New hair color? Check!

Bucket List #8: Go Hiking

Another bucket list item is complete! My dad and I stumbled upon a couple of cool hiking trails last week, so the next day my family + a few friends and I went hiking.
It was fun.
Fun enough that we've been back twice this week. 

Cute, huh? ;)

xoxo,
Charly

Celebrating Me

I'm well aware that everyone has days that they don't feel so great about themselves.
I have those days too.

But lately I've been getting tired of feeling terrible about myself so often. The bad days outweigh all the good ones. So I've decided I'm not going to put up with it anymore. Yes, there will still be days when I don't like the way I look or compare myself to other girls, but I won't let them stop me from being happy with myself. I've decided to celebrate the good days and to let everyone know I'm okay with myself, and to remind myself that the bad days don't control me. From now on, I'm celebrating myself.
And there's nothing wrong with that.

Welcome to 18

As of last Thursday, I am officially an adult. Definition: I am officially old.

I've never had much thought or feeling about turning a certain age, but being 18 feels completely strange to me. I'm still the same as I was at 17, but different.

I am legal.

I can vote.

I can go to the singles ward.

I can move out.

I can go clubbing.

I can order products off of infomercials.

I no longer need my parents signature on library cards and bank accounts.

I can buy NyQuil without the cashier thinking I'm a drug addicted teenager.

See? 18 is different!

I think I'll try to embrace these changes. ;)

Despite the weirdness of my new age, my birthday was pretty great. I spent some time with my mom at the hospital, and was surprised with a party by my family in the waiting room. I ate red velvet cake, yum! I played around with my new phone. I went hiking with my family and got a sunburn. I went back to the hospital and quietly watched movies, which was a luxury in itself. And I learned that I have some really amazing people in my life, both here with me in Utah and in places far away. I have some truly awesome family, friends, and people who feel like family.
Thanks so much you guys. <3

Bucket List #81: Learn to waterfall braid

After months of trying...I FINALLY learned how to waterfall braid. 

Thanks goes to this youtube video.

The video makes it look so easy, which actually, it is. It just took me awhile to realize it!
So now I can cross this off my summer bucket list, and have pretty hair all summer long. :)

xo,
Charly

Summer is in the air

The rest of these photos are posted on my photo blog.

Summer Bucket List

Please ignore my messy hand writing and Instagram-like photo.

The list is complete! I now have three and a half pages full of things to do this summer. I'm seriously so excited about all of it, and I wanted to share some of my list. It's a little too long to type it all out, but I'll post updates through-out the summer as I cross some of the items off. :)

MY SUMMER BUCKET LIST:
#1. Morning run 3+ times a week (I hate running, but love morning runs. Weird.)
#3. Start a new photography project (I'm thinking Project 104?)
#5. Go to a concert. Plans have been made for this already. Joshua Radin+J9+July 17th= awesome sauce.
#6. Run a 5k (I'm signing up for a midnight run!)
#7. Bake a new kind of cupcake every week. It's so I improve my baking skills, duh. ;)
#8. Go hiking
#13. Back yard camping.
#18. Go to the Singles Ward (maybe I'm not too excited about this one yet...)
#19. Try a new hair color. I'm totally open to suggestions for this.
#22. Finish reading the Book of Mormon
#27. Have a pic-nic
#29. Spend a day prop shopping
#31. Give blood
#34. Do baptisms at the temple
#37. (attempt to) Chalk dye my hair
#40. Slurpees with Leslie
#51. Buy a disposable camera. Because summer is the perfect time to use one. :)
#53. Convince Leslie to watch a scary movie (it WILL happen)
#54. Make cinnamon roll pancakes for breakfast (they just sound so delicious, even to me)
#71. Attend a midnight premiere. I really don't even care what movie it's for.
#75. Get a pet turtle. I've wanted one forever, the hard part will just be talking my parents into it.
#84. Wear heels. (I think I'm the only teenage girl left in the world who hasn't done this...)

Yeah, so, there's a few of the things I will (hopefully) be doing. Oh, and having the best summer ever. :)

I am currently using this book as my inspiration and creating a summer 'to do' list.
I'm already so excited for summer and have so many things I want to do. I have no doubt this will be my favorite summer so far, and possibly ever!

I'll post my list soon. :)

This is my life right now.

Distance sucks.

Hey there, Utah

 The journey from Albuquerque to Salt Lake. 

It was a long one. 

Three days in the car, getting to be a little too close to my family, if you know what I mean.

I documented the trip through short journal entries and photos, [lots of photos] mostly as a way to give me something to do. But I figured, hey, why not turn it into a blog post? 

The photos really aren't in order, by the way.

Sunday: [4.1.12.]
10:40- Finally on the road, almost four hours later than planned
10:44- First gas stop of the journey
11:15- Already being terrified by my dad's driving. I suspect this will last the whole time.
11:23-Flat desert on one side, hills and mountains on the other. It's beautiful. I want to stop and take a million pictures.
4:32-I've acquired a nice pink sunburn today thanks to the hours spent sitting by the window.
4:40- Arizona, please, let me photograph you.
5:43- So many people. So little car.
6:38- When did camping become a part of the plan? Someone forgot to tell me about it.
7:32- Did our tent really just fall of the back of the car? [Answer?Yes it did]
7:45- Back at camp, with a new tent. Time to set up.

8:03- it's SNOWING

10:05- S'mores

MONDAY: [4.2.12.]
10:05-My feet are completely frozen when I wake up. It was 27 degrees last night.

10:11- Bagels: the breakfast of champions

10:30- Playground with the sibs, I'm such a little kid

11:21-It's finally warming up!

12:06- Back on the road...

12:25- ...but not for long. Wal-Mart stop.
2:30- Grand Canyon time

3:20-Watched a documentary type movie about the GC. Never have I wanted to go river rafting until now...

4:00- This is possibly the most amazing thing I've ever seen

5:20- Back on the road, I could have stayed way longer.

5:35-Finished reading The Hunger Games to Scott [and immediately started on Catching Fire at his request]

6:06- My camera died. :(
6:10- Sipping gatorade. I've been getting carsick a lot the last couple months.

7:04- Jack-in-the-box stop. My dad is excited, it's one of his favorite places and they don't have it in Florida.

8:15- Hello Utah! and a new time zone.

8:21- Head phones in, noisy family out. "It's like a stereo in your head"
8:39-Passing big trucks on two lane roads always frightens me

9:35-My face is BURNING. Apparently I got a worse sunburn today.

9:49- I'm trying to decide which state has the worse roads: UT or AZ? They both make it impossible to sleep.
10:28- I sware the two cars in front of us are having a contest to see who's the slower driver

11:08- We're stopping for the night in a single stop light town [in a hotel this time!] It looks cute, but it's too dark to tell

11:34- Disney Channel with the youngest sibs until we fall asleep [We haven't watched it in two months, this may be awhile]

Tuesday: [4.3.12.]

11:32-First 'meal' of the day: beef jerky and snack packs. We woke up too late to eat before we left.

1:30-stopping for lunch at a park..that's in a church parking lot.

2:10 Freeze tag and races! 

2:47- FINALLY my turn to drive! First time this whole trip.

4:14- Almost to Provo

4:53- First dose of Utah traffic

5:52- SLC!

6:01- Checking into the hotel, quickly

6:15- Temple Square!

 And so we're here.

Cool story, right?