the bachelor brings people together.

The bachelor is all about finding love, making connections and breaking down walls. 

Although highly unsuccessful at the above, the bachelor is truly successful in bringing friendships together. 

It doesnt matter how ridiculous the show gets, I wouldnt think twice to say that every girl in America watches the show. 

Monday nights are sacred. 

Through the years I can always recall the girls I gathered around with to watch the show, it alway makes it more fun to watch with friends. 

When I moved to California, I was a little sad because I didnt think I had anyone to watch the show with. 

I wrote about that bachelor season here. And some of my thoughts are the same. 

I slowly started inviting some girls over to watch the show. 

Some had never really seen it before, but who doesnt love some good girl drama and love? 

it easily became a commonality between me and my new friends. 

And before I knew it, about 13 girls gathered at my house each week to watch the show. 

It was the highlight of my week. 

And probably one of my most fondest memories will living my LA life. 

I will argue the case that our Bachelor viewing parties was one of the main things that brought that group of friends together. 

I got to know these girls so much better as we bonded every Monday. 

It really helped bring us together and solidified the amazing group of friends that I had. 

We laughed, cried and screamed together all season long. 

Those were great memories. 

And now, I believe the bachelor has done it again. 

I was no Sean fan, but I will watch The Bachelor till the day I die. 

{Or the sad day when they realize no one actually gets married and it gets cancelled.}

So when the season was starting up in January I knew it was time again to try my hand at the Bachelor parties. 

Living in SLC has been a little bit more difficult for me with making friends. Its just a different style of living. 

But the Sunday before and even at FHE that Monday, I invited a few girls to come watch the show. 

I didn't get as nearly as many girls to come watch, but had the same results. 

Abby, Aubry, Chelsey and I started watching it together each week. 

And bonded each episode. 

We passed our ice cream carton back and forth numerous times this season and probably laughed more from Aubry's hilarious commentary each week than the actual show. 

Making friends with these girls this year has been such a blessing and came at a time when I think we all kinda needed it the most. 

I am grateful that the Bachelor keeps creating my friendships for me.

We hate when we go more than a day without seeing each other and LOVE that we live just blocks away and are now in a desperate need to find something to look forward to each week.

SLC Perks.

Last week at church we got a little surprise visitor. 

None other than the apostle, Elder Dallin H. Oaks. 

No joke our Relief Society gasped when they announced he was in Elders Quorum. 

I was all ready to linger in the hall in between RS and SS to catch a glimpse but that was not needed since he walked in half way through our Relief Society lesson. 

Another gasp. 

It was one of those unreal moments to see an apostle sitting just a foot away. 

And so judge me if you will....I took a picture. I just couldnt help myself! 

My flash may or may not have gone off. I dont think he noticed. 

After RS he got up mingled and shook lots of hands, including my own hand!!

I overheard that he is gluten intolerant and is shorter than I expected. 

He stayed for Sunday School and instantly felt relief that I was not teaching! I would have had extreme anxiety to be teaching doctrine with an expert in the room. 

We were lucky enough to have him make lots of comments {only lucky cause of course we had a crazy non-ward member sitting in the back making weird comments}

 Just hearing his voice in person was surreal and amazing. 

It was also just such a good reminder of focusing at church. 

I feel like its a cliche statement to throw around at church about what if Christ walked in during church, how would we feel, what would we do? 

But that is exactly how I felt with an apostle walking in and I instantly had all of those thoughts running through my head. 

I need to put my phone away. 

I can only read my scriptures from my phone. No texting. No checking instagram. 

Glad I didn't wear that one dress that is a bit too short today... 

Are my tights too scandalous???

Do I need to make more comments?

I have to volunteer to read if I'm not commenting. 

I could go on and on...

Not only was I grateful to be in the presence of an Apostle, a man who literally is called of God, who can and does receive revelation from him. But more importantly for the reminder of letting go of distractions and staying focused on the true purpose of church, feeling the spirit and becoming closer to the Savior and our Heavenly Father. 

dland with the fam.

California. Disney. Family. 

All of the above happened a few weeks ago. 

Kelly and her kids decided to drive down to So Cal after a soccer tournament in St. George and obviously I couldnt be left out on all of the fun!

It's always so great to go back to California especially being with my whole family and all of the kids. 

We played games in the park, ate The Habit outside and went to Disneyland. 

Of course the weather was perfect leading up to our day at Disney. And then it was cold and rainy.

 But we made the most of it until we got on Dumbo. My least favorite ride since like ever. Laura and I waited for an hour to get on this ride with the little girls and then right as we got on it started to rain a ton. The only silver lining was that Kate and Mia requested I ride with them. 

However, this picture shows that I went by myself. Alas, I did not. 

The rest of the day was really great. 

{did Lyla just become my favorite!? What!? I did not just say that...}

I did have to leave Disneyland early to fly back to SLC. Which was pretty rough to leave the 2nd happiest place on earth and all of my family. 

Luckily I went back a few weeks later...coming soon!

let it snow....?

I am a firm believe in being jinxed. 

Just look at my wood cube key chain for proof. 

But apparently the key chain doesnt work, cause I have totally jinxed myself. 

I complain about Utah and then I move here. 

I complain about hating the snow and it is the worst winter in the past ten years.
It has been pretty rough. And I would say its just about to get better, but I don't want to jinx that either.
We have had some pretty rough snow storms where it just never seems to stop. And then if that wasn't bad we endured a terrible January with literally freezing weather.

Weeks of 7 degrees as the high.
Who knew I would ever shout for joy when we got to the high 20s during those weeks!!

Then we had the freezing rain storm. I didn't even know that was possible. But I had to scrape off the thickest layer of ice off my car that morning.

I have used my snow scraper more these past few months more than I ever did in the 4 years I lived in Provo.
I have {kinda} learned how to shovel my driveway. I like it in the sense that it gives me a great sense of accomplishment. And it counts as a work out too, right?

Have I mentioned that it has been rough??
It has been quite the adjustment coming back to this cold state.
Sometimes I had the urge to cry as I drove through the countless snow storms.
But then there were the mornings on my way to work I woke up to fresh layer of snow. And its so pretty, peaceful and serene...that I have to be ok with it.
The one good thing about snow is the skiing.

I went with Amy a few weeks ago and had a blast.

 Despite my first black diamond run ever to save her goggles, we had a really good time and endured a snow storm on the mountain.

Spring might...maybe...hopefully...will be on the horizon soon.
But who am I kidding, its Utah. We are bound to have a snow storm in June.
knock on wood.

be a builder in every way

The last couple of weeks have been really hard and yet very rewarding at APA.
My job is starting to get really busy. I had to lay everything out in an attempt to get organized.

But I do love that everything I do is really fun, like our Sock Hop.

 

 However, I forget that working at a school brings a lot of challenges.

We strive so hard to uplift our students and engrain in them that they are capable, smart and have the capacity to change the world.

We openly focus on how much we love the students so they know that we are there each day to support them and help them.

But of course they still live in the harsh world, with all of its challenges and no matter what we do at APA they are still able to make their own choices.
 

A few weeks ago we expelled one of our 9th grade students.

She was 6 months pregnant. And fourteen.

On Tuesday we discovered one of the 8th graders had brought marijuana to the school.

Slowly throughout the day, as we called in more students about it, we discovered 5 others that were directly involved. They are all indefinitely suspended until they go before a board of parents to decide their fate at our school.

I cried going home that day. I have come to love each of these students.

And the child that brought in the drugs was one of my favorites. He is a pretty sweet boy and I have also come to know his mom who I know works so hard to help her children despite her lack of education. And lets not forget about her fight against cancer.

It's so rough and breaks my heart.

I hate watching them make poor choices which basically dooms them.

 

On the flip side, we still had some amazing moments at work this week.

It was kicked off by Staff Appreciation Week.

 

Full of breakfast and lunch each day, free massages, door decorations and an auction with our staff bucks.

We also had the annual Caring and Sharing Assembly.
We have an assembly at the Jr High almost once a week. At these assemblies we say the Pledge, sing the 1st and 4th verse of the National Anthem, repeat the Builders Poem and sing the Builders Song.
This is our Builders Poem:

I saw them tearing a building down, A gang of men in a busy town.

With a yo heave ho and a lusty yell, They swung a beam and the sidewall fell.

I asked the foreman if these men were as skilled, As those he would hire if he were to build.

He laughed and said, “Oh, no indeed, common labor is all I need,

For they can wreck in a day or two, what builders have taken years to do.”

So I asked myself, as I went my way, Which of these roles am I to play?

Am I the builder, who works with care, Measuring life by the rule and square;

Or am I the wrecker who walks the town, Content in the role of tearing down?

I’ve made my decision; I’ll start today,
I’ll be a builder in every way.

 

And so, a "Builder" is the schools theme--again focusing on bring others up, working hard and building others. We have these monthly awards, but our Caring and Sharing Assembly was awarding students from each grade on being the "Builder of the Year"

It was such an incredible assembly that again, made me so grateful to work at this school. I loved that this assembly focuses on awarding those students that strive each and everyday to be a builder. And that the school takes time to recognize their accomplishements and achievements in front of everyone.

It was a little cheesy with Josh Groban "You Raise Me Up" playing in the background after each name was read. But it was also so humbling to see these children recognized--that had no idea--and then to have their families there, in tears, to congratulate them.

I noticed that not one single student called was white. Rather a whole slew of different races and most of them you could tell didn't have a ton of money, the parents didn't seem to know English and they seemed so humble and beaming with joy. It was very inspiring to see and frankly, made me cry.

I loved seeing these students awarded and having a bright future ahead of them for working hard and making good choices. And I loved being a part of it in a very small way.

 



26.

I have no shame in admitting that my birthday is my favorite time of the year. 

Ok, maybe a little shame in the fact that there's a day that is all about ME. 

But thats the great thing about birthdays. Everyone has that day and we get to use it as an excuse to be a little prideful for just a day. 

Or a week if you choose....

I just love January 22. 

But of course like every year, it gets a tad bit less exciting. 

Like this year. 26 just for reals seems too old. 

{now only 4 years till..}

I wish I could go back to my golden years sometimes. 

That being said, I may or may not have had some pre-birthday blues which I was trying so hard to fight off. 

But needless to say, it still turned out to be a great birthday. 

Birthday celebrations kicked off a few days before with a great skiing day with Cortney. 

I love being close to her again and that we can hang out! 

Cort hooked me up with a free ski pass from Paul's work and let me borrow boots and poles to go with my new skis. 

It was a great and warm day on the mountain and I didn't feel too rusty. 

{Being above the inversion made for such a great day!}

Its so funny to think that we have been best friends and the "roommates" since we were 18!! 

My actual birthday was filled with working and hearing lots and lots of "Happy Birthday Ms. Robins!" {which that alone can make my day!} due to my favorite co-worker bringing me balloons to work and my boss treating me to a little piece of home with In-N-Out for lunch. 

I got to FaceTime with some of my favorite little ones. 

And celebrated with some of my favorite pizza and friends. 

For me the greatest part of birthdays is just the reminder of how blessed I am with so many wonderful friends and a stellar family that love me, and of course I love in return. 

I was bombarded with so many texts, phone calls and FB posts that sure did make me feel special, but more importantly made me grateful for those friendships. I am always blown away at how lucky I am for having the greatest friends. Thanks for helping me love my birthday! 

Here's to being one year older...and wiser too. 

Trolleys Cars. Cable Cars and...The Fray??

Intermixed with wedding festivities, Nick, Allie and I were able to see some beautiful SF sights and of course have so much fun while doing so. 

After getting my new outfit we made our way to Goff's for burgers per Nick's request. 

Anything to make our Bardi happy. 

Other Saturday sights included...

The Bay Bridge. Pink Ladies. Golden Gate Bridge. 

{I feel like Nick is about to propose to me in this one...}

Nick sadly left pretty early on Sunday morning. He made the rest of us feel like sinners by making his way back to SD to go to church. Allie and I immediately felt like our dad had just left us. We weren't totally sure what to do without him!

We did figure out how to make our way to Fisherman's Wharf via the trolley car. Unfortunately, half way through our car broke down forcing us to walk the rest of the way. Fortunately, this allowed for ample time to have a mini photo shoot with as many trolley cars as we could imagine in the middle of the city.

{Trolley Car photo shoooot!!!}

We walked the Pier and then met Trent and Drew for lunch at Boudin.

{Bread bowls and chowder!} 

Allie was the next to take off for her flight back home. Leaving me friendless in the city! 

I took the plunge and went solo to Alcatraz. 

{Yes. I had to ask someone to take a photo of me by myself}

{view of the city from the island}

{before the island was used as a high security prison it was used as a Army base and used to house army prisoners. Those prisoners literally reformed the island to what it looks like today, making it more rocky than it was; for instance--the hill pictured above was recreated by prisoners. The prisoners also built all the barracks that they would live in and many other prisons that came to the island later}

{view of the Golden Gate Bridge}

Honestly, I felt a little lame going by myself, but it was still really fun and I am glad I was able to still take advantage of my little vaca and enjoy the warm sun that Ive been lacking in SLC. 

It was a really fun trip. And of course went by way too fast. I loved spending a weekend trip with Allie and Nick. We had such a great time. I love that we can still get together and have so much fun after leaving the Lanai so many years ago. So grateful for my amazing friends. 

Now just cant wait till we go to Seattle! or...a cruise!?