Getting a little crazy.

Sometimes, my family goes on vacation without me. So I get to make Aubrey's birthday cake while they're all driving home from Vegas...and I make Emily come help me. Chocolate chip cake and cream cheese frosting...it was divine. That's all. 

Having all these friends leaving on missions means that we attend farewell after farewell after farewell, and you start losing track of how many sacrament meetings you've gone to in the last month. Sunday was no different, until we got to Danny's and remembered that he was part of a Spanish-speaking ward! Talk about cool. We were the headsets for his talk, but I listened to the rest of the meeting in Spanish. This church is so true, friends. You can feel the spirit so strong in Sacrament meeting, regardless of what language is being spoken. 

We had a game night on Sunday night with just our roommates--after we finished watching the Bachelor of course--and somehow that turned into Kelsey telling our fortunes. Emi's was good, Lauren's was even better....but it all went downhill from there. 

Laur and I have a problem with dying our hair, and it may be starting to rub off on Emi. We did a lot of red in Laur's hair, and Emi decided she wanted some too. An hour later, she's got a whole layer of Ariel red and a bunch of random peek-throughs of platinum blonde and red. And it looks cool. 

Wednesday, we all drove down to Bountiful so we could watch Miss Kelsey open her mission call. I don't think I've ever seen Lauren so stressed, and none of us could hold still all day long. Kelsey will be leaving May 22, 2013 to serve in the Knoxville, Tennessee mission. She's going to be an incredible missionary, and I'm so grateful for her testimony and her example. :) Sadie's going to Taiwan, Spencer's going to Hong Kong, and Boston's going to Seattle. I couldn't be more proud of my friends and believe me when I say I'm so blessed to be able to call them my friends. 

These next couple of weeks are going to be crazy with all my best friends leaving/getting their calls, and I couldn't be happier. I hate saying goodbye..but I know they're headed where they're supposed to be going. 

The church is true folks, and I know it with all my heart. 

Back to normal.

My brother and I have an ice cream addiction. So every time I come home, we inevitably end up making a midnight In-n-Out run for shakes. [Chocolate for me, neopolitan for him.] And then, he steals my phone while we take the "long way" home, really just the frontage road, and snap chats and texts my best friend. And they take the opportunity to abuse me to the best of their ability. It's great...and by great, I mean it's not. Good thing I love 'em.

We're back in Logan! And we're better than ever. I can't even begin to explain how much I missed these girls, even if we do stay up way too late talking and act like we're three. But, you have to admit, we rock the footie pajamas and bathrobes like nobody's business. I'm glad we're back...but I miss everyone back home. Braden and Luke. Bronson and Jackson. Emily and Hailee and Sadie. Sad day. But I'm proud of them, and know that they'll be the best missionaries in the whole world.

I really don't know what to say about this picture, other than the fact that Emi draws on her food. She's a keeper.

Sometimes I bring free pie home, and we inhale it faster than I can get everybody out of bed to eat. Triple berry definitely wins the award for our favorite, and the peanut butter is one we can pass on.

In other news, my family is going to Vegas right now. Without me. So while they're having a party in the 63 degree weather, I'll be going to school and working in the freezing cold. College kid problems? 

BUT. I get to meet the rest of the A-Team tonight! And I'm super excited. 

And then it's time for the welcome back social, complete with a showing of Pitch Perfect and food. College is still wonderful, my friends. 

Let's review.

It's officially 2013, kiddos! 2012 is over, and man, was it quite the year. I'm apologizing in advance for the length of this post, but deal with it. I had a good year, and I'm going to share some of my favorite parts. [Also, it's all jumbled and out of order, but my life is as crazy as this post. It's fitting.]

1. I did a triathlon! Ryan, Brittany and I made a relay team for a sprint triathlon in Bountiful this summer, and it was a blast. After all, the family that tri's together stays together, right folks?

 2. I may have made a million new friends, but I'll keep these ones around too. We started sending off all our missionary friends, and I couldn't be more proud of them or grateful for their examples and testimonies. Paris, Detroit, Hong Kong, Honduras, Guam, Ghana, England, Dallas, and Canada are some of the luckiest places on earth, because they get my best friends for the next two years. See ya in two [or 18 months] friends.

 3. I spent a weekend in Park City with my best friends, and I got to see some of the art I learned about in AP Art History. [That class was another highlight, as was being done with AP tests forever.] There's no better way to celebrate an 18th birthday than having a giant sleepover at the Park City Marriott and shopping, swimming, and exploring for three straight days. It was grand.

 4. I MET GO RADIO. And I got to see them in concert, twice. Jason Lancaster signed my phone, I got one of his guitar picks...and Emi got Alex's sweat towel. We're devoted fans.

 5. I finally got together with my dream man. Zac and I have been in contact since HSM, and we finally decided to make our relationship public. Okay fine, not really. But we did discover how entertaining photoshop was--along with baby morph websites--and keep ourselves entertained for hours on end. Besides, Zac and I would make a lovely couple.

 6. I finished my third Ragnar, and discovered that the third time truly is the charm. Some may call us crazy for paying money to spend 48 hours in a cramped, sweaty, stinky car and run over 15 miles, but I wouldn't trade this weekend for anything in the world. It's physically, mentally and emotionally demanding and draining...but it's so worth it. It hurts so good?

 7. Graduated seminary! Spent the year on seminary council for Davis, and finally got my diploma [it was a little rough...senioritis took its toll early on.] and I got to graduate with my best friend, and most of the kids that I've grown up. We were halfway there!

 8. Attended my last dance of high school with my best friends. Got ready together, just like we had for every dance in the last three years, and celebrated at Zupa's, like we always do. Danced until we were sore, and said goodbye to everyone we'd spent the last three years with.

9. FINALLY walked across that stage, and got our diplomas. Said goodbye to public schooling, and hello to futures in various parts of the world. I couldn't be more grateful to have these two girls by my side for the majority of my life, and I'm so glad they're my best friends. We survived high school, and that's all that really matters. 

 10. Last, but certainly not least, I met these five girls. Lauren, Emi, Kenzie, Adrienne and Kelsey are the best roommates, sisters, friends, and homework buddies that a girl could ever ask for. Call me cheesy, but I know that we were put together for a reason, and I'm so glad we did. I'm excited to spend this next semester with them, because they were the best part of 2012, and they're already my favorite part of 2013.

 Overall, 2012 was full of change, growing up, and learning far more than I ever thought I would. I made some new friends, and brought back some of the old friends; learned how to survive on my own; and realized how lucky I really am. I have an amazing family, incredible friends, and an extraordinary life.

2013, you can go ahead and bring it on.