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!

ROCKTOBER

It started off with a beautiful scenic hike up Rocky Mouth Canyon to a waterfall with my brother Matthew and 2 of his children. The waterfall was really pretty and the kids loved hiking through the vibrant leaves! This fall was probably one of the all time prettiest that I have seen. 

Next it was an all day event making Apple Butter for the Holiday's. I have never made it before but I found a really yummy recipe and had to try it. We devoured our jar in 2 days and my home was left with the most incredible aroma!!!

Sweets and I took a gander up to Midway for an evening and brought the pups along. We hadn't been up there for awhile so we thought we would take a little night getaway. Tahoe and Telly ran all around the fields and were in heaven! I can't believe how big and fast Telly is getting. They are so funny when they play together.

Next, we headed down to SG and LV for a weekend trip with some friends to see Jimmy Buffet! This was incredible. First thing first, we had to race the go-cart around the 1/4 mile loop and my Sweets took first. It was so fun. We then drove down to Vegas to hit up the Pawnshop, Traders Joes, do a little shopping, and of course party at the "street party" before the concert. It seriously was a blast! The concert was the MGM and we sang and danced all night to the best island music. It was Sweets first concert so he was a little shy getting involved but he came around when Jimmy sang "fins". Afterwards, we headed to Mesquite for a little money "donation" until 5 am. It was quite the late night and quite a trip!

We rounded out the month with our tradition of Thriller at Kingsbury Hall. We go every year, and each time does not disappoint us. We are still in awe and shock and laugh just as hard as the first time we saw it many, many years ago together.

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!

LET'S PLAY THE GAME ...

CATCH UP!
Oh geez ... I am such a slacker! My apologies!
Here is my first of a few catch up posts. Maybe one day soon i'll be all caught up with this blog (but don't hold your breath).

Sweets has been doing a lot of Mountain biking with different groups of peeps. They usually bike the Crest up Big Cottonwood and they usually bike it at night with their nifty cool lights. However, this ride was on a Saturday morning and he went with his good friend Cody (pictured) and Kevin (not pictured). Although they somehow got split up from each other, they still had a great time!

Sweets and I are apart of Young Leaders of United Way and they had a charity golf tournament at Old Mill that we participated in. It was fun to get out and play a round as well as mingle and make connections with other people our age in the community. Our team (consisting of Sweets' two friends Jarum and Travis and us) ended up taking 4th overall and I ended up winning "longest putt" and snagged some really awesome goodies to take home! 

I still have been doing a lot of cooking and loving it. I promise soon I'll share some of my latest recipes but until then here is a teaser. While peaches were the thing a month ago, I couldn't resist and grabbed a bunch and made this super yummy salsa and incorporated it into dinner! 

Recipe:

1 large peach, peel and diced small (or 2 medium peaches)
1 large avocado, diced small (or 2 small avocados)
1/2 red onion, diced small
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 of a yellow pepper, chopped
place all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir.  (add the avocados last so they won’t get mushy)
serve over salmon or chicken or as a salsa for chips!
I paired mine with salmon and pea couscous. (Normally I like my couscous with cinnamon but I thought it would be too many flavors).


I headed here:

for some R&R for a few days. It was fabulous and just what I needed. I flew down with my sis and my Parentals and left my three favorite boys home to fend for themselves...but something told me they were ok without me. We soaked up some "vitamin D", went shopping everyday, hit up daily trips to Trader's Joes, Holiday decor-ed our homes from Rogers Gardens, toured the island of Balboa, went to dinner and movies, and goofed around with each other. 

Thanks for the fab trip!


Lastly, I have been trying to get my home ready for Fall (the BEST and my MOST favorite season)! I made a wreath out of striped burlap for my front door, but it's not hung because it somehow ended up at my mother's house. I'm making a new one though for my door. I did fix up our entry way with some mirrors and branches and set out my Fall subway art. I just love how the leaves are starting to change and the temperatures are cooling down. It makes for a peaceful and pleasant existence. 

Stay tuned for more of the game CATCH UP!

WALK ON FOR J.D.R.F.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation held a 'walk to cure' diabetes last Saturday and Sweets and I participated along with other family members.
 My brother Matthew has had type 1 diabetes for over 15 years and he recently was asked by J.D.R.F. to sit on their board, which is a great honor. The walk was about 3 miles and was held at Wheeler Farm. Lunch and drinks were provided afterwards along with many kid friendly activities such as face paintings, bouncy houses, ice creams stands and an animal petting station.

When Matthew was first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes he was 17 years old and recovering from a very serious car accident that left him in the hospital for days with numerous broken bones and surgeries. Because we have no history of diabetes in our family, it was a shock to us to learn about this diagnoses during his recovery period. The doctors told us that the cause was severe trauma and shock to his body. He went through so much with his accident that his pancreas just stopped working. It was a scary time for all of us, but he held his head high and never let it stop him.     

Matthew is an incredible person whom I love dearly and think the world of. We are very close siblings and I was honored when he asked me to be the Captain of our team for the walk. We had friends, family and co-workers that donated, supported and walked with us. It was a great event and such a good cause to raise money for the Research of hoping one day to cure diabetes!

TOUR OF UTAH

Sunday afternoon we headed up Little Cottonwood Canyon with Sweets' family to enjoy a delicious picnic and watch the Tour of Utah cycling race! It was so fun to hang out with his family because it's been awhile since we all have been together. The scenery was absolutely perfect but the company was even better!

Sadly I suck at taking pictures and didn't catch one of my MIL, the yummy food, or all of us together. Maybe next time. But I was surprised at how spread out the cyclists were, so it took longer than I had expected. We did hand out mini water bottles to some racers that needed a cooling down on their heads. The weather was definitely warm so I believe the cyclists appreciated it.
Thanks MIL for the fun idea and for the picnic!  

SUNSET HILLS

Gardner Company Homes is the residential side of my family's business and my radical brother Matthew is the President! He is awesome! He put together a wonderful BBQ at one of our sites called Sunset Hills for the whole subdivision, vendors, contractors, employees and ran advertisements on ksl, yahoo and sltrib for our hopeful new propsects. We had a great turnout and we really worked some peeps that were interested!



The homes are beautiful and they all have great layouts! Not to mention they are SO affordable!

It was an awesome time meeting people and enjoying the beauty of Sunset Hills while eating yummy food. Matthew even ordered a bouncy slide...FUNNER. He really thought of everything to make this a success!

If any one is interested in any of our projects, check out 

www.gardnercompanyhomes.com

Way to go Matthew on a fantastic BBQ!!!

MY VERSION OF HEAVEN

I have spent the last few weeks in what I like to call, Heaven!
Sun Valley is my safe haven, my sanctuary where I can think, regain strength, and compose my life in the quiet altitudes of the mountains! My family goes there off and on through out the year but every August, we tend to just move up there. Literally. Although I couldn't stay as long as I wanted to or am used to, I did have a great time and look forward to another trip soon. 

The vacation started with a benefit concert from the Sun Valley Symphony Series with the 11 year old phenomenon Jackie Evancho! She is incredible and has such power. Her voice is pure, angelic and took our breaths away! If you don't know her music, please check her out. You will not be disappointed!
For the first 2 weeks of August they have other concerts almost every day. We loved walking over to the resort and sitting on the lawn and listening to the beautiful music at night.  

With so much time, we sure did lots of fun things throughout the weeks. Sweets drove up for a few days and we all headed over to Red Fish Lake. Andrew had his sailboat there and Matthew had his ski boat. Between the 2 boats, we had a blast cruising on the lake and watching all the kids fly off the tube together. The weather was great and the scenery was even better. We ate a little lunch at the grille and set up shop on the beach for the afternoon. It was definitely a good time!  

Tahoe stayed with me in Sun Valley and we went running, hiking and swimming every day. When Telly came up with Sweets we decided that we should take him swimming and see how it goes. It was Telly's first time in water and boy was he a kid in a candy store! He was nervous at first and followed Tahoe around but after that, he couldn't get enough of it and even started retrieving tennis balls and sticks!  

We had a BBQ with my Aunt and Uncle and their whole family at our house. It was so good to see my cousins and spend time with them. Dinner was fabulous and the stormy weather held out until after dark!

 After a hard day of exercising, heading to the pool, playing tennis, eating the most scrumptious meals, reading and knitting and doing puzzles, I have 2 awesome neices that would rub my feet! It felt great and the best part about it is they asked to do it!!!

I love Sun Valley and it is always a peaceful time for me!