Home.

I think I have become the worst blogger. I'm my sisters. Haha. Okay, so let's play some catch up. Honestly, I would like to think that I did more than I did, but I didn't. I got to go home for a week in August and that was fantastic! Coldplay was on point and it was a nice relaxing time to be home. I flew in on a Saturday afternoon. Clare picked me up from the airport in Minneapolis. We did some tourist things, and then treated ourselves to a pedicure. That was my first one. Loved it! Need another! We grabbed tacos from a hipster taco joint. Then waited for a few hours inside the stadium for Coldplay to come on. It was a fantastic time! They are so good and even better in person!

We drove home afterwards and rolled into Lyndhurst around 3 AM. I was exhausted but there is something about the smell of home and the humidity that I just love. 

The rest of the week was pretty chill. I had a dentist appointment. Played with my babies. Went swimming in grandma's pool. Visited with friends. It was just so nice to be home and not at work. My birthday was spent sleeping in, grocery shopping, and going out to dinner.

September rolled around. I can't think of much that I did. I'll have to get back to you on that. Oh, I remember. My brother moved to SLC. It's been nice to have him close. He used to love me every weekend and come do his laundry at my house. Now he has a girlfriend who he loves and so I usually go up there to see him and her. They're cute. 

October brought my parents out. I enjoy the time I have with them when they visit. It makes it seem like home isn't so far away. This month also brought a Jazz game. After seeing one, I was hooked. It had been several years, but it was more fun than I remembered. It helps when I pick excellent games to watch.
November brought Thanksgiving goodness with good friends. My coworker invited me over to her parents' house and we ate good food, played with the kids and watched the parade. It was just like being at home home. November also brought way too much credit card spending and a new winter coat. Haha. It's a good thing I'm living on that supervisor wage, eh? 

And now December. Another Jazz game. What can I say, I'm obsessed. Home is two weeks away. Meaning, Christmas is two weeks away. I love this time of year. I love that people are nice. On the roads, not so much, but in passing by, yes. I can say that it hasn't been the easiest year for me. Struggles have come. Tears have been shed. But things are looking up. I have hope that they will. I have been surrounded by great friends and family. And it helps to be on the Lord's side. :) #winning

Zions.

I feel like it's a right of passage, while living in Utah, that you have to go explore every National Park in the state. Well I finally crossed the major one off of the list- Zions. It was way more beautiful than any pictures I've seen. The red rocks and shapes and natural beauty. It's so amazing! 

My group and I headed out two Fridays ago after I was done seeing my family. We made the trip to Kanab first for food and sleep. I was impressed by the beauty and the fact that my sweet blue Impala made it that far, in that heat and didn't explode. I should give my car more credit. He's a trooper. The original plan was to drive down Friday afternoon and do Angel's Landing on Friday evening. We didn't get down in time and no permits for repelling were gotten, so we went into Kanab to watch the NBA Finals and eat some cowboy food. Later, after the Cavs won (BOO!), we headed out of town to do some practice repelling for the next day. I was still in a skirt and slip ons, so I passed. I didn't really want to flash anyone, even though it was dark. We finally turned in close to 1 AM. I was dead.

Morning came fast and bright. It was decided that we'd leave the house around 6:30. It was closer to seven by the time we left but it was still early. We drove through the park and it is a sight to see. Pictures do not do it justice. I soaked it all in. We got to the visitors center and the boys exchanged equipment and went and got permits for the repel. Someone had dropped their parks pass and drive away so we scooped it up and put it in the car so we didn't have to pay. After we filled up our water bottles and hit the bathrooms, we got in line for the shuttles.
I had decided that since we were headed out so late in the morning, I wasn't going to hike it. My body hates hot weather and I die. Parker and I were going to go do the Narrows but we're persuaded to just hike Angels Landing with the rest of them. So we did. 22 switchbacks and a lot of vertical incline and then some more small switchbacks. We would stop to drink and fuel up. I appreciated every stop and was the instigator of most of them. Haha. Scouts Landing was before us and I had every intention to turn back. But Christian insisted I keep going and I did. I was so grateful that I did. I struggled at times. My body was tired but kept going. There came a point on the chains that Christian had to push upwards on my butt so I could go. Like I said, I was tired. We were almost to the top so it was a given that I was dying.
Oh man, the top was marvelous and so worth it. We had to wear green shirts and take a selfie so we could be entered in the raffle. So we did. Haha.

Since Parker already turned back, John decided to not repel and walked down with me. Him and I waited for the other three to repel. We decided on a meeting place and what not but it took them so long to get back to the shuttle stop. John and I waited two hours for them! There came a point where I was starting to worry. They came and we jumped on the shuttle to meet up with Parker. We left the park, drove to Hurricane for dinner and then to Sand Hallow State Park. They cliff jumped and I sat in the car to tell my mother about my adventures of the day.

 

We hit the road just after six and pulled into Provo at 11 PM. It was such a fun and exhausting day! I definitely will have to go pack and do more hikes.

Visitors.

I LOVE when my family comes to town! It was so nice last when I had familiar faces great me as I left work and partied at my house. It was not long enough and I wish I didn't have to work all the time but that's the adult life. My babies are getting so BIG! It's nice that they still love me and know who I am. It'll be nice one day when I can add my own family to the crew. In the mean time, I do love being their favorite aunt. :)

Boston.

I think this blog becomes more of my vacation journal than anything else. That's okay, because I've been having some excellent adventures with some of my favorite people. At the beginning of the year, my friend had mentioned to me that I should come out and visit her in Boston. I excitingly agreed. It then became one of these trips that Erin plans out but never does. A month or two had passed and still nothing had been done, until one day her and I were texting each other and it was agreed that I should come and was given some dates. The first weekend in May it was. I was at work and just bought a plane ticket. It was a done deal. Erin was going to Boston. I was so excited to go! I actually was going and it was not just some planned idea in my head. This was real life! 

I left for the airport on that first Friday in May. I didn't have to take the day off since my flight was later that evening. It was a non stop flight to Boston. Here's the thing. I love non stop flights, they are the best. The only downside was that I've never flown for that long before. Four plus hours is a long time for me to be in a metal tube with wings in the air. My anxiety had a new experience. As we were making our finally descent into Boston, I sucked in the humid air. It was extra humid since it was raining. Also, I'm pretty sure someone had thrown up within the last 20 minutes or so cause I'd get a whiff every once in a while. Gross. But we landed. I didn't throw up and all the was right. Enter new experience: Uber. The on;y public transportation that I've ever used had been the bus and frontrunner here in Utah. The end. So using an Uber was new and surprisingly super awesome. $20 for a trip from Boston to Cambridge. Awesome! I didn't die so that was a bonus. It still was so surreal that I was even on the East Coast!
Saturday Mckinlee and I headed out to Plymouth for the day. It was fun to see where the pilgrims landed and to see the birth of a new world for them. They have a 17th century village, where everyone is in character. It's fun to try to get them to break character. But we were nice and went along our merry way. We got dinner and headed backwards home for the Jazz game that night. The lost. :(

Sunday we walked to church and it was there regional conference. Afterwards we headed to Mount Auburn cemetery for a picnic. This cemetery is so beautiful. Seriously more heart eyes were made. I had heart eyes the whole weekend. Haha. It was so nice to see the blossoms and the serenity of the place. We decided that we should take the subway into the city and hit up the art museum. That was incredible. Makes me appreciate art so much because it tells a beautiful story. We took an Uber home so Mckinlee could skype her missionary brother. I talked with my family too. Then it was time for a night ride to Walden Pond and Lexington. Beautiful and peaceful. The birthplace of America. Chills all over.

Monday brought a subway ride into the city for the Boston Tea Party Museum, Boston Commons and the Freedom Trail. Such a fun day! When we got back to Cambridge, Mckinlee took me up to Harvard to look around and then we parted ways so she could go to a presentation. I walked home and took in the beauty. We met back up for dinner and then it was another Jazz game. They lost. :(

But it was such a nice day getting to know the city and the history of America.
I left for the airport on Tuesday morning. A nice smooth flight to Salt Lake City. I was sad to leave such a fun place and go back to the real world of work and responsibilities. Haha. I was so glad that I had the opportunity to go out and see my friend but also to see more of this great place we live in. Until my next vacation...

California.

It's been a while. It's not that my life has been lame, it's sheer laziness on my part. And my computer is super slow and old, that it takes forever to even get to a website. 

Last week, over President's Day weekend, I FINALLY got to go to California. My coworker is from northern CA and so we talked about going up there. Her sister lives in southern CA and since it's winter, southern CA was the only option that seemed best. We kind of joked around with the idea of going but it was so impulsive, I didn't think it would happen. Over the next few days, her sister said we could come and she arranged for us to get into Disney for free! It was looking like it was actually going to happen! My coworker invited her boyfriend along, which was nice to have another driver, another person to help pay for gas, and to keep Miranda awake while driving. I didn't want to get my hopes up, to let them be crushed days later, so I kept a somber attitude about it all. Well it actually happened and here's the story.

Friday- We left Provo around three in the afternoon. Since everyone was trying to get out of Utah county, it took a bit longer to actually get going. We were making good timing after that. I've never been to St. George so when we hit it, it was joyous to be covering new territory. Then it was Arizona, Nevada, Vegas, etc. We stopped right on the boarder of Nevada and CA for dinner. Then progress seemed to continue well until we hit the rain, and the flooding. We got detoured a bit because of the flooding. We eventually made our way through that. Then we were outside LA, when we hit construction and it was merging four lanes into one. That took about two hours to get through. In the wee hours of the morning, we finally hit Oceanside and got to bed around 3:30 am.

Saturday- My body doesn't like to sleep in anymore. So since we had gained an hour, I was up at six, seven mountain time, and was ready to take on the world. I got up and ate a muffin and eventually fell back asleep for another hour or two. I got about five hours of sleep? We all got ready and left for Disney about ten o'clock. Disney was GREAT! I loved being able to check it off the bucket list. We hit downtown Disney for about an hour as we waited for Miranda's friend to come meet us to get us in. Our first item of business was pictures in front of the Mickey flower garden and then Main St. Disney. The first ride we did was Haunted Mansion. That was got my anxiety for a little bit but then I embraced it all and just went with it. Snow White, Tarazan's Tree House, Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, Winnie the Pooh, Astro Blasters, and Sleeping Beauty's castle were other rides and attractions we went on. We wanted to do more, but since we had park hopper tickets, we decided to make our way over to California Adventure for dinner and more rides. I was grumpy by the time we got over there. I was tired and hungry. It was not a good combo. My feet hurt and I was ready for a nap. After dinner, we walked around and then decided to get some more fast passes. Miranda and boyfriend decided they wanted to go on the roller coaster, so I waited and talked on the phone with my mom. It was nice to sit and talk. Perked me up. I ended up buying a sweatshirt in the mean time cause I was getting cold. Oh yeah, it was misty for majority of the day. The sun finally came out but I don't think it reached 60 degrees. After they were done, we went on Ariel's Under the sea ride. Then it was Cars. I am not a fan of fast and thrill rides. This had both and I went on it! I'd rather go on splash Mountain again. haha That should say something. Afterwards, we went back into Disney to watch the fireworks and we headed home after that. 11 hours of Disney is a lot and it was so good and tiring. Sleep was a welcomed site.

Sunday- Beach day! Since there was a storm coming in from the south, we decided north was better. We wanted to go south though. Laguna Beach. It was windy and cold. The waves were huge! We walked around for a bit. Then I came back and sat on the blanket. Soaking it all in. My lips tasted salty! It was such a crazy thing to experience. I did not expect that. We went and looked at the beach shops and then headed back to Oceanside for dinner. Sunday was a bum day and was welcomed since Disney was crazy. When I did wake up on Sunday morning my hips were super sore. I felt like I was getting off of a horse by the way I walked. 

Monday- It was nice to be headed home. Also, to be home at a reasonable hour. By the time we hit Utah, I was grumpy again. I was sick of being in the car and just wanted to be alone and in my own house. 

It was such a nice trip. So many firsts for me! I'm grateful for friends to road trip with and for them having family in the area so we don't have to fork out a fortune for a hotel. :)

Yeah...

About four months later, I'm still slacking. It's been a lovely few months. I went home, did some adventuring, worked a lot, spent time with friends, checked things off the bucket list, and still living in Orem. 

 These lovelies came out for Conference. It was so nice to spend time with them. Our time together is never long enough. And I found out that it's harder for them to leave me, than for me to leave them. 

 Home was wonderful and it's never long enough. It was jam packed weekend that we couldn't do everything that we wanted. But as you can see, my hair acclimated to the climate perfectly. Puffy and out of control. Christmas can't come fast enough.

September brought more adventuring. Christian and I headed down to Cedar City to do some hiking. Slot canyons kind of freak me out but we did a lot of in and out of them so it wasn't too bad. I did experience lots of interesting things. And on the way home we stopped at the hot springs in Meadow. I smelled like Yellowstone Park. 

It seems like I was busy but no. Haha. Working for the rest of the times in between makes it seem a lot slower. But life is good. I could use some cheat cards now and then, but isn't that what prayer and trust is for? Changes are coming, home is coming, and life is moving forward. 

It is interesting how God doesn't leave us helpless. I learn time and time again, that I'm worth it and I can do hard things. It's good to know that I have an infinite amount of second chances and endless love. God is very good. 

August.

It's been a crazy last few weeks. I went out to lunch with my brother and his companion. It was weird to see him in real life, but it was also soooo good! I've missed him and yesterday he came home! It was sad to be the only one missing out on another mission homecoming. Thank goodness for FaceTime. 

 I've been busy with my lovely friends. I'm so blessed with friends and good roommates. Us Belmont roommates will be lifelong friends. We celebrated all our birthdays by going to the outdoor movie on campus. The Jungle Book never disappoints. 

Also, I've been celebrating my birthday all week long. On Sunday I made a yummy dinner and then doughnut holes, about 75 to be exact. I finally finished them off today. Last night a friend asked if I wanted to go shooting. Since I was heading down to Springville, it was decided. Hobble Creek Canyon is beautiful. It even gets more beautiful as the seasons change from summer to fall. There is evidence of this as I saw last night. Also, I am terrible at shooting. Haha. The shotgun and I don't mix. The hand gun is more my style. But that still has kick to it. I did get good at throwing clay pigeons. I'm a professional skeeter. I should throw for the Olympics. 

Here's to my birthday on Friday! Also to catch the mouse on Friday when I get to work early.