Winter Break

Trips home are always good for the soul. I was so thankful to be able to go home for 6 weeks this holiday. My trip started and ended in Arizona, where the sunshine surely warmed my bones! As did all of my family :) I spent the first two weeks of the trip working for a few pennies during the day, and hanging out with my family by night. I mostly only have lots of pictures of the dogs, sun, palm trees, and a couple from Christmas, but here they are.

First day back home, lounging poolside with my favorite pup! 

Alex and Lauren's front yard on a 'cloudy' day.

Hikes with Alex and Lauren amongst the cacti!

Alex, Lauren, Seven and Soda and me decided to take a new family photo for mom and dad. It turned out pretty snazzy I think.

Christmas day pizza making.. Soda doesn't realize I'm not so good at sharing.

The day after Christmas Alex, Lauren, and I headed to Indiana for a visit with our friends from home. I had intentions of also going to Chicago on this two week stint in the midwest, but Polar Vortex had other plans for me.. Katherine, Craig and I got snowed in together for days. Thank god for puzzles and boxed vino, because otherwise we might have gotten severely annoyed with each other. Just kidding, it was so much fun to be snowed in, we all slept a lot, watched a lot of movies, and ate all of the food we could scrounge from the back corners of the cupboards. But before the wrath of the Polar Vortex hit, a day trip to Louisville was had, a friends' feast was enjoyed by many, a 1920s themed New Years Eve party ensued, followed by a gorgeous New Years Day hike to start out 2014 right, and then the snow came...

I finally got to meet the newest Conway babe, Miles! Julia and Henry, Me and Miles, Shola and Julia!

Louisville to see Liz and Gabe!

Walks along the Ohio River with Gabe and Liz.

This is what Friends' Feast looked like before heading out to karaoke.

A Very Gatsby New Years!

Elloree and me feeling the beat!

Happy New Year!

New Years Day hike at Shades State Park.

Besties!

Someone etched this devil into the rock in the 1920s, according to legend, crazy!

I'm creeping through the reeds.

Hard stance.

This is what a snowball fight during polar vortex looks like.

This is what Katherine, Jeebus and Jessica taking a walk to avoid cabin fever looks like.

And otherwise our time was spent like so.

It's a Circle City classic.

 And then it was back to the desert for one final week before heading to Scandinavia. My last week was spent half with good friends that flew out to see me, and half with my family. Trista, Sara and I had a really nice visit together, exploring and catching up. And then my last few days after they left were also great, with a nice walk with my mom to an arboretum, and just soaking up my last bits of sunshine for a while.

South Mountain.

The view of Phoenix from South Mountain.

Day trips to Sedona.

Friends in Sedona!

Sara and me!

Trista and me with an Arizona sunset!

We went out to Club Downtown, only to realize upon arriving that there are no vowels.. que interesante!

Boyce Thompson Arboretum hike with my mom! So beautiful!

So much desert flora and fauna!

And so concludes my whirlwind winter break! I never knew that 6 weeks could pass by so quickly. It was a wonderful trip for which I am very grateful. But now it's only one more semester of school, and then I'll be free as a bird! I am looking forward to my next visit home already, whenever it may be. Thank you to everyone who made my winter holiday what it was, I am so thankful to have the best friends and family in all of the land.

P.S. I arrived back in Helsinki to this girl with my first ever airport sign! I dig her! It made my return back to this continent slightly less overwhelming.