Contents of My Purse

 Do you think the contents of someone's purse can tell you what that person is like? Here is what is in my garbage dump purse.

Ibuprofen, Dayquil, cough drops, Cepacol throat soothers, and some other  antibiotic

I am neither ill, nor a hypochondriac. Those meds have been in my purse for years. I once had a nasty cold/flu and was taking all of those drugs.

3 pens, 2 pencils, and a BIC marker

No, I am not a passionate writer or artist. I just have OCD tendencies and I get carried away with the thought, "I'll need a back-up just in case this one runs out."

Taco Bell sauce packets

I like Taco Bell. However, those have also been in my purse for years. I once stashed them in there so that the next time Taco Bell people were skimpy with their sauce, I could bust these out. Every time I have gotten Taco Bell since then I have forgotten about these packets.

17 cents

I'm poor. I am also too lazy to put change in my wallet.

Blistex, lip gloss, and more lip gloss that has not been used since  I was 15 (that's 9 years ago, people)

 What girl doesn't have these things in her purse?

gum

 Or this?

Kleenex

 This was on top of my dresser when I went home to Vegas so I put it in my purse "just in case." Insert hypochondriac and OCD comments [here].

Trash. Mostly receipts, an empty bottle of ibuprofen, and packing list for Thanksgiving in Vegas

 Sometimes I think my purse is equivalent to a trash can, so receipts, movie ticket stubs, empty ibuprofen bottles, gum wrappers, etc. start to multiply like rabbits.

A petrified gummy bear

 I WAS SAVING IT FOR LATER. And forgot about it.

Tootsie Rolls

Someone had leftover Halloween candy so they gave it to me for my birthday one week later.

Do you have abnormal things in your purse?

Fun

Prepare yourself for a lot a pictures. 

Lots of pictures means lots of good stuff to document. The last little while has been filled with lots of good stuff. Most importantly, lots of time with my family. I experience true joy when I am with them. Nothing better than that. One of the nights we were all together we played a game where one person thinks of a question, then everyone answers on a little piece of paper, and the person who asked the question reads off the answers. Each person gets a turn to guess who wrote what. When you guess right, you get a point. When you guess wrong, it is the next person's turn. If your answer is guessed correctly then you are out. Anyhow, (I know my sister Laura already mentioned this on her blog here) but I have to mention it, too. The question was: "If there was a zombie apocalypse outside, who at this table would you throw out to the zombies? Let's just say 4 of the responses had either Charlie (my cousin) or Charley (my brother) in them. Hahaha. Suckers. This is just one reason why I love my family. We all bust a gut laughing when we get together and do funny things like play that fun game. 

Now let's take a tour through my pictures.

I recently decided that I was going to make a cake that I saw on Pinterest when I actually used to get on that site. Aesthetically, if I do say so myself, it was rad. (Taste-wise; eh. I am going to change the recipe if I ever make it again.) And what better occasion than to make it for my cool niece Weslie's birthday?

Niece Weslie turns 8!

This colorful explosion has my nephew Mac written all over it.

 I also made several trips down to Vegas and back to Utah. This picture was on the way back up to Utah in the Fillmore-ish area. Amazing, right?

On the way down to Vegas

Then it was time to get ready for my brother's wedding and reception. It turned out to be awesome. 

The night before the wedding we partied with this bad boy.

 My brother Seth and his (now) wife Allecia were married in the Las Vegas LDS temple. What a pretty place it is!

Me and my sissy waiting for Seth and Allecia to come out of the temple

My cute, fat niece, Reese.

Meee-OOW!

Let me just take a minute to tell you about my cousins Charlie and Heather (far left and far right). Seth and I grew up with them. They live in California, and all growing up we would spend as much time with them as possible. They were even with us when my brother Scotty died 11 years ago.They'd come out to Vegas for a week or two, and we'd go out there to Visalia, CA for a week or two to visit them. Many of my fondest memories in life involve these two. They're funny, creative, artistic, and purely awesome.  Candy, tents, toilet papering, ghost stories, secret clubs, water parks, Wal-Mart runs, late-night exploring, and the movie Clue are just a FEW words that describe my childhood with them. I love them like it's nobody's business. The four of us being together at Seth's wedding was the first time we had been reunited in four years, which, of course, was four years too long. 

Anyway, the reception was in my backyard. Lights, good food, good company, dancing, and a slide show (that I could only watch for a couple minutes, because, well duh, my baby brother got married and has a new partner-in-crime so girl's gonna get a little choked up). Oh, and sparklers to send them off!

Mac's got some mean dance moves which are clearly too spastic to capture with  the camera on my phone.

So Seth and Allecia went off to CA to honeymoon it up, and the rest of my immediately family (with the exception of my brother Charley, unfortunately) headed to Zion National Park in Utah to go camping. First we stopped at a tiny little restaurant right outside of Zion. 

My cute nephew Skippy means business

We set up camp here:

A pretty impressive backdrop, wouldn't you say?

 We went canyoneering at Pine Creek (thanks Aaron and Brian). So so cool.

Kat lookin fierce

Me going down the 100+ foot repel in Pine Creek Canyon

We hiked the Narrows. Beautiful and so fun.

I also canyoneered Key Hole with my mom, dad, brother-in-law Aaron, sister Ann, sister Laura and brother-in-law John, and niece Weslie. It was awesome. All in all, the camping trip was so fun. Canyoneering, good food, family, hikes, amazing scenery, etc. THANK YOU SARAH AND AARON FOR PLANNING AND PUTTING EVERYTHING TOGETHER. Right before we left camp, we decided to figure out who would plan the next family reunion and when it would be. My sissy Ann said, "Well we'll have another one when Audrey gets married, whenever that is." It got pin-drop silent as everyone simultaneously turned their heads and looked at me. All I could respond with was a

"Gulp."

On the way home Autumn had a little bit of chocolate ice cream. But you can't really tell. :)

So, life has been good. I'm so glad I have had such awesome experiences this summer before I start my LAST semester at BYU this fall. Weeee!

The End.

Vegas and some thoughts

Went to Vegas this past weekend with my friends Thomas, Mac, and Mitch. We swam, we raced really fast go-karts, we went to the strip, we went to the outlet malls, we ate out, we swam some more, (they) played basketball and scooterball, we swam some more, I converted them to the ridiculousness of The Bachelorette (hehe) and, while we were out for an "evening stroll", we were yelled at by some old, gruff geezer who was holding something long and black who wanted to know "what the bleep we were doing?!"

Me, to myself, while shaking in my flip flops: "GULP. Is that a gun he's holding?"

Nah, it was a cane.  Much less threatening. We told him we didn't know it was private property (It was a plot of tumbleweed-filled desert with a lot of junk, like old tires and tin cans and worthless crap like that, geez) and that we would leave. So we bailed.

Anyway, because I know these boys well, I knew before the trip that they would want to be entertained the whole weekend--something I don't do when I go home. I go home to relax. And do just about nothing (which I did for the day and a half that the boys were in CA for an old roommate's wedding). But it turned out to be a super fun weekend. Michael, I wish you could have been there with us!

I also got to spend some good quality time with my mom before she left for the Dominican Republic to do humanitarian work, and also with my dad. I sure love my parents. They are good, Christian people and want what's best for me. I'm so grateful for my relationships with them.

This summer I've been able to read some great books, including The Life of Pi and Cold Sassy Tree and These is My Words. All really great books. I am reading These is My Words right now, and it is probably my favorite of the books I have read this summer. Last night I read from 12:30 to 2:30 in the morning; I couldn't put that book down. The author does an incredible job of really attaching you to characters. I've also made some new discoveries while reading scriptures, which is always cool. I'm thankful for books. They offer so much. And they keep me from watching an entire season of LOST in one day.

Lately I've gone through a period of some serious introspection. Socrates once said, "The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being." Evaluating myself--my habits, my beliefs, my behaviors toward others, my goals--though disappointing at times, is necessary for me. It helps me to be a better person. And, interestingly enough, my introspection helps me think about how I can be better at considering others and their perspectives, their needs, their beliefs. And there's always room for improvement.

Overall, though, life is good.

That's all for now.