viva méxico

it's oficial....

Friday, September 13, 2013 this half chilena half north american is going to become half mexicana, too.  that sounds impossible, i know... i guess my heart will just have to grow to fit all those mexicans in it.  i'll be moving to Mexico D.F. until December 11 to go prepare the Lord's servants in the newest MTC opening this summer.  there are no words to describe the extreme range of emotions i am feeling right now...so i will express them with a song

you may or may not ever see me again.  there is the distinct possibility that i will o.d. on tacos.
peace+love

remember that one time we rode 65 miles everyday for a week to train for ride idaho...?

...oh wait, that never actually happened.

but, if i am ever wealthy, i will have a cabin in priest lake, idaho.

RIDE IDAHO

day 0--got carsick and barfed at the gas station in cascade, idaho...a few miles later, the car broke down. lucky for us, PAM! drove by and drove us the rest of the way to hayden, idaho.

day 1--a painful, but stunning, 67 miles to priest lake. got to camp and asked my dad why we couldn't have just gone on a cruise for our family vacation...then went for a refreshing swim in the most beautiful lake i've ever seen. think alaska without the cold.

day 2--a less painful, just as beautiful 56 miles to sandpoint. met our camp neighbors for the next week, john and kip. they loved us. then went for a refreshing swim in the lake.

day 3--a very painful, scenic 76 mile ride to troy, montana...started a mud fight with trevie in the frigid cold river and watched the one-armed man play a mean guitar.

(parent kid teams aka pretty much the only people under 50 on the trip--mom+trevor, trevie+mom, kelli+kerri+dad)

day 4--80 miles to thompson falls, montana. saw mennonites on bicycles on the way and almost died in the rain. but there was a river there too with a rope swing. and the best food on the whole trip aka banana cupcake for dessert.

day 5--fat camp. 65 miles and two summits. the second one was 2.8 miles of 8-11% grade. that

basically means it was really steep. the whole time i just kept telling myself, "i'm burning fat, i'm burning fat, gotta keep going". got to kellog in the rain. woke up in the middle of the night with

water levels rising around us in our tent. (so much for sleeping in that day). got up at 6 to dry all our stuff at the hotel and sleep in the lobby.

(after dominating fat camp hill)

day 6--a flat, relaxing 46 mile recovery to my future hometown (if things don't work out in the pacific northwest), harrison, idaho. swam in the lake (shocker) and finally got my mint chocolate chip ice cream (and a phone number) from a very cute red headed boy working at the creamery. in case you didn't know, that night was also the peak of the perseids meteor shower, so we laid out on the dock and watched mother nature's show.

day 7--56 mile finish to hayden. head winds kept me from moving basically at all downhill. but we all made it alive and ready to sleep. lucky for us our self-proclaimed aunt amy and her husband mike offered us a ride in their rv. which meant lots of sleep on the 8 hour drive to boise.

deb...the only person to finally get my dad to get up and dance...oh how embarrassing.

7 days of 448 miles of cycling+camping in the rain+eating whatever they feed you+doing your duty in port-a-potties+some of the most beautiful terrain in the united states+awesome people=i'd do it again in a heartbeat.

peace+love

i HATE the heat....and other thoughts on life

summer is not my favorite season in utah. unless i'm sitting next to a body of water. when i grow up i'm moving northwest. oregon, washington, northern cali, or alaska. mark my words.

cycling on the legacy parkway trail just isn't the same as my routes in southern utah. but, there is one section of the trail called birnham wood. all they need to do is name a section dunsinane and we'll have a full-fledged shakespearean tragedy on our hands.

life has been going 100 mph and i don't think it will slow down until i'm retired, living in my winnebago travelling the u.s. with my handsome, charming hubby.

i made up new kesha lyrics to fit that one song..."wake up in the morning feelin' like p-diddy. i don't know how to sing but i make lots of money. i'm really really smart but i write stupid lyrics, they play me constantly on the radio so everyone can hear it....pedicure on my toes toes blah blah blah blah blah blah"

on the other hand, my life will be complete in just 15 days. (click me! click me!)

it's good to be home with my family. except i think kerri is getting sick of sharing a bed with me. (yes, i have my own bed. no, i don't sleep in it) and they left me this weekend. with absolutely no food in the house.

i went to bear lake and discovered my new favorite dessert (second only to mint choc. chip ice cream)--chocolate covered raspberries. HELLLLOOOO heaven in mouth.

i decided i want to go on a mission for the lds church. my papers are almost in but not quite cause guess what? the last thing i need is my wisdom teeth x-rays. i went in thrusday morning to get them and the dentist said her machine wasn't working. which means now i have to wait till monday. which makes me want to cry. or scream, seeing as i don't cry. either way i just want to goooooooooooo.

peace+love

fabulous news...

i didn't melt.

but i did...get my nails done, pet a barn owl, ate WAY to much food, experienced my first nutella fountain (can you say heaven?), took a nighttime swim, made wedding bouquets, met one of this boys old companions, saw the mesa temple, met the joker, ate more food, got to spend 5 days with my bff/former roomate, made some great friends, drove 15 hours total through the beautiful desert, visited with my aunt and uncle, almost hit a deer, and ate more food.

all in all

success.

peace+love

m.i.a.

Phoenix Weather

Updated: Jun 9, 2010, 11:05am MST

Right Now

Fair

95° F

Feels Like: 92° F

Wind: From N at 6mph

Details

Webcam | Video

if i don't come back in a week it's cause i melted.

peace+love

on the road again...

1. My dream vacation would be hawaii. or china to see all the amazing natural arches. did you know 4 of the worlds biggest arches are in china? {6 are in utah. i love this state} .

2. The best trip I've ever taken was baaaa, that's a toss up. carribbean cruise was pretty darn amazing because i'm addicted to the water. but europe. oh europe...i had some pretty darn incredible experiences. .

3. The most important items to take on a road trip are music and gummy watermelons .

4. The next trip I'm looking forward to is Phoenix, AZ on thursday with my bestie, alicia! .

5. If I had to pick one CD to listen to for a long road trip it would be josh ritter. or cat stevens. best roadtrip music for the west, definitely. .

6. The biggest disaster I've ever encountered while traveling was my mom would say when i was 3 driving from illinois to utah. apparently i was puking and diarreah-ing the entire way. but i'd say when some friends and i were driving up to logan for a football game we saw a pick-up truck that had rolled into the ditch in the middle of the freeway and caught on fire. we watched a guy pull the driver out. .

7. My favorite traveling memory is driving to southern utah a million times when i was little to visit my grandparents. i used to have a hard time sleeping anywhere but my bed. so everyone else would be asleep as my mom was driving through the desert or zion and she'd listen to van morrisson or gladys knight. i'd just lean my head out the window and stare at the stars that you just can't see in the city.

.peace+love

it's the american way...

hmm...i have no explanation. but i have a feeling this picture was my idea.

4th of july 2 years ago, bear lake aka lake+fireworks+rasberry shakes+danger on the waverunner=perfect 4th of july--that's my cousin dougy on the left. he's on a mission in south africa and he gets home october 2nd. i'm so stoked! (p.s. ladies he is single) on the right is my old bff shawn. and the butt belongs to douglas' brother topher. what a weasel.

1. The very best thing about the summer is the 4th of July. parades, fireworks, baseball, bbq. it just doesn't get better than that .

2. My first crush ever was 1st grade = Travis Christensen. one day we stayed in from recess and my friend frankie kissed him, so i decided to as well. didn't want to be left out. .

3. This may sound really silly but i'm like a little kid answering the phone when it comes to checking the snail mail. once i figure out what time the mailman comes to my complex, i'm the first one out the door with the mail key. sad thing is, most of the time there's nothing for me .

4. I squeeze my toothpaste from the end of the tube of course .

5. My absolute favorite "comfort food" is i don't have a comfort food. i have comfort music. sometimes i get the coconut chocolate brownies at pastry pub though. mmmm. i think i'll go get one now .

6. A random fact about me is that my absolute favorite flower is sunflowers and i'm allergic to them. it's so sad. .

7. The one piece of technology that truly makes my life better and I couldn't live without is my iPod. is that really surprising to anyone?

peace+love

somewhere O.V.E.R. the rainbow

that's right...finals are o-v-e-r, over! well, technically i have a final at three today, but it's my climbing class...which consists of climbing, setting up an anchor, and rappelling myself down. can you say fun final? oxy-moron, but not today! now that the semester is over, it's time for the

-highlights of spring semester 2010-

{in no particular order}
-getting ruby-
-finding paulie bleeker-
-discovering mumford and sons-
-spring skiing-
-c.a.l.i.f.o.r.n.i.a.-
-free dinners thursday nights at the episcopal church (what i affectionately call "episcopal dinner"). thanks rev. sue and congregation!-
-final season of LOST...sayid is going to break my heart and desmond is going to mend it-
-late night chat on the roof...what roof? the music building-
-camping out on said roof-
-living 45 minutes from zion national park-
-the pastry pub ...the only pub that doesn't actually sell alcohol-
-earning an almond rocha from my voice teacher-
-fabulous friends....seriously, fabulous-
-"so runs the world away" don't worry, i'm listening to it right now for the 5th time this week-

and during my summer of fun i'll be living in the college turned tourist town cashiering at cafe rio in the evening (where they call me "mamasita") and baking sweets at great harvest in the morning (as in before the sun comes up).

peace+love

meet ruby...

top 10 reasons i can't wait for summer:

1. this weekend, i got a road bike
i feel like that's the only reason i need...i just have to keep reminding myself "only 3 more weeks, 3 more weeks..."

did you get anything fun for easter?

peace+love

bottoms up

as the saying goes "a picture is worth a thousand words" and i've been feeling kind of nostalgic lately, so here goes (but i'll try to keep it under a thousand words)
in this photo are (from left to right) me, my cousin josie russell, cousin sydney vowels, and my lil sis kerri ann...it was taken on the front lawn of my grandpa gene's house in orderville, utah one summer at a family reunion...i love that house...i probably didn't at that age (i think i was 10 or 11) but now i have come to appreciate it in all it's rural glory...my dad grew up in that house with his 4 siblings, his mom and dad...it is a three bedroom house...oh, and there is one bathroom (unless there is one in my grandma-great's bedroom i never knew about...i was never allowed in there)...the laundry room is just an inlet in the hallway where the washer and dryer are, a tiny kitchen, and a living/family room...there is a basement with shelves of board games, a pool table, dust, and mice...the backyard had a big deck, a swing set, and lots of trees...i have SO many memories of summer roadtrips to southern utah to visit my grandparents...i remember driving through zion's canyon late at night while everyone else was asleep...i don't sleep well in the car, and i because i get car sickness i always got a window seat, so i remember leaning with my head mashed against the window staring at the million stars you can't see in north salt lake, listening to van morrisson or gladys knight (my mom's music of choice while she drives on long roadtrips)...i remember sleeping on the pull-out couch with scott and kerri, and grandma-great coming out more than once to tell us to be quiet...i remember grandma-great making us eat every last scrap on our plate and drink the remaining milk in our cereal...i remember walking with kerri to the "candy store" (the store my grandpa used to run) to get bubble-gum cigarettes and candy necklaces...i remember hiking up the mountain behind valley high school to see where students painted their grad year...i remember watching "scruffy" with kerri and playing with the plastic guns and soldiers, and grandma-great threatening multiple times to paddle us if we didn't behave-which she never actually did...i remember how much i LOVED grandpa gene's homemade beef jerky (most likely because he likes lots of pepper too)...and how much i loved his recliner...it is the most comfortable thing in that house, and it was a priviledge to sit in it when you could...i remember grandma-great's candy drawer from which she'd let us take a bunch of treats for the drive home...i miss that house and i miss my grandparents...i'm so grateful my grandma-great taught me how to appreciate all i have, the musical talent she passed to me, and my grandpa's constant kindness (and the elf ears he gave me), and even though there were times on those roadtrips we wanted to kill eachother (mostly kerri and i-that's what you get for being so close in age) i am so grateful for the memories i have made with my family so far...

peace+love