Vacations and Relocations (The Short Version)

This is just a quick post to explain my lack of blogging lately!

1. My parents visited at the end of June
2. I spent 3 days with them in DC
3. The day after I got back, Dave's mom came to visit
4. The next day Dave's brothers, sister in law, and 2 nieces brought the total to 8 people staying in our 1 bedroom apt. We had a blast in DC and checking out downtown Baltimore on the 4th of July
5. The day they left, Dallas's female friend came to visit
6. The 4 of us went to Palmyra NY for The Hill Cumorah Pageant!
7. The day we came back from NY, we went to PA to work for Dave to work for a few days
8. The morning after we got to PA, we found out he wouldn't be working there (the 3 hour drive and a night's stay in a hotel were a waste), we'd be moving. To Tennessee. The NEXT DAY. We had from 8 pm on Thursday to noon on Friday to pack.
9. Upon arrival in TN, we were told we would be in hotels for a week until our apts were ready.
10. The next day we found out we were moving to GA instead.

It has been CRAZY!!!!! We're in a hotel until who-knows-when.

So, I want to blog lots more about the fun vaca's we had, but I'll wait until we unpack so I can post pics.

Blog Slacker

Not much to report from Baltimore, but no news is good news. Work is going well for Dave. He started off strong, got into a bit of a slump, and has now picked up the pace again.

This morning we had a bit of a shock when Dave checked his bank account and saw that Pinnacle had deposited THIRTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS! It's obviously a mistake, but it was nice to look at for a minute. There's another Dave Jones that works for Pinnacle. We're wondering what that Dave did to get $13,000! We're doing fine, but not THAT fine! haha

My parents are flying in on Saturday-- my dad has business in DC (about 45 min from here). So we'll go to an Orioles game on Saturday and get some fresh crab at the harbor, and Sunday we thought we'd drive out to Gettysburg (about an hour away). Then on Sunday night I'll head to DC with my parents for a few days of culture at the Smithsonian with my mom. While the men-folk are working. Sorry Dave and Dad, but thanks for what you do to make it possible for me and mom to play!!

I don't know how much national coverage it got, but a couple of weeks ago a man shot up the Holocaust Museum. I was in DC headed to the temple when I heard the news. Such a scary thing, and I was only a couple of miles away. If any of you have been to the Holocaust Museum, you know it's enough to make anyone crazy. I left the museum after about 10 minutes. It was too painful. This man was an older gentleman filled with hate and anger. He killed a security guard and injured others. My mom and I will definitely avoid the Holocaust Museum, and hopefully we don't run into any other crazies!

I'm sure I'll have something to post about when I'm back from DC.

Vovo's 90th Birthday and Wedding!

Kind of a long post, but lots of fun...

Many of you know I was in Utah a couple of weeks ago for my Vovo's 90th birthday celebration/family reunion/wedding. It was an eventful week!

The trip started out with a trip to see Justin, my favorite nail guy!! I've been going to him for almost 10 years (even when I lived in Rexburg! I went home every-other-weekend to get my nails done). I hate going to anyone else. I literally planned my trip around my nail appointment. I know, I'm ridiculous. But he really is that good!!

Next on the agenda was a "Girl's Trip" to Park City with my mom and sisters. We did LOT of shopping and had fun at the outlets, but I think the most fun shopping was on Main Street. There were lots of fun shops and some awesome deals! I got a beautiful black dress coat from a little boutique that was having a big sale. It was normally almost $300, I got it for $70!! Even though it was 80 degrees outside, I couldn't pass up the deal. Winter always comes back! Emily got a beautiful little dress there that was originally $100 for $25! And a hand made copper necklace to match that was originally $70 for $12!! She has great taste. I wonder where she got it!! We left happy :)

Then Gina, my sister-in-law, came up for an evening of sushi and pedicures- two of my very favorite things! It was a marvelous trip!!

We then headed up to my uncle's cabin (up past Daniel's Summit. I really have no idea where that is...). My mom has one brother (Dan) and one sister (Marlyn). Two of Dan's kids came and all of Marlyn's six kids came. There were about a million little kids running around, but it was a blast. My Vovo and her fiance Lorne were adorable.

When it came time for the wedding, she wanted everything to be just right. Because I used to do weddings at Thanksgiving Point, she wanted my opinion on everything. It was just funny because the wedding was held in a crowded family room with a bunch of little barefoot kids and people overflowing into the kitchen. A stuffed mountain lion, a moose head, and some stuffed geese looked down on the ceremony. Lol. Then she wanted me to show her the right way to cut the cake. there really is a technique to cutting an actual, tiered wedding cake, but her's was a sheet cake. Not much to it. I showed them how to hold the knife for pictures, but my Vovo didn't have the strength in her tiny arm to but through the cake. Lorne had to push down on her hand to get through it.

All in all it was a good trip. They were adorable. And although my dad tripped up his words during the marriage ceremony and said they were "illegally and lawfully wed," we think it
counted.

Vovo and Lorne. The night before the wedding we celebrated her 90th birthday

Her birthday gift. A quilt with one square for each family

Cute Gabe and Carter


I can't get enough of this kid!

Madelyn and Sammy. He's such a smiley baby! And at 5 months old, he says "Hi!"

I love my niece and nephews! Spending time with them was my favorite part of the trip!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's day Mom! You're the best.

BYU Football Game. Go Cougs!

FHE Hike (with Dad and Gabe)

THE face. 90% of the pictures I take of my mom look like this

So cute!

Happy Mom's Day! Sorry I can't be there! Love you!

The Lighthouse's Tale

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Put your iTunes, iPod, MP3 Player, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Celebrate the Day-- Relient K

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Take Me Away-- Plain White T's

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
The Way You Look-- Michael Buble

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Who's Your Daddy-- Toby Keith

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?
I Melt With You-- Bowling for Soup

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
We Are-- Vertical Horizon

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Heaven-- Angels and Airwaves

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN?
Your Arms Feel Like Home-- 3 Doors Down

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Collide-- Howie Day

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Without You-- Blake Lewis

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Hey-- Red Hot Chili Peppers

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
The Mixed tape-- Jack's Mannequin

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Foolish Pride-- Travis Tritt

WHAT WILL/DID YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Bold as Love-- John Mayer

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Venice Queen-- Red Hot Chili Peppers

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
No Rain-- Blind Melon

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Spoonman-- Soundgarden

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Angels-- Norah Jones

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
Uptown Girl-- Billy Joel

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Rise-- Flobots

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Cinnamon-- The Long Winter

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Halloween Time-- Nate Jones

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Another Kind of Green-- John Mayer Trio

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Stop Children What's That Sound-- Forest Gump Soundtrack

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
In Repair-- John Mayer

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Oh Dear-- Matt Costa

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Battle Hymn of the Republic-- Kalai

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
There's Always Someone Cooler than You-- Ben Folds

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
The Lighthouse's Tale-- Nickle Creek

THIS WAS TOTALLY FUN. HOW HILARIOUS! TRY IT!

"Going Green" Gone TOO Far!

I try not to rant on my blog, but here it goes. Buckle up!

Like I mentioned, Dave and I are living in Baltimore for the next few months. One of the things I've had to do in this new town is find the best grocery store around. You know, price comparison and whatnot. Well, one thing that all of the stores have in common is the desire to Go Green. Everyone wants to do their part. That's all good and fine; I like the earth just as much as the next person, but out here they've gone too far: They have cut back on the quality of their plastic!!!! In all forms!

Every time I bring in the groceries, the handles break on at least one bag. And it's usually while I have the dogs on their leashes in one hand. So I leave a busted bag of flour in a heap of broken plastic bag while I take the dogs back to the apt. Then I scoop up my wasted flour, throw it away, get a couple more bags from the car, and another bag breaks on my way back in. Unreal.

Then a week later, Dave was helping me bring in groceries. He picked up a case of water and the plastic on that broke too! Water bottles everywhere.

So yes, I want to save the world , but give me back my slightly more reliable and much more reusable grocery bags. That's how I recycle! JEEZ!

Long Time, No...Post!

Wow! It's been WAY too long. But I have a good reason. It's a long story. I'll try to keep it short:

Dave and I moved to Baltimore for the summer for work for both of us. We drove from Utah and spent the night in hotels. While spending the night in Indianapolis, our car was broken into. That's now the 4th time Dave and I have had our cars broken into (2 for me and 2 for him). Awesome, right? Well most of our belongings were in a friend's U-Haul, but we did have LOTS of valuable stuff in my car as well. Like Dave's laptop. And his camera with our Honeymoon pics. Boo. And $5,000 dollars worth of other stuff including electronic (the ipods that were stolen had both been purchased to replace ipods that had been stolen out of our cars previously. So ridiculous). So we filed a claim with our renter's insurance and everyting has now been replaced.

It was such a pain getting the proof of ownership tat the insurance company needed. they said, "Do you have any pics of the items? like maybe, a picture with the laptop in the back groud?" I said, "Yes, probably, but our camera was stolen." The insurance lady had the audacity to say, "Didn't you back them up somewhere?" I totally yelled at her, "YES! ON THE COMPUTER! WHICH WAS STOLEN!" They ended up being really good to deal with, which was nice.

So we made it to Baltimore and I started work in the office while Dave was selling. The office job wasn't hard, but CONSUMING. I was working 12 hours a day, so my pay was something like 3 bucks an hour. After about a week, I quit. Yep. Quit. I help out in the office when needed, but I was so unhappy that it was starting to make Dave unhappy too. So we decided all things would be best if I quit. Yay!

Last weekend, for easter, we went to NYC to visit Dave's brother and sister-in-law (Dustin and Lyna) and their adorable little girls. It's only 3 hours from here so we left Saturday night and came back Sunday night. It was a blast, but too short. Dave had never been to the city so it was so fun to go with him to Time Square and everything. We're planning more trips in the future. When it's not Sunday so e can SHOP SHOP SHOP!! Both Dustin and Lyna are fabulously fashionable and so fun to shop with. Can't wait!

So that's the short version of the last 2 or 3 weeks. I'll try to do better now that I have some time on my hands. xoxo

Time Square
(It was cold and I only had a hoodie so
I was wrapped in the emergency blanket from my trunk.
It was an emergecy!)

Manhattan LDS Temple
So cool to see in the midst of the city