Engaged!

First of all, calm down. I am not engaged. First step would be to have a boyfriend, which I don't, so it looks like I'm still working on square one.

This lovely lady, though, is engaged so I just wanted to give her a quick shout out. We've been cousins, well, for our whole lives. Duh. But I was lucky enough to grow up with her and loved when the Moons were coming to visit, which was pretty frequently. We have hundreds of memories of working at our uncle's lodge for a few weeks in the summers, EFY, cattle drives, four wheeling, watch Charly in the Warm Springs cabin while eating chocolate chips, nerts games, and living in the same freshman ward. Even though I hardly see her these days, I consider her one of my best friends and I am so happy for her and her fiance, Sam. He's a great guy and I'm excited to get to know him even more. 

All our cute pictures together are on my parent's computer at home, but I did find these two gems :)

Congrats Amber!!! Love you!

Weekend

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I had a pretty great weekend. I hope you did too! On Friday Elise and I went to the BYU v Utah swim meet at the RB. While eating Cafe Rio (swimmer favorite) we watched our dear friends dominate in the pool. It was great to remember all the fun times we had in high school and just to be in that fun environment. Congrats to all the BYU swimmers!

Like the classic 'raising the bar' formation? Me too.

And then, after the meet Sarah and I threw a surprise party for Elise who turned the big 21 on the 25th. She had no idea so it was a definite success. Lots of friends from high school and previous wards came so it was great to catch up with people. Here are just a few of the people who were there for the actual surprise part. Aka the best part.

Cafe Rio + swim meet + surprise party = one successful and fun night!

Running in the Snow

After working on my lovely Financial Accounting homework for four hours, I was ready for a break.  While sitting in the dungeons of the library, I decided I was in the mood for a short run up and around the Temple.  But then, I walked outside to see a nice snowfall outside.  I decided it wasn't too cold, just wet.  So, I put on pants, running shoes, a hoodie, and after tying my hood on tight went out the door for my three-mile run.  It was weird to run in the snow since it's been such odd weather for January but I enjoyed it!  Besides the fact that it was hard to see and I had black streaks from my mascara under my eyes when I got back, it was a pretty great run.  It felt good to get exercise after sitting for so long!

In other news, I made Tomato Basil soup last night for our monthly swimmer dinner.  Let's just say I learned how unhealthy that soup is but it's good stuff.  I think next time I make it I'll modify it so it's actually a heathy soup.  And as tradition, here's our usual awkward swimmer family picture of the night.

How I absolutely love my swimmer friends!  I'm so lucky we stay in touch and that I get to see them once a month. Best friends for life!

Disneyland Road Trip

Are you ready for this long post? It'll be worth it, I promise!

For a long time, my roommates and I have always talked about how we should go on a road trip to Disneyland one weekend. Elise asked me a few weeks ago if I seriously would go on the adventure if we went over MLK weekend. I got pretty excited but wasn't sure if it would really happen. Things weren't working out but then on the Monday before the 3-day weekend Elise got serious about it and made plans. After cramming homework in we left at 10:00 Thursday night to head to St. George. 

We got into St. George at about 2:00 AM and woke up three hours later to hit the road again. This is us at the beautiful hour of 2:30 AM.

We made it to Newport Beach at about 10:30 Friday morning and enjoyed a day of pure bliss at the beach. We played frisbee, football, ate a picnic on the beach, and loved every second of feeling the warm sun on our faces and sand in between our toes.

And then, we rented little beach cruisers for an hour and rode them along a pathway down the beach. I literally was in heaven. I loved every single second of that ride and would do it every single day if I could!! It was perfect.

After a perfect day at the beach, we went and checked into our hotel, went swimming for a little while, showered and got ready, and then went and got some dinner at Big Al's. Pretty good food for some very hungry college students!

After dinner we decided to hit up Downtown Disney. Walking down the streets, listening to all the music, and wandering through all the fun little stores was a perfect way to end our evening. We got all our souvenirs and just enjoyed being in Cali!

On Saturday morning at 7:56 AM our day of magic began at the Happiest Place on Earth! We arrived nice and early in order to get some of the best rides done before the crowds hit. We loved running around to the next ride and soaking all the fun of Disneyland in. I haven't been since I was eight so it was a joyful reunion for me.

Splash Mountain

Star Tours

And we of course had to get a picture with Cinderella; our day would not have been complete otherwise!

After riding rides all day and eating some wonderful food, we enjoyed every second of the Disney Parade and incredible firework show. Fourth of July fireworks are awesome but this show was absolutely amazing. 

On Sunday we went to church with Elise's grandpa, walked around the Newport Temple, and then hit the road to drive back to St. George. Nate's aunt and uncle were so gracious to let us stay there and we loved them! They fed us wonderful food and played some great games with us. 

This morning we had a great breakfast and then went to the crack (mini version of the Narrows) before driving back to Provo. 

All in all, this road trip was one of the best adventures I've had in a long time! It was so fun to go vacation with friends and just get to do whatever we wanted to do. The beach was a dream and Disneyland was simply magical. And spending it with some of my best friends made it that much better. 

Hurray for college road trips!