Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc.

I must be getting old because the time is really starting to fly by. I have no idea where this year has gone. I am another year older and just feel like the last 5 years have flown by. I know I blocked out a lot of things...for obvious reasons but I'm just realizing that I need to start living a little more than I have been.

Been a crazy few months so I'm gonna try to catch up now...

Halloween was great....Josh and I were Mario and Luigi. We are on the activities committee in our ward and had a big bash! We had a blast!

I turned 27 on November 18th. It was a sad day for me as I thought about where I wanted to be at this point in my life and where I actually am but I know everything happens for a reason and I honestly wouldn't trade anything. I have been so blessed and am so grateful for the sometimes broken road that got me to where I am today. It was a good birthday and I got spoled rotten. JP had a surprise party for me and it was great to have family and friends around! I am so grateful for those in my life who support me and believe in me. That's what keeps me going.

For Thanksgiving Josh, my mom and I drove up to Colorado to Tasha and Jared's house. We had an absolute blast! I sure love those guys! It was a long drive for a short visit but I couldn't take any days off work so we drove straight through the night on the way up and the way back. It was worth it :) It was especially good for me because I really needed the love of the kids. I can't tell you what it means to have 4 kids hug and kiss and wrestle with you on the floor. I think I have always related to kids well because I am the youngest of 7 kids and was often included in the grandchildren category rather than the sibling category. I often sat at the "kids" table and often shared my mom with neices and nephews. I wouldn't trade it at all...actually I prefer it that way. My neices and nephews have been some of my best friends growing up. I am so grateful for them and the unconditional love they give me.

Tasha and I and her friend Anna went shopping on Black Friday and had a great day! It was so nice to have a girl's day and to spend some time together. I'm so grateful for my sisters...they really are the people who know me better than anyone else. I love that I can let my guard completely down around them. There are very few people who get that from me. So so glad we got to go to Colorado for Thanksgiving...it was a great trip!!!

Josh and I went to my oldest nephew's sealing yesterday in the Mesa Temple. What an amazing experience that was! I sure love Ty and really am so proud of all his good decisions he has made in his life. What a great guy and now he has a cute wife and soon will start a cute little family. I am so happy for him and Kelsey and wish them all the happiness in life! It was great to be in the temple with family and also spend time with them outside the temple and at the luncheon and reception. We don't get together near as often as we should...we need to make the time though so our families will know each other.

It's been a great few weeks and now starts the holiday season. I love this time of year!!! Got all my Christmas stuff out last week and it just makes me smile to see the tree and the nativity and all the decorations. There is a lot going on...so many parties and get-togethers but I'm looking forward to spending time with family and friends!

My Second Half

...marathon. Last Saturday I ran my second half marathon. I thought I was doing really great and running a lot faster but I only took about a minute and a half off my last race. That was a little frustrating but the last two miles were uphill and just finishing the race is always an accomplishment for me!

So this race I started to get a little tired and needed some motivation to keep me going. I have had my nephew Nate on my mind a lot lately...I think it's the time of year. I really miss him. So when he popped into my head I just thought about how if he were here, he would call me a wuss if I quit running. I remember when how right after the accident I just really wanted to live. It really hit me that life is so short and I remember wanting to do everything I could because he and so many others do not get to because their lives are cut so short. I just kept chugging along and using "Gator" as my encantation and before I realized it I was farther than I thought :) Love that blue-eyed boy with amazingly long lashes ;)

I'm so so grateful for the gospel in my life and that I know where my family is and that I can see them again if I make the right decisions here. I'm not sure I could take it if I didn't have that knowledge.

Here's some pics:

I guess pictures of me running aren't that exciting...

Our New Addition

No it's not a baby....although it has almost been 9 months ;) It's our new/used car!!!! We love it and we got a smokin deal!

Half Marathon

So today is the first day in two weeks I haven't worked an extra long day...yay! So I thought I would finally post this. I ran my first half marathon on September 19th in Prescott Valley. It was a little tougher than I thought. The course description failed to mention that half the race was on a trail up the side of a mountain but hey what do you do? I beat the goal I had for myself so I was pretty happy. Mile 11-12 was the roughest but after I knew I only had one mile left it was great. It was good to finally run the race and accomplish this goal. My friend Amanda and I are running a second one on October 24th so hopefully with the lower elevation and no mountains (hopefully), we can beat our last times :)

We went up to Prescott Friday night and spent the night in a hotel and our husbands went to the race Saturday morning and cheered us on. I was glad they came. They drove the race course ahead of us and would wait for us to get to them and then drive ahead again. I sure do love my husband and appreciate all his support!

Here's some pics:

Labor Day in Idaho

Josh and I headed up to Idaho last Wednesday for a few days with family and cooler weather. We left Tempe at 4pm and drove straight through and got to Blackfoot at 7am. It was a long drive but after we slept for a few hours we were good to go. It was a great weekend for us to come up as we found out that a bunch of Josh's cousins were there as well. I got to meet a lot of his family that I hadn't met before and it was a lot of fun. We finally got to see Jessy's (Josh's little sister) baby Kegan. He is such a cutie and made us smile. It was fun to be around a lot of family as that rarely happens with us anymore. We all had dinner and watched the BYU football game one night, we had a big dinner and birthday party another night and then we sat around a campfire roasting marshmallows. This is when the small town girl in me comes out. There is something about being outside in the quiet that satisfies me. It's not something you can find in the city.

We stayed with Josh's Grandpa and Grandma and we just love them. It was so fun to see them together with all their kids and grandkids. It's amazing what two people who love each other can produce. It has to be rewarding to look at all their posterity and see how good they turned out.

We also got to spend some time with Josh's best friend Aaron and his wife Kelsey. They have two adorable girls Cambria and Ashlynn and we had a lot of fun visiting with them. We went up to their cabin one night and had a cook out and dutch oven cake and ice cream. YUM! They have such a cute little family and it was good to be around them for a few days. We also met Kelsey's little sister Corey...I loved watching them interact...it reminded me of when my sister's and I get together ;)

The weekend just flew by...they are never long enough! After our 14 hour drive back, we were both exhausted. It was well worth it though! We are hoping to get back up there for Christmas!

JP and I on our way up to the cabin...gorgeous views!

FaMiLy

So I couldn't really explain my feelings but reading some of these helped...

To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there. ~Barbara Bush

Family quarrels are bitter things. They don't go by any rules. They're not like aches or wounds; they're more like splits in the skin that won't heal because there's not enough material. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald

Our most basic instinct is not for survival but for family. Most of us would give our own life for the survival of a family member, yet we lead our daily life too often as if we take our family for granted. ~Paul Pearshall

The lack of emotional security of our American young people is due, I believe, to their isolation from the larger family unit. No two people - no mere father and mother - as I have often said, are enough to provide emotional security for a child. He needs to feel himself one in a world of kinfolk, persons of variety in age and temperament, and yet allied to himself by an indissoluble bond which he cannot break if he could, for nature has welded him into it before he was born. ~Pearl S. Buck

"Above all else, children need to know and feel they are loved, wanted, and appreciated. They need to be assured of that often. Obviously, this is a role parents should fill, and most often the mother can do it best." Ezra Taft Benson,"Salvation--A Family Affair," Ensign, July 1992, 4

"I believe our problems, almost every one, arise out of the homes of the people. If there is to be reformation, if there is to be a change, if there is to be a return to old and sacred values, it must begin in the home. It is here that truth is learned, that integrity is cultivated, that self-discipline is instilled, and that love is nurtured." Gordon B. Hinckley, "Walking in the Light of the Lord," Ensign, Nov. 1998, 99

In a world of turmoil and uncertainty, it is more important than ever to make our families the center of our lives and the top of our priorities. . . .
"We need to make our homes a place of refuge from the storm, which is increasing in intensity all about us. Even if the smallest openings are left unattended, negative influences can penetrate the very walls of our homes." L. Tom Perry, "The Importance of the Family," Ensign, May 2003, 40

Weezer #7 Baby!

I totally forgot to mention the best news today...I was driving to work this morning and was listening to the radio and all of a sudden I hear a new Weezer song. Yes....I am a huge fan of the nerd rock and I cannot wait for October 27th when the new album is released!!!!!

Catching Up

So it's been a while. I can't believe it is already the middle of August. I must be getting old because the years really are starting to fly by...I better get busy. Josh and I haven't really been up to anything exciting. Just work and school. Josh starts at ASU on Monday! I'm so proud of him. I know I don't tell him enough but he really is amazing and my absolute best friend. He worked really hard in school this summer and got all A's. I sometimes get discouraged that we are not further ahead in our lives but I know there are reasons and our timelines have had a few bumps in the road. I get so anxious to start our family but we have all eternity to be together.

We did go to a Diamondbacks game this past Friday with a group from my office. It was fun. There were a million Dodger fans there talking trash...it got a little scary at times but we just yelled louder! It's really good to get to the ballpark every now and again. Reminds me of being a little kid and watching the Braves play at my Granparent's house. We would always get so mad at my Grandpa because he wouldn't let us watch Full House....so funny! That's back when people only had one TV in the house :) The voice of the announcer for the Braves will forever bring back those sweet memories when life was so simple. It's kind of sad my grandparents aren't around anymore....I miss them. They both passed away too young in my life and I look forward to seeing them again.

We parked far away so we had one of those guys on the bikes pull us. He was awesome!

Our group more or less (we are the four rows back)...it was hard to get a good shot!

Don't ask....Josh like to pretend he is a cool guy sometimes

Memorial Day Weekend

Things have been crazy and I can't believe it is already the middle of June! Memorial Day weekend my sister Tiffany, her husband Kyle, their daughter Rylee, Josh and I went up to Show Low for the long weekend. We had planned on camping but it was really rainy and cold up there that weekend so we stayed at my Dad's house instead. We had a lot of fun! It was REALLY good to get away for a few days. I miss the outdoors and wish I could get out more often. I have been wanting to go fishing for over a year now and we got licenses and went up at both Show Low and Big Lake. We all carpooled up together in Tiff and Kyle's truck and it reminded me of old times when we were little and spent time as a family. Rylee kept us all laughing (well me anyway) the whole ride up and down. She is a little firecracker. We took turns at the lake watching her because she kept trying to walk into the water. I was holding her hand and walking with her and counting - she is so smart. She really likes 3 and 4 and kept repeating those two :) I wish Tash and Jared were there too...actually all of my family. I told Josh that I wish we could have a big reunion. Maybe Labor Day more of us can get together...family and friends. We are planning on camping again for that weekend :) I'm excited for family vacations with our own little family someday.

This was at about 6 am and it was COLD!

Tiff and Rylee in the tent. We got a little tent to put Rylee in to keep her out of the cold.

My favorite fisherman!

Me and my fish:) Josh and I finally caught 1 fish each on Monday morning...And yes mine was bigger and prettier than Josh's! We didn't have very good luck this trip but we weren't gonna leave without catching something.

Josh & Rylee

Tiff, Dad and I