growing up....almost.

I want you to play this song as you read. 

August 2012 was a big  month for me. My out of town experience and something new rolled into one this month. 

About nine-ish months ago it dawned on me that my apartment contract was up in August and there was no where else in Provo that I wanted to live.

 I decided to move. To move out of Utah. 

The decision was based on a few facts:

A. My six years in Provo is literally the longest I have ever lived in one city, time for somewhere new. 

B. The kind of career I want to end up with cannot be found in Utah. A friend told me once, 

"It's better to be at the bottom of the ladder you want to climb, than in the middle of the one you don't."

C. Verging on the tender age of 24, I actually feel like a grandma near BYU campus. Got to get out of a student ward. 

D.But mostly it was to take a risk, start over, spread my......

you think  I'm going to say wings, that's lame.....

my awesomeness to a new city.

And the city I picked is Seattle, mostly because I love the city (it's got art, shopping, water and hipsters to mock galore), but also because I can bum off my parents until I find employment. 

The reason I had you play that song is that, even though the only lyrics that really apply here is about 2-3 lines worth, it was the last song that played on the radio as I bid adieu to bff Monica and it seemed rather poignant. 

Unemployed. 

Homeless. 

Dwindling funds.

Well, I guess this is growing up. 

Let's Get Political (to be read in Olivia Newton John singing voice)

So pretty much all my political information comes from one source, bff Caitlin. And because of her influence, I know a lot about the Utah House of Representatives and all their bills.

With the Presidential race going on, you know about 33% of our conversations include healthcare reform, taxes, Washington DC, and how handsome the republican party seems to be right now. 

The last week, before I moved away (next post, just wait), I went down to bff Caitlin's house in Vegas for one last hurrah. Whilst there an impromptu rally for the newly appointed Vice Presidential Candidate was tweeted out, and guess where it was, at a high school twenty minutes from Caitlin's house. 

You can not imagine the tiger-like agility with which Caitlin reserved tickets for us to go to that rally. 

Though there was blistering heat, and I mean upwards of 110 degrees, we went to that rally the next day. 

My personal highlight of the event was the Palo Verde marching band that bedazzled us, and it was only their second day of band camp. 

But Mr. Ryan is also a vivacious speaker, he got those devote republican senior citizens stomping their feet in concurrence the whole time. 

Caitlin was super stoked. 

On the inside. 

Get this, not two days later I experienced the second political rally of my lifetime. Bff Caitlin has been helping with the congress campaign of the Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love. Mia had a rally in West Valley City (the ghetto of Salt Lake Valley) where Senator John McCain spoke. You best believe Caitlin, and subsequently I, was all over that mess. I enjoyed it immensely, McCain is basically a stand up comedian, or at least he is when not on his own campaign trail. My favorite of the night, 

"Since my loss in the last presidential race I have slept like a baby, sleep two hours, cry two hours, sleep two hours, cry two hours."

I cracked up. 

The guy in front of me had a huge head. 

Being political hasn't turned out to be as boring as I had always thought, maybe I'm finally 

getting old and responsible.

July Report

So to catch you up on my trip out of town for July as well as my try something new, here are some photos:

First I went to Sacramento and hung out at Megan's house

Then we went to San Francisco but I didn't really get any pictures of that.

Next was our family reunion (sans Cameron) in Lake Tahoe.

We did a little hike with the kids.

Where Calvin had a blast.

And my something new for the month: Spend a day at the beach, really I'd never done it before.

I did some light rafting in the clear water.

Buried a kid in the sand and dug some holes.

We also did lots of crafting.

my week with sullivan

A couple months ago I met Sullivan, lovingly referred to as Sully. 

We spent a whole week together, all day every day. 

It was a lot of fun, but as you know, every good thing comes to an end. 

Luckily, on Sunday afternoon, we had a bit of a photo shoot. 

Here's Sully and I:

Sorry did I forget to mention Sully is BFF Monica's hamster?

Since I got to spend the week with him, I decided to show Sully the world.

Sully racing Ophelia ...

Sully lounging on a Sunday afternoon in Paris..

Sully hiking Machu Picchu ....

Sully butting out of the French Revolution...

Sully spiderman-ing the Sistine Chapel...

Sully turning his back on the Sydney Opera House, he's not a fan of modern architecture...

Sully on an aerial tour of Versailles...

What a  whirlwind adventure.