Things I Didn't Know About Myself

The following items were brought to my attention by my friends and family who know more about me than I do... :) If all this stuff is true, then oh-my-gush I am a weirdie...!!! Geez.

And seriously. I had no idea I did any of this... apparently there's a LOT I didn't know about myself... :) Oh well.

1. I make weird groany noises ALL THE TIME. They call it "humming."

2. I pat my tummy after I eat a big meal

3. When I play the piano I tense up breathing and purse my lips

4. I am a really obnoxious popcorn eater (right when I wrote that, my sister huffed, "yes you ARE!").

5. I crinkle my nose when I sniff. (?)

6. I am a compulsive online text highlighter.

7. I randomly burst into jazz scat when I'm bored

Today We Got Lost

But the experience was still amazing!! :)

Cambry and I went to the Provo temple this morning. I drove, and, well, we got LOST. We roamed about residential areas, BYU campus, and who-knows-where until finally we made it after 40 minutes of driving. We were SO close SO many times, but... wow.

It turned out to be a good thing, though. We went to the temple last week with our guy friends, but it felt like I hadn't been there in a long time. I am so incredibly glad and grateful we're doing temple trips every week in the summer. I need the temple more than I realize, and it definitely strengthens me every time I go. I just... feel good afterwards. Clean. :) I love that feeling.

Anyway, because I haven't really done this yet, I'll also give a little update on life and politics:

School got out on June 3rd, with graduation. I am so incredibly excited to be a senior this next year, because it will be a party!!! :) I will miss the seniors much-ly, but I guess life has to take its course. You know.

I didn't really have a "break" for summer once school let out. It didn't feel any different, because the transition from the last-week-of-school slack to the marching band schedule wasn't weird at all. Marching band is actually really fun. I do admit, I'm glad I only did it my senior year, but for what it's worth I'm enjoying it. Being a section leader is fun and sometimes rewarding, and I also enjoy the marching (sometimes) and also the incredible music. :) Show season will be a LOT of time, but it will also be a blast.

As for other summer activities... I went to Youth Conference last week, and it was a great experience. I helped plan it with the Stake Youth Council, which was cool. We went up to Heber Valley Girls' Camp with the theme of the QUEST (for anything virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy). We did some Zumba (SO FUN!!!), some flag-making with our team, a kereoke dance (which was entertaining and also very fun), and then the QUEST. The speakers were amazing, and I learned a lot from them. I got to hang out with Cambry, Sabrina, Scott, and a few others, and... haha... good times. Lots of memories. :) The penguin shuffle (we were cold), brownies ("she needs her chocolate,") and yeah. It was a blast.

We got home, and I went on a triple date, and guess who was there, too?!! SABRINA!!!! My bestest friend ever finally turned sixteen!!! Oh boy I'm so excited. :) Life is good.

Anyway I think that's about it. I'll be going to EFY in a week or so, here, then Girls Camp is at the end of July. MB is still going on, and I'm working on a saxophone concerto to audition for the Utah Symphony Salute to Youth. I also bought some sheet music the other day to THIS brilliant Pirates medley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzGgX1DihPw&feature=mfu_in_order&list=ULL

And basically, I guess the moral of the story is that.... LIFE IS GOOD. The temple is good. Summer is great, and guess what we figured out today?

"You can't get to the temple without BOYS!!!" --Cambry

Hahaha great times. Anyway.

I'm out. :)

I am in love...

...with Jon Schmidt and Stephen Sharp Nelson...

:)

Listen to this:

And then this: (dang, this family is talented)

Also, this was pretty cool:

And if you haven't yet, look up Love Story Meets Viva la Vida. It is amazing and un-embed-ible. So yeah.

I love the piano... I love the cello... I love music...

sigghhhh. :)

Chapter Two

Of Six People and a Legacy

My last name carries a legacy, just as my first defines me. “Theurer” represents something great, a family with lives full of value, hard work, dedication, and miracles: a legacy. One that was set before I was born, before my parents met and fell in love, even before they were born. Legacy means eternity, but I take it to mean me, my parents, and my parents’ parents. These special people in my life paved the way for my family’s legacy, and my life, through their choices.

Brent and Cheri Theurer are two amazing people that I love. My grandma, Cheri, has a sweet, sweet spirit. She is all sugar and smiles, and her bright, happy attitude is contagious. She genuinely loves people, too, in a way that she desires to serve them selflessly. She spends so much time caring for us, her family, and also others in the ward and in the world. I love her dearly, and I love the way she loves the Lord. Both she and my grandpa, Brent, have strong testimonies that they are never afraid to share and that have strengthened my own through my life. Grandpa Theurer, with his deep voice, echoes with authority and intelligence. He is a war veteran from the Korean War, and also a gardener, a professor, and a teacher. Early in his life he decided to place great value on his education, and he went on to earn his PhD in agricultural science. He has a quiet, sincere smile, and shines with light and truth. I love him and my Grandma Theurer dearly, and since they’ve lived close a lot of my life, I’ve had extra chances to get to know them and find and follow their examples.

Like my Theurer grandparents, Bryce and Marilyn Hallows, my mother’s parents, are some of the greatest heroes in my life. My Grandpa Hallows is a great man and a wonderful grandfather. He is also a farmer, a schoolteacher, a missionary, and a war veteran. He served almost two years in the marines and fought in the battle of Okinawa during World War II. Until recently, war was not a topic he liked to discuss, but as he grew older and came to terms with the memory and trauma surrounding the war, he learned to move on and appreciate the good that has come from it. He speaks openly about it now, and I am thankful for his courage and his choice to serve his God and country. My grandma, Marilyn Hallows, is a beautiful example of the type of grace and beauty I need to develop. She has a deep appreciation for the fine things in life such as poetry and music, a great voice and wonderful piano fingers. I admire her for her testimony, which she demonstrated every week as she walked to church despite her grandmother’s sneers and protests out the window. She is an elect lady in my eyes, and in the eyes of all those who have a chance to get to know her.

My grandpa and grandma Hallows met after he returned from the war and she turned sixteen. They dated for a while, and when my grandpa left for his mission she promised him that she would write and wait for him. I’ve always found their proposal story worth smiling at: my grandma, two years later when my grandpa returned, received a letter while attending BYU. “I’m home and ready to be married, so if you want to marry me you’d better come home soon.” You can guess what happened next, for they were married soon after and raised eight children in the gospel.

My mother, Jann, is the sixth child of Bryce and Marilyn Hallows. She, too, is an elect lady, and I love her more than words can tell. She was born in Bountiful, Utah, where she lived until she left for college. My mother is amazingly talented in music, writing, homemaking, and understanding people and the spirit. She is absolutely beautiful inside and out. I am honored to be her daughter, and I am grateful to have such a wonderful example to follow in my life. She and my dad were meant for each other; my father, Mike, is one of the most loving people I’ve ever known. He just has this way of loving people like the Savior does. He knows how to touch hearts, and I always know that he cares. I am grateful for my father’s strong, powerful testimony of the gospel; he is a great teacher and example to me and my siblings. Not only a spiritual giant, my dad was a star on the football and baseball teams all through high school and is very athletic overall. He is the second child and oldest son of Brent and Cheri Theurer.

My parents first met at Brigham Young University, in a student ward. To my mom, my dad was a family home evening “brother,” and at one of the ward activities, he tried to protect her from being thrown into a pool. Despite his attempts, they both were tossed in the water, but the beginning of something special started to show. As they got to know each other better, they started liking each other and eventually began to date. My mom likes to say they fell in love with each others’ testimonies, which is a beautiful way of wording it. They dated for seven months before getting engaged, and when they called her parents to tell them the news, good ol’ grandpa Hallows responded, “It’s about time!” They were married August 5, 1988 in the Salt Lake Temple, and so far have enjoyed twenty-three years of marriage.

My parents, combined with their parents, form the life, story, and legacy of my heritage. These six people are all amazing and wonderful and I love them very much. I especially admire them for their lives and choices they’ve made, for their strong testimonies and the joy they bring to my life and the lives of others. Even before I was born I already had a family and a legacy to look forward to, great examples of light and dignity I can model my life after, and a name to live up to. I plan to live up to this legacy, and so become the seventh person in my personal family legacy.

25 Things I've Done This Summer

1. Joined Marching Band (!!!) and had a BLAST rehearsing (?) and marching the parade. :)

2. Played all day at Summerfest with my friends. We listened to UPB perform, looked at shops, and went on "big kid rides," (I'm a big kid now... whooo!!!)

3. Watched Finding Nemo

4. Ate pizza at least three times a week

5. Went to a student concert at BYU with some friends--it was AMAZING!!! And parts of it were really funny. I also left my phone there and had to pick it up the next morning.

6. Became a better teacher by learning from Ray Smith at my clarinet lesson. :)

7. Saw the biggest, most amazing bouffant EVER on this lady at Macey's.

8. Experienced 24/7 cruise buffet service while hanging out in the mountains for a bit. ;)

9. Practiced my saxophone standing up on a chair.

10. Screamed in the car when my friend said, "GREEN LIGHT!!!"

11. Decided to change my name to Lawrence... haha...

12. Played through my Jon Schmidt piano books.

13. Went to the library, read some, talked some.

14. Hung out in the playground, swinging on my swing and sitting in the clubhouse while thinking all the while.

15. Got a little tan... woot!! I'm still super white, but at least I'm not Caspar anymore! :)

16. Made cookies.

17. Cried

18. Laughed with my new favorite YW leaders... oh my goodness, they're awesome. :D

19. Learned how to pronounce "c"s with a Swahili accent

20. Went to Youth Conference and had a BLAST with friends and wardies.

21. Danced ZUMBA!! :)

22. Walked down the street wearing navy sweatshorts, tacky black socks and marching shoes.

23. Drove my family crazy by lying on the floor moaning, "I'm.... bored.... uggghhhh..."

24. Improv-ed on the piano. I'm trying to find a name and a form for the quirky, plucky song in D.

25. Laughed at myself. :D

Band Posse Politics Are:

1. CRAZY!!!

2. Wonderful

3. Dramatic

4. FUN!

5. Stressful

6. Upbeat

7. Exciting!!

8. Complicated

9. Confusing

10. Life

And that's what it all boils down to.

Funny. I always say I take myself too seriously... and I do. But I don't for a minute take life too seriously. I enjoy it, I ponder it, I analyze it, sometimes I stress about it, but what I do most of all is live it.

At least that's what it feels like when the skies are blue after a storm. :)

Right Now 6/1 5:38 a.m.

This morning I woke up at 4:54. And could not for the life of me go back to sleep.

I don't know if it was an insomnia attack, or if I'm just not used to sleeping so well. Last night was the third night in a row I slept with all the lights off, including my lamp, and I discovered--or at least I think I discovered, because I really don't know for sure--that I sleep better with no lights on. That would then explain why I woke up so early: I woke up when I got my normal amount of rest, but in a shorter time than usual.

Also, I've been thinking. If you could call it thinking. It's not really anything, actually, it's just... well, let's say this:

I'm in high school. Therefore, nothing makes sense.

I guess that's true of life in general, though. Nothing ever makes sense. Is it supposed to? I don't think so. If we understood everything, we wouldn't be here, making mistakes and forging ahead in life. So in a way, it's good that nothing makes sense. It's also annoying, but good.

On to other things... school is almost out!! Two days. Two. Including today. And there's graduation, which the band is playing at, and then it's all over!

I have to admit, I'm a little sad. I'm going to miss my seniors: Jessica, and Kito, and Dallin, and Stevo, and everyone else. I'm also going to miss our lunch spot.

Speaking of which... hahaha.... "We sit HERE!!! Every. Single. Day." (Made my life)

Anyway. Even with the changes, senior year is going to be a blast. I'll be in MB (ooh scary, the impenetrable unknown...), Jazz Band (we'll have VETERAN saxophones... yes!!), Wind Symphony, AP English Language, AP Chemistry, Statistics (not exactly excited about that), and LUNCH. Funny, I never thought lunch would be my favorite part of the school day, with me loving the academics and all. But seriously... it must be my friends, who are amazing and I love spending time with them. It's a party.

Also: say hello to my new favorite saying. Which I haven't actually got to say yet, but I'll find a way:

"I just had a little party with myself..."

Yeah, okay, it sounds dorkier when I write it out like that, but trust me, it's going to be amazing. :)

So... I think I'm done ranting. I wasn't really ranting about anything, though, just killing some time. It's now an acceptable hour to go shower and get ready for school... Thank goodness for time-killers.

:D