The Phantom

What do you get when you mix some great food, an amazing show, and a day off from work/kids? A fabulous girls' night out, of course! Two of my great friends and I met up at the Venetian on Tuesday for dinner and a show. The show? Phantom of the Opera. How exciting is that? I had never seen it before and just loved it. I called for tickets and the girl at the other end of the line gave us (in her opinion) the best seats in the house. And they probably were. We were just six rows back and a bit off center so that we could see everything. I loved it. And I loved getting out of Logandale and spending time with friends. Karlee and Sadie made it so great. With a nursing baby at home, Sadie couldn't stay over night, but Karlee and I decided to splurge and got a hotel room for the evening. I really love spending a good stretch of time alone with a friend. It seems like that's when you really get to know somebody. You can say a lot over the phone or at lunch, but when you spend an entire day with someone alone, it opens the door for much more intimate conversation. I love you both! Thanks for a wonderful evening.

Back to Cali

Rhett and I both had Monday off for Labor Day and decided to make the most of the three day weekend by getting out of town. What better way to spend a holiday than with friends and family soaking up the California sun? We left Logandale Friday afternoon and drove right to the beach. We spent the evening walking along the boardwalk and looking at all the different style houses along the beach. We spent the night at a hotel in Anaheim and the next morning met up with my cousin, Nick, and his new wife, Cat. We had SO much fun with them. I've always gotten along well with Nick and was pleased to get to know Cat. She is so fabulous. They live a few blocks away from Huntington Beach, so we rode bicycles down to the beach and played frisbee and body boarded and got frozen yogurt. I haven't downloaded my pictures yet, so all the pictures I posted are from Nick's camera. It was difficult to leave, but we had plans to meet up with my friend, Alison. We spent the evening and the next morning with Ali and her husband, and even snuck down to my grandparents house for breakfast with my parents, grandma Martin, and grandma and grandpa Lyon. I don't even remember the last time we were all together. It was great. Anyways, around noon we headed to Mission Beach in San Diego where Rhett and I roller bladed down the boardwalk for a few miles. We didn't even stop to play in the ocean. It was just fun getting out and people watching and roller blading. It was gorgeous weather. We only stayed down there for a couple of hours and then got cleaned up and headed over to a family friend's house for a BBQ. I hadn't seen some of the family in over 15 years and was delighted to catch up on everything that had been going on in their lives. After the BBQ we headed back up to Huntington Beach to crash at Nick and Cat's house. We just chilled at their house and the next morning did a little shopping before coming home. Then last night we had a little BBQ at our house with some friends. It was an action-packed weekend. And now I'm looking for a job and a house in California! Ha Ha...I wish. Every time I go I just love it and wish I could somehow find a way to move there. I know it's not likely to happen, but a girls gotta have dreams, right?


Rhett and Nick catching a wave.
Cat with her body board.
Me and my babe, playing in the ocean.

Nick was taking pictures of us as we were riding over to get yogurt.

I'm a Big Girl now

About a month ago I finally took the leap that every woman has to make at some point in her life...I got my hair cut and styled. Now, I know, it doesn't sound that amazing. You've probably all had a cute hairstyle at some point. But growing up I wasn't allowed to cut my hair. And after I got married I learned that my husband likes long hair. So I thought I was doomed to have straight, long, boring hair my entire life. I went from my mom cutting my hair to my mother-in-law cutting it. I had never gone to a salon and had someone keeping up with the latest styles touch my hair. So I was quite excited when my friend was getting her hair done and invited me along to get my first "Big Girl" hair cut.

I had a general idea of what I wanted, but I basically just told her that I wanted it cute and shorter and fun and sassy and easy to maintain and this is what she gave me:

Now mind you, it's been a month, so it has already grown out a bit. I also don't have the mad stylin' and volumizin' skills that this woman had. When she was done with my hair it was so full and thick and flowy. I wish I had taken pictures the night it was cut...it looked very cute. But in general I'm very happy about it. I miss my long hair and sometimes having bangs bugs me, but all in all I feel good about it. And what do you know...the two people who gave me the best compliments? My husband and my dad! The two that discouraged me to do it for 30 years! Why are women always trying to please men? I think I've learned through this experience that sometimes you just gotta please yourself and by doing that you end up making those around you even happier...because you're being you and you're happy. Wow, who knew something philisophical would come from a few little strands of hair being cut?

My One and Only Picture!

Okay, I finally figured out how to post pictures! Hurray. The only problem is that it literally took 20 minutes for it to upload the image.  Not sure what the deal is.  Anyways, this is the only picture that I'm going to post because I don't have 2 hours to spend uploading all the pictures I wanna show you.  I'll take those to work and do it from there, 'cuz it's SO much easier.  

This is a picture of Zion National Park when we went during the fourth of July weekend.  We did a lot of hiking and I took a gazillion pictures. I love being close to so many of Heavenly Father's beautiful creations and having the opportunity to explore this world he has provided for us.  I bought a book that is a photographer's guide to southern Utah and it has a bunch of hiking trails and scenic drives listed to explore. I'm thinking once a month Rhett and I will take a drive and explore the area. If I find any great hidden gems I will, of course, share them with you.

iMAC

So, I have a fancy new computer, but still not quite sure how to use it. If anyone owns a Mac, call me. Seriously. I've been on a Windows OS for so long that I didn't realize how many little tips and tricks I had learned along the way. I'm trying to post pictures, but I haven't even figured that out yet. Plus it rearranged all my pictures and they're not all in the same folders as they were before, so I've been spending the last two weeks trying to re-organize everything. It's a mess right now, but I'm sure once I get the hang of it and organize everything where I can find it I'll love it. If anyone has any helpful hints, you know where to find me.

Memories...

Heather, you're such a trend setter. I love this idea and look forward to reminiscing...

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot; anything you remember is great!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about us, we'll assume you're playing the game and we'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

One Word

I got this in an email and thought it might be interesting. For those of you who want to do it, you're tagged. There's a list of 30 questions and you can only use one word to respond. It's more difficult than you might think.

1. Where is your cell phone? Desk
2. Where is your significant other? Vegas
3. Your hair color? Brown
4. What did you last drink? Water
5. What color shirt are you wearing? Lime
6. Your favorite thing? Husband
7. Your dream last night? Chase
8. Your dream/goal? Happiness
9. The room you're in? Office
10. Your fear? Falling
11. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Hawaii
12. Where were you last night? Home
13. What you're not? Perfect
14. Muffins? Blueberry
15. One of your wish list items? Italy
16. Where you grew up? California
17. The last thing you did? Meeting
18. What are you wearing? Jeans
19. Your TV? Big
20. Your pet(s): Turtles
21. Your computer? Broken
22. Your life? Wonderful
23. Your mood? Upbeat
24. The last thing you ate? Pretzels
25. Your car/truck? Ranger
26. Something you're not wearing? Socks
27. Your summer? Fun
28. Love someone? Family
29. Your favorite color? Teal
30. When is the last time you cried? Yesterday