niki and corinne in texas: part one.

my mom and niki came to visit me for a couple days and it was practically perfect in every way.

i picked them up from the airport and we went straight to velvet taco of course. then after a couple hours of late night chat we went bed, so excited for our plans.

thursday morning we took our time getting ready (in true griffith arrington rodriguez style) and went straight to northpark, our amazing mall that holds every store you can imagine. we got through about half of it before we were too famished to continue. (it's a hard life). we then went to central market for some food and to explore the amazingness of that fresh store. i will miss central market dearly.

we then came home and i got my hair cut by my beautiful friend ronnie (as seen here). then we waited for david to call us so we could hangout via google while he opened his mission call. i'm so grateful i could be with my mom and niki when we found it, it was so exciting!

anyway, baby bro opened the call and he's going to omaha, nebraska! he reports to the mtc one week after graduation. wow. i am so inexpressably excited for him. i think about it all the time. the next time i see him will be the last time i see him for two years!

more to come from niki and corinne in texas...

twenty three.

sarahmainesduke is twenty three and i can only celebrate with her in spirit.

some fun facts some of you may or may not know about sarah:

- she is an incredible artist. not just a creative person, she has actual artistic abilities that come out of her hands and onto whatever medium she pleases. she has a drawing that was in her room that i loved and then i found out she drew it and then i had a even bigger testimony of sarah's coolness.

- she loves cow tales. you know, that old almost chalky candy that you can't decide whether you like or not? also, why is it called cow tales? are they telling you a story? no. no they are not.

- she loves soccer. like she really truly enjoys watching it. that made the 2010 world cup a lot of fun, let me tell you. it also made it super awesome when she met her husband who is, to put it mildly, a soccer fanatic. presh.

- yes. her hair really is that beautiful in real life. as is her face and her spirit.

love you smd. one day we'll live in the same time zone again and it will be magic and birthdays will not go without birthday hugs and we will live [even more] happily ever after forever.

happy day.

too much fun with hannah and shana and dallas and new year's eve. i realized i have a love hate relationship with not knowing what could happen in a year. 

before christmas.

our 12/12/12 chrismakkuh party happened and it was a hit. hot chocolate, treats, snowflake making, and we had everyone write down advice for their twelve year old selves. hilarious stuff.

valentina turned twenty four! we went to dinner and went back to her apartment for cake and dancing. i made a funfetti cake using diet cherry 7up instead of eggs and oil. and might i add, it was delicious.

a roommate [plus valentina who is basically a roommate] christmas happened. and to put it lightly, i totally scored. two yogurtland gift cards, an awesome notebook, a star wars kids book [be still my heart], some nail polish, and a beautiful iphone cover. what did i do to deserve such thoughtful friends?

friendsgiving 2012.

friendsgiving was a hit.

in conclusion: friendsgiving was a hit. my roommate becca owned that turkey. we were able to catch the macy's thanksgiving day parade and dance it out to neon trees. a new turkey trot tradition of bright socks and blue eyeshadow was born. georgina surprised me and turned on the waterworks. i was kind of obsessed with my tablescape, hence all the pictures of mason jars and the lacking pictures of people. we had twelve people total and it was so fun talking and discussing all the many blessings we have to be grateful for, eating and hanging out and watching everyone pitch in to do the dishes. i am excited for more friendsgivings to come!

utah: reception night.

i have been to my fair share of receptions, and i am only twenty two. but if i was to give this reception a title, i would say it was the most tumblr-worthy i have ever attended. if you don't know what that means, just know that it is awesome. i love having such a cool sister.

 jade and i are actually pretty awesome.

complimentary shoeshine. are you for real?

 mine bestie sarahmainesduke came. this reunion was so happy.

 i love her forever.

and off they went. it was magical.

also, please note all the incredibly well dressed individuals. i was gawking all night.

last utah post to come!

welcome to the 2nd annual pinterest party.

due to the success and awesomeness of last year's party, i decided to bring it to dallas.

during priesthood session some talented and beautiful ladies came to my apartment with the kind of dishes you only find in your dreams. among these dishes:

oreo cheesecake cupcakes

muddy buddy popcorn

'skinny' spinach artichoke dip

avocado fries

seven layer bean dip in a cup

pumpkin spice cake

cheesecake filled strawberries

coconut hot chocolate

now that i have you all salivating, i will tell you that it was all just as good as it all sounds.

after all the eating, chatting and hair braiding, i deem this pinterest party a success.

deuces.

today was my birthday.

and it was amazing.

more to come.

photo credit: alexiss memmot

goodbyes: part sisters.

i was able to have a spontaneous dinner and movie night with my salt lake sisters [and renn]. it was so fun seeing kendall one last time. even though she didn't live super close to provo, it was nice knowing she was there.

i love my sisters.

just little guys.

spending time with the children is my favorite. here are some of the fun times we've had as of late.

playing in boxes!

watching levi swing!

cason's 5th birthday at pizza pie cafe!

what a share bear.

levi being awesome!

luci's dance recital!

 making levi smile!

what a model.

 love this girl.

luci dresses like a rockstar.

 levi and lauren hanging out on the floor.

i love my family.