The crazy life of Michele...

So I have been terrible at blogging lately. I don't necessarily have a great excuse, so now I'm playing catch up.
I had a few photoshoots with Jason West. He took my roommate pictures and family pictures. Check out his website at www.jasonwestphotography.com





I turned 25! Seriously, 25 was a hard age to turn...on surveys I'm no longer in the 17-24 age category, I'm now in the 25-35 age category.

Megan and I went to Vegas to celebrate our 25th Birthdays!


When I was young I loved playing dress up, so I love Halloween because it gives me an excuse to play dress up again. Halloween is also a really big deal at my work (Omniture). The executives did The Wizard of Oz and I was Glinda the Good Witch. Oh, and my boss loves little people as you'll notice below! I also dressed up as a bumble bee for some parties.



My boss has 4th row Season Tickets to the Jazz games, he couldn't make it to the game last week and let me go. They played Millwaukee and won!!


Last night I went to the Coldplay Concert! It was an amazing concert. I went with a guy named Stev-o that I work with and it was alot of fun. Did I mention we were on the 3rd row?!



So there is a quick replay of my last 2 months. I will update my blog again before Christmas!!

Cutest Headbands

Headbands are the perfect accessory for any outfit. Check out these adorable headbands. http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6321056

Summer is Over

Tonight I had to wear a jacket when I was outside, which to me signifies that the summer is over! I had the funnest summer I've had in years. Besides my trip to Cancun and Lake Powell I had something exciting to look forward to almost every week. I wanted to share some of my favorite pics from my summer adventures!

I Heart Lake Powell

One of my all time favorite places to vacation is Lake Powell. I look forward to going there almost every summer. Aside from relaxing, being in the water, getting tan, and being with my family, I decided I like it so much because it is one of the few times I don’t worry about wearing makeup or doing my hair…well maybe I worry about it a little bit, but not TOO much! One of my favorite activities this year was wake surfing, my Uncle David just bought a board for surfing behind the boat and we all loved it! I also enjoyed wakeboarding, jet skiing, tanning on top of the houseboat, eating, and being with my family (including sharing a bed with my grandma).

While at the lake we have also started a tradition of racing up a giant sand hill. This year 19 of us loaded up on the boat and jet skis and went over to the sand hill. It looks really steep, but you don’t even realize how steep it is until you’re running up it. I was the defending champion for the girls from last year and so I was a little nervous because me and my sister Britany tend to become a little competitive. Thanks to my membership at Gold’s Gym I was able to come in first place again for the girls and 6th or 7th overall. Then on the last night all of the cousins (minus Amanda) went out for a late night swimming and slide party. We had a swimming race to the rock which was cool because it was really dark. It was such a fun time to bond with all of my cousins and my brothers and sisters…except for Emily because she was in Florida, we missed you Em! It’s always sad when a trip comes to an end but now I have the Eastern Idaho State Fair to look forward to!

Another One Bites the Dust

Every time one of my friends gets married I sing the lyrics from the song by Queen, "And another gone and another gone and another bites the dust!"

Flashing back to over 6 years ago, there were 10 girls at Snake River High School who I spent the majority of my time with: Amanda Jackson, Malory Jones, Anna Watt, Michelle Day, Stacey Day, Sharee Jackson, Amy Wray, Carissa Turpin, Jessica Ogden, and Debra Moses. Because there wasn't always a lot to do in the small town of Blackfoot, Idaho, we had to come up with things to keep ourselves entertained. I believe it was at our 2002 Spring Break Party (or according to Malory: Spring "Beak") that we decided to make a list of the order we thought we would get married in. The years have blurred our exact predictions, but I do remember that I was listed as the first or second of the group of 11, mainly because I had a "missionary." It would only be a matter of time to see how accurately we predicted the future.

I went to college at BYU-Idaho and my freshman year I lived with Malory Jones, Anna Watt, Jana Kunde, Julie Hulse, and Laura Connell at Royal Crest 111. Just like Blackfoot, there isn't a lot to do in Rexburg. However, there was never a dull moment at our apartment. Besides making at least one music video every week, we too created a list . Once again, because of my "missionary," I was voted either first or second to get married.

You are probably wondering where I'm going with this. Well, it wouldn't take long to figure out that out of my high school friends I wouldn't be the first to get married. Stacey didn't waste much time and met Chris Burton at BYU-Idaho and was married the summer after we graduated high school. It was also that summer that my college roommie Julie married her missionary Justin Kunde. As a side note, my "missionary" returned home that summer and things didn't work out with him.

During the last five years I've dated a lot of really nice guys (and some not so nice) but my friends have definitely faired much better in the relationship scene than I have. Too make a long story short...our predictions on the list were completely off the mark. Out of my friends from high school I will actually be the 10th or 11th to get married (it's between me and you Amanda) and out of my roommates from Royal Crest, I will be the last to get married! Oh, and did I mention that my younger sister Emily got married 2 1/2 years ago?!

Anyway, This last week I stood outside the Salt Lake City Temple as I waited for my friend Anna (9th on the friend list / 5th on the roommate list) to come out the doors with her husband Kevin Rich. It brought back a lot of memories from making those silly lists! My friends have all married great guys and I have been excited for each of them. I am in no way envious that I haven't attached a new last name to "Michele Hillman." I'm only 24 years old, and even though that is considered "old" for a single girl in Idaho and Utah, I'm enjoying my life and wouldn't change a thing. My singles ward even has me teaching the Relationship and Marriage Prep class so I'm learning a lot. Don't worry mom and dad I will try and get you a son-in-law within the next 5 years!!

Taggie Waggie

Rules: List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions, and 3 random facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end.

3 Joys
-My family and friends
-Walks
-Summer activities where I can get tan: Lake Powell, boating, laying out, camping, hiking

3 Fears
-Losing a loved one
-Being single forever :)
-Falling down

3 Goals
-Treat everyone with kindness
-Run a marathon
-Become more confident in myself

3 Current Obsessions
-Hair extensions
-Gum...I chew at least a pack a day
-Facebook

3 Random Facts About Me
-I grew up on a Cattle Ranch and haven't eaten beef for 9 years!
-I don't ever bite directly into food with my front teeth, I tear it apart and put it in the back of my mouth.
-I'm allergic to bananas and penicillin

Now I tag...Emily W, Laura P, Debra B, Jessica T, and Lisa N **Anyone else is welcome to do it too!

Fourth of July

It is a week after the Fourth of July and I'm finally posting about it! That morning I received a text from my friend Robin asking me to go with her and a big group to float the Provo River. The last time I floated the river was with my church group when I was 14. It was a terrible experience, I got caught in a really bad under current and thought I was going to die. After that day I vowed to never tube down a river again! However, Robin convinced me that between the raft and her expert guiding skills I would be just fine. I agreed to go. It ended up being a lot of fun!

That night Megan came from Blackfoot to hang out with me. I love when Megan comes...we always have a blast together!

We met up with Ben, Sean, Allyson, and Blake and went to dinner in Lehi at Porter's (recommended by Ben and Allyson's dad). Then we went over to Thanksgiving Point to watch the fireworks. Since we got there 2 hours before the fireworks we all showed off our football skills by playing a game of "500." Ben did the best, but it probably had something to do with the fact that he played at BYU or that my shoes had 4 inch heels!

Once it got dark we found a spot for the fireworks. The fireworks were decent, but I've definitely seen better. You have to realize that I grew up going to the Idaho Falls firework show, which is the largest show west of the Mississippi!

Besides the traffic getting out of Thanksgiving Point, it was a fun day. I love the Fourth of July and it's always nice to reflect on the freedom that we as Americans have.

Cancun

In June I went to Cancun with three of my girlfriends: Cami, Nicole, and Brittney. It was the first time I got a stamp in my passport! We left on a Tuesday morning and came back on Sunday night. We stayed at a hotel called The Fiesta Americana Cancun, which was recently ranked number one on the travel channel. The water in Cancun is incredible, it is so blue. We spent a lot of time playing in the ocean and laying out.



One day we did a zipline tour. Even though I'm scared of heights, I had a great time doing 11 different ziplines. I even did one of them upside down!

We shopped at the flea markets and got some fun souvenirs. One day we took a ferry over to an island called Isla Mujeres. This island isn't Americanized like the Hotel Zone in Cancun. We rented a golf cart and drove around the island. It was neat to experience "True Mexico." We even had to pay 50 pesos to use the bathroom!

Our two favorite restaurants we ate at in Cancun were Carlos' n Charlies and Senor Frogs. The waiters there were so fun and definitely kept us entertained. One of our waiters even asked me to stay in Cancun and marry him!

By far our favorite thing we did was on the last night, we went to a club called Cocobongo. We weren't going to go because it was $50 a person, but at the last minute decided to. They had Elvis, Madonna, Usher, and Beyonce impersonators that put on different shows. They also had some acrobatic shows as well. We danced for 6 hours that night, until 5 am. After that we went to the beach and watched the sunrise, it was a perfect ending to a perfect trip. My trip to Cancun is definitely one of the funnest things I've done and I recommend everyone go there!!