a wedding

NO, not mine! But, one of a very good friend. My roommate, Loni, of the last two and a half years got married on Friday.

She planned out the whole reception that evening herself, so I helped her get things set up for the evening. The day before, we had even made 300 cupcakes. Remind me never to do that again.

That also happened to be the only night all summer so far that it rained. I think it still turned out well though.

Unfortunately, this also meant that I had to move. Poop. I really don't like change. And, the prospect of moving in with someone I don't know was an unwelcome one. I did find a place out in North Logan, though. It's way too far from the south end of town, but it will do for now. I have my own room, bathroom, and livingroom, so there are some perks. I'll let you know how it turns out....

Once in awhile I need a break from Logan

On Saturday, I decided I needed a break from Logan, so I convinced Heather to head down to Salt Lake with me. We weren't quite sure what to do, but we figured SLC was bigger than Logan and we could come up with something to do.

We finally decided to go to the Hogle Zoo. I hadn't been there since I was a very little kid. I don't rememember very much about it even. But, I'd been having a bad week and just seeing all of the animals made my mood lift. :) It was actually a lot of fun, even though it was stupidly hot.

We then went out to the mall and for lunch at Applebees. Luckily, I had no money left, so I couldn't buy anything else. :)

Farewell Knute!

So, I think Dad just likes making the drive to Logan. ;) He and Mom were down here again this week. Not, that I mind of course.

On Wednesday, they took Bryce down to Provo to go the MTC. Farewell Noot! And, good luck!
It will be much quieter at Grams house without you, haha. :) (On a more serious note, I think I'll actually miss him.)

More roadtrippin'. This time: HOME

Yay! I finally got to go home! I miss my green trees and forest and ocean so much when I am in Utah. And, I miss being close to my parents. So, this trip was a much needed vacation. And, this time, I even got to leave my laptop in Logan and didn't have to work one little bit!

I drove up to Forks with Grams. She still refuses to fly. I guess those security checks are too much stress for her. So, I picked up some books on tape (I finally used my library card!) and headed off. It was a long drive, with me driving most of the way. However, I did finally convince Grams to take the drive in one day, which was nice.

We were in Forks for Bryce's farewell talk over Memorial Day weekend. So, Aunt Moose, Uncle Pat, Aunt Linda, and Uncle Scott also came up for the weekend.

While in Forks, we got to hike out to Shi Shi Beach, which is one of the best around for tide pools, and drive out to Cape Flattery, the most northwest point in the lower 48 states. Unfortunately, it was another cloudy day. But, truly, that didn't bother me, as I was just happy to be home and in the fresh air.

And, of course, I got to see my cat. I love her so. :) She will be 17 soon.

Grams and I stayed for about a week, and then I had to get back to work. The drive back took two days, however, which made for a long trip.

Happy birthday to me!

It's my birthday again! Yay! Although, I cannot believe I am 25. That seems like a foreign number. I even get to go to the "25 or Better" activities now, hahaha. Yeeeah....that probably won't happen. ;)

So, Dad came up to Logan again this week to help drive the boys back to Forks after USU let out for the summer. He and the boys helped Gramps reshingle the entire roof during the week, which was quite a project. But, I know that Gramps appreciated all of the help. And, I even got Dad to help fix a few things on my car and at my apartment. It's always nice to have a Dad around, if even for a few days. :)

I had a BBQ with friends on Saturday in Gram's backyard, which was fun. Then I had a birthday party on Sunday with the family. I did have to convince Dad to stick around for the weekend and my birthday, but it was good to actually have lots of family around for my birthday for the first time in awhile.

AND, I MADE MINON CUPCAKES!!! They were the best!

Birthday Interview:

1. What are some of your favorite foods? Oh, I love pasta! And, bread. And, chocolate. And, pickles. And, cheetos. Just maybe not together...

2. What's your favorite color? Easy. Purple and green.

3. What things make you happy? I like the rain, purring cats, and, of course, my family.

4. What makes you sad? Being alone.

5. What are your favorite movies or TV shows? Right now I'm kinda into "Once Upon A Time". I just love the whole fantasy thing.

6. What are your favorite books? I just finished re-reading the Hunger Games. I really relate to Katniss, so I've enjoyed those books. Now, I just need a new series to read.

Animals and eggs

So, this post won't be all that long, but since it is one of my favorite springtime activities in Logan, I have to share. On Saturday, I drug the boys to baby animal days with me at the American West Heritage Center in Wellsville. Heather came, too. We got to see the baby bears, an old west shoot out, and lots of baby farm animals. I got to hold a duck, a chick, and a turtle. The boys were lame and wouldn't touch anything. Oh well. I had fun.

We then colored Easter eggs that night with Heather and Michelle. I think the boys enjoyed that more than the animals.

Some colorful fun

What a fun day! On Saturday, Landon, Bryce, Heather, Michelle, and I headed down to Spanish Fork early to go to the Festival of Colors. We met up with Jake and Melissa and their friends there. The festival is the Hare Krishna celebration of spring, and basically it's just a bunch of music and people throwing colored chalk all over each other. It was a blast, although, the next time I will be sure to wear a mask over my nose so I don't sneeze out colored dust again.

After the festival, we went to the mall to wander about, even all colorful. We bought some movie tickets, cleaned up a bit, and then we went to Five Guys Burger & Fries, which was actually pretty good. We were basically just wasting time so that we could go to the Hunger Games movie, which had come out the day before. (I kinda thought we were like the Capitol people, since we were all bright, haha.) It was worth the wait and one of the best movie adaptations I've seen.

Traversing the state

This week was Utah State's spring break, and of course, my dad could not miss out on the fun, so he headed down to Utah for a few days. And, that meant no free moment, haha. Dad does not like to stay still. Luckily, I was able to take a few days off, so that I could play, too.

On Sunday, we headed down to St. George, where we spent a few nights at Aunt Brenda's house. Landon, Dad, Bryce, and Alec spent Monday out biking slick rock trails, but since I'm not much into that, I just hang out with my cousins. We ended up going to Pioneer Park and playing around a bit. We found a crevasse to climb up, and let me tell you, it was a tight fit. It was quite high in some places, and I got a little claustrophobic in the middle.

On Tuesday, we headed out early to hike up Angels Landing. This was actually my idea, since I had never been up there before and seemed like something I would like to conquer. It was actually really fun, and I think that we chose the right time of the year to do it. It wasn't blistering hot like it would have been in the summer, which was nice for me. It was even a bit chilly on top. There were some definite steep drops, though, so I was grateful for all of the chains to hold on to.

After we finished the hike, we drove down to Salt Lake, where we spent the night with Jen. (Thanks for letting us stay at your house and hang out with you!) We had to get an early start in the morning to drive up the Canyons. Landon, Bryce, and I had free passes there from Warren Miller, and we needed to use them. The snow was slushy and it was getting warm, but it is always worth a free ski day. We even got Alan to come join us on the slopes.

I had to get back to work, so we headed back to Logan after our ski day was done. It was quite a fun few days!

New job!

So, in the end of February I got a new job! I am actually excited about this one. I am the new website/publication designer, information specialist, and editor for the Utah Association of Conservation Districts. Check it out here: http://www.uacd.org/.

It's right in my realm of interest. I get to work with farmers and conservationists (which are not the same as environmentalists, FYI). I think it will be a great job for me, and it will be great to have a state job on my resume.

More details to come as things happen.

UPDATE 5/24: So, I had been a little reluctant to even apply for a new job. Changes stress me out completely. But, I felt this was one that I needed to apply for once I saw it on the job board. Turns out this was a good thing. A very good thing. Morrell Agro Industries downsized early this year, and my job there was the latest victim. I think that I was being watched out for, because I need my jobs, even if they are only part time, to get by.

Some dates CAN be fun

I still have friends that think they have to set me up on dates. This can at times be disastrous, resulting in them being fired as matchmakers. But, occasionally, these dates can be fun. My roommate recently started dating someone, and so of course decided that it would be fun to go on a double date. She and her boyfriend orchestrated a scavenger hunt date and set me up with a guy from the ward (who is a mutual friend with all of us, and whom I'm sure I met first). However, I didn't know him all that well.

Now, I thought, "a scavenger hunt for a date? That sounds kind of stupid, and I'm sure I won't be good at it." But, I went along with it. Loni and Kade had put together a list of like thirty different things that would each count as a point if you did them. (I thought that it was a little unfair that they put together the list before hand. Surely, they planned a route out. haha) Then we paired off and headed downtown to find items on the list. We had an hour to get back to the house. The team with the most items done would win. Pictures had to be taken as proof of completion. This was the result of our hunt.

So, it was a fun night, actually. I think we lost by one lousy point, lol. However, I think this picture (below) deserved extra points for my team. It freaked me out going into a jewlery store, let alone trying on a ring that was like worth $5,000 dollars. Joseph worked there, so it was actually one of our fastest stops.

Then we picked up ice cream and fruit for smoothies. Yum. :)

4/2 UPDATE: The best part of this date was the last picture. So, to all of you that recieved that text on April Fool's Day (and actually believed me), thanks for the fabulous laughs. :-D

BLOG updates!

Seven new blog posts! I felt like it needed to be updated. It's kind of my way of keeping a journal or whatnot. So, you don't have to read it all, but I had to write it down. ;-)

Temple Square and a trip HOME

I love Temple Sqaure in Salt Lake at Christmas time. Bryce and Landon hadn't been there in awhile, so I made them come with me for an evening to see the lights. We went with my roommate, and we met one of our friends from Forks there for dinner at Crown Burgers. It was fun, even though it was freezing. There were tons of people there, though. It was way annoying to have to navigate through the crowd. I guess that's what we get for going on a Saturday.

The next Tuesday we started our road trip home for the holidays. It was a long day, but we made it home to Forks in one day -- we actually made pretty good time. We actually suprised Mom and Dad and Kelsie. We had told them that we would be there on Wednesday. Mom's reaction was priceless. So, that was fun. :)

I had to work some while I was home, but just simply being there was quite nice for me. I needed a break from Logan, and I had been rather homesick. I missed my family, my trees, my ocean....

So, I got to see all of that while I was home. We had a good Christmas with the family, and it was nice and relaxing.

Mom, Kelsie, and I went out to La Push, where I almost took a tumble into the ocean. haha. Never turn your back on the waves! One big one is bound to suprise you. We had lunch at River's Edge. I must say, I really miss fresh yummy fish.

On New Years Eve we went up to Hurricane Ridge to go snowshoeing. I'd been snowshoeing once before. Can't say I was anymore impressed with it anymore the second time. It was fun, but not something that I plan on taking up. The boys then headed to Seattle for a YSA dance and to see the lights at the Space Needle. I prefer to spend time at home, no matter how lame other people say that might be.

We spent a good two weeks at home. I wish that I could have stayed longer. There was even more snow there than there has been in Logan. I mean, really, what's winter without at least some snow in the mountains.