Always a party!

Once upon a time, there was this little thing called Easter. Just one Sunday, once a year, and we have like 5 parties. And whole bunch of candy and junk food. I really don't see anything wrong with this, I was just observing.

Over the past few years, I've grown to learn what Easter is really about and it has become my favorite holiday. A couple years ago, I had the opportunity to sing in Lex de Azevedo's choir as they sang Hosanna, an opera about the final days of Christ's life. Nothing strengthens my testimony quite like music does, and each time we sang I was just overwhelmed by the spirit. I had the opportunity of watching it again on Sunday, and again, I was amazed by the power of not only the spirit, but of the Atonement and the resurrection and everything Christ did for us. I think this video sums it all up quite nicely: http://lds.org/pages/his-sacred-name-an-easter-declaration?lang=eng

Anyway, I'd just like to take a second to make a shout out to my SCBFFFEWC, aka my best friend...hey there pretty! It's good to know we take the time to blog-stalk one another occasionally...

Tonight, as our FHE activity, I forced my family to learn the cup game. Well, I'm pretty sure I'm still the only one that knows it, they just figured out how to move their cups to the rhythm. I'm pretty sure that was the greatest family activity we've had in quite some time. Nothing like throwing plastic cups and laughing together.

So, for the past couple weeks, I've forced myself to get up much too early and get over to the Sportsplex. And I absolutely hate to admit this, but I actually kind of enjoy running. I'm not sure what's wrong with me, I think it just came with the Richardson genes. You better believe I hate that I love it. Okay, love is the wrong word, since I generally curse the entire universe whilst on my treadmill, but still. I love the way I feel when I'm done. Now that I'm not sore all the time, I just feel happier, and I love the fact that I've accomplished something by 6 o'clock every morning.

Today, I broke a personal record. Last Thursday, I ran for 15 minutes straight, which I had never done before. Today, I ran for 20. Was I out of breath? Absolutely. Did I want to fall over? Most certainly. But mostly, I was just proud of myself. If you had asked me to do that 6 months ago, I think I might've died. Now it's totally normal. So, I'm setting a goal, or maybe adding an item to the bucket list, just something along those lines. I would like to run something more than a 5K. Like a 10K or something. Maybe someday I'll hit a half-marathon, but that seems much too lofty at this point. So we're starting small. I believe that's called the foot-in-the-door effect, which leads me to another issue. AP tests are next week, and I've been applying calculus and psychology to everything possible. It drives me CRAZY!!! 8 more days and I'll be done. Oh, and then I have to go to college. Psh, whatever. 39 days until graduation. Life is good.