HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA

today is my grandma's '25th' birthday. it's been her 25th birthday for as long as i can remember. she is still rockin' it and looks amazing! she is the world's greatest grandmother. she's my second mom and i look up to her in so many ways. i love my grandma and words couldn't even describe how thankful i am for everything she does for me. she has helped out me so much throughout my younger years and still continues to give and give and give. i don't know what i would do without here and i am so grateful for her. 

i love you grandma burr. happy birthday to the most wonderful grandma a girl could ask for.

LAGOON///CHERRY HILL

the group minus one.
braden, lauren, davis,  donte and i

yesterday we had a fun filled day. the day started at lagoon. we all hoped in the car and headed our way up north. we stopped at cafe rio for lunch and then to the park. the first ride we went on was raging waters and i got completely soaked. then we continued on to all the other rides the park has to offer. my personal favorite is wicked, because i love roller coasters.

in line for wicked
amanda, braden, lauren, donte, davis, and i

on the sky lift.

after being in the hot sun for hours we were all pretty wore out and wanted to go for a swim. the elison family used to live up in kaysville and knew of a fun place that we could go.

sooo tired after a day in the sun.

we went to a waterpark called cherry hill. davis and his family have been going there for years and it was finally my turn to jump onto this family tradition. although i wasn't too excited to go at first, i had fun once i was there. it was fun to lay out and go on the few rides they have to offer.

over all, it was an amazing day spent in the sun with some awesome people. i finally started my summer tan.

SUCCESS//FOOD//DANCE//DOGS

HE DID IT and i am soo excited for him! it's been amazing to watch davis grow. i am stoked for him to start his amazing job and make his life exactly how he wants it to be. i am so grateful that i am apart of his life and that i have been by his side through this awesome journey. 

CONGRATS BOO. i love to you. 

tyler, davis, and their amazing teacher tony.

a few fun side notes!

#1 before davis' event, laci, davis and i went to in-n-out burger to have some lunch and celebrate his success. it was a yummy meal filled with burgers and way too many animal style fries.

#2 i finishing teaching at dance showcase's intensive. my strength training class went GREAT. it was hard for them, but they all pushed through like champs. i am sore as EVER and i bet they are too. walking up the stairs and sitting on the toilet are now a struggle for me and after lagoon and swimming yesterday {post to come} it's even worse.

#3 the crazy dog is gone. duncan left today and i am just a little excited. the cat has been in hiding for the past five days now and max has been more annoyed than ever. he was a pain in the butt but how can you resist those puppy eyes? it was a fun couple of days, but i'm happy the adhd (i swear! he is too hyper) dog is outta here.

life's great. can't wait to see what this week has in store.

WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?

for the next couple of days we get to have not only one dog in our house but two. while my step brother and his wife are away on a trip, we get to watch over their dog, duncan. this guy is a huge ball of energy. he is a little crazy and hard to handle at times, but we'll manage. his bark is pretty annoying and it rarely ever stops. other than that, i like him and think he's pretty cute. he just runs and around and sniffs stuff all day. now there's somebody in our house that isn't too excited for duncan's visit...

this guy isn't too happy with this whole other dog thing. since max is getting older, and he is as fat as can be, he doesn't like to play with duncan too much. now, duncan on the other hand... he is a complete spaz and is constantly jumping on max to try to get him to play. max doesn't like this one bit and growls and tries to run away from him. {he can't run too fast though haha}.
i guess max is just going to have to deal with duncan for a few days. maybe they'll become best friends.

BACK AT IT

today i realized how much i love being in the dance studio. it is seriously where i belong. although i don't regret not dancing at one this past year, i am grateful for the years i did get to spend in one. i am very lucky that i danced at such a professional studio and was able to have some pretty amazing training and opportunities. the vibe was literally my second home. i honestly believe i spent more time dancing than i did at home. now it's exciting to be able to walk into the studio and not be the student anymore. it's fun being the one in charge. i love helping these girls get better because i know i can. it's totally different {and kind of weird} walking into a studio that isn't my own. nobody knows me {except hollie} and i feel a little out of place. luckily, i'll be spending more time at dance showcase and things will become normal.

today i got to teach three jazz classes and had a blast. surprisingly, i had the hardest time with the seven and eight year old kiddos. i have never had the opportunity to teach kids that age until today and must admit, i was a little unprepared for it. i still had a great time and believe i did a good job. i'm excited to go back on thursday to teach three contemporary {my favorite style} classes. i will definitely be more prepared and hopefully everything goes smoothly.

i'm still in need of advice. i am teaching three strengthening/work out classes on friday and i a little clueless on what i should do. if you have any ideas for me i would much appreciate it. the ages are seven through eight, 9 through eleven, and twelve and up. i'm thinking that i will do the pretty much the same class for all three ages seeing that working out isn't too technical. i don't want the classes to be too hard, but still effective. PLEASE let me know. anything will help me out. xoxoxo

  

LAZY SUNDAY'S///NEED ADVICE

most sundays around our house are very very lazy. they mostly consist of long naps and movie marathons. yesterday, davis and i decided to get our bums in the kitchen and make some yummy cookies! seeing that we both aren't too great in the kitchen, we just used cookie dough and didn't make anything from scratch. we're pathetic, but we still had fun.

don't tell davis i posted this... he'll kill me.

2 random side notes... 

#1 today, janet, the owner of dance showcase called me and asked me to teach some classes this week. i taught there at the beginning of the month and luckily they liked me and want me to come back. i got to teach these cuties (and other group of darling girls i didn't get a picture of) and loved every second of it.

hollie, my orem dance company director, hooked it up since dance showcase is where she teaches. i am teaching tomorrow, thursday, and friday from 9:30-12:30. i'm teaching jazz technique, contemporary, and strength training/fitness. i am prepared and ready to teach jazz and contemporary but i'm a little stumped on what to do for strength training. 

if you have any ideas for what i could do PLEASE let me know. i am teaching three 50 minutes classes. 7-8 year olds, 9-11 year olds, and 12 and up. i want to teach a fun class that isn't too hard for them. i also don't want it to be too easy and be effective. let me know!! 

#2 i am selling some of my gently/never used clothes! check out the link {here} or click on the for sale. tab at the top of the page!

STRAWBERRY DAY'S FAILURE

davis and i experienced a strawberry days failure. satuday night, davis and i drove up to strawberry days not to ride the rides or talk with any friends; the whole purpose of our trip was to get strawberries cream. i had been wanting to go up to the fair and get some all week and saturday davis and i finally drove up there. SOO excited, we parked the car and hurried to get in line. we get in the line and after about 30 seconds of waiting the guy inside the trailer yells, "12 left!" 12 LEFT!? we were almost to the front and thought maybe we had a chance of getting our hands on a cup of strawberries and cream. about 15 seconds later we hear, "6 left!" and before we knew it, they were gone. no strawberries and cream for me. :( sad and disappointed, we took this picture and headed back to the car to go home. I AM SO BUMMED. i was literally craving strawberries and cream and had been waiting for this event for weeks. just my luck right? 

S

davis and i are thinking that since we didn't get to buy any of the fair, we will make our own. i'll have to let you know how that goes because it will be happening soon since my craving is far from gone.

xoxo

GET TO KNOW ME

↑↑ courtesy of rylee blake.

i loved this cute idea and although i wasn't tagged, i still wanted to participate. i got the idea from two different blogs, rylee blake and the love crush. i love both of their blogs and think these two girls are soo adorable. i will be stealing the questions from both of their blogs instead of just one because i liked the questions on both posts!
let's get things started.
1. take a picture of your outfit today! name your favorite thing about what you're wearing or give us a little note about your personal style and what it means to you.

here is today's lovely outfit. everything i'm wearing (expect my shoes) is from forever 21. i love shopping there because you can always find cute stuff that isn't too expensive. i wish i had better style. i see some girls and just wish i could trade closets with them. i don't have too many clothes so i try and make it work with what i've got. a lot of my clothes are old. i haven't gone shopping since march, but i still love them. i like my personal style. i love to dress up and be girly, but i also love to dress down and wear a hoodie. my style is sometimes all over the place, but i like it.

i would have to say that my favorite part of my outfit is my shoes. i got these at forever young shoes and i am always trying to find a time to wear them. they are comfy and i can wear them all day without having my feet ache. i love the color and the fact that i am a pro at walking in heels. all that dancing in high heels helped me out in the long run after all.

2. why do you blog and what do you find to be the most rewarding thing that has come from it?

well, i'm not exactly new to the whole blogging scene. i have had a blog since 2007. it wasn't very cute and i didn't have very many readers, but looking back at it makes me laugh until my stomach hurts. i stopped blogging last year and didn't even think about blogging again until recently. my girlfriend, hunter, inspired me to start again because of how cute her blog was. i loved the photos she shares of herself. she is also a great writer and her posts are always so fun to read. i knew from the start that her blog would put mine to shame, but i still wanted to take a go at it again. what i find most rewarding is when i have people tell me they read my blog. i love when friends tell me they liked a post or when strangers take the time to tell me that they looked around my blog. it is fun to share my photos and experiences and know that people find my life interesting. it's pretty cool.

3. who is your role model or go to person that you can tell anything to?

i'm sure you all saw this coming from a mile away... DAVIS is both my role model and my go to person that i can tell anything. i have told davis some things that i have never EVER told anyone. i trust him more than anyone in the world. i look up to him in soo many ways. lately, he has been doing some anything things with his life and is showing me that i can do whatever i set my mind to. he is my motivation to do better things and my best friend.

4. spill, what's your guilty pleasure?

i have a few. my first one is anything sweet. i love desserts. chocolate, ice cream, brownies... you name it and i probably like it. i have a hard time saying no to something delicious. 

my second guilty pleasure is cuddling. i love to cuddle. who doesn't? although i love it at anytime, my favorite time to cuddle is when i am sad or upset. i good cuddle sesh can always lighten up my mood and make my feel better.

5. do you have a favorite national of cultural holiday? why?

my favorite holiday is christmas. i don't love the holiday because i get to get things i've been wanting all year (although that's a plus.) i love the spirit of christmas. i love the songs, the lights, the family parties, the food and soo much more. it is so fun to spread the cheer and make other people's christmas' great. i love giving gifts to people and making them feel special. everyone is happier around christmas time.

i also love my birthday. birthday's are so much fun. i believe that a birthday is your very own personal holiday.

6. any beauty secrets you're currently loving?

i don't have an 'secrets' but my favorite thing i use to beautify myself everyday is my eyelash curler. i love curling my lashes. i love the look of long lashes and desperately wish i had my extensions again. until i get around to that, i will be using my eyelash curler to it's full advantage to make my lashes long and luscious. 

and there you have it. six things that you didn't know about me before. now i'm suppose to tag people and give out some questions, but instead i want everyone to participate! use my six questions from above. (or check out rylee's blog for a few more) be sure to comment and let me know if you do this because i want to read and get to know you! good luck!

TAKE ME BACK TO CALIFORNIA

it's late at night. i'm sitting in my room looking through old pictures and decided i wanted to take it back to my california trip with davis! back in march, davis and i set out on a road trip to california for my birthday. this is honestly the most fun trip i have ever been on. (other than the fact that i was sick the whole time...)

our first day there was my birthday. we started the day out by heading to downtown los angeles to go to the elison's favorite place, olvera street. davis and his family have been coming here for years and he wanted me to try out their famous tequitos. let's just say they were soo yummy and worth the la traffic.

after olvera, we went to university walk at universal studios to do some shopping.

that night we went to benihanas  for my birthday dinner.

the next morning we woke up early and went to california adventures. this and disneyland were our main reasons for coming all the way to california. it was a blast. i felt like a little kid again.

the following day was spent in disneyland which was even better than california adventures. i hadn't been in disneyland in years and it was soo fun to be there with davis.

after two amazing days at the happiest place on earth, we decided to travel a little bit and make our way to the beach. we weren't sure which beach to go to and after talking with our families we wanted to check out newport. we got some yummy seafood and had fun walking along the beach. it wasn't the warmest of days so we didn't get to hope in the ocean and lay out but i loved having my feet in the sand and hearing the waves crash.

we were in cali a total of 10 days so this is when my days get a little jumbled, but i'll still fill you in. 

we had the chance one day to go to knott's berry farm. it wasn't as fun as we expected and a lot more expensive, but we still had a good time.

the highlight of the trip was when we were able to attend a lakers game. it was very hard to find tickets and we ended up having to buy them from random people selling them outside. we didn't have the greatest seats. we also didn't get to see our favorite player kobe play due to an injury. the experience was amazing though and i am so happy that i got to go see davis' favorite team play. this was davis' first time to a lakers game so it was pretty exciting for him (mine too).

overall these are the highlights from our trip. it was AMAZING and if i could go back right now, i would in a heart beat. i had the greatest birthday and was soo happy i was able to spend it in such an awesome place with such an awesome person. it couldn't have been more perfect.

MY SENIOR SOLO

change the quality to 480p before watching for better quality

after over a month of having our whole orem dance company concert on dvd, i finally figured out how to rip the dvd to my computer and trim the whole thing down to just my solo. i'm proud of myself for figuring out something like that without having to run to davis for help.

i had soo much fun performing this solo. i took some of the choreography from a dance i did at vibe (choreographed by the brilliant erica sobol) but most of the choreo is my own... actually almost all of it. i would have to say that this is some of the best choreography i have even done. good thing it was my best work, because all my friends from school and now you readers and seeing it. my director hollie told me that when i performed my solo, it was the best she had ever seen my dance so i really hope you all enjoy it. it took a lot of hard work and perfecting to get it to look just the way i wanted it to and i am so happy with the way it turned out. most of the time, i watch dance videos of myself and just point out everything i did wrong, but for once it was different. i was so surprised at how well i looked. i'm not trying to sounds cocky or anything, but i think i looked great and i am so happy that i was able to perform this solo as one of my last dances on the orem high stage. 

sorry these photos are blurry. i didn't have pictures from the actually performance so i just screen shotted these from the video!