Weekend with HEATHER!!

Look who came to visit this weekend!

Heather is one of my very BEST friends from high school. I love that we're still so close after so long!

We had two and a half days together and wanted to make THE MOST out of it, since we only see each other like once a year. 

And man, there was A LOT to do. Not only did I need help getting situated in my NEW HOME, but we had a lot of exploring to do. 

Friday night we made delicious teriakki chicken in a crock-pot from Pinterest. The house smelled heavenly, and after Heather drove 4+ hours (from Rexburg) she was in need of a yummy treat. Mmmm. 

After chatting and letting our tummies become less stuffed Krystal was nice enough to take us on a guided tour of the BYU campus! Wow, is it beautiful. This picture does not do it justice, so you'll have to take my word for it:)

The next morning Heather and I got up early to take a big hike: we walked up to the Y on a mountainside near the edge of the valley

The views were breathtaking. The altitude and incline were, too ;)

It felt soooo good to get to the top. There were a lot of other people on the trails too, givng encouragement and assuring each other that we had to be close. It was a fun place to be on a weekend morning :) 

We made it!

Back at home we rested up and  hung out. Heather found ways to be helpful, and anyone who knows her will understand why this is so funny:

 

Heather has a wonderful intolerance for things that are less clean than they could be. It is soo funny :) Thanks Pookie!

Next stop: lunch...

Then we explored around town.

In the evening we found an outdoor concert in a beautiful shopping center. There was good music, excellent people watching, and THIS PUPPY: 

Its owner let me hold it. It felt like a warm fluff ball!!!

Eventually Heather confiscated my camera because I think I took 12 pictures of it. But I wasn't the only one who was enjoying it... isn't this little girl precious??

We loved sitting in the shade on a perfect evening, surrounded by happy people, listening to music and continuing to catch up. Turns out, there's a lot you miss when you live so far away from someone. 

This is a local band called VanLadyLove. They were really, really good

It was a perfect way to spend the evening. The concert ended as the sun was setting and turning those mountains all pink and purple. The dry air was nice and warm, even after dark. It all made hanging out with such a good friend even better. 

On Sunday Heather came to church with us and we met my NEW WARD. It felt a little like the first day of school, but I was amazed by my ward member's friendliness. I'm so glad Krystal was there to introduce me to {almost} everyone. 

In the afternoon Heather met Jake over Skype as she and I made disgustingly delicious treats to snack on {thanks again Pinterest!} It was super fun to have two people, who are both SO SO important to me, get to know each other :D

And then it was time for Heather to go! The weekend ended way too soon. 

Tomorrow it's back to job-hunting, but for now, I'm enjoying soaking up what a WONDERFUL weekend it's been. 

How does one girl get so lucky?