Annie's Wedding

This has taken me forever to blog.

Not sure why, because it was the best time.

My Arizona girls and I haven't all been together for nearly two years,

which is much too long.

So finally in April, we had a very joyous reason to gather in Utah...

The Wedding of Annie Nelson.

Oh how my heart rejoices.

Here is just a sampling of the hysteria that ensued.

Karaoke at a Cowboy bar.

Note to self: Whenever I'm feeling down, just walk into a cowboy bar- quick little pick me up. Haha.
The Bride-to-be being pampered. Well deserved.

Little shopping break.

Wish I had a reason to drop the mulah it required to own this dress.

Gorgeous.

Doesn't Ashley look like a Disney princess? Beautiful.

Little family portrait. Makes my heart happy.

Eagerly awaiting the ceremony.

And yes Ashley has a flower growing out of her head.

Hahahaha.

Just hanging with the Maid of Honor.

Just kicking it.

The Downards! Totally Married!

The AZ Crew. Just like the old times. Love these girls!!

The Woman who made the whole weekend possible!

We love to take pictures together, we only have a million of them...

Gorgeous cake.

Greatest idea EVER.

You will definitely be seeing this at my wedding.

Awwww....so stinking adorable!

Sneaking a photo with the happy couple.

Taken after smashing cake into each other's face.

I love this shot. What a doting husband!

Annie preparing to toss the bouquet.

Merri and I fighting for the bouquet.

It was such a great weekend.

Seriously, just being with these ladies again rejuvenated me.

Life is so much sweeter with good friends to share it with.

Love you girls!

Work: Albuquerque & St. Louis

Our most recent workshop for work was in Albuquerque. I gotta be honest, not my favorite city (had a few near death experiences on those roads) but this trip improved my overall opinion (at least a little). The fun began with a 3 hour layover in Phoenix, which of course meant Lunch at Cafe Rio with Friends. Love making the most of my time.

It was so great to catch up with the Armstrong girls. Seriously family, we just have a good, good time together.

The best part of lunch though was meeting this little sweetheart (yes, even better than the pork buritto), Ms. Brooklyn Gapinski. She even let me hold her. Awwww....

Now, that's just precious.

Well once we got to Albuquerque, I pretty much ate the entire time- nothing new to those of you that know me well. But a big bonus of the weekend was the my Uncle Russell was also in Albucrappy (as he calls it..haha) for work! He took me the The Standard Diner, which was featured on Drive Ins, Diners & Dives. It did not disappoint and we had a great dinner, laughing it up.

Later, my colleagues and I hit up Old Towne Albuquerque and ate some authentic Mexican food.

The Sunday night of our trip, one of our Commissioners booked us all a big dinner up at the top of Sandia Peak and so we had to take a tram all the way up. It is in fact the longest tram ride in the world! A whole 20 minutes...it turned out to be quite an adventure!

ET, Marissa and I gearing up for the tram ride.

A view from the tram. It really was a gorgeous ride.

Another shot.

Albuquerque looks pretty good from this distance.

Yeah, it was a tad windy from the top. Haha.

That's pretty dang high in case you were wondering.

Well as you can gather from this shot, we weren't in the best of moods as we waited to take the tram down. The wind had gotten so out of control that we were unable to take the tram down for 2 HOURS! We had to sit and wait and at one point they were going to make us ride the ski lifts down the other side of the mountain! It was about 30 degrees outside! We opted to wait it out and eventually made it off the mountain, but not before seveal colleagues began to flip out...they will remain nameless...haha.

After Albuquerque, I was able to come home for a few days but then I headed to St. Louis to visit a couple of schools. I hadn't been to St. Louis since I was kid, so my colleague, Augie Favazza (who's from St. Louis) showed me the sights.

You gotta admit, the Arch is pretty incredible.

Augie's family's place. It was some of the best Italian food I've eaten since Italy. No joke. Delish.

We hit up Ted Drewe's a local custard place. A girl can't pass up dessert.

All in all, I'm still enjoying work, especially when I get to see things I'd never have caught on my own. And of course, the greatest blessing of them all, meeting up with family and friends all over the country just never gets old. I really do have a fantastic job!

Comments?

Alright, so I'm a few posts behind.

I need to catch up.

But before I even do that, I'm really curious who out there is actually reading my ramblings?

I mean in the end, it is more of a journal type/travel log sort of blog and is mostly just for me.

But I've heard some random people say they read it, so here I am...

calling you out.

Let me know you're there :)

General Conference

This weekend was our General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We have this large meeting twice a year (April & October) and I love it. It's a chance to be uplifted and edified and to learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At the end of the 2 day Conference I always feel challenged (in a good way!) to be a better person. This year I especially loved Elder Richard G. Scott's remarks about Marriage. I felt like he was talking right to me. So sincere and powerful.It really was such a perfect weekend. Spiritual upliftment, loads of food and good friends. I love Conference!

home is where your friends are (and the cafe rio)

I got another Work Trip to Arizona.

My life is so good.

I spent every non-working moment with these ladies...

We ate Cafe Rio, watched British Period Movies

and laughed the whole week.
Something I love is introducing great friends to other great friends.
Mixing it up.
Now that Kim has officially embraced Arizona
(she made it FB official),
I made sure that she and my Arizona gals became friends.
And of course they did.
They're all wonderful,
it's easy to see why.

I was also able to hang with the Weathersby clan.

My Arizona Family.

Here are the grandkids enjoying my iPad.

Glad that I can be of some use!

We did do other things besides eat,
but the camera seems to only make it out for the food.
Such is life.
I really love being able to go to Arizona.
It doesn't matter how long I've been gone,
I land in Sky Harbor and my heart begins
to pitter patter with excitement.
I mean Sun, Friends AND
Cafe Rio?
Sounds like Heaven to me.

Parties in Utah

I somehow have several posts saved in draft form and just completely forgot about them. We're about to have a heyday on posts. So for the 12 of you who are reading this (thank you by the way, for letting me know you're there!), Enjoy! Back in February, I was able to head to Utah for work and for a wedding.

Yes, you know how I feel about this...

Love it!

In addition to KA & Clint's Wedding, I was able to be a part of Graham Oakeson's Birthday Party! Michelle did an amazing job, it was a ton of fun. I forgot to snap pics of the actual party,

but here is the precious birthday boy and his Mama cuddling.

He is too stinking cute. Here I am waiting with Rachel, MJ & Emmo for the Bride & Groom to make their appearance. This would be the cutest picture if my bangs were standing straight out! Hahaha, but it cracks me up! It was a very windy day. Rachel and I.

We both made the trek from DC for the nuptials.

Totally worth the trip.

This girl is just amazing and I love that we've become better friends this year.

DC just keeps getting better and better. The Satterthwaites! How adorable are they?!

I love snapping a pic of the groom gazing lovingly at the bride. So much love. The Henshaw clan.

MJ & KA are super tight, so this picture just cracks me up.

DC girls reunion!

All of these ladies have lived in DC at one moment and were all at the wedding.

It was great to catch up.

It was just a wonderful week and weekend in general.

Laying around with Michelle, eating Cafe Rio and attending a beautiful wedding.

Trips to Utah just make me happy.