Can we say "too much?"

Naturally, instead of studying for my last ever college final tomorrow, I decided writing a blog would be more important.  I have my priorities people.  I thought I really needed to do this post because my last post was "not me," and I'd prefer to get it off the top of my blog.

Last Sunday (May 1st), my mom and I ran the OC 1/2 Marathon!!!  I've been working out a lot this semester and this was my goal.  Crazily my mother wanted to join in on the fun too!  It was absolutely nuts: we got there at 5am, and then had to wait in line for 45 minutes (worse than Disneyland) to catch a shuttle to the starting line.  Oh yeah, and then the 13.1 miles.  My mom and I stayed together the entire time, and for the amount of training my mom had and the injuries she incurred a few days before, my mom did pretty dang stinking awesome!  Oh yeah, then afterward I booked it to church to cook break the fast, ran my mom to the airport, then performed a concert at LACMA's Bing Theater that evening.  Phew.

Last Tuesday the Dalai Lama visited USC! (and might I say he "cancelled" on UCLA a few days before.  Coincidence...I think not!)  I had seen him once before at the University of Utah when I was younger and I was very lucky to have the opportunity to hear him speak again.  This time it was much different because I could actually comprehend what he was saying, however that doesn't necessarily mean I understood his accent.  Of course the best part was when he came out and put a USC baseball cap on.  It doesn't get much cooler than that.

On Wednesday night my mom drove down from Utah and we left for an adventure in Northern California.  We made it to Medford, Oregon Thursday night, then visited the Redwood Forest Friday morning, then drove all the way back to Salt Lake and arrived at 6:30am on Saturday morning.  What a party!  There are few places that I absolutely love in this world, and I can now add the coast of Northern California to my list.  Even though it was a little chilly and overcast, the views were absolutely stunning and the forests went on forever.  Basically, I could stay there forever.  Above is my mom "trying to hold up a tree," as she said.  It was ginormous.  Bottom line.

I've been begging my mom to take me to San Francisco so I could see some seals.  It's all I want to do in life.  I was determined.  Well, when we made it to Crescent City, CA we drove out to the Harbor to get some good shots of the coast.  We rolled down the windows and what do we hear?  SEALS!!!  We immediately went to where we heard the noise, and sure enough there were seals.  It was a little scary because they were sitting on these somewhat sketchy docks.  At first I was a little afraid to go on the dock because I wasn't sure if we were allowed, but then we saw a local and asked him about the situation.  He told us that of course we could go down!  Only stay around 15-feet away.  Then out of curiosity, I asked if they attacked people.  He said, "Yes, they'll attack.  However they don't kill humans, they'll just bite you, but the infection will kill you."  I snidely remarked, "so basically they have potty mouths."  He concurred.  It was a dream come true.

The Redwood Forest was absolutely amazing, and as my mom said, "it's like something on a screen saver!"  You got that right, mom.  Right next to Arches and San Simeon, it's one of my favorite places I've visited thus far.

To round out a great weekend, one of my best friends, Kelly, got married on Saturday! (Yes, if you notice the timeline, we barely got back to Utah Saturday morning to make the wedding.)  It was such a great time to spend with some old friends.  Yes, I was crying at the end of the night, not because of the wedding, but because I was so tired.  It was also the first time I had to give a speech at a wedding, and in my opinion, it was riproaring. Okay, maybe not.  But at least my friends Brooke, Ariel, and Kari laughed at my jokes.  (I may have paid them beforehand.)  If I learned anything from the wedding, it's that in Boston they say "aunt," not "ant."  "Ants" are insects, not "aunts."

I guess now I actually have to study for my final.  Boo.