Bohemian Bliss!

The Greatest Show on EARTH....

so they say....Jake I went to the CiRcUs today!! I have only been once, and I was super little so I don't remember much except that most of the things scared me. I was afraid everyone was going to fall of their tight rope or trapeze. This time was much less traumatic. It was so much fun! We were able to go with our good friends Mickie and Eric who hooked us up with a suite! The lighting was so bad, I had a hard time getting any good pictures....but here's a few....

These big boys were my favorite!!
The elephants came in a close second....especially the one that skipped all the way off the stage....so cute!

We want to thank Mickie and Eric for such a fun time! Thanks for inviting us to go with. We loved it!

We're Camping!

Friday night, straight after work...me and my fellow ITS friends headed up the canyon for a camping trip! Towing our boyfriends along of course :) We had a blast. Things couldn't have been any better. We had perfect weather despite being a big freezing during the middle of the night...but that's to be expected right??

(that's KINDLING we're toting up on Jake's lap.....don't ask)

Following the Mickster up the Canyon..
setting up the tent!

This fire I am proud to say was built by the girls! The boys had to make ANOTHER run to get more wood....we obviously didn't come all the way prepared. But its spontaneity that makes things like this more fun I think.

Enjoying the campfire....yeah, that WE made :) But this was only AFTER we had to make a trip back down to the canyon to get items to make smores....someone forgot them (mickie) :)

This trip was so much fun. Everyone got to know each other so much better. I'm bummed that summer has pretty much come to and end and this will be my last camping trip for the season....can't wait to get back out there next summer!

...when every leaf is a flower

As much as I love summer...fall has to be my favorite season. I noticed this morning that the leaves are starting to change on the trees outside of my apartment. I couldn't help but get excited. Some of my favorite things are... taking Sunday drives with Jake up the canyon to see the leaves, hoodies, football games, the smell of cinnamon, big blankets, long sleeves, Thanksgiving, campfires, decorating for the holidays, fingerless gloves, visiting family, jogging outside, and so many other things!

This year I have some really fun things to look forward too. For starters, Grey's Anatomy starts up again tonight!!! I seriously can not wait. Friday, Jake and I are going camping. Its going to be so much fun and probably the last good weekend to squeeze it in before it gets too cold. We're also hopefully hitting up the Body Exhibit and going to see the CiRcUs!

I'm also planning a trip to go home to Mississippi and visit my family. I haven't seen them in so long and I miss them like crazy! I hate not being able to go to my dad's games every weekend and cheer him on so hopefully I'll be able to make it to one when I am down there. I'm going to have to get season tickets to the U or something next season so I can fill the void. :)

Well anyways, I should probably get back to work instead of sitting here blogging. I hope everyone has a great day!

Oh, and while I'm thinking about it....has anyone read any good books lately that they would recommend??? I am in desperate need of one. Leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you :)

The Night Before...

Last night Alyssa, with a little help from me, threw Jessica a bachelorette party. She is getting married TODAY! We all used to live together three years ago down in Orem. Alyssa put so much time and effort into the party to make it great.

Jess had a friend fly in from Seattle so after we picked her up from the airport it was back to my house for some partying...(LDS standards of course ;) ...) We made some yummy virgin strawberry daiquiris and played some really funny games while we waited for Danielle to get ready after her flight in.

Of course we couldn't go out on the town with out embarrassing Jessica a little bit.... Here she is in all of her bride to be accessories we made her wear! We also had the car completely decorated! She wasn't exactly thrilled that we were forcing her into public looking like this...I'm pretty sure she is actually flipping us off in this picture...



And it wouldn't be a bachelorette party with out some sexual humor...we had these lovely straws to drink our daiquiris...thirsty anyone??


After we headed off to HOOTERS for dinner. It was the most random dining experience I think any of us have ever had. For example....we are all sitting there enjoying our food and a lady randomly walks up to our table and tells us that she heard we ordered the fried pickles (which we did...and most of you know I LOVE fried pickles...its a southern thing) and then proceeds to take a pickle! She wanted to try them before she ordered them. We were all just kind of looking at each other like, what just happened??


Once we were finished with dinner we headed down to Trolley Square to squeeze in some dancing before the night was over. We headed back to my house for dessert....once again sexually themed...after we had wiggle our bums to our hearts content. Alyssa's boyfriend really helped us out on this one. He found a novelty cake shop and ordered us a bunch of yummy treats....

Can you believe this cake!? It was a BIG hit....



I can't wait to see Jessica tonight at her reception, although Jake is not thrilled that I am dragging him to another wedding already.

Congrats Jessica and Jeff!!

PLEASE READ!!!

I can not understand how people can be so cruel. Please read this and send to Hormel to stop the abuse of animals. It takes two seconds and is worth the time and awareness....

http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/iowa_pigfarm_abuse2

Also....in support of PETA I have signed their pledge to be a vegetarian for 30 days. I'll be reporting back to let you know how it goes. If anyone else is interesting in joining the support this is the pledge and can also be found on www.goveg.com.

I want to eat better, feel better, and stop supporting cruelty to chickens, pigs, cows, fish, and other animals raised for food. By signing my name, I pledge to explore vegetarianism for at least 30 days.


_____________________________ ___September 18, 2008 04:09 PM___
Ashlee Bradford Date Signed

State Fair

I have never been to the Utah State Fair before so I was dying to get out there this year. After bugging Jake to take me we finally we able to squeeze it in to our schedule the very last day it was open. I am so glad we went. It was a blast! The weather was perfect and we were lucky enough to get in for free...doesn't get much better than that! I had one thing on my agenda while we were there....ride the Ferris wheel! I don't think a trip to the fair would be complete with out one. Of course I think that was everyone else's idea and we had to wait in line for a while.

This is what happens when we have to wait in line for too long....crazy photoshoots! I'm sure the people standing around us though we were nuts. We were laughing so hard. It definitely made the wait entertaining!

Of course the ride wouldn't be complete with out a kiss at the top! I love this picture....

I wish I would have taken pictures of some of the other rides we went on. We went on one where we just spun around and around and around.....not the best idea. Our weight was distributed so perfectly that I don't think we stopped spinning the entire ride! I would advise everyone avoid eating right before this ride...

Thanks lovey for a perfect night!

Here comes the bride...

My cousin Kara got married last Friday. Jake and I were able to attend the ceremony and reception. My uncle just became the bishop of a singles ward so he was able to marry them which was really nice. She looked so beautiful and happy!! It was great to be able to witness their special moment and see tons of family.

Congrats Kara and Terrance!

Enjoying the reception!

Annoyed....

...its just been one of those days. EVERYTHING is bothering me. From the phone ringing (which its doing non stop all of the sudden) to the way my clothes are fitting today. I can't wait to go home and hang out with my favorite person...oh and eat, I'm starving!

Never Forget...

Chris Cagle Concert

I just got home from the Chris Cagle concert! It was so much fun. He put on an awesome show! I went will Alyssa, Laurel from my work, her super cute little boy, and her good friend.

I'm bummed I didn't get more pictures though. My camera died as soon as we got there. So I managed to get these two with my phone before the sun went down!

The Grateful Tomato

Alyssa and I have a tradition...every year we support the Wasatch Garden and attend their annual Grateful Tomato Garden lunch. We love it! Its a great atmosphere filled with awesome people, live music, and delicious tomato sandwiches.

Enjoying our lunch!

This little old lady was so funny. She apparently wanted to be part of the band so she crept
up really slowly and stood with them the whole time they were playing. It was hilarious to watch.

A few shots of the beautiful garden...

Writing on the Wall

I had a blast Friday night! A much needed girls night was planned and me, Alyssa, and Kellie hit up the Greek Festival, grabbed some dinner, and had a great time! We ate at a cute little burger joint.
Although the food was yummy, we found ourselves enjoying the bathroom much more....they had chalkboards covering the walls. Who can resist leaving a message?

Fellow Twilight Fans...

If you didn't notice a couple posts down I am a big time fan of the Twilight series. I unfortunately read some sad news this morning. Stephanie Meyer has put her final book, Midnight Sun, on hold....INDEFINITELY! It was illegally leaked online so she has chosen not to finish or publish the book. I love to read and being the nerd that I am, I am pretty sad.

The one plus side....you can read the partial draft here....

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/pdf/midnightsun_partialdraft2.pdf

The Happiness Project

I had some spare time today at work and so I was randomly blog surfing and stumbled upon a blog called The Happiness Project. A writer is taking a whole year to research different methods and ideas on how to be happy and what it really means and then writing a book about her findings. I took my time reading through her different postings and letting her words all sink in.

Things have been pretty chaotic lately and it was a nice reminder that those things that I stress about really aren't that big of a deal. I tend to get overwhelmed easily and let the stresses of life take over and I forget what is really important. It was just the boost I needed to take a good look at things and gain some better perspective.

As I was reading all this I coincidentally got an email regarding the very subject with the perfect quote to how I am feeling...

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back. Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin. ~anonymous~

I think we all need this reminder every once in a while, and as my boss would say...

"KEEP SMILING!"

Words...