The Bridals

This past weekend I had the opportunity to shoot Amber's Bridals. It was so much FUN! We went to Liberty Park and had a hay-day! One of my besties, Amelia, came with to be my assistant. Let me tell you what, she was the best assistant anyone could ever ask for! She had Amber posed and looking perfect before I ever had to ask her. ThAnK YoU AmElIa!!!

Derek and Amber are Getting Married

So, Derek finally popped the question to Amber! Wahoo! Sweet Amber was nice enough to ask me to shoot their engagement pictures. Um, for the record, Derek is not the most cooperative when it comes to cheesy stuff.

Preikestolen

Ok, so this is technically part of my Norway post, but it is too spectacular to not have its own entry. My dad, cousin Tommy, and Uncle Inge and I all decided to make the trek up to the top of Preikestolen (aka Preachers Pulpit). This is an intense hike that the Norwegians describe as, "a nice nature walk". Bah! Nature walk my foot. This is a 1,982 foot cliff that takes 2.5 hours each way to reach. It is really only 2.5 miles each way but you are on rough terrain that, at times, has a very intense incline. The four of us had all climbed it 6 years earlier, but we had forgotten how hard it really was. I'm pretty sure, at one point, my dad started to cry because he saw the massive trail up the side of the mountain that was covered in boulders. Ah, the memories. In the end, after hours of clambering over rocks, that seemed to get bigger and bigger until you were just climbing on solid granite, we reached the top. So worth it! Its kind of like childbirth, after your near death experience, you get this massive rush of endorphins that make it all worthwhile and exhilarating. I am already forgetting how hard it was and I am ready to go back. I guess, as with all things, there must be sorrow to feel the full extent of joy.

Norge Mitt Norge

In August my parents and I had the opportunity to go to Norway. It was awesome! We were able to visit with family and see a lot of sights. We also traveled through the fjords and popped on over to Copenhagen to show my mom where her ancestors came from. Every new place was an adventure. It was also fun to show my mom things that she had never seen before. That is probably my favorite part of being with people that are experiencing something for the first time, you see it through their eyes. We stayed in some questionable hotels and B&B's. There was one hotel in Denmark that was smaller than our inside cabin on the cruise ship. Oh the joy! So, as you can imagine when 3 adults, that are all very independent, become cooped up together for 3 weeks it can become a bit tense. HA! Ok, so I can become a bit tense. The parents were fine it was my minimal patience that wasn't. I am so glad my parents love me! Not only did they end up putting up with my random outbursts, they also put up with my 6am calls home to my boyfriend. Towards the end of the trip we discovered that if I could just call the boyfriend the days went smoother. Hmmm, maybe next time he should just go with us... Now, back to Norway.

Norway is such a wonderful country. There is so much beauty there. I have seen a lot of Europe and every country has something different that is truly remarkable, but Norway is breathtaking. I am pretty sure it is what Heaven looks like. While traveling through the fjords we had the opportunity to stay in some cabins on the waterfront. We would literally wake up and walk on to deck and look at the most transcendent view. Right there, 10 feet in front of us was the fjord. It was so inspiring to be able to just sit there and take in some of the most exquisite creations from God. Of course, aside from all the natural wonder and beauty, there was also the culinary smorgasbord of delight. Mmmm, just thinking about all of the wonderful food is making my mouth water. No really! I have to admit though, that being immersed in such a tasty culture really did a toll on my waistband. Ah, but I'm not going to lie, it was totally worth it. Every bite of Kumla covered in dripping, sizzling bacon fat was worth every one of those 8 pounds I now have to run off. GoOd TiMeS!
So, in the end, even though I gained weight, argued with the parents and missed the boy, I had a fantastic time. I highly recommend Norway to anyone looking for a magnificent experience.

This Just In: I Am Learning Norwegian

Ever since I was a wee lass I have had the desire to learn Norwegian. Unfortunately, my Father never deemed it necessary to teach me. So, now that I am older....and wiser too....I have decided to teach myself. Wahoo!!!!! Now, to be completely honest, this ingenious idea came to me years ago but the motivation came after my parents invited me on their summer trip to Norway and Denmark. I knew that now was the time to learn what I could. Hopefully I wont be too awful....maybe I will only use it on attractive Norwegian men that I meet randomly....better yet, maybe I will find an attractive Norwegian to help teach me. ;-) Norway here I come!!!

Seriously So Fun Camping Chronicals Part 1

This past weekend I went with some friends on a little camping adventure. I just LOVE camping. We went to Yuba Lake. We got to the campground pretty late with just enough time to set up camp before the sun went down. We then built ourselves a nice little fire and went to work stuffing our faces with hot dogs and marshmallows. Mmmmmhmmm! Later that night, around 1:00 am it started to rain. We expected this and had been planning on it. It rained off and on through the night. What we hadn't expected were the monsoon like winds and pelting rains that came around 8:00 am. My trusty, cheap tent has withstood rain before, however, it doesn't like monsoons very much. Soon the water was collecting in puddles on the inside of the tent and the wind was blowing it throught the ceiling. We decieded that it was time to pack up. We ate a picknick breakfast in the other tent, of muffins, donettes, flaming hot cheetos, and strawberries. Breakfast of champions! This is only one of the many camping adventures to be had this summer.

Jackson Hole Adventure...with the Seattle People

So, some people I met on the Singles Cruise came to SLC for a friend's wedding. I caught up with them while they were here and due to my excessive coolness they invited me to go with them to Wyoming. True story. Naturally, not being one to withhold my coolness from others, I accepted. This was a fantastic adventure. I ended up offering my car to drive because the other option was a Mini....yeah not the safest choice. I was amazed at how well my car handled going uphill in uncut snow. Yeayhoo, go Beemer!!!
While in Wyoming we went to the World Champion Hill Climb for snowmobilers. So cool! We had to take a chair lift up to the top of this mountain and then climb part of the way down to see the competition. It was awesome....and a little scary. There were several snowmobiles that lost control and flew into the audience. At one point they couldn't stop a specific snowmobile and it started rolling, or should I say flipping, down the mountain through the crowd. It was intense. I remember people yelling run and then thinking," um....which way?". We ended up lunging for the trees and eventually they stopped the sled without anyone being injured. GOOD TIMES!!!! After the competition we had to slide down the mountain on our butts to get to the bottom. This was probably the best part of the entire event.
Ahhhhh, the memories.

Death by Snowboarding

Back in the first of December my dear friend Jenni finally convinced me to try snowboarding. Ah, what an experience. I will have to admit that in the beginning of the mountain I was having fun. I did fall a lot.....as a matter of fact, I didn't even bother counting, but I am pretty sure I spent most of my time on my butt. Thankfully our friend Abby, who is a skier, helped pick me up every time. I am pretty sure that if it wasn't for her I would still be on that mountain today... Any way, for those of you thinking of snowboarding, I recommend going with good friends that will not abandon you half way down the mountain. Also, schedule yourself for a massage the next day because I guarantee that you will not be able to move. ;-)

25 and Alive!

It was my 25th birthday.....it had great potential to be depressing...but was a great birthday instead. I didn't even find any gray hairs or new wrinkles ;-) In the evening my good friends and brother went with me to the Spaghetti Factory to celebrate. They even brought me a cake!!!! It was fantastic. I love you guys!!!! I also received the best gift ever...twice. Amber and Stefani both gave me Harry Potter scene it. They ROCK!! All in all, pretty darn good day.