AFRICA

Christmas came a little early for me this year. last week my mom told me that i need to get a passport cuz i am going to... AFRICA!!! my cousins were already going cuz they bought a trip at an auction thing thru choice humanitarian - the non-profit organization brynn did her humanitarian trips thru - and they booked me on their flights and i am tagging along with them :)  it's going to be a mix of work and play. we are going to be staying in this beach front house for 4 days, travel to the villages and do some humanitarian work for a 3 days, and do a safari one day!!!!! i can't even begin to tell you how excited i am!! rumor has it, white people in africa get hounded like celebrities do here.... i may or may not be packing oversized sunglasses to get the full experience... hahaha jk but really its going be so fun!

 i have good feelings about 2012. i can honestly say 2011 was the worst year of my life and couldn't be happier that a new year is right around the corner. BRING ON THE NEW YEAR!

this song might be on repeat on my ipod right now.

thankful for being famous

today for work, we went downtown to help pass out turkeys to the needy at the indian crossroads center.

ok as much as i hate waking up before 8, it was a really neat thing to do. it was cool to see some of the families come out of there all excited about celebrating thanksgiving! (hopefully they were all legitamately in need of free food..) it was surprising how many people were there, and how many turkeys were raised. bob harmon said that over 12,000 turkeys were donated this year. people are nice. but man i have had a rough day.. i basically just had to hang out with randy and bob harmon, while being filmed by the news.i felt like a pretty big deal. volunteer work gets you noticed! then i had to go get free lunch at pizza limone. just a day in the life i tell ya.

here's my big break on fox 13!!!

Thousands of turkeys donated to needy families across Utah

anywho, that was fun. now i'm stuck at work until 5 with no work to do. i am thankful for pinterest to help keep me busy. and i am also thankful for my uncle's secret yam recipe and can't wait to eat them tomorrow yammit! mmmmmmmm fooooooooooodddd.

in other news, i am officially a jr jazz basketball coach for jeffrey's team.. HAHA such a joke. they wanted someone who is an adult, me, who doesn't care what they do and doesn't really coach, also me. so i have to go to all the games and pretend i know what i am doing. i told them at the first practice that the try out for who gets to start in the first game is the 5 people who can do the 'dougie' the best. i know they are all practicing..

anyways, give thanks for thanksgiving ya'll! have a greeeeeeeeat turkey day

ps. missing brynn terribly lately. you know it's bad when christmas music makes you pissed. i can't even listen to n'sync christmas which is my all-time favorite!! ugh somebody make brynn come back already!

rollin with the gnomies

on brynn's birthday this year, we had this lady come teach 

us how to make little gnome/elf things that are usually up around christmas time. i will be the first to admit that i thought it was so wacky, but lemme just tell you. we laughed our guts out making our little gnomies! i know brynn was right there with us laughing and 'brynnspiring' us haha (she was the creative one in our family)

anywho. so i was nervous when we started cuz in all the magazines the lady was showing us, the little gnomes looked immaculate and fancy and i have absolutely zero creative talent. so she hands us balls of clay stuff and just taught us how to build the structure of the face. then, we were on our own to create our masterpieces and they all turned out SOO freaking cute and each one was so different. if you need a new fam tradish for christmas, this is HIGHLY recommended. 

here are our creations.. so creepy, yet SO adorable

daddio's

 jan's (its a girl)

mal's man

jelissa's - looks like dobby from hp

brooke's had the best nose

my aunt ali's old man

em and hunter's gnomeboys

they have almost the same lips, his just needs an injection or two... kidding em!

jeffrey's jedi

my mom's creature

and of course mine, the cutest one of the bunch. i named him Lloyd.

the second part of making these gnomes is decorating them with clothes and accessories. this is where the hard work, but the funnest part comes in. only my mom, dad, jeffrey, jan and i have really started this stage. we had to make all clothes from old clothes and fabrics. lucky for us, jan knows how to use the sewing machine and is incredible! and just like that, they just keep getting cuter.

isn't he just the cutest?! i decided to dress him more wintery and have a laid back ski-bum personality. his hat is my favorite part!

he is named lloyd cuz he reminds me of dumb and dumber, loveee him

oh man, my mom and dad went all out. my dad especially. i wish i had a picture, but he made his open toed boots with hair on his toes and his fingers. he is crazy obsessed with his 'scrooge' and wants to put him on our festival of trees tree.. (not happening!) and my mom made hers soooo freaking cute with holiday cheer.

here they are for their first family picture. such a cute little bunch, aren't they?

maybe with these guys around, christmas won't be SO bad... maybe!

pinning!

found this beauty on pinterest and had a good laugh! 

it's very true, but quite hysterical.

ps. i am addicted, like everyone else, to pinterest. i'll admit it. it's just so fun and there is some way cool stuff on it! highly recommended. and so is beyonce's new music video... well more like her past three new vids. i have a mad obsesh with her as of late.

this is my favorite song right now. and she is so fabulous in her swimsuit and hightops. i luff her.

thats all.

good night world.

celebrating brynn

today is brynn's 25 birthday. i decided to write today about some of the fun, happy things that remind me of her. i want to celebrate brynn today and everyday, because she was truly a happy person who lived an incredible life. obviously i am going to miss her, but i am inspired by her every single day to live a happy, full life. 

this was definitely a top 10 night for me, this is last new year's when we went to the greek party.. so much fun and so many laughs shared that night!

jeffrey, brynn and i had passes to snowbird last year. me and brynn would coordinate our work schedules so we could go as much as possible. brynn would always say on the first run of the day, no matter how many times we went, 'don't rush me, i need to get a feel for this again' but by the end of the day she was doing little baby jumps.. so hardcore! the tunnel was our favorite. the main reason we went skiing so much was so we could reward ourselves with porcupine after and get some chicken noodle soup and nachos..

this will always be my favorite picture of brynn. it captures her silly personality perfectly!

last christmas, we got our 'forever lazy' outfits. me brynn and jeffrey's were the only ones that came by christmas eve so we wore them around. they were sweatier than crap, especially playing the kinect, hence why its halfway down. we also played a few memorable games of Quelf in those bad boys.

our last trip to hawaii was probably the best ever. it was awesome because my whole family was able to be there, which that hadn't happened in years. i will cherish that trip for the rest of my life. who woulda thought it would have been our last trip as a whole family?! pretty insane but fantastic trip nonetheless. my favorite part was when brynn and i went boogie boarding on the last day, and there were whales jumping literally 100 yards away from us. so cool. AND the boogie boarding bowling. i caught this pretty decent size wave and had no control and completely crashed into this big fat mexican guy.. brynn was laughing so hard at me she didn't notice a wave and she crashed into me. then we were both laughing so hard we got knocked off our feet and ran into this other guy.. i think you had to be there to get how funny it was.

the 'sistahood' was a force to be reckoned with. it all started last year at the twilight concert series. so many good memories and so blessed to have such amazing sisters who are also my best friends.

the 'tub club'. so many long, random, weird, funny, motivational nights in that thing. my favorite had to be the time we were harmonizing to 'this little light of mine' and dad came out and yelled at us for singing to loud. 

thanks for all the memories and laughs brynn. thanks for being my life coach and telling me i can do anything i want to do. thanks for letting me absolutely crazy and silly with you, and not even care who is watching or what people have to say. you have truly inspired me to live my life with a purpose and to be happy. i have said this so many times, but im gonna say it again. i am so lucky to call you my sister and i cannot wait for the day that we reunite. sistahood forever! you are the kim to my khloe. 

happy birthday to my main biotch, you is da bestest. 

fall fever

as of late, i have become wildly obsessed with fall this year.

the colors of the leaves changing is absolutely gorgeous and i just want to be

outside every second of the day. i love that it's still sunny but the air has a crisp chill to it. i also love that i can wear my boots, scarves and fall outfits. fall is definitely my favorite season.

i have been trying to take advantage of this beautiful weather we have been getting by being outside as much as possible. i found new love for hiking and went on my first legitimate mountain bike ride up snow basin this past weekend.

went and stayed the weekend at wolf creek last weekend. fishing at pineview 

a few weekends ago we hiked up to dog lake, a lot longer hike than we anticipated but definitely worth it 

me and my aunt, aka my hiking partner

trying to look like i'm hardcore rocking climbing.. but really just a tiny rock right by donut falls

pineview

the lake was sooo pretty and glassy.

some pics from the bike ride, sooo pretty

anyways, i hope this weather never goes away! i'd be ok if this fall fever thing stayed around for a while longer.

happy

so i have many things in my life that make me really happy, so today i am going to make a happy list cuz my last posts have been very depressing!

so i have recently found a new love in my life....

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS the tv series!

it is soooo good. i am pretty much obsessed with it and have watched 45 episodes in 2 weeks so i'm really cool.

tim riggins is my true love, he is so beautiful with his long flowy hair... yummy.

if you haven't watched it yet, i highly recommend it!

mumf and sons. i can't get enough of them right now.

i think i have listened to 'the cave' about 100 times in the last 24 hours. the lyrics are amazing.

"i will hold on hope...and i'll find strength in pain, and i'll change my ways i'll know my name as its called again"

"cause i need freedom now and i need to know how to live my life as its meant to be"

also, awake my soul and little lion man are amazing too!

i have found a new appreciation for nature. i still despise bugs and bees, but being outside

and enjoying this beautiful weather has made me really happy! fall is my absolute favorite season when all the leaves are changing and the weather is still warm, but a little chilly i looove it! i went mountain biking with my dad and jeffrey and besides the fact that i am so out of shape and it kicked my butt, i really enjoyed it! im hoping to go again before it gets too cold. i also want to go hike to lake mary it looks so pretty there.

my fam always makes me happy and im really lucky and blessed to be part of such a great one.

and lastly, my backyard. weird i know but it is so nice to just go out there after work and go swimming and enjoy the sun. its been really great to me these last couple weeks.

rainbows and poems.. no homo

i love rainbows. more than ever now because of this line of 'if i die young'

"lord make me a rainbow i'll shine down on my mother,

she'll know im safe with you when she stands under my colors"

every time i see rainbows now, i feel like its brynn letting me know she is happy and safe.

this past weekend, me and some peeps went to vegas, which originally brynn and i had planned 
on doing for my 21st birthday. on our way down we saw the most gorgeous double rainbow. the first
 rainbow was so bright throughout the whole arch, i have never seen one so bright before. i wish i 
could have gotten a picture of it! i know it was brynn letting me know she was with us on our trip.

also, when reading that girls blog about her grandpa, she posted the most beautiful

poem that really hit home for me. it was exactly the words i needed to hear.

enjoy :)

To my dearest family, some things Id like to say.
But first of all, to let you know, that I arrived okay.
I'm writing this from heaven.
Here I dwell with God above.
Here, theres no more tears of sadness;
Here is just eternal love.

Please do not be unhappy just because I'm out of sight.
Remember that I am with you every morning, noon and night.
That day I had to leave you when my life on earth was through.
God picked me up and hugged me and He said, I welcome you.
Its good to have you back again, you were missed while you were gone.
As for your dearest family, They'll be here later on.

I need you here so badly, you are part of my plan.
There is so much that we can do, to help our mortal man.
God gave me a list of things, that he wished for me to do.
And foremost on the list, was to watch and care for you.
And when you lie in bed at night the days chores put to flight.
God and I are closest to you....in the middle of the night.

When you think of my life on earth, and all those loving years.
Because you are only human, they are bound to bring you tears.
But do not be afraid to cry; it does relieve the pain.
Remember there would be no flowers, unless there was some rain.
I wish that I could tell you all that God has planned.
If I were to tell you, you wouldn't understand.

But one thing is for certain, though my life on earth is over.
I'm closer to you now, than I ever was before.
There are rocky roads ahead of you and many hills to climb;
But together we can do it by taking one day at a time.
It was always my philosophy and Id like it for you too;
That as you give unto the world, the world will give to you.

If you can help somebody who is in sorrow and pain;
Then you can say to God at night....My day was not in vain.
And now I am contented... that my life was worthwhile.
Knowing as I passed along the way I made somebody smile.
So if you meet somebody who is sad and feeling low;
Just lend a hand to pick them up, as on your way you go.

When you're walking down the street and you've got me on your mind;
I'm walking in your footsteps only half a step behind.
And when its time for you to go...from that body to be free. 

Remember you're not going...you're coming here to me.  

missing brynn

i am going to be very open in this post and express my feelings on a personal level. please don't judge me.

by far my favorite picture of brynn, still makes me laugh everytime!

i am missing brynn tonight.. well i have been missing brynn ever since the night she left us. the hole in my heart can never be filled. i don't understand why she had to leave us this way, and i don't think i ever will.

as much as i try to put on a front that i am ok, i am struggling more than ever. i feel like the more time has gone by the more it has settled in that this is reality and it truly feels impossible. impossible to imagine life without brynn, impossible to move forward and just go on with life like nothing is wrong. i hate the fact that brynn is gone, gone until its my turn to go. people say that time on this earth is so short, and i am sure it is once your gone, but for me living in this world it seems like forever until i will be reunited with my sister and best friend. 

i was reading someone's blog today and it was about them losing their grandparent. they said how they were able to say their last goodbyes and tell them how much they loved them. 

i wish so badly i could have had that with brynn. i decided to write down what i would have said to her if i knew it was going to be the last time i saw her.

SISTA! I don't think you have any idea how much i look up to you. i am so glad i grew up and knew how to not be a tattle tale so you would trust me. i am so glad i became part of the sistahood and you and i were able to grow so close this past year. i literally don't think we have been in one fight for a long time, which is incredible for us! i consider you one of my closest friends and lucky for me i get to call you my sister, i get to be stuck with you forever!

 i especially want to thank you for all the laughs, weird conversations in the hot tub, your attempted rapping, your quick witty remarks, helping me learn how to laugh at myself, being there for me when i was going thru break ups and showing me its ok to be single, lifetime/80's movie marathons, putting your butt in my face on the boat numerous times, our countless chats of getting skinny and then going out to eat right after saying we will 'start tomorrow'. getting me addicted to chips and salsa, watching kardashians and bachelor togeth and talking like the kardashians, having extremely lazy days by the pool, being my karaoke partner (you will never be replaced!) showing me that its cool to go to school and telling me i can do it, making me extremely jealous of all your trips (i can't stand the fact that we never got to do our greece trip!!!), showing me that life is meant to be lived, and teaching me to be true to myself. 

i don't think i could ever tell you enough how much i love you and thank you for everything you have taught me in your short life. i can only dream to even coming close the the woman you are and i can't wait to see you again. i love you and miss you so much brynn. please be with me all the time so i will be able to get thru this. 

i will love you forever my brynncess aka brynnasaurus aka sista aka bean aka bran aka kim

sorry for the weird pic placement i cant figure it out!