Summer time!

lately i've been trying to be social...you know, with people my own age and such. guess what... it's exhausting. fun and exciting and silly and exhausting. but it's been great and worth every tired second.

Here's a little catch up:

did you know i'm part of a secret club? i'd tell you what it's called, but it's a secret. these girls are a hoot, and i love when our secret club gathers for a night of food and fun. this time we met up at city creek,...trendy, right? love these girls.

did you know i'm going to hawaii with these girls in a little over a month? truth. 

i've had a few sleepovers...and i made this picture small on purpose because we look so good. aly has been the all-time perfect summer buddy and i couldn't be happier about it. we always get into some kind of trouble, and it always seems to happen late at night.

shelly and i went to the art festival downtown, which is basically a people watching extravaganza. and yes, that's frozen cheesecake on a stick drizzled with chocolate. 

my family went to st. george. with ryan moving it was kind of a last hurrah...which was wonderful and sad all at the same time. the weekend was full of pool time, shot gun shooting, naps, good food, 4wheeler rides, and family family family.

and then it was time to say bye. gosh, that was hard for me...which is why i put it off until the airport. i figured with alot of people around, i wouldn't be able to cause much of a scene :) i'm sure gonna miss these guys and watching frank grow up. thank goodness for facetime and google plus!!!

the walkers came in town for a visit and i loved catching up with laura. she is one of those friends that i can go forever without talking to or seeing and we can just jump right back into it. so fun to see her pregnant belly and catch up on the details of life.

oh yeah, this one time i planned a cousin campout, that happened to land right smack dab on my grandpa's 85th birthday. i don't know about you, but i don't know that i'd want 30 plus kids camping in my yard on my birthday, but grandma and grandpa were so happy to have us there. we had a great time celebrating grandpa's birthday and playing with cousins. i think this is a new tradition!

i've been to the outdoor symphony. for some reason when it's outdoor, it makes it 20 times better.

this one time, my family tried google plus for the first time. i dont know why this was so funny to me, but it was alot of fun to have everyone on and talk about nothing. 

and i got to see frank, so that was a bonus :)

4th of july was a blast. shelly and i headed down to provo for the day. we jam packed the day with parade, freedom festival, seven peaks, bbq, naps, friends, family, and fireworks. oh yeah, and the blazing sun.

(don't judge. this was taken in the dark and the flash was closest to my face and the flash was so bright!)

last night we headed down to provo again for the rooftop concert, and i got to play with my two very favorite second cousins. what, you don't hang out with your second cousins? hmmm. 

thanks for the photo bomb, shell. remember how cinda and i have both had our eyes lasered? 

fake glasses are cool, right?

whew! i got tired just doing a recap. here's to late nights, no sleep, great friends, family trips, outdoor anything, late night ice cream trips, secret clubs, google plus and sun tans.

half marathon?? check.

let's be serious. did i really think i'd end up running this race? i'm not sure. i signed up to be part of a ragnar team years ago. i didn't really train like i should have, and about a week before the race i got swine flu. needless to say, they found a replacement for me. don't get me wrong, having the swine flu was not fun...but while my team was out running, i was laying on my couch eating nilla wafers and creamies (while my roommate constantly was bleaching everything i touched).
back when i made my 30 before 30 list, i made it known to a few people that running a half marathon was on the list. it was my sister whitney that made it happen. she called about the utah valley half and by the end of the phone call, i had entered my credit card number and the confirmation email was in my inbox.

june 9th. i had 2 months to train. except not really, because my cousin got engaged....and planning a wedding seemed like more fun that training for a race that i might not even run (can people get swine flu more than once???) regardless, it was on my list. (yes that is a picture of my list. yes, this was taken after i had crossed that bad boy off. don't judge me for some of the things on my list. they aren't all goals, just things i want to do before the big 3-0)

this picture was taken before the race started. can you see the fear in our eyes? we were both so nervous. and no, that's not a bald spot on my head...it's just a patch of grey that is normally strategically placed under a bush of swoopy bangs. i was so scared about actually completing the race, i didn't find myself caring about my patch of grey that was now visible once i braided my bangs back. oh well.
we woke up at 3 am. we left at 3:30 am. we boarded the buses in a dark mall parking lot at 4 am. this is where i saw the weird guy dressed up like nacho libre (mask and all) running around yelling "naaaaaaccccchhhooooooooo". maybe it was my nerves, or my hatred for masks in general, but i wasn't amused.
we got up the canyon (basically driving the race course) and the whole time i just kept thinking, "this is a long ride. and the only way to get back to my car...or civilization for that matter...is to run/walk there."

 they announced to have the fast runners head to the front, and slower runners to make way for the fast runners, which is a nice way to tell you to get to the back. it didn't hurt my feelings. i was happy to be in the back. and guess what, once we started running, it was a lot less intimidating to be around other people who were going about the same pace we were. except this one girl that was speed walking faster than i could run. after the first mile i decided she was a bad person to try to keep up with. i wished her well with a "you go girl" under my breath and decided to look at the road instead of people around me.
i didn't look at the ground the whole time. the canyon was beautiful. there was a cool breeze. and it was green. i love summer in utah. i love utah canyons in the summer.

 for saying we didn't really train, i feel like we ran alot more than i had planned on. whoever said it was all down hill was a liar. there were hills. and i walked up them. it didn't take long for me to realize i wasn't there to impress anyone or prove anything to anyone. i was fine running at my pace and walking and stretching when i needed to. luckily, my sister was the same way and our pace stayed pretty consistent the whole time. about mile 7 my hips started bothering me...like the point that i had to acknowledge the pain...and that's when a random woman with a cowbell shouted at me "you go girl. you can do this". there weren't many people up the canyon while we ran, and she was the first stranger to encourage me to keep going. luckily, she wasn't the last. i was surprised how much her encouragement motivated me to keep going. there is power in cowbells, people.
whit's family waited for us as two different points along the course. again, i was surprised how emotional i got seeing a familiar face. to see my little nephew running along side of us on the sidewalk and to hear my little niece say "you running fast! you can do it, bethany!!".
about mile 9 i started to feel like two of my toes were rubbing together weird, but the next aid station was a mile away. i was started to feel the pain. so i called my mom. whit and i passed the phone back and forth while we walked our way to the aid station at mile 10. you know how it is when you can be totally fine until you talk to your mom? i should have knows i'd cry talking to my mom, but i also knew how hearing things like "you can do hard things" and "i'm so proud of you" from my mother would make me push myself. that's when my dad started sending text messages. funny ones that made me laugh instead of cry, which is just what i needed.
with a quick bathroom break and bandaid at mile ten, i realized we only had 3 miles left. totally doable. we paced ourselves and by some miracle ran across the finish line together. whit had mentioned that she wanted to pick up our pace and sprint across the finish line...which sounded like a good idea, but my hips had already been hurting for miles and i wanted to be realistic. once we got close enough to the finish, i told whit she could go ahead if she wanted. this is going to sound reallllly cheesy, but whit said that we started together and that we'd finish together. it meant alot that she would stay back with me and my achin' hips so that we could finish together. good sister, right??
after we crossed the finish line whit and i hugged....and cried. (i probably cried more than she did) but i was pretty darn proud of myself for actually finishing the race. i couldn't have asked for a better race partner. thanks for stickin' with me, whit.

i posted this pic on facebook and on instagram about an hour after we finished the race. between the two, i had over 90 friends like it and about 40 leave comments. dang. it made me feel pretty dang special that i have such supportive friends. thanks, guys!!!

i don't have a picture with whit's family, but it was so fun to have them there. so great to see them along the course and then cheering for us at the finish line. my brother nathan and his wife caitie  were also waiting for us at the finish line...and took care of us while we walked like grandmas back to the car. 

nathan and caitie drove us back to our car, which was soooo much better than waiting for a shuttle to take us there. in short, they saved my life. once we got back to whits, they took care of us. i got a full on massage on my legs and sat in a freezing cold bath. sounds nice, right??

i finished a half marathon. i actually never thought that's something i would ever be able to say. it felt really good to put those stars next to #8 on my list. i cried. my hips hurt. my legs hurt. i walk weird, or i guess i waddle weird. but i did it. thanks to friends who told me i could do it. thanks to coworkers who gave me priceless advice before the race. thanks to kev and fam for coming to cheer us on. thanks nathan and caitie for being at the finish line and driving us back to the car. thanks mom for words of encouragement when i needed them. thanks dad for the text messages. and i can't say thank you enough to whitney. the perfect partner. i wouldn't have wanted to do the race with anyone else. you rocked it girl!!!!!

 we finished a half marathon!!!!!!!!! 

stranger danger.

I know what you're thinking. i'm a stranger. i feel like i haven't blogged in ages. i blame my absence partly on the new love of my life....instagram.

it's easy. it's fast. and i only have to think of one little witty sentance instead of a whole blog post, so basically it's won me over.

so...if you really want to see pics, i suggest you start following me on instagram. it might just change your life.

let me give you a little updating. mothers day was great. we did the usual homemade ice cream at gmas and i got to spend the evening with family. i love grandmas yard in the summer. it brings back such fun memories of summer sleepovers on the tramp, playing in the sprinklers, slip n' slides and cousin parties.

these cats and i headed down to provo for an outdoor concert. good tunes and good company....and got me in the mode for summer. i feel like every april/may i come out of my winter funk and am reminded that i have friends and that i am actually a pretty fun person. winter i think i allow myself to sit inside and try to stay warm...which makes me feel like i have no friends and am no fun at all. see how that works?

the concert was a blast. met some fun people. ran into old friends. even got a date out of it.

miracles happen (when you invite friends that have magic hair)

another memorial day weekend has come and gone, which means another davis family campout has come and gone. guess what....it rained again. it doens't make it any easier (or warmer) when you are expecting rain as opposed to it just showing up. i was prepared with plenty of layers and plenty of blankets. i still managed to wear my toms (which got wet, of course) and eat ice on a regular basis which didn't help with my core temperature. lessons learned....

if you read this blog, you should know these people. i like these people. this pic was taken at the family dance. yes. family dance. and yes, i was the dj...kind of until they took over and started playing

techno/top 40 and then i gave up and me and the chicken dance headed back to camp.

i've been working with my cousin and his fiance to plan their wedding....which happens to be this FRIDAY.

i've learned alot about the planning process and it's been alot of fun, but it will be really great to have it done. i'm hoping everything comes together and looks beautiful and the food tastes good and the flowers turn out and the invitations were all delivered and the cake shows up and the pictures turn out and the dress still fits and we stay on time and the weather is good......

ok, so i've got alot of wedding details on my mind.

so sue me.

i'll post pictures of wedding when i have them....but most likely i'll be doing it on instagram.

so follow me.

so i can follow you.

:)

i'm only 5% depressed

funny how life changes.

my brother and his family are moving in less than a month. i think it's a big deal because i will have to catch a flight to see them. i've never had a family member live that far away...unless they were on a mission, and even then i knew they'd be back in 2 years.
it makes me wonder if i've taken my family all living so close for so long for granted. even when i "moved away from home" i was only a 5 hours car ride away from my parents and a home cooked meal. it's weird to think that this could really be the beginning of my family spreading out. taking jobs when and where they come. raising their family somewhere else and seeing them at family reunions.

i'm not completely depressed about it. 95% of me is so excited for my family to be growing up. moving on. getting great jobs. starting families. excelling in school. but i think 5% of me just still wants to be 12 and babysitting at home on a friday night while my older sister is out with her high school friends and my parents are out to dinner. (when i was 12 that was probably the last thing i wanted to do with my time...)

i guess that means i like my family, right? i really am very lucky to have siblings that are my friends. i guess we'll have to live it up at the DFC this year. :)

?????

Questions I had run through my head today...

Why does work start so early?
Why is visiting teaching so hard sometimes?
Why cant that just be good enough?
Why does Christina aguilara bug me so much?
Why is there so much grey area?
Why didn't I think of FaceTime. Or redbox? Or the bumbo?
Where in the world am I going to find room for that?
Is sleeping on a mattress without sheets really that bad?
How much longer till campout?
Is it illegal to do buckets of gas in the gutter?
How many days till Hawaii?
Is it 5 o'clock yet?
Are you serious?

summah summah summah time

i feel like there has been so much going on lately, but when i try to think of things to write about, i get stumped. can you be really busy with a whole lot of nothing??

i've kind of been planning a wedding lately. kind of meaning it's not my wedding. it's been fun to help with my cousin's wedding prep. pictures. announcements. flowers. dress. hair. showers. cake. registry. food. there is alot to do for a wedding, and somehow its taken over my brain. can't wait for june first to see how it all pans out. it will be beautiful.

i bought a plane ticket. my friend katie had been asking me if i wanted to join her on a trip to....anywhere but here. when they chose hawaii i thought for sure it wouldn't work for me to go. and then i got work off. and then i bought a plane ticket. turns out the flight leaves 2 days after my 30th birthday....perfect time to splurge, right? i think it will be the perfect end to a perfect summer. i can't wait.

speaking of summer.....it's almost summer. ahhhhhhh. summer just puts me in a good mood. sunshiney weather. camping. night time strolls. daylight till 9. bbq's. campfires and roasting marshmallows. baseball games. and outdoor concerts. how can you not be happy during summer???

you've got mail

"Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life - well, valuable, but small - and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around? I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void."


you've got mail was on tv today. sometimes i like to think i'm a little bit like kathleen kelley. i feel like my life is pretty simple. it's easy to look around at others lives and wonder if i haven't been brave. i see people buying plane tickets to exotic places. training for races in warm sunny places. posting pictures of their new baby that they "just can't get enough of". buying houses. being promoted at work. taking trendy pictures on instagram and posting them with witty comments.


you know that part in the movie when after she closes the bookstore and she sits in her jammies on the floor and eats her cereal? when she's trying to figure out what she's done with her life up to that point and what she's going to do next? i'm at no such crossroads, but i still find myself having that thought process. what have i done. what's in my future. 


just like kathleen, i'm not really wanting an answer. just putting this out into the void.


so good night, dear void.