{home tour}

Sorry for the delay. School has started and life has gotten crazy. Today is a nice break to catch up in everything. Here is a quick tour of my new abode.View from the front entry.Other angle. Yes we have a fireplace. Yes we know the curtains are ugly.Tiny kitchen but it works fine for us.Again small table.Stairs-to show off our new carpet. Better then the 70s color green that is still in our basement.My room-still in need of a comforter. Favorite part is the balcony. Great place to read and creep.Bathroom-little tight but we make it work.

Our place still needs some decorating help. Slowly but surely it will look cute. If you want to get a good look at the whole place you will just have to come visit.

{a good read}

This summer I got myself a Provo Library card and have made many visits to our local library. It's summer time and its about the only time I have to read books I want. I started out reading the typical summer reads. I was reading like 2 books a week that basically was the same plot over and over again. I really wasn't getting anything out of them at all and decided I should be reading books that are actually educating and teach me something not just "beach reads".
So I just finished a great book called
Joseph and Emma: Their Divine Mission.
Holy cow was it a fascinating read. I learned so much about the battles and triumphs that Joseph and Emma faced and how their love and devotion to each other remained strong. Joseph truly was a Prophet of God and sacrificed a lot to serve the Lord, even to the point of dying as a martyr. Emma also suffered a great deal of trials for herself...some of which I can't imagine going through. But how grateful I am for these two Saints and for the restoration of the gospel that was brought forth.

{beauty}

One of the benefits of where I live is my view. I look out to see the mountains, BYU campus, the Y, and if you turn your head a bit you can see Provo Temple. It is amazing. I wake up everyday to seeing the sun rise up above the mountains. So lucky. I live in such a beautiful area and I love it. Today was extra special. Due to the 4th of July and Provo's Freedom Festival they have had a hot air balloon festival. Again luckily for me the field where they are were was right outside my window. I woke up this morning to see lots of hot air balloons all along the mountain side. It was great. I tried to get a picture, but it doesn't really capture the true beauty of it. Looking forward to a fun day outside. Hope you do something fun today too! Enjoy!

{summer}

Summer is in full mode here in Happy Valley. The sun shines everyday, the temperatures are rising, and I am liking it. I have been living solo for the last few weeks and have been enjoying it. Sometimes it gets a little boring, but its totally fine. My days consist of watching the Today Show, laying out, reading, and working. Occasionally I will do things with friends, but that doesn't always happen. Summer life is great!

A few weeks ago Courtney came out here for EFY. We were able to hang out, go boating with my friends, and get our toes done. Glitter toes are the best way to go!Then this past week Parker came out for EFY. He met some of my friends and we just hung out.Happy 4th of July!!! Gma and gpa were here this past week and I was able to hang with them. Always a favorite thing for me. We were all able to go to Stadium of Fire last night and it was awesome. 4th of July still remains to be my favorite holiday. Carrie did such a great job, great performer, and great music. Loved it! And the best part is always the fireworks. It is such a great show!!! And of course, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GMA!!!

{Colorado}

This past weekend Whit, Cars, Jimmer, Jimmy, and I took a quick road trip to Colorado. We left early Friday morning, drove for 7 hours, went to Carson's, ate food, went to Cherry Creek Mall, had a great dinner, and headed to Littleton to Whitney's house. The absolute best part of the day was that I got to see my mom!!! She happened to be in Denver for a dentist conference and was able to sneak away for a few hours. It was the best thing ever. It was so great to see her...it had been much too long. Saturday we went to a graduation party, hung out outside, ate food, made an appearance at a wedding reception, had a BBQ, and played Balderdash. Sunday we ate a huge breakfast, went to church, and drove 7 hours back home. It was a great fun quick adventure. There was a constant supply of great food and great company. Couldn't ask for anything better!

Best Part of the whole trip!The Motley CrewMothers and DaughtersChurchLove Love Love

{Cake Batter Fight}

Greatest idea we have ever had! Who would have thought going to the park and throwing cake batter at each other was so fun. I think at one point we were laughing so hard we couldn't even throw the batter. Cars, Whit, and I got bored and too impatient while we were waiting for Brooke to get home so we put our stashes on. It was so fun! Then after the fight we went through the car wash and used the power hose to clean us off.
One of the highlights of the summer!! Life is so fun!! I need more hot summer weather so I can be outside and not be so ghostly...its becoming a major issue.

{Cinco De Mayo}

I thought it would be fun to throw a Cinco de Mayo party just like my family does. With the help of my great roommates the food was bought, decorations set up, and apartment smelling nice we had a fun little shin dig. I made enchiladas, spanish rice, and beans. We had chips and quac/salsa and cookie brownies and ice cream for dessert. At the beginning I was stressing out a bit when the rice wouldn't cook to save it's life and no one had shown up yet. But by the end it was a great night. We had 23 people show up...and we had enough food to feed all these hungry boys. Thanks for creating the fun tradition Mom. It was a hit out here in Provo.