...at the crack of dawn...

i woke up and went to watch the hot air balloon lift off in the morning. i was slightly late due to being informed of the incorrect time...but on my way there i saw the hot air balloons rising in the sky. this picture was taken while driving and not looking; it turned out pretty well.they were getting pretty high and then supposedly they were supposed to start circling around...i'm curious how one "drives" a hot air balloon...as they came back around and were landing in the stadium/field...they got really close...these are the more patriotic balloons. but the one with the pig and the strawberry looking one were my favorites! after that i went back to my apartment for a little bit to eat breakfast...again...and then headed over to the parade! it's been a while since i've been to the parade. i don't think that i have been there and actually watched the whole parade since i was a little girl. i really enjoyed the marching bands...ha ha...i'm such a band geek. After the parade some friends and I went to Cracker Barrell for some good ol' American cookin. Last time i had been there was when i was with Rosie and her family whey they lived in San Antonio...I was in high school at the time so it was a while ago. I went home and took a nap then headed to my parentals to find this...

isa on the couch, sad (I forced him smile in this picture) because his girlfriend was at the grand canyon and he didn't want to watch the fireworks without her...tender...but slightly pathetic. i don't think he wanted to leave the house all weekend that she was gone because he "wanted to stay home." lame excuse. he wouldn't go out with me, so i came home and made sure he was all right.
after checking up on isa, i went and visited my bccffe (which stands for best cross-cultural friend for eternity) Buns. we caught up for a while 'cause i haven't seen her in a while 'cause her real family was in town then she forced me to leave to go and watch fireworks with a friend. ha ha...i went and watched the fireworks above the provo temple, kicked it with some friends, then went and laid on the grass (<--doesn't sound exciting but it's heaven). it was a good fourth to say the least.

...random events...

so here are some random pictures from the random things that have happened in the past week or so...i've been spending a lot of time over at the neighbors' house because Justin is taking the MCAT soon as well as applying for medical school so I've been over there helping out with that, editing personal statements and looking over everything; during the times that we have taken breaks or are just going insane from overload i have grown a beard...taped mike up because he kept attacking me and i was too tired to handle itjustin serenading us with some spanish melodies...all i can remember him saying is something along the lines of "me gusta miguel"...strum strum strum...and i got stuffed in a duffle bag, zipped up, although i had to come up a few times before they could close the bag 'cause i was getting claustraphobic, then carried to another room. it was one of the most interesting/weird things that i have ever done. almost exhilarating. i've never been so confused as to where i was and where i was going in my life. note to self: i have no sense of direction in a duffle bag.
evan and I went to warped tour and saw some incredible bands as well as discovered some new amazing music. here are our before pictures....

and our after...we look good...ha ha...UVSC is now UVU (going from college to university) and my roommates and some friends went to watch the fireworks. I couldn't find my camera during the fireworks, mainly because aubry had stolen it and put it in her bag...ha ha...so there are just pre-firework pictures.
me, seth, and aubs being absolutely photogenic and working the camera.

then somehow airplane came up and this is the result of that... kristen and jesse (seth in the background). as always it was a good time.

...looks gross...

but absolutely tastes fantastic. this is a strawberry cheesecake carmel apple from the rocky mountain chocolate factory...slightly mangled...but nonetheless is delightful to say the least. we went there for benz's birthday then went for a little stroll down in the riverwoods shopping center. it was a perfect day.

...belated birthday shout-outs...

last week i slacked with the happy birthday wishing so i'm going to catch up real quick...from first to last...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Miss Ai who is so sweet and makes me laugh/smile everyday i see her and even when i don't just the thought of her makes me warm. she's crazy and out of control and that's how i like her best.

Benz the world traveler and quite hilarious kid i know from jr. high who think it's awkward when there are only ethnic people around when we hangout. ha ha...

Sister Rosie

(sorry only your picture is black and white but it's the most recent i had of you) who i miss everyday and wish i was still in texas with. she's amazing.

Neighbor Michael who thinks that he is my favorite out of the neighbor boys...little does he know...ha ha he's getting there. i hope you get your castle one day gov; that would be sick.

Y'all are absolutely wonderful and i hope your birthdays were the best days yet :)

...massive moab trip...

This past weekend a huge group of us (there were probably around 140ish of us) went down to Moab, Utah for a few days. Let's just say that basically it was AMAZING!! and i didn't want to come home. We got down there on Thursday night...really late...couldn't find the campground because no one had actually got there yet to set up camp. So we ended up finding a large line of cars, picking a random place, and setting up camp. Seeing that there were so many of us, the two cars that we had caravaned down with decided to find a spot a little further away so we could catch some shut eye. It was a perfect little spot on a hill, pretty flat for the most part, we pulled out the tarps and air mattresses and just slept under the stars. I was so excited that i couldn't fall asleep for a while, i just gazed at the sky looking for satellites. It was incredible. Two hours laters, the sun came up, i too got up, and we packed up camp and headed out for the day. A big chunk of people went rafting while the other groups went hiking, biking, atv-ing, etc. I went and hiked up Negro Bill Canyon. It was beautiful! I was so happy, everyone was making fun of me 'cause even though it was blazing outside I was the happiest camper ever. Oh the great outdoors. Here are a collage of pictures from the trip...tried to put a bunch on but there were too many.Thursday night we hiked up to Delicate Arch at Canyonlands...I haven't been here since i was child, so I was pretty excited to be there. I probably looked like an asian tourist stopping and hiking off on my own to take pictures of everything. It was the best. Here is part of the group that we drove down with, better known as the neighbor boys we're missing a few of them...Rick-man, Dain, and John John. They are my favorite...but from left to right...Justin LeBaron, Me, Michael Persson, and my roomie Aubry. We're just cruising at the top of Delicate Arch watching the sunset. After we hiked down it was pretty dark and we went back into town, picked up our friend Jeff from the movies 'cause he wore the back of his feet raw (as you can see below) on the first day we were there so he wasn't up to hiking around, plus he hates being outdoors...anywho who...then we headed up to our next campsite. I'm just going to say that a lot of people were grumpy and went to bed. I however just enjoyed being outside and read some before i went to sleep. That night I didn't sleep so well. We were pretty squished and due to the sun coming up and no shade, everyone seemed to squished down behind the shade of the cars...i unfortunately, got smashed between aubs and justin and was unable to move. ha ha...oh well...



That day we went to a place called left hand that only the locals know about. How do we know of this place you may ask? One of the neighbors is actually from Moab, so we got to go some places that not everyone knew about. :) It was hot!! I definitely got some sun which is a definite plus because now i'm not so pasty. A girl broke her tibia and fibula from jumping off the cliff into the water. Sad day.After Left Hand, we went back into town to grab Jeff again from the movies, then headed to the park for the BBQ. Here's Aubs cruisin at the bbq.The food was delightful. We had steak, chicken, vegetable kabobs, with mint and lime mojitos as a beverage. We also had ice cream and bananas in this syrup. It was tasty. Mmmmm...after i tried to take a quick nap before we drove home, but that didn't really work. So we packed up and headed home. About three hours laters, one gas station, and two houses, we finally got home. It was really late, but of course when Aubs and I got back to the apartment we kicked it with our other roomies. Bad choice. Oh btw, i have new roommate. Her name is Carly Walker. I'll post a picture once I have one. Anyway...I miss Moab.

...my papasan...

So here is a belated posting of Father's Day...

This year dad was actually in Houston with Rosie and her family for the entire week before father's day as well as the morning of. Luckily he flew home in the evening so we got to celebrate father's day! Mom and I went to the airport to pick him up, and it made me so happy to see him, but it made me even happier to see how excited my mom and dad were to see each other. It really made me realize how dependent they are on one another and the love that is prevelant between them. I can only hope and pray that someday i'll be able to find someone who I can be as happy with as my parents are with each other...but back to father's day!!
I've decided that i'm too big to sit on my dad's lap. Ha ha...we were taking pictures together and i thought that I was going to crush his little leg. I think that sometimes they forget that i'm not as little as i used to be, even though in their minds I will always be my daddy's little girl. My dad really is the best, just as i am sure that is what you think of all of your fathers. Fortunately, my dad has always been there since day one. I remember all the times he dropped me off at school and came and picked me up, willing carrying me on his shoulders home. He came to all of my soccer games, track meets, field days, history fairs and anything else that was important and always with his camera :) He would sing songs and whistle and make me laugh and smile everyday. I remember when i was a lot younger we would listen to 8-tracks (I think that's what they are called) together in the black van. But i think the most incredible thing about my dad is that he is so willing to help all the time without question or hesitation. I hope that one day i'm half the person that he is and am so grateful for all the years he has put up with me. Thanks for being an amazing father! I love you Papasan!! and Happy belated Father's Day!

...bus stop adventures...

so unfortunately since the last time that i blogged we have not had our dance off. i know, i know...you were all looking forward to it. but hopefully once one of our roommates decides to be home for the special event, it will commence. ha ha...but in the meanwhile...here is what we have been up to.

karlie and i went on a walk around the neighborhood the other night because it was really nice outside. on our way back there was a creepy guy waiting at the bus stop across the street so Karlie and i decided that we would wait until he got on the bus before we continued back to the apartment. in the meantime, there was a bus stop across the street, so we had a small photo session while we were there. here are the results of some of the events.

this is probably my favorite out the pictures. I don't know what's going on, but apparently i only have one eye...


i climbed the bus pole per karlie's request. 832 baby. i've decided that lately i've been making a lot of creepy faces. I give props out to nani for encouraging such "beautiful" faces. earlier in the week we all went to the hot tub. one by one we trickled out. we all showed up together, and none of us left together. but kristen wanted a picture of us running across the field, so i did my best to be entertaining.
Aubs is a creeper sometimes. I think it's a requirement to be able to bust signs and creepy faces in order to live in our apartment.she also started to adjust/adapt to the asian culture. I think deep down aubry wishes that she was asian like me.
we don't do anything too interesting, i won't lie. but for some reason to us it's fun and it makes us laugh. epic moments indeed.

...hello n goodbye...

so i promised that as soon as i had some pictures of my new roommates that i would go ahead and post some picture of them. so here they are!

this first picture is of my roommate Karlie Wathen (she's the girl) and the boy is her fiance Marshall Walker. They are getting married on July 25th! They are so dang cute together...if you haven't already notice. :) Karlie and I share a room and basically we just sleep in the room together, other than that we're rarely home. So far some of my fondest memories with Karlie are just kickin it on our bunk beds cruisin and talking, taking weird-o pictures and my most recent would have to be going to the gym, coming home eating del taco, the relaxing in the hot tub and attempting to get in the pool in 50 degree weather but not being able to handle it then getting back in the hot tub. We're just dorks and have an excellent time being together!
The next picture is of Kristen Warwick (left) and Aubry Ellison (right). I specifically took this picture for the blog. I know all three of these girls from apx alarm aka work. I think i already wrote about that but that is okay. Ha ha....oh well...As an apartment we are going to have a dance competition Karlie and I vs Kristen and Aubs. Basically it is a compilation of 3 songs, one from the 80s, 90s, and present; 30 seconds each making a total of 1 minute and 30 seconds to dance. Costumes are encouraged but no manditory. Be excited for these pictures and hopefully videos. Here is a picture of me not meaing to look like the panda but ending up looking like it. When i go to the movies with Mellow and Karlie I don't have to pay because we go to the Spanish Fork theatre for free. It's quite the deal. This night we went and watched IronMan. Excellent movie btw. This is what the goodbye part of the title is for. Yuri and Sophie (as well as their parents Hiro and Rachel) moved out this past week into their very own condo! Yay for them!! It's sad that they moved out but at least they are a lot closer. They are getting so big too, it's kind of weird to think that before I know it, they'll be in school and all grown up. Weird...this picture was taken the night they moved out...sad day...but very exciting at the same time!!

...playing catch-up...

it's been a long time since i've been involved in the blogging world...so i thought that i would rise from the dead and begin blogging again. so here goes...

CINCO DE MAYO!

WHICH TO THE COUSINS AND MYSELF IS KNOWN AS CINCO DE MANGO.

Nani and I had a fiesta on the fifth of May! It was so tasty with all of our mexican food, margaritas, fruit, and E.L.Fudge cookies (known as el fudge to make it more spanish for the day). We just had some friends come over for an excellent time. We thought about making a game as to tribute our neighboring country of Mexico, but we didn't have time seeing that we went shopping for the party that started at I think six, and were still at the store when 5:50 rolled around. Hmm...must be a family thing to start on time :) Actually does anyone actually know anything about cinco de mayo? Is it an actual Mexican holiday, because I heard that it was not. Also HAPPY BOYS DAY!!

Here is Brett Brett in his sombrero.Our friend Benz who is giving us a little bit of spanish flavor with his dance moves.
And the rest of the fiesta attenders...from left to right...Deina, Ashley, Bailey, Chali, Sachiyo, Leinani, and Sarah. Kamai and Kim came later, but I forgot to take a picture.
I haven't exactly taken pictures since this time, but here are some more updates for the month of May. I finished my first year at the U!! Did pretty well and loved it up there! I'm looking foward to the fall to come but am very excited that summer time is finally here. I'm ready to play. Which leads me to say that I moved back to Orem and shortly thereafter to Provo to the King Henry Apartments. This is why...

A POOL!! and hot tub for the days that it is cold or just a relaxing night of warmth. Y'all are always welcome to come swimming! Just give me a holler. I've been living here for a little over a week. It's a lot of fun. I have three roommates, Karlie Wathen (soon to be Walker 'cause she's getting married in July. YAY!!) we share room together, Aubry Ellison, and Kristin Warwick. I have no pictures them, but when I do I'll be sure to post. We also work at Apx Alarm...or at least used too. Kristin's last day was this past Friday, and Aubry just put her two weeks in today. Oh well, it'll always be a party at King Henry. Ha ha...

I can't really think of anything else that has happened this past month...Dorie's Wedding Reception, but she's been married for a month. Here is a picture of all of our beautiful cousins

This is the end for now until I get in the habit of taking pictures....hopefully there will be plenty of things to document.

...post birthday happiness...

the saturday after my birthday we (a handful of random friends) went to tucanos! mmmmm...it was so tasty!justin and nani became very good friends. best friends actually. but at least nani is still my bffe! choo choo! Dustin (from apx) was ready to eat. can you tell? go go go!
Evan, pumpkin, gunns, aivan, whichever name you prefer, attempted to avoid the camera, but i tricked him, and i even got one smiling! this is the beautiful picture that the server took of us. at least you can see the lady outside right? right :)
thanks everyone for coming! i've got some of the best friends anyone could ask for! i'm super grateful for all of them and all that the do :) it was lots of fun!

...quarter machine...

so nani and i really like the quarter machine. here is nani buns very excited to spend her quarters :)and here is the proof of how much we enjoy them my friends...

i know you're jealous.