barney google eyes!!!

when my dad was a young teenager, he and his friend, bruce hong, created the barney google eyes. 

flash forward to current day and our family's group chats thanks to the smart phone. the "who wore it best" contest ensued. 

who is the winner??

i love my family.

xoxo

silver falls state park

when i visited oregon in may, sam and clarissa left the kiddos with grandma and we went on an adventure. we saw 8 waterfalls and basically hiked in downpoor the whole time but it was incredible! oregon is beyond gorgeous! i felt like i was in a really wet garden of eden :)

if you ever get the chance, you should hike silver falls state park.

xoxo

ferris wheels!!

while my niece and nephew were here, we got to play at thanksgiving point. we visited the dinosaur museum. and they even mustered enough courage to ride the ferris wheel in scheel's with aunt neisah! (don't worry, there were some almost break downs at the top of the ride, but we survived) they are the cutest little kids ever and i love every second i get to play with them. being an aunt is pretty great.

xoxo

cousin's brunch (aka give aiden attention)

a while back, my mom and rivka were in town so we had a cousin's brunch over at my cousin krisy's super cute apartment. but let's be honest, it was mostly an excuse to play with little baby aiden! he is the cutest little pseudo nephew ever!! and the company wasn't too bad either ;) i seriously love my family. even though our parents have had issues in the past, i am so grateful that us cousins are still good friends. 

family gatherings really need to happen more often. 

xoxo

sometimes this man cracks me up...

and i have no clue where i get my weird sarcastic side from...

love you dad

xoxo

conference weekend

yeah yeah yeah i know this was over a month ago... don't judge. but it was such a good weekend, i couldn't skip it. i got to run away to home in the crazy last month of school and it didn't disappoint. with an adventure to lava hot springs, loads of delicious cooking by mom, a lot of laughs, and inspirational words from our prophets. i sure do love my family. i don't know how i got so lucky to spend eternity with them.

xoxo

happy mother's day

i know everyone says that they have the best mom in the world, but mine really is. and all of my friends will agree. she is an incredible cook (except for the meatloaf. i mean really. i hate anything involving loaf. reference my first post ever on this blog.) she is so self-less and christ-like. also nothing makes me laugh more then when my mom finds something really funny (like knots and toilets) and she turns bright read and looks like she might die of a respiratory attack. 

i love you mom.

and thanks for cleaning up all the poop.

aiden's baby blessing

my cousin krisy had her first baby and he is the most adorable little boy. his baby blessing was this last sunday and it turned into a mini family reunion, which was totally awesome.

we even got a cute cousin picture...

but let's be honest, this is more accurate...

i love my family.

xoxo

the oregon coast

my family spent the holiday at my sister's new house in vancouver, wa. it was an amazing trip and made up for the fact that our egypt trip we were originally suppose to go on fell through... i don't think i can ever get enough of the morning mist and the moss on the trees. probably the most enjoyable morning runs of my life. 

we went shopping in portland, visited the coast, went birdwatching (of course), and saw a sea lion!! whaaaa??  

so good to spend time with the family and i miss that place already. 

xoxo 

#instathanksgiving

here are some instagrams of my holiday all in one place.

this year's thanksgiving was very casual, but exactly what i needed. sheynah and i were the only children that made it to the parents for christmas, which was fun because we got to spend more time with our cousins, the bennetts. my holiday was filled with watching all three extended edition lord of the rings, making a homemade pecan pie, participating in a puzzle race, grain silo singing, and bringing back our cousin tradition of bowling.

it was such a good break! and let me tell ya, coming back to school for another three week stint is gonna be tough!

hoping i can find the motivation of finish it out...

xoxo

a snowy trip

this last weekend i went home to help my dad winterize our family cabin. it was such a fun trip and boy did we get some snow. we spent a little over any hour blowing the pipes out and then explored montana in the snow. 

being home with the parents is the best. i don't often get to be home without all of my siblings and grandkids being home as well. i love when all the family home. but there is something to be said about reconnecting with your parents. 

such a great weekend.

xoxo