From 2012 to 2013!

Another year has come and gone. How is that possible? Lately I've been thinking a lot about what I accomplished this past year and what I maybe could have done better on. So much has changed in my life within the past 12 months. I've created relationships with new people and let go of some of the old ones. 2012 taught me a lot about what's important in life, to let God be your best friend, and to always have a smile on your face no matter what. This year will be another year full of that I'm sure!
It freaks me out to think about what 2013 has in store for me. Moving out and growing up is beyond scary. I am just barely figuring out how to do laundry without shrinking everything that I own or putting the wrong colors together! SCARY! I have so much to look forward to and so many lessons to learn. Let's make this next year a good one! May the odds be ever in your favor. :)

Christmas in the Sand!

This Christmas the fam went to Hawaii. You read that correctly. HAWAII! It was a week of relaxing, laughs, water, adventure, family, and the perfect amount of sun! We spent most of the time swimming in the ocean. The second day was spend kayaking through some river and hiking to a secret waterfall! It was beautiful.....and a really good arm workout! Our tour guide, TC, was awesome with his dog, small fry. On Sunday we did something amazing as well! WE ZIP LINED OVER/THROUGH THE FORESTS! Pure awesomeness! It was 6 hours of flying over the trees, then we headed to some hidden pond that was once meant for royalty! How cool is that? I thought it was pretty cool. :)

I love getting to spend time with my family. Being stuck on an island together was the perfect was to get everyone together!

All the other pictures were taken on Trent or Marks camera...but this is what we got on Sarah's phone! (Sorry they are fuzzy)

Some airport fun!

It's fuzzy but it's still my favorite.

Dinner after a long day of kayaking!

Snow cones with ice cream in the middle!

 

We started out the trip with the idea to do one yoga pose on the beach per day....We ran out poses really fast. The rest on pintrest were too advanced.

Cute mermaid Sarah.

 

VIETNAM!

Dear Friends,

I am writing to tell you about an amazing opportunity I have for the next year. I have recently become a part of a local program called Youthlinc, which gives me a chance to serve people here in Salt Lake throughout the year and people in Vietnam for two weeks this coming summer. After completing eighty hours of local service, I will earn a partial sponsorship to help cover my expenses. However, I still need to raise $2,370 to cover the remaining costs of the rest of my service trip. I’ve committed to go, and have been saving my own money for the last several years, but I would really appreciate your support. If everyone receiving this letter helps donate just a small amount of money to my trip, I will reach my goal! If I exceed my goal the extra money will go towards more of Youthlinc’s humanitarian work.

Local volunteer work has always been a priority of mine, and going on a humanitarian trip abroad has always been my dream. I feel that Youthlinc is a great organization which will help me fulfill my goals and dreams. The program’s mission is to create lifelong humanitarians through providing leadership and volunteering opportunities. On my Youthlinc Vietnam Team, I will have the chance to help a village in Song Cau, Vietnam, Which is still recovering from the effects of the war decades ago. I will get to help plan and carry out projects to construct homes, repair the school, teach vocational skills, help start small businesses, provide medical assistance and education, teach about sanitation and health, and provide school lessons for the local children. One of my favorite parts about this program is that I will be part of a team that meets frequently to actually plan the projects we will do while in Vietnam. I feel like these leadership opportunities help me become more capable of making a positive difference. To learn more about what our team plans to do in Vietnam, go to www.youthlinc.org.

Youthlinc also emphasizes the importance of serving locally, and requires that I complete eighty hours of local service before I am able to go abroad to Vietnam. I plan on volunteering at the Good Shepard Hospice center and the road home, and with a special needs church group. I also will be spending a week of my summer volunteering at a Summer Camp for children that have been affected by cancer.

Please support me with what you are able. I promise your investment will go a long way in Vietnam, here in Salt Lake, and in my goal of becoming a lifelong humanitarian.

Thank you for your support!

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me:

Carly Barton

carlb.95@hotmail.com

 

To donate:

1) Go to www.youthlinc.org
2) Click on the DONATE page
3) Then select MAKE A DONATION TO A PARTICIPANT
4) Enter my name and the registration number #753

5) Once the payment is processed, a confirmation e-mail will be sent to you which can be used for tax deduction purposes.

 

That was my formal letter to anyone who wants to donate...now here is me just rambling.

I honestly cannot wait to go spend two weeks helping the people of Vietnam! I'M GOING TO VIETNAM...AHHHHHHHH!!!!! This is one of the coolest opportunities I could have ever imagined! Plus I get to go with pretty much the greatest friend, Alyssa! We are both so fortunate to be able to go! It not only means having a two week long humanitarian trip with my best friend, it has given us other ways to be able to make time for each other! Since we have to do 80 hours of service we are going to help motivate and support each other in that, plus we have about a billion meeting with youthlinc! I cannot wait to spend so much time with that awesome chick.

Making time for this new project is a little overwhelming but it's a sacrifice I am more than willing to make! We leave on July 12 (201 days. But who's counting?). Guys, I just cannot stop thinking about this amazing adventure! Donations would be greatly appreciated! Let the adventures begin!

WA

The third high school dance of the year has come and gone. It was another girl's choice dance. I decided to ask good old Austin! He's a really cool guy that I didn't know super well until that night. The whole planning process was a little stressful but we figured it all out! For dinner we just did some night Cafe Rio catering! YUMMY! After filling up on enchaladas and taking a massive amount of pictures we danced the night away! WA was by far the best dancing dance....if that makes sense. It was great other than the fact that my feet were covered in blisters! My parents and coaches were not impressed.

After the dance we went to Kimi's house and ate soooooo much pizza! Finally it was 12 which means it was off to classic skating! This part was everyone's favorite! We rented out the classic skating place so we got the bounce house, arcade, and skating track all to ourselves!!!!!!! It was awesome! Thanks to all who made it happen! 

This is right after dinner! Yes, our group is huge!

My awesome date!

The skating gang!

Admit it. The guy in the red looks like Mario!

DISNEYLAND! -a much needed girls trip

We finally got out of here! I love Utah and all but it was time to head a out for a little bit! While the boys left for good old Uruguay some of us girls left for California! Every second was so much fun. Never before have I crashed on my pillow every night without fail! Somehow everyday was just exhausting all four of us just crashed as soon as we got back to the hotel...we clearly know how to party.

This trip was much needed! Going to California allowed me to slow my life down a little and just relax! There has just been too much going on here for me to handle! It felt like I was being stretched just far enough to snap me in half. With work, an extreme overload of friends going through hard struggles, school, planning the next dance, and just living life I was pooped. Sometimes it's best to just leave everything behind and breathe for a little. That's what this trip did for me! I'm so blessed to have been able to go! Thanks mom and dad! Thanks Heather, Sarah, and Mary for making this a fantastic trip! I cannot think of one moment where I wasn't smiling.

We must have gone on Tower of Terror at least 6 times!

I am inspired to see this movie! I'm getting it as soon as it comes out on DVD

A little goat petting

One buff dude.

 

This trip made me realize a lot about myself and my family.

1. I am very blessed to have a good relationship with all my sisters

2. My parents are beyond giving.

3. I'm a sucker for I miss you texts!

4. Disneyland is awesome (I already knew this one)

5. Everyone needs a vacation once in a while.

 

Clairebcha

I did it again. I successfully converted another friend to the Brazilian Butt Lift world. This DVD has changed lives! Claire is addicted. She was making fun of me for loving the workout video so I simply challenged her to the workout. After much sweat, screaming, and laughter I got her sore! :) After one blow there is no going back Claire is addicted! We love it! Just can't get enough.

It's kinda blurry but you get the point! We are sweaty and loving it!

 

Now let me rant about this girl! She is seriously one of my absolute favorite girls! I cannot go a day without sending her 10 snap chats! If I was stuck on an island everything would be great if this girl was there with me! Not only does she constantly make me laugh she also is the perfect little listener! I'm so lucky so be so close to this cute girl! Thanks for always being there clairebcha! I love you to pieces girl!

 

Snow woman!

I am a huge believer when it comes to snow! Everything is magical when it's snowing! The first magic was the fact that my room got cleaned, the second was the fact that it allowed Mary and I to build the cutest snow-woman ever built, and third I went to a movie with some friend with the intention to leave early for work- Nope, the movie ended just on time! IT'S MAGIC I'M TELLING YOU! After I was done with my room cleaning session (Like 2 hours) Mary forced me into snow clothes. At first I was skeptical but it was so fun! LOOK HOW CUTE!