SUNSHINE AND HAPPINESS

Last month we took a little vacation down to Phoenix Arizona for some sun, friends and good times. It was the perfect trip and the weather was fabulous.
 

The boys played a round of golf in Keirland and then toured the PGA course that was played the week before. They were like kids in a candy store...just SO excited!

We ate the most amazing food at new restuarants that some other friends told us about. We went to North, The Green House, and Sauce. They were fabulous! 

We went to the horse races at Turf Paradise. We had so much fun "investing" and growing our "portfolios". Some of us didn't have the best of luck winning, but we all still had a good time.

We played mini-golf before heading back home. Mini-golf is simply the best! It is always sure to bring a smile and laugh to your face.

After spending 4 days shopping, eating, playing games, laughing and telling jokes, hiking, watching horses, sun bathing, golfing, and site seeing...I can conclude that the trip was a complete SUCCESS!

DATE NIGHT!

Sweets and I did this...

with them...

and ate this...

the other week! It was quite the ultimate date night thanks to groupon! 

None of us had scuba dived before so it we weren't too sure what to expect, but after we figured out the breathing thing underwater and learned the ropes of our gear, we were off to the deep end of the pool to scuba! Afterwards, we headed to Greenhouse Effect for some yummy crepes. We love going there and getting the strawberry, banana, nutella, powdered sugar and whipped cream crepe! It was such a fun night and we can't wait to get certified for real and actually scuba dive in the ocean...! 

THE CATCH UP!

You might have forgotten all about us...or you might not have. Either way, we are here and ready to share what we have been up to since November! NOVEMBER!!! Seriously? Has it really been that long? My apologies, truly. Nonetheless, welcome back to our blog and be prepared for sensory overload!


November-December:
Sweets and I trekked across the globe to the U.A.E. to visit our dear friends Richard and Catherine. Words cannot explain just how amazing they are for taking us all around and showing us the best time. Abu Dhabi and Dubai were incredible! We had an awesome time and completely fell in with the people, the smells, the bright colors, the yummy food, and all the adventures.
We saw and did: the grand mosque, ski Dubai, Palm island, desert safari, world market, shopping, a camel ride, Emirates Palace, Burg Kahlifa, National Day and much much more!

December:

A few days after our globe trot Sweets and I headed to Vegas for the National Finals Rodeo. We love going every year and seeing all the cowboys and cowgirls calf rope, steer wrestle, bareback, bull ride, and barrel race! We were lucky enough to sit on the front row again and it truly was awesome.  

December:

Sweets and I spent our Holiday season with our annual cheese and chocolate fondue party, Hire's and the lights at Temple Square, the Arnell Christmas party in the theme of "Santa Claus" the movie, and opening gifts with the puppies and visiting both families. It was very relaxing and quite enjoyable. Usually Christmas is hectic, but not this year. I loved the fact that it fell on a Sunday. It forced us to slow down and truly remember what the special day was all about!

December-January:

For New Years, Sweets and I headed up to Sun Valley with part of my family. We go there every year and it is always a good time! The snow wasn't that great this year, so we didn't go skiing or snowmobiling, but we did plenty of hiking, hot tubbing, dinners, games and shopping. Sun Valley is beautiful and we love spending time up there!

January:

A few days after the New Year we traveled to Maui Hawaii for some R&R! It was so fun to hang out with my whole family and no kids for a week. The weather couldn't have been better and it honestly was such a fun trip. We all hiked the Bamboo trail, went on early morning walks/jogs, boggie boarded with the abnormally huge waves, and watched lots of football games. Maui is so pretty and we are still laughing from all the funny things that happened...  

So, in a nutshell, this is what we have been up to for the past few months! We are so lucky to have been able to have these experiences and we look forward to more in 2012. Speaking of 2012, because of some new craziness that Sweets and I are embarking in, we are going to go private. We would love all of you to keep following us and are appreciative of those who have taken interest in our lives. Leave your email in the comment space below and we'll send you a link and keep ya posted on what's coming next!

TWEE-TWEE

Our little Twee-Twee is just the cutest thing. 

He climbs on the couch all the time and when you tell him to get off, he lays down and makes himself more comfortable!

He wakes us up every morning around 6:45-7 with his whining. We think he has to go potty so we open the door, but instead he just lays back down!

He has to walk directly in front of you at all times and looks back to make sure you are following him, thus resulting in him slowing pace and you tripping over him!

He gets all satanic at night time and runs around the back yard at 100 mph hunkering down low, just to baja into Tahoe who is innocently standing there and they both go skipping across the lawn!

He snorts like there is no tomorrow! And I mean he snorts ALL THE TIME!!!!!!

He loves to put his whole face into the water bowl and pluck out the ice cubes one by one!

He squeezes underneath the garage door at a height of 5-6 inches as we pull into the driveway just to greet us faster!

He doesn't just lay down when it is bed time, rather he plops his weight down in a very dramatic and loud fall to the floor!

He snuggles with the best of them and loves to lay in your arms!

ROUND DOS!

I am back for some more of the game I like to call "catch up". This post is full of wonderful goodness. And as I type this, I am remembering other photos on my other computer...Shoot! Ok, so there will be another "catch up" but in the meantime, here goes nothin... 

UTAH 54, byU 10

I mean, do I even need to say anything? 

Yes, yes I do. What type of person would I be if I didn't? 

It was a total smackdown. 

A slaughter. 

An enjoyable embarrassment.

The UTES prevailed in the HOLY WAR once again!

Sweets and I invited some friends over to watch the "game". We ate touchdown chili, end zone desserts, halftime popcorn and 1st down chips and dips! It was really yummy and apparently I was too busy eating because I didn't take any pictures of the food of the decorations. (I tell ya, my mind is going!)  

My family and Sweets and our office, flew to Boise Idaho for an Announcement on a new project called 8th and Main in the heart of downtown. We made the announcement that Zion's Bank will now use this future building as their Idaho Headquarters. We have other tenants for this building but we are not yet releasing them. (Not that many of you care because I am pretty sure the 2 people that follow this blog live in Utah and not Idaho, however it is business and you know how it goes.) Anyway, Tommy Ahlquist, my pops, Christian, Michael Morris, Scott Anderson and the Boise Mayor all spoke a few words describing the project and the how excited everyone is to "fill the hole". We made the unveiling and the building looks fantastic!!!    

After the announcement was made, there was time for Q&A and some local news interviews. Afterwards, we went out to lunch with our Idaho office who is overseeing this project to Thaifoon. I got to meet everyone, officially, after talking on the phone with them everyday and then we all toured the other projects we have up there. It was fun to see the progress we are making on the other sites. We rented a 15 passenger van and crammed in there for the day. I can't complain though because we were lucky enough to fly private and I enjoyed not getting frisked before getting on the plane with my bottle of water!  

I did another craft. I know right? Amazing at my no-craft craft skills. 
I took a frame with matting,removed the glass, stuck some scrapbook paper behind it and glued on some mini gourds and pumpkins. VOILA! It isn't much, but I thought it was fun. I promise soon I'll post more on decorations. 

This handsome young man 

was honored at the 100th Anniversary Rotary Gala for the Service above Self award. It was such an incredible honor to receive. He was joined by 4 others some of which were President Thomas S. Monson and Jon Hunstman Sr. My father is an incredible business leader, a huge advocate for charity and service, and he is so community conscious. There is not a minute of conversation that goes by with out him trying to help others. He deserved this Service above Self award more than anybody in the whole world. I love him and I am very proud of all his good works.
The night was a great evening held at the Salt Palace. It was a black tie event so the pressure was on! 

Sweets and I have slacked in the mountain thing this year but we did managed to squeeze in some time for a little night hike up Dog Lake. This was Telly's first big hike/walk/run and he did awesome! He was so excited and was running all over the place. He just couldn't get enough of the smells from other dogs and the freedom of being off leash. He minded very well though. He came when he was supposed to and we never worried about him following other dogs back down the mountain. What a good boy he is. Tahoe, as usual was in Heaven and loving every minute of it!

CHEERS...TO THE FREAKIN' WEEKEND!

Over Labor Day weekend, Sweets and I and our friends Dave and Lindsey, decided to take advantage of the long weekend and go on an adventuresome trip! None of us had ever been to Seattle, so we figured that was a good place to go. We left Friday evening and came home Monday night. It was such an incredible, beautiful and fun trip.

SATURDAY:
started off with Pike's Market Place. We absolutely loved it here. We walked all around the market admiring the gorgeous (and inexpensive) flowers, handcrafted jewelry, garden vegetables and fruit, and all the seafood you could think of. It was fun to watch the fishermen throw the fish, but boy was it stinky!




Just behind the Market was the infamous Gum Wall! I have never seen a wall so huge loaded with chewed gum. It was really colorful but kinda of gross if you think about it. Each of us chewed a piece of gum and attached it to the wall. That was our contribution to Seattle.

From there we walked down to the pier for some lunch and took in the scenery of each of the islands across Puget Sound. Then we walked back up and did a little window shopping at all the stores. There was the original Nordstrom, H&M, Nike Town and a lot of other smaller local shops. The streets were flooded with people and cars and beautiful architectural buildings. Downtown itself reminded me a lot of San Francisco with its steep hills.

We then headed over to Seattle Center where we saw the Space Needle, the Science Center and Experience Music Project. Its funny, but we were taken back at how small the space needle was. We totally were thinking it was the largest thing in Seattle and its not even close. However small or big, it was still really neat to see.

Instead of going to the top of the Space Needle we thought it would be fun if we took a sea plane tour instead. I was a little nervous at first taking off and landing in water but I was surprised at how smooth it was and how pretty the whole city is. We were able to do the 30 minute tour and it was awesome! We flew all over Seattle and had the best views of everything. It was definitely a highlight of our trip!
  

SUNDAY:
was filled with even more awesomeness. We first headed to see the Seattle Temple and enjoy some spiritual time. It was a very pretty temple with beautiful statues surrounding it and a tiered pool of water in the front. We couldn't have asked for a better morning than to walk the grounds in the beautiful weather.

From there we drove up to Snoqualmie Falls. WOWZA! The falls were so big and loud...I loved it. The view of the falls and the mountains surrounding it were incredible. We definitely were in awe. I love the mist that surrounds waterfalls. There is something so peaceful about it. 

We then made our way over to the island Bremerton for some lunch. There happened to be a festival on the pier so we just had to check it out. The boys ate delicious corn on the cob and we all sat there people watching (our fav thing) and listening to a local band sing some Country music (also our fav). We decided to take the ferry back to Seattle which was such a fun experience. I had never been on a car ferry before and was totally amazed at how fast the thing moves with all that weight! The movie Deja Vu did cross my mind a few times...ha!

Once we arrived we thought we would check out the old part of Seattle and ran into the Underground Tour Center. It looked way cool so we signed up and did it. Apparently, there is a whole other city below Seattle that was the original city before a fire in 1889 wiped it out. We were in shock at the saloons, banks, and other buildings intact (for the most part) below the Seattle streets. It was really neat to take this tour and we are so glad we did it!

MONDAY:
was bittersweet. We headed over to Kirkland for some beach action and hit up the kayaks. We went out on Lake Washington and seriously loved it. The water was surprisingly warm and calm. The homes that we passed by were so beautiful and each had their own dock. We did learn that there are boats for every 5 people in Seattle. Amazing! After kayaking we ate a great lunch at a Beach Cafe and soaked up the last few hours before we had to head to the airport.

On our way to the airport, we made a pit stop at Cow Chips. I ordered the cow-plop and it was truly D-lish! It was just the dough, my favorite part about cookies. Sweets picked up some chiplets and we all chowed down on those. Everything was centered around cows which was really neat. You could order a calf, a cow, a herd, and even a bull chip. Who would have thought?

Thanks Dave and Lindsey for joining us on this fabulous trip and making so much fun! We had an absolute blast and look forward to our next trip with you!
As for you Seattle...we will be back again soon!

SUNDAY DRIVES

Every Sunday after church, and of course after our naps, Sweets and I transition from the youthful vibrant newlywed couple we are, to an elderly slow sunday-driving couple! We pack up our car and drive aimlessly throughout the valley taking in the scenery and all the beauty that surrounds us. 

Last week, we took a drive up American Fork Canyon. I can't believe how green it still is up there! We moseyed up the canyon picking out a few spots along the way to take some nature walks with our pups and to let them run around in the mountains and rivers. 

The weather was absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to take our drives when the leafs start changing. With the late season, I am sure the fall colors will be spectacular!

FINALLY...AT LAST!

Last week, Sweets and I took a drive up Corner Canyon for some dinner and dessert. Sadly, this summer has been so busy with work, vacations and family stuff that we haven't been able to enjoy the mountains as much as we would have liked. So, for FHE we decided we would take advantage of the beautiful weather and head up the canyon.

We saw a few animals on our drive up and then one hairy critter on our way home. The deer were beautiful, just minding their own business eating the weeds when we pulled up to them. We watched them for a few moments and I was amazed at how cautious and graceful they were. But the tarantula we saw was not beautiful...nor...graceful! It was ugly, and scary and I went into heart failure when Sweets backed up the car up to get a closer look at it. I mean seriously, what is the point of those awful crawling things?

Once we found our spot a ways up the canyon, we pulled over to a picnic area and set up shop. Since this was a last minute thing, we thought grilled cheese sandwiches would be a perfect meal with a side of fruit and peppered jerky. 

It is amazing how yummy things taste when you are in the mountains. I don't know what it is.

The pups loved running around the mountain side visiting all the bikers that past by. Telly has never really been up in wild before, he was too young and didn't have all of his shots, but for his first time he loved it! And he didn't get carsick!!! Lately, he has had a few problems keeping things in his stomach while driving...poor lil' guy. 

However great the night was to spend with my favorite people, the view of the Draper temple and the city on the way down topped it off! It was completely lit up and there was nothing around it to compete for beauty. We just had to stop and admire the breath-taking views. Hopefully soon Sweets and I will be back out in the woods...when the weather cools of course!