Rekindling

I've discovered my latest craze, reconnecting with old friends.

Let me introduce (and reintroduce) you to some people I have rekindled the flame with recently...

She was my best friend my sophomore year of high school, well to be perfectly honest there was a point where she was my only friend... Those painful, slightly awkward and mostly embarrassing memories are not something we are going to revisit here, but we can talk about the lady who stood by me through it all, Lyss. 

After a slow fizzle of the friendship, and a few years of rarely talking, we are back on track. She is all grown up, out on her own, has an adorable boyfriend, and is the funnest/easiest person to talk to. 

Even after all this time, we know that we are going to love each other no matter what. 

The more we screw up, the better the stories are over our traditional chilli's lunch.

{We both looked a little rascally tonight, so naturally we covered our faces for the photo}

I've introduced you to her before, but I have underestimated how much I love CC. Since I am home for the summer, I get the privilege of seeing this girl pretty much whenever she can fit me into her schedule. And let me tell ya, the "friendship is just kicking off", to quote the exact words she just texted me.

She is hilarious, more adorable than ever, and still holds my heart :)

This summer, and next semester, are looking up with this little treat back in my life. 

This stud right here, is Landon. We have been friends for a long time now, but recently we have been talking and spending more time with each other than ever and I am LOVING it. 

He is the most genuine and kind nut I have ever met. Not to mention, he is constantly making me laugh, and saving me from boredom on a regular basis. 

Life is good when you have these people around. 

Go rekindle some old flames people, it's good for you :)

Mi Familia

Lets talk about what I've been doing the last couple days.

Spending a whole lot of time with these people...

My adorable family!

Maybe it's because I spent so much time away from them this last semester, or maybe I'm just going through a little anti-social phase, but recently I end up spending my nights at home and I'm enjoying it. 

Let me paint a picture for you.

A Mother Daughter Scene:

Mom and Daughter talking in their sweats on the mother's bed.

Mom: "Do you wish you could hang out with Darren this weekend?"

Daughter: "Uh, Yes." 

Regular old mom's would probably say, "oh I am sorry, you guys will see each other soon enough."

But this mom says, "Lets go down to zion! I will lay in the sun, and visit with my family and you can go play with Darren all day."

And Daughter says, "Mom, you are the coolest mom I know."

And Mom replies, "Oh great, remember that when you're old and you hate me."

Thus, my mom is cooler than your mom. 

Not to forget, my dad is adorable and my sister is a a gem who loves me unconditionally.

How could I not want to spend all my time with these people?!? 

I am one lucky duck. 

Don't Underestimate the Duff

"Never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game"
Remember that cheesy quote from the Hillary Duff classic, A Cinderella Story??

Well that little pearl has been on my mind a lot lately... Naturally, since everything Duff says is so thought provoking.

But seriously, is there ever a time when fear should keep you from doing what you want?
I mean, where does self preservation come in?
Or is self preservation just a form of pride? Just people scared of feeling vulnerable or looking foolish?

I think at the end of the day, even if I look like a dumb nugget, I'm heartbroken, and I lose the game, I'd respect myself more, and have less regrets, knowing I gave it an honest shot.

Am I right?!?

But then sometimes I think, "Girl, why did you sit on the porch swing crying your eyes out for him to stay with you?! How embarrassing you dingy! Where did your self preservation instincts go?! Stupid."
Just as a hypothetical, non-specific example....

Im rambling over here. Trying to get my thoughts out so I can fall asleep.
And maybe dream of Chad Michael Murray; prior to the Sophia Bush debacle, of course.

You should most likely ignore this post completely. 

Home and Then What?

So we are home from St. George.. Now what?

I had been looking forward to that silly little weekend for so long, and now that is has come and gone I am left with nothing to look forward to for the next 3 months.
Too soon to plan another trip to southern Utah?

What are you guys doing with your summers?!?

Nineteen Till I Die?

I turned the big 1-9 on Friday.

19 is really an under-appreciated age. Everyone celebrates the 16th, 18th, 21st, and 40th big, but what about 19?!
It's the last year of my teenage years and that is slightly depressing and a BIG DEAL people!

I have never been one for big, fancy plans for my birthday. I usually let them come, and go without too much of a fuss, but this year I wanted to celebrate!
And I did.

Before I left for the trip to St. George I mentioned prior to this post, I was surprised by my parents with another birthday gift besides my little road trip.
4 tickets to TAYLOR SWIFT! Tswizzle, if you will.
I could not have been more surprised, and I could not be more excited about this.

Go ahead and judge me for my taste in music. She's mainstream, I didn't discover her at some indie venue, she's country, She dances awkwardly and is tall as a string bean, but I LOVE her. Her cheesy, adorable, catchy songs could be the soundtrack to my life.
(and every other teenage girl)
I appreciate an underground band, with an oddly handsome lead singer, who's voice stands out from the rest of the crowd as much as the next girl, but I love me some Taylor Swift and I am not afraid to say it.

So a big thank you to my Mom and Dad for surprising me with this PERFECT present!




Back to the vacation at hand, St. George.
I left thursday morning with my besties, Hillary and Lindsey. 4 hours of straight rain, and 1 dead bird later, we arrived!
Unpacked in our lovely little condo, and waited for the boys to join us from Zion.
waited, waited, and waited.
They arrived relatively late and we hot tubbed and swam while we could before the pool closed for the night. Then after we all cleaned up, Lindsey made me a delicious angel food cake with strawberries at midnight to celebrate my Bday!
Sleep.

Hot tubbin 

My Strawberry Cake

Next day we woke up, made a yummy birthday breakfast of french toast and fruit that we ate on our cute little balcony. Then we made our way to the pool. Where we laid out, and procrastinated jumping into the pool. Darren thought our concerns about diving into the water were so entertaining he decided to video the process.
(working on getting that posted)
After hours at the pool, we came in, cleaned up and headed out for my birthday dinner and movie. We ate at Outback and saw Thor, which was kind of weird, and cheesy but it made me laugh and anxious for The Avengers.
Home, sleep.

The Big Breakfast

Nothin Better

My ABSOLUTE Besties! 

Saturday we were supposed to wake up and hit the pool around 10, but nobody wanted to wake up. Instead, we all slept in and rolled out of bed around noon got ready for the day and decided to make a mini trip to Vegas! 

We walked the strip for awhile, went inside Caesars Palace, visited the little aquarium, the shops and ate some dinner at The Cheese Cake Factory. We also made a trip to the outlets and did a little shopping.

Drove back to St. Geezey that night with the windows rolled down and music blasting, feeling perfectly content.

Sadly, when we got back we hung out for a little over an hour and then the boys had to drive back to Zion and the girls went to bed. 

My FAVORITES in Vegas

Cheese Cake

Caesars Palace

Shopping with the ladies

The boy enjoying the warm wind

Nasty girls goin to sleep. Wait, what what?

Sunday was simply pack up, clean up, drive home. 

It was a perfect birthday :)

I'll be impressed if you actually read through this instead of skimming and looking at pictures, I realize it was a rather lengthy entry. Sorraaay. 

Marriage??

Sometimes when it seems like everyone and their dog are engaged, or already married, I wish I was too. I start day dreaming about a big old diamond and a cute husband to take adorable engagement pictures with. 

That's when I try on fake wedding rings at Target and make my sister watch me try on my mom's wedding dress and take ridiculous bridal shots in the living room...

Then I really think about it and... NAAAAAH!

Not for me, not right now. 

I am too busy bein' young and silly. 

{Note to all the married readers out there, Congrats! I am very happy for you, hopefully you'll pray that one day I reach the same maturity level as you. Cause let me tell ya, it's not lookin' good.}

Celebrating My Birth!

I am turning 19 in 4 days. 

Because my parents love me, my gift this year is a little trip to St. George with my besties, Hill and Linds! 

And I am one lucky girl because, my boys from USU, Devon and Darren, are working at Zion's Ponderosa Resort this summer as recreational guides, and they are taking the weekend off to celebrate my birthday with us too!

We have rented an adorable little condo for the 5 of us, and I could not be more excited. 

The trip honestly consumes my thoughts 20 of the 24 hours in a day, including the time I spend sleeping.  

I know St. George isn't really anything too special, and I have been there a million times, but it doesn't even matter. 

I can't wait to simply sit in the sun, play games, talk, and laugh with my favorite people. 

It could rain the whole weekend and even that wouldn't get my spirits down. 

A quick reminder of who the birthday crew is...

DEVON!

Darbear!

Lindsey Lou!

HillBo!

The fun begins Thursday morning at 8 o'clock sharp!

2 1/2 days and counting people. 

Love, Love, Love

I love the sunshine.

I love shorts and tank tops. 

I love open windows.

I love loud music. 

I love sleep. 

I love best friends, and old friends. 

I love road trips. 

I love green. 

I love celebrating my birth :)

I love tanned skin. 

I love leisurely literature.

I love home. 

I love SUMMER.

And you will find me loving summer everyday for the next 3 months.

I need to Shiwver!

Blogging, oh how I have missed you this past week!

Here is a quick run through of the Logan goodbye I had no time to write about.

It was very tender.
Initially, I was looking forward to going home, and wanted to check out as soon as possible. My car was packed up, and my room was emptied by 11:30, yet somehow I didn't get in my car to actually make the trek home until 5:30...

It turns out saying goodbye to my Logan family was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I hung out in the boys room, casa de 101 as they called it, for hours helping the boys get the room clean enough to get it checked off, because it turns out, boys are gross.
I stayed long enough to see every last one of them off.
And if I am being completely honest, some tears were shed.
{most of them by Devon, but a few from me too}

I know everyone says this, but I have every intention of seeing every member of my USU family this summer, multiple times. This lovely idea is the only thing that allowed me to hold it together, and not leave Logan as a complete emotional wreck, so don't crush my summer dreams.

When I finally arrived home, I unpacked my car, went to dinner with my adorable parentals, and was back on the road to Logan so I could make it in time for work.

Yep, you read me right, WORK.
I, Brooke Borup, got a job. A rather fabulous job deep cleaning college apartments.
Everyone's ideal profession.

I had to work 10 hour shifts of manual labor for four days, which is a pretty typical work week for most people, slammed into fewer days.
I have cuts on my hands, broken nails, destroyed cuticles, and greasy hair.
In the end though, I really enjoyed myself. I got the job with three of my best friends, and we danced and laughed our bums off while we cleaned. They are amazing, special people, and I wouldn't trade the time I get to spend with them for anything, even if the time is spent scrubbing toilets.

I also learned a little bit about myself.
I can do hard things. I enjoy manual labor more than I enjoy sitting at a desk sorting keys, even if they keys are easier. I like to be able to see the result of my hard work.
And I learned that I can stick my gloveless hand down a toilet.

Here is a little glimpse of a day in the glamourous custodial industry:

Workin' our cleaning supplies

Hanging out a two story building, just the dangers of the job

Dancing with my Lindsey

Hillary smacked me in the face and made me bite my lip. And yes, I looked like this every day. 

Lindsey's gross chemical rash. bless her heart. 

Before and After. Goo be Gone is a miracle. 

Dirty girl hands. 

Nikki was apart of this little adventure as well, F.Y.I, but just didn't appear in any of the pictures I've chosen to share. I love her all the same though :)

PS, Im not exactly sure where I am going with this blog now that I am out of school and home for the summer, but stayed tuned. 

Hillary Ann Bodey-Bode

Hey everybody, THIS is my friend Hillary.

And yesterday was this little treat's birthday!

It has become somewhat of a tradition on this little blog to do birthday shout out's to my loved ones. And let me tell ya, this girl is LOVED. 

This gem is near and dear to me. We have been friends since we were little girls in Joy School, we became best friends in the last couple years of high school, but things got real serious second semester up here at Utah State. 

I wouldn't have survived this semester at school without her. 

When Alysha moved out to get married, I was positive the rest of the year was going to be misery.

Hillary is one of a few special angels I'm convinced were sent to USU for me.

She is absolutely beautiful. She is talented. She is an amazing friend. 

Those who don't know her very well usually think she is quiet, and often mistake her sexy, cold stare for a dirty look. 

But those lucky enough to really get to know her get to see how silly, hilarious, sensitive, and fun she really is. 

Nothing can make me laugh harder than when the real Hillary comes out of her porcelain shell :)

She basically created happiness for me these past 5 months.

Happy Birthday to my Hillary Ann.

Nothin but Love for this Bestie, Nothin but. 

Forever & Ever.  

Cheers

School is out for the summer folks.

Cheers.

Yes, I really did come home from my last final and drink my martinellis out of the bottle. 

The Hearts Cure for the Perma-Grumpy

So I have been stuck in perma-grumpy mode since friday afternoon.

Don't ask my why, there is no reason someone as blessed as me should have any reason to wake up on the wrong side of the bed, yet sometimes I do.

And at the worst of times, I stay on the wrong side for days.

Then my friends really love me...

But I found the cure today.

The sun was shining, like 60 degrees out shining. I pretended I knew how to play volleyball and football with my best friends for hours. 

Darren told me my football toss was the 2nd girliest he has ever seen, which I took as a compliment. 

And after a couple of hours, Im pretty sure my toss was the 6th girliest. 

Progress people. 

Then I went to lunch with the girls. 

Which was followed by watching Gilmore Girls, my go to quick fix.

And ended with me letting go. I just relaxed. Stoped worrying. And did whatever my heart told me it wanted.

She has a mind of her own sometimes. For those of you who know me, I am definitely ruled by the logic of my mind.
Well actually I've always been a heart on my sleeve kinda of girl. It runs in the family.
But you know those decisions where your heart screams to do one thing, yet your mind is telling you the exact opposite. And you KNOW your mind is right this time.
Somehow the heart's desire still wins, despite your best efforts.

That doesn't happen to me.
In that situation, my mind always wins. I've let the heart win one too many times in my younger years, and I learned my lesson the hard way. Lead with your head girls, not your heart.

But how unromantic, uninspiring, and opposite of spontaneous is that?!

So tonight, I didn't listen.
(lets hope that doesn't come back and bite me in the butt later)

Who knew finally letting my heart win would cheer me up?

I guess you can't always depend on the brain to come up with all the right answers. 

The conclusion is, Perma-grumpy is gone.
Now I can focus on the much needed SUMMER that starts in a week!

A summer with these head-bunned, and make-up-less beauties 

Can't Wait.