August 26th

August 26th, 2014
Waiting.
It's already a rough semester and it's only day two. I found out yesterday that somehow my payment for fall semester must not have gone through and somehow I am not technically registered for anything this term. Like at all. Today I had to wait from 11:15 to about 1:40 to meet with my advisor in the hopes of getting things back on track, only to find out she has no idea what to do/how it happened. I can't even reregister for my old classes. So I've just been going to them anyway and trying to explain to my professors the best I can about my situation. I received a number to call in between classes today and after being on hold for roughly half an hour had to bag it or risk being late to my last class, which gets out at 8. Tomorrow morning I intend to get to school as soon as it opens and figure out the the heck is going on. I took this photo with my phone while waiting to see my advisor and when it came time to take a picture for "picture of the day" this seemed like the only true fit. [Despite having it be a repeat post - I try to avoid those] So I'll just sit here in limbo, going to class without really being "there." Yay for senior year.

 If anyone feels like sending me some prayers and happy thoughts I'd be very appreciative of it. I'd really love to graduate next semester and move on to the next chapter in our lives.

August 25th

August 25th, 2014
Last "First Day of School" picture! Senior year baby! I can't wait to graduate and be done! woooo! It's so close!

August 24th

August 24th, 2014
Sunday dinner up at Mom's and we celebrated Rich's birthday! Happy Birthday Rich!
[Lindsay picked out his shirt all by herself]

August 23rd

August 23rd, 2014
I love this family! Kimberly was blessed today and I got to take family pictures of these cuties! [Kimber cooperated WAY better than last time!] It was so fun to hang out with these guys [plus we got some fantastic shots!] Once Danny got off work we went up to Salt Lake to party some more [the blessing was at 5] and Manny and Josh even went out to eat dessert/dinner with us since there were so many, more than willing babysitters. It was a nice little visit. I can't believe Kimber is already 7 weeks old! She's just a doll and I love her! Good job Josh and Manny, you guys make cute babies!

[I'll be posting more previews of these guys on my facebook page and when the shoot is complete there will be a blog post of my favorites on my website]

August 22nd

August 22nd, 2014
Yay for art and experiments! Today I tackled a few projects all at once! I completed a 5x5 canvas with my photo moto painted on it to look like a polaroid ["Shoot for you, Shoot for Love"] as well as gesso'd up a few canvas' for Danny [He wants to learn how to paint], put the finishing touches on my upcylced Martinelli's bottle and tore apart a "Live, Laugh, Love" framed art thing from the DI, watercolor and inked a background and then using acrylic pallet knife painted directly onto the glass. When the paint dries and I reassemble it the paint side will be on top of the watercolor background. the viewer will then see the underneath of the acrylic and it will be all smooth and glossy due to the glass. It was a super fun project and interesting because I didn't know what the end product looked like until it was dry!

August 21st

August 21st, 2014
With school starting back up on Monday, I'm using my last few days of freedom to make all the stuff I've been meaning to for awhile. Today I made star fish hair clips [real starfish from Lincoln City] and up-cycled a glass bottle into a vase as well as hammered flat and bent an old spoon into a bracelet! I'd say today was a success!  

August 20th

August 20th, 2014
Danny and I got unpacked and settled in back at home. Then we met Bruce for some Ninja Turtles! haha. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting, so that was fun :) Then we had to rush over to Provo to meet up with Ed and Steph for the Cougar Kick Off! It was pretty stormy and overcast but luckily didn't start storming until we left! Danny and I then went out to Apple Bees for a little date night. Work starts for Danny tomorrow - back to the real world.

August 19th

August 19th, 2014
Utah or Bust! We left Tigard about 4:30 am and got home around 5:30 - so roughly 12 hours. not bad. I am so sick of riding in cars for awhile. We drove to my parents house to deliver the black berry jam that Cindy made for them as well as some frozen berries reserved for some milkshakes! Mom had stuff to make milkshakes with so we sipped away and watched "What About Bob" It feels good to be home and even better to sleep in our own bed!

August 18th

August 18th, 2014
Sharis with Jimmy and Allison! It was so fun catching up with these guys! It's been like 2 years since I've seen them! [Allison and I coordinated beautifully, ha.] Wish I could've seen everyone else, but they have jobs and are functioning, independent adults or something, weird. haha. We haven't been back to Sharis since high school practically, it was a nice walk down memory lane. When we were all finished and said our goodbyes, Danny and I drove to Kritter Kabana to check out the new place since the old one burned down. Then we walked around the high school to see the new turf and field Newberg put it. When we were done we went to the Olsen's house and chatted it up with them until it was time for dinner at Mr. Julian's house! haha It was such a nice visit with the Julians and lots of yummy food and animals!   

August 17th

August 17th, 2014
Mom and the kids rolled out about 7:15 this morning and started the long drive back to Utah. Danny and I drove up to Newberg to go to church. It was fun seeing old friends and familiar faces. Afterwards we did the "tour de Jones" and drove past our old houses. We ate lunch with Aunt Noni and Uncle Craig and got to play with their new kitty! Rob and Cindy flew out today too and since we were all worn out from partying so hard we just ate leftover Chinese. When we were done we were all talking in the family room and Propane helped herself! haha Good thing they were mostly gone!

August 16th

August 16th, 2014
My favorite picture I took today! haha. Happy Birthday Julie! I can't believe you're already 17! Crazy. Today was jam packed busy! Sammy got baptized and we were all there to see it! There was a bit of a delay since the missionaries forgot to stopper the font before filling it up, so we all got there and it was empty! haha. To stall for time we did the whole program and Sammy actually getting baptized was the last thing we did. Then Uncle Rob and Aunt Cindy drove me, Danny, Julie, Mak, Robert and Tommy down to Saturday's Market to meet up with Cindy's family and have fun exploring. Portland didn't disappoint with her supply of crazies! It was so great! One guy was holding a sign that said, "Free Klondike Bar! ... Just let me save you soul!" Tommy wouldn't let us save his soul for a Klondike Bar, not even after offering 5 bucks! haha. Our Saturday market trip was complete with a huge Elephant Ear! [Up until moving to Utah I had no idea that there were people out there who had never heard of them!] When we had wandered to our heart's [and parking meter] content we drove up to visit the Rose Gardens since Danny had never been and the last time we went as a family half of the kids hadn't been born yet! We took this goofy picture and it's one of my favs! [Can you see all 7 "roses?"] After we had been there for awhile we drove to REI so Rob and Cindy could get Ju some running shoes for her birthday. At 6:30 the whole fam went to eat at Yans for dinner. We took up our usual spot in the back room and chowed down on so. much. food. We ordered a bit too much and had three grocery bags stacked with "to-go" boxes. Then we just partied back at Hunny's house and Rob and Danny installed Hunny's new microwave. We had a late night, but I loved it!

August 15th

August 15th, 2014
Multnomah Falls with the family! Woo! This was on the top of my "things we HAVE to do while we're in Oregon," list. Whenever we go to Oregon we always drive past it and we are so close to being done that we tell ourselves we'll "hit it on the way back" - which is usually around 5 in the morning and we don't stop. Before we went to the falls we all helped clean up Hunny's backyard! Uncle Rob and Danny took a load to the dump and came back with a trailer full of bark chips for the playground! We got it all smoothed out and it looks great! When we were on the bridge Jon took us older kids up the trail to where the water fall starts - I forgot how much I dislike that hike. ha. It wouldn't be bad if it didn't consist of switchbacks the entire time. But we powered through and it was totally worth it! Such a beautiful day in the gorge!

August 14th

August 14th, 2014
We all went blackberry picking at Jon + Cindy's friends house. We got LOADS of berries! It was crazy! Mom and I made blackberry crisp for everyone and then we went to Rob and Cindy's pool on the Columbia to go swimming. Danny and I drove Bapa and Hunny in our car and got there first so we walked along the docks and enjoyed the sunset. 

August 13th

August 13th, 2014
Danny and I rolled into Oregon around 5 pm and after the dust settled Rob gave each of the kids a dollar and we drove them to the Dollar tree. I was going to take pictures of the kiddos picking out their toys but the grumpy Dollar tree lady said I couldn't take pictures inside :( boo. Danny and I bought Mentos and Coke and had a little fun with the kids in the backyard. It was great!

August 12th

August 12th, 2014
Finished! I powered through it! 10 and a half hours and 21 feet later and it's done! haha It's long enough to span our apartment two and half times! I also got the house cleaned and we are all packed for Oregon tomorrow! 

August 11th

August 11th, 2014
Gettin' it done!
Lots of progress on my bunting today.

August 10th

August 10th, 2014
These two are best buddies :)

August 9th

August 9th, 2014
Tonight was Danny's mission reunion! It was so fun to meet everyone and especially his Mission Pres and his wife - super nice and sweet! Everyone was speaking Spanish to each other [being that they served in the DR] I actually understood more than I thought I would [take that Benetti!] ... I just couldn't reply back in Spanish, unless anyone wanted to know where the Library is. heh.

PS I also dyed purple streaks all throughout my hair today - it feels good to have color again :)

August 8th

August 8th, 2014
Yay for making things! Today I finally pulled out my sewing machine and got to play! I tend to collect project to do, but then never have time to do them! I made myself finish editing all the pictures in my queue yesterday so that I could have time to play today! I upcycled this forever 21 dress that I've been meaning to for awhile as well as started working on my huge bunting banner! [If my math is correct it'll be a bit bigger than 21 feet!] I've been wanting this for props and to have my own decorations that will last! Super excited to get it done! Green is all sewn and finished, only 4 more colors to go!

August 7th

August 7th, 2014
This is where Monaco has been living, along with the rest of my decor that was by the window, while we wait for construction to be done. stupid. 

August 6th

August 6th, 2014
Danny and I drove up to SLC to have lunch at Red Robins with his parents and Robby. After that Rob, Danny and I went to check out this little pottery place in sugar house which was super sweet. After we dropped Robby off Danny and I decided to have a little impromptu mall date and check out City Creek since Danny hadn't been yet. It was super fun and we had a nice mellow day and ended up back at my parents house to go out to eat with them! It was a nice little end to Danny's week off. Back to reality tomorrow! 

August 5th

August 5th, 2014
I had been feeling pretty under the weather since we got home from camping Sunday night - I think all my adventures and lack of sleep finally caught up with me. Danny and I spent a lazy morning/afternoon at home while I popped cough drops and watched New Girl on Netflix. Danny was going to go golfing with his bros and rather than stay home alone, I decided to chill at my parents houses for a few hours. Golfing ended up not happening due to a chance of rain so instead we made peach, raspberry, strawberry smoothies and watched Divergent. Not a bad trade if you ask me ;)

August 4th

August 4th, 2014
"Today it is raining, I don't like the rain..." First line from the first book I ever learned to "read" *cough*cough* Memorize *cough*. Sometimes lines from that book, Just a Rainy Day run through my head. It was my favorite little Critters book out there and I would "read it to mom and/or dad every night. Today was super rainy. We tried to help mom clean out the van multiple times but we were only able to around 7:30 ish at night when it had finally stopped. Cleaning out the van usually requires taking the seats out - which we did. We were just about done cleaning the inside when it began to sprinkle. We had to practically throw the seats in there to avoid a soggy mess! We were all pretty soaked when we got everything put back in the car. Always an adventure!

August 3rd

August 3rd, 2014
Last day :( Danny and I got our stuff down and packed pretty quickly, then he, Rob, and Asher went to find a portal for this game they have. I figured it'd be beneficial for everyone to keep these little guys preoccupied while everyone else took down camp. I helped them climb trees and somehow they all turned into monkeys and would "ooh oooh ahh ahh" all over the place. Then Scarlet [such a little diva] wanted pictures with all these cool "backgrounds" with her cousins! These three crack me up - especially Eli's face! We had to be out by one and we made it with half an hour to spare! Danny and I went back home and crashed for a few hours and then drove up to my parents for some Sunday dinner! 

August 2nd

August 2nd, 2014
Day two of "Camping's not for sissies!" We woke up, and Danny and I got breakfast going for everyone [Pancakes, eggs and bacon] Then we all went on a hike up to some falls on the Mt. Timp trail. It was pretty slow going because we had a lot of little hikers with us! But they did good - especially Linds! She walked the whole way! The only kid to not need to be carried! We got back and ate lunch and rested for a bit. The kids were going crazy because Danny and I told them we'd take them fishing and they were asking every five minutes! Danny, Sarah and I took Asher, Scarlet and Lindsay down to Tibble to try our luck at fishing. We [Danny and I] taught the kids how to fish and helped them cast, but we weren't getting any bites. I was helping Lindsay and Scar while Danny had Asher. The people next to us, a grandpa, dad and son got a fish on and reeled him in. I grabbed Linds [Sarah had taken Scar to the bathroom] and we went over and I asked if Linds could see their fish since this was her first time fishing. Who can say no to a cute little girl? So of course Lindsay got to see! She asked if she could "touch it?!" and that won them over haha. They told me that the next fish they get they'll let Lindsay reel in. So sure enough about 2 minutes later they had a fish on! I grabbed Lindsay and she reeled it in all by herself! It was just a little guy and he had swallowed the hook so they let Lindsay keep it. - I had told the kids if they caught anything I'd cook it for them back at camp. She was so excited and basically loved it to death! She wanted to hold it the whole time. I had strung the fish on the rope and was keeping it [somewhat] alive in the shallows. Eventually it died and rigor mortis set in - Lindsay's fish was stuck in an "L" shape from where her hands had been! The guys next to us caught another fish bigger than our little guy but way smaller than theirs that they let us have. Scarlet claimed it as hers! At this point it was getting late so we packed up and after a group shot headed out. We went back to the campsite and the kids told their version of our fishing trip story while they ate dinner and I cooked the fish. [Asher ended up eating most of it!] We ended our night with campfire and s'mores again :) I love camping! It is so much fun!

August 1st

August 1st, 2014
Family Pictures for the Woods! Since Danny and I were in town and Scott is leaving soon, we figured we should seize our time together and have a photoshoot! Unfortunately, shooting in Southern Utah in the summer is limited to two times: sunrise and sunset. And since we were supposed to be up AF canyon with Danny's sibs that live in the valley camping this weekend, sunrise it was. These poor guys had to be ready by 6:30 am to go! The older guys were great, but the little boys were zombies and we didn't get out the door until 6:50 ish - which worked out perfectly since sunrise wasn't until 6:37 am exactly and we were able to bask in all the golden sunlight [it's like I come from a family that is always late or something] Then after the two little guys had had enough of pictures, Nancy and Russ took the three boys home and left Danny and I with Scott so Russ could get ready for work and we could do mission pics of Scott by himself. They all turned out SO good!

[I'll post previews on my facebook page and when the shoot is all completed you can view my favs in a blog post on my website]

After pictures Danny and I drove Scott back to the house, we showered, hung out a bit and by 11 o'clock we were already just outside of Cedar. We made it back to Orem, unloaded and reloaded the car with all of our camping gear, stopped at Sonic for a late lunch and headed up the Canyon. We finally made it to our site and started setting up camp. We were the last ones to get there and luckily our tent fit in the spot! As soon as we had everything set up and we were relaxing and playing with kiddos it started hailing! Our new tent I bought us has a mud room so half of us hung out in there until it stopped. The guys borrowed a tarp and rope from Bill and Mindi and some of my rope and made a makeshift covered area until that we ended up fixing after dinner. Ed and Steph made spaghetti and Mom and Dad even came up from St George for a bit. We ended the night with a campfire and s'mores! Yay for camping! 

July 31st

July 31st, 2014
Danny and I drove all the way down to St George today because this guy is going on a mission and got to go through the temple today! It was so cool to be there with my family and be there for Scott in this next chapter of life! You're going to do great Scott!