Goodbye Summer

We took advantage of what may have been the last warm day of the season by spending the day at "Bubble Land." We brought our good friends April and Matt with us. The water was freezing, so we spent most of the afternoon floating around on the Jackson's giant inner tube. I'll admit, I was the biggest wimp, and the only one that refused to jump in. But the rest of the crew was quite brave! We had an awesome time! Goodbye Summer. We will miss you.

 

  

[Evan is helping me cross the river, but it looks like we are dancing. Love it!]

[And a panorama for my photography class ]

Pillow Talk

Evan and I had a major pillow talk session last night (love him)! For hours, we discussed a variety of random things that have been on our minds. We laughed... I cried... and, eventually, we fell asleep.

Not to get all serious on you or anything, but I thought I might blog about one of the things we discussed: 


Friendship.


You know those people who just emit energy and awesomeness? It's like they have some kind of giant magnetic force-field around them that sucks people in? They are always happy and bubbly, and oh, so nice? Everybody wants to be their best friend? 


Well... I am not one of those people.


Here I sit, almost 22 years old, and the only CLOSE friends I have are the ones I am related to and the one I am married to! Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying "woe is me, the friendless loser." I mean, according to Facebook, I have plenty of friends! ;) I am grateful for those people, but I wish that I had more of those really deep, meaningful relationships, the ones that last even when it's no longer convenient. Unfortunately, I feel like I am the socially-awkward type, and I can't seem to establish (and sustain) REAL friendships. Ev and I tossed some ideas back and forth to try and figure out why that is. Eventually, we came to this conclusion:

I am a perfectionist. I would have the world believe that there is absolutely nothing wrong with me (ha...ha)! For that reason, I tend to be cautious when I interact with others. It's difficult to loosen up, let go of my fear, and be myself. I'm afraid that if I show my weird, quirky, dorky side that people will judge me and won't want to be my friend anymore. Silly, right? I know deep down that exactly the OPPOSITE is true! Great friendships are forged when you get to know and see someone as they really are (flaws, quirks and all) and still love them. Of course, not everyone is going to like me, and not everyone is going to be a "kindred spirit" and forever friend, but how would ever I find out if they were unless I put myself out there a little? 


So, to those of you who I have closed myself off to, I'm sorry. Chances are I've observed your awesomeness and thought to myself: "I wish I could get to know her better...maybe we would be really good friends..." I'm sorry that I kept to myself, and denied us both the opportunity to start what could have been an amazing friendship. I hope that someday I'll get another chance.


FYI: Tara is responsible for the picture above. She is amazing, and a link to her blog can be found right over there -->

A Little Piece of Heaven

This weekend, Jon and Ashlee introduced us to Mt. Charleston...

...a little piece of heaven, right next to a big chunk of "Hades" (aka Vegas).

The 30 degree temperature drop and the smell of pines and campfire dinners was well worth the 45 minute drive. I am already planning our next trip to this new found haven of ours. Can't wait!

Rainy 4th

It rained in Vegas! It was the first rain we've seen since we moved here in April. And of course, it just happened to be on the fourth of July.

Before the rain, we all went to the Summerlin Parade. 

During the rain, we went to Cafe Rio for lunch, played games, watched a movie, and took a couple of naps. 

After the rain, we went on base to see the fireworks, and Jon showed us the F16!

Unfortunately I only brought a camera along for the after-rain-festivities. 

It really wasn't bad, overall. I mean, it definitely seemed bizarre to spend the majority of the fourth indoors, but how can you complain about rain in a place like Vegas?

Valley of Fire

Evan and I have laughed more than once about how making friends when you're married is pretty much the equivalent of dating when you're single. We try to find other couples who are somewhat compatible with us (in our case that means they're married without kids) and then we ask them to hang out with us and hope that they like us enough to keep hanging out with us! So basically... dating ;)

We met Jon and Ashlee in our ward, and they are a ton of fun. We decided to hang out on Memorial Day and Jon suggested that we go to the Valley of Fire. We had a picnic, climbed on rocks, and the boys chased lizards and saved an old man from dehydration! What an exciting day! I think we made some friends :)

Been a while...

I know it's been a while, but believe me, our life has not been very noteworthy as of late. I'll try and cover a few main points to get you back up to speed.

September 6 through December 15 (Fall Semester) was, without rival, the hardest thing I've ever had to endure. But despite my frequent mental/emotional breakdowns, I knew that there was a light at the end of the tunnel.... 

DECEMBER 16!!! *Cue angelic chorus*


Not only was December 16 the last day of the semester from Hades, it was also the day that my best friend/sister Jenny Webre returned from serving an LDS mission in the Philippines.

^ This was the last piece of an originally 6-month long paper chain.Needless to say, I was one ecstatic girl.

We spent Christmas break at my parents home in Brigham City, UT. Everyone came home and we had a BLAST! We also had some family photos taken.

Winter semester was 10X more bearable than the Fall, though I signed up for 6 extra hours of class. It flew by without a care or worry and NO all-nighters. That's right --NONE! I found that the trick was dropping out of graphic design. Who knew life could be so good? We ACTUALLY had time for friends and fun.

In February, Evan went to Florida to compete in the National Association of Home Builders competition, as part of the team representing BYU-Idaho. He worked so hard and did a great job :) They didn't place this year, but we're looking forward to kicking butt and taking names next year.

In March, I joined my Mom, Grandma and Aunt Julie on a trip to St. George to visit Jenny (who was staying in the Mariott hotel while training for a nursing job). It was a lovely girls retreat.

More recently, we spent the weekend in Pocatello with our friends, Matt and April. 

We stayed the night in a hotel room and next morning headed to Lava Hot Springs where we found a natural hot spring in the freezing cold river!

What else can you do (for free) in Lava? Well....

So NOW, we're out of school for the next five months, and searching for another internship for Evan. I don't know what the future will bring, but I have a suspicion that it will bring something WONDERFUL :) Stay tuned.