009, and keep working on those resolutions!

Concerning Christmas, Twilight, and Other Matters of Extreme Frivolousness

Christmas is over. And to console myself, I am going to write about nothing but frivolous things. I hope you enjoy it as much as I will.

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, as I have stated in my previous post. For Christmas this year, we did all the fun traditions that my family has done for as long as I can remember. We had our Barnes Family Christmas Party, where everyone gets dressed up, Dad cooks up a fantastic feast (which we live off of for the next week), and, best of all, Santa makes a house call and gives everyone presents. The Christmas Party is a pretty big deal in our family, and it's one of the highlights of the season.

Another big deal is Christmas morning (obviously). On Christmas Eve, Dad begins to prepare Christmas breakfast (food is a major part of our family). We always have quiche, sausage and egg casserole, and German apple pancakes. Once everyone gathers together on Christmas morning, we run into the Great Room and open stockings. Then come the presents. After a couple of hours of ripping off wrapping paper and showing off new toys, we eat. And eat. And eat some more. It's pretty awesome.

Christmas afternoon is devoted to the Christmas movie. This Christmas we saw The Tale of Despereaux, which is based on the book by Katie DiCamillo. The movie was pretty good (but of course the book is better). It wasn't my favorite movie that I've seen this holiday though. My favorite movie would have to have been Twilight. Now, I am very much a girl, which is probably why I am so much in love with the Twilight series. I can't really explain why I love Twilight so much because Stephenie Meyer (the woman who wrote the series) is not an incredible writer, and the acting in the movie was only mediocre, although the soundtrack is amazing. However, I would be willing to read that series at least a dozen more times, and I would be willing to watch the movie at least a dozen more times, if not more. Girls will do weird things like that; it's how we work.

Now that Christmas is past, we all get to look forward to the year of 2009. It should be a serious year. I'm officially an adult in about three weeks, I graduate in May, and I start college in June (cross your fingers and knock on wood). But I think, as those merciless IB exams are looming up at me, that we shouldn't let the year get too serious. Sometimes, a little frivolousness is all we need to make things a whole lot better.

Home for the Holidays

Yes, I am home for the holidays, and I am loving it! All of my family is together for Christmas, including my sister Chelsey and her family (her husbnad Aaron and her kids Katie, Paul, and baby Averi) who live in New Mexico. Let me tell you, it's absolutely wonderful to have everyone home for the holidays (we won't attribute this wonderful feeling that I'm having now to the fact that I am currently not in a place where almost everybody drives me crazy). We have a lot of really fun things planned for the Christmas holidays, aside from our usual Christmas traditions. As we are preparing for this most amazing of holidays, I'm starting to think of all the reasons why I love Christmas time. Here are a few of them, in no particular order.

• Family's get together, and like each other, for an extended period of time.
• Snow makes everything look prettier.
• Christmas gives us an opportunity to give to others.
• Christ is the focus at Christmas time.
• Santa comes! I don't care how old you are, Santa always comes.
• You get free stuff. I know that sounds really materialistic, and it is, but hey, I'm always up for free stuff.
• Christmas is the time of the year when you bake the most, so the house smells amazing.
• Christmas songs are beautiful.
• Christmas lights are beautiful.
• You are allowed to feel like a little kid again at Christmas.

Those are just a few of the reasons why Christmas is my favorite holiday, and why I love coming home for the holidays. As Christmas approaches, maybe we should all think a little bit more about why we love Christmas. I promise, it will make you even more excited for that magical Christmas morning.

P.S. Even though I know Santa doesn't have flesh and bones like everyone else, I will always believe in Santa. Without Santa, a little bit of the magic of Christmas is gone. I encourage everyone to believe in Santa. Merry Christmas!

Kerala Part Two

Because Mom really enjoyed the last pictures, here are some more for your viewing pleasure! This is Kiera and her friend Chloe Stoker. This picture was taken as we took a hike through the Periyar tiger preserve:

People in India associate a lot of things with cows, and the Hindus even worship the cow. It was fun to see a huge cow fair as we were driving to one of our hotels. There were hundreds of cows, and a lot of them had the horns painted like these guys below: Don't worry, painting the horns wasn't a fashion statement. When owners paint their cows' horns a certain color it tells the other traders and buyers where the cow comes from. This is a picture of a house boat, which is what we stayed on for a day and a half:

Mmmm...prawns:

Here's Kiera inspecting a piece of coir (coconut husk which gets spun into "fabric" for rugs):

Kerala was a lot of fun, especially since we got to go with the Stoker family. We didn't get to eat turkey on Thanksgiving day, but I think the amazing seafood we had made up for it.

Way Down South...

I realize that my last post was a little deep, and long, so I thought I would treat everybody to some pictures of our Thanksgiving trip down to Kerala, which is a southern state in India. We had a lot of fun looking for tigers and watching dancers and Kerala ninjas. Enjoy!