Summer '11 ...

Oh, so this is what blogging feels like. I was beginning to forget. :) Life has been a bit crazy lazy, so it's time I play catch-up and blog out the summer. I love ketchup bthew.

Back in May, (wow, that was a long time ago) Collin and I took our annual vacation. We decided, without really discussing it in words, that we'd go on a nice trip once a year. We're still young, we don't have any kids, so why not, right? First year, Mexican cruise. Second year, African adventure. This year, California/Hawaii party. We'd toyed around with other destinations, but decided we wanted to tie in a vaca to Collins hometown and some time with his brothers fam. Plus, it was cheaper to go to Hawaii by flying out of LAX. We drove to San Clemente, stayed with Jake and Hillary, went all around San Diego county and then went to Hawaii.

While we were there, we did a lot of "firsts" for me. First trip to Hawaii. First time snorkeling. First time long board surfing and body surfing. First time SKYDIVING. It was all amazing. We rented a cute little cottage right on the North Shore that we found at vrbo.com. If you are traveling anywhere in the world, check out that website because there are some gems for decent prices. What an incredible trip though. Here are some photos to give an idea what it was like for us.

Here are a few of the California fun with Jake & Hill's fam. We did not take enough pictures with them, but we had such a great time. Their kids are adorable, and we couldn't get enough of them.

Minute to Win the Half Relay Limbo

A few weekends ago we had so much fun. We went down to Highland to stay with Brett and Kristy. We ran the Provo Half Marathon Relay. Collin ran the first half and I ran the second. We hardly trained (i.e. Collin ran once and I ran twice), but we did great, considering. Taylor and Abby ran the relay also and Kristy ran (more like dominated) the Half by herself. It was such a beautiful day. I underestimated the warm weather and got a little more color than expected, but we'll just consider that a nice base for our trip to Hawaii... (more to come later)

After the race, the fun continued. Kristy, Bree and I went to play sand volleyball with some girls in Sandy. And Collin, Brett, Cory, Taylor and Todd played 9 holes at Cedar Hills. Gorgeous day. Then, all the couples got together at Brett and Kristys for a Siete de Mayo fiest. There were yummy dips, hotdog tacos, guac, delish desserts... Muy deliciosa. Once we'd gorged ourselves, we played a bunch of Minute to Win it games. The pictures speak for themselves.

I know, we're pretty cool!

Unfortunately, no pictures were taken of the Limbo, but I must say, we have some pretty limber friends! I mean, wow! :)

We love these people, and have such a great time with them!

TMB

So, one of my favorite people is looking to be the next Mormon Bachelorette. Remember Ashley Chapman? If you ever met her, of course you do. If you haven't met her, it's a shame. She's fabulous.

Anyway, I'm trying to help her by getting the word out. So, if you could go to the website, watch her video, read the blog, and just click the facebook "like" icon below the video, it'd be great. Even better, would be to like it and also comment below the blog about her. It'll take 2 seconds. Easy. Do it! Please.

www.themormonbachelorette.com

Thanks friends! :)

As of late...

I have not been so good at keeping up the old bloggeroo. But here are a few things we've been up to lately:

Jazz vs. Wizards. It was actually a super exciting game, even though it was a Loss. John Wall kind of ruined himself for me. So cocky, it was annoying. He does have moves, though. Thanks to Matt and Nat for hooking us up with these amazing tickets! It was fabulous.

Turbo certification. It was such an exhausting day. Super fun, but definitely exhausting. I've already taught 2 classes, and am hoping to fill some time slots at Golds.

Half Marathon... Relay. Our friends mentioned to us that they were going to do a half marathon. Kristy, who is a machine marathoner, will be running the whole thing along with a few of my favorite girls in Provo. Then, we also heard that Abbey&Taylor are doing a RELAY. 6.5 miles? I'm pretty sure I can do that. 13.1? Not so much. Not alone at least. Not right now. Just a few weeks until May 7 to train.

Work. School. Homework. Etc: Collin is so busy with everything. But he manages it all so well. I'm so proud of him and how great he's doing. He will most likely finish up in December. I know he can't wait. But I'm so blessed to be his wife and so proud of his hard work.

A few upcoming events:

Another, but different kind of Training. I'll be training for my new position for a few month. That starts on the 18th. Elated. I'm really excited for this opportunity.

Jaxon is getting baptized on the 23rd, so we're hoping to get a decent enough flight (prices are ridiculous) to get to Colorado for a quick weekend trip. I can't believe he and Mya will be baptized this year. They're growing up so fast.

In 6 weeks, we'll be in Hawaii. We're going to Oahu and staying in a little beachfront cottage. We are getting so excited.

Turbo Kick

Most know that I am obsessed with Turbo Kick. At the time of Fall Daylight Savings, I was irate when my phone didn't alarm me that I was about to miss my 5:30am class. Anyway, now that I've had my Turbo JAM dvd's for 6 years or something, and I've been attending Turbo KICK religiously, I thought I would take it to the next level.

Saturday, I went to Brigham City with my fabulous friend, Natalie. We and 15 other crazies spent 9 hours doing Turbo. It was a blast. I wish I had a bodybug or something to tell me how many calories I burned. I'm not that cool yet. Anyway, Michelle Olsen is my instructor for my M/F classes, and she is also a presenter. She was the facilitator for the class and she is amazing. I love her energy and passion for fitness. She's a great influence.

Now I'm Turbo Kick certified, and since Michelle is going to Colorado for a PiYo/Hustle training, she's letting me sub her class. (Alongside my other fav Hustle girl, Carissa.) I seriously LOVE it.

Yessssss!

Exciting things are happening in this crazy life world.

Yay

for

Promotions...

Training begins April 16.

2nd Anniversary

Monday was our 2nd anniversary. We love each other. A lot. Still. Even after 2 years. Collin is the best thing to happen to me. So happy we get to be together for Eternity. Here's what we did to celebrate on Saturday: *Drove down to SLC (after I got off work, of course)

*Checked into The Grand America (thank you, reward points, so that we didn't have to pay full price)

*Went to Tucanos @ Gateway

*Did some shopping while we waited for a table

*Back to Grand

*Hung out with Collin's family on Sunday

The Grand America is absolutely beautiful. We were a little surprised/bewildered/disappointed with our experience (don't worry, I took my mom's advice and wrote a complaint on the website). We still had a great time, because, well, we're us. I didn't document with any photos, because I spaced putting the camera in the car. Genius, I know. I do that way too often. I need to take more pics. My albums are lacking.

Booked!

We did it! We are going to

Hawaii

in May!

We booked our flight last night and we are so excited. We're actually squishing 2 trips into 1. Our plan is to drive to California and hang out with Jake and Hil (Coll's bro's fam) for a few days, fly out of LAX to Hawaii. Hang there for a few days, fly back to CA and then drive back to UT. It'll be an adventure and I am SO excited! (I've never been to Hawaii and haven't spent much time in Collin's hometown (Escondido/San Diego). Wahoo. And thank you, Orbitz for having a fantastic deal on flights!!

A New Look

My bff from college has redone her photog blog.

Brooke Bakken Photography

She has a pretty sweet giveaway going on right now. Check it! She's kind of a big deal!

Of Things That Matter Most

This weekend, I am teaching the lesson in Relief Society. I came across one of my favorite talks from Octobers General Conference. Elder Uchtdorf's "Of Things That Matter Most." It ties along really well with what I'm teaching, so I thought I'd share.

"If life and its rushed pace and many stresses have made it difficult for you to feel like rejoicing, then perhaps now is a good time to refocus on what matters most."

AMAZING TALK.

What matters most to you?