quote of the year.

"Do me a favor… Stand up, walk to wherever the nearest window is, and just look outside. You may not know this, but there’s an entire planets-worth of summers, friends, sunsets, street lamps, songs, late nights, great films, and night skies waiting for you. Your life is as amazing as you want it to be, but first, you have to let it be that way. " -Chad Sugg

where i come from rain is a good thing.

i love living in seattle. i love the rain. i love the smell of new rain. and i love being able to take people i love around my city. around my town. around my valley. it makes me so happy to be able to let people i care about see where i live. where my memories were made. what makes me, well me. and it makes me the happiest. i love living in the valley. as much as it drives me crazy because it is so small and it feels like you can't get away. but in reality, i love it for the memories and the people. it is something that is part of me that will never change. now here are some pictures of the rest of the adventures i had when my friends came to visit.

 mr. alex scifres

 in the butterfly exhibit. i got a little excited and nervous at the same time.

 mary

 overlooking the flooding falls with the gang

 my girls

 typical picture

pretending to be kate. well meg isn't..

family is forever.

after a little bit of a dispute last night with my sister kate. i sat back and thought about how we got to that point. as my close friends know, kate and i have a tendency not to get a long. because well we just don't. for some reason we just always argue, yell, jump each other. we act like brothers when we get near each other. and last night it got pretty ugly. i felt bad because i am near 20, and kate is only 12. i get tired of hearing from my parents that i need to be more mature and everything, but in all honesty...i do. I need to be the example to kate and my other sisters. while i was falling asleep i just felt sick thinking about what had happened the night before. i came to the conclusion of why i haven't gotten along with kate. because she is so much like...ME. i see so much of myself that i think i get frustrated and she isn't afraid to stand up to me. she is a lot like me it freaks me out a little bit. but once i realized it i kinda like it. i like knowing that we have similar personalities. i just hope she doesn't repeat some of my mistakes. kate is turning into a beautiful girl and she has the boys falling all over themselves when she walks by. and being a new year, as cheesy as it is i feel like i should add something to my list. honestly trying to get to know kate, and trying to be her friend. meg my younger sister (17) is one of my best friends. my confidant. i love to have her around. and there are times when kate does the same. i just need to remember that all the time. so here is my public post saying that i am going to try to get a long better with kate and hope that brings down the level of stress! wish me luck ;)

 see we can get along on occasion! i just want to fix it so it is all the time! well most of the time.

 "for there is no friend like a sister, in calm or stormy weather, to cheer one on the tedious way, to fetch one if one goes astray, to lift one if one totters down, to strengthen whilst one stands." 

                                                          -Christina G. Rossetti

adventures from seatown.

i had the best weekend of 2011 so far. my dear friends from the Burg came up to visit me. It was the most exciting weekend. I was exhausted by the end of it. My adrenaline fell apart the second they pulled away from the house on Monday morning. It was quite the weekend. and i miss them already. more pictures will come soon. channing and mary took on the title of being photographers. and camas (the one in the NASA helmet) took it on as well. Alex, well he just modeled.

 I took them to the Seattle Center. Where we reached our inner kids

 Chuck and Chrys reunited once again :)

 Darth Vader.

 walking through seattle with the peeps, photo cred to Channing.

 the beautiful fish market.

 as mary likes to say is that my town is full of "art and imagination and creativity." never thought about it before, and kinda took for granted, until i got to see it through their eyes. and i am proud to live here.

 butterfly exhibit. my favorite still. and a butterfly landed on me!

 the nasty gum wall. in my 10 almost 11 years, i have never been here. and i know why. nasty.

the one, the only, space needle. how i love this.

love? who knows. but for now i'm twitterpated.

i have fallen in love. not with someone i actually know or anything, because that would be too cliche. but rather i have fallen in love with someone that there is no way in this green world that anything would happen. but i don't care. because in my dream world it works :) and besides i love him in the movie Penelope. one of my all time favorites. ladies and gentleman say hello to james mcavoy. yes i know he isn't mcdreamy or anything like that. but as my sister dana puts men like him in this category as boyfriend cute. "boyfriend cute. you know like he's cute enough that you like to flaunt him and you really like him. but he's not gorgeous enough that you think other girls are gonna try to steal him. or so hot that he thinks he can cheat. you know? boyfriend cute."

 Penelope. A modern romantic tale about a young aristocratic heiress born under a curse that can only be broken when she finds true love with "one who will love her faithfully.

oh with a little splash of this man here and there please. then i will be so happy. and for now just the imagination will do.


 oh and p.s. he is in the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe. which i think is still the best one. for those of you who aren't familiar he is mr. tumnus. adorable even in that. and yes he is a faun. half man half goat. yes i am in love. (james that is. not my other lover.)

home is where the heart is.

being home for four months means lots of fun moments with my loved ones. and what can i say they do some great things. i had a little photo shoot with my sisters (minus Krazy Kate) it was a funny afternoon. oh p.s. meg is turning 17 tomorrow. cross your fingers that this one goes well! we are going to be documenting the whole day. including our date night on thursday with our boys! so here is my family and some fun moments i've had so far with my beloved valley.

 my boy brian

 colt. my marine :)

 representing transformers

 we can be normal. contrary to belief. well sometimes.

complicated? hunny that's just the start...

"to me, true love is the sweetest thing in life. that's why we're all either in love or looking for love. sometimes you have to work for it- especially when life gets in the way-but i believe true, deep love is always worth fighting for."

new year. but it seems the past keeps chasing me...who knows what this year holds for me. but i'm not going to let my past define me. i'm going to keep living and keep going. i'm me. and no one is gonna change that. i know this post has love in it, but right now i'm single. so no worries mary and channing ;) i'll keep you girls updated. guess we are just gonna have to go with our old rule..take it day by day and see what it offers you! bring it on 2011.