Happy Birthday, Mom!

Here's to my Mom! Her birthday was yesterday, and of course I am late in posting, but better late than never.

I have to brag about having the worlds greatest mom. She is one of my best friends, and is always there for me. She listens to my worries and concerns, supports me in all I do, does whatever she can to help me, and offers her advice when I ask for it (and doesn't barrage me with her opinions unsolicited. I love that quality!). When I think about the Relief Society motto, "Charity Never Faileth," it always makes me think about my mom. She genuinely cares about people and will go out of her way to help them and make them feel important and special. If I can be half the woman and mother she is, then I will have accomplished a great deal and be a very lucky girl. I could go on and on, but I don't want to make her blush (too much).

So Happy Birthday Mom! I love you lots and am very fortunate and proud to be your daughter. You're the best!

Adventures in Babysitting

Saturday was a Scouting day. Kevin is the scoutmaster in his ward, and this month they are working on the Citizens of the Nation merit badge. Part of the requirements are to tour the State Capital, visit a museum, and visit a place that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Basically, a trip to Sacramento. Since I am the history geek of the group, I was invited to come along. We toured the state capital, learned a little about the state's history, went to Old Sacramento and toured the train museum, then wandered Old Sac for a little bit. With all the great history there, for some reason the boys were VERY desirous of finding a candy store and spending their money there. We found one and I think that is the part of the trip they liked the best. Even better than the In n' Out we had for dinner. It was an exhausting day, but a fun one. I enjoyed myself immensely. But man, sheparding those scouts is exhausting.

At the train museum.
Bonding with the state bear. I call him Humphrey...just because it seems like a good name for him.
A teaching moment at the state capital.

The Scouting group in the State Capital rotunda
Representing Eureka...my "home sweet home"
The State Capital
The adults weren't the only ones exhausted at the end of the day.

Grandma Tour 2009

This past weekend was a whirlwind of family visits. On Saturday Kevin and I drove out to Chico to visit my Grandma. Grandma was having some technological problems, and so Kevin stepped up to the plate and tried to fix them (that's my man!). The computer was easily taken care of, but the printer was beyond hope. After staying the night in Chico, we were off to Kevin's Grandma Helen in Grass Valley area. We had some lunch and visited for awhile, and then hopped in the car for the ride home. In between, I managed to do some homework and took care of some studying that I had been procrastinating. It was a good weekend, and an excellent road trip with one of my favorite traveling buddies. Now we just need to work on the random side trips when on a road trip. Good times!

Apologies

I was extremely busy this last weekend with school, work, and the various date night activities. So there are many posts of various things and events. I'm sorry to throw so much at you, but I know you are all fascinated by my life and its happenings. So enjoy the many and varied posts below.

Star Wars...In Concert!

We all love Star War's, and Kevin might love it a little bit more than most. So for his birthday, we went to see Star War's, In Concert! It was fantastic. A full symphony orchestra played the music from Star War's, and the guy who played C3PO was the narrator. Different scenes from all six of the movies were shown as the orchestra played. It was amazingly cool and I enjoyed the whole experience. And let us not forget the special treat of seeing some people (children AND adults) dressed up as characters. Just because. It was the whole Star War's saga in approximately two hours. Perfect.

Help me Obie Wan Kanobe...I've lost my mind!
Where the magic happened (I couldn't use my flash, so the pics are kind of bad. Sorry!)
The obligatory couple shot.

Playtime!

This is what I do in class on Wednesday nights. Jealous?

Fun with Fall

On Saturday night I had my first experience with a corn maze. The night was fun and full of the sounds and scents of autumn (one of my favorite times of year) and we had fun running around the corn and trying to find our way out. Kevin's younger brother (whom you know as Twinkie) happens to be dating a very good friend of mine (you all know her as Terry) and so we had a double date. I love fall and all its activities. Super fun!

Obligatory ring shot
Twinkie has some digestive issues--lacking a large intestine has some strange side effects...
Terry and Twinkie...you have to love the name alliteration
Aren't we just too cute for words?

Shopping Extravaganza!

Last weekend Vanessa and I embarked on an incredibly fun-filled weekend of pampering and shopping. We went looking for wedding dresses (for me!) in Sacramento and decided to turn it into a major girly event. Since it was Conference weekend, we went up Friday night and stayed in Sac, got up the next morning to watch Conference (and gave ourselves facials, manicures, and pedicures while watching AND taking notes). Then it was off to the dress shop, where we had tons of fun and took lots of pictures. And I can't post them here for obvious reasons. But you'll see me in the final choice in about six months.

After the wedding dress extravaganza, we hit DSW and the Folsom outlets for a little retail therapy (weddings are stressful on a girl...). And as always, we had way too much fun together. The shoe store offered some particular delights.

My partner in crime!

The purse that doubles as lingerie!

We thought we had both found scary, ugly shoes, but I think I won with the sequined bits of ugliness. They are shoes a two-bit hooker would wear on Second Street. At least Vanessa's red selection puts her in the high-priced escort category.
I think these were the worse offender's in the store. I love Steve Madden shoes, but he let me down with this monstrosity. At least it gives Vanessa some ankle support.
I am fascinated by these shoes and would not mind owning a pair. I don't know where I would wear them, but I'm sure I could figure something out.