Home Again, Safe and Sound.

One of the biggest parts of my childhood was our family cabin. The Lee Family cabin (Lee being my Grandma Regis' maiden name) is located here. My Great Grandfather Lee built the cabin with his own two hands a hammer and a saw. It took him a couple years but it is sure a beautiful place. My family would travel down to the cabin a couple times a summer. It is the perfect way to escape from the world. There is no cell phone reception or Internet at our cabin which creates the ideal atmosphere to just relax. I have many many happy memories at the cabin. Its my home away from home.

This weekend my Dad and Grandma went down to Fish Lake to open it up for the summer. Opening it up basically means taking the boards off the windows from the winter, cleaning up the trees that fell, deep cleaning the inside and outside and restocking the woodpile so everyone who stays there over the summer can enjoy the beauty of the mountainside. G and I decided this would be an excellent weekend to go down there since G has never been before. After I got off of work on Saturday, we packed the car and headed out. We almost made it out of our parking lot before disaster struck. A Ford Escape in front of G and I stalled and rolled down the driveway and basically squished the front end of our little car. We had to pull our little car out from underneath it... to discover that they had dented in our hood, dislodged the front bumper just a bit and cracked our front headlight. At first glance we thought we would be okay, but as we inspected it closer we realized that the hood of our car wouldn't close, so the second we hit high speeds it could possibly fly up and, as G put it, pull a tommy boy. So we had to take my little Mazda. My car is a good old reliable car, but unfortunately it doesn't like going more than sixty, maybe seventy mph. So the trip took us a little longer than usual. When we finally pulled up to my the cabin we were welcomed by my Dad and Grandma who wondered what took us so long?!? As we told them our story my Grandma fried up some bratwurst and we had a delicious dinner before they took off. I was glad we got to spend an hour or two with them before they went home. Before he had left my Dad built in the fireplace the perfect setup for a roaring fire! All we had to do was strike a match and throw it in! and we had a beautiful fire going in just a couple mins! We got to cuddle up by the fire and play card games and board games until it got dark enough to venture outside. Another blessing of our cabin being out in the middle of nowhere is at night time there is no pollution or light to dilute the stars. You can literally see hundreds more stars then you would in the city. G and I went stargazing for a while before we called it a night. In the morning we woke up late (a bummer because we missed church at the lodge which is a real treat) and had some breakfast. Then we went on a Sunday walk around the lake shore and down to the lodge. On our way back to the cabin I took him on the scenic route so we could see all the other cabins on the mountain, there are some pretty big ones! When we came back home we tried to start a fire... let me tell you, its a lot harder to start a fire without my Dad! I tried for a good half an hour and had one or two good attempts before I gave up. Luckily I married an Eagle Scout who took over and had it up and running in ten minutes! We heated up some beef stew for lunch and I beat him at Rummikub a couple times before we cleaned the cabin and packed up to go home. It was a relaxing overnight stay and G can't wait to go back! It was so nice to spend good quality time together since G and I have conflicting work schedules we don't get to spend as much time together as we would like. Unfortunately, our camera died when we got up to the cabin, but not before we took this pretty pic!

G's first trip to the family cabin!
Romantic fire, games, and stargazing = the perfect weekend!

Two Weeks in Two Minutes

Wow! What a great two weeks it has been!!! I have been busy as a bee! Running here and there and everywhere! When I sat down to write about whats new in the O'Brien household I realized I couldn't leave out any part of the last week and half since I last wrote, it has been so jam packed with interesting things. So brace yourselves because this post might be a long one! I suppose I will start at the beginning!

For those of you who don't know G and I just moved into a new apartment! We moved from a one bedroom, one bathroom apt. at Cambridge Court, into a two bedroom, two bathroom condo at La Jolla.... FOR THE SAME PRICE!!! We were so excited!! Not only is it twice as big, but our La Jolla home has its own washer and dryer ( a luxury in Provo student housing) and two covered parking spaces! We couldn't believe our great fortune! However, since both G and I work full time it has been difficult to find time to pack up all our belongings and actually move. So my Mommy came to the rescue! On Thursday my mommy and sister Melissa came down to help me move! We moved a couple car loads over then ended the day like true Dilleys... with a legendary J-Dawg and a nap! Thanks for the great day!
  


Me, Mom, Melissa... enjoying a sunny day in Provo



Mom eating her first J-Dawg!

Next on our agenda was a wedding!!! My dear friend from high school Tori Thornell was married to Sam Hawkins in the Bountiful Temple on May 13, 2011. Congratulations to the happy couple! She was a beautiful bride and he was handsome and smiling from ear to ear! It was so much fun to catch up with all my friends who I don't get to see as often as I would like. One thing that made me smile was how so many of my friends told me how much they enjoy reading my blog!! Thank you! Thank you, girls for always encouraging me and supporting me!! I love you all! We finished out the night with frozen yogurt, true Bountiful Brave style!

Sabre ,Sally, Me, Cortney, Tori, Rachel, Laurel, Aubrey. Caitlin,
Not pictured: Kierstin, Brianne, Alise, Ali, and many others who were missed!!

Laurel and Cortney

Kierstin, Trevor, Cortney, G, Me, Rachel, Anthony
someone is a seventh wheel.....

The next night G and I drove through the night to get to St. George for a very special weekend. Rewind a couple weeks ago to G's cousin's wedding: G met some very old family friends of his Grandma and Grandpas. Tru and Mary Johnson have known the O'Brien family longer than almost anyone. Tru and G's Grandpa Russell were both in the Air Force together and between the two families they had fourteen children!! When G met the Johnsons he was excited to talk with them about his Grandparents, especially his Grandpa Russell since this year marks the 40 year anniversary since his passing. Fast forward to last weekend: G and I were able to drive down to Johnson home and spend a good two and half hours listening to stories and looking at pictures. They even gave us a valuable treasure: A Hummel figurine that Grandpa Russ brought the Johnsons back from Germany more than 40 years ago. They had so many wonderful things to say about the O'Brien family. It was an honor to be there to hear these stories and record them for future generations before they were lost. Since neither G or I have ever met Grandpa Russ, it was a good way for us to get to know him a little bit better. I will never forget that weekend.

The Hummel Figurine
Village Boy

O'Brien Family Christmas
(My Father-in-law is the cutie in the front in the football helmet)

O'Brien Family Christmas Card they sent the Johnson Family Christmas of '62
My Father-in-law is the boy in the back row.

 When we got back from St. George our next big event was a dinner with our best friends Russ and Tonilyn! Russ is G's cousin. G and I absolutely love Russ and Tonilyn! Since Russ is in the Air Force we don't get to see them as often as we would like to. So whenever they do swing into town we enjoy every second of their company!! We started our evening off at P.F Changs, our favorite restaurant to eat! Right from the beginning of dinner our waiter was grumpy, there was nothing we could have done. But we weren't about to let a grumpy waiter get us down! We continued to have a wonderful meal complete with a big slice of CHOCOLATE CAKE!! (on the house to make up for our grumpy waiter) Lesson of the story: you should casually mention to another waiter that your waiter is grumpy... you get delicious cake!

After dinner they came back to La Jolla for a traditional O'Brien/Liechty get together which includes playing card games, looking at and/or talking about guns, and eating peanut M&Ms! It was a VERY fun night! And we can't wait to see them again in July!

Russ, Tonilyn, Myself, and G
G was trying to perfect the art of self timer on his camera!

Playing some Rook!

G thought he'd be funny and pull out the boys' guns for the pic.

I wish I could have written a post a piece... they all deserved more detail than I could give in this single posting! I apologize for the long post! Thanks to all my friends and family who continue to read my blog. I love letting you know whats up in my life!! Comment and let me know whats going on in your life!! Loved these past couple of adventures, I can't wait to see what happens this coming week!!

Lucky duck!

Today was one of those days. You know what I'm talking about, a day where everything kinda goes your way. I woke up early for work, but still felt awake and refreshed! Work went great and I even did a couple group interviews with some very promising girls! I came home and made dinner for my husband (who can sometimes be a little bit of a picky eater) and he ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! I made this with this on the side. Thank you allrecipes.com for making my life ten times easier!! Then G and I went over to his cousins house and played Rook (our favorite game!) with cousins Jessie and Barbara! Their friend Jason came over and it was a great night. I smoked everyone!! Two games in a row!! Life was looking pretty good! And then to top it all off.... (drum roll) I won a local contest!! I entered to win a free photo shoot from Ashley Moore Carroll Photography... and I WON!! I am so excited! Tomorrow my mom and my sister are coming down to Provo all day to help me move in to our new condo! Life is so good right now! I love happy days!!

Date Night With a BANG!

This week I was lucky enough to have TWO days off in a row! (Trust me that never happens) So last night G and I went up to Bountiful to celebrate my baby brother's birthday! He's now 15 years old!! CRAZY!! When G and I started dating Tom was only about 5'6" just a short year and half later and he's now taller than G!! He's close to about 6'1" and has a deep voice and muscles! Its crazy when I go home and try to push him around... he can actually push me back now and usually ends up winning! Although sometimes he still lets me win just to keep me happy :) He's a good guy and I love him a lot. Today I spent the whole day running various errands that have built up for weeks! I stayed busy and productive the whole day. G promised that we could have date night tonight so I was determined to check everything off my to-do list! When G got home we packed up lots of empty Gatorade bottles and old milk jugs to use as targets and went shooting! It was so much fun. G owns a 9mm pistol and is teaching me to shoot! We shot 150 rounds in about 45 minutes. It was fun date night and I hope we can do it again soon! Tomorrow I go back to real life and work, but it sure was nice to take a breather and have some fun after being sick.





Gatorade bottles beware... I will shoot you!



While I blogged G cleaned the gun.



In sickness and in heath...

Literally the day we got back from our trip, I began to feel the awful beginnings of feeling sick. I was feeling a little chilly, the back of my throat tickled and it started to hurt when I swallowed. I knew it was inevitable; it was only a matter of time before I was sick. Since I had just taken off a week for vacation I couldn't get myself to justify calling in a sick day, so trying to be brave, I suffered through. Sure enough, the next morning my nose was plugged, my throat was raw. G showed his true colors and was the best husband/nurse any gal could ask for. I would miserably come home from work to his loving arms. He made me soup and took over most of the household chores. I'm sure I was a quite the sight, but G continued to call me beautiful even though my nose got red and there was a mountain of tissues piling up beside our bed. He even let me snuggle up next to him while he read Harry Potter out loud every night (in preparation for the last movie coming out this summer!!) until I would fall asleep. In short he was my personal knight in shining armour! Although, I'm sure this isn't the most glamorous part of marriage it sure was nice to know that I have someone to take care of me. Sure enough, last night G's voice dropped about an octave (something I found quite attractive!) and his throat started to hurt when he swallowed. I hope I can be as good to him as he was to me! As our home continues to fill with coughs and sniffles rest assured, we do so happily because we have each other to serve one another!