Summer hiking adventures!

It's been a rather short and busy summer this year, but I still managed to get out and take a few hikes along the Wasatch front. Unfortunately, my camera was broken for a few of them, but now that it's fixed I've started taking pictures again!! This is the start of our hike up to Big Spring Hollow.

April and I at...Big Springs? There were so many trails in so many directions and not all were very clearly marked. But this seemed like a nice "springy" spot :)

We even got to enjoy some wildlife along our way. Squint and you can make out the wild turkey in the bushes!

The view from the bridge crossing our Big Springs Hollow. I love water!!

My friend, April, and I also hiked to Fifth Water (I think that's what it's called) yesterday and this is us in front of the waterfall!

It was a beautiful hike with lots of wild flowers, running rivers, and green trees. There's a hot springs too at the waterfall, which was quite warm and smelled quite terrible :P But if you could get past the smell, it was all kinds of gorgeous!

April's one hot momma!!

I love the sounds of water! Sometimes I forget how beautiful Utah really can be until I go out hiking. Then I remember why it can be pretty great living here in Provo :)

Oregon Trip June 2011

So I'm finally getting around to posting about my trip to Oregon in June. Better late than never! It was a beautiful trip filled with amazing mountains, magnificent oceans, and wonderful company!

I went to Sarah and Chad Thackeray's first. I hadn't been there since Luke was a baby. He's so grown up now, and he and Audrey made me feel right at home :) It was great being around Sarah and Chad again too. Best ever!

After a couple days in Portland, I headed off on my coastal adventure. I started at the northern most part of the coast and worked my way down. I saw old shipwrecks, pounding surf, lighthouses, towering hills, and even found my way into the Tillamook factory for some yummo ice cream!
I love lighthouses, and so I managed to stop at quite a few along my way down the coast. Heceta head, Tillamook, and Cape Meares were just a few. I also stopped at the Sea Lion caves. Didn't smell the best, but it was wonderful to see them in their nature habitat!
I also got to stay with Emily, Brannick, and their daughter Ella. I hadn't seen Emily since she got married, so it was a fun renion! They have a cute house in Roseburg, where I was introduced to Blokus- one of the best games ever! We also spent a day hitting up different waterfalls near where they live. As I love all kinds of water, I appreciated this deviation from ocean to inland H2O :)
I finished off the Oregon and most northern California coast before heading back home again. It was lovely to take a break from normal life and experience some of the beauties this world has to offer. Along with a few footprints, I left my heart with the oceans of Oregon :)

Happy Graduation!

I realized after my parents left that most of the graduation shots were on their camera. Still, I wanted to wish a happy gradation to everyone that finished at BYU this week!! Congrats to all, even if I didn't get a picture with you :) Above, me and my roommates with Eva.
Phil and Alicia.
Phil and Jenny. I'm so proud of my little bro Phil and my roommate Eva especially. Good luck with your future plans in everything you do!!

D.C.- The Collaged Experience

Last week I had the chace to fly out with my Mom to D.C. to visit my aunt, uncle, and Grandma who live back there. And, of course, to sightsee!! D.C. reminds me of the freedoms I enjoy in this country, and the knowledge of ages that can be learned here. I decided the best way to show my experience would be manly in collages. Enjoy!

I know it's not a collage, but Kamehameha cannot be resigned to a collage :) This is in the new visitor's center to the Capitol building.

The Capitol building and the Library of Congress. So beautiful inside and out! The top right 2 pictures are the mural on the underside of the capitol dome. They depict the Apotheosis of Washington- anyone for "The Lost Symbol"? :)

The Museum of Natural History. Love the honu, and the Hope Diamond! That's for you Aubry :)

Air and Space museums. What can I say other than A-Ma-Zing! I really wish I was an astronaut.

Eric (my cousin) and I at the base of the shuttle Enterprise. Just so you can get an idea of the size. It's huge!!

I happened to be there at the openning of the Cherry Blossom Festival. Perfect timing! The trees were blooming along the tidal basin and it was a beautiful walk through the memorials!

Loved my time in D.C.! My aunt kept trying to convince me to move out there. I must admit, the thought has merit. I don't know how I'd fair in the humid summer though :) But I still loved my experience and I'm excited to go back again soon!!

Happy Pi Day Fhe!!

Since today was 3.14 (March 14th) and therefore Pi Day, our FHE group decided to have a night dedicated to pies. Tasty!! Above is me with our FHE leader Laura. She's so much fun :)

The Spread. We might have gone a little over board. But it sure was tasty!!

A couple fellow FHE members taking in the pie and trying to convince Nicole to do the same.

Nicole, Rob, and Laura. We might be a small group (there were a few other people besides these-we're not that tiny!), but we have some good times!

Trying to get a good picture of Michael and Nick was practically impossible. So I made a collage of different pics in which at least one of us looked decent. For reference, I'm the girl, Michael has curly hair, and Nick has less hair :)

It was a fun and delicious night and I think this might be one of my favorite holidays. Happy Pi Day!!

Girl's Night Out and Other Random Moments

My wonderful roommates know that the last couple months have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, so this last Friday they decided we needed a girl's night out! They dressed me up (thanks Candace), did my hair (thanks Eva), and then took me on the best date I've had in a while :)

Eva unfortunately had to work, but Kaylan, Candace, and I enjoyed our dinner at Magelby's with dessert being the lovely cake you see before you :) We then went hot tubbing at the gym, and watched a movie. It was nice spending time with the girls!

Other random moments included attending the Living Legends show in February with Eva, Kaylan, Candace, and Michael (who refuses to have a picture taken of himself). It's so fun knowing so many people in the show and picking them out during their dances! I'll be out of town for the March show, so this was the last time I get to see it live this year. Sad days!

The roommies and I have also enjoyed some kitchen experiments. This one was an enchilada type meal, except we used fry bread dough and made our own thick tortillas. Can we say deliciously amazing!!!

The last one is a pic of me, Holly, and Aubry at Holly's farewell party. She up and joined the air force and is at boot camp right now. I don't envy her that one, but wish her all the best!!

I will try to be better about taking pictures- I promise!!

A Labor Nurse's Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Since people don't stop having babies just cuz it's a holiday, I got to stick around Utah this Christmas. So I decided to make the most of my forced white Christmas :) I met up with my friend Lisa and her family for dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Yummo!

Even though it was rather cold and misty that night, I decided while I was in SLC to go check out the lights on Temple Square. Totally worth it! They were beautiful, and the mist made it that much more dreamy :)
I then had to work the 3 nights proceeding Christmas, including Christmas Eve. Fortunately we weren't too busy and had plenty of time to goof off during the midnight hours :) And in case you're wondering, that's a pair of XXX-large pants we managed to shove ourselves into. Good times!

After talking with the family and getting some sleep Christmas day, I made dinner and ate with a friend from work, openned some awesome presents, and then started in on the puzzles I got. Even though I was away from home, it turned out to be a pretty good Christmas!