my holiday away

I can't believe that for a second I thought about not going home for Thanksgiving! (I know, I know. But I'm starting to feel weird about graduating and leaving Provo, so it makes me think about making weird decisions sometimes.)

If you ever thought that vacation was for sitting around and relaxing, you have not vacationed with my family. My sense of adventure had to of come from somewhere right? But, it was so fun to be able to spend my Thanksgiving holiday with all of the people that I am the most grateful for. And, I guess all the pie was pretty great too...

For one of our adventures, we thought that the kiddies might enjoy checking out all the fish at the Georgia Aquarium. It was such a treat to see my little guppies getting so excited about the fishes.

Danny and Dani. Can't believe Rochelle is moving to Germany and of course taking this little guy with her. But hey, he'll probably look even cuter in lederhosen. 

Those babies!!! I'm not gunna lie, I don't always get the most excited about other peoples babies, but I just swoon when I see these cute nephews of mine. I can't even imagine how obsessed I'm going to be with my own kids one day. 

On my last day of my visit back east, I got to celebrate one whole year of being an auntie with this guy as he turned the big one year.

The great importance of birthdays must be taught at a young age!! Happy birthday sweet baby James. So proud to be your Auntie Dani and can't wait to celebrate more birthdays with ya kid.

Even my cute puppy got in on the celebrating. I was actually so worried he wasn't going to remember me since Eddie was such a little puppy when I left to go back to Utah. We joked that he probably thought I was dead and would think I was a ghost. But ghost or not, he was still thrilled to have me back so that we could catch up on our snuggles. 

Although Provo has been my home for almost four years now, it always feels great to go back to Atlanta and see my family. Hope you had a perfect Thanksgiving too, and I hope you also took advantage of the opportunity to eat pie for breakfast everyday like I did (it's good for you, trust me). 

peace. love. and pie. 

my most wonderful time of the year

Yup, we have once again made it to the most perfect time of the year. Happy fall everyone. To celebrate, I baked myself an apple pie, and I am pretty proud of how it turned out.

I am currently lying on my bed, windows open (you know that perfect view of the mountains we talked about), listening to Bahamas, wearing a cozy sweater, and just feeling oh so happy.

Welcome to the season of brisk weather, comfy clothes, and my birthday. 

I have been celebrating the ends of warm weather by studying outside all the time. This is my favorite outdoor study spot. I sometimes refer to it as my secret spot, but it's really not so secret cause it's the fourth floor of the JFSB, and I'm pretty sure most people know about it. Can't wait for the pretty colors in the mountains. The Alpine Loop is the greatest in the fall. I am down to go anytime anyone wants to. 

Hilary and I said goodbye to summer by enjoying some delicious and very large snow cones. I got chased by bees multiple times while we ate, and if you'er looking for a laugh, you can ask Hils for the video. 

Summer, it's been real, but it's time for us to move on. 

Happy First Day of Fall.

peace. love. and pie. 

my day of pies and puppies

This week Provo has finally gotten its act together. It made its way all the way up to the 60s this week, and after a long Utah winter, I think we were all ready for this. It reminded me of the first spring day in Paris last winter semester when I was studying abroad. One day, the sun came out and all of the sudden everyone else did too. It was one of my favorite days in Paris. Everything felt so alive after a winter of hibernation, and the city was in full bloom. BYUs campus emitted a very similar reaction with an outburst of spring clothes, studying on the lawn, and finally the opportunity to enjoy outdoor activities without wearing everything you own. Though, I won't lie to you, putting away my boots for the the summer is always very upsetting to me (I have a secret wish that I will get to wear them just a few more times). Weird fact about me, I hate sandals. I'm on the hunt for a pair that I like, they must exist somewhere out there??

Anyways....this week, the highlights were puppies and pie. How could you go wrong with a week that included sunshine, puppies, and pie? You cannot. You simply cannot.

I've made pies for Thanksgiving before, but this was my first "experimental pie." To play into the summery feeling I decided to make a strawberry pie. It was really good. I found the recipe online (here) when I was searching around and figured I would give it a try (I will admit though that I cheated and used a store bought crust, but I don't feel guilty about it). I made this pie on Thursday 3/14 in honor of Pi Day (3.14 get it?). This holiday is the one good thing that has ever come out of math (ok, maybe there are a couple other uses for that voodoo magic you people call math, but I just won't worry abut those). 

As a lovely little treat on Pi Day, there was also an event down by BYUs duck pond where you could play with puppies. Obviously, Hilary and I had to stop by. Someone asked me a little while ago what I was most looking forward to about having my own house one day, and the first thing that came to mind was getting my own dog. After more thought about the question, I am sticking to my answer. Dogs are the greatest. Can't wait till I have a life that is suitable for me to get my own puppy!

Hopefully your weather is warming up too. If not, wear your boots while you still can, you don't have much time left! And if you get the chance this week eat some pie and pet a puppy; you won't regret it. Both things bring the greatest kind of joy. 

peace. love. and pie.