these are my confessions.

1. i am sitting in the airport right now, waiting for my flight to board.. and i could not be happier. okay i guess i could be if i were in the vegas airport haha. but you catch my drift.

2. airports are confusing, HUGE, and difficult.

3. i pretty much lied to everyone about my final exam grades with the exception of two people. its embarrassing! and why do they need to know? its none of their business. adding 5 or 10 points to my score is not a sin.

4. i now fully understand the phrase "purple mountains majesty." yesterday, i was walking home and the sun was setting and the snow was on the mountains and somehow they just turned this beautiful shade of purple. i tried to run inside and grab my camera.. but it didnt really work haha. i reminded myself of my mom. it was weird. utah is beautiful.

5. im not going to go as far as to say that i like the snow.. but i'll admit it is kind of growing on me. its so pretty! i stared at the mountains for like five minutes straight yesterday and then realized how stupid i looked and stopped. but who knew the snow was so exciting?! look at this snowman...

crazy! my mind was blown. at least 3 other snowmen this size were created this week.

6. i'm 4 seats away from this boy in my ward.. i cant remember his name. woops. i feel like a failure. my calling (ward greeter) is supposed to make me get to know everyone in the ward. uhg.

7. i'm turning 19 next week.. and i'm kind of freaking out. where did this year go!? i've been graduated for more than 6 months. what the crap is going on haha.. i dont want to grow up!

8. i sold a text book back this week and got $87 back. it kind of made my week.

9. i will miss the cannon center, and the girls from my floor. aside from that, i could leave provo forever and be perfectly content.

10. i didnt charge my computer yesterday, and i really want to watch mean girls on the plane. so im getting off.

PEACE & LOVE.

-ashley

CHRIST to the MAS

okay. so i am totally in the christmas-zone right now. i've been listening to christmas music aalllllll day long. and i know im totally gonna regret saying this... but i may or may not kind of almost semi-like the snow. i suppose we have a love-hate relationship. i fell on my butt twice yesterday. it was great.

anyway, in honor of christmas i wanted to share my two favorite christmas songs of all time.

1. Josh Groban "Believe"

this song is AMAZING. i love love love him! it's from polar express... and i called my mom yesterday and told her to send me christmas songs just so i could have this one song. i could listen to it over and over for the rest of the month. and as a matter of fact, i will.

2. Aly & AJ "Greatest Time of Year"

I LOVE THIS SONG. my play count is already 14 and i just started listening to christmas music like yesterday. it gets me so pumped up. i remember listening to this song on my ipod on christmas eve because i couldnt sleep. hahaha. jeeze. its like one of my favorite songs ever... not just in the christmas category.

anyway. those are my two faves. i hear t swift has a christmas album out... and so does david archuleta. i'll have to check those out asap!!

this is most definitely the best time of year. i love everything about christmas. the spirit, the food (in relief society this week, i talked about my mom's egg nog cheesecake and people gasped), the presents, the tree, the mistletoe, the hot chocolate, the sledding, and just the fact that everyone is so happy and giving at this time of year.

i turn 19 this christmas... daaaaang. thats old. i cant believe my bff alex westmoreland will be 20 on christmas eve. holler! well. thats all i have to say at the moment... i lost 9 pounds since thanksgiving break! WOO. i definitely am starting to make some new years resolutions haha.. i wanna be prepared. wouldnt it be cool to say i ran 365 miles in one year? i think that might be one of them.

11 days till i go home :)

17 days till christmas/birthday celebration!

-ashley

happy happy happy.

its thursday morning, 1:40 a.m., and all is well.

not sure what it is about this week... i was fully prepared to come back emo and depressed after spending a week in glorious las vegas. (i mean, come on. who wants to go from VEGAS to PROVO? talk about down-grade) but guess what? i'm not emo or depressed.

why?

-maybe its because i just finished my last paper like five minutes ago, meaning i wont have to write another one until next semester!

-maybe its because i got my vegas fix in for a few weeks

-maybe its the warm feeling i get inside when i think about going to american heritage lecture TWO more times!! thats it!!

-maybe its because i was actually social for once tonight. i went and played rockband with a bunch of people from my ward. it felt good because 1) i loooove rockband and 2) i looooove talking to people. (i knew all of those hours playing in high school would not go wasted. i impressed a lot of people tonight with my expertise)

-maybe its the fact that NEXT THURSDAY (exactly one week from this very moment) will be my last day of classes for this semester

-maybe its because i got to spend five nights in a comfortable bed last week

-maybe its because the christmas decorations alllll over campus. including my very own taylor hall :) tonight floor council strung christmas lights all along the floor ceiling. pretty.

-maybe its the fact that i can wear all of my nordstrom coats now because its cold as shi- outside

-maybe its because a friend problem got resolved last week when i was home :) i feel like a weight has been taken off my chest!

-maybe its because i got to see afton WAY more than expected last week. I. LOVE. HER. like honestly.... can i have a baby?! ahahaha. she loves me. she cried when i tried to hand her off to someone else.

i woke up to her in my bed on thanksgiving morning hahahha. weird family. so naturally, i had to take pictures. she is so stinking cute.

-maybe its because subway has a new menu item.. chicken cordon bleu melt! holy crap. heaven.

-maybe its because i feel better about next semester. i think i have my classes the way i want them, and every time i think about getting into the elementary ed program i want to freaking jump! i am so excited to be a teacher. a couple weeks ago, i was SO down and discouraged because i'm failing like everything and i was so overwhelmed with life and school and then i went to this el ed seminar... and it got me all pumped up again. i just need to focus.

-maybe its because i came back to provo with a package and a letter awaiting for me! i love love love getting mail. it easily makes any day better. (hint hint) (haha just kidding) (okay but really)

-MAYBE its because my parents got a new mac and i am so excited for them, and i am even more excited about the fact that we can SKYPE now!! i came home sunday night, and i've already had two skype sessions with the fam. maybe if i knew i would love skyping with them this much, i would have donated some serious money to their mac fund.

i love this picture.. we look like sisters huh? i love her.

basically. i'm happy. dont know why... because its FREEZING and i should be stressed out of my mind with finals... but... i dont know. haha. its all good. i get to go home in 16 days! cross your fingers for me and my final exams :) at least i know i'll get an A in my biology lab... stupid bacteria

-ashley

one day more.

okay. this is so nerdy. buuut. i've had this song stuck in my head ALL. MORNING.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuffHRacZMQ

check it out.

this song gives me chills every time. last summer my mom and i went and saw this play in tuacahn. freaking amazing. our family has listened to the soundtrack for years, though. i remember when mitchell was going through his opera stage and we would see if we could hold out the last note till the very end. hahaha. he usually got it. too bad he wont sing anymore.

anyway. the reason i've had this broadway tune stuck is my head is because i only have ONE DAY MORE till i can see my family! a couple things i'm looking forward to...

1. eating my mom's thanksgiving dinner! just the mere thought of janet rolls makes my mouth water. i'll post a picture after thursday. i've decided that thanksgiving/black friday is my favorite holiday. YES, i would rather stuff my face and shop than receive presents. thats ashley barnes for ya.

2. laughing at tanner's jokes in person. i miss that kid.

3. holding baby afton. even if she screams and cries the whole time.

4. sleeping in my bed. i should have put a memory foam pad on my christmas list.

5. seeing the ladies from my old job at Lakes Cleaners. i havent seen them since august! i miss my adorable manager carol. she's for sure one of the top 5 sweetest people i've ever met. my blunt boss ramie and my co-workers jen and jamie. they are hilarious! i wish i had a picture of all of us. if things work out the way i plan, i can rightfully claim my coach purse this week. (this coach purse has been on the dry cleaning line since october 2008... and our rule is after a year we either keep it or give it to goodwill. jen, jamie, and i have had our eyes on this purse since day 1! they took it off the line last month and we decided that to be fair we would send it back and forth like sisterhood of the traveling pants... but they havent sent it to me. hahaha. i'll change that.)

6. hanging out with my family

7. seeing vegas people! i miss hannah and her sister and her mom and amanda and james and sister schlauder and i could list billions of other people but im trying to keep this somewhat short.

8. being in WARM WEATHER. the forecast for monday and tuesday in provo is 41 degrees, and las vegas is 67 degrees. uuuhhhhhggg. thats almost 30 degree difference!!!

9. waking up at the buttcrack of dawn on friday to shop with john. we've only been on the crazy black friday shopping bandwagon for a year, but i expect this tradition to carry on for quite some time.

10. going to visit miss kristin hawkins. i have volunteered in her kindergarden class for over two years. we've been through a lot together. parent drama, stupid administration problems, hahaha. she would vent to me and i told her all about my pathetic senior year. i single handedly saved the christmas program last winter. hahaha. good times. i love this woman. i hope to see her on wednesday and pay derfelt elementary a surprise visit :)

anyway. i think its obvious that i miss las vegas more than i can explain. and i also think that this monday will last 70 hours instead of the usual 24. don't get me wrong.. i love byu (most of the time), but nothing compares to home sweet home.

cant wait.

new roommates.

yes, i am fully aware of the visitors policy here in Helaman Halls.. but i dont think my three visitors would pass the tests. in my bio 101 class, we have been learning about bacteria. gross. we did some experiments and such, which were bearable but not something i'd want to do every day. then to my astonishment, brother stowers announced that we would be conducting our own "at-home" experiments, and be in charge of three different petri dishes for a week.

EW. EW. EW. EW.

so right now i am babysitting little trays of e coli (yes, e coli...), and lactobacillus (you dont even wanna know where this is found. yuck.). oh and lets not forget the third dish that i got to fill with whatever i wanted... i should have put candy or something in it hahaha. but believe it or not, my grades matter to me. so i took a cotton swab and got some bacterial specimen from the lovely dorm shower. look at this nastiness

i wish the picture was clearer but it was hard not to get a glare.

this is the dish from the shower. ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING.

you can not look at this fungus growing in my dish and say you want to go hop in the shower butt naked. i dont know what im gonna do. there's gotta be a hose somewhere outside i can use instead of this infested place. hahahah.

katherine keeps making fun of me and saying that im like one of those psycho creeper roommates who grows stuff in her room and does weird experiments. but i told her if she doesnt shut up i will open the dishes and dump them on her face while she's asleep.

good times.

23 more school days left :) wooo!

-ashley

oh by the way... we had our first legit snow this morning. stuck to the ground. i think its almost melted by now... but lets just say i havent stepped out of my hall ONCE today. uhg. can i go home?

yum.

if i were oprah (which has been a continuous dream throughout my life), one of the coolest things would be making my favorite things show. for those of you who misconceive this woman's greatness and choose to pass on watching her show, it is the one episode a year where oprah dedicates a whole 45 minutes (roughly) to share her most favorite possessions. that obviously everyone should like considering they are the things she likes. its usually amazing. the "things" can be literally anything; movies, books, ipods, items of clothing, shoes, last year she had this sweet thing called a kindle which i will probably never have the luxury of owning in my life, and et cetera.

anyway, that took up a lot more space than planned, here's my new all-time favorite lunch. i decided this week to venture off from subway and get soup and bread. this bread (first spotted when my family was in town... my mom made the woman at the sweet and spicy store take a loaf out of the oven to show me. my mom is obsessed with miniature things. i remember one time we saw a little cheese grater at the grocery store and she adored it... but lets be real, it would never be used. stupid. what a waste.) is AMAZING. just like anything else byu-creamery made. its like your own personal loaf of home-made bread... but you can eat it in one sitting.

and its delicious. i took a picture, but i have to say that it looks a million times better in person. its the perfect amount of slightly crunchy on the top, yummy softness in the middle... mmmmmmm. AND, i ask myself if they did this on purpose, it is thee perfect amount to accommodate the soup. if one were to dip the bread into the soup, you would run out of both at exactly the same time. it feels like some sort of miracle. anyway, here's the picture that doesnt do the bread any justice at all...

now i feel unfair because i shared so much hoopla about the bread, but the soup is really good too! wild rice and chicken.. mmm. nothing compared to the one my mom makes, but this will have to suffice for the next three weeks. THREE WEEKS! exactly three weeks from yesterday. piece of cake.

ashley

joy.

I dont know about you, but to me this is one pretty good-looking family.

i was honored with the pleasure of seeing their faces this weekend :)

thank goodness for nevada day

haha, i love this little guy.

he makes me laugh so hard.

the fam is still here in provo (kills me that they are miles away but i have school in the morning and am unable to spend the whole night with them), i'll treat them to lunch on campus tomorrow and then send them off to vegas.

if you know me well at all, you know i'm the biggest weenie ever. BUT, something tells me tomorrow i wont cry. i mean, come on. thanksgiving is only a short three and a half weeks away. i can do this. right? right.

the four things to get me through this week.

today is sunday, and i feel anticipation. as if it's hours before a big game (not that i know exactly how that feels because i have never been on a sports team in the entirety of my existence), or the feeling you get on the way to the mailbox. full of hope and expectations. i have a handful of random things i have to do this week, and an even bigger handful of planned things. classes, study groups, review rooms, enrichment, home teachers, give blood, write a paper or two, family home evening, try to squeeze some sort of physical activity in there, possibly eat food, and if i have extra time left over i hope to spend it in a deep sleep. i have come to grips with the fact that there are a few things in this world i cant live without that i might as well document for my posterity:

1. this book. this book contains every major/minor/insightful detail involved in my day. if something is not in the planner, there is a good chance i will completely forget about it (even something big that i should be able to remember on my own.. woops). whether it be quotes, phone numbers, birthdays, tests, meetings, to-do lists, shopping lists, assignments.. it's all in there. i love to-do lists, by the way. they motivate me and bring a sense of order.

2. the daily phone calls. unlike the thousands of other independent, care-free, fun-loving freshmen out there, i actually want to keep in close touch with my family. rain or shine, i call my mom every single day. even if the conversation lasts no more than 5 minutes, it still feels like a daily check-point. like an "okay, everything is going to be fine. keep going" moment. they mean a lot to me and well, lets just leave it at that.

3. byu creamery chocolate milk. i realize now that this is undoubtedly the place i belong as i have unlimited access to this delicacy.

4. running. if you asked me six months ago if i enjoyed running, i would have responded with one of three different comebacks. 1) laugh in your face. 2) compare running to lighting myself on fire or stabbing pins in my eyes. 3) plainly state "no. i hate it." BUT. seeing as i would like nothing more than to triumph over the "freshman 15" phenomenon, i have taken up this new hobby. if you can even call it a hobby. I know im not fast, and i certainly cant go farther than four miles, but i am kind of obsessed. its the one time a day i can listen to my music and fully forget about school work. my only concerns are which playlist i will to listen to and which route i will take. its nice. yesterday i ran in the rain, and despite the rash i got from my wet shorts rubbing together (sorry. graphic.) it was a way nice experience. everyone was out with their ponchos and umbrellas, while i'm sporting an 09 shirt and random shorts. i got a lot of crazy looks and a few utards stopped me to make some witty comments. "it's kinda cold to run huh!" whatever. dont talk to me while i'm running. everyone in utah feels like its okay to talk to anyone you want to.. complete strangers, even. do that in vegas and you get shot. the rain felt so good, and it was the perfect temperature to cancel out the hotness from running. haha. here's a picture i took from my dorm.

all i know is its gonna be a long week, but luckily i have my family's visit to look forward to! they are coming to provo on friday. i couldnt be happier.

-ashley

we're halfway there -bon jovi

i would just like to take this moment to say that i am HALF way done with my first semester at college. tomorrow will be the end of the 7th week of school... leaving me with 7 more.

halfway done with the first semester. thats weird. i feel like i just got here. i suppose i've learned a few things. like the scientific equation for cellular respiration. or like make sure you set 3 different alarms to wake up on your early days. or the back right shower comes out the hardest... definitely go back to your room and wait for it if it's in use. or how cougars dont cut corners. or limit yourself to tomassito's pasta once a week (or less). or if its the big manly girl working at subway, go to the other line... she freaking works that sandwich like its her demolition project. or if you are having a really hard time concentrating on school work, just have a friend change your facebook password. makes a huge difference.

basically. that picture is how i feel right now haha. theres so many things i love about BYU, but at the same time i do not love getting horrible grades, or feeling like everyone here is 5x smarter than me, or seeing my breath in the morning when i walk to school or the snow on the mountains. yuck. and i've said it a million times, i'll say it again... i miss my mom.

she's pretty cool. this is us at the BYU/UNLV game this past weekend when i finally got to go home for once. it was great. how bout them cougs?! woo. i cant explain how nice it felt to be in my own bed and drive my car and have a delicious roast and see baby afton and tease tanner and see mitchell and john. it was great.

40 days till thanksgiving break :)

-ashley

sleep deprivation.

this weekend was so fun because one of my best friends KRISTINE came into town! love her. we hung out with leah all weekend! except when we went to lagoon because leah has school. LAME. and shout-out to katherine for turning 19 over the weekend :) PARTAAY!

fab five minus two. we wish alex and kami could have joined us...

monday: woke up before 8 (gasp!) to go observe the children in the preschool on campus for my human development class. talk about creeper status. i had to go sit in this booth that has a one-way window, pick a kid, and take detailed notes on him for 50 minutes. ew. but it was pretty funny this week- my kid wet his pants! poor guy. at least it gave me a lot to write about. then, prepare to be amazed, i ran FOUR miles after classes got out. woo. and in the middle of those four miles i made a pit stop at the gym and did some squats and weight lifting and even rode the stupid bike thing for a while. then ran back to my dorm. if i recall correctly, i stayed up somewhat late doing an assortment of things (doing sit-ups while i watch the sessions of conference i slept through, homework, showering, washing my face, reading my scriptures, and facebook stalking people. you know the drill) which was perfectly fine because tuesdays i dont start class until 12! its beautiful. i look forward to it every week.

tuesday: my roommates alarm goes off at 8. fine, it keeps me up for five seconds and i immediately doze back off into sweet slumber. 8:30 "ashley, wake up!" "no." 8:40 "ashley, you have to get ready! dont you have class today?" "no. no class." 9:00 "ashley its 9:00!! you have to get up" "NO!!!! MY CLASS ISNT TILL 12!!" hahahha. i am not a morning person. and she might have been scared for her life. i was so pissed. but now i feel really bad. love you katherine! at least she was trying to look out for me. so then i go back to sleep till 11 :) mmmm. i love it. but despite how much i love tuesdays, this one wasnt that great. i spent all afternoon/evening on campus doing random crap. BUT then we had this awesome huge group date... we played MEGA twister and had a bonfire up in the canyon. fun!

today: i've done something i have never done (and will never do again) in my life. I woke up early to RUN! what the..? i dont know whats gotten into me. especially since i live in poop town where its 40 degrees in the morning. but yeah. two miles! next thing you know i'll be running marathons. haha psych. i'll admit it was kind of nice. i had breakfast for the first time since i've been here (wow) and i showered and got all ready. sent off a package for connor cuz its his birthday this week. i feel like i accomplished so much! i got my favorite at subway, and i'm trying to be healthier so i gave 3 cans of my dr. pepper to the nice boy who works at the creamery because he is so tight and knows me by name. i want to sell the rest but i dont know if thats legal here in good ole utah.

now its 9:37 and i have a load of laundry in the dryer, all of my homework done and printed out for tomorrow, just sitting here rocking out to the mamma mia soundtrack. its a fave. and in precisely 48 hours i will be home!! i cant explain the excitement. i miss my family. i'll only be home for two days but heck, i am so stoked.

i miss this crap.

why i love my mom

this whole "college/live life on your own/experience total (almost) freedom/fend for yourself/live 400 miles away from home/go live with some random person you dont know/try to live in an environment in which the average climate is 20 degrees lower than you're used to" thing is really great, dont get me wrong. buuuut, lately, i've been getting a little bit homesick. especially since a bunch of random crap has been happening to me lately... for example

1. i totally bombed my first test after DAYS of studying

2. uhh.. i had a little accident involving me, dr pepper, and my laptop. not fun.

3. i miss my friends. one called me this week in tears telling me to come home.

4. i miss my home!! i took so much for granted. like sunday dinners.. mm i would kill for my moms sunday roast right now, complete with potatoes and homemade gravy. or the stupid cheesy games we played. or our high-speed internet that lets me go on whatever site i want. i wish i didnt have to haul my personal stuff down the hall to take a freaking shower. i miss our house and the pictures and the couch and eating in my spot at the dinner table... GAH. i could go on, but i wont for the sake of time, space, and my finger muscles.

5. i miss tanner. i miss his jokes, his gay little laugh, our fights. at least he talks to me on the phone unlike some people.

anyway, i'm assuming this gets the point across that i've been homesick this week.

SO... today a little heaven-sent bundle came to me.

complete with an assortment of my favorite candies, a family picture, a note from my mom, some fuzzy socks, hot chocolate, mmmm. exactly what i needed. oh and dont forget my new face wash. how am i supposed to meet my eternal companion if my face is covered in acne? haha just kidding. give it a couple years.

basically, for all of those who dont know, my mom is a freaking saint. i miss her so much. i feel bad for her being the only female in the home.. yuck. i miss going to the gym with her, and getting yogurt after :) bahaha. we're dumb. luckily, we have these things called cell phones. free verizon-to-verizon calls save my life right now.

besides my random breakdowns, i really do love it here. its so much fun! and i cant even explain how much i lucked out with my roommate. its like we were made to be each others roommate! hahaha cheesy. whatever. she's my favorite. we just have a little problem with getting ourselves out of bed in the morning.. but we're working on it.

hope this didnt sound too emo. you cant blame me for being homesick when i have to go from such a great home to a freaking 10 by 10 cinderblock room with absolutely no closet space! haha. i love college.

-ashley

hello president

Today is a day i will undoubtedly never forget. For devotional, President Thomas S. Monson came and spoke! we were in the same room. it was such a neat experience. i got there with a friend at 9:30 to get a good seat (it didnt start till 11) and it was already packed. needless to say, every seat in the marriot center was full by the time he started. before he came in, everyone was talking and it was really loud but the second he stepped foot on the court it took about 2 seconds for the whole stadium to become dead silent. it was incredible. he is hilarious. we busted up laughing so many times. he went through all of the prophets in his lifetime and shared stories, favorite memories, quotes, etc. about all of the different prophets. it was really interesting! its interesting how close of a relationship he has had with all of them. i think he said David O. Mckay was his stake president when he was in young mens! and of course he and President Hinkley have been life-long friends. did you know President Hinkley's favorite dessert is pie and ice cream? mmmmm. It was so cool to be able to look at President Monson in real life, not through a tv screen or the computer. He is so cool, and i love him!

well on a more secular note... cougars are 2 for 2! woo! we play florida this week at home, hopefully i can fit it into my busy personal life schedule. here's a picture of me, audrey, and katherine at the second game that was broadcasted in the smith field house. i didnt watch the first game because i was studying, but i was aware of our victory the SECOND it happened. i was sitting in my silent dorm and all of a sudden everyone within a mile radius of me started screaming. in the dorms, in the halls, outside my window, down the road... everyone. it was crazy.

i still love it here. i miss home a lot... and i miss my mother and her food and hugs. only 10 weeks till thanksgiving :) now im about to go out with my bff leah to buy some dye for my hair. i am so glad she lives here... its sooooooooo nice to get off campus for a while and hang out with her like the old times haha. love you leah. and thats pretty much it in my life right now. no boys still. but im making lots of good girl friends! we have movie nights. its awesome.

tomorrow will mark katherine and my 3rd week anniversary. haha. we're gonna go get ice cream or something! woo.

peace and love.

my full circle moment.

oprah always talks about her "full circle moments," and since my goal in life is to emulate her as closely as possible i figure i will share mine with the blogging world.

In third grade i made a time capsule.

We put a bunch of random stuff in it; receipts, pokemon cards, a doll i made out of yarn, etc. One thing inside was a survey. The survey had your general questions from "how old are you?" to "whats your favorite color?" One of the questions was "describe your perfect day" and my answer was as follows.

My perfect day would be my first day at BYU.

I wrote that in THIRD GRADE! this has been my dream for so long, and it amazes me that i am fulfilling that dream this very second. My first day of school was perfect. of course i miss my parents and brothers, but i love everything about this place. the weather, the dorms, the food, the spirit. president hinkley once said that "byu is truly a sacred ground", and i couldnt agree with him more. Its so cool that we all have the same standards, and that we open my history class with a prayer, and that if you share a scripture as a spiritual thought in the opening of my biology class you get extra credit.

I love this!

im so blessed that i got accepted. Everyone here is a valedictorian, or a national merit scholar, got a 35 on their ACT or plays every sport and instrument imaginable. It's a little intimidating. I wouldnt want to be anywhere else, though.

One week down, Fifteen to go.

RISE AND SHOUT!

oh. my. gosh.

i am writing this from my dorm at brigham young university.

can i just say that these past 50 hours have been the best/worst/craziest/most depressing/exciting hours of my LIFE?!

i wish i could compile all of the thoughts in my head onto this little web page... but i cant. there are too many. I am living in Helaman Halls, which means i share a bathroom with maybe 40 girls. and showers. its super fun haha.

this is my beautiful roommate, katherine. we are getting along juuuuust fine. everyone keeps asking if we knew each other before this and when we answer "no" they are in shock. apparently we appear to be life long friends. haha. we agree on almost everything... we say the same things at the same times.. its great. the only thing i dont approve of is her fascination with cats. but whatever. i can look past that.

the only negative things are

1. i had to say bye to my mom and my dad

2. not as many cute boys as we expected

3. i really miss my queen bed.. uhg...

4. i cant get organized in this stupid room

aaaand yeah.. thats pretty much it.

I LOVE COLLEGE!

-ashley

here it is.

i know for a fact the world is coming to an end. so much crap is going on right now, whether it be family drama, economic problems.. etc. and now look at this. I, ashley noel barnes, made a quilt. WOO! like a for real legit-keep-me-warm-quilt. not a dinky little rag quilt.

this is me wrapped up in it. i made it big enough for two for those cold provo nights.. if you know what i mean. basically this thing is my pride and joy right now. after months (literally) of being pestered and harassed by my young women leaders, and LOADS of help from them, and blood and sweat and tears... i am done. its here. praise the lord.

-ashley

summer madness

Well hello fellow bloggers. i am extremely slow at this.. haha i feel like my life is too uneventful to post things on my blog. BUT, to contradict what i just said, here is what i have been up to.

westra family reunion was a hit! this picture is of me and my mom (who threatened me with my life if i didnt crop her out of this picture) swinging my cousin charity in the air. she is ADORABLE. i love her so much. i am kind of obsessed with her.

We had fun walking around temple square and watching the joseph smith video and seeing the christ statue..

to the left is me and baby afton.. the love of my life right now. she is so stinking cute. everyone kept stealing her from me at the reunion because i "live in vegas and get to see her all the time" which is definitely not the case. maybe once a month. i dont know. my aunt jenn brought her to my work the other day so i could watch her while she went to the vet (lol random..) and afton was the star of the cleaners. everyone was fighting over holding her and talking about how cute she is. i know im biased because she is my blood.. but she is adorable.

Above is me and my favorite cousin of all time, angela. we have been close for as long as i can remember. i was a little disappointed that we didnt take a traditional coldstone trip this time.. but i guess i dont need it lol. gotta watch out for that freshman 15.
I'd have to say that this very picture of my cute family is my favorite of all time. a couple of reasons...

1. look at mitchell's v-neck. oh yeah.

2. me and my mom look like twins.. numerous people have already said that about this picture. it makes me smile :)

3. i love how green the background is. you forget that there is grass and trees in other parts of the world after living in vegas for so long!

yeah. its a favorite picture of all time.

we had over TWO THOUSAND pictures all combined from the whole reunion trip. we put them all in a file and took what we wanted. it was so insanely hard to choose.. i put them all in my iphoto and then spent a good hour or two sorting and deleting them. talk about boring.

i wish i could put every picture from the trip on my blog haha. it would take up like 50 pages. but they are all SO cute! i have the cutest family. one of the ladies at my work who facebook stalks me commented on how not a single person in the family was ugly! hahaha. i could crack a mean joke right now, but i wont.

speaking of ugly haha, this is what i like to call "avon de gorgeous"

i was helping my friend alex westmorelands friend out at a salon down in mandalay bay... he is trying to be promoted from an assistant to a hair stylist and needed to prove himself by doing things on people, like up-do's, cuts and whatnot. so i went on down and received this lovely up-do haha. everyone else loved it but to me it just looks like a big mess of hair. i guess i dont have the hair stylist eye? i dont know.

well. 17 days till the big move.. yikes. it is creeping up on me! i started packing two days ago so now it feels so real. BYU, here i come!

-ash

the way i live

i dont know what it is about brianhead that i love the most. the greenery? the animals? the company? the cool weather that doesnt make you sweat your face off the minute you walk outside? being with all of my favorite people?

whichever answer it was, i am in love.

brian head is amazing.

we came up to dix's cabin friday and have just be exploring or vegging out or playing an intense game of hearts. my moms whole side (almost) of the family is here.. so we're pretty packed. but atleast we all like eachother haha. its been a blast. i am leaving sunday night with my dad so we can go to work.. but im bummed i'll be missing out on more fun! we've already made 5 batches of cookies... i freaking sewed a quilt... we watched old home videos. what else could anyone ask for?

could mac computers be any more fun? i think not.

charity, me, and dallin with stretched faces

me and cute miss emily. she is so much fun

baby afton, angela, ashley, and charity

i am blessed to have such a cute family that i love!

reunited and it feels so good.

(okay i am blog retarded. not sure why this is underlined.. i am frustrated out of my mind about it because i have ocd problems. i wanted to exit and start all over but i spent to much time on this post. gah.)

what a crazy past couple of weeks i've had!

first, mom went to girls camp. that was a drag. kind of gave me a reality shock of how much life is going to suck when i am away from her 24/7 in the fall. too bad i wont even have a car to make it possible to visit home :( boo.

yeah this is us on 4th of july eating ice cream. as usual. i love how much we look alike haha.. i think its funny. i love her. 

THEN, one of my best friends alex came into town for her summer 

break. its been so weird having all of my friends move off to college. alex was in provo, but now is in st. george. its nice to have her closer, but im super bummed that we dont get to fulfill all of our provo plans we had made together for in the fall. since kristine is here as well we've all been hanging out a lot. like old times. we made a little beach trip on friday... 

i wish i could explain how much i love these girls haha. freaking missed leah. and kami was out of town so she couldnt join us :/  its been a while since the fab 5 was all together.. i miss it!

Then, to continue the theme of "reuniting", mitchell was at a scout camp for two weeks. YEAH, two weeks. can you say holy crap? you wouldnt think it would feel like that long of a time... but it did. it felt like a month. when mom was gone at camp and mitch was at his camp the house was so weird. i didnt like it. bahahha. but anyway, we met mitchell at the airport yesterday with signs (that tanner and i spent a good hour on..) and it felt so good to have the family all together again. 

tanner and i with our signs :)

mitch and me. not gonna lie i kinda teared up when i saw him come down that escalator... it was weird. two weeks really is a crap long time. i wonder what it will feel like when he is gone for two years!?

Tonight we had family dinner together for the first time in who knows how long. the food was a little iffy but the company was fantastic. haha, tanner is nuts. he said something obnoxious and my mom was like "where did you come from?!" and he replied, "YOUR WOMB!!" hahaha. psycho. all i know is i am going to miss my family a lot next month when i leave.

next month.

ew.

its july right now.. and i am leaving in august. this is weird. 

i want to leave so bad but i dont haha.. its gonna be so bittersweet...

thats pretty much it for now. i need to get my ration of facebooking in for the night, oh if any of you are bored out of your mind check our www.mylifeisaverage.com... its pretty entertaining hahaha.

good night :) hope everyone has a great week.

-ash

#1

well, this is it. 

the day has come. 

I, ashley barnes, have officially started my own blog. with college arriving quickly in a couple of months, and the new easy/24 hour access to internet (gotta love the beauty of graduation presents :] ), i figure "why not".. right? I think blogging is somewhat therapeutic. It feels good to just write about anything and everything.. let it all out. i've always liked writing, unfortunately when it comes to essays or reports in school i can never compile all of my information in the right order. but things like this come easy for me. like writing church talks. i ramble a lot and stray off topic. which reminds me, another reason i am about to begin blogging is for my mother's sake. I'll admit i'm not the best at keeping in touch, so maybe this will be a help to her. keep everyone posted with my provo life. another reason is that i know from personal experience how much fun blog-stalking people is.. so why not give others the opportunity to enjoy?  sorry for the nakedness/boring appearance of my blog. give me a couple days to figure this whole thing out...

i think this will do quite nicely for an introduction post... i dont know what else to say. so i wont.