The Short Story of Emma and Brandon...in Paper Doll Form.

These are what my sisters made for me while I was still at school. Too cute! I'm definitely going to have to print out pictures and send them to Elder Woodland. :)

This is mine and Brandon's first date. He came over to my house and we made pizza and watched the old Batman movies. It was really awkward...

This is me and Brandon at prom my senior year. :)

Brandon's a year ahead of me in school but this is me and him at my graduation last year.

This is me and Brandon now. I love his little tie and name tag. :)

Love/Hate Relationship...With the U.S. Postal Service.

I don't have a whole lot to say this time around.
I'm at home and it feels REALLY good to be home. Just kinda weird. Especially going back to work. That was SUPER funky yesterday.
I got to see Elder Woodland's family on Sunday! I missed them a lot so it was really great to see them. :)
Now, getting onto my love/hate relationship. This is what happened to the last letter I got from Brandon.

The letter and envelope were totally smooshed, ripped, and torn apart. The pictures were too :( They stuck it in a little bag with a rubber band and had a little note on the back. This was the funniest part of the thing on the back. They explained how mail no longer gets the "personal attention" it deserves and that it's processed by machines instead. RIGHT. Blame it all on the machines.

"We realize that this is of no consolation to you but do hope you understand our problem and will be patient with us. Yours very sincerely, U.S. Postal Service."

Not to mention, my grandma called me yesterday. Said they returned a letter I sent to Brandon in APRIL. They just returned it NOW. In JULY. Little late there, huh?

Thank you, U.S. Postal Service, for the sincere note and "apology". I hope to hear from you again, with a priceless letter, torn and smooshed!



Oh, sarcasm.

In Somewhat Retrospect...I'm Kind of a Hobo.

I am currently in Utah. With my grandparents.
3 days ago, I was with my best friend who is getting married.
A week ago, I was with my other grandparents. In Las Vegas.
Tomorrow I will be back with my best friend.
A week after that, I'll be back at my grandparents house.
A week after that said week, I will be in Idaho. With MYYYYYY family! And aunt and uncle. And cousins. And grandparents.
Roughly a week after THAT said week, I will be home. In Washington.
Did I mention that I'm going HOME???
If that wasn't confusing to you, you probably understand physics/calculus, and/or rocket science.
Just kidding.
Brandon has had to get a couple different addresses from me so that he can send me letters while I'm not at home or down in Vegas. At least I'm getting some and he gets some too. :)
Anyways, going back to HOME. I haven't seen my family in 6 months now. I am so excited for the next couple of weeks because I will get to be with them for 2 months this summer! Dysfunctional? Yes.  But, oh so much fun. I can't wait.
Since I haven't seen my family for 6 months, I know a little bit of what Brandon is going through. He hasn't seen his family (or me) for almost a year now. We are almost officially on the downward slide! I'm pretty positive that I moved to get some of the experiences that he is. We've been going through stuff together since actually before we started dating. I don't know about him, but I look back at all the things that have happened to both of us and think wow. All of this is for a reason. It's not nearly as weird as how my life and my best friend's life  have paralleled almost exactly. But, that's for another post. :P
So, yes. My best friend is getting married. We have been joined [at a distance] at the hip since we were about 5 years old. We've kept talking through all my moves and I love her so dang much. It's just hard to see her get married while I'm stuck waiting for a missionary. Her fiance is absolutely PERFECT for her and I couldn't be happier for them. Apparently, being the maid of honor AND the best friend, my approval was important/needed. Well, I give it fully. :P That said and almost done, I have asked her to fly up to Seattle like the day AFTER I get engaged so that she can help me with all of this stuff that I have no idea what do for. When that will happen...I don't know.
Exciting news! Elder Woodland and his companion had a baptism this past Saturday! AND Brandon got to perform the baptism! He sent pictures and he looks so much better than when he left. Not that he wasn't cute then, he just looks healthier and what not now that he's gained a bunch of weight.


I love and miss that cheesy smile. :)
"Everytime I see your face
My heart takes off on a high speed chase...
Don't be scared it's only love
Baby, that we're falling in."
-Lifehouse

Glass Half Full? or Half Empty...

Elder Woodland has been out for almost a year!!!
Thinking about it...I haven't seen my boyfriend for almost a year.
"That's a sad commentary, in and of itself."
-Captain Jack Sparrow
BUTTTTT only one more year until I get to see him again! :)
Few updates. He's been transferred...again. He's no longer in Tucson, he's in a small border town called Sierra Vista. In the letter he sent me right after he was transferred, he told me a few things about Sierra Vista. He said that many people told him it's the best area in the mission. He isn't too excited about it. It's a little border town in AZ. Besides that, he's doing really well. Gaining lots of weight and writing me at least once a week. We're currently having a confetti war. We put mounds of random confetti in the letters we send each other. It gets EVERYWHERE, despite efforts to keep it all in the envelope. In my last letter, there was a lot since I put TONS in the card I sent him for Valentines Day. ;) All I said in the letter I'm about to send was "game on". Good thing confetti is cheap for poor college students like me and missionaries.
As for me, lots of music stuff happening. I had a recital back in March and was incredibly nervous and shaking like nothing else. I played better than I thought after listening to the recording my grandpa took. Then, about a month later, I had to play for another recital for a scholarship audition. Again, I did better than I thought ater listening to the recording my grandpa took. I messed up a lot because I freaked myself out. It's pretty much a musician's curse. :P My flute teacher also wants me to audition for orchestra for next semester. The orchestra director is one of my teachers so I feel a little bit better about it. When I was getting music from him, we were talking about nasty ledger lines (only music savvy people would understand that) and I told him that I also play bass. He said that he gained a lot of respect for me...even though he had a lot to begin with. Haha WIN! He's also a bass player which is probably why he's one of my favorite teachers. I'm working on a few parts from Barber of Seville and it's HARD. I'm getting it though! Next month, I have 2 concerts, a jury (final for my lessons), and graduation to play for. I'm gonna be busy practicing for the next little while!!
I've definitely learned while being in school that when you're waiting for a missionary it's best to be kept busy. Work, school, and practicing have kept me busy and time goes by so much faster that way. Two years may not seem like a lot but for girls like me who are waiting for a misionary (I tried not to make that rhyme...), it's an incredibly long time. In a talk I listened to on Sunday in sacrament meeting, one of the speakers said to imagine a rope going all the way to the left and all the way to the right. The rope on the right is pre mortal life. The rope on the left is post mortal life. Then, right in the middle, is a thread tied around the rope. That is mortal life. In comparison to the eternities, mortal life is not a lot of time. So, technically, two years shouldn't be that long...should it? Time just seems to slow for those of us who are deprived of a missionary boyfriend. :P
"Wouldn't last a single day
I'd probably just fade away
Without you, I'd lose my mind
Before you ever came along
I'd was livin' life all wrong
Smartest thing I ever did was make you all mine."
-Eli Young Band "Crazy Girl"

1 year and counting.

Elder Woodland and I have officially been dating for a year. February 26, 2011 at about 11 pm was when he asked me out on my front porch. I couldn't be more thankful that he was brave enough to do that...and that I said yes. :)
Brandon and I have been through a lot together and we will continue to go through a lot together. I'm excited to become more than a girlfriend and best friend to him one day. I'm getting even more excited now that my almost twin sister is getting married THIS August! I'm so happy for her and that things have all worked out so that she is where she wants to be.
I've now lived in Las Vegas for almost 2 months. It's different here from Seattle, I'm not gonna lie. The fact that I now know what the sun is, what it's like to not have rain for more than a week at a time, and all that kind of thing. I started school about a month ago and I absolutely LOVE CSN. My teachers are great and I'm learning a lot. I'm still not so sure about concert band and if I really like it or not. It's different from what I'm used to and some of the music is quite difficult. Next semester, I'm hoping to audition and make it into the jazz band. We'll just have to see how that one goes over. I have to drive about a half hour or 25 miles one way to school. I only go to school Monday through Thursday which gives me Friday to either work or relax. Driving in Vegas is also much different from Washington. People are more impatient, a little bit more agressive, and a yellow light means GO. I've never really had to drive on the freeway before this but I'm comfortable with it and have become more of an agressive driver (I don't know that it's a good thing....or a bad thing).
Homesickness is playing a huge factor in being away from my family and friends back in WA. I miss my family and Brandon's family a lot. I don't get to be around kids much anymore which I really miss. Chaos is one of those things I'm so used to that not having it is almost weird for me. I'm more alone than I ever have been. I'm getting more of a feel of what Brandon is going through being on a mission. I think part of the reason why I moved is so that I can experience some of the same things he has. Along with missing my family like I never thought was possible, I miss Brandon more than I have since he first left. I think it may be because I'm so lonely. I haven't really made any friends yet and I'm by myself a lot. I'm hoping to make some friends here but if I have to sacrifice a social life for good grades and more practice time...then so be it. I want a 4.0 for cryin' out loud!
I really wish I had more time to write stuff on this dang blog or whatever the heck it is. I'm just busy with work and school and practicing that I forget to update this. I'll try to keep more frequent posts going since I haven't been putting anything on Brandon's Facebook for a while.
"God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt."
-Blake Shelton

It's Obviously Been a While....

Elder Woodland has officially been in the field for 6 months! WHOA. Time is flyin. But that's a good thing...I think.
For Christmas he sent me an assortment of........stuff, for lack of a better word. All of this "stuff" explains him and me in a nutshell for the most part. I love all of it, don't get me wrong. It just shows how much of a dork he is. :)

A stocking with a picture of me and him that says I love you!, a Transformers coloring book, Ironman crayons, hot wheels (Mustang, Challenger, Corvette, and Camaro), Chips Ahoy, balloons with my name on them, a window marker, a can of silly string, a rubix cube with pictures of us on it, superhero books, a keychain that has hearts and says love, a bubble bath Cars book (?), and money for a ring. A gorgeous CTR ring, shaped like a heart. I just got it today. I was soooo excited that I went to the mailbox in the dark and rain at 12 am to go get it. I was excited, OK?
So funny thing about Brandon being out for 6 months. He gets to burn an item of clothing every 6 months. Here's the schedule (according to him...)
6 months: a tie.
1 year: a shirt.
18 months: a pair of pants.
2 years: a full suit.
I laughed. And laughed. I asked him if his mom knew about it. He said no, it's just gonna be crappy stuff we burn. I laughed...some more.
Brandon got transfered for the first time not too long ago. He seemed a bit uneasy about it at first but he settled right in and is doing well.
If I remember right, Elder Woodland has another baptism this weekend! I'm not sure what number this is but he's had a few since he's been out. I'm excited for him and proud of the work he and his companion are getting accomplished.
I got to talk to Brandon on Christmas this last Sunday! I went over to his parents' house at about 7 and his mom was already talking to him. Then his little sister got to talk. Then his step dad got to talk to him. They saved me for last because they knew that if they gave the phone to me before they had all talked that he wouldn't want to talk to anyone else. This is most definitely probably true. :) So, after an AGONIZING 45 minutes or so, Brandon's step dad hands me the phone and I finally got to talk to him. It definitely made my Christmas and he said it made his too. We talked for about 45 minutes (probably more). His little sister, she's 5, came over by where I was sitting, talking, and told me that I'd been on the phone for FOREVER. I had to disagree...it'd only been about an hour! I could have talked to him for days. We talked about anything and everything. It was just good to hear his voice again. His sister and mom said that he sounded different...at first I didn't think so. But then realized that he'd really matured while being out on his mission and that he sounded more grown up, they were right. It's not a bad thing at all...the opposite actually. I hated when he had to go but that was the best part of the whole thing. I missed hearing "I love you" from him almost everyday before he left and I finally got to hear it after 6 months of just reading it. I fell in love with him all over again just through those 3 words. It was good to be able to say it to him back. Ok, I'm done with the mushy stuff. Teehee.
I'm off to Las Vegas for school in about a week! Me and Brandon will be closer (in more than one way) and I'm excited for letters to get to me in about half the time. :) I'll be mucho busy with getting ready to go to school and finding a job but updates will (hopefully) come more frequently about me and Elder Woodland.

Where Real Life Relates to Blues Clues.

"We just got a letter, we just got a letter!
We just got a letter, wonder who it's from!"

How sweet the simplest letter is. I haven't gotten one for almost 2 WEEKS so I was pretty psyched when I got one today. I also got to talk to him for a little bit on email which is awesome. I love being able to talk to him even if it's for 10 minutes at a time.

Elder Woodland is doing well. He's had a few major lows within the last little bit (and so have I) so it's really good to know that he's back on track and doing much better. But...he told me about an unfortunate thing that happened while he was playing basketball on Pday on Monday. He was playing basketball with some other missionaries and somehow got a black eye, a chipped tooth, a major headache (since MONDAY), and a possible concussion. Brandon tells me not to worry but I can't help but worrying. I told him to go get it checked out and, as most guys would say, he told me to not worry and the oh-so original "I'll be fine" line. UGH.

Through the past little bit, I've discovered (or rediscovered actually) how amazing the power of prayer and scripture study is. My days go by so much more quickly and they are generally better than if I wouldn't have done those things. I can tell that I'm growing on the inside and I know that Brandon is too. We're growing together and that's all I want for both of us right now. That's all we can do without seeing each other to make our relationship that much stronger.

He sent me a little kid bracelet shaped like a heart but it cracked on it's way up here. :( Sad face. He sent me me a sticker with Batman on it that says "see you next time!" to add to my little collection that he's already given me. I'm sure he got it from the doctor...and the Cars and Transformers stickers on the back of the envelope. He's such a dork. He also sent me a card with fall/Thanksgiving stickers that says I <3 U. Gosh freakin dang. I LOVE his quirky little things that he uses to tell me how much he loves me. :) He also had a song quote on the back that I really like.

"Don't give up, it's not the end...forgiveness can be given when you think it can't. For every passing second, there's a second chance."
-Relient K