Strandbeest- Theo Jansen

This is absolutely amazing to me. How he gets them to work, I still don't understand, but the fact that they do work blows my mind. Theo Jansen is so inventive, creative, and unique in his thinking- it's inspiring.

I had to look this up for Art History and answer the question is this a sculpture. I'm interested- what are some opinions? If you want to comment below or simply email me- that would be really cool!

sidneybrocious@hotmail.com

Joy To The World

It snowed this weekend, and I can honestly say I am happy about it. I even don't mind the coldness very much (and that's saying something. . . Sometimes I get so cold the goosebumps hurt) because it means I get to whip out my tights and dresses and sweaters and pea coats- oh, how I love pea coats- and I get to read books and drink hot chocolate with toast. Mmmmm (:

Also, front runner opened on Saturday, and so my mother and I decided to spend our morning trying it out. It was so great!! It felt like I was back in Chicago riding the train- nostalgia, really.

Anyhow, my weekend was a good one. I hope your weekends were too. Off to another week of school and work; just one more before the blessed Christmas Break!

Take a good look at that photo. . . It made me laugh so hard tears came out of my eyes. Seriously. Christmas time makes me so happy, sometimes I just want to yell out, "Joy to the world!!!!" but really.

Youth- Daughter

Featherstone- The Paper Kites

Either Way- Beta Radio

Music is indeed enjoyable. 

To Get There

Sometimes, I really, really want to be . . . . 

But last night, as I was driving home, I didn't want to be there. I was content with where I was or where I am now. I live in a beautiful place, with beautiful people who love me, care about me, and support me- even when I'm dumb and don't listen because let's be honest, I rarely listen. Life is beautiful, and American Fork still needs to provide more experiences for my life to evolve into the future.

 Eventually, I'll get to where I want to go, but right now I have to get there. And that's right here.

Simply Good

Today was a good day- I thought I'd just let you know.
I didn't think that I was going to say that earlier today during school, as I was trying not to fall asleep.
For some reason going to bed at 7 o'clock last night didn't re-energize me this morning, and during french, I legitimately thought I was going to fall out of my desk, face first, and faint of exhaustion.
I'll let you in on a detail: I didn't!! Yay for that, right?

Let me tell you what made today good. It's nothing special, really, but I feel it good to share.

First, Seminary. Seminary is just good- it has a simple spirit if invited in, and the day really does go better when I'm receptive and teachable. Today, the lesson really taught me a lot about myself and gave me a head on what I needed my attitude to be for the day.

Second, a little bit the same as the first. . . I was asked to share a New Testiment story about one of the miracles of Jesus in an upcoming seminary assembly. Today was the first meeting, and even though the way I am to present the story isn't my cup of tea or in anyway my area of expertise (my creative writing skills really lack), it will be good. Sometimes it's time to be stretched, and, I guess, this is one of the ways that my Father wants to stretch me. It'll take time and preparation and prayer and thought and trust, but I know I'll come out a better person. It will give me ground in an area that at the moment I'm struggling with, and it gave me direction to go- something to focus on. I guess, ultimately, the meeting today taught me that there's a plan out there in the big scheme of things, and I play my part in it. This is a small part, but a part nonetheless, and it's going to teach and develop me in a way that I know I'll come to thank later. 

Third, my homework was easy today, and that's saying something because math was on the agenda. I got my homework done in a matter of an hour and a half, and that feels good. It leaves me time to do the things I want. Just a little tender mercy, I guess.

Fourth, Pandora is just a great, great thing. Specifically, the acoustic guitar station on Pandora is wonderful, and I've been listening to it for the past little while. So calm, so peaceful, so good. 

Today, the simple things made me happy, And, as I think about it, the simple things are always what make me feel happy. So, just a little advice from me if you want it, go do something simple- listen to a good song, read an article or short story that makes you happy, change your attitude just a little to be positive (and for me, the best way to do that is read my scriptures), simplify your day as much as you can to lighten your mind. It works- and it is good. It feels oh, so good!

Macklemore

Sydney Thompson- a friend (:- showed me Macklemore this past weekend. I honestly really love him. Except for maybe Thrift Shop. . . However, the one below is probably my favorite.

Apologies for the colorful language and touchy subject- he has a deeper meaning.

In Light of the Holiday

 Thanksgiving is such a grand holiday, so I better start out by saying that I'm grateful for it. . . And food. (: I am so, so, so very grateful for food because believe it or not, I'd die with out it. But seriously. My family and I, along with our family friend Sydney Thompson, went to my Aunt Julie's house. Julie, honestly, is the best cook I know. My mom, on the other hand, is the best pie maker I know. My mouth is just watering from thinking about her pecan pie- so good! It was also good to spend the day with family, so I'm just going to say I'm grateful for them too. Who else would I have crazy dance parties with? Which, those dance parties, I'm grateful for because they burn the tons of calories I intake (I love food, remember?). . . I should probably still run, which I need to do. . . Anyway! This Thanksgiving was such a good one, as it always is.

 At about 9, my neighbor Kimberly called me asking if I'd be her partner in Black Friday shopping- she was leaving at 11:30.
"Oh, sure," I told her.
By 11, I had finished watching Inception and was so tired. I laid in my bed trying not to fall asleep; waiting for 11:30. I don't know how I woke up to it, but when Kimberly texted me that she was outside, I woke up, got my shoes on, and headed out the door. Nonetheless, I was so out of it (The next day, I was trying to remember some of the things I told Kimberly, and I couldn't. Um, yeah, hoping it wasn't too embarrassing). Anyway, the only place Kimberly wanted to go was Jo-Ann's, but when we got there, not a single car was in the parking lot.
"I thought it opened at midnight," Kimberly said.
Searching her phone, we found that it actually opened at 6am the next morning or I guess that morning. . . . A little put out, and kind of humored, we decided we would try Kohl's. After getting there and seeing the enormous, snaked line and the police control, we decided that Black Friday wasn't worth it, and we headed home. Despite, our slightly failed attempt to take on rare deals, I got a great night's sleep that night. (:

In light of the Thanksgiving Break, it's been absolutely fantastic. I've done nothing but read this book, and let me tell you- it's amazing! So, please, to whomever is reading this, read it!!

I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving, and is continuing to have an equally great Thanksgiving Break; I officially welcome us all to the most wonderful time of the year. And Christmas music. (:

A Little Surprise

When I got home Tuesday night, I sighed with relief because it was over. And then I realized it was over. . . Just a few weeks previous, Aunt Lisa had texted me telling her plan about Kayley's 21st birthday party she intended to have be a surprise. She wanted my help with the decorations, and I was thrilled by the invitation! With a meeting beforehand deciding the whats of the party, a Saturday afternoon filled with tissue paper puff balls (and, thanks to Lisa, delicious treats that were honestly to die for), and a Monday night spent cutting, gluing, and crafting a very large Happy Birthday sign, Kayley's surprise party turned into a success. . . . a very cute success- if I do say so myself.

 Most of the decorating goes to my mom and my cousin Megan. I got to Noah's late, and so by the time of my arrival, the tables were already set up. They did a fabulous job! Also, a tribute to my cousin's band: Old Port & the Religious Enforcers. They're really good, so you should like them too. (:

Happy 21st, Kayley! Hope it was the biggest surprise you've ever dreamed of. (:

The Misplaced Might Be Found

Today, as I was cleaning my room, a liquid thought ran through my brain.

"Hey, Sid, your camera cord is in the jewelry box," it said.

So I looked, and lo and behold there it was! Later, as I was vacuuming and pondering on this strange, strange occurrence, I decided that my mind is made up of two psyches (we're not going to go as far as two personalities, but it might be debatable) and the lesser known did this.

Honestly, of all the places to put my camera cord it was in the decorative jewelry box where, as you can see, I put the broken or misplaced knickknacks. And, better yet, I put it not on the top level of the box where it's plain and simple to find- no, I put it below where there was no possible way in anything that I was even going to think of looking there. Besides, of course, randomly when I was cleaning my room.

This was a strange find. Momentous, yes, because now I can add pictures along with my stories, but still very strange. For future reference, my cord will be in my bedside table. . . that is, of course, if I move it which is possible. At this point, we never know.

You Gotta Get Up and Try

                        

This song really is amazing. Life is hard, people are selfish, and conflict happens. . . It's just a matter of getting up and moving forward that determines how positive and successful your life is going to be.

Mormon Helping Hands

"And now I say unto you, when ye have done it unto these the least of my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

The History of My Life Thus Far: In Pictures. . . Maybe a Few Words Too.

My lovely friend and across the street neighbor Lexie wanted to have a nice dinner with her and her boyfriend, so I told her I would cater and decorate. This was the end result. I think it looked lovely. (: Here's my new plan, too: I'm not a huge fan of the whole high school/school dance dating right now, but I do like to make food. So, I want to start my own amateurish catering business. If you or someone you know wants to have their dinner date catered, give them my name or shoot me a call or message on facebook! (:

Mr. Caveman. . . A night where boys embraced their true narcissistic nature, because let's be real, they're more vain than girls. (: It was fun, nonetheless, in the most non-funny way. Also, the above pictures are a few of my wonderful friends. Sarah makes the best faces, and Jade and Megan just are all around adorable. 

Congratulations to Lynsey for getting married!!!

Oh, and I got pied in the face. Checked that one off of the bucket list finally!!! I recommend it to everybody. (:

In A World Where The Clocks Don't Sleep

I have this habit of finding good songs and then playing them over and over and over and over again. This is the current one now. Honestly, I love Built of the Architect, their music is absolutely fantastic, and it helps the the singer has a good face. (: So, here's my new obsession, I hope you like it as much as I do.

P.S. I hope everybody had a good Halloween. Personally, I sort of hate Halloween because it's an excuse to turn your kids lose to beg for candy at strangers' houses. . . If you think about it, it's sort of creepy. I guess that's the essence of the holiday, right? I still stand on my opinion, and I still hope you Halloween lovers had a good day.

"The essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ entails a fundamental and permanent change in our very nature made possible through the Savior’s Atonement. True conversion brings a change in one’s beliefs, heart, and life to accept and conform to the will of God (see Acts 3:19; 3 Nephi 9:20) and includes a conscious commitment to become a disciple of Christ." -Elder Bednar-

Here's what I know:

I know that Jesus Christ did not die for me so that I could be passive about life. Jesus Christ did not make eternal life possible so that I could forget how to trust in Him. 
I know that in order to believe in Jesus Christ and the Atonement and Eternal Life he made possible I must do the tangible: Study the scriptures and his workings and teachings, apply them to my life by really serving real people in need, and keeping a smile on my face everyday. Then, when I do the simple tangible, I must do the intangible: picture Christ walking with me everyday, whispering in my ear what I should say and do and be, and when I make a mistake because I will and always will, I must repent and have that faith that everything is going to be okay.
I know that life is hard and more than once inside everyday, I want to quit and just sit and cry and have everybody feel sorry for me because I'm having a bad day. But, if I did that, I couldn't call myself a disciple of Christ. Christ did not die for me so that I could feel sorry for myself. Christ died for me so that I can live. 

~If there's something bad in your life- get rid of it.
~If you're getting bad grades on tests- study
~If you're not happy- sing a happy song, and say hi to someone who look as unhappy as you feel
~If don't feel adequate- watch the video below or better yet, pray to your Father in heaven. He'll help
~If you don't feel like praying- start spewing out your day to yourself; he'll listen anyway
~If you don't know what to say still- read your scriptures to receive insight and inspiration
~If you don't know what to read- open up anywhere; the beauty of the scriptures is that you can open up anywhere and still learn something from whatever it is.
~If you feel discouraged because things just aren't working out- try again, and then again, and then again.

I know that life is hard, because honestly, the past couple months of my life have been hard. And it's never going to go away with a snap of your fingers, but Christ will help you through it because that was the entire essence of his life. I know that for a fact. 

"I had to get tears out of [my daughter] because if she didn't have an emotional connection to the mistake she made, she'd never fix it." -Jay Allen

Heavenly Father sends trials into our lives so that we can feel what it means to work and fail and have to drag our feet back up to try again. It's painful and emotional involvement is key to the success we receive after we are back on our feet. This is why we must pray, why we must read our scriptures, and why we must strive everyday, all day, in every single thing we do to be examples and disciples of Jesus Christ. He did not atone for us so that we can sit down after we fall, have a pity party, and say, "I can't do this." 

Yes. You can. 

In paintings of the Virgin Mary, she is always wearing blue. A thought someone had was that the color blue (at least within the young women's program) represents divine nature. See, we're taught that we have come to this earth with a purpose- with a divine role. Well, put it into perspective. Mary, as a 15 year old girl was visited by a spirit and was told she was to have a child. Unmarried, this proclamation was a little crazy, and dangerous. If people found out that she was pregnant and unmarried but still endowed to Joseph, they would only assume the obvious. She had committed adultery against Joseph, and the punishment for that was death. How hard would that have been to have to face? To have to go to your proposed husband and tell him that you were pregnant without any explanation to how that child was conceived, and to have to figure out the solution to keep yourself alive? How hard would it have been to be 15 and pregnant? Physically on the body, that would have been exhausting; mentally, it would have been completely draining. How many 15 year old girls now-a-days do we deem fit to be a mother, let alone a mother of the Son of God? She probably would have been daunted by the thought of the task and asked herself how in the world she was going to accomplish that. She didn't bow down to all the adversary inside of what her life was supposed to be, though. It was hard, yes, but she got up and did it. 

Paint yourself in blue and remind yourself that you are a child of God who has something to do. Get up, and prepare to do it. It's going to be hard, but it's going to be worth it. 

This is what I imagine:
I imagine that if I myself get up and do what I need to do to make it to where I need to be, Christ will hold up viles filled full with all of the tears I cried because "life was just too hard" and he will say to me, "Look, look what you have done. Well, done good and faithful servant. You have loved me enough to be standing here, and through it all and even right now, I love you more than you can even comprehend. Welcome to my eternal kingdom."

The Atonement is real, and Christ really lives. He really loves us and wants to help us, we just need to get up, put our best foot forward and try with all our might. Because if we do, our reward is eternity.

"For the beauty of each hour,

Of the day and of the night.

Hill and vale and tree and flow'r-

Sun and moon and stars of light.

Lord of all to thee we raise

This our hymn of grateful praise"

Pretty

Don't sell yourself too short, people!!

Thanks, Ash, for showing me this video. It's Pretty Awesome. (: 

The Blue Aces

My friend Alyssa and I went down to Provo to a place called The Velour to watch this fantastic band play a couple of weeks ago. They. Are. Amazing!! They have this cool rocky, blusey tone to them, and the singer's voice has this perfect rasp I can't get over. I think the most amazing part about them is that they are all high school students. The main singer is  17, the drummer (which is also the singer's sister) is 14, and the two guitarists are both 17 as well. So, if you ever get the chance, go see The Blue Aces. You won't be disappointed! (:

Oh, and, the group before The Blue Aces was Built of the Architect. LOVE!! Check them out too. (:

"We Accept The Love We Think We Deserve"

Fall break has begun over in this little neck of the woods. Not really, Lauren's home on fall break too. . . Anyway, since last night was basically a Friday, Lauren and I decided to go see this movie. Honestly, I had never even heard of it. I saw a poster in the library a couple days ago, but I was really confused because I had no idea what it was. It intrigued me, however, because of the lovely title and because Emma Watson is in it (!!!). So, I asked Lauren if she wanted to go see it with me. She told me only if it looked good (because let's be honest, movies nowadays kind of stink). So we watched the preview. . . And then we watched the preview again. . . and then we watched the preview again!! We were now both excited to go see this movie. We hit a roadblock, though. We went onto the American Fork Cinemark website, but it wasn't playing. I thought that they were just joking with us, so I drove down to the actual theater to see if it was true. It was. I was a little devastated as well as confused and went in and asked the box office worker what was up.

Here's the mini story:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a limited roll movie. Meaning, the makers of the movie (Summit) made only a certain number of reel tapes and then sent them to the busiest movie theaters. In Utah's case this was Provo Towne Centre and South Jordan. He then told us that the movie was well worth our journey to Provo, however, and that the next movie started at 9:55.

Obviously, we were there. Upon my request, we left about an hour before the movie started. We made it to Provo Towne Centre 20 minutes before 9:55, and we were the first ones in the movie theater. YES! Basically we got the best seats in town.

Disclosure:
 This movie is not your typical, cookie cutter, hipster movie. (Once people started coming into the theater, Lauren and I were surrounded by hipsters. . .) The movie is very bad: a lot of vulgar language, a lot of drug reference, there's a homosexual relationship which teams up with a lot of sex reference. However, not trying to justify those kinds of things because they shouldn't be justified, the vulgarity of the movie is the point of the movie. During the summer, I went to the Shakespeare Festival. One of the plays they showed was called Titus Andronicus. Long story short, the amount of violence and suffering portrayed in this play made me physically sick to my stomach. The next day, my mother went to the literary seminar where they discussed this play and all the violence that was in it. The narration lady said this, "If you didn't feel anything towards what you were seeing, you have missed the point. You should feel sick, you should feel anger, you should not want to be in the play." Hence, this is the point of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. If you go to this movie with the intent of being entertained. . . .you're wrong. Granted, you can be entertained by the good music, or Emma Watson's American accent, or the attractiveness of Charlie, but that's, again, not the point. The point is, if you go to this movie, and really think about it, you could potentially change. . . . Because this is Nirvana.

So, for me, I highly recommend this movie. As the box office worker said, "It's highly worth the drive to Provo."

Hey, There's Pictures Coming

Here's my story to lack of blogging. I really do think of writing- I do! But, the problem is that I can't find my computer cord for my camera. I have really good stories to tell, but they're even better with pictures! So, just keep my status as pending and we'll all be good.

brb, folks.
(:

Something Funny

Is this just not the most hilarious thing you've ever seen?

"You Have to Look Hard"

This movie has been my life for the past two days. I've watched just this scene over and over and over again because it's just too amazing. Let's be honest here, North and South makes me giddy, and Richard Armitage makes me drool. Life in movies is just too great, so I just watch things like this so I can pretend that something like ironically meeting the man I deeply love in a random train station just to have him hold my hand and kiss me will actually happen.

I have been studying, however, and it's great! Today I read about the new philosophies of the Renaissance and all about who Thales of Miletus is. Also in Art History, we talked about the cross as a sign of Christianity (obviously) but a few thoughts entered my mind. To me, as of right now, the cross can be interpreted in three ways:

 A symbol of Resurrection and forgiveness               A symbol of guidance- "He is the way."              And a symbol of the Trinity: God the Father

                                                                                                                                                  at the top, Spirit of God, and Son of God. 

                                                                                                                      

 Happy Monday.

Oh, Hey!

Here's to new school years, and new beginnings to blogging. I haven't blogged for so long it feels just like that- a new beginning. I apologize for that, if you still even read this. I feel like I reiterate that so much, I really am just saying to to myself. If I'm not, though, good for you!!!

Here's the news:

School started about a month ago again. I'm in 11th grade now, and I feel like I'm still twelve looking up at all the big kids. But that's mostly just because I really am. I swear the recessive giant gene in every family is creeping up just to taunt me. I decided to forego the Culinary Arts School the beginning of the school year. Out of nerves and prayer, I decided it wasn't the best decision. Instead, I decided to take some of the hardest classes I've experienced in these past few years of my life: AP European History, Philosophy, and Art History (concurrent enrollment). Not to mention the classes that I had to take: English (my teacher insists on perfection, which is teaching a great deal of life lessons), French, Math. . .

The easiest class I am taking is called Human Biology Bioethics. It's taught by Mr. Jay Allen. He. Is. Hilarious. Today he taught us how to keep a non-smoking fund? Basically, it's the handbook towards creating your own imaginary money. I'm down with that, I guess. :) The majority of class is spent by the students presenting current events that have to do with Bioethics. It's super interesting! The most interesting one brought in so far has been the Skin Gun:

Also, I can eliminate all the points I need for these news articles by bringing in a guest speaker. If anybody knows anybody who has a cool job dealing with bioethics. . . Send me a holler!

Along with the new school year comes the school dances. Homecoming was this past weekend, and I had the privilege of going with Jack Carlisle!! He is probably one of the most awesome, kind, gentleman-like boys I have ever met. We played games for a few hours in the afternoon, took pictures at 6, ate dinner (which was delicious) at 7, went to the dance at 8:30, and partied hard! I think the best part was when me and Alyssa Ash found each other, the woman was telling me hilarious things, I was on the ground laughing as hard as hard can get, and then the police officer came over asking if we had lost something. "No, officer, I was just trying not to burst from laughter. Thank you, though."

  Overall, life has been good. I felt like a dork today as I sat on pinterest reading all the humorous things they have and realized that I was laughing really hard, by myself, while staring at the computer. If I share what I was laughing at, maybe you'll get me. :)

 Anyway, life is good, and I'm still alive. Hopefully I'll blog more. . . (:

Defying Gravity

We took our journey up to Salt Lake at about 5 o'clock Saturday evening thinking that we could just grab some dinner and then go to the play. Well, after walking all over City Creek and asking three different restaurants how long their wait was and finally just getting into the massive line at Kneaders, we arrived in front of the Capitol Theater looking at the glorious sign that announced Wicked was playing that night and the lovely fact that we would attend. Because everybody else and their dog loves Wicked too, my mother bought individual tickets for the four of us. I was hoping that I would sit by some attractive boy who would prove to be my eternal companion but my dad, mom, and sister all bet that instead I would sit by some 80 year old man. Guess who was right? Disappointingly, not me.   My dad didn't get it any much better, however. The woman next to him started singing Defying Gravity. Out loud!  A couple of times I wanted to burst out in song too, but I refrained.

Nonetheless, This was something I had been waiting and waiting to do, and all my waiting paid off because it was amazing!! The voices, the costumes, everything about it just gave me chills the entire play through. I was on the edge of my seat the entire play and not because the woman behind me kept hitting my ear with her fan. . it most definitely was a good time. :)

Laugh Because Really, It's Funny

I'm not a hipster. . .

:)

Blast From The Past

Today for young womens we had a chocolate and music appreciation night. We all brought our favorite chocolate treat along with a song that had a memory attached to it or even just a favorite song. Well, I wanted to get a song with a good memory attached to it, so I pulled out all of our old CDs: Now 19, Now 10, Yanni, The Judds. . . . and then I came upon a little tape, and this song started playing.

Because we were weird kids (but I'm finding out that most people my age did this when they were little) we made a ton of home videos, and this song was in most of them. listening to this song just brings back all of my childhood memories: cartwheels in the front yard during the summer, going over to Judy King's house every day to get a popsicle, rollerblading down the big hill on my street, of course making all of our movies like Big Booty, The Sisters, Sound of Music. . . Sometimes I miss those times. It was so simple and happy. It feels good to remember it, though, even if it's by listening to a simple song. 

The song I picked really wasn't the most interesting, though. . .

This story is simple. When I was younger, Sydney my cousin and I along with her brother Trevor would go on car rides at 10 o'clock at night. Those car rides consisted of the blasting of two songs- Burnin' Up by the Jonas Brothers and If I Didn't Have You by Emily Osmond and Mitchell Musso. We would go for hours listening to them over and over screaming the lyrics at the top of our lungs. The whole experience was so exhausting, but yet oh so fun!

In Memory of all my childhood memories, I came home and youtubed all of the old songs I would listen to over and over and over again.

 Does anyone remember the A*Teens?

Good spin on the ABBA song, right? :)

 This one was my absolute favorite. In my room, I had a little stereo and I would put my A*teen CD in it, put this song on repeat, and dance and sing for hours.

How about remembering the Disney Channel show Lizzie McGuire? In one of the episodes, Miranda and Lizzie dance to the song called Us Against the World by Play. I will never forgive my mom for not getting it for me. . . .

Such quality the 90s had. :)

Welcome Summer

Well, I survived school. My projects were all turned in on time, my tests were passed, and everything worked out in the end. In the 16 years that I've lived on this earth, that is one the one thing that I have come to know over and over and over again. Everything will work out in the end. Everything.


Now, since I have neglected this blog for so long, I have a lot to catch up on. First and foremost. It is summer!!!! I love the summer with all my heart, and the warmth it brings is glorious.

This past memorial weekend, my mom, Lauren, and I went to St. George. It was such a great trip. After the week I had just experienced, I was determined to do absolutely nothing at all. Well, nothing at all is what we did. We ate and ate and slept and watched movies. Couldn't have asked for a better weekend!

We also went hiking which is weird for me. I normally hate hiking. I think my heart has been changed with it, though. Don't tell my dad.

Wednesday and Thursday were yearbook day and graduation. Both of which I went to. It's weird that Lauren along with all of the seniors are graduated. I hung out a lot with the seniors and I keep telling them that now they are leaving, I'm going to have no friends. It's a joke, but seriously I'm going to miss those people! :)

After graduation, my family (My parents, both grandparents and Aunt Julie, and me and Lauren) went to The Spaghetti Factory. I love that place so much and the spumoni ice cream.

To celebrate our new freedom, Lauren and I joined the Dunyons at the Rio Tinto stadium to watch a Real Soccer Game. It was such a good time even if Real lost. I was taken back to Chicago when we went to the cubs game. They sucked, but the experience was awesome!

 Number 17 is Chris Wingert. One day, he will be my husband. :)

Contrary to the freedom you just witnessed above, my summer is actually going to be quite restrained. Until July 15th that is. I am doing MATC for culinary arts next year as well as my senior year, and because of that, I am eliminating an entire school year worth of classes, which means I have to do a lot of online school to make up for the classes I'll miss. Currently, I'm working on Financial Lit. I worked on it for a couple of hours yesterday, and got done with the first section of my quarter. Only two more to go!  I have two other classes after that: Art history and Sociology. EHS (electronic high school) is switching over to a new program in which you have to pay on July 15th, so I'm going to be in a mad rush to get those done. I'm not too worried about it, though. I just keep listening to this song, and my spirits are lifted! :)

 Also, Me and Shaylee found a place which we now call our spot!

 Beautiful isn't it? I will be going to it often this summer. :)

Finals Week

I'm finding myself distracted as ever. This year, the district is making every teacher give a final, and because they want all the students to stay for the last week of school, they are forcing those finals to be the very last three days of school. Hectic, you say? You betcha! So, just to give you a taste, I pulled an all nighter on saturday to get my English Tapestry done, I'm currently working on my French Book that is due on Thursday. It's taking me absolutely forever because believe it or not, writing a book in French on the kindergarten level is super hard, tomorrow I will be studying for three tests, and Wednesday I will be studying for three more.

I keep telling myself all I have to do is just survive this week and everything will be fine. After today, I'm not sure if it's actually going to happen. I went home during second period with nausea and a stomachache, slept through 3rd period, missed my titration exam, and when I went to talk to my teacher about what happened, he basically called me a flake and a liar.

Really, all I want to do is watch this movie.

Hopefully, you're surviving better than I am!

Prom 2012

Last week was Prom, and boy can I tell you it was a good time! I felt so honored to be able to go my Sophomore year with an awesome kid like Hayden! For our day date we went on a hike. . . at 5:15 in the morning. Originally, we were going at 4:30, then it was switched to 5:50. The night before, I set my alarm for 5:15 thinking I'll be fine. Well, when my alarm went off, my phone vibrated with a text. Guess who it was? Hayden. Guess what he said? They were there. I don't think I have ever jumped out of my bed that fast that early in the morning in my entire life. So, I threw on some sweats, pulled my hair up into a ponytail (or half ponytail rather) and flew out the door.

We, as in Me; Hayden; Kolten; and Carson, then went and picked up the other two girls in the car: Christa and Mary. Then after that, we drove up to Provo canyon where we met the three other couples in the group: Miles and his girlfriend of whom I forgot her name, Daniel and Aubrey, and Connor and Ally. From here, we followed Connor up the canyon. But instead of turning into Sundance like we were supposed to, we kept driving. All the way to Deer Creek about 10 miles from Heber. By then, the sun had risen and the boys' plans to watch the sunrise were in the bag. We backtracked anyway to Sundance and did our hike up to Bridal Veil Falls. It was absolutely beautiful! Kolten, Hayden, and Carson went off and did their thing so I found a nice little nook overlooking the area. The mountains were landscaped, and the trees all meshed into a green blanket. Not even the littlest sound interrupted the peaceful silence that overwhelmed that area for the half hour I sat there thinking. Those moments always end too fast, though, and we were on the road by 10 o'clock and I was home by 10:30.

I was being picked back up at 5:30- or so they told me- so I went over to Shay's house at 3 to get my hair and make-up done by her mom's friend Gabbe (She did a fabulous job!!), and I made sure I was ready by 5:30. In actuality, I was picked up about 6, which was fine! After that, we went up to Connor's house where we were to have pictures and dinner. I thought it was funny when we got there and Connor whipped out his camera and told people to pose. That was really how we got our pictures done too. For the group pictures Ally's mom took them. I chuckled inside myself. For dinner, we had Costa Vida, which is the next best thing compared to Cafe Rio! I loved it, and basically, I had to restrain myself from inhaling my plate. 

The rest of the night was the dance up at Sleepy Ridge Golf Course. Everybody knows my love of dances, and this one was no different! Basically, the fact that dances exist is why I exist. Just kidding. But seriously, they are the best possible time you can have. And the best time is what I had!