A mini reunion in Minnesoooota

I love this girl and it was so fun to hang out with her, even if it was just for a few days. I flew out to Minnesota (state #35!) to be with my beloved Sarah and to meet her cute baby. 

These pictures just about sum up our friendship:

We go on walks

We stick our tongues out

We pretend we mean business

We visit giant spoons

We have no idea what is going on 

And then said friend decided to create cute cross-eyed baby. 

Thanks for the memories, Sar. So fun to catch up, reminisce, talk about boys, and eat treats with you. Until next time...

A major #tbt (except it's not Thursday)

It's amazing what can happen in a year!

One year ago I had just moved to Utah after 5 years in DC and a very epic road trip across the country. Here is my instagram post from 1 year ago.

My welcome home committee!

And then 8 days after arriving, I met this guy down below. This is us about a week ago or so...

We are so cute

we love the temple

And this is us on our official 1 year anniversary of our first date. It's amazing what can happen in a year. It's equally amazing to think that someone you've known for only a year can quickly become your best friend and confidante!

on the golf course. I am a nice girlfriend. 

Have I mentioned how grateful I am that I moved back to Utah? What a blessing that move has been in my life! God bless change.

It's Always a Good Time!

Yes it is, with the Baers of course!!!

The epic Baer family reunion commenced a few weeks ago at Aspen Grove, a family camp in Provo Canyon. It was a beautiful week with all of my family, fun activities, and lots of laughter and shared memories. There are 43 of us with all the nieces, nephews, spouses, and my mom. It's pretty crazy, but so much fun to be with everyone, especially in such a gorgeous setting.

It all starts with some amazing scenery. 

No reunion is complete without some BYU creamery chocolate milk

WARNING: The selfie stick is making its next debut. It is slowly transforming the hearts of my family members. :)

Let the crazy selfies begin...

With the boys

And more cuties

Sophie was excited, of course. 

Weird!

How many can you fit with a selfie stick?

Girls gotta stick together

The sibs!

No selfie stick for this one

The whole kitten caboodle.

we played family games together

We played basketball together. Sadly I am super slow and out of shape!

Brad came to hang out with me! I love my cowboy.

We also played outdoor laser tag

And I taught everyone a dance. "It's always a good time!"

Cute nephews

This little dude is so adorable.

Hiking with the adults

Good thing for a selfie stick!

Love my niece.

Churro anyone?

Even cosmo came to visit

It was a fun week with everyone! I am so grateful for my family and for reunions that bring us together. Looking forward to Aspen Grove 2020! :)

A wave of gratitude

Since summer vacation started, I have had a lot of time to get projects done. It's been awesome! My main project so far has been working on organizing my childhood, high school, BYU, mission, and young adult years. It's been a lot of work. I have enjoyed reminiscing and reviewing past journal entries, letters, yearbooks, and other artifacts that were so near and dear to me at that time.                                                   The overwhelming feeling I have received while doing this has been so much gratitude! I am so grateful for the life I have led and the experiences I've had. I would never want it any differently. I know I have said this so many times, but I'm saying it again: I am glad that marriage and family was not in the cards for me in my early 20s as I had hoped. The trials, friendships, professional experiences and opportunities I have had has shaped me into the person I am today and I would never want to give those things up. 

So yes. God knows best. He knows I needed some extra time under my belt to be single and to grow in different ways. And I am so, so grateful. Thank you, Lord, for seeing the bigger picture.

Arch ya something?!? #friendtrip2015

This was a trip of firsts:

• First road trip with a boyfriend
• First trip to Moab (which includes Arches and Canyonlands)
• First trip with a selfie stick. Yep, I'm one of those people that bought one from Amazon. I like to be trendy. :)

Nonetheless, it was a fun 3 day adventure. Here are just some highlights. And btw, many of the pictures look the same because they include red rock and Brad and I in our selfie stick pose. Whatevs...

Beautiful Canyonlands!

Mesa Arch. A very famous picture. 

We like to do silliness at Canyonlands. :)

First day at Arches. My hair was still down at that point. Pretty soon it would go up!

Another great selfie stick pic.

One of the arches. A lot of Asian tourists behind us.

We believe in shade!

A double arch kiss!

And let's get a legit one. I just became that girl that posts a picture of a boy kissing me. Sue me. 

We made it to Delicate Arch. Not pictured: Very sweaty backsides. 

The hike here was brutal (for us non-hikers) but so worth it!

Where's Susie? I had the arch all to myself!

A majestic sunset in Moab over the Green River. No filter!

That's where we stayed. In separate bedrooms. ;)

Landscape Arch

Another fun little one over there :)

We had a great time together! It was hot but otherwise the weather was beautiful. I loved being with the BF for 3 days, too. I loved our #friendtrip2015--and yes, we are much more than friends. 

Peace. 

ps. The selfie stick rocks in case anyone is contemplating getting one!