Laura & Brian Olson

Pack n Play Mattress

2012-02-08T20:40:00.000-08:00

I made a mattress for our pack n play out of a 2" firm twin size mattress pad, covered it in blue marine vinyl, and then made a fitted sheet from this light blue flowery fabric. I like it a lot. It is very nice.

31 Weeks Pregnant

2012-02-01T17:24:00.000-08:00

I had another doctor's appointment today and he said I would deliver at Anaheim Regional and we can go anytime to fill out paperwork and take a tour. They only offer them on Sundays so I called today to go on Feb 12th. I am also getting another ultrasound this week or next.

More House Construction

2012-01-30T10:18:00.000-08:00

It has been pretty crazy around the house lately. Brian's parents decided to get their popcorn ceiling removed so here is a picture of our room a few days ago. It was completly covered in plastic for 3 or 4 days so we could not get to any of our stuff. Now the plastic is gone but the house is so dusty. They have not done the downstairs yet so I haven't cleaned the dust because it would just get dirty again. It is hard to be home all day with the dust and dirtyness all around me because I just feel such a strong urge to clean it up so it will be nice when our baby comes but it would be useless to clean.

I want to take a picture of what I look like now but most of our clothes are dirty so I haven't been able to show you guys what I look like. I could take one but I have been wearing large t-shirts and sweats so it would not show much.

Carseat Pad

2012-01-25T11:23:00.001-08:00

I took the pink flannel fabric that has animals all over it that mom gave me and made a quilted pad to go under our carseat to protect the regular seat a little from getting deep creases in it. I like the pink with the purple binding. :) I am also getting some practice putting the carseat in the car.

Pack n Play

2012-01-24T15:39:00.000-08:00

We got a pack-n-play from craigslist today. I really like it because it is very lightweight, folds pretty small and I think it would work well for camping too. The shade comes off so you can have no shade, half shade, or completly covered which would be nice for when used outside. It has a zipper door on the front so you can use it as a play area if you want them to go in or out but the zipper does lock so they stay inside too.

I am still not sure if we are going to use this or the crib when the baby is really little. I am debating whether to make a hexagon shaped mattress for it out of foam because there is not a lot of padding built in. It fits very nicely in the middle of our room. I like it a lot and it is really portable.

Onesie Dress

2012-01-19T16:08:00.000-08:00

I got some long sleeved onesies at my baby shower so I decided to turn one of them into a dress. It was pretty easy and I like it a lot.

Stroller

2012-01-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

We got a stroller from craigslist today for $30. I am so excited. It is the one that is made to go with the carseat we have so it snaps in great. Our carseat is grey so the color looks nice. We are just so happy that we could get one for such a nice price.

23 Weeks Pregnant

2011-12-08T14:01:00.001-08:00

Here is me at 23 weeks pregnant. About 3 weeks ago I was able to start feeling the baby moving around. It is so fun to experience. Brian likes a lot to feel my stomach when she is moving, it makes him so happy. It has been a bit harder to sleep at night but not that bad; it seems like Brian in his sleep always wants to hug me or push me into a position that is not comfortable. I am so hungry all the time now. I can't eat a lot at once so that makes me want to keep eating food all day long.

All the Christmas decorations are up and Brian & I have all our presents under the tree. The tree looks like it is so full of presents but it is just from Brian and I; I wrapped all of Brian's separately so it looks like a lot. Today Brian's parents and I are putting up the lights on the house and plants. I really like the garland they put over the garage, it makes it look nice during the day. We have our present for Emily & Neil all wrapped and ready to give to them so we are so excited to come visit and see them open it.

I scheduled to get our Christmas picture taken on the 19th by a lady in our ward. She needs to put a portfolio together so she is taking pictures for free. I think it will just be nice to have a good looking picture of us because we don't have very many pictures with Brian and I.

20 Weeks Ultrasound

2011-11-18T14:05:00.000-08:00

I had an ultrasound last Thursday and got some great pictures. We also found out that we are having a girl. It is so exciting to know now. I am already thinking of all the cute clothes I can make for her. It is going to be so fun.

18 Weeks Pregnant

2011-11-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

Ultrasound 17 Weeks

2011-11-01T07:37:00.002-07:00

I had an ultrasound on Halloween. Here are some pictures that I got. Not sure if it is a boy or girl yet.

Carving Pumpkins

2011-10-31T10:06:00.001-07:00

We carved pumpkins on Sunday. From left to right they are Aveire's girl pumpkin with eyelashes and ears, Brian's Jack the Pumpkin King pumpkin, and Laura's haunted house pumpkin. We all had a fun time scooping out the insides and then it took Laura a long time to carve her's because she wanted to try something hard. Then after Brian was playing video games for a while he didn't want to carve his so Laura did it for him but at least he picked out the design. We also had to roast the seeds and they tasted so good but there were too many to eat last night so we still have quite a few left to eat later.

Worms!

2011-10-31T09:55:00.001-07:00

Our ward had a Halloween potluck and trunk-or-treat on Saturday so Brian and I decided to make Jello Worms to bring. They were so fun to make and not very many people ate them probably because they were just not sure what it was. It was fun for the kids though, Romney and Averie thought it was cool to eat worms. Ben helped us eat the Jello scraps from the mold.

For the recipe go here. It was basically make Jello and then pour it into a half gallon milk carton with a lot of straws inside. The bendy ones make them look more real. Then when it is hard you separate the straws and push out the Jello. In a bowl they looked pretty gross.

Wrench Case

2011-09-28T13:05:00.001-07:00

Brian has been having a lot of trouble lately finding his wrenches because we do not have a lot of room in the garage and we never had a better way of organizing his tools other than throwing everything into 1 toolbox so I started making cloth wrap up cases for his wrenches so he can carry them over to where he is working and every size has its own spot so he can just put them back in each slot when he is done. I think it will work pretty well. Here is the first one I made all from stuff I already had, cost me nothing.

Camping at O'Neill Regional Park

2011-09-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

Just Brian and I went camping last Friday to O'Neill Regional Park. It is a fairly close place and the facilities are very nice, shady campsites, nice bathrooms. We cooked steak, sweet potatoes, and carrots on the barbecue for dinner and that tasted very nice. We made dutch oven peach cobbler and ice-cream in ziploc bags. Our hands got very cold making the ice-cream but it tasted so good with the cobbler. We put the leftover ice bags back in the cooler and I think one had a leak because then all of our sodas had salt on the lid which made it hard to drink. We just had a fun time sitting around the fire and in the morning we rode our bicycles around the park for a while and that was pretty fun. All in all it was a more relaxing camping trip than others but it was nice to get outside and just have a chance to be together. We had a lot of fun.

Pregnancy 12 Weeks

2011-09-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

Here I am at 12 weeks. I am not sure if you can see anything in this picture but Brian has noticed my tummy increasing in size.

11 Weeks Ultrasound

2011-09-14T13:38:00.000-07:00

We got some pretty good pictures at my first ultrasound yesterday at 11 weeks. Baby is still due around April 1-5. At first the baby was just laying there not moving and then it was very exciting when he started jumping around doing flips and flailing his arms and legs. We were so happy. :) It is still too early to tell if it is a boy or girl yet but picture 8 looks interesting.

Another Motorcycle?

2011-08-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

Brian's Honda Rebel broke right before I went to Washington on his way to school. I had to go pick him up and put the bike on our car rack to drive back home. We are not sure yet what happened but it sounds like a major engine issue. Brian plans on trying to fix it when he has some time like Christmas break or something and then try to sell it for around $2500 but for now he needed a motorcycle to drive to school in the meantime.

He found a 1981 Honda Goldwing GL 1100 on Craigslist for $1000 so he went and picked that up when I was gone. It has been a pretty good bike. He had to replace a head gasket and get the head re-surfaced because it had some low spots and wasn't making a good seal. But considering we only paid $1000 and the repair wasn't much either because he did it all himself except getting the head re-surfaced which was only $35 and now that it is running very good it was a good deal. So that is what Brian drives to school everyday and the seats are much more comfortable to ride on than the Rebel. I like it. It is a lot bigger bike and very heavy so I am always careful the never tip it over because I would not be able to pick it up.

We are taking it to oceanside on Friday which is a 2 hour drive to go camping with Eric & Desi because the bags can hold a lot more stuff than the Rebel did and the ride will be better with the more comfortable seats. It is going to be so fun.

Going to the Gym

2011-08-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

I got a gym membership to Bally Total Fitness along with Brian because his school was having a really good deal. So today I went for the first time for a half hour and it was really great. I like just moving around in the pool in the mornings because it makes me not feel sick. I didn't swim really hard but it just felt good to get out of the house, relax, stretch and walk around in the water. I want to go everyday because it just feels so good especially in the morning.

Oh, and I also tried out a swimsuit I made with the serger. I finally found a way to sew them without the seams breaking when stretched. It feels really comfortable and I am not worried about breaking it.

Brian's White Coat Ceremony

2011-08-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

Brian had his White Coat ceremony today at Western University of Health Sciences. It is similar to a graduation but instead of receiving a diploma he gets cloaked with his first doctor's white coat which symbolizes the start of his medical education. Click here for more information on the ceremony. We also got to tour his campus and eat a nice lunch. For more pictures please see my facebook.

NEW SERGER!!

2011-08-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

I finally got a serger today. It is a Husqvarna s21 that I found on craigslist. The girl that was selling it bought it for school and then realized that she needed a different kind so it is brand new and I got it for half the price, $500. I like the table attachment and the garbage bag that catches the scraps as they get cut off.

I have been saving up money from sewing jobs that I have been working. Lori is an LDS lady in orange that I have been making swimsuit patterns for and sewing a few suits but not much because I didn't have a serger. I always had only a few hours a week of work from Lori so it wasn't as much as I wanted. Then Lori moved in with a new roommate Karen who makes custom clothing for some people, including costumes. Karen hired me as a Sample Maker making patterns and sewing them. Sometimes I just help her organize her garage workspace and have started a few interesting costumes. I am much happier working with Karen because the hours are a lot better; I work about 5 hours a day. With Karen I feel like I am an all around assistant, the other day she had me pick tomatoes from her garden and dehydrate them. She is a great person, very religious and I can tell that she is a good person to be around.

I am also excited about using this serger for my own swimsuits. It has been very hard to find a stitch on my sewing machine that would stretch and not break when pulled so that is why I haven't really sold any modest swimsuits because I didn't want to sell something that wasn't perfect. I want to make good quality swimsuits that people will like and tell their friends that I make good products. Now with this serger I am confident that the main thing standing in they way of good quality is gone and I can try out a few styles that I have in mind.

Boating: Lake Perris

2011-05-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

We took our boat out to lake Perris on Saturday with Eric & Desi, Eric's Dad and teenage brother. It was lots of fun, we pulled out the tube and also tried waterskiing although the water was pretty choppy by that time. We stopped for a nice lunch on the island that has picnic tables and nobody goes there because the water is low and you have to walk through bushes to get up to the tables. I think I got a little burned but we all had a great time.

My swimsuit worked out pretty well sitting on the boat, tubing, waterskiing, walking around on the shore. It is great for sitting and gives me the flexibility to work getting the boat ready. It also protected my shoulders from getting burned, they are always the worst.

Modest Swimsuit

2011-05-25T18:47:00.000-07:00

I have been in dire need of a new swimsuit for a while now. The fabric on my old one is very obviously wearing thin. I found this website that makes 2 piece swimsuits that are a dress and leggings. I almost bought one but then decided that I could make the pattern myself because I have some free time. I used AutoCAD to draft the pattern from scratch which I found to be much easier than the traditional method of paper and pencil I learned in my patternmaking class at BYU. I really like this style because it has a higher neckline than most 1 piece suits and I do not have to find a pair of shorts to wear over because I do not like showing all of my legs, it is kinda uncomfortable. It will be great for boating, I can sit on the boat in it and then also jump straight into the water or wear walking around on the beach. It is more comfortable also because it has no vertical stretch so I don't have a permanent wedgie. I can worry less than wearing a rash guard and shorts because the skirt covers the waist.

So I really like it and it was not very hard to make. For me it is the perfect combination of comfort, security, freedom of movement, and modesty.

Universal Studios

2011-05-09T12:18:00.001-07:00

Brian surprised me by going to Universal Studios for our two year Anniversary. It was really fun. I enjoyed all the shows and they also have a few rides. My favorite was the Jurassic Park ride because at the beginning the plants and flowers look so nice and it is calm and then you drop and get wet like Splash Mountain. I don't usually like getting wet at amusement parks because it is usually not very hot but that day it was nice to get wet. My favorite show was the Water World show based on the movie. One thing I really liked is when we got some popcornand they let you refill it as many times as you want that day so I was eating popcorn a lot.

Grandpa's House

2011-05-09T12:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of where we are living right now until sometime in July, these are mostly for my family because the Olson's have been here before. This is the backyard with the avocado tree and the patio. Our bedroom window is on the top closest to the tree.

This is the living room downstairs next to the front door and I have been using it for sewing because the empty bedrooms upstairs get too hot. Right now I am working on making a pattern for a swimsuit for myself. I will update more on that later.

This is the family room and kitchen. All of the furniture is Eric and Desi's but they let us use the table and couches. I like all the large windows in the kitchen, most of the day we leave the lights off.

California

2011-04-26T10:59:00.001-07:00

We made it to California! After driving about 12 hours on Saturday we dropped off the boat and unloaded the U-Haul at Brian's parents house. We had a little bit of help but it wasn't much so we were tired after. Then we reloaded everything going to Grandpa's where we are staying and then unloaded it once we got there. We have been pretty tired lately with all the packing and unpacking. On Sunday we had church at 9 and then went to Reese's house for easter dinner and an indoor egg hunt.

Monday Brian called Penske to see if he would get that job and it did not work out because they needed someone who could work until the end of August but he is now working for Reese at the dental office sterilizing instruments during lunchtime and at the end of the day. He is getting about 10 hours a week at $18. So that should be alright for the summer. Brian is also looking for people who want their home videos on blu-ray or dvd, starting with Reese's videos. So if he gets a few people's videos to work on that would keep him busy.

I have been looking for a seamstress job doing fitting or something similar. There was a perfect one in Redondo Beach at a tuxedo shop but that is to far away. I also applied to Joanns yesterday so we will see how that goes. I called Disneyland about that job and they said it usually takes 4-6 weeks to process the applications. That is way too long, but maybe I get the Joanns job and then switch to Disneyland after a few months.

We are still setting up everything in our bedroom but we got some food yesterday and have been borrowing Leanne's semi broken car to drive back and forth. We keep forgetting things we need that are back at Brian's parents house.

Eric and Desi are the married couple living here at Grandpa's with us and they are really nice, we enjoy talking and hanging out in the evenings when they get back from work. Cherissa also lives here but we never see her.

We grabbed some lemons from a tree in the olson's neighbors yard that hangs over their fence. We got about 20 and they are huge, we made some lemonade and it was good. These lemons have quite a bit of juice in them, I think for a 2 quart we used like 6 lemons. There is also an avocado tree in grandpa's yard and from our bedroom on the 2nd story we can just reach out and pick them.

So we are having a lot of fun, there are nice parks nearby so we have been running and riding bikes in the morning.

Moving Troubles

2011-04-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

On Friday Brian and I were leaving for California to drop off all of our stuff. We had the car and boat loaded and drove for about an hour when the Durango stopped working and a large grinding noise happened. We pulled off the side of the freeway and opened the hood. After it cooled down we tried to start it again and the oil cap flew off about 30 feet away. Our insurance covered a tow truck to tow us back to the dodge dealer in Provo. We got there late when all the mechanics were going home so we left all our stuff at the dealer overnight and found a ride home from a friend and also found an air mattress to sleep on for the night. Saturday morning the mechanic called and said that the engine threw a rod and we need to replace the engine but they are not sure if the long block or short block needs to be replaced. They quoted us $5,000 or $8,000 depending on which needs to be replaced. Obviously somewhere else can do it for much cheaper.

So all of this got Brian and I thinking about our summer plans and we have decided not to go to Florida for the summer and just drive straight to California after graduation. Brian got referred a temporary job at a place similar to a U-Haul at the sales counter and it is looking very good that he will get that job for the summer. He doesn't have an interview yet but the guy who referred him is his brother's bishop and they need lots of people. As for me, I am looking for a job nearby Placentia as a seamstress or something similar. Maybe fitting, alterations, upholstery. I found a job listing for a Casual Regular Seamstress for Disneyland and it includes fitting and altering costumes for people in parades, shows, or costumes like the princesses. I just hope disney will let me work because I am not sure if not showing up to florida would break our contract, we need to call them on Monday.

In august we were going to live at Brian's Parent's house but right now there are still a few single girls renting rooms so we might live at Grandpa's house which is pretty close with another one of Brian's married cousins. The house is in the courts right now and they are still deciding what to do with it but in the meantime some people are just living there for free except utilities. We can move into his parent's house in July when the renters move out.

So that is just what we are doing for the summer, we are optimistic about graduating and moving to our next period of life.

Motorcycle

2011-03-05T15:41:00.000-08:00

So Brian got a motorcycle about a month ago. We were thinking about in CA getting a 2nd car, just an old cheap one that gets better gas mileage then our Durango. So we got thinking about motorcycles because they get great gas mileage (Brian's gets about 80mpg) and cost less than an old car in the same condition. We decided to get a Honda Rebel 234cc because we heard it is great for learning and not too much power. He got a Utah driver's license and a motorcyclepermit that lets him drive but without passengers, at night, or on the freeway. He is now taking the class at SLCC that will give him the license when he finishes, then he can let me ride on the back. He always wears his full face helmet, jacket with armored shoulders and elbows,pants with armored knees, and gloves with armored knuckles. He got some bags to put his pants and other stuff in when he gets to school or work. He also just got a sissy bar which is a backrest for me and a larger bag that slips on the sissy bar to fit his jacket and strap a helmet on top. He gets really good parking at school, his classes are all in the Smith Field house and Richards Building so he parks right next to the building. In driving it around town he has begun to enjoy it, he thinks it is fun to ride. We got a carrier for our Durango that is like a bicycle carrier but the bike is supported under the tires, you use the ramp to push it up onto the rack and then strap it on so it doesn't roll off. We are going to take it to florida with us.

Kindle

2011-03-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

I have been talking about getting a Kindle for a while now. I was thinking maybe getting one in July after we have saved up some more but this week Brian surprised me with a Kindle. It is so great. I started reading Treasure Island which was free. All the old classic books that don't have copyright are free. I also found some games like word games and a really fun maze game where the mouse has to get to the cheese.

I just got the Olson family cookbook on PDF and it looks great. The thing about PDFs are that they are usually too small to read because it scales a whole 8 1/2 x 11 down to the screen size but the cookbook is easy to read.

Last night I also sewed a case for it. I had some leftover cotton fabric and bought suedecloth for lining so the screen would not get scratched and some neoprene for inbetween so it would have some padding. The amount of padding or squishiness is perfect, not too thick but enough to protect it. I also made a pocket on the back for headphones or the power cord. It is nice to have stuff like that handy. So with buying all the fabric for the case it ended up costing me only $7 instead of buying a case for like $20-$30.

I also like the internet on it. This is kinda like my substitute for a smartphone sort of. And with this I have no monthly fees like a smartphone but it does not have as many capabilities as a smartphone. Just what I need though. I can check my email anywhere and look at facebook too. Google maps works ok, you can get the written directions but the visual map part of the screen is not very big and you can't zoom or pan. But it would still be very useful in the car if you needed to know how to get somewhere and I don't really like GPS because I want to see the big picture and not have a computer talk to me, that is weird.

I also got the scriptures on it, it is fairly easy to navigate to a certain verse. But I have yet to find a hymns that includes the notes, all of them are just the words which doesn't help much.

I also like that is plays audiobooks so now we can just get some on the kindle instead of cds from the library, we would probably only get free ones though. I can also listen to music while reading or playing games or looking at the internet on the speakers so I don't need headphones.

Well, I like it. I hope to be using it for recipes a lot and for fun too like games and internet and I can read books easily too while laying in bed because it is not heavy.

Flooding!

2011-02-13T19:29:00.000-08:00

On Saturday Brian and I were out of the house for the morning and when we got back we found the clothes washer hose for the cold water came disconnected and started flooding our kitchen! With some quick thinking I turned off the valve at the washer box and we started sweeping the water out the back door. It was mostly in the Kitchen which is tile so not that bad but some got into the living room carpet about 5' from the kitchen. Luckily it did not get to any electronics or really anything at all. We have been using all our towels to suck up the water from the carpet and having our 2 fans going nonstop since then but the carpet is still pretty soaked, we have to throw the towels in the dryer every time we use them to soak up the water so we can get some more out of the carpet. Our manager is coming to fix the hose on Monday and hopefully he can bring some more fans so it will dry before it starts to mildew. Well at least none of our stuff got wet. It was just crazy when we opened the door to find a few inches of water.

Disney World

2011-02-11T17:02:00.000-08:00

I am just so excited to go to Disney World this summer, plus my classes are too easy so that adds to my boredom and impatience.

For those of you who don't know or forgot I am going to work in Quick Service Food and Beverage and Brian will be working in Attractions. We don't know exactly where we will be working until we get there but anyplace would still be fun. We reserved an apartment in Disney's college program housing that is a 1 bedroom for just the two of us. We get into the parks for free so that would be a fun activity to do.

We should be working at least 40 hours a week and it could be more like 50-60 during the holidays and there are a lot of holidays April-August. We are going to drive all of our stuff down to Florida in our Durango after finals so it will be nice to have a car even though we will try and take the bus most of the time because it is free and it would save gas.

We are just so excited to go and we don't have much to do for now because classes are so easy and BYU only lets us work 20 hours a week but I guess we just have to wait out the rest of the semester until we graduate in April. So yeah, I just wanted to post something.

Bodice Horizontal Dart Gathers

2011-01-23T14:42:00.001-08:00

It might be a little hard to see because I am wearing a white cardigan and the sample is white. I learned this really cool technique for adding fullness to a bodice. This one involves adding gathers to one leg of a vertical waistline seam dart. I really like how it looks. This is a sample I had to make for my patternmaking class but I think when I get some free time and finish up some other projects first I want to make a blouse like the purple one I made but with these gathers on each side front and back.

Snowshoeing

2011-01-20T19:09:00.000-08:00

We went snowshoeing again on MLK day to the same place near Vivian Park in Provo Canyon that we went a week before. We went with Anna & Zach, Adrian and her husband, and Nathan Bills and his date. It was pretty fun with everyone there. It started raining partway through but it was not much and for a few minutes it was hailing and windy so I got hit in the face with ice stuff. The snow was good though and hiking made it not feel so cold, Brian and I were pretty out of shape that we got sweaty but it was really fun. We got good use of our car with 6 people in it and driving in the snowy parking lot. It is so nice and works really well.

Snowshoeing

2011-01-08T19:18:00.000-08:00

Brian and I went Snowshoeing today at a trail up past Vivian Park in Provo Canyon. It was really great, the snow was pretty deep and not too compacted but enough to make it easy to walk. The trail was uphill with switchbacks. We only went for about and hour and a half but it was really fun. We plan on going next weekend with some more people.

Here is a map of the trail we went on. It is at the parking lot at the end of the road. It was about 1.5 miles round trip.

Thinking about Moving

2011-01-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

Brian and I have been thinking about how we are going to move all of our stuff in April to California. So we have been trying to sel a bunch of stuff that we never use and don't want to haul with us. Some things we have been selling are a lot of books, my bow and arrow set, and a bag full of belt buckles. We want to not rent a u-haul and fit everything in our big car and the boat, hopefully the couch will fit in the boat. At least we have a while to get everything sold so we don't get desperate and sell for less.

Sewing Projects

2010-11-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

I am making a white dress shirt for Brian in my sewing class. I am excited to see him wear it when it is done.

I am also making a pair of snow pants for myself, I need to get around to altering the pattern.

I am also making swimsuits for Shannon and Emma, I just ordered the fabric and need to find some more time to work on those when I get a chance.

ModBod

2010-11-08T14:45:00.000-08:00

I am trying to win something from ModBod and Beth is having a giveaway on her blog here

Tillamook Cheese

2010-10-16T20:21:00.001-07:00

I am trying to win Tillamook Cheese here. I really like cheese and Tillamook is the best. My favorite is mild cheddar or mozzarella. We often add mozzarella and olives to a Little Caesar's pizza then put it back in the oven until it is crisp to make a cheap pizza better. I love cheese!

Haircut

2010-10-08T20:10:00.000-07:00

So I forgot to post about this but I got a haircut probably 2 weeks ago. I saw in the BYU newspaper at work that they were giving away free haircuts in the WILK if you donate your hair to Locks of Love. So I went over and did it that same day and got 10" cut off. I didn't even tell Brian until he saw it when he got home that evening. He likes it. I love that I don't have to do much with it, the only sad part is that I can't put it in a ponytail. I like it :)

Fishing Success!

2010-07-30T22:58:00.001-07:00

We went fishing at Utah lake today with Andrew. Brian and Andrew combined caught 9 white bass and 1 catfish! They were catching them so fast. I did not catch any, but yesterday we also went and I caught a white bass. They are fairly good sized fish, not much meat though. We filleted them when we got home and we are going to eat it all for lunch tomorrow. I ate mine yesterday and it was so delicious!

Brithday

2010-07-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

Brian got me a sewing machine for my birthday! I love it so much, and it was only like $120 or something. It works very well and it is the industrial version which they still manufacture because it is very sturdy and reliable. Here is a picture of my sewing corner that I set up. The only bad thing about it is that the closet door only opens a little when I have the table open. He also got me a class at a sewing machine store in Provo. It is a one-on-one class with an expert that works there and she will teach me all about my machine, how to upkeep it, setting the tension, and other cool things. That way I can use it the right way and it could work very well for me for the next 10 years or so.

Brian made me cupcakes for my birthday and put 20 candles on one cupcake! I did not eat that cupcake, I ate another one.

New Skirt

2010-07-24T10:23:00.000-07:00

I made a skirt in my sewing class. It is a pencil skirt with a green leafy pattern. It was really fun to make and learn how to do things like darts, zippers, and a blind hem. I lengthened the pattern by 5" and it only just passes my knee when I sit, good thing I did! I should probably press out that fold in the front before I wear it somewhere. I also made pajama pants and am in the process of a purple blouse. I will make Brian a pair of cargo shorts also. I love this sewing class, it is my favorite part of the week and at least 2 days a week I spend about 6 hours in the lab because it is so fun and I want to do everything right and get good at sewing well.

Temple Square

2010-07-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos from when we took Christina to temple square right before she went back to Washington. It was so hot that day, at least 98. But we got the see the new model of the Salt Lake temple that is cut in half so viewers can see the rooms inside. It was very fun, I liked riding the trax.

Jordanelle Camping

2010-07-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

We went to Jordanelle and camped on a site called "Hike-in" camping. We really beached our boat and walked just a little to get to the site. It was nice, it had a picnic table, cement pad, and fire pit. Emily and Neil drove up from Idaho and picked up Christina at the airport. We got to our campsite at about 6 or 7pm. We set up our tents and cooked our foil dinners. After that we took the boat out for a drive but did not get in the water. We played Neil's loud music and had fun. We played games like "BANG!" and ate s'mores. The next morning we ate bacon, pancakes, and eggs. Most of the day we were out on the lake teaching everyone how to waterskii. They all liked it a lot and picked it up pretty fast. We did some tubing also and Brian fell off pretty badly once. We did a little bit of fishing and I almost caught one but it got away. It was a very fun trip, I liked sitting around the campfire and cooking food the best.

Grove Creek Backpacking

2010-06-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend we hiked the Grove Creek trail that starts in Pleasant Grove. It was about 3.5 miles one way and 2 miles were the side of the cliff like in the one picture. The trail was pretty skinny and some places had rocks up and down the side of the cliff that looked like they had slid. There is a bench to sit at about mile 3 that looks at a waterfall. The trail follows the Grove Creek almost the whole way. After that there is a bridge that crosses the creek and the scenery becomes more forest. There is a really nice place to camp called Indian Springs where the Grove Creek spring is. We got there at about 8pm and still had about an hour of daylight left. It was a really nice meadow to set up a tent in. We ate tortilla soup and it was so good. The next morning we had bacon and hot chocolate and it didn't take very long to hike down. Having walking poles was very nice on that cliff because they helped us balance and not fall. One of my favorite things about this hike was that it was free and not very far to drive to. It was very fun and we both enjoyed it. Here is a link to a page about the trail.

New Mexico

2010-06-19T16:31:00.000-07:00

Brian and I took a trip down to New Mexico to go boating with Brian's brother Jared and his two sons Andrew (9) and Brayden (6). We went to Navajo lake which is kinda like Lake Powell but smaller, I like that it has a lot of little fingers so you can camp on the beach but be away from the main body of water. We camped on the beach and went tubing and water-skiing on Friday. We also did some fishing and Brian caught what we think is 2 Small mouth Bass. I also caught one. We ate one of Brian's and it was so good! I wanted to keep the others to eat but it was too much work to clean them so we threw them back. It was very fun.

On the Thursday Brian and I went to the Aztec ruins (actually inhabited by the Pueblo people). They were really cool. It was a city that was basically 1 building with a lot of rooms like houses.

Fishing at Utah Lake

2010-05-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

Today we went fishing at Utah lake. It was really fun but we did not catch anything. It was supposed to rain today but it didn't so we went out. It was a bit cold though and kinda windy.

MCAT & Sand Hollow

2010-05-25T08:15:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we drove down to Vegas and stayed with Brian's brother's family (Seth & Jenny) so Brian could take the MCAT. We drove Thursday and brought our boat which we dropped off in Hurricane with Brian's Mom's cousin (Buffalo) and then continued on to Vegas to spend the night with Seth and Jenny. Brian took the MCAT Friday morning and he thinks he did pretty well, he is very confident about most of it except the biology part. The practice tests he has been taking he got a 8, 10, and 9 on the three sections. Most mid or low level schools accept all 8's as average scores. So hopefully he did well.
Then Friday afternoon we drove back to Hurricane to grab our boat and go to Sand Hollow (10 minutes away from Hurricane). Before we left we found out that the Scuba Diving club in Springville was going down there that weekend so we brought all our gear and our boat too. We got there Friday night and just camped on the beach but it was very windy so it was like a sandstorm. We ended up sleeping on the floor of the boat so the sand would not get in our faces, it was very nice to have a bit of a breeze too.
Saturday morning we headed out on the boat because it was supposed to be less windy in the morning. We went water skiing and rode the tube a bit also. We tried to go diving but we started descending on our boat's anchor line to go look at the anchor and we could not see a thing. The wind had mixed up all the sand on the bottom that I could not even see Brian 2 feet away. So we didn't end up diving much, just 2 times for about 5 minutes each.
At 2pm on Saturday the Scuba club had a steak and baked potato BBQ which was really good. The potatoes were huge! We got to talk to everyone and nobody did much diving because there was nothing to see and it was easy to get lost.
We played around on the boat for a while and then we drove to Walmart and bought some fishing poles and tried our luck at fishing. We didn't catch anything but we did successfully figure out how to work the poles and put them all together. We did use worms and I didn't want to poke them with the hook but Brian made me. It was so weird because they would get all tense and wiggle too much. Anyways, we had a good time fishing and just relaxing on our boat.
We went to drive home Saturday night and were going to get a hotel somewhere around Parowan but we blew a tire on the trailer right before we got onto the freeway. The tire was ripped to shreds and luckly we were about a mile from Walmart so we just drove very slow about 1 mph to walmart but by then it was 7:30 and their tire service closes at 7pm so we stayed the night at Buffalo's house and went back to Walmart in the morning to get 4 new tires on the trailer because they were so old. Probably from like 1990 or something.
We drove back to Provo Sunday safely and then woke up Monday to find snow. It was a crazy weekend. We both got a bit of a sunburn but it is not that bad. Our skin is just so dry and needs lots of lotion.

Boat

2010-04-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

Brian and I got a new boat, not new but new to us. It is just about as old as the other one we had. We found out that our old boat that we were fixing was not worth it to fix. It was beyond repair. So we got this new boat and we will be selling off parts from the old one which will pretty much pay for itself. It has a bench in the back and it continues up one side. The driver has a seat and the bow has more benches. There is storage under almost every seat and next to the engine. This one runs and yesterday we took it out to Utah lake to test it out. A storm was coming in so it was pretty choppy but at least we know it floats and moves. Here are a few pictures from when Mom and Dad were here.

Easter

2010-04-04T08:35:00.000-07:00

This morning the Easter Bunny came and hid some candy in our house. Then he gave us some eggs with crazy faces. Brian loved the hunt.

Y

2010-03-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Brian and I hiked to the Y on Saturday. We just got some new hiking boots and decided to wear them in before we go backpacking next Friday. The hike to the Y is not very long, about 1 mile but it is hard. We were tired when we got to the top. I guess we are out of shape. It was cold at the top with a little bit of snow but hot hiking on the way up. But it was so fun just going slow and stopping to look and talk. I would say it was a very peaceful day. I just took off my sunglasses in this picture and it was very bright.

P.S. This picture is of the Y, not snow.

Apple Pie

2010-03-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

I made my first ever apple pie in my cooking class last week. We put it together in class then cooked it at home. Brian was very excited that he got to eat some pie. He loves pie. This is so delicious and we keep eating it every day because it is so good

Dishwasher

2010-03-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

We got a dishwasher! We are so excited. It is pretty small and is like an oversize microwave. It works very well for the amount of dishes we use every day. It has a hose that hooks to the faucet and drains into the sink. We usually start it every evening and let it go while we watch TV shows, then it finishes when we go to bed. We really like having a dishwasher

Ham Radio

2010-02-24T15:04:00.000-08:00

I got my ham radio license last Wednesday. They have the test once a month at the BYU Law Library. The test is very east, there were two 11 year old boys there and they passed. There are 500 questions that they pick 35 from. To study for it you just need to read over the 500 questions and then on the test they are exactly the same.

We have 2 handheld radios and Brian's car one. We talk with the BYU ham radio club every Thursday night at 9pm and Brian is the Net Manager which means he is the ruler of the radio for an hour and tells people when they can talk. So it is pretty fun to be able to talk on the radio and it is good for emergencies or even if we go hiking and get lost.

Snowshoeing

2010-01-24T20:26:00.000-08:00

We went snowshoeing on Saturday. It was really fun because it has just snowed the day before. We walked on the Provo canyon river bike trail. The snow was nice and powdery. There was only a handful of runners and 1 or 2 other people snowshoeing. We got there early in the morning so the snow was great. We ended up walking total about 4 miles. It was really fun and quiet and looked peaceful with all the snow. We were careful not to walk under or near any ledges because of the avalanche warning. That is why we chose this place because it is not very close to any steep mountains and not very far up in the mountains. We both had a great time.

Our Future

2010-01-23T17:47:00.000-08:00

This is Brian and my future according to Epcot's spaceship earth. It took our picture on the ride and automatically cropped our faces out. It looks pretty funny. You should have seen Emma's face, she only had half a face. Enjoy!

Disney Dive Quest

2010-01-20T18:38:00.000-08:00

Here is the video that Disney made of our Dive in the Aquarium at Epcot's The Seas With Nemo & Friends. There were about 3 sharks and a very large turtle. It was so fun waving at all the people in the windows and swimming with the large variety of fish. We had a blast.
P.S. At the very end of the video you can see Brian with a shark.

Snow

2009-12-09T20:08:00.000-08:00

There is a lot of snow here. Brian shoveled a little path to the car so we can walk outside without tall boots to keep our pants from getting wet. We have been wearing boots anyways. Brian says his feel like blankets on his feet. I am glad he is comfortable. It is supposed to snow for 2 weeks straight. I hope we can drive home to Washington safely for Christmas.

Christmas

2009-12-02T20:22:00.001-08:00

This is our Christmas nativity. Brian's parents got it for us in Mexico, it is paper mache. The Santa on the temple is a starfish ornament that says Catalina on it. We are going to get an ornament every vacation we go on then our tree will show all the places we have been to. Brian put it on the temple picture and said that there is a new Moroni statue.

Thanksgiving & Catalina

2009-12-02T19:57:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving Brian and I went to California to visit Brian's siblings and their families. We drove down Saturday and stayed at Jenna's house for a few days. It was fun hanging out with the kids and not having homework or studying to do.

On Monday we took a 1 hour boat ride to Catalina Island to go Scuba diving. We got there and dropped off our stuff at the hotel. Then we found some food to eat then off to Scuba diving. There is a dive park on the island that is protected from boats or fishing so there is a lot of fish and it was really cool to see something like that for the first time. I have only been diving in Utah's lakes. Here are a few pictures we got from the 4 times we went diving over the two days we were there. I just realized that these pictures of us have no fish in them, we saw tons I promise!

So we stayed at Catalina for 2 days because we found this good deal online that was $80 per person for the round trip boat ride, taxi to and from the hotel, hotel room for 1 night, and a tour of some sort. It was a really good deal because the boat is usually $60 by itself

On tuesday we went to a bus tour along the island's ridge so we got to see everything from up high. We saw some buffalo, mountains, and there was an airport at the end. The roads were very small and windy, it was really fun.

For dinner Tuesday we went to a seafood restaurant on the waterfront. Their crab was so good and Brian even ate some fish & chips.

So in the end we had a really fun time and Scuba diving was like nothing I have ever experienced before.

We stayed at Rees' house Wednesday to Saturday and Thanksgiving was fun, there were 12 adults and 12 kids so it was not formal at all, we had paper plates and just randomly ate anywhere we could find a seat. It was great.

We went to the $2 zoo on Friday with the family and that was fun. Brian and I also went to Target Friday morning to buy a Christmas present for Brett & Becky. It wasn't very busy at 9am and we ended up getting something that wasn't even on sale. Oh well.

Saturday we drove home and at about 6pm we ran into some snow in Cedar City. We tried driving through it for about an hour or so then decided to stop in Parowan for the night and were lucky we got a room at the only hotel in town that filled up fast. We got a pizza and watched Lost on Netflix online. It was fun but then we didn't get home until Sunday afternoon, at least Brian got out of giving a lesson at church.

So our trip to California was very fun, I liked the Scuba diving a lot and just not having to do school for a while. It was great.

Disney World

2009-12-01T19:10:00.001-08:00

So my last post confused a few people. We haven't gone to Disney World yet, the trip is planned for the middle of January.

Disney World Scuba Diving

2009-11-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

Brian and I are going Scuba Diving at Disney World. We get to go in the living seas pavilion at Epcot. It is a 5.7 million gallon saltwater tank with 6,000 sea creatures including turtles, fish, and sharks. It is 40 minute dive where we can swim around and check out all the fish and stuff. The tank is next to the Coral Reef Restaurant so we can see into the restaurant through a glass window. Disney provides all the equipment so we just go there and get a t-shirt too.It is going to be so fun. We are going Thursday at 5:30.

Halloween

2009-11-07T13:49:00.000-08:00

On Friday we went to a ward Halloween party. It was really fun. Brian and I wore our scuba gear, well most of it. They had a chili cook-off so we ate lots of chili and talked with people. We really enjoyed it but we forgot to bring our camera so we don't have any pictures of us with our costumes on.

On Saturday Brian made homemade root beer in this big water jug. We bought a bag of candy and started watching The Village when Mike and Audra came over so we started it over again and watched it with them. No trick-or-treeters came to our door looking for candy so now we still have half a bag of candy (reeses, kit-kat, whoopers, crunch...) left that we don't need to be eating all the time. It was a fun Halloween and we didn't do much but in the end I got sick from eating too much candy.

Winter 2010 Schedule

2009-10-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

Here are the classes I am taking next semester.

Homecoming Parade

2009-10-24T10:46:00.000-07:00

We went to the BYU homecoming parade today. It was really fun seeing the band play really close. There were a lot of old cars and dance groups. We had a great time and got lots of candy.

Update

2009-10-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while so I will catch you up on what I have been doing.
School
Tests
Homework
We bought Little Big Planet for PS3 and play it
Watching Star Trek and other Blockbuster mail free trial movies
Making dinner
I was sick one day but I didn't throw up and was better by the end of the day
Sleeping in on Saturdays
Cleaning on Saturdays
Having lunch with Anna 1 to 2 times a week
Church is now at 1:30 instead of 10:00
Making a Scuba Diving guide for Utah, places to go, things to see... for English
Working
Planning my class schedule

Haircut

2009-09-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

I got a haircut on Saturday. Brian thought my hair was too long and now I realize that it is much easier to deal with my hair without those 6 inches. The last time I got it cut was a year ago. I like my new haircut a lot.

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-11T06:29:00.001-07:00

For Labor Day weekend we went scuba diving in Sand Hallow, it is near St. George. It was very fun because there was a sunken VW Bus and an Airplane. It was fun to mess around and see so much. We also saw a bunch of Large mouth Bass. There was one inside the Plane and on another dive we saw a whole school of them. It was cool to swim through them because they don't really swim away.We went on two dives on Saturday, once to see the bus and another to see the plane.

On Monday we went back and did another two dives, one to explore what was beneath a buoy, there was a platform and a string that led us to the Bus again. The second dive we went back to the plane and swam back to shore. It was so fun! All the sites are pretty far out from shore so it's a ten minute swim and between our dives we just floated on the surface and explored some nearby rocks.

On Saturday night and Sunday we went to Vegas to visit Seth and Jenny. It was nice to see them and talk and play games. It was also fun playing with their little boy Ben. We had lots of good times.

Pictures: 1-Brian Driving the Bus, 2-Laura Driving the Bus, 3-Brian on the Surface

Scuba Diving: Fish Lake

2009-09-10T07:14:00.001-07:00

We went to Fish Lake (3 hours south of Provo) the day after we got back from Lake Powell. We found Scuba Ted's scuba shop in Springville and they have a club that goes on dives once a month. So we drove up Saturday morning and dove twice. There isn't a whole lot to see, mostly just grass and a few fish. It was really fun because we haven't been diving much lately. We ate the club's italian dinner which was really good. They even made their own dutch oven bread. It was only $10 for the food and unlimited air tank fills. We rented gear but bought our own wetsuits and hooded vests. This picture is me if you can't tell. We had a lot of fun.

Lake Powell

2009-09-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

We took a week long trip to Lake Powell right after summer semester of school ended. It was my first time going and Brian went almost every year as a kid with his family. It was really fun. I learned how to waterski and Brian showed off his skills too. We picked up uncle Daryl's boat at the dry dock and took it out. We just camped on some rocks by the lake in our tent even though it was hot. We had a lot of fun just playing in the water to cool down and going on hikes to places like Rainbow Bridge and Hole In The Rock. We had lots of fun.

Rainbow Bridge

Hiking Through The Canyons

8 Things-Brian

2009-07-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Kissed Laura & told her I love her
2. Filmed mandarin chinese missionary training video
3. Digitized 1985 new mission president's seminar film archive
4. Ate two lunches
5. Went to chemistry lecture
6. Completed last chemistry lab
7. Ate ice-cream
8. Had family home evening with Mike and Shari

8 Things I Look Forward To
1. Coming home to Laura after work
2. Finishing our boat
3. Going to Lake Powell
4. Being done with school
5. Watching more star-trek or simpsons
6. ICE-CREAM!
7. Paycheck
8. Going on a bike ride this saturday

8 Things I Wish I Could Do
1. Shoot licorice out of my eyes
2. Eat as much as I want and not get fat
3. Fly an airplane
4. Get an A in organic chemistry
5. Weld aluminum sheet metal without burning it
6. Grow a beard at BYU
7. Water ski barefoot
8. Go on vacation for a month

8 Shows I watch
1. Simpsons
2. Merlin
3. Star-Trek Season 1
4. News
5. Dumb judge shows because that's all that is on local TV before 6pm
6. Quantum Leap
7. Heroes
8. Law and Order

8 Things-Laura

2009-07-17T10:46:00.000-07:00

8 Things I Did Yesterday
1. Go to Math
2. Work 5 hours
3. Get milk for $0.25
4. Watch Night at the Museum
5. Work for Dad
6. Eat leftovers
7. Install Air Conditioning
8. Make Root Beer Floats

8 Things I Look Forward To
1. My birthday
2. Ward campout tonight
3. Brian feeling better
4. Finishing my math test on Tuesday
5. Getting into the Mechanical program
6. Christina & Allison coming in August
7. Finishing building the boat
8. Watching more movies with Brian

8 Things I Wish I Could Do
1. Get an A in math
2. Help Brian with chemistry
3. Spend less than $100 on groceries a month
4. Go to School, work 40 hours, and keep the house clean
5. Grow money on trees
6. Ride my bike faster
7. Have a garden
8. Teleport

8 Shows I watch (I watch maybe 3 hours of TV a week)
1. King Arthur
2. Law and Order
3. News
4. Judge Judy
5. Boring old lady craft and food shows on the BYU-create channel
6. Simpsons
7. People's Court
8. Old shows like the Brady Bunch on one of the BYU channels

Google Homepage

2009-07-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

You may have heard me talking about my Google Homepage and I LOVE IT. I add feeds from all these coupon sites and I also have another tab for recipe blogs too. On the main tab I have things like gmail and the weather. It is so convenient to skim over everything at once. So here's a picture of what the coupon tab looks like so maybe you'll be converted. If you have any questions you can call me and I'll explain how you can be cool and organized and efficient too.

Here is a picture of the page where you add feeds from blogs. You get here by clicking on the top right of the homepage "add stuff".

Sick!

2009-07-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

Brian is sick with mono and will be sick with it for a month.

4th Of July

2009-07-09T20:28:00.001-07:00

So usually for the 4th we get up early and go eat a nice breakfast and do stuff all day. Well Brian and I did just about the opposite. We slept in and laid around being lazy all morning, it was great.
Then Brian tried to fix his hard drive and we realized we needed a sautering iron so we tried to cross University Ave when the parade was going on. It was crazy! At least we rode our bikes.

In the evening we went to Brian's aunt Marie's house in Orem and we had a BBQ and just hung out for a while. Then someone made ice-cream, it was delicious. We had pineapple, then fresh raspberry. We did have a little bit of fireworks in the driveway and Brian and I brought sparklers. It was really fun to be with family and listen to stories about Brian's family. The dinner was great and we had a wonderful time, even though we left at 11 and went to bed early.

Video

2009-07-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

I added a bunch of videos from our video camera to some old posts.
This one is from the Dinosaur Museum on valentine's Day
This one is from when we went camping in June

1st Day of School

2009-06-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of school. I am so excited for my Math 113 class. By what I've seen I think I have a much better and fun teacher. The class is great. I have it from 8-10 every day and Brian is taking chemistry at the same time so we will be kinda busy but I am excited.

Sewing Machine

2009-06-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

I got a sewing machine! We were at DI looking for a small table for the corner of our living room and we found this sewing machine table. It is perfect. It serves as a nice table and now I can do a little bit of sewing with it too. I mean it’s not the best sewing machine but it works and it makes a straight line. I am excited to use it sometime. I need to think of something to sew. It is also nice to have for fixing things too. I am just very excited.

Tapestry

2009-06-19T15:52:00.001-07:00

Brian got this tapestry of Jesus with the Nephites made on his mission in Peru and we got it framed. It looks so beautiful and hangs straight. The frame has a sort of old crackly look to it so it matches very well. We hung it up in our bedroom because it was the only wall that it would fit on because it is so big. We love it so much!

Scuba Diving

2009-06-12T20:29:00.001-07:00

We are taking a scuba diving class through Water World by the dollar theatre. We go to the class Monday and Thursday to learn for 2 hours then go to the Provo High School Pool to try it out for another 2 hours. It lasts for 3 weeks and we’ve been to the pool 3 times. This week we get to go to the crater in Midway 2 times to go deeper and get certified. We really enjoy it a lot and can’t wait to go next week. Here are a few pictures in the pool that we took with our video camera.

Brian was very excited to take video and pictures while we were underwater.

Camping

2009-06-10T17:26:00.001-07:00

We went camping last weekend. We went to a campground in the alpine loop on the American Fork side. It was just dirt and they had rocks set up for a fire pit. It was really fun, we went up Friday evening and set up camp and made Hawaiian haystacks. They were really good. We also played dominoes and ate plenty of s’mores. We then woke up early and made pancakes, eggs, and bacon for breakfast, it was delicious.

We hiked up to Timponogos cave and went on the caving tour where we had to wear helmets with lights and do a little crawling. We enjoyed it a lot and it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. We had a very fun weekend.

New Bike

2009-06-09T16:04:00.001-07:00

I got a new bike. I really like it. It is a Trek FX 7.2 WSD and it’s blue. I got baskets put on the back that fold in and hold our groceries when we go shopping. Last week Brian and I went to Buy Low and got some apples. Brian forgot to tie the bag closed so an apple fell out while he was riding and go stuck in the spoke of his wheel and was spinning around with the wheel. He finally noticed it when he felt cold juice on his leg. I also got a light for the front and back so we can ride in the dark. Brian and I love riding everywhere with our bikes now instead of driving and it saves a lot of gas too. I love my bike!

The Cruise

2009-06-03T16:26:00.001-07:00

So as promised here are the pictures from our cruise.

San Francisco: Golden Gate Bridge at breakfast

Alcatraz audio tour

Victoria Canada: Butterfly and Butchart gardens

Seattle: we got off and picked up my dress from Emily (no pictures sorry) Oh and I got a bag of much needed popcorn for free because I didn't have $0.50, only a $10

Formal Night:

Ice Skating: We went Ice Skating 2 times in their ice rink, it was really fun and Brian didn't fall down for the first time. Way to go Brian!They also had and Ice show, it was like a circus but on ice with crazy dancers that could do cool tricks and spins.

Pool/Hot Tub: They had 2 pools but nobody was crazy enough to go in them but we did spend some time in the hot tubs with soft serve Ice cream. It was great.

Shuffleboard: They did have shuffleboard and we played for about an hour. On my last cruise I went on when I was little they had shuffleboard and I never played so I really wanted to this time.

Movies: They had a small theater where we went a few times to watch some movies, it was fun. Although most of the time the movies were on our TV in our room so we just watched them in there because we were too lazy.

Food: the food was so good! We liked the 24 hour buffet and the free room service on demand. The dining room had the best food and we enjoyed breakfast and lunch there but we had 8:30 dinner so half the time we didn't go because it was so late.

Bike Ride

2009-06-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

Brian and I went on a bike ride with Mike and Shari Saturday night. We rode up the Provo canyon trail from Mike's house and then we ate our sack dinners we packed. It was really fun with them. I was a little tired because Brian and I have been riding our bikes everywhere now. That same morning we rode to the grocery store called Buy Low by the dollar store. They have cheap prices. So I am getting used to riding a bike around everywhere I go. Brian loves his new bike too, he wants to go places just so he can ride his bike. I will post a picture of my bike later. You can look it up it is the Trek FX 7.2 WSD Blue

We're Still Not Dead

2009-05-25T15:20:00.002-07:00

So even though I haven't posted in a while, we are in fact not dead. We just don't have internet...which is basically like being dead. They unplugged it on accident and because of the weekend they haven't fixed it yet. So Brian and I are just going to work and taking care of our apartment. We finally got all moved in and the couch came. I will post pictures later I promise.
Brian got a new bike so he can ride to work and if we both ride we can save $500 a year in gas so it will pay for itself in a little over a year.
We took a bike ride to Olive Garden because we had a gift card. I realized that I want a new bike too because mine is so crappy and the left gear shifters don't work so I am stuck on the lowest gear so I can only go half as fast as Brian can. I figured it would be nice to be able to go the same speed when we go bike riding. So now that we both have bikes we are going to go riding more often instead of things that cost money. It's gonna be so fun!
We went to our new ward last Sunday. We are going to go to the married student ward. Everyone is so nice there and there are a handful of people that we already know. I am excited to make friends.
So once I get my internet fixed I will post pictures and stuff from the cruise and of our apartment and other exciting things that we do.

We're Back

2009-05-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

We are back from our honeymoon, it was so much fun. Maybe I will post later all the fun things about it. I just didn't want anyone to get angry at us for not posting for a while. We are still moving into our new apartment, we have been working nonstop for about 4 days now and it is starting to look clean. I started work again on Wednesday and I technically got promoted only in responsibilities and getting to do the more fun CAD stuff. I just wanted everyone to know that we are still alive.

Work

2009-04-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

Te last week at work has been kinda slow and boring because I would get to a point where I had to ask my supervisor about something before I went any further on the project and he is busy all day with other people, it is boring when you have nothing to do. What I just started is trying to learn about how the HVAC equipment works when I have that down time. I've learned about air compressors, expansion tanks, air separators, & glycol make-up units.

Then the other day this guy I work with wanted to show me how to do As-builts and go look around at buildings at BYU. So we went up the SWKT and saw Mike working there, I forgot he worked there.We even have a service car we can drive around campus. We went in there and checked where all the ceiling diffusers, fire sprinklers, and ductwork was. I got to climb up on a ladder and look in the ceiling. It was way fun to actually do some work and get out of the office. The next day we got to draw up what we found on CAD. They actually use the same eexact CAD as I have, just 2009 model. I watched the guy draw it and even gave him some advice on how to do things more efficiently. I am so excited when I finish up on my huge project of catching up on all the Capital Needs Analysis before I can do the fun CAD stuff. This job is great and hopefully on friday I will know how much I get paid.

Mattress

2009-04-18T16:11:00.000-07:00

Brian and I are getting a mattress! Mom said to go buy one at Costco because she had a coupon for this month for $100 off. So right now Brian and Grandpa are heading over to Costco to get it. It's exciting.

Dress

2009-04-12T09:48:00.001-07:00

I finally found a dress for the wedding. I really like it. It’s red. Here’s a picture of it. I got these white shoes too.

New Job

2009-04-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

Hey I don't remember if I told everyone that I got a job. I work in Utilities at BYU. We take care of the HVAC and plumbing design and documentation. Right now I am just working on documenting all the equipment that was put in on recent projects and putting prices to them because BYU stores up money in case they need to rebuild something. I will probably be catching up on that for a few months then I can work on the plans and doing fun stuff. We do design for remodels or new additions and also put into the computer old plans to keep on file if we need them. I also get to go up into ceilings and check what's up there existing. It's pretty fun and I am excited. I really like this job even though I still don't know how much I get paid.

26 Days!

2009-04-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

Guess what May 1st is?!...The day that a bunch of 70's get released.

Easter

2009-03-29T19:50:00.001-07:00

It’s EASTER!…actually is not. Well it feels like Easter because Kim sent me a package that had all this Easter stuff like Easter socks, candy, pencils, a picture from Shannon ( I am confused as to why it is from Shannon), a pad of paper, and Peeps chap stick. I was very excited when I found out that I had a package. It was really exciting, thanks Kim!

Rock Climbing

2009-03-23T07:42:00.000-07:00

Brian and I went on a double date on Saturday with his roommate and another girl. We went rock climbing, it was so fun! I like rock climbing but have only done it like once so we climbed for at least an hour and man am I sore now! Its this indoor place by the dollar theatre and they just let you go off by yourself and I did pretty well until my fingers got tired. It was way fun though, I would rather get a membership to there instead of a gym.

I WON!

2009-03-19T16:38:00.001-07:00

I finally won one of Beth’s Disney World picture texting guessing games. I was so excited because every time I know the answer someone else like Mike wins because I can’t type as fast. But today I learned that Mom and Dad were at the temple and Mike was probably off doing something else too. But I am still excited that I won at least 1 because other people have so many wins.

My Have I Grown

2009-03-13T14:15:00.001-07:00

I was just looking at these two pictures and thought to myself. Wow I have grown a lot since then and look a lot different. My life has also changed a lot since then. Back then I had Anna, now I have Brian. But it is still just as much fun. So yeah, that’s what goes on in my mind from day to day. Just letting you see into my head for a little bit.

Brian’s Birthday

2009-03-05T06:50:00.001-08:00

So I finally got these pictures up here. These are from when we ate cake and sang to Brian for his birthday, but we didn’t do it on his birthday because he was sick. He wanted cherry chip cake with funfetti frosting. I thought it would be weird but it was good. We made him blow out his own piece so he wouldn’t get sickness on the whole cake. Happy Birthday Brian!

Happy Birthday!

2009-02-25T10:36:00.001-08:00

Today is Brian’s Birthday hooray! But he is really sick, probably the same thing that everyone at home has. It’s really sad because he had a Physics test yesterday, a religion test today, and lots of homework to get done. Being sick and in school is not fun. He almost threw up during the physics test and we were going to go to Tucanos tonight but we’re going to go another time. There’s just not much I can do for him.

I tried to help with his homework but my alarm didn’t go off and I woke up late. He is just really stressed and depressed right now because he has so much to do and tries really hard to get good grades but after all he can do, it just doesn’t seem like enough. I can’t make him better but I can make him feel better by being there with him and I hope that will do some good. I hope the cake I’m making will cheer him up.

2009-02-19T16:13:00.001-08:00

GUESS WHAT MAY 1ST IS!!

The last day to apply for financial aid. Hooray!

Work, Swimming, & Tests

2009-02-19T16:10:00.001-08:00

Hey I just wanted everyone to know I am still alive. Well actually this could be my kidnapper blogging so nobody gets suspicious. Anyways I don’t have much to say because all I do is school basically. But I have been working lately for Dad. It has been fun and I get paid for it too. I really like it when I finish or find some cool new way to make it better and then I just look at it and I’m so proud of myself because it’s just so cool.

Oh Brian and I went swimming yesterday. It was fun because we have been needing to go lately so Brian won’t get fat but every time we plan to go I don’t want to. So we finally went. It was great, we did Crawl stroke and Breast stroke mostly and even a little back stroke and some kick. We saw Jamie there lifeguarding. It was like a little adventure, kind of like a water park.

Oh here’s a funny story. Yesterday Brian and I were in Civil Engineering 203: Mechanics of Materials and the teacher was giving a test review. So we thought, when is the test? So we looked at the schedule and it said Feb. 18-19 then we were wondering what was the date. Then Brian was like THAT’S TODAY! So he studied for about an hour, took the test that day and probably got 100%…I took it today and did very well too. So much for keeping up to date on our schedules.

Valentine’s Day

2009-02-14T22:58:00.001-08:00

Today was valentine’s day.

I made Brian a card that had a bunch of compliments on it and stuff. He really liked it because I made it and I was excited. He gave me bags of conversation hearts because that is my favorite valentine’s candy, they are so good. I remember when mom got a whole bunch last year for the missionaries but ended up keeping them so I ate all the boxes over the period of a month or so. They are so good.

Brian just had stuff planned and I didn’t even know when he was going to come over. We went to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point which was so fun. We watched a 3-D dinosaur movie and saw all kinds of old bones. We did bring our video camera and took video and some pictures too.

Then we ate lunch/dinner at TGI Friday’s because we’ve never been there before. It was really good, and a good price, and it wasn’t crowded. We got really stuffed though, it was a lot of food.

Then we went to someone in Brian’s ward’s wedding reception at an art museum in Springville. It was really nice. They had good food too.

Then we came back and made a cookie pie with ice-cream on top and watched Sneakers. The cookie was really good and I realized that I HAD seen that movie before. It was delicious and fun.

So basically we just spent the whole day together mostly like normal but we actually had ideas of stuff to do. It was really fun and I enjoyed it.