Octobers and Fall

"I am so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." 

-L.M. Montgomery 

I wholeheartedly agree. 

Fall has some of the most beautiful surprises.  Growing up in the valley of Arizona, I never knew too much of autumn, the true season.  When I left for grad school, I remember driving all around the city once the leaves started changing just to try to appease my craving for those beautiful colors.

Now that I have experienced fall for FOUR years in a row, I am even more in love with this time of year.  It is such a happy time.  A final celebration of a beautiful year, before it starts a new one.  

This year I tried to take every opportunity I had to be outside and soaking in the season.  I have put leisure reading, the elliptical, treadmills, and lots of indoor cycling on hold in order to make sure I spent lots of days outside.

• We ran through Provo Canyon to see the fall leaves. It wasn't quite fall yet, but it was still really pretty!

• We made halloween sugar cookies with Jared's family while they were in town and with my cousin and her family as well.

• My brother, J, flew up to Utah for a couple days while we were both on October break and we went to Provo Canyon too.  He longboarded and I rode my bike.  The leaves were much more colorful this time around.  It was a wonderful afternoon with good company!  Sure do love my brother! 

• A couple weeks later, we hiked Rock Canyon and the leaves were perfectly fall!  It was beautiful!  I wish our picture even did the trees and the mountains and the cool air justice! 

• We went to Cornbelly's again this year.  I honestly think that is one the most fun dates!  It is such a celebration of holidays - the one that starts off the holiday season!  They have so many fun things to do there! We saw pig races, completely got lost in the corn maze this year, played cornhole (I lost by one), and so much more!  

• We dressed up for Halloween.  I had to wear a costume to school for work.  Jared dressed up in order to get extra credit in school.  I found something comfortable to wear (since I have to be professionally dressed every other day of the year).  Jared had to represent something he has learned about in his Parasitology class (yes, a class all about parasites - gross).  I decided to be an Olympic Gold Medalist.  Jared decided to be a Copepod hosting a Coricidium (which eventually turns into the fish form of a tape worm - yuck).
  
  
  
  Fall is coming to an end.  Most of the leaves are now on the ground, the nights are continually getting colder, and daylight continues to decrease.  It's turning into winter.  I don't know if I am excited or not, but I can definitely say that I took full advantage of this wonderfully beautiful fall.  

A New School Year

As school started back up, I was having serious withdrawals from summer.  I was missing the sunshine and the 8+ hours of sleep and most of all, my husband.  So, we started to plan a few more outings - even mid-week outings.

We went to Thanksgiving Point's Ancient Life Museum.  Although it is primarily geared to kids, we learned a lot about dinosaurs, and actually had a lot of fun!  We walked around some of the gardens afterwards and ate a yummy dinner there (everything was only $2/person since it was "two buck Tuesday").

We celebrated Jared's birthday by going to the movies.  Jared has wanted to see Man of Steel since we saw the first preview so we really had a good time going to the dollar theater to see it!  We rarely go to movies anymore since it's so expensive, but you can't beat the dollar theater up here!

We spent a couple more days at Seven Peaks before that closed.  As a little girl, I dreamed of being a mermaid.  I love summers and water so much!  I lucked out when I married someone who loves it almost as much as I do!

We spent an evening at the park just enjoying the cooler nights and the city views and a few stars and listening to music.

I really love spending time with Jared.  At times it feels as though being in school is hard, but I know that the real world of work will be the same - busy, and stressful.  We have found that it is important to still plan outings though.  I am not always the best at planning things, but we have so much fun when we do!  We've even learned that some of the most fun things we have done don't cost money!  (Like taking a blanket out to see the stars or playing Ultimate Frisbee with couples from around the area - something we do each week.)

I'm thankful that I married my best friend!  Dating him only gets more and more fun!  And I am grateful that he takes time out of his busy schedule to date me!

One Year Anniversary

Last week, we celebrated our first year anniversary.  Jared did a phenomenal job at planning such a fun weekend!  Here are some of the highlights: 

We drove to Salt Lake and ate dinner at the Red Iguana.  We had been there once before and it was amazing so we went again.  They have live musicians there who sang us a love song in Spanish (so we had no idea what the song was really about). 

We checked into our hotel room at the Anniversary Inn.  Where to start with the hotel... well, their mission statement is, "The Anniversary Inn exists to provide a place where couples can escape from the pressures of everyday life and share in a time of peace and relaxation together thereby creating positive memories which will strengthen their relationship."  They sure do that!  Each room has a theme.  We ended up staying in the "Phantom of the Opera Room."  It was gorgeous! 

Look at all the decorations!  It had a huge jetted tub, and so many fun decorations!  I loved just looking around the room and seeing all the references to the "Phantom."    

When we walked into our room, we found two pieces of cheesecake, a bottle of sparkling cider, and chocolates.  (All that was included in the price!)  So fun to walk into such a treat!

 The next morning, our room service breakfast was delivered right when we had asked for it.  (Yes, this was included in the price too!)  The food was delicious and it was so fun to have breakfast in bed!  Everyone needs to experience that once in their lives!

 When it was time to check out, we were able to walk through all the other rooms in the hotel (they have themes such as Jungle Safari, Venice, Wild West, Sailor Ships, etc.).  It was so fun to see all the other rooms too!   We had an absolute blast!  What a neat little place here in Utah!  I am so glad that Jared spoiled me and took me here for a night!  I loved every minute of it!

That afternoon, we went and did sealings in the Salt Lake Temple at exactly the same time on the very day we were married last year.  It was so neat to be in the temple and be reminded of that special moment last year and be reminded of our own marriage and sealing.  

We went to Blue Lemon for lunch and enjoyed some really tasty food!  It was a perfectly sunny and warm day and I felt like the luckiest girl in the entire world!  I LOVE being with Jared!  Being able to spend a carefree weekend with him was the very best! 

 We enjoyed shopping at City Creek Mall that evening.  It is such a pretty mall with many fun stores.  Even Jared said it was the best mall he has been to and that it was fun (and he doesn't even like shopping). 

  He planned the entire weekend for us and he was so thoughtful!  He planned things that I really enjoy doing!  I loved all of it and I want to go back and repeat the entire weekend over and over again.  I am so blessed to have married such and kind and fun and wonderful man!  I am so blessed to have married into an amazing family!  I can hardly believe its already been a year!  Time has flown by so quickly!  And with how fast it seems to be going, I am so thankful that I married him in the temple for time and all eternity so that I can be with him forever.  

RRR Zion 2013

The Red Rock Relay:

• 12 runners + 1 driver
• 187 miles (Brian Head Ski Resort - Cedar City - Veyo - St. George - Zion National Park)
• 30 continuous hours of team running
• 75 minutes of sleep
• 6 bagels, 2 Ibuprofen, water, fruit, peanut butter, and chocolate milk 
• 3 legs per runner
• Way too many port-o-potties
• Thousands of visible stars in the sky
• Rain, hail, mud, traffic, etc.
• 2 "vans"
• 3 showers 
• 90 degree weather, and 50 degree weather (depending on the run)
• Ranked one of the Most Beautiful Relays in the United States
• Countless laughs, a few tears, lots of memories, incredible views, and 
• One awesome team that FINISHED the race! 

GO TEAM RENRAG!  

Here are some pictures and lessons I learned:  

1. Sometimes you sign up for something in life thinking you know what that entails only to find out, you had NO idea what you got yourself into!  Of the three runs I was expected to do, I thought my middle run was going to be the hardest.  Ha!  It ended up being the easiest!  You never know exactly how life will turn out... Just like the picture below that was to be a "jumping picture."  Haha!

2. There is only so much a picture can do to convey how beautiful God's creations are!  This race course was AH-MAZING!  Every single corner had a new terrain and more incredible views!

3.  In the world of Relays, if you pass someone while running, it's called a "kill."  But because everyone out there on the course knows how hard it is, your hat goes off to those who pass you and those runners ahead of you sure do motivate you to run faster!  Yes folks, below is proof that I got at least one "kill."

4. Running at night is incredible!!  I was super nervous to be out there running on my own in the middle of nowhere!  As I took off to run, I turned my headlamp on and could ONLY see the small circle of ground it illuminated.  I depended very heavily on my headlamp!  At times, I tried to shine my light to the sides to see what I was running through.  Then, every large shadow started to scare me so I decided to not think about what could be around me and I just ran.  Although it was  bit freaky, it was also so peaceful!  When I turned my headlamp off and walked for a bit, I was AMAZED at the stars!  It was beyond beautiful!  It was comforting to know that the van was always nearby with teammates looking out for me!  I found a lot of parallel in the gospel in that 40 minute run.  I could not see the MASSIVE hill I was climbing (750 ft elevation climb) due to the darkness, and honestly, it made running up it easier!  It reminded me of the hymn, Lead Kindly Light.  I always feel that if I could only see what life had in store, how it would work out, etc., it would make things so much easier!   But from this run, I realized, sometimes it better to only see "one step enough for me" as the hymn says.  It makes it easier to conquer the mountains and we are able to focus on the challenge present and not all the other mountains we will face in this mortal life.  Heavenly Father really does know exactly how much we need to know in order to succeed.  So neat!  

5. It is really nice to have someone to cheer you on an motivate you in the hard times!   See the picture below?  This is my third run, it was my longest run, it was SO stinkin' hot!  I had only slept for 75 minutes in the past day and I was DONE!  I was walking down the last bit of my stretch of the course, when my dad came up to me and said, "kick it in and finish strong."  I won't lie, I responded with, "I can't", but then I felt guilty and I did it.  I finished strong with my dad by my side.  Once I passed the transition point and was finished, I realized once again, that I can do HARD things.  This relay was NOT easy!  But, it is in those moments when we have to reach beyond our comfort zone and extend ourselves beyond what we think is possible, that we find how strong we are.  Thankfully, I have been blessed with wonderful family and friends who have stood by me during my hard times.

6. Once you finish a race like this, you are best friends with all those who ran with you and around you!  During the race, you cheer for every runner, not just your own; you offer water to everyone, not just your teammates, you remind each other how crazy you are for signing up for such an adventure and then laugh together as someone says, "see you next year" because you all know how true that statement is!  The running world is a fun, addictive one!  Just look at that team below and imagine how many laughs and jokes and good times were had!  It was a party!  So glad I was able to go!  Great job team!  

  Red Rock Renrags Team, Red Rock Relay, September 13-14, 2013

Summer of a Lifetime

Boy, we were busy!  I cannot even begin to express how grateful I am to ALL those who made our summer wonderful!  Jared's parents for their generosity and willingness to take us along, my family for letting us crash for an extended visit, and all our friends and family who made time to see us!  It was wonderful!  It was the summer of a lifetime!  We know that a summer like this probably won't happen again until we are retired and grandparents, but I am so glad we were able to take advantage of such a summer and enjoy each other so much!  Going back to work was not easy but I couldn't help but think of the quote, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."  I sure do have a lot to smile about as I think back on this summer!

Viva Las Vegas

On our way home from California, we stopped for a night in Las Vegas.  Our friends, the Nimer's, were wonderful hosts!  We loved seeing them again.  The next morning, we went downtown to sightsee.  Monday mornings are the most family-friendly time to be in Vegas. 

We went through Ceasar's palace.

 Jared found the Eiffel Tower... in Vegas. 

 We found lots of pretty fountains. 

 I was SO excited to show Jared the water show at the Bellagio.  Unfortunately, the shows don't start until 3pm and we had to leave around noon.  BUT, we got a little tender mercy: right as we walked by, they ran a test-run show to make sure all the fountains were working.  We actually ended up seeing TWO songs in a row!   It was even better than a normal day!  We really lucked out!

 Of course we had to stop by the Venetian since my brother has spent nearly the last year living near Venice.  It was fun to see the Gondolas go by.  

It was just a quick stop, but it ended up being a great morning before jumping back in the car to drive the rest of the way home. 

California

For all of those out there reading this who are NOT married yet, plan and pay for your honeymoon BEFORE your wedding day.  If you don't it won't happen.  The day after you get married, you realize how poor you are and a honeymoon doesn't seem to happen quite like you dreamed.

BUT we did go on a "honeymoon" eventually.  The last week of summer vacation, we drove out to California.  The first day there, we spent with my Great Great Uncle (his mother is my Great Great Grandmother - how cool is that?!).  He and his wife and their daughter, who lives with them to help care for them as they age, are some of the most incredible people I know!  We ate dinner with them, played Dominos, and talked about his parents and his childhood.  I could have sat and listened for days!  I love them and their example of love and service!  We spent the night at their home and I wished I had a few more days with them!

But we were off to our "honeymoon." (I didn't count staying with family as a honeymoon!)  Jared and I drove to Knotts Berry Farm.  I had never been before and Jared loves his memories there so I was excited!  We walked in and our first ride was this one...

The park was a bit busier than we had hoped.  California kids were still on Summer break, but we still made it on nearly every ride.  Unfortunately, Jared's favorite ride was closed for the day.  We really enjoyed the cool water on the log ride though!

We also went to all the shows.  Jared had never been to them so we both were seeing them for the first time.

  I loved being there with just him!  We talked all day as we waited in lines.  Being at a theme park, we kept with my family tradition and got a churro - the most overpaid splurge of our trip. Once the sun began to set, the park really cleared out and we went on tons of the rides with much shorter lines.

That night, we walked back to our hotel that was right near the park.  It was a nice room but nothing fancy (because we realize how poor we are! haha!).  It did have blackout blinds though so when I woke up at nearly 10am (thinking it was 5am), Jared and I had to scramble to pack up and be out before checkout time.  I now know how amazing blackout blinds are!  Wow!

Once we packed up, we headed for Laguna beach.  We knew it was a busy beach, but we had heard that all the shopping and restaurants around there are amazing so we had to check it out.  We had a blast at the beach just soaking in the ocean breeze and people-watching.  Isn't that a classy picture of us?!

Thanks to my aunt, we found the CUTEST and most DELICIOUS Italian Gelato Shop in all the world!  You could get THREE flavors in one scoop.  We spent over 20 minutes just testing flavors and deciding what we wanted!  It was amazing!!  You could smell the waffle cones from blocks away!  And... that concludes our honeymoon! :)  It was short and sweet but actually just perfect for us - any time I have with Jared is amazing! 

That evening, we met up with my aunt Kathy.  She lives nearby so we had dinner with her and her roommates and stayed at her place that night!  (Thanks Kath!)  She took us on a night-walk around the beach that night that I loved!  The following day, she had planned out a full-day of fun.  We started off by driving to a beautiful beach with this view seen below.  How amazing!!

 We had planned to learn how to paddle board there, but it ended up being a "no stand-up board" time so we headed off to lunch at Banzai Bowl. Oh. My. Goodness!  If I could blink a Banzai bowl here right now, I would!  It was heavenly!

Next, we were off to another beach.  Kathy had only been there once and hadn't been able to explore it much so not even she was aware of how awesome this place was!  Below is the view from a little hike we did.  Do you see the cove in the background?   In order to get to it, you either have to own a home on the other side of it OR you have to swim around that major rock formation.  Seen as we were on "this" side of the rock formation, the only way over was to swim there.  So... despite some crazy undertow and waves that literally crashed on the sand, we swam out and around.  It was not an easy swim and your timing had to be just right in order to not be thrown into the sand (like we saw many people do).

Once we got there, I could not get over how pretty the view was!  It was INCREDIBLE!  I wanted a picture so badly but my camera was on the other side of the rock so it seemed as though it was impossible!  But, there happened to be a couple there who had come from the "private beach" side and had their phones.  I went up to them and kindly asked if they could take a picture for us and then email it to us.  They were SO nice!  So the picture you see below?  Yeah, I worked so hard for that picture!  That cove had crabs and clams and starfish and all sorts of neat things in it!  It was so neat!  

This beach might be one of my very favorites ever!  

We watched the sun set here and then headed off for Kathy's hot tubs and a good nights sleep after all that swimming!

Thanks Kathy for one of the most fun days of the summer!  We really loved spending time with you!  Love ya!