Crafts and New York City

   So I knew we were going to be going to New York this weekend, so like any girl my mom and I had to plan way ahead what we were going to wear. I had seen a scarf on pinterest that was super cute and decided it would be a fun accessory for our city trip. The directions looked pretty easy so I decided to try it out...let me rephrase that, I had my mom try it out. With our history of crafts, we were a little nervous and didn't know if they would turn out. Luckily the scarves were extremely easy to make and only took about an hour in a half.

City Outfit

    I was so excited to go to New York. Its a city I had never been to and have only seen in pictures 

and on tv. We took the train into the city so we did not have to deal with trying to park the car. We got into Grand Central Station, and I immediately recognized it from so many different movies. It was so fun! We went straight to Times Square to walk around and have lunch. It was so lit up and busy. 

   After lunch we were just walking around Times Square and we ran into someone famous! I was so excited! I whipped my camera out so I could capture the moment.

THE NAKED COWBOY!!!

    We walked around so many other different places, we hit all the tourist spots. We went through Bryant Park, Rockefeller Plaza, NBC studios, Central Park, and the New York Temple. We also got to experience the subway, however we mainly just walked everywhere.

    We had the opportunity to go to Ground Zero and see the 9/11 memorial. I remember being in third grade when the towers came down. I can vividly remember watching the news with my mom before going to school, and being really confused. As I grew up I became more aware of the events of that day and was really interested in it. I have read numerous books and recounts of victims families as well as bystanders. The memorials are beautiful. It was a very touching experience to be able to stand where the towers used to be. The new Freedom Tower is being built right next to the site. The entire site is so well kept and shows great respect to those who lost their lives that fateful day.

Freedom Tower

 "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage"

What I've Been Up To The Last Few Weeks

    So we are all settled in the new Connecticut house. It is a lot different than Naperville. It has a very small town feel to it. It took some time to get used to, but we all really like it. The east is very different from everywhere else we have lived. It is very mountainous and green. Its so pretty!

   My mom and I have gone to town decorating the house. It has been fun rearranging and being able to decorate a brand new house. We go out almost everyday and find something new that goes great with the house. I will get pictures put up soon!
   Since me and my mom are our only friends here, we have been able to do a lot together. Its been so fun! We dedicated every Thursday as our "activity day". So each Thursday we find something to do or someplace new to go. So far we have made a roman shade for the bathroom, we decided from now on we should buy things instead of try to make them ourselves.haha. We went to Rhode Island with some people in the ward(ok we do have some friends) and went to the beach. We love the being at the beach and this is no different. Most people now I am not the biggest fan of the ocean, so as usual I was reluctant to get in. But I did, and I was pleasantly surprised. The water was so warm, it was like a swimming pool. We will definitely be going back! We drove to Massachusetts to go to the Norman Rockwell museum, which was gorgeous. His work is amazing, and it reminded my mom and I a lot of my grandma. She is an amazing artist and a lot of her paintings I have seen resemble the work of Norman Rockwell. He portrays the American family in such a traditional way.

Love Her!

    As a family we took a trip to Boston, Ma. We went on a Freedom Trail tour and were able to see so many historic spots that deal with American history. It was really interesting to actually be in the place where all of these events took place, instead of just learning about it school. It made everything seem so much more real.
    Next on the agenda is New York City. The family is going this weekend, and I am so excited. I've never been to New York but have always dreamed of going, and now I get to!
    It has been such a good summer break so far. I love being back home and being able to do experience these great new places with my family!

   

California

     I just got back from a great week in California visiting Anna and her family. It was a nonstop week. We were doing something fun and crazy everyday. Here's a recap of my trip.

Day 1 and 2
     We drove from Provo, UT to Hollister, CA on Saturday. It was a 12 hour car ride. I don't think I have ever been in a car that long, and I don't plan on ever being in a car that long again.haha It seemed like it took forever. We got to Anna's that night and then went to dinner with the family. We drove around and the Dickson's gave me the tour of Hollister. It is such a cute little town. On Sunday we got up early and went to church. It was fun being in a family ward again. After church we just relaxed and took a trip to the San Juan Bautista Mission.

Day 3

     Monday Anna and I spent the day going to different beach towns and walking around the shops. We started off in Capitola where we watched all the local surfers try and catch a good wave. 

     We then just laid on the beach for a few hours. It was pretty overcast but it was still really nice weather. We both got some color, which is what we wanted. We walked around and just went into some of the shops right along the shore.

How fun would it be to live in one of these houses??

     After Capitola we went to Rio Del Mar Beach. Its Anna's favorite beach. It is pretty hidden so there are never really that many people there and the water is fairly clean. As we were laying there we saw a huge group of dolphins and a few sea lions just right out in front of us. It was pretty cool. 

     

     The craziest part of the day starts now. Anna's dad calls us and tells us there is a Giants game that night. It sounded fun the only problem was that the only tickets left were standing room only. So it would really be worth it to get those tickets for the whole family. So Anna's dad tells us we should just drive up to San Francisco and see if we can get some tickets. The idea intrigued us. If you know me or Anna at all, we are always up for a spontaneous adventure. We left the beach put the AT&T Stadium in the GPS and headed to the game. Luckily we had brought some clothes with us to the beach so we changed in the car up to SF. So we got to the stadium and found parking. We just got out of the car and headed to the front. We saw some guys selling tickets on the corner of the street so I asked how much and where they were. One guy was selling tickets on the lower deck right on the third base line. He wanted $50 each but we got him down to $40. We decided we would take what we could get, especially for those seats. We decided we needed to get some team gear so we bought shirts. We got to our seats just in time! 

The Giants beat the Padres 7-1, it was a fun game to be at. Luckily Anna and I are willing to be adventurous and just go to a different city and buy tickets off the street to a baseball game:)

Day 4 and 5

     Tuesday was another long and relaxing day at the beach. Once again Anna and I got fried! It was pretty bad. Tuesday night we met up with Anna's family at went to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Its a fun strip with rides and games and shops. We also ended up meeting Krista and her family there. 

Yet another embarrassing face I made on a roller coaster.

    On Wednesday we went north and hit all the little cities leading up to San Francisco. We went into Morgan Hill, Santana Row, Oakland and a few other cities. In Oakland we stopped at the temple which is absolutely gorgeous. It looks out right over the bay, words cannot describe the beauty.

We eventually made it to Brentwood. A two in a half hour drive, for one soul purpose...To prank Eric back for the crow. We couldn't think of anything to outrageous right on the spot. So we just decided to leave a little something on his doorstep. He had no idea we were going to do this. 

Day 6

     Anna, Krista, Dawn, and I all headed down to Monterey Bay on Thursday. We went on the pier and had lunch at a fancy little Italian restaurant. It had huge windows so we had a great view of the bay while we ate. We all felt so classy.

     We found a place that rented tandem bikes for really cheap so we decided we couldn't pass up the opportunity. We biked all along the shore and then down to Cannery Row. 

 Day 7

     My final day in California:( Anna, her sister, her mom and I got up and headed to San Francisco. We decided it would be fun to spend the day up there since my flight was not until 11:30pm. We hit all the tourist attractions. We first went to Pier 39 and got some delicious cheese, bread, and salami to snack on. We walked down the pier and we were able to see Alcatraz. It was pretty spooky.

     After the pier we walked to Ghiradelli Square! It was delicious, we all got some really good ice cream and malts. It was fun walking the streets and looking into all the shops, watching the street performers, and seeing the trolleys go by. 

     We then went and drove across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was so cloudy and so windy. But I was still amazed by it. We also drove down some of the more famous streets in San Francisco, Lombard Street and Filmont Street. They were both extremely steep and curvy. Its crazy to think that people can actually live on such streets. 

           

     It was a great way to end such an amazing week. I was excited to come home but I was so sad to leave the Dickson family. I love them so much, and thank them for being so awesome and showing me around everywhere all week. It was so much fun to be with them. I just felt like I was apart of the family:) And after two extremely long overnight flights I barely made it home to Connecticut. I am already loving it here. It is so different from everywhere else we have lived. The house is really coming together. It feels like this has always been home. I am excited to keep exploring the town and getting to know everything a little bit more.

Freshman Year Is Over!

    It has been a crazy year and I can not believe my freshman year is over! I have made some of the greatest friends and done some of the funnest things over the past year..and I guess I went to school in between all that.

End of Fall Semester

End of Spring Semester

    BYU-I is such an amazing place. It was kind of hard getting used to at the beginning but know I am so grateful for the numerous opportunities the school offers me. I love being able to be at a place where everyone I am around has the same values as me. I cannot wait for what the next three years at that school have to offer me. 

    The last week has been so busy. Everyone was on homework lockdown trying to get all of our finals done. Then we had the stress of packing up and cleaning the entire dorm. There wasn't to much time for fun. But of course we made it happen. We decided to take a break from studying and Sam's uncle took us all out on the boat. The water was amazing, we went wake boarding and tubing. It was a much needed stress reliever. 

     With the end of the semester comes goodbyes. It was hard to say goodbye but I knew it wouldn't be too long until we were all back for fall semester. I am going to miss everyone over the seven week break but I am excited to be home. 

    Im in California for the week visiting Anna and her family. Let me just say I LOVE the Dickson family. They are the greatest. I feel like I am just another one of them. I am so excited for a week of hanging out with the family, going to the beach, and soaking up this California sun!
    

Better Late Than Never

For the longest time people have been bugging me to make a blog. So Im taking a break from an all day study session for finals and am starting a blog!!

A little update on my life. I am currently a sophomore at Brigham Young University-Idaho. I am having the time of my life. I have made some of the best friends here. I could not have asked for a better first year. The semester is almost over and I am so ready! A week in California and then back home, well to my new home. Its going to be an adventure for sure, but I can't wait. 

This weekend was so fun! It was Kazia's birthday and we threw a wild party. We broke a chair and got a noise complaint. That's how you know it was a good party. We set up a photo booth and got some really fun pictures. 

Today has been...how do I say it..weird. We got up and went to church and then came home and I was studying for math from 12:45 to 7:45. I had to stop. And thats when things got weird. Anna disappeared and then came out in here favorite pink D.I dress and started dancing to High School Musical. Luckily I got some videos! Here's another one!