Catch Up

Having a little time to spare, I will catch up with my blogging. August, September, October, November and December have absolutely flown faster than I could have ever imagined and although it seemed to fly, there certainly has been a lot that has happened since the last post.

Katherine is back from the Philippines! I'm so glad to have her back. I was mostly lost without my sister.

I went to a lot of baseball this summer. DC baseball really didn't disappoint this year and I was happy to be at a lot of important games for the Nats...and a few Orioles games as well.

I have a new found ability for craftiness and used it a few times to make baby diaper cakes for friends these past few months.  

J.C. had sinus surgery the week of Thanksgiving which made for an all too quiet holiday. With him recovering and family going in every which way Thanksgiving just wasn't the same. 

I've been able to travel a lot! I went to visit Katherine in Utah for a long weekend, went to visit a friend at UVA in Charlottesville, flew to Oregon for a friends dad's funeral and to see an old roommate, and now I'm currently in the Outer Banks with my family. Every weekend for about 2 months I felt like I was repacking the things I had just taken out of my suitcase the weekend before. I'm been grateful to have been able to be on the move though. The traveling has been a nice excuse to see old friends and has made me better at keeping up with other friends whom I have not seen. 

Thanks to my travels I've seen:

in order of appearance

Katherine

Lauren (and Santino)

Jordan

Rafa (and his parents...love them and the new tattoo)

Amber and friends

Whitney P.

 (thanks so much for hosting me! I had so much  fun and can't wait to do it again soon)

Whitney N. 

Katie 

Kim!!!

Steve 

David

Rafa (again) 

Kelvin

Jess

Kim!!!(again)

Shelly and Stephen

Allie

Tyler

Gaby

I hope I didn't forget anyone and I know I have quite a few more stops to make to keep up with everyone but if you invite me I'll probably find an excuse to come.  

This past week at the beach has been really enjoyable. I can't think of a better way to spend the week before Christmas than drinking hot chocolate by the fire in my room overlooking the ocean. I've been able to relax and rejuvenate before the holiday. I've also taken advantage of the hot tub, experienced hurricane force winds, saw dolphins play outside my bedroom window, did a polar bear swim, watched the sunrise every morning, pet a shark (my favorite part of the whole trip), had delicious food and caught up on some reading. I really wish I didn't have to leave.  

Can't Wait

I cannot wait to watch these guys tonight at the Closing Ceremonies.

What a Way to Start the Week

A man came into my office building this morning and shot and killed himself in the lobby bathroom. 

I have never completely understood when some people say that after a burglary or something of the sort they feel violated but after today I do. To have someone come into your building, a space that you feel safe in, in an unstable mental state and shoot themselves was really scary. We were all very lucky that this man was only interested in taking his own life and not the lives of other's but it honestly makes me sick just thinking about it. I knew I should have skipped work today.

Que Guapo

I woke up at 4:00 this morning to be able to see this handsome little guy swim in his first ever Olympics. I hardly got any sleep last night because I was so nervous and anxious for him to swim but I couldn't be more proud of him for working so hard and am so happy he got to fulfill one of his life long dreams. 

Here's an interview with him talking about the whole experience.

E Pluribus Unum

I love everything American so I was so excited when I got invited to go on a tour of the Capitol today. Despite living here my whole entire life, I had never been on a tour of the Capitol before, let alone the VIP tour. Thanks Shelly!

Summer Time and the Livin is Easy

With the official start of summer come the official summer activities. I feel like a lot has happened already and its only the beginning of July.

 I spent Memorial Day in Connecticut with some friends. We lounged by the pool, got manicures and pedicures, went shopping, and laughed a lot.

We slept under the stars before a day of sailing on the Chesapeake near Solomon's Island and I woke up to this beautiful sunrise. 

I was a little surprised when I got this phone call at my office.*

Got to hang out with this little buddy one night. He is honestly a perfect child.  

The storm of the season blew through town knocking out power for nearly 4 days. With no electricity, no air conditioning and having to boil the water supply, we skipped town.

 This view was waiting for me at Seven Springs Resort in Pennsylvania. 

When I had to head back to the city for work I was lucky enough to stay in a hotel right by my office...and Wegmans....and DSW. New shoes make all the world's problems seem just a little more manageable.

Finally to celebrate my favorite holiday of all time, a bunch of friends went white water tubing down the Shenandoah at Harper's Ferry then watched the fireworks from the Lincoln Memorial. 

Its been a fairly eventful couple of weeks. 

*Unfortunately THE Michael Phelps was not calling my office. 

Best Night of My Life

Ok that might sound a little over dramatic but it seriously was the best night of my life.

Just as we got out of our car at the venue it started to rain. We got drenched. It was by far the loudest event I have ever been to you couldn't even hear the first song the band did because people were screaming too loudly. I started to get upset. I spent about a million dollars on these tickets and I wasn't even going to be able to hear anything! After the first two songs it did quiet down a smidge so that you were able to hear them. Niall (one of the band members if you are not intimately familiar with One Direction) tweeted that the loudness of the concert was on another level. They do this every night and they were even surprised.

Throughout the concert I kept turning to Kim saying I am so happy right now. You don't even understand how happy I am. I smiled the whole entire time. I understand that this is ridiculous. I'm 24. I get it but I had a good time and I would do it again. Here are a few highlights.

One Direction

I wont be purchasing anything in the near future because I just spent a fortune on tickets to see these guys. Yes I am inappropriately obsessed with an underage boy band. 

Over the past few weeks I watched their entire season of UK X Factor and I absolutely love them.
I should be embarrassed but I'm not. I can't wait. 

Throw Back

A friend posted this little gem earlier and I just had to share. 

Olympic Dreams

This is the newest face of the El Salvador Olympic Team!
Our family is so proud of him.

This weekend he also qualified for the US Olympic Trials and the US Open.

Congratulations!!!

Addicted

I think I might have s bit of a shopping addiction. This is my latest addition.

Thanks Vera!

I received my $20 off  my purchase Happy Birthday Gift from Vera Bradley this month and decided on this little bag to add to my collection. I was excited when I got to the counter and the lady commented on the elephants. I didn't even realize it had elephants on it!

Jimmer Night

I got to see this kid play on Wednesday night against the Wizards. It certainly was nothing like a college basketball game at the Marriott Center...nothing can beat standing outside in a blizzard for hours with 3,000 other people to get tickets to those last few BYU basketball games. Both the Kings and the Wizards were absolutely terrible and it has since affirmed my passion for college athletics. The highlight of the game was the youth league basketball game during half time. Now that was some real talent. 

Friends and Family

So I got to go on my next vacation much sooner than anticipated. This weekend I flew to (don't hate me Erika) Los Angeles to see Rafa swim in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Conference Championships. I was only there for about oh not even 48 hours but I had a fantastic weekend. 

Rafa had been asking me for a few months if I would be able to come to any of his swim meets but up until now I had not had the opportunity to make it out to Utah or anywhere else he was swimming. Well last week Rafa asked me one more time if I would be able to make it to conference championships and I really was hating having to tell him that I wouldn't be able to make it when I checked the flights one last time. So Thursday night at 12:30 I'm checking all the airlines and I found 1 flight at the perfect time for way cheaper than any flight to California should ever be and the next week I was on a plane to L.A. 

Rafa's parents flew in from El Salvador so I got to meet them for the first time which was a highlight of the trip. I absolutely loved them and cannot wait to see them again. I also got to see Rafa swim and get his best time, BYU win the conference championship and I even helped my friend Lacey buy her very first car. 

When the weekend ended I was sad to leave. Rafa is my family and it is always sad when you have to leave your family. Here are a few pictures to remember the weekend by though.

Old Timers

As many of you know I have 2 Grandmothers with Alzheimer's Disease. When I graduated from college I made the decision to move back in with my parents to be closer to family and to help care for my aging Grandmothers. Although one recently moved into an assisted living, it is tough caring for not 1 but 2 family members with such an awful disease. My mother is a fantastic woman; I honestly don't know how she does it. Here are some of the things that we have learned along the way. 

1. Laughter is some of the best medicine. If you can't laugh at the situation you will go crazy
(and trust me there is enough crazy in this house that there isn't room for much more)

2. Sometimes you just have to take it 1 day at a time. If today was a rough day, tomorrow might be better.

3. We can only control the things we can actually control. We can't control other people's emotions or mental health, we can only control how we respond and react to others. 

4. You can't expect someone in a memory care facility to remember anything. The two are mutually exclusive.

5. Life is often hard but every day is worth the experience. We have the capacity to do much more than we originally thought we could. 

Home

I am a sucker for patriotic country songs...

and Dierks Bentley. 

Plan B?

Not really sure why this hasn't caught on in the BYU vending machines yet. 

Just kidding.

Bahamas 2012

I made a New Years(ish) resolution to keep in better contact with all  of my friends. I have decided that his includes blogging more. So here we go.

 January flew by. It may have been because I spent 7 days on a cruise with my friend Lacey. For the most part we had an enjoyable time. The boat was a little too rocky for Lacey's taste but I was glad that it just rocked and didn't end up on any rocks. The cruise line took extra precautions to make sure that we were safe the entire time.

We flew into Orlando a few days before to spend some extra time relaxing and going to Harry Potter World. The ride in the castle was the best. Like always, the line is substantially longer then the actual ride but the designers of the ride made the line wind and weave throughout the castle. Memorabilia (replicas of memorabilia) were placed through the line and it seemed as if you were actually in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We saw the sorting hat and the moving pictures, the Goblet of Fire and Ron, Hermione and Harry. It took about an hour to get through the line but the line itself was an attraction so it went by quickly.

The boat left on Monday so we boarded, got lunch and then found our stateroom. We had an ocean view state room which was cozy but certainly enough room for just the 2 of us. 

We sailed through the night on Monday and then all Tuesday. I would have rather had our day at sea as the last day but it worked out fine.

Wednesday we stopped at Half Moon Cay which was my absolute favorite port. It was the cruise's private island so there were no other people, the beach was well kept with soft sand and gorgeous water. We sat our on the beach for a few hours and then went jet skiing. At first I had a little bit of trouble. I'm not sure why but when I finally realized that you ride it like a motorcycle I was good to go. We went in this lagoon on one side of the island and then out into the ocean. It was a bit choppy but we had a blast. After jet skiing we went back to the boat ordered room service for an afternoon snack, took showers and settled in for a nap. This you will see became a trend throughout the vacation. 

That night for dinner both Lacey and I tried the escargot. I would say that it wasn't bad but it had the texture that you would imagine a snail would have. I think it was a one time try for me. 

Thursday we docked at Nassau Bahamas. I can honestly say that I would never go back here. It was dirty and the people were scary. We didn't have an excursion planned so we went to Guest Information desk on the boat and asked if there was a beach nearby that we could walk to. We were informed that it was a 15 minute walk to the beach so we went with it. 45 minutes later we end up at Junkaroo Beach. This beach is aptly named because it was a piece of junk. I didn't take a picture of it because I honestly didn't feel safe at all. I found a picture of the beach online and the picture is very deceiving. When we went there were no other cruise people and there were pieces of glass all over the sand.  It was the water from the shipping yard so it wasn't even the ocean...just dirty ship water and then there were men sitting in their cars just watching the beach. I turned to Lacey and told her that I was not taking my clothes off. I made the executive decision to walk the 45 minutes back to the ship where we picked up a taxi and went to Atlantis. 

Atlantis was ok but it certainly wasn't everything I had hoped it would be. The beach was infested with people peddling cheap jewelry and rum drinks. Even if I did drink I wouldn't purchase a drink from a strange Bahamian man on the beach. Maybe its just me but that just doesn't seem too smart. We toured the aquariums a bit and had lunch but it was soon time to return to the ship. We left the resort about an hour and a half before the ship was scheduled to leave just to make sure we could get back. The taxi ride to Atlantis was only about 7 minutes but we sat in traffic for a good 50 minutes. I was getting worried because I had to idea where we were. I couldn't see the ship or the port and didn't know how far away we were. A few silent prayers were said in my head and I told myself and Lacey that if we didn't start moving in 5 minutes that we would get out and just walk to the boat. As always our prayers (or just my prayers...I'm not sure that Lacey was too worried) were answered and we started moving just in time to blow a tire. We drove the rest of the way back to the port with 3 tires and a rim. I'm sure by the time we got back to the port it was no longer resembling a wheel though. It sure didn't feel like it. I was just glad to be back. We made our way through the port terminal and through Bahamian security when they asked us for our IDs. I pulled out my ship card and my drivers license but Lacey didn't have her ID with her. Luckily they let us through anyway. It would have been a real hassle to walk all the way back to the boat get Lacey's ID walk all the way back to the terminal and then all the way back to the boat. When we did get to our room we immediately ordered room service, took showers and settled in for our nap. 

For dinner our unusual food was Alligator. I've had Alligator before so it wasn't super unusual but I enjoyed it.  Our dinner group consisted of me and Lacey, 2 sisters and their husbands in their late 50s early 60s and a mother and adult daughter. We were the youngest by far but the group as a whole was quite entertaining. We heard lots of good stories and funny things from our dinner table. I provided the dancing entertainment. Each night during the crew performance I would get up and dance for everyone. They enjoyed it, I enjoyed it and the crew (including the waiter at the table next to us the Jimmer Fredette look alike aka the Jimposter) did too. We took a picture of him but looking at the picture now, he seems to look a lot less like Jimmer than we originally thought. 

The last day we were in Freeport which was much cleaner and friendlier. We also learned our lesson in Nassau and booked a shore excursion. Right inside the port there was a little market with shops and food stands so before our snorkeling excursion we toured the market where you could buy ugly beach cover ups for $50 and cheap trinkets that you regret purchasing as soon as you get back on the boat. I was not persuaded into buying anything so we got on the bus for our excursion and headed to Port Lucaya and Treasure Reef to snorkel. Both Lacey and I had our own snorkel gear so we suited up for an enjoyable afternoon in the ocean. We saw hundreds of fish. The water was much more choppy than it had been when I snorkeled in Key West a few years ago but Freeport had many more fish. I also think that it didn't hurt that the guides were throwing out fish food into the water but I literally left like I was a part of a school of fish. I loved it. My favorite fish were a dark neon blue school of fish and then a few all black fish with the white ribbon at the base of their fin. Both Lacey and I were exhausted after the hour of snorkeling so when we got back to the boat we ordered room service, took showers and settled in for a nap. 

Our last night we felt like we really had to take advantage of all the food. I ordered 3 appetizers and Lacey ordered 3 desserts. Above are the before and after shots of her desserts. It was more of a tasting than a full eating of the desserts.

All in all we had an enjoyable time and lots of adventures. Now I just have to start planning my next vacation. Anyone have any ideas?