Trip to the Beehive State

I just returned home from a trip to Utah! I was able to be there for the 24th of July (Pioneer Day). I spent a lot of time with my nieces and nephews which was the best part for me. I only get to see them once a year so time with them is precious! I headed right over to my brother's house the day I got to Utah, and picked up his 3 oldest children. He and his wife Lesa had twins a few months ago and I figured they'd appreciate some peace and quiet with 3 kids out of the house for a few days.

Sidney, Ellie, & me

Me & Ellie

Matt's girls


That night we went to the Bountiful parade and:

We blew bubbles

Ate Otter Pops

Saw some amazing floats



The next day we went to the Bountiful Days of '47 Carnival:

We ate cotton candy


We rode ponies




We helped grandma plant flowers:



We had photo shoots (very unprofessional...done by me):

After a few days with Matt's kids, Mont's family came into town for a few days and I was able to spend some time with all my nieces & nephews.

We played in the hot tub:

We had more photo shoots (once again, very
unprofessional but the kids didn't know that).

Emma & Brittney

Emma Lemma Ding Dong


"Sisters" - Sammy & Brittney (Mont's girls)


All 10 grandkids...cutest kids in the world!

After the kids left, I had a get together with a bunch of my friends I met at church when I lived in Salt Lake City. It was fun seeing everybody after almost 6 years.

Me, Tenille, & Chera

Chera, Me, & Emily

Last but not least, I enjoyed the beautiful sunsets
from my parents balcony.

It's the Most.....Wonderful Time....of the Year!!!

I look forward to the Nordstrom Anniversary sale all year long. I'm not a big spender (at least I tell myself such things) but there's something about the Nordstrom sale that brings out my inner shopper and I'm as giddy as a school girl when I'm there. I guess it reminds me of the good 'ol days when my mom would take us school shopping and we always hit the Nordstrom sale.

Today Dan and I woke up bright & early to heed the call of the sirens...to include spending too much money for things we don't need, only to come home with buyers remorse. I'll enjoy my purchases until the anxiety kicks in and then I'll probably take everything back. :)

Here are the shoes I bought...you like?




And you can't go the Nordstrom sale without buying perfume (I'm a perfume addict...I admit). I bought Marc Jacobs Daisy and it smells delicious. If you're looking for a light floral scent give it a try.

I'm already looking forward to next year!

DC Vacation with the In-laws

Dan's family came to DC last week because his dad had a work conference. We were the lucky recipients of their company and got to take them all around DC and show them our home town.
Everyday was packed with something fun and by the end of the trip everybody was exhausted.

We went to Monticello (home of Thomas Jefferson)

Dan's siblings (and brother -in- law)

Dan's little sisters at the gardens of Monticello

The whole family (we missed you Andrew)

We went to a Washington Nationals Baseball game


DC got a new baseball stadium that I hadn't been to yet, so it was fun going with everybody to the game. We had a small tender mercy of sorts that night at the game that I'll always remember. Dan was supposed to buy tickets in advance and he kept putting it off because he thought there would be plenty left. When we got there they were sold out and we were all so disappointed. Out front there were a bunch of Marines that were collecting donations for the "Toy's for Tots". I'm embarrassed to say that we didn't give them a second thought because we were all deciding what we should do since the tickets were sold out. Unbeknownst to us, Dan's 7 year old sister took all her money from her wallet (only a few dollars...but still) and gave it to one of the Marines. He told her to have fun at the game and she said, "we're not going, the tickets are sold out". He said, give me a second and walked away. Five minutes later he returned with 9 tickets that he gave to us for free, and better than that.....they were on the 16th row behind 3rd base. We couldn't thank him enough and it taught me a lesson that what goes around comes around. I was so impressed with the pure heart of Dan's little sister. She didn't give money to get tickets in return, but when we're generous we'll always be blessed. Okay, I'm off my soapbox now!

Dan's dad and step-mom

We ate like pigs



We saw the monuments



We played American Idol Karaoke until our throats hurt

But with everything we did, we just enjoyed being together. Dan has a very close family and I feel lucky to be a part of them. Thanks for coming to visit us guys!