The Great Summer Adventure

Well, I am covered head to toe with bruises, I am suffering from a massive amount of lack of sleep, and if I never get in a car again it will be too soon.  The only thing that all of these things together can mean is that the Great Summer Adventure with Kayla and Nicole is over. What a blast it's been! For those of you who were not fortunate enough to come along or share in this great adventure, here's the lowdown.

The Great Summer Adventure began Sunday morning, with...drum roll please....Nicole getting lost! For those of you who know me, this shouldn't come as a shock to you. It's a gift really. I can get so incredibly lost it's not even funny. Anyways, I finally found my way to the airport where I picked up my wonderful room mate and very best friend in the whole wide world! We then attempted to continue south on our adventure, only to realize that Nicole had forgotten the tickets to Six Flags. So, we turned around and headed back to good old Visalia for the night. It wasn't that bad. We had a nap...got our nails did (okay, Kayla did mine) and even got to skype good old Joe.

We woke up way too early on Monday (and by early I mean like 7:45). After a quick stop at Scotties Doughnuts (which no trip to Visalia is complete without) and getting gas, we were finally off! We made it to Six Flags in record time, partly because Nicole likes to speed. It's genetic. Ask my Grandma.

Six Flags was simply amazing. We got to ride on every single ride we wanted to. It was so freaking hot. Luckily, I don't think we ever stood in line very long. We were really good at getting in line just before the huge crowd. In fact we even walked right onto a ride or two. Fun Fact, when Kayla and I are together, we become some of the funniest people you will ever meet. Some of my favorite lines from the park were
"I don't like this ride. Are we gonna go backwards together?"
"Open your eyes Nicole!" "No! I am praying. Heavenly Father, if you let me survive this ride, I promise I will never come back here!"
"I don't like the rides where you are standing up. It's uncomfortable. If I wanted to shove something between my legs, I would get married!"
"I feel bad, cause I am swinging my legs when they come to check and I can never stop,so I kick them in the shin!"
There were others I am sure, but like I mentioned before, lack of sleep is keeping me from fully remembering.

After Six Flags, we hit up Taco Bell, where Kayla practically ordered the entire menu. Lunch at the park consisted of fries and diet coke...so...we were pretty starved. Then, we got back in the car and drove to our new friends, The DeHemmers, who let us spend the night there. We did get lost a few times, but this time it was Kayla's fault. (hahaha) And I do admit I was a little scared and even locked the car doors while driving, but hey. In my defense, a dirt road in the middle of nowhere in pitch black is pretty scary. I have watched too many movies and t.v. shows. I have a very active imagination. Anyways, we finally got there, and I just have to say, these are the nicest people on this planet. I was so tired that I pretty much crashed right after getting there, but I was the first to get up. Kayla and I had planned on getting up early and getting out of their way, but we ended up staying until 12:30 talking with Sister DeHemmer and watching movies. Seriously the nicest family. I am so so grateful to them. (Shout out to Joe also, for hooking us up with them!)

After leaving, we battled the awful LA traffic and ended up (after getting lost AGAIN) at the beautiful L.A. Temple. I am so glad we were able to go. We walked around the grounds for awhile and then toured the visitors center. It was a wonderful break and a spiritual experience. (At least for me, I cannot speak for Kayla) At one point I found myself sitting alone in front of the Christus statue, and I just felt the overwhelming feeling of peace and the love that my Savior has for me. I am one lucky girl!

Finally, we checked into our hotel, which wasn't a total dive thank goodness. You never know with some of them. After resting for awhile we walked down to in-n-out for dinner. (Another thing no trip to California is complete without!) Then, it was time to get ready for the concert. We got all dolled up...aka tee shirts and jeans haha and walked down Hollywood Blvd. to the Hollywood Bowl.

The concert was supposed to be Ke$ha and Pitbull. Neither of us care for Pitbull..okay that's a lie. We hate him. So we decided that since he was supposed to go on first, we would show up late and miss him completely. That's what we thought anyways. We show up a little over an hour late and some strange band was playing, and then Pitbull came out. We were surprised, but figured he would only be on for an hour. TWO HOURS later... Pitbull was the last act. WE COMPLETELY MISSED KE$HA! She was the only one we wanted to see! Needless to say, we were pretty pissed off.

After crashing in our hotel we checked out and headed over to Denny's for brunch, where I proceeded to order a ridiculous amount of food. It was terrible. Then, we battled the traffic again, and went to the beach. Because of the awful traffic, we only got to spend half an hour at the beach, but it was so worth it. It was a beautiful day and there were surprisingly very little people actually at the beach.

Sadly, it was time for the Great Summer Adventure with Kayla and Nicole to come to an end. I am so glad Kayla got to come out and see me, I missed her so much. Plus, it was fun to go out on my own and have a little vacation. But, like every good thing, it had to come to an end, and now I can't wait for the next adventure!

Sleepy Quirks

As if having Insomnia wasn't bad enough, I have come to realize that I have some pretty strange quirks about going to sleep. And I thought I would share them with you...well...just cause. I honestly don't have anything better to do. Maybe you will read this and realize that you are not as crazy as you think.
Lets get started.
1. There can not be any light in the room when I am going to sleep. I mean it. NONE.
2. It could be 100+ degrees and I still have to have a blanket. The more the better. Ask my room mates. I have tons of blankets on my bed.
3. I am not one of those who can sleep with the blanket half on, or with one leg sticking out. Nope. I cocoon  myself into the blankets.
4. I like to have a lot of pillows on my bed. But, I only sleep with one.
5. I have to have at least three pillows. I make a backwards 7 with two of them, and then I have to have one to hold. If there are more than I pile them up and sleep next to them.
6.Speaking of pillows, mine have to be really cold.
7. I don't like noise when I am trying to sleep. Not even white noise. It wakes up my brain and I have to figure the noise out.
8. I don't like sleeping on the edge of the bed. The middle is perfect.
9.I tend to move around a lot when I sleep. I have woken up sideways in my bed a few times.
10. If my feet are cold, I will not fall asleep. This one really sucks cause my feet are always cold. In the winter, footie pjs are my best friend.


I should probably go to sleep now. ....
....
....
Wish me luck!

Giggling

I have learned a lot about myself these past few years. I have learned I have some pretty odd habits and quirks, one of which I think I will write about today.

When I get into a really stressful and scary situation, I giggle. No joke. I just don't know how to handle the pressure, so I giggle to ease the tension I guess. It's kinda embarrassing  since everyone else is really stressed or worried, but I can't help it! It just comes out!

Here are a few examples.

1. Once, when driving up Logan canyon in an awful snowstorm (which, all of you who have driven the canyon know is super sketch) every one else in the car sat there tensed and silent, while there I am in the back, giggling. I literally had to cover my mouth so they wouldn't hear me.

2. One time, I was climbing a tree and I fell out of it. I stayed on the ground for a good five minutes laughing. A very nice guy came over to see if I was okay, and I think it freaked him out that I was laughing and not crying.

3. The other day, a friend and I were driving in SF. San Francisco is known for the insane hills that you have to drive up. And we did drive up one. It was a practically vertical hill, and we drove up it in a tiny little hybrid car that almost didn't make it! And we giggled the entire time! We could have gotten in an accident, but there we were, laughing.

Don't get me wrong. I do get stressed and worried, but I can not, for some reason, produce a normal reaction. Oh well. Maybe giggling isn't so bad...

Lessons in Heights

I wouldn't say I am scared of heights. Okay. That's a lie. I am deathly afraid of heights, but only at certain times. Like if I am strapped into a roller coaster, no problem. In a huge building? I got this. But in the side of a mountain? No thank you!

I have had two experiences with heights and being afraid in my recent past, and each one has taught me a super important lesson. Although I was scared out of my mind when I learned these lessons, I don't think that Heavenly Father could have taught me these things any other way. Well, maybe He could have, but this way I remember the lessons...and I wasn't distracted with other things!

First, over Spring Break, a couple of friends and I hiked up to the wind caves. The hike up wasn't so bad, however, towards the top there was tons of snow on the path, making it slippery and pretty scary. Especially  when instead of a gentle slope down the hill, there was a steep cliff  right there. Needless to say, I was terrified to walk down. One of my friends happened to have a backpack on, so we tied the strings on it into a loop, and I held onto that, like a leash. Because I was scared out of my mind, I looked at the ground the entire time. I never looked up, so I had no idea what was coming next. I had to trust my friend to guide me, to know that she would not lead me off a cliff, and since she could see what was coming, when to go off the trail in order to avoid the really bad places.

I am a planner. I like to know the plan, know exactly what is going to happen next and when. If I don't know the plan, I get really stressed out. I also like to make plans, and I get really frustrated when things don't happen exactly how I want them to. I can be pretty stubborn and get stuck in my ways. It's a family trait.

However, this experience has taught me that, I don't always need to know the whole plan. That I don't always need to be in charge. And that sometimes, the minor details are not even that important. This was one of the most spiritual experiences that I have ever had. When we finally got down to the car, I just had this overwhelming feeling that my Savior was talking to me, telling me that I need to trust him. He knows the plan exactly and he will help me along the way, if only I will trust him. He isn't going to lead me off a cliff, instead, he will help guide me to the easier ways. I just need to understand that although I can't see the whole plan right now, everything will be okay, and He knows what He is doing.


More recently, a friend invited me to go explore an abandoned mine. I am always up for an adventure, so I agreed. After about an hour hike, my friend stopped and told the group that we were there. Looking around, all I could see was a river on one side, and a huge steep mountain on the other. Guess which side we had to go on to  get there....

If you guessed the mountain, you are correct! Sorry, I don't have a prize for you though. Just bask in the glory of your smartness. Anyways, to get to the mine, we had to climb, on all fours mid you, up the side of this mountain. And to make matters worse, it wasn't an easy grassy climb. Nope. It was loose rocks, so you would take one step and slip backwards. Not really fun.

And, as you can guess, I was terrified. My room mate stayed behind to help me after everyone else scrambled up the side of the mountain like it was nothing. She would go up ahead of me and then wait and call down to me, telling me that I could do it. Well, soon the wind picked up and I started to freak out. The friend who invited us to come started his way down to help me, and I lost it. I started crying, because although I am very scared of heights, I don't like to let people know it and I wanted to prove to them and myself that I could do it. (Again with the stubbornness)  When he came down to help, I felt like a failure.

Finally we made it to the top and began the walk into the mine. I was in the back with one of my very best guy friends and he had to hold my hand because I was so scared. Another thing I am terrified of is the dark. I watch too much scary tv and movies. At one point we all stopped and my friend, who could tell I was too scared to keep going (because I was literally shaking) suggested we turn around. So he and I made our way back to the entrance of the cave, where I again began to cry, because I felt like I had ruined the trip for him, and that I was acting like a baby. I do not like to cry in front of people. I look terrible when I cry. And I  know you are probably thinking that no one looks good when they cry, which may be right, but I look AWFUL. Ask anyone I have cried in front of. It's almost scary.

Finally, everyone else came back and we said a prayer before we, you guessed it, climbed back down the mountain the way we came up. Once again, I was sobbing. Everyone else could slide just fine on their butts down, but I was way to scared to go alone, like the baby that I am. So, I literally sat on the lap of another friend as she slid us down to the bottom. And, I cried the entire way down.

Let's just say I felt really stupid when we finally got back onto solid ground. This experience did teach me a few different things though. First, sometimes, life is really hard. Even though you are trying so hard and working with all your might, you slip down to where you were before. And that's okay. As long as you pick yourself right back up and try again. Another thing I learned is that there are many people placed in your life who are willing and want to help you. As stubborn as I am, this was the way that Heavenly Father taught me that I can't do everything on my own. That is a hard thing for me. I don't like to ask people for help, but He has placed so many people in my life who will help me. And it is perfectly okay to admit that you are scared and ask for help. The last thing that this experience has taught me is that sometimes, life is scary and hard, but if you keep going, when you finally get to the top, and you turn around and look back, you will be amazed at not only the beauty at the top, but also at how much you have accomplished. When I finally made it to the top, I took a second to turn around and take in the beauty of the earth around me. Sure the hike had been pretty so far, but nothing could compare to the beauty I saw from the top of the mountain. If I had not climbed up, I would never have seen it. And, even though I was scared out of my mind about having to go back down, I was able to look down the mountain and know that I had climbed up. It may not have been all by myself and I may have cried the whole way up, but I did it. I did it. I didn't give up and wait for everyone at the bottom. And I am so glad I didn't.

Tired Silly Nicole

This week is dead week. For those of you who have forgotten or have not been to college yet, this is the week where teachers are not allowed to give you tests (although some still do, how rude) because you are supposed to be studying for your finals, which are..eeeeek next week! This is the week many college kids turn into zombies. The library stays open later, and we tend to pull all nighters cramming  The lack of sleep is very apparent.

I have been known, on occasion, to stay up super super late. Lack of sleep really brings out the best in me. I can get pretty strange when I haven't slept in a long time. Really weird. Here are some examples.

1. Once, I stayed up for 48 hours straight and chugged a 2 gallon jug of Sunny D. Then I fell asleep on the couch clutching said bottle.

2. One time my friend woke me up at 5 am, and I punched her.

3. I once told a very cute guy that my day would dramatically improve if he would kindly go to hell. I then simply walked away. I have no idea who he is.

4. Once, I told my room mates boyfriend that I was in a really dark place because I had just been abducted by aliens. That was a good night.

5. I once fell asleep on a friends couch, and woke up 2 hours later with his room mate sleeping next to me. I then fell off the couch and cried because I didn't know where I was.

6. I also fell asleep on a friend couch while watching a movie and when he woke me up and told me to go to my bed, I got really mad at him because I though I was in my bed.

7. The other night I sang the three little pigs to someone. Not just told them the story. Sang it to them. I also tried to convince them that I was holding the big bad wolf hostage in my closet.

8. I recently told someone that they were fun to snuggle with and I was fun to snuggle with and that that was a really nice thing to tell someone. I also told them that you need to quote 'be happy. I'm gonna buy a flower and he will be so happy. But, watch out for bees. They hurt.' end quote.

9. Once, I fell asleep kneeling on the floor with my head on the couch. As an adult.

10. I once dropped a roll of tape on the floor and watched it roll and spin around. I thought it was the  funniest thing ever. It wasn't.

If you didn't read the beginning of this post, you would probably think that I get drunk a lot. Not the case my friends. I just never sleep.

I should probably be studying right now. Fetch.

Meanie Head

I'm not a mean person. I'm really not. Its not me. I don't think that anyone ever deserves to be treated mean or rudely. Even if they are mean to you. You never know what is making people act the way that they are.

I also try really hard to be a forgiving person. I feel like I am pretty successful at this. I generally forgive people pretty quickly, even if they never apologize to me. I want people to forgive me for any wrongs that I do, and I feel like if I can't forgive others then I don't deserve forgiveness for others. Its a work in progress, but I am getting better every day, and I am happier because of this.

This being said, last night I was purposefully mean to someone. I thought that being mean and cold to this person would make me feel better. I thought I wanted to be rude because somehow it would help me.

As you can tell, it didn't help. Not in the tiniest little bit. In fact, it made me feel even worse. I felt so terrible. Looking back, I don't even recognize the person who did that. I have no idea why I thought it would be okay for me to act in such a childish way. It wasn't me at all.

Thankfully, I was able to say sorry and ask forgiveness.

I have since resolved to work on being nicer to EVERYONE. And I really do mean everyone. Even the ones who are rude to me. It feels so good to be Nice Nicole again. I don't like being mean Nicole and I hope that she never comes out again.

Excuse me for a minute

I try not to judge people. I don't know your whole life or why you make the decisions you do. Although I may not agree with or even like the choices you make or the things you do, I won't judge you. It's your life. Live it how you feel right. I don't really care. However, the second that your poor decisions effect me in any negative way, we have a serious problem.

This has just been something that has been on my mind a lot lately. I am not writing this to bash anyone or to get mad at anyone, it's just something I feel like I need to get off my mind so it can stop bugging me.

I HATE hypocrites and liars. I am not saying that I am perfect in any way shape or form. I am sure that I have been guilty of this a time or two. But I always try to make a conscience effort not to be either of those. But when people are blatantly hypocritical in front of me or lie straight to my face, I have a problem with staying your friend.

If you tell me you don't like a person because he/she acts a certain way, please make sure you DO NOT act the exact same way. Especially in front of me, and definitely not to me. I see exactly what you are doing and not only is it frustrating, but it is rude and hurts.

If you give me reasons to not hang out with me, or anything like that, make sure they are true. Don't tell me things you think I want to hear and then go do exactly the opposite of what you told me. I will find out. And then I will be 1000000000 times more angry than if you had just told me the truth. I'm a very strong person. I can handle bad news. I'm not gonna die. Just tell me the truth. That's all I ask.


Okay. Enough negativity for today. It's finally a beautiful day, and I intend to enjoy this day. And after writing this, I already feel better.

:)