A big change!!!

A couple months ago my mom foiled my hair for me because my high lights had grown out and I wanted to go darker! Thanks to a woman's advice regarding hair color my hair turned blond instead. I tried to get used to it, because I didn't have money to go and get it fixed. However, it wasn't working for me. People kept saying that my hair was blond...and I couldn't except it! But this Saturday Brittany dyed my hair! She had never died hair before, so I was a little nervous that she was going to burn my scalp or something! But she did great! After the process was finished, I was surprised at how dark my hair was. It was so weird to look at myself in the mirror! But now I am getting used to it and like it a lot better than the blond! Thanks Brit!

Before


After

My Hair Stylist

Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land!

This 4th of July was a blast! It started out with a Friday off from work for the holiday...so Thursday was like a Friday! Brit and I hung out for the evening, watching Gilmore Girls and such. It was a relaxing evening. But the highlight of my day was when we went to Costco with our brand new membership! It was quite exciting! We had Costco pizza in celebration of the event!

Friday I slept in of course and then just hung around the house for the afternoon. I learned a new song on the guitar (which I totally stunk at, but it was fun). That evening I went out to dinner with some friends and then we came back and did fireworks. It was super fun! I lit my first firework ever! How sad is that? I am 20 years old and I have never lit a firework before, besides sparklers.

Saturday, otherwise known as the 4th, was eventful! A big group of friends from my ward went up to Rock Canyon Park and had a barbecue and slip and slide. It was super fun! The slip and slide started at the top of the hill and ended in a big pool of mud! Most of the people there wore their swimming suits but would not go down the slide. They were lame! But those who went down had so much fun! The only set back of this activity was the first time I went down. First some background information to the story...Brit and I are standing at the top of the hill with a couple of guys. Everyone else is at the bottom of the hill (like 10-15 people), being lame spectators instead of enjoying the fun. Brave Brit goes down first and loves it; then it is now my turn. I run and slide down on my belly...but before I hit the big pool of mud at the bottom I decide to turn around so that only my feet will get muddy...bad idea! I turn around and in the process my swimming suit comes part way off and I flash 10-15 spectators! It was so embarrassing!!! I eventually got over it though, put a shirt on over my suit and kept on sliding down. We tried all sorts of variations of going down the slide and had a blast! Then that night we went over by the stadium and watched the fireworks from the Stadium of Fire. It was a great 4th of July!

Baby it's cold INSIDE!

I am sitting at my desk absolutely FREEZING! The Fishbowl (where I work in the law school) is so cold. I don't understand why. In the winter, when it's cold outside, the temperature inside the law school is just right. However, in the summer it is like a negative 20 degrees or something! Ok, maybe I am exaggerating a bit but I don't understand why it is so cold. It is summer and I have to wear winter clothes if I want to stay warm! Then I leave work and my clothes are way too warm for the weather. Today I decided to wear capris and a three quartered sleeve shirt. Bad choice! I have had goose bumps ALL day long. It is ridiculous! Tomorrow I am wearing a sweater!

TWINNERS!

My roommate, Brittany, and I spend much of the day together so it is understandable that we talk and behave similarly; it is just what happens when you spend a lot of time with someone. However, this Sunday we took it to a whole other level! I woke up an hour or so before Brittany and left for a meeting before she woke up. After my meeting I took a seat in the "chapel," which is really just a lecture room on campus. They get really creative about where to hold church for all the students at BYU. I looked up and saw Brittany walking into the room. I was completely shocked to see her wearing almost the exact same outfit as me! We were both wearing matching shirts that we had bought a few days before and we had both tucked our shirts into a black skirt and were wearing black high heels. We thought it was the funniest thing ever...a little embarassing but REALLY funny! All throughout church we got comments on our matching outfits so we HAD to take a picture of it.

Brit's Birthday Bash!

For Brittany's birthday she wanted to go to the beach. I was responsible for planning the trip without her so that it would be a surprise. This was SO hard! I would find fun activities to do and could not share my excitement with her. Because I never have anything to do at work I had plenty of time to plan the trip. I spent weeks researching and creating an itinerary. It was so fun and made work time pass a lot quicker. I am struggling with things to do at work now that I don't have a trip to plan.

After weeks of planning the trip, the day finally came for us to leave. I was really nervous about the whole thing because Brit was not feeling well. She had thrown up the day before and still didn't feel well. But we still continued with our plans without even considering canceling the trip. We left on her Wednesday morning, her birthday. I had almost NO money until I got my paid on Friday so I had no idea how I was going to pay for everything, but we hit the road regardless of our setbacks. After about 50 miles into our trip we stopped at a gas station to go to the bathroom. At the gas station a man came up to us and informed us that Lil' Blue (Brit's car) needed air in one of its' tires and he offered to pump it up for us. We were grateful and headed over to his little work station to get some air. However, when he tried to put the air in the tire it was already full! After further investigation he then informed us that the tire was going to burst any minute and that we needed new tires! GREAT! So Brit spent $200 on tires (we should have flown). After the new tires were installed we continued our drive to "California." Brit thought we were going to drive all the way to Laguna Hills on Wednesday but she was pleasantly surprised with a stop in Las Vegas for the night. Thanks to my grandma's time share I was able to get cheap reservations at an amazing resort with 3 pools and a lazy river! We had so much fun swimming and floating around.

That night we hit the strip. It was not our greatest idea because the strip at night is pretty disgusting! We got offered weed by some 14 year old boy and their were drunkards all over the strip. But we loved the Bellagio Fountains and still had a great time despite the weirdys!

Thursday we woke up, went swimming at the resort again and then continued our trip to California. Before we left we stopped at my new favorite restaurant, Serendipity. It is the cutest little restaurant on the strip (we liked the strip a lot better in the day time). The food was delicious and the environment was way fun!


In California we stayed with a close friend's family. They were very nice and their house was in the perfect location from all the activities that I had planned. We spent a lot of time at the beach, body surfing and lying on the sand. It was really fun! I miss the beach so much!

We spent Saturday with Brittany's dad and family. We went to Coronado Island and took a fairy to downtown San Diego. We walked around, shopped, and goofed off. Her sisters are so cute and I love her dad and stepmother. It was a lot of fun!

I wish we had more time on our trip because neither of us were even close to ready to come back to Provo and back to our jobs. The long drive home on Sunday was just depressing! But I am doing my best to be grateful for my job despite the lack of work they have for me. I just got to hang in there until my next trip to the beach with my family for a reunion!

Megan's Wedding

On June 12 Megan Baird got married to Joseph Boster and she asked me to be a bridesmaid! It was my first time being a bridesmaid. It was so fun! I was so glad that I was able to go and spend the weekend with my close friends from high school. The weekend started out with me, my cousin, and her fiance driving from Provo to Richland. It was a long drive but I slept basically the ENTIRE way! It is a talent I have. I got to my house on Thursday evening and I immediately began working on my present for Megan's wedding. It was a scrapbook of memories her and I shared. It was my first scrapbook and I learned a lot from doing it...like scrapbooking is hard and takes a lot of time! But I do love it! I stayed up until 4 AM finishing the scrapbook and then headed off to bed for a short 5 hours.

When I woke up it was time to head over to Emily's house and begin the bridesmaid preparations for the wedding. Because I went to bed late, I slept in, which made me late to Emily's'. The other girls were mostly ready so they all pitched in to help me get ready. I was kneeling while Emily and Maddi curled my hair and Sharee painted my nails. All of a sudden, the fumes from the nail polish and the heat from the curling iron got to me. I thought I was going to faint! It was crazy! My ears were ringing, my vision blackened and I thought for sure I was a goner. Sharee realized something was wrong, laid me down, and nursed me back to health (she's in nursing school right now). Soon after I felt well enough and it was time to head to the temple to meet the newlyweds!

Megan looked so beautiful and extremely happy. In all the years I have known her, I have never seen her look so happy! The rest of the day consisted of taking A TON of pictures. Seriously, wherever I went there were the photographers taking pictures. It was like they were the Paparazzi. It was crazy but after awhile I got used to it. The lunch-in and reception were both very beautiful and had great entertainment. Joseph sang at both of them and Megan sang at the lunch-in. They both have beautiful voices! The reception came to a close after I caught the bouquet and everyone held sparklers as the newlywed made their way to the car. Although the day was wonderful...the shoes that we wore were SO painful! Seriously I almost cried at moments. By the end of the day I was so grateful that the line at the reception was in the grass so that I could dig my heels into the grass and almost stand flat-footed. But it was definitely worth it! It was a great day!

Hawaii!!!

About a year ago the Ritchie family asked me a silly question...they asked if I would want to go to Hawaii with their family in May of 2009. Of course I said yes! I love their family and who does not love a trip to Hawaii?! May of 2009 came and I was able to go to Hawaii! It was such a blast! I loved spending time with the boys. They have grown so much since I started nannying for them 5 years ago. I have missed them! It is by far my favorite "job" that I have had so far...much more enjoyable than sitting at a desk all day.

The trip started out with my BFF/roommate driving me home on my birthday weekend. She is the best ever! She drove all the way from Provo, to Rexburg (to pick up some people), to Tri-Cities. We got to Tri-Cities around 6 in the morning, slept for a couple hours and then headed off to Seattle with my family. Then she left the following day to make the long trek home! Basically she rode in the car for over 32 hours in one weekend. I owe her big time!

Before I left for Hawaii, I had a week to hang with my family and I absolutely LOVED it! We celebrated Mother's Day and my birthday and visited some of my extended family. It was a nice break from work and I enjoyed being with my family. I wish they had been able to come to Hawaii with me, but I had a fabulous time on the gorgeous islands despite the lack of their presence.

We started out our trip in the island of Kauai. Kauai is probably the most beautiful place I have ever been! We spent most of our time on the beach, snorkeling, and enjoying the beauty around us. I had never been snorkeling before and was amazed at all the different tropical fish. The two youngest boys were not a big fan of the beach, but loved the "crazy jungle chicken" that roamed around the island. We stayed in a nice condo that was right on the ocean! A few days later we headed to Oahu. In Oahu we stayed at a nice Marriott resort with many fun pools. The boys preferred the pools over the beach so we spent most of our time there. We also went to the Polynesian Culture Center and enjoyed the fun entertainment they have there. Spending 9 days in Hawaii was so much fun. I wish I was still there! I loved spending time with the Ritchies. They take good care of me and I am so grateful for them!

Here are some more pictures from the trip!

My Family Came to Visit!!!

My mom, sister, and brother came to visit me last weekend. It was so fun! I had not seen them since Christmas! They were supposed to arrive in Provo Friday morning, but my mom accidentally left the car on while they stopped at Great Grandma Dayley's house and the car battery died! But after jumping the car over and over again they finally got it started and arrived in Provo Friday evening. That night we went to Macaroni Grill and had the most delicious meal ever! For the rest of the weekend we shopped, went to Temple Square, ate at the Lion House (also delicious), and hung out. It was a fun weekend! I can't wait to see them in a few weeks when I go home for a trip to Hawaii!
We stopped by some beautiful flowers on Temple Square to take some pictures. It was hard to get Carson to look at the camera, but we did the best we could!



Haha! I love Amber! She is such a crack up! I have some hilarious pictures of her from this trip!
Brittany followed Carson and I around my apartment complex and took some cute pictures. She's quite the photographer. Here Carson and I are admiring the view of the Provo river.
Oh man! Carson carried a whale and shark with him the ENTIRE weekend and if he was upset, he hit you with them. I'm pretty sure everyone got smacked in the face by those sea animals.
Amber and I were trying to show Carson the big pool of water, but he would have no part. Instead he just ran away, swimming his shark and whale.
Brittany spent the weekend with us as well. She was great with Carson and we loved having her with us! It was a fabulous weekend!

"He Was Awfully Cute"

The other day my mom gave me a call to tell me that Carson, my dad and her were on the local news. I am so excited that I was able to found it online. I can't believe how much Carson has grown! The anchorwoman is so right...Carson is "awfully cute." Being away from him is torture! I miss seeing his smile and hearing his laugh. He brings joy into the lives of everyone around him. I just love him!