Pittsburgh

Before I jump on into the good stuff, I need to explain the last post. My sister thought it would be funny to post that poem about how much I love my sister. I do love my sisters, but would NEVER post a picture or poem like that up to express my love for any one of my sisters. The poem would be much cheesier and the picture would be a little bit more attractive.... thanks Meg!

This last week was a busy one! My parents moved Emily down to BYU. It was fun to see her get settled into the dorm life. Not much time had passed and Emily's number had been given out to several guys... this should be fun! Sean came on Thursday to drive back with me to Pittsburgh, and we had dinner with both of our families the night before we took off. Thanks mom and dad for bringing all that crab and sturgeon.

We left Salt Lake City at around 4:30 am. The drive wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. That doesn't mean that I would be happy to go retrace my steps in Wyoming or Nebraska. The first night we stopped and stayed with some mutual friends (Rhett was Sean's college roommate, and I grew up with his family), who are in medical school, in Des Moines, IA. It was fun to catch up with the Andelins! Rhett and his wife, Crystal, have three adorable little girls- yep, Rhett is a ladies man!



We stopped in Carthage and Nauvoo, Ill. Both were beautiful places, but I am still a bigger fan of the Sacred Grove. We crossed both the Missouri and Mississippi rivers- the Mississippi looks like chocolate milk, so murky. It was fun to go through and do a session in the Nauvoo temple.


The original door that held the four men, with the original bullet holes.


Just a bit blurry- the window Joseph fell through to the ground.


Below the window Joseph fell through




Beautiful Carthage




Gorgeous Nauvoo temple over looking the Mississippi River (which looks like chocolate milk)


Where Joseph, and some of the other Smiths, are buried (to the left- Hyrum, to the right- Emma)

We cruised from Nauvoo to Pittsburgh in about 14 hours or so. It was rough to drive through the night, but worth it to get the trip done with! Start to finish, the trip lasted from Friday at 4:30 am- Sunday at 11 am.

Even though I am far from my family and close friends, it feels like home here. I know this is where I need to be right now, and love that I get to spend solid amounts of time with Sean- without being tied to the phone. I am grateful for the wonderful roommate I have, Kerri, and her amazing hospitality. I am also grateful that the ward, and Sean's dental friends have welcomed me with open arms. I am excited to see what the next year has in store! I will post pictures of my place soon, but here are the ones from the trip!

My favorite person in the whole wide world...

You are my guiding star
You are my shining light
You are my everything
what helps me through the night.
You are my heart
You are my soul
You are my savior
what makes me feel whole.
You are more than my sister
You are my best friend
You are the one that will be there
when my heart needs to mend.
I love you sister
more than you will ever know
You are my other half
with you i am whole

Disclaimer

Just a little one about the post below. Yesterday I tried on all of my shoes and decided to get rid of 10 pairs (so that I don't have to cart them off to Pittsburgh with me). I thought it would be fun to post about one of my favorite secrets. I forgot to say that I am not a die-hard shopper, especially under the economic circumstances we are in. I just thought it was practical to buy the same shoe, knowing that I would be wearing them completely out. I bought each on sale and didn't pay more than $18 per pair.

Just thought this might clear up the feelings I am having about being materialistic. Not quite sure if it worked. Oh well.

Issues

Some people might say I have them, especially when looking at these pictures.




Let me tell you what is right about these pictures.

Heels
*tall enough to give me confidence
*short enough to keep my ego from expanding
*pants don't drag
*pants don't look like they are expecting a flood
*the heel is thick enough that I don't wobble
*the heel isn't too thick, making me feel like I am walking on a brick


Straps
*the main reason I am in love
*they keep my foot in place
*there is no dragging of the shoes
*very helpful since my right foot is a half size larger than my left and I am forced to buy a size larger to compensate-- again, both feet stay comfortably in place.
*the strap doesn't have a buckle, it has a button that is user-friendly

Toe
*it isn't pointy (like a witch shoe), just nice and round
*Sean can't call them witch shoes
*Sean can't hum the wicked witch song to me when I am wearing them

Versatile
*i can wear them with pants
*i can wear them with capris
*i can wear them with shorts
*i can wear them with skirts
*i can wear them with dresses

These reasons are why I have them in four colors: Chocolate, Red, Black, and Tan. It all started with the tan pair. I realized I was finding reasons to wear them constantly. I loved how I could wear them all day and not have throbbing feet, at work. They will work in the winter and the summer.

For these reasons I am in love and have no issues. Well, maybe a couple.

Yellowstone

I went to Yellowstone with some of Sean's family. We canoed/kayaked 24 miles round-trip with all of our camping gear. We (Bruce, Jason, Rachel, Phillip, Brittany, Sean and myself) paddled across Lewis Lake up a river, against the current, and across Lake Shoshone to get to our camping site. We stayed for three nights and had a wonderful time.

My favorite part of the trip had to be when Brittany, Rachel, and I took the canoe out on the lake to fish. Even though each of us had been fishing before, we couldn't help shrieking each time we were reeling a fish in. I'm pretty sure we didn't only entertain ourselves. Once we got the fish in the boat Brittany took the paddle to the poor fish. She had to whack them each about three times. I have a week tummy and had to close my eyes and ears each time.

We also got to explore Geyser Basin. We may or may not have wandered off the trail... The geyser pools contained water that was around 300 degrees. One of the pools was large and a curious bison had walked into the warm water. It's bones have been there in that geyser since the Quigley boys were there 13 years ago.

On the way home we stopped at Old Faithful. On the way home we also counted our bug bites. I think Rachel was the winner with 40 or so just on her legs! If ever camping on Lake Shoshone, bring tons of bug repellent.

Thanks to all those that planned, it was a fun trip!


LOVELY


Phillip and Brittany on our way to Geyser Basin


Brittany and me


Sean and Phillip


Rachel, Brittany and me in front of Minute man (geyser that goes off every minute)


One of the hundreds of geyser pools we weren't supposed to be near...


Jason's hand next to a large wolf print at Geyser Basin


Aww Dad, look what you taught me!


Sean is convinced that if you speak to them in espanish they come into the boat without a fight


Rachel, Me, Sean, Phillip and Brittany


Paddling across Lake Shoshone

"Please tell me you are going to erase that"

As I was going through pictures on my computer, I was surprised at how many bad shots I had saved. These are some of my favorite terrible pictures!

There goes my backup!

Me: "Hey Dan, when I am 30 and single and you are 30 and single, I think we should get married."

Dan: "I think that would be a good idea. Maybe by that time I will know what I want to do with my life."

That was our conversation 2 years ago.... Backup plan it is. Nope, it isn't. Dan met a wonderful match for him and decided to take the plunge July 18th. It was so fun to be able to reunite with friends that I haven't seen in far too long! Thanks to Matt and Rachel Nichols, we had a house rented out to our large group of friends for the weekend. Rachel, Matt and I drove from Salt Lake up to Idaho Falls (we thought that was the temple they would be sealed in--turns out D.B. didn't know what he was talking about--they were sealed in the Rexburg temple). The first night Matt, Jennifer and Jason Neal, Mark, Juanita, Eve and Esther Denninghoff, Woods Woolwine, Matt and Rachel Nichols, and I stayed up telling funny stories about Dan. After the busy day of wedding bliss Todd, Carly and Zachary Hamilton joined us in the mad house for games and catching up. Even though I was never able to secure my rank as President in the game of Scum, it was a fun night that led to laughter, tears, and later the stomach flu.

I love reuniting with friends, especially when you can just pick up right where you left off! Thanks to all of you who made the trip, it was tons of fun!


Brody, the Neals, Dan, the Nichols and I at Dan and Ani's BBQ


Backup plan aborted


Daniel and Ani Brown


Don't get to see these girls often enough! Rachel-Me-Carly