Today was President's Day, so school was cancelled and we got to chillax with an extra long weekend.  Trust me, I wasted no time racing to my room as soon as school let out on Friday to pull on some sweat pants, plop onto my bed, and lose myself in a book- a luxury I have not had for quite a while because of high school.  I've also gotten to write, buy a gorgeous blue ball gown for next week, go to a birthday party with thirty other teenagers {even if it was a Mormon group, it still felt a little bit too crazy and overwhelming for my liking}, hang out with Rachel and Taylor to watch Batman Begins {oh, and happy late fourteenth birthday to Taylor}, try to play Yatzee with the family {I think everyone was a bit too tired and out of patience for that}, and obviously go to church.
  But today at eight I went with my friend Paige and her dad, sister, and sister's friend to the mountains for a hike.  Aside from the last little bit before we reached the top, the hike was actually pretty easy despite being 4.2 miles round-trip.  OK, maybe I don't like how hot it was for February, but nothing can deny the natural beauty of Arizona- hot or not {and BTW, I forgot to mention that Arizona turned 100 on Valentine's Day!}.    


    The Saguaro Cactus only grows in one place in the entire world, Arizona fortunate enough to be a part of it.
   Paige and I.
   The desert mountains are, basically, brown.  But, if you take a closer look, their are pretty little wildflowers scattered about that add flecks of color everywhere.
   From the mountain we could see the city below us.  Although we couldn't see the area where we live, it was still cool to be able to see from that different perspective.



  Happy Presidents Day!