October 16

October 16 is the birthday of two very special people in my life:

1. My dear sister, Ie Mei and

2. My oldest nephew, Jackson.

I think it's so special that my sister had her first child on her birthday. What could be better than that?

Yesterday was their birthday and I just want to say a few things about them.

Ie Mei is one of the kindest people I know. She is so helpful to everyone and has been such a role model to me growing up. I vaguely remember having sleepovers with her in her college dorm when I was four. I remember all the summers I spent with her, watching her cook and sew and thinking that she was the best mom and wife ever and how I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. Well, I'm pretty grown up these days and I still want to be like her. She teaches me so much still and I love her a lot. Happy Birthday, Overflowing Joy, I love you!

And then there's Jackson Jay. Yesterday he turned eleven. ELEVEN!!!!!! I can't believe it. I've spent a lot of time with Jackson Jay. I remember his Elmo phase and his BYU football phase. I remember the first summer I spent with them in Logan and on the car ride back to their house he pointed to the star-shaped decals on my nails and said the word, "dars" (stars). I remember how happy I was when he called me "aunt" for the first time. Jackson, I love being your aunt and love being a part of your life. Happy Birthday. 

OH CANADA

I was doing so well for a while there, but it's now been almost 3 weeks since my last post. I know I have lots of disappointed readers. Ha. Anyway, reasons why I've been busy: school, church, work (yeah! I have a job! That is not the reason for this post, so I'll write about that later), and wedding festivities!

So, a little more than a year ago I was about to start my sophomore year and knew zero Canadians. A year later and I have Canadians as best friends. So, this post is for my dear friend, Cassie (MacLennan) Tremblay. She got engaged in July and I couldn't wait to be a part of planning and shopping. She threw the most lovely bridal shower for our friend, Jennica, so I wanted to do the same for her.

Two weeks ago, Jennica, Kylie, and I threw a bridal shower for Cassie. The food consisted of cake balls, spinach artichoke dip, fruit and dip, and a beautiful punch.

The rest of the evening consisted of games, prizes, presents, and laughs and smiles with friends. 

It was so much fun to put together and I hope Cassie enjoyed it =). 

The next week, Kylie, Payton, and I started our drive to Alberta, Canada at 4 PM on a Thursday. We arrived at 3 AM and boy, was it good to be out of the car. The next day, Kylie and I spent the morning hunting with our friend Ben.

 I must say I'm extremely bad at hunting because 

1. I can't hit anything and

2. it breaks my heart to see lifeless animals. 

After hunting, I ran some errands with Cassie and Ben and then we went over to Kylie's house for family dinner. 

Then it was time for the girls to spend some time together and do some girly things. I painted a total of 82 nails that night, but it was the least I could do for Cassie. 

I also did her makeup for her big day. I think it turned out well. She is stunning, isn't she?

We made our way to the Cardston temple and waited for Mr. and Mrs. Ben Tremblay to exit. 

We took lots of pictures. 

This is the bridal party.

We went to the family dinner and reception. 

I caught the boquet. 

We danced. 

We said goodbye to the happy couple as they ran through our tunnel of sparklers.  

The festivities were fun and beautiful, but seeing them walk out of the temple was the best part. I can't wait to find that special someone who will take me to the temple so we can be married for time and all eternity. 

Peculiar

On Saturday I went to the BYU v. Nevada football game. Sad outcome, but luckily there was something else to keep me entertained. I sat and watched a girl eat a pretzel in amazement. It was the oddest thing. She tore her whole pretzel into really small pieces.

And then one by one she took a tiny piece and drenched it in cheese.

She finished all the cheese and still had half a bag of crumbs. It was very strange, but I guess there really is no wrong way to eat a pretzel.

Remember when...

you used to take a lunch box to school? Oh wait, I still do. 

So, I'm trying to save money by making my lunch everyday. I usually just put my sandwich in my backpack with some fruit, but one day I decided I wanted to bring a banana. It pained me to think of a bruised banana for lunch. I remembered this cute little box that I received at my first year of girls' camp that would keep my banana safe from black spots. That was two weeks ago and since then it has been my constant companion at school. 

Everything fits perfectly. The only thing I'm missing is a juice box.

I get a lot of compliments on it. It's a good conversation starter. Everyone should have one.

He who must not be named

Meet Voldemort:

My friend Blake came to visit our apartment yesterday. I opened the door to this little creature around his neck. It didn't scare me except for the fact that I wasn't expecting a snake around his neck. Cassie, on the other hand, was not as amused. You can hear some of her squeals in the background. She can be a little dramatic, but I love her. 

Provo-licious

I feel so behind in blogging. It's been more than a week. Highlights:

The Rooftop Concert

Attendees: Michael, Kylie, Kent, Brittany, Nicole, Andreas, ME!

Seriously, the coolest concert ever. Cute and quaint. Beautiful music, beautiful lanterns, beautiful friends. I'm looking forward to the next concert on October 1. The Lower Lights is performing. I just bought the album online today. It's ridiculously good and it's perfect for Sundays. 

The State Fair

They have some crazy fun rides there. I went with my friend Ezra and afterwards we ate the most delicious cookies at the Gateway mall. Everyone seriously needs to try these. 

Visits from General authorities

Yeah, how cool is that? I got to hear all five of these wonderful men speak in the past week. Elder Holland, Elder Packer, and Elder Scott last Sunday, Elder Hales on Tuesday, and John Groberg tonight. I know I talk about how much I love BYU a lot, but it's hard not to when I'm constantly reminded. This really is the best university on earth. 

And as promised, pictures of my new room. 

I'm wanting to buy a pink pillow to break up all the blues and greens, but it might have to wait a little bit. As for the rest of my apartment, I'll put pictures up someday, just not today. 

Chocolate Cake

Tonight I went to Magleby's Fresh for dessert to celebrate Miss Cara Kylie MacLennan's birthday. We did this same thing almost exactly one year ago. It's crazy how fast time flies. 

So, the reason Kylie likes to go to Magleby's is because they have a delicious chocolate cake:

For those of you who don't know me that well, I LOVE CHOCOLATE. It's a weakness of mine. So, obviously I'm not going to eat a piece of delicious, decadent chocolate cake every evening, but today was a special occasion and I decided earlier today that I was going to eat chocolate cake tonight and love every bit of it. 

There were 11 girls that showed up for this dessert outing. After exchanging hellos Kylie said, "Hey, so does everyone want to get some cake and then we can all sit down and catch up?" I thought to myself, "yes, that sounds great, I've been waiting for cake all day." Guess how many girls ate cake tonight. Four. It was just a little bit ridiculous. For some reason I felt like I should feel guilty about eating this cake. Maybe it was because the girls sitting next to me were glaring at me as I ate every bite, just wishing that they were eating some too.

They kept saying things like, "Oh that looks sooo good, but I can't," or "I can't, I had a doughnut this morning." It was like they needed everyone to know that they were watching their figures. Pretty much, I felt like I was watching this video (skip to 1:21 if you're short on time, but the whole thing is quite hilarious):

My thoughts at the end of the night: Magleby's chocolate cake is still delicious and girls can be ridiculous sometimes.