Summer 2010

I’ve been terrible at blogging, and I’m not sure why. I read other people’s blogs and I like the updates, so I’m going to work on mine a bit. Here is the rundown of my summer.

The Summer started off with a visit from Maggles. At first I told them I would pass on the impromptu trip to Wendover since my allergies were not playing nice, but with a little persuasion and knowing how much Maggie loves Wendover, I was in the car in no time. Of course spending all night in Wendover and watching Maggie win big on the roundup cowboy game we had to have one last meal in breakfast. Maggie may be moving to Hawaii, Melissa and I are all on board for visiting Maggie. This is Melissa, Maggie, and me at breakfast.

Next up has been some very limited time with Cory, but at least we got in our first night showing of Eclipse. Cory is awesome and I have more to say about her in a future post, but lets just say she keeps me laughing for hours. I'm still repeating the jokes I got from Cory that night. And if you're wondering what my favorite kind of pie is, it's cheesecake. Candice joined us on Eclipse night, but unfortunately none of the pictures that had all three of us turned out.

Family trip to Boise. If any of you heard about the crazy flooding at the Payette River this summer, let me just tell you now they weren't exaggerating. The water was crazy high, we had to wait to get permission to get on the river, and after our run they closed down the river and wouldn't let anyone else on. It was awesome. Mom, Marzena, and the girls stayed back for a day of kiddie fun, while Dad, Adam and I braved the rapids. Oh and lets not forget the cute riverguides.



I’ve hung out with Jess a few times, we’ve had some girls’ nights which have been awesome. Jess is very outgoing and gets me out of my comfort zone. Think costume parties, new foods, and dancing with new people. Good times.

Kayleen came to visit with her new baby. We had a mom and daughter lunch day. It was good to see Kayleen and catch up. I miss Kayleen and hope that she will come to visit more often.

Hammy moved away to Texas a while ago but came to visit. We only had one night of dinner theater and hanging out but at least we got to see her and hang out with Laci. Here's Jenn, me, and Laci at the dinner theater.

  

Let's not forget about the BBB! Adam throws a crazy party every year with over a hundred people and entertainment galore. We're talking snowcones, cotton candy, America's Got Talent contestant Lindsey Stirling, bounce houses, food, candy cannons, and more. I'm posting the one calm looking picture of me and Ellie, you can see the sunburn is already forming.

The past few months have been great. I’ve gone to concerts with Candice and built some new traditions with her. Candice and I go out for Italian, chat about life, play gut busting games of “your team” and end up singing and dancing at concerts. In the past few months we have seen Paramore, Relient K, Fun, Offspring, 311, and Jack Johnson. We don’t have tickets for any upcoming concerts, it looks like it’s time to check out pollstar.com, maybe some Reel Big Fish and Aquabats?

I’ve built up some other friendships, we’ll have to talk about those later, and caught up with some old friends. All in all, things are going pretty good. Here's a final picture of me at the end of summer. Now let's see what fall has to bring!



Shooting

My family has been into shooting as long as I can remember. Although my family hunts I have never been hunting because I prefer shooting around and shooting objects/targets. I know a lot of people are afraid of guns and are afraid of their children around guns, but it was never a concern at our house because we knew the seriousness of guns.

So for my 21st birthday my parents paid for my concealed weapons permit. Although neither of them see a need to carry a gun on a regular basis they were and continue to be completely supportive of my choice to carry or not carry. Within a month of taking the concealed weapon class I also bought my first handgun, a 9mm that I could conceal...yeah pretty sweet.

Now one of my favorite things is taking new people out to shoot with that maybe haven't had that experience or at least haven't spent a lot of time shooting. I'm glad this is something that I was exposed to as a child and that I can appreciate and have an understanding of now. This last picture is of Jess and I shooting 9mm guns at the Centerville range. This was Jess' first time shooting and she is holding the first handgun I bought, the gun I am holding is a gun I bought for my dad a few years ago.

Gardening

Okay for those of you that know my parents know how beautiful their yard is and how much time they spend taking care of it. This wasn't something I enjoyed when living at home, it was something I appreciated, and it wasn't something I wanted to help with. Well now, I've grown up. This my third year planting a garden and I love it. I don't love watering it every day and weeding, but I love that this is something I take pride in. Last summer homemade bruschetta with tomatoes, garlic, and basil from my garden became a staple, and this year it's one of the things I am looking forward to the most this summer.

There's not much to show in the pictures yet since it's all small plants and seeds so far, but I'll update this post later. So far I have planted tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, peppers, strawberries, mint, garlic, basil, rosemary, dill, cilantro, lavendar, parsley, chives, and flowers. You're all invited to come join me for some yummy bruschetta this summer. Hope to see you soon.

Mommy

Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing mothers out there, the job you do is of the utmost importance and words can't even describe the wonderful influence you have on the world. I'm impressed on a daily basis by many mothers and I know they are teaching their children things that the rest of the world couldn't even attempt to teach.

My mom doesn't read blogs or social networking sites, but I want to give her a shout out anyway. I love you mom, you're the best mom in the world and I couldn't ask for anything more. I hope to be half as good as a mom someday. You are amazing and love unconditionally, Adam and I are the luckiest kids in the world because we had you and dad. You give and give and give and ask so little in return, thank you.

Blogging

Okay I've thought a lot about starting a blog, but also thought "what would I say" "who is going to read my blog" "don't people already know everything about me anyway"? But now I've come to the conclusion that I am doing this for myself. I'm not sure what direction this blog will go, but I'm ready for the journey. This is my little spot in the world and I invite you to join me. Everyone deserves their place in this world and I hope to be a part of yours.

I'm working on building the best me possible. I'm learning to love myself; and learning to care for myself emotionally, physically, socially, mentally, and spiritually. I feel I'm really good at focusing on the rest of the world, but my goal is to be as good at focusing on myself. I'm hoping this process helps me become a little healthier, stronger, smarter, and happier.

Thanks for joining me on my journey. This is my happily ever after.....