the bright spots to a rough week

it's been a rough week so i've tried to focus on the bright spots, the tender mercies that helped me make it through the days:

bike ride to macey's for an ice cream cone to find we'd forgotten a bike lock.  good thing we live in the 'safest city in america'. . .

my nephew rocking my niece in her car seat. both having way too much fun. i love little boy giggles.

the biggest loaf of soft white bread from a friend who knew i needed it. nothing like healing a heart with a load of simple carbs.

i'm a mess at funerals and my grandpa's was no exception but what a legacy he left to remember him by. this photo of my grandparents makes me smile.

one day a year i get to be an suu fan among my town of usu die hards. and i wear the shirt proud. (it says sout hern utah all on different levels since you can't read it). such awesome girls i get to hang with. 



a waffle series: pumpkin chocolate chip

i am so ready for fall. ready for the weather to be cooler, the leaves to change, scarves and boots and layers, and warm yummy comfort food. so now if the 90 degree weather would stop that'd be great.

pumpkin chocolate chip cookie with a cream cheese frosting

grandpa a

one of the classiest men i know passed away today.  grandpa ackerman was 85 years old and ready to join his sweethearts and daughter after a long full life. 

i'll always remember him for his giant mugs of dr. pepper, beautiful paintings, sense of humor, clocks set minutes apart so you'd hear them all chime, singing little tunes about people's names, especially my little sister's: katie, big long hugs that lifted you off the floor, telling us to 'drive honest' meaning 92 mph, bottles of tums that we'd eat like candy, driving crazy down the street in his little black truck, gorgeous landscaped yards, and his sweater vests.

he sure will be missed. love you grandpa. have fun with grandma again.

kayaking, yep kayaking

twin falls, nyc, where next. all my friends are growing up and leaving me. and i just can't make the move. yet.

the weekend before the 24th i went and visited candace in twin falls when she called so excited: let's go kayaking up the snake river to the falls! 

at that point i wondered how well she really knew me. or if she'd ever met me. so not my thing but her excitement won me over and it was a blast. who knew that little gem was in the middle of nowhere idaho?

here's a little collage of pictures she put together for me:



my fav holiday

the 24th of july. known only to utahn's and latter-day saints. full of small town parades and carnivals and bbq's. my kind of holiday.

ever since i can remember the parade has gone down the street in front of my parents' house so the entire extended family congregates at 8 a.m. for breakfast, the parade at 10 a.m., carnival activities at noon, and a bbq at 3 p.m. it may or may not turn into a 12 hour affair. that's a lot of findlay family time. 

we missed a lot of family this year but had a fun time with those who made it:



didn't get pictures of our fish pond, popcorn stand, or game of human battleship. or my poor niece when she got caught in the middle of a water fight with us and one of the floats in the parade. found her drenched and crying on the blanket when things calmed down. whoops.

favorite memory from last year: the m&m game got a little intense and my cousin connor sat back hard in his chair and kept going back falling and hitting the table with the 5 gallon jug of homemade cream soda and knocking it over. everyone jumped more concerned about saving the soda leaving connor to get up on his own saying, 'don't worry about me'. maybe you had to be there.

a waffle series: salted caramel

maybe it's a girl thing or maybe it's my addiction to salt (if i could eat popcorn for every meal i would) but salted caramel is so yummy. a little unexpected flavor but i think unexpected is the trend right now.

chocolate cookie with a subtle caramel frosting drizzled with caramel and topped with sea salt.

26 and such a good day

i struggled turning 25 and worried i would be the same with 26 but had such a good day i hardly thought about how old i was turning.

with trina and mason in town we did a birthday dinner with dutch oven pizza, s'mores, and lemon custad aggie ice cream and just spent the evening chilling in the back yard at my parents. the night was perfect.

this picture represents julie and mason so well, one not interested, the other eating.

and what more can you ask for on your birthday than a few surprises from someone far away:



i have a feeling it's going to be a good year.