our world

I am going over some printing specs for a file I'm working on at work and I found this:

Is everyone else as mature as I am?

How have I lived in the world this long and not know this term exists?

upward over the mountain

I mentioned we had a busy September with weekend trips, but for sure the crowning jewel was 5 days of backpacking in Yellowstone. Our friend Steven was a ranger there years ago so when he planned a trip it was a no brainer to go...even though September weather that north scared the bejebbus out of me (I have no interest in snow and tent sleeping).

But none of my concern was warranted; hands down that trip was one of the single most amazing experiences of my life. Like, it was perfect. We had beautiful weather that kindly only rained at night while we were cozy sleeping and warmed up during the day for perfect cool hiking temperature. The autumn leaves and colors were stunning and the company was easy and fun. Plus Steven planned almost everyday ending with a dip in hot springs, so tired bodies were comforted and healed from long days of moving...like I said, perfect.

Full crew

permit

these meadows were sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo pretty
]
like so pretty I couldn't stop taking pictures

hot springs at Dunanda Falls

beautiful skies

I was serious about these meadows

one of the handful of times we had to ford a river

in the heart of Bechler Canyon

where we came from, where we were headed

Mr. Bubbles hot springs

Aaron on day 4

I carried s'mores in my pack supplies for this moment

happy campers

last day

Lone Star Geyser

that is Old Faithful off in the distance, which meant we were only a car ride away from pizza in Jackson Hole

calorie burn reward!

I can't wait for next year's trip.

trouble

If I'm 29 and this was my Saturday night...should I be concerned for my future?

collect call

I realize I am like one of 4 people on the planet who doesn't have an iPhone or an Android or any other kind of phone in existence that you can use by swiping your fingers across the screen, but I feel like my little BlackBerry also isn't the oldest phone known to man.

However, my brother Logan disagrees. He always teases me about how my phone is as big as a computer and makes jokes about it, so I wasn't surprised when a package from him showed up in my mailbox on Friday with this:

And his note:

I accidentally packed up your phone with my things. Hope you didn't miss any important faxes.

PS. I got you a bluetooth headset for the trouble.

The fake phone is basically the same as my real phone...guess it's time for an upgrade Emily!

lucky now

Aaron and I just finished 4 straight weekends of away trips and I for one, am totally worn out. I'm ready to cook dinners and be at home, but it was a great month of fun!

We started with a weekend in St. George to visit Morgan and Wyatt (and Christopher and Tasha), then followed with a second weekend in St. George/Vegas for me and Sacramento for Aaron where we each attended separate weddings. The next week we spent an amazing 5 days in Yellowstone on a backpacking trip and this last weekend we went to Moab to support Logan and Christopher racing in 24 Hours of Moab. Sheesh.

I post these from my first St. George weekend as proof of how amazing Christopher and Tasha are as hosts...a few days in their desert home is heavenly. And that is only made more evident by very similar pictures Meikel posted last week of one of their summer visits; everyone should go to there.

asking for flowers

Aaron's friend Eric got married at the beginning of the month and since he was the Best Man I figured I needed to push my way into the wedding! So I did the flowers.

I always love the opportunity because taking a day off work and filling my house with the scent of fresh flowers is completely fun for me. I'd love to do flowers more often and especially I super love doing flowers for weddings like here and here.

And while I'm not a huge horn tooter, I'm enough of a little internet horn tooter to say, guys...this was awesome. I was a miracle worker with the budget and made some floral decisions that were like, perfect. Elizabeth and my mom both were huge help and my mom single-handedly got all the table arrangements set up while I was running around like a mad woman getting everything else set up, so they were total life savers and it all paid off.

One of the reasons I love doing flowers is putting together something lovely I wouldn't have necessarily chosen for myself; the bride Casey had an all soft and creamy palette, shades of pink and peach and white and I totally fell in love with it. Here is a boxful all snuggled together for the ride up the canyon.


I didn't get great photos once set up, but these give you the general idea..all set up on all the tables.




If only everyday was flower day!

yesterday's blues

Hey Internet, did I ever tell you Christopher and Tasha and the boys moved to St. George a few months ago?

No, I know I didn't cus it's too depressing (just kidding) (kind of just kidding). When Tasha called me in April and told me they were moving I was like "that's great!" "that will be awesome!" "I'm so excited for you guys!"

And then I hung up the phone and burst into tears in front of a confused Aaron.

Because of course, I really was excited and so happy for them. That move was going to be (and has been) a great move. It was awesome that Christopher and Tasha searched together for answers and guidance for their family and when they found it, they went for it.


But duh...they are also pretty much my favorite humans and have made 2 of my other favorite humans and I miss them. Their entire marriage Christopher and Tasha have either lived 3 buildings away from me at my home or 3 blocks away from me at my office. I don't know how to buy clothes, plan parties, make decisions, or pretty much breath without immediately showing/talking/discussing with Tasha. I don't know how I would ever make pizza crust, fix weird car problems, camp, bike or do lots of other things without stopping by to get advice from Christopher first. And freak, I for sure don't know how to go much more than about a week without trying to convince Morgan to love me or freely getting one of Wyatt's million dollar smiles.

So I hope someday we can be neighbors and kids can run freely between houses and Tasha and I can watch trashy TV together with Sonic drinks and Christopher and Aaron can grill delicious dinners every night.

In the meantime though, I have loved having them stay with us during their Salt Lake visits and getting surprise Tasha packages in the mail and since they are just 5 hours away it means easy weekends trips and much warmer weather during our dreary winter.

(PS- I don't just keep family photos of my sibs on hand, I took these a few months ago at Liberty Park.)

love cats

Okay, I have some things to catch up on around here, but first the most recent and exciting news.

Aaron and I have hit the cliche moment in our marriage where we're (he's) not quite in baby mode yet but we (I) are (am) getting there, so for the time being...we got a kitten!

And I mean, even as a total non-pet person, when my friend Emilie posted on Facebook that she was looking for a home for this guy last week, I totally melted.

I couldn't resist! We really weren't thinking about getting a pet at all or anything but when I saw him, something seemed to click and after a weekend of kitty sitting, it clicked for Aaron too (hoping I don't have to do a test weekend with any actual children we have before he feels ready to keep them, but we'll see!).

Emilie's family had named him Paul Banks and Aaron has altered it to Pablo so we'll see what sticks permanently. Either way we're having fun with him and he's a great little fit for us.

back down south

Listen, I know lately I've been quiet around here and not that interesting, but I always claim to be existing at some level of boring.

However, you internet, in general are also mostly boring lately...what is the deal? I thought I knew you.

rambling man

I love everything about this.

a bite out of my bed

Naomi was in town last week so we joined her and some friends in the Unitas last weekend.

It was beautiful and awesome, but the mosquitoes were insane. Even in normal mosquito weather I usually get more bites than others around me, so while I expected a few, it's like the 100% deet repellent didn't even slow those suckers down.

Anyone know a way I could possibly turn this into a valuable skill or asset?