Alright first things first! My Aunt Elin and Grandpa McLeod were staying with us from my graduation all the way to a couple days post Christmas AND EJ came home from school in Italy for the holidays so it was a packed house. We did all sorts of fun things like go to the Olive Mill place in Queen Creek, go Geocaching, visit the Ghost Town, played endless amounts of games, went to the temple lights etc.
It was really awesome to have a full house for Christmas. The Richardson kids (with special guest Zachary) made possibly the greatest Nativity video to date. It's all top secret, so you will just have to take my word for it because it was really amazing and kind of true but mostly a little sacrilegious.
The most memorable part of everyone being in the house was definitely the giant fight about Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth. Most of my family have been watching the Crown while they've been in town so the British Monarchy was a normal topic of conversation. But my family and the McLeods have a line drawn between them when it comes to Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth (who is better, and if Elizabeth was cruel to Diana). It was hilarious how much this fight escalated with even my Grandpa chiming in with a booming "WHAT" after EJ says he likes Diana more than Elizabeth.... oh it was so funny.
Here are some photos that I took over the time that they were here:
Steph came to visit for a few hours since EJ was in town as well, only adding to the party
The employment status of my life has been quite the roller coaster over the past two weeks as well. Something important you should know about me with applying to jobs is that I apply to every job without doing a lot of research about whether or not I would actually want to live there or if it's a safe place or other things etc. etc. I do eventually look these factors up but I do very little research before I apply, just because it never hurts to apply, it's highly likely I won't get the job... or I can just turn it down.
Okay so the night of graduation I get a notification from the homie Alex McIntyre to apply for this job up in Cottonwood. I quickly apply... not thinking that much about the fact that it's Cottonwood. On Sunday I get an email from their managing editor to come in for an interview in Sedona on Wednesday, I accept the interview and I am instantly thrilled and then 5 seconds later I just don't feel right about it... buuuuut I still go to the interview because who can turn down a trip to Sedona.
Before the interview, on Tuesday I contacted my awesome advisor from the Daily Wildcat, Brett, to see if he had anyone I could contact to do some freelance work for the East Valley Tribune. He rocked and gave me a person I should contact there, but also a couple other publications that would be worth reaching out to. One of those publications was a sector of Pinal Central. After emailing them about wanting a job or freelance work, a managing editor responded within the hour saying I couldn't have come at a better time and that one of their staff writers was out on maternity leave so they could put me to work that night. If you read into that like I hoped you would you would realize that one of their WRITERS was out... I was interested in freelance photography SOOOOO I then became a freelance reporter/photographer for Pinal Central. I was sent to go report on the Loop of Lights in San Tan Valley, which isn't a hard hitting piece so it was right up my alley. Zach tagged along for the ride and it was pretty tamed for the most part (especially in comparison to Winterhaven in Tucson) but there was one house... the House of Lights that really just blew my mind. If I had blogged about this two weeks ago when I was supposed to then I would recommend go seeing it, but next year you all should go it's inane.
So I have two freelance contacts and I felt pretty good about freelancing for the time being, and no horrible feeling came after that.
On Wednesday Zach and I went to Sedona for the interview and it went really well. I walked out of there knowing I was getting a job, but not feeling 100% about it.
A photo from the Sedona trip:
The Friday after that I was at Sadie's house helping her make cinnamon rolls and I got a call from the managing editor that I got the job and he rattled off all the benefits and the whole shebang and it all felt really awesome when he was telling me about it on the phone... I told him that I would need a few days to decide and he told me to call after the holidays. Once I hung up I still felt awesome because I got a job a week after graduation... but then came back the awful feelings.... so I left Sadie's house and went home to my mother and we drove around in my car while I cried and tried to decide what I should do. There were a lot of amazing things about the job that I thought I couldn't pass up, so I brushed off the bad feelings and started to look for a place to live in Cottonwood... and then do more research on the area I would be covering. But I never really could shake the bad feeling about the job so one week after my interview I turned it down. I am very aware that I am absolutely insane for turning down a full time job with benefits... but I am very aware of my feelings also sooo hopefully there is something great in the future in store for me.
Sadie and Parker hosted an awesome Christmas party the day before New Years Eve. There were games, ugly sweaters, good treats (the cinnamon rolls we made didn't turn out the best hahahah, but everything else was awesome), great company and best of all a photo booth:
Christmas Eve and Christmas were ridiculously fantastic. Zach and I hopped between our families for the two days which meant lots and lots of food. I felt very spoiled by both our families, but especially from Zach who got me the most amazing camera backpack, I am so ready to take on the world with that thing now. But I mostly felt spoiled just cause I got to spend so much time with so many people that I love being around, I'm a lucky gal.
I went to California with Zach's family for 5 days, the day after Christmas. I have been to California with his family a few times and have met the majority of Pam's family, but I got to meet even more this trip since we went to her aunts day after Christmas Party. There were all sorts of cousins, second cousins, aunts, siblings, nieces, nephews etc. It was awesome hanging out with all of them and playing very competitive games with them, they're quite the hoot.
The rest of the week was filled with jam packed fun involving: A LOT of Pokemon Go, the LA temple, Santa Monica Pier, Universal Studios (this was my Christmas present for Zach), Huntington Beach exploring, Balboa Island, Long Beach, visiting cousins (including my bf James) in Redlands and a lot to fill in the cracks. The weather was amazing and so were all the people to keep my company, a 10/10 experience and I still haven't run for the hills from the Waltons.
Now some photos:
For NYE I was going to go to Payson with the Fam but with EJ only in town for a few more days I opted out. My family went to the Science Center during the day (which was so awesome). It was great to see Avery's excitement for every little thing, doing things with children makes everything either a little more exciting or a lot more stressful... this time around it was exciting. We also got to watch a short movie about National Parks which only fueled my fiery love for National Parks and traveling to all of them.
We also went to the Richardson family staple Macayos for dinner (Zach's first time ever being there).
In the evening EJ, Kenzie, Zach, Trev and I went to Brittany's NYE party. The main event of the night was silent football which will seriously never be boring for me, especially since there are new people playing each time it we play. The greatest part of the evening was our small little dance party and that we got to whip into 2017... yes we literally whipped into 2017 with the hit of 2015, we are too cool for school.
2016 man what a year. On a macro level it was kind of sucky.... a lot of bad things happened this year and I can't ignore that, but on a micro level it was really freaking awesome.
I traveled for work for the first time to the Bay Area (also my first time going there), I went to Vegas for the millionth time for Zach and Steph's birthday with a smoking deal EJ got us to stay at the Wynn AND we got to see Britney in concert (AMAZING), I went to general conference for the first time with some rad people, I graduated from Institute, I became the assistant photo editor at the Daily Wildcat then took over as Photo Editor and kept it until the end of the year (and not once did I stay until midnight), I said the hardest goodbye to Zach when he left for his mission, I went to Colorado for a family reunion, I interned at the Arizona Daily Star and grew so much as a photojournalist (I even got to photograph a KISS concert), I was a bridesmaids for two weddings, I got to see my best friend for life get married to her soul mate, I get endowed in the temple right before my cousins wedding so I got to surprise her in the sealing room (in the Cardston, Alberta temple I might add), my sister moved in with me in Tucson, I banded together the Naked Strippers who blessed my life SO MUCH during the hardest semester of my college career, I threw a 21st Night of September Party and it was BANGING, I traveled to the border an endless amount of times and learned more about ranching than I ever thought I would, I had the happiest hello when Zach came home from his mission, I did a 24 hour scavenger hunt, traveled to Moab Utah for my birthday to check off two more national parks off my list AND I GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE! HOLY CRAP WHAT A YEAR! I grew so much as a person this year and made so many new long lasting friendships. 2016 was definitely a great year for me. 2017 is absolutely terrifying for me because for the first time in my entire life I don't know exactly where I will be or what I will be doing, but I look forward to the future and I am ready to take 2017 on.
Happy New Year!
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