Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The Weekend I Fell in Love...

Now before I continue I should clarify for the sake of my family and the boys I spent the weekend with... I fell in love with blue skies, red rock, and cacti. I am totally and completely in love with St. George. I can't say it was the best weekend of my life, but it was definitely the best weekend of this year!

Obviously I spent my three-day weekend in St. George. I went with 9 of my favorite people. I couldn't have asked for a better group. From smurfing to scripture study to interpretive dance we all meshed so well.

The Crew! (Connor's Harem + Chad and Josh)

The first five of us left Provo on Friday afternoon. It was a long, but fun, car ride spent getting to know each other better. It was so awesome to drive into St. George and see all of the red rocks. Being from Washington I am used to the beauty of green, but man there is something to be said for the color red! We spent that night just settling in and preparing for the weekend.

Car Ride Buddies!

Saturday: Day one of epicness! After having an amazing pancake breakfast (Thanks Xtina and Connor) we headed up to Snow Canyon to go hiking. Snow Canyon is stunning!!! We hiked through slot canyons, climbed through caves, and even got a little bit lost (thanks to our fearless leader). We ended the day with the most chaotic dinner trip ever. Note: When you have ten annoyed/hungry people don't ever think you will come to a compromise... We ended the night watching "Cinderella Man." Well, only half of us actually watched it, the others were thoroughly passed out. Here's a few (ok, a lot of) pictures:



The Girls! 

Yes, we climbed down into that cave.

Enjoying Slot Canyon

On top of the world with amazing people!

I'm a little crazy...

Chad's and my epic cave climbing pose

We sure are a buff group.

Roommates doing what we do best.

The beautiful slot canyon. 

Glasses!

I like red rocks...

The stunning view from the top

Sunday: This is the only day we slept in.... until 9. We spent the morning just relaxing and getting ready for church. We met up with 10 other friends and went to one of our friend's family wards. Which was interesting... Not sure I have ever been to a ward quite like it. After that we all went and toured church historic sites. The temple in St. George might be my new favorite! That night we went to Connor's grandparents for dinner. We played an epic round of Apples to Apples. Chad labeled me as creepy and chunky... I guess it's better than appetizing and delicious... We ended the night with star gazing. It was one of the coldest experiences ever. Even wrapped up in a blanket my toes were screaming in coldness.  However, I did see the coolest shooting star ever. Some pictures from this day:



This temple is so awesome! It even has palm trees!

Look we match!

Penguin huddling to stay warm.

I have crazy friends (read in kid-history voice)

This is what happens when we get a little tired.

Chad and his women

My beautiful roommates!

I love this girl!

Monday: Oh waking up this morning... Chad, Hannah, and I decided to go for a morning walk up to some red rocks behind the neighborhood. There is nothing like welcoming the sun on top of arch while listening to the "Circle of Life." It was great and relaxing until the walk back. We somehow ended up a mile away from where we were supposed to be. Upon returning we had a monumental interpretive dance party. After packing up we said goodbye to the house and headed up to white rocks. The white rocks are these giant rock (duh) that in my opinion look like elephant skin and in the opinion of others look like dinosaur poop. White rocks was gorgeous and fun to climb up (down was little sketchy). We then headed to some sand dunes and had a blast jumping off them. My clumsiness was not helpful and I totally failed. We then headed home, singing disney all the way. Some pics of our final day:



Early morning cave paintings!

Best jumping pic ever!

Saying goodbye to the house.

Superstar

Crazy girlies!

Sand dune jumping.

You wish you were this awesome.

The Group on top of white rocks.

What a view!

All in all it was amazing! I hope I get to do it again some time. It was a weekend I will not soon forget.

Remember to smurf it up!


Saturday, February 11, 2012

ORANGE

This has been a CRAAAAAAAZY week! It's also been a fabulous week.

I'll start with a little story. One Monday night not so long ago two VERY short girls went to the grocery store with their roommates. They ran into each other on the hair aisle. There were these shiny boxes calling their name and each girl picked one out. One girl picked dark brown and the other platinum blonde. They travel home and begin the process. The one going blonde ended up with orange hair. The one going chocolate brown feared it would end up black. For a while they looked like halloween. Luckily, the darker hair faded and the orange hair was redyed. It was quite an adventure, but Ellyn and I are happy with the results.


I know it's just a B+, but I am SO proud of this paper. It's for my advanced writing class and I have been working on it ALL semester. Literally. One week before it was due my teacher told me I need to completely reconceptualize my entire paper. Yikes! I finally came with an idea on Monday and was able to quickly crank it out. Also, the teacher told us that most people get a C. All things considered I am really happy with this paper.


Well this was a first... One of my friends decided to surrender to his receding hair line and go completely bald. He need someone to reshave it for him and I volunteered. This was an experience. I didn't expect it to be so difficult to shave someones head. I mean I shave my legs all of the time! But it turns out a head is way different. I was so worried I was going to cut him or shave his eyebrows off. I think it turned out ok in the end. 


Winter Formal! So three wards in our stake decided to host a formal dance. Sounds fun, right? Well there's a catch. The relief society and elders' quorum presidents set everyone up on blind dates. Pretty much the perfect recipe for awkward. However, my love for dressing up won me over and I went anyways. I am SO glad I did. I had a really great time. My date was really fun and it wasn't awkward at all. Well there were a few awkward jokes... Almost twenty... A few of my roommates actually have second dates so I would say it was a successful evening.


I did a crazy thing today (ok, maybe not crazy by normal standards, but Katie crazy). I bought ORANGE PANTS! I've been wanting colored pants for about a year now, but I always thought I would get a subtle pink or deep burgundy. Guess not... I actually love them. I am sure when I am 40 and look at pictures I will wonder what the heck I was thinking, but for now I am going to rock them like a banana rocks a peel. At least no one will ever lose me...

Tonight I went to the BYU vs. Pepperdine basketball game. We whooped them by like 35 points. Rise and shout the cougars ARE out! Now I am off to get fro-yo and watch "The Vow" with my roomies. Later there will be an epic star wars party planning party. This is my kind of weekend!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Dear Boys,

So my roommate did this a few days ago and I thought it was a great idea. Basically, I will be writing a letter to the guys in my life, so beware if you are of the male persuasion... Also, I have writer's block and am hoping this will push me through it.

Dear Dad,
You are such an example to me.
I know that we're not huggy,
but I always know you love me.
You have always seemed so wise to me.
When  I am struggling with something
I can always count on you to talk me
through it. Thanks for never being
ashamed of your testimony and sharing
it with us often.

Dear Sunshine Butterfly,
We have been through a lot together...
I guess I am just really happy with how
things turned out. I appreciate that we
can still talk and help each other out.
Sometimes I feel like I am not there for
you as much as you are there for me.
I am really sorry and want you to know
that I do actually care. I wish you the best
and an proud of who you are becoming.

Dear Boy-who-must-not-be-named,
I hope you like HP reference.
Gah! You are a frustrating one.
Our friendship really does mean a lot
to me and I am glad you trust me enough
to talk about your problems, but sometimes
I wish you would notice how I feel. Yes, I
like you. Well, duh! I've been trying to think
of you less and it's actually working. I hope
I can completely move on soon and that we
can continue to be awesome friends.
Thanks for keeping me laughing!

Dear Amazing Boy,
I totally understand why everyone calls
you an apostle. You are seriously the best!
I am so glad that you dated my roommate.
There is so much I can learn from you.
You are so kind to other people and yet
still funny and fun. I really do want my
sons to be like you!

Dear little brothers,
You guys are awesome! I am really proud
of who you guys are becoming. It is so fun
to see you develop into the men you will
be. I wish I was home more to see you
grow. Just know that I love you and am
always there for you!

Dear Bald/Funny one,
You make me laugh! I've really enjoyed
getting to know you better this semester.
You are a really interesting person with a
really refreshing view of the world. I only
wish you would leave me alone about
that one boy.

Dear Dejected One,
You are not a monster. You are a
wonderful human being. I know that
you think that certain aspects of who you
are define you, but they don't. Your family
loves you, I love you, and God loves you
no matter what. Keep your chin up!

Dear New and Slightly Awkward,
I don't know why you decided to trust me.
You must not know me very well, but
I am flattered none the less. I hope you
begin to feel more accepted. I really don't
mind talking to you. It's nice to be able to
help you out, but a little less frequency might
be nice. You'll find her someday!

Dear Outgoing,
You are funny and social and kind of a
player.... I am not so happy with how you
treated someone who means a lot to me. I
don't understand. You always seem so very
nice, a little self-absorbed, but friendly and
engaging. So I hope this was just a fluke
and that you normally aren't such a jerk.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Roller Coaster

Disclaimer: This blog is going to be one big ventage fest, so read at your own risk.

My life has been crazy up and down lately. I've let one small little bump in the road become a giant pothole. My emotions have been haywire and I've been falling behind. Sometimes I feel like I can barely keep my head above the water. It doesn't help that I am the busiest I have ever been!

However, there is also so much good. I am so blessed. I have a lot of fun and great people in my life. On Thursday when I was having a horrible day I prayed that someone would notice and help me out. I waited all day and nothing! On the walk home from work I decided to call my mom. She was able to give me practical advice on how to fix things. When I hung up the phone a friend was right there to ask me how I was. The friend didn't say anything earth shaking, but just knowing that someone cared was all I needed. Then I was able to go to an awesome BYU basketball game against Gonzaga. Nothing like screaming your throat to total dryness to cheer you up. Also, winning didn't hurt my mood either. After that I went to a friend's apartment and they just listened to me rant. Which was also needed. And finally I came home to a blog post from my dear roommate Briana that had a part just for me. It really made my night to see that someone noticed what I was going through. Thank you to all of the people in my life! You really do make a difference. You are the answer to my prayers!

We all use the cliche "life is like a roller coaster" to describe times like these. It's interesting that the exciting part of a roller coaster is not the ascent, but the descent. I love those butterflies in my stomach as I rocket down the track. Who doesn't? But in life we don't feel like that. Sure we get terrified, but we don't appreciate it. Today in relief society we had a lesson on President Uchtdorf's talk "Happily Ever After." In it he talks about all of the trials and adventures we go through. I never really think about my hardships as adventures, but I guess that's what they are. Sleeping beauty's adventure was hard. So was Belle's, Mulan's, and Rapunzel's. All of the great stories aren't easy, but they're exciting. As I face my challenges I want to try and think of them as adventures or drops on a roller coaster. I want them to give me butterflies and adrenaline rushes. I am going to try and enjoy the ride.


Thursday, February 2, 2012

The Story of an Apartment Superhero

So after today I am pretty sure that I live with a superhero... One of my roommates dares to go places that ordinary people don't even dream of. Heck, she even has a superhero name, X-Tina. This girl will do anything for anyone. She will run all over the apartment complex and to the neighboring one just to find you a copy of "A Walk to Remember" so that you can cry your heart and feel ridiculously sappy for the next two months. She will do ALL of the dishes when the dishwasher breaks and everyone else gets a little lazy. She will care for you when you are sick. She will write books to tell you how much she loves you. She will let you eat all of her chocolate chips. She will make you delicious chocolate frosting when you are having a terrible night. However, none of this compares to today. (Disclaimer: It gets a little gross from here on out) Today I found the most disgusting toilet. It was clogged with who knows what. I thought "Crap!" (pun fully intended). I am terrible at unclogging toilets. I asked X-tina for some help and after she realized she the plunger wasn't going to get the job done she braced herself, took her watch off, and stuck her arm in!!!!! I cried just watching it! This girl is going to make an incredible mom someday!


And that's why she's called X-Tina!