Simple Pleasures....

Isn't it amazing how the some of the simplest things can make you excited? Last week it was finally cold enough to pull out the sweaters. Well, I don't know if anyone else is like me, but after being put away for a whole year I tend to forget just what I have hiding in those Rubbermaid bins. So I was excited at the thought of wearing a few of my sweaters, but then when I started pulling them out I just kept pulling more and more out and thinking "OH YAY! I FORGOT ABOUT THIS ONE!" I was almost giddy thinking of my "new" wardrobe. Especially since no one down here has seen any of them, they truly are like new (well except for some that I should have gotten rid of long ago, but couldn't manage to part with). Ahhh.... the joys of sweaters.

It's a Cousins Christmas!

Highlights from the Annual Cousins White Elephant Christmas Party! (I must apologize for all the red eyes... I tried to remove them but Photoshop wouldn't get them all - it pretty much just gave everyone black eyes - like you'd been punched, or worse a whole black face... so I figured red eyes were better!)

I must be crazy...

I can't believe I'm actually letting myself post this picture, but if it wasn't so dang funny I wouldn! I know this should go with the previous post, but the picture wasn't avaible when I did it.... This is another "Adam MADE me do it picture"

Could I look any whiter? Um yeah, so just so you know I wasn't racing a Giant duck, this was a green screen and they superimposed the background....at least I was winning..... UGH.

RACES!!!

I've done a couple of races (well can you call them races when you have no hope of winning, or for that matter just want to not be last?) over the last couple of weeks so here are the highlights:

First I did the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. Nice little 10k, it had rained for a couple of days prior to the race and cleared up just about an hour before the start. It was nice and cool and mostly shady for the whole (hence I forgot my sunglasses.. argh). Here are some pictures:

Adam MADE me take a picture with the turkey. And as in made I mean he drug me down the street to chase him down and stole him away from some kids that the turkey was giving candy too. He made me put my tshirt on and everything (I should have known this would only be the beginning). He caught me at about the 6 mile mark to take this one:

And here's the finish - please do not look at the finish time... I am so beyond out of shape - luckily that's the gun time so my time was a little bit faster, but still it was a good 7 minutes slower than my PR.

And here are my socks I wore to celebrate the day! The turkey trot I ran in Boise the last couple of years gave socks out instead of shirts (the race was a lot cheaper)... Aren't they SWEET!

And today I did the Iron Girl Tempe. It was a ten miler and the weather was pretty much perfect... well it was a little chilly at the start:

Adam and his parents were there to cheer me on the whole way. The course made two laps and there was a bridge in the middle so they walked back and forth to take pictures and cheer for me:

Obviously no one has ever said running was a glamorous sport. I can't believe I am even posting this picture.

And keeping in line with what I can see will be tradition, Adam made me take a picture with the Duck. What the heck? Why does every race have a fowl for a mascot?

Thanks love for being so supportive of my races and carrying my stuff around for me! Your the best

OH I almost forgot! What was my prize for finishing the race, yes I did get a medal but this is what drove me on for the last mile:

So this really wasn't a prize, but I had been holding onto some gift cards for claim jumper for weeks for this occasion. The biggest pice of chocolate cake you've ever seen! Sweet rewards, priceless.
(By the way, this was pretty good, but I still think Costco Chocolate layered cake wins for best cake ever!)

Who would have thought?

So this morning i head out on my last long long run before the race in two weeks and since I haven't had to go 8 1/2 miles around here before I knew I would be running in some new territory. I wasn't expecting to see anything too exciting, its always fun to see how people landscape around here, but other than that nothing is very out of the ordinary. Well this morning was a little different.

I live in Phoenix right? And the population here is what like over 1.5 million people? And I'm running down a pretty major 5 line road when all of a sudden on my right there's a house with probably a dozen or so peacocks. I was like SWEET! I love peacocks! I was hoping that one would get mad at seeing me and flare its wings, but no luck. The next house has some cows and horses and I'm thinking this is really really weird. ( I know there are animal properties in the area, but it was so odd to see so many of them all right together and on the major roads) Then the next house has chickens running around like crazy. What the heck? I am in Phoenix, not in the country! As I travel along for another 1/2 mile or so the smell of farm animals just grows stronger and stronger. Then I decide I need to make my turn at the next corner and the farm animal stuff keeps continuing. Mostly cows and horses. And then I come up on a big plot of land with at least one hundred Pygmy goats and a handful of mini horses. At this point I'm just about laughing out loud. I can't help to think I wouldn't even see this many animals if I was running through the outskirts of Ontario Oregon where I grew up. The animal properties continue for another 1/2 mile or so, and then they just all of a sudden stop and I'm back into just plain houses. Well at least it broke up the monotony of running for 20 minutes or so!

Thankful

Most of you know that I love to cook, and more than that I love sharing my creations with others. Over the years there have been some particularly recipes that I've grown especially attached to, as have many of my friends and roommates. So today I am sharing what is probably my most popular food - Jewish Sweet Bread (or as called by some of my friends, sweet Jew bread).

I love this recipe. I love the taste of it and I love the reaction of people who eat it. First though let me give you some background on this recipe. I've now been making it for well over 10 years and I first learned it at my very first enrichment meeting. I was still in Young Woman's, but they invited all of us to a Super Saturday of sorts. I remember standing in the kitchen at the church while the Mairs' demonstrated how to make the bread (I can still remember Nicole discussing with her Mom whether the salt was really important or not). I think I walked away with a loaf of it to go home and bake and it was delicious! I started making it more often once I got to college and I've never stopped since! Out of all the things I make, I think this is Adam's favorite (or at least it was when we were dating, he may have changed now). So here's a recent picture of the glorious creation and the recipe. I hope you and your families enjoy it as much as we do!

1 pkg Yeast

1 1/4 C Warm Water

Mix together and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes till yeast is mixed through the water.

In the mean time mix together:

1 tsp Salt

1/4 C Sugar

1/4 C Oil

2 eggs

Once this is mixed, start adding flour (total of approximately 4 1/2 Cups) alternating with water/yeast mixture. Kneed the dough on a flour surface (or in a Kitchenaid), adding extra flour as needed until the dough is not too sticky. Put in a greased bowl, cover and let rise double (usually about 1 1/2 to 2 hours depending on how warm or humid it is - I don't recommend leaving the dough anywhere near a running dishwasher or wash machine)

Punch down and divide dough in half. Divide each half into three parts and braid. Place on a cookie sheet and let rise again. Melt 1 cube of butter and brush half of it on before baking. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. Spread remaining butter on after baking. If you manage to have leftovers wrap in foil or store in an air tight container. ENJOY!

My new running buddy.....

I can still remember the first time I tried a gel supplement.. I was getting set to run a 10k with my old roommate and good friend Ruth. She had convinced me to come down to Salt Lake to run her first 10k with her (it didn't take too much convincing, it was a great excuse for a weekend getaway!). One of her friends had made her a good luck poster complete with pre and post race treats, and while the snickers bars looked pretty tasty, we decided to try the gel before the race. Ruth tried it first and almost instantly looked as though she wanted to throw up, so why I tried it too, I don't know. It was awful. It was thick and sticky and nearly impossible to get down. I'm sure it didn't help our running ability at all as we each managed to get down just a little of it - but we did finish the race. I'm not sure if it was the gel or the idea of a couple of mommies running with strollers beating us that pushed us on to the finish (I forget know Ruth did we beat them? Sad to think that that is even a possibility). I also remember telling myself over and over again during that race that I never wanted to run farther than a 10k.... EVER. So why just a few weeks after I returned home I committed myself to running a half marathon I do not know. So what does all this rambling have to do with anything? Well, as I started to train for the half marathon, the grueling 13.1 miles, I was routinely running well over an hour at a time and decided I needed to have something to refuel my while I was running. So I turned to gels. What I found was most of them were absolutely disgusting. They were thick and it took at least half my water bottle to get them down without gagging. I tried Cliff shots (since I like Luna bars) AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL, possibly the thickest worst one; I tried Gu - yeah, it tastes like Gu, who wants to eat Gu? Then I tried Power bar gels. Which were by far my favorites (try Tangerine and Raspberry) but still not great. Then this summer, while visiting a running shop, they had this box of gels that were free samples. So I grabbed one as did Adam (for me of course) but never tried them.... until now.

Here is my delicious new running friend!

This hummer is so good! I've tried chocolate in other brands and they were nasty, but this one really taste like chocolate... almost like chocolate syrup. And its not thick at all. It goes down so easy. I just finished a 7 miler and it was so yummy. I'm definitely going to have to go stock up!

Childhood literacy?

So I was asked to teach a class on childhood literacy at our next enrichment. Why they asked me I have no idea. I mean I have no kids, I don't teach school and I have no background in the subject. So I'm asking for any ones ideas! So far I've come up with, ummm maybe you should read to your kids. Yeah, that's a good idea. And take them to the library. And read the scriptures as a family. And that's all I've got. Anyone got anything else? It all seems pretty obvious to me but apparently the school district has a "literacy problem" (last time I checked most schools did and are all failing their standardized tests). Help me!

We're HOME!!!

This is it, our new home! Its so exciting to have bought a home together- yes the one in Boise was "ours" but since Adam had been living there for a few years before I ever came along, and I knew we wouldn't be there for too long, I never really connected to it. The picture above is taken from across the street and shows our nice big corner lot, complete with RV parking (we're awaiting your visit Grandma & Grandpa!) . Yes there are no cars out front because we've cleared out the garage and both cars fit! YEA!


Another front view, but important because you can see we actually have grass! I was so excited for this. So many homes down here just have desert landscape, and grass just feels homier!





As for this thing, well its ridiculous. I'm not sure why they planted it here or what purpose it serves... we'll be getting rid of it soon. Hopefully we can manage to transport it to the backyard.




And now my favorite room in the house:

Yes, I know its not 'in' the house but I love it! I love that we have a pool. I love that we have some landscaping to do. I love that we have a potential guest house (thats the building you see on the left) and I love this guy:

is our ginormous Saguaro cactus. Those of you who haven't lived in AZ might not know that its illegal to get rid of these guys, so we'll have him around for a long time. I'm thinking maybe we should name him - any suggestions?

Oh and I can't wait to eat this later this winter.... mmmmmmmmmmmmm (for those of you who don't know, this is an Orange). I can almost taste it!

That's about all for now. I don't have pictures of the inside yet - I'm still trying to get decorations and things settled in. So more to come!

A haircut costs HOW MUCH?

Yes, I admit I've been living a sheltered life. For the past five years I have paid little or nothing for haircuts, highlights, facials, manicures and pedicures. Yes I was spoiled -Thanks Aunt Kathy! While I was living in Boise, I went to the Headmasters School for all my beauty needs, and since my Aunt was a teacher, and now director I didn't pay for anything (I had to pay for the die for my hair and tips, but that was it). For example, for my wedding, I got a haircut, die and highlights, a pedicure (with french tips) and manicure with acrylic french tip nails for a total of $10. Sick huh? I am sure I tipped some too. But still. So it pains me that not only am I in a new place and I have to find someone to do my hair, but I also have to pay. Is anyone else totally traumatized by trying to pick a beautician? Never knowing what you might look like when they are done. Argh. So with slight trepidation I found a salon on line last night that wasn't out of control spendy and made a call.... my luck they could get me in right then. I was a bit nervous though as the lady sounded, well older, I was afraid of getting a grandma cut. Luckily this was a spunky grandma though and I've officially changed my position of grandma beauticians. I don't know why I had an issue to begin with, I mean my absolute FAVORITE person to do my eyebrows is a grandma. I still remember the time Annie took me there to get my eyebrows done and I was thinking? Really, this lady is going to do my eyebrows? Well she rocked and for years I drove over an hour from Boise to the outskirts of Nyssa, OR to get them done by her. I've tried day spas in Boise and none compared to my beloved Doris. Anyway I digress, $30 later my hair turned out great and I'm hooked on grandma stylists.


ps... yes we are in the new house. I've been looking for the camera charger ever since we moved in and just now found it. YEA! So I promise to have pictures up this weekend....

Please Forgive me...

I just wanted to let everyone know that blogging and email will be a little touch and go here for a few weeks. We are getting "settled" into our temporary apartment right now and will not have internet access until we move into our new home! I am so excited about our house and hopefully we will be in it in a month or so. Until then, I'll try to post when I can and respond to emails the best I can, but probably won't have any pictures or anything for awhile.

Current update: work is going well, just lots of training and reading. Adam is studying for his Series 6 and Series 63 licensing so he can start his new job soon.

Other notes: A very well lunged rooster wakes me up every morning at the crack of dawn... which here comes well before 6 o'clock.... we will be living no dishwasher, no washer, no dryer, no microwave, no bathroom outlet for the next month - wish us luck! (I'm drying my hair in the kitchen... is that sanitary? Don't answer that please! I'm trying to figure out how people who don't "cook" survive. I'm not used to trying to plan all my meals around what doesn't take flour, sugar, sauces, canned goods, other kitchen electronics etc.... Any ideas would be great!

We made it!

I thought I better let everyone know we are here in Arizona! Well, we are here but our stuff still isn't! Hopefully we get it tomorrow. The only plus side with that is I'll be at work and won't be here to help unpack it in the 100+ degree weather..... darn! Sorry Adam.....

We rolled into town Tuesday evening (we drove 10 hours on Tuesday only stopping once for gas, that's some good bladder control if you ask me!). Wednesday was car shopping day for Adam. We found one and so far he really likes it. Its an Audi and he got a really good deal on it; if I wasn't so lazy right now I'd go take a picture to post... maybe later!

Thursday was Adam's birthday. He had an interview Thursday morning with Farm Bureau Financial Services. They basically begged him to come work with him. So now he'll be working on studying for his insurance and investment licenses and hopefully pass the test swiftly so he can get back to work soon! I think he'll do great at this job and really like it. The greatest blessing is that its only about 3 miles from my work, which makes finding a house soooo much easier. There for awhile we were going to be spread out clear across the valley so we're very excited about this. I also had to make an appearance at American Express on Thursday to sign some papers and get my orientation documents. I was so excited to see the dress code. Its business casual, however nice shorts and jeans are considered appropriate! WOOHOO! I made Adam take me shopping Friday for a new outfit that better fits the climate down here.

Yesterday we went house hunting and I'm happy to report that it was much better than last time. We found a house we really like and are hoping to make an offer on it this week. Our house in Boise hasn't sold yet, but we're still hopefull that will happen soon - anyone interested?

Well, that's the catch up on whats going on down here!

Next stop.....ARIZONA!

We're almost on our way! The house is cleaned, the car is loaded and these two hummers are packed to the gills -


Now we're just sitting and waiting for the movers to come pick up our cubes. I can't believe how much stuff Adam was able to stuff in them. Its like a huge game of tetris in there.... I'm pretty sure he'll be unbeatable at Dr. Mario from now on! These cubes are only 6' wide, 7' across and 8' tall.... We have two of them and that's it. And don't think we aren't taking a bunch of stuff with us, in those cubes we have: a king size bed, big table, 6 chairs, elliptical machine, couch, love seat, fridge, 55" big screen (not the flat ones either) TV, mountain bike, 2 big book cases, 2 folding tables and chairs, a big movie case, not to mention all our boxes of clothes, books, scrapbooking supplies, sewing stuff, loads of sports equipment, etc..... I can't believe we got it all in!

We've had some interesting occurrences since we started this adventure. One occurred last Sunday, and while it has nothing to do with us moving its still very crazy!

This is a close up of our TV. You might think that there is a spider on the screen. Well you'd be wrong. This little fella is BEHIND the screen. I don't know how he got in there, but Adam went to kill him and realized he was inside the TV! He eventually crawled away, and I just hope he doesn't come back and die right in the middle of the screen... or worse lay eggs and have us forever viewing arachnophobia!
Another incident happened with the TV as Adam was packing up. He had it on the driveway to load into the cube and as he was inside the cube making room for it he heard a funny noise. He looked out just in time to see the TV rolling down the driveway! He flew out of there and barely caught it before it hit the curb. He still gets scared every time he hears that story.

One of the strangest things I found while cleaning were these little guys:



So you might not be able to tell what these are, but they are little catnip mouses. Yeah, we don't have a cat, Adam's never had a cat. But apparently the previous owner did! And apparently the previous owners did not clean under the stove. I pulled the bottom tray out and started sweeping and all these little guys came swarming out. It makes me wonder if the previous owner ever wondered where the heck her cat hid all those things!

A different blog tag...

My friend Kasey did this one and it seemed pretty fun so I am going to try it! And its easy too!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

I look forward to reliving some good memories!

The joys of packing and selling a house... at the same time.

Nearly one week into packing and selling, I can tell you its quite a daunting task. I know many of you can probably relate. I've moved several times. This is the 4th place I've lived since I moved to Boise 5 years ago. However, this is the first time I've had to move a whole house and not only that, in the past I could just huck all my stuff into a car or two and not really have "pack" things down very good. You start to really consider what stuff you want and what you can do without when you know you have to fit it all into a couple little moving pods.

But probably the hardest part is doing all this while maintaining a clean, clutter free home. Everyday we pack stuff up and then we have to clean everything back up. Since our house is on the market we just don't know when someone might want to come see it. So every morning we have to make sure the bed is nice and neatly made. The counters are completely cleared off. Dishes out of the sink. And in general no clutter. EVERY TIME we leave. I don't consider myself to be a messy person, but I'm also not a neat freak so it somewhat of an annoying task. Somehow we've managed to contain most of the moving clutter to Adam's office and the extra bedroom. Just one more week!

Yep, this sign is in our front yard; so that means we must be moving!!! Its true, Adam and I are packing up and heading to Arizona in, gulp, two weeks! I know crazy. Last week during our trip to Arizona I had a job interview and a subsequent offer that we accepted. We've given our two weeks notice at work and listed our house for sale and we're one our way. Its very exciting and very overwhelming at the same time.

I'll be working as a Financial Analyst for American Express and I am very excited about it. I think its going to be a very good career move for me with lots of opportunity to grow and advance. The Phoenix area has the biggest number of American Express employees with over 7,000 and I'll be working at a center with over 3,000 employees. American Express is ranked in the top 100 employers and I'm excited about the opportunity to join the company. Getting hired happened FAST. I sent in an application, was set up for a phone interview within a week and two days later they called to set up an appointment to fly me in for an in person interview. We were able to coincide it with a planned trip to Arizona for the 4th. I interviewed and they called me the next day to offer me the position.

Adam is still working on his options. Eventually he would like to return to school to get his MBA and he wants to do that at ASU or Thunderbird. We weren't enjoying his current job situation and he's ready for a change.

We spent some time checking out houses while we were down there. It was a bit overwhelming for me... OK a BIT is an understatement. I was way overwhelmed. Houses down there DO NOT look like they do in Boise. I have no idea what to look for. I don't know what a nice house looks like or what a nice neighborhood looks like. Around here you basically look for grass and nice siding.. yeah there's hardly any grass in Arizona and siding is actually not a good thing down there. Who knew.

So our plan is to pack everything furiously, and head out in two weeks. We'll live in an apartment for a couple months while we sell our house here and find something down there. It will be difficult to leave family and friends here, but it will be great to be close to our Arizona family as well. It was a lot of fun being with them this last weekend and meeting my new nephew and I look forward to competing for favorite Aunt Status. I think Adam might have some trouble being the favorite Uncle for awhile cause little Brycen doesn't seem to care for him too much! It also helps that my good friends Andy and Erica are down there so I'll already have some friends in the area as well.

As soon as we're settled we welcome anyone to come visit us! My dad informed us he'll be visiting us in January and wants to slide down a water slide... I guess we better find a house with a pool!

For those of you here in the Boise area, we'd love to see you one last time before we leave - we're crazy busy but if we can find time to go to lunch, dinner or just stop by and say hi we'd love it! And for those of you in Arizona, see ya soon!

Diamondbacks

Adam and I spent the weekend in Arizona and among our many adventures, was attending the Diamondbacks game on the 4th. It was my first pro baseball game and it was fun... the Diamond backs lost, but the fireworks afterwards were great.

Make sure and stayed tuned for more about our adventures....We've got a few things to take care of before we can tell all!

Goin' Courtin

One of my favorites things to do during the summer in Boise is to travel up to Garden Valley and attend a Starlight Mountain Theatre production. I've attended at least one every summer since I've been here. I love it. Being outdoors, in a secluded mountain setting and watching a classic musical.

It was actually pretty funny when I told Adam I wanted to go, and then I told him it was an hour away, and then I told him how much it was - about $20 each, and then that the muscial was Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. For those of you who know Adam you'll know I had my work cut out for me. But then things started to swing in my favor, not less than 15 minutes after telling him about it Thursday evening, I got an email from Starlight saying they were having a weekend special and tickets were just $10!!!

Well by Friday afternoon, Adam had given in and we were on our way to Starlight! The weather was perfect and the show was fun. I loved being able to share one of my favorite things with him and I think he might have enjoyed it at least a little bit!

Oh and on the way up I was hoping that my good friend Erica's granparents, Ben and Jan, who live in Garden Valley would be at the show and they were! In fact they sat right behind us! I was so excited to see them and introduce them to Adam. They are some of my favorite people - I still use their peach ice cream recipe because its the best.

Introducing CAPTAIN SHIELD

Have you ever hastily volunteered for something and a moment later thought "wow - this could potentially be the most embarrassing thing I've ever done"? Well this happened to me. A few weeks ago, one of the relationship managers I work for was telling me about U.S. Bank night at the Races. You see U.S. Bank is a major corporate sponsor of Capitol Racing, the local horse race company, and every year the Bank has a night that they encourage all employees and their family to attend. It just so happened that U.S. Bank night at the Races coincided with Mascot Night. We're not just talking Mascots that walk around and high five little kids - nope these Mascots get out on the track and run a race against each other! Well, it just so happens that U.S. Bank has a brand new mascot and its never been to Boise. But on this special night it would be here. So as Kathy explains to me how the Idaho Powerball, Humphrey the Hawk and many others will be running I quickly exclaim "OH I WOULD SO DO THAT!". And that's how it happened. I had just volunteered myself to suit up as none other than CAPTAIN SHIELD for a night!

I can honestly say it was a blast! I got to mingle with all the famous mascots - and let me tell you they are famous. The Idaho Powerball got screams and hollers - it was amazing. Really I just think people thought they could somehow get money if only they could meet the Powerball. Whatever. Here are some of the Mascots preparing to make our entrance into the grandstands:

After the initial introduction we were quickly escorted out (Mascots aren't allowed in the area of the track during a race. Seems the horses are a wee bit scared of the color red and as you could tell there's LOTS of red Mascots!) We were given a little break - it was only in the 70's but those costumes were HOT. I even had a cooling vest on with ice packs in it and I was a sweaty mess. After a few more horse races, it was our turn to take to the track. There were 3 heats and we really did line up in the horse shoots! The power ball had to be squished and pushed in - I'm still not sure how he fit - I had to stand sideways and someone had to push me out as well. Soon enough the gates flew open and we were off. I soon discovered Captain Shield is not a runner. His "Shield" is a little shifty and there are wood beams all over that can nail a persons nose pretty good if the Captain runs to fast - and with the arms sticking straight out the front there's really nothing to hold onto to steady the"Shield".
Well, I didn't come in first and I didn't come in last, but it was still a blast and we all got to stand in the winners circle just the same!

Hole in one! Sort of....

Many of you might not know my new hobby - GOLFING! I've wanted to learn for years and lucky for me I married someone who likes it! Adam bought me a set of golf clubs for my birthday, and although it was just this last weekend, he couldn't stand it and gave them to me back in April. Since then we've gone out several times to the driving range and did 9 holes a few weeks back with my grandparents which was a blast!

Well this weekend, we traveled to central Oregon to see my parents and took the clubs along. Saturday morning we went to a putting course with my mom and dad. The course is fun its like mini-golf but with real grass, hills, sand, water hazards etc. Its a great place to practice putting! Well I did awful. Later that day Adam and I headed to another course to practice hitting at the driving range. As our balls dwindled down Adam suggested I try aiming for a flag about 70 yards out. So with my last handful of balls that's what I did. Rather than trying to whack the heck out of the ball, I had to lay back and try to figure out how hard to hit it. Most of the balls were not even close but as I got to the last few I got closer and closer and then with the last ball I made it in the hole! We saw and heard the ball hit the flag pole and then drop down into the hole. It was awesome! I just stood there and laughed and Adam was in shock. I know it wasn't a hole-in-one on a real course, but still it was awesome!


This is the cute set Adam bought me! Its blue and purple with flowers on it. Adam's been a great teacher - very patient with me and doesn't make too much fun of me when I stink!

I'm an Aunt!

I am so excited I'm an Aunt! Little Brycen was born on Monday, May 19th in Arizona- sadly we aren't there to welcome him but we send bunches of love and plan to visit him real soon! I wish I had some pictures to share, but the only ones we have are on Adam's phone and he's is California. But he's pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen!

Now I can't wait for my first Niece to arrive in a couple months!

Moms

I know its a few days late, but I just wanted to say a little bit about my (our) moms. How grateful I am for both of them. My mom is great - shes supported me in everything I have ever wanted to do. She's been a great example in so many ways. One of the greatest thing I have learned from her is that you have to find time do things that are important to you- to take time for yourself. From her example I've learned that the best way to be happy in your relationships with others, is to be happy yourself.

I've just become a part of Adam's family, but how grateful I am for his wonderful mom as well. I am so thankful for her for raising Adam and helping turn him into the wonderful man he is. I know it must have been a lot of hard work to make him what he is! Additionally, I can't imagine a better mother-in-law (and entire family I might add). I felt immediately welcomed into the family and right at home with them from the moment Adam and I were engaged.


I am so lucky to have two great moms and am so excited for the many more years we have to further grow our relationships. I LOVE YOU MOM!

STOP!! BACK AWAY FROM THE SMALL KITCHEN APPLIANCE!

Do you ever have those times where about 30 seconds after an event has occurred you wish you would have taken a picture? This morning the Vitamix and I had a moment. And it was a very brief moment. Since Adam has been gone this week, I have had to make my own breakfast smoothies; and I thought I was getting the hang of it.... I think I was very wrong.

Let me describe what happened. I cleaned my carrots, cut the peel off my oranges and kiwis, cleaned the grapes and hucked it all in the machine along with a handful of spinach and some frozen berries. I started the machine on low and slowly raised the speed until it was nice and smooth... and here's were things went very wrong. I turned the machine off. Bad idea. I proceeded to grab the milk and a handful of ice cubes which I put in through the whole in the top of the machine. I switched the Vitamix back on - I put it on low again, but then I tried to speed it back up and that's when it happened BRIGHT RED SMOOTHIE went EVERYWHERE! And how did I react? I laughed so hard. You know when you have those moments to choose whether to get upset or just laugh? Well I didn't even think about being mad, I just laughed and laughed and laughed. There was smoothie everywhere - on the wall, the counter, the window blinds, the floor, the Kitchenaid, in the Kitchenaid bowl.. By this point I realize I am going to be very late for work. I have no choice, I have to clean the mess because if I don't do it now it will be much harder after work. But I laughed the whole time. And then laughed the whole way to work. And then laughed as I recounted the whole event to my coworkers. And then laughed 4 hours later when I realized it was all over my shirt - why I didn't look before, I don't even know.

After I cleaned, I wished I would have taken a picture, but as funny as it was I didn't want to recreate the event a second time. I'm pretty glad that Adam wasn't here to witness it happen, he'd probably ban me from all future use. I think I'll wait till he reads this to fess up....who knows I may even get away with it......

Reception # 2

I don't have pictures from our first reception in Mesa, but I thought I would post some from our Boise Celebrations. I wanted something pretty simple so our food theme centered around fountains - we had 3 fountains: Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Carmel (the PB was amazing!). We also served cupcake trees and my aunt made delicious homemade lemonade:










We had lots and lots of things to dip in the fountains... creme puffs, oreos, pretzels, marshmallows, ritz crackers, celery, apples, strawberries, pineapple and bananas! The table of goodies looked amazing - it was the creative genius of Adam's mom... you'd never know that there were 3 primary chairs stacked on that table for all the layering! This is me trying to enjoy the treats - Adam was behind this - he shoved a peanut butter covered marshmallow in my mouth - yeah, try to chew on that without milk!

For decorations we had a iron backdrop and an archway which we decorated up with fabric and flowers:

You can also see in the picture my own personal creation. I spent hours folding tissue paper flowers to hang from the ceiling. I made over 120 in 2 shades of pink, lime green and orange. I worried how it would turn out but it was awesome! I must thank our dads, Adam and my sister Kena for spending a good hour or more poofing all of them out - I don't know how I survived all the groans and moans of that job!


My good friend and former roommate Tonya made the beautiful centerpieces which we accented with real limes (later we juiced them all, froze the juice and now have delicious limeade or virgin margaritas whenever we want!).

We spent all day decorating and getting everything looking great and it turned out so much better than I thought! I had detested the idea of having the reception in the gym and was worried that it would look so cheesy in there, but with lots of help everything was beautiful!

It was great to have Adam's parents up to celebrate with us in Idaho.

My sister Kena came over from Eugene.






For those of you who think this is a normal family picture... look closer at my dad. Yep that's no photoshop, he's wearing converse with a suit! In Mesa he wore a stunning 3-piece suit - the first time I ever saw him in a suit and tie (at least the tie is green!) but in Boise he borrowed this suit and showed up in Converse! If you know my dad, you'll fully understand and appreciate this- for those of you who don't I grew up seeing my dad in nothing but converse tennis shoes (I'm just surprised he didn't show up in green ones!)










I had lots of great friends come. Two of my former roommates, Kaila and Kayla, helped with the refreshments





Cindy and Bridget are former roommates as well that drove all the way up from Utah to celebrate with us.

And of course the best thing that ever happened to me, my dear sweetheart ADAM!