flashback monday.

i love decorations.

ive already decided that one day, if I ever get to be a teacher, I want to full on decorate my classroom every time we come to a new unit.

I also want to dress up on the first day of the unit.

You know, be George Washington when we start talking about the Revolutionary War.

Ive also decided that when I one day have my own house I want to decorate that place like crazy.
inside and out for each holiday.

I miss this Halloween decoration like woah. 

We were so excited to buy this spider freshman year.

and we had NO IDEA it was going to be that BIG when we opened it up.

It took over the whole bathroom. It invaded our bedroom.

and we loved it.
and i even think we kept it up for sometime after halloween.

i miss that spider. I want one in my house right now. 
thanks cort for providing this picture!

music of the night.

Ever since I was little I have had a love for Phantom of the Opera.

I remember going when I was little and was so completely captivated by the music.

I remember going with my Grandma Jytta and just loving it (and also being a little scared and Grandma took care of me)

When I was little we use to have a tape of all the Phantom music and I loved listening to it.

We would listen to it on all of our road trips to Utah. 

I was listening to it once when I was little and couldn't get it to work and I screamed/ grunted in frustration. Little did I know it wasn't working because I had accidentally hit the record button. It definitely got my scream recorded over a part in one of the songs. For many years after I would listen to that tape and knew exactly when my noise was going to be played

(wait, what? I make funny noises? shocking.)

When I was in London I HAD to go see Phantom. 

And so Lillie and I went.

Two weeks ago when my dad said Phantom was coming to LA. I knew I HAD to go again. 

I mentioned that I wanted to go. that night we bought tickets.

And so this past Tuesday, KC and I went. 

I was SO happy. Counting down each day. Listening to the music everyday. 

The big day came. I got my hair did, put some heels on and KC picked me up.

We went to Hollywood and ate gourmet styled burgers at Umami Burger.

Awesome, unique, semi hole in the wall yet super trendy. 

Taylor would be so proud. Its right up our alley!

Then we walked up the street to the Pantages Theater. 

I totally love things like that. Eating and seeing a show in Hollywood. no big deal.

Before the show started KC had to tell me to not hyperventilate because then I would miss the whole show. Good point. Good thing he already knows me so well.
KC splurged a bit and our seats were amazing! about 20 rows back. right in the middle. 

It was amazing. No matter how many times I see it, I am totally taken away, captivated, close to tears, heartbroken and so in love. 

During intermission I told KC that I wish it was a sing along musical. I wanted so bad to just sing my little heart out!

We had such a good night. KC loved it and of course I was giddy and super excited. 

And still cant stop listening to the music. 

im a little obsessed.

Im a little obsessed with DC.

I became a little obsessed with reading The Express everyday on the Metro.

In our last week I saw in ad for Hill's Kitchen.

clever right!?

I had to go there and buy what they were advertising.

Which were these:

And Im also a little obsessed. 

On Sunday I taught Sunday School (which i love!) and it provided a great opportunity to use my cookie cutters for the first time and make sugar cookies. 

I know, Ive had them since December and I haven't used them yet!  

It was seriously an all day event. I made 60 cookies.

But for how excited I was to make them it was worth it. 

I told my class:

I love me some history 

and

I love me some DC.

They came out so good and they ALL got eaten in a matter of seconds, so I guess they were a hit.

needless to say, im a little obsessed with these cookie cutters.

my life list.

I have this great friend Kurt. 

We both want to be history teachers. 

We love George Washington, the Revolutionary War, World War I, he tries to teach me about music, we like books and I totally OWN him in 4 Square. 

He may or may not be homeless in Provo, but he recently wrote about all the things he wants to do in his life. 

kinda like a life list.

first off i love lists. i love lift lists, bucket lists, list of things you want to do in your life, things you want in your life.

I want to get married in the Los Angeles Temple.

I want to own season tickets to the Dodgers. 

I want 5 children.

I want to do temple work for my ancestors.

I want to eat at Peggy Sue's 50s Diner. 

I want to eat at the LAX Restaurant. 

I want to live in Boston, Mass.

I want to attend a Dodgers Triple A game.

I want to visit every major league ballpark in the country.

I want to visit Granada, Spain.

I want to go to Mount Rushmore.

I want to memorize all of the US Presidents in order.

I want to read a book on every US President, and in order of their presidency.

I want to visit each state in the country.

I want to work on a float in the Rose Parade. 

I want to go to Rome, Italy.

I want to be a history teacher.

I want a house with a white picket fence.
I want to take a roadtrip across the country.
I want to go to Alabama. and say BAMA loudly the whole time.

i want all of that. 

summertime goes on.

ive been reading a lot of my friends blog posts lately about how they love love love fall.

they love the changing of the colors, the cooler temps, the start of school....

well. i dont. 

i dont really care for fall.

sure i love me some college football

and the trees changing colors to red and orange are alright

but really fall just means that winter is getting that much closer

which means...coats. boots. scarves. snow.

i hate all of those things listed above. 

but in Southern California, we dont really have a fall and as you guessed, im totally ok with it. 

that means i can wear my flip flops until Christmas

I can go to the beach in late September during the hottest heat wave of the year 

yup. triple digits again. 

 and enjoy the best beach day ive had all summer, although "fall" is suppose to be upon us. 

some sort of an endless summer.

just add that to the list of reasons im so glad to be back in CA. 

a wedding is a great excuse for a reunion.

I have definitely mentioned a time or two that I have easily the best group of friends around.

And I know I talk about it ALL the time but its just so hard to even fully explain the amazing Lanai Crew.

We all moved into a little place called Lanai. And I never knew how much that place would affect my life. I became friends with the ward, and year after year we all stayed to Live the Lanai. Nick Lombardo was the self proclaimed king. Trent Hope appointed me as Queen. I think it’s a little rare in Provo to live in a complex with the same group of friends for three years in a row. And because of this we have developed a great and amazing friendship. So amazing that even though we have all sadly moved on from Lanai or for the most part Provo, we all keep in touch and realize how lucky we had it in Provo, and no new crew of friends will ever live up to Lanai.

So when James Barker, B1 alum and reigning Two-Ball Champ and member of the Crew decides to get all married on us we instantly start planning the reunion.

We planned a little trip to Las Vegas 

and then St. George for the wedding, but to be honest witcha sometimes I forgot I was going to a wedding at all, I was just so happy to be reunited with my friends. But of course I wouldn’t miss a good friends wedding and any excuse to have a Lanai party.

We came from all parts of the country.

LA, SF, Palo Alto, Provo and DC

(ok so the last one is Allie, who was required to come, but still)

I know I easily get excited about the simplest things in life, but I was so happy to be seeing my Lanai friends.

The festivities of the weekend included:

And of course we, or should I say I, took a lot of photos. Not surprising.

Laying at the Trump Hotel Pool.

A great dinner night. That’s how Lanai rolls. We relish in going out to dinner. 

A little gambling, in which yes, no one won any money.

Hanging out at Nick’s. Watching music videos. Eating Raising Cane’s. Staying up way too late. Waking up way too late. And then the drive to St George for the wedding dinner and reception. And don’t you worry, the whole point of us going to STG was to attend this wedding, and yes, we were late to it.  But no one noticed. Karly Staples knows how to throw a wedding. It was easily one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever been to. The theme was nautical (which Nick was very upset that he missed the memo) and “true loves meets by the sea.” Everything was impeccable and perfect. She will definitely help me plan my wedding. 

The Bride and Groom. 

  I caught the bouquet! And I couldnt have been more excited. 

 It was so great to see some friends in STG that did not come to Vegas. Most importantly Allison J Barker. Allie and I were friends at Lanai and then roommates our last summer there, and then spent time in DC together last fall. She is my best friend. We talk almost everyday. Share celebrity gossip with each other. Both say “I KNOW” in high pitched voices and she is seriously so beautiful. And so yes, I cried when I saw her at the wedding I was just so happy to see her again.

  

And then to be reunited with my two favorite DC peeps. 

 Lanai takes so many pictures…Or maybe just I do.

 You just never can take too many pictures with Nick Lombardo.

 And don’t you worry, through the 200+ photos that were snapped, Nick got a lot of my most classic look.

I almost no joke bawled when I had to say goodbye to everyone the night of the wedding. One weekend was just not enough! Too much of a tease, and too hard to go back to real life come Monday. But of course by the end of the Saturday night we were already planning our next trip together. 

New Years 2011 in SF. Im already counting down the days.

Thanks JB and KB for an amazing reason to get together! 

Los Angeles Temple.

 I absolutely love the Los Angeles Temple. 

Growing up here my entire life and witnessing my two sisters get married there has easily made it my favorite temple. I love the huge hill that it sits on and the beautiful palm trees throughout the grounds.

The Visitor's Center recently just reopened after being closed for a long time for remodeling. And so this past week my ward went for Family Home Evening to check it out.

It is now SO beautiful. It is filled with tons of amazing videos to watch--stories filled with service, eternal families, the Book of Mormon, love for God, the building of the Temple and Joseph Smith.

It was a little overwhelming having so many things to look at and having so many people there, but it is truly amazing and I loved being there.
My favorite part was when you walk in and off to the right is the room with the statue of Christ. It is so overwhelming and powerful to sit there and see him, with his arms outstretched and then to hear Christ's words through the scriptures.

At one point a few of were admiring this statue, I then turned to look at my friends and I saw this. 

Once my back was to the statue I could see Christ's reflection in all of the window panes that open up to the back of the Temple and even some palm trees. I just loved this. I loved seeing the statue of Jesus Christ all around us. 

All of the glass windows throughout the Visitor's Center had this small imprint of the Temple. I just loved it. 

I also loved that literally my whole ward showed up for the event, it was great to be there with everyone.