What a difference a year makes!

We had our family pictures taken a few weeks ago up in Memory Grove Park. What a beautiful day, and beautiful pics by Scotty's talented sister Kendra (see our links for her blog if you are interested in having her take pics of you!). I can't believe how much Scotty and I changed in a year, only Princess looks the same (see the picture at the top of our blog for a comparison!)! Here is just a small sample of the amazing photos Kendra took. Thanks again K, we had fun!!

What are we up to?

Not a whole lot has happened since my last post. We did go camping for my family's annual camping trip over Pioneer Day, and that was a whole lot of fun and excitement. Scotty is the designated photographer and he did not get too many pics. We went on a hike (not like the one we did last year since it was a little intense for all) and I was the leader of the pack instead of bringing up the rear--which made me feel like a total rockstar!

We also got a new couch a few weeks ago--and we love it!! Scotty and I both have our spots and when we sit we don't even touch. Scotty was the happiest to get a new couch since on our old one I used to take up most of it and not allow him much space!

And, unfortunately/fortunately Scotty started school again. I say unfortunately because now I only get to see my Scotty for an hour or two most days, I say fortunately because it means that he will be graduating that much sooner (in May with his bachelors--so excited) and then it is on to graduate school! Wish us luck that he is accepted to the U of U for the grad program so we don't have to move out of state (or out of the Ivins ward that we love so much!!). Scotty was lucky enough to get a staph infection in his lips his first week back at school. His poor lips were hurting so bad and were so swollen. I tried to take a picture to post of his swollen lips since I've had many requests, but he denied me so just use your imagination--they were big!!

Other than that, I am really busy at work. Most know that my office was/is being shut down and that I was fortunate enough to be offered a position doing exactly what I do now just for the other trustee in the state of Utah, who will now be the only one for chapter 13's. I start that the end of September but for now I'm busy at my current job trying to catch up on things and tie up loose ends before the offices merge into one.

And last but not least, a farewell to summer! I will miss you and it seems like you just got here. Please come back soon!!

Disneyland and my birthday

I'm sure most people who read this blog already know that we went to Disneyland and Santa Cruz in June (Disneyland for my birthday and then Santa Cruz for the annual Moses trip to the beach). I'm just going to post pictures so sorry if you get bored! We were in Disneyland for three days and the last one was my bday on the 20th and it was a blast!! Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my bday, and when we were there I was given a button that said Happy Birthday and had my name on it and everyone wished me a happy bday, which was awesome--no better place to celebrate than Disneyland.










We got stuck on the It's a Small World ride for 20 minutes (this is us inside) and they never turned the music off!! If I never hear that song again it will be okay!! Then when we got out of the ride it was so bright I couldn't open my eyes!! And Scotty took about 4 dozen pics on the ride, but I'll spare you all the details :)

Mt. Rushmore

This post is so long overdue, but I wanted to post in anyway. Over Memorial weekend we went with my brother David and his wife Michelle to Mt. Rushmore. It was a blast!! We were able to stay with my aunt and uncle in Torrington, WY so our drive was broken up a little. We left Friday morning, drove to Torrington for the day, had a tour of the town that afternoon and got to spend some good times with Doug and Jill (who we miss terribly!!). We took off for Mt. Rushmore on Saturday morning and made some stops along the way. I got to color in 2 states on my map on the fridge (for those of you who don't know I have a goal to visit all 50 states before I die); we drove through Nebraska just so I could color in that state and South Dakota. It was a fun trip, but if you drive from Utah, you need a half way point.

On our way to Mt. Rushmore we stopped at a place called "Mammoth Site" where there is a huge sinkhole full of mammoth fossils. Here are some of the pics.













Then we stopped at another place on the way called the Wind Cave. We took a tour of the cave where you go a couple hundred feet underground in an elevator and it is so dark you can't see a thing! Pretty cool, but the best part was there is a hole in the side of the mountain where there is a natural wind that comes OUT of the cave. Not sure how it works, but it was pretty cool. I was happy to get out though!









And then we finally made it to Mt. Rushmore! If you have not been and are at all patriotic, you really need to go. It is an amazing place, and I normally get emotional when I sing the National Anthem, but I almost lost it when we stayed for the night program where they light up the mountain. They had a program about Mt. Rushmore and then invited down anyone who had served or is presently serving our country and that is when I couldn't control my emotions. Unfortunately, there was a fog that settled in that night and didn't leave--we even went back the next day and you could not see the mountain at all, which was disappointing, but at least we had seen it the day before. One of the most memorable things was meeting the last living man that worked on Mt. Rushmore and hearing his stories in person--we also bought the book he wrote which has tons of great facts about the place. I also love that they were able to keep so much of the historic information/mock ups and such so that you could see exactly how it was built. Like I said, if you have not been, you need to go!!















We drove back to WY on Sunday afternoon and then left for home on Monday. It was tons of fun and my brother and I didn't fight once which my mom could not believe!! Below are some funny pics Scotty took before we left WY.

SOS

Help!!

I'm in a total work out music rut! The music I'm listening to now does nothing to motivate me at all, so I thought I would ask the people who read this blog for some help. Feel free to leave a comment with as many songs as you like. I need to know what songs out there get you motivated to work out or just to have some fun!!

Thanks for the help!

Michelle

Anybody need a computer desk... or two?

Michelle and I both had our own computer desks when we got married, but now we want to consolidate and get one long desk for our office. So, if you or anyone you know needs a computer desk, we're selling them for about $20-30 each. Let us know!

(Michelle's desk)

(My desk)

Off We Go!!

(by Scotty)
Today is the final day of the countdown to our vacation to beautiful Santa Cruz, CA. This is bound to be the looooooooongest day of work ever, as is any final day at home before you go anywhere fun.

My family has been going camping at New Brighton Beach State Park in Santa Cruz, CA almost every year for over two decades. There've been some years that we had to skip out, but it's been a staple in my life ever since I can remember.

This year, Michelle and I are leaving town a little before the rest of my family to spend 3 days in Disneyland, since we've never had a vacation together where it's just the two of us. We didn't go on the traditional honeymoon, so this will be a kind of belated, well-earned honeymoon for us. And, I haven't been to Disneyland since I was about 2 years old, so it's not a memory for me. I'm excited to ride some rollercoasters and get some surprises for nieces and nephews. Our 3rd day at the park will be the day of Michelle's birthday, so we're bound to have some fun that day. Michelle's birthday never comes or goes unless the rest of the world knows about it. I love it. I wouldn't have it any other way. She definitely deserves that every year.

We'll let you know how the trip goes when we get back. If I do my job, we'll have hundreds of pictures when we get back. See you all after we get a little more tan!