Summer in Reno- general updates

1.  Mom- My mom visited last month and we had a BLAST!  I hadn't gotten around to posting until this week so here are some pictures from her trip.  I miss her like crazy and cherish the time(s) we get to spend together.

Wine Walk!

Virginia City Camel Racers!

Ready for the Royal Wedding!

hiking at Bartley Ranch

Speaking of my mom, we spent our first Mother's Day apart this year.  :(  It was so hard to be without her, but I'm glad that she was able to spend some time with my Nani (her mom) and I've already promised some quality time when I'm in Salt Lake at the end of her month since I will also be missing her BIRTHDAY this weekend.  I love you, mom, and not a day goes by that I don't think about you!  :)

2.  My job sitch- I have two jobs and will FINALLY have a day off tomorrow... for the first time in 21 days!  We have plans to sleep in, go for a run, eat brunch, and go to a graduation party tomorrow afternoon and attend an Aces baseball game on Sunday!!  Keeping my fingers crossed that the weather holds up for my weekend without work...



3.  LA- we were there for Easter.  To hear more read my previous post regarding this subject.

4.  Fancy Shmancy- Fidelity sponsored a table at the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation Gala and we got to have an awesome night on the town at this event!  There were performers, auctions, delicious food options, and lots of black dresses.  Not to mention that a LOT of money was poured into research for kids with diabetes and it was a smash success of a night.

5.  Pool- It's 80+ degrees here this week and I laid out this afternoon after job 1.  It was glorious and I look forward to many more afternoons poolside.  That is the one nice thing about getting off at 1:00 and not starting again until 5:00.

6.  Summer Hair- My hair is now strawberry blonder.  Please see previous post for more deets.

7.  Summer Plans- Right now we're experiencing the 'calm before the storm', but I'm ready for the storm.  I leave for SLC on May 31st/come home on June 6th for Dani's wedding, leave for OKC on June 10th/come home June 13th for Sara's birthday, host Aron's parents on June 21st for 4 days, host Andy/Candace during the weekend of July 4th, and head up to Tahoe with our small group(ies) from SLC on July 7th for 5 days!  My mom comes out at the end of July for a long weekend, and we'll wait to make more plans for the rest of the year once we know how much longer we'll be in Reno. 

I couldn't be more ready to spend such a large amount of our summer with those we are closest to, as I've REALLY struggled emotionally with being in Reno lately.  Thank God for his Wod, Aron's stability and willingness to talk with me, and my fantastic female friends who haven't quit being my biggest cheerleaders and support team since moving.  I look forward to the day where we reflect on our time in Reno and understand why a lot of the things we're experiencing have turned out the way they have.

...Off to glam up with 6+ accessories and head to job 2.  Have a wonderful weekend!

FASHION FRIDAY: Mara's Hair Update

When Aron and I first met in '07 I was a blonde.  I went back to my natural color (brown) shortly thereafter and have only played with deep red since.  It was time for a change.  I finally have two laid-back/eclectic jobs that embrace having fun with hair and style and I wanted to try something new...

I'm obsessed with the fire engine red lowlights in the bottom of my hair.

My new style was inspired by this picture of Julia Roberts:

We'll see what happens next!

I'm Dreaming of a White Easter

I have a LOT to catch up on as I haven't blogged in a few weeks, but I'm going to get back in the swing of things by discussing our trip to CA over Easter weekend!!

We flew out to LA on Thursday evening and were so looking forward to spending the entire weekend with our close friends, Paul & Andrea (and Garrett) White.  We met them through friends a couple of years ago (in SLC) and have only grown closer since they got married and we joined the same small group.  In Salt Lake, we had some great get-togethers and Andrea  played a HUGE role in the creative set-up for our wedding in January.  Andrea and Paul moved to Los Angeles the day after our wedding for Paul's job so we've all used each other quite a bit for support as we've been in the same shoes for months now. 

I was desperately looking forward to venting about the stresses of living in Reno to people who have felt those same stresses and Andrea has been a mirror to talk to regarding emotions, struggles with finding community/your place, and balancing priorities as a wife (and for her a mother).  Needless to say, this weekend was the biggest gust of fresh air I had felt in a while.  Aron was able to do 'guy' stuff while I was doing 'girl' stuff, all while being with people who really know and love us.  We laughed and played games until 2 AM each night (err.. morning), made reservations for uber-fancy Mexican food, partook in an Easter feast at Paul's parents' home, went to an Easter pep rally, baked delicious goodies, observed a Vintage Dog Costume Contest, went to a street fair, saw a seal at Seal Beach, and loved on baby Garrett. 

Here are some of the highlights:

 walking around the golf course while Aron/Paul hit some balls...

 beach lovin'

 Easter birds nests that we placed on cupcakes!

 put on your bunny faces!

look at that face.  here's garrett in his Easter outfit from Uncle Aron & Aunt Mara.

There are some people that you meet during the course of your life who you know will be constant.  The Whites would fall into this category for us.  Their friendship has been fantastic and we're looking forward to their visit in July and many other trips in months/years to come!