"I Bet My Life" - Imagine Dragons

Yesterday I saw this posted on facebook:

"I'm finding out that being an adult is a lot more than learning how to cook."

Ah yes. The secrets of adulthood that were so conveniently left out when learning to grow up.  It's like all things in life; we leave out the hard parts so we have the good things to look forward to. 

On a lighter note Rachel and I feel like we have been rocking the adult stage. As previously told we have managed to change the light bulbs, we changed our shower head and have proceed to clean out the shower/sink drain. Life points for us. 

On an entirely other note it's the middle of December and there is no snow on the ground. I'm slightly heartbroken yet grateful I don't have to deal with snow and ice. But this year I really will be wishing for that white Christmas. 

"Geronimo" - Sheppard

Okay so maybe it's been a while since I've blogged....haha that's an understatement. I'm playing the whole life got busy-working, moving, holidays. Not to mention that I have been working on other projects as well. The eternal working on my photography website and portfolio which I'm setting a goal to be done by Christmas. I'll report back later.

So like I said I've moved to Orem. Rachel and I are roommates again! Except this time in our own bedrooms which means I'm not going to have any awesome sleep-talking quotes. I really think we should record her or something.

Anyway, have your own place means taking care of maintenance right? Simple things like changing light bulbs? Sometimes it's just not that simple.

We live on the fourth floor and as the result we have vaulted ceilings. So it makes for reaching the lightbulbs a little difficult. Luckily my mom has this contraption that's like a basket. You fit it around the light bulb, twist it out, take it down, put the new bulb in the basket and insert it and viola it's done. It's almost too simple.

We had 3 bulbs out. One of the lower height and then two at the high point of the ceiling. I asked mom to borrow said contraption and I tried it on the lower bulb. I couldn't even get it around the light because it fit so tightly in the can. So I decided to try it in the one bulb that was actually working. Well I got it to fit around and then when I proceeded to try and remove it I pulled the light and the can off the ceiling. There was immediate panic and Rachel had to get a broom and push the can in with that while I tried to pull off the basket.

Needless to say we didn't bother trying that on any of the other lights.

Then I remembered my mom had a suction cup attachment we could use. Perfect!

I first tried it on the lower bulb. I couldn't get it to turn the bulb at all. So I tried standing on the counter and reaching but I was too short. So Rachel stood on the counter and was able to switch the light. 1 out of 3 done.

We moved onto one of the higher bulbs and got the suction cup on it and turning the light bulb. Then we had a major panic attack of what would happen if the light came off the suction after we remove and before we could reach it. So I ran and grabbed my laundry basket full of clothes to use as a receiver. After a little stress we managed to get the light done. Awesome.

So I put the new bulb on the suction and put it in and twisted it and we were home free!! Not. We couldn't get the suction off. I'm trying to move the pole every which direction trying so desperately to get an air bubble in there. I'm already standing on a stool and there is no way I'm going to be able to reach the bulb to try and remove it. I'm freaking out and Rachel decides to go find an old wire hanger and we're able to pull this little clasp that removes the bulb. Phew.

By the time we did the third one we had it down and managed to do it quickly and swiftly. Rachel and I had made it to the hysterical laughter stage by the time we were done. There was significant stress and breath holding and freaking out but we succeeded. I just kept saying thanks that our roommate wasn't home or walked in during that because it would have been soooo awkward.

"Play It Again" - Luke Bryan

It's a beautiful rainy day. 

Meghan started school today. The girl is starting her junior year people. My little baby is all grown up. 

I've started to notice the leaves changing at the very tippy top of the mountains. 

This has been one of the best summers I've had in the longest time. 

I make no qualms about not missing the Nevada weather. A visit this summer finalized that for me. I love Utah. 

I'm getting excited for Autumn -- the leaves, the cooler weather, hot chocolate, rainy days, reds oranges and golds -- it's one of my favorite seasons. 

I'm trying not to picture what comes after the gorgeous fall...while fresh power is just as gorgeous, it has its downsides. 

So here's to living up the last little bit of summer. 

"All About That" - Meghan Trainor

I've been off adventuring.

It's funny that when I get back from a supposed vacation I have to recover. Isn't the vacation itself supposed to help you recover?

In the last three weeks I have been to a ward camp out in the mountains, soaking up the sun at Lake Powell and most recently returned from the golden state of California.

I'm exhausted. And yet that's not enough to keep me from continuing on in daily life. I know it may appear that I do nothing but play but trust me when I say that there is enough going on in my life to keep the stress alive.

My next trip is in less than 2 weeks and quite frankly I have no desire to unpack my suitcase. So it will probably just sit on my floor until I start packing next week.

"Automatic" - Miranda Lambert

I know on Monday I said it was cold. 

Yesterday was colder. 

I sat watching the temperature drop all day till it hit about 40. It had been pouring rain all afternoon and then I look outside and the mountains were no where to be seen. 

Then later that evening the clouds started to lift and lo and behold the mountains were covered in snow. 

I was a little distraught at first considering the fact that Summer is officially starting in 3 days but when I woke up this morning to see all the clouds gone and the snowy mountains, I had a change of heart. 

Gorgeous. 

"Shades of Cool" - Lana Del Ray

It appears that it's been about a month since I posted last. Oops. My Bad. I've been busy with family working on some projects. 

I guess I feel weird posting without pictures which is why I so often don't.

Anyway today was a chilly 69 degrees. I even had to be a sweatshirt on it was so cold. I joked that maybe we should break out the winter clothes.

It's been cloudy, but the lack of rain is severely disappointing. I do miss the summer storms from Nevada although not enough to consider move back. 

Kaleen came home this weekend and I already miss her. It's a blessing to have her closer and be able to come home so often but then I just wish she could come home all the time. Luckily 4th of July isn't too far away.

My sisters are hilarious, or at least I find them hilarious. There's nothing better than all cuddling up together in a bed and giggling until we can't breathe at some insane hour of the morning. And once you get us going there's no chance of stopping it. I am lucky to have them. 

"Classic" - MKTO

As previously mentioned when Diane was here we took pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. And I'm fortunate enough to have wonderful models for me that love to pose for me. Thanks Erica and Meg! 

As we were walking around the sunset was just setting and it was gorgeous so I snapped these of Diane. 

"Happy" - Pharrell Williams

I love Utah. 

The last few days have been absolutely gorgeous. We were sitting outside this weekend and I had the passing thought that I do not miss Nevada. Not even a little bit. 

Driving around this weekend I've noticed that the mountains have turned green and I love it. 

The weather has been a perfect 80 degrees. And I have tried to spend as much time outside as possible. 

I wonder if people truly realize the amazing beauty of Utah. Sometimes you have to live somewhere else to truly appreciate. And let me tell you that I don't take this weather for granted. 

We live in a truly beautiful place. 

Enjoy it. 

"Living In Another World" - Neon Trees

Things I miss about Nevada: 

-zero percent humidity. If I wasn't able to dry my hair it would be in under an hour 

-the radio stations. Utah is so far behind the times 

-Blue skies like 360 days of the year

-friends and family 

-the lake ohhhh the lake
-the warmer weather 

Things I love about Utah 

-seasons! Even though it can be super bipolar ie 60 one day and then 35 the next it's been a blooming gorgeous madness around here 

-There are no popo sitting at every corner waiting to ticket you. 

-also no one drives the speed limit on the freeway! #imonlygoingwiththeflowoftraffic

-there is no cigarette smoke, no swearing, no pornography on billboards

-friends and family
-TULIPS
-The scenery is just far better - loving them mountains
-GRASS
-vegetation
-so much closer to Kaleen here
-everyone is so nice
-there is always a temple within 20 min
- I can actually be outside during the day
-You can actually see the stars because they're not polluted by the lights from the strip


I could go on and on but basically I'm pretty happy here in Utah. I miss Brandon, Anna and the kiddos the most from NV but pretty much nothing else. Now if we could just get warm and stay warm it would be perfect :)

"This Is How We Roll" - Florida George Line

Are you sick of tulips yet? I mean I don't know if that's possible and if it is that's just so wrong. 

But if the slightest chance you are feel free to carry on past this post. And probably the next on. Maybe even the next one. 

So Saturday was the last day of Tulip Festival. They had this awesome swing dance and a live band and pretty lights and it was just so cool. Since it was the end Rachel said she could use her mule (not a real animal) and drive us back to the top. 

Well we decided to take the scenic route and have a little fun on our way back! 

Let me tell you it felt a lot like Indiana Jones and it was fantastic. 

We stopped to take some pictures and play Sjoelen which is like a Dutch version of shuffleboard. And we smelled our way around the Fragrance Garden which is totally awesome as well. 

It was a great way to end the night! 

"All of Me" - John Legend

Happy Cinco de Mayo! 

I heard a really good joke about cinco de mayo a couple of years ago but I don't remember it anymore. It had something to do with the titanic carrying mayo and then sinking. 

Anyway this weekend was totally awesome because Diane came to visit! We pretty much spent the entire weekend taking pictures which was great because I need to do that more often. One of the more exciting places that we took pictures was Thanksgiving Point. I've been itching to take pictures those tulips because newsflash: they're my favorite. 

So out of the many of hundreds that I took here are a few of my favorites! 

This one I entered into the Thanksgiving Point photo contest so we'll see how it holds out! I titled it #TulipTherapy

One of the reasons why I love shooting with Diane is that she takes pictures of me when I don't even know it and they're so artsy and wonderful. I like her for that. 

Don't worry there are more pictures to come from this weekend :) 

"Dark Horse" - Katy Perry

24

You know sometimes it's really hard to believe how old you are when people believe that you are much younger. 

I'm not complaining about being perceived as younger as long as they don't equate that to my maturity level. 

Like that one time I moved into a new ward and someone asked when I graduated and I said last year and they thought I meant high school. 

They were very confused when I told them I had a college degree. 

24 seems way less scary than 23. It must be a numbers thing. 

This year my birthday landed on Easter. It's only the second time I remember it happening but numerically I'm thinking that it must have happened at least one other time when I was really young. 

Anyway, I decided to make my birthday last as long as possible and deemed it Birthday Weekend. 

We had beautiful weather on Saturday and had a great BBQ with friends and family. We played Bocce Ball and board games and it was just so nice to be outside!! (We have not been fortunate to have any kind of weather since then) 

Then on Sunday we did dinner and cake and Easter egg hunt! Which I have no pictures of because I was too busy looking for my eggs. 

A couple weeks before my birthday we were at the store and I saw that they had a Pink velvet cake and I was like that totally going to be my birthday cake. And then I went back again and they had this super hot pink frosting. Naturally they go together. I don't think I will ever have this pink of a cake again in my life. But I am totally up to the challenge :) 

Woohoo 24! 

So kind of a funny story. This was the end of Kaleen's spring break. Y'all know when Kaleen is around there is no point in sleeping, as had as she tries to go to bed early. So by Sunday afternoon I was really, really sleep deprived. In the process of making my cake I broke a glass measuring cup, broke the cake trying to get it out of the pan and then broke it again when I was trying to frost it. I think there may have been something else happen too, but basically I was a mess. I was totally out of it and not functioning. 

So here we are, candles lit and ready to blow those bad boys out and I did, it one breath. 

And then someone mentioned about a good birthday wish. 

I forgot to make a wish before I blew out my candles. 

How does a 24 year old forget to make a wish before blowing out her candles?! As I previously mentioned I was not functioning. 

So I had to relight and blow them out. But we decided to just do 1 for the sake of time. Hopefully that doesn't diminish the magically properties of a birthday wish. 

And because we are a picture loving family we had to take pictures! I will admit that I am wearing many inch heels in these pictures. 

Kaleen's roommate, Katie, came down with here for spring break and she is just so adorable. She just fit in like another Trout sister! 

Woohoo familia picture! 

"Who I Am With" - Chris Young

I realized that I never posted pictures from when I went to AZ a couple of weeks ago! I was reminded by this because Diane is coming this weekend :) 

So the day before I drove down to Arizona it snowed. We actually lost power that day and I had just gotten out of the shower and hadn't dried my hair and was putting my clothes in the wash when we lost power. Gratefully, it came back sooner than they said it would. 

Then we drive to Mesa where it was a GORGEOUS 80 degrees. The warmth. It hugged my soul. 

We stepped out of the car and I could smell orange blossoms and I just wanted to stand there forever. Then I turned around and saw this sunset and I was like yes. This is awesome. 

I wasn't there very long but I asked Diane if we could go to the Gilbert temple! People are right when they say that it is gorgeous...and big. The pictures don't do justice how pretty it is! 

Then we woke up the next morning and decided to go to Mesa temple! I've been outside but never inside. So I got to add 2 more temples to my list! 

"Magic" - Coldplay

Tulips

A little taste of heaven. 

Sometimes you just get really lucky and capture a super fantastic photo. 

This would be one of those times. 

"Sure Be Cool If You Did" - Blake Shelton

It's one of the best times of the year...BYU Graduation! 

I can't believe it's been 2 years since I've graduated. I mean I haven't aged a bit!

Graduation is a great time for me to see lots of friends all in one space. Especially when they're all in the same college then I get to see lots of people at once!!

This is one of my previous roommates Heidi. She's the sweetest! 

My dear friend Sherese! Her sister graduated and we made plans to see each other at graduation. 

And then I got to see my other dear roommate Kristin! I remember the day we found out that our parents grew up together in California together and our Grandma's sat next to each other in Relief Society!

Of course I was there primarily for Hilary! Way to rock it! Welcome to the alumni club! woot woot! 

"On Top of the World" - Imagine Dragons

My haiku: Ode to Tulips

Tulips are blooming. 

They are so very pretty.

I love my tulips.

"Ain't It Fun" - Paramore

I took Meg and her friend out shooting (photography that is) last weekend. We had some fun times. 

Meg said I looked like Katniss. 

I dearly love to laugh.

I love this picture. It looks like I should be on a CD cover or something and all I was doing was picking up a stick. 

Then I got to have a little fun taking pictures too!

Spring is coming!