Why is she the cutest thing EVER?!

Alright, so my sister already posted these pictures, but I want all my friends to see how cute this little girl is! Apparently she was feeling pretty foxy in her elephant Halloween costume. I love this little girl!

"Who You Gonna Call?"

It is that time of year again. The time to rack your brain and try and come up with a creative costume. I love going to parties and seeing what people come up with. I just read where my cousin Chad, and his wife Julie won best costume at their Halloween Party! Got to love this scene from Nacho Libre!


Here are some costume ideas my friends thought of:
Beverly Hillbillies
Vampire family (werewolves too in keeping with the current book craze)
Clue Board game characters
Blue Man Group
Henry VIII and 6 wives
Alvin & The Chipmunks

AND THE WINNER was....GHOSTBUSTERS!! That's right. Who you gonna Call?! Don't worry, we had plenty of pick-up lines ready for this costume. We headed out to the Pratt, Foldger Farm in Maryland. It was quite the party. The best part of the evening is when they played our song, "Ghostbusters!" We kind of felt like celebrities. People were taking pictures of us as we danced, and wanted in on the ghostbuster fun! Fun times. Of course we had a photo shoot, to capture how great our costumes were!

Erika and I went and got makeovers at the Mall beforehand. Fun, dark, make-up is a must on Halloween. It is the only time of year to have an excuse to go a little crazy. I was feeling a little silly walking around the Mall with these black eyes.

The coveralls only came in extra large...just a little big for Melissa.

I ain't afraid of no ghost!

My friends Patricia and Amy decided to be Pirates! Don't they look great?!

A Day At the Races!

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend my first horse race. Spectators gathered at Great Meadow near The Plains, Virginia, to celebrate the 70th running of the International Gold Cup Races. My good friends hooked us up with tickets in a private tent. The horses would race right past our tent. I really don't think we could have had a better view of the races. It was a beautiful fall day, and I loved every minute of it! We conversed with the other guests in the tent over lunch and fun finger foods. The best part was getting all dressed up in our sweater vests, polo's, pearls, argyle, and hats. Such an east coast event! The website recommended a few ideas as far as the dress code:

A few of us decided to walk around the event, and scope out the scene. We found a fun tent full of beautiful, expensive hats. We spent a while there trying on different hats and posing for multiple cameras. Even a media man stopped to take our picture. We are convinced that we be on the next cover issue of Horse & Hound.

We also meandered over to the horse stables.



The Group Shot

This picture kind of cracks me up. As you can imagine, there were many photographers, and this picture captures every single person looking in a different direction. Classic. This moment was definitely one of those, how did I get here?! moments. I am definitely living up my east coast experience.

Fun times!

One of the first social gatherings I attended when I moved to NYC, was a roof top party with my dear friend Melissa. I soon learned that roof top parties occurred quite frequently during the summertime. These rooftop parties consisted of food and mingling, and the occasional dance party. Usually that meant Mel and I were bored and needed a little music to spice things up. Anyway, last weekend there was a rooftop party in DC. You can imagine my excitement as it brought back fun memories of the NYC parties! Good times, good times!

Thank You!

This last week marks the year of my dad's emergency. What a year it has been. I have been thinking a lot about this time last year. I am reminded of how blessed and looked out for I felt. So many wonderful people reached out and extended their love and support. To these individuals, I will forever be grateful.
Thank you to wonderful nurses who spent many, many hours with my father and comforting my family. Thank you to my beautiful family. I now have a greater understanding and appreciation for eternal families. Thank you to my friends for the kindness and love you expressed to me during this time. Living in New York and being so far away was difficult for me. However, I know that special people were in my life at that time to take care of me, and helped to provide comfort and peace. I am especially grateful to my elder brother, Jesus Christ. I am grateful for a Savior, a best friend, who has personally experienced the agony my family was going through. I am grateful for the opportunity we get to exercise faith in our lives and feel encircled by the love of our Savior.

Updates

Not sure why, but I can't seem to get myself to blog lately. So here is my best attempt to update friends and family of my DC adventures.
Last weekend was throughly enjoyable. I had the opportunity to watch General Conference and feel of President Hinckley's love, and listen to his counsel along with other church leaders. I noticed a change in myself this conference. I think this is a true indication that I am getting older, and hopefully wiser :) In past years, my attempts to stay awake during all sessions of conference have not been too successful. This year, I only felt a little sleeping during the last session...I'm making progress! I also was much more energized to watch Saturday sessions, which is a change from past years. I very much appreciated their inspired and hopeful words. I love conference because it is a time to pick ourselves up and try a little harder. Most often the messages aren't anything we haven't heard before, however they are the exact words I need to hear. I was especially touched by Elder Spencer Condie's talk. Elder Condie spoke of the great principle of faith. He spoke of patience, long suffering and enduring to the end and how these are all components of faith. He then quoted Genesis 30:22, "And God remembered Rachel." He concluded his talk, "And just as God remembered Rachel, God will remember you." We truly do live in an instant gratification society, and often times want immediate answers. I am grateful for this gentle reminder that the Lord's timetable will and can differ than our own and He will NEVER forget us. Elder Condie spoke with such conviction and truth. If you didn't have the chance to watch, I recommend watching it online.
It is tradition to have Saturday evening be a Girl's night over conference weekend. My friends and I definitely made it a true girl's night: shopping and chocolate fondu! A group of us went to the Melting Pot for a little dessert. Well, that at least was the plan. Once we arrived, we were quickly persuaded to order a cheese fondu as well. Fun night with the ladies!





The weekend continued with Sunday brunch at our house. Basically you all wish you could have been there. Together we made: banana pancakes, m&m pancakes, turkey bacon, monkey break, quiche, strawberries, orange juice...ah it was delicious! We were quite happy with ourselves. Here my friends Erika and Ani show off the masterpiece brunch!




Monday was Columbus Day...thank you Columbus for giving me a day off of work! Sometimes it pays to work for the government! I slept in, cleaned my room, ran a few errands, went to the gym, scrapbooked (rocked out to my show tunes and a little George Winston), got a mani and pedi, read! It was wonderful. I seriously loved a day to myself. We get so scheduled and busy sometimes and forget how healthy and truly needed it is to take a day for ourselves.

The work week was pretty uneventful except that I got to visit with a good friend from my Barlow Center days, over dinner! She was visiting DC, interviewing at various law firms. We ate at Bertucci's, a yummy Italian restaurant in Old Town Alexandria. (Insert tangent)Have I ever blogged about my love for Old Town? I think I may need to dedicate an entire post. It is beautiful. I love walking the cobblestone streets, window shopping, and admiring the rich history in this charming little area in Alexandria. Anyway, back to my great friend Natalie...it was great to catch up and see this girl!

Thursday night was exciting for one other reason...I BOUGHT MY TICKET TO GO HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!! I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it, I'm about to lose control and I think I like it! OH YEAH!!! Definitely missing my family, and definitely ready to go home. That way overpriced ticket will be worth it when the crazy Mickelsen crew gets together. Ahhh I can't wait!

Tonight I went and saw the movie, Jane Austen's Book Club. I was a fan. There were definitely some parts in the movie they could have done without. I am pretty much in love with Grigg, Hugh Darcy. He was quite charming and fantastic! This movie, along with my girlfriends in NYC, have inspired me to start a book club. My friends and I decided tonight that we are going to do it! I am in charge of choosing the first book...where to begin?!


Well there you have it. Nothing extremely eventful! Life is good. TGIF!!!

Where Much is Given, Much is Required!

My cousin Angie recently posted this on her blog. I was touched by this video, and am reminded of the infamous saying, "Where much is given, much is required."

Meet my friends Amber, Danny and Melissa. I bet you never knew you could have this much fun with a camera! Check out our photo shoot:

Here we have Danny attempting to eat Amber's head. Danny contemplating which girl to choose!
Here we are having a little too much fun with the chocolate fountain.
Charlie's Angel Style
Check out those muscles! Amber is definitely the strongest!

The posing continues...I know, this is getting a little out of control!
Double Chin Pose
Ahhhh what a good lookin' group!
Thanks friends for a fun night!