So anyways, I decided to watch Julie & Julia. It is such a cute movie that I haven't seen in awhile so I decided it was a good choice. Well sure enough, I forgot that the movie is based a lot on Julie Powell and her blog that she writes cooking through Julia Child's cookbook. So my mind obviously goes to my blog and how I haven't written in forever. I think I was just afraid of the mega post from Thanksgiving and everything that's happened thus far. However, if I wait any longer it will be hopeless.
So here's a fair warning: This is going to be a mega post.
To start off, I have to talk about my Thanksgiving break!
It was perfect.
After debating where to spend it, Briana and I decided to road trip to Carlsbad, California to visit my dad's side of the family. It was such a blast, I can't believe we haven't been out there in so long! I loved seeing so much family that I haven't seen in SO long and getting to spend so much time with them. It was such a great experience.
The only downer was having to drive 10 hours there and 10 hours back. We switched off driving which wasn't too bad but it was basically a full days trip so that was exhausting. The scenery was beautiful in Utah and Arizona, but Nevada was pretty boring and California was only pretty at some parts. Here are some pics I managed to snap on the road and in Cali-
 |
| This is amusing to me because it's a real life plateau!! I had never seen one in real life before, isn't that crazy? You always learn the different landscapes in geography but it's not like Texas is full of them so I had just never seen one before! |
 |
| Taken at the beginning of the trip obviously... By the end, I was so dead and ready to get out of that tiny car. |
 |
| Driving through scenery like this just made it so much more tolerable. |
 |
| Something cool I learned while at my grandparents: I'm related to this famous silent film cowboy! His name was Art Acord and he was famous in a bunch of silent films. He even has a whole book on him! So cool. |
1st sand sculpture of the trip...<-------
2nd one... a little better wouldn't you say?
--------------->
BEST! Briana and I sculpted this when it was really cold and overcast. We had to keep warm somehow! Davin (my cousin's adorable son) gave him a nose which I like to identify as a birthmark. It was cute.
<----------
 |
| We had a lot of fun in the sand... Can't you tell? |
 |
| The first day we were there, my Uncle Rick let us borrow some cruisers so we went to the beach and rode around Carlsbad. I felt pretty 90s when I tied the jacket around the waist (: |
So check out the starfishes we found on the beach! The big one is obviously a little more impressive and exciting. Either way, you wouldn't find these babies in Texas!
 |
| Taken on Thanksgiving day. Isn't she just so adorable?! This is my cousin Sydney's cute baby, Amara! |
 |
| Black Friday! Best find was getting the entire Harry Potter series for only $16! $2 a movie. <3 |
 |
| By the end of the night, we had so much stuff that we could barely see Briana and April in the back! I would say we were pretty successful. |
 |
| Perhaps my favorite part of the trip was getting to visit the gorgeous San Diego temple! Briana and I got the chance to do baptisms inside and it was just gorgeous. I hope I get to back someday. |
Well anyways, what else has been happening in my life?
My ward took a trip to temple square at the beginning of the month in Salt Lake and that was amazing. Temple square is gorgeous covered in christmas lights!
So besides temple square, we had a pretty sick dance the other week and it was so much fun! It was an Invitational and Jordan and I went with a big group from our ward. We didn't know what to expect (because Cannon center dances are usually pretty lame), but it was actually way better than expected. It was nice to have a fun night and take a break from the stress of upcoming finals.
 |
| Our dates! |
So this sunday was our last sunday meeting as a ward for the semester. It was way sad because we had to say goodbye to a few people leaving on missions.
 |
| Jason! He's heading off the Washington D.C. He's pretty much the coolest guy I've ever met so he will definitely be missed. |
 |
| Quinten! He's heading off to Madrid, Spain. He's hilarious and can steal anything from someone without them noticing, it's incredible! haha he's stolen my phone more than once, so I can testify to his thieving skills. |
Only one more final to go: Statistics.
Countdown to Texas: 4 days.
I can do it!
Laugh of the Day:
So the other day, it snowed, then rained, then snowed again. Do you know what that means? Ice. Everywhere. So I was on campus working on a group project with my two friends Matt & Kevin. We were at the crosswalk at the top of freshman hill and they're joking around and taking bets on when I would slip on the hill. I'm like the clumsiest person ever so I mean it was a definitely good chance I would slip. Well anyways, I'm just kind of putting up with the teasing and was just like, "yall are so funny (not)" and determined now to prove them wrong by not slipping. However, when we get to the top, we see that the whole top of the hill is just glazed over with ice. I honestly didn't know how I was going to make it. So we start walking and I'm concentrating really hard to keep from losing it, but sure enough I start sliding. I was even doing anything! I mean, it was straight ice. Like I could've ice skated on it. So of course, I try to control the sliding and whoosh, I fall straight on my butt. I, of course, started dying of laughter, Kevin lost it, and Matt is laughing really hard but at the same time he is trying to help me up and see if I'm okay. It was just great. Luckily the rest of the hill seemed okay but I avoided it for the rest of the day after that.
So there you have it! My first fall (and certainly not the last) in Utah.
Documented for me to always go back and read. YES.
