not December weather.

let me first say that December didn't really feel like December because the weather was still in the high 60's, low 70's most of the time. HOWEVER, I'm not complaining. I'm more of a warm weather person anyways. The month of December flew by so fast! 

Brother Bear came back into town for another Dental School interview so we had quite the busy weekend! 

We went to the Suns Game with a couple of friends that night. Even though we sat at the highest spot, it still was fun. 

We spent our afternoon with our cute little boys. Of course we went to In N Out for lunch, I was loving the smiles from the baby girl,

 and made some delicious treats with the cutest chef's in town!

 It's weird not living in the Provo scene where there are Christmas parties every day! There was one night, 2 were going on, and that was it for the parties for the season. 

I wouldn't say this is my best Ugly Sweater (I can't find my homemade one, dangit), but I'm glad there was an event like that over the holidays.

 And I did get to walk around and see the pretty and gorgeous lights around the Mesa Temple one night with my dear friend, Greg! They also have musical performances each night, which I loved! I feel so blessed to still live close by a temple!

 I got to stay at the Canyon Villas one weekend, which is slightly closer to where Dr. Ross Cat lives.  So after 2 long months, we finally reunited for some dinner and adventures to Target! Med School takes over my friends lives and I don't like it! 

 And had a cute little Christmas celebration with the family before I flew home for the holidays! 

I really didn't do too many Christmas time things, which made me sad. It was weird with no snow or cold weather, but I still listened to my Christmas music every day and decorated my house a little bit. 

Tis the season. 

thanksgiving & sea world.

After I got hired at my new job, Thanksgiving was only a month away. Knowing that tickets wouldn't be that cheap, I thought there was no way I'd be able to come home! however, my parents surprised Taylor and I and told us they would help us with our tickets and fly us home. Plus, Callie and Brandon weren't going to be with us for Christmas so this was our time together! I'm so grateful I was able to go home and spend time with the family. 

I landed the night before Thanksgiving, so first morning we were up and headed to the Turkey Bowl! The boys were cute and color coordinated... or just borrowed Cody's clothes. 

And I'm so glad that my Johnson friends could come over and partake of our Thanksgiving morning tradition of breakfast burritos! It's fun getting to see some friends when I'm in town now!

Cal wanted to make some homemade apple pies for the evening so I helped her out and let me tell you, they were amazing! 

After eating at the Mower's that night, we did a little family photo shoot... of course. And I love my pictures, as most of you know, so I was happy we took some great ones as you can clearly see below.

I love my family and reflect on how grateful I am for each and every one of them every day. I wish we all lived closer to one another, but we always have a good time when we see each other. 

It was sadly a quick visit for me to Georgia. The next morning we were up early and headed to Orlando for the weekend! After a little hot tubbing, we hit up the amazing outlets there to score some Black Friday deals. 

The next day we ventured to Sea World, one of our families favorite Spring Break places. It's been quite a few years since we've been and we were all so excited. Plus, Brandon had never gone before!

We enjoyed the classic and favorite shows,

pet the Dolphins,

and I LOVED the Christmas decorations around the park! We've never gone around Christmas time so it was a real treat for us to have a little change in our Sea World adventure. 

We took a break in the middle of the day to eat lunch and relax in our hotel for a few hours before we headed back to sea world to enjoy the Christmas shows. It was a great way to start the Christmas season and to spend it with people I love most! I'm grateful I got to come home and spend a few days with the family! 

Big Girl Job.

 I can honestly say I feel like a real grown up now that I've been on a work trip! Some of the girls and I in our dental office went to a training in Vegas for a few days back in November. We each had our own rooms, which was so nice! 

I had to document my first morning before we had training for 9 hours! I thought it was going to be miserable, but it was surprisingly really good and entertaining! 

 Our one night there, we went to the Strip, spotted this beauty right outside of Caesar's Palace,

 took a few touristy pictures (even though I've been to this place so many times), 

 and enjoyed a delicious meal at Serendipity for dinner. 

 And you can't forget the unbelievable Frozen White Hot Chocolate that was to die for! I felt so disgusting after eating the whole thing, but it was so worth it!

 Immediately after training we headed to the airport to catch our flight back to Arizona! We saw this group of guys while we were waiting to board, saw one dancing, and determined they have to be some kind of dancing group. Thanks to Southwest, we picked our own seats, and they just happened to sit right by us. Come to find out, they were America's Best Dance Crew Season 7 winners this past summer! They are called the Elektrolytes and are from Gilbert! Such nice guys and fun to talk to on our way back! We tried to get them to come to our dental office, but I'm still waiting for them to show up! 

It was a fun, but quick trip to Vegas. It was weird going there for work when I normally go there for vacation. But it was a fun time with some great ladies I work with! 

Fall in Arizona!

Everyone always complains about how hot Arizona is, but no one ever RAVES about the Fall. Seriously people, it's a DREAM! In October and November, I was in heaven with the perfect weather. We've gotten some chillier days a couple times, but I'll take that any day over the Snow for months (sorry Utah). 

These are just some highlights of my first Fall in Arizona!

I finally got to meet Juliana's adorable little girl, Blakeleigh! Juliana's in-laws are from Arizona so we were able to grab some lunch at BJ's and catch up! It was so fun seeing her!

I've become soul sisters with this lady, Mackenzie. We both have a love for baseball so we went to one of the last Diamondback games of the season! Her parents have season tickets right behind their dugout. Heaven. I'm excited I'll get to go to more baseball games next year!

Mackenzie and I took a trip one day to the new Gilbert Temple. They had a cute little visitors center in a trailer, but I loved it! I'm so excited that I'll get to live by another beautiful house of the Lord! 

The Tempe Singles Stake played softball every Tuesday night until Thanksgiving! (That's where I first met Kenz) So I played a couple of times and had a blast! It was a hopping place every Tuesday night! I'm sad the season is over, but I'll start prepping for next season in hopes of going to the championship game! 

In the middle of October I went to the lake and was in HEAVEN! The weather was absolutely perfect! No one Arizona people never want to leave this place. If I could, I would go to the lake every day! 

I went to the Mesa temple to do baptisms one afternoon, walked into the visitors center, and ran into this cute little lady from my home, Kelsey Hamstead! She is so happy to be there and it was so fun to see her! 

Since my dear friend, Ross, is becoming a Doctor and studying his life away at Midwestern, which is an hour away from me, we decided to meet halfway in Scottsdale! We walked around the mall for a little bit, then took a stroll outside and devoured some delicious Sprinkles cupcakes. I wish we lived closer, he is one of my few Provo connections these days. 

I attended my first ASU game and was reminded how much I love (and miss) going to college football games! Even though we lost that day, it was a blast tailgating all morning with Kenz's family and friends! 

Halloween snuck up on me way to quickly, but I managed to whip up a costume . The weekend before Halloween, Kenz and I went to a Halloween/Birthday party that ended up being pretty fun! There was  a photo booth, dancing, and lots of people. The birthday boy decided to be Gumby all night so he was a mystery all night. His loss. 

And to end such a great night, we went to Waffle House and I was in heaven! Thank goodness Arizona can provide me with some of the things I love from Georgia! 

Brother Bear came into town the following week for his interview at Midwestern! He was only here for a few short days and since I had to work, I only got to see him a few hours each night, but it was fun to be with him! 

We spent Halloween Eve at the families house carving a pumpkin, and eating chili and roasting halloween shaped s'mores by the fire pit. It was a perfect fall evening! And as always, I love spending time with these cute cousins of mine! I'm so lucky to live nearby some incredible family! 

And I love when the family comes in town! We went to lunch at a japanese steak house then went swimming at the JW for a few hours. I love that place. And I love seeing my family! 

The day Provo got a TON of snow, I went on a hike with my friend to the Wind Caves. I haven't been on a hike in forever so it was fun to finally get to go again and enjoy the view! 

The roommates and I became Home Improvement ladies and put together my bookshelf! My room is slowly coming together and looking like a home! I love it! 

Fall flew by, but I enjoyed every minute of it! I honestly can't believe I have been living in Arizona for over 4 months now! Time has gone by so quickly, but I continue to feel blessed and happier as each day passes. 

Rojas Wedding!

[before i begin...I know that I have been the WORST at blogging these past few months. I've gone through spans of being completely over the whole thing and spans of wanting to write just for my sake. So, it's back to the blogging world (hopefully).... ]

Almost 3 months ago, Miss Rachel Huey was married to Bryce Rojas in Oakland! And she was a beautiful bride for sure!

Have you been to this temple?! It has now become one of my favorites! The grounds are absolutely GORGEOUS and the temple is just breathtaking. I loved it!

Rachel was STUNNING! I'm so happy for her! It was so fun to celebrate a wonderful day for one of my closest friends. 

 And not only that, but 3 of my other best friends were bridesmaids with me! This is a friendship product of EFY. I'm telling you people, EFY does WONDERFUL things. I'm so blessed I've gotten to know and love these women that are in my life! 

Sidenote to this picture, we've taken so many pictures like this at EFY, it was a must! And it turned out so perfect!

And we were happy to welcome Bryce into our "cul-de-sac" family! We all joke (but in all seriousness) say that one day we will all live in the same cul-de-sac with our families. So we definitely have the approval stamp for Bryce!

The day was perfect and it was a fun time to reunite with some fabulous ladies I haven't seen in quite some due to the fact that none of us did EFY together this year and I have moved to Arizona. I have really missed this people in my life! 

And we can't forget Mr. Alejandro Miguel in the mix either! This kid can brighten up anyone's day with his laugh or his witty comments. I've missed seeing this friend of mine. So happy he's with Kaycie forever so I can still see him. 

The reception was the following day so the gang hit the streets of San Francisco for some exploring. So we all took our first ride on the BART. It started off great when we realized after 20 minutes we were going the wrong way. Win. But after a 45 minute ride, and 45 minute walk... we made it to Pier 39! Just in time for everything to close. haha. 

And made it over to where all the sea lion's gather and Kayc was in heaven. They were also very entertaining to just observe and listen to. We loved it. 

And in all honesty, I just loved being with my fabulous friends! So it was totally worth it!

The next night was their reception at Bryce's Aunts house, which was GORGEOUS! 

There was the most tender Daddy/Daughter dance that left no dry eye in the house. Her parents were so tender and I loved getting to spend time with them too! I can see why Rachel is the way she is, because she was raised by such wonderful parents!

And look who is getting married next?! But for real.. they weren't engaged yet here, but Wedding Bells are going to be ringing in Orlando in May! So excited for Nina and Ricky! I'm glad we could all meet Ricky before we invited him to our cul-de-sac. (and we weren't joking around)

The trip went by way too fast. But what a wonderful weekend we had in California celebrating the wedding of another incredible couple! I am so happy for them and their adventures that lie ahead! I'm so grateful to have met such amazing people who have now become some of my closest friends thanks to EFY. 

And not to mention, the sister and brother-in-law made a little stop in! After the reception, I stayed the night with them and they took me to the airport the next day! I'm glad I could squeeze a little family time in on this short trip! 

Congrats Rachel and Bryce! I'm so happy for the two of you! Love you both! :)