My Summer Vacations

Now that the summer has flown by for me and is rapidly coming to a close I am trying to remember all the time I have spent home and the fun I have had over this summer vacation.

There was my birthday

I attended a Renaissance Dance where I got to see my brother and one of his students do a sword demonstration/skit


The epic Wedding Roadtrip and all that jazz

My friend Reed and his brother came out to California for a wedding and we met up so I could be their LA tour guide


I spent a lot of fun times with my nephews Ethan and Tai and my niece Evey


Attended the Midnight Premier of Eclipse with my Mama


We made a few trips to Dry Town Water Park in Palmdale with the kids


I had an amazing 12 days on a houseboat with my extended family at Lake Powell


Karina and her family go camping at the beach every summer and they invited me to come camp with them for a few days in San Clemente


After a few days camping, Karina came back to Palmdale with me and we had fun with my family despite the fire that came up over the hill right behind my house [thankfully it was all under control and the fire didn't cause any big problems]


And that Goodreads tab on the side of my blog is a small sampling of all the books I have read this summer- 38 total, and I'm hoping for maybe 2 more before I head back up to Provo :)


Even though it seems like the summer has flown by, I now realize that I have done a lot! Its been a great summer and now I am excited to go back up to school and have a lot more adventures!

I have the best of friends!

Saturday was a pretty epic day for my best friends. They are amazing people and on Saturday Karina ran a half-marathon and Sam was married in the Los Angeles LDS Temple! Super exciting!

I wasn't able to be in Utah for Karina's race, but here's a picture of her and her sister after they finished! :)

These girls are so amazing! I am definitely not a runner, so running for 13.1 miles for "fun" is amazing to me!!

I was able to be at Sam's wedding reception and here are some pictures from the beautiful evening:

One of the first things she said to me was "Its ok. I'm still Sam" And this proves it :)

She is so gorgeous!

I am so proud of both these girls and I am so grateful to have them as my best friends! :D

My number 1 Hobby

Summer 2010 has been dominated by reading for me. DOMINATED. I mean I have had a great time wakeboarding, hiking, camping at the beach, watching fireworks, playing with the kids, and all that, but lets just get things straight- those are all things that happened here and there between books [or possibly just between chapters].

I have read 33 books as of tonight. THIRTY-THREE! And we are talking chapter books, not just little things.

Its been awesome! I love to read but I had lost the time/motivation to read for a while. This summer I gave myself a kick-start by making the rule that I could not re-read a book, which is what I usually tend to find myself doing (Harry Potter Series- 2-4 times depending on the book; Twilight Series- 3 times; Anne of Green Gables Series- 2-3 times... etc). No more of that for me.

I took a Children's Literature class last semester and it opened my eyes to the wonderful books that are filled with fantasy, clean fun, and adventure. I have frequented the Children/Teen section of the library this summer and have discovered some realllly good books. They aren't childish or too juvenile as some might think. I am 20 and I find them very entertaining- but maybe that just means I'm immature? Either way, I'm enjoying it and that is what counts.

I love how I get so absorbed in the characters and the stories as I am submerged in these new worlds and experiences. Sometimes I get a little too attached as I can't seem to accept when a book is over and I want more more more. Thats when I pick up another and start the whole process over again :)

Here are some of my favorites from this summer:
-Hunger Games Series
-Fablehaven Series
-Percy Jackson Series
-Uglies Series
-The Book Thief
-The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner is the one I just finished tonight. It is the first book in a trilogy, but the next book doesn't come out until October! I am realllly looking forward to that! And I am also realllly looking forward to the finale of the Hunger Games Series which comes out on the 24th of this month!! Yesss! I'm glad that I will be able to read that one before the semester starts so that I don't have to feel guilty about reading that one but not my textbooks... :)

Anywho.... I love books. You should read. You should read some of those books on my list. And feel free to provide me with any suggestions of your favorite books. There's always Thanksgiving and Christmas break to read once Summer ends ;)



Oh, and about all those other adventures of the Summer... I will post about them eventually.