where i've been

Today I'm linking up with Ashley and Eryka!

This week the topic is:
What states have you been to and where do you wanna travel next?

{san francisco march 2011}

I've been to:

• utah
• idaho
• california
• oregon
• washington
• nevada
• wyoming
• montana (i think...)
• arizona (does it count if i don't remember it?)

Yeah...I've never been off the west coast!  Sad, huh?

We're also supposed to say where we want to go to!

• new york
• maryland
• florida
• hawaii
• washington dc
• california
• oregon
• washington

Okay, okay.  I know I put places on there that I've already been....but I love them!  Honestly they are SO beautiful and so much fun :)  I think I need a vacation!

2011 - what a crazy year!

2011 was such a crazy year full of ups and downs.  I've learned lots of valuable lessons...and am sure 2012 will bring plenty more!  Sometimes it hurts to learn...and that's when it feels like learning.  I think the more pleasurable way of learning is called "fun" and the year has had plenty of that!

January


I started my second semester of college!  Sociology, psychology, humanities, and chemistry.  I could only remember 1 of 4 and had to look them up.  How sad is that?


Miss Katie Plott {Janie and Kylee's friend from home} visited Logan.  She dyed my hair for the first time.  I remember I was kind of nervous...what if I hated it?!  Good thing I love it!

I'm not capable of not pulling faces.

Um...January doesn't really stick out to me...it was almost a year ago!

February

February was the month I started blogging!  Nothing too special...but it's a way to remember life :)

Kylee, Sarah, Katie, and I went to a basketball game...super early!  We didn't realize we'd have to wait outside for so long!  It was freezing.  But Aggie games are always great.

And I made these lovely gems.  Heath {better than sex} cupcakes!  SOooo yummy.  Messy.  And a pain in the butt to make...but delicious nonetheless.

March


March was INSANE!  I was out of Logan more than I was in Logan, but it was so much fun!

I went to California (posts 1, 2, 3, and 4).  San Francisco is such a beautiful city.  I'm so grateful Eryka's step-dad offered to take my parents and I on a tour of the city!  He knew the ins and outs and was great at navigating since he knew the city so well.

I tried my first bowl of clam chowder.  Delicious!

Ghirardelli Square.  Chocolate is always divine

Lombard Street

But we didn't go to California just to sight-see...we went for a wedding!

Daniel and Eryka make a gorgeous couple {you can follow their blog here}

It also included friends who made me feel awful.  But more importantly it included friends who reminded me of how special I am.  It makes me tear up just thinking about them.  Thanks Sarah, Janie, and especially Kylee.  Kylee knew how to make me talk when others didn't.  And she knew what to say.

That month we also met the boys across the hall.  Yep.  It took us until March even though we had been living there since August.  Pathetic...but that's life haha :)

And I went down to Bountiful for work a bunch.  It was just for training...every Thursday.  Not the most convenient...but it's better than not having a job!

April


Stephanie and Eric got engaged on April Fools Day.

The roommates and I met Biggest Loser contestants and worked out with Brett {from the show}. Yep.  He was pretty awesome.  Or maybe pretty and awesome.

The roommates and the boys across the hall went to Lagoon.  I went on Skycoaster for my first time.  So scary...but SO fun! {you would think I'd have gone on it before now...considering it was my fifth year working there...}

There was bacon-shaped cake.  And schedule planning for the fall.  And taking webcam pictures like I belong on 16 and Pregnant {except I don't!} {april blogs}

Oh and I found ducks in a parking lot by the stadium.  I like ducks :)

May


Finals could not be over soon enough!  I was SO ready to move home.  Packing was a beast.  But thankfully once I got home I had family who brought all my stuff inside our home under ten minutes!  I wish taking it to my car would have gone that fast!

The weekend after I got home my family participated in Race for the Cure.  I've participated before, but it was a different feeling this year since breast cancer had hit home.  Aunt Tracey is an amazing lady!

love this family!

love them!

I find {this} post funny.  In it I comment on how, depending on the day, you interact with some pretty interesting characters.  And at the end I say "Life is pretty quiet.  Not uneventful...but lacking major events."

And then the NEXT Saturday....this happens!

If you can't tell, I have a black eye!  Well...had.  That's a story I never talked about on here yet!  Maybe later I'll have to do the story justice...but longish story short...I got punched in the face by a random lady at work!

June


June must have been filled with work.  I can't find pictures.  And there's one blog post.  But work was great.  I love the people I work with and hope most of them will be there this coming summer too!

July


July was full of work, fireworks, and Steph's wedding.

I watched fireworks on top of the rec center with Kevin.

I never got wedding pictures onto my computer...but the wedding was pretty!  And seemed to fit Stephanie perfectly.  The weather was everywhere that day...from blinding sun to pouring rain.  Not the greatest for an outdoor wedding...but we made it work!  I loved having family in town, especially Heather!

August


Some of the old roommates and I went camping up to Hunts property.  It was so much fun!

Did you know I'm a lumberjack?
P.S.  dull axes are awful

4-wheeling fun!

No wonder we're all single... :)

Sleepover fun! 

So bright...we're blinding each other with our beauty!

The best friend left on his LDS mission.

Work went back to weekends.

I moved back to Logan for school.  Met new roommates.  Met new friends.  Settled into my new home.

September


I turned twenty.  No more being a teenager for me!

Finally blogged about my "lovely Logan home" with pictures.

Played A LOT of Just Dance 2.

Went to Cobra Starship with Sierra at the U {for free}

Participated in a Guinness World Record.  World's Longest Kissing Chain? Check.  We also camped on the quad.

Was a big girl and got my car fixed {take 1}

October


What a wonderful month!  Life was quite blissful :)

General Conference.

Source: jengerbreadcreations.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Made new friends at the Trophy House {Just Dance, game nights, and movie nights (my fav)}

Home was broken into.  Thankfully it was a prank.  Dumb I1 boys...except we love them still!  But we did learn how to use the deadbolt.

Discovered the wonderfulness of Violet Hill Boutique.

Had a leaf bug on my nose.

And put Pinterest to good use...by actually doing some of the projects I've pinned!

And going to the North Logan Pumpkin Walk was delightful.  So much creativity and hard work!

My car broke {take two}.  Thankfully it was in a parking lot again.  And thankfully it's been working since then {knock on wood}

Best friend came home.

Can I just say how much I loved wearing a tutu?  They are so much fun!  I missed out as a child...but maybe I appreciate it more now?  haha who knows?

What a cute peacock!  I was super jealous of her costume :)

November


I cranked out a huge paper in a day and a half {research and all!}  The teacher thought it was great enough he asked permission to use it as an example for next semester.  Score.

Katie and I celebrated 11:11 on 11/11/11.  We both screamed and freaked out and made a wish like little kids.  I think I remember my wish.  If not, I guess it wasn't that good haha.

Thanksgiving.  Awesome.  I love having a mom that can cook.  And sister/sister-in-law/me that can pitch in.  The only thing that would make it better is having more family here next time!

Football with Dad.  Pressbox seats.  Free lunch.  Also went down to the sideline.  Awesome.

Tried to give blood.  Not super successful.  Gave up after being there for over 2 hours.

December


Roommate Christmas.  I love pretty presents.

I love friends.

Went through mega-stress/worry.  Thankfully everything ended up okay.

Then came a different stress: finals.  After going through the previous week they were {almost} a welcoming sight.  Grades went well.  All A's and one A-.  I was quite content.

Christmas was great!  Church was full of wonderful music.  Later, the nieces came over and we opened presents about 2.  Everything was perfect!  My family knows each other well.

Hanging out with Katie {the roommate} over the break.  And just talking for over three hours.  Love her!

Tomorrow is my sister's birthday {happy birthday Steph!} and New Year's Eve.  It'll be spent with friends welcoming in the new year!

I'm excited for what it has in store.

California: Day 4

We woke up bright and early to get ready for the big day. Arriving at Eryka's house a little after 7 am, we hopped into the cars and headed towards the Sacramento temple.

Look at Dan's eyes! You can tell he cried :)

Here's Eryka's cute cupcake wedding cake!

Me and the groom! Dan is such an awesome kid. And he was sooo tired.

The adorable couple dancing to The Luckiest. I loved watching their faces. I know it sounds cheesy, but watching Dan was fun. I could see how much he loves Eryka just by the way he was looking at her.

Here's the cake! They were both nice though and fed it to each other politely...not shoving it in the other's face :)

And then, they made their escape through a tunnel of bubbles into the awaiting glorious Impala.

And then they lived happily ever after :)

California: Day 3

On Friday (the 11th) I hung out with Dan, Eryka, and Cathy. We ran random errands all morning, picking up napkins for the reception, taking Eryka's little sister lunch for her birthday, and eating French dip at Joe's. Then we went back to Eryka's house and Dan and I were supposed to do homework...and I was mildly successful. Dan just played on Google Translate making the computer say funny things. Finally, after we felt like we killed enough time, we went back to the hotel in hopes of Andersons, Thompsons, and Stephanie having already arrived...but they hadn't. They (Steve, I think) were pro at getting lost...

They didn't know when they were going to get there, so we headed over to the Jelly Belly factory without them. We got there and got a call saying they were pretty close, so we wandered

around the store part of the factory while waiting for them. I have to admit, the tour part was pretty boring. We were all tired and hungry. So we walked around watching videos and listening to our tour guide teaching us how Jelly Bellys are made.

After the tour we went and set up for the reception. Eryka's centerpieces really came together and were adorable. Then, since everyone was starving, we went to dinner. We headed over to Chevy's. I've decided I'm really not a huge fan of Mexican food, except for Cafe Rio. Our service was horrible. I wasn't a huge fan of my food, but at least it was edible. And it was tons of fun being with everyone. Then we went back to the hotel and crashed, knowing we had a long day ahead of us on Saturday.

California: Day 2

So on the 10th me, my mom, and my dad were taken around San Francisco by Eryka's step-dad, Eden. Here are some pictures of the trip...

This is Bay Bridge. We went over it on our way into the city. I thought it looked cool.
This is Lombard Street. It's the crookedest street in the world (I think).
This is one of the random pictures of buildings in the city. I love the architecture and all the colors that are around the city.

This is Coit Tower. According to wikipedia...it was built in 1933 to help beautify the city. Eden knew a bunch of stuff about everything...but I forgot most of what he said about this.
That island off in the distance (behind the plant) is Alcatraz. It was kinda cloudy that day so that's probably one of my clearest pictures of it.

Ghirardelli Square. Mmmm. Just walking into the square smelled delicious. And then we went into the shop and bought a lot of chocolate.

My first bowl ever of clam chowder. I wasn't really expecting to like it. It was pretty fantastic. And the sourdough bread bowl made it so much better too! :)

This is the Bushman. He likes to hide behind his branches and jump out and scare people. He entertained me after eating lunch.
Here are some more boats. I like the yellow one.
This is at Bodin's. They make awesome animals out of bread. There were turtles, bears, alligators, and other cool stuff. But we were stuffed from lunch so we just looked.
That lady is making turtles out of bread dough.
Another street performer guy. He was painted in silver. But he was just setting up so I don't know what he was doing. We also saw some guy doing a magic show across the street earlier in the day.

At the Golden Gate Bridge with the folks! Love this picture :)

It's so tall!

It was sooo windy. Looking at mine and my mom's hair in this picture and the next. Sorry Dad, you don't have much hair to blow.

And then we stopped by the Oakland temple and took a few pictures. It started to rain at Golden Gate so we stayed in the car here.

Then we drove back. Me and my parents had a lazy night. I don't remember much of what we did. San Francisco took up most of the day. I remember we ate at a disgusting Dennys like 8 or 9 for dinner. And we called it a night pretty early. And that's Day 2!