bryce canyon.

after my grandpa's death this summer it took us a couple weeks to go to church on sunday, instead we grieved together after the tragic loss. 

i'll never forget the sunday we went to bryce canyon, one of my grandpa's favorite places. 

sunday drives were my grandpa's signature experience. so we took one to his favorite place. 

it was my mom, sister maggie and brother sam, my grandpa, and my uncle bruce- grandpa's youngest brother, his wife holly and youngest daughter mackenzie. 

the whole day i was obsessed with bryce's beauty. i'm not sure if i've ever been there before, but it was really special to be there considering. 

one of the reasons i love st. george is because of the red rocks.. bryce is red rocks to the max. 

right now i'm missing summer. and those moments that made last summer special, despite it all. 

here are some pictures that i'm drooling over once again. 

three more months ♥

♥
summer.

the year of 'perfect ten' in review- day three.

the most important ten of 2010 #3

i moved away.


june 2010 proved to be the most life changing month of my life. the first of these reasons is that the ticket that took me to las vegas on june 14th was a one way. i packed my "heavy" bag (yes, i got the heavy tag on my luggage), and shoved all that i could into my carry-on and flew out of sioux falls to the dirty city of las vegas, where a shuttle then took me to st. george, ut. did i mention that i had to have my friends take my to the airport? i didn't have any family to take me, or pick me up. but we'll get to that later. 
my summer of independence wasn't all that it was supposed to be- warm sun, tanning, hanging at the pool, spending time with bryn, going out to eat for dinner chats with grandma and grandpa, working at the family store, and just trying something new. my family was there a majority of the summer, for reasons we'll get to later, and my grandma and i were all that was left that the end. 
really, its quite depressing to think about all that my summer could of been and then all that occurred instead. but, i guess it was one of those character building experiences. personally, i would much rather have the fun, but we don't get to pick do we?
i earned a lot of money over the summer, but i learned the value of it when i had to spend it all on college necessities and when i had to get up and work a real work day to earn it. it was just a summer of change, for sure. i loved living in st. george, and may even be back there this summer. we'll see what happens. it's sad to think i may never live at home again, but the more i get out and try new things, the more i want more challenges- internships, classes, any opportunity i have to grow and build my resume i want to take. maybe i'll find one of those experiences in sd one day. 
this summer was one i'll never forget, but i truly believe my choice to move to st. george was not all my own, and it was inspired. as heartbreaking as this summer was, i am SO grateful i was able to experience all i did in st.george. 

♥

we are family.

 

 the hurst family takes really classy pictures with a tripod and matching ace/ reunion shirts. i made the reunion shirts and tried to make the "hurst" on them look like the ace logo. i'm not sure if i did this but they were our first reunion shirts that weren't hurst ace hardware shirts.. so it was a nice adjustment :) 

can't wait to see a lot of them in a week and a half for beaver for thanksgiving!!

election day.

i enjoy current events. every day i check cnn, yahoo (so i can get some entertainment news in there), occasionally the daily universe, and a bit of wall street journal, usa today, and time apps on my ipod.
today was election day. and guess what? i didn't vote. i am SO ashamed of myself.
right when i turned 18 i printed out my registration sheet.. but i didn't have my driver's license with me so i didn't finish it. and then i never finished it. and then since i didn't finish it, i didn't get my absentee ballot. i'm finally 18 and i've been waiting to vote FOREVER and i don't even exercise my right to vote.
at the same time, i don't feel as informed with the issues in my state. did you know good ol' sd voted on legalizing marijuana for medical use today? i didn't know that until i was online last night.
maybe it was a good thing i didn't vote, because i wasn't fully informed. that's one of my biggest pet peeves, people who want to get into a political discussion based off things they've heard their parents say. i'm lucky enough to have parents who differ in views but can also agree from time to time.. after they've done their research.
being here at byu there is plenty of conservative go-getters ready to tell you all about the republican party and how horrible obama is and how the democrats are ruining the country. they're just a bit dramatic if you ask me. no one likes how our country is right now.. but i'm not sure i'm qualified enough to argue with someone because despite my daily news update.. i still don't know both sides on all the issues, but i'd like to hear both sides before i state my opinion instead of getting one side shoved down my throat.

alright. just a little venting. go america!
on a lighter note.. i can't wait to do a semester in dc.. when shall i? i was thinking summer 2012 would be a really fun one.. as would winter semester 2012. i registered for classes today and am in comparative government and politics.. anxious for that. :)

have a good election day.. hope you were better than me and voted!

(in an article done on my grandpa when he passed away, a friend quoted something like.. "fifty percent of washington county's democrats died last night." i always enjoyed listening to his opinions.. because he always had so much to back them up and so much perspective. ♥ miss him.

new computer, new ambition

did i spell ambition right?
oh well.
alright, today my new macbook officially came!
of course, it came as i was on my way out the door, back to work from lunch :/
so i had to wait to play until now..

so much has happened in the last month, so many changes- life changing event even.

i have lots to explore now though.. so more on that tonight :)

first picture taken on theee mac. 

ps it needs a name soon :) 

stay beautiful, ashley ann.