Life in the Lately

Now that school has started I have been crazy doing nothing. Literally, I get HW only on the weekends(which is actually pretty ridiculous and upsetting). But during the week I am too tired to sit down and write about the past few amazing weekends I have had.

Or the fact that I wish I was going to Six Flags for the first time ever with my friends on Saturday. 

Or that Spanish pretty much is the end of my high school career(and I was convinced this would be my first semester in high school with straight A's). 

Or that I have the funniest friends.
Or that in Anatomy we have our little group of 4 people and we sit around and  play LIFE when our teacher gives us time to talk(we are pretty competitive too).
Or that my seminary teacher is the best guy to ever come to this earth.
Or that I get scripture or christmas songs stuck in my head all day(The joys of being in choirs and having a cool seminary class).
Or how I have the PSAT on Saturday
Or how stressful, but beyond amazing life is with all of its challenges
Or how I wish it was Fall, oh if only I lived on the East Coast where seasons weren't unheard of.
BUT that doesn't get said much by me(even though I wish it did).
I guess you will have to do with just pictures of the past few amazing weekends in my life.

Oh you know, just a typical Friday night.
 Pooped from Seminary and school and sleeping at a party after our Homecoming
 football game. Damon and I were dead asleep while Krista chose to model on us.

Our Anti-Homecoming Adventure. Free Backstage passes to Hurley's Back to School concert,
 Escorted by the lovely Connor and joined by Kyle and Emmy. Twas' a fantastic night.

Beach Evenings with some Pedro's Tacos and my
best friend Lauren. We are some Hot chickas.

Also some late night parties with Sam, Will, and Lauren

Awesome thrift store finds with Madalyn and Krista

Madalyn, Krista, and I went to a concert to see the none other than Paradise Fears

This Merch seller was pretty amazing

An overview of the entire night

 

The lead singer from Paradise Fears with me

I basically made Madalyn's entire life by bringing her to this concert and
having him ask her to marry him. Just sayin' no big deal.

After we enjoyed a tee-peeing trip with my cousin and his friends

We saran wrapped the car too, it was a very grand job

General Conference. Nerds.

Oh you know, just typical excitement in Anatomy with Mason and Dylan

And a Friday night Disney trip

The lil' sis and I were twinners. So presh, and so many comments of "how adorable you two are!"

Joy from Babysitting

Joy to me is not being able to describe the love you have for kids.

It's when you stop caring about the money from babysitting.

It's when you realize you don't want Summer to end 

because you will miss "your" little kids.

It's when children are the only ones to make you truly happy.

It's when the kids start doing things because they know you'll love it.

It's when the children you babysit start to notice your love for them.

It's when you honestly miss the kids.

It's when you choose to babysit over hanging out with your friends, and there isn't one part of you that longs to be with your friends. Because you love the company of children. And because you recognize how much they have changed your life already.

Our School Spirit..

Used to be horrible. Like you would think there were maybe 100 kids at most that went to our school because no one went to any games at all. This was really upsetting, but this year something changed.

We got BLEACHERS, which means we can actually have true home football games.

We got a POOL, which means we can have home water polo games.

AND

We got an actual TRACK, which means we can have track meets at our school.

So at the end of August we had our first ever Home football game. It was glorious. Actually it was more than that, it was the most amazing thing to happen to me. It was so great that I lost my voice.

So basically my school never wins ANY Football games, we kind of gave up hope awhile ago, but we WON!! And it was a beautiful thing.

Before the game with Cassidie and Yovanna

OUR turf. OUR team. OUR year. GO STALLIONS!

Yovanna and I all spirited up for the game

That day was a very long day because for the whole day before that we had LINK crew, which is a group of kids who teach leadership through helping Freshmen adjust to high school. We were paired up with one other leader and we each had 10 freshman that we taught different team building games to. We then shared our own "high school stories". We shared different struggles we have had to get over, and helped them realize that high school isn't as scary as they may have thought it was. It was a great experience and I am so stoked to be apart of the group for the rest of the year.

Cassidie and Yovanna through Jackson's sunglasses

Jordan, Yovanna, Cassidie, and Me

Life Lately...

Has been pretty exciting. Before school started, I tried to fit everything in that I was going to miss. It was a very successful movement, and I can honestly say I am so much happier because of it. 

We definitely had to fit in some late nights at the cousins house in Carlsbad just having dinner, talking, and of course making smores. The weather was so nice then(now it's seriously soooo hot). 

Just making smores with the family

 Obviously with our passes finally working again(after a long Summer of them being blocked) we had to make a trip to Disneyland. My mom and I went together after a long day of a choir rehearsal and we met up with a few of my friends. It was a very fun last-minute trip!

Me, Emily, and Annie

Can't forget the mustaches

LOTS and LOTS of dancing.. We embarrassed Annie, but
that's okay because we were having so much fun

And me and my friend Rachel had promised our friend Rebecca we would come visit her at work close to the beginning of Summer, and we never got to it so we went and indulged in delicious food and visited her. She works at Bruxie which is a belgian waffle sandwich shop... Oh my heck it is beyond delicious! If anyone is ever in the area and wants to go on a lunch date there then I will always be open, I need an excuse to go ;)

Rachel, Rebecca, and Me(We look black in this picture)

Sometimes...

I choose to pull out my $3 animal print skirt from a thrift store. And then I choose to take a crappy picture of my outfit so you get the idea. Now excuse me as I go spin around in my flowy skirt.

A Post Where I Share Our Most Recent Family Trip

I have lived in Southern California my whole life, and I can honestly say that I had never done/seen any of the touristy things. Since my family didn't go on a separate family vacation this year, my mom texted me one day and told me to leave the next weekend open for a quick little trip. We did so many fun things! Who cares that it was practically over 100 degrees the whole time and we were sweating like crazy, it was still super fun!

My dad took me and my brother and sister to a Dodger game our first night in LA. I think our favorite part was riding the redline there, and then taking a bus from their to the stadium. Me and my sister were forced to sit in the back of the bus with a bunch of guys around us. They were super funny and kept asking the awesomest questions, so we didn't protest.

Our first Dodger game!

The next day, we woke up early and headed over to Universal Studios! None of us had been, so we were pretty stoked to try out all of the rides. My dad, brother, and I had gone in November of last year to the Universal Adventure Park in Florida(just to see Harry Potter world) but never here.

The Transformers ride was by far the best

We took a little trip to London while there ;)

Our motto in life

The Olympics 2012

Obviously I'm a model.. who am I kidding, Im horrible at picture taking

But our whole family are models, obviously

Day 2 we decided to go visit all of the random places in LA that are famous for something. We started with the stars and ended with China Town! It was equally as fun, and tiring.

Olivera Street was very pretty and hot

We ate early for some AC haha

I HAD to visit the 500 Days of Summer bench, I don't think you guys know
 the extent of my obsession.. Nobody is as obsessed as I am

I found a new job.. No more babysitting for me, it's all about storytelling

Sprinkles ice cream! The verdict: My red velvet was
delicious, but I guess the other flavors were just alright 

The Parentals, and my photography skills

Typical family shot, except without Meredith

The Basic Essentials: Summer Edition

As I write this, I'm rocking my Dad's "Someone in California loves me sweatshirt", my mustache boxers, and polka dot knee high socks- but I promise I do have style! And today I am here to share my Summer basics.

First- My amazing $4 mexican satchel
This is my favorite bag in the whole world. It seriously holds everything. I bring it everywhere. I can use it on a bike ride or just a trip to the beach(it holds my towel).

Second- My $4 sunglasses from Charlotte Russe
I don't usually shop here but my sister had a gift card so we went in the store and I found this style of sunglasses that I had been looking for everywhere. So of course my sister loves me and bought them for me. I like them better than my $180 Oakleys.

Third- Colorful rubber bands
I used to hate to put my hair up, but with Summer this year I have put it up more than I've had it down. Having these neon bands help make an outfit more fun when you have them on your wrist too.

Fourth- My $10 Target sandals
I love these things. They are so comfortable, and with the design on them they sort of add a touch of style to a basic summer outfit. I feel like everyone needs at least one cute pair of sandals.

Fifth- High waisted patterned shorts
These shorts are my favorite. Summertime is the time where I feel it is acceptable to wear solid color shirts, so these shorts add a touch of flare. Also, being high waisted, they are super comfortable.

Sixth- A cute wallet
I recently switched over to this wallet when my friend brought it back from London for me. I love it, and being from London nobody has it. It's always easier to just carry your phone and a wallet places, but it makes it better when the wallet adds to the outfit.

Seventh- The perfect gold watch
I have been looking for a perfect watch for almost a year now, and I finally found "the one". I found it at Nordstroms so I automatically became a little sad(thinking it would be über expensive) but luckily is was only $18!! I really wanted a Marc Jacobs one but wasn't ready to spend over $100 dollars. I think this is a perfect alternative.