{fourth of july festivities}

i. love. the. fourth.

it is most definitely my favorite holiday. the hot air balloons. the parade. the warm, sunny weather. the fireworks. the delicious food. the patriotism. it doesn't get much better than that. and this year was no different.



i talked danny into starting our festivities early, so on july 3 we woke up super early and went to the balloon festival. he has never seen hot air balloons up close before, so we had a really good time. crazy to think that next year we'll have a little boy of our own to experience the balloons with all over again. we can't wait.



after the balloons had all launched, we went to the provo bakery and got some doughnuts fresh out of the oven {yum}. we didn't have class, so we decided to take advantage of our free day and spend a few hours at seven peaks. brittany and her little brother came with us too. it was super crowded, but we had a good time going on the slides, and being lazy in the lazy river.



we didn't end the day just yet...after seven peaks danny and i headed to the freedom festival down on center street and spent the rest of the night there. we had so much fun looking at all of the different vendors and the random things that they were trying to sell. our favorite part of the festival though, was the "scales and tails show." i'm not a fan of reptiles, at all, but the show the guy put on was so interesting and we learned so many cool things about snakes, tarantulas, scorpions, etc... {the best part was it was all FREE!} he even put a scorpion in his mouth. insane.



on the fourth we got up to go to the parade {danny had to leave a little early to pass out flyers for their big game that night against the outlaws} but we met up with the rest of my family and watched from our usual spot on university. i got to see my cute cousins from north carolina {ella and audrey} who are getting so big.



that afternoon we had a bbq at my grandma's with tons of delicious food {can you tell i talk about food a lot?} and then headed to the soccer game at 7:30. danny got to start, and he played basically the entire game! we had a HUGE turnout {tons of my family were able to come} and it was a fun game to watch. afterwards we watched the stadium fireworks, and then, to avoid traffic, we walked home! {one of the many benefits of living so close to campus} my friend kim, and her sister jen are pregnant as well, so we thought we'd get a group shot since we are all at different stages in our pregnancies.



another fourth of july has come and gone. but, what a great holiday it is!

god bless america

{lindsey + jordan bush}

you know when you hear about those girls who send off a missionary?? most of us think, "good luck! you'll be married in less than a year to a new guy who has swept you off your feet!" well, this is exactly what i thought when lindsey sent jordan off in october of 2006.

we were roomies at byu-idaho at the time and we all gave her a hard time. {making fun of the paper chain she made--counting down the days until he came home, writing him faithfully every week, etc...} but after the first year, she was still going strong, convinced that they were going to get married and have a beautiful summer reception in his backyard. turns out her dreams came true. jordan got home from his mission in illinois in october of 2008, and june 27, 2009 they were married in the rexburg, idaho temple.

since kierstin and i made it into rexburg at about 2:30 friday morning, i was able to get a little bit of sleep, and then get ready for the sealing at 11. i'm SO glad i was able to make it. lindsey and jordan were both beaming--they are perfect for each other. they had lots of family and friends there to support, and linds looked absolutely beautiful.

the reception that night was in jordan's backyard, just as linds had envisioned it. and it couldn't have been more perfect. the weather was beautiful, the music was great, and the food was delicious! {i probably ate way too many goodies, but the carmel/chocolate dipped pretzels that they had were just too yummy} i was able to see so many of my old room mates {jannette, katelyn, kelsey, jill} and we had such a great time!

congrats linds and jordan! we couldn't be happier for you two.

{california soccer trip}

right after summer semester started, the byu men's soccer team took a trip down to california, and i was lucky enough to go with them! thursday, june 25 we flew into the huntington beach airport bright and early and then went with the team to i-hop for breakfast. around 11 a.m. we checked into embassy suites and we all crashed for a couple hours. later that night we all hung out at the mall {which was less than a block from our hotel} and got ready for the big game that night against the southern california seahorses. they tied 3-3 but it was fun being able to watch the guys do what they do best. i had fun watching the game with the girls {kim christenson, sarah bindrup, and danny's mom}. that night dinner was served in the hotel lobby, and afterwards we dipped our feet in the hot tub and relaxed...gotta love being on vacation.

friday the guys didn't have a game to play so we had a free day at the beach! we piled into five vans and drove down to newport beach where we spent the day soaking in the sun, playing in the sand, eating delicious gelato, and having a grand old time. i love the beach. danny and i haven't been since last summer, so it was definitely good to be back.

since i'm pregnant...and losing my brain, when i planned this trip i TOTALLY forgot about my best friend, lindsey hobbs' wedding on june 27 up in rexburg, idaho. about a week before we left for the trip i realized the huge mistake i made and ended up switching my flight. SO to make a long story short, after we spent the day at the beach, danny's parents drove me back to the huntington beach airport and i flew out of sunny california around 7 p.m. and arrived in slc at 10. my awesome friend kierstin picked me up, and from there we made the long trek to rexburg. whew. it was quite the day.

i was so glad i was able to go to california for a couple days though. since this is danny's last year on the team, it has been fun for me to go to all of his games and cheer him on.

{quick little update}

1. as of yesterday i am 28 weeks along! i still can't believe it. our little boy has been kicking/moving/doing somersaults constantly...it's the craziest feeling in the world. i try to describe to danny what it feels like from the inside, but i can never seem to do it justice.

2. we are still homeless. {kim and clay have been SUPER nice to let us take over their upstairs apartment with them} but all of our stuff is still in boxes in their garage and several rooms...

3. yesterday, the dry wall guys came and fixed the gaping holes in our kitchen ceiling, and they are going to re-paint all of the places that got damaged! hooray! we are so glad we don't have to do that all over again. plus, we are getting new carpet throughout the entire basement {yay!} and that is going in either friday or monday. then we will have a home!!

4. i promise to put pictures up on here. soon. i just need to find my camera/camera cord in the many, many boxes we have lying around. i can't guarantee it will be any time soon.

5. life is good.

{a series of unfortunate events}

remember a few weeks back when i announced that we would be moving again?

well, we moved out! but...we have no where to move IN.

turns out while we were vacationing in sunny california, the pipes in our new place decided to burst. the kitchen upstairs got damaged-the wood floors all need to be replaced. but the biggest damage was done in our sweet little apartment {the one we just barely re-painted}. the kitchen ceiling is no more, and lots of the paint stripped off the walls because of all of the water damage. it seeped under the carpets in the living room and the master bedroom, so that all needs to go, and until it can all be repaired...danny and i are homeless!

don't worry. i'm not complaining. lucky for us, we have lots of wonderful family and friends who feed us {since we have no fridge} and give us a place to lay our heads at night. but, it is just a little bit humorous to me that danny and i seem to have the best luck! hopefully this isn't a trend that follows us wherever we go {but if it is, i may just have to write a book about all of the wonderful and crazy adventures we are so blessed to be able to go through}.

so. if you've been wondering why i've been slacking on my blog posts--thats why. i promise to get some pics up soon {since we just had a BLAST in california, and i got to go to a beautiful wedding last weekend in rexburg, idaho} but until then, keep us in mind. and if you're ever making dinner and realize you made way too much for you and your family to eat...don't hesitate to call! we'll be there in a heart beat.

p.s. today marks the beginning of my THIRD trimester. yeah. soo crazy. baby boy mckinley is getting so big. and he loves to kick. {just like his daddy}

{guess what?}

we are moving.

AGAIN.

crazy, i know. but i'm so SO excited! our friends {kim & clay} basement just opened up, and we're getting an awesome deal on it. so come july first we will officially be out of this place. i'm definitely going to miss the gargantuan sinks...but saving a couple hundred on rent is a little more important to me.

if any of you get bored during the next few weeks, let us know. i bet we could find you a job.

{summer reading}

i don't know about you, but finding a good book to read is one of the best things ever. i've mentioned this amazing book list, and a few of you have really wanted me to post it on my blog. i wish i had time to list ALL of the books...but that would take me forever. so here's a list of kristin pierce's personal favorites {she's the lady that taught the class i went to}. the title is first, {author is in the brackets}, *and if i have any input, it's between these*

wintergirls {anderson, l} *author of speak*
peeled {bauer, j}
pride and prescience {bebris, c} *pride and prejudice fans*
click {written by 10 different authors}
the boy in the striped pajamas {boyne, j}
beastly {flinn, a}
much ado about anne {frederick, h}
the luxe {godberson, a} *highly recommend this series*
found {haddix, m} *author of the shadow children series*
a thousand splendid suns {hosseini, k} *author of the kite runner*
all we know of heaven {mithard, j}
jeremy fink and the meaning of life {mass, w}
i'll ask you three times, are you ok? {nye, n}
the dead and the gone {pfeeffer, s}
life as we knew it {pfeeffer, s}
unwind {shusterman, n}
i am scout {shields, c}
uglies {westerfield, s}

in the book she gave us {of all her favorite books} she splits the rest of the books into categories. i'll list them and if any of you want specific titles from those categories just let me know! happy reading. {ps. if you read any of these and LOVE them, let me know! i've read a lot of them, but i'd love to hear what you think about them as well!}

middle school reads
the wonders of other worlds
all about history
relationship reads
comfort reads
books for girls
books for boys
marvelous mysteries
picture books

{snow canyon}

last thursday danny and i decided to leave town for a little weekend get-away. mike and bekah are moving to oklahoma next week, so we joined them for a camping trip down in snow canyon. we pulled up to the campsite around six-thirty thursday night and met up with mike, bekah, and the girls. they already had their tent set up, and their tin foil dinners cooking, so while danny put our tent up, i got the dinners ready. we ate a little later and then made some peach cobbler in the dutch oven. so SO yummy. while that was cooking we went on a hike, which was beautiful! i love the red rocks down in st. george. we hiked up to this little overlook and enjoyed the gorgeous view.

after hiking we headed back to camp to eat cobbler, relax, and play frisbee/catch. there were so many little bats flying around and when we told mariah what those little "birds" were she said, "bats are extinct." she's so cute. she sat with me for a good ten minutes while we tried to spot all the bats in the sky.




getting ready for bed is always awesome while camping, but to make it even more awesome we decided to use our headlamps. yeah. it was awesome. danny even killed a black widow right outside the men's bathroom. he's so brave. i was a little worried that a critter would find its way inside our tent...but luckily that didn't happen.



friday morning we woke up and bekah made a delicious breakfast casserole in the dutch oven. after breakfast danny and laney put on quite the show for me. words wouldn't do it justice so i thought i'd let you watch the video yourself. my husband is hilarious, and laney is the cutest chubby baby. {i couldn't figure out how to turn the video...so it's staying this way...sorry!}





mariah LOVES animals, and there were so many little critters around our campsite. danny and mariah chased many jack rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, and blue birds around. mariah was loving it, and so was danny. mariah found some pretty {wild} flowers, that she decided to pick for bekah. she's one funny girl.



we packed up camp and then headed to the sand dunes. gotta love those. besides the fact that it was super windy...we had a great time! {i thought i'd throw in a little picture of the baby bump. it gets bigger every day!}



at lunch, laney was getting a little impatient with us because we were taking too long to cut up pieces of cantaloupe for her...it was hilarious!

on our way out of snow canyon we hit up some slot canyons. it was a nice easy hike, and i'm always amazed at slot canyons and how narrow and beautiful they are.




thanks mike, bekah, mariah, and laney for inviting us to snow canyon! we had a BLAST and are definitely going to miss you guys when you leave.
{ps. sorry about the excess of pictures...we had a little bit of fun with the camera this trip!}

{raindrop gifts}

i got an email today about this new little boutique opening up...and they have got some cute stuff! this week they are doing a giveaway for a $25 gift certificate.
you might as well enter, what have you got to lose??

simply click here and enter to win!

every "drop" of profit is lent at 0% interest to an entrepreneur in a 3rd world country. so it's a pretty neat idea. help them change the world one drop at a time.

{the past few days...}

i have a little bit of catching up to do on this blog of ours...surprise, surprise!

better late than never, right?

saturday, may 23, danny had a soccer game here at BYU where they defeated the hollywood hitmen 1-0. it was a pretty dirty game--apparently the hitmen don't like to lose. but it was way fun and even more fun was being able to watch my amazing husband tearin' it up on the soccer field. brittany came during the second half to cheer them on, so it was a great sitting with her and danny's parents.


sunday, may 24, after we got back from my parents for sunday dinner, we decided to finish up this puzzle that we've been working on. yeah...we love puzzles. danny's grandpa let us borrow this one (since he's big into puzzles too) and every single piece was shaped so uniquely--giving us quite the challenge. but we did it and had a blast.



monday, may 25, was memorial day! yay for NO classes. i started it out by going to cemetery with my mom, cami, and my grandparents. (my mom and i got extra credit in floral design for going, so that was a nice added bonus). we made boutonneires so we took them with us and gave them to some of the veteran's who were enjoying the band play.

later that afternoon, we headed to seven peaks for the first time this summer! gotta love those season passes. brittany came with us, along with danny's brother matt, and our friends emily and elliot. it was a little over-cast but danny and i both got FRIED. guess thats what we get for thinking we didn't need any sunscreen. {oops}


danny and matt talked britt into going on freefall! i couldn't believe it. how many years have i tried to get her to go on that slide with me?? too many. haha. and of course, the year i can't go...she decides to go and be all brave. no, i'm kidding. i was super proud of her...and what's even better is that she loved it!thursday, may 28, was danny's last day student teaching at diamond fork junior high. we can't believe how fast the semester went by! he had so many wonderful experiences and the kids absolutely adore him. i decided to ditch stats lab {wasn't that hard of a decision} and go with him...i am so glad i got to go! his sixth period class is angelic {danny always says they are all going straight to heaven} and the class president bore a very sweet testimony. some of the kids prepared musical numbers--they varied from piano arrangements to singing "i know that my redeemer lives" in tongan--with was so cool. little did i know, danny had prepared a little musical number of his own...and invited me to be the guest singer! we sang "if the savior stood beside me" {one of my favorite songs}. what an awesome experience this has been. we can't wait to see what timpview will bring!

{sixth period}

{seventh period}

{the diamond fork crew}

friday, may 29, danny left early in the morning for california with the soccer team. since it was the last day of school for the cami, i decided to go support her in her end-of-year dance festival. she did great sporting her home-made surf board and rockin out to "surfin usa." mariah came with my parents and in between the dances we played on the swings. i love her.

so there you go. still to come: the latest pictures of the baby bump. get excited!