So many good things to share...

I'm back...and I have so much to post about :D (Warning - LONG post!)

1) Casey turned 28 on Monday! 2) Had a great time in McCall 3) I got a new car :D

~ Happy Birthday Casey! ~

Even though Case had class and it was just the two of us to celebrate, I think he ended up having a pretty good birthday. The day was sprinkled with lots of phone calls and birthday wishes from friends and family which I know Case really loved. We went out for Sushi and then saw the new Batman movie at an IMAX theater. The sushi was good and the movie was great! Keeping with the Sushi theme I made him a Sushi birthday cake.

~ McCall, Idaho ~

I was lucky enough to get to spend 10 days with my family in McCall, Idaho. We go there every summer and winter and I love it! My mom, brother, grandma, aunt, uncle, cousin and I had a wonderful time just hanging out and enjoying each other's company. We played games, ate ice cream at Ice Cream Alley, went boating, played Guitar Hero on the Wii, read books, stayed up until 1 or 2 every night playing hearts, went canoeing, rode bikes around Payette Lake, and laughed a lot. My mom and I also worked on a baby quilt for a friend of ours who is having a baby this fall. Overall, it was a wonderful vacation and I really loved spending time with my family. (We all wished Casey had been there with us, too!) I really really really miss living close to all of you : (

My mom and me hanging out on the dock.

Me, my cousin Katie, and Grandma at Charlie's Gardens.

My mom, my brother Ben, and me by the lake.

Grandma, Uncle Stevie, and Aunt Sessie at Ice Cream Alley.

Aunt Sessie and Katie at Charlie's Gardens.

The beautiful and fun fabrics we used for the baby quilt!

~ My Bug!!! ~

Just a few days before leaving for McCall I bought a new car! I've been wanting a bug for quite a while and went browsing when my dad was here last month. The right car popped up and long story short - I bought my bug! I love everything about it - especially the color. Ooo and she has power windows. I've never had power windows before so I feel very spoiled. She is so fun to drive and I feel so stylin' :D I still haven't come up with the right name for her. I'm thinking something German since she's a VW. Any suggestions? Let me know!

Out of the office...

Hello all! I am in McCall (Idaho) with my family for the week and likely won't be posting until I get back next week. I'm taking pictures, though, so I'll have some good stuff to share when I do post. Have a great week!!!

Yay for weekends : )

We had a fantastic weekend. It was a little different having just the 2 of us for the 4th (we're used to spending the holiday with friends and family) but we made the best of it. I slept most of the day (after working the night before) and then we went out for pizza. Afterward we watched some beautiful fireworks from our grocery store parking lot. Sounds a little weird, I know, but our grocery store is on this huge hill surrounded by multi-million dollar homes. It's quite a view and made a great spot for watching fireworks. The only problem was that we couldn't hear the booms, pops, and sizzles of all of the beautiful pyrotechnics because they were too far away. It was like a silent movie - great, but could be better. So we abandoned that show and headed into Fountain Hills (the next town over from our house) to watch a different show up close. It was much better with sound :D Anyway, we enjoyed the show and had a good night.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sedona!

On Saturday, we headed up to Sedona. It is sooooooo beautiful. I've never really seen anything like it. The rocks are so red and so tall and so majestic. It's absolutely stunning. First we walked around town, taking it all in and poking around little shops, and I had my favorite treat ever: a chocolate frozen banana. Yum!

There was this amazing little area called Tlaquepaque with shops, restaurants, galleries, and even a chapel. It's apparently modeled after a Mexican villa - and it really does look authentic. It was beautiful and the weather up there is cooler so it made walking around quite pleasant.

Next we went on an adventure...a crazy off road jeep tour. It was a great way to get into nature, see and learn about the topography of the land, and to have some ridiculously insane fun. I have never been off-roading before - it's so much fun! Here we are on our way out of town and into the mountains: I didn't know Jeeps could do some of the amazing things we did - let alone with 8 passengers! There were a few points in the trip when I thought we had come to a dead end only to discover the we were actually on the right track and could just climb on up that huge slope. Here are a few shots of our redrock exploration:

What goes up, must come down...

It felt like we were going straight down!

Yes, we just came down that cliff.

They let me drive! (Okay, I at least got to sit in the driver's seat.)

There was only one close call - and luckily Casey was there to rescue me :D

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

All of this exploring made us hungry, so we went out for a DELICIOUS meal. The restaurant looked pretty casual from the outside (we were still in our outdoor gear) but ended up being a little more fancy than we had anticipated. The food was fabulous, though, so we didn't care. And the chef sent out random little treats throughout the night for us to try. He had prepared a refreshing watermelon, papaya, and jalapeno gazpacho to start and a tequila lemon sorbet between our appetizer and main course. So tasty! I could go on and on about the food - it was amazing. If you ever make it up to Sedona, be sure to eat at Redstone Cabin. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm :D

What a great weekend. We had so much fun and will definitely be visiting Sedona again! (For more pics visit our album here. I hope to get the pics up tonight or tomorrow.)

Happy 4th of July!

Sorry for the absence...it's been a busy week. I just finished working 6 shifts in 7 days. Needless to say, I am a tired hippo. But anyway - Happy 4th of July to everyone! Hope you are doing something fun to celebrate. We're going to head over to Fountain Hills tonight to see some fireworks and have some fun. And then tomorrow we are going up to Sedona for a mini vacation before Casey starts up school again and I leave town. But before all this fun begins, I need a nap. More later!

Great week!

We have had an awesome week. Last Saturday our new friends the Lukes came over for dinner and some crazy Wii fun. We played doubles tennis and they brought Guitar Hero which Case and I had never played before. It was FANTASTIC! We were instantly hooked. So hooked in fact, that we bought it the next day. It is ridiculously fun! Anytime you want to come over and give it a whirl you are more than welcome.

Then on Monday my dad flew down from Seattle to visit. It was really great to see him and spend time with him. We hung out at the pool, went new (well, new-to-me) car shopping and test driving, ate out, saw Get Smart (hilarious!), and of course, played Guitar Hero. What a fun week. We're just sorry it went by so quickly. And now it is back to normal life for me. Casey is still on break, but I'm headed back to work tomorrow night. Hopefully next week will be a great week too :D