An Ode to 2013

2013 brought a lot of change to my life. I think more happened to me this year than in my whole lifetime. I hate those cheesy sappy wrap ups of a year in a blog post. Maybe because I hate anything serious, I am one of those people where I can't keep any conversation serious because once it hits a deep emotion telling note I get awkward and make a funny joke or sarcasm takes its toll. But I really wanted to express how grateful I am to 2013.

My gratitude is towards all the horrible things that happened this year. Being grateful for bad things? Yeah I know now I am sounding like a nut case. But all the bad was brought for a reason and made me become someone I needed to be.  My theory is that you can feel bad for yourself all you want, and sure people will feel bad for you at first but then they forget and you are on your own, and when that time comes, that is when you make the choice. You can choose to let it consume you and continue on with self pity, or you can realize that this trial is given to you for a reason and you can learn from it. When my parents got divorced this year, at first all I wanted was pity. Not only was divorce thrown at me but secrets, lies and deceptions. How was this fair, how was I supposed to just get up and go like nothing happened. My heart was broken my life was changed, and I am supposed to just move on? Just sitting in the corner of my bed filled with self pity and streaming tears seemed to me, to be the best solution. But when it wasn't helping, that was when I made the choice. From this trial, I gained a true testimony of the gospel. No one and nothing was making me feel better, I would run, watch movies, eat, don't eat, talk to friends, avoid my parents, nothing worked. Once I turned my faith towards Heavenly Father everything started to change. And I sincerely mean that.

I would always hear of these stories where people would say they prayed about it, and God really helped. For some reason I had a hard time believing that the biggest solution through a trial was Heavenly father, like I thought they were just being dramatic, and I thought sure praying helped but I am sure time just healed. But after I put full faith into the situation I realized that he did help. There is a change in heart, a change in the type of happiness and joy you feel when you let the gospel in your life. I promise you will never understand it, until you try it, and I mean fully trying it with full effort and faith in your heart. So I did, and my life changed for the better.

While the divorce and other things went down, my testimony grew stronger and so did I. Though my family life was falling apart, the rest of my life seemed to start getting pieced together. I gained a best friend, or more like a twin considering she is my other half. She understood everything I was going through and was put in my life for a purpose. I was able to go on a spring break trip with the most aspiring people, it was like the knew how to make you forget anything bad in your life. I had not only amazing roommates my spring semester, but this fall semester my roommates are my family, I don't know who I would be without them. I had the best summer, one for the books. And I was finally able to sorta let a guy into my life, still working on that but hey it was a start. My life really was bringing me so much joy. The trial I was going through started to seem like a little spec in the grand scheme of things. And sure sometimes it still bites me in the butt but I am able to push through it.

This wasn't meant to spill out my feelings and turn into some testimony. But I just want to say that we all have control over our lives. Things will hit us and hit us hard, but I, I have 100% control on how I feel and how I am going to react. No one else can control that. So I am grateful, For the most amazing year filled with the most amazing people, and the most amazing experiences. I would say it was the best year I have ever lived yet. And so I leave a big fat HAH! to the trials that hit me, because you ain't got nothin on me.

Gum Wall

Last Post of Seattle I promise. I had so many photos to post from the trip and didn't want to overwhelm people with posting all of them in one blog post. We visited the famous gum wall twice because we were rushed the first time, my dad wasn't a big fan. It is so fun to walk up the street looking at how much nasty bacteria filled those walls but its funny how memorizing and eye catching it is. Who would think that a gum could make such a beautiful thing. What I think is so special about it is that, the gum is from people all over the world. Each little piece of gum came from a person who has a story. I wished that I could sit there all day and interview each person who stuck a piece of gum on that wall. It would be fun to read the stories of people who left a little piece, figure out who each is, some may think they have a boring life, but everyone tends to have some dark, adventurous, love story, its just all about the way you tell it. I sometimes do that. Just sit and think of the most random things, my mind is full of tangents and I love those tangents. And I love it when random things make me think, things like this gum wall. Well anyways... Seattle was great. If you haven't been there make it a priority go!

A Hike To the Falls

Although downtown Seattle has a lot to offer, there is a whole lot more to explore in the Washington mountains. We went and visited the falls... sadly I forgot the name of them, I swear I have the memory of a 90 year old women. But it honestly was so fun. I love that we went up to Seattle with my large family. I have so many cousins, though the closest to my age is 11, and they are always going crazy doing something fun. We walked through the woods, the trees are so breath taking, and we hung down by the river for some time. It is special to experience beautiful places like this with your family. Although my cousins are young, I like to get down to their level and just play around, it really helps me from getting so focused on growing up and being adult, and remember that I still can be a kid. I would say I am a city girl, but every time I go into the woods I never want to come out. I wish I could bundle the smells into a little jar and smell it all the time. Maybe I should pull a Huck Finn and live on the river for some time.

Also I made a little video of our adventure:)

A Seattle Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was experienced in a whole new way in a whole new city.
Every year Thanksgiving consists of lunch at one grandmas and dinner at the others in same ole
Utah. And usually by the time dessert rolls around my pants are unbuttoned and there is no room for a single crumb of pie. We have family who have lived in Seattle our whole life. They are my dads uncle and aunt but I would consider them a third grandma and grandpa, with their kids just being my first cousins. Out of all the 20 years that I have lived my life not once did we go up to visit them. This was a big mistake. HUGE. Because I have been missing out on a whole lot of wonderfulness for 20 years of my life. This year we decided that we would go visit for Thanksgiving, and now I want to spend every Thanksgiving there. For our normal festivities I never get to partake in making the dinners or desserts, we just show up and the food is ready to be shoveled down our throats. But we went to Seattle the day before and all day of Thanksgiving consisted of lots of family bonding time and cooking. Everyone had a job, adults, teens, kids. We all sat in the kitchen for hours laughing and cooking, I have never really experienced a Thanksgiving like that, and it was so special. It made me realize how much I love my family, I would have to say the thing that heavenly father blessed me the most with, was my family. I don't think I ever stopped laughing and we grew so much closer.
A lot of our family drove up to visit, so the sitting arrangement consisted of 6 longs tables put together, it seemed to look like the table on Grinch when they are all eating at the end.  Not only was that actual Thanksgiving great, but just the whole city. Washington and Seattle is full of beauty and art around every corner. I honestly couldn't get enough. My family kept leaving me behind while I tried to get photos, which resulted in my snapping dumb shots because I was on the run as I tried to take the picture.  All the photos below are from day one.We went to eat at Iver's where the seagull weren't lacking. You put a fry up in the air and ten came swarming, there were a few times that I thought a hand or a finger might have been lost.  And don't get me started on Pike's Market Place.... beautiful wonderful things come from that place. I could spend hours there either people watching, eating, or observing all the street performers.