Tuesday, April 8, 2014

OBX :: General Conference weekend.

a couple weeks ago, my friends and i decided to go down to Dan's beach house in the Outer Banks for conference weekend. i was so, so excited because ive been needing a break from DC and just life in general. and what better place to escape to than the beach? i mean really.

Thursday night T, Trent, Bryanne and I drove down to Dan's place, which is about 20 minutes south of Nags Head. we got there at 1:30 in the morning, almost immediately jumped into the hot tub, then ran to the beach. idk where we got all that energy from, but I suspect it was the salty air.

the next morning i got up and went to the beach. east coast beaches FTW <3


T and I ran on the beach, then switched to the road because my hip has been hurting me lately during my runs. i really need to just rest it, but its soooo hard to because running is my peaceful time. anyway. it was already a warm, sunny day with a cool breeze, so i was happy.



then he shot some hoops and i took selfies.



i walked down to the beach with Levi and T and we came upon this scene: 8 men in a row (all from our beach house). so now it was 10 boys and me on the beach. a ratio i will probably never experience again in my life. it was weird.



Jensen taking a little nappy after lunch on Friday.


T jumping off the 2nd floor balcony into the pool.



poolside selfie.


sneaky pic in my photo library from Jensen and Devin.


went to catch the sunset with Trent and Bryanne. simply gorgeous.


watched "Casino Royale" after dinner.


T taught me how to play pool. and i must say, i definitely progressed over the course of the weekend. i have a new hobby! haha.



so that was Friday. it was probably my favorite day from the weekend because there was less of us there, so it was more relaxed/chill and we didnt have anything scheduled that we needed to do. it was great. later that night was when everyone else arrived and the party began! woo!


a selfie to show how burned i got on Friday/Saturday. i didnt expect it to be so sunny, and didnt bring sunscreen, so i was pretty red. fail.


Saturday night we had a bonfire on the beach. It was so enjoyable, even with the wind. Here is Trent creeping up on Bryanne. love them.


yes, we did manage to listen/watch most of conference. for the Saturday morning session we listened to the audio while lounging in the hot tub. and i must say...it was pretty amazing. Saturday afternoon/Sunday morning looked a lot like this: a lot of us crammed onto a bed watching from a laptop. this is the first time since i was in high school that i didn't take notes, so im pretty excited to go back through the messages and get all the good stuff. from the snippets i DID hear, i was overly impressed-especially during the Sunday morning session. President Uchtdorf, in my opinion, stole the show with his talk on being grateful...wow. he always impresses.


after that session, we began cleaning up the house and getting ready to leave. but of course, got in the hot tub for one last time, haha. seriously lived in that thing over the weekend. before we left, i had to walk down to the beach and have one more glance, to tide me over until the next time i can witness this beauty.


andddd finally, leaving a beach vacation is the most depressing thing in the world.


im soooo glad i decided to go on this pretty impromptu trip down to the Outer Banks. it was exactly what i needed. im a firm believer that the beach/ocean have the ability to heal your soul. the sound of crashing waves, sand under your feet, sun on your skin...it does something to you. and i am so, so grateful for that.

until next time, OBX...

[recently]

its almost real true spring time guys...almost.



"It's a place that will get in your blood and call you back wherever you go." <3


went for a run with T on one of the only truly warm days we had in March.


C came to visit!!! It was so wonderful having a true friend in town that I could analyze my life with. We cooked some mexi (miss her food), went to brunch at Founding Farmers, had some temple time and talked for hours and hours. Love this woman.







did some triangle push ups at the gym with Colleen. basically were hardcore.


redid the little tribute i have to my grandparents thats above my bed.



nephew train. cant wait to see these cuties this weekend.


typical dad... #eatsanything


outing with Nat to the American Indian Museum.


and a little Kardashians to make us all feel better about our lives.