Saturday, June 12, 2010

Favorites

The other day we had our sprinklers on in both yards, and I realized how much I like that sound in the summer. So I decided to make a list of my favorite sounds and smells.

Favorite Sounds:

Sprinklers in the summmer
Windchimes
Rain
Thunder
The sound coffee makers make when they're brewing coffee (not the noisy espresso machines, just the regular ones)
Little noises babies make
People breathing steadily
Crickets at night
Wind, whether a gentle breeze or howling and making ghost sounds (as long as I'm inside when it's super windy)
Rustling sounds trees make because of the wind
Sounds at the swimming pool-I often fall asleep to those noises
Cats purring
Piano, violin, and acoustic guitar

Favorite smells:

Rain (who doesn't like that smell?)
Lavender
Green chile
People's skin
Pillows (they smell strongly of the people who use them)
Babies
A house that has just been cleaned
Sonlight camp (it soooo has its own smell)

Yes, I'm here

It's been exactly one month since I wrote my last blog post. Not that I haven't done anything since then, but I suppose I've been busy and whenever I am at home in White Rock, I spend less time on the computer for whatever reason. Probably because my parents have a big flat-screen TV with satellite...hehe ;)

I started work a couple weeks ago, by covering for people at the YMCA after-school program the last week of school for Los Alamos, and started summer camp a week and a half ago. It's been super tiring, but still fun. I work 8-5 every day with the group of kids going into 2nd grade. A lot of them I know from last summer (because I was with 1st grade), and there are also a few newbies. Several of them have the exact same personality as last summer, and depending on the kid, that's either a good thing or a bad thing. Nonetheless, I'm still enjoying it. We went to the zoo in Albuquerque on Tuesday, and with the heat, the long bus ride back (I had a headache and the kids were being noisy), and how active we were all day, I was exhausted. As in, I got home, laid down on the couch to watch TV, and was out cold within a minute. Good times. I like being busy and working though; being at home with not much to do was nice for a while, but I was definitely ready to do something else besides lay on the couch like a slug. Nah, I wasn't doing that the whole time, but it was also getting kinda boring with everyone at work.

Now for news in the wedding world!
Jake and I are getting our engagement photos taken next Saturday, June 19 in Santa Fe, which will be fun! We found a photography studio online that is based in Santa Fe, and they are pretty fairly priced compared to most other professional studios. We'll probably use them for the wedding too. That same day, my friends Alayna and Danielle are throwing us an engagement party at a restaurant in Santa Fe called Dinner For Two. It's so sweet of them to do this, and it is going to be a lot of fun! I have some great friends:) So there will probably be several people there, mostly friends and my sister, and maybe my brother. We haven't booked a reception site yet because we're still looking, and the date we set (May 21, 2011) is "unofficial" because it depends on Jake's career path. He's looking for something steady which will provide enough for us to live off of when we're married, so prayers and good thoughts would be much appreciated :). If May 21 it is, it will be about two weeks after I finish up my first year of grad school. And hopefully I won't be stricken with seasonal allergies as horribly as I have been the past few weeks... "Erika do you to Jacob to be your husband?" "I...I......ACHOOO!" Yeah that wouldn't be so cool.

Days til the Yellowstone trip: 24
Wait...did I even write about this trip? My parents are taking me on a graduation trip this summer, and I chose Yellowstone because I've never been there but have wanted to go for many years. So we will leave with the camper June 6, stay a night in Cheyenne, then to Gardiner, Montana for five nights, which is very close to Yellowstone National Park. After Montana and Yellowstone we'll go to Jackson, Wyoming for three nights and visit the Grand Tetons over this course. Finally we'll head to Estes Park, Colorado for three nights. I'm super excited. I love camping (whether it's "fake" camping with our trailer or "real" camping with tents), and can't wait to see the beautiful work of God that is Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, the Rockies, and everything in between! Jake is probably coming too, and maybe my brother.

Okay...I think I've caught ya'll up with the goings-on of my life, at least the main ones. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!