best. christmas. break. ever.

best break ever.

and i mean that.

september.

the blog-world is absolutely overflowing with posts about fall, and crisp air, and new beginnings.

i wish i knew what everybody was talking about. maybe it's because i've been in classes all summer, so fall isn't so much the start of something new (no homo, hsm) as the continuation of something i've already been waist-deep in. maybe it's because it's still 85 degrees outside in provo, and in st. george this weekend it was 102, and neither 85 and 102 scream "crisp autumn air" to me. maybe it's because i didn't go to a barbeque or picnic or parade on labor day (do people have labor day parades? not sure.) but instead ate grilled cheese sandwiches and then drove three hours home and did my homework and went grocery shopping and sat in the hot tub.

the weekend was fun. especially cliff-jumping and swimming at sand hollow. and three cheese and making sunday dinner like an adult and playing in the river. loved it. didn't take any pictures, naturally, but that's life.

i wish it was fall.

this week has been weird.

vegas was the greatest, ever. literally. every second of it was just perfect. but then sunday came and will went one way (to arizona) and we all went the other way (to provo) and the family has been broken up and things are just plain weird now.

(meet our adorable little family. the fact that darren is brown and older than both his mother and his father is completely irrelevant. as is the fact that tommy's convinced it's a cult. it's not. it's a family.)

it's been kind of strange, actually. drew's home, will's home, tommy moved to lanai, cory doesn't come over anymore, and aubrey has been working. yesterday i re-remembered why i like to be alone. i'm not a very social person in general. i like being with my friends, but i don't like making new friends. as i have made perfectly clear (here and here, for example) i don't like when things change, and making new friends, by definition, is change.

yesterday i spent a few blissful hours all by myself, which is something i haven't done in probably a month. i like just being alone with my thoughts. i like writing in my journal and reading my scriptures and just thinking.

it was nice.

..back to real life..

..but i don't even really mind. this last weekend was picture perfect. this is what went down:

thursday chelsea and i reunited and rekindled our love for each other. we climbed some rocks (just kidding. we only attempted to. we sucked at it.),

ran through a bat cave,

went to her sister's continuation and made eyes at some quarterback,

had a barbeque, ate some of the best frozen yogurt i've ever had, and creeped on some sunburnt man on the other side of the window. clearly the day was perfection.

friday i went to will's house in superior. and it was the greatest. we played some baseball, jumped on the tramp,went hiking with his sisters and brother,

ate some of the best frozen yogurt i've ever had, had some yummy broccoli (and) beef, won at mini-golfing, watched the only good part of disturbia (aka the first ten minutes), had a lesson in (nebraska) football, and, of course, went on my first go-karting adventure of my whole life.

saturday i finally started reading a book for a civ paper that's due in, oh, six days. and then we went to denverrrr. it was fantastic. my gosh. it was in my top ten nights of my entire life. outdoor concert,

pizza,

cheesecake, chelsea, jordan, crazy coloradans.. what more could i ask for?!?! nothing, i tell you. nothing at all.

and then sunday was chill and perfect and involved teaching the youth about going to college, reading by the pool, and playing games.

well guess what? now it's tuesday and it's real life and i'm not even mad. it was the bomb-est weekend but already this week rocks, too. i skyped paige and ethan this morning while eating my frosted mini wheats, i don't even have a tummy ache today like i did, oh, all day yesterday, i found out i got an A- on my programming midterm, and there were yogurt granola bars electrical taped on my car when i woke up. plus, it's not even monday, so there's only four days til the weekend.

life's good.

virginia is for lovers

frankly i have absolutely no idea what that means. and i never have. so that's cool.

once upon a time we went to virginia last week.

and it was magical. even though it was supposed to be warm. and it most definitely was not warm. we're used to it.

anyhow, we did some cool stuff.

like going to williamsburg,

visiting university of virginia,

hiking a mountain,

hiking another mountain (during which bee wore ballet flats through the snow.. don't even ask),

going to monticello,

eating dinner at the boor's head inn,

and having the most wonderful time ever.

mom and dad gave bri the camera at monticello. it was like when parents give a camera to the little kid so they stay interested and involved. and it worked. ha. bri was yelling "photo op!" every ten seconds.

californiaaaaaa

i had the most wonderful week. it included:

going shooting in the desert

clam chowder on the pier

playing on the beach

watching the last lions (LOVE)

eating ice cream sandwiches

rollerblading in newport

not taking pictures

watching limitless (pleaaase go see it)

shooting my first (and last) revolver

almost getting eaten by a bird. and a chipmunk.

s.u.s.h.i.

going puppy shopping

a lot of things i can't remember because i'm tired

aaand more playing on the beach.

it was the most fantastic week.

i also worked on registering for spring classes (accounting, western humanities, need three more credits), had a phone interview for a job at byu (office assistant) got the job (sooo freaking excited about it), read time magazine, finished a biography about a boy with asperger's, and learned a lot about myself and what i want from life.

once in high school, my dad wrote me a note. my parents are good like that. they know when we need things like that.

in this note, my dad said "limitations are self-imposed; dream big. then, keep the dream before you."

i love that. and right now, i really and truly believe that my dad is right. maybe it's just because i've been off-track and haven't been going to school, but i am so excited right now just to learn and to work hard and to do as much as i can before i grow up. i am so excited about what life holds for me and i'm so very excited to do my very best to reach my potential.

ps only three more days in rexburg..

pedal to the floor

once while driving from cedar city to california, dylan made us listen to this song on repeat for about a hundred hours. and i thought i was going to kill myself. but today, i won't complain. life's not so bad. it's drizzly and cold right now.. but i'm one flight away from sunshiiiiiine. so that's good news.

i'm bad at packing.

first of all, it takes me at least two hours. i don't know why. i just can't speed myself up. second of all, i always, always, always forget something. usually something important. it's all i can do each time to hope that i won't forget my underwear. like that one time when i was nine. i had to wear it by day and wash it by night. it was lovely, to say the least.

last night i couldn't sleep. at all. it was miserable. so--big surprise--i slept through my alarm clock this morning. or maybe it never went off. who knows. so that was neat. luckily somehow my internal body clock woke me up at nine (let's be honest, that is quite miraculous, considering i drag myself out of bed every morning at nine. i wish it wasn't true. it's embarrassing. but what can ya do?!) and i ran outside in the drizzle to do my laundry real quick so i'd have two hours to pack.

of course i put my towel in with the rest of my wash. which i didn't realize until i was in the shower.

so this morning has been great. and my room is covered in to-do lists and DON'T FORGET TO PACK ______!!!! notes. so let's hope that somehow, magically, i get this packing this figured out someday.

i skiied.

it has been such a perfect weekend, no joke.

i went to snowbird with my family to go skiing. i absolutely love my family and i didn't even mind skiing this time :) we went to alta and i put on my new white snowpants and it wasn't half bad. i went down some black diamonds (which i usually steer very clear of.. i don't like going fast. don't laugh.) which was impressive for me! but then bri made me go down this one that i wasn't very happy about and i just was positive i couldn't do it.. but i was already part of the way down. so some nice old austrian man came up behind me and gave me a ski lesson the whole way down. it was so cute of him. and i made it. even through the moguls, thank you very much. i even stopped snowplowing that much. :)

so i was proud.

you might think i look extremely awkward in this picture. that's cause i do. don't worry about it.

also, happy birthday to my mom on friday. she is the best mom i could have ever asked her and i love her so much. she's incredible.

i have a new passion..

and it is snowshoeing.

i really, really, really love snowshoeing. you might point out that i have only gone snowshoeing twice in my life. but do you know what? that is not the point. i am in love. and as soon as i get a job this semester, my first paycheck will be spent on my very. own. snowshoes.

ps do you love my new snowpants? because i definitely do.

my christmas break was perfect. we went to colorado to my grandparents' house, and it was so fun. zack came and spent a week with us, which was fantastic. grandma and grandpa brought us all to see hello, dolly! at a dinner theatre. dinner theatres are for sure in my top five favorite things. also, i got my uggs for christmas and i have been wearing them nonstop since then :)

for new years we went to wyoming, where my aunt and uncle live. it was so fun! we played a lot of games (my new favorites are uno flash and anomia. check them out, seriously.), went skiing, sledding, and shooting, and had a really good time.

i like breaks.

and i like my new roommates.

(and i am especially glad i am living with chelsea again this semester. i love that girl.)

i think this semester will be pretty great :)

tis the season..

what am i excited about today, you ask?!?!
well, i'll tell you.

a) going home.

this, of course, includes eating oreo truffles (i hope), homemade dinners with two vegetables every night, sleeping in my own (very, very, very) comfortable bed in my own room, no homework, and, naturally, my mom and my dad and my baby sister.

(photo from sisterscafe.blogspot.com)

b) christmas.

the christmas tree game, figuring out what our presents are long before christmas day (yes, we still do that at my house), eggs benedict for breakfast, ham for christmas eve dinner, and nativities.

c) these boots.

which i want for christmas.

(mom, please consider this a gentle reminder. just in case.)

d) going to grandma's for christmas!!

i love colorado, i love playing games at the table with grandma, i love estes park, and i love my grandparents.

e) a roadtrip to colorado.

i adore roadtrips.

f) seeing cristina this weekend!

and maybejustmaybe eating some red robin at some point? i could really use some fries.

g) being done with classes.

to be quite honest, i have been over my classes for about three months now. just kidding, it's not that bad. but i am definitely not shedding tears of sorrow.

oh, and ps, specifically, this means: being done with science.

h) making christmas cookies tonight with jonny and ann and zackkk!!

the fat, thick, delicious kind, with buttercream frosting. mmmmmmm.

i) making new years resolutions.

i really like those things. and i'm in a goal making mood. which is perfect.

i) look. mostly, i am just excited to go home. i miss my familyyyy. so just let it be saturday already!!!!!!

rancho mirage

so i went to palm springs with my family last weekend.

i definitely wasn't complaining about the 95 degree weather.

we stayed at the coolest resort.

the best part was some guy in knee-high argyle socks at 11:30 saturday night.

he decided the pond by the golf course would be a great place to go fishing.

umm.. hello?

i'm thinking not.

it wouldn't have been a family vacation without a family picture, of course.

so that was fun.

also dad turned i-don't-really-know-how-old

on 10/10/10!

cool, huh?

we went for a little hike, mostly through the desert.

but also through a palm tree forest.

it was awesome.

very swiss family robison-esque.

and the last wonderful part of my weekend?

finding my next craft :)

i'm going to make a heart like this, with skeleton keys inside.

i am so, so excited.

isn't it adorable?!?!