Game Night With Joy and Chris

The other night one of my oldest and best friends, Joy, and her husband, Chris, invited Collin and me over for a game night. We had so much fun! Love you Joy! Chris and Joy, looking happily married (8 months! Way to go!) Me and Collin. Yes, those are poker chips. It's all good. We didn't play with $$. Joy, checking to see if her flush beat Chris' 3 of a kind.

Thanks, guys! Our house next time! And no, we won't play Apples to Apples.

DIY photo of the week (with the help of Gretchen)

When I got the latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens I saw this picture of house numbers on a front door and thought it would look neat on my front door. So I called Gretchen (check out her company Vinyl Vixens). She does such a great job!

Here is the No. part. Next time you are out and about check it out! It's not very often that you can do something seen in Better Homes and Gardens for less than $10!

Bear Lake

Last weekend Jen and Zach invited us to Bear Lake. Jen's family has a neat little place up there right on the shore. We had such a great time.

After a day of bike riding and playing in the water (Zach saved a bee from drowning) we played Ticket to Ride.

Collin, waiting for everyone to get it together and come play. Jen and Zach, losing gracefully.

And here I am, kicking some Ticket to Ride trash. I love this game. Everytime we play I win. What's not to love about that? Don't you love the coat? I'd forgotten to bring one. This is Jen's grandpa Leo's coat. Thanks Leo!

Sprinkler Magic

Picture courtesy of Flickr

My friend Jessica and I were out and about riding our bikes. The bike ride must have released our inner 8 year olds because we found ourselves daring each other to ride through some sprinklers. So we did.

DIY Photo of the Week

When we were looking at the types of wood for the banister, we decided on the standard oak thinking that when we moved in we would paint it white. As it grew closer to paint time, I started thinking black might look neat. So we went with black. I love painting things.

Another Family Reunion

Collin and I are on a roll with the family reunions. This past weekend Collin's parents took the whole family to Park City. The grandkids (and a few adults) went on the Alpine slide and the coaster. It was a lot of fun. Again, we got to see family members we hadn't seen for a long time. While there, we got a a caricature drawn of us. I think the artist really did a good job of capturing Collin. What do you think?

Family Reunion

Last week we spent some quality time with my dad's side of the family. I got to see some cousins that I havne't seen for a couple years, so that was nice. We spent the first day in one of the banquet rooms at Cabela's. We had a bluegrass band come and a cowboy poet. We watched a few home movies and then spent time getting to know what has happened since the last time we saw each other (they should get blogs!). The second day we spent in my grandma's backyard while my uncles and grandparents talked to us about family history.

The Family Photo. (Only 2 uncles, an aunt, 2 cousins, and a fiance were missing)

Once you turn your back, we get a little crazy.

Breaking Dawn

I finished it. For those of you who haven't finished it, no spoilers here. I will say, though, that I am dissapointed. I didn't hate it but it was my least favorite of all 4 books. Halfway through I felt the same kind of restlessness I'd felt when I read The Host. I had that feeling of "come on already, get to the story, enough rambling." I half expected Wanda to show up and start going on about how if the aliens took over there wouldn't be any vampires because vampires are bad and then Bella would start in on how some vampires were good and then Wanda would takeover Bella's body and fall in love with Edward... and Jacob.
I loved the story and I think she's a great story teller, she just takes way too long to tell her story.
And for the 3 people who voted for Jacob, we can still be friends.

UPDATE: There has been some talk that I skipped church to read Breaking Dawn. I missed church due to the second day of a family reunion. I'll post pictures once my cousin sends them to me if you don't believe me.

X-Files

So, as many of you either know or don't know, I've been an X-Files fan since the show began back in 1993. Yes, my mother let her 11 year old daughter watch X-Files, crazy, huh? Well, as a long time fan I was excited to go see the movie last weekend. I bought tickets the second they were available, got there early "just in case", and actually clapped when they started playing the signature X-Files theme. I didn't love it, but it was a good movie. Not the X-Files I grew up with, but it was still good. I went a second time last night just to make sure. I took Collin, my mom, and my step-dad and they really liked it. So I guess fans of the show just can't be pleased while non fans (most people) really like it. Oh well, I'm waiting for the next movie when the aliens start to colonize the earth and Mulder and Scully have to save the world. That's the X-Files I love.