Washington - April 2013

We finally got the opportunity to visit Kurt's parents in Washington this spring.  I love the Pacific Northwest and wish we were able to visit the area more often.  While visiting we made a quick overnight trip to Seattle area and were able to see some of our friends from that area.

 

 Visiting with our friends.  The super cute Woodstock family!

 

 Love this woman!  Jude is one of the reasons I enjoy my job.  I am so glad I get to work with her.

Southern California - February 2013

My kids love Southern California.  My mom and dad were in Southern California for my dad's Coast Guard training so we convinced my mom to join us since my dad was in class.  We had a blast!  

California Adventure:

Beach:

 

Lego Land:

 

Southern California

This February, I surprised the boys with a trip to Southern California. I didn't tell Draven where we were going until I picked him up from school. I wish I had recorded his reaction... it was priceless :). Kurt was busy with his thesis so we left him behind, but luckily Grandpa and Grandma Miller were up for the adventure so we took them along. While in California we went to Disneyland, Sea World and Legoland. What a blast!

Grandpa, Draven and I on Splash Mountain

* This picture cracks me up... consider this a sneak peak. I will add more shortly :).

Husky Scholar

At Draven's Elementary school they have a recognition program called the "Husky Scholar" award. Each month, a boy and girl from each classroom are recognized by their teacher for meeting their academic goals and demonstrating hard work inside the classroom. Draven was chosen as the January Husky Scholar for his classroom. Way to go bud!

Blessed

Wow, another year has flown by and I have been horrible at keeping our blog updated. In my defense, life seemed to just rush by, picking me up and carrying me along for the ride. 2011 was an eventful year. When I take time to reflect on the major events of 2011, I would have to honestly say, it was rough. There was a lot stress, heartache, and disappointments. That being said, I feel like I have learned so much about myself and my little family... we are tough! I am a true believer in positive thinking. Constant negativity is exhausting and pointless. One of my favorite quotes is, "Gratitude turns what you have into enough". I love finding joy in the little things, there is always something to be joyful about. This year Draven learned to ride his bike without training wheels and became a kamikaze mountain bike rider... he even went down old main hill at USU. It was so fun to see the joy and pride Draven got from riding his bike without any training wheels. Audrik started preschool and speech therapy and gets to ride a BUS! He loves it and I can't believe everything he is learning! Kurt is so close to finishing his graduate degree and is actively applying for jobs. I am loving every minute of this crazy, sweet life! I am so grateful to be married to such a wonderful man, to have two boys that bring me an immense amount of joy and to have a support system that is beyond amazing! How could I not feel blessed!

Winter 2011

I can't believe it is September and I have not blogged about a single thing that has happened in 2011 :(. Here is a quick overview of the fun things we did this past winter (in no particular order... because, let's be honest, you should just be happy I am updating our blog).

Kurt took Draven on his first real hike (he hiked the whole thing himself). They went to the wind caves up Logan canyon. Draven loved it!

I met up with some old friends. Jerry was my first boss at RRD and is one of the best people I have ever gotten to work for. Jay was part of the original compliance team I worked on. It was so much fun to talk about the old days :).

Kurt turned 34.

Audrik sneaking some of the sprinkles off the cake.

Audrik covering his ears while I was singing to Kurt. Funny boy!

We went to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to meet up with some of our friends from Kurt's undergrad days. We went on a wildlife tour that ended up being a lot of fun.

On our way home we saw this huge snowman and had to take a picture... it was massive!

Went snowmobiling with our good friends, the Chidester's, in Island Park, Idaho.

Played with family.

Ate snow.

Made forts and convinced grandpa to climb on in. What a good grandpa!

Tried cross country skiing for the first time. Draven was awesome.

Did a little snowshoeing.

All in all, we had a great winter and had a lot of fun as a family.

Girl's Trip in NYC

This last December we took a girl's trip to NYC. Only half of us made it since three of the girls decided to be all crazy and either be pregnant or have a baby. We missed the other girls but those of us that made it had a blast! We stayed at the Westin in Times Square. Which meant we were able to go walk around every night and enjoy delicious cheesecake at my favorite cheesecake spot, the Majestic Deli, which Kurt and I discovered quite a few years ago.

While in New York we:

*hung out in Times Square*

*Watched a movie being filmed... watch for Tower Heist coming to a theater near you*

*Took a rickshaw through Central Park*

*where we posed at the Friend's (as in the TV show) fountain*

*Found a statue we could touch inappropriately :) *

*Watched the Rockettes at the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City*

* Saw the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center*

*Found a sign that defined my state of mind during compliance season*

*Traveled to the top of the Empire State Building*

*where we almost blew away*

*The girls: Brittanie, Me, Mom (Pat) and Janet*

*Saw the most amazing show ever... Wicked*

*Road the Subway*

*Visited the Statue of Liberty*

*watched Jan get attacked by a bird which was AWESOME!*

*Tried to take our minds off how cold it was by taking goofy pictures*

*Took a picture to prove what we all know... mom values her Diet Pepsi over everything else*

*Checked out Ellis Island*

*and had an absolute blast!*