meet quinn

meet quinn the hedgehog!  

{the newest addition to our little family}

Yes, we have a pet hedgehog.  It all started when my mom was flying with another flight attendant who had this hedgehog.  She had just found out she was pregnant, and they were getting a puppy, and moving into a new house, so they were looking for someone to give Quinn to.  My mom sent me a picture of her and we fell in love immediately!  So she is now ours and we are in love.  Dustin wanted to name her Sonic but we decided to keep it Quinn - I think it's cute cause she has quills.  Some of you may know that I have been wanting a cat for a long time, but that is not an option because of our current living situation, so I guess a hedgehog is the next best thing!  She is the perfect pet for us for now.

chillin on her wheel.  hedgies are nocturnal, so she runs at night!  sometimes we sneak in super late at night and watch her run, she is fast and runs and runs and runs.

playing hide & go seek

hedgehogs are really curious creatures.  she sniffs everything and tries to get into all the small spaces she finds.

playing with dustin

she really liked how his hair tasted haha

playing in the grass! 

check out that tongue action! haha it looks so long here

i love when she is curled up into her poky ball

fun facts about hedgehogs:

in some states, they are illegal as pets

they are nocturnal

they eat dry cat food & meal worms are special treats

they need baths - we bathe her once or twice a week and use a toothbrush to clean her quills

when they get scared or need to defend themselves, they become an impenetrable spiky ball

they are not related to the porcupine

you can only buy them from a breeder

they prefer a warm climate, and if they get too cold they will hibernate and die

24

I turned 24 in Texas!  Woot woot!  My birthday was on a Saturday which was kinda a bummer because that is Dustin's loooong day of work selling alarms (9am - 9pm).  But it was still a really great day.  Emily and I met the guys for lunch (sushi yum) and then we got pedicures and frozen yogurt!  After the guys got home from work (around 10pm) we went to Wing Stop for dinner.  The next day we went to South Padre Island one last time and Emily made me a pink birthday cake!  We also celebrated again when we got back to Utah - we had a luau for all the August birthdays on my mom's side of the family.

This birthday was infinitely better than last year's because last year we were in the car all day long driving home from Texas, and then I was sick that night, and then the next day we had to move into our new apartment where we didn't have hot water for a few days.

It was sooo nice just coming back to our apartment with all of our stuff there just as we left it.  Not having to worry about finding a place to live, or moving all of our stuff was a million times less stressful than last summer. We (or rather I) have been having fun rearranging things and redecorating our little home, so maybe I will post some pics soon. We totally love the area, ward, neighborhood we are in and will be here at least until the spring when Dustin graduates.

Anyway, I love birthdays and getting older, and I am excited to see what 24 brings!

sushi lunch

wing stop with the browns for our late night dinner! we love the lemon pepper & honey bbq aaaand the drink machine where i can get cherry vanilla diet coke :)

our last trip to south padre island, with whataburger of course.

birthday luau with the fam

my trip to utah: part 2

After my grandma's funeral in San Diego, I flew to Utah to work for a week.  I stayed at my parents' house and took care of the kitties since they turned around and went back to San Diego to wrap up family/funeral stuff and spend some relaxing time at the beach.  I was so happy I was up here for my friend Courtnie's wedding and I had a lot of fun hanging out and catching up with my girlfriends in Sandy.

courtnie & travis

married!!!

she was such a gorgeous bride!

fun reception at the draper dome

katie - to whom i am eternally grateful for setting me up on that blind date a few years ago

at the provo rooftop concert!  mindy gledhill was great

and can i say how much i love these girls

millie, bean, and i slept over at bean's cabin and then went boating with her fam!  sadly this is the only picture i took haha.

aaand milie turned 24!  happy birthday millie! 

also - when my family was in san diego, my mom turned 50!  on her 50th birthday, she and my dad did a 50 mile bike ride!  how awesome is that?!  my parents are pretty cool.

grandma's funeral

This post is way over-due but I was able to fly to San Diego for my grandma's funeral last month.  My grandma LOVED Hawaii - if she was just at home, you could always find her in a muumuu and my grandparents were even planning to go to Hawaii in July before everything happened with their health.  For the closing song, I played Aloha Oe (Farewell to Thee) on the harp while my two cousins sang and then the congregation joined in on the last chorus.  It was gorgeous and I luckily made it through without crying.  After, we had a luau!  The funeral was lovely and it was so nice spending some time with my dad's side of the family.

First we had to make a stop at one of our favorite places - the Oceanside pier.

missing dustin and shayna!

We had the graveside service first.

all of my dad's siblings and spouses

the program - check out her awesome beehive!

aloha oe grandma