Give me a break.

In case you were wondering, finals week is just as bad as everyone says. Countless hours in the library, reading textbooks until you want to poke your eyes out, and eating very little food--if any--in between study sessions. And all of this for a test, that at most, lasts two hours. It's ridiculous, really.
But, I survived. Creative Arts? A joke of class, which means I should have expected that the final would be just as big of a joke. 20 multiple choice classes. Every single answer was A. Biology? Not even bad...besides, it didn't count on my GPA. [Which makes all my studying kind of pointless, but I was proud of my score.] JCOM wasn't bad either, and most of it was review. But it was stressful. And finally, Psychology this morning. Paige and I studied forever yesterday, and we'll find out shortly if it actually paid off.
It's been a long week. Because on top of finals, I had to work. And got my fifth flat tire of the last month. And had to say goodbye to way too many people.
So. After Paige and I got no sleep, took our last final, cleaned our apartments, said goodbye to Bronson and Jon, took my car in for new tires [Thanks Dad.:)]  and attempted to appeal her parking ticket, we decided we needed food. So we moped about until we went to lunch, and now I'm just waiting to go to work so that I can get out of here. I've never wanted to be home so bad in my whole life.
It's been a long 24 hours. And I'm ready for Christmas break.

BUT. I get to be home in less than 12 hours. And I get sushi for dinner tomorrow. We're going to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert on Sunday. And it's almost Christmas. So even though life is stressful, and I should probably not talk to anyone today, I'm so grateful for what I have, for this semester up in Logan, and for the friends that I have. Friends that stay up studying with me, change my flat tires way too many times, wake me up for my final, and for friends that talk to me over Dr. Pepper and noodles, and sleep over so that I'm not alone in my apartment.


There was a shooting today in Connecticut, and 27 people--18 elementary school kids--died. So today? I'm counting my blessings that a flat tire and no sleep are my biggest trials. Hug your family a little harder, and be a little more grateful for the life that you have. Because we really have no idea what's coming next, and we are so lucky to be where we are with what we have.

Finals are over, I'm going home, and next semester shall be wonderful.
Until then? Merry Christmas from the Snitches of 102!

[Yes, we did devote a full hour of our lives to a photoshoot for this card. And yes, those are corduroy jumpers, turtlenecks, ugly sweaters, knee length tshirts, fishnets, and glitter bows. We're cute. Accept it.]

Let me tell you about it.

It's November, people! Which means fall, and sweaters, and snow, and lots and lots of food. I love Thanksgiving. And I love November. I know it's the third, but for every day from here on out I'm going to do a gratitude post. Because I have so much to be grateful for. 

[catch-up posts.]

November 1st: The girls of 102. I know I talk about them a lot, but my roommates are seriously the best thing to happen to me up here. I scored, big time with these girls. They make me laugh, listen to my problems, and put up with my craziness day in and day out.  

Kenzie is the most sincere person I've ever met, and she makes me food at least a million times a week. She listens to me complain, and attempts to keep my head screwed on straight.

Emi has been my best friend since 8th grade, so we won't go into that, but we are the same person. On every level. 

Kelsey is our "mom," and makes sure I'm drinking my milk, takes notes for me when I miss class, gives me advice on everything. 

Lauren is basically a nicer version of me, and she keeps me sane when we're both up late. She understands my shopping addiction, and isn't afraid to try new things with me. 

Adrienne makes me feel like less of a failure when I fail biology and she doesn't, and keeps me thoroughly entertained through our many apps and chats, and never fails to give compliments, about anything. 

These five girls really are my best friends on the planet, and they're the best sisters I could ever ask for--except for the four real ones I have of course--and Kels and I are missing them like crazy this weekend. 

November 2nd: I have the world's best parents, ask anyone. Both of them are amazing at anything they do. Bake, BBQ, bike, crochet, you name it. They come to all of my stuff: lacrosse games [even though they still don't understand all the rules. But really, who does.], D-TV meetings, graduations, etc. They host parties for not only my friends, but my Seminary Council kids, my Girls Camp Committee friends, and the entire neighborhood+ on the last day of school. They're the best examples I could ever ask for, and give the best advice in the world. 

My mom drops everything to help me, gives me her hair appointments when she's been waiting for months to get to May, and lets me wear her shoes, even though I usually end up taking them. She makes me my favorite foods when I come home, and sends mounds of treats back up to school with me. And she fields roughly twelve thousand phone calls from me a week.

My dad knows everything. So when I call to ask whether I should do a Bachelor of Arts or Science, or ask how on earth I'm supposed to get pumpkin mold off my carpet, he has an answer. He fills my car up for me, fixes my radiator, and makes sure my car is clean when I leave, and that I have a way to insulate my windows so I don't freeze to death.

  I'm so glad that I get to be with them for forever, and am so grateful for everything they do for me. 

November 3rd: I've got the five best siblings, too. 

How many girls can say that they're 15-year-old sister played lacrosse with them, did youth court with them, and will drop just about anything to follow me around while I shop? Not many. Britt and I are just about as different as it gets; I'm loud and always have to have a million people with me. She's much more reserved, and can function perfectly fine on her own. She's also a lot more motivated and driven than I am, and is already blowing everything I did right out of the water. I'm so glad she'll come with me to anything I want her too, and so grateful that as far as I know, she's not embarrassed to admit I'm her sister to everyone at Davis. 

Poor Ryan handles being the only boy reasonably well. :) He listens to my music suggestions, most of them time, and is always willing to back my car in if I need him too. [Shhh...] He puts up with our endless teasing, and sometimes he even asks me for advice with his clothes. Ry will always come drive around delivering Christmas presents to my friends with me for hours, as long as he gets control of the stereo, and he always makes me laugh. 

Emily got all the genes I wish I did. Tall, tiny, blonde, and blue eyed. [You win some and lose some I guess.] And she's the only one who will actually read the books I like! She'll help me pick out my outfits long after Brittany's given up with my indecisiveness, and isn't afraid to let me do her hair and makeup for dance recitals. 

Aubrey and Mary are basically me in two different bodies, and they're the first people I grab when I get home. They're my Zupa's dates, my nap buddies, and the ones I drag around everywhere with me. They let me experiment with their hair, dress them up like they're dolls, and listen to everything I say and do. They sing the same songs I do, and play 'crosse with me when no one else will. Mary shares everything she has with me, and Aubrey will do anything I ask her to. 

I miss these kiddos every single day, and am so glad that they get to put up with me forever. [Poor things.:)] They really are some of my best friends, and I'm so glad there are so many people waiting for me when I get home. 

See, there's so much to be grateful for. I am so incredibly blessed, in every aspect of my life and couldn't ask for anything more. 

This is the greatest thing we've ever done.

The things we do for our football team would worry our parents. We run to Wal-Mart to buy a tent for $39.98 and then book it to the Quad to claim a spot. We fit five girls in there. [Doesn't sound like a big deal until your realize how much stuff we all brought.] 

We tried really hard to take a picture by ourselves. I didn't include those attempts, but this one only worked AFTER we'd had our tent collapsed by two reasonably obnoxious individuals, and were saved by Luke. We then had him take a picture after we'd gotten over our hysteria, and settled down once again into our massive cuddle sesh. 

Dallin has a massive man-crush on my father. So when he was freezing [the kid wore a t-shirt to camp in Logan. Seriously.] and I offered him a sweatshirt [I brought three. Don't worry] that happened to be my Dad's....he freaked. And so we sent Russ these pictures at midnight. I'm just glad my friends and my parents get along. 

We camped out for 11 hours, and waited in line for 3 hours to watch our Aggies beat the Utes for the first time in 15 years. I haven't screamed that loud since Viewmont lost to Murray in hockey my junior year, and won't until...basketball season. But whatever. It definitely made the sleep deprivation worth it. 

Stormed the field, joined a majority of the freshman at McDonald's at 12:30 in the morning, and then crashed--hard--watching Ironman in our apartment. Mitch and all his roommates and Emi and I were sound asleep before Robert Downey Jr. was even kidnapped. It was an awful wakeup call to realize that going to bed at 2:45 and going to see my parents before my dad started Lotoja was one of the worst ideas I have ever had. However, I survived. My dad finished Lotoja for the 3rd time. All the kids are in bed. And I got to have a heart to heart with my best friend at the temple. Seriously. This year is going to be awesome. And I couldn't be more excited to see what's in store. 

You show us that Scotsman.

We've survived almost a whole week of school! More adventures from this week included: 

Stalking Kenzie after church while she was on the phone. And yes, I did take this picture to make it look as creepy as possible. 

When we get really tired, we chat on the kitchen floor and make goals for our weeks. Then we put them in a plastic bag, and freeze them. (It didn't work out nearly as well as we intended, but it's the thought that counts.)

We get enough free ice cream to feed a third-world country. And these people wonder why we all gain 15 pounds. (It's a good thing my closest class is a 15 minute walk, at best. I'm the exception to a not so pretty rule.)

All she does is abuse me. Both physically, emotionally, and mentally. Like, she sits on me all the time and tells me I can't go to sleep. Rude. 

Kelsey takes NyQuil, and then proceeds to give us two hours of live entertainment and free back massages. Really, it's quite entertaining. 

We found OKONKO. (This is one of those moments where you won't have any idea what I'm talking about unless you took AP English.) But really, we were so excited we all texted Ashley Cross. 

And last, but certainly not least, we have classy decorations. Kelsey was comparing her ridiculous amount of water consumption to raging alcoholics. 

We attended our first Aggie football game tonight, and photobombed a "The-Stoop-Goes-to-College" picture. It's Friday tomorrow. And we get to go home. Yay. :) 

All grown up.

Twelve hours from now, I'll be on my way up to Logan with my best friend. We're almost completely moved in, and the rest of the roommates join us tomorrow. (Family Home Evening? Be prepared. Snow 102 is the coolest dorm on campus. Just wait. ) Since I'm all grown up now, and it was my last weekend home, we went on a few adventures. 

Last night, we went to Johnny Rockets with the SSMT (figure it out.) after we'd shopped and explored Centerville all day. Then we went up to Kyle's to watch a movie. Considering the fact that it was Hailee, Haley, Emi, Maddy and I there, he got out-voted pretty quickly on the movie. Our bad. The night before, Hailee, Kyle and I went up to Mueller Park to build a fire, and realized that we would in fact survive in the wilderness if it ever came to that point. The things I learn with these kids. 

I spent Monday-Thursday babysitting the three girls while Ryan, Brittany and my parents were on Trek. We school shopped, went to Zupa's, and played at the pool. I'm gonna miss these hooligans. 

And last but not least, my baby sister is a psycho. She decided that since Mom was gone, she could drive her car with her eyes closed and no hands, and backwards. Weirdo. 

Pointless post, but the moral of the story is, I definitely won the friend lottery. Also, my siblings are the best I could ask for. And even though I'm only going to be an hour away, I'm going to miss all of them like crazy. Yay for Skype and Google+ Chat and FaceTime. 

Be prepared for some epic intro to college posts. Seriously. It's going to be the adventure of a lifetime. 

This will always be home.

Sundays are usually long to me for some reason, but today? I've never been more content. The "bike gang" invaded our driveway and we showed our beach cruisers off to the culdesac. We visited Stella, and saw the coolest--and only--collection of owl figurines I've ever seen. And to top it all off, we had upwards of 20 people in the "social circle" in our front yard until 10:30. Your neighbors may be fun and all, but mine are something else entirely. I've got multiple sets of parents, and uncountable siblings. And I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
Two years ago, we moved from our house on 1250 into the culdesac next door, just a few months after my grandma passed away. Big changes were a huge part of life that year, and leaving a house that I'd grown up in was really weird, especially since we now live less than 500 yards from it. To top it all off, the next summer we moved my grandpa and aunt out of the house that my mom grew up in. I drove past it last night to watch fireworks, and that was weird. It made my heart hurt--and I know I say that all the time--to remember everything that happened there and how much of my life revolved around that place. But situations change and things happen. We all move on.
Not many people can say they've lived in multiple houses in the same neighborhood, but we're just one of a few in our ward that can. We're stuck here, for good. This is the neighborhood I'll bring my kids home to someday, and these are the people I will always say influenced me the very most. I may be moving away in a month, but that won't change much. We all come back in one way or another, and I know I will.  And no matter where I go, I know that this place? It will always be home.