Someone asked me about my blog the other day...I had almost forgotten I had one. And then I started thinking about the goal I set to write at least once a month. Clearly that did not happen since the previous post was written in April. I have no idea how it is December already. One year ago I was packing up and bidding farewell to my life in DC, headed off to adventures unknown. I never in a million years would have guessed those adventures would include being a resident of Salt Lake City and becoming a recruiter for Deloitte. It's incredible what can happen in just a year.
This year has been full of learning experiences, some more fun than others. If I try to catch up on every detail from the last 8 months I'll never actually get this post done so I'll just touch on some favorites.
April
Harold Haynie family reunion in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. One of my favorite places with all of my favorite people.
Cute little Kate, our tortuga. And Benson, Bugs.
Adam and his adorable smile.
The kids with their Easter loot. Love those goggles.
Hanging out on the raft.
The chicken shack. Best. Chicken. Ever.
La familia Sanders. So grateful my sister and Brandon have such cute kids. :)
The whole clan. Definitely looking like we've been at the beach for a few days. I love these people more than anything. Wish we were all there again right now.
May
I went to CA for a meeting with all the BYU accounting firm recruiters. A meeting which just happens to be held at a home on the beautiful Pebble Beach golf course. The director of the accounting career center has some connections so it is held there every year. I don't even golf, but it was amazing, as evidenced by the photos below. Just one of many moments this last year where I thought, "I'm getting paid to do this?"
And then I went to DC and Duck Beach and DC. And it was a dream come true. I got to see all my favorite people, eat at my favorite places, and do my favorite things. Even now looking back, it was just a perfect trip. I want to go again. :)
Paul Simon concert, thanks Bill!
I love these people.
We are so cute!
Dollar store finds.
Yes we love each other.
Fun playing with sparklers.
I love and miss this girl more than I can even say. She is one of the best friends I have ever had and my life just isn't as much fun with out her in it every day. We realized when she dropped me off at the airport that we hadn't taken any photos, so we took a classic Christina/Becca photo. :)
I was having so much fun there that I didn't take very many photos. But I hope that anyone who reads this from DC knows how much I love and miss each one of you. If you're coming to Utah for Christmas, you better call me!
June
Strawberry Days Rodeo with the sisters
Ellsworth Family Reunion
I have the greatest family in the world. Every other summer we have a reunion with my mom's side of the family. She is one of 10 kids so I have a lot of aunts, uncles and cousins. We rent out a little camp in the middle of nowhere central Utah called Gooseberry. It's beautiful. My Aunt Ellen and cousin Neisha put together an incredible Book of Mormon themed reunion. We had visits from Nephi, Enos and King Benjamin, a re-enactment of the battle between Moroni and Zarahemna, and of course the journey to the Tree of Life. I was happy to have more time with my cute nieces and nephews.
Setting up the Tree of Life
Does it get any cuter than that? He loves anything to do with sports.
I just want to eat her up.
Moroni with the Title of Liberty
The battle.
What outdoor adventure is complete without some time in the mud.
Bugs.
Parker is the favorite uncle. This is one of my favorite photos.
Getting all cleaned up.
Adam giving us a VERY excited thumbs up.
I started playing volleyball with Trent and next thing I knew I had 15 kids lined up waiting for me to throw them the ball. So much fun.
He's got his stance down.
It kind of looks like they're dancing, but I'm not sure what exactly was going on.
Summer Intern Conference
We had our regional intern conference in Phoenix which is basically just 3 days of activities, team building and events. It was my first chance to meet a lot of the recruiters from other offices and we had a blast with each other and the students. I get to work with some amazing and fun people. Not surprising because recruiters need to be fun. :) I wish that I got to work with more of them every day.
Western Night
Game Show hosts
My cute team.
All the recruiters celebrating a successful conference.
Lake Powell Extravaganza
Some friends from DC organized a Lake Powell trip so I of course had to go. It was beautiful and such a good group of people. Loved every minute.
Fun friends.
Such yummy food thanks to our dear friend Cam.
So grateful for Matt Fischer!
Some stunning photography by Justin Zsiros.
Recruiter's Meeting at Deloitte University
Because I'm the recruiter for BYU which is a national school (top priority), I was invited to visit Deloitte's new learning center down in Westlake, Texas just outside of Dallas. It wasn't officially open yet, we were a test group. I realize I'm a little biased because I work for Deloitte, but it really is an incredible facility that they have built for their employees. Everything is specific to Deloitte's needs. State of the art technology, incredible fitness center, delicious food at every turn, and a recreation spot called the Barn. I was there for less than 48 hours but this was definitely another one of those, "I can't believe they're paying me for this" events. I met a lot of recruiters from all over the country which is very helpful in my job since BYU students want to go everywhere and it's so much easier to send referrals when I know the recruiter.
The amphitheater with HD and 3D viewing just in case they want to show a movie some time.
Everything about it was 5 star. The service was impeccable. The most genius thing were the screens in the lobby with the arrival and departure times for every flight. Amazing.
Lots of fun times here and good networking.
The cafe...so much good food. I had stuffed french toast with bananas fosters topping for breakfast!
I actually had to work on my birthday. And when I say work, I mean I was flying back from Dallas and then had to go to a baseball game with a bunch of students. So it wasn't horrible, but we decided to celebrate later by joining a bunch of friends on a rafting trip up in Jackson Hole. Shannon and Jesse and I had a grand time, even if we nearly froze to death. I am really grateful for those two. Especially since Jesse introduced me to Shannon and I actually moved in with Shannon at the end of July. I now live in a cute little place in Sugar House. I have three roommates who are adorable and we have a back yard and plenty of parking. I do miss my walk to work, but my drive to work is only 15 minutes even with traffic. I really can't complain. Anyway, we took a scenic drive up to Wyoming and stopped in Evanston to have my birthday dinner at some random restaurant we found. We actually got it to go and went and ate in a park. I loved it. And lastly, we stopped and had a photo shoot in a beautiful field of dandelions on the way home.
What a beautiful site to wake up to. I just wish it had been a little bit warmer.
Classic Jackson Hole shot.
The beautiful field.
Beautiful Jesse.
Beautiful Shannon.
And me.
The end of part 1
I think this is about as long as one blog post should be. So I'll catch up on the rest of the months later. But looking back at this post, it makes me realize how wonderful my life is and how grateful I am for all the people and blessings in my life.
