Ensign Peak

I really dislike hiking but Ensign Peak is one of those hikes that anyone can do, and in about 20 minutes. I remember hiking this a lot with my family when we were younger and would come out to Utah on vacation. Last Saturday evening, Ryan and I didn't want to be cooped up inside the apartment on such a nice night, so we decided to go on this little hike. Ryan's family had never been there before, so they joined us as well. Besides the two huge tarantulas we saw on our way down, it was the perfect night, the valley looked gorgeous, the moon was huge, and it was a great way to enjoy another quickly-fading summer night.

One year older...

On Friday I turned the big 2-6! During the middle of work, the doorbell rang. Usually it's a salesperson so I never answer and I just sit quietly. But after about 5 rings and consistent knocks, I decided I had better answer and was surprised to see Lisa, Brandon, and Ashlynn standing at my door! It was a good little break from work and they brought me the best cupcake I have ever had.

While I was hanging out with my friends the night before, Ryan went to his parent's house and made me a cake as well. Once he got off work for the day, we headed out and got some dinner, swung by the mall and did a little shopping, and then grabbed a redbox to watch at home. I wasn't feeling very well and so it was the perfect amount of fun and relaxation and I thoroughly enjoyed just being at home with Ryan.

Then, on Sunday we got together with my family down in Provo to celebrate even more! We had a delicious ice cream oreo pie thing and then hung out and played games for a little while. It was fun, as usual!!

Friend reunion

This last week, Tiffany (one of my best friend's from high school and college and life in general) came in to town from Seattle for a wedding and I was lucky enough to get to hang out with her for a few days! Even though we are both awful at calling/emailing often, when we get together, we revert right back to our high school and college days where we could talk forever, laugh forever, and just be a little crazier than we normally act. :) Oh, and she brought her sweet little Addy, too!

We started out our day by heading up to Gardner Village to walk around the cute shops and enjoy the nice weather. Well that "nice weather" quickly turned into freezing cold, long, hard downpour that forced us to leave after just a couple of shops. At least we got to Sweet Aftons, the candy store, and picked out some good taffy.

I'm not used to having a baby, stroller, extra bags, etc. so no matter how fast we ran to the car, we were soaked to the bone by the time we got everything packed in the car. It was crazy how hard the rain was coming down and it came so fast that the parking lots and streets were totally flooded. I don't think this picture quite does it justice, but it helps prove my point:

We just hung out and talked the rest of the afternoon at my apartment, and then later that evening we were joined by some former college roommates, Laura and Marcelle. The four of us made a scrumptious dinner and then they surprised me with some birthday signs and a cake!

{P.S. We missed Heath at law school in NYC, Ash livin' it up in AZ, Alicia being a new momma in D.C., and SB driving somewhere between AZ and UT!}

The highlight of the night was probably trying to take a picture of ourselves. Not sure why it was so funny but we were in tears by the end because we were laughing so hard. This is so not a flattering picture at all, but since it was a key part of the night, I had to post it.

Today at work...

I really love my job right now and I love working in the field of HR/OB. For the most part, it is pretty normal work on a daily basis.

But then there are some days, like today, where you have to deal with out-of-the-norm issues such as a man using the trash can in his cubicle as a urinal, and a woman who has been pregnant with triplets for 15 months (because they were too small to come out after 9 months-obviously)......

Plan C

Plan A: pool party, but due to lightning and rain we moved to.....

Blan B: inside activity at the church, which thanks to the fire alarm turned into......

Plan C: outside activity at the church......

They never did figure out why the alarm went off, but between drooling over the firemen and climbing all over/in the truck, the girls kept raving about how it was the best activity ever. If I knew this was all it took, I would have started pulling the fire alarm every Wednesday a long time ago! :) It definitely added a little more excitement than normal to mutual this week!

Pro (mini) Golf Tour

My parent's computer is currently in the shop, so they came over to use our computer on Friday night... which ended up turning in a last-minute mini-golf challenge. We jumped in the car and headed over to Boondocks where it was my parents vs. me and Ryan (we combined each couple's scores at the end). Despite my 3 hole-in-ones, we still lost... of course we let them win so they wouldn't feel too old (jk... they won fair and square). It was a fun night and great to be outside and enjoy the little bit of sun that was in the between the big evening thunderstorms.

Cloudy with a chance...

Yesterday I noticed some weird clouds forming outside and I had to take a picture (which I just learned 2 minutes ago on the news that they are called mammatus clouds). These clouds quickly grew bigger and yellowish. Within a matter of minutes, everything was bright orange outside and the sky looked awesome. Here's the transformation (and they are not edited- the sky was that bright orange all on its own!):

Cool, huh? Pretty sure my neighbors were wondering who the crazy lady was who kept running out on her balcony and taking a new picture every of the sky every 20 seconds!

Chocolate Cake Shake

This last week I was in Chicago for work. I LOVE Chicago and every time I go I convince myself that I could live there in a heartbeat. Then again, I've only been there between the months of May through September. I'm sure a good Chicago winter would change my thinking, but until I experience that, I'm still convinced of the greatness of the city and its northern suburbs.

Anyway, it was apparently a slow week for Marriott's Springhill Suites because the front desk people were always asking if I wanted them to shuttle me somewhere... the mall, a restaurant, whatever. I contemplated the mall for about .2 seconds and instead had them take me to Portillo's for a chocolate cake shake. Priorities, people! If you ever go to Chicago, a Portillo's chocolate cake shake is a must (they're famous for their chocolate cake, and the shake has chunks of the actual cake in it. I guess they're also famous for their hot dogs, but of course I care more about the cake)!