Principal Gold is my Professor

This man (the one on the left), with the intellectual glasses, thought provoking, bushy, dark brown beard, classy bow tie, crisp suit coat, and distinct voice tone, is my Humanities professor. Just add some hair, a checkered sweater vest, and an old fashioned leather business bag and you've got him made. It's just the greatest thing ever.

And this man (or I guess she's really a woman...pretending to be a man), on the right, with the look of awe, disturbance, and what-did-I-get-myself-into, is me. Just cut the dirt stained gym clothes, add some length to the hair, and you've got a USU student learning philosophical ideas from a professor who I half expected the first day of class to burst into, "Welcome to, Illyria, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome... to Illyria." Only instead of Illyria, Utah State, of course. Yes, you should be jealous. 

Photo via Google. Movie reference: She's the Man

My Latest Obsession

So you could pretty much say I'm the ultimate blog stalker. I love hearing about new blogs or people's lives to fantasize about. Sounds weird, but it's true. My latest obsession has been Hailey Haugen. A girl who just got engaged to a good lookin' British man and who appears to have the ultimate life. Now don't worry, I know her life's not all sugar plums and candy canes, but still, hers is a fun life to dream about! After all, she's gone to Ecuador, England, and Norway. But seriously, her engagement story is SO cute. Just watch it yourself here. You will die it's so cute.

I'll wait right here while you watch it.

Did you watch it? Okay good. WASN'T IT SO DARN CUTE?!
Here's another video. She waited for him for 2 years while he was on his mission. Love it. There's lot of other little videos of the two of them that are just beyond creative and adorable.

Are you obsessed yet? If you are (like me), just go here. Hailey and her brother do engagement/wedding videos all the time and they are just so great (plus the music is awesome in each one). It makes me want to get creative and make videos of my own!

K, but seriously, if you didn't watch the engagement video, I'm giving you another chance now. It's my favorite. And I love how she recorded it without even realizing it was her engagement because she thought it was her idea in the first place... just like the dude says at the end... "Inception!" Oh, and my other favorite line..."How did you get that?" after he pulls out the ring from the camera she'd been carrying around all day. haha I admit I've watched it way too many times, but it's just that good.

Summer in a Nutshell

Aside from the things I've already posted about, so much has happened this summer and I just don't have the time to fully expound on how wonderful each event was. So here's a little summary of a few happenings of my fantastic summer.

The best senior trip ever with the girls to Park City. It was the perfect week to eat, sleep, talk, shop, swim, soak up the sun, and basically do nothing. Thanks to Melissa and her family for letting us use their timeshare. :)

Rebecca turned 12 and was able to attend girl's camp for her first time!

My cousin Shalona won tickets to an early showing of Harry Potter 7.2 and invited me and a friend! We also went with her sister and her friend. It was incredible. And how appropriate to end my childhood with the ending of my favorite childhood series. This was also the day I cut 15 inches of my hair.

Summerfest! Mom and I volunteered one night, and Karissa and I enjoyed the dancers and music the next night. We bought matching Indian bracelets to wear and later went to a movie in the park and watched, "Tangled." It was a good girl's night out while the rest of the fam was at girl's camp.

Fish Lake. :) The Regis' are so awesome and let us stay in their cabin. It was a great few days to just relax and enjoy nature, as well as go boating and fishing a few times, too. We also took family pictures! First time in like 6 years. Wahoo!

Two days after Fish Lake, we went backpacking in the Uintahs. It was the first (and only) time I was able to go backpacking all summer and I was glad I could go. We had lots of fun, and Rissy did a great job on her first ever backpacking trip. 

Melissa, McCall, Lisa, and I spent one last morning together before we all head our separate ways around the state. We enjoyed a delicious all-you-can-eat french toast breakfast at Kneader's and didn't rush our time in the slightest. Who knows when we'll all be together again! It better not be too long... 

My summer flew by so fast I don't think I even blinked. Last night I got a fortune cookie, and the slip of paper read to me ironically, "You are just beginning to live." Tomorrow I'm headed off to college to start new adventures, and I guess, 'begin to live.' So here I go! Wish me luck as I leave the nest, spread my wings, and fly. 

Leprechauns, Chocolat, and Snow

Well hello blog! Nice to see you again. The end of third term kept me away for awhile, but so much has happened! St. Patrick's day came and went and the Leprechauns visited our house. I also watched a really great movie. Melissa and I had a girl's night on Friday (the first in I don't know how long) and we watched, "Chocolat." It was a really good movie, and by the end of the weekend I watched it a total of three times. Yikes! My sister Savanna posted about it, and practically said my exact thoughts about the movie, (I guess it's just one of those weird sisterly bonding moments) so I'm going to copy everything she said.

"This is such a cute movie about a lady who goes to a small village in France and sets up a Chocolaterie. She has a special knack for guessing everyone's favorite chocolate. She is sent there by the North Wind to help everyone with their problems. No one knows what to do about her because she's different. She eventually meets Roux and there is a little romance added to the story. It's a fun story of how just a normal person can add a little color to something and make everything better! I love the all outfits and music! It also makes me want to learn french!

WARNING: It WILL make you want to eat chocolate!"

P.S. The second time I watched it, I had to actually stop the movie and get myself a truffle. And now I'm obsessed with everything French. I ended up listening to French songs all weekend. Some of my favorites are Quelqu'un m'a dit (thanks to Jane), L'Amoureuse, and In the Mood for L'Amour. Although I don't understand a thing they say except for l'amour. I'm pretty sure that means love.

Today I woke up, looked out my window, and low and behold, it was snowing. It's March. I thought the groundhog DIDN'T see his shadow! Spring is supposed to be in my backyard, not a layer of frost. But my day was brightened by this:

Dad is really good about making my day with little things like this. :) 

Until next time, Au Revoir!

I'm Dreaming...

I honestly haven't asked for anything in particular this Christmas. Strange, I know, but I just can't think of anything. I did tell my Mom I wanted stuff for college, but nothing specific came to mind. I guess the only thing I really do want is a white Christmas. As of right now all I see is dead grass outside... no snow. We watched, "White Christmas" last night, possibly my favorite Christmas movie, and they were in the same situation, but on Christmas Eve a miralce happens. It snows. I'm hoping the same happens here. 

Here is Bing Crosby's classic version of, "White Christmas." I've listened to it at least five times today, hoping it might bring a Christmas miracle.

You Think Pride and Prejudice is Good?

Try North & South. It's almost as good, if not better, than Pride and Prejudice, which is saying a lot coming from me. Both have vanity and pride mixed with humility and modesty. And of course there's romance. The ending was so fantastic that I've watched it at least ten times more than the movie itself. You fall in love with the characters so much it's as if you've known them your whole life. It's about four hours long, but well worth the time. You'll be on the edge of your seat until you finish. I highly recommend it.

{image via Google}

Wonderful, Wonderful Day

Yesterday was probably one of the best days I've had all summer long. I didn't go anywhere too fancy or do anything too extravagant, but it was a fabulous day. To start off, I went on a hike to Ensign Peak with the Seminary Council (minus 3). We went the back way (not the easy 1 mile round trip deal). We had an awesome time getting to know each other more and discussing how amazing the Gospel is.  

After the hike, I went to the temple with Rachael. Not only was it a spiritual experience, but we saw P.L. and P.A. there. Those of you who know us will know them. ;) The temple in itself put me in a good mood, but when I got home, I received a letter from my friend Nick! He's in basic training right now and I sent him a letter, not knowing if I'd get one back. It was the most wonderful surprise! I then got ready to see Connor from Georgia. It was so great seeing him again, as well as talking with lots of other friends I haven't seen in a while. To add to it all, I went to Kaitlyn's afterwards for an outdoor movie. It was a perfect summer day.

{Connor and...us! Connor is the one in the green shirt on the top left.}

P.S. Kudos if you caught the musical in the title (7 Brides for 7 Brothers).

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Just watched this. Got the shivers. Almost wet my pants. I'm sooooo EXCITED!!!

The Young Victoria

Basically, she sums it up. I absolutely love this movie. I also really like the song that was played during the ending credits. It's called Only You, by Sinead O'Connor. I highly recommend this movie. It was wonderful. 

Titanic

On Friday, I went to Rachael's house and watched, "Titanic." I had never seen this movie before, but had heard of how wonderful it was. I was pretty excited. Mari, Sara, and Rachael's friend, Kate came over as well. While watching, I was blown away at how well the movie was created. I felt like I was on the Titanic myself. The story line, cinematography, picture, costumes, music, actors/actresses, visual effects, etc. were incredible. I couldn't get over it. I now understand why it won 11 academy awards. I'm now anxious to see Avatar, because it has "torpedoed" Titanic. I found out that James Cameron directed both movies, which probably explains why they're so amazing. Titanic will for sure be on my list of movies to watch again.

Bed & Breakfast

On Sunday, after church, our family packed up and headed to a little Bed & Breakfast... Grandma and Grandpa's house. We had a lovely dinner, relaxed a little, and played Scum. In the morning, Grandma and Grandpa made a fabulous breakfast of pancakes, eggs, juice, and milk. Then we relaxed and watched, Anne of Green Gables all day (one of my very favoritest movies). We were well fed with snacks, and even had grandpa's special treat of homemade ice cream! The best ice cream ever. We enjoyed just relaxing the whole day with grandma and grandpa, and ate another delicious dinner together before departing for home. It was a great way to spend Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

My 'Precious' Weekend

Well, another term/semester has come and gone at school. Now, not only am I half way through my junior year, but I am half way through high school!! Crazy thought, but true. I can't believe it. Times flies by so fast. It was a hard semester (homework wise), but a good semester. I met lots of new people, made friends, and learned lots. I had a really awesome seminary class this semester and it will be hard leaving my teacher and friends for new ones. Ms. Ball, my AP American History teacher, will not be teaching anymore. :( It was a sad day when she told our class, but she says our new teacher will be just as good (but not as entertaining). ;) Hopefully my friends and I can get through our history class without falling asleep, because now we won't have the amazing Ms. Ball and her enthusiasm to keep us awake. :)

This weekend is a four day weekend. Yippee!! Last night, some of my friends came over and we had a 'Lord of the Rings,' movie marathon to start off the weekend. We watched all three extended versions. We started at 4pm and it took us almost a complete 12 hours to watch... you can just imagine how tired we were. It was fun though! Complete with action, attractive actors, laughter, food, and good friends. Then today, Melissa and I traveled to Provo to go to our favorite store, 'Papaya.' I found a cute shirt and Melissa found a cute sweater thing. Then we picked up Melissa's sisters from BYU and headed back home. So far it's been a good weekend!

For more pics, click here or here.

Fantastic Weekend

Last weekend was great. On Friday I went to Morgan's house to watch, "The Phantom of the Opera." Ever since Bravo Broadway, we have both been obsessed with it. We had been looking forward to this movie the whole week. The movie was fantastic, the music spectacular (we sang along of course), and the actors fabulous. Emmy Rossum is gorgeous and Gerard Butler (the Phantom) is much better looking than Patrick Wilson (Raoul). Ah! I loved it. Saturday I switched gears to another movie... "New Moon." My cousin Shalona won tickets, so she took Savanna and me along. It was so nice of her! New Moon was so much better than Twilight on a number of levels. The acting, directing, special effects, etc...
However, this is the main reason I liked it so much...When it comes to the books, I'm for Edward aaallll the way, but when it comes to the movies, I'm for Jacob. Ah! He's so good looking! I hear he had to gain a few pounds and work out a lot to be in this movie, but it was totally worth it. The best part, along with his muscles, was his haircut. It was the highlight of the movie. My favorite scene was when he was in the rain. with short hair. and no shirt. (I usually never say things like that, but I couldn't resist. And part of it was to make my mom's jaw drop). hee hee
{Images via Google}

After the movie, Josh and Shalona dropped me off at the BYU stadium. Morgan invited some of her friends and me to the game. It was freezing, but the game ended well with a winning score of 38 to 21 against Air Force. Oh! And guess what... on the way home we got lost. Not kidding. Cursed? I think so.
{Annie and me}

{Luke, Annie, Matt, Morgan, Aubrey}