it's finals week.

so of course I should be completely focused on school and stuff, but all I can really think about is how I just got acceptted into the European Art History/Classics study abroad for the spring term. I don't leave for like 4 months, but I'm already kinda really excited.....

cause I get to go here...

and here...

and here...









and here...

and here.

be jealous.



got that glitter on my eyes...

heather ann lagrosa is one of my best friends and she is turning 20 today. but she is in florida right now enjoying the warm weather, so i can't really wish her a happy birthday properly. so i decided to dedicate this blog post to her.

when i met heather my freshman year, i knew right away that i wanted to be her friend. she was the girl who would walk into my apartment without knocking just to say hi even before we really knew each other, and she threw the most crazy/awesome parties. she also could rock a mowhawk better than anyone i'd ever met. so after we bonded over our shared interest in black lights, we've been friends ever since.

so many of my college memories involve heather. like the multiple times we played basketball at heritage halls and then made lentils after...or when we "accidentally" stayed up till 5:30 in the morning just talking about random stuff. there was also the time when we both decided to eat fire hot/spicy sushi and i literally almost died, but of course heather was fine. and i'm so lucky she shares my obsession for old people music, cause i can't think of anyone else i would have rather seen styx and journey with (and Kes$a 2031).

but more importantly than the fact that i can always count on her to have a good time, is that i can always count on her to be there for me. i know she'll always be willing to help me with anything, even if it's the same stupid drama i've been complaining about for weeks...

heather is one of the best people you will ever meet and i am so glad that we are friends.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER!!!

count your many blessings...

so I’ve been kinda anxious and stressed out the last couple of weeks due to an accumulation of a lot of different things, and I hate feeling like that. since the current tendonitis in my right foot has been keeping me from running, which is my usual stress reliever, I had to think of something else to make myself feel better. 


 as I was walking to campus on monday, I decided to start listing off things in my head that I am grateful for…. “well, I’m grateful that I have a healthy body, and that my family loves me, and I have lots of friends, and I live in a free country, and I’m able to go to college, and I have the gospel in my life, and it’s not raining right now, and I have warm clothes to wear, etc….” after I had gotten to class and couldn’t think of anymore right then, I thought “wow, my life is not even hard. I have nothing to complain about.” I’ve also been in a really good mood since. I’m now a firm believer in the hymn “count your many blessings.”

I think this is all very appropriate for this time of year since thanksgiving is tomorrow, and we’re supposed to be thinking of what we’re grateful for anyway. 


when I really stop and think about it, there are SO many things that I am grateful for, but the one that is always on top of the list is my family.

I know it’s a little cliché to say you’re grateful for family, but I mean it with all of my heart. I’m grateful that when we get together we always have tons fun even if it’s only for dinner or a very competitive and loud game of charades. I’m grateful that one of us only has to say one word, and it starts an hour long movie quoting session, or how everyone will still gather into the family room when Arthur comes one.  

Rachel- since she’s the oldest, I’m grateful that she was such a great role model for everything and that she helped me discover my love for music and traveling.

Josh- I’m grateful for his random movie quote texts and that when he visits from California I always remember how much I miss him.

Jeremy- I’m grateful that he’s one of my support systems down in provo and that I can talk to him about anything.

Zach – I’m grateful that he’s my other support system down in provo and that he is secretly the most creative person I have ever met.

Nathan- I’m grateful that he can give me one look and it’s enough to bust up laughing and that we share the same nerdy obsessions.

Hannah – I’m grateful that she shares my love for ballet and musicals and that she’ll let me impart my wisdom when it comes to dealing with bratty teenage girls.

Jacob – I’m grateful that he loves to tell me what’s going on his life and he still always lets me jump on the tramp with him.

Matty – I’m grateful that he is always my Disney trivia partner and how he gets so excited when I come home.  

My parents- I could probably write a novel on why I am grateful for them. But basically if it wasn’t for them I would not be the person that I am today.

I’ve never really noticed how big my family is until we were all crammed into my tiny apartment in provo on tuesday. I think it might have overwhelmed my roommates a little bit, cause we’re all pretty loud and sometimes kinda weird. But you know what, I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

it's carlie's birthday...

and since her b-day usually gets overshadowed by harry potter and twilight midnight showings i wanted to make sure she knew i didn't forget.

i have only known carlie mckeon for 15 months, but it feels like it's been my entire life. my life would not be the same if she wasn't in it, so i'm very glad she decided i was cool enough to be her friend when she originally wasn't so sure...

 in this short while that i have known her she has already taught me so many valuable life lessons:

1. don't try to prove you're tough by doing stupid things that make permanent marks on your arm.

2. if you spin around in circles and then try to do jumping jacks, you'll most likely get clotheslined.

3. forgiveness is more than saying sorry.

4. being the cornerstone is quite enjoyable.

5. sister wives is the greatest t.v. show ever.

6. don't drink a lot of rockstars saturday night, cause you'll probably get a lesson about hangovers the next day in relief society.

7. don't pretend to hit on your best friend's soon-to-be fiance as an april fool's joke, cause it could end up going WAAY to far.

8. the little drummer boy should not be made into a music video.

9. when you're in a complicated relationship and you don't feel in sync, it's a good idea to talk about your feelings.

10. haunted houses are terrifying (don't deny it. i was there).

11. interesting/hilarious fb conversations can be the result of an inappropriate youtube video.

12. rebecca black is sooo awesome.

13. the purpose of a fridge is to keep it's contents cold.

14. if you say something is pretty ok, it probably means you're boiling cats in your kitchen.

15. suite is not spelled S-U-I-T.

16. when you get caught putting a fridge in front of someone's car, it's a good idea to run away.

17. my middle name should have been spelled Lynnnnnnnnnnnnne.

18. swear by the moon and the stars in the sky.

19. talking about life and stuff until the late hours of the night is always a good idea.

20. being carlie's roommate is totes cray cray, but sup awes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAR!!!

too much time on my hands...

ok, not really, cause work is taking over my life. but i've done some pretty awesome things anyway...

a few weeks ago me and my roomies decided to climb mt. timp. i wasn't really mentally prepared for how strenuous this hike is, but it was totally worth it (note: if you ever try to attempt this, start hiking before 3 pm, so you make it off the mountain before 1 am, and bring a flashlight so you don't almost kill yourself by falling off a cliff about a dozen times).

i also went to the styx concert with my bestie heather. i'm so glad that she likes to go to old people concerts with me. And of course we always wear matching shirts.

we both decided, as we were surrounded by a bunch of people who grew up in the 70s and got hit on by drunken guys, that music today is just not the same as it used to be. bands used to write meaningful lyrics and play all of their own music, instead of just using a synthesizer and repeating the same sentence over and over...and when they performed live they sounded like they did on cd....crazy huh?

and last weekend my best friends from back home came and stayed with me. let's just say, we stayed up WAY too late and things got a little crazy....

sorry guys, i only promised i wouldn't put them on facebook.....



so anyway....

summer is basically over, and it (excuse my language) sucks. BUT i'm super excited for this upcoming year and here's why:

- i go to the best school there is. i don't care what my U of U friends say, BYU is the best.

- jeremy and zach will both be at the Y this year.

- i have the most amazing roommates in the world. i know everyone says that, but seriously, i do.

- i have a great job. i work with hilarious people (a.k.a heather, adam, eric, and carlee) who make me laugh pretty much my entire shift, it's flexible, and i get to eat free cookie dough EVERY DAY. you can't get a better job than that.

- i'm going to the styx concert with heather september 23rd.

- adam, one of the most talented and sweetest guys you'll ever meet, gets home from his mission october 25th.

- josh and kirsten just barely moved back to san francisco, so we get to visit them.

- breaking dawn is coming out! (ok, don't worry, that was a joke)

- amy is transferring to the Y winter semester (i'm thinkin dirty dozen provo style?)

- i get another niece or nephew come march.

- carlie is getting married which means i get to throw her an epic bachelorette party....

- i'm taking awesome classes and i love my major.

- matty is getting baptized in november.

- BYU football/basketball will most likely dominate.

so... obviously, it's going to be a great year.

i'm back.

I’m really bad at this whole blogging thing. I had planned to blog a lot this summer, but for some reason I couldn’t find the time/motivation to sit down and write something worth reading.  And now in about three weeks I will be going back to college, so I’m sure I’ll be worrying about more important things than a good blog post topic.

It’s crazy how a certain event can create so much anticipation and excitement that you want time to speed up. However, when it finally arrives, it goes by way too quickly making you wish that you were still waiting for it to come.

I’m experiencing this sensation with a few of my summer highlights.

Time flies. The summer is almost over and I’ll be twenty next week. I feel like I’m sixteen. Before I know it, I’ll be forty and wondering how the heck everything went by so fast….that is a depressing thought. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my life and all the people in it. I guess that’s why I feel the way I do. It’s comforting to have gospel knoweldge cause I know that none of it ever has to end.

a little bit of nostalgia.

Two days ago my brother zach graduated from high school. As I was sitting there watching the forever long commencement ceremony in the Huntsman center, I realized that the last time I was in that same building was for my own high school graduation two years ago. I am sometimes a nostalgic person, so of course once I realized this I started reminiscing about high school and some of my fellow titans.

I feel sorry for people who tell me that they hated high school because I absolutely loved it. In fact, when I graduated, I didn’t really believe that my life or my friends could get any better.

I was fortunately very wrong.

 Now, I can’t imagine my life without the new experiences and friends that I have gained in these last two years.

I’ve realized a few things that I didn’t know when I left high school: college is WAY better, I’m not as smart as I thought, life doesn’t revolve around stupid boys, and you don’t meet your best friends only in high school.

As of right now, I feel like my life can’t get any better. But I know that in two years from now, I’ll think about all the friends and experiences I’ve gained and wonder again how I ever lived without them.

the first post.

I’ve wanted to start a blog ever since I watched the movie Julie and Julia about a year ago. But I never thought that my life was interesting enough for a blog, so I just never got around to it. I still don’t think my life is very exciting, however, it was on my summer to-do list so I thought I would do something semi-productive(since the first month of my summer was spent sleeping, running, missing my roomies, watching tv shows, and trying to find a job).

Plus, I constantly stalk my friends’ blogs, so I thought I should allow the stalking to be mutual.

So here is the first post, but look forward to better ones in the near future cause i leave for Lake Powell next week. And is there anything better than soaking up the warm sun while being able to swim and waterski all day? Not really.