Anniversary 2 & Other Fun Things....

With August fading in the backdrop, and September quickly approaching -- we are starting to feel a little fall weather coming upon us.  We've been going to bed and waking up to temperatures in the upper 40's & 50's.  It still gets pretty toasty during the day, but the morning and evenings are definitely cooling off.  I'll enjoy the fall, but I'm not quite sure if I'm ready for another Logan winter full of snow!

Well since our last little visit Seth and I have celebrated Two wonderful years of Marriage---aka Marital Bliss :).  I'll say for the both of us that we have enjoyed these past two years very much and are definitely looking forward to many years to come (Lord willing).  Last year we decided that every year for our anniversary we would do something special--and try to go off somewhere for a little bit.  We also said that each year we wanted to get a bigger joint gift for the both of us, rather than get a smaller gift to give to each other.  We didn't exactly follow through on either of these ideas for our second year :).  We decided to use our trip to Canada in June and our vacation to SC in July as our anniversary trips.  For our big joint anni gift we want to purchase kitchen chairs-or possibly even a new table and chairs.  We haven't buckled down on finding exactly what we want, but it is definitely still on our to do list!

Seth and I both love lemon meringue pie, so for our anniversary I thought what other to make besides our favorite pie!  Plus, I don't exactly have cake pans at the moment so any type of cakey idea was immediately squashed (don't worry though, they are on the way from good ol Joanna).  Seth got me very lovely flowers, as did my wonderful mother-in-law :)!

Our Anniversary lemon pie and some of the mess while creating it.

Some very Yummmmy cake and very Beautiful flowers :).

The evening of our anni we went to a local Italian restaurant and had just a superb dinner.  Almost at the end of our meal a band began setting up their equipment and started playing some Jazz music.  It was a very nice surprise, and Seth and I enjoyed staying a little longer to listen to some music.

Since our anniversary we've been back to Bear Lake with our neighbor friends soaking up the sun and ended up with a raspberry shake.

Seth & I with our Neighbor's Hanna & Jaron at Bear Lake

Raspberry Shake----Yummm.

After our sunbathing at Bear Lake we had an Ethiopian Dining experience with our HomeGroup buddies.  Some of our friends recently took a trip to Ethiopia and they decided to give their cuisine a try here in the States.  What a fun experience it was, and of course the food was jam up.

The Dish.

So, from what we hear-in Ethiopia they serve this bread called injera and you use your own personal injera to eat the food on a big plate that several folks share.  Again-very fun and thanks to Jonathan & Marilyn-for spending so much time making this for us all!

This past Sunday we went on a little hike with our North/South Carolina group of buddies.  It was good to get out, get some exercise, and hang out with that group of folks.

The Cook's, The Strickland's, and the Soon to be Huff's :)

Beautiful scenery!

So-no haircut or appointment as of yet.  I keep trying to make the appointment and chicken out.

My running is still going well.  I ran 4 miles the other day and it felt good.  Seth recently ran with a friend for about 3.6 miles and he was pooped, but he did well.  How do men do that, or maybe it's just I'm very weak.  When I first started running I had a hard time running half a mile straight, but Seth's first time running in about 3 years he goes all out with almost 4 miles.  Here I am taking almost 5 months to get to 4 miles :).

We are pumped about the months ahead and our calendar is quickly filling up :).  I'm thinking some folks need to schedule a trip to Utah to come and visit us Cookaroos soon-we will keep you entertained!

Have a good rest of the week folks!

The Cook's :)

PS--I got a smart phone, and am totally enjoying the camera on it and playing around with all the pictures, so that is why all the pictures are interesting looking and why I've been posting so many more pictures on facebook :)!  Just FYI.

Never Say Never

A few of our Happenings:

--Seth and I locked ourselves out of our apartment this evening.  It was actually my fault, but I like to think it was a joint effort.  We were standing outside talking to our neighbors and the door was slightly open when Seth told me to shut it so mosquitoes wouldn't come in.  I did exactly what my husband asked, and immediately knew that I made a mistake.  Both sets of our keys had just been placed inside, and I had already relocked the door from unlocking in to walk in the apt.  Much to my relief our neighbors were unsuccessful with their attempted 'break-ins' to the doors and windows.  We called our landlord, and thankfully we ended up inside our apt :).

--I'm in the mood for something like this:

A little drastic, but I think it is adorable-and I've almost talked myself into it--Hopefully I'll be able to pull it off. I'll just need a LOT more dangling earrings to make sure people don't mistake me for a fella.  Maybe next blog I'll have a picture of my new pixie cut :)--Than again maybe not-I haven't quite talked myself all the way into it yet.

In case any of you are wondering--Seth says he is in for me to get this type of haircut.  He likes my hair shorter--We just don't know if he'd like it thiiiiiis shorttttt!! :).

--Never Say Never--

Working out hasn't always been most enjoyable to me.  I never enjoyed running and weights just haven't been fun either.  I've yet to understand people that enjoy running and why people like to run races.  My running is pretty much forced.....UNTIL :)---

One evening, I was asked if I'd like to run a 5k with my friend Miranda.  My first thought was no, which is normally my first statement to everyone that has asked me to run a race of any sort.  It never sounded fun to me-I haven't ran somewhat long distance since I was a freshman in College-and I've never really enjoyed running or ran for fun.

I was a little surprised when I didn't blurt out no, and instead said I'd think about it.  After thinking about it a little and talking with Seth-I figured it may be interesting and if I'm going to do this silly thing, I definitely don't want to do it alone.  So, I decided to run my first 5k :).  It will be on September 15.

Shortly after making this decision, I was asked by someone else to run another 5k two weeks after our first one (September 29).  Shoot, I'm already running one so might as well run another :).  I informed Miranda and she was in, so looks like my comment of "I'll never run a race, much less pay to run a race" turned into a big fat lie.  I'm running two 5k's within two weeks, and have paid about $56 bucks to do them both :). Thankfully, I've figured out (I'm not sure if many people 'train' for a 5k, but Miranda and I totally are!!) that after 15 minutes or so of running I get past the 'negative stump' and it actually becomes somewhat enjoyable.  I'll let you know the races go.

--This past Saturday Seth and I went to the Cache County Rodeo.  It was Gina's birthday and what better way to celebrate your birthday than at the Cache County Rodeo :).  Fortunately, I took my camera--Unfortunately, my memory card wasn't in it :(.  So, I've stolen this picture from Gina.

It was our first rodeo, and Seth and I both had a fun time.  The Wasatch mountains were a perfect background to a great show :).

That's about all I got for a Monday.  Hope you all have a great week!

The Cook's :)

Defended & All :)

A little over two weeks ago-Seth successfully defended his thesis!  He was very very nervous and very very cute :).  He practiced several times before his defense, and lucky me got to listen through each of them.

One of his practicing moments.

Setting everything up for his defense.

Looking over his slides & asking me how they look.

In all the commotion of things, I didn't get a picture of him before or after his defense in his so cute tie & slacks.  I didn't even get a picture of us. :( We were both pretty nervous that morning--and were rushing about.  Him nervous to speak in front of everyone for forty minutes and get questions thrown at him, and me nervous for him.  I attempted to make him a yummy breakfast of raspberry pancakes that neither of us could eat.

Although, Seth wasn't expecting many people to come to his defense, he had a pretty good turnout of about 12 people.  As many of you know he did beyond well--better than either of us could have imagined.  I was a very proud   Wife of Graduate Student (WOGS-made up my own acronym).  He spoke very well, was totally knowledgeable, answered questions without any difficulty, and just looked darn good throughout the whole process.  

I could brag about him for days on end, but that would embarrass him and I don't want to do that.  I will say this though:  his adviser/professor for this project bragged on him during his introduction and afterwards, and I heard several of the professors that came to the defense how much work went into this Master's thesis and they haven't seen anything like this from a Master's student.  

While hearing these statements from other academic folks-I totally sat in my seat with my legs crossed smiling and saying in my head--'That's my Man :)'!!

This is all totally true-but Seth doesn't like to hear such things about himself-so let's keep this hush hush :).

This is Seth the afternoon of his defense-look at him totally relaxed and enjoying being outside :).

Well I'll end this little gushy session of how great Seth is by just simply saying--He did it!  He worked so hard for the past two years and has finally successfully defended his work and will soon publish two articles and submit his final thesis :).

Whoop Whoop!!!!

Moving along to other things....

The other day Seth & I went on a little hike.  It was beautiful and we saw several snakes during our hike.

Logan Canyon view.

On our little hike, we saw 3 snakes-----Yikes!!

A view from our snack location.

Pretty.

Seth & I.

Last weekend, Seth and I went to Bear Lake with some friends of ours and their youngins'.  We went for raspberry days, but it was pretty packed and looked very crafty-so we rode on by to settle in at a picnic area for lunch and then to a beachy area to hang out.  We had a great time!

Miranda & Eva at our picnic spot.

Bear Lake-So Beautiful!

Eva figuring the water out.

The Pate family-Michael, Miranda, Madilynn, Elizabeth, Eva.

Well that about wraps up what's been going on with us.  Have a great weekend folks :).

The Cook's :).

July SC Trip 2012

Seth has a pretty big day tomorrow :).  He's a little nervous, but I'm totally pumped for him and know he will do GREAT!  Thankfully I'm able to go and watch his defense, so I'll definitely try to get a few photos of the Master at work.  But before we get to all that, let me show you some pictures of our fabulous July SC Vacation!!

We started off the trip at Seth's parents and ventured over to Camden to see his grandparents and some family members.

Man how big this little fella has gotten!  He was running around, riding his little battery powered jeep, and totally ganking the tomatoes here :).  Such a little cute guy with the best blue eyes in the world!

Seth and I have figured that after looking at some of the grandkid gene pool in both of our families, there's no doubt we are going to have good looking youngin's! :).

Lovely flowers fresh from the Garden.

Seth and his Momma at HoField Farms.

I like this picture a lot.  Love the u-pick sign, sunflowers in the back, and the farm tool.

After our brief visit with Seth's family, we headed down to the beach with my family for a week.  Our beach week is pretty sacred with my family, and we always look forward going and spending a week together.

Carsyn helping Aunt Olivia with Making Cotton Candy.

We have lots of July birthdays in our family, so every year at the beach we have one big birthday party for everyone.  :)  Carsyn is one of our July birthday babies.

Most of the fam on the beach.

Eason & Britt

Olivia & Brian.

Mom & Dad

Audrey & I.  She is a HOOOOOOT!  We definitely enjoyed having her around during our evening chit chat sessions :).

Sneaking in a picture with Daddy.

My Bro & Cuz-o Olivia.

 Addy B with her mom on the left (she's her mom's mini me!) and her auntie Olivia on the right.

Hetotally loves to have his picture taken!

Carsyn & Addison

It was again a Great Week and it always flys by way to fast for our liking!  Already looking forward to next year :)!

After our beach trip Seth and I went to stay with his parents and see his siblings.  Luckily for us his hometown was having a BBQ festival, and lucky for us one of his best friend's dad was competing in the festival.  We had great BBQ all weekend!  Man o Man did we eat some supppper good meat.

We got to hang out with some of Seth's great buds and I also ran into one of my awesome old Roomies :).

Seth with Tanna and Jay.

My old roomie Julianne.  Due to this friendship-I am now married to Seth :).

Excuse the big eyes and humidity going on here.

Julianne, me, and Catherine!

After the BBQ festival Seth's family and I all went to the lake with Karla's family.  It was a great day and we all had such a wonderful time on the lake!  We went skiing-some having better luck than others, tubing, and had an all out Southern meal fixed by Mrs. Cynthia and Emily!!!!  It was just beyond yummy.

Seth & Zach playing cornhole.

Such a beautiful view.

Karla, Emily, and Trevor.

The Cook kiddo's with their significant others.

The Cook's :).

Man o Man is the Troupster growing up!

It was so good to see everyone and our trip went by to to fast!  Looking forward to when we'll see all these folks again!  Thanks families for making our trip so much fun :).

I'll surely update again after my man has completed his defense :)!  Whoop Whoop.

The Cook's :).