deuces.

instead of looking back i've decided to look forward.
22 goals on my 22 birthday

[1] fly a kite
[2] get my mba
[3] never stop reading
[4] visit australia
[5] learn a language
[6] get married in the temple
[7] vacation in a hut on the ocean
[8] be the best mom in the world
[9] never stop meeting new people
[10] live in a big city
[11] laugh till i cry [at least once a week]
[12] skydive
[13] always write thank you notes
[14] take more pictures
[15] never forget to pray
[16] stay healthy
[17] drive with the windows down
[18] tell people i love them
[19] put glitter on everything
[20] always put myself last
[21] take a spontaneous vacation to anywhere
[22] learn to cook and love it

ps. thanks for all the birthday wishes. so blessed.

foreveryoung.

east.er.

ducks. eggs. candy. birthday cake. family.

the best.

[having 89 photos in the last few posts is largely due to this gem of a sister and her mad camera skills. embrace it]

socool.

toomany pictures.

it happened.

i graduated.

whatttt?

biebs.

this guy. was at the party.

thanks to j.cheesman

what a guy.

surprise!

i finished my last college finals on wednesday.

what a day.

after spending the afternoon at yogurtland and shopping at nordstrom with my two best friends [jake and jess] i went to my parents house to figure out what dress i was going to wear for graduation.

there were lots of balloons on our porch, and cars everywhere-i rolled my eyes, convinced my mom over-did it with young women's again...

little did i know all of my best friends and family had taken time out of their busy schedules to help celebrate my graduation and birthday!

what a day.

and my sneaky sister (who i had g.chatted with that morning telling me she was working on a paper and was actually IN orem, IN my parents house) surprised me by flying in from DC!

what a day.

i spent the whole night feeling so blessed and so grateful by all the people surrounding me with love. i couldn't have asked for anything more.

during a crazy hard time, never in my life have i felt so much love.

what a life.

thank you to everyone and anyone who made this happen.

endings.

i feel like after this year i really understand the proverb

"all good things must come to an end"

i have been involved in so many good things,
especially this last year
[london. gmsa. violin. musa. research assisting. family vacas. byu. words with friends. marketing specialist. old academy. grad school appl. grandpa. new friends. library. twitter.]

but ive watched as many of those things have ended.
and i know that many more are going to end. very soon.
whether i'm ready or not.
so here's to new beginnings. and to the unknown.

new town.
new job.
new lifestyle.

new boys.
new school.
new friends.
new scene.
new life.

grateful for the past. ready for the future.

slowly

new favorite song.

dear you. please never stop.

should be studying hard for finals.

instead i can't stop reading these

Dear Walmart,

Please stop teasing me with 20 checkout lanes.

Sincerely, I only see two cashiers.

Dear Alcatraz,

Whenever I hear your name I think of Azkaban.

Sincerely, I know I'm not the only one.

Dear tourists,

Is it really necessary to go to the top of a building, put money into telescopes, and look at things on the ground close up?

Sincerely, just wondering.

Dear person wearing a windbreaker jacket,

STOP FIDGETING!

Sincerely, sitting next to you and going insane.

Dear Mario,

Bowser has a castle. You're a plumber. Stop trying to "save" me.

Sincerely, Peach.

Dear Canada,

By putting a hockey player on your currency, you're only increasing the stereotype.
Sincerely, tourist.

Dear people from 50+ years ago,
Awkward silences without pretending to text? Doing homework without Wikipedia? Getting to know someone without social networks?
Sincerely, mad props.

so funny.

fetching.

2 weeks from 2day
i will be
22

in honor of the next year of my life, i will forever do double peace signs in all my pictures

people might start mistaking me for an asian.
i'll embrace it.

birthday hats.

it seems like everyone is having a birthday these days.
look at this little princess- isn't she adorable?

addie.

she's just the smartest little thing.
and now she's a 3-year-old.

jon tries really hard to be her favorite uncle.
and you can tell by her face that its totally working, right?

ps. let it be known there were two cameras going at once..
i'm not completely retarded.
pps. missing my long hair.

comespring.

"It does not matter the circumstances, trials, or challenges that might surround us; an understanding of the doctrine of Christ and His Atonement will be the source of our strength and peace—yes, brothers and sisters, that internal tranquility that is born of the Spirit and which the Lord gives to His faithful Saints. He nourishes us, saying: “Peace I leave with you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”

"Even though our understanding of the gospel may not be as deep as is our testimony of its truth, if we place our confidence in the Lord, we will be sustained in all of our difficulties, our trials, and our afflictions. This promise from the Lord to His Saints does not imply that we will be exempt from sufferings or trials but that we will be sustained through them and that we will know that it is the Lord who has sustained us."

-elder benjamin de hoyos

sure

some take senior pictures in high school.
and some of us do it again 4 years later.
go ahead, judge.

needsleep.

"even though life is full of sadness, devastation and heartbreak

there is always hope

hope is a very dangerous thing to lose."

here's to the worlds greatest

todays the day.

big six-oh

i've said it 100 times before, but i'll say it again.

my dad is my hero.

he loves everyone and everyone loves him.

happy birthday.

i love you more than anything.

the baby.

yesterday i was telling stories of my dad.
how he always writes in a journal,
how he always knows the weather.
how most of what he writes in his journal is the weather.

my dad was my alarm clock every day growing up. i remember in high school when i'd have to get up at 5 for cheer, he was my only chance at making it on time. i remember whenever he was gone when i went to bed, i would put a little index card on his pillow telling him what time i needed to be up.
he was my personal wake up call.

i remember when he would drive me to violin before the sun was up and we would memorize all of the creedence clearwater revival songs. i remember when he took us to their concert and it was pouring rain, but we covered up in trash bags and sang along anyways. and i remember when he danced on the front row at the backstreet boys concert.

i remember walking on his back every night. i remember watching him take care of his parents. i remember all his jokes. i remember daddy's eggs, daddy's salsa, and daddy's garden. i remember europe, thailand, japan, costa rica, hawaii, and everywhere else. i remember seeing him at all my dance recitals, violin concerts, cheer competitions, and school assemblies. i remember watching him with his patients, watching him at church, watching him do the dishes, and watching him with all the robinson babies.

i remember all the big things (and there have been millions)
but i also remember all the small things.

my dad is my best friend and always will be.
i love him more than anything because i know he loves me more than anything.
he's turning 60 next week, and i can honestly say
i do not know any one else in the world as selfless, as caring, and as amazing as my dad.

thanks for every. single. thing.

champ.

last night i had some creep knock on my window at 1 in the morning and i almost died i was so scared.
so what did i do?
i ran as fast as i could to tswifts room and cuddled up watching youtube videos.
this was my favorite, i made her play it over and over.
honestly hilarious-
this guy is a champ. and he made my day.

o yeah.

this weekend.

short hair happened.

this girl.

today, 4/2 sweet annie turned 22.

she got to spend her day with her soon-to-be hubby,

but yesterday

i was lucky enough to spend the afternoon with her.

as usual we laughed the entire time

drank way too much d.dpepper and d.coke

put makeup on for an hour

fantasized about sparkly earrings

and i told her all my

secrets.

this is the girl everyone would want for a best friend.

but i'm the girl lucky enough to have her.

thanks a.

thanks for being born on this special day.

and thanks for making my life so much better.

jcrew knew.

do we see this?

if only i had pictures to document how the whole shirt-around the-waist thing never left my closet.

particularly at disneyland.

the gym.

the swiss alps.

...or orem. [go ahead, judge me]

that's right..so fashionable.