What could be better...dancing, guns and slacklines

I have to say I was very happy with my weekend. Friday night my super sexy awesome friend Carrie came to hang out. She used to be a roommate, but now lives near Millcreek and sadly we don't see her very often. Carrie is an amazing person and is so much fun to be around. We went to dinner with friends for a weekly DC (diner club) at the Royal India in Bountiful. I love this place. Dinner was fabulous. The company was great and the food was perfect. After dinner we went over to Chris's warehouse/place of residency to watch an old horror movie, Carnival of Souls.

Check out a trailer on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkTz0EvfEiY

The movie was so funny mostly because Talena was the only one getting scared and she jumped every few minutes. After the movie we explored the warehouse. There was some interesting items stored in the warehouse. We found old building letters and proceeded to reenact some Sesame Street reading games. After exploring an impromptu dance party exploded full on with fog and lights. Have to say it was a rocking party for only having 6 people.

We did a little graffiti (we are so wild)

D..D O..DO..DO G..DOG

Saturday started out early with Talena and I heading to REI for the garage sale. This is where all the equipment returned over the last few months is resold to members at reduced prices. REI's return policy is very open, return anything, at anytime, for any reason. So basically if I just don't like it, return it. Which means the garage sales have some pretty awesome gear for cheap. I bought hiking boots and a pair of Chaco's for only $70 (I know I already have chacos but you can never have too many...right?).

After REI I drove up Parley's canyon to the police shooting range for our Relief Society shooting activity. By far this was the best RS activity I have been to (even better than Gilgal which was pretty awesome). One of the guys from our ward is a firearms instructor and was nice enough to do some training with us and let us shot his super awesome guns. We got to shoot 5 hand guns including a 2 revolvers, shotgun and a 3 rifles.

(For those who know guns, this will make me even cooler)
Smith & Wesson 422, .22 LR
Glock G19, 9mm Para
Kimber 1911 Custom Classic, .45 ACP
Smith & Wesson 586, .38 Special
Smith & Wesson 617, .22 LR
Ruger 10-22, .22 LR
Colt AR-15, .223
Rock River AR-15, .223
Remington 870, 12 gauge

That was powerful (and I liked it)

I would just warn the boys to watch out. Don't be messing with my sisters cause they can shoot.

But wait the day continues. After shooting and a crazy hail storm I went slacklining. The weather cleared up long enough to go out for a couple hours. It was awesome and yes I am now ready to check off another goal on my list 26 for 26. Boo yeah! I walked all the way across the line, turned, walked back to the beginning and even got another turn in before falling off. So far this is one of my favorite goals to accomplish. I heart slacklining.

Never a bad time for standing tree pose even on a slackline.

Lastly, I was able to go to the Grizzlies game. It was opening weekend and we got tickets on the 3rd row right next to the team. There were some insane fights, helmet and gloves off type of fights. But the best part was the goalie's gold helmet. Every time he walked into the locker I screamed through the glass, "I like your helmet!" Sadly he didn't acknowledge my love for his helmet.

This fight was amazing, no gloves, no helmets.

And that my friends is this weekends adventures in a nutshell.

The Red Light Inch

I was reminded this morning of an unexplainable phenomena...the red light inch. The red light inch is a situation in which a vehicle is stopped at a red light and yet the driver proceeds to inch their way forward.
Note: If you are stopped at a red light what good does it do to inch forward when the light is clearly still red. YOU CAN'T GO ANYWHERE! Does it some how make you feel better to think you are still moving. Do you have somewhere to be and you think by inching forward the light will recognize your urgency and miraculously change to allow you to get to that place 30 seconds earlier. You will soon have to stop anyway when you have realized your vehicle has crawled into the intersection and traffic in the opposite direction starts to honk at you for blocking the intersection while your light is clearly still red. Look around, no one else is going anywhere!
It has always annoyed me when I was a passenger and made me roll my eyes as the car next to you overanxious drivers. I can completely understand the roll if you can see the traffic light in the opposite direction has just turned red or even yellow, but when it is STILL GREEN what are you doing? Maybe You don't know that you can look at the opposite traffic light to indicate when your traffic light is about to change. In which case I considerable questions your lack or reason completely.
I'm not sure if one or all of these are true, but for heaven's sake and my driving sanity PLEASE STOP!

Thank you for your time. This has been a sanity message from the National Office of Real Exasperated Drivers. (aka NORED)

Ingrid Post Hot Chocolate

Last weekend we have a marvelous time with our good friend Ingrid Michaelson. I say "good" not because we personally know her, but because her music is just so good. Arranged as a girls night out we have about 10ish ladies ready for some awesome music and we were not disappointed. Opening was Matthew Perryman Jones. He was awesome. Just a dude (a cute dude to boot) and a guitar makes some good tones. I think we all became big fans (and yes it was more than his long dark hair and facial hair that I loved).

After a pretty short transition Ingrid came on. She never disappointed. Her music is great and her stories were a crack-up. It is time for a shinny new doll (if you know what I mean). And even though I can't sing, I sang along to every song.

Yes that is red hair (but I don't think it is always that color but I think we could be friends anyway). Red heads forever!

Sadly the music had to come to an end. Even more sad was that it was a Saturday night and the concert got over at 10pm. So what better to do then to go to our favorite hot chocolate place, Nostalgia. A game of chess ensued even with the distractions of Jannifer's tower of murdered chess pieces. Sadly the game ended and all went home, but we had a great night of music, friends, hot chocolate and chess...how much better could it get.

She was so cool the entire game

Are you sure you want to do that?

OH NO...Her masterpiece destroyed.

Dang you Julia!

Corny Halloween Fun

It has been awhile since I posted. I must be actually working. Here is a snap shot of the last few weeks.

Ashley loves what I fear?

A few weeks ago we went to a corn maze in West Jordan. Because we are chicken we opted for the non-haunted corn maze. We split into 2 teams and raced throughout the maze to find 10 markers, take our pictures by each and then make it out first. Heidi and I are really good at mazes (Is that a trumpet I hear?) so we would run to each post and yell out the "code" word for each number which included, whiskey, slurpees, and sauerkraut. Numbers 1-3 were a little tricky and I don't think we were really in the race mode when we started, but by 4 Heidi and I in full sprint. In the end we lost, but we had the most fun a losing team could have.

Our sweet team

Last week I had a sleep over with my good friend Lindsey. We did the usual sleep over activities; dinner, movie, sleeping bag and taking our photo in a sweet Halloween cut out.

Yes, Lindsey and I are 5

Check, Check & Half-Check

3 days away from "Happy Half-Birthday" which means only 6 months until 27 and the end of 26 for 26. But the good news is I'm checking things off my list.
On Tuesday I went bouldering in Little Cottonwood Canyon with 2 of my oldest climbing friends, Adam and Cody. It was a lot of fun and actually the first time I have bouldered outdoors. I am kind of scared of falling when not attached to a rope. Although this was not on my list we did do something that was. Last week I borrowed my roommates longboard and played around on it during my lunch break in my work parking lot. So since Cody and Adam are boarders, we drove downtown to longboard around the city. Starting at the library we rode to 300 South then down to State Street, then Main Street catching Trax and riding down to the Gateway. We road around for an hour and a half and I never fell. I would say that it counts for learning how to longboard fairly well, but don't worry it was a lot of fun and there will be more of it to come.

Learn to skateboard...Check.
Sorry no photos of the longboarding, but here is the joy of bouldering.

Wednesday for Relief Society we visited Gilgal garden. The amazingness of Gilgal is legendary. Ever since I heard there was a garden in the SLC that had a Sphinx with the head of Joseph Smith I had to go. After raining earlier in the day it was freezing cold, but that would not kill my spirit. I have never explored a more interesting garden which in a weird way shares a man's testimony of God and the gospel.
Check it out sometime...http://www.gilgalgarden.org/

You know you love a Joseph Smith Sphinx

Lastly, I finished reading the April Conference Ensign last week. This is the first time I have ever read the conference Ensign from cover to cover and it will not be the last (particularly because my goal is to read both the April and Oct. Conference talks). So I give myself a half check as I have accomplish half of this goal.
Conference is a great event and luckily we get to enjoy it again this weekend. Here are some of my favorite things from April and I look forward to more in Oct.
THANKS CONFERENCE!

Promised blessing from President Packer recounted by Margaret S Lifferth
"While we may not see an immediate, miraculous transformation, as surely as the Lord lives, a quiet one will take place...The Lord will pour out his Spirit upon us more abundantly. We will be less troubled, less confused. We will find revealed answers to personal and family problems."

I loved President Eryings' statement, "The Lord always suits the relief to the person in need to best strengthen and purify him or her." Trials can be blessings even if we don't realize it at the time.

President Uchtdorf said, "We have to stay with it. We don't acquire eternal life in a sprint -- this is a race of endurance."
And
"Start where you are."

Probably my favorite talk was Elder Holland's "None Were with Him." I remember listening to this talk in April and I still remember the awe I felt hearing his words. His talk teaches the doctrine of the atonement with a focus on the moments Christ suffered on the cross and the Spirit of His Heavenly Father departed from Him. He was left to feel the loneliness that so many of us feel throughout our lives so that He would be able to succor us when we feel "totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone." I had never thought about that moment before, but as Elder Holland teaches, "It was required, indeed it was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humandkind would feel when we did commit such sins."

I love the gospel. I know that my Savior atoned for my sins and that it is through Him that we can return to our Heavenly Father.