The Work And The Glory: All Is Well

A journey I began back in middle school has come to an end. I had read all of the books in the Work and the Glory series except for the last book and decided that it was time to complete the series-- it has only taken me like ten years.

The last book wasn't as exciting as some of the other books but it really summed everything up. As I finished the book, I felt like a journey had come to an end-- this series is a great read!

* My book count for the year to 18-- I really surpassed my goal of 12.

Tiffany's Skate Inn

Out of all the things we did over Christmas, I think roller skating was my favorite! Almost everyone in the family went skating. It was so much fun to watch everyone skate from little Russell to Dad. Russell had never been on skates before and I think he did pretty good. Dad impressed me with how fast he could zoom around the rink. And watching Brendan dance as he skated just made me smile all the more.

I wish I could have taken some photos, but it's hard to take pictures while you skate.

Farewell, Watson.

One evening there was a knock on our door and we were greeted with the smiling faces of Elder Watson and Elder Fernelius. The informed us that Elder Watson was being transferred the next morning. We really like Elder Watson and we were saddened to hear that he was going to be leaving us.

Elder Watson, Andy, & Me.

Elder Watson & Elder Fernelius.

We talked about life, exchanged contact information, took some pictures and said our good byes. We know he is where the Lord needs him and that he will do great things.

Christmas

I love Christmastime! I love the gloomy weather that comes with winter! I love playing in the snow! I love the smells that come with baked goods, apple cider, and Christmas trees! I love the feeling of joy, peace and love in the air! I love all of the giving and service that takes place! I love spending time with family and loved ones! But most of all, I love that Christmas reminds me of Christ!

Christ is really what Christmas is all about. I like reading the story of Christ's birth and learning more about his life. I think about the things he has done for me personally and I can't help but feel gratitude in my heart. He is my example and I try to pattern my life after His.

Christmas was different for us this year in a lot of ways. For one, there wasn't any snow-- we are in a drought. This meant that we could not go and participate in our normal winter activities: sledding, ice fishing, skiing, etc. This is also the first time we tried to spend Christmas with two sides of the family and things didn't go quite as planned.

For me, the highlights of Christmas this year were spending time with family, roller skating, and catching up with my best friend, Betsy, and getting my haircut. I had 6 inches taken off my hair! Crazy right?!?

Megan, Betsy, & Me.

The aftermath.

What I Know For Sure

Almost every time we go to Costco I have to stop and look at the books. On one particular trip to Costco I happened to notice a book on the shelf by Oprah Winfrey titled What I Know For Sure. I instantly thought to myself, "I wonder what Oprah knows for sure. This has gotta be a good read." As you probably guessed I couldn't leave Costco without this book in hand.

I enjoyed every moment reading What I Know For Sure. Oprah is a very insightful person and I feel like I learned a lot from her book. I marked up several of the pages and plan on sharing some of my favorite quotes/thoughts with you in the future.

*This brings my book count up to 17 this year.

Our 5th Wedding Anniversary

Andy and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on December 19th. It's crazy to think that we have been married for five years! It seems like it was just yesterday that we met, became friends, started dating, and decided to get married. Being married to your best friend is the greatest thing in the world and something to be celebrated! I can't imagine what my life would be like without Andy, he brings me so much joy.

This year we decided to spend our anniversary weekend out in New Port. The last time we went to New Port was for our bike ride and we didn't get to do a lot besides ride our bikes-- this trip was very different.

We started out our weekend with some thrift shopping and dinner at Pastini's in Corvallis. Pastini's is sooo good! Andy doesn't typically like Italian food but he loves this stuff. We can't wait for the one in Eugene to be built.

We stayed at our favorite hotel on the beach and spent a fair amount of time in the indoor swimming pool. It rained A LOT while we were on the coast, something like 9 inches in two days so we tried to find indoor activities we could do.

We started out the day going to visit one of the two lighthouses in town but it was all fenced off and the other one was closed because it was being painted. So, we decided to go to Ripley's Believe It Or Not and met Big Foot. Ripley's was okay, not the most exciting thing to see. As we were nearing the end of Ripley's I noticed that as I walked though a particular room that my movements were projected up onto a big colorful screen. I grabbed Andy and started busting out some Zumba moves. I danced for probably a half an hour, mostly by myself and had an absolute blast! A few other people happened to walk though the room and they looked at me funny, after explaining what happened in that room they joined in on the dancing too. It was seriously so much fun! Andy tried to record me but wasn't able to get a stellar video. If you ever find yourself in New Port you have to go to Ripley's just to dance.

Andy and Big Foot.

Me & Big Foot.

Our next stop was the Underwater Sea Gardens. While at the sea gardens we reminisced about our visit to the Underwater Sea Gardens in Victoria, B.C. where we went on our honeymoon. We enjoyed watching all of the fish swim and interact with the scuba diver.

Then we headed outside to see the sea lion docks. The docks are old and falling apart but the sea lions love them! They lay on the partially submerged docks and make all kinds of noises.

After visiting the sea lions we headed across the street to visit Wax Works which is a wax museum. If you have never been to a wax museum you should try it sometime, it's amazing what people can do with wax!

"Beam me up Spocky!"

Gollum & Me.

E.T.

Wax Works had an American Idol stage where you could sing karaoke style. Andy and I belted it out on stage and had a blast!

Since it was still raining we decided to hit up a few more thrift stores. As we started to drive toward the thrift stores we came across a mudslide. The mudslide completely covered the road we had driven across a few hours earlier--it was kind of crazy.

Mudslide.

The next day as we were heading out of town we decided to drive by the lighthouse that was fenced off one more time to take a few pictures. When we got out of the car we noticed that the gate was open and decided to walk up to the lighthouse. As luck would have it the lighthouse was open for tours, it was closed the day before due to the poor weather. We love exploring lighthouses, there is so much history behind each one.

Lighthouse.

Andy & Me.

On the trail.

Headed to the top.

The view from the top.

Then we headed to the aquarium. We enjoyed looking at all of the animals, we both really enjoyed the sea otters. Unbeknownst to us there was a sign that said not to play with the otters (it was on the other side of the tank). I played with one of the otters for awhile and really enjoyed it. As soon as Andy tried to play with the otter, the otter got mad and tried to bite his nose-- luckily there was glass between Andy and the otter. Later we saw the sign. Oops!

Someone found a salamander on the ground at the aquarium.

Our drive home was extra long! We decided to take the scenic route home along Highway 101, we were about halfway home when we learned that the road was closed due to a landslide. Oh well, we always enjoy road trips it gives us a chance to really talk with each other about anything and everything.

I can't believe it has been five years already. Here is to an awesome and adventurous eternity!

Party With The Youth

We challenged the youth in Andy's Sunday School class to find 50 names to take to the temple. We told them that if they could find 50 names that we would have them over for a party. The youth not only met their goal, they exceeded it. We were so proud of them!

The temple trip was amazing! The spirit there was so strong. Definitely a neat experience and something we look forward to doing again in the future with the kids.

As promised we had the kids over for a party. Good food, good kids, games, and a good time made for a great evening!

The night looked a little something like this...

Extending Forgiveness

Something I have been trying to learn more about and work on in my own life is extending forgiveness. I picked up this cute little book (by little I mean like 50 pages long) called Extending Forgiveness. I probably could have read the entire book in about an hour but in reality I spent several days pouring over its pages. I wanted to take my time with this book and learn as much as I could about forgiveness. This book was so good! I feel like I really learned a lot!

* This makes 16 books for me this year.

Roller Skating

We went roller skating with the Young Men and Young Women yesterday. Roller skating is something I had been wanting to do for awhile so I was super excited to go!  I was a little surprised when we got to the rink to see that the floor was cement rather than wood. I was also surprised to learn that you couldn't rent roller blades.

Roller skates it was for me.  This was my first time on skates since I was 5 years old! I think I did pretty well, I didn't fall. Maybe that's because I didn't get going fast because I didn't want to fall on the cement floor.

Andy did pretty well on his skates. He got going a little too fast and fell a couple of times, he said it was painful.

I enjoyed watching the Young Men chance our Young Women's President around the rink-- it was quite comical. She brought her own roller blades and those boys just couldn't keep up with her.

During our skating session they played a game involving dice that hang from the ceiling. I won myself a snow cone but decided to give it to one of the Young Women, snow cones aren't really my thing.

I had a lot of fun skating! Not sure I would go to this particular rink again, I like my wooden floors. But I am looking forward to going skating again.

Date Night: Mocking Jay

Most of our dates have been indoor dates as of late. With winter upon us it's harder to get outside and have fun especially when there is a lack of snow in the land. So much for dog sledding, snow shoeing, ice fishing and skiing. We are hoping next winter is better.

We went to the movies on Friday night to see The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 1. Andy and I have both read the books so it was fun to see how the directors made the book come to life on the big screen. We loved the movie and can't wait for part two to come out! Date nights are the BEST!

Decorating For Christmas

The missionaries happened to stop by the night we had set aside to decorate the house for Christmas. We asked them if they wanted to help us decorate and they were more than willing. Elder Watson tackled the nativity set and Elder Fernelius went to town our Christmas tree. One of the Elders made a time lapse video of the lights being strung-- it was really fun to watch! I think the missionaries had a blast! We sure enjoyed their help and their company.

Sunshine for the Latter-Day Saint Teenager's Soul

Andy and I like to end each night with a short spiritual thought or spiritual story. For awhile our days ended with stories out of Sunshine for the Latter-Day Saint Teenager's Soul. We both really enjoyed the stories we read. I have a feeling that we will revisit this book again sometime in the future.

If you are looking for a spiritual pick me up each day, I recommend reading this book.

*This makes 15 books for me this year.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We spent Thanksgiving in Washington with my Mom and my siblings. I think this was the first Thanksgiving I've had with my Mom since high school, where has the time gone?

We started the day off with the Turkey Trot in Tacoma-- it sure feels good to exercise before eating a big meal. Sadie, Megan, Andy and I ran and Mom did the walk. At the race we ran into a few of my high school classmates, it was good to catch up with them.

This was the first time Andy was able to complete a 5k without walking, he was so proud of himself. I was really proud of him too! Unfortunately, the chip that timed him didn't work properly so we don't know what his time was. This race was my slowest race ever-- that happens when you go out and run a race without training. Oops! I'm sure there will be more fun runs in our future.
 

Megan, Andy & I being turkeys.

Mom, Andy & I.

After our run we headed home to shower and prepare for our feast. We had turkey, ham and prime rib. All of the food was really good!

The rest of the weekend was spent shopping, eating, playing games, and going on walks. We really enjoyed ourselves.

Youth Temple Trip

We went with the youth to do baptisms at the Portland Temple last Saturday. All of the names that the kids did were family names. Andy and I brought along a few names of our own too. I think we did about 150 names as group. It was a really neat experience to do family names, it makes the temple experience that much more personal. I am looking forward to our next temple trip with the youth in May.

Bath Salts & Sugar Scrubs

The Relief Society Presidency asked me to put together a craft that the sisters in our ward could make and give as a Christmas gift. I don't considered myself to be a very crafty person, but I agreed. I thought about this activity for days and what I could possibly make that the sisters would enjoy. I finally decided to make bath salts and sugar scrubs. I think they turned out pretty good-- they smell pretty amazing too!
 

  

I scoured the internet for different recipes and tried several out before choosing the winner. Unfortunately, I didn't keep a copy for myself or I would share it with you.

I think the bath salts and sugar scrubs were a hit. The sisters loved them!

* Note - I found all of the materials for the jars at Michael's.

The Maze Runner: The Kill Order

The Kill Order answered all of the remaining questions I had from the previous books in the series. Yay! I felt like it took forever to get some answers. The Kill Order wasn't the most exciting read but it brought some needed clarity.

If you decide to read The Maze Runner series wait to read the prequel until the end-- if you read it first it may ruin the rest of the series.

* As of right now I have read 14 books this year.

Family History

The youth in our ward at church have been working a lot on their family history and have inspired Andy and I to work on ours too. It has been fun learning more about our family's history. Some days I feel like a detective trying to put pieces and clues together. I'm so excited to learn more about my family!

Pumped Up Kicks

Growing up my siblings and I ran track and cross country-- some people say we are born runners. Here are a few throwback photos from cross country my senior year of high school, fighting through the pain of achilles tendonitis.

Our coaches always stressed the importance of having properly fitting running shoes. Picking out a good running shoes isn't as easy as going to the store and just grabbing a shoe off the shelf. Everyone's feet move slightly differently when they run (neutral, pronation, or supination), I decided many years ago that I prefer to go into a running specialty store to have someone watch me run on a treadmill and recommend a shoe.  I have tried many different brands of running shoes over the years (Adidas, New Balance, Asics, & Brooks) and have grown to love running in Brooks.

Andy and I wanted to run a 5k for Thanksgiving and decided it was time to invest in some new running shoes. Running shoes are good for about 500 miles and ours were looking pretty shot.

Ironically we both ended up getting the same shoe. The only difference is that his are mens and mine are womens and the color of course.

Andy and I love our new shoes we are excited to see where they will take us.

The Maze Runner: The Death Cure

Aside from the "zombie" factor The Death Cure was a very engaging read. Once again I found myself wondering, "What is going on?" Not once did I find myself wanting to put this book down.

At the end of the book I still had a few unanswered questions floating around in my mind. I'm hoping that The Kill Order  (prequel) will answer those questions.

*This is book #13 for me this year.

Halloween

Halloween was pretty low key for us this year. Normally we grab a pizza, watch Hocus Pocus, and hand out candy to the neighborhood kids.

This year we opted to change things up a little bit. There was no pizza and no Hocus Pocus. Instead we found ourselves cuddled up on the couch watching a scary movie that Andy had picked out. I think we had a record low this year as far as trick-or-treaters go, we had a grand total of 3.

Maybe next year will be a bit more exciting and eventful.

Ward Halloween Party

For our ward Halloween Party this year, Andy and I dressed up as pinatas. We spent a lot of time making our costumes, I think they turned out pretty great! Everyone in our ward liked our costumes, too!

Me & Andy.

Being creatures.

We enjoyed spending the evening with our ward family eating dinner and playing games.

Date Night: Dinner & A Little Shopping

Friday (October 24th) Andy picked me up from work and we went straight to dinner. I have a love-love relationship with cheeseburgers so we decided to try out a burger joint called Dickie Jo's. Andy wasn't so fond of the idea of trying someplace new, but stepping out of our comfort zone was definitely worth it. The food was so good! And the fries, they were amazing!

Dickie Jo's is also connect to Dickie Yo's, which is a frozen yogurt joint. We decided that we are going to have to go back and try Dickie Yo's one day--we both really enjoy frozen yogurt.

As we went to leave I couldn't help but notice a World Market around the corner--this is one of my favorite stores. We had fun looking at all of the fun stuff in the store and came out with a few treats and a Christmas present for one of my favorite little boys.

New Bike Tires

On Wednesday (October 22nd) the missionaries text Andy and asked if we could take them to get some new tires for their bikes (they don't have a car). We happily agreed to pick them up. We found the elders walking down the dark street in the pouring down rain, I felt kind of bad for them.

The elders told us they had been to Wal-Mart and were not able to find ties the right size. We took them to REI and quickly found tires that were the right size.

We stopped at the house and grabbed a few tools and then headed to the missionaries apartment to help their change out the tubes on their bikes. Elder Watson had changed his tubes out before but Elder Fernelius never had, so Andy taught him what to do.

I just love the missionaries in our ward, they are the best!

Painting Pumpkins With The Beehives

During a planning meeting the Beehives said that they wanted to paint pumpkins for one of their activities. On Tuesday October 21st they got their wish. The girls had so much fun painting pumpkins! I was amazed by their creativity. I wish I had my camera so I could have taken some pictures.

Today I Was A Hero

I share an office at work with a few other individuals. Today (October 20th) a few of my co-workers decided to take their lunch breaks at the same time. They told me and Rick (my manager he is in his 60s) that they were headed to lunch so it would just be the two of us.

As I was going about my work I thought to myself, "If they aren't back by the time my lunch break comes around, I'm just going to take my lunch break. Rick can handle things." Almost instantly I had the feeling that I needed to stay at my desk and work until someone else came back.

A few minutes later I heard snorting noises, this really confused me. I got up from my desk and  walked over toward Rick's desk and he was still making snorting noises. I said his name and he didn't respond. He was bent over his computer and his eyes didn't look quite right to me.

I ran out to the shop and told the guys I needed help. A few guys followed me inside and one ran upstairs to get some more help.

When we got back into the office Rick was leaning back in his chair and still making the snorting noises. I told my one co-worker to get him out of the chair and to lay him on his back (he is a lot bigger than me). I sent somebody else outside to get our HR person who was eating lunch in her car so she could call his wife. I got 911 on the phone and instructed another co-worker to start CPR and gave them some brief instruction on how to do it. And then I ran to look for gloves and a protective barrier for the mouth. At this point Rick was gray, he had no pulse, he was unconscious, and he wasn't breathing.

Next, I went outside to wave down the firetruck (GPS doesn't do a very good job at finding our office). I led the paramedics into the building and told them what happened.

The paramedics immediately dragged him out from behind his desk, they cut most of his clothing office, gave him what looked to be like shots, they did more CPR, and hooked him up to a defibrillator. Shortly there after Rick started breathing.

The HR person got his wife on the phone and she gave the paramedics his medical history.

The paramedics strapped him to a gurney and loaded him into the ambulance and rushed him to the hospital. I'm not sure what his status is, all I know is he is in the ICU.

I have been praying all day that he will make it through this.

I'm so grateful that I listened to the prompting I had. If I hadn't have listened, nobody would have found him until it was too late. Today I was reminded how precious life is. Each day is a gift and we should strive to make the most of each day. You never know when your time may run out.

I'm also grateful that I took several CPR, AED, and First Aid classes in college. I never imagined that I would actually need to use the things I learned in those classes.

The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

I finished reading the second book in The Maze Runner series: The Scorch Trials. This book was very engaging and I found myself constantly wondering, "What is going on?"

One twist that I'm not sure that is like is the "zombie" turn the book took. I have never been huge fan of zombie books. Aside from the "zombie" twist this book was great and I recommend it!

In other news-- I met my goal of reading 12 books this year. Yay! 

A Trip To The Temple & The Haunted Corn Maze

On Saturday (October 18th) Andy and I made a trip to the temple, since the temple is two hours away we don't get to go as often as we would like. While we were driving to the temple Megan called,  she said she had two more names for us to take to the temple. This news made me so excited! I love doing family names!

When we first got to the temple we spent some time walking around the temple grounds, the Portland Temple is absolutely beautiful!

As we walked into the temple we were greeted by a man who looked familiar. Andy and I both thought to ourselves, "I know this man." But neither of us could figure out how we knew him.

Later as we were going about our temple business I ran into a woman I knew from church, I instantly realized that the man who greeted us was her husband. We really did recognize him!

This sister in the ward said that she really enjoyed mine and Andy's talks and that she and her husband just loved us. I wasn't expecting her to say anything like that, but it made my temple experience all the more sweet.

On our way home we decided to stop at Deseret Book, this is always a treat since the bookstore is also two hours away from our home. Andy and I each bought a book to read and one other small item--I picked out a new journal. Something about new journals makes me excited to write.

When we got home we literally had 10 minutes to change our clothes, eat dinner and be out the door for the combined Young Men and Young Women's activity. The youth took a vote and decided that they wanted to go to the haunted corn maze this year, we had 20 youth in attendance.

We enjoyed getting to know the youth and youth leaders in our ward better. Neither of us thought the maze was scary, but the girls sure did. I'm glad the girls had fun.

I Love The Rain

I just love the rain. I can't help but think that God loves me every time it rains. Moving to Oregon was one of the best decisions we could have made. Bring on the rain!

A Visit With The Missionaries & A Blessing

The missionaries asked if they could come over and share a short message with us on Thursday October 16th and we consented. Since Elder Bethea completed his mission, Elder Watson was assigned a new companion. Elder Watson's new companion is Elder Fernelius and he just came out the the MTC.

The Elders showed us the new Good Samaritan video and shared with us some of the history of the story. They also related the story to our day, it was a very inspiring message.

My back has been really sore since the car accident and since we don't know many people in the ward I decided to ask the missionaries for a blessing. The elders asked who I wanted to do what and I asked if Elder Fernelius would administer the blessing (Andy and I had talked about this earlier in the day). You should have seen the look on his face, he was so nervous. He told us he had never given a blessing before. Andy and Elder Watson gave him some brief instructions and then he gave me a blessing. I truly believe in the power of the Priesthood and am grateful that I can be administered to in times of need.

Camping On The Coast

Friday (October 10th) after work Andy and I headed to the coast for a weekend of camping. It was supposed to pour rain that weekend but we decided we would face the elements anyways. When we arrived at the campground, it already dark. Thanks to our trusty headlamps we were able to set camp up pretty quickly. Once we had everything setup we crawled in bed and went to sleep-- we were both pretty tired. Falling asleep listening to the waves crashing onto the beach was so relaxing, it was almost hypnotic in a way.

The next morning we work up to find that it had rained while we slept, lucky for us that was the only rain we saw the entire weekend and our tent stayed dry. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed to our favorite beach and lighthouse.

We didn't go onto the beach this trip, the waves were 12' high and a warning for sneaker waves and rip tides was issued. On a positive note, the Heceta Head Lighthouse was open for tours. We decided to hike up to the lighthouse and tour it. This was Andy's first time ever going inside a lighthouse and he thoroughly enjoyed himself. If you ever get the opportunity to climb to the top of a lighthouse, you really should-- it's one of those experiences that is just too good to pass up.

The stairs.

Looking up the stairs.

The light.

After we finished our tour we watched the waves below crash into some large rocks. A few times when the waves crashed we saw fish go flying into the air, it was entertaining.

Next, we decided to go find the Hobbit Trail and see what it looked like. This trail is supposed to be really pretty in the spring/early summer and we hope to hike it then.

Me.

Andy.

Me & Andy- not sure what is going on in this photo but I like it!

The rest of the day was spent thrift shopping. We picked up a few really cool things for my Mom for Christmas-- she collects milk glass and we found some really awesome pieces. I think she will be really surprised.

Winds Of Change

Andy's work announced on Thursday (Oct. 9th) that they will be splitting the company and that layoffs will be inevitable. We aren't sure what that means for us yet but we know that our lives are in the Lord's hands and that He is mindful of us.

Feeling Really Blessed

This morning (October 8) when Andy walked into work he noticed some things that seemed to be out of the ordinary. Long story short, they did layoffs company wide. Twenty percent of Andy's teammates were let go. We are feeling very blessed and grateful tonight that he still has a job, but we also feel really bad for his co-workers who lost their jobs. We really feel like the Lord is watching out for us.

Conference Weekend

Conference weekend is something I look forward to every six months. In case you missed Conference you can watch it here. I love listening to the inspired words and messages. My favorite talk was Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence-- in case you missed it it is worth the read.

Date Night: The Maze Runner

Andy took me on a date Friday night (Oct. 3). He made us tacos for dinner and then took us to see The Maze Runner. The movie was different from the book but it was still really good. Andy liked the movie so much that he decided he is going to start reading the books-- it's a miracle! Andy isn't much of a reader.

Andy and I enjoyed dressing up, going out, and spending time together. I love going out on dates!

Farewell Elder Bethea

One of our favorite missionaries is headed home to Arizona, his time in the mission field has come to an end and we are sad to see him go. We have enjoyed getting to know Elder Bethea these last few months. He is an amazing missionary who loves serving the Lord.

Elder Watson & Elder Bethea.

Elder Bethea, Andy, & I.

Elder Bethea came by last night (Oct. 1) with his companion to say good bye. He is a little nervous about going home and what the future has in store for him. We gave him the best advice we could. We know he will do great things!

The Maze Runner

When we went to see Divergent, I remember watching the preview for The Maze Runner. I thought The Maze Runner looked like it would be a  good movie. I later learned that The Maze Runner movie was based off of a book series. I decided that I wanted to read books to see what they were about.

I borrowed a copy of The Maze Runner from a co-worker and have spent many my lunch breaks reading. All I can say about The Maze Runner is that it is a very intriguing read and it is full of mystery and surprises. This book is definite must read.

I just started the second book in the series, I will let you know how it is once I finish it.

**11 books down, 1 to go***

My Best Friend's Wedding

Sometimes in life we are fortunate enough to meet people who become friends for life. It doesn't matter where you are or how long it has been since you last talked, you just seem to pick up right where you left off. It is friends like these that I deem "best friends".

I met my best friend Betsy back in sixth grade. Over the years Betsy has become like a sister to me and I think of her and her family as part of my own family. I love Betsy so much! She has been such a good friend to me. She truly is a gem! Words can't express how much I care for my friend.

Betsy & Ashlee-- just chillin'

We were jailed.

Road trip to Leavenworth.

Me, Megan, & Betsy hanging out.

Hanging with the butlers on our cruise.

Safety drill.

Besties.

Down by the waterfront.

When cell phone selfies were the "new" thing.

Andy said I had to share this photo. This was not Halloween and drugs were not involved. We simply decided to play dress up.

I was so excited when I found out Besty was going to be getting married. I was also excited that I was going to be able to attend her wedding-- I'm telling you living in Oregon has its perks.

Betsy was married on  September 27th to her sweetheart Will. The first time I met Will was at the wedding, he seems like a great guy. Betsy and Will were so incredibly happy and I am so happy for them. I am sad that my best friend has moved away but I am so excited for them!

Betsy and Will's wedding was amazing! Her wedding was by far the most beautiful wedding I have ever been too. Here's to you my friend. I love you!

The chapel.

The ceremony.

Leaving the church.

The cake was stunning!

View of the cake from the top. Julia is such an amazing florist!

Me & Megan.

We loved the photo booth!