Hope for the Hopeless

Wow, the year in review. I am going to copy Denise a bit by going through some high and low points of 2007 here on the ole blog. And it has been quite a year for me.I am not putting these in any particular order, and I am writing them as they occur to me, so please indulge the scatter-brained list. Here it is:

The arrival of Sam, Ben, and Beckham. How many aunties get 3 nephews in one year? It has been quite a year for the Olsen family, and we loved having so many babies about the place whenever we got together. Yes, it did sound like absolute pandemonium when Dad called me the other day when everyone was down for the holidays, but there was nothing like Christmas morning with the boys. Even the 2007 ones got to help unwrap presents, and read the books I gave them.

Moving to a new house. I was so lucky to move in with two of the greatest girls in the world, and when one moved out (tear!) we were lucky again to bring Mary in!! Even with all of the craziness of the downstairs Lotharios, I still love this house, and have felt comfortable and warm here.

Living in Party Central. Some of the highlights have included many Week-day Eves, Apple taste-tests, After dance parties with slurpees and Cranium, Power-outages which were more harmful than fun, dinner with the missionaries, Keely parties, concerts with Ashley and me, dinner with the A and the J, parties in the tent, and the grand wrap-up, the c.d. exchange. I will admit that I love being a hostess, so it has been a lot of fun. And, Denise and I remarked the other day that we were always either cleaning up for or after a party. Thanks to all my roommates for indulging my love of the get-together.

Facebook. Finding people I haven't seen since High School, creeping on other people, finding out way more than you ever wanted to know about some friends, connecting with other YSA, and creating killer events and groups has made this fad a lot of fun for this Luddite.

General Conference. A truly great trip with wonderful ladies, spiritual uplifting, amazing shopping, fabulous music, a chance to perform for an entirely new audience, and a plethora of inside jokes. And, who knew I would get a date just by leaving the country? That is the ultimate hot and cold...

Boggle. From the awkward and sometimes infuriating large games with all the week-day eve people to the do-or-die, friendship-jeopardizing, "if you try to make up one more word I will lose it" games with Braden, it has been a good year for finding words. This has made me want to play again as soon as possible...

Being Relief Society President. Someone told me that if you are feeling like you are not doing enough, then you are probably doing the job right. I hope so, because I feel like I never did enough for the girls in our ward. As I leave them, I hope they know how much I loved them and only wanted the very best for all of them. Who could forget the amazing Retreat? which leads me to:

Make-out Challenge 2007. This year we expanded it to co-ed, but only the celebrity version. While it will send me straight to Hell for inventing it, it is still the best game in town. And, as 2008 is beginning, and a new game commences, I still stand by my 2007 death choice. Last Sunday only cemented my decision. I look forward to all of the match-ups in '08.

Writing the LSAT. At least I can say I wrote it. Yeah. However, I will still be applying to a couple of schools, and if I don't get into those, waiting a year, writing the test again and blowing it out of the water this time.

The Fantastic Four. With trips to the zoo, pay-day dinners at the Keg, Heroes, great conversations, Arrested Development, Whoop-Up Days, and a lot of laughter, Denise and I have had a great year with two of the best guys/men 2 girls could hang out with. Thanks for the memories, guys...

So, I am sure that I missed some of the experiences of the year, intentionally and unintentionally. However, some things really are better left unsaid...or at least never mentioned again. Thanks to everyone for making this a great year. You are all amazing.

Welcome to 2008. Here's hoping for at least one date with a man over 40, any date at all actually, sticking to a membership at the gym, getting into Law School, an amazing trip to Ireland, and possibly even growing up. Oh, yeah, and at least a couple more Boggle games.