now on to 2010..

It's officially the end of the year!

and this year was pretty dang fantastic..

i got to go on my very first road trip

sent off all of my missionary friends

made many amazing new friends that i never want to give up

changed my major to something i am absolutely in love with

for the first time felt like a real adult

spent a week with all of my extended family

got to deal with Juan the worst boss in america

started dating like a grown up

fell in love with photography all over again

discovered MLIA and paper tissue

moved into the FLAMiNgO house!!

fell in love with some amazing new music

started tummy yummy palooza thursdays

bought and had a good run with miss melba

grew closer to my savior

became a better baker with my first batch of home made cookies

learned how to use scene skills in my writing

passed statistics

had two best days everr!

learned how to have long distance relationships

got to go through my first temple dedication

went to the temple every week this summer

learned how to rock climb and balee

learned to crochet

fell in love with spray painting shirts

had my first room roommate

tried sushi and other new foods for the very first time

learned to appreciate my family

...

i have learned so much about

myself and those around me

there have been tears and

lots and lots of smiles

and i have grown

i am so grateful for all of the

adventures and lessons i have learned

this next year i hope i will

have even more adventures

i cant wait to see what it will bring!!!!

a fabulous couple of days..

christmas was way sweet this year. It was very chill, after relaxing and hanging out as a fam, christmas eve was spent at grandma burgon's lovely home. I am so grateful to have them as an adoptive family! Having jo, ash, and brooke as little sisters is just the best and having some sort of grandparent figure is just sweet. Their house is gorgeous, i love it to death! A sweet kitchen and cute christmas decorations everywhere.. I was very happy to have them back from their mission this year so that we could enjoy that tradition again.

They are even so sweet they got me a gift! Just like all of the other grandkids, I definitely felt special, especially when the blanket I got turned out to be purple just like my sheets up at college! Cami had a good laugh since I explained rather loudly that point while still opening it.. yes I am a dork, but i thought it was sweet. Lucky Me!!

After the amazing dinner and desserts and presents, the traditional nativity play took place. Such a fun thing to watch with everyone... especially since my awesome dad for the first camarella to participate in the actual skit served as an rather handsome wiseman. The towel turban and asian komono were just priceless!

The little twins we super funny during the play also. Running up to see baby jesus and dancing to the songs we sung those girls are such goofs. I was happy they got to spend at least christmas eve with us before going off to their dad's to enjoy christmas this year.

After the party up at grandma's I came home and crashed. I was so tired and sort of felt sick so I was out pretty fast. I tried to sleep in but I guess the little child in me wouldn't let me, once seven rolled around I could not fall back asleep not without a lack of trying though! This was one of the main differences this christmas. Our aging selves and slight loss of christmas magic was apparent in that my dad actually showered before we opened presents, we relaxed a little and ate our classic cinnamon rolls before we even started into opening presents.. and that was around 8:30 - 9 ish.. not our normal 6 a.m. wake up calls in our parents beds. I had three stockings this year, my normal one, my new one from the flamingo house, and my awesome princess one my sister so generously picked up for me. Santa was not fooled though, only one was filled with his magic and such but still I felt it looked pretty sweet!

I took the liberty this christmas to enjoy the wrapping process for all of my gifts for family members. Notice the great vintage bear paper and fabulous bow. All of my presents stood out from the rest and I enjoyed doing it all too much christmas eve morning..

Presents turned out very well I think. Everyone got lots of neat things. Jess and I got our christmas ornaments for the year. I was the only one this year that didn't get ready at least a little bit so I know the look is just the greatest but we are just such cute sisters!

My sweet gifts were an awesome cook book from papa so that I can conquer the kitchen up in logan. It was my first gift I felt all grown up about, I really am getting so old time flies it is crazy. I also got a snuggie! So stoked to use it!! I found out my roommate Carny got one also so we have already planned snuggie parties and such. Other awesome gifts.. my very own grape soda pin just like Mr. Fredrickson :), a melba replacement.. yes it did bring tears to my eyes but my mom has good taste in purses I just couldn't deny it. 500 days of summer is now in my possession as is perfume and gift cards and other such goodies.. I was truly spoiled this christmas!

After presents we of course visited the burgons and showed off all of our new gadgets and cute clothing it is tradition. Then we were off to see Sherlock Holmes as a family. It was strange not having the girls but i really enjoyed the movie. After the movie I randomly got sick, curled up and watched one of my new movies as my dad prepared my favorite part of christmas the italian feast.. though i knew eating anything let alone the types of food we had at that moment would not be good for me i debated and debated and finally just ate.. it was the wrong decision, about an hour later it all came back up which was miserable so I just went to bed yet again super early but overall this christmas was a success!! We had so much fun as a family and just enjoyed the simple spirit of christmas with each other.

Saturday was full of fun shopping and hanging out with the parentals and then watching steve attempt and josh conquer the eleven challenge at the wing coup that was an adventure for sure!! Those boys are sure brave!

Today church was early.. but very good! I got to be a sunbeams teacher once again for second and third hour. Those four year olds are just adorable! After a good sunday nap, the girls finally came back home and fell in love with their new toy kitchen, we had scrumptious dinner with the burgons, played some games and went downtown to see the lights.. don't worry my toes did lose all and total feeling of course..

As you can see.. the fabulousness of the weekend is apparent. I am bummed to see the christmas season pass because I love it just so much but this new year is sure to bring lots and lots and lots of adventures.. and I know it is only another year till we get to enjoy it all once again!

Oh how I love my abby baby!!

new adventure crossed off my list..

I have officially eaten fish filled sushi!

Last night we went out with a bunch of friends to Mikado's and got the cool little private room. I felt so.. sophisticated? I don't know the right word but it was just a fun experience. I didn't plan on eating anything at all but Josh told me I had to try it. He put one on a little plate just for me and I told him I would think about it. A while had passed and i just couldn't get myself to try it. Finally the entire table used the peer pressure tactic to make me just do it. Josh helped me put the good sauce on it and it started to fall apart so alas i picked it up with my fingers and shoved it in my mouth. The first thing i learned is those things are BIG!! It is a lot of food in your mouth at one time. I don't know what was in it, it was tempura fried.. and i will admit it was not disgusting. The texture of whatever fish it was got to me and i guess i made some pretty funny faces when trying to get it down but I DID IT! I was very proud!

Also another great thing this week was our willow canyon elementary school reunion. My bestest buddies from elementary school, hilary holdsworth, tiffany wixom, and amber wanlass all went out to sweet tomatoes just as we used to in middle school to catch up on everything. It was the greatest time! Just goes to show how old we are getting haha but it was a well needed catch up and reminiss of the good old days.. i have been blessed with the best friends my entire life, it is so nice we can still remain in touch!

another one of the best days ever..

There are those days that make me realize just how awesome my life is. Everything goes right, the little things make me smile every minute and it is just wonderful. I had one of those days a couple months ago, it was an epic one for sure. You can ask my roommates, especially ashley after my 12 page journal entry we had many good laughs recounting the day.

This is the recount of my latest best day ever..

I have the past year developed an immense fear of the dentist. I don't know what triggered it or what exactly it is that scares me but they just do, or at least mine does. I can't even look him in the face. Since i know i have this fear, my day starting out with a dentist appointment was nothing i looked forward to, especially since it was at nine a.m. in the morning. The first good moment of the day surprisingly came from this appointment. Sitting in the chair, white knuckles from squeezing my hands so tight to get rid of my nerves, with the dental assistant cleaning away, mouth open, starring at the ugly ceiling with the bright light right above me i realized i could never be a dentist. The reason.. because i could never keep a good composure trying to work on someone that looks so ridiculous. Honestly i know for a fact i looked ridiculous making whatever face i was trying to keep my mouth open at the right angle, tongue just there haha just the image of that i would never be able to handle. This realization made me smile also finding out i was doing a good job of keeping my teeth clean and am cavity free. No dentist for me for awhile that alone could have made my entire day but it only got better from there..

From the dentist's office i went shopping and found the most perfect gift for my two nieces. I am so excited to give it to them. I also had to go and get my last shot from the doctor. While waiting in the waiting room i sat near a lady crocheting a doily and since i have just learned how to do it myself i struck up a simple conversation and am so glad i did. The nice lady proceeded to tell me her entire life's story.. how she learned to crochet, her crazy grandkids, how old she was at her greatest moments.. this story was just fabulous probably about half way through the story though her funny husband came out from whatever appointment he had at the doctors, he interrupted his wife and just said "can we go" his wife kept on with the story.. and so he just kept saying it she kept on with the story while she was putting on her coat and such. The story alone was making me smile but seeing just how much she was enjoying saying it was the best part.

Finally the husband got her to end her story and i went off to get my shot that hurt so so bad but it was the last one. Just another thing to smile about. While the valet was getting my car he put it in reverse too fast which made me giggle for a reason i don't know and then the drive home was perfect. The music oh so loud and the radio playing the best mix of songs, even the dancing crazy for other drivers to enjoy laughing at me all made for the best drive. Singing so loudly and dancing is the best natural high!

When i got home my dad asked if i would join him on a trip to Walmart. Since i know just how much he hates doing things alone i went along for the ride. My dad, he is just so one of a kind. It amazes me how he can take so long doing i don't understand what. We simply walked past the sausage and he was all "oh i bought some of that the other day.." haha so random.. i think he is where i get it from. :) We had to run to smiths too to grab one last thing and on the car ride there was more singing and dancing. Oh how i just love my dad.

When we got home i helped my dad make toffee which is always fun. Making treats always makes me happy because i feel if i am good at making treats i have a chance at being a good little home maker mom. One of my greatest goals. I then got myself ready for the day finally which is somehow super fun for me when it is accompanied with more good music and a good hair day :)

The next happy moment of the day.. i got to play with my great friend kade. Oh that boy just knows how to make me smile. We took a trip to walmart to find miss carny a birthday present, got some yummy pizza, funny conversation, and then got to watch Anastasia singing along with all of the good songs. After the movie we made our way up to syracuse to meet up with all of our logan buddies. We had to drive separate and to be honest the drive was a little scary i being me forgot my glasses, it was super foggy and all of the bright headlights from the opposite direction's traffic seeing super well was a little difficult but we made it to the family fun center all in one piece.

Sparetime as it is called was so much fun! Seeing everyone again was simply the best thing. I had missed my fantastic roomies even if it had only been about a week. Miss shantelle is definitely

going to be missed. We had a great game of laser tag where in a sucked it up completely. Then there was miniature golf in this crazy black light spray painted room it was so fun and kade showcased his out of the blue mad miniature golf skills. Then we bowled, i was so proud i actually did pretty good and everything. Carny loved her present of chapsticks and toffee which made me smile even more. Kade taught me how to spin the ball when i bowl. We got some arby's and went back for another round of miniature golf which was a pretty good time! :) after we were done there the place was closing so we made our way to michelle's adorable house. The boys rocked it out on beetle's rockband. Their voices are just impeccable haha probably around 6 guys all singing into one microphone it was hilarious. Then there was ice cream cake for the birthday girl. Thank you Michelle it was delicious! Luckily we planned a slumber party because by the end of the night i was exhausted. After blow drying by pajamas to warm them up before i put them on since sitting in my car had made them freezing being in comfy clothes felt so good. Michelle, Carny and I had some great girl chat and all squishing on michelle's bed we fell asleep.

As you can tell simply from the length of this post it was just a good day.

I love smiling.

I love laughing.

I love my friends.

I love all of my family.

I LOVE MY LIFE!!!!

and am so so so so so blessed to have what i have!

hopefully more of these great days are soon to come :)

** sadly my camera is dead and the charger is up in logan so i have any real pictures**

life being as crazy as it is..

blogging obviously has taken a back seat this semester..

too many things have happened to be able to catch up on it all but as a simple update..

my boys are gone, it was a very hard thing to get used to lots of tears were shed but though i didn't know if i would ever reach this point i am finally adjusted to life without them around all of the time. Letters and emails are my new favorite joys. Hearing all of their stories never fails to bring a smile to my face. I love missionaries it is as simple as that.. my wall of their pictures is enough proof of that.

The summer ended very rapidly. After lots of adventures with the character that was Juan, my boss at the dry cleaners, i moved back up to the great little town of logan. The flamingo house as we call it is my offical abode. With my first experience of sharing a room with someone, life living in our little shoe box as ashley and i refer to it has been fun with it's ups and downs. After the wasp infestations, getting used to the little boiler room and questionable shower bathroom, the intense out pouring of heat that comes from our ceiling vent, and the small closet space that is our armoire we have come to love our little space. We enjoy many great late night chats while falling asleep, singing loudly, dancing weirdly, laughing lots, and all of the other fun things ashy and i are so good at doing together.

Our house as a whole is also just as fun. I truly believe there has never been a better group of girls living together than the ones that i abide with in the flamingo. We have so much fun it is impossible to describe. We laugh non stop. We say the strangest things, just look in our quote book. There are always people coming in and out. We never miss a chance to chow down, sing loudly, or dance as though it was our last moment living. There have been tears of course as any house of girls would happen but i know i can count on those girls for anything and i believe they know the same for them. Someone is always there to listen to my not so exciting funny or dramatic moments of the day. In a nut shell.. we the flamingo house are the shiz.. too legit to quit.

Other things this semester have been my new major. I am in the FCHD major officially going into family and community services hoping to work in a head start program once i graduate. My classes this semester were amazing. With the exception of my stupid science class with crazy Dr. Sue i loved all of my other ones. Balancing Marriage Work and Family and Child Guidance were the most interesting classes, coming home on the weekends and getting to help my sister out with all of my new information learned and getting excited about raising my own kids someday i am in love with my major and am so excited for my future!

I have grown up a lot also this semester. Finally realizing my career goals and figuring out just who i want to be has been a fun transition. I have come to a new found love of my religion and my savior and i am so grateful to know who i am and my purpose in life. I realize i am only at just the beginning with lots of growing and learning ahead of me but i am so excited for it. I have amazing amazing friends and a family that no one can beat. I have realized just how important family really is and cherish every little simple moment with them. Also my baby abby, as annoying as the little princess can be, seeing her so excited every time i come home always brings a smile. Trying to keep close with my besties down here in sandy while living in logan has proven to be a true trial but i know that our friendships can last through months of not seeing each other because they are just that strong. I can never forget my girls at home they are so amazing i owe them more than i can ever describe.

The last huge thing that has happened this semester is JuJu's new dating life. Haha simply put it has been an adventure for sure! ask the roommates.. they can never fail to laugh at my blonde ignorant moments on handling the awkward situations i have found myself in in the past few months. They have even taken teams.. oh how i love them. Though the craziness of trying to balance too many people at once has died down for the moment (i hope) i know there will be many stupid funny moments in the future. Oh the joys of growing up, lets hope the immense fear of commitment subsides at some point before i am a forty year old spinster :)

As you can tell from this all too long post life is moving fast and only getting better.

I am enjoying every minute of it and excited to see what this next semester holds hopefully i can be better at keeping updated..

but until then...

a summer to remember

after perusing through some other's blogs..
i decided that as my own life gets more crazy.. i should make a blog of my own to document the crazy things i have been up to.
i am living a crazy life doing new things everyday
life suprises me at all the new things it has to offer
life is changing lots as i am trying to figure out my place in it all
i have one year down of college and absolutely loved it, loved my apartment the amazing people i met and all of the lessons i have learned.
as for now i am living at home working full time at the dry cleaners and adventure in itself..
i am doing lots of playing with my friends that i have missed like crazy..

in two weeks my life is going to have a major change
my last three tight friends from high school are leaving to serve the lord for two years
while i love them and look up to them it's hard to think of how different it'll make things.
i talk to them everyday..
and i know things will never be near the same
so therefore it is bittersweet..
i am dreading it like crazy so it's taking the most of my attention for the time being

i love my life.
i love learning.
i love laughing.
and i love just taking it all in.

it's only the beginning

of a road that can only be called my own

with it's destination set..

i am excited to see how it all unravels

jujube