Southern Cooking

We were able to go to Florida with my dad in September.  I loved the food down there; so, it shouldn't have surprised me to come home and gained 5 pounds.  The weather was perfect and the condo we stayed at was so stinkin' close to the beach.  I want to go back and stay for another few weeks!  Because it was in September there weren't as many crowds; it was fantastic!  Most of the other tourists were from Europe, so I got to hear all sorts of amazing accents.  :) 

We drove up to St Augustine for a day and got to see the castle, and then took a trolley all over town so we could see everything because we didn't have much time.  Fun Fact: I got bit by chiggers while walking through this moat.  Those bites are terrible!!  But, the castle was really cool to see.  I loved this old town and would love to go for a few more days to just explore.  Fun Fact#2: This is a dry moat that they would grow crops in, or they would put their animals in, but it was never filled with water.


 Gorgeous sunrises!  We were busy much of the time, but did make it out to see the sunrise and get some pictures.  I love, love, love watching the sunrise!!!! 

 I forgot to charge our camera before going to Gatorland, so most of our pictures are on the phone, but here is one of the gators jumping for chickens.  This place was a hoot!!  They gave you a few hot dogs and you got to throw them to the gators.  This park was huge!  There were all sorts of boardwalks and paths you could go down to see more gators, snakes, cougars, turtles, flamingos, and crocodiles. 

 Our view from the condo!  This pool was so warm and amazing, but I didn't get in until the last night we were there because we were so busy, plus do you see how close the ocean is?!?!?  It rocked.  We drove into Orlando one day while Dad was at work and played at a waterpark.  I think that I need to have an indoor waterpark near me ... but one with only a few people because I don't like the crowds.  I felt like a kid in a candy store.  We didn't take the camera in because I didn't want it to get wet, but it had the coolest waterslides and there were hardly any lines.   

 At Dixie Crossroads, a yummy, fun theme restaurant in Titusville. 

 There were all sorts of statues to get pictures with ... I couldn't pass them up.  :)

 The pier by where we stayed.  I love this view! 

 Trying to get all of us in the picture.  I think Dad probably has a zillion pictures, but I haven't stolen any of them from him yet. 

 More fun at Dixie.

We found a lighthouse in St. Augustine.  We climbed all the way to the top and were able to see forever because they have no mountains ... it is such a weird concept to me!  I loved all the green though, everything except the chiggers was lovely. 

July

Dang, I'm a blogging slacker.  Our July was busy.  We had my family reunion, but I don't know where my pictures are.  This one of Stan, Mom, and my niece is all I have on my computer.  We had lots of fun playing in the creek and getting to visit with family.  The drive is so long, I wish (most) everyone lived closer so I could see them more.  :)  Especially, my brother and sister in law and their cute kiddos. 

 This pic is one of the few from girl's camp.  I'm really lucky to get to serve in the young women's in my ward, so I was able to go up for a couple of days, and got to go on one of the hikes with the girls.  They are some of my favorite people to be around because they are so vibrant and excited for life.  Also, I swear they never run out of energy!  Pretty sure some of them stayed up all night long.  How fun. 

 Our annual Pedal Away Parkinson's Ride, we ride this for my grandpa Larry.  I hate Parkinson's disease; it is horrible to watch someone you love go through something so debilitating and awful.  I would love to see the day when this horrible disease is cured, so others do not have to go through this.  

 Our birthdays!  Stan and I share a birthday week ... which is basically awesome.  Yep, that's a triple layer cake wrapped in kit kat candy bars.  Yum.  And pigs made out of edible modeling clay ... not so yum. 

 We headed up to Bear Lake a couple of times to hang out, sometimes fish, and sometimes get a shake or lunch.  :)  I love how pretty it is up there. 

Summer Happenings

I passed my test! I can officially put more letters behind my last name.  That was a great stress relief to get my results back, so now I can go do all sorts of adventures this summer without worrying about studying. 

I went to Girls Camp for a couple of days.  It was fun, I forgot how much I loved going to camp back in the day.  I haven't downloaded any of my pictures from camp, but I was able to go on one of the hikes and I loved it.  If I could have a job that just included going hiking everyday with well-behaved, happy teenagers (which mine were), and I got paid well and it had good benefits ... I would be happy as a pig in poo.  So, if anyone sees an opening like that (Stan would prefer one that paid enough for him to be a stay at home dad with no kids), let me know so I can apply for it. 

We went to Georgia!  I think I could live in Savannah, it was gorgeous!  We went to see our BIL and SIL and their cute kids.  Here are some pics of our week there. 

River Street in Savannah.  I can't get over how gorgeous it is there!  Kyli and I went running down there one morning, but after a mile I got sick (stupid stomach, hopefully getting it fixed soon) and wimped out, I feel like I need to redeem that run.

 My dream home.

 The park that Forrest Gump was filmed.  There actually isn't a bench there like the one in the movie and for the movie traffic went the opposite direction, but I still had a great time seeing it all.  We even stayed just down the street from the café that Jenny worked at. 

 It wouldn't be a trip to the south without learning a little about the war of northern aggression.  I honestly don't think I read any of the signs, I was just excited about the hike here.

 Braves Game!  It was Freddy Freeman night, so we all got free Freddy Freeman bobbleheads.  Could life get any better than 10th row seats and a free bobblehead?!?  Oh, and the cow doing the tomahawk chop?  I think not. 

 The Georgia Aquarium.  The whale sharks were my favorite.  They are huge!  And have a posse of fish swimming around with them, it looked like the wimpy kids hanging out with the bully so they get spared giving up their lunch money. 

 This place was right in downtown Atlanta, I couldn't believe how big just this tank was.  They even had a tunnel you could go underneath on a moving walkway and just watch all of the fish. 

 Not Georgia.  But it was in my pictures.  We went down to see Grandma and the boys and Charlie enjoyed kicking it on the porch.

 More hiking, supposed to be learning about the war.  Kalin and Porter love their uncle Stan!  They wore him out this week!  :) 

 The beach.  Lydia was the best baby!  We were in the car for hours and hours and hours and hours!  And she didn't cry at all, just enjoyed chewing on her fingers.

  I love the look on her face when Porter is tickling her. 

We were so lucky to be able to go down there and be with our family this week.  Thanks guys for letting us stay with you! 

Anniversary Numero Uno

Our first anniversary.  WooHoo! 

 We celebrated our adventurous first year by going to Ruth's Chris and eating the best steak ever.  And by going to a hotel that had an adult's only swimming pool, which in my mind equates to less pee that I'm swimming around with.  It was fantastic. 

The first year traditional gift is paper ... so I got Stan a mini-piñata.  He gave me a subscription to NatGeo.  Currently we are watching a documentary on Victoria Falls, so NatGeo is perfect for me!  Yay for anniversaries, here is to many, many more.  :)

 

 

So, it's been awhile ...

 There is lots to catch up on ... but, I always forget, so here are just a few highlights of life since December.  In no particular order.

 

Me and the birthday girl.  I still have my coat on because their power was out all. day. long.  We almost froze. But, man I love being an aunt.

Valentine's dinner.  Because we're awesome like that. 

The snow on our car when we went to visit my brother and sister in law and their cute girls.  This is the day that their power was out forever. 

 We went hiking this morning.  We also looked for a geocache, but found ticks instead.  Between me, Russ, Stan, and the dog we found seven ticks on us.  I still feel a little itchy just thinking about it.  We have been hiking a lot more, and love that we have so many trails near our house so we can get out and enjoy. 

Charlie is a hiking fool.  She was jumping up over boulders that were taller than me with no problem.  Every couple of hundred yards she would turn around to make sure we were still there, then would trot on ahead.  Hiking, ranger rides, and snuggling with Russ are her favorite things in the entire world.

 Stan and I at Jordan's mission farewell luncheon. 

 

The week before Jordan left we went down to do a session in the Manti Temple.  Oh, how I love that temple.  Here we are on the car ride down.  What dorks.  Haha. 

 

 My little brother got married a few days before Christmas.  For some reason no pics of him and his bride at the wedding or reception (they must be on my phone), but here is Stan and me at the reception.

 Not so much a fan of me in this pic, I think I was getting sick here, but this is when Jordan got set apart. 

 

 Family pics.  Love it.  This is the first time my mom has had all of us in a picture.  Every time we try to get family pictures something happens to Russ, like he falls off of a horse and breaks his nose and face, or he is in a small explosion at work and his skin is falling off of his face and all yucky looking.  So, for these ones we made no mention of pictures until right before they were going to be taken.  Looks like our strategy worked.  We have better ones too, this one was just funny.
 

 Jordan, Mom, and Russ before she is leaving.  She is doing really well right now, lives in a ghetto, but seems to be enjoying it.  I'm excited to get to talk to her in a month.  Her weekly emails are hilarious.  15 more months.  Yay.

Yep, we're classy like that.  My grandma got us an electric fireplace for Christmas.  It is awesome!!  So, when we have fancy candlelit dinners we can also eat by fire-light if we want.  Yes, that is a batman picture hanging on the wall in the background, don't judge, we still haven't hung pictures yet, but we did get a new (to us) table, no more fold up chairs and lifetime table in our kitchen.  

Unfortunately, I am studying for a big certification exam at the end of this month, so we don't really have much else going on, just living life and loving it.  Oh, I also signed up for two half marathons this summer, so I've been running, and Stan said he might run a 5k with me in July, so it has been nice to have a running partner for at least a mile, it is surprising how much my mile time improves while I'm running with someone.  If anyone is interested in running a half (or two) with me, let me know, there is still PLENTY of time to train, and you get a t-shirt out of the deal, hard to pass that up.   

Just kickin' it

 At our SIL's bridal shower.  Jordan and I enjoying being dorks.  Haha, initially I typed forks. 

Yay for pregnant ornaments!

 This sweet girl is going on her mission soon and I will miss her.  It will be exciting for her, but I am looking for someone to send me funny texts everyday.  If you feel up to the challenge let me know. 

Having fun on our Black Friday adventure. 

I miss living close to this cute girl and her sweet sister.  They are some of my favorite kids in the world.

Another picture of me and my gorgeous sister.  She went through the temple on Saturday.  It was amazing to be in the temple with almost my entire family (missed you Jenafer!). 

Not sure why I don't have any pictures of Stan and I lately, but he's still alive and I'm sure loving being married to me.  I'll try to get a picture of us over Christmas sometime.  :) 

I have nothing else exciting to say, but hope you enjoy the pics. 

Circus

A couple of months ago we went to the circus.  It was so exciting for me, Stan mostly just enjoyed hanging out with me. 

This is a motorcycle on a tightwire!!!!!  It was awesome!  Then they did a flip on the tightwire.  I'm pretty sure that I was squealing the entire time. 

 The elephants were my favorite.  I desperately wanted to ride one of them, unfortunately, they don't allow riders anymore.  Lame. 

I was so excited that I forgot to take too many pictures, but I did get a picture of this steel sphere, they had eight motorcycles riding around inside of this.  Some times I'm excited to be a mom so I can take kids to enjoy all of these exciting things that few other people love with me, but then I see a little kid at church with snot and grossness and screaming and then I remember why I don't want kids.