My BFF Elise

Continuing on with sentimental things, my best friend comes home tomorrow after serving 18 months in Arizona. Not even joking.

In late February of 2013 Elise called me and we chatted like we normally did. She lived in Provo at the time and was too far to meet in person at 9:00 at night. All of a sudden she said to me, "Kara, I think we need to think about going on missions." I was sort of shocked for a minute. I certainly wasn't ready for that and my anxiety immediately kicked in. I never felt like serving a mission was right for me so I sort of just blew it off. But, deep down inside I knew she was going to do it. I knew she had been thinking about it and was ready to start the process. I knew soon my best friend would be very far away from me.

She started her papers and her mom took her shopping. It was all coming so quickly and it was crazy! Then some things happened, the paperwork wasn't coming along like it was supposed to, and she was delayed for 4 months. She was absolutely heartbroken and almost gave up completely. For her, the timing was everything. She wanted to leave in August and now she wouldn't even be able to apply until August. But she stuck with it and kept going. That took incredible faith on her part. 

In May Scott came home and we started dating and Elise was confident she was going to serve. Together we prepared for very different things but ultimately it was the temple. We were nervous and excited together for what our futures held. On September 19, 2013 she received her call to Scottsdale, Arizona and the next day Scott asked me to marry him. Again, different but equally exciting. Her report date was December 18th and we knew for sure that I would be getting married without her. That was hard.

Ever since we were little we dreamed of our weddings and of course, both of us being there. Elise loves weddings more than any girl I know. Her #1 goal in life was always to get married and I think she's got her whole wedding all planned out. I know it was hard for her knowing she was going to miss my special day. But, I told her I wouldn't want her anywhere else except for serving a mission. We both cried a bunch and spent as much time together as we could before she left. I helped her pack her suitcases and organize her things. I am so grateful for that, even though it was hard to let her go.

We promised to write every week and we did it. EVERY. WEEK. I heard from her and she heard from me. I know it has helped our friendship grow and I am so grateful we have done what we can to maintain the relationship we have. Her last email to me made me cry a whole bunch and her testimony is incredible. I want to share a little part, the part I love most. This is Elise in her most honest form-

"Kara, I cannot tell you in words how thankful I am for your commitment in writing me these emails every week. It has meant the whole worlds to me and I am so thankful that we will have these memories to look back on for years to come! I know that I missed some very important days of your life, including the most important day, but I know that our friendship has been made stronger since I have been gone. I want you to know that the only reason I knowingly chose to miss those important things is because I love my Savior so much and I had a desire to serve Him."

 If you aren't immediately jealous of me for having THIS PERSON to call my best friend, I am so sorry for you. She's amazing and I can't wait to have her back here with me. 18 months has been much too long. If you wanna see some cute pictures of us click here. It's the goodbye post I couldn't bear to write. So, you get this story now instead of then. I have seriously missed her so much.

DFTBA

MAY!

So many things have happened in the last month. I've been meaning to write them down but I'm just the worst. Anyway, here's a few pictures and even more words :)

-Spring semester is over! I ended up with a stupid 3.9 and I don't really wanna talk about it. A couple of my classes were pretty hard and I was grateful to see them go. Also, Scott and I evaluated our lives and decided to go to summer school. He'll have his associates in August and I'll have my bachelors in May 2016. I could not be happier.

-We went on a quick trip to St. George to see one of our good friends from high school get married! That morning at 8 Scott's cousin got married in the Salt Lake temple so after the sealing we drove home, changed, bought some more snacks, and picked up our two friends. We made it to Provo before we needed a lunch break. Upon eating Lorna realized she didn't pack a shirt, tie, or belt for Braden so we headed to Ross and shopped with 800,000 other people.

Wedding #1 :)

After a million hours of driving we made it to St. George and had about an hour to get ready. I wasted a bunch of time trying to put my hair in a bun and gave up 20 minutes before we had to leave. I jumped in the shower (washed my hair!) and got completely ready in time. It was the most amazing thing I've ever done.

After days and days of searching my closet for the perfect outfit for the wedding Scott let me get a new dress.

He even took me to 5 different stores to look.

He's the real MVP.

Geremy's wedding was at the most beautiful place. It was so good to see him and he was really happy! We chatted, ate, and danced and enjoyed the night. After we got back to our hotel we really wanted to go to the hot tub but it was closed. The nice lady at the front desk told us if we were quiet we could go. We were so pumped only to find out that it was more of a luke-warm tub than a hot tub. Basically it was too cold outside to deal so we just went to bed. Everything else about our hotel was fab though!

I'm very sorry about the terrible quality but LOOK HOW HAPPY GER IS :')

The next day we drove around town and went to see the temple. I was super bummed we hadn't planned to actually go in the temple because when we got there that's all I wanted to do. But, we enjoyed the visitors center and walking through the grounds. It was a beautiful day and we had lunch at the most delicious Pizza Factory. We wanted to go to Dixie Rock but it was closed off due to the Iron Man race going on... so we settled for the museum featuring 150 years of wedding dresses. It was actually really cool! After that we decided it was time to head home. We hadn't been on the road very long when Scott got pulled over for speeding. Thankfully they let him off with a warning. I was grateful we didn't get a ticket but having to drive the speed limit the rest of the way made for a VERY long trip. Don't speed, kids.

One of my favorites!

I love the old temples.

-On May 5th we had updated pictures of us done by Ashley Ziegler Photography! That deserves a whole post all on it's own but I just had to mention it real quick. I had such a good time and I absolutely love our pictures! Ashley gets 10 high fives from me!

Total heart eye emoji

-The next day on May 6th Scott had sinus surgery. Oh, how fun that was. I was a nervous wreck but everything turned out fine. He recovered very well and hasn't had any problems so far. After surgery we went and stayed at his grandparents house because it was empty and quiet (they were out of town) and it was so nice to just chill (read: watch 100 episodes of Catfish because CABLE!) and play with the cats for a couple days! His post-op is tomorrow so hopefully they find that everything is healing normal. I am so glad he's feeling better :)

I took 2 hours for them to finally take him back into surgery so we watched Cutthroat Kitchen and discussed finances. Very fun.

Simba being beautiful <3

-On May 11th we bought our very first car! It was a crazy stressful day but we ended up pretty happy with what we got. It's a 2012 Honda Accord and it's sooo nice. We've been working and saving for a long time and it feels good to own something so pretty. It was good practice for next time... cause yeah we have to buy another car in few months. Pray for us.

I would go back to this sketchy car lot in a heartbeat!

-On May 14th Elder Simpson came home from serving two years in Ohio! Scott hadn't seen his brother in FOUR years and it was a sweet reunion. It has been fun having my friend home again!

-May 19th Scott and I both started our summer classes. It has been so crappy. I hate never seeing Scott and when I do see him we both have homework to do. It's so sad and I can't wait for this to be over. ONE MORE YEAR.

-Memorial weekend we went with my parents and sister to decorate graves. We do it every year and Scott had never been before. He had a good time learning a little about our family history and seeing where my parents grew up. That night we got both of our families together and had a fire. S'mores are #1. 

Phew. I think that's most of what happened the last month. It's been crazy busy but very fun! I have a happy life and I'm thankful for all the great people in it.

ALSO.

MY BEST FRIEND, LIKE ACTUAL BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD, IS COMING HOME IN 12 DAYS. TWELVE DAYS. GUYS.

I can't wait to hug her. It's been too long. 

DFTBA

23 Never Looked So Good

Scott's 23rd birthday was on Sunday so of course we celebrated all weekend long! We had made a few previous plans and basically all of them went out the window a few days before the weekend. But don't worry- we still had a great time!

First, a little back story. A few months ago Scott mentioned that he wanted to get a Wii for his birthday so we were planning on getting one. However, I didn't know that the Wii had changed so much and that the new Wii U was basically nothing like the old Wii and was so dang expensive. I was on the fence about it so Friday I went in to work and consulted with my boss who knows a lot about video games. I asked him a million questions and he convinced me to get the latest and greatest Wii U and even agreed to go with me to buy it. After work we headed over to Game Stop and he helped me get what I needed. I rushed home and then to Walmart for wrapping supplies... and more presents. Whoops.

Please appreciate how cute these are because boys just don't

When he got home from work we ordered Domino's and went to pick it up (because the $2 delivery charge + tip is way too much for my cheap self. And we live sooo close it's stupid not go get it yourself). I gave him his first present (Big Hero 6!) and we watched it while we ate. About halfway through the movie I decided I couldn't wait to give him the Wii U and after the movie ended I gave him a bag with a controller wrapped inside. He opened it up and was like DOES THIS MEAN WE ARE GETTING A WII?! And I chuckled and went into our bedroom and brought out the big box. I knew if he had seen it he would have known so I kept it hidden until right before he opened it. Let's just say he was very, very happy. We stayed up until 1:00 playing Super Mario 3D world.

I don't have my own picture so this is Google's best. 

Anyway, it seriously is the coolest. The main controller is this game pad and it is huge! It has its own screen with all sorts of random features. All additional players use regular controllers and the games are just so stellar. But! There is an option to go back to the regular Wii menu so you can play all the old games and whatnot on it. It's the best of both worlds and it totally rocks!

Saturday we slept in and played games all morning. We ate waffles and eventually got up to go get ready for the day. We ran a few errands and then met up with his family. We went bowling and had a great time! I did better than I ever have before so that was fun! When our 3 games were done we headed to Texas Roadhouse and enjoyed lots and lots of food!

A nice blurry picture from bowling :)

Sunday was Scott's actual birthday but it was pretty low-key. He had a meeting so we had our fun fancy breakfast when he got home from that. We ditched our own ward because Katie (WHO IS ON A PLANE TO CHILE AS WE SPEAK!) had her farewell and we were not about to miss that! After her church we went to my parents house for dinner with my family because my grandparents were in town, We had a nice meal and a good chat and of course I loved seeing little Ben :)

Because matching is cool ;)

It was such a nice weekend and it was a lot of fun. I am so, so happy to have this man by my side. He makes my life so much more wonderful and I can't imagine being without him. Happiest of birthdays, Scotty :)

DFTBA

Ode to Jamba

Jamba Juice Jordan Landing

My second home

my sweetest friend

I can't believe

this is the end

All those times

you saved my life

You even saw me

become a wife

You watched me grow

You watched me cry

You even watched me

date a really terrible guy

You gave me money

And lots of it

I kinda wish 

I hadn't spent most of it on... crap

You've seen the spills, 

the cuts, and slips

You know our deepest, 

darkest secrets

You've made me friends

both young and old

You've showed me how 

to be more bold

You ruined two pairs

of my favorite shoes

You taught me how 

to deal with youth

I know it's hard

to say goodbye

But I'll see you soon

right next to Best Buy

We're moving on Monday

and it's kind of sad

But a brand new store

will make everyone glad

I love you, Jamba

with all my heart

I'll never forget 

what it was like to start

Working for you 

has been so fun

I cannot wait until 

this new chapter has begun

Best Friends, Forever

We spent the night before putting together a playlist for dancing and talking and laughing together.

At 11:49 we said goodbye for the last time. 

I didn't sleep much.

I got up at 7, tired as can be.

It took me 40 minutes to shower and shave.

Never before have I taken so much time on my knees.

Threw on my makeup, almost cried.

Went to my hair appointment, almost cried.

Came home and fixed my disaster of a face.

Put on my black dress and mom told me I was beautiful.

Loaded up everything and checked 4x.

Only temple in the valley open = nowhere to park.

Almost cried again.

Couldn't find mom, couldn't find Scott.

Started to panic.

Finally got everyone together.

Hugged my boy and told him he looked so good.

He did look so good. 

Put on my dress and just stared. 

Mom and grandma oohed and aahed. 

Came out and saw his face drop. 

*finally*

Said goodbye to our parents and went up the elevator.

Temple worker said the sweetest words,

"We aren't going to separate you any more."

Sat and waited with my sweetheart with the calmest, most peaceful feeling.

Almost cried again when we walked in and saw all of our family and friends.

Heard the most beautiful blessings and promises, ever.

Filled with joy.

Hugged everyone, my brother was my favorite.

Came out of the temple to so many happy faces.

Pictures, pictures, pictures.

Windy and kind of cold, 

but at least it wasn't snowing.

Had a moment of realization that we were actually finally married and screamed a little.

Drove to reception center for lunch.

Delicious food and happy family. 

Bagpipers. SO COOL.

Random advice that I don't remember.

Elise's parents taking pictures to send to her.

Being so happy every time because I knew it was like she was there. 

Setting up for reception.

Making out in the groom's room.

Getting ready for pictures.

Photo sesh with our mute photographer.

Props to her for being the ultimate trooper.

And Austin for being her voice ;)

Packed reception. Worried about brownies.

Saying hi and hugging everyone.

Felt like a princess.

I lost a bet I thought for sure I'd win.

Cake, bouquet, garter, dances. 

HE PULLED IT OFF WITH HIS TEETH AND I COULD NOT STOP LAUGHING.

Time to go change and leave.

Bubbles and goodbyes.

Oreos and balloons everywhere. 

Had to go through the car wash twice so we could see out the windows.

Good talk with Scotty, actually cried.

Little America check in.

Stayed in the tower on the 12th floor.

Rose pedals on the bed, sparkling cider on ice, and chocolates & berries.

It was adorable and so big and so beautiful and it felt like heaven.

Sister's snack basket that saved our lives.

It was the best ending to the best day.

I loved falling asleep next to Scott and not having to wake up and go home.

I loved that we were ALLOWED to be alone.

That no one was going to call us and bug us and ask where we were.

It was magical.

Being married to Scott is magical.

Our wedding day was perfect. 

I wish we could do it again.

:)

We really are best friends, forever.

photo credit

EMC

547 days until I see this beautiful face again.

Arizona could never receive a better sister missionary.

Don't worry, I only cried for like 3672 hours.

DFTBA

Midnight Pancakes

Once upon a time a pretty good chunk of my heart got shattered last night.
I'll elaborate later when I've composed my thoughts a little better.
I don't wanna say a bunch of stuff I don't mean out of anger...

Anyway, things were bad.
So I sent out an invitation for midnight pancakes to my twitter followers.
My dear sweet friend called Julie Blake answered my desperate cry for an adventure.

We went to Denny's and caught up on everything.
It took my mind of all the Jamba crap going on.
She's amazing.

DFTBA

Birthday Week!

I have this friend called Maddie that I met in 7th grade. She's definitely someone that takes everything to the next level... especially her birthday. Celebrating for one day is not good enough for Maddie, she needs an entire week.

And I completely agree.

SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY WEEK TO ME :)

I plan to do something epic every day of birthday week.

And even better than that, it's finally J U L Y!!! July is the best month of the year. Obvi.

Hey guess what I'm leaving for my Canada/New England trip in EIGHT days.

EIGHT.

(Ask my boyfriend how good I am at counting down for things... ;) hahaha)

I'm tempted to start packing right this very minute! I love to travel. Love it love it love it. I love to go see new places and learn new things and meet new people. Plus it's just refreshing to turn my phone off for seven days and enjoy time chilling on a huge ship out in the middle of the ocean with my awesome family. It's wonderful. :)

Also, I'm SO FREAKING EXCITED for the Red Sox vs Yankees game we are going to after the cruise. I've always wanted to go to Boston and see the Red Sox play. I've been dreaming of this for almost half of my entire life. It seems so unreal that it's actually happening. I just can't even handle it. AAAAAHHHHH.

ALSO ALSO, Kyle and Natalie are living in Philadelphia for the summer and I miss them terribly. But guess what? THEY ARE GONNA COME MEET US IN BOSTON AND SPEND THE DAY EXPLORING WITH US! When my mom told me I screamed. I can't wait to see those kids! I miss them so much!

AND I get to go to Corps Encore tomorrow night! It's probably one of the nerdiest things I indulge in every year, but it's amazing. Now, I bet you're probably thinking, "Kara, what the heck is Corps Encore?" Well, it's part of DCI which stands for Drum Corps International.... It's basically people that spend an entire summer traveling around the country and performing excellent shows for regular citizens such as myself.... IT'S A PROFESSIONAL MARCHING BAND COMPETITION, OKAY!? I'm so excited. I love DCI with all of my little heart. Plus I get to go with Scott, Katie, and Garrett. hehe :)

Speaking of Scott. He's great, by the way. As (hopefully) most of you know, he's been one of my best friends for four years. I spent my high school days looking up to him and wishing I could be HIS girl. I wrote him for *most* of his mission and counted every single one of those 730 days. And now, he is mine. He calls me every morning to tell me to have a good day. He comes to visit me wherever I am. He listens to me whine about my stupid problems. He laughs with me. He takes me to institute every Tuesday and Thursday night. He makes fun of me for being a crazy child and then kisses my forehead and says, "I love you, sweetheart." He encourages me to be better. He buys me lots and lots and lots of ice cream. He sits in my living room with my family and I and soaks it all in. He's just great. I swear I still don't know how I lucked out and had some of my wildest dreams come true, but they did. And I think that's pretty awesome. :)

Now get out there in the 100 degree sun and enjoy July! I know I'm going to :)

DON'T FORGET TO BE AWESOME

Kara Went On a Date? What?

Last week Copper Hills had their final band concert of the school year.
Jay and I went together because we're best friends.
Afterwards we drove around and talked about life.
When we got hungry, Jay suggested that we go have a fancy dinner together.
I was all over that one!
We went to the Olive Garden and enjoyed a delicious meal.

Jay means the world to me. He's stuck with me through a lot of crap. He's listened to me whine about everything a girl could ever whine about. He's never given up on me and has always encouraged me to better myself.

All of his girlfriends and kind of girlfriends have hated me. I think maybe they are just jealous that I was there before them and I'm still gonna be there after they are gone. I am THE best friend. And they just need to learn to deal with it ;) hahahaha Jay and I have an indescribable friendship, but it's a good one. And I sure am glad we have it!

Now please enjoy some low-quality pictures of us.
I really need to learn how to edit the crappy pictures my iPod takes.... Whatever.

Also, the food was uh-mazing.

I bet y'all wish you had a best friend like mine ;)

DFTBA

Life Update

-My parents celebrated 31 years of marriage yesterday. They are such an amazing example to me.

-I talked to Elise a few times. There's hope.

-I wish my sisters were out of school already! I'm so excited for lunch dates and gift card/coupon using trips!

-Scott is coming home in 15 days.

-I leave for my cruise in 57 days, I go to Fenway in 64 :)

-My sister-in-law bought me some coconut oil to put in my hair before they left for Pennsylvania, it's uh-mazing.

-I can't believe I graduated almost one year ago. Seems like it's been so much longer than that. My life is so different now than I ever thought it would be.

-I kind of miss riding the train every day... Also, it's weird having NO homework or school stuff to worry about after being totally consumed in it for four months. I kind of don't know what to do with all my free time.

-I bought a ridiculously cute pair of shoes yesterday and I can't stop thinking about them. This is probably unhealthy.

-I'm falling in love with The Office. I know, I'm a little late to the party, but it's just so funny. I started watching the first season on Netflix and now I can't stop. It's not nearly as good as Friends, but it's nice to have a show to watch again.

-We're back to the whole "should I do marching band at the U in the fall or should I not do marching band at the U in the fall...?" thing. Ugh. If I didn't have to work, I'd totally do it. Maybe I should just talk to my boss... Meh.

-Guess who came into Jamba to see me the other day? Alex. I about died. After helping an entire mob of customers, I went out to the lobby to talk to him. He had waited so patiently. We chatted for a bit and then I made him a smoothie. I asked him if he still had my number and his exact words were, "No, and that's partly the reason I came in here." I laughed and wrote it down on a receipt paper, he put it in his phone, and then texted me. He said he would plan something fun and call me. I smiled for THE REST OF THE DAY. I thought it was nice he went out of his way to come to my work, not even knowing if I'd be there or not.

-Last night I was at work again and he asked if I wanted to watch Thor when I got off. I gladly accepted and danced around the kitchen like a giddy little girl. I told Bryson my happy news and he was excited for me. I went home and put on my fave soccer sweats and Utes T-shirt. I brushed my teeth and drove to Riverton where his brother lives. I didn't get lost (hallelujah) and we spent a while catching up on things and talking about school. We ate popcorn and watched Mr. hottie pants Chris Hemsworth save the world. It was the best night I've had in a long time. I've really missed him and I'm glad we have some time to get together again now that the semester is over. :)

Things are going well. I'm a happy kid. 

DFTBA

What The March?

So, it's March. 

March.

As in, the third month of the year.

MARCH. 

Where the heck did February go!?

Despite the shock I'm in right now, I'm quite pleased that winter is almost over and walking around the U isn't going to be like death anymore! :)

Hopefully.

You never know with Utah.

It's probably gonna snow tomorrow just because I said that.

Anyway, here are a few things that have been going on!

Elise and I served as subs in nursery today. 

hahahahahahahahahahaha

I'm pretty sure I laughed for almost half of it.

The other half I was soaking up the spirit that those kids give off.

It's incredible. 

And the Church is true.

Jamba is getting busier! 

Shifts are a lot more fun when there are more people working and we are making a lot of money.

Hiring for summer will be starting soon.

I'm nervous to train the new kids...

But, my trainers were champs and they helped me become the fab employee that I am today ;)

So hopefully I can be as awesome as they were.

I just can't believe that I've been working there for almost a year.

The time flew by. 

I've accomplished so much since then.

Also, I'm nervous for some of the old staff to come back...

I already know how hard it is to be in charge of your friends.

I don't know if I'm up for that task again...

We'll see.

School is absolutely terrifying.

I'm not even worried about grades anymore, just passing.

I've never ever felt like that before.

My classes are just so hard for me and I know they are only going to get worse.

Every day I wake up hoping that things will get better...

they don't.

But I know how important education is and I am determined to fight through this!

I have been practicing so much self-control!

I haven't been shopping since the semiannual sale at VS.

Which is totally incredible.

I guess having to give my parents every paycheck I earn has made me not want to spend any money.

Although, I did break down yesterday and buy some nail polish.

But that's it!

Speaking of giving my parents all my money,

I finally paid off my trip!

This summer my family and I are going on a cruise to Canada/New England.

It ends in Boston.

Which means....

RED SOX vs YANKEES AT FENWAY PARK.

FENWAY PARK.

I'm. Going. To. Fenway.

I want to cry every single time I think about it.

I'm so excited going to explode from all the blissful feelings I have.

I've been wanting to do this since I was a tiny little 6th grader.

I can't even hold it in anymore.

I want to go scream it to the whole world and then dance around for hours.

But for now, happy webcam pictures will have to do.

 :)

Happy midterms! May the odds be ever in your favor!

DFTBA!

Crimson Nights

First of all, I go to the best college in the state. Hands down.
They throw a huge A party every semester (?) called Crimson Nights.
They are at the Union and it's just a blast!
I went last night because I'm determined to make some dang  good memories from college!
Elise came with me because she loves me and loves to party ;)

But first we went to her roommate's wedding reception downtown. (How convenient, right?) Enjoyed some cupcakes and awkward talk with strangers. Lost our parking ticket thing and had to fill out some crazy form. Changed clothes in the car and drove up to the U. Had some serious eye flirting with the fellas in the cars next to us. Got lost.... hahahaha. (I don't drive around up there so I don't really know how the roads work) Sat in the parking lot til we were brave enough to go in. Scoped the place out. Got lots of free stuff. And food. (Probably the best part of the whole thing because um hello FREEEEE!) Went bowling throwing balls down lanes and only counting style points. Got some T shirts ;) Drank some Cherry Coke <3 Danced til we couldn't dance no more. Screamed the words to all the songs. Jumped up and down and up and down and up and down. More eye flirting, then avoiding habeebe. GO AWAY. Talked to A Cav :) and David. Saw way too many people I knew. Got coconut rings after a fun game of "pass the debit card". Nice security guards. Met some more hotties via coconut rings and matching ASUU chapstick. Good luck ring kisses. Laughing on the drive home. Sleepy time music (NOT). Seven more minutes. Total bliss. LOVED it. :)

And thus marks another pictureless post. F- Kara, F-. But in my defense I didn't have enough pocket space to babysit my phone AND ipod. So whatever.

DFTBA!

P.S. This is my 100th blog post! I can't even believe it. I freakin love blogging!

Unexpected Awesomeness

So I had a bit of a surprise yesterday.
I woke up and didn't wanna go to school.
At all.
I just felt so awful :/
Anyway, I had a feeling that I needed to go though.
Especially to Institute.
So I rolled out of bed, threw on my glasses and some sweats, and rode up to the U.
I stumbled my way down the giant snowy hill and somehow got to my class.
When I got there I actually took notes and paid attention?
Mallory and I took the red shuttle to the stop by the Institute Building.
That was an exciting new adventure!
We got to see the residency halls and a lot of the hospital.
We actually got to class on time and got to sing the hymn.
I'm pretty sure I sounded something like a dying cat, but whatever.
After the prayer and announcements, I looked to my right and saw there was someone sitting next to me.
It was most definitely Alex. :)
I smiled so big at him and said hi and immediately regretted my poor choice of wardrobe.
But he smiled back at me and sat there for the whole lesson.
For some reason I thought maybe he'd get up and leave in the middle?
He's a busy guy...
After it was over I asked him why he was there.
He told me he had just finished taking a test and had no more classes for the rest of the day.
He had missed his own institute class the day before so he decided to come crash mine.
I was so freaking happy.
It has been a rough... month.
I HATE being alone all the time.
I hate how I have no one to talk to (in person) or just hang out with.
And even if I did, I'm so busy I can't do it anyway.
It's just a crappy situation.
So I was extremely thankful that he had decided to come see me right on the exact day I needed it the most.
We rode the train together and talked and laughed just like old times.
We had a lot to catch up on :)
He told me the "story" of how he ended up in my class on that particular day and I knew that Heavenly Father had something to do with it.
He knew I was in need of a friend, a pick-me-up of sorts, so he inspired Alex to come see me.
It's just little things like that that make me realize just how much God loves me and watches out for me.
Surely, I'm not by any means "alone".
I have a million friends and a wonderful family.
I could probably just suck it up and be fine.
But, no.
He understands how I'm feeling and knew I needed some help.
And help me he did.
Needless to say, my day got a lot better really, really quickly.
:)

DFTBA!

We're Famous

So remember that New Year's party Elise and I went to?
Yeah well we were out getting a drink and this guy walked up to us and started asking us all these weird questions.
We both kinda just stared at him and were like dude what the heck?
Eventually he told us it was a prank and that they'd be making a YouTube video of it.
Well, here it is.
We're at the very beginning.
And it's not funny.
But we're famous ;)

DFTBA!

Ready Or Not Here It Comes

I'm definitely in denial about 2012 being over. I was going to write a post reminiscing on my year and how great it was but then I started writing it and got super depressed. 2012 was by far the best year of my life. I loved it so much! It was extremely difficult and I went through a lot of new challenges, but it really was awesome. I had so much fun and built a lot of really good relationships with people. I had some awesome experiences and learned so much. So if you wanna know what happened in 2012, read my earlier posts. I talk about most of the big stuff that happened and that's good enough for me.

So as I was saying, I had a hard time seeing such a great year end. But, ready or not, here it comes. And here it is. 2013 is a crap number but hopefully it won't be a crap year. I won't let it be a crap year! haha

My New Year's Eve was quite interesting and eventful. I'm a firm believer in "go with the flow". I hate, I repeat, HATE making plans. For anything. Ever. Something always comes up or something more exciting always happens. I just hate knowing I'm locked into something before I know what my real options are. Anyway, since I had no plans, my day turned out awesome! Anna called me and asked if I'd go shopping with her. We went around Jordan Landing and she got some real cute stuff for the coming year :) And I only bought one pair of pants. It was a Christmas miracle. :) 

Elise called me and asked if I wanted to go to the party that UVU throws every year. We discussed a few different options and eventually I decided that I would just drive down there and stay the night with her. She was working so I shoved my Jamba clothes in my backpack and set off for Provo. It started snowing while I was on the freeway but I didn't die. (Another Christmas miracle) I got to the Jamba in Provo and put my uniform on. I helped them close and it was so weird to be working in another store. I felt like I was cheating on JJJL. hahahah. Elise accidentally flooded the place and I had my very first cheddar tomato twist. It was heaven.

We went to Elise's apartment and got ready for the partay. We drove over to the school and after another trip back home and several minutes of stupid wifi we got in. It was basically a region dance on steroids. We danced and ran around and hug out with Ashley and Liz. (Elise's boss and my future boss :P) They left before midnight so we hung out with Emery and her roommate Hannah for the rest of the time. We spent much of the night trying to get people to dance with us and trying to find some cute strangers that would kiss us at midnight. Finally the countdown came. It was 2013 and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. My year was over and another one had began, just like that. I sat there in awe thinking about what this year would bring.

Suddenly Elise went into panic mode and she was like I MUST KISS SOMEONE AT THIS PARTY. So, she walked up to some innocent guy who was walking around by himself, grabbed his face, and kissed him. Lots. Emery, Hannah, and I stood there in total shock and laughed forever. I couldn't believe Elise was just making out with some random guy. Then they hugged and said happy new year to each other and went their own ways. It was absolutely hilarious and I thought I was gonna die. Hannah found some stud muffin and Emery had a guy ask her if she needed someone to kiss. Then all eyes were on me and I was like um hello? No way. 

Being the brave girl she is, Hannah walked over to some cute fellows and was like, "hey do you wanna kiss my friend?" to one of them. Then he smiled and walked over to me and kissed me. I smiled back and was like hey thanks happy new year! and then he hugged me and walked away. OH MY. hahahahah it was the weirdest thing I've ever done in my life. None of us even know their names. But whatever cause YOLO. And not only that but, you're only young once. And you have to do stupid stuff sometimes simply because you are young. And it might make a great story one day. Who knows. 

About 1:00 I was about ready to crash so Elise and I left and went to Walmart to get some pasta and alfredo. We went home, made dinner, watched Friends, and chatted about how incredibly fun and crazy our night was. We finally went to bed at 3 and woke up at 10. I showered and we went to Village Inn and ate a delish breakfast. Then it was time for me to go home cause I had to work. I told Megan and Rachel about my weird as crap night and they laughed with me. We had sisterly chat in the office for 45 minutes and it was great. I love those girls :) It was just a really great way to start a really great year!

GOALS FOR 2013:

• Get good grades
• Meet new friends
• Spend time with the boys coming home
• Be even more awesome at my job
• Read a book every month
• Eat breakfast every day
• Read scriptures more often
• Save money! Open a savings account!
• Participate more in Institute
• Quit freaking procrastinating
• Write more, shorter blog posts
• Work a shift at the Draper store
• Be more friendly. Enough of this sleeping on the train business.
• Don't gossip 
• Memorize all of the secret menu recipes
• Not worry so much

And more to come. It's gonna be great. :)

And after all these years, we're still best friends. 

Still.

I love her.

Christmas

My parents took Kaylee and I to Mexico so that was basically our Christmas present. And oh boy what an awesome present it was! So it was really nice to spend actual Christmas focusing on time with my family and remembering why we have Christmas in the first place.
Christmas Eve I woke up and went visiting teaching. All by myself. I'm so brave you don't even know. Then I helped Elise finish her shopping. We had five people she needed to get stuff for and it only took us three hours and a few treks through the snow.
I got called into work early so at 12:00 I took off my cute Christmas outfit and put on my boring work outfit. It took me almost fifteen minutes to get to Jordan Landing and the blizzard was insane. Right about then I was thanking myself for biting the bullet and spending so much money on new tires. Anyway, I went to work and Rachel and I cleaned while Ashley took the deposit to the bank. Over an hour later Ashley came back and we were suuuuuper slow so she left. We basically just sold gift cards and cleaned. Then at four Rachel left and Shambray came in. I got REALLY upset and sad that I had to be at work on Christmas Eve instead of at home with my family. Plus, I was ultra bored and hungry. Shambray and I chatted a little and then we discussed closing earlier than 7:30 like originally planned.We only made nine dollars from 3-4, thirteen dollars from 4-5, and then six dollars from 5-6. So, we called Steve to see if we could go home early. He didn't answer so we asked Emily and she gave us the OK. We closed up the store and then it was back into the snow to go home.
It was so nice to be back with my family! We ate yummy dinner and opened our pajamas. Kaylee and I matched, of course. So we documented the moment. Shane read us a funny story and gave us "crap from my closet" gifts and they were hilarious. I love him. He's the best! Then we watched The Polar Express and went to bed.

We all now how excellent my iPod is at taking pictures... :P

This is one of the only pictures I got of Christmas.

But that's okay- we were really happy :)

The next morning I got up and took a shower and got ready so that I didn't look like such a bum all day. My siblings and grandparents came over and we had breakfast and opened more presents. My mom and dad gave me new sheets and soccer sweats <3 I was SO EXCITED. Seriously. That's exactly what I wanted! Kyle gave me some cute new scarves and my grandma gave me some barrettes and a charm bracelet. Plus the stuff she got for me in Mexico. :) We ate again and just hung out. Then Elise came over and we gave each other our presents. She gave me a Minnie Mouse from Disney World and a Blink-182 shirt. I also loved those :)
We went to her house to see her family and Ashley came over. We went to Jamba so that we could get another part of Elise's present- a box of soy milk concentrate. Hahaha she was stoked! Then Elise and I got in her car and drove around the whole state just like always. We discussed work and my fears for becoming a manager. We talked about our friends and how great they are. Suddenly we realized that it had been two hours and we didn't even remember where we had driven. We cranked up the music and jammed out to Avril Lavigne. I always love our car trips together :)
It was a really great Christmas and I was happy I got to spend it with the people I love most.

12/12/12

Apparently this is supposed to be some big huge deal.
And normally it is for me.
I mean, I went nuts on 11/11/11.
It was an awesome day and I'm never going to forget it.
But, today was average.
I finished my last test of the semester at 12:04 this morning. I was stoked to finally be done with all that homework!
I sold back two of my books to the campus store and got $51 for them so that was nice! It was more than I thought I was gonna get! So I went and bought myself more crap that I don't need :P
I got silver glittery Vans and a cute shirt from Hollister. Also, I bought yet ANOTHER bra from Victoria's Secret. I'm addicted. It's NOT okay. And I got part of Elise's Christmas present... which will remain a secret until she opens it :)
Then I went and got my toesies done. I've been so stressed out lately it was really nice to have a moment just to relax. I mean, besides the tickley parts hahaha! I was the only one there so she spent a lot of time on me and did a really great job. My feet suck and it's nice to get them taken care of every now and then. They always ask me if I'm a dancer. I just laugh and say no and then they look at me like I'm a freak. I'm just gonna start telling them that I am so I have an excuse to have such bad calluses :P
After that I got to go see some of my very best friends. I absolutely love that I can still walk into the band room and have at least 13 people run over to hug and say hi to me. It means the world to me that they still get excited when I come to visit. I was so worried about that when I graduated. That everyone would forget me and be like meh Kara's not really that great and we don't miss her. But, they haven't done that yet so that's good ;) hahaha I just love those kids. So much. And I'm so proud of how hard they work!
Now in just two short days I get my long awaited vacation. My parents, grandparents, little sister, and me are going to MEXICO :) It's def gonna be the best Christmas cruise of all time. I'm so excited :)
I guess 12/12/12 wasn't as lame as I thought! :)
<3

Alexander Cole

I'm here to tell you about one of the friends I made this semester. I'm extremely grateful for him and I want to be able to remember this experience forever. So bear with me. It might not make a whole lot of sense or be very interesting, but I just don't want to forget about it. So here goes. :)

The time was 11:45 on Thursday, September 13, 2012. I was eating lunch by myself in the Institute Building like I always did. I was on iwastesomuchtime.com and laughing my head off. Just then a guy came over and sat by me and asked me if I was in Brother Page's class. I told him I was and he told me he was too... but only on Thursdays because he's a bio medical engineering major and has a whack schedule. I remember talking about classes and school and whatnot. We talked about our life dreams and goals and I found out he graduated from West Jordan High School in 2009 and recently returned from a mission. He was so nice and I remember he was eating brown sugar pop tarts. Pop tarts are basically a food group to me, so I was happy we had some dumb little random thing in common. Eventually it was 12:10 and time to go to our classes. He asked me what my name was and then I found out his was Alex. I walked to history of rock and roll with the BIGGEST smile on my face.
We ate together every Thursday after that. He started sitting by me in class and would then walk me to FMAB after lunch because it was on the way to his other class. We never ran out of things to talk about and I loved that. We just talked about life and got to know each other better. We always laughed and I never stopped smiling. He just made me so happy. I was so glad to have a friend at school and a reason to dress nicely :P
One Friday I was riding the train to school and I was so tired. I think I was asleep before I even got to Sugar Factory Road. Hahaha. Anyway, if you can imagine this, I was wearing my Pokemon sweatshirt and I was participating in Bun Friday. I was out cold on the train with no intentions of waking up until I got to South Campus. Basically I looked ridiculous. Well, since I usually slept on the train I always had random people come sit in the seat next to me and we both just kind of ignored each other and I didn't really think anything of it. This day was no different. It was 11th West and someone got on, sat next to me, and started reading. Typical. I woke up a little bit but didn't open my eyes. I thought, "haha wouldn't it be funny if Alex was sitting next to me?" I brushed off the idea because I knew the chances of that happening were very slim. But, I guess they weren't so slim after all. At about Murray Central I opened my eyes, looked to my right, and saw him sitting there. I stared at him for a minute in disbelief and he looked at me and smiled and said, "Hey. I was gonna wake you up but then I decided it looked like you needed to sleep." I felt so dumb. SO DUMB. hahah He told me he liked my sweatshirt and we talked about Pokemon for a bit. We talked about work and whatnot and then he said, "We should hang out some time." and I was like, "UH. YEAH." When we were almost to Stadium where he gets off, he asked me for my number and told me he'd call me tomorrow at 5:00. I was so happy for the rest of the day. SO happy.
The next day I worked all morning with Zach and he helped calm me down a little bit. I was so nervous/excited and was trying not to get my hopes up just in case he didn't call. I got off work at 4, went home, tried to make myself look more like a girl and less like a smoothie, and waited. At 5:00 he called me just like he said he would and gave me the run down of the plans he made for us. I was so happy he actually came up with something for us to do! I love activities :)
I drove to his house (I only got lost for like 7 minutes! Which is good because he lives on like a farm and it was kinda hard to find. So HA!) and sat in my car for a while trying to calm down. I was so nervous. I wanted to just turn around and go back home. I didn't want to accidentally say or do something stupid and have him never talk to me again. Eventually I grew a pair and walked up to the door. He answered and smiled at me and it made me feel 1000x better. Seriously. I went inside and met everyone and then we walked over to his aunt's house with his sisters and brother-in-law to ride horses. I didn't fall off OR die. I was so impressed with myself :)
After that we went back to his house and ended up watching good old family home videos. Oh. My. Gosh. Can we just go back to the 90's? Seriously. Those were the golden years! hahaha Everyone dressed so great and said awesome things! Abbey was trying to find a clip of her singing in a school talent show to show to her husband. Since she couldn't find it, we ended up watching most of the tape and I laughed so hard I thought I was going to pee. There was some wicked funny stuff on that tape and Alex and I kept looking at each other and laughing about the silly things he and his siblings used to do. Then we made/frosted cookies and chatted some more. His mom joined us and we played Rummikub. At 11:30 Alex walked me out to my car and we hugged hahaha and I drove home and told my parents all about my evening. It was so much fun. I was so happy :)
Ever since then we've ridden the train to school together every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. He always makes sure to call me if he's ever not going to be on the train so that I don't freak out and worry. I'm glad he's okay with how strange I can be. He is constantly reminding me that I'm fine and my life could always be worse. He is the best example of hard work. He takes ridiculous classes and does really well in them. He never gets stressed out and I just don't understand it. hahaha He's just awesome. I love the conversations we have. I've learned a lot of really cool insights on the scriptures from him. I love the way his face lights up when he talks about Scotland or people from his mission. He's always got a funny story for me and lets me tell him about my life. :)
He teases me about the awkward and embarrassing things I've done when he's around. Like the time I thought a button fell of his sweater and made it a bigger deal than it needed to be. Or when I couldn't stop laughing about the 3rd Nephites thing that Brother Peters said. Or my personal favorite is when one night I was at his house and we were looking at pictures on his computer and for some reason I grabbed his arm and was like, "oohh.." OUT. LOUD. He laughed at me and then flexed his arm and needless to say... he's got some muscles :P
I'm so sad that we only have one more lunch and train ride together. I have no idea if I'm ever going to see him again after Friday. I really hope I do but if I don't, I'm still really thankful for the time that I've spent with him and for the friendship we've made. He's one of the greatest people I've ever met. I just really like him.

"WILL YOU TAKE A PICTURE WITH ME?!" 

"Right now?" 

"YES!" 

"Yeah but you better hurry." 

"OKAY!"

literally the conversation we had before taking this. hahahah.

:)

Thankful Thursday Part 3

It's Friday. Whatever.

November 16th- My Siblings
Winter Siblings Unite is our motto! Haha oh my goodness I just love my siblings. My sisters rock, my brother is the best, and my in-laws are even pretty cool ;) We just have so much fun together all the time and I appreciate each one of them. Chantel is always willing to help me out with whatever I need. She'll drop everything to hang out with me or do me a favor. She is always willing to go out to lunch or shopping. She definitely spoils me! She's so sweet and a dang good cook! Kyle is my only brother and he's a lot like me. We just kind of keep to ourselves even though we are super awesome ;) He has saved my butt quite a few times whether it be giving me a ride somewhere or letting me in the house when I come home after hours... haha! He is absolutely hilarious and I just love him. Kaylee my little sister rocks my world. It's fun to watch her grow up and interact with her friends. She's just cute and is always bouncing off the walls. I'm glad that we have the chance to spend so much time together! She always makes me smile with her silly jokes. Shane is Mr. Fix It and can help me solve any problem ever. He's never more than a phone call away and I love that. He'd do anything for me and my family and I really appreciate that. He's always so nice and I really love being with him! Plus he's got the best laugh. It's just awesome! Natalie is our newest family member and we all adore her. She's a hard worker and so adorable. She's always got good advice and some sort of delicious treat. I'm glad she's part of my family :)

November 17th- School
It's hard. Very hard. It stresses me out and makes me so nervous. I'm constantly worried about how I'm doing and I've always got some sort of project due. But, I really do love it. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to go to college and to get an education. Not everyone has that. Plus, my school totally rocks. :)

November 18th- My Ward
It was Sunday and church was just great. Relief Society was about service, Sunday School was about service, and Sacrament was about service. It's important to show our gratitude for what we have by serving and blessing others. I am so thankful to have lived in this ward my whole life with such incredible people. I've learned so much from them and their examples of service.

November 19th- Hugs
Seriously. Who doesn't love hugs? Monday was hard and I just felt so crappy. I was at work and Zach just walked up to me, put his arms around me, and didn't let go for a long time. I wanted to cry. He was so comforting and sweet to me the rest of the night. He could tell I was upset and didn't know how to approach me about it so he just hugged me. That's all I needed. I love hugs and sometimes you just need one. Or ten. Either way, I'm thankful for them.

November 20th- The US Military
How blessed I am to live in America overwhelms me. There are SO MANY people who have dedicated their lives to protecting me and the ones I love. I could never imagine having to be on the front line, fighting for my country. I'm definitely not brave enough for that. I am so thankful for the people who do it so I don't have to.

November 21st- My Home
I love my house, I really do. I'm so very thankful for it! I've spent the last 16 years of my life living there and it's wonderful. I love being able to have a home that keeps me safe and warm. It's the best place to just chill and have a good time with people I love. I can't imagine not having a house and I really am so grateful for it.

November 22nd- My Family
Thanksgiving rocks! I'm so glad that we have a special day every year to celebrate all the things we are thankful for with people we love. Families are the basic unit of society and we would be nothing without them. I absolutely love my family and I don't know where I would be without them!

Sorry about the no pictures ): Maybe one day I'll edit this and add them... but probably not. haha I just wanted to get this posted before November ended :P

Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving and found things to be thankful for!

Kaylee and I sure did! :)

Boy, the NBA Kid

I know it's Tuesday but whatever. Just be happy I'm posting something ;)
I was going through my phone pictures and found this beauty. Hahahaha.

So this one time Geoff tried to teach me how to play basketball. It was a disaster and so much freaking fun.
I got home from school and Geremy (Geoff's brother) called me and asked if I wanted to go with him to pick up his contacts. Since Geremy was my friend and I loved random adventures, I was like HECK YES! Geremy came and picked me up and Geoff was with him. I got all excited because I loved Geoff and I didn't get to see him that much. Since Geremy's car was little and Geoff loved me and always treated me really well, he sat in the back of the car and held dear to his basketball. :) (hence the picture)
When we got to the eye doctor, Geoff and I just stayed in the car. We just sat and talked about life and such. That's what we usually did since we went to different schools and didn't get to spend a lot of time together. When Geremy came back out we drove home and then he decided to ditch us. Geoff called his mom and asked if it was okay if we were in the house by ourselves as long as we stayed upstairs and just watched tv. Haha he was the cutest kid :) She said yes and we watched Marley and Me/Tommy Boy. We just sat on the ouch and he held my hand. Aw. ;)
When his mom got home our movies were over so we went outside to play basketball. The end of Geoff's street is like basketball central and that's where everyone in his ward just plays. We walked down there and I was so nervous. I super ultra mega lightening suck at sports, especially basketball. Geoff tried to teach me the basics of shooting and how not to look like an idiot. I definitely failed and he still laughs at me for it to this day. It was fun though :) I honestly love basketball and I wish I was better at it... haha.
Then I started getting hungry and my mom called so I had to go home. He walked me to my house just like he always did and made me feel a little better about my serious lack of skills. He said things like, "It's okay if you can't play basketball. You're cute." He always knew how to make my heart melt :P (CHEESE)
Geoff was my bestest friend back in the day. We kind of adored each other and always had fun when we got the chance to hang out. We could talk about anything and always had each other's backs. It's been over three years since the first time I looked in his eyes and thought to myself, "I never want to be without this kid, ever."
Since then our friendship has changed a lot and it used to really bug me. But, now I'm grateful for that. He's always been exactly what I needed and I'm glad we are still friends. It took me a long time to realize that we were never, ever getting back together. That was a hard concept for me to grasp since I thought he was so perfect. Haha stupid, I know but honestly I'm just really glad I got over that and could be friends with him again. I finally got my closure and oh man, was it great. :)
I still look up to him a lot (literally, now. He's grown like a foot since we became friends hahaha) and admire his hard work. He does so well in school! He has so many friends and always treats girls nicely. I've always loved that about him. He always opened doors for me and made sure that he knew I was taken care of. He's just one heck of a kid and I'm so glad I got to know him before he was all popular and whatnot ;)

The end.