Road Trippin to Utah

This past weekend I decided to invite myself to go on a road trip to Salt Lake City/Provo/Midway, Utah with my roommate Christine and her boyfriend Paul. They were going up for conference and meeting up with family and I was going up to see my friends Tori, Jeff, and Wil. We didn't leave until about 3 pm on Friday, therefore we arrived at midnight in Salt Lake City. Let's just say I was beyond tired! I drove the entire way from Flagstaff to Provo, where we had to stop and pick up Christine and Paul's conference tickets, and then Paul hijacked my car and drove to Taylorsville to drop him off at his sisters house. I did not appreciate his driving so late at night and being extremely exhausted, nor did I even ask him to drive, he just did. Anyways me and Christine made it to her sister's house in Salt Lake to sleep. The next morning I drove back down to Provo to spend time with Wil in the afternoon. I bought him and me In N Out Burger for lunch and ate at his apartment while watching the second Saturday session of conference. Afterwards I met Tori and Jeff at their apartment, Tori and I ended up going to Sally's bridal shower, which was fun. It was really great to see Sally after like 3 or 4 years I think. So Jeff's family came up for conference as well and we all stayed at their house in Midway, so me and Tori made our way up there after the bridal shower. It was so fun catching up with Tori, I have not seen her in a really long time and she has a sweet 6 week old baby girl that I got to see! I just realized I didn't get any pictures with her, Jeff, or their baby! Oh well! Ashlee drove up with the Wade's as well, so when I got to Midway she was at the house and was so much fun hanging out with her up there! Me, her, Margaret, and Hilaree ended up driving back to Provo to hang out with Wil and his friends. We went to this 50's style diner place and got milkshakes. We then had to drive back to Midway at about 2 in the morning and slept in a room that had this terrifying window that Ashlee and I coined the Rape Window. The next morning I listened to the morning session of conference, well the last hour, we slept through the first hour. Then I headed back to Salt Lake to pick up Christine and Paul to make our way back to Flagstaff. We left about 2:30 Utah time and made it back at 10 PM Arizona time. The only thing is my ipod completely died after the 8 hours there and we had to listen to Christine's Cd's which consisted of Billy Joel, Mix she had made for Paul, Whitney Houston techno style, and Celine Dion songs from 3 different albums. It was a long drive home! Needless to say I am exhausted!

I didn't take too many pictures but here are some from the trip:

Here is the infamous "Rape Window" right next to me and Ashlee's bed. Terrifying.

This was a tiny room in the house in Midway. Alice in Wonderland Status.

Hilaree taking pictures of us unawares at the diner.

Wil abusing me!

Me, Wil, and Ashlee at the diner!

Here are a few things I learned about Road Trippin to Utah:

1. Utah drivers are the WORST kind of drivers, I am sorry to California drivers for ever saying you were terrible, you're not.

2. The drive to Utah and back is awful and should never be done in this small amount of time. I am never doing this again.

3. Utah is mormonville and somewhat overwhelming.

4. Utah is extremely lacking in street lights of any kind. Let's just say driving at night feels like driving into the abyss.

5. Paul talks A LOT when he is tired and I do not appreciate it!

6. Paul is too practical for his own good. I started calling him Practical Paul on the way home. He brought a 72 hour kit, a car top carrier, and boots in case we broke down and he had to walk to find help.

7. Celine Dion is so powerful and speaks to your soul! Especially when you are lacking sleep and somewhat delirious.

8. I am probably the one person in the world who made a trip to Utah and did not even attempt to actually go to Conference.

9. I could never live in Utah, I kind of already knew this one but it was reaffirmed by this trip

10. Arizona is better than Utah. Fact.

Exciting News!

I didn't want to mention anything just in case I didn't actually get it but.....

I got into the Disney College Program!!!

I am so excited!

For those of you that don't know what the Disney College Program is, I can explain. It is this amazing opportunity to do an internship at either Disney world or Disneyland for 5 to 8 months, I am doing the 5 month option in Disney World. You can be placed in various different positions based on what you put down in your application and I am really lucky because the job I got is relevant to my major and I will be graduating in May! I am going to be a housekeeping cast member at one of the hotels or resorts. January 11th is my start date and I could not be more excited! I know my whole family is already planning their trip to Orlando!

My Summer of 2011

Well it's been awhile but I am back! Well my "last" summer came and went and it wasn't as great as I thought it might be, there were no random road trips, barely time for friends, and working my butt off like there was no tomorrow. I was fortunate enough that my oldest brother took pity on me and gave me a job this summer. It was pretty easy work but then add the sun and heat and getting in and out of hot cars all day made it extremely hard work. I was also very fortunate that the CPA I worked for last year wanted me to come work for her for 2 months out of the summer!

Anyways something really sad and devastating happened at the Finn house this summer, our beloved dog Jack had to be put down due to old age and health issues. He was the best dog and was there for my formative years so I was extremely upset but knew it was the best thing to do for him. I will miss this dog every day for the rest of my life! He was so special to our family and such a big part of it, he was so protective of his family and territory. I just love this dog so much and am so sad that he had to pass away but he lived a great 12 and half years and will be missed! We still have our two girls Jasmine (10) and Jadey (6) and love them too! They are both doing really well!

On a happier note my brother Danny got married this past July in Boise, Idaho. The whole Finn gang made it up for the special day and just to let you know there is a little bit of picture overload so sorry for that.

Everyone was there on the Thursday before the wedding, some people got their a couple days earlier but the wedding activities started Thursday with my mother offering to help bake cakes at Megan's mothers house. Which we didn't realize was her house at first and my mom thought it was adorable and had to have a picture of it! haha We then had a BBQ at Megan's dad's house in Mountain Home, Idaho. His house was cute too and they have cats, dogs, and horses so they have a huge backyard and front yard for that matter, so all the kids LOVED it!

Roman, Ava, and Lilly drove this thing around the house a million times!

Megan with her dogs and friends puppy which....

Lilly proceeded to attach herself too!

The next night was a meet and greet at this bar/restaurant in downtown Boise with hors d'oeuvres and drinks. So we stayed and chatted with some people and a few of Danny's really good friends were able to make it for this activity and the wedding, which was great!

Saturday was the day of the wedding and it was at this ski resort outside of Boise called Bogus Basin Ski Resort. The drive up the mountain to this location was terrifying and made 3 girls including myself carsick, it was not a fun ride up there!

This altar was handmade and Megan, her mother, sister in laws and friends helped put together all the flower arrangements.

All the Finn girls (except Megan), I just realized we didn't take a picture of all the boys haha

Ryan's family! Aren't their kids the cutest!

The Newlyweds!

Chris's beautiful family!

The Wedding Party. Chris (Best Man), Megan (Bride, obviously), Dan (Groom), and Candace (Maid of Honor)

The couples first dance! My brother actually looked pretty good out there...apparently Megan made him practice! ha

Lilly LOVES her cousin Maggie and is always wanting to hold her!

Check it my parents went out and danced! My dad's new hip is working excellently!

The amazing cakes that Megan's sister in law Julie made...ALL of them!

So the wedding was fun and I am so happy for Danny and Megan, they are such a perfect fit! We were all able to go to San Diego over labor day weekend for the first San Diego State University game and it was so much fun getting to see their house all done up and made a home! And too see their four "kids", they have 2 dogs and 2 cats.

Anyways that is how my summer was and I am actually going on quite a few trips this semester so I am sure I will be blogging a little more frequently than every 4 months! Hope everyone had a great summer!

The Last Summer

My summer doesn't officially start until June 3rd because I have to take a summer school class immediately after this week. This is my last summer to be a irresponsible adult if you will. Next summer I should be a college graduate and looking for a "real" job. So I want this summer to be extremely fun, random, and crazy! I decided to go home for the summer instead of staying here in Flagstaff. While the weather might be better here, my friends and family are in the valley and I would rather spend time with them during my last summer of freedom in the boiling heat! One really exciting thing happening this summer is this couple right here is getting hitched!

That's my brother Danny and his fiancé Megan!

And they are getting married at Bogus Basin in Boise, Idaho! Where I have never been before!

That is basically the only trip I have planned but maybe a random road trip will happen or something! I want this to be a really good summer, so hopefully me and my peeps can make that happen!

The Royal Wedding

I was pretty excited about this event! At first I didn't really understand all the hype around it like many people my age but as it got closer and my mom was talking to me I realized I was watching a piece of history unfold before my eyes and how could I not partake? First of all Prince William and now Princess Catherine are the cutest couple ever! You can really tell they are in love and connected which is really refreshing to see in royalty!

Their engagement photo is so adorable and just you can see the loving glow they both have!

Their were England's most famous celebrities from Elton John to the Beckhams! Apparently William and Kate are actually good friends with the Beckhams and Elton John was a good friend of Princess Diana's

The Rolls Royce Kate and her dad drove in was a pretty sweet car! Different from Princess Diana she arrived in a car instead of a carriage because she wasn't royalty quite yet. She looks stunning and so happy!

Princess Catherine and her sister Pippa entering the church! Her dress was beyond perfect! It was so understated and elegant and just gorgeous! I absolutely loved it! And I loved the anticipation to seeing it because it was kept a huge secret!

Isn't the Queen absolutely adorable? No wonder England just loves her!

Prince William and Prince Harry arriving at Westminster Abbey. I absolutely loved that he was in red! It just was so regal! He looks so happy!

Wouldn't this be quite the venue for your wedding? It is breathtaking!

Prince William apparently said to Kate's father "I thought we were going to have a small family affair." Adorable!

After they are officially married! Kate Middleton is officially Princess Catherine! They both looked so beautiful and regal! It was so refreshing to watch such a joyous occasion!

They were so gracious about waving to the massive crowds surrounding the church and the palace!

I loved, loved, loved that they kissed twice! It was my favorite!

This was such a cool moment! It was such a normal thing to do! And they only had one security car behind them! I loved that Prince William was driving and the license plate said Ju5t Wed! It was so cute!

The new and improved Royal Family!

Prince William and Princess Catherine off to their honeymoon!

I just loved watching this beautiful ceremony! Like I said earlier it was so refreshing to watch just a great and beautiful day! Even though PDA between royalty doesn't happen, they stole glances throughout the entire ceremony, held hands in the carriage, and kissed twice on the balcony! You could really see their love for each other and it was such a beautiful historic moment to witness! Did you watch the Royal Wedding? What did you think?

Home

This past weekend was just lovely! I went home to Mesa for Easter, this was the first time in years where all of my siblings would be home for Easter! It doesn't happen often and it was so nice this year to have everybody home! I spent most of my time with family and a bit with a few close friends. One thing I have been really struggling with here in Flagstaff is finding a job, I have applied to many places but nothing seems to be working out. So I have been thinking what am I going to do this summer? I can't just sit around here in Flagstaff all summer doing nothing, I just kept having this thought maybe I should just go home for the 3 months of summer. Then I would have this other thought that I need to stay here but really I don't there is nothing keeping me here, most of my family lives in the valley, and I realized I really miss being near them. Being here in Flagstaff is almost worse than when I was in Italy, because I am so close that I can just come home but yet far enough away where I am missing out on things that I wish I wasn't. And Italy was just more of an exciting place than Flagstaff, let's be honest. I haven't completely made my decision yet on what to do but I am heavily leaning towards spending my summer in hot boiling Mesa that I love!

Also I miss these five people so much it hurts!

Spring Break 2011

Well this past week was my Spring Break and it was so nice to have a break from school and be home with people who I love and have missed! The first weekend was a mix of family and friends, my niece Ava turned 6 so I went to her birthday party on Saturday after taking her older brother Morgan to his karate belt testing! Then Monday and Tuesday I made "me" days I got a facial, a massage, a pedicure and got my hair done! It was so nice and relaxing! Wednesday my sisters and I along with my sister Krista her 3 kids and her friend Adrian with her 2 girls headed to San Diego! It took us forever to get there because we had to keep stopping for potty breaks and food breaks, we finally got there around 3 and headed to the beach! The water was still freezing but it was so nice to be on the beach and not stuck in the snowy mountains! That night we met up with my brother Danny who has just moved to San Diego and we got to see his new crib! I didn't take any pictures of it but I should have, it literally looked and felt like a tree house to me at the top of hill overlooking the city! The next day was Sea World all day! Which I realized I didn't take very many pictures there but I have been there a million times! Danny's fiance Megan was able to join us, Danny unfortunately had to work. All the shows were great as usual and the kids just loved it! The dolphin show was a little artsy and focused a little too much on the acrobatic people instead of the dolphins and the shamu show is still impressive but the trainers no longer get in the water with the animals. Friday we went to the San Diego Zoo and I haven't been here since I was really little, I had forgotten how big the zoo was! It's huge! All the animals exhibits are really well designed and crafted and the animals are so much closer and active than they are at the Phoenix Zoo. Saturday we came home and I had to turn around and come back to Flagstaff this morning, and it's snowing and has been all day and makes me want to move to San Diego where the beach is! So the pictures might be a little animal overload but I was just so impressed with the zoo!

Adrian and Krista's girls on the beach

Everyone near the shore but me!

Polar Bears at Sea World

Cute cute Koala bears

Gorgeous Giraffes

These two are brothers, how sweet is that?

This bear was just chilling in his tree

Pandas! There was a long line just to look at these guys!

Mama and her baby! She kept shoving the baby off her! It was awesome!

Jaguar! He was beautiful!

Weirdest looking Camel ever!

It was a great week and I wish I had another week to recover from my vacation! There were many more cool animals at this zoo, so if you are ever in San Diego definitely stop by the zoo!