i've discovered the problem

or, at least, another part of the problem.

the first part (which is all on me) was already discussed

(and later re-analyzed, per usual, and it has been discovered that i am more at fault than i originally led myself to believe. typical.)

on my commute home from salt lake today (2 more days left!)

i was analyzing my one real relationship i had been in and how i/we had gotten there.

1. we were young (freshies at the Y)

2. we hung out with the same group of people

3. he wasn't in my ward

4. his guy friends and my girl friends all knew about our infatuation with the other

5. they {key words here} encouraged us

6. they teased me (i'm not sure how it was on his end) relentlessly about liking him (but all in good fun, it wasn't malicious)

then i thought about recent times, and the reasons behind why i'm less inclined to talk about the guys i'm interested in now.

sure, if i see an attractive guy from afar off, i'll mention it to whomever i'm with at the moment.

but that does not in the slightest mean that i LIKE HIM. i don't even know this guy, right? and, looks can be deceiving.

if i know a guy and i've decided i like him (to the point that i would want to kiss him)

{an aside: i haven't kissed many boys in my life. most of them i kissed because i was genuinely interested in them and had reason to believe that they were genuinely interested in my too. oh my naivete}

i tend to not tell my friends?

why? well no offense to my friends, but a good handful of them tend to judge or ridicule. and not in a good way.

so i guess i decide it's not worth it to tell them, or, i'm scared that i'll be made fun of, and for some reason, now, more than ever, i care too much about what my friends think about me.

which is really ridiculous, if you think about it.

i shouldn't care what my friends think, and if they make fun of me for the kinds of guys i like, well, then they aren't good friends, right?

so i should just forget about them, and go ahead with what i feel is right, and forget about feeling stupid or silly, right?

easier said than done...

i need the smell of summer

...i need it's noises in my ears

and that's exactly what i got last night (at least more so than the earlier part of summer)

i love staying up late, not really caring what time it is because i'm enjoying my time with friends.

last night, i didn't particularly care that i had to be up at 6:30 to get ready for work.

i didn't really care that my body was already aching, and craving the warmth of my bed, and subsequently, sleep.

all i cared about was the time i spent with friends, the sounds of summer: voices carrying across the street, music playing, the rumble of my longboard's wheels carving (rolling) along the asphalt.

i cared about the view of the stars from the top of the wells fargo parking garage.

i cared about the un-awkward silence as i walked and nate biked.

i cared about the good times.

even though i'm not a good longboarder in the slightest, i loved just cruising down 200 east, i loved sledding down the parking garage grooving to music.

i loved everything about last night

minus my slight stupidity, but that's nothing new

i kind of wish i wasn't leaving in a week for salt lake, so i could spend the rest of the summer down here with friends.

new friends, new adventures

nothing like a weekend with an eccentric/random group of people to open up your social networks.
st. george was great this weekend. exactly what i needed. although, i wish it was warm and not raining.
and i wish st. george didn't remind me of he-who-must-not-be-named.
isn't it bad enough that i'm reminded of him wherever i go in provo? can't you leave me alone in st. george?
anyway, it really was great, despite the rain and freezing temps. i was a bit worried when i heard who all was going because i didn't know any of them more than from a few interactions at church (if at all)
the drive down was long. but marissa and i (whom i didn't know at all prior to this trip) entertained ourselves with talk about LA (where she served her mission) and singing along to HSM, Moulin Rouge and Hairspray. A girl after my own {musical} heart!

weeeeekend!

but first:

i hate when i check the weather on my phone (i have provo and TO saved as faves) and i get excited when i see a big ol' 82 degrees listed for the day, thinking, no way, it can't be that warm in provo, and then realizing that the last time i checked weather, i left it on Thousand Oaks, and then i get all sad, remembering that i'm in the frozen tundra once again, not the warm oasis i once was.

i'm REALLY excited for this weekend. like, REALLY.

basketball game right after work (i'm leaving early, ha)

then writing my talk (yay and boo)

GIRLS NIGHT. love.

soccer game tomorrow morning.

writing my talk more.

picking up tickets.

CINDERELLA with my best friends. (loooove the ballet)

church sunday/giving my talk

despite the fact that i have to miss lindsay's missionary farewell, i'm excited about speaking.

i haven't given a talk in this ward, not even when i lived here before, so it'll be a new experience.

and, i kind of like giving talks. i usually write pretty good ones (so i've been told) so i enjoy getting positive feedback from people :)

but really, can it be tonight already???

a good friend

a good friend is:

someone that will see that you have mascara running down your face and will tell you.

and then they'll proceed to ask you if anything's wrong, because they think the mascara run is tear induced.

and then, when you say that nothing is wrong with a smile, they'll ask "you would tell me if there was something wrong, right?"

someone that will tell you they want to hang out/do something/whatever and when you make plans to do so, will follow through. after such plans are made, they'll welcome you into their home, buy your dinner (and other subsequent meals. plus pay for all activities) let you crash on their bed and after the weekend is over, invite you over again another time.

someone who will, when asked a question about something they're interested in, proceed to explain said interest and give details that aren't mundane, but are in fact exciting and you can see and hear the passion that they have for said interest. and then will agree to let you partake in whatever sparks their interest, so that you can be more informed and learned.

someone who will call you randomly just to say hi and to see how you're doing because you haven't talked in a while and want to know what's going on in your life.

someone who will laugh at your jokes. or, banter with you to the point of laughing.

someone who will play the quiet game with you when no one else is, and then point and laugh when you lose.

someone who greets you with a shout of your name and a huge hug.

someone who will text you about any random activity going on because they know you have no idea about it, and then are sad when you can't come, but excited to see you the next time, and will ask you how your previous engagements were.

someone who will sit in a car for two hours discussing life, love, gossip, what have you, without judgment. and then proceed to give advice when asked for it, and be humble enough to not spill the beans outside of the car.

i have good FANTASTIC friends.
they're always there when i need them. (and there when i don't)
we always have fun when we're together, and we really don't need to be doing much
(as i've mentioned previously)
i love my friends!

a different type of friend

i was having a conversation with a friend out here (being, in California) and somehow we got on the topic of friends, and people i like hanging out with, and people i could really do without, aka that i don't feel like hanging out with sometimes. (he was not one of those).
do you ever get in those moods though? I always try to ask who's attending whatever activity is going on, to get a feel for what the atmosphere will be like and if i even want to attend. (i'm an extrovert, can't blame me). and it's sad to think that my being social depends entirely on who might be in attendance at said activity.
but really, let's be honest. certain people exude certain atmospheres, right?
well anyway, i was talking to this {california} friend and i told him that sometimes i just don't feel like being social. and at this one particular gathering i was glad i didn't go because of the people that were there. either someone was there that i didn't want to see, or that gets to be a little overwhelming or whatever.
he understood where i was coming from (luckily) and said he feels the same way sometimes too.
and then it got me thinking, because i've been talking with a lot of my utah friends online lately, that i REALLY have great friends. like really. and despite the fact that we're all over the country right now (because we're all grown ups) we still can talk and catch up and feel like nothing has changed.
and because of those conversations with {utah} friends, i realized how much i MISS them. like truly. when i was in utah, i didn't really miss my {california} friends. but maybe that was just because i had gotten used to being away from them? but at the same time, the friends i made my first three years of college, i didn't really miss, even though we were in the same town but didn't see each other very often. it's those friends i made my LAST YEAR that have really stuck with me, and make me feel welcome and at home every time i visit or talk to them.
it makes me REALLY excited to get back up there in 3 weeks (20 DAYS!).
hopefully things will be just as good when i'm with them as when i'm away from them.
and no disrespect to my {california} friends, but there's just something about my {utah} friends that make me feel...great. wonderful. happy. and excited about life.
they're friends that i know are eternal. that i know will be on my wedding invite list (when and if that ever occurs). friends that will last longer than a lifetime. and that's a good type of friend.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK!

April is a month for birthdays, that's for sure. Whew...I don't know if my mind OR my body can handle it all :) BUT, today is my best friend Mark Taylor Leonard's 24th birthday. YAY! I love birthdays :D Sad, though, that we only have a few pictures together haha. We need to fix that, work on getting more before the end of the summer. But, Mark and I met at our ward's first ward prayer back in September...we've been friends ever since! (well, except for that time that we refer to as the Dark Ages. And that other time that is known as the Second Dark Ages, but who really needs to think about that?) Mark is awesome though, so fun, so chill, really smart (he always likes to teach me new things and prove me wrong, especially when my logic and reasoning are completely whack ;) ). Plus, he's a really good friend. He lets me borrow his car when I need to go to work, he'll pick me up and drop me off when I need it. He's great at listening (for the most part) and giving me advice when I ask for it. He looks out for me, and makes sure I'm happy and doing what I should be, even if that means stopping me from purchasing really cute shoes :) We have extremely long and in depth conversations and can talk for hours about anything. And we can sit and watch the discovery channel, the travel channel or the history channel for hours and not get bored. He is fantastic and I am glad I can call him my friend :)

My 21st birthday party.

Rockband night.

Rockband night 2...he didn't dress up and was ashamed :)

HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY MARK!!

Thanks for giving

It's a week later and I'm FINALLY posting about Thanksgiving. Basically, it was amazing. Given, I DID have a 15 page research paper due the day I got back, BUT I tried to enjoy the time I had at home with my family and friends. It was a much needed break. The weather was a little iffy, but a lot better than what we were experiencing in Utah, at least, temperature wise. We drove all day with Luis and his gf Rachel, stopping for dinner at her parents' house in St. George, getting in late Tuesday night. I played a few rounds of Guitar Hero while Brianna showered and crashed. Wednesday morning we were rudely awaken by my mother running in and jumping on us. Sure, it was close to noon, but we were tired! We ended up sitting and talking to her and Kiana and Bryce for a good while before we actually got up and got going. We ran necessary errands, Target, Newbury Park HS, grocery store, before heading to Toppers to meet our dad for dinner. We saw our brother Chris, and the Lytles! Love them! Later, Brianna, Kiana and I met up with the TO stake crew to head down to Santa Monica Pier. Unfortunately, it had rained the night before and so everything was wet and closed down. I also

 think it was on account of it being the day before Thanksgiving. Oh well. It was enjoyable anyway. 

Thursday was a lazy day, watching tv, playing games, attempting to write papers (me) and cooking. Dinner was delicious, as should be expected, and once it was all digested (mostly), we headed over to the Sorensen's house for games and desserts. We started out with the Celebrity

 Name game (two rounds! so fun!) and then went in for the kill (dessert). Delish!

After dessert, the kids and some of the adults wanted to play knock out, so we went into the backyard and played about 4 rounds of it (I never won...bummer. Out of practice I suppose).

 After some bball, we came back inside and broke out the board games: Sequence (new favorite game!!! Kandice, come down to PROVO and play with me!!! haha), chinese checkers, sorry, and a game of monopoly for the little boys. Laughter, conversation, cheating. It was fabulous. We

 stayed there until 1 am (the latest I've ever stayed out with my entire family...EVER) just

 chatting and catching up. Quite fun.

Around this time, I found out that my best friend Jacob Chun was coming home early from his trip to Texas, so I convened with his older brother Russell to surprise him after he got home

 from the airport on Friday. I'd say it was quite the success :) Such a grand reunion! He just got home from his mission to Everett, Washington early October, so I hadn't seem him, although

 I'd talked to him on the phone twice. Wow, it was great to see him again and to hang out with him. That night Brianna, Jacob, Russell and I decided to hang out, but things got a little messy. Russell left, and the rest of us (including Lindy-Jacob's gf-and Jessi Cumins) headed over to Bret Caldwell's house (who had just gotten home from HIS mission two days prior) to say hey. Another great reunion! Things definitely haven't changed with those two...still exactly the same. :) We were supposed to meet up with Russell but I didn't have any gas or money so Bri and I headed home. But Saturday was our shopping day, checking out the renovations over at the Oaks Mall. Fun, even though we didn't buy anything. 

Oh I forgot...we took family christmas pictures Friday during the day too. Turned out better than usual haha. While watching the USC-Notre Dame game, I made plans to hang out with Russell and Jacob again. They picked me up and brought me back to their house where J made a special spaghetti concoction and we watched Batman and Robin before getting the crew together to head to Zuma Beach for our traditional beach night.

I ended up sitting with Jacob on the beach for a good, half hour, 45 minutes just talking about everything. His life, my life, high school, news, college. Everything. We laughed, we got deep, we were serious. We headed back once we realized that Lindy would not be very happy with me particularly for stealing him away for a bit :/ After that I hit some golf balls with Jerrid and Eric into the ocean...another tradition for us :)

Definitely a good night especially getting to talk to Jacob, just like old times. Sunday we left again and of course it was a gorgeous 85 degrees and sunny! We also found out that Provo was going to be around 32 that day--joy. Such a short break, but a great one. Now it's only 2 weeks until we're back again for Christmas...Can't wait!

21!!

I never thought this day would come...the day when I am finally a legal adult, 21, able to gamble, drink, get into clubs...heading into that third decade of life. Dang. 21. That just SOUNDS old. I don't feel old per se, but it sounds it. It's cool that I am finally the same age as all my friends. I've been waiting for that for a long time.

The week didn't start out on the right foot and I didn't honestly think I would enjoy today, not with two midterms surrounding my day of birth and things just falling apart at the seams. Canceling my birthday dinner was definitely the low point. There was just too much going on. Then a last minute planning sesh for a dessert party which started off wrong...not enough desserts, sister getting stuck at the store and being LATE with all the food, people not showing up right away, scaring me into thinking this was going to be a complete bust.

But honestly, it turned out much better than I had anticipated, better than I could've hoped for. All my favorite people were there, there was laughter, reminiscing, reunions, and smiles all around. Plus, the desserts weren't too shabby either ;).

A big GINORMOUS thank you goes out to my sister Brianna for putting this all together and making sure it went off at least reasonably well, despite some minor hitches along the way. She made sure I was happy and was there to document a lot of it (i.e. present opening). Thanks also to Brooke Brown for photographing most of the party. Without you I probably wouldn't have had as many pictures as I did. And most importantly, to all my FRIENDS who I adore and couldn't ask for better people in my life. You all are fabulous.
Now to all those 21 and older folk...VEGAS soon? ;)

i'm a busy busy bee...while still maintaining serenity this weekend

the boys we normally hang out with are gone, leaving the girls around to CHILL. it's been awesome. I sat on my couch for hours yesterday with nothing to worry about. Today I...watched the homecoming parade march down 800 north, past my apartment. I watched the first half of the USC/ASU football game, AT mark's apartment haha, since I have his keys. I went to and froze at the BYU/New Mexico game. Luckily we won, otherwise I would've been miserable.

Even though I haven't been SUPER busy this week, I just feel like I've been posting a LOT lately, meaning I might actually have a social life? haha wow...what a concept!

the california girls at the BYU v. New Mexico homecoming football game...it was FREEZING!

the other girls

me and linds walking home from the game, attempting to take pics. haha. this is the 4th of 4 attempts.

walking TO the game. linds wasn't quite ready i don't think...haha.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

I love the 4th of July...especially after this year's. Probably one of the best ones to date. It's the peak of summer. The weather finally feels like it should, school is out, fireflies and mosquitoes are out, and people are firing up their grills. The summer can only get better. And it will, I think. Everyday seems to go by faster though, forcing me to rush to the end, to the fall, when all I want to do is sit back and reflect on each and every day, to appreciate what could well be my last summer of my young life.

The week started crazy busy, with me working 3 14 hour days. Wednesday I got a slight respite by not having to work at Express, but all those hours, even with enough sleep, wore me out. By the time Thursday came around, I was ready for a break. But I had to get through my last 14 hour day. The only thing that made it worth it was the fact that I had a friend and two new friends waiting for me outside the mall when I got off work. Jay came down for the weekend with his good friend Mikey and his sister Lana. I'm pretty good about meeting new people, so it wasn't too hard for us three to be instant friends, especially when you're forced to :). We came home that night and sort of set up camp in Holden's room, where we would all be sleeping. We watched Madagascar, talked and got to know each other then crashed around 1 or so, even though we all thought we'd be up all night. Mikey was the first to rise Friday morning and proceeded to wake us all up so we could go to the city (it was his first time visiting DC so he was super stoked for it). After getting ourselves together, we finally managed to get to the metro station (thanks to my fabulous memory/sense of direction) and headed to the city. we arrived at the federal triangle stop to find hordes of people lining the streets...apparently they were waiting for the parade to start. After trying to figure out where we wanted to go, we headed towards the capitol, intending to make a loop around the National Mall. we made all the stops necessary for Mikey to enjoy his first trip to our Nation's Capital: Natural History Museum, the Capitol, the Air and Space Museum, the White House, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, WW2 Memorial where we sat and enjoyed the cool water of the fountain since the humidity was almost unbearable, and the highlight (at least for Lana and I...) the National Archives, where we saw the Declaration of Independence, the whole reason for the Fourth of July, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and enjoyed the chills we got from seeing these important documents on the anniversary of our nation's independence. wow. what an experience that was. It had rained earlier that day so we were slightly wet when we decided we needed food, and REST. we were so tired from our marathon walking. we ended up at this great place called cosi where we spent a good hour just sitting. it was actually down the street from the White House which was really convenient. Anyway, because it started raining again, we ended up buying a couple umbrellas and a poncho for each of us to sit on once the fireworks started since uh, we forgot to bring blankets... hah. it ended up working out really well, so i guess it was worth it. Our spots on the mall were fantastic. Right near the Washington Monument and Reflecting Pool, so we saw everything and the fireworks? WOW. Best show I've seen. It was really the most amazing day ever. I've always wanted to spend the 4th in the nation's capital and now I have. And I never once got us lost hah. SCORE! After the show we walked up to Metro Center to catch the redline back to my house but stopped for the best pizza ever, and some delicious milkshakes, then sat on the sidewalk to enjoy them, letting the crowds thin out at the metro. Once we got back, we tried to watch National Treasure 2 but Lana passed out and I tried to fall asleep haha. Not very successful. This morning we woke up wayyyy later than planned and headed to Denny's for a late breakfast then went back through the city to get to Arlington National Cemetary. What a great end to a great weekend.

Now that we're all great friends (and we are, seriously) we're counting down the days til MEXICO!!! woo! haha totally cant wait for that trip :)

mocktail party

So, I've been meaning to post about our, rather, MY, mocktail party from last week but ya know, finals and packing have pretty much consumed my life. (ok, that is a slight exaggeration...I haven't been THAT busy, but I haven't justified blogging when I knew there were other more important things to focus on) Thus, I have left it to tonight to post about last week's fantastic get together. (even though I SHOULD be studying more for my constitutional law final tomorrow morning. and if not that, then at least SLEEPING)

natalie, jen and i

me, natalie, jen and jenna: 4 of the 5 roommates
(we never did get one of all 5 of us...)

me and janna. haha she wanted to look like a retard?
i don't know. she's funny.

dan, me and ben.

love these boys!

me and scotty :)

anyway, the party was a success. lots of friends. happy and fun conversation. a good break from the stress of finals. sad that i didn't get pictures with the others that came (jay, kandice and kaiti...and wish that my bball boys had come...oh well...next time!)

happiness is...

• having friends that will bring you costa vida while you're at work. who will go snowboarding with you when you call them to go. who will go out of their way to make you happy.
• enjoying your job and looking forward to the nights you get to work, even if it is a 5 hour shift of jr. jazz high school boys' basketball.
• enjoying school and class and having meaningful and fun conversations through them, namely passing notes during pl sc 170.
• having someone on the outside who knows about a previous situation but still makes you feel better about what happened and reassures you that what you said and did was justified.
• listening to good music that makes you feel happy.
• coming home from a long day at school and work, and finding you have 10 new emails, 4 new comments on facebook, one friend request, one message...
• being tired but still being happy about the things that have occurred in life in the recent weeks.
• being grateful for the things that God has blessed you with and seeing His hand in your life.
• feeling like everything is going wonderfully and wondering how you could've ever been depressed or upset about anything.

today (and yesterday, and the past few days for that matter) was fantastic. i didn't do a lot, and i was worried about making it to work on time, but everything worked out. yesterday was snowboarding again. i was by myself for most of the day while matt was in class, but we met up afterwards and his eagerness to do whatever was so infectious. it's funny, but he's always so tired and kind of blah when i pick him up to go, but as soon as we've finished a few runs, he's jazzed and psyched for the rest of the day. it's contagious and rubs off on me. his happiness reflects on me and makes me feel so much better. random hugs from him make me feel good too and puts a smile on my face.
today was a long day of class, but i was prepared (finally!) for 361 and so i kept itching to say something, but unfortunately never felt smart enough to (maybe in a couple of weeks). good conversation with adam through notes in 170 also brightened my day, as did leaving class early to get to work on time. work was great. lots of fun, except for that little stressful game where there were a gazillion people there all yelling. lots of energy, that's for sure. texting nell about snowboarding tomorrow, and matt, and then asking him to bring me food and him being willing also made everything better. sure i had to wait a few hours, but still, he did. well, actually BLAINE brought it inside, but he called (and thank goodness Sharon was my supervisor and said i could answer) to make sure i had gotten it and that he would call about boarding tomorrow. and then TEXTING and apologizing for not coming in. uh, thanks, but it was enough that you even BROUGHT me food. you saved me from 5 hours of starvation. thank goodness for friends.
i love love LOVE how everything is going this semester and i can already see a change in my attitude and behavior about everything. I'm more relaxed and easy going (as i should be). i really hope this lasts for longer than just a few weeks. i'm really enjoying all of it. :)

good times

First day snowboarding this semester. All I can say is....AWESOME. Thank you Matt Ekman for immediately calling me after getting my text and being eager to go boarding with me so I didn't have to go alone. I think today was one of a few times that we've hung out just you and me and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wish it was like that all the time. We got a good 3 hours in before we were both wiped and I had to get back for class. Lots of good powder on the back mountain and some good runs throughout. Good conversation, good times, good friends. Can't freakin' complain. And hopefully this can become like, a tradition of sorts...every Tuesday and Thursday after his class and before I start school. Not a bad tradition, I say.
Times like these make me appreciate the friends I have and the goodness in their hearts. It also makes me look at the times where I'm not so happy and wonder how I can ever really be sad or depressed because for the most part, life is good. I need to recognize that more, and I think this helps me with that.

music and life

there's something about good music that puts me into a great mood. especially when it's really upbeat and i'm listening to it late at night. I don't really understand it, but I really appreciate it.
It helps when there's a few good moments in life that just make me happy. :)
It's interesting though that when I do start to become happy, people start asking WHY. do i have to have a reason to be happy? can't you just accept the fact that i'm happy and content with life? why question it...just GO WITH IT. it might not last. haha.

i really am quite content with the way things are going right now. I feel calmer, happier, and stress free. Which is a surprise because I have a 310 theory paper due and a physical science test tomorrow. But, I feel good about my paper and the test, like I did well, did my best, and I know what the textbook is talking about. For once, I actually understand it.
All i needed was a change of events, for me to feel like I was important to someone, anyone, that they were making an effort in our friendship and now i do, so i'm happy. that's all i ever wanted from the beginning.

viva las vegas

Just got home from my weekend in Las Vegas last night around midnight....it was a long difficult weekend. I normally love vegas, but there was a lot that happened that put a damper on the whole experience. I think i set my expectations too high and when things didn't happen, i was disappointed. Got some great pictures though, so that's a plus. I love long trips with amazing photos to help me remember :) Great football game against UNLV too. started to rain a bit, but other than that it was awesome weather.
here's some pictures, documenting some of the better moments...

winner!

ok, this weekend DEFINITELY beat out last weekend on best weekend ever. (unfortunately, i don't have ANY pictures documenting the fun, sad.)
it started out friday afternoonish when i went to king henry for amanda's roommate emily's birthday bbq. goood stuff. lots of food, conversation and celebration. then we all went upstairs and watched something....i don't remember, my memory isn't half of what it used to be. but i went home to work on homework shortly after that, so that i could go out that night and party. at around 10 i met up with amanda again and us and a few of her roommates and friends piled into ally's car and headed over to Rock the Block. we stopped and listened to Love You Long Time perform and then Amanda, Emily, Brooke and I decided we wanted to go dance it up so we headed to the dance floor where we danced for a bit, but then i went back to the stage area to try and watch Ivy League perform. sound check took forever and by the time they were set to play, some bad ish was going down elsewhere and they were only able to play one song :( I was pretty bummed to say the least, since this is the third time thus far that i've been able to go and see them perform, but they've been shut down for one reason or another. the band was not happy either. i felt so bad, but nothing you could do about it. since we had to leave the party so early, we had our own party in ally's car, making our way through traffic. 6 girls in a 5 seater car blasting dance music = fun, every time.
we got back to amanda's apartment and couldn't figure out anything fun to do, so after emily and brooke settled down for the night, lauren, cari, amanda and i drove to walmart to get decorations for emily's birthday (which was really on saturday) we definitely blasted hsm2 in the car and belted bet on it, even refusing to get out of the car until the song was over. as we walked into walmart, my phone rang, starting another rousing chorus of 'bet on it' which then led into us 4 dancing in the aisles. decorations were a success as we were able to find ALL high school musical stuff, AND cari hit the jackpot with her poster size picture of the cover of Rolling Stone magazine with zac efron. amazing. she and i both proceeded to purchase one, me for my own enjoyment and her for emily. we found some sweet deals on movies while there and cari and i both purchased two: i got paycheck and last kiss and she got last kiss and one other. i've yet to watch them...
now, proceeding to saturday. i woke up to a rainy gray morning and had to drive to centennial middle school for soccer. wasn't exactly thrilled about it. but, only a few kids showed up and it wasn't quite as chaotic as i first thought it'd be. we gave out cookies (took the rest home...) and left early. not too bad.
after coming home and getting ready, amanda and i headed out to do some halloween costume shopping :) we have a few good ideas in mind, one of mine more prominent in my head than others, but we'll see where they take us...we still have a month to pound out the details. after our shopping extravaganza, we went back to her apartment where i did laundry and attempted homework/watched like 4 episodes of desperate housewives. then cari, emily and i left with matt and blaine to go watch the BYU football game at their friend's house, since none of us have the cable that shows it. enjoyable game, and matt even got us costa vida! mmmm. after the game, cari and i had a craving to play football...in the mud. so we went back to king henry and changed and gathered more people and went to helaman fields to play. perfect spot, especially after a full day of rain/snow. freezing night, but so much fun. i'm pretty sure i'm gonna be hurting for a few days...emily is a tough tackler. and matt did some damage of his own on all of us. once the lights went out on the field, we went to a lit up patch of grass next to the parking lot and blaine threw passes at a bunch of us, trying to get us to dive in the mud. needless to say, we were all ready to walk home at that point since there was so much mud. then all 4 girls ganged up on matt and tried to take him down, covering him in mud, buuuut, that didn't work quite as well as we'd expected. he proceeded to take all 4 of us on and definitely beat us all, while ben and blaine just stood there and watched.
after cleaning up we went back to king henry and watched minority report....good movie. i had never seen it before last night. but definitely one everyone should see eventually.

all in all, it was pretty dang good, but now i'm hurting and getting sick, so it probably wasn't my brightest idea, but hey, you take what you get, eh? now it's off to church and then homework time all afternoon. i guess that's what i get for playing.

best weekend (thus far)

just got through one of the best weekends since i've been back. i couldn't have asked for more fun, or random surprises. here's a glimpse into one of the events of this weekend (it's the only time i took pictures)

Tim Glen (aussie), Mands, Cardon, Me
Donovan (another aussie) was trying to figure out
his camera....I was his guinea pig. Isn't that mask SEXY?
The whole paintballing crew. GOOD times.