I haven't updated in a while, but here's a quick update:

• I live in Arizona now and I love it
• I switched my major to nutrition, school is a little tough but I love it
• I skate and ride my bike a bunch now and I love it
• My knee is doing great...and you guessed it! I love it. 

Now for a phone dump..

 Nat and Chase just making out. Just kidding! None of that!

 These two love each other. It's so cool to be able to witness love happening. 

 I also wear dresses now. Weird. And fall when I try to pose for pictures...

 Ice bucket challenge. Nice helmet, bro. 

 Hanging out on the roof makes you feel like a giant. 

 I went to Chuck Box the other day with Big Raf, mini Raf and Chrissie. This was my second time ever and I am definitely still a fan. They cook their burgers on an open fire and they taste amazing!

 Chrissie used to work at the double tree. This shirt was meant just for her!

Chrissie's first day of school pictures! I felt obligated to take these for Chrissie. Memories, ya know! She'll look back years from now and be super stoked on them.

 Classic butt shot.

 Classic in front of the house shot.

 Classic getting into the car picture

 Tempe park in the hot, hot afternoon. Empty!

 Popeye took a selfie

 Such a patient pup!

 Uh-oh! I'm glad she made it to the throne!

 The horses at the mall are way too fast! Hence the blurriness..

 Up, up, and away!

 Like I said, I like the roof

 So do Bodhi and Chase

 Cacti are some of my favorite things about Arizona

 True love. From mama bird to doggy bird's bowl! Presh!

 What a beautiful city

 The next couple pictures are from when we went up to Payson for Labor day. It was such a rad day of hiking, blasting music, almost dying going up hills in my car (apparently now named Butch), and cliff jumping. 

 Bigfoot! Wait..false alarm. Just Chase

 Yeah, we hike!

 We had a pretty big group

 Jon and Erin hanging out on big rocks

 Gorgeous views here in good ol' Arizona

And last but not least..hard styling whenever we see a familiar car. Hey Josh.

Alright, now for story time..

The first time I ever came to Arizona was in January 2011, after having worked my first summer at camp. Before camp and meeting some of the people that I did, I never saw myself coming out here. I knew nothing about Arizona, didn't know anyone in Arizona, Arizona never crossed my mind. After camp, it was a different story. I'd met a couple people that lived out here and they made it seem great. Think: all the benefits of California minus the ocean and no ridiculously high rent. I was sold.

I was 20 years old, had recently moved to Florida, was working at an ice cream shop but hated it and wasn't the biggest fan of Florida. I had saved up enough money and after that summer, I had reasons for wanting to come to Arizona and had people out here that wanted me to come and everything was fine and dandy. I kind of just thought, "if not now then when?" I went ahead, bought my ticket and assumed that the plans I had made last summer still stood. (You know what they say about assuming?) The funny thing in life is that sometimes you make plans way in advance with someone and everyone's really excited and time goes on and real life happens and then when the time comes, they end up changing their minds. Well that's what happened. If I ever say I'm going to do something, you better believe it's going to happen! It doesn't matter how long it takes, how hard I have to work to get what I want or to do something I want to do. If I want to do something I'll do it. Anyway, I had a ticket and now I didn't know if I would have anywhere to stay once I got out here. I thought about canceling it but at the same time I thought, "who cares?!" I figured I knew how to read a map, I could use a telephone, I had money for cabs and buses and I would just make a cool solo trip to Arizona, spend time at a bunch of skateparks, walk around a lot and spend as little money as possible on food since I'd have to pay for a hotel.

Word got out that I was for sure making the trip and already had my ticket and I was offered a place to stay. I reluctantly accepted seeing as how I would be staying with the same person that told me that  visiting wouldn't be a good idea. But hey, I'd save money. That week I ate almost solely pizza, skated almost everyday, went to a party, and hiked twice. I spent six days here, fell in love with the area and knew from that point on that I would someday live here. (My host ended up being a good one.) I didn't have a timeframe or anything but I knew that this was where I wanted to end up. Almost every time I longed for a place, I longed for Arizona. I had the opportunity, during the years leading up to now, to have friends I could visit a few times and fell in love a little more every time. Now I live here. It's crazy to think that I made it out here this soon. Sure, four and a half years is a long time but I was thinking it would take me longer. Boy am I glad I didn't cancel that ticket! And that I've had people help me out along the way with food, couches, rides, and just good ol' fashioned friendship. Thanks duders!

One of the first things I did when I got to Arizona was buy a disposable camera

 This was my first bed in Arizona. 

I loved this tree. I've yet to drive by that area to see if it's still there. I'm sure it still is. 

This summer...

has turned out to be such a fun one!! I started it out thinking that it would be a slow, boring summer of working at a job I dreaded, just because I wasn't going to be at camp or with people I considered friends, or traveling. It turned out to be the complete opposite. I still got to travel. I went to Arizona for three weeks and got to go to camp for one. I went to a job I looked forward to everyday and learned a bunch of stuff I never thought I'd learn. I started out as a cashier and got offered a manager position within three weeks. I got to spend a bunch of time with my brother and dad because they work at the same place. I realized that I love the food and restaurant business and it just got me even more excited for school this semester. The experience I gained this summer is going to help me get a job anywhere! I know how to make and toss pizzas now, my cashier/cash handling/phone/people serving experience is super solidified, and I know that I have the ability to do ms.manager stuff if I choose to. I love all the people I work with and am going to be sad to leave. Everyone there has taught me something and I am going to miss them greatly. I never thought I'd say this, but if life brings me back to Florida in the future, I wouldn't mind working there again. It would be an honor.

Musical Monday

This is a great song. I used to listen to Reel Big Fish all the time when I was younger. And by younger I mean like 16. I completely forgot about these guys until my last trip to Arizona. Chrissie played this song in the car and I was instantly hooked. It's good!

Musical Monday

All Kindsa Girls by The Real Kids. This song is really cool. It kinda reminds me of Girl Hunt by the Dead Milkmen. The lyrics do at least. I like it. "I need someone new, someone who's gonna make my heart jump the way she used to do."

An apology to my skateboard..

I feel like a total scumbag for leaving my skateboard in AZ the way I did. I mean he was in the trunk all ready to come back to Florida with me and at the last minute i decided not to bring him along..I kid. But in all/only some seriousness, I miss having it around. Even though I wouldn't have time to ride it. Even though it would just sit there gathering dust. I just feel like part of me is missing. Is that weird? I ALMOST thought about going to get a new set of trucks. Almost. Anyway, as an apology I give you a cool coalatree video. I like coalatree. I like what they stand for and their clothes look pretty cool and all that jazz. 29 days or less until I get to see you Benny! (skateboard)


Coalatree Organics: Puerto Rico from Coalatree Organics on Vimeo.

Life Update/Snappy Saturdays on Thursday...

Nothing really happens everyday. It's weird. I wake up everyday with just enough time to get ready to go to work, go to work, come home and it's time to sleep. Reminds me of a song I've had on repeat lately. 'I feed myself when I have to..' tee-hee! But yeah, I get two days off a week and on those days I hang out with family or go clean this lady's house. By the end of the day I start going a little stir crazy and can't wait to be back at work. I've had breakfast at Denny's twice in the last couple of weeks. I think that might be the most exciting thing that's happened lately. Other than the whole getting accepted into ASU, picking my classes, figuring out my car and living situation and just waiting to go. I'm beyond excited. Totally ready to go. I just need to put my stuff in the car and get outta here.

 Still haven't unpacked...

..But I did do laundry once.. Let me tell you why this is so significant. Okay, so I kinda feel like I've been back in Florida for ten years now, but it's only been like two weeks or so. I'm doing pretty good on the whole water conservation/laziness thing.

 Highlight of every Thursday is getting talent show snaps. Sure most of them I just get to see on other people's stories but I still get to see them. 

 I want ice cream!! From Sarah.

 Minty is a cool name. This place called Joe's, like two seconds from my house in Arizona, has this italian ice ice cream called Mint cookie. Soooo freaking good!! Think minty cookies and cream. Delicious! From Sarah. Duh! Can't you see it's a selfie?!

 In our yard we have this plant called chipilin. Out of this plant you can make tamales. But first you have to remove all the little leaves from the stems because the stems give the leaves a bitter taste. Anyway, here we are at a family dinner, after having brought my aunt a giant bag of chipilin. We just did it for the tamales but got conned into helping! It was fun. 

 This is my view every morning. I like it. I update my AZ countdown, drink some water, make sure my cactus does too, read my scriptures, and do some yoga. 

 Whoops!

I like my parents most of the time these days. This pretty much sums up their relationship. 

Musical Monday

So...this weeks selection is When Your Dad Left Your Mom by Paul Baribeau. I first heard about Paul Baribeau from a friend like five years ago. I loved all the songs I heard especially "Only Babies Cry," which my friend ended up putting on a mix tape for me. (CD? Mix CD? That sounds weird. I'm calling it a mix tape that was in CD form.) Anyway, I recently (like a month and a half ago) started to listening to my iPod again and then went to an AJJ show where this girl was wearing a Paul Baribeau t-shirt and I was like WOAH!! And I instantly felt butterflies in my stomach and although I was excited for the upcoming show, I also couldn't wait to go home and listen to Baribeau.
So yeah, I like this song. I think that my favorite thing about it is that it reminds me of when my parents split up for a bit. I guess when a lot of people think about divorce, it's seen as a bad thing. At the time I think I did too. I think every kid wants their parents to stay together. But for me, looking back now, it was a great thing. I still got to see both of my parents and while they weren't together they were much nicer to us and each other. They weren't stressed or fighting all the time. And the lines ,"It'd get so quiet sometimes. Tried to act like nothing was wrong...but every once in a while I could still get you to smile.." resonates so profoundly. Dude knows what's up. My parents are together but sometimes I still wonder how differently my life would've turned out if they did get a divorce. Better? Worse? We'll never know!!

Musical Monday

Like I said for the last Musical Monday, a lot of Andrew Jackson Jihad has been heard lately. This week my musical selection is....drumroll please!!!! brrrrrrrr (That's a drumroll.) Heartilation by Andrew Jackson Jihad! Woohoo!! I'm pretty sure this song, in the last couple of days, has gotten the most plays on my iPod. It's just that good. I put it on repeat for hours and hours pretty much everyday. My favorite line in the song is "I want to tear out my heart and give it away to a person more deserving one day."
Now, I've heard a bunch of variations of this song. Some live, some not, and some covers. Variations. Duh. But my favorites are these. Go ahead and listen to all of them. Because they're all good. Go ahead. I'll wait. Oh and leave a comment. If you want to. I know you do..

Okay so first up, is the first version I ever heard. So freaking good. This is the one I have on my iPod. I've been listening to it everyday at least three times a day since the first time I heard it a couple weeks ago.


This is the next one. You might think it sounds the same, but it doesn't. Trust me. It's different. And you can see them playing.


And this is the next one. Woah not Andrew Jackson Jihad! "Who's Jo Pie Whyld," you may ask. Well I'll tell you: I don't know. BUT, she did this song justice! Best cover I listened to.

Snappy Saturdays (On Thursday)

Not snappy as in fast...Snappy as in pictures that have been snapped. Duh!

 This one is from head roomie Laila! She sent this one to me a few days before I took this last trip out to Arizona. 

The next two were snapped to me after I snap chatted my taco sammich burrito. 

 From Patrick. 

From Cass 

 Jake with the Brimley guys!!! I'm so bummed I missed week five this year. I think if I would've known ahead of time that these guys would be at camp I would've either stayed longer or gone week five instead. A cool team finally goes to camp the year I can't work!

 From Chrissie. "Mom would be proud."-Mo

From Tim. This one gets an honorary repost just because it's that good. And because I got it at the suckiest part of my Woodward trip. The leaving and being stuck in LA at three in the morning part.. The kid in front (I think his name is Max...I ask him every year and every year I forget) has grown up a bunch!

 From Chrissie. This was on our trip back to Phx. I think it was during our four hour delay in LA. I was exhausted. Can you tell?

 From Laila. She knows us all too well. 

 From Chrissie. Mom/Laila/head roomie has a man friend that she's into and they always do a bunch of cool/cute stuff. Here they had a pizza date in a fort in the dining area of the Concorda Cottage. Too cute! I need a man friend that will build pizza forts with me. 

 From Chrissie. Popeye is a swag master. 

 From my uncle. In our backyard we have this plant called chipilin. It tastes great in tamales so my uncle came to pick some for my aunt. This is when they were cleaning it. My aunt says, "ay mucho!"

And last but definitely not least..this one's from my big brother. Get it?! Sometimes they don't realize it..and he's eating a burger!

And now for pictures I need to get off my phone..

I still haven't unpacked. I kind of want to see how long I can go without doing it..

I just think this one is funny..I don't sleep completely naked, but with very little clothes on. It's just too hot here! My brother walked into my room to ask for a ride to work the other day before I thought to warn anyone. I think he was a little startled. People that have seen the sign get a kick out of it. 

Musical Monday (the one I missed)

I've been listening to a bunch of Andrew Jackson Jihad lately. They're just great. I had the chance to see them a couple weeks ago and it was hands down the best show I've been to yet. I don't know why, but this song reminds me of summer camp. I mean, I guess I kinda know why. Probably because everyone at camp is trying to get it in. I think it's a funny song.
Enjoy.