Master Jen!

***Warning...lots of pictures (and this isn't even most of them)***

Oh graduation, where do I begin. I had been looking forward to this day for 2 years, but when it came I really wasn't ready to actually graduate and be done with school. I was, however, very excited to see my classmates and friends.

Our graduation was at 8am, but I had to be there at 7am in order to get my place in line and make sure everything on my cap and gown was in its proper place. Once that was taken care of we had about 45 minutes to just wait in the tunnel until it was time to walk in. Here are a couple of pictures we took in the tunnel while we waited.

Half of my first year team "Skittle Brains" (Tom Olsen, Me, Dave Gourley). Love these guys and wouldn't have made it through the first year without them!

My spot in line (Me, Eric Anderson, Ed Andrew...aka "The Matchmaker")

Our actual graduation ceremony was very short (1 hour) since it was in August. I wasn't complaining because who really wants to sit through 2+ hours of graduation and I also didn't want my poor family to have to sit there for that long either! Here are some pictures Stacy shot as I walked across the floor.

Me laughing at something Matt is telling me during graduation. He was so disruptive :)

Shaking the Dean's hand

Me shaking Dr. Monte Swain's hand (Managerial Accounting Professor)


Hugging "Sugar Daddy Rad" (Professor Radebaugh who went on my trip with me)


The graduate!My parents and Stacy (and all 3 girls!) came to support me. I felt very loved.


Future MBA's....

Does that face get any sweeter?

Ringing the victory bell (I'm pretty sure Jimmer's germs from ringing it this season were transferred to me!)
My favorite picture of the day (good shot Stace!)
After the ceremony we had a reception where all of my classmates and our families could mingle. It was great to see everyone again and for my family to meet some of my dear friends. Hopefully I didn't neglect them for too long. Here are a few photos (I promise that this is a small few of the many that I have).

Me, Mary, Melinda, Mike and Todd


Brent, Gwen, Laura, Mike, Chad, Me, Mary

Mindy, Darren, Chad, Joe, Melinda, Jen, Laura

Melinda, Laura, Me, Mark, Chris, Mary, Mike

Nate, Dave, Todd, Melinda and I with Tad and Debbie (our program directors)

Showing off our capes and our smolders....lethal combination!


A few days prior to graduation Mary, Melinda, Todd & I went and took pictures at night so that we wouldn't have to fight the crowds at the important spots on campus. The funny thing is that we got many honks and congrats from passerby's. Most of these people were old people, but who knew!

Me showing off my graduate "wings." Seriously who decided this was the type of gown we should wear when you get a Masters degree?

Riding the Cougar (it was actually quite hot to sit on)


Y mountain in the background, full sign. Great picture Todd!!

Mary, Melinda, Me, Todd at the waterfall


And my favorite.....a picture of "JeM&M (Jen, Mary and Melinda)


It was a great day and I'm so sad that school is over. I honestly had no idea how much I would miss it, but now everyone is required to call me "Master Jen"

Stewart Falls

We had our own FHE one night and BBQ'd hamburgers and then hiked Stewart Falls. I haven't hiked it in years and I forgot what a wonderful and beautiful hike it is. Since we hiked it on a Monday night we of course had many FHE groups that we came across. The best part was on the way down when one of the guys in the group behind us just assumed we were in his ward and started talking to us. We didn't let him know that we were likely 10 years older than him! If he thinks we are 22 then we will be 22 :)

Me, Suzanne, Mary, Camille, Kim

Look at those guns! (Me, Suzanne, Mary, Camille)
All 5 of us at the waterfall (Mary, Suzanne, Kim, Me, Camille)

Idina Menzel @ Deer Valley

This year we went to Deer Valley again to see the Utah Symphony and Idina Menzel perform. Any of you who have seen Wicked probably know that Idina was the original Elphaba (green witch) in Wicked. If you have seen Wicked you know why this was the best concert ever. If you haven't seen Wicked then you should see it ASAP (even though Idina is no longer playing Elphaba).

We bought tickets for this way back in March or April so we were pretty excited. We also realized that July 31st was National Cheesecake Day so we naturally went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner (and half-priced cheesecake)!

The concert was outside at Deer Valley. It is a beautiful venue. Rain threatened, but the show went on and it was amazing. She was way funnier than I thought she would be, loved Utah and had all these funny Utah stories from the various times she has been here (Zions, Arches, etc). I swear when she sang Defying Gravity that it echoed off the mountains! Simply amazing!

Here are some pictures from the evening

Me, Kim, Camille


Kristan, Kathy, Linda, Elisa


All of us before the concert eating our cheesecakes.....


All of us after the concert!

4th of July

This past 4th of July was so fun, mostly because Nicole came into town and I didn't have to work. As previously mentioned our plans (at least for me) had to be rescheduled as I had a torn calf muscle and was unable to hike the Y and run the 10K. Luckily the weekend was still SO much fun.

Friday night Elisa, Kathy, Nicole and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. We were there from 5:30-10. I'm pretty sure that we were not their favorite customers on a Friday night, but we had a lot to talk about!

Saturday morning everyone except me hiked the Y (I got in a wonderful arm weight lifting session trying to pretend it counted as an actual workout). Then we went to Connie's pool and caught up on our latest gossip (our own as well as Hollywood's......). Then we went shopping at Nordstrom where I spent entirely too much money. Afterwards we grabbed Cafe Rio and headed to Stadium of Fire. Luckily Suzanne had hooked us up with parking passes right next to the stadium. We pulled up, took our Cafe Rio to some shade and ate while we people watched everyone walking into the stadium.

Then it was time for Stadium of Fire. I love Brad Paisley and have previously attended his concert. Stadium of Fire was no different. We had great seats, great company and Brad Paisley seriously put on the best show.


On Sunday we BBQ'd, ate dinner together and watched So You Think You Can Dance. We had so much fun just laughing. I love these girls!

We couldn't figure out the timer for a while. I love this picture though because it shows how much fun everyone has!


And a good one...

Broken Calf

So right before my super fun 4th of July weekend I was playing softball. I was playing deep in the outfield and someone hit is pretty high, but shallow. Being the quick runner I am (ha, ha) I thought that I could for sure sprint up and get under it to catch it. Well I took one step into my sprint and felt my calf just pop. It felt like someone had shot me with a BB gun and I heard it pop. I knew something not so great had happened so I was hesitant to put weight on it. After I got the courage to try I realized it was really cramping up.

So after 20 minutes of massaging it and walking around trying to loosen it up I decided to go to Instacare and see what was up because it just didn't feel the same as my other one. Jenny was there and felt it and also thought the same thing as me.....that it felt squishy.

To make a long story short I tore my calf muscle. I was in a walking boot for a week and then I couldn't run or do anything too explosive for a couple other weeks. This made my weekend of fun with Nicole (hiking the Y, running the 10K) not as fun for me (more on that later).

The saddest part is that I now have lopsided calves and it will take probably 6-8 months for full recovery. I'm back running and for the most part it is okay, but it gets sore and stiff more than my other one does especially going uphill. I also can't really do any sports or "explosive" movements yet. Running is okay because it is so repetitive, but it was not a fan of Zumba a couple weeks ago!

I wonder which calf was injured......

MonaVie Lagoon Day

This year MonaVie had their summer party at Lagoon. I love roller coasters and lagoon is always a fun place. I was able to get some extra tickets so I took Suzanne, Kim, Mary and Aaron with me. There were pretty much no lines so it was a perfect day to be at Lagoon. We had a great time.

We all got a refillable mug. It is the biggest mug I have ever seen!


We fit all 5 of us in one log on the log ride. Let's just say that when you weigh that much you get soaked!


And then we got even wetter on Rattlesnack Rapids...

Kim and I got the brunt of the water on Rattlesnake Rapids.

But we all got pretty wet.....good thing it was hot!

We had a great time and it was way more fun then being at work!

Robertson Family Reunion

It was great to get together with all my cousins and aunts and uncles. I even was lucky enough to have Kevin and Ang and their 4 kids stay at my house. It was great to see them (and everyone else). It seems that our family has been overtaken by children!! Seriously when did this happen? Here are some pictures.