Summer lovin'

Wow-- I can't believe my summer is over in two weeks! I may die when I start working again..... oh well. Let's talk about happier things. I went to Seattle for 5 days to visit Tay, Shawn, Asher and Madeline. It was so much fun!!! Take a look at these cuties:

They are both SO adorable! I especially love Asher's face... he is in a constant state of EXCITED and it's so darn cute!

We went canoeing on Lake Washington-- it was so gorgeous! You can ever canoe under the freeway overpasses!

We also went to Green Lake and walked around. I LOVE Taylor and Shawn and I certainly love being around my niece and nephew!
It was hard to leave them, but I got back just in time for .....

Our annual peach picking rendez-vous! If you're new to the blog, just know that peach picking (at this very orchard!) was our very first date 2 years ago. We've gone every year since (which, granted, isn't that many years YET but hey, a tradition's gotta start somehow!)

We got 2 pecks of these beauties and have been eating several a day. DELICIOUS!!!

That same day, we also went to the Melting Pot, which is why we look so happy in this picture! (I'm trying to get that added onto the peach picking tradition, so we'll see if it sticks!) ;) I have had an AMAZING summer and am sad to see it wind down... but I know that none of you feel sorry for me (unless you're a teacher)! GREAT SUMMER!!!!!

Virginia Beach Getaway

Neal and I left early Thursday morning, and spent the weekend at Virginia Beach. It was HOT/HUMID, but the water was c-c-c-cold so it really cooled us off. We stayed in Chesapeake, which was about 20 minutes from the actual beach, but we wanted to get the most out of our Marriott points! It is also notable that movies in Chesapeake are FOUR DOLLARS (here in the DC area they are 12.50!!!!!) so we saw Inception and Sorcerer's Apprentice-- we really like both, but Inception wins the WOW factor. I'm anxious for my sister Taylor to see it, because she will undoubtedly hate it. (She loves to hate movies, and it's highly entertaining to talk to her about them).
The beach was CROWDED, but such is to be expected during the summer. We rented a beach umbrella (best $15 we've ever spent!) to battle the sun-- I was disappointed to discover that you can get sunburned in the SHADE-- seriously?!?!

We had so much fun together-- it's so nice to be around each other 24/7 (yes, we're still in that honeymoon phase!) and the beach is an added bonus!
I also made a list of things that should be illegal on the beach: first and foremost, this swimming suit:

I simply HAD to take a picture of this girl.... this is UNDOUBTEDLY the most HIDEOUS swimsuit I have ever seen in my entire life. I didn't even know trikini's existed, and they really, really shouldn't.
Second on the list of things that should be illegal on the beach: bringing a cup of beer into the ocean and spilling it in the water in your drunken frenzy.
Third: this one should actually be illegal just in general: tattoos of lips on your butt-cheek.... sorry, no picture, Neal wouldn't let me (although it's best if you don't see it). We saw not one, but two girls that had this tattoo! GROOOOSS!
I'll stop there, but I do think it would be a good idea to have a nonsmoking area of the beach as well.... it's so gross that people use the beach as an ashtray! Anyway, it was an amazing vacation and I love Neal!

UTAH!!!!!

Okay so after the amazing MEXICO vacation, Neal flew back to DC and I drove to Utah with my family. I love Utah so much! First and foremost, my family is there. Secondly, a lot of my best friends are there, and thirdly, CAFE RIO! I only went once, and you can bet that now I regret that.... oh, also I love the whole "cooling down at night" concept... I wish DC did that!
So: family time. Now that Matthias has his mission call, I was more motivated than ever to spend time with my amazing family. Kaitie and Logan spent a lot of time with us too (THANKS GUYS!) and it was just all around good times. Pictures of good times with the fam:









I know, my family is the cutest. I also got to see a lot of my closest friends, which was SOOOOOO NICE! This might surprise you, but I don't actually make close friends easily-- so once I have a close friend, I try my darnest to keep that relationship going! I didn't get to see Rachel J or Trent, which made me sad, but luckily Rachel J is moving out here soon and Trent... sorry dude.

Jake Mabey and I have been friends for about 12 years-pretty good if you ask me! He is the bomb. and single, ladies! ;)

Shanny and I have been friends since 2005-- we met out in DC and immediately became BFF's. We hadn't seen each other in almost 2 years, I think-- so it was EXTRA GOOD to see this girl! She is now a hot mommy, and I really admire her and her baby is adorable.

B and I... man...... we've been best friends since we were 11 for crying out loud! I love, love, LOVE this girl! She is gorgeous, smart, motivated, cheerful and a great mom. She even drove down from Logan to see me-- 10 points for dedication, B!

What can I say about these girls? We lived together for 2 years in college, and I LOVE all of them! Katie is HILARIOUS, Damage is super thoughtful, and Jaimi is one of the sweetest girls I have ever met in my life. My life is better because I know these three hotties!

So yeah, the trip was a great success. Poor Neal all alone in DC though, I was too happy to be with my family and friends to be sad we were apart, sorry about that babe! But of course, it was GREAT to see him-- he is kind of the greatest man in the entire world. Now we're back in DC and already anticipating our next vacation to Virginia Beach! Thank you Marriott points!

MEXICO!

Well folks, I'm back. Did you miss me?!? Mexico, as you might be able to guess, was FABULOUS!!!! Mostly it was just really great to be together as a family. First and foremost, this stud got his mission call:

He is going to Jacksonville, Florida and leaving on October 6th. Don't even get me started about how crazy that is!!! It was so nice to all be together as a family when he opened it! The week was super chill... you could be as active or as lazy as you wanted. I usually opted for the latter. ;) A typical day was as follows: up by 7 at the latest (unless you're going fishing with Dad, then it's 5:30), breakfast, slather with sunscreen and hit the beach. We kayaked, snorkeled and played in the sand all week! By about 11 it was too hot to enjoy it, even the water was warm, so we went inside and ate lunch, read, and visited. We were back out by 3 or 4 and we played in the water until dark. Then we had a delicious dinner (each couple was in charge of one night) and hung out until bedtime. We really didn't even watch movies or anything, we just enjoyed each other's company, and it was SO NICE!!!!! Words cannot express how much I love my family, or how grateful I am for them. I want to talk about each of my family members and why I love them, so bear with me. Or just skip this part. ;)

Mom and Dad: Mom is so cheerful and helpful! She was a master organizer for this trip, and did a great job. Dad is adorable with his grandchildren, and the King of the Fisherman! He was out every day at 5:30 fishing with someone, and was giddy every time someone caught a fish.

Kaitie and Logan: Kaitie is a darling little pregnant girl (albeit not really showing) and energetic and fun to be around. Logan is hilarious and thoughtful. It was really fun to be around them so much, since it's so rare!

Cali and Josh: LOVE them! Cali is happy and level headed. Josh is hysterical and a great dad. Piper is my favorite of course, but that's a given. ;)

Taylor and Shawn: Taylor is such a great mom! It's so fun to see her interact with her kids. She is very witty and easy to talk to. Shawn is an adorable dad and plays hard. I'm so glad I'm going to Seattle to visit them in a couple of weeks!
Matthias and Cale: Matthias is the most adorable teenager on the face of the earth. He is funny, witty, and VERY MUSICALLY TALENTED!!!! Caleb is loving, helpful and very creative--he was the mastermind behind the Sandcastle competition.

Neal... what can I say? He is cheerful, helpful and easy going. He impressed my family on this trip, as this was the first big get together with Neal. I LOVE HIM! Now just a few more pictures to make you even more jealous:











"Twas an AMAZING VACATION!!!!!

The haps

Well, I am officially on summer break, and life is AMAZING!

This is my teacher friend, Rachel, and I as we were driving away from school on the last day... woot!
My first full day off, I went running, cleaned the house, made banana muffins, and watched 5 episodes of Buffy. Cringe if you will, but I love it and especially love him... okay maybe "love" is the wrong word.. I just think he's hot.

I was totally infatuated with him when I was 14, and I feel it returning..... but I digress... *as a side note, Neal just saw my post and said "I forbid you to post that picture".. oops....
Neal and I went to a Nats game.... and if you were wondering if it was really, really, really, REALLY hot, it was, as you can see:

Very sweaty. But Neal loved it, and so it was worth it. (Note: I do not dislike baseball. I just dislike the hot, sweatiness of it all, plus it takes over an hour to get there on the hot, sweaty metro. The actual games are quite enjoyable!)
Josh had a birthday, so we went over there and ate a delicious dinner made by Cali (chicken dijon) and SKOOKIES! Josh and Neal each ate a WHOLE one! Sheesh!
We love cali and Josh, annnnnd PIPER! (don't ask me why this is creating a link.... it's doing it of it's own volition)

Can't get enough of this girl!
Today we made crêpes and invited over Cali and Josh and Chase and Cait (sorry no pictures of them, but I love them!) The crêpes were delicious, and fun times were had by all, even if it wasn't my best game of Balderdash. Neal helped me cook the crêpes..... kind of.

His were a little....smaller than mine, but he was very proud of how thin they were:

Life is good for us! And, as I keep reminding you, we're going to MEXICO on Saturday.... HOOOOOOORAY! :)

That's what I like about me......

My lovely friend Rachel just posted a blog about things she likes about herself, and it got me thinking about what I like about ME, which I think is the point of her post (or to just tell everyone how great she is!). I want to do the same here, so others can see how wonderful I am, and also think about what they like about themselves! ;)

In no particular order, the things I like about myself are:

-my eyes, specifically my eyelashes. People are always asking me if they're fake.
-my teeth/smile
-my birthmark (okay that's a blatant lie and everyone who knows me will know that!!!)
-my singing voice--as long as it's a low song... my high voice is not solid!
-my outgoing, cheerful, bubbly nature. I hide it under a bushel sometimes, but hopefully it usually shows!
-my SHOES! I am in love with nearly all my shoes (even though they're not sexy high heels... something about me hovering over Neal prevents me)
-my sense of humor and quick wit-- I am probably the second or third funniest person in the world (right up there with Neal)
-my jewelry (see picture above!)
-I am adventurous and independent. I packed up and moved to France for a year, even though it terrified me. I also got scholarships and supported myself through undergrad and grad school. I am proud of this! I even worked cleaning toilets at 6 AM for three weeks to make ends meet!
-I am constantly trying to improve myself (even if it doesn't seem like it, I promise I am!!!)
-I am a good teacher. I feel like this is one of my strengths, and I love feeling calm and collected teaching or speaking in public.
- I am a thoughtful and loving person
-I am frugal (although some call it cheap!). I like this about me because I know I can function on much less income than we have. I shop sales, and am not a name brand snob (with most things). I feel this is a good life skill, no matter how much money you have!
-that I'm not fake-- what you see, is what you get. I don't act differently around different people. (although I hold back the swears at church, or around church people, I must admit)
-I am very photogenic... it's nice, not gonna lie! ;)

That will do for now. It's interesting and encouraging to talk about what you LIKE about yourself, not necessarily what you're good it, or what others like about you. What do you like about YOU?