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Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig

2012-01-22T22:14:00.007-07:00

So last week (or longer I can't remember) my parents came home. pretty cool right? They were serving as MTC Presidents in Madrid, Spain. Well, what is crazy about this, is that they have been gone for like 4 years (also served a mission in Peru). What that means to me is that my parents have been gone the entire time I've been married. Luckily we have technology so we've still gotten to talk to them via skype etc. Anyway, heres some pictures of the arrival.

Me, Grace, Linh, Mom and Dad and our sign "Welcome to America"

My family cheering as we see them at the airport... you can only see my mouth, but I look hungry. + Look at Linh she is cute. (cortney took these pictures)

Stampede of children

After the airport we went and hung out at Cali's house and had a great time. I'm really happy they are home! The following Sunday we had pancakes at Jason's and today we all got together for Theo's baby blessing, it's been great being around my family.

Mom, Dad, Debi, Russ, Me, Troy and Kayla

Last week Linh and I invited my bosses plus their wives over to eat dinner at our house! We also invited mom and dad since Dad was Troy Lamoreaux's mission president. Troy originally hired me to work for the church and I worked under him for some time as a Quality Assurance Engineer. Later I moved over to Russ Scadden's Team in PeopleSoft Operations, and crazily enough Troy just became the new manager over PeopleSoft Operations so now he is my manager again! It's of course bitter sweet because Troy is an awesome manager and I look forward to working for him again, but I will miss Russ too because he has taught me alot and has been a great Manager who has really helped me along.

We didn't get pictures but my wife made one of my very favorite meals.. at my request of course! I'll start with appetizers... she made Cocunut shrimp and Pot Stickers :). For the main course she made combination noodle bowl, which includes marinated pork and chicken with rice noodles and vietnamese fish sauce. Thanks honey for making it for me :). I almost forgot she made crazy good fried bananas + ice cream for dessert. Needless to say we all got pretty full...

Our Little Peanut

2012-01-18T20:44:00.017-07:00

I have been going back and forth for awhile now deciding if I wanted to write this post and decided that I wanted to so that I wouldn't forget and I feel better writing my feelings out then talking about it.

When I was in Denver in October I was a few days late for my "monthly present" and it was quite normal for me so it wasn't a big deal. On October 22 I took a pregnancy test at my sisters house but it came out negative, so I figured that my period was coming soon. I set a new date to take a pregnancy test for the 1st of November, still a week later nothing (October 29) and so Ike went to the store to get some dollar pregnancy tests just in case I wanted to take them. But I was trying to be patient just in case it was negative and I would be disappointed....but having the test right at my finger tips I had to take a test ;) while I was watching it I saw a dark pink line appear in the spot I have never seen it appear before and I just couldn't believe it "am I really pregnant?" A few seconds later it for sure said I was. Now I was thinking how am I going to tell Isaac, I have been wanting to tell him in a cutesy way and thought of different ideas if the occasion ever came up; but it just didn't happen I walked over to him and started crying and said, "I think I'm pregnant." We were both so so happy! Our dreams were coming true...we were finally going to be parents! Still in denial I decided to take another dollar test (Isaac bought 4) and still it came out positive, so to be reassured Ike went to the store to buy an 'expensive' test because he didn't think the dollar ones were for real. So he left, came back with one of the digital test and the screen said "yes".

Now, it was time to go see a doctor. All my sisters in Utah go to a doctor at Orem Community and so I thought it would be the best choice. We had to wait until I was 8 weeks to go. About a week before I started spotting and on the left side cramping a lot so I decided to go to the ER just to get it checked out. They did an ultrasound and said that they couldn't see anything in my uterus so they did some blood testing to test my HCG levels and told me to come back in a few days to do it again. When we went back they took my blood again and did an ultrasound and this time they said that there was a possible gestational sac growing and my HCG level were tripling so the conclusion was I was for sure pregnant but not as far along as I had thought.

A week later (November 15) we go in to see Dr and did an ultrasound and we found out that we were just only 6 weeks along. Our little peanut had a heartbeat of 126 so it was a sigh of relief! They gave us a printout our little one and we left happy knowing everything was okay.

*********************************

We made an appointment for five weeks later for a follow up. So December 19th came and we went in for our appointment and it was our worst nightmare. The doctor took us into a room and had me lift my shirt up to use a machine to hear the heartbeat and he said by how far along I was you should be able to hear it, so when he couldn't he sent me over to the ultrasound person to get it checked out. When we went into the room she checked; on the screen we saw our little bean look like a little person and after 1 minute said she was sorry but the baby doesn't have a heartbeat and left and got the doctor. I was confused and didn't know what was happening. The doctor came in to tell us that it looks like I am going to miscarry and started rambling about reasons of why this could be happening, I didn't hear a single thing coming out of his mouth...he told us to come in a week later to do a follow up ultrasound.

When we left it was devastating. Isaac started to cry almost immediately but I was still in shock and denial that this was even happening. I hated that whole appointment we were in and out in what seem to be 6 minutes total. I was mad that they didn't try looking harder or do a vaginal ultrasound to make sure, and why didn't the doctor try looking at the ultrasound screen. That office was way too busy and we felt like they have seen this plenty of times so it wasn't a big deal and treated us terribly....I hated them.

A week later we come in for a follow up ultrasound and I did not want the same tech so I was happy to have this guy do it. He tried longer, was sympathetic and explained everything to us which made it so much better. After this whole long process it is confirmed to us that our baby passed on at 9 weeks and a few days.

****

The next step was how I wanted to deal with this miscarriage: natural or D&C. I decided that I wanted to do it naturally but it just was taking longer than I anticipated and so I decided to do a D&C. I found a new doctor at the Riverton Hospital they were amazing. He really took his time to explain everything to us and what we can be expecting. So I made an appointment for January 5th and got the procedure done it took a total of 4 hours from start to finish, they put me to sleep and all is well. I have a follow up appointment this Friday to make sure everything is okay.

**********************************

This past month or so has been such a blur. I cried all day when we found out and Isaac didn't go to work that day. I had hopes that they made a mistake and that everything was going to turn out for the best. I spent weeks pondering if I had done something "wrong" and finally a few days ago it has just hit me really hard, I realize that I am no longer pregnant. Everyone tells me that it will be okay and I know it will but my heart aches everyday. I miss looking at baby room ideas, I miss thinking of names we want to use, I miss day dreaming what our baby going to look like, I miss being pregnant......I miss my baby.

***********************************

I know Isaac and I will be amazing parents one day. I know we will get through this. I know we have strong testimonies of the Gospel. I know that we will meet our little one again.

New Years and A 2011 Recap

2012-01-03T13:21:00.005-07:00

New Years 2012

For New Years Ike and I went downtown to temple square with Brandon and his lady friend Kelsie. We weren't going to do anything really to celebrate, but they were nice to invite us out. I haven't got dressed up in awhile, so it was nice to get ready and go out and go on a nice date with Ike. We had dinner in the Joseph Smith building at The Garden, then we walked around the temple grounds to look at the lights, then we went into the tabernacle and listened to some bands that included the Truman Band and the Nashville Tribute Band and then walked over and saw the fireworks go off at midnight. When we got home we made hot dogs with j-dawg sauce, a great way to end a great night!

2011 Recap

We really blessed this year, we had lots of ups and some downs but all in all it was a wonderful year and we are excited what 2012 will bring for us!

*Isaac got a few raises and a few promotions

*I finished one full year at UVU

*I got my braces off

*Isaac achieved masters league in SC2 (this means he's one of the top 2%)

*We traveled to Biloxi, MS; New Orleans, LA; Portland, OR; Las Vegas, NV; Moses Lake, WA

*Linh went to Denver and Isaac went to Anaheim, CA and San Francisco, CA

*Lieu and Alex came to visit us

*My uncle got married

*We celebrated our fourth year of marriage

*We celebrated our 26th and 25th birthdays

*We went to a Jason Derulo concert

*A few people got married

*Mike and Allie, Kyle and Rachel, Kevin and Jessica

*We got a few new family members

*Marion, Stella, and Theo

*Got another sister (Allie)

*I attended my first Earl Girl Cousin Reunion

*We got a scooter

*I started couponing

*We went on a hike and learned that we will never again!

*I met Frank Abagnale

*Tyler and Allisa came a visited us (texas); so did Chris (maine)

*Went on a lot of dates

*Watched a lot of shows and movies

*Found some of our favorite places to eat

*won won wok, sammy's, chubby's, costa vida, pho bein hoa, sam hawk, zupas, chipotle, mcgraths, cheesecake factory, thai basil, little caesars, burger king and j-dawgs

*Had a few game nights at our house

*Worked on little house projects

*Enjoyed teaching our primary kids

Life is wonderful and we are just happy to start another year!!

Christmas

2011-12-31T14:15:00.007-07:00

This year we stayed in Utah once again and had a very quiet Christmas. We just relaxed and ate lots. On Christmas day I made a feast for just the two of us that included: steak, mashed potatoes, cucumber/tomato salad, macaroni and cheese, rolls, steamed broccoli, roasted carrots, and lemon sugar cookies. We didn't do gifts really either but we were really okay about it! We did have some visitors from out of town stop by that included: Tyler, Allisa and Molly; Chris Owens; and Brandon Earl.

I told Ike that I feel we have been (stuck) in Utah for awhile and haven't gone anywhere so we are planning some kind of vacation either around my spring break or after my spring semester. It will be nice to get away for a little bit :)

Oh PS I got a haircut and cut off 12 inches! So instead of 35 inches of hair I now have 23 inches :) it feels good!!!

Pooped!

2011-12-06T22:09:00.005-07:00

Wow the whole month of November is already gone! We weren't too busy last month, but these last few weeks have been exhausting for us. I have mad finals and projects that I need to take care of and I feel like there isn't enough time in the day!

A few things to catch up on...

Ike has been super busy lately, this week he has yet ANOTHER training opportunity (his resume keeps building, love it)! It's day two but he is catching some kind of cold so he is pretty wiped out too! He just had a review and I would just like to quote his boss Russ, "he is working miracles"; it is like music to my ears! I would just like to say that he is so amazing and impresses me daily with the things he is doing to support our family! We have been truly blessed! :)

I turned 25 in November on the 8th and we didn't really celebrate because I was not feeling well and I had tons of school work to do! But a week later we went up to Park City to hang out at the Westgate penthouse and had a relaxing weekend! Thanks for everyone who came! And thank you to everyone who called, texted, sent cards, emails! Love you guys!

For Thanksgiving Kelsey and Jon were so kind to host a dinner at their home; it was so awesome, and I have never seen Corbin eat as much as he did, especially the pomegranate salad. It was quite impressive! We had a lot to be thankful for this year! It's been so awesome!

I got to visit our new family member Theo in the hospital and he is just the cutest! We are so happy that he is here!

We put up our Christmas tree a few days after Thanksgiving and I love it! It has what I call "willy wonka" colors. I am really starting to love my white christmas tree! pictures to come...

I washed all my sheets and blankets with the Victoria Secret detergent and I am in love with the smell! <3 Go get some, totally worth it!

We went to Cheesecake Factory over the weekend and we were on the list right after Michelle Money (the bachelor, bachelor pad) and she is just gorgeous in person! I secretly hope she is still with Graham!

I really need a haircut or a new hairstyle! Either bangs, perm or highlights...just something!

Okay, I needed to take break and now I need to get back to my assignments! I didn't take lots of pictures last month so sorry it just words.

Pictures to come!

Catching Up

2011-10-28T14:14:00.012-06:00

Work

Work of course for Isaac is going great! He recently just got his 6-month review, Russ had so many nice things to say about him! I know he is working really hard for our family and because of that we are so blessed!! Ike has been working on a upgrade with his team and so they were nice to give us a $25 gift card to chili's, I love free dinner date nights!

Watching Jason and Kaelynn Kiddos

After my weekend in Park City, the following week I spent a few days watching Kaelynn kids while her and Jason were celebrating her parents 50th anniversary in SLC! It was a great time, their kids are totally awesome and they all play with each other. I especially had a great time with Brooklyn, we would just talk with each other a lot and I also got to wax her eyebrows (don't worry she still looks like a 12 year old) she loved it and she didn't think it hurt at all! And then the next day, Brooklyn and Eliza had to do a photo shoot so I just helped put on some makeup for them, it was some fun girly time! Some other fun things we did was bake some halloween cookies and rented a redbox movie.

Trip to Denver

For my fall break I flew into Denver because my uncle was having his wedding reception and I was happy to visit my sister. While I was there I got to babysit my little cousin for a few days while her parents were at work. We went downtown to try out Stuebans (i saw it on the food network channel) I thought it was good, nothing too special; my girlfriend Caitlin came along and it was just a nice afternoon being downtown!

My uncle Brandon and his wife got married in Germany (that is where she is from) and had a reception in Colorado. The night before my sister and I started on the wedding cake they had asked us to make... it was a lot of work since Netty wanted a three tier cake, three different flavors and three different fillings!! ayayay! But we did it, we started at 7:30 and did not finish until 4am and still had to assemble it the next morning. The problem was that we only had one baking sheet pan! It turned out great and everyone was pleased with it! :) Ike wasn't able to make it because he was put in charge for a new system to be put into production (whatever that means :)) The reception was modern and nice, the food was delicious because they had it catered from Carrabbas; I had a great time there and happy that my uncle found someone that makes him happy!

School

I have a little more than a month left of school and it will be my third semester finished! woohoo! I love all my classes and I am always learning something new! I have a few papers due in a few weeks that I need to get to asap. I have signed up for next semester so far 14 credits but we will see it might change :)

Life is good!

Bieber Fever

2011-10-25T00:36:00.004-06:00

Hey I just got back from Denver and I got to babysit my little cousin a few times and I secretly caught her on my phone (she thought I was playing on it) jammin to Justin Beiber. She loves the new karate kid movie and this is there theme song!! Too cute I wanted to share with the fam!

(at the end she says "Jackie Chan is my favorite"

(i love how she is trying to do the same dance moves)

Weekend with the Earl Ladies

2011-10-14T13:23:00.008-06:00

I know there will be a lot of us posting the same pictures but I just wanted my say so about the fabulous weekend we had!! This was my first get together with all the Earl girl cousins and it did not disappoint!
I just want to say how lucky I am to be part of such a wonderful, strong, beautiful group of women!!

We got in to Park City around 5pm on Friday and stayed until Sunday morning. Each group of Earl's were in charge of making food, and everything that was made was so delicious!!! (I hope we will be getting recipe's: tortellini soup, volcano pancakes, pork tacos, and crab quiche) The first night we stayed in and talked forever about anything and everything and then on Saturday we talked some more and played a few games, we also hit the outlet mall. It was a good time!

To my Earl sisters: this weekend was so much fun being around you guys! We've never hung out together just us sisters! I especially loved that we stayed up until 5am the first night just talking about everything and I also loved how we were in our room laughing, being loud, sharing stories and making memories! You guys totally make me feel part of this family and I am so happy to have you as sisters! Remember what we said in the room stays in the room, ha ha! :)
(ps Kaelynn we totally missed you!)

I can't wait for the next get together!

Pictures

2011-10-11T00:35:00.013-06:00

This is my favorite! I love Ike's face in this. He has great "modeling" faces!

I love that I have one freckle on my nose :)

Us trying to have the "sexy" face, but it looks more serious; I still love it!

He got our car in the picture for good measure.

I just wanted to share my favorite picks from our shoot. Thanks again Cort, you are so amazing!

Ever After

2011-10-03T21:38:00.008-06:00

(one of the pics cort took i will post more soon)

Ike and I celebrated our four year anniversary last Thursday. It's crazy to think that we have been with each other this long, and at the same time getting to know each other. We truly had a world-wind romance, since we met and got engaged in just 35 days and married two months later. I feel like we are still newlyweds because I fall in love with him everyday. He is the nicest person I know, he is so kind, funny, God-loving, smart and not to mention pretty nice to look at. I can't wait to have kids with him because I know for certain that he will be the best dad! I am so happy to have him as my eternal partner, he is truly my dream come true....my ever after.

So on Thursday I have class until 4pm and so Ike told me that I couldn't come for an hour and half, so he let me do some shopping. I didn't really get anything for me but instead I bought him 12 pairs of socks and a xbox game. When I got home, I walked in and he had gotten me some roses and lit some tea light candles in a shape of a heart and ordered Red Lobster for dinner and put the meal in nice dishes :) He got me two different cards; one was a love/romantic card and the other was a funny one, in it he told me that he set up a photography session with Cort and I was so excited because I had gotten my braces off and wanted to take pictures! I loved the whole thing!! After we decided to head to the movies and then came home and had dessert. It was the perfect night!

(this guy is my favorite)

(trying out his new game)

(we always take a picture in the car, this was the only one of us together; oh and don't mind that I didn't get ready whatsoever :))

(Spring Fling cake, my favorite kind of cake ever! I found a recipe online and it turned out delicious)

"Alive"

(i took this video on my phone so if you turn up the volume you can hear it better :))

Ike wrote this song for me a few years ago and on our anniversary he played it again. I love it! The first time he played it for me we were both in tears! haha I want to put the lyrics on here for my blog book and I also recorded him so you guys can listen to it too :)

(lyrics)

I’m on my way home…and I don’t really know

I’m on my way home and I can’t explain, oh no

Why I feel so alive

Why I feel so alive…

You’ve been on my mind

And I’m blind, I can’t find

The right way to say it… to explain it, how to get it right

You make me feel so alive

You make me feel so alive…

CHORUS

I know in my heart you play the main part

In this feeling inside me

When you stand beside me…

I… Want you to know that I’ll always want more

And I got you to thank for the smiles on my face…

I… want you to know… I love you…

I’m on my way home… and I know, yes I know..

I need to see you, need to feel you.. all along

You make me feel so alive

I love You my wife…

CHORUS.

I love you babe!

Smile :)

2011-09-26T22:06:00.006-06:00

I happily got my braces off last Friday! I went to the my ortho appointment on Wednesday and

I had rescheduled twice because I felt bad for not wearing my rubber bands so I was a little nervous to tell the doc that I was a slacker! When I did see him, he told me that it was okay that I hadn't worn them because my bite naturally fall together, I felt so relieved. I proceeded to ask him if I could possibly get these braces off by my 25th birthday and he said "well if your birthday is tomorrow then sure!" I was stunned for a minute not realizing what he had just said and with a happy, "are you serious?"; he gave the okay to get them off!

I am SO SO HAPPY! I feel like a completely new person, I can't stop smiling that my cheeks are starting to hurt!

Saturday

2011-09-17T17:40:00.004-06:00

I am so happy to have Ike back from San Fran! Since both of us are cuddlers it was pretty hard to fall asleep not having him by my side....so I'm happy he is back and I can sleep better now!

Anyways, its been a wonderful day! After the airport we stopped at the farmers market at pioneer park in SLC...this market was huge!! I loved it!! We got a few good things I spent about $10 for everything and decided to get a few things we have never tried before such as the swiss chard, baby color carrots, and zucchini blossoms. Really excited about it!! And of course we got some zucchini and pears, yum!!

Today I am working on a DIY project, can you guess what it is?!? I hope it turns out awesome!!

Daily Life

2011-09-12T00:30:00.005-06:00

Date Nights

Ike and I have been on a few dates with each other that include eating, movies, a concert and friends.

We went to a Jason Derulo concert that was at the rail event center in SLC and we thought it would be fun to go since it was only $12 per ticket. The last time we went to a concert we stood in like the second row and everyone behind Isaac was complaining that he was too tall to be up front and it happened again this time....poor guy. I had an older lady hit on Ike calling him a "fine tall drink of water" ha ha I loved it!! :) So we decided to go upstairs for the only 21 and up section and watch the concert from there and it was nice and free of screaming teenagers. It was a great date night.

My girl Michelle and I haven't hung out in awhile so we decided to do a double date and met up at La Jolla Groves in the riverwoods. I thought it was okay I got a chicken wrap and Ike got the chicken alfredo which he really enjoyed. We always have a good time when we are together, we laugh until our stomachs hurt!

On Friday, we decided to have a date night. We went to noodles & company for dinner and then went to watch Colombiana in theaters. When we went into the room it was completely empty, then another couple came in and sat way behind us and there was nobody in front of us; so it was like watching the movie by ourselves. It was pretty sweet!!

On Saturday there was a BYU game and Brandon came into town so we headed over to Cali's to watch the game. During last weeks game Ike finally told me how the game of football works and its a lot better to watch when you know what's going on. :) I am not a devout BYU fan but my Earl side of the family sure are, its great to be around people who are really excited about it; it makes it way more fun!!

After the game we went over to Jon's and Kelsey's to play a card game called "pounce" by far one of my favorite games!! Then after playing awhile we decide to head into provo for a late night snack at The Awful Waffle. Its right over by j-dawgs and we came here once before and the crepe was too thick but this time it was thinner and delicious! It was a fun night we love the Edwards!!

School

I started my third semester on Aug. 19th. I've decided to drop a 2 credit class so I am currently doing now 17 credits. I am really excited about this years classes that include:

*comparative criminal justice systems

*juvenile justice

*victimology

*drugs and crime

*criminology

*health (part of my generals, not so exciting)

I love being in this program because I have great professors who have actual experience and share great stories. I also love that I will be going through these classes with familiar faces from other classes. Its been a good few weeks so far and its going to get busy with all the reading coming up but I love it!

Ike

Ike is just working away. He was put in charge of a program called Foglight, some kind of monitoring tool. This summer he was given two interns to help him out with this program so that has been pretty sweet. Every day when Ike comes home, I always ask him how his day was and he is always one worded stating it was either good, great, or bad and that's it! He doesn't give good details, so I am always like are you really working over there?!? And when he does share details, it gets real boring so instead he always reassures me with all the great emails he gets from his peers and manager! And once again for another year, Ike was selected to do another training through Oracle for SQL tuning training meaning he is just going to help make databases run quicker. I'm really proud of my man and all his accomplishments!!

Food

I made vietnamese marinated chicken over white jasmine rice for the BYU game and served with lettuce wrap items that included lettuce, carrots, limes, bean sprouts, and cilantro. My absolute favorite thing to make!! Sometimes the ingredients seem like a lot but it is totally worth it and you can make a large batch and save it. If you want the recipe just let me know!

Stir Fry

This recipe includes just a few items:

Meat-shrimp, beef, or chicken

fresh green beans

yellow onion (optional)

1 tsp chopped garlic or as much as you like

2tblsp of oyster sauce

2tblsp of soy sauce

1/2 tsp of black pepper

1 tblsp of sugar

vegetable oil

In a hot frying pan add oil and then chopped garlic stir until garlic gets a little brown then add in the meat stir until half cooked, then green beans sauté for 2 minutes add other ingredients and stir then add in onions. Serve with rice.

Ike left for San Francisco today, I miss him already!

Life is good (like always).

I guess I'm pretty special.

2011-08-31T22:46:00.004-06:00

So it was my birthday on the 20th, and my wife spent all day making me a cake. For the past 4 years Linh has put considerable time making me a cake for my birthday and this year I would say she kicked it up a notch. Remember my post about MLG? maybe maybe not, but if you did, then you might understand the cake a little better. She made me a Starcraft Protoss Cake! it is seriously the bomb here is a picture:

It has a Nexus, some probes, minerals, gas geysers, a pylon and even a ramp!

Here is a screenshot from in-game of a Nexus. The geysers look different here but on most maps they look like the ones linh made!

Crazy right? I posted this on reddit.com and it got crazy amounts of upvotes and people telling me I have an awesome wife. I agree.

Family Visit

2011-08-31T20:40:00.019-06:00

My baby sister Lieu and her husband Alex flew to Utah for a few days and we decided to head down to las vegas since she had never been. Alex just got home from deployment and they were taking a few weeks off for some "vacation" time! I was happy to see them, the last time was their wedding last august!! They were here from August 17-20. I dropped Ike off at work and headed to the airport to pick them up, we came back to my house and relaxed for a little bit. Then I took them down to Provo to eat at one of my favorite korean restaurant (sam hawk) which was delicious as always, we stopped at Cali's afterwards, Cali and Ashley got to meet them. We were gonna go to salt lake and see temple square but when we left the house we were all exhausted so we just went back to the house and took naps. When Ike got home we packed the car and headed to vegas but first we took them to j-dawgs for dinner.

We got into our hotel around midnight. We got a great deal at the Hard Rock Hotel (this is where the real world was filmed) it was really nice! When we got into our room, we were sorta hungry so we went down to the cafe downstairs that is open 24 hours and I had one of the BEST burgers ever!! Who would have thought?!? i ended up eating it again 2 days after. yummmmm, I'm craving it right now!

The next day we just went to lunch at a local vietnamese restaurant and then the strip and walked around, we went to the M&M factory, Coke factory, Gameworks, MGM grand to see the lion exhibit and alex gambled a little bit and won $400!!

After awhile we went back to the hotel to relax and get ready for dinner. We headed over to the Cosmopolitan Hotel, which I LOVED, it was very chic-ish! We went there to try out a buffet called the Wicked Spoon. It was the nicest buffet we all had ever been to, they had place mats, filtered water and for someone like Isaac who hates buffets said this one was pretty good! They had different food options that are put into individual little pans, bowls or cups. It was pretty good!

After dinner, Alex and Lieu played for a little bit and then we went next door to the Bellagio to of course see the fountains and went inside to see the bellagio gardens.

It was a great first full day in vegas, we went back and fell asleep we were so exhausted!!

The next day we decided to have a more relaxed day! We had lunch at the hotel and then went to Serendipity to have the frozen hot chocolate. yum! Then spent the rest of the time at the pool. So I just have to say that this pool area was sweet but Ike and I totally felt out of place!! I had my monthly gift (tmi?) so I didn't want to get into the pool and the fact that I can't swim so I was just going to lounge and read my magazines.This place was packed with a bunch of jersey shore look a likes, ha ha Isaac was the whitest guy there, he made a joke that maybe he should keep his shirt on :) Everyone there was just standing around and fist pumping, seriously! Luckily, Ike found a spot where it was deep and they were able to spend some actual time in the water. Afterwards we headed to the Paris hotel and ate at La Creperie it was seriously so good, especially the dessert one it had pears and carmel sauce, delicious!!

Later we stopped at the sugar factory and went to planet hollywood to do a little window shopping.

It was a fast few days, but I love making memories with my family. Good times!

Happy

2011-08-22T22:23:00.007-06:00

We were in Vegas for a few days and while we were there all I could think about was how well did I do in my classes. I did pretty good during the summer 3 a's and 1 b+ (which I am still happy about). My GPA in my first semester was 3.77 and adding this semester bumped it up to a 3.81. I know it really doesn't matter what your GPA is, but I have never been studious in school because I had to work at the salon or restaurant all the time, so school was not as important to me back then. I am surprising myself at how well I am learning and the fact that taking tests scares me but I have been doing pretty good! I am so happy I am in school, I love every second of it! School starts on Monday and its going to get busy, I am currently signed up for 19 credits! Sounds crazy right!?! I can't believe summer is already over and fall is coming which is my favorite time of the year!! In turn Ike let me do a little shopping, including getting this cute floppy hat! Cute right?!? :)

This Is What I Do.

2011-08-13T22:27:00.013-06:00

Ever since I got back from Mike and Allie's wedding this whole month and a half has been so CRAZY! But I guess I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

School

The first week of July I has signed up for two additional classes; so my classes were criminal law, law of evidence, nutrition, and physics. When I got back from the wedding I ended up getting sick with the cold or something and it was not sweet. The following day I had a feeling that I might have something due in my class and realized I had an exam, oh great! And then I had another exam the day after. so it was not looking good for me and I didn't want to write my teachers an email and tell them that I got sick for the first exam, even though I totally was. So I just took them, they were fine but could have been better. The hardest classes by far were law of evidence, because I had to write so many briefs (Gah! I hope I don't have to write one again) and physics because we had to do 34 chapters in 10 class periods. My semester ended on Friday and I am so happy!! My grades are going to be awesome and I have two weeks until school starts again.

Roman's Birthday

July 16th

Roman had a birthday in July and so I invited him over and made dinner, we had steak and cheesy potatoes. He didn't get a birthday cake so I decided to make him one, its the three things he loves basketball, starcraft and ufc fighting. It was a great night, it was just me, ike, roman and our friend chris. Happy Birthday Urban!!

Talk In Church

July 24th

When I got home one night during the week from class right as I walk into the door, Ike is like "hey honey we are giving talks in church this sunday" my response was "are you kidding?!?" and he was not kidding. The topic was on humility in the gospel, all week long I just kept thinking about it and still wasn't sure what to say and finally Saturday evening I just felt the spirit and wrote my whole talk. When we get to church there was a talk before us that is suppose to talk for 15 minutes and she only was up there for like 6 minutes. I looked over at Isaac and told him that I'm sorry if you have to talk for 20 minutes. My talk ended up being 15 minutes long and so AWESOME. I got a few laughs even though I didn't mean to, especially when I told them the story about me going to jail for 14 hrs their eyes were glued, haha! I talked to mom and dad earl the night before and they gave me amazing simple advice about humility. Dad just let me know that humility is the ability to be taught and it was so simple but made so much sense. I have realized the principles of the gospel are simple and I allowed myself to be taught and to learn about the gospel. I am so grateful!

Here is a quote I found that I really liked: By Bishop Richard C. Edgley.

"Humility leads to a submissiveness to the Lord's will and in spite of the difficulties and trials of life to be able to maintain a sense of gratitude for God's blessings and life's goodness. Humility and gratitude are truly twin characteristics of happiness"

Caitlin's Visit and Kevin's Wedding Reception

July 30th

While Ike and the boys were in Anaheim for Nerdicon, I told my girlfriend Caitlin that she should fly out here and hang out with me. I wasn't sure if she was going to and then she told me she bought tickets. We had a good and relaxing time, I just took her to some of my favorite places to eat and then on Saturday she helped me out at Kevin's wedding.

Kevin has been a good friend of mine since I was 17 years old and he was the one who baptized me. He got married in the LA temple to Jessica and I couldn't be happier for them!! It's been a long time coming ha ha just kidding but seriously! Before his wedding I talked to him and his mom and they wanted me to make some eggrolls and come help set up the buffet at the reception which was at the Provo library. Of course I said yes. I ended making eggrolls and potstickers, it was a crazy hectic day but in the end everything was great. And now I am happy to have another married couple to play with. :)

Oliver's Baptism

August 6th

Our nephew Oli got baptized and it was so great! Ashley called me and asked if I could talk about baptism, at first I was like "are you sure he didn't mean Isaac?"and "are you sure because I cry all the time when I talk in church" ha ha :) I was happy to do it, but I had only been to one other child's baptism and that was for Jack, so I was a little nervous! It was great and we are so proud of Oli! Afterwards we went over to Cali's and had a party, well more like a luncheon! The night before I made some avocado eggrolls and they were a hit, which always makes me happy when I make something and other people enjoy it! Some people are asking for the recipe, I will post the recipe soon!! We didn't stay to long because I needed to go to barns and noble, read a 200 page book and do a book report.

Mike's Graduation

August 12th

Booya Mike D graduated yesterday and we are so so happy for him!! I totally almost didn't wake up in time because the night before I was finishing my final for criminal law at 2:45 am and so I was exhausted but my sister called me and then I woke up. I went and picked up Allie and we headed over to the marriot center. I was so happy because it wasn't as packed as I remembered for Ike's graduation and it was really nice. Justin, Angelique, Dougie, Marion, Ashley and Cali came to support. Afterwards, we went over to Justin and Angelique's for root beer floats, where the kids showed up and Grandma Jones. This is a big year for Mike, he got married, graduated school and is starting law school on Monday! So crazy but so awesome, good job Mike!!

Bowling

After root beer floats and talking we went and picked up Ike from the house and headed to Park City for bowling! I got a groupon for a place up there and it was pretty sweet! They had couches instead of the swivel chairs and the food was pretty good, the groupon came with a free pizza and pitcher of coke. We had a great time, I would just like to say that I have mad tricks!! One of our tricks was to have the ball go down the lane the slowest and hit some pins everyones ball kept getting into the gutter but its all about observe and dominate, my ball when 2.1 mph and hit 4 pins! Another was kicking the ball and the first time it hit 7 pins leaving three one in the middle and two on the sides, I kicked it again and everyone thought I would maybe hit one but I killed it and it hit all three!! Mike ended up winning both games, and Allie was pretty good even though she doesn't give herself enough credit! This was the last night we hang out with them since they are going to be in Idaho for three years, I know we will see each other but not as often as we would like!

It's been really busy!! At the baptism I was talking to Ashley and Cali and asked them if it was hard to learn the piano at my age and they said no, so it looks like I have some down time to learn something new. haha just kidding, maybe one day! I seem to always have something going on every weekend....next weekend my sister and her husband are coming into town and we are heading down to Vegas!

Oh I got a call tonight from a number I didn't recognize so I didn't answer, so then Ike's phone rang and it was someone from church asking if I could give the closing prayer. ha ha thats what I get for a husband who always answers his phone. Me and church are best friends lately!

That's my life.

Scooter On The Run

2011-08-10T22:59:00.003-06:00

While I write this post, I sorta laugh, smile, blush and realize this is totally embarrassing! So image this....I go to one of my classes during the week at Thanksgiving Point at the MATC building and a few times now I have ridden the scooter there.

*Disclaimer*I have never ridden a scooter before in my life and I have only been practicing for about a month to and from the grocery store etc. never anywhere far or that would require me to go above 20 mph.

Anyways back to my story, a typical riding to class, in which I take backroads to get there. While doing so I enjoy the occasional bugs hitting me in the face and little rocks getting my neck. I still enjoy the the feeling of the breeze through my hair. :) (technically free AC). While I arrive to the parking lot, all the spaces were full except for a couple of them and while I was pulling in to the spot there was a sign with lots of "words" and while taking my time to read this sign to see if I could park there...the rest was sort of a blur. What I remember was that instead of holding the break handle, unconsciously I hit the gas and the scooter started going onto the grass area and I somewhat freaked out, and hit the gas AGAIN!! So it was literally dragging me along the grass (i'm somewhat standing and falling at this point), I think that I finally just let go of the scooter itself and it fell on my right leg!! OMG! I am totally fine with a minor bruise on my leg and the scooter is a-ok since it was just grass! But the whole time this is happening a car was passing through the parking lot, somewhat stopped and watched and then drove off! ha ha! "Thanks Guy"

Oh and 10 minutes later....I took a final with grass stained jeans! :)

MLG Anaheim aka Nerdicon

2011-08-08T22:42:00.028-06:00

Alright everybody... brace yourself because I'm about to tell you about what I did at the end of July. I'm going to be honest I'm not even a little bit ashamed. I went to MLG Anaheim! MLG stands for Major League gaming and its one of the largest organizations in the US that holds tournaments for major competitive video games etc. I went with my homies Michael (Earl), Roman db, and Chris Owens. It was one of the funnest trips I've been on.

Let me tell you a little bit more so you get the background. Starcraft has been a major e-sport in other parts of the world, especially south korea, for a long time. When Starcraft 2 came out it blew up all over the world and is becoming one of the most popular e-sports. The most amazing thing about it is how it has taken off as a spectator e-sport, with crowds of thousands of people gathering to watch their favorite players duke it out. Basically that is what we went to MLG Anaheim to do.

Now I know many of you are reading this and shaking your head and saying "Oh Isaac..." but that's ok, you already knew I was a nerd. Deal with it.

Here is a video I took on my phone of the line to get in... it took us a few hours to get in. Want to know why? There were more then 20,000+ other like minded nerds there! Ya that picture on top? that came from when no games were being played and people were just trying to save their seats... It was crazy packed.

Once we got inside there was just allot of fenced off practice areas where the pros were getting ready.

Pictured above is some of the top Korean Pros. Closest to the left is MVP... a two time global starcraft league champion who has won more then 85,000 in prize money just this year not including sallaries etc. He actually went on to win the entire tournament. On the right second one back is Slayers Boxer, the most famous e-sports figure of all time. He is rather old and is the coach of a team, he is married but still competes pretty often and is very good. More on that later...

The place was so packed throughout the time of the event... we had to fight for our seats! here is a video I took when we first got in there and decided to try and save some seats a few hours early.

It was a three day event and I saw alot of my favorite players etc. I didn't take a lot of pictures cause I'm a dude and I never think to do it, but I got a free t-shirt from Ms. Oregon State Anna Prosser, and I got my favorite player Geoff "iNcontroL" Robinson to sign it.

These pro players are able to play at a level far and away above the average player. One of the statistics they have in competitive starcraft is "Actions per minute." some of these top players are capable of playing the game and strategizing etc at a speed of 300-400 actions per minute. My chances of taking a game off one of these guys would almost be the equivalent of taking a game off a chess grand master.

One of the coolest things about the tournament was the fact that Slayers Boxer, competed and did quite well. He is considered the "Michael Jordan" of starcraft, and is a pretty big celebrity in korea (been in movies etc). He wasn't expected to do well in this tournament but he came and dominated and ended up getting 3rd place (out of hundreds of competitors...) it was really impressive. The crowd was really going absolutely insane every time he won (which was every game until the semi-finals). It would be like michael jordan coming back and playing in a game now and scoring 50 points in front of all his favorite fans. Here is a video of him that someone else took after his victory over korean progamer "Rain" and the crowd reaction... watch this one if you don't watch the others.

Here is a couple more pictures etc.

MVP the champion holding his trophy.

Huk one of the best Non-Koreans in the world getting ready... for a game.. he ended up in 7th.

Lastly.. me with some of the best korean progamers in the world... FXOChoya on the right... and Slayers_Alicia on the left...

All in all the experience was awesome. We learned some things though.. like don't get worn out on day 1 fighting for chairs when all the important games come on day 3. We'll do better next time...

Bountiful Baskets #2 and Farmers Market

2011-08-07T14:32:00.006-06:00

I am sure loving this bountiful basket thing! Isaac and I are participating in it every other week and its been so awesome! This time when we did do it, we came a little bit earlier (10 minutes before pickup time) and started to help break down boxes, then the coordinator asked if some of us can stay and help for a little bit, so of course I made Isaac stay to help even though he was not feeling it, but in return we got an extra mango :)

Also on Thursday, for a class assignment I had to go to a farmers market. So I headed to the one at Lavell Edwards stadium and here are some of my finds! They didn't have much fruit options except for this little yellow-orange-red looking plums! They are a little sour but still pretty tasty! And the items I was most excited about were these squashes, they were so huge compared to the ones in the store and for the price of 2/$1, I was so happy!

This is the same recipe as my first mango recipe on the post about my first bountiful basket the only difference is adding in slice strawberries, YUM!!

I rarely ever eat raw bananas because it some what makes my throat tingle, maybe a small allergy? So then I decided to make banana bread and boy did they turn out delicious.

Recipe:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda and baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

(mix and set aside)

In another bowl, combine:

3 eggs

3/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

4-5 bananas mashed

Add dry and wet ingredients

(I added chocolate chips)

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes

This makes like 6-7 loafs in a small loaf pan

(snacking toms toms with grilled asparagus and a light italian dressing)

(yummy grilled squashes topped with parmesan cheese)

(cucumber stuffed with crab meat and greek yogurt)

(great way to spruce a salad by adding mangos and strawberries)

( sauteed green beans with garlic and fried sweet potatoes, we were given these yams type potato and when you come into them they were white, they were pretty delicious)

I love love food and I am so excited to check out other farmers market this summer and try things I haven't tried before! :)

Day 1

2011-07-24T16:49:00.009-06:00

Mike and Allie got married on July 7th in the Portland Oregon temple. So fair warning the next four posts are from that weekend.

Wednesday, July 6th

On Tuesday night, I had class until 9pm and I couldn't miss because he was doing a test review so right when I got home we loaded up the car and headed to Boise for the night. We got in around 3am and stayed at Alysha's house with Corbin and Brandon (Alysha and Brandon thanks for letting us stay at your house twice, even though we didn't see you guys either times).

We went to the Boise temple to check it out since it was right off the highway. It reminded me of the Las Vegas temple. The grounds were really pretty!

We had a late morning and so we were barely going to make it to the endowment session for Allie. We got to our hotel at 5:45 checked in, got our stuff to the room and then got ready and left the hotel at 6:10 to be at the temple by 6:30, boy was it a little crazy but we made it and it was a great session! It was nice to be in the temple with the Earl family!

After the session, Ike and I headed back to our hotel to change and decide on something to eat. We didn't want to do fast food or diners so we asked the lady at the front desk a place that is open late and she recommended us to go to Buffalo Gap just right down the street. It was delicious!! We loved this place! Ike got a buffalo ranch burger with a side of tator tots (his favorite) and I got a shrimp salad and the shrimp was so good!! It was a great end to our day, when we got back to the hotel, I did a homework assignment and Ike fell right asleep.

Day 2

2011-07-24T15:14:00.018-06:00

Thursday, July 7th

The sealing was at noon, so it was a perfect time for us. We just had breakfast at the hotel and got ready and checked out at 11:15 and headed to the temple. It all went by very fast but it was so nice to see Mike and Allie so happy!!

Grandma Earl

Grandma Jones

Mom and Dad Earl

Kelsey and I

(i just realized we are sorta matching :))

throwing up the asian peace sign, ha ha i love it!

Afterwards we all headed over to Allie's city of Happy Valley and had a luncheon at the church building down from their house. Ike and I changed out of our clothes into something more comfortable. The luncheon was catered by Panera Bread and it was all so yummy!!

Later Kelsey, Jon, Ike and I decided to explore Portland a little bit. We started heading to the Japanese Garden but when we got there I didn't realized it cost $10 dollars per person to go in, so we skipped it and went just across the street to see the Rose Garden (for free!) we went around and smelled a few roses and it's crazy that a lot of them smelled different. We then went over to Voodoo Donuts, a staple for Portlanders I guess. I got the maple bacon donut and Ike got the voodoo doll donut, it was a donut stuffed with some kind of berry jelly and glazed with chocolate. It was good but average, I think we enjoy krispi cremes better. While we were walking back to our car, Jon noticed a crepe place right along the ally with walk up window ordering and ordered a savory crepe with smoked salmon. And why stop at that we also went to a place I saw online called the Grilled Cheese Grill, they have two establishments one with a regular school bus and one on a double decker bus. It was awesome and delicious!!! We all got something different and shared, so yummy! Kelsey and I have decided that we will go to school, get our degrees and then open a grilled cheese place in Provo!

We got to the reception, which was in Allie's parents backyard and it was so pretty! They had people making crepes and italian sodas. I was stuffed with food and I didn't eat my donut yet so I was able to fit in a crepe and it was delish! My favorite thing there was watching the video pictures of Mike and Allie!

(sisters)

(this was ike the whole time, playing with the kids, it makes my heart warm)

(the Bates and Mom)

A few hours later, Ike and I decided to head out since we were driving to Moses Lake and we decided to add a couple passengers with us: Oli and Rob. They were great for us, we played a little game of "I spy with my little eye" and then went to McDonalds and then they fell asleep most of the time! We got into Moses about 2:30am and Evelyn was so sweet to set up a few sleeping bags in the other guest room for the boys. Evelyn was up and so her and Ike talked for awhile, and I jumped in the shower and then went to bed!

Day 3

2011-07-24T15:13:00.009-06:00

Friday, July 8th

I woke up about 8:30 to check on the boys and they were still asleep so I went back to bed and then a few hours later I woke up to the boys making noises in the living room, Evelyn was so sweet to make cinnamon rolls so the boys each had one and then grabbed some basketballs and played outside. Later we went to Frank's (Ike told me stories of this place where he would get tootsie rolls for 1 cents each when he was young and that he was obsessed with the hot pockets in high school), the boys got to choose some candy items and then we were off to lunch at Woody's.

After lunch we went back to the DB's house and relaxed for a few hours before going to Grandma Earl's. Everyone just came and hung out and ate lots of Papa John's pizza. Ike got into a game of pool basketball and was out of shape, it was funny and cute all at the same time! I tried to study but it just didn't work for me, it only lasted like 15 minutes! Wah Wah!!

After Grandma's house, we went back home. I took a nap while Ike was chatting it up with Glade. We got ready and headed over to the reception.

(so hood)

(brothers)

(ike, kristy and trevor)

(brother and sister)

(ike and his 4th grade teacher)

Afterwards, we were getting hungry so Justin suggested Inca's and it was delicious!!

Day 4

2011-07-24T14:35:00.009-06:00

Saturday, July 9th

July 9th

We went over to Jeff and Becky's to just hang out with everyone. While there were some cousins in the pool, some just eating and chatting (me), and Ike and some of the boys inside watching computer gaming competitions on the TV it was a good time! After a little while, most of the clan left and so Kelsey and I chatted for awhile, along with Jeff and Becky I loved talking with them!! When the evening rolled around Jon, Kelsey, Corbin, Breanna, Ike and I decided to dinner over to Michael's Bistro. Afterwards, we went back to the Daniels-Browns and packed and left to Boise about midnight and got there around 6 in the morning. We then woke up around noon and headed back home (my favorite place to be) and got there around 6 in the evening.

After the whole short busy weekend, I got home and was sick! I went straight to bed and when I woke up the next morning it was not getting better, then I realized that I had a TEST in my Nutrition class, so last minute studying and cramming I still got an A on the test but I also had a Physics test the next day! (Although you bring your books to study, it never really works when your not in your studying "zone"). So I have realized that I can't do anything (road trips) over the summer if I have classes! My physics test was not that sweet it was okay but I have a few more exams to make it up, wish me luck!

Overall, it was nice to get out of Utah for a few days. I have never been to Oregon before and thought it was gorgeous with all the beautiful trees. We loved that we got to see Mom and Dad Earl for a few days! And I am happy to have a new sister in the fam!

**And I've noticed that I talk about food a lot but seriously that is pretty much all we did all weekend. Gosh, I heart food!! :)

Bountiful Baskets

2011-07-15T23:09:00.006-06:00

A few weeks ago I tried out Bountiful Baskets and I think it is great! I wasn't sure what to expect except for 50% veggies and 50% fruits but we ended up getting tons of items and all for 15 bucks! It ended up to be a little more than we eat especially when it comes to fruit so we need to change up our diets! We got lots of mangoes (which I love) and so for dinner I made mango salsa to top on my steak burritos with homemade cilantro jalapeno ranch, yum! It was light, fresh and delish!

Here is the mango salsa recipe:
1 mango chopped
1/2 red bell pepper chopped
1/2 fresh jalapeno pitted and chopped
1/3 cup of red onion chopped
some cilantro
1 or 2 limes squeezed
salt and pepper to taste

Here is a rough recipe I never measure anything except when I'm baking so just add more or less of something.

I also made beef tacos with homemade corn salsa.

And stew with the carrots I got with my basket.

Enjoy! Check it out.

July 4th Weekend

2011-07-05T14:57:00.005-06:00

We had a great 4th of July weekend!! We started it off by going to see Transformer 3 which we loved...way better than the second one. Transformers is special to Ike and I because it was the very first movie that we went to go see on our very first date. If you haven't seen go and watch it!

All day Saturday I worked on homework assignments. And then on Monday we relaxed cleaned up the house and then headed to Sugarhouse Park for the firework show. It was super packed and luckily we found a parking spot about three blocks away. While we were there we found a spot on the hill set out our blanket we really enjoyed being outside and with each other.

It was a nice and relaxing weekend.

June Part II

2011-06-30T16:44:00.007-06:00

Sister Shower for Allie

Last Wednesday we got the sisters and grandma Jones together minus Cali and Sam and did a lunch (we had Kneaders and of course it was delicious!) and a little shower for Ali. We are so excited to have her in the family!! We are less than a week away to traveling to Portland and we are super excited!!

Manti Pageant

I have been in Utah for about four years and every year I hear something about some pageant in Manti so this year we decided to go check it out! The Manti temple is absolutely gorgeous and secretly it's the temple I wanted to get married in but it was too far. We got to Manti about 45 minutes before the pageant started so we found some seats plopped our blankets on them and left them to roam around. There was food stands about one block away and we decided to get some funnel cakes and it was delish! I totally love the "fair" atmosphere. What we totally forgot to bring was insect repellent and so we got bit a few times!! The play was great we both really enjoyed it!! Its something you should do if you're in UT.

Ike's new "Buddy"

We have been contemplating for awhile if we should get a scooter. And finally we found a great deal on a Genuine Buddy its a 2006, we picked it up last Saturday and we love it!! I've started night classes and having the scooter is wonderful for Ike it just takes an extra five to ten minutes for him to get to work.

Happy 4th to everyone! We are looking forward to this upcoming week!

Happenings in June

2011-06-21T16:55:00.022-06:00

Five Year Baptismal Anniversary

June 4th I celebrated my fifth year baptismal anniversary...can you believe it? :) Every time this date comes around I am humbly reminded how grateful I am to be part of the church. As with every first Sunday of the month there is fast and testimony meeting. When we got there all the seats were FULL....it was because we had 3 baby blessings. So we sat in the way back where you had to squint your eyes to see people at the pulpit. With three blessings and a long talk from one of the counselors we only had 10 minutes to bear our testimonies. So of course I'm thinking "I'll do it next time (I promise)" plus I didn't want to make a long walk down all the aisles. But I have a great husband who just kept nudging my side and he kept moving his legs over so I could walk past him. I thought "you're driving me nuts" but with only 3 minutes left, I just did it and booked it up front and bore my testimony. Of course my hands were a little shaky and my eyes started to water but it was great to bear my testimony. I had mentioned a quote by President Gordon B Hinckley........

"Years ago I was asked whether the missionary lessons we use in the Orient are substantially different from those we use in countries where the people are primarily Christians. I responded that we use essentially the same lessons because we teach the same kind of people whose hearts are touched by the same eternal truths. I stated further that the people of Asia are children of God, just as are the people of the United States, and because we have all come from the same parentage, we respond to the same truth. The fact the one's skin may have a slightly different color, that one's eyes may have a slightly different set, that one may wear a different type of clothing does not in any sense make him or her a different kind of individual. People the world over respond to the same stimuli in essentially the same way. They seek warmth when they are cold; they know the same kind of pain; they experience sadness; and they know joy. They may call him by various names, and they may describe him in various ways, but they are aware of his being and look to him for strength beyond their own. "

(I didn't say this word for word) but this quote is what made me realize that everyone is a child of God, this opened my eyes to wanting to find out more and what it meant.

I'm not going to say that everything has been perfect, there have been many times that I felt this is hard but when I think about it I have had way more blessings than hardships and I am so grateful.

(So I found this among my many notes from institute and from classes in my singles ward, but after three months of getting baptized I got a calling to teach Gospel Principals and this was one of my lessons I taught. I forget sometimes how I need to be more diligent when it comes to studying the gospel.)

So to celebrate I invited the Earl clan, Kevin and Roman over to the house for a BBQ. (ps we finally bought a good grill over memorial day weekend and I am in love!) We had hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken wings, desserts, fruit, shrimp etc. and it was all delish!! It was a good time!

This picture is for Dad Earl.

Lunch Dates in SLC

Ike and I set aside Saturday as a time where we like to try out different eateries around town. This last Saturday we headed to Bruges Waffles and Frites and boy was it delicious!! They have only one sandwich on the menu and its called "the machine gun" it is a baguette filled with lamb sausage and stuffed with fries and a andalouse sauce, yum! Their waffles are also delish I am a waffle fan. And in their waffles they stuff it with belgian chocolate and you pay for different toppings. We wil back there for sure!

Awhile back on City Deals we got a deal for a BBQ place called Sugarhouse BBQ and to be honest it was not good. Everything that we got was so dry!! It was surprising because they had good ratings. Too bad.

Couponing!

.99 cents per case of water

2 free bags of MM's

1.99 per laundry detergent

20 bottles of gaterade for $7.80

free batteries

20 bags of rice for $10

Free milky ways and bandaids

.25 per box for pizza

.08 for mustard

Free franks red hot sauce

So yes I have been couponing! I am fairly new at this but it has been interesting and fun. I think that in every trip I have gotten something free. Just doing a little research and looking at different store ads can really help you save money. I don't invest in Sunday papers or anything it really is just price matching and coupons that you can print online. I have recently started buying bulk coupons from a clipping service and it is way better than getting ten sunday papers. I'm not a extreme coupon-er but I am a coupon-er and slowly building a stockpile. We'll see how it goes.....

On another note, I signed up for Bountiful Baskets and will be getting my first basket this weekend. I am excited about it but I'll have to see if its worth it in the long run.

(if you are in UT or ID there is a .75 coupons for milk on coupons.com....awesome because we like eating cereal)

I got a great deal on rasberries and made jam for the first time ever and it turned out good!!

I also got great deals on meats and just buy in bulk split it up individually and have it ready in the freezer for whenever.

I also sorta wanna do a mini herb garden in the backyard.....maybe.

And with all the deals I'm finding I'm making pretty delicious dinners!

Okay this is a long already...I'll do a part 2 tomorrow or maybe the next day.

Time to watch The Voice on the DVR. PS did you hear Javier Colon last week....AMAZING. Isaac has a man crush on him. I think I have a thing for people who play the piano :)

Amazing!

2011-06-08T00:45:00.005-06:00

So "The Voice" is one of the shows Ike and I are watching this season. I'm not a huge fan of American Idol or anything but I have been liking this show a lot. I never vote normally for any show, but Dia for sure got my vote tonight.

Wilderness

2011-06-02T00:39:00.007-06:00

Yo Yo. So Linh and I are not really outdoor people. We like couches, tvs, walls, and the occasional window to look out at the world (jk... but seriously). We decided it would be a great idea to go on a hike! We went up into the Spanish Fork canyons, with the goal to reach the Hot Springs. Here we are at the beginning of our journey (no hiking quite yet):

big smiles

I think she is a tourist

shorts? tennis shoes?

So anyways... We walked and walked... and we finally found some hot springs. They were not what we were expecting and we were feeling pretty sure that there must be more up ahead... we continued hiking up the mountain for almost another hour and a half.. We finally realized that we were going down the other side of the mountain and that there were no special hidden hot springs beyond the "fake" hot springs. We decided to take a picture of how we felt at that given moment:

NO GOOD

We walked back down and went to the hot springs we saw earlier... unfortunately it started to rain and we didn't have much time because it was getting dark! The water was half warm, half cold, and we realized that the water levels of the river were way higher then usual... so it was overflowing into the hot spring and making it cold. WA wa

Afterwards we thought about the health ramifications of walking up a big hill, and decided we should replenish the calories we lost with these fantastic donuts...

Mmmm...

But seriously overall we had fun and we were glad we got to go on an adventure...even if it was a 4 1/2 hike!!!

PEACE

Just Because....

2011-05-19T01:37:00.001-06:00

"you're yellow too...."

Thanks babe! Love you!

Booya!

2011-05-14T21:26:00.012-06:00

Couponing/Price Matches

Have you seen Extreme Couponing on TLC? Well the folks on that show are crazy! They go to the store with tons of coupons and come out only paying a couple of dollars for three full carts of stuff! So I have been Googling about couponing and then I learned that Walmart does price matches. And its been awesome! My recent score was getting 44 boxes of speghetti noodles for two dollars!! I also got honey nut cheerios for .95 cents a box. BBQ sauce for .09 cents etc....anyways its been fun!

Booya 96% savings

And 72% savings

With that much pasta I better get to cooking some of it....tonights dinner shrimp pasta and it was delish!! Made with stewed tomatoes I dunno if I will eat marinara sauce any other way....seriously!

LIFE

So I finished my first semester at UVU and did pretty good. I got all A's and one B and so I was super happy about it! I started my summer semester last week its in block classes so I'm happy its shorter but taking online classes is a lot harder especially when I'm writing briefs like crazy! I'm glad that we have so many lawyers in the family (I might be calling)!

My hubs is doing great!! He has now worked at his job for one year and its been amazing!! We have been truly blessed and I am really proud of him!

Engaged!

Yay!! Mike and Allie are engaged!! They are getting married on July 7th in Portland and we are so excited! I am so happy to have Allie as a sister!!

And my friend Kevin got engaged to his lady Jessica and they are getting married July22nd!

July is going to be a busy month for us we are heading to Portland and Los Angeles! Yay, I miss having summer road trips!!

Okay.... gotta go we are going to watch Gnomeo and Juliet.

Update!

2011-05-05T18:13:00.012-06:00

I just wanted to mention that we had such a nice general conference weekend. On Saturday, we got up and watched conference all day and like tradition Ike, Mike and Justin went to Priesthood together. On Sunday, Mike, Allie, Kelsey, Jon, Kyle and Rachel joined us for conference. For breakfast we just did fruit and cereal and during the break Allie and I made pizzas. Kelsey brought over this delicious guacamole dip, yum! It was a good time.

FOOD

So who has heard of Groupon, Living Social, or City Deals? Well if you haven't you should be checking out these sites that give discounts to different kind of stores or restaurants. City deals especially is one you should check out. I got a few coupons to restaurants on this site and so far we have gone to Thai Basil and Flour Girls and Dough Boys. But whats so great is the deal, they send you an email about deal alerts of the day and I got the Thai Basil coupon for $5.60 for $20.00 worth of food. Totally worth it! Plus they have additional savings like take 10-15% extra off at time of check out. Go check it out!

Mountain West Burrito is off of State St in Orem. We were pleasantly surprised by this place. Its in a closed gas station right next to a smoke shop, kinda ghetto looking but the food was delicious! They are promoting "organic-ness" they buy all their products from UT or neighboring states. Its sort of like Chipotle, but I think I like the steak here better and having it chimichanga style is bomb. Overall we will be going back.

While driving down the street to Mountain West Burrito, in the corner of my eye I noticed this place name the "Hot Dog King" and I was telling Ike that maybe we should try it out sometime. Well it sure did happen. This place has like 30 different kind of hot dogs, the owner is super friendly and surprisingly has been in business for five years. After taking a little bit looking at the menu, I decided on the Caracas Venezuela hot dog and Ike got the spicy guacamole with bacon foot long. Mike met up with us to help eat the monster! We both really enjoyed it. But nothing is like J-Dawgs which will always be our favorite but if your looking for something like Chicago Style hot dog come to this place.

This place is only two minutes from Ike's work so one day picking him up we decided to head on over for dinner. Everything we ordered was really delicious!! We got candied walnut shrimp, wonton soup and mango chicken. I was wondering how this place makes any money if you can buy a coupon for five bucks for twenty dollars worth of food. Crazy! But we definitely recommend this place for sure!

As another coupon deal we got online we decided to head down to American Fork to this bakery place called Flour Girls and Dough Boys. We got a breakfast sandwich that was a sausage and maple glaze panini, chicken avocado sandwich and since it was a bakery a cupcake too. Our only favorite thing was the breakfast sandwich but too bad that it was really small. The chicken panini wasn't all that great (you can get better at Kneaders for the same price) and the cupcake was so dense and heavy we couldn't even finish it.

So bummer, I wouldn't recommend coming here.

FUN

This last Sunday we decided to get a few cousins together and enjoy a game night! Like with every game it is always "boys v girls" so did pictionary the girls made up things for the boys to draw and vice versa. Girls of course added girly things and boys of course added a few inappropriate things :) But both teams surprisingly put "argyle" and "salamander". At the end it was a tie, so we played catch phrase twice and we tied again. Geez! Overall it was a great night, and we are going to miss everyone while they are going out of state this summer!

I also just came back from Denver for the weekend and it was so fun. I haven't seen my older sister Lauren for like 8 months so it was really nice to see her and Josh. My aunt and uncle are buying a new home so it was fun seeing that and hanging out with them. And seeing my friends whom I haven't seen for awhile. I went to dinner with Caitlin and met her new boyfriend, I saw April, Dan, and Elizabeth at church, and then went out to dinner with my good friend Chris Logan. I love Colorado! When I was walking out of the airport, this is what I saw. Haha :)

HOUSE

I have done a few new things to the house. First off I wanted to do some lighter colors in my house because I had tons of black and browns everywhere that made the house "darker" if that makes sense. So first I found a new kitchen table and chairs at a great deal, I also reupholstered the chair seat with black and white stripes which I love. Then I sewed some new curtains, I was contemplating a dark purple or red but my whole goal was to lighten up the room, so I found this baby blue fabric at Home Fabrics for $3.00 yd, it was an amazing deal so I made three panels for only $30! I am just doing things here and there but its coming along more pictures to come....

Okay, whew its time to make dinner.....posting some more later.

Almost done...at least for this semester

2011-04-20T15:51:00.006-06:00

I am so happy that I am almost done with my first semester back in school. Its been so fun. I heart school!! I have loved learning in all my classes and can't wait to go back. I might be taking a few classes in the summer but I might have a little "somethin' somethin'" going on this summer but I will let you know if it all works out. Ahhh, life is good!

I also did amazing on all my semester papers for some of my classes and it brought joy to my heart. I have already taken one final for my forensics class and killed it I finished a 90 question final in seriously like 7 minutes. I did the same thing on the mid-term and got a 100% so I know for certain I got an A in that class. I have another final tomorrow and a few next week.

On the side note: Yesterday Ike got a call from BYU and his old boss Shane said that there is a administration position opening as a database and application developer, he mentioned that while looking through some of the applications they thought about Ike and called him and wanted him to apply for the position. Ike told me that the position was everything he would want in a job when it comes to developing but he's going to stick to working for the church. It was really flattering and Shane mentioned how another manager really missed him and that they wanted him to come back.

I told Ike that it would pretty cool to work for BYU and maybe Dad Earl would love that but Isaac's response is the only thing that is truer than BYU to dad is the church (or at least I think so :)) just kidding.

He's happy that he is making lasting impressions and relationships with everyone around him.

We are heading to Denver tomorrow night just for the weekend so I will blog more when we get back.

Catch Me If You Can

2011-03-29T22:08:00.002-06:00

Frank Abagnale

At school today I went to a talk given by Frank Abagnale, the one who they made a movie after called "Catch Me If You Can". If you haven't seen the movie you should, it's great! His talk was about the truths that weren't in the movie and his side to what was most important to life. He is quite funny and you just couldn't believe the things that he did at such a young age of 16 to 21; he passed millions of dollars of forged checks across 26 countries. He impersonated a role of a Panam Pilot, an Attorney, a Doctor and a Teacher Assistant at BYU for a semester and taught sociology. Incredible. But he took awhile to express how family is and should be the most important aspect in ones life and it was just overall a wonderful talk!

Busy! March so far....

2011-03-23T20:07:00.016-06:00

I can't even believe that it is the end of March!! Isaac and I have been keeping ourselves pretty busy!

I have had mid-terms, papers, projects etc and they haven't stopped
At Ike's work, once a month his team rotates and gets the 'duty phone' he's got it this week, and he had for a few days a couple of weeks ago. He got a phone call at 4am from Germany needing him to fix a system problem.
We went to Sara's and Cody's baby blessing for Gage, I love baby blessings, it just warms my heart to know that we have the Priesthood and that one day Ike will be blessing our children :)
My friend Kevin, his girlfriend Amy, Sean and Brooke came over a few Sundays ago because I said I would make him dinner for his birthday.
Jimmermania!
Allie and I painted a wall in the living room, its a taupe color, I love it. I tried putting samples of blue on the wall but I just couldn't do it (pictures to come)
I went out with my girl Michelle for a be-lated birthday, we had dinner at the Pizza Factory and had dessert (cupcake) at The Sweet Tooth Fairy in Provo
Last week was my Spring Break, Ike and I flew out to Biloxi, MS to visit my parents for a week

Michelle and I

I love seeing my momma!! We are just great friends and talk on the phone at least every other day. One day we took a girls afternoon to the Spa and both got facials, and we spent time in the steam room, then we had lunch. It was a great day!

My parents weren't in the mood to go out so we went decided to head over to Ruth's Chris for dinner. We have never been and Ike ordered the ribeye and it was DELICIOUS!! I ordered the lamb chops and they were good but not my favorite.

One day we decided to head to New Orleans, Louisiana for a day trip. My dad and mom needed to get eye exams and new glasses so we decided to go. I remember coming to New Orleans like 9 years ago with my friend Ruth and it was so much fun. After the eye exam we headed to a Vietnamese community and had lunch, then we started heading towards the French Quarter.

We stopped at Cafe du Monde for their delicious beignets! And walked around the streets, went in to a few shops and enjoyed the outside.

Ike's boss suggested a restaurant we should try that sold po boys, so one afternoon we decided to check it out. Ike got the roast beef with gravy and I got my favorite the shrimp po boy. But I am going to have to say that I think Chubby's is still better! The shrimp was good, but they just put lettuce, tomato and pickles on this one; at Chubby's they put coleslaw on theirs, which is way yummier!

My sweet husband is so sick of food right now! It seemed like we were eating all the time! He already dislikes buffets but after this trip he hates them! ha ha! The funny thing was that they had lots of options for seafood or steak, but he would always come back to the table with fried chicken and pizza! My parents were like 'you can eat that anywhere, try something else'! Towards the end of the trip he was wanting to have Wendy's! Next time I just need to bring someone who likes to eat as much as I do! :)

I have about a month left of school so its going to get busy!! I am applying for summer classes in the next couple of weeks, so I am pretty excited!!

Life is GREAT!!

Droids

2011-03-01T22:44:00.003-07:00

While I'm in class I get an email and this is what Ike sent me....he made us into droids...my nerdy hubs! I love that I have dark skin and he even added accessories, ha ha!! And if you know Ike he always has head phones on and just got a new pair from work that look like these ones!

It put a smile on my face :)

Well Dressed

2011-02-24T21:01:00.007-07:00

Whew, today was hectic!! I had an exam in every class, and the worse part about it is that the teach only gave one day to prepare for the test! I am a planner and like doing things ahead of time, but I am so thankful for Ike who went through some flash cards with me!! Love you babe! So I got all A's on my exams, so my stress level is down...for now.
But tonight in my evening class I had to do a group power-point presentation on Serology (blood/DNA) and I had to talk about antigens, antibodies, agglutination heredity, genes, and chromosomes to name a few. So in the class you get graded by you peers. They listen to the presentation and write grades on a paper about what they liked and disliked. I know that I could have been more prepared but my topic was super complicated and so it seemed like I was reading off the slides and I guess I said "um" a lot too....my bad! The funniest part of it, is that from out of my team most of my comments were mainly about how "well dressed", "nicely dressed", "looked good", or "professional looking" I was and that I spoke loud and confident.

So what I'm trying to say is that if you look good and can talk with confidence it will get you an A, ha ha!!

Dates, Valentines, Wedding

2011-02-19T21:54:00.010-07:00

A few weeks ago Ike and I decided that we haven't been out for awhile, since he has working lots and I've been doing a lot of homework. We decided to head to Trolley Square in SLC because online they had a chicken wing place (I Love wings!) and it advertised that it had over 100 different flavors, well sadly when we get there it was $1 per wing and it was like basic flavors you would get for hot wings! So we ditched it and headed over to the Old Speghetti Factory and when we glanced over the menu, we knew that noodles and meat sauce was not worth paying for so then we happily left. The only store we did enjoy going into was the Trolley Taffy Station, they sold a huge variety of salt water taffy and they were yummy!! We ended going back to Rich's Mighty Fine Burger and Ike got the mushroom burger and I got the shrimp po boy...Ike's burger was delicious but I still like the po boy from Chubby's!

So for Valentines day, we totally kept it low key. Ike worked all day and so when he got home we headed over to Kneaders in Lehi and enjoyed the night together.

We didn't give gifts this year, but Isaac is the best because we have been working on this project and he helped me finish it, I am so lucky to have a husband so good to me!!

On Friday, my good friend Kyle got married in the Timpanogos Temple to Rachel. Kyle use to come into the restaurant to visit me and my mom would put him to work he would do the dishes and clean tables, he is a great guy! I am so happy for the both of them! He had surgery on his ankle and so he had walk around with crutches. :)

Happy Birthday Cali

2011-02-11T20:19:00.005-07:00

Today is Cali's birthday and to celebrate we picked up Kneaders for lunch. I haven't had Kneaders since my wedding luncheon three years ago and it was DELICIOUS!! If anyone does go there definitely try the turkey and artichoke panini, it comes with kettle chips topped with some kind of parmesan cheese and a pickle! Anyways, it was a great day of just talking and catching up!

I always have a camera with me so I snapped a few shots...

Grandma J. she just got her hair done!

I love that this boy LOVES food!!

Happy Birthday Sister!! :)

P.S. So Ike had to go into work at 3 and isn't coming home until like 9ish but I took a nap and when I woke up I called Ike to see how he was doing and then right when I was lifting the blanket off me and my feet were half way on to the floor my WHOLE bed and nightstands were shaking!! So, it was dark and I was totally freaked out and Ike isn't home so I went over to my neighbors to see if they felt the same trembling that I did and they said that they felt it too; then later my VT called me and told me that it was a 2.5 earthquake...great...that was a first for me and hopefully the last!

I Wanted Tall....

2011-02-11T01:26:00.004-07:00

....and that's what I got.

I realize that when I do the laundry, I literally have to lift Ike's jeans up to my face so that I can fold them. Ha Ha I love it!!

Twinkle Twinkle and Faith Is

2011-02-07T21:21:00.008-07:00

(His Myspace profile pic, so hot!)

So the other day Ike's friend asked him on Facebook if he had a recording of his song he did with his friend, Mateo, and surely he did on his Myspace page (we totally forgot he had one) and we found Twinkle Twinkle. Ike is doing the singing part of the song.

And he also had this Faith Is recording, its not the whole song but its still great, it reminds me of the first time we met because he was playing the piano and singing this song and the rest is history...

ENJOY.....

Our Lives Lately

2011-01-31T13:08:00.012-07:00

The picture sums up our lives lately. Life is really good.

Yay! I officially started school again! At the last minute I decided to go back to school, on December 17th I started thinking about how much I wanted to finish school and then at like midnight I applied for financial aid in hopes of getting something and then applied to be admitted into UVU. It was a stressful process at first because I didn't turn in my application for in-state residency on time, so I went in and they told me that I had to HAVE a UT drivers license and be a registered voter ay ay ay...so I run down to the drivers license place and do everything they said to do and then they tell me they didn't guarantee that I would get residency before tuition was due; it can take up to four weeks to process. And because it was so last minute all the classes were already filled so I was able to get into one class for sure and wait-listed in my other four classes. But I had a feeling that everything would work out and be okay. So about two weeks after classes had started I got an email and they told me I got residency, phew!! I also some got financial aid to cover my cost of attendance! And I was able to get registered in all my classes! I'm telling you that prayers are wonderful.
As I sit in class and listen to the teachers lecture, I say to myself how much I really MISSED going to school and wished that I could have gone sooner, but I'm doing it NOW and it is the best decision I've made in awhile!! My major is Criminal Justice/Forensic Science and I love everything about it! And no I didn't get into it because of watching CSI (which is totally fake btw, I laugh most of the time when I watch it); in the 10th grade, in science class we had to process a fake crime scene and I loved every second of it and then in my senior year in HS I went to a college and took intro to criminal justice and that is how it all started. I haven't decided what field to go into since I'm really taking all my major courses right now; I am learning tons and can't get enough!
(Side Note): I feel bad for my sweetie because I always come home and want to tell him the crazy stories or things I've learned in class but he can't take it because its too sad or too gross...he says I should get a pet or something and talk to it! ha ha! And in my class the other day we saw real life autopsy photos of a victim in a homicide case and a girl was running out of the door covering her mouth almost vomiting in class..sorry honey but your in the wrong field!!
So I'm doing great and loving school!!!

Do you know that my husband is a genius? ha ha. No in all seriousness he is really amazing and is doing SO SO good at work. In the beginning he liked but didn't love his job since it was stuff in QA and he wants to work his way up into development stuff. About a month ago, his manager approached him about an opportunity in another department it was going to be harder and longer hours but he said he had to think about it but gave him an answer an hour later and said he would take it....he is so happy that he did! He says that he is busier which he loves and doesn't even have time to eat lunch! But he has shown me emails between his boss, his new boss, and bosses above that on how much they are grateful that he stepped into this new position. Right now he is in Salt Lake doing training for a week, that will not only benefit his work now but also his resume!! Its been a wonderful blessing! I don't know all the computer lingo so I'll probably have Ike finish this part of the blog later. :)

So this was one of our new year resolutions, to save some money. We said goodbye to our Audi and hope to one day to get another one. In December we went to the Nissan dealership and told them what we wanted which was lower monthly payments for a decent trade in for a car new or old, they said they couldn't help us. Then in January we got an email about how its the end of the year and they need to sell X amount of cars to get a company incentive so we called told them that we were looking for the same deal we asked for a month ago and they said they could do it. So we cut our monthly payments in 1/2 for the same period as our Audi and we got a brand new 2011 Nissan Rogue. We love it!

Overall we have been making great decisions!

New Years and 2010 Overview

2011-01-10T22:19:00.017-07:00

New Years 2011

For New Years, Ike had to work during the day so when he came home we decided to go have a nice dinner at McGrath's and it was so delicious! (side note: if you do go there order the Pineapple Coconut Ahi :) you won't be disappointed). Then afterwards Chris and his fiancé Morgan came over and we played games and watched the countdown on TV. It was a nice and relaxing night.

2010 Overview

Another year has gone by again and it is so amazing how quick the days just pass you. This year has been a great year for us truly, we have been blessed in so many ways.

*We bought a house in March.

*Isaac graduated from Marriott Business School in Information Systems and he got a full-time job before he graduated.

*Ike works for the LDS Church as a Quality Assurance Engineer (it might change let you know in two months)

*We have INSURANCE (I went and got medicine and it only cost $4 compared to $70)

*I became promoted to Manager at work (I miss Viki's a little:))

*We celebrated our birthdays along with family and friends birthdays

*We visited with family a lot!!

*My parents, Lauren, Josh, Caitlin and the Latham's came to Utah to visit

*We saw mom and dad Earl get set apart as MTC Mission President(s)

*We now own a washer and dryer :)

*We went to a few weddings <3

*I learned to do eyelash extensions

*He built a few websites

*We went on LOTS of dates!!

*We got called as primary teachers

*Seen way to many movies

*Discovered how much we really like J-Dawgs

*We went to Texas

*My parents sold the restaurant

*I got braces

Overall it has been a great year!! I'm really proud of Isaac especially I feel like it was really 'his' year I couldn't ask for a better husband; he is truly amazing!! We have especially enjoyed our time together and we are so excited to see what this year will bring!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-02T12:48:00.018-07:00

Date Nights

A few days before Christmas Justin and Angelique gave us some basketball tickets to see BYU play and I have heard that they are doing amazing this year so it was really fun going and watching the game in person. Thanks guys again for the tickets. While we were there we ate Costa Vida in our seats so delish!

We also recently went and watched Narnia at the megaplex in Sandy. We went and got Scholotsky's for dinner and ate at the megaplex while we were waiting for our movie to start. Afterwards we went to Barnes and Noble, got a peppermint hot chocolate and browsed around. Great date night!

Christmas 2010

So if you know Ike and I we are terrible when it comes to waiting and opening any kind of gift! I get too excited, I just want him to open the gift the day I buy it...I know I'm terrible. We did pretty good we opened our presents about two weeks before Christmas (hey we at least had the gifts under the tree for a little while). We promise we will be better when it comes to our kids at least, but for now we are doing what we do...we can't keep secrets very well from each other. :) Anyways we didn't go anywhere this year since Ike's family was hanging out with the in-laws side of the family, my sisters hung out with their in-laws side of the family and my parents are in Mississippi. So with all things considered we stayed in Utah for Christmas, we watched Christmas movies and had a great time being in our home.

Our biggest Christmas gift to each other was finally getting television! We went 6 months without it and it was rough but we got through with a lot of downloaded movies and Netflix! We also got the Google TV set up with Dish Network and we couldn't be happier! :)

I made Vietnamese crepes for Christmas lunch/dinner and they were delicious! In my family we normally make these only on special occasions because they are a pain to put all together but they are so worth it! We wrapped them up in rice paper and made spring rolls. Yum!

Secret Santa

My sisters and I this year decided to do 'secret santa' with each other. My sister had found an app on her phone and entered our names in and it emailed us who was whose secret santa. The funny part was that the phone didn't know but it coupled us up. So Ike and I got Lieu and Alex, Lauren and Josh got Ike and I, Lieu and Alex got Josh and Lauren....so funny. Lauren is one of the best gift givers I know, she has always been so generous and amazing. We got on Skype when we opened our gifts, this year they got Ike a USB splitter with a best buy gift card and also a XBOX remote charger stand. They got me a few decorating cookbooks and a frosting/baking kit. Lauren is really creative and so she also made Lieu and I snowman door hangers, mine has a Burberry scarf and Lieu's has a Coach scarf; very fashionable and overall so cute!

It was a great Christmas!

This how we do...

2010-12-17T16:45:00.004-07:00

It has been a few weeks since we last posted but we are excited that Christmas is soon approaching.

Last week Ike and I went on a fun date night downtown in Salt Lake. When he was at work a guy came around and said if someone wanted some tickets to the Jazz game and Ike called me to see if I wanted to go and I said it would be fun; he gave Ike the tickets in exchange for his knowledge on PHP developing. :) I love my nerdy hubs!! We went down to the Gateway mall and had dinner, then we went to the game and then off to Temple Square for the Christmas lights. Great date night!

A day before Grandma Jones left to Idaho Ike and I took her out for lunch, we went to Ike's work and went to Arbys that is across the street. Always a good time. Thanks grandma for the gifts!

So trying to make holiday cookies I have realized that I'm not such a great baker. I have a hard time following instructions and measurements that's just not how I cook. But I was really in the mood for these cookies Ashley makes (Lemon Sugar Cookies), the first time I tried making these I took a recipe off another blog and it was not good!! So then Ashley gave me her recipe she uses and they turned out delicious! Thanks Ash!

Ike and I have been pondering about life decisions (school/work)and seeing what we are going to look forward to for the next year(or more) and we will keep you posted to see what we decide.

Life is great, we are Blessed!

Happenings in November

2010-12-04T01:30:00.013-07:00

November has been an enjoyable month for us, after my birthday we didn't have a lot going on.

Earlier in the month I went to my friend Sara's beautiful baby shower and oddly enough I have never played 'baby shower' games before like sniffing different candy bars in a diaper (not a good combination of smells by the way:)) anyways it was fun, seeing all the cute baby clothes make me just want a little one of my own so I can go shopping. We are excited to see baby Gage when he gets here.

Isaac and I haven't been to the movie theaters in a long time so when Harry Potter came out we decided it was time we needed to go. We have seen all the other Harry Potter movies and so we got excited when the this movie came out. I don't know if you have seen it or not so we won't spoil it but we both thought it was great.

We also celebrated Michaels birthday at our house. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do on his b-day, so I offered to make him dinner if he wanted and he said 'yes'. He invited some friends over, we ate and then they played video games.

For awhile I was contemplating what we were going to do for Thanksgiving and my mom and dad are currently in Biloxi, MS and wanted my sisters and I to come out and visit. It took awhile to decide then I found good tickets and flew into Virginia Beach to see Lieu (Lauren couldn't come because she had way to many appointments) then we both drove down to Biloxi. It was a 16 hour drive and I know it sounds crazy but for the both of us it was the most cost effective. My parents recently bought a new mobile trailer home and it is sweet! I have never really seen one and it's just a home on wheels; I love it! They were staying across the street from the beach and it was beautiful. The weather was perfect except for the one day we were going to drive to Louisiana it rained all day, so we ended up not going. For a few nights we stayed at this resort and casino that was along the beach called the Beau Rivage, it was gorgeous on the outside and inside. That night a bunch of Vietnamese singers were performing there and so my parents got tickets, it was everyones first time to a Vietnamese concert and we had a good night.

We stayed in Biloxi for four days catching up with each other, we got to meet other family members I have never met before, on Thanksgiving day we drove down to Pensacola, FL to eat dinner with second cousins and then drove back to rest before getting up for Black Friday we were up at midnight until 7 am, and overall we just did a lot of good eating! I love food!! When we drove back home we stopped in North Carolina and I got to see my girlfriend Lauren, my sister and I stayed the night so Lauren and I got caught up on each others lives it was really nice!

It was a fun short trip, I always enjoy being around my family!! And thanks to Kelsey and Jon who invited Ike over for Thanksgiving!!

Also we are so excited that Christmas is around the corner we put up our Christmas tree a few days before Thanksgiving. We used the Christmas tree Ike bought two years ago when he surprised me with it on Christmas day 2008, maybe next year we will go with a green one, but for now I love my white tree! :)

It's getting late now...blog more later. Goodnight!

Birthday Weekend!! :)

2010-11-09T21:11:00.031-07:00

First and foremost THANK YOU to everyone who called, texted, sent cards, and stopped by the house. I really felt loved by everyone!! :)

Beware: Lots of Pictures (I need to learn to make collages)

Happy 24th to me!!

This birthday has to be one of the best birthdays I've ever had! Officially my birthday was yesterday the 8th but we got the party started Friday morning. Have I ever told you how great my husband is? Ha ha well he is. About a month ago he began working on a side project building this website for a guy who owns a few penthouses in Park City as a perk he would let us stay in these beautiful penthouses during "non-money making" times of the year. So perfect timing my birthday was coming up and I asked if we could use it for the first weekend in November and then it was booked. This place was beautiful, it was 2300 sq ft with four huge bedrooms, floor to ceiling windows, 3 kitchens and a hot tub on the balcony etc.
First Roman, Kevin, Isaac and I picked up my girlfriend Caitlin at the airport around 9:30 and then headed to a I-Hop for breakfast and then started driving to Park City. When we got there it was gorgeous on the outside and inside. When we were getting on the elevator we went to the top floor and headed straight for our "Presidential Suite". We decided to make food instead of going out so Friday night I made a burrito bar with pork, Brandon made breakfast the next morning he made delicious sausage egg mcmuffins and orange rolls and then Saturday night Kelsey made chili with corn bread. We had a great time playing games, swimming and hot tubbing; overall just enjoying each others company.

Side story: On Sunday during the day I was laying in Caitlin's room on her bed while she was getting ready and Ike came in to talk to me. He looked at me and said "Honey I really think you should get out the bed slowly." He extended his hand and I just took it, I didn't look back but I knew it was a spider!!! I walked straight out the room and Ike got some toilet paper and killed it. I really appreciated how calm he was because he knows I would just freak out and scream! :) And after church Mallorie and I took a walk and I found $20 just laying on the ground!

Here are the pictures of our room! It was gorgeous with a huge jetted tub right beside the bed ha ha!

Scoping out the place.
On the balcony.
Watching T.V.

Ready to hit the indoor pool and hot tub.
Hot tub on the balcony.
Boys being boys!
Huge hot tub!!
Pork burrito bar with desserts!
Making breakfast!
Cooking dinner!
We went to Utah Olympic Park! It was kinda boring we should have taken the tour but it was nice to walk around.

These pictures below are hilarious! :)

Playing games 'til the break of dawn. j/k we really enjoyed playing games especially Pictionary we also played Curses, Dominoes, Battle of the Sexes, Pit (this game was fun and so loud), Rummikub, and the boys played Epic Duels. Saturday night we played until 3 am and got up at 8 am to make it to 9 am church, I love the fact that we just do church no matter if we are on 'vacation'.

For my actual birthday, I got a free dinner to Tucanos and so we headed to SLC and enjoyed some good food!!

Brazilian Lemonades! Yum!

My sweet husband is so funny when he is trying to cook. He wasn't sure what pans to use and he used dry measuring cups when measuring wet ingredients so cute!! But he made my favorite kind of cake. Red velvet cupcakes with homemade cream cheese frosting (I helped with this part) and he even frosted them himself. And they were delicious!!

It was a GREAT and relaxing weekend!! Thanks to everyone who came and made it fun.

October...

2010-11-02T16:51:00.053-06:00

Already another month gone...I really love this time of year!! I just needed to catch up on what we have been up to during October.

BYU and Candy Pumpkins

October 9, 2010

I watched the kids again when the BYU game was in town against SDSU, it was a great game. I love being with the kids. The boys were outside most of the time digging a big hole in the backyard and the girls and I did girly things like I painted their nails and did their hair. So fun!

I tried doing an activity by making candy cake pops and wow it was hard, so we just didn't put them on sticks it didn't look pretty but it tasted great! Rob was so proud of his, he wouldn't eat it until he showed Ashley! :) And the girls insisted theirs needed eyebrows! :)

Fiona and Henry

October 10, 2010

Fi and Hens turned one! And we celebrated their birthdays on Sunday with the whole family. I love when everyone gets together so fun to see everyone. I asked Cali and Ash if I could make their birthday cakes, it was a white cake with chocolate frosting and the stars are made with fondant; I just love how they turned out! They are so cute and I love their matching birthday outfits!

Murder Mystery Dinner

October 29, 2010

We were given an invitation that tells us about our characters and how we should dress up. If you can't tell Ike was "Balihi" the talented Frankenstein monster and I was a gypsy known as "Madame Garlique". We never been to this type of dinner but it was so fun. They had a wonderful set up and great food. And Ike, Kel and I guess the right "murderer"! It was a fun night! I think that I might have to do one of these dinners next year!

GG and Chubby's

October 30, 2010

GG celebrated her birthday!! I was going to make her cake but the night before we didn't get home until 1am and we were so tired! I had said I was going to make Grace her cake but I ended up just buying one. I asked the girl at the counter if they had any princess things to put on the cake and they did but it little figures of the princesses for $7 but it wasn't worth it and then she said she had some different princess rings she could put on there for free and it was just perfect.

I love this girl!!

While we were their we were going to head to some restaurant in Provo for lunch, then Cali started describing this place called Chubby's and after her amazing descriptions we changed our minds and decided to head to this heavenly place. And we were SO pleased!! Isaac got the jalapeño burger and I had the shrimp po boy and both were delicious!!! Ashley loved this place too check out what she had to say about it. http://boicefamily.blogspot.com/2010/11/listen-to-me.html

Food/Treats

One night Isaac and I got our doorbell rung at 9:30 and we found these pumpkin raisin cookies and a note that we have been boo-ed, I thought it was so fun! I guess this is normal in Utah but the first for us! Thanks to whomever dropped them off!! :) There was a few days where it rained and snowed and I decided to make a stew. My mom would make this when it was cold "Beef Curry Soup" YUM!! Served with french bread and rice noodles one of my favorite soups ever! And then I made a pumpkin cheesecake with a chocolate graham crust! I love love cooking!

Overall it has been a great month!! My birthday is coming up next Monday and we are heading to Park City for the weekend!! So EXCITED! My girlfriend Caitlin is flying in and its going to be a fun time. Then Thanksgiving and Christmas, oh how I love this season!!

I Got Your Back

2010-10-06T12:07:00.030-06:00

I Got Your Back is a song by T.I. ft. Keri Hilson and it is our theme song. We have each others backs and no matter what happens it's always going to be him and I.

So last week Isaac and I celebrated our anniversary! Even though I say it every year it is still crazy how time really flies by when your spending time with your best friend. I love Isaac very much and he is seriously the best husband that anyone can ask for.

The pictures below are photos he took with his phone when we first were dating ha ha before getting rid of his phone he sent them to his email and these are what we found.
This was literally the first day that we met. He was saying something and I gave him a 'smart' comment back. Then he preceded to say "Do you want me to wrestle you down?" and I said, "I'd like that!" ha ha I didn't think he was serious! :)
This is the very first picture we took together on my sidekick phone. He later told me he sent this picture for everyone to see. Oh geez.
Here we are at dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings just hanging out with Brandon...getting to know each other :)
Here we are being ninjas, Isaac had a group of friends that would dress up as ninjas at BYU before his mission.
This is the second time I've been to an LDS dance and here were are being pirates...but I found out soon that Isaac's got some moves!
(yum my favorite chicken wings!)
The two pictures above is seriously the first time I met Isaac's family and I made a feast it looks like. Ha ha I had to get in somehow, J/K I love the Earls!!

And this is the picture we took the night we got engaged!!

And here we are happily married three years and counting...

So our anniversary ended up being on a Wednesday this year we just hung out and really enjoyed being with each other. Isaac had to work so when he came home he gave me a sweet card and roses. Then we headed out to dinner we went to red lobster, afterwards we went to Trafalga in Lehi to play mini golf (which we are both really good at), and then to Yogurt Bliss over by our house. It was a great and relaxed night!

For our (more like my) anniversary gift Isaac bought a new camera! It was a total surprise and I love it!! :)

I am so lucky!!

Pumpkin Festivities

2010-09-28T10:28:00.011-06:00

This last Saturday we went to Thanksgiving Point for their pumpkin festival that they have annually. We haven't been around Thanksgiving Point except for a wedding reception and the movie theater. At the festival they had different vendors selling homemade treats, skirts, baby clothes, jewelry, local farm vegetables and of course a variety of pumpkins. When we got there we were hungry so we went into the Deli & Bakery Cafe and ordered some sandwiches and they turned out good but not great, we both thought it was bland and under seasoned. But the reason the pumpkin festival is a big deal is because of the giant pumpkins people grow from around the state, they come here every year to do a weigh off and this year a long standing four year record was broken. The record was 1,104 pounds and a guy named Matt McConkie pumpkin weighed in at 1,169 pounds. It was fun to watch the anticipation and his family cheering him on. Thanksgiving Point seems like it has a lot of fun attractions so we will be back since we live so close.

Afterwards we went to Cafe Trang in Salt Lake City, it's a Vietnamese restaurant and it was pretty delicious!

On Sunday, Justin and Angelique invited the Earl's to their home for pumpkin pie. It was really nice to see everyone and catch up.

I LOVE this time of year!!

And tomorrow Isaac and I celebrate our 3rd anniversary! Crazy how time flies! :)

Festival, Memorial, Visitors and Family Fun

2010-09-19T13:14:00.025-06:00

Greek Festival

We are always looking for fun things to do around the Salt Lake area and this year we found the Greek festival. So Friday night Isaac, Roman and I headed to the Holy Trinity Cathedral downtown where the festival was being held. While we were there we learned that Salt Lake City has one of the largest Greek communities west of the Mississippi. The Greek influence in Utah started in 1905 with a population that only consisted of male immigrants. Then in 1907 wives, children, sisters and brothers arrived from Greece and family life was forming for them in the salt lake valley. I love learning about different cultures and I especially enjoy trying new foods and I've never tried Greek food so we were in for a treat. While we were waiting in line a side food vendor said we needed to try his specialty which were called 'Tiropites' also known as Greek cheese triangles; pretty much delicious melted cheese in phyllo dough, yum! Then we tried 'Souvlakia': grilled marinated meats on a stick, 'Dolmathes': stuffed grape leaves, 'Spanakopita': spinach and feta cheese wrapped in phyllo dough and 'Gyros' which is meat (lamb), tomato and their popular sauce tzatziki served with pita bread. They had a variety of desserts and we bought a couple and they were delicious. They had a stage inside where everyone was eating and they performed traditional Greek dances. Overall, a fun way to spend our Friday night.

Sandy Healing Fields

Every day I read some kind of news online and normally what interests me is the sad and crazy things that happen day to day. Isaac and Roman thinks its unhealthy, oh well. Well I came across an article on 9/11 and how Utah was having a memorial service in Sandy honoring the sacrifices that were made that day and honoring those who are still serving in the military. They started this in 2002 placing over 3,000 flags, one flag for each casualty of the terrorist attacks. This year their display of flags is a patriotic tribute to Americans, to veterans and currently serving military and honoring those who died on 9/11/2001. After reading this the night before, I wanted to go and see the display of flags and listen to the memorial service. When we arrived we looked over and there were rows upon rows of flags, it gave a sense of thankfulness and gratitude. As we listened to the different speakers the one that gave us goosebumps was the story of Flight 93 and Todd Beamers famous words "Let's Roll". David Osmond came and performed a couple songs, the funny part is that Isaac and him were wearing the exact same shirt and David had a fohawk like Ike and at the end of the service an old veteran asked Ike if he was David. :) My little sister who served and her husband who is still serving as well as many of my friends whose husbands or brothers are in the service, its amazing what they do and what they sacrafice. I love you all!

The Latham's

The Lathams are here this week from Texas visiting family and friends. On Wednesday they came and visited us! :) And they had exciting news.... that Allisa is pregnant and they are going to be first time home owners! We are really excited for them, they are going to be great parents! We headed downtown for dinner, I have been wanting to try this burger place that is always in the Salt lake magazine. Rich's Mighty Fine Burger. And we all give it high ratings. Then afterwards we came back to the house where Brandon and some of their friends joined us and we had a great time playing mexican train dominoes! We love the Latham's and overall amazing fun night with friends and family.

BBQ with Earl Cousins

This last Friday night, the Earl cousins got together for a night of bbq, roasting smore's on a fire pit and glow in the dark frisbee. All who came was Brandon, Kelsey, Jon, Corbin, Meghan (his date), Roman, Micheal, Allie, Brad, Kristen (his date), Ike and I. We all met up at Brandon's house. I didn't know it at first but I guess I am assigned on cooking the burgers, Kelsey and Allie were there helping me out, thanks ladies, and we made a joke that if we are anywhere for an outing I should just know I will be cooking. We just gathered around to eat and got caught up on each other's lives. The Earl boys and Kelsey did a lot of singing and reminiscing.

Afterwards everyone went to a nearby park and cracked some glow sticks and played night frisbee. Isaac and I went home earlier than everyone because I am stuck with a cold right now. I really enjoy hanging around the family, thanks Mike and Corbin who set the whole thing up.

DIY Projects, Hardy Wedding, Babysitting

2010-09-04T22:23:00.012-06:00

Do It Yourself Projects

Since I've moved in our new home, I just want to do lots of projects to decorate and I feel like I change my mind all the time!! So I've done simple little DIY projects around the house.....

Adding foam cushion to the dinning room chairs. From boring to chic....I had left over fabric when I did my bench so then I added them to the chairs and it gives it a different look.

I forgot to take a before picture...this will have to do.

My furniture seems to always be black, brown or cream and so I decided to liven up my bar stools with some color....I love yellow!!

Before.

Primed.

I wasn't sure in the beginning about window treatments. But after awhile I thought it would be a great decor accent and shopped around and didn't see anything I liked and so I went to the fabric store multiple times and finally found the fabric I had all along in my mind. So on Thursday, I went over to Ashley's, she really helped me out on this project. I haven't sewn in years, so she gave me pointers and helped me out the whole time. We laughed a few times because when I was sewing I looked like a little Vietnamese factory worker. :) We had to cut, iron creases, sew and measure; it was a lot of work it was a 2 person job and it took about 5 1/2 hours total. But they turned out GREAT!! They looked professionally done! And they fit perfectly on the windows.

Thanks Ashley!!

Ben and Jaclyn Hardy

Today Ben and Jaclyn got married in the Salt Lake Temple. Isaac, Ashley, Cali and I went to their temple sealing and it was beautiful. The whole Earl family knows the Hardy's because they were neighbors growing up. Ben stayed at our house for a few days and Isaac threw him a mini-bachelor party at the house. We are so happy for you guys! Congratulations!!

The Earl Clan

Siblings

Sisters

They look alike!

On a monument right by the Joseph Smith Building....

Sylvester Henry Earl...first Earl pioneer to the Salt Lake Valley

Cute picture

ha ha ha Isaac fell asleep next to this old man, funniest thing ever!! :)

He kept looking at him, hope he wasn't snoring

The had an amazing luncheon at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

The whole meal was delicious!!

Roman and Brad came for the luncheon.

The Emig House

So cute!

Playing with Fi, she had no clue who I was.... ha ha :) She is the quietest baby I know.

Today I also watched the kids for Joey and Cali while they went to the BYU vs WSU game, Isaac went too with Brandon. I think babysitting for their kids is the easiest because they each have a buddy to play with or they just all play with each other. While I was there, we made chocolate covered strawberries and had Linh style J-dawgs. The girls did a great job helping me prep the strawberries and Jack jumped in to help dip them in chocolate, though Tyson ate most of them, it was a fun treat. :) Since there was a BYU game on I decided to make J-dawgs for dinner, it was a hit they all loved it! Overall is was good night watching TV, I haven't seen television for 3 months now....it was nice.

P.S. Go Cougs!! :)

Hot Dogs, Movies and Good Times!

2010-08-28T19:46:00.014-06:00

J-Dawgs

It all started with a craving. Isaac and I have been to J-Dawgs many times, but one day when went in a few days before graduation we were sad because we knew we would not come here as often since we are moving 30 minutes away. A week later Isaac said he wished he had a j-dawg and then we decided to go again and this time I asked if they sold their famous sauce; and the lady at the counter said, "yes we do". From then on we have been crazy hot dog fanatics!! While we were staying at Justin's and Angelique's we decided to make replicas of the J-dawg, with Justin taking the challenge seriously. Justin was buying buns and different hot dogs all the time and it got us all excited about it. He made some really good hot dogs and we called them J-Earl-Dawgs. We would cut the hot dogs the same way they do in the store and place it on a George Forman grill. And it turned out really good. Right now we are beginning our third bottle of J-dawg sauce and have eaten way to many hot dogs for our own good.

So here is what we discovered is our favorite:

Linh's Perfect J-Dawg: 100% all beef hotdog, smith's homemade hot dog bun, j-dawg sauce, avacado, red onions, a little salt and pepper

Isaac's Perfect J-Dawg: 100% all beef hot dog, regular white hot dog bun, lots of j-dawg sauce, and jalepenos.

Justin's Perfect J-Dawg: (I can't remember but I'm guessing): Beef Bratwurst, golden potato bun and j-dawg sauce.

Movies

Isaac and I don't have cable in our home and so we have been watching tons of movies and shows on the computer.

State of Play

The Killers

Avatar, Last Airbender

Young Victoria

Clash of the Titans

Valentines Day

Book of Eli

When in Rome

Date Night

The Karate Kid

Duplicity

Dear John

The Last Song

Transformers (1st)

Ghost Writer

Toy Story 3

Prince of Persia

3 Seasons of Burn Notice

The Big Bang Theory

Inception

Tekken

Dead or Alive

Salt

Road to Eldorado

Prince of Egypt

The Expendables

Haley and Allen Robbins

Logan, UT

My friend Haley got married yesterday to Allen and they made such a beautiful couple. You can really tell that they really love each other and I love it all. So her wedding was in Logan and so we decided on Thursday night to drive up I was doing some waxing for her family and then we woke up early to attend their sealing and luncheon. Afterwards we were trying to decide what to do for a few hours until their reception and so we hit the town. I'm just going to say that Logan really didn't have many things to do, I googled 'things to do in Logan' and only four places popped up. The Logan temple, The Logan tabernacle, Wind Caves, and Cache Valley Mall. We went to the first two things, then we tried the wind caves but to get to it you had to hike a trail which on the sign it said 5.3 mile hike and hike difficulty level: difficult so that was a bust. We didn't want to go to a mall so then we headed to a local diner called, Angies and for the most part its just like a Denny's and it was good. Afterwards we headed to the reception, Isaac was really tired so he took an hour nap in the car. I didn't really mind because I was talking with her whole family especially her grandma for 2 hours about everything, I really love it because older people have amazing advice, life experiences and great stories .

The Beautiful Couple

The Gorgeous Logan Temple

Nicole, Tori and Tara

Mama Shapiro

Logan Tabernacle

A statue at the tabernacle everyone is pointing at the temple

Angie's Diner

Mike D

Mike Earl is back in town. He got back around 3 am and is staying at our house for a few nights until he gets moved back into his apartment. Early this morning Allie joined us and we made breakfast.

Mike and Allie

Bacon, Eggs, and French Toast

Roman

7 Peaks Water Park

After eating breakfast we decided to head to seven peaks for a little fun in the sun. For the most part I think everyone knows I don't how to swim and so it was all the shallow ends in the wave pool for me, riding the slides and working on my tan. :) The boys had a blast because they were just going on most of the rides. I am including a hilarious picture of them sharing a three-some tube.

All these guys were above 6'3 ft! ha ha ha ha

This summer has been so fun!

A Quarter of a Century Later

2010-08-23T15:06:00.013-06:00

This last week I had my 25th birthday. For the first time in the last 4 years or so I wasn't working a summer job, and I was able to be at home and just relax on my birthday. I just wanted to take the time to thank everyone for the birthday wishes. I was seriously overwhelmed by all the people wishing me a happy birthday on facebook and via text and phone. There must be something special about 25 because I can't remember any birthday being like this.

Linh of course was amazing and went to all measures to make sure I enjoyed myself. She kept surprising me early with little things and then with an awesome cake and all this stuff. I was jokin around the other day and telling some of my buddies that my birthday is like the freakin festival of lights (hanukkah), we just keep celebrating! The cake had a Google Android on it, and I felt like it was the perfect thoughtful cake. But seriously Linh is the greatest (I love you babe).

On Friday, we just had a little dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with the Edwards, Brandon and Roman and we played some games. Then on Saturday, some of my friends from work came over and we played nerd games. We played EPIC DUELS the star wars board game, Super Street Fighter 4, Starcraft, and some other xbox games. it twas the bomb.

Summer Continuing...

2010-08-16T22:31:00.018-06:00

Oracle Training

San Francisco, CA

For work Isaac had to go to San Francisco to do training and it is a wonderful blessing to have this opportunity. Let's just say this course was expensive, almost the cost of three semesters at BYU!! It was a week long course, from 8am-5pm and with homework during lunch. He went with his co-worker Allen, there were a total of eight people in the course. The best part of his trip was when he was able to visit the google campus and have dinner. He said that it was a bunch of little food shops and the best part was it was all you can eat for free. Allen had a friend who worked there and let them come over and tour the campus, he had to sign a non-disclosure agreement that he won't share what he saw there. So I will keep it at that. So now he is certified from Oracle University in People Soft Course I and II.

Colorado/Lauren's Birthday

Denver, CO

Eating at one of our favorite places: Heidi's Deli

Going shopping w/my homegirl Caitlin

Lauren stopped in CO on her way to NC and we ate at one of my favorite steak places, this place is in a ghetto area but it just good and cheap: Columbine Steakhouse

Eating lunch at a new place. Wouldn't go there for food but their dessert crepes were delicious!!

I bought the cake and its one of my favorites called 'Spring Fling', it is zucchini bread and cream cheese frosting topped with fresh fruits! yum!
The Fam!

Sisters 4 Life!!

Isaac and I drove to colorado for a three day weekend get-a-way, mainly for my sister Lauren's birthday and that my little sister Lieu was flying into town for a wedding so we all met up and had some fun. On Saturday Isaac and I just hung out and ate at some of my favorite places. Lauren my friend who moved back to NC stopped through Colorado and we hung out for a little bit. Then on Sunday we hung out with Lauren and Josh all day until the birthday dinner. Then we went to the White Chocolate Grille and everyone came, it was a good celebration. After the dinner we went to Brunswick Zone we did unlimited bowling and laser tag. Happy 29th Birthday Lauren.

Work BBQ

Sugarhouse Park in SLC, UT

The Provo Crew

Managers!!

Nathalie! Love Her!!

Ashleigh!! :)

At my work they had their first "Associate Appreciation BBQ" and we got to bring our spouses and so I went up with Isaac and it was our first time to Sugarhouse Park and it was huge and looked like a great place to come back and do a picnic sometime. They had tons of food from salads, vegetables, fruits, hot dogs, hamburgers and even filet mignon wrapped in bacon but mainly all I ate were sweets. We spent a good four hours just mingling.

Afterwards we went to Brandon's and Mallorie's to play a card game with Jon and Kelsey and it was an overall great day.

Haley's Bridal Shower

Tara's House

Haley is a dear friend of mine who helped answered my questions about the church while we were math class together in High School. And it was at her parents house where I met my dear husband. So Haley is getting married and I couldn't be happier for her!! :) She had a bridal shower and I haven't seen her in months since she lives in Logan, so it was nice to see her! After everyone left her, Tara and I just sat down and talked and talked; the sad part was it was us telling each other sad stories because someone that Haley and I know a girl who lost her baby when she was 37 weeks pregnant. After our stories we were ready to just be in tears so finally we just talked about happy wedding things. Can't wait for her to get married in 10 more days!!

Sean and Brooke's Wedding

August 12, 2010

Sean and Brooke got married in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple last Thursday and it was beautiful. I have known Sean for over six years at least. Due to knowing his older brother Kevin. And it was great to see his parents again I haven't seen them for almost four or five years. After the temple they had a reception at Noah's in Sandy, UT and it was gorgeous. Isaac, Kevin and I 'decorated' their car and it was our first time so it was funny adding cans with strings, blowing up balloons, and writing on all windows. It was a good time and they made a beautiful couple!! We are so happy for you guys!!

There is more to blog about but maybe for another day. Remember Isaac's Birthday is on Friday don't forget to wish him a Happy 25th Birthday!!! :)

Calling

2010-07-28T21:53:00.004-06:00

Isaac and I just received a calling tonight we are now CTR Primary Instructors! We are really stoked about this one!