I Don't Know What to Call This

So I'm a total loser and uploaded all of our vacation pics to Adam's computer and for some reason he's having trouble connecting to the internet here. Hence, no Christmas posts. I'm working on it. We've basically been eating pizza and italian wedding cake, sleeping in, watching movies, and apartment searching online all week. It's been a great time with family and friends and we're sad that the trip ends tomorrow morning. 
Favorite Christmas quote: 
Grandpa Handley--"Britney, tell your doctor that the due date is the 27th (it's really the 21st, but Gpa's bday is the 27th). So you'll just have to keep your legs closed until then." 
Nice. 
What Adam got for Christmas: Two video games, LEGO Star Wars, H&M pants, H&M shoes, iTunes gift cards, a mug that says "Hide Your Kids, Hide Your Wife", and lots and lots of candy. 
What Britney got for Christmas: New-freaking-awesome maternity coat and tank top, H&M sweater, milkshake maker/mixer, 2 pairs of Urban Outfitters oxfords, Twilight from Edward, and lots and lots of darling little man clothes for my little Adam. Can't wait. 

We love each other. Obviously. Wish us good weather and flying conditions on our voyage back to Rexburg! 

Just Kidding

So just kidding, Adam and I are not moving to Boise, ID. 
We're moving to Portland, OR! 
While we were busy packing last Monday for our move and trip back east, Adam got a call from the company in Portland that originally couldn't hire him, telling him that plans had changed and they wanted to offer him the job. We were FLOORED. We had already made plans in Boise, we even had an apartment, and told them we would call them back the next day. After a stressful night, we called Portland the next morning telling them we'd accept the position. It was a bitter-sweet decision for sure--the position and offer were better, but we were really looking forward to living next to Adam's brother and his wife and little ones. But we had a feeling we needed to be in Portland, so holy cow that's what we're doing. We get back on Wednesday and have to move out of our little apartment Thursday morning--so I'm kind of freaking out.

It's no New York, but Portland's a super cool place. 

Happenings

Can you tell I haven't been able to located my camera until now? Hope so. Is that an excuse? Absolutely not. Sorry darlings. This has been a crazy last couples of months. To recap:
Halloween: 

Adam and I caved in and went to our ward Halloween party as Edward and Bella. We were poor and had no time. I think we nailed it. If that's even something to be proud of. The day before, we went trick-or-treating with Natalie and her little girls, as well as my little sister Brynne. We had, once again, 0 time (like literally 10 minutes) to figure out what to be so we just threw on whatever neon colored stuff we had and went as 80s freaks. I love trick-or-treating. I've gone every year since I was a child and don't plan on stopping anytime soon. 
So how did I get away with it? 
I went to the doors with Sienna and my pillowcase explaining that I was there to collect for the sick sister at home. Dishonest? Absolutely. But I justified it with the fact that Sienna would probably eat most of mine anyway. Oh, and Brynne went as a chi-mo (child molester). Yeah she's kind of awkward. 
Thanksgiving: Brynne and the two of us drove to Vancouver, WA to Adam's family's. Everyone was there and it was a zoo. We slept on an air mattress upstairs in the play room and were woken up every morning to the little ones wondering if it was play time yet. Lisa, Mindie, and Amanda also threw me a fantastic baby shower and we got all kinds of neat things to go along with our nautical theme for Jude's room. It was a great week and we enjoyed the family time and time off from school. Also, Adam interviewed at an ad agency in Portland that really liked him and his work (well duh...). 
The past couple weeks: I passed my nursing exit exam first try (by a hair), which was a total relief. Standardized tests are really lame and totally screw with your head. Adam hung up his BFA project, which he did awesomely on, and has basically been done with school since. Meanwhile, we waited to hear back about Adam's job possibilities. Portland called back saying they REALLY liked Adam and his work, but couldn't get permission from the CEO in Boston to hire on another employee right now. I started sweating it because that meant we only had one other option, which was in Boise. Adam and I drove to Boise and stayed with his brother and sister-in-law Matt and Kim and interviewed there just last week. We waited till the end of the week and they finally called offering him the job!

SO---we're moving to Boise on the 31st after we get back from visiting my family back east! Holy cow. 
Graduation: 

Adam's parents and my parents and two sisters came to graduation this past weekend. Friday was the dedication of the BYU-I Center, which is a scaled down version of the conference center, so it's huge, where President Henry B. Eyring with Elders Nelson and Bednar dedicated it and the Manwaring Center. It was just awesome. Unfortunately, that same day was my nursing pinning (which everyone else has pictures of), at the exact same time as Adam's convocation. So he didn't see me get my pin and I didn't see him get his diploma...cover. Really sucked but oh well. The next day was commencement and my convocation and then the festivities were over. 
So now, we're leaving for NY in a few days and trying to get our apartment and ourselves ready for this new move. All along Jude and I are getting huge and I'm really excited to start this new chapter in our lives. Nursing jobs in Boise also look super promising. Looks like this will be a year of huge changes and blessings and we can't wait to see where life takes us now. HOLY CRAP I'M DONE WITH NURSING SCHOOL! 

Baby Shower

Hey everyone!
So my friend Natalie is hosting a baby shower for me this Saturday at 11AM at the Village clubhouse--and you're all invited!
RSVP to Natalie. I hope you can all make it! If you can't bring a present, come anyway! 

20 week Maternity Shoot

So my insanely creative and talented friend Myra drove all the way from LA this past weekend to surprise me with a visit! I just love her. She brightens my life. She's a little ball of energy and I wish I was more like that. I asked her what we were going to do during her visit and she was like, "We're doing a maternity shoot! I've always wanted to do one!" Soooooo she picked a 60s theme for me and I just LOVED it. I've got to say though, maternity is a hard thing to model for. You can basically show two emotions: serious and sweet. Both of which I look pretty amateur doing. So anyway, here's a couple! 

Anyone left wondering what we're having??
It's a little BOY!
He's so cute.
The first view we saw once the ultrasound tech placed the probe on my belly was him legs spread out wide showing off his bum and goods. 
There's no mistaking it--he's a boy--and Adam couldn't be more excited. The first thing he said was, "Omg....I'm buying him a little golfing set and we're gunna play soccer." 
I'm stoked to have another man in my life...he'll be my little buddy. 
I'm hoping he looks like Adam. And I wish he could come out with Adam's scar on his right cheek bone. 
Well, I'm 21 weeks! CRAZY! A little bit more than halfway done. 

Cupcakes

After school (and some pricey, but delicious Mexican food), I got a ridiculous craving for something sweet--like authentic donut sweet. Buuttt the really good new donut shop closed early, and we went home (I went home) unsatisfied. So we decided to use the Halloween cupcake decorations Mom Stevens sent us to be festive and bake our own treats with. Because we're lame and un-creative, we decided to finally be Bella and Edward for Halloween. I guess I'll just be wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, and a confused daze. I'm powdering Adam's face white and he's gunna go find some cheap fangs. On Friday we're going to our ward's party and Saturday's trick-or-treating with Natalie. I love how tradition never dies. We also made Jack-'o-lanterns. 
Mine's the generic crappy one, Adam's is him. 

We find out what the little one is on Monday! Any guesses??? Should I post up a generic poll? Meh. My back hurts. I feel huge. 

18.5 Weeks

And another week has flown by (obviously). I'm beginning to wish I had more money to buy maternity clothes because every thing's getting snugger with my protruding abdomen. I am becoming increasingly more uncomfortable and have contemplated on multiple occasions my desire to wear sweatpants to school--which I would never do. I need dresses, jeans, etc. Ugh. I'm kind of trying not to care though because we're almost done with school and during the last trimester I will probably be sitting at home on my fat, fat bum in PJ's with my computer on my lab preparing for the NCLEX all day, every day. 

My eating habits are pretty horrible. I get these massive bouts of random starvation and usually just grab whatever's in site. This week it's been left over carrot cake and pumpkin roll from my party. If anyone was ever a candidate for gestational diabetes, it'd probably be someone like me. I've been running here and there but nothing too consistent. I heard that the more you exercise and stay active during the pregnancy the easier it is and the faster you lose weight afterward. That sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. 

Anyway, this weekend I'm finishing my preceptorship (sad) and will continue with the rest of my peers at regular clinical, which I'm not even remotely looking forward to. Adam's super busy doing stuff for his BFA. He's had late nights and early mornings every day for the past few weeks. I feel so bad! But I'm impressed with his ability stay motivated and energetic. I know I'm not. I haven't had an appointment with Dr. Pepper for awhile and it's really starting to piss me off.

p.s. these pics are super blurry. And we took them right before bed, so no, I don't look like a mom that doesn't care...yet. 

Birthday Weekend

I pretty much had an awesome birthday. And since scenario was over and it was on Friday, I could actually enjoy myself. On Friday, Adam took me to Pita Pit for lunch (basically Subway but waaaaayyy better), and then we went to the pumpkin patch with our friends Heidi and Ty after school. We got two huge pumpkins and one little one for baby. Not sure what we're gunna do with that one yet.

After pumpkin picking, Adam took me shopping. I immediately went to Motherhood and got a sweet pair of Heidi Klum designed maternity skinny jeans. I love them because they don't have the belly band, they're just super elastic all the way around. AND Adam said that the wash on them makes my legs look super skinny. SOLD. Our last stop was TJ Maxx where I basically got the birthday shoes of the century for a steal. I will probably be wearing them everyday for the rest of my life. They look like this: 


We were starving, so on our way home we got a NY style pizza (large) from Lucy's. By the time we got home there were only 2 out of the huge 8 pieces left. Either it was that good or we were that hungry (no, you're just a pig). We got home exhausted, so it was only appropriate to sit back and cuddle with a movie and Oreos. That's basically my dream day. 
The next day, also referred to as the "Second Day of My Birthday", my besty Natalie had a party for me. Her spread was insane. Did she stop at a chocolate fountain with a ridiculous amount of dippies? Nope. She made carrot cake, german chocolate cake, apple pie, pumpkin pie, and bought spinach and artichoke dip from Applebees. A bunch of my nursing friends and friends from the ward came and it was lots of fun. 
As a result, Adam threw up this morning and I, Natalie and Grant, all had trouble sleeping last night. You know a party was killer if everyone goes home sick. We'll probably go back today and eat more food. 

p.s. I felt uber guilty for feeding baby so much crap. Especially the Velveeta with salsa dip--did you know that stuff doesn't have to be refrigerated???
Oh, and Adam got me a new vacuum (does that sound like Father and the Bride and the blender??) that I asked for and did an illustration of me that's hanging in our room. 

It was an awesome two days of my birthday. Thanks so much to all who participated! 

17.5 Weeks

It's been another week. At this time I'm feeling uncomfortable sleeping on my stomach, wake up finding myself on my back and unable to breathe, and jeans digging into my womb. Ahhhh the growing. I've felt the baby move so much more distinctly. I can't believe we find out what it is in 2.5 weeks! What do you think it is?
I think the worst part of the growing is the ligaments stretching and accommodating--it's sad to think they'll never be quite that taut again. 
On Tuesday I had my last scenario EVER. We had a DKA "patient" and I actually had a pretty good time. The skills and orders were all straight forward and I think I left my mannequin better off than when I came in. I'm so relieved it's finally over. Scenario always feels like a major wall in the way of me moving forward in the semester. 
For my birthday on Friday, Adam's taking me shoe shopping (horah!) and then we're gunna grab a Lucy's NY style pizza on the way home to cuddle and watch a movie with. Saturday my besty Natalie is hosting a celebration with chocolate fountains and pumpkin pie. I love my birthday! It's during my favorite time of year. The leaves are changing and falling, the air is cool and crisp, and I love bundling up with a peacoat and scarf. 
Currently my house is smelling of vanilla cinnamon--it makes me feel like the holidays are just around the corner. 

The Baby In My Belly

So, not much a change, but there's a little rounded bump. It might be just because I ate wwwaaayyy too many chocolate chip cookies last night. But whatever. 

So this is me at 16.5 weeks. I think I'll just take pics every 2 weeks or so.

K bye. 

A Different Kind of Obesity

I've been thinking a lot about weight recently. I learn all the time about how major of a risk factor obesity is to the majority of all cancers and other diseases and the complications that occur from being overweight when in the hospital. In my pre-teeny years, I was overweight and super self-conscious about it. I was at that stage in life when I wanted to be well-liked and the object of every pre-pubescent boy's affection. But, this wasn't a reality for me. I was 4 ft. 11 and packed full with 150 lbs. of tender baby fat. And I was tall--much taller than those skinny 80 lbs. girls that dressed in white and pink Limited Too and Gap garb--I wore my sister's Old Navy boy's-wear hand-me-downs. Oh please, my life was wonderful, normal, and joyful. But I think we all are looking for ways to improve ourselves and mine was to lose weight and look like the rest of my friends. 

That happened once I began puberty and field hockey. Lots of running and hormones did me some good and I finally felt good about myself.

I began high school at my perfect weight, but, high school sports and waaaayy too many study halls caused me to end my senior year 30 lbs. heavier than I wanted to be. Well gosh what the heck. Obviously I grew, became more of a woman, blahblahblah. I felt hopeless. Yet, the gods of weight loss threw me another bone and I was soon redeemed by a win-lose illness that required strict diet precautions and proved a painful recovery. I lost 10 lbs. like that and kept it off. Up and down I've gone over the years, but continue to compare myself to that perfect weight back when I was 15. Is that so hard to ask for? I knew this matter was entirely in my hands and so I started Weight Watchers a couple of months ago and loved watching my scale knock a pound off each week. Ahhhh control. But, suddenly, I stopped losing weight. I dieted but still wouldn't lose an ounce and I grew tired of working so hard to have no pay-off. 

Well what the heck!

So, what did I do?

I went to the doctor to get tested.

Tested for what?

Pregnancy.

What happened?

I wound up positive for a pea-sized parasite implanted in my untouched uterus. 

AKA: pregnant. 

So, I've gained 10 lbs. (of baby and me, or something), and although I'm still obsessed with my weight--I'm not pushing out no 10 lbs. baby, sorry--I've learned to listen to my body and give it what it and my little avocado need.

So, how far along am I?

17 weeks on Monday.

Surprise, surprise! 

Were we planning it? Absolutely not. 

Are we wicked excited about it? Totally!

Have I been sick? Nope, not a single day. Queasiness here and there, but I've been so blessed. I'm in a demanding major and I've been able to clean up poo (lots and lots of poo), sit next to a container full of lung aspirate, do several night shifts, and study for ridiculous weekly tests without falling behind. 

Consequently, I'm fat, but healthy, and I'm excited to welcome this knew little being into our family in March. 

So, incase any of you totally missed this:

I'm preggo. The babe is the size of an avocado and kicking like crazy all the time. I just love taking this little one on my last semester of nursing school in the hospital and in all of my daily-doings. It's kind of neat and I feel like I have a little buddy with me 24/7. Better get used to it I guess.

We weren't planning to try having kiddos until this upcoming May, thinking that would be the perfect time, but I've realized that there is no perfect time to have children (while you're married). If you're waiting for it, you'll never have kids. Some say they'll wait until they're more financially stable or able to save more money. If you wait for that day you will never have kids. The more you go about life the more responsibilities and bills you pay and although you may make more money, more of it is shunted from your paycheck to your increasingly more expensive adult life. 

That's the shpiel, that's the latest current event, that's our major stressor but our greatest joy and anticipation. 

We find out what we're having November 1st and we're super excited! My OB is a physician I shadowed last semester and got to know on a professional and personal basis and we just love him. 

Thanks for all those who have already thrown out tons of love and support! We love you all and can't thank you enough for your kindness and selflessness. 

I'll save the belly pics for another day--like tomorrow. 

Last Semester

Welp, we're in the midst of yet another semester--but this time, it's our last! It's so bitter/sweet. The reality that we will soon be leaving one of the best universities in the country for our majors--where we've made tons of great friends and even more precious memories--first sat in when we bought our books for the last time. I love this university. It cares more about education than ratings and sports. I have had professors who are surgeons, physical therapists, nurse practitioners, doctors of anat. and phys., etc.  and have learned directly from them and been inspired by their passion. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be able to go into those professionals' offices and be instructed personally by them. Holy moly. Anyway--
This semester I started a preceptorship on the cardiac floor at EIRMC. From one night shift there with my amazing preceptor, I saw two codes, stood in the elevator with a dead man, inserted medications through a peg tube, performed tracheostomy suctioning, administered tons of medications, taught patients how to deal with their diseases, and lots of other things. Omgosh I've having so much fun. 
Being at this specific floor, I have to monitor heart sounds. And..umm..yeah..my stethoscope somehow got stepped on and the diaphragm is poking out and I can't hear a thing with it. Story of my life--especially since I just started clinical. Soooo, I begged my parents to give me an early graduation present--and here it is: 

It's the 3M Littmann Master Cardiology Stethoscope. Sorry, I don't mean to be annoying, bragging about things very limited people care about, I'm just finally having a really good time at clinical. For some reason my previous instructors thought I would enjoy being assigned to boring orthopedic patients with broken hips or recovering for total knees. Now I'm taking care of people with interesting pathophysiology. I know that with a heart attack, my patient most likely has valve damage, which means he will have an audible murmur. And then I know that he will experience decreased cardiac output and have all kinds of other problems. I feel like I'm finally applying the information I've been working so hard to master and it's a really satisfying feeling. I feel like I'm finally making a difference in the lives of my patients. Anyway, this stethoscope is the bomb. It picks of everything. People hard of hearing buy these babies. 
Gosh school is good. Too bad it had to wait until my last semester. 

Random Thoughts From People Our Age

Right now, I'm in the Newark, NJ airport waiting on standby to get on a flight to Houston and then to Salt Lake. It might be a long day, but nevertheless, I've decided to make it a good one. So, considering the amount of time I may or may not be spending in this or another airport, this post may be one of many for the day. See if you can keep up! 

So I came across this random list awhile back, and I found it both ridiculously accurate and amusing. I hope I don't just have an odd sense of humor.

Enjoy!Random Thoughts from People Our Age

• I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
• More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.
• Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
• Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
• That's enough, Nickelback.
• I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
• Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?
• Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
• There is a great need for sarcasm font.
• Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw it.
• I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
• How are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
• I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
• I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
• The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.
• Was learning cursive really necessary?
• Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
• I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
• Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
• My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.
• Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart.”
• How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
• I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent an idiot from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
• Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
• What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
• While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
• MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
• Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
• I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
• Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
• I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."
• I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
• Bad decisions make good stories.
• Whenever I'm Facebook-stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
• Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier and sluttier every year?
• If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
• Why is it that during an icebreaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....
• You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
• Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
• There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
• I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
• "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
• I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
• I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dang it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
• I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
• When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
• I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
• Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
• As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
• Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
• It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
• I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
• Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
• Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey- but I'd bet everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
• My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How do I respond to that?
• It really ticks me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
• I wonder if cops ever get ticked off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
• I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
• The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fatty before dinner.

Myra Shoot Preview

I already put this pic up on facebook, but I thought I'd feature it here too--basically because my photographer is awesome! A couple months ago, my friend Myra asked me to be a model to do a shoot to enhance her portfolio. She and I both share the same affinity for vintage-inspired clothing, accept she's waaayyy more fashionable and creative than I could ever dream. She wants to go into fashion photography and I couldn't have been more enthusiastic to participate. 
Here's just a taste of what she did. I had so much fun with her. I seriously felt like I was hanging out with my bff while taking crazy pictures in our PJ's and jumping like lunatics on my bed. That kind of crazy fun. I want to do it again--so badly. 

Vacation Update

By the way, before I even start, I just want you to know that I am currently disliking (tremendously) my blog design/background. I need Adam to fix it because he used his computer savvy-ness to screw with almost everything. Until then, it'll be overly earthy. 
So, where to begin?
To recap:
Week 1: Week 1 was spent in upstate NY in the Adirondacks by Lake George. Gorgeous place. We go there every summer as kind of a family reunion for family on my dad's side. Basically the whole week is spent swimming, working out, hiking, boating, playing tennis and shuffle board, eating overpriced food, and scarfing down tons of late-night ice cream--all while staying in a super old/gorgeous cabin in the Appalachian Mountains. It's a great breath of fresh air. 

Week 2: Week 2 was crazy--so crazy that I don't even have pictures for everything that we did. Monday, we went to Dutch Springs, which is an aqua park situated on one of PA's many fresh water (are any of them not fresh?) quarries. The park consists of water trampolines, a blob, steep icebergs, slides, and anything else  used for flotation devices. Lots of fun and super tiring. 
The next day we went out with my brother and his girlfriend, Courtney to see "The Other Guys." Honestly, I thought I wouldn't be as disappointed as I was. You know when you're watching a movie and everything's going good and then all of a sudden they just have to include a crude, irrelevant scene that makes you feel so awkward that you almost feel compelled to leave? It was like that. Anyway, unless you like random spurts of crude humor, I wouldn't recommend it. The next day we went to visit my grandparents at the Jersey Shore and spend some time at the beach. Adam loves it there because the water is warm (not like the Oregon coast) and he can swim like a little fishy all day.

Thursday was our NYC day. Thank goodness this year it was a cloudy, cool day with little sprinkles of rain here and there. Last time it was so unbearably hot that we stayed in H&M basically the entire time. What was ridiculously coincidental was that the Judy's from our ward were spending the day in the city too while they've been visiting in Boston. We took them to get jumbo slice and showed them around to the temple and Central Park. It was way fun meeting up with them. After so much-needed shopping, stopping in St. Mark's for some cheap sunglasses and Japanese food, we headed back to PA. 

By Friday morning, I was exhausted. But was I surprised to hear my dad's pleas to take us to Camelbeach? Nope. So, Adam, Bryon and I went with dad to Camelbeach water park and had tons of more fun in the sun. 
Adam left for home on Saturday, leaving me to spend some chill time with my family. My bff Tara drove all the way down from West Point Military Academy with her man to come visit me for the day. We went to Carrabbas and then spent the rest of the night chilling with her and her family. I love the Brown's. All through high school I was found swimming in their pool, sleeping over at their house, baking cookies in their kitchen, and so on. Being with them again brought back a lot of good and embarrassing memories. 


So, obviously we're on week 3 right now, which I'm not going to inform you on the contents of because (a) it's not done yet and (b) nothing crazy/awesome has happened yet. 
Till next week!