Wave Runner fun at Deer Creek

It was supposed to be real hot yesterday. RJ and I were determined to have one last fun summer weekend. I know Summer isn't quite over yet but it feels like it. Plus I'm going to be gone.

So RJ got a group together to go boating. We all met yesterday morning and everyone shows up except for the guy who was supposed to bring the boat. RJ, being one that makes the best out of every situation, decided we would still all go to the lake and we would just rent a wave runner instead. So we were on our way to the lake. On our way up the canyon the other car of RJ's guy friends bailed and decided not to come. So it was RJ and the ladies.

So we get there... it isn't hot. It's quite cold. That is Utah weather for you. We suck it up and decide we are doing it anyway. We are going to have fun gosh darn it. I went out for the little bit. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE wave runners... I think I would have had more fun if I had a wet suit. The water was pretty cold. I'm still glad we went. All part of the adventure. Everything is fun with RJ no matter what you are doing. We were all cold, but we had fun. Thanks RJ for my last summer adventure.

And of course when we got home... later that afternoon it got hot. Thanks Utah weather. You are a peach.

Desiree's Headshots

My good friend Desiree asked me to take her head shots for something she is auditioning for. So I did that today. She is so beautiful... it was hard to choose which ones were my favorites... but here they are. The last one is my favorite of the shoot.

Flashback Friday 182

Flashing back to May 2006 when my friend Sara and I road tripped out to Arizona to get away and visit my grandparents. We drove through Zion's since I had never been before and drove by part of the Grand Canyon. We had a blast.

Confessions of a Brunette on the Internet 235

This week I am super thankful for my job. It may not be the most exciting job in the world but I am good at it... and it is security. It provides great benefits. It is 5 minutes from where I live. I have great co-workers that have my back and that I get along with well. They buy me food all the time and we go on fun activities. I have a free gym to use at work on my lunch break which has been so great for me. I have this legit beautiful window office... where I have brought pictures and plants in to make it feel more homey for the 8 hours a day 5 days a week that I am there. I have a pretty sweet set up with two monitors so I can have work up on one and watch Netflix and Gchat and all of that good stuff on the other which keeps me very entertained and makes work more enjoyable. Also they give me a lot of paid time off and my department fully supports my love for traveling... in which I am very lucky. Yes... I am VERY thankful for my job. It has been a big blessing in my life for the past 5 years.

I have been so tired this week. Maybe I have been more mentally exhausted from covering everything at work? I don't know. It hasn't been terribly busy except the last couple of days, but I have been able to keep up. Weird just having 3 of us at work... and when I come back there will be two new people in our department. I feel like we have been such a small group for so long. It will be nice to add some more people to the mix.

We went to the outdoor movie at the park again on Monday. Such a great summer activity. I love being outside. Summer nights are the best but they are defiantly coming to an end. It is getting colder and colder at night and IT KEEPS RAINING!! I'm getting tired of it. I still want to dress for summer and then I leave and it starts pouring rain and it's all cold and wet. That is what happened when I had dinner with Nate and Steve on Friday. I'm glad it didn't rain on our outdoor movie. They played Wreck it Ralph. What a cute movie.

I pretty much already wrote about my weekend. Except on Sunday we had some ward and stake changes. They split up my ward and moved 75 people (all very active people) into another ward that was struggling with people being active. So now not only are they in another ward but they are also in another stake. I wouldn't have mind if they would have switched me... but I was literally right outside of the boundary cut off. My friend Ty (Mr. Karaoke) was so sad. He really wanted me to be in his ward. Oh well. Not sad about not meeting on campus again for church AND having to meet at 8:30 in the morning. Yuck! The other hard thing was not only that they took away 75 people from our ward but also didn't give us any new people... so we will see how that goes.

Nobody comes to Pilates anymore... so it is pretty much just me getting a private Pilates lesson from the instructor. I don't mind. More pressure on me... but I have been going to her class long enough that I feel comfortable with that. My only fear is that they are going to cut the class. I don't want that.. not at all. All the people that used to go were either let go and quite. Now it's just me. I hope we can get more people to come. It's such a fun class that I really feel like it makes me stronger. This class we worked out on the new balance disc. The entire hour our work out was on those things. That gets hard have a while. Hard to keep your balance on them. Good work out though.

I finished watching "It's always Sunny in Philadelphia"... well at least what is on Netflix. It was alright. It had it's funny moments for sure. I kind of don't want to get into another show until after I get back from my trip. So I watched the movie "Jobs" which I thought Ashton Kutcher did an awesome job of playing Steve Jobs. I also watched a documentary (such a sucker for those) about a 14 year old European girl who decided she wanted to live her dream of sailing around the world by herself for two years. So crazy right? I always think of my nieces and nephews now to compare ages. It would be like Reanne deciding to leave home and sail around the world for two years in like 3 years. That is NUTS! I can't even imagine. This girl did it though. Came back when she was 16. She seemed to be pretty smart about the whole things and did her homework and knew her boat and was very comfortable on it and all the weather that came in the middle of the ocean. It's crazy. I can't even imagine doing that right now as a 31 year old. I love documentaries because people in this world fascinate me. Either because they are doing something amazing.. or they are so weird I just can't imagine it... I just love learning about other people and what they do.

I'm trying to think of what else happened this week. It was so busy... but not always with exciting stuff. I had a massage which was super great. My back has been a lot less messed up since I switched to a nicer chair at work.. so that is great. I also got my hair done which is always nice and I always love talking with Nicole and I always love what she does with me hair. She makes me look so good. I also went up to Salt Lake to get my lashes filled and to give Ali a massage. My lashes were in great need of being filled. I can't believe I have had eyelash extensions for 3 years now. That is how long it has been since I have worn mascara. So great. I love them. I guess the next thing going around is eyebrow extensions. Ever heard of it? Ali might learn how to do it and try it out on me since I have VERY thin and blonde eyebrows. People don't know that because I color them in... but if I didn't... you wouldn't be able to see my eyebrows. Good thing or bad thing? I'm not sure. Is what it is though. Maybe eyebrow extensions is my answer... maybe that is too weird for me to go there.

Jed and I have been practicing for our musical number we are going to sing on Sunday. We are singing a hymn but the arrangement is by Jed. It is different, but I think it is pretty cool. I hope everyone likes it.

Went to the food truck roundup again tonight with my roommates. I now love Thursday's because of it. I get excited to try new food at new trucks. Is that weird? It is just a fun thing to do. I always run into people I know there every time and now they even have live music. It's becoming quite the event.. and as school starts up again I imagine it only getting busier and bigger.

I guess that is about it for me. A busy week... but nothing too exciting. Next week.... it's going to get a heck of a lot more exciting.

Photo of the Week 233

Utah wild flowers

The Weekend Lamp

I have had this lamp for 18 or 19 years. I remember I got it in Jr. High, but I don't remember which year. Can you think of anything you have had for that long? It's probably few things and certainly not a lava lamp.

I'm not sure what possessed me to keep it around for so long. There were many years that it didn't get used and it sat in my parents garage. Then one of my years out here in Utah I thought about it and decided I wanted it again. Thank goodness my parents didn't get rid of it. So I brought it back to Utah with me. It had it's moments where I thought it was a goner. But I have managed to bring it back to life each time. My dad recently just fixed it again. I have had it this long... can't give up on it now.

It started out as a trendy thing, but it is a Tracy thing. It's the weekend lamp. Every Friday when I get home from work, I turn it on... and it stays on until Sunday night when I go to bed. It literally represents the weekend, and it's weird... I know, but I love it. I hope the lamp lives on for many more years!

anne b designs

My good friend Sarah started making bags a while ago... but lately she decided to make a business out of it and her business is really taking off. You might remember her from the sewing class I took. Well, her bags are so cute. I have been meaning to buy one for a while. This weekend she had her shop up at a block party to sell her cute bags. We decided to go last minute to stop by and support her AND I finally bought one of her bags. You can check out here stuff HERE.

She didn't have the one that I wanted ready right there, so it is being made now. So excited for when I get it. I have been wanting a new purse. This is the one I picked out.

I love Sarah's style. I love her bags, I love the tote bag I made in class... I use it every time I go to the pool and I always get compliments on it. I even love the way she sets up her booth. So simple, but with such style. Sarah is a talented girl. It's inspiring. So glad we made the stop to see her. Always love seeing her and seeing what she comes up with next.

The Boys

I have always said they feel like my home away from home. We don't see each other as much anymore... but we still make an effort to see each other, and when we do... I still feel this way. They are the best. And of course we missed Brad. One of these days.... we will plan a get together where we are all there together, I don't know when or how... but it will happen one day.

Keys On Main - Take 2

Tonight we went to Keys on Main in Salt Lake to see my neighbor Jed play. We didn't have anything to do and I saw him on his way out the door and asked him if he was working tonight. I told him we probably were not going to go because we had already been to Salt Lake today. Since we didn't have anything to do... so we decided to surprise him and go. We had been wanting to go on a weekend anyway. We heard that is when the real party was.  As Allison and I were on our way out, Chris text me just in time for me to invite him along and he joined us.

I had been a couple of times before, but always with a group of friends that went on Wednesday night. Wednesday night is karaoke night. Don't get me wrong, that is fun and all... but not as many people go and it is SUPER fun when they have a packed house. Which they did tonight!

It amazes me how talented the piano players are. Not only do you have to be able to just play any song that is requested and sing, but you also need a great stage presence. To get the crowd going. Jed is so great at that. He is so perfect for this job it is not even funny. He even pulled out and played the harmonica for "Piano Man" (which I requested) and the girl that works there can rap like no other. They are awesome and so fun to watch. I LOVE the piano bar. Another perk about being friends with one of the performers... not having to pay to request songs and free drinks! Jed is the best. He would come hang out with us when he wasn't up playing.

We had a blast and were so glad we took the second trip to Salt Lake instead of staying at home and watching Netflix. I have great friends.... for reals.

Flashback Friday 181

Back when I was a Sr in High school.... I went through a big time Techno phase. Like... that is almost all I listened to, which is really weird to me now. Ha ha... not that I don't like it at all now, but I think I would go nuts if that was all I listened to. Anyway... I was really into it, and I would decorate all of my Techno CD's like this. ha ha.

Yep! I was a little wannabe Raver.

Confessions of a Brunette on the Internet 234

This week I am thankful for the sunshine. After living in a state that has Winter for the past 10 years... I am REALLY thankful for sunshine. I appreciate it more than I ever have before. I look forward to spring and summer so much and I just soak up the sun ever chance I get. Since my room is in the basement (which is cold) and my office is VERY cold (I always have to bring a cardigan or jacket even in the summer) I LOVE going outside in the hot sun. I Love laying out in the sun next to the pool. Having fare skin, that was never my thing... now I love it. I don't even get sun burned the way I used to which is extra bonus. :)

Speaking of, over the weekend I went to the Glenwood pool... yeah, I go there and act like I live there even though I'm like 10 years older than most the people there. Nobody can even tell. I get invited to play volleyball and get offered ice cream and this time Allison and I made friends with a couple of the girls that were tanning there. One of them was from Savanna Georgia. Yeah... anyway. It was great. I only have like a week of summer left in Utah... so I must take advantage of it. I will be going back at least one more time before the end of August.

I don't have a lot of things I can use from my potted garden on my patio... but I have been using my tomatoes and herbs in my salads... and tomatoes don't get better than fresh out of the garden.

I would like to bring up a topic. Social media. How much is too much? The other night I was on my Facebook feed and my old roommate posted pictures of her and her new born baby. Usually those pictures I see of new mothers are sweet and classy. Her pictures were of her breast feeding her baby. Nothing was covered... just boob and baby. I felt uncomfortable. Nobody wants to see that right? Well... everyone was commenting on how beautiful the pictures were. Saying that to be nice? Or do people really feel that way. Just curious. I mean... there has always been too much information shared on Facebook, but I have never experienced pictures that were too much... at least not that I remember.

We had more rain this week. most rain I can ever remember happening during summer. On Tuesday night the rain stopped in time for us to go through with our plans to go to the raspberry patch and pick ourselves a lot of raspberries. We drove down to Payson to do this and were all kinds of excited and when we got there...... we saw the closed sign. :( Bummer!!! Guess I will have to try again next week. I hope.

Monday we went to Rock Canyon park to watch an outdoor movie. I think it is awesome that Provo has free events like this. The rooftop concert... movies in the park... It's awesome! We brought our blankets and we watched Jurassic Park. I hadn't seen that movie in years. It was awesome. It is also fun to just watch movies outside... with a view of the city and there was even a little bit of a lightening storm going on in the distance as well. Great night.

Wednesday night I reunited with my friend Josh who lives in Salt Lake now. He came down with his brother and some friends to do some karaoke. Just like old times. Even Green Suit was there. It was awesome. I just love karaoke. I miss those day of going regularly.

I started watching "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". There are 8 seasons and I am in the middle of the 6th season. Sometimes I think it's funny and other times I find it a little obnoxious. Something that is pretty sweet though is that I found two new monitors (that match) at work that are wide screen and bigger. So now watching Netflix in my office is like watching on a big screen. ha ha. I'm glad I became friends with the tech guy... because I basically just get him to do whatever I need. If he hasn't heard from me in a while he will instant message me and ask me if everything is ok and if there is anything I have for him to fix. Ha ha... Well... now that you mention it. ha ha. It's a sweet set up.

I got a thank you card from my Couch Surfers from Alaska in the mail this week. Isn't that the sweetest? They went above and beyond with their thank you.

This week has been the week where guys from the past have come back. First my good friend Monica's cousin that I met years ago when Monica and I first became friends and then we reconnected over a year ago came over. I hadn't even seen him in a year. We talk now and then. Been talking to the guy I met at the bar a couple of months ago again. Bill came over tonight and we had a long heart to heart about his life. That was completely random, but we had a good chat. Then some guy I thought I knew because I am friends with his brothers (but turns out I don't know him) added me on Facebook and we have been chatting a little bit. It's been nice after feeling lonely for a while. John and I also had a long chat on the phone on Monday night since he is in California now. Always enjoy talking to him a lot.

Tonight I had a little roommie reunion with Meg and Sarah and we went to the Provo's Food Truck Roundup. I love going. I love trying new stuff every time. It was fun to go with both of them who had never been before and of course mostly just to see them and catch up just like old times. I got a pulled pork sandwich and some Italian ice this time. Yum. The food trucks haven't disappointed me yet.  :)

Photo of the Week 232

Was just editing the last of my Peru pictures... trying to clean up all my projects to make way for new ones. :) Just loved Peru so much that I wanted to post another pictures from that trip. This was a Cathedral in Lima.

Demolition Derby

One day my friend Erin came over for a visit and I don't remember how it got brought up, but she asked me if I had ever been to a Demolition Derby. The answer to that was a big fat no. I don't think I could have even told you what happened at a Demolition Derby. I mean I knew it had something to do with cars. Is that sad? Anyway... at that moment Allison and I decided it would be fun to try out once. We heard from people it was pretty fun. Maybe we would make to one next year.

Well, Erin text me last week and asked me if I wanted two tickets to the Derby in Spanish Fork on Saturday. Her sister ended up not being able to go and Erin couldn't go either. So Allison and I took the tickets and we went on Saturday.

I wasn't really sure what to expect. I had never seen so many white trash people in my life. I had as much fun people watching as I did watching the cars. Allison and I had some good laughs at the event taking it all in.

We had fun and enjoyed watching the cars crash and some catching on fire.... I don't know if I would make it a regular thing, but it was fun to experience. The only complaint we had besides the hard benches and many bugs was that it took forever in-between events. I mean... each car had it's own tow truck... it all took a while. By the end you start to get a little impatient and the last two events were definitely the best.

I'm glad we went. We had a good time and I'm always trying to embrace Utah life and I am always wanting to try new things and go to new events in Utah. So much to do here. Especially in the summer. Love it. Thanks Erin for the tickets!

Grant turns 6!

Grant's birthday was on the 12th and my Dad's is on the 13th. So we had a combine party tonight. Not really... it was mostly a party for Grant. I can't believe this little guy is 6! It doesn't seem that long ago that I was taking Reanne and Sierra to the hospital to meet their baby brother.

It was all low key. My dad made Grant's favorite dinner (spaghetti and meatballs) and homemade ice cream. My mom made chocolate lava cake. Reanne and Sierra kept to tradition and decorated a birthday crown and chair and this year they also decorated the golf cart so Grant could have a birthday ride. He loves driving that thing.

Grant is the cutest kid and full of smiles and laughs and he is sure fun to have around. So glad he is part of the family and that I get to see him every week.

Picnic in the Mountains

My Uncle Dale and Aunt Teresa have a tradition they do every summer. They reserve a camp site up in the mountains by Aspen Grove and they have a picnic dinner up there and invite us Mills folks and then whoever wants to camp can camp and everyone else hangs out for a while after dinner and then go home. Usually none of the Mills camp, but this year Kristy and her family camped with them.

We went last night. I love this tradition. I don't think I was there last year, but I have gone every other year they have done it since they started doing it. I love it because I love being up in the mountains during the summer... and I love it because I love my family and extended family. I will take any chance I can get to hang out with my Aunts and Uncles and Cousins... etc...

It was just a few hours, but we all had a great time. Here are some pictures I snapped that evening.

Me with my Uncle Dale

and with my cousin Lauren (we have always been tight)

AND my family that was there.  :)