Whoa.  February 29...  This is basically a window in time!

  For a project in English, Rachel has to create a PowerPoint for a campaign.  The topic she decided to research was animal abuse.  After reading even the first paragraph of one article she found, I was in tears.
  Literally.
  The article described the terrible circumstances of which millions of animals die.  Many for food, others for fur, for sport, for no reason at all except that they weren't needed to live.  And in many cases, they suffer the most horrid of deaths- being torn from their mothers only hours from birth and being forced to remain absolutely still, being skinned or ground to pieces alive,  being beaten with clubs. I hate- no, loathe- to even write it here.
  And that's just the thing.  I'm so completely repulsed, how couldn't everyone else in the world be?  Yes, everyone dies and their is a food web that is absolutely natural and involving the death of other organisms.  But this is not natural.  No creature on the face of the whole earth should be born merely to die, as what seems to be the case here.  Everyone should receive the God-given benefit of at least trying to live out a full and happy life {though there will always be illness and accidents}.  And again, eating meat is fine, but not when the animal being slaughtered for that purpose is still only a baby!  
  I guess what just frustrates me the most is how blind people clearly are.  Just because these animals aren't human doesn't mean that they aren't living, breathing organisms who have a conscience and feel love, fear, pain!  God gave us dominion over the earth and its creatures, but I feel like what is happening now is major abuse of that power.  What happened to compassion, to understanding, to merely taking a second to see something from someone else's point of view?
  Who do we think we are?

  I must admit I am very grateful for this one certain guy named Adam.  As in my brother, Adam.
  This kid is so stinkin' amazing, with basically photographic memory, fabulous acting abilities, and shining spirituality.
  On Saturday I just wanted to pick him up and spin him in a circle {though I didn't because he's my size} when he offered to take out the trash in the bathroom.  It was my turn to clean the bathroom as well as the kitchen, and both were pretty disgusting.  I had felt especially overwhelmed when I realized that the dogs had gotten into the garbage and spilled everything from tissues to pads {not mine} to apple cores.  So him being so willing to take over such a nasty job just because he knew I dreaded it absolutely made my day.  I love him!

  It's pretty dang hilarious when you, the shortest person in the entire choir, stand right in between, in front of, and behind the tallest, most muscular/bulky guys.  It's definitely a contrast.

  Today was President's Day, so school was cancelled and we got to chillax with an extra long weekend.  Trust me, I wasted no time racing to my room as soon as school let out on Friday to pull on some sweat pants, plop onto my bed, and lose myself in a book- a luxury I have not had for quite a while because of high school.  I've also gotten to write, buy a gorgeous blue ball gown for next week, go to a birthday party with thirty other teenagers {even if it was a Mormon group, it still felt a little bit too crazy and overwhelming for my liking}, hang out with Rachel and Taylor to watch Batman Begins {oh, and happy late fourteenth birthday to Taylor}, try to play Yatzee with the family {I think everyone was a bit too tired and out of patience for that}, and obviously go to church.
  But today at eight I went with my friend Paige and her dad, sister, and sister's friend to the mountains for a hike.  Aside from the last little bit before we reached the top, the hike was actually pretty easy despite being 4.2 miles round-trip.  OK, maybe I don't like how hot it was for February, but nothing can deny the natural beauty of Arizona- hot or not {and BTW, I forgot to mention that Arizona turned 100 on Valentine's Day!}.    


    The Saguaro Cactus only grows in one place in the entire world, Arizona fortunate enough to be a part of it.
   Paige and I.
   The desert mountains are, basically, brown.  But, if you take a closer look, their are pretty little wildflowers scattered about that add flecks of color everywhere.
   From the mountain we could see the city below us.  Although we couldn't see the area where we live, it was still cool to be able to see from that different perspective.



  Happy Presidents Day!