Love Me Do

I'm just gonna put this out there - I might be the best nanny on the planet . . .

Days Gone By: Sailing

There is a very generous family in our area who takes the Relief Societies in our ward sailing on the Chesapeake every year. I've only been on the trip twice and this was the first year I made it on to a boat (we decided not getting home until later would be worth it). It was SO much fun! There are so many amazing women in our ward, I tell you what! I love having the opportunity to get to know the new girls better and being around long time friends.

Days Gone By: OBX

I was able to spend Memorial Day weekend at the Outer Banks in North Carolina with a bunch of my friends and about 1,000 other young single adults. It's a long running tradition among YSA's all over the East Coast and beyond.

Mormons as far as the eye can see!

Saturday was spent on the beach! At least half of us left that afternoon with not-so-awesome sunburns . . .

Sunday after church a group of us went to see The Lost Colony. Unfortunately it started to rain, but we had fun anyway! Plus we gave the people working there something to do.

This is also where I realized the full extent of my special talent.

We came back home for Sunday dinner and a group picture.

All the Aviators! Whoo!

The rest of the weekend we did a lot of hanging out . . .

. . . had sing-a-longs . . .

. . . played in the pool . . .

. . . invited friends over for dessert night . . .

. . . did Zumba . . .

. . . and had several hot tub parties that frequently turned into 80's sing-a-longs.

Really, it was a great weekend full of quality bonding time with some pretty fantastic people. It was sad when people had leave, but don't worry, whenever a car would take off the remaining housemates gathered on the porch to sing individualized good-bye songs and wave.

We also took more group shots. ;)

No trip to the Outer Banks would be complete without a little traffic. Lucky for us we got to park the van and hang out on the side of I-95 for while. Good times . . .

Days Gone By: Go Caps!

My blogging skills this past year were pathetic, especially considering how many awesome things happened. Over the next few days I'll do my best to try and capture the awesomeness that was 2011, starting with my first NHL game!

In case you didn't know, DC is a ho-ckey town and I had no idea until I had the opportunity to go to a Caps (Capitals) game back in April. Here's how it went down. The Knutson's had tickets for a playoff game but they couldn't go so they offered them to me. I figured it'd be a fun thing to do seeing as the only other time I'd been to a hockey game was for a sorority date night. Worst blind date idea ever by the way . . . Before the game Karen told me everyone wears jerseys and/or Caps gear to the game. Luckily she lent me some of theirs because it was clear the second I showed up at the metro I'd stick out like a sore thumb if I'd opted to wear anything other than red!


I was able to take a few friends with me to cheer on the Caps.




We had fantastic seats, to say the least!!

The crowd was amazing! I really have no feelings about hockey, but sitting in the Verizon center with people that were so into the game was SO much fun!! In fact, it makes me want to take trips based on cities where the sports teams have intensely passionate fans . . .

The Caps won making the rest of the day that much more fun. We grabbed a bite to eat back in Arlington and the restaurant was filled with Caps fans. I swear, if you want to make friends around here all you need to do is invest in Caps jersey and wear it on game day. We chatted it up with every other person in the place! I also shared a "go Caps" moment with two guys in the self-checkout lane at 12am. It was awesome. As much as I can't stand the negative aspects of competition, I love that sports can bring out such camaraderie among complete strangers.



P.S. The Zamboni was my favorite part. < o >

So Simple, So True

Merry Christmas!! I know it's been ages since I've posted anything but I wanted to take a minute and share a quick experience I had few weeks back while out to dinner with the kids I nanny. When we go out to eat we like to play drawing games; this time Ingrid and I were making a Christmas "book" on sticky notes. We had drawn pictures of all they typical Christmas items i.e. trees, presents, stars, etc. Then Ingrid draws this:

Being together.

Leave it to the six year old to get at the really important things.

I hope you all were able to spend Christmas with people you love.

The Gift

I have a hidden talent. Okay, so it's not exactly hidden seeing as I tell people about it all the time . . . or rather I show them.


That's right folks, I am one heck of a self-picture-taker!! I don't remember exactly when it was I discovered this particular talent but I tell you what, it comes in handy all the time. I swear it's not as easy as it looks!! Here are a few of my favs . . .

Smash and I in NYC! Note the random yet important object between us - tricky! Be impressed.

Some of my favorite people after our pre-HP7 Pt.2 Thai dinner in Old Town.

FREEZING our butts off in Philadelphia as we wait in line to see Joshua Radin. You know you have good friends when you make them line up super early for a concert, in less than desirable weather, and they don't hate you.

After Ian and Chad opened for Ingrid Michaelson at World Cafe Live in Wilmington, DE. We were the last ones there and no one was around to take our picture. Not that I would have asked/let anyone . . . No need!

Speaking of not asking anyone to take a picture for you . . . If you travel alone as much as I do, this is a necessary skill! Here I am in front of the "I'm a Mormon" billboard near Time Square. Bonus story: One night in NYC I really wanted to ride in a cab with the "I'm a Mormon" ad on top but it was taking forever to find one. Ironically enough I ended up going to my bus in a "Sister Act" cab. Too perfect.

OBX 2011! This was the first record breaking photo taken that weekend. I thought 10 was a lot until . . .

I got all 19 of us in the shot, on the first try, at the Lost Colony. This was among the proudest moments of my life. Don't judge.

I'm sure some of you are still saying, "Pffft! A talent? Yeah right!" To the non-believers out there, I give you a challenge: Next time you're with a group of 20 of your nearest and dearest, take a picture.

This is the current record holding photo, taken a few hours after the 19 people pic. The Outer Banks must be a magical place . . .

If you just can't get enough of my mad photography skills, you can see more pictures here on the FB. :)

Carry That Weight

A little inspiration from Gunnar . . .



Gunnar is so funny, he picks up these weights and flings them around like they're nothing! Crazy dog!!