i love my life...

...and all you people in it.

i'm only 21 and have experienced some pretty amazing things:
-singing "forever in blue jeans" on PCTV at the Neil Diamond concert with my best friend when i was 15
-traded a 5 buck pizza for Cold Stone with my little sister and her friend. i'm pretty sure the workers just thought they were cute.
-watched an owl take off in flight while driving in the Uinta's at night
-watched a moose running next to the car on the same drive

-gone skydiving

-backpacked europe

-witnessed nature at it's finest aka rock climbing/zion/hiking

-sung "desperado" with my best friend in front of half our high school

-crossed 22 things off my bucket list of 110

-hiked to the highest point in utah

-completed a triathlon

-completed 2 1/2 marathons

-rode my bike 448 miles through one of the most beautiful areas in this country

-watched a school come together to provide a dinner for 140 homeless people

-experienced making real music.

-lived in the greatest city in utah (cedar! if you were wondering)

-entered the temple and received my endowment

-raised $211 for charity:water thanks to YOU!

i could go on. i have a family who loves me and friends who inspire me to be a better person everyday. i lead a very privileged life. i attribute that completely to my heavenly father.

i've also made mistakes and done some really dumb things and had heartaches and hard times. but that is why Jesus Christ atoned for our sins our pains, making it possible to become perfect through Him and giving Him the chance to comfort us when we need it most. i have experienced the healing power of the atonement first hand, and that is why i am so excited to spend the next 18 months telling the people of santiago, chile about this "good news". i'm also very much looking forward to the next 21 years and (hopefully) more in this beautiful world.

p.s. thanks ali and brookie for the birthday shout-outs. i sure love you both. also, brooke, i love that song, so thank you for pointing out those lyrics so i'd actually think of them--

"hold on to what you believe in the light, when the darkness has robbed you of all of your sight."

i'll do my best.

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

melancholy

not to put a downer on life {let's face it, it's a joy!}, but sometimes i'm melancholy. and right now i'm somewhat melancholy. you see, i'm leaving my beloved cedar city for a while to embark on another adventure elsewhere ('twill be further explained at a later date...plus i have no idea where yet)...when i moved here 10 short months ago i did not expect to love this place as deeply as i do. if you are ever considering a move and need all the reasons to move to cedar city i will convince you this is a fantastic place to call your home.

i have this giant tree with faces carved into the trunk that i climb to go ponder and write.

and just up the canyon from my tree is a small cove carved into the sandstone where i go to ponder some more (or have good conversations with friends).

the colors are vivid. black soil against green foliage against red sandstone.

the weather is always perfect as there is a small but constant northward breeze (why always that direction? i have no idea).

i fall asleep at night to a symphony of crickets and wake up only to hear birds chirping outside my window. there are so many birds in cedar. big, beautiful birds. and in the summertime-bats everywhere at night.

cedar canyon is easily one of the most beautiful and surprisingly diverse places i have ever seen. crystal blue lakes surrounded by aspen groves next to lava fields.

and lets not forget cedar city's proximity to my home away from home, zion national park. a majestic sight everyone should see in this life.

then there's the lifestyle. the benefits of being in a city (with the exception of the severe lack of a music scene) with the perks of living in a small town. the pastry pub, the shakespearean festival (which comes with the most delicious raspberry tarts you'll ever taste), utah summer games, and last night we even had a senate candidates' debate. if you like hiking, camping, climbing, cycling, swimming, walking, reading, pretty much anything-ing, there's plenty of it to go around. especially hiking {but maybe that's just cause i'm biased}.

and the people. that means you, my bosom cedar friends. the people i've met and the memories i've made in the last 10 months have influenced my life in some small {or large} way that has made me a better person--or at least made me want to be a better person. genuine, high quality people. plus in the summer there are tons of tourists and i love tourists.

it's true, folks, cedar city {almost} has it all. {all we're missing is the ocean} my heart will break as i say goodbye, but not to worry....i'll be back before too long.

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

confession #1

i don't own a digital camera...

my little sister lets me borrow her old one, but with my luck i'd lose it, break it, or get it stolen, so i never take it anywhere. that's the real reason i never put pictures in my posts. cause by the time i get my disposable camera developed it's completely irrelevant. but i stole these from my roommates camera and my friends facebook. so here you go. picture of the three hikes i've been on in the last 5 days.

hike numero uno {pictures courtesy of kristi schmidt}

"climbing a stairway to heaven"

or

the closest to heaven i'll ever get {i think i'm so witty}

or

guys, i think i can see the ocean {oh, but i am!}

or

"angel's landing"

{sorry, no actual pictures of the top, but if you really want to see the view, google it. or just do it for yourself. it's worth it.}

hi, i'm sam taylor

team extreme aka tommy, kristi, sam, me, scott, laura, jer-bear, darcy, josevy, jose

hike numero dos

lee pass to kolob arch aka 13 miles with a 1,000 foot climb to get out when your done...SURPRISE!

kelli jean+water=true love

also pictured: cam, joey, and camille

this is what we looked like after that 1,000 foot uphill to the parking lot...after the 13 miles.

hike numero tres

red cliffs recreation area

roomie tandem jump

natures water slide and my playground

yes, life is a vacation when you live in southern utah

peace+love

consequence of sound

in case you didn't already know that i am mildly obsessed with zion national park and the fact that it's just so darn close...

memorial day weekend =

4:15 a.m. work

hike to angel's landing

experience several severely awkward moments... (so, do you do like, adult-type plays?)

eat delicious food at the pastry pub

SLEEP

church

thaw chicken

go to park

chicken still not thaw

attempt to bbq chicken

1 hour later, chicken still pink

eat it anyway and thank god for an amazing immune system

SLEEP

hike 6.5 miles to kolob arch (possibly the world's largest arch)

look at the arch for 1 minute

hike 2.5 back

play in la verkin creek

the sound of water+birds+wind+my own breath=ya, god loves me

hike 4 miles back to car with wet jeans

EAT

blog

SLEEP

did you do anything fun this weekend?

peace+love

i blaze my own trail.

kolob canyon arch {image found here}

my dear friend, scott, and i decided to go for a little hike on wednesday. okay, actually a big hike. we wanted to do the trail to "possibly the biggest arch in the world". a daunting 14 miles round-trip. we started hiking and made it to the taylor creek cove. then moved on to the arch. or so we thought. just a little ways beyond the normal distance people hike we found ourselves climbing over and under trees and in and out of bushes. we found this beautiful waterfall cutting a young slot canyon that was completely unexpected {and probably the best part of the hike}. as we blazed on we hiked up and slid down sand hills. we hiked through the water and eventually through snow. then, we hit a dead end.

fast forward 3 hours.

i'm laying on my bed looking at the trail map trying to figure out where we went wrong.

if we would have just driven two more minutes up the hill we would have been dead on.

that's right, we started at the wrong trail head. which means i made up the trail the entire way past the cove. that's how i roll.

between my guide skills failure and yesterdays cycling work-out i definitely needed this video my sister sent me to give me a little more faith in my ability to progress and {eventually} keep up with the old guys.

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

happiness is...

...a relaxing weekend
which =
very little (but at least i did some) homework
zion with my dear friend to hike and take in the grandeur that is southern utah
running into the amazing jessica on the emerald pools hike
ol' faithful explosion in the car
coming home exhausted and starving
which resulted in banana+nutella crepes by same friend
(which i've been craving since, oh i don't know, um, tuesday)
patsy cline--there has never been and never will be a country girl like patsy
falling asleep at 8 p.m.
only to wake up less than 2 hours later
watching (falling asleep to) into the wild
soaking up the sun with a good book and some headphones
chatting it up with my awesome visiting teacher and friend whom i adore and admire
wrote a silly song with friends
and church

honestly, i could listen to those first two notes over and over again...

my grandpa IVon used to sing this while tucking me into bed.

what did you do this weekend?

peace+love

1 mas semana

classes are OVER! (for a month anyway)
juries are OVER! i sang my sight singing perfectly in a minor key then realized, oops, it's in f major...

at the end of the day, these are the memories (good or bad) i'll take from my first semester as a t-bird:
-watching a snake pee on kira at the choir party
-climbing to the roofs of the buildings on main street--and carving our names
-my first sit-start (bouldering term)
-the 10 minute drive on a dirt road out to the highway after spraining my ankle
-walking to campus on crutches for 2 weeks
-my "unique" visiting teaching companion
-jen carrying me on her back to the 4th floor of our apartment complex...twice
-being reminded how hard adjusting is
-army crawling through guano in mammoth cave
-bawling in a voice lesson...i love my teacher, i really do
-nuns...dancing to "all the single ladies" (sorry, you can only see the video if we're friends on facebook)
-nearly wetting myself in the library when i saw the woman in black
-sleeps with weesha and kelsey
-our sad attempt at fishing in a waterhole...cow pies everywhere...really, bryce, there are fish in here?
-our billion attempts to fly a kite
-sneaking our glass bottles into the movie...we felt very criminal-like we were sneaking in alcohol.
-finally learning to do a headstand
-visits from mis padres
-falling in love at the orthopedic surgeon's office
-then having my heart broken...ya, he's married
-the compliments
-the insults
the hikes:
-the narrows
-angel's landing
-kanarraville falls
-timp at 2 a.m. we'll see how soon i feel up to that one again
-climbing twice a week until oct. 21

narrows pics i never posted

as you can clearly see,
cedar is a great place to be
just one thing could make it better...
a lot more snow and crappy weather!
peace+love

vienna waits for me

hundertwasserhaus - vienna, austria
i know i'm not really big into picture posts, but...remember europe? remember how i didn't bring a camera? well i may have failed to mention i bought one for vienna since i knew i'd have two days there by myself and needed some visual documentation...the quality is less than ideal, but i like the rustic look--keep in mind these were taken by me with a disposable camera that didn't have a flash...enjoy!

entertainers in the jewish quarter and the holocaust memorial
people watching at one of the million beautiful parks around the city
oh how i desperately miss that gorgeous countryafter three weeks of living out of a backpack, sharing a bedroom with complete strangers that probably don't speak english, trying to sleep on a train or in a train station, and putting up with one tough travel companion, i've never been happier to not be on a plane or train headed anywhere but home

oh, and here's a pic at the top of angel's landing with my greasy hair and two dear friends, erica and bryce
peace+love

in an attempt to persuade kerri (my lil sis)

this week i:
-flew a kite
-went bouldering
-roasted mallows
-went to a movie
-hiked to angel's landing

and still had time to
-get 100% on one test and 99% on the other
-opera rehearsal 3 nights
-practice everyday
-write a sacrament meeting talk

i love my new school

peace+love

lets get LOST!

so i know i said i'd do better at updating my blog and i haven't done well...but i update the political one twice a week so i don't really have that much to say...i pretty much speak my mind there...all i have to say is i am ready for school to be over and it's the 3rd week. that is bad. very bad. but in the mean time i'm trying to make the most of what could possibly be my last semester at BYU...for example

LOST SEASON 5 PREMIERS TOMORROW!!!!

and i am in class till 9:30 p.m...bluhg...luckily, my friend who also loves lost has tivo...last semester during finals i got a little note with a box of jr. mints one day. the note said "kelli, i cannot wait till finals are over so we can run away to a deserted island together forever. Love, Sayid"...oh how i love him...we decided to wait till i finish school though, you know, just in case

in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. (and a much needed day off!) a couple of friends and i drove to Zions National Park for a day to enjoy PERFECT weather and hang out on the edge of cliffs (as pictured above-sorry i don't have one of all 3 of us)...after hiking we drove to st. george for in-n-out burger where it was so warm we sat outside to eat! then listened to bob dylan (much to everyone else's dismay...i felt it was appropriate)...and we listened to the song "MLK" by U2...

i don't have any pictures, but i got to spend an exciting weekend with my family (i'm sure brooke will write about it)...it was so much fun being with my them, even in crappy flat tire situations-which turned out great that the car was towed to orem because today i got a free dinner and my groceries paid for compliments of my dad! he's so great!...and since i don't really like to play video games i think i got to hold jonah the most while everyone played the Wii...

i feel like i should end with a joke or witty line, but i've got nothing...
peace+love