Britishy

I had to get out of bed just now to write down a before-bed conversation between Lucas and I. Here's how it happened:

I lay down to sleep and Lucas gets a drink of water.
me: "What are you doing?"
Lucas: (setting glass on side table) "I was just drinking some water."
me: "Oh"
Lucas:" Would you like some before I drink it all?"
me:" Yes"

He hands me the glass and I drink all but about a half inch of water and hand it back to him. He sets it on the side table.

me: (in random britishy accent: "there's still some water in there so dont put anything fragile or paper in there"
lucas:(In an enthusiastic new zealandishy accent: " Oh I'm glad you told me because I almost put some fragile paper in there straightaway!"



Its funny cuz we're tired. And its funny. I'm getting back in bed.

Growing up is FUN to do :)

Well about a month ago Lucas and I traded in our gold Saturn for a new car!!!! I am in love with it. (except its a little noisy) Here are a couple pictures of the sweet ride we'll be cruising around in!!!

Hi Mom!

I no longer work at Valley RV Center. I dont know if I ever posted that. I went to part time after I accepted the nanny job, and after a month or so of that they ran out of work for me to do, so I got downsized. (The company is now on a seasonal break because the only guy who knew anything about the place got a new job in Boise, and the manager got fired. haha) So I took a few weeks break, then applied for a job at a new hotel that was being built here in Rexburg.

While waiting to hear about hiring, they had me and Carrie and a bunch of other people come in and make beds and fold sheets and vacuum and organize. It was a lot of work. Eventually he told me that I had the job! I applied for Night Auditor, so i will be working from 11pm to 7 am. I wanted full time work, but he gave the full time schedule to another girl with more experience as a Night Auditor. Now I work two part time jobs. I'll work MWF as a nanny in the day. and TH, F, and S as a night auditor. It should be interesting. I'm at my first shift right now and I feel like if someone tries to train me on one more thing I might just throw up all over the place. Training week is so hard for new jobs! But luckily tomorrow is my first day of just doing all that I have been trained to do! Tonight it has been pretty slow. We have 1 guest in the hotel for our "grand" opening. haha. You should go book a stay here and visit me! It's the Springhill Suites in Rexburg Idaho. Check it out!

Also, I will be able to go to utah for Thanksgiving this year, to spend it with Brian and Gunilla. I'm really really excited. I miss my families so much. And I get to have my first attempt at making green bean casserole!!!!

Food sounds wonderful right now. Turns out sleeping all day and working all night doesn't really make for a healthy meal schedule.


Did I ever mention how amazing of a husband I have? He's amazing. We let a young kid who was down on his luck stay at our apartment on our futon. Lucas talked to him, and checked him to make sure he was safe, then we got him dinner, he slept in our 2nd bedroom, and then in the morning after i left for work Lucas gave him our contact info and a Book of Mormon. What a stellar guy I married.


One time I wasn't sleepy, and Lucas was asleep. I could have gotten up and watched TV but i couldn't tear myself away from Lucas. I just looked at him and thinking about how lucky I was made me start crying. I feel like the most blessed person on the planet. Lucas makes me so happy, its crazy. I miss him. I hate that I'm at work and he is at home in our Queen bed all by his lonesome tonight.


I just made my first reservation over the phone :) Love it!

Songs from a Friend

It's a wonderful thing how spending some time with a familiar and favorite song can instantly make the world alright. The other day I was walking home from work just sorting out life with my friend, ipod. We talked at first just casually, but eventually found ourselves singing at the top of our lungs into the fields of Idaho. We discussed society, self image, romances, childhood. It was a wonderfully eye opening and happy walk. Unfortunately, to all onlookers, it appeared to be just a girl over enthusiastically enjoying her nutso walk through town, singing at the top of her lungs alone. If they only knew the depth of the friendship I've formed with my favorite tunes.

Ipod wisely played these lyrics from Jason mraz.

"climb up over the top,
survey the state of the soul.
You've got to find out for yourself,
whether or not you're truly trying.
Why not give it a shot?
shake it, take control.
inevitably wind up finding for yourself,
all the strengths you have inside still rising."


I heard what my friend was saying. THank you, friend ipod. So while i walked I would take breaks from singing and listen to some lesser known songs and let them be the background music to my thoughts about life life.

The more I thought the more I realized that I am so blessed! I love my life. I love my husband, I love that we have to work hard to pay what little bills we have while he is in school and we plan the path of our life. I love the good friends we have made here. I love being outside, i love the huge fields of hay around rexburg. I love crazy ever changing weather. I love my family, and my in-laws. I love my job, and the luck I have had with employment. I love the gospel, and the answers that are always there. I love life. And I absolutely love music.

Halloween is over girls, you can put your standards back on. YIKES.

The night before Halloween we went with our friends, Carrie and Scott, to a HAUNTED STAW MAZE! Lucas wasn't really in the mood to go because he had been at work all day and then we went straight to the maze. (Carrie wore pink and had a pigs nose and wings and was the Swine Flu- it was perfect, Scott wore a crown and a wig and a necklace of pop cans and was "the King of POP" Love it. ) So we got to the maze, and I immediately think of the last time I was in a haunted house. I was terrified and even cried. Sarah almost had a concussion from me trying to spring in the opposite direction of the monsters/actors and Jamie almost had to carry me through some parts because I was so scared. I never used to be that way in haunted houses, I just thought they were cool. For some reason though I became a haunted house baby. So this year was going to be different! plus its not a house, just a maze no big deal right? WRONG!

A haunted Maze at night is WAY worse than a haunted house! the straw was stacked way high above us and the maze was huge and really well done, we got lost over and over again. The actors in there were really scary but not overdone, and didn't do too much over-acting. Plus you can't just keep going and know that you are almost done, because you are LOST! You dont know the way out and the actors are moving all over the place! I was terrified, but it was so much fun that I was half screaming and half laughing the whole time.

A couple actors got too "in your face" relentlessly and Carrie HATES that so she eventually settled for not almost killing the 16 year old in a costume and had hot chocolate with the people in the front while Scott, Lucas, and I finished the maze. So all it takes is one turn into a dark maze with a creepy guy walking towards me in a creepy mask and I'm trying to sprint away and screaming "No no NO NO!" My eyes started watering right away, but I decided to tough it out.

Highlights of the maze:
--A guy wearing stilts in a huge jacket so he looked like 9 feet tall popped out from a corner and scared us all so bad, we kinda ran from him and he chased us! On stilts! I was so scared! I started running, and SLIPPED and FELL! Just like in a scary movie! hahaha So i ran away, and lost stilts man, and eventually Lucas and Scott found me and we kept trying to find the exit.

--Lucas became a military man in the maze. He LOVED it. He had to protect me and try and navigate our way out. He was so excited it was so cute watching him get into it. But I stopped noticing how cute he was when an actor would chase me, then i hit survival mode and just ran away. haha

-- One of the actors heard my name and from above us on the hay we rounded a corner and he goes "AMMMMBEEERRRR" ...No you shut up right now.

-- Everything else.

It was awesome, that was basically our Halloween this year, and it was great.

Lucas worked all day Halloween, and I worked hard at sleeping in. I almost woke up a few times, but I stuck to it, and didn't get out of bed until 11:45. You are right, Dad, where there is a will there IS a way! ;)

We drove around and saw some trick or treaters out alone. That is so sad to me when kids trick or treat alone. I just want to give them thousands of candybars in their pillowcases.

Also, I shared in the Halloween festivities of my friends via facebook. Maybe thats creepy, but not as creepy as how many of the nice women I am friends with forgot not to dress like strippers just becuase its Halloween. I have NEVER seen a firefighter wear ANYTHING like that. I would like to thank all my friends who put some thought into their costumes, looked good, funny, and not like they participate in illegal activities after 10 pm.

ANYWAY, Halloween night we just went out to eat and shared some pumpkin pie, then we watched Flight of the Concords until we fell asleep at like 10 30. It was pretty spooky. Binary solo!!! 0001011010111000000111010111001101!!!


Enjoy this hilarious video:Cat fails leap attempt

Halloween Week

Halloween is in the air, and we haven't really planned much to do. We haven't even thought about costumes, or where we would go once we have a costume on. Trick or treaters would NEVER find our apartment, so we bought candy and eat it ourselves.

While I'm working the kids ask me to sing them songs, so I said this week I would sing halloween songs. I sang the only one I know (My mom used to play it on the piano and sing it to us when we were kids around Halloween) It goes like this:

I'm a mean old witch with a Hat
HEEE HEEE HEEEE (Evil Witchy Laugh)
And I ride on My broomstick with my cat,
HEEEE EEEEEE EEEEEE
And my chin is pointed and my shoes are too,
so you better WATCH OUT,
or...I ...might....scare....you...

BOO!

The kids LOVED it and made me sing it over and over again, Alex has it memorized so I like to leave off words and have him finish it. Its really cute.


One night when Lucas got off work we went and bought some pumpkins, and they were out of those stencil kits with the good pumpkin carving knives so it was up to our creative little heads to get our pumpkins all carved up good.

We get home with our pumpkins and just stare at them for a while. We spent like an hour trying to figure out what to carve and just getting worse and worse at just picking something. Eventually I got sick of just staring at my cool shaped pumpkin, and grabbed a steak knife and started cutting. I didn't really have a plan but I knew it would come to me as I cut. Lucas layed on the floor for a while and kept staring at his pumpkin. He a stencil guy, I hate them.

SO he went to bed, and eventually I did too with my pumpkin unfinised. The next night we finished them, Lucas got his stencils (which are actually much much cooler than I remembered) and I finished mine. They make it smell so good in our tiny apartment like pumpkins! :) Here are some pictures :)








This one is for you, Mother-In-Law! One with our faces next to our pumpkins!



We love Halloween!

Lucas' two cents.

So it turns out that just because Lucas SAID he would post a blog, didn't mean he would do it before I wanted to blog again. So when I asked him to blog so I could again he said that he would just tell me his blog and I could type it. Here it is...

"I love my life, I love my wife"

It was hard to remember, but I think it was worth it in the end. Thank goodness I stop to listen to the wonderful things my husband has to say. :)

A couple of months ago, after shopping for months to try and find a big side bag I liked with no luck, I decided to make my own. I dont really know anything about sewing, dont have a machine, or a clue, but I was up for the challenge. So I made my mind up, went to WALMART and bought some fabrics, then borrowed a sewing machine from a friend, then went home spread the fabric out and stared at it. I had NO idea where to begin. So I decided to make a plan. If I'm going to make a bag, I'll need a pattern, and I'm not going to PAY for it. PAH! My "pattern/plan" looked kinda like this:


So I held the fabric up to myself and kind of made up a pattern, grabbed the scissors and started cutting. It was SO fun! If I had more experience I could have finished it in a couple hours, but for my first bag I'm pretty excited. I made the strap too long, and one day I'll re-borrow the sewing machine and shorten it, but I'm happy with it overall. I even sewed a pocket into the inside :) Here is the finished bag:




Also, we got a new entertainment center for a screamin' deal from some people on craigslist. We love it so much we just stared at it for hours and got really cheesy and lovey dovey. Then the next day I was home early and Lucas text me and said "Does our entertainment center still look Amazing?" haha


I also took some pictures of the kids I watch a few times a week... I love them :)


This is Alex, the just wanted a picture of his eyes. Which is cool, because he has killer eyes.

This is Britta, and this is perfect because she is my little shadow. She wants to be right where I am and always points to things saying "Mom? Mom."


This is Cole, He's super cute, and had no interest in the camera for a long time. He just wanted to try and take Britta's bear without her noticing.


I'll end this picture blog with the cutest thing ever. These boys are two of a kind...here is what I get when I tell them to give me their sweetest smiles...


Well I have to go now, because I have a hungry husband here. He just gets grumpier and grumpier the longer I dont feed him. See ya!

my random thoughts at my horribly slow job

I have decided to start working out every day after work at the BYUI gym. Its free access to fitness equipment, and I really need to get rid of the extra few pounds that I have managed to store for winter. I'll leave getting fat for winter to the bears and groundhogs, as it turns out, I would rather just wear a coat.

I am really liking working as a nanny. Although I have fought getting attached to the kids so I can avoid the heartbreak that I still feel when I think about Kelsey, I have started to catch myself letting those kids in. Its hard not to when they say things like, "Oh, Cole is the SILLIEST Goose."



Today my boss called me into his office and told me that they need to lay me off because they dont have enough for me to do. Thrusday is my last day. Now I have to try and find a job that will let me work just Tuesday and Thursday. Hmm...

The idea of buying a house is so thrilling to me its all I think about as I cruise the craigslist of every city looking for the best deal. No, we aren't even considering moving, but HGTV has me convinced that being a first time home buyer is going to be an A+ experience. Except we probably wont get the HGTV Welcome Home gift. I want a free living room set, thanks.

My boss just told me a horribly inappropriate joke.

Also, Lucas and I know that we are going to adopt children. If we can or can't have biological children, we know we are going to adopt. I wish we had a house and were financially stable enough to adopt now, I just read that there are hundreds of kids left orphaned in the philippines because of the floods. HUNDREDS. I'll adopt you, kids.

I really like the sound of typing. Especially on those really old catalog computers in the library.

I got a new SD card reader so I can post pictures online now even though the USPS lost my camera cables. Three cheers for the mail service here! **Crickets**

OH

Conference was AMAZING over the weekend. I only watched the Sunday sessions, but they were so fantastic. The church is so true. I dont understand how you could ever listen to the things that are taught to all of the world by the church, and still think that Mormons aren't Christian.


Oh yes, Lucas and I have been MARRIED for 6 months now as of the 3rd of October! We went out to eat at an italian place, then went and saw The Invention of Lying. It was really funny, but there are some parts that made me uncomfortable. I would see it again, I liked it. Marriage is AMAZING. Lucas and I talked on the way to Idaho Falls about our favorite thing about marriage. It was REALLY hard to pick. Its so hard to say what the favorite thing about marriage is, when marriage as a whole is so great and makes us so happy. I decided my favorite thing is feeling like I am a part of a team, and that I always have him there to care for me, and he is always there for me to care for. We make all our decisions together, and do everything with love. I also like when our feet touch under the covers at night. Its cute, and his feet are so much warmer than mine. He said that he liked that he never gets attached to people really easily, and never quickly. Except with me. He said he got attached ot me really quick, and he loves how every day we get a little closer and closer, and things just get better and better. I love him. I love my life.


I miss my family. And Lucas' family.


Funny thing that happened in the middle of the night...I woke up and looked into our closet, where in my overly tired condition I was sure that there was a baby high chair hanging from the ceiling. I was really confused by it and looked at my sleeping husband and thought "Is he trying to tell me that I'm pregnant!?" Then right before I got excited I woke up just enough to realize that I would know if he knew, and that he wouldn't hang a high chair in the closet to inform me of the child growing inside of me...which, by the way, I can't wait for. Every month I get that feeling of "Will this be the month?" And when its not I look up information on adoption.



The craigslist "free" section isn't used enough. All that is ever on there is wood and kittens.

Lucas promised me he would blog at least once, so you can look forward to hearing from him next.

I got tagged

I got tagged! So you can thank MaShay for my constant need to talk about myself. Actually, you can thank me.

TEN RANDOM THINGS

one. I am the third child of my parents who were both the third born. I married Lucas who is the third, so clearly we will only love our third child.

two. One of my favorite things to do is to go for a drive when its warm and the sun is about to go down, with the windows rolled down, my favorite music playing and a great friend in the trunk.

three. I tried to not like Miley Cyrus, but instead I really liked her and added her new song to my blog and bought a shirt of hers at WalMart. Lucas likes her too.

four. I lived in Hawaii for 18 months, I've been home a year now and since moving home I have tried to convince many people to move back with me. Most of these people acted excited and said they would do it and then planned their life on the mainland. I am currently working hard on convincing Lucas its worth it to move there while we are young and child-less. I am a hula dance pro and not even that convinces people.

five. I am insanely obsessed with my husband, and since I haven't gone and had my name legally changed yet I am seriously considering changing it to Amber Susan Hermann Lucas Taylor.

six. I have had the same number of cell phones and traffic tickets. I have also moved the same amount of times. What is this magic number? It is 11 . I also have the same number of super powers.



seven. I have fallen in love three times. I have had to suffer through falling out of love twice. It would have all been worth it if I only had six months with Lucas. Thats why I'm killing him on our 6 month anniversary.

eight. 70% of my scars are on my left hand. I got all of them at different times while fighting crime. My left hand is like a dead weight that does nothing but flop around and get hurt. Except it types quite well and looks great with my wedding ring on it.

nine. I have never had any alcohol or smoked anything. I am proud to say that losing control of myself is not something that seems tempting to me. I have never wanted it, which is good because I get addicted to things really easily. Right now I'm addicted to spider solitaire. Sometimes I want to play it so bad I get out of bed in the middle of the night and play until I win. I like to play it with real spiders.

ten. All but number 5 have something that is not true.



Have a wonderful day!

PAM PAM

**RING RING***
"Valley RV this is Amber"
"Hello, I'm looking for Dana"
"He's in the office with the door locked looking up jokes on the internet, can I take a message?"
"uh....."


My boss is Michael Scott from The Office.


How I came to this conclusion:

*He will frequently pop out of his office and SLAM on my desk at random times of the day to try and scare me.

*His jokes should be very predictable, but they are so unfunny and out of place that nobody ever sees them coming. The staff at my job are getting very good at our "Oh, Dana- you're a riot!" laughs.

*He bought a motorcycle, and parks it proudly in front of the store, wears STURGIS shirts every day in an effort to flaunt his coolness and spark conversations about how much of a biker he is.

*On his desk and shelf sit many important and usefull office supplies like :
~ a Darth Vader Mr. Potato Head
~ Three toy motorcycles with Muppet characters riding them
~ His golf clubs on display
~ Three huge pictures of his dogs on the wall above a small framed pictures of his three kids.

* I got a part time Nanny position, and the other day he called and when I answered he said in a Nasaly voice "IS THIS FRAN?!?!" "what?" "FRAN THE NANNY! (giggling)*

*Taped to his door are two sheets of paper with Jokes on them from Larry the Cable Guy.

* He called us from vacation, interrupted us at work with the important work related message telling us "Just let everyone know I'm getting on a helicopter!"

* If anyone shows up with a bike that is not like his he asks to ride it, and they awkwardly let him.

* If I can see a conversation heading somewhere we dont want it to go I just mention something about his outfit, motorcycle, or his dogs and his thoughts are completely derailed.

*He can't resist selling things that he knows people need. Here are the all important things that he is sure all RV businesses need
-- A Giant Frying pan
-- A 700 dollar battery powered electric bike
-- A candy machine
-- Huge expensive parts that we never use or sell.




In all honesty he is a really nice guy, and has been really cool to me while I've worked here. But while watching the office it was impossible not to see the similarities.


In other news...I got a job working part time as a nanny. Its three days a week, I watch a 3 and a half year old boy and twins, a boy and a girl, who are almost two. Its really a good job, but its harder than I imagined to watch other peoples kids when I want my own :)

Update on my Mom, she is doing well, and has a great attitude. Check out pictures of her mohawk at thehermanns.wordpress.com.

The Taylor Inn

The past few weeks have been very family filled, and we are LOVING it! A couple weekends ago we drove down to Salt Lake to hang out with my family (except Em and Eli who stayed in Colorado for school) and had a blast! We got to salt lake and stayed at Steve and Ceci's apartment overnight. Their apartment is SO CUTE. Ceci has made it so homey and cute, I want to set her loose on my apartment! We watched some of Freedom Writers, talked, and went to bed. It is so good to see them, and get to know Ceci more and more. The next couple days we hung out also with Jason and MaShay, Sarah, Mom and Dad, and Steve and Ceci. It was so much fun. We got up one morning and decided to hike the "Y". My mom was inbetween chemo treatments, and was feeling weak, but she still got all the way up! It was really awesome for me to see how strong she is. It was hard to see her struggle, when she usually when have done it easily, but if I was going through chemo you couldn't get me to muster the courage to hike the Y! What an amazing Mother I have! Sarah's boyfriend Nathan spent most of the time with us too, and it was fun to laugh with him and Sarah a lot.

Sarah and I were best friends growing up, so its super lame now to live far away and not get to see eachother. We are going on 4 years of not living in the same state. Its junk! We always laugh our heads off when we see eachother. Favorite quote of the trip (Sarah and I are in a fit of laughter in the car with everyone else) A:"Remember when we used to get into trouble with Dad and Mom as kids when we wouldn't stop laughing like this?! hahaha!" S: "Yeah and then we would make fun of them and be like 'NO FUN!" hahahahahahaha I miss being a kid with your siblings around to laugh with. :)

We also went and got frozen yogurt at Spoon Me, which is delicious, but Lucas doesn't like it very much and my Dad hated it. Who are these Men? Crazies~ It was delicious! Rexburg needs a spoon me, and they are franchising so I emailed them requesting information on opening a Spoon Me (Like I can afford that)

One afternoon Steven and Ceci barbequed some "Carne Asada" (I think) for us. It was really really really good, we had tacos and he made this delicious salsa sauce for it. I ate a ton. Cambria, a good family friend came too and it was great to see her. I love seeing loved ones!

We had a movie night at Steves house with Me, Lucas, Steve, Ceci, Sarah and Nathan. We pigged out of pizza and ice cream, and candy (healthy vacation!) and watched Escape to Witch Mountain, which is HORRIBLE. I watched the original one a lot as a kid, and it owned this one. My sister goes to school with the main girl though so thats kinda neat.

We also went swimming at Mom and Dad's hotel pool. That was a good time, it was really nice to swim because it was rediculously hot in Utah. BOO Utah! We played games in the water and had breath holding contests, it was like we were kids at the local pool again.

When it was time to go home we said goodbye to all the siblings, (Mom and Dad were going to meet us in Rexburg to see our apartment) we hugged and were sad the weedend was over. Then hopped in the car and off to Rexburg.

A few hours later we got home and cleaned up and got ready for my parents to arrive. The next day I got off work so I could spend time with them, we went grocery shopping (thanks dad!) while mom slept off some of her exhaustion on our AMAZING bed. Then we went and got mom, and went on a drive and they showed us all the places they lived in Rexburg when they were newlyweds. It was really interesting to imagine them living here right after getting married just like me and Lucas. We visitied the Johnson family, a family that my parents were friends with in college, and had a barbeque and talked. It was crazy seeing their kids, its been about 9 years since we last spent time with them.

We took them to the Gardens, and to my work where they met my boss and got a tour of all our RV's on the lot. We spent some more time talking and hanging out with Mom and Dad, then it was time for them to make the long drive back to Colorado. They left and we were sad the awesome weekend was over.

A week later however, Ceci and Steve surprised us that they were going to come visit! Thankfully the day after my parents left I got a free futon, cleaned it, and painted it, and so they would have a good place to sleep and their own room in our second bedroom. We were excited to have more guests!

We did a bunch while they were here, and had so much fun. We talked a lot of course, Steven and I planned the toy I am inventing (which is getting so complex I'm getting discouraged), we played a TON of foosball which was really fun. Lucas and Steven beat Ceci and I (pure luck) and Lucas air punched with joy and hit the light fixture and burned out the lights. It was hilarious, we all had a good laugh about that one.

We went on a walk of the Gardens of BYUI because Ceci had not seen them before, they are so beautiful and every time I go there are different flowers blooming so its always a surprise. We went to church sunday, and had pasta and hung out talking a lot. (imagine, me talking a lot...another long post surprise surprise)

We had so much fun with them and were sad when they had to leave Monday night.

Tuesday night I got a message that My aunt is in town and needed a place to stay for the night. So my cousin Greg and my aunt came over and we visited with them. Greg went home and we went to bed, this morning Aunt Robyn left to take greg grocery shopping but it was a short and nice visit!

So if anyone needs a bed in rexburg, we have one for you! :)

I had a job interview yesterday and it went really well, its a part time nanny position that I would love. I think I'll take it. I have another interview today for a clerical position in Idaho Falls, I'll see what the pay is and what the job is like, but I'm more likely to take the Nanny job.

I'll post pictures later off all our fun times :)

Updates

Well I fail at keeping up a blog, an online journal, a facebook, uploading pictures, a myspace, emails, and doing my job. I'll try and get better :)

It seems Lucas and I jump at every opportunity to get out of Rexburg. We dont hate it here, but we are both obsessed (and rightly so) with our families. Over Memorial day weekend we went back to Colorado and surprised our families that we were there. We stayed the weekend and just hung out with our families. It was amazing. A couple weeks later we drove down to Salt Lake for Lucas' grandpa's 80th birthday party. He was adorable. I talked to him a lot and he told me the story of his life, and said he approved of Lucas' choice of a wife. Thank you, Grandpa, I'll let him know. :) We also got to meet our new nephew, Ewan, that weekend. He is adorable! Brian and Gunilla already have two girls, so its cute to see them with a boy. Their children are beautiful, and Lucas is honestly nervous we will not spawn as good looking of offspring. spawn. hah.

They next trip was the first weekend Lucas and I spent apart. As many of you know my Mom was recently diagnosed with Breast Cancer. She is getting a double mastectomy today, and in a Month or so she will likely start chemotherapy. The news came as a shock, and is my worst fear coming true. If anyone can beat cancer, its my Mom. I think if anything, even just knowing what is coming has brought the family much closer. (check out the family website at thehermanns.wordpress.com) My mom will be posting updates on treatments and how things are going. So Jason called me Friday and asked if Lucas and I would go home to Colorado with them and be with Mom for the weekend before her surgery and treatments start. I knew I had to go, but we had already planned on going to Salt Lake for Ewans baby blessing. We decided that Lucas would go to the blessing, and I would go home. It was also 4th of July weekend, so we would be watching fireworks alone. It was worth it to support our families.

The drive to Salt Lake was good, we left an hour after Jason called and asked us to come. We stayed the night in Salt Lake at Jason and MaShays apartment and early in the morning we got up and drove to Colorado. It is so good to spend more time with my brothers and their wives. I love my family. I missed Lucas already, and knew a weekend apart would be tough.

Got to Colorado and hugged the heck out of my Mom and Dad. I went on a walk with Mom and talked to her about things. Cancer is something that is so daunting. Its never what you expect to happen to you or your loved ones. Send a prayer our way.

Sarahs boyfriend, Nathan, was in town so it was nice to spend some time with him and get to know him a little. I approve of him. He is really funny, and understands Sarah. Plus Sarah really likes him, thats right, Sarah. My sister. Amazing. We watched fireworks and the highlights were. 1-watching fireworks. It never gets old. 2-being surrounded with my family, wathing how my Dad cares for my Mom. 3-Hanging out with my cousin Aaron and his wife Kathy (they are expecting a baby- SO JEALOUS) and 4- My cousin meghan threw an entire box of NERDS at my face getting half the box in my mouth. Delicious and hilarious.



I shared Sarahs room with her, and went to bed before her that night. When she went to bed finally I was really out of it. Then there was crazy rain that woke me up and I noticed her next to me. I thought she was a Japanese boy. I held my phone up to her face and then pressed myself against the wall. What is a Japanese boy doing in Sarahs bed?! AH! I checked again. Nope, its just Sarah. And I went back to bed.

In the morning we went to church, and then drove to Salt Lake. Lucas came down with the Flu and was sick all day Sunday. I was sad I wasn't around to take care of him. He was glad I wasn't around to see it or catch it. We got to Utah and I ran inside and hugged Lucas. I missed him. He's so great.

So Lucas and I drove home to Rexburg and got home at 1 am on Monday. Got up and got back to normal life. Yesterday after work we went and played disc golf. It was SO FUN. I creamed Lucas and felt pretty good about that. But its only because he let me use the good frisbee, and he used the ones that are hard to throw. It was really fun, Lucas and I are going to go get me some girl clubs so he can teach me to really golf I'm excited.

Also. I am so baby/puppy hungry its crazy. If only things were free. ah well.

Who owns these clothes?

My closet and I are having one of those out-of-sync days that Jim and Pam talk about on "The Office". This morning I grabbed what is usually a stylish shirt, and also what normally works out to be cute jeans, and put them on. Without much more thought I started getting ready for the day and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Who owns these clothes? Must not be me, the shirt wont sit straight on me, and its not due to slouching or eating the cookies I made in spite of the promise I made myself last week to stop making cookies. I have not put on weight, or changed anything. But this shirt does not fit me. These jeans, though this is the first day I'm wearing them, look as though this is day three, and maybe on day two i ran through the sprinklers fully clothed.

I went back to the closet and looked through again, realizing that nothing that I own would fit me today. I woke up swollen I think. I looked at a few more shirts, and went back to the T-Shirt and jeans I had on before, deciding that I would just go to the laundromat today and use "Oh, it's laundry day" as the excuse for my appearance.

So i'm sitting here enjoying the aftertaste of the no-bake cookie I just ate, and wondering why I dont get along with my clothes today. If Lucas came in, I would probably be embarrassed. I feel like I resemble a yard sale, or a clearance mannequin. Like for some reason parts of my appearance today were all taken from random out-dated sections of a house, and put outside in the grass on chocolate milk stained blanket, and for some reason I jumped at the opportunity to purchase this mismatched outfit. I would try again, but I'm affraid of what another attempt might result in. Perhaps I will let my fight with my wardrobe today persuade my friends and family to secretly film me for weeks, and call up What Not to Wear, let them be the therapists my clothes and I need to resolve this conflict.

car accident and moving in photos

The van rolled once, that roof that crushed in was close to my head but didn't hit it, and the mess is what our organized packing job looked like post-accident.










Moving in!!!!

pictures as promised! wedding and honeymoon

for some reason its cutting some of the pictures in half. I'm trying to fix it. haha sorry if you got cut off, its nothing personal!






I'll get more wedding photos later...I still haven't seen the ones from our AWESOME photographer, Jessie! When I see them, you'll see them!


Here are some Shark Week photos.


beach!



huge tree!



the day we left... :(