accomplishments

I'm not sure where the last couple of months have gone. Once again the summer went by too quickly. We were busy or gone almost every weekend and so far the Fall hasn't slowed down. Our summer fun included hiking Havasupai {Brad}, girls camp {Kera}, work, a dance festival {that seemed never ending but was worth all the time}, documentaries, work, family visits, film festival, and did I mention work?

Anyways, probably one of my biggest accomplishments was the half marathon I ran at the end of August. My first and while running the last mile I told myself I would never do it again ... but I think I would. However, I did say that I would never run a full marathon ... and I'm sticking to that one. I just don't love running enough.

babies

I hope the title didn't make anyone too excited. I know it's been a while since I blogged regularly but there wasn't enough time for us to have a baby.

However my sister-in-law and my sister both had time to have babies.

First was Manda {my sistser-in-law}. She had a handsome little man named

Brock

and here's his announcement I put together

Next was Kella {my sister}. She had a beautiful girl named

Madilyn

this is her second child

They are both a lot of fun. I am currently working on updating my photo blog so I'll have more photos of these adorable babies up there soon ... hopefully before they are toddlers but I can't promise anything.

Surprise in Feb

Back in February my younger/little sister turned 18. I still have a hard time thinking she is that old. Well, I love surprises so I decided to fly up to Washington to sing Happy Birthday in person to her. I didn't end up singing but I did end up surprising her. Of course my parents knew I was coming which I'm sure they were grateful for. The last time I flew up there for a surprise it was for my little brother and they didn't know I was coming. You can read about that here.

Anyways, we decided to go to the coast and spend the weekend to celebrate. We stayed in went to Long Beach, WA first and then drove to Seaside to spend the night in a condo on the beach. It was beautiful weather and we had a fabulous time.

Kelsey and Me on the beach in Seaside

our self portrait in Seaside

the condo we stayed in

When we first got to Long Beach we visited the lighthouse. I think there is one in just about every town you go to on the coast.

Brad stayed home so I had to find myself a replacement

Kelsey felt like she needed one too

Our self portrait in Long Beach

We bought ourselves a $5 kite at Walmart and tried it out. We actually did quite well. Next time we might want to upgrade to a larger one.

One of the best things about Long Beach is that it is one of the few beaches {it may be the only one} on the coast that you can drive on.

Brad day

Brad had a big birthday back at the beginning of April. He told me I couldn't throw him a birthday party so I didn't. However, he did not say our good friends James and Jill couldn't through him a party. So they did. We had a surprise breakfast party and had a great time. Oh and since he doesn't like birthdays we decided it would just be 'brad day' instead.

We have some amazing friends. Everyone was a good sport and wore these fancy newspaper hats I made ... I even recycled them when the party was over.

This is James ... he came up with the idea for a party. His good wife Jill made it happen.

James brought this crazy game where everyone holds this thing and the last person to push the button gets shocked. I think it's called the Stupid Game. No seriously I really think it is.

Bytheway, James lost this round.

Jill made this delicious pancake cake. It was a big hit.

Merry Christmas!

We had a fabulous Christmas day spent at home with family ... details to come later.

remembering NEWPORT

WARNING: a crazy amount of photos ahead ....

In August we were able to go visit my parents in Washington. For the weekend we decided to head to the Oregon coast to a place called Newport Beach. We had a wonderful time and three days there was not long enough.

Above us is the condo we stayed in. We were on the third floor and had an amazing view. We also go our exercise hiking up and down those stairs every time we wanted to go to the beach.

My mom and me. One thing about the Oregon coast is that it is always windy and always cold but I still love it.

We were able to enjoy sunsets ...

and sunrises.

My dad and Brad were also able to go on a deep sea fishing excursion for a day. Brad caught one ugly fish but had to through it back. I guess it wasn't big enough to keep. He had a lot of fun. My dad on the other hand spent most of the time at the back of the boat ... I think that is where I must get my sea sickness from.

The bridge in Newport, and my cute sister.

We were also able to visit the Newport Aquarium.

And a lighthouse at Yakima Bay on the way home.

It was a much needed vacation and we had a wonderful time. Hopefully next time we can stay a little longer and explore some more. Having my parents live so far away definitely has its perks. I feel like I get to spend more quality time with them since they've moved. Plus its a good vacation spot.

remembering the SUBWAY

At the beginning of August we were able to head south to do some hiking. Our good friends got a pass to hike the Subway in Zions and invited us to join them. The hike takes you down through a narrow canyon slot that requires some climbing and swimming skills. We came out of the canyon tired and exhausted and we still had miles to go along the river before we could make the ascent to the parking lot. I remember thinking 'I will never do this again'. I woke up the next morning and nothing would move. Every inch of me was sore and I could walk normal for days. Even sitting down was a chore. But looking back I would do it again. We saw some amazing things and it was worth it to be able to spend a day with my best friend.

Coming out of the Subway at the end of the canyon. I'm smiling because I didn't know how much further we still had to hike to get back to the car.