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Pictures say a thousand words + memories.

Here is a flash back of what the year 2017 brought me. :)

thank you 2017 + here's to new beginnings 2018.

4 STATES 5 DAY

After graduation, I headed back east with my grandma. It'll be a trip that I will never forget. My grandma was the best travel buddie! Below are the highlights + the minimal pictures that I took!

NEW HAMPSHIRE: 1st state of the trip + it was beautiful. My (great) aunt gave us the full experience! We started the day by going Apple Picking. Store bought apples now gross me out. lol If you know me, you know I'm not a huge fan of bridges. Its not the height aspect, its the fact that bridges are over water....like how do they just not fall down. Thank goodness for engineers. The bridge below was re-done in 2001, yet the engineers left as much of the original "wood" they could. Original wood such as wood nails and beams that were originally there in the 1800s. 

My Grandma Ann + Aunt Jill are the same person. Same exact mannerisms. Always wanting everything + anything in red. etc. They are twins, just 10 years apart! 

Mount Washington--this is back East "tallest" mountain...being from Utah I laughed. BUTTT the foliage here was down right b e a u t i f u l. In Utah I am used to seeing all the bright yellow + orange leaves. The red just might be my new favorite. Driving with the top down in Jill's red mini cooper added to the experience as well!

My cute gram + I at the ocean

West Coast Beaches--sandy, warm          East Coast--rocky, cold. 

Touring the East Coast for the first time was one of my favorite parts of the trip. There is something relaxing about listening to waves roll in, the smoothness of the sand + the wide open space. 

MAINE: I don't think I was mentally prepared for everything I saw in this beautiful state. I loved touring homes that were built in the 1700s yet were fully functioning + up an running with a family. In the West, we tear down + re-build. In the East, they re-store. --Re-storing-- biggest lesson I learned on this trip. Sometimes, rebuilding + moving on is what needs to happen in life. However, re-storing what you have with changes etc. allows for the history, lessons + memories to never leave. If only some of those homes could tell "their" stories. Seriously I fell in love, especially with all the yellow houses. :) I ate my first Lobster roll. I sang Moana as I was on the beach + asked Harry to pull over multiple times so that I could capture that "kodaik moment". 

light house after light house after light house 

is lighthouse hunting a thing, because if so i'm in!

Boston temple: I realize that me driving 20 minutes to the temple is not even close to the sacrifice some Saints make. It also amazes the peace + grace the Temple grounds holds. 

BOSTON: wow. I need to go back. I honestly could have spent 5 days in Boston alone, but I didn't have 5 days, I had a day + boy did we cram everything in that we could. Started off by stopping at the temple, then we headed down to the T-station. I didn't think I had a problem being claustrophobic, I was wrong. Jess in an enclosed train, underground....yeah no thanks, I like my wide open spaces. haha. I toured (briefly) Harvard, MIT, (I'll forever still love my Aggies, go USU) saw most of the Freedom Trail, Quincy Market, North End (seriously ate theeee best authentic Italian food ever + Mike's Pastry is a must. Seriously go there) + lastly I made it to Fenway.

F E N W A Y    P A R K

A little back story: my grandma loves to shop. Jill + her went shopping the night before + she just "had to have" these shoes. (she now never wears those shoes hahah) When we woke up in the morning + were getting ready to go to Boston, she decided to wear these brand new pair of shoes. (blisters were just waiting to happen) When I first landed at the airport my aunt asked me what I wanted to see, I said everything, but I really wanna see Fenway Park + the beach. 

4:30 came around + I knew I had to get to the park. Bless my grandma, she trekked her way to the park. Sweat dripping down her face, ankles bleeding from her brand new shoes, tired as can be; she pressed on. I didn't buy a tour ticket before hand (my bad), the guy in front of me bought the last tour ticket to get into the park. --insert crying tear emoji-- That didn't stop me though. The guy at the ticket booth told me about the "Bleacher Bar" that would allow me to at least see the field. So yes I took my grandma + aunt to a bar. hahahaha If you can image my grandma showing up to the bar, her religion showing off her shoulders, wiping the sweat off her forehead, with bloody ankles, saying--"Diet Coke please". Lets just say, it was free of charge. hahahaha I was dying of laughter, but man do I love her. The players were still practicing for the play off game the next day. It was beautiful! There is just something about America's past time. 

We left Fenway, ordered a lift for my grandma + as soon as we made it to the car she was out cold.   

give me all the fresh fruit, please

VERMONT: coming from a small country town in Utah, I couldn't help but fall in love with the country side of back east. We had good weather the whole trip until this day. The misty rained joined us for the day + I didn't complain. 

Joseph Smith Birthplace Monument: there was something special about this place, that I really don't have words for. Having been to Kirtland, Ohio + other church sites, it only seemed fitting that we made this stop. Joseph was a 14 year old who had a question, he asked + received the most influential answer of this dispensation. The answer that each + every day changes my life. 

Thank you to aunt Jill for making my first trip back East one I'll always remember. 

Thanks to Harry for one letting my grandma + I crash at their house, but also for showing me his home town roots with everything that entailed. 

To my grandma Ann: she's my best friend, personal seamstress, sweet tooth addict (always has gummy bears, always), listening ear with the biggest heart + so much more. I love her + am glad she will forever be my grandma. Not many her age could do 4 states in 5 days, but she did it. 

Where should we go next grams? :) hahaha