AI Reject!

Ok, ok, so I gave in and decided to try out for American Idol in SLC yesterday. I thought it would be a really fun experience even though I wasn't expecting to make it past the first round. Sam and I drove to the Energy Solutions Arena at 5:30 Monday morning to get me registered. I thought we would fight traffic and then, after getting there, fight the crowd to get in and get back home around 10. We got to the arena around 7:30 (I thought they didn't open til 8, but I guess it was 5) and there was NOBODY there. There were a few people walking away, but no one else at the registration tables. So it took all of 2 minutes and I was ready!
Yesterday we left around quarter after 4 and arrived just after 5. We waited on the sidewalk outside the former Delta Center until 8:30 with all the other thousands of people, read, talked, listened to other people being interviewed by news stations. It wasn't as... exciting... as I thought it would be.

I did, however, get my picture taken with Justin Guarini, runner up from season one. We got to the entrance and they were taking all our food away! Sam had a giant purse full of food, so she proceeded to empty a few things out in front of the security guy and, after only pulling out about 1/3 of our stash, grabbed her bag and walked in while he inspected my bag. Nice... so then we sang as a group and screamed for the cameras and everything and cheered for Ryan Seacrest. After all that hype, it was very boring. We all had to be quiet because they were auditioning down on the floor. I saw a few friends from choir and such there who were also auditioning. Tiffany's brother, Tyson, was there with his friend, but they were way, way ahead of me. I started texting him and he informed me that his belt had broken. Ha! I told him that the strap on my purse could be taken off and could be adjusted, so I took it over for him to try. It worked perfectly, and while we were over there the girl in front of him said she had an extra ticket in that section and gave it to me. So instead of waiting until 7ish to audition, I went around 2. I went, I sang, I left. That was about it. On the way home, a radio station asked for auditioners to call in and tell about the experience. I called in, and they asked me to sing for them. They played the clip right after the song was finished so at least I got to sing on the radio! Cool... overall, it wasn't terribly exciting, but better than being at work I guess :)

Pioneer Day

Ok, one more quick one before bed... only because I want to get caught up on my pictures!
Of course, as everyone knows, Thursday was Pioneer Day in Utah. Holiday means no work so already the day had a fabulous start! We went to the parade where my dad was announcing, as usual. Then we came home to relax for a little bit. It wasn't long before I was off again though, running around. I went to visit my friend, Shantae, and her cute baby girl. She was really bored because her husband DID have to work and I hadn't seen the baby yet so I took advantage of the free time. After that I ran over to David's Bridal to get fitted for my wedding dress... just kidding. I had a piece of my brides maid dress waiting for me that I had to pick up. We won't get into how that situation is "fitting." (Ugh)
After my Layton stops, I went to my sister's house. I had mentioned going on a hike that day (for the health promotion program at work, and it just sounded like a good idea) and my sister said she wanted to go. I picked up Shron and London (London was the only that helped mow the lawn, so she was the only one that could come) and we headed to Waterfall Canyon... with our three water bottles.
Here's a tip... don't go hiking on the hottest day of the year in the middle of the afternoon with only one small water bottle per person... it's not a good situation. We still had fun, or at least I did. Here are a few pictures, this is what happens when you give your camera to someone else...














Later that night we had a cook out with some of the family at our house. I miss the good ol' days when we would all get together at Grandma's and have a big bbq, and this was a little taste of the golden days.











I was hoping to get to the rodeo this year but sadly, never did. I WILL go next year, even if I have to go by myself! Instead, I stayed home and finished and delivered some pre-wedding pictures.


I hope they don't mind me posting one of my favorites!















This was the message I got from the bride later that night...
"Lisa, these pictures are so much more and better than I could have ever imagined! Seriously, I'm gonna cry! Thank you so much! I love them more than you will ever know!"

All in all it was a really good day!

Super Summer...

So before I head to bed tonight I thought I would quickly blog about my experience at the NO 25th Ward Super Summer Activity.
We went up to Alpine, WY to go white water rafting, so of course I was ecstatic! My family was supposed to go up there the same weekend so I was going to raft with the ward on Thursday and with the family on Friday, but they ended up not going. So wednesday I drove up with my dad and a few people from the ward and we set up camp. That night there were a few... over-excited... people by the camp fire until the wee hours of the morning. Needless to say, I was a little ticked about the noise level and my inability to sleep through it. Oh, well...
Thursday was my rafting day. I went on the first two runs, jumping in the freezing cold river on the first. It was so much fun and not as dangerous as we thought it would be with the water level where it was. The third run I went to take pictures of everyone on the rafts. It was a lot of fun!
That night, we went to see the Bar J Wranglers... the highlight for me... I love going to their show! Of course, it could have a little something to do with how handsome Brian is :) anyway, the show was hilarious, as expected and then we went back to camp for s'mores which I did splurge on.
Friday I didn't get to raft at all so I spent my time taking pictures and video at Lunch Counter (with Sam's help) and goofing around at the lake near our camp site. It was a lot of fun with our cheap blow up water loungers which, of course, I never got a picture of!
That night we had testimony meeting which was really good... they usually are... except for the fact that I 'thought' I was getting eaten by mosquitos all over. I didn't sleep well because I was itching so bad all night long. When we FINALLY got home Saturday (finally only because I was still itching miserabley) I realized it wasn't bites at all. I was having an allergic reaction to something, I never did figure out what. I've never been allergic to anything before, so it was really frustrating. I took benedryl every 4 hours without fail. The rash never completely went away until maybe Wednesday. It was pretty awful. But besides the nastiness of huge red welts all over, the trip was pretty fun! Sam and Kim and I bonded and had a blast!
It was really fun having dad there, too! :)

Photographs

Here are three photographs I took around sunset while we were at the beach. I'm planning on putting one of these in the Weber County and Utah State Fairs. My personal favorite is the one with the little girl. Let me know which one you would vote for!

Oceanside

Oceanside Girl

Oceanside Birds

Chino, CA

Ok, so it's been a while, and now that I have a few down minutes I thought I would FINALLY write about my latest Cali experience! So here goes...
Once I FINALLY got to Ontario (after a very lengthy delay in Phoenix...see previous post) I was greeted by Lindsay and her mom at the airport. I was just so excited to be where I was so supposed to be! Because of lack of sleep, you'd think that I would have been exhausted, but I think the sugar rush from my cinnabon kicked in. We went back to the house and Lindsay showed me her wedding dress. We had sort of decided not to do pictures that day like we'd originally planned, but when I saw it, we had to get them done! We did her hair and went and took some pretty good photographs. I'm not allowed to post any of them yet, because the wedding isn't until September :) but I will later...promise! Anyway, as soon as we were done we picked up her fiance, Anthony, from work and went back to the house. My sugar rush must not have lasted too long because I totally crashed for about 3 hours. When I woke up, we ate dinner and headed off to her 'bachelorette party.' We went and played bridal shower games and ate a TON of food (not good for trying to fit into a dress...oh well) and just talked for a while. Later we decided to go to a restaurant called... BJ's I think...in our party attire which, for Lindsay, consisted of a tiara and a Bride to Be sash. We got a lot of comments and it was really fun. We got home about 1:30 and crashed again.
Saturday was Lindsay's day at work so I hung out with Anthony all afternoon. We went swimming at her grandparents house with her sister, Kelly, and had fun. Later, we picked up Lindsay from work, but after she had seen some of my other pictures, she decided that she wanted sunset bridals. So we put the dress back on and took more photos. It was a lot more fun because she was so much more excited about the time of day! Later that night we went to a 21 and over video arcade, Dave & Busters, where I won enough tickets to get a t-shirt... I totally rocked! Ha ha...
Sunday, we went to the singles ward, home for lunch, and then off to my 'surprise.' We went to Huntington Beach and had a bonfire. Lindsay had read in an email I'd sent her that I had never had a bon fire on the beach, so she wanted to do something special for me that I had never done... AW! It was windy, but still really fun! We walked along the shore, roasted hot dogs, and took pictures. I loved it! I just wished the wind had settled a little but it was worth it.
Monday morning, I got on a plane and flew home. Other than major turbulence, the flight process wasn't NEARLY as bad as the trip down was...
It was an awesome trip, and I'm so excited to go back in September for the wedding!

The Arizona Monsoon

Thursday night I left to fly to California to see Lindsay. I got the the SL airport just after 5 because my parents were going to ward temple night and had to be there at 7. I didn't mind getting to the airport early because I brought a book with me so I figured I could just get a good head start on it before my plane took off. Little did I know how much I could get done...
The plane from SL to Phoenix was supposed to leave at 8 p.m. The plane finally arrived at the SL airport around 10 so with much frustration we quickly boarded the plane. It finally arrived in Phoenix at 10:30 amidst the pouring rain...that's right, rain in Phoenix. Apparently it is monsoon season in Arizona! I wish someone would have told me that before I planned my trip! We got off the plane to a crowded airport full of people whose flights were delayed just like mine... I met some really nice people, 3 who were going to Seattle and one who was going to Vegas. They were trying to throw garbage into the recycle bin that I was cozied up next to. One woman mentioned to me that she wasn't aiming for me but apologized in advance if she did hit me which she did on the next try! After about an hour all four got on planes and left I would guess between an hour and two hours later. My flight ended up getting cancelled, but don't worry, they told us about an hour after they found out and we had to ask them, they didn't announce it! Lame... so I stood in one of three lines of at least 20 people to get my ticket changed while on hold on the phone to see if I could get through to the airline faster. By this time it was about 2:00 in the morning and I was exhausted! My phone battery died just before I got to the counter and the guy got me on the next flight to Ontario... at 7:00 in the morning. I almost just had him put me on the next flight back to SL... I had talked to my brother who lives in Mesa earlier in the evening, but I had woken him up and I didn't want to wake him again because I thought he lived 45 minutes away from the airport and it would be pointless to go to his house for an hour before he had to take me back to the airport before work. So I plugged my phone in and waited for it to charge a bit, grabbed a couple airline blankets and a pillow, rested my head on my camera bag, looped the handle of the other bag around my arm and settled myself on the uncomfortable airport seats for a good night's sleep... of 2 hours. It was about 3:30 in the morning before I finally got to sleep and people coming in to fly woke me up around quarter after 5. I talked to Danny again in the morning and he informed me that he only lived 10 or 15 minutes away from the airport... DANG! I wished I had called him, but oh well. So my plane left on time and I arrived in California at 8:00 in the morning on the 11th, nine hours after I was supposed to... what a great night! Gue...
I bought myself a Cinnabon in the morning.

WAHOO!!!

Ok, since it's been a while since I posted last, I decided I'm bored enough at work (and excited enough to leave) that I would post about a few wahoo moments I've had the last few days...
So yesterday was pretty much one of the greatest days EVER! I talked to the marketing director at America First (where I will be doing my internship) and found out that he will allow me to start my internship in September! How freaking awesome is that!?! I believe it is paid so, barring any complications, I will be leaving the Weber County Elections Office at the end of August... so sad... NOT! WAHOO!!!
The river is going down, slowly but surely! At this rate, there are sure to be some wicked awesome good times at my ward river trip/family trip next week. I can't wait to get back on the river again... WAHOO!!!
I checked my facebook account last night before I went to bed (very, very late) and noticed that my friend Shnikki is engaged! A few years ago I took some 'engagement pictures' of her and a friend of hers... ok, so they were just posing for me so I could get some experience. Looks like I'll have to take those photos off my website :) Congratulations, Shnikki! WAHOO!!!
I got to go bowling with a few friends tuesday night. I wasn't feeling extremely well and thought about staying home and working on photos, but I decided to get out and have fun... so I did! I love bowling, and the fact that I beat everyone (and my high score) in the second round was just a little bonus... WAHOO!!!
The work week has gone by super fast, which rarely happens. The days have been flying by and for that I am truly grateful... WAHOO!!! (is this getting annoying yet? ha ha)
Oh, yeah... I leave for California to see my Lindsay in SIX HOURS!!! Holy cow, I can't wait to get away from work for a few days and just chill in Chino with my girl and her family. I will have to work a little down there... taking her bridal photos... aw nuts! Ha ha it's a good thing I like that sort of work, eh? Oh, man I can't wait! Be sure to check back for pictures :) WAHOO!!!

Thank you for bearing with my state of utter excitedness...

Fair Photographs

I am entering three of the photographs from my blog (down on the right side) in the Weber County Fair in August. I could really use some help on choosing the best ones that will maybe win me something! If you can't tell, I like intense color :) I also have a few bridal and wedding photos that would possibly work as well. Let me know what you think, please! I will reorder them as people choose favorites and put the best ones at the top. Thanks everyone!

Blog Award...

I want to thank Andrea for giving me a blog award! She definitely deserves one in my opinion! The winner of this award must follow a few rules:

Rules
#1 - You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award, whether for creativity, design, interesting material, and/or also contributes to the blogging community, no matter the language.
#2 - Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone. (all of mine are on the side of my blog)
#3 - Each winner has to show the award and put the name and link of the blogger who has given him or her the award. (Andrea's is there as well)
#4 - The winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of Arte y pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
#5 - The winner must show these rules. So the following 5 are the winners I have chosen, in no particular order:

Unglamorous
This is my sister's blog, and I'm sure she uses some of her husband's photographs. Most of you now I'm a huge fan of photographs and Justin's are pretty much awesome. She also writes on her blog fairly often which keeps me entertained at work every now and then.

Leslie
I think I've met this woman twice... she is my brother-in-law's best friend's wife. Wow, what a line! I love her blog because it is so beautifully put together and there is so much emotion in her words. It's amazing how much others can learn from one person's hardships.

On The Farm
My cousin is so funny, as you can tell by the title. They have lots of animals and a cute little boy. I like reading this blog because of the pictures, again, and because there is often something new to read!

Arrington Family Blog
Of course... it's all about my family! There are adorable pictures of all my nieces and nephews, and that in and of itself makes a fantastic blog! Ha ha aw!

AAA's Along Our Road
I like this one because my sister-in-law has awesome pictures as well. She also updates fairly often (barring a few weeks when she was out of blogging range) and I like reading about all the fun stuff they do!

I'm adding an honorary 6th because I love Andrea's blog, even though she already has one. Just like she relates to mine, I relate to hers more than she knows! I guess it's safe to say we relate to each other...interesting thought! Andrea, if you read this, you're so cute!

Now it's your turn! Make someone's day (specifically five other people) and give them this award. I suppose this is like one of those chain letters. But I can't promise that you'll find your true love in 5 days or that you'll receive a life changing phone call in 10. I can promise that it makes the recipient feel special...so, why not? Spread the love, people! And thank you for the enjoyment you've brought to myself and others!

Front Runner Here We Come!

I have a little down time at work, so I decided to write about mine and Tiffany's adventure to Salt Lake saturday afternoon. I'll post pictures later when I get home...
Tiffany and I met at the Union Station Front Runner stop around 12:45 and bought our first tickets ever for the the Front Runner! Riding the train was a lot of fun and, even though it takes a little longer, was so much better than driving down to Salt Lake in traffic. We chatted and took a couple pictures on the train and had fun :) We took Trax to the Gateway and spent a few hours there. We went shopping - it seemed every store we went into was having a sale - and spent money neither of us really have but we had so much fun doing it! We wandered a bit and then went to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen...one of my favorite place. It was nice because the pizzas are big enough that two people can share one, which is what we did. After dinner we decided to head back home because we were supposed to be meeting people later that night and we thought we'd get back in enough time to freshen up a bit. For the first little while on the way back we had to stand, but it wasn't bad at all, even a little adventurous! After a while we found seats at a table on the in-between level of the train and we laid out all the things we bought and took pictures. I'm sure the people around us thought we were crazy, but we were totally having a blast! All in all, despite our missing friends, we had so much fun! I look forward to riding Front Runner again soon... It will be even nicer when we can hop on in Pleasant View!

Car Shows and Beach Boys

While I was at West Haven Days saturday there was an old fashioned car show next to the end point of the race...
I've been to a few car shows in my lifetime, most just passing by or passing through. I think it must be in the rule book of holding car shows that you have to play Beach Boys songs during the show. Just being next to the car show for about 45 minutes I think I heard probably 4 or 5 Beach Boys songs mixed in with a few other oldies. It's not that I mind the music, I just noticed it seems to be a necessity for the events.
Every time I hear "Daddy Took the T-Bird Away" I will think of the awesome, classic cars from any car show.

First 5k of 2008

It's been a few days since, but I wanted to write about my first 5k of this year! Shron was in charge of the West Haven Days race last saturday so I decided to run it. I didn't have a very good week as far as being healthy goes (girls' camp is always unfriendly to the calorie count) so I was a little nervous. I ran most of the time, only walking twice for about 50 ft or so. I had some issues with a girl that was running in front of me most of the way (even skinny girls shouldn't wear short booty shorts) so I decided I had to pass her. I passed another girl about a quarter of a mile from the finish line and when I saw her coming up behind me closer to the end I didn't want her to beat me so I sprinted through the finish line. I ended up with my personal best for a 5k, 29 min. 21 sec. I know it's not the best and probably could be better, but I was very excited and it made me more motivated for this friday. Another exciting point of this race was that I received my first gold medal ever! I beat all the other girls in my age bracket, including a girl from my ward. There were only a few of us ages 18-24, but it still felt really good! I'm looking forward to racing again on the 4th, and am very excited to start training again for Canyonlands 2009! Woo hoo!!!