Sister Peterson Week 4

In Sistrict We Trust

Heyyy everyone!!!

I love you all!

We are officially a full sistrict now! Our only 2 elders (Perez and Gaynor) got moved to another district for a couple reasons. So basically we scared them off. Just kidding, but we miss them very much. So we now have a sister district leader and that is the one and only Sister Hammer! She is amazing and is already doing so many good things for us. 

This week went well. I feel like I am getting out of the hard adjustment phase and I am just enjoying my time here. And no matter what anyone tells you the food is really not that bad. Its not good, but its not bad.The best things are by far the donuts and the chocolate creamies! YUM

Classes in Japanese are actually going pretty well. Our teachers are patient with us thank goodness and do everything they can to help us understand. Charades, pictionary, videos, etc. They are pretty creative! Amongst other things I now know how to bear my testimony which is so cool. And tell you my birthday!! It is weird though because for some things it makes sense in my head but when I put it to use it does not come out right. I just gotta keep practicing! And praying!

 

I took on the challenge to read the amazing Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar so ha uh pray for me. I have tabbed the most important to learn at this moment given to me by my teacher. It is a lot. A whole lot. (Picture below)

In my personal studies I have been mostly in the Book of Mormon but I ventured out to the good ol New Testament and found an AMAZING scripture. Even taped it up on my wall. 

It is Romans 8:18. 

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." 

How Beautiful. Read that a couple times and let it sink in. All the hard work we put forth will be rewarded. It may not seem like it right away, but we go through hard things for a reason!

ALSO there is a Japanese teacher here and a girl from his mission has a sister that is passing away soon.. so a couple Japanese districts all got together and we filmed a video singing love at home in Japanese because it is her favorite church song. The spirit was SO STRONG! I will attach a voice recording I took! Give it a listen! 

I love all of you and so does Jesus. So much that he SACRIFICED HIS LIFE FOR YOU. I hope you all have an amazing easter and party it up for me andddd eat lots of candyyyyy. But dont forget the reason for the season ;) I know that might be a Christmas phrase I think but it applies for right now! 

<3 Peterson Shimai (Sister Peterson)

OH! I also have 2 tips for you that I have learned while here at the MTC

1. Dont drop your bar of soap in the showers because it will slide into another persons shower stall and then it gets very awkward trying to get it back.

2. Make sure the load of whites are YOUR load of whites before you throw them in the dryer.  

Pictures below...

-My tabs for Japanese Grammer bleck

-The best companion duo aka Sister Merrill and I

- learning my favorite scripture in Japanese!

-RIP Elder Perez

-bus ride to the temple!!

- A very fitting picture of Jesus!

ENJOY

Easter Sunday

 The next morning was Easter Sunday and we checked out of the hotel and took an Uber to the airport. The only eventful thing about the Uber ride was in talking about my kids the driver discovered I had a daughter that was married and he said he had to do a double take in the mirror to look at me because I do not look old enough to have a daughter of that age. It made me feel good and I really liked the compliment. Heather and I shared a flight to Arizona where she left me for her flight to California and I had to wait another 4 hours before my flight to Boise. I got some food and read and watched shows on my phone. I had a good week in Florida but I was happy to be getting back home and back to my normal routine. By the time I got back home it was about 7 and Kefford and Rylee left the Farm where they had Easter dinner to come pick me up from the airport. Kefford gave Rylee her Easter basket that morning but he took a couple of pictures for me which was nice. I was able to give Kefford his basket and then I was exhausted and just wanted to go to bed.

Universal Studios; Universal and Island of Adventure

Saturday morning Joshua and Andrew drove Heather and I over to a hotel by Universal Studios. We were going to spend the day at Universal and we dropped our stuff off at the Hotel and then took the bus over to the parks. We were so excited to see Harry Potter Land and ride the rides and explore the world of Harry Potter. Harry Potter land is split between two parks so we had to get the park hopper tickets. We wanted to buy their version of the fast pass but it was way too expensive. For the three days at Disney we spent a little over $100 dollars on the fast passes each and for one day at Universal with a park hopper ticket they wants to pay $350 for the fast pass, no thank you, that was ridiculous and I could not believe anyone would pay that. We started the day in the Island of Adventure park and we got in line to ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey when I noticed the single rider line. This line was perfect for us since we were ok with not being together on the ride we just wanted to not wait in the crazy long lines. So we were able to ride a lot more rides using the single rider, it was awesome.

We wanted to ride Hagrids motorbike ride but the line was hours long with no single rider line so we decided to wait and see if it would be shorter later on. We instead headed over to the Hogsmead Express to ride the train to Universal which is the other park that had more of Harry Potter land in it. It was a short wait for the train and it was really fun to ride it and feel like we were in the Harry Potter movies.

The windows were a movie screen which made it look like we were actually traveling through the world of Harry Potter.

We found Stan Shunpike and the shrunken head posing for pictures with the Knight Bus. The shrunken Head really talked to us, he liked my shirt and asked if it was a cheat sheet for magic spells. After getting a picture with the Knight Bus we headed into Diagon Alley for some exploring and more rides.

Once in Diagon Alley we got in the single rider line for Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts. We got to see some fun animatronics while walking through the queue and the atmosphere was just like being in Gringotts bank, it was a fun ride.

In one of the shops I bought a pumpkin pasty which I split with Heather. It was pretty good and despite not liking pumpkin Pie this pasty was not bad at all. It was light on the pumpkin but had a good ratio of crust to filling. We then wandered down Knockturn Alley to look in the shops.

We decided at this point to venture out of the World of Harry Potter to go on some other rides in Universal. We decided we would only go on rides that offered the single rider line since we did not want to wast time waiting in a long line.  We rode Fast and the Furious- supercharged and then Revenge of the Mummy which were not bad rides. Heather wanted to ride a roller coaster and I said I would go on one coaster with her but that was my limit. I struggle with roller coasters now that I have gotten older. They tend to hurt and the ones who go upside down puts too much pressure on my head and gives me headaches. I was ok with doing one so Heather picked the Hollywood rip-ride rocket. The one and only thing I liked about this roller coaster was you could pick from a variety of music genres to find a song just for you to hear during the ride. I picked Shania Twain's :Man I feel like a Woman", listening to that song was fun but the coaster was not. It was too jerky and slammed my head around a lot, I was not a fan. After we got off we took a picture front of part of the track, rode Transformers the ride- 3D and then headed back to Diagon Alley for a late lunch at The Leaky Caldron. 

It was fun to relax and eat in the Leaky Caldron, the servers were super kind and everything was organized and well run. We were seated at long tables with all the other diners but we had a bit of space so it wasn't awkward feeling like we were dining with strangers. 

We got water and then we got our drinks, Heather ordered a butterbean slush and I got lemonade, it was really good and I like cheat it had half a lemon in it, I squeezed it into the cup for even more tart lemon flavor in my drink. 

For our meal I ordered a Shepherds pasty pie that came with roasted potatoes and beet salad and I also bought a dessert of Butterbeer Potted Creme which came in a little glass pot that I got to keep. The pie started off very flavorful and was really delicious but after eating a little more then half the flavor became too much and I wasn't a fan anymore. I would order it again but stop at half before the flavors overwhelmed me. The potted creme was delicious and I love that I got to keep the jar it came in. Heather, who has been to England, said that is how the puddings are served there, I love it. Heather got the bangers and mash meal with a sticky toffee pudding for dessert. She didn't finish her dinner and had packed ziplock bags which she used to store the food she didn't eat for later.

After we were done eating we took pictures of each other in front of the big caldron and then one of the workers asked if we wanted her to take a picture of us together to which we replied sure! She took a couple of pictures and then asked what house we belonged to, I said I was Hufflepuff but Heather wasn't too sure which one she was in since she has been told Gryffindor and Slytherin so she just said she din't know. The worker then said ok we will have you both be Hufflepuff and on the count of three I want you both to yell Hufflepuff is the best house ever. I was immediately shaking my head and saying I don't want to do that but she was encouraging us and I am a people pleaser so when she said 3 I yelled it out and was immediately mortified. She gave me my phone back, we grabbed our stuff and booked it out of there as fast as we could. I hate being the center of attention and having all eyes on me and I hated that we did that and I just wanted to disappear, hahaha. After we got out of the restaurant I was thinking more about it and I suddenly realized that I didn't hear Heather saying anything when we had to do our yell. I asked her if she did it and she said no, hahaha, I was the only one. The worker took video of me yelling and when I watched it back Heather just kind of started off with a mumble and then quickly faded out while I should loud and not proud. Ugh the embarrassment, hahaha.

At this point we did everything we wanted to do and the only ride left we really wanted to go on was Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. The line was still really long but it did have a single rider line so we got in that. We ended up waiting in the single rider line for an hour and a half, it took forever but the regular line was about 3 hours long so it was better then that. We didn't have anything else to dos the wait was not a big deal to us. I was able to talk to Avynlea for some of the wait she is at the MTC and feeling homesick and overwhelmed. She loves her district and being there but the homesickness is har dead she was pretty teary, it broke my heart a little but I know it will get better and she will adjust. After the hour and a half wait we were able to get on the ride and it was worth every minute of that wait. The ride is a motorbike with a side car and both of the people Heather and I rode with let us take the motorbike and they rode in the sidecar. Hands downtime best ride of the day and I am so glad we did it.

After the ride we did some souvenir shopping which had us going back and forth between the parks, I got a Hufflepuff sweatshirt which I m excited about and a Happy Holidays platter that has a design of Hogwarts and Hedwig. It is really cute and I am happy to have it to use for Christmas. We took a picture in front of the Hogsmeade Express and then we headed out to catch a bus ride back to the hotel.

While we were waiting for the bus to arrive Heather got a bit peckish and ate her badge of leftover bangers and mash.

Once at the hotel I took a shower and,  I forgot to mention that I got a mickey Disneyworld sweatshirt and sweatpants in navy blue the first day at Disney, I put the sweats on and then sat in bed and ate the cupcake I bought, it was yum. We had a fun day at Universal Orlando and I loved seeing and experiencing the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I loved all of our adventures that day and I especially loved the single rider line discovery. It was a good day.

 

Disney World; Animal Kingdom

Friday was our last day at Disney World and it was spent in Animal Kingdom. This was my least favorite of the parks but it had some good rides. We started off the day getting pictures in front of the Tree of Life and then headed over to pandora for our first ride of the day. We got in the long line for Avatar flight of the passage but Leona was too small to ride so at a certain part Mallory got a riders switch pass which means she waits with Leona and then once the rest ride then she can go and scan her ticket and get a fast pass to ride it herself. I waited with her so she wouldn't have to wait alone and we sat outside the ride and ate snacks and looked in the gift shop while waited. 

When they were done with the ride it was time to go do the Kilimanjaro Safari so Mallory and I decided we could use our fast pass for the avatar ride later. The safari was a lot of fun and we got to see lots of animals which was cool. The littles really liked it and enjoyed seeing their favorite animals. 

After the safari Andrew, Maren, Heather and I went and rode Expedition Everest. It was the best ride of the day and so much fun, we all agreed that we would want to ride it again. 

After the ride we met back up with Joshua's family and got some lunch. I don't remember what it was I ate but it was some kind of rice and chicken and it was really good.

Once we were done resting and eating we went and watched the Lion King show. It was a fun show to watch and I liked seeing the costumes and the performers did a really good job and made it a fun watch.

After we watched the Lion King show we went and rode the Dinosaur ride. The ride was ok, it wasn't the best and the animatronics were not super great but it was fine. 

Once we were done with that I got a yummy milkshake and Heather and I sat in the shade and waited for the rest of our group who were doing some of their own exploring.

After this we went over to watch the It's Tough to be a Bug show which was a 3d show and pretty fun. Fredrick wanted to ride the Expedition Everest ride as well as Mallory and Joshua so they along with Andrew, Maren and I went and rode that while Heather, Leona and Amos went mamarajah Jungle Trek. When we were done with the ride we met back up with them and then did the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail. It was not super exciting but I think the kids liked it. After that we rode the Na'vi River Journey which none of us really liked, it was like Pirates of the Caribbean but boring and not one I would care to ride again. After that Mallory and I rode the avatar ride which was really fun and then we met back up with everyone for dinner and then headed back to our hotel for the night.

Disney World; Hollywood Studios

 

Our second Disney day was spent at Hollywood Studios. After being there for a little bit and seeing it allI decided it was a lot like our California Adventure park but with lots of differences, like the day before. Mallory really wanted to ride the Hollywood Tower of Terror ride at least twice and so we got up and made it to the park for early entry and rushed over to the Tower of Terror. This ride is my favorite ride at California Adventure, I was sad when they switched the theme to Gardens of the Galaxy so I was really happy that Hollywood Studios kept the original theme. When we got to the ride there was about a 15-20 minute wait and after we rode it begot in. l one again and there was maybe a 5 minute wait so we got to do it twice. After the second time the park had opened and the lone was really long so we did not go a third time at that point but we were really happy with the two times we rode it. 

After the ride we met up with Joshua and his kids and headed over to ride Toy Story Mania. I got to ride with Amos and I was pretty happy that between the two of us I got the most points. He is 7 and it was not super hard to beat him but it is rare for me to beat anyone so I called it a good win.

Next we rode the Alien Swirling Saucers and AMosrodeinthe saucer with Heather and I. We liked that one although it was a longer wait. We could not use our fast pass and so we had to wait in line for a while. It sprinkled off and on while we were in line but I was able to keep my hair dry by putting on the rain poncho Heather packed for me. I was happy to use it and very happy I was able to keep my bangs dry.

While we were waiting to figure out what we wanted for food we saw the tow soldiers doing a drum performance and we wandered over to watch them. It was a lot of fun and I liked watching it was Amos and Fredrick.

We ate some food and then we went to watch the muppet 3D show and then rested on a bench for a little bit and got some pictures. I found another heart shaped rock in the sidewalk and took a picture of it. I also had Heather take a picture of me and my fit for the day. I wore the Little Mermaid biker shorts Kenedy and Ty got me for Mothers Day last year. They were really cute and I liked wearing them.

We split up for a bit because Andrew and Maren wanted to ride the Smugglers run ride which was another long wait while the rest of us did not care to ride it. It is not one I enjoy and am ok to do without. The rest of us headed over to the Beauty and the Beast show were we got to rest in the shade on the bleachers and watch the performance. It was a good little break.

We met back up at the Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Adventure ride and got to be altogether in the car. This one is a fun ride and we all liked it.

Wechilled outside for a while and then we split up again. I am not sure where theaters went but Heather and I went and got some funnel cakes to enjoy and they were delicious. I had a hard time deciding between the cookies and cream one and the strawberry one and finally ended up with the Strawberry and I was very happy with my choice, it was really good.

We met back up with our family and walked around the shops to look at all the merchandise.

We then did Star Tours, where Heather was the rebel spy which was super fun, and we did one more ride on the Tower of Terror this time with Fredrick who wanted to do it. I don't know how I did not get a picture of that one but I don't have one, bummer.

After the Tower of Terror Joshua and Mallory took their kids and headed back to the hotel for the night but I wanted to stay for Fantasmic. Fantasmic is my favorite show at Disneyland and I was so excited to be able to watch it at DisneyWorld. DisneyWorld has their own outdoor theater for their Fantastic show which I thought was so cool and I was a little jealous. It is hard to get good seats to watch the show in Disneyland and you have to sit on the floor. At this one they have stadium seating and it seemed every seat was a good seat. They had merch as well and I was able to get a fantasmic sweatshirt, I was so happy.

The show was really good and I was so happy the entire time watching it. It was different then the California one and I prefer the California one mostly because that is the one I grew up with and it is nostalgic to me but this one was fun to watch and I loved it as well. Just not as much :)

After the show we had enough time to go to Rise of the Resistance and get on the ride with our fast passes. It was the last ride the night and a good one. We went back to the hotel exhausted but happy after a fun day.