Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Merry, Merry Christmas

Just wanted to share our Christmas card with you and yours!



May you remember Christ this season and feel His love. He loves and knows each of us, that I know. 
Merry Christmas!




Monday, November 11, 2013

the happiest place on earth


sometimes you just need to go to disneyland.
maybe you haven't been in a while. maybe you've never seen it all decked out for halloween.
whatever the reason, sometimes you just need to go.
so you do.

a few weeks ago i met up with my mom/bff in the john wayne airport, hopped in a taxi, and headed to the happiest place on earth. it was a cloudy but warm thursday in october (a perfect disney day), and we were ready to do the day right. 

from fast passing world of color first thing, to waiting no more than twenty minutes in any line, to eating every (necessary) sweet and savory disney treat... i'll say we did it right. in fact, we did it better than right. 
we do disneyland best. 


don't believe me? i'll show you. (of course)

i prepared by getting my nails done. 
and we started the day off right with toy story midway mania. mom won. (she always wins)
and then we had several requests to remake our carrousel picture of disneylands past. 
so we did.
we had to ride the carrousel, sans music, and it wasn't the best. 
we still had fun, of course. 
also... we had to resort to the CA adventure carrousel for our remake because king arthur's carrousel was CLOSED!!! disappointing. but still fun, like i said.
 after hitting screamin' we headed to cars land, which is new and particularly adorable.
 cute, right?
disney secret #1: if ever the line is long, go for the single rider pass! you get to sneak up the back of the line and hop in whenever there is an empty spot because of an odd-numbered group. half the time you end up in the same car!
this happened to be the other half of the time...
when this family wanted a cute picture, my mom decided not only to join them, but to ask the father if he would so kindly send her the picture. awesome. (as you can see he did)
we liked cars land. people liked our matching shirts.
then we headed over to disneyland, which really is one of my very favorite places. 
seeing it all decked out for halloween was a (spooky) treat!
 running into mickey as we walked in the gates wasn't bad either. 
 #twinning
pumpkins everywhere. i love pumpkins! and i love mickey pumpkins.
we spent most of the day just looking really good. 
           
we couldn't get over the holiday decor.
disneyland is just plain magical.
 they also had a little dia de los muertos section which we loved. 
there was a disney worker doing face painting, so we got cute skulls on our arms. (close enough)
 disney secret #2: eat dole whip. it's the best ever. and go inside the tiki room gate to beat the line, you can just walk back out the way you came in!
 what's a disney trip without a castle picture?
 or the obligatory picture of your picture? (our heart failed. and we held it up way longer than we needed to)
 space mountain ghost galaxy was not as frightening as this sign/her face make it look.
disney secret #3: bengal barbecue (across from indy) is THE best place to eat in the park. get the veggie skewer. it rocks. also get a mint julep. and mickey beignets. and cotton candy. and a giant pickle. 
we <3 food
 besides eating everything, we also did several more rides (pirates, storybook cruise, indy, star tours, astro blasters, haunted mansion... etc. etc.), laughed way more than necessary, took a miljion pictures, strolled around the park, never used a map, and reveled in all the halloween disney glory. 
our perfect disney day ended with the wonderful world of color.
disney secret #4: if you went to disneyland and all you did was watch this show, it would be worth it. we laugh, we cry, we dance, we sing along. 
it's magical.
 moral of the story: we went to disneyland, we did it right, we did it best,
and we loved it.

^^ wouldn't be a disney trip without a too-early-in-the-AM-airport-zebra-hot-chocolate.


thanks for a perfect disney day, mom. 

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

freshman.


freshman year.
there really is nothing like it...
meeting millions of new people, living off of cafeteria food, staying up til 4 AM every night, surviving your first snowy winter, figuring out college classes.. no other year of college is quite the same.

in honor of my first september with no "back to school" and in honor of all those thousands of freshman who started at BYU today, i wanted to create a little list...

10 things you HAVE to do your freshman year

1. make new friends
this one kind of goes without saying, but it really is the best time to do it. everyone is new, everyone wants to make friends and no one is taking life too seriously. hang out with EVERYONE, not just the kids you normally would.

my best college friends were found my freshman year. 
(my husband too, nbd)
 what a great group.
girls trips are a great idea.

2. branch out
this goes along with #1, but it's important. do things you have never done before. this might include, but is not limited to...

dying some of your hair blonde. or purple.
oh yeah.
 driving to the hot springs at midnight during finals week
or challenging the boys in your ward to a flag football match

3. take a fun class
volleyball, folk dance, ice skating... just do it! 
you will learn new, useful skills
and get great pictures...
i definitely recommend folk dance. 

4. support your team
whether you know someone on it or not, buy a t-shirt, rock your school colors, and sing that fight song.

it is more fun when you know someone.
but any support is good.
nothing like a marching band.
supporting professional teams is fun too.
go jazz!

5. true blue
this is a truly unique experience. diving into blue foam and dying yourself blue for a day is more fun than you might think. just don't be that person who is still rocking blue hair a week later and proud of it. just shower. 


6. disco skate
you can do this any year. it just needs to be done. lots. i have a whole box full of 70s clothes if you need to borrow. if you aren't going to dress up, you might as well not go.

it's only fun if you look good.
it takes at least 3 times before you can expect to actually skate. stick with it.


7. hike the Y
do this during the day time, and not while it is raining. bring all your friends!

this is why you don't go in the rain in the middle of the night: 

8. escape
sometimes your picnic-themed ward christmas party catered by the cannon center will be too much to handle. you might need to get away.
it's okay to leave provo. just don't do it every week. 
(especially if you live in utah and are tempted to go home for sunday dinner, you will miss out!)

if you try to run miles to a bus stop, make sure you have someone document it.
go somewhere warm.
go out on a limb. but be safe.
have a girls getaway!
visit family.
 eat good food.


 9. send off missionaries
or, these days, be them! make sure you live your life so you are worthy to go. be smart. have fun. support all your cute friends who are going on missions. 

 don't get too close though.
 write them letters too. and remember to send them.
go to farewells. eat lots of food.


10. take pictures
document your fun. then four years from now you can do a post just like this one. don't be afraid to be the one with 500 pictures on your camera at the end of the day. the memories will be worth it.


you might rediscover long lost friendships!
document the silliest moments.

and pose too..
smile!
you may create the next great album cover.
don't forget those late night crazy random moments.
use self timer.
 have photoshoots.
be candid.
be pretty.
just take the picture. you will be glad you did.







 p.s. don't forget to live your dreams
make a list. check things off. audition for that show. go out for the team. do the study abroad.
you might find yourself in new york with your best friend and your moms. you might gain 15 pounds eating the best bread of your life on a daily basis in paris. you might marry a cute boy you met your freshman year. you might have a wallyball dream team. 

live right and good things will happen.
( don't forget to take pictures. )