America is Pretty Cool Too, I Guess

Apparently I haven't posted in about two years. It is crazy how time flies. So much has changed in my life, yet I don't think I've changed much at all. Probably the biggest change for me personally was that I graduated from college in May 2017. It hasn't really hit me yet. It'll probably hit when everyone goes back later this month or has homework to do and I don't. Going to school has been my life for the last 18 years or so. It's definitely strange to be done. I might go back for my MBA but I'm not even going to think about it for a while. I went through the temple and got my endowments out on August 3, 2016. It was an amazing experience and I'm so grateful I did it. I also moved out last year. I live about two minutes away from my parents but it still counts. I live with my best friend Amanda and another awesome girl Danielle who has become a great friend as well. Moving out has helped me become more independent and really help me discover who I am. Plus I have a killer closet so that's cool.

In the meantime, my family has gone through a lot of changes. My sister Jessica has two kids - an almost two year old named Darcy Rae (named after me, suck it Amanda!) and a four month old named Arden James (we call him AJ for short). They are super cute. My other sister Alex married a man named Johan who has two kids, Kaiya and Kyson. Al is also pregnant with a baby girl, she is due in September. So I will have five nieces and nephews within two years, which is pretty awesome. My brothers CJ and Wes returned home from their LDS missions. They always keep things fun. My parents are still the same wonderful people who I appreciate more and more every day. Family is everything.

So in the last couple of years, I've traveled a lot in the United States. It's funny, I've traveled to more places out of the country than I have in the States. But I've discovered America is pretty cool too. In March of 2016, before my sister got married and started having kids and crap, my parents took us to Florida to visit Disney World and Universal Studios. As you know, Disney holds a special place in my heart and I will always love it. It was fun to visit another Disney park and see the similarities and differences. Dad ate an excessive amount of tiramisu from the Lady and the Tramp Tony's restaurant. I really liked the Aninal Kingdom, the Everest ride is the freaking best! The Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Mine ride was super cute.

Universal Studios was awesome - if I could live in Harry Potter world and drink Butterbeer all day, I would. We went to Ollivander's for the wand choosing ceremony. Since there was no children in our group and I was standing in the front row with a huge smile on my face, wide eyes, and practically bouncing up and down, naturally they picked me. It was a dream come true. After trying a few different wands, I found the perfect one. And by perfect, I mean there was a gust of wind, a light shining down on me, and the sweet sounds of John Williams music serenading me. I geeked out very hard in that moment. The wand that chose me is a 13 1/8 inch ivy wood wand with unicorn hair, strong and resilient. Al and I ran around performing spells, riding the Hogwarts Express, and drinking Butterbeer while Mom and Dad just followed us, laughing at how ridiculous we are. I spent way too much money on Extendable Ears, Howlers, Chocolate Frogs, and Hufflepuff garb (we are particularly good finders!) but it was totally worth it. The Dr. Suess land in Universal Studios is also super cute.

In November, my crazy sister Al decided to elope with Johan in Las Vegas. I've driven through Vegas a million times on the way to Disneyland but I haven't stayed there and gone down the Strip for a long time. They did the whole Vegas elope thing with Elvis marrying them in front of the Bellagio fountains. It was hilarious and one of the strangest things we've ever done but it's a cool story. People walking down the Strip kept stopping and taking pictures of us. We took Bree, an eleven year old girl who has been part of the family since she was six months old, with us which probably wasn't the best idea. My mom was walking down the Strip covering CJ and Bree's eyes to shelter them from the pasties. Vegas isn't my favorite place but it was a fun weekend trip.

Because my sister can't just be a normal person and get married down the street, we also went to Cancun, Mexico so she could have her beach wedding. Really, it was just a family vacation but Al has to make everything about her (just kidding Al... hehe). Cancun is a paradise and I was able to escape a very busy and stressful last semester of college for a week and get super sunburnt on the beach. I went parasailing for the first time and it was awesome! We also swam with some dolphins. I also discovered a new drink called Miami Vice - it's a Pina Colada and Strawberry Daquiri mixed. It's so good! Unfortunately, I discovered it 30 minutes before we left. But you better believe I downed five of those suckers before we left. And yes, Al did walk down the aisle to the same song Bella did to in Twilight. I will never let her live that one down.

Because I have the best parents in the world, my next trip was in May of 2017. We went to New York to celebrate my graduation. It's been a lifelong dream of mine to go to New York and it definitely didn't disappoint. Traveling with my parents is very interesting. Don't get me wrong, it is very nice, especially since my mom refuses to stay in a hotel with less than four stars. But my parents like the things they like and don't really like to try new things. I mean, we ate at Applebee's. Twice. Granted, my mom does have a lot of food allergies so she has to be careful but still. We stayed in Time Square which was awesome. It reminded me a lot of Vegas. My dad is so freaking cool and took me to see Hamilton. It was absolutely amazing. We went to a Yankee game which was another dream of mine. I held a very drunk girl's beer and foam finger while she went to the bathroom. We did the Top of the Rock, got lost on our way to Little Italy, got harassed by little Chinese women in China Town, checked out Alexander Hamilton's grave at Trinity Church, did an Endowment session at the Manhattan LDS temple, went to the 9/11 Museum and Memorial, and saw the naked cowboy in Times Square. It was an awesome trip.

And last but not least, I just got back from a trip to Yellowstone with my roommates Amanda and Danielle. I went when I was really little with my family but I don't remember it at all. We left on Thursday afternoon and got back Sunday afternoon. We stayed in West Yellowstone at the Evergreen Motel. I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous about the motel. It was pretty cheap and well, it's a motel. But I was pleasantly surprised! It was actually pretty nice. We got there on Thursday night around 10:30. While we were getting stuff out of the car, a fox ran across the street with garbage in its mouth and ran into the trees. Amanda's face could not have been more priceless. She was like well I've seen all I need to see, we might as well go home now! It was hilarious. We hit up several different hot spots, drove through the beautiful forests while rocking out to Hamilton and Disney, saw Old Faithful finally go off after waiting an hour and a half (it was really anti-climatic), hammocked by the lake for a few hours (which is my new favorite thing), and stopped by the canyon and saw the falls, it was beautiful! We also saw a bear, deer, a wolf, and a few buffalo. We went to the Bear and Wolf Discovery Center and we also stopped by Bear World on the way home. It was a super fun and relaxing trip. It really was beautiful. Plus, the trip cost $240 which is a steal!

So I have discovered that America is pretty cool too. It definitely has its perks while traveling too - you don't have to pay for extra cell service, you understand the language (for the most part), and you use the same currency. It's been a fun few years and I'm so grateful for all the experiences I have had and the people I have met. I am heading to Europe again in January with my good friend and travel buddy Sam. We will be hitting up London (of course), Belgium, and the Netherlands. Stay tuned!