Seattle!

I went to Seattle over Memorial Day this year and it was absolutely fantastic! We honestly couldn't have asked for better weather - I didn't even feel one rain drop (probably because I was still asleep the morning it sprinkled). I was able to see lots of great friends and many of Seattle's sites.

Friday when I arrived, I went to the temple ... and afterward, I set the self-timer on my camera since there wasn't anyone to ask to take my picture! Friday night I spent with Karrie, one of my dear friends from BYU. She was so nice to let me stay with her while I was in Seattle, and we had so much fun together! (thanks Karrie)

On Saturday, we met up with Jenny and her aunt, as well as our friends Robin & Christian, and we fully embraced the fact that we were tourists in Seattle. We spent the morning at Pike Market - if I lived in Seattle, I would probably buy fresh flowers all the time there because they were so beautiful, and so cheap! They had so many gorgeous tulips - in every color you could imagine. I loved these ones with pointed edges -
We had the best little mini donuts I've probably ever had in my life that morning at the market as well. I think this is the only picture we took there - awesome that it is in front of the "sanitary public market" sign. Yeah, I'm holding a donut (one of the many that I ate that day). I was on vacation ok? :)We went to lunch at Ivar's on the waterfront ... no trip to Seattle is complete without fish & chips!Or seagulls and ferry boats?!? We hurried to snap a picture before the seagulls invaded us again!After lunch, we headed over to the famous Folk Life Festival ... and quickly realized that we were definitely in Seattle at its finest. If ever there was a prime opportunity for people watching, this was it! I'll just post a couple favorites, but just know that there was nothing short of a plethora of these sorts of things ...Those boots were definitely NOT made for walking! And while it was hot, this girl wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion (or maybe she was, what do I know)?!?After we made our way through the festival, we went to the Space Needle. After deliberating about whether or not we should actually go UP it, we finally decided that since were only here once, and it was an absolutely perfectly clear day, we'd do it. That was a decision that we'd later come to regret ... not only was it a holiday weekend, on a gorgeous day, with millions of people from the festival, but also as luck would have it, AFTER we got our tickets we discovered that only ONE of the THREE elevators was working. So what should have been a nice and easy tourist attraction turned into two and a half HOURS of waiting in line to go up, and another line to come back down. Oh, but we did walk around the top for about 3 minutes to make it all worthwhile.(I blame the hot, seemingly un-air conditioned wait in line on the bad hair) We really had a fun trip and I'm soooo glad we had beautiful weather. On Sunday night, we went to see the singing monks at a cathedral (I can't remember which one) somewhere near Capitol Hill (though I never saw a Capitol). It wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be like, but I did manage to take an illegal video of them singing "Amazing Grace."

As for the rest of Seattle ... well ... that's just about worthy of a separate post :)

Darling Dakota

My trip to UT was probably the most hectic, crazy trip I've had! It was literally non-stop from the time I landed until the time I left to come back. Luckily for me, I have great friends who came to me while I was there. Kelli came over after the reception on Friday night and we were both so tired that we laid on the couch and talked for a couple hours (no pictures, for all of our benefit).

One of my best friends from DC, Kassandra, came all the way from Logan on Saturday morning to visit - and to introduce me to her darling little two month old Dakota. She stared at me for awhile ...And then she was so cute and was smiling and laughing almost the whole time we visited. I'm glad that she liked me, because she was certainly a doll. Thanks for coming to visit!!

My [Online] Hair Modeling Debut...

So a few months ago when I went to get my hair cut, after she finished, she styled it very meticulously and then got out the camera and had me go the front of the salon. I was a little confused, but apparently she had been styling my hair to put on her portion of the website for the salon. Nice ... Jen always jokes that I have the perfect hair that will do anything she wants it to. Too bad this hair cut is long gone by now - I'd been growing out the front for awhile and last finally got rid of the a-line because I couldn't handle it anymore! Good thing she's great at what she does and always makes it look good.

So, without further adieu, here is my online hair modeling DEBUT ...

Baseball at Coors Field in Denver.

I decided that after Ryan's wedding, the best thing in the world would be for Matt and I to get out of town and enjoy, what else, but a baseball game! The Colorado Rockies just so happened to be in town that weekend, and I hadn't been to Coors Field yet ... so ... after cashing in a credit I had on Southwest Airlines, and bidding $50 for the Marriott in Denver and having it accepted, we were off. We were literally there for 14 hours - just enough time to fly in, rent a car, check into the hotel, go to the game, sleep for a few hours, and turn around and come back home in time for church and for me to fly back to VA. Talk about fast and furious! But very fun all at the same time. The game was great - well the last 3 innings anyway. I am sure Matt loved being with me since I made him take a million pictures. Good thing he likes pictures too :)I had the best nachos I've ever had at a baseball game (due mostly to the pulled beef they put on them, along with the guacamole). There were about six little boys sitting behind us for one of their birthdays, and they were hilarious. One asked his friends "how many minutes does it take for them to hit a home run" to which his friend promptly replied "well actually they could hit a home run at any minute, if the ball is over the plate then he could just pull it to the right or pull it to the left and it could go out of the park." ha ha Not a bad photographer either, that little boy ... The stadium was beautiful, especially as the sun set with the Rocky Mountains in the background! After the game we walked around the stadium to take a couple more pictures - some people don't know how to get the whole stadium in it though! Oh well.

So I took one of Matt with the whole stadium in the background - I swear you have to tell people exactly what you want in the picture otherwise they only take it of you.

Then we neglected to go out the same entrance we'd come in, so ended up walking around the stadium both outside ...and inside (which was great because there was no one left in the stadium - they almost didn't let us back in...)before getting in the line for the shuttle to our car. We met these girls who'd gone to the game instead of Prom that night - so I had to take a picture of them. They were hilarious.

After we got on the shuttle, it took awhile to figure out where our car was - but finally we made it. Two people not paying attention to where we'd parked did not equal an easy time! ha ha But we had fun together and I'm so glad that Matt was able to join me on my quest to seeing yet another baseball stadium. This marks #25 of the active 30 ballparks :) Next up, Seattle!

Ryan & Laura's Wedding!

May 16, 2008: Introducing Ryan & Laura Lillywhite!

I flew home for the wedding last weekend. From the time I got off the plane until I came back to VA, it was non-stop! It was a great trip though, filled with lots of family and friends, and of course the most important part - my new sister-in-law Laura :) Its like I said at the luncheon, I've always told my brothers that they needed to marry cool girls since they are the only sisters I will have, and I don't think I could have hand-picked anyone better for Ryan than Laura. She's so great and I'm very excited that she's part of our family. Aren't they just so cute??
The luncheon was as the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, and then we all walked over to the SLC Temple for the sealing. Before we went in, we had a little while to enjoy the temple grounds with the extended family:
After pictures, we went back home for the reception that evening. Here's mom and dad with Ryan & Laura ...
My green shoes were the hit of the wedding (other than the actually wedding stuff of course) - special thanks to Christine for pointing them out to me! Even Laura's dad, when I met him at the reception, said "oh you are the one with the famous green shoes!" Nice to be known for something :) The reception was in my parent's backyard and turned out absolutely beautifully! We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day - in every way - including the 74 degree weather. Unfortunately we didn't take a whole lot of pictures, so I'm hoping that the photographer snapped some good ones for them! I hurried to get a picture with Ryan & Laura at the end of the reception - too bad my flower is turned upside-down by this time of night!!
We don't have ANY pictures of our family all together in our "wedding attire" since we weren't wearing it to the temple, but here's one of me with the happy couple at the end of the reception (after I ditched the shoes).What a perfect day it was! I'm so happy for you two and so glad I was there to celebrate with everyone :)

My Little Blue Box.

We all know what it is. We all know where it comes from. We would all love one for ourselves. Well, back at BYU, I once told a few friends that if any of my (younger) brothers got married before I did, I was buying myself something from Tiffany's. Well, I can't back out on something I told my friends, now can I? That would be very dishonest and un-trustworthy of me! So, last week I went to Tiffany's (by the way, don't EVER go there the day before Mother's day!!) and picked up a little something for myself. Luckily, I'd done my research online beforehand and knew exactly what I wanted, so all I had to do was wait for the woman to wrap up my very own little blue box (which I was happy to wait for)!
So that's it ... my Tiffany's necklace. And, I must say, it does feel good to wear it :) ha ha And just as a sidenote, when I went on the site to get the picture today, I noticed that the price had gone up! Apparently Ryan got married at just the right time!

p.s. I think its kind of funny (or ironic?) that Laura's wedding color was "aqua" which she described as "Tiffany blue." Just another reason that I love her - and a good rationalization that this was meant to be.

Weekend Philly Trip

The last weekend in April, my ward took a trip up to Philly. Katie and I went up Saturday morning, and picked up Christine at the train station. I'd convinced her to come join us for the weekend from NYC - and it was so much fun!! We hung out with ward people most of the day on Saturday, touring around Philly, eating cheesesteaks, and taking in some history. Then we relaxed at our hotel and stayed through Sunday, went to church at the single's ward there, and then headed back Sunday night. It was a perfect girls weekend getaway!

And now for the pictures ... starting with, of course, the Liberty Bell, in all her glory.

Also nearby - the classic Independence Hall.
Near the Philadelphia Mint, we found this little treasure ...In the National Constitution Center, they had an exhibit straight from Cooperstown called "Baseball As America." We didn't actually go through it (didn't want to pay for it) so that is my incentive to just go to Cooperstown!

I'm not really sure what this building was, but I really liked it, and insisted that we take a picture.
Katie wanted to see the Rocky Steps ... so we did. And while we were in line waiting to take this picture, I ran into my next-door neighbor from my freshman year at BYU - so random! And then we had to run up the Rocky steps and of course take the silly pictures at the top.
On Sunday morning we took a walk by City Hall - one of the most beautiful buildings in Philly!I have no idea the significance of these dominos, but there were a whole bunch of random game pieces on the patio of this building, so we, of course, took pictures. I didn't think I was going to be tall enough to do this picture - and it was very slippery!We couldn't let this photo opportunity pass me by ... so here's the 3 of us:I really wanted to find this statue since we'd seen people with pictures at it all weekend, and we finally found it - and actually this park is called "Love Park." ha ha

It was really fun to go see the movie "Baby Mama" last weekend and notice quite a few of these sites in the movie! Thanks girls for a great weekend in Philadelphia :)

This One's For You, Meg...

I know, I have been MIA for over a month. Its not that I haven't been doing anything fun, its just that I've been, well, taking a break from my blog.


But since my blog is unofficially dedicated to baseball, I am remiss for not posting these extremely flattering (ha ha) pictures from the first Nationals game that I went to at the new Nationals Park. I've actually been there twice - both in the same week believe it or not - but the second game, my camera battery decided to die right when we were going to take a picture (much to the relief of everyone I was with).


To the rest of the lovely folks that I've been to games with this year (and you know who you are), I'll get your picture next time, I promise!!
Oh yeah - and I guess I can't really finish this post without saying that the new ballpark is awesome!! I felt like I was going to a new stadium in a new city the first time we went there - oh wait, I was! Its in a part of DC that I'd never really been to before, and a new ballpark it is. Hooray for having such an awesome new stadium right here in little ol' Washington DC!!

Opening Day!

Of course I couldn't let this one go by with out a post (sorry for the lack lately) ... BASEBALL season is officially underway, starting with Opening Day for my hometown Nationals yesterday! I was soo sad that I couldn't go to the game since they were playing my team, on my half birthday, in my home city (well, kinda), but it was on a Sunday and I swore I'd never do that again after Chicago last year. So ... despite being offered a ticket at church yesterday, I watched it on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball like everyone else. Here's a pic from my friend Dave who WAS at the game -

And just in case you wondered, just because the Braves lost last night doesn't mean they're not still a) my team and b) my pick to win the World Series this year! ha ha Actually, ESPN's Jayson Stark agrees with me ... in his story "Unsung Braves built for October glory." Wah-hoo, Play Ball! I can't WAIT to go to the new stadium ... the stadium looks absolutely beautiful! I'll have to wait until next week when the Nats are back in town though.

Yoga anyone?

I went back to the chiropractor today. Ok, I have continued to keep going to the chiro through this whole back mess, but today she told me something that I needed to hear. She's told me before that I'm super tight (not uptight...ha ha) and today told me that I am "so small and so skinny" that there is NO reason that I should be as tight as I am. Ok well the first part of that was nice to hear ... the end, not so much. But its nothing that I don't already know. She honestly thinks that is the root of all my problems, since it seems to be stemming from my SI joint.

So ... they have a good yoga class at my gym, but um, its at 10am. Who can go to a 10am yoga class when you work? Not me. My friend Cristy told me about Bikram yoga, where you do yoga in a room that is 105 degrees. Sounds good in theory, but given my history with passing out, I'm a little afraid of it. What I need to do is find a good yoga dvd that I can do at home, and make it a part of my daily routine. Anyone know of a good one? I'm on the lookout! I'm getting really sick of feeling like a pregnant woman who can only walk and stretch for exercise. It is beyond the annoying phase. It kills me to go out on a brisk walk when I see everyone else jogging. I want to be them! Or riding my bike. Or something.

As a parting thought today ... when I got onto my gym's website this afternoon to double-check the class schedule, this tagline caught my eye and I've been laughing about it (mostly to myself; sometimes out loud) all day: "Sure, the economy's shaky. That doesn't mean your butt needs to be, too." I love it!

March makes me smile.

Its March - so let's bring on the spring. What does that mean? Well, first things first, March Madness of course! I can't wait.

But let's be honest, what does a girl like me really think of when someone mentions spring? Um ... think really hard. Bingo! Spring Training. Hooray. I went home for lunch on Friday and turned on ESPN and got REALLY excited when I saw the Braves-Dodgers spring training game. Baseball season is on its way.

This is the year. This is my year. And by that I mean its the year that I'm going to finish my baseball stadium tour. I can hardly wait! Our hometown Washington Nationals have a brand-spanking new stadium that's about to be inaugurated. Unfortunately, opening day is on a Sunday, so I'm opting out of that one. The really sad part about that is they're playing the Braves!! But they're in town the next week, so I'm planning on going then. Its very exciting to have baseball's newest stadium (for a year anyway) right here in DC! Single game tickets go on sale tomorrow morning :)

I've already bought my ticket to fly to Seattle for Memorial Day. Can't wait! The plan is to go to San Francisco and Oakland over the 4th of July, and Houston and Dallas over Labor Day. Then the only other stadium I have to manage to squeeze in there sometime is Denver, and I'm done! Finished. Wow. I can't really believe it. Now if only I could find a sponser.....