All good things.

Me and Mad. Fourth of July weekend.

I have felt little-to-no desire to blog. Hence the silence. Things have been good though. Great, actually.

Here's the latest of what I've been up to, and what's to come, without pictures, because I just don't have the energy. It's basically a run down of the summer, Memorial Day to Labor Day, because it's pretty much all planned out. Insanity.

• I think I probably mentioned the fact that I went to Duck. I had a great time. It turns out when you go with the lowest expectations and little desire to scope out the dudes you have a much better time. I told myself I wouldn't stay anywhere longer than I wanted, or do anything I didn't want to, and it was the best decision. I was able to catch up with old friends and make new ones.
• The following weekend was my birthday, which was awesome, and I believe I recapped.
• The following weekend was Megan's wedding in California. Which was so great. I loved it. I'm so thrilled for her. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was a blast. It made me really decide that one day when I get married I want to have a small(er) wedding and not invite everyone I've ever met like most LDS people do. I would love to have everyone there, but I think it would be nice to have a smaller-ish affair, one that people come and stay and enjoy the evening, rather than just doing a driveby. I hate that. But that's just what happens when everyone invites everyone they know, so then everyone has several weddings to attend all summer, and can only go to so many. We'll see though. I'm sure everyone reading this probably thinks, "Yeah right, I wanted the same thing but it just doesn't turn out that way."
• The following weekend I went camping with some friends in the Catskills. It was super fun. There were eighteen of us. It was really well organized and we had a great time. We hung out, played bocce ball, frisbee, football, whiffle ball, cards, games, truth or dare, and chatted the night away. There were a million stars in the sky, the fire was endless, the food was good, the company was great. The weather was perfect. It was so, so fun. My favorite part was tubing down the river.
• The following weekend I didn't have major plans set in stone, which was nice. I organized a big group to go to the beach and it was one of the best beach days I've ever had. The group was great, the weather was perfect, and we just had a blast. Perfect combo of old friends and new, uptowners and downtowners. We got a lot of sun and really enjoyed ourselves. That night I took Mikey Perkey to a Sadie Hawkins dance with my roommate and another guy, and Monica and Jason. Mike and I wore Yankees garb, natch. I think the best part of the whole night was eating pizza in Central Park amongst the lightning bugs.
• The next weekend was the 4th of July. I headed up to Brad and Nadia's new home(!!) in New Hampshire. I loved it so much. I'm so happy for them. I can't believe all my siblings now have mortgages and kids. We celebrated the 4th, their new home, Nadia's birthday, and their second baby who is due in January!! So so exciting. I can't believe the three grandbabies will because six in six short months! I'm a happy aunty.
• This last weekend was very chill, which was really nice. The only commitment I had was Kam's birthday dinner Friday night which was really nice. A group of us went out in Little Italy. Saturday I slept in and then my roommates, Courtnie, and I went to the Shake Shack. We ended up going to the one on the UWS, and then I walked down the west side until hopping on the subway at Houston Street. It ended up being about 5 miles. I jogged at times, but mostly walked because I haven't been running and the humidity was killer. It was really nice to do that though. My body needed it and my psyche needed it even more.
• Speaking of the humidity, summer is here in full force, and I sort of love it. I have completely morphed into one of those people who loves the seasons, and I'm just fine with that.
• Tomorrow night I'm checking an item off the NY bucket list and going to the Philharmonic in Central Park.
• Last week a group of about 15 of us met up and rode bikes over to Artichoke for pizza. There were another five or so who met up with us there. It was a BLAST, to say the least. So fun to have so many riding bikes together. Loved it.
• Thursday Sean and Becky come into town and I'm so excited. Love those two. We'll be hitting up a Yankees' game because Sean is a huge fan. Becky is a die hard Cubs fan but she's humoring Sean (and me.) :)
• Cindy, Jake, and Blaine welcomed little Ty to the world, and he came home this week!
• Jill won Wipeout!!
• Next Monday my friends and I are taking a trapeze class!! This is another item that has been on my NY bucket list for a few years now. I am SO excited.
• Later in the week Chris comes into town, and then Melissa comes into town after.
• On the 30th I take off for California. I'll be there for a week to celebrate Aimee and Jerry's big day in LA. So excited for them and so honored to be a part of their wedding.
• I'll be spending a week at my parents' and I'm so excited. Usually when I go out it's for a long weekend, and if it's any longer it's Christmas time and so hectic. I have a feeling I'll still find a way to stay busy but I'm looking forward to the time out there anyways.
• Then I'll be roadtripping up to Salt Lake City, making stops in Vegas and St. George to see old friends. So excited. I decided to make my two week core leave a week of seeing family and friends. I'll be spending a few days in SLC at my grandma's visiting her and other friends.
• Then off to Boise to visit Shantay and meet baby Maya. Can't wait!
• Next stop, Rexburg, to visit the old stomping grounds, and more importantly my grandparents.
• Lastly, a big roadtrip with my love Chelse to San Francisco!! SF has been on my short list of US cities to visit (along with Seattle and New Orleans) for a while now. I haven't been there since my family lived there when I was a baby. I'm so excited to go back. I'm so excited to roadtrip with Chels, and so excited that Becky is meeting up with us there for a girls' trip.
• I'll get back to the city Aug 15 and then the following weekend am heading the Berkshires.
• The following weekend I'll be doing some last minute things in preparation to move to the UWS! So excited for this change. It's something I feel I really need and am really looking forward to. I don't have a place yet but am just starting to get more serious about looking (since apartments don't really open up until about 4-6 weeks before move in.) I can't wait for a new ward, to be closer to Central Park, to meet new friends, and become closer with old friends.

Life is good. Things can be hard at times but we get through it. I have a lot to pray for, and a lot to be grateful for. I am so happy to be where I am right now. On my long walk on Saturday things were just confirmed that I am in the right place. I love this city so much and can't imagine living anywhere else. I belong here.