| seattle temple |

our new ward is really working us. i have 3, yes T H R E E, calling and breck has two. also, we have already been asked to speak on a combined youth panel. crazy! i think it is so great to get involved with the ward and been an influence to others as well as the youth.

one calling includes going with some other ward members to the temple each month. we love it! the seattle temple is beautiful inside and out.

i started out having a crazy week (took me 2 hours to get home the other night due to traffic) and i was being a grump. i knew it. breck knew it. and the big guy upstairs knew it. i could not unwind and the fact that my new job requires me to fight the traffic to get to work. when we went to the temple everything was put into perspective again. does 2 hours of traffic really matter? (well, kinda when you don't have a diet coke...jk) i was being selfish. breck was so sweet to me and just listened while i vented.  one thing i love about breck is he's not a huge complainer. me in two hours of traffic? major complainer. him in two hours of traffic? he might complain for a second but then forget about it.

A quote I heard (and needed!) this week:
"We can't direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails." -Thomas S. Monson

| be mine |

i look forward to valentine's day a little more since being a teacher. the kids get so excited to show off their valentine's day boxes and exchange valentine's. not only is it a fun day at school, it is also the same weekend as presidents' day which means no school #winning. this year (and last) i was able to go to kennewick. washington to be with breck. no lying that long distance relationships are hard. but it makes those weekends that we are able to be together that much more special and exciting. valentine's day was a friday and i was to fly out that night. my brother, scottie, dropped me off at the airport. i was giddy and couldn't wait to land in wa! as i'm sitting at my gate, i notice that the time to board had already passed. people waiting to board the plane were getting restless and i could tell something was going on. finally, the attendant got on the intercom and announced that my flight may be delayed if not cancelled due to fog in the tri-cities. what the? i called breck immediately and he was so confused. he lives in kennewick and the airport is a just few miles away in pasco, but he said it was mostly clear skies. i was so bummed. delayed would be fine. but cancelled? we are already on limited time anyway, that would just put a damper on things. after what felt like forever, the attendant gets back on to announce the flight was cancelled and won't fly out again until 8am. i was exhausted, disappointed and mad. all i wanted to do was to get to wa! i would be lying if i said i got a tear or two in my eyes. anyway, lisa and scotty came to my rescue at midnight.

i eventually made it to washington (without delays!). i was so happy to be there! after i arrived, breck and i bolted to seattle. we had a blast! 

things we did:

• snoqualmie falls
• coach outlet ;) 
• pike's place fish market
• gum wall
• sunset boat tour
• ate at the crab pot. where they little cook the seafood and dump it on your table and give you utensils to eat it. bomb dot com
• space needle when it was dark (umm hello romantic)

we had done all those things a million times before. however, it was more fun to do them together. the rest of the time in kennewick consisted of lounging, making yummy food and driving around. the weather could not have been more perfect. you know what they say. west coat. BEST coast.

{ Thanksgiving in Salem }

If you know me, you know I have mad love for The Pacific Northwest. Even though my parents want to live closer to their kids and grandkids, I am still so happy they live in Washington so I can go visit. Selfish? Maybe.

Adrienne and Scott will live in the Northwest for life. Scott is from Grants Pass, Oregon and Oregon is where they have decided to settle down with his podiatry practice. Not even mad.  Now I will always have an excuse to go to the Northwest. Currently, they live just south of Portland in Salem.

I was so excited to get out of Utah and spend some time with my family in Oregon. Especially see Tommy and Savannah! They grow up so fast and I hardly get to see them. Scottie drove down from Rexburg and we flew out together. When we woke up the next morning, the weather was perfect. You can see Mt. Jefferson clearly from Adrienne's house. However, later that after rain clouds started in and never left. It rained the ENTIRE rest of our stay. And not even the drizzle kind of rain. Pouring rain. For four whole days. Gave me a little taste of daily life on the west coast.

Thanksgiving morning, Scott, Adrienne and I ran a 5k at the Keizer Turkey Trot. It was a fun way to start off Thanksgiving. I finished in 31 minutes which was great considering I hardly trained. Meaning, I didn't train at all. My bad.

The day after Thanksgiving my family and I went to Lincoln City, Oregon which is on the coast. It was freezing but so fun to see the ocean. We went shopping (naturally) at the outlets and to the beach.

{floppy hats or bust} 

{The boys. The entire drive.}

That night Breck text me saying, "What if I just drove down tonight?" Of course I wanted him to come down, especially because it was only a 4-5 hour drive from Washington. However, Breck likes to tease me so I entertained the idea for a second but then came back to reality and thought, "he's just messing with me." Finally he text me and said, "Just left." Eeek! I was SO excited. He didn't get in until 1am. The best part? I might have not told him Salem was an hour south of Portland until he was an hour or two into the drive. Does that make me a bad person? Anyway, when he finally put the address into his maps he said, "Wait, they live in Salem!?" Whoops. Luckily, he still came!

Saturday Breck and I were able to go to The Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton. His cousin works for Nike and gave us a pass to go shopping at the Nike Employee Store. This store is legit. You get the newest Nike merchandise for 50% off. Imagine any Nike outlet you've ever been to, times that by 10 and that's how big it is. Plus, no tax in Oregon #winning

 {It's a known fact we match everywhere we go}

{heaven}

After that, we went downtown Portland and met up with my family. The line was too long for Voodoo Doughnuts when we got there, but my family had already gone through the line. Those doughnuts are the bomb!

How we kept Portland weird:

It was FREEZING by the time we got downtown Portland. Rain. Wind. 

Breck and I got Mexican food at a food truck and since everything was wet and there wasn't anywhere to sit, we decided to go eat in his car. The backseat of his car to be exact. Totally fogged up the windows and we were a good 3 feet away from each other. We kept giggling about that. It was hilarious. The best part? We were parked directly under the "Keep Portland Weird" sign. So yes, Portland, we tried our best to keep our experience weird. 

Needless to say, it was a perfect Thanksgiving.

t a h o e

Okay, sooo if anyone knows me they know I have A LOT of Northwest pride. I rep it hard.
There is nothing better and I miss it like a child misses their blanket. So why am I not there, right?
Lets just say it's in the works (insert angels singing hallelujah here). That's another post to come.

Anyway, I've been pretty homesick lately. And I think the last time I was homesick was when I was six years old.
Point is: its been a while.

The road trip to Lake Tahoe was the boringest (not a word, I know) and ugliest drive.
Think sage brush, desert and brown for 600 miles. Woof.
However once you reach the lake, you forget about that blasted drive.
Lake Tahoe is unreal. It reminded me a lot of Coeur d'Alene.
Those pine trees and that fresh water lake made me feel right at home.

{yep, that happened}

{neature}

So Tahoe? I now have your back.
You were putting out those Northwest vibes and I most definitely needed that ❤️