Fellow Bloggies!

OhMyGosh! It's yearbook time! Oh yes, I have been sharing my yearbook with you, now I have to ask, "will you sign my yearbook?" I know, nerdy, but really it's just curiosity. I sometimes find myself wondering, "who are my fellow bloggies?" So, do me a favor, click on that little comment button and say hi!

House Watch 2008: Week 1

Not much to report.

Ocean City!

Go to the beach in February? Crazy? No! Just a Halsey thing. Let me share an experience from a few years back, and you will understand why I was surprised we didn't actually get in the water.

August 2004
My first time to Ocean City, first time to Maryland, first time meeting the Halsey's. The first day was beautiful, we all rushed to the beach and spent a relaxing day playing in the water, soaking up the sun and spending what some would consider a stereotypical day at the beach. Second day...I wake up to dark, ominous cloud coverage, the wind is blowing and I'm pretty sure the ocean matches the clouds. (I should probably take the time to explain, I come from a waterskiing family, we lived close enough to the water that if there was even the slightest breeze we would skip skiing that day, and wait and take our pick of days to ski)...So, with this mindset, I assume that we will spend the day enjoying a summer storm from the indoors. I walk out of my room, clad in sweats and nearly drop my fuzzy socks when I see all of the Halsey clan running to and fro in swimsuits, I think there must be a mistake, is there an indoor pool I don't know about? It's cold outside! It quickly dawns on me, as Seth is helping pack lunches and towels that we are actually going to the beach. We are walking out into what I consider potential for hurricane. No one seems concerned, and being new I don't want to seem odd. So, I quickly change into my swimsuit and with one last, long look at my sweatshirt and blankie I bound out the door to the beach.
We arrive at the beach, and I notice that as opposed to yesterday, where there were umbrellas, swimsuits and kid as far as the eyes can see, today there is nothing but sand. I notice our umbrellas and realize they will not be protecting us from the harmful rays of the sun today, oh no, they will be doing their best to protect us from the ferocious wind and sand. We dig deep to secure the umbrellas, and we've had to dig so deep that the umbrellas are millimeters from the sand. I am quickly realizing a foxhole will be necessary to appreciate the work the umbrella is doing. I fully appreciated the oversized umbrellas we have, as by this time not only is it gale-force winds but raining too!
The Halsey clan is busy settling in for a day at the beach, clothes have been shed, sand castles are being built and body surfing is underway. It is possible that day was not the most "perfect" beach day, but it was definitely the most memorable. I learned an important lesson that day, nothing...absolutely nothing stops the Halsey's from a day at the beach.

So, I have digressed...now do you see why I actually packed my swimsuit for this weekend trip? I was half-expecting to be splashing in the waves, in the 40 degree weather! Thankfully I was able to keep my sweatshirt on and the only splashing in water came from puddles. We met Seth's parents and Joan at the beach house and enjoyed a most excellent weekend. It was relaxing, just what we needed. We spent some time strolling along the boardwalk, hit up the miniature golf and just hung out. To some, it would seem an uneventful trip, but it was perfect. Besides there's always next month to get in the water!

Click below to see our pics:
Ocean City

Cadavers and Cheesecake!

Nothing says romance like cadavers and cheesecake! Seth and I take turns being "in charge" of Valentine's day. This year I was responsible. The "Body Worlds" exhibit is in Baltimore right now, and it's something Seth and I have wanted to see for a long time. So, we made a day of it, we went to the Inner Harbor and had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (Seth had never been!) and then we went over to the exhibit. It was fascinating! I know I can't give it justice attempting to describe it, so I would recommend checking out the website: Body Worlds We both agreed that seeing the human body in such detail really gives you a greater respect for your own body...it made us almost regret eating the cheesecake!Um, I think we had a little tooo much cheesecake!

Inner Harbor, love it!

House Watch 2008!

The search is over! No more looking at condos, townhouses, single-family houses, turn of the century, brand new, somewhere in between. Unlike U2, we have successfully found what we're looking for; an awesome townhouse in Havre de Grace. It has everything we're looking for. You are all welcome to come visit now, but as you can see the guest room is not quite finished yet! They are telling us the house should be done in June/July. We are praying that the Construction Gods will smile down on us and all will go quickly, as we have put money down we are also hoping we don't have a change of heart...not likely! Yeah for almost being homeowners!

Snowy Bliss!

Snow, Temple, Timpanogos. Love it!

Snow, oh glorious winter snow! I like living in Maryland, don't get me wrong, but seriously, I love snow in the winter. Unfortunately, snow in Maryland appears to be so rare that it is treated like a holiday or a natural disaster! It was exciting to go back to a state where snow is normal, and so frequent this year that people are actually annoyed by it! Silly people!

My 8-ish days in the presence of mountains was wonderful, busy and awesome! For 8 wonderous days I was oriented when I was in the car, I didn't have to pull out a map, and if a wrong turn was made I could simply go around the block (an actual square block!) and continue on my way. Amazing!

As it was a whirlwind trip, here is the whirlwind recap.

• Hair- lots and lots of hair. From 8:30 am to 11 pm the hair was cut, colored, styled and hot! Yippee for catching up with everyone on Hair Day. I apologize to those who missed out on a Geri-special, not enough time this trip! (Especially you, Dad, I hope your ears are visible to the light sooner than later)

Drew LOVES having his hair done- not quite

• Studio 9 - I miss you. Apparently you miss me too!! If it were possible to commute each week, I might actually consider it. Nah, I love my new salon out here!
  
• Meet for Lunch? Dinner? Done! - Good food, good friends. I love when the two come together! Nothing says friendship like making a Cafe Rio salad last through three hours of catching up! Thanks to those that took the time to graze with me, good times were had by me, hopefully by you too! I don't have pics with all of my fellow-eaters. Sorry Sam and Peter, Mom and Dad and the sistahs.

Joe P and Rio- two Utah specialties

Eric and Chipotle - two of Seth's favorite things!

• Girls Gone Wild! (Uh, not THAT wild!) - Super Sisters' Saturday, I'm glad I didn't miss out! The Ladies got together and went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and exchanged some wild, tacky, scandalous "pink" elephant gifts. Good times! All I can say is edible, furry and polk-a-dots!

Super Sisters - Kellie, Mom, Karen, KayCee, Me, Aunt Genie

• The Royal Dentist - I put up a good fight with the dentist, but he won out and I received another crown. Dumb broken tooth! (Who breaks their tooth eating KFC?) Not only did he make me get a crown, but he cut short a soon-to-be mentioned perfect skiing day! Rude! As I now have the royal jewels in my mouth, I would like it if all you common-folk referred to me as Queen. Thank you.
• The Bronco lives! - A bitter/sweet moment on I-215 when the ol' girl was spotted. I know for a fact it's our baby, her bumper smiles where I bent it 4-wheeling once. It was nice to see she's being driven, sad to see she isn't being driven by a Halsey.

She's Alive! Our Baby!

• Ski Utah! Why, I think I will! - It took a bit of convincing, and little-sister nagging, but I managed to talk Karen and Kellie into going up to Alta for some sweet skiing. Karen was a bit nervous, she is a snowboarder, and her last experience on skiis at Alta, well...anyway, she did awesome! (Who can beat "ski free after 3"). I "heart" Alta.

Alta Ski Bunnies!

• Wait, Ski Utah! Again! - Alta was so great we talked about going up the next day. (This time it didn't require little-sister nagging.) Kellie was convinced, then when Peter (of the Sam and Peter variety) offered us some passes to Deer Valley, we couldn't refuse! (We also couldn't quit grinning!) Karen couldn't make it, but Kellie and I enjoyed an amazing blue-bird day at Deer Valley. I have nothing against snowboarding, in fact I have gone and quite like it, but there is something awesome about skiing at two resorts that are for skiiers only. Love it. Why not have a boarders only resort? Just curious! Thank you Peter!!! (The day would have been perfect if I hadn't had to bail early for the aforementioned dentist.)

Twinners! I didn't realize that we matched until I looked at this picture!

Deer Valley "Dears"

• Pain! The trip was not out it's aches and pains. My back was furious for standing and doing hair all day, my shoulder was also not pleased. To even out the pain, my lower half was not pleased with the skiing. It's been a while, and it's best I don't think about the "old days" when I was a fearless, kamikaze, double diamond, season-pass holder. I see that the days of skiing Ninety-Nine Ninety at the Canyons are behind me. To be safe, we stuck to the blues and my legs were still shaking! Did I mentioned the only fall I had was when I was on the flat. D'oh! Kellie just stood there and laughed. Ouch.
• Sunny Sunday - I couldn't possibly be in town and not go to our old ward. Seth and I have some extremely fond memories of that ward. I just can't get over how genuine everyone is. Miss you!
  
• Roomies Reunion - I love "the girls". They love me, even though I was an hour late! (Oops!) I love getting together with the girls, there are so many funny memories and it's fun to just laugh. I love all of them, even the ones that couldn't make it. (It's not expected when you don't live in the "valley".) But thanks to Steph for calling me while she was at the airport in SLC, for thirty precious minutes we were in the same state!

Roomies!

• Mom & Dad - I sure like you two! Mom and Dad "fit me in" to their busy schedule somewhere between playing cards with the neighbors, going to dinner and more playing cards with the neighbors there was lots of room for me! It was nice to just hang out at their house and not have to think at all. I am content to be in a mindless state once in a while!
• Family Dinner at the Gaufin's - nothing beats Mom's tasty food and funny themed dinners. I spent some much needed play-time with the nephews. I had to reinstate my position as favorite Aunt. I taught them the importance of "big trucks" (hopefully they'll be driving a Bronco one day) and I taught them how to fly on my feet. Good times!

Trucks!

Drew wanted in on Mason's flight!

Drew really liked the spinning!

The trip was awesome. It was a reminder of how great our friends and family are. We couldn't make it in Maryland without your support, thank you!

Click below for the rest of the pics:
Snowy Salt Lake

SLC Here I Come!

I'm on my way to Salt Lake! Woohoo!!