The Date That Became An Engagement

Danny and Brad have been joking for a while how funny it would be to take their best friends' (Mike and Andrew) high school girlfriends (Tori and me) on dates. To be even funnier/meaner  they thought we would take fake engagement photos on our date, make fake announcements, and send them to the Elders. Honestly, the photos look so cheesy, it would be impossible for Mike and Andrew to actually believe that we were engaged (plus the date of "wedding" would actually be the date that Danny and Brad enter the MTC). 

The date itself was so fun. Tori and I were super impressed that they actually planned a real date. I've never been wave running before but Brad was nice enough to let me drive almost the whole time. 

Here are some of our "engagement photos." We dressed so nice for the occasion.... 

Every time Brad and I tried to do a cutsie pose he would just freak out. "Take the picture please!" Haha, maybe he was just a little uncomfortable. Check out the engagement ring that's as big as my face!

Brad left on his mission last week and Danny is leaving next. I'm going to miss them both immensely. Good luck Elders!

Ugly Christmas Sweaters

What happens when you get some of my siblings together at Christmas time?

Ugly Christmas sweaters!!!

My Roommate and Her Sweater

I have a roommate. Her name is Venice. She is my friend. My best friend. She wears sweaters. Good ones. She got this one. Today:

I like her.

Did something crazy…

I figured I had to do one crazy thing before I went to college.

I have wanted to have a hot pink streak in my hair for over a year. Why? I dunno… it’s just one of those weird urges you get and it never went away.

Reasons I couldn’t do this in chronological order:

1. Greenshow restrictions

2. Glinda in Wizard of Oz

3. Looking “professional” for college auditions.

4. Looking “professional” for Sterling Scholar.

5. Looking “professional” as a Utah Ambassador in China and Europe.

I’m done with the professional thing… So what did I do?

I dyed my hair…. PINK!

First I went to Haley’s….

Then it turned blonde…..

Then it turned pink….

What will BYU do, do you think?

Looking Back On The Years of Cedar High

Well folks, I’m heading closer and closer to graduation and see the next two weeks slipping away so fast that I decided to do this post now. I want to reflect my high school years. Remember how I became the girl that’s about to graduate and head off to the college I’ve been dreaming of since…. forever? Let’s go in order, shall we?
Freshman Year
Oh yes, the year I entered high school with my best friends Chanel Anderson and Kara Stewart. Still having every desire to be popular, look pretty all the time, have a boy like me…. The year I was grounded all the time, had to turn in my phone at night, was proud of my 3.6 GPA, was about to quit violin, and made some of the biggest mistakes and causing the biggest regrets of my High School life. I mean it’s no wonder I’ve used all sorts of defense mechanisms to forget this year. But still, I know I couldn’t have become the better person I am now without all those things. Plus, it was still fun. I was in orchestra, had a lot of friends, had my first experiences with state music events like Solo and Ensemble, and got familiar with all of Cedar High’s traditions.

Sophomore Year
I got on top of things. I was passionate about music again, was in the pit orchestra for Big River, received my first 4.0, spent weekends four-wheeling (until the big accident), became friends with the amazing and beautiful Kelsee Jackson, was in German club, got my driver’s license, went to my first dances with dates, saw Wicked in Salt Lake, and again had wonderful, wonderful friends. I think this was my favorite year after being a Senior. It was relatively stress-free and I met a lot of new people. Oh, I just remembered, this was my first full year of school with braces. Yummy!

Junior Year
Definitely my hardest, academic year. Actually just overall my hardest year, but fun and definitely not my least favorite. I was in AP English, German 2, and Chemistry 1010 and 1050. I made up for all my slacking from Freshman Year and finally made it into Honor Society. We were all given more freedom. I could drive my friends down to St. George for a day to simply hang out, shop, ice skate, find adventures at Costco, go to the lake, and jam out to music. I got to play a violin solo with the Orchestra of Southern Utah. I made plans for Senior year by running for a Student Body Office and auditioning for Madrigals. I became especially good friends with Kaitlyn Friese. I also lost a best friend. This was the year my testimony of the LDS church grew the most. I had to overcome a lot of trials and really stand on my own in making decisions that involved being a righteous member of the church. I was and am lucky enough to have so many friends to talk about the gospel with, especially with my sister, Caitlin, being gone on her mission. They helped me so much. I almost forgot to mention my mom. Wow, my mom is amazing. She became my best friend. She became the person I wanted to confide in the most. What a wonderful mother I have.

Senior Year
I’m sorry this post is so much longer than I intended it to be, but I’m almost done I promise. Wow. This year has been great. My mom said to me the other day, “I haven’t had a child that was involved in as many things as you.” I suppose she was right. I had the opportunity to play a lead role in our school musical, The Wizard of Oz, I was in Student Government, Orchestra, Madrigals, German Club, Honor Society, Athena, and named Cedar High’s Music Sterling Scholar (which I consider to be my greatest accomplishment). I took on teaching 4 students, whom I love. Speaking of love, I also fell in love, it’s a crazy, wonderful thing. I was also Seminary Class President and Laurel Class President for half the year.  I got to be in Utah’s All-State Orchestra. I made it into BYU, which was a blessing and honestly a miracle. I’ve loved meeting so many new people and being involved in so many things. High School has been good to me. I’m going to miss it but I look forward to moving on to the next stage of my life.