Photo of the Week 81

S'more Party

To end the summer right, we thought we needed to throw a little party at our house. What treat do you think of when you think of summer? S'mores right? So we did a S'more themed party and I think it turned out great.

Lot's of people came and had a great time. We had S'more cupcakes, S'more Pizza and lots of different options to make your own S'more's. It was awesome. We also had milk, chocolate milk and strawberry milk.

My friend Rachel made the S'more cupcakes. They were awesome. You can get the recipe from here.

You can also find the recipe for the S'more Pizza here.

Funny Moments

There were many funny moments at Lake Powell. Some of them I still talk about. At church I was sitting next to Vicki, and I drew the first drawing listed. She laughed pretty hard... so I thought it would be fun to remember some of the funny moments (well... that I thought were funny) in stick figure form.

Here we go... (P.S. this probably won't be funny to you unless you were on the trip. Sorry)

*Click on image to make larger*

Lake Powell

My friend and new roommate Rachel, used to be roommates with a girl named Vicki before she moved in with me. When I would hang out at Rachel's apartment... sometimes Vicki would be there. I thought she was a cool girl, but we never really hung out... until later. We went dancing a couple of times together and that was it. The second time that we went dancing, her good friend Mindi came with us. I thought Mindi was pretty awesome the first time I met her. Another time I went to hang out with Rachel at her place, Vicki and Mindi were both there. They were talking about a trip to Lake Powell that they were going to be taking in a month and then Mindi invited me to go with them. Although I didn't know Vicki or Mindi very well, I had never been to Lake Powell before and I thought it would be a fun adventure and a great way to make some new friends. So I said yes, and once I commit to something, there is no turning back for me. :)

Since I didn't end up going to Havasupai, I took a couple days off for this trip. I was going to be at Lake Powell with a bunch of people that I didn't know from Thursday-Monday. I had no idea what to expect. What the people in the group were going to be like. No matter what, I was prepared to have a good time... even if it was just relaxing by myself on the lake. I brought a book and my ipod and was ready to go. As it turns out... I didn't open that book once. Instead I made a lot of awesome friends. Vicki and I left Thursday morning and got on the road. We had a great time chatting and listening to some jams. Vicki also helped me pick out some new sunglasses at the gas station. It was a beautiful drive and it didn't seem that long either (probably because Vicki is great company and she drives fast).

We got there and set up camp. It was HOT there. But cooled down nicely at night. Camp was pretty quiet when we first showed up, but I met the first few people that were there. Lots more were coming. Everyone seemed pretty quite and shy... but I just hung out with Vicki and Mindi and I was just happy to be in a new place and away from work. We had a pretty great set up for our camp. We (Mindi, Vicki & I) had a small tent that we kept all of our stuff in and would change in. DJ brought a big car port that we set up, this gave us our shade, so I was very thankful for this part of our camp. We set tables up under it and that is where we cooked and such. Me, DJ, Vicki & Mindi also had our cots set up under it at night and that is where we slept. We were covered, but still out in the open so I could fall asleep to the beautiful stars. I loved it. I slept next to DJ every night, which was awesome because he doesn't snore. He also is a sweetheart and every morning when I would wake up he would ask me how I slept. When Mindi's sister's Ashley & DeAnna came, they slept on a futon in the back of Ashley's truck (the best set up if you ask me) and DeAnna's boyfriend, Kendall, slept on a cot next to the truck by his dog. Everyone else slept in tents. Our set up was also awesome because we had a volleyball net set up and a blow up water trampoline, 2 boats and a jet ski.

I had brought a few snacks for the trip, but other than that... it was a pretty great set up for me. Mindi had gone shopping for all of the food and made breakfast and dinner's for us. All I had to do was give her money for food in the end. I loved not having to worry about it. Each group took care of their own food. I think our food was the best though.  Just Sayin.

It had not only been a long time since I had been camping, but It had been a long time since I have camped for this long. Even when I have camped for long periods of time, I have always camped somewhere that had a shower. It was an interesting and kind of fun experience to bathe in the lake. I would do it in the morning... so the water woke me up. The water was actually pretty pleasant though... not too cold. Shaving my legs was probably the most difficult to do in the lake. We would usually bathe in at least pairs... if not more people.

By Friday evening, the whole group was there... and that is when the excitement picked up. What a fun group of people. Some of the activities that went on over the weekend were: relaxing and laying out, playing Scum, talking around the campfire, swimming, cliff jumping, volleyball, dance parties on the boat, wake & knee boarding (even though I didn't do this, it was really fun to take pictures of people doing this with my new lens), jet skiing and tubing. As you can see, the days were filled with a lot of awesomeness.

My friends Derek and Curtis happen to be there with their family the same weekend (we found this out before we went thanks to facebook) and so they took their boat over to come find me. We only hung out once for a little bit over the weekend, but it was fun to see some familiar faces and I was glad they took the time to find me and stop by.

I LOVE being out in nature. I never got over sitting by the fire on the sand and seeing all the different colors the lake would turn at different times of day and of course seeing the sunrise and sunset everyday. I think I mentioned how much I loved being there and said how happy I was to be invited at LEAST once a day. I wonder if people got sick of hearing it.

I had a great time doing fun things, but most importantly, I made some awesome new friends. I am glad that I went just for that reason a lone. Although I knew Vicki & Mindi and I considered them my friends, I feel like now they are very close friends that I want to spend a lot more time with. These girls are my Lake Powell BFF's

Along with making new friends, I gained some new nick names. Honestly, I always love it when people give me nick names. Maybe because it makes me feel like we are closer friends. Vicki now calls me Tracy Face. But the nick name that really stuck with everyone was the nickname that Trent gave to me. Z. He started calling me this because when he met me, I was wearing a zebra print sundress. Honestly, I liked the nick name... then people started expanding on it. The whole weekend I was being called Z, Z-Momma & Z- Ho (we won't get into that one). On the last day Trent and TJ gave me the Z sign as I was leaving. I loved it. I have actually been missing being called Z or Z-Momma everyday. Thankfully my Lake Powell buddies still call me that on facebook and in text messages.

Spending 24/7 with a group of 20 people, by the end of the trip you either love them or you hate them. Minus a couple girls on the trip... I really left loving everyone there. After cleaning up camp, we ended up the trip by having breakfast at Denny's and it was hard for me to say goodbye. I honestly miss hanging out with all of these people. Truly. I came home and things seemed a little less exciting and a little bit more lonely. Thankfully Vicki and Mindi are still here for me to hang out with here and there, but I really miss Ashley and DJ. As far as the people I met on the trip, I bonded with them the most and I miss them dearly. We have talked on facebook or by text messages almost daily since the trip. I told DJ that I missed sleeping next to him on our cots. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but I like waking up to having someone next to me to smile at me and say good morning. Maybe I would be more of a morning person if I had this everyday. :)

Here is almost the whole group right before we left Lake Powell. Sandra left early and Jordan's younger brother and older brother (with his wife) stayed at a hotel and would meet us at the lake everyday with their boat (we had two boats because of them) and so they left early and are also not in the picture.  Everyone else is there though... including the dog Zorro.

*From left to right & top to bottom: TJ, Jordan, Trent, Brittany, Matt, Vicki, Mindi, Kendall, Kendall, DeAnna, Ashley, Me, Dallin, Nichole (in pink), JaCee, DJ & Zorro*

I have already been told that I have to come back next year. I can't wait. In fact... I don't think I can wait a year, we may try and get together before that. I miss them all already. 

Parties

Even when I don't have big weekend plans, there is still usually something to do. Why? Because my friends like to throw parties. There is always some kind of party going on in this neighborhood (including my own)... and I love it.

Brittany & Tara's "Just Because" Party

Jessica & Jennica's House Warming Party (awesomeness & glasses required)

Flashback Friday 29

One of my favorite places in Santa Barbara is Lizards Mouth. It has some cool rocks you can hike around on, but the best part is... you get this AMAZING view of Santa Barbara. On a clear day you can see the Channel Islands as well. You kind of feel like you are on top of the world when you are up there. It is also kind of out of the way too, so there are usually not many people up there.

My favorite time to be at Lizards Mouth is at Sunset. It is pretty amazing. So that is usually when I go. These pictures are from summers 2003 & 2004. Summer  03 I went up with McKay, Tom & Crystal. 04 I went up with Margy and a friend of hers. I have taken many friends up there. If you want to go, let me know. I would be happy to take the trip to Santa Barbara and Lizards Mouth. :)

Confessions of a Brunette on the Internet 82

In the last couple of days... people have been telling me that I look tan. It is SO weird for people to say this to me. In fact... I have to check to see if they are talking to me because I NEVER get this comment. Except last year when I got a spray tan. ha ha. But wow... it is weird for me to hear it because I really don't tan. And compared to others... I am still SUPER white.

Today was the last BBQ of the season at the cafe at work. I love BBQ season and I am really sad that summer is already over and the BBQ's are going away. Lauren and I always go to Zumba, we told the guys at the Grill to make sure that they saved us some because we didn't want to miss the last day. They just laughed at us, they couldn't believe we were asking them to save us food. They tease me a lot. In fact... everyone teases me a lot. Why is that?

Remember how I told you that I started playing volleyball with those guys at work? And it felt like I was joining a gang? Well... we noticed this week that when we have passed by them playing on our way to go to the gym they seemed really mad that we were not playing with them. They always make comments to get on the court with them or they gave us the cold shoulder when we choose the gym instead of playing with them. ha ha... it's kind of funny. What did we get ourselves into. It is not like I am never going to play with them again, I just don't want to play with them everyday is all.

Yesterday Institute started back up. It was SUPER crowded... mostly because Sister Dalton was there to speak to us, which was awesome since she is the General Young Women's President. It was a REALLY great class. She is a neat lady and I am really glad that I went. I felt like I had not been to Institute in a long time (about a month) because they took a break and before that I was missing it for Scuba class. Good to be back.

Tuesday night I was back at Applebee's for Karaoke night. I still have not gotten up to sing. I need to. I was finishing editing family pictures for a friend (yes I brought my laptop to Applebee's so I could work on it there) so I can get started going through all 850 Lake Powell pictures. I love taking pictures, but going through them all in the end is kind of a pain. Anyway... even though I have not gotten up to sing YET it is still fun to go and sit and people watch. We had great seats this time too right up front, so I was singing along and dancing. It was good times. My roommate said that this table of cute black guys were checking me out as I danced. They must like my big ghetto booty. At least someone appreciates it.

Right now, I feel like a lizard... because my skin is peeling. Not everywhere... just the places I got really burnt. I am not sure which part is worse, feeling pain from the sunburn or the itching and flaky skin from peeling.... I swear I put on lots of sunblock!

This week I have been feeling very bored and lonely. Probably because at Lake Powell I was so used to being surrounded by a group of fun people 24/7. We all really bonded. I made some great new friends and I miss them a lot. It was hard to leave them and say goodbye. We have all continued our bonding via text and facebook though, which has been nice. Speaking of my new friends from Lake Powell... one night around the camp fire we somehow started talking about Bucket Lists (I'm sure because of me). Anyway, people started telling me that they didn't have a bucket list and I told everyone that they needed to have one. Everyone should. So I told them that they needed to start one that night. One of the girls said one of the first things on her list was to befriend a midget. Her sister said one of the first things on her bucket list was to get ice cream from an ice cream truck. Right away I said that shouldn't be hard and her and her sister said "No, she has been trying for years. As soon as she hears the ice cream truck she books it out the door and she has run after them several times and has never been able to get one". I just laughed. So I said... okay, well... when it happens, make sure you take a picture to document since it has been such a struggle. Anyway... the trip ended and I kind of forgot about that whole conversation. Last night I got a text message from another one of the sister's of a picture of the one sister with an ice cream standing in front of the ice cream truck. I about died laughing. No caption necessary. The other sister sent me a picture of her skipping away from the ice cream truck because she was so happy. It was so funny. Maybe you had to be there, but it totally made my night.

As much as I was happy to come home because I can only take camping for so long and I missed my bed, I really miss falling asleep under the stars. The stars were so bright at Lake Powell. You could see the Milky Way so clearly. To fall asleep to that every night... it was just amazing. People on the trip probably got tired of me saying it. I was very vocal about how much I loved it. I had not camped in so long... it was refreshing. And no tent this time... so really, the last thing I saw every night before I fell asleep were stars. *sigh*