LA

We had a great weekend. On friday after work we headed out to LA to spend the night with Christina and Justin. We met up with them at this AMAZING shopping center/mall - The Americana - and browsed around, grabbed pink berry and headed back to their apartment. On Saturday Tyler and Justin headed off to the free dental clinic where Tyler observed Justin pull out 9 of an 80 year old man's teeth. Nice.
While they did that all the girls went shopping at the 3 story target and checked out the farmers market at the Americana. Then we met up with the boys and ate at the Nickel Diner in downtown. Typical diner food, but with kind of a gourmet edge without the gourmet price. It was super yummy. Oh, and they have bacon donuts there. We didn't try one, but it actually looked good.



Stake Conference was also this weekend and we greatly enjoyed that. During the Sunday session I always find myself zoning out so I tried really hard to pay attention this time. I'm proud to say I only day dreamed during 1 talk. We hit up Brady Family Dinner last night too and Uncle Rob was workin the bbq which always makes for a scrumptious dinner.

P.S. It's monday AND its rainy... this is going to be a LONG day.

Dexter

Our friends Brandon and Heather's baby Dex turned 1 this month. They had a sweet party in the park. Heather made BOMB cupcakes... from scratch. We got to hang out with Dexter... one of the cutest kids you'll ever meet and some good friends and family. Sergio's son, Cyan, pretended to play football with Morgan. He isn't even 3 yet... he is going to be fierce on the field one day. Oh and Dex would not let us take him out of the swing. He was obsessed.

To the Sea

For my birthday Tyler surprised me with Jack Johnson tickets. The day of the show finally came last week. We had a wonderful time with our dear friends Katie and Rhett King. We ate at Stonefire and snagged a pretty good seat on the lawn. The opening performers were way good. I'm really glad we got to hear them. The weather was nice too and it was really cool to be up on the hill over looking the city lights of Irvine. Jack put on a very entertaining show of course. Thanks to the many other guests we were also privileged (NOT) enough to get a little second hand weed smoking in. Seriously... I don't get it. It smells like a skunk.

8... it's a magic number

I have 8 more weeks of school. 8 more weeks and I will be done worrying about reading, studying, flashcards, scantrons, discussion boards, homework assignments, midterms, quizzes and finals. If you can recall, before the semester started I was feeling like I wasn't quite ready to be finished. I felt like being done was going to be bittersweet and I wasn't sure I was ready for it. I am SO ready to be finished. I can hardly imagine having a weekend without school work hanging over my head. It will be marvelous. I am so thrilled. Last spring I was walking on campus and I saw this guy skateboarding with nothing, but a pencil resting on his ear. I saw him a little while later and he was "woo hoo-ing" away from campus. I'm guessing that he had just taken his last final. I don't think my reaction will be much different. If I am not brave enough to shout out loud or do a victory dance as I ride home from school I will be thinking of that guy and "woo hoo-ing" in my soul.

Dear Menfolk,

Please do not ask me if I am PMS-ing when I am already mad. Even if I am stricken with that wonderful (often uncontrollable) gift I do not enjoy it when you inquire about it.

Thanks,

Amy

Giving Thanks

Since it was conference weekend, and we had a turkey in the freezer, we decided to make a thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. It turned out better than we thought! I made my home made (from an actual pumpkin) pumpkin pie and we had a great crowd over to enjoy it with us. Now that I know I can make thanksgiving dinner without screwing it up I might actually try to be a host one day. Oh... and shout out to Katie for making BOMB home made rolls and Robbie who came over to share his bday with us!

Get Busy Living

On 9.26.10 I ran in the Breast Cancer race for the cure down in Newport. Some of the territory we covered was where my 1/2 marathon was. It was sweet to be there with these lovely ladies and I actually didn't do too bad. I was the first of my group of friends to finish! It was hot and hilly, but we were running for more than one good cause. You may be wondering about our shirts. We were part of the DONT WORRY BE HAPPY team. The DWBH shirt company was started to raise funds for cancer treatments/research after my dear friend Lauren's cousin Kevin passed away. Visit www.dwbhshirts.com to learn more and to buy a shirt!










This inspired message is printed on the inside of every shirt. I didn't have the pleasure of knowing Kevin, but I have been inspired by him and the faith of his family. I remember when he was still fighting for his life, after the cancer came back. Lauren would ask me to pray for Kevin and I did. I know that he is proud of his family for moving beyond the hurt and striving to help others in his memory. Thank you for inspiring me Kevin!

Words to Live by

A friend of mine has this quote on her blog (thanks Erin!) and I was very impressed with it so I thought I would share it with you. I feel like it is very applicable to my life. Recently there have been opportunities for change in our lives. Being the naturally anxious person that I am I would normally respond to these possibilities with negative feelings-anxiety, nervousness or fear, but for some reason (maybe because these changes are meant to be) I have positive feelings. Like maybe the mystery has been solved with an answer I never would have come up with a few years ago. But life takes you places you never thought it would. Maybe I need to go where Heavenly Father seems to be leading me. Maybe I need to do something I never thought I could. Maybe.

Cruisin

Cousin Tanne Brady turned 24 years old in September. She decided to do 24 things she had never done before. She got a henna tatoo, hiked Mount Baldy and asked us to ride to the beach with her... on our bikes. It was great fun. We ate at Newport burgers when we made it to the beach, laid in the sand on one of the most beautiful days of the year and rode all the way back. 26 miles round trip. I'd say that deserves a pat on the back. Thanks for the sweet ride Tanne. I might have to do this "new things" thing next year when I turn 24.