walks

i love walks.

and then i saw this. cutest couple & such a great idea!

mint truffle & banana bread

Yesterday when I saw that my bananas turned brown and mushy I was sad but then very happy because mushy bananas can only mean one thing....Banana Bread.

while prepping for the bread it came to my attention that I was missing one ingredient {of course}

so I ran to the store and

{this is where my night takes a turn for the better}

walking briskly trying to get to the dairy section as fast as possible without sprinting or shoving people

{mainly b/c my outfit was less than cute and closer to embarrassing}

when this section of the grocery shelf with "gourmet hot chocolate" caught my little eye

not sure how my brain picked up on it but oh how grateful I am.. because lets be real

hot chocolate & banana bread equals some sort of perfection

So...after a long debate in my head I resorted to asking Julius what he would like, but even he couldn't decide {not surprising because of the assortment of deliciousness that was before him}

The next logical step was this little conversation I had with myself, "well, it looks like you'll just have to get them all." then realized that wouldn't be the best idea and called my brother. Robbie was with Hannah {his fiance} and they {hannah} said, "get the mint truffle!" 

DONE and DONE.

thank goodness someone was there to make the decision for me.

 the "decision"

{sipping on this cocoa as I'm typing}

girl time with my susie

Susie came for the weekend and we had oh so much fun. It was exactly what I needed. I sure do love this lady...We went to Pioneer Park and climbed around on the red rock. I spaced on taking other pictures of the fun lunches we had, shopping and pedi's. 

It was a lovely weekend.

She made it!

My really amazing sweet friend Susie came to visit me!! But first she sent me this picture of the plane that was taking her from Salt Lake City to here...
A little questionable... Especially when they have to de-ice the plane before take off. She's a trooper and got here safe and sound! Love this lady! So happy she's here!!!!

Called to Serve Him

The "white" envelope finally came after much anticipation and patience.

I put together a little video of Tyler opening his Call.

Untitled from Adria Gillmore on Vimeo.

love you ty!

Dixie Rock

Saturday was a {really} good day. 

played some tennis

and the weather {oh the weather} could not have been any better.

Dixie Rock was our next destination and it was spectacular {again the weather was ridiculous}

I think I was expecting to walk up the red rock a little look over st. george and think tadaa we're done...one more thing checked off the to-do list/see list while we're here, but I was wrong and we walked, climbed, ran, jumped, i was pulled up by one strong man {i am so grateful Julius is strong and able to pull me up over the ledge with his legs as he's holding onto the rock above him} because there wasn't anywhere to put my feet to help me get up to where he was and we took pictures..lots and lots of pictures

j: "you can totally come this way"

me: "ya mabye, not...hello, not everyone is 6'3 and you. i'll find a different way up"

{and that different way was him pulling me up over the rock and me slightly pulling my latissimus-dorsi in the process}

sooo...this picture on the right is of julius with his head {yes his head} off the side of the cliff looking at st. George upside down...he said it was a rush. i opted to do a modified version and it was a rush. like he said.

A wonderful day that we both will remember and hope to do again soon!

a box of cheerios

yup, that's a cheerios box that I am using as an easel...pretty impressive {i know} OR pretty ridiculous {i know that too}

 ...but it works and I love my make shift easel. It's the perfect addition to my dresser.

tennis & temple

A couple of nights ago Julius and I decided to go hit-a-round at the near by tennis court {after a little hiatus from the sport} on Dixie's Campus. The courts are in perfect condition and minus the chilly weather it felt great to swing the racquet again {even though I get pummeled every time we {Julius and I} play together, I've realized that...well, I'll never be able to beat him and I'm still coming to terms with it but it is something we both enjoy doing together} and my little competitive side gets to play too. {who am I kidding I am not just a little competitive, I guess I owe that one to my childhood and growing up as a Park :)}

{the St. George Temple is in the background...it's not everyday I get to play tennis with a backdrop of a Temple...oh Utah, you are growing on me}

Chritmas in Nevada

Christmas was spent in Nevada this year with the Gillmore family! We attended Front Sight where we took a 4 Day Defensive Hand Gun training course. It was quite the experience to say the least. I would be lying if I said I loved every part of it. It was tough and looking back now I can say I loved it. But that first day, there was a lot to learn and I was surprised how overwhelmed I felt at lunch  I guess I was under the impression of..well I don't even know if I even had an impression of what Front Sight was going to be like, other than just shooting guns at targets {and since I felt like I wasn't much of a novice I would be fine} pssh, was I wrong.

As the days went on I began to feel much more comfortable and the things I was once struggling with at first seemed to have all gone away {which I was super grateful for}. Everything began clicking and I finally felt like I was putting to use what the instructors were instructing about {i know...I'm a little slow, but being on a range with 30 + people can be a little intimidating}.

It was one of the coolest experiences I've had and I feel confident that I could and can defend myself if the situation where to ever confront me. It was also really neat to be able to finish the course and attend it with family {thanks to my sis Heidi for being my partner and all the fun we had, while at the same time despising our gun, and coming to the realization that we do not enjoy de-cockers at ALL!}

The instructors were {ah-mazing} patient and understanding with {all of my many} needs and concerns. They really made me believe in myself and allowed me to be able to trust my abilities with a gun {especially since I ended up hating the gun I brought (bersa thunder .380) and they graciously allowed me to shoot theirs}

There are so many things I learned while I was at Front Sight:

Confidence to speak up if I ever feel like I am in a threatening position {STOP RIGHT THERE!}

how to properly chamber check, mag check

I am now a pro at reloading magazines {thanks to the 600 rounds I shot/reloaded}

confidence in defending myself {from whatever or whoever}

I don't like double action guns {sorry bersa, NOT}

I understand how {hand}guns work

how to shoot a controlled pair and be {more} accurate {than I was before}

I know what the Front Sight is {you think that would be a no-brainer}

& finally

peace of mind.

I am in no way gun crazy or think everyone and their gold fish should have a gun {because, honestly there are lots of people out there who own guns and probably shouldn't} but if you have one or thinking about getting one.. I think it is important to be trained in how to use it properly and all of the safety precautions that should come with owning a gun. So yeah, now stepping down off my Front Sight soapbox..here are some pictures of our four-day training.

uh oh, out of bullets

all of the gillmore's

competition shooting {left picture: julius vs dad right picture: me vs ben}

R & H

I am so happy and excited for my brother who proposed on New Years Eve to his amazing girlfriend {now fiancé}. Congratulations Robbie and Hannah. love you both.

 {so happy to be adding this girl to the family}

Our Adventurous Happy New Year

I was determined to do something out of the ordinary for the New Year. We don't have cable {which is actually kind of nice, thanks to hulu and netflix} so watching the ball drop was out of the realm of possibilities or any other new year special. I made slush {frozen sugar water with fruit then all you add is 7up}, my Gma's little tiny cream wafers, a cheese ball that didn't work out so well {note to self just make it yourself next time and spare the cheezewizz "cheeseball"} and of course martenellis to top it all off.

So..I was brainstorming of "fun" things to do and when I was about to approach J, I was sure to get the, "are you serious" look...but I was positive and determined that he would love my idea. And he did.

....at approximately 11:45 we gathered the blanket, champagne glasses, camera and headed out the door. There is this rather large hill next to where we live that has multiple tire tracks/ paths that other people have gone off roading on and J has been drooling over taking our "truck" {"" because it's a toyato tacoma folks not the best truck to take off roading} to where the big trucks play. I would always say um, yeah maybe next time...and that next time happened to be new years eve. Don't get me wrong I have complete trust in his driving maneuver abilities {he really is good, we've been to moab a couple of times off roading but that was in JEEPS mind you} and I was just nervous about the oops, didn't see that giant rock, or hey, where did that hole come from.

Off we went up the hill and it was exhilarating, nerve racking {for me}, adventurous all wrapped up in one. Everything went smooth no bumps or bruises to the truck, thank goodness. Once we got to the top we got out and had a few minutes to spare till mid-night. It was breathtaking up on the hill. We could pretty much see all of the valley and the stars...oh the stars, so many stars. And then...fireworks starting appearing across the valley and it was so neat. Neither of us were expecting to see fireworks and as we counted down from 10 I felt so giddy and grateful to be there with just him and as the clock hit 12 we kissed and rang in the new year with some more fireworks {they just kept on coming} and we thought about cracking the bubbly but it was just too cold :) we took our final look around and jumped back in the truck and headed home.

It was the best New Years yet!