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Friday, December 25, 2009

Snow Trip



So in order to make up for the fact that I didn't get to go see my family this Christmas, we headed to the snow to give me a little taste of home. We took Brecken and Tim's mom, Julie, up to Sierra Summit for a day of skiing & snowboarding. It was Brecken's 1st time, of course, and let's just say he took a while to "warm up" to the whole thing.

If you turn your sound on, you can hear Brecken screaming all the way down the bunny hill while I run alongside saying, "Isn't this fun??"

Overall, it was a great trip. It was fun to get back out on the slopes, it makes me feel young & cool again...that is until I slid 100 ft down a sheer ice face of the mountain. It was pretty scary because I could not stop, no matter how hard I tried to dig in my edge and it was pretty steep. At one point as I slid down, I couldn't see anything except a little edge that I was headed for. I didn't break anything, but I'm a little sore.

Secret Santas



We just want to say a heartfelt "Thank You" to our Secret Santas (I hope you're reading this)!

We loved having Secret Santas, awaiting your knock every night and hopefully giving you enough time before we opened the door. I loved that each night's gift was related to a scripture about the "real" Christmas story and the way you gave us a tree the 1st night and adorable little ornaments each night after that was so creative. Thank you so much for making our Christmas so wonderful!

Santa


Brecken had a great time at our ward Christmas party and he was so excited about Santa that he sat on his lap twice!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Fall is in the Air

Tim & I both had Monday off, which was awesome, so we took Brecken to Avila Barn with some good friends. We went on a hayride, picked pumpkins, fed the animals, went through the hay maze, and ate tasty treats.

Family photo op.
Here's Brecken picking just the right one.

Got a little tired after all the hoopla.

PG-13

So, this picture is a little gross, but I had to show off this crazy bruise I got from my gallbladder surgery a couple weeks ago. I was excited to get it out b/c my gallbladder has been making me sick for a year now, but the timing was not ideal because I had the surgery on Friday and then classes started on Tuesday and Wednesday I started my traineeship (I now have 2 part-time jobs, full-time school, and, of course, a 2 yr old). Anyway, the first 2 weeks were pretty rough. I was super tired and definitely sore, but I am all healed now and feeling great. Not only that, I can eat fat with wild abandon (well, not really, actually, but at least I won't spend a weekend puking my guts out if I have some olive oil).

P.S. They had to pump my stomach full of gas, hence the swollen look. I do do the occasional sit-up.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Party Like it's 1999

Due to a temporary setback, I currently have no photos, but I've been excited to tell about our concert last weekend. Tim & I went with Chris & Emily up to Sacramento, where we stayed with our friends Cliff & Kim. Trevor & Kiwi also went up. We got to go to the temple on Saturday morning (it had been so long!) and even though we almost didn't make it, they squeezed us in at the last minute. The temple was followed by a delicious lunch at Olive Garden where Elizabeth met us. Shopping at the nearby outlets ensued and then it was time to head WAY out to the amphitheater to see Weezer & Blink 182 in concert!
We were surrounded by drunken 16-22 year olds in the middle of nowhere, but the music was fantastic. I consider myself a bigger Blink fan, but I have to admit that Weezer put on a better show. They were awesome! I really did feel like I was in high school again (except that I didn't buy a band T-shirt and I wasn't trying to impress anyone). We stumbled in sometime after midnight with our ears still ringing...just like the old days.
We hit IKEA on our way home, so all in all, it was the best possible weekend.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Time Out

No picture for this little doozy, but Brecken gave both Tim and I a time-out today! He made me sit in his room with the door closed and he put a sticker over my mouth so I couldn't talk. It was hilarious (though he was very serious about it).

P.S. For those of you about to call my work on me, I swear I have never taped his mouth shut in any way. He doesn't even get time-outs in his room.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Road Trip



Ok, so I'm really playing a little catch-up here: My wonderful sister, Amy, stayed with us for a couple months this summer as my own personal nanny. She was fantastic and it was so fun to have her here. I definitely miss her!







So our big vacation this year was a super long road trip. Just Tim, Brecken, and my sister Alyssa and I. Alyssa replaced my other sister, Amy, as my nanny. She was great fun to have around and reminded me of what it's like to be 13. I also miss Alyssa's sweet little face. But I digresse. So we drove to Las Vegas on our first day. Here's a picture of the van, which we were lucky enough to be able to borrow (pretty sure my Civic wouldn't make the trip). In this particular photo, it was broken down, awaiting a tow truck next to Circus Circus. It was a big bummer that we missed our scheduled lunch at Cafe Rio w/ Chris & Emily, who were also vacationing in Vegas at the time.


We stayed at the Luxor in Las Vegas and had a great time swimming (it was stinkin' hot) and went with Chris & Emily to see a show (Mystere), which made me want to take gymnastics.

After Vegas, we went to Utah, where we checked on our house and saw Tim's Aunt Cary & Uncle Steve, whom we love staying with, and we also saw my old friend from college, Adrienne, which was great.



From Utah, we headed on up to my hometown of Afton, WY for my 10 year high school reunion. I can't believe it's been 10 years! I still feel like I'm in high school half the time. My mom met us up there and we had a great weekend. I showed Tim all the sights and saw lots of old friends. It was like a real trip down memory lane (complete with a hometown parade involving rodeo princesses and 5 yr olds driving four wheelers). It was so great to visit my old ward, the house I grew up in, and my dad's grave, but the best part was definitely having my mom come up and spend time w/ Brecken!


The high school reunion activites kicked off w/ a 5K run, which Tim & I did. It was really fun to run w/ some old high school friends through a gorgeous canyon. However, it was only 47 degrees at the start of the race!

I really think Star Valley is one of the most beautiful places on earth and here is a little sample of why. It was so great to go back "home" and it was also good to realize that I've moved on in my life (in some ways).
We stopped through Boise on our way home and spent a couple days with Tim's Aunt Joni & Uncle Gene, his cousin Shannon & her family. We did more swimming and ate great food. Brecken was an unbelievable stud of a traveler, I was super impressed w/ how well he did. We ended up going 2200 miles in 8 days. Whew! We only had a few emotional break-downs (and let's just say they weren't all Brecken), so that's pretty good.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Tri for Fun!?!


Two weekends ago, Tim & I went up to Sacramento to do a triathlon with my good friend, Elizabeth, and her friend Danielle. It was called Tri for Fun, allegedly followed a week later by the "Tri for Real." However, I felt that the one we did was, indeed, as real as it gets.
It began with a half mile swim. That's right, a HALF MILE. Now, the problem is, I am not a swimmer and I almost died in the lake (yes, lake). Let me tell you about swimming in a lake: there is no bottom to touch when you breathe in too much water and no wall to rest on when you get tired. There is also the added bonus of swimming through seaweed, which, frankly, is a very unsettling experience. Tim, of course, did awesome on the swim and rather than waiting for me, went on ahead to swim with the elites and finish a half hour ahead of me. Luckily, Elizabeth and Danielle were much nicer and had a chance to dry off, change, eat a quick snack and work on their tans while I doggy-paddled through the lake.
The swim was followed by a 16 mile bike ride, which was quite nice. A little difficult at the end, but not bad. The event culminated with a 5K (3.1 mile) run, which took place on a nicely soft, sandy trail. I thought the run was great, but then that was my event. Overall, I would totally do it again and now I know what I would need to do to train better.
Elizabeth & I showing off our awesomeness.

Somewhere there's a magazine missing its centerfold. Thanks, Elizabeth & Danielle. I know you probably could have ended faster, so thanks for waiting for me!

San Francisco Girls

A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law Emily, her sister Ashlynn, our good friend Heather, and my sister Amy (and myself) all went to San Francisco. Unfortunately, I did not take my camera, but if Emily ever emails me the pictures, I will post them.
We visited the Museum of Modern Art, went to the Wharf, did lots of shopping, ate tons of good food (not the least of which was at the Stinkin' Rose), went through Chinatown, experienced various forms of public transportation, and overall had a great time!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Catch Up

I temporarily lost my camera cord during the move, so it's been a while, but here's the cliff notes version of the last couple months:

We celebrated Brecken's 2nd birthday. I can't believe he's 2! We had a nice party with lots of friends and cake. He is growing up into a little man right before my eyes.


My birthday happened to land on Easter this year and we had a great combo holiday. For my birthday, Tim and I went to Carmel - alone. I had never been and we had a great time driving down Highway 1.

At the beginning of April, we moved from our tiny, dark apartment into our new house (Chris & Emily's old house, as Brecken called it for the first month). We absolutely love it! It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath and it feels so roomy. Not to mention the washer & dryer and fenced backyard. There's actually room for all our clothes in the closet. Plus, we have great neighbors! :)

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Brecken's 1st Official Haircut

BEFORE

Here is my beautiful baby's flowing golden locks before Friday morning. And...

AFTER

And here he is during the traumatic event. I told the nice lady, "I really love his hair long, he just needs a trim." (This was our first time having a professional cut instead of me fighting him w/ the scissors.) The nice lady whipped out her scissors of death and began snipping. "Oh, it's just not laying right. He has wings. I'm going to take a little more off." And voila! All of his curls are gone and I am very sad. He looks like a big boy, not a baby, and I miss his flowing golden locks.

On an unrelated note, for those who appreciated my chocolate chip flax-seed cookies Fri night, I actually use ground flax meal rather than the unground seed.

And on another note, Brecken has learned how to climb out of his crib. Which he does with startling regularity. I just keep putting him back in it until he falls asleep, which he always eventually does, but dang! That's a lot of work.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Romance is in the snow

To celebrate our 5th anniversary (and Valentine's Day), we went snowboarding in Tahoe. We stayed in Sacramento w/ our good friends, the Zimmermanns, who so graciously watched Brecken during the day while we took advantage of the fresh powder. It was awesome! It did take us a couple hours to "warm up" our skills, but by the end, it was all good.
Unfortunately, Brecken got really sick with croup that night and we had to go home early, which really bummed me out. Nonetheless, it was a great way to celebrate.

Snow? No...


So a couple days ago, I woke up and couldn't believe my eyes. Snow! In SLO! I was so excited, I bundled up Brecken and I myself and we ran outside in our pajamas. Only to find that it wasn't actually snow, but copious amounts of hail that had accumulated from a storm. I knew it was too good to be true. It also goes to show that I don't do my best thinking in the morning, since it probably hasn't snowed in San Luis since the 1940s or something.

Monday, February 9, 2009

The Big 5


Tim & I just celebrated our five year anniversary on Saturday. On one hand, I can't believe it's already been five years. On the other hand, it's hard to imagine a time when he wasn't in my life. Tim is an amazingly patient, easy-going husband. And he is an awesome dad. Tim's not perfect, but he's perfect for me!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Happy 50th Birthday!


Today is my mom's 50th Birthday! Happy 50th Birthday, Mom! In a crazy twist of fate, it is also my grandma's birthday (yes, my mom was born on her mom's birthday and it happened to be the same day as her great-grandma's birthday). Happy 80th birthday, Grandma Bishop! I really wish I could be there with you guys.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Christmas in Colorado

Here's Brecken on Christmas morning on his adorable rocking horse from Grandma Garten. It makes horsey noises and moves its head up & down. He loved it!

This Christmas we went to visit the Garten family in Colorado! It was so fun and I was so happy to see my family! I had all these mental images of Brecken playing in the snow for the first time with wonder and awe, but alas...despite the fact that it was a mere 3 degrees when we landed in Denver, there was hardly any snow! I was bummed about that, but the rest of the trip was fantastic. I got to see all of my family, except my sister Amber & her husband, Nick. We really missed them.


My brother, Jordan.


My sister Anya and her husband Adam.




We had a great Christmas and it was fun to travel. Brecken was a great traveler, but not a big fan of Santa.