Spring Break

Sometimes I'm really glad I don't go to BYU....the no Spring Break thing=deal breaker.

This year we cruised to Mexico and absorbed a much needed, weeks worth of sun. (well I absorbed about 5 weeks in 1 week. curse my complexion.) This was a much needed vacation. It was so fun to be surrounded by so many wonderful people doing so many fun things. These are the years to be selfish with your money because like why not? This will forever be a very cherished memory as I look back on my college years. 

+We cruised around Catalina on motor bikes. I will never forget the way Paco rode her bike around like it was her last day to live. Determined to ride everywhere as fast as she could. 

+We raided Drew's nana's closet and each found a sun hat that fit our personalities just right.

+We rode horses along the a beautiful beach in Ensenada. Shalee and Cass were so disappointed when their horses wouldn't trot. (the horses were on auto-pilot and we literally didn't need to do anything and we would have been just fine.)

+Acquiring the nickname of cloudy for forever and always because I made one comment.

Me: "I'm kind of glad it's cloudy today....less sun exposure...give my poor skin a break, ya know?"

Kylie: "OKAY, CLOUDY!" 

I guess it wasn't a mutual feeling among anyone else. 

+Paige always resorting to the freshman to do things. "where are the freshman?? they'll come with me." 

+Bartering at La Bufadora (the blow hole) "5 dollars and a tequila shot?!" SOLD. except....JK Mormon.

+Swimming in the warmest ocean ever, really. And then finding out that it was infested with sharks and realizing that in retrospect we were the only ones swimming.....typical Utah Tourists.

+Being honked at by every car in Ensenada like we were celebs or something. 

+Assuming that when people were nice to us that they just wanted a tip.

+The boat rocking us to sleep every night in the literal comfiest beds in the entire world. I miss that most...

+Food. Lots of it.

+dinner. The servers all became our best friends and their poorly choreographed dances during dinner were the best thing in the world. Also our tables nightly routine of toasts, things we like about each other, and speeches on the last night. "money is a renewable resource, memories are not." -Kam

Now I suffer from SB withdrawals. The past couple of mornings have consisted of pep talks similar to this. "pull yourself together Meg! Spring break is OVER!" 

I like quilts

This quilt is the product of a long time in the making. Originally started by my mom who knows how many moons ago. (hence the really cute up-to-date fabric, secretly I actually really love it though) 

Five years ago when I was a sophomore in high school I was in a sewing class with my sister Katie who was a senior at the time. I totally wasn't supposed to be in this particular sewing class because it wasn't available to sophomores. The high-school sewing teacher, Mrs. Baker was very fond of Katie because she is a seamstress extraordinaire so she agreed to the exception. Katie was just in charge of catching me up to speed, she was like my personal assistant really. All throughout the year I depended on Katie to teach me the basics of clothing construction and quilting in a sewing class that was advanced. Turns out making fabric-filled bean bags at the age of 5 didn't really translate into the designer sewing rigors. So Katie helped me, she helped a lot. And we would joke about my inability to cut patterns out and most everything else every single day. Somehow she would manage to finish her quarterly project in time as well as mine.

The last quarter was when we made quilts, my favorite! Prior to this we found a half started quilt from my mom that became lost under a cluttered bed. Katie brought the yards upon yards of fabric and a couple of finished quilt blocks to school. I’m pretty sure Mrs. Baker cried this day as well as many other days we shared about our mom and her love for sewing.

Katie and Mrs. Baker were able to figure out how to make the remaining quilt blocks without a pattern and just lots and lots of fabric. Enough fabric in fact that we were each able to make our own quilt. I finished mine a while ago and didn't get around to hand-stitching the binding until now. 

I really love quilts and I always have. When I was a child there were quilts proudly displayed in the living room of my house. Quilts represent work, time, comfort, and warmth. I cannot think of a more meaningful gift. And even though i'm sure the quilt was started and then pushed aside due to the responsibilities of motherhood I like to think that she left it there for us to finish because she couldn't finish it on her own. 

One day this quilt will proudly be displayed in two homes.

Good Knit

Pun intended. I just don't know how else a college student is supposed to spend their saturday nights these days. I was so pleased and content with the idea of a home cooked meal and knitting lessons from none other then my brother and his wife Jenn. You know Justin was always that reliable brother whom I could count on to do arts and crafts with as a child. Sometimes, well usually he surpasses my ability. 

 when we pose for a picture we look like we're chums and B.A. with our knitting needles....but really

 we look like this.  ;)

 I don't even wan't to hear the criticism. I know mine is as loosy goosey as it gets...but this was my very first go. I've made major improvements since.

sometimes a night in with my sibs are the perfect nights. 

Thanks J & J for the knitting lessons. 

Photo Cred: Jenn

Thank you Mr President(s)

Sometimes I don't realize how much I need to get away from everything until I am actually in the car getting away. And then of course I just keep saying it about a thousand times the whole time i'm gone. There is always stuff to do and more to get done but weekends where you can leave that behind and just pretend for a moment that it's not completely consuming every second of every day is just well, really nice. (a post from the same cabin trip last year.)

Sunday I woke up for some morning yoga with Nic. I am really starting to love yoga and the cabinesque environment made it just really great. Then everyone saddled up with their funkily-wonderful snowshoes and headed out on an adventure. We left right as the snow starting pounding us. Curly hair went straight and straight hair went curly and we all thanked the heavens for snow gear to keep us dry. I mean we're talking conditions worse then the supposed "blizzard of 2010" There was a moment when all of the snow on the hill we were hiking up shifted and we could see the break at the top...like an avalanche but not. It was terrifying and awesome all at the same time. Now my snow shoeing muscles are sore, the muscles you only use once a year whilst snow shoeing. It's the best kinda sore.

That night a couple of us took the snowmobiles out for a night ride. We rode into this perfect little nook surrounded by trees and mountains where we star-gazed till we were too frightened to stand it. It was seriously so beautiful though and probably one of my favorite things we did. 

Most of the time though we were just contently not really doing anything. Reading, napping, and snuggling while Mike played his guitar and the fire place crackled as background noise. Making for a pretty dang close-to-perfect weekend. (And food is one-thousand times better while camping so I have to mention it.) The food was decent. ;)

I loved being around great friends except it wouldn't be an accurate report if I didn't mention how out-numbered us ladies were on this get-away 3 to 8. Let's just say It didn't even surprise me some of the things they would do by the end of the weekend. And by the last day I think I started becoming desensitized to it all. I will say this though, I've never been more grateful for perfume when half of the groups sleeping quarters were in the same little loft.

Huge thanks to Zac for hosting us yet again.

When January turns to February

It's been an eat-grilled-cheese-while-watching-the-olympics-and-finish-binding-my-quilt kind of week. The good news is i'm almost done with a quilt I finished in high school. Hand-stitching the binding has been more of a beast then I thought. Maybe that's why I have put it off for a solid 3+ years. I have been gushing over this quilt though. (pictures and a post to follow when it's actually completely finished.)

and now the most random stories of the week:
My roommate gets out of class when I'm off work and we drive home together. This week I had to meet with my Bishop right after work so I just brought a skirt to throw on in the car. I had no time to waste so while I was waiting for Paige I started changing. (I realize a quite populated parking lot in the middle of a college campus probably wasn't the best place but I was feeling extra daring plus I was kinda in a time crunch.) I saw paige coming toward the car with a friend right when my pants were off.  My internal thoughts went as follows. There's Paige! wait, who's that? Surely this friend of hers just parked over here and isn't going to get into my car. Oh my gosh I think she's in our ward. Paige offered her a ride. Awesome. Then when the doors flew open I loudly stated: "I'm not wearing pants" because WHAT IF I didn't say anything and one of them did? Then the 3-minute car ride seemed more like 15 minutes of uncomfortable-small-talk-pretending-to-ignore-the-fact-that-I-was-pants-less. How's that for a first impression? You know, I'm just really glad it wasn't a male. Praise the Elementary Education Gods-the major with only 3 boys. That is the first and probably only time I will ever say that.

Then today in class my teacher was going over our test results from earlier in the week. I got to class late and right when I was walking in he was discussing how there were a couple of students whom he would invite to read their essays as an example, to the class, of what a well written answer included. In my head I thought of a handful of students who would surely qualify. Then my professor says, "Megan H, would you be willing to read your essay for prompt number 1? (I haven't been called Megan H since 4th grade so it's strange and endearing all at the same time) I looked at the other Megan, then everyone was looking at me. I guess I am Megan H. I was trying to act like it was normal for me to praised by the teacher in front of the whole class...but soon realized there was no hiding how shocked I was. Guys I go to college!

Also because it's valentines day I sent my nephews and my little sisters a little valentine with a one-dollar bill in it because I have just come to terms that I am THAT sister/Aunt who is going to buy their love. And I think it's working. (plus right now they think one dollar is GOLD!)

Here's to a weekend of birthdays and baby showers and a mountainous get-away in the cutest cabin. (it seriously looks like it came straight out of a romance novel)