seriously, i love my job.

the last few times i have worked, we have done some serious board game playing. yesterday we played a rousing game of monopoly. i do enjoy monopoly, but i hate that everyone has their own rules to the game. i wish that everyone would just follow the written rules.

i also hate when "poor-sports" decide that when they aren't winning they are going to throw a fit and quit. we had a serious discussion about quitting and how it isn't allowed. if we decide that we are going to play games together, we are going to finish them and be good sports. i guess we should teach them something while they are with us.

then today we played risk. i decided that there is a reason i have never been a fan of this game. besides the fact that the kids would not play by the written rules and wanted to play by their own (and ever changing) rules, it drags on forever. i finally had to quit. i made them let me quit. and i felt good about being a quitter of the game of risk.
and so today i taught them that it is okay to quit things that aren't productive or things that give you a headache. hahaha.

and to finish the night off, we played rack-o. i forgot how much i like this game. and since i was kicking trash and taking names, they made me use two racks--end to end--so i had to organize 20 cards instead of 10. of course i didn't win, but i was close a couple of times.
man, i do love my job. how could i not? who else gets to watch drake & josh, the fresh prince of bel air and play board games? yeah. just me. i know.

vacation destination.

my friends and i have this fun little dinner group that meets every other monday night. we take turns making dinner. some of the members have specialties, for example, ether makes sushi and adriane does korean barbeque. anyway, so, we get together and we make food for each other and we have good conversation and fun and then we go our merry ways.

this week was a little different, but incredibly awesome. let me explain.

this is my friend, sara.

sara grew up on a cattle ranch about an hour west of logan, in a place called hansel valley. i went there for the first time about three years ago and every time i go, i fall even more in love with the place.

so, for dinner group this week, we were lucky enough to make a trip to the ranch for a "home-grown" meal. it was delightful. we had beef (of course), garden fresh vegetables of all kinds, yummy rolls and a delicious oatmeal cake for dessert. sara's mom is a peach and made it all for us (even though she isn't technically in the dinner group).

and then after dinner, i went on a photo trek around the ranch. trust me, these pictures do not do this place justice. and seriously, it is my favorite vacation destination. enjoy.

this is the dinner group (there used to be seven, but adriane and josh both moved--boo).
this is me.
sara...again.
that's jenni and ether.
and melanie is always on the phone. (hahaha.)
even the drive to hansel valley is beautiful. this is in the bear river region of the drive.
this points the way to hansel valley, even though it is on the back of the chicken coop and not on the freeway. it used to be on the freeway before they changed it to ranch exit 16.
that's right folks, people actually do live off of ranch exits.
this is right off the exit, heading up to sara's house...it's all the way there at the top...way up there.
(i know these pictures look really orange, but seriously, it was the color of the sky...not my camera.)
this is sara, out the backdoor of the house. it is the cutest and quaintest little home. laurie, sara's adorable mom, is an awesome homemaker.
and here are some ranch home essentials: a tree swing, a tree house, a barrel bull.
yep. that is sara, posing by the flowers.
and just beyond the flowers is this little beauty, the bunkhouse. the munnses built her and she's quite the bunkhouse, if i do say so myself.
this is the entrance into the ranch. isn't that beautiful? i think so.
and that's the brand, the flyin' m.
rest assured, we did see some animals. there were cows.
and chickens.
and even copper, the cat.
there is a shot of the orange clouds. see, it's not my camera or my camera skills. hahaha.
this is the valley from the munns' home.
and another view of the valley.

so, did you fall in love? i hope so. seriously, i love this place. my vacation destination. i'm not sure if i would appreciate it the same if i grew up there and that is why it is just my favorite vacation destination.

my other baby.

this is my baby, jake.
he is to die for adorable. in the last couple of months, he has started to talk more and i love it.

ps. adam's laugh wins. it is better than my own.
(and, just in case you were curious about what song he is dancing to, here it is.)

the best part about jake is that he looks so innocent, but he is the most mischievous child i know.and even better than the best part...jake is going to have a little sister soon, too.
what am i going to do with all these little girls?
you can trust this, though...they will be spoiled.

i think i felt it.

this afternoon, as i was enjoying the sunshiney day, i think that i felt the eensiest, teensiest bit of crisp autumn air. i know, it may be a bit early to begin thinking this, but i swear, i felt it. just a little. and i am excited.

just thought i would share, that's all.

oh, good times.

of the last four weeks, i got to spend two in salt lake city for work training. luckily, i got to stay with my sister and her adorable family. and even though the actual training was a wreck (another story for another day), at least when i left the house every morning my adorable nephew, jesse, bid me farewell with "in awhile crocodile" and "remember, we are in number 101" (just in case i forgot where to return to after my treacherous day).


and when i would return to the house after that long day, i was greeted by my boys. and they are hilarious. wild and crazy, but hilarious, too. and adorable. did i mention that already? well, yeah, they are adorable. and just to show you how adorable, here are some videos. jesse got to give the "thought" in primary and he didn't hesitate to let me know, on several occasions. so, we captured it on video to share. and malcolm is just a cheese ball and i couldn't pass up capturing his preciousness. so, enjoy.

and the very best part is that these two little cuties...

...are gonna have a baby sister real, real soon.

i can't even wait. she is gonna be the cutest and toughest thing ever.

*kris, maybe you can forgive me now for bailing. :) but don't hate me for this picture. hahaha.*

appreciation.

dear mtv:

thank you for never letting reality tv die. it all started with the real world and over the years your desire to expand upon the idea has led you to some outstanding shows, specifically the hills and newport harbor (formally known as laguna beach).

i thought that my reality tv watching would come to an end with the finales of big brother and sytycd but alas, it will not, thanks to you.

and i will probably even catch a few episodes of the ever popular and the grand-daddy of them all, the real world sydney. i am a little disappointed in your cast for the sydney season, but i will watch anyway. i will occasionally wonder why you didn't choose to cast an actual australian on a show filmed in australia, but i won't worry myself with it too much.

again, thank you for your devotion to smutty tv. i'm not sure my love for all things pop culture and social phenomenons would be as strong without you.

sincerely,
your ever devoted "real worlder."

if only.

today i decided that i need one of these.



or better yet, one of these.



i'm sure you are wondering why. let me tell you. tonight, i had to drive to salt lake for another week of training for work. i got all of my stuff loaded in my car and was set to go...i got in and tried to start my car and it wouldn't start. seriously. i was so aggravated and annoyed and this is where the help button would have come in handy. after some deductive reasoning and a conversation with my dad, i determined that my starter went out and there was no way that i was going to be able to get that fixed on a sunday night.

after trying my darnedest to start the car, i resigned to the fact that i was going to have to come up with a plan b. i called my supervisor and asked if i could take a state vehicle to the training. she said she would have to check with our director and she would call me back. while i was waiting, i decided that i should call my grandma to see if she would be willing to let me borrow one of her three cars. and of course, being the awesome grandma she is, she was completely willing to help me out.

i would have preferred not to have to deal with any of the above, but in the end, it all worked out. well, minus the fact that when i get back to logan, i will have to get my car fixed.

now, after i was on the road and about 45 minutes south of the valley, i remembered that i had forgotten my training material. yes, i had to turn around and go back to my house to get the lovely binder of very important information (note the sarcasm).

needless to say, 5 hours after i had planned, i finally made it to the big slc. so yeah, an easy button or a help button would have come in very handy today. on most days, truly, but especially today.

at my wedding.

umm...so we are going to be doing this at my wedding. ya'll start practicing. i mean, you have some time. but you should start now so that we can be more in sync than these folks. thanks.