St George

I was so lucky to be able to get a ride down to St George with the Jenson's, since Ryan was already in Vegas. Look at this cutie:

My parents were there as well since my mom had a work conference. I had a volunteer meeting Friday night then I went out to eat with my parents and Grandma. My grandma's favorite place is Golden Coral. We loaded up on food. Grandma told us that Grandpa used to always get a root beer float. So we ate some in his honor.

Isn't my dad cute!? Love him.

We stopped by my Aunt's house on the way home and my cousin showed me all the outfits she has for her cat. It was hysterical! My new goal is to get one of our cats in something like that. Can you imagine???!!! Hilarious.  

My old Bishop (he served when we got married) and his wife are serving a mission in St George so we stopped by the Visitor's Center hoping to see them. They were there! It just so happened to be  Elder/Bishop Sorenson's birthday! This couple is great. They call each ward member on their birthdays and sing to them. He has a great voice, by the way, and plays the trombone. He directed the music in our stake musical years ago when we did "The Music Man." I danced with their granddaughter on Dance Company in High School too. Sister Sorenson kept calling him dear, sweety, and honey, and had to keep correcting it to Elder, it was funny.

My grandma's church is the one right across from the Temple. It's so neat that my mom got to grow up so close to it and I so close to Jordan River. What a blessing it is to live in Utah! 

If you know my dad you know he's handy. He can literally do/make/fix/create/remodel/build anything!! 

He's remodeled his house twice, built their shed, his garage, landscaped our yard, built the deck, tiled the house, not to mention he's a mechanic so he keeps all our vehicles/toys/mowers in tip-top shape. Just to name a few. He's also a plumber, electrician, etc. You name it, he can do it!!! He's pretty much amazing. They say some women will marry a man like their dad. I really did. Ryan's just as great.

 Every time my dad visits grandma she's got a project for him. This time she wanted her front porch tiled. He spent the whole weekend doing it and it turned out great! She loves it.

My dad took these pictures for us right before we left in front of the famous picture wall.

P.S. Ryan and I both have tons of family in St George. My mom went to High School with his dad and our grandparents knew each other. Small world. It's always fun to visit.

What's Happening Wednesday

01. We got a statement in the mail yesterday for Ryan's MRI back in August. Instead of paying $2300, like we planned, we only had to pay $850. Our insurance picked up the rest. What a blessing!
02. Went to a relief society pie demonstration activity and cookie exchange. It got me excited for the Holidays.
03. Found out a dear friend from college is getting married.
04. My weekend trip to Vegas/St. George was great - didn't want to leave the warm weather. More details later.
05. Missed our regional stake conference with Elder Bednar. Bummer
06. Attended the St George temple with my mom and grandma
07. Finished Book II of the Hunger Games. Picking up Book III tonight.
08. Listened to a book on cd and got home before it was over. I had to call my mom at work to find out who the murderer was.
09. A pen went through the wash and got blue ink on a few things. Frustrated.
10. Excited for our Halloween festivities this weekend.

Ragnar Relay Las Vegas

Back in July Ryan was challenged by some friends to run with them in the Ragnar. They were just getting their group together, so feeling confident and in need of a challenge to get in shape, he agreed. He ran off an on but really got serious last month. I trained with him towards the end and we've both really gotten bit by the running bug. I was so glad I got the opportunity to be there at the finish line and cheer him on. I'm extremely proud of him and all the hard work and dedication he's put forth. He had a great time and did so well! He was runner #11 Their team name was The Impersonators so they had the "flasher", a biker, Marilyn Monroe, Richard Simmons, and others. Ryan was Dustin Pedroia from the Red Sox. The course was from Lake Mead to Las Vegas 188 miles. Ryan ran 11.8 miles total. The team finished in 29 hours, 12 minutes.

Here are the pictures I got from the finish line:

These next pictures are from Ryan along the way:

What's Happening Wednesday

01. We've had our heater running for almost 2 weeks now. Stupid weather.
02. I got to touch a page from the original King James Bible, a 400 year old paper.
03. Signed up for MOTAB Christmas concert tickets. Haven't been since I was in it.
04. Taking 2,000 IU of Vitamin D every day to combat those winter blues.
05. Been running a few times a week with Ryan. He runs the Ragnar this weekend!
06. Watched "Cry, The Beloved Country" with Ryan for extra credit. Signed up for a free 30 day Netflix trial to watch it. Great movie. Powerful story on forgiveness.
07. Currently reading "Catching Fire" -about halfway through. I'm loving it. and I love goodreads
08. I love my mom's movie recommendations, although she doesn't always like mine. "The Next Three Days" "Amish Grace" -watch them.
09. I'm now the 2nd counselor in YW's instead of the Beehive adviser because we have no Beehives.
10. Updated our iphones to iOS 5 and love the new features. Wish we could get the iPhone 4S

Halloween Costume Ideas

I love holidays, and Halloween is no exception. I love to decorate, go to corn mazes/haunted houses and dress up.  If you are looking for costume ideas, here are some links from Halloweenmart.com to give you some inspiration this year.   The costumes on the website are organized by categories:

1. Adult Halloween Costumes

                                 Including Western costumes and superhero costumes

2. Kids Halloween Costumes

Clown costumes for kids, kids movie costumes, and kids holiday costumes. They also have plus size costumes, decor and accessories. Right now they are offering 75% off their costumes. Halloween is in about 3 weeks so now's the time to get ready!

New Clothing Store

Guest post from: Constance Rodgers


I logged onto shopeelectrcityratestexas.com last week as we were nearing the completion of our new shop. I compared the electricity rates as one of the last few things that I needed to do before we open in two weeks. I have never owned a business before, but managed a retail store like my new one for the last five years. I will be selling women’s contemporary clothing. I think with my new proximity closer to the college campus and with lots of foot traffic we will have a niche. I spent the last six months working on the business plan and actual design on the store. The interior is simple and the clothes will be easy to see and go through ( I hate having to pick through things). I also have visited the clothing marts in L.A., New York, and Atlanta. I have found an eclectic mix of merchandise, but I think that there will be something for everyone. I did not want to have a clothing store where you could only be a size two to find something cute to wear. I am excited and can’t wait to call myself a business owner.

Night in Park City

 We got to stay in Park City Friday night with some friends, thanks to my sister, who let us use her timeshare. We enjoyed dinner at Ruby Tuesday, games, and snacks all night. Their condo is at Westgate Resort & Spa. There is an 18 and older pool, hot tub, sauna and steam room that we really enjoyed. See how relaxed we look?

I couldn't get enough of how beautiful the canyon was. The pictures don't do it justice. I have been loving this warm weather (until today) and enjoyed it while it lasted...