Wausaukee, part one

In celebration for my parents 40th wedding anniversary, we decided to all get together at Randy & Elly's family cabin in Wausaukee, Wisconsin. Daddy helped arrange the whole thing, but we wanted to surprise Mommy with the reunion!
We have been planning this trip for over a year now, and holding in this huge secret from Mommy was huge! I was so scared I would ruin the surprise to her, I even dreamed about it!
But we did it!
She was completely surprised - success!
We spent the week relaxing on the edge of Elbow Lake with all the siblings & Randy, Elly, David & Elana! The 1920's cabin had so much character and charm, I think I could live there.
There was swimming, fly fishing, canoeing, sailing, porch-sitting, storytelling, and lots of ice cream! 

I do not have the pictures from the trip yet (hence this is "Part one") but I will share just a few that I have.

more to come...

So we took a little trip to Vegas & St. George

We stayed in a very nice bed and breakfast in Boulder right outside of Las Vegas. We've decided that it is the most perfect distance from the Strip, close enough to drive in for a show, but far away from all the shenanigans.

At the inn there is a nice patio with a fire pit, and a pond with these friends pictured above! 

We spent our time shopping at local antique shops and other little shops around Boulder and Vegas.

 The highlight of Vegas was seeing the Cirque Du Soleil show "O." It was beyond amazing!

Speaking of amazing, outside the theater of "O" was a gallery of sculptures by Richard McDonald. These sculptures are influenced by the performers of Cirque Du Soliel, each piece is so intricate and beautiful and makes other human sculptures look mundane.

The last two days of our trip we spent in St. George. We visited the Temple Visitor's Center, went antique/pawn shopping (Andrew bought a gun, which is another story entirely), and found our new favorite restaurant:

Anasazi Steakhouse and Gallery 

The cheese fondue is just about the most delicious ever!

I ordered my steak "on the rock" which is where they only seared the meat on the outside and bring it out on a 700 degree rock, where you cook each individual bite to your liking. It is the best steak I have ever had!

All in all: a fabulous trip!

Adventures in Moab

So Andrew has been working in Moab for the past few months now. Ever since he started we tried to find a good time for me to visit him, but I had been so busy, etc. etc. I finally found some time in December and we spent a couple days just chilling in Moab. (Remember it's actually winter here, so it is their off season.)
He took me to all the good thrift shops. Oh, yeah! And we went on a pretty bumpy dare-devil drive in one of the canyons. I think my jeep was finally glad to be put to real use!

 

Just finding some fresh spring water! 

 

 A together shot.

And as we passed through Helper, you bet we took a picture with the giant man.

Marcy & Derrick Bush!

I went home a couple weeks ago for my friend, Marcy's wedding! She was absolutely gorgeous and so was the wedding. I've known Marcy since high school and she is such a beautiful, talented, funny, and awesome person! I'm so glad I was able to be there for the most important day of her life.

I'm just so happy for her and wish her & Derrick lots of love!   

 

{husband & wife}

{Marcy & me}

{I got to spend the night with 7 of my most favorite girls} 

 

Visit Courtney Ryburn's photography blog to see the awesome professional shots!

Ringing in the New Year...and in Style!

Spending New Years Eve with my 3 sisters,

Dressing up!

80's Dance Party - complete with the original music videos projected on large screens.

VIP passes (yes, we had our own personal lounge...sorta)

Showing off all our sweet dance moves.

Rockin' Awesome

What more can I say?

"AnniVEGASversary!"

So a couple weekends ago, some of my best friends from high school & I celebrated Taylor & Tiffany's 21st Birthday in Vegas! (They are twins.) Their parents treated us all to a wonderful weekend getaway! Needless to say, we had a great time! We stayed at the Palazzo in a very nice suit. We ate delicious food. We went shopping. And we saw Jersey Boys! (Perhaps not the best performance, but it was still wonderful - I loved the style of the performance, and I pretty much could stop dancing & singing "Sherry" all night.) My favorite activity was probably the piano bar. The pianists were so talented; they could pretty much play any song requested. And they were hilarious! (and so were they guys from South Dakota hitting on Rachel!)

Beautiful group a girls, wouldn't you think?

Getting ready

Our lovely brunch

Swimmin

Getting some sun (kinda)

How I love these girls! And I miss them so much, already! I hardly get to see them, but once a year. (That probably has to do with me moving thousands of miles away but I guess that is what weddings are for...)

*By the way, I suggest we begin planning our cruise for next Summer!*

Celi & Corry Pilcher

Celi and Corry were married on July 5th. They are so cute!

Mini Vegas Vacation

On our way back to Utah from California, we spent a couple days in Las Vegas! We stayed at the Stratosphere and the boys rode the "Insanity" ride at the very top of the tower. Andrew and I also saw the Cirque Du Soleil show, Mystere! It was amazing!

Surfing and Hollywood!

Trevor, Andrew and I drove to the west coast for a little vacation. It was my first trip to California! We enjoyed the sun, the beach and surfing! We also spent some time on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and I experienced my first 'In & Out' burger!

Easter in Odessa!

After Yantis, we ventured our way Westward to Odessa. I only took Andrew to the most important places there. Mainly the Jackrabbit, Stonehenge, and Permian....you know...

Spring Break in Texas!

Andrew and I took a trip to Yantis, Texas for Spring Break! We went to a Gogol Bordello concert, shot arrows with Micah's bow, and did some relaxing down by the lake! So fun!