Oh, Mexico

James Taylor, Kenny Chesney, Roger Clyne, and so many others have penned songs about locales south of the border. There's just something about sitting on a beach in Mexico. Shannon, Lindsey and I enjoyed our trip so much two years ago we decided it was time for another. Sarah and Rachel joined us on this one. Jenn, lost her passport and became our first casualty. We thought we were going to lose Sarah too when she missed her flight Thursday morning! Luckily, she got another and found her way to the house. Jose let us use his home in Puerto Vallarta for the weekend. We had a fabulous time, even with karma's wicked sense of humor.

We kicked off Friday morning with a zipline canopy tour . This was fun. It was much better than the one I did few years ago in Vallarta. Rachel made more than a few boyfriends on the zipline. Being a group of five girls was not a bad thing! After resting up from our zipline adventure, i.e. laying in the pool all afternoon, we headed out for a night on the town. Some other friends were in P.V. for a wedding that weekend as well. We met up with them at La Bodeguita del Medio, a.k.a. the Cuban restaurant. Our zipline boyfriends were supposed to meet us there, but much to Rachel's disappointment, they never showed (or we were late?).

Um, yes, Lindsey, Shannon and I all wore the exact same color of orange. Weird.
After spending most of the morning not feeling so hot, we headed to Las Animas for an afternoon on the beach. You can only access Las Animas via water taxi. The water was a little rough and we had to load and unload on this, what I would call, dilapidated dock. I much preferred the beach loading technique. I think everyone just about lost some fingers or other body parts trying to get back in.
That day Lindsey made a new friend. Shannon and I got a real kick out of it! I swear, I think it's the same dog that befriended Lindsey two years ago! See:

After two nights of cooking we decided there was no way we were eating salmon and chicken again (I may never eat chicken again after my recent conversion to a vegetarian- we'll see how long it lasts). We headed for dinner at a local Italian restaurant on the malecon. Below is a picture of Shannon and Rachel "hugging" John Travolta. He was having dinner a few tables over from us. He's on Shannon's "list". I was going to say she "about" cried when she saw him, but no, she did. Sorry, Shan. We had the nerve to say hello but not to ask for a picture. He was about a foot away. Rumor was George Clooney was there. Too bad we didn't see him!
We spent Sunday at another beach, Yelapa. It was much more beautiful and calm. We had a good day until we got a visitor.
This guy, according to Rachel, was "...everything she hates about Texas plus some." He was rather ridiculous.
Sunday night was the last night we were all at the house. We had dinner at La Palapa on the beach in town. We decided to check out the night life one more time before we left. Just as we were settling in, the lights went out. I mean, all over town. There was no electricity. After sitting in the dark for thirty minutes we decided to call it a night. We went back home.

Monday was sort of crazy. We woke up to no running water in the house. Luckily we got the problem solved- I called the house keeper. Sadly, there was no running water before Rachel and Sarah had to leave to get on their planes. I think it was the warmest day of our trip too! Sorry girls, I hope it doesn't deter you from going next time!

Well, Linds headed back to the house with Sarah and Rachel, Shannon and I shopped and signed the three of us for a cruise on the Marigalante, a.k.a. the pirate ship. I must admit, I was not very excited to go. I had been a few years earlier. But begrudgingly I went. I had so much more fun than I anticipated. It was a really good time.
Tuesday was sad. We were most definitely not ready to leave. I easily could have finished out the week relaxing by the pool or on the beach.
We decided to have a little adventure on our way back to the airport. We took the bus with all of our luggage back to town instead of a taxi. It was quite the sight to see, three American girls with an ungodly amount of luggage on the $0.60 bus. We got a laugh out of it anyway. Thanks for coming girls. I had a great time!

ATONEMENT

Months ago I started reading Atonement by Ian McEwan. I recently finished the novel on my trip to Milwaukee. And I finally viewed the film this weekend. I probably would not have read the novel were it not for the film. I loved Pride & Prejudice and when I discovered Atonement was produced and directed by the by the same it peaked my interest. I was not disappointed by neither the book nor the film. But of course, I am a helpless romantic and enjoy most any love story. However, this one is definitely on the darker side and I cried. I appreciate novels and films so much more when I'm thinking about them long after their conclusions. It will probably be a while before another book or film affects me the way of Atonement. I highly recommend it, in either form.

Shannon's Birthday

We celebrated Shannon's birthday with a delicious dinner at Roaring Fork and then dancing at PCL. I always enjoy a meal at RF especially if it includes the green chili. I'm sure there are other items on the menu that are equally as delicious but I love the green chili so much it's all I order.This is my new do. I decided to go back to being a brunette. Blonde was fun but it didn't fit my pessimistic demeanor. I just couldn't be so happy all the time! Hee, hee, hee.It was such a random night. Beth and the Thunderbird crew ended up celebrating their graduation at PCL that night. We were more than happy to join their jubilee.

Shannon, for her birthday, decided to do what none of us have done before....she sat in the dirty swing. For those who don't know, PCL is owned by Jenna Jameson (need I say more?). We just don't sit in swings.....Happy Birthday Shannon!

One More Time

Snow fell from the sky in great abundance this winter. So, once again I packed my skis and trekked to Utah for the final weekend of the ski season. Andrew broke his collar bone in four places so I couldn't go to Colorado to ski with him. So I changed my ticket to Salt Lake. Alta had a 175 inch base when I stepped off the plane Friday morning. I love that mountain. Sadly, this was my last trip of the season. Rumor has it Snowbird is staying open until Memorial Day! I doubt I can make it back before then. The snow is not the only reason I am compelled to visit Utah. I love seeing Autumn, Tim and Miles. The Skousens are some of my most favorite people. I always have a good time in their company. It's fun to watch Miles grow every time I visit. There are only two things enticing me to move back to Utah, the skiing and the Skousens. Maybe someday.....

My Chemical Romance

My Chemical Romance played at the Tempe Music Festival Friday night, along with Puddle of Mudd and some other bands I had no clue about. It was quite the crowd, including: the blonde-haired tweens constantly screaming "My Chemical Romance, we love you!"; the forty-some-year-old mom's and dad's rocking out with their children in tow (this was really weird); and the classic gothic teenagers. I'm sure Rachel was seriously confused as to why I picked her up from the airport and brought her there. I did explain Shannon's affinity for guys with eyeliner. And Gerard Way did not disappoint, he had on his eyeliner. I did prefer his platinum hair to the black, but ah, oh well. MCR was very interesting but a good time nonetheless. It was worth the people watching experience.

Old Friends

This past weekend I was lucky enough to have dinner with my old friends, the Lows and the Hills. Janae, Steve and their precious little girl, Madeline, were in town for a little R & R at the Wigwam. Tiff lives here but she's been busy being a mom and doing a little thing called law school on the side. So, it was great to see her, Troy, and the adorable Miss Audrey at dinner.I can't believe it's been over five years since I left BYU and started a life outside a two mile radius of these girls. Janae and I go way back to the summer of '99 when we lived in S-Hall of Deseret Towers. We were crazy freshmen (about as crazy as freshmen girls are at BYU). Janae & April lived about four doors down the hall from me. Janae would periodically dress up like Britney Spears and sing "...Baby One More Time" down the hall. This was much more entertaining than the English 115 papers we were supposed to be writing. That was a fun summer.

After our two week summer break, we were back at school but in a different locale, Helaman Halls. It was quite an improvement from DT. Janae even convinced me, not that it took much convincing, to move out of Stover into David John. I got my own bathroom and April & Janae became my immediate neighbors. It was a win/win deal for me. Once I moved to David John, Tiffany was all the way down at the other end of the floor. I knew she was from Arizona but that was about it. I didn't really know Tiff until one Sunday afternoon when Tiffany, April, and myself found ourselves at McDonald's, where we weren't supposed to be. As far as Sunday's go, that day is one of my favorites. There are so many stories I would love to share from the year but I feel there is neither enough time nor space to do so adequately.

Anyone that knows me is aware I didn't love BYU, but I the friendships that were cultivated there have each had a significant impact on my life. I can't imagine what my life would be like without a single friend of mine from BYU (or UofU). So, Tiffany, Autumn, Stephanie, Janae and April, thanks. I love you girls.

Pizza!

Shannon and I headed to First Friday last night but we got a little sidetracked. She had never been to Pizzeria Bianco so we figured we would eat dinner there. We put our name on the list at 6:30 and were finally seated at 9:30. They are not kidding when they say the wait is 3 hours long. But the pizza is pretty delicious. Yes, it is ridiculous to wait three hours to eat pizza, but this pizza has been voted the best in the country. It was even featured on Oprah. Well, needless to say we didn't make it out to First Friday but we certainly did have good food.

Scrabulous

I am totally addicted to Scrabble on-line, thanks Autumn. This is the greatest thing since sliced bread, well maybe not, I do love the new pair of shoes I just bought.....I digress. I currently have Rachel and Mathew equally addicted. Mathew and I even got wild and crazy and purchased the old fashioned board game the other night. I don't think Paul and Rachelle were as excited to play Scrabble as we were.

There Will Be Blood

Although "There Will Be Blood" did not win the Oscar for Best Picture, Daniel Day-Lewis won for Best Actor. If you haven't seen this movie yet, you must. Daniel Day-Lewis gives one of the best performances I have seen in a long time. "No Country for Old Men" deserved to win the Oscar too but I'm disappointed "There Will Be Blood" didn't win for Best Picture.

Chicago, It's My Kind of Town

Over the long holiday I toured the Windy City. Chicago is one city I never tire of visiting. Next time I may go in the summer though. It was a bit chilly in February, at least this trip I didn't get sick! I was lucky enough to travel with my mom, aunt and my cousin, Cami. It wasn't too hard to convince her to ditch school for the day and come vacation with us. I hope she enjoyed her trip to the big city!
The day we arrived we toured The Art Institute of Chicago. This is a must see for me on every visit to the Windy City. My favorite Picasso is on display there, The Old Guitarist. There are many beautiful paintings in the museum but this is my favorite. Seeing my favorite paintings is like seeing old friends. I find new ways to appreciate them and they get better as time goes on. This time I bought a small print to bring home with me. Now I can look at the Guitarist any time I want. I only wish I could have seen the Edward Hopper exhibit, but I suppose that gives me a reason to go back!

The next day we walked down Michigan Avenue from our hotel. As we crossed the bridge over the Chicago River we were stunned to see the slabs of ice covering nearly the entire river.We walked down about a mile to the John Hancock building. The observatory at the top gives a pretty good view of the city and Lake Michigan.Parts of the lake were frozen just like the Chicago River. I can't even imagine how cold that water is. It's cold in the summer time at 50 degrees (or something like that.) You can see Navy Pier in the far right of the photo.The beach along Lake Shore is completely covered in snow. I couldn't believe how much snow was in the city. But then again Madison, WI received 7 feet of snow while we were in Chicago.

The rest of the afternoon we spent in shopping on Michigan Avenue. We even went to the Hershey store for an afternoon snack, it was pretty delicious. Below is my mom and I with the Chicago Water Tower lit up behind us. This is a picture of the river lit up on our walk back to the hotel. Since I had no flowers to take pictures of I had to settle for city shots!
Though it was extremely cold for part of the weekend it was a great trip. Chicago is definitely my kind of town!