Family Beach Trip

Top row: Keith, Cherie, Lily, Mom, Dad

Bottom Row: Kent, Jenessa, Me, Jon

This is my lovely family. We had to take a new family photo due to the addition of two wonderful people. My Brother-in-law Keith and baby Lily. We had a family reunion of sorts this weekend. It was the first time we had all been together since my sister's wedding like 2 and a half years ago. I am the second to the youngest. My oldest sibling is Jon, who I call by his real name Jonathan... but am the only one who still does that. Then comes Cherie, Kent, Me and Jenessa.

We decided to visit Long Beach, WA because it was having a kite festival. We got yelled at by some kid for stepping on his kite string. WELL EXCUSE US FOR WALKING UNDER THE RESTRICTIVE ROPE! Haha. It was unusually sunny for a Northwest Beach trip and I enjoyed wading in the water. I love the feeling as the water pulls back and it feels like you are being rushed into the ocean... but in reality you are just standing in the same place.

The Board walk. You can kinda see all the kites in the background.

The Obama Kite! I pretty much have decided to vote for Obama this year. It's still up in the air though. Which I think a lot of people might find funny given I am still a strong Bush supporter. I guess I like Obama's ideas of change. I think this country needs some positive thinking and Obama gives me the optimistic jive that everything is going to work out. I vote republican the majority of the time, but feel McCain isn't for me. I got pretty upset during the preliminaries how my religion was treated by the party and press. It was mocked, defamed and cruelly criticized by the American population and more directly in the south. It was sad to read how so many still believe that we practice polygomy and believe we worship Joseph Smith. The Republican party and the south pretty much said we weren't welcome. Um, Hello, some of your strongest support comes in the Mountain States which have a huge Mormon population. I don't see how so many members are willing to support the party as strongly as they do. I saw the door they slammed in our face.

I will be voting for Dino Rossi (R) for govenor. His ideas are what I think the state of Washington needs. He should have won four years ago, and did (before three recounts where ballots started disappearing), governor of Washington State. I thought slimy politics won the current gov. power.

Lily

So I finally met my little niece Lily this past week. She is so precious! My sister Cherie came last Wednesday and my Brother-in-Law Keith came on Friday along with my Grandpa Miles. We are having a family reunion of sorts and it's been fun relaxing with the family. Jon and Kent come on Wednesday. My Grandpa Miles came for the weekend and it was great to see him again. He took us out to Rose's Deli for lunch yesterday. It was delicious. If you are ever in Vancouver you have to stop there for lunch or dinner, the food is great and the desserts are to die for.

Lily started scooting for the first time the other day and I was there to watch, it was beyond cool to watch her make such a huge step.

The Olympics have been so fun to watch. I don't think I'll spend much more time watching now that the Gymnastics and swimming are done. None of the other sports are really intriguing to me. That Michael Phelps was unbelievable. Jenessa and I were debating if we like him or not. There is a hint of possible cockiness that holds me back.

Oh. I beat everyone at the families favorite game. Flarkle.

New Beginnings

So, I should have introduced my roommates while I still lived with them. These are my buddies from La Jolla 213. Natalie, Megan, and Meagan! We also had two other roommates... but they hated us so they didn't get to be in the picture. My first semester back at school was tough for me. I am an underachieving overachiever which means I am pretty dang tough on myself. I spent most of the semester, like usual in my bedroom working on my computer or wasting my time on facebook. I took some classes that I liked, and some that I hated. I've gotten so picky about my teachers since I got back from the mission. I guess all the interaction with humans on my mission made it so I find qualities that I like or drive me mad!

I did well grade wise this last semester which was comforting. I am going to push through this last year and hope for the best. I finally landed an internship for this fall.

I am interning for a guy in my parents' ward (church congregation) named Ben. He owns a small baby company that specializes in fancy baby stuff. It's called pujbaby. They have a website at www.pujbaby.com. The stuff for pujbaby is super cute. It has a hip modern feel and reminds me of the stuff I would see in the baby boutiques in Norway. He is going to have me do the package design for some of their new and old products. I am so excited for that. They are going to look so fresh in my portfolio. Ben and his wife are industrial designers who come up with some really cool things. His style and mine match well and I think I'll be able to add to his business. I'll also being doing some design work for other projects he has.

I am looking forward to these next few months. Moving isn't on my list of things I want to do, but it will be fun to experience it.