goals! goals! goals!

jeremy and i like to make goals at the beginning
of the school year. it helps us focus on what's important.
plus it's fun printing them out and posting them all
over the apartment. here they are for this year:

spiritual
-fhe every sunday from conference/ensign
-have daily scripture study
-no hw or tv on sundays- unless it's a big game
-attend the temple twice a month

physical
-exercise- j- play basketball 1-2 times a week
-exercise- k- workout 5-6 times a week
-buy/eat more fruits
-cook dinner 3 times a week
-clean often- with music blasting

marriage
-take a walk every night together
-discuss our daily scripture readings
-act of kindness for one another daily
-review goals and help each other improve

his first day

looking good babe! you will do AWESOME!

back to school

this fall is different.

it's the first fall i haven't gone back to school since i was like 3.
(i was an avid preschool attender)

i feel like i need to buy notebooks, a fresh planner, some new pens and pencils,
some cute clothes, and my favorite snacks... but i don't.

i did anyway though... for him.
and i got some cute clothes and a planner for me, too.



he was so surprised!

tonight

Hawaiian Style Shave Ice

our quest for the best: {shave ice edition}

round 7

Hawaiian Style Shave Ice
1800 S. State St in Orem


we both got smalls. jeremy ordered mango delight and i
got a pina colada and raspberry combo. they were both way good!



the deets

prices: $2 for a small ($1 for a kid's), ice cream on bottom for .50, no cream,
no extra for tax, only take cash and check

flavors: good selection, about four suggested combos, no extra for multiple flavors

loyalty bonus: have an "Ohana Card"- buy 10 shave ice get one free- and it's
good at all four locations in the Utah Valley

seating: about five metal folding chairs

misc: really soft ice- but chunkier at the bottom, give you a
spoon, have a website, no music


the verdict

we both really liked this place. the quality of ice is up there with Hokulia,
but Hawaiian Style has more sizes to choose form which is nice. they have a good
selection of flavors, but not as many as the SURF N SLURP. so this is the new #1
for ice, but the SURF N SLURP is still #1 for flavors.

til our next shave ice outing...

poolside

just living the dream...


yesterday, two of my SIL's and i chatted it up at the pool while the boys
went golfing. we decided it is WAY better to go swimming instead of golfing when
it is almost 100 degrees. we had a blast.

oh, brother!

ok, so maybe i am the worst sister... exactly one week ago it
was riley's birthday. i was out on the road, so while we mailed him a sweet bow tie and he
got a phone call with an AMAZING rendition of happy birthday produced by richie, jeremy,
and me from the car, he never got his birthday post like the rest of the fam
(here, here, and here) -not that he really cares, or even noticed.

my deepest apologies rye, because really you deserve more. so....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEY!!
the big 18! wow... how are you so old?!

here is the stud sky diving on his b-day

you are such a cool kid and a great brother! you make music videos with me, you
laugh at all of my dumb jokes, and you even listen to the girl advice i give you. i LOVE
how you are never too cool to just hang with your sister instead of chilling with
your buddies. you really are a great person; i love you little brother. sorry i couldn't be
home to eat the delicious wafer cake with you- but hey, i get to see you soon.

This just in!

Quite literally. I sent the missionary a survey to take for his halfway mark and it just came today! Since it's only one day late from the year mark, I would say that we did pretty good on our timing considering we were mailing it across the country to each other.

Here is what Sammy had to say:
(it's kind of long, sorry... but I know my momma wants to read this)

1. So how has the mission been so far?
My mission so far has been marvelous. Everyday is a new adventure. You never know what you are going to get. It's amazing to be a servant of the Lord. I love it. I couldn't be doing anything better.

2. Has it been harder than you thought? Easier?
I would have to say that some things are harder than I thought and some are easier. For example, it can be super hard to go out and tract in the STINKIN hot weather when that's all you've done for the past 3 weeks. But hey, it could be worse.

3. What has been your most favorite experience? Your most spiritual?
There are 2 experiences that I would have to say are the most spiritual. The first experience was my second baptism. Throughout the entire baptismal service the spirit was super strong. I was able to perform the baptismal ordinance and as we were standing in the water the spirit was overwhelming. It was such an amazing experience to be able to be a part of that baptism. The second experience was when I got to confirm a sister who had been wanting to get baptized for 12 years. As I placed my hands on her head the spirit filled the room. It was amazing to be able to confirm her and to feel the spirit like that. Those are 2 experiences I will never forget.

4. How has the food been? Have you had to eat lots of gross veggies so far? How do you eat that gross stuff? Have you been learning to like them?
The food has been pretty good for the most part. Nothing really too crazy. When you don't like something you kinda have to just eat it. There have been a couple things that are just too gross to eat like cooked squash & zucchini and like this warm mashed spinach salad thing. But I have kinda learned to like broccoli, green beans, and other veggies.

5. What has been the funniest experience? The scariest?
One of the funniest experiences that I can think of is when we were talking to this lady who didn't want to hear what we had to say. She kept telling us about how she had already heard the message. So I was like oh so you've heard about God calling Joseph Smith to be a prophet, and Christ's church being restored and the Book of Mormon and about BIG FOOT! She kept nodding her head and saying yeah, yeah. I almost started laughing on her door step. It was rather funny. For the scariest experience we were walking back to our bikes around 9ish. About 2 doors down we hear all this yelling and cussing. Like 2 seconds later there is like a gang fight going on. Not knowing what to do we hid behind a car across the street. Two minutes into the brawl a car flies down the street and stops right in between us and the fight. Seconds later the car and gangsters start shooting at each other. Bullets are hitting the car we are behind and we are freaking out. I thought for sure I was going to get shot. But before we knew it the whole thing had ended. It was CRAZY! As we stand up there were like 20 bullet holes in the car that we were behind. None of that really happened, but it sounds pretty good.

6. What’s your favorite thing about being a missionary? Least favorite?
There are a lot of things that are sweet about being a missionary. All we really have to worry about is teaching the gospel to everyone that will listen. It's a lot of fun to know all the different members. I love how much you feel the spirit as a missionary and seeing the gospel change peoples' lives. My least favorite is probably when we go tracting FOREVER and don't have any success. That pretty much stinks.

7. When did you know that you were going to serve a mission?
I never really knew as a kid. I always kinda said who knows, we'll see. But sometime between my senior year of high school and college I started thinking about it more and more. As I prayed I knew that's what I needed to do. So here I am halfway through my mission.

8. Did you know your family misses you and loves you A TON?!
Yes I know my family loves and misses me and I also know that I have the BEST family! WOOHOO!

Well, there you have it. Straight from the boy - word for word. He really is doing well. We love getting his letters and e-mails with tons of updates and stories about preaching the gospel in Florida. He sure is working hard.
I am so proud of you Sammy!

this kid...

the one in the middle
has been gone for a whole year today!
(one more to go! eeek!)

remember this? that dreaded day when we had to hug him and say "See you in two years!" with lumps in our throats and tears streaming down our faces and send him off to Florida. we all knew it was the best thing for him to be doing... but that doesn't make it much easier.

well, now a whole year has passed! yay! it feels like i haven't seen him in SOOO long, but at the same time i can't believe he's already been out preaching the gospel for a whole year. i guess that's how it goes. hopefully this next year will go by super fast!

love you little brother!

at least they feed me

i'm back (from the road trip) and i've been tossed into the most intense week of the year here at work- i knew it was coming. our days start at 6:30 in the morning and go until 9:30 at night and we don't get breaks, but we do get fed every meal. really though... it's nuts! by friday we have spent so much time together and we are so sleep deprived that all propriety as long since vanished. we get quite punchy and seem to have more and more sass. it's sure fun.

quick story from today's craziness...
(one of many this week maybe)

ok, so a little -scratch that- a big wind storm attacked us at our post today- the post i'm responsible for and in charge of... awesome.

papers were flying... flying AWAY. i was shrieking. easels and signs were crashing. we were running and chasing the loot- in our skirts that blew all over. it was quite the fiasco. we eventually got everything moved to safety (aka inside) with the help of our poor customers and then we were able to take a couple of deep breaths.

i guess i could have called for some assistance from my buddies on the walkie (as in walkie-talkie)... but i didn't want to flood the walkie lines with the chaos that ensued. pure chaos, i tell you. can you just imagine?

"AAAAHHHHHHHH!! Everything is blowing away!!"
"Oh, what's that Katie?"
"Emergency, Emergency! The wind is taking OVER!"
"Katie we can't understand you."
"WILL CALL is BLOWING AWAY! WILL CALL is BLOWING AWAY!"
"Do you need help?"
"The signs are DOWN, the easels are CRASHING, papers are going everywhere!! AAAAHHHHH!"
"Katie..."
"Katie....???"
"Katie?"

but no worries... i took care of it- with my amazing crew. no big deal.
really... they make my job too easy.

oh and towards the end of the day (when it was pleasant again- sunny with no breeze), one customer asked us if we had thought about putting the tables, signs, and papers outside so that people could see them better. HA!! thank you sir!

and it's only monday... may the insanity continue!

we are...

on the road again.

for a wedding and to see family
and good friends.

i'm not sure when we will be
back or where we are going exactly...
and i kind of like it that way. i'm
just going with the flow.

have a good, no...have a
GREAT weekend!

we won't be staying in a hotel,
but i liked the picture anyway.
(it's from this trip.)

ALERT! ALERT!

METEOR SHOWER TONIGHT!!

the persied meteor shower is tonight and it is going to be awesome, or so the
many reports say (here, here, and here). there will be about 30-40 meteors per hour and
it will pick up to about 90-100 shooting stars per hour after midnight. that's
more than one a minute!

AAHHHHH!!! you have to go check it out... i have to go check it out. just gather
together a blanket, a cute boy -wink, wink, some popcorn or maybe a sonic drink, your camera,
and head outside to watch the magic. i really hope jeremy is up for this late
night show... or i might have to venture out while he is sleeping.

Seattle II

Seattle I {the wedding}

{the sights}
warning: picture OVERLOAD

at the space needle it was so cool at night... loved it

snoqualmie falls


pike place market
we had some mini-donuts and homemade chips for lunch,
oh and slices of peaches they would hand out- they were good!





gum wall- so gross and so cool.
we added to it! ewwww....



ferry to bainbridge island
such a pretty island



kerry park

it was so frustrating to find... i guess there is a 2nd ave WEST and then a
2nd ave NORTH and then even another 2nd ave... turns out we were on the WRONG 2ND
AVE! luckily some stranger pointed us in the right direction. who knew?!

back at the market
for another round of donuts and for fish & chips- i got the mac & cheese.
but i did try the fish... and i like chicken.

it was a fun trip- filled with a beautiful wedding,
sight-seeing, shopping, and fun food.

i LOVED it momma! thanks for making it so great!