lived the dream, summer '17

this summer went fast.

too fast.

i feel like i literally just got home from my freshman year of college at BYU, and yet here i am, four months later & about to go start a new year of school. 

time is a funny thing!!!

SO!!

this will be a recap of what i did this summer!! 

mostly fun, but kind of disappointing cause i feel like i didn't do quite as much as i had planned, 

just cause sometimes life gets in the way. & so does working 40 hours a week hahah

let's get started(-:

((everything is in chronological order))

the first thing that happened this summer was my brother's wedding!

literally i finished a final & drove straight from the testing center back up here to be there in time to help set up & stuff for the wedding.

next, i babysat all 6 younger siblings while my parents went to europe for 10 days. 

(without me i might add!!!!)

being a "mom" is hard. it definitely made me appreciate what my mom does everyday, probably even more than i appreciated it during my entire freshman year hahah

AND MIGHT I ADD THAT HARRY STYES ALBUM CAME OUT DURING THIS TIME AND I ACTUALLY DIED. I LOVE HIM.

 took too many pics by this flower bush & ate (drank??) wayyy to many half priced sonic shakes!!!

only went kayaking once or twice////:

WATCHED THE BEST SUNSET OF MY LIFE. i actually cried.

found out about the $1.50 ice cream scoops at baskin robbins. 

only when it's the 31st of a month that has 31 days in it though!!!

lemon poppyseed ice cream was the BEST!!

celebrated national donut day😋

was reunited for like 2 hours with the whole girl gang😍

went hammocking once or twice!

DID ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL HIKES EVER IN MY LIFE!!!

went paddleboarding for the first time ever, & simultaneously got the worst sunburn i have ever had hahaha

& saw most of my cousins on my moms side (only missing 2!!) 

(& some of the ones that were there aren't even in this picture!)

got to spend time w// my annie! but not nearly enough since we were both working full time😭

saw palouse falls for the first time in my life!! kinda not as awesome as i hoped haha

went to pikes market in seattle with mah friendssss(-:

SUMMITED MOUNT ADAMS!!!

pumped for next summer to hopefully summit mount rainier!!

& ended the summer by visiting my favorite place in the whole wide world:

mount rainier national park

it really wasn't a boring summer at all. i feel so blessed and SO refreshed. now, on to taking on another year of college!!

so long summer 2017, you were too good to me.

year one is done

well fam, its official. i am no longer a freshman at byu. (!!!!)

how the heck did this year go by sooo fast?! i'm typing this as i'm laying on my bed back home in washington, wondering how come i feel like my parents dropped my off yesterday?? it was one of the most challenging (emotionally, physically, spiritually) and fun years that i have ever had! i can only think of a few things that i would change if i could.

anyways, i thought that i would make a little list of things that i learned after eight months of living away from home & going to school in another state. so here it goesss:

1) ask for help when you need it. seriously, could not have survived my chem classes this year without help!
2) i learned all the words to fergalicious and to kiss my through the phone. hahah only took me this long. as you can see it was quite the educational year(;
3) heavenly father is real. he loves you. and he wants to help you with whatever it is that you need.
4) okay so when your school's team makes a huge comeback and wins the homecoming football game and the whole entire student section (literally thousands of kids) starts running down the bleachers and jumps over the barricade and into the football field YOU DO IT TOO!!!!
5) i learned how to use E=mc^2 in my chem class. no big deal. and honestly, it probably wasn't a big deal to most people but it was to me. i felt so smart!
6) if you get a D on a midterm, its gonna be okay. even if its that lowest score on a test you've ever gotten, your life will not be ruined!!! just don't get a D on your final (don't have experience with that one and hopefully never will. just saying, it's probably not a good idea.)
7) call your parents. and your little sister.
8) it's okay to not have plans every night in college. that being said,
9) say yessss to everything that you can!!! & honestly, you're gonna be poor anyways so don't be afraid to spend some money. again, that being said,
10) your grades ARE important!!! so study for your tests and write your papers before the day they're due.
11) make new friends. lots and lots of them. but remember your friends from home. cause you are who you are because of them.
12) get a good pair of rainboots. and probably an umbrella.
13) make sure to make time to go on a run or something!!! best stress reliever.
16) everything in your life happens for a reason!
15) if you're dating someone, great! if you're not, that's great too! it's not a measure of your attractiveness, smartness, or anything else.

i think that i could go on for a long time, but i think i'm just gonna stop right there cause if i kept going, you might not get to experience learning it for yourself once you get there too! my freshman year was amazing & i will forever love the friends and memories i made. i can't wait for the next threeish more years or so at byu! oh, and go cougs!!!