the perfect indian summer

for those of you who don't know, rexburg is unseasonably cold for most of the year. not all of idaho. no, just rexburg. my very first semester here, it started snowing on october 5th and we didn't have our last snow until june 6th. i don't know about you, but i think 8 months of snow is like five too many. 

well this semester has been different. it's chilly in the morning, warm and sunny all day, and then cool again when the sun goes down. i'm not complaining at all. it's perfect. today i felt like going for a drive. i just had an urge. there's something about driving around with the sun roof open, not having a destination, and music blaring that's just so... magical. it's when i'm the absolute happiest.

chelsie joined me today for a drive followed by an adventure at the haunted swings. i loved every second of it. please forgive me for not wearing pants, and for having retarded faces in every single one of these pictures. i was just caught up in the fantasticness of it all.

she's a cutie

i like her

and the weather

and rexburg

and my life

except for the fact that i'm sick... that kinda sucks

a last day

so i'm sitting here, all cuddled up in blankets on brent's bed, realizing that this summer (and my life in kansas) is finally coming to an end. today is my last day of work, for the next month at least, and i'm kind of sad about it. i've really gotten into a routine and enjoyed the way things have been going for the last few weeks. as excited as i am about finally getting a break after a long 5 months of nothing but work, seeing my best friends and my grandma, and heading back to school, part of me isn't ready to leave.

i've always been one to welcome change and a new adventure, but sometimes the unfamiliarity of new experiences frightens me. and with this change is coming goodbyes. this week i have to (and have already had to) say goodbye to the people i've gone to church with for the last 5 years, the precious 7 yearolds i've taught this summer, the three great families i've babysat for and come to know and love, all of my kansas friends, and brent and his family. i hate goodbyes. hate hate hate hate them. 

however, i'm going to try to remember what i'm excited about. today is my last day with kate and sam. these two are not justin bieber fans. quite the opposite, actually. a couple times i've tried to sneak in a "that should be me" or "one less lonely girl" while we're driving in the car, and they proceed to cover their ears and yell at me to turn it off. so when i suggested we watch "never say never" together, they turned their noses up at that idea. but, it being my last day and all, they promised me we could watch it today! kate, out of the kindness of her heart. sam, with my promise to bring him cider doughnuts from the louisburg cider mill. but hooray! i have finally won. paige - 1. kate and sam - 0. hallelujah.

i'm also getting my car back today, thanks to steve at olathe toyota. i have antibiotics for my eye infection, so that's making me feel better. last night i did the paperwork to get my passport renewed. tomorrow, brent and i are meeting maggie (my pilates trainer) for lunch, going to pick chris up at the airport, and then spending the afternoon on the plaza with our friend sophie from high school. friday night is the royal's game and saturday morning at 6am we're heading west with jessie. this has been the most ridiculous week.

yes i'm sad about leaving. yes i'm nervous about what's going to happen to my relationships with some people. yes i feel like there might be one or two tears. but yes i can't wait for this next month. yes i'm thrilled to be reunited with my best friend after eight long months. yes i'm excited to stick my toes in the pacific ocean. and yes i'm eager to get back to school after taking a semester off. here's to change. and here's to summer 2011.

hi my name is paige and i'm a copycat

i'm so happy the long weekend is over. seriously, a 5 day hiatus from work is not what i wanted. thankfully i have a busy july ahead and then in just 47 days i'll be on my way to utah! i stole this from chelsie. oops.

current guilty pleasure: streaming netflix

current color: gold

current playlist: jack johnson and bon iver

current read:  it's not summer without you

current drink: razzleberry peace tea

current food: baked potatoes 

current favorite show: life unexpected

current wish list: a new camera

current needs: independence

current triumphs: 6.6 miles for a week straight, and 2 more pounds gone

current bane of my existence: humidity

current celebrity crush: alex pettyfer

current indulgence: keebler's oatmeat and fudge strip cookies

current blessing: amy cragun

current outfit: cutoff shorts and cidermill tshirt

current excitement: finalizing plans for my 23 day vacation before school

current mood: stuck, lonely, anxious, desperate

current link: aj comes through for me once again

a recap of my weekend will come sometime tomorrow!

this time last year (part 2)

i'm not sure if anybody can tell yet, but last summer (which was spent in rexburg with my best friends) was my favorite summer. so every summer holiday, like memorial day, and like today, i spend wishing i was out west.

this time last year, my roommates blake and kat went to oregon for the long weekend. so i had the whole apartment to myself for like four days. yes it was lonely, but yes i kind of liked it. i don't even remember what i did in the morning. for some reason i feel like i went and saw a movie. idk, that's weird. but in the afternoon, amy and i went to idaho falls with zack and tanner and tucker and matt and jeremy and jeremy's woman and braden and a few other people that i don't remember or don't care to mention. we played cards on the side of the highway, and then walked down to the river to watch fireworks. it was magical. but unfortunately these are the only pictures from that day.

happy 4th!

hopefully something exciting happens...

disneyland, kc style

sometimes in kansas we have to get creative with things to do during the summertime. so a month or so ago, kate and sam helped me put together a list of "fieldtrips" we could go on this summer to have fun while they're out of school. high on the list was world's of fun... for those of you not familiar with kansas city, it's the only decent amusement park within i don't know how many miles of us. i'm pretty sure it's one of the lowest rated theme parks in the country (i feel like i saw that on the travel channel or something). but i happen to love world's of fun. it's got to be one of the happiest places on earth. 

so yesterday the three of us went. and i brought my brother along so sam would have some moral support and not have to be the only boy for the whole day. we had the absolute best time. the kids were well behaved, the weather was perfect, the lines were short, and it was a perfect day to scream our heads off on terrifying roller coasters.

the freshest

as i've mentioned before, i'm nannying this summer. and i've already figured out that i'm going to be spending a lot of time at the pool. i'm not really even mad about it though. i wake up, throw on a swimsuit and a tshirt, and head out the door. the last three days i've spent a total of ten hours at the pool. have i already gotten sunburned? yes. have i braved the cold water and jumped in yet? no. but that's okay, i have three more months for that...

hiiiiiiii nasty natural hair

meet dixie, betsy's kitty. it turns out, dixie is a boy. so now dixie is dix. betsy loves her (him, it, whatever) just the same. sometimes they have staring contests... betsy always wins.

and i may or may not have finally gotten david to play "tisbury lane" for me. i've only been trying for, oh, i don't know, six months? but it was unbelievably worth it. my future husband will play the guitar for me everyday. not that david and i have plans to get married. haha i'm just saying, whoever it may be.

happy (almost) summer!

[suh-mer] tyme

i've lived in kansas since i was 3 years old. now i am 20. so i mean, that's quite some time. i was born in california, but kansas is definitely my home. and it's kind of funny, because when i tell people i'm from kansas, i either get a look that basically says "uhhh, people actually live in kansas...?" or a wizard of oz joke. for some reason, everybody is under the impression that kansas is dull and ugly, boring and flat. but me, i love kansas.

i love the rolling hills and the fields of endless yellow sunflowers. i love the blue blue skies and the way the city lights downtown illuminate the night. i love that we have four very distinct and separate seasons. i love midwest storms. i'm absolutely convinced that we have the best thunderstorms. i love kansas basketball and the pride that comes from being a part of a team. but my absolute favorite part about kansas? kansas summers.

i haven't been home for a summer since i graduated high school. which was two years ago. and i'm so happy i get to be here this summer. i love that it stays late until 9 o'clock. i love laying outside in my backyard on a clear night and looking at a blanket of stars spread across the sky. i love going to our farm for 4th of july parties. i love living in shorts and flip flops. i love driving with the top down singing to my favorite songs. i love baseball games and worlds of fun and county fairs.

i love everything about kansas summers,

and i'm lucky i live here.

awkward and awesome thursday

inspired by miss sydney

awkward:
- walking in on the cleaning lady changing her clothes in the laundry room
- not understanding jokes in spanish but pretending to laugh about them anyways
- being trapped in a 12x8 foot room with 3 other people that have really bad gas but not knowing how to tell them to go outside when they need to take care of things like that, and then openly discussing it later
- having electricians in your room fixing your electricity when all your laundry is strewn about
- accidentally using the "tu" form with the workers at the orphanage instead of the "usted" form
- waking up your roommate as you cough up a lung

awesome:
- falling instantly in love with the two new volunteers we have
- having a consecutive 39 hours off, though i do miss my babies
- finally mailing the 7 postcards/letters i've had ready to go for 3 weeks
- getting a long overdue apology from someone that hurt you
- being told you look good when you have little to no makeup on and your hair's a mess
- getting leftovers of delicious fruit smoothies made by amber
- kisses from 2 yearolds
- making friends with ecuadorian high school girls, and dinner with them tomorrow night!
- rico crackers and cream cheese, and apples
- new music
- sacrament meeting in another country and another language, where the spirit is the same
- tomorrow is friday!
- the pictures below (i miss summer and amy cragun)

shootin the bobaaa

im really liking vegas. quite a bit, actually. last night i hungout with juelaine, shelby, kyle and joel again. first we went to this place called rainbow to shop. however, i have zero money. and any money i do have is for ecuador/school. so i didnt get anything. boo. then joel and i walked over to walmart cause i had to use the restroom very badly. and some guy asked us for money, but we had none.

then we went to pick up ky ky. he lives in the ghetto of vegas. like pretty much 2 minutes from the strip. then we went to the fashion show mall. one of God's greatest creations, in my opinion. soo effing amazing. it has the biggest forever 21 in the whole wide world. so me and shelb and ju headed there while the boys found another way to entertain themselves.

beautiful, right? its so huuuuge! its 126,000 sq ft, has 650 employees, 132 fitting rooms, 36 cash registers and all that on 2 floors. its absolutely completely fantastic. we spent a whopping two hours in there. it wouldve been more if joel and kyle hadnt been calling and texting us to leave. i am proud to say that i only spent $43 in there. it was hard. but i did it. haha me and shelby played dressup.

i was THIS CLOSE to buying those cheetah print pants/leggings. i liked them so much. wayy comfy. i would probably live in them if that was socially acceptable. forever has sick glasses tooooo.

sorry, i just am basically in love with forever 21. moving on. welllll we went to wet seal only to find out that joel and kyle had gotten bored enough that they walked to in-n-out. they walked. it was like 10 minutes driving. i have no idea what those idiots were thinking. butttt they got there like 5 minutes after we did so they had to have been walking for awhile. we like in-n-out. we like it a lot.

that would be juelaine's nasty grilled cheese she gets, as she is one of those non-meat eating vegetarians that i dont understand.

next was boba. theyd been talking about it the whole night. but i had no idea what was going on. i felt so left out. we went to chinatown and got smoothies. which had boba in them. wtfff is boba? well after i ate one they all freaked out and told me they were roach eggs. apparently the vietnamese eat them to suppress hunger. so of course i was all concerned and wasnt sure if i should try to puke up these little sticky boba ball things. then they told me i was fine. idiots.

now, this is the game. you suck up the boba balls into your straw. and... well... you shoot them at people on the street. cruel, right? its so so wrong. but so verrrry fun :)

BOBA!

well, the end. my first experience shooting boba... and id say it was a rather successful one. it is my new favorite activity.

okay, maybe i overreacted

ive decided vegas isnt too terribly bad

its quite great if you have things to do

that always helps

yesterday i went to lake mead

with;

troy

derek

tj

cody

gregory

dj

and paul

we went cliff jumping, tubing, skiing, wakeboarding, swimming, etc

it was absolutely wonderful

i wish my camera wasnt broken though

i find greg very attractive

is that okay?

hes 23

we can get married

after the lake we went to smash burger

aka the most delicious burger on the planet

i dropped my phone in the trashcan

troy dug through the trash for me to find it

only a liiiiiittle embarrassing

last night i went to flip-n-out

with;

juelaine

shelby

joel

kyle

and ashleigh

we were there for like an hour

then we went to the 7eleven where shelby works and we got slurpees and comida

at ju's house joel and ju and kyle watched 2012

but me and shelby swam

we bonded

we discusses the 90's

and how much we miss being younger

i miss boy meets world

and disney princess movies

ive always wanted to be a disney princess

a whole new world, colors of the wind, and part of your world often randomly get stuck in my head

is that okay?

i think so

fjdklaf; life in vegas isnt tooooo terribly bad

welcome to the city of sin

so its day five in las vegas. i met a boy on the plane here. his name is matt. i sort of am maybe attracted to matt. we made a bet. i won. we played a game. i won. i basically am just better at everything than matt.

in other news, vegas it hot. effing 110 degrees. but its not humid. yayyy for that. saturday night i went over to linda and troy's to have birthday cake for tj's birthday. he's so big! he's as tall as i was! i havent seen that guy for yearssss, like 9 maybe. and dereks hot. hes 7. im comfortable with that. then juelaine came over. and then she took me to her friend shelby's house. we played spoons with kyle and joel. then we went to in-n-out. i like that place. its delish.

monday night i went to singles ward fhe with juelaine and shelby and kyle and joel. i sort of feel a part of the group now. i like that. we played beach volleyball. that was enjoyable. except for i scratched my knee. ouch. then we went to juelaine's and ate; pizza, toy story 3 mac & cheese, peanut butter pretzels, the end. and then we went swimming. and hottubbing. and played truth or dare. i told a secret.

tuesday was sort of blahhhh. except i went to mimi's cafe with my grandma and her old lady friends. i got a sandwich and salad. yummmy. nada joy likes me a lot. she wants me to go see a movie with her and my grandma. thats funny i think.

yesterday and today ive been babysitting the foggs. they have four babies. well, two babies and two kids like 10ish maybe? the babies are madelyn and riley. yesterday maddie puked on me. today riley puked on me. i didnt know i had the effect on people. the puking effect. i made $108 though, so i suppose that maybe that makes up for the puke.

oh p.s. IM GOING TO ECUADOR :))) its official and im very happy about it.

fjdklaf; i like vegas, but i like kansas more

goodbyeee sexy rexy

well the day is finally here, IM LEAVING REXBURGGG! for the next seven weeks. i sort of have mixed feelings. i am so so so ready for a break. i neeeed a break. i cant wait to get to vegas where its hot, and i can wear shorts, and i can work, and i can see my grandma, and play with jujubee and do lots of exciting activities. haha and this means im closer to home! i miss my home. ive never liked kansas so much as i have when ive been off at school.

the was the best semester of my liiiife. yes, i know this is only my second. but it was amazing. i had the best time in the world. i came here with my bestfriend. i was blessed to have two other amazing (and normal, for the dorms) girls as roommates who i absolutely love. i got a good schedule, with good teachers. i got lucky and had art with my girl madi. i had science with jamie. i had book of mormon with court and i had spanish with amy.

i met some of the best people; blake, kat, skyler, jason, justin, riley, chris, will, zack, zach, b, betsy, chelsea, davy, nate, braden, jon, kyle, t'jae, shawn, tanya, etc.

fjdklaf; heres to spring semester 2010

and the beat goes on...

my happiness streak continues. haha im seriously so happy. i absolutely love my life right now. everything about it. i had a couple bad days this week, but i wasnt down for long. i have the best friends, the best family, the best everything.

last night me and amy went to patriots and pioneers, this choir/band thing. i had to go for my humanities class so i wasnt particulary looking forward to it, but it was SO GOOOD. it made me miss choir so bad. i miss select, i miss backrub thursdays, i miss sickel, i miss singing everyday, i miss songs that give me goosebumps, i miss our chicago trip, i miss the unity and the people.

but this was amazing. at the beginning we all sang "the star spangled banner" and it was incredible. i got chills. it was a good reminder for how blessed i am to live in this country. we have so much opportunity, freedom, pride and so many blessings. i completely enjoyed last night. i miss being in choir. me and bets decided were gonna do university choir next semester, i cant wait.

there is something i absolutely positively loooove about summer nights. i love driving around with the windows down, blasting music and singing along. i love shorts and tshirts. i love how perfect the temperature at night is. last night i went with justin and little john longboarding. i didnt actually go, i just drove them to the top of hills and followed them down. haha it was so fun. longboarding must be a rexburg/westcoast thing cause i swear people dont do that in kansas.

this weekend is going to be spectacular. blake and kat are in oregon :( so im all by myself. but its going to be just phenomenal. except for the fact that i have to take a science test that im confident i will fail. oh wellllll. tomorrow, fireworks, a cookout, a sleepover and the new 3oh!3 album will make everything all better.

fjdklaf; i love where i come from, happy fourth of julyyy

p.s. my current musical obsesssion... "im not the one" by 3oh!3

ch ch ch changes

wow, two in one week. im impressed with myself, as should you be.

im making lots of changes in my life right now. i want to be better. about everything. even though i have ZERO motivation for school right now (because come on, school in the summer? its just not okay) im gonna try supaaaa hard to get all A's this semester. i want my scholarship back.

i want to do more "good" things. sister connell was a big fan of "trade the good things for better things" and frankly, i need to start with good. i wrote in my journal last night. that was big for me. i used to be wayyy good about journal writing, but something happened and well, i suck at it now. it'd been like a month since i'd written anything. but im trying to be better. i read my scriptures for book of mormon, but honestly, that's probably only because i have to. im bad about scripture study on my own. which is why im happy im taking a religion class. at least im reading them at all, right? i love marking up my scriptures. when i turn to a page and see it full of color and writing it makes me so happy. my prayers have been better though. yay mee.

is it wrong that its 3:32 in the morning and i may or may not have been reading my best friends blog instead of doing homework? nahhh, probably not. i love amy. i dont think ive ever had so much in common with a friend before. except had, but thats inevitable. im just bummed we didnt start hanging out earlier, like last semester. but maybe thats good. i love our talks. i feel like i can tell her anything. and thats something i havent had for awhile. i trust her. and i like having people i can trust. we do the weirdest things together, but thats okay, because weird is good. and we enjoy it, so who cares?

im so ready for utah this weekend. as much as i love rexburg, im happy to be getting away. im bummed calaigh is gonna be with ster, but that just means i get extra time with amalia and ben and clarke and caroline and lizzy and alec and irene. i love family. i love my family. i love that me and my mom get along so much better when i'm at school. i'm finally realizing that she's right about more than i thought. my dad's a complete douchebag, but thats okay. because i have my mom. and tom. and thats all i really need.

here's tooooo: summer nights, roadtrips, juice, white cheddar cheezits, minus the bear, good morning texts, still loving exboyfriends, popsicles, manual cars, bke jeans, lunch dates, curly hair, flipflops, and everything in between.

i love my life, and the people in it. fjdklaf; i just do :)

the pursuit of happyness

shi all, im the happiest ive been since... i can remember. and thats a gooood thing. life is way good. i have the best friends, the best family, and idaho's weather is finally nice.

i love amy cragun. i like our adventures, our afternoons at the park, our sunday lunches, our spanish homework sessions with chris, our skype conversations, our gay "goodnight" texts, i just really like us.

30 days til i go to vegas

51 days til i go home

189 days til i go to ecuador

i absolutely positively am most definitely in love with summer. i just hate that i have to be in schoool. i like rexburg. i like it a lot. i like that the weather is finally nice.

i like taking pictures. i like doing things that are worthy of taking pictures of. i really like juice. a lot. and thai food. mmmm good.

i like david archuleta, even though im kind of embarrassed to say it. i would marry him 1) if he knew who i was, 2) if he was half a foot taller, 3) if he loved me back. hahah hes awesome. he is the nicest, funniest, cutest, most genuine, grateful, appreciative and in love with what he does person i've seen. he was here last weekend and i saw him (and david osmond, who i got a picture with thank you very much) with my fellow 816 hussy BETSY TRACY. it was bomb.

oh, and i really like tie-dye :)))

im really scatter-brained today, but i just thought i would share.

fjdklaf; so im paige

i want

its juuuune! can you believe it? JUUUUNE!!!! that means i'll be done with school next month and i am oh so excited. i cant wait.

i want to be home. i want to be with my friends. i want to be with the boy i like. i want to get all A's this semester. i want more sleep. i want summer nights. i want trips to utah. i want more backrubs during devo. i want to master spanish. i want to be a better student. i want to want more from life.

this month is gonna be amazing. i can feel it. its starting to be summer! no its not warm yet (idaho sucks), but today was nice. and the fact that it's freaking june means summer is close. and im happppy about that.