So Grateful.

September 12th? Really? That was the last time I blogged...Awesome Megs, way to keep up with the times. I've since been to Lake Powell, went to the B.O.B/Jason Derulo concert, tore a ligament in my foot, went to AZ, turned 26, had visits from the family, had a housing debacle, got a new roommate, gotten colder, and here I am. (Super good catch up...yep.)

I've decided I'm going to do a post on what I'm grateful for every day in November. After a month and a half hiatus from blogging I kinda have to come back with a bang right? I'll try and incorporate some pics from what has happened in the last month and a half of my life...

Today I am thankful for... FAMILY

Oh how I love them. I do.

Our AZ weekend as seen from my new phone

Road trip. Again.
Well, the good news is I got a new phone. My old one was a reaaalll strugglefest at this point. I got the Blackberry Bold which I'm loving so far. The other good news...Elaine and Les followed suit. That is correct, they're super high tech these days. We're a Blackberry family now.
My dad was going down to AZ for labor day, so I decided to come along. Some friends of mine came to meet us too!
Here is the weekend, as seen from my phone.

The warm weather felt perfect as long as we were poolside.

Nichole showed us a new favorite place to eat called, The Pita Jungle. I really think if we had it in UT I might want to eat there every day. Across from it is swirl it a delicious frozen yogurt place which we managed to make it to for dessert. So good.

Sunday we had shishkabobs for dinner. Very tasty. One think I miss most about being with my family on Sundays is the yummy Sunday dinners.



We also managed to fit in a lot of "Just Dance" on the Wii. It is so much fun. We even got Les and Elaine to participate.

A quick weekend provides for a whole lot of this as well. Who knew there was a place called Bumble Bee?

Not Pictured?
- Shopping in Scottsdale
- Dinner at Oregano's
Two of my other favorite things, that is for certain.
Thanks Mom, Dad, and Barney fam for letting us come crash your laborday weekend!
xoxoxo

It's like...whatever...

What the September?
Seriously...how did this happen? How did we bypass August with flying colors and land ankle deep in football season-ish weather? This summer was so great, I'm sad to see it go. It's a good thing I love October so much.

Things to look forward to...
*Note: This is more of a self-reminder than it is telling you, cause I'm sure you really don't care.
- October trip to Powell
- My b-day...(although I'm not excited about the progression in age I still like birthdays.)
- Halloween, duh. Who doesn't like Halloween.

Also...
Once upon a time I wrote THIS post about the letter my 9th grade self wrote to my future self, which I received a few months ago. Extremely embarrassing if you haven't had a chance to read it.
In it I said,
"I would also either like to dance or sing professionally. I love to do both. I would really just like to be a part of MTV."

Well, some dreams do come true I guess.
Yesterday I filmed with MTV for a reality TV show they are doing that starts this fall. That sentence made it sound like it's a lot more of a big deal for me than it is. I don't think I'm allowed to give details...something about some waiver I signed ;), But it was legit, I was mic'd and everything. Don't worry I'll keep you posted.

The Good News

Good news first...
THIS girl is back. Hallelujah. We've missed her.

The Bad news?
That means summer is officially coming to an end.
This summer has been phenomenal. For reaaals. I'll have to do a summer highlights post or something, so I don't forget how much fun I've had.
I guess with all this talk of school we got an itch for new school supplies or something...which resulted in an evening of finger painting.

Which seems to always lead to someone getting their body painted...

Ryan is always a willing candidate.

Mark deemed his painting the winner. Bad Boys for Life.

And Roxies return resulted in a 3-person sleepover, as Jan would call it. We weren't mad about it. Just like bugs in a rug.

The Hot Pockets

"Bandannas are mandatory." That was the only instruction we received before we got picked up to go on our adventure Thursday night.

A conversation from a few hours previous went as follows.
Dean: Hey guys are we going to the hot pockets tonight?
Ryan and I: ...snickering...
Dean: What?
Me: The Hot Pockets?
Dean: Yeah, what? Wait...
Ryan: Dean, they're called Hot Pots. Although we could eat hot pockets while we are in the hot pots.

So, off we went on Thursday night...headed to the hot pockets in Spanish Fork Canyon. We drove up singing our hearts out, as is the norm.

After about 30 minutes of hiking in the dark we started to smell sulfur and we knew we were close.

After getting in we noticed our neighbors in the next pool over started freaking out a little bit, so I ventured over to see what the deal was. Turns out they were getting bit by these swimming beetles. NASTY. I was pretty much done at that point.


Good times. Always.

California Love

Hemet, CA. That is where darling Lola's family resides. Never heard of it? Probably the case...I hadn't until I met Lola. She had to trek down to Cali for a wedding, and so, of course, we had to join her. We love our road trips. We drove down on Thursday and spent the evening cruising the fine town of Hemet.

Friday it was off to San Diego.

Don't worry, Lola and I brought our Jellies. Flashback to 3rd grade? I hope so.

Are you wondering what the BEST PART of the trip was?
I GOT TO SEE ROXIES!!!!
We have spent the whole freaking summer apart due to her stellar internship in San Diego, so I was so excited to see her!! She hung out with us all weekend which was awesome. Much needed.

We played at La Jolla beach in San Diego all day Friday, with a short break to eat at Wahoo's, which was not bad. :)

We drove to Carlsbad for dinner Friday night, and finished off the evening with a trip to Oceanside Pier before we drove back to Hemet.

Saturday we went to Salt Creek Beach at Dana Point. It was BEAUTIFUL. We had such a great time there.


Can't you tell?

This picture might just be the best photo I've ever captured. Every time I look at it I laugh so hard. Each person really pulled their own weight to make this shot happen.

I have some seriously awesome friends.
Lola, Benita, Ryan M, Roxies, Me, Ryan S, and Mark.

Benita even let us bury her in the sand.

After we beached all day we casually made our way in to the Ritz Carlton that is located on the cliffs at Dana Point. We interested ourselves in a little hot tub/pool/fireside nap action. It was awesome.

I love these girls with my WHOLE heart.


We made our way to Pat & Oscars for dinner on Saturday night and it was back to Hemet.

Our trip wouldn't have been complete without a stop by H&M on the way home to break up the drive, and play dress up of course. We had such a great weekend. Thanks Lola!!

Mother Nature: 1 Us: 0

Camping. Not something I'd put at the top of my resume, but whatever. My friends take good care of me, and I love sitting by the fire listening to our favorite tunes, laughing, and getting away from the usual scene.
Last week late Sunday night we packed up and headed up Provo Canyon. No, it was not a holiday come Monday. It was in fact a normal work day. This is why I love my friends. They start your week off right.

Brad and George came and picked Benits and I up, and we met the rest of the crew up at our campsite.

It seemed a little colder than usual but the fire distracted us, and we wrapped right up in our blankets.

George kept us full. He literally packed an entire duffel bag full of sandwiches, cut up fruit, and other treats. Love that Georgey.
*Please note Ryan's Velcro grandpa shoes. He get's a pair every year for activities such as these.

When we go we all sleep under the stars, which is pretty amazing. I love being able to see the sky so brightly, being away from the city lights. Unfortunately for us at about 4:00 AM it started raining. This happened the last time we went camping, so our initial response was to wait it out. I sound super legit right now right? Sleeping under the stars in the rain..I know. I'm a natural born camper. (No, no, I am not.) After about 15 minutes of, "waiting it out," AKA hiding under our blankets, we realized it wasn't going to let up, and that we were actually SOAKED. We cleared the campsite in about 3 minutes, and stuffed our wet selves in our cars to head home. You win mother nature. You win.