my 21st birthday in vegas

Friday was my 21st birthday. I went to IHOP for breakfast (thank you Ashley for having me sign up for their birthday club a year ago), and the waiter was like: "Woo! You're twenty-one, you should go to Vegassss!"

And I was like: "I am."

I spent my 21st birthday weekend at home in Las Vegas with my family. It got preeeeetttyyy WILD.

Sarah and I drove all afternoon on my birthday and got to our house Friday night and hugged my parents and dog on the driveway and ate dinner and skyped my sister and I blew out my candles on my chocolate cake. I was asleep before midnight.

On Saturday, my mom asked what I wanted to do. I said, "I really want to go to the Clark County Heritage Museum." It was my favorite place ever as a kid. It's pretty much like Disneyland, if Disneyland was a museum that taught you about Southern Nevada and had a bunch of really old, cool houses you could walk through with creepy mannequins in them out in the desert. I LOVED IT AS A CHILD. Even though we'd always go in the summertime when it was a bajillion degrees.

So we hopped in the car and drove down Boulder Highway where the museum still sits! My mom and I wandered through every house, and the memories came a'floodin' back like crazy. I hadn't been there since I was little but I remembered everything. I had crazy flashbacks of being a wee child. Best day ever.

Yup. Still as fun as when I was six. And I'm an adult.I used a slot machine for the first time in my life. An antique slot machine at the museum.
With a penny my mom gave me. Don't worry guys, I'm twenty-one now.

Today, I went to church with my family. Then I took the longest, most beautiful nap, and then ate dinner and my family watched a DVD about Jimmer.

So to sum up, for my 21st birthday in Vegas I: ate a lot of chocolate cake, went to bed early, went to a museum with my mom, went to church, and slept a lot.

Yep. I am a clean-livin' girl all. the. way. It's the best.

Nineties Nostalgia

My childhood ROCKED. Growing up in the nineties was definitely the way to go, especially because of the clothes. I had the best clothes ever as a child. I distinctly remember the intense comfort of neon-colored bike shorts with giant baggy shirts. Also, matching sweat suits.

coordinated sweatsuits. i know what you are thinking...
NO, THESE WERE NOT PAJAMAS.
we wore them places. (minus Sarah's robe)

SO COMFORTABLE. I swear, everything I ever wore was loose fitting. And it was actually cool.

When I think about it, it makes me weep a little that I have to wear stiff, tight jeans now. :(

Also: overalls. Overalls were cool back then! Like, really cool! And the baggier, the cooler! And jumpers, especially denim jumpers! Anne and I were just discussing this last week. We feel strongly that overalls should make a comeback.

Other fashion items from the nineties: shirts with Disney characters. I think a large majority of my closet consisted of Disney outfit sets--so much swagger.

Did you know that for years (YEARS) I got away with wearing stretchy cotton pants with crazy designs on them to elementary school? It was basically like wearing pajamas. What I wouldn't give to wear nothing but soft cotton pants in ridiculous colors with matching turtle necks.

Yup. this was as comfortable as it looks.

making mud pies in November in SUN DRESSES.
(i miss you Vegas)

And scrunch down socks. And barettes in my hair.

And puff paint shirts. My mother was a saint... she let us make TONS of puff paint shirts.

And on Sundays, we would wear these ridiculously frilly dresses covered in lace with ginormous puffy shoulders. And sometimes my sisters and I would all wear matching church dresses. And white tights---oh heavens, putting on those white church tights on Sundays...

The nineties were definitely the BEST decade for having the funnest childhood clothing.

I MISS MY CHILDHOOD. If you see me wandering Provo wearing stretchy leggings with giant neon green polka dots and a super baggy minnie mouse shirt with barrettes in my hair... do not be alarmed.

I'm reliving the good ol' days...

Forlorn in the Freezer Aisle.

In the freezer section of the grocery store on Saturday, Sarah exclaimed loudly:

"WHOAH that's a big lasagna!"

Then I said, "Nope, it's just a family sized lasagna.
We're just used to buying the individual sized ones..."

DEPRESSING.

And then we bought our mini frozen lasagnas and cried because we felt like orphaned college students with no family to eat a large lasagna with. (but we really didn't.)

In other news: Sarah now has a blog of her very own! So if you enjoy laughter, you should probably give it a read and show her some love, because she's a gem.

Parking Lot Princess

This morning I had a doctors appointment scheduled very early. My mom went with me (bless her tender heart) and we strolled out to the almost entirely empty parking lot at 8:30 am, ready to go home.

We got in the mini-van (aka: swagger wagon), and my mom turned on the car. We sat there talking for a minute, as my mom got situated and decided to unwrap a granola bar.

That's when we saw it.

A car was idling to our left, blinker on.

"Is that lady waiting for this spot?" asked my mom.

"uhh... I think so."

I can totally understand the rules of parking lots. It's a system. It's a language. There is protocol to follow, and if you don't follow it, other people have every right to slash your tires and I get that (but don't really slash tires please).

If there is a crowded parking lot and someone is waiting for your spot, it's only polite to pull out quickly. Heck, in a BYU parking lot (where empty spots are reasons for tears of gratitude and singing the Hallelujah chorus), it is polite to let someone follow you in their car, much like a desperate hunter, all the way to your car.

But this was not like that. Please see the following visual representation:

if I wasn't so ashamed, I would tell you how long it took me to make this in Paint.
but hey, it's Christmas break. livin' large.

She just really wanted our spot. Of all the spots in the whole parking lot... our spot was clearly THE most desirable.

Me and my mom just pick super amazing parking spots in the swagger wagon, no wonder all the haters get jealous.

Post-Thanksgiving Post

You know how sometimes when you are having a conversation, a long awkward pause develops and you have to find a way to break the silence so you can get on with the conversation?

Welcome to this blog. As you might have noticed, I took the entire week of Thanksgiving off. Because I was pretty lazy. And now, to break the awkward silence and get on with all the fun posts that I have collecting in my mind, here is my quick recap of Thanksgiving week.

1. painted nails with Brooke and Sarah- mine were inspired by Pinterest, woo! Then I tried to capture it in photography but only managed to make my hand look like a deranged claw.
2. mom and dad fed us amazing food and nourished me thoroughly all week: HEAVEN.
3. tried to take a sister picture on Thanksgiving but Sarah couldn't stop laughing.
4. put funny things on the dog's head.
5. Sarah collapsed in laughter some more...
6. ate an amazingly delicious turkey, mmhm baby.
7. Sarah laughed even more while we tried to get a decent shot, what a loveable goob.
8. dressed the dog in a Santa outfit- she LOVED it (lies.)
9. ended up with a photo-worthy of awkwardfamilyphotos.com
10. flu shots with my mom! we know how to have a great time.
11. visited the Thomas and Mack for a delightful evening at the Mannheim steamroller christmas concert.
12. we were the only people there who weren't elderly. love hangin' out with our homeskillets.

'twas a wonderful, much-needed break from life. And now the awkward silence has ended. Phew.

Sisters and iPhones: A Tribute.

My little sis is a freshman at BYU this year, which is fun, because when we need too steal away from life, we're there for each other. Last week, we were sitting in the car, and Sarah said: What's that thing where your right arm gets all tingly?

And I said: A heart attack??

And she said: Yeah. Cuz... my right arm is all tingly.

And I said: Sarah don't you dare have a heart attack in my car because I can NOT handle that right now. I'm serious. Please don't have a heart attack. If you had a heart attack, I would be so stressed out. If you died, I would literally be sitting in the car with your body for like... an hour, before I figured out what to do.

Sarah said: But you have an IPHONE!!!!! You could look it up!!!

I thought a moment.

"....... But what if I didn't want to dip into my data plan?"

She decided to not have a heart attack.

Skewed priorities aside.... I love that while I'm away at school, my older sister Jess makes me feel included in the goings and comings of life at home, by sending me numerous pictures from her iPhone. Pictures of things like my mom making dinner, or my dad watching the football game, or the dog looking groggy.

GROGGY DOGGY.

And I would HATE to miss out on seeing my dog Candy looking groggy because I miss my pup so much when I'm away. Which is why I am grateful to run into women named Candy/Kandy in the Provo area so I feel close to my tender doggy.

And then last night, about 20 minutes after dropping Sarah off at her dorm, I picked up my phone and saw like, four calls from Sarah. Completely puzzled and a little alarmed, I quickly called her back.

"Hey! Sorry I missed your calls! Whats up?"

"AMY."

"What??"

"Are you serious? You had me call your phone a zillion times in the car because you couldn't remember what your ringtone was!!!!"

Um... oh yeah. She was totally right.

Saturday Night in Vegas.

We sat in traffic on the Strip on Saturday night.

We don't visit the Strip very often--my mom, sisters and I--even as proud Las Vegas natives. We prefer sitting at home watching the Cosby Show and petting our dog and knitting. Okay, not the knitting. Usually.

But Saturday was a special night. It was a special night, because we decided to all get matching skull tattoos and then gamble our life savings.

Okay. I'm kidding.

It was a special night, because a very hot, beautiful and charming man was in town. A man with the voice of a masculine, hunk-of-righteousness angel. And his name rhymes with Mosh Hoban.

Yes, dear readers. Josh Groban. JOSH GROBAN.

Josh Groban is cool, because he sings very well. And he can sing really high and really low, and really loud and other cool singing stuff. And sometimes he sings in other languages. And he has curly hair. And he wears suit coats with jeans. For the above reasons, he is super cool.

So we headed down to the Strip (which, coincidentally, is a surprisingly short drive from our house, and by short, I mean eight minutes), and we passed all the crazy drunk people and drove to the MGM Grand Garden Arena (where, coincidentally, my older sister Jess once saw an N*SYNC concert many years ago, which made me very jealous). And then we walked in and found our seats and got ready to part-ay, surrounded by all the other concert-goers (who were, coincidentally, mostly elderly).

Jess, Sarah and I, doing our best Barney impersonation.
(we're not purple in real life. just in Josh Groban concerts. )

And then Josh Groban came on. And he sang for two hours. And it was beautiful. And I screamed out "Josh! You're so hot!" a few times, and he didn't even hear me.

And since then, we've been listening to Josh Groban all over the house, non-stop. I love him. The end.

the boy who lived. and the girl who knew all about it.

"So..... what was that whole thing with the triangle with circle with the line through it about again?"

My little sis Sarah and I were driving to watch Harry Potter 7 last weekend when I was home, and I was, sadly, clueless about the plot. No, I've read the books and seen the movies. I just have a terrible Harry Potter memory. I wish I knew it all better, for reals.

Thankfully, Sarah is a Harry Potter GENIUS. That girl knows everything about everything Harry Potter related.

As we zoomed along the Vegas roads on our way to the theater, Sarah managed to explain the entire plot of the first Harry Potter 7 movie, along with answering all my questions.

"Wait, so Snape's bad right?? Or is he good?? I can't remember!!! bahhh"

"Ok so, remind me what a horcrux is again...."

We enjoyed the movie (Sarah for the THIRD time) and definitely snuggled during the scary parts. Harry Potter was super hot and he and Ginny were totes adorable.

And....

SPOILER ALERT:
Harry Potter won and Voldemort lost.

Crazy, I know!!!! I wouldn't have seen the movie with anyone else.. Thanks for answering my questions all throughout the movie, Sarah!!!

she's a total hottie.

P.S. Was anyone else super nervous at the end, when Harry was standing wayyy too close to the edge with the Elder wand? Because I almost peed my pants. That was, like, the most nerve-wracking part of the entire movie for me. He almost fell to his death guys.

P.P.S. Check back tomorrow for a blog swap. Yes, I found someone to blog-swap with me. Miracles happen, people!!

I'm Glad My Parents Love Me...

.... because sometimes when I come home for a weekend trip, I bring five-weeks worth of dirty laundry in the trunk of my car.

I don't know which is more ridiculous: the fact that I have 5 weeks worth of outfits,
or that I let them all get dirty before I wash them.

Doing laundry at home is infinitely better, because it is free, it doesn't involve any awkward laundry room encounters (think: boy coming in just as all your underwear tumbles out of the basket), and the washer here actually gets my clothes clean.

I'm a happy camper.


P.S. If you want to read a funny story about me and my roommate from the dorms, check out my friend Ashley's blog. And if you want to hear a secret, here it is: not a day goes by that Ashley and I don't text continuously for hours and laugh really hard in the process. (Too bad she's all the way in Maryland!) Every girl should have a friend who knows them this well. :)

Cousin's Play to Wedding Day!

I am definitely a fan of people getting married, especially when I am invited to the festivities. And especially when there are beautiful decorations to ogle over. And triply especially when delicious food is involved.

Earlier this week, my cousin Melissa tied the knot with her main-man Bryan at the Salt Lake Temple. (to learn more about temples, go here.)

Melissa grew up in Salt Lake. I grew up in Las Vegas. Therefore, we didn't get to hang out a lot. But I remember being pen pals with her for a while when we were little and getting letters from her. When I went to visit Utah, we would play ping pong in Grandma's basement and dress up in old clothes from the 40's.

And once, we went to a pioneer village and Melissa provoked an angry chicken and then we had to run from it. It made the day memorable.

Mel and I circa 1999. On a horse. In heavy shade.
Big HOLLA to Jess for finding this picture for me! :)

And now, years later, Melissa is a married woman! A funny one at that. A while after she came out of the temple, she said, "I hope you write about this on your blog!!"

Anything for you girl. I mean, we survived that angry chicken together. After we lived through that,I feel like we have to be there for each other.

M + B

Sarah, Jess and I basking in the wedded bliss of the day.

I loved her beautiful, vintage-y dress, and I loved her classy dinner. She has a unique style of her own and I admire that she planned everything to reflect her own tastes.


Isn't it fun to appreciate the different styles and ideas from different weddings? I love it. This is coming from a girl who just spent her Friday night at home watching Say Yes to the Dress and eating chips and salsa. (Shut up, I'm cool...)

Congrats Melissa and Bryan! May your married life together be full of love and happiness, and not too many angry chickens. Although with spunky Mel, you never know.

;)

My Daddy-O

I know that everyone says it, but I know without a doubt that I have THE best daddy in the whole world. Fo' realz.

Besides being incredibly supportive and a good example, he is also surprisingly gangster and he makes us laugh every. single. day.

"Fo-Shizzle Home skillet!!"


my birthday bonfire was carazzyy.

I didn't even really talk to him today... because I am now living in Utah and my phone got smashed into some concrete today. Long story of long stories. (Lets just say life has been a little rough lately.) But I wanted to give a Father's Day Shout OUT to the best dad ever!!!

You Know You're in Vegas when...

You attend your little sister's high school graduation at a mardi gras themed hotel/ casino....

woot woot go Sarah!

You stand around and take pictures outside even though it is 108 degrees. And then you kind of feel like dying...

this picture is entitled: "guess where Sarah got her height"

Everyone knows that you have to hold your sunglasses in front of the AC for a while before putting them on or else you will burn your face.

my dad is a very wise man.

You drink about 12 glasses of ice water at lunch and then you go home and jump in the pool! And that's pretty refreshing... except that the water is 90 degrees. So you eat a popsicle while you swim.

Congratulations Sarah and the rest of Class of 2011, and thank you Vegas for giving me a blissful day of ridiculous heat before I move to Utah on Friday!

Five Quotes from My Momma.

My mom is a pretty quotable woman. She always claims she is NOT funny, but everyone knows she is pretty hilarious. Here are some things she has told me growing up:

1. "Amy, you are not allowed to have a boyfriend until you have a college degree!"

My mom has always taught me that education is important. She paid her own way through college all the way in Tennessee and then taught elementary school. She has always encouraged me to be serious about education.

Ehh, we'll see about the dating thing mom... (baha) but I have ALWAYS known that I would get my degree no matter what!

2. "What are you, a belly dancer??"

This is what my mom asked me when I wore a skirt a little too low for her tastes. Mom has always made sure I dressed modestly. Throughout my life, if I ever came downstairs in something questionable, I did not make it far. Another favorite mom quote is: "If you don't take that off in 10 seconds I will cut it off of you!"

3. "I don't care what other people do... you are NOT allowed to be rude."

4. "If you want trouble, just come to me and ask for it!"

If someone was in the mood to stir up some trouble, she always pointed out that it'd be easier just to go straight to her, cuz she would gladly give us some!

5. "I don't think I know you people well enough..."

This is what she tells us whenever we tell her anything that is T.M.I. Mom, who knows us better than YOU?



When I told my mom I was writing a post about the funny things she says, she said in a shocked tone:

"ME??? I never say anything funny! How dare you! I'm insulted."

Then she busted up laughing. Love ya mom!

Hey sis.

I have two sisters. Sisters are great. They’re like best friends that never have to leave your house when everyone’s getting cranky. And they have to put up with you, so you can do pretty much anything and get away with it in the long run. Like run around like a hooligan in your house and dance on tables. And they just don’t judge. Because they already know you’re crazy. No charade!!

I think the best memories of sisterhood come from times where we just were in THAT mood where everything was funny, and usually someone peed their pants. Usually me. Don’t want any undue shame going to my sisters for that.

I loved those rare occasions when one of my sisters would let me jump into her bed with her. Rare, because I was an annoying, over-giggly person to be around in general, but at night especially I would get hyper when people wanted to sleep. My sisters are go-to-bed people. I am a force-your-eyelids -to -stay -open -as -long -as -you -can -manage –with- no -regard -to -consequences person. It’s quite lonely in a family of go-to-bedders. (Not to be confused with bed-wetters.)

But once in a while, one of my sisters would let me climb in their bed with her and whisper-talk the night away. For a while at least, until I got kicked out by my parents. You see, I have a severe giggling problem. And somehow sister’s beds really, really aggravate this severe condition. It’s like an automatic allergic reaction.

Jess was wise beyond her years when she taught me the technique of the “Pillow Smother.” Basically, when I was laughing so hard that the parents were sure to hear and come break up the party, she would make me smash my face into my pillow as hard as I could to smother the sound. The problem was, it would, almost without fail, make me giggle harder and louder. And then we would hear footsteps coming from down the hall, and the door would open, and I would be forced to my own bed.

“PLEASE!! No!! I’ll be good! We’ll be quiet!! I promise I won’t giggle anymore! We’ll go to sleep!!” Pleading and whining was my only hope at this point. And sometimes, it would actually work!!

Obviously, I’d want to stay because there was so much left to talk about sister to sister. Somehow, this always made me crave macaroni and cheese. I’m not even kidding. Jess’s bed has this unexplainable ability to make me want nothing more than a giant bowl of mac’n’cheese. Something deep within my subconscious probably.

“Psst!! Jess! I want mac’n’cheese SOOOO BADDD!!!!” And then we would giggle and the footsteps would come back and I was toast.

And if the footsteps didn’t come back, eventually I would laugh so hard that Jess would push me out of her bed because she was afraid I would pee my pants on her sheets.

That feels like a long time ago. Now the sisters are growing up. Jess finished her masters degree last week and after this summer, she's moving away for a job. Little Sarah is graduating high school pretty soon and leaving the nest. I'm on my way to my college dreams. Somehow, it will never be the same as when we were little, but if I believe in anything, I believe in the beauty of sisters.






'When were little, we stuck together when daddy picked on us and teased us. Now, we stick together when life decides to pick on one of us.

A sister is a better friend than a best friend could ever be. "A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost." (Marion C. Garretty.)





Also, I REALLY want some macaroni and cheese now.

My Christmas Wasn't White and I liked it that way!

Sorry to leave you hanging on a depressed note there folks! My little sister said all week she's been opening my blog and it was depressing her to see the same, unhappy post. I feel bad. As if anyone else was checking my blog this week instead of hanging ornaments and sipping cocoa...

Ha. Ha. Ho Ho Ho.

But seriously, things have been going A-OK with me these days. Being home is the best. I think it takes being away for a long time to appreciate the little things:

Free food. And LOTs of it. Ohhhhhhh yeah, HAPPY Amy!!

Free laundry. Excellent. No quarters required. No dragging laundry baskets down icy steps.

No school. My brain appreciates this. It is still recuperating from the tragedy of finals week.

Old friends. Who knows you better than the people you grew up with? And you can make them help you wrap Christmas presents! Its a great arrangement.

NO SNOW. I think that says it all. No wait. Also: SHORT SLEEVES. Yup. Be jellz..

And most of all: FAMILY!!! Being around family is pretty entertaining because they have to love you no matter how many sugar cookies you eat and no matter how many giggling fits you get into once the sugar kicks in. Fantastic.

My mom decided to kick off an annual Christmas Eve nativity play this year with our family. Its gonna be really special years down the road when there are grandkids to dress up and a big family gathered together. This year, it was..... humble..

..And... we don't have enough men to pull off a nativity yet..

My dad already had a wise man costume he was pretty proud of from a nativity play at the church. He was set on wearing it.

My mom decided Jess would be the angel since shes the oldest.

Sarah was going to be Mary.

"Who do I get to be?" I asked innocently.

"Joseph."

I knew it.

The dog was the shepard. I'm not kidding.

Its okay, I know my family still loves me. Even though they didn't choose me to be a beautiful, glowing angel in a long white dress, I'm cool with it. Even though I didn't get to hold a doll wrapped in swaddling clothes and act as the holy virgin mother, I know I'm still appreciated. Even though I had to put my hair back and dress like a man, my feelings are not hurt.....


*sob*



I'm kidding. Who wouldn't want to cross-dress on Christmas Eve? It is hilarious! And so much more memorable.

Best Joseph EVER.

In short:

I love my hilarious family, and...

MERRY CHRISTMAS GANGSTAS!!!

A Cruel JK

Just kidding.

The world still hates me.

We didn't even get into the David Archuleta/ Motab concert last night. Along with hundreds of other people. It was over-ticketed. Too many tickets given out for too few seats. Talk about a crummy week.

David was very heartbroken that I wasn't there. Also, that's a broken heart, not something eating his neck.

There is one last chance... one remaining hope.... for me to cheer up and get out of this slump of grumpiness....

I AM GOING HOME TODAY!!!!!

As long as we don't get stuck in another blizzard/ the world is attacked by aliens before we get there.

PLEASE WORLD.

PUH-LEEEEEEESEEE give me this one.

Or else I will become permanently emo. And these people don't come here to read emo. They come here to read funny. They come here to read about Kesha and me getting shanked in laundry rooms.

I promise to recycle more often if that helps.

Thanks world.

Love, Amy

Tonight's Gonna be a Good, Good Night!

Confession: I had a rotten week.

For reals guys, I am so glad this week is over. Usually finals don't phase me, but this week they slapped me in the face, and then kicked me in the butt and then pulled my hair and then drop-kicked me. And they won. I readily admit it. It was not pretty. But at least now they are just over!!!!

***cue hallelujah chorus****

And now instead of wallowing in my failure in life, its on to better days! Can I get a HOLLERRR???

Starting with today. Today is going to be a fantastic day because:

a. I am done with my finals!
b. My little sister is flying in tonight!
c. Tonight I am once again going to be in the presence of my future-hubby David Archuleta!!!

This picture is just too good to only be used once on this blog. So I treat you with it again. If it HAD been photo-shopped I'd have to give credit to my sister Jess. But that's totally hypothetical.

Thats right peeps, I'm chillin' with David tonight. Hopefully he will remember me from when I met him over the summer.

Oh heyyyyyy David!!

And when I say "chillin' with David", I really mean "being in the same room as David and 21,000 other people at the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert..." But really that's a small detail to me.

Is there a better way to end a rotten week on a high note than:

Sister love + David Archuleta hotness + Motab + Christmas cheer?

I submit that there is not!

The Science of Syrup

Right now I am trying to read my science textbook. Its not going so hot for me. The fun kind of science is the kind my dad does.

My dad is a self proclaimed "scientist." And I am his trusty assistant. Together (and with the family) we have worked on countless school science projects, taken apart old TVs and answering machines and performed many experiments to answer our curiosities.

But many years ago, we had an experiment go horribly wrong.

The experiment seemed simple enough. We were curious about ants, and how fast they could come to food. So we went out in the backyard and laid down a paper plate filled with maple syrup. Being scientific and such, we decided to start a timer and then come back every few minutes until the ants arrived.

We went in the house, and when we came out a couple minutes later, we had our conclusion.

Dogs are faster than ants.

And our dog was standing there with a plate of maple syrup completely stuck to her little flat face. Get that image in your mind real good.

Poor Candy dog. She has had a lot of traumatic experiences in her life.

RUDE!!

I wish I was doing the fun kind of science right now.

But I think Candy prefers the textbook method.

Intensity

The past few days, I have totally been livin' on the edge like you guys wouldn't believe. No one better tell me my life isn't full of adventure because it TOTALLY is now.

First of all, my mom and I caught a matinee of Harry Potter the other day. And when the concessions girl asked if we wanted to upgrade to a large popcorn for just 50 cents more.... We... said.... YES.

Then my family went to a Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas concert thinking it would be a great way to usher in the holiday spirit. It turned out to be more heavy-metal head banging than Christmas spirit. We couldn't hear for a while afterward. Totally rock and roll. Super intense.

On Sunday my sister and I started driving back up to Provo and we hit major snow 10 miles from Cedar City. It took an hour to travel those 10 miles to Cedar and then we got stuck in the snow. And who got out and helped a kind man push our car out of the snow? This girl! Totally didn't succeed though but I am proud nonetheless.

We stayed the night in Cedar because the road conditions were just too bad and it was getting dark. We ate at a Sizzler that had food poisoning written all over it. Don't tell us we're not dangerous, we totally are.

Our lovely monochromatic meal. We ate all of it drenched in ketchup. Including the soggy toast.

We ate our sketchy chicken doused in an ocean of ketchup (definitely helped, couldn't even tell it was chicken) and then turned in at a motel.

Early Monday we braved the Utah roads again. It was so cold the windshield wiper fluid kept freezing. This was a problem. The upside is that we got to see almost every gas station from Cedar to Provo! And who would want to miss that?

I got back to Provo in the afternoon and then went to the library and wrote a paper for 8 straight hours.

So yeah. Intensity is my middle name. Watch out. I even step on all the sidewalk cracks.

I'm also pretty exhausted so if you need me I'll be in my bed hibernating until winter is over!! Byeee!

Once Upon a Weekend...

Once upon a time, a young college girl hadn't seen her family in over two months and she really missed them. So one weekend, her family embarked on a journey to the land of Provo to visit her and her sister! And Brooke came too because we like to pretend she is part of the ol' fam.

They wandered into the depths of the HBLL to uncover precious treasures in the periodicals....

Seventeen magazines all the way from the 1960s!? Oh heck yeah!

Oh, just brushing up on the latest fashions!

The girls explored the wonder that is BYU campus, and even got to go on a fantastic golf cart adventure! Then they climbed to great heights to see campus from the sky. (aka the JFSB balcony!)

The little adventurers expanded their minds by trying out scientific experiments like vortexes and whisper phones.


Then they ended up, somehow, stumbling their way into special collections and getting special permission to see ancient relics and historical treasures. Don't ask us how, it just happened.

first edition Book of Mormon baby.
read about the book of mormon here.

Oh, is that a real life OSCAR that we saw with our own eyes? Why yes it is!

Among many other things, we also saw a cuneiform tablet from 2000 BC. Yes. FOUR THOUSAND years ago. And also a Bible that was hand-written by monks. And many other super tight things.

Moral of the story: Even with ZERO connections, you can do cool stuff at BYU. If you just ask. Or if you get lost in the library and then start talking to the special collections secretary and she calls up her boss. Score.


ALSO: Turns out baby hands is the way to go to attract the boys. I take these two high school girls to a college dance and they get all the attention! Way to go ladies, way to go.

straight up hotties. actually I think the baby hands just freaked people out. but attention is attention riiiight? (mothers everywhere are frowning upon this statement)

oh hey thar.

do we look alike? Yes or no?

We went to temple square. It is always a beautiful place to be. Brooke liked it. She had never been before, probably because she just got baptized (yay!)... It was very exciting.

please stop growing up. thanks.

Brooke is excited about life!

And they ate delicious food, and played games of Apples to Apples, and laughed themselves silly and then lived...

HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

Especially since Thanksgiving break is only three weeks away! Huzzzahhh!