18

Moonrise Kingdom.
Barbeque.
Bang.
Hercules.
Fighting over constellations.
A "God Bless America" cake.
Running through a screen door.
Awkward encounters at the single's ward.
Awkward encounters at an old folks home.
O Brother Where Art Thou.
Yummy lunch at Kneaders.
Cookies, towels, an umbrella, Justin Bieber merchandise, and one beautiful caged pearl necklace.

Yeah, I had a birthday:)

Thank you to all my wonderful friends and family who made my entrance into adulthood so memorable and magnificent!

I'm just a girl who loves to read.

"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it."

 - J.D. Salinger (The Catcher in the Rye)

Last week I read three books that made me feel this exact way (one of them being The Catcher in the Rye). I also read 1984 and Lord of the Flies. I know a lot of people find these books disturbing and would lock me up if they knew just how much I enjoyed them. Part of the reason I loved them is that I love being creeped out just a little (Criminal Minds, anyone?). Part of it is that human nature really does fascinate me. But probably the biggest part (and I really can't believe I'm admitting this) is because of LeeAnn Drake, my AP Lit teacher. 

Just a little background info: I did not like Drake. And she didn't like me. I can spout as much rubbish about her annoying habit of asking the class to laugh at her jokes or the frustrating way she pronounces her ts as I want, but the truth of the matter is I didn't like her because her opinions were vastly different than my own. English is my killer subject, and it was really hard for me to hear, time and time again, that I was wrong. But I will admit (grudgingly) that I learned tons. And my love for great literature has dramatically increased (Don't get me wrong, I love me some Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, but I've learned they're nowhere near the level of Rodion Raskolnikov and Edna Pontellier.)

Anyway, I'd like to think myself sort of an idealist. I genuinely believe that people are inherently good. I don't understand hatred (besides the petty, such as me and LeeAnn.) Watching Saving Private Ryan almost made me lose my lunch and the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. gave me nightmares for the better part of two months. So one might be surprised to learn that I devoured those books, two days per novel. Or that my favorite book I read in Mrs. Drake's class was Candide. Or that the next book on my list is Animal Farm. 

So why am I so interested in these books? 

Because if there's one thing LeeAnn taught me, it's that a different opinion is not necessarily wrong.

Sometimes I love being a nanny.

I get paid to spend the day with Hannah (7) and Haylie (12) doing fun things like playing at the park, swimming, giving ourselves watermelon manicures, exploring Red Butte gardens, playing all sorts of games, and checking out Clark Planetarium. 

Yeah, it's a blast. I'm the luckiest girl ever.

Also, I miss this kid. He should probably come home. Soon.

Reason #22 Why There's a Spring In My Step

Spent the day with my favorite boys on the planet :) 

When the heck did this happen??

Bountiful High School

Class of 2012

Just Be-Cozumel :)

Okay, it's been 20 million years and I have a TON of things to blog about. I keep telling myself I'll get it all done when life get's a little less busy, but then I remember that it's the end of the school year. I'm GRADUATING in two weeks. Life is not going to get less crazy for a while.

So, numero uno on my list of things to blog: Family trip to Orlando and Cozumel, Mexico.

Getting ready to fly out!

SO MUCH FUN. 

We spent the first day in Orlando at the beach, soaking up some rays and building a pretty sweet sand castle.

The next two days were spent at Universal Studios Orlando.
Can I just say that we were in heaven? My little brother T is completely obsessed with Marvel, so he was in heaven in Marvel Land. Plus my whole family loves Harry Potter, so we couldn't get enough of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

The Hogswart's Express!

At Honeyduke's in Hogsmeade :)

After our Orlando fun, we took a cruise to Cozumel, Mexico, which was a total blast! We spent two days on the water, a day at port, and then two more days coming home. In Cozumel, we headed to a private beach and spent the day snorkeling, swimming, tanning, and eating some delicious Mexican food.

Dress Up Night on the cruise. We clean up good!

When we docked at Tampa Bay, we had approximately eight hours to kill before our flight left for home. So my family made me very very happy by agreeing to go to the aquarium! I absolutely fell in love with the adorable otters and we had fun looking at all the different fish.

All in all, it was an incredible trip. I loved going to cool places and spending time with my family! I am one lucky girl :)

Bet you thought I contracted some horrible disease or something, huh?

Yes. It's called Senioritis. And it's the worst (I say a lot of things are the worst, but this is legitimately the actual worst.) And now I have zero motivation to do anything. That's why I haven't blogged in twenty million years.
There are approximately 354826 things that I need to blog about.

Prom #1 and the hospital trip.
Universal Studios Orlando and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Cruise to Cozumel, Mexico and my newly discovered sun allergies.
T's 16th birthday and the midnight showing of Avengers with the world's biggest Marvel fan.
Prom #2 and all its fabulous surprises :)
AP test mania and 23 days until graduation (not that I'm counting. . .)
Hunter Hayes coming to Utah with Carrie Underwood and the presented dilemma (tickets or groceries in college?)

But I'll get around to all that eventually.

Right now, I think I'll just leave you sitting in anticipation. This is just my formal promise to eventually stop neglecting my blog :)