Anne of Green Gables

Josh and I love to go to the theater. Fortunately, Boise Little Theater is an active organization! Over the summer, BLT runs a youth theater program, and this year their play was Anne of Green Gables. Josh and I went Saturday night, and it was incredible! The talent was amazing, but more than that, it reminded me of one of my favorite series... as I reflected on why it was one of my favorite book series, I realized that Anne's innocence, her infatuation with the world and all of its beauty, and her ability to see everything as it could be (otherwise known as over-dramatization) is captivating.

There are times when I would like to be that innocent... to view the world like I've never seen it before, to be so enamored with every experience that I have, every opportunity that is afforded me... to not be so caught up in the race that I forget to enjoy the scenery.

Life doesn't have to be about where I'm headed as much as it can be about how I get there. The destination may be important, but the journey should not be missed.

Vacation Week in Alaska

I had a wonderful week in Alaska. These are some of my favorite pictures of my cute nieces and nephews!

At Chena Lakes:

Carter, being an ostrich. Hard to say why this was his favorite pose, but we caught him with his head in the sand at least half-a-dozen times!

Playing ball in the yard - Jacob is quite the little athlete!

Trying to catch a photo of the kiddos - obviously they were not all happy with the idea.

I made cookies one morning - Chase got to help!

Bowling with the Hirt family - the boys had to make sure they had a perfect view.

Carter, enjoying a cupcake. I love that he put the entire top in his mouth!

Jacob, being a wonderful big brother and trying to help give Beckham his pacifier.

Chase at the airport in Seattle - we had breakfast, and then let him play until it was time for me to catch my flight. :) He's such a happy little guy!

I had a wonderful week... but was so glad to come home!

Plates of Cookies

I baked this weekend. 10 dozen sugar cookies, 12 dozen peanut butter cookies, 14 dozen oatmeal raisin cookies, and 16 dozen chocolate chip cookies.

Some of the plates, prepped and ready for delivery! We're hosting a Hero Appreciation Day at work, and the plates of cookies are part of the invitation.

I'm exhausted!

Yard Art and Dessert

Josh and I went to the Saturday Market over the weekend, and saw this gorgeous piece:

I had to have it. :) The gentleman who created it lives about an hour away, and makes his living from his welded and sculpted metal pieces.

I love the way the light plays off of it!

The kids got to choose where we went for dessert last night, and they chose The Cheesecake Factory. It was a gorgeous night, so we sat on their patio and enjoyed the evening.

Side note - Donovan finished all but 3 bites of his dessert! The rest of us couldn't do it, and brought half (or more) of our portions home. Teenage boy appetites never cease to amaze me!

Commencement, and the Celebration Week

This was an amazing week. Mom, Dad, and Grandma were in town to celebrate commencement with me. We were able to have a family lunch, where I opened my graduation gift:

An iPad! I'm so excited to learn how to use it!

Grandma wanted to eat at Joe's Crab Shack... dad said he felt like a toddler again as he was being "bibbed" in preparation for his meal.

Then on to Commencement! There were 200+ graduates who participated, so it took a while for them to get to the Master's candidates and call my name.

Waiting in the wings

Preparing to be "hooded" with my Master's hood.

And of course, family pictures once commencement had concluded.

Saturday morning we had "girls time"... Gram, mom, Audri and I went to the Capital City Market and meandered through the vendors for a couple of hours, followed by lunch on a second-story terrace of a local pub and grill.

It was a gorgeous day... a wonderful week... and a blessing to feel so loved by everyone who was able to come, call, or send well wishes. Thank you for all the love and support!

Reno, and my new hat

We spent the weekend in Reno. It's a 7-hour drive, which isn't that bad, but we'd never made the trip. We were able to see Lisa, Jeff, and Richard; attend a wedding reception; and win $44 off of our $9 when we played the slots. :)

Lisa and Richard, watching the boards to see if Lisa's name was called as the winner of a new car! It wasn't (unfortunately) but we had a great time at the Peppermill anyway.

We found this hat at a world emporium; it was an eclectic store, and we had so much fun walking through and seeing the randomness. I don't usually wear hats, but this one seemed to be made for me!

I wore it to the reception (it was a casual reception) and felt like a star! :)

It was a whirlwind weekend, but we had fun. We were certainly glad to be home, and sleep in our own beds last night, though!

Saturday Morning = Farmer's Market

We have a new hobby for Saturday mornings. This morning we went to the Boise Farmer's Market, which is 8-10 blocks of vendors on both sides of the street. There was a pretty good mix of food (and they all had samples!), beverages (from lemonade to wine), plants, wood-working goods, glass goods, and all other kinds of fun goodies. We bought a few things:

Pepper-cured turkey-jerky, salsa-verde, almond-toffee, and a fresh mini-baguette. All locally made, and DELICIOUS!

I had a coupon for running shoes at a store downtown, so after we wandered through the market, we went into the shoe store to see if I could use the coupon. Keep in mind that I do not run... not even a little bit, but I did want a good pair of tennis shoes for our walks around the pond. So - my new stability shoes with cushion and support; apparently I walk on the insides of my feet, so I needed stability shoes to help with my balance.

I bribed the boys to take a walk so I could try out my new shoes... it's a bit chilly and windy today (notice how cold Taylor looks!), but we had a nice walk.

And, in case you're wondering, my new shoes are amazingly comfortable! :)