It's freezing in my room, like all of the time. It's a little bit because I leave the window open (Allie calls me a "granola" because of it but it's okay because I've accepted it now) but it's seriously so cold in there. So I made Ashly sleep with me to keep warm. It was kind of a survival situation; just like the rest of this week has been.

I don't understand why some weeks just have to straight up suck like this one did. Seriously everything goes wrong or backwards or upsidown and you're just like, "well, at least I don't have a flat tire and a heap of laundry on my floor that I don't have time to do...oh wait". At least I am blessed with a best friend who sends me care packages that save my life and make me tear up at the mail office. I got a care package from Mama Laura too this week but didn't take a picture because it was really hard to open and so I just ripped it to shreds.

My little Fish Stick won Wyoming 3A state swimming this weekend, no big deal. Please note my dad's spirit beads <3

On Friday night, we celebrated Kappa Delta's Founder's Day at the USU Alumni House. S/O to Sara, Julia, Lenora, and Mary for creating this awesome sorority that has survived 118 years and has already taught me so much about who I am and what I want to do with my life and how I can impact the lives of other people. PS: thank you so much for the shoes Ashly, I stole them from your closet while you were gone.

After dinner all the KD's went to the football game to freeze our faces off while watching the Aggies kick the University of Wyoming's cowboy butt, it was yet another survival situation but I am so excited because winter is coming!

Another survival situation this week was the Workweek Hustle challenge between all of the FitBit users in Kappa Delta. It was tied neck and neck all week and so on Thursday I started walking EVERYWHERE because I didn't want to lose. This week had already been a mess of things going wrong and I decided that having a new member of KD beating all of the active girls in the Workweek Hustle would be a really good way to close out my survival week. I won, go Caitie and perks of living in Snow Hall which is like a million miles away from campus and classes.

And I'm sure you're all very confused about why I am blogging at 10:30pm on Halloween, but guess what, it's been a long week. All my roomies are gone and I have three psychology labs due next week and those are just about as scary as trick-or-treating or a running through haunted house scared for my life anyways.

Don't eat too much candy tonight,

diabetes is real you know.

Love, Caitie

it's only tuesday

It's going to be a really long week, I can already feel it. I got a front row ticket on the Struggle Bus. Actually, I'm probably driving it. And I had fruit snacks for breakfast so my blood sugar is going to crash real fast. After classes today, Kappa Delta held a dodgeball tournament for Shamrock Week where I got to chase around all the balls that went out of bounds for an hour and a half. But at least I got my step count.

On Monday morning, I woke up to a super awesome present. It was like Christmas came early. The back tire on Rosie (my car) was super duper duper flat. It probably happened somewhere around Rawlins or Green River when Ashly and I were driving home from Denver; but we don't really know haha. Sadly I had to miss kickboxing on Monday because there was no way I could drive there on this thing. Luckily, Abbey's friends know how to change a tire and came over today to save me.

Rosie now has a guppy fin and will temporarily be known as Nemo. And eventually she will be taking a visit to Big-O where she will be getting new tires and an oil change that was due about five thousand miles ago, yay.

We also discovered that our delicious doughnuts had taken a tumble and were now frozen (because it's been so cold this week and I had left them in my car (stoopid)). But whatever, we still ate them and they were almost as delicious post-microwave as they were right out of the frier in Denver (not).

Anyways, hope the rest of you have a good week. I just make it to Hump Day. Oh, and Ashly got hit by a car today. She's fine but the InstaCare was closed- don't worry, CNA Caitie is so on it. It's just going to be a long haul this week.

Pray for Snow #208.

Love, Caitie

a case of the mondays

TBH today was rough. Like a super duper rough Monday, but on steroids. You know the ones where your favorite necklace snaps in half and you feel like you want to throw up all day but still have to go to your 7:30am class because your professor takes attendance? Yeah, that was today. But at least all of my roomies were having a sucky Monday too. Sometimes your sucky day is less sucky when everyone around you is also having a sucky one, ya feel? 

 But blessed with roomies like Ashly 

who bring you pasta in bed after your nap
through math lecture (oops).

In Snow #208, we like to close out our Monday nights with movies 

and a pajama party so feel free to come join us 

if you want, but please bring butter popcorn.

It's November next week so can we just freak out for a second 

because time is seriously going by so fast. 

Also, if you ever need a BBQ chicken pizza in bed 

at midnight, call me because I'm always down. 

Be a nice human.

Love, Caitie

PS: Utah State plays the University of Wyoming on Friday 

and I'm don't know it I'm supposed to cheer for my home land or what. 

PPS: Did you hear that Jackson beat Star Valley? 

Yeah well they did because they're amazing 

and I will ALWAYS love the Broncs.

the thousand mile impulse road trip

Late Thursday night, Ashly and I were trying to decide what we were going to do this weekend because we had given Allie our tickets to the Howl after they had all sold out. And totally kidding I was like, "let's just drive to Denver and hang out with Bruce". 

But then I wasn't kidding. I was dead serious. Like let's go drive eight hours to Denver and then come back Sunday for class on Monday. Logic. Now here's the thing, I was just coming off of a really long week of tests and projects and due dates and a really bad sleep schedule, so I wasn't really thinking. So we FaceTimed Bruce and told him we were coming then hung up. 

That was that, there ya go.

By the end of freshman year, I will have dragged
Ashly across the country on road trips.
Sorry not sorry.

At 2pm on Friday and we set off for Denver. In a straight line. 

After all of our other adventures, Ashly and I have a pretty solid Spotify playlist for our road trips that we danced to the whole time. And in between songs ate sour gummy worms and drank Yumberry Pomegranate SoBes, the road trip drink of champions.

TBH there's only like eight
turns between Logan and Denver
because Wyoming.

This is the part of this blog post where my mom would drop kick me because I literally took three pictures while we were in Denver. SORRY I WILL WORK ON IT MAMA LAURA. Once we finally got to DU, we needed to get a key in order to get into the building. So Ashly and I decided to go undercover as DU students to get in (maybe illegal but whatever). I was an anthropology student and Ashly was studying human movement science with an emphasis in physical therapy. So we put on our backpacks and stood outside of the building until some one finally let us in (bless). Then we finally figured out how to get to the third floor and as we got up there, Bruce walked around the corner. I pretty much dropped everything and ran. 

On Saturday we ate waffles in the cafeteria (blessed with free guest passes) and then drove to Boulder to go to the Pearl Street Mall. It was so cool there were street performers everywhere and this guys folded up his body into a box and then wiggled through a pipe, it was insane. And I have no shame in telling you that we spend over an hour in the toy store because it was so, so, so cool. Then we drove back to Denver to watch the DU club lax team play because Bruce's friend David plays on the team ("and he is my future bae"-Ashly). Then we got to go eat more delicious food in the cafeteria and went up to put on our puffies before going back down to the lax field again to watch the game. There was also a rugby game going on at the same time and rugby is so confusing they like throw their teammates around and yell and it's just weird so Ashly and I just kept watching lax. After the lax game, we went to Noodles & Company and then secret adventured to the top of the Ritchie Center where we could see the whole city and it was so pretty (but I still love the mountains much, much more than the city mayhem). And eventually it was freezing so we went back and watched Stanford whoop University of Washington.

"My Tinder game is weak in Colorado"
*drives into Denver*
"I AM A CITY GIRL"

On Sunday we went to another lax game in the morning and then tried to walk to the bookstore but realized it was Sunday so it wouldn't be open. Sad day because no t-shirts and stickers. Then we decided that getting doughnuts was a really good way to finish out our trip so we went to Fractured Prune- so amazinggg.

Public Service Announcement: Fractured Prune makes the most delicious hot doughnuts ever and I would highly advise that you get there as soon as you can and invest in a dozen.

But then don't drive home in the dark while you have them in your back seat because you might have to stop very suddenly and they could go tumbling down. It's sad.

ROAD TRIP HYDRATION PEOPLE

The trip to Denver taught me a couple of things...

1. When Siri tells you to continue on I-80 for five and a half hours, 

it seriously feels like a million years and then some so make sure you have snacks

2. I have listened to the entire Spotify library in the past 72 hours

3. I should take more photos- like I promise that we actually saw 

Bruce when we were in Denver haha

4. The roadkill is always fresh in Rock Springs

5. You can only eat sour gummy worms for so long before you absolutely 

must pull over at McD's in Laramie to brush your teeth (at 10pm)

6. It is possible for Macklemore to make you cry

7. Rugby is hecka confusing and looks like something the vikings would play

8. Going for walks and eating free food is underestimated

9. I am so grateful for the Snow Hall bathroom
10. I love Denver except for the driving part

Take impulse road trips because 

they are SO worth it.

Love, Caitie

big, little, and twin we will be

Last week was crazy busy. It was one of those weeks we're you just try to make it through the next day without totally going insane. Shoutout to mid-terms for that.

This past week was Big/Little Week at Kappa Delta which is something that I have been really excited about. I have always wanted to have an older sibling and so when I found out that I got the best big sister ever, Candace, I was SO excited. All week we had been going to the KD house to get a present from our Big and a card full of clues as to who they were. Honestly, I had no idea who my Big was but I loved her right away because on the first day she made my letters look like the American flag, and that's some real love people. On Tuesday, she put silver glitter and a red, white, and blue ribbon on my candle jar and gave me box brownies (which are pretty much the greatest invention and most delicious thing ever). My pin box was red, white, and blue too and so the love is very real in Kappa Delta at Utah State University. 

Caitie+Caroline+Candace

When I walked into the Kappa Delta house on Thursday night for Big/Little Reveal, I saw Caroline standing by my shirt wearing the exact same shirt as me. TWINS!! Don't worry, there was screaming.  Then when we went downstairs to find Candace wearing the same shirt as us, there was even more screaming. I am so excited to be stuck with these two!

After the reveal, we went to dinner with our families, the House of Chaos. And I'm still kind of confused about how I am connected to all of them, but I'll figure it out eventually and let you know the family tree asap. After dinner, Candace wanted to take cute Big/Little pictures which mostly ended up with me dancing around in the parking lot and just a major struggle bus. But it's all good.

candid Littles struggle

I love my Big with
all my Little heart.

Here's to you. Here's to me. 

Big, little, and twin we will always be.

Because of the sisterhood of KD.

Love, Caitie

(and Caroline)(and Candace)

from utah to wyoming to montana to wyoming to utah

If Utah State University decided that from now on, every school week would only be Monday through Thursday, I would not oppose at all. It's so awesome. And you get three day weekends out of it and there's nothing wrong with that. Let's be real, no one is really focused on Fridays anyways. Monday night after the All Greek meeting, Edwin came over and we FaceTimed Big Nasty (Joey Caffaro) who is down in California at the University of Redlands playing football. It's so crazy that just a year ago we were all sitting in high school classes together and passing each other in the halls and now we are all spread out around the country. Go Broncs.

This week went by really fast (shoutout to the four day school week again for that) and this weekend is "Fall Break" at Utah State- aka we didn't have class on Friday. But next week we start midterms so that should be super fun and stuff. I'll be living in the library if you need me. On Thursday night, Riley Jane and I went up Logan Canyon to go take photos of the stars. So grateful to have Wally living only two floors above me instead of five hours away.

Friday morning my Grandpa Ted picked me up in Logan and drove me down to Kemmerer, WY to go cheer for Fish Stick and the JHHS Lady Bronc Swim & Dive Team at their regional competition. The Kemmerer swimming pool was like being in Hawaii, it was so hot and humid in there! I probably got a little sunburned tbh. And the lighting was really awful so I promise that my siblings and I are not actually orange Oompa Loompas.

They pretend like they don't miss me while I
am at Utah State; but they do.

Fish Stick is my best friend.

I am proud of you!
Say I am proud of you (clap, clap, clap)!

Hannah Jane placed 9th overall in the 100 breast and 6th in the IM.

The JHHS Swim & Dive Team did pretty good overall too, I guess. They only broke a couple of pool/state records and won by like two hundred points. Eh.

This is Coach Jenkins.
Even though he was never my swim coach like he is for Fish,
he was like my life coach. And he's the best ever.
Except for when he hides life-sized giraffes in the PE storage closet.

After the swim meet was over, we loaded up into the suburban and after a quick stop at Subway, headed six hours to Belfry, Montana. My cousin Michael is leaving on his mission to Brazil in a couple of weeks and so Sunday is his farewell and we had to go say bye!

But first we made a stop in the middle of nowhere Wyoming to take a family selfie for Ben Fairbanks who is on a mission in the Netherlands. Obviously they are all really good photos so shoutout to my Walmart selfie stick for being our personal photographer.

a personal favorite-like actually what is going on here

HI MAMA LAURA

HI MAMA LAURA

HI MAMA LAURA

driving. driving. driving. driving.

Wyoming. Wyoming. Wyoming. Wyoming.

We finally got to Belfry in time to watch the University of Utah v. Arizona State game. Although I am an Aggie, the Jacobsen clan does have some deep Ute pride that I guess runs in me too. PS: the Utes did win last night and so did the Aggies against Boise State on Friday night so I'm really good at cheering for winners.

On Sunday morning we went to the Belfry branch for Michael's farewell talk. All of the cousins sang "Army of Helaman" during sacrament and I love that song because of the way that it talks about missionaries bringing the world it's truth and that is exactly what Michael is going down to Brazil to do. I saw a quote one time that said, "missionaries leave their families for two years so they can help other families be together forever," and I love that because it's so true and the effects of just one missionary's work has such an eternal impact. 

The church is true people!

look at my cute people

Right after Michael was done speaking, and after our selfie (we take a lot of selfies in the Dunlop family), we had to bolt it down to Cody, WY so dad and I could catch our flight to Salt Lake City. I don't know if you've ever flown from the Cody airport before, but it's definitely a good adventure and I would highly recommend it.

WyHOMEing

After we landed in Salt Lake we went to pick up the rental car and then went to lunch at The Dodo. I've never been there before but my mom and dad used to go there all the time in high school so I guess I was bound to like eating there haha. It was way good. Then we went to visit Seth & Shannon and stopped by Dan's so my dad could buy me groceries (because mom said so). Picked up some cinnamon raisin bagels and cold medicine so I'm pretty much set for life now. On the way to Logan we had been looking and looking for a DQ and once we had hit Brigham City and given up all hope on finding a Blizzard, we found a little tiny DQ right next to a gas station so we were able to get Blizzards and life was so good. Set to go back to Utah State now.

if you want to be my friend,
buy me a Blizzard.

It was kind of an insane and long weekend but I 

got to hang out with my family so it was so worth it.

Be nice to people and always give out free hugs.

Love, Caitie