Who do I know in Michigan?

My cousins!

Friday after work, I hopped on the Amtrak and headed up to Pontiac, Michigan for the weekend to visit Megan and her adorable fam. I love family time!!

I was greeted early Saturday morning by these lovelies.

We enjoyed homemade pancakes with homemade syrup with a side of eggs for breakfast. And then, we danced the morning away with "So You Think You Can Dance" - Wii style. Pretty much my new favorite Wii game ever.

And then, Megan and I shared some of our favorite YouTube dance/music videos. There is just something about YouTube that can entertain me for hours sometimes.

And then, we took naps. And then, we enjoyed a delightful dinner at Red Robbin, followed by root beer floats and a little college b-ball. And then, we watched a movie and spent the rest of the evening listening to more music. Megs made me a new dance mix that I've been listening to on repeat all evening.

Sunday, we had a nice church meeting and then had nachos for lunch before heading to downtown Detroit. They gave me a quick tour of the city before I hopped on the Megabus headed back to Chi-town.

Megan texted me this message as the bus pulled away: "Mason keeps saying, 'don't let her leave Mom, don't let her leave,' and Hallie is crying."

Oh man. These kids made me feel like a celeb and had me laughing all weekend.

Let's see... with 50 + cousins around the US, where should I go next?!

Forever Friends.

A couple of months ago, I discovered that Southwest was having a sale on tickets from Houston to Chicago. I immediately called Angelica. She booked a ticket that night.



We've been planning for weeks all the fun things we wanted to do together in Our City. Chicago- the place where we figured out life after graduating college, finishing our missions, and starting out as young working professionals.

Angelica and I realized this weekend that we met each other seven years ago - January 2004 - in our Multi-Media Communications class at BYU-I.



We bonded that day in class and have remained the best of friends ever since.

Top 10 of 2010

I know - I realize 2011 started 12 days ago. I had this idea for a post awhile ago and I'm f-i-n-a-l-l-y getting around to it.

Top 10 Moments of 2010:

1. Steele termino la mision en enero!

2. Angela and Mike were married in the Draper Temple in January!

3. Angelica and Matt were married in the Salt Lake Temple in April!

4. Lincoln joined our family in May!

5. Family Reunion in July!

6. Lincoln's baby blessing in September!

7. Mini-vacations: May - KS, June - CO, July - CO, Nauvoo, October - Houston & KS.

8. My mom and dad came to Chicago for Thanksgiving!

9. Turned 27 in December - Wicked B-Day Bash! (+ all the other incredible musicals I saw this year!)

10. Christmas Cruise!

So much fun. So many memories. So blessed.

Cheers to 2011.

Bringin' in the New Year - Kirtland Style.

You know I love road trips, right?



Six of my friends and I left at 6:00 a.m. Friday and headed to Kirtland for the weekend and were able to stay with Allan's family. Here are some pics of the festivities:

* Rock and Roll Museum.





*Cleveland Browns' Stadium.



*New Year's Celebration with other YSAs in the area:



*Kirtland Temple.





* Church History Sites.





We also enjoyed playing games, watching movies, relaxing in the hot tub, being spoiled with delicious food for every meal... there was a mini-talent show and several dance parties, obviously. We probably stayed up way too late because we suffered from FOMO (fear of missing out). It was a party house. (Shout out to Wendy for diagnosing the issue at hand.)









We also had an early b-day celebration for Allan!



I love 2011 already.

Next road trip? Kansas. Who's with me? I'm serious.