The Mountains are Calling...

So the weather is finally starting to get beautiful in Utah! Wahooooo :) Last Saturday Rachel (my roommate) and I decided it was time to appreciate nature, so we went to hike Squaw Peak.
We were starting to feel a little like this:

 So we went! It was a rainy day, which made the hike a lot of fun. We got to basically slide down some of the areas because it was so muddy. I appreciated it a bit (a lot) more than Rachel :)
Hiking up the muddy areas was quite the adventure as well. At some points in our muddy journey we were feeling a bit like this:

And we did climb... and we too made it :)

The hike is about 7 miles total. This picture is from the base. Squaw Peak is the really point part in the top middle of the picture.

The hike is very awesome. I loved how the views were constantly changing.

 It is a gorgeous view when you get up there.

This is the view of the city down below. On the other side you get the view of the mountains.

Weeeee don't slip! 

The hike took is about four hours total, and was completely worth it! I hope we get to go and hike all of the places! (Which is definitely our plan). 

A week before we had gone up to Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon. I don't think you can really call that a hike, more of just a stroll up a few areas.

We had a pretty fun time wandering around the waterfall and getting splish splashed all over.

If anybody knows of some killer hikes in the Provo area that we have to do, you better let us know! 

The Long Awaited Day of the Call!

This morning I woke up with full hopes that my call would arrive today. So after I took my three hour nap and woke up at 11:30 (I work from 5:00-8:00 every morning), my roommate and I decided to go on a run in order to chase down the mailman. But alas, our secret mission to track down the mailman was to no avail. As we walked home we saw that bright, white beautiful mini van with a blue logo in our apartments 15 minute parking. I literally ran up to the mailman, and asked if he had any mail for our apartment. He quickly responded that he had just delivered a mission call to our apartment. I bolted up the stairs to the second floor to see my shiny white envelope (well... maybe not shiny). There was my name, Sister Katiemarie Gabrielle Harmon, and the postage, $1.92.

                     


Then came the waiting....


And waiting....


And waiting....

And finally 8:30 arrived when I was going to finally get to open my call with Connor.

We were both freaking out. So he opened his call first... and DUN DUN DUN... he is going to Santiago Chili! Awesome!

And then it was my turn.
(Somewhere there is a video, but heck if I know how to upload it)

Mom and Dad trying to figure out their fancy technology :) Well... mainly Mom.

Luckily my dad cut open the envelope, because had I done it, it would have been a big, sloppy, skiwampis mess (I think he knew that, which is why he did it :).

Then I read it and I have been called to serve in the...

Honduras San Pedro Sula West Mission Spanish speaking. I will report to the Mexico MTC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuT6sMH70rw 
(Here is the video, I couldn't figure out how to upload it) 

Wait what? South America... Not what I was expecting, or what anybody was guessing, but I didn't care! I was so excited (and am so excited).

San Pedro Sula is the dot with the red box around it near the top left. 

There are also lots of other cool places in Honduras like Las Vegas and Santa Barbara. Yep. That is right. 

It is official!! 

The cool college kids :)

I leave in October for the beautiful land of Honduras. My brother is in Guatemala right now, which is right next door to Honduras. I am super excited about that. When we get home we will have a lot of things to talk about and a ton of things, I am sure, which will be similar about our missions. I am also SO EXCITED for the WEATHER. Lets take a look at this.



Ahhhhh.... definitely my paradise. It has been a joke in my family that I turn the heater on when it is 70 degrees outside. Oh wait... it isn't actually a joke. That is actually what I do. There is also about 90% humidity. I think I will absolutely love it.
I am also addicted to the ocean; I am very excited to be so near it. Although I won't be able to get in it, just knowing I am so close to it will give me warmth and comfort.

After doing some other quick google searches, this is what else I found out.

1. It has been given the title of the most dangerous city in the world (http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2013/04/most_dangerous_city_san_pedro.html)

2. It is the murder capital of the world

3. Originally the Mayans lived there

4. The currency is Lempira

5. It produces a lot of bananas, coffee, sugar cane, tobacco, and forestry.

6. The majority of people are "mestizo," or of African descent


So yep! This is where I will be spending 18 months. I am super duper excited :)

California Dreamin'

School finally finished last Wednesday! 

The next morning, I found myself in a car, on my way to California, with my good roommates and friends. 

The first day we stopped in Vegas on our way to California. We went to the Bellagio and enjoyed their beautiful gardens. 

We also made our way down the strip to look at the water and make some wishes.

We also went to Steak 'n Shake. It was my first time ever, and I must say, their shakes were quite delightful.

That night we finally made it to California after some exciting navigation on the California highways, and some slow hills through Nevada and California.

The next day we made our way to the magical land of Disneyland. And I must say, I still believe in the magic.

Day two was my favorite day, because we got to do what I have always dreamed of doing. First, I got to buy my very own princess book to get autographs, and second, I got to meet my favorite characters. The first time I went to Disneyland, when I was 8 or 9, my mom refused to buy me one of the autograph books (they are pricey). And because I did not have an autograph book, I decided I was "too cool" for the characters and had to go do other big kid stuff. So I never really felt the magic of meeting your favorite characters. But this time, I got to experience it all as if I were five :)

We visited Pixie Hollow to meet Silvermist and Tink. Last Halloween we were all the fairies from  Pixie Hollow, so getting to meet the characters, was especially awesome. 

Who wore it better?

Cinderella has always been my favorite princess. Getting to meet her was so exciting! When we went in, we knew Aurora and Ariel were there, but the third princess was a mystery princess. I was hoping it was Cinderella, and lucky me, it was! 

And Minnie is just amazing. I was freaking out a little when she was about to sign my book. I told her that I was sorry for stealing her bow without asking. 

Absolutely worth the one hour wait for this shot! 

We also got to meet Merida, Pooh, Tigger, Mickey, Goofey, Donald Duck, Bell, Jessie (Toy Story), Alice, the Mad Hatter, Dug (Up), Chip and Dale, Cruella DeVille, Aurora, Ariel.. and maybe more? There were a lot.

The most important thing I learned from meeting all the characters, however, was that all of the nice, attractive, charming young men are to be found in one place, and one place alone: attending all the Disney characters at Disneyland! So ladies, if you are looking for a swell gentlemen, that is the place to look.

Also, when we were going to meet Jessie, an adorable little child ran up and hugged Jessie vehemently. The mother exclaimed "Girl! You need to calm down!" After that, we all kept reminding each other when we saw our favorite characters that "girl! You need to calm down" because we all got super excited at one point or another after finding our favorite character.

We also saw the World of Colors show. Some of the songs sounded like they should be on EFY cd's, but other than that, t was amazing!

Disneyland is one of my favorite places on Earth. I absolutely love the magic. At the end, my favorite rides were Pooh Bear, Little Mermaid, and Storybook. They were all so magical.




We also got to go explore tide pools at Corona del Mar. We saw lots of cool stuff like crabs, starfish, and hermit crabs.

There is a crab in there!

Hermit crabs. 

You could say I just wanted to bring home all the things from the beach...

We also found this gorgeous area by Corona del Mar. There was a fence, and so we looked, and found this area.

We also made our way over to New Port Beach and Balbosa. Sadly, it was overcast, but that didn't stop me from getting my shorts completely drenched.

It was a lovely day, and I am still madly in love with the beach. I gave it a great big hug before we left.

And...

The most exciting news of all came on our way home. My mission papers have finally been submitted!! I was expecting them to be submitted on the 28th, however, because there is 31 days in May and July, the date kept getting pushed back. Now they are finally in, and I will be patiently awaiting its arrival :)