The Never-ett Ending Story

We're moving!

2012-02-16T14:45:00.001-07:00

Here are the details:

At the beginning of the year Ryan's boss told him there was an area manager position open in New Mexico and they'd like him to apply. When Ryan came home and told me this we both just kind of laughed and thought "that's nice of them to offer, but they know you're leaving to California for school next month." We brushed if off. A few days later Ryan told me he had a really strong feeling to look into it a little more and to not dismiss it. He talked to a bunch of people got all the stats about salary, bonuses the area etc.When he told me he was looking into it I got really upset. I'm the kind of person that likes a plan. Since we've been married Ryan's changed his mind about what he wants to be when he "grows up." It's been frustrating to see him jump from job to job with no degree just wondering what our future will hold. When he decided to do Air Traffic Control we put all our efforts there. He went back to school and we saved all our money for him to live in California to finish. That was the plan. Seeing that that plan could change was hard for me. I cried for days.

We decided to list the pros and cons of each career. Ryan talked to a bunch of different Air Traffic Controller's about the job market and to get their take about their job what they like and don't like etc. What he found it really surprised us and our friend even told Ryan if he were in his shoes he'd take the job in New Mexico. There was still no guarantee Ryan would become an ATC because he still had to finish school, pass the FAA exam and find a job. He knows people that have been waiting for a job to open up for 18 months. The starting salary is low and they have a salary cap. Our friend has been working as an ATC for a few years and his schedule is still really bad. He works some nights some days, weekends and Holidays and bids for shifts. It's hard for him to hold a calling because he can hardly ever make it to church. That was his biggest complaint about the job. It's also hard to get time off and it's really strict as you could imagine. Ryan talked to my Dad and from his point of view thought that Ryan would get bored as an ATC. With the new position he would be traveling, each day would be different and the opportunities were huge.

After weighing everything for a few weeks we asked our families to fast and pray for us and we went to the Temple. The experience there was incredible. We read a few scriptures that really helped and we knew that New Mexico is where the Lord wanted us.

Ryan interviewed for the job on January 24th with the West Central Region General Manager for Off Airport and then had a second interview on January 30th with the VP of Off Airport for North America. They both loved him (of course) and told him the job was his. He had to take a 6 hour assessment that evaluated his skills and would let them know what areas he needs to work on. He did extremely well on it and impressed everyone. He doesn't really need to improve in any area. He got the official job offer on Feb 8th.

Ryan is so smart and does well in everything. He was able to get the job without a degree and has only been with the company for a little over two years. He has turned his branch around and won numerous contests and his name is well known. He's going to do great things. I'm truly blessed to have him and so grateful for his hard work.

We met with some friends that just moved back from Albuquerque and got their take on the city. They gave us a lot of good advice and told us the good areas to live. We flew down to ABQ last weekend and found a house that we'll sign the lease on today. (details about our trip forthcoming)

We put our house up for rent the first week of February and the tenant signed the lease Monday. We feel really good about them and feel so blessed to have this taken care of. I was stressing about it the most.

My last day of work is Feb 24th and we leave for New Mexico that next week. We've been spending as much time as possible with family and friends. We're really excited to move although I've been putting off packing. I've always wanted to live outside of Utah and now I get to! It will be hard to be away from our families but we're not that far. We're ready for this new adventure!

A very kind goodbye

2012-02-14T22:19:00.000-07:00

Ryan recently got released as the Young Men's President. The next Wednesday he got an unexpected knock at the door and a nice surprise from the Young Men. They all signed a card for him and made him those signs. He got hot dogs and buns, ketchup and mustard, candy, Listerine and a very creative letter.

They also taped little baseballs all over his car with hand written notes on them.

He felt very loved and was overwhelmed by the gesture. He has really enjoyed working with the Young Men and will miss them!

Jared's birthday

2012-02-13T22:06:00.000-07:00

We went up to the Everett's on Jan 28 to celebrate Ryan's brother, Jared's birthday. The whole family was there minus Brianna. We even had some extra guests, some foreign exchange students from Brazil.

Sampling the snacks

Janessa putting her cosmetology classes to good use

She sprayed so much water on Ryan's hair that it was running off his face. We all thought it was funny, him? not so much.

Family pic

You can barely see it but the flame on the candles was colored

Ryan actually volunteered to hold Kyler, that's a first folks! Baby steps.

What's Happening Wednesday

2012-02-08T21:15:00.000-07:00

01. Ryan went snowmobiling with guys from work on Saturday and had a blast. No injuries, thank goodness
02. Watched the Superbowl with some friends. Ryan was cheering for the Patriots and was pretty upset when they lost.
03. We were invited by another ward to their new beginnings since we don't have any new Beehives. They had a great program.
04. Jason Wu for Target line is out and I've been wanting to check out some of the pieces but haven't yet.
05. Finished the 2nd book in the "Matched" series. It was a faster read and definitely left ya hangin. The 3rd book comes out this year.
06. I took our cat, Hairy to the vet yesterday for an exam. His gums are really red so we scheduled a cleaning for next week.
07. Big Budah rented from Ryan's branch so he snapped a picture as proof. Ryan knows so many people and has met a lot of famous people but no one believes him (including me) because he never get's pictures.
08. Went to the dentist today. No cavities! Yea.
09. Had breakfast at Black Bear Diner with some co-workers this morning. It was delicious. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, but I don't get a good one very often.
10. Ryan got tickets to see Lady A in concert next week. I'm so excited to go!

Burt's Bees Grab Bag Haul (video)

2012-02-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

I posted a few days ago that I bought this grab bag and it came via FedEx today! I was so excited about this great deal I had to share with you. Decided to try a video because it seemed easier to show you everything and explain what I got. Enjoy!

P.S. Please forgive my amateur videography skills (or lack thereof). Show me some love and let me know if you want me to do more videos/reviews. I have lots of opinions..

What's Happening Wednesday

2012-02-01T17:38:00.000-07:00

01. Went to a new restaurant called Citrus Grill with some friends, it's great and i recommend trying it.
02. I was finally able to wash our car in this lull from all the rain and snow.
03. Ordered a Burt's Bees grab bag for $15. Can't wait to get it and see what's inside.
04. Really bummed that we didn't get tickets to Brian Regan, I heard it was great.
05. Saw Puss in Boots in 3D at the dollar theater, funny show, i loved it.
06. Spent time with Ryan's family celebrating his brother's birthday.
07. Went into work late yesterday and loved sleeping in. Sometimes it would be nice to work later.
08. Started filling out paperwork for taxes, ugh, stressful.
09. Been getting free lunch at work lately, feeling spoiled, but it's oh so delicious. Kneader's today, Goodwood BBQ last week.
10. Ryan's going snowmobiling this weekend with buddies from work. I hope there's enough snow!

feature on tainted perfectionist

2012-01-25T16:30:00.000-07:00

Tainted Perfectionist, my friend's awesome new blog, featured me in her weekly FridayFreeForAll. She shares weekly videos, posts recipes, crafts, and cute little stories on her blog. Check it out! Thanks for the highlight, Abby!

What's Happening Wednesday

2012-01-25T16:16:00.001-07:00

01. Ryan just got done being sick, now I am. This hardly ever happens.
02. Bought some amazing all natural moisturizer at Whole Foods called Desert Essence. My skin's never felt better.
03. Stuff has been disappearing lately. Papers, shoes, its' really starting to drive us crazy. Apparently I need to be more organized.
04. Went out to eat twice last week, La Frontera and a great place in Bountiful. both Mexican Restaurants, my favorite food.
05. Visited Jessica and Aaron and there little baby who is so strong! He turns his body and is very wiggly.
06. Had a great time with my parent's Sunday night watching football and playing 5 crowns.
07. Happy Birthday to my brother-in-law Johnny!
08. We have two more birthday's in the family Sunday.
09. Really need to get my wedding ring cleaned.
10. I've almost finished off a huge jar of chocolate covered sunflower seeds we got for Christmas by myself. Lucky for me Ryan doesn't really like sweets, not lucky for my body.

What's Happening Wednesday

2012-01-18T09:36:00.000-07:00

01. Went to two different Babies R Us last week for gifts and with my sister.
02. Told my friend about a job opening at Make-A-Wish and she got it! So happy for her.
03. I've officially started my 1/2 marathon training. Definitely been a good week for running, I'm getting that high and feeling great.
04. Went to a cousin's baby shower with my sister in her beautiful new home. She's due in a few weeks. It was great to see some of my cousins there.
05. Spent the evening holding my new nephew. Heaven.
06. Ryan's been very sick. He went to the doctor yesterday and got antibiotics. Hopefully it will help him feel better.
07. We both had to work Monday on the Holiday.
08. I had to return a book to the library before i was done reading, now I need to put it back on hold to finish.
09. Watched "sandlot" tonight for an activity with the youth. It's been a long time since I've watched it. It's still funny.
10. Have a lot of laundry to catch up on.

our new nephews

2012-01-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

My sister had her baby on Jan 6th. Her 3rd boy. He was born shortly after midnight and we got to visit them in the hospital that night. Such a cutie and looks different from his brothers. If you want all the details and more pictures you can visit her blog.

This is him @ 8 days..

Ryan's brother had their first child, also a boy on Jan 9th. We visited them in the hospital and got to see him only hours old. We're so excited for them and their new little family.

a wooden craft

2012-01-16T09:46:00.000-07:00

We made this cute craft in November for super saturday. I wanted to post it earlier but we gave it to our Young Women for Christmas so I had to wait.

It took us all day to paint and another day to sand. The process was kind of ridiculous. If I would've known about the time involved I would've chosen a different project.

We had to choose three different colors of paint for each board. One for the letters, one for the background and one for underneath.

The underneath layer was meant to show through after the sanding, but we found that even after we'd sanded it didn't show through. So I thought this step was a waste.

The first step was to paint it with a shine gloss to give it some texture. Once that dried we painted the under layer, the color for the words (two coats). After that dried we put the vinyl on then painted the under layer. (two coats.) Then after that dried we did the background color, in my case red and blue. (two coats)

I made one red and one blue.

Next, we peeled off the vinyl then sanded.

I really liked the finished product. A little worn and vintage. A ton of work, but cute in the end.

save your heart!

2012-01-15T21:30:00.001-07:00

Photo by: Yasuhide Fumoto/Getty Images

I was reading Woman's Day yesterday and came across a health article on heart disease. It gave 6 risk factors:

1) your mom or dad had a heart attack 70%-340%
2) you spend most of the day sitting down 50%-100%
3) you're overscheduled and overwhelmed 40%
4) you're tired all the time 45%
5) you had pregnancy complications 100%
6) you spend a lot of time around smokers 25%-30%

According to the above risk factors my risk is 120%-440% a) because my dad had a heart attack and b) i spend most of the day sitting down. Also I have high cholesterol so that raises my risk 72%. It gave 6 ways to lower your risk:

1) don't smoke - never been an issue for me
2) get your daily 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity
3) add 20 minutes of strength training at least twice a week
4) eat Mediterranean-style. Stick to a diet mostly plant-based (try to do this)
5) keep salt levels low
6) manage stress

Exercise has always been important to me. I've been active my whole life and try to exercise consistently. I must say though, after seeing my high risk that exercise takes on a whole new meaning. Doing it to lose weight, build muscle, or feel good are all great reasons, but it makes it a lot easier to do knowing I could be saving my life. The article states that 90% of women have at least one risk factor for heart disease. But many don't know it. I'm hoping this has opened your eyes and will make you keep better tabs on your heart.

Here are some helpful online tools recommended by the experts at The Heart Truth.

-estimate your heart attack risk: hp2010.nhlbihin.net/atpiii/calculator.asp
-track your family history: familyhistory.hhs.gov
-record your health stats: heart360.org
-know what you're eating: choosemyplate.gov/supertracker

What's Happening Wednesday

2012-01-11T18:54:00.000-07:00

01. Our gym serves pizza the first Monday of each month, yea. cool.
02. We made lip gloss for our YW activity last week. It's super easy
03. I got a new nephew Friday, Owen! That makes 8. (pics to come)
04. Ryan's brother and Jessica had their baby Monday, Kyler. First grand baby on both sides of the family.
05. Church ball has started, Ryan's excited to play again.
06. I've been really bad at working out/running. Once I get started on my training schedule it will be easier.
07. Now that all my shows are back on tv, i find myself reading less and less.
08. Been participating in a January photo of the day on instagram, it's fun and i love that app. My username is teamaria416 if ya want to join along.
09. A blockbuster near us is moving and selling all their dvd's. We've gotten a ton for $5 each!
10. We have some crazy news to share soon...

What's Happening Wednesday

2012-01-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

01. Got a Christmas card from President Bush asking for donations. Best Christmas card ever.
02. Really enjoyed going to church on Christmas. The perfect way to celebrate.
03. Tis the season for weddings. Went to two last week. It was also my sister's and parents anniversaries.
04. My first niece turned 7. It's hard to believe she's already that old. My parents will have 8 grandkids very soon.
05. Had to use the rest of my cafeteria plan before the end of the year so I bought a bunch of 1st Aid supplies. We're ready for any major injury now.
06. Been eating a bunch of junk lately, time to get back on track.
07. We're slowly building our DVD supply back up. We got a bunch for Christmas.
08. We got an air popper that I'm really excited to use.
09. Got Ryan a fun game, Split Decision, that we've played a few times.
10. Planning to run a 1/2 Marathon with my sister this summer.

2011 recap

2012-01-03T17:03:00.000-07:00

JAN

The year started out with a bang, literally. Our pantry fell apart so we spent a day fixing it.

FEB

Joined the apple world and got iPhones

MARCH

My sister came for a visit from Virginia and Ryan spent a week at Spring Training

APRIL

I turned 25!

MAY

Started volunteering for Make-A-Wish. Went to Idaho for Alyssa's graduation.

JUNE

Girls Camp. 5 year college reunion. Brianna's graduation

JULY

My brother came to visit!

AUGUST

Ryan turned 28 and hurt his shoulder.

SEPTEMBER

Celebrated 5 years of marriage!

OCTOBER

Ryan ran the Las Vegas Ragnar

NOVEMBER

Ran our first 5k

DECEMBER

Participated in the Festival of Trees and had a great Christmas

view 2010 recap here

The Holidays

2012-01-03T16:10:00.000-07:00

We spent 5 days over Christmas with the Everetts. We did some shopping...

played with their cute dog..

opened gifts..

played Santa..

We had a great time relaxing, eating lots of wonderful food and being with family.

On New Year's Eve we played games until midnight with friends.

2012

I can't believe the new year is already here, and I'm sure this year will fly by as well.

On New Year's Day we visited my sister who is due with boy #3 anytime. My dad got a hold of my phone while we were playing games and took these pictures.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

a last minute Christmas craft

2011-12-21T16:31:00.001-07:00

This project is so easy, it literally takes 10 minutes.

You can use any leftover ornaments and all you need is a wire hanger or wire.

I didn't have any so I went to the local dollar tree and bought about 50. Some of you may have seen this picture I posted on facebook. Funny stuff...

This was my inspiration, but I wanted a Christmas one so I bought Christmas colors, but it would work year round.

Just for good measure we hot glued all the tops so they wouldn't come off...

Unfortunately I didn't have a wire hanger and neither did my sister, so instead i bought some floral wire thinking it would work...but it didn't. As we strung them on we soon realized the wire was too flimsy and when we connected the ends it was more like an oval, not a circle. We improvised though and tied down the ends and I just left it like this and strung it across my mantel.

It's still cute and easy, but if you want a wreath you will need to use a wire hanger.

What's Happening Wednesday

2011-12-21T16:17:00.000-07:00

01. Fall semester is finally over for Ryan, we've sent his transcripts to MTSAC. Registration is January 19th
02. We celebrated Christmas with Ryan' boss and co-workers at Tucano's. Yum
03. I won a camera at my work's Christmas party.
04. Saw Sherlock Holmes and loved it just as much as the first movie.
05. Went to the MOTAB Christmas concert with my cousin. The perfect way to bring in the Holiday spirit.
06. Exchanged gifts with my parents since we won't see them on Christmas.
07. Ryan's been in Mesquite since Monday golfing. He's really enjoying his Christmas break.
08. Gave blood yesterday at the "Reach Out Utah Holiday Blood Drive"
09. Still have neighbor gifts to deliver.
10. Going to enjoy a nice 5 day weekend.

Merry Christmas everyone!

What's Happening Wednesday

2011-12-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

01. Really feeling the Christmas spirit with lots of parties and get togethers. More to come too!
02. Ryan's been watching "What not to Wear" with me each week, and enjoying it! We love Clinton.
03. Completely finished with my Christmas shopping!
04. Got a pineapple at a white elephant party. Best gift ever, it was delicious!
05. Made all my neighbor gifts Saturday.
06. Had a craft day with my sister this month. It didn't turn out exactly as planned but we improvised. Post to come.
07. I'm looking for a new book to read. The problem is I have too many on my goodreads list I can't narrow it down. Any suggestions are welcome.
08. The company I work for got acquired, so things have been a little crazy the past few weeks with all the changes.
09. I still have a few more gifts to wrap. I need to buy more wrapping paper today.
10. We went to the Joseph Smith movie last night at the Legacy Theater for YW's. I've seen it several times but our churches history still amazes me. I feel so blessed.

Fat guy in a little coat

2011-12-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

When I saw this at Wal-Mart for .97 i couldn't pass it up. See inspiration here

He hated it but I enjoyed every minute. Needless to say, it was a tad small and meant for xx small dogs and since my cats are bigger than most dogs his hair was spilling out at every opening.

It was hilarious.

Thought you'd enjoy

clearance clothes

2011-12-07T17:04:00.000-07:00

**This is a guest post from an advertiser**

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If you prefer to go to a retailer near you, these saleprices go through Dec. 24^th. On their web site you can print acoupon for $10 off or $25 off.

Their cropped sweater is only $30 and whether you wear itwith high-waisted jeans during the day, or a mini at night, it will make yourlegs seem longer.

The multistripe sweater is also very fashion forward and it’sthe perfect time of year to be cute and cozy and wear cuddly scarves withtassels or a bold stripe hat.

Aeropostale is featured in 7 magazines this month. The companyprovides high-quality, fashion merchandise at compelling values. With stores in49 states you would be hard pressed to not find one near you.

What's Happening Wednesday

2011-12-07T13:20:00.001-07:00

01. Made a craft at Super Saturday a few weeks ago. Took forever, but can't wait to show you the finished project after Christmas.
02. Saw Breaking Dawn as per tradition with our die-hard Twilight-loving friends. After discussing, I realized I really should probably read the books again. I've forgotten a lot.
03. Ran yesterday for the 1st time since the 5k. I'm REALLY sore today.
04. Helped decorate a tree for Festival of Trees this year with some ward friends. Those girls are creative! The theme was "A few of my favorite things."
05. Ryan finally agreed to go through his t-shirts, we donated lots to DI.
06. Got an eye exam. It was years overdue. Can't wait for my new glasses!
07. One of our 2 young women turned 18 and is now out of Young Women's. Sad day.
08. Did baptisms for the dead for the first time since being endowed. Very neat.
09. Had a new Beehive move into our ward. Excited to meet her and hope she'll come to church.
10. Ryan applied for his last semester of college!!! So much to do before February...

Oprah

2011-12-06T17:08:00.001-07:00

******Guest Blogger******

Thanks to Darwin Barton

My mom has been watching Oprah since her show started over twenty five years ago. When Oprah announced that this was going to be her last season, my mom was very upset. She said that she did not know what she was going to do at four o’clock in the afternoons now. She said that she was really going to miss everything from the inspiring stories from the guests on the shows to the advice on decorating and losing weight. I told her that the new Oprah Winfrey Network would probably have shows that were about most of that stuff. She said that she did not get that channel. I told her that I have direct tv and I get the OWN channel. She said that she was going to look in to getting DirectTV, because she would really like to have the OWN channel. She said that in the meantime, she will just have to come to my house to watch her shows. Lucky for her I have this channel and she is welcome in my house any time she wants. However, I do think that it is a good idea for her to get this channel at her house too.

My first 5k

2011-11-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the race Thanksgiving morning. There were over 4500 people participating for the Utah Food Bank. We got there early and stayed in the Mall to keep warm. Our wave started a little after 8:00. We stayed together for the most part for the first few minutes then everyone got separated as we started to pace ourselves.

Our whole group!

Brianna and Devin

Devin and Ryan

Ryan crossing the finish line!

After the race!

My sister was near the finish line to cheer us on.

Ryan's chip didn't register with his time but according to this picture and the time we started we figure it was about 39 minutes.

My final time: 34:58. I beat my time by about 1 minute. 100 out of 273 in my age group

Brianna did not train at all but ending up 31:38 44th out of 159 in her age group, so amazing!

Everyone had a great time. I can't wait to do another one and start training for a 10k

P.S. We had a great Thanksgiving at my parents house. Devin and Brianna joined us and 3 of my cousins and their significant others were there too. We had a fun time playing games and eating yummy food!

2011 WAC Volleyball Tournament

2011-11-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

We got back from Vegas Wednesday night. We went down with Ryan's family to see Alyssa play in the WAC tournament. Although they lost, we still had a great time eating tons of food, walking the strip and being together.

The tournament was played in THE ORLEANS arena, where we stayed.

Loved the M&M store but didn't want to spend $13.99 a pound

At the coca-cola store the bear was there for pictures. He was so tall and cute, it was fun to watch him. I got a picture with Ryan's sisters that his mom bought.

The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory tempted me every time I'd walk by it at the hotel. After we checked out I caved and bought an English Toffee apple. Well worth the $6

It seems like we go to Vegas a lot. Here's some of our other visits:

here

Wish 100 - Oct 22

2011-11-25T13:19:00.001-07:00

This post is a long time coming. Not sure why it's taken me over a month to blog it.

The same weekend of Ryan's Ragnar was the Make-A-Wish Wish 100 fundraiser. I got to Ivins bright and early before the race to help set up. I had to leave early to drive to Vegas, but I'm glad I got to see the 1st waive of bikers go out. This was the 1st annual Wish 100, a woman's only cycling event. They had 100, 60, 30, and 10 mile options. The event was very well planned and they had a great turnout!

For more info visit here

To view more pictures visit here

What's Happening Wednesday

2011-11-16T13:22:00.001-07:00

01. Tried our hand at painting glass for our YW activity last week. It was a fun new skill to learn and some got really creative!
02. Got to spend the weekend with my cousins.
03. Starting to make gift lists for Christmas, a daunting task.
04. Things keep falling into place for us as we prepare for Ryan to leave in February and we're continually seeing the blessings in our lives.
05. Got our team of 10 for the 5k next week
06. Taking next week off work, going to Vegas with Ryan's family.
07. Thought we'd have a small gathering for Thanksgiving, but the guest list keeps growing, and that is great.
08. Found out my cousin is expecting!
09. Have a new lady to visit teach. Can't wait to get to know her.
10. Finished Mockingjay and did not really like it. It's very sad and depressing, but I'm excited to see the movie. The trailer looks great.

11/11/11

2011-11-12T17:22:00.001-07:00

Two of my cousins from different sides of the family got married yesterday. It was a busy day for weddings there were brides everywhere. The Salt Lake Temple had something like 122 weddings and had to cancel some. Bountiful had about 70, I think. I know a lot of people had trouble finding an open reception center too. Makes me glad I chose Jordan River and was 1 of 2 brides that day. The temple workers knew me by name and I got their complete attention for myself.

We went to my cousin Tiffani's wedding in the Bountiful Temple at noon. She married Marc Bucher who is my friends husband's brother. I was sad Andrea couldn't be there, but I got to meet Todd for the first time. My mom's cousin is Pat Holland, so we were lucky to have Elder Holland marry them. (more about her story here) It was the best wedding I've ever been to. He spoke for about 40 minutes and talked about symbolism in the Temple. He went through each phase of the endowment and related it to marriage. I wish i had a tape recorder because I learned so much! He made everything sound so simple. He counseled to be obedient and if we are then are marriage will always be ok no matter what happens in the world. So many beautiful things were said and the spirit was so strong. He said he maybe does 3 weddings a year because he's so busy and the church is not the same as it used to be. He joked that there are hundred of quorums of 70 and thousands of missionaries but somehow there are only 12 apostles.

I was so glad to be there and be reminded of my wedding not so many years ago. It was a great day.

Tiff's family

Some of my cousins, the Bills

Tiff's brothers, Steve and Mike

Family anxiously awaiting the new couple.

We went to their luncheon at Corbin's Grill in Layton. It was nice to be able to sit and talk with some of my cousins that I haven't seen in so long. Why is it that we don't see each other often when we all live so close? Lives get busy as we get older and it seems that Weddings or Funerals are the only time everyone gets together. Sad. I need to make a better effort to see them.

They had a ring ceremony right before the reception, but we had to leave soon after to get to my other cousin's reception in Lindon. It was a long day and I would be so tired if I was Tiff. Ryan and I had our reception the night before so our wedding day was very short, which we loved.

I didn't get any pictures of Jay and Katy's reception, but it was at a reception center called Bella Vista, and it was gorgeous! I don't see my Dad's side of the family very often and the last time was at my Grandma's funeral. They live in California, Texas, Idaho, Nevada, and some are spread out even further. I hadn't seen Jay since our family reunion in 2005. Although not very many family members could make it, it was nice to be able to see my Aunt, Uncle and Leithead cousins.

So grateful for events like these that remind me how blessed we are to have the Gospel and the knowledge of the plan of salvation and that we can have forever families!

What's Happening Wednesday

2011-11-09T16:14:00.000-07:00

Image by DeusXFlorida via Flickr

Image by C. Mack via Flickr

01. Officially got my winter clothes out last week and put away all my summer clothes.
02. Ryan is back to playing softball and is playing for a sponsored team. So he gets lots of swag and has a few tournaments coming up.
03. My sister-in-law had a baby shower over the weekend. She's due in 2 months, the same day as my sister. Can't wait for two new baby boys!
04. Spent way too much money on running shoes.
05. Need to get my Thanksgiving decor up
06. Visited lots of gyms and ended up going with Planet Fitness. It's cheap and month to month works best since Ryan will be out of the state for 4 months.
07. Get to attend my cousin's sealing done by Elder Holland, can't wait!
08. I need to get my music on iTunes from our laptop to our computer, suggestions?
09. Didn't vote yesterday... whoops.
10. Can't believe Thanksgiving is in two weeks!

What's Happening Wednesday

2011-11-02T17:40:00.000-06:00

01. Canned 27 jars of chicken for the first time with my sister, 3 jars didn't seal. We think it's because the rings were old.
02. Trying to find a group of people to run a 5k on Thanksgiving, no takers yet.
03. Thinking of signing up for a 1/2 marathon in February.
04. Carved 3 pumpkins this year.
05. Looking into gym's since it's too cold for me to run outside.
06. Have a busy, busy week with a bridal shower, baby shower then 2 weddings.
07. My mom and I both got MOTAB tickets for different days so we need to decide when we're going.
08. Did not dress up for Halloween this year.
09. Ryan cleaned our carpets.
10. Go here to see my brother-in-laws families pumpkins. They're pretty great.

Pumpkins!

2011-11-01T17:02:00.000-06:00

We carved a lot of pumpkins this year.

YM/YW

The Everetts

Friends

Hope you had a great Halloween!

St George

2011-10-28T15:37:00.000-06:00

I was so lucky to be able to get a ride down to St George with the Jenson's, since Ryan was already in Vegas. Look at this cutie:

My parents were there as well since my mom had a work conference. I had a volunteer meeting Friday night then I went out to eat with my parents and Grandma. My grandma's favorite place is Golden Coral. We loaded up on food. Grandma told us that Grandpa used to always get a root beer float. So we ate some in his honor.

Isn't my dad cute!? Love him.

We stopped by my Aunt's house on the way home and my cousin showed me all the outfits she has for her cat. It was hysterical! My new goal is to get one of our cats in something like that. Can you imagine???!!! Hilarious.

My old Bishop (he served when we got married) and his wife are serving a mission in St George so we stopped by the Visitor's Center hoping to see them. They were there! It just so happened to be Elder/Bishop Sorenson's birthday! This couple is great. They call each ward member on their birthdays and sing to them. He has a great voice, by the way, and plays the trombone. He directed the music in our stake musical years ago when we did "The Music Man." I danced with their granddaughter on Dance Company in High School too. Sister Sorenson kept calling him dear, sweety, and honey, and had to keep correcting it to Elder, it was funny.

My grandma's church is the one right across from the Temple. It's so neat that my mom got to grow up so close to it and I so close to Jordan River. What a blessing it is to live in Utah!

If you know my dad you know he's handy. He can literally do/make/fix/create/remodel/build anything!!

He's remodeled his house twice, built their shed, his garage, landscaped our yard, built the deck, tiled the house, not to mention he's a mechanic so he keeps all our vehicles/toys/mowers in tip-top shape. Just to name a few. He's also a plumber, electrician, etc. You name it, he can do it!!! He's pretty much amazing. They say some women will marry a man like their dad. I really did. Ryan's just as great.

Every time my dad visits grandma she's got a project for him. This time she wanted her front porch tiled. He spent the whole weekend doing it and it turned out great! She loves it.

My dad took these pictures for us right before we left in front of the famous picture wall.

P.S. Ryan and I both have tons of family in St George. My mom went to High School with his dad and our grandparents knew each other. Small world. It's always fun to visit.

What's Happening Wednesday

2011-10-26T16:40:00.000-06:00

01. We got a statement in the mail yesterday for Ryan's MRI back in August. Instead of paying $2300, like we planned, we only had to pay $850. Our insurance picked up the rest. What a blessing!
02. Went to a relief society pie demonstration activity and cookie exchange. It got me excited for the Holidays.
03. Found out a dear friend from college is getting married.
04. My weekend trip to Vegas/St. George was great - didn't want to leave the warm weather. More details later.
05. Missed our regional stake conference with Elder Bednar. Bummer
06. Attended the St George temple with my mom and grandma
07. Finished Book II of the Hunger Games. Picking up Book III tonight.
08. Listened to a book on cd and got home before it was over. I had to call my mom at work to find out who the murderer was.
09. A pen went through the wash and got blue ink on a few things. Frustrated.
10. Excited for our Halloween festivities this weekend.

Ragnar Relay Las Vegas

2011-10-25T14:49:00.000-06:00

Back in July Ryan was challenged by some friends to run with them in the Ragnar. They were just getting their group together, so feeling confident and in need of a challenge to get in shape, he agreed. He ran off an on but really got serious last month. I trained with him towards the end and we've both really gotten bit by the running bug. I was so glad I got the opportunity to be there at the finish line and cheer him on. I'm extremely proud of him and all the hard work and dedication he's put forth. He had a great time and did so well!He was runner #11 Their team name was The Impersonators so they had the "flasher", a biker, Marilyn Monroe, Richard Simmons, and others. Ryan was Dustin Pedroia from the Red Sox. The course was from Lake Mead to Las Vegas 188 miles. Ryan ran 11.8 miles total. The team finished in 29 hours, 12 minutes.

Here are the pictures I got from the finish line:

These next pictures are from Ryan along the way:

What's Happening Wednesday

2011-10-19T16:51:00.001-06:00

01. We've had our heater running for almost 2 weeks now. Stupid weather.
02. I got to touch a page from the original King James Bible, a 400 year old paper.
03. Signed up for MOTAB Christmas concert tickets. Haven't been since I was in it.
04. Taking 2,000 IU of Vitamin D every day to combat those winter blues.
05. Been running a few times a week with Ryan. He runs the Ragnar this weekend!
06. Watched "Cry, The Beloved Country" with Ryan for extra credit. Signed up for a free 30 day Netflix trial to watch it. Great movie. Powerful story on forgiveness.
07. Currently reading "Catching Fire" -about halfway through. I'm loving it. and I love goodreads
08. I love my mom's movie recommendations, although she doesn't always like mine. "The Next Three Days" "Amish Grace" -watch them.
09. I'm now the 2nd counselor in YW's instead of the Beehive adviser because we have no Beehives.
10. Updated our iphones to iOS 5 and love the new features. Wish we could get the iPhone 4S

Halloween Costume Ideas

2011-10-06T18:34:00.000-06:00

I love holidays, and Halloween is no exception. I love to decorate, go to corn mazes/haunted houses and dress up. If you are looking for costume ideas, here are some links from Halloweenmart.com to give you some inspiration this year. The costumes on the website are organized by categories:

1. Adult Halloween Costumes

Including Western costumes and superhero costumes

2. Kids Halloween Costumes

Clown costumes for kids, kids movie costumes, and kids holiday costumes. They also have plus size costumes, decor and accessories. Right now they are offering 75% off their costumes. Halloween is in about 3 weeks so now's the time to get ready!

New Clothing Store

2011-10-06T18:20:00.000-06:00

Guest post from: Constance Rodgers

I logged onto shopeelectrcityratestexas.com last week as we were nearing the completion of our new shop. I compared the electricity rates as one of the last few things that I needed to do before we open in two weeks. I have never owned a business before, but managed a retail store like my new one for the last five years. I will be selling women’s contemporary clothing. I think with my new proximity closer to the college campus and with lots of foot traffic we will have a niche. I spent the last six months working on the business plan and actual design on the store. The interior is simple and the clothes will be easy to see and go through ( I hate having to pick through things). I also have visited the clothing marts in L.A., New York, and Atlanta. I have found an eclectic mix of merchandise, but I think that there will be something for everyone. I did not want to have a clothing store where you could only be a size two to find something cute to wear. I am excited and can’t wait to call myself a business owner.

Night in Park City

2011-10-05T18:20:00.000-06:00

We got to stay in Park City Friday night with some friends, thanks to my sister, who let us use her timeshare. We enjoyed dinner at Ruby Tuesday, games, and snacks all night. Their condo is at Westgate Resort & Spa. There is an 18 and older pool, hot tub, sauna and steam room that we really enjoyed. See how relaxed we look?

I couldn't get enough of how beautiful the canyon was. The pictures don't do it justice. I have been loving this warm weather (until today) and enjoyed it while it lasted...

Conference Craft

2011-10-04T18:08:00.000-06:00

My sister and I decided to do a craft during the Priesthood session of conference. We wanted to do something Fall/Halloween and decided on wreaths. Since her door is dark and mine is light we chose different wreaths. There were so many cute options! I literally had Ryan choose it for me because I couldn't decide. It was so easy and only cost $11. I found mine here

Supplies

-16 in foam wreath

-thick yarn (i bought wool)

-yellow and black felt

-thick card stock

First, I wrapped the yarn around around the wreath. The foam wreaths are great because the yarn sticks right to it.

I traced the bat found here onto the cardstock then cut it onto the felt.

I cut out two eyes from the yellow felt and used a bowl to trace for the moon. I hot glued them on and that's it!

Toni's was much harder and more complicated because all we had to go off was an image on etsy. We looked hard at how it was made and ended up getting so frustrated. We wrapped and unwrapped it three times, had to run to the store for more gauze, then realized we didn't even need it, but hers will be so cute when finished, and it didn't cost $120 like you could buy it on etsy.

General Conference Notes

2011-10-03T17:43:00.000-06:00

General Conference came just in time. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I was lucky enough to be able to go to both sessions on Sunday with Sydney. We had tickets for the p.m. session, but not a.m. so we got downtown early and started asking for tickets near a corner. Some people nearby had just gotten some and gave us their sign to use. They told us that people loved their sign and they got 5 tickets. A few minutes later we got them! We've done it this way for almost every General Conference, so there's a nice tip for ya. You're welcome.

Some of my favorite quotes from this weekend:

"It is wonderful to have the means of instant communication...let us be sure that we do not become compulsive fingertip communicators. One that enslaves us to be constantly checking and sending social messages and thus giving the false impression of being busy and productive...as good as these things are we cannot allow them to push things aside of greatest importance. Let us be as quick to kneel as we are to text."
*Ian S Ardern

"As the prophet spoke I looked to him. He redirected my focus to look up to God.where i could be healed and strengthened through Christ's atonement. That is what prophets do for us, they lead us to God. ..he is also a wonderful example of living the principle of looking up. He exercises great faith and is filled with optimism and love for others. He trusts the Lord and relies on him for strength and the Lord blesses him.. if we exercise our faith and look to God for help like Pres Monson, we will not be overwhelmed, we will not feel incapable of doing what we're called to do or need to do. We will be strengthened and our lives will be filled with peace and joy.. Most of what we worry about is not of eternal significance, and if it is, the Lord will help us, but we must have the faith to look up and the courage to follow his direction."
*Carl B Cook

"The Book of Mormon is the best guide to learn how well we are doing and how to do better."
*Henry B Eyring

"He also challenges us to focus on Him, not on the things of the world. Where is our ultimate loyalty? Desire and obedience will lead us to Him"
*Dallin H Oaks

"Good leaders come from good teachers. Teach by the spirit. The Holy Ghost teaches everyone in a personal way. The Holy Ghost inspires us to act."
*Matthew O. Richardson

"Decisions determine destiny. Are we choosing eternal life? In reality we have 2 eternal choices. Choose God or the world. We can't have both."
*Randall K. Bennett

"Heavenly Father loves us so much that the things that are important to us are important to Him just because He loves us....but because He won't infringe on our agency, we must ask for His help. Honesty is essential in requesting things from God. For repentance to work it must be specific, profound and lasting. Doing things the Lord's way will make us happier. We must not only say our prayers we must live them. Prayer only works as we use it as directed."
*J. Devn Cornish

"Having the spirit is essential to eternal life. The atonement covers all unfairness in life."
*Quentin L. Cook

Porter's birthday

2011-09-24T12:24:00.000-06:00

Three weeks ago we celebrated Porter's third birthday. He got some legos and puzzles, and a light saber from grandma. He is such a smart boy! We love him very much.

Cedar city

2011-09-16T17:00:00.000-06:00

We went down to watch Alyssa play volleyball in the Southern Utah Tournament. They lost 2/3 but Alyssa did well.

5 year celebration

2011-09-14T18:33:00.000-06:00

5 years seems like a long time, but it's flown by. Life married to this man is wonderful. What a blessing he's been to me!

He surprised me with a dozen roses and tickets to the Utah symphony. We ended the night at Leatherby's and enjoyed some ice cream.

Cedar Breaks Part II

2011-09-13T17:57:00.000-06:00

This place is amazing! When you get there you can hike around the side (about an hour) or take a trail to the lookout point. We were a little short on time so we chose the short option. It's 10,000 feet up with a 2,000 foot drop off. It's so peaceful and the view is breathtaking, like a mini Bryce canyon. It's shaped like a coliseum and the Indians called it "circle of painted cliffs." the oldest tree in the world, the bristlecone pine, can be found there. If you're ever in southern Utah stop by!

Cedar Breaks

2011-09-12T17:49:00.001-06:00

Two weeks ago we were in Cedar city with Ryan's family and we decided to check out Cedar Breaks. The drive through the canyon was about 20 minutes. Worth every second...

Part II later....

Become.com

2011-09-12T17:39:00.000-06:00

Have you heard of become.com? I just came upon it and it's the perfect site for Christmas shopping. (104 days!)
If you're searching for a specific item it finds the best deal online.

For example: decorative bulletin boards .
You can filter by store or brand

large throw pillows

leather backpack purses

Try it out and let me know what you think!

Pics from Ryan's birthday

2011-08-29T16:48:00.001-06:00

We went to Texas Roadhouse for Ryan and Devin's birthday. Reed, Jessica, and Aaron joined us.

Since it was their birthday they got to do this diddy..

Funny stuff.

The next night we got together with some friends for a BBQ and games.

they took turns blowing out the candles..

Never a dull moment with these two.

Ducky Derby 2011

2011-08-27T16:36:00.000-06:00

I am so glad I got to help out at the annual Rubber Ducky Derby for the Make-A-Wish Foundation this year. It was nice to meet some of the wish kids and be part of this special event.

Ryan and I helped fund raise by selling ducks. We hoped to win the $15,000 grand prize, but did not. Better luck next year.

For info on how you can get involved go to:

http://utah.wish.org/

{all pictures from Make-A-Wish Facebook page}

Ryan's shoulder

2011-08-26T16:28:00.000-06:00

His shoulder has been hurting him ever since he played in a softball tournament a few weeks ago. He got an MRI last week (results pictured above) and found out a few days ago that he has a minor tear of his superior labrum. We're so glad that it doesn't require surgery. He just has to rest it for about 3 months and do his exercises. As long as he eases back in after that he should be fine.

We feel blessed!

Baby Tyson - 4 days old

2011-08-25T16:23:00.000-06:00

Got the pleasure of meeting this little man two weeks ago. Babies grow so fast and I always forget how teeny they are. He's perfect!

Congratulations Adria

Bee's vs OMA

2011-08-24T16:00:00.000-06:00

We saw the bee's play Omaha twice last week. Our friend knows one of the pitchers, Ryan Brasier, so we used his tickets and got great seats behind home plate. My parents took us for Ryan's birthday a few days later.

(midnight run to red mango afterwards)

Mark Wills Concert

2011-08-23T15:58:00.000-06:00

My parents invited me to go with them to the Mark Wills Concert at the SL County Fair. Ryan politely declined because he had homework (and he's not a fan of country music, unless they're big names. He'd never heard of him although he's been around for 15 years!)

I forgot how many hits he has, I love all his songs

28 years later..

2011-08-19T12:01:00.001-06:00

so glad you're mine forever...

happy birthday

Fun at the pool

2011-08-18T16:54:00.000-06:00

Fun times at the pool.

Our friends' parents have a pool with a slide!

Ryan was enjoying himself.

As you can see, I spent most my time trying to get a decent picture.

It was hilarious, Ryan would yell "take the picture" or "I'm coming" and "do it now!" on the way down.

I can't believe Summer is coming to an end...

Henry turns 1

2011-08-17T16:53:00.000-06:00

Henry turned 1 on July 29th. My sister invited both sides of the family over for a celebration. The weather was crummy, but we had a good time.

The cute cake

The handsome birthday boy

Evan grilling burgers and dogs

Ryan hurt his shoulder days before so my dad was trying to get the pain out..

...don't think it worked

Henry loved his chair

singing "happy birthday"

Enjoying his cake!

Opening gifts

Schools out

2011-08-12T16:41:00.000-06:00

School is officially out for Ryan. I cannot even tell you how thrilled we both are. This semester has been a tough one. Work has been crazy busy for him and on top of everything else he had to do homework. He sacrificed A LOT! Grades post next week, then he gets a 6-month break from school until his LAST semester in California.

Expect us to be partying A LOT! I'm stoked to get my husband back. He's been taking classes non-stop for over a year. 4 semesters back-to-back with no break. He's my hero.

...and there was much rejoicing.

Image by Irish Typepad via Flickr

Youth Conference 2011

2011-08-11T17:18:00.000-06:00

Sadly, I didn't take any pictures myself, but I got these from Annie, thanks!

We ended up having less youth than planned, but it was still a good time. We started the morning off at the church with breakfast then did a team building activity, though we failed miserably.

Our service project was done at MAW where we helped assemble castles. Yes, I'm the only one not wearing our shirt. Ha ha

After lunch we headed down to Provo to the CLAS ropes course. I remember doing this when I was in YW. It was a lot of fun. Great team-building activities.

Some of us had to snuggle to stay off the ground..

A bunch of good lookin' folks.

After a fantastic dinner we heard from Ryan's previous stake president who gave a wonderful talk about agency and consequences. All the girls in this picture have now moved out of our ward. We miss them sooo much!

Blue Sky Scrubs

2011-08-09T18:08:00.000-06:00

I went to the dentist yesterday for a checkup. I really miss my sister cleaning my teeth, but what can ya do? For the past few weeks I've been trying to floss everyday, especially under my permanent bottom retainer (it's always a pain for the hygienist to clean). It must have paid off because I had no cavities and the dentist said my teeth were perfect, yes!

While i was laying in the chair I couldn't help but notice their scrubs. For girls camp we ordered scrubs, but did you know you can get custom made scrubs ? I found this fun web site:

http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women/Original-Scrubs/

How nice would it be to get to wear these everyday? Not only do these scrubs have back pockets, but they have stitching! I've never seen that before. We all know that scrubs are not very flattering, but these ones taper at the waist to give the illusion of a small waist. This company also offers free returns and exchanges, which is a huge deal. I love online shopping and just last week had to exchange something but I had to pay for shipping, lame.

This company was founded by a medical student in Texas who was sick of the ugly scrub hats she had to wear all day. She created her own and started selling them to her co-workers. Now the company is world wide and has been featured on Oprah and worn on the season finale of "Grey's Anatomy" .

Has anyone worn these before or heard of the company?

Baby Shower for Annie

2011-08-06T17:06:00.000-06:00

Some women in our ward threw a baby shower for Annie last week. I work with her in the young woman's program. A lot of people came to support her that are not pictured and it was nice to get to chat with everyone. Her boy is due to come any day now. I think our ward has had 14 babies born so far this year, it's crazy.

Visiting Teaching

2011-08-05T16:58:00.000-06:00

{Whitnie, me, Ariean, Meggan}

These are my ladies. I get to see them at least once a month when we do our visiting teaching. We've gotten close over the past year or so. Ariean just moved to Texas with her little family for grad school so we got together for her birthday and a quick goodbye. We will miss her and her cute lil boy, but I know she'll have a great time in Texas.

Concerts in the Rain

2011-08-04T16:54:00.000-06:00

I sure love the ladies in my ward. For an activity a few weeks ago we went to the Brigham Young Park where they hold free concerts every Tuesday and Friday evenings during the Summer. We saw a celtic band named Shanahy. It was very peaceful and relaxing until it started to rain. Those that were prepared pulled out their umbrellas and parkas, some people left, and we covered ourselves with our chairs. They stopped the concert until the rain stopped and by that time a lot of people had already left. It was a great evening and a good free date idea for the future.

Covered in dust

2011-07-28T16:49:00.000-06:00

Aaron and Jessica are working hard to finish their basement in the next few weeks.

We had a great time helping them sand and texture..and also turn their basement into a dust cloud...

Somethin you don't see everyday

2011-07-27T16:48:00.000-06:00

{taken July 9th}

So glad to have fun things to look at while stuck in traffic!

Happy Wednesday.

4th of July

2011-07-13T17:29:00.000-06:00

Since 2006 we've been going to Perry for the 4th of July. This was the first year we did something different.

We enjoyed the day with friends, food, fireworks and games. We really like the new law this year that let us shoot off aerial fireworks. We spent a good wad of cash, but had a blast! (Pun intended)

I was too busy recording that I sorta missed the whole effect, but luckily we can shoot them off for another two weeks!

Provo Freedom Festival

2011-07-12T16:58:00.000-06:00

Last Friday I took work off and met my brother in Provo for the Freedom Fest. When they lived here they would go, but I've never seen it before. What a beautiful sight! It was so magical.

All the balloons took off from Provo High

There was a darth vador, pig, and smokey the bear balloon.

This balloon is one of the largest in the world standing at about 150 feet. It took a long time to blow up and they never ended up flying it because there was no wind. The pilots go all over the world to fly and are sponsored by Coke.

They had a target set up in the middle of the field and the pilots had bean bags they would throw from their balloons to hit the target. There were also balloons that if they popped they would get extra points. Very fun.

Towards the end most of the balloons had flown off and landed elsewhere. They were all supposed to come back, but because there was no wind they couldn't do much about it.

Once they deflated the giant coke balloon they had all the kids line up to help get the air out. It was so funny to see hundreds of kids rolling along in a line.

It was so nice to be with family that I don't get to see very often. Thanks for coming down guys! We love you.

Just keep swimming..

2011-07-11T16:48:00.000-06:00

We had guests at our pool! It was so fun to play with the kids. Bev is quite the swimmer and was so proud that she could do it herself. I spent most the time pulling Jane around in the water.

Cousin time

2011-07-10T16:40:00.000-06:00

My sister and her family came up for Sunday dinner. This was Henry's first time meeting his cousins.

5 1/2 weeks apart

Ha ha. This picture will go in his wedding video someday...

Attempting a family picture...

Jane turns 4

2011-07-09T16:20:00.000-06:00

We played at the park with the Rose family for Jane's birthday.

Jane opening gifts

so happy to get her tiger!

family picture

sweet birthday girl

Leithead children

2011-07-08T16:20:00.000-06:00

My brother and his family came into town for a week. These pictures were taken the night they got here. The kids have grown so much since I saw them 7 months ago. "Baby Cott," as Jane likes to say is now crawling, and both girls are getting so big!

LC20 Girl's Camp

2011-06-30T17:15:00.000-06:00

We have a small group of girls in our ward. There are only 8 on the roll. We love our little group and had a blast at camp this year. Our stake property still had snow on the ground so we camped at Jordanelle. We were miserably hot but had fun getting to know each other better and eating junk food all day long.

The Stake theme was V.I.T.A.L. signs (Virtuous in Though Actions and Language) and each ward was a different type of doctor. We were Podiatrists (Stand for Truth and Righteousness). For one activity we gave each other pedicures. Some girls liked it more than others...

We made these cute purses out of handkerchiefs..

and put them on our heads instead.

Despite our ongoing canopy problems and sunburns it was a great week. Two of the girls even volunteered to speak in Church! I sure love these girls..

Father's Day

2011-06-25T15:52:00.000-06:00

My dad plays the guitar.

I grew up with him singing songs to us, particularly Garth Brooks.

So naturally he's my favorite too.

Ryan has never heard him sing our favorites so on Father's Day I asked him to play for us.

We had to help him with a few lyrics, he's a little rusty so we may have to do this more often

Porter really enjoyed the songs and was dancing along.

My Dad's the best.

I recorded a few snippets for memory sake so feel free to watch.

I love you forever, Dad.

Tea

just because i love them

2011-06-24T15:46:00.001-06:00

Proud to be a crazy cat lady...

CEU Reunion

2011-06-14T14:46:00.000-06:00

Syd and I have wanted to get together with our friends from CEU for years. A few weeks ago we settled on a date and sent the invite out via Facebook. Saturday was the day and it was so great to see everyone. We were so glad to see those who came and hope to do another one sooner rather than waiting another 5 years. (It's hard to believe I've been out of college for that long)

Syd brought the bungee

You may have seen this on the news, but we were eyewitnesses to it. It entertained us for a long time.

Story

We had it at Vivan Park up Provo Canyon. This is the last stop on the Heber Creeper. You can see the train tracks behind us.

Memorial Day

2011-06-13T14:45:00.000-06:00

This is a few weeks behind, but I just found these pics on my phone.
We went to the Everett's house for the Memorial Break. Even though it was rainy and yucky we had a good time. We played games and had a BBQ. Before dinner most of the family went up Perry Canyon to go shooting. I opted to stay in the car, but Ryan did pretty well.

We enjoyed watching the root beer get made...

Brianna's Graduation

2011-06-03T16:57:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we drove up to Logan for Brianna's high school graduation.

Afterwards we had fun taking pictures with the family, see for yourself.

Kitty and Doggy - friends between the glass

We all pitched in and got Brianna an iPod Touch for a graduation gift. She was thrilled!

She's headed to Wyoming to work all Summer and she'll be attending BYU-I in January.

St George Weekend

2011-05-28T16:45:00.000-06:00

Last weekend around this time we were in St George. We went down for the Make-A-Wish Foundation training. Our good friend Annie works there and has been telling us of all the great things they do. We've wanted to get involved for more than a year so we finally turned in our volunteer applications and drove down to St George for the training.

The mountains were beautiful!

We even saw a double rainbow

We stopped off to eat at Honolulu Grill and saw my uncle and cousin up on the wall. They catered for her wedding and my uncle's there just about every week, so they're practically family.

We stopped by their house to say hi and got a little game of pool in. My cousin's a pilot and fly's into St George every weekend. They put her up in a hotel but since her parents live here, she just stays with them so it never gets used. She was kind enough to give us her room to stay in.

The training was from 9-3. We learned so much and are so excited to get started!

My friend Kristi, from Middle School lives in Cedar City so we got to meet up. I haven't seen her since before she was married

On the way home we passed a bunch of trucks carrying sheep. It was cute to see their wool sticking out.

CSI Graduation

2011-05-17T20:28:00.000-06:00

Ryan's sister graduated from the College of Southern Idaho last weekend Magna Cum Laude, with her Associates Degree in Liberal Arts. She actually finished in December and is now playing volleyball at Utah State, but chose to go back and walk. We had a very nice weekend with family. The college hosted a reception afterwards that was very impressive. They had tons of food and a live band. We finished off the night swimming and relaxing in the hot tub. Alyssa is the first of her five siblings in college to get a degree. It's crazy to think that when I was her age I was dating Ryan and just months away from getting engaged. 5 years goes by fast...

sisters - Janessa, Alyssa, Brianna

She was wearing heels but I swear I'm not as short as i look. I'm average, she's just super tall. (6'2")

Humane Society Day of Service

2011-05-16T20:24:00.001-06:00

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to go with several of my co-workers to the Humane Society to spend a day of service. We spent all day playing with, petting, and walking the animals. It was a beautiful day and I had such a great time! I LOVE animals (we have 3 cats and would have dogs too if we could) and I'm surprised I walked out of there without adopting several. I fell in love with all of them. I was pleased to hear that adoption rate for dogs last year was 100%, and 95% for cats.(The national adoption rate is only about 25%) I took a lot of pictures.

This cute was huge!

and this cat had crazy big paws

this one looks just like my hairy one. He loved to be brushed

this guy had one green eye and one blue eye. Pure white, gorgeous!

This picture doesn't do this dog justice. He was as big as a horse and came about to my hips.

I wanted to take this little guy home SO bad. I loved playing with him!

the "horse" again. He was the quietest, calmest dog I've ever seen. So gentle.

See the leash in his mouth? this little baby pit bull ended up chewing right through it. He was a handful but so cute

Please, please, please adopt a pet from a shelter, they need good homes!

Stampin' Up May 2011

2011-05-11T14:31:00.000-06:00

info here