Vegas Weekend

Here are a few photos with the story coming later about what we all did for the weekend!

A farwell BBQ

I returned home from my family reunion to say farewell to Jared. He moved up to Utah to start his MBA program at the University of Utah. Jared is a wonderful friend and it was always fun to hang out with him and friends. I first met Jared in high school when I was in St. George visiting my friends family. It was love at first sight as a 17 year old. ;-) I wish him huge success in his program and look forward to my trips to Utah in the next 2 years.

Monday Quote

And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

*A personal thought*

This scripture has been on the forefront of my mind lately. I have always enjoyed giving my time to be there for someone else in need. If you call my grandmother she will tell you I am too kind but I don't believe anyone can be too kind. For those brief moments where I am either planning to serve or serving I am able to lose myself and be reminded of all the wonderful blessing in my life. As a single adult it is so easy to be selfish and to focus on what is good for you. The more I can give the more I grow and come to appreciate my talents that I have been blessed with. It is nice to have an hour or two just forget about a broken heart, decisions on a career and graduate school, dating, friends, family, the economy, etc.

You just had to be there

Just part of a short conversation that had the entire table laughing.

Boy: Can I sit there?

Me: Are you wet?

Boy: Are we going to touch?

Me: I hope not.

08-08-08 Weekend

Friday night 08-08-08 Bonfire at San Onofre

Kristin, Jeremy, Lacey

Morgan and Kristin

Morgan, Ali, Kristin

Kristin & Lacey

Kawika & Kristin

Jeremy & Kristin

Bret & Kristin

Jeremy, Wendy,Taylor, Kristin, Spencer,Morgan, Peter

Spencer & Taylor

Peter Sandwich

A group longboarding

Today was not just another Friday because the date just happened to be 08-08-08. The open ceremony's for the Olympics began this evening and to see the world come together is also history in the making. Side note here that gas prices have dropped and instead of reaching closer to $5 a gallon we are back to $4. It will still take over $50 to fill up my car but that is cheap compared SUV's filling up a 16 gallon tank. My day was average with just work, a birthday party followed up with a bonfire at San Onofre State Beach. Saturday was another packed day and ended with a dance at Wild Rivers followed by a midnight skate session with some guys. Another fun weekend this summer!

Lily Blessing Day

My final day in Utah was spent in Midway attending the blessing of my niece Lily Ann Emmett. Lily was super star and was happy the entire day. She looked very adorable in her dress made by Grandma McEuen. The family all gathered over at the McEuen home for a BBQ after church. It was a wonderful day to end my weekend in Utah.

Family Reunion

My family with Grandma & Grandpa
(Missing Elder Emmett)

Emmett Family minus a few

Cousins

This was the final day of the reunion ending the three days with family photos in the back yard of Twin Pine Ranch. I am extremely blessed to call them family and to have spent a wonderful weekend. More photos can be found on family members blogs.

Family Reunion Bear Lake

On Friday we all gathered on the Idaho side of Bear Lake. It took 4 canopies to shade all of us and the food. I only had a few photos from the day since I spent most of my time out on the boat. I kept wishing I had the camera to capture all the big smiles from being pulled on the tube. The water in the morning was clam and pretty warm for a lake. We had the tube out all day and each cousin took a turn being pulled behind the boat. Special THANKS goes to my brother for bringing the boat from Midway. It was a perfect day of sun and water!

Family Reunion Lagoon Day

This is day one of the Emmett family reunion at the Lagoon. I had a wonderful day and I image so did the rest of my family. It was a hot one in Utah but we all managed to stay cool on some rides and enjoyed a nice lunch in the shade.

8/4/08 Quote

"It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting, he thought, as he looked again at the position of the sun, and hurried his pace." ~ Paulo Coelho

I really enjoyed this line in the book The Alchemist. The word DREAM is on my wall in my bedroom and I love that my room is a place to dream as well as reminding me about life and encouraging me to dream up all the possibilities this life has to offer. It is so easy just to live day to day and do the simple tasks required of me. My dream for the rest of the year would be to explore my dreams and work hard now to accomplish the impossible. I hope you may all dare to dream a little more.

Cycling Tag

The idea is to answer these questions about riding in your blog and tag 3 other bike riders you know.


If you could have any one — and only one — bike in the world, what would it be? My current bike the Ruby by Specialized


Do you already have that coveted dream bike? If so, is it everything you hoped it would be? If not, are you working toward getting it? If you’re not working toward getting it, why not?
I have my dream bike and will keep it forever thanks to my wonderful father who knows me so well to just get a nice one to begin with.


If you had to choose one — and only one — bike route to do every day for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?
Any ride that takes me along the ocean. I do like going up Shady Canyon then down Bonita Canyon, past the temple, up San Miguel, down San Joaquin Hills to the Back Bay trail and home.


What kind of sick person would force another person to ride one and only one bike ride to do for the rest of her / his life? Hm? If you live in Orange County there are hundreds of places to ride. I would not be friends with someone who forced me to ride one course.


Do you ride both road and mountain bikes? If both, which do you prefer and why? If only one or the other, why are you so narrow minded? I started mountain biking when I was really young and just started cycling January 2007. I love both but do road bike more.


Have you ever ridden a recumbent? If so, why? If not, describe the circumstances under which you would ride a recumbent. No

Have you ever raced a triathlon? If so, have you also ever tried strangling yourself with dental floss? No! Two, actually and I love them and hope to do many more.


Suppose you were forced to either give up ice cream or bicycles for the rest of your life. Which would you give up, and why?
Ice cream. I am just thinking about my health


What is a question you think this questionnaire should have asked, but has not? Also, answer it. Have you ever been injured on a bike? Yes! In eight grade I was hit by a car on the tandom bike and also while mountain biking I broke my left arm. (I will have to look for the photo)


You’re riding your bike in the wilderness (if you’re a roadie, you’re on a road, but otherwise the surroundings are quite wilderness-like) and you see a bear. The bear sees you. What do you do?
If I leave him alone he should just leave me alone so I will keep riding. :)


Now, tag three biking bloggers. List them below. My brothers John & Brian, and Mike D.

John Mayer Concert

Monday Quote

Since I am going to be at his concert tomorrow night and I love his new song SAY here is part of the lyrics from John Mayer

Have no fear for givin' in.
Have no fear for giving over.
You better know that in the end
It's better to say too much, than never to say what you need to say again.

Del Mar Races + Gnarls Barkley

My Saturday didn't really get started till the afternoon when I braved the little bit of heat and headed out on a short run before my day picked up with plans. I returned home to find my little nephew Jack ready to go play at the pool. The minute you mention the pool he is off looking for his swim diaper and trunks. I got home and cleaned up and headed off to meet friends for a day at the Del Mar races. When you pile 5 girls and 3 guys into a big SUV turns into very fun drive of great conversations and lots of singing. There was also another car of 4 girls and we picked up one more guy down in San Diego. This was my first experience to any kind of horse races and I had a great time enjoying everyone's company soaking in all the crazy people around. And of course cheering on the horses. Following the races Gnarls Barkley took the stage and put on a concert. Below is a short video of the only song I really know of his. It was a very fun night and THANKS to everyone for another great summer night!

OneRepublic Concert 7/12/08

Two weeks ago I took Mark to the OneRepublic concert at the Orange County fair. Great concert and fun evening! The goal of the evening was to see how many faces Mark could pull but I ended up giving up after 20+ shots and decided just to watch the concert.

Happy Birthday Nephi

I never thought that when I met Nephi at a club three years ago we would still be in touch three years later. For Nephi 25th birthday his best friend and roommate planned a dinner for him at Hooters in Costa Mesa. Surprise!! Following dinner we headed back to 20th street in Huntington for some cake and twister. Thanks for a fun evening and having a birthday in July!

July 18th Reception

So Friday morning my family and I headed down to the San Diego Temple to attend the sealing for Christian and Kennedy. Beautiful! Outside the temple friends and family gathered for the usual photo sessions. Once we got in the large group photo we took off for lunch at P.F. Chang's. We returned to Irvine for a little time to rest and change for the next activity. We headed down to Corona Del for the wards annual corn roast. After 50 minutes of eating and socializing we headed back home for another change of clothes. It was off to the reception in Dove Canyon. I spent a short time at the reception so I don't have very many photos. From my time there you can tell the couple has a lot of family and friends showing support. Yummy tacos, salads, fruit lemonade, cake and the ice cream bar were just the perfect treat. I made plans to join friends to see Batman at 10:40 in Newport. Great movie but I did think it was a little scary but did enjoy it. Loving my summer!

The Corn Roast

Every summer since I can remember moving to Irvine I have always enjoyed attending my wards corn roast. After spending the day in San Diego I was exciting to head down to the beach for an hour to eat corn and watermelon. This year the trip was short so we could catch the wedding reception for Christian and Kennedy in Dove Canyon.

San Diego Wedding July 18th

Introducing Christian and Kennedy Clayton

The day in San Diego couldn't have been any better. The weather was just perfect and the couple was smiling from ear to ear with joy. The Clayton family grew up in Irvine and Christian became best friends with my little brothers Brian and Michael. I was blessed to spend two summer with Christian after he moved into my parents home. He became just like a little brother to me and I could not be happier for him and the next step in his life.

Quote

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Having Character or Being A Character

Some enjoy being a character, letting their eccentricity define their personalities. It is always easier to be a character than to have character! After all, getting attention is not as important as getting wisdom; the asserting of self is not as important as serving others. Yet, for some, getting attention is their way of validating their worth. Furthermore, focusing on being a character keeps us from directing our lives toward becoming the men and women of Christ by emulating His character (3 Nephi 27:27).
Those with sterling character, always in short supply, are invariably the high-yield and low-maintenance individuals who deflect attention from themselves to others—just as both of the two great commandments encourage and direct. It is too bad if seeking the spotlight diverts us from worshiping the Light of the World. Character, after all, is the composite of what we carry into eternity; it is not only portable but eternal. There is no limitation on such luggage.
~ Neal A. Maxwell


I don't have time to add my personal thoughts to this but it is something I have thought about recently and found this in a book Whom the Lord LOVETH- The Journey of Discipleship

Quote of the Week

♫ "Love isn't about finding that perfect person. It's about learning to love an imperfect person perfectly."

I saw this quote on someone blog while doing a little browsing today and felt like I would share. I have decided I will be sharing more quotes and trying to have a quote of the week on Monday. Seeing how I have not married yet I will be thinking about how this quote will help me in that future relationship. I believe this can help me love my family better. Since no one is perfect my ability to love can be perfect by allowing the love my Savior has for me grow for everyone else. It is easier to be quick to judge so trying to be quick to feel love for someone will be very rewarding. I hope if anything else happens this year my love for my family and friends will be able to grow perfectly.