where i've been lately

lately implies recently, but these trips actually happened in august and september, but hey, better late than never, right?

august i made the trip once again to utah, this time with a heavily sedated sister by my side [she'd had some last minute minor surgery and was undriveable, but entertaining none the less] and a mom in a caravan. it was quite the trip. and do i even have to tell you that it was all about the food? we did the old standbys: guru's, zupas, costa vida [where we excited at the same time the football team was entering. what a parade of men! made the mistake of calling my dad to relay the news and he nearly cried at the missed opportunity] and a new favorite: pizzeria 712. i'm sure everyone has already eaten here, but i moved just as it was getting big, so i'm still a newbie. the food was seriously amazing. i had to keep reminding myself i was in provo, and not new york. anybody that can make pickled eggs the best thing i ate all week is pretty awesome.

i also had the pleasure and great fortune of seeing the lovely meg in a wonderful production of romeo and juliet in the park. everyone did a great job and it was so fun to be outside. putting shakespeare in the park on my list of things to see.

september i flew with my sister to oahu to check her into college. we had so much fun and met a lot of great people. driving back to the airport in honolulu from laie, where the school is, was so beautiful. it felt a little bit like being in the jungles on LOST. and how cool is it that the hawaii 5-0 reboot is being filmed in honolulu? more on that later. here's some proof that i was really in hawaii:



temple beach. not as amazing as the beaches down in waikiki and honolulu, but surprisingly empty and peaceful.


the laie temple.


these plants were all over the island and i couldn't get over how much they looked like little birds!


me and mallory on the beach.


we went to the evening show at the Polynesian Cultural Center and even though it's a little expensive, i highly recommend it.


mal's dorm.


i need to start planning my next trip. ideas?

Family Reunion

We just got back from our biannual family reunion (is that right? every other year? every two years? same thing, i think). We were at a big camp near Mt. Hood and it was just beautiful. The weather was great up until the last day and it was so relaxing to be out in the trees. and mosquitoes. and spiders. and mice. yikes. Seriously though, I had a great time, even with being in charge of a few activities and singing a solo in the talent show. Turns out it's a little tricky to sing up high when you're nervous. Who knew?

Here's the highlights of the week:

-while watching a PIG match, the little girls were getting their nails painted and i totally squeezed in and got mine done also.

nothing like a little glitter to brighten up the woods, right?

-my uncle hosted a crossword competition and even though my grandma killed us all, i still managed to finish my first crossword puzzle ever without resorting to cheating online. move over, sudoku. crosswords kind of became one of the themes of the week. our family t-shirts had everyone's name in a crossword on the back and for an activity, two of my cousins made a crossword with clues for every single person in our family. translation: 141 clues. we're pretty intense. we also watched the 2006 documentary, Wordplay, about The New York Times Crossword Editor Will Shortz and the annual crossword competition.


i am being 100% serious when i tell you it was suspenseful, funny, moving, and gripping.

-i did not have any accidents on my bike while riding around camp. unlike that one vacation where i got scared going down a hill too fast and put on the brakes so hard i flipped over the handlebars. whoops.

-i went on my very first official run that wasn't around a track or in a p.e. class. my uncle's an ironman and all-around awesome athlete and he and my aunt (also an amazing athlete) hosted early morning runs this year. i signed up and was ready to go at the unholy hour of 7:45. i chose the slightly easier run with my aunt and only thought my lungs were going to explode twice. i was feeling great all day with my tiny runner's high but my legs were hating life the rest of the week. since it's been insanely hot since then, i haven't ventured back out, but my tennis shoes are waiting patiently for me.

-i was one of the last two people standing at the end of an extremely fast-paced game of simon says. that means i'm good at . . . following directions? awesome.

-one of our activities was learning to play games that my grandparents played as kids. i love hearing them tell stories and trying to imagine my grandparents as little kids. i didn't take very many pictures, so i'm borrowing these from my aunt.


grandpa showing the great grandkids a thing or two about marbles.


grandma playing jacks.

-my favorite thing to do every reunion is just to stay up playing games and catching up with everyone. we missed all the cousins that couldn't come, and hope to see you next time!

reunion photos courtesy of Holly Severson

i made it!

so my first solo road trip went down without a hitch. my road trip mix was great, i listened to this fun audiobook . . .



. . . and ate these delicious snacks.


i split up the trip into two days so that i wouldn't get too tired and it was perfect.

the first few days in provo were beautiful. pretty sure it was at least 80 and when i drove with the windows down to supertarget [best. store. ever.] i got a few more freckles. best trip already right there.

then i decided that since i was in the land of beauty schools and everyone worth seeing was finishing finals i should spend a few hours at paul mitchell and dye my hair. this time i did a dark purpleish black color that i love and looks really cool in the sun. and it was only $30. why don't i live in utah again?

in between packing up everything my sister owns, including the worlds' largest sweatshirt collection, i got to see some of my favorite people.


me and mckenna l. after lunch at guru's.


me and mckenna c. thanks for the photoshoot, chris!
[one can never have too many friends named mckenna]


on my way home, i stopped in boise and got to hang out with this guy . . .




. . . and baked the ugliest cake i will ever admit to making. but we learned an important lesson on patience with bundt cakes. good thing rainbow chip frosting was there to save the day.



now i'm drowning in laundry and trying to catch up on tv [project runway finale!] and my too-big stack of books from the library. good to be back home.

hello again and a request

well it's been a crazy two weeks of nannying all day and i'm just now getting around to emails, laundry and getting more than 6 hours of sleep.

but on to the fun stuff . . . i'm taking a road trip! i'm headed down to utah to pick up my sister from college and i couldn't be more excited. beautiful weather, catching up with friends, and hopefully sneaking in some shopping and good eats while helping my sister pack up. i've never driven on a road trip by myself before but i think it's going to be great. i just need a little help figuring out what to listen to on loooong drive. i have a few good audiobooks that i haven't got around to listening to yet, but i need some fun songs to keep me entertained. any good ideas?


my sister Lindsay and I (the only one I could find of us in a car, circa 2007?)