"this is the end..."

Merry Christmas from Mikey!

yikes, when did it get to be new years eve already? i guess that means i should post my end of the year pictures. we went on a carriage ride around the salt lake temple this year to see the lights as a family, and it was really awesome. i was unwilling to compromise my warm mittened hands to get out my camera. it happens. we got a few pictures though, around the temple grounds.

 i wasn't all scroogy. nathan and jason and colie came over and they went sledding with me and logan and becki in our neighborhood.

Nathan wasn't quite sure how to feel about sledding...though i did hear a little cry of  "wee!" escape him. haha

this picture is the best action shot cus right after this i lobbed that snowball at them to eliminate our competition as we flew down the hill. we won :)

we built a snowman and he looked kinda homeless, so we gave him homeless hair

i begged and begged becki to let me turn her into cindy lou who for christmas. finally she let me. isn't she awesome?

i made carly a matching hat with her mamma and she totally wore it around all night. she's the cutest

savannah and carly in their matchin hats on christmas 

anyway...hope everyone has a fun new years eve! :) be safe.

so today i afro'd my hair to see how it would turn out.

 just a little more hairspray and i bet i can get this thing huge... ;)

"baby it's cold outside..."

So, you know how every once in a while I make stuff and then I post it on here so you guys can think I'm super crafty and cool? Guess what? I made stuff! Ok, really only one thing, but it's the first thing I've ever crocheted, so I'm excited about it. (Even if I did make lots of comments on how I felt like an old lady while I was making it.) I made this hat a couple days ago and so far I love it. My fingers took a little time recovering from their misshapen claws but I think they're good now. :)

things that have made me happy and or laugh this week...

 Me: "..trying to see what that thing is in the basket. It looks like lace."

Logan: "What thing?"

Me: "That black thing"

Logan: "That garbage bag?"

Me: "......................Oh.......
.....I'm not very good at seeing ;( "

Logan: "It's a very expensive garbage bag..."

Me: "...Thanks."

sigh. I don't think that makes up for me thinking a garbage bag looks like lace. I need new eyes.

I got a new app for my phone that has cool lenses you can play with, like a double lens or a pinhole lens. it's super fun.

there is a place to eat here called the pie hole that has skateboard benches and graffiti walls. it's really cool

this is logan eating his potato pizza...yes...pizza with potato slices on it

The other day I noticed it was very quiet in the next room. I walked in and found Logan asleep cuddling with his guitar...

We were looking through Christmas stuff at the store yesterday when we came across this amazing hat:

"this is my winter song to you..."

i am in love with this video.

Because I love you...

Times Like These Acoustic by Foo Fighters

1. you can do something nice, feel good about it, and keep it to yourself. OR you can do something nice and tell everyone you cross paths with about it and keep feeling good about it all day!

2. putting extra letters on the end of your words ("omggg...heyyyy!", "longg storyy. Nighttt.") is never acceptable. pay attention to the letters you are drawling out here! would you really say oh my g- g- gosh? unless you have a stutter, i certainly hope not. 

3. people say ‘look at the bigger picture’, but they also say ‘life is in the details’. well make up your  mind! personally, I look at both. But i mainly get caught up in the details.

4. a dirty fork in your car? Really? forgotten by you, and just laying around for weeks? what the heck man! That’s freaking gross. Male or female. Gross!

5. people on facebook with no actual photos of themselves are creepy. Avoid them at all costs.
also, always use your best photo as your default pic!  this goes for facebook, myspace, twitter, wherever the phrase ‘default pic’ applies! thats not to say you can't have a crazy/funny picture as your default. it IS to say you should not have a picture where you look embarrassingly spastic.

6. just because someone asks you to hang out doesn’t mean you have to. It’s TOTALLY OK to say no! Really know that! 'cause it took me a while to figure this out/get used to it- I always felt obligated and too shy to say no.

and now for a little advice from diddy: 

"Lost in oblivion -- dark and silent and complete. I found freedom."

sometimes I have an inexplicable desire to get in my car and just drive away. 
sometimes I think, if there were a subway nearby or a train, I would get on it and go all the way to the back, and just ride. 
I would put on my headphones and watch the people around me as they all became part of my own movie, set to the music I love. 
My personal soundtrack for my life. 
As I watched the world pass by out dirty windows, I would find myself smirking at strange laughs
and I'd turn to smile at young children as they hid their shy faces into their parent's shoulders. 
I'd be the dark headed girl alone in the back. I won't talk to anyone.
But I'll think about talking to them. 
My hair will need washed and I will notice people second glancing my way in wonder, but
I won't care...
because for the moment i've let go; i've completely let go.
I will smile.
but then others will worry,
"what is this strange creature doing in kansas, eating a day old danish, on a cross country train? she should be in utah."
AHHHHH...UTAH.
it's time to leave again, for now. just to glimpse the outside places I love so much and long to explore.
Maybe in my dreams tonight I will go to Hawaii. 
I'll smile at the sea turtles in the ocean, and the palm trees will sway as if they are waving to me. 
I will turn my face toward the sun, and forget I know what 'cold' feels like,
and all will be right in the world again. 

seriously.

The more time goes on, the less I trust things.

"Said, It's cold in this town, and there's snow on the ground...Far from home"

So it sounds like quite a few people are let down with the news that a blizzard was hitting today. I for one, am anything but let down. I checked the weather channel before I left Pocatello today to find this warning:
A BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM MST THIS EVENING.  *
SUSTAINED WINDS AT 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH WILL
DEVELOP TODAY AND CONTINUE INTO THE EARLY EVENING. AREAS OF ZERO
VISIBILITIES ARE EXPECTED TODAY DUE TO SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW.  *
LOCATIONS INCLUDE...BURLEY...RUPERT...SHOSHONE...CAREY... IDAHO
FALLS...REXBURG...RIGBY...POCATELLO...BLACKFOOT...MASSACRE ROCKS.  
.LIFE THREATENING CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR THROUGH
TUESDAY. WHITEOUT CONDITIONS WILL DISORIENT TRAVELERS OR THOSE
STEPPING A SHORT WAY FROM WARM AND DRY SHELTER. POWER OUTAGES MAY ALSO
OCCUR.  PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...  A BLIZZARD WARNING
MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING.
FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE
LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT CONDITIONS...MAKING TRAVEL
EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL...HAVE A WINTER
SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET STRANDED...STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE. 

yeeeahh...I gotta tell ya...I didn't think it would be that bad. I know, I know, "life threatening conditions".  I hate snow, and I hate driving in snow, but I thought I could handle it. 

So, around 3pm today I set out to Utah for Thanksgiving with my family.

Let me just say this: It was definitely a blizzard. and not worth leaving today.

I thought I was going to die. Everything was slick and cars were sliding all over the road, but I thought I'd be okay until about the time I reached Malad, and I could no longer see out of any of my windows, or see the road. It was snowing so hard I couldn't even pull over because I couldn't tell where the side of the road was. One time I thought I was driving in the middle of the road until my tires hit the bumps on the side. Uh...yeah. I was pretty much blindly following these two tail lights in front of me until they suddenly disappeared...and then I was alone.

In complete whiteness. 

And then I stopped laughing at the craziness of it all and I started to cry.

I listened to a mix CD on my drive.

I almost slid off the road.

all i could think of was if i died in a car wreck would coheed and cambria still be playing on my radio?

when the cops pulled my body out of the car, this would be the background music to my death. 

 Does anyone else think about these things?

I drove for 6 hours instead of 4, but I made it. All the way through knee-deep snow up to my parent's door. Apparently I was traveling right alongside of the storm. Guess I planned that perfectly so we could be BFFs. yay.

I'm ready for the beach.

me and my brother when we were little. we're awesome.   :)

"I wanna hear you laugh like you really mean it. Collapse into me tired with joy"

This weekend I drove down to Logan to play with little Carly and Isaac. Melinda and Rebecca came up too, and we all got to hang out.

I took some family pictures for Curtis and Savannah, and their little ones were so much fun.

Later on, we went to a fun center thing with bowling and skating and a soft playground, and some arcade games. Carly was super excited the whole time, which is really funny to watch because she jumps up and down and claps and throws her hands into the air when she's really excited.

curtis and isaac

savannah and carly

my favorite isaac face

curtis and savannah

saddest

savannah and isaac

I love those little kiddos.

"dance, dance"

i really love this guy. i want to go travel around the world so bad, and seeing this made that desire ten times stronger.

"nothing gold can stay"

this morning Logan came in with his hands cupped together and said "i brought you sooomething!" not having my glasses on yet, i looked over and saw something big and white in his hands. for seconds my hopes were lifted with thoughts of a giant marshmallow. then, as he drew closer, the realization settled in. all hope was dashed. snow. i glared at him and told him i was hibernating. what a disappointment.

"these people are cra-zy!" - GloZell

Who here doesn't love delicious chicken nuggets? That's what I thought. Who here doesn't love delicious honey? I know, right? Chicken nuggets dipped in honey are delightful. They go together like...Mario and Luigi. For some reason, fast food places seem to have overlooked my need for honey dipping sauce with my nuggets. Not only that, but they keep offering me Honey Mustard in its place! Honey mustard! Here are two examples of how the common exchange goes now:

Example 1:
Would you like any dipping sauce?
“Yes. Honey, please.” 
I’m sorry. We don’t carry honey anymore.
“What? You don’t carry it anymore?” 
Yeah. We stopped carrying it. We have honey mustard.."
“No, not honey mustard! Just don’t give me any sauce.”

Example 2:

Would you like any dipping sauce for the nuggets?
“Honey, please.”
Um, honey? We, uh, have honey mustard…
ugh.

What is that about?! As if honey mustard tastes even remotely similar to honey. Do you ever even use those two things for the same purpose?   "oh great, honey mustard? give me that. i was hoping for a peanut butter and honey mustard sandwich for lunch." gross. Every time they offer it, it drives me crazy! One of these times, pretty soon, this is going to be me:

Heaven help those employees then.

Me: Well these mini Oreos are no fun. I can't eat the good stuff in the middle.
Logan: Yes you can!

Me: As if, there's nothing there...
Logan: Yes huh. Come on, you're a girl, you're supposed to say 'oh look, it's 
cute!'
Me: "oh look, I want more good stuff in the middle!!"

"you've got a friend in me..."

Happy Halloween!
We had our family party with a toy theme this year, I'll try and get a group shot from someone who got one. In the meantime, here are a few. mostly of my super cute nephews and niece...

carly and isaac. bo peep's sheep

Nathan the penguin

nintendo controller and gameboy tetris

bo peep and her sheep

I stole bo peep's sheep!

little bo peep and woody

Melinda-in-the-box, NES controller, and Strawberry Shortcake

I hope everyone had a super fun holiday!