Sidewalk Chalk

I'd read in the paper that our neighboring little town was giving people the opportunity to do sidewalk chalk as part of the town's festival last weekend. I thought that would be super fun since I love doing sidewalk chalk, so I signed up to do 2 sidewalk panels. There's something intriguing about art that washes away. It cost $10, I'm assuming to help pay for the chalk! I've been busy, I was looking forward to a fun distraction.

I didn't know what to draw, it just kinda came to me when I got there.

First I started with a butterfly:

Know why I did a side profile? Cause it's hard to make symmetrical butterflies when you're crouched over!

 And then I attempted one of the lighthouses on Presque Isle:

I loved the bright colored chalk they provided, a good variety of colors! 

Other artists at work:

I worked right by Spiderman. 

It was fun to have people from the community come up and see what I was doing and say hello. Also saw some friends who were enjoying the park. 

I'd love to go back and do these again better, but it was pretty fun. I was covered in chalk dust and my hands were blue! The next day I hurt from using muscles that I don't normally use while crouching on the ground to draw!

I love the part in Mary Poppins where they look at the beautiful detailed chalk drawings on the ground. Someday I'd love to use smaller pieces of chalk to make a more detailed image!

 I need some sunny days and some time to do that!

I Love...

There's some various things to love these days. Gotta stay positive. 

I Love...

...matching the dresser I'm painting 

(I'll show ya pics when it's done!)

I Love...

...helping the YCL's with their camp sign

(I did the lettering and they did the Tangled-esque lights)

I Love...

...summoning Thor's powers when hammering together a tent platform with the YSA.

I Love...

...wedging myself in the floor while I work

I Love...

...that we finished it in about 4 hours! 

(and I love that I get bragging rights at camp..."Girls, go to sleep...on the platform that I built!")

 I Love...

...that my never opened/used mini fridge still works after winning it when I worked at the amusement park ten years ago!

Now I can sell this baby!

I Love...

...visiting my student teaching placements and seeing what they've been up to since I left!

I Love...

...Mom's pansies. So cute this year. 

I also love the fireflies that are out and about in the evening...but I don't have a real good way to photograph them!

 They're magical. 

Oh Hai

What have I been up to lately? Well, blink your eyes and it's time for another YSA conference! Wasn't I just at one? Geez, a month goes by fast!

This one was called Gathering in the Grove and held in Palmyra over Memorial Day weekend. The Kirtland conference is always the same weekend and I've always gone to that one, but this year the group decided to break tradition and check out GIG. GIG was a bit cheaper and the featured guest was Alex Boye, who sings in Motab which won over Janice Kapp Perry. I really missed my fabulous catered meal that is Kirtland's tradition, but had a good time.

There were some concerns about the weekend, namely:

1) Tent camping.
2) Smushing seven people and all our crap into a Yukon
3) Tent camping!!!

You see, I've never had a great experience with tent camping in Palmyra, and I've tried it three other times!
But it was cheaper than getting a hotel room, so I succumbed.

I kinda have mixed feelings about this conference. I enjoyed being able to go to the temple and do a session (it doesn't happen that often with the temple being so far away) and Alex Boye was spiritual and funny to listen to (I'd recommend him if you have the opportunity) but the rest? Meh. No one terribly interesting to talk to. Got stuck watching my group in choir practice during free time. Got ate up by bugs and got no sleep. It was miserably hot and humid. And I didn't like all the raucous laughter/applause that happened in the chapel when we saw Alex Boye. It really should have been held in the gym. And I'm not really sure that having to be dressed up (temple,church) as well as trying to impress the opposite sex while camping in heat/humidity really meshes. 

But I survived, and it was probably better than whatever I would have been doing at home. 

A tangle of girls in the backseat!

Raelena's comedy act during the No Talent Talent Show. We all helped her come up with groaner jokes. 

Our leaning tower of tent.
It gave way just as we were packing the car!

Nice hood ornament, Raelena

I don't know how we fit everything in!

Our Gang

My girlies

 Moving on...

The plan for Memorial Day was for a bunch of us to meet up, go hang out at Presque Isle and have a photo shoot. It was actually my idea, but stuff happened and people couldn't find each other and the stuff that I had wanted to do (photoshoot and sandcastles) didn't happen. And we were all irritated with each other that night too. It was also real hot and humid, well into the 90's, we were miserable. Real fun, huh? Ugh.

I did get a few pics with my sis and our friend Hannah, that was it.

Hannah!

The gang at Perry's Monument

What else? Well, I glued scrapbook paper to about 80 big washers for camp necklaces....

....and I survived a major hailstorm- the stones were so big that they shattered on my windshield and left dents on the hood! I had no way to get out of the storm!

There's about 20 big dings, you can see some in this pic.

Life goes on. Hope you're doing well. 

Stay tuned for more fun!