MOST BEAUTIFUL BABY EVER!!

In case any of you were wondering who was the most beautiful baby in the world...wonder no more:)

I happen to be related to her.

She is my niece.

Her name is Araliya Grace Heinle...and she is a precious little angel.

See for yourself.

8 Months...wow!

Can you believe we just passed our 8 month anniversary!!

It's weird cause soooo much has happened in the last 8 months, and at the same time it seems like just yesterday that I was freaking out about him calling me at 1:00 am.

What a crazy, fun 8 months it has been! :)

the progression in a nutshell.

Ok, so it's been AGES since I last wrote. Facebook is just so much easier...

But, I will Post...if for nobody else, for Molly:)

I have put it off for so long cause I took pictures of each of the places we've "lived" since moving out to California and I wanted everyone to see the progress. But, I can't seem to find the first picture....so the story is a little less exciting.

Our first place we were in for a month. A TINY little room with a bed and all our stuff crammed in. We made walking space by propping the air mattress up during the day.

Our second place we were in for a week, it was a nice room with a double bed....but again, very little room for 'us'.

And finally, we are in our appartment (and have been for a month now). It's great! We still have very little furniture, but our apartment mate Mandy has been generous in bringing in her couch and TV, and gone out and bought several shelves and a coffee table...so in time it will actually look like a home. For now, Amanda is on an air mattress and I am on a most uncomfortable mattress on the floor. We went last week to Good Will and I got an Ikea chair for cheap! And I think we might go this weekend to get bar stools for a breakfast bar.

Anyways...the complex we are in has two pools, and two hot tubs, an gym...which has a climbing treadmill (super cool!) and we are right beside a walking/running/biking trail that runs straight through the city.

The coolest of all things is that we are within walking distance of both our jobs!! What a blessing! I actually drive to work because there is not a direct route to the office, but if you were to draw a straight line it would probably be a mile. Plus, we can walk to the mall, movie theater, grocery store, post office, and best of all....Cold Stone Creamery! :)

Amanda is working at Princess Cruises, and I am working at The St. John Companies. It's a good job, the pay is decent, the hours are perfect, and its a super casual work environment so I can keep my nose ring (which Travis was happy about).

This weekend we are going to Cornerstone Festival Orange County (the first ever in California!). Then we will come back up here with Travis' siblings and probably have a semi relaxing day hanging out before another week of work.

The flowers are from last week....Travis surprised me at work on my lunch break with those and a drink from Starbucks....made all the women jealous! hehe.

That's all for now...but I will try to be better about posting. I still need to add at least a few pictures of the trip across...maybe later.

hair cut.

My sister and I went today to get our hair trimmed. Since I am moving I thought I could get it done cheaper here, and I couldn't even remember the last time I had gotten it done. So, I told the lady I was planning on donating my hair which was the reason it was so unpractically long, and if she could please just get rid of the split ends and clean it up a bit that would be great. Oh, and what about bangs?!

So, she went to town...and had a blast doing it. She was having so much fun I didn't have the heart to tell her she was taking too much off. Before I knew it...she had taken off at least a foot of hair. Oh well, it's just hair...it'll grow back.

sigh...

The Adventure begins...again.

In exactly one month I will be starting a new adventure. For the uninformed it involves moving clear across the country to a city just north of Los Angeles, California.

Some of you may be sitting there with shock, disbelief, bewilderment, or a big thought balloon with a giant question mark. Others of you are less than surprised, in fact, you were probably beginning to wonder when I would be going somewhere, or maybe even worrying because I still hadn’t come up with anything…until now. But, to relieve any or all of you from the big question…WHY?

Here is the answer:

Aside from the thrill of a road trip across the country, living 45 minutes from Malibu, great weather year round, and the accessibility of not only Yosemite but also the Grand Canyon, there is also the element of a boy. Yes, the one below. No, we are not engaged. No, I am NOT moving in with him. I will be living in the same town (hopefully) and sharing an apartment with 2 or 3 other girls (one being my sister).

So, for those of you who need to visit me…COME!!! For anyone who might be on the way…can we sleep on your floor??? No promises though…we are subject to whims.

The tentative schedule is:

July 14th – Holland, Michigan
July 15th – Somewhere South of Minneapolis, MN
July 16th – 17th – Mount Rushmore, The Badlands, and Amanda’s Friends
July 18th – 19th – Yellowstone National Park
July 20th – 22nd – somewhere between Yellowstone and Santa Clarita, California

I welcome all gas cards, care packages, gift cards, emails, phone calls, and any other expressions of love, admiration, affection and jealousy.

I especially covet your prayers for our trip, the transition, housing, and jobs.

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On a totally different note:

If you are ever feeling REALLY good about yourself, or even just a little good, and you need to take it down a notch. I suggest spending a whole day trying on swimsuits. That is the number one way I know of to get a good dose of low self esteem.

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Pictures from Travis' last visit.

At Debbie Rupe's house after a great game of bocci ball.

At Antietem Battlefield on the C & O Canal Bike Trip.

At the Altoona Curve Baseball Game.


A date at Jean Bonnet...the best artichoke spinach dip ever!


At Great Falls...the end of the bike trip.
(Good job on taking the picture Emma!)
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada!


Ohiopyle Falls, Pennsylvania


Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Some famous football stadium of some sort.

Look what I got on Saturday:)

A dozen red roses...from an amazing man in California.

He sends me flowers...

Ok, so this post is LONG overdue. As most of you know I have been slightly (ok EXTREMELY) distracted from my blogging responsibilities by a boy. hehe. I have a boyfriend. (insert extremely large grin) It's a rather long, and sorta complex story, so I won't go into any details.

I will just say that he asked me out February 4th (superbowl sunday...and my brothers birthday) and we've been dating long distance ever since. Yes, long distance. He lives in California, and I am (for now) living in Pennsylvania. No, we didn't meet through an online dating site! I visited him in March and he visited me just last week.

Want any more details than that...email me and ask!

Otherwise, just enjoy the pictures:)

snow tubing and cracked windows.

My day included:

*Skipping church.
*A horrible headache.
*2 excedrin migraine pills.
*Snowtubing with Jess and her Dad.
*Pizza at OIP.
*Discovering a crack from top to bottom in the front window at work.
*Spending half my afternoon trying to get someone to help me tape it up.
*Cleaned my room.
*Laundry.
*Shower.
*And FINALLY...studying...what I was supposed to be doing ALL day!