The Aforementioned Other Adeventures

I forgot about the other adventures. Whoopsie. One of the things I miss about living in tiny little Marianna was the annual National Peanut Festival. Last Wednesday I found out via some old friend's FB status updates that Wednesday was LADIES night at the ol' nut fest. I found this fact out around...4:30 P.M. At 5:00 Cory asked me what we were going to do that night--he informed me we could do "whatever my heart desires." Mistake number 1, my friend. I told him I wanted to go to the Peanut Fest, and he said, "Sounds fun." By 5:30I had convinced Lara that skipping her nightly responsibilities was completely acceptable, and by 6:15 we were all in the car! Woo!

It was so beautiful.

Cory and I wait in the loong line, while Lara takes a constant stream of pictures:

Mistake #2: Greasy corndogs and clubs of meat

After eating greasy corndogs/giant clubs of meat, and riding those sketchy rides we didn't feel so good. We decided to take it easy on the Ferris Wheel.

Yea. That happened. She leaned over the side of the cart and naile

d the top of a semi-truck. This started a chain reaction. I made it off of the ferris wheel okay, but by the time we got to the Lemonade Stand I lost it. One moment I was standing there, waiting for Lara to get some napkins...the next I was saying hello and goodbye to my gross corndog for the second time. We left shorty after that. It was a pretty random Wednesday, but those are the best kind :)

Halloweenie Roasting and Other Adventures

I like this time of year. Everyone does. I mean, really. Show me someone who doesn't love cooler weather, carving silly pumpkin faces, dressing up in silly costumes, making pie, cozy fires, hot chocolate, stuffing your face, new episodes of your favorite TV shows, planning special, budget friendly presents for the people you love...Who could hate such things? You don't have to love it, but you can't tell me you don't enjoy at least one small part of it.

That being said, I hate this time of the semester. This side of a month and half feels like eternity. Popular Culture theories are muddled up with Shakespeare, and dinosaurs with psychological disorders are all running amok in my head. But schoolin' aside, we've had some pretty good times these past few weeks.

Halloweenie roasting and pumpkin carving was the first amazingly fally activity of the season.

Gene, Lara and Jesse are all super pumped about the pumpkin carving to come:

We started a little fire in the backyard for roasting marshmallows and weenies...when Gene saw what we had lit on fire he informed us that cooking over a chemical log is a bad idea, butonly if we want children someday.We decided that children, someday, would be desirable. And then hunted down sticks and such from the backyard. For some reason, it burned pink.

Jesse cleans the crap outta that pumpkin. The spoon is there..for scale.

Pumpkin innards were strewn about EVERYWHERE!

Here they are! Gene's, Lara's and Mine/Cory's:

You want a closer look? I thought so.
Jesse took a different approach to the whole thing...It actually turned out pretty well:

Appropriately enough, the nose piece to Jesse's pumpkin kept falling off. Just sayin'.

Artsy Fartsy

We've moved. Again. We're three for three now. My first year in Tally was spent in an expensive 2 bedroom apartment. I'm not sure what we we're paying for but it definitely wasn't higher security. After the shootings, we decided it was time to move. I wish I was exaggerating. We moved up to a townhouse then. 5 girls to 3 bedrooms. It was a fun year, but we really wanted a little house. 4 bedrooms later, and we've got our little home of love. We took a risk and decided to paint the walls. That was an adventure full of tears, paint fumes, and less than 2 hours of sleep. Also, my backseat is now sporting a fun filled shade of "yellow slide". It really captures the imagination and playfulness of youth. Anyways, we had a lot of paint leftover, and decided it was time for some crafts. the beauty of making art out of the same paint that's on the walls is not having to worry about it matching. Saweet!

Kristen wanted a pretty blue flower. I tried my best.

Our bathroom is painted light blue and blackish gray. One of my most favorite color combos ever. The spot over the toilet really felt like it was needing some action...
Other stuff happened. School started, we got a puppy, I'm helping plan a stake activity for 300 people...more on that later... maybe. I was mostly excited about the painting.

I <3 NY

Jesse decided to work as a tech for a security system company in New York for the summer. Long, lonely, pressure filled days awaited him there. For that I am deeply sorry, Jesse. But it really worked out awesome for me! I decided to visit him, and one of my best friends in the whole wide world came with me! And then, just 'cause we're spontaneous her little sister came with the both of us! We drove many miles made difficult by the challenges of road rage, wobbley tires, GPS systems, and sibling rivalry, but we conquered all and made it to the "Big Apple." But nobody really calls it that. Anways, I have some sweet pictures. And it was great to see my brudder!

Behold--the Statue of Liberty! As seen from the Staten Island Ferry--a very cost effective mode of transport.The view of Manhattan at "dusk" from Brooklyn:

Oh yea--we went there. We were trying to avoid "touristy" things. We were driven by some urge to look cool and local. But then we realized we had to be true to ourselves.

Our adventures in China town! The legality of our adventures here fall into what some people would call "gray area". Sneaking into hidden rooms to barter for Gucci bags and Chanel earrings is an everyday thing for these people.

Central park seems nice. This is about all we saw of it.

The Brooklyn bridge has some very scenic angles.

Exhibit A:


Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

(This is the Manhattan Bridge, as seen from the Brooklyn Bidge)

All of us at the end of our 1.14 mile trek across the Brooklyn Bridge. We're pretty hardcore.

The Museum of Modern Art. They have art. And they have a sampling of the average height of today's humans. Which is also art, apparently.
We're cute:

This is about the time we stopped trying to fit in. The combination of self timing camera's, steps and us is not a wise one.

This is all we need:Times Square:

Bikes are fun:Our first official New York street vendor fare:They don't really show you this side of New York in all those sappy romantic comedies, or sassy career woman flicks. But this is the truth:

After a few days of the dirty, busy, exciting city we decided to take a break and relax on Fire Island.The journey to the lighthouse took longer than expected. I had to forage.

We FINALLY made it to the top of the lighthouse. See the random guy bringing up the rear? Lara, Claudia and I were chatting with him for a while. Then Jesse walks in and it turns out they go to the same ward! Trippy, I know.

Our reaction to the news that we're now going to have to listen to the 80 year old tour guide speak:
Beach fun:

Sexy has never looked so good:
We were a little shocked to find out we went to a nude beach. Whoops.

Don't Mess With Texas

Last week I had the chance to fly to Texas. Yes, I flew. I was planning on driving. Th arduous and lonely 11 hour drive was not going to be fun. But I viewed it as a challenge. A challenge for my staying awake ability, not to mention my poor little car. My dreams of the great American Road trip were thwarted Kourtney, the bargain hunting fiend. Like a sweet angel sent from above she found a manageable airfare, and so I flew.

Question: Is it rude to not make friends with the passenger sitting beside you on an airplane? I just...didn't feel like it.

American Airlines gives you a whole can of beverage. Not like those Delta cheapskates. Delta gives you a cup filled to the rafters with ice, then only pours enough beverage in the cup to wet a baby's tiny toungue. Curse you, Delta.

Anyways...my friend Holly is married now. We met in 6th grade, and all throughout the three trying, awkward, braced and acne riddled years of middle school we were there for eachother. Mindy, Holly and I--or the Three Amigos, as we liked to call ourselves (seriously.)-- were inseperable. But not for long. Highschool came. We became separated, but still kept in touch, and I had to be there for her wedding. Simply had to. I mean, we'd been talking about our weddings since middle school. You don't just miss something like that.

So, I forgot my camera. I brought only what could fit into a tiny carry-on duffle bag (checking luggage is pretty lame, in my book), and the camera was left out. My little phone has a tiny camera built in, and luckily I remembered my phone. So, here is my trip, pictured in all of its grainy, low resoluted glory.

The Houston Temple. So gorgeous. I love just..sitting on the temple grounds. Except when its over 100 degrees outside...then I love sitting in the Temple waiting room.




First steps as man and wife...

First bench to sit on as man and wife...

Holly wanted us to express our personalities through our shoes. As long as they were dark brown shoes. Maybe she should have set more boundaries.

Lake Bryan. Flat, smooth, peaceful, and blazingly hot. Mindy took me kayaking.

Our glasses matched. Not planned! Mindy had all kinds of adventurous things to do with me.

Not pictured: bike ride through perilous nature.

Kourtney took me to explore the tacos and antique shops of downtown Bryan. We found fun, expensive stuff! Also, when I lived there, there was no "Downtown Bryan." Only "The Ghetto Part of Bryan." Funny how things change. Now its quite picturesque.

Kourntey and I are so ready. For anything. I think this was taken right before we began the long journey to tacos. Seriously. We walked for days but the sweet promise of tacos was enough to sustain us.

I love this picture. We found it in an antique shop. The crazy eyes must run strong in that gene pool.

Also, we spent a good while spelling our names with the stamps from an old printing press. We're pretty wild.

When I try to explain Texas to people...they don't understand. They don't understand Stetson hats, or the Aggie yell leaders. Nor do they understand fields of blue bonnets that cover the country side for a few weeks. They don't understand that the state flag is considered a tasteful motiff for birdhouses, park benches, shirts, babies...

I had a few things I really wanted to do while in Texas. And, eat 10 snocones was on the top of my list. Let the record show that I almost met that goal.