The Incredible Indestructable Blackberry

Sorry it's been FOREVER since the last post. I've had tons to blog about, and plenty of time to do it, I'm just extremely forgetful. So apologies all around. Today I'd like the tell the story of Jake's extremely tough Blackberry. We got it a few days after our wedding, and since then it has undergone some harsh treatment, such as.... falling onto concrete or a hard surface dozens (and dozens) of times, falling into a milk shake, falling into water multiple times, falling on the beach and getting sand stuck in the little ball scroller thing, and.... getting run over by a truck!! No joke! Here is the picture to prove it.

Jake was out with a friend offroading and hiking and somehow his phone fell out of his pocket. When they were half way down the mountain he realized his phone was missing so they drove back to find it. Jake found it implanted in the ground with tire marks on it. And it still works! What an amazing phone!
We're back in Arizona, living with Jake's parents and uncertain about the future. We'd been thinking of moving to Utah at the end of the year but I doubt that is going to happen now. So we're just gunna wing it and see where jobs take us. Jake's had some interviews at Go Daddy and is hoping to get a call back soon.
Our last days in CA were pretty fun. I'd moved back to AZ a week or so before to start job hunting but went back to CA to clean our apartment and haul the rest of our stuff home. We drove down through San Diego on or way home because Jake wanted to go swimming with sharks, like my sister and I did last summer with my cousin Krista. So we drove to La Jolla and had a blast snorkeling with leopard sharks! They are completely harmless and pretty small so now worries! We did see a sting ray though and that kinda freaked me out. I miss our friends from CA and the nice weather but it's good to be home.

Ode to Madi's Magnificent Bag

Oh my beautiful Argentinian companion. How I weep for thee. Our six years together have seemed but a moment, and the thought of life without you torments my heart. You have been by my side everyday. Walked where I have walked, cried where I have cried. You were there, a gentle presence, for every important occasion in my teen and adult life. No school day passed without your beauty. No track meet occurred without your colorful threads. No date was allowed without you as my chaperon. Each time my feet stepped out into the world I felt safe with your soft pressure on my shoulders.

You've been the receiver of countless compliments given by unknown passersby. You bend and twist to hold whatever I desire. Your strings have snapped carrying my burdens, and still you thrive; despite my meager attempts of mending. You are a precious gift, brought by a beloved brother over thousands of miles, to serve a small girl of fifteen. I thank you now for your tireless efforts, and give you the respite you deserve. Although you will no longer travel with me each day, I will always remember our time together, and miss you eternally.

OK so this might seem a little over the top, but for those of you who have known me for several years you know that this bag goes EVERYWHERE I do. I have never been a purse person, and I love this bag so much because it's a backpack and I don't have to carry it or worry about it falling off my shoulder. It's perfect for every occasion except one. And that occasion is job interviews. The last few interviews I went to I felt pretty ridiculous dressed up in my awesome suit pants and blouse, carrying a brightly colored, shabby backpack. So I decided I needed something a little more mature. And boring. So I made Jake help me pick out a purse that looks professional but still retains a lot of functions that I like in my old bag. I have never liked the way I look wearing a purse so Jake was great at giving me his opinions and we found one we liked! I'm sure I will still use my backpack all the time, but for normal day to day stuff I have a new "grown up" bag. So farewell my sweet Argentine accessory!

Birthday Boy

We went back to AZ again for Jake's birthday. It was great to see family and relax for the weekend! We especially had fun playing with Jake's twin nieces Sadie and Grace. They are pretty much the only thing I took pictures of the whole weekend.

Oh BONUS! I got see my wonderful friend Sarah, who just moved to Mesa. I wasn't planing on visiting her but Jake and I needed to go to the distribution center and when we walked in, there she was! She was busy working but it was so nice to visit with her for a while!

Sadie and Jake, Grace and Madi

Jake and the girls were playing with jitters, crawling around and barking at her. I think Sadie kept meowing though...

The girls had so much fun digging in the backyard with their new gardening gloves! And Grace found Jessy's hat and glasses and turned into a gangster :)

Jake + Wings =
:)

Creepy Jake. Creepy Madi.

To the Beach

Jake and I have been able to go to the beach quite a bit, so here a few pictures of our adventures.

We took a frisbee and the guys were playing in the waves. Jake made a sweet catch here! And paid the consequences with a burn from the sand.

My friend Naomi and I took our dogs to the beach last week. We had a blast! The dogs hate the water though. Jitters loves to run around in the sand, but I wasn't allowed to her off her leash.
Naomi looked so cute in her dress and sun hat. Here she took Jitters out to the water, she was so terrified!

LACMA

So a few of my friends here in CA and I decided to head to L.A. yesterday and visit the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It was AMAZING! We got sort of lost on the way there but thank goodness for iphones and for the good parking lot guy who gave us our money back when we accidentally parked 6 miles away from our destination. This museums is huge and spread over quite a large area so we didn't even get to see half of the stuff there, but what we did see was great! We started in the European art section which featured mostly Christian art which is awesome and creepy and super symbolic. I wish I remembered all the stuff from my art history classes! One of my favorite sections was the Roman gallery. They have some beautiful statues and jewelry and pottery. Ugh I need to go to Rome!

This was an interesting forest of lampost right outside the museum. It would probably look awesome at night!

I also loved the Japanese Pavilion. Such beautiful ink paintings on silk, and some pretty amazing block prints too.
I was so excited about these panels! I actually learned about these in my Japanese art history class. I never imagined I'd get to see these in my entire life!! Oh i love art museums!

This is a beautiful Mary Cassatt piece. She was a famous impressionist painter known for her paintings of mothers and children. She is my high school art teachers favorite artist.

I about died when I saw this chair. Back at Utah State I had to build a chair out of cardboard for a 3D design class and this was the EXACT chair I modeled mine after. I'm not sure why but I just love it so much! Designed by Charles Rohlfs.

Volleyball

Every Monday and Wednesday the guys get together to play volleyball before work. Last week Jake did a killer baseball slide in an attempt to save the ball, and this is what happened to his leg.

Pretty sweet scab eh?

Everyone loves action shots!

This one is my favorite! It's fun to watch him play sports and be competitive in something other than video games :)

Newport

Last week Jesse and Mallory invited us to their beach house in Newport! Wohoo! Jake took a day off of work and we drove down there early in the morning. When we got there it was pretty cloudy so we decided to go see Transformers and wait for the sun to come out. After the movie we spent a lovely afternoon at the beach! Jake and Jesse went boogie boarding and Mallory and I sat on the beach. Jake almost got attacked by a seal (haha!) and every once in a while a dolphin would show up to play in the waves.

That night Mallory's parents took us out to eat which was super nice. Then we walked around the shops at Huntington Beach, ate some ice cream and a frozen banana, and went back to chill at the beach house. We had to leave early the next morning but we had so much fun! Thanks Jesse and Mallory for a wonderful day!

Jake found a kite on the beach in the morning. After about an hour of untangling string, he wrapped it around a toiletpaper roll and ta da!