Uptown Girls

I was going to put up some pictures of my Christmas decorations, but there's a cute way that I so rely on my husband to do most of the technological things on our computer. I realized today that I have never actually loaded pictures from our camera to our computer! Trust me, I know it's easy and I already tried and succeeded halfway. But then I saw these pictures of these adorable girls who came to visit me last month! How fun this was! I think each of us has put some of these pictures in their blog now. That's what happens when 3 girls are armed with digital cameras on a Saturday afternoon in uptown Butte. I love you Marissa and Heather.

And I will take more pictures soon and get them loaded. I just have to take time to get on the computer when I'm at home!

Birthday Orchids

For my birthday in October, John gave me two beautiful Orchids just like I have always wanted!!! I'm still learning with plants, so I hope these stay healthy for a long time. They're my favorite because of how interesting their shape is. Just look at these...

Oh so pretty!

So Elegant!

So breathtaking! Thank you, John.

It's Me!

Hello! I know I haven't taken time to blog for about a month, but John helped me get a kick start by making this rocking background from scratch! Thank you Honey! Well here's the most recent pictures that were on my camera, so I thought I would share them to get me back in the blogging groove. I'll say something more clever on another day.

There's two of my most favorite people! Hi John. Hi Heather! This weekend was absolutely what I needed. An Amazing time with old friends and new friends, family, and God.

Andy can defy gravity! Isn't it fun when you can play at the park even though you're an adult? I can't remember what we wanted him to accomplish, but this picture looks really cool.

There's that beautiful sister of mine. And Noah is pretty cute too! I really miss being in the same town as you, Christel! I LOVE YOU!

My Oahu Photos

I thought I would put up some of my photos from Oahu. I have a ton a pictures from our vacation, but not very many from Hawaii. I didn't have time to take any pictures because there was so much to see and do. But here are two of the awesome things we did...

This is Haunama Bay. It's an old volcanic crater that is perfect for snorkeling because of the coral that has formed there. We saw tons of amazingly colored fish and sea urchins and A SEA TURTLE!!! He was so cool! He just looked at us and flapped his flippers around! If you ever go to Honolulu go here. It was my first time snorkeling (other than in a swimming pool) and it was WAY more fun than I had expected it to be.

We spent most of our time on Waikiki Beach. And I love to boogie board! We even bought this board so that we can use it next time we visit California. Here I come Zuma Beach!!

Look at me go! Actually the waves were really wimpy here! That's why I'm catching these silly little waves that break right on the beach. If anyone is stopping by the ocean to take a salt water boogie boarding dip, count me in! (You might have to wait half a year, but I'll be there!) This is definitely my favorite thing to do in the ocean!

Bonfire on the Beach!

When we were visiting Dan and Amber in Santa Maria, we stayed with them at Dan's brother Ken's house. It was an absolute blast which may sound crazy since John and I added two to the already large household of about 11. (I stopped trying to keep count after a while.) And they were ALL so sweet! We would have been happy sleeping on couches or floors, so I was amazed that Viv and Daniella gave up their room for us! And it was so good to spend that special sister time with Amber where we just get to be us, together.

One of the amazing things we did was get some firewood, load everyone in vehicles, and make awesome fire at Grover Beach. AT SUNSET!!! We walked in the waves a little, roasted marshmallows, John showed the boys how to catch sandcrabs, and then we filled a whole sand pail with gross little squirmy things! Lee even roasted one in the fire and ate it! (What little meat he could find in it.)



Then we all sat around the fire and sang worship songs while Lee played guitar. It was SO MUCH FUN! I wonder how much sand all 13 of us unknowingly brought back to the house with us?

Sunrise in Waikiki

Hello everyone! I successfully made it back from some awesome family time, an amazing vacation, and an astounding adventure! (Three 'a' adjectives!) Actually, I've been back for almost two weeks but I just haven't had a chance to blog. I have some very fun pictures and experiences that I'm still very excited about, and I'm glad that I have some some great photos for fodder for interesting postings. I will start with something I didn't think I'd ever get the chance to do. John flew me to Hawaii. I wrote that as monotone as I could just to see if any of you would notice.

JOHN FLEW ME TO HAWAII!!!

First, there's the fact that I flew. This was my first time flying! And it was very cool in very many ways! But I will write more about that later. Second, I flew to Hawaii!! Since John is currently working part time for Skywest we get to fly free right now and we decided to take advantage of it and fly down to California to visit John's family and Dan and Amber. Then we took a detour across some of the Pacific Ocean to the island of Oahu where we played on the beaches, got really sun burnt, and celebrated John's birthday for three days.

One small hitch to our Hawaiian excursion happened immediately on our arrival to paradise. John hadn't finished making our hotel arrangements before we got on our flight from LA, and for some reason we figured this wasn't a busy vacation season. So when our flight landed 3 hours LATE in Honolulu, at 12:30 am, we quickly found out that it is always best to book a hotel. To make a long story short, I'll make this list for you:

- Taxi driver tries to rip us off. (He gets pulled over for speeding.)
- We get to the hotel and they have no rooms. The front desk guy calls around and nobody has any rooms unless we want to sell my 2 new purses from Ross to pay for them. (And come up with 250 more dollars.)
- We lug our luggage around the streets of Waikiki.
- We find a youth hostel where the front desk is located in a parking garage. Front desk guy is strange and tells us his rambling thoughts for 10 minutes. John and I walk away confused. Don't want to stay there.
- We lug our luggage around the streets of Waikiki.
- We find a Denny's where we eat and try to waste 1.75 hours. I brush my teeth.
- More lugging.
- We find the beach.

We immediately took off our shoes and started walking in the water, which was warmer than the dry sand beside it! We strolled down the beach and by now the sky had started turning from black to deep blue. John and I could make out lots of big mounds around us in the sand and up on the grass. It turns out that lots of homeless people sleep on the beach!! So John and I laid our stuff down, made our nests, and tried to sleep. That only lasted about thirty minutes before it was so light and we were so excited to look around.

And it was beautiful!

True Wit.

Imagine the receptionist of a very respectable accounting firm exploding with laughter from the front desk and completely piercing the tranquil quiet that had settled on the office.

What made her laugh? You may ask. Just this...

(PLEASE CLICK TO ENLARGE)

I love this little piece of funniness because it makes me laugh on so many different levels. But I'm not going to try to explain the reasons it makes me laugh. I'll just say it's the kind of funny that makes my insides giddy.

Wit:

The keen perception and cleverly apt expression
of those connections between ideas that awaken
amusement and pleasure.
(Dictionary.com)

Ten On Tuesday

1. In 6 days, I get to go to California to visit John's family and my family!! I'm so excited!!!

2. I'm not lonely but I am alone right now. John is down in Salt Lake until Friday for training. It's strange coming home from work and not hearing his "Hello!!" as soon as he hears the door open.

3. October 1st. Three words. Pushing Daisies Premiere.

4. October 1st. Five words. Start of my favorite month.

5. Why am I thinking about October?! Oooh, Hot apple cider.

6. That reminds me. Does anyone else start thinking almost continually about Christmas in the middle of summer? It's true! I started mulling over carols and cards and ornaments the other day at work. John says I'm obsessed, but I promise it's perfectly healthy. I just have a very strong appreciation for that certain holiday.

7. I'm about to put on a peeling face mask. I just love when I can peel it off in one piece.

8. One of my plants bloomed for me! The mini Hoya plant that my mom gave me went crazy with it's cute little white flowers.

9. I'm hungry. Kiwi anyone?

10. I saved the best for last... ... I GET TO FLY TO CALIFORNIA! And I've NEVER flown before! I've heard people say that it's not that spectacular, but I'm excited anyway! I get to join the legions of Americans that traverse across the friendly skies to destinations that I would have normally driven to. But this time I'm Flying!

Don't Forget the KIDDOS!

I thought I would take a moment to mention the special children that have graced us with their presence recently. I was looking through these pictures and thought they were too cute to be missed. I' am lacking a photo of Israel, though. But even still here's your "Awe of the day"...

GREAT FALLS and BUTTE COLLIDE!

This was SO great! We had a bunch of our friends visit us for the 4th of July! Here in Butte! I was so BLESSED that they would come here just to hang out with us. The Cotto Clan and the whole Swanson brood drove the two and a half hours to stuff into our apartment for TWO NIGHTS! We watched some fireworks, observed the parade, had some awesome barbecue, (Thanks all you men) and generally just hung out. And we got to introduce some Butte friends to these Great Falls friends! I was in heaven because it was so refreshing to me to spend such a large chunk of time with everyone of them! I just hope that everyone else thought it was a cool as I did to share your living space with 10 human beings for the weekend. Thank you Nate, Rachel, Isaac, Isabelle, and Israel, AND Josue, Debra, and Eliana, AND Andy.

My First Drive-In!

Have you ever been to a Drive-in Movie Theater? I HAVE NOW!! It's always been my dream to go to a Drive-in, and there's one just a few minutes west of town. It's exactly like what I've always imagined. You pay at the entrance, pull up to a spot, and as the sun goes down and the sky grows dark, you get to watch a movie from the comfort of your own car. And my favorite part is that you tune your radio into the frequency that they broadcast the movie's sound on. (That's so COOL!) We've also added an extra special touch by backing into our spot and opening up the back of our Tahoe. Once the seats are folded down, we have an excellent reclining lounge chair, with room! So does any of this make you want to come to the movies with me? Debra? Marissa?


There's John and Andy during Leather Heads. (It was a little slow.) So far we've watched that and Kung Fu Panda. By the way, I thought Kung Fu Panda was a very fun movie. Funniest line... "I wish my mouth was bigger." Second Funniest line... "Schadoosh." Jack Black did a really good job as the Panda.



This is a Angela and Curtis, and they are really nice. Angela is Andy's sister and Curtis is Angela's boyfriend. They are both going to be Pharmacists when they grow up. For real! They are currently going to school in Missoula to do just that. And I sound kind of like an I-Can-Read book during this part. . . or like Kevin on the Office.

I Just Love Road Trips

Well, I've finally taken a little time to sit at the computer. And since it's been so long I thought I might as well show some old photos. This was John and Andy in Bozeman about a month ago when we had the first break in the winter weather. We went on a hike near there and then went into town and had Johnny Carino's and Cold Stone Creamery! (What a GREAT combination!) It looked like the sky was on fire, so I had the guys stop before getting back in the car. They kept making faces and this is my favorite. It's a pretty funny picture if you look at the different elements.
I JUST LOVE ROAD TRIPS!!! Even if it's only for a day long, like this trip, hopping in the car to go explore somewhere is definitely one of my favorite things. Thanks guys.

I accidentally snapped this photo. I think it's fun.

Six on Sunday

1. I've never done a "Ten on Tuesday," so I thought this would be my first jump into the blogging of random thoughts. I don't know if I'm allowed to make up my own day, though.

2. I wonder when Christel will go into labor. And what will it be???!!! I'm so excited!

3. I'm missing home, so I really hope that she goes into labor soon! Then we'll drive up.

4. I need to cook another meal soon. John's been really nice to me lately because his school has been easier on him than work's been on me. Actually, works not that bad, John's just being really nice and he either puts together something or we go into the kitchen and graze like cattle. But I sort of miss successfully putting together a good meal. There's such a sense of accomplishment when I do that.

5. I'm craving hiking. I really want the weather to get just a little nicer and then we'll just walk off into the mountains. I remember how much fun it was when Dan and Amber took me backpacking into the Bob Marshal, so we need to invest in some nice packs and we can do it too!

6. I wonder if Emily will have to share her birthday with her baby brother or sister? I guess we'll find out soon! HAPPY MOTHER"S DAY!!

My Friend

I know that some of you may have been worried that I fell of the face of the earth, (as far as blogging is concerned) so I thought I'd assure you that, "Yes, I'm still alive!" And I wanted to show you who I've been spending all my time with recently. This handsome man to your right has been hanging out with me a lot. In fact, every evening when I get off of work, we eat together and then hang out for most of the night. Sometimes we do physical things like go on walks or play Frisbee. Other times we watch shows like The Office or find funny videos on the internet. Lately he's even been making me chocolate covered strawberries since Safeway keeps running great deals on that sweet, succulent fruit for 4 lbs for $4.99.

I guess I'll just tell you, I really like this guy and I have it on good authority He likes me too. So I think I'll go spend more time with him.

I Love You John!

(By the way, he's been doing all the dishes for me!)

The GANGS of BUTTE!

It's true. We have encountered a problem with gangs here in Butte. And no one is doing anything about it! Everyone I ask about this acts like it's not a big deal. I've even thought about writing a letter to the editor asking the authorities to get involved and crack down. John and I look out our windows and we're surrounded. When we drive in our car, we fear rolling the windows down! So I decided I would start taking my camera with me everywhere I went to try to catch some of the riff-raff in their horrible antics. Here's what I've documented so far...

...














... We ask that the authorities do something quickly, before the problem escalates!

Now for real, WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?! What is with all these dogs walking around, acting like they own the place? Either Butte's humane society isn't run very well, or they just don't mind dogs running at people's cars without regard for their lives. Or maybe, all the dogs got together with their glocks and brass knuckles and rioted at the pound until the humans ran away in fear.

That's probably what happened.

Laughing Babies!

There are some little things that are pure treasure...

Isabelle leaning her head on my shoulder; Judah touching my face softly with one pointed finger; Isaac's face beaming when he realizes I've stopped to play with him; Eliana staring straight into my eyes and then breaking out into a grin; or Emily exploding into giggles after I've found her hiding place. There's nothing like a baby's laugh to make me feel like I'm on top of the world. When a child genuinely smiles at me, or laughs an uninhibited laugh because they take joy in me... It feels like magic! At that moment, I feel loved. It's one of those amazing ways God reaches down, holds my heart in his hand, and says "Elisha, I truly love you."

This is one of the best laughing babies I've found on the internet! I LOVE IT!! Oh, and ALL of your children are wonderful! (I just needed room for the video.)

DEBRA'S BLOG!

My friend Debra has started to blog! And I am glad that she has. Check out her site on my sidebar and see what an amazing person she is. Say "Hi" to her if you see her in real life. I promise she will be your friend if she already isn't. And so will Eliana.

We took advantage of the mild weather when John and I came to visit a couple of weeks ago, and hopped over to the park by Debra's house. Here is Eliana on the swings for the first time. She loved them! She wouldn't stop kicking her legs! She also liked watching the other kids on the swings and she started trying to talk to them. And don't worry, Debra told me I could blog about her child all I want. (Until I get one of my own.)