My first day back...

So usually I travel alone, but holly came to utah to see her mission president's homecoming talk, so we flew back together. It was fun.

We had a layover in Portland Oregon. Here we are flying over Mt. Hood.

My dog and I after 9 years. He is getting old and so am I.

My best friend came home!

My cousin came home from his mission in Guatemala.

Family Photo.

The mom hugging photo.

Hugging the little brother.

Hugging the Grandma.

You can just see the sheer joy on her face. Her son is back for good.

Me and him.

Together again at last.

I forgot how tall he was.

HOME

I went home for a little while. My family and I headed to Calaveras Big Trees State Park. A family friend allowed us to borrow their cabin. It was very nice to be in California Mountains, rather than Utah Mountains. Here is photo documentation from the trip. Hope you enjoy!

I miss my family so much. It was really good to see them.

Janessa already posted my favorites check it out gilbertgazette.blogspt.com or dannyandjannessagilbert.blogspot.com.

This is me inside of a tree.

This is the beginning of a story of an aunt trying to take pictures with her nieces and nephews.

Here is Colbie she is more than happy to take a photo with me.

Karlee too. She is making her cheese face.

and there is Allan who is making his cheese face not at the camera.

But would kind of pose for holly instead. :)

I like this one of Danny and Allan.

So here is a really big stump with people walking on it.

here is the tree from that stump, which my cousin climbed up on.

Beautiful California.

I have decided that I am basically a tree hugger. I love trees and never stop talking about Utah's lack of quality trees. I show people these photos and they are like wow, I have never seen trees like that before. And I say exactly.

They match. Its funny.

Allan and Danny ridding down the stairs. He thought it was a roller coaster.

This is me taking a ride down the stairs.

Video of Allan and Danny going down.

4th Of July and all that Jazz

Well Provo is pretty typical and not very exciting most of the time, but boy do they know how to throw a party on the 4th of July. I know it was last weekend, but what can I say, I have been pretty busy. Alright in sequential order this what I did.

#1 Woke up and worked all morning. (time and a half baby)

me.

my boss and I

Fellow Jamba people

Brigham and Calley. (and yes his name really is Brigham)

This is Kevin. He is pretty much one of the most amazing young men I have ever met. Too bad he leaves for his mission in just a few months. He is pictured here with Buzz Lightyear.

And behold it is Brigham, who attached an american flag to the banana suit, so that it looked like a cape. This picture is suppose to give the illusion that he is flying.

#2 Swimming and Barbeque

Lets just say the food was good and the people were even better. I however got thrown into the pool. But it was good I suppose since it was a bit hot outside.

The spread of all of the food and people eating it.

This is me looking pretty girly with attitude on my face.

I found those sunglasses at work, and since my other ones broke I figured I might as well wear them. I look so smug and Sarah is so happy.

Sorry there is no photos of us in the pool.

We did however play a good game of water basketball which I wasn't too bad at.
#3 Poker and Firework Waiting

Well we live right across the street from where they light the fireworks off, so we went out early and staked out a spot. We got a church table and some chairs and played poker for 3 hours while waiting for the fireworks show to begin. Don't worry there was no real gambling or money involved it was all pretend. All the people who were walking to the fireworks show and concert, passed us by and were saying some pretty funny stuff. They all said we were brilliant for staking out a spot with tables and chairs rather than just a blanket.

These pictures are backwards. This is toward the end of the night.

We had a bunch of snap its. Those were the only hand held fireworks we had. Here they are sitting on the poker chips. We enjoyed throwing them into the street.

See here it is daytime. I am sitting here playing poker in my texaco shirt.

It wasn't planned but seemed fitting as we were playing texas holdem.

Oh and this is the Y mountain. If you squint really hard, you can see that they are turning it into an american flag. They were wearing red and blue shirts. I wish I could have gotten a better photo.

And the fireworks began! Yay! (I didn't take this photo)

HAPPY FOURTH EVERYONE!

Painting! Finished!

I decided to paint my apartment as a surprise for my roommates. Let's just say it was a task, but it is finally finished. (And Branda if you are reading this.....SURPRISE!)

After moving the couch, this is what I found, a crumbling wall. We were not allowed to paint this wall, because it is so damaged. This is just the base board, but the entire wall is all crumbly. So when I informed maintenance, they told me oh its fine, no big deal, just put the couch in front of it and no one will notice! I am still trying to get it properly repaired. So far just some spackle to cover the big holes, no paint, no replacement of dry wall or anything. I will keep you updated.

Okay so a confession. I came up with the entire design and concept of this room. I however did little of the painting. Only about 5%. My friend painted the rest. He carried out my vision. Thank you!

Full room shot. I decided on the color scheme of gray, white, and red to match the black leather couches. Looks pretty good.

This wall has stripes, red border, and red flowers. I painted the border. :)

Wall, all gray and border, with metal flowers in the center.

Window with curtain.

This wall is filled with black and white photos that I took.

Frames:$20. Photos:$4. A semester of looking at something other than a white wall: priceless.

More stripes. And border.

Bridal Veil Falls

I went to Bridal Veil Falls. It is one of the spots that reminds me of home. It is all green and there is a river that runs right by this water fall that looks and smells just like the American River.



My roommate Devin and my soon-to-be roommate Lindsey and I standing in front of the waterfall.

Devin Comes to Visit and Salt Lake City The 2nd time

Well my dearest room mate Devin from California decided to come visit me last weekend. It was great. She brought her friend Lindsey who just got baptized 5 days before they came. She has never even been to Utah, so we took her to Salt Lake City, you know to show her the sights and history and all. Needless to say, I am a lifetime member of the LDS church and I learned quite a bit on this day. The church is phenomenal and ever growing and always updating and changing. Well here are some of the highlights.

Okay so I have never been to temple square on a weekday. We went on a Friday and little did you know the church office building was open and you can go up to the top on this observation deck (about 30 stories up) and look down on the city. It was the prettiest day and the greatest things ever. It was one of those "cross this off of my life list" type of things, and for the rest of the day, I could not stop smiling.

On the left is the top of the conference center with its gardens.

Looking out into the west. If you squint really hard you can see California. ;)

The Salt Lake Temple with all its beauty. We counted 5 brides that were on the grounds that day.

A straight down shot, it was kind of scary.

Looking out into the East. Notice the grid of the city.

Here is the capital building.

A different angle of the temple.

Blue skies.

I love how the buildings in temple square all have revolving doors. This is in the Joseph Smith Building just after lunch. I can hardly contain myself.

They make me feel important. Like I am in New York City or something.

Here we are. Looking just like tourists. Devin is on the left. Lindsey in the middle. Me on the right. I can't wait for them to both come live with me in the fall. Just 7 more weeks (not that I'm counting or anything).