the best of

2013 was a big deal. further proof that 13 is the greatest number, and odd numbers are always best. but, as you already know, i'm flabbergasted by all that has happened this year. it's been a big one for me and mine. honestly, it has been the hardest year of my entire life...but also the absolute best. further proof that Taylor Swift nailed it.

it really was miserable and magical. and, considering this year, i have never been happier. probably because it's been filled with oh-such good times. 

January
trav came home! i remember we couldn't all go to the airport to greet him but we met up at the city creek mall. and i was so hyperactive and the world was just full of cotton candy and rainbows. we were so happy, us six, finally reunited after a year apart, and we just bounded about, too hyper to have any sort of normal moment. or an unblurry photo. classic. 

February
taking these photos. it was a hyper night that ended in, well, the most epic photos known to man.

and this all-american dance party.

and then, you know, Laura decided to leave me and serve god or whatever. it's fine. i'm over it. (just kidding--nothing but support and love!) but towards the end of February we had to say goodbye as we dumped her on the curb of the MTC. ash and cait said their goodbyes earlier, but just and trav and mel and me and the parentals all piled in a car and pretended this day wouldn't be the saddest ever. and it wasn't. it was actually the happiest. we were all just...happy. and hilarious. always hilarious. i mean, we're boyers. what else would we be?   

March
well, let's be real. nothing important happens in march. it's a horrible joke of a month and nobody likes it. 

April
last class! absolutely no trouble saying goodbye--more like see you never--to campus, classes, and books. 

May
i turned 22. the very year taylor swift happened to write me an anthem. and i think that means only good things. and it was a good birthday. i mean, i got to spend it with the people who loved me most. 

June
two words: Taylor. Swift. 

it was a perfect night. we dressed up like hipsters. went out dancing. had breakfast at midnight. there was no sleeping. and...my life changed as soon as that dubstep violinist came out.

July

oh, there was Stadium of Fire, Yosemite, Hawaii, San Francisco, Legends of the Summer, Lake Tahoe. it was the summer to end all summers.  and it was...fantastic.

but a favorite memory? the most savory of them all? eating those burgers at seven brothers in hawaii. mmm. i still dream about them. 

August
well, melissa got married. and her wedding was beautiful and fun and all that. but there was this moment that will forever be a favorite memory. it was before the reception started, but us die hard melbran fans (read: siblings) were there just hanging out. and travis got a hold of the microphone. and control of the sound box. so we turned on some JT. naturally. and we started a singalong to Suit and Tie. we were just interpretive dancing in the middle of the room with trav and abbey on the mic. and finally just and cait came in at the end with the "you are you are the love of my life" and we killed it. i mean, consider the following. 

^^ abbey was really feeling it.

oh, and i'd show you more photos of us being a big happy family at the temple post-wedding but, you know, someone refuses to show them to me.

also in august, I graduated. so that was a big deal, i guess (though the most anticlimactic of all ceremonies).  

insert happy dance. 

September
signing for my apartment. ah, such sweet relief. i mean, the battle was half fought. i might be unemployed (still), but...i gotta place to relish in my unemployment! 

and i really do love it. i lucked out with the location, the cost, the size. i mean, aside from a few heating issues that literally almost killed me (can one die from the common cold?), and those pesky rats making house in my ceiling, it's been practically perfect in every way. and, i mean, it's in new york. so...progress.

October
that one day I was so happy and everything about the city was beautiful. i don't think i've ever been happier. i mean, look at where i live.

boom. this is the view from where i work. err, intern. point is, it aint too shabby. 

November
macys day parade. That hyperness and actually feeling like I belonged. i mean, getting to say to a newscaster that you're from new york--it's a pretty big deal. #truth 

Also, there was a night where we were playing Heads Up (thanks, Ellen!) and we were all so hyper and loud. but we were doing animal charades so we had to make the noise so the person who was it could guess what animal it was. things like dog, cow, and then it was suddenly "fox". can someone say ringdingdingderingerdingding? Turns out, I can. 

pop culture saved the day thanks to yours truly.  

December
surprising my family. i mean, 1) because it was awesome (read here) and 2) because my family is the most important thing to me, and they proved why yet again this year. not to get all mushy and sentimental, but let's get mushy and sentimental. because i know i am the luckiest girl alive for having the family i do, for loving them all so unconditionally and so epically. i know not everyone is lucky enough to be close to each and every one of their siblings, parents, in-laws, and all that. but i am. and they're the best part of my life. even when we're spread across the world or growing up doing different stuff and wanting different things...i know they've got my back and, as anyone who knows me knows, i've got theirs. 

boyers are the best. and this year was great because of that. 

oh and then, of course, there was that moment of pure elation at christmas dinner when my eight-year-old cousin said he thinks of me as taylor swift cuz i look like her, and i just melted into a puddle of joy and warm fuzzies.

so let's end with some taylor swift sass. hats off to 2014. let's hope it's a good one.

lol

i decided to surprise my family this christmas. well, my mom and i did (thanks, ma!). and it went off splendidly. because 1) i am a master liar and 2) see reason one.

i flew into little ole SLC at 2 in the afternoon. my parents picked me up and then we went on a lets-surprise-everyone pilgrimage.

step one. call them all to figure out where they are. justin didn't answer. ashley was at work. travis called me back. first target acquired.

Through some coaxing i got him to reveal his location: REI with his love doing some last minute christmas shopping. i told him how sad i was i couldn't be there, that christmas in new york wasn't enough to keep me from missing home. made some lie about brooklyn and donuts (that is always my cover story, because it is the most likely truth. oh...brooklyn donuts...how i miss them).

anyways. so we go to the REI, see his car in the parking lot and prepare for the perfect attack. but justin called me back then. so i had to answer, again trying to figure out where he was (home) and how long he'd be there (an hour) before telling him i was blowing him off for a friend (and donuts in brooklyn) and would talk to him later.

lol.

enter the store. i scan the room and quickly find my target. they are looking at sunglasses, so i crouch and weave my way through crowds and racks until i round the perfect corner and...like a lioness going for the gazelle, i leap out at them and yell "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

this was travis

this was abbey

and i was shaking i was laughing so hard. it was hilarious. not to mention travis was modeling the most ridiculous glasses. and their faces--there was no recognition for a good fifteen seconds and i was all "oh my gosh they don't even care." and then it registered and the flabbergasted-ness set in.

perfection.

but we had our second mission, so we left to get to justin's in time. this target would be harder, i thought, since their home has a million windows and a glass front door. but the parents dumped me at the curb and i flew up to the front door, ringing the bell six times and turning my back so i faced a corner until i heard the door open.

"SURPRISE!"

this was justin

this was cait

and i was shaking i was laughing so hard.

and then it was off to the apple store to catch ashley. it was a little difficult to find her. i had to get her manager involved--but he was a peach about the whole thing--and he grabbed her from the back, saying she was needed out front immediately. i meanwhile was shaking off the advances of some random (i mean, hello, busy giving everyone heart attacks here). and then she rounded a corner and i was there.

"HELLO!"

this was ashley

i quote: "OH MY GOSH WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" and i was shaking i was laughing so hard.

then melissa was out of town, so that was no fun. but laura, being out of the country, called on christmas and i popped up when she skyped in. and then there were grandparents and cousins galore to surprise. and it was all grand and happy and fun. so. mission accomplished. 

talk about clever girl, eh? 

nailed it. 

it's christmastime in the city

There's no denying that it's pretty pretty. And even with the heating fiasco dominating all last week, I've been having a pretty fantastic time.

Seeing trees. 

Visiting Macy's Santaland. 

Looking at windows. 

Wandering the Christmas markets. 

Playing at FAO Schwarz. 

Watching movies. 

Oh the movies. So. Many. 

Miracle on 34th (new and old). 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas. 

Home Alone 2 (New York, people). 

Polar Express (bleh).

The Santa Clause. 

There may have been more thrown in there. It was Christmas overload. And then there is, you know, the musical selection. 

Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Thanks for that, Frank Sinatra. 

Baby, please come home. Oh my heart, Darlene. 

I'll be home for Christmas. just kill me now, josh groban. 

Bells will be ringing. For me and Bon jovi. 

Blue Christmas. Classic Elvis. 

Seriously, we should probably be concerned by how many classic Christmas tunes are about depressed people missing everyone.

Hey, at leat I'm in good company. 

But even with all that, I just can't believe it's actually Christmas. 

And maybe it's the sixty degree weather talking here (seriously--it's mindblowingly warm.) it just...doesn't feel like Christmas. 

Sadness. 

Maybe it's because I can't believe I've already been here four months. 

Or maybe it's because I'm still unemployed and my brain doesn't register time anymore as a coping mechanism. 

Or maybe it's because Christmas really is all about family and those warm fuzzies. 

But that may be the grinch talking. 

Seriously. I almost bawled at that part. 

And I know, I know I could have gone home. And I still don't know if I shoulda or if this is good for me. Still, it has made me grateful for family and so aware of the love in my life even so far away. 

And I swear I have been happy. This has been one of the best Christmases of my life. I am so grateful for friends and distractions and this big beautiful city so eager to drum up the festivities. It's been unforgettable so far and I think it will only get better. So, from me to all y'all, merry Christmas! 

Spontaneous Christmas caroling...to ourselves. 

The tree lighting with these beautiful gals! 

And then there's always this. Further proving that Nutella solves everything.

hibernation

the fun facts of life in regards to living in the cold: 

even if I don't wear socks, I'm constantly wearing leg warmers. not even ironically. they are just that nice. 

i sometimes use my computer as a foot/body warmer. 

i bring my clothes with me into the bathroom and wrap them around the heater while I shower. no judgment. 

sometimes I hug my wall where a pipe runs through. it's warm and so it is my happy spot. 

my roommate plugs the crack at the floor of the front door with a towel every night. i need to start doing this with some of the windows. 

i have my super on speed dial because I'm always asking something about why it's so horrendously cold. 

i am seriously worried my fingers might fall off. 

i bought sweats for the first time in my life. fashion is out the window; I am all about being cozy. 

i'm happy to have a gas stove because it means I can warm myself by the fire. unhealthy, maybe. but effective. 

i suddenly drink hot chocolate all the time. And/or steamed milk. because life is better with a piping hot something in your hands. 

this is my life now. and I'm slowly coming to terms with it. 

slowly being the operative word.  

reflection

i really can't believe how quickly this year has gone by. i mean, thanksgiving happened. i didn't even see that one coming. And now it's december. already week into december. there's less than a month before 2013 is all over...and we have to start drawing ugly 4's in the year.

(worst. number. ever.)

but I've just been thinking about everything that has happened and how strange time is--that it can seem so fast but cover so much all at once. i mean within a year we have...

my brother came home from afghanistan, met the love of his life, somehow convinced her to marry him (just kidding. They're perfect for each other), and now they're about to seal the deal (literally). well, that's happening in january. but barely. so we'll count it. 

my other brother and his lovely wife bought a house, which is adorable. and built a staircase, which is amazing. and got grown up jobs. props to them. 

my sister got engaged, graduated, got married, and started life a school teacher. 

another sister got a mission call and abandoned me in favor of the big guy for a year and a half. it's already been--what? nine months? but time won't go fast enough on that one....

my mom graduated to become a master massage therapist, got a bionic hip too. my oldest sister totally rocked this life thing putting me to shame with her healthy ways and fashionable Ellen-like style. and my dad turned 60. Which is a feat all in itself. 

oh, and i finished school, kept the dignity of commencement--graduated college (so high school can suck it) and, oh yeah, moved to new york city. because life just wasn't exciting enough I guess.

did i get a job? no.... way to rub that one in. but baby steps! and the year ain't over yet, people. i've got three weeks. what am i waiting for?

i dunno. something amazing, i guess.