Sidewalk Chalk Festival

Every year our city puts on a Sidewalk Chalk Festival on Main Street. People everywhere come to draw amazing pictures and some of the local businesses even sponsor particularly talented artists. I went with Lissa to see them on Monday. Can you say wow??! It was possibly the most amazing thing I have ever seen! I fell in love with some of the pictures, and luckily Lis thought to bring the camera to take a few shots. These are only some of the amazing masterpieces!! The little underwater pic is Dakota Sea Monster by Kylie Kelsch, a girl in my ward. Isn't she talented? Stuff like this makes me wish I could draw!

In loving memory. . .

MAXIMILIAN
Gender: Masculine
Usage: German, English, Scandinavian
Pronounced: mahk-see-MEE-lee-ahn (German), mak-si-MIL-ee-ən (English), mak-si-MIL-yən (English) [key]
From the Roman name Maximilianus, which was derived from MAXIMUS. It was borne by a 3rd-century saint and martyr. In the 15th century the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III gave this name to his son and eventual heir. In this case it was a blend of the names of the Roman generals Fabius Maximus and Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, who Frederick admired. It was subsequently borne by a second Holy Roman Emperor, two kings of Bavaria, and a short-lived Habsburg emperor of Mexico.

This is in loving memory of an adorable dog and loyal friend, Max. Max was the dog of my mom's cousin Cindy, who loved him very much. He was always so cute and friendly! I loved this dog. He would cuddle right up to you, and make you feel so loved. I am also very close to my dog Marco, and Maxy would help me not get homesick for him while I was in Vegas. It's impossible to imagine a more friendly and trusting dog than Maxy. I'll always remember the kisses he would give me on the cheek and the laughs he would give me as he tried to lick up the lotion from my legs. A few months ago he was diagnosed with cancer after he had been experiencing difficulty walking. He was given two months. He was a most beloved dog and will be missed. Love you Maxy!

Spring Break!!

Okay, so this is super late, but what can I say? I'm a procrastinator. For spring break this year, I went to Las Vegas to visit my Mutti and Papa and my Auntie Terri and Uncle Tim. I went down with my sister Melissa, my brother Thomas, my cousins Denali and Wade, and Wade's friends Jordon and Steve-o. It was super fun! We had a week of fun in the sun. My grandparents have a pool, so we spent the majority of the time tanning or swimming, as it was 80 degrees! It was so nice. We also went to see Clash of the Titans and Alice in Wonderland. We went shopping and spent a night touring the strip. It was totally awesome. Since we were there for Easter, we had dinner at my Aunt Cindy's. It was soo yummy! We also got to see her adorable dog Maxy. Also, one afternoon the boys decided they wanted to be hairless, so we spent a day waxing them! It was hilarious. Wade brought his ukelele, so one day we went to the park where Wade played the ukelele and Steve-o played the drums while they sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow. We rode the New York New York rollercoaster and just basically had a blast. I also got to see my awesome friend Andrew who lives down there. He just got a new kitten named Baron Beauregard (Bear for short) and he is so flipping cute! The cat, not Andrew. . . just kidding. Basically, I had the most awesome time in the world and I even got a tan line! I can't wait till next year.

Familia

Today I was thinking about how much I LOVE my family!! I honestly think I must've won the lottery in the Pre-Existence or something like that! Everyone already knows who everyone in my family is, but here's a little heads up just in case.

Daddy (44): More commonly known as Bishop Regis, or the Bish for short, my daddy is awesome!! He loves to do things outdoors and being active. His new obsessions are Chuck and fishing. He also has an incredible singing voice and sang me to sleep often when I was a child. The thing I love most about him is how he is such a great example. He's so honest and hardworking and genuine.

Mommy (Forever 29): An optimistic alto and her kidneys are just fine. She's giggly and my best friend. Sometimes it's hard to remember who is the fifteen-year-old with her, but we always have a TON of fun. She's the coolest mom on the planet (and I'm not just saying that so I can get a later curfew). What other mom lets her fifteen year old daughter snuggle with her when she has a bad dream?

Clarke (27): My big brother, I love love love him. He's the best listener and he's so nice!!! He's really athletic and he has a great sense of humor.

Kate (20): For those of you who know of my love for Full Metal Alchemist, Azu Manga Daioh, and Ouran High Host Club, you can attribute all that to my big sissie Tatherine. She's the one who gives me the tips on good anime and good books. You can always find her with her nose in a book or her iPod in, jamming out to some tunes. She's quirky and Katie and I love her for it.

Amy (almost 19): One sentence needed: She is the Anne to my Helen. Okay, so I only need one sentence, but I can't leave it at just that! She's hilarious and beautiful and an amazing singer and artist. Amy always knows how to make people feel comfortable and is the best friend in the world. She's so comfortable with who she is and she's very accepting of others. She's also probably the most gorgeous person I have seen in real life.

Lisser (17): Oh Kevie. Melissa is the closets to perfect a person can be without living in the City of Enoch. She's so sweet and kind and helpful. She's also so responsible it almost makes me sick. I thought teenagers were supposed to be flighty and self-absorbed!! She's an amazing volleyball player and she loves it! She always comes home and shows me her sweet bruises, scrapes, scars and other battle wounds. She lets me goof off with her and she's my best friend. I love having our weekly sister lunches.

T-Man (almost 14): Either Thomas has been hunching over for the past thirteen years, or he's suddenly a giant!! Everywhere I look, he's inhaling food, and then poof! he's grown another inch. He makes me feel short. I'm 5'8. That's hard to do. He's a sweetheart who can tell you anything you want to know about computers, Zelda, X-Men, or anything else of that sort. A self-proclaimed geek, he's a typical little brother, and I couldn't love him more for it.

Marco (6): My baby. He's the cuddliest puppy in the world, and he's mine. He snuggles with me and listens to me and is always there. I even wrote a poem about him!! I love him more than anything else.

Thanks for bearing with me. I really really love my family and they're the most important thing in the world to me besides my religion. I don't know what I would do without them. I LOVE THEM!!!!!!

xoxo
emily

P.S. Pictures to follow later!!!

Feeling Guilty. . .

I feel bad. I never write in my blog. And when I do, it's short and pointless. So, now I will write a LOOONG meaningful entry. Okay, I lied. I won't. Today was the end of 3rd term, so it meant to things: 1) Only one more term till summer!!! 2) No school today!!! Today, I had a total blast. The day started out with sleeping in and just got better. I went with Tiffany and Chandler to do a photo shoot for Tiff's photography class. We went down to Main Street and took 260 pictures!!! It was way fun. There was a ton of cool architecture and crumbly brick walls and stuff. I had no idea what I was doing, but Chandler's pictures turned out really cute! If you want to check out a few, they're up on Tiff's blog, www.tiffanysue14.blogspot.com . They're totally awesome!

Afterwards, we went back to Tiffany's house and got ready for our MINI SPIRIT BOWL SHINDIG!!!! It was totally fun. The party guests consisted of Tiffany, Chandler, Me, Hayden, Mco, Quinn, Nicole, and Hanna. And Stupidity. First, we had a mashed potato eating contest, won by yours truly. It was so hard! No one could even finish the huge scoop Tiff plopped on their plates. I only won because I was the last person to say "I quit!" It was a blast, but I don't think I'll be able to eat mashed potatoes for a few years! Then we attempted to do this game where you ate through a bowl of spaghetti mixed with peanut butter, chocolate syrup, and maple syrup. You were supposed to eat it until you found starbursts hidden inside, but it smelled so nasty that no one could even try. Finally, me, Chandler, and Tiffany decided just to take a little bite to see if it was bad. How bad was it? Let's put it this way: No one could even swallow. We all spat it out in the sink. Next came Root Beer Pong!!! The nonalcoholic version of the traditional game. Chandler almost cried every time she had to swig another glass of Root Beer. It was quite funny. We played girls vs. boys, and the girls lost. After that we played "I Have Never" with marshmallows. We'd go in a circle and everyone would say something they'd never done, and if you had done it, you had to put a marshmallow in your mouth, but you weren't allowed to chew. Chandler ended up with probably six marshmallows in her mouth. One by one, everyone had to run outside and spit them out. It was disgusting. Then we all just chilled and played "I Have Never" for a while until everyone went home. All in all, a pretty amazing day, although I kind of wish more people could have come. I'm glad I have such awesome friends!!!

xoxo
emily

Sick. . . bleh

I. Hate. Being. Sick. I'm so lonely and bored! Basically I've just been sitting around my house doing nothing. I can't wait until Lisser comes home so I can make her play with me. Well, just whining for a second.
xoxo
emily

How Easy to Lose Oneself

I used to know who I was.
I used to be able to say "I am Emily Regis."
Now when I try, my voice comes up at the end, as if I'm questioning who I am.
Which is exactly what I'm doing.
I am Emily Regis?

It started a while ago. I started to conform.
My sister says I should wear my hair like this.
My mom says to wear a touch of makeup.
My friends tell me not to wear heels; I'm tall enough already.
The world tells me not to wear overalls, no matter how comfortable they may be.

My peers tell me to talk this way.
Magazines tell me to dress that way.
Society tells me to act this way.

When it first began, I told myself:
I'm still Emily Regis, even if I don't wear a rainbow of fingernail plish.
I'm still Emily Regis, even if I start wearing matching clothes.
I'm still me.

Then, when I got so caught up that I couldn't keep my heard about water,
I thought of that line from Hitch.

You are a very loose term right now.
Definition? You can be you again when you stop being you.

Now I sit and think to myself
Who am I?
Who is Emily Regis?
and I don't know.
and I don't find out.
Conforming is like an addiction.
You can stop, but it's dang hard.

Today, I may take a step.
Today, I may wear an off center pony tail.
Not quite centered, not quite a side pony.
Just lost, somewhere in the middle.
Like me.