San Diego with Sarah

Sarah Skankey and I recently went to San Diego. Both of our husbands work and we are both teachers, so we decided on a girls trip to San Diego. My dad hooked us up with a SWEET hotel in the best location downtown. We loved walking every where and taking the trolley every where. We went to Sea World, the beach, a Padres game, and we did a lot of shopping and eating. We found some cute restaurants and explored the city. Sarah, thanks for a great time!

Tim McGraw Concert

My blogging is a bit out of order, but in early August, Rich and I went to the Tim McGraw concert with Kim and Chris. We LOVED it!! Our seats were pretty cheap, but they weren't bad at all. We were in the back on the left side, and Tim McGraw entered from our side!! I was close to the aisle, so I ran down a few rows while he was coming out. He touched my hand, and I loved it! The music was awesome, and we really had the best night!

Cruisin' it Up!

A few weeks ago, Rich and I went on a cruise to the Western Carribean! It was AWESOME!! We took a red eye to Miami on a Friday night, and boarded the cruise ship Saturday afternoon. We went to three ports: Cozumel, Mexico, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica. We loved them all!

In Cozumel, we went four wheeling through the jungle and saw a few Mayan ruins. We went with a really funny group, and were loving the whole experience. I even put a PYTHON around my neck. The Mexicans were sticklers about taking pictures, so we really didn't take any.

After that, we went to the most beautiful beach with hardly anyone there! For a few hours no one was there, so yes, we had our own private beach in Mexico. Awesome!  We laid out, went snorkeling, drank strawberry daquiries and went canoeing.  I think we were supposed to pay to use the canoe, but it was just chillin on the beach, so I asked one of the workers if we could take it out. He said yes, but to not get any water in it. Not really sure what he meant by that. So, we went out (without life jackets) and went way far out into the ocean. I even made a comment to Rich that in the United States we would be limited to canoeing around cones and we'd be given life jackets. I thought Mexico was way cooler because we could head out and explore...until our canoe tipped over. It freaked us out, but we got back in, only to find that 3 strokes later, it tipped again! We knew something wasn't right, so Rich decided to get in the water and kick from behind while I made an attempt to paddle. It ended up that our canoe was full of water in the bottom (Now I know what the guy meant by NOT getting water in it...) and it was so unstable, that it would keep tipping over. So, we were rescued by two Mexicans in canoes. Talk about ride of shame!! I felt so dumb, even though it technically wasn't our fault. The water was just slowly creeping in, and there was nothing we could have done about it!

The next day, we had a day at sea, where we spent our time sleeping in, laying out by the pool, eating great food, and going to shows. We really loved our dinners because the food was awesome, and we had great company. With all of the crazy people on the ship, we were paired with a couple our age. The girl was even a teacher too. They were wonderful people and we enjoyed getting to know them!

The next port we went to was Grand Cayman. It is such a beautiful island with the clearest water you could ever imagine. We got on a boat and traveled to the middle of the ocean to a little place called "Sting Ray City." It was so cool to be in the middle of the ocean with 3 feet deep of water and white sand under your feet, with sting rays rubbing right up against your leg. I held a sting ray and gave it a kiss. They were actually kind of cute!! We took a few pictures with our waterproof camera, so I will add them when we get those back. After Sting Ray City, we went snorkeling twice. So fun!

After the Cayman Islands, we had another day at sea, and then we were off to Jamaica! We had a really great time there as well, but it was a cloudy day and the water was soooo cold! We had perfect excursions for a cloudy day, as we went up the famous water falls (which happened to be shaded anyway) and then floated down a river in the jungle. It was so fun! Everyone gives Jamaica a bad wrap, and I see why, but we were fortunate to have a great experience there. Our tour guide was not like the typical Jamaican (he actually warned us about them) and he was really nice. At the waterfalls, we were hassled by everyone to buy stuff, and yes, I bought something for 10 dollars to get away from them (they started writing my name on something!) , but hey, overall it was great. The waterfalls were really pretty and we opted to go by ourselves and not with a tour guide. That ended up being the best way to do it. After the waterfalls, we drove through some pretty sad slums before we got to the river. Our tour guide on the river was hilarious, and everyone was so nice. No hassling at all! I think if we chose to explore the city on our own we might have hated it, but the excursions were really fun. I also loved how the island was so green and jungly- much different from Cozumel and Grand Cayman. 

We loved the trip!!!

Lovin' Bear Lake!

We have been loving going to Bear Lake this summer! It's only 2 hours away, so Rich and I have gone for a few days so far this summer.

Weddings!

The last few weeks have been full of friends, family, and WEDDINGS! On June 24th, Courtney Swartwood and Skyler Fredrickson got married. What a great couple they are! It was such a wonderful day and I'm soooo happy for them!

On July 2nd, Kim and Chris got married. It was such a beautiful wedding, and I'm so happy for them! My little sis is married!!

Sisters!

Check out the creepers in the background...

Summer Time!

So, I am absolutely loving the summer. I love it because the weather is soooo nice in Utah - no humidity, blue skies everyday...and I don't have to work! It's seriously awesome. I can wake up when I want, do what I want...all day long! I always have something I can be doing, so I'm never bored. So far, we've been to the beach for a week, and we have a lot of fun stuff to look forward to!

I'm pretty sure that the Outer Banks might be one of my favorite places on earth. It's just so fun and relaxing and pretty! I love it!

Priorities?

Today I realized what my priorities are. I left my house this morning (late, as always) and as soon as I got on the freeway, my gas light went on. I drove the entire 25 miles to school with barely any gas and headed to Wal-mart to get 15 students donuts. As soon as I pulled up to the parking lot, I realized I didn't have my wallet. Luckily, I found 10 bucks in my purse (I never carry cash!) and I had an executive decision to make. Do I buy the donuts to avoid disappointing my students? Or do I buy gas so that I don't run out on my way home? That's where I discovered what my priorities were. I bought the donuts and milk. When I went to check out the guy rang me up for two milks and I received 2 dollars and some change. I about freaked. I needed a refund for the other milk...it would double what I had left. I felt like a poor person begging for money. Anyway, I ended up getting my refund for two additional dollars, pulled up to a gas station, and bought one measly galloon of gas. Dang, gas prices are way too high right now. When I got home, I had exactly 1/2 of a gallon left. Phew. That was cutting it close. So there. Now you have it...those are my priorities.

Oh, and PS- the 15 students were these cute kids who won second place in a huge math competition. I felt like their moms...I couldn't have been more proud. I love these kiddos!!

Our House!

Here are some before and afters of our house! It's been almost 2 years since we bought our house...I can't believe it's been that long!! Looking back, I can't believe I let Rich buy this house. I walked through and said, sure why not? Maybe I was just so glad that I was getting a house...I mean, I was 23 years old and had about 500 in my pocket. I was like yessss...I get a house! You will see what I mean about us being a bit crazy, and I doubt Rich could have convinced me to buy this house now...

Living room pics...paint can really make such a difference! We painted and painted, removed the gross mirror, put blinds up and I painted the fireplace cover.

Here are a few kitchen pics...we mostly just painted. That's it!

We've since gotten a new range and put in a really cute island. Pictures to come!

Bathroom. Seriously, what we were they thinking with these paint colors?!

Next comes the master bedroom...

The basement room...this was a drastic change!!

Last summer I painted all of the wood paneling and I even painted the fireplace. The ceiling is cheap cork board, so Rich put plaster all over it. It's not perfect, but it made such a difference! It was pretty cheap too...mostly the cost of paint. We kept the shag carpet, which is super ugly, but what can you do?At least it's soft and in good condition! I actually love it!

Here is a picture of our basement bathroom. There was a flood down here before we moved in, so the previous owners remodeled the bathroom. We just added the mirror and Rich put glass around the shower. I will have to post a picture of that later.

Guest bedroom (aka Kim and Mellie's room)

I pretty much just painted this room. There was faux wood paneling and a ton of water damage. Apparently this room flooded long before we moved in. Oh, and you can't forget the awesome blue checkered linoleum. Gross!! We painted the heck out of everything, even the closet doors (which took FOREVER!) and we added carpet.

And, here's the backyard. When we moved in the pool was not salvageable *sooo unfortunate!* so we had to fill the pool in with dirt. We have actually laid sod and will add trees, bushes, and flowers this summer. I can't wait to finally have a back yard!!

Rich drained the entire pool while I was in Virginia...I am so glad I wasn't there because it was sooo nasty! There were ducks living in that thing! Rich and his brother Nathan tried jack hammering the pool, but after 8 hours, they hadn't gotten very far. So, we hired someone to bulldoze it and fill it with dirt. Rich has since put in an entire sprinkling system and has laid sod. Our backyard looks soooo much different now!! Recent pictures to come!

Our next projects are to remodel the sunroom, the master bathroom, laundry room, and extra bedroom. I also want to work on the yard and add flowers and even a garden! It's a never ending project, but we've come a long way in two years! Good thing my husband is such a hard worker and handy with stuff like this. We absolutely love our home and our cute neighborhood. I am so glad we have this little fixer upper!!