My Buddy

 (early morning giggles)

(just had an itch...ha)

Mostly my days lately consist of facetime calls with Jeff, and brainstorming ideas to entertain my sweet child; all the while feeling tiny little kicks of encouragement from my little baby inside.

It has been hard to be away from Jeff, but if you've noticed, I try not to dwell on it. Right now, we can't live in the same place, and I can either complain all day, or enjoy my days with this gem of a little girl and try to always keep her daddy in the loop. I will just say, it will be a joyous reunion when we get to see our favorite guy again. That's for sure.

One thing that I was so grateful Jeff didn't miss happened when we were facetiming today. Jane started doing squats. With quite good form, might I add! Well without any coercion, she finishes doing squats and moves right along to push ups, as if it were the most natural next step. She was doing push-ups. I mean, not the kind of push ups that would've passed any physical fitness test, but it was obvious that she knew exactly what she was doing. Her army dad was so proud. He then proceeded to coach her through 3 sets of squats, and 3 sets of push-ups. :)

We have been graced with the warmest ever Utah February, and although it is snowily coming to an end as we speak, we thoroughly enjoyed all the sunshine. Jane became quite accustomed to going "Out-Ide" and now begs for it. She just doesn't grasp the concept of "you won't be able to move your limbs because it is too cold" quite yet.

Her vocabulary is growing more rapidly than I can even keep up with lately. For the past few days, she has made multiple requests that were not fulfilled on account of, I had no idea what she was asking. My latest discoveries: The word "Waaaaaaiiiiitttttt", repeated over and over again is her way of asking to watch her favorite movie clip, 'I Just Can't Wait To Be King'. "Uh-weep" is her way of asking for me to get her broom out so she can sweep. Yes, she has her own mini broom, and no I'm not complaining that my daughter has an obsession with cleaning. "Dandy" is one that has been around for awhile; also one that won't be going away anytime soon because of her dangerous obsession with candy. That girl really likes candy. Regardless of the fact that I say "No candy" 98% of the time, she still asks often and with great diligence.

This stage is so dang fun. She is talking so much and enjoying more activities. I've been waiting awhile for her to finally enjoy coloring and now she can. She also, to my pleasant surprise, is already an avid shopper. She "oohs" and "ahhs" over every article of clothing, and when it is really something special she will say "cuuuuuute!". That's my girl. I call her my buddy sometimes, and the other day when we were going shopping she said "Tum on, buddy!" UHM, hi. Daughters are awesome.

I love my little girl and I pray everyday that she will never turn into a snotty teenager who hates me, because then I'd really miss my buddy.

How Marriage (Jeff) Has Changed Me

I saw this on a few blogs and I seriously NEVER do these sorts of things but it seemed like something I might have wanted to do regardless, so here I am, I suppose.

Jeff has changed me in so many ways. Mostly for the good. Here are a few of them that I was able to brainstorm while simultaneously watching an episode of Bones... (talent)

- I roll my mac charger up VERY carefully now as if the entire thing was lined with mini pipe bombs that would blow me up if I make one wrong move. It's some serious stuff. (in his mind...)

- I don't spend 90% of my time sulking in despair over stupid boys who don't text me back or who kissed another girl the day after he kissed me. PHEWF! I do NOT miss those days.

- I know how to shoot a gun and am mentally prepared for a myriad of different 'dangerous scenarios' because my husband likes to think up these scenarios in his spare time...like a perfectly normal human being.

- I know ALL the army acronyms. Ok, maybe I haven't committed them to memory but I've certainly heard about all of them on more than one occasion.

- I am a lot less selfish. This is a given because if you want to have a good marriage you must flush a lot of that selfishness down the TOILET. (after you clean it of course, because...that's what wives do i guess.)

- I know about 3 million more random as heck 'interesting facts' than I did before I married Jeff.

- I've learned the proper way to put tooth paste on your tooth brush. Ya, I didn't know there was a proper way either....

- I have better social skills. My husband is the master and he is always giving me tips on what to say in certain awkward situations. I'm so grateful for that quality of his...it's impossible for anyone to feel awkward around him.

- I've learned to be able to spend money without having a mild panic attack.

- I've learned to enjoy life in the moment so much more. Jeff has taught me how to do this, and I'm so grateful to do life with him.

j & k conversations (part 4)

"I feel like I'm on drugs"
....where do you think the word 'grain' comes from?
....I don't like fast sundays." - j

_____

"jeff what should i eat?"- k
"Uhm, i don't know. But...OOH! can you bring me my chips?"- j

_____

"What would I do without you jeffrey?!" - k
"Cry all the time?....heck I'm here now and you still cry all the time."- j

_____

*after eating a bowl of western family frosted flakes (gross)
"UGH. I HATE WESTERN FAMILY!
...It should be called WORSTern family!" - j

_____

*i had tried to sell our little black banana chair online but when i told them this he insisted that it was his most prized possession. (even though he hasn't sat in it since we've been married....haha) He was not very happy with me so he came home from work, got the banana chair, and left. He then sent me this picture with the caption: "Boom, sitting in it."

Later that night jeff was getting his stuff ready for his early morning workout...
"AH! Where are all my panties?!" - J
"....you sold them didn't you!!"- J
haha.
(i don't think anyone would want to buy his sweat infused boxers (not panties) that he has had for years; but i didn't tell him that. oh, and yes. he really said panties)

____


*comes to the couch to watch a movie with a whole pitcher full of water
"why do you have a whole pitcher of water?" - k
"I'm thirsty and i don't want to risk having to walk back over to the sink during the movie." - j

hahaha. he is the laziest hard worker i've ever met. one minute he can be the hardest worker i know and then the next....
but at least he knows when to be a hard worker.

oh and that same night, i sent him to the store to get jane some medicine and he came back with 2 boxes of oatmeal creme pies, 1 box of nutter bars, and a bag of beef jerky....typical. he knows i never buy those things so when he is left to his own devices he goes crazy. haha. love that cute boy. (and it's a really good thing he has the world's speediest metabolism ;)

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.

so. i went a week without sugar and on sunday i decided to make my favorite cookies to celebrate the break of my sugar fast. (i made a resolution to go one week a month without sugar.) So jeff and I decided to make chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. Oh gosh I have the best recipe- I need to share it. And yes they are cookies so, not the best for you (but like i have said, life without cookies is not a life at all. okay maybe i've never said it out loud but i think it all the time.)-  I did, however, add and subtract a few ingredients to make them a bit more nutritious. (wheat flower, lessen amount of sugar, add flax seed, etc.)

ANYWAYS. We were making them and I was planning on bringing them to the girls I visit teach. So I had mixed everything and asked jeff to get the oatmeal for me. I never measure oatmeal so i just started pouring it in right from the oatmeal container. AND THEN.

It wasn't oatmeal. It was brown rice.

I buy brown rice in bulk and so I put it in old oatmeal containers for easy access. So....

...RICE COOKIES. yum.

I just gasped and stared and laughed. Looking at that rice infested cookie dough. I showed jeff and we just laughed and jeff suggested "Well at least take a picture so we have something to laugh about later!" Ha. We tried digging the rice out. And it was like trying to dig poppy seeds out of poppyseed muffins- impossible. We did our best and decided to put them in the oven anyways and just embrace the little rice crunches. It kinda felt like eating a sandwich. Literally a sandwich. With sand. Oh gosh. Bright side? At least it helped me to not binge eat those cookies like I might've done otherwise...

Oh, my life!!

And for your viewing pleasure, here are some little grains of rice that jeff picked out of his teeth while eating the cookies....

this tantrum may have had more to do with jane's intense hatred for green beans than for the misfortune of the rice cookies, but she wasn't happy about it either!

OH, the DRAMA!

Jane is a complete drama queen. (My husband does not wonder who she gets it from...)
She has mastered the fake cry AND the fake cough. She will force herself to cough because she knows whenever she coughs i freak out and pay immediate attention. Smart little bugger. Her fake cries are equal parts pathetic and hilarious and adorable. She makes the most ridiculous faces, too. Oh my goodness she kills me. See for yourself.

you can tell she is trying so hard to push out a convincing cry. (it didn't work)

 oh she smiled for one second because she loves me.

 but then she remembered "oh wait I'm crying for attention"

Please don't judge me for taking pictures of my crying baby. You can tell that she is faking anyways. I had just fed her, changed her, and dressed her. And this little picture sesh lasted about 5 seconds until she gave the look that you see in the last picture. Pure portrayal. At that point I gave in and picked her up, but i just HAD to document these hilariously DRAMATIC MY-LIFE-IS-DREADFULLY-ENDING faces she makes! Love that girl.


also just as an unrelated side note...i went to one of my evening classes in my running pants because i was going to run afterwards and as i was walking to class i was annoyed that they seemed to be falling down. what the heck? well when i got to the bathroom i realized...i put my running pants on backwards. PANTS. and i put them on backwards. ya...

#TEXASTHANKSGIVING

I'm not gonna go all "texas is superior to all things"on you because I'm not even from there. but, i mean- it is pretty great. by some miracle, all of jeff's siblings and all of the nieces and nephews were able to make it down to spend thanksgiving together in good old Lufkin, Texas. (minus tim on his mission but he was with us in spirit. we also missed kenny, lindsay's husband) so yeah, we made the 23 hour trek (29 if you get stuck in a gnarly snow storm for half the time) with a baby, and without stopping. we are insane. there was a point at 4am when jane was screaming and the visibility was zero, on account of the darkness and the relentless blizzard, where i thought to myself "there is no way this drive will be worth it."

but i was very wrong.

i put a little video together of the week we had together. it was so wonderful :))

im so glad i married into such a great family. 

#unitedinlufkin

#so fun

#hashtagging

#cantstopwontstop

#lol

homemade bread and a funny husband

So one of our neighbors brought us a loaf of homemade bread a couple weeks ago. It took all of our self control to not eat the whole loaf in one sitting. Jeff and I couldn't get enough. And even though i LOVE my mom's recipe and I've used that in the past, I got the recipe from them because i wanted to see if i could recreate it. Let me tell you it is the BEST homemade bread ever. AND it's wholewheat!

Anyways, I found out that it was my neighbor's husband who made the bread. She informed me that her husband makes bread EVERY WEEK! lucky girl! So i turned to jeff and said:

"JEFF. her husband makes bread every week! I would die and go to heaven if you did that."
"well yeah duh, THAT'S why i don't do it. I don't want you to die. That would be dumb!"

haha. tousche.
Anyways, here is the recipe. (by the way I'm going to start posting more recipes on this blog)
 I've always had a fear of baking with yeast. It stresses me out. yeastaphobia, i like to call it. But I'm getting braver, and I'm  happy to say this bread turned out pretty good (not perfect though) on my first attempt!

WHOLE-WHEAT HOMEMADE BREAD
Ingredients:

6 cups warm water

2 tablespoons yeast

2/3 Cup sugar

2/3 Cup oil

2 Tablespoons salt

13-14 Cups whole wheat flour

Directions:

-Put 6 cups of warm water into the bosch (or whatever mixing device you have) with 2 Tablespoons of yeast and 1 T of sugar. mix slightly. Let sit until the yeast reacts. 

- Once the yeast has reacted, add the rest of the sugar, oil, salt, and HALF of the flour.

- Mix in the bosch (or other food mixer) until all clumps are out.

- Add the rest of the flour 

- Mix on high speed for a long time (5-7 minutes) until the dough is sticky but it cleans the sides of the bowl.

- Spray table with Pam, and put the dough on the table to rise. Place a thin towel over the top to prevent drying out of the dough. Let it rise until it doubles in size.

- Once it has risen, cut dough into 4 large, even pieces. 

- Form the 4 pieces of dough into loaves and put them into sprayed bread pans

- Let bread rise in pan for 20-25 minutes.

- Put in an non pre-heated oven at 350 and bake for 35 minutes. (it may be less or more time depending on the oven and climate, just check it occasionally to make sure it isn't burning)

and voila! you've got delicious homemade bread, a happy tummy, and a happier husband.
and also your apartment will smell like heaven.

even though this bread is perfect the way it is, i might be brave try using raw honey instead of sugar next time just to make it a little bit healthier. still trying to decide if it's worth the risk...

he hates when i disrupt his bread eating by taking a picture. poor fella...

I'd like to end this post with another funny Jeff quote.
"Ya know? Some people are just born a good person. Well, Im a bad person being good. I should get more presents."
- he used this as an argument to convince me to let him buy a gun.
hahahahaha.
aaaand it worked. mostly just because im so grateful to have a husband that makes me laugh so hard. we both have a really quirky and exclusive sense of humor and we are always cracking each other up.
i love being married to that "bad boy turned good" ;)

driving into ditches is one of my hobbies.

the other day i had to rush out the door to drop jane off at my friend hannah's so i could go to class. (luckily i only have to do this for 2 hours a week. all the other hours jeff is with her) I verbally abused myself under my breath as i once again was learning the hard way that in order to be on time, i need to put in consideration that i have a baby to pack up and get ready too. not just myself. and i also need to remember to add an extra 5 minutes because jane usually has an explosion from one or both ends RIGHT before we head out the door. so that happened. one day i'll get it down i swear.

in all the rush and confusion, i forgot my phone which was awesome because, well-i had no idea where hannah lived. so once i had driven a good 2 miles i realized that there was no way i was going to magically stumble upon her apartment. i also wondered how in the heck ANYONE EVER LIVED WITHOUT CELL PHONES!! like, what did they do at air ports when your plane landed? how did they coordinate ANYTHING? I'm fairly certain that everyone must've been lost and confused 90% of the time.

anyways. i decided to flip a U-turn on the worst road ever to flip a U-turn on (turns out). there was this big huge ditch...also let me just complain about the fact that this was a super abnormal ditch. the kind of ditch that has no business existing. anyways.....i flipped a U-turn and saw this ditch and thought to myself "man it would really stink to get my car stuck in that"
.....and, well...
this is what happened. I'm even kind enough to illustrate and grace you all with my astounding artistic ability.

so there i was. stuck in a ditch. like, really stuck. the car wouldn't budge. luckily my friend nina was with me. after sitting there dumbfounded for quite some time, up walks this nice strong man. he is trying to help us but isn't succeeding. all of a sudden...there was like 10 guys. they all started coming out of nowhere. they must've all been staring out their windows just waiting for a pretty girl to get stuck in a ditch so they could come out and help. and the pretty girl i am referring to is my friend nina. she was with me and she was the one outside of the car. i was just sitting in the car all like "der derrrrr i don't know what to do."
i felt like i was in a musical where people keep popping out of places you didn't even know existed and joining in on the song. the only difference is that they weren't singing. but really it was weird. also awesome because they eventually all put their muscles together and lifted my car out of the ditch.  i said thank you (a lot of times), gave them each a cookie (i just happened to have a fresh batch in my car. no joke), and then i drove away, pretending to be a normal person who hadn't actually just drove straight into a ditch.

needless to say, i was late to class.


anyways, here are 2 pictures that i took right before we went to go watch jeff's ultimate frisbee intramural game. they have nothing to do with driving into a ditch. they mostly just makes me happy.

I'm obsessed with this hat my sister in law made. (thanks again cami!!) she also sells them on etsy. you can buy some here

first bath

jane's umbilical stump fell off which meant she was finally eligible for a real bath.

as opposed to the sponge/wipe bath i had been giving her.

yay for clean babies who can be slathered in baby lotion! 

i was hoping she would like the warm water.

uhm. she did not.

(this is jane's 'happy place' position. one hand in mouth, other hand in fist on cheek. it is pretty much to die for.)

the entirety of the bath lasted a whole 5 minutes but it seemed longer than that. she started screaming the second she touched the water, and didn't stop. (except for the 2 seconds where she managed to find her hand to suck on.) it was as if she was finally discovering the true potential of her lungs.

even though i changed her diaper right before, she also managed to poop. twice. she screamed even harder when we took her out to dump out the poopy water and fill it with clean water. and finally, she peed. after scrubbing her down, we were, at last, done and i wrapped her up in a towel, and she snuggled with me. and i got those little warm fuzzies in my tummy.

then she pooped on the towel.

i then changed her into a new pair of pajamas that took an awful lot of effort to put her in. putting clothes on newborns is hard work. like trying to dress an octopus hard. she then proceeded to puke an impressive amount of puke all over herself. and myself. 

and thats the story of her first bath. its funny how a newborn can poop all over, puke all over, cry anytime anything slightly bothers them, demand food in the middle of the night, and sleep all day; yet all we have to say about it is "oh my gosh that was so cute!!!!!!"

J + K conversations (2)

so i've been writing down little conversations jeff and i have had recently
the ones that make me giggle- or just make me happy.
it will be fun to look back on someday.
and these conversations completely encompass our relationship- i LOVE it! :)

"hey tomorrow is our 6 month anniversary!" -me
"oh yeah, thats awesome!" -jeff
"yeah, so maybe you could make me breakfast or plan a romantic getaway or..." -me
"it was just valentine's day, AND your birthday..." - jeff
"will you at least get me some sour patch kids?" -me
"yeah...if you share."-jeff
"deal." -me

_______

"are you anxious for our baby to come?" -me
"yes! i want her to be born today! i just want to play with her!" -jeff

that just made me really happy, he rarely talks about his excitement so i guess i didn't expect it :)

_______

*jeff was having a very rare venting {whining, semi-joking, semi-not} session*
"...and PT is hard...."
"...and i have a test coming up"
"...and my muscles aren't as big as i want them to be"
"...and i want a butterfinger"
"...and we're having a girl... and girls are weird"

hahahaha. the truth comes out! ;)

_______

Jeff:
"oh your nose...it looks soft!" he muses incredulously
"I WANT TO FEEL IT....."
*he rubs my nose like an abnormal human being*
"OH YEAH...that's good. oh my gosh. I'm addicted." 

______

"marriage is so happy...like, almost too happy." - me
"yeah its like when you go to a free all you can eat tucanos buffet and there is so much good food you don't even know what to do with yourself!" - jeff

so cute, even if i am being compared to a buffet of food :)

_______

"jeff, will you puh-leeeease go with me to get my blood drawn?" -me

"if you give me a reason too." - jeff {one of his favorite lines}

"because i want you to hold my hand." - me

"a real reason, honey." - jeff

*a few more pleas later, and he is on his way out the door with me*

"i hope you know. the only reason I'm doing this is because i know you will go and write on your blog about it and i want myself to sound like a good husband." - jeff

hahahahaha. for the record, he really is a super good husband -
i mean really, who wants to go wait in a doctor's office and watch a doctor drain blood out of your wife? i can't say i blame him.

________

"jeff, say something nice to our baby!"
*leans down to my belly and whispers:*
"something nice"

now every time my belly is in close proximity he leans down and whispers
"something nice"
hahaha :)

i love being married to him!

awkward moment of the week.

so.

i was having a little picnic with my husband

 with pretty much nobody around us on campus- which is a rare treat.

 there was only ONE person within 50 feet of us in any direction. 

i went to go sit down and there was this weird, brown unidentified object just chillin'

 and i didn't really wanna sit on it so i picked it up and tossed it nonchalantly.

 suddenly, in mid air, this weird thing started to move in slow motion as i realized its probable fate. 

i crossed my fingers that my hypothesis would be wrong, 

but unfortunately i was spot on....

that nut i threw went right down the girl's shirt.

do you even realize how small the chance of that happening is??

she was probably 12 feet away from me

 and so it was close enough to where i had to apologize...

and considering we were the only people within the vaccinity-

 i really couldn't just look away and pretend like it fell from the sky.

 so i awkwardly confronted my self made predicament and apologized profusely.

 she was not happy- not one bit. 

because really, it seemed incredibly intentional. 

her response? "what was that?!" in the most disgusted and concerned tone possible.

 my reply? "umm a little brown nut...or something."

 then our conversation abruptly ended and jeff and i tried not to laugh 

because- she would've heard us.

 all we could do was sit there and look at each other

 and silently yet simultaneously agree that i was a fool. 

so, random girl, if you are reading this

{because obviously my blog is world famous and everyone does}

i am sorry that i threw that unidentified object down your shirt.

flashback friday

i love memories

especially good ones

today is one of my best friends' birthday

so, naturally- i started to think of some good memories i've had with her 

i've had lots

we met when we were leaders together for a stake girls camp- daughters of promise

{i miss this week a ton. so much happiness}

ever since then we've been great pals

she taught me how to pluck my eyebrows

and paint my nails

and do my hair pretty

and my make up...

yeah i was pitiful.

we have had

lots of laughs, lots of talk (marriage has always been a hot topic)

ice cream runs, failed pranks, poor choices

 lots of cuddle time :)

the week at daughters of promise was one of the best weeks of my life

and I'm so grateful we met and have stayed such good friends for so long

now we are both grown up and getting married

both planning our wedding at the same time :) :)

which we have had plenty of lengthy discussions about in the past

so ideal.

such a happy and exciting time for both of us!

i am so happy she found a guy who appreciates the things about her

that i've appreciated for the past 3 years of knowing her

and i hope that he knows how big he scored

I'm way happy that she is getting married a month before me

so she can be at my wedding!

anyways, there is my flashback for this lovely little friday

love you lauren :)

oh and happy 20th birthday! 

some things...

it's been an emotional week

in a good way

except for the fact that everything in my life {besides jeff}

is completely on the back burner

part of me is so stressed and frustrated with myself

and the other {more dominating} part of me is just too happy and in love to give a care

i have a fiance 

i am a fiance

i am in love

i am loved back

what the heck else matters?

i submit: nothing

please do not judge me and think i am an irresponsible, careless person

i really am not.

anyways, jeff is leaving this weekend

that will be the first time we have gone a single day

without seeing each other since we started dating

and now we will go three days

intense

it is good preparation for this summer i guess

{not thinking about it, not thinking about it}

i will leave you with a few things. 

that may or may not be essential to your eternal well being.

happy thing: general conference is this weekend

funny thing: bailey's friend got pulled over for speeding and was told she was going 30 mph over the speed limit. her response? "oh sorry, would you like me to back up and try again?"

hahaha. what a champ. i would just cry.

lame thing: waking up early to study and/or work.

correction. every morning. not just mondays.

awkward thing: I'm so used to stroking jeff's arm and the other day i was looking over becca and ben's {her boyfriend} shoulders and i started stroking ben's arm. nonchalantly and almost involuntarily. he noticed though. and told me to stop. so i did.

annoying thing: when commercials lie to you and make you feel like a fool.

for example:

stinkin' neutrogena

spiritual enlightenment thing: “When our wagon gets stuck in the mud, God is much more likely to assist the man who gets out to push than the man who merely raises his voice in prayer—

no matter how eloquent the oration.” ― Dieter F. Uchtdorf

- sometimes it is assumed that if we just pray, heavenly father will get things done for us. that is not the case. all the prophets and heroes of the scriptures always exhausted all options before asking the Lord for help. nephi is an especially good example of that.

one more thing: music of the week here

 {finally! it's been awhile, get off my back- i'm an engaged woman}

so...call me maybe

ok so i think i had a bit of an obsession this past week.

yeah- id say its a definite possibility.

call me maybe

i had it stuck in my head for like three days straight

because i was listening to it constantly.

consequently, i got it stuck in the heads

of many, many other people.

you are welcome.

so, my favorite people and i,

we decided to do an ode to this joyous song.

{even though it goes against every musical instinct in my body to appreciate such a generic, poppy song with meaningless lyrics and no originality whatsoever- i just couldn't help myself.}

please enjoy this lovely little number.

oh yeah, and call me maybe? :)

let me just leave you with this incredibly flattering picture

of monkeys. trying to look like humans.

or is it the other way around?

i really have no idea.

thank you jill, claire, and jeff- for leaving me this little treasure on my computer
you are all so attractive.

it is unreal. sheesh.

keep an eye out for these criminals.

im so scared right now.
there are so many criminals running lose.
here on this very campus.
yes, you heard me right. don't believe me?
please observe the byu police beat.

+"there was a call made about some loud voices out by wyview park. when the police got  there they realized that there was a group of students playing a game where you act out  adverbs. the adverb they were acting out was 'angrily'. no harm was made." +"a man was reported walking into the Wilkinson center with a rifle case. when officers arrived, they discovered the 'rifle case' was actually a walking stick. this is not the first  time officers have responded to this man." +"two people were reported looking at bikes in heritage halls. when officers arrived,  they discovered they were parents of a student who lives there and they were waiting  for him to get out of church." my commentary: oh my heck...i feel uncomfortable sharing a campus with people who participate in such scandalous and deplorable behavior despicable.

anyways time for a little personal update.
 exciting things are happening to me.

my love life is blossoming!

...into an awkward, droopy little flower. 

and it is totally ok.

you guys don't believe me, probably.

so i found an illustration that is very fitting.

here i am.

in all of my unrefined, blundering glory.

 sad, yes. but it makes life funny.

it makes me laugh.

like LSHMSFOAIDMT

what is that jumble of letters?

it represents me

laughing so hard my sombrero falls off and i drop my taco.

happens alllll the time. 

jealous of my life much?

AyyZee BayBee

ready for a story of joy and spontaneity? these are my favorite stories, i don't know about you.

me, becca, and claire decided last minute to road trip to arizona to surprise my cousin and best friend bailey.

the road tripping part was...interesting. and long. and crammed. see?

but the basking in family goodness part made it all worth it.

my aunt dawn, uncle dean, cousins bailey, kara, wyatt, drai, and peytie are the residents of one of my favorite places.  being with them in their house is one of my most favorite solaces. we flock together, talk together, laugh together, and just thoroughly enjoy each others' company.

here are some highlights. 

+me and cousin kara having jam sessions to hymns and various popular pop songs. she is a way good singer.

+everyone just crammed onto the same bed talking openly about anything and everything.

+going to freestone park only to sweat out all the liquid in our body. this picture was worth the sacrifice.

+going to the mesa temple for the first time and doing baptisms/going to the visitors center. spirit central! (5th temple we have been to this year, i will make a separate post for that later)

new favorite picture

+consuming the most delicious frozen treat i have ever even dreamed of consuming at bahama buck's. they are like snow cones. but instead of hard crunchy ice that hurts your teeth and holds hardly any flavor, it was like real snow that had a heavenly cloud consistency. pure magic. yummiest thing ever. ever.
by the way, if anyone knows why there is an apostrophe in the name of the place, please let me know. as far as i am concerned, there is nothing that buck could possibly hold possession of. buck's what? (only applicable to people who are picky about english)

+scorpion hunting at night time. shine. glow. BAM. bam. (bambambam). dead. satisfaction.
+meeting a guy who i had never met but knew a ton about and have about a million connections with. hey uh by the way kind sir i hope i didn't alarm you when i came and knocked on your car window at midnight.
+staying up til 3 and sleeping til 11.
+ugly photo sesh in the car on the way home. we put the camera in front of our face. said the first random word that came to our mind, and tried to look like that word. for example.

tree

aaron

deer (inspired by the deer we almost hit 5 minutes prior. what a champ) ps. you can see the dangly thing in the back of my throat. quality.

gangsta

cloud

homework

old woman

+sitting on the front of the car at a random sonic at 2 in the morning

+gas light turning on in the middle of the desert. {prayer works people.}

+arriving home at 4 in the morning and having to wake up at 5 to go to work. have no fear everyone in this world who may or may not be fearful- i got one solid hour of sleep.

the end. now back to reality. here we go.