The Fourth

• 4th of July •

It's one of my favorite holidays.

This year, we spent it with good friends, family (my siblings), good food and of course, fireworks.

Here are a mixture of photos from my crappy point-and-shoot and from Jessie.

Love this little stinker!

Gaby, 9 months pregnant.

My sister, Shelley, and moi.

Do you like Flock of Seagulls? My hair sure does! (name that movie)

above three photos by shutterfreek

My sister and I made and brought some goodies to the party.

Banana creme filled sprinkled cupcakes, with a cherry on top, chocolate covered Oreos, and chocolate-dipped pretzels.








B for Brett and Burke. Awww. How cute.

It's supposed to say Shar, but obviously I don't know how to make a backwards a. It's harder than it looks.
My sis and bro-in-law. A heart. How sweet.
The End!

Newport Beach 2008

***Warning: Lots and lots of pictures***

We just got back from our annual Newport Beach trip. Had a blast. Just like last year.

The Kids:

There were 11. That's right... 11

I'll just start off with my kid.

He's a mer-man. Or a mer-boy. It didn't last long.

Cecily, Eddie and Brett. They sat like this for like 30 minutes. Like they were riding a sand train or something.
Byerly. The beach bum.
Precious Lily. From the time I met Lily (almost 4 years ago) we've kind of clashed. I can't handle her screaming/meltdowns, and she probably can't handle my laughing at her screaming/meltdowns. But we've come a long way. When she's in a good mood, she's probably the sweetest girl ever. I know one day we'll be best friends.
Ivy Star. I've got to watch what I write, because she'll probably be my daughter-in-law one day. Her and Brett fight like an old married couple. Constantly. She'll walk by all of the kids like they aren't even there, and when she gets to Brett, she shoves him. Most of the time, Ashley and I just let them duke it out.Emma. So sweet. She lost a tooth while we were there.
Bella. 3 going on 30. So mature.

The Ladies:

Rebecca. With baby Owen. She was so mellow and fun! I was glad to get to know them better.

Jessie. Rockin' the beach in all her pregnant glory! She made it through the whole week without having her baby. 37 weeks! She got us all rad matching glasses in different colors.Jen. Or as we like to call her Chen. Or Hennifer Lopez. Sometimes Hen, for short. Whatever we're in the mood for.Ash-ball. Or Ashley. She is our reigning Squints champion. She's pretty much unbeatable. Unbeatable!Angelee. With baby Anders. The multi-tasker. She can read a book and nurse at the same time. She was so sweet and so fun to have on the trip!

Surf School:

Ashley, Angelee and I all took surf lessons. I think we did a good job. And we looked so graceful when we fell.

Ready to rock!

Angelee.Ash-ballMoi.Me again.

We had so much fun.

And I got stung by a jellyfish.
Don't worry. It got worse, and now it's a scab.

The End.

For more pictures and even a video, click here.

Met On The Net

There are so many awesome bloggers out there and I've met two in real life now. They are so awesome. It's fun to meet someone in person that you read all about their lives on a daily basis.

Obviously we clicked because we are both demons. Check out our red eyes.The three of us at Ashley's fave, the Olive Garden.

Meet... Cecilia. She was so much fun. And the cutest, little Brazilian ever! You can read her photo story here.

We met at Olive Garden. I asked the server for a Diet Coke with a lime. Ashley asked for a Diet Coke with a lime. Cecilia asked for water with ice. We laughed so hard.

I had a blast and hope to hang out again next time we're in Utah.


I also went to lunch (what? I like lunch, okay?!?) with Kalli. (and McKelle and Ashley) We've gotten together for lunches several times over the last year. She's great. And so fun. Two days after our lunch date, she had a brand new little boy. Didn't see him, but his pictures are so precious! I'm so happy for Mr. & Mrs. Kalli and their new addition.

This is what she looked like when we went to lunch. Two days later...???
So cute. I love it!

I tried to get together for lunch with Laura, but things/times/days didn't work out. Next time Laura, fo shizzle!Her little guy is a cutie!

Have you ever met another blogger?
You should try it. It's awesome.

Driving Four Corners Like I Own It

I've recently been in all 4 states that contribute to the four corners in the last week. I'm tired of driving.
Remember Jess? She got hitched in the SLC temple. And it was so awesome to be there for it.

Even if I had to haul a up the I-15, get there in 22 minutes (from University Parkway in Provo) try and find a parking spot like I was the craziest person at Wal-Mart, run down North Temple in my heels, check in my camera bag, run down the stairs and then back up the stairs, while skipping every other stair, walking in the sealing room so out of breath, that everyone in there can hear me inhaling and exhaling, 10 1/2 seconds before the bride and groom walk in... so totally worth it. I'm so happy for them.
No. I'm not 10 1/2 months pregnant. Just looks like it. Mom, sorry to disappoint.
Aren't they a cute couple?
It was so nice to be there to see one of my dearest friends be sealed to her husband.

The next wedding this Friday? I'm going to give myself at least 30 minutes to get there. Or I'll just try and beat my time. And set a world record.

Thanks Jen, almost forgot. I also passed Elder Russell M. Nelson in the stairway. But this was post ceremony. So I was way more reverent. I was walking down the stairs like a normal human.

At Least I Got To Meet Simon

Okay I didn't. But that would have been awesome.

Lindsey was trying out for American Idol, and I said I'd go with her. We had so much fun. I did not try out. Even just for fun. I don't sing. The End.
The forecast said Hell was going to be really hot, and Arizona was going to be even hotter. Lucky us. When it's 93 degrees at 5 in the morning, you know it's going to be a scorcher! We were a little bit miserable all week.

We filmed for about 2 hours singing Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive and Get Ready by the Temptations. We even had a choreographed dance that we all did. Over and over. And over. And over. And over. And we said Welcome to Arizona and The Talent is Hotter in Arizona about a hundred million times. Looking cute. How do you wear your hair when you get up at 4 in the morning and have to be there at 5? Like mine. Takes approximately 45 seconds. Go me.
Where's Waldo? Do you see him?
Check out this character.
Here was the group auditions. The whole thing was way different than I was expecting. Randy, Paula and Simon weren't even there. They are like 3 or 4 auditions away. In August.

But I do think we got a bit of camera time. We did have bikini girl sitting in front of us, so that helped. I think I did pretty well with the not picking the nose thing. We'll see come January. Here is Linds at the judges station. She didn't make it through to the next audition, but she does have a beautiful voice regardless. At least that is not her only dream in life. Like every other person there. I think some might have even quit their day jobs thinking they were the next American Idol. Here is bikini girl. And guess what? You guessed it! She made it through to the next round. I guess Lindsey will just have to wear a bikini if she tries out again, because that's all it takes. Or not, because she's not a tramp. Then we went to good ole Vicky's. Brett was being awful and whiny and wanted to try on the bras too. So I just let him put on the damn thing. At least the pictures are funny. And he stopped screaming for 11 whole seconds. Brett's over-the-shoulder boulder holder! And now I have good pictures to put on his wedding video.This was on my drive home. A double rainbow. How cool is that? I've never seen a double before. Have you? It went all the way across the sky. I couldn't get a very good picture because, you know, I had to focus on my driving. This is as good as it gets.And then this was the sunset-ish when I was almost home. So pretty.

The End.