Christmas Cards

We aren't mailing out any Christmas cards this year. Sorry. Too lazy to ask for addresses and try to get them mailed off in time to make it to the states. So, this year you get a digital card from us. I was bored and had fun playing around in photoshop. Which do you like better?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Cruise Website

While Jon was back in the states I worked on our cruise website. We originally wanted to make a movie with some cool music and narrations, but it just didn't happen. So instead, I loaded the best of our 2,000+ pictures, my journal entries, and some awesome music onto a website. I figure this way is a lot easier for people to check it out on their own time and at their own pace. Keep in mind, it was a 30 day cruise so there is a ton of stuff to go through, but if you are in the need of an escape from the snow and cold of winter and want to see more of this

click here.

ps. my favorite songs are on the NZ and Shove Away/San Francisco pages. Give 'em a listen. Awesome!

Ain't no sunshine when he's gone...

Jon left 6 days ago for the RSNA Convention in Chicago. Since he left, I think we've only had 1 day of sunshine. It's been rainy and gloomy, strangely mimicking my own feelings. It's pouring today (sucks for the cruise ship passengers in port today!) which brings me some comfort as the grey skies remind me of being home during this season. After being together non-stop for 8 weeks, this separation seems to have lasted an eternity! Luckily, I have met some wonderful friends who have adopted me into their group and been so gracious to include me. It's odd doing couple-y things without my other half. Here they all are watching the big Santa parade go down Queen Street on Sunday.

But my little bit of Sunshine did come on Monday when Jon sent me this beautiful bouquet of red roses. I was feeling a little under the weather that day, so it was a perfect delivery!

I can't wait til he comes home next week. New Zealand just isn't the same without him.

Thanksgiving in the city

I got a little ambitious this year. Not content to just let one of our fine American holidays pass us by, I decided to host my first ever Thanksgiving Dinner. I mean, it really doesn't matter if your kitchen is tiny, you're in a foreign land with hardly any familiar ingredients, and you've never.even.thought. about making a Turkey before, riiiight?

Well, surprisingly it all turned out really well. We invited our friends, the Grace family, that we first stayed with when we landed in Auckland. All 9 of us fit quite comfortably outside on the balcony - even if we froze our behinds off in the cool breeze! They were at least good sports about it.

So, here is my documentation of 'the feed':

Their sweet potatoes here are called Kumera. I tried to find only the orange kumera, but a few yellow ones slipped in there. (They also have purple kumera.) They don't have real marshmallows here, but luckily Jon spotted some in the 'lollies' (candy) aisle in the dish-it-yourself-bulk canisters. The Grace family LOVED the marshmallows and brown sugar on their familiar kumera. Funny though, they didn't really go for the orange ones. They ate all of the yellow ones first. :)

This is my tiny kitchen table, which we moved outside for seating. I had NO counterspace to work with and Jon had to move his office desk into the kitchen to serve as a buffet counter.

Right before I started preparing the turkey, I called my mom in a panic! Everything I read online warned against stuffing the turkey and the risks of foodborne illnesses. I certainly didn't want to make my guests sick! As she always does, she calmed my fears, told me to stop being silly, and move on. I Love You Mom! One of the sites mentioned putting the turkey on a bed of carrots and celery and onion for more flavor. Mmmm. A nice crunchy bed for the turkey.

And here it is, ready to go! I couldn't find kitchen string or skewers anywhere to keep the legs together, so she's a little immodest.

She fit! Once I saw the turkey in the pan I panicked again, fearing it would be too big for my little microwave size oven!

Part 1 of the spread: (Don't ask me why I didn't remove the foil from the meats so the finished product was shown! I was in a rush!)

Part 2: (Kumera, Mashed Potatoes and gravy. I don't think they cared for the mashed potatoes. We had a TON leftover, which is weird for us since that's usually the first thing to go at our family dinners!)

Hungry kids! Destiny (13), Aniva (9), Manessah (6), and Elijah (5). Their oldest boy, Skye (17), is not pictured because he came after his touch rugby practice.

Jon, Dean, and Dolly.

Everyone trying to get warm after we froze them outside. The little kids loved running outside on the balcony to see what color the neighboring Sky Tower was lit up - my favorite was the rainbow. And the big kids were so awesome - they cleared the table and did the dishes while I packed up all of the leftovers! The great thing is, this is common over here. Their kids always clean up and do the dishes...without being asked! Good kids. Great family!

Us. See my tiny kitchen in the background? Yep, that row of cupboards is pretty much it. The mini-fridge and oven are all below counter on that wall. Oh, and how do you like Jon's beard and long hair? :)

The kids had fun taking pictures with the camera. Elijah loves to be the spotlight and jumped in any picture he could.

And that was our Thanksgiving. A huge success, if I do say so myself!

Happy Thanksgiving!

City living

A few days ago we had a killer sunset so we headed outside with our cameras to try to capture the majesty. This will give you an idea of our view out of our apartment. It's hard to tell cause it's dark, but yes, that water just past the buildings. We live right on the harbor and sit and watch the big boats come in all day and then get treated to a sailboat parade around 5 pm every night. It's spectacular!

Sooo excited!

So, it's no secret that I'm not the best at staying in touch, but I try my best. Before I left the states my wonderful friends threw me a little going away party (THANK YOU ABBY!). It was so great to see some of the girls from high school and renew those friendships. We laughed about old times and our silly immature ways, then talked about motherhood, being a wife, and our upcoming move to New Zealand. We marveled at the technology that would allow us to stay in contact with each other - except Christy. You see, Christy is probably one of my most motivated and driven friends. I love her passion and determination, but there is hardly time for technology with her. Until now! We finally convinced her to get online, if not to stay connected, at least to grow her business. And she has (with many thanks to Abby, I'm sure, who promised she would set up the site for her, and who did a fabulous job!)

Anyway, if you're in the Ogden area and are looking for a midwife, Christy is simply the best. You can find her here:

http://www.ogdenmidwives.blogspot.com

Even if you aren't in the market, but are expecting a little one, her site has some excellent articles about pregnancy and pre/post-natal care. Check her out! I'm so proud of all of my friends and for all they have accomplished - they inspire me!

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

I just saw this on the Church's website. What a wonderful reminder. Being away from the States around Thanksgiving time has not been easy for Jon and I. I am grateful for this reminder and for the happiness that can be found anywhere and everywhere we look in this world.

Check it out:

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

Verbage

I know I have so much to catch up on from our travels these past 2 months, but I'm toying with the idea of making that a separate blog because we literally have 2,000+ pictures. I don't know yet. I think I just want to keep this blog as a record of our daily life. So, to start that out, here are a few kiwi words I love so far, especially with the New Zealand accent:

• Choice = "It's choice to have you here, mate."
• Sweet As (or anything *as) = I guess the ending of this phrase is just assumed...sweet as anything you could imagine I guess. But everything has an 'as' on the end, for dramatic effect. Windy as, fat as, fast as, mean as, etc, etc.
• Pardon = As in, "I beg your pardon" or "please clarify". Warms the cockles of my heart to hear the youngsters say it rather than "huh?"
• Mummy and Nan
• Daddy and Poppi
• Reckon = "I reckon..."
• Fellas = applies to any gender here, it's more of a way to recognize a group
• Yous = as far as I can tell, it's a combination of You Guys. We're often greeted with "How're yous getting on?"
• Take-Aways = not many sit and eat restaurants here without paying an arm and a leg, just quick grab and go stuff. There are a million take-away places everywhere!
• Cheers = sometimes a "thanks", other times a farewell
• Mobile instead of 'cell' phone
• Petrol instead of gas
• Heaps = a lot, tons, many. And since they talk with their eyebrows here, it's always accompanied by a slight headnod and raised eyebrows.
• Feed = Food, Feast, Let's Eat, etc. As in, "We had a huge feed." or "Let's go get a feed."
• Mate = Friends; applies to guys and girls.
• Mean = Awesomeness. As in, "Oh man, that concert/movie was mean!"

And because I think every post should have a picture with it, here's me at the beach of Mt. Manganui near Tauranga, where we spent a few days before moving into our apartment. The beach had HEAPS of sea shells! I was really missing the little nieces and nephews and knew they would have just loved it there!

Sneeky Peeky

Lots of you have been asking for some pics of our adventures so far. We literally have thousands of pictures to go through, but here are a few sneak peaks:

Touring the countryside of New Zealand:

Devastation in Samoa:
Heaps of glorious sunsets:
Snorkeling with stingrays and sharks:
Getting in touch with our roots:
Lots of relaxing on warm tile beds:
Endless photo ops:
And lots of this:

More to come...eventually. ;)

Settling In

We have made it to beautiful Auckland and have been consumed by apartment hunting. I'm proud to report that we have found an amazing place on the 27th floor with beautiful views of the harbor and city. Now all we need are some visitors to help us fill it! :)

We are doing well and can't wait to be in our own place and get back to a semi-normal life. I have a million pictures to post of our month-long cruise, but those will take some time to get to. We miss being at home and all of the traditions around this time of year. We're loving the warm weather and plan on heading to a beachy/resort town this weekend before we move into our apartment on the 15th. Jon heads out to Chicago on the 26th, so I'll be a lone woman in a foreign city (pray for me. pray hard.) for a little bit.

I miss catching up with everyone's blogs and can't wait to devote some time to that, and to revamping my own blog. :)

Cheers.

oh, ps. NZ has the best candy ever!!! Pretty sure I entered sugar heaven tonight with little delights that are textured like circus peanuts, but are banana flavored and shaped. MMMM. :)

Playing catch up again!

Hi Friends! We are on day 29 of our cruise and will land in Sydney on Saturday morning then fly back to Auckland on Monday. We have had a splendid time and I will be updating more later, just wanted to share some of the emails I have sent to family with my friends so you can see what we've been up to. They're long, so be prepared. I'll post pictures later. Can't wait to catch up with everyone in a few days!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Aloha! We have made it safely and are having a fabulous time! So far I’ve only had to pull Jon down from the rails on the front of the ship 3 times…and strangely enough, every time I do, I hear the theme song from Titanic playing! J He just loves the feel of the air blowing through his hair…

Well, so far we are about 2/3 of the way to our first stop in Hilo. We plan on renting a car there and driving around to see the live volcanoes. We’ll also have cell phone service there and plan on making a few calls home while we’re there…so answer your phones! J

Our weather has been great today! The first 2 days were cloudy and rainy, but they did provide for some ‘moderate’ seas (which Jon wished would have been bigger!) Things have been calm, and it hasn’t been too hard to get our sea legs about us. The ship is absolutely beautiful, and if I’m being completely honest, we are so glad to be back on Princess! (Sorry Beck and Shane! You spoiled us.) We have met some very nice people so far and have had fun people watching. Most of our shipmates seem to be from Europe (cause who else gets a whole month of vacation time?!?!) or Australia. We had breakfast this morning with a nice man from the South Island of NZ and look forward to keeping in contact with him. We also met a nice young couple from Slovenia and an interesting cat from Corpus Christi, TX. Today at the Internet Café I helped a Korean man get his laptop running and now know a few Korean characters. J

Today has been spent sitting around the pool, relaxing in our room, and Jon even got to watch some college football. Last night we went to the stage production show, Cinematastic. The lead female was actually pretty good and is probably our second favorite to Becky (probably because she looked and sounded like you, but wasn’t half as polished or as fun to watch! Funny side note, the F2 came out and for the first few minutes we thought it was Dezira! I developed a nervous tick and started cringing, but then she came forward and started singing, and it wasn’t her.) It’s so interesting to be on a cruise by ourselves, sitting in the audience, just to be an audience member and not a supporter.

We purchased an internet card and will check in periodically, so feel free to drop us a line and we’ll try to respond.

Thanks again for all of your love and support. I shed quite a few tears on the plane ride to San Francisco, finally allowing myself to pause and reflect on just how long 2 years is! We will miss so many things about being home, especially you guys! Just being able to pick up the phone and talk to you whenever we wanted, is going to be a huge adjustment! J We love you and can’t wait to talk to you!

xoxo

Jon & Aly

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Bonjour from beautiful French Polynesia! Today has ended our 4 day stretch of sea days and we find ourselves in stunning Bora Bora. As expected, we are having the time of our lives! We both miss our family and friends like CRAZY and there seem to be reminders everywhere of you all, especially the nieces and nephews!

The past day and a half we have had 30-40 foot swells, gale force 7 winds, and rain – and Jon is in heaven! (Except yesterday afternoon when the nausea hit briefly.) And we hear that the waters just get worse in New Zealand, around Wellington, so this is a good primer for us. We certainly have a new empathy and understanding for all of you who get seasick. Yuck.

We have met some very interesting people. There is a large German population on the ship and we have been stuck at dinner tables with them a few times and find it challenging to communicate. There are also lots of Canadians and Brits. They do have some great swimsuits though, and Jon and I have been thoroughly entertained. I’m thinking of getting him some of the Euro-style short, tight, boxer-brief style trunks. J Mostly everyone on board is old and retired and I’m starting to get sick of the stares and weird looks from all the geezers as we walk about the ship. Their questioning eyes seem to say, “You don’t belong here with us. Just who do you think you are?” Jon is getting mildly annoyed with them in the buffet lines too as they keep trying to push him around and cut him off. Don’t worry, he’s laid the smack down a few times…ha ha. Not really.

We hope all is going well at home. We really do miss you all so much and wish we could have put you all in our suitcases!

Much love,

Jon & Aly

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Kia Ora! That is the official New Zealand greeting. Today we are approximately 1200 nautical miles from our new home of Auckland. We spent a rainy day yesterday in Fiji but found an incredible resort we would like to go back to with private bungalows and outdoor showers for pretty cheap....anyone interested?!?! J The day before we were at sea and enjoyed a wonderfully sunshine-y day. Saturday at midnight we crossed the International Date Line and moved forward one day and skipped Sunday completely. The days before we were in Western then American Samoa. Western Samoa was perhaps the highlight of the trip for me, as I was so excited to be returning with Jon. We rented a taxi and our guide, Tusi, took us around the island and to the LufiLufi village Jon lived near. We saw a few spectacular waterfalls, the gorgeous temple (where we ran into one of Jon’s rugby boys serving as Zone Leader there), and then went to the southeast corner of the island where the Tsunami hit. The devastation and destruction were incomprehensible and there is really no way to properly convey what we witnessed. We took hundreds of pictures, but it still doesn’t do it any justice. Tusi’s mother’s village was completely leveled and many ‘fales’ (fall-ays: an open air structure with a thatched roof held up by columns that the entire village shares and meets in) were wiped out to sea. We got out of the car at this village and talked with some of his cousins. We met his 84-year-old uncle and took a picture of him next to the tree he held onto to save his life. Three members of their family are gone. The locals are terrified and have never witnessed anything like this. They don’t even have words in their language to describe it and the uncle just kept telling Tusi it was a monster that came and grabbed their loved ones and took them away. That’s the only thing they can really think to call it – the monster. It happened so fast - they had less than five minutes warning after the earthquake. And now people are leaving their villages at nighttime and starting to build homes in the hills because they are so afraid the monster will come and take them away. It is heartbreaking. We were grateful to run into the missionaries and give them some money as a way to contribute to the rebuilding. We know the funds will be used as the Lord directs.

It is so strange to be so close to New Zealand now. I am starting to worry about living in such a different place but am excited for the adventure. Our new friends greet us with a countdown to Auckland or a “welcome home” when we see them and everyone is genuinely excited for us. We are excited to get back to a more normal routine and to have regular communications with you all. We miss you and find reminders of you everywhere. We wish we were there for all of the Halloween festivities and have been tempted a few times to buy some gourds on the islands, carve them up, and put them outside our cabin. Happy Halloween everyone!

Love from the Pacific,

Jon & Aly

P.S. Thanks to everyone who has responded individually to our emails, I’m sorry we don’t have more time to respond on an individual basis, but know that we do receive them and they brighten our days. J

Thursday, October 22, 2009

A warm hello from the subtropical, springtime Tasman Sea. At the moment, Aly and I are sitting by the aft pool on deck 15 above radiantly blue and silver water. Less than 24 hours ago we found ourselves in a violent storm with gale force winds, turbulent seas, and rain lashing the ship with a vengeance – unsure if we would be able to navigate into one of the highlight areas of the cruise – Fjordland National Park. The storm prevented us from entering the first two fjords, but let up just enough to permit our passage into Milford Sound. This spectacular creation is simply beyond description, so I won’t even try. Suffice it to say that it’s towering 6000 foot emerald walls, adorned with dozens beyond dozens of thundering waterfalls is something you have to see for yourself to truly appreciate. (We look forward to returning with many of you when you come visit us. Hopefully ALL of you! Hint hint. J)

A day before the fjords, we toured the verdant coastal farmland surrounding Dunedin by train, which crossed the Tiaeri Gulch en route to Pukerangi at an elevation of ~ 1000 ft. At sailaway, just after all the other passengers took to their cabins to prepare for dinner, we were entertained by a pod of dolphins, which came leaping towards the ship, but disappeared as quickly as they appeared. Above us were majestic albatross with wingspans of 10 feet. As nice as Dunedin was, we’d have to rank it just behind our previous three stops: Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. In the sparkling early morning light, Auckland welcomed us with a gentle warm breeze, and gave Aly her first glimpse of our new home. The city itself is clean, vibrant, and captivating. We had a great day with Dean and his family, then set sail for Wellington. We found both Wellington and Christchurch just as clean, just as charismatic as Auckland. New Zealand has already begun to feel like home for us. There is an indescribable feeling here – one we hope you will take the opportunity to experience for yourselves. As nice as this experience has been, nothing can replace the company of our friends and family. We miss you all and think of you individually often. It has made us value you all the more. If there is one thing that this move has placed at the forefront of our consciousness, it is to not let life get in the way of living. This is truly a magnificent world and there is much more to it than a comfortably carved out hole will ever reveal.

To our astonishment, we have just two sea days remaining before we disembark in Sydney. After two more days exploring Sydney, we look forward to getting ourselves established in Auckland and hope to more fully catch up with you then.

Manuia le po

Jon and Aly

My Apologies...

Well, I feel the need to apologize, for a few reasons.

Reason #1 is my absence. I have been so busy finishing up Grad School and traveling and trying to get everything in before we leave the country in 13 days that blogging has been on the bottom of the list! I have 3 saved drafts that I need to post still, but have not had the time to catch up. (Really, if you could see my in-laws basement, you'd understand. :) Hey, you might even feel sorry for me and beg to come deliver me from my un-organized, highly chaotic, and completely overwhelming task of packing up the rest of our lives....No? Well, one can dream.)

Reason #2 is for telling everyone I was going private, and then deciding not to. (I know it was hard for some of you to post your emails; just know that I plan on deleting the post.) I love time. Time really does fix everything. You see, I think I over-reacted slightly. When my Dad ended up in the newspaper and on the radio (I am still boycotting X96 and the SLTrib and StandardEx. Idiots. I have so much I would like to say about it, but cannot.) I panicked and worried that the malicious and vindictive individuals who sought to harm him would do all they could to ruin him, including attacking his children. But now, my good friend time has shown me my flaws and I vow that I will never relinquish my power to anyone. I have no reason to live in fear.

Let me just say this though, where have you all been?!?!?! I had no idea that many people even looked at my blog! (Not like 46 is a ton, but seriously, I averaged 3 comments over the past few months! :P I guess I need to apologize for being so boring!) Now that life is hopefully slowing down, I am looking forward to catching up and improving my blog. Especially since we're off on such a wonderful adventure! I want it to be like you're there with us! So check in regularly, I'll be posting as often as I can while we're on the ship.

And one last thing:

WE'RE THROWING A GOING-AWAY PARTY!

Come say good-bye! We'd love to see you!

Friday, Sept 18th

6:00-9:00 pm

Smith Fields Park in Draper

200 East 13400 South

(Bring your kids! There's a great playground!)

Really, if you can make it, please come! We would love to see you!

Going Private

I haven't wanted to do this ever, since I really liked the thought of being accessible to friends and family I haven't seen in ages. Plus, I think it's a pain.

Alas, life happens and I feel like it's time to go private. Please let me know if you would like me to send you an invite via email (and where to send it.)

Thanks friends and blog lurkers alike. :)

More Summer FUN!

I love going to the fireworks at Weber State every year. Our family has done this for as long as I can remember. And in all that time I cannot think of one year that we have had rain - until this year! We ended up looking like a tent city when the clouds opened up, but thankfully it only lasted for a few minutes and blew right through. **Thankfully they didn't cancel the fireworks, even though maybe they should have. We had burning embers landing on our blankets and were covered in ash by the time they were done, but it was such a great show! ** Also in this picture is the view we have of the Salt Lake valley from Jon's parent's back porch. The other night the sunset was so incredible and I had been reading up on taking pictures in low light, so I wanted to experiment and see what kind of shots I could get.

Over the 4th of July, Jon and I flew into Seattle for the weekend and drove up to Mt. Ranier for a little getaway. Before we were married, Jon climbed this mountain with a group of friends and loved the experience!!! So it was so fun to go back with Jon and semi-relive it with him. And it was the perfect escape from the heat too! It was so gorgeous up there with all of the runoff waterfalls everywhere and the spring flowers poking through. After our stay up there, we drove back into Seattle and caught the ferry up to Victoria, BC. We have been there once before (on our Alaskan cruise) and just love that city! Plus, Becky and Shane were there for a night and we jumped on the chance to hang out with them one last time before we head to New Zealand.

The weekend before the 4th we were in Lake Powell with the Perry family. Trent and Jess are such great friends and we had a fabulous time with them! (Thank you so much for inviting us!!! Can't wait to do it again!) I think Jon and I took a million pictures and videos on the boat, so here are a few of my favorites:

And a few side notes for personal records. Moments I don't want to forget.

~The other night we also went to the Ogden Rodeo to celebrate Pioneer Days. The National Anthem was sung so beautifully and I teared up while trying to sing along. It finally hit me that we will be leaving this land of the free and home of the brave in search of new adventures. And while I am excited, I was also a little saddened to think of all of the things I will miss.

~I went to the Church history museum yesterday with my sister-in-law Jen and her kids and my mother-in-law Leila. We watched a movie about how some of the Saints came across the ocean and then had to also cross the plains, facing death, starvation, and many trials. And while I was trying to think of ways to get out of the 10k I promised Jen I would run with her tomorrow, they told of a widow who walked 4 miles, up rocky terrain, holding a premature infant the whole way, just to make it here. So I guess while I walk/run in my nice comfy Mizunos and work out clothes, carrying a water bottle so I can have a drink whenever I want, and listening to my ipod, I won't complain, but will actually enjoy the opportunity to exercise how and when I want.

busy summer!

We have been on the move this summer! I just went to my 10 year reunion (gulp.) and actually had a blast! It was so fun to catch up with everyone there and see what they were all up to. (How on earth did I forget my camera!?!?) Funny how some things don't seem to change, and some really really do! However, I really really REALLY missed my good girlfriends (you know who you are!!!) that I spent every.single.day with during my days at Weber High. *Let's catch up soon!*

Also in our calendars were:

My cousin Devin's wedding. He totally "chicked up" (as Jon would say) by marrying Ashley and we are glad to welcome her into this crazy family. Here is a little collage of a few of the shots I got through out the day. My cousin's kids were all so cute in their dresses and tuxes and Ashley looked just stunning!

I also got to snap a family shot for my aunt Becca and her family, which has grown with a few "adopted sons" here and there.


Drew and Rosey were the best man and maid of honor. Here they are with his best friend Phillip, his wife Mele, and their 2 sweet girls.

One of my favorite shots came when my uncle Bobby snuck away to the free Ice Cream stand and then found the only open chair in the middle of the lawn. I couldn't resist.

Then Wade stole my camera while I took a break to cool off with a sweet treat and got some pretty comical shots of me and Jon, who is the ultimate entertainer. :)


And I am SO SO glad I got this shot of my Grandma Gibbs. To me she has always been the epitome of an elect lady and aging gracefully. I love her so much and think she is gorgeous!

I have also had the chance to go swimming with my nieces and nephews a few times and always have so much fun with them. They are so cute in their little suits and goggles that I just can't help but snap a few pics when they start playing! Our new favorite game at the swimming pool is 'surfing' where I go underwater and the girls try to surf on my back as I swim across the floor of the pool. I hope my siblings remember this game and how much fun it was for us! I miss you all!

We also have been to Lake Powell (pictures to come) and will be heading back down there in a few weeks again. Yay! And then I get to go say my goodbyes to family in New Hampshire and Texas at the end of August. sniff sniff. I am also working at Buckle again for Back-to-School season -come buy clothes from me Saturday night!!! :)- and have tried to start organizing and getting things ready for New Zealand. The countdown is on and we have 64 days until we shove off!!! :) I am so incredibly excited, but cannot believe how fast time is flying by this summer!

We are trying to get as much time in with family and friends as we can before we leave and I'm hoping to have a little sending away party in mid-September, so mark your calendars!

fun with my girlies

I love these 2 little girls so much and had so much fun with them while they were here. I can't wait to go back and see them in August!!!

It's that time again

Time for an update. Let's start in May -

Jon threw me a surprise party the night before I graduated. Such great friends and family! Everyone was asked to think of a famous philosophizer/counselor and bring words of wisdom or advice for me. It was a fun Island theme in honor of our Pacific Island cruise this fall!

I graduated the next day with my Master of Student Counseling degree from the University of Phoenix. I cannot believe that 2.5 years has gone by. I have learned a lot from the program and will miss my classmates! You'll notice that Jon is wearing the 'Stole of Gratitude' after my ceremony. I could not have gotten through this without him. I am so grateful for his love and support and encouragement. I'm even grateful that he never gave into my pleadings and begging for him to write some of my papers. :)

While Em was here we took the girls to Hogle Zoo. I picked up Alex on the way and he and Eden became instant BFFs. They loved riding in the wagon together, the merry-go-round, and sharing Eden's cotton candy, which Alex called "coffee candy" until Eden corrected him. Then he called it "coffin candy." :)

Now onto June -

Jon coached 3 all-star teams for the Utah Rugby Union this spring. We were in California one weekend with the U-19 and U-17 boys and two weekends later Jon took the U-19s to Colorado for another tournament. I am happy to report that the U-19s won both tournaments and the U-17s were probably the best team there, but didn't quite make the cut. Jon had such a great time coaching them and the boys instantly connected with him. He has done such a great job as the President of the Utah Rugby Union and I know they will really miss him when we leave!

While Jon was in Denver I got to take some pics of this little munchkin. Brinley is already 7 months and I just can't get over how cute and chunky she is! Love her legs and wrists and just about die when I look at her HUGE brown eyes and long eyelashes!

Jon just ran the Wasatch Back Relay Race and had a great time! In his van were his brother Mike, brother-in-law Wade, friends Trent and Jess Perry and Jordan. They shaved 3 hours off of their time last year, despite the rain and some last minute injuries. I'm so proud of him!

Also, during all of this we decided to rent out our house and try to finish our basement in four weeks! Thankfully, our marriage survived and so did I! We have a few last minute things to wrap up at the house, but I am amazed we got it done! And now we live in Draper in Jon's parents basement (yeah....another post for another day) and have booked our cruise down to New Zealand, which leaves on September 23rd. We are getting so excited to go and look forward to getting as much time as possible in with family and friends before we leave. We're heading down to Lake Powell for the weekend and I can't wait to get some much needed sun and Vitamin D in me! :)

And finally... I'm a brunette! I was so sick of the upkeep with the blonde, that it was time for a change. I don't have any good pictures of it yet, but so far I'm loving it! It's growing on Jon and I think he likes it a little more each day. :)