Alabama, Arkansas...

Love Edward Sharpe. And that song. Speaking of.....
Oh home. 
Such a bittersweet thing. 

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world because I live close enough to my family to take little trips, a la this weekend. But then leaving is just.... BLURGH. I hate saying goodbye to those wonderful people.

The great thing about being able to go home, however, are the new things I learn and experience every time.
So cliche of me, right?
Oh well. I'm over it, because it's the truth.
And in light of that, I give you:

Awesome things I learned on trip number 480 to Mesa:
You see, that's funny because I really do go home a lot.... and 480 is an AZ area code.... 
I kill myself sometimes.

- I learned that I thought I hated yoga.
But I don't.
I'm actually obsessed with it.
Specifically bikram yoga.
Never heard of it?
Let me paint a picture.
You are in a room, 100-105 degrees, with a humidifier.
Doing yoga.
And getting so sweaty, you might as well have jumped in a pool.
Actually, you would probably be drier if you jumped in a pool.
I'M NOT KIDDING.
My toes were dripping with perspiration, people.
My friggin toes.
Basically it was the most cleansing, peaceful, awesome thing EVER.
Hence the reason why I am joining a yoga studio as a birthday present to myself.
 (Also my birthday is 20 days away. HOLLEERRRRRR)

- I learned that even though I am an adult, my bestest  friends and I will never cut the middle school shenanigans. Like talking in retarded voices. And dancing around like lunatics.
How did I figure this out, you ask?
Well, Saychelle, one of my closest friends since the young age of 14, was also staying at my house this weekend. Needless to say, we get a little crazy.
Also, she is a married woman.
I feel like that should be said to further validate my point.
Basically no matter how adult my friends and I get, we are still 15 at heart.
I hope it never changes.

- I learned that my brothers are getting so OLD.
I talked with my Mckay for about an hour one night about serious things, like dating and marriage.
It was so tender.
I love having brothers who love me almost as much as I love them.
It's so fun to watch them grow up.

- I learned that dog parks are so fun.
LIKE, SO FUN.
We took Maggie and Saychelle's bulldog Gus on Sunday night, and I was dying of happiness slash laughter.
Dogs are CRAZY when you let a bunch of them run free together.
Not going to lie.... I loved it.

Maggies face makes me die laughing. She looks like a super grouchy yoda-gremlin.

-I learned that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Look at me and all my cliches!
But really.

- I learned (or re-learned) how much I love outdoor Sunday dinners.
Especially in beautiful Arizona summer weather with people I adore.

 Forgive the absurd sun-induced glare. And Mckay's disregard for social norms.
- I learned that just when I thought my mom was the most amazing woman out there, I actually had no idea. She has more compassion and love flowing through her body than I knew was humanly possible.

So basically I am just exceptionally grateful for family, friends, dogs and love.
And the fact that it's almost the weekend again.
It's a good life folks.

(When I first wrote that, it said "its a HOOD life". Yeah, that too)