Neeley's Wedding Shower

Take one down, giv'er a ring, 14 girls left in the scene:).

Well, Neeley is engaged to be married to her lover Mark.  We, the NZ girls are ok with this because he seems to be a stand up guy.  She was in town so we decided a shower was completely necessary!  Nicole was the lovely party planner and we had it at my place.  We didn't get all 16 of us, in fact it was a bit smaller but we sure had a great time!

She's not quite sure what she is getting into.  Anna gave her a cookies scoop and chocolate chips.  She is afraid of making cookies! :)

Sweet mixing bowls given by me.

There was a storm brewing and we looked outside to see this FULL rainbow! It was the first full rainbow I've seen in a while.

We missed all who weren't there, but here we are.... Janet came after this picture was taken. 

She's got a ring, and we're all still waiting (the classic picture).

 Whitney was one, Neeley was two.... Who will be three?

Whitney's Bridal Shower

Well, Whitney is the first of the New Zealand girls to be getting married.  Janet and Anna planned a wonderful shower to celebrate. We had crepes (Savoury and Dessert) as well as a yummy raspberry limeade and Oh Henry bars.  It was really fun to just talk and catch up together.  We had 10 out of the 16 girls! Pretty good turn out eh? Considering 4 were out of the state.

Our lovely cook Anna

The yummy food! 

Heidi and Jessica

 Becca

Whitney and Janet 

 Making Whitney's wedding dress

Just relaxing... now that the dress is made

  Surprisingly it looks almost like it.  Thanks to the quilted toilet paper that looks similar to lace:)

She's got a ring, but we don't... Someday.

Present time! Many practical items were given.  Nothing will top the travel pack that included all the necessary things Whitney needs for her traveling experience (it was a joke about things she needed in NZ)

Cute Girls!

 Well, We are sure happy that P.J. seems to be a good guy. We are super happy for you girl and we can't wait for the wedding date.

Next up, Neeley!

Stewart Falls Hike

My Roommates and I decided to go hike Stewart Falls before Tielle left.  We thought that since it was a week or so into June (June 11th), that we would have a great hike.  This was true, expect we approached some snow because it has been such a crazy spring.  We had to first cross a bunch of snow right at the beginning of the hike.  We went over and under many trees that had fallen when the avalanche occurred. Then, we approached more and more.  One was pretty steep and very slippery.  It was crazy to try and cross it.  Probably not the safest decision,but we made it safe and sound. We saw many people crossing with babies and children and thought how crazy people were to endanger their child's life.  

We made it to the waterfall which fell down underneath snow and then followed a river underneath more snow.  There was a cave that made it down to the water.  I didn't dare go down inside but people said it looked really cool.  I had a fear of the cave collapsing.  On a regular day in the summer, all the snow is not there the ground you are sanding on is like 20 ft lower.  It was a crazy experience and interesting to see such a difference. Check out some of the pictures below!

Beginning the trail!

 Some of the fallen trees

 What a beautiful mountainside

 Lovely Hikers!

 Look at all that snow still.

 Look close to see the waterfalls

 We made it! I wanted to leave quick before the sun melted all the snow we were standing on.

Snow cave

 At the end of the hike, we decided to each make a snow angel.  It was fun, but super cold!

Missing New Zealand

Saturday marked my five month mark from the day that I arrived in New Zealand.  It is really been an interesting adjusting period of being home.  It took a while to get back on a sleep schedule and back use to going to work and class on campus, but I'm sure still missing the culture, the people, the scenery, the activities and more.  Its hard to remember that it wasn't all a dream.  I'm working on a book full of photos and memories and my old blog posts.  It almost makes it seem even more like a dream when I'm looking at the pictures and seeing my face and body there, but my mind is almost saying it never happened.  I've talked to some of the other girls and they are also missing it there.

Someday, I will go back.  I came home with a 20 dollar bill and when I left, Alice said, Don't spend all your money because then you'll have some when you come back.  This post is to one day going back and spending some time in New Zealand!

Here are some of my favorites!

My 21st Birthday

So last weekend was my birthday.  It was my 21st birthday in fact! I was a great weekend even.  Since Gracie, my roommates, birthday was a week before mine, we had a double birthday party Friday night.  We invited lots of people and Gracie's parents helped out with the food and I drew a donkey.  We planned on playing spin the bottle with Hershey's Kisses but that wasn't really possible with the weighted turnout.

It turns out that every time the doorbell would ring, almost 85% of the time, there would be guys who would come on in.  It was a great thing to realize that we have so many guy friends, but I bet they were thinking that we only invited guys to the party.  It was super fun anyway!

The cake was colorful! We dyed it 4 colors, purple, blue, orange and lime green.

 I put 42 candles on the cake, 21 for me, 21 for Gracie.  Joseph and Deborah lite the candles and we almost set off the alarm with all the smoke.

We played some classic pin the tail on the donkey and just enjoyed ourselves. Kendall kept telling me how important the 21st birthday is and how it comes with lots of responsibility... I'm not so sure about that yet, we'll see.

I woke up on my birthday morning to get ready and ride my bike to center street.  Jill was running a Half Marathon.  It was AWESOME! She is really amazing.

After that, my parents came to my apartment for a bit to open presents and talk. I got a sweet scarf, a nice workout shirt, and .... a label maker.  I'm pretty excited to someday use it. I'm not so sure when, but someday.

Then we went to Good Wood Barbecue for lunch.  I got a free meal because it was cold and then a free Brownie Sunday (it was amazing!) There was Tielle, Jill, Issac, Mom Dad and Me.  It was a fun meal.  After, we had cupcakes in the parking lot and they tried to light candles but the wind was too strong.

That night Tielle and Gracie went to dinner with me. We went to Zupas and then came home and bonded on Gracie's bed just talking and laughing and taking some sweet pictures.

All in all, it was a great birthday. Thanks to everyone who made it great!

Swinter Weather at the Softball Game

At the end of April, BYU softball played on a Friday evening.  My mom was down for Women's Conference so she joined Tielle and I at the game.  It seems like we are at a football game instead. That is because of the swinter weather! Crazy that it was snowing, but after not wearing much winter clothing during winter, as a result of being in New Zealand, I loved donning a hat a coat.