2013...ringing in the New Year!

Well I obviously suck at blogging these days. My last post was in April, but what can I say... I've been a busy girl! This past year has been one of the hardest, craziest, and best years so far. I became as close as ever with Megan, lost my Sister, became closer to my family, continued my job that I love, and met an amazing boy.  

I haven't talked about what happened to my sister much, so if you want to know, here's the story. Everything this year started out great. Megan and I were living life to the fullest and having as much fun as we could. In June we had our second Vegas trip of the year planned, and couldn't wait to carry out our plans for a fun filled summer. We had been working hard at eating healthy and working out, and were ready for a reward! My Dad was stopping in Salt Lake for the night and my sister, Jessika, still hadn't met his new baby, Mary. Megan and I just left a wedding so we met my sister at my Dad's hotel. After having a short visit with him and his kids, my sister and I parted ways. Early the next morning (it was like 7 AM, and I am definitely not a morning person), I got a call from my Mom who was crying. She told me my sister has been in a really bad accident early that morning when she was driving home from a friend's house. She was in a coma and shattered both legs, her pelvis, feet, and has severe bruising on her brain. At first it didn't seem real to me, and I couldn't even cry. Seeing her for the first time was one of the scariest things I can remember. She didn't even look like herself. Our whole family pulled together and spent most of our time at the hospital (especially my Mom and Lynette) for the next 1 1/2 months. Towards the end of July, after going on an emotional roller coaster, the doctors told us there was nothing more they could do for Jessika and we made the decision to take her off of life support. Before that day, I had never experienced someone close to me dying. I never imagined that I could go through the emotions I did that day. This summer has made me realize to NEVER, ever, take anyone you love for granted. You never know what life is going to throw at you, so you might as will live it with no regrets. As hard as this has been for me and my family, it has been the hardest for my Mom. I always knew she was strong person, but she is 1 MILLION times stronger than I would be in her position. I am so grateful to have her as my Mom and I can't say enough how much I love her! All of my friends, family, and co-worker were so supportive through everything. I have some amazing people in my life!

Jess and I a few years ago.

Jessika and Mary the first night they met.

With everything that happened, I have tried to have a more positive outlook on life. Here are some fun events that happened.

One of my best friends Rachelle went to Africa!! 

Megan and I went back and got our second Vegas trip in- which was the best one yet!

Megan got an iPad!

Became closer with old friends...

Started hanging out with the cutest boy ever!

Got this sweet little ride...

Of course had great times with the fam in Vegas for Thanksgiving...

And had the best birthday yet!

I'm so grateful for all the experiences this year has brought. Can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for me!

Happy New Year everybody!

Vegas!

Well I get to check one of my vacations off of my list for this year. I usually go to Vegas once a year, but this time was a million times better than my previous visits! Megan and I decided we needed a mini vacation just for the weekend, and Vegas seemed like the closest place we could go where we could also have a ton of fun. A couple of guys came along for the ride also. Sometimes I reaaaally suck at driving, and I get stressed out when there is traffic and construction in the same place. It freaks Megan out haha. So she drove almost the whole way, it was so nice of her! Unfortunately we did not get any squeaky cheese from Beaver. What a disappointment.

We got to Las Vegas around 10:30 pm on Friday night and drove to our hotel, Polo Towers. We got such a deal online for a 1 bedroom suite so Megan and I got our own room. It was legit and the bed was huge and like a pile of clouds. I slept like a baby! After we got settled in our room we decided to walk the strip and see if we could find anything fun to do. We ended up at Carnival Court which is usually a good time. Megan and I love dancing so we have fun at any place with sweet music and an awesome dance floor. There was some creepy guy that was pretending to hit on me, but then he tried to trick me and steal my Coach satchel! He must have thought I was an idiot, but I realized right away what he was doing and got real mad. He basically ran away once he realized that I wasn't going to fall for that. We also lost one of the boys during this time; he felt that he needed to go back to the room by himself I guess. But the rest of us stayed out until the wee hours of the morning walking around and seeing awesome things! We were also really hungry, so after going to probably 6 hotels we finally found a place to eat. Who knew burgers could be so delicious at 5 am?! 

Caesars!

Bellagio!

Saturday we tried to wake up early despite the fact that we were freakin tired. Going shopping in Vegas is basically a necessity so we decided to hit the forums. On our way we stopped at this delicious restaurant and ate some chili cheese tater tots. I was in heaven. 

Shopping!

 We walked through the Cosmopolitan and they had a huge chandelier in there. Megan loved it!

We even saw this awesome cat that could sit up by itself and didn't even move if you touched it. His owner was a bum and I think she sedated him. How sad.

After a long day of shopping (I controlled myself and only bought 4 things), Megan and I had a fun girl's night out planned. We found this thing online called the "Vegas Crawl". It goes to 4 different clubs and it includes discounts on food and drinks. 

We started out at Coyote Ugly at New York, New York

It was not like the movie, but was still really awesome.

  Cat House at Luxor was next...

 Then Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay

It was so pretty there and was on the very top floor. They had an outside balcony so you could look over the entire city.

Lastly we went to Chateau at Paris

This place was so crazy and there were tons of lights and people everywhere

The whole night was seriously sooo much fun and we made some awesome friends! I even met some people that are from the Jersey Shore, they love GTL and DTF. 

Jersey Shore

Everyone we met stayed out and dance the night away, but we were just wayy too tired. It's not every day that I dance in high heels for 6 hours! Our feet were so sore that we took our shoes off and walked on the strip back to our hotel barefoot. How disgusting! We found out from a stranger that you can contract athlete's foot from dirty sidewalks. Luckily we dodged that bullet.

On Sunday we had to check out at 10, so we got a pretty early start back to the SLC. Of course like an hour out of Vegas we get pulled over. The cop was so nice though and only gave us a warning. We ate soo bad in Vegas and I gained 4 pounds. It was so fun though and I'm so happy I got to go with my bestie!

To top an excellent trip off, last Wednesday was also my last day of one of my classes. I am so happy because now I can focus on my class from hell. Aka American Civ. 

Can't wait for our trip next month! 

This Summer

I have decided that this Summer is going to be the most exciting one ever! There are so many places I would like to travel to, so many goals I want to accomplish, and so many fun things I want to do!

Travels:

 "The Subway" at Zions National Park

This is soo cool, and I love hiking in Zions!

Coyote Gulch in Escalante, Utah

"Taste of Hawaii" in Mueller Park

This is supposed to be a beautiful hike that has scenery like Hawaii!

Go camping A TON!

I didn't even go camping one single time last year, so I'm going to find lots of cool places to camp.

I love campfire food!

If I can find out where this is, I'm definitely going here too!

How cool would this be?!

I'm making Megan do the 3 day hike to see the Havasupai Falls with me. We might rent a donkey in case we get too tired hahah. It's so beautiful though.

The Jersey Shore, so we can be guidettes (just kidding). 

A fun beachy place in Cali. Maybe Laguna Beach. Megan and I are taking ourselves as a celebration of our weight loss and hot bodies (we will have hot bodies by then ha).

There is a beautiful hike in St. George that is so pretty. It's not very hard, and after hiking for awhile you come to find a waterfall that is high enough up you can actually slide down it into the pond. You're surrounded by red rock, little waterfalls, and deep ponds. I don't know what it's called but I used to go there every summer up until last year. I love it there so I'm going there again this year!

Well that's pretty much all I have planned for this summer so far. Next year I plan to travel to either somewhere in Africa, Barcelona, or New Zealand. I haven't decided yet. This summer will be so fun, I can't wait, and I'm so happy I have my pal Megan to go with me on all of these fun trips!! We're even taking a pre-summer mini vacation to Vegas next weekend. What a party! 

If you have any awesome vacation ideas, or know of any cool hiking or camping places, holla at yo guurl! Haha but really.

Arizona

My trip to Arizona was a success! I left last Wednesday night, and when I arrived my Pops was waiting for me. Even though we fought constantly when I was a teenager, and I disliked him during my parents divorce, we actually had a really nice time together and it was fun to bond. After my Dad picked me up from the airport we started the long 3 1/2 hour drive from Phoenix to his house in Snowflake. Wow, talk about a long drive! We finally got to his house a little before 1 a.m. when I got to meet my baby sister Mary for the first time. Her and my Stepmom, Leah, waited up to welcome me. Let me just say that Mary is by far the cutest baby I have ever seen in my life! She is so happy and hardly ever cried during my stay, even though she was sick.

I woke up in the morning to little kids screaming and running around; something that I am definitely not used to. I said hello to the other 3 kids (Caden-8, Collin-6, and Candice-4), and then the boys went to school. Mary and Candice and I just hung out and watched TV. Candice wouldn't call me by my name almost the whole time, she referred to me as "my big sister" instead. It was pretty adorable.

I got to visit with my Grandma Susan, and got to see my new baby cousin Kylan, who I forgot to get pictures of. I also got to see my favorite Uncle Kevin and Aunt Tracy and their family. We didn't really do much, just hung out and played outside. On Friday we went to a park and let the kids play since it was so nice, I even got a little crazy and played on the playground with them ha.

Candice and Mary, before our walk

Playing at the park

So happy!

Caden

Collin, the little jokester

Candice, my little shadow

Best buds

<3

Candice thought I was the coolest person alive... if only she knew! She wanted to share a bed with me every night, have me do her hair, sit next to her, hold her hand, and play with her at all waking hours. It was tiring, but she is so cute that I didn't care. 

While I was there at least 4 people, including the little ones, asked me when I was going to get married and have a baby. Only 21 and people already think I'm an old maid! Being around all those little kids did make me feel excited to get married and have kids, but then again scared because they were crazy sometimes. Honestly I think dating is way too complicated and emotionally draining, so I think I'm going to stay away from it for awhile. I found a quote on Pinterest that was exactly what I needed to hear last week:

 "No need to rush things. If something is bound to happen it will happen in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason."

I had so much fun in Arizona and I wish I lived closer to all of my family there. This summer it is definitely on my list of places to visit so I will be there back soon. I have to admit though, it was a relief to be back in my own bed and in a house with no screaming little kids. This trip has made me grateful for my quiet house and my own room and bed! I am really looking forward to this summer, I have a whole list of fun things I want to do and exciting places I want to visit! I have been such a scaredy cat most of my life, but I realized a little while ago that you can't have fun if you're always scared. 

This summer will be an adventure, I can't wait!

<3

The end.