you say goodbye, and i say hello.

this is my last post for eighteen months!
as much as i hate goodbyes, i'm so excited to start this new chapter in my life.

my lovely sister will be updating my new blog with emails and pictures that i'll send from the field- you can view them at http://www.sisterlaurelalenarasmussen.blogspot.com/

also, if you have the desire to write me (which i hope is often!) here are my addresses:

MTC mailing address- (I'll be here until May 3rd)

Sister Laurel Alena Rasmussen

MTC Mailbox # 239

TX-HOUS 0503

2005 N 900 E

Provo, UT 84604-1793

*If you go to DearElder.com find the select a mission arrow and click on Provo MTC and then click write a letter it's free- and they deliver it the next day. Pretty sweet!

Houston Mailing Address (from May 3rd 2011-September 2012)

Sister Laurel Alena Rasmussen

Texas Houston South Mission

4627 Austin Parkway

Sugar Land, TX 77479-2146

Email:

laurel.rasmussen@myldsmail.net

Have a wonderful year and a half, and I'll do the same!!

Houston, I hope you're ready for me!

reliving childhood mem's.

remember starlite skating??

remember how that was the coolest place to be??

remember how you would get the butterflies everytime they announced that the snowball skate was approaching??

and hoping that a cute boy would ask you to skate with him?? (but most of the time they ended up being creepy boys with sweaty hands)

well, i do. and i went back last weekend to relive those memories. but only because it was my niece's 10th birthday party. regardless, i had fun. and i want to go again. who's in!

My sister still has it goin on!

two weeks.

that's the mtc countdown.





and i {kind of} can't believe it.





but i'm so excited, like really.




and i won't be able to see any of you for a year & a half, which is okay because {a missionary is someone who leaves their family for 2 years (or 18 months) so others can be with theirs for eternity.}




& that makes it all worth it.

just one of those days..

Hopefully by tomorrow i'll 'be okay'

on the bright side- i learned how to post multiple youtube videos in one post.
(don't judge i'm technologically challenged.)

I can't think of a title.

[Seriously, blogger should make titles optional. I can never
think of anything clever to say. I just have a bunch of random thoughts put into
a blog post. But if I were to get engaged, or married, or just found out the
gender of my baby, or had my tonsils taken out, I could see where a title would
be appropriate.]

I have all my missionary stuff bought. (kind of)

My dad surprised me with my very own tomtom to take to houston! probably thought i'd get lost without it.. probably he's right.

I got all of my required shots.. my shoulders still hurt.

I was listening to Ingrid's take on "can't help falling in love with you"... love it, maybe even more than the original. my apologies, elvis.

I was super pleased with the john mayer pandora station today. especially when babyface and boys II men made an appearance. genius!

got me some new shoes for the mish. so comfortable without being too grandma, know what i mean?

I leave in three weeks and 6 days. my farewell is in 1 week and 3 days.

ellen is my favorite talk-show host.

I'm kind of addicted to planners. it feels so good to check off a task i've completed. i'll write down something like 'eat lunch' cause i'm almost 100 percent positive that it will get checked off, and i can feel like i've accomplished something in the day.

love this talk by president monson. goes along with the blogpost that i published the other day.

And last of the ramblings, I love this video. The future is bright, don't look back. A good message for anyone.

On a Scale of 1-5..

5. I Love it

4. I like it

3. It's okay

2. Not okay

1. Definitely not okay

(got it?)

• You have to remind your landlord to return your deposit money after your lease was up over a month ago. = 1
• You get back in touch with a longtime friend and they're still the same sweet person that you knew back in elementary school. = 5
• You miss out on a dessert party because your little sister leaves her homework in the car that you drove. = 2
• You buy your shoes you expect to wear on your mission, walk around in them for a day, and realize they're not comfortable at all. Infact, they leave your ankles bloody and blistered (tmi? probably.) = 1
• Thoughtful emails from my grandma. =5
• Finishing the last book of the series. = 4 (Hunger Games Trilogy.. and I loved how it ended.)
• Sunday naps. = 5
• Craving a PB&J sandwhich all day, making one, and it doesn't even hit the spot. (probably because the peanut butter expired a year ago.. oh well.) = 3
• Getting some lunch, going to the temple, and cupcakes afterwards with my mom. = 5
• and Beating my sister at a dance off for xbox kinect. = 4

Pretty well-rounded week, I'd say.

Can I go back to Arizona-

Where the sun shines every day & the sunsets look like this every night.

[Playing at the park with little Brody.]

Please?

Sorry to Break it to You, But..

:)

It's Always Sunny in Ph..oenix

I've been in Arizona since Monday and, well.. I'm in love. Seriously 70's and sunshine in Mid-January feels like I've died and gone to Heaven. My sister has a pool in her backyard, and it's all I can do to keep from jumping in it! She says it's not warm enough to swim; but I beg to differ. This is definitely swimsuit appropriate weather for someone from Idaho.

Anyway, the reason I'm here... Babysitting! My sisters are definitely keeping me busy with over-night babysitting jobs. My sister and her husband went to Utah, (where it's cold) while I stay here, (where it's warm) and watch their kids for three days. It's only the first day, but I've been having such a fun time!

Little Brody (2) and I went out to lunch and shopping while Miss Avery and Jace were at school. I should really take Brody out shopping with me more often. He was such a sweet boy! I would walk down the aisles and pick out a shirt to see if he approved and everytime he would respond, "I don't wike dat." So I didn't buy it, or anything else that he didn't approve of. haha.

I'm actually pretty good at navigating here too, which is pretty shocking actually. It was just last year when I overcame my fear of driving on the Salt Lake freeways.. Now I'm driving all over in Phoenix and soon to be Houston! :o

Back to babysitting: So, as I was reading to the kids out of the Book of Mormon story book, we left off at the story of the 3 Nephites. Jace's eyes got huge when he realized that people from that long ago are still living today and until the Second Coming. So during his prayers he said, "Bless that I won't die until the Second Coming. And Bless that my family won't die until the Second Coming." haha he's so sweet. I also remember my sister telling him about the three levels in the Celestial Kingdom, so now he says, "Bless that I can be a good boy so that I can make it to the highest level of the Celestial Kingdom." Seriously, a 7 year old praying about this! He's definitely going to make it, he's the sweetest boy ever and is so conscientious of everything he does and makes sure that he's a good boy so that he can live in the Celestial Kingdom with his family. It was a humbling experience for me too, he's made me want to better myself.

I have pictures to come, but for now; something AWESOME!

Disney Princess Classics.

Avery and I watched Beauty and the Beast today and it totally brought me back to my childhood. Aladdin is probably my favorite though with Beauty and the Beast following close behind. These movies are pure genius and awesome.

In Need of a Pick-me-Up?

This should do..

..and I'm blogger challanged and don't know how to put all the videos in one post, oh well.