GoodBye Provo! GoodBye BYU!

Last Friday I packed up my car with almost everything I own and drove off never to return to BYU! The chapter of college life has finally closed and a new chapter is about to begin. I will soon be moving down to Stamford, Connecticut to start my career with Ernst & Young as a tax accountant. It still feels somewhat weird to say that!

I guess I kind of have mixed feelings about it all. I'm ready to move on, but at the same time I will miss this place. I will miss BYU college life--the friends, the classes, the mountains, cafe rio, and even the tanner building! I'm also a little nervous for what is ahead...Trying to find a place to live, making new friends, and just having more responsibility. But I guess that is what growing up is all about.

Julie, Becky, Ben J., Ben C, Liz, Megan, Me and Martha

Speaking of friends...last Thursday (the night before I left) a few of my friends that are still around Provo got together for dinner one last time. I think when I was saying goodbye to some of them was when I really started to realize that I'm actually leaving! The next morning I got together for breakfast with my friends Myra and Becky and say a couple more goodbyes.

Then after running a few errands, I got in the car and drove off!! A long drive ahead of me and lots of time to think about what I had just ended and what was about to begin. The past few years at BYU have been a blast and I have lots of memories...but I guess it's time to go make more somewhere else!

GoodBye Provo! GoodBye BYU!

So, Where Have I Been??...

Well, it's been a couple of weeks....and there is good reason!...I wish I could say that I was on vacation or just having so much fun that I didn't have the time to write in my blog! But instead I've been spending my last days in Provo with my head in my books!

Today, I took the first of four parts of the CPA exam. How did it go??? Well, quite honestly--I don't know. It was a tough exam--harder than I thought it would be. I think the hardest part for me was the time limit and pacing myself. But it's over and time to move on to test #2 which I will try to take by the end of August!!

I almost think it is fitting that my last days here have been spent in the Tanner Building and in the MAcc Lounge--The place that I spent way too much time during school. I swear sometimes it almost become a second home to me! I will miss the place...But not so much the studying! :)

What Else?

I haven't really done much the past couple of weeks except study and....say goodbye to friends. They just keep leaving! First Brian took off for L.A. to start working for PWC. Then Charlotte left to go to Argentina for vacation for like a month. Next, my former roommate Emily came down from Bountiful to see me one last time before I left. And then I even got to see Ben and say bye to him one more time. He stopped in Provo on his way down to L.A. and hung out with me. So, it has just been one goodbye after another and it's only about to get worse because I will be the one leaving pretty soon!

(I thought it would be fun to try out the collage feature..) :)

Happy 4th of July!

This morning I woke up at 6:00 a.m. and quickly threw on my t-shirt and shorts and headed to Kiwanis Park with my friend Myra to do something we had both never done before. We were going to participate in the Freedom Run 5K!



Myra and I started running about 5 weeks ago. We both just wanted to try to get some exercise and we really didn't have many expectations for ourselves as we both hated running. When we first started we couldn't even run a mile without taking a walking break! What made running tolerable and almost enjoyable was that we kept getting better. A week later we could run a mile and soon after that we did two! So, we decided to enter the annual Provo Freedom Run 5K and continued to work hard at running.


We did it!! This is us right after finishing the race!


Christine, Myra, Amy (Amy ran the 10K...which is a goal that Myra and I have set to do next year.)

We finished the race in about 41 minutes. So, we aren't pro-runners or anything...but at least we finished it and we ran all the way to the end. Five weeks ago, Myra and I would have never thought we could ever run a 5k!! We felt so good today for accomplishing our goal and we hope to keep running and getting better.


At The Finish Line!!

After the race and a shower, Amy, Myra and I headed to the Provo Parade. I have to tell you that the people of Provo LOVE their parade! And I know this because on Saturday I already saw people setting up chairs, tents and blankets to reserve their spots along the street for the parade that was still 2 (yes..2) days away! I think that is just a little crazy! I mean common...this is just Provo! How good can the parade be!?!!


Christine, Amy, Myra at the Parade.

And I was right...it was not good enough for 2 days of reserving your spot. But it was entertaining to watch. We saw a little over an hour of it and I took a few pictures of some of my favorite floats....



Top: Hello Kitty and Arthur big blow up balloons!
Bottom: The Utah South Mission Missionaries and The Nauvoo Temple.

All that was missing today was a BBQ and Fireworks. Then my 4th of July would have been complete!

By the way...DAVE...HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I LOVE YA BRO! :)

Camping on Canada Day!

So, what did I do for Canada Day? I went camping with some friends! We went just a little ways up the Provo Canyon to a place called Hope Campground. There were about 10 of us that decided to go. When we all got to the campsite Friday evening we went on a little hike...(which was ALL up-hill)...to this look-out area. The view was great! I wish I had a picture to show you...but I forgot my camera. After admiring the view for a while we headed back to the campsite and got a fire going for our tinfoil dinners! It took a while before we got the fire going and the dinners cooked...but they were oh-so-good! Then we roasted marshmallows, played cards, and just talked. It was a fun night!!

We woke up around 8 am and started preparing for breakfast...We had Eggs, Bacon (from Laura's Pig), Pancakes, and Orange Juice!! Yum, Yum!! :)


Here is Laura, Brian, Russ and Ashley getting ready to start cooking!!



Brian was in charge of the eggs and bacon and I helped flip the pancakes!


Here is the the Gang! From Left to Right: Laura, Fallon, Christine, Brian, Ben, Russ, Brandon, Taylor!

After we finished our delicious breakfast, we cleaned up, packed up and headed out! I drove home with Brian and we decided to drive by the Squaw Peak look-out to take some pictures...


Here is Brian with some of the scenery...it was kind of a hazy day. Oh well!


Me and Brian!

It was a fun camping trip! I came home and ended up taking something like a 4 hour nap!! :) You just can't get good sleep camping without an air mattress...and I actually think that was the first time I camped without one. After My forever long nap, I got together with my friend Julie for dinner at Costa Azul's (one of my favorites) and we watched the 4th of July fireworks. Yes, Provo likes to do stuff differently here...I don't know anywhere else that would have 4th of July fireworks on the 2nd of July! It was a fun couple of days and a great way to celebrate Canada Day outside of Canada! :)