Answering the Call

My parents are pretty amazing. Plain and simple. They are what my friend E.T. (yes that's his nickname, a whole other story there) calls "Swoopers", they love to swoop down and help their children. Never mind the fact that they live on another continent now.

So when Melissa decided to move the end of March, out of her condo and into a new rental home in St. Augustine and my parents were unable to be there because of previous commitments- the B team was called in.

Nathan, Joe and I flew into Jacksonville and packed, moved and unpacked Melissa and the boys in what was a complete whirlwind of a weekend. Even though I was completely exhausted by the end of it all, it was one of the greatest memories I now have with my siblings. Being able to serve and work together was a beautiful bonding experience, and we had a heckuva good time.

As a preliminary "thank you" of sorts, Melissa bought us all tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters. It was actually really funny and Vince was thoroughly entertained.
So stinking cute.

You can't tell we're family, can you? Ha ha. I love how much Joe and Nathan look alike in this shot and I just love to watch my brothers with our nephews, they simply adore them. But hey, who doesn't? Have you seen how cute these kids are?!

This was taken in the new house and at the end of the mayhem, considering Vince was at a friend's house the whole day, you wouldn't think he would have been tired of all the moving- but he was :)

Work, work and more work.

It really was an exhausting weekend. I don't do enough manual labor I guess. No matter, it was a great weekend and I'm so grateful we were able to help Melissa get set up in her new place.

And even if we were the second string, I think we did a good job. I think my parents would've been proud.

New England

I finally made it up to the New England area for work. It's a part of the country that I've never been and so when I got the opportunity to visit Maine and Connecticut- I was all for it.

We (my team and I) were supposed to fly from Maine to Connecticut but a cancelled flight gave me the opportunity to drive from Augusta to Hartford and ride a part of I-95 I never get to (that's the road I take from my house to my sister's in Jacksonville, it's a straight shot). Not only was I hitting up Maine and Connecticut, two states I've never visited, but I also got to squeeze in New Hampshire. 3 states down, only 7 more of the 50 to see.

Portland Head Light off the coast of Maine. It was a picturesque day and this light house was beautiful- the picture doesn't do it justice.
Beautiful.

New England Clam Chowder in New Hampshire. How perfect is that? Oh and did I mention it was delicious?!

Sidenote: I got bumped up into a 2 bedroom suite w/ a fireplace at one of our hotels. It was a pretty nice set up, too bad it only happens in places where I don't know anyone.

Little white chapels everywhere. Welcome to New England!

Yeah, not even sure what the Tate House is/was..but here it is!

I'm guessing it's just an old house that's been preserved, which is actually pretty beautiful.

It was a really good week. I love when work takes me places I've never seen and though it was a bit chilly (I'll definitely need to revisit in the Summer) I am a fan.

Dancing The Night Away

I love to dance. This is no surprise to most of you. I have been known to bust a move with just a little bit of music; what can I say? It's a passion. Now, I'm not saying I'm a good dancer, but I do love to shake it.

Well my roommates had planned a Dance Party for my birthday, but then Snomageddon hit and life was literally frozen. Once we dug out and the city was up and running once more, we attempted a Dance Party in our front room...and it was AWESOME. I danced all night...no exaggeration...literally, all night. My wonderful and amazing friend Deana DJed and she was incredible. Every song was danceable and we shook it all night long.

The following pictures are just a sampling of the mayhem that ensued that night and unfortunately since I am apparently a blogger novice, I uploaded the pictures in reverse. So the ridiculously sweaty (what can I say? I cannot hold back when it comes to dancing- I was sore all over the next day. I mean 3 hours of cardio can do a girl in) monster that you see wasn't quite how I started :).

Yeah, the impromptu "headband" is actually a scarf.
Mixing it up with K Weed. That girl can really move.

A little serenade for the birthday. What girl doesn't appreciate a little song every once in a while? :)

Don't mind the grease monkey in the middle; but these girls are such great roommates. I adore them.

These boys crack me up. They pretend to be shy on the dance floor, but everytime we've got music on -there they are shaking it.

Getting on down.

And this would be how it all started. Just a few of us having a good time. It really was such a great night. I needed to dance, it had been way too long since I just let it all out and I loved every minute of it.

Mine & Jen's Big Day

Alright, so I give. Jen's day was bigger. Getting married for time and all eternity kinda trumps turning 28, but hey at least I got to celebrate both in Utah.

Well here is the best part of this whole week...alright well not the best "part" but definitely the best story.

I was supposed to fly to Utah on the 11th (my birthday) at 7am, well I don't know if you were watching the weather at all the weekend before, but ya that would have been when we were buried under nearly 2 feet of snow and bracing for another blizzard. I knew, just knew my flight was going to get canceled, so Tuesday morning, the 9th, I got up and checked usairways.com and read that they had "relaxed their ticketing"which basically means you can change your ticket without paying all the fees and what not. Well the airport was open for about 12 hours in between the two storms (the 2nd blizzard was expected to start Tuesday around 2pm) and so I threw some clothes into a bag and had my roommate Kim drop me a off at the airport.

I ran to the Preferred line (ya, after a year of travel I have finally arrived and have status with an airline!) and begged the lady to get me out. She was awesome and made it happen. I got out on one of the last flights out of DC and then went through Charlotte where the last seat was First Class! What up?! Haha. You would think this wouldn't have been the first time, but alas, it is the first time I've flown First Class coast to coast. I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E.

So yes my Birthday present came early and I got to Salt Lake by 7:30pm Tuesday night and was able to spend the whole week there with family and friends. Yes I did take the gamble that the office would be closed due to the weather- and lucky again, it was :).
Did I mention it was my birthday? Well it was. I turned 28. Yeah I'm getting old (on a completely random tangent, I recently watched My Best Friend's Wedding and she's supposed to be 28 in that movie! Her back up plan was for 28 and that's where I am. 28. Oh and my back up plan is getting married in June. Dang it all)

Anyhow, I was able to celebrate the day at my Aunt's house with some friends and family. It was perfect. The top picture would be me with my cousins and the next picture is with my crazy Arizona friends who drove up for Jen's wedding.

And here are my BFFs with their adorable kids. How I love these women and their babies. Gosh I miss them everyday.

Adorable.

We were able to stop by Jen's parents place and see her before the wedding. I'm so glad we did, it was just great to see her for a minute. I love that girl and I couldn't be happier for her in her marriage.

Oh just a sampling of the madness that ensued at Annie's place. We did tear the weekend up. It is always a blast to lay around and laugh with my Arizona ladies. I say we do it every few months..keeps me going.
Oh and did I mention the chocolate strawberries we made? Genius idea taught to me my Amanda and passed along with love.

Jen is wonderful and after you meet her parents, you totally understand where she gets it. I love this family. We've gotten to know each other over the years of Jen and I living together and when I was in Indiana for work (and they still lived there) and I just think they are an incredible family.

These two adorable boys are Jen's nephews and they had the attention of every lady in the joint, Jen's poor brothers didn't stand a chance :) haha.

Such a beautiful temple.
Playing it up for the cameras. She is a gorgeous bride.

I am so glad I was able to be there for Jen's big day. I just love her and I love that she is so happy. It always gives me hope when I see my close friends find that happiness.

The Men in my Life

How stinking cute is this boy?! I got to see my nephews for a couple of days while they were with Al here in Virginia and there is just nothing sweeter than these two little men.

Look at how handsome Vince is! I mean he is getting so big! He'll be 4 in May and it just blows me away to think about it. Every time I'm with him, we just play and play. He does love his Aunt Mimi..what can I say, I'm his favorite.

Oh Baby Clyde...how he melts me with those eyes. We keep praying they stay this color. He is just beautiful.

Aww and my little ham. I honestly can't get enough of these two. probably why I'm headed to see them in Florida again this weekend..oh and the next. Maybe I should just move back :)

Snomageddon

In case you haven't heard, the DC area just endured another major snowstorm this weekend. Seriously, we're breaking records all over the place. There was ample warning this time and the stores were a madhouse and we received alerts to be prepared to "shelter down for 3-5 days".

Craziness, right? Well considering we're on Day 3 and we've just been notified the Federal Government is closed tomorrow (and though I don't work for them, most of us go by their schedule) so we're easing into Day 4.

Cabin Fever anyone?

Hahaha. Who am I kidding?! It's been wonderful! Movies, reading, sleeping, cooking, baking...and chatting with my wonderful roommates. Oh and no work, did I mention that?

Here are a few pictures to document this incredible storm...

This would be my car and street before the storm. As you can see we had a little remnant of last Saturday's storm (we got about 6 inches then, but its mostly melted now-enough to cancel church though) but it was pretty clear. This was taken Friday morning around 8am, the snow started at 10:30 am and went until Saturday around 5:30pm.
Here is my car after the storm. Yeah, it's hard to tell..but that's my car buried under the 20"+. Insanity.

Our front steps and sidewalk-my roommate Jami was on it, she shoveled that as soon as the snow stopped. This picture doesn't do it justice, but that snow is pretty dang high.

Our street. The plows were busy and had come during the storm, but we haven't seen them since. A whole lot of ice now.

This would be me trying to walk back to Kim. I was wearing knee-high boots...they're pretty cute, too bad you can't see them!! Seriously, I have never seen this much snow in my life.

Oh and this would be Cowboy Caviar. Yup and it helped us through Saturday that is for sure. It is a dip with avocado, tomato, cilantro and a whole lot of other goodness and it is divine.

Look familiar? This would be my Tortilla Soup. Oh how I love this stuff. Kept me warm and full all weekend.

We were prepared, what can we say?

Kim baked homemade french bread. It was delicious!

As soon as the snow stopped, Kim and I went for a walk to see the damage done. Here is a truck trying to get off a side road. Not sure how he thought he'd manage that.

It really was a Winter Wonderland. It has honestly been a really nice weekend, we've been blessed to have power the whole time though others have not been so fortunate. The snow is starting to get a bit old- especially since we're expected to get 5 more inches come Tuesday night.

All I have to say is it better be nice and clear 7am on Thursday 2/11 so I can head to Utah for my birthday and Jen's wedding. So get with the program Mother Nature-Thanks for the day and a half off work, but enough already!

36 Hours in L.A.

One of the greatest blessings of being single is the opportunity to share those all important life moments with your dearest friends. I have been truly blessed to witness these precious moments with some of my favorite people, and on the weekend of January 15th I was able to be there for my amazing Florida soulmate Amanda as she wed the man of her dreams.

I hopped a coast-to-coast flight Thursday evening and was able to spend the next 24 hours with Amanda, sharing in the millions of emotions that pass through a girl as she prepares for her wedding. It was absolutely perfect. Got the red eye home Friday and was back in DC life Saturday morning. Amanda looking radiant as her Dad walks her down the aisle. Seriously, loved her dress. Gorgeous.

How cute are they? Yes this would be another attempt to work on my photography skills..loving my new camera.

Beautiful.
I love this shot. The reception was adorable.

Sneaking a private moment with the bride. Love this lady. So happy I was able to share this day with her. I mean, what are friends for, right? If not to share life's biggest moments with. Such a blessing.