Dan: Post #3

And now for the third installment of Dan's Blog Posts.  Becca and I have a major blogging weakness.  We don't carry our camera around with us all the time.  I would say half of the time by accident and half of the time intentionally.  Without further ado, here are a few pics from this summer with captions by yours truly.  I'm sure Becca has posted some of these so sorry for any reposts!

 Hiking in St. George.  We've been doing lots of hiking lately.  Becca kicks my butt as usual.  Best part of this hike - Becca getting spooked by a rat/mouse/squirrel/"What the H is that thing?!"

 We love our apartment.  It's the best apartment I've ever lived in hands down.  It's called The Cottage and we are going to miss it when we head to NYC in a few months.  We were talking one night in our front room when we were treated to our own fireworks show out the front window.  "Cottage, you've done it again!"

Some flowers that reminded me of Becca.  Had to buy them.  The next morning I knew I had made the right choice.

Get home at 9:30.  Here loud rock music echoing through south Provo.  Throw on sweatshirts and walk towards music.  Walk to the top of parking structure - still no clue what's going on.  Find thousands of people and the Neon Trees giving a free summer rooftop concert.  Glad I had the camera in my pocket.  Great band.  Amazing girl.

If you've ever tried to shop for or with me you know it's the pits.  Especially if you're trying to find stuff for me.    No joke I would rather read the dictionary than go shopping for myself.  (Shopping for Becca is a million times more fun and entertaining.)  Well I've had the shoes in the middle since my mission and they were pretty much the only thing I wore.  So comfortable.  I was wearing them up until the day before Becca convinced me I looked homeless.

 Had to get a pic of Becca opening this package from her mom.  She gets so exited!

Another reason to love The Cottage.  The roses that frame the steps to our door.  Never seen anything like them.

Becca rockin' out to Neon Trees!  (Note: She's not that white in real life.)

I hiked the Y!  Finally.  Becca carried me the whole way!  (Not really but she could have...)  It started to rain which was perfect.  See the crazy girl in this pic?  She loves the rain.

Playing with our underwater camera with the fam.  Seriously it's the coolest camera ever.  We always forget it can go underwater and then, when we remember, we get excited all over again!  Thanks Doreen!

Hottie boombalottie.

The view from our room.  That's me filling up. 

Natalie flyin' solo.  My fav quote from her: "Mom, I'm going back to Jeff's...."

Hiking with my best friend.  I have no clue how I got so lucky.  We almost died on this one (ok not quite that bad)...a little bit of unexpected rock climbing.  I learned two things: 1. Listen to Becca when she says to climb the other face of the canyon and 2. Becca is fearless.  So much fun!

As My Mom Would Say... I'm A Real Sew 'n Sew

Sew, for those of you who dewn't knew... I got a  sewing machine for Christmas. How does my Mom always know the perfect gifts? I don't know. But she does. Oh and here's a little insight to my father. After opening the presents, my Dad inspects the white case my Mom bought for my sister and I.

Dad (offhandedly): "It's kind of loose in there, isn't it? I bet if you just put a strip of foam along here it would hold it in place".

Nothing else was said. A few days later I go into the family room to a foam explosion. The result? A padded sewing case perfectly fitted to my sewing machine. There's even a cutout for my pedal. How awesome is that!?

My Dad, the coolest, most handy, man I know. Check it out:

My mom is pretty awesome too. She also bought my sister and I each a pattern and material for reusable shopping bags. Figured she would take two hours to whip these out with us and teach us the ins and outs of reading a pattern. I've sewn with my Mom since I was little... but I'd still yet to tackle trying to understand the pages and prints of paper thin patterns. (What? Instructions? Ew.) 

Our 2-hour project may have taken all evening, but hey, they turned out! I've saved several plastic bags from use with my shopping bags, thank you very much!

Please notice the quote. If you are a sewer, especially a newer one... you'll know how true it is. And yes... I did come up with that myself. Experience is the best teacher, no?

Now to get started on some mending I've been putting off...