Summer Happenings

Well, it has been awhile, and my sister Michelle has been encouraging me to post again. So I'll give an update on my summer! 

Lets see. Spring term was great, cause I wasn't in school and I was just working and partying. Summer term started at the end of June, and I have been quite busy ever since! Classes and work and social life have definitely been taking over my life. But it's fun! I like being busy. I'm taking this class where we have to be a teacher's aide in the preschool on campus. It is really fun! The kids are so adorable and I just love them. I'm also taking Adolescent Development, which is...interesting, i guess. It's at 8:00 in the morning, so I usually fall asleep. And I'm also taking Greek and Roman Lit, which I love! It's fun to read real literature and learn cool things. I like it.

So I'll start with my trip to Zions National Park, the last hurrah before I started summer classes. It was such a blast! Me and 7 of my friends went down for a few days and stayed in my friend's cabin, which is right outside the park. We just hiked for 2 days and played games and such. It was my first time actually hiking around Zions and it was INCREDIBLE! The scenery was amazing. And it was also 100 degrees both days. haha. yikes! Here are some fun pictures. 

Hiking up to the Hidden Canyon. Sweet hike!

My funny friends, hiking the Narrows!

The Narrows

Red Rock

Hiking to the Emerald Pools

The magical Emerald Pool

It was a great trip, as you can see. I have awesome friends too. Then school started and I got super busy. But, I did go to my cabin with Jeff and Kira and Matt and Baby Jeff just for an afternoon, cause I had to work the next day. It was fun to go up and enjoy the beautiful outdoors and the cozy and oh-so-wonderful cabin. As well as my fabulous siblings/in-law/nephew. We had cook-outs, played basketball, and went bushwhacking up a mountain! It was great. 

Father and son, on the swing.

hey there.

Who could resist that face?

Walking, finally!

Climbing up a rock slide.

Where we climbed from

Love that view!

Well, those are the big fun things I've done. The other things I've been doing this summer are: 

playing lots of soccer, playing lots of Frisbee, going to fun concerts in Provo, getting a new battery for my car, going toThe Dark Knight Rises midnight premier, getting excited go back to Seattle in August!!!

Summer time, and the livin' is easy.

Here's the thing. The past few months haven't been busy or stressful at all. Winter semester was really quite easy. But for some reason I didn't write on this blog at all....I think I only write when I want to put off doing homework. haha.

But here's a little update on my life:

Winter semester was a blast! School was easy and I've had a lot of fun hanging out with friends and playing sports and things. My intramural soccer team made the final four in the tournament, which was unexpected. haha. I may have broken my toe playing in a tumbling gym. It's better now though.

We also went to the Festival of Colors! That's always fun. It's this Hindu festival at the Hare Krishna Temple . Basically they give you colored corn starch and you throw it up and at everyone and everything. It gets everywhere, and if you don't shower relatively soon after, your hair turns pink. 

Also, we had to say good-bye to our dear Faith and Nicolle. They went into the MTC  on April 4th. It was kind of sad, but happy at the same time. We took a picture of our four missionaries before they left. So proud!

And after finals ended Brooke, Ashling, Jamie, and I all went to Jamie's house down in Pima, Arizona for the weekend! It was a blast! 

We shot guns. (Dad would have been proud of me!)

Rode horses.

And we saw lots of cactus! cactus's? cacti?

It was a fun weekend. And now I can add Arizona to my list of states. Woohoo!

Now it is Spring term and I am not taking classes! I am working a custodial job at Heritage Halls (on-campus housing), which is actually a lot of fun. And I am partying it up with no homework! Life is great. 

Though...I do kinda wish that I were off on another study abroad... :) 

But I'll just be content with planning midnight showings (Avengers, 3rd Batman etc), bbqs, Frisbee games, camping trips, and all sorts of summer fun.

Making a Difference

You know when you watch those commercials or news reports that show starving children in Africa, entire villages destroyed by earthquakes, or refugees from a war-torn country? You either feel super depressed about the direction the world is going or you feel really inspired to make a difference! But then you think, what can I do? Just one little person in this huge world....


Last Friday I asked my friend out for Preference Week and we went to the Hunger Banquet. It was actually really cool! It is a big event at BYU that raises awareness about poverty and world hunger. About 70% of the people that go have to sit on the ground and they get to share a bowl of rice and beans between two people. Another small percentage get to sit on chairs, they are the "middle class", and they get to eat a hot dog, chips, and soda. Then the very small elite "upper class" gets to sit at nice tables with like a 5 course meal or something delicious. Though we may not eat 5 course meals every night, that represents us. 


While my date and I were sitting down watching everyone come in we talked about "making a difference". Everyone wants to feel like they contribute to society and everyone wants to change the awful things that happen in the world. I always feel that way when I travel. Having been to a few countries around the world, I feel like I've been exposed to a lot things, both good and bad. Traveling lets you see other cultures and wonders of the world, but it also opens your eyes to the filth, poverty, hunger, despair, and challenges that so many people of this world deal with. Those are things many Americans never have to worry about. Sure, I'm a "starving" college student who has "no" money. But I have food in my cupboards, and I have financial help from my parents. There are so many things that we take for granted in this life. 

These are some pictures I took in Egypt of people who really don't have much. Traveling to these places taught me a lot.

We stopped by this little village and ended up giving them the leftovers from our lunches (it wasn't that good, but they were so grateful!)

The Hunger Banquet featured Maya Ajmera, social entrepreneur and founder of the Global Fund for Children. She told some really inspiring stories about how she has made a difference, through educating children and doing all sorts of things. I left the banquet a little hungry, not just for more food, but with a desire to DO something. To somehow help the world. 


My roommate Faith has done some really cool things with the organization Help International. She went to Guatemala and Tanzania and she definitely saw the difference she made in the children she taught and the projects they did. All the money that the Hunger Banquet made on tickets is going to this cool organization called Koins for Kenya, and they build wells in Kenya so that they can have clean water. Pretty great, huh? That is one of the biggest problems in Africa, people get super sick just from drinking the water! 

That's Faith in Tanzania, the beautiful blonde in the middle. Aren't those kids precious!

Some of you may be aware of the KONY 2012 film and campaign that is going on, specifically on facebook, that is raising awareness about Invisible Children and Joseph Kony. He abducts children in Uganda and forces them to join his army, or turns them into sex slaves, among other horrific things. I watched the 30 min video today and it filled me with loathing and disgust in the awful people of this world, but also with pride and hope in the people who really are making a difference. 


It is possible. It might just be donating some money (since some have plenty to spare) or maybe just sharing on facebook or on a blog. I think each person has the ability to add hope and light to a world that is often filled with despair and darkness. Teach it to your children, your friends, your neighbors, and your community. With the internet, we can do SO much good! If you have time, watch this video and learn more about what is happening in Uganda and other countries in Africa. Be inspired, and maybe you can do something to make a difference.

Baby Hungry

February was a fun month. I spent President's Day weekend with my sisters and brother-in-law in Washington D.C.! It was a blast. My sister Ann Marie had her baby shower and it was so great to be there for it! She is due April 4th, with a little baby boy who's name will be Jack (Richard) Dalton. Good name, right? Well, Sarah came down from New York City with the most delicious and adorable cupcakes I have yet seen. And that's saying something since I live in Provo. These cupcakes were about the size of a quarter, just big enough to pop one after another into your mouth. They also had flavors such as: peanut butter and jelly, oreo, s'mores, blueberry, tie die (?), cookie dough, and many more. We wrote Jack's name with the cupcakes, as you can see 

Also, Sarah and I made juice/punch and put bath toys in it. It was pretty cute.

Well it was a good weekend to spend with my sisters. But the weekend after that was spent with the rest of my family! Mom and Dad came to SLC from the Great Northwest and we chilled at the Condo with Jeff, Kira, Baby Jeff, and Matt - the birthday boy! 

Mostly we ate lots of food and played with Jeffrey, but it was a blast. As per request of my similarly baby-hungry sisters, here are pictures of the beloved nephew. Have you noticed a trend in my blog posts...?

who could resist that face?

He likes to squint now when he laughs. It's adorable.

Time to bundle up!

Favorite Picture

He sure loves his football

Soon I'll have another nephew to take over my blog! Gosh I'm excited. 

Also, I got a 98% on my parenting test today, so I was happy.

Also, it's preference week in my ward which means we have ask out boys....i don't like it. I'm just saying that I fully appreciate how hard it is so...I hope I never have to do it again. 

Happy Happy Birthday to EVERYONE.

I am writing to you now, as a 21 year old. How exciting!

I feel like I've been celebrating birthdays for weeks now, but really, it has only been one....kind of....I'll get to that later.

Anyway, it all started on January 29th 1991 in a beautiful place near London, England. My mom gave birth to her 6th and last child. I was a girl, to my brother's disappointment. I think they've changed their minds...;) I hope.

And now, 21 years later, I am still alive and kicking! In fact, I am quite enjoying life.

Can you believe that last year I celebrating my birthday fleeing Egypt in the midst of a revolution and then hiked Mount Sinai?! This year wasn't quite as epic, but still wonderful!

Starting the night before my birthday, this is how it went:

Cafe Rio with Brooke and Faith. Best Thing Ever.

CRAZY BYU Basketball game.

Spark. The chic non-alcoholic drink place Mormons like to go to feel cool.

It may look like alcohol, but really its not.

Spontaneous trip to Faith's friend's house for a "bonfire" ( it was more like a pile of coals) where I happened to run into my old summer freshman roommate!

Then we went home.

Next day was Sunday and my birthday!

The day started out pretty well with Faith's delicious Crepes for breakfast.

Church was wonderful as always, and so was ward choir.

Dinner at Jeff and Kira's! Kira made me my favorite birthday meal: roast beef, yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, carrots, and lots of gravy. And of course the classic birthday cake, yellow cake with chocolate frosting. :)

I think the best birthday present that day was just to play with my darling baby nephew Jeffrey. He really is so adorably wonderful. He makes me happy. Enjoy

And I got to open presents, which is always fun.

My day ended with more cake, friends, ward prayer, and lots of Happy Birthday nice notes! How wonderful.

Now, the next day was my friend Julie's birthday, then Wednesday was my roommate Faith's birthday. We went to Chile's for dinner, and Jamie and I made her this cake. It is pretty much the coolest cake I've ever helped make:

Faith is going on her mission to Paraguay. She was obsessed with cake, as I was.

The next day was my roommate Ashling's birthday (!) She made us Chinese noodles and I made her a Mountainberry Pie. A nice reprieve from the abundance of cake we had been eating.

All three birthday girls.

And guess what. Next week is my other roommate Olivia's birthday! Man, I need to go work out.