The 4th of July is my FAVORITE holiday. This year I went up to Logan to spend the weekend with Amber, Scott, Ashley and Andrew. I had a great time! Here is a recap of what we did.
The first stop was the pool. I actually made it to the pool before I made it to the McAllister's house :) It was a warm and beautiful day. I even convinced Ashley to float on a noodle and "blow bubbles" which she did with her mouth (not her nose).
That night we went to see the Cache Valley fireworks show (yes on July 3rd). It was a beautiful evening and the rain held off which was good because Ashley was VERY concerned that it might rain and we would have to leave!
Also planned for the weekend was painting the kitchen and the front room. We decided to let Ashley start off the painting....she then took a nap so we could finish :)
For the 4th of July we went the the "Cruise In" parade where they basically shut down the Main street of Logan for a parade of cars where people drive their rebuilt cars up and down the street for 2.5 hours. I seriously laughed so hard at how popular this was. Here are some pictures.....
These are the types of cars you would see. For some reason Amber was obsessed with getting a picture of the "Back to the Future" car.
Also one reason I love going to Logan is that the McAllisters grill all the time and AWESOME food. We had shishkabobs, chicken on a can (soda can), BBQ'd pizza, Pasookies......they seriously cook so much GREAT food, but of course keep all their recipes to themselves. Amber also made me run 6 miles with her since she is training for a half marathon. Well I wish I had been training like the last 2 years because it would have made for a much more enjoyable run. I've only been casually running 3-4 miles a 1-2 times a week this year. Needless to say only one of us ran the whole time.....and it wasn't me. I guess training does help!
Sorry it has taken me a while to post this trip. I've been trying out some new mosaics and it hasn't been the quickest process. Also this is a VERY, VERY, VERY long post so if you get bored I understand, but I will be happy when my blog book comes next year and there are pictures throughout the post to keep you occupied.
A couple of weeks ago Amber & I headed to Orlando. It was a part work, part play trip. Monavie was having one of their Regional Events down there and needed a few more cashiers so Amber got to come along. We were in charge of the Monavie product store where we sell Monavie branded apparel and sales tools to distributors attending the event. It is like a mini-convention. We helped to set up the store, work in it while it was open the next day (8-6) and then took it down. The store was very busy and time went by really fast which is great for those of you who have ever worked at these convention type events.
On Friday night one of our vendors took us all out to dinner. Not just dinner, but a super fancy nice dinner at the #1 steakhouse in America, Charley's. Amber and I thought it would be wise to split the 24 oz. steak since we are older and I'm not sure my waistline would recover from eating the whole thing. The iPhone photo doesn't do it justice, but trust me it was the BEST steak I've ever eaten. Not to mention all of the delicious side dishes and dessert we ate along with it.
Here are some pictures of the event and the steak:
After the event was over it was time to PLAY! Amber & I extended a day and decided to do a hopper pass at Disney World. Since it was spring break we were prepared for hours in line and had our schedule of all the rides we wanted to go on at each park. We were very, very surprised that most rides had less than a 20 minute wait and usually we were waiting in an air conditioned line (what an awesome idea!). I was very, very impressed with Disney World and how clean and efficient it was. It really is the happiest place on earth even for 2 adults!! Our planning worked out perfectly and we got to go on all the rides we had planned to as well as many, many others.
Here is a re-cap of each park. I have learned that the wind blown, hot sweaty amusement park look is not my best look....oh well!!
#1 - Our first stop was Hollywood Studios. Since Amber and I are getting older we had come prepared and taken motion sickness medicine to make sure our trip to Disney World was enjoyable. This medicine was not enough for Amber who puked all over me and her on the simulated ride "Star Tours." Yes, that's right....Amber puked on me. GROSS!!!! To her credit she did a good job of aiming for our legs (easy to wash) and didn't hit any other riders who were also on the ride (lucky for them!). And I was happy (and disgusted) that she kept most of it in her mouth and swallowed it (yep that is disgusting, but I would have had even more on me if she hadn't done that).
My favorite rides were 'Aerosmith's Rockin Roller Coaster' which was an awesome roller coaster that just launched you into the dark unexpectedly. I also really liked the 'Tower of Terror' which basically shot you up and down and elevator shaft as part of the Twilight Zone. We also went on the new 'Toy Story' ride that was our longest wait of the day, but a pretty fun ride in 3D. I seriously don't understand how 3D works but it was cool except that Amber beat me on the target shooting during the ride :(
Next Stop.....EPCOT
Epcot was my least favorite of all the parks from a ride perspective, but it was definitely the most beautiful of all the parks. There were flowers everywhere and they had all the Disney prince and princesses landscaped. They were made out of flowers, grass, trees, etc. Seriously way cool!
We really only went on 1 ride here (Mission to Mars) which was another simulated ride that made us a tad sick, but also I really don't understand how they made it seem like I was blasting off into space. My face was flapping in the wind and my ears were popping and it felt just like blasting off into space would. Seriously, how do they do that when I know that I haven't even left the ground?
We also ate at Epcot in the country of "China." We had glorified Panda Express, but it was tasty, we were starving and only cost $8 with a drink. Seriously I was surprised that the food was reasonably priced.
Stop #3 was the Animal Kingdom. We really liked the Animal Kingdom and went on several rides there. We got there as instructed during the Parade so everyone was watching the parade while we enjoyed the rides. A couple of our favorites were:
Dinosaur Ride - I'm not sure what it was called, but was a roller coaster that turned around like a tea cup while on a track, but also was much like the dreaded Wild Mouse at Lagoon where you feel you might fall off the track! It was fun though.
Mt Everest Ride - This roller coaster was AWESOME! It had so many unexpected twist and turns and had the whole Abominable Snowman tearing apart the track theme! You went in and out of 'Mt Everest' and at one point the track ended and you went backwards through the ride. It was pretty cool.
Safari trip - They have a safari trip where you can see the animals in their "natural" surroundings. I hate to tell you this isn't like watching animals at the zoo. We were in a jeep and the animals were just roaming around the road. No fences, nothing. No biggie that we had giraffes, rhino's, elephants, crocodiles, etc, etc just roaming free. Good thing they are "used" to people and didn't attack us cause they certainly could if they wanted to. I even contemplated if perhaps they weren't real since it seems like a huge liability, but they said they were so I believe them.
Here are some pictures of the Animal Kingdom.
Our final stop of the day was the Magic Kingdom. We got there about 6pm and spent the rest of the night there. We went on favorites such as Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, & Pirates of the Caribbean. We had so much time left while we waited for the fireworks to start that we got to go on It's a Small World, Winnie the Pooh, the Carousel, Peter Pan, etc. We did some shopping and ate. There were seriously no lines! Sadly we didn't get to do Space Mountain since it was closed for repairs.
We also had time to meet Belle, Cinderella, and Aurora. We did wait in line for 10 minutes with NO kids to meet these princesses. I felt under dressed for the occasion since all the little girls were dressed as their favorite princess and I was in shorts. We got some looks, but we were on a special mission. See Amber needed a picture of Cinderella for Ashley (yeah Amber that makes up for not taking her to Disney World...LOL!) . Anyways, I got the bright idea that we should video Cinderella saying something to Ashley. Being the smart Mom that Amber is she thought we needed to have Cinderella saying something to Ashley like "Princesses don't cry or whine" so that Amber can use it to her parenting advantage. Needless to say the video is PRICELESS and I'm sure it will be used a lot in the McAllister home.
The last day was spent swimming at the pool before we took a late afternoon flight home. Since it wasn't super sunny we actually played in the pool and had a photo shoot.
Also I got HUGE blisters on the balls of each of my feet. I think working the convention the day before (all day) and then walking all over Disney World took it's toll on my feet. They made me walk so slowly that this is how I made my way through the Orlando airport. Let me tell you this it the WAY to go. I think I may fake an injury next time!!!
And finally......A couple of pictures of our hotel room......not to shabby!!
Some of you may or may not know that I have been applying to graduate school. Monavie will pay for a ton of my schooling so I would be stupid to not take advantage of such a perk!
Well the verdict is in and I will be attending (drum roll please)..................
I was accepted to all 3 universities in the area (BYU, U of U and Utah State (remote program)) which made the decision mine to make. After doing a logical analysis I just couldn't turn down the opportunity to go the Y. Their program is a Tier I school and is #22 in the nation.
So school starts on Aug 3 and I'm excited and nervous. I will be in their EMBA program that meets from 6-9 Tues and Thursday nights for the next 2 years. Am I ready to go to school AND work full-time? Will I remember anything from my Finance undergrad? I guess we will find out....LOL
Don't get me wrong......I am all for spring to be here and to put away my snowboard for good. But if it is going to snow then I'm going to take advantage of it. Today I took a "Snow Day" from work and spent a full day at Sundance cruising through the powder with my friend Wendy.
The powder was AWESOME and it is a great way to end the season (see how I'm willing spring to be here??). In addition to the powder I was lucky enough to have lunch with Robert Redford and stare at him and all his beauty as he talked to my friend Wendy about the book she just wrote and that he is interested in reading (they had talked previously). He was totally nice and remembered her and is very, very interesting in reading her manuscript and helping her to get it published. So pretty much she is going to be famous soon and on Oprah promoting her book (its a biography) and I'm going to get to tell everyone I was there when it all went down. Hopefully she'll get me tickets to Oprah!!
Here are some pictures and videos of the day (you don't have to watch them all if you don't want to, but they made me laugh).
Check out these powder shots!!
My awesome skills until I crash at the end...LOL!!!
Me attacking Bishop's Bowl
Wendy - I promise she is better than this run indicates, but I was laughing so hard when she crashed right into me (her photographer)
My sweet Aunt Mary passed away last week on March 16th. She had held on for a long time, but died peacefully with family around her. Her funeral was this past Wednesday and it was one of the best funerals I've ever been to. Mary was finally free from her handicapped mortal body and it was time to celebrate her life. I can only imagine the sweet reunion she had with her Mom and Dad and many others when she passed to the other side.
Her funeral was beautiful. In addition to seeing so many family members many of Mary's handicapped friends were there. With so many sweet spirits I literally felt I was surrounded by angels (in addition to the many actual angels I'm sure were also present). I was deeply touched when her roommate, Ann (who is also Down Syndrome), was the first to pay her respects after the family prayer by running to the coffin to give Mary a kiss on the forehead. It was so touching!! Her funeral really reminded me what a sweet spirit she really had.
Here are my top 5 favorite Aunt Mary "isms"
1. Jingle Bell Rock at Christmas time. This is a Christmas tradition that I will greatly miss. It was a Christmas tradition that I really looked forward to. Even in the last years of her life she would take off her oxygen and do her choreographed dance to "Jingle Bell Rock."
2. Mary Poppins & The Sound of Music - She watched these movies everyday of her life. I truly believe that my love of these movies is directly related to her love of these movies. It was only fitting that at her funeral we heard a piano solo of "Climb Every Mountain." Talk about bringing me to tears!!!
3. Teasing her - She was so fun to tease. She took it so well and often had a great comeback. I especially loved it when she would say "yeah right!" I loved that phrase!!
4. Being "reprimanded" by her - If Mary didn't like what you were doing she made sure you knew it. Often she would beckon you aside and let you know of her disapproval. I especially loved hearing what her "punishments" were going to be. She always came up with some great ones such as "taking away the ribbons for your hair."
5. Her imaginary kids. She had 1,000 imaginary kids and she would at random talk to them, discipline them, etc. She also told me that I could marry one of her kids. I considered the offer, but thought that it wouldn't work out since that would be marrying my first cousin...LOL!
I will miss her. I truly believe that her presence at so many family functions and throughout my life helped me to grow as a person. Her sweet spirit was evident wherever she went. During our final good-bye's I did tell her to tell my future kids hello and that I'm sorry and trying hard to get them here to earth. Hopefully she passed on the message....
Here are some pictures from the funeral (sorry there are so many, but it will help my blog book at the end of the year).
Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I promise to be better in the future, but not much has been going on.
Today I took Madison to the Draper Temple dedication (at our Stake Center). Since Jenny & Scott were out of town on a cruise I thought perhaps Madi would like to attend her first temple dedication with me. Since she is only 8 I knew she probably wouldn't "get" most of what was going on, but I hoped to just add to her reservoir of spiritual experiences in her childhood that will hopefully keep her on the straight and narrow as she gets older.
Well Aunt Jen did not really plan accordingly for an 8 year old to sit quietly for 2 hours. We got there about 40 minutes early (instead of the instructed 30 minutes early) and being the bright Aunt that I am I didn't bring anything to entertain Madi while we waited. Not even scriptures she could read. She had her white hankerchief and that is it. Needless to say Madi was bored to tears after about 20 min.....and the temple dedication hadn't even started yet. Here are some one-liners from her in what had to have been the longest 2 hours of her life to date:
"Jen, I'm not thinking this is very fun yet"
"Jen I think my tummy hurts, I think I'm getting sick"
10 minutes later......."Jen, my tummy really, really hurts. I probably need to go home." (Note as I asked more clarifying questions I determined that she was "faking" sick, especially since she was magically better the second we started walking to the car. I even called her on it and asked if she was faking to which she said "no" but i know better :))
Regarding the dedicatory prayer - "That was the longest prayer I've EVER seen or heard" (it was probably 5-7 minutes long at least). She did sit with her arms folded the whole time, but got really squirmy for the last 2 minutes.
To her credit she really did great. Her acting skills did have me thinking for a bit that she might actually be sick and had me trying to figure out how I was going to handle a sudden sprint to the bathroom (if necessary). However, once I gave her my watch to play with she never discussed being sick again....LOL!
When all is said and down I was sick of sitting on the hard chairs too so I can't really fault her. As Aunt Carol welcomed her home Madi proceeded to say "Yeah! Finally!" Guess I can't fault her for that. She probably hasn't had to sit that still with nothing to entertain her ever in her life. Hopefully she doesn't equate her boredom at the temple dedication with going to the temple in the future. Guess she is still only 8......
I realize it has been over a month since I posted. I guess there hasn't been much going on to blog about. However yesterday was a GREAT day. The day was started by going snowboarding. The weather was BEAUTIFUL (even though the snow was not). My new ski buddy, Wendy, joined me on the slopes. It has been really fun boarding with her and reconnecting since we grew up together, but haven't been in the best contact over the years. It is also so much more fun to go with someone then to go alone. I was so happy to have on my sun glasses and just enjoyed the gorgeous weather. Here are a few pictures from the top of the lift at Sundance....always looking my best as a ski bunny (LOL!)
When I came home it was too nice. I had to keep enjoying the weather so I ran outside in shorts and a t-shirt. Although I sometimes hate running I could have run forever yesterday I was enjoying the weather so much. It was SO nice to just be outside running with my iPod.
Then Stacy and I went to the Cafe Rio and then to the Jazz/Hornets game. It was touching to be there as they honored Larry H Miller's passing. I was choked up, but fortunately not sobbing like Stacy was :) The game was awesome and I'll just say that Deron Williams OWNS Chris Paul. Man I love Deron and love watching him and Paul go at it. I had so much fun being there with Stace and chatting. It is sad that it was only her 2nd game this whole year. I planned on taking pictures, but I forgot so here is one from last year that I know Stacy will love seeing reposted since she is super pregnant in it. You can thank me later Pak!
Unfortunately the day ended with me having a sore throat that has persisted through today. Luckily this minor sickness did not ruin a beautiful Saturday! Now I have spring fever big time!
For the 4th of July we went the the "Cruise In" parade where they basically shut down the Main street of Logan for a parade of cars where people drive their rebuilt cars up and down the street for 2.5 hours. I seriously laughed so hard at how popular this was. Here are some pictures.....
These are the types of cars you would see. For some reason Amber was obsessed with getting a picture of the "Back to the Future" car.
