out back.

Today at work, I went outside in the back of my building without my coat to move my restless legs a little bit. It was chilly, but warmer than I thought it would be. The sun was out, and the sky was speckled with clouds. It was pretty out there.

And just like that, the creative part of my brain saw things that would make for a good picture. So I took out my phone and snapped away.

The little details of this world are beatiful.

...

kitty socks.

We just came home from my work's Christmas party, and it was so much fun! We met up with everyone for dinner at Rodizio Grill, and ate Brazilian food until we were stuffed.

And what better thing to do when you're stuffed than to go bowling in your kitty socks at FatCats? I think I got a total of three, maybe four strikes in a total of four games, when Zac got quite a few more than that. But it was okay, because I requested a few songs (by OK Go, Fulkultur, and the Beach Boys, if you must know), and they played five of them. Five! I couldn't stop the dancing and head bobbing my body was doing. 

And I was this close to winning a candy bar, but didn't. Some other time, I guess. We talked with my co-workers and their spouses, and it was really enjoyable.

Then I came home and wrapped three of Zac's Christmas presents. He's excited. So am I.

...

an office party.

At work, one of our account managers, Levi, is leaving us for a better paying, well-suited job. Today, for his last day of work, my boss, Dan, took him out to lunch. The minute they walked out of the door, we went to work decorating the office's break room, folding and taping Dungeons and Dragons dice (because he's into that kind of thing...), setting out cake and ice cream, and making a candy poster. I felt like I was in the party comitee in my favorite TV show The Office.

An hour passed, and as Dan and Levi walked through the door, we yelled "Surprise!" and Levi dropped his cup! We spent the next half hour eating a Captain America cake and ice cream on Star Wars plates, and talking about all things Levi. It was like a 5-year-old's birthday party. It was cool beans.

Then we went back to work, like nothing ever happened...

Good luck in your new endeavors, Levi!

...

weekdays, according to me.

At 8:00 AM when Zac and I leave for work, we spot our 40-something-year-old, skinny-as-a-rail, almost-looks-like-a-pedophile neighbor who lives across from us take his trash out. Every morning, he looks inside the dumpster as if he's searching for things to take back with him.

At 9:15 AM, I eat a bag of pretzels. I think that's the one snack I will never get sick of.

Throughout the day, I think to myself about how annoying Jordan is, and how, as his supervisor, I have to remind him to actually work instead of browse the internet. I kind of dislike him a lot.

From 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM, the two other people in my department take their lunch, and I get to be by myself (kind of). It's very nice. Annnd, I'm an introvert.

In the afternoon, I watch Ron drink 2 or 3 cans of Coke, and think it's gross.

Between 9:30 AM and 3:00 PM, I listen to my boss say something about how I dress like I live in the 80's, or how many colors I can combine into one outfit, or how bright my yellow pants are, and I secretly love it.

Throughout the day, I ask my boss a bazillion questions, and also tell him to finish his work. According to him, "I'm not your boss. We're a team, like BFF's." So me telling him to finish his work is okay.

On the dot at 3:30PM, I take my lunch break, and my boss thinks I'm weird because it's so late.

Every lunch break, I play Solitaire on my phone. And I think I'm actually getting pretty good!

When everyone is tired of work at around 4:30 PM, my boss sends me funny videos and pictures to pass the time.

At 6:00 PM, my shift ends, and I get in my car to pick Zac up from school, and at around 6:05 PM, I get to see my favorite face in the world after a long day. And then we go shopping for groceries, or go home and sleep or make dinner or play games with each other.

And that, my friends, is the best part of my weekdays.

...

i'm kind of boring.

Today, Zac and I didn't see each other for a whole nine and a half hours. We drove separately today so Zac could stop by BYU on his way home to buy tickets for a dance performance that he's required to go to for one of his classes. We've got the next two Friday date nights set, I'll tell you what.

When I got home from work, Zac had already started on his piles and piles of homework. I sat with him at the kitchen table, and we listened to a narrated play script while drinking peppermint tea together. Since the play is two whole hours long, I got a little bored and went off by myself, and ended up here, writing to you.

It's been hit and miss with writing recently. As of late, it seems like my life is on repeat: get up early in the morning, get ready for the day, go to work for eight hours, come home, hang out with or without Zac while he does homework, make and eat dinner, get ready for bed, go to sleep. I feel like my life is boring, and this needs to change. Wouldn't you say? I want to lead an exciting life, full of small, exciting things, and big things, too. I want to get out of this routine I've set for myself (yet another reason I'm excited to be a mom). I want to get out and do things: take pictures, laugh, be crazy, make memories. I guess, too, that it might help when summer comes out from its hiding place.

Oh, and I want a bike. Real bad.

What are some things you people have tried to break from the norm, and make your life more full, interesting, and enjoyable? Any tips are greatly appreciated, as I'm kind of stuck right now. I used to be fun...

...

Labor Day Weekend.

Labor Day weekend was great to us. We spent it with family--both mine and Zac's. On Saturday, we headed up to Kaysville with my side of the family for a Family Reunion at the one and only Cherry Hill resort. My family has been going here as long as I can remember, and I always get so excited when the day finally comes. Cherry Hill is an RV park that has swimming pools, water slides (well, only two, but the tube ride is the best one I've been on by far), mini golf, a rock climbing wall, batting cages, playgrounds, an ice cream parlor, and a cute little convenient store. It's one of the best places in Utah. When my family arrived, we set up the canopy, put on our sunscreen and headed to the water slide. It's one of those water slides that you can ride all day and not be bored... just tired. There were ten of us--me, Zac, Jake, Matt, Steph, Daniel, Erika, Rachel, Melia and Sara--who went down the water slide all at once. It was hilarious to look back and see the train of ten people on tubes that you were a part of--especially when the rule was strictly four people per train. I wish I had a picture. Even a crappy one. It was hilarious.

After the water slide sucked all the energy from us, we walked back to camp to eat lunch, watch movies, eat junk food, make froot loop necklaces and earrings and sleep. After our nap, Zac and I went with everyone to hit up the arcade and play mini golf. We must have gotten bored with both, because we didn't even play any games in the arcade, and we only played about eight holes of mini golf. Still fun. We drove home exhausted.



The next day, Sunday, we drove down with mom and dad Swenson to their cabin down in Fairview to spend the night. That night was filled with pizza, card games, sunflower seeds, shooting BB guns, a visit from Robbie K and her husband, camp fires, scary stories, and a movie. While Eli, JoJo, Whitney, JT, Sophie, Zac and I were sitting around the campfire in the darkness telling scary stories, JT found a rock to wipe his boogers on, and then threw it into the bushes. Sophie and I were oblivious to JT's booger wiping, because the second that rock hit the bushes, we both screamed at the top of our lungs, and before I even knew what happened, Sophie was on my lap, hugging me for dear life. It was a great sight! She didn't get off, either, until Whitney told her that she could sit on her lap. Oh, Bouge...

The next morning, we woke up to mom Swenson making us breakfast! It was wonderful! When breakfast was over, we bummed around--played more card games, ate more sunflower seeds, and took some pictures. Zac even carved my name in a tree, next to his that he carved back in 2001. Then the both of us went on a ride together on the four wheeler around the mountains. If you've never been to the Fairview mountains, I suggest you go, because it is a treat, especially with the wind blowing in your hair. Nature is gorgeous. There's a reason Heavenly Father made it this way. It's for us!



The day after we came home from the cabin, I started my new job. I am loving it so far, and have convinced myself that it is the best job ever. Why? The pay, the benefits, the people, the free lunch on Fridays, the casual dress, the hand scanner, the drinks, the customers and even the work. It's fantastic. The only job better than this, that I can think of, would be to be a Photographer like Jaquilyn Shumate. Really. Isn't her work amazing? And she works with her husband. How great is that?!

Anyway, there's my Labor Day weekend in a nut shell. It was pretty grand.