Holly Rose

Home for the Holidays

2012-01-08T18:58:00.007-07:00

It has been awhile but I just haven't had time to post or much to post about. But now I do! I was able to go home for Christmas and New Year's this year so I was home for almost a week and a half and it was amazing. I love being home with my family and spending time with them. We missed Taryn and Grant this year but they are moving closer this summer so I'm excited. For Christmas we had a Christmas Eve dinner with just our family and one of the senior sisters is our ward.

Karleigh and I were dancing the cha cha to Feliz Navidad and the sister asked Karleigh to teach her so Karleigh cha cha danced with her. It was pretty awesome. Then Karleigh and I built a Christmas Eve fort to sleep in, it was fun and surprisingly comfortable for sleeping on the floor.

We woke up Christmas morning and went through our stocking and opened a few gifts before church.

Then we came home and got back into our PJs (well Kars and I did) and opened the rest of our presents. I went to Jonny's for a little bit and opened presents with their family. A few days later my family went to Monterey for a few days. I had missed a few trips there with my family so they decided to take me. The weather was about the best you could ask for in the winter, low 60s and sunny with the clouds rolling in in the evening. We enjoyed looking at the ocean and going around the local shops. Our hotel was right on the beach and the view was amazing.

On our second day we went to Phil's Fish Market (one of the main reasons for going) for a late lunch.

It was a nice trip and so great to be by the ocean.

On New Year's Eve Jonny's family came over we ate dinner played games and enjoyed being together.

A picture at the end of 2011.

And then the same one at the beginning of 2012.

Group shot, both families. (Missing Taryn & Grant and Aaron & Elena)

We went to my dad's ward on Sunday and then it was time to start packing up. It was such a great trip and so nice to be home and have some time to relax. We had a day where we drove around taking Davis pictures and went bowling which was tons of fun. Kars and I watched a lot of How I Met Your Mother (she got me addicted) and painting our nails with cool designs. It was a great holiday season but as always it ended too quickly.

Punny Halloween

2011-11-03T00:04:00.003-06:00

Jonny came up with his Halloween costume idea for this year on Halloween last year. Then a few months later I randomly came up with mine. Then after many hours of work, countless conversations on how to actually make them work and 6 cans of spray paint (which is a lot of fumes.) We had our costumes.

"Hooked on Phonics" and "Stuck on Band-Aid Brand"

Jonny's was actually a huge box attached to a backpack and then put through a shirt.

Mine was the thing you use for dryers that was then stuck on and L-brace (the things used to put up shelves) which was duct taped to my stomach. Which meant it was not only the most awkward costume I have ever had but it was also the most painful. My skin is still recovering. But it was worth it (as long as I don't have to do it again.)

We had a fun night with Jonny's cousins on Saturday night.On actual Halloween we were pretty lame and did nothing. But those are our costumes. We're pretty proud of them.

Still Alive...Just Boring

2011-10-10T22:59:00.003-06:00

Don't worry I am still alive. I wish I could say I haven't posted because I have been too busy doing totally amazing things but it's not true. I haven't done a whole lot recently but work and such has just left me exhausted so there have been no posts for over a month. Sorry. I am moved into my new place and I like it, it is nicer but in the same complex as my old place. I got a new car, a Nissan Sentra. I love it. It has lots of fun features I have enjoyed playing with. The Corolla was just starting to give out on me, the AC went out which would mean no defroster in the winter so I decided it was time. I literally cried when Jonny and I walked out to the Corolla after buying my new car. I know it seems dumb but I have some great memories with that car and it has been amazing for me over the past 8 years or so. We have gone to a few football games.

One heartbreaking, the others not so much but the team is still not performing to the level I think they should. I am done with trainings for work which is a relief. Karleigh and Jonny went to court to testify in the case of the people who robbed the storage unit. I think Jonny had fun shutting down the defense who tried to twist his words. According to Karleigh he rocked it. That has pretty much been my life over the past month and a half. Hopefully I will have more to update about from now on but I don't know that I will.

Crime Fighters

2011-08-14T13:17:00.002-06:00

So here is the more in depth story...

The background:

- When Karleigh went home for summer, she got a storage unit to store all the things she was leaving behind.

- Karleigh's unit is in a small hallway in the back corner of the facility.

- The storage facility her unit is at has security gates, but doesn't have any on-site security personnel.

- Over the past few weeks Jonny and I have noticed one of the storage facility's security gates has been left open.

- Jonny had been to the unit on Monday.

The story:

On Wednesday I was working on moving out of my apartment and I was taking some of my stuff to the storage unit. When we got there, I walked into the hallway and our lock was gone. I called out to Jonny to let him know. He informed me he was there on Monday and that the lock was absolutely there at that time. We opened the door and the unit seemed a little emptier than we remembered.

Jonny looked at the other locks in the hallway and almost all of them had cut marks on them. On our unit you could see where the metal wall had been dented by the thief when he used it for leverage.

I called Karleigh and tried to figure out if anything was actually missing. She asked me if there was a laundry bag full of shoes. There wasn't. Three duffle bags full of clothes? Not that either. It was evident there were several things missing and at that point, we called the police. After about 45 minutes of waiting, an officer showed up. He had us fill out a police report and write down what was missing from the unit, along with an estimate of the value of those items (no easy task - especially since it wasn't our stuff.) We gave the report to the officer figuring we could use it in a case against the storage facility but knowing we would probably never see the stolen items again. We got our case number, the officer's name and phone number, and that was that.

Afterward, we moved the remaining stuff toward the back of the unit, closed the door and headed off to WalMart to get a new lock. We grabbed a lock (two actually) and then returned to the storage unit. When we got back, I started to open the door and my heart sank. On the floor near the front of the unit was a sleeping bag that I KNEW was not where I left it. I slid the door up the rest of the way and about half of the remaining items were now gone too. I yelled to Jonny that more stuff was gone and immediately burst into tears. He came over and immediately called the officer back. Jonny was actually excited by the news because he knew the thief was close by and was likely to come back. I then called Karleigh again (in tears) to tell her more stuff was gone. She had been pretty ok with everything but the second robbery upset her more because this time they stole the bin that held her letters from Steven (her missionary.)

The officer came back and was shocked that more stuff was missing. He had us add on to the police report while another officer checked for the thief in nearby areas.

I started to fill out more of the report when Jonny came over and said we were going to go park across the street while the officer hid around the corner in case the thief returned.

...So we went and sat across the street. Every time a car drove by, we got excited but nothing happened for about 45 mins. Finally, a car came down the street and slowly drove past the open gate, scoping out the area. They then pulled into the next driveway, turned around, and pulled in through the unlocked gate. Jonny turned the car on and said, "I'm blocking them in. I'm not letting them out of the parking lot." Jonny pulled out into the street and moments later, we saw headlights coming back out of the storage garage. So Jonny peeled out, then slammed on the breaks in front of the car, blocking the exit. I had my camera out so we could snap a picture. At first the people in the car seemed confused, thinking to themselves, "what is this guy doing?" Then they saw the camera and realized what was happening. The look on their faces quickly changed to, "Holy crap!" They started revving their engine and yelling at Jonny to get out of the way. Jonny didn't budge. They backed up and cut across the grass to go around us. Jonny flipped the car around so he could see where they went. He was prepared to follow and was about to when the cop came flying out of the storage garage. If Jonny hadn't blocked the exit for what amounted to about 30 seconds, it would have been too late and the burglars would have been gone. The cop slowed down behind Jonny but Jonny waved him past. He peeled out after the car and Jonny followed close behind. Unfortunately for the "bad guys," and fortunately for us, they turned into a neighborhood that only has three exits - all of which exit onto the street we were on. The thieves turned down one street, the officer turned down another, and Jonny pulled in front of the third and parked us where he could see all three exits. Shortly thereafter, more and more cops started pulling into the neighborhood. With about 5 cops surrounding the thieves, they finally pulled over. Jonny and I just sat there, about a block away, watching as they arrested the thieves. After about 45 minutes the cop cars started to leave and one pulled over next to us. They asked if we were the property owners and said "We'll go get all your stuff and bring it back to you in about half an hour." We were ecstatic, relieved, pumped up, worn out, and about a million other things! After about 30-40 minutes, we got a call to meet the police at our storage unit. When we pulled up, there was a huge pile of Karleigh's stuff laid out in front of the unit. After a couple car loads, almost everything was back. We signed a few papers, talked and laughed with the officers about the crazy night, and at about 5:00 in the morning, we were finally done with the trip that had started at 8:30 that night.

The result:

- We got almost all of Karleigh's stuff back. There may still be a few things missing but we won't know for sure until Karleigh gets back and looks through everything herself. But we know most of it is there (including the missing letters)!

- We didn't get to sleep until around 5:30 AM, despite only getting one load of my stuff to the unit that night... which was compounded the following night when Jonny and I went entirely without sleep as we moved the rest of my stuff to the unit. This, of course, meant my head was bobbing at work all the following day (not great when counting someone else's cash).

- Finally, it resulted in a really awesome story made even better by the fact that we caught the "bad guys."

...It's also kinda fun to say "we got robbed."

A Few Things

2011-08-09T22:42:00.003-06:00

It has been awhile mostly I have been exhausted and stressed so I haven't made the time to post so now it is time to play catch-up. Two weekends ago Jonny and I went to see Harry Potter in IMAX 3D. It was pretty awesome, I didn't think it would be much better than regular 3D but it really was. The theater we went to was right across from the Real Salt Lake stadium and when we got out the game was just starting so following along with my doing fun things in Utah we decided to go. It was really fun. We walked up and asked for their cheapest tickets which put us behind one of the goals but on the 5th row so it was pretty cool.

We were in the section with all the crazy fans, there was a band playing pretty much the whole time and organized chants. I was surprised how vulgar the fans were pretty much every cheer had some amount of swearing. I guess I'm just mostly used to BYU fans but I still think they are worse than most other fans. I was also shocked when the opposing goalie was on our side the fans kept throwing crate paper at him.
Had no idea that would be allow but I guess it is. Unfortunately we lost but we still had fun, now I can cross pro soccer game off my list.

Then on Tuesday Aaron and Elena came and stayed for a few days. (Sorry I didn't take pictures here.) It was so good to see them! I have missed them a ton and now they are headed to Boston so it was nice to get to see them for a few days. We played games of course good old Bang! and BuzzWord. Elena and I took a two hour walk and got sent on a detour that put us on a shadeless street for awhile which resulted in a nice sunburn for me. While they were here my car semi-died again, luckily it was on my day off and not when I was trying to get to work. Luckily/Unluckily it was my AC doing something weird to a belt so as long as I don't turn my AC on I can drive but the AC is very pricey to repair so now I am driving AC-less and trying to decide where to go from there.

Then on Saturday one of our best friends from home, Megan, got married to we went out to her reception in Draper. It was in her new in-law's backyard and it was very pretty and of course she was beautiful!

So that is what we have been up to the past few weeks.

Katy Perry

2011-07-28T20:10:00.006-06:00

On Monday Jonny and I went to the Katy Perry concert. I randomly decided to buy tickets one night after watching several of her music videos. Also, I decided since craziness at work makes it so I can't really take a vacation this summer I would do some fun stuff in Utah, like this concert. It was so much fun! We had a great time it was quite a show. It was such a different atmosphere than any other concert I have been to. So here are some pictures.

She had so many different outfits!

These lights were awesome.

The screen the birds are on is her dress.

She went out over the audience on a cotton candy cloud.

Her Hershey Kiss outfit for California Girls.

Whipped cream gun.

And a video of our cotton candy. Yes, I had to take a video of cotton candy.

So many people had these light sticks it was cool to have the whole place lighting up. Definitely worth it. I love her songs they are so fun and she was great live.

Spanish Fork Rodeo

2011-07-24T22:12:00.004-06:00

This weekend Jonny and I went to the Spanish Fork Rodeo. I had never been to a rodeo and my friend had told me this one was awesome so we decided to check it out. It did not disappoint. Jonny had been in California for two weeks so I picked him up from the airport in the afternoon and then in the evening we headed down to Spanish Fork. Before the rodeo started we checked out the vendor booths and the car show and then headed over to the arena for the show. (You can't tell from the picture but I also wore cowboy boots. Yes Karleigh, they were your boots and that is your hat and your shirt.)

It was so cool. I honestly don't know how these guys stay on the bucking broncos and the bulls. All I know is it does not look comfortable. There was only one guy who really got thrown up in the air and made you cringe as he hit the ground but he seemed fine.

One of my favorites was the Mutton Busters: little kids riding on sheep. It was so funny all these kids probably 8 and under holding onto the sheep as they go running around. One kid rode it backwards and was just hanging on with all his might. Unfortunately I missed getting video on the best Mutton Busters. I did get some good steer roping video thought. I have no idea how the guys rope steer so quickly, the are out of the chute and done in about seven seconds, it is crazy. I was also amazed by the trick riders. I got video of this too but I think it is too big for blogger. It was pretty crazy though. Still the highlight had to be the bull riding, those guys are crazy. It was totally worth it and lived up to my rodeo expectations.

Harry Potter

2011-07-15T20:24:00.005-06:00

I was pretty bummed because Jonny was going to in California for the premiere of Harry Potter and he and his family were going at midnight. Then on Monday Ashley and I decided that we should go. So after about 30 mins of searching for tickets we found some, 3D and reserved seats. I took Jonny to the airport and on the way home went to WalMart and decided Ashley and I should go all out and make t-shirts. So we did. We spent the next couple of nights making our shirts and getting excited.

Then on Thursday we tried, unsuccessfully, to take naps to prepare for the late night. Then we turned to caffeine.

So here are some pictures of the shirts and us at the movie rocking our Harry Potter style 3D glasses. (We went picture crazy)

Also since I didn't post any pictures or anything about the 4th of July I'll give a quick run down. We went to the Freedom Festival in Provo and looked around at the booths. We were going to BBQ but the weather turned raining so we changed our plans. For our fireworks show we went up the mountain and watched the all the aerial fireworks people set off.

It was cool to see them everywhere! Then we came home and set off our own, a lot of our own. We got some that were pretty awesome especially since they were only $2.

Logan

2011-07-03T21:48:00.007-06:00

Jonny's sister Hannah came out to Utah for a few weeks and is staying with their Grandma in Logan. Jonny and I went up last weekend and this weekend to spend some time with her. Last weekend we headed up Saturday morning. When we got there we went to the farmer's market in the park across the street.

Then we headed to the swimming pool for some time in the sun. It was a really nice new pool and they had a few big water slides and two big pools.

We had fun hanging out there for a few hours and definitely got worn out. Then we went out to dinner at Olive Garden with their Grandma and cousin Bryan. The we headed over to Island Market to get some penny candies and then ended the night with Aggie ice cream where we were eaten alive by mosquitoes. Jonny and I headed back to Provo that night exhausted but we had a great time.

This weekend we headed up Friday night and stayed the night. When we got there we set off some fireworks then headed to bed. On Saturday we took Hannah to Transformers 3 which was really good. Then we went ice blocking with Jonny's cousin Sara and her kids (who are so adorable and fun.) That evening that a the Cruise In which is a parade of cool old cars and some nice new ones.

It was pretty fun to see all of them but it was REALLY hot. (Sorry I didn't have any picture os people this weekend.) Originally the plan was to head back to Provo in time to see the Stadium of Fire fireworks but we decided to stay and chat with people a little bit longer. We ended the night by lighting off a few more fireworks with Sara's kids and then heading back to Provo. It was a good (and tiring) couple of weekends, we had fun hanging out with Hannah and some of Jonny's extended family.

Across the Country and Back in a Day

2011-06-25T09:20:00.005-06:00

Last weekend Jonny and I were trying to think of something to do to enjoy the weather. We went out to Strawberry Day in Pleasant Grove and walked around for a bit. The we decided to take a quick trip across the country.

We hit D.C. first.

Next we headed to Philadelphia to check out where the Liberty Bell used to hang.

Then we headed to South Dakota.

We also stopped in NY to play some laser tag in the subway but I didn't get a picture. All this and we still had a chance to make it back to Provo to watch Water for Elephants. There is also a small chance that we took all these pictures at Trafalga in Lehi while mini golfing.

Also a side note Karleigh left for California for the rest of the summer so we helped her finish moving her stuff into the storage unit and then got some burgers at JCW's (those of you in Utah County should try it out! Great food I recommend the Hickory Bacon Cheeseburger.)

I'm sad she left and I'm going to miss her for the next few months. I took a picture because Jonny and Karleigh were kind of twins and I thought it was funny.

Les Mis

2011-06-05T22:10:00.004-06:00

For Christmas Jonny's parents gave us tickets to see Les Mis in Salt Lake. This weekend the show finally arrived! We were so excited. Jonny has seen the show many times but this was my first time. I loved it. It was amazing and the cast was great. It makes me want to go see more shows. Jonny also loved it and said he was impressed by the cast. The theater was smaller than other ones he had been to but it was still nice. I was familiar with many of the songs and had a general idea of the story but it was so great to have it all come together. It is such a powerful story and the music is fantastic.

Karleigh came over and did my hair and helped me get all ready.

The night wouldn't have been over without a little adventure. We thought the adventure of the night would have been having to wander around to find somewhere to make change for parking (not easy at 11 pm). However, the real adventure was driving along the freeway when all of a sudden we hear a flapping sound and hooray! our tire is FLAT! So we got to pull over and Jonny got to fix the flat tire in his nice new suit. But we got it taken care of and made it home safely (at 2am) and still had a great night.

The Triplet's 1st Birthday

2011-05-23T21:38:00.007-06:00

Last week Taryn came out to Utah so we got to have some fun. She came out with her friends who have triplets. Taryn and Grant helped a lot with the three little ones before they moved. But the parents, Karrie and Al, needed a third set of hands to help on the plane so they paid for Taryn to come out. So I was really bad at taking pictures of our activities but we pretty much ate a lot, we went shopping one day and just hung out (Taryn got sick so she wasn't up for much, but we had fun.) We did have dinner with our cousins who are out here which was fun. While out here Karrie's family had a birthday party for the triplets, they turn one this week, so Karleigh and I went to meet the babies and Karrie and Al. I did take a lot of pictures here so sorry if it is picture overload but they are so cute and there are three of them so it requires 3x the pictures to cover everything.

Karleigh and Madi.

Madi and me.

All of us with Madi.

With Jordan, he had a long day and was pretty fussy most of the time.

Madi on the other hand was quite happy. We had fun saying "Madi night night" and watching her flop over like she is going to sleep and then just giggling away.

Allie, I love her little nose and her adorable hair.

Cake time! They all grabbed the candles right way.

Allie didn't seem too interested.

Jordan wasn't either.

Madi dug right in and enjoyed her cake.

And made a big mess of herself.

Allie being happy.

I guess my necklace is yummy. It kept her from crying at least.

Madi all cleaned up and sleepy.

Jordan starting to cheer up.

Karrie and Madi with the purple dress we gave to her. Allie got a matching one and Jordan got a little button up shirt.

Now one of the sisters.

So glad Taryn could come and stay with me and that we finally got to meet Karrie, Al and their adorable little ones.

Trevor and Meagan's Wedding

2011-05-02T18:44:00.006-06:00

My cousin Trevor just married Meagan and I am so happy for them. They have also been dating for a long time so it is exciting that they tied the knot, she was part of the family already. They got married in San Diego on April 23rd. I left Friday evening and flew back Sunday morning so I was really just there for the day of the wedding. It was so great to be down there to celebrate with them and to spend time with family, the warmer weather was also nice. Our uncle Randy performed the ceremony it was really nice. The wedding was at an outdoor Mexican restaurant, there was a really nice grassy area in the back with a fountain waterfall. The food was delicious and it was a really nice atmosphere where everyone could just sit and visit. And most importantly, they looked so happy! So here are the pictures, there are kind of a lot.

Some of the Rose girls.

With the groom.

The groom with his sisters.

With the bride and groom.

Exchanging rings. I love how happy she looks.

They're married!

The girls with Grandpa. Our grandpa is cute, simple as that.

With his side of the family.

They are adorable.

Pillows and Cake

2011-04-24T20:11:00.004-06:00

Here are a few other recent projects. I saw pillows like these a few months ago and I had to make them for my mom. So I made them for her birthday. They took a lot of work and time but they were worth it. Jonny cut out the letters and did an excellent job.

And another cake. My coworker was turning 30 and when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted his response was Elmo. So that is what he got.

It also took a lot of time and work but I think he turned out pretty perfect. There is no question that it's Elmo.

Anniversary

2011-04-21T20:41:00.002-06:00

Last Thursday was mine and Jonny's 7th anniversary. We decided to try somewhere different for dinner. So we went to Joe's Crab Shack. The food was good and we had fun trying something different.

We were a little over dressed for Joe's but that is okay. We thought it was funny to wear the bibs with our nice dress clothes and I got to see Jonny in his awesome new suit!

Here is the anniversary present I got for Jonny. I'm pretty much the best gift giver EVER!

(just kidding it was just parked in the parking lot and we thought it was cool.)

I'm so lucky to have such an amazing boyfriend. I love him!

Baby Blankets

2011-04-12T22:35:00.003-06:00

I haven't really been doing a whole lot recently hence the lack of posting. The things I have been doing are things like seeing movies and working out, which don't really lend well to exciting posts. I have also finally finished some baby blankets I have been making. I have a few friends who are having babies and I got a sewing machine for Christmas so I decided to make rag quilts. They involve cutting lots of squares, then sewing X's on said squares and the sewing the squares together. It is time consuming but I think they turned out really well so I guess they are worth it! Here are two of the ones I have made.

I gave the pink and purple (if you can tell the colors) one to my old roommate Kasey who is pregnant with baby girl #2. I'm mad at myself for not taking pictures at her baby shower because it was so adorable. It was a tea party and the host went all out with tables set with her grandmother's china and twinkle lights for decoration. It was fun to get to see Kasey and celebrate her new little bundle of joy.

I also made a blue and yellow blanket for Karleigh's friend. Kars put the finishing touches on it so I will have to post pictures when I get them from her. Then I have one more girl one to do then I have a break for at least a little bit!

Bon Jovi!

2011-03-24T20:43:00.005-06:00

A few months ago Jonny and I bought tickets to the Bon Jovi concert (birthday presents to one another) and the day finally arrived! We went and saw him perform at Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake on Tuesday.

Getting ready to leave.

Waiting to get in.

We were far away but we had a straight on shot so it worked.

Jonny got some really good shots. He also got an awesome video of Livin' on a Prayer but it is too big to put on here.

It was an strange mix of people. There were a lot of women there who were in there mid to late 40s who were dressing like they were 19 again and were seriously rocking out. It was definitely "interesting." The concert was amazing, totally worth the wait. It lived up to my expectations. We had such a good time. I couldn't stop singing the whole way home.

Jolly Birthdays

2011-03-13T00:38:00.003-07:00

I was a little slow on updating for my birthday so I am just going to combine mine and Jonny's. I didn't take as many pictures for these as I did for Karleigh's sorry. The 8th was my birthday. I only had to work until noon (so nice) so I came home and took a nap. That night Jonny, Karleigh, Kirstin and I all went to P.F. Chang's for dinner. It was amazingly delicious as usual! When we got home I opened my wonderful presents from everyone. (Also I bought the dress I am wearing in the picture a few weeks ago for like $15 and I have been waiting to wear it so I was happy it was nice enough on my birthday.)

Then we had pazookies (spelling?) and I got candles that said "24" haha. Unfortunately, shortly after getting home I started to feel pretty sick to my stomach so I didn't actually eat any but I did blow out the candles.

I blame the upset stomach on the terrible cold I was getting over. Then we all watched the new Karate Kid movie. I liked it a lot. It was a really great birthday minus the feeling sick part.

On to Jonny's birthday on the 12th, a quarter of a century for him! We had people over to his place to watch the BYU/SDSU MWC championship game, not the outcome we were hoping for but oh well. Then we went out to dinner at Rumbi. We had fun there telling old stories and laughing a lot. Then we came back to my place for him to open his presents.

Then it was time for cake. Now I'll have to explain the story behind the cake. For years Jonny has been telling me about the amazing cake his friend Isaac's mom used to make back when he lived in Washington (so about 3rd-7th grade). It was an ice cream cake in the shape of a giant Oreo. So this year I contacted Isaac on Facebook and got the recipe and surprised Jonny with it. I told him I was making him Snickers cupcakes so I actually bought Snickers to keep up the image and then we put the candles in the Snickers bars and brought those out.

He was a little confused until I ran back in the kitchen and grabbed the real cake. He was pretty excited so that made me happy.

We ended the night with some Kinect Sports and dancing and now he is playing Call of Duty Black Ops (my present to him.) So now the March birthday craziness is done. Now it is time to look forward to the Bon Jovi concert on the 22nd! (our birthday present to each other)

Karleigh's 21st Birthday!

2011-03-03T00:38:00.003-07:00

And so the March Birthday craziness starts. Karleigh turned 21 on Tuesday! I can't believe she is already 21. We went to dinner with Jonny and Kirstin at California Pizza Kitchen. We were totally stuffed after eating our yummy pizza and drink TONS of lemonade.

So yummy and pretty- Kiwi, Mango, Strawberry and Peach

After dinner we went back to my apartment and Karleigh opened her presents (the ones that had shown up, American Eagle is slow at shipping.)

Then we had cake. I had jokingly told Karleigh I was going to make her Kalua cupcakes but I decided I couldn't make myself spend money on alcohol so I came up with this alternative. So she still got her fancy drink when she turned 21.

Then we played our dancing and sports games on the Kinect. After letting our food and lemonade settle for a bit we had one more surprise for her....

21 shots of Dr. Pepper.

I told her I didn't think she deserved to be deprived of this tradition just because she didn't drink. I'm not sure how she did them all, especially after drinking so much lemonade, but she did. We ended the night with some Beatles' Rock Band. It was a good night. I'm so lucky to have an awesome younger sister who I get to celebrate with.

The Wonderful (and sometimes not) World of Sports

2011-01-29T19:12:00.004-07:00

Let's start with the not so wonderful. Awhile back I posted on how I think sports can bring out the worst in people, we saw it in action on Friday. Jonny and I are playing on an intramural team with Kirstin and people from her ward. The team we played was WAY too physical it was ridiculous. I got knocked over by several guys, on guy stepped on my hand (no apology), then one girl grabbed Jonny from behind by the shoulders and threw him down, pushed Kirstin from behind and knocked her on her stomach, pushed me from behind and then grabbed my arm and pulled me to the ground. Also, no fouls on any of these. The team was also killing us score wise but never stopped beating up on us physically. It was one of those games you just leave being mad about how everyone acted. We were hoping to play for fun but teams like that aren't fun.

Now the wonderful...the BYU vs. SDSU basketball game. BYU was ranked 9th and SDSU 4th. We had all sports passes so we could get in the game for free. It was quite the drama to get the wristbands to get us into the game but long story short we got the wristbands that guaranteed us a spot in line. We then had to get to the game at 4 (the game started at 8 and the doors opened at 6) to get in line.

So we got to spend 2 hours sitting out in the cold before the game but it was more than worth it! Plus it gave us time to work on our signs for the game.

It was the most amazing basketball game I have ever been to and arguably the best game ever at the Marriott Center. Jimmer Fredette played amazingly and gets the crowd going every time he scores. The defense was also amazing blocking shots and getting rebounds. The Marriott Center was painfully loud with everyone on the feet screaming. It was amazing.

The game ended with a win which led to a "You got Jimmered" chant and the crowd rushing the court.

I'm so glad we were able to get into the game and have good seats (thanks Kirstin!) it's a game that will be talked about for awhile.

2010 in Pictures

2011-01-02T18:30:00.013-07:00

Keeping up the tradition here is 2010 in pictures. It's long again but it is going to be mostly pictures.

January-

Sundance

Jonny's Granddad's funeral

Outdoor skating with Jonny's family

February-

Superbowl Party

Valentine's Day

March-

Karleigh's Birthday

My birthday

Jonny's 14-layer birthday cake

Jonny's birthday with cousins

Katie's Birthday

April-

Easter Dinner with cousins

Alumni Ball

Anniversary Dinner at Cheesecake Factory

May-

S'more cupcakes for David's birthday

Snow in May

June-

Cale's Wedding

Family trip to San Diego

Another rescue, little Polo

July-

4th of July

Salt Lake Bees game

Pioneer Day hike

August-

Cousin Dinner

Katie's Wedding

Jonny's cousin Clark's wedding

September-

Trip to Lagoon

October-

Football

Halloween Cake Pops

Best Halloween costumes EVER

November-

More football

December-

Met the "will it blend?" guy at Costco

Lots of snow

Family Pictures

Christmas with the family

Christmas morning

New Year's Eve

I hope everyone had a great 2010 and Happy New Year!

The Hap Happiest Season of All

2010-12-28T21:47:00.006-07:00

I love the Christmas season. The music, the decorations, the lights, family getting together. It is my favorite time of the year. This year we were lucky enough to have our whole family together for Christmas. Unfortunately I was only able to be home for a few days, I had to come back for work, but we had a great time. I flew in Wednesday morning, left my apartment at 4:30 am to be exact. We went to the Farmer's Market, made cake pops (my mom and sisters had already made tons of other goodies) and just spent time together.

On Thursday we took family pictures, Jonny acted as our photographer.

Christmas Eve we had a big dinner, we had the sister missionaries over as well as a few of the older sisters in the ward.

We opened our Christmas Eve presents, PJs of course, and then headed to bed.

It amazes me that even at 23 I still find it hard to fall asleep on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning we woke up and exchanged gifts.

Waiting for the ok to come out.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing and spending time together. I had to leave on Monday evening so it was a quick trip but I was so grateful to get to spend time with my family. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family and to be able to travel to spend time with them. I hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas season. Happy New Year!

Will it Blend?

2010-12-19T15:51:00.006-07:00

Karleigh and I were at Costco Saturday and they had a display for the Blendtec blender. This thing is amazing! It adjusts the speed itself so smoothies are even and smooth. It make ice cream and hot soup! No, I'm not selling it, I just really want one. Karleigh and I were marveling at it. Blendtec in actually based in Orem. I have seen them at Costco a few times but I first learned about the company in my marketing class. The owner makes "Will it Blend" videos. Like this one... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAl28d6tbko They have become a huge YouTube hit. The owner take random stuff to see if it will blend. Golf balls, marbles, iPads, iPhones. Well, at Costco the owner was there. We got a picture with him.

The coolest part was right after this picture we watched him blend that rake. We were amused.
In case you were wondering there is one thing the Blendtec blender won't blend. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9V-goCaua0

Christmas Sweatshirts

2010-12-09T17:16:00.006-07:00

A few weeks ago Jonny and I were at WalMart and they had Christmas sweatshirts. We found one with a moose on it and decided we had to get it for Kirstin (moose are her favorite animal.) Then we say one that said "Happy Holly Days" so I had to get it for me since it had my name on it. Then I wanted to get one for Karleigh so the three of us could have Christmas sweatshirts so I found one that had cute candy canes on it. We also got the in 2XL so the would be big and comfy and fit into the ugly Christmas sweater category. I also thought it would be cute to get all dressed up and then put them on and take pictures. So today Jonny was kind enough to act as the photographer for our Christmas sweatshirt photo shoot. Personally, I think we make the giant sweatshirts work.

Mature huh?

This one makes me laugh.

Then of course I made Jonny take some with me. He didn't like wearing Karleigh's belt.

He didn't want a kiss.

Then he decided to attack me with a hug.

I know I put up a lot of pictures but I couldn't choose which ones to use so I just put most of them up.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T15:20:00.004-07:00

This year Mom and Dad came out to Utah for Thanksgiving. I had to work and flights home for Karleigh were really pricey so they drove out to spend the holiday with us. It was great to have them out here. I did a terrible job taking pictures of Thanksgiving day so sorry for they are lacking. We got dinner started and then went to Harry Potter. We go to a movie every Thanksgiving and every time there is Harry Potter one we see that. I thought it was awesome. Then we enjoyed a delicious dinner and dessert. Our whipped cream with a little pumpkin pie. After dinner it was time to watch Elf and then decorate the apartment for Christmas.

Our Christmas Tree.

I had to work all day Friday but my parents and Karleigh came and had lunch with me. When I got off we went out the Macaroni Grill for dinner. Then we walked around and looked at the lights at the Riverwoods. They were really pretty but it was freezing!

Warming their hands by the fire.

I worked again Saturday. When I got off we watched the BYU/Utah game, which unfortunately we lost. Then we went to dinner and a dollar movie. My parents had to leave early Sunday morning so they headed to the hotel for the night. It was so much fun to have them here for Thanksgiving, and even better I get to see them in less than a month!

Also a cool side note. When Ashley and I showed up to church on Sunday LaVell Edwards was sitting on the stand. He and his wife were the speakers in our ward. After the meeting we said hi and thanked him for his talk but we didn't shake his hand. When we got in the car we were talking about how mad we were that we didn't, so we parked again and ran back in to shake his hand but he was already gone. And yes we do realize it is kind of dorky but we also don't care at all!

It was a great few days and I can't wait to be with the whole family for Christmas.

Catch Up and Cake

2010-11-14T22:27:00.007-07:00

I haven't written in awhile. Last weekend we went to the BYU game again. This time we won, by a lot! It is nice to be winning again!

After the game Jonny, Kirstin, her roommate Ariel and I went to Broiler Express. This restaurant has been closed since I moved out to Utah but the building has never changed. The signs have stayed up and everything. Jonny and I have always wanted it to reopen and it finally did! The food was okay but to be honest we probably won't go back.

Now the real purpose of this post...cake! A few weeks ago Karleigh and I were talking to Jonny's roommate Eric and found out his birthday was coming up. So of course Kars and I jumped at the chance to bake a cake. He probably thought we were joking when we said we would make him a cake but of course we weren't. Karleigh found a recipe for zebra cake so thats what we made. The pictures are the best part so here they are...

The birthday boy in the middle.

And the reason it is called zebra cake. We think it turned out well. The pictures don't really do it justice.

This is Halloween

2010-10-31T15:51:00.005-06:00

To start out our Halloween celebration Jonny and I went to a pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkin. We found a pretty good one. At the pumpkin patch they had a mini petting zoo. They had a kangaroo which I thought was awesome.

It was REALLY windy if you can't tell by my hair.

Jonny and I had been trying to decide what to be for Halloween this year and we couldn't come up with any ideas. I finally decided I was going to be a witch but we still had to come up with something for Jonny. Then I came up with a great idea (if I do say so myself.) He should be Mr. Fredrickson from UP! I decided if he was going to be a character from UP! I needed to be one too. So I decided to be Russell instead of a witch. After countless trips to DI, JoAnn's, WalMart, and Michael's and a quick trip to West Valley for a cane, Jonny and I put together what I think are pretty awesome UP! costumes. You can't really tell but Jonny even has his Ellie badge and I'm missing one merit badge. We paid attention to detail.

Katie and Reed had a party at his parents house on Saturday so Jonny and I went there. We played games and watched Young Frankenstein. We had a good time hanging out with everyone. We went and showed Kirstin and Karleigh our costumes. We also had to pick up some groceries so we went to WalMart in out costumes. It was funny listening to everyone figuring out our costumes. "Look at them! I get it they're UP!"

On Sunday Jonny and I made chili and "scones" (I use quotes because we have an ongoing disagreement on what scones are and these are his scones) for dinner. It is an Anderson Halloween tradition. Jonny really did most of it and it was delicious. And of course what would a holiday be without cake pops? I made cake pops and took them to work on Friday. I think that the little Frankenstein's are my favorite. I also made some more for dinner on Sunday along with a cake. What can I say baking is my addiction. Happy Halloween!

Halloween Decorations

2010-10-20T19:21:00.004-06:00

I figured I would post some pictures of my Halloween decorations. I'm actually pretty proud of them, I think they turned out well. I made the mistake of going into a store that sells lots of decorations so I bought the cute little BOO sign this year and the little ghost is also a new addition. The decorations that I am most proud of though are the candy corn things. The garland, the little candy corns laying around and the pillow. I made them, by hand, no sewing machine. I just came up with the idea last week and decided to make them. It took forever but I think they are awesome.

I was just going to make the garland but then I bought WAY too much fabric so I used it for the pillow. I still have tons so I think I'm going to make a pumpkin. I'll post pictures if I do. So my apartment is all ready for Halloween now.

Homecoming

2010-10-14T21:00:00.005-06:00

Last weekend was the Homecoming game. It really didn't feel like homecoming, probably because I wasn't on campus at all and didn't see any of the activities. I had to work in the morning but I got off in time for the game. It was an awesome "free stuff" day, on the way to the game I found $15 on the ground (yes I kept it, there was no way I would have found the owner), when we got to the game our section had free sports backpacks and visors and then at the end of the game I found some pom poms. The game started out amazingly, the team played really well but it slowed down a little bit but we still won! It was lots of fun.

Smiling after our win. I made the matching "game-day headbands." It was while making these headbands that I dropped a piece of felt cover in hot glue on my thumb giving me a nice, large and very painful blister.

Cousins

2010-10-03T20:12:00.003-06:00

My cousins Breanne and Brittany came to Utah this weekend for conference so we went up to Salt Lake on Saturday afternoon to see them. We met up with Brittany at Temple Square and then we went and got Breanne from WalMart where she doing some shopping with people from her ward. I only mention WalMart because this WalMart had a parking garage and escalators! It was weird. Then we stopped at Carl's Jr. for some dinner.

We met up with their ward after priesthood session and we were supposed to go on the Heber Creeper haunted train ride but we didn't make it in time. We were on our way out of Salt Lake when we got a call from Breanne, who was now in the car with her husband, that the ward had forgotten two girls and they were now looking for them. So we turned our car around to help. They were found a few minutes later but by the point we only had 40 mins to get from Salt Lake to Provo Canyon. The train ended up leaving a little late but we ended up getting there about 2 mins after it left. We were sad that we missed it but there was nothing we could do at that point so we headed home. It was fun to get to hang out with the cousins and spend a few hours together.

Between conference sessions on Sunday Jonny and I drove Alpine Loop, which is always pretty this time of year but I forgot to take pictures. I wish there had been at least a little more color change but it was still pretty. Other than that we just watched conference and relaxed which was nice after a busy/stressful week.

A few quick Updates

2010-09-26T15:23:00.006-06:00

There hasn't been a lot of going ons recently but I figured I could post a few things. Season 2 of Glee premiered on Tuesday so we had a Glee watching party to kick off the new season. It was really an excuse for me to make a cake. The original plan was cake with yellow frosting and red writing to match the Glee colors but I really wanted to make this chocolate cake. It is amazing and what makes it amazing is the chocolate fudge frosting, so I just did the red writing. The cake recipe has a layer of cheesecake in the middle but I left that out this time and it is still great. We had friends over had had fun watching the show and eating chips and dip and cake.

Saturday was BYU's second home game. It was hot again and sadly this time the game didn't result in a win. This year Jonny and I have seats with our sisters and our friends Jess and Steve so at least we get to hang out with friends even when the game doesn't go the way we want. I have a feeling this is going to be a rough season but I have high hopes for a year or two from now when the team isn't so young and inexperienced.

Other than work that is pretty much what I have been doing recently. Nothing too exciting but I hadn't posted in awhile so I figured I should put something.

Three Day Weekend

2010-09-11T23:42:00.005-06:00

I realize that the three day weekend was a week ago but at least I'm getting around to it now. It was a pretty good three day weekend. Saturday was the first BYU game, they played Washington at home. It had been in the 70s-80s all week and then just in time for the game it got up to 95ish, so it was insanely hot. It was an interesting game which ended in a win so that was nice. We of course did face paint and blue hair.

Then on Monday Jonny and I went to Lagoon. His parents gave him the trip as a birthday present. We started the day at Lagoon-A-Beach, the water park. Unfortunately it was only like 70 so we were a little on the cold side.

Why it couldn't have been 70 for the game and 90 for the water park I don't know. The cooler weather was nice for the rest of the day though. It wasn't very crowded so we were able to go on everything and never had to wait too long. We went on the Sky Coaster which was awesome. It is the ride below. Where you are pulled way up high and then you are released and go flying.

That was pretty much our weekend. Lots of fun and not long enough.

Clark and Shilah's Wedding

2010-08-26T19:52:00.007-06:00

Jonny's cousin Clark got married last Friday up in Logan. Luckily I was able to get off work early so we could make it up there. They had the reception in the park across the street from his grandparent's house. It was so beautiful. They were so happy together. Again, I'll just post the pictures.

Nolo, Clark's brother-in-law, was the MC and he did a great job.

Embarrassing Clark and making everyone laugh.

I love looking at the way people decorate and so I'm posting some of the pictures of what they did. I loved that it was outside and in a park that was important to them. I also love the outdoor dance floor.

Jonny and I got to spend a few days in Logan with his family just hanging out and doing some of the classic Logan activities like going to Island Market for penny candies and eating Aggie ice cream.

Katie's Wedding

2010-08-18T22:03:00.007-06:00

Last Saturday my friend Katie got married. The wedding was at the Mt. Timpanogos Temple and the reception was in her backyard. Her dad did an amazing job redoing their backyard. Yes, she did find someone to marry who has hair as red as hers. She looked so gorgeous and they were both so happy. Jess, Ashley and I were her bridesmaids. I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

Right after this the girl behind me viciously knocked me out of the way to catch the bouquet and then face planted. It was pretty hilarious!

Congratulations Katie and Reed! I'm so happy for you love birds!

Golfing and Family

2010-08-08T22:20:00.006-06:00

On Friday Jonny and I wanted to go on a date. Our original plan was to go see A-Team at the dollar theater but it was sold out by the time we got there so we had to change our plans. Our next idea was mini-golf, when we got there we changed our minds again and headed out to the driving range. We have been a few times and it is always fun. I'm not very good but I started getting better. I even tried it in heels, that didn't last long.

Jonny was a great coach and he always does well.

We actually went out to the driving range again on Saturday. It was fun until we woke up this morning sore. I just never use golfing muscles so they are complaining today! Then today, Sunday, we went to dinner at my cousins house. My aunt and cousin were visiting from San Diego and staying with my cousin in Springville so we had a cousin dinner.

It was fun catching up with cousins we haven't seen in years. Karleigh, David and Brittany were making fun of Jonny and I. They ate outside at the "kid's table" and Jonny and I were inside with the adults. David said he kept waiting for me to come out and say, "ok kids it is time to go." Then when we were leaving Karleigh and David had walked out to the car and Jonny and I were still on the porch saying goodbye and talking a little longer. When we get in the car to go Karleigh points out that we really are like the parents because we took forever to leave when the kids were ready to go. I had to laugh because it was true.

I don't know how he does it...

2010-07-29T21:57:00.004-06:00

I don't know what it is about Jonny but he has an insane way of finding animals. This one isn't a cute little kitten but it is kind of cool. Last Thursday our friends from Davis were in town and so we were going out to dinner with them. I got off work, picked Jonny up and then ran home to change and they were meeting us at my place. When I come out of my room after changing the front door is open and Jonny is nowhere in sight. I yell his name out the door and hear, "Holly come here! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" So I run down the stairs and see...

Apparently this guy was just hanging out on the sidewalk leading up to my apartment. Pretty comforting huh? I actually think he is kinda cute.

He was having fun twisting around the stick.

I tried to get a picture of it sticking out it's tongue because it was two colors and I thought it was cool. But when I moved in to take the picture he got a little angry and made a move toward me so it made the picture blurry.

We took him out behind my apartments where there is a hill covered in trees and bushes. He didn't stay there for long, a few days later my roommate caught a glimpse of his tail slithering under a log near the sidewalk. I just hope there aren't tons of snake babies somewhere!

Pioneer Day

2010-07-25T20:48:00.003-06:00

This was my first year being in Utah for Pioneer Day so Jonny and I wanted to do something fun. We finally decided we would go for a hike. Karleigh and her roommate had hiked to Silver Lake a few weeks ago and said it was really nice so we decided on that. Jonny did an excellent job navigating the bumpy dirt road on the way there. It was a really pretty hike.

The lake at the top was beautiful. It was so clear and there weren't very many people there which was nice.

The water was freezing so we didn't go out too deep. We hung out at the lake for a bit, hiked around it, ate lunch and then headed back down. When we were hiking around the lake we got to a part where we had to step over some tree branches and stuff to avoid stepping in mud and falling in the water. While in the process of doing this I slipped and luckily the branches and Jonny were there to catch me but I think I hurt my back in the process because it is so sore today. When we got back to Provo I got a migraine which was no fun but at least it waited until we got back from the hike. The rest of the night consisted of me lying in a dark room. I could have done without the migraine but the rest of the day was fun. It was a great hike and I'm glad we went, even if I'm a little sore today. We also went and saw Despicable Me in 3D on Friday night. It was cute! I liked it a lot and it was cool seeing a movie in 3D.

Rivercats, Rivercats!

2010-07-19T21:32:00.005-06:00

Jonny and I have been talking about going to a Salt Lake Bees baseball game for awhile. We figured the perfect time to go was when the Sacramento Rivercats were coming. Our plan was to go to the game on Saturday night but on Thursday Aaron, a guy I work with, offered me free tickets to the game Friday night. He was given them and going to be out of town so he couldn't use them. So Jonny and I just changed our plans and went to the game on Friday night instead. The seats were good to begin with and when we got there the people who were sitting next to us asked if we wanted to move up. They wanted 6 seats together and couldn't get them so they just bought two random seats and hoped they could move around. So we ended up on the 4th row on the 3rd base line. The view from our seats.

I was cheering for the Rivercats, but like every other team I have cheered for this year they lost. We still had lots of fun.

One of my favorite parts of the game was this cute little guy.

We were sitting right by the Rivercats bullpen and he kept running down yelling at the catchers and pitchers who were warming up and trying to get them to give him a ball. He just sat there yelling, "Hey catcher, catcher, number 45! Can I have a ball? Cause I want one!" This is a picture we snapped of him turning around and trying to get his brother to join him. He would get so upset when his brother wouldn't come down with him. I had fun watching him and he gave us a few good laughs. It was a fun game I'm glad we got to go. Thanks Aaron for getting us there for free!

Double Date

2010-07-11T21:32:00.004-06:00

On Friday Jonny and I went on a double date with my old roommate Jessica and her hubby Steve. Jess and I had been talking about doing a double for a long time and we finally planned one. We went to Rumbi for dinner. We had so much fun catching up over dinner and talking about some of the weird names people give their children. Then we went to and outdoor movie at BYU, they were showing Planet 51.

As we were watching there was some lightning off in the distance. I LOVE lightning but always seem to miss the bolts, so I was paying more attention to the sky than the movie. The lightning started moving closer and then you started to be able to hear the thunder. A few people started leaving. Then the lightning really started getting crazy. It was all over the sky. There were massive bolts that stretched across the entire sky and turn the sky purple. It was so cool! I loved it. The wind started to pick up and it started to smell like rain and ever more people left. We just stayed and kept watching the movie. Then the rain started and everyone started to make a run for it. The four of us were going to stay and finish the movie (there was only like five mins left) but they decided to cut it short. Even if we didn't get to finish the movie we had fun and I think the lightning show we got was even better than the movie.

Polokwane

2010-07-08T17:51:00.005-06:00

Yet another rescue. To keep with the city name theme for the cats we find on campus, we named him after one of the South African cities that hosted World Cup games. Meet Polokwane (Polo) aka Little Dude.

Jonny and I found him a few weeks ago on BYU campus. They have a serious cat problem. He was completely abandoned. His eyes were sealed shut with gunk and his mouth was filled with dirt. So we took him home and cleaned him up. It was amazing how quickly he got better. He was full of energy and attacked anything that moved and even things that didn't move.

As much as we hated to give him up, we knew we needed to find him a home. We put up an ad on Craigslist but that didn't really work so we decided we would go out to WalMart with a sign and hope that would work. We went out today, Jonny was putting up the sign when a mother and daughter pulled up and asked to see him. Less than five minutes later we were saying bye to little Polo and handing him over to his new family. We were sad to see him go but we were happy to find him a home.

4th of July

2010-07-05T20:09:00.005-06:00

Being in Provo, where a majority of the population doesn't do things on Sundays, the 4th of July festivities took place on the 3rd. Jonny and I went downtown to the Freedom Festival and walked around looking at all the little booths. Then we went with Karleigh and her roommate Katrina to watch the fireworks. We just sat outside the BYU stadium and watched the Stadium of Fire fireworks. The field we sat in had the lights on the whole time but the view was better than last year and we could see more of what went on in the stadium. I absolutely love fireworks and the Stadium of Fire has some really cool ones.

On Sunday Jonny, Karleigh, Katrina and I had a barbecue. We had burgers, salad, a jello/pretzel dish, watermelon and cake pops (of course).

It was a gorgeous day which makes it that much better.

On Monday I had work off and Jonny didn't have school so we went and saw Eclipse and went to the pool. We ended the weekend with Summer Sno, shaved ice with vanilla ice cream on the bottom and half and half on top.

All in all it was a great weekend. I love the 4th of July. I am so grateful to be an American and have all the freedoms that come with it. We really do live in an amazing country.

Touring San Diego

2010-06-19T10:33:00.012-06:00

My dad was doing an academic conference in San Diego this week so we got to stay in a nice hotel. We stayed in a Hilton right on Mission Bay. It was fun to kind of be tourists around San Diego. I figure the best way to do this post is mostly in pictures. So here goes.

We went to look at the San Diego Temple. They are re-stuccoing it so it is covered in scaffolding.

The hotel room.

Our pod chairs.

The pool.

The view from the pool.

We did some shopping and the girls went and got pedicures.

We went to Little Italy for dinner.

Then we went to the most amazing dessert place, Extraordinary Desserts. These pictures do not do it justice, they are beautiful. To make it ever better they taste amazing!

Dad's

Mom's

Taryn's

Mine

Karleigh's

The we did some hot tub time.

In n Out.

More beach time.

Boogie boarding.

Cute toes at the beach.

Then family came and we had dinner and hung out around the fire pit at the pool.

We celebrated Father's Day a few days early.

Our cute matching San Diego tourist dresses.

SeaWorld and Beach

2010-06-16T21:25:00.007-06:00

On Tuesday we went to SeaWorld. It was nice we went in a little later in the day and just had a "relaxing" day there. We didn't worry about getting everything done, we just went and did the things we wanted to do and didn't do the things we didn't as much care about. We did the Wild Arctic ride and Atlantis to start the day. We went through the penguin exhibit.

We saw the sharks. We went and saw the Shamu show. And the new dolphin show. It was pretty cool there was a lot going on. My one complaint was the dolphins weren't out long enough. One thing I had never done before was they have a place where the dolphins are out and playing with balls and you can pet them and play with them. It was so cool. We were looking at them for awhile then the trainers said it was time for the dolphins to get ready for their show so we walked away. As we do a dolphin comes up and starts throwing a ball to the girl who took our spot. We were kind of mad. We ended the day on the rafting ride. We always end on this ride so after we get soaked we can go home. Here are the before pictures.

My parents got totally soaked the first time on. Karleigh and I both got pretty wet. Kars and I went again the second time we got drenched. I only got after pictures of Karleigh and me. We were cold.

On Wednesday we went to the beach again. Taryn was supposed to get here in the morning but didn't get on a flight so it was Wednesday night instead. Luckily it was sunny this time. It was a really good beach day. We enjoyed being out laying on the beach and Karleigh and I enjoyed boogie boarding. There were some good size waves that were less brutal this time.

Shopping and more beach tomorrow!

San Diego

2010-06-14T22:44:00.008-06:00

I figure if I write about my trip as I go it will save everyone from one LONG post later.

I got into San Diego on Saturday night. I flew from Salt Lake to Denver, then to San Diego. It was pretty much cloudy the whole time. But the sunset was amazing. It came from under the clouds and it looked like the sky was on fire.

On Sunday we went out and visited Don and Cara. We went out to lunch and just hung out and talked.

Me and my cousin Jonathan.

On Monday we went to the beach. Unfortunately it was cloudy. Karleigh and I decided we would brave the cold water and boogie board.

The water wasn't too bad once you got in. The waves were brutal though.

Karleigh and I could not get out to the waves because the ones that were breaking in front of us were too strong. Every time one came we would be pushed back 4 or 5 feet. One knocked me off my feet grabbed my board and dragged me underwater for about 6 feet. When I finally was able to get out far enough to catch a wave it flipped me off my board and dragged me underwater again. I have never been so worn out by boogie boarding in my life. It was still fun though. We stayed for awhile and then went to visit Grandpa. We took him to In n Out and just visited with him for awhile. I love my grandpa. Off to SeaWorld tomorrow.

CA Wedding

2010-06-11T20:15:00.006-06:00

Exhaustion and lack of internet access are the reasons I have taken so long to write this post. Last weekend, Cale, one of mine and Jonny's best friends from high school, got married. We figured he is one of our best friends so we had to go to the wedding. I had to work until 6 on Friday so we left when I got off. We ended up getting out around 8 Utah time, which put us into Davis at about 6 California time. We were pretty exhausted. It was a fun trip though. We went to the wedding reception on Saturday afternoon. It was great to see Cale and how happy he was with Jaclyn.

After the reception my family went over to Jonny's family's for dinner. Our parents decided that if my parents wanted to see Jonny and his wanted to see me we should all get together. It was so nice to spend time with everyone. On Sunday Jonny and I headed back to Utah. We left around noon and got in around 2. We didn't make the best time because we had bikes on the car and the wind would catch them and slow us way down. It was irritating. As exhausting as the drive was it was fun. I always enjoy driving with Jonny. We saw these clouds driving though Nevada and I thought they were awesome.

Also, on the way to California we had a "fun" experience. We were about 40 miles outside of Wendover and I was passing a truck (a large pickup, not a semi) and it almost hit me. Luckily I made it by okay. We kept watching it and it was swerving everywhere. It was halfway into one lane and then off into the shoulder. Jonny called the highway patrol because we figured it had to be a drunk driver. They asked us to pace it and pull over when the cops pulled the truck over. It took awhile for the cops to get there but they did and pulled the truck over. We pulled over. The officer came over and said when he pulled her over he thought she was DUI but it turns out she was having car problems. So that was our exciting start to the trip.

Every Little Kids Dream

2010-05-27T12:36:00.003-06:00

What would every little kids dream for breakfast be? I'd say dessert. I mean what little kid if given the choice to eat cake for breakfast would say no? I was at the store yesterday and found the answer to this dream.

Yup, Cupcake Pebbles. They are like Funfetti cake in cereal form. It is like Rice Krispie Treat Cereal. Dessert for breakfast but it's ok because it is cereal. I tried it this morning, it was good. I was pretty excited to find it, I would recommend it.

Addicted

2010-05-20T21:17:00.006-06:00

I have an addiction to cooking and baking. I am always thinking about what I am going to make next. I look through cookbooks and cooking blogs to find my next "fix." I don't know what it is but I love to do it. The other day I was looking at the cakes on Food Network's Web site and I found one I am dying to make. It is a ice cream cookie cake. It is cookies and cream ice cream sandwiched between two layers of chocolate cake and topped off with ganache. Does that sound amazing or what? I wanted to go home and make it right away. However, I realized that I had no reason to make it and to make it for just me and Jonny seem kind of silly. So my solution to not making that cake? Make this one instead!

I made a chocolate cake mix and then added coconut. I made the cake at about 10:30 pm so I let the cake cool overnight (I like to stick it in the freezer, I think it makes it easier to frost) and then decorated it the next day. I think it turned out kind of pretty. I just used chocolate frosting then topped it off with coconut. After I made it, I realized I still had a cake for just me and Jonny. However, this one didn't seem quite as crazy because it didn't have the layer of ice cream. But it's still an entire cake! So if you are in the Provo area and want cake come see me. haha

I told you I'm addicted. I figure there are worse things to be addicted to. I guess I should be happy I enjoy cooking and baking since it is an important part of having a family. If you have any recipes send them my way! Recipes for anything, not just cake.

Sweet Caroline bum bum bum

2010-05-16T19:31:00.014-06:00

This week was just one of those weeks. Nothing terrible happened but lots of little things went wrong. Things like Jonny lost a bead from his bracelet, this may not seem like a big deal but I made him that bracelet the day we started dating (I have a matching one) and we have had them on ever since. They are made from hemp so we have to remake them a few times a year but the beads have been there since the beginning.

This is to show the bracelet not the crab.

Small thing but just sad. Well there were lots of little things like that that just kept going wrong. On top of that Jonny and I both had lots of trouble sleeping over the past week. We would go to bed around 11:30 or midnight but wouldn't fall asleep for hours. So, not a good week. However, this weekend was awesome. On Saturday we had to go to Salt Lake to the Apple store to replace my power cord. The Apple store is at the Gateway mall which is an outdoor mall. Well, across from the Apple store there was a show going on. When we first went over it was a bunch of girls, probably around 10-14, singing and dancing. After them a group, Synergy, performed. They were probably around 17 and 18, both guys and girls. It was actually pretty cool. They sang and danced to a Michael Jackson medley and then a Hairspray medley, which I loved.

It was fun to just be outside and enjoy being together. On our way back to Provo we went to the In-n-Out in West Jordan. We have now been to all the In-n-Outs in Utah. We did some grocery shopping at Walmart and then went back to my place. After being back for about five minutes we decided we wanted to be out doing something. We decided to go mini-golfing. We haven't been in forever. Jonny pretty much killed me but that's okay.

On our way home we decided we were hungry (we had eaten dinner at like 5) so we went and got a shake and fries at In-n-Out. That's right two trips in one day. It was an amazing day, especially considering the terrible week. Sunday was also good. We went to Jonny's ward. After we went by the duck pond and looked at all the baby ducks and saw lots of turtles.

It was fun just watching them. Then we went a tried to fly Jonny's kite. Tried being the keyword there, the wind didn't cooperate. Jonny was able to get it up for a bit by running down a hill and then continuing to run.

It was nice to be able to be outside, enjoying the great weather, and being together.

We also fell in love with the song Sweet Caroline. We had fun singing along with the Glee version on the way to Salt Lake and then singing it the rest of the day.

Happy "Birthday" Dave!

2010-05-09T19:18:00.009-06:00

My cousin David's birthday was a few weeks ago and I wanted to make him dinner and cake but he was in California for his birthday so we celebrated on Sunday. We had a BBQ at a park. We had burgers, potato salad and cupcakes. Luckily the weather was nice, cloudy but still warm. It was lots of fun. I was lame and forgot to take pictures of all of us. I did, however, take pictures of the cupcakes. I have been wanting to make these for a few months now and Dave's birthday gave me the perfect excuse. They are Bakerella's s'mores cupcakes (recipe here). You put graham cracker cake on the bottom, then you put in half a marshmallow, then put chocolate cake on top of that. You top it off with a graham cracker and brown sugar crumble and bake. Once it is cooled you put on chocolate ganache, a marshmallow and more of the graham cracker topping. I think they turned out well. Very yummy and I just thought it was a fun idea! So here are are some pictures.

Before the ganache and marshmallows.

Most of the marshmallow melts away but some of it comes to the top. You can see it in the picture below.

And the final product. Yummy!

Movie Quotes

2010-05-08T00:45:00.004-06:00

At work, one of my coworkers started writing movie quotes on a white board in the back for people to guess. So for the past few weeks we have been putting up quotes and guessing what movie they are from. Then I remembered I had done a post on my blog a few months ago about movie quotes but I never posted what movies the quotes were from. So here are the "answers."

"Well hellooooo big dollop." - Jack Black in The Holiday
"Peanut butter man are we sir?" - the butler in Meet Joe Black
"Watch out for the yellow ones. They don't stop." - Will Ferrel in Elf
"I don't think anybody has called me a butthead since the 9th grade." -"Maybe not to your face." - Luke Wilson and Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde
"A girl asks you to dance, you dance." -Bert in The Wedding Planner
"Sorry little darlin', hope I didn't dent your do." - Zac Efron in Hairspray
"There's glass between us!" -Naomi Watts in I Heart Huckabees
"Two for you Glenn Coco. Way to go Glenn Coco." -Damien in Mean Girls

So there you go. The movies and the quotes.

Bananas

2010-04-25T18:53:00.005-06:00

I have an interesting relationship with bananas. I cannot stand them, but I really, really want to like them. I know it sounds weird.

I don't like the flavor but it is the texture that really gets to me. They are mushy and slimy and just not appetizing. Also, the ruin otherwise delicious fruit salads. If you put in a banana every other fruit automatically tastes like banana. However, I still want to like them. They just seem so convenient and healthy. If you are running late you can just grab a banana and head out the door. Which is why it would be great if I liked them.

A few summers ago Karleigh and I tried to eat a banana and I was able to do two bites. Despite my hate for bananas I love banana bread.

Karleigh and I also made banana pancakes which were pretty good. But that's about all I can do. I also cannot stand banana candy, the smell of it also grosses me out. Which is too bad since Jonny loves banana flavored candy. This post was inspired by a fruit salad that was tainted by bananas, so was, sadly, not too enjoyable. So yeah, I really hate bananas. Why can't I like them?

Jonny's S'mores

2010-04-19T23:18:00.014-06:00

On Saturday Jonny and I were trying to decide what to do and I was talking about s'more cupcakes that I had been wanting to try and then Jonny had a great idea... S'mores brownies! So I suggested that we go ahead and make them. I'm always looking for an excuse to bake/cook. We just made it up as we went and it turned out amazing! (I can say that because Jonny did most of the baking.)

What you'll need:

One 13 oz. jar of Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
One 2.3 oz. box of Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies brownie mix
2/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
Two eggs
One 14.4 oz. box of Honey Maid Honey Graham Crackers (3 plastic packages)
Six tablespoons of butter
1/3 Cup of Sugar

We started with a graham cracker crust. Crust Ingredients: 1/3 cup of sugar, 6 T melted butter and 1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker (about 1 1/2 of the Honey Maid Graham Crackers plastic packages.)

Mix the sugar and ground graham crackers together, then add the melted butter (it's easier to mix the dry ingredients first).

Press the mixture firmly into a 9x13 pan. You can put parchment paper on the bottom of the pan to make removal easier, but it's not necessary.

Bake the crust for 7 mins at 350.

While the crust is baking, prepare brownie batter according to the instructions on the box.

Once the crust is done pour the brownie batter over the graham cracker crust and bake it according to the time and heat instructions on the brownie box.

Now comes the hard part. Let the brownies cool slightly, then spread about 1/2 to 2/3 of the marshmallow creme over the *warm* brownies. You still want the brownies to be slightly warm so the marshmallow creme will soften and spread easier.

Then, crumble more graham crackers (another 1 1/2 plastic packages) until you have cracker pieces that are roughly the size of a penny. Then, evenly spread the cracker pieces over the entire surface until thoroughly covered (may not use all of the crumbled pieces). You may need to press the pieces into the marshmallow creme a little bit, otherwise they may not stick.

Then cut, eat, and enjoy.

Six Amazing Years!

2010-04-13T10:39:00.038-06:00

Yup Jonny and I have hit the six year anniversary! It has been an amazing six years. I love Jonny so much! I love that we know each other so well and that we are best friends. Over the past 6 years we have had a chance to do so much together. So here is to our six years together! Be warned: There are a lot of pictures.

His Senior Ball.

My senior ball.

CA road trip freshman year.

Freshman Masquerade

Wave runners in Tahoe.

Sky Ride at Santa Cruz Boardwalk.

Hiking the Y.

Carpinteria with little Taryn.

4D movie at Sea World.

BYU @ UCLA

BYU Snow game.

Halloween 2007 Michael Scott and Pam Beasley.

My first ever snowman.

Festival of Colors 2008.

With the Boston and Tokyo.

One of several Red Sox games in Oakland.

Camping, boating trip with friends.

San Francisco

Halloween 2008

Looking for a Christmas tree. Nov 2008

Vegas on the way to San Diego

My graduation

Boogie Boarding Carpinteria 2009

Bridal Veil Falls

Karaoke at Studio 600

Homecoming 2009.

Halloween 2009.

"Christmas Eve" with Jonny's family.

New Year's Eve 2009-2010

Outdoor ice skating in Logan.

Laser tag

BYU Traditions Ball

So there it is in a nutshell. I tried to just pick the highlights. Also, I am missing a lot of pictures from the first two years, I think they are on the computer in Davis. Happy anniversary Jonny! I love you!

Happy Birthday Dear Mom...

2010-04-13T10:21:00.005-06:00

Happy Birthday to you!

Today is my wonderful mother's birthday! I could not ask for a better mom. She has taught me so much and has always been there for me. She always know exactly where to find everything, I can look for forever and then she comes in and finds it in five minutes. When I make a new recipe I call her about five times to ask questions, to which she always knows the answers. Cleaning questions? My mom knows!

She is a great example and I hope to be a great a mother as she is. I know I can always count on her and I don't know what I would do without her. I love you mom! I wish I could be there to celebrate with you. Happy birthday!

Can I have this dance?

2010-04-11T16:09:00.008-06:00

On Saturday Jonny and I went to the BYU Traditions Ball. Yup, we went to a ball. It was so much fun. I spent three weeks excited to go and it was worth it. They had it at the Hinckley Alumni Building. They had different activities on the different floors. There were hors d'oeuvres, dancing, dance instruction, pictures, comedy show and some other entertainment shows. They also had an area outside set up. The weather was perfect, it was just warm enough to be outside and not need a jacket. On the main floor they had a man playing the piano who is blind. He was amazing. Jonny and I started out with dance instruction where we learned some basic waltz steps. Then we got pictures taken, I'm excited to see them when they are done. Then we went to the comedy show. There was one girl who was really funny. She sang songs that she had written. The songs were hilarious and really catchy. Then we headed down to the dance. They had a great band and the music was perfect for dancing. They played a variety but they were all older style songs: swings, waltzes. Here are some pictures of us. I was a little nervous about my headband because it is so bold, but I ended up loving it! Jonny was a firm supporter of the headband all along.

This one is meant to show off the headband. We took several, the lighting was off so it made it kind of difficult but this one turned out well.

Like I said, we took a lot of pictures. I started to get frustrated!

We had so much fun. I'm so happy we went. I love getting to get all dressed up and going out with Jonny, and if we get to dance it is a double plus!

Easter Celebration!

2010-04-05T22:14:00.023-06:00

The Easter celebration started with decorating eggs on Friday. I think it has been a few years since I decorated eggs, I've missed it.

The finished products.

Our "stop light" eggs.

Then on Sunday we had a big Easter family dinner. We had wanted to do it at a park and have an Easter egg hunt. Sadly, on Easter morning I woke up to snow all over the ground.

Made for a cool picture but not great for a picnic.

So we moved the party to Karleigh's and had David (cousin), Weston (3rd cousin), Kirstin, Lexi, Jonny and me. We still had an Easter egg hunt around the library.

Jonny helping Karleigh run and find eggs since her foot is injured.

Searching around the statue.

Trying to figure out where else to look.

Showing off their spoils.

After the hunt we enjoyed Easter dinner. I made ham and potato salad, Karleigh made fruit and biscuits.

The dinner spread. It was delicious.

Then for dessert David brought delicious brownies, made from scratch, and I made, you guessed it, cake pops.

Easter egg cake pops. Thank you Karleigh, Kirstin and Jonny for helping. Decorating this many would have been exhausting.

This one cracked and looked like frowning face so we made it into one.

He went with our funny faced egg.

It was an excellent Easter. It was so fun getting to spend time with everyone celebrating Easter.

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T16:05:00.006-06:00

Here are a few really cool Easter things I found for Easter. Enjoy!

Cute Easter cake. That becomes even more awesome when...

(Pic)

How cute is this?

This one you will have to follow the link. It is a peep diorama competition. The first one is the winner but I think the third one is my favorite.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/03/29/GA2010032903934.html

Hope you enjoy them! I'll post pictures of my Easter festivities later! Happy Easter!

+3

2010-03-30T21:55:00.010-06:00

Many of you know Jonny and I have a habit of finding abandoned animals. Well, we have added 3 more to our rescue list. Jonny was on campus today to do homework and found these three adorable babies.

They were found about 20 feet from where we found Boston and Tokyo. So we decided to keep up the name theme, Olympic cities to be more specific. So meet...

Athens (female)

Torino (female)

And Rio (male)

We think they were probably about 3-4 weeks old. They still had trouble walking and couldn't retract their claws yet. They were adorable. We found a shelter in Murray that was able to take them in so we dropped them off. So that is +3 to our rescue tally. I think we are sitting around 15-20 now.

Also, a side note...

I found a red umbrella! The color here doesn't do it justice. It is much brighter and I love it.

Cabbage and Kielbasa

2010-03-29T20:37:00.009-06:00

Last week one of our meals for the week was a favorite of Jonny's family: cabbage and kielbasa. It was delicious. We thought we would share the recipe. You need a box of the multicolored rotini, a large head of cabbage, a pound of polska kielbasa, butter, salt, and pepper. You start by cooking the pasta (just using the box directions.)

While the pasta is cooking cut up the cabbage. It should be "bite sized" pieces. Put this into a skillet with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Cook over medium heat. It needs to be stirred often but keep it covered when not stirring. This keeps the moisture in the cabbage. While the cabbage is cooking cut up the kielbasa. Cut off the ends of the kielbasa. To save time cut the kielbasa in half, length wise, then into half circles. They should be about half a cm thick or less.

Once the cabbage has become tender and has become slightly translucent it is time to mix all the ingredients together.

When all the ingredients are mixed together add more butter (up to 4 tablespoons, but it just depends on how much you like.) At this point you add 1/2 a teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste. DO NOT add the salt before this point. If you add the salt to the cabbage too early it will suck out the moisture. That is it. Serve and enjoy!

Is it Spring?

2010-03-23T22:28:00.007-06:00

You would think after five years of living in Provo I would be used to the weather. I'm not. We had a few days of gorgeous weather. Sunny, blue skies, short sleeves, wonderful. However, it goes from being sunny and nice one day to cold and rainy/snowy the next. Actually, it goes from being nice and sunny one hour to cold and rainy the next hour. I went to work the other day in short sleeves with the cool air on because it was so warm. On the way home, I had the heater on and was wishing I had a coat. We watched the weather go from sunny, to extremely windy, to overcast and snowing. At one point it was sunny and snowing. Pretty much I am done with this weather. I am ready for summer. I am ready for sunny days and the pool. But, I have decided that I still have at least a month of this crazy incorporative weather, and based on the past I can almost guarantee a snow storm, so to make it better... I want a big red umbrella. I just feel like they are cheerful and it would make me happy on a rainy (or snowy) day.

(pic)

Doesn't it just seem happier? Plus, I have my cute boy to keep me company under the umbrella! There is just something cool about them.

(pic)

So the search is on for a big red umbrella!

You thought they were done

2010-03-21T21:23:00.011-06:00

You guessed it BIRTHDAY #4! Monday is Katie's golden birthday, 22 on the 22nd! So Jessica (who lived with Katie and I before she got married and has been Katie's friend for forever) threw her a surprise party. We had a gathering of old roommates/friends. It was so much fun! We haven't all been together in so long. We had Carol and her hubby Nick, Kasey, her hubby Garrett, and their baby Kailyn, Jess and her hubby Steve, me and Jonny and the guest of honor KATIE! We had BBQ (which was delicious!) and played games and Rock Band.

The boy band!

And their adoring fans!

We were also entertained by watching Kailyn pull the cutest faces. Like this one!

How cute is she? Also, I held her for awhile and she didn't cry! I was so happy. Babies always cry when they are placed in my hands. She was just content to let me hold her and chew on my fingers. Kasey, I love your baby! She is adorable!

Then we had cake and ice cream and Katie opened her presents.

Showing off her yummy cake by Jess.

Presents!

Katie just got into nursing school at the UofU. A nice little birthday present! So Jess and Steve got her this present so she could practice.

The stethoscope really works! It was such a good evening. I'm glad that we all got together to celebrate with Katie and to just see each other again.

I think this might be one of the best group pictures ever! My friends are pretty.

Childhood Favorites

2010-03-20T01:05:00.011-06:00

This post is inspired by a conversation that I had with my dad today concerning my favorite book as a child. This got me thinking about all of my favorite books as a child.

Over the past few years a few of my favorite children's books have been changed into movies. Starting with...

I loved this book when I was little. The pictures were amazing and the story was great. I was excited when I first found out about the movie. However, the movie kind of creeped me out. There animated characters seemed too real and the hobo on the train was kind of scary.

The graphics were impressive but it was weird. I also didn't like how much they added to make it a movie.

The next was...

Again, great book. One of my favorites. Again, I was excited for the movie but after the previews came out I got a little nervous. Probably one of the weirdest movies I have ever seen.

The boy and the wild things had some serious issues. Max doesn't even end up "where the wild things are" in the same way. I also felt like I was missing something the entire time.

The final book to movie...

The town of Chew and Swallow. I actually liked this movie. I thought it was cute. But it is still so different. I mean the book didn't have a clumsy inventor who made water into food. In the book the weather just is food. Also amazing to me, the color difference. Compare the book cover to the movie...

Ok now to the real point of this post. My all time favorite children's book. It will likely never be made into a movie but it was my favorite growing up and I will read it to my kids and to their kids.

For those of you who don't know this story it is about Ferdinand the bull. He loves to sit under a tree and smell the wildflowers. Through a series of events this peaceful bull finds himself the "star" of a bullfight. I don't know why I loved this book so much. The pictures have little to no color and I feel like color pictures is a big draw to little kids. I guess the story just got me.

My dad called me this evening said he thought of me because my mom had just purchased this book for a little boy. My dad read the book and had a little laugh remembering how much I loved it. Apparently it was in the movie Blind Side which makes me happy. If you have not read this book READ IT! It will take five minutes and it will make you happy. I need to find a copy to have for my kids. I'm almost positive my childhood copy is still on the bookshelf in my room at home.

St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T22:06:00.012-06:00

I don't know why but I love St. Patrick's Day. I just think it is fun- dressing in green, eating corned beef and cabbage. This year I was working until 6 so I wasn't sure how I was going to make the corned beef. I found a recipe to make it in the crock pot. I was a little nervous but it worked out really well. I just realized that I totally forgot to cook the cabbage! I'm not sure that anyone else would be sad about not having cabbage but I am. At least I had potatoes and carrots that were cooked with it. Ashley made rolls that were delicious. It was a very good meal. I am happy it turned out well.

Karleigh and Kirstin in their St. Patty's Day green!

Ashley and I

Jonny cutting the corned beef.

Jonny and I relaxing after a big meal.

Hope everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day! Now I can look forward to corned beef leftovers. Maybe I'll remember to make cabbage to go with leftovers!

My Man's Birthday!

2010-03-14T17:51:00.016-06:00

Birthday number three... Jonny! Jonny's birthday was on Friday. I had to work in the morning but had the rest of the day off. I had decided to attempt a 14-layer cake for his birthday cake. I got the recipe from Bakerella (found here.) I was really nervous about it working and tasting good. Luckily I had Karleigh to help me. Thank you to her I wouldn't be able to do it alone. Unfortunately, Jonny had an Econ test and Stats homework to do on his birthday, but at least that kept him occupied while I baked. Basically you make a massive amount of batter (it barely fit in my biggest bowl) and then scoop it into 14 pie tins.

We baked for at a time and it is only 12 mins each so it didn't take too long.

Then you make the chocolate icing. This was the scary part for me I was worried I would scorch it or something. At one point it almost boiled over. And then you start stacking and stacking and stacking, layering icing in between. No they are not pancakes.

Now according to the recipe the picture below is what it looks like done but like Bakerella I didn't like the look so I added frosting.

Jonny took a break from school work and we went out to dinner with Kirstin. Then we came back to my place and Katie came over for presents and cake.

He got clothes from my parents and me, an N64 game from Katie and a game from Kirstin. Kirstin and I had fun wrapping her present to him. We used three different wrapping papers and went around it 3 times with each. Showing off all the paper and his present.

Then time for cake. I couldn't wait for him to cut into it! He gets his wish!

And here it is, 14-layers...

It actually worked! It tasted good too! None of us could even finish a piece though!

On Saturday we went to dinner with a bunch of his cousins. I had texted them all the week before to get them together for a birthday dinner. We went to Rumbi at The Gateway. It was so much fun! I think we were done with dinner after about 30 mins but we we hung out talking for like 3 hours.

I think overall he had a pretty good birthday. One year older and wiser!

Birthday

2010-03-09T21:38:00.008-07:00

Number two in the March birthday line-up. I had a very fun birthday thanks to my family and friends. I went to P.F. Chang's for dinner with Jonny, Karleigh and Kirstin. (Thank you Dad and Mom!) It was delicious as always.

So quick story. My grandpa always puts the bows on his head when he opens presents. So we have started doing that as well. On Karleigh's birthday she was putting them on and put one on around her head and then moved it to a headband. But I thought it looked really cute going around the head so I wore it to dinner on my birthday!

Then we went to Karleigh's place for presents and cake. I got lots of great stuff including circle cake pans from Karleigh! Is it weird that I am so excited about them?

The cake was delicious! Karleigh made a two layer chocolate cake. The bottom layer had chocolate chips baked in, the top layer had Andes mint chips baked in. Then the middle was hot fudge instead of frosting. It had cream cheese frosting and chocolate drizzled on top. Also, the candles were black and white and adorable.

I wish my Mom, Dad, Taryn and Grant could have been there to celebrate too but they sent their love from afar! It was a good birthday. Thanks to everyone who helped make it special.

Laser Tag

2010-03-07T22:50:00.009-07:00

Jonny and I hadn't hung out with Katie in a little while so Katie and I decided it was time to play. We decided Saturday was a good day and just needed to decide what to do. On Saturday morning I came up with a great idea (if I do say so myself) laser tag. We haven't been in years but we always have fun doing it. I didn't even have to ask Jonny to know he approved and Katie was all for it. We decided to just go all out and dress in all black and put on black face paint.

A new place just opened on State Street so we decided to try it out. It was so much fun. It wasn't a super exciting course but there were enough places to hide and stuff to make it awesome. We pretty much rocked it the first game. We were the red team, Jonny was Nebula.

We played a second game but there were too many people so it wasn't as fun. We took so more random pictures in our "hardcore" outfits.

We had so much fun. And dressing crazy just made it better. When we were done we had to go grocery shopping. We got some weird looks.

Happy Birthday to Karleigh

2010-03-02T23:00:00.009-07:00

And the month of birthdays begins! Karleigh's birthday was yesterday but we went out and celebrated tonight. We started out at California Pizza Kitchen. We pretty much went there to get one specific pizza: The California Club. It is amazing. It is pizza with a mayo sauce and then chicken and bacon and topped with lettuce and avocado. (Not the best picture but you get the idea.)

It sounds weird but it is delicious! We told the waiter it was her birthday so we could get free ice cream.

And Steven came to visit for her birthday. He got here on Saturday and will be here for the week.

Then we came back to my place for presents and cake. My mom sent lots of presents, all of which were adorable. I got the idea for the cake I made from a picture on Ashley's blog. The cake in the picture had all 7 colors of the rainbow. I didn't go that all out but I still think it is cool.

The color in the picture is a little dull and it is far from professional photography but it was the best I could do with the apartment lighting.

So happy birthday to Karleigh.