Dear Boys Part 7

It's back to nicknames ;)

Dear Elder,
We're headed downhill! You'll be home in less than a year. I miss you a lot. But I know you are doing awesome things right now. Keep up the good work. :)
Sincerely, Pen Pal

Dear Boy,
Always remember who you are and what you stand for. Don't forget about your friends. They really do love you.
I miss the way you would smile after you kiss me. It's was so adorable. Sometimes I can't help but wish things had ended differently.... I know I can't change the past. But I sure would like to.
I hope you are happy, I know you've got a lot on your plate now... Don't forget that I'm still here. Just because I graduated doesn't mean that I died. You can always call me if you ever need anything. Be good.
Sincerely, Girl

Dear Bingham,
Oh. My. I love being with you. LOVE it. Call me maybe?
Sincerely, CH

Dear KB,
I really don't even have anything to say to you. It's awkward and hard to deal with. I hate seeing you so upset knowing that I'm doing just fine. Maybe one day life will get better for you. But this is the only way I can be happy. Sorry for everything and thanks for always being my best friend.
Sincerely, KJ

Dear Hopeful,
Remember when we went to Vegas with Anna? hahahaha. Sometimes I look back and have the hardest time  figuring out why you put up with me every day. I would have most definitely shot myself in the head if I were you. I love being able to talk to you about anything. Ever. No matter where we were or what we were doing you would listen to me and give me the best advice that you could. I love you to pieces. I miss you a lot and can't wait to see you again!
Sincerely, Also Hopeful

Dear Trainee,
I'm going to do my best to be nice to you. It's just very, very hard.
Sincerely, Dude, His Name Is Not Justin

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the kitties. I love them. Sometimes I think you invented them just for me.
Sincerely, Daughter

Dear Dad,
I really like you a lot. Thanks for being so patient with me. I bet it's frustrating to have kids that come home so late all the time. But hey, you've raised me to know how to make good decisions. So you have no need to worry. :)
Sincerely, Janester

Dear Mountain,
You make me smile :) I like your stories. I'm gonna miss you when you leave. A lot.
Sincerely, Don't Be Awkward ;)

Dear Indy Dog,
I love babysitting you. You are so cute and fun to play with. I sure will miss waking up at 7 every day to go let you outside. Okay, no I won't. But I will miss you sitting on my lap and letting me pet you for 45 minutes. You are just the greatest little dog ever!
Sincerely, The Neighbor

Dear Leo,
I watched The Vow today. You are a hottie. Oh yes.
Sincerely, In Love

Dear JJ,
Thanks for being my LIFE. I love it so much <3
Sincerely, Employee

Dear Sharpie,
Seeing you in my daily life is so flipping awkward. I know it is for you too because YOU won't look at ME either. What would life be like if we still talked? I doubt that I would get this rush of nerves and inability to act like a human every time I see you. It's so strange. I hope life is good though? I hear it's spectacular.
Sincerely, Kizzle

Dear JB,
I JUST NEED SOMEBODY TO LOVEEEEE.
Sincerely, I'm a Belieber <3

Theee Enddd!

Buying Things

Okay first of all- I love this picture. It's great.

Science ftw!

So yesterday I made my first "big" purchase. 

I say this because I've never spent more than 50 dollars at a time, EVER.

But yesterday I got my laptop!

I loveeeeeee it.

Mostly because I don't have to blog from my ipod anymore. Which is awesome.

So here's the story- because I know you are just dying to hear it ;)

Sunday the ads came in the paper and my dad said hey, Best Buy has a deal going where you can get a laptop, mouse, case, flash drive, and antivirus for a year for $400.

And I was like schaaa-wheeeeat. (I love Julie Blake)

So after doing some research I decided this was the best option for me. I went to bed in hopes of getting my computer in the morning.

Well, morning came and I realized I needed to hurry over there because they had "limited quantities" and I was like D:

I got there at 9:57 and they opened at 10. (yessssss) When they finally opened I just walked down to the computer section and told the guy what I wanted. He got it for me and was super nice. He obviously knew that I knew nothing about computers and was very patient with me. Finally it came time to pay for it and my debit card was denied. DENIED people! I knew I had more than enough money in my account and I just felt so dumb. I told him that I was super sorry and I would just go to the bank and get cash to pay for it. I just didn't want him to think I was some low life who steals other people's debit cards and buys laptops and sells them to buy drugs.

Because obviously that's a legitimate fear.

Not really though.

Who does that?

I went to the bank and was helped by another really nice lady. (People at Best Buy and the bank are really nice) She gave me my money and I raced back to the store. He was standing there waiting for me and said he was thankful that I came back. Aw. I told him he is a very nice guy and he needs a raise. Because he does. Everyone needs a raise. Duh.

I left the store with my cute new laptop and a happy smile! Then I went to work to take my last test. (Which I passed with *almost* 100%. I forgot to put the fruit amounts on the MIL Razmatazz. But that was purely accident and Em understands. So she passed me. And I'm officially NOT a trainee anymore! Woooooooo! Which means I get a raise! Maybe the guy at Best Buy should get a job at Jamba Juice....) Wow that was long?

I went home and set up my laptop and everything was super great. I'm so excited! :)

I love it a lot and I can't wait to take it to school with me!

 Loveeee it!

:)

That's My School

When I was four years old I did a commercial for Challenger School (where my mom taught back in the day and is now a headmaster of). Their theme song was like, "Teachers who care a lot, good friends who share a lot, Challenger that's my school!" and at the end of the commercial I would say, "That's my school!" and my entire little face would take up the entire screen. It was quite cute... or so I've been told. But mostly not. Whatever.
Anyway, that was when I was in preschool... and I just graduated from high school. Which means that it's time for college.
I've been thinking long and hard about where to go. I was considering Utah State because I really wanted to be a teacher. When I realized that I'm definitely NOT teacher material, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. So I considered SLCC because it's cheaper and I could just get some generals done until I figure out what to do with my life.
But the whole time I knew where I needed to go. I knew good and well where I needed to go. I prayed about it when I applied and I knew it was the best decision.

One small problem. It's expensive.

But it's my DREAM school. I mean seriously you guys I really dream about this place. I have tons of friends who go there and love it to pieces. I want to be like them. I want to wear red and sleep in the grey chairs in the library. I want to ride TRAX to class and get a quality education. I want to get chills from watching the drumline at football games. I want to BE there.

And the best thing is....


I can.


Because.


I'M GOING.


:)


My parents are great and have agreed to help me out. They know that I know what is best for me and so this is my decision.
I'm going to the University of Utah this fall and I am STOKED.
I can't even begin to explain how happy I am.
I registered for orientation today and they still had spots so it's not too late.
I can't wait until fall. I want to go NOW!

*Disclaimer: I know college is HARD. It's a lot of work and it's not all fun and games. I know I'm probably going to be stressed to the max ALL THE TIME about tests and studying and stuff. It's actually probably going to suck. A lot. But whatever. Today is about happy things*

But I guess I can wait. I'm excited to live my last few months of freedom. To work a lot and save money. This summer is already awesome. My brother is getting married in August, I'm turning 18 in July, and there are lots of other cool things to look forward to.

Anyway I just wanted to share this great news. Because I'm so excited.

That's My School

:)

Graduation!!

A little late...but hey that's just me :)
So a week ago on May 31, 2012 I graduated from Copper Hills High School.
*applause*
It's actually not that big of a deal considering how easy high school is... but nevertheless people make a huge fuss about it so I'm totally down for all the attention :)
Lots of very nice people have sent me cards and money to help get me started. I've decided to spend the money on a laptop for school. It's something every college kid needs and they aren't super expensive. Plus I'll even have a little leftover to buy like half of a textbook! Yay!
So anyway I had to work the night before and it was AWFUL. I didn't get home until eleven because it took me so long to close and I just felt so crappy. I was angry because I knew I'd be tired the next day and it finally hit me that I'm never going back to CH. It was just a really bad night.
Thankfully I slept well and woke up with plenty of time to get ready. I went upstairs and my parents let me open my present from them. They gave me a beautiful set of pearls because they know I love them. I was ecstatic! And they matched my dress perfectly. How did they know ;)

Necklace, bracelet, earrings, and ring :)

And they're REAL!

I went and took pictures with my best friend Elise and that was fun :) I know I couldn't have gotten through the last 9 years of school without her!

Then I went home to see my grandparents, Natalie, and Kolby. We took more pictures and I know you are just DYING to see them ;)

Eventually we drove to the Maverick Center and took SOME MORE PICTURES!
It's okay I had lots of people there to support me... I had to remember the moments ;)

Mom and Dad :)

The boy I spent every minute of every day with.

Jay managed to have all the same classes as me and not even kill me out of annoyance.

He deserves a medal.

:)

The Orchestra President, The Band President

I really like her :)

My cute and rather large family

Kyle's BFF, Uncle Homer :)

The girls lined up and they had the band/speakers/choir/senior class officers go take their pictures first because we were sitting in the front. I went and visited the band and talked to some of my friends for a while. This one flute boy who I thought hated me told me I looked stunning (in my freakin' graduation gown?!) and that he would really miss me next year. Wow. It totally made my day! I love when people are nice to me! I made sure Kristianna had remembered to bring my clarinet and went back to get in line. It was about 500 degrees and I was super thirsty and nervous that I would trip because I had to walk on/off stage four times more than everyone else. Finally they started playing Procession of the Nobles (my fave) (even after playing it every year for 4 years and listening to it a hundred thousand times) and it was time to walk out! I felt like such a boss! And Anna was sitting on stage right where I could smile at her as I was walking to my seat! It was wondrous. Plus I got to sit by Ham. Who I love to death.

We got up and played the banner and some other things. Battle Hymn of the Republic is another one of my most favorite songs and I'm super happy I got to play it at my graduation! We also did For Good from the musical Wicked. I absolutely adore that song. The words in it describe perfectly how I feel about my band friends. My life really has been changed for the better because of them. And they have definitely changed me for good. I love those kids so much and I have been honored to play with them for the past 6 years. We've just been through so much together. I'm gonna miss it so much. In fact, they are having summer band rehearsal RIGHT NOW but I'm not there. And they are doing just fine without me. Hmpf. ):

So uh anyway after that we went back to our seats and listened to Mr. Q talk forEVER. Okay it was only 30 minutes. Bingham's principal talked for 45 minutes according to Jason so count your many blessings. Whatever it was still a long time. FINALLY it was time to get our diplomas and such :) I got to be one of the first people which I was thankful for because people really only pay attention until their kid gets announced so everyone in there got to hear my name ;) Oh man the things I worry about...

Side note story- (I need to write this down anyway so just bear with me)

They had Jaxen's parents walk and receive her diploma for her. That was an emotional time for all of us. I wasn't by any means friends with the girl. In fact, I kind of avoided her because she really wasn't that nice to some of my friends. I figured if she didn't know me she wouldn't have a reason to make fun of me. Anyway the day she died we were having rehearsal and Kristianna was at the dentist. She was coming back to the school after her appointment and came into the school crying. She told me she saw the accident and knew someone was dead. It really shook her up and mostly because if she had left just a minute earlier she would have been part of it. I was very thankful she hadn't. I don't know what I would have done with myself if she hadn't ever come back to school... but since I knew how hard it was on Copper Hills to lose students, I got really upset as well and we just hugged and tried to calm down. Eva came over and talked to us for a minute and then it was time for band.

Well, school the next day was hard. Everyone was super sad, including me. We had our SemCo meeting and I was informed that we were expected to attend the viewing. I. Hate. Viewings. Dead bodies freak me out no matter how much I loved someone. When I went to my grandpa's I had to sleep with Kaylee for 4 years because it just freaks me out so much. It's just this weird thing I have. Anyway I had to fulfill the duties of my calling and Ashley, Megan, Jacob, and I went. We talked to her mother for a while and she was the sweetest lady. I felt so bad that I had never taken the chance to get to know Jaxen. I'm sure she was awesome. She had tons of friends that still really miss her. Anyway the viewing was really hard for me. And I got scared. And I had to sleep with my little sister for a while. Thanks Kaylee...

So long story short, I feel like even though I didn't know her, I feel a part of her because of everything I've been through because she died. And I'm really glad that we could take a minute to honor her at our graduation. She got a standing ovation and I'm not even going to lie to you guys, it made me cry a little.

 So thanks Jaxen, for being such a huge part of my life without even knowing it. I hope you are happy in heaven and I can't wait to actually talk to you one day.

The end. Sorry for the depressing story. Like I said, I had to write it down eventually.

Ham and I cheered when there were only green people getting diplomas because that meant it was almost over! When everyone was seated again Tyler had us move our tassels and yay we were graduated!

 As soon as I got back into the hallway I ripped off that awful robe and went to get my real diploma. I said hi to my band once again and hugged everyone at least 36 times. I got my clarinet back from Anna and went to go find my parents! I felt so bad for the massive mob of children waiting to get their stuff. Yay for being first!

Once I got out to the car we left for Golden Corral and I was one happy camper. I was starving and so excited to see all that food and an empty restaurant! Plus that ultra awkward run-in with CB made the whole day suppppper great. Apparently he kept looking at me while we were eating. Wonder what would have happened if we hadn't been so stupid and refused to ever speak to each other again....

fooooooooooooooood.

So all in all it was a pretty awesome day! I'm very happy I finally have the stress of school gone. I really will miss the good old CH and all my awesome friends. But..

"We cannot discover new oceans without first losing sight of the shore."

Copper Hills Class of 2012

I did it! :)

Reminiscin'

So today is the "last day of school". But not really cause they keep telling us we have to come to classes on Tuesday and Wednesday. Whatever. Anyway we had our goodbye assembly and it was really great. :) We did pep band before it started and then played the fight song just like we do every assembly. Then Anna, Katie, and I put our stuff away and went to watch the rest of it. When Ham did bear chairs and HEY COPPER HILLS I got all sad and realized that this was the last time I would get to stand up and cheer and clap as a GRIZZLY. People danced, did skits, talked, stuff like that. When the SBOs sit on the stairs and say goodbye to everyone, that's what gets me. They stand up and flash their college shirts and jump behind the curtain. Everyone cries and they play touching music. It's TORTURE. Anyway when that was over the madrigals sang the school hymn and I couldn't even finish it because I just put my head down and cried. :( I don't want this to be over. I love high school!
Last night I was thinking about all the great things that have happened over the years. And I would like to write them down so I can remember them forever. So here goes :)

Sophomore Year: Leave a Legacy
First day of band. First day of school. Oakland. Movie on the court. Football games. Football hall. Practice field with all the holes. West Side Story show. Scotty. Geremy. Malcolm. Concert band. Competitions. Bus rides. Boy and Girl. Taylor Swift. Region dances. Pep band. TOUR. Disneyland. Seniors. Freshman. Learning to eat lunch alone. Driving around and just talking with people. World Civ. Chemistry. Seminary. English. College prep. Drivers Ed. CIS 1020. Lauren sharing her locker with me. Killer Bunnies. Book of Mormon. Band pajama days. Jewlie my love. Happiness.

Junior Year: The Impossible is Possible
Band council Librarian. Styx show. Us history. Math 1010 and 1050. Government. College boyfriend. Utah band obsession. New instructors. Jacob Bradshaw teaching me about life. Babies. Mission farewells. Doctrine and Covenants. Reading. Seminary. Vacations. Hymn singing. Missing the seniors. Kayla, Jess, Kara. AnnaBomb. Dances. Homecoming. Sadie Hawkins. Sweethearts. Prom. MORP. Dates. Concerts. Movie nights. Ducky. Parks. West Hills. Texting. Being looked up to. Symphonic band. Research paper. German exchange student. Carpool. Graduation. Rehearsals. Banquet. Parties. Looking forward to senior year.

Senior Year: Creating Heroes
Band council PRESIDENT. Meetings. Callings. Seminary council. To The Summit and Beyond. Missing Scott. Letters. Writing. Friends. Living at school. October 8th. :) <3 data-blogger-escaped-1010.="" data-blogger-escaped-3rd="" data-blogger-escaped-:="" data-blogger-escaped-afraid.="" data-blogger-escaped-all="" data-blogger-escaped-alone.="" data-blogger-escaped-applying="" data-blogger-escaped-at="" data-blogger-escaped-awkward="" data-blogger-escaped-back="" data-blogger-escaped-band.="" data-blogger-escaped-bank.="" data-blogger-escaped-basketball.="" data-blogger-escaped-being="" data-blogger-escaped-best="" data-blogger-escaped-besties.="" data-blogger-escaped-blizzard.="" data-blogger-escaped-blog.="" data-blogger-escaped-br="" data-blogger-escaped-bronco.="" data-blogger-escaped-change="" data-blogger-escaped-churches.="" data-blogger-escaped-classes.="" data-blogger-escaped-college.="" data-blogger-escaped-conversations="" data-blogger-escaped-crying.="" data-blogger-escaped-dance.="" data-blogger-escaped-day="" data-blogger-escaped-dinner="" data-blogger-escaped-dismissal.="" data-blogger-escaped-driving="" data-blogger-escaped-drops="" data-blogger-escaped-english.="" data-blogger-escaped-every="" data-blogger-escaped-everything.="" data-blogger-escaped-experience="" data-blogger-escaped-football="" data-blogger-escaped-for="" data-blogger-escaped-friday.="" data-blogger-escaped-friends.="" data-blogger-escaped-games.="" data-blogger-escaped-goodbye.="" data-blogger-escaped-graduation.="" data-blogger-escaped-haha.="" data-blogger-escaped-having="" data-blogger-escaped-homecoming.="" data-blogger-escaped-hopes.="" data-blogger-escaped-in="" data-blogger-escaped-it="" data-blogger-escaped-jamba.="" data-blogger-escaped-jay="" data-blogger-escaped-job="" data-blogger-escaped-last="" data-blogger-escaped-late.="" data-blogger-escaped-living="" data-blogger-escaped-long.="" data-blogger-escaped-meetings="" data-blogger-escaped-music="" data-blogger-escaped-of="" data-blogger-escaped-parking="" data-blogger-escaped-place.="" data-blogger-escaped-primary.="" data-blogger-escaped-prom.="" data-blogger-escaped-realizations.="" data-blogger-escaped-red="" data-blogger-escaped-riding="" data-blogger-escaped-rocks="" data-blogger-escaped-rooming="" data-blogger-escaped-saying="" data-blogger-escaped-school.="" data-blogger-escaped-seminary="" data-blogger-escaped-senior="" data-blogger-escaped-sick="" data-blogger-escaped-state="" data-blogger-escaped-staying="" data-blogger-escaped-sunshine.="" data-blogger-escaped-sweethearts.="" data-blogger-escaped-that="" data-blogger-escaped-the="" data-blogger-escaped-time...="" data-blogger-escaped-tour.="" data-blogger-escaped-trials.="" data-blogger-escaped-twitter.="" data-blogger-escaped-up.="" data-blogger-escaped-up="" data-blogger-escaped-werewolves.="" data-blogger-escaped-winning="" data-blogger-escaped-with="" data-blogger-escaped-worrying.="" data-blogger-escaped-worthless="">
Wow. What an experience this has been. I love looking back but I can't look back wishing I could still be there. It's time to move forward. So here's to a new life!

:)

Facing Fears

So as most of you know, I'm super afraid of spiders. Like, I hate them. I always cry and make my mom kill them for me when I see one.
Well, ever since last year I discovered this excellent thing called "kill them while they are still babies and then you don't have to deal with as many big ones" because then they never get the chance to grow up into those giant beasts I have nightmares about.
So in the springtime when the new babies are born and I find one in my bedroom or something, I kill it. I used to get all scared to do that but now it's like nothing. I'm so proud of myself. I'm slowly working myself up to killing bigger ones and I know it's because I've decided to face my fear. :)
I know that this may sound lame to some people but for me it's a huge accomplishment. And I'm super happy about it. :)

Funny picture time!!

Senior Dinner Dance

Last Friday (the 11th) was Senior Dinner Dance! I went with Elise and Emery and we had a BLAST! My mom is really nice and bought me the red dress I've always wanted to wear to it!
I came home from school and took a shower and got ready for the dance. I curled my hair and waited for the time to pass...
We decided to take the train up to the U so we left around 5:30. We had a lot of fun on the ride there. Emery brought her nail polish and painted her toes. That was quite the funny time :) It took all three of us to help complete the task, but the results were worth the struggle.

So freaking great. :)

Just waiting for the train :)

Getting Elise to take a picture without making some sort of face is nearly impossible.



We talked and laughed and reminisced on the past years of High School. We took a lot of silly pictures and tried to contain our excitement for the dance!

Again with the faces...



 All of our class rings!

When we got there we walked across the giant parking lot over to the stadium. We went up the elevator and waited at the top of the tower until it was time to go in. There were quite a few people there already and we had some super legit awkward conversations with people we kind of know but not really. It was most excellent! We enjoyed the view of basically the whole valley and watched the sun being to set. :)

Finally it was time to go in and we were greeted by some very nice waiters and beautifully set tables. It was like being on a cruise only not as great. hahahaha.

Our cute table :)

Some girls came and sat with us and we made some more awkward conversation.... I really wish I had more senior friends.... But it was still nice! The food was delish and we were all so flippin hungry! After we finished eating we took a trip to the bathroom to take some more pictures :)

I finally got Elise to smile!

#winning

Eventually it was time for us to go outside and wait until the tables were put away so that we could have our dance!

We went and sat in the seats overlooking the whole stadium. I looked out at the campus and I had this heart-wrenching feeling that I needed to be at the U this fall...I love it there. I've been there quite a few times for various band events. I had flashbacks of doing pregame in the blizzard and being in the stands with the Marching Utes. I thought of Corps Encore last summer, cheering on the Cadets as they bossed up their show. I have memories of Youth Conference and staying up until 3:30 a.m. chatting with Elise. I thought of the field house and running over to hug Caleb, Eva, and Andrew. Playing games and having clarinet sectional with people way cooler than me. I thought of doing Ute Walk and visiting the drunk tailgaters. I thought of the drumline and their total legitness. I want so badly to be a part of that...

Plus it's an excellent school with tons of options. I got accepted to go there this fall and I would absolutely love to go and live my college dream... but at the same time it's expensive and I just want to do my generals at SLCC until I can figure out what to do with my life. One day The University of Utah will be my school... I just wish I had the guts to make it sooner....

Anyway- I just have quite the emotional attachment to that place. :) So we were finally invited inside and our dance began! They had a live band consisting of people who graduated last year. They were pretty good but it was also nice when the DJ took over and we had stuff we could really jam to! :P

After a long time of dancing and walking around and taking pictures and talking to people, we decided it was time to leave. So we went to the elevator and as soon as we stepped outside we heard the train coming. Elise, Emery, and I ran for our lives to the end of the parking lot where the train was. I thought we were going to die. hahaha thankfully we made it on just in time and Emery and I had a nice chat on the way home.

Tired smiles :)

All in all it was a pretty great dance. I didn't have as much fun as I thought I would but looking back it was still a good time! :) I really loved being up at the U with people I'm never ever going to see again for one last party.

Senior Dinner Dance

Class of 2012

"Mission Accomplished"



Dear Boys Part 6

Today I feel like being bold. So I'm going to use real names.

Dear Kolby,
I wish I could spend more time with you. I hate that I don't ever have a free day to just watch movies and eat crackers. Maybe when school gets out my life won't be so insane... Anyway thanks for being my best friend. I love you.
Sincerely, Kara

Dear Layson,
I'm really going to miss you when we graduate. I'm thankful for all the times you've saved my butt this year. I couldn't have done any of it without you.
Sincerely, Kara

Dear Scott,
I miss you a lot. More and more every day. But you're almost to the year mark! Congrats :) I need to write you back... I'm just not entirely sure what to say.
Sincerely, Kara

Dear Geoff,
You are gonna rock it so hard next year. I'm really going to miss seeing you all the time. You still give me butterflies... :) But at the same time I'll be glad to get away from you. I'm sure my confidence will increase when I don't have to spend every second worrying about you.
Sincerely, Kara

Dear Daddy,
Thanks for picking mom. I'm glad you guys decided to get married in the temple and give me a forever family. I'm so blessed to have such a good example as a father. Happy 30th anniversary to you :)
Sincerely, Kara

Dear Nathanael,
Stop trying to hold my hand all the time. It bugs me how you think you can ignore me for all of senior dinner dance and then be all friendly the next day. It's not okay. And I don't put up with that.
Sincerely, Kara

Dear Kitty,
Oh my gosh you are precious. Come live with me :)
Sincerely, Kara

Dear Brother Johnson,
Thanks. :) I can't even being to express how much I'm going to miss your seminary class. You have changed my life so greatly. Also, good luck with the new SemCo. You're gonna be an awesome advisor :)
Sincerely, Kara

Dear Brother Waite,
You'd be a great coach.... Oh wait a minute.... :)
Sincerely, Kara

Dear Malcolm,
So many people remind me of you. I hope Canada is treating you well. Miss you Elder.
Sincerely, Kara

Dear Kameron,
STOP IT. JUST STOP.
Sincerely, Kara

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thanks for never giving up on me.
Sincerely, Kara

Dear Van,
I'm glad you still talk to me even though I'm a freak who says things she shouldn't. You really are the perfect example of unconditional love.
Sincerely, Kara

Dear Satan,
I hate you. You destroy families and make people so selfish. You have absolutely nothing going for you. Get away from me.
Sincerely, Kara

Dear Garrett,
Thanks for sending me nice texts every day :) I love them.
Sincerely, Kara

The end :)

Band Council 2012-2013

Yep. It's already time to find a new BC. I can't even believe it! These past 2 years went by so fast. When I started band in 7th grade I never ever imagined I'd turn out to be the Copper Hills Band President. :) Last year I served as Librarian with one of my best friends, Jay. It was a blast and I loved keeping all of the sheet music in order. This year I had the excellent opportunity to be the President. And I had the world's greatest VP, Layson. He was ALWAYS right there every time I needed. He always did the things that I forgot about and I think we balanced each other very well. Despite his crazy life, he never flaked out on anything. I really appreciate the dedication he put in.
Anyway since he and I basically run the band council entirely by ourselves, it's time to chose a new council. We got tons of applications and we were so excited! We sat down and read through them all and discussed over and over again who would be best for what.
Then we decided we should interview the people who wanted to replace us. We had 2 applications for President and 3 for VP. My best fiend in the whole world applied for President and I was just thrilled. :) She's a great girl and I know she'll do a good job if Mr. Simpson decides to chose her. Except he WILL chose her cause she's obviously the best. Shhh don't tell anyone I said that.... :)
Layson and I had a lot of fun with the interviews. We heard some pretty interesting things and I really wonder if they will live up to the things they said to us :P
Thankfully we are almost done with our decision making process and it's gonna be so great. I'm so excited for these guys next year. I know that whoever is chosen is gonna do an excellent job. :)
I freaking love band. I'm so thankful to have been involved in it all these years. It has really made high school quite the experience :)

Dead to the World

My job is ridiculously tiring. And it sucks up just about every free moment of my life. But I love it so that's okay... :)
Anyway I'm sorry for not blogging more. I love to write, really. I just don't have time to get on the computer. :P so I blog from my iPod and make many spelling/grammar errors... Which in turn makes me not want to blog. Lame.
Life has been so fun lately. My parents were gone last weekend so I was able to spend time with my sisters! We went to the Cheesecake Factory and made delicious foods and watched tv for so many hours. Plus I bought my very first tank of gas. It was like 66 dollars. Barf. And it wasn't even empty when I filled it up. Terrible.
I'm getting way better at my job! It's a lot of fun and I absolutely adore the people I work with! Emily just hired some new kids and it's weird to be around them. Elise and I aren't quite sure how we feel about the new kids. It's hard to bring new personalities into the mix :P They just don't appreciate how freaking funny we all are. :)
School is almost over and I'm getting SO excited to graduate. I got my cap and gown today because I am no longer failing English and my life is awesome. Senior Dinner Dance is this Friday and my last band concert is next Wednesday. Where the heck did the year go? I still can't believe how old I am.
Oh- funny story :) So Jamba has this tradition called "dump ice water on people and lock them in the freezer because they are now cool enough to work here with us and we accept you". Yeah. I know. It's like being hazed into a fraternity or something. Haha anyway the other night Zach told me to go clean the drains and I was like oh alright.... So I began to do so when all of a sudden I hear the sound of rushing water and then a chill ran through my entire body. I started screaming because um hello what else do you do when that happens? So I then am being dragged by Zach and Jason to the freaking freezer. Elise was standing there smiling and I was like :O how could you!?
I decided not to fight back and just let them carry me to my death. I was then thrown into the coldest place known to man and was standing in the dark, shivering. And probably still screaming although I can't be quite sure. So then I remembered that this meant they liked me and I was accepted by them so I began to smile and think, they like me. They really like me :)
Eventually the door opened and I was like oh hello you guys. :) I shook the rest of the ice off of me and tried to think warm thoughts.
It didn't work. I was SO cold and SO wet. Thankfully Jason told me he would finish cleaning drains and that I needed to mop the lobby. So I did and tried to hurry so that I could go home and find some new underwear that wasn't full of ice.
What an excellent day that was.
At least it's over and I can quit worrying about when it is going to happen to me :)
Plus, I didn't even cry. Apparently people cry? I guess maybe I had an advantage because I knew it was coming. Yay for being a Jamba insider!! Hahahaha
My grades are rockin and hopefully I'll be able to get a 4.0 and be able to brag about getting straight A's my entire senior year. :)
Things are starting to get good. I'm pretty happy about that!

Honesty Rant

I'm not looking for sympathy or help... I just need to get this out. Because this blog is my journal. And maybe one day I can look back at this and learn something. Maybe not though.
Anyway.
Today for PAWS they gave us seniors a big long speech on staying eligible to graduate and whatnot. They talked about senior dinner dance (which I'm SO excited for!) and about all the fun things coming up this next month. Well, I'm a lot like most of the seniors at my school. I just want to gtfo. But at the same time, I don't want to leave. Copper Hills has been such a huge part of my life! I have spent wayyy more time there than most students. I mean come on, who can say they have played hide and seek in the dark hallways at one in the morning after a marching band competition? Yeah. Exactly.
Band has kept me at school late into the night only to return again early in the morning. The band room has been my second home. Sometimes my first. I have made SO many friends who have changed my life. The worst part about leaving is knowing that things will never be the same. Sure, you can go visit, but the people don't really want you there. They don't care about you anymore. I've been watching it happen for 3 years now. You lose your friendships and the band changes. They have new inside jokes and silly dances and sayings. Once you leave, you can never go back.
It just kind of hit me today. It's really over. It's time to graduate and get a life. Sure, it's exciting. But for those of us who have no flipping clue where to go to college or what to study, it SUCKS. I'm scared! I'm poor! I can't take care of myself! How the heck am I going to do this?!
I know countless people have done it. I'm just not quite ready. I'm not ready to leave this wonderful life and head into the life of an adult. The grass is NEVER greener on the other side. It's brown and crunchy and it smells like the government stealing all your money.
Haha. :)
It's just not very exciting. And I'm so selfish that I don't want Copper Hills to continue having students go through it. Because that is MY school.
Which brings me to my next point: they had elections for class officers today. One of my really good band friends was running and I was so proud of him! He's a good worker and I know popularity is exactly what he wants. Since I'm a selfish jerk, I wanted him to lose. I wanted him to be drum major and band council VP. I wanted him to keep his dedication to his friends and not get sucked into the terrible world of student government.
*disclaimer: I do not by any means hate the student gov. I think they are wonderful people who have a lot going for them. But no doubt, they sell their souls to it. They forget about the "little people" who helped get them where they are today. They only talk to you during sub for Santa when they want your money. And they have no time to just hang out with you. And it sucks.*
So basically I didn't want that stuff to happen to him. But it will. Because he won.
I was standing there in the choir room with Vocalise when the announcement came on. I had my fingers crossed. But they said his name anyway and I immediately began to feel sick. Sick with worry, jealousy, anger... Terrible things you should never feel about one of your friends being so happy.
I grabbed my keys and walked straight out to my car. I couldn't see or breathe or function normally. By the time I got to the end of the parking lot I was crying. Hard. I never cry. Ever. Only when I get hurt or my patents yell at me. Never because of sadness. But I cried. Because I was sad. And fearful for the future of MY band and MY friends. I thought back to the first time he talked to me. The first time he smiled at me. The first time he called me "girl". The first time he sat by me on the bus. The first time he held my hand. Hugged me. Kissed me. Told me I was his best friend. The first time we danced together. Everything. It all flooded into my mind and I cried even harder. It's over. All of it. High school, being with my friends, being with him... It'll never be the same. I just can't handle being this old. Where did the time go?!
So I came home and locked myself in my room and just let myself be sad. Because sometimes you've just gotta do that.
Then I got ready for work.
I love my job. It turned my whole entire day around. Those kids are so great.
"Well I accidentally put in 12 oz." -me
"That's okay it'll just be HUGE." -Jason
And then I die of laughter right in front of the dip box.

Wow. I feel better.
:)

Enjoy this picture. I find it quite funny.

Dear Boys Part 5

I feel like it's been forever!

Dear Already,
Maybe, maybe not. We'll just have to see.
Sincerely, Unsure

Dear Compliments,
Thanks ;)
Sincerely, Actually Flattered

Dear Megan,
Thanks for being HILARIOUS all the time. I honestly can't imagine life without you.
Sincerely, Mother

Dear Boy,
If you know what's good for you, you'll stop it. I know what your motives are. You may have the whole school fooled but not me. Don't try to be someone you aren't.
Sincerely, Girl

Dear Far,
I wish this wasn't so awkward. Why can't it just be like it always has been with us? I miss you a lot.
Sincerely, Even Further

Dear Alma,
Thanks for being such a good example to me. You may be difficult to read, but I'm thankful for it. It gives me the strength I need every day.
Sincerely, Learning

Dear Bro Jo,
This is the part where I blog about you. :) Thanks for being my teacher and always giving me the exact lessons I need. You've changed my life.
Sincerely, The SemCo Girl

Dear Elmer,
You make me want to get up on Fridays. Sitting across from you in meetings makes my whole day. Thanks for serving with me :)
Sincerely, Flutter

Dear Babe,
That's your name to me. No matter what. You mean the world to me.
Sincerely, Princess

Dear Dew Addict,
I love being around you. You make me feel so carefree. Like I'm in another time. Thanks for coming back :)
Sincerely, KARA WINTER!

Dear Mr. Perfect,
So uh. Where are you? I'm so 400% over this whole "dating" thing. Just come find me and everything will be great. :)
Sincerely, Wifey

Dear Dragon Man,
I'm glad you are my friend. You really do make my life easier. It's nice to have someone to talk to about things. :) Hang in there, it will get better!
Sincerely, Locker #89

Dear Dad,
You. Are. The. Best.
Love, Janester

The end :)

They Call Me A Workin' Man

So yesterday was my first day at Jamba! I still can't believe how old I am. Seems like just yesterday I was starting 7th grade without a clue in the world. Hahaha anyway I got there at like 3:38 and sat in my car for about ten minutes. I didn't want to be late so I left wicked early :P
Thankfully Elise and our friend Ashley were both working so they pulled me in to the back to meet everyone and Emily (the boss) gave me a bunch of stuff to fill out. She was so nice and very patient with me. But neither of us wanted to do my tax stuff wrong. Haha :)
Then she gave me my uniform and took me on a tour of the store. It's so cute and it smells delicious! She talked me a lot...most of which I don't remember...so thankfully she said, "You'll get it all soon don't worry." so I just smiled. What I do best! ;)
Then she gave me the bible aka training manuel and told me to read the raspberry section. It was very informative and it took me forever to read but eventually Kathy quizzed me and I got them all right! Ten points to Griffendor! (Excuse the Harry Potter reference)
Emily and Ashley left so there was only me, Elise, Kathy, and Austin in the store. Elise came over and told me she'd teach me how to wash dishes! So we went over to the giant sink and I washed some stuff :) We cleaned out the orange juicer thing and I learned where a lot of stuff is.
Elise asked me if I wanted to make a smoothie and I was like heck yeah! She's been helping me memorize the classic recipes so I have a few under my belt :) I made a strawberries wild and it was delish if I do say so myself :) she showed me how to pour and then I put my smoothie in the fridge :)
For the rest of the night I continued to make every strawberries wild that came through and even a few others :) I'm not sure how many people make smoothies on their first day... But the numbers have got to be few. Haha so needless to say I felt awesome.
I love how everyone there works as a team. They are all so nice and willing to help you with anything. They work in an assembly line of some sort and communicate quite well. I sure did pick a great place to work :)
I was supposed to get off at 8 but stayed a little longer because it was SO MUCH FUN. I mean come on who doesn't love having a singing and dancing party every five minutes? Exactly.
Anyway it was just super awesome and I hope I can get through training fast and actually start being helpful. I'm still really slow but it will come :) I can't wait until I'm as good as Elise. She's a spectacular teacher :)
Until next time!
:) <3 data-blogger-escaped-br="">

Home Sweet Home

So I've been on vacation for the past week or so. (That's how I'm going to justify my serious lack of blog posts... :) ) My family and I went on a cruise to celebrate my parent's 30th anniversary and my sister and brother-in-law's 8th. It was super rad! I can't wait until I get the energy to blog about it! haha tomorrow maybe... when I'm not at school or doing homework or STARTING MY FIRST DAY OF WORK! Yep. That's right. I start at Jamba tomorrow and I'm flipping NERVOUS! Luckily one of my best friends also works there and she's been talking with me about it and helping me realize that everything is going to be just fine. :) Aside from the nerves I'm pretty excited! I can't believe it's taken me this long to finally be brave enough to get a job but I did it and I'm super proud! hahaha :) Elise has been giving me a head start on memorizing recipes and whatnot. She's the best I tell you! We had a nice long chat today while we were delivering things to some girls in the ward. We talked about how we've been friends for so long and how we have managed to get over dumb things and realize that friendship is worth more than a little fight.
We have been neighbors since we were 8 years old. The first time I ever saw her I knew she'd be my best friend. She walked into primary wearing a pretty white dress and the presidency introduced her and we sang the hello song. I couldn't stop staring at her. I just felt like wow... I want to get to know that girl! I felt like such a creep but I couldn't ignore the feeling I had. I knew she would be an important part of my life.
The first time we ever played together we had a blast. We made up these ridiculous stories about how her room was haunted and we would hide in the closet and then come back out to see if anything in her room had moved. Of course they never did, unless one of us secretly moved them before going back into the closet. It was the DUMBEST game on the planet but it was so great. We laughed and talked and hung out every single day for the rest of forever. She's always been the person that I could talk to about anything. We'd have sleepovers and talk in funny voices and eat bricks of raw ramen. She always understood me. We could communicate without even speaking to each other. We walked to school, played barbies, and laughed together every single day. The whole school knew we were besties. I always had someone to sit by at church and her family was so sweet to me. Elise is someone who I can't imagine growing up without. She is one of the few people aside from my family who has ever seen me REALLY cry. We've been through everything together... and I mean everything! hahaha.
Middle school was an interesting time but we stayed friends through the whole thing. We fought a lot more and didn't speak for days at a time but we always had that same connection. She was that person that I couldn't stay mad at very long because I had important things to tell her. :) Sophomore year came and we still hung out every now and then but I was in band and she had Emery. We were still able to get together and chat and be silly like always. That's when I started to realize that she was more than just a convenient friend for me. If I had to TRY to make time to see her, it would prove that she meant something to me and that I wanted to keep our relationship alive. Well I guess it worked. :)
Nowdays we're still best friends. I can't think of anyone who knows me better than she does. We still have that really great friendship we've always had...it's just different now. Our lives consist of real problems and challenges that we talk each other through. Sometimes I wish we could go back to when we were 8 and the only thing that mattered is what our barbies were wearing. Now we're being faced with college and money and relationships and all kinds of weird grown up things. She's still right there with me though. Talking to her today made me realize that even if she's living in Orem and I'm still here, even if we never ever get to see each other, even if I move to Ohio, she'll still be there for me. She'll still text me funny memories or want to get together and hang out. She's one of the few people I think I will be able to stay close to after high school. And even if I'm wrong, I'm very thankful for the friendship we've had. 10 years is a long time to know someone and still be able to get along with them. We're so alike but yet so different. I think we balance each other out quite nicely :) We've grown up together and I know she's been a good influence on me. I'm thankful to have had such a quality friend to confide in my whole life.
Thanks Elise for being a pal and always letting me eat your food and pet your dog. :) I wish you the best in your life ahead and I hope that I'll always be a part of it. :)

Boating at our trek family reunion
August 2011
Courtesy of Ma
:)

Well, that wasn't where I thought this post was going to go... but hey, it's my blog. And these are the kinds of things I want to remember. I want to look back one day and think aw yeah! she's so cool! haha :)

Have an excellent day!
<3

Kolby's 20th Birthday

On Friday my best friend turned 20. He's so old :P
We went to dinner with his parents at Panda Express and had a nice time :) Then we went back to his house and watched Undercover Boss and his mother made cake!

 She let me frost it :)

Then we sang to him!

About four different times.

:)

Well anyway the cake was yummy. (duh).

So after that it was like 9 and it was time to head to the beloved ghetto laundromat to wash paint smocks. I know, I can hardly believe it's already time to participate in that wonderful chore again...but it is. (Click here for a reminder of last time's adventure!) So Kolby and I headed to my house to get in my car and begin the journey of paint-smock-washin!

He bit his nails and shuddered as I drove us to the laundromat. (I'm not even that bad at driving? I only almost killed us twice the whole night!) I knew where it was but I second guessed myself and we were lost for just a moment. We safely arrived at about 9:20 and were greeted by a very nice looking lady! (Not really. She was asleep in a chair but completely harmless.) We hauled in all the black garbage bags and soap and whatnot and set up camp. Thankfully the cheap washers weren't being used so that was nice. We lined up all the bags and began to wash! Kolby was a great little helper! He put the quarters in while I stuffed smocks in the washers.

From the eyes of K. B. Walthall

I heart those $1.75 washers <3

"Are you sure you are supposed to do it like that?" "No but it works so don't judge."

hahahaha

To my very great dismay, the dryers are no longer free on Fridays ):

So I began to panic as I tried to calculate how much money it would take to wash and dry all of the loads. I had $20 worth of quarters but I knew that wouldn't be enough and I had no idea how long it would take to dry everything... So Kolby ran over to Smith's and got us some more quarters so that I could calm down. I sure do love that kid <3 hahaha mostly because I was super afraid when he left... Being somewhere like that alone at night is so flippin scary. I'm glad he came with me so I didn't have to endure that night alone!

My wallet housed roughly 100 different quarters that night. I wish I could have taken a picture of them all. But here are some of them :)

After we got the system down it was pretty easy. We make a lovely team :) We talked and laughed and took pictures. We were there alone for most of the night. Only a few people came in. (I guess no one thinks doing laundry is a very fun Friday night activity?) We had fun trying to figure out the gender of some of the folks. "From this side, he looks like a guy. From the other, he looks like a girl. I just can't figure it out." haha.... terrible....

Just waiting for stuff to dry...

:)

This is how we felt when we found out the dryers aren't free.

>:/

We got tired... hahaha

Poor kid was so beat... ):

When we were finally done it was after midnight. We took everything out to my car and Kolby looked funny :)

"Can I take a picture or are you going to die?" "Take a picture. I want to remember this!"

We drove back to my house and picked my mom up so we could take the stuff back to her school. That place is ultra creepy at night. I basically ran down the halls in order to avoid the killers lurking in every dark corner.

At 1:00 we were finally home and I was so beyond ready for bed! Kolby and I talked for a bit and I wished him a very happy birthday :) It was so nice of him to spend his night doing something super lame with me. But it turned out to be a lot of fun and I really appreciate his help :)

Basically, my life is awesome.
:)