Driver's License

Okay, it's been a while but I have some big news! I have finally received my driver's license! On July 9th, mom took me and her friend, Rose, to the DMV. There, my total hours were counted up. I barley had the 50 hours. Mom was...anxious to say the least. =) But I had enough to take the test.
My adjudicator followed me out to my car and we preceded with the test. We started off with the hardest part, parallel parking. Apparently, if you don't parallel park correctly, you can't take the rest of the test. To me, that's a stupid rule, but I parked just fine. The rest of the test happened and we managed to get back to the DMV safely. I passed and I was issued my driver's license.
Now, I can drive anywhere at anytime...with permission, of course. =) Watch out world, Rachel Lindh has joined the ranks of new drivers!   

First Date

Being 16 and all, I have gone on my first date! My friend, Tod, asked me out and another couple, my friends Porter and Mailee, joined us. It was a lot of fun! We went mini-golfing at a place called "Magic Carpet Golf". We got to hit into very bizarre holes, but it was pretty cool. So, we actually kept track of our score and announced the winner after we were done. With par being 48, I won with a 61. Porter got a 68, Mailee got a 72, and Tod got a 75. =) He was a good sport about it, though.
After we golfed, we played in the arcade that was there. It was a lot of fun! Almost all of the games were old and we had a blast!
After the activity, we went back to Tod's house for home made ice-cream. As the ice-cream was being made, we talked, played tether-ball, and jumped on the trampoline. When the ice-cream was ready, we went inside and ate it while watching Star Treck.
Overall, it was a great date! We all had fun, I got to know Mailee better, and we had ice-cream. I say, for a first date, it was really good! Now, I can't wait until the next one! =)
Now, yet again, it's time for pictures!

Lake Tahoe

Apparently you weren't a true Nevadian until you have visited Lake Tahoe so my mom decided to make us official. I'm a true Nevadian now; I have finally made it up to Lake Tahoe. My family (not including dad, unfortunately) and my friend, Eli, and I, all left this morning at 9:10 to go to Lake Tahoe. We went with the Dunn's who were kind enough to show us the way. =) We got to Sand Harbor, a public beach, about 9:40. It's not that long of a drive but very windy. Mom was not happy with the drive.
 When we got there, we unloaded the car and set up base near the water. After helping, Eli and I left to go rock diving. There are huge groups of boulders that you can climb and some that you can jump off. The water was very cold but felt amazing as the day went on and got warmer. The rest of the kids stayed on the beach for a while, playing the water and sand.
The water steepens quite quickly, but there are a lot of rocks that can be reached that you can stand on. Among those rocks live little lobster things. They're called crawdads and look exactly like shrunken lobsters. The kids caught two big ones. Sadly, I was freaked out; I could look at them but if one were to get close, I would shy away. =) They also managed to catch a fish!
Almost the entire day was spent sun-bathing (with sunscreen, of course!), exploring, diving, and swimming. It was a lot of fun! Thanks to my mom and dad for putting this on, thanks to Eli for coming, and thanks to my siblings for being so much fun! Maybe we'll go again soon!

EFY

Last week, I went to EFY at Provo, Utah BYU. I have to admit, I was really scared. What if no one likes me? What if I get lost? You know, the standard questions. I left early Monday morning; I got up at 3:30 to catch a 6:00 am. flight. Thank you Mom for helping me! I landed in Salt Lake City Airport at 10:00 am and waited for my cab that would take me to BYU. It arrived at 10:30, on time, and I was at BYU in time for check in. Check in was...interesting! Many excited kids, and anxious parents, all trying to find out where to go. Little old me just quietly snuck my way to an information booth. There, I was told were to go and what to do. I managed to check in, BY MYSELF!, and find the correct dorm. I was the first girl of my company to get there. But I wasn't alone for long. Girls from my company came soon after me. I met my roommate and another girl. Madison was in the room next to me, and Tamsen was my roommate. That's when it started to get exciting. I met the rest of my company and my counselors, who were AMAZING! I love them and they were super nice to me. After meeting everyone, the rest of the day went great! EFY could be a lot of fun! The rest of the week was pretty great too. On Tuesday, there was a dance, which I had a great time at. Also on Tuesday were Variety Show Try-Outs and Musical Program singers. I joined the Musical Program and even sang a solo! Wednesday was game night and pizza night. All of the companies competed with each other in silly games and after words, had pizza together. Thursday was the most spiritual day of them all. It was the day of the Variety Show, Musical Program, testimony meetings, and service project. I ended up crying, which is amazing for me. Friday was also great! It was kinda a wind-up of the whole week. We saw a slide show of pictures that were taken throughout the week, there were musical presentations, and final words from the couple who were in charge. Overall, EFY was amazing. I'm so glad I went. Even with my fears and being alone, I had a great, spiritual time. I will be doing it again next year. Maybe I'll learn something new, again. Now, for the fun part. Here are the pictures that I took throughout the week.

Sorry that all of the pictures are small! 2 things; 1) first time with pictures and 2) there are so many pictures, it's kinda better that they're small. =) EFY was amazing! I'm so glad I went AND took pictures!