this is what you get when you mess with us

Let me tell you about the best weekend ever. Preston and I got done with finals and left for Palm Desert/Springs Thursday morning. We got to Palm Desert Thursday afternoon and hung out with his family and played at his grandparents' country club for the remainder of the evening. Then Friday was the first day of Coachella where I met up with Kylie and Todd and some other boys we rented a house with, but I didn't really see that much over the weekend. COACHELLA WAS SO MUCH FUN. Okay, it was hot as hell. No like, 106 every day. But by 7 or 8, it started to cool down and I got a new burst of energy when it got cooler. Plus all of the awesome shows were at night.

 My top 5 shows of the weekend:

5. Bon Iver. So I was curious to see how much I would like Bon Iver at a festival, since I saw them in a much smaller venue in Philly last summer. They were phenomenal. Saturday was in my opinion, the best day. At the same stage in a row were The Shins, Bon Iver and Radiohead. So I was there for 6 hours or something. Worth it. Justin Vernon has the most magical voice. There were some #dark things happening next to me during this one, so I got kind of distracted and concerned for my fellow Coachelly patrons, but overall, beautiful show, beautiful set. Also, Coachella audience members were SO sweet. Seriously. They said excuse me, let you in front of them and just friendly. Granted, many of them were on hallucinogens, but it was fine. We all recognized we were there together to enjoy the music.

4. Florence + the Machine. Dude. Florence Welch? Homegirl can SING. Plus she looked like this sparkly butterfly and was so sweet and dreamy for her whole set. So good. She was Sunday night and was the second to last show I saw for the weekend. I attended her alone because Preston was at Avicii. It was magical and I would pay top dollar to see her again. All of her songs have a girl power vibe, which was totally cool. Also her hits are so upbeat (Shake It Out, Dog Days) so they were great to dance to and just FEEL the music. Haha I am weird. Spectrum is my favorite song from Ceremonials and it was hauntingly good. She had this pretty way of saying 'Coachella' with her accent. I ruv her.

3. The Shins. I have wanted to see The Shins since 7th grade and when I finally saw them, I never wanted their set to end. They sound PERFECT live. It was everything I could have wanted it to be. I was close to tears during New Slang because I felt this overwhelming sense of nostalgia for my childhood/early teenage years and I started missing everybody. It was weird. James Mercer 4 lyfe. Go see them in Salt Lake, it will change you.

2. M83. I'll be honest, I never got into M83 until Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. I like a few songs on Saturdays=Youth, but really never listened to them. HUWD has been one of my most played albums of 2k11. I find it hard to describe the album except for it's very dreamy, very space-y/time travel/galaxies/cosmos and I can imagine it being the soundtrack to a movie. Anthony Gonzalez was so incredibly humble and gracious and continually thanking the audience for M83's success. It was the sweetest. The show was so fun to dance to. Midnight City? EVERYTHING I could have asked for. We were really close too. Kylie and I were this close __ to getting the set list but some betch snatched it from us. I'm still harboring hard feelings. Preston surprised me with tickets to see them this weekend in Salt Lake. I can't wait :]

1. Radiohead. I came to Coachella to see Radiohead. I was supposed to see them in Arizona in March, but transportation didn't work out, so I didn't end up going, so I was SET on seeing them last weekend. I waited through The Shins and Bon Iver (not hard) and stood on my tip toes for 60% of the set to see them. It was phenomenal. What is Thom Yorke? I still don't know. But I couldn't help but completely adore him during his set. They did 2 encores and played for about 2 hours. Let me tell you about Karma Police. If I could only have seen one song all weekend, it would have been this one. The audience sang the entire time, and even after it ended continued singing "for a minute there I lost myself." I wanted to cry and hug someone. There was this unbelievable sense of unity during that song. Like we had all been waiting for it and then it happened and we didn't want it to end. Radiohead was perfect. Thom Yorke is perfect. I will pay absurd amounts of money to see them again. You MUST before you die.

Honorable mentions/highlights:
The Weeknd. The Weeknd was awesome. He has such a great voice and it was right as the sun was starting to set, so it was starting to get to a nice temperature. Whole show had a very sexy vibe to it. I loved every minute of it.

Frank Ocean. This guy is TALENTED. He has the most gorgeous voice and was so funny and entertaining. Kylie, Todd and I were front row for this one. We stood in vomit to get that close. Yeah. #dark.

Snoop Dogg + Wiz Khalifa. So Snoop and Dr. Dre ended the weekend. Yes I saw the hologram. Snoop did "Young, Wild and Free" which I LOVE with Wiz Khalifa and it was such a fun, carefree performance. I just loved dancing and singing along. I was exhausted by the end, but we had to stay to see the hologram. Also 50 Cent did In Da Club. That was cool I guess.

Ferris wheel. So the ferris wheel that was on every Coachella ad/brochure/poster/tshirt. Preston and I went on it Sunday. My Notebook/OC fantasy of being on a ferris wheel with my sweetheart was fulfilled :]

Coachella was exhausting. It literally was so physically demanding, but you kind of forgot about how tired you were when you were in the middle of seeing someone you worship. I asked Preston who he would pick for Prestonchella and then got to answer my own question. We were allowed 7 bands, no holograms and everyone still had to be living.

Ynnachella Lineup:
1. Radiohead
2. Chris Brown
3. The Shins
4. Iron & Wine
5. Sufjan Stevens
6. N*SYNC
7. I can't choose between Lady Gaga and Celine Dion.

Monday we transitioned from 18 year old hipsters to 75 year old retirees and spent the day lounging by the pool, playing golf and tennis. It was great. Everything was so beautiful and I had the best time. I am not sure I will be able to top this weekend for a while.

questions i have for a sinner like me

Tonight has been a weird night. Earlier this evening I took my last final of the semester. This has been the most stress-free finals week of my BYU existence. I was excited to be done, but disappointed because I didn't do as well on my last exam as I hoped. Then I got excited again because no more school for a few days! Then I went to Maren and Kaile's and had dinner and chatted. That's when I realized I wasn't going to see either of them this summer. Maren is going home and then doing an internship and Kaile is serving a mission. Suddenly everything was brought to my attention. I have 3 more semesters of my undergraduate education. My best friends are packing up and leaving. I'm not going home this summer. Things are changing.

This picture is from high school. Kaile used to visit Pennsylvania all the time during our senior year. She wore this cardigan tonight. I'm going to miss her terribly, but she's going to be such an extraordinary missionary.

(Don't leave yet). 

In other news, last Thursday I saw Sleigh Bells in Salt Lake. It was a fun concert and Alexis Krauss is a great performer. Plus I was accompanied by these total hotties :]

Lately I am obsessed with Florence + the Machine. I listened to her 3 albums on repeat this Sunday while studying and have been listening to her nonstop this week. She's performing Sunday at Coachella :] :] :]

Uh school is done. Well, I'm taking 2 spring classes. Whatever. This weekend is going to be great. I'm sad, happy, anxious and excited about a lot of things, but mostly I am thankful for the wonderful people in my life that make me feel so lucky and blessed.

all these things shall give thee experience and shall be for thy good

I am little late with the conference post, but better late than never. This past weekend was General Conference. I love how April conference is always right before finals because I always feel like I get a pep talk before the hellish week commences. Actually, I don't think finals this semester will be that bad. I'm trying this new thing where I've already been studying a little bit every day so that I don't have to swear off sleep during actual finals week.

I had the chance to attend the Saturday afternoon session. It was a perfect, sunny Saturday. Also, isn't Preston just a dream? :]

I titled this post after my favorite scripture in D&C 122:7-9. President Eyring quoted it in his talk, which was also one of my favorites. I've used it in a few talks before and probably for a seminary devotional once or twice, and I get emotional every time I read it. My favorite part: "All these things shall give thee experience and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?" I just think it's so incredibly humbling. 20somethings are probably the most selfish age group, maybe tied with angsty teens. But I think 20somethings are even more so because we're a little bit old enough to be kind of independent and definitely old enough to think that we know absolutely everything. I mean, we're like in COLLEGE and stuff and getting degrees and internships.We're used to getting things instantly and it takes a lot to hold our attention. When we're faced with difficulties and trials, we are DRAMATIC. I am dramatic. Maybe you're not dramatic, but I am sOoO mUcH dRaMa. Every time I read this scripture I am reminded that all of the difficulties I am facing have been planned for me and there's a reason for all of it. I am also reminded that the Savior has suffered my pains and sorrows a billion times over. Am I really greater than the most perfect being to ever walk the planet? I think not.

Above is not from conference, but from a picnic in front of the temple two days ago.

Another favorite was from Elder Holland about patience. One of my favorite quotes from this was, "Surely the the God most enjoys about being God is being merciful- especially to those who don't think they deserve it." He used the parable of the laborers in the vineyard and reminded us that others may be blessed before us and it may be unfair. Why should we be jealous that the Lord chose to be kind? He also taught that our good deeds and righteousness don't go unnoticed. "Don't hyperventilate over something that happened at 9 AM when the Lord is trying to reward you at 6 PM."

Finally, I really loved this quote from Elder Rasband: "'Let me know if I can help!' is really not help at all." Ah! I am so guilty of this. Instead of actually offering a specific service, I am always saying, "Let me know if you need anything!" Which is good. Really, it's great to let people know that you're around to help. But how often do you take them up when the offer is so broad? I know I am very hesitant to ask for help and even more so when I am told, "Let me know if I can help!" If we take the time to really see what our peers need from us and specifically offer to help with these specific things, I think we are doing a lot more good than simply putting it out there that we're around.

I am so thankful for our prophet and his counselors. I'm thankful for their wisdom, advice and guidance. I know that when we take the time to prayerfully ponder the words of our leaders and choose to apply them in our lives, we will be so blessed. I love this gospel and I know it is true. I love my Savior and know he is truly the Son of God. I hope everyone enjoys this Easter holiday. If you missed any of the talks or would just like to listen, they are available HERE to read, watch and listen to :]