So I'm maybe a little teeny tiny bit injury prone...

But I think it's just something that comes with the lifestyle.

Hotter n Hell Hundred...

109 degrees of Texas heat. 103 miles. Rented tandem bicycle. 80s themed spandex. Complete lack of training. Sound like a good idea to anyone else?

Well it sure did to Annie and I, and we somehow managed to complete the ride without fainting, puking, or crashing... so all in all, the day was a success!

We made tons of (incredulous/appreciative/admiring/humored) friends that day, and definitely learned a lot about our capacities to endure.

yayyyyyy

So. I'm obsessed with climbing. And a few famous female climbers. Namely Steph Davis. I mean, climbing, base jumping, wingsuit flying... wow. And so I wrote her an appreciation email.. which she then posted on her blog... my life is now complete :)

http://www.highinfatuation.com/blog/hello-from-provo/

California Dream....

So in light of my recent break-up, two of my friends and I decided to road trip to my favorite place on earth - San Diego :). We spent our time doing whatever we felt like - and that mostly involved spending time on the beach. Chillin with a mixture of old and new friends, taking time to surf and sail, and dabbling in a bit of nude-beach time, it was a perfect getaway and a vaction worth remembering.

Puerto Rican Adventure

Kip (boyfriend at the time) and I headed to Puerto Rico in June for the marriage of Laura Garland to Michael Linville! Such an incredible couple, such a beautiful wedding.

Then the 2 of us headed off on some adventures of our own, including cliff jumping with some locals,

An amazing caving adventure




As well as a jaunt into the rainforest


We also took a ferry and stayed on the island of vieques to visit the world's brightest bioluminescent bay

Such an incredible trip with so many amazing memories :)

Rexburg

The last time I was home was 1/2/11. While I like to pretend I'm a grown up most of the time, there's no denying that I miss being around my family.
Last weekend I got the chance to go up to Rexburg, ID with my friend Jake and a couple of his friends to visit his family..not only fulfilling my need to get out of Provo but also giving me a little taste of the family life I've been missing for so long.
We [finally] left Provo around midnight on Friday, and after 4 hours of talking, laughing, and singing Yellowcard and The Phantom of the Opera we made it to ID.
Saturday morning we met the whole family (8 brothers and sisters in total) and we were treated to chocolate chip pancakes and waffles, complete with homegrown strawberries and whipped cream. After breakfast Jake and his dad went to go grab their horses so we could go for a ride (needless to say I was a little excited)After playing for a couple hours, we got ready to go swim. The sandbar we were originally going to was closed and on our way to the warm slough we made a little pitt stop.

Apparently in ID bridge-jumping is the thing to do...who knew.
The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming, throwing a football, being eaten by bugs, and lathering up in sunscreen.

As luck would have it it was also Jake's littlest brother Jeff's fifth birthday.
After playing red light green light and duck duck goose, his dad grilled and then Jake, Stewart, and I headed to one of their high school friend's open house. Luckily (despite being severely under-dressed and not knowing anyone), most of the attention fell on a guy that showed up with a fox he caught and then tied up in his truck.

Post open house we went and played volleyball..aka I got to watch the Lundin show, Jake's entire family basically consists of a bunch of studs who dominate.

Sunday morning was church, and after our lesson on eternal marriage (talking about marriage at BYUI, who'd've guessed..) we took a tour around campus.

The gardens were absolutely gorgeous, seriously, who has ponds and waterfalls on campus?

The rest of Sunday was low key, playing with the family, eating an amazing home cooked meal, just over all relaxing. We headed out around 7, none too willing to go.

Per usual, Utah's construction slowed us down a little and we made it home around midnight.
Overall, it was a fantastic weekend and a perfect mini vacation. I can't express enough gratitude to the Lundin's for how hospitable and amazing they were and how grateful it made me for my own family.

I wanna be a Polynesian so freaking bad..

But really. We all have dreams that aren't ever actually going to happen, but we can hope. And try. And pretend. My latest attempt in fulfilling such a fantasy of tattoos, long flowing hair, dark skin, flowers, skirts, and acquiring a beautiful Haka man consisted of my participation in the BYU luau (fueled by my love of my poly dance classes at school). Yes, I know I'm about as white as they come, but that doesn't.mean.anything :]
I signed up for the New Zealand-Aotearoa section, and so practiced my Maori, tititorea (counting sticks), and pukana every Saturday morning. Last week we had our show, both Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and I must say, it was amazing. So many beautiful people, costumes, and cultures being represented..I was in heaven.
(my pukana isn't exceptionally intimidating..)


Meet Riana and Tony, they're absolutely wonderful and played a huge part of the awesomeness of this experience.

And here's Ethan, my legit tititorea partner :]
Our 'foursie' group haha.




Overall, it was amazing. And I'm already excited for next year.