september highlights.

with school starting, work starting, and figuring out how to live with roommates and without my momma, balancing homework with rest (really important for me since i am back in the environment that caused my year of sickness..), and learning how to love on people important to me from far away, updating my blog has sounded more like a check list task than a fun debriefing thing. hence the 3 week hiatus.
but hopefully since we've essentially established a routine around a16 and there is finally a rhythm to my week, this blog will find its way back into my time.
so many important, blog-worthy things happened in september. this post has to be organized.


in a16..
we moved in. everyone is situated. boxes are gone, beds are made, shower shelves still aren't sticking to the bathroom tile. our picture frame wall is sloooowllyyy being filled. (and i mean real slow. like we put the first two pictures [out of 17] up yesterday..)
our schedules are on the door. we hardly see each other until midnight each night. and on weekends you can find us doing our homework, sprawled about the living room/kitchen. yesterday this was happening, and it was so funny. we were all each studying so much for our major, it was perfect. em was reading world music, elise was learning about hearts or lungs or something, i was reading frankenstein (wouldn't recommend it. but then again, i'm not a huge romantic english literature fan..)
we are not living in a dream though. we are real college students. 
we make dinners from strange leftovers (think salami, cheese, crackers, and rice). we have to call our moms to ask how to defrost chicken bricks, and bread chicken gluten free style. 
i get mad when it gets too loud and can get a little rude and leave. but i really love my roommates, and am so thankful i get to spend this year with them. 
we went to vegas last weekend to celebrate elise (she turned 21!) and meet my dad, lynette, and andrew. it was pretty fun!

fountain outside the monte carlo. no, we didn't purposefully match! and our 5th "roommate", morgan. we love morg so much!

our "going out" night. we went to tao to celebrate the birthday people, and saw cirque du soliel! 

classic vegas picture! yes, we were just strolling down the strip!

vegas was fun. we came, we saw, we conquered? and went home quickly. it was good for a weekend, and that was it. 
emily sings in chapel. we love listening to her! we're so proud. here's a solo she had last friday..

she is so gooddd!
and we make gluten free all the time here. resident baker/chef/dream roommate elise made me cinnamon rolls last night. not cinnabon, but they definitely satisfied my cinnamon roll craving!

i ate three.. and one for breakfast.

in irvineland..
september also brought my sweet kristen vandewydeven's 15th birthday. she is such a love, and has some great sass!

i stole this from her facebook, but she won't mind. it's just too perfect of a missy picture to pass up!

i've had some good talks with my maddy, and can't wait to see her when she comes home for fall break this weekend!

love this sister girl.

this is going to be a long week, i can already tell. prayers for strength, productivity, and brain power would be a dream. 

i hope your week is less stressful than mine is promising to be!