July iPhone Pics

• Tornadoes in Kansas City!  Well -- sort of.  One actually touched down just a couple of miles from my house.  And while my sister-in-law was texting me to get down in my basement as the tornado sirens wailed, I was standing out on my front porch trying to get a video of it all.

• Good thing that tornado didn't come any closer to my house, because I JUST got a new roof put on!  It's not what I would have picked - I don't particularly like the color - but it's what the new buyers wanted. 

• Hunter thought my new mask and snorkel were quite entertaining...

• By request, dinner at grams consisted of the following: chips, cookies, crackers, and gatorade to wash it down.  You know, all the healthy stuff.

• I bet I made 100 trips back and forth between my house and my moms house this month moving furniture and clothes and garden tools and boxes.  Here I was sitting in the back of the truck holding on to some of my bedroom furniture so it didn't topple over on the short drive.

• Speaking of bedroom furniture... ^^ This is my new room at my moms!  It's quite a bit smaller than my room was at my house, but I still managed to fit almost all of my furniture in it.

•  I've been working on a big surprise for Scott for his birthday.  I got Scuba certified!

           I only had to lie to him a few weekends about what I was doing or where I was.
           This particular weekend, I got up at 4am, drove to Beaver Lake, AK, and did my open water dives.

BEFORE      and       AFTER

I can't say I'm a huge fan of it yet, but I think I will be once I get to do it in clear Caribbean water next month (BELIZE!).  The cold, murky Arkansas lake water was a stretch for me...

I was one of 9 people getting certified that weekend -- and the only female!

• This is how bright my room is at 6:30 am on a Saturday.  #notcool  #needcurtainsASAP

• Just another beautiful Kansas sunset from my porch.

• Lunch date at Elsa's Ethiopian.  The best traditional Ethiopian food in KC, in my opinion.  Added bonus:  Elsa, the Ethiopian owner, is about the sweetest little lady I've ever met.

•  Free tv's!  I posted this picture on Facebook, and they were gone the next morning.

•  Scott and I had a game of sneaking polaroid pictures in to places the other would find when we weren't together.  I missed this one -- like, months ago.  So long ago that he didn't even remember when he hid it there.  It was in my sunglasses case.  Apparently I don't wear those sunglasses very often.

• This just looks (and sounds) pretty delicious.  Going to have to give it a try!

• I had some pretty cute visitors at work while their mom was out of town.  (And yes, Hadley is still in pajames at noon.  That's what happens when Gramma babysits!) 

• I officially closed on my house in July.  These were the pictures I took when I went over for the last time to do a final walk-through.  Surprisingly, I'm not sad at all about it.  Just happy to not have to pay that mortgage any more! 

And one picture of the grass that Scott planted back in May! 

• My mom decided she needed some reflective paper put up over her sky light to keep the heat out.  And she chose about the hottest day of the year for me to get up on a 20 foot ladder and do it. 

That's a lot of sweat on my back...

• My first time running in ... months.  3 miles was an accomplishment considering my side hurt after three blocks.  This is about as out of shape as I can remember being in awhile. 

•  Friday night ice cream date with these two cuties to end the month:

The HideOut Wedding

I left Tahoe Monday night...and was heading back that Friday night.  This time for Scott's brothers wedding at The HideOut in Kirkwood, CA.

Kansas City to Sacramento.  No big deal, right?

Wrong.

My flight was delayed, then delayed again...and then cancelled.

This has NOT been my summer for air travel!

I took a cab back (because I couldn't get a hold of my mom) and tried the airport again Saturday morning, after multiple phone calls in the middle of the night, when my SECOND flight got cancelled as well!  (I finally got them to switch me airlines all together...)

Long story short, I made it to Sacramento late Saturday morning, and to The HideOut in Kirkwood with about an hour to spare before the wedding prep started.  Talk about cutting it close...

I snapped this sweet pic of Scott's sister and niece before the wedding:

The HideOut was such a unique and beautiful spot for a wedding.  From the giant, rustic house to the surrounding mountains and outdoor hot tub, the whole place was breath taking.

I didn't take many pictures of the actual wedding, but I did manage to get some of Scott and I:

"Burt first, let me take a selfie..."

Had to get a shot of our cowboy boots! 

Scott's sister sent me this pic the next day.  Not the best quality, but I'll take it :)

The whole Baker side of the family -- I had to move way back just to get them all in the frame!

The highlight of the wedding was when Scott flew the rings in via drone (no pictures).

And the highlight of the reception had to be the wedding party taking shots off the ice luge!

Scott delivered one of the best speeches I've heard.  Funny, personal, touching...there weren't many dry eyes left when he was done.  (I so wish I would have recorded it!)

Wedding pictures of the bride and groom:

The rest of the night was spent on the dance floor.  I had one shot and that was all it took for me to attempt the Dirty Dancing move with Scott's cousins husband.  (I warned him to keep the alcohol away from me!)

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On Sunday, we had a few options for activities. 

Okay, more than a few.  There are countless things to do in the area.  But Scott's aunt really wanted to go horse back riding.  So much, in fact, that she offered to pay to take all of us!

The last time I was on a horse, I think I was 5 and I got bucked off when my brother got mad that I got to ride first.  

So, yeah, I'm not a big horse fan.  But these guys clearly weren't movers and shakers, so I was okay with a little jaunt up the mountain on one.

All the horses just did as they were told:  walked super slowly and perfectly in line up the mountain.

The lake view from the top was pretty spectacular, and we couldn't have asked for any better weather.

Scott's horse was last in line and enjoyed taking his sweet time (ie falling way behind the group)

That night, we did a lot of cleaning up and packing up.  We had to vacate The HideOut Monday morning so the next group could come in.  (That place is booked out for a year!)

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For some reason, I agreed to get up super early to drive in to South Lake Tahoe for some morning adventures out on the water.

That all sounded fine and dandy...until I realized the morning temperature in the valley was a crsip 33.

Thanks, but no thanks.  

I didn't even put my suit on, instead choosing to curl up in a hoodie AND zero-degree sleeping bag, while the other crazies jumped in the water.

Wakeboarding:

Wake surfing:

And finally, slalom skiing:

Seriously.  He's wet and in shorts.  I'm cold just sitting there in a sleeping bag!

After they thawed out and I finally emerged from hibernation in the sleeping bag, we grabbed some brunch at a local spot, dropped off a van full of wedding decorations at Scott's house, and then hit the road back to Sacramento for my flight home.

For once, my flight was almost on time.  BUT, it was a red-eye, so it still sucked.  I  traveled all night and landed back in KC just in time to race to the office for my 8-5.

This red-eye and travel delays stuff is getting old this month.  He's lucky he's cute. ;)