that one time...

that mark came to visit. granted, he was here on business…but he called, and i ditched work. we went out to lunch and he ran a few errands with me. icing on the cake, we went to target and i loaded this hello kitty bag chuck full of hello kitty gear (sophies newest obsession). when i asked mark if he was ok taking it as his carry on, he said "are you kidding? i'm proud. this means i have a daughter that i love!" man alive, he's a good guy. 

things you miss when your power goes out

i haven't had to deal with a power outage in a long time, and guess what? it's the pits. it also made me realize how much i take for granted every day (weird how that works, right?)
let's start with the plugs. i know that seems obvious, but how is one supposed to dry your hair and such if you can't plug them in and have them turn on?
in case you forgot, your kitchen appliances also use plugs. i guess i won't microwave anything, or cook eggs, or make a breakfast smoothie for that matter. hmm.
obviously the tv won't turn on, and even though your computer is completely charged, the internet doesn't work.
it's been cold and rainy the last few days. my house also needs power for the heat to turn on. seriously.
go somewhere where there's power? great idea. i mean grandma only lives 10 minutes away. but my car is parked in the garage, and i've since learned that my garage door doesn't open without power.
lucky for me i had a fully charged cell phone. but what to do when that dies?

basically i learned how dependent i am on electricity, and i get that it's 2014 but it still made me rethink things a bit. what would i do in a natural disaster or emergency? i mean it's great if i have gas in my car, but it doesn't do me much good if it's stuck in the garage. it also made me rethink how i spend my time. my house was really quiet this morning, and that should have been ok. instead i found myself wondering what to do. I'm excited for summer and the idea of being able to be outside more. who knows, i might even take up reading :)

brain wash

i turned down spending time with a boy tonight because "i needed to be by myself and think through some stuff". after claiming to have a bad day (which, let's be honest...i've had better...and worse, but that's beside the point) i really did just want to come home and wear sweat pants and eat ice cream...and continue to stew about the stuff that was bugging me. i know that i'll sleep it off and in the morning, things will be better. until then, i'll tickle your fancy with a few things i've learned about....well, things (ok, me):

1. i'm a people pleaser. i want other people to be happy, even if it means at my expense. its something i'm working to communicate better-- with coworkers, family and friends. believe it or not, i do have boundaries, and they can be pushed, or crossed (and that's when i flip out)

2. i spend alot of time accommodating other people. for the most part, i really enjoy it. i like seeing other people happy and stuff. sometimes i could care less. sometimes i experience a guilt because i'm the one who's most able to accommodate, and i just don't want to.

3. i like the chase. like i used to think it would be nice to have someone who's obsessed with me... but i'm learning that as much as it might seem like a game, i like the chase. about 5 years ago, my dad told me i needed to be more "mysterious" in my dating. i hated that advice, and now i'm realizing i hated it because i didn't understand it (funny how that works, right?). don't get me wrong, i need to be pursued...but there needs to be a little bit of mystery. the intrigue that makes you want to see them again, and vice versa. too much too fast takes the fun out of everything.

4. why is it the boys i dont want to date or cant date are obsessed with me and the boys i can and want to date...well, aren't. i've never been good at test taking, and this test is no different. at this point, i'd rather be sitting in the testing center with a number 2 pencil and a scantron. this real life stuff is the pits.

5. i will forever love the rain. it's soothing. it smells so fresh. everything seems clean. and then add thunder and lightning to the mix, and i'm a happy girl. i could open every window in the house and sit on the porch and sit out a whole storm. even though i stay where it's dry, i still feel that release-- let it go-- feeling, which is sometimes just what i need. thank goodness for rain.

st. geezy

let me start out with my birthday/graduation shout out to my funniest and youngest brother. i still can't believe matthew is moving to provo THIS WEEK. read it and weep, ladies. is he a stud or what?

 this past weekend we met up in st. george for a fun filled weekend with family. we missed the usual (mark's crew and beb on her mission), but still managed to have a good time :)

i am not complaining about this pool time. colby and i both took a long nap in the shade. perfection.

we went on a short little hike...

and then stayed up late watching heavyweights. could life get any better??

church the next day was a struggle to stay awake for some....

these pictures are classic :)

i like these people. thanks for a fun weekend, guys!!

does two "halfs" equal a "full"??

if that's the case, then i've completed a marathon. remember that one time a ran a half marathon? i think that was the same time i said i would never do it again.

as just bieber said...never say never.

cindy and i signed up months ago, with intentions of training. the road to you know where is paved with good intentions. we were still optimistic about the race...can you tell??

packet pick up

we stayed the night at cousin lindseys house, and about 9pm we got a call from a friend that had a free entry to the race. we convinced lindsey to join us...since we hadn't trained either. so early early morning we woke up and headed to the shuttles. this is nervous beth, have you ever met her?

we met up with some other friends in the canyon who were running the race too. obviously all of us were running on little sleep....

and off we went. the route really is beautiful. the weather was perfect. if only they'd had port-o potties every two miles like they'd promised :)

whitney and crew came to cheer us on at two different places on our route. what a welcome sight!! whitney is one that understands what a little cheering on can do for the soul. it was so fun to see them. (i know it's not the easiest or funnest thing in the world to load up your kids several times and then wait on the side of the road for two girls who haven't trained wobble on past. thanks again whit for your support!!!)

 we finished!! it was the best feeling of all time. my hips didn't hurt as much this time around, but i kept getting this weird foot cramp in my right foot that was making my toes curl under like a charlie horse everytime i'd lift my foot off the ground. how do you stretch that out? luckily that happened about the last mile and a half, and only would happen when i was running. 

we hugged. we cried. and then i saw this crew (dfc peeps!!!) what a pleasant surprise!!

nathan and caitie were waiting at the finish line with a cup of ice. i almost wept. so nice of them to come and support, especially since caitie had just finished a 12 hour shift at PCMC. thanks for coming guys!!!

 and here we are. crossed the finish line. with our medals. it really is a sense of accomplishment that i can't really describe. as much as i hated parts of that race, i have to say i'm glad i did it. cindy was a great partner in crime (as usual). she forced me to think of the race as a whole, not pushing myself too hard in the beginning--reminding me that there were still so many miles to go. we talked about boys and jammed to great tunes. needless to say, it was a raging success. 

this time i'm smart enough that i won't say i'll NEVER do this race again. hopefully next time i'll train? just an idea.....

ps. sorry i look so good in all of these pictures (please pick up on this sarcasm). i would normally not post pictures of me looking soooo good, but i decided i don't really care. 

pps. lindsey was a rockstar and made it to mile NINE (long before cindy and i did btw) but was having issues with her ankles from a previous injury. i told her not to push herself and talked her into letting whitney come pick her up. i'm so proud of her!!!!

dfc

campout this year was a success as always. it's interesting how it continues to change, but so many things will be the same...forever. we were sad that mark and megan and sophie weren't there....oh yeah, and melissa. she's usually my partner in crime and tent-mate/secret keeper/arm tickler. basically i slept in the tent with my parents--and maybe cried myself to sleep the first night that i didn't have melissa cuddled up next to me. 

(boo hoo)

okay, i had a really bad headache and had matthew crack my back and then i was trying to stretch. in true matthew fashion (he is my funniest brother) he had to make fun of me. i'm so lucky.

sorry about the quality of this picture, but this is the only group shot we got of my family before people started leaving. and it was dusk. whoops. and we all look so cute cause we've been camping for 3 days. 

big whoop.

the dance was a success (of course with DJBeth and ADJMatthew). the food was delish. church was a scorcher. and as usual, the company stellar. 

DFC 2014 will the be 50th campout. unreal, right? i feel cool being a part of such an awesome family!!

roommates

have you met my roommates? 

i like them. 

and not just like they're nice, sort of like.

like we're actually friends, like.

like they come climb in my bed at the end of a long day and talk and laugh and take stupid pictures.

it's been a long time coming.

we've also been working on the yard and trying to make our house cool. 

introducing sexy porch. 

first roommate to get a smooch under those lights gets a prize.

we don't know what the prize is, but it will be good.