work, play, and everything in between!

Ok, time to update! So we did a lot of fun stuff when our friend Bryce was here, including Disneyland, Universal Studios, Santa Monica Pier, 3rd st. Promenade, Olivera st., Zuma Beach, and we even got a special tour of Disney Studios from our ward chorister, who works there, and got a lot of really cool movie posters for free. On our tour, we also got to see some of the costumes from High School Musical 2, and we even snuck onto the set of a t.v. show ("Brothers and Sisters") cause they weren't filming, and also into 2 of the sound stages where they filmed "Pirates of the Caribbean". It was a lot of fun, and we were so grateful to Sister Miller for the tour--most people have to pay a lot of money to get a tour like that, and they don't get nearly as much detail and no free posters, and definitely no sneaking on sets--and we got to go for free.

Now! Some really exciting news! I got hired at the YMCA as a day camp counselor! It has been fun so far. Last week we had training all week--first aid and CPR certification, dealing with special needs children, child abuse prevention, etc. My co-workers are great, especially the camp director (and my boss), Bryan. He is hilarious and really laid back. I'm working with the 4th and 5th graders, the "explorers". My leader, Paulina, and the assistant leader, Kristina, are both really great, as are my co-counselors, so I'm really happy about that. Kim's working with the 1st-3rd graders, and they seem like a good group as well.

So! We had our first day of camp today and it was just at the park for today. It was good getting to know the kids and also getting to know some of the personalities. For example, there is one little girl in my group who is very defiant of the leaders. She asked if play dough tasted good, and I said probably not. She asked if she could try it, and I said no. Then she looked straight at me and licked it. I had to take it away from her, and she said, "I'm just going to eat it when I get home." It's kids like that that earn me my paycheck, haha. One unfortunate thing about this age group is that they're pretty smart and sneaky. One girl learned that just because one counselor says no, others might say yes. We really have to watch out for things like that. We also have 2 special needs kids in our group. One of the boys has down syndrome and he's actually in my stake, so I usually pass him in the halls at church. He is such a sweet kid though, and so well-behaved. The other one is autistic. He is so incredibly intelligent (seriously, he was telling me about his favorite book: 1984. What 5th grader reads Orwell?!), but he's one we really have to keep an eye on cause he'll just wander off. He will stick everything in his mouth too, so we have to watch for that as well. But I am convinced that it is the best job ever! Today we got to play a lot of games in the sun (it was sooooo hot out! And I'm definitely getting a farmer's tan!) Later this week, we're going swimming, going to the nature center, and even going to go see Prince Caspian! I think I'll like days at the park the best though--it's so much less stressful taking care of kids in a park rather than in a pool or an amusement park!

Oh, and last week was a big week for the Barlow family! Hannah had her 8th grade promotion, so Kim and I got up early before work that day to do her hair and makeup, and then after work we went to lunch with her and the family. And then, Taylor had his high school graduation friday night--it was a lot warmer than mine! But I felt sorry for the poor name readers--there is a large population of Armenians at the school, and here's an example of some of the actual names of the graduates: Miganoosh Silpwatanaskul, Oganesovich Hambarsonpour, and Hagop Chakavanmongkol. It was insane! I took a lot of pictures for the family after the ceremony, and we were about to leave, but then Taylor was like, "Wait! I want one with Michelle, too!" We all laughed about it later, saying that in 10 years, he'll look back at those pictures and be like, "Who is this girl?!" But afterwards we went to dinner at a Benihana-type restaurant. Oh, and a side note about living in the Barlow household: my favorite part of FHE is when we sing, because either someone forgets the words or the tune or something along those lines, so half the time we're just laughing, it's hilarious. They all really like "If You Could Hie to Kolob", but only Taylor and I know the words to the first verse. Honestly, we sing it every other week! haha.

Those of you still reading this (I know, sometimes when I write it just turns into a novel), and for those of you interested, Ken wrote me this week and told me that he and his companion got his first baptism this week! He is doing awesome down in Houston (despite the heat and humidity!) and it really sounds like he's on fire--tons of investigators and such. I've also been hearing from Chris Kiser (old friend of mine, for those of you who don't know) in the MTC. He's going to the Argentina Cordoba Mission, and he's working hard on his Spanish.

So that's the latest from me! I'm having a great time here, but I miss you all like crazy! My shift at work goes from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., so feel free to call me anytime after work, I'd love to hear from all of you!
Love you all!

These are pictures from Disney Studios: