A Life Full of Laughter

you can't do it all.

2011-10-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

Every time I hear these words I feel both relief and frustration. I want to do it all... But I really can't do it all! I'm so conflicted!! And this is why I cried in one on my classes today... Kind of embarassing. I can't even fully explain why I just needed to cry.

In my cohort we've been working with a second grade class to learn how to teach math. Last week we went in to get an idea about the math concepts these students have grasped and where we should begin with our math lessons we will be teaching. We each got a chance to work with an individual student and I worked with Little Miss S we will call her :)

Sadly, she was way behind her classmates in her mathematical understanding. At the beginning she would simply guess a random answer without even giving the problem a try. As I worked more with her we began to have the funnest time putting our own names and favorite things into the math problems. ex. Little Miss S has 7 scoops of ice cream. Karina gave her 8 more scoops of ice cream. How many scoops of ice cream does she have now? As we were both laughing and having fun she began to try the problems and was even solving a few correctly! She was the sweetest little girl.

So today in my math class, we began to plan a group lesson to teach to these second graders. Because the other students were so advanced, we planned for our next lesson to use concepts that I knew would be way over Little Miss S's (haha) head.

As my teacher came around to check our groups on the lesson we were planning, I expressed to him that I was worried about Little Miss S and how this lesson would not be developmentally appropriate for her. He put his hand on my back and sweetly told me that this isn't our class and we were just going to have to focus on teaching the best lesson for the group as a whole. And those words I need to hear but also hate, "you can't do it all."

And the tears just came. I thought of Little Miss S sitting there in the back of the class, not understanding what was being taught and not motivated to learn these difficult concepts. Alone, and not getting the attention, individual instruction, and time that she needs. Why is she sitting in the back? The furthest away from the teacher when she needs her time and attention the most?

I think I really gravitate to those students that are not getting the attention they need. The ones left out, needing a friend or a little bit of help. I had a similar experience working with a little girl, J, last semester. Her father had abused her, her mom was not in her life, she had moved to the school just a few months before and she was falling behind in math. Her teacher didn't take the time to get her a math book, flashcards, or any of her own supplies to do the work expected of her, but instead sits her as far away from the teacher as possible in the back of the class! And then I, the only one who would give her attention and the care she desperately needed, was asked to stop volunteering with J (just as she was making progress!) because the teacher thought my work with her was not necessary/more distracting to J than helpful- she would rather have J struggle on her own. This broke my heart.

A lot of my feelings on this could be because I was the one in high school that was alone and forgotten... and that hurt. And if I can do anything to reach out to those who have ever felt that way, or just need someone to care about them, I want to be that person and do everything I possibly can. I don't want to hear that I can't do it all.

And at the same time I do. I'm stressed. Practicum is starting on Monday. I know I won't be perfect at teaching, I know I will have so much to do all the time, but I still want to do all that I can for those students I will be working with.

How am I going to do it all? Or be ok with not being able to do it all?

Ok that felt really good to get all of that out :)

The Secret of Happiness...

2011-03-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

surround yourself with people who unconditionally and totally adore you, and go have fun.

Couch Time :)

Clarissa's 20th birthday

Kelsey and Landon came to visit!!

Dinner with some friends

Saying goodbye to Sister Perkins!!

Hot chocolate- just because we can :)

Dinner at The Pie with Trent

Meatloaf Dinner :)

Celebrating Holly's first week of Practicum!!

St. Patrick's Day Dinner

Midnight Showing of Tangled

This semester has been very busy, but life is great. How about a little good news minute to update you on my life? :)

I have been hired to be an efy counselor this summer in Georgia and Florida!! and Ogden as well :)
I am staying at school for spring term- I'm only taking one class! and I will still be working in the Math Lab... but life is going to be a party!!
I am working right now with a third grader who is struggling in math and I absolutely love her!
Winter Semester will be over in less than a month!
Pay day is tomorrow!!
I had a picnic with my roommate yesterday and we laid out in the sun for almost two hours!!
I am going to be a Head Secretary in the Math Lab!!
Its starting to be running weather!! Hopefully some 5 and 10K's here soon!!

Love always, Karina

There Was A Little Cricket

2011-02-07T16:08:00.000-08:00

I made this video for one of my Early Childhood Education classes where we are learning how to use technology in the classroom. Doing this project has made me crave to be a children's book writer/illustrator even more...

My roommate and I were talking about our majors a couple of weeks ago and how it can be scary to plan out your future and invest so much time into something that may not end up being what you were hoping for. She told me a story she heard once about a father encouraging his son to find what it is that you spend your free time thinking about and pursue a career in it. I've realized over the last few weeks that when I have nothing else to work on or to think about, I come up with ideas for children's books and illustrations. And it's addicting.

Recently I've started writing my ideas down/doodling in a notebook so I won't forget these ideas and hopefully one day I can turn them into my own children's books :) That thought just made me so happy :)

Yes I am still majoring in Early Childhood Education, but I don't have to worry if teaching doesn't work out for me. I don't have to have it all figured out right now- I love a lot of different things and there are many things I want to do in my life and I just keep reminding myself that I have time :)

Everything You've Missed...

2011-01-01T21:27:00.000-08:00

How am I ringing in the New Year?

Reading a good book, in my sweats, while roasting in front of a fireplace. :)

Tomorrow I will head back down to school, but tonight I'm doing nothing and loving it. And I thought, hey, I should blog before life gets crazy again. I know I've neglected this blog this last semester, so I guess I should briefly fill you in on some fun things I did....

Girls Night at Olive Garden

Built a Giant Fort in Our Living Room

Made Fruit Pizzas for FHE. Yeah, I think I'm a pretty cool mom :)

Free Bagels Every Friday Morning!!!

Waffle Night with friends

Dressed up as cavewomen for Halloween :)

BYU Basketball Games

Ugly Sweater Day on campus

Later used our Ugly Sweaters for our family Chirstmas Card

Applebees with my family

Dinner with some of Holly's relatives

SNOWMOBILING!!

I really should take more pictures this next semester... I don't think a single one of these photos is from my camera haha yep i just checked. none. I will be better :)

and now I'm feeling lazy again... back to doing nothing!

Fortune Cookies

2010-12-28T22:59:00.000-08:00

are scary good.

Seriously every fortune cookie I ever get is perfect for me and what's going on in my life right then.

Right at the beginning of this break I went to Panda Express with a good friend and I was super excited to open up my fortune cookie and read:

"Allow yourself time. You will reach success."

I've had a crazy semester and I have needed this Christmas break to clear my head, make some decisions, and just relax a bit. So it was very nice to hear from my fortune cookie that everything will work out if I just give myself some time.

I also happened to get another fortune cookie the other night when some of our neighbors dropped by a box of them for Christmas. Mine said:

"You income will increase."

Sweet.
(and yes i know that should be YOUR, but that's how the cookie said it!)

And boy did I need to hear this as I had just spent the night ordering new books for the semester, posting my books to be sold online, praying for my pell grant to kick in as tuition is due, and crunching numbers from my bank account to see how I will be able to pay for rent as soon as I'm back at school.

I guess sometimes I just need a little piece of paper to tell me to stop worrying :)

"we're ADULTS!!"

2010-11-18T17:31:00.000-08:00

haha yeah. mostly.

Last weekend Holly and I decided to make a quick trip down to Cedar City to see her sister who was driving across the country and had a stop in Cedar on Friday night. So Holly and I went to class and to work, came home, packed up our stuff and headed out!

We listened to our favorite music, sang songs, talked about life, and came to the conclusion that we are ADULTS. And surprisingly, that doesn't scare me at all :)

The drive was gorgeous.

We went out to dinner.

We swam in the hotel pool.

We watched Toy Story 3 while eating Ben and Jerry's ice Cream :)

And then we went to bed at 10:30. Like any other adult :) haha

I had to post this picture just because it makes me laugh. Any poor/hungry college student could understand that you don't just throw away un-eaten Ben and Jerrys ice cream even if you don't have a freezer. And if keeping that ice cream cold in bags full of ice is what it takes to preserve their goodness, so be it :)

The next morning we ate the free hotel breakfast and then went back to our room after her sister left. We spent the morning hanging out in our pajamas laying on the giant hotel beds, and cuddling with soft pillows as we talked... and we had a GOOD talk. The kind where you laugh over the past, tell secrets, dream about the future, and make plans. All sorts of amazing plans. :)

We left the hotel around noon and headed back to Provo. Driving in a car with my best friend Holly, random ipod music, and yogurt pretzels. What more could you need?

So... Do you ever listen to a song and it instantly brings memories back to you? "Why Georgia" by John Mayer will forever remind me of this trip. Just because :)

More than I realize sometimes, Holly and I have done a lot of growing up in these last 3 years of college. And I love when I can look back on the past and see the beauty in it- how my experiences have shaped me into who I am. Our talk on Saturday reminded me that I have a lot to look forward to.

I'm not scared to be an Adult. I'm excited :)

I'm a little obsessed.

2010-10-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

This summer I went to 4 concerts :) how lucky am I? And as a result, I am a little obsessed...

Owl City during Finals Week

He is We in a scary part of Salt Lake

Justin Bieber with my little sisters

John Mayer and Owl City in August- two for the price of one :)

Growing up I never understood how it would be any fun to pay more money to see someone in person when you could just buy their CD and listen to it whenever you wanted! That's my stingy side showing :) But experiencing concerts for myself has truly opened my eyes. There is just something incredible about being in a huge crowd waiting to hear a voice that is on your ipod, a song that brings back great memories, and lyrics that have made you smile, cry and do everything in between.

I'm obsessed. And no, I do not enjoy paying so much money to go see some of my favorite singers in person, but sometimes I just can't help myself.

It's been about two months since my last concert... And I'm thinking I'm overdue for another one :)

I could explode

2010-10-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

with happiness :) life is so good. It's been so long since I've posted because I'm back down at BYU for my junior year! SO crazy. New apartment. New roommates. New ward. New friends. New classes. Good stuff.
I am SO busy, and I couldn't be happier. I love having things to do, people to meet, places to go. I'll be honest, summer got very lonely in Kaysville, so I'm loving everything I'm doing here at school :)

It would take too long to give you details about everything that I've done here so far, so pictures will have to do :)

I missed my roommate.

John Mayer/Owl City concert

Me and my little sisters!!

look at that smile :)

Super early in the morning before hiking Timpanogos.

Made a trip to IKEA to get cute things for our place

The first picture of all 4 of us together. The HACK Pack

Ice blocking!

Making Sunday dinner!

Things I already LOVE about this year:

Having my little sister down at school with me
How lucky I am to have such great roommates
Our Sunday dinners
The crazy things my roommates get me saying :)
Temple Trips on Thursday mornings
How confident I feel- I'm so much more outgoing this year
Sharing a room with Holly
Our ward
Having friends that randomly stop by just because they want to see us
My job at the Math Lab- I meet so many people and I have so much fun with the girls I work with
Being able to visit home more often- yay for having a car!
My classes- I love having all of my classes focused on what I'm doing with my future- no more GE's!
Studying late at the library again- yes I have missed this
My calling as FHE mom :)
I'm just plain happy- ALL the time :)

24 years ago

2010-08-15T23:00:00.000-07:00

my parents were married in the Los Angeles, California temple. And since that time they have raised 5 very happy and blessed kids.

Happy and blessed because we have them as our parents and our best friends.

There are some nights when we are all sitting around joking with each other, sharing stories from our day, laughing together and simply being a family- and it's those times I realize how much love my parents have created in our home.

I am so thankful for the choices they made in their lives that brought them together and made us a family :)

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

2:06:44

2010-08-14T22:12:00.000-07:00

of running my heart out to finish my first half marathon :)

Here's a little glimpse of what was going through my head all that time:

"Keep going karina, you're not tired. Man this canyon is pretty!! Don't I have any more upbeat songs? You do not have to pee karina. Is that girl passing me again? ooh that's a blister... I love you john mayer, it's just hard to listen to you when i'm trying to run fast. yay! a water station!! Well, I can't feel my feet anymore. oh yeah karina, you are doing this and you feel great!! "we gonna light it up, like it's dynamite" Ok that was the longest mile of my life. Thank you downhill!! I cannot believe where I am right now."

I don't know what worked better, listening to my self-encouragement or simply ignoring myself to push through it :)

After Brynn and I finished the half-marathon (btw Brynn finished under 2 hours!! isn't she amazing??) we went back and sprinted with my mom as she came in which I loved.

I did way better than I could have ever hoped for and that makes me SO happy :) this whole week I've been feeling so strong and just plain confident after running a half marathon. I've proven to myself again that I can do hard things :)

It was one awesome experience which I will be sure to do again :)

summer night

2010-07-20T16:37:00.001-07:00

nothing like a long bike ride late at night to one of my favorite places with my sister. we played for way too long on the swings making ourselves sick and taking more pictures than were necessary :)

and man we had some good faces :) haha

then we were big babies who were too scared to ride home in the dark and had our mom pick us and our bikes up.

good night :)

Freckle Season

2010-07-12T17:05:00.000-07:00

yep it's summer!! And I've been neglecting this blog... so I will just post some pictures of random happenings this summer to make up for lost time :)

It's my third summer working at the Pioneer Village Photoshop in Lagoon and my first year as one of the managers there. It's almost like a whole new job this summer with the different responsibilities I have there now, but this should be my last summer working there... ready for a change :)

Even though I do have fun with the girls I work with :)

My little sister Brynn is now graduated from high school! Which means she will be down with me at BYU in the fall!! I'm glad I'm here at home this summer to help her make the transition of moving away from home. We have already made plans for when we are down at school to go running together, go grocery shopping, share clothes, and have late nights studying together in the library :) it's gonna be good.

I've had the chance to go up to Heber a couple of times to watch my little cousins. I even was able to watch the kids overnight and play mommy the next morning getting them ready for school, making breakfast, and cleaning the house. I loved it :)

On the Fourth of July weekend, my little brother Landon ran a 5K in Salt Lake and we all came out to support him! We spent that morning walking around the Capital Building, and seeing a few places in Salt Lake.

good times. I will post more later!

falling asleep...

2010-06-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

is a lot easier to do when I'm down at school. I am completely exhauseted by the end of the day that it takes no time at all for me to fall asleep. But here at home it's a little different. Because I'm not completely exhuasted I have energy to read before I sleep, watch movies with my siblings, and I now have dreams almost every night, and boy there have been some weird ones. haha

Last night I fell asleep listening to my little brother talking in his sleep :) I love that boy.

My favorite ways to fall asleep:

after a head scratch
reading children's books
listening to my dad play "If You Could Hie to Kolob" on the piano in the other room

bliss.

Organizing

2010-06-07T22:37:00.000-07:00

I've loved to do it ever since I was little :) Last week I decided I wanted to clean out a closet in our house. The boxes in this closet haven't been touched since we've moved in, so after some time working on this.....

TA-DA!! :)

sorry the pictures aren't rotated.... they are on my computer but they keep loading this way

I got to go through old music my parent's loved, books we read as kids, and disney movies we grew up with :) After I found a few home videos of us, we all watched them as a family and laughed over our little selves :)

and this is my get-up as I cleaned the closet :) haha I found all of this costume while I was cleaning and I couldn't help myself :)

I love organizing. :)

Road Trip :)

2010-06-04T22:20:00.000-07:00

The other week Holly flew up to Utah so the two of us could take a road trip up to Idaho for our good friend Dani's wedding :) The drive was beautiful and Holly and I sang songs the entire way :)

The start of our trip :)

"Welcome to Idaho!!"

Holly and I were able to stay at her cousins house in Kuna which allowed us to be close to Meridian where Dani lived. It was so sweet of her cousin to let us stay in their home and their four daughters were some of the sweetest and funniest little girls I've ever been around. :) We read stories with them, played with them, stayed up late talking to them, and they taught us how to make button jewelry!!

While we were in Idaho, we were able to see a lot of Holly's family and the small towns they live in. Her cousins had some little chicks that we were able to hold :) You can also see our button jewelry!!

We are Bridesmaids!! :) I loved being there for Dani's wedding to help out, get to know her family better, and celebrate her wedding :)

Dani and David walking out of the temple as Husband and Wife :) She was GORGEOUS :) It was unreal to see her married- I'm so happy for her!!!

In between the wedding luncheon and the reception, Holly and I went back to Kuna and we got a tour of the small town from Holly's cousin and her family. Their family comes to play at this river during the summer- doesn't that sound fun!!

Dani had a "candy bar" set up at her reception stocked with blue and green candies to match her colors :) she even made that sign that says "Love is the 'sweetest' thing" :) how cute is that!!

It was really fun to carry around a bridesmaid bouquet :) We even made button rings to match Dani's colors!!

David and Dani's first dance to "The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson :) When it was time for Dani to dance with her dad, Holly and I started bawling!! We were just so happy for her!! And it was so sweet to see her share that experience with her dad.

Once faster music started playing, Holly and I also got on the dance floor :) My favorite part of the entire night was when Dani danced with all of us bridesmaids- we all just went crazy and had a great time :)

Holly and I decorated their car :) We were very nice though and didn't make it too messy!

Drive home from Idaho!

We stopped in Burley to stretch and look for Burley men :)

It was such a fun road trip and I hope Holly and I get the chance to go on another one!!

On the Brightside...

2010-05-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

Awhile ago I was reading through my journal I kept in high school, and I couldn't help but be really impressed with myself. My family and I moved from Hesperia, California to Kaysville, Utah before my junior year of high school. SO HARD. But as I would write in my journal each week I would remain positive. I might have mentioned how one week was especially hard or disappointing, but I would always end by saying, "I hope this next week is better!" or "maybe I should work harder on this" or "but I'm really thankful for this"

I never mentioned in my journal the days I sat alone in my car, or the library, or the hall with nowhere to go during lunchtime, the days I don't think I said a word at school, the times where group projects were assigned and I was always by myself, or the nights I couldn't do anything but cry. With the number of times I had these experiences, that would be a very depressing journal to read.

I found ways to keep myself busy and happy during those two rough years of high school, I had to keep going. I mentioned a lot in my journal the craft projects I worked on, walking my dog around the neighborhood, the time I spent with my family, and the people in my life who were sweet to me. There was always something to be thankful for to keep me positive and happy.

Four years ago today my family and I moved here to Kaysville. There has been countless times since that day that I have recognized what a blessing moving has been in my life. I'm am SO thankful for this trial in my life as I recognize the lessons I have learned, the strong relationships I have formed with my family members, and strong person I am today. The Lord knew what he was doing when he sent our family to Kaysville, and I am thankful for his hand in my life :)

Best Shopping Trip of My Life

2010-05-14T20:27:00.000-07:00

... so far :) last night my little sister and I went shopping at Rue 21. I still have birthday money I've been needing to spend so I was hoping to find some cute clothes, little did I know I would have such good luck!! The store was having a HUGE sale and I found such great stuff that I absolutely love!!

shoes: $10
shirt: $6
shirt: $6
shirt: $3 scarf: $6

shirt: $3 (and the same scarf from the picture above)

getting good deals: priceless

(betcha didn't see that one coming) haha

I also got some gray leggings for running for $5, but I used them already so I didn't take a picture :)

I LOVE saving money!! There's something just so exciting about getting things you want for such a small price! Usually when I go shopping I come back empty-handed. I'm very good at talking myself out of things that I want if they are too expensive. It's hardly ever worth it to pay full price, and I can be patient and wait for them to go on sale. Plus, I am SO happy when my patience finally pays off :) I got such great stuff for so cheap!!

Yes there are some times when I'm too cheap for my own good and I miss out on some cool stuff. But there's always something better out there, maybe even cheaper! So there's no reason to get discouraged :)

Woah, I think that just turned into a metaphor for my life. Sometimes I feel like there are things I've missed out on in life, yet I'm thankful I have not been willing to settle. There are some things are just worth waiting for :) and here I was thinking I was just bragging about my good shopping trip! haha

what i've been up to lately...

2010-05-10T21:15:00.000-07:00

I LOVE BEING HOME!!! I love this time in between school and summer work. My job really doesn't pick up until school gets out so I have a lot of free time to spend reading, shopping with my mom, cleaning, organizing, doing crafts, seeing friends... all of the stuff i love!! :) I like keeping myself busy, so I've had a lot of fun here at home so far.

The first night I was home my family and I went to the Kaysville Theater to watch The Lightning Thief! I really liked the movie and started reading the series, I'm on the third book now :) It was so crazy that night to not have to worry about when I needed to drive back to Provo, or what was due that week. It felt awesome :)

Such good books! I love Greek mythology!!

The first Sunday I was home my siblings and I fingerpainted, and of course we painted our faces too :) I have NO makeup on in this picture because my allergies were terrible. Earlier that day I couldn't even open my eyes :(

And I'm taking advantage of the chances I get to eat breakfast in the morning. :) oh yes :)

I even made these baby shower invitations for a lady in our ward who just adopted the sweetest little baby :) Today I actually went with this mom and her little girl to my aunt's house in Heber so she could take pictures of this adorable baby!! She's the sweetest little thing!!

Sadly, I also tend to get a little bored when work is slow... I'm used to ALWAYS having something that needs to get done, or people to hang out with. So lately when I'm bored I go for a bike ride on a pretty bike path we have by our house :) This picture is actually from tonight when after Landon and I got back from a bike ride. He's my buddy :)

There's actually a lot that I've done since I've been home that I didn't even tell you about! It's crazy that I've been home now for just over two weeks... well, more will come later!!

love always, karina

Preschool Experiences

2010-05-05T09:43:00.000-07:00

This last semester of school I had the opportunity to take a class in the BYU preschool. I can't tell you how blessed I feel to have been a part of the preschool. I learned much more than I could possibly explain, but I will try :)

Let me explain how the preschool was set up. We teachers would get there about an hour before the kids arrived. We would spend about a half hour discussing what was happening that day, who was in charge of what, and what to look for that day. Then the rest of the time we spent setting up our centers and activities for the kids.

When the kids arrived we had center time for about forty five minutes. The kids could pick any of the activites that we had avaliable for them or they could play on the computers or listen to books on tape. Some of the centers I was a part of were block building, fishing for magnet numbers and letters, the doctors office at the dramatic play area, and my own cutting centers (which I will explain later)

To transition from center time to a large group activity we cleaned up our activities and then moved to the carpet to sing and dance to some of their favorite songs. These songs were often very embarassing (especially when you know there are other college students watching you in the booth haha) but doing these dances and crazy moves helped me to loosen up and get rid of some of my inhibition :) I really have noticed how much inhibition I have given up because of being in the preschool. Acting like a dork in front of people does not scare me as much now :)

For large group time on the carpet, the teacher would read a story and then we would carry out an activity that related to the story in some way. We called this an interactive lit. One day I was in charge of this interactive lit. I brought in one of my favorite books from when I was a kid called Never Mail an Elephant. After reading the story to the class, I talked to them about addresses, and letters and other things related to mail. Then I had the children fill in letters, kinda like a mad lib, and we sent their letters home in the mail.

Recess was always after the large group activity, and the kids loved running outside and getting out some of their energy. Snack was always after recess and those kids eat good! haha

To wind down the day we read books at the carpet until their parents arrived. It was so sweet to see them with their parents. They would run up to them and give them the biggest hugs and just hold on while they told them about their day at preschool :) it was seriously the sweetest thing :)

After all the children had left, as teachers we would meet again to discuss the day. With the kids we were always assessing each kids letter and number recognition and we would keep track of that information in the assessment book. With that we would talk about how the activities went to give the other teachers feedback. We also shared cute and funny stories of our experiences with the kids :)

ok now for some of my favorite pictures with the kids :)

This was during my first week with the kids. We were sorting all of our shoes according to different characteristics.

The kids were learning a lot about doctors because many of them were getting their kindergarten shots. Yes I'm on the X-ray machine that we built. I loved getting down and playing with the kids. Here my doctors are telling me all about my "broken foot" :)

For this activity the kids were pretending they had chicken pox. They had to wear gloves so they wouldn't scratch themselves and then had to try and pick up little toys without their hands.

This is the whole class sitting at the carpet during a large group activity. This day we had a nurse come in to tell the class about the tools she uses while all of the little kids drew pictures to take notes :)

This was one of the centers I planned. For two weeks I worked on cutting activities with the kids to improve their cutting skills. This day the kids were cutting out jewels and crowns for them to wear. Other days we cute out flowers out of paper plates, snake mobils, and shapes to make their own mosaics.

I love what's going on in this picture. We were making a zoo out of blocks and our animal toys, but the little boy and I are talking about the letters he's recognizing on the wall. :)

These are just some of the cool experiences I was a part of at the preschool:

I helped some girls that were being bossed around by another girl to stand up for themselves and use what we called their "big girl voices" to handle their bully problem.
One kid who always played alone or on the computers during center time began to share his toys and play with other kids in the preschool which he had never done before.
I helped a little boy get over his fear of riding the tricycles after he had a scary experience with a bike at home. This same kid taught another little girl who was scared of the tricycles to get over her fear and try riding.

These may seem like little things, but in this time of a child's life, these experiences are huge!

I feel so blessed for the chance I had to be apart of these growing experiences. These experiences help these small kids to be a little more self-reliant. We teachers are only with them for so long, but the lessons we teach rather academic or life lessons, will stay with them and will bless their lives.

I loved seeing these children grow and learn in just the seven short weeks I was with them. These children were learning not only letter and number recognition, but they were learning life skills that will help them in the rest of their schooling. We taught children how to treat others, how to stand up for themselves, how to tell others what you want from them, and how to look out for and be concerned for others around you.

I miss them already. Each of these kids have taught me so much about loving and caring for others. I'm so excited to be in the early childhood education program in the fall as I will have more opportunites to work with kids. I love what I've chosen to do with my life :)

love always, karina

GIANT post :D

2010-05-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

Considering I didn't blog the whole last month of school, I have so much to fill you in on!! But writing all the details would take me forever, so that you and I won't lose interest in this post I've added tons of pictures and I will briefly explain some of the fun things that I've done. :)

Festival of Colors- who doesn't love eating chalk? :)

But seriously, this really is fun :) this is the second year we've gone to this festival and we're not done yet! Hopefully we will get their earlier next year when everyone throws their chalk at once so we won't have to rely on the kindness of others to throw chalk in our faces :)

And of course we needed a jumping picture :)

attractive huh? yeah i know :)

Holly and I got to go to my house for Conference/Easter Weekend! The first night we were there we roaster marshmellows with my little sister and her friends. We even got to teach them some of the fun games we've learned from our friends in provo :) college is all fun :)

mmm smores :)

Holly and i fell asleep while we were all watching Peter Pan after playing games. NOT a good idea. I'm an avid sleeper during movies, but now I know that my siblings will draw on those who fall asleep :) you can kinda see the marker on my cheek in this picture haha i love my family :)

A couple of our friends sang in the choir during the Saturday afternoon session and were given tickets for their "significant others". So Holly and I got them :) haha

Look at how close our seats were!!! We were SO lucky!!! And the session was AMAZING!!!

One night we hiked the Y with some of our friends. I love that hike, especially at night when you get this amazing view!!

We also spent an afternoon playing raquetball at the rec center where one of my roommates works. I need a lot of practice, but it was really fun to play :)

Holly and I went to an OWL CITY CONCERT!!! We bought tickets for eachother as birthday presents back in December and we were anxiously awaiting this day!!! This picture was taken between squeals :D

SO wet in the Will Call line. But that couldn't get us down!!

The concert was ABSOLUTLEY THE BEST!!! We knew all of the songs and could sing the lyrics right along with him :) He was SO entertaining too!!

When Holly and I were driving home from this concert I said to her, "I can't stop smiling!!" :D We were both SO happy.

After the concert- I think we look pretty good for being rained on and squished in a hot room between strangers haha

We bought these shirts at the end of the concert. Both of them are lyrics from some of our favorite songs. Holly's says "The spaces between my fingers are right where yours fit perfectly" and mine says "Planet earth turns slowly" If you don't know Owl City, you MUST go look up his songs. Seriously they will change your life. Maybe not, but it wouldn't hurt! :)

Holly and I both have our birthdays after school gets out, so we wanted to celebrate with our friends in Provo before we all went home. This night we had a birthday dinner at Olive Garden with our friends. Seriously I have some of the greatest friends. The boys were "fighting" over who got to pay for mine and Holly's dinners. :) so sweet!!!

Holly and I were sent on a scavenger hunt one night to get our birthday presents from a friend. We were driving back and for all over provo!

During Finals Week we took a break from studying to go grab some frozen yogurt with some friends :) so good...

Holly and I came back from ward prayer the last sunday we were in Provo and our roommate threw us a surprise birthday party!! it was the sweetest thing!!! I've never had a surprise birthday party before! :)

It was great to see our friends all together before we all headed out for summer :)

Yay for 20!! :)

Haha I love how my comments got shorter as the post went on. You can tell I lost some interest, but I hope you didn't!! anyways, now that I'm caught up on everything that happened in Provo, my next post will be about my summer here at home so far :) and hopefully it will be soon!

love always, karina

bad mood...

2010-04-11T15:47:00.000-07:00

I have no idea why but lately I have been in such a bad mood!! ok maybe I do know why... I definitely don't get enough sleep and I have so many projects due these last few days of school... needless to say, I'm cranky!! but I found this awesome song and I've been listening to it on repeat constantly for the past week and it's helped my bad mood so much!! I also love the music video so I'm posting a link for it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-iAS18rv68

I'm thinking I should go find myself some trash cans to whack, that could help the bad mood I've been in :)

I promise I will blog more about this last month once finals settle down... I have a lot to fill you in on!!

love always, karina

mini photo shoot...

2010-03-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday my roommate Holly and I wanted something to do so we grabbed our old moldy bread and headed to the duck pond to make some ducks happy. Once we got there we realized that everyone else in Provo must have gotten to the ducks first because they were not interested in our bread at all! So Holly and I drove around Provo looking for a cool place to have a mini photo shoot :) we both spotted a really cool old fence with the paint peeling off and a small garage next to it so we decided to give it a try, and we came away with some pretty cool pictures! :)

This is me in my new dress :)

I love this picture of Holly! You can almost hear her laughing :)

We tried to take a few jumping pictures... which is really hard to do in heels by the way :)

I love the fence in the background!!

love always, karina

Miss Karina :)

2010-03-10T18:02:00.000-08:00

Last week I started teaching in the BYU Preschool!!! :) I was so nervous that first day, but I had nothing to worry about. The kids are fantastic, the other teachers are all learning right along with me, and it's such a great environment to work in. I can't even tell you how much I love it there!!

The first day in the Preschool I sat down with a little girl to read this book she picked out, and I fell in love with it!! It's called "I Like Myself" by Karen Beaumont. The illustrations were adorable, and the message was so sweet!! I'm so glad that I am involved in a major that builds self-confidence in children because simply liking themselves will help them so much in life. so this is how the book goes...

I like myself!
I’m glad I’m me.
There’s no-one else I’d rather be.
I like my eyes, my ears, my nose.
I like my fingers and my toes.
I like me wild.
I like me tame.
I like me different
and the same.
I like me fast.
I like me slow.
I like me everywhere I go.
I like me on the inside too,
for all I think and say and do.
Inside, outside, upside down,
from head to toe and all around.
I like it all! It all is me!
And me is all I want to be.
And I don’t care in any way
what someone else may think or say.
I may be called a silly nut
or crazy cuckoo bird – so what?
I’m having too much fun you see,
for anything to bother me!
Even when I look a mess,
I still don’t like me any less,
’cause nothing in this world, you know,
can change what’s deep inside, and so…
No matter if they stop and stare,
no person
ever
anywhere
can make me feel that what they see
is all there really is to me.
I’d still like me with fleas or warts,
or with a silly snout that snorts,
or knobbly knees or hippo hips
or purple polka dotted lips,
or beaver breath or stinky toes
or horns protruding from my nose,
or -yikes- with spikes all down my spine,
or hair that’s like a porcupine.
I still would be the same you see…
I like myself because I’m ME!

Isn't that great!! :) I just love the positive environment- it's a perfect place to inspire learning in these children. Already we have participated in some very fun and creative learning activities with the children. I love this picture of me and one of the students doing some crayon rubbings on the plug on the wall.

I'm learning so much everyday I am in the preschool, I'm so blessed!! Lately we teachers have been working on our teacher faces. This involves a straight mouth and raised eyebrows when the children are misbehaving and need to listen to our instructions. I'm glad that we are working on this because I know that's one thing I struggle with in dealing with kids, I definitely don't want to be a pushover!

So yes, I love this place and I'm so excited for the experiences I will have here. I will keep you updated!!

love always, Miss Karina :)

a lot to celebrate...

2010-02-27T23:43:00.000-08:00

Last week was absolutely insane!! So much to do for school and work, but finally at the end of the week, my roommate Holly and I had a lot to celebrate. We each took a final for History 202 so we are completely done with that class!!! Also on Friday each of us recieved letters from the Education Department at BYU letting us know that we got into our programs!! Holly got into Elementary Education and me in Early Childhood Education. :) And we found housing for next year!! it's so nice not to feel homeless anymore!!

So holly and i went out on Saturday night to celebrate everything :) it was nice to go out and have fun after such a long week and working so hard in school. We just needed a little break to just relax and be proud of ourselves for all that we've done. :)

this little girl...

2010-02-21T21:54:00.000-08:00

loves swinging on swings
can spend all day putting together puzzles
wants her own dog
loves to draw and wants to be an artist
is scared of the dark
loves school and is a bit of a teacher's pet
is a picky eater
wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up
makes up games to play with her sisters
wants to get married in the "Hesperia Temple"
is always happy and laughing

Yep that's me! Tonight I was driving from my house in Kaysville back to my apartment in Provo and I was thinking about growing up. I'm in my second year of college, I'm working to pay for school, I have goals and plans for my future, and I'm loving the whole experience of growing up! I know I'm still really young and I have more growing up to do, but it was cool for me to think back to being young. Sometimes when I think back on myself as a little girl I wonder if she would be proud of me and what I'm doing in my life. I sure hope so.

Somethings about myself have changed over the years, but for the most part I am still this little girl. I'm still scared of the dark, I still love school, and I am always laughing and happy. I'm glad that I can find a lot of myself in her.

Well this little girl has a busy week ahead of her and should really get to bed... goodnight!!

Disneyland!!

2010-02-18T14:43:00.000-08:00

Over President's Day weekend I was lucky enough to take a trip down to Southern California with my family to spend a few days at Disneyland and in Hesperia. Normally with my work and school schedule a trip like this would be crazy to even think about, but everything fell into place this weekend. My teachers cancelled class, moved due dates for assignments, and it was not hard for me to find people to cover my shifts at work! I was so lucky! :) So my family picked me up Wednesday after school and we headed to California!!

Kelsey and I on the long car ride. Thank goodness for music and m&ms to keep us awake!

Disneyland Day #1

On the tram ride heading to Disneyland! We were so excited to spend the day together at the happiest place on earth! When I was down last April for my birthday, Kellie and I spent two awesome days at Disneyland, so it was fun to do it again! She's the perfect ride buddy and we love looking at all the shops in Disneyland together!

Kellie and I about to get on the Toy Story ride! Kellie also kicks butt at this game! I don't stand a chance!

We found a random telephone booth at California Adventure and of course we had to take pictures! :)

Tarzan's Treehouse! I love that Kellie and I don't have to act grown up when we are at Disneyland together. We've already pinky promised each other that we will take our own families here one day for an awesome trip together!

For some reason I was really loving the water rides this trip. I usually avoid them because I hate being wet while I'm in normal clothes, but I guess I was just taking advantage of the gorgeous weather!

My little cousins and my little brother were my water ride buddies :) I can't tell you how many times we went on Splash Mountain!

Love my family! We all know when they take pictures on the rides and we always try to make our pictures crazy!! :)

Disneyland Day#2

Bright and early to hit a couple rides before it gets crazy!!

Travis, Me, and Kelsey in line for Peter Pan!

My cousins and I waiting to get on the Carousel! We have way too much fun taking pictures while we wait in lines :)

Suckers from Toon Town! Again, in line for Roger Rabbit :)

Haha and again, waiting for the Muppets 3-D show to start :)

I love this picture of me and my sisters as the sun's going down in California Adventure!!

Kelsey and I sharing ice cream at the end of the day :)

This trip was much needed and I'm so glad I could spend so much time with all my family!! I was pretty tired after Disneyland, but I still had fun on Saturday and Sunday in Hesperia! I was able to meet up with a couple of friends that I haven't seen in a long time, so we enjoyed catching up and talking about fun memories. Life moves so fast and gets so crazy sometimes but I'm glad we can stop every now and then to enjoy time with our family and friends.

love always, karina

happy love day!

2010-02-14T17:32:00.000-08:00

Valentines day has always been a day of fun memories with my family. When I was younger, my little sister Brynn and I would always make a homemade pinata and fill it with all of our Valentines candy that we would get from school. Then we'd let our two youngest siblings take turns bursting it open.

I know, random memory haha.

anyways... I love love!! and family traditions!!

Happy Valentines Day!

it's February already??

2010-02-07T17:24:00.000-08:00

I can't believe January is already gone... time goes by so fast!! But January was a good month, lots of changes and epic times. I started a new job down here at school working as a secretary in the math lab and I really love it! My older sister Alyssa and I work there together so I get to see her a lot more often than I use to :) New classes have been crazy busy and some midterms just finished for me, so hopefully things will be slowing down! I'm feeling like I've got a good routine worked out for my schedule finally! well, I don't have much time to write, so I will just post a few pictures of things that have happened in January:

Finished off Christmas break with my family and cousins up in Kaysville. Kelsey and I were making dinner in this picture.

Went out for a birthday dinner for our friend Jessica. Gotta love macaroni grille!

We hosted a breakfast at our apartment on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Yay for three day weekends! and waffles!!

Holly and I on our epic car ride in Midway to a ward activity. What a crazy night! If you want to read more about it, take a look at my roommate Holly's blog. Shes a very good story-teller :)

Sledding at Soldier Hallow!

Amazing ice castles we stopped to look at :)

Hope everyone else had a fantastic January!!

advice from my dad

2010-01-11T19:20:00.000-08:00

I don't know if my dad remembers when he gave this advice to me, but I think of it often and it always gives me hope:

"Somethings you want are near and possible sometimes."

I tend to find myself disappointed more often then I'd like to. Life doesn't always go according to our plan no matter how much we want it to or how hard we try to make everything work out. Not everything can happen at the time or in the way we want it to. But sometimes, the things we want are near and possible. Sometimes, we will find that the things we've been wanting will happen. That's why we continue to have hope, for those times when things work out. I try to remind myself that when I'm disappointed.

i love you dad.

a little help...

2010-01-07T00:05:00.000-08:00

my little sister texted me this when I was having a hard day yesterday...

"No matter how bleak the chapter of our lives may look today, because of the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we may hope and be assured that the ending of the book of our lives will exceed our grandest expectations." Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I have the best family in the world.

hello 2010

2010-01-01T18:06:00.001-08:00

I've spent the last hour looking back at pictures from 2009 and I can't believe how much has happened in just one year. It's been a year of new experiences, changes, and a whole lot of learning. And I mean a lot. I've had some good expeiences and some tough ones, but I couldn't be more thankful for the life I have and all that I have learned.

Actually, my main goal for last year was one of the things I've learned over and over in 2009: to trust myself. For me this meant many different things this year... trust my feelings when reason doesn't agree... trust in my abilities to work while going to school... trust my judgment and not second guess the things that are important to me... trust in myself when my confidence is shaken... all of these I've learned through my experiences in 2009.

I couldn't be more ready for a new year. A chance to set more goals to focus on, a chance to grow and the become the person I want to be. I'm so excited for the new year! I always set the standard goals to work on thoughout the year: eat healthier, do good in school, etc. but like last year I have a main goal that I will work on throughout the year and I can't wait to see how it turns out!

hello 2010!! :)

love always, karina

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2009-12-25T13:51:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love Christmas! Everyone is in such a happy mood on this day!! I also love our family's Christmas traditions... On Christmas Eve we all watch the Luke 2 video and then open up our Christmas pjs. Then all of the kids sleep downstairs on the family room floor. When we are all up and looking cute (haha) we line up on the stairs so we can break through wrapping paper as we run to see our Christmas presents :) First we open up our Secret Santa gifts from our siblings and then take turns opening the rest of our gifts. And every Christmas morning we have Sticky Buns for breakfast! mmm... We noticed this year how most of our gifts were clothes, and we couldn't be happier! haha there was always more games and toys when we were littler :) I also wanted to try and recreate this picture from when I was fifteen and sydney was 2 :)

I looked for a long time, but I couldn't find the reindeer antlers, and sydney wasn't really cooperating haha but it was fun to recreate this picture :) I'm now 19 and my sydney is 6 :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! :)

FINALS!!!

2009-12-14T14:19:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure I'm one of the few people on campus who is excited for finals this semester... ok maybe the only one :) Don't get me wrong, I also love when finals are over and I can relax and spend time with my family, but finals can be exciting for me. I love knowing that I've worked hard all semester to do well in a class, and it's even better when I get the grade I'm hoping for! Currently I have two of my finals complete and soon I'm heading to the testing center to take a third. I might have all of my tests done by wednesday! :) what can I say, I just love working hard and trying my best, even when it is exhausting or doesn't always pay off.. I'm trying my hardest and that's all I can do! Wish me luck!

love always, karina

life is good

2009-12-02T14:02:00.000-08:00

I have to say that yesterday was one of the best days I've had in a long time!! ever since I've been back from thanksgiving break I've been in the best mood! I can't explain how happy I am!! I was not excited to leave my house after such an awesome thanksgiving break, but being back at school, going to classes, working, going on crazy adventures with my roommates, and everything else that comes with college is so awesome for me! I'm so happy where I am in my life and everyday I'm thankful for all that I have.

Ok so back to yesterday being... well I would call it perfect :) the day started normally with classes and I was just in the best mood! I get so much out of my classes and everything I learn continues to amaze me.

After classes and working on homework I worked for both of my jobs. I'm so grateful for my jobs, yes some days they are hectic and stressful and sometimes it feels unfair for me to have to work so hard to earn money while I'm doing school too, but I feel so accomplished everyday that I work my hardest. So working yesterday definitely added to my good mood :)

So after that, my roommate Kelsey and I decided to go for a run outside!! I absolutely love running outside! Especially with Kelsey because she pushes me to run faster and farther :)

Following running we were very hungry, so Kelsey and I made and ate dinner together :) we had pigs in a blanket and tater tots :) haha so good! Then we had fun listening to our ipods and making a pumpkin torte together! Random I know, but it sure smells wonderful!!

Keep in mind that this was some point after ten :) ok so Kelsey and I have been wanting to go hiking for awhile now before the weather gets really bad, so we made plans with some friends to go hiking to the hot springs in spanish fork! after getting ready and making plans we finally left to go hiking around midnight :) the hike was two miles long to get to the hot springs and the trail was often covered in snow or ice which made walking difficult, yet hilarious! :) haha we had many spills and laughs! The moon was full so it was pretty light outside and everything looked gorgeous covered in snow! Such pretty trees and mountains and the trail followed along side a river :) I can't even describe how amazing it was!

The hot springs felt wonderful after hiking in 13 degree weather! We stayed in them for awhile just sharing stories and enjoying the water :) then we all changed into some warm clothes and headed back! Kelsey and I were laughing so hard because our hair that we got wet in the hot springs had turned into icicles when we got out of the water!!

We hiked back to our cars and realized that it was now five in the morning so we decided to get breakfast at Dennys :) The food was so good after being so cold and hiking for so long!! I really wish I had pictures of this adventure to show you, maybe I will get some from my roommate...

I finally went to bed at 7 in the morning after showering so I wouldn't smell like sulfur anymore! haha so today I'm going off of two hours of sleep and being extremely sore, but it was so worth it :)

Yesterday really was perfect :) I was able to make some great memories while still keeping up on school and work. I'm so blessed to be able to enjoy life while the stress of finals is approaching, and yesterday was just a reminder of how crazy and wonderful life can be :)

Life is good.

things i miss when i'm down at school

2009-11-18T20:20:00.000-08:00

don't get me wrong, i absolutely love being down at school, but i am so ready for thanksgiving break!! so here is my list of stuff i am looking forward to/miss when i'm not at home:

sleeping on our couches with landon
watching ace of cakes
eating amazing food that my mom makes and i don't have to pay for
driving a car
reading in our front room (sometimes the only "quiet" place in the house)
wrestling with my sisters/having hair pulling fights with kelsey
joking around with my dad
working on random craft projects
walking my dog sydney... man i miss her
helping make dinner or dessert with my mom
talking about boys/life with my sisters really late at night
laughing so hard and acting like such a dork that my siblings tell me how embarassing i am
having free time to do nothing
going running with brynn
family home evening, family scripture study, and family prayer (i never realized how much i loved these when i lived at home... but not having it at school makes it that much more special to me)
shopping with my sisters
playing mario kart with landon
watching random videos my dad loves
sharing clothes with my sisters (i definately love this because my sisters dress so cute!!)
dancing and singing to the radio with my sisters
having my mom scratch my head... so relaxing...
family meals where we sit and talk and laugh
getting hugs from my family

i'm so glad i will be home next week and i hope i can do some of these things on my list! i'm in a very miss my family mood, but making this list just makes me smile. i'm so blessed to have the relationships i do with my family and i'm so thankful to have them in my life. i love you guys so much!

love always, karina

halloween

2009-11-12T19:10:00.000-08:00

better late than never! :) halloween this year was so much fun! although we did more the night before than we actually did on Halloween :) my roommates and i had a few parties we wanted to go to on the 30th... haha i sound so popular right? we went to our stake dance and then to a party at our apartment complex. my roommate holly and i wanted to dress up together this year so we ended up having holly dress up as a cowgirl (which is perfect because her boyfriend scott is on a mission in texas) :) and i went as an indian! we found stuff for holly's costume at the d.i. and at walmart, and luckily i found some really cheap fabric to make my costume! i probably paid about ten dollars for my whole costume :) yay for cheapness!! i threw it all together one night with my Aunt Kerri's sewing machine (thank you so much kerri for helping me out!! i wouldn't have my costume without you!!) and it was so sweet of them to let me come over and hang out with their adorable family while i sewed :)

this halloween was one of the funnest (if that's a word) i've had!! we got a group of friends together and spent the night at the two different parties. we had a blast dancing and singing songs the whole night.

roommates!! :) kelsey on the left went as a superhero with world peace as her power :) holly in the middle as a cowgirl, and me on the right as an indian!! :) dressing up was so fun!

close-up of the cowgirl and indian :) and yes those are our dirty dishes in the sink haha :)

the purple teletubbie is our good friend jud. so many people loved his costume that night :) you can also see my full outfit in this picture :)

i mentioned the second party that we went to at our apartment complex... well it wasn't as fun as we thought it would be. we felt totally out of place because we were dressed modestly. but i must say that i am totally impressed with the guy friends that we have. many of them were uncomfortable being in that environment, so we all left and insteaded watched hocus pocus :) a very good alternative!!

halloween morning i got to go see my little sister Brynn run a half marathon! this is her second one and she is totally my hero!! my family and i had so much fun cheering her on :) it was also so nice to be with my family and they even took me out to lunch!

that night my roommates and i were all halloweened out, but we went to a small party and hung out with some friends that night. can't wait for next year's halloween!

love always, karina

this school year so far...

2009-11-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

has been quite an adventure! so much has changed from freshman year this new school year that i can't believe it. i will try to fill you in on everything that has happened... starting out this year, my roommates Dani, Holly, Kelsey, and i lived in an apartment complex south of campus for the first couple of weeks. things were a little sketchy with management and we were released from our contracts... which is a good thing, but we had to find a new place to live in one day... extremely difficult in provo! but everything worked out :) we moved into a very nice apartment complex that day and a few days later i got a job that allows me to make enough money for rent! my roommates and i truly recognized how blessed we were in all of this and we are so thankful! the three of us work for our apartment complex- my job is to clean the workout room and the clubhouse- for 20 hours a month. i also got a job at the Spencer W. Kimball tower on campus working custodial in the afternoons, so i check bathrooms, change lights, take out recycling, that kind of stuff :)

so i wanted to post a few pictures from this year so you can actually see what i'm up to :)

this is me and my roommates holly and kelsey. we had a roommate photoshoot one night and this was definately my favorite picure of all that we took!

while my roommates and i were out grocery shopping one day, we saw Mario and Luigi on the side of the road! we had to stop and get a picture with them :)

Conference weekend my older sister alyssa and i got to go home to watch the sessions with our family :) this picture is right before my little brother landon and i took my dog sydney for a walk in the rain :)

my little sister brynn and her friend jaden came down for a weekend to experience "mini college" these girls crack me up and were so fun to have around! they had fun walking around campus, getting game day shirts, and hanging out, shopping, eating pizza and watching movies with me and my roommates :)

this picture is of holly and i when we went shopping at forever 21 with brynn and jaden :) we love trying on their hats :)

one weekend holly and i hiked to the "Y" :) we love this hike and we got up to the top right before sunset! holly and i sat on the Y, listened to some of our favorite songs on our ipods, and watched the sun go down... so gorgeous!!

yay for hiking!!

sitting on the Y and eating wheat thins :)

our shoes!!

amazing sunset!! i told you it was gorgeous!

the other weekend, holly and i went to the opera for an assignment in her humanities class, so we decided to get all dressed up and go out to eat before the opera! zupas is one of our favorite places to go out to! it's pretty cheap and you get chocolate strawberries with your meal!! :) mmm...

it was so fun to get all cute for a night out :)

we loved wearing heels with our jeans that night too :)

we love making faces :) can't be serious all the time!!

well that's a brief overview of what's been going on so far! i've already had a pretty fun school year and i can't wait for all of the other adventures i will have!! i will keep you updated!

love always, karina

here we go!

2009-10-31T12:37:00.000-07:00

my first blog post! woo hoo!

quick thank you to my roommate holly :) she made my background and helped me got all of this blog stuff started! you are amazing!!

so i've always wanted to blog about my life, and this year in school seems like a good time to do it! lately i've been so busy with school and work and having somewhat of a social life, so this blog is perfect for me to be able to share some of my adventures, pictures, or random things i want to talk about. :) i promise i will add more very soon!

love always, karina