another belated birthday girl.

i am late on this once again... but i decided to do it anyway. i think doing these little birthday posts are fun. ha.

ohhh celia-be-delia. how i love you so.

being carolyn's older sister, you were basically all of our big sister.

through out those sleep overs in jr. high you taught us girls everything we know... hehe. 

you are always a party. and i'm pretty sure there is never a dull moment when i'm with you.

(we have many pictures&videos to prove that).

i luff your craziness so very much. however, you are also the our little "mother" and keep us in line.

(somebody has to do it!) 

happy belated birthday my dear! 

now.... when is our next adventure?? ;)

when i grow up..

this semester i am taking three classes for my major:

{intro. to elementary education}

{health in elementary school}

{dance in elementary school}

i am loving them all. through out past semesters i've sometimes thought to myself, "am i sure i want to be an elementary school teacher?" because the average college student changes their major three times. and so far... i haven't changed mine even once. i guess that is a good thing but i just want to make sure i really want to do that the rest of my life so that i don't waste my time earning a degree in it if not. it is kind of scary that we can only choose one thing to major in that will take us to our career that we will most likely have for a looong time (i know you can double major but.... no thank you). these classes (although they are a lot of work for being low credit classes) have assured me that this is what i want to do.

ever since i was a little girl i wanted to be a teacher. i always played school with my little brothers or neighbor friends and i always had to be the teacher. i interned in a 3rd grade and kindergarten class my senior year of high school and this semester i'm doing field observation work in a 2nd grade and soon a 6th grade class (mikayla's to be exact, i'm excited). i even got to teach a health lesson to the cute little 2nd graders today. 

i felt like i was doing exactly what i've always wanted to do.

the other day, the children were all sitting on the "reading rug" while mrs. bennett read them a story and i was just looking at each of the students. some had torn jeans, bed hair, & dirty faces. then others looked like their parents took them right out of a fashion magazine. some of them are slow readers and some i have to sit by during math so they can keep up with the class. others are always finishing first. one of them comes to school starving every day and mrs. bennett secretly feeds them a snack. others parents probably make them a healthy full-coarse breakfast. each of them have different personalities and different needs. and i just thought about how much i want to be that person to help them learn and grow to be the best they can be. to make them feel like they are important and can do anything they set their minds to.

i feel like there isn't a job more rewarding. plus, how fun would it be to have a classroom with your name on the door that you can decorate however you want. you can have your own desk & a whole blank white board to yourself to write all over. and maybe, just maybe.... one of my students will bring me an apple (hehe).

i still have at least three years until that were to happen. but i'm excited to get into my actual major soon & be done with these generals!

so long sweet summer.

dear summer,

i'll miss you. i'll miss late sunsets, walking barefoot to the mailbox, family dinners on the picnic table outback, birds singing me songs outside my window, crickets chirping me to sleep, star gazing on the grass, summer dresses, reading on my parent's deck, natural highlights, & sun kissed skin.  

thank you for the many sweet memories.

you seem to never let me down.

love always, lulu.

.    .     .     .     .    .     .     .     .    .     .     .     .    .     .

*savannah & i at the cabin, fall 2008.

although i will miss summer. it'll always come around again.

and i can't help but loVE the pretty colors on the mountains. i think its about time for a sunday drive up the canyon to gaze at the wonders of fall. don't you think?

i also can't deny my excitement for fall clothes. tights, boots, & comfy sweaters sound just lovely right now.

not to mention the sound of leaves crunching beneath my feet (yes, i'll admit i am part of the fb group called "i go out of my way just to step on a crunchy looking leaf"). who can resist?

carolyn & i at the cabin, fall 2009.

what are you all looking forward to this fall?

dreamland.

i don't think i go there enough lately.

every day this week as i dragged myself out of bed after hitting the snooze button at least 3 times; i told myself i'd come right home from school and give myself some much needed sleep.

a simple power nap would do the trick.

but then i end up doing one thing after another and before i know it the day is over and i'm going to bed late again. 

where does time keep going? 

well all i can say today is t.g.i.f. 

i don't think i could have gone another day this week of classes, homework, tests, quizzes, projects, errands, etc.

this is one weekend i am more than ready for.

so now, here goes the power nap i have been longing for. hopefully it won't turn into an all-day nap with how tired i am.

happy weekend everyone!

in with the new.

as you may know, i am no longer stranded. 

i finaaaaally got a new car! 

the search was endless. my dad and i looked at endless cars online and in endless car lots. 

just when i was losing all hope & about to cry over my poor volvo;

i found just what i wanted. there it was...... in kanab.

soooo... off we went on a last minute, five-hour drive to gosh dang kanab. 

worth it? yess. 

my dad sure loves me. (& i love him to the moon and back). 

so here is my new baby....

*volkswagen passat (don't look too closely, it needs a bath)

ta-da! i luff it. 

i love driving with the windows down, listening to good tunes, and just enjoying the scenery.

i love when the turbo kicks in & off i go....

i love driving home at night especially. when i take my time getting home. i take back roads & actually drive 

the speed limit just so i can have a little extra time to myself to think & clear my head.

although i have been a much more paranoid driver since the accident (my recent passengers can tell you that)

hopefully that'll change with time. 

anyway. thats my new ride(:

*i thought this looked cool even though it makes me look demented.

what my past few days have consisted of.

ilovetheselittlegirls.

babies have to be at the top of the list of things that make me happy.

*yes my hair is different in half of these photos... i had a hair appointment in between my babysitting shifts

on my mind for days.

"none of us see the world as it is, but rather only as we are." 
-unknown


back in my freshman year of college i was in a student success class and we were learning about filters. these consist of things that contribute to how we personally see the world. the professor had us each right down our personal filters & i wrote the following:


girl
mormon
18 years old
oldest in my family
red personality
republican
single
american
college student
living on my own


each of these things had a huge impact in how i viewed other people, made choices, & interpreted the world around me. my professor then told us that a lot of people don't even realize they have these filters & its important to realize that we do so that we can try to better understand other people. 


sometimes i think i have been so closed in my own filters that i haven't taken enough time to look outside them and see how others see the world. not that i necessarily need to change but that i need to expand them. that just maybe i could take a step back from my filters sometimes & consider the world through someone else's. i would gain a new understanding of that person. and add to my own understanding of the differences of people around me. because: 


"There are as many ways to live in this world as there are people in this world, and each one deserves a closer look." -golly


sometimes i am sitting in class zoned out of the lecture just thinking about how big the world really is. it overwhelms me. (but, in a good way). i just feel that there is so much out there to learn, understand, & experience and i have only touched the surface. maybe this doesn't bother other people as much as it bothers me but for some reason i have found this huge desire to expand my knowledge. to consider all ways. i almost think i'll never feel fully satisfied until i do.


"we don't see things as they are, we see things how we are." -also unknown

belated birthday girl.

savannah marie.

this dear girl always has her birthday overlooked since all us girls usually go our separate ways in the summer but luckily we still celebrated this year (just over two months later.....) and hopefully it made up for it!
savannah and i always had tons of fun growing up as cousins so close in age and when we finally were both going to the same high school (we anticipated this for years) we also became best friends. we always got asked if we were sisters at school and my best high school memories were spent while cruising around in her bronco (a.k.a. the beast). then we became roommates after I graduated. it was a blast and i know my freshman year of college wouldn't have been nearly as fun without her.
now we are continuing to grow up (she is now twenty-one!) but we are still just as close. especially after the scary day when we got hit by a semi-truck since we have had to go to physical therapy like every day together. sometimes we fight like sisters and joke around by saying "it sucks we are cousins and not just friends because now we're stuck together for the rest of our lives!" but really i'm so happy that we are! life is getting busier and although we can't spend every weekend just cruising state street & pulling all-nighers; we still have plenty of memories to make.

i looove you savy-annah!

to. do. lists.

i love them.
i love being organized. 
however i'm not at least half of the time but i like trying to be.
do you know what i love even more than to-do lists?
checking things off of my to-do list!
its actually one of my favorite things... 
pulling my list out when i have a free minute & putting a nice clean line right through what i just completed.
right now i have a very looong to do list and i'm quite overwhelmed
but i'll just try and check things off one by one & then i'll be all done--
until the next to-do list comes along.... 
ohhh where would i be without to-do lists?