LITTLE BOY RUGBY

We made it to Tuffy's last rugby game, it was awesome!! Did you know they play barefoot so they can trample eachother without someone getting hurt? Brilliant!

I took my camera... here are the results.

Tuff on the pursuit.

The referee also coaches both teams.

I thought this picture was too great to pass up. Gotta love Dads!

Tuff at halftime.

Tuff with the tackle!

Great tackle Tuff!!

I Miss Cows

He took me back to the country... and I decided I miss cows.

It's amazing how quickly you can become "city folk." Yet, I was pleasantly reassured that there is always going to be some "country bumpkin" in me... it feels like home, always will.

The landscape brought back memories. Seeing wheat fields brought a smile to my face. I remember stopping while leaving home and driving back to BYU, my freshman year, SUPER homesick, bawling my eyes out.... I stopped and cut some wheat from a field. That wheat STILL hangs in my home to this day.

It was a quick trip. Up and back in about 24 hours. But the Birthday Boy deserved it... and he wanted his favorite cake. He was right, it was ABSOLUTELY worth the drive.

His family was fantastic, incredibly warm and a lot of fun to be around. He did take me out for some "sight seeing" in Blackfoot.

First stop: The Idaho Potato Museum

And you can't go there without getting a picture with the giant potato.

FIELD TRIP!!

Today Sam took me to Cabela's.

When we walked through the door he literally said, "Welcome to Heaven."

For him.... my fly fishing, bow hunting boyfriend... it is indeed heaven.

He took me to the huge fish aquariums and explained to me how to tell apart different types of trout (which he would later quiz me on when we played with the multiple types of trout puppets upstairs) and showed me which fish tasted good and which didn't.

After the aquariums we wandered through the fly-fishing area, his eyes were sparkling and I think he was breathing heavy.

We looked at guns, all the stuffed animals on the mountain in the middle of the store, camping gear (which is getting me excited for our upcoming camping excursion), furniture, duck calls and much much more.

That place is CRAZY!!! It has just about everything he could ever want... and I compiled a mental check list of all the things he drools over.

The best part about the whole thing? He explained everything, was patient with my endless questions and let me be a part of "his" things. Sure, I probably will never paint my face in camo and shoot anything with a bow and arrow.... I will let him do that; but it was fun to share it with him. I'd do just about anything to see his eyes sparkle like that.

What's even better? It was actually a TON of fun.

You always find treasures when you go exploring

My family went to the cabin in Bear Lake for a week or so... it was fantastic as always. This year I returned after a day with my new partner in crime, I couldn't stand being without him the entire time! You will see more of this one.... promise. :)

My favorite thing to take pictures of is my family.... so I snapped a TON. Some candid, some "obligatory group shots" and some deliberate photo shoots. Here is a sampling:

First off: Beau sporting the famous "Beaudry Blues." I'll just say it, our eyes ROCK.

My parents wanted a photo shoot "just because." Sam picked some great spots for us to shoot and we got a lot of pics that I really like.

I'm quite proud of this one.... we actually have this documented now. See what we have to live with??? LOL

I'll just say it, this man keeps me happy. Really happy.

I'm excited that someone grabbed the camera and snapped a quick shot of us.

My parents can be down right adorable.

A bouquet of fresh picked wild flowers is a magical thing....

Sam showed us this little pond. We took a TON of pictures in the surrounding area and it allowed the boys to go explore while we were being creative.... Sam snuck me up the trail for a minute to see this view of the moss from up above. The color changes were stunning....

Being Uncles and Nephews within four years of eachother can be trying... but when it's good its OH SO GOOD!! These guys kept us entertained and on our toes.

We kept running away for the day and exploring around town. We went to a bunch of shops and looked at anything and everything our hearts desired. One day we went into a small little store that resembled a flea market more than a convenience store, the stuff they had was so random!! We did both find these hats... we both admitted that we were lacking the confidence to pull them off.... we both told eachother how fantastic we looked in them and promptly bought them. I LOVE mine and Sam looks super handsome in his, dont you think?? ;)

We had the obligatory family group pictures. Family tradition is unless a person is officially married in they can't be in the picture... its a family jinx. Once we took pictures with everyone's respective mates in it, within a month they were all split up... unless they were married. So from now on, if we like you you can't be in the picture, unless there is a ring involved.

We had a wonderful time. I didn't want to come back to reality, I could have stayed there forever.... Sam promised me we would go camping up there soon, I'm going to hold him to it.

Here are a few pictures, just because I think they are adorable (and I'm being cheesy):

HARVEST!!

Yummy!!!

I also got three red cherry tomatos today.... but I ate them before I could get a picture. :)

Destruction is the Goal

My old luggage was having issues. It had lost zippers, it had huge holes ripped in it. The last time I flew the guy at the desk was nice enough to duct tape a hole for me so "things wouldn't fall out."

I've desperately needed new luggage... so I found a screaming deal on this super cute stuff. (See above... isn't it great??!!??) Sophisticated, cute, has personality, and the third bag is even decent!!! (Not one of those wierd little bags I never use...)

The best part about buying new luggage?? Having traveled enough for my old stuff to be destroyed....

A friend asked me where my favorite place to travel (to date) was... That was a hard one to answer. All of my trips have been enjoyable. Some for work, some for pleasure, some for family, some for... who knows.

I do travel a lot.

Morocco will forever be magical..... that trip influenced my life in ways that I think few other things can. Backpacking through Europe for three weeks with my girlfriends.... was beyond fantastic, taught me a lot about myself and how to laugh. Snowboarding in Whistler with two of my most favorite guys on the planet... still brings a smile to my face. The family lakehouse in Northern California... I can still feel the sting of the sun on my skin after a long day on the lake. A week long road trip up the coast of California... tried soooo many new things and just enjoyed being us. Indianapolis 500... its starting to feel like home. A spontaneous 26 hour trip to Moab... incredible joy comes from conquering a hard hike and being rewarded with a breathtaking view. Trips to San Francisco.... just to see the ballet (and get a hug from Grandma). Road trips to concerts... Red Rocks Ampitheater will forever be the best concert venue on the planet.

I could go on and on...

And now I'm getting ancy for another adventure.

When the World is still Quiet

While I would say that overall I'm a Night Owl... I LOVE how quiet early mornings can be.

The other day I was driving to Salt Lake between 5 and 6 in the morning.

The World was still quiet... and that day the sunrise was breathtaking.

I always feel so alive, so peaceful, so calm, so motivated on mornings like this....

I risked my life to try and take a few pics on my phone just to share it with you. Enjoy! :)

Close Call

Luckily it was HER toy. Now we have a trashcan full of stuffing.

Tip of the Day

Tip of the Day:
Put tomato cages on tomato plants BEFORE they grow, much easier than wrangling sprawling plants into cages after the fact. Trust me.

Quick hands, but not fast enough

On the Fourth of July we had a BBQ at my house after the parade. On our way back to the house Dana and I decided to stop by the store for a few things we needed.

We were stuck in parade traffic and were only about a block away from the grocery store waiting behind people trying to turn onto the main road. I finally said, "Dana, I'm going to get out and go... by the time you get to the store and park I will probably be done shopping." So I hopped out and started my jog across the road in front of her.

I was wearing my "go to" outfit. My only shorts that currently fit me (at all) and one of my favorite shirts... My shorts are getting too big, even though six months ago they were tight on me. As I skipped across the street I felt them starting to sag on my hip, I reached down to pull them up.... BUT NOT BEFORE MY SHORTS WERE DOWN BELOW BOTH BUTT CHEEKS!!! I didn't get to them fast enough and they were on their way down in a hurry!! I quickly pulled them up and turned around to see Dana behind her steering wheel laughing hysterically.

Happy Fourth of July, Dana. Thanks for coming... now I'm going to moon you.

Dana got a good laugh and I got the pleasure of knowing that even these "skinny" shorts are literally falling off of me now.

It's really encouraging to see my progress. I'm currently at 37 total pounds lost, 18 more to go till my goal weight for Hope's wedding, 68 more left till I'm at my goal weight.... I can't believe I am a third of the way there...

I guess I need to start planning an hour or two of shopping, my modesty could use it. LOL

They grow so fast!

I've been gone from the house for a long time...

When I got home I had a few suprises. One of the most pleasant one was seeing how my flowers have grown! I have worked hard on these flowerbeds for four years now. Planting perenials takes patience, each year seeing how they have grown in, what additions need to be done and guiding the progress.

I have surrounded my house with plants that have sentimental value. I have dozens of Columbines, the state flower of Colorado... I LOVE these flowers.

I have Lilies, when I was only 14 I worked at a plant nursery for the summer and quickly fell in love with them, I have loved them ever since.

I added Lavender a couple years ago, I remember when my family took Tuffy (for his fifth birthday, I think) to the Young Living Farm and watched jousting and saw the acres and acres of lavender.

This year I used a bit of the space in the back yard for vegetables. They are coming along pretty well...

I have tried to make the flower beds look as natural and realistic as possible. I don't like the highly manicured look, instead like we happened to stumble upon a perfect little cottage... I think I'm getting there.

The plants weren't the only thing that exploded while I was gone.... Ivy has grown about another foot. She is so leggy!!! Very tall and lanky, this stage of puppy hood is quite humerous. She is still as busy as ever.

Then we have this little guy... I missed him so. He hasn't grown at all, still a whopping 9 pounds. He missed me and I missed him.... this picture cracks me up, I think this expression on his face is HYSTERICAL. Love ya, Porter.