so its been awhile!

i know its been SO long since ive written and im sorry! actually i dont know how many people actually read my blog but whatever :)

so... i came home from the east coast and i got ready to move... to mesa, arizona! i had been praying for awhile about where to go in my life and what to do, and i had been continually receiving answers to go to mesa. so i decided to listen to the promptings faithfully, and pack up and move! i have to say, it was honestly nerve-racking.. i even almost tried backing out the night before i was supposed leave! but i came, and i have been in mesa for a little over a month :)

about 2 weeks after i moved down here to mesa, i went on a HUGE trip to lake powell with my group of friends. there was actually about 190 people on our trip, and we had 3 house boats, 15 wake-board boats, a zip line off of a cliff, a giant slip-n-slide, and a fully functional dj set (for nightly dance parties, of course). we went for labor day weekend, and stayed for 4 days. it was amazing, and i couldnt believe how much fun it was! it was especially fun because 99% of the people there were lds, so before each meal we would pray, and on the sunday we were there we had a little mini devotional. :)


this was taken on top of one of the houseboats on the second night (sugh a gorgeous sunset!) bottom:mandy, steph, britt, me, kasey; top: james and jesse
us girls had a joke about being some of the originals from the "family", so we made shirts that said first wives club because last year at lake powell we all joked that we were the wives of mike and jared (who plan everything). left t0 right: erika, me, mike, andrea, britt, jared, karissa, kim, van, mckell
another pic of our shirts... and of course we made capes haha: l2r: karissa, britt, mckell, me, kim, andrea
its been interesting to see the blending of the utah girls vs the arizona girls. i guess i am a part of each now... :) l2r: heather, elise, kari, britt, becca, andrea, alyssa, diane, kim, candance, me, jessie, karissa, steph, mckell, megan

so after lake powell i came back to mesa and began to substantially build up my social group and to find a job. i have met alot of amazing people here, and i have been so spiritually uplifted in my ward and in my group of friends, its been so great! unfortunately it has been pretty difficult to find a job, so i have had a lot of free time. i've been spending alot of time with my roommates andrea and steph, and some of the boys that are like brothers to me: mike jesse and james. i dont mean to brag... but i have some amazing friends! :)

this past weekend our "family" took a trip to vegas to have a joint bachelor/bachelorette party for our friends van and kim who are getting married on october 10th! it was an incredibly crazy and fun weekend!
friday night was girls night, so us girls all dressed in shirts that kayla (kim's sister and maid of honor) made for us accessorized with cowgirl boots and we hit the strip. we first hit up the stratosphere ride, which is so fun and extremely scary!! then we proceeded to walk around the strip and make kim fulfill ridiculous dares that we thought up for her to do to embarass her!

so friday night was pretty tame considering the fact that we were in vegas. us girls stayed at andrea's parents' house in henderson just outside of the city. in the morning we woke up and ate some breakfast, then got all our stuff together and went and snuck into the palms hotel pool. it is a posh little pool, and is supposedly hard to get into if you're not staying there. but we had no problems getting in.. in fact we just walked in! but then we had to flirt shamelessly with some guys inside and borrow their room keys so that we could then get all the boys in. we laid out and played in the pool for a few hours, then headed to our hotel. we all got ready, and headed to an overpriced buffet and ate some amazing food! (i seriously almost threw up i ate so much!). then we walked down the strip a bit and watched the fountains in front of the bellagio, then headed to club tryst in the Wynn hotel and danced the night away! it was seriously such a fun weekend, and i love all of my friends! we really are like a family, and i am so excited for kim and van to get married!!

here is the whole group of us in front of the bellagio :)

this pic was from friday night with the girls! we were bowing down to kim at the end of a fabulous night
another girl group shot right before we rode the stratosphere ride! :)
aaaand another girl shot, right after dinner at the buffet (i seriously had a food baby in my belly haha)
just taking some random pics after dinner. l2r: andrea, mike, me, james, mckell, karissa, and zander


so now i FINALLY have a job after searching for a month!! i start monday at my brother-in-law's pest control office based out of chandler az. ill just be workin in the office, and it wont be glamorous or anything but im just so greatful to finally have a job! i also have my eye on a few fellas down here, so ill definitely keep things posted on that as well :)

xoxo aly