Idaho

This week has been a whirlwind. I met up with my parents in Orem on Monday afternoon and they put my brothers in my car and we drove up to Logan where we dropped my car off at Aunt Jeannes then drove straight through to Emmett. We got there about 1:30 am and promptly went to sleep. Tuesday was my dad's Uncle Jacks funeral which was unlike anything I've ever been to because it wasn't an LDS funeral then spent lots of time hanging around in the hotel room just laughing with each other. It was fun to see all my aunts and Uncles. Cindy, Dan, Coleen and Bob were all there. It was fun. My Holbrook grandparents were there as well. My dad drove me all around Emmett showing me everything that he used to do when he was a kid. It was great! It was the little slightly rundown place that I would love to live. Wednesday we drove to Boise and drove around a bit then headed out to Twin Falls where we saw the Shoshone falls and it was kidna great because I was the only one who'd been there before. Then at long long long last we made it to Rexburg and went out to dinner with Linnea at Costa Vida. It was a good week so far. Today me, Linnea and Micah took our own sweet time getting up this morning and now I'm at Chris' apartment hanging out while they get ready for cleaning checks. :)

surely I am this lucky

 

I have dubbed us "The pentagon of possibilities" 

That group consists of myself, Sabrina Holbrook, Micah (Dahl) Styers, Kristi Ingram, Linnea Holbrook and Brittany Fishback.  And as such we have been the best of friends these past months getting to know one another and changing each others lives. We spend most of our time together in Idaho, but have spent a little  in Utah as well (See October and September posts)  I love them all so very much and am excited to go through life with them at my sides. They all have wonderful humor and are truly beautiful people. 

Let's get this party started.

This is the part where I pretend...

I have two of the most wonderful friends in the world who take me to burn things illegally up on the mountain after a guy has been a complete and utter jerk.
There is something thrilling about knowing you could get caught at doing something mostly innocent. We were only burning a bit of paper and a couple pictures, and with the snow raging around us it wasn't as though we were causing a fire hazard. It was supposed to help lift this burden out of my head, it was fun in a strange kind of way. Also it was snowing so much that simply driving up the mountain was an adventure.
I'm not sure where I'm going with this post, but I'll get to taking pictures soon and let you know how that goes.
I'll get better at this, I'm sure.

Last post for the 365

 

December 31, 2011

Happy New Year! This was a fantastic day. 

I got to see Miss JoLee Fife! She was the person I was most excited to see and I almost didn't get to :) I packed up everything, went shopping with my mom for camera bag stuff. Just enjoyed being here in the absolute  freezing and snow then looked forward to heading back to Provo. 

My parents had to chaperone the new years dance so they took one car and I was supposed to come pick my dad up when I was ready to leave so he could take me to the airport. So I finished packing everything, said goodbye to the brothers then headed to the church. Where I just walked in, jeans and all. and snuck up on Jolee :) She screamed and we hugged a few times. It was so great to see her so excited to see me. She's my favorite Fife! haha  And I got to see Marty and Brother Walker and Bishop Pace. It was so great to be there. I never much cared for dances except when it meant making up goofy dances with Jolee and Benjamin and having a genuinely good time. I got to see Nan and Bart as we were walking out the door as well. It has been so great to be here and be reminded that everybody loves me and there are always hugs waiting for me at home if I need them. I just wish it was so incredibly far away. There are some of the best people here and the funny thing is almost none of them had anything to do with high school. I think that makes me the most happy because I was not the best high schooler. Apparently not being dramatic is a problem. haha 

Anyway my dad and I headed to Anchorage and didn't talk a whole lot on the way there, but it was nice just to be with him in the snow and darkness. 

Then I was dropped at the curb and left to catch my plane. When the clock finally struck midnight everyone was all smiles and it was sort of a silent celebration to ring in the new year. 

Goodbye 2011 and Alaska, it's been fun. 

I'm so grateful for this project and what an impact it has had on me. I am legitimately addicted to my camera now. Looking over the past year I'm so glad I have it all documented. I know I won't do this again for awhile, but it was fun while it lasted. Let's see what kind of advancement I can make in my photography career this year. 

Goodbye 2011, I'm not going to miss you.

There's no place like home.

  

December 30, 2011

Now I know why I missed the amount of coffee shops so much, because that's where everybody meets. It's a convenient place to stop and chat and you always run into someone you know. Tonight I met Micah Styers (soon to be Dahl) and she told me all about her newly engaged self. It was quite wonderful! She's one of my favorites and I thought it was so funny how me living in Utah and her living in Idaho could meet for hot chocolate in Alaska. It's funny how those things work out sometimes.

I had the chance to go to the temple with my parents ward tonight. I rode into Anchorage with the Summers and it felt just like old times, me and Cache talking about everything under the sun, Nan and Bart having their own conversation up front that would overlap with ours every once in awhile while Fischer and Levi talked or slept in the back. It was wonderful. Cache took out his endowments last week so he was baptizing this time and it was so sweet. My family was there and the Summers were there and it felt like the temple should feel like. I love that temple and I've missed it so dearly. I know I should go more, considering this is still the only temple I've attended. I'm going to work on that in the new year. It was a wonderful experience. 

When we got back to the church in Wasilla I took my dads car and headed to the Steiners where I stayed just catching up with Taylor and Tiffany and Dan, it was wonderful. They are such good people and I feel like I helped Taylor a little bit with her decision for schools. Just being around BYU I love the atmosphere and it has been so good for me. 

I realized it was 11:30 and headed home after a few more hugs. 

It's so good to be here, I'm sad to leave tomorrow. But then again I knew I would be.