8 Second Ride

I love all things country. The music, the clothes, the accents, the atmosphere. More than once i've found myself daydreaming about a life out in the country. Out in the beautiful wide open spaces without all the hustle and bustle of a city. Of course, i've never been there and i'm sure my views are skewed by the movies and music that make it seem like absolute heaven; but still sometimes I get caught up in thinking i'd like to give it a try someday.

So of course, when the opportunity to spend my saturday evening at the rodeo presented itself, I didn't even hesitate to throw on my hat, some boots, and pretend i'm a country girl for one evening. Christie, Hayley and I drove out to Eagle Mountain, bought ourselves some BBQ grub, and seated our tushies on the bleachers to watch the fun. Bareback horse riding, bull riding, barrel races, other stuff I don't know the name of that involved throwing yourself off a horse onto the ground to tackle a calf and tie its feet together in as little time as possible, and of course my new absolute favorite: mutton' bustin'. Have you ever seen a little tiny child (3-5 years old) plopped on the back of a bucking sheep that is let out of the gate to run wild? It may sound like child abuse, but I seriously laughed so hard I cried. Those brave little kiddies are gonna grow up to be crazy intense cowboys bred for adventure. That or they'll be scarred for life (with possible brain damage)... but hopefully the brave cowboy route works out for the best. It was all so great, but i'll admit that I was ill prepared for the wind. It was cold and harsh and relentless. I couldn't even keep my cute little hat on without it blowing off my head ever other minute :( But we stuck it out, cozied together, drank some cheap hot cocoa, and cheered them cowboys on to survive their wild 8 second ride!

{very windy}

{he's a rodeo clown, get it? :)}

{threatening clouds that thankfully never came our way}

{gorgeous night for a rodeo!}

{love the feel}

{see? i've even got the big country hair goin' on here}

{sorry its sideways...}

Teeth Thief

I was playing N64 Mario Party in my basement after a sleepover when I lost my first tooth. It was the bottom front one on the left. I was so excited for my first visit from the tooth fairy. That tiny little tooth was tucked safely under my pillow that night and I woke up to find 4 precious quarters in its place the next morning. Beyond that, I don't remember much about losing my baby teeth, except that losing 2 molars in the same day, when you're eating oreos, all while painting your house, is SO not the clean way to do it. I actually missed out on a lot of teeth-losing opportunities because I had so many of my teeth pulled at the dentist's office. In fact, 13 in all. 9 of them were baby teeth, and 4 of them were permanent molars that were removed to make room for all those other giant chompers that were looking for a space to come in. When I was 7 or 8 I had 5 teeth all removed at once, and they were allll on the top, front and center. I looked ridiculous. At least it gave me plenty of excuses to eat nothing but noodles and ice cream for a little while, and the tooth fairy had quite the responsibility for those 5 teeth all at once! And then of course last Thanksgiving I had my wisdom teeth removed, hopefully putting a final end to my history of oral surgery. Let me tell you though, those things probably could have earned me ten dollar bills from the tooth fairy.

{One of my more toothless days}

                                             My sweet little niece Rachel lost her first tooth last week.

Unfortunately, its already evident that that girl is going to be needing some serious metal works in her mouth someday (you can't tell much from this picture, but there's a grown up tooth already replacing the one she lost... its just wayyyy back there). But she's still cute as a button and was so excited about this rite of passage in her life. Acting as the tooth fairy for Rae for the first time, my sister (oops, sorry guys, spoiler alert!) found this adorable note accompanying her tooth under the pillow. I just love her so much. You'd think she thought Santa Claus was coming 7 months early. Her kind request for batteries for her new "spinning toothbrush" or a new hello kitty toothbrush instead of money just melted my heart :)

Gretchen's Debut

Alrighty Gretchen, here ya go!

My new roomie and I discussed the other day that its long overdue that her incredible existence in my life be mentioned on this here little blog of mine. Certainly thats the truth. She and I have struck up quite the friendship in the last couple of weeks, and we've already had some pretty good times that have included early morning rides to work, tidying up the kitchen, beltin' out Bieber's Boyfriend, peeling the loose skin off each other's painful sun scorched backs (gross, sick, and twisted, we know), battling the horrendous smells that seem to endlessly overtake our kitchen, and talking a whole heck of a lot.

And now, i'm convinced of something. This chica is trying to make me really, really fat. This has been evidenced through the endless goodies that she supplies. They're everywhere, all the time! The bottomless jar of candy that sits by the front door, the chocolate chip cookies in the oven, the cookie dough in the fridge, the irresistible homemade oreos (shown below), the muffins, I swear it never ends! You're great Gret, but quit trying to make me the next contestant on the BIggest Loser, will ya?! ;-)

Honestly though, i'm thankful for this girl. I'll admit I was a little nervous when three new girls (shout outs to Kenzie and Alexis too!) who already knew each other moved in with me, but its turned out to be pretty great. Of the 4 of us, she and I have found ourselves with plenty of one on one time just lounging around the apartment and its been nice to just chat and get to know each other. I've quickly learned that there's no need to by shy or hesitant with Gretchen. She is always excited to see me. She tells me she missed me when we've been apart for less than an hour. She eagerly and sincerely asks questions about me and the happenings of my life. And every time I walk out the front door she calls out, "love you!" which always causes me to leave the apartment with a smile on my face. While we're only roomies until fall, i'm thankful to have such a friendly, warm, and loving girl to live with. 

Love ya Gret! 

{And seriously, lets hurry on up and get some real pictures together so I don't just have to resort to evidencing your existence through a mouth watering dessert}

My City's Filthy

{see the t-shirts?}

I do the wave. I eat licorice and peanuts. I scream and jump up and down when Felix gets yet another K. I pick favorites. I sing Take Me Out To The Ball Game during the 7th inning stretch, and immediately following I dance to Louie Louie, as is tradition. I grew up waving a rally rag. I love Ken Griffey and Randy Johnson. I hate Alex Rodriguez. I've almost been hit by foul balls. I remember they day the Kingdome came down. Safeco Field is on my list of my top 10 favorite places on the planet. I turn my hat inside out during the 9th inning. I love it when the batter charges the mound. I loved watching Lou Pinella pick up the base and throw it in anger. I eat chocolate when we need good luck. There've been a couple of times that i've been spoiled with really good seats. I keep track of balls, strikes, and outs. I remember when my dad held my hand during the 1st pitch in Safeco Field just so we could always say that we did that. Hearing Dave Niehaus' booming "MYYY OHHH MYYY" makes me emotional.

I love baseball. The Mariner's may not be the best team in baseball. Heck, they might be the worst team in baseball (not according to our standings at the moment!). But I love those boys. I've been bred a die hard M's fan, and i'm telling you right now that'll never change. Love for the Mariners runs in my blood. Very few things make me happier than a beautiful evening listening to, watching, or being at a ball game. Now that the season is fully underway, it kills me not to be back in Seattle going to games where I can hear the train, smell the garlic fries, watch the boat races, and keep an eye on my precious Franklin Gutierrez. I hate not being able to turn on Komo 1000 to listen to the game while I drive home from work and walk in the door to hear its already playing in the kitchen while my mom makes dinner. You can be sure my ten days at home at the end of July/beginning of August will be full of some baseball lovin'. Until then, i'll just have to settle with sharing a few of the reasons I love them so much.

Just a few of the many great M's commercials.

This video is from last night's game. I just love these guys.

Macklemore agrees. They're the best. I really truly start to tear up when I watch that game video and hear Dave's exclamations.

Gorgeous summer night out on the field.

I've been to more games than I can count with my dad.

MmmmMM!! Love me some Guti Booty :)

Check that hat haha.

Love.

T.W.

That's right. Blog post take two for today. Because today's there's a birthday!

Ty has been a part of our family for pretty much as long as I can remember. He is a wonderful husband, father, brother, son, uncle, soccer coach, friend, and teacher. As is Kenealey tradition, he's gotten plenty of teasing in on my over the years, along with sneaking plenty of hot sauce into my food and switching out my water for apple cider vinegar (*shudder*). Over the course of the last 8 years he has opened his home to me countless times and let me practically steal away Kirstin for a few weeks each summer. Plus we are SO proud and excited about his recently victory in the weight loss competition his school district was holding. I'm grateful for the husband he is to my sister and for the great daddio he is to 4 of the most important kids to me in the entire world. Happy birthday Ty! Love ya!

Tri Tri Again?

Hello and happy monday to all! Lets do a little weekend update, shall we?

Bright and early on Saturday morning I had the opportunity to participate in the Women of Steel triathlon in American Fork with a few friends from my ward. As a racer? No. {But did I have ya going for at least a moment there? :)} We dawned bright yellow t-shirts along with the latest fashion of neon orange vests and were part of the volunteer force for the day. Essentially we were the cheerleaders who tried to keep the women motivated and on the right course as they pushed their bodies through the challenges of swimming, biking, and running.

Usually being in a competitive atmosphere like this makes me want to make the change from the sideline cheerleader to the participant who is being cheered for. But a triathlon? Mmm, I just don't know about that one. I can run, but I have next to no experience with either swimming or biking. It'd take a whole lot of training and acquiring two completely new skill sets. Could I do it? I think I could probably manage a sprint tri if I really wanted to and really put the time into it. But the real question is do I want to? I don't know... do I "Tri"?

This woman was standing on the sidelines near where I was stationed and she was cheering for her friends and holding this sign. I think she received a whooole lot more encouragement from the racers than they received from her! Time after time they would run by and say, "It IS easy!" "You can do it" "Next year!" Super funny to watch. I wonder if they inspired her enough to be a participant next year!

Meanwhile, mom and dad were in SoCal this weekend. At one of my favorite places in the world.

Without me.

When I was a sophomore in high school, we used spring break to take a family trip (and Brenna came too!) to California to visit grandma and grandpa, go to disneyland, lay on the beach, and have some serious fun. As we were enjoying a drive along the coast one day, we stopped to eat lunch at a place called Paradise Cove. Right on the beach, we were led to an outside table where we could put our feet in the sand, see and listen to the ocean, and soak up the sunshine. Lunch was delicious, but thats not what made this place so memorable...

Once we finished our meal, my grandpa requested 2 pieces of their chocolate cake for our dessert. The waiter laughed and said, "You mean one piece right?" Uhh, nooo, there are six of us, we'll just share 2 pieces. Or so we thought. The waiter insisted, "How about I bring you one piece, and if you still want another one after that, i'll bring it to you." We were definitely confused, but sure why not, that was fair enough. And then, the cake came out and we were confused no more. It was HUGE. One slice was the equivalent of an entire cake, a full slice for each of the 6 of us. Well, turns out it was just as delicious as it was gigantic. Hands down best chocolate cake i've ever had. Ever since that day over 4 years ago i've dreamt about that cake. And what did mom and dad do this weekend? They went back to Paradise Cove. They stuck their feet in the sand, watched the ocean waves, and ate the world's most decadent chocolate cake. And despite my begging and pleading, they didn't ship me any via overnight mail. Such disappointment. Oh but behold, they didn't hesitate to torture me by sending a tasteless picture! Remember how its my dream to teleport? Yeah, that'd come in handy right about now.

Saturday night we had a ward activity at our Bishop's beautiful home in Alpine. Has my vote for one of the world's best backyard I think. Swimming pool (with diving board), hot tub, swing set, volleyball, fire pit, BBQ, comfy lounge chairs, and lots of grassy area for game playing. It made for a great saturday evening with lots of fun.

One of my favorite people ever was in town this weekend and graced us with his presence at the ward activity :) Josh is such a fun loving goofball and great to be around and I hate that he moved home to Nevada for spring/summer. This kid saved my life during my run on friday. My body was shutting down on me with still a few miles to go, but he met up with me when I had just 1.4 miles left and helped me push through to the finish! Thanks Josh, love ya buddy!

We had a blast spending the beautiful evening playing volleyball, eating good food, and being together as a ward.

Did you watch the solar eclipse? If not, too bad, you missed out, it was pretty cool! Impossible to take pictures of with my phone... buuuut of course I attempted anyway haha:

Happy monday guys. Hope you are having a great start to a new week!

Spring Has Sprung

Pretty much sums it up:

WHY I'M LOVING SPRING:

I have time to make 2ish hour long runs to Walmart with Lindsey. And then we rediscovered the kid's meal and how pathetic it is these days.

I get to go to some seriously beautiful places.

A saturday night with these girls. Ice cream was involved. Lots of it...

Going to the park. Bouldering, football, and bocce ball in the sunshine.

CAMPFIRES. Definitely one of my favorite parts of spring so far.

I've started hiking the Y once a week. Generally I like to hike, but I suck at it. I get tired wayyy too easily. I know the Y is practically nothing, but i'm starting small and just trying to get some uphill endurance so I can eventually be capable of conquering bigger and better things.

I get to do my homework and studying in the sunshine at the park. Naps tend to be a persistent distraction on these days...

Aaaaand here you see the result of one of those naps. I fell asleep on my stomach in the blazing sunshine, and of course my back was the only thing left unprotected by sunblock. Well apparently I was out cold for longer than I thought... This is a completely real and completely undoctored picture of the line on my back right now.

Ouchie.

Pudding finger paintings at FHE! I gotta say, I think Hunter and I pretty much nailed the essence of a beautiful camping scene in the woods:)

Alright guys, this is the LAST STRAW... no literally, its my last straw!! 
Hahahaha oh boy, sometimes I just crack myself up. Oi. I am definitely my father's daughter.

My nightly snack routine: fruit and spinach smoothie. Rice cakes with peanut butter. Sooooo delectable. I know I know, smoothie looks horrific, but I swear it tastes delicious.

So there are just a few of the reasons i'm loving being here in Provo in the spring.

I'm trying to ignore some of the not so good things... Like the allergies that lead to an endlessly itchy nose, watery eyes, and sneezing; the ever present construction on campus; the pain that occurs when I try to roll over in bed (ahem... see above sunburn); the PS 100 exams every other week; the early mornings; and the occasional hankering I have to be home in Seattle with my friends and family that I miss. Because yeah those things can be a bummer sometimes, but dwelling on them means i'm counting my problems instead of my blessings, and thats just so not a good way to live life. So, i'm enjoying the happy things of spring.

Hope you're loving the beautiful springtime too wherever you may be and whatever you might be doing!