did i mention i turned 30?

i turned 30.
it made me feel old, but the celebrations were unparalleled, maybe people felt bad for me? jokes...


a lunch date, swimming, a backyard movie, cupcakes and popcorn with family.

AND- a surprise weekend visit from aubry. who was solicited to help spencer put on a dreeeaammy surprise-ish party. it was a surprise until aubry showed up friday night.


spencer kept this thing under wraps for weeks and i didn't have a clue. he scoured my pinterest for decoration ideas, he planned a menu and got the best party planner i know to step in as his right hand wo-man.


and speaking of aubry, she came all the way from salt lake equipped with perfectly sprinkled cupcakes, extra frosting and decorations. 

even sunday's nap was a party.

i'd say dreeeaammy was successfully achieved. i still can't believe it all.

girls trip 2012-monterey, ca

six of my college roommates "shanty girls" and i met up in monterey california a couple weekends ago for a girls trip. most of us graduated in 2004, so it's been 8 years since we lived together. there was one other "reunion" in rexburg in 2008, but my point is that we don't see each other often enough so this was a dream come true.


two of my roommates grew up in salinas, so that was our home base for the trip. and the itinerary was something like this scheduled around regular stops for diet coke, potty breaks, and phone nerding-INSTA!


wednesday:
monterey
a "nature walk" in big sur and time spent sittin' in a "crick"
an overload of comments about the landscape from me, you should have heard how many more rambled around in my head that i didn't say out loud...apologies. but it really is the most beautiful place i've ever seen.
san jose and super taqueria


thursday:
monterey bay aquarium-the best.
carmel-the most charming city on earth
casanovas-hands down the best meal of my life
the beach
17 mile drive-the lone cypress


friday:
corrina's birthday!
santa cruz
breakfast at gayles
shopping
THE BOARDWALK!
the beach
a late arrival into san francisco
the dodge caravan on lombard street and the golden gate bridge
a midnight dinner at the cheesecake factory
a pile of girls on 2 queens and 2 rollaways at the drake hotel


saturday:
san francisco
tartine-morning bun.
the ferry building
to die for cheeeeese and bread and miette bakery treats for lunch
a bay tour with hans on the emerald lady
new friends from indonesia
a photo op with a budding actor
in-n-out, duh.


it's a slow and hard detox after a trip like that.


and as fun filled as it was we've agreed to offset it with our next trip being at some all inclusive resort where the only traveling we do is between the hotel room and a towel on the beach.


these girls are some of the best of the best. it was a good trip.
and so begins the photo overload: 

where we stayed...basically in a picture book, those shipleys.

morning shanty babies

the handiwork of our incredible host.

stowaways, don't you just want to squeeze 'em

ainsley! the sweetest always smiling shanty babe

anderson, the newest shanty babe, he fell asleep while i was holding him one night. talk about fueling my baby craving.

bums.

yes, robin has pants on.

a candy shop in carmel...i mean.

pretty sure something mildly inappropriate was happening here.

my red headed friend of 18 years.

i can still smell the ocean in this picture-aubry and carrie

5 seconds after the big reveal the kids got there hands on the party.

eat here.

i think this was my favorite day of the trip. the santa cruz boardwalk and roller coaster.

i'm asking for an instax for my birthday

what's san francisco without the fog.

it's pretty much like this.

best $10 bay tour, even the ticket boy was cute.

and there's more here. 

ROOOOAD trip: jackson hole to island park

the drive from jackson hole to island park was right out of memory lane for me. spencer and i used to make that drive often when we were dating and first married living in rexburg. the pass. driggs. tetonia! there were a couple of times i wanted to roll down the window, stick my head out and sing...it felt good to be back.

we arrived at my sister in-law's family's cabin monday afternoon and spent the next week reunioning with my family.

memorable highlights:

-not feeding the fish at big springs (darn seagulls)

-a whole lotta buffalo, a coyote, a 7 pt elk, and an almost bear sighting in yellowstone national park

-the mens in rubber pants-fly fishing and spencer's broken shoes

-a girls afternoon in west yellowstone and the BUFFALO PURSE! 

-pete's pizza and a familiar street banjo player/former BYUI professor...kinda weird yes?

-swimming
-gas station treats in west yellowstone on our 8th anniversary. yep. we're still working on scheduling a do over.

-attempting to golf=hit a bucket of balls=break a club and get eaten alive by mosquitoes... but the views were breathtaking.

-a bonfire and "schmoes"

-the second annual pinochle tournament and candy bar game

*we're kind of nerdy but iiiii think we're kind of funny too.

playing aside, i always look forward to the quieter evenings when i'm with family. i love the late night snacks and jokes and conversation, it's what really fills my family hole.

the week went by much too fast as fun weeks always do. we packed up and headed out saturday morning. although i always get a little teary, the goodbyes weren't bad this round. kyle and jeneca followed us to boise for another week, and nate and julie + crew accepted a job offer while we were there and they're moving to town TODAY!


we stopped in rexburg on the way home to see the campus- jaw dropping different but the things that matter were the same. romney 55, the spori, the shanty, horkleys and mill hollow. and those fields in the summer, i tell ya.


the end.

ROOOAAAD trip: utah to jackson hole

after a late start sunday morning, we drug out the drive even more by missing our turn off in logan (yap yap, my fault). we ended up in preston, idaho, (hey hey napoleon!) and veered back on track.


that drive i tell ya, it'll take your breath away. we arrived in jackson sometime between lunch and dinner where we sat and talked with grandpa pack and admired sylvia's yard and garden-GREEEEEN thumb that woman.


sylvia made us dinner, and then we took a walk to the park behind their house to let the kids run wild for a bit. i felt like we were in a painting while the kids were swinging at the base of snow king. there is no shortage of pretty in that town, it doesn't matter which way you turn.


we grabbed breakfast at the wort hotel just like always, and said a somewhat teary goodbye.


although spencer's grandpa's health has deteriorated since i saw him last, i was taken with his sense of humor and positive attitude. he's lost his sight almost completely and he's been struggling with dementia for some time. but he is soooo pleasant and funny. he would pipe up here and there with a random joke, or comment about the kids and their sweet little voices. he told us over and over again that our kids were going to be the smartest kids in school because they talk so much... pretty sure he's right.


he melted me a bit that man.


*i was sad to hear that he doesn't remember us coming, but we remember marv- we remember. and the kids were thrilled to meet their great grandpa pack and sylvia.