how i spent winter vacation.

after being home for a day it went from relaxing to frantic. we had to get ready for Erika and Brads wedding!!!! christmas flew by before i knew it mom and i were spending every possible moment down at the church starting to decorate it for the reception. even though i was glad to help my mom and dad out, i really just wanted to spent time with heidi and nick. on tuesday we got up and went to the church to decorate, then took of to Boston for the wedding. Brian, Dad and i rode together in the van. brian and i put in the 25th anniversary edition of Les Miserables and 2 and a half hours later we had 30 minutes of driving left. we stopped at wendys for a quick dinner then headed over to the hotel. Erika, Margie, Becky and i shared a room, and Mom, dad, and the boys shared another room next door. Brad and the Gibbons family were at another hotel down the road. we went to sleep at about 11pm. i was awake he whole time. becky was snoring, loudly. so i texted mom to let me into their room, i grabbed my pillow and went next door to sleep on their floor. peace and quiet. perfect. the next morning we all ate breakfast, got dressed and beautifed and left for the temple. Brian, Bradley and i watched Jack and Emma in the waiting room. it was actually fun. jack slept while we played with emma, then emma fell asleep and jack woke up, so we played with him. about 35 minutes later they were done and Erika and Brad were Happily Married. then it was time to take pictures. it was cloudy, cold, and windy, and the VanDerwerkens looooved to take pictures... oh boy. about an hour and a half later, we were finally able to go to lunch on the outskirts of Boston. it was delicious. then we made or way back home again. i fell asleep haha... always. and woke up in Schoharie on I-88. the next morning, mom, dad, and i were down at the church again. we got a huge chunk of decorating done with the help of the vanderwerkens, shaffers, styles, harveys, nanny, becky, poppy, and coopers. Gibbons were supposed to be coming to our house to sleep later that night. they had two young boys who were going to sleep in the boys room on the floor, the parents were going to sleep downstairs on the big air mattress, and erika and brad were on their honeymoon on the coast of massachusetts. oh yeah, and the other small detail that brad had 4 sisters who ranged in age from 17-26. 4.... four.... sisters. they were staying in my room. we pulled the extra mattresses off of each bed to make 4 beds... there was absolutely no room whatsoever to fit another person. the basement was occupied, my room was occupied, and i was not going to sleep in the bath tub. so after much convincing, mom and dad let me escape to heidi's house. i was so happy and relieved to have a night full of everything but wedding talk. we watched movies and caught up on everything we had missed in each others lives for the past three months. we stayed up almost all night. in the morning mom( dale) had french toast and bacon waiting for us. it was delicious. i spent all morning with them, and most of the afternoon... i came home at about 2:30 to find my house completely filled with people. 8 gibbons, 5 mclaughlins, and 3 careys... that's 16 people in our dinning room/ living room/ kitchen area. holllly molllly! mom and becky were trying to cook pasta, red sauce, rolls, alfredo sauce, and make and chop veggies for salads. the gibbons left to go explore the town of cobleskill and mom and i left around dinner time to go back down to the church to decorate some more. we went home and back to bed. we were eating, sleeping, and breathing this reception. the next day was the of the blessed event. mom and i were down at the church early again so we could put the last and final touches on the gym. it looked absolutely beautiful and at that moment i think i realized just how talented my mother really is. it was a beautiful wedding and i felt that the week of wedding stuff had paid off nicely. 

 the gym... transformed

 the cake my mom made herself!

 gym from the front

 the tables

 the centerpieces!

 more centerpieces!

homecoming

well. i pulled an all-nighter from thursday to friday... wished off Lauren and Glorianne at the bus stop at about 7 am... then Janae and Eric helped me finish packing, we went to Erics to help him finish packing, then we spent the rest of the night being together, it was a little grim since we were lonely without three of out six. but being with each other was enough. i fell sleep on their couch before being woken up by eric.. it was curfew. we said our good-byes... sadly... and quickly so as to not inflict too much pain. :( i went home and watched movies with erika and did the final cleaning touches to the apartment. then said my final good-bye to Emily Hayes... it was teary but not sobbing. erika and i watched another movie then i.. totally exhausted, fell asleep at about 3am. three hours later erika woke me up and we walked our luggage down to the bus stop and hopped on i texted Heidi so i could keep her updated on where i was. i was so excited to go home and see her again. the bus had tangled playing... but i was still so tired so i fell asleep almost immediately. i woke up about 30 minutes away from the Salt Lake airport. Erika and i waited with Mary-Kate Wilding, Marie Andrew, and Colin Selin in the terminal for about 45 minutes, i texted heidi again to let her know, then we were called to board. Erika and i were in the first section so we boarded relatively early. We sat in a seat soon to be joined by a young college student who was studying computer science at BYU-Provo. he was very nice, and willing to have a full-on conversation with Erika and I... ohhh the things that happen in the mormon world. the plane took off and i again, almost immediately fell asleep. when i woke up we were somewhere over North Dakota. so... 3 hours left. i watched a little bit of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince then fell asleep again. so i let Erika watch Phantom of the Opera on my mac. when i woke up again we were about 45 minutes away from Baltimore. finally. so i continued to watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince until we landed. we then got off the plane and headed for the next terminal. we used the free wifi for about 45 minutes. i let erika go on as well since she left her laptop in rexburg for the break. i texted heidi to let her know i was finally on the final flight to come home. she said she was excited and that she'd be waiting at home for me. Erika and i (and the rest of the Albany Stake People)  boarded our final flight from Baltimore to Albany. it was supposed to take 45 minutes, so Erika and i started to finish watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, but 26 minutes later,  we were there! whoo-hoo! i texted heidi to tell her i made it home safely... she was like  "YAY! can't to see you!" Erika and i walked through the terminal. We looked up to find Brian and Bradley waving frantically at us from the top floor... then they disappeared. we met them at the bottom of the stairs, i was really really happy to see them. Brian let out "look who we found waiting for you..." i looked over to where my parents were and to my surprise, Heidi, Nick, Larry, and Dale were all there too! i couldn't even describe it. i thought i was dreaming. i ran over to heidi and burried her in a hug. it was awesome. then i attacked nick, dale, and larry. then i realized how awful i must have looked. i hadn't showered in about 2 days, i was wearing a sweater and some leggings, no make-up and i had huge bags under my eyes from lack of sleep.. haha charming. i was so happy to see heidi and nick again. they left early so they could get home. while mom, dad, erika, brian, bradley and i made our was to baggage claim, where we claimed our baggage then drove home. i was so tired i fell asleep again! i woke up in the garage. walked my suitcases and stuff up to my room, showered, changed, ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich, then went to bed. at 7am the next day i was up getting ready for church! it felt like 5am... oh wait... it was in rexburg time! haha. it was nice to see everyone at church. but i was just glad to be in a place where there was hot showers, my own room/bed, free laundry, and unlimited delicious food. i was home!

BYU-I Fall Family.

other than shawn and emily, i was able to create an entire family that i spent everynight of the last month of the semester with. weather it was watching modern family or glee, or roaming around the streets of rexburg, finding something to do next, every moment spent with them was a moment i will never forget. on any given night you could find us rocking out in the kirkim theater, where a stage and sound system became our match maker. after one night i knew these friendships would last forever. they are such talented people in their individual ways and i'm not sure what i would have done everynight without them! so even though i'll see some of them in 3 months, some in 6 months, and some in 2 years, i'll never forget the friendships we created, memories we shared, and the many more to come in the future. 

from left to right, Lauren Maxwell, Glorianne Hefner, Janae Rich, Jared Orr, Eric Gaspar, and Me. 

"those who truly live the gospel know they will never truly see each other for the last time."♥

Saying Goodbye

Well, i obviously made it through the end of my semester. i thought the jury was going to be the hardest part. but it turns out parting itself is the hardest part. i've made the 2 best friends anyone could ever ask for and i'm devastated at the thought of being apart of 4 months! but i know seeing them in April will make the wait worth while. 

               Emily & Emily.... pretty much sisters. she's just too funny and i honestly am still wondering what i would have done without her this semester.    ♥

                 SHAWN LORDS! hysterical young man! sweetest ever! brother and partner in the music theory crime world. he never ceases to make me smile. he reminds me so much of my brother brian. ♥