I'm Still Alive!

Jen, Paige, and Carter politely reminded me that I needed to post something new...thanks guys! I have done a lot since my last post when I was in Seattle. I flew back to Salt Lake with my mom and then drove out to Vernal to visit Kristen, Rick, and Gracie. Unfortunately, I had to come back to start school. I mean...I love school and all, but Gracie is so dang cute and fun to be around. Kristen and her family brought my mom back to Salt Lake on Friday. My mom watched Gracie that night so that Kristen, Rick, Chad, and I could make a trip to Lagoon for Frightmares...it was a lot of fun! We went to get Gracie's pictures taken the next day (that is a whole other crazy story!). This picture is my favorite (it doesn't have very good resolution but it's still cute).

Mom flew out on Saturday and Kristen and her family headed back to Vernal. The first week back on-track was good and busy. I was definitely looking forward to a good weekend, too. The weekend started out great, but I ended up getting the flu on Saturday night. I spent Sunday and Monday resting and went back to school today. Fortunately for you, that is the shortened version. Goodbye for now!

The End of a Very Busy Day!

I am still in Seattle until tomorrow morning. In the morning my mom and I are flying to Salt Lake and then getting in the car and driving to Vernal to visit my sister and her family. I had a pretty busy day today though...full of shopping, shopping, and more shopping.

Every time I come to Seattle my mom and I go shopping at Seattle Premium Outlets. We made that trip today with my Aunt Susan. We bought lots of stuff, but one thing is more exciting than the rest. There is a Coach store at Seattle Premium Outlets and they had a great sale today. I have wanted a Coach purse for a really long time and I finally got one. I am very excited about it!

We finally got home at about 5:45 and were soon off to dinner with Uncle Brent, Aunt Susan, and my parents. Sara was able to come out and join us as well. We went to a really good restaurant in Redmond called Coho. We ate, talked for a while, said goodbye to Sara, and were headed home. My uncle usually keeps me pretty entertained and he succeeded with doing so again. We were in the car on the way home and this is a conversation that took place between my dad and Brent:

Brent: "The weather is supposed to be pretty nice tomorrow."
Dad: "That's what I heard."
(Talking between all of us)
Brent: (a minute or so later and with a bit of excitement in his voice) "I can't wait for tomorrow."
Dad: "Why is that?"
Brent: "Because I get better looking everyday! That's what people tell me."

Now you may be asking yourself "Is he special?" Well...he's definitely special to us! I have included a picture of him.

This is kind of an old picture, but can you imagine this man getting any better looking than he is in this picture?

Dinner with Sara

I have been in Seattle since I left Ohio last Saturday. I have had a great time! I got to go to dinner last night at a Thai restaurant, The King & I, in Bellevue. The dish that I got was delicious, but the best part of the night was the company I was with. Sara, a friend of mine that I met at BYU-Idaho, joined me. It was so good to see her and to catch up on what's new with her. I really do feel fortunate to have Sara as a friend. She is always there for me and is very trustworthy! Thanks Sara! I didn't have my camera to take a picture of us at the restaurant and this was the only picture I had of her on my computer. She is the one in the bright orange dress. I know you are all very jealous, but the dress is one of a kind!

Trip to Ohio

I went off-track on September 26th. On September 27th I flew to Ohio to visit my cousin Jen and her family. Jen is my dad's brother's daughter (in other words...my cousin). We were very blessed to grow up in the same neighborhood as Jen's family. Jen and her brother are like siblings to my brother, sister, and me. Jen has three beautiful children. They are: Paige (7), Carter (5), and Ella (1). I had a lot of fun with all of them. Here are some pictures of some of the fun we had! (My camera's battery was low so I have to thank Jen for these pictures.)

Drew stayed home with the kids one night so Jen and I could go get some yummy ice cream at a place called Jeni's. They have some pretty different flavors. Some of them had cayenne pepper in them and a couple were very salty. We both got the flavor "Gravel Road." This was "Salty Caramel" ice cream with almonds mixed in. They also have really friendly employees...one of which possibly broke her ankle while drunk and getting off a cruise boat in L.A. a couple days before. Anyway...this is a picture that a couple very nice men took for us.

We had a lot of fun reading. Paige is a fantastic reader and she read a few books to me. One of my favorites was Magic Tree House: Midnight on the Moon. Carter and I read a few books together as well. As you can see in this picture, we read Balloon Farm (which is one of my favorites).

Ella is learning how to walk. She is really trying hard to be able to walk by herself. Jen, Ella, and I went to the Eddie Bauer Outlet and all Ella wanted to do was to get down and walk...not ride in her stroller or be carried...just walk. She has a little scooter thing that she can hold on to while trying to walk. We had a lot of fun watching waddle across the room.

Paige, Carter, and I got to make Monster Cookies on Friday. Both of them are excellent bakers and the cookies turned out to be very delicious! (Unfortunately not so good for a diet!)