oregon: alligators and sea otters

I don't have all the pictures, and since my sister is taking FOREVER to blog her pictures, resulting in a lack of photos on my end, here are the few I have.

This is my wind-blown hair, and some sea otters in the water in the right of the picture. 

My sister Kate and her hubby Dave and the sea otters (not a great view of the otters)

Colty and that white dot is a fishing boat.

Love my nephews!

We were told there would be tide pools here, but there weren't. But there were these, as my nephew called them "alligators" ie huge mossy sandbars.

Kate and Braden took a fall and Kate had a lovely bit of green moss stuck to her chin. So funny!

Oh beautiful Oregon. And brave surfers to face the fridgid ocean!

Oregon Coast: Condo

 This vacation could not have come at a better time, I was in need of some relaxation, and what better place than Lincoln City, Oregon. My first time in Oregon, and SO BEAUTIFUL!

This is the condo we, my sister's family and I, stayed in. 

This is the living room where my nephews and I slept. 

The ocean is right outside that window!!!

This is the view, from the window in the picture above, into the kitchen. 

Plus my sister Kate.

 This is the really cute bathroom, you can't tell but the paint is an orange color.

 Kate now wants to decorate her bathroom like this.

This is the bedroom where my sister and her hubby stayed. 

In the photo is Mindy, a friend of Kate's whose family also came on vacation this week.

And her whale bathroom.

AND THIS IS THE VIEW FROM OUR WINDOW! 

INCREDIBLE!

I may or may not have freaked out when I saw that we were staying RIGHT on the beach!

calling all single gentlemen:

(I think I should get ahead of the game and start posting this now, since I'm so excited!)

It has been decided that Cassidy and I need to make this October go down in the record books. I happen to LOVE Halloween, and since that is the next big holiday I have started planning already. This is where I need your help:

I need some guys to take us to:  

1) Cornbelly's corn maze in PG

2) the Haunted Forest in AF

3) a Haunted house (of your choice) in Salt Lake

So far the past two years have been duds and none of this has happened. So I am petitioning now, and will be  until that wickedly great month arrives. 

Just be excited, these are some other things I have planned for October:

- My black butcher paper chalk board wall

- Halloween door decorations

-All my fabulous seasonal decorations all over my apartment

(notice the huge bat hanging on my kitchen wall!)

-Plenty of costume ideas 

(might I just add that none of these following photos are from halloween)

April Fools Day 2010

Relief Society retreat Summer 2011

Fall of 2008

Fall of 2009

-Halloween Shirts to be worn all month

(ignore my cheesy grin, and my personal Aladdin and Genie, but love the halloween shirt!)

- Annual How to Host a Murder Party

-Halloween themed dinner

-and introducing Scary movie Friday night 

  including such movies as: Psycho, Hocus Pocus, Watcher in the Woods, Skeleton Key, Wait until Dark, and many others...

It will be a spooktakular good time!

C is for cookie

I think I might be getting the crazy eyes, and sprouting blue fur all over, because today I ate an EXTREME amount of cookies. There just so happened to be some of my favorite kind of chocolate chip cookies at home when I stopped by this afternoon, and I indulged and ate more than a couple... and THEN a kind gentleman bought a whole box of delicious Paradise bakery cookies and left them at my work. When we called him to tell him we had his cookies, he told us just to enjoy them. Thus I came home with about half a dozen more cookies, and had to try a bite of each one of those.

Just start calling me a monster.... cookie monster.

301 and 1

Last week I was number 1 at the temple. (this is true that it was just the new sheet of paper, but not the start of the day: but still it was a first!)

I also was number 301 to "like" the fact that Nie Nie is indeed PREGNANT! What a fantastic miracle. To follow her story and blog click here!

[ah-ee-duh]

I was planning on going Wednesday night, but couldn't get tickets for that night. Instead I went on the closing performance on the 13th, Saturday night. I was there because I love the show, and to support Tanika Little, a friend from HS, who played Amneris. 

This is my beautiful friend Venessa, she is such a sport for coming with me.

 We were in the 6th row! Amazing seats!  

 We were so worried that a storm was going to shut the show down, but it didn't!

Loved being able to go to an outside show.

I was so ecstatic to be there, since it is one of my favorite shows, and I wasn't let down. The vocals were amazing!

(special thanks to L'oreal, for the tickets!)

Cabin 2011

Every year we go to my dad's side of the family's cabin.
It's right on the lake so we spend the whole time boating, and reading, and relaxing. We also went to West Yellowstone this year to see Old Faithful, and to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.

I am not very good at keeping my camera with me, or actually using it when I do have it, so I have a select amount of pictures- and one day if I have access to more I'll share.

Grandpa thought it would be funny to tuck in all the boys pants before church. 

They look like old men! 

Braden and his "fishing" hat, and grandpa pants.

He wasn't so sure about taking a picture with me.

Isn't this the cutest?!

Tanner and me doing our funny faces!

We are goons.

Sanity? Where have you gone?

I declare today as a not very good, kinda awful, bad day.

It has just been long in all of the definitions.
After 50 minutes stuck in traffic for my usual 15 minute drive I decided that I had to turn off my caring switch, or else I might have just broken down right there on the freeway. And then that would have made everyone else more upset because of a further delay, and it could have caused other people to just give up too causing a huge catastrophic chain reaction.
So I held it together, but just haven't given a care about the whole rest of my long night.

Let's just say this vacation to the Oregon coast tomorrow, is well needed.

Never thought I'd say this...

I have now been working at Downeast longer than anyone else at the store.
My manager quit, and left me as the senior of our location.
It is true that I have taken breaks to go to 3 semesters of school in Idaho, and then 4 months in China, but now I am the only original one left.

So we had a surprise birthday/farewell party for Abby our amazing manager!

The married girls 

Natalie and Jessica with their hubbies

Cassidy and her roommate

 Jessica and her boy Seth

Abrie and her boy Benji

Paige and her boy Chad

 Jessica and her cute family: Matt and Elias

Mallory and her boy Chris

(we all chipped in and bought Abby Toms because she had always wanted some.)

I forgot to get a picture of the lady of the night and her hubby, so here they are talking to someone at the end of the table. 

Dear Abby, thank you for all the good times, and laughter! And thanks for all you taught me and for EVERYTHING you did for me! You are the world's BEST manager and can never be replaced!

FYI

I moved out for July. Stuff came up so I moved home.

But now I'm back! Hello Provo! I'm back just one floor up, with new roomies and new adventures awaiting! here's to the new semester!


And to this girl: I convinced her to move in with me! Can't wait!!!

The Boy Who Lived

July 14, 2011

We waited in line for four hours, after a mix up with which line we were supposed to be in, we would have been like 2nd in line if not,  though we still ended up with great seats. (My speed walking skills came in handy, and my speedy sneaky moves to get us AMAZING seats!)

Half of the fun is waiting in line! There were some amazing costumes of every imaginable character, and the mood was electric!

Hufflepuff vs Gryffindor

It was decided, at my apartment, that if I were sorted it would be into Hufflepuff. So I had to support my team!

Watching HP 7.1 in preparation.

Shhh... don't tell. I'm a death eater. (PROTECT THE CHEX MIX!)

Hufflepuff and my dear Luna! (but I call her Lisa)

Dark Mark! 

Movie Review:
Loved every minute of it! I actually saw it twice in the first 24 hours. (Promise it was for social reasons, I'm not a die-hard.) But I did love it! It is kinda dark, and I did close my eyes at parts, but what a great ending. I know, I know, it was really disappointing for those of you who had just read the book- but this was a great wrap up of all the movies. Just keep the book and movie separate and it was great!