Is this real life?

So I went to a festival with my bestie last week..

Kenz and I at Draper Days

It was a blast. I loved it. And I LOVE her.














K, but my love for her and festivals with small business booths selling jewelry and headbands for WAY too much is not the motivation for this post.

There are somethings in this life that I have come to terms with that I will never experience and/or complete. For instance..
-Flying. Yes, I have been in a airplane. And yes, I have gone skydiving. But no, that does not constitute flying in my book. There are days when I wish I was a bird so I could just FLY away. But nope, that won't happen.
-Being on Dancing with the Stars. I've realized that to accomplish this highly irrational dream, I would either have to be A) A professional ballroom dancer - which I am NOT nor have the time to become. B) A Star - Don't get me wrong. I've tried to come up with ways to be the next rising Star, but unfortunately Rebecca Black stole my song idea so there goes my shot at livin' the famous life. And with that, my chance at waltzing around that beautiful stage that the Stars Dance on.
-I'm sure there are more, but I don't want to bore you with my fantasies that will never come true.

One however I never thought I would be able to do but now have the chance to do:

I KNOW RIGHT??

Yup. This my friends was a possibility if you were a lucky individual who attended Draper Days here in Draper, Utah. 

You are wondering how right? Well folks, it was magic to say the least...

Hah. No, I'm just pullin' your leg. This is how it worked.

So cool huh? I promised myself that if I ever stumble across it again, I WILL wait in line with the millions of 5 year olds. Then I will be able to state with vim and vigor: 

I Walked on Water. 

Just a does of Nostalgia.

Why, oh WHY did I ever leave Hawaii? 

Probably the stupidest decision of my life. 

Accio Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

I about died when I stumbled upon this:

How Much of a Harry Potter Freak are You?

(you're welcome)
(we all know where I rate)

I couldn't resist...

Ok but seriously, July 15th needs to come faster. 

 

Expecto Patronum

I told you the day would come when you would come to know the true magnitude of my Harry Potter addiction. And guess what, yup today is that day. Excited? I know that I am.
It started when I was about 8. My mom started reading the books to me. But, as usual life got in the way and she got busy and no longer read to me. SO, being the smart 8 or 9 year old I was...I started reading them myself (I'm a fast reader anyway, so following along with someone who reads rather slow is a pet peeve of mine...)

I FELL IN LOVE

And ever since then, I have faithfully followed the lives of Harry, Hermione and Ron. I feel as if they could be my best friends because I know so much about them. And not the actors, like Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, or  Rupert Grint. 

No no...Harry James Potter, Hermione Jean Granger and Ronald Billius Weasley. 

I cannot even count how many times I have read these books. Let's just say that they show the signs of wear and tear - Nutella stains on the pages (I tend to eat Nutella when I read...don't judge), worn bindings, and quite a few creases where the page has been folded down. 

My mom would catch me reading HP and say "There are so many other books you haven't read yet, why don't you read them?" 

Oh no mom. You don't understand. I choose to read read these books over and over because they are just THAT good. It is indeed NOT a waste of my time. 

I will not hesitate to brag that it would take me less than a day to read 3 or more of these books. I'm just that good. 

Some may say that they jumped on the band wagon of the Harry Potter mania. My friends, I was the first one in the wagon. I am in fact driving the band wagon. So please, jump on. But know that I was the first one here and I will remain devoted fan to the work of J.K. Rolling (I want to know where she came up with these ideas. She's a genius. She is up there next to Albert Einstein in my book..)

And I don't care what anyone says. Harry Potter is better than any other series out there. Sorry Twilight, you're good, but you got nothing on Harry. And the Hunger Games does satisfy my craving for romance and intense killing action, but it just does not have the magic the Potter does. I am a true blue HP fan. I hope you are starting to get that I really love all things Harry Potter. 

HARRY POTTER RULES.

I love Harry Potter so much that if I were ever to get a tattoo (I'm not going to, but if i were to...) they would be one/both of these:

Sick Right?

I know, I know. I need it. 

I unfortunately haven't had the opportunity to go here yet..but I swear by the hair on a goblins chin, that I WILL go to Harry Potter's Wizarding World before I am too old revel in its magicalness.  

And yes, to answer your question, I love the movies as well. Maybe not as much as the books, because when you read you have your own imagination. And in your mind, the characters are just better. Thats a fact. 

BUT, the movies are still great and I still am a midnight-show-going fanatic....

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Just me and Hedwig...no big deal. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

I saw this movie in Hawaii - yes at midnight. Don't worry.

And now, in less than 84 hours the journey that began oh so long ago, will come to an end. I CANNOT WAIT. Not for the journey to end obviously, but for Part 2 to come out. 

Yes yes, I do have midnight showing tickets. Who do you think I is?

O M G

 

Dear Blogspot,

Mood: Quite the opposite of Apathetic.

I am in a pickle. Week after week, I become the counselor of 20-24 kids. And I get a little attached.

Evidence #1

This was my first group of kids ever. We were known as Bear No Grudge. My boys were sweethearts, so since I owned the coolest Buzz Lightyear backpack, they bought me this action figure. It was so I will never forget them. And just because I have misplaced Buzz, does not mean I have forgotten them...

Evidence #2

Basically I'm playing Mom of these adorable girls for the week. I tend to grow to love them quite a bit. 

Evidence #3

Some groups of girls tend to be just as/if not more weird than I am. So then we really run into a problem when I have to say goodbye. I just love them so much!

Evidence #4

Spending all day for one week with these girls makes you realize how special they really are. And by Friday, one week just isn't long enough. 

Hence, why I am in a pickle. I love my job, but by the end of the week, I'm not entirely ready to say goodbye to my girls yet...so I don't know what to do. I don't know if I can keep having my heart broken every Saturday morning when I have to send this kids off into the real, ugly world of reality...but I love being a counselor - tell me this is not a challenging predicament!

I can't be selfish though. 

I just need to be grateful that I had the chance to know them. 

And hope that they learned something while at EFY. 

They're great kids. 

And I love them. 

(shout out to all my EFY kids!)

The Second Half

Once the truck left that fateful day, we lived in an empty house for about 2 days. 

It was really depressing. Honestly, I couldn't wait to get out of the house because it was just too sad to be in MY house that was now empty. 

We then commenced our journey to The Mother Land. (meaning, Utah. I am Mormon, so thus the Mother Land reference.)

The drive wasn't bad. I had company...though I could tell Weston was stressed out because he was shaking and drooling all over the place. Poor puppy. He didn't want to leave Colorado either..

Along the way, we passed this. Its not our truck, but I got a kick out of the writing on the back.

 

"Do it movin? Blessed Coast"

i definitely did not feel this way. 

but props to those people who did. 

During the trip, Cam and I had to pull over to the side of I-80 due to a freak storm that impaired any/all vision. So while we were sitting there, some man came up to my window and asked if he could sit in our car...

Um no, sorry sketch stranger. I really would prefer if you didn't sit in my car. 

Moving on.. (hah, the irony of the statement..)

8 hours later, we arrived in blessed Utah. Actually, I shouldn't use the word blessed. But its fitting, because I really was sick of driving.

This is now where I live. 

 House. 

Street. 

Ok ok ok. Its not bad, I'll give you that. But I would rather it be in Colorado.

We have a pretty sweet backyard. The mountains are literally right there. 

AND (i am now going to list the cool things about my house. this is NOT bragging)

• There is a little river rock thing in our front yard. And so when you turn it on, it sounds like a beautiful forest brook just doing its thing. 
• We have a three car garage. No more parking out in the snow and having to sit in a cold car for 10 minutes while you wait impatiently for it to warm up. 
• THEATRE ROOM. Huge projection screen where we can watch movies and more movies and more movies.
• Its only a nice (depending on traffic) 20 minute drive from BYU, where I will be attending school in the fall. Which means:
• free laundry
• free meals 
• other free things 
• oh, and my FAMILY <3

Its going to be hard, with lots of adjusting and many many many boxes to unpack. BUT, at least I still have my family. I'd be one glum child without them. So thank goodness I have them. My brothers and I have already started to have a couple adventures, so I know its gonna be just fine.

Is moving hard? Heck Yes.  

Do I know its the right thing to do? Yes. 

Can I learn to love it here? Probably.

Make new friends but keep the old ones; one is silver and the other's gold.

Well, a lot (and by a lot, I mean one major event and ever-time-consuming job) has happened to my little life since my last post...

• I just finished my 3rd (THIRD) week as an EFY counselor, and I am loving it. That is partially why I haven't posted in a while. It takes up ALL my time. And then, on the weekends when I don't work, I sleep to make up for the sleep I do not get while working. I would say that I live a monotonous life...but 'EFY counselor' and 'monotonous' just do not go in the same sentence. 
• My family moved.

That is the event I would like to focus on at this moment in time. I do not know if you have ever moved before, but it is an excruciating experience. 

Let me give you some background first. So my family moved from New Hampshire to Superior, CO in 2003 or 2004 into this house: 

i love this house.

shout out to all the good times on Clayton Circle

Anyway, I was in the 6th grade. I remember going to the new school for the first time and being scared out of my mind. Luckily, I was the new girl so naturally, everyone knew about me. And I've never had a problem making friends, so I accepted the change and welcomed my new life with open arms. 

fast forward 7.5 years

(i'm a high school graduate,

going into my THIRD year of college, 

i love everything about COLORADO) 

My parents tell me and my two younger brothers that we are moving to Utah. (WAIT, WHAT!?!?!) This is where I did most of my growing up! This is  all my high school friends are! I know this area like the back of my hand - like when I am craving some delicious Chipotle, I know that it is only a 8 minute drive. (Now, its like 20 minutes for me to satisfy that need. Pathetic.) YOU CAN'T MAKE ME MOVE FROM THE BEST STATE IN THE WORLD. Nope, I will not move. No way. Nope. 

That was my attitude anyway...

So, I get home from school (in hawaii) in about April and the packing mayhem begins. It was terrible to say the least. I was told I had to put things in boxes, when I DID NOT want them in boxes. Days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months (I travel to Utah to work two weeks) and then the moving day finally comes. The movers come and pack everything we own into this truck. (Not to mention our car keys. So we had to pay to have our car towed away and new keys made. Something you want to do NOT want on moving day, believe me.) 

The day the truck drove away from my house, I cried like a baby. And it wasn't just silent tears I was shedding. No no no. I was full on SOBBING. 


I refused to accept that that truck was full of MY stuff and driving away from MY house. 

And I was most definitely not going to accept that I will no longer live on this street and stop at this stop sign. This is MY street. 

But, it happened. 

Will I miss it? What kind of question is that. 

Have I accepted it? Not in the slightest. 

Am I going to put on my big girl panties and deal with it. 

...

yes.