Thanksgiving in Florida

My parents live in Paris.

In case you didn't know.

Haha.

They were headed to the States in early December

and so they wouldn't be able to come out for Thanksgiving.

So my siblings and I decided it was time that we tackle Turkey Day on our own...

Yup, we cooked all the fixings and somehow managed to feed ourselves and not kill each other.

Guess we are growing up.

We met up at Melissa's in Florida and honestly, had a blast.

The food was delicious and the weather was perfect.
Oh and we got to play with this guy all weekend long.

Melissa decided to give the boys a job while they were in town.

Task: Build a Sand Box.

You'd think that would be rather easy.

Not with these guys.

After two trips with the Truck, we had about 45 bags of Sand.

Apparently, Melissa is now ready for any potential flooding in Tallahassee.

Had to snap a shot of the brothers sitting three across en route to Home Depot.

Aren't they precious?

While everyone was outside laboring away on the Sand Box,

I was able to snap some shots of my favorite babies.

This may just be my favorite picture of them. EVER.

I love how it looks like Baby Clyde is wiping Vince's chin.

They are seriously too cute for words.

I adore them.

Me and my boys. I'm a proud Aunt, what can I say?

The Sand Box aka Mini Beach in Melissa's backyard.

Vince was so ecstatic about the Sand Box.

Once it was complete, he didn't leave it for hours.

The weekend was a huge hit.

It really was great to be able to get together as siblings

and just enjoy each other's company.

I am so grateful for my brothers and sister.

I genuinely like each of them and just love them for the people they are.

Capitol Tour

I've lived in DC over two years now.

And I've done a lot of touristy things,

but I had never gotten to do a Capitol Tour.

Until now!

It was AWESOME!

Our entire Relief Society (non-mormon friends: that's all the women in our congregation) went.

Which means there were a done of ladies!

My roommate Savanna and I went together.

We were able to get a bit of the VIP treatment,

since the niece of Senator Bennett goes to church with us.

Here's Savanna with Sen. Bennett.

Capitol Dome.

Gorgeous!
Our Tour Guide.

Pres. Reagan.

Smiling.

There are statues of all the Presidents within the Capitol.

He's the only one Grinning.

Love it.

Brigham Young.

Every state gets to have two statues within the Capitol.

You know Utah had to go with this guy.

He's the man :).

It really was an impressive tour.

I love being able to take advantage of the city like this.

It's such a great place.

If you're reading this and you haven't been here yet...

Get your butt out here and visit me! :)

A week in Utah thanks to Work!

Work sent me to Utah again.

Oh the glory of it all.

I arrived on Halloween.

I got to see these two sweethearts

(I can't believe how big they are?!)

Makenzi & Brooklyn.
Michelle, once again, let me stay with her.
She's so good to me :)
I got to hang out with this little stud quite a bit.
Mr. Graham Oakeson.
He is so stinking cute.
And again, growing way too fast!
Michelle was on a domestic kick.
I just stood back in amazement.
She seriously was Martha Stewart.
So glad she's my BFF :)
Well the stars aligned and I was in Utah the same time as Melanie's Baby Shower!
Love it when things like that work out.

The whole gang came up to my hotel in Layton and we played in the pool.

Such a good time.

Lounging at the Hampton Inn.

So nice to be able to share my space with someone.

Just getting into trouble.

Lucky they are so stinking cute.

I was able to see lots of other friends too while I was in Utah,

but I wasn't very good at taking pictures.

Though I did manage to snap a shot of my favorite thing in Utah.

Hahaha. That's not true. I'd love Utah even without Cafe Rio.

(I know you're wondering...I ate there 5 times in a week! Haha)

Just grabbing lunch with my Best Friend before flying home.

I love being able to go to Utah for work and see all my family and friends.

My Christmas trip felt really quick,

so I was really grateful that I had a whole week in November to see everyone as well.

Such a blessing.

Thursdays

I'm a bit behind in blogging. Oh well.

I've been meaning to post about Thursdays for a while.

I love them.

They involve these people...

The Nicelys. Aka...Rachel Robertson from Hawaii.

That's right, Rachel and I have known each other since we were about 12 in Hawaii.

We've kept in touch all these years and now that we live within 20 minutes of each other, we have a standing date.

Every Thursday I'm in town, I head over to her house where we make dinner and watch our favorite show, "The Office."

Her husband Steve is a riot and I just love him.

This summer we added another man to our crew...

Sweet Baby James.

He is a sweetheart and I adore him.

He wasn't too fond of me at first,

but I wore on him and I think we have a mutual affection now.

What can I say?

I tend to grow on people :)

I really do love Thursdays.

It's just so nice to be able to have some consistency in my hectic life.

Kick back with old friends and just feel at home.

Thank you Nicelys, I love you guys!

Life is Good

Our most recent Workshop for work was held in Chicago. It was an exhausting weekend but it went really well.

The highlight of the weekend, however, was the company of this wonderful lady.

Oh how I adore Jenny. Chicago is our city, so she made the trek and we spent the weekend eating, laughing, crying and just catching up. She is the greatest friend. I'd be lost without her.
I got home from Chicago Tuesday night and then early Friday morning headed down to Tallahassee to see Melissa and the boys and my Mom who is visiting. It was a quick, but great trip.

I cannot get enough of this little Chunk. He is such a cutie!

Beautiful!!

Vince was cold so I let him use my cardigan. He is so stinking handsome.

I love this little man more than words can ever say.

Mom and I took the boys to this Fun Center that had bouncy houses everywhere and we just watched the boys run wild! It was a lot of fun.

He's such a big boy!

I LOVE this picture. They are so cute! Baby Clyde looks like he's laughing!!

Enjoying Chick-Fil-A.

Watched Vince's soccer practice Saturday. He's so much bigger than the other kids! It was so fun to watch!

Quick water break. He was working so hard :)

Awww...so serious.

My little man. How I adore him.

Our happy family :)

So silly.

After Florida, headed to California for work. It was a great week. Had an awesome team. The greatest part though, was my "lay over" (I worked it so that I flew from Cali to Phoenix Friday night and then home Saturday afternoon) in Phoenix and dinner with my girls!!

We, of course, ate at Cafe Rio.

How I love thee....

Awww...my girls. How I miss them.

Cute Pregnant Jen!! And her wonderful husband! I was so grateful that we got to catch up.

K Weed!!! How I miss you, come home to DC! :(

Kim was able to come and spend the night with me in my hotel and we had a great time catching up. It was wonderful.

I'm so grateful for a job that lets me see all the amazing people in my life.

I am so blessed.

MN & IA

When it comes to travel at my job, my colleagues and I have to bid on what trips we want.

Needless to say, when the Minnesota/Iowa trip came on the schedule.

I was the only one who wanted it.

I was ecstatic.

As I've said a million times before and what I'll continue to say...

the best part of my job is when I'm able to mix business with pleasure,

which is exactly what this trip was all about :)

One of my best friends growing up, Charla, and her husband Darin just recently moved to Minneapolis and so I was able to spend the two nights I was in town, hanging out with them.

Charla and I haven't seen each other in almost three years...insane! So we spend the first night talking for hours and hours...

It was so wonderful.

The second night, well we spent it eating :)

The cupcakes were delicious!

Me and Charla. Oh how I've missed her!
BFFs since 14.

Though I was sad to say goodbye to Charla, heading to Iowa had its own treat as well.

Jenny!

Jenny and I were roommates in Arizona and then she got married and had these 3 adorable little boys and they all moved to Iowa a year ago for her husband to attend Law School.

I was able to spend a whole day and night with the family and we had such a great time.

These boys were just too cute and they even let me read to them.

Melt my heart.

Jenny and I were able to just catch up and enjoy each others company.

It was so nice. She is a great mother and a great friend.

I am so blessed to have so many incredible people in my life.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE my job?

Enjoying DC

After spending a week in Paris, I realized that I have got to take more advantage of my own City.

DC.

So over the weekend, I did.

Friday night went with a few friends to catch the last "Jazz in the Garden" for the season. Basically its a free Jazz concert in the Sculpture Garden.

I know, it really is amazing.

Kat and I just enjoying the beautiful weather and straining to hear the Jazz music (there were TONS of people everywhere.. haha)
Friends enjoying some Jazz.

Saturday a few of us went back into the city to check out the Arts of Foot Festival.

It was so much fun!! I mean, Mental Note: I will attend this Festival every year I'm in DC.

There was live music, tons of Artists selling their goodies, loads of Restaurants with dollar samples of their best edible creations and even a free showcase of all sorts of Art going on in the city. We sat down and saw two dance numbers, an excerpt of a play and even a Chorus concert.

After checking out the Festival, we strolled into the National Portrait Gallery to see the new Norman Rockwell Exhibit.

I have always enjoyed Norman Rockwell, but this exhibit, well it pretty nearly changed my life.

It was the personal collection of George Lucas and Steven Speilberg and there was even a short video of the two of them discussing why they collect his art.

Seeing all those pieces together just reminded me of what I love about this Country. The Four Freedoms, the goodness of Man and just Patriotism.

Honestly, if you're ever given the chance.

Check it out.

We topped off the day with a trip to the greatest Gelato place in DC.

Which by the way, I had just discovered the night before.

What can I say?

I heart Gelato :)

Nearly as much as I heart DC.

Another great weekend at home.

Love it.