State Fair and a New Job :)

The last few weeks have been packed! Randy got me (Mindy) a job at our local Costco and I have been constantly exhausted since I started. It is wonderful to have a job to fill my spare time, especially because the hospital changed Dusty from part-time to full-time this week, but I was not physically prepared to work for 8 hours a day. I was super excited for my first day and made Dusty take a picture. I should have had him take another one when I got home but, I don't think I want anyone seeing how sweaty and tired I was.

The day after I started work Dusty and I went to the State Fair. I LOVE the State Fair and Dusty tolerates my love and will go with me. We got to see my Aunt Michelle and Uncle Phil because my cousin Gavin was showing a sheep and heifer in the animal competition. My Grandma and Grandpa McClain were also there to support Gavin so we got to see them as well. Its nice to see my family without having to drive for an hour or so to get there. Here are some highlights of our State Fair trip:

Dusty and his foot-long hot dog

A corn dog as long as my head!

No State Fair trip is finished until we get our customized graffiti art t-shirts from our favorite gangsters. Dusty decided to get a Seattle Super Sonic's t-shirt (last year he got a Seattle Seahawks's shirt) and I opted for a cute and cuddly Care Bear. 

The barrel caption tells the truth, we had bushels of fun at the State Fair!

The following Sunday while Dusty was doing a 12hr shift at the hospital (his last one!) I tried to make dinner while doing my homework. I totally burned the bacon that I was cooking and I was pretty close to starting a grease fire! I had to lay on the floor of our apartment for an hour because the smoke was so thick. Our apartment smelled like bacon grease for three days after the incident. I am pretty ashamed of my bacon burn:

Later in the week, after the bacon incident Dusty took me to the park on my day off and we played on the playground and threw the football. Dusty is working on teaching me how to throw a perfect spiral in case one day he dies in a freak accident. He says that our children all need to know how to do it, and if he isn't there to teach them then I will have to do it. I try to tell him that I don't need to learn and that it is impossible for him to die before me but he insists that I still need to learn. 

Our picture at the park <3

Recent Happenings

The last few months have been busy! Here are some pictures of our new apartment that Dusty mentioned in his last post:

the view from the front door

the living room

the kitchen

the guest bedroom

our bedroom

the bathroom

the bathroom continued. 

At first I (Mindy) really, really, REALLY didn't like our apartment, but the longer we live her the more I am ok with it.  The man who lived here before us was a P.I.G. and didn't clean when he moved out, so when we moved in we had to clean it all up.  But, we love being downtown because we can walk to lots of great places. The other night while walking to Whole Foods for dinner we found a hidden garden in the middle of a block. We also found a great pool to get a pass to this summer, so that Dusty could finally get some sun after working in a library for a few years. The poor man still had to use tons of sunscreen at the end of the summer or else he fried so fast I swear you could hear his skin crackle. 

At the end of the summer (or the first week of school in my case) Randy and Susie invited us up for the best vacation ever! Here are some highlights of our trip: 

making Dusty's birthday dinner

(we had carne asada)

look at how big mr. Cole is now!

Randy is my favorite father-in-law (and my only one)

eating birthday dessert <3

we went to visit Klane and Amy at their club house on Lake Washington. this is a video of Dusty jumping of the 20m platform. I was the official video taker. after one jump in the water I was done for the entire day. Washington sun does not dry you as fast at Utah sun does and I was freezing!!

a candid family shot after our day at the lake

olive garden to celebrate my good grades. yes, its true, I get better grades than Dusty :)

a lovely night of family bowling where Cole whooped up on everyone and I think I barely got a 70. 

Every trip to Washington just gets better and better. Dusty loves visiting and Washington feels more like home to me every time we go. If I had to pick between Washington and Utah, despite the weak sun, I think I would pick Washington every time.