that time my dad dropped me off in d.c.

it's here! i flew out to d.c. last thursday with my awesome dad. he came out to make sure i could find my way around, and we had a great time! i'm really glad he came!

somehow this is the only picture we managed to get together...but i promise we were there at the same time!

we also got to drive to richmond per my request. i really wanted to see some of the civil war/confederate history there. we went to the confederate white house that belonged to jefferson davis, a sweet museum, a cemetery of confederate officers and monuments of robert e. lee, jefferson davis and stonewall jackson. my dad wasn't a big fan of the actual city and "downtown"...i didn't love it either...but i really glad we went. my dad is the coolest.

white house

 john marshall house

 cemetery

 on sunday we checked out the national cathedral...it reminded me of france and was awesome! we didn't get there til late so we couldn't go inside, but the outside was incredible.

we also ate at some great places. friendly's, don pablo's (or was it don francisco??) and good stuff...we had to try it, cause amanda swears by it! it made me sick..but in a good way. i was absolutely stuffed that i could barely walk afterwards. bacon cheeseburger, rosemary fries and a milky way malt shake. absolutely delicious, but note to self: never order all three in the same trip. me and dad even split the fries! but he made me get my own milkshake. the nerve...

on his last night here we went to a little pizza party to meet some of the other interns at n.j.c., and the next day he went home after walking me all the way to my first orientation! i know i'll always remember our time out here and i couldn't be happier that he came out with me!

love you dad!!

softballs are NOT soft.

well I've been twenty for a few weeks and I'm still alive. but I did kick it off right by going in for round 4 of stitches in my lip. the first was for running into a kid's head trying to get candy in fifth grade.

(some things never change).

the second was after I got hit in the face with a softball while fielding a grounder at shortstop. aren't grounders on the ground, you ask??

they should be. unless you're me, then they hit a pebble just right so it bounces up at your face at full speed.

the third was last summer...remember this?

just getting some scar tissue removed and trying to restore it to the way it was before the softball incident. he went conservative, cause you can always do more. so last week, he did more. and hopefully it's the last time.

i just got the stitches out yesterday, which, by the way, is only fun if you enjoy the skin around the stitches being cut up as well. ouch. the swelling is almost all the way down and my lip almost looks normal! yay for me!

i know this is really exciting, and it should be! probably mostly for me though. i'm grateful there are things to be done to fix the results of my graceful moments. :)

did i mention i'll probably have to get a root canal as another result of that darn softball hitting my mouth? it will never end. but if it does, i'm closer to it!

teenage DREAMING

this is my last day as a teenager.

when did this happen?!?

 dramatic? maybe. but I still can't believe I'm almost in my twenties. gross.

earlier today I finished up the last of my finals...ok I only had three...one was online/open book...the other was take home/open book...but who's complaining??

now I'll officially enter my senior year of school in the fall! I've had senior status all this year, but now I literally have one year left. I can't BELIEVE how fast time goes. it seems like just yesterday I was a little high schooler! I never, EVER thought I'd miss that. but sometimes I miss it bad! those were some fantastic years and I definitely took them for granted!

and then there's my two years at BYU. they're seriously over? I've had so much fun, worked so hard I thought I might die and everything in between. but this year will be the best yet.

in the meantime, I'm just going off to DC in 23 days!! look out east coast!

i'll enjoy these last few hours, cause in the morning I'll be an old lady. :)

"how can I be anything but?"

This past week I went to a documentary that Mark Williams, a graduating broadcast student made. It was about a little Romanian boy named Marius who was severely burned on 75% of his body during a house fire that killed both of his a parents. It's a pretty intricate story, and you should definitely read about it here. (Warning: It's pretty graphic!)

I just couldn't believe the strength this little boy had through it all, and he's still going strong! He was there for a Q&A afterwords, and says he wants to be a motivational speaker when he grows up. If anyone could be perfect for that job, it's him!

There are so many things we take for granted every single day, such as having 10 fingers and toes. The documentary was so well done, even if it was really hard to watch at times. It was so inspirational, but there was one part that stuck out to me the most. 

After Marius has undergone several reconstructive surgeries and was living with his new family in the US, someone asked him if he was happy.

"How can I be anything but?"

Wow. He's incredible. I'm so touched by his story and hope that I can be a little more grateful for the millions of things I'm blessed with every single day.

I swear it's always the people who have every reason to be mad at life are the ones that remind us how amazing life really is.

Thanks Marius!!

Cowboys Like Us

Concert from the King of Country? Check.

It's George Strait y'all!


I've always thought if I see Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw and George Strait, my life will be complete! It's funny cause Tim has been my favorite the longest but he's the only one I haven't seen yet! I can't believe myself sometimes. I'm even seeing Kenny twice before I see Tim! 


I would go this summer when he comes to SLC, but he comes literally THE DAY before I get back from DC! Darn you flight schedule. And he's not playing in DC like Kenny is. Look at me refer to them like I know them. Whatevs.


Back to George, I got to last weekend with my awesome aunts, Julie and Wendy, along with Julie's friend Amber. 

We almost got in a fight with the people behind us because they wanted us to sit down. Umm hello have you ever been to a concert? If you want to sit back for a nice little show then at home on your TV is a nice option. But I go to concerts to do what I wouldn't do every day. Well I could do it every day, but that could be a little weird.


Lee Ann Womack and Reba opened the show, and they were both awesome as well! 


But here's a little taste of what we all came for:

Love it! Hooray for finally getting to see him!

Sweet Sixteen is just some extra frosting...I do like frosting.

So here's the thing.

Would I have loved Elite 8 for my Cougars?

Of course.

Am I extremely happy with this season and loving the fact that I'm actually a student at BYU during Jimmertime?

Oh yes.

The Florida game was close, even when Jimmer had a "off-night". Yes, 32 points in 29 shots isn't great, but the fact that they forced overtime with a big, athletic and talented Florida team is very impressive. Jimmer didn't even score the first 15 minutes of the game and BYU took that Florida team to OT? Dang.

A lot of memories this season that I'll never forget. Thanks for the memories, Jimmer.

Bring on the NBA draft for this boy.

So the other day when I was driving home from my internship, I got past Lehi and drove for a while before thinking to myself...

"Man, this drive seems longer than usual...oh well."

A few minutes later, I think...

"Why is this drive so long??"

It finally occurs to me to look up and see where I am.

I see Provo Town Center.

I usually exit at University Parkway in Orem.

For those of us keeping track, that's a difference of 6 exits.

6!

And I have absolutely no memory of anything from Lehi to south Provo.

Although I was extremely tired, it's not like I fell asleep or anything. I even remember singing to the radio and all.

It made me think of my senior year in AP Psychology, we learned about how if you go a certain route often, sometimes you'll end up at your destination without remembering actually getting there.

I just missed my destination by the entire length of Provo.

nbd.