weekend we-wind: vegasssss

So after last weeks crazy-ness with the midterms and such I took a little vacation to my favorite unholy city- Vegas! Last time I went to Vegas with some of my freshman roomies- Macey (the local) and Kylee. It was so much fun just sitting out in the sun and going to the strip {note to self: make plans to do it again soon}

cheesin for the camera/the guy that took this picture... was a creep


love these girls

This time I went with my grandma and stayed with my Aunt and Uncle+kids for the weekend. We spent our time just hanging out, shopping, my aunt got to set me up with a boy in her singles ward that she's been telling me about for probably a year now. It was a lovely 75 degrees outside when we left Sunday afternoon. I got to wear skirts without leggings {and shaved my legs for the first time in weeks...}, no jackets. It was absolutely perfect!


drive to vegas/new sunglasses- Old Navy and the glorious sun/also drive to vegas


drive home from vegas-
2 different shots- not of the same place but cool how they fit together right?


my cousins- love them/Leah and I- she was kind of hesitant towards me all weekend... I wonder why?

highlights:
seeing familia
eating at BJs restaurant- {and subsequently slipping into a food induced coma}
I highly recommend the Pizookie
driving through cool canyons in Arizona
being warm!

Definitely will be doing that again after this crazy semester is over

Scientific Study: Maturity

Last night my roommate c-beer and I were talking and the topic of boys came up. {I apologize Bechdel test} C-beer told me of a conversation she recently had with her friend Nick. They had been talking about how much girls mature between the ages of 20 and 21. Basically part of Sophomore year to Junior year of college. C-beer told me of this rate of maturity Nick was describing- basically the progression of how boys and girls mature from high school to college graduation.

This is what they came up with

**

You'll note that there is a major spike in boy's maturity between the ages of 19 and 21- as this is a speculation on boys at BYU it is important to realize that boys usually go on LDS missions at this point which kind of throws them into adulthood/maturity. But don't worry- they go right back to being 21 year old boys pretty quickly after they get back.

You'll also notice that girls tend to mature at a more rapid rate between the ages of 19 and 21 as well. LDS missions for girls are not until the girl turns 21 so while all the guys from freshman year leave for two years the girls are left behind to deal with all the boys in their grade who are two years older than them. I'll break it down.

Freshman year: Boys 18 / Girls 18
Sophomore year: Boys 21 / Girls 19
Junior year: Boys 22 / Girls 20
Senior year: Boys 23 / Girls 21
2nd Senior year: Boys 23-... / Girls 22-...

Girls are almost forced into a rapid maturation to deal with the new pool of boys to socialize with and date. It's almost like being thrown into a pool of man-eating {or woman-eating} sharks and not knowing how to swim. The little floaties your freshman bishop gave you aren't quite enough to keep you from sinking.
It's really quite fun- trust me {...sarcasm, don't trust me- it was a joke}
But that in my personal opinion is why girls do mature so much between 19-21

What was my contribution to the conversation on boys? It is best described in song. Enjoy!

**not actually a scientific study... complete speculation/bias. all that jazz
Also idea completely came from C-beer's friend Nick Nickslastname

A Personal History- Valentines Day 4

And now the end of the saga. My most recent Valentines Day.

My current situation: living in a house with 4 amazing roommates. I have wonderful friends all around from various circles of my life (freshman/sophomore roommates, EFY, Jerusalem, high school, etc.) and of course I am still single {and enjoying it}

Highlights from February 14, 2012:

This was probably my busiest Valentines Day by far. It started with school and homework which was definitely not a high light but I digress. My real Valentines Day started with a Respite Night at Clear Horizons Academy. CHA is a special school for kids with autism- most of these kids are not high functioning and many have difficulties communicating. Respite Night was a chance for the parents of the students at the school to drop off all of their children (whether they're on the Autism spectrum or not) and just have a night off- a rare treat for parents of children with Autism. There were probably 50 volunteers and about as many kids that showed up. My special valentine was a boy named Fawkes {yes, like Guy Fawkes}. I help my friend Ryan watch him on Mondays while his mom is teacher her class. {Ryan says he looks like an Ewok... not sure if I entirely agree but I actually just looked up what an Ewok looked like because I didn't know what they looked like...**} So Fawkes and I were kind of buds before respite night but like any relationship we had our rough patches. For the most part though Fawkes and I had a great time playing with puzzles and flash cards- well Fawkes played and I watched and assisted when called upon by my little darlin. At the end of the night we were both just as happy as could be which is what I call a successful evening.

After respite night I dashed over to my grandparent's house to eat a delicious late dinner {my second dinner of the night} of enchiladas and other delicious Mexican foods. The special thing about that- and the reason why it was so late- was because my uncle John came into town.

Needless to say it was a fabulous Valentines Day. I got to play with kids all night and do a bit of service while doing it and I got to eat dinner with people who love me {even if it's just because they're biologically obligated to}. So not your typical Valentines Day but most definitely one to remember. New Valentines tradition? I think so.

**yes that was probably something I should have kept to myself- hide face in somewhat shame

A Personal History- Valentines Day 3

Sorry I'm a bit behind on this little series but here is the story of my 3rd real valentines day.

Sophomore year of college, living in King Henry {it was just a phase}. The weekend before Valentines day my roommate Taalin and I just spent the morning/early afternoon together. We went to Target and found this wonderful little place called Pizza Pie Cafe Express. It's basically Pizza Pie Cafe but to go and super cheap. We got 5 dollar pizza and a cheese bread and cinnamon bread and had a little picnic on our living room floor. It was so delicious and cheap, yum. I ended up getting a valentines day package from my mom that day which included lots and lots of candy and a letter from Dan. Best mail day ever.

The Elders Quorum even decided to buy all the girls in the ward flowers

{still the best idea I think I have ever heard- everyone should get flowers on Valentines Day}

The Monday of Valentines Day our ward had been invited to a dance. I ended up going with my roommate and some guy friends from my ward. The dance was actually really fun until they started playing this dating game activity. It was like mystery date where you'd have one boy and three girls and questions and all that jazz. It was painfully long and awkward and the speakers weren't working and we were all ready to dance again. {No need to have another reminder of how single we were and how desperate our bishops were to marry us off} They ended up doing 4 rounds (2 boys and 2 girls) and on the last one they were calling up thelast three girls and I hear "Katie Robison" faintly over the speaker. I about died. Out of the hundreds of girls names in that bowl of course my name was chosen. I walked up to the stage {none too thrilled might I add} and took my proper place as "contestant #3" {or #1, no one really knew} Because the speakers hadn't been working properly the entire time it was impossible for anyone to hear including the people on the stage. So after answering questions like "what is your best Halloween costume?" and "what's your best pick up line?" and no one being able to understand it was basically put up to a vote from the audience. AKA dudes, tell me which girl is hottest. So awkward {the feminist inside me was slightly raging at this point} In the end the lucky man on the other side of the curtain declared he had rightfully picked for what I'm sure his bishop had hoped to be his eternal companion: "contestant #3". Yes ladies and gentlemen, I was the prize date {I should put that on my resume... 'prize date for 28 year old single Belmont dude'} Our joint prize? a 25 dollar gift card to Red Robin. After awkwardly meeting for the first time on stage in front of our peers we went off to the side to exchange numbers so that he could call me and we could potentially fall in love and graduate from our respective singles wards.

Epilogue:

How did the date go you ask? Well turns out homeboy belmont {no I don't remember his name- should give you a clue as to how it went} didn't end up calling me until the first week of March {a month later if you were wondering}. We went out on a fabulous Thursday night date to an almost empty Red Robin. We ate burgers and talked {though he actually was never facing me during the date... awkward}. We successfully spent the $25 on burgers and a sundae for two {well it was more like for 10 but you know}. He dropped me back off at my apartment and we went our separate ways never to hear from each other again.

A Personal History- Valentines Day 2

Freshman year of college and I had a boyfriend- my first and only boyfriend {to date} and also the first boy I ever loved. We had been officially dating for 2 months and on our 2 month marker {anniversary just sounds weird} he brought me homemade chocolate chip cookies, a mix CD, and he told me he loved me. This was just a few days before Valentines Day that year and it is a memory that today I still cherish because at that time I was in love with my best friend {and the cookies were delicious}.
We didn't do much for Valentines Day. V-day was on a Sunday so we went out to dinner Saturday night {the malt shop in Provo} and came back to my apartment and just hung out with our friends. We actually ended up making this really embarrassing short video about apples to apples or something {it wasn't my idea}. On Sunday Dan and I sat next to each other at church and went to my grandparents for dinner. I think we might have even gone to a fireside {I know there was one going on but I don't remember if we went} and later that night we watched Monsters Inc. I know romantic, right?

The other thing I remember about that Valentines Day is that I had decided to make it more of a "thanking of the people I loved/appreciated" holiday. I went to the store and bought cards for my physical therapist from that year and took the office some chocolate and I bought my grandparents some flowers just to say thanks for being such amazing people and helping me while I was in Provo. I also made a cake and cupcakes just to have around the house and give people because my mom sent me a mix and cool heart shaped cake pan.

This part of that valentines day is my favorite part now because it reminds me of the amazing people I have in my life and that I am consistently around people that I love. I do love valentines day- not just because of the cheesy movies or chocolates and flowers but because it is a time to appreciate the people you love in your life. This specific valentines day also helps me remember that I don't need a boyfriend to have a good valentines day- not that I didn't enjoy every minute of Monsters Inc. and I did love Dan- but valentines day is more than that. It really is about all of the people you love.

My cake and one cupcake

I can't believe I'm putting this picture up- embarrassing

Oh did I mention I also gave blood that weekend for the first time and they totally screwed up-
yup, still haven't quite mentally recovered from have a needle moved around inside my arm
Happy Valentines Day

A Personal History- Valentines Day 1

So I thought I'd go down memory lane and revisit some of my more fabulous memories. And by fabulous I mean somewhat painfully funny memories. Valentines Day. This is kind of a 4 part series I guess. I have had 4 valentines days since I turned 16 so I guess that would mean that I have had 4 real valentines days. So this is my first real valentines day.

How great is this: GNO! That's right- Girls Night Out. Me and my besties: Laura {who is now engaged!!}, Kelsey, and Ariel {who is now married!!}. We got all dressed up, and went out to dinner at Pogacha. After an absolutely delightful dinner we decided to go to QFC and bought flowers for ourselves and family members {mom's and sisters and the like}. It was so much fun! After we went to Laura's for a delicious night of chocolate fondue and just had girl talk.

It was seriously one of the most fun nights of my life. Just spending the night with some of my best friends of all time.

Thanks girlies for making my first "real" valentines day so fantastic!!

Olivia and I pre-outing

Kelsey, Laura, Me, and Ariel at dinner

Me, Ariel, and Laura

Me and Laura buying flowers