G-day weekend...

It happened. I turned 27. Not only do I fit neatly into the "26-30" bracket, but I am now in my late 20s. On the younger end of "late," but still...there you have it. (A lovely revelation...)

Despite this epiphany, I'm going strong and, dangitall, I'm going to enjoy the heck out of the remainder of my 20s! :)

My birthday was fantastic, thank you. :)

NuMbeR tWenTy-SeVen...
May 22, 2009

In the a.m., Shalene took me to breakfast.
Then we went shopping for a bit.
This gal is the bomb-dot-com.

Then Janell gave me a call to tell me she was in town!
(Hip-Hip-HOORAY!)
We visited while drinking large beverages at Sonic.

Later that evening, a few friends stopped by.
We ate some delicious grub and had some good times.

The one and only fella who showed up to my party:
The Wade (aka "the token male")

Wade brought me some *Reeds Dairy Chocolate Milk.
This picture represents my first shot of said beverage.
*It is basically happiness in a half-gallon jug:)

You can't fake such a joyous reaction;
Callie gave me Harry and the Hendersons on DVD!


The birthday song...
(my friends make me smile:)

And the "cake"
It's actually a roll with chocolate icing, cherries and bday candles.
(Lisa B is crafty, hey?!)

LaboR DaY WeeKeND BeGinS...
May 23-25, 2009

So...after the dinner party, I drove to Brigham City (late!) while chatting with my momma. She kept me awake and alert, all in the name of safety. (She loves me.) Saturday morning, the entire family went to the Ogden Temple to do a session. It was lovely, and there was totally a kodak moment in the Temple; all the O boys sat side-by-side, and we saw their profiles. Neato.

After the Temple, we headed to Red Robin for lunch, then ran a few errands in Layton, and then visited the nephews for a few.

Here are the pictures...

Abby, Amy, Aaron, Gina...

Ma and Pa...

Me and my "little brothers" Brent and Goose...

Abby and Vance...


Seff enjoying his "Green Hoke" popsicle

The rest of the weekend was also lovely; we grilled a couple of times, relaxed, went on some walks. Loverly. Thanks, family, for being so fantastic!

Just TRY and tell me Brigham ain't gorgeous in the spring...

Me and my Brentos...

tHe KabOb PartY @ CaLLie'S
May 25, 2009

Callie hosted a "kabab" grill night Monday evening. I'm a major fan of grilling. Turns out, I took my camera, but didn't take any pictures; so I nabbed a few from Melanie W to show y'all how attractive my friends are.

Me and Mel...

a portion of Joshy's face...

Briant and Missy...

Mel & Cal...

Emily H...

I like life. I have a fabulous family and fantastic friends. (How do you like that alliteration?)

oh. my. heck...

Read this.

What a birthday dedication, hey?! Despite all the teasing, I know he loves me. (Perhaps it's because of the teasing...)

Bring on 27, life! I'm ready!

fiddley-dee...

Wow. It's been a full week since my last post. You'd think I'd've been up to more mischief or something. Alas...things have been pretty *low-key lately.

Maybe *it's because I'm pondering life as birthday #27 rapidly approaches. I rather get a kick out of birthdays; I think it's spectacular to celebrate a person annually. Anyway...as fun as birthday celebrations are, every time my birthday approaches, I sit back and analyze my life; assess where I am, where I want to be, and everything in between.

Or maybe *it's because south-east Idaho has decided to skip spring altogether and jump right into summer. I enjoy warm weather, but DANG! My room gets toasty warm and falling asleep takes so long! (gasp! I can hardly breathe!) Seriously, my room is the sauna of the house. Makes for sleepless/uncomfortable nights. (I'm going to get an AC in my room this year. Starting...soon.)

Anyway...last Friday night I went up to Pine Basin Lodge (somewhere near the ID/WY border) with a few friends. Aaand a bunch of people I don't know. We ate tasty food and stayed up late playing games and chatting merrily. I didn't get much sleep, but it was a good time.

A few pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Keri, moi and Shalina

Aero-girls:
Ashley, Brooke, Lisa, Gina

The sleeping arrangements...
Lisa/Brooke/Gina
Lisa/Brooke/Keri

Me and Kelly

Anyway...that's what I've been up to. This next weekend is a bigger one and the reasons are threefold: 1) I shall call myself 27 (without flinching!) 2) I'm heading home for most of the weekend to chill with the fam. & 3) Callie's throwing a kabab grill party on Memorial Day evening. I'll do my best to remember my camera for such festivities!

take as directed...

Let's play pretend. Pretend you're taking a prescribed medicine. Got that? Now let's say you are warned (in print!) that this medication will make you extra sensitive to the sun. Still with me?

Now let's say you disregard the warning about sun sensitivity. You figure, "The sun has hidden behind winter clouds for months! I miss the sun! I bet this medicine doesn't make me extra sensitive to the sun...Besides, the temperature is mild anyway!" So you venture outside; perhaps you wax your car and go for a nice bike ride.

Turns out you get burned by the sun, and it hurts. Worse than the usual first burn of the year. OUCH.

Let's pretend it's springtime and wherever you live, springtime means the weather is unpredictable; the sun disappears for a couple more weeks.

On the next warm weekend, you decide to enjoy the warm weather once again. Maybe you walk around the Farmer's Market for a couple of hours and - DARN IT ALL! - you forget the sunblock this time!

Different reasons, sure, but same results.

*-*-*

Same medication, different warning: Do not take on an empty stomach.

"I bet it absorbs better without food, though," you reason.

An hour later, you realize you will never take this medicine without food. Ever. Again.

*-*-*

It's allergy season; you've been wondering when your allergies are going to kick in, because last year at this time, you were a sneezy, wet-eyed mess.

The very next day (it's true!) your allergies come. You sneeze a lot, you purchase several boxes of Puffs Plus, your eyes water rather more than normal, and you take some of that wonderful allergy medicine you bought last autumn to get you through your fall-time allergies.

Woopsy! While you're at work, you fight fatigue with all your might and suddenly it dawns on you--you ran out of non-drowsy medicine last fall and the stuff you took this morning is the drowsy formula.

DANG IT ALL! Will I never learn?!

better late than never...

Yesterday, as we all know, was Mother's Day. I started a poem a few months ago to dedicate to all the mothers out there, but I lost it. Somehow, I lost it! (Dang it!) And then I meant to get online and do a special post for my own Ma. But I kind of didn't get around to that. (Dang it again!)

Anyway, I figured a day late is better than not at all, so here goes...a special post for a special lady; her name is Julie, but I call her Momma...

a virtual Mother's Day bouquet...

What I've learned from my Momma:

*Honesty. I was born a horrible liar anyway, but my mother taught me from the time I was very small to be honest. She's always been honest with me, and I really respect and appreciate that.
*Faith. My mom has an unwavering testimony and she lives the Gospel. I also have a strong testimony, which sprouted at home from my mother's example.
*Cookery. My mom doesn't exactly love to cook, but she's really good at it anyway, and she always provided well-balanced meals for her brood. I remember, in the days of my youth, working in the kitchen with my mom, whether we were making dinner, brownies, pie, bread, or homemade blackberry/raspberry jam. Great memories...
*Family matters. Mom has always put family first. That means a lot, and it feels good to know that me and my brothers are her #1 priority. Feel the love.
*Look for the good. I lost count (years ago) how many times my mother has said, "You find what you're looking for." I'm not always great at this, but I know it's true; and honestly, I'd rather find something to laugh at than something to cry over...
*Boys aren't all bad. (Or maybe my brothers taught me that?) Mom grew up with 3 sisters and one brother; she herself birthed 4 sons and one daughter. I don't know if motherhood just came naturally to her or what, but she's dynamite at figuring out the individual needs of each of her kids and settling arguments (often between myself and Vance--back when we were young, I mean). Despite the scuffles I "endured" as the only sister, Mom talked me through a lot of annoyances (inspired by those darn brothers) and helped me find some good in those silly boys.
*Self-esteem. I realize my life is pretty good, but it's not always easy. My mom has always been my biggest fan and she's always believed in me. She's helped me (especially in those awkward teenage years) to realize I'm worthwhile, and that NO MATTER WHAT, she loves me. A lot. She's always enjoyed spending time with me, and she's helped me through my hardest times. Because she helped me recognize I'm alright, I'm comfortable in my own skin and I know I can do hard things (even if I'd rather not). Isn't that fantastic?!
*Gratitude. There's so much to be grateful for, right? My mom taught me to look for the good (see number...five), but she also taught me to express my appreciation to those around me and to my Heavenly Father for all He has blessed me with.
*Lots of other stuff. I'm surely one lucky gal to have such a wonderful mother...

Here's to you, Momma!

lunch break...

On my drive home for lunch, I noticed a few things that caught my interest. Luckily, I had my handy-dandy camera with me. Now I shall blog it all...

I saw this car and thought of Back to the Future

Interesting plates, I might add...

Brooke is kind of annoyed that she has dandelions in her front yard. I think I counted 6 on my way inside. (5.5, technically; one of them is so close to dead it can only count as 0.5) Anyway...I can understand her annoyance; dandelions are weeds (unless presented to you by a small child, in which case they are beautiful flowers). However...on the drive home, I saw the following. (Prepare yourself...)

That's...a LOT of dandelions.
The poor lawn is being massacred!
(Please note: this is NOT Brooke's yard!)

I actually turned into a neighboring neighborhood to get that picture; as I turned into a cul-de-sac to turn around and head home, I saw another interesting "yard."

No dandelions in sight, my friends!
Not much fun to play in, either, I'd imagine...

Umm...I just saw a spider run across the top of my keyboard; silent screamed, grabbed a kleenex...and now he's gone! *gulp* Here, spidey spidey!

That's all for now, folks...

he likes me!

he really likes me!

aaron really seems to dislike the fact that he and i don't live near each other. we hung out quite a bit when we were at ricks together; when he married the lovely amy and we were all in logan, we hung out whenever we could then too. we have always gotten along quite well and we rather enjoy each others' company.

anyway...on friday morning, i got a phone call from big brother #1. he asked me what i was doing and i answered him honestly, "nothing." aaron responded with, "well then you should come here. right now." or something to that degree.

"spontaneous" isn't the most accurate adjective to describe gina. i wouldn't say that everything i do has to be completely...premeditated; but i do like to plan ahead a little bit.

however...i thought about it for a couple minutes--really wrestled with the idea--and then decided, "umm...okay. let me get ready and pack. see you in a few hours." i had, quite literally, no other plans this weekend. plus, aaron really likes me a lot and has been wanting me to come crash at his place for the past, i don't know...long time. so i did it.

and it was terrific...

yesterday, we ran some errands (while seth serenaded us with his own rendition of "the wheels on the bus"), visited a lot, played with the boys, and talked some more until past our bedtime.

and today, amy's youngest sisters came over to babysit the boys while we went to a matinee for Wolverine. (i liked it. i really liked it.) after the movie we ate some pizza and i played a bit more with jackson and seth...and then i made my way north.

seth sings...

"cheeeeeese!"

hmm...i could've sworn i took a lot more pictures. woopsy...

anyhoo, i stopped off in brigham city for a few hours to say hello to the rest of the family. more chatting, plus a tasty dinner. (i heart my fam!)

and now...i'm back. it was a QUICK trip, but very nice.

on the drive back...i saw the end of the rainbow!
(it's in tremonton, y'all!)

between utah and idaho is this beautiful patch of earth...
i'm seriously enchanted by the loveliness that is springtime!