yoshi and frosty the snowman.

gotta love the simple things in life :)

(yoshi had to wear a seatbelt)

my twin.

I think if I were to have a twin, it would be this one: ll cool j. Or just another sister,  she would for sure pass as mine. So grateful for wonderful friends!

Happy 25th Birthday Linds! 

lady a/jazz.

LL Cool J and I had quite the adventure at the Lady A concert this past week. For one, being short does not work to your advantage at concerts. And two, holding back massive amounts of people from leaving will only result in chaos. Our climbing skills came in handy as our only way out was to climb a train and the railroad tracks. We survived and no shoes were caught in the tracks. The concert was fantastic tho! Lady A is one of my favorites and it was a delight to see them in person. Plus Charles was so dreamy.

On another note, been watching a lot of the Jazz lately...kinda depressing BUT at least they won in double overtime last night. I must say they have the coolest jerseys now. Got myself one of these.

Go D-Will.

my birthday loves.

Two of my favorite people had birthdays today.

Noah, my darling nephew turned 5. He is seriously the funniest kid I know. Always such a crack up.

And my nurse bud, Steph...lots of great memories!

Happy Birthday you two!

crock pot goodness.

Sadly it took me 6 months to use my crock pot for the first time. I have no idea why because it's the greatest thing ever! It is SO easy to use and makes the best food! So lately it's been put to good use. 

One of my favs: Pulled pork sandwiches.

All you need is this:

A lovely crock pot.

McCormick's BBQ Pulled Pork seasoning packet.

3 lbs pork roast

1/2 c ketchup

1/2 c packed brown sugar

1/3 c apple cider vinegar.

and some tasty buns.

Mix the ingredients together, pour a tad on the bottom of the crock pot, 

add the pork roast and pour the rest of the sauce on top.

Cook on high for 4 hrs-ish, shred the pork and enjoy the goodness.

 I've got so much left over (kinda forgot to invite some guests) so come get it if you want some!

stewart falls.

I took my mom and pops on a little adventure one Saturday morning. It was the perfect day. Sunny blue skies, vibrant Fall colors and WARM! We hiked Stewart Falls in Provo canyon--one of my favorites... probably because it's easy :) But also because it's so dang beautiful during the Fall! I've hiked it during the summer but never during the Fall, so go if you haven't! Many photo ops.

fall adventures.

It's weird that I feel this way now but if I had to choose between the mountains and the beach, it'd for sure be the mountains. Those who have known me forever know my dying love for the beach but there is just something so exquisite about the Rocky mountains. I can't get over their beauty during each season and let's face it, there is just way more fun things to do in the mountains than at the beach. Utah pretty much rocks :)

Fall mountains + camera + hard core Bella (my car)=a delightful afternoon of picture taking with my Mom.

Conference with the fam and Linds, aka Cool J.
One bloody hot afternoon!

Bridal Veil Falls with bud Clark.

<--crazy clark.

And yes, I may have gone to my first Utah game...

               ...still a Coug at heart.

gratefulness.

I am so grateful to belong to a church that teaches nothing but true principles and how to become a better person. It's frustrating when I come in contact with those that constantly bash the church and its doctrine. To me they are missing the whole point. The church is centered on Jesus Christ. It is His church. Everything about His life and what He taught is an example to us and what we believe in. We are striving to live as He did and to bring others to the knowledge we have been blessed with. We are so imperfect but the gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect and true. That is why I believe in it. I have so much appreciation for General Conference this past weekend and that I was able to listen to the Prophet of God, Apostles and leaders. Everything they teach is to benefit our lives and help us become better people. One of my favorite talks was President Monson's in the Sunday morning session. His love and appreciation for each of us was so evident and I could only think it was the Savior's love shining through him.

Always be grateful.

"To express gratitude is gracious and honorable. To enact gratitude is generous and noble. But to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven."

marcel the shell.

this is absolutely adorable.

your happily ever after.

"You are princesses, destined to be queens"

http://broadcast.lds.org/general-conference/2010-april/2010-04-6050-president-dieter-f-uchtdorf-eng.mp4

"If you ever feel your burden is too great to bear, lift your heart to your Heavenly Father, and He will uphold and bless you. He says to you, as He said to Joseph Smith, “[Your] adversity and [your] afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if [you] endure it well, God shall exalt [you] on high.”

"It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life’s story will develop."

summer goodbye.

Alright, I know I've been terrible at blogging this summer and now it's over! I'm so so sad...but I do love Fall in Utah so I think I'll be okay :) Lots of changes this summer...mainly involving many best friends moving away :( It kind of blows being a grown up!  There have been some good adventures though. Thankgoodness for PTO to keep my sanity.  It has now been a whole year since I first started at Huntsman. Overall it has been a great experience and I feel very fortunate to work at such a great facility. And to have a JOB! Definitely can't take that for granted. Still living at the Alamo and very happy to be living with ALL girls again :)  So here's a picture-story summer update.

Massive Moab trip with these lovely gals, Kris and Linds.
Always such a fun time!

Keys on Main. Seriously one of the funnest nights I've ever had! 

I was lucky to have the 4th of July weekend off. It is one of my favorite holidays! My whole fam was in town so we spent the day doing our traditional BBQ, swimming, water balloon volleyball and fireworks. Later that night I met up with friends in Sugarhouse for more fireworks and an after party.

Went to visit Loren in beautiful British Columbia!

Flying with our pilot friend Brad.

  

Mountain biking with some of my co-workers. First time...barely survived!

Cali trip with the fam.

Goodbye to Steph and Brookie. 

As well as my high school buds Mikel and Shayla :(

Now ready for some Fall adventures!