Recap of Summer...

I am seriously baffled by how fast this summer flew by. I love the summertime and all the fun activities that are associated with it....this year for the first time in what-like 17 years or so that my summer has been extra long. It is a strange and yet glorious feeling not to go back to school with everyone else. I am sure that I will miss it soon enough but for now I am enjoying all this extra time!! Well, our summer was wonderful like always. Our top 5 highlights are as follows:

1. Our various camping trips. We were able to take some trips with family and friends and we sure had a lot of fun!

2. This summer I worked at the Springville Museum of Art at night when Jake was in class and I absolutely loved every minute!

3. The birthday week. I love having our birthdays just a few days apart so we can party all week long!

3.5 Eating warm strawberries and other delectable items from our garden:) yumm

4. Our anniversary (prev. post)... including our trip but also including all the fun things we've done together to celebrate marriage:)

5. and...last but not least, well maybe least...racking up some serious medical bills..ha.. this summer has brought us to the doctor on multiple accounts...I am basically a genius when it comes to insurance now;)

Goodbye Summer-we will miss you!

A Shakespearean Anniversary

Last weekend Jake and I celebrated being married for 2 years! We stayed at a lovely B&B in Cedar City and enjoyed spending time together as well as the Shakespeare festival. I can't find the words to express how lucky and blessed I feel to have Jake as an eternal companion!

Sun Valley

Last weekend we went to beautiful Sun Valley. Jake has been going every year since he was a little boy, but this year was my first time. We went with all of Jake's family for the Utah Bankers Association Conference. It was so fun and relaxing. The weather was simply perfect. We had such an enjoyable time.....
We played with cute little baby Savannah...

We cheered for Argentina!!!

We played a little tennis.

We hung out with our energetic nieces and nephews!

And of course we played at the pool and got a nice sun tan! Sun Valley is such a beautiful place. It was a blast hanging out with the family and it was so nice to take a walk or bike ride and be able to smell the fresh air and flowers. While we were there we decided to take advantage of the picturesque surroundings and asked Alisha to take some pictures of us! We love Sun Valley!

becoming a post grad = celebration!!

Well....I did it!! I finally graduated from college with a degree in Art History. It's always a good feeling to accomplish one of your life goals. Being a student has been great, but I am absolutely thrilled to be done and to make the transition from a backpack to a full time purse! Hooray! So- what did we do to celebrate the closing of my college era??? We decided to ditch the rain....



...and say HELLO to the warm and welcoming Caribbean sun!!



A couple months back, Jake and I planned to invest our tax refund and do a little traveling. We love to take trips in May because it's cheaper, the weather is perfect, and we beat the crowds. So.. after graduation we spent a couple days in Puerto Rico before taking a cruise ship to the US Virgin Islands and Bermuda. Our cruise ended in New York where we were able to spend a couple days to sight see and more importantly visit art museums;). It's nice to get out of the usual surroundings for a little bit. I love exploring the world, getting lost in new places, and rediscovering myself. We had a blast and of course and it was a bummer to come back to the real world. But, life is definitely good.

When Jake said he was planning a festive dinner I imagined Lucky Charms....

This was soo much better!

road trip with the padres

This past weekend Jake's parents gave us a pleasant suprise with a phone call late Friday night that said they were heading to St Geezy the next morning to stay at a sweet resort, ant that we could stay in the second bedroom if we wanted. . . . . After making several phone calls to get subs for both mine and Jake's church classes, we accepted their invitation. We had such a great time. Our room was so nice and it was so great to just relax with the Hoyts and not worry about work or school. A couple of the highlights were shopping at the outlet malls, hiking in snow canyon, relaxing in the hot tub, and best of all was mine and Jake's first massages. The Hoyts said they had a suprise for us down there, and wow it was a suprise. we loved the massage and can't say enough about how our Russian Masseuse Ulga (ha ha ha) relaxed and made our bodies into Jello!

lopee's temporary home

"Lopee" *short for Antelope* is the name of Jake's antelope that was shot in the fall of 2008:


Lopee was finally mounted this last week-i think that is what you call it- and he is currently sticking out of my wall staring into my soul 24/7. I jump every time I walk into that room and am greeted with his marble eyes. I am glad he is only a temporary roommate.