Birthday Brynn.

The year was 2010. I was recently divorced and back in the singles ward at church. All of my friends were married. I repeat. ALL of my friends. There were two guys I had been friends with years before in my previous single days and they sort of took me under their wing. They started inviting me to activities and hang outs which was sweet as could be. Except that I then became the "girl" that nobody knew who kept showing up to places with the "guys" that the girls liked. And then I created even more of an X on my back when I started kissing the guy that EVERY girl in "the group" had a crush on. 

Making friends is hard. I feel like I'm a pretty social person but coming into a group of friends that already exists is not an easy thing to do. I seriously remember crying about it. I have never had a problem with having or making friends. I just always had my friends that I'd collected over time, and it's easy to add friends to a group of friends. It's not so easy to be the girl who has no friends, but wants to be accepted by the coolest, prettiest girls. (Something to keep in mind)

I just wanted girlfriends. But I knew the girls didn't really like me. Actually...I don't think they didn't like me but they could care less about getting to know me. They'd be nice-ish and then I'd hear about all the fun they had earlier that day and see pictures of everyone hanging out. It was pretty apparent that I wasn't a part of the group. I was just there, because some of the guys were nice enough to invite me. 

Until I met Brynn. 

Brynn changed everything. The night I met her she was nice as could be. She got my number and not only did she start inviting me to things, she also offered to pick me up so I wouldn't have to go by myself and she even started asking me to do things on our own outside of the group. We went to the movies, we went to the fair, we went on shopping dates. I finally had a girlfriend! And guess what? The more I hung out with Brynn, the more of a chance the other girl's started to give me. It honestly made all the difference. 

And now, that same group of girl's are some of my best friends. 

If there's one thing I learned being in that situation: it's hard to be the new girl. Often times I find myself being guilty of the same thing. But it just goes to show that a little bit of nice can go a long long way. I will forever be grateful for the kindness Brynn showed towards me during that hard time in my life. She didn't even know how big of an impact she was making in my life (that I still think about-4 years later) or the struggles I was going through. She was just being herself. I hope I can make an effort to follow her example throughout my life. 

A few weekends ago Brynn celebrated her birthday with us in Vegas. (She now lives in Utah, boo) We threw her a totally 90's birthday party where I made a freaking rad playlist that I may still listen to on the reg. We danced the night away in our best 90's swag and basically had the best night of our life. (Thanks for the pants, mom!) We also had a little bonfire another night at Allison's house before sending Brynn back up to the Utah. I love my girlfriends. Like a lot. And I have Brynn to thank for that! :)

Happy Birthday Brynn! You are my favorite!

Valentine's Schmalentines.

I bet every single one of you out there wishes their Valentine's dates (yes plural) were as fabulous (looking) as mine were. 

 Yep. That's what I thought.
Nothing beats girl time, massive amounts of sweets and treats, ear wax candles and a classic MK & A movie comlpete with a sleepover cuddle sesh (minus Allison who was outcasted to the other side of the house with her disgusting pink eye). 

Valentine's Day Win. 

My other date was pretty cute too. 

 Lunch break at The Container Park on Vday. 

Love my Boy. 

My Main Heauxs.

These heauxs came to visit me not once...but twice in one month. 

We met Ross in Mexico and have since realized that we have three hearts, but one soul who share a mutual love for siech.  

I heard a rumor that Ross is moving back to the east coast soon. I refuse to believe it's true so it probably isn't. We're probably just gonna move to a commune in China so we never have to part. 

And luckily Kat (the missing link) was there for both trips and not just in spirit.

First Work Trip.

Back in January I went on my first week long work trip. Me + 2 Men 24/7. It was exhausting. Meetings all day everyday. Progress was made. We ate great and also hired one of my best friends so we got to go to a meeting together (with matching hair and all)! That was fun! The days were long but I looked forward to the nights filled with FaceTime. And of course I made time for my favorite Provo girls. My Anne officially moved in with my Sam and Chels and I'm basically an honorary roommate. Gosh, I adore those girls. 

First work trip. 

Success.

Hot Springs Death Walk

I did this hike 8 years ago and swore I'd never do it again. Welp...I lied. But I only regretted the decision to do it again for about a week. Once every inch of my body was no longer swore and I can finally walk again, I might just be up to doing it again in another 8 years. 

But probably not. 

The truth is, it wasn't that bad. Okay, it was. I'm just kinda a wussy baby and it didn't help that we didn't start until 9pm so we didn't get home tip about 3 am and I am not one for late nights, especially strenuous late nights in boots that progressively lost the entire sole by the end and I was basically walking on rocks the whole 6 miles...but at least my friend Matt coached us through the whole thing and even convinced us to run part of it (I don't know why we listened). I'm convinced I almost died a few times, but we pulled through and the end was totally worth it. (kinda) The hot springs are gorgeous and a super rad natural slot canyon beauty. Plus we had a pretty rad group of friends to enjoy this adventure with (and cream sodas)! I'm glad I have the pictures and this blog post to remind me to never do it again. But if I'm dumb enough to...at least wear better shoes. :)

Zion is for Lovers.

"Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, to teach you a lesson or to help you figure out who you are, or who you want to become."

-Author Unknown

I recently met a guy who has been such an inspiration in my life. I know that sounds super retarded, but it's true. He makes me want to do more with my life and be a better person. I "met" him online back in September and we finally met in real life. He's quickly become one of my favorite people and one of my closest friends who I admire dearly.

Meet BC:

The weekend after the New Year Holiday a big group of my friends went up to a ranch in Zion. My friends go up to the ranch all the time, but I had never been so I was pretty excited. I was even more excited when it worked out that BC was conveniently in Utah (he lives in Denver) and decided to spontaneously come down and hang out for the weekend! I was so excited to finally meet him but also a little bit nervous. Who plans a weekend getaway with a bunch of her friends and an internet stranger? Ummm... I do. We both had a little bit of a fear that the other would flake but as soon as I drove up to the shuttle station and saw him standing on the curb in his all-too familiar jacket and beanie, I couldn't help but throw my car into park and basically fell out of the car and into his arms. [Bear hug status]! He's seriously the coolest guy ever and the ultimate adventurer and I'm so glad we're now real life friends. Being real life friends is even better than being just phone friends in case you were wondering.

[Remember how my New Years Resolution was to go on an adventure with Protozoa?
How's that for accomplishing it in 3 days?!]

My friends loved him and the weekend couldn't have been any more fun. We played games, had twerk dance parties, shot guns, ice skated in our shoes across the frozen pond, went four wheeling, hiking, shot more guns and sang around a late night bonfire under a blanket of stars. It was the perfect weekend with my favorite friends and a rad lad. He's seriously a gem, an inspiration to me and luckily, not a serial killer--I'm glad we're friends! Bless you Tinder.

I truly do love the people that I have in my life. Each of them has their own little purpose and I couldn't be any more blessed. I have some pretty great friends and I am lucky enough to keep finding more. :)

Bring on 2014.

As 2013 came to a close, I couldn't help but reflect on how much growth and change I went through this year. It was probably one of my harder years, but I know it's made me stronger and better. My favorite girlfriends and I decided to have the most elegant Mexican dinner at Tivoli Village. The fact that we all dressed in black wasn't planned; just merely a sign that we're meant to be friends. These girls are some of the best in the book. They're who I spent lots of my days and most of my nights with. We caught up on all things girly and went around the table telling our resolutions for 2014. I'm not one who takes resolutions super serious. I'm not much of a goal maker because I don't like to fail--definitely not my most proud attribute. But it's kinda how I've always been.

After dinner we went to a house party thrown by our friends Matt and Ryan. There was ping pong, and treats, and a dance mix by the amazing Bee, and ombre gold 2014 letters: All the makings to guarantee a great night. We danced the night away and shot off fireworks before the infamous countdown that happened twice because Time Square's was just a little bit off from reality. We danced and screamed and I was that hyper girl with the blowing thing that makes a really loud annoying noise for all to enjoy. Seriously, it was a perfect new year celebration. And to top it all off, the boy I was casually dating gave me a little kiss at the doorstep. Our first kiss to be exact.

I even wrote a resolution on the resolution board that I was determined to make happen. I didn't know at the time that I would be accomplishing it so soon! 2 days later to be exact. Take that 2014! Boooyyaaaa.

Yep, I think this year is going to be a good one.