A Vacation to Remember

Ten hot days, three excited girls, five new cities and three different states, 4 college campuses, and ONE killer sun burn!

What a grand adventure we have embarked on in the past few days together! My sister invited me along with her and her sweet friend, Maddy on their summer get-away this past week. I am so lucky she invited me along the way, since she so badly wants to attend an out of state college and as we may be moving to Colorado for a job opportunity Peter may have.

On our adventure, we were scouting out a few schools (namely Southern Utah, Dixie, Northern Arizona University, and University of Arizona) and hoping for a relaxing vacation in Maddy's beach house in Laguna where we could read our books, go shopping, and get a suntan!


Our first stop was SUU and Dixie, which were her very least favorite stops, since she wants to escape Utah for a time....We stayed in this cute little hotel and were back on the road in the morning headed to Flagstaff Arizona.

Northern Arizona was next on the list and we all really loved this campus! It reminded me a lot of the Westminster campus and was beautifully green and had a comforting feel to it. The people seemed very friendly and the campus was small enough you could get to know a lot of people. The campus is a mile long and half a mile wide. Everything from your groceries, rec center, dorms and classrooms are in a nice walking distance. That would be nice!

Next stop, was the University of Arizona in Tuscan. This one was a very nice campus however, it was in the middle of the downtown area so we didn't feel as safe here (And unfortunately, we were to stay here for two nights). There was also a drastic change in climate with 105 degree weather on a good day and only rocks, palm trees and the sunshine surrounding you. I missed the mountains!

But we made good use of our time! We went to the college tour and then spent the afternoon at the local mall trying on lots of fun clothes. We watched "My Sister's Keeper" together and then, we were off to dinner--Chinese tonight! YUM!

Yuma was our our final stop before we hit Laguna Beach and was our hottest destination. It was a scorching 115! I don't think I have ever felt so much heat! And too bad our air conditioner wasn't working well in our hotel. That was one sweaty night!

And finally, the destination we were all eagerly waiting for...which came so slowly and ended too soon!

We spent this time lounging at the beach observing the fun people, collecting sea shells, and gaining a farmers tan for me! :)

We walked around the cute little shops downtown and by the seaside with the warm sand enveloping our little toes. I love that feeling!

We watched the sun fall and took an evening stroll. We ate lots of Mexican food and went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, too!

We saw tons of beautiful flowers on our way down to the beach and could smell them in the morning as we walked by. They smelled so fresh and were so brightly colored!

We came across these hats at the local Albertson's where we met our new best friend! :) A dad decided to come and take our picture for us and soon enough he joined us in the shot--taking up the entire picture. Then, he couldn't figure out if the camera was taking the picture...so we have nine pictures with a complete stranger! :) What a funny day!

This is a picture of the beautiful beach I was able to run on each of the days I was there. It was so relaxing and peaceful to listen to the sounds of the waves crashing onto the shore and seeing the sun slowly rising as diverse people began to gather with family and friends to enjoy one of God's gorgeous gifts.

What a wonderful adventure I will treasure forever! I have learned so much from my sister about patience and just being easy-going in stressful situations. It was fun to spend time together and enjoy some sister bonding time. I love you, Sar!