the grateful place

hi guys I wanted to be a blog friend again I'm back

[neeeeekah]

8//24 L A G O O N

Super fun to have a free day with these goonies after a long first week of work + school. We did the classic fried chicken for lunch and dipping dots.... but add a Rockstar to that mix and you’ve got yourself a non-roller-coaster-ready stomach after lunch, haha. We’re getting old.

I loved getting to spend some one on one time with both Dayne and mom, who I get the least alone time with at home. We hit all the fun rides early, strolled around, hit the pool, and laughed all day. I’m thankful for mama krist who thinks to plan these kinds of things so that we will have some family memories from our far-apart summer. Just missing pabs, but he’ll be home soon enough. 💛

Thankful for: the fact that most of the accidents on rides at lagoon happened in the 1920s and not recently.

[neeeeekah]

REAL LIFE 8//15

Last week was a kicker! Started a new job at Blue Raven Solar, which is busy and exhausting but I love it. Our trusty (lol) Dodge Stratus broke down at the bottom of a hill 6 blocks from my work on my 2nd day. There were a lot of rescuers that day, including tow truck guys, kind strangers who helped me push it up a hill (twice!) and brother and dad. Grateful it all worked out! And that work was understanding.

Yardsaled with mama krist, thrifted with Emma, put daynes hair in many, many little buns each night (per his request) while we watched Friends, our new nightly ritual. Marshmallow-in-mouth contest at work (the record was 205!! Mine was 170), a pizza FaceTime date night with Paul, and I think that pretty much covers it.

Grateful for: the help and kindness of strangers, the comfort of being with family, a job where I feel useful and purposeful. 💛

Now for school to start 😩

[neeeeekah]

week 4/01

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2nd grade teacher vs evil super villain

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Caption later 🙄

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Friday June 22--- team makaden gets SEALT. It was beautiful and heartwarming. The 24 hours of Paul was not bad either... 💕i was 40 minutes late to the airport for different reasons and he'd been up since 3 am with no food..... yet when I picked him up there was no annoyance only love and forgiveness he is the BEST. Whenever I am with him I am amazed by his good heart. Being in the sealing room, playing board games with grandma, dancing at the wedding reception, and goofing off at Bella's house. Friday should be a little longer than all the other days.

[neeeeekah]

5 am sunrise hike to buffalo peak. Very worth it. Those cloud shadows ... 😵 those yellow flowers 😯

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HERMANA SPACKMAN IS MARRIED 🤗🤗 (but she's still spackman, cause she's sweetly stubborn like that and didn't change her name.) such a sweet ceremony and so good to reminisce with the most fun hermanas

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day 2: Went to the International district uwajimaya market, rode around on our green limebikes that are parked everywhere in he streets, Got lost finding asian ice cream parlors and went to a giant playground and climbed up the key bank arena, dance battling and jumping on shoulders, Sunset on Alki beach and played black magic and games, Hop jacks for lemonades and dinner Went to paul and Brandon's old bishops house and finagled some general conference tickets, Bella and brandon bonded over nick Jonas. They are the same person.

day 3 went to church, met the g-parents, paul got a shoutout in class for jumping in the ocean, walk to snoqualmie river, told stories, helped cook dinner, had burgers, watched baby cousin Ava jump all over everybody and cuddled, swung and dead man in the trampoline with Ava, ultimate jenga and what- if game night, introduced paul and Bella to the glorious train wreck that is the bee movie, we thought we were going early to bed, before deciding at 2 am to jump in freezing lake sammamish. We all piled in the bed for treehouse talks.

day 4: Got up, paul cooked breakfast sandwiches, planned to meet up with my internship family in Fremont but it didn't work out. Tried catching geese at the Ballard locks, took brandon and maddie to airport, met up with Brett and mik at molly moons again, sat on Queen Anne’s bridge with paul and bells, got blue Trapper's sushi w Kirk, went hot tubbing (in our wet lake clothes, because no one told me to bring a swimsuit lol. Gotta stay covered up and modest wearing leggings in the hot tub) and lake views with deep talks.

last day: Woke up, smoothies, Sarah brought us chocolate, packed, went into the city and rented THE LONG AWAITED MO-PED, took turns riding on the back while paul drove and blasts Downtown by Macklemore too many times (what a good sport) and waited in Starbucks, (when I got on paul played Return to innocence, Skye's and my SONG haha best moment ever.) pedded to the waterfront, came back to get car, stopped at country pride diner, which was ghetto but so good. The dude speaking in the next booth was speaking southern and bells and i translated it for Paul's inexperienced ears hahah. 14 hour car ride, I was the designated awake person the whole time and I felt soooo sick. We finally arrive. Sleep until 2 pm then work til close. Goooood times Seattle 2018.

[neeeeekah]

Spring breaaaaak : We got in the car around 4. The all star lineup was brandon Barnard, dare king extraordinaire, hilarious, quippy, and that friend who just absolutely pushes you to your limits- his fiancée and Erin's replacement maddie cowan, dance major at byu and cutie laid back freshman from Oklahoma, Isabella housel, angel on earth, and my paul bateman, best friend and our Seattle connection. Started off strong all the way through Idaho and into the dark with good talks and rest periods, i took a driving shift around 9. Watercolored a bit in the car, and heard about the missionaries that Bella has been set up with by her various friends, who she is writing to and waiting for them to come home. Skye made her zone leader write a resume for Bella, hahah, and we watched old funny videos of Skye. All empty-stomached around 1 am, we stopped at a greasy Dennys in tiny little Pendleton Oregon- but not before calling to make sure they were open, paul on he phone to a very sarcastic employee: "hi yes... do I need to make... a reservation?" Him: "I'm sure we can kick someone out to fit you in..." From there it was a dark blur until we pulled up to issaquah- at 7 AM- and paul made us stop at his old high school to try and say hi to his old band teacher- everything was locked haha. Stopped at early morning seminary to try and catch rosa- she wasn't there because she was sick. Got home, Slept in til 11-12. Slept at Paul's house Woke up with French toast from Suzanne, headed out to the Pike place waterfront. kirk bateman, brother, rosa bateman cutest bunny ever and Abby came. We ate at Ivars, went o the market: ate ghost pepper jelly, bought chocolate pasta, spilled blue honey sticks on Paul's shirt, dance battles, brandon solo danced for the fiddler, a Vietnamese magician guy taught us about unity, Kirk kissed monkfish, visited the gum wall and took a pyramid picture and lots of portraits, paul completed his date of a front flip into the puget sound and wore a pair of girls sweatpants home. Lol. We went to molly moons, it was sunny and freezing. Drove home. Best first kiss ever, the end.

[neeeeekah]

Ashlie told me my blog gets a C- so here are some posts. Greyson snow gets #blessed

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tired or no?

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Study breaks always well spent looking in little center street shops, in the mountains, or babysitting the littles (mitt was not down with eating ice cream in the tub: "this feels wrong!")

[neeeeekah]

Mid-April Gratitude viewz

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Sundays are best with your best friend

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♥️ my heart has 1 yr in Argentina

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A mid-April week: Somehow the "little walks in the mountains" I promise erin always end up with her hiking some steep crevice in Birkenstocks... game night, ft. surprise fig newtons (I'm a grandma) and LAUREN IS ENGAGED helpful little dayne relaxing in the hot tub after buying his new responsible car and selling his speedboi Subaru Late night gym runs after too much dessert at a ward BBQ, and some glowing 7 am morning mountains.