We made it through the weekend

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?!?!?

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

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

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!

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

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.

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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...

...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