random pie...

*pie sounds really good right now...

*i recently discovered my dad isn't the only person who eats his way
around corn on the cob (weird)
*this song makes me cry a little bit
*on a related note, i totally want to watch "The Land Before Time"

(original, not sequels)
*i successfully wear 2 different pant sizes at eddie bauer (weird squared!)
*newborns sure come out teeny tiny! (this is a good plan, obviously)
*there is always room for jell-o
-i'm quite confident i need more cardigans in my life/wardrobe
*two words: honeycrisp apples
*other fruit i'm currently craving: brigham city peaches, huckleberries,
watermelon, raspberries, and fresh pineapple
*i'm quite useless with a needle and thread;

sewing machines baffle and utterly frustrate me
(-but my mama knows her way around sewing!)
*reality is sinking in: i'm going to HI in november, and since my summer exercise
(softball, biking, hiking) has basically come to an end, i'm joining a gym
(i do NOT want to get pudgy in time for my vacay in paradise!)
*kaylee j has won me over...
*just like jane has...
*just like marshall has...
*same for seth...
*aaaand for jackson...
*i totally bought purple pants this past weekend
(technically they're dark plum corduroys: STOP JUDGING ME)
*aaron and amy are going to have little boy #3 by friday! can't wait to meet him!
*mom totally has a cell phone now, and i think that's stellar
*i'm 3 days shy of tahoe!!!

went to utah this past weekend to chillax. it was dynamite! got to see every member of my family (although i left my camera at home whilst i was playing with jackson and seth: for shame!). went shopping with mom, which was super fun (and successful!). it was just what i needed, really...

i.love.her
(kaylee j's mondo yawn...)

her pig-tails kill me
(in a good way. obviously)

gramma o. with 3 of her lovies...

she really is an angel baby...

love her to pieces!

can't wait...

My life is stupendous. Didn't you know? I'm blessed with stellar friends, a terrific career, and the most amazing family this world has ever seen.

It's good to be me...

And I've had a busy summer! I kinda thought, back in the beginning of June, that a quick weekend trip to Vegas with Lisa for Janell's wedding would be the only vacay I'd get. Alas, I was able to head to Zion NP in July, and on up to Coeur d'Alene a couple of weeks ago. All of these trips, plus lots of other stuff in between, were with some of my most excellent friends. (My friends are most excellent, remember.)

Thanks, friends, for being so great and for all the fun we've had this summer!!!

This weekend, though? This weekend is all about family! Oh, I've missed them in the nearly 4 weeks that I haven't seen them! Today after work, I'm headed to Brig-ham to: meet my new little muffin, Kaylee J; shop in Park City with my momma; play with Jane (if she'll let me--I understand she's rather clingy with her parents these days); and so on! And so forth! I'm so ready!

Also, next weekend (aka "Labor Day Weekend") I'll be headed to Tahoe with Dad, Vance, Abby and Jane for an O-fam reunion.

And then the next weekend after that, I'll head to Utah once more to meet another new little muffin yet-to-be-born and yet-unnamed male fetus of Aaron and Amy! Yeehaw!

I'm excited!

Janiekins

Kaylee J

birfday girls...

A few weeks ago, this little muffin turned one:

Janiebug

Oh man, even when she cries she's darling, isn't she though?!
She really was a happy camper most of the day.
And she loved the chocolate cupcake...
I think it was the icing on her fingers that she did not adore...?
We had a grand old time celebrating her birth,
with both the O clan and the P clan.
(This little girl is so loved!)

And then...yesterday...this little muffin joined the O clan here on earth:

Kaylee Juliana
6lb3oz, 19 inches

I guess her birth was fantastically easy:
Janel pushed twice (after about 4.5 hours of contractions) and then there she was!
I don't get to meet her till next week, 'cause my family lives in Zion without me...
But I'm way excited to hold this precious little girl; I already love her!
Congrats, Janel, Goose and Marshall!!!

I love my family!

the Coeur d'Alene...

I went to Coeur d'Alene this past weekend with a group of friends. It. Was. AWESOME. I'm baffled as to why I've never sojourned that way before. I mean, I've lived in Idaho for 4 years now, and Coeur d'Alene (hereafter refered to as "the CDA") has got to be the prettiest part of the Spud State (if not THE WORLD!). I'm being serious here, people. The CDA is gorgeous, and there's so darn much to do, too...

Hiking: CHECK
Biking: CHECK
Lakes and rivers and streams to frolick in: CHECK
Fun shops: CHECK
Stellar places to eat: CHECK

You see? It's like living in a dream, I'm sure, residing in the CDA. This ginabean LOVES it there...

Anyhoo, here are some highlights followed by some pictures. (I seem to like this format of late, yes?)

Here's to:

*Biking 50 miles in 2 days
*Mentally taking myself to Disneyland in the dark, cold, damp 1.7 mile tunnel at Haiwatha
*Huckleberry cheesecake
*Huckleberry licorice
*Feeling utterly unattractive in my biking helmet
*"How's your bum today?"
*Jeff's stellar grillin' skills
*Stinking like garlic for a full 24 hours after eating at the White House Grill
*Jeff swearing off Greek food after eating at the White House Grill
*Canoeing at Lake CDA to an island, then jumping off smallish cliffs into said lake
*Screaming like a little girl when jumping off cliffs into said lake
*Worrying for Jeff's safety (and sanity) when he decided to jump off
a high cliff and over a tree into said lake
*"Thank you, Karen and Richard Carpenter..."
*Making excellent time to CDA and back
*Sleeping badly all 4 nights, but still smiling all day every day 'cause CDA rocks!
*My snarky comments being lost on Jeff, but never lost on Janae!
*Spending lots of time in nature
*Spending lots of time in excellent company
*Shopping with the gals while the menfolk went shooting
*"It's my one birthday wish to...[fill in the blank]."
*Bryan's stellar sense of direction ("Which way are we going now?")
*Playing "Who is this?" to songs on the radio (Jen always won!)
*Finding out 7-Eleven exists in northern Idaho, but being too full to get a Slurpee
*Officer Bryan getting pulled over by a state trouper
*Singing Janeen Brady songs (from start to finish!) out of the blue
*"Lemme know if I'm being irreverent back there..."

My crew doing the CDA trail:
Me (big head up front), Jen, Janae, Jeanna, Bryan

Beautiful, huh?


Jeanna and Janae got on a Carpenter kick and kinda performed for us...

4.2 million lily pads...

Meeting the other group along the way...
(We each started at different points and passed each other "in the middle.")
Jeff, Jami, Kelly, Brooke, Gina, Bryan
(Not pictured from the other group is April)

Resting for a moment...
Gina, Janae, Jen, Jeanna

Yep. That's a phone booth in the middle of a lake...

Cool metal bug on the lake...

Bryan found a dead snake...

Just about the final stretch of our 35 mile ride:
we got to go uphill...which was not exciting unto me

Awaiting the Hiawatha...

I felt so pretty in my head gear...

Riding through the first tunnel (1.7 miles of darkness),
a few of my peeps got dirty bums...


The tunnels got dark and sometimes made me nervous...

Janae (the birthday girl) and I kinda took our time with silly pictures on this ride.
Clearly.

This is why I say living in the CDA would be like unto a dream...

Stopping for a cheese stick break...

At one point, I almost dropped my camera way down there...

When we stopped for lunch, Bryan made friends with a chipmunk
We called him Alvin

The shuttle ride down...
moi, Jen, Jeanna, Janae

At the end of Hiawatha...
Jeff, Jami, Brooke, Gina, Janae, Bryan, Jen, Jeanna

Janae hauling the kayak at the lake...

Nervous smiles before jumping into the lake...
Jami, Brooke, Gina

Too bad you can't hear the scream that escaped my lips all the way down...

The water was lovely, though...

Synchronized jumping...
Bryan, Jeff, Kelly

CANNON BALL!!!

Jeff's awesome jump...

Jami had a lot of fun shopping...

The huckleberry cheesecake...
Look at all those huckleberries!!!
(It's probably the best cheesecake I've ever tried)

I'd like to thank PBS for doing a little informative story on the joys of the CDA. I'd also like to also thank Janae for watching PBS. I also want to thank Janae and Jeanna for planning this little trip and for letting me come. IT WAS PERFECT! And one more shout-out to Kelly for being from the CDA and knowing about the awesomeness of Gooey's (where I partook of the amazing cheesecake).

ick...

I may or may not have a few irrational fears. Aaaand most of them deal with the animal kingdom in some variety or another...

Don't judge me or anything, but I have a very real fear of grasshoppers. I looked it up, and it's called acridophobia. I wouldn't call it a real phobia; it's not like I feel like I'll die in their presence, but still...I'd much rather avoid them, and I very nearly jump out of my skin if one jumps on me. (UGH!)

This pic makes me squirm 'cause it's on a human hand.
And also because it looks large enough to eat a small child.
(I call it "grosshopper." Isn't that clever of me, though?)

Also, I'm a bit skittish around moths. (And butterflies.) I looked this one up too; lepidopterophobia is the fear of butterflies, and mottephobia is the fear of moths. It's real, people. I can tell y'all are judging me, and I ask you to at least mock me in silence. I think butterflies are pretty, but I get jittery and nervous when they flutter nearby (especially around my head). Don't even get me started on moths. (Yuck!)

I said they're beautiful...
I just don't like them to be anywhere near me, thanks...

And then...this one was a recent revelation, but I was taking a gander at a new book I bought for work: My Very First Encyclopedia with Winnie the Pooh and Friends: ANIMALS. The book is fun, and my clients really seem to like it so far. But before I put it on my bookshelf, I looked through its pages. And you know what? I was totally disturbed when I came across this image on page 42:

Iiiit's a sloth...

(Somehow, because of Sid the Sloth from Ice Age, I thought they'd be...not so creepy)

Umm, so get over the fact that I'm 28 and have never seen a real live sloth before. That creature is freaky-deaky! And I'm not trying to knock any of God's creations or anything, really I'm not! But what the heck is that? He basically looks like something out of a nightmare. And why is his face all squished together surrounded by so much head?! (ICK!)

Here's what's really funny, though: on Monday, one of my clients was looking through this stellar animal encylcopedia, and when she came across the sloth, she said (and I quote!):"Awwww! Look at him! He's so cute!"

WHAT THE WHAT? I'm not a judgmental person, typically, but my initial reaction (albeit silently) was: "What is wrong with this child?"

To each his own, I suppose.

And who am I to talk, really? I'm afraid of butterflies...

hiking Zion...

Here's to...

*Late nights and early mornings
*Many discussions about "packing out"
*S...someone talking me out of buying duct tape (and paying the consequences for it later on)
*Carbo-loading the night before a monstrous hike
*Listening to Star Trek (the movie) while driving
*Surviving that one hike that was hotter than blazes
*Still loving Lisa after she outright lied to me about that one hike
that was hotter than blazes
("A few switchbacks and then it's all level," she said. MY.EYE!)
*Watching S...someone eat too much chicken-fried steak
and having to "walk it off" (bwa ha!)
*Expending more calories than I could possibly take in
*Learning new things about people I already know and love
*Sitting next to Keri at dinner that night, laughing till we cried
*Talking Matt out of getting the doggy bag
*Being disappointed at the lack of opportunity to swim in the Narrows
and then being scared to jump in when the opportunity finally came
*How awesome it felt to take off my shoes after hiking the Narrows,
but being grossed out at the looks of my "bloated Jane Doe" feet
*Brooke watching out for me (and everyone else!) by making me stop to eat
*Matt's innate sense of mileage past and yet to come
and all that talk of his hover-shoes
*Watching for made-up signs of flash floods (rising purple, polka-dot water, etc.)
but knowing what the real signs were, just in case
*Wondering aloud if "debris" and "floating heads" qualify as the same thing
*Staying the night in Cedar City instead of driving all night in a freakishly tired stupor,
because SAFETY FIRST is my mantra
*Feeling quite certain I might pass out from hunger
only to realize not much would fit in me
after a day on the river with nothing but trail food
*Handsome Rob returning us all 5 of us home safely
at the expense of all the bodies and baggage and extreme heat
*"We are above average."

We had ourselves a loverly time in Zion...

We (Brooke, Skyler, Keri, Matthew and I) met up with Lisa and crew (Rodge, Aaron, Beth and Brad) and had ourselves a party in Zion NP.

Above were some of the highlights.

Below are some of the pictures...

Zion, Zion, lovely Zion...

Walters Wiggles
(which leads to the last 1/2 mile to Angel's Landing)

The last 1/2 mile to Angel's Landing
(Very likely the longest half mile in all of creation!)

Aaron and Lisa

Skyler being all thoughtful looking over God's lovely creation

Going down the 23 switchbacks ("Walter's Wiggles")
felt much better than going up!

Up to Hidden Canyon
(this is the hike that was hotter than blazes)
(like 102 degrees Fahrenheit)

Cool earthen steps...

Skyler and Keri resting in Hidden Canyon

Enjoying the shade in Hidden Canyon

At the trail head to the Narrows...
(Brooke, Keri and I may or may not have gotten cold waiting for the other shuttle)

the Narrows is a water hike, in case you didn't already know...

Keri found cute lil daisies on the hike, apparently...

We were hopeful this was somewhere about halfway through the hike...
but it's hard to gauge miles whilst hiking from bank to bank in the water!

SO LOVELY!!!

Matt's stellar water shoes
("They hover.")

They're called the Narrows for a reason:
(Hello, slot canyon!)

Looking out...

Stopping for lunch...
(Me, Skyler, Matt, Brooke, Keri)

So darn beautiful!!!

So worth the blisters that were a product of this hike...

Loverly waterfalls...

I give you permission to be jealous...

We. Are. So. Accomplished.
(This was taken at the bottom of the Narrows)
(That's 16 miles--but we added 2 miles cause we walked from bank to bank the entire way)
(Then we had to walk another mile to the shuttle)
(On average, it takes 12 hours to hike the Narrows. It took us 9.5)
"We are above average!"

When we got to the shuttle, we saw this sign.
They closed the Narrows at the bottom due to possible flash floods.
We survived 'cause we're cool like that.
And "we are above average," but that's kind of a given...

And because you all care so much, I'll have you know we won our third game in the softball tourney. (I want to say we won comfortably, but I'm not sure that's true. Oh well, you wouldn't know any better so...) "We won comfortably."

Wait...! You already know about game three...(Three extra innings, which was utterly unfortunate for me, because my poor blistered toes were smashed into my cleats for an extra long game!)

Game four...well, we played an extra inning, which tells you it was another nail-biter. And then...we lost. By one point. Bummer though, isn't it?

"Go G.O. Speech Therapy!!!"
(Thanks for the pic, Brooker)