30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 6

Day 6: A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day...

For those of you who don't know, this is Shirley Temple. She was my idol when I was a child. I made my mom put me in curlers every night so I could look like her. I had a sing a long tape with just her songs on it. I told people that I was going to be the next Shirley Temple! 

Shirley led an awesome life. She was in her first film, a series of what they were calling "Baby Burlesks", when she was three(1931)! Her first big movie was Stand Up and Cheer. Her acting and dancing career sky rocketed and lasted until 1961. She starred in a total of 43 feature films, not to mention the 14 short films and 25 story book movies she also starred in. In her later years she became involved in politics, being a representative to the UN, ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia, and the first woman to be U.S. Chief of Protocol. 

Shirley always made me believe that my dreams could come true. I wanted to be an actress on the big screen. Since I'm older, more realistic, and realize that's not going to happen, she still inspires me to do my best and sing my troubles away. 

This is a video of one of my favorite songs of hers. I wish I could get the video of me singing it when I was really little online. Maybe I'll have to make that a project for another day. 

--Lexi Lou

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 5

Day 5: A picture of your favorite memory...

Ok, so picking a favorite memory is so hard! Especially since my very best memories there wasn't a camera around. So I'll pick a few...

 #1: Pirate Ship Sleep Over! 

"Call me a liar..."

Down at Snow College, one of the professors (he retired this year) has an AWESOME pirate ship. He originally built it for his grandkids, but he lets the college students use it every once in a while. We slept in the "Captain's Quarters" and played Liar's Dice. We also told "scary" stories. It was one of the best bonding moments my roommates and I had. 

Captain Will Lubber
 (Bill Lubber or Blubber for  short...)

When we woke up the next morning we found a tub of pirate costumes and messed around in those. The boat had a cool sound system, so we hooked up my roommate's iPod and rocked out to the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack. Such good times! 

I loved getting to know my roommates this year. We had so much fun, and I love them a ton! This isn't even the craziest thing we did! We once had an elaborate scheme to order pizza in the most bizarre way (two of us were in a dumpster dressed as hobos), we locked one of my roommates out and sent her looking for clues to get back in, and we all played our share of pranks...or maybe we didn't... I love and miss these girls so much!

#2: Any and every memory I have with my family...

Sorry to inform you, but my family is the best one there is! Sure, we're not perfect. We all have had our share of disagreements. But at the end of the day, we're all laughing and having fun together. When I was at school I came to miss and appreciate the days when I got to see my family everyday. I am so happy to be living with them again this summer. I know that the day will come when I will move out for good, but for now, I love being with them and sharing in the joy only family can bring. 

#3: Good times with my Friends

Since going to school, my friends and I have all drifted apart, but we're still pretty close. My very best friend is spending the summer in California, but we may end up going to school together in the fall! (Fingers crossed!) I still see my other friends every once in a while. 

We have all had such good times. Whether it was night games with my friends in my ward or a girls night or sleepover with my friends from high school, there was always tons of laughter and fun. 

And there still is. This summer, I'm hoping to reconnect with everyone! It may be difficult, because of people's schedules, but I'm willing if they are. And I can't wait to make more memories with them. 

--Lexi Lou

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 4

Day 4: A picture of your night...

Well, I usually blog in the morning. But I already know what I'll be doing.

I'll be playing with this sweet little girl! This is Hazel Nut, my pet rat! Isn't she adorable? She's an African Soft Fur (ASF for short) rat and is about a week old. Her eyes haven't opened yet. I hold her at least once a day so that when her eyes do open (which I hope is soon) she'll recognize me and not try to escape. She's at the developmental state called "fuzzy". When they're first born, ASF's are hairless and pink (called "pinkies"). Once her eyes open, she'll be what's called a "hopper", because they do jump very far distances. This type of rat doesn't get very big and are more like mice in my opinion. I can't wait until Hazel gets older, because I'm going to train her to do a bunch of stuff. Rats are pretty smart and very easy to train. 

Hazel is very adventurous! Even without being able to see, she climbs all over my arms and loves to perch on the very tips of my fingers. She is such a sweet girl and hasn't tried to bite me once. I like to think of the marking on her back as a cute little cape...maybe I'll have to change her name to something more super villain-y. I also love the black on her ears and the very tip of her tail. From what I can tell, she loves sleeping at the very bottom of the pile her brothers and sisters make. 

Here's a video of some other one week old ASFs from an online breeder. So cute! 

And another video of a person training her ASF (a baby a little older than Hazel) to spin. I can't wait to be able to train Hazel to do this kind of stuff! 

My family is breeding ASF rats, mainly for people who want to feed them to snakes. (But since I've marked Hazel as mine, she'll probably end up being a breeder once she gets older.) If anyone is interested in buying some of these cute rats, whether as food or a cute companion, let me know! 

--Lexi Lou

P.S. If you want me to do a regular segment about Hazel, let me know in the comments!