little moments

 i was sewing at my mothers house and cade intently watched me for about ten minutes until i looked over and he was completely passed out.

 i am obsessed with all holidays. something about the fourth of july is extra special though. plus any excuse to decorate.

meg and i enjoyed some time at the farmers market. it was awesome and had so many things. i can't wait to go back. 

 i love capturing these moments. cade did not want to share.

 more fourth of july decor

 i attempted to make macarons. they actually turned out really well and i am quite proud of myself. 

and last, i bought a dslr camera. i am pretty excited and have been taking fun pictures non stop. i cant wait to learn more and take better pictures. 

lagoon x2

the nephews came to stay with my parents for a week while my sister and bil went on a cruise. i was so excited because i hardly ever see them or get to really spend one on one time with these cute boys. i planned all sorts of activities to do with these boys but with school and work, i only really managed a few things. the park and lagoon.

cade is quite funny when it comes to the park. he only went down one slide and counted down 14 times that he could go down on it. he would go down, climb back on the playground, hope across the bridge a 2 times, tell me not to come up there, tell me how high he was, and then finally slide down and repeat. he is quite the funny child.

 i think i was more excited than cade was. he was not impressed at first but then got used to it. his favorite ride was 'splash mountain' aka the log flume. it was so fun though to see his face and excitement at all the rides.

 there is something about lagoon that just makes me think of childhood. every time i pass the pavilions for picnics i think of clogging competitions and the many medals awarded at that park. it hold so many happy memories. every time i pass the ride by the ferris wheel that no one seems to ride that takes forever to load i am reminded of the one time i actually wanted to ride it and ended up missing  one of my dances. at the time i was so sad, now i think it is hilarious.


two days later my very best friend from wyoming (who currently is in a phd program in canada) came to visit so we could also go to lagoon. it has been a fun tradition for the past few years to go.

it was extremely hot, but the lines were not long at all and we barely had to wait for them. it was great.

memorial day

most people think of memorial day as another long weekend, an extra day off of work, or the first camping trip of the year. in my mother's family, it is a day to gather in what seems like the smallest town in idaho to remember my grandfather as well as many other relatives. i love that we set aside this special time to remember my grandpa and his life. i know we all have our memories of him and i am so grateful for the life lessons that he taught me.

we gather at this small park and have a potluck picnic and catch up. i had not seen most of this side of the family since i got back from my mission. it was a fun day to see how much my cousins had grown up, as well as entertain the small children.

the best part of the day was going to the small country store 'papa jay's' to get the best beef jerky ever and chocolate milk. there is something nostalgic about visiting this place. i absolutely love it. 

this week has been quite eventful. actually the past two weeks. i started school again (why did i think 17 credits would be ok for the summer?), work has been crazy busy, and of course it is summer and time for fun.

meghan and i went to the culture festival at the park. it was so fun and so many fun new cultures to experience. meghan and i opted for some red curry and pad thai and for dessert, navajo fry bread. it was so delicious. if you live in this area, this is a must see.

 so i know this is yet another picture of my dear sister and i, but we went to my mom's for mothers day. before going though we realized we didn't finish her project so we thought it would be great to pick flowers from the gateway mall. it was quite the adventure however the flowers were pretty sad. 

 new glasses. boom.

 i got a new bike. i have been wanting a road bike for a long time. meghan got one, rachelle got one, time for me to have one. i looked and looked and decided to check ebay. as soon as i saw this beautiful thing, i knew it was mine. i even put most of it together myself which i was quite proud of. 

thought i would throw some humor in here. this guy can be seen all around salt lake. he has quite amusing signs. 

that's what she said

have you ever had something in your life for so long that it just feels second nature to you? it is apart of you and you just expect it to be there? that is how the office was for me. silly i know, but the office was that one show that i could not miss. it was hard missing a season being on a mission but even more fun to catch up. the office caused so many parties in my provo days with friends. i got a lot of people hooked on that show during my western stint as well. it was just so funny. i could be found quoting it daily or talking about it because it is so quotable and likable. the series finale was thursday night and i cannot say enough good things about it. they wrapped up the show perfectly, and the moment they brought  brought back michael scott was perfect. my heart dropped a little because it was so unexpected because over the past few weeks the producers announced he would not be back....trickery. i loved it. i may or may not have cried.

Jim: Everything I have I owe to this job...this stupid, wonderful, boring, amazing job.

it seems silly to be putting so much thought into it but i had to do it because i feel like a small part of my life is gone. so here is to the office. the wonderful, funny, stressful office.

Jim Halpert:	Question. What kind of bear is best?
Dwight Schrute:	That's a ridiculous question.
Jim Halpert:	False. Black bear.
Dwight Schrute:	That's debatable. There are basically two schools of thought--
Jim Halpert:	Fact. Bears eat beets. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.
Dwight Schrute:	Bears do not... What is going on?! What are you doing?!

fun

 a lot has been going on lately. life is just a glorious thing. there is so much to be grateful for and i love the new things that are going on.

school ended a few weeks ago (but starts up again next week), and it has been such a fun rejuvenating break. i have tried to keep busy with projects around the house, as well as work. one of my big projects was to re do an old shoe hutch my mother used to keep in her house. it was ugly brown and dingy. i fixed it up and painted it blue. i also added the fun picture frames to the wall a month or so ago and finally made the pillows to match. they tied to room together so nicely and it is so fun to see it all.

i also went on a homemade pizza making kick. i have a delicious whole wheat pizza crust recipe and for a few days all i made for my roommates was pizza (they didn't seem to mind).

we also helped a girl in our ward move and in return she let us savage through her junk old stuff. we came away with quite the haul. 

ashlyn and i spent a sunday afternoon in the park. it was quite fun. we were able to experience some larping (live action role play), a drum circle, some fire jugglers. it was quite the fun adventure.

i love salt lake.

mission reunion

this past weekend was my mission reunion. 

my first mission companion becca came up to go and spend the weekend with me. 

the reunion was a lot of fun and it was so great to see so many of the people i was able to serve with. i have so much respect and love for these people. it was the first time i was able to see president and sisters tucker again, and i just love them so much. 

i made my little sister come with me.

me and becca

president and sister tucker