The House That Built Me

First things first, I apologize for my lack of blogging this past week! Things have been crazy- but good crazy :)

Second things second (is that a thing?), this video/song is adorable. And yes, I'm a country fan. Don't hate me.

Finally, yes I went home this weekend! My little brother Nick was getting baptized and I needed an excuse to get some sunshine and Allegiant flights from Provo to Mesa are ridiculously cheap. So to apologize for my slacking in the blogging sphere, I will dump on you tons of pictures from my weekend! Some highlights:

-Hanging out with my favorite sister Riley, who is 16 and fabulous. I've missed her/sleepover parties/wasting time on Youtube/arguing over sharing clothes/laughing till 2 am.

Candid shot with a direct quote. "I seriously could drink Freddy's fry sauce...not that I've done it...but I could."

-Going to the open house of the Gilbert Temple with my mom and Jack. Holy cow, this was amazing. Seriously so beautiful. So much work has gone into the building of this beautiful building and it shows...everything is perfect. I am so grateful to have such a beautiful place 10 minutes away from my house that I can go when I am looking for peace. If you're in AZ, I highly encourage you to go this week before the open house closes this weekend.

We were happy that this boy stayed home "sick" from school and joined us.

-Visiting Nick for a birthday lunch at school. It was so fun to meet all his friends and see him in his "natural environment".

When you're 8 years old and all your friends are sitting around you, you are suddenly too cool for pictures.

-Taking this cute guy to karate. It was so fun to see him going all out at his special needs karate class.

-Celebrating Nick's 8th birthday with family and friends. My mom was just planning on having cousins+grandparents come over but Nick insisted on inviting the families of some of his friends too. So we had lots of people over to make pizzas in our famous brick pizza oven (my dad is awesome and built this a few years ago!) and celebrate together. It was fun to meet everyone/catch up with family and I realized that the extrovert side of me loves hosting parties and getting to know new people! It was a lovely night full of good amazing food and great people!

 Guys I'm not joking...this pizza is probably one of my favorite things in the entire world.

 Forgot to snap a picture before we started digging in...I'm wishing I brought leftovers back to Provo. Costco cake=delish.

These boys make my heart melt.

-Nick's baptism! This was such a beautiful day. He was baptized by my dad and surrounded by lots of family. Jack, Nick, and some cousins sang "When I Am Baptized" and it was so sweet-that was when the crying started. I am so proud of this little guy and his decision to commit to follow Christ's example and be baptized. I started crying at least 4 times during the whole thing...Sometimes I swear I'm a 60 year old woman in an 18 year old body. Something about being with my family and realizing how great the gospel is just gets me every time!

 He is the absolute sweetest. Every time he walked into the room this weekend he came up and gave me a big hug. Is it acceptable to call an 8 year old my best friend?

 My mom's parents came down from Colorado for the baptism. We didn't get a picture with my dad's parents or cousins but we loved having them there!

 On Saturday night, he got out of bed and right as my parents were telling him to get back in bed, he said, "Hey Mom, I'm reading the New Testament and there's a word that I don't understand. Can you help me? I'm trying to read a chapter every night." This kid is making me think that I need to step it up!

 Such a handsome boy- he's going to be a lady killer.

 Smiling is overrated...

-Enjoying the beautiful weather! It was probably around 65 degrees the entire time I was home...I loved spending some time under blue skies and sun, as Provo has been pretty gray lately. I spent as much time as possible outside and we enjoyed a lovely lunch at Joe's Farm Grill with the family-if you are ever in Gilbert this a must! As are the cupcakes from The Coffee Shop next door.

He wanted me to take a picture of his shadow and he cracked up at the big belly created by his puffed out shirt...

 Riley and I were just practicing our selfies for "Selfie Saturday"...

Naps on the trampoline were definitely a thing...I seriously love Arizona winter.

And some "not pictured" highlights...

-Going to the Mesa temple with my best friend Chelsey! It was great to see one of my favorite people and go to one of the favorite places. So nice to get away for a couple of hours and enjoy the temple.

-Dinner with my almost-missionary friends! I got to go out with Brandon, Samantha, and Aimee who will all be gone in the next two weeks! So proud of my amazing friends.

Honestly, the best part of this weekend was to just spend time with my family. Now that I'm not with them most of the time, I really treasure the time I get to spend with them. I loved running errands and chatting with my mom, talking to and laughing with my dad, catching up with my grandparents, cuddling with my cousins, and laughing over "The Internship" with my parents. 

It was such an amazing weekend and there may have been some tears as I walked away from my mom at the airport... I love these people so much and I miss them. But I love BYU so much and am happy to be back with my fabulous friends!

Thanks for the great weekend AZ, see you in April!

XOXO

Cady