Birthday Fun!!

A couple of days ago was my birthday. I am the ripe old age of 25. Do I feel 25? No, not really. I still have a lot of growing up to do:) I had a very nice day. My awesome co-workers decorated my desk so cute, gave me a card, and made me the most delicious brownies. How did they know brownies are my favorite? Okay, I might have given them a couple of clues:)

Betsy, me, Heather, and Elise
You can't really see all of the decorations in this picture but it was really cute! Thanks for making it a special day, girls!

Betsy, me, Lorene

I just thought it was so funny that all three of us had orange shirts on with cream shirts under them. I had to get a picture of it:) Our shirts looked closer in color in real life.

The evening was fun, too. Brad took me to Bajio's and we each got our favorite: I love the chicken green chile salad and he loves the chicken green chile quesadilla. YUM!!! Then we headed back home to open presents. Brad surprised me with a new tennis racket! I love it and I am so excited to get out on a court and try it out. We are going to play tonight. Ready to get schooled, Brad? Just teasing, of course:) Oh, and I also got my very own Nalgene bottle so now I don't have to steal Brad's everyday. Thanks for the great gifts honey! Very thoughtful, practical, and fun.

Getting a feel for the new racket. She's a beauty, isn't she? The racket, I mean.

I appreciate all the gifts from family, as well. You are all so very generous. Thanks for making it a special day everyone! I guess you only turn a quarter of a century once, right?!

The Last Couple of Weeks

The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy between family, church, work, school, etc. But we've been having a lot of fun! So, two weeks ago today we headed for Smithfield after I got home from work. We got to be there when Alan was set apart as a missionary that night. It was fun to be a part of that. Then we visited and stayed the night there, at Brad's parents' home. On Wednesday morning we were able to sing happy birthday to each of the triplets (Alan, Colin, and Megan) and have a special birthday breakfast with them. Then we said our goodbyes to Alan and headed for Idaho. He entered the MTC that afternoon. I'm sure he's a great missionary!

Our last few minutes with Alan

Next on our list was a Call Family Reunion in Salmon, Idaho. This was just with my immediate family. Brad and I met up with my family in Salmon Wednesday afternoon and then we caravaned up to William's Lake. We only had a couple of mishaps on our way there...a flat tire on Ryan's (my bro-in-law) truck and my parents' motorhome overheated. We got it all taken care of and eventually made it to the cabin safe and sound. We stayed in Ryan's uncle's cabin, right next to the lake. The view was beautiful and it was so convenient to have the boat docked right behind the cabin.

Some highlights from our time at William's Lake:

• We spent lots of time boating, wake-boarding, skiing, knee-boarding, and tubing
• Jumped off of a super tall rock into the lake (took me a little bit to work up the courage but I did it--twice!! I'll have to get some pics from my mom)
  
• Floated around in the paddle boat and kayak
• The guys did a little fishing
• Went on a really fun hike up to some natural hot springs. I loved this hike! I've done it before but it's something I would do every year if I could. Basically some of the little pools of water were hot, some were cold, some were in between. And there were several waterfalls which made for some cool pictures. Unfortunately I was in my swimsuit for most of these pics, so I'll spare you:)
• Watched a couple of movies and played Guitar Hero
• The guys went on a really intense but fun 4-wheeler ride (Brad's favorite part!)
• Ate lots of really good food
• Learned how to make neckerchief holder-thingies (I can't think of what they're called) thanks to my dad who was practicing his scouting skills
• Had a fun devotional where we talked about our theme, "True Blue Calls". We each participated and shared our ideas using scriptures and stories that illustrated our theme.
• Did a little shopping at Arfmann's Four Seasons (Ryan's parents' store). Yea for upcoming birthdays!

So after doing all this fun stuff, we were all pretty tired and ready to head to I.F. on Saturday afternoon. So we grabbed some dinner and got on the road. Unfortunately, the motor home wasn't in as big of a hurry to get home as we were. About 10 minutes into the drive, we started seeing smoke billowing from the sides and then from the front and we knew something was definitely wrong. We had it towed and we ended up staying another night in Salmon. Thankfully Ryan's parents were very welcoming and let us all stay there. My dad came with his truck the next day (he had already gone home for a scouting thing) and rescued us. To my knowledge the motor home needed a new transmission and it is still in Salmon getting fixed. Anyway, we got to I.F. just in time for Brad and I to jump into our car and get back to Orem before it got too late. Looking back, it all turned out just fine and it was a good bonding experience for our family. Sorry about the motor home, Mom and Dad!

Here are some pictures from our reunion:

Brad on the knee-board

Showing us all how it's done...Good job Brad!!!

Having some fun in the paddle-boat and kayak

We just finished hiking up to the hot springs and were ready to jump into something nice and cool. Thank goodness there were so many different temperatures to choose from!!

Ryan and Julie...still looking good after an intense hike up the mountain:)

Aawww...the couple pose...yeah, we know we're white:)

The True Blue Calls in our matching shirts that Mom dyed for us. Thanks mom, we love the shirts and the neckerchiefs!

Standing True and Blue :)

Wow, we look young in this picture. I'm in need of some make-up or a shower or something:)

The lake that Brad and Ryan went 4-wheeling to. I thought this was a great picture.

Bro-in-laws just chillin' at the lake

Brad being all manly and loving every minute of this intense 4-wheeler ride

Looks a little rocky...oh, ee, ow...careful:)

Brad said that this part was a lot steeper than it looks...still being all manly;)

Looking good you manly-man!

Footage of the super steep part

So now we are back and busy as ever. We had a ward activity last Saturday, and Brad is the Ward Activities Chairman and I am on the committee. We spent some time over the weekend preparing for that and other church callings. I think the Ward BBQ went well and everyone seemed to have a good time. Since this was the first activity we were in charge of, it was a learning experience and of course there are a few things that we would have done differently, but it all turned out pretty well. Brad did an awesome job grilling up 40 lbs. of chicken tenderloins. It was so funny. When he was finally done, he had black specks and smears all over his face and shirt from the BBQ. And he smelled so strongly of BBQ he was definitely in need of a shower:)

Brad's back into school and we are so glad that this is his second to last semester until he gets his Bachelor's. He just keeps plowing through the classes. Keep it up, honey!!