New Beginning

Once upon a time there was a young girl who grew up in a big city filled with extravagant buildings and dazzling, neon lights. She lived a good life there but as her eighteenth birthday approached she felt like she needed to leave the only place she had ever really known. She wanted a change of pace complete with new places and faces. So shortly after her graduation she packed up her childhood room and left the big city. Leaving behind the people and memories that had shaped her into who she had become.

When she arrived to the small town she would call home for the next four years, excitement and uncertainty filled her. She took in her new surroundings that differed greatly from the desert she had once know. Deep canyons, tall mountains, and green trees encompassed her. She wondered how she would fit in in this new place. As she settled in she met new people and discovered new places just as she had hoped. Exciting adventures were had underneath the sun and the stars and old insecurities melted away from her mind.

As the summer slowly slipped away from her she looked back on how her life had changed over the course of a few months. She was surprised to see the person she had become. With a renewed confidence and love for life she faced the upcoming challenges that would soon befall her. With the sun setting on the last day of her first summer away from her old home she looked around and decided she had found her new home. She would never forget where she had come from, but now she knew she was where she was supposed to be. She knew she would face trials and tribulations, but that summer she had gained what she needed to be able to face them straight on with her head held high.

Voyage to Vegas

On Sunday night my good friend, Haylee, and I decided we wanted to take a little road trip before school started. Naturally we decided to go all the way to Fabulous Las Vegas, to surprise my parents and see her sister. We got a late start on Monday morning and ended up driving away from Logan a little after noon.

 We took an hour detour on the way down to Copperton, Utah to see the "biggest pit in the world". This pit is also known as the Bingham Copper Mine. It was pretty cool, so I guess it was worth the drive...

It was a long car ride so we passed the time by reading the Hunger Games and jamming out to music.

By the time we arrived to Vegas it was 11:00 p.m. and my parents were already asleep. I had my little brother let us in the house and I went to wake up my parents. They were more than a little confused about me being there, but still excited! We only got to stay for one whole day but we filled it with a lot of fun activities. I saw a few friends, went to Target, played games, watched a movie, ate some good ole In N' Out, and went bowling! The morning we were supposed to leave we woke up to a serious rainstorm. All the washes were flooded along with a lot of streets around the valley. It was a record rainfall for the city. 

We got another late start because we had to wait for the rain to die down. I drove for several hours in a downpour. It was just a little bit stressful but it all turned out okay! It was quite a successful trip!

Homemade Ice Cream Sandwich

I have this thing for baking. I usually bake something about once a week. This week I made homemade ice cream sandwiches. The really good kind with chocolate chip cookies and Ben and Jerry's ice cream in the middle. It literally melts in your mouth. Since I'm so generous I'm going to provide you with the recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies you will ever eat. 

Ingredients: 

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened 

3/4 c. brown sugar 

1/4 c. granulated sugar 

1 egg 

2 tsp. vanilla extract 

2 c. all purpose flour 

2 tsp. cornstarch 

1 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1 c. bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.

3.  Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks.

4.  Using a standard-sized cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop dough onto a prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges.  (The tops will not brown, but do NOT cook longer than ten minutes.)

5.  Let cool, on the sheet, on a wire rack for five minutes.  Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely.  Makes approximately 3 dozen.  Try not to eat them all.

*Recipe credit goes to:http://kelseysappleaday.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-ever-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.html 

After the cookies are made the rest is simple. Take a cookie and scoop your favorite ice cream onto it. (I used chocolate chip cookie dough, and it was delicious.) Then put another cookie on top and you have got yourself an ice cream sandwich. 

One More Down, Eleven To Go.

I can finally cross number five of my list of things to do in the next four months. I have officially completed my personal progress. I even have a certificate to prove it and everything. It was a long drawn out process, but it feels good to have it done.

                                                                                     

California Dreamin'

I have successfully accomplished two more of my goals from 18 Things to do Before I'm 18

#8: Take a Road Trip with My Friends

#18: Go to Disneyland

Last weekend (Veteran's Day weekend) I took a nice little road trip down to Laguna, California with my friends Savannah and Sage Elison, Abby Clayton, Rachel Hilton, Kelsey Huffer, and Kendra Ward. We were in California from Wednesday to Sunday. Here's a little run-down of what we did:

Wednesday Night: We arrived in Laguna around 9 (I think...?) and decided to go play in the freezing cold ocean. Surprisingly, we were not tired after a long day of school and travel.

(Pictured Below: Abby and I courageously venturing out into the dark, vast ocean)

Thursday: Disneyland! Thursday morning we woke up early so we could make it to Disneyland when it opened. We were under the impression it opened at 8 when it really opened at 9... We stood at the gates for a little while before they let us in, and then the adventure began!

Please note: Savannah's face

All in the name of staying dry...

I conquered the ferris wheel (fear of heights...)

That night we saw World of Color in California Adventure. It was my second time seeing it, and it was even better than I remembered. Next time you make it to Disneyland I suggest making World of Color a priority!

We stayed in Disneyland until it closed. By the time we left our feet hurt so bad we could hardly walk, but it was totally worth it.

Friday: We got to sleep in, and we were all pretty excited about that. When we woke up and got ready (around 11) we went to this amazing breakfast place called Penguin's. I got some yummy french toast and enjoyed every single bite. Afterwards we hit the streets to go shopping. My favorite place we went to was the record store called Sound Spectrum. It was heaven and I left the store a proud owner of three new (to me) records.

When we were done shopping we went back to the condo and had a few snacks before going to play on the beach.

Oh, we also decorated Rachel's condo with miscellaneous items that have been left behind by other visitors.

(pictured below: Our Santa shrine)

The rest of the day was a crazy adventure. We saw someone get engaged, people getting married, and about four different photo shoots.

(pictured below: the extravagant sand castle that was made for the proposal we saw. Oh, and her name was Shrina...?)

There were so many tide pools on the beach! They were amazing! They were also heavily guarded by these crazy tide pool educators. We kept getting yelled at.

Kelsey, Rachel, and I decided to climb a rock. Then, Kelsey and I got stuck. It may not look too bad but we were in a really tough spot.

Rachel and I were exploring the beach when we found a corner of something sticking out of the sand. We started digging and realized it was a bag. For some reason we thought that it probably was filled with treasure and we were determined to get it out, even Savannah joined in. We spent about a half an hour digging before we decided it was just a sand bag... so much disappointment.

The sun going down in Laguna at the end of a beautiful day at the beach.

We ended the day by watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. I cried.

Saturday: On Saturday we basically lounged around for half the day until we took another little visit to the beach.

That night we went to a few shops and went and got some delicious gelato from a store located in this adorable little alley way.

Sunday: We woke up early on Sunday morning so we could get everything cleaned up and packed before church started. After we went to church we were starving so we stopped for a quick bite at Ruby's. They had these great old-fashioned cars out front so we couldn't resist taking a few pictures with them.

It was a very successful trip and we were all so sad to leave. It was really hard to go back to school on Monday after such a fun filled weekend, but it had to be done. I killed two birds with one stone and got to cross two things of my list. I have to thank Abby and Rachel for getting me a free Disneyland ticket, and Savannah for conquering those crazy California roads. I couldn't have done it without you guys!

*Photo Credit goes to Scarlett (Kelsey's beloved camera)

18 Things to Do Before I'm 18

So I have this list of 18 Things to do before I'm 18. I have had it for about six months now so it is a work in progress. Some of the items are already done, some are being worked on, and some are yet to be done. Here is the list:

1. Read 100 books

2. Learn a song on the piano

3. Paint a picture

4. Release 99 red balloons (This also happens to be my favorite 80's song... so cheesy of me.)

5. Finish my personal progress

6. Enter a photo contest

7. Go laser tagging

8. Take a road trip with my friends

9. Make a "movie"

10. Go camping

11. Go cliff diving

12. Go on a zip line

13. Ditch one whole day of school (Ferris Bueller Style)

14. Shoot a gun

15. Finish my journal (this will be a tough one)

16. Paint my wall

17. Run in a race

18. Go to Disneyland

I have already completed numbers 10, 11, 14, and 16. I still have a long way to go. I think putting this on here will make me feel more motivated to complete it. Some of these have been done before (i.e. Go to Disneyland) but not since I made this list. My goal is to complete all of these within the next seven months. It will be difficult, but it is possible.

11. Go camping: I went camping over the summer at Lake Powell. Just for a night at Girl's Camp. One night is the perfect amount of time for me. I am not a fan of camping. I don't have a picture of me camping so you are just going to have to believe that it happened.

11. Go Cliff diving: So scary! And it wasn't even that high!

14. Shoot a Gun: I guess you could call this a gun...

16. Paint my wall: You can read all about this a couple posts down. I basically just painted a wall in my room red because I really wanted to.

17 Facts

Since I haven't posted in awhile, here's one for you...

17 facts about myself

1. I am obsessed with Peter Pan.

2. I can't decide if Coldplay or The Killers are my favorite band.

3. Every time I wash my hands, I almost always have to wash them twice.

4. My favorite number is 25.

5. I love Mexican food.

6. Love chocolate, hate vanilla.

7. I like antiques... a lot.

8. I have to make sure all my doors are locked at night, otherwise I can't sleep.

9. I am obsessed with my dog.

10. My dream trip is Africa.

11. I like re-arranging my room.

12. I like to bake treats.

13. Music helps me survive.

14. I wish I was good at singing.

15. I am a "homebody."

16. I love photography.

17. I love reading. A lot.