Winter?

I've been highly disappointed with this winter. Now don't get me wrong, I love 60° weather just as much as the next guy, but I also love me some good hardy winter weather. I love the snow and the way it has of covering the world and making it look brand new. I love walking outside all wrapped up cozy and having the chill nip at your nose a bit.

But you know what I love the most about winter? How excited it makes me for spring. I feel this way about every season. I love living in Utah because we have 4 very distinct seasons with very different tempertaures.
When it's spring, I get so excited for summer and the sun and swimming and freedom.
And once that gets old, I get so excited for fall, with it's crisp air and beautiful colors.
And then I can't wait for that first snow fall and sledding and cuddling inside with hot chocolate.
And then once winter becomes dreary, I get excited for spring and the warmth and new life.
And then it starts all over again.

But with this failure of a winter we've had here in Utah, I haven't even been excited for spring, because it's kind of felt like spring since the beginning of January!
However, it has not been all bad, the warmth has allowed for so many fun outdoor adventures! Utah is a beautiful and fun place, even when it's winter and everything is dead. So here's some pics of my hiking adventures with the brothers.

And then here's this moment when I found the one patch of snow left on President's Day. Happy Fake Winter, ya'll.

Why I love benches.

I went on a lovely walk down the Provo River Trail the other day and in typical fashion, I saw a bench that I fell in love with. I have so much love for sitting on benches and for the first time ever I have appropriately verbalized my reasons for that love.

Anywhere I go, I search out well placed benches to sit upon. I don't consciously look for them, but my focus is always drawn to benches when they are present. A well-placed bench brings me back to everything good about the world and about nature.

There are two types of well placed benches: those that best observe nature and those that best observe people. And my favorite benches always combine these two elements. A bench lets you sit and take a break from the world. You sit down and the rest of the world continues to move on around you. A bench gives you the opportunity to become a momentary observer of life, instead of a participant.

I love humans. I know I've said this a lot, but I am just so fascinated by people and the way that they are. I'm fascinated by different socioeconomic levels and how that effects people in every facet of their lives. I'm fascinated by the way that people interact with each other. I'm fascinated by the mere fact that every single human that I encounter has a whole lifetime worth of back story that creates the unique individual that I am now facing. I just plain love humans.

When watching people in a park, it is not out of the ordinary to sit on a bench, so people continue on their way without paying you much notice. This is exactly how I like it, because people act normal when their surroundings feel normal and people are most fascinating when they're not acting at all, they are just being. I could sit on a bench, watching people for hours and just trying to guess their stories and figure out how they got to this moment in their lives.

When there is a bench in the woods or along a trail or in any other variety of natural surroundings, then sitting on this bench always helps me feel at peace. Even just smack in the middle of a quiet forest, I can still take a moment to watch life happen all around me. Nature is amazing and the world is beautiful. Sitting on a bench in nature allows me to quietly ponder life and to appreciate how wonderful it is.

You know what else benches are good for? Having deep meaningful conversations. As I've already said, the environment around benches creates a peaceful feeling, and it is this feeling that creates the perfect situation for talking about the hard things in life. I have had many lovely, insightful conversations while sitting on benches in my lifetime.

Next time you see a bench at the park, just take a seat for a moment.  Soak in the world. Enjoy the nature, enjoy the people. Reach outside yourself and find something beautiful in the world around you. This is the reason I will forever be finding new benches to fall in love with.

Recap of past travels.

I went to the UK last summer.
This is one of those things where time got away from me and it was never blogged about. But that trip was most assuredly the highlight of the last year of my life. And my parents are currently in Scotland picking up my brother from his mission *insert high pitched squeals of jubilation* and all of their pictures have made me reminisce about my own trip. So I will take you through some of the most highlighted parts of my lovely holiday with my lovely friends.
Two of my roommates were going to be in England last summer for academic trips and there was a bit of overlap between when one arrived and the other left, so I decided to join them for some frivolity across the pond. Jenna and I flew over together and had a day just the two of us exploring Kensington Gardens and seeing the sights.

Then we met up with Andee and Jonathan and all of their friends from their program in Oxford. We spent that day exploring the main attractions and then saw Phantom of the Opera that night.

And then it was off to Scotland! We dropped Jenna off at the University of Glasgow for her study abroad, took a quick stop at Loch Lomond, and then headed to Edinburgh. Oh how I wish we could have stayed in this beautiful country for more than just the two days we were there. It is by far my favorite place I've ever visited in my life. So much beauty and so many hilarious, sarcastic, and genuine people. 

One train ride back to London and we arrived at Kings Cross Station. Maybe this was one of those moments of my trip that I was most looking forward to: finding the entrance to platform nine and three quarters. It's fine, I found the Hogwarts Express.

Then we went to freaking Wimbledon! It honest to goodness just so happened that we were in London during the Wimbledon Championships, so obviously we had to take the opportunity to try to go. We had to wake up at 4:45 in the morning to take a train out to Wimbledon and then sit in the standby line (the English call it a queue) to get a ticket. The first 6000 people in line were allowed in first thing int he morning, and we were afraid we wouldn't make it - that's how many people were in this ridiculous queue! But we made it and we got into Wimbledon, never again will I have such an incredible opportunity. And I thought Andee was going to die of excitement/anticipation/happiness.

And we also went to The Harry Potter Studio Tour. Let me run that by you one more time: THE HARRY POTTER STUDIO TOUR!!!!! This is where the filmed most parts of the Harry Potter movies and it is where all of the sets and costumes and other props are currently housed. I almost died of happiness during this tour. Jonathan and I were like little kids at this place and Andee graciously allowed us to geek out as much as possible. I think I will do a blog post about this tour one day, so just one pic will suffice.

And then here are some more pics from other random moments of the trip. Like Camden Lock, one of the coolest markets I've ever been too and where I bought the most delicious orange juice in the entire world. That one time when we went to Abbey Road and were the Beatles for a day. And the Tower of London. And watching MacBeth in The Globe Theatre. And St. Paul's Cathedral. And Tower Bridge.

This trip was the real deal. We had a complete blast and we pushed ourselves to the point of exhaustion to see everything we wanted to in the 9 days I was there. You may notice that our group of people we were with was constantly changing, and that was so fun. I was able to meet some fun new people and meet up with some good old friends. Overall, best trip ever. I know it's been nearly 9 months since I was there, but I just had to share the love and the pictures. I am so blessed that I was able to go. And don't you worry, I will be going again sometime in my life.

Good job...s

I've received an array of complaints about the fact that I've never actually said what I'm doing for my job. In THIS post I said that I got a job and then intentionally ended the post without giving details because I thought it was hilarious. But let me just lay it our for you because I actually have 2 jobs, surprise!

I work in the Library on campus. I keep track of budgets and statistics and other various assignments/projects that are deemed necessary for my department. It's a great job and I've learned so much in the 6.5 months I've been there.

And additionally, two months after beginning at the library, I began working at a residential treatment center for teenage girls with emotional and behavioral struggles. This is the best job I could possibly have gotten at this point in my life. I don't even know what to say about how much I love this job and this program and the girls that I work with. I have been inspired to know for sure that eventually becoming a social worker is what I want to be doing with my life.
Basically my job is to help keep the girls in my house safe, make them feel loved, and implement the interventions from their therapists. There's about 15 girls in the house I work in and I have the amazing opportunity to build relationships with each of them and help them process through problems that come up in that moment. There are many different reasons these girls are in residential treatment including: anxiety, depression, self-harm, eating disorders, drug abuse, social anxiety, suicidal thoughts, personality disorders, and a lot more. It's been wonderful and eye opening to learn that each person has slightly different issues and needs to be treated differently. I've also had the realization that everyone has problems that they need to work through, whether or not they're in treatment, and these girls are often so much stronger than I am in dealing with their demons. I seriously didn't know I could grow to love people as much as I love my coworkers and the girls I work with. I am so excited to have this affirmation that this really is what I want to do with my life. Maybe I won't always be working in this treatment center, but being a social worker and helping people who just need some extra support in their lives.

For those interested, here's a link to the New Haven blog: http://www.newhavenrtc.com/blog/talking-through-a-crisis/

I know I had far more to say about my treatment job, but let's be serious, that's way more exciting than sitting at a computer in a library for 6 hours a day. But in all reality I love both of my jobs. They have each been a blessing to me in different ways and I have need each of them at this point in my life.

Time for a trip? YES!

Guess what I'm doing this summer?!?!

Taking a nice little trip to LONDON! I've decided to spend all of my money and give myself a graduation trip across the ocean. And I'm absolutely thrilled!

I'm spending about a week in London and taking a train up to Scotland for 2 days. I can't think of anything I would rather do this summer. Sadly, Ryan just got transferred further north in Scotland and I won't be able to hunt him down. Up until this past Monday, he had been in Kirkcaldy which is only an hour away from where I'm staying in Edinburgh and I was going to try to meet up with him and his companion for lunch or something. But alas, that is not meant to be, which could possibly be for the best. Anyway, I digress.

London! I'm so excited!
Seeing the sights, eating the food, staying in hostels,riding the tube, just being there and getting experiences outside of Provo. I can not express to you how thrilled I am. I'm going with some amazing old friends and some fun new friends. This will be such an adventure! It's only about a month away!

Weekend update!

Hello folks! Guess where I was this last weekend? CALIFORNIA! Road Trip!!!
We spent an entire day just chilling on the beach for 7 hours. We laughed our heads off. Literally. [it was super uncomfortable.] We shared life stories - particularly dating stories. We bonded so very much. We played football and soccer on the beach. We got our feet wet. We didn't get enough sleep. We didn't do any homework. We played liars dice in a jacuzzi. We saw the San Diego temple. We ate delicious food. We played games. We sang songs. We got sunburnt. We did lots of driving. We had absolutely no plans at the beginning and the whole trip was so spontaneous. We remembered what it was like to see the sun and to be warm. We strengthened our friendships.
Yes, overall it was spectacular. I went with 3 of my wonderful friends and I just love them even more after this trip. The weekend was way too short for my liking.
Here's a quick pic of our beach partying:

And here's our tooth brush partying:

Now I'm back in school, and struggling. Ever heard of senioritis? Yeah, it's a real thing. I have not wanted to do homework EVER this semester. Bad news bears, if you ask me.

All hallows eve.

Seriously, Halloween is my favorite thing ever. People are SO funny and clever. I love dressing up in costumes and playing an entirely new character. You can be anyone or anything you want, and it gives you a fun way of expressing yourself. Or not. Here is a list of some of the best costumes I saw yesterday around campus:
Judith Butler - know who she is? I didn't either. She's a feminist philosopher. And my co-worker dressed like her and he looked awesome.
A surprising number of Ash Ketchums
Squirtle
Snowman - this costume was so legit. The costume was a solid 7-8 feet tall and made of wool or something on chicken wire. The kid was just waddling around campus and it was so cool.
PSY - a couple of him. Some Asian men thought they were hilarious.
Miranda Sings - some very solid portrayals
All 5 original Power Rangers and they were fighting a guy in a banana suit. SO GOOD.
All sorts of Batmans. I particularly liked the one on his bicycle with his cape flowing.

I personally had three costumes this year. I was planning on having 4, but the penguin didn't actually work out... definitely next year. Last Friday, I was Scary Spice - with none of the other Spice Girls. I didn't get many pictures of this one. But here's the one we got (with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and a nerd)

During the day yesterday, I was my roommate Jenna. Terrifying resemblance? I thought so too.

Then last night I was a grandma by the name of Fanny Lever. I was a crotchety old woman; I don't know how to do a jolly grandma. And yes, my hair did smell like baby powder all night.

All in all, this was an incredibly successful Halloween. I love dance parties and friends and candy and costumes and fun. How perfect.

Camping.

I like the summer in Provo. Life is much more laid back and enjoyable than during the school year. Also, people are just more fun. Well, maybe that's not true, but probably.

So.. we went camping. Last Friday.
Yeah, that was sweet.
We set up a tent and everything.
Not that we actually slept in the tent.
No, we ended up just sleeping in the bed of the truck, looking up at the stars slash the tree we were parked under.
But it was a blast. I adore camping excessively.
Being out in nature, exploring, adventuring, and just soaking it in is the best.
I went exploring along the stream and it was beautiful. I could explore nature all my life. I found the perfect thinking perch. And I might have fallen and sacrificed my leg in order to reach said thinking perch. My leg is still achey now, a few days later, but it was totally worth it. When you find that prefect spot for thinking, it absolutely can not be beat.
We also had smores.
You might ask: Some more what?
You're killing me Smalls!!
And there was lots of campfire fun and stories and chats and singing.
We played a lot of the song game.
We swung on swings.
We played some wongo-bongo.
We just enjoyed life.

Friends are awesome. Especially good friends, and I have a lot of those. And I love camping. I would go every weekend if I could. And surprise! I'm going again this weekend.
Like I said, I like the summer. It's weird to not be at home. This is my first summer not being at home ever in my life. Good thing I live close enough to go visit those crazy young chaps. But am glad that I'm here in Provo this summer.

All-nighter? Why not!

Freshman year Kaylee and I decided to have an epic all-nighter. Here is a list of things we did that night:

Homework was the main reason we stayed up, and it was obviously the one thing we didn't get done. And here is the picture of the end of the night. Note: the clock says 6:15. Nice.

So this year we decided to keep with tradition and have our annual all-nighter. Annual in this instance meaning we did it 2 years ago, completely forgot about it last year, and then doing it again this year. So when I got home from SYTYCD the night of my birthday, the decision was made that that was the night for all-nighting.

We began our evening with a lovely 2am trip to Walmart to get supplies. While there, we ran into a BEAUTIFUL friend of ours. Love me some Captain America.

And then we stood in the check out line for an excessively long amount of time.

We then made some cookies.

And did some homework while we watched Swan Princess.

I know what you're thinking, "How in the world could you do homework during your all-nighter? You didn't do homework last time." And my answer to this inquiry is that we are much more mature nowadays, so naturally we were responsible and studious while depriving our selves of sleep.

We then delivered cookies at 4 in the morning.

You may not be able to tell what this is.. ok, let's get real, obviously no one except Kaylee and I know what is going on in this picture. Just know that I was falling out of the car and it was freezing and late and hilarious.

We stayed up all night. Not one wink of sleep. And the next morning, we both went to work at 8 and then a full day of classes. It was worth every ounce of being tired.

It was a lovely night. And I love Kaylee. We have fun and bond. Shweeeet.

Twice.

Sometimes grandparents come home from missions to Africa. This has happened to me twice. It was just as fabulous the second time.
I love when amazing, serving, loving, hilarious grandparents are back in Utah.
I also like when 90 year old great grandmothers take an extended vacation to Utah.
Mostly, I'm just a fan of grandparents. Specifically all of my grandparents.