it's been a while

man, it really has been a while. but i'll tell you, preparing for a mission is non-conducive to the internet when you want to spend every waking moment with the people you love most...

cousin dougy (who i get to hang out with for a whopping 18 days between the time he came home and i leave)

mandy

my gorgeous best friend since we were 6--i love her baby bump.

mi familia. they're the best.

cedar peeps in b-town!

doing what i love most

peace+love

the most wonderful time of the year.

in my last post i failed to mention the sunflowers filling the median along i-15.

oh blessed fall, thank you for coming back.

peace+love

stay alive, drive 55

cedar was so good to me...

-st. george temple

-a big smile and hug from prof. modesitt

-pastry pub complete with chocolate tiger cake

-sky fest (20 some-odd hot air balloons launching at once)

-german pancake breakfast

-getting lost but eventually hiking in bryce canyon

-all of the above with great friends

-the funnest birthday party i've ever been to with new friends (including huck finn)

-church

-sunday writing ritual in my tree

-birthday celebration for the one and only skye complete with awesome conversation and the encouragement i've needed all month

(photo teaser courtesy of cheri. i'll get the disposable developed someday soon...)

did i mention i have great friends? i've been home less than two hours and i already want to go back. the only thing sustaining me is live recordings of mumford and sons. shocker, i know.

peace+love

the giving tree.

this weekend i babysat my cute neighbors. little 5-year-old eliza said, "do you want to see a funny video?" she went and picked up the napoleon dynamite dvd. "this is such a funny movie. i've been watching it for years."

anyway...

is it possible to love a place so much it breaks your heart to leave?

yes. which is why i am going to cedar city this weekend. and even though you all don't care, i feel like shouting it from the rooftops, that's how excited i am.

to you all this might just be a crappy picture of a tree. but this is the tree i spent many hours of pondering and writing in. it is beautiful.

peace+love

take me out of the city

{near the top of angel's landing in zion}

-my family went to flaming gorge for labor day. it was so beautiful. i saw an owl take off in flight AGAIN! when i think i scared it out of it's nest by accident. the gorge reminded me of cedar.

-sometimes i miss cedar so much that my stomach churns into knots. i probably think about cedar city 8 hours a day (the whole time i'm at work). that's why i'm going to visit soon.

-today i went rock climbing for the first time in almost six months. boy am i out of shape. but boy was it nice to be back.

--i'm sensing a theme...good thing this weekend is only two days away--

peace+love

sam, sammie baby

happy birthday to my best friend in cedar...

thanks for

motivating me to spend more time in the library

letting me vent

being my hiking partner despite a lack of passion for hiking

introducing me to the tuna melt

being the best single ladies dancer i've ever seen

helping me move....twice

introducing me to some of my favorite people in cedar

getting me out of my shell

letting me be sam taylor

appreciating my music taste

being my theater attendance partner in crime.

i miss your face and your dance moves...youda youda best.

peace+love

i want to go to cedar city...real bad

this post was going to be dedicated to all my cedar peeps out there and all about how i'm slightly heartbroken i will not be there with you this fall. in case you didn't know, i love cedar city with most of my heart. but i decided to be positive and dwell on the things i love about nsl. this can still be dedicated to all my cedar peeps, though. you should come to nsl for my mission farewell.

my summer at home

=bike ride on the parkway under a full moon

=outdoor movie with amy

=not enough hiking

=meeting/getting to know amazing people who have already changed my life for the better

=watching a friend be baptized

="guard and protect your heart" (that's for you, ali)

=twilight concert series

=a job where i'm actually irreplaceable.

=inception 3 times

=charlie st. cloud=$8.50 and two hours of my life i'll never get back

=i laughed through the entire thing...the girl next to me bawled through the entire thing and smelled of fecal matter

=waiting five weeks for a mission call

=but guess what? it's coming on wednesday.

peace+love