A Party for Gorgeous

In March it was my Grandma's (a.k.a. Gorgeous) 85th Birthday. We decided to have a costume party - and have everyone dress up from a decade she was alive. I had a fabulous time going through my Grandma's basement finding clothes for me, Lauren, and Dan. I ended up in a dress my grandma made and wore for a wedding, and Dan was in one of my Grandpa's old suits. We weren't 100% sure if my Grandma's brothers and their wives would really come all dressed up or not - but of course, they are amazing like my grandma - and had some fabulous costumes. My family is pretty fabulous! :)

The Birthday Girl

Disneyland - "The Beginning"

In January we decided to take a sibling trip to Disneyland, oh, and visit Lauren. :) Since we could stay at Lauren's house, we decided that we should all get annual passes and take multiple trips throughout the year. So, this is just the start of our Disneyland adventures.

We piled the back seat full of blankets and pillows, so that was the best spot on the drive down to take a nap. On our way to the park the first morning. Julie and I hadn't been to Disneyland since 1996!

We had to take lots of pictures of our fun in the sun to text to our parents and make them jealous. We have this running joke in our family that our parents run around the house naked when we aren't around, so, our plan kind-of backfired when they texted us back - a picture of their bare legs.We went on the Grizzly Rapids ride our first day there, and of course, the minute we got off, the sun went behind a cloud, never to return. Lauren and I got most of the water and were soaked and freezing and a little miserable. We ended up calling Lauren's roommate and asking her to stop at Wal-Mart on her way to the park and buy us new socks, sweatpants, sweatshirts, shoes, anything to get warmer! Lauren ended up with some pretty fabulous neon Batman pajama pants, and I had some stretch pants that were about two sizes too small. Thankfully Julie wasn't as wet, so she let me borrow her longer jacket that covered my behind.

The next day, we made Lauren's friend take one for the team and sit in the front on Splash Mountain. Then Julie and Dan braved Grizzly Rapids again, only this time wearing trash bags. Lauren and I weren't willing to risk it again.

Julie had never been on a major roller coaster before, especially not one that goes upside down, but she was brave and went on the California Screamin'.

And she lived!

But we weren't able to talk her into going on the Tower of Terror.

We had lunch at the Blue Bayou - hooray for Monte Cristo's!!

One of our favorite rides is the Matterhorn. For some reason, we find it hilarious to cram two tall adults into one little seat and ride doubles. So, we had to get pictures with our "Matterhorn Buddy".

Our last night we watched were exhausted, so we crashed in front of the castle and waited for the firework show to begin. We were a little bored and had about 20 different takes for this picture - there was always one person who didn't like how they looked.

We really didn't want to leave.

But we did find some fun moustaches in Cedar City to entertain ourselves. A fitting end to our trip.

One Year Ago

Well, hello there! Yes, I am alive. I got so behind, I wasn't sure it was worth it to try and catch up, but I have had so much fun this year, I figured I should at least try. So, here is the first of many updates on my last year.

One of my best friends from Junior High/High School got married last October (Happy Anniversary Wendy!!). It was such a beautiful day, and I am so happy for Wendy and Jared, even if Wendy did leave me all alone in the single friends club. I am now the last single person from my group of friends.

The girls at the Temple.

MeLynn's family at the reception. Melissa and Dave Jill and Andy live in Nebraska - we were so excited to see her and Eden at the wedding.

At the end of October I got to travel to Washington D.C. for a class for work. It was a VERY short trip, and I spend most of the time in the basement of the HUD building, so there wasn't a lot of sightseeing. I was glad I had gone when I was younger, so I wasn't as frustrated to be stuck in class. But it did make me want to go back and see things again. Our last night there we had a big company dinner and then a group of us walked around the mall. We were so tired by the time we got to the Lincoln Memorial, we decided to catch a cab back to our hotel, but there was only one that we could find, so all 6 of us piled in. This is my blackmail picture if my boss ever makes me mad - he is the one with his arm around the other guy. I look hideous, but you get the idea of how squished we were.

Fall Fun

I am still trying to play catch up from October and November! One of my friends from Russia came to Utah for General Conference. We spent one night at This is the Place Monument and driving out to all of the Temples in Salt Lake. I left work early one day and we went up to Park City with Julie and Dan. Katya loved the Alpine Coaster (even if she did get a little bit scared - the poor lady behind her almost hit her - apparently she stopped in the middle of the ride). After Katya left we had our annual trip to Frightmares - it wasn't nearly as cold as it was last year - no snow this year - but we still had a blast! Especially on our favorite ride - the ladybug drop! And of course - no trip is complete without treats! Julie, Dan, and I wanted to go on a hike to see the fall leaves, but things were so crazy we didn't get a chance to go until Halloween - Dan got stuck in some trees... ..and there was already snow! It was beautiful!