A PLACE OF JOY (refer to the bottom picture)

For MY SISTER'S BIRTHDAY (yes, that's right...her birthday, not mine) she got me a plane ticket to come see her for the weekend! Now, time for my cheesy post. I HAVE THE BEST SISTER IN THE WHOLE WORLD. Here are of few of the reasons that she is the best: She always knows how to cheer me up. Whenever I get sad JP tells me to call Hollie because he knows she can make me happy. She is the most thoughtful and generous person I know and doesn't want/expect anything in return. She gives me presents and surprises like crazy and will threaten me with my life if I ever try to pay her back. She won't even take an hour of babysitting for free, (that's kind of messed up, I know) and I LOVE babysitting her kids. She is the funniest person ever. I could write a book about her all-time funniest moments because there are so many. I would list a few, but I'm not sure she'd be very happy with me :) She is very protective of me and everyone else she loves (hence her awesome comments on my blog). She is an amazingly talented dancer and cares about each one of her students. She really invests time, energy, and interest in those girls and they all love her. She is an awesome mom and has the coolest kids. She is crazy busy, but will make time for anyone who needs it. I could go on and on forever, but I'll save that for a rainy day (there are a lot here, so it won't be too long!). I hope you had a Happy Birthday! I love you!!!

I'm a little bit of an obsessed aunt, and it was sooo fun to see the kids. Libby and Hollie have the same birthday, so it was a combined celebration with the fam.









Libby got her first real manicure and pedicure. She's starting young!





The kids were as cute as ever and it was so good to see my family. For the Utah family and friends I didn't get to see, please don't hate me! I really didn't have very much time.


Believe it or not, I did not post every biking picture we have ever taken. I guess I'm a little camera happy and we are a little one-dimensional in our hobbies. JP and I slid and fell at the exact same time. He stood up and asked me how I fell at such an easy spot and he was serious (it was very dark, steep, and muddy), so I asked him the same question :) I'm frowning because I'm covered in mud and JP is examining the damage.





A little fun with iphoto. I think I'm going to frame these and hang them next to each other. They will fit right in with the rest of our overly colorful apartment.




A view of Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier. We could also see Mt. Hood and Mt. Saint Helens. The other side was the coolest view I've ever seen (way prettier than this), but our camera stopped working. JP and I could not believe how pretty it was. We went on a 28 mile ride in Hood river with some guys JP met. I thought I was going to puke by mile 2, but managed to finish alive. It was sooo beautiful!

Moments before we got robbed :(

The lone rider. He's pretty lonely without his crew!

These pictures were just taken yesterday. Can you believe everything is so colorful in November? This was our first official ride in the pouring rain. It's about triple the workout on the uphill and pretty muddy! I should've taken before and after shots cause we were covered in mud.


I thought JP was going to make a goofy face because he always does, but look who's the goofy one now!





Just before the downpour of rain. I LOVE all my headbands Kelene (I don't know if you ever look at this)Thanks again!

The sign above him says, "A Place of Joy". We both thought that was pretty funny, but we did have a joyous time.