Worst Movie EVER?

Twilight. and the rest of the saga...

Sometimes I have the t.v. running in the background while I'm supposed to be doing homework (when I'm really blogging instead). Seriously, Kristen Stewart stresses me out, her acting is beyond horrible. However, like most people who hate Twilight yet are strangely attracted to the movies, I'll probably end up watching the last movie anyway. *sigh* Hollywood knows how to keep us hooked...

But that has nothing to do with what I want to write about. I really need to learn to update more often, unfortunately I have a horrible habit of stressing myself out to the point that I don't want to do any of the homework I'm supposed to do. So where do I turn? To blogging of course--and catching up on Lost with the fam (speaking of Hollywood...). Horrible habit. So here I am, trying to desperately remember what it is that I have been doing these past couple weeks. It is such a good thing that I take pictures, otherwise I would be at a loss.


November 3rd, thats a good place to start. I met Sydni in English freshman year, she thought my name was Susan for like 3 days until I was brave enough to correct her. It sort of became our inside joke and we hit it off from there. We had our second section of English together again and had some good times, even hit up the Halloween dance that year! Anyway, beautiful Syd got engaged last semester. Her wedding/reception was on the 3rd way up in Altonah, Utah. Nat joined me on our little 2 hour road trip to the reception (thanks for bearing with me Nat). It was so good to see her, she looked so happy! We had a lovely dinner and desert, watched the daddy/daughter dance--shed a few tears--and the newly weds danced the night away. I'm so happy for this girl!

I absolutely love getting mail. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my name on an envelope, even if it's from Sprint, haha. So here is a little shout out to Liz for making my day! I loved my letter, even if it took like 2 weeks to get here from Jerusalem. I miss her and Sara and I can't wait to see them in December. Thanks Liz!

 Oh the adventures that lacrosse bring... The sun has been setting earlier because of our time change, we didn't really realize that until our usual 5:30 practice felt like 9:00 practice. That definitely did not stop us though, we pulled cars around and turned on the headlights! It was definitely one of the most memorable practices ever. We may be few but we sure are dedicated, I love these girls already. It is going to be a great season!

 As I mentioned, I dressed up as Katniss for Halloween this year. I lost all record of it but something miraculous happened! Since my family and I had missed out on the Sierra family coming over to trick-or-treat we decided to recreate Halloween! We have grown to love this family so much. I spent the summer taking care of these beautiful kids while Carla was pregnant with baby David--she gave me one more kid to love! Her family loves our Colombian arepas so we made an evening out of it! Gus Gus dressed up as a little puppy--tail and everything and Sofia was a beautiful princess. Tina put on my cowgirl hat and my mom brought the arepas! We had a great time. I love this family.

Snow is here! My doggy is not the only one that's excited about it. I love the snow, but with it comes one of my pet peeves... I am kind of upset that the world is ready to skip over Thanksgiving just cause we have snow, Christmas music on the radio already?! Don't even get me started on Costco and Walmart... Something about hot chocolate (you already know how addicted I am to the stuff), warm blankets, jackets, scarves, movies... Ah it's my favorite time of the year! 

 On another note: My poor puppy is getting old... She's almost 8 years old and her back is starting to act up. We had to rush her to the vet this last weekend because she could barely walk, $100 dollars and 3 bottles of pills later she is back to normal-ish... I wish she could live forever...

This has been a fun week for my sister and I. We like to go on random adventures to the mall, to UVU in search for tickets for the Synergy dance company's performance on Thursday and of course, a hot chocolate run! Love this little tyke, many more adventures to come!

Weekend Bliss

I was completely swamped yesterday between having my grandparents over (hence the little post yesterday) and desperately trying to memorize 25 pieces of art and countless details per artwork... I'm still not done but I figured I would decompress by posting about the concert on Friday.

Andy, a friend of mine, recently introduced me to the band The Head and the Heart, I had heard of them before but I hadn't really listened to them until Andy invited me to go with him and some of his friends to their concert... I walked out of there speechless. I have been to my fair share of concerts but that was, without a doubt, one of the best concerts I will ever go to! Blitzen Trapper and Bryan John Appleby opened for the band, only adding 2 more names to my favorite music list.

Bryan John Appleby

Blitzen Trapper

the amazing Head and the Heart

A little story behind this last image:

I wore my Hunger Games/Harry Potter shirt to the concert that I made. I had never had someone recognize/realize so it kind of caught me off guard when the lead singer John Appleby of BJA recognized it and loved it, I was in absolute shock! Not only did he love it but he gave me a free beer cozy (that little brown thing around the rootbeer bottle) and the whole band autographed it. I felt beyond awesome. 

The moment I got home I bought the Bryan John Appleby album, I have been listening to it non stop since Saturday!

In other news, today has been quite the long day. I spent more than half the morning still working on my art history test review and writing a couple papers for other classes. My day got better though, I love it when Nat takes time out of her day to come visit! Last time she came to visit it was Labor Day weekend, we spent the night goofing around and making crafts.

This was what I came up with:

My grandpa was sweet enough to help me out with sanding the picture frame while I made home-made chalkboard paint (thank you Pinterest). I wish I had a picture of Nat's craft, we didn't finish it but it looked really cool.

Today we worked on some homework together, Tina pinned her insects for biology, and listened to more music. We took a break from homework to work on a craft for Nat: 

We covered a canvas with the same chalkboard paint from last time, spray painted the wood gold and added a little quote--it says: "We live in a jar and think it is the sky"--I think it turned out great!

I love Sundays with family!

Now back to more homework... Let the week begin! 

(Insert a catchy title here...)

So... Basically another month went by without a post. Man, I am so good at this. I couldn't even come up with a title for this post. Good heavens.

Anywho, June just started and I have had so much fun. I can say we are on our way to crossing off more life and summer goals before school gets in the way of it all. Amy, Nat and I have planned a trip to Moab! A slight delay but it looks like July will finally work for all of us. Tina has been dying to go and I am sure Maddie has too, this month better fly by, I don't know how much longer we can wait!

I took advantage of the all the wind at the beginning of the month to take Nat, her sisters and Tina on a little kite trip. Abner and I tried last month but we were not sufficiently prepared... This time I came with tape and a lot more faith, haha. We reinforced our kites and they took off! Okay, only for a few seconds at a time but it was still fun. It was great to see these guys running with their kites. So cute! Maddie's kite was the first to break, then Tina's, then mine.... and so on. Nat's was the only kite that survived the "hurricane force Utah winds.."

 

After a while we gave up on our kites and enjoyed the warm weather. Maddie and I Lax-ed it up while Nat, Chloe and Tina worked on their hand stands and cartwheels... 

**Fast forward a week or so...**

Valerie's birthday was on Friday! I love that little rascal. She is now 5 years old and cute as can be! I made a quick stop at the store and picked up some balloons and a giant bubble wand for her. Tina and I delivered it and played with her for a while before going out to lunch at one of her favorite places, BurgerKing!

                            

Saturday was little Angela's birthday, I can't believe it. She is getting so big. I remember when Angelica was pregnant with her, I also remember how much she hated me when she was little, haha. We had a joint birthday party for Angela and Valerie. Angela's theme was Tangled and Valerie had a Hawaiian theme. We played games and ate two cakes! I love these little girls.

 Moral of the story: Adults have more fun on these things than kids do. It's a proven fact. 

 The birthday Girls

Oh, and last but certainly not least: Summerfest!! Another item crossed off Nat's list... However, she added another one: Ride a carousel... We have so many things to get done this summer!

P.s. A little shout-out to Sister Sara Donakey! Welcome home, the Philippines is a lonely place without you!

They Say a picture is worth a thousand words...

I say it's worth a heck of a lot more. Maybe this is why I take so freakin' many, I love looking back and remembering all the good times. I have had an absolute BLAST this school year, let me show you what I've done :)

Yummy new restaurants

Meeting up with old friends

Hitting up college dances

Climbing to new heights

Crossing off life goals: Thanksgiving Turkey bowl

Supporting one of my BFFs

Enjoying Christmas break

Christmas with the family

More goals achieved! Ice skating!

Celebrating best friend's birthdays

Ice skating adventures in Ephraim

Twinner dance off nights with Amy

Bowling with the family

A visit from our favorite cousin

Acting like children again

Starting a new job and spending time with grandma & grandpa

Festival of Colors!!

Trying new things

Supporting adopted siblings :)

Helping answer for Maddie's prom

Watching Nat perform at the Mayan a second time

Welcoming the warm weather with shorts

And the latest adventure...... The greatest Kalai concert EVER with my sister and best friend

Looking back I am amazed at how many things I have done in just a few months. I am incredibly thankful for all the support and love I have felt from those around me. I have grown so much and can only imagine how much more I will grow and experience this summer. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, I think a picture is worth a life time of memories...

Last but not least, I wanna congratulate Maddie on an amazing lacrosse game yesterday! It was a close game against Weber, can't wait to see her play tomorrow!