Ian and Kristin

We made it through the weekend

2010-11-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

This weekend was SO busy and today I am feeling SO tired!
Friday after work, we spent the night shopping at Costco and a few other stores buying food and last minute things for the wedding. Saturday I woke up early (daylight savings has really messed me up) and later on that morning Draper had a 5K that we (Ian, Judy, my friend Jocelyn, and I) ran. There was a thanksgiving themed costume contest, so of COURSE Ian had to dress up---I decided to dress up as well. So, here is what we looked like:

And guess what----as a "team" Ian and I WON the grand prize for the costume contest, which was LOWER BOWL JAZZ TICKETS!!! I think Ian is the reason we won but hey...I am excited regardless!

Judy was 1st place in her division, and won a turkey. We also took home a turkey--thanks to our neighbors who each won one and didn't want 2 turkey's. We really enjoyed this race and will do it for years to come!

After the awesome run, we started getting things ready at the church, then before we knew it, it was time for the ceremony to begin. The ceremony was really nice. Afterwards, we took a few pictures then the reception began. The night was enjoyable, went well and things turned out great! Congratulations Hannah and Codie!

Thanks also to EVERYONE who helped out especially my Mom, Ken, Cheryl, and their girls, as well as my Grandmother!

In the background is the flower arrangement my grandmother and mom made---it was beautiful and everybody loved it!

Sunday did not slow down....I spent the morning getting my primary lesson ready, baking dessert for a fiesta party that night, went to church, taught 7 crazy and wild sunbeams, came home, went to the party at some friend's house, then spent the rest of the night visiting. We stayed up way too late, and tonight, I think I will be in bed at 9!

Has it really been since Sept 26?!?!?

2010-11-11T14:04:00.001-08:00

Wow---I still have to catch up from the summer, let alone the past 2 months! What am I thinking neglecting my blog like this! I am going to be better about keeping this updated---I am not liking this overwhelming feeling I have! So, I am thinking in baby steps, to avoid insanity, and will catch up week by week.

So, to start off---
THIS WEEK:
I have been busy with helping my sister in law with her wedding reception. I am in charge (basically) of helping with the food and with all of the decorations. She is getting married this Saturday. I will take pictures and post them later!
Last weekend I was able to go with my sister and some friends to a cabin in the mountains. It was supposed to be for a scrapbooking retreat, however, the only projects I worked on were not really scrap book related. It was picture perfect---beautiful fall colors/weather, relaxing, and fun! I did come back home Saturday morning to see our best friend's youngest daughter get baptized. That was a neat spiritual experience. There were 3 kids that were baptized that day--each is special to me because I taught them all primary for two years (when they were 4 turning 5, and 5 turning 6). It was so fun seeing them all grown up and getting baptized! After the baptism, I was able to go to my sister in laws bridal shower--it was so fun to see people from the 7th ward again! I sometimes miss living there! Although I do love our new house and ward---we have met some amazing people!
Speaking of our new ward, Ian and I attended our ward's trunk or treat Halloween party. I decided to dress up as an indian (thanks mom for helping me make my costume at the last minute!) and Ian dressed up as this:

(yes, he is wearing wings)
For those of you who may not realize this, Ian LOVES to do things for shock value. That was part of the reason he dressed up like he did. People LOVED his costume so much---there was a costume contest, and Ian WON the GRAND PRIZE which was lower bowl Jazz tickets. At the beginning of the night, I was telling people that he followed me there, I didn't know who he was, etc. but once he won those tickets, I TOTALLY claimed him! :) Also, this year at work we decided to dress up and make things more fun, so here we are--the 4 of us who dressed up. We had a fun day!

First week of November
Voted on the 2nd---very important thing we did that day.
Last Wednesday, the 3rd, Ian and I used the tickets we won (thanks to Ian) and went to the Jazz game. The Jazz played against the raptors, and thankfully won!

So, to celebrate their victory, Ian and I went to McDonald's for free big macs(if the Jazz win and you bring your ticket to McDonald's then you get a free big mac)--and yes, that was at 10:00 at night---and I wonder why I am gaining weight? Hmm...maybe I have bad eating habbits.

Alright, well its time to go, but I will keep this updating stuff going!

Painting Project #1

2010-09-26T07:34:00.000-07:00

When Ian and I bought our house (it's almost been a year now, can you believe it?!?! I can't!!!), we had a few plans and ideas of what we wanted to do differently with a few of the rooms/areas. One of those ideas was to paint our front room (AKA "The Gay Room"--thanks Ian:)) and entry way.

We finally (after a couple of months-yes we are both VERY INDECISIVE when it comes to this sort of thing) decided on a color we both liked and bought the paint. And last Saturday we put our painting skills (along with a LONG days worth of work) to the test, and this is what we came out with.

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

After

After

I am very satisfied with the outcome. We wanted a darker color, that was neutral, that would be a nice contrast with the white trim and fireplace, yet one that would go with our carpet, tile on the fireplace, and black furniture. I think we chose a good one? The color is called "Resort Tan"--and it is crazy how different it looks in different lighting. My favorite time of the day, when the color looks its very best, is between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. The after pictures were all taken in the middle of the day. It is almost like having 3 colors of rooms at the different times of days, which keeps it from being boring, that's for sure!

What do you think? And be HONEST!

Painting Project #1...almost done.

Painting Project #2...master bedroom next Saturday during conference.

I am a blog neglecter

2010-08-04T06:25:00.000-07:00

Wow---I had not realized that almost 2 entire months have passed since I have updated my blog!!! Because I have neglected it this past while---I am going to attempt to update it without making it REALLY REALLY long!

IAN
So, Ian ended up running that race (the Squaw Peak 50 miler) REALLY well! He came in feeling strong and good. His time ended up being 13 hours,3 mins, and 24 seconds. Can you imagine running that LONG? He had lots of fun running through all kinds of terrain, including mud, snow, dirt, etc. My parents drove me up to the last aid station, which was 3.5 miles from the finish line. I met Ian there, and ran with him and our friend Dusty, to the finish line. On our way down, we had a little incident, where Ian got hit by a car. We were on the side of the canyon road (which is a little narrow) and some guy came right up to us, acting like he was going to hit us. At first we all thought it was Dusty's wife, trying to be funny, but then the car came way to close for comfort. Dusty and I jumped out of way, onto the side of the road, but the guy hit Ian's shoulder, which ended up shattering and breaking the guys mirror. The man slammed on his brakes, jumped out of the car, got right up in Ian's face, and demanded Ian's name and number because his mirror broke and he was mad about it. In my head I thought, is this guy serious? He is the one who HIT Ian and now he is wanting him to pay for his mirror? He kept yelling at Ian, who kept his cool, which made the guy more mad and was getting ready to punch Ian. Dusty threatened to beat the living crap out of the man if he touched Ian. At the time, I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure how things were going to go, but looking back at the incident, it is actually a pretty entertaining story(especially because Ian did not get hurt). Dusty and Ian both were so tired, said some hilarious things to the guy, and because of the incident and the adrenaline, they were able to run strong to the finish line. Thank you to my parents and Ian's parents for coming down to support Ian at the finish line. He really appreciated it.

We decided that Ian should work for TNT again this year, so throughout June and July, he was REALLY busy with work (it's that time of year again) and has worked between 14-20 hour days. I don't know how he does it, but somehow he just keeps going. He left to Colorado around the 22nd of June, but has since returned home. I made it through the hardest part!!! He is such a hard worker, and I admire that about him.

Ian also just ran the Deseret News marathon yesterday for Pioneer Day. He did such an AWESOME job, got a PR (personal record) of 3 hours and 28 mins!!! He was so fast that my mom, Jacob and I missed him at the finish line! Oops! I am so proud of him!

MYSELF
So, these past few weeks have been consumed by work and Girl's camp!

2010-06-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

My conclusion for today...Ian is AMAZING!!!

2010-06-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here thinking a lot about my husband today(mainly because I am nervous for him). He's been so busy lately with life in general, with our house "projects", and is getting really busy with work again. I am already starting to miss him, even though he hasn't left yet! How does that happen?

Anyway, I have just been thinking about some of his characteristics, strengths, and accomplishments as of lately, and he is such an amazing person, and somebody I really admire and look up to. I love him so much and am so glad I am married to such a neat (and unique :)) man!

Ian finished our side-yard. He is such a hard, strong worker--and very strong willed. Once he puts his mind to something, he doesn't stop until he's reached his goal.

We bought the rest of our sod late last Friday night (10:30---it was a little crazy) and he stayed up to finish it, and it was about 1:00 a.m. Ian is also a very caring person, who thinks of ways to help others, and then helps them, even if they aren't home. We had some extra sod, and a family he home teaches needed some grass to put on a spot in their yard. Without calling or anything, Ian just went over (they were gone) and did all the work. In that kind of situation, I would feel stupid/insecure, but he is just so willing to do whatever needs to get done for people, and doesn't worry about the silly things I worry about. It's a really great quality he has!

Ian just finished school and has graduated!!! (although he chose not to walk) YAY! Some of his classes were really tough, but his goal was to get through them, and did---with good grades!
Today (and this is why I am nervous) Ian is out doing one of his FAVORITE things----running, how'd you guess? :) He is such a determined person and is so passionate about running. He is running 50 miles in a race called "Squaw Peak" up in the mountains.

I have attached some maps to show a little bit of perspective. He is pretty much running up and down mountain peaks. Most (sane :)) people could never even imagine---but when Ian loves something, he puts a lot into it, and makes it everything he wants it to be (and has FUN, believe it or not), which is another good quality he has that I admire.

I am not trying to be boastful about Ian. Most of you that know Ian, already know these things about him. I just wanted to express my feelings/thoughts about him on my blog, because I don't ever say much---so this post is dedicated to him!

He's going to hate it and be embarrassed about it....but I don't care! He deserves the acknowledgments!

5 years ago today...

2010-06-03T20:54:00.000-07:00

...Laura(my sister) and Gavin got married. Happy Anniversary!

And I was really tired...
because 5 years ago last night I returned home from Russia! I am so grateful that I was able to go to Russia and to have ALL of the experiences I was able to have. Looking back, it seems like that was the perfect thing I did at that time of my life. Those months, living away from home on the other side of the world at such a young, yet crucial age, helped me grow in so many different ways. I would never trade that time of my life for ANYTHING!

Here are SOME pictures (I know, there are TONS!) of my some of my favorite people, experiences, and memories from 5 years ago! Wow--time has flown! Enjoy!

Good Times

Church and wonderful people we met

Some of my favorite places to visit

Travels
My Family and their house

My Students and the school
Good Food---ha ha..
My room

Other changes taking place around our house

2010-05-24T19:23:00.001-07:00

When we first looked at our house, we didn't care much for a yard. Less maintenance right? Well, now that we've lived here for a bit, we still don't care much for a high maintenance yard or anything, but the cement EVERYWHERE is just not quite cutting it. We thought it would be nice to have SOMETHING other then cement....so, Ian decided to start a little (BIG) project.
Thanks to our dads and their help (and equipment) our yard is coming along nicely and they(Ian and our dad's) have been able to do a little of this:

Re-arranging some HUGE rocks to form a new rock wall (one that will keep the neighbors dogs away! :))Filling it in and leveling with some dirt. I didn't get any "Before" pictures, but right after our patio, there was a vinyl fence, and then it dropped down into a hill.

Almost done! The first and second tiers will have grass, the bottom one will be home to a car or the water toys.

Yay---another patch of grass!

And one last thing...just as a reminder to mother nature---it is May 24th, and remember it usually is sunny and warm this time of year? NOT SNOWING!!!

A REALLY bad idea

2010-05-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

So, in my last post I talked about my eating habits and changes I am making. Well, one of the biggest changes I have made is drinking a smoothie daily. But, while these may look just like any kind of smoothie, don't be fooled---they are MUCH different!

Anyway, my friend Kalli and I decided that we wanted to try another "flavor"---so last Saturday we spent a good part of the day, shopping at different stores throughout the valley to get all of the ingredients.

Sunday morning I woke up, so excited to try it. After quite the process of making it, it was finally finished and looked so tasty. It smelled good too!

Well, after taking this picture, I could hardly wait any longer and decided to take a big gulp. To my surprise it tasted AWFUL and made me want to throw up instantly! I finally convinced Ian to try it and he wanted to throw up too. I told him he needed to be supportive and cheer me on( I wanted to drink it because of its nutritional value & was feeling a little guilty about the money I spent on the dang thing!) Ian did a great job cheering me on---"Drink, Drink, Drink" but that didn't help at all! I forced myself to drink about a third of it, but could NOT do anymore. The rest of the day I got sick to my stomach when I thought about it, and still, a week later, shudder just thinking about that thing!

It was NOOOOOO good! I think I will stick to this one:
This picture makes it look much more appetizing then it looks in real life. Weird.

It's sooooo yummy! And soooooo good for you!

A change, change will do ME good....

2010-05-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

No...I am not a big fan of Sheryl Crow, but this song has been in my head a lot lately.....and this is why:

Over the past couple of months, I have been thinking about my diet and the foods I eat. Up until now, I haven't ever cared all that much about the things I eat. I eat what I like, whether it has nutritional value or not. I eat whatever sounds good. I eat what's convenient. I'll even admit this one...I eat what's cheap. :)

For the past, let's see here...coming up on 5 years...my diet has been terrible! Ever since I got home from Russia (and actually while I was there! ) I have just eaten whatever---and whenever. I eat always--when I am hungry, when I am not hungry, when I am stressed, when I am bored, when something looks too good to resist, just because, when I crave something, when I am mad, when I am happy, when I am annoyed, when I am sad....you get the point. (And I understand and know this is normal for a lot of people and I believe it is part of being human---it's what we do.)

MOST of my days in these past years have gone something like this:
*Wake up, skip breakfast
*Get to work, and shortly thereafter find candy to eat for "morning snack"
*Eat lunch (sometimes somewhat nutritional, other times not one bit) with a can of Dr. Pepper or sprite
*Eat a sugary treat with or immediately after lunch
*Find more more candy or treats to eat for "afternoon snack"
*Come home and eat something quick and easy for dinner (usually something already made that you dump from a can or box) because its easy and I DON'T like cooking!
*Sit on couch or bed while eating desserts (yes, plural) until up to 11:00 at night
*Go to bed
*Repeat next day

My attitudes have reminded me of these quotes I found:

"A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand"
"I KEEP TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT BUT IT KEEPS FINDING ME."
"I GAVE UP DESSERTS...It was the worst twenty minutes of my life."
"I ONLY EAT IN THREE PLACES: HERE. THERE. AND EVERYWHERE."

After MUCH consideration, research, reading, studying, telling myself I can do it, and now finally having a sincere desire to do it (oh yeah, and singing this line of Sheryl Crow's song in my head to myself), I have decided that starting today, May 1st, my eating habits are going to change significantly.

It's taken me YEARS to get to this point. The two main reasons that have kept me from doing it are 1-because I didn't care and 2-I was NOT ready to do it. I didn't want it to be something that just lasted for a short amount of time, because for me it needs to be a lifestyle change.

But now I feel ready to care. I feel ready to want to eat healthier. I feel ready to accept that it is going to be a lifestyle change. I feel ready to get over my sugar addictions! I feel ready to not only do what's convenient.

I know its going to be HARD---but I also know it will be beneficial in the short run and the long run, and that is what's motivating to me.

I will say that May 1st came up way too fast...we still have too much junk food around the house. But Ian will take care of that and enjoy it for both of us! :)

And with that---here's to a change that will do me good! Thank you all for reading...

Yum!

2010-04-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a good experience.

Ian and I decided to take advantage of a special Baskin Robbin's had last night.....31 cent scoop night! Apparently this only happens once a year. Thanks to FOX13 news morning show, Ian found out about it and we got in on the great deal!

We arrived right before closing time. The line went out the door but we decided to wait (in the FREEZING weather) and boy was it worth it! I loved every bit of it--- except for the limit they had to 3 scoops per person....but I guess maybe that was a good thing! Especially with my upcoming changes----stay tuned for future post and details! :)

YUCK!

2010-04-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

I had a bad experience last night.

Last night, when Ian and I were finally done with everything for the day/night, we both decided we were hungry and wanted to eat. (Imagine that!) He went to the fridge and decided to eat some salad with ranch. I decided I wanted to eat something somewhat healthy too because of the time of night. I decided that since he already had the ranch out, I would eat some raw broccoli with ranch.

Ian started eating, and I stole the ranch from him, so I could smother each piece of broccoli in it before consuming it. I ate my first, second, third, and fourth piece, and with each one I thought---something doesn't taste quite right, but continued eating more and more. I figured it was probably just my taste buds being crazy. Maybe I was just imaging weird tastes? Ian hadn't said anything, so surely it was just me.

Well, Ian finished his salad and said, " That ranch tasted weird." At that point I knew exactly what happened! And I immediately wanted to throw up.
I opened the fridge to confirm what had happened and sure enough found the NEW bottle of ranch, still sitting in it's spot I had put it the day before. Ian got the ranch from the door----oh no! I had been meaning to throw out for a LONG time, but never got myself to do it because it was a brand new bottle, used once, and the frugal side of me wouldn't allow for me to waste yet another expensive item. Somehow it got moved from our apartment to the house, and made it into our fridge now.

I knew it was old (since it'd been brought with us from our apartment) but I decided to check the expiration date in hopes that it wasn't AS bad I thought----and it wasn't.....no, it was worse. MUCH WORSE!!!

The expiration date read 01/08/2008!

And because of this experience.....I am banning ranch dressing for a good amount of time. Also, I immediately went to the fridge and got rid of everything that I hadn't bought in the past week. Lesson learned: it's good to be frugal, but if something is OLD, go ahead and THROW IT AWAY! It will be OKAY! It's better to waste a few dollars, then to eat ranch dressing over two years old!

Weekend Getaway

2010-04-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

A few months ago my oldest sister BethAnn invited me to a scrapbooking retreat. I thought it sounded fun (even though I don't REALLY scrapbook) and committed to go.

Little did I know (at that time) that going with her was EXACTLY what I would need after the past couple of weeks!

Work has been nothing less than totally CRAZY the past month and a half or so. A few factors for the craziness include; a hiring/firing (which is another story for another time), the results of our distributorship growing substantially in the past few months, making up for others mistakes, leaving/coming home from vacation, etc. I hope I don't sound like a complainer---I do enjoy MY job and am very grateful for a stable job and good bosses!

But between work, school, and everything else life has been offering, things were getting STRESSFUL and a little OVERWHELMING!

So---last Friday I took a half day off work, and we (BethAnn, Amy (friend) and I ) headed up to Francis, UT to stay the weekend in a nice cabin, with a big group of scrapbooking ladies. We were the first of the group to arrive, other than Melissa (the amazing lady that put the whole thing together) quickly settled in, set up the tables, and got busy. We ate some yummy pizza for dinner, and soon found ourselves up at 3 a.m. , still going at it.

Saturday started early, and flew by fast. The whole day was so fun, but my most favorite part was going outside to enjoy a nice LONG walk in the WARM weather, with some fresh mountain air. It was SOOOO beautiful!

We ate homemade Cafe Rio that night and continued our projects late into the morning AGAIN!

Sunday we finished (or more like came to a stopping point) cleaned things up, and left in time to get back for church.

I left with such positive feelings of rejuvenation, optimism, and happiness. It was so fun to spend time with a good size group of good, neat ladies. It's been a LONG time since I have hung out with JUST girls, but we sure had a fun weekend together.

I did miss Ian---but it was fun to get away and do something different. It was also nice to spend time with my sister without the distractions that are normally present (Ian).

Our California Trip

2010-03-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

So, last week we went with our friends, Kalli and Joel, to California to enjoy some time off work and school, to enjoy the warm weather, and of course to have some fun.

We left Tuesday night and drove half way to Mesquite, where we stayed the night at the lovely Virgin River. We woke up early Wednesday morning, drove the second half of the drive, and arrived to our final destination for the day--- Santa Monica beach. There was so much to do--so, we spent the rest of the day wandering the beach, pier, and shops. We saw many entertaining things including dolphins playing in the ocean(right off the end of the pier) a movie (with tons of crazy teenagers running, jumping, and screaming happily down the pier)being filmed, some men in Speedos running down the beach, and much more.

That night, we went to my aunt Pam's house and had a good St. Patrick's day dinner (corned beef, cabbage, and red potatoes---YUM!) with her, my cousin and his wife, as well as their kids. Also, my little sister Andrea came a little bit later. It was fun and good to see her and everybody else! My camera deleted the first few pictures I took there, so I don't have any of those from that day...:(

Thursday we woke up, ate breakfast, then headed off to the "Happiest Place on Earth"----Disneyland! This was Ian's first time, so I was excited for him to experience it (although it is MUCH different as a child than as an adult). The weather was fantastic, the lines (thanks to the Fastpasses and Ridemax-thanks Mom)were amazing, and we all had a good LONG day there! My favorite rides are still Indiana Jones and Space Mountain---so fun! Ian's favorite----take a guess......Buzz Lightyear. Maybe because he kicked my butt when it came to our scores?!?!

We walked over 26,000 steps (equivalent to a little over 15 miles) according to the pedometer on Ian's phone, so you can imagine how tired we were and how bad our feet ached by the end of the night(except for Ian's-he said). All in all, we all had a great time and it was worth the pain! :) I am very grateful that I wore my running shoes even though they weren't the most fashionable shoes.

Had to get the two classic pictures taken! :)

Even after all the walking---Ian still managed to climb this lego in Downtown Disney. Security was NOT very happy about it when they saw him and told him to get down. They didn't need nobody cracking their head open.

It made me laugh that this kid ran under there to get his picture taken and both he and his mother were completely oblivious to Ian up above...

We spent Friday at California Adventure. We had a great time there as well. Ian was more of a fan of that place---I think because its geared towards an older crowd. The weather was nice that day as well, the lines were a little longer, but we still had a great time. Our favorite rides include: California Screamin, Soarin over California, and Tower of Terror, which are probably most people's favorites.Our only picture with characters.

Ian looking haggard (on purpose) on California Screamin.

On Tower of terror---sooo scary! The only pictures we have with Kalli and Joel are the ones on the rides---oops...I guess we forgot to get group pictures!

Saturday came too quickly, and we soon found ourselves on our way home. Ian wanted to stop at this sandstone rock formation he saw on our way down. We stopped here so Ian could climb to the top---or should I say run (cause that's what he did). We did some research when we got home (because we had no idea what this was) and found out the name of this place is the "Mormon Rocks"--because this is where the pioneers would camp after their trips across the Mojave desert. If you look close enough, you may see Ian!

We had a great time in California with Joel and Kalli. It was hard to come back home and get back to our routine, but at least we didn't come home to snow---right?

How Fairy Tales Really End

2010-03-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to Disneyland for some fun! I got back to work today and one of my friends had sent me an email with these pictures. I thought it was funny---so I decided to share it. Once I get my pictures uploaded, I will do a real post about our trip!

Hope you enjoy~

It's finally almost time for...

2010-02-06T08:27:00.001-08:00

Running again. I have finally made it out a few times this week---and boy has it felt good! My serious training will start next week.............or maybe the next :)
Isn't that the way it works?

Good Kitty

2010-02-06T08:13:00.001-08:00

The cat has redeemed himself. I was reminded this week of why we kept him after all his naughtiness when we first moved here.

The weather has been a little bit nicer, and Ki (the cat) has been going outside more. Ian was out working on his car Tuesday, came into the garage, and found him with a nice little present he brought home. Yesterday, he was dying to go out soon after he woke up, so I let him out with me. Ten minutes later, Ian went downstairs, looked out the window, and saw him with grass and a mouse in his mouth. What a good kitty! Keep those yucky creatures away from our house!

I love his facial expression in this picture----he looks so serious and mean! I guess he is trying to be hard core or something.

2010... so far

2010-01-24T16:47:00.000-08:00

Wow---its almost been an entire month of the new year and no posts yet---this is exactly why I don't make new year's resolutions--they never get met. Alright, so where do I start? I will start with day 1.

1/1/10
I had my own mini celebration during the day on New Year's eve--I got to leave work a little bit early, got my car back with a new tire, and got my stitches out from getting my moles removed (and thank goodness all three moles were benign--what a relief!) We celebrated the New Year's eve with Neil and Charity playing games and then lighting fireworks at midnight. The rest of New Year's day, Ian and I spent together---not at work (which was a wonderful break) and then later on celebrated with family, food, and fun. At my parent's we ate salmon and french onion soup (yummy!). Dinner was amazing thanks to my mom! We also played games with Laura and Gavin one last time before they headed back to CA.

1/2/10-1/3/10
Weekends are always nice....not sure what went on that weekend, but I am sure it was good stuff! It probably consisted of figuring out things for our house, shoveling snow off our steps and driveway, meeting new people at church, etc...

1/4/10-1/5/10
I spent two days at work, both of which were EXTREMELY busy, crazy, and somewhat chaotic (which has now turned into our usual) but I knew as soon as I left work on Tuesday, I would be somewhat "free" the rest of the week.

1/6/10-1/8/10
I spent these days traveling to, being in, and traveling from Warsaw, Indiana! What's there you might ask---well it's famous for being THE Orthopedic Capital of the World. Our corporate plant and offices are there, and they had a nice meeting for office/operations managers. I actually had a lot of fun out there, going to nice dinners, meeting people I work with (who up to that point I had only talked to on the phone), hanging out until all hours of the night with the other distributorships managers, seeing the manufacturing side of the business (it's pretty crazy stuff!) feeling right at home with the HUGE snowstorm they had, feeling proud of myself for traveling all by myself and not getting lost (except for once---thanks to the GPS) and of course learning some new things and gaining great insight to better our business' day to day tasks.

1/9/10
My 25th birthday! That's right---I am now a quarter of a century old. Ian took me shopping to all my favorite stores (which was a nice gift within itself---as he is not very fond of any of them) and bought me some nice presents that I chose out. He also took me to lunch to the Macaroni Grill---I had been CRAVING their penne rustica. We spent the rest of the day together relaxing---I couldn't have asked for more!

1/10/10
We pretty much woke up late, went to church (at the beginning of the year we switched to the 1:00 schedule which is not our most favorite) and then to my parent's for my birthday dinner----we all loved the french onion soup we had on New Year's so much that my mom made it again, along with some really good chicken and salad! Oh yeah, and my favorite birthday cake! We then went to Ian's parents for some cake(s) *Judy made me two this year! Yum* and some good times with friends.

1/11-1/16
This week school started again. Ian is finishing up his last semester! We are both VERY excited about that! And I am taking my last class available at SLCC---which has some pros and cons. This week was also very busy as Ian's been working for TNT again, and my work is just INSANE! On Friday of this week, I decided to have a get together with my old group of friends at our house. Everybody was able to come! It was really fun to see them all again and to catch up! I decided we need to get together more often---I miss them!

1/17/10
Ian and I both got new callings in our ward---can you guess what they are? Yep---Ian is in the Young Men's, serving as secretary and I am a primary teacher---teaching the cute little sunbeams! I lOVE primary!

1/18/10-1/24/10
Snow, work, the Bachelor, school, taco Tuesday, Biggest Loser, snow, work, dentist visit (first one in YEARS-but SHOCKINGLY NO CAVITIES!!!) visiting and home teaching, work, school, more work, and more school. Oh yeah, and we FINALLY got a washing machine and dryer on Friday. Ian found an AMAZING deal. And Saturday (last night) we went to the Jazz game, thanks to my boss Brett. And guess what---the Jazz actually won! Yes, they played the Nets, but still--they WON! Ian and I have never been to a game that the Jazz have won---so we decided to celebrate by stopping at McDonald's and taking advantage of the free big macs McDonald's gives with your ticket when the Jazz win.

Well, that is our new year so far folks....thanks for tuning in. Hope you are all having a wonderful 2010! (does anyone else still find it so wierd to type/write that?)

4 years!!!

2009-12-29T19:39:00.000-08:00

I Love You
Ki cat threw up.
The snake got ill.
Our bank account
Was almost nil. (or so it seemed)

The laundry’s
Stacked up in a (HUGE) pile,
And I can hardly ride

with you a mile (in the car that is :)).

Although our life
Might look like blight,
I get to be
With you (almost)every night.

It may be (sort of) tough,
That much is true,
But still I LOVE
My life with you.

Happy Anniversary Bay!

We've had 4 FABULOUS years together and I hope for MANY MANY MORE!

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2009-12-12T08:19:00.000-08:00

It's been fun this year to decorate my own house for Christmas! Although, it made me realize how many decorations I really don't have! In the apartment, two or three things filled it---but now with space....it's a little bit different!
I finally convinced Ian to get a FAKE tree this year, which I was very happy about! I wanted a tall one because of our have vaulted ceilings, so we went with this 9 footer. One of the things I LOVE MOST about the tree is that it is pre-lit!
I didn't realize didn't realize how much work decorating trees are until I got married and had my own to do.
I guess each year I set my expectations beyond my abilities, so every year when the tree is finished and looks stupid and not how I was hoping, I get this feeling of disappointment inside and can't wait to take it down. Isn't that horrible?
This year, my tree didn't turn out exactly how I anticipated it would, but it came pretty close I guess and will do.
What I dream of doing one day is to go buy a Festival of Trees tree--- pre-decorated, you know it will look good because you've seen it, all the work is done, and it'd be beautiful----maybe one day!
Okay, I will stop with this rambling pessimistic talk! :)
Hope you all are getting ready for Christmas....only 13 days left!!!!

Ki---the cat

2009-12-06T07:33:00.000-08:00

Doesn't he look so cute and innocent.
Well, don't be fooled. He is cute but NOT so innocent lately.
Ki has always been a good cat and we never had problems with him doing naughty things....until we left to Virginia.
Ki has an eating disorder..he eats and eats and doesn't know when to stop. Because he thinks he is STARVING all the time (he was an abandoned cat so that might contribute to his problem) Ian and I have had to control his food for him.
While in Virginia, we were having Ian's dad and my family take turns feeding him. Well, one day Ted(Ian's dad) went up to feed him and found the food bucket with the LID off...and the cat had helped himself to ALL the food he could eat. This happened two other times while we were gone! So the food got put away and the problem was solved....or so one might think.
When Ian and I got home, we were amazed at how fat the cat got in one week! Normally the bucket of food lasts 2-3 weeks, but he ate an ENTIRE bucket in a week!
We decided he would have to go on a small diet and not eat so much.
This made him MAD and he was NOT happy with us at all.
One day I came home from work and he had jumped up two shelves into our pantry, ripped open two bags to get to his kitty treats, and left a huge pile of plastic mess all over the kitchen floor.
Another day he did the same thing again, but instead of the pantry he got into our suitcases to get some treats Ian's aunt had given us to give to him.
Then he decided to pee on Ian's clothes---I think he was trying to mark his territory and could smell Ian's grandmas cat on his shirt. Nevertheless, Ian was MAD!
The cat also decided to scratch up my BRAND NEW LEATHER COUCHES!!! I swear I almost killed the stupid thing!
I think (thank goodness!) he is almost done with this phase of being angry and doing bad things, because he hasn't done anything for the past week and a half (I will keep my fingers crossed)----maybe because we put him outside when we are gone so he can't do anything. Also he is off his diet now and getting fed like he used to which makes him a much a happier cat!

Life is still crazy!

2009-11-26T15:01:00.001-08:00

VIRGINIA
We were settling into our new house, and getting things in order, but at the last minute (kind of) decided to leave to Virginia to see Ian's family. We spent a week out there, and REALLY enjoyed the time we got to spend with almost all of the family, eating lots of home cooked meals, the time off from school and work, some shopping, and the nice 75 degree weather (at least for a few of the days we were there).

Playing a good game of soccer in Grandma's yard with the cousins. We won!

Grandma holding "angel" kitty. This cat is a very special cat to the family. He stayed right with Grandpa and would not leave his side when he was sick and when he passed away this spring.

Ian pulling faces (and being retarded:)) while eating the best hot dogs! They are from "Minute Market"-a small gas station in town.

Ian and Colin with Smokey the cat.

Working in Grandma's yard in the nice weather.

Me proud of the tobacco plant I pulled up.

Katie the dog. Grandpa LOVED his dog so much! And I am sure she misses him! She is expecting and will have puppies this winter.

Grandma, Ian and the cat.

Some of the Farris side of the family at a dinner/get together with everyone.

Ian and Colin with Grandma Farris.

Ian and Colin with Grandma and cousins MaryAnn, Beth, and Tara.

Ian and I with Grandma Scruggs. She took such good care of us while we were there!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IAN
Yesterday Ian turned 28---man he is getting OLD! We celebrated his birthday by going to McDonald's (Ian's choice) and taking advantage one last time of the 99 cent Big Mac special they had going on this month every Wednesday for the grand opening of another McDonald's in Draper. We also enjoyed his birthday cake---a mint oreo ice cream cake made by Judy(Ian's mom)

This cake is pretty much amazing!

HE'S LEAVING US IN LESS THAN ONE WEEK!
This picture was taken a few weeks ago for Colin. He is leaving here in a week to go on a mission to LA Spanish speaking! We are very excited for him! But things will definitely be different with him gone. We wish him our best!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
And today, we woke up to start off the Thanksgiving holiday with the traditional Human Race 5K in Draper. There was a HUGE turn out this year, which is great because the money raised goes to the church's Humanitarian Aid. They raised over $50,000.
I love running this race for two reasons 1-because it is fun and 2- because I can justify eating A LOT of food, which is what I did. Ian's parents had us over for the big Thanksgiving meal. It was yummy! Now we are going to look through the ads to see what deals there are for Black Friday tomorrow....another "tradition." And no work....YEAH!

My friend Jocelyn and I finally did an "official" run together. We had lots of fun!

Goodbye Apartment, Hello House

2009-10-28T20:49:00.001-07:00

Ian and I are officially proud homeowners of this:
Last Wednesday we met to "close" or "sign away the next 30 years of our lives," and on Friday, the house became ours. We spent a lot of time over the weekend moving, and Ian finished up Monday.

We have mixed emotions, but overall are VERY excited for this new adventure. It's also nice to know that now our money is going towards something (yes, even if most of it is just going towards the interest for the first few years!) that will be beneficial to us.

What we'll miss:
*paying cheap rent
*paying REALLY cheap utilities
*living within walking distance of our friends
*the people in our ward
*our callings in the ward
*a 10 minute shorter commute to work(every minute in the car adds up---its not how I prefer to spend my time, but that's okay!)
*living SO close to many shopping areas

What we will NOT miss:
*scraping car windows in the winter (it snowed last night, and it was SOOOO nice to have a clean car pulling out of the driveway!)
*having to get onto or across 7th east (no matter what time of day---traffic was crappy!)
*sharing walls (although I think that played a part in our cheap utilities!)

*listening to obnoxious loud music(thanks to our neighbors)

Here we are pretty "homeless" looking, getting ready to sleep our first night at the new place.

I wish the house would magically clean itself, and that everything in it could put itself away in an organized manner! That would sure be nice!

I cringe when I think about this mess and the work it requires.

The snake gets his very own room---he is spoiled!

We aren't quite sure how we are going to fill the space. As you can see, it's definitely a change from our apartment! We'll now have plenty of room for any of you who ever want to come and visit!
Ki (the cat) found a new friend. You can see her glowing eyes if you look closely. He would NOT leave this door, and wanted to go out SO bad, but I wouldn't let him. We don't need any kittens around here!

WORST blogger ever!

2009-10-04T15:46:00.000-07:00

That's me. I have officially given myself the title of WORST blogger ever! It's now been OVER a month, and no updates on the blog. I do have a list of excuses as to why this has happened.

They include, but are not limited to homework (yes school started for both myself and Ian), teaching Ian accounting (Because I like accounting A LOT, and Ian decided to take this class online,I have taken it upon myself to be his "real life" teacher, so he can understand it), working a lot (I do enjoy earning money to spend!), spending quality time with family (Katie, Chris and their boys came to visit for a few weeks, hence many get togethers), trying to go running to stay in somewhat of good shape (thanks to my new running partner and friend Jocelyn who makes me stay motivated!), making sure Ian doesn't fall from trees (Ian has been helping a few friends tear down/out some unwanted trees in their yards), preparing primary lessons(I still teach the 4 turning five year olds, and recently our ward split so I also now teach the 5 turning 6 year olds...they are so cute and fun!) shopping (everybody needs a new fall wardrobe....or at least a shirt or so), getting ready for enrichment night activities (we had another quarterly activity, which turned out nicely), not having the internet handy(don't feel like paying $30+ a month...yes, we are cheap!), going out of town(my work sent me to BOISE IDAHO to do some much needed inventory control---I know you are all VERY jealous!), being excited about new babies in the family(my sister Laura had her second baby, a boy named Dallas, he is SOOO cute, and my oldest sister Bethann will be having her third baby in a couple of weeks (or less)I was also excited to meet Ryan, my sister Katie's baby boy, who is so cute!) , crafting (it's been awhile since I have done a craft, but thankfully my sister invited me to her ward's super Saturday, where I made some fun wood decorations, a FHE board, and a couple of necklaces!) being supportive to my "quitter" husband (this is NOT how I view Ian, just so you know. Ian has been training to run the WASATCH 100 (yes, they run 100 miles) but due to health issues, Ian had to stop and drop out of the race after 53 miles! I still think that he still accomplished an AMAZING thing, and I was thankful to be able to pace him/walk with him, during his last 13.5ish miles) partying a lot(it seems like we've gone to quite a few birthday celebrations this month---good time of year to be born I guess) eating lots of good food with friends (Ken and Cheryl have invited us over and out to eat. We ALWAYS enjoy food!) taking care of our "baby"(the cat), being spiritually fed(I LOVE General Conference!)..etc. etc. etc.

So, in case you were wondering, that is pretty much what I/we have been up to this past month plus a week.

Wow---the month flew by!

2009-08-23T16:23:00.000-07:00

So, apparently I haven't blogged for a month now, but I didn't even realize it has been that long---guess we've been busy! So now I will continue where I left off...

I got home from Vegas on "Draper Days" and was excited to see the fireworks, since I missed out on the other parts of the day. We met our friends Ken & Cheryl, and their three daughters, Shilee, Khylan, and Justie at a perfect place they found last year to watch them---it was right by the field where the fireworks are launched. We had a great time.

Ian's cousin Tamara was here visiting from Virginia for about a week, so we spent some good times with her while she was here. The night she left, we decided to go to a Bees baseball game. We enjoyed it very much even though the Bees lost terribly. We especially liked when Tamara caught a foul ball. We also enjoyed making fun of the family (4 of 5 including the mom, the dad was the only one NOT participating) in front of us who read Harry Potter the whole game.

That Friday I had the day off of work because it was Pioneer Day. I spent the morning part of my day waiting to see Ian as he and his mom crossed the finish line of the Deseret News marathon. Good job to you both!

Later that day, we went to my mom's for a family reunion with her side of the family, including her aunt and uncle(who recently returned home from their church assignment in Africa) and their family. We had a good time eating yummy food, and visiting with each other. The next morning we went to Riverton park to continue with the reunion. There was more good food, games, and fun....but we missed my mom being there. Friday night when everybody left, she ended up having to go to the hospital because of a really bad bloody nose, and wasn't up to coming Saturday--she was tired and had a big tube up her nose.

That night Ian and gang did their annual firework show. There were many fireworks to be lit, as you can see by the picture below, but it was an enjoyable time for all who came.

At the beginning of August, I went with my friend Kalli to my mom's relief society enrichment one night downtown at the conference center. We took a nice tour of the building and learned a lot, then went to the Nauvoo cafe for dessert. It was REAL nice!

Last weekend we celebrated my younger brother's birthdays. Jacob turned 12 (he's a deacon! crazy!) and Adam is now 18! Happy Birthday to them!

We haven't done much during the weeks, except for the usual which includes work, running lots (especially Ian), trying to find a house to buy, visiting with friends and family, and taking it easy.

Well, if you have made it to the end of this really long (and probably boring post) that brings up to date with our latest!

He came back and I left!

2009-07-23T09:43:00.001-07:00

So, Ian did make it home, but my excuse is that I have not been to a computer that I could finish this post on. So now here's the run down of what we've been up to these past few weeks.

Ian made it home on a Thursday after a LONG day of driving and working, at about 2:30 a.m. (if I remember right). We saw each other for a little that night (30 mins or so). I woke up, went to work, came home from work and saw Ian as I packed to head to Vegas for a work meeting. So yeah, as soon as Ian got back, I left!

After an interesting plane ride (by myself for the first time), I arrived to Vegas, took a shuttle to our hotel (The Palazzo) and quickly got my stuff up to our room just in time to meet one of my boss' and a few co-workers for a show, the Blue Man group. It was pretty entertaining, that's for sure, and very random.

The next day we went to a very informative and productive meeting for the majority of the day. Afterwards, we headed out to the pool and practically melted in the 115 degree weather for a few hours. It was REALLY relaxing! After getting ready for the night, I attended what Biomet called a "product fair" at the Tao, and learned a lot from some of the sales reps I work with---I finally got to see ALL of the components of each joint, or at least the hips and knees. It was interesting to see how everything I deal with and bill for works together and what each part does.

Anyway, that night we went to Sushisamba for dinner. That was my first time at a "real" sushi place, and I am not going to lie, I am not as big of a fan as most seem to be. Some of the food was REALLY good, especially after I got past the raw fish part. It had good flavor and tasted good but boy was it pricy! Not to mention---I am WAY too uncoordinated to use chopsticks! After dinner, we walked around for awhile. I could hardly stay awake, and decided it was time for bed.

The next day, I woke up and barely made it to a wrap up meeting, did a little shopping, then went to catch my shuttle.

Ian came to pick me up from the airport and had brought me flowers and a huge bag of one of my favorite treats....peanut butter M&M's! I think he missed me a little....

After I unpacked my stuff, I went in our room to find the cat thinking he had a new bed. What a wierdo.

Oh yeah, and I need to mention that I did miss out on our tradition--- running in the Draper Days 5K and watching the parade. I was sad about that, but luckily Adam (my little bro) wasa willing to run the 5K for me to get my money's worth. He did it in like 22 mins, which is the best time I will ever have in my name!

I did make it home in time to see the fireworks. Our friends found the most perfect spot to watch them, right up close where they launch them. It was very enjoyable. Here are some pictures!

Less than 1 week to go!

2009-07-10T08:23:00.000-07:00

I am not counting down the time until Ian gets home or anything! :)

This week I was REALLY tired ALL week, but I got through it and was pretty productive! I had fun getting a Mary Kay facial, watching the Bachelorette and eating dinner with some friends, tried a new place for dinner at a REALLY YUMMY and HEALTHY place (called U Food Grill) as well as got a pedicure with my friend Jess, went running with Janae, watched a movie and mowed the lawn and washed my car (all in one day!), went running with Jana, took my niece Marissa, nephew Jordan, and brother Jacob on a little hike, hung out with my dad (who was really nice and made me dinner), went with my sister to her enlightening enrichment activity, helped clean the toilets at the Draper temple, went for a longer run Saturday, picked my mom up from the aiport (she just got back from Hawaii... I wish I could've gone to see my new nephew too!) went shopping, went to the Draper Days Rodeo, taught primary, and took two really nice (and needed) naps!

This week was a good week!

The only thing I had to deal with this week---as it almost came in my house!

Jacob helped me a lot with the kids---I was happy he came!

Jordan and Marissa did a really good job on their FIRST hike!

We were all THRILLED and looking forward to go down the mountain -can't you tell?

Dad doing his thing at the rodeo

Grammy explaining one of the events to Jordan

The cute kitty and not so cute me! At least this kitty likes me---our cat is currently mad at me for some reason. I think he just misses Ian.

Week 2

2009-07-07T07:40:00.000-07:00

My second week with Ian gone was very busy---and good! I did some cleaning, shopping, crafting with my friend Kalli, went to dinner and a movie with my Russia friends Meredith and Heather, and then Thursday night flew out to Colorado for the weekend to do something fun and to see and be with Ian!

There were a couple of minor things again that I got to deal with---but thankfully Monday night when I found this in my lawn, Neil (Ian's cousin who came up to help me with firework stuff) was still there and took care of it for me. Thank You Neil!

My Colorado Trip

When I was debating whether or not to go out to see Ian this year, my cousin Janae made my day when she said she'd go out with me. So, Monday we bought our tickets and Thursday we found ourselves on the plane, flying to Denver. When we arrived, my cousin Lisa picked us up and we went back to their house and fell asleep.

Friday we spent the day at WaterWorld- a really big water park in CO. The weather was SOOO nice, and we had a lot of fun going on all the different slides. That night we went to dinner, and were entertained watching and listening to 3 year olds (my cousin's daughter Kaylen and her friend Daniel)

Saturday morning (the 4th) we woke up nice and early and decided to run in a 5K. Ian met us there. I was excited to see him!

Later that day, Janae and I drove to Ian's hotel, hung out, went shopping (while Ian worked) and then went to dinner. Then we went back up to watch fireworks with Lisa, Sam and their kids. It was cold but WAY fun to watch SOOOO many fireworks everywhere. We sat in a perfect spot to watch fireworks. Everywhere you looked they were going off. It was really cool!

It rained REALLY hard on Saturday afternoon. Janae put a bag on her head to keep from getting wet....it was pretty funny!

Saturday night I stayed with Ian and Sunday I rode around with him while he worked. We did a few returns in Colorado, and I also had the chance to go to NEBRASKA for my first time!

We had an exciting time doing stuff in the truck!

After spending 12ish hours with Ian in the car, he dropped me off at my cousin's house. After 3 1/2 hours of sleep, it was time to wake up and head to the airport. We flew home Monday morning, and I made a BAD DECISION and went to work from there.That day was NOT a fun one! The lesson I learned was that I will ALWAYS give myself a day or so in between coming home from somewhere and going back to work!

One week down...

2009-06-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

And hopefully only 3 (or so) more to go.

I made it through my first week with Ian gone to CO! It was a good week, and I only had a few mildly disastrous events take place. (I only say that because it seems like last year, a bunch of unusual and bizzaare things happened and I did NOT like the fact that I had to handle them by myself---I don't deal with that kind of stuff very well:)--like my exploding watermelon incident!)

Monday I came home to find ants all over our dresser in our bedroom. Apparently in the white box, which was thought to be a headlamp that wasn't opened, there was garbage from the race with food crumbs that attracted the ants!

But, on the positive side--I NEEDED to clean off our dresser badly, so it forced me to do it!

Sunday, I somehow threw my phone away. I couldn't find it anywhere and was stressing out about it because I KNEW it was somewhere in our apartment. Anyway, I went to throw a box away, and noticed the garbage was much heavier then just the eggshells that I'd thrown away earlier, and there it was....all gooey and everything! It worked for a little while, and then blew up. I think I need a new phone! Any ideas?

I am hoping to be productive this week, as I was last. I was able to help our friends paint, help my Grandmother clean, hung out with my family and Ian's, got a bunch of cleaning done around our apartment, mowed the lawn, ran three times, went shopping, and made rice crispy treats, brownies, and banana bread(for the first time and it was a success!)

The Rust-ee Joints running in the Wasatch Back 2009

2009-06-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

|This past weekend (Friday and Saturday) Ian and I were able to run again in the Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back. This race goes from Logan to Park City through the beautiful Wasatch Mountains, covering 188 miles total. The miles are split between 12 runners, in 2 vans. Each runner has 3 legs of the race ranging from 3ish-10ish miles.

For more info. you can visit this site: http://www.ragnarrelay.com/wasatchback/index.php

We ran on Biomet West's team(where I work), the Rust-ee Joints, with our slogan very fitting-"Go ahead and wear them out, we have replacements."

Ian did a great job decorating our "Van" while we waited for Van 1 to finish their first legs. We decorated with skeletons who had joint replacements.

Here I am getting ready for the hand off from Lori (my teammate) to do my first run-
an easy 3.4 miles. But, it was a hot one! Each exchange looks similar to this one.

This race attracts ALL kinds of people. I was fortunate enough to have some entertainment ahead of me---until I passed him! :)

Ian saw this little creek in front of someones house and decided it'd be a nice place to soak his feet--the water was nice and cool.

Ian is always a good supportive teammate who will do anything for anybody. Everybody loved it when they saw him on the side of the road! Especially me! :) This is Lisa-one of our teammates.

Ian and Lori hanging out.

Ian ran straight up a hill near Pineview reservoir and into this beautiful valley. He did such a great job---3.8 miles considered "very hard" in like 35 mins, or something crazy and fast like that!

Ian decided to get a little warm-up running Brad in to the exchange before he started his run up a mountain. Like I said--he is very supportive of his team.

Ian running up a mountain-the pictures don't do it justice. This hill was STEEP! See image below for an idea:

Lori and I had a great time squirting people down. It was hot and some of them looked like they REALLY needed it!

Our van's second runs were when "NORMAL" people are sleeping---between 1:00 & 5:00 a.m.
I loved my run, even though it was around 3:00 a.m.. It was mostly downhill and I was able to do it pretty fast! Ian did AWESOME on his second run. He was running so fast, we could hardly keep up with him driving---and he sped by soooo fast that by the time we realized it was him (to give him water) he was already gone and we had to drive up a mile to meet him. He pased a total of 54 people---that is HUGE!

After my run I was feeling really good--until I drank too much Gatorade, heard a lady puking right outside our car, and got car sick. That night/morning, I got pretty sick and became famous for my puking! :( (A guy who was on our team last year said he saw me leaning out the car doing my business---how embarassing!) After a few malfunctions, and Ian running an extra leg because our other van was at the wrong exchange, we made it to the house in Heber where we got a little bit of sleep, took some showers and ate(except for me) some food. We are a VERY SPOILED team! Most teams spent their time in a high school gym.

We met up with our team to finish our last runs. I am SO thankful for Ian, Lori, Brett, and Steve who all even though they were exhausted, were willing to run for me. I appreciated SO much!
The last runs went well, and everybody did a great job. The day was a little cooler and rainy, but it seemed to be enjoyable for most of the runners.

Ian did the "ragnar" (hardest) leg of the race and this is why it is the hardest:

He basically ran straight up this!

This sign seemed VERY encouraging...NOT!

Ian had to keep tradition and run in his flamingo suit. Many people enjoyed seeing him run with it. He got many compliments---and he was also a target that people wanted to pass!

Ian did a FANTASTIC job! I am very proud of him!

We were all quite happy when Brad handed off to Sam at the last exchange! I think we were all ready for some sleep!

We made it to the finish line-and we got a metal!

This race is totally different from any other race I have ever done, not only because of the extreme lack of sleep, but because it is unique. I always enjoy it. It never ceases to amaze me as I look around and see the thousands of people who all have something in common-everyone comes together for one CRAZY event, to run their best, to make lasting memories, to do something hard and challenging(maybe not so much for Ian :)) and to have fun all at the same time. This experience is one I will never forget!

Ian's BIG race

2009-06-07T19:21:00.000-07:00

So, for all of you who may not know, Ian has gotten into a "sick habit" (as one of his running buddies described it---I thought that was a very fitting way to describe it) with trail running. Now, this is not your typical running. This is running up and down mountains--literally. He joined a few guys in our ward in this trail running stuff awhile ago and decided he really ENJOYS it.

So...guess what Ian did this weekend?!?!

Ian ran and FINISHED his first 50 mile race up Squaw Peak! (Yes, that is a 50, you aren't seeing things!) His goal was to do it in 13 hours, and he finished with a time of 12 hours and about 13 mins!

I am VERY proud of Ian and this HUGE accomplishment! As crazy as it sounds, it is very inspiring to see my husband run like this. He makes it seem so easy, but wow....I can't even begin to imagine what it may be like to run like that! Good Job Bay!

I was also SO happy (and relieved) to see that he was doing really well when he got to the finish line! I guess I was just a little paranoid that things would go terrible--but thankfully they didn't.

Here are a few pictures of him at the finish line.

Ian crossing the finish line with some of his running friends.

Enjoying some chicken after the race.

Feeling "real nice" at home---he is going to kill me :)

Air Force Show

We also went to the Air Show up at Hill Air Force Base. Despite the stormy weather, we really enjoyed ourselves and the Thunderbirds! They do some CRAZY stuff. It was WAY fun!

And as for my life lately...this is what you will find me doing when I am not at work...sitting on our couch at home with our fat cat. It's fun!

The English Language

2009-05-20T08:01:00.000-07:00

English-I am SO glad this was my first language!

Can you read these right the first time?

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France . Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

I recieved this email about the English language. It made me laugh because it brought me back to the days I was in Russia. Because I taught the older kids who were pretty fluent in English, I ran into many "problems" trying to teach them the difference between the same word. Also, there was never a good reason as to why you pronounce things differently, when they are spelled the same. The answer was always "just because" or "that's just how it is."

Hope you enjoyed!

No more pencils, No more books, No more teacher's dirty looks...

2009-05-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I never got any dirty looks from the one teacher I actually saw. (My other two classes were online)

But...as of last Saturday I am done with school for the semester! It is such a wonderful feeling! This semester was not one of my favorites. No offense to anybody who may appreciate or like these, but business law and statistics are TERRIBLE classes to suffer through! But, fortunately I got them taken and out of the way!

Oh yes, and thanks to good old SLCC....I will not be taking the two classes I have left to take there before transferring this semester. Why? Because they only offer them right in the middle of the day for a few hours, a few times a week. As a working person, I cannot do that! So....I am going to have an AMAZING SUMMER!!! (minus the weeks Ian will be gone to CO)

I keep wondering what I am going to do with myself! I know what things need to get done, but cleaning stuff is BORING! Any FUN ideas?!?!?! Please let me know!

I won the MONEY!

2009-04-07T08:13:00.000-07:00

No, this is not the money I could be saving if I switch to Geico...

it is the money I have officially WON from the March Madness NCAA pool we held at work!

Every year we have an office pool where everybody fills out their bracket for the tournament. Usually, I fill out my bracket (using some help),pay my money, then hope for the best which has always resulted in somebody else basically getting my money.

Well this year, because of some good guessing and strategy, I was able to be on top and stay in first the ENTIRE time! (minus the few minutes I don't count when I was tied in first)

I guess the previous years have now paid off! Can't wait for next year!

Hawaii!

2009-03-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

We had a nice flight to Oahu (the airline fed us a meal-we were shocked!)and arrived in the early afternoon. We picked up our rental car(which was BRAND new and nice), and then drove up to Laie, where Chris, Katie, and Jared live.

We spent time catching up (as it has been since August that we've seen each other) and then Chris and Jared showed us a neat place right by their house. We spent the rest of the evening talking and enjoying each other's company.

Tuesday Ian woke up and went for a nice LONG run, and I enjoyed the time relaxing. Then we decided to get out and go see some places. Here is where we went.

Waimea Bay

The North Shore/Haleiwa for some Matsumoto's Shave Ice

The "Lost" beaches (where most of Lost is filmed) where Ian decided to do some 4 wheeling when the road ended.
And drove by a few familiar places...

Wednesday we went to breakfast at a little local place called the Hukilau Cafe. Jared was a little confused as to why he was in his PJ's eating breakfast other somewhere other then home, but loved eating the food-we all did! Then Ian and I went into town to do a few things. We stopped at a few places/beaches on our way down to Honolulu. Ian REALLY wanted to hike up Koko Head Crater like he did last time (I gave up 2/3 the way up!) and since I PROMISED him I would make it to the top this time, we went and hiked this...... I almost died. We made it!After hiking my not so favorite thing, we went to the swap meet @ Aloha Stadium, then did some shopping at the Ala Moana Mall and hung out in Honolulu.

Thursday we spent some time at the Hukilau Beach where Ian found him some treasures, then spent the afternoon at the Polynesian Cultural Center-which was so fun! On our way home (we walked there because it is so close) Ian found another treasure...two coconuts had fallen from the tree. He brought them home and cracked them open like the Samoans do.

That night I went with my sister to her Relief Society Enrichment Birthday Night, which was fun! She had a speaking part and talked about one of our ancestors, Catherine Hagel.

Friday, we went to Kaliua, then met up with Chris, Katie, and Jared to go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. There were lots of fish! Ian and Chris also saw a turtle! We spent the rest of the night relaxing and packing up....

Saturday morning we left really early to get to town so that Ian could compete in the Biathlon (run and swim) he signed up for! We made it just in time and had fun watching him. He placed first in his division! Good work! We then left to go up to a place called Valley of the Temples and to the Dole Plantation---places we hadn't been that EVERYONE goes to! Despite the pouring rain, we enjoyed our time looking at the Temple. And the pineapple ice cream, other then the cost, was very tasty!

And then after eating some Hawaiian food, we were dropped off at the airport and headed home! The End! Thanks Chris, Katie, and Jared for all you did for us! We really enjoyed seeing and being with you, despite the not so ideal Hawaii weather!

California!

2009-03-12T08:26:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, February 28, Ian and I flew out of SLC to San Jose, California! We arrived shortly after, got our rental car, and started driving towards Boulder Creek to visit my sister Laura, her husband Gavin, and their daughter Sydney.

After driving on THE MOST CURVY AND WINDY ROADS I have ever been on (Bear Creek) we arrived to their place! It is in a beautiful place right in the middle of basically a big redwood forest.

(This picture doesn't even show how windy the road was!)

Once Sydney woke up from her nap, we headed to the Big Basin Redwood and the Henry Cowell Redwood state parks. We had a great time looking at lots of BIG trees, reading about Redwoods (they are very interesting), and enjoying our time together. Here are some pictures.

Sydney was so happy to get out of her stroller and walk, but she wasn't so happy when she fell down and got muddy.
We went back to their house and ate a very tasty turkey dinner that Laura had made! It was SO good! We also got to see Gavin for a few minutes that night, which was fun!

The next morning, we woke up and went to church with Laura and Sydney. They had a very welcoming ward, with very nice people, which we appreciated because it can sometimes be a little awkward being the "visitors." It was interesting and nice going to church at another ward.

That day was pretty rainy, so we just hung out, ate good food, and enjoyed the time we had together. Oh yeah, and we ate dinner with Gavin there.

It was really nice to catch up with my sister, and to see where they live. We are grateful for them and letting us stay there, even though the timing was kind of bad with their move!

The next morning, we woke up and headed back on my FAVORITE road...ha ha...to the airport, caught our flight, and were on our way to Hawaii.

Work, School, Homework, and some fun!

2009-02-25T08:24:00.000-08:00

My life has been consumed, and I mean CONSUMED by work, school, and homework. Ian's life has been the same way. When we spend time with each other lately, it is usually him on one computer, me on the other, concentrating on homework! Not how we totally ENJOY our time together, but I am grateful that we are both able to go to school right now...especially since the more we go the closer we get to being DONE!

Anyway,even though most of our spare time is spent doing that stuff, we have been able to squeeze in a few FUN things the past couple of what...months!!! (oh gosh, I REALLY need to get better at posting!)

Draper Temple Open House

At the beginning of January, my family got to go through the temple early as kind of a "trial" run type of thing, because my dad is on a committee for the Open House/Dedication. We also got tickets and went through again with Ian's family. Then, with our stake a couple of weeks ago we were able to go up and do some volunteer work. Ian did parking and ushering, and I just did ushering. It was a great oppurtunity and we are both very grateful for that experience we were able to have. The temple is a very special and beautiful place. We are so excited for the dedication next month!

Jordan World Circus (Maybe that is the name of it?!?!)

A couple of months ago, our friends mentioned a circus that was coming to town. Ian has never been to a circus, I have been to a couple and wanted to go to another one that was NOT Barnum and Bailey, so we decided (or I guess I decided for us) that we were going to go.

Side Note: A few years ago I brought my little brother Jacob to the Barnum and Bailey circus in Salt Lake, but left very disappointed with it. I had gone to what I call, a "REAL CIRCUS" in Russia, and Barnum and Bailey's circus was basically stupid and cheesy compared to the Russian one.

Anyway, I was hoping that this one that our friends had talked about was more like the Russian one. We went with our friends and their daughters and had a really good time! It was ALMOST as good as the Russian one, but MUCH better than the Barnum and Bailey one (cheaper too!). We enjoyed watching the elephants, tigers, lions, acrobats, bears, and dancing poodles. Oh yes, and I LOVED eating my cotton candy---thanks Ken! I forgot to bring my camera---as I always do, but I found some pictures from somebody else....thank you whoever you are!

Fun with Friends and Family
Even though we don't have much spare time, we've tried to maintain somewhat of a social life. One Saturday afternoon, I heard a little knock on our door. My first thought was...oh no, not the Jehovah Witnesses again...(they come every Saturday!) I decided to open the door, and to my surprise it was our old neighbors! They had gone to dinner near our house, and decided to stop bye to say hi. We decided that it has been too long since we've done anything with them, so a few weeks ago, we went over to their new, beautiful, SPACIOUS house and played games. It was lots of fun! Then last weekend Ian and I went to Chili's to meet up with some of my old ward and middle/high school friends (and their spouses) We had an excellent time, laughing and talking, and catching up from the past few years! Everybody got along great, and it was nice to see what people are doing right now in their lives! Thank you Caryn for putting it together! We really appreciate it! Maybe I will post some picts. later.

I haven't seen my family much lately, but I was able to see them this month for the February Birthday dinner that my mom had. I also have seen my sister Bethann some---at our scrapbook quarterly day. I always really enjoy spending time with them!

Valentine's Day

I decided to spoil Ian this year for Valentines day. I really wanted to go out to eat (only because my cooking is ALWAYS a disaster) but I decided I would make Ian his favorite meal....it's a chicken, bacon, swiss alfredo that my sister Laura makes. Well, I am happy to say that ALMOST everything worked out, and Ian came home (he had gone up to Park City with the Young Men in our ward for their annual ski trip getaway) to my dinner. Luckily he had already bought himself a present, so I didn't have to rack by brain, trying to think of something to get him...although I did buy him a few little treats.

Ian didn't cut his hair (dang it!) like he did last year as my gift, but he decided that I could buy myself whatever I wanted (since that is what he did). I got myself and him a tanning pass....I know, it is lame. I HATE tanning, and it is so UNHEALTHY! I am NEVER going again! Anyway, I did this because I did research and it is best to get a base tan before going on vacation to places where the sun always shines....and yes....we are off to CALIFORNIA and HAWAII this Saturday!!!

Dimple Dell Pass

Even though I don't really consider this FUN all the time, but because I am posting about the things that I do other then work and school, this fits into that category. Ian, my cousin Janae, and I decided to get a membership to our local county fitness rec. center. It has been nice to try to get back in shape again. I was feeling quite disgusting (my life unfortunately revolves around food) and decided it was time to do something active! Janae and I are training to do a few half marathons this spring/summer, and Ian...he is training for EVERYTHING!!! He is an amazing athlete!

Well, thats what we have been up to the past while. Hope all of you are doing well!

WOW...

2009-02-11T14:50:00.000-08:00

So, lately I have been feeling VERY dumb. I am not quite sure what my problem is. I am sure some of if it is due to a massive amount of things on my brain, and being somewhat overwhelmed at the moment! I have come up with a theory (or an excuse) for it, but I won't go there. Anyway, this email made me laugh....at least my stupidity isn't published! (as far as I know!)

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-11T18:41:00.000-08:00

For New Year's Eve we went out to eat with Ian's parents and then watched a few movies (okay---I slept during most of them) until midnight. Then at 12:00, Ian and Colin lit some fireworks...BIG ones! The cat was inside and started going CRAZY from the noise and took off running. I went to find him and saw this under our bed. When I lifted up the covers by his face he looked at me like,
"Oh my gosh...I think I am going to die?!?!?"

Then on New Year's day, I had the privilege of hanging out with some of my very dear friends, Brittany and Meredith. We enjoyed visiting for awhile and then went and ate some good food at IHOP. Meredith had to go home, but Brittany, Ian, Colin and I used our(mine and Ian's)new chocolate fountain that we got from some friends for Christmas! It was REALLY good...as you can probably tell.....If any of you ever want to come over and try it out...you are more than WELCOME!!! I would just do it by myself...but you have to melt at least 2 pounds of chocolate to have a constant flow... and I KNOW I would be the one to eat most of the chocolate by myself,which is the LAST thing I should do!

Merry Christmas to all!

2008-12-28T13:29:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
And have a HAPPY 2009!!!

2008-12-11T17:37:00.000-08:00

Just letting you all (particularly those of you who live in Utah) know that my friends are putting on this boutique at Trolley Square. It should be good, so please go!

Tis the Season...

2008-12-10T13:24:00.001-08:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper with a nice bow!
2. Real tree or Artificial? I am fine with either one. Ian on the other hand HAS to have the real thing.
3. When do you put up the tree? Growing up it was the day after Thanksgiving, but now it is whenever Ian and I get around to buying a "real" one.
4. When do you take the tree down? Last year I took it down the day after Christmas...our apartment is TOO small for any "extras"
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Hmm....I really liked those dolls whose hair grew when the hand touched the ear, legos,
7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad and Ian, they BUY everything they want.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Nieces, Nephews, kids.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, I collect them. I was SO excited to put up my new one this year! I LOVE it!
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Both!
11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hmmm...I am not sure. My Mom probably remembers one.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Christmas Vacation
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Somewhat early...although Ian makes fun of me for it.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Oh yeah.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? EVERYTHING but especially our Christmas Eve Prime Rib dinner w/twice baked potatoes, raspberry jello, and yorkshire pudding! Yum! Only 2 more weeks!
16. Lights on the tree? When I get a tree, they will be white!
17. Favorite Christmas song? Still, Still Still
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Oh yeah!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning
22. Most annoying part of Christmas? Stinkin' crowds and shopping traffic!
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? brown and green...or goldish cream
24. Favorite Christmas dinner? Our family's tradition dinner on CHristmas Eve (see #15)
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I haven't thought about it! Maybe a house!

Twighlight

2008-11-21T15:11:00.000-08:00

So, last night at 12:30 (the 11:59 p.m. showing was sold out a month before it came out) I went to see Twighlight along with my sister, her friend, and all sorts of other people(yes there were some men and boys there), most of who were completely obsessed and all decked out in Twighlight attire. I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to stay awake (those of you who know me know my problem with movies) but I am proud to tell you all that this movie was SOOOO good, staying awake was not even a problem! In fact, I stayed up until about 3:30 thinking about the movie and wasn't even tired. I was a bit skeptical when I first saw the trailers and 1st finished scene, thinking they didn't choose the "right" Bella, and especially not the "right" Edward, but oh was I WRONG. They chose the PERFECT Bella and Edward, as well as the rest of the characters. I was very pleased with the way the movie turned out. I especially loved that as you watched the movie, you felt the same way you did as you read the book. They did a great job! If you are debating to see the movie or not, I would say definitely go....and I hope you like it as much as I did!
I can't wait for New Moon to come out!

Happy Halloween...late of course!

2008-11-02T19:49:00.000-08:00

I was meaning to post this Friday night, but a few days later, here are some pictures of our costumes for the year.
Ian decided that this year he was going to be something other than the pink flamingo, so what he came up with this year was......

Hannah Montana.

A friend at work gave me the idea to be Billy Ray Cyrus, so that is what I ATTEMPTED to be- although I looked more like just a boy of some sort.

Anyway, there are a few things I loved about Ian's choice of costume:
1. When Ian went to try on the skirt (he found it at a Ross in Provo) the guy who was in charge of the dressing rooms didn't even know how to handle it when Ian held up the skirt and asked for a number. And then when Ian decided he was going to buy the skirt, how much more mind blown the guy was. It was a good one!
2.When Ian lifted up his arms, the armpit hair coming out of his shirt, along with the facial hair-it made for a nice white trashy version of the teenage idol.3. Not only did Ian wear an old bra, but he tried to stuff it to be just the right size of a 15/16/17 (however old she is) girl. Do you think he was accurate? Ha ha.

Halloween was fun. Ian and Franz went on their annual ride in their flamingo costumes...

After he made it safely home, we went up to my parents for awhile. Jordan in his cowboy costume.

Marissa as a puppy, and Gramps as himself.

Jacob as a scary scarecrow.

After that we stopped at some friend's Halloween party. Hope you all had a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Another Month has passed...

2008-10-27T10:54:00.001-07:00

and I am becoming one of those bloggers I NEVER wanted to be! I always think of things to blog about, but because we don't have internet at our place, it makes it a bit of a challenge.
Anyway, here is the update of our lives. We still are working and going to school. Nothing has changed there. We also still have our cat...although his name was only Cleveland for a day. We can't figure out a good name for him. Ian believes he has to do something to "earn" his name and I just think that nothing seems to fit him. As of yesterday, his name is Walter. He is a lazy cat that always thinks he is starving! I am starting to wonder if maybe he has tapeworm or something :(

Here is a picture of us on our couch....it is our most recent "family" picture.

I LOVE the fall! This is the best time of year! (Minus the COLD days) Ian and I have been quite "festive" this year. One day after work we went up the canyon to see the leaves. We also were able to go to Frightmares @ Lagoon for my work party. This past weekend a local apple orchard/farm down the street was showing The Great Pumpkin/Charlie Brown movie outdoors in their little field, so we went to that with some of our friends. We also have a few decorations up at the house. And this week, we will be going to a few Halloween Parties! What a good time of year it is, although I can hardly believe it is almost NOVEMBER!!!

Oh yeah, I do have a few stories, but I will post those as soon as I get the pictures uploaded!

Cleveland

2008-09-28T17:22:00.001-07:00

It all started the day the cat came meowing to the window.

A couple of weeks ago, I was home for lunch with Ian. Outside we heard some meowing and then cat fighting. The next thing we knew, there was more meowing,getting louder and closer. We opened our blinds to find this. This is "Tom" the other cat who was in the fight....(or the rapist)

We thought the cat might be hurt (or getting raped:[) so we let him in. The cat LOVED the house and immediately started to rub on EVERYTHING!!! Ian's bike, Ian, Me, our table, our carpet, our couch. He was definitely not afraid to make himself comfortable and at home.

Time has passed and we are not so sure what to do with Cleveland. We did name him, and are really wanting to "adopt" him. We are thinking that he was abandoned. So for that reason and because he is such a good, nice, friendly, beautiful cat (and we really love him) we want to keep him. We are still trying to figure out how it will happen since we are not allowed to have animals in our house. I guess it is more motivation to find and BUY our own home!

Tag!

2008-09-11T21:13:00.001-07:00

I was tagged by my friend, who has a certain scent to her, Meredith.
The Rules: Answer the questions using only ONE WORD. Then tag four others.

1. Where is your cell phone? Couch
2. Your significant other? Bay
3. Your hair? Crooked
4. Your mother? Amazing
5. Your father? Amazing
6. Your favorite thing? Sleep
7. Your dream last night? Interesting
8 Your favorite drink? Dr. Pepper
9. Your dream/goal? Family
10. The room you’re in? Office
11. Your hobby? "Papercrafting"
12. Your fear? Creatures
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Alive!
14. What you’re not? Pleasant
15. Muffins? Yum!
16. One of your wish list items? PTO (paid time off-lots of it!)
17. Where you grew up? Draper
18. The last thing you did? Birthday
19. What are you wearing? Warm
20. Favorite gadget? Cricut
1. Your pets? Non-existent
22. Your computer? Mac Book
23.Your mood? Blah
24. Missing someone? Family
25.Your car? Dirty
26. Something you’re not wearing? socks
27. Favorite store? Target
28. Like someone? NOBODY! Ha ha
29. Your favorite color? Brown
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Recently

And I tag...whoever wants to do it!

Our Past Month

2008-09-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

Well, now that I have let another month pass by without updating the blog...here goes another LONG update.
Ian
Ian finished up working with TNT for the summer-but don't let that fool you-he is still VERY busy.
He has been spending the majority of his time on school. He is enrolled in a bunch of classes at UVU (the old UVSC) to get a specialized degree in Emergency Medical Services Management(or something like that), which coincides with the firefighting stuff. He has also applied to a few different stations in the valley and will test at the end of the month. In case you don't know how the hiring process works (because I had NO idea myself), once they have finished going through the fire academy, they then have to find out what stations/cities are hiring. They then fill out their application, and send in a resume. From there the city/station (if they want you) will have you take a written test. If you pass that test, you get to go back and take the physical test. If you pass that (and the city still is interested in hiring a person) they (the city/station) will call you back to meet with 1-3 people on an oral board. Then if they approve of you, then you get put on a short list, and with all of your scores combined, you will get a rating, and if it is good enough, THEN you get hired. It is very competitive and there are a TON of people looking for a job (to give you an idea-at one time this spring there were 8 full time positions available in SL and over 900 applicants), so we'll just keep our fingers crossed and if he doesn't get hired then at least he will get practice.
Ian has also been spening some time on different projects that he has wanted to do, but hasn't had time for until now. He finally sold my car (the Passat)! YAY!-except for the money went towards his tuition (not fun) and our new computer (fun!). He also has been fixing up the bodywork on his WRX (car) with our good friend (and expert) Ken, who has been a huge help.
Ian has also spent time running races and staying active. Yesterday he did his second triathlon and did VERY well. He took first in his division and 22 overall, out of 250ish people. I will brag about him because he won't brag about himself.

Me (Kristin)
My life on the other hand is not so busy. I am still just trying to adjust to the new job and loving not having anything to do at nights. Although, that may change here tomorrow....after I call SLCC to see if I can still register for classes. If I can, I will be going to school this semester-ONLY because I got a scholarship and if I don't use it, it is basically a waste. I am so glad they told me that I got it yesterday-that was so helpful of them----NOT....but this story will wait for my next post. Other than that and a lot of shopping and sitting on my couch eating lots, that is where I have spent my time. Oh yeah, and I am finishing up New Moon-FINALLY.
Well, that is it for now.

WARNING: EXTREMELY LONG

2008-08-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

So, I am FINALLY getting around to updating my blog, now that it has been OVER A MONTH!!! I have probably lost all of my blog readers because week after week NOTHING has changed. SO-if there is anyone out there still interested in what I have been up to lately-this is for you!

To start off, my life has been INSANE the last month or so! I finally know the feeling of being BUSY-and I am not a HUGE fan of it at all. (to say the least)

June 28-July 5
So, the last time I posted, Ian's parents were on their trip to Virginia and I was at their house taking care of their dogs and cat. You'd think that that was no big deal, but let me tell you-it was very adventuresome. I not only learned of my sensitivity to animal food as I nearly threw up everytime I smelled it, but I somehow managed to lock myself out of the house(and my car) one morning, entertained my VERY good friend and neighbor every night as I chased the little dog Scooter around the yard trying to get him inside, had nightmares of neighborhood children opening the fence letting the dogs run away, etc. etc. Along with taking care of the animals, I was doing my usual of working every day, as well as going to school every Tuesday and Thursday nights until late. So NOT fun!

My neighbor and friend, Jess, decided that while Ian was away (he was gone to Colorado for work from June 15-July 17th) we'd make a list of all the fun things that we normally wouldn't do (or couldn't do as easily) if we was home. So, we were able to squeeze a few fun things that week into my crazy schedule which included; eating at Paradise Bakery, getting Pedicures, shopping for baby presents, and hanging out, and talking. Don't worry, we had WAY more on the list, but because of me---they haven't happened...YET.

On July 3rd, I had an interview for a new job I applied for, did well (I guess), and got offered a job as accounting assistant at Code Corporation-thanks to my good friend Jana. I wasn't totally ready to quit, but knew I was going to eventually, and because things worked out so well, and because it was too good of a deal for me to pass up, I decided it was the right thing and best thing to do. So, that next week, I got to talk to my boss and tell him the news as well as give him my 2 weeks---NORMALLY, you wouldn't call your boss while he was on vacation with his family, but because he was going to be gone for the next few weeks, and I had to start my new job before he got back, I basically had no other choice-that is how I had to do it! That was the first time I have ever "quit" a job!!! It wasn't easy!!!
Also, my sister Katie, Chris (her husband), and Jared, my super cute nephew flew into town from Hawaii-so that night as soon as school was over, I drove up to my parent's because I was so anxious to see them!

On the 4th of July, I spent the day relaxing with my family, did a little shopping with my mom and sister, and then that night we went over to my aunt MayreAnn's with my mom's side for fireworks and a BBQ-which is always fun.

The next week of JULY(5-13th)...
I spent getting ready to quit my job, stressing A LOT over my classes at school (they were REALLY hard this semester!) and getting things ready for Girl's Camp. I was also taking care of things that needed to get done around the house such as mowing the lawn (sorry to all my neighbors who may have been asleep when I was out mowing the lawn one night at 9:45), cleaning, laundry, etc. Normally Ian is around to help with those things, but it was really hard squeezing in the time to do them by myself!!!

MUCH NEEDED TRIP TO CALIFORNIA
On July 10 I left with my Mom, and brothers, Adam and Jacob, to California. We drove to Auburn on Thursday and stayed at a little hotel that night. The next morning we woke up and went to the CHP academy in Sacramento for Gavin's (my brother in law) graduation. It was neat to see where he lived, and to kind of get a taste of some of the things he got to experience there. After the graduation, we drove to Vacaville where we stayed the remainder of our time in California. That night we ate some REALLY good food at a place (I can't remember what it is called now). Saturday we drove to a beautiful beach called Dillon's beach. I LOVED it there-the day couldn't have been more perfect. It was SO relaxing, the weather was perfect, and it was SO nice to just hang out. Oh yes, and everybody brought their dog to that beach, so it was fun to see all the different kinds of dogs and their owners. It reminded me of 101 dalmations-when the people(who are walking their dogs) look like their dogs....anyway...that night we hung out with Gavin's family, ate dinner, played games, and went back to the hotel exhausted! Sunday we woke up and drove home-I got to sit by Sydney, my adorable niece, most of the ride home and had a lot of fun playing with her! She is so cute!

JULY 14-19
When we got home from California, I finished up my last week of work, which felt so strange. It was actually quite sad for me to say good-bye. I was excited for the new job, but I knew it wasn't going to be the same.

Ian also came home from Colorado that week, which was SO wonderful! I have LOVED having him home!

DRAPER DAYS
Saturday morning we woke up and ran the Draper Days 5K. It was neat this year because there was a big group of family and friends that did it. We all did well, and had fun doing it! After the race, I went with my family to watch the parade. During the day, Ian played in the softball tournament with a team made up of some ward friends. That night we went to the Draper Days Rodeo-which I LOVE!!! And I loved that Ian made it home this year to be with me! It was a lot of fun! We watched the fireworks from the rodeo grounds.

JULY 20-28
This week I started my new job, tried finishing up with my classes at school, and tied up all the loose ends for girl's camp. I also spent Friday-Saturday up in Park City with some of my dad's family who were going to be there for the week for the family reunion.

PIONEER DAY
On the 24th of July, Ian was ambitious and ran the Deseret News Marathon again for his second time. He did a great job and finished!!! It is a REALLY hard course, and the heat makes it pretty tough as well, so I am proud of him for doing that, especially since he hadn't ran more then 3 miles for at least 5 weeks! We also had a few firework shows this year to celebrate the holidays!

From JULY 28-AUGUST 1
I was at Girl's Camp. We were fortunate this year, and got to go up to Heber Valley camp which was really nice--especially because of all the luxuries that are available up there (cabins, kitchen facilities, running water, showers, refridgerators, etc.) You can hardly call it "camping" but I was TOTALLY okay with it. We all had a great time up there, there was NO drama again (second year in a row) and the girls all seemed to have a very good time. They are all very neat girls and I really appreciate each one of them! It was a great experience for me! I loved seeing camp from the leader's perspective-it is very interesting. I was VERY HAPPY that camp was successful!

LIFE SINCE AUGUST 1
I came home from camp, finished up school (hugest headache EVER) and have spent some time TRYING to relax and catch up on life!!! Both of my sister's and their families left to go home, which was really sad! I felt like I didn't get to spend as much time as I wanted to with them, and feel bad because everytime I was around, I wasn't much fun!!! (the stress was REALLY getting to me!) I guess I will just have to go visit them sometime-which would be TOTALLY fun-who wouldn't want to go to California or Hawaii?!?!?
The new job is going well---definitely an adjustment. I LOVE not having to commute everyday, and I LOVE other parts of my job, like keeping busy. Although, I forgot what it is like to be the "new person" and how stupid you can feel at times!!! But that's okay with me---I know it will just take some time!

Some Pictures

2008-06-28T07:17:00.001-07:00

I am sitting here on Ian's parent's computer looking at some of our old pictures from the past few years. I thought it would be fun to post some of them. So, here they are-us over the past few years.

Ian's 25th Birthday

Friends-I don't know when!

Ian and Ryan in their Halloween get-ups (I think in 2006)

My sisters and I after the Draper Days 5k-in 2007

Ian (yes, that's Ian), Hannah, and Colin

I will post some more later on.

A few ideas to share

2008-06-25T15:43:00.000-07:00

This summer I have been pretty busy getting ready for Girl's camp, which is at the end of July. I have REALLY enjoyed my calling as Camp Director, and have been able to use my creative side a bit (as well as my cricut!)

Anyway, I thought I would share a few ideas with ya'all, in case you are or ever are in need of something fun to give/do for someone.

We decided we'd give our Young Women some "incentives" to go to camp, so one Sunday each month, since February, we went in to Young Women's and gave a little handout. It has worked so far! 14 of 20 girls will be at camp-at least they have committed up to this point!

February's "Incentive"(AKA BRIBE!) was DOVE chocolate hearts...I told them I would "love" for them to come to camp this summer.

March/April we gave them these "Save the Date" magnets-so they'd know and their parent's would know when camp is!

May we gave them some Yellow(which is our ward's color as far as the stake stuff goes) Old Navy flip flops, with a tag that said, "Don't be a flip-flop this summer, come to Camp!"

June for our Camp Kickoff/Sleepover, I made these invitations-our theme is western....inside the S'more bag I included a not that said, "To get s'more information on camp, and to have fun, come to the camp kickoff!"

Also, in June we will be handing out cans of Rootbeer with a tag that says, "We are "Sodalighted" you will be at camp!" or something to that affect.

I will post some more of our fun ideas later on!

A watermelon...explosion???

2008-06-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday night, after a long day of work, and after a stressful night at school (I took a REALLY hard quiz-it was more like a test I must say) I came home to something I have NEVER come home to before---a watermelon mess!!!

I still am not quite sure what happened. All I know is that it smelled REALLy wierd in my apartment, I was standing in 2" of watermelon juice, my kitchen table had a puddle on the entire thing (except for the one part I had a baby present on-thank goodness!), and that my carpet was saturated with stuff.

I was very thankful for my lovely neighbor Jess, who came and saved me from having a breakdown. She helped me be able to laugh about the whole disaster, and also helped me clean up the sick mess.

I guess sometimes you just have to learn things the not so fun way-

So, for all of you who never realized you are supposed to refrigerate your watermelon (even though the stores don't keep them cold, nor are they cold when they are growing in the ground!) now you know what could happen!!!

Oh yeah, and my apartment still smells wierd-even though I have scrubbed the carpet and the floors numerous times, so please, if any of you have a special "trick" I would love for you to share! I am sick of smelling stinky sock smell when I am sitting on the couch! Thanks!

My First...and LAST

2008-06-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday was Draper Trails Day. Ian and Judy (Ian's mom) were pretty excited for this race and were looking very forward to it-they both LOVE trail running. Me, on the other hand...I wasn't so sure what to think...it was a COLD morning, I have NOT trained very well, and I was REALLY tired from a crazy week! I was excited, but a little nervous as well, because this was my first race of the "season."

We got to the Equestrian center signed in, got our numbers, shirts, and goodie bags, and went to the car to sit, and attempt to get warmer. Before the race, I was debating what mileage I was going to do...you could choose between 4 miles, 6 miles (which ended up being closer to 7 miles) 10 miles, and 15 miles. I hadn't completely decided, but the race started, and I soon found myself running up a mountain-about to DIE!!! One of my old friends, Amelia Daw was there, and we started running together, but she left me in the dust! When I was near the top, I decided that I was going to be a baby and just do the 4 miler. My heart rate was SO high, I was getting a side ache, and was thinking---everyone who thinks running is miserable--they are right! Well, my heart rate came down, things got better, and I finished the race....

I got a pretty decent time-43:27 and felt really good at the end. Well, 20 or so minutes later, they started to announce the winners---and guess who got 1st place in the Women's 4 miler ages 17-30....you guessed it! I won the money! I was SO surprised...I even asked the lady,"Are you sure I WON?"

Sure enough, it was me---I got $25 out of it, and came to the conclusion that SOMETIMES it DOES pay off to be a wimp! (Note: I need to clarify. I am only calling myself a wimp because that is what I was being-I could've done more, but I chose to be a baby. I don't think anyone else is a wimp for any reason-Just so you know!)

Anyway, that was my FIRST time ever winning a race-and I can almost guarantee it will be my LAST! Usually I am a very average runner-but Saturday I had an advantage. Not many people showed up!

Oh yes, Ian and Judy both did VERY well! Judy ran the 6 miles in about 1 hour 10 mins-and SHOULD HAVE won (they didn't break up the ages very well-her category was 31 and older--which isn't very fair for the older ones) That is FAST!

Ian-I am VERY proud of him! He was amazing and did the 15 miler-in an excellent time! He ran it in about 2 hours 30 mins-reducing his time by 30 mins from last year! That is HUGE!!!

He took 2nd place in his category and also won some $$$!!!

It was a good day!

These pictures are actually from last year---I found them online--kind of scary thinking what kind of BLACKMAIL people might have!!! Anyway, I wanted to post pictures because my blogs have been boring-so until I get the pictures off Judy's camera-here are some to look at!

I've been tagged!

2008-05-20T15:03:00.000-07:00

A-ATTACHED OR SINGLE? Attached to Ian but kind of single (alone at home)right now while is in Colorado
B-BEST FRIEND? Other than Ian, hmmm....I consider all of my friends and family to be a best friend
C-CAKE OR PIE? All sugar tastes sooooo good, so both!
D-DAY OF CHOICE? Saturdays-I don't have to work and can do whatever I want
E-ESSENTIAL ITEMS? Toilet Paper? (and food and sleep)
F-FAVORITE COLOR? Greens, brown, and teal
G-GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? definitely worms
H-HOMETOWN? Draper
I-INDULGENCE? basically any kind of dessert
J-JANUARY OR JULY? January cause it is my birthday, but I also really like July
K-KIDS? Someday! (hopefully sooner than later!-hint hint Ian)
L-LIFE ISN'T COMPLETE WITHOUT.....Ian, my family and my friendships with others
M-MARRIAGE DATE? December 29, 2005 (don't ask me why I chose THAT time of year)
N-NUMBER OF SIBLINGS? 4 sisters, 5 brothers (3 are in-laws)
O-ORANGES OR APPLES? Both
P-PHOBIAS OR FEARS? getting in a car accident on the freeway, bullet bikes, and guns
Q-QUOTE? "You can only do so much" (I came up with that by myself and have used it as my motto the past year or so-I appreciate it)
R-REASON TO SMILE? I have a lot to smile about! T00 many to list.
S-SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMAN? I am not too fond of superheroes, so I don't know
T-TAG 5 PEOPLE? Beeka, Sonia, Katie, Kalli, and Heather
U-UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME? I am missing a tooth!(bottom middle ...it never grew in!)
V-VEGETABLES? cucumbers, tomatoes, zuchinni, carrots, brocoli, cauliflower, peas, and corn
W-WORST HABIT? Oh man, I gossip a lot! -it's a total weakness:(
X-X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? Well, I have only had an x-ray, so I guess that for now!
Y-YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? EVERYTHING!!! But especially sugar and meat! I am a carnivore!
Z-ZODIAC SIGN? Capricorn

Decisions

2008-05-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

Decisions: I feel that there have been so many decisions to make lately(part of getting older I guess). Ian has his "life plan" for the next few months or so figured out and I WISH I could say the same! Life is crazy right now!
Decision #1:School
I was trying to decide whether or not I should go to summer school. I was a little frustrated because I had heard that there was some scholarships and tuition waivers I could apply for, so I went to look at them, and found that I missed the deadline by 1 week....and not just the deadline for Summer and Fall, but also for Spring(because they reward students for the entire year)! I was already debating whether or not to go, and I was hoping that would be a deciding factor-if the school would pay for it, I would certainly go. Anyway, I kept debating back and forth whether or not to go or not to go. It would give me something to do while Ian is in Colorado, would help me get done with my degree sooner, etc., but couldn't decide if I wanted to get ripped off only taking 2 classes, and this summer is going to be a busy one (getting ready for girl's camp) not to mention that finals are the week of Girl's Camp! Well, I think I have made my decision and have enrolled myself in a Managerial Accounting Class and a Computer Information Systems class. Now I just have to hope my teachers are really nice and flexible and will work with me when it comes time to take finals! I have a few more weeks before I can drop the classes and get all of my money back-we'll see what happens!

Decision #2: Work
I will be honest in telling you I have been offered a couple of jobs(I hope I don't jinx myself again!), and am still in the process of deciding whether or not to take them. It would mean quitting where I am at now, which could be a good and/or a bad thing. I am ready to try something new, but I am also scared of taking that risk in ending up somewhere and not liking it. We'll see what happens!

Decision #3: Housing
We're kind of looking for houses, so we'll see what happens with that. It's been interesting trying to decide what we want to do as far as that goes....we like renting and where we are at, but we'd also like to own something, especially since the housing market has become the way it has.

Other Decisions: We've made up our minds that it is time to sell our "extra"cars, but have had a hard time deciding what to ask for them. We want to sell them for a good price and maybe make money if we can, yet are to the point we just want them gone, so that has been an interesting thing. I also get to deal with SO many decisions as far as Girl's Camp goes being the director-when to have meetings, who to assign what, where to have activties beforehand, who I need to call for all sorts of reasons, etc. etc. etc. and it's only going to get more crazy, the closer it gets!

I realize that decisions are so important, and what is even more important is making sure you make the RIGHT one. It's been really hard for me to know what the right or best decisions are, but I think that is where faith comes into play. I keep thinking of the talk from conference last October given by Elder Oaks entitled "Good, Better, Best" (http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-775-38,00.html) and how all of these decisions may be good, or better, but are they the best? All I want to do is what is best!

Happy Cinco De Mayo...yesterday

2008-05-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

Last night after work, we went over to our friend's house for some REAL authentic Mexican food to celebrate Cinco De Mayo. I always wonder why we celebrate the Mexican's independence...kind of strange, but none the less, I got to eat some amazing food! I wish I would have brought my camera, so you could've seen the food! It really was amazing! The menu consisted of tacos with all the fixins, 2 types of enchiladas, anaheim peppers that they roasted, jalepenos (for Ian), 7 layer bean dip and chips, and last but not least Horchata! yum! We had an enjoyable time, and stayed up until past midnight. Now I am tired. Hope you all had a good day!

Finals and Books

2008-04-25T12:11:00.000-07:00

Well, school is almost out! Next week I have two finals-one Tuesday and one Thursday and then I will be done for the semester! I actually have mixed feelings about it. Usually I am so excited to be done, but truthfully this time around I am not. I have REALLY enjoyed both of my classes and teachers! They teach because they enjoy people, and it really shows in the way they teach. They actually care about their students, and have made learning very enjoyable. They are very good at what they do, and very knowledgeable. I have come to the conclusion that I really do like Economics and Accounting A LOT! As a result, I have done very well these past two semesters(not to brag or anything) I truly believe that when you enjoy doing something, it makes all the difference!
So, now that I have gotten those feelings out....the other side of me will come out! Today was the first day of Text book buy backs. Last semester I actually got a decent amount of money back on my books, which made me happy. Well, I had Ian go for me today, to bring back a couple of books (one from last semester) and guess what....they won't buy the one from last semester back!!! It wouldn't be such a big deal, except for the fact that this books is TOTALLY A PIECE OF CRAP and has caused me a lot of grief! I bought the book for approx. $145 dollars. The lady at the school who decided which book they were going to buy, decided to purchase the WORST one! They decided to go for the cheaper one (since college students are SO poor) which was paperback, and because they book is SO thick and can't handle the weight of the pages or something, the bindings ALL split, and pages fell out! (Keep in mind, the books were only a couple weeks old at the time-so imagine them at the end of the semester!) Also, some brilliant person out there decided to make a little "window" in the cover, so that the first page which included the title would show through. WORST IDEA EVER-especially when it is PAPER! I am pretty easy on my books, but guess what happened the FIRST TIME I put it in my bag??....you guessed it...it ripped! Not only once, but 3 times....I ended up taping the dang edges of the window, and KINd OF prevented it from ripping even more! (yes it looked completely like white trash) Anyway, that lady came into our class one day and I told her my honest opinion of the stupid thing! (I really couldn't believe I did it after, because normally I am not the type to speak up like that) Well, she decided that the next semester, which is this semester, they'd buy the hardback one.
So, you are probably wondering why I still have the dang thing if the class was last semester?...well, I didn't sell it back last semester, because I was debating if I should take the second part of the accounting class (which went through the last few chapters of the same book) and then I didn't take it because my teacher from last semester was teaching my accounting class this semester, and I wanted to have him as a teacher again...if that makes sense.
So, now that most of you have probably stopped reading, because I am dragging this story out so long (I tend to do that...according to Ian) I figured there might be a chance they wouldn't take it back, and it was TRUE they WOULDN'T!!! They aren't taking back the paperback books, because they only sold those one semester (go figure, the one semester I had the class!) and they weren't good quality....no kidding!
Anyway, the lady proceeded to tell Ian that if he wanted, he could "DONATE" the book to SLCC's Library!!! WAS SHE SERIOUS?!?!?
Ian's response to that (which I am so proud of him for saying this) was...."Actually, I would rather BURN THE BOOK....oh wait, maybe I will recycle it instead because its EARTH WEEK this week!" (or something to that effect) The lady wasn't sure what to think, Ian left with a decent amount of money for my other book that they bought back, and me...well, I'll just have to figure out something to do with the darn book! (Oh, I forgot to include, I can't sell it on half.com or anything, because it is a "special" Salt Lake Community College edition....lovely isn't it!) Any ideas?!??! I would love to hear them!

Viva Las Vegas!!!

2008-04-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went with our friends to Las Vegas! I went for a few reasons; to go somewhere, get away, and to enjoy some warm weather. Ian and Ken, they went for the drag races. And Shilee went to have fun, miss school (Monday), and to keep me company! (which I enjoyed very much....you can only go so long being the only girl on getaways) Here are a few pictures of what we did in Vegas. We had a very enjoyable time! Can't wait til next year!

Watching the dolphins @ the Mirage-I would definitely recommend this one! You can get very very close to the dolphins, and it is very entertaining and interesting to watch them!

The Water Show @ Belagio
At the "Other" Strip. This is the first time I have ever seen cars go around 300+ mph in 1/2 mile! It was WAAAAAY fun and cool!

Enjoying the flowers and conservatory @ Belagio.

He passed!

2008-04-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

Ian is now done with schooling at the Fire Academy, and has passed all of his state tests! The past couple of weeks have been full of nothing but studying for him. (okay, and some work and food) He took 6 tests total (3 written and 3 practicals), and passed all of them! That is our excitement for the time being! I am very proud of him! I can't wait for him to become a firefighter, so then we can drive around with these cool license plates. The other day I told him I wanted them on our cars, he thinks it is wierd, but I am proud of him! Good Job Bay!

Conference Weekend

2008-04-07T10:51:00.000-07:00

WEll, this weekend went by waaaay too fast (like they always do)! I always love Conference weekend though, so it was a really good weekend because of that! It is nice to have an excuse to be lazy and to sit on the couch all day for 2 days, but mainly because I love hearing the Prophet and apostles speak, and the spirit that is always felt when truth is being testified of. Saturday morning I listened to Conference while I painted 2 rooms at my neighbor's new house! I did a few errands in between, then Ian and I watched the afternoon session. My mom and sister, Bethann, and I went out to dinner and did some shopping while the men were at the Priesthood session. We had fun! I bought some random new "projects" to work on, even though it is the type of stuff I shouldn't buy until I have a HOUSE! But, nevertheless, spending money (on fun stuff)always seems to be fun for me.
Anyway, Sunday morning, Ian and I went with my parents downtown to the Conference Center to go to conference. My mom gets tickets from her aunt and uncle (who is a member of the second quroum of the seventy) so because of them we are able to go! That was really fun! Afterwards, we went to Chandler Circle to see my Grandmother's old house...which was a trip down memory lane. I think the last time I was there, I was about 5 years old! Sunday afternoon was spent at our apartment, on the couch, in comfy clothes watching the last session. That was my weekend!

A good time

2008-03-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, my old Snow roomates and I decided it was time, after 3 years, to get together. Jill came and picked me up, and we drove up to Logan. It normally takes 2 hours or so, but somehow we got there in a little under an hour and a half, (she has a lead foot) Because we got there early, we had time to kill, so we went to the Bluebird chocolate shop to get her mom some chocolates. At 11:30, we all met at a restraunt called Kamin, or something. It was Thai food, and hmmmm......it was my first time eating Thai, and I wasn't sure what to think of it. It was "good in a gross way." (that is one of my favorite ways to describe things) After eating, we went bowling at Logan Lanes. It was fun, but a little depressing when I realized how much better I am on the Wii then in real life! I didn't even break 100!!! After bowling, we met up with Susanne's husband and boy, Johnnie, for a Kong Kone at Macey's (okay, so actually only Jill and I went all out and got the Kong, the rest just got a normal size) After eating my entire cone, we said our good-byes, and then Jill and I drove to see Becca's apartment in Hyrum to see it. It was fun catching up with each other after a long time! Here are some pictures of the adventure!

EASTER

2008-03-25T15:16:00.001-07:00

Easter was interesting this year. It was just suddenly here! I think that had to do with the fact it was so early this year! My Mom and Dad were in Hawaii with Andrea, visiting Katie, Chris, and Jared, so it was just Ian, Adam, Jacob, and Me. Anyway, for Easter, we went to church of course, then dyed easter eggs afterwards. My mom had boiled the eggs before she left, which was very helpful! I don't even know how they would've turned out if I would have done it. After that, Ian and I hid some candy for Jacob. About 45 mins later, Jacob had found the candy. (Ian decided to hide it in some hard places) Later on in the day, Bethann, Robbie, Jordan, and Marissa came over and we had another small candy hunt for them. Here are some pictures!

Don't they look thrilled for this picture?

The eggs I dyed. (minus the reddish one-that was Adam's)

Jacob ready to find his candy!

Marissa and Jordan finding some jelly beans.

IAN

2008-03-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend after talking about Ian to some old friends, I came to the conclusion that I am married to one of the most handy, well rounded, exciting, out of the ordinary, unselfconscious, helpful, innovative, supportive, clever, kind, knowledgeable, and determined man you will ever meet. Because of him, I HARDLY ever have a dull moment in life. I love being married to him!

I am very proud of Ian and his latest accomplishments, which include:

Passing his state written and practical EMT tests

Being at the top of his class at the Fire Academy (and I am sure will pass all of those tests coming up here in the next couple of weeks)

His hard work

His DRASTIC haircut

And everything else he does every day(including all of the housecleaning and laundry)

Ian cuts and dyes hair....so if you are ever in need, and brave enough (like Jacob and Adam) give him a call!

Ian is very good when it comes to Halloween and dressing up. Most grown men do not try to squeeze themselves into Toddler costumes, but Ian finds a way to do it. (This is 1 of his 2 costumes for 2007-the other, well, I am too embarrassed to post it)

Ian is creative, although this idea of starting a fire came from Bear Grylls.

Ian ran this marathon last year, finished, WITHOUT training! He is very determined to do what he puts his mind to.

My Grandmother always tells me how great Ian is and I COMPLETELY agree with her! He is GREAT!

(The pictures above are proof that Ian is what I said he is)

Tagged two times too!

2008-03-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

Just like Laura(who tagged me) I have been tagged twice, which is good because I am running out of things to update my blog with!
TAG #1
Here are the rules:
*Find the book closest to you with at least 123 pages.
*Turn to page 123.
*Find the fifth sentence.
*Post the next 3 sentences.
*Tag 5 people. (I tag Sonia, Jade, Beeka, Julie, and Heather or whoever wants to do it!)
This tag is from my sister Katie. It is really funny because I am at work, and the only two books that are near me(under my desk) are The Notebook, and The Kite Runner. Well, in The Notebook the scene on the 123rd page, and 5th sentence is right in the middle of one of the most scandalous parts of the entire book, and probably not appropriate for my blog. In The Kite Runner, those sentences on that page talks about donkeys, and the smell of "vomit and shi*." So, instead of posting them, I will post something else once I get home---Skipping on to tag 2

TAG #2
If you're tagged, here's what you do. Post the words in all caps below and fill in info about yourself. Then, at the end you tell who you are tagging & go and tag 5 friends on their blogs. It's just a way to get to know fun little things about people.

TEN YEARS AGO.....
I was in 7th grade at CVMS. My best friend was Kellie Peterson and we were practically inseparable. I liked the fact that I was now "old" (in my eyes 13 was so grown up!) and in MIDDLE SCHOOL! I was in the band and played the French Horn. For lunch I always ate the cookies and cream ice cream shake thing in the cup, the peanut butter bars with chocolate on top, or the pink frosted cookies. I was always teasing and playing mean jokes/pranks on other people.

FIVE PLACES I HAVE LIVED.....
Orem, UT
Draper, UT
Ephraim, UT
Voronezh, Russia
Hmmm...I thought I have lived in more places then this...I guess I need to move somewhere so I have a 5th place!

FIVE THINGS ON MY TO DO LIST......
Start and finish the deposit for work and take it to the bank
Go home to get clothes and everything I need for tomorrow (I am staying with my brothers at my parent's house tonight)
Fill out my March Madness NCAA bracket by tomorrow morning (I know...I am naughty)
Finish planning and call all of my committee to tell them about our first YW CAMP meeting
Wash and clean the inside of the Passat and get it sold!!!

I ENJOY....
Spending time with Ian, family, and friends, a clean apartment with no dishes in the sink, shopping, watching Jazz games, time off from work (or leaving early),looking at pictures, my primary class, blogging and blog stalking (ha ha), seeing and catching up with old friends, BABIES, reality TV shows, vacations, going the speed limit on my way to and from work (no rush hour traffic to deal with) making crafts, springtime and nice weather(it's finally coming here!), spending time with my Grandmother "cleaning,"surprises in the mail, accounting, Sunday Dinners, and being around inspiring people.

THREE BAD HABITS.....
Eating WAY too much sugar and other junk food with no exercise
Buying unnecessary things because I want to spend money
Having a big mouth and letting it say too much sometimes

FIVE THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT ME.....
I am missing a tooth on the bottom of my mouth, right in the middle (I have a fake tooth on a retainer)
I am running the Wasatch Back in June again! Go Rust-ee Joints!
I went skydiving last March in Hawaii
I collect baby clothes in hopes to use them someday...hint hint Ian
I am terrified of all kinds of birds anywhere near me(like ducks,chickens, geese, magpies, cocka whatever they are, etc.)

FIVE JOBS THAT I HAVE HAD.....
Running a small T-shirt business (I do everything, so I am not sure what my title is)
Daycare Teacher/Child Care provider
Cashier at Alta Dry Cleaners
Server/Kitchen Staff at White House Wedding Reception Center (it doesn't exist anymore)
Santa's Helper at Trolley Square

And I tag Katie, Kalli, Ian, and the same people as the other tag, because I don't know anyone else!

Time for an update

2008-03-12T10:30:00.001-07:00

Well, I have had a few requests to update my blog, but I am not sure what to update it with! Life has been really busy! I have been going to work during the day, then school at night. When I am not at those two places, you will find me writing papers, studying, or doing homework. It's just one thing after another! I am in desperate need of some stress management classes! If anybody has advice, please for the love of anything SHARE!!! Anyway, I have been able to squeeze a few fun things into the tight schedule.
My sister Laura came to visit from California, so I was able to hang out with her and play with Sydney a bit while they were here. Ian and I have opposite completely opposite schedules, so we practically never see each other, but we managed to get free tickets to the Angels and Airwaves concert a week ago, and went to that. That was my first time going with Ian to one of "his type" of concerts. It was a lot of fun and so good! We have been to Dave Matthews and The Fray (because he is so nice and buys me tickets!) , but those were completely just for my pleasure or something.

Anyway, I also have tried to relieve some stress by going shopping and spending money. I am trying to update my wardrobe for the spring!!! Speaking of spring, I have a goal to get out and start running again. Yesterday I got a REALLY good deal on some new shoes! My last running shoes made my toenails fall off, so I am hoping these ones will be better(especially since my toenails are almost back to normal) (This picture is for all of you who LOVE feet!)

My new shoes are Brooks Adrenaline GTS7. They normally cost between $95-$100/pair. Sunday I was looking through the ads, and Sports Authority had them on sale for $47.49! Judy, Ian's mom, runs in them, so she figured she might as well stock up, since they were basically half the price. Because of that, I spent over $100, and got to use a coupon for $25 off! So, for two pairs of shoes, I spent $70!!! WHAT A GOOD DEAL! It made my day! You can't even find that kind of deal on EBay!
Well, that is all for now!

Ian's Haircut

2008-02-29T14:32:00.000-08:00

I decided to just take some of my own pictures of Ian's new haircut. I tried to get the "before" and "after" ones his mom took, but I wasn't able to get them. So, here are some that I took. Hope you enjoy his haircut! I KNOW I do!

Ian's little pigtail (for those of you who didn't see his hair before it was cut, this will give you a TINY idea of what it was like....)

The back of his head...oh it looks so great! :)

Good Point

2008-02-27T13:08:00.000-08:00

So, Sunday at church I was sitting in Relief Society. They were introducing visitors and new people. One lady was visiting from Alaska, so of course ladies started asking all sorts of questions about the weather and exchanging other small talk. This visitor made a comment that I thought made a good point. She said something like, " The sun is finally starting to shine, it's no longer dark as long, and people's moods are brightening because of it." I started to think about that, and how true it really is! The past few days the weather has really gotten to me for some reason. But, today the sun is finally out, it is 50 degrees, and my mood is changing! I am beginning to feel the "newness" that the springtime brings, and it makes me so happy.
For some reason, I hadn't really realized how much the weather changes can affect people until the Spring of 2005, when I was in Russia. I was living somewhere I obviously hadn't lived before, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect as far as the weather changes went. Let me tell you, it was amazing to me to see how wonderful the spring was for those people, and for myself! When the earth had finally dried out (after the EXTREMELY MUDDY times) Russia completely changed! Instead of eating the stored and canned foods(from my family's "cellar" room), fresh foods were being sold in the market. People were putting away their big warm coats, boots, hats and gloves, and sandals and summer clothes were being worn. There is much more that happened, of course, but it was almost like the people had hope in their lives again. It was a very happy and meaningful time! Today is a happy day!

I've been Tagged!

2008-02-20T09:57:00.000-08:00

My old roomate Sonia (Alison) tagged me! This will be fun! (at least for me-I am VERY bored at work)
1. How long have you been together? We have been married 2 years, as of December 29. Together....hmmm, a really long time. (we started dating in March 2004)
2. How old is he? 26
3. How old are you? 23
4. Who eats more? Oh dear- ME!
5. Who said "I love you" first? Probably Ian, but I do not know!
6. Who is taller? Ian, thank goodness.
7. Who sings better? Ian doesn't sing, so me.
8. Who is smarter? Depends on the subject. Anything mechanical, or hands on-definitely Ian. I am the more book smart one of us.
9. Who does the laundry? We both do. Ian is getting good at it lately though, with lots of practice!
10. Who does the dishes?Ha ha...that would be me, only because I critique the way Ian did it once, and now he won't for the most part. I am fine with that-I like to use WARM water and get ALL of the soap off.
11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? When we are laying down, Ian.
12. Who pays the bills? I pay our rent and utilities (gas, garbage, electricity) with my bank account that Ian puts money into. Ian pays for our phones.
13. Who mows the lawn? Both, but usually Ian (when he isn't in COlorado).
14. Who cooks dinner? Dinner? WE usually don't eat it. But when I feel like being a good wife, I make it.
15. Who is more stubborn?That one is obvious
16. Who kissed whom first? I will say Ian on this one.
17. Who asked whom out? Our relationship started out in a different kind of way....so neither.
18. Who proposed? I said "Yes" so obviously Ian did.
19. Who is more sensitive?ME!
20. Who has more friends? Ian does for sure!
21. Who has more siblings?That would be me! 4 sisters, 2 brothers,and 3 brother in laws.
22. Who wears the pants in the relationship? It's probably mutual.
23. Who are you tagging? I don't know yet.

BEST VALENTINES DAY EVER! (this is long)

2008-02-18T11:52:00.000-08:00

So, last week was Valentine's Day(as most of us were aware of). Ian and I hadn't really made any special plans and couldn't really make plans because:
1-I had to go to school that night
2-Ian had to work, and we weren't quite sure when he'd get off(besides that,Ian isn't too big of a fan of Valentine's Day)
The day started off with me suprising him with some homemade oreos. The rest of the day felt like any ordinary day. I went to work, then went to my Macroeconomics class. My teacher decided to only keep us for an hour, instead of three, so I called Ian. He told me he'd be lucky to be home by 10. A little disappointed, for no good reason(I believe a lot of women get their hopes up, with high expectations, and then find themselves disappointed very easily on Valentines day) I went to Target, Old Navy, and Barnes & Noble in hopes to waste some time doing something somewhat interesting, instead of sitting home on my couch alone. Well, after staying out until all stores had practically closed, I went home, put the card I had made(with my Cricut-which I love! Thanks Mom!) for Ian on our bed, along with an 82 piece screwdriver set I had bought for him (SIDE NOTE: I know this is kind of a random V-day present, but a guy at my work had convinced me that not only would any guy love to recieve this as a gift, but that it was a great deal-which it was).

I sat for awhile, watched the news, and went to bed. Ian ended up working until 11 or so that night, and didn't get home until I don't know when. Before he got home, I had talked to Ian on the phone. He told me that he was feeling sick, and that he felt really bad because he hadn't gotten me anything, but that he'd do something another day. That made me a little more disappointed then I already was....cause I was being one of those people I was talking about before (on accident)
So, you are probably wondering how this could possibly be the BEST VALENTINES DAY EVER! Well, Friday I came home to find some roses on our table, along with a bag of Cadbury eggs.Yum! (By the way, Ian was SO SO sick that day, and could hardly get out of bed, but went to the store and bought these things) He also had made me my favorite cake. It was very thoughtful, and I felt bad because I knew he was NOT feeling well. He also told me that he had another surprise but it would have to wait until he felt better.
I LOVE and HATE surprises, and because I can't hold them in, I expect everyone else to tell me the surprises they have planned...its retarded, but sometimes I just HAVE to know! He wouldn't tell me much, except that it wasn't food related (which was a HUGE relief-if you are aware of my eating habits, you will completely understand!)
Anyway, the surprise was made known to me Sunday, when I came home from my parent's house to find Ian, laying in bed(cause he was and still is sick) with SHORT HAIR!!! He FINALLY decided to get a haircut, and looks SO SO good! To most people, that probably doesn't sound like a great surprise, but to me....it was the BEST VALENTINES EVER! I will post some pictures once I get them!

Oh, and P.S. Julie, thanks for the toaster :)

What do I do?

2008-02-15T14:24:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, I have found myself wishing it was last Friday when I got to leave work an hour early, went straight home to grab my packed bags, and headed up to the mountains for a weekend getaway... skiing at Deer Valley! My weekend was planned for me and it was great! My meals were planned, my entertainment (the 14-16 year old boys in the ward) would surely entertain,(and they did) and my Saturday was planned out perfectly.
But this weekend, my situation is much different. You see, I don't really want to go home because Ian is there, sick. I do want to go home to be with him and get him what he needs, and to take care of him, but the selfish part of me doesn't want to be there, because I REALLY DON'T FEEL like getting sick! Ian never gets sick, and this is the very first time he has been really sick since I have known him.(almost 5 years!) It's hard because I want to help him feel good, comfortable, and back to himself again, but there isn't much I can do. I just hope he gets better soon!

I have a BLOG!

2008-02-11T10:34:00.000-08:00

So it's official. I have a blog. I have been contemplating whether or not I should start one, but this time of year at work is super slow, and my life is somewhat interesting, I guess. I also think this is a good way to keep in touch with people, and to let them(if they want to know) know what is going on in my life. Anyway, for these reasons, here it is. Hopefully someone, somewhere will enjoy what I write!