Thanksgiving break!

Hello! So I flew home on Wednesday evening, and it was glorious. 

Here is a picture of the cute little dutch ovens my mom got! Let's ignore the dirty pan though.

Here is an artsy photo of an orange. 

Here is a picture of Owen looking super cute. 

And Dewey doing the same. 

Jozi wouldn't pose for the camera. 

Here is the beautiful stuffing?

And my beautiful plate of food.

I told my mom to take a picture of the menorah and this is how it turned out....not sure if she was shooting the menorah or the wine glass but I'll take it. 

And to top it all off, I took a picture of the inside of my mom's brand new car! She got a Jeep Grand Cherokee and it has all of the fancy bells and whistles on the inside - we definitely had fun playing with it all weekend. 

It was a super fun time at home filled with lots of dogs, food, family, a completed 1000 piece puzzle of Times Square, watching Elf, Black Friday shopping, family portraits, painting, more shopping, more food, sleep, more dogs, and friends. It was a really nice break from school and I feel recharged and ready to tackle finals. We are in the homestretch, kiddos!!!

To get you through finals, please enjoy this video that my mother took of me coming home to my pets. And ignore my squealing, I just get way too excited to see Dewey. 

To my best friend, Syd

Happy happy birthday to my bestest friend Sydney!!! She is the light of my life and truly my soul sister. 

I'm going to copy Lauren and make a list of 18 different things that I love about Sydney. In no particular order.....

1. Sydney has the world's best taste in music and she is always down to rock out to some awesome tunes whether it's in the morning, in the car, or in the shower.

2. Syd has the best combination of blue eyes and brown hair. It's beautiful.

3. Sydney is so loyal to all of her friends and would lay down her life for any of them.

4. Sydney is so strong in who she is and would never ever let anyone tell her otherwise.

5. Sydney is probably the world's cutest person. Just look at her when she gets excited or nervous and you'll know what I'm talking about. 

6. Sydney is very passionate about anything and everything, including Big Brother but surprisingly doesn't want to live in a trailer park.

7. Sydney's family is probably the most entertaining group of people ever and Syd contributes a lot to that fact.

8. Syd is super understanding and will be there for you if you are ever having a tough time. Even though she doesn't like touching, she will hold you while you cry. 

9. Sydney would never judge anyone for having different beliefs than she does, only if they're Republican.

10. Sydney hates French just about as much as I do.

11. Sydney is very consistent with her visiting teaching.

12. Syd has a lot of very specific "favorites" (Takis, red, Mt. Dew, etc) which make it very easy to buy things for her. 

13. Sydney puts up with my craziness and never once objects to living with me or having to be in the same room as me. 

14. Sydney is mature and wise beyond her years. 

15. Sydney is cultured and aware of the world around her, which is pretty rare to find in most 18 year olds. 

16. Sydney is really good at getting free Chipotle with me. We always walk away without paying full price. 

17. Sydney lets me say my jokes fifty thousand times over and over and over again because I like to make sure that everyone has heard the beautiful things I have to say. 

18. Syd's name starts with the same letter as mine, which automatically means that we are soulmates and meant to be best friends for time and all eternity. 

Sydney I love you so much and I'm so grateful that I've had the opportunity to celebrate you this week!

Phi Beta Kappa initiation ceremony. 

First game in the ZonaZoo.

First Sunday at the Singles Ward. 

Getting ice cream and looking hot at the same time. 

The first of many free trips to Chipotle. 

Gettin' down at EJ's party. 

Impromptu scenic hikes. 

And the picture which defines our relationship.

If you give a girl a mouse....

Holy cow I would be so happy. Back when I was in 2nd grade, I desperately wanted a pet of my own that I could take care of and call mine. My family had cats and dogs, but they were the "family pets". Not my own. My parents suggested a rat or mouse, and upon further investigation, decided a rat would be easier. Mice are super small and can get out of their cages and hide places in the house. So I was content with the rat for a while. But the mice are just so much cuter!!! My sister promised me that when she went to college, she would buy me a white and tan mouse. I'm not sure why she had to wait until college, considering the fact that mice cost around $4. But I think we thought they were much rarer than they actually are. My sister just finished up her Master's this summer. I'm still sitting here mouse-less.

Oh my goodness it is so cute! Actually, I'm not entirely sure it's that cute. I think the hype that I've built up over the years makes it look much cuter.

Homecoming Weekend

I suck so hard at blogging omg. Here's how cute I look in my Gap nametag. 

And here is my nametag up close. 

We went wedding shopping with Natalie and I naturally had to try on tiaras. 

One time Lauren and I went on a cute date to Rubio's. 

I freaking love the turtle pond! It always amazes me. 

Ok so now I've officially been to two hockey games in my life! We went to one on Halloween and it was my first one ever! I even got a puck :) It's decorating our bookshelf and it is my pride and joy. 

Since it was Halloween, we all dressed up. EJ put his Benny wig to good use and dressed up as a crunchy person. 

Peace. Granola. And hockey. 

I rock that wig rather well. In my own humble opinion. 

The next night was the Halloween dance where we were all Cheetah Girls. Here is a blurry photo of me being super hip with my Cheetah Girl makeup. 

Annabeth and I's new favorite thing to do is to put pantyhose over our heads. It makes for some super attractive photos where we resemble 19th century British boys. 

This weekend was Homecoming weekend and my mom came to visit as well as the Richardson clan! It was truly a weekend filled with so much joy. We went to a hockey game, ate lots of yummy food, went shopping, walked around campus, went to the Homecoming parade, some of us went to the game, my mom and I went horseback riding, and we just had the best time ever!!!!! Here is a picture of me in a car full of Richardsons. And Annabeth, but she's hiding. 

Avery found a hat at the mall that she liked a lot. It inspired her to start rapping into the mirror. 

After the mall, we went to Taco Bell!!!

Hockey game selfies....naturally. 

I joined in on the fun. 

After the hockey game, I took McKenzie and Avery to the airport to pick up my mom! Avery didn't hang in there too long so she slept through the whole ordeal. 

After the airport, my bedmate slept very peacefully. She looked like a little angel!

The next day was HOMECOMING! We went to the parade which was awesome. 

Roomie selfie at the parade.

Again, Avery fell asleep. 

We should definitely be in the "Wild Ones" section of ZonaZoo. 

This basically sums up Syd and I.

Look. Here's me and my friend Matt. We love hanging out so much. 

Finally, my mom and I had a lovely dinner before I sent her back to San Ramon! We ordered the same exact thing. 

It was an awesome weekend and I'm so grateful that my mom was able to take time away from San Ramon and to come visit me and play with us all weekend long!!!!