Summer Days Off Work: (Late Aug)

Many jobs with THE BIG YELLOW have events where the staff and craft can just hang out and enjoy hanging out without having to talk "SHOP". Usually there is a fair amount of food, DRINK, and even though we TRY to avoid it, LOTS of "shop" talk. :) We can't help it. As much as we work, the conversation ends up always heading toward work.

In late July, my roommate, Katie, was in charge of planning this HUGE Beach Party for the jobsite. We had food, lots of drinks, games, sand, ocean.....and....NO "SHOP" TALK!!!! Turns out the best medicine for work-aholics is the beach! It was such a fun day.

We started the day at a local Huntington Beach Bar that serves giant breakfast and bottomless bloody marys and mimosas. Whats not to like? We met a bunch of work buddies there bright and early! :)

Then, after making a quick stop to grab the classy essentials, we were headed to the BIG YELLOW Beach Party!

This is our friend Joe, who is a guaranteed party wherever we go! :) He's a friend of mine from college and now we get to work together! So fun!

The Beach Party was a huge success for all ages. Sand Volleyball games were at the top of the list.

Then the catered BBQ and Sno-Cones on the sand. Yes, that is our adult friend Scott waiting in line with all children!!! :) He moved back to KC and we MISS HIM!!!

We just spent the day listening to the beats of the DJ, laying in the sun & shade, laughing, playing games, and enjoying the FUN side of everyone we work with!

Katie did an awesome job of planning the day so everyone was able to just be themselves and have a ball. Nice job and props to our Professional Party Planner!

It was such a great day!

Later that week, there was an operation onsite and no one was allowed to be onsite. It was a Wednesday off work. What are these Adult Professionals to do on a Wednesday with no school...I mean work!

 SIX FLAGS DAY!!!!!!! :) DUH!!!!

So we all decided to head to to amusement park for the day!

We acted like kids all day and it was sooo much fun!

We watched everyone getting off this ride....they were just sprinkled on. We thought, "Sure!" Six Flags in CA is in the middle of a desert. It was a REALLY hot day! We needed a little cool off.

Minutes later we were all standing together squeezing our shirts, shorts, and SOCKS out. We got SOAKED and laughed so hard about it! So fun!

We relaxed and didn't think about work all day :)

I had to throw this picture in because my future husband looks so studly.....OOPS! Future blog post SPOILER!!! hehe

We were like little kids on the way home. We were sun burned, exhausted, and ready for our naps! :)

(Sidebar & CURRENT Comment: This is our friend Will. We knew him before this project but started hanging out WAY more on this job. He is so much fun! He got moved by BIG YELLOW to New Jersey this past week. 1 day before the MEGA storms and Hurricane Sandy hits the east coast. We miss you already WILD WILLY! Stay Safe out there in the storms. If you meet Snookie, take a pic with her! :) )

Both sides of the family in 1 week! (Late July/Early Aug)

POSTED by ALEX!!!!

Continuing the busy month of July we flew in from LA for the annual Holzer Lake Trip. The weather was great, the food was great, and so was the fishing...

            

                                                                              

Those tree fish are know to put up quite a fight.

Amy and I had a great time relaxing at the lake after a long couple months of working in LA. It was so much fun to take some time and hang out with the family.

 

Yep, this pretty much sums it. Relaxing in the water.....

well this probably sums it up a little better..  

...and definitely this

Everyone was having a great time. 

 

The babies even got to experience their first lake trip

 

He tried to stay up and party with us but he just got so tuckered out. 

 I was talking about Adam

After a long week in the Ozarks it was off to STL for my cousin Pete's wedding!

 

 There's the Mejac family

The new Mrs. Peter Mejac made a beautiful bride and they planned an awesome day for their friends and family to celebrate with them!

After the wedding we got in a trolley to take some pictures around the city

Then it was off to the reception...it was amazing!

That wraps up a very exciting week, and a very exhausting one at that.

The Highlights!!: (Early/Mid July)

Okay, I said I was just hitting the highlights but our WHOLE summer was highlight-able! I'm going to have to do this in pieces. Some stuff is too good to miss :)

July was a PACKED month. Not only was the project really starting to ramp up and FLY through work, we had a FULLY LOADED social calendar.

Every year over the 4th of July, Triglav Park has a Triathlon. It was my first year to witness the race or compete. I was really nervous about how competitive it was going to be. As everyone knows, I'm not the MOST athletic lady. (My sister, Abby, got all the lady coordination in the family.) So I chose to watch. I'm so glad I did! The competition and the commentators were SOO fun!!!

The race starts with a swim, out to the dock, around, and back. Then its to the bike, all the way around the lake. Then the 1.5 mile, or so, run through the park up the street and back. 

All the participators of the race were celebrated! Next year, I"M IN! I'll be trained and ready!

My favorite thing about visiting and hanging out at Triglav Park is chilling on the beach or at 'The Hex'.

It is so much fun just to talk to everyone, have some drinks, enjoy the park & sun, and ALWAYS get the chance to watch some Mejac Competition or Stunt in the water. :)

With all that working out earlier in the morning, you would think that the Mejac boys would have spent their energy for the weekend. Not even close!

In a quick conversation about the blue gill population overtaking the lake, the guys decided it was time to thin the heard! Professional net fishermen were born.

When Alex and I got back from our weekend in Milwaukee-Home, we had a couple difficult weeks. Busy at work, busy with family, and just ready for a break. We decided to have a mini-vacation weekend in our own town. Saturday morning, we left early in the morning, to hike ...

Mount Baldy

As close as it looks in that picture, its actually about an hour and a half away. We headed out thinking we would beat the heat for the most intense part of the hike.... We were wrong. Turns out, there are 2 ways to hike up Ole Mt. Baldy.

Path 1: Luxury, Beauty, Awe

Path 2: No Air, Legs dying, I'm gonna collapse!

Did anyone care to tell US that? NOPE! These mid-west noobs just went for it. At the first sight of the hike path, I looked at Alex in panic. He could see the Thought Bubble above my head,

'I'll NEVER be able to do this!'

This is where Alex replies like he has hiked this mountain a million times.

"Don't worry, there is no way that its like this the whole way."

Well it was!!! This great pic is when we were still naive to that fact.

Somewhere around this picture below, we all started to realize that we bit off more than we could chew!

There aren't many pictures after this...probably a good thing. I was sucking air and THANK GOD, so was everyone else. But nevertheless, we burned some SERIOUS calories that day and saw some beautiful views. We didn't summit Mt. Baldy that day though.

After such a strenuous day, Alex and I decided that a beautiful Rib-eye might be in order. To top off our in-town mini-vacay weekend, Alex took me to Ruth's Chris (our favorite place) to celebrate my birthday.

It was such a perfect birthday dinner.

Just us :)