the greatest place on earth

I love everything about my job.  I've been with the company a little over a year now, and I can truly say it's the best thing that ever happened to me.  These people are my best friends, and we're family.  I am so envious of my co-workers that work more than me right now, I wish I could.  I go to school Tuesday through Saturday, so that means I only work on Sunday and Monday.  They have been so great about working with my schedule and supporting me.  Everyone has even let me hack on their hair too!  This is what makes Dutch Bros so great:

From sun up to sun down...

We're open.

Our coffee is fabulous.

You know it's going to be a good day when you start your morning off with this.

and you get to see

The Dutch Brothers and Sisters

when you come through :)

This is the Cameron Family.  Matt, Michelle and Cade. 

Other than the fact that they are an insanely cute family,

they are really great people to work for. 

Matt works in the stand with us a lot, and he is a character.  He is always so easy going and laid back.  Describing him as a boss is just weird to all of us, because he's really not bossy at all.  And he knows the words to every song on 90's on 9. 

Michelle is your go to girl.  She gets stuff done.  She is so approachable, and always inviting.  She makes the most killer Texas brownies imaginable, and is such a great mommy.  She is such a beautiful person, inside and out. 

Cade is the cutest little boy.  He has grown up so fast and he is so much fun.  He is the easiest kid to baby-sit and his smile will melt your heart.  He likes to drink endless amounts of chocolate milk at the stand, and evens sweeps for us when he's not busy flirting with the customers.

Lisa is the cutest little Italian thing you will ever meet.  She has been at the stand since it opened and she truly does her job well.  She makes me laugh really hard.  You can talk to her about anything and she is so caring and compassionate.  The thing I love the most about her is she doesn't judge people, ever.  She looks at the sunny side of everything in life and wears a gorgeous smile while doing it.

AJ is the best dancer the LC valley has ever seen.  Just put on some tunes, and he will dance his life away.  I love conversations with him, he listens to everything you say and will always have your back.  He works his butt off everyday.  I love his carefree spirit and how easy going he is.

Tara has the best smile.  She is a girl that knows what she wants in life and I have no doubt in my mind that she will get it all.  She is so efficient.  She is real, and genuine.  She wouldn't hurt a fly and she would do a favor for anyone at any time.  I envy how tan she can get, and how well she can cook. 

Jess is our adorable blonde.  She is absolutely hilarious.  She doesn't have a filter and she will tell you all about stuff, even if you don't want to know.  Her stories are the best.  She's also a dog whisperer, so when we run out of dog treats we know who to blame.  She is very particular about everything and she notices all the details.  She is so smart and does everything to the best of her ability. 

Morgan is our baby.  She is so sweet and nice.  She is so easy to talk to and gives really great advice.  She can be ditsy, and we all love her for it.  Her smile is contagious and she will be the most beautiful bride ever.  She also gets really tan.

Troy is our local celebrity.  You can count on seeing endless amounts of groupies coming through when he is working.  He has a way with words and all the ladies love him, It doesn't matter if they are 2 or 82.  He knows his stuff when it comes to making coffee, and he plays the harmonica pretty well.  This kid is a hoot and you won't ever forget him once you meet him, he's just that cool.

Ryan is the newest to the gang, but he fits right in.  This kid cracks me up.  He is very precise about everything, and it always has to be perfect.  He has his own unique style, and we all love him for it.  He always takes the heavy grinds out for us girls, and he is quite the gentleman. 

Chelsea is our sweet, caring, generous, adorable tom boy.  If it's made by Nike, she owns it.  But when she gets dressed up, watch out because she's smokin'! She is such a loyal and caring person.  No matter what she is going through, she always has a smile on her face.  She is one of the strongest people I know.

I adore these people.

Peace.Love.Dutch

Papa

This is my sweet, loving, kind, adorable, sensitive, generous, and courageous Papa. 

He really is all of those things, but he is also a stubborn, opinionated, fiesty stinker. 

And I wouldn't change a single thing about him.

He has been so great to my family, and I hate seeing him in pain. 

Right now he is struggling with his health.  

He is so strong that I have no doubt in my mind he will be just fine. 

Prayers have been going his way from miles around. 

Now he's not going to want to do all these crazy surgeries to make him better. But I put my foot down about that nonsense.  He will see me walk down the aisle someday, and he will have tons of great-grandbabies that will need to be spoiled.  So right now, I'm sorry but we don't have time for his stubbornness.  I am willing to sit there with him through every hour of dialysis, and every boring doctors appointment.  I don't care what it takes.  But he will get through this. 

I love you Papa.

easter events

Although I am not a fan of eggs, dying them for Easter is a really fun activity. 

Especially when you have your whole family surrounding the table.

Now that's a great blue.

This kid is a pro.
 

And he made sure the eggs were stirred around really good in the dye.

And he made a love egg. 

I believe it says "DR + LR = <3"

How precious.

They make me smile.

and these two make me laugh.  they are best buds, and brady is a clone of his father. 

I claim this one.

And in about 20 minute we prepared these lovely eggs for the Easter bunny. 

Only one broken one, but we decided it added character.

We love Easter.  We also love Jesus, and thanks to him we get to do fun activities with our families on this special day.  I worked in the morning, but got off work at noon so I could enjoy some brunch with the family, they went to church earlier.  But I made everyone that was heading to church's coffee, so I can't feel that guilty.   

Sandi and I took a really great nap and watched Burlesque after brunch at Dan and Rusti's. 

Then it was off to Mama's house for more food, and some bad mitten. 

Oh and bad mitten was pretty intense, to say the least. 

Even when you are 21 years old, the Easter bunny still seems to find you. 

And I couldn't be happier about that.

summer: hurry up already.

Summer, you should really get here already. 

This little one is ready to go swimming!

I have a shopping addiction, and it doesn't really help that she looks cute in EVERYTHING.

But this was in her Easter basket, so sew me.

She makes my heart melt. 

The Rudolph family is definitely ready to play outside. 

And I'm convinced that if Ellie could open doors, she'd be out there anyways (in her tankini).

But she's already walking, so let's just slow down a minute. 

domesticated?

Yes, that is a leopard print apron, and yes I wear it when I try to be domesticated.

Go ahead and laugh. 

So here's the deal, my family is full of women that give Betty Crocker and Martha Stewart a run for their money.  I want to be one of them.  I can clean like a mad woman, but cooking is just not my thing.  It gives me anxiety.  Meat makes me nervous, and in my family we eat a lot of meat.  What if i didn't cook it right, or thoroughly?  That could make people really sick!  And don't even get me started with eggs. 

The other night I decided to face my fear of cooking.  My aunt cooks dinner every night, living with her is like living in a bed and breakfast...no joke.  Anyways, I decided she needed a break.  So Brady and I headed to Safeway.  He was my big helper.

We had:

Baguette French bread to dip in a balsamic vinaigrette/olive oil/cracked pepper concoction,

 Chicken, mushroom and parmesan bowtie pasta with alfredo sauce,  

and a green salad with all the good stuff. 

Oh, and wine of course. 

I was pretty impressed with myself, I'm not gonna lie. 

And although this probably sounds like a super easy meal to all you talented cooks, this was a BIG step for me.  Like really big. 

After that fabulous meal I just might think about cooking something up again next month.

a little trip to Seattle

This weekend we escaped to Seattle.  Oh, how I love that city. 

We went to a hair show, shopped at Nordy's, ate at Chipotle,

and met up with some great people.

Here we are in Bellevue, having dinner at this fancy restaurant named Earl's. 

No, I didn't expect a fancy place either when I heard the name, but it was fabulous. 

John (My cousin), Tasha (My cousin's wife),

Angie (Jess's Mama), Julie (Jess's Aunt), Jessica, and me.

Whenever we go to the Seattle area it is a MUST for us to see these people. 

They live in Renton because John is in med school (he's a pretty big deal), and Tasha substitute teaches and nanny's over there.  My family is very close, we always have been.  I live with my aunt and uncle (John's parents) and I'm so excited because John and Tasha are moving home in June...and that means I get two new roomies!  Ah, yes....I'm so excited. 

how cute are they? 

SO cute.

Here are the girls enjoying some awful white wine samples while we wait for our table.

And of course, Josha (John + Tasha) bought us shots since

they couldn't make it for my birthday party. 

Those things were delicious, and no I am not an alcoholic. 

And now for the main attraction:

The Hair show

Who are these men?  Oh, just a couple Hair God's.  No biggie.

They work for Farouk Systems, and they are even going to be on the Apprentice with Donald Trump on May 1st!  Rocky McCormick and Joe Anthony Pena. 

They used me for their "cowboy cut" model.

Basically that means they both cut my hair at the same time and if

I would've moved a muscle, I would've lost an ear (or something).

This is not regular hair dressing, this is shears coming at your face at million mph, hair flying all over the place and these stylists dancing circles around you while they chop your hair off.

It was the craziest thing ever, I couldn't stop laughing because I was so nervous.

Yeah, that's what I do when I'm nervous...laugh.  Ridiculous.

These two are quite an act.  I was inspired/impressed. 

Seattle was great, once again.  It never fails. 

I can't wait to go back, and to go to more hair shows of course.

Jazzy's

Last night was a much needed night for some wine so we went to this cute little wine bar/lounge downtown called Jazzy's.  Now that I am twenty one and all, I'm not gonna lie..it's really fun to just go get a drink.  Especially when you go with three really great women.  Those women included: 

Aunt Rusanne:  closest thing to a saint that I've ever known

Lizzy: My cousin/ bestie/shrink

and Liz's mama, Margaret: she is a hoot.

The place was so relaxing, cozy, and fun. 

We we're catered to left and right,

never paused our conversations for more than a second,

and laughed until our stomach's hurt. 

Needless to say, I left a 100% tip, and I might just become a regular there. 

So if you can't find us, we're not at Jazzy's.  ;)

PS: the menage trios white blend is to die for.

And you should go there. 

21 years old

I was so spoiled on my birthday this year. 

It was the greatest day ever.

I got a pedicure in the morning, nails done after, and worked all afternoon. 

I got these fun gifts at work.

Cards, and flowers from my Aunt and Uncle.  They are so amazing. 

and even cupcakes complete with birthday candles from the stock deliverer at work. 

This is my gigantic martini glass from Chels.  Classy, I know. 

The Cosmopolitan's were delish. And strong. 

My sister got ready with me :) She is beautiful. 

My lovely Dutch crew joined the fun. 

I have the best Mama ever.  She bought me a trip to VEGAS!  wooooo!

these boys are coming too. uh oh!

I despise this part of birthdays.  So awkward. 

The night sure was fun, and memorable (or not so memorable if you were me). 

 So. Many. Drinks.

You only turn 21 once. 

Thank goodness. 

oh and guess what else people?  i got a new camera.  cha ching!

i love danny and liz.