Week One of Tour!

And we’re off on a tour of a life time! We are going through Utah, Nevada and good old Southern california. I  wish I could give you a day to day travel log, but that would take up far too much time, and you would get so bored that it wouldn’t even be worth my time giving it to you. So I will give you the highlighs with a whole lot of pictures to keep you entertained the best I can... It all started Easter Morning in a place called Rexburg, Idaho. In what seemed like a ghost town we were all alone in the ricks building waiting for our church meeting to be out so we could be on our way... ok enough with the story and on with the fun facts. 

We all got on the bus and claimed our seats. Jeremy and I had decided long ago that we would be seat buddies. At the time of that decision we were both dating someone and didn't want to take a the chance of anyone getting in the way of our relationships, so sitting next to each other seemed like the best idea. Turns out by the time tour came around neither of us were attached and so it just turned into a fun trip with a best friend! I'm so glad I got to sit by him and just laugh my head off the entire trip. 
We started our drive and had our first stop for a simple lunch outside. Oh the beginning of a great bunch of friendships, or the deepening of others. As you can see here it is only a few Vocal Union friends I am with. By the end of the trip there is no line between band and choir. It will all just be one big happy family!
Me as I was practicing my "I'm a cool California chick!" look and sporting my new glasses, compliments of Jacqui's mom. The bigger the better they say! ;) I'm not too much into the big glasses look, but hey, they were free. Can't complain about that.

Easter dinner was a little non orthodox this year. We were still on the road and had to eat, so we stopped at a small diner in Beaver and had a roast dinner. It felt a little odd eating out on a sunday, but even more odd eating out for Easter! It was superb food though, and we all stuffed our little bellies with all we could. So much that it quickly became nap time on the bus.
This became the usual site on the bus no matter where you passed. It seemed to be the only way to be comfortable in a big bus like this. took bad only one person benefitted most of the time. Although I am the one lying down here, later it was almost always Jeremy doing the sleeping, which was fine seeing as I just enjoyed listening to my music and taking in the beautiful scenery.  Here are a few sweet faces from the bus!
Although this isn't the best picture of Nik, I would have to say that this kid wins the most talented vocalist award. I could and would sit and listen to him sing forever. Right before tour he put out his won CD. I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but I hope to buy it before tour is over. This was one acquaintance that grew into a huge friendship by the end of tour!
Jennifer Butler (to be said in a British accent) was always holding in depth conversations with anyone who would listen. They usually were too deep for me to give my input, but I sure did learn a lot of Gospel insights on this trip just by sitting near her and listening to her and Adam discuss away the concepts and virtues of life.  
Now Andy... well there are no words to describe how he was on the bus. Let's just say if he were talking we were all laughing. No on in the world could take this face seriously. ;) Sometimes I wonder if that face will ever just stick and he will be left like that forever. 
We finally reached our first destination. A small town called Logandale near Las Vegas. We had a small bit of down time between our High School exchange and lunch, so we all sprawled out on the lawn of the nearest church building and soaked in the sun. After being in Rexburg for so long we were all in heaven. I think a few people even got sun burned that first day out. 
Me just enjoying the sun and time off the bus. So far it was a great beginning to a wonderful tour!
The second family we stayed with drove us back to their home in silence until we hit the top of a hill, then all of a sudden they both smiled and said "welcome to Hellhole girls!" I was slightly confused until they took us by this sign the next morning. the best part is that it is right off paradise road. I guess there is a fine line between the two. no more fence-sitting for me! ;)
We had a free morning in Escondido so we took a little trip to Bates Nut Farm (or as the locals called it Nate's Butt Farm). It was full of sight seeing fun. We even got to visit their little petting zoo. I talked to the turkey and fed the goats. 
Since the workers were so nice to us and so generous to our group we left the nut roasting room with a song. It was a good guess on our part to what note to start on, but it turned out pretty good seeing as we were missing a few people. 
These are the sweet people that let us in for free, gave us a full tour, gave us free fresh nut samples, and even gave each of us a piece of homemade fudge. I got the Oreo kind and loved every bit of it. 
Emily and Emily! or as otherwise known as M&M. She was the Tenor Saxophone player for Sound Alliance. Throughout this tour we got pretty close. I didn't think I would like having another Emily on tour seeing as sometimes it can get a little confusing, but it turned out great and I am so glad she came. we even got a chance to trade scat solos in the show! No better way to trade off then with someone with your own name.
Now here are my two favorite people in the entire world! We all quickly became best friends! It was as if no one could break us up. And somehow we ended up rooming together more than usual. I guess Melissa (making the rooming assignments) knew that we would just love to be together all we could. 
Natalie, a trombonist from the band helped me sport the big ritzy sunglasses from the nut shopping center. Too many sparkles for me, and way too expensive, but it was nice and fun to put on. 
Just thought I would put on a few photos of the group as a whole. This is a group of very talented people. I don't think there is a single person in this group that doesn't deserve to be in it. Everyone is always so willing to work hard and to learn all their music without being nagged. I know it was a big relief for Sis Brower when we had more than double our regular song list polished and perfected for tour. It made for more variety and fun. 
This is a great picture of me singing my first 24 measure scat solo. I have never been too fondof scatting, but Sis Brower was determined to help me love it and make it my own, so she gave me 2 this semester. Turns out I do like it more then I thought, but that doesn't mean I will go volunteering for it... not that I have any more opportunities to do that any way. ;)
Sometimes I forget I have my camera and forget we have so much free time back stage. I pulled it out and started a camera frenzy in the girls dressing room. We were having so much fun that Kimber almost missed her solo with the band. Here is my "I'm trying to be Jacqui" face. It doesn't really work without the big eyes and lips, but it was a nice attempt. 
I would like you to take a small note at the differences in the faces of Jacqui and me. Shape, size, complexion, and hair color, texture, and length. You almost can't get two more different looking people, but somehow we are best friends in every way and both very pretty (when all dolled up).
Now this is a whole different story. Our beauty doesn't quite shine through as easily here, but if you look closely it is there I promise. Valerie actually is Miss Eastern Idaho! Yes, I know and am friends with a beauty pageant girl... how that happened I do not know. You wouldn't really place me with that type of people, but she is a sweet as pie and I wouldn't trade our friendship in for anything. She is just to sweet. Just by looking at this picture you can tell how real and fun she is. 
Ah! My favorite married person! Jen, like I mentioned above is one of the best people to talk to. We never got to room together until the very last day of tour, and lets just say it was almost a life changing event. She knows how to logically talk through any problem. I owe her my sanity on this tour. Oh and if you look very closely, our makeup is done exactly the same. Can you believe that someone asked me to show them how to do their performance makeup? Not usually my high point, but she liked it and did it that way the rest of tour. 
Jeremy was getting upset because I was taking pictures with all the girls, so I took one with him too. I keep saying that each of these people are my best friends, and it might seem like a lot, but they really are! I very rarely have fair weather friends. They are always the type that I can turn to for anything. I mean when you spend as much time together as we do in this group you can't help but become very close friends, married or not. We are more like a giant family.
Can you guess where we are? The San Diego Zoo!!! It was the first time I had ever been there and it was a blast. I stayed with my tour buddy Jeremy most of the time, which was almost a bad choice. Turns out he had to be on a business call almost the whole time. I still had fun on my own though, I mean who wouldn't have fun at the zoo? With hippos like this there can be no complaining. 
Here is one of the few minutes I caught him off the phone. There was only one elephant out that day, and he was one of the smaller ones, but I made due... I mean he still isn't big enough to fit in the picture. :)

While we were there we all got to be a part of the first few steps of this little giraffe. We saw it being born and watched it take it's first steps. It was little graphic for some, but I found it very educational. It just amazes me that only a few minutes after they are born they can walk and have all the natural instincts of a grown giraffe. God definitely knew what he was doing when he created the world.  

Ah, my boyfriend! I know he looks a little grumpy, but he has a sweet spirit. ;) I love monkeys! Too bad you can't get this close to the real ones. I did enjoy going to Monkey Haven, but that was the main part that Jeremy was on his phone, so it wasn't as much fun as it could have been. Maybe I should have stayed with a bigger group. 
Oh look we found them. By the time we found everyone else it was time to leave. This elephant fits a little better into our picture this time. It is the three sun bathing beauties together again! I think the sunglasses are what do it for us. Of course it helps that we always have matching clothes too... school policy.
Yeah! Nik! I wish I would have spent my day with him. He was stuck with a girl who didn't even want to be there. Oh well, we found each other at the end and enjoyed what time we had left at the zoo. Doesn't he just look like a bundle of fun? He is one of those super quiet people, but when he does say something you almost always die of laughter. 
Beth, one of the trumpet players had surgery on a broken leg before we came out and to insure correct healing she was put in a wheelchair whenever we had long outdoor, on your feet days. I would say "poor Beth" for being in a wheelchair, but who else gets to have someone push you around every minute of everyday. Not to mention skipping all the lines at Disneyland. I sometimes wish it was me in the wheelchair, just to give my feet a rest. 
Dang Matt!!! Where did you find so many good looking girls? My favorite part of the week was going to the beach for sure. It wasn't quite as warm as it could have been but I was determined to get in the water all the same. When we first got there not too many people wanted to get in the water. All they wanted to do was lounge on the beach. 
Eventually I convinced Nik to get in the water with me. As you can see he couldn't handle the cold water as well as I could, but it was nice of him to at least get in with me. It was a nice attempt at a smile for him. When you are that cold sometimes it is hard to fake it. I think jumping in the waves could possibly be one of my most favorite things in the entire world to do. 

I have no idea what Adam is pointing at or what exactly is going on, but I thought this was a nice picture of a few of my friends that I didn’t get in too many other pictures. You can see Adam in front, Paul behind him, and Meagan and Beth off to the right. I just wanted to show you how many people I convinced to finally get in the water after they all saw how much fun Nik and I were having. It turned into a huge party!

After playing in the water Kimber and I went on a little adventure walk along the beach line and under the dock. We found all sorts of fun things and turned it into a fun little game. Isn't she just the cutest? I never thought I would have such good friends that were so young, but seeing my maturity level, it makes a lot of sense. 
And I of course had to get a picture of just me and the water. Sometimes I think I was supposed to be a mermaid... That is if they existed. I would spend every minute of every day in the water if I could. I mean just look at it. How does that not invite you in? Rain or shine, I want to be in the ocean. I might just have to move to Cali to get the beach, but then I would miss the mountains... hmm, hard choice.
This picture is a bit random. It started out as just Nik and I on the pelican, then a few more people joined, then a few more, until we eventually ended up with this. Oh so much fun! People were standing by watching us have all our fun. One lady even came up to us and thanked us for our modesty and clean humor. She started to walk away and then turned around and while smiled asked if we were "Mormon." We just smiled and answered yes. She again thanked us for our example to those around us. 
How hard is it to get a group of 40 to all look at the camera at the same time and look decent? I guess not everyone has the magic touch Dad does. It was hard enough to get us all together. I am positive quite a few people are missing from this photo, but it was the best we could do.  
So before we went to the temple Nik and I joked around about it being our wedding day. Not that there is even anything going on between us, it was just a joke that got started a little while back, so here is our "after wedding picture." It wouldn't be too bad if we were dressed right, didn't have double chins from laughing, taken at a better angle, and were well, actually married. ;) The joke lived on all the way through tour. 
Nik wanted to try a new angle to catch both the temple an people, so I handed him my camera and Kimber and I quickly became his models. This was the best shot we got. He really likes it because of the light rays between us and the temple. He thinks it makes it look more celestial. I just like the picture.
Jen also wanted to try out her photography skills, so she had me sit near a bed of flowers and she took only one picture. Nothing like Dad, but not to shabby. My hair is even blowing in the wind like a real model. 
And here is my attempt... I guess I forgot to zoom out, but I still really like it. It shows personality and white teeth! Plus I just love Jen so much I would hate to miss an opportunity to be in a picture with her!  
Our temple trip was out of this world amazing. For anyone who hasn't been to that temple needs to find a way to get there. The simple beauty of it is enough to bear testimony of the spirit inside. Oh! It was amazing!
Old Town San Diego was our next stop. I don't ever recall having this many fun days on my last tour. I guess with such little distance to travel you can't help but stop and see all the fun sights! We had a lot of time to just walk around and explore. We saw haunted mansions, an old  cathedral and some really cool street markets.

We found an old wagon and decided to act out a run away wagon scene with really wimpy horses... or with what they look like I would almost call them hamsters. ;)

Although we had sack lunches packed for us I couldn't handle another sandwich. I needed something more then that, so we headed to Mom's favorite restaurant. I called to let her know where we were and she told me just where to go. I convinced Kimber, Jeremy, and Matt to come with me and try it out. Lets just say they weren't disappointed. It was amazing real mexican food! I was so happy to get the authentic stuff again!
After luch we had quite a bit of extra time on our hands so we decided to go on a walk. I can never get tired of all the beauty there is in California... if you look past the dirty streets. Most of the flowers and natural surroundings are breathtaking. 
Pretty ladies at the fountain! No wonder we had so many good looking boys looking our way. Who could pass this up?
No one will ever be able to split kimber and I up again! We are best friends forever. I mean look at us, who would want to ever get in the way of these two beautiful blondes?
Back on the bus. This time instead of kicking everyone out of the seats to sleep we added an extra seat buddy! Kimber came and joined us in our cozy area and we laughed our little hearts out until we reached our last destination for the week. 

Our last performance for the week was a combined singles ward dance. I must say this was one of the highlights for then entire tour for me. I mean come on, when would I ever pass up an opportunity to dance? Plus we even got to branch out and dance with the singles there. I had so much fun! The three of us shamefully flirted with no boundaries.  
I also danced with most of the boys from Vocal Union. As you can see though, most of the dancing was filled with laughter and jokes. Nik and I even joked about this being our wedding reception where we had our first dance together. Silly boy never stops the jokes from coming. I loved it all and wish that I could do it again!