.. roman adventure day one = fail ..

{ our euros }

so as you are aware, or if you weren't, cody and i had planned a trip this month to rome italy. we took days off work, had a garage sale to earn some extra bucks and planned. we had decided, since we fly standby, that we would try and leave the night before our flight to Rome from New York to fly to new york with cody's parent and make a day out of it. I went to work half day that day, came home to do laundry, pack, prep jet's stuff for the trip and do any last minute errands or what nots that needed to be wrapped up. this particular day was also my youngest brothers birthday, not just any birthday his 18th. so we had some celebrating to do. after all this packing, cleaning and errand running we went out to dinner to celebrate. it was fun, we just went to outback with him and had dinner laughed a bunch and they topped it off with a sundae all for him.



{the birthday boy with his sundae}

after all this fun and excitement, it was time for us to prep. we did our last minute stuff, took jet on a ride and said our goodbyes. and we were off to the airport. i will admit i cried for a good 15 minutes about leaving jet home with my brother, not cause i didn't think he would be alright but just cause well he is my kid and sometimes leaving him behind just sucks. we arrived at the salt lake airport around 10pm. the flight left at 11:55. we found cody's parents and got comfy and sat down and chatted. now with stand by you can only get on the plane if there is an empty seat, so asking for 4 empty ones is kind of a stretch i admit. but we have done it before so it couldn't be too hard. so we waited and chatted and waited. they started loading the flight and people were swarming (another thing i don't understand. why are people so anxious to hurry up and sit on the plane? they will wait for you to get on, you don't have to be in someone else's personal bubble in line just to hurry up and sit.) and we just sat. after they loaded the flight there were a few seats, but as per requirement we have to wait for them to do a final boarding call and wait the necessary 5 minutes for the person to show up. and wouldn't you know it they all showed. so us going to new york for the day was a no go. cody's parents left us for their comfy bed and we attempted to get on another flight to atlanta that was leaving at 12:30. again the process only to find out there was only 1 seat, and since we are a party of 2 that wasn't happening. so we called it a night. we found a cheap hotel near the airport, kind of reminded me of the shining a little, and cozied in for the night. we decided to attempt again the next morning at 8:30 to get to new york again. 

.. buster ..

every six months or so at work we have a guest designer that comes into town to visit and start her new line. she is the nicest person and so creative. if i could harness even a drop of her motivation and ingenuity i would be so happy. when she comes to start working on a line she brings her pup buster into town. he is the company mascot for about a week while she is here. he is the funniest puppy you will ever meet. usually once during that week, if not more, i get to puppy sit while they go to lunch. Because the place they chose doesn't have outdoor seating and doesn't allow dogs. we have fun, we go on walks, we pee on trees - ok just buster does - we eat snacks, play with ribbon spools and take naps. its always fun when buster comes.

.. a pioneer day buddy ..

{ me and j*}

so every year on the 24th of july in the great state of utah, is pioneer day. yes it is a legit holiday, although i don't ever get it off of work - sad day. ever since i was a little girl and first moved into my neighborhood my neighbors and their families have had a block party. now we are talking a pretty large block party. like 40 houses worth of families. oodles of people. we have had things like rock climbing walls,  bouncy houses and even live bands. we all congregate across the street from my house and have a huge BBQ. everyone brings a salad and dessert to share and your own meat and it is just a fun time. i have done this every year since i was 12. this year is no different. so we started up the party and had a good old time. my neighbor's kid, j*, is my buddy. i taught him in sunday school since he was 18 months old. he is a cute little fella. so we hung out. we ate food, including cheetos, played ball and hide and go seek. and of course watched our famous firework show. he doesn't like the noises so i got be ear muff person. i got to hold his ears for about 40 minutes. love this kid. meet j*

{ we made the craziest faces we could}

{ oh and again, except all he did was go cross eyed}

this kid is hilarious. love him to pieces.

. mia maids .

i was asked this last week to photograph the mia maids in my ward. these are the girls between the ages of 14-15. they are a beautiful fun bunch. i got to spend 2 hours teaching them photo tips and photographing them. it was a blast!

cutie girls, they are amazing and beautiful. watch out world!

. baby p .

i'm one lucky girl. i got another niece {well, honorary aunt status} in july. i got to photograph this beauty and hold her while she slept that night. this girl is gorgeous, half hawaiian with the perfect tan, but so is her mother. such a wonderful woman, one i inspire to be like. congrats l* & k*!

see? i'm a lucky aunt.

.. stewart falls ..

this weekend we decided to hike to stewart falls here in lovely utah. we decided to take our little jet bug with us up there, and he was just a crazy. let me tell you. it is about a 4 mile hike round trip, 2 miles up and 2 back. we started at aspen grove, which is just above sundance. it really was a beautiful hike and fairly easy. it did have some rough spots and some rocky spots but for the most part super pretty and shaded most of the way. highly recommend it!

{jet on the way to the hike, he loved the drive}

{getting started, jet was so excited about all the smells and bushes, he got to be mountain pup}

{half way up, he got tired and had to take a break laid in the dirt, hello dirty boy}

{ at the top}

ok funny story on this one, jet HATES water. like won't walk in sprinklers, doesn't like stepping in slushy snow, won't walk through puddles, and when we tell him it is bath time he runs and hides in the shower. so we didn't think he would be to into the water up there. we got the top and walked him over to the fall and he jumped in. like spent the whole time we were at the falls in the water, what the?! i was so confused, he loved the water!

{cody and i at the top, probably working on the killer sunburns we both got}

{ the falls}

the rest of the night and the whole next day were spent like this. after 3 baths to get the dirt out, he was one whooped pup and slept all day. he is too cute. 

any hikes you have been on lately that you thought were fun?

.. saluto roma ..

so a few weeks ago i told cody he was taking me on a vacation, since it has been a year since our last vacation together, and that i didn't care where we went just that i could relax and not be attached to a phone or computer. to just get away. so after much debate we have landed on the choice of going to rome. ooo i am so excited. i have never been to rome, it's been on my wish list forever i can't hardly wait to go. here is where you come in. i have never been there, and i need to know what i just HAVE to see. so far on my list are

. colosseum

. trevi fountain

. vatican city

. st. peter's basillica

. pantheon

. sistine chapel

. spanish steps

. roman forum

. catacombs

we are thinking of staying near the spanish steps, since we found a good deal and from what we have read it is a good central place for getting to other things. so.. people share your advice. we are going mid- august, help me out if you would please :)