AGW- "All Girls Weekend"

All the women in Andrew's family get together annually for a weekend to relax and eat lots of yummy food. I wasn't sure I would end up going, but it worked out! This year, not everyone was able to attend, but I enjoyed spending time with Debbie, Blayre, Sara, and Julia.

I flew to Washington on Thursday, October 18 and that afternoon, we drove to our airbnb in Rock Island, WA. The place was very secluded which was perfect. We were surrounded by apple orchards. We were even given permission to do some apple picking which we took advantage of. The hot tub was a big plus and the big, starry, sky was so clear. The owners were friendly and welcoming. They took us for a ride in their vintage car.

I think the destination for AGW was chosen so we could explore Leavenworth-- a quaint town an hour away from where we stayed. It's absolutely beautiful and I wish I had done a better job at documenting my surroundings. Leavenworth is full of cute, expensive shops. We ate at a restaurant for lunch that none of us loved, but Cold Stone made up for it later on.

The fall colors were gorgeous! 

I was able to catch up on some chick flicks I've been wanting to see. I enjoyed "I Feel Pretty" as well as "Mama Mia! Here We Go Again" even though I may have fallen asleep for a minute or two. It's exhausting to sit around all day eating amazing food, reading, and not chasing around a wild James. We also played "Code Names" as well as "Scrabble" and I let everyone else win.

Getting enough to eat was never a concern of mine on the trip. In fact, making room for another meal was often a struggle. We went to Olive Garden for one of our meals which hit the spot. Blayre also made us some tasty dinners that I want to try to recreate. 

As usual, I was spoiled and left with my bag bulging full of chocolate, a candle, a new recipe book, etc. I had one goal for the weekend-- finish my book ("The Devil in the White City") which I accomplished with only 30 minutes to spare... on my flight back to Utah Monday morning. The book wasn't my favorite.

I feel so blessed to have friends, parents, and a husband that I trust completely who made it easy to leave James behind, worry-free.

Maybe next year we will have AGW in Barbados, where Debbie will be on her mission.

Overbooked

Sometimes it feels like everything is scheduled for the same weekend. Last weekend is the perfect example.

I'm training for a Half Marathon and had to get a 10 mile run in this past weekend. Fortunately, my friend was able to watch James on Friday while I went on the run with my dad. I'm proud to say I survived even with my phone dying at mile 2, meaning I didn't have music. I was exhausted and sore afterward for a few days.

Friday night, Andrew and I had tickets to the Colbie Caillat and David Archuleta concert at the BYU Homecoming Spectacular event. 

I LOVED the concert. One of the first CDs I ever owned was Colbie Caillat's. She is so down to earth. I've been a David Archuleta fan since he was on American Idol. I haven't listened to his music in recent years and learned at the concert that many of his new songs are inspirational and religious. I think I liked listening to him singing pop songs more.  His new songs are good (just different) and I might play them on Sundays.

Andrew has been teasing me mercilessly because I admitted that Colbie made me a little emotional. (And no, I didn't cry.) 

As you can tell, the lighting wasn't great and the pictures didn't turn out super well. Andrew leaned over to me and told me he found the best picture. He then showed me this goofy pic.

Jessica and Chris watched James while we were at the concert which we appreciated! After the concert, we went back to their place and played a game until late. I think we got home around 11:30pm.

Saturday morning was a blur as I was busy prepping for the baby shower I was hosting for my friend, Sadey. I made snickers cupcakes which were tasty, but very time consuming. I was grateful to have so many friends help with the shower. The decorations were beautiful with lots of letter-boards and flowers from Trader Joes. (I'm not tooting my own horn... My friend was in charge of decor.)

Andrew gets the credit for putting on the frosting. I was frantically throwing the toppings on before the frosting dried.

Lots of people had left by this point. I think 62 people were invited and we had a good turnout.

Originally, we didn't have plans to go to the BYU Football game, but our friends landed some great seats and we couldn't pass up the opportunity. I literally had 10 minutes from when the last person left the shower to bundle up and get ready for the game. 

We tried Bam Bam's for dinner which we have been wanting to do for a long time. I enjoyed it, even though I was still stuffed from all the food at the shower. We had some time before the game, so we played at an arcade, and went to a book store. The book store had old and original copies of famous books such as The Book of Mormon and Harry Potter. We made our way to the game with several layers and blankets. Although Hawaii didn't bring much competition, we enjoyed being with our friends. We left in the third quarter.

We told our friends that they treated us like royalty. They provided the great seats. They also had a parking pass to park closer than I've ever parked at the stadium. Not to mention the fact that they drove us. I told Andrew we need to step up our perks, so people will want to be friends with us.

What a weekend! I think I'm finally rested, but I have to get up at the crack of dawn for an early flight tomorrow morning. I'm ready to read the weekend away and lounge in the hot tub for hours on end.

House Updates

It was my turn to host Book Club at my house in September. I took it as the perfect opportunity to make a few minor house updates. Poor Andrew. He didn't complain and finished all 3 of the projects with an hour to spare.

Project #1: New Light Fixture

The light fixtures in our house are all extremely dim and we are slowly replacing them. I teach piano in our front room, and our 2 bulb fixture didn't do much for me or my students. In fact, sometimes it was hard to tell that the light was even turned on. Oh what a difference a light can make!

Side note: We discovered that James can climb an adult sized ladder-- no problem-- during this project. What a climber. While Andrew is at work, James often walks into the piano room, points at the light and says, "Daddy." 

Project #2: Picture Collage

I was talking to Andrew about how to make our living room feel more homey. I wanted to add more pictures, but we didn't have much wall space left. Andrew suggested a picture collage going up the stairs. I was surprised by his suggestion mostly because hanging pictures together isn't our favorite task and usually ends in frustration. I'd say it was worth the headache and the "nest" is no longer the focal point of the wall.

Project #3: Porch Swing

For Christmas last year, I opened an envelope that had a picture of our beat up porch swing. There was a note along with it informing me that Andrew was going to refinish the swing for me. I was thrilled!

I did debate about what color I wanted Andrew to paint the swing. I was leaning towards black, but decided to go with a splash of color. The houses in our neighborhood look so similar, why not make ours pop? I would describe the color as fire engine red. I love how it turned out and a few of my friends mentioned it at Book Club.

I'm not hosting Book Club again at my house anytime soon, but I am hosting a baby shower in a few weeks. I'm sure I'll think of more projects for Andrew to complete in the meantime. :)

Labor Day Weekend

You can tell I've been reading a good book (or 2) since my blogging has taken the back burner...

Over Labor Day weekend, we went with some friends to St. George. We had a blast. There were 7 couples total (all from our ward) and I think 8 little kids. We stayed in the nicest place. We all had our own bedrooms and bathrooms. There was a massive hot tub, a mini pool in the backyard, a pool table, a movie theater room, and a community pool within walking distance.

After making the drive to WA, I didn't blink an eye about the 3 and 1/2 hour drive to St. George. James was easy and the trip went by quickly. Unfortunately, a rock hit our windshield on the drive and the chip quickly spread. We got our windshield replaced when we got home.

Things I want to remember about the trip:

• Karaoke night.
• The dance and slideshow the boys put together while we were gone.
• Cynthia's chex mix. (It had coconut!)
• Hannah's cookies.
• James riding on a train.
• Andrew rock climbing with the boys.
• James splashing in the water. He loved playing in the water, was giddy over the slide, and started jumping in on his own.
• Going out with the girls Saturday night. The men stayed home and put the kids to bed while we went shopping at the outlets. Win, win!

James, Lyla, and Maeve

The train ride

The conductor let James sit here. As you can see, he should have picked another child.

Things I want to forget about the trip:

• Cards Against Humanity. Not my favorite game. The person who goes first is the person who pooped most recently. 
• My workout with Kristee and Chelsea. I thought I was in shape, but doing squats for 30 minutes strait made it very difficult to walk the rest of the weekend.
• Playing pickle ball. (It was actually really fun, but I could hardly move because of my soreness. My friends later told me I looked like an old grandma while playing.)

We are considering going on a cruise with some of these same friends. I hope Andrew and I finally make it happen. A cruise is something we have talked about for nearly 6 years. 

We feel so fortunate to have found such dear friends. Finding couples we both like hasn't always been easy and it has definitely taken some time.

Jess and Chris Tied the Knot!

I have been on "Team Chris" since the beginning. Jessica had a couple of guys pursuing her and she made the right choice. Andrew and I have spent lots of time with Jess and Chris over the past year. In fact, I remember telling Jessica soon after they started dating that she had my approval to marry Chris. I think she was a little alarmed. Jessica is such a catch and obviously deserves the best. She got it marrying Chris. They are so good for each other.

Jessica and Christopher got married on Thursday, August 9 in the Salt Lake Temple. I'm so happy for them! It has been pretty smoky here, but the smoke seemed to clear out just for their wedding. The smoke was much worse the next day and following week. 

The sealing was powerful. My grandpa passed away in March which was sudden and hard. The sealer talked about people being present in the sealing who have passed away which hit me. The spirit was palpable. I'm grateful that James was in good hands while we were in the sealing. (Thank you Kaylee Beck!)

The luncheon was in the Joseph Smith Memorial building at the Garden Restaurant. It was at 2:00 and my stomach was rumbling LOUDLY during the sealing. Luckily mine wasn't the only one. I was worried that everyone in the room could hear my hunger.

The reception was later that night outdoors. It was hot, but what else can you expect in August? Jessica has a knack for decorating and everything was beautiful. The reception was a blast! I wish I had been hungry enough to eat more from the food truck. The waffles and fries were fabulous. There were also Italian Sodas and lots of outdoor games to play: bocce, ladders, spikeball, etc. Rob joined Andrew in a game of spikeball. It was his first time playing and he's a natural. They were both drenched in sweat afterwords. 

As soon as Jess and Chris got engaged, I told Jessica about my friend, Mandi, who is a photographer. Jessica ended up using Mandi for the wedding and loved how the pictures turned out. All (but 1) of the pictures in the post she took. Check out her website: http://www.mandiraephoto.com/ 

I can't believe my baby sister is married! Here's to spending another year hanging out with the happy, now married couple. Welcome to the family, Chris!