I am such a slacker

I really don't know what I've been doing this whole time, why I haven't been blogging. Maybe it's been the craziness of the Christmas season, applying forcollege, the trying to keep my head a float in senior year... it could be any number of things. But I know they're not really an excuse for not posting. So anyways, about my life since... October 2 (has it really been that long?! Yikes).

1. Was accepted into BYU-Idaho, a college I could potentially be attending in the fall! (But between you and me, I'm still holding my hope on BYU... I just want to go there so bad!)

2. Had a fabulous Thanksgiving with my family. Though we have our spats, I still love and admire them in all they do :)

3. My 17th birthday! I pretty much don't feel any older... hahaa

4. Attended my first Black Friday with my best friend Parker. We went a little late in the morning (AKA 3:30) so we weren't in the middle of the insanity, but it was still fun!

5. Applied (and was later accepted) to the University of Utah! That makes my record 2/3 with one college to go... I'm crossing my fingers!

6. Had the opportunity to go to NYC for the third time in three years (sort of) for my birthday. It was super fun (as always!) and I'm so glad my mom, Amanda, and Shannon were able to come with me. I'm so glad that it wasn't -4000 degrees, it was a fairly decent 40. Seeing a bunch of drunk people walk the streets dressed as Santa, visiting NYU (HOPEFULLY home for Shannon next year... crossing my fingers for her too!), and seeing Mary Poppins on Broadway were some highlights:)

Crepes are SO good

Yay Mary Poppins!

This hat is seriously the warmest and cutest thing ever (although it might not exactly look that way on camera...)

So many drunk people, so little time

This, ladies and gentlemen, is my best friend

7. Christmas. Oh wow Christmas was great this year. It took me a little bit to really get in the spirit of the season because it was in the 50s, 60s, and 70s a lot of the time . I'm a girl who really likes the environment to match the holiday. When it's Christmas, it should be cold and potentially snowy. Warm days don't really match that... hahaa. But anyways, although it took me some time, I really was able to appreciate the time and effort my parents put into making this a fun and enjoyable time for us, and how much they care for us. I was also so excited to put together two special gifts for my friends, especially a collage of pictures for Shannon from our trip to NYC (see #7). I was also blessed to receive a cute little Macbook Air (with a turquoise cover! My parents know me so well) for college. I'm so grateful to have it, and am SO excited to bring it with me to COLLEGE next fall. College, college, college... I'm ready for you!

Our family room, all decked out for Chrismas :)

Things get a bit crazy on Christmas night...

My brother and sister, the poster children for loving siblings

Oh wait...

Dillon made this face in pretty much every photo

Emma and I. We're pretty cute, if I do say so myself

8. New Years! Happy 2012! For New Year's Eve I attended a dance at our stake center, we danced, ate food, played Just Dance 4, watched the ball drop at midnight, and jumped on bubble wrap to welcome in the new year! And I may or may not have had an extra surprise at midnight:) Looking back at 2011 I am shocked at how much I've grown, changed, gained... It's humbling to see how much can change in one year. And although I'm excited for the next year to come and the start of a new chapter in my life, I'm starting to get a little scared of this last book completely closing. There are people and experiences I don't want to let go over or grow apart from, and it scares me that it might actually happen. I hope it doesn't and I plan to make the best out of the last few months I have with all of these people I've been blessed with in my life.

9. Attended EFY Express in Buena Vista, Virginia. It was a really awesome experience and I was so glad to go back to SVU, the site of two other EFYs for me. Since there was no more room in the van of my friends going down, I drove myself and grabbed Parker for the ride. It was pretty fun, we just jammed the whole time there and back:) I'm grateful I could go! I was able to hear a great message by Brother McBride, and then we had a concert by Jeremy Harvey, a sophomore at Maryland who has limited vision and cerebral palsy but who plays the piano like an angel. He spoke about finding music in our everyday lives and about how we should do everything we can to spread the gospel and build the kingdom. Also performing was Sandra Turley, a former actress on Broadway who played the part of Cosette in Les Miserables. She was amazing and spoke on creation and how we can create and be innovative in our own lives. Afterwards there was a dance and I had a fun time with all of my friends. I'm so happy I could attend and have a great and spiritual time there.

My girl Brooke and me... we contrasted quite nicely!

Parker and me, with a guest appearance by Kayla in the back

My girls

Sorry for the SUPER long post, but I just wanted to make sure I covered my bases on my update:) Hopefully I'll get back into the rhythm of posting and I won't have to do this anymore! Midterms are this week, I'll be back to post after they're done. Wish me luck! :)