an ohio state of mind.

Hello friends! Well I recently returned from an all-expenses-paid adventure to the lands of Ohio for a special-edition EFY session...best.thing.EVER.
It all began with me having zero to none knowledge about geography and thinking Ohio was located somewhere near Oklahoma. Turns out it's in the Eastern time zone! Kind of threw my sleeping habits (and my Spidey-man watch) for a loop. Here are some highlights from my week:
LUGGAGE.
So, true to the tradition of my life, the airline decided to lose my luggage on the way to Ohio. When I arrived at a very late hour of Saturday (hence bordering on Sunday and no-more-shopping-til-Monday zone) I found myself on the other side of the country with the reassurance from the employees that my pajamas and toothbrush and church clothes "might be in Seattle." A is for awesome.
24 hours later my stuff did indeed get returned into my loving arms, but the best of the luggage adventures was still to come....Fast forward one week to the flight home. Imagine my joy and surprise when my suitcase rolled onto the luggage carousel in one beautiful, punctual picturesque moment. Unfortunately my bad luck was contagious though, because my poor travel buddy's luggage was nowhere to be found. But about 15 minutes later....an employee wheels his suitcase out on a cart. And oh what a moment it was...You see, although his suitcase was indeed there, the top half was ripped off, with clothing bursting from all sides, and the entire ensemble was wrapped in shrinkwrap...with one purple Hannah Montana pen taped firmly to the top. At this point all I could do was sit on the luggage carousel and laugh....loudly....until all the people around us and some of the employees were laughing as well.
Best.thing.EVER.
CHURCH
The Sunday before the session I attended a small, local family ward (while wearing shoes and a dress that were slightly too large for me because, hey, my luggage was still in transit...) In Relief Society we learned about food storage. Pretty normal, right? Um, mostly...until the part where we were taught how to (no joke) build furniture out of food storage. And until the part where we learned that eating too many chocolate chips will "give you a grandma booty." Oh how I wish this was Church Doctrine and could be included in the lesson manuals EVERY year.
McPOSSUM'S
So one night after all the childrens were fast asleep (or at least locked inside their humid dorm rooms), myself and two other counselors ventured to McDonalds for a much-needed late-night food run. We had to drive to the next town, which involved travelling through the middle of some dark woods on a winding road. Having grown up with a McDonalds a 1/2 mile from my house, this was a bit disconcerting. I half expected to arrive at the "McDonalds" and discover it to be nothing but a run-down shack and some crooked two-by-fours in place of the golden arches and large sign reading "McPossum's." Although it turned out to be a normal-looking fast food joint, I was still delighted when the sleepy employee responded to our inquiry about a good McFlurry flavor by saying "Oatmeal." Mmm....Oatmeal McFlurrys. Available only at your neighborhood McPossum's :)
On a less silly note...
THE GOSPEL
My name is Katie and I've always hated history. I tried taking an LDS history class and i thoroughly enjoyed the principles we learned, but the stories and names went in one ear and out the other. So, honestly, I thought that going to Church History sites would be somewhat boring...staring at historic buildings and whatnot. Boy was I wrong! I have gained such an immense appreciation for those stories and people who I couldn't have even remembered before. Just being there was enough to make it stick. I mean, to think that in the last week I was in four different places where the Savior Himself appeared. What could be better?? I even had two different opportunities to have discussions about the Gospel with complete strangers, and to give them both pass-along cards and commit them to visiting mormon.org. I don't think I've ever been so happy in my entire life! Really truly.
Oh my, I could go on and on....
So many things to love about Ohio. I've never seen so much green! Minus the humidity, I simply fell in love with the entire location. The houses were amazing...so many different kinds...not just cookie-cutter stucco :) I mostly fell in love with the firebugs (although I think I'm supposed to call them fireflies or lightning bugs....but I do what i want) Every night I'd look outside and the grass lawns would be sparkling with little flashes of light. Simply incredible!
And the rainstorms....oh, blessed Ohio rainstorms! It was like being under a waterfall from the sky. I thought I was already in love with the rain but THIS was a new experience. I ran around outside and became absolutely drenched one night...my little heart was just bursting with happy!
I never thought I'd enjoy anywhere besides the West (basically because I'd never been anywhere besides Arizona and the 3 or 4 surrounding states) but I have definitely gained an appreciation for the land of Ohio. It makes me want to go EVERWHERE...i mean, what else have I been missing??
I had the chance to do the slide show for the session, so I was able to take a ton of pictures. Here are a few for you to peruse :) Enjoy!

Look at the COLORS. Don't see that everyday...

Okay none of you know these girls, but they are standing on the front porch of the John Johnson home. This is where Joseph and Emma were sleeping with their twin babies when the mob took Joseph from the home and tarred and feathered him. The porch these ladies are standing on is the very same place where he stood the next morning and preached his sermon to a congregation that included members of that mob. SO awesome to actually be there!

This was a painting that i LOVED inside a visitors center near the Newel K. Whitney store (the building where they had the School of the Prophets.)

Here's an example of an Ohio house, I kid you not. In love? I know I am. I want to live in a house like this one....with Amish neighbors.

Me and two of my co-workers playing the rain. We are all absolutely soaked. I don't know what my pose is, exactly...I was trying to be a statue I think.

This is the favorite picture I took. It makes me feel like I could one day be an accomplished photographer....or something...

I'm in the lower right corner of this one....kind of hard to see me even though I'm wearing a yellow dress (a dress which I bought earlier that day from a Nepali clothing stand....besides the fact that it's an awesome dress, when could I ever turn down giving my money to poor people in foreign countries??) But this is me by the Kirtland Temple on my last night in Ohio. It makes me feel nostalgic inside when I look at it. And kind of sweaty when I remember how blasted humid it was....

Well that's the end! I love you all, and props to any of you who actually read the entire thing :) Thanks for being dedicated! I owe you a gold star.