happy christmas.

  

jokes!

When I was ordering our Christmas cards I sent that proof to my brother Price. He didn't find it funny at all. Everyone else did.

Though I may laugh and call him names, I still let him join in reindeer games. And actually I really appreciate his height because that means he is coming to BYU in the fall to be a volleyballer, so we can be best friends and I can mooch off his meal card. Maybe I will learn to cook something decent so I can feed him sometimes too. I really should learn to harness my domesticity into something more than a kitchen floor scrubbing every couple of weeks. 

Where was I?

Christmas cheer. I got way ahead of myself this year with our cute tree in the apt (read a.p.t.), endless holiday playlists, peppermint crunch junior mints, Christmas socks at least three times a week, Christmas classic movie nights...

plus:

-basketball games & date nights in snowy SLC

-First Presidency Christmas Devotional and pretty lights on Temple Square

-outdoor ice skating in Christmas sweaters

-Uganda reunion white elephant Christmas party

-surprise going away party for me and my two fellow Spaniards

-secret santa-ing with my favorite cute friends

-our yummy potluck goodbye lunch of roast & mashed potatoes (which were made by me and somehow managed to turn out delicious) & gravy & salad & homemade rolls & sooo many heavenly gingersnaps, followed by all ten of us snuggled up on the couch laughing

-ward service activity singing carols and hanging out with a bunch of sweethearts at a care center 

-a Christmas light tour of Provo/Orem with the most excellent tour guide in existence

Then, after surviving finals with the help of every sugary food product known to man, Matt and I hopped in a '93 Cherokee belonging to a friendly BYU student who was headed in the right direction, and at 3 am we began our two-lane highway trek to Colorado. I spent less than 24 hours there, but loved it nonetheless. The gentle snowfall on our afternoon walk around Matt's tiny little hometown was utterly magical. At one point we stopped and warmed our noses in the public library and read a lovely Christmas book, and then we went to his favorite thrift store and had incredible success. I bought a few dresses and the lady at the register begged me to try one on for her, so I obliged. It was amusing. Also I ate so much Mexican food it wasn't even funny, and we watched Fantastic Mr. Fox, which I enjoyed as well. The next morning we woke early to drive to Albuquerque. I've wanted to go to New Mexico ever since I did my state report on it in the fourth grade, so I was real excited. The football game was quite fun. Sweater weather. I much preferred it to how the Las Vegas Bowl always is. Then, before I knew what was happening, I got on a plane that magically delivered me directly to the Thomas & Mack. My first time seeing the Rebels live and in action this year and I loved it. It was a short but wonderful trip, and I'm glad our spontaneous planning skills made it happen.


Home is good. Christmas is good. Church is good. Pretty music is good. Our Savior is extra good. Family is good. Friends are good. Boyfriends are good. This rain-out of Las Vegas is good. Life is good. 

 

(this is the real picture. via harry potter land over thanksgiving. that's Hogwarts behind the trees.) 

Merry Christmas! I hope your life is full of so much Christmas cheer that you don't quite know what to do with it all. 

one of my greatest fears.

is that one day i will be interviewing for my dream job and everything will be going great, and then at some point in the interview they will find out that i only type with one hand and i will be painfully denied.

i've been thinking my summer goal will include making friends with mavis beacon.


my other great fear is that one day my head will realize that it has never ever experienced a brain freeze and decide to make up for lost time right in the middle of a perfectly good slurpee or some other frozen treat. what happens if you've never built up a resistance to such things? do you explode?

hey thanks.

excessive amounts of family time.
a healthy body.
a mostly competent mind.
little brothers.
best roommates in the history of roommates.
the chance to fulfill my dream of living in Madrid.
good food and lots of it.
Walt Disney.
J.K. Rowling.
funny parents.
friends with funny antics.
gchat.
iphone scripture app.
holiday bball tournaments on tv.
trees.
childhood revisited.
helpful people.
tweeters.
christmas music at all times.
pretty temples all lit up at night.
cotton candy.
crewneck sweatshirts.
70° weather in November.
being able to understand the Spanish warnings before rides.
my signature pair of pants.
Matthew Reschke.
frozen lemonade.
books that make you think.
fake snow storms that cancel classes I wasn't going to attend anyway.
the U.S. of A.
interesting people.
interesting places.

just life in general, i'd say.
thankful for that.

hope you all enjoy a beautiful Thanksgiving feast! I'm off to Disneyworld to find me a turkey dinner at a random Minnie Mouse cafe or something. couldn't be more excited!

neorealism & pizza.

I am without a doubt the most pathetic excuse for a blogger that exists. You know it, I know it, and you know what? I’m really ok with it. I’d like to think I’ve enjoyed the countless hours spent NOT blogging since I’ve had a blog. Life is for living I always say. 

But given my penchant to desire things in writing, I feel like I should step it up and renew my efforts. I need to take a stand against the sneaky little vice that I call Failure to Record My Life's Happenings. So a little while ago I began a new project to excite me into doing better.

Ever since I stopped taking byu art classes that consumed my every waking hour and made it so most of my waking hours occurred between 11pm and 4am, I’ve been feeling like my creative side has taken a decline. And just because I’m not quite drawn (why am I so punny) to art as a career anymore, I still want an excuse to keep creating. Because that's what makes me happy.

I’ve started a little notebook (since I clearly don't have enough notebooks in current use) and plan to fill it with pretty little things that make me who I am. Confessions, ideas, aspirations, dreams, stories. Made somewhat aesthetically pleasing by drawings or collage as I see fit. It's really quite stupid, but if I feel so inclined I might share them with you. As long as you promise to just take it as it is. The sometimes embarrassingly honest attempts of a girl trying to grow up to be more honest about herself and her world.

#1

Happy Nevada Day. Life is beyond great right now. Perhaps I'll tell you more about it soon. For now I will simply mention that last night was spent making 100% homemade Italian pizza, listening to James Morrison on repeat, and having a little spontaneous painting session with my main man. Those of you who know me well know that that equals perfection in my book.

hope life is beautiful on your side. 

love always, yarm.

i almost forgot what it feels like

to be literally consumed by school.

it's quite easy to slip away into a dream-like state in which all the world is cotton candy and sugarplums when your summer time at home looks a little like this:

wooo

take note that the primary concern on my to-do list involved hours spent watching my favorite childhood tv show. and somehow i found ample time to do something active every day. at this point i was even making myself 2-3 balanced healthy meals per day. i was on top of the world, living the dream.

then, before i knew what hit me, this happened:

and it's only monday!!! who knows what sneaky little obligations will decide to burrow themselves into the few free hours i have left. just in case all the spanish nonsense is distracting, i will provide a brief summary of what this glorious week entails: 3 oral presentations/exams, 1 test, and 3 quizzes. and what's laughable is that as the semester progresses i'll look back at that and long to have such a light load again. lucky for me, i'm in classes that i highly enjoy for the most part. and i very recently officially declared myself a humanities major, english emphasis. and soon i'll get started on an editing minor that becomes exponentially more thrilling the more i learn about it. i like learning. i even like being busy. i like taking the bus to and from campus every day. even when i take the wrong bus and end up walking home from farther away than i began. i like it because it's so beautiful in provo in september. we live right at the foot of a pretty little mountain that i can see from my bedroom window. i love spontaneous hikes and picnics with the friends i missed over the summer. i love how we try real hard to be domestic and get so proud of ourselves for cooking dinner at least once a week. i love catching up with dear friends who have real exciting news. and later getting pressured into saying hello to the cute boy in our ward that i see on the bus and don't know at all but have a mini secret crush on. and having to pretend like i don't know his name when we introduce ourselves. are all girls quite this absurd? i love the bustle of campus, the comfort of the library, and even the two hours i spend every single day hearing nothing but español. i love day dreaming of studying in spain next semester. i cross my fingers every day that i'll be accepted. i'll miss my roommates, who i really couldn't love more, and of course my family, but i wouldn't be myself if i wasn't on the edge of my seat awaiting an adventure. i love/hate having a box of frosted flakes stashed under my desk. and i love relying on my lovely red planner like my life depends on it. and let's be honest, it does.

i could go on, but as i said, school consumes me, and i have an online workbook that is calling my name.

hasta luego amigos.

....work it kels.

list-en up.

After another long stint of abandonment, look who's back! I've been back in the country for more than three weeks, and it's been spent catching up on family and friends and life in general. But I think the time has come once again to do what I do on the blog. Whatever that is. 

It appears that another ten years have come and gone. It blows my mind people! A half-life ago I was scrawny and quiet and loud and high-ponytailed and drawing koala bears for fun...so I was just about as weird as I am now. I think I had a Wet n' Wild birthday party. What I would give to have been able to do that this year. 115° just didn't feel quite so hot when we had a real live water park to escape to.

I recently turned 20 on the 20th, meaning it was my GOLDEN birthday. I'm not quite sure what that's supposed to entail, but I like the sound of it so I'm going with it.

I think the best part about a birthday is thinking about all the people who helped you get there. I'd like to take a moment out of my comeback tour to thank all those who are golden in my life. Parents, grandparents, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, school friends, church friends, life friends, even mere acquaintances; you're all undoubtedly the best I could ask for. As an inspiring young greaser on his deathbed once said, "stay golden."

If left to my own devices, this could get wordy (shocker), so instead I'm coming at ya with a few lists inspired by my newly attained wise old age. The theme shall be: TWENTY.

First, 20 THINGS THAT SHOCKED ME WHEN I FIRST GOT HOME FROM UGANDA:

1. ice

2. carpet

3. clean clothes

4. having a clean body

5. public toilets that were not actually just holes in the ground

6. how loud Americans talk

7. hot showers

8. the lack of goats, pigs, chickens, and cows in peoples' front yards

9. air conditioning

10. alone time

11. seat-belts

12. how everyone here drives their own cars instead of taking motorcycle taxis or walking

13. not being a novelty because I'm white

14. not needing an armed guard at our house

15. not having small children hold my hand and ask for sweets

16. paved roads

17. the lack of green

18. how entirely unsocial we are in comparison to Ugandans

19. how much I miss the people I met and the things I did

20. how hard it is to get rid of a Teva sandal tan line

secondly, 20 WORTHWHILE THINGS I ENJOYED DOING DURING JULY 2010:

1. went to In-N-Out minutes after landing in America

2. Lake Powell to finally reunite with my family and do lake things with Los Marquez

3. celebrated the Fourth of July sick in bed. not from Malaria, don't worry

4. Austin, Texas to watch my bro's club volleyball team play in the National Volleyball Championships

5. did some sight seeing and shopping with my mom in between games to escape the sweaty teenage boy scene

6. went to a few movies. Despicable Me, Inception, and Toy Story 3 in particular. Five stars all around!

7. started working 6-7 hours a day 5 days a week (not really that enjoyable but I need it)

8. snuggled with a little brother until he fell asleep one night

9. started working out again to make up for what two months of weird eating habits can do to a person

10. watched hours worth of Boy Meets World re-runs & ordered tons of new reading material

11. finally got through on Skype and got to talk to my friends in Uganda who I am missing a whole lot

12. went to a few wonderful missionary homecomings and farewells

13. got a 5-week pass at the hot yoga place. because it isn't already hot enough here...?

14. celebrated my birthday with best friends and family. woke up early, made a smoothie, went back to bed, looked at cars, ate a lovely lunch at DW Bistro (highly recommended), saw the incredibly age appropriate Toy Story 3 and maybe cried, ate heavenly cake from Red Velvet Cafe (also always recommended), opened a few gifts (including Depends & other old person necessities from Kori), yummy salmon for dinner, a classic night drive, and in bed with a book by 10:00. Very much close to my perfect day.

15. played pool games with my littlest brothers

16. cleaned my room. somehow let it get messy again the next day

17. finally found a CAR!! which is thrilling because I love to drive and it's been weird being immobile for the past year. 

18. had a second b-day celebration once my dad got back in town. went to Thai Spice and the Beatles LOVE show with my family and Leah, who often fills in for Price whenever he's too cool for the family or at some volleyball event. Delicious yellow curry chicken and the Beatles in acrobatic splendor. Doesn't get much better than that.

19. acquired very uncharacteristic new sleeping habits that knock me out by 11 and wake me up at 7 or 8

20. loved every single minute of my very favorite month

Now a very small smattering of photographs to illustrate a few of the above points:

beautiful day on the front of the boat. classic family bonding time.

this in no way captures the madness of our tube war time, but it will have to do.

oh the absurdities!

forgot to mention it, but couldn't resist the chance to display this evidence of me and Leah's visit to see J-Lev, our #1 Niketown employee.

the key to a successful birthday most certainly is stuffing your face with these two.

that cake didn't last us long. but boy was it worth it.

after much deliberation and stumbling upon a brilliant sale, I went with the gorgeous black Jeep Commander, and I'm loving it entirely! the other option was an upgrade Volvo, which would have been equally thrilling, but rumors are that Volvo's doing Twilight endorsements now, and quite honestly that makes my level of respect drop dramatically.

classic awkward photo with the awkward head. Thai decor is top notch.

Riley was convinced he'd hate the show, hence the pouting. he came out obsessed with it, just as we predicted. at this point Cooper's probably still talking in an Asian accent.

love it! sorry to steal her thunder but the most recent good news is that lovely Lays is going to school in Utah in the fall so I can see her any time I like! so excited!!

so anyway, that's that. 

and lastly, I have a list that I composed in church last week so I'd have something to hold myself to in the upcoming year. I call it... 20 THINGS TO WORK ON WHILE I'M TWENTY:

1. write more things down - thoughts, inspiration, feelings, mundane events

2. say hi to people first & stop avoiding people because I don't know what to say

3. learn to thrive on less

4. write more letters

5. take better care of my body - eat for a purpose & exercise often

6. talk to boys more

7. pray always - don't make big decisions without prayer

8. find motivation to learn to cook

9. take more pictures of people and things I love

10. learn to save money 

11. always be in the middle of a good book

12. be the friend I'd like to have - shower the people I love with love

13. stop criticizing myself and others

14. go to the temple often

15. spend more time in nature

16. take every opportunity to serve - make the world around me better

17. make scripture reading an indispensable part of every day

18. never withhold a kind word

19. travel often and learn as much as I can about the world

20. work hard, but slow down enough to appreciate what's around me

It's nice to be back friends. Truth be told, I missed you.

definitely saw the sun rise.

but it wasn't from atop a mountain. 


unless that's what you call the piles of boxes and bags still scattered and stacked all across the room half full of my never-ending supply of crap. 

probably should have been packing during the two hours spent talking love lives, most likely to... awards, and future life predictions with twenty of the girls in our hall. funny thing is i'm pretty sure a good majority of them are still in the lounge chatting it up. they're champs.


also, it's snowing outside right now. WHAT!?!!? i'm usually against complaining about snow but come on, it's nearly may. let's get real.


told you life is weird. 


i desperately need sleep.

haters.

people complain that i write too much stuff. it makes it hard for them to read.


this is for you. 


life is weird. i'm packing up and wondering how i got all this crap into this room in the first place and where half of it has been hiding all year. i had over 40 books stashed around my room. it makes me depressed to go in the hall & see everyone's stuff lining the walls. mexico in ONE DAY!!!!! 


and i am seriously contemplating pulling an all-nighter with keltz to go hike the y at 4 in the morning with girls on our floor. but i'm thinking i've already seen too many sunrises this week. 


someone please intervene.

lovely.

I really should have learned by now not to make blogging time commitments. Especially during finals week. It just makes me look like more of a slacker than I already am. With that said, no I have not compiled the second semester picture timeline yet, BUT I did start writing something earlier tonight on the handy note app on my phone, and I want to add to it here on this haphazard compilation of my life. It's nothing special. Just a little something about my day today. It was a lovely one.

Woke up twenty minutes before my alarm today to birds chirping and sun peeking through the blinds. After not being able to get to bed until after 3 last night, I was startled to find myself energized and awake. Received an unexpected text from my sixteen year old cousin who was on campus with her high school, so I put on my favorite striped dress and walked up the hill to treat her and a friend to lunch. I get a strange pleasure out of buying people food, especially when it's with my meal card. We went to the sky room, which sounds and looks much cooler than it is. But after one trip around the buffet table I was glad I picked it. I haven't tasted blackberries that fresh in months, I swear. I had three plates of a lovely fulfilling brunch, convincing myself that I needed to fill myself up for my shots later. Walking back, looking around, I decided that there's really very little I dislike about Provo. Especially when the weather is as perfect as it was today. It's not Vegas, but I like it. After I borrowed my dear best friend's car and filled it up, I set out on the most lovely scenic drive through the canyon, passing snow-tipped mountains, a glistening lake, darling fishermen, and happy families at a park. I would have done the drive three times if I could. Windows cracked and my April new music playlist blasting, I was in heaven. It consisted of a slightly odd combination of The Rocket Summer, Deas Vail, Passion Pit, and Justin Bieber.  We all have Bieber fever these days. Somehow the mixture ended up suiting me perfectly. Upon arrival at the place in Park City where I had made an appointment for immunizations, I was greeted by a friendly helpful staff who had basically planned out my entire health and hygiene plan for me while I am in Africa. Suddenly I was glad that everywhere in Provo had been booked for weeks. I got the shots I'd been secretly dreading. Breezy. Didn't even feel them. Then I chatted it up with the ladies about my trip, went to the bathroom, where I found the most delightfully lavender scented toilet seat covers, and took a stalker pic of the decked out Skull Candy office right next door. A text from my brother told me to go in and buy him a dope pair of headphones, but I resisted to urge to spend money I didn't have.  

While talking to my mom for the third time in three hours, I perhaps got a bit distracted and found myself fifteen minutes in the wrong direction, ironically enough en route to her hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming. I quickly resolved that and got myself pointed back towards Provo, enjoying once again the beautiful sunny day, this time with windows down just a bit lower. I'd given up on preserving untangled hair. Got home to find Kelsey and Jess "studying," which basically meant Kels was prancing around in her new beach hat and Jessica was taking pictures. Laughed a lot, had the brilliant idea to go study at Barnes & Noble because I knew there was no way I was going to do anything productive in our room. No one wanted to go with me, so I borrowed FJ once again and set off. I was hungry by then so I got dinner at the cafe. Delightful. I set up Spanish camp at a table next to a group of women discussing their latest work. One needed help editing a script she'd written, another was running over a new idea for a novel. I've always naturally drawn energy from these types of people. My heart beats a little faster when something is being created nearby. I thrive on it. I decided to put that energy into mastering the Present Perfect Subjunctive verb tense, etc. and when they left I bought a cookie and went to find a more comfortable chair. Ended up sitting on a little footstool right next to a girl reading a book about space, got distracted for a few minutes with the Illustrated Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (the reading of which happens to be #55 on my life to-do list), and then the girl left so I snagged the large cushiony chair and sunk into it to learn more about strange verb tenses. About half way through eating THE BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE OF MY LIFE, I looked to my left and realized I was seated in the Health & Fitness section. Having been distracted by an uncharacteristic interest in astrophysics, I hadn't noticed. I laughed at the universe's attempt to throw me into a sugary guilt trip. After I had successfully spent 4 hours basically living at the bookstore, and only having stroked a handful of book spines, I couldn't take it anymore and had to do my rounds. Ended up adding ten+ books to my must-have list, and found four that I just couldn't put down. I'm a sucker for a pretty cover and a rave review on the back. The lucky winners were A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, The Dolphin People by Torsten Krol, The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, and Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. In case you were anxious to know. With my B&N Member Discount, a 15% off coupon, and two recently discovered gift cards, I got them all with only $10 of my own. I could have danced in circles with joy. I don't know what it is about bookstores, but between them and scenic drives, I can think of very few things that make me happier.

On that note, my Interdisciplinary Humanities teacher said this on the last day of class concerning what we choose do with our lives: "If you don't have a love and passion for what you're doing, it can be soul crushing. Make sure that whatever you're choosing to study is something you're going to want to do in your spare time in the future." I found that comment extremely insightful, and have since been drawing up life maps in all sorts of directions. My latest favorite, which is one that I've always had on reserve, goes along the editing/publishing path. It's no secret to anyone who knows me that books are one of the things I am passionate about. And although I spent the last eight years of my life nearly positive I wanted to go into graphic design, I realized last semester during my drawing class, that the passion wasn't as strong as I'd thought. For me, the producing of art for other people's critique wasn't as fulfilling as I'd hoped. I loved that class and I learned a lot, but for me the very best part was seeing what everyone else had done, admiring their raw talent, and every once in a while thinking about what small changes I would make if I were them. That's what first got me thinking about studying the humanities. I love art. No question there.  As musically challenged and unable to dance as I am, I have a passionate appreciation for both. I love literature. I think immersing oneself in a good story builds an awareness and sensitivity to the world that can't be found in many other ways. The thing is, for the most part, I find more self-fulfillment in the study and discussion of the arts than I do trying to be an artist. While I never plan on giving up my love for creating, I don't necessarily think it's best for me to ruin the experience by making it a job. So, if you can follow all that, the point is that for a record-setting four days now, I have had a budding desire to perhaps pursue a major in Humanities, with an English emphasis and minors in Editing and perhaps business. Basically all I want to do is fall in love with book covers and what's inside of them all the time. This particular idea could completely change by next week, and I'm still not sure why I'm saying this, right here or right now, but I just wanted to put my thought process as of late into words. 

Wasn't planning on bearing my soul just now, but sometimes it happens. 

Thanks for being one of the many people who listen to me ramble day after day. If you're reading this you're probably someone I care about a lot, and you'd be surprised at how much happiness it gives me just to have someone willing to listen. Have a lovely day. All of them can be that way if you let them.

only look at this if you need something pointless to do. vol 1.

want to know something sad? i'm sad. when i walked out of art history for the very last time this evening i was smacked in the face. firstly by the wind, and secondly by the realization that i would never again attend class as a freshman in college. part of that is a bit of a relief, but you know what, it's bittersweet. i never thought i'd say it, but i'm truly upset that in a week or so i have to pack up and leave the dorms forever. i never thought being confined to a ten square foot little brick room would be so fun, but i have honestly quite enjoyed it. perhaps in the last few weeks it's really hit me the most. we've been scrambling to pack as much as we can into what time is left, and between our weekly wallyball tournaments, sleepovers, and hours spent sitting and talking and avoiding homework and the gym, i wouldn't exactly mind staying a little longer. i've made some of the best friends i could have asked for, and according to us, we really are quite funny. 

i've learned over the years that what the people want is photos. i admit i really sucked at documenting life fall semester, but i do have a few. so here they are, proof that i really do go to college:

let's start at the beginning shall we?

pre-game. there's very good chance i brought waaaaaay too much stuff to college. but of course it's come in very handy. i get at least one knock on my door a day from someone wanting to search my extensive nail polish collection. and this one time when j-lev wished for a lap desk, all i had to do was snap my fingers, dig under my bed, and voila, a lap desk. i brought just enough underwear to only have to do laundry every two or three weeks, and enough books to last about three years. 

about to embark. fj filled to the brim and the scent of vegas in august wishing us a pleasant farewell. we were excited. if only i had known not to wear those shorts, then maybe kels would have opened up to us much sooner. kidding boo, you're crazy but i love you. also, shout out to fj, she has been a world class safari car champ this year. we love her to pieces.

aww look. the first day of church picture taking for the ward directory. you know, the directory that i was 50% in charge of putting together but never received one of the finished products.

you should see how friendly she is in the mornings! jk, she's an aNGeL. she's probably just pissed in this picture cause this is when we had to park in the boonies for the blink-182 concert and when we got to the door i realized i'd left our tickets in the car, so we had to walk the ten minutes back to get them. whoops! not like i do that sort of thing often or anything....

desk area! the culmination of my cluttered life and the best evidence for my insistence on being surrounded by happy things at all times. when people walk in our room, they tend to stare around at the walls for a good ten minutes before they can fully take everything in. we like it that way.

fall evenings around the dorms were two things: 1. gorgeous, and 2. filled with some of the strangest sights known to man. the people in front of me were doing some sort of high-pitched role play game involving what i'd guess to be some sort of elf language.

we went to a football game once. i'm kidding, we went to like three. unfortunately we could only make it through both halves the times when dad's hook ups offered us front row 50 yard line tickets. ballin! (please notice that i tried to make peace early on with cougar blue. none of that "I AM BYU" shirt crap, but i did bust out a few navy shirts. it's called compromise.)

to make up for the betrayal of being a cougar, this has proudly occupied our front entrance to our dorm room all year. can't take away our rebel pride!

this is also by our door. here my bff the hand model demonstrates the obligatory slap as she exits the door. clear eyes. full hearts. can't lose. we may have payed a major role in getting at least 10 people hopelessly addicted to FNL this year.

this was my first visit home after fleeing to the north. it was much needed and much enjoyed. of course yogurtland with old friends was a number one priority. 

this was the sad/happy day when we said our farewells to our brotha stefan before he left for mexico. then me and j hopped straight into the car and my joyous weekend home came to a close.

we attended the buckfest at the parowan maverick on our way back to provo. maybe i'm lying, but you'll never know.

mat kearney in slc. sooooo in love.

halloween in provo is laughable to say the least. and yet i had two equally ridiculous costumes. the highlight of the weekend was probably taking a nap. don't mind the piles of laundry on the floor. our room is usually so clean it sparkles.

which makes me wonder what on earth this is doing here.

we went to happy sumo for sushi with tori one night. so good! i believe after this came a failed almost bonfire by the lake which quickly turned into a movie night in our beds. don't hate. we generally prefer that over being social.

drove past this in sugarhouse and made five cars angry trying to get a picture. meant to send it to kori, but i don't think i ever did.

went to spark to enjoy creepy old men and cotton candy covered fake drinks. it was quite fun. and also ended with a movie in someone's bed.

went home again for thanksgiving and got to spend time with two of my most missed people. my best friend little bro and my favorite cousin little paige. i'm in love with her!

more baby!!!

a memorable vegas night, that's for sure. here we try in vain to produce one of our signature piggy back pictures somewhere out in the windy desert of far hills.

rrrrrrrrrebels. what else?

this was the night our family home evening group had a scavenger hunt. it was great except for the fact that my team did not receive two of the clues. tonight in fact was our last ever monday night as a family, and even though i live with the mom, i'm going to miss our half-baked activities and the witty banter that always occurs. tonight we played this game that involves writing your name down, then picking someone else's out of a hat. i won't go into details about the rest, but because jessica and i have the same name and didn't want to cause confusion, i took on the honorary name of kevin. that's kevin on the far left. he's one of the many we lost to a mission at the end of last semester. long live fhe group 1. you were good to me.

this is me sleeping in physical stupid. (physical science)

this is me sleeping while working on a drawing assignment. 

this is not me sleeping. this is me after falling off my desk chair. these chairs are the devil. jessica has a tally going on a post-it of how many times i've done this exact thing. you can thank my personal paparazzi for these lovely candids.

one time i got to go to two jazz games in one week! you know how i love me some mad ball skillz.

this one day we had the brilliant idea to document "a day in our life." so this is me waking up. (props to kels for valiantly keeping up with the christmas countdown all month.)

this is me trying to creatively express myself in the act of finishing a paper forty minutes before class. it's become my specialty.

this is j-lev breathing. i was gonna photoshop her breath in but got lazy. use your imagination, i think this might be the week we hit 8 degrees. 

and this is as far as we got. our 10:18 am jamba oatmeal (right after i had the cool idea to include that timestamp). maybe we can try the day in the life experiment next year.

we went with marquez to a dashboard concert. it was sexy.

i was strictly prohibited from ever exposing this, but no matter how gay my hair looks or how lopsided jess's scarf is, you gotta love roommate night at the basketball games. our sources hooked us up for floor seats at the ASU game, complete with free nutrolls and backstage snack access. even better news is i think i only spilled water on myself once the whole time.

we got invited to an ugly sweater christmas party where jordan's mom made us a heavenly dinner and we exchanged awesome white elephant gifts. the hand-painted gnome that i won is still to this day occupying my windowsill!

finally, after an ulcer and a half due to finals, i got to come home to hang with the fam for a few weeks.

meanwhile, my best friend jetted off to europe for the holidays to find volvo impostors. she lives the life that one.

my 2009 christmas wrapping theme. i worked hard so i figured i should document it. 

fam on christmas eve. we specialize in awkwardly arranged photographs.

didn't i tell you?? p.s. i really really miss these two weirdos.

this is when the family had a night out at a blue man group performance, followed by an extra yummy mexican dinner serenaded by venetian gondolas.

coopy poopy pants.

last photo of the decade. we got to spend new years with our long little lays! it was awesome. started of course with some mirror talk from j-lev's bed. a trip to bj's for our regular shared meal. lots of driving. a little party time laughing about the "king of all new years." counting down from the summerlin parkway lookout. and of course, fireworks over the freeway.

i just made the executive decision that because this got completely out of hand, i'm waiting til tomorrow to do winter semester. a girl can only do so much you know!