The Holidays in the 360

Well I've come back to earth and realized that I have to blog about something besides Europe. Sad. I know.

My study abroad meant that I had an extra long winter vacation. I got to spend 5 of the weeks with my family in Washington. That's the longest I've been with them in a couple of years. As always my stay was eventful.

Of course my day to day life was not so eventful. What exactly does a college student with very few friends in town, a busy family, and no job do at home for five weeks? Well let's just say that it contains a lot of period romances of the textual and film variety. My poor parents were forced to watch a few with me. It also has a good deal of sleeping in, a lot of pigging out (because I really needed to gain even more weight after Italy), and a few hours spent scrubbing every wooden cabinet in our house. However, I already said that it was eventful and there was definitely some excitement. So here it goes...

Me with my period dramas.

Excitement #1: I found out that I have to wear glasses for the next four months. Ok, maybe that wasn't exciting, but it was a change. So keep your four eyes jokes to your self. The contacts will be back in a few short months.

Excitement #2: Eli had his first orchestra concert. He's following the family tradition of playing the viola!

Rockin' out. 

Excitement #3: Grandpa surprised Grandma with a ticket to the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert. She was ecstatic! Dreams come true no matter what age you are.

I don't think I've ever seen her so happy!

Excitement #4: Noah turned 15!!!!! How did that happen? I swear he was just 10 yesterday.

Well at least he's excited to be getting older.

Excitement #5: We continued our traditional "sneakies." Every year we dress up in Santa hats and secretly deliver plates of Christmas goodies. AKA ding-dong-ditch

Who knew Christmas joy could look this goofy.

Excitement #6: I got to meet up with my dear friend, Hkrop. It was great to catch up with her.

Excitement #7: We went shooting. We had some rotten pumpkins and it only seemed natural that we should shoot at them. Turns out our aim isn't so great with my Grandpa's antique black powder musket. That's not to say that we let those pumpkins live another day. Sticks go a long way.

Our targets.

Making faces in the car and trying to stay warm.

Grandpa teaching everyone about the gun.

It was Mom's first time shooting and she liked it!

Excitement #8: Christmas!!!!!! Need I say more?

My parents got me pecorino and pears for my stocking stuffer!!! Oh it was a sweet reunion.

Dad and Eli opening presents. Dad has no idea that I will soon send him through

a series of challenges before he can get his gift.

My Grandma made a book of all my blog posts from Italy.

Obviously I was excited about it.

After the late departure of my previous camelbak (still mourning the loss)

my parents found me a replacement.

After 12.5 years I finally got a new set of scripture. I think it was about time.

When the back cover falls off you might need a new set.

Excitement #9: I saw Les Miserables. I was already obsessed after seeing the play in the West End. Now my love has been rekindled. I will say that I did like the play WAY better, but I still absolutely LOVED the movie. I mean it had Eddie Redmayne in it. What's not to love?

Marius, we should be friends.

Excitement #10: My cousins came to town. We always spend New Year's with them.

Nothing says cousin bonding time like a photobooth session.

Excitement #11: The Seahawks are going to the play offs! Woot woot!

Sadly all holiday festivities are about to come to and end and I have to return to school. Although perhaps classes might be an improvement upon my daily laziness.

Mass Exodus

So this last weekend my ward experienced a mass exodus away from Provo. Everyone was on vacation! Two were in Russia. One group took a spontaneous journey to St. George. Another group went to Havasupai. A few traveled withe their families to Nauvoo, Colorado, Oregon, and California. I went to Washington!

Bright and early Friday morning Chad, Connor, Alli, Natalie, and I set out on our journey. A drive that is supposed to take around 14 and a half hours ended up taking 17. A small gas tank and even smaller bladders led to many stops. The longest stop (this one was actually planned) was in Portland. We stopped to eat dinner and experience the magic of Voodoo Doughnuts. Let me tell you, Portland is weird and I love it! It was fun to be out of the BYU bubble and see all sorts of different people. Finally, at about 10:30, we arrived at my house. We were joined there by Hannah!

Blue skies.

 Yum!

Car ride.

Friday brought rain and a trip to Seattle. I am actually really glad that it rained. Is there any other way to truly experience Seattle? Together we explored Pike's Place, fed seagulls on the pier, admired the Space Needle, and "conquered" the International Fountain. I love Seattle! Such a cool city. That night my parents threw a belated birthday party for me. My cousins and high school friends came. It was so nice to see everyone. We ate lots of good food and I got lots of things I needed for Italy. The highlight: getting to drive a mustang. Aww yeah! After the party we went to see "Dark Knight Rises." It was pretty dang good.

Washingtonians in their natural habitat!

Elephant ears! Yum!

Struttin' our stuff

Pike's Place!

Peekaboo!

Rock out!

Eating seafood that I actually enjoyed!

The delicious raspberries that stained my shirt...

The gorgeous pier!

Off to Pike's Place.

Buddies!

Space needle.

On Saturday we took a trip to my second favorite place on earth (Disneyland is the first), Mt. Rainier! After realizing that the trail we planned to hike on was closed because of avalanche damage we decided to head off to Cougar Rock and the Nisqually River. After crossing the river we hiked up to a beautiful waterfall. Then we headed up to Paradise, literally. The mountain flowers were in full bloom and the day was sunny and clear. It was perfect! For me Mt. Rainier is almost sacred. I am always in awe of it's beauty and vastness. It humbles me to think that the being who created that gorgeous mountain created me too. We ended the night with an incredible dinner at the Copper Creek Inn.

The gorgeous dinner setting.

True Friendship.

Peponi

Gangsta lichen mustaches.

So happy to be there.

Trying to climb a tree...

My mountain.

Happy.

Stunning.

Meadow flowers.

The most epic shirt ever.

We spent Sunday with my family. After church we just relaxed, played games, and had a most excellent dance party. It was so nice to be with my family. I hadn't seen them in seven months!

On my Monday we headed back to Utah.

It was a whirlwind, but great trip!

Mother's Day: A Tribute

This Mother's Day actually fills me with guilt. It is my first one away from home and I totally forgot to send my mom a card (there will one arriving late, I promise)! So in light of my failure to express my gratitude in a private card I thought I would do so on my public blog. I love my mom! She is great and inspiring. She has taught me so much and done so much for me. So here is a list of the reasons I love her (these are just a few of the many):

1) She's my biggest fan. From my spectacular play in softball when I was in 4th grade to my high school orchestra concerts to acing a test in college my mom has always been there to cheer me on. She alway's sees the best in me even when I don't.

2) Her relationship with my father. My parents have one of the best relationships I have ever seen. They always take time for each other and they are not afraid to let their kids see how in love they are. Their relationship is what I want in my life. My mother's devotion to my father is something I aspire to have.

3) She is willing to work hard for her children. My mom has worked hard both for pay and as a volunteer mother. Raising four kids must be tough, but I have never heard her complain. Now she works at a job that really challenges her emotionally. I know that she does this because she loves us and wants us to have all of the best things.

4) She is fun. My mom is a happy person. She likes to do fun things as a family. Many of my fondest memories are of those fun times. Like our trip to disneyland, random game nights, and slightly scandalous shopping trips to Fred Meyer's with her sister (Mom, remember Holly's special wallet?). She loves to laugh and smile and she does so easily.

I love you mom! Have a great day!

I know it's mother's day, but I think it is appropriate to honor my grandmas as well.

Grandma Nielsen: It's been nine years since she passed away. She has had such a profound impact on my life. She is the reason I like the movies I do, the reason I love reading, and the reason I love lemon yoplait yogurt. I will always remember loving her pink toilet paper, playing cat's cradle, and having tea party's. I miss her, but I know that she is in a better place and that I will one day be reunited with her. I love you Grandma Nadeane!

Grandma Francom: She is one of the most giving people I know. She always gives the best Christmas/Birthday presents. She is also very giving with her time. Best of all she is giving with here talents. My grandma is an incredible cook. She is always willing to make more than enough of whatever food we want.  I love you Grandma Mary!

Gratitude

Well it's that time of the semester again... I have a ton of papers due and a bad case of writer's block. Once again I am turning to blogging to solve this problem. This time I shall refrain from writing letters to the guys in my life and instead be grateful for some of the many things I have been blessed with.

1) The Gospel. This blesses my life in pretty much every way possible. I would not be who I am without it. I am so grateful that I have loving parents who taught me the truth. I am so grateful to have a Savior that literally understands everything I am going through. I am so grateful for the hope and undeniable optimism of the gospel.

2) Family. I have an awesome family. Being away at college really has a way of making you appreciate them more. My parents are so smart (Mom. Yes! I admitted it). My brothers are so fun. All of my extended family is wonderful. A week and a half ago I had the opportunity to see my grandpa and my great-grandparents. It was so nice to get to talk to them.

3) BYU Family. In high school I remember thinking that I had the best friend group ever and thinking that we were about as close as we could get, but it has nothing on my BYU group (I still love the nerd herd though). I love these kids here. From friends that will spend their whole day trying to cheer you up to friends who will go see dumb moves with you they are all amazing. My roommates are the best. They make life here so enjoyable. They are definitely the sisters I never had.

4) BYU! I am so blessed to go to such an incredible university. I may not always like going to school, but I am grateful to be going to school here.

5) Italy. Enough said.

The Big Debut

So I gave in and started a blog. Not sure how I feel about this... However, I figure that I am leaving for Italy in 7 short (I hope) months and then I will definitely need a blog. Well I suppose I should say a little bit about myself. I am Katie and I am currently a sophomore at BYU, but I am from Lacey, Washington. I love the green and I miss it while in this sea of brown otherwise known as Utah. I am studying English Teaching and Italian. Pretty cool, right? It gets better.

This is my amazing family. I think we're pretty cute. I love having three little brothers. They drive me crazy, but it has been really wonderful to see them grow up.

These crazy looking individuals are my wacky, beautiful, and absolutely hilarious roommates. I can't imagine a better group of girls. We have so much fun and do the weirdest things ever. I am pretty sure that our downstairs neighbors think they live below a war zone with all of the noise we make. Also, if you know anyone looking for a new hit sitcom our apartment is ready and willing.

Hmmmm..... What else is there to know about me? I guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out.