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!

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!  

1ST OF THE SEASON

Sadly, last week was the first time Sweets and I have been out on the boat all year! It felt good to be soaking up the waves surfing and wake boarding in the warm water. Although we were a little rusty, we quickly relearned the ropes and had a blast!

Thanks Matthew for driving and thanks Susan for the company! 

THE INFAMOUS "TOUR de FRANCE"

The Tour de France started July 2nd and ended July 24th. It is a crazy-awesome bike race consisting of 22 teams and 198 riders pedaling about 2,143 miles with only 2 rest days!

HOLY CRAPOLA! 

They bike in rain and shine! 

I mean, it is seriously INSANE! 

For the past few weeks this tour has been on our TV constantly. Every morning before work we would turn it on and every night before bed we would turn it on. There wasn't much else that we watched or did besides the "Tour". It is always exciting to see the cyclists and their teams bike hundreds of miles in a day, day after day, to win the race around France. There were some pretty nasty falls this year that took out some cyclists, and then there were some pretty awesome stage wins! 

I am totally unsure about this year's outcome of Tour de France! 

Although I don't really mind Cadel Evans, winner in yellow, I much would have preferred Andy or Frank Schlek, the brothers who took second and third. However, anyone that beats Contador, a not so friendly cyclist or person, is a winner in my book! Overall it was another great race and I can't wait for it to start again next year!

IT IS ONLY A GAME, FOCKER!

This is what I told Sweets after he beat a tree trunk with his pitching wedge while mumbling profanities under his breath during his horrible round of golf!

The Story:
We had to head up to Morgan for some Church business last week and we decided we would make some good use out of the long drive. Yes, it is a long drive from where we reside! We packed the car with our golf clubs and hit up the course only playing 9 holes due to the lack of sunlight and our obligations to get home to our 2 boys. After the much proclaimed 'game of his life' a week prior at the Gardner Reunion scoring in the upper 80's, Sweets was quickly humbled on the 1st hole...and the 2nd hole...and the 3rd hole...and so on until the 8th hole! Now, I am not just talking about 1 or 2 duffs, but rather scores like 8 and 9 and then refusing to count strokes because the numbers went to high. A few lost balls or sunken balls in the pond later Sweets finally managed to pull it together at the end of the 8th and for the 9th hole. Better late than never I guess.
I on the other hand, had the most amazing golf game! I scored 3 pars (and they were legit) and the rest of my strokes were 1-2 over. I loved it. I felt horrible about Sweets, but I felt even better knowing that once again I BEAT him!
The valley was beautiful in Morgan and the rivers were flowing so high. They were over flowing into the streets in some areas.



It was a wonderful night of golf and scenery with my Sweets!
  

SIMPLY ... JOY

Meet Chad!

only pic i have - sorry

Chad is a boy who loves to climb with Splore every week. Yesterday I had the privilege of working with him. Chad is pretty much non-verbal (except for words like dad, climb, smile, foot) but does use American Sign Language. In addition to climbing, he loves to run around Momentum and have you chase him, and normally I would be up for this game, however I made the mistake of unhooking him first, so when I went to chase him I got tied up in the ropes and fell backwards on the ground! (note to self, unhook ME first.) Anyway, after I caught him I asked him to expend some of his energy that he had and push himself real hard for me today and climb a 5.9. (for those who don't understand climbing, a 5.9 is a really intense degree level climb and is extremely difficult for children). I moved him over to the wall and grabbed the ropes to get us hooked in to start climbing. While he doesn't communicate back to you, he does understand everything that you tell him to do. A few climbing placements and rest times later, he made it to the top and gave me a BIG smile and thumbs up!!! He then motioned for me, using ASL, and began repelling down the wall screaming "Dad". As soon as his feet touched the cushions and before I could untie him, he ran to his dad and gave him a huge hug. It took everything I had not to cry at this beautiful sight. 

Working with these children every week is such a blessing. I can't wait for work to be over so I can go be with them and see the happiness that rock climbing brings to their face. I learn so many wonderful things like patience, love, the importance of eye contact and positive communication, love, gratitude and simply ... joy from them! There is a special aura that is emanated that is so addictive. I hope I can always work with Splore in helping give children with disabilities the opportunity to increase their trust, fine/gross motor skills and self-esteem through recreational activities. 

"No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child" Abraham Lincoln

OVER-TIME AND UNDER-POINTS

This was the ending result to the Jazz game last night against the Washington Wizards! The game, which was a surprisingly good game, went into overtime after the Jazz were behind almost 8 points the entire game. They rallied back in the last 3 minutes, but like most overtime games that the Jazz play, they just couldn't pull it together for the win! We fell short yet again! 

dinner at the lexus club

center section row 4

Sweets and I loved the game anyway, in part that we were lucky enough to get the invite from the parentals to sit down in the reserved section and enjoy a fabulous dinner buffet with the Lexus Club beforehand. We filled our plates with seafood, soup, chicken, salads and meats and then watched the game from row 4!!! During halftime we went back and enjoyed a plethora of desserts. 

Thanks parentals!

CATCH UP!

w.j.t. adams gulch

 Weston and I went to Sun Valley 1 week ago to celebrate our anniversary! It felt great to get away for a quick day and there is no other place on earth that I would rather be than in SV with my sweets! We went hiking with T, took a sleigh ride to a cabin for dinner and did a little shopping. Thanks for the get-away...Luffs sweets! 

j. sleigh 

w.j. trail creek cabin (sorry about the PDA)

We had a few friends over to our place for the fantastic game of the Super Bowl! We had so much fun catching up with each other, watching the game and commercials, eating yummy food and treats and playing buzz on the PS3 afterwards! Thanks peeps for the 'good times'! 

mark sian. bryn. ryan erin. lindsey dave. kerstin eric. sweets.

chili. chips/dip. veggies/fruit. desserts. 

Sweets and I went back on baby-sitting duty this past weekend and it was so fun! I just love all my nieces and nephews and so when I get asked to watch them, I always jump for joy! This time, we watched my brothers' 4 children for a few days. We took them to the aquarium and out to dinner, and the wonderful W took them by himself to the children's discovery while I had church meetings. Overall, we were sad to let them go, but happy to get some sleep again!  

charlie. j. 

james. abby. anna. j.

tahoe. bear.

Finally, sweets and I celebrated Valentine's Day! He surprised me with a wonderful gift(s) and fun-filled dinner in Park City. I am so lucky to have such an thoughtful husband! I on the other hand, couldn't grasp the concept this year of telling him how much I love him in a card and then getting a gift. For some reason, it wasn't doing justice in my head, so instead I decided to tell him why I love him. I made him a basket full of "love reasons why I love you" and included gifts to correlate.

S.G.R.

Sweets and I headed down to the warm SG this past weekend for some R-&-R, running, biking and friends!

 It was a must awaited vacation and the weather couldn't have been any more perfect, with highs of 60 degrees and sunny skies! 

Although I didn't get to train like I wanted due to my AS, I still attempted and joined forces with SDAY, BECKY and 3000 other peeps to run the St. George 1/2 marathon Race. While those awesome chickas completed the 13.1 mile run in perfect time, I ran beside them for 8.2 miles. The best part of my not-run run, was that I was still able to walk after and my legs weren't shooting with pain!  For me, that was an improvement.



Following the race, Sweets and KDAY hit up the Barrel Roll for some mountain biking action. The first one of the season is always hard on the tush, but they blazed through the red rock and had such a good time.  

We all hit up a scenic trial Sunday afternoon to loosen all of our legs up, and to wear the dogs down. Tahoe was so happy to have a fellow 'golden' named Kashi play with him the whole weekend. They ran wild on the trial, and were completely worn out for the drive home!

Thanks for the fun run girls, and thanks to the Days' for the awesome memories...

 

(collage: thanks to kday)

VIVA...LAS VEGAS!

W and I spent a few days in Vegas last week for the NFR (national finals rodeo), and it was amazing!

 YEE-HAW! 

We flew down on Wednesday with my parents and then met up with his parents for some fun. It is so wonderful that both families share common interests and get along with one another. It makes "family" trips that much more fun! 

Anyway, we were able to go to the rodeo twice and sit on the front row both times! 

WOW! 

During our short stay we walked around the shops, went to Cowboy Christmas, hit up Trader Joes, saw the strip, ate super yummy food and had a blast! This definitely is a trip that will always be remembered!

 We stayed in the new City Center on the strip at the Vdara! it was so incredible! This is only a snippet of the desserts that they had in their cafe...YUM! We ate gelato everynight and boy, was it good!

I mean, really! You would think they would all give up after getting bucked off but they don't. They get right back on the horse. Truly impressive!

 We were lucky enough to sit on the front row, but even more lucky to sit 4 people away from the aisle. After a guy, I can't remember who it was, got bucked off the saddle bronc, his horse went crazy. They have 2 members of the NFR on the dirt to help both the horse and the rider. When the horse was having one of its moments and the member couldn't get the strap undone off its flanks, the horse bolted straight for us, charging at us at a fairly good speed. Not thinking too much of this (considering the horses usually stay on the dirt), I was immediately taken by surprise when the horse tried to jump the rails and into the aisle!!!! (remember we are sitting right there) The front 2 hooves made it over but the body of the horse slammed into the rail which made him fall backwards on the dirt. At this point, I am trying to catch my breath and clean up my seat when the team members cornered the horse and were able to free the strap! I am SO glad I was not sitting any closer, but never in our lives have we seen such a thing at a rodeo!!! 

Kelli is from Utah, like a lot of the riders in the NFR, so it was so fun to cheer them on and show support. She came in 2nd Thursday night. I am pretty sure, my children will be doing all this rodeo stuff. Weston grew up riding and roping, and I grew up riding, so we think its only fitting that our kiddies grow up the same way. Hopefully one of them makes it to the NFR! That would be a dream!

Sweets and I remembering our allergy/cold/dirt-flying/poop-smelling/dust-filled front row adventure!

 Sweets looking like a stud in his Cowboy hat. Apparently this hat is specific for the tie-down/team rope! Who new they made different hats for every event.

Like father, like son! These two men just look Handsome, don't they? Kirk has taught Weston everything he knows about horses, and its ALOT! He started Weston on horses when he a baby and really supported his love for rodeo as a child. Our kiddies will have a great Grandpa in Kirk!

   

Thanks Mom and Dad! You guys are the best! We had such a great time and look forward to it next year! 

AT A LOSS..

It is too painful...

and there are no words to describe the awfulness that happened Saturday!

BYE-BYE HOLIDAY FOOD...HELLO PAVEMENT!

ITS OFFICIAL!!!

BECKY-SDAY-JULES

JANUARY 22, 2011

13.1 MILES

and all that DIRTY DASHING!

MIKE + EMILY + SARA + JULES + WESTON =

TEAM PINK!

we ran uphill in mud

rolled and hurdled over hay bails

crawled through tubes

climbed muddy walls

jumped through tires

sloshed in the swamp

slid down the slip-n-slide

and swam in the mud pit

Weston was awesome to race this DD twice! He raced with us in the AM and then was off to ROUND 2 at 4 with his peeps! What a stud to take one (or two) for the team.

Weston and his crew

Man he is sexy when he is dirty...