Taylor Swift and a realization

Last night I went with my parents and my sisters to the Taylor Swift concert. WOW. I didn't know Celine Dion could be outdone but Taylor did it. I'm serious, she was the best concert I have been to yet. 


We had so much fun! Emily and I sat together and sang every song to our little hearts content. My favorite comment of the night was when Emily leaned over to me and says, "Syd, aren't you glad Mom had a fourth daughter so that you didn't have to sit by yourself tonight (since our seats were all in sets of two)?" haha.  Yes Emily, I am very glad I am not the youngest and you came along to be my buddy. :) 


Oh man, if I could follow Taylor on her whole tour around the world, I would. For sure. No questions asked. It was an absolute blast! 

Now time for my little realization. One look at a picture of yourself that you think you look "ugly" in can ruin your self esteem for the rest of the day. Seriously! I went to the dermatologist yesterday morning and didn't wear any makeup because I wanted the doctor to see the skin on my face without anything on it. Well, afterwards I didn't have much time to get ready so I had to just do my makeup in the car. I was impressed with myself because 1. I did it in the car and 2. I did it in like ten minutes or less. And I thought it turned out pretty good. Until I looked at the above picture. I look like I have sleepy eyes and have absolutely no makeup on! And it doesn't help that I am surrounded by three beautiful sisters and one gorgeous momma! :) 

So for like an hour after that all I could think of was how much I wished I would have gotten ready a little more today to look cute for the concert. (stupid I know, but true) And then it hit me. Who really cares what you look like?? Just because you took a bad picture doesn't mean you need to suddenly feel bad about yourself and think you look gross and not have any fun. So I got over it and realized that not one person is perfect and everybody has things they want to change about themselves. Like me, if given the chance I would give myself flawless facial skin in an instant. But it doesn't work that way. So for now I'll deal with the things I don't like about myself and be grateful for the things that I do like. Us girls are so silly sometimes. 

That little realization came during the concert, inspired by Taylor herself. I'm not really even sure what she was talking about or whether or not it had anything to do with what I was feeling but somehow it helped. She is a great artist and I just absolutely love her music. She really speaks her mind and is honest in her songs and that is something to appreciate today. Her songs are so easy to relate to - I love it! 


Anyway, enough of my girl drama. The concert was a blast! Anybody who thinks she is terrible live, needs to think again. She is amazing and her show was so entertaining! 

Loved it. Loved her. Loved being able to spend some time with my amazing sisters and wonderful parents. :)


And I was going to add a video or two but I don't have the patience to do it right now because blogger is so lame when it comes to videos. Any tips on uploading videos anyone?!?

Are you sick of hearing about all of our travels yet?

Well, sorry. I know its been over a month since we have done most of the things I am posting about lately but I promise I am almost done. In twenty years I'm sure I would regret not having written these things down so just bear with me. :)

Another detour we took on our road trip home was to Mt. Rushmore. We were both super anxious as we drove up the mountain to the monument. Both of us kept hoping that when we saw the monument we wouldn't be disappointed. You know when you have a picture in your mind of what you think something is going to be like and it turns out nothing like what you imagined and you end up super disappointed? Well, that was our worry. But that quickly went away when this came into view: 

It did not disappoint in the least. We were in awe with how incredible it was. To have carved that right into the side of that granite mountain is just amazing to me. It's one thing to be creative enough to have designed something like that and another to actually make it come to life. It seriously blows me away. 

George Washington

Thomas Jefferson

Theodore Roosevelt

Abraham Lincoln

This man actually worked as a driller on the monument. We could have bought his book for $10 but instead opted for a quick photo. :)

We were lucky enough to be there just before dark and get to see the light show just after the sun went down. It really was such a fun thing to go and see and lived up to every expectation we had set for it. :)

Nauvoo & Carthage

On our trek back across the country from North Carolina to Utah, we made sure to make the most of our drive and make some pretty incredible stops along the way. The most memorable stop that I will cherish forever was in Carthage & Nauvoo, Illinois. 

(Bullet hole from the bullet that killed Hyrum)

We thought we would only be there for a couple of hours, see a couple of things, and then head on our way. But boy were we wrong! We started off in Carthage by going to the jail where the Prophet, Joseph Smith, was martyred. We were able to go on a tour and walk through the jail and see exactly where Joseph Smith had been. It was such an incredible and moving experience! We literally got to sit in the windowsill that he fell through when he died. 

The Spirit in that room was unlike anything I had ever felt before. It might seem morbid to some to visit the place where somebody was killed, but it is not like that at all. Going there, you are reminded of what Joseph & Hyrum died for and you become so much more grateful for their sacrifice. They are the ultimate examples of staying true to Christ in the face of adversity. Those that killed our beloved prophet hoped that by doing so would be the end of the Latter Day Saints. But just because our Prophet had left the earth didn't mean that the gospel was no longer on the earth. He restored the gospel to the earth and I am eternally grateful to him. It really was an experience I will never forget. He truly was and still is a man of God. Because he listened to the Spirit, I have so much to be thankful for. 

Where we learned about dingbats, p's & q's, "cut to the chase", upper and lower case letters, etc. so fun!

Mississippi River

Joseph Smith's home

After we visited Carthage, we headed up to Nauvoo. Again, we thought we could walk around for a minute and leave. SO WRONG! We got to go to the Browning Gunsmith Shop, The Printing Press, John Taylor's home, and so many other fun places! And we even got to do a session at the historic Nauvoo Temple. Oh my goodness....so beautiful! 

We ended up spending the whole day enjoying all of the historic sites and falling behind on our travels, but it was so worth it! We don't know when we will be going back there but it really was such a special experience to go there as just the two of us. It gave me a whole new understanding of what life would have been like back in those times, and has increased my love and appreciation for all of those Saints back then that were so faithful and strong, regardless of the hardships they endured. I hope I can be at least half as strong and faithful as they were. 

Lake Powell

Over Labor Day we were lucky enough to go down to Lake Powell for the day with my family. To say we had fun would be a serious understatement!

Here are some of my favorite memories of Lake Powell over the years : 

.first time taking Preston.

.camping.

.boating.

.tubing.

.boat crash.

.yummy food.

.jet skiis.

.Mom dislocating her arm.

.Randy: feels like fall :).

.red rocks.

.slumber parties on the boat.

.the whippersnapper.

.finally learning how to wakeboard after years and years of attempts.

.Natalie and I wishing we could live at Lake Powell.

.Ice Cream at the Marina.

.carp. (barf!)

.rainbow bridge.

.Moki canyon.

.Big N' Busty.

.fireworks and 4th of July.

.Brittnie W crashing the jet ski.

.Whitney flying so high up on the tube only to come crashing back down and landing completely backwards.

.Making waves with jet skis.

.cliff jumping. 

.phobia of the water - grateful that I have finally overcome that.

.memories made with dear friends.

.bathing in the lake. 

.Sarah and I going down the waterslide of the houseboat at the marina....CARP!.

.taking all of my american girl dolls with me to the lake. haha. 

.How much I cried the day Preston left on his mission, I happened to be at Lake Powell that day. 

.Having Dad pull Emily and I on the tube using a jet ski before we got a boat of our own.

And the list goes on and on and on. I love that place sooo much. It's safe to say that it is probably one of my most favorite places on earth. I love everything about it.