Architecture, kind of wish I would have studied that, tear...

I LOVE a lot of the architecture in Provo, especially the older homes. SO I drove around on Saturday so that I could share a few of the MANY that are easy to find if you just look around. Here are some that mostly are around University Avenue and Center Street in Provo.

Sadly this is where I live, not much personality

Isn't this house just cute

Is it weird to really like a mortuary?
This house is in my ward and I think it is darling. If I find out someone is moving out I am going to try to move in.
They recently painted this house, the colors aren't my favorite but I like the house and it did need a coat of paint
This is just a BEAUTIFUL building outside and in
I like this building (minus the neon sign in the window)

I call this the Greek house, I think it is fun. There are a few if them in Provo like this, it must have been a fad Cute Cottage
This is the house I want to live in with my family
unless I can live in this one
My favorite place in Provo
I think downtown Provo is pretty, they are going to be putting up some tall buildings though so I hope that doesn't take away from it
I don't really recommend taking pictures while driving down University avenue but again downtown
I call this the English house another style that you see every once in a while in Provo, cozy is the word that comes to mind
I think this house is pretty and almost makes me think of the Father of the Bride house (the home of my childhood fantasies) a friend said it was better before they remodeled it
just a cool house

This is Jodi's house. This picture doesn't do it justice, AT ALL, it is HUGE, has a ton of personality, and surrounded by big old trees
I feel like this house needs me, it is kind of plain at first glance but oh the possibilities
Hard to see because of the driver next to me but a very pretty building
I have actually been in this house and it is crazy inside! I don't even know how to describe it but it may have too much personality. It has this awesome attic/apartment that some guys from a previous ward occupied but it was really fun to try and figure out the reasons for some things. Again CRAZY HOUSE, LOVE IT!
Simple and classy, I really like brick

I love to drive around and look at homes and buildings. I used to take Shawna for car rides, she is like a puppy that way, and the newer areas made us car sick with all the crazy roads. Newer never is as nice as the old

Awkwardness

You know how everyone has that really awkward stage in their life, I realized I am almost in the middle of year 24 of that stage. I actually think this started at around age 6 (the year Cassie was born, interesting) so technically I am in year 18, but anyway. For some reason lately I have been remembering really embarrassing/awkward things from my past. I figured I should share for some reason.

• For a good portion of freshman year in high school I wore a stopwatch around my neck at all times. When I say at all times I mean literally at all times, I wore it all during school, at home, to other peoples houses, I even slept with it on. Why a stop watch you may say, as do I, but the reason is that I was the coolest volleyball student manager there ever was. I promise that is cooler than is sounds.

• While other people go to sports camps, I took a slightly different path. I went to sewing camp, yeah you read that right. I wasn't young either, I have been trying to remember when this was and my best estimate is around age 15 +/- a year. I went to Lincoln, Nebraska and attended the camp for like 4 days and stayed in the dorms at UNL.
  

• When other people have home videos of cute childhood times I have home videos of being absolutely positively majorly annoying. I get really uncomfortable whenever someone decided it would be fun to watch home videos. Last time we watched them we viewed one of my finer moments where I am at Cassie's first or second birthday party and I spend my time telling Cassie what to do, even then she wanted me to leave her alone, opening her presents, and my favorite is when I get so annoying a family friend gets annoyed enough to tell me to stop and his mother has to tel him to be quiet, fun times. After a couple of uncomfortable minutes it is over and my sister-in-law just said "Wow Hilary..." I think we were given siblings-in-law so that there are people in our lives that didn't know us as children.

So, why is it that my really awkward moments have been coming to mind lately? I don't know!!! I think I had blocked these instances out of my mind until the last week or so. PS I didn't even include my being peed on story I will save that for a more comical day.

Nieces and Nephew

I need to forewarn everyone, I will often be discussing how wonderful all of my nieces and nephew are in my blog. This weekend I watched my 10 month old niece Bailey while her sister and mom went to Disney on Ice. I love this age because their personalities are really starting to show. SO...we had a photo shoot and here are some of the MANY pictures.

Bailey is trying to figure out what I am doing

Reaching for the camera.

Having some fun!

Getting a bit tired. Bailey likes to suck her thumb and cover her face when she is tired, it is really cute.

Now to be fair here are the other nieces and the lone nephew.

Payton, Bailey, and I at Bailey's blessing

Payton loves to dance

Sisters!

The Twins (Tanna & Koda)

They all keep things exciting! I find myself wondering what my family did for entertainment before there were any kids. I am lucky I am able to spend time with them, I usually watch one of the sets a week. I plan to be the favorite and I think I can pull it off because I am the only one in our family that is close and I plan to continue spoiling them (another part of my life I will be putting money into once I am out of debt).

It's Official...

I have been convinced to start a blog and see how it goes. So there are a few things I think people should know before this whole thing begins.

1) I am from NEBRASKA and I love it there. I am not from the ultra cool places in NE like Lincoln/Omaha so no I probably don't know the one other person you once met from Nebraska. I am from central NE, North Platte to be exact, and by Nebraska standards it is a pretty large city but by all other states standards it is apparently small (NPs population is less than the number of students enrolled at BYU)

2) Which brings me to my next point, although not all of the students at BYU are LDS (this is short for being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints which I shall never type out again) I fall into the majority of students who are.

3) I really can't spell! Which is odd since I love to read and you would think I would have absorbed some spelling abilities but it isn't so

4) I have never wanted to have an exotic career, even as a young child, I never wanted to be anything especially cool (like an astronaut or president of the United States) I would say the careers that stuck in my mind the longest are a mother (that one is still on the list), a librarian (secretly on the list), an assistant (living that dream), a wife (still have my fingers crossed), a criminologist (I love crime television), a math teacher(statistics ruined this dream), a veterinarian (for some reason I thought I would be able to handle giving a shot to an animal better than I can a human, I think it is the fur), and a radiographer(still working on this one).

5) I fear that I am not exciting enough to have a blog

6) Although I love doing fun things I am perfectly content staying home and reading a book (this makes my mother worry)

7) I love to have discussions. If I am going to be with people I prefer a group of 3-5 where we just sit and talk about life.

8) Once I have paid off my debts from school I am going to buy really cool stuff that will probably serve no other purpose but to entertain me.

9) I like to pretend to be organized. My love to use sticky notes and I only use the super sticky kind, if you are still using the regular ones let me tell you super sticky will change your life. Here is a picture of the hidden wall of sticky notes by my desk. The other picture is of the note a friend wrote to mock the notes I always leave at my desk if I am away.

10) My name is Hilary because it is cool, Jan after my grandma's Janice (mom's mom), and Marshall because that is the name of my people.

Although there are so many other things you should know about me I am leaving it at this so that I can retain some mystery and keep you coming back for more.