Memorial Day Shindig

Memorial Day was really fun this year! We (Mom, Dad, Neil and I) went to Scipio which is where my grandparents lived before they passed away and where I remember spending pretty much every Memorial Day, and had a family picnic. It was mostly my dad's cousins and their families who were there, and most of them I didn't know, but it gave me a great opportunity to meet new people. Actually, I probably have met most of them before but just don't remember. Anyway, the Monroe family is made up of super friendly, nice, people so it wasn't too hard to make friends!

This is my adorable 2nd cousin, Landon. I think. I'm not 100% sure how we're related, but I think he's my dad's cousin's son. Everyone loved him and his bubbly little personality. My mom said he should be the poster child for America!

Neil and my cousin Erica's little boy, Parker, sharing a snack. It looks like Neil is about to eat a Cheeto or something, but it's actually a baby snack that was pretty weird tasting. Neil liked them though, almost as much as cute little Parker!

My cousin Laura playing with her niece, Aubry.

My cousin James helping his nephew, Parker, down the stairs. James is just two weeks (ish) older than Neil and most of us think they look a lot alike. They were both so good with the little kids, chasing them around and playing on the playground with them. They're good guys!

Aubry telling me how old she is. We had three babies born right in a row in the family: Jarrett, Conley (my other cousin's little boy), and Aubry.

This is my dad teasing Aubry. That's my cousin Ashley (Aubry's mom) in the white shirt.

Thanks for being so awesome, family! I love you!

Da Boyz!

I'm making up for my text-happy posts earlier with some picture-happy ones. This is Carson and Ronny who are both practicing standing up and pulling tablecloths down. I couldn't get them both to look at me at the same time, but they are still so cute and fun! They're both pretty chill little guys too, as long as their mommies are in sight. :)

Kickball!

When the whole family was at our house for our Hogle Zoo adventure (see Tyann's blog because I'm too lazy and she picked the best pics: http://dtpangan.blogspot.com/2009/05/trip-to-zoo.html ) it was such nice weather that we couldn't resist a little outdoor playtime. It reminded me of when Dad would play a modified version of baseball (since we only had three players usually) with me and Neil in the backyard. This time it was kickball with a huge ball which made it easier for the little ones. It was so fun to have a bunch of us just playing together!

Ali proved to be a pretty good pitcher. You can't see it too well,
but the expression on her face is priceless!

A cool action shot of Ali going for the home run!

This is Bree helping "Bunny" kick the ball.
She and Jarrett struggled with the concepts of the game a little. :)

Jarrett was a pretty good kicker and pitcher, he just didn't get the running part.

Bree and Jarrett eventually gave up on kickball and started stick-fighting instead. Surprisingly, they were really good with each other and there were no injuries!

A couple good group shots.

Interesting tidbit: once when playing baseball with Dad in the backyard I stepped on a rusty nail sticking out of one of our wooden bases (not that smart, I know). This time, I was playing barefoot (again, not that smart) and I scraped the tip of my toe off running across the cement. No tetanus shot this time, but it sure hurt! Good thing I had "Nurse" Rachel to help me out!

Okay, peeps. This is random but really important! :)

Star Trek was one of the most fantastic movies I've ever seen! The actors were awesome (Kirk was especially attractive, Scotty was hilarious, and there was even a cameo from one of my favorite television actors); the cinematography was completely unique and interesting (all kinds of extreme angles and this weird light thing; you kind of have to see it); the effects were truly stunning (they quite literally dropped my jaw on several occasions); the explosions were massive; there were several fist fights, a sword fight, and a shoot out which were all intense; and it had just the right balance of humor, angst, and action. Oh yeah, and a super creepy bad guy with a very spiky ship! So, basically, I totally recomend it*!

Here's an interesting little comparison for you. I thought they did really well on finding actors who looked like the originals. Also, little-kid-Spock looked a LOT like the older version. Kinda cool.



*I feel the need to warn you of a smoochy scene. No one's actually naked, but pretty close. Close your eyes and it will be over soon. :)

My Trip to Cali

So, tragically, my camera got buried in a duffel bag full of blankets when I moved my stuff from my apartment back home (yes, I now reside in Orem again) and I didn't find it until AFTER I got home from my two-week California adventure. I was very sad. My roommates that I went with got some pictures but I don't have access to them yet, so you'll have to deal with a big chunk of text because I'm going to tell you about it with or without accompanying photos. Sorry.

We, my roommates Lauren, Sarah, Courtney, and I, left for Cali on the twenty-second, the last day of finals. We didn't get going until five in the afternoon so we decided to spend the night in Vegas with Lauren's good friend, Courtney Waldron. We eventually made it to Orange, which is where Lauren lives, without any mishaps, though we did have an almost run-in with the Italian mafia on Zzyzx Road. Lauren and Courtney both live in the same area so Sarah and I met their families and then got our stuff settled in at Lauren's house.

That night we went to a Duck's game, and felt an earthquake! It was just a little one, but it was kind of exciting.

The next day we went to the Getty museum in LA which is really cool and free, and then we drove up Hollywood hills to see the sign. That night we went to a beach party but it got broken up by the cops because it was after ten or some such nonsense.

The next morning we headed to Corona Del Mar beach which was gorgeous. It was kind of cold because of a breeze, but we had fun in the water anyway. It was the first time I've ever gotten more than my feet wet in the ocean! Lauren and Courtney insisted Sarah and I go completely under even though the water was freezing.

The next few days we hung out with Lauren's friends and family and watched movies and ate delicious food. On the twenty-ninth we went to the San Diego Zoo which was way fun! We spent all day there and took two of Lauren's nieces and nephews with us: Daniel and Katie.

The next day we went to the beach again and saw sea lions and dolphins! That night we had a bonfire on the beach and I lost my new flip-flops.

We went to Venice Beach a couple days later and it was so fun! It's basically this open market kind of deal where people just set up their little stalls along the sidewalk and you can find really strange things and people there.

Then we went to Disneyland! Lauren's sister's friend works there and got us in for free, and it was also Sarah's birthday so the day was fantastic.

Our second-to-last day we went to LA again to check out the La Brea tar pits and the accompanying museum. That night Lauren's sunday school teacher took the whole young adult sunday school class out to dinner at this awesome little restaurant called Ruby's on the Pier, and yes, it is literally on the pier.

Our flight home left at 7:30 PM so we went to LA again that morning to see the stars on Hollywood Boulevard before heading to the airport. It was a nice short flight and we were home again!

Wow, that turned out really long. So, if you made it all the way to the bottom, congratulations! Maybe someday I'll post some pictures . . .