Supporting the Locals

I love Josh for many reasons. There's lots to love about him. One thing that I love about him is that whenever we see one of these, he stops and buys a glass. He says it's to "support the local lemonade stands."

I have to say, lemonade stands these days have stepped it up! I remember being a kid and only offering lemonade and maybe some cookies. This particular business had (very good) lemonade, cookies, rice krispie treats, and candy. They even had a disclaimer posted (the white sheet to Josh's left) that, in effect, said "all proceeds will go to their parents to pay them back." Haha! Since when did people worry about where the money went from these temporary establishments?

Happy Summer!

Chalk Festival

The first chalk festival I heard of was one held at my high school. I was so impressed with the drawings kids my age had done. They looked like professional paintings on the sidewalk. They appeared so real that I wanted to pick them up and carry them home. The colors were so rich and the images so crisp. Little did I know at the time that Josh, my future esposo, was one of the artists. He and another student did a chalk drawing of Van Gogh's Starry Night. Isn't it beautiful? I wish he had snapped a picture of his work. But I'm 100% sure it looked exactly like the one above. It was so good, in fact, that he was invited to the Chalk Festival in SLC that year to do it again. However, vacations were already scheduled and he wasn't able to make it.

So when I heard about the Chalk Festival this year and our friends Mike and Dasha invited us to go with them, I really wanted to go. There were SO many drawings and tons of people milling around admiring the work. Below are a few of my favorites.

gotta love Norman Rockwell

you'll have to click on this one above to see how much detail there is...amazing!

{the festival was a fundraiser for foster kids, thus the theme "foster parents are magical."}

one of the best movies!

Frozen Flavored Happiness!!

Yep, I've waited a long time for these little shacks to start popping up all over town. I had to wait a little longer this year because summer didn't decide to hit the wasatch front until a few days ago.

You can bet I'll be using cash at the grocery store just to get coins so I can buy one of these pretties.

Frozen Flavored Happiness!!

My fellow supporter in my snowcone addiction.

love affair with snow

I wanted to start this by saying I have a confession, but anyone who knows Josh and I already know what I would confess. By definition that means it's not really a confession. We have a love affair with snow. The deep, light, fluffy stuff that Mother Nature dumped week after week this past winter. It made our hearts happy.

I've often said that snow skiing is my favorite sport and summer is my favorite season. One of my friends once told me that is impossible; that I couldn't possibly love summer more than I love snow skiing. Ha! Odd, but true! I think you have to embrace each season with something you are passionate about. Winter would be much too long without a love affair with snow.

02.14.11 Heart Day

Even though Josh and I have only been married for three years, we've shared five Valentines Days together. Looking back, the first one has to be the most comical. We had "broken up" two days before Valentines Day. Then commenced a series of ironic happenstances...

#1 When the blessed V-day holiday rolled around, we decided we still wanted to share that evening together. So Josh drove to Provo in the rain to take me out to dinner at our favorite local restaurant there, Brick Oven.
#3 As I got in his Mighty Max truck, we exchanged notes sharing reasons why we admired and cherished one another.
#4 We walked into Brick Oven and, low and behold, my parents and older brother (by 3 years) were sitting in a booth eating dinner!
#5 Not ones to shy from family fun, we joined them in their booth!
#6 The night was still young when we finished eating, and we weren't ready to end the night. So Josh & I did what any co-ed in Provo would do and went bowling at Fat Cats.
#7 My brother came with us!
#8 When the party was over, Josh took be back to my dorm, and he and my brother drove home together. And from what Josh has said, he and my brother sat in the driveway of my parents for quite some time talking about missions, girls, school, etc. Ya know, all that man stuff.

As it all unfolded that night, I thought it was fine. It really was a lot of fun! Afterall, I was with two of my best friends! Oh, the irony of that night.

A couple years later we resumed our dating relationship, obviously. We're married. Since then we've taken turns planning & executing the great love day of the year. It's been alot of fun, I highly recommend it. This year was my turn and I was so excited! Josh had to work a long day so I came up with some fun ideas to make the entire day special for him.

Got up at 6am and heart attacked his car. Surprise!

I made a surprise visit to Josh at work with these balloons and frosted valentines sugar cookies. Surprise! He loved the attention. He then came home to a homemande applie pie {his favorite dessert}, a list I made of 14 Things I Love about him, and a little gift to purchase later.

Then headed to Macaroni Grill for dinner. Yum!

My gift from Josh {inside the card it said I could "read to my hearts content." He knows me well!}

I absolutely LOVE surprises! If I can surprise Josh, I consider it a job well done, especially if I can embarrass him a little too. This Valentine's Day was a job well done :) Love you, Josh!

Runnin' runnin' runnin'

The idea of running has been a part of my life for a long time. My mom has been a runner as long as I've known her. I've been at the finish line more times than I remember watching for her and then cheering as loudly as I could when she came by. Most of the races I went to of hers were the St. George marathon. She ran several on her own and then ran a whole bunch of them with my sister, Stephanie. They both inspired me. There's something magical about the chute leading to the finish line of a long race like that. With the crowd yelling and the athletes pushing it with their last ounce of effort to finish, the moment of it all brings out your emotions! At one of those races, I made the decision that one day I would be a participant instead of a spectator.

That goal sat in my mind for a few years. A marathon is a big deal. It takes a lot of effort, training, and drive. I started running on my own in high school. I worked my way up to 3 miles and was proud of myself. I moved to college and met other friends who liked to run, so we'd go on jogs together around campus occassionally. At the end of my sophomore year of college, I decided I would run the St. George marathon. I signed up for it with my mom and sister, got in, and began running. But my training fizzled quickly. It was too hard. And so, the thought sat in my mind for another few years. I ran a lot of 5k's, 10k's, and half marathons and really enjoyed it.

Finally came the time where my desire and my actions coincided. I began training for a marathon in February 2010 and maintained a strict, consistent running schedule. Each day was monumental because each day I ran further than I ever had!

After months of training, THE day came. And it was a perfect day. The weather, the experience, how I felt, how I ran, everything was perfect. I ran the Top of Utah Marathon (by myself after training by myself) on Sept 18, 2010. I was so nervous that morning that I thought, I'm not doing this. And then I thought of my mom (diagnosed with a brain tumor 3 days before race day), and realized that I had to do it. And so I did, with major support and encouragement of my husband/coach, who had supported, encouraged and pushed me through all my training. It was one of the best experiences of my life. And so I've kept running.

Top of Utah Marathon Sept 2010

Salt Lake City Marathon April 2011

My sister, Alicia, ran the last 4 miles with me!

Enjoy the Journey

I have been a little MIA lately, for a handful of reasons. This blog resembles my personal journal in that I have many resolutions to start and several breaks in between those resolutions. But such is life! The nice summer weather and a little vacation has motivated me to recommit to updating this blog with our happenings.

One of the reasons for my little hiatus is due to the fact that my family's life took a turn for the unexpected. In September 2010 my mom was diagnosed with brain cancer; glioblastoma specifically. Not the news you expect to hear, want to hear, or ever imagine hearing. Cancer always affects other people, but not you. In reality, it likely will affect you. For quite some time I've been learning how to handle it and I wasn't in the mood to blog happy thoughts, or sad thoughts for that matter. I've learned many things during the last 9 months. Most of them I am grateful for. The thing I am most grateful for is my family and for the sealing power of the priesthood that has bound us together for eternity. It is remarkable how there are miracles and blessings in the face of adversity and tragedy. God never leaves us, and for that I am grateful as well.

Fortunately, my mom is doing considerably well for what the doctors expected. She had surgery the day following her diagnosis, and went through radiation therapy and chemotherapy until a few months ago when it got to be too much for her body to handle. Since she stopped treatment, her quality of life has actually improved. Things aren't like they were before the cancer, but they are better than where we have been. And for that, I am grateful. Josh and I get to make dinner with my mom and dad every Tuesday and spend the evening together. It's one of my favorite nights of the week. We also have many family dinners on Sundays together with the rest of my growing family -- 3 baby nephews on the way this summer! And of course lots of chats over the phone and visits as often as we can.

I've resolved that there are reasons why hard things happen in our lives. Ultimately, I believe it's to strengthen our relationship with our Heavenly Father and with one another, and to truly know what it means to trust in the Lord. I am very close with my mom and so this has been quite the challenge. But fortunately, I have an amazing husband, a wonderful family, incredible in-laws, great friends, and most of all, a completely understanding Savior. And so with that, I close this (not so short) post. For my own reasons, I plan on posting some events of the past few months and, of course, the present. Enjoy the journey!