Free Day at Kings Island w/Tricia

Way back in the beginning of July, I had a chance to go to Kings Island for free.  All I had to do was volunteer for 2 hours at the park.  It was Free Military day, so all we had to do was get people to sign thank you cards that were sent over seas.  Nate had to work, so the first person I thought of was my friend, Tricia.  She was more than happy to have a day of fun with no kids.  We got there right when they opened, checked in, and then rode some rides.  We had to ride my all time favorite roller coaster, the Diamond Back.  It is 230 feet tall and gets up to 80 mph.  Tricia was a bit scared, but she loved it!
We had a lunch break (in the car with air conditioning) and then headed to the water park.  I was finally able to ride the infamous toilet bowl ride, which was pretty fun, esp. since I went down backwards.
Even though it was a hot day, I had so much fun with Tricia, and I hope I can do it every year from here on out.

Before the ride (notice the nice, controlled hair)

And now the crazy, I-just-went-80 mph-hair

Love this ride, can you tell?

 In line for Rattlesnake Rapids

 I really was scared!

Bathing Beauties

 The Thank-You Cards

Eclipse

 ...not both?

Last night was my 3rd time watching the first midnight showing of the Twilight Series.  Our group has def. dwindled since the last movie (missed you Leah, Laura Lee and Adrienne)  I could go on FOREVER how amazing the movie was.  The flow and consistency following the book was "spot on".   I couldn't find my camera, of course, so these pics from my phone will have to work.

 Lyndzi, Mel, Sunni, Stephanie, Brittney, & Karlie

Oakley (& Prada)

I took this picture a few weeks ago.  It is so typical of Oakley to pull some face when I take a picture.  This is his "really, you can't just leave me alone?" face, with a little "I'm bored" mixed in.
I sure love this guy!  We couldn't imagine our life without him.  And just so she does not feel left out (silly, I know), here is Prada.

Hocking Hills+Great Friends=Fond Memories

We were able to make our annual trip to Hocking Hills this past Memorial Day Weekend.  Every year, Memorial Day Weekend rolls around and I can't help but think back to this very same weekend 5 years ago.  I was newly divorced and needed to get away.  My brother, Branden, invited me up to BYU-I to visit.  Little did I know I would meet the man I was destined to marry.  Needless to say, we always like to do something special to celebrate.  What better way than to camp with some of your closest friends?
This was our 4th year camping in Hocking Hills.  We always reserve the same site-it is HUGE!  We camped Fri-Sun.  This year we invited the Eastman's,  the Dean's, the Fullmer's and the Johnson's.  10 adults and 7 kids made for a weekend of fun.  We did lots of hiking, LOTS of good eating and had some fun at the local lake/beach.  I am already looking forward to next year.

                                                        No one can caravan like us Mormon's

 Setting Up

First Hike down to Cedar Falls.  We saw a total of 4 people at the bottom.  It was really cool to have the whole place to ourselves!!!

 

(I will insert our Old Man's Cave pics here once Karlie sends them to me-wink, wink)

Ash Cave-it's hard to tell, but I was standing in front of a very skinny water fall. 

FGNO-Final Girls Night Out

"A true friend is just like a good bra, hard to find, but always there to lift you up"

The time is almost here for my WONDERFUL & AMAZING group of friends to say goodbye.  Just typing that makes me get all misty.  I think I have been in denial for the past few months, but the time has come to face the music.  Almost every night, I thank my Heavenly Father for the friends he has sent to me.  I sometimes wonder what I did to deserve such amazing women in my life.You have all been wonderful examples, shoulders to cry on, provided couches to laugh on and many nights of competitive gaming.  I feel like there are no words out there to describe the feelings of gratitude I have for each and every one of you.  Each one of you has touched my life in a way that will never be the same.  You have all thrown a pebble into my pond, and the ripples will continue to shape my life for the better. (from misty to waterfall now)  Please know that I will never forget all the silly times we have shared together.  I hope life will somehow bring us back together some day, if not here on earth, well, you know where.
Alright, Trinette, dry the tears so I can end this with some awesome pictures of our LAST time all together.  Here's a little background for those friends and family outside of Ohio.  I wanted to throw one last bash to send our friends off who are graduating and moving away.  We originally had started our plan with a hotel stay, dinner and shopping.  Like all things, we added and had to delete in the process of tweaking this weekend to be just right.  In the end, the schedule of events went something like this: Meet at my house at 5pm.  Quick photo shoot (minus Leah & Mel P)

Carpool, Mormon-style, to Easton for dinner at Cheesecake Factory.  Because we could not make a reservation, the wait was at least 2 hours.  No problem, call me Miss Improvise.  We headed to Auntie Ann's Pretzels for a quick bite to hold off our appetites.  Leah and Mel P showed up and we decided to have our Scavenger Hunt now instead of after dinner.  This could not have turned out better.  We split the teams up by last name, handed out the clues, went over the rules and we were off!  Since I made up the rules, I became the official photographer for my group.  For posterity stakes, I will include each clue with the corresponding picture below.  Oh, this was so much fun and made for MANY laughs along the way!

Clue #1-You can find these in cars or on a Leprechaun's shoe.  BUCKLE  Take a picture with someone who is wearing the title of this store.

Not quite girls

Clue #2-A pair of these shares the name with one of Trinette's dogs.   Go to the store that sells them. OAKLEY or SUNGLASS HUT  Take a pic with everyone wearing a pair.

Clue #3-Goldilock's enemy+we____this city on rock n' roll...now flip it. BUILD A BEAR  Take a pic wearing a article of clothing from here.

Clue #4 Find Brittney's favorite treat.  GODIVA  Take a pic spelling out this store's name with your arms/bodies.

Love the backwards G ;)

Sorry for my capital V, Leah.  Your i is still cute.

Clue #5-If Leah could spend money at any store, where would she go? ANTHRO  Take a pic with 3 articles of clothing from this store.

 For those or you that missed Ashley's excitement, I thought I would blow it up for you.  Love you, Ashley!

Clue #6-You would go to FL for an orange, but you would go here for a good pear.  HARRY & DAVID  Take a pic with an employee from this store.

Running (notice Kim's eye in the corner, LOL)

Clue#7-Ashley, Laura Lee & Kimberly have been spending many hours at a place just like this.  LIFETIME FITNESS  Take a pic on one of their machines.

Clue#8-Rock & Cinnamon share this 2nd word.  ROLL  Take a pic riding what this store sells.

Run, Brittney(Isabelle), Run!!

Clue #9-Find the store with the Crocodile Logo.  LACOSTE  Take a pic making a crocodile's mouth with your arms.

 I think Mel's croc wanted to eat Ashley ;)

Clue#10-Utah's Gateway mall and the Bunny Park have this in common.  FOUNTAIN  Take a pic doing the O-H-I-O in THE MIDDLE.  This is how my team won, we followed directions...JK guys!  You did have a better OHIO though.  Ours was a little wet ;)

Dinner at Cheesecake Factory

Final picture in front of the fountain (minus Leah, Mel P & Mel E)

From top L to R-Lyndzi, Mel T, Karlie (barely, Fun Size), Adrienne

From bottom L to R-Laura Lee, Kimberlie, Trinette, Ashley, Brittney

We headed back to my house after this.  We ate our cheesecake, played a few games and did what us girls do best, stay up until 3:30am and talked.

Thanks to all my friends for an amazing night!  I will cherish every minute.

Date Night at Vertical Adventures

Last Friday night came around with no plans made.  There were no movies we were interested in and we always go out to dinner, so we wanted to mix it up.  We decided to try out Vertical Adventures.  It is a warehouse turned into a rock climbing venue.  They had multiple walls and bouldering.  It was pretty busy at first, but once it died down, Nate and I had a blast trying the variety of walls.  My favorite (and hardest) was one of the walls that has an angle that makes you start climbing upside down(don't know the term).  We will def. be heading back in the future.

Got to perfect that form

That's my "I made it to the top" look

Look at the calves!