sometimes you just decide it's going to be summer, even if it's winter.

Because I have the world's greatest parents, I have been lucky enough to (quite literally) chill at home for the last 6 weeks. Sometimes people ask me what I have been doing--like if I have a job, or if I have taken up some sort of hobby to keep me busy, or if I even know what the word responsibility means, but mostly, this is the answer I give: Well...I wake up (hopefully before noon), go for a run, shower and get ready (by three), go on an errand with Darla, and wait for Big Dave to come home so we can go to dinner. Then the three of us watch TV on the couch for about 12 hours straight. Okay, so maybe that's a bit dramatic, but it turns out that I fell into this laid back lifestyle quite easily. But I mean, that 6:30am wake up call is going to come soon enough right?

And fine, maybe that's not all I did. (Because well, I have the world's greatest parents.) Not only did I get to spend my 21st birthday in Ft. Lauderdale with Kelli and Kristan (#escapethecold2013), but I also have the greatest friends in the world and sweet Smelly pants flew down to go to the Justin Beiber concert with me. Because yes, we are 21, and yes, he is 18, but yes, I did fall even more in love with him during that performance. (I mean really, how can you not love him?) Then, I rode the Hogwarts Express to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for some last minute Muggle training. And in the car ride down, I received the happiest surprise phone call from K8 the GR8 telling me she booked a flight and was coming on the midnight train to Georgia. And what a dream it has been to have her here. I didn't show her Honey Boo Boo's hometown (because well, maybe I'm a bit ashamed that she can claim Georgia as her own), but despite that, I think she got a small taste of Georgia's finest. Between the Ringling Brothers Circus, World of Coke, Georgia Aquarium, and some fried pickles, I think she might just be ready to call herself a Southern Belle (even if she wears vans and hipster necklaces).

And now, all the sisters are in town for one last hoorah. I could not be happier to have them all together again. So grateful I am for my perfectly, imperfect friends and family that have made this little "summer vaca" an unforgettable experience. I look forward to a weekend sure to be filled with lots of laughs, tears, and of course...Pitch Perfect.

happy birthday mommy.

54 reasons why you really are the best mom in the entire world.

1. You are my best friend.
2. You always answer the phone when I call.
3. You answer my skype call, even when you're already skyping one of the other sisters.
4. You taught me how to bake (which my friends love you for too.)
5. And how to see the positive in everyone.
6. You made over 100 sugar cookies, carried them onto the plane, and dragged them through Israel for me.
7. You raised me on chocolate pancakes.
8. You love me so much that you take me shopping whenever we're together, even when you don't want to.
9. You let me eat cookie dough straight from the bowl.
10. You make the world's best chocolate chip cookies.
11. Actually, you make the world's best everything.
12. I can't ever once remember you yelling at me.
13. You play with my hair until I fall asleep.
14. You want to see me as badly as I want to see you.
15. You put Diet Coke in my sippy cup.
16. You worship the sun and you passed that love on to me. (Amman Ra)
17. You put chocolate chips in everything.
18. You watched every episode of Gilmore Girls with me, every monday night, for seven seasons.
19. That goes for Vampire Diaries as well (and you saved it on DVR after I left you, so we could watch it together over Thanksgiving and Christmas Break.)
20. You told me to go to QuikTrip after my run, so I could rehydrate with a 44oz DC.
21. You don't get mad at me when I come home and want to bake at midnight. Rather, you encourage it.
22. You gave me your great hair.
23. And blue eyes.
24. You are the most beautiful woman in the world.
25. You have taught me to be kind and caring and selfless.
26. You always do what will make me happy, even if it means you don't get what you need to do done.
27. You just told me you are going to bring me sugar cookies when you visit next week, (!!!) and I didn't even ask.
28. You always encourage me to be better and do more than I think I can.
29. You attended every single one of my 81987372 gymnastics meets growing up without ever complaining.
30. You empathize with me when I go on bad dates.
31. You taught me right from wrong.
32. And how to stick to what I believe.
33. You drove me back and forth to school everyday, so I didn't have to ride the bus.
34. You typed my papers for me when "I didn't have time." (seriously, I was like 10, what was I doing?)
35. You have always been supportive of every decision I make.
36. When I left for college, you couldn't walk past my room without crying.
37. You made my lunch every day for...my whole entire life.
38. You are the laundry fairy.
39. And Consuela.
40. You always helped me realize family is what's most important.
41. You have more patience than anyone I know.
42. And you are the most generous and loving person in the world.
43. Without fail, every time we come home, there is a nail appointment waiting for us the very next morning.
44. And cookies are sitting on the counter the moment we walk in the door.
45. You help me always look on the bright side.
46. You listen to everything I have to say (even the nonsense).
47. You think I'm funny and laugh at my ridiculousness.
48. You are loved by my friends almost as much as you are by me.
49. And on that note, you love my friends so much you named a type of cookies "Annalise cookies," and packed both one for me and one for her every single day.
50. You let me sleep in forever and ever.
51. You let me skip school every once in a while (or maybe more than that :)).
52. You have visited me every single semester since I have been at school.
53. You've made it so that I want to be exactly like you when I grow up.
54. You love me unconditionally, and you have made sure I know it.

This list doesn't even begin to really capture how great you really are, but I hope you know I love you. And I am so grateful you're my mom. Happy birthday! I hope it was the greatest.

two zero.

it's official. i'm 20.

and no longer a teenager.

(but i swear i'll never grow up)

today was a truly magnificent day.

possibly the best birthday i've ever had.

20 things to commemorate being 20.

1. roommate dance party to miley.

2. yet again being blown away in old testament with brother harper.

3. leading a mummy to the afterlife in ancient near east.

4. having marcie, erin, and mere walk into my room with a 1.5 liter of dc and the greatest present ever.

5. venturing out into the old city.

6. finding an amazing jeweler.

7. getting a free birthday scarf.

8. and another dc. 

9. walking home in the rain.

10. baking cookies with the ludlow family.

11. and eating so much cookie dough i still feel sick. (but i couldn't be happier about it)

12. laughing so hard in palestine that i don't even remember what we learned...oops.

13. getting a drawing from erin that marcie mistook for our professor.

14. writing a essay on a verse of scripture that edified me beyond belief.

15. getting emails, twitter mentions, and facebook notifications from the ones i love.

16. receiving 82 notes from my fellow jc friends. (including two mysterious love notes.)

17. a present from the sweetest girl ever--miss sarah beth.

18. a back massage from my thirteen year old boyfriend.

19. having the greatest friends and family in the whole world.

 20. celebrating in jerusalem.

i'm on top of the world.