happy valley.

it has been 4 weeks since I returned to Utah and school begins tomorrow! weird.

it's been a pretty eventful 4 weeks though I must say. It's mainly consisted of working, packing, cleaning, and unpacking.

but i have been able to do some other fun things in between all that not-so-fun stuff.

Such as....

Reuniting with these lovely former roommates for Britt's wedding, she looked gorgeous and I am SOOOO happy for her!

Hiking Stewart Falls-

Going to get shaved ice with friends on a daily basis. So delicious.

Going to the pool a few times to get some sun time in before school and work take over my life! I went up to Alpine this day with Callie and Taylor to hang out with the Hammonds and Reeves. It was fun to spend a day with them and catch up on everyones lives!

I got together with some of my Efy team and we watched the Meteor Shower at the Park!

Went down to Spanish Fork on a Friday night to go to the Utah County Fair and watch a rodeo with these fine people! We all dressed like cowboys/girls to get more into it! Such a blast!

That Saturday, I went to Mona Lake with some more EFY friends to go on some rope swings into the lake! I wasn't as successful as the boys (as in maybe I face planted it the moment I was swinging off the tree), but it was still a lot of fun!

That night Annette, came into town on her way to Cedar City for a few hours so some friends got together and went to the Nicklecade! We took home a few prizes from all of our tickets- such a success.

And just a week ago, this cute boy went into the MTC. We have known the Nichols our whole life so it was fun to reunite with some of them and get to say bye to Parker before he was headed to the Czech for the next two years! He is so grown up, I can't even believe it.

and during the last week of summer I was a Y Group Leader for New Student Orientation! I got to see some of my Southern loves who will be freshman this year. So crazy!

So that's what I've been doing at the end of summer life. So sad it's already over.

Now onto Fall semester!

Mormon Night.

Yes, my dream came true.

Since the 1990's the Braves haven't had a Mormon Night at a game.

Well, don't worry folks- it has FINALLY come back!

And not only did I go, but I got to go with a lot of EFY friends that came into town!

It was SO fun to see some of my favorite people the day before I left!

And to top it all off, Jeff Francoeur (former Brave/boyfriend) was here playing against us. I was a little sad about this, but I love him. I was soooo happy I got to see him!

We had to show Nina all the cool things we have at our Stadium, like these coke seats-

And a bunch of us with the Atlanta Skyline-

I sure do love this field.

It was such an epic night. It was fun to see a lot of EFY friends. And not to mention- as we were up at the coke seats taking pictures, we heard some kids yell- "HEY! There's some EFY counselors!" ...only at Mormon Night would this happen! haha

It was a blast and a good way to end my time at home!

I love my braves and LOVE my awesome friends! I wish everyone was out in Provo!

home sweet home.

right after EFY ended, I got to spend 3 weeks at home! it was the shortest time I've ever been home in the summer so we made the most of it. Luckily, Callie got off work for a week and was able to be home with us for 10 days! We didn't think we'd all be together as a family the whole summer so it was a lot of fun to spend time with each other. Not to mention, it was so relaxing.

Here's what we did in those 10 days:

Lake Trip #1

Cody was gone this year for his birthday, so we celebrated his birthday a little late at the Japanese Steakhouse. So delicious.

Lake Trip #2- and we brought Becker! :)

Mom even came on the tube with us. Such a champ. (As you can see from Cody and Callie's positions, it was a rough ride.)

And of course we had to go to a Braves game! It's so fun to have a family who is as big of a fan as you are to go cheer on your team or even watch them on the t.v. with you. We love our Braves!

Lake Trip #3 on Brother Bears birthday!

We came home that night and had grilled cheese for dinner, and got Cheesecakes from Cheesecake Factory for Tay's "birthday cake" choice. SO delicious!

My cute family on Taylor's Birthday!

We drove over an hour to go tubing down the Chatahoochee River. It was quite the experience I must say. Lots of falling, lots of laughing, lots of getting stuck on rocks. But all so fun!

Everyone at church that day kept telling us that we were all matching and how cute it was! Thankfully before church, Mom changed her WHITE cardigan to a Black one. So we all weren't so matchy.

Our good friend, Phil, came home from his mission that week! It was so fun seeing him! I'm excited he'll be out at BYU! A lot of my Georgia friends were almost a year younger than me, so it's fun to have them all coming home from missions!

So as you can tell, we spent most of the time outside-we were outside 6 out of the 10 day (hitting up our neighborhood pool a few times, playing tennis, going to the lake, and going tubing). It was one of the most chill and laid back weeks I've had in such a long time!

It was a great week with my family. I really feel so blessed to have amazing parents and fantastic siblings! We all get along so great together and have so much fun! I'm counting down the days till Thanksgiving in California when we can all be together again!

The last week being home wasn't as entertaining.

Callie left that Monday, and all the boys left that Tuesday to go drive Taylor's car to Utah. So it left me, Lexie- who had cheer camp all week, and my Mom- who worked all day.

We attempted to go to the lake one more time before the boys left, but we got a pretty big thunderstorm on the way up. So instead, Taylor, Cody, Lexie, our friend Madi, and I enjoyed playing outside of my house in the rain for a little bit.

I also went with some friends to our new and improved Mini Golf place! Followed by getting some frozen yogurt at a new place that opened up by my house!

I love home. It was so nice to just relax and get to see some friends and spend lots of time with the family. Georgia is so wonderful-I love how it is green everywhere, i love the people, and i kinda love the humidity.

It's always so nice to go home for a little bit.

There is no place like home.

this is braves country.

I feel the need to dedicate an entire post to the boys I love.

The Atlanta Braves.

Because I am a HUGE fan and they deserve it.

Why?

1. Bobby Cox, who has been our manager since 1990, is sadly retiring after this season.

What a great man.

(that's him on the big screen)

He holds the all-time record for ejections in Major League Baseball with 156.

He ranks 4th on the Baseball All-Time Managerial Wins list, with 2,195 wins.

He led the Braves to a division title every season from 1991-2005 (excluding the 1994 strike strike season), winning the World Series in 1995.

He's done some good work here. It'll take a lot to replace him next season.

2. Our team is on FIRE right now.

We are currently in the lead for our division.

We have baseball's best home record of 44-17.

We hold the record for last-at-bat win, with their 22nd last at bat victory just a few days ago.

3. Jason Heyward.

Love him. This kid has SO much talent and is so humble about it too. Don't worry that in his major league debut, first game of the season in April, he whacked that baseball out of the park for a homerun. My prediction: Rookie of the Year?

4. Our pitchers.

We have had quite the pitching rotation this year. They have delivered for us to help us stay on top of our division. I think it would be extremely nerve racking to be a pitcher so my hat goes off to them. They do a fabulous job.

5. Last but not least, the entire team.

I wish I could talk about every one individually cause they are doing so awesome, but I know this post doesn't appeal to many.

We've had a couple rough patches lately with injuries and trades and what not, but our boys seem to step it up and continue to fight for the title. Just when I think we've lost the game, we come out with grand slams, home runs, triples, even just a single to win! It always gets me more pumped up for future games!

And did I mention we had 5 of the Braves on the All-Star team this year? And Brian McCann gave us the win with a 3 run-liner and was named MVP of the 2010 All-Star game?

That's what's up.

So here's to you, Atlanta Braves.

Thanks for always keeping your #1 fan happy (at least most of the time). I am no fair weather fan either; regardless of the horrible seasons we've had these past few years (up until now of course), I have supported you 100%. Keep up this good work, I like it.

Maybe I'm jumping the gun, but let's win the World Series this year, yes?

Let's do it for Bobby.

This just in...

Attention Ladies and Gents...

I get to go to the Jack Johnson concert in SLC tomorrow for FREE!

Yep, It's no big deal.

I'm only super excited about this.

See ya tomorrow Jack :)

pre-efy.

So I've been totally slacking on my blog lately.

I've been back in Utah for over 2 weeks now! I can't even believe it! It has been a little hectic with work, packing, moving, and being homeless for a few days.

But anyways, I got to spend a few days at home right before EFY began.

You could say that I spent my time wisely...

The second night I was home, Kayc flew in and we went to see some of our favorites at a Bonfire out in Kennesaw. I was so happy to be back in the South and to see some friends I hardly see anymore since some stay home and some I never see out at BYU!

The next day we took a blessed trip to Lake Lanier. We did a little tubing action, some relaxing in the sun, and a little tanning before we were without sun/water for 3 weeks! I love the lake.

And OF COURSE I had to get my Braves game in before EFY began!

Right after the Saturday training, about 30 counselors all went to the Braves game that night! It was SO much fun! I loved being back at Turner Field, dancing, tomahawk chopping, and yelling for my boys! Not to mention, we had quite the game with Troy Glaus hitting a homerun at the bottom of the 9th to win the game. It was great and I was SO happy to be back home to watch those boys in action!

What a good way to start my vacation time back in the South.

marriage.

this beautiful lady is getting married in less than 24 hours!

words can't express how happy and excited i am for her and sean-they are such a cute couple!

i can't wait to see her as a married woman tomorrow and talk about her bridal beauty!

I LOVE YOU BRITTANY BALLECK! (last time I get to say that)