summatime

summer summer summer. last year i had an early summer with no job, waiting to go to asia. then i worked the rest of the summer in a foreign country, trotting around to unknown places each weekend. this summer, i'm working full time. i wish summer was forever, but i guess it really doesn't make a ton of difference when i'm not going to school!

outdoor movie on the capitol lawn. it was actually pretty neat-o to have the capitol building all lit up behind you.

a little guitar in the car. you've got to keep yourself entertained...

oh, dinner on the balcony with wonderful roommates from the past who are almost all married and pregnant (okay, only one).

my little boys. how i adore them.

colony reunites once more. we can't get enough of each other. really.

what is with the guy in the background!? haha. included in this picture are 3 of the greatest people ever.

STEWART FALLS...i feel a need to go on this hike all the time. i don't exactly know why, but i do love it a lot. it is always so beautiful.

i look like an idiot in this picture, but andrea just looks too precious to pass up putting it on.

WINCO. it provides many entertaining possibilities.




i'll have everyone know, sam REFUSED to put his feet in the picture. i still have no idea why.

portland

i went to portland for 4 days for work. i'd been there before, but i really noticed this time how beautiful that city is.

i am sitting in an elevator shaft. it just so happens to be where a woman died as well. they made the restaurant really creepy. we had to go in twos into the bathroom because it was so dark.

keep portland weird.

i look stupid in this picture, but the important part is the voodoo donut sign. tons of weird donuts- the shapes and the toppings. some were a little inappropriate, but i won't say anything further.

this one goes out to the parking lot garden.

the rose garden. it was really peaceful and just as beautiful.

a friend i met there who is lds had a cousin who was living in portland for the summer. he took us there one of night. it is an incredibly beautiful temple. i can't wait until i can see it during the day.

some words of wisdom for one lance armstrong.

the most incredible bookstore in the world. really. i bought maybe 8 books and it cost me 19 dollars. i could have spent forever in there.

the window displays were so pretty. that might sound lame, but really, there were tons of cool displays.

some of the fun people i met.

go to portland. this is not a paid advertisement.

lots of balloons

since i was a little girl i have wanted to go to the hot air balloon part of the freedom fest. it is way early in the morning, but so worth it!

i want a cabin.

so this cabin trip happened a loooong time ago, but oh well. my friend, fenny, from taiwan is in america now and she kept stressing about getting time to see everyone. she would tell me she wished she could buy a house so everyone could just come and be together. duh! i want one too. but, i'd rather have a cabin.

it was great to be there with cait and mags. good food, reading stories, a long cold run in the morning, a late night creepy walk by the river, basketball, playing school, golf, swinging, frisbee, and milkshakes.

michael's birthday

of course it included dancing, cake, other treats, nice people, and michael.

graden is very into dancing.

michael's buddies.

who wants to go to burley?

a lot of catching up to do...

oh boy, i got to go to burley. im so lucky. my dear friend morgan was headed off to the mission field so i had to pay her one last visit. especially because she's from burley.

this is her backyard. i had a good laugh about it. the snake river, windmill, cows, and horses.

burley! morgan lives on the outskirts of town on the highway. we made sure to drive into town to see all of the highlights. the fairgrounds, albertson's, and the lone hotel proved the best highlights.

it was great to be there altogether again. these are the same girls that were with me in thailand! oh the fun we had there....

i can't forget this wonderful moment. morgan told us that we needed to drive 7 miles exactly before we would see the freeway entrance. so we drove exactly 7 miles and NOTHING. we drove a couple more and still nothing. there were no businesses anywhere to stop and ask so we did the only normal thing and stopped at a random house. turns out the freeway entrance was 18 miles. haha. 18!!