CHRISTMAS BREEEEAAAAKKKKK!!!!

Christmas break finally came!! I flew home and had two and a half weeks with my family and a few friends. I was excited to take my mind off of school, roommates, and drama and just relax, hang out, and have fun with my family. Four of my sisters and their families came to Utah... Pam, Sharon, Debbie, and Kristin. I would have to say that this Christmas break was one of the best I have had. The two and a half weeks were filled with events including, sleeping, reading, watching movies, shopping, job searching, games, playing soccer with high school friends, racquetball with Matt and Spencer, playing in the snow, building a snowman, sledding, snowboarding, art museum, BYU Men's basketball game, playing the wii, and making a sweet music video! The break came and went way way too fast but it was definitely a much needed break! I did not want to come back to school at all. Even getting back to Hawaii, I did not want to be here. I don't even know why... I hope the break re-energized me so that I am ready to tackle one more semester before the long summer! Here are a few pictures from over the break along with the music video we made and the music video we made in July too. Take a look!

Click on the links to watch the videos:

The Time (Dirty Bit) - Black Eyed Peas

Love Like Woe - The Ready Set

Elder Perry and his wife were on our flight to Utah!

feeling the spirit of christmas... even in Hawaii

In our little house, we were excited for Christmas really early this year. Going home for Christmas was our motivation to finish out the semester. As you can see, we hung stockings, decorated a tree, hung lights in our living room, burned scented oils, and played Christmas music almost every day between Thanksgiving and the last day of the semester! We also took pictures a couple of different times for Christmas cards! This is definitely my most favorite holiday of the year. Mele Kalikimaka!!

flash flooood watch! 8-)

The rainy season has begun! One evening, Kellie and I were on our way back from Taco Bell when it started to rain. We got back to the house, dropped off our stuff, emptied our pockets and decided it was time to play in the rain!! My two other roommates, crystal and ally, joined us in our adventure. When it comes to Hawaii rain, there is no chance to staying dry, no matter how many layers. Sheets of rain were falling and rivers were lining the streets. It was awesome! We took off our shoes and were dancing in the rain having a good time. All of a sudden, a HUGE crack of thunder rang out and it about scared the pants off of all of us! We all ducked like it was two fee above our heads and then bolted back to our house screaming. Haha. We stopped in our driveway just in time to see the power lines down the street spark and all the lights on the street go dark. We decided that it would probably be a safe idea to head inside now :) We got out of our wet clothes to prevent getting sick during finals week and had a candle-lit taco bell dinner. It was quite the night!

Thanksgiving in Laie!

Well it has been a while since I last posted so I thought I better catch up before it got too late... For Thanksgiving, I stayed here at school, along with a lot of my fellow friends. Thanksgiving week was the most stressful week of the semester, unfortunately. I had a test Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Then the rest of the week I spent working on three research papers and two lab assignments that were due the following Monday. I was in the library all day everyday. It was not my idea of a Thanksgiving "break". Although on Thanksgiving, I allowed myself to take a break for half the day to enjoy the holiday. In the morning, my ward rented out the local movie theater and we enjoyed a free movie from the choices of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and Tangled. We chose to see Harry Potter which turned out to be a pretty good choice! After the movie, my ward and another ward walked over to the nearest church building just a block away and had a big Thanksgiving dinner! It was pretty awesome to know that I wasn't the only one missing out being with my family. It was a pretty satisfying Thanksgiving dinner. We all ate plenty!

simple joys

Oh life

So much chaos

So much confusion

School and homework overload

Forgetting responsibilities

Sunburns at the beach

Caught up in the good times

Emotions running high

Trying to find myself

Dating life yet to be found

Perspectives change

Hate to play the guessing game

Drama everywhere you turn

Sacrificing sleep for memories

Inside jokes

Making friends

Changing friends

Late for class

Missing class

Acing tests

Failing tests

Complete frustration

Beaming happiness

Sweating out the stress

New adventures

Bursting laughter

Full of light

Accepting being young and innocent

and Enjoying life as we know it.

My mind is full all the day long

But the world stops with just one song

Taylor and my emotions become one

When her lyrics have been sung

Long board night rides

With my besties by my side

Laying in the uncomfortable grass

While watching the clouds pass

Shooting stars and palm trees in the sky

And listening to Taylor while closing my eyes

All my worries settle down

As I contemplate and sort things around

But in the end I know things will be right

With one thing in mind, and He is Christ

perfect day at waimea bay

Yesterday Kellie, Preston, Bri, Crystal, and I were planning on going to the surf competition in the morning. Well we got on the bus but didn't end up going to the competition because we missed the stop and we didn't see any people out surfing. The waves were way too calm for surfing. So we ended up at Waimea Bay! The water was completely calm, with no wind, warm sunshine, and very few people on this beautiful beach! We couldn't have had it any better. We all jumped off the rock a few times and one time when we were standing on the rock, Bri spotted a turtle by a reef not too far from where we were. So we jumped off, swam to the reef and watched two turtles swimming around us! The turtles were probably two feet in diameter. The water was so clear that we could see the turtles pretty easily in the water. After that, Bri and Preston went home and Kellie, Crystal and I stayed to soak up some sun! What a great day to be at the beach! :)

The reef with the turtles!

The rock we jumped off is on the left and the reef with the turtles is on the right

roommies! :)

haha I was wearing Crystals broken sunglasses

being stupid

best job ever

As you may know, I am working as the athletic driver, driving the athletic teams to and from the airport when needed. This past week I got a new job working in the Aloha Center (student center) at the information desk. I have to either work the desk and answer people's questions about campus, or sell tickets at school events such as games, concerts, dances, etc. On Thursday, I was asked by my boss of the driving job to help out at the womens soccer tournament. Our womens soccer team had a winning season record so we hosted the region tournament in Waipio. Me and three other students rode in a van with my boss down to the tournament. Spencer and I sold admission tickets, and Micaela and Jeremy sold concessions. At half time, Spencer and I got to go to concessions and help them sell stuff. While selling food, we were able to have front row seats to watch the game! It was the best. My co-workers are so fun and my boss is way chill. We were having a blast. After the game, we cleaned up and went out to dinner... on the clock and paid for by the school. It was the best day of work ever!!