Happy Holidays!

Trip to So Cal

A few weeks ago we went on a vacation to Newport with my parents. It was so much fun to be able to spend some quality time with them ( 7 siblings + lots of grandchildren = not much one-on-one time with them). But this trip we were able to do so many fun things and we had such a blast. Thanks Krehl and Debs for the awesome trip!

THE BEACH

BALBOA ISLAND. . .

Zach experienced his first Balboa Bar! Delicious!

DISNEYLAND!

I highly recommend going to Disneyland this time of year, the whole place is decked out with Halloween stuff. Pumpkins, Candy Corn, Witches, everywhere! So cool and so much fun.

We also walked over to California Adventure and hit up the rides there. My dad took this picture of Zach and I on the ride, "California Screaming." I love roller coasters but I had no idea what to expect on this one since I had never been on it before, hence my nervous facial expression, Zach was nervous too as you can tell ;) About two seconds after this picture was taken the ride took off, 0-60mph instantly out of no where and it totally blew me off guard, sooo fun. It ended up being my favorite ride there.

*Zach's favorite was a new one called Toy Story Mania, I highly recommend that one too

Debs and Krehl just before the "Bugs Life" Ride. Such goof balls, and don't you just love their matching shirts? (they said they planned it so we wouldn't get lost from them. . . what are we, 12 again?)

This ride was fun too, the kid next to me was hilarious! Right when we got in the raft, he reached over and tightened my seat belt! I said, "thanks" Ha, cracked me up.

By the end of the day, we were all pretty tired and hungry. We got to this pizza place and ordered a regular size pizza. . . but look how big. Tasty too!

We hope to visit again soon, so much fun!

Utah State Fair

LOVED the crappy fair food, all fried in its goodness. LOVED the Ferris wheel. LOVED the people watching. LOVED the crazy things you see while you are there (Okay, I am ashamed to say that we paid money to see all the freak shows, not worth it folks).

We saw six-hundred-pound buttered cows, experienced our first funnel cake, saw a three-thousand pound steer, and the World's longest alligator. The fair basically was just a deep fried hot mess in my opinion, but oh so fun!

It's Always Better When We're Together

A little while back, we headed down to St. George to witness the sealing of our brother John to his wife Tess and their cute son, Riley. It was so much fun to spend the weekend with the McConnell-Burton Family and be able to see the beautiful St. George Temple. No kidding it is the whitest white you can imagine. Don't look too closely, you may see the sweat dripping off our foreheads, it was a scorching 115 degrees when we took this picture. . . gotta love the beauty of Summertime in St. George. The Girls (sis's & sis-in-laws)(Kate, Hillary, Tess, Meghan, Megan)

Tess, John, and Riley. Such a cute family, we love you guys!

You Can Call Me Mrs. Fix-It

There are a few things that every woman should know how to do. Changing a flat tire should be one of them. I had never changed one myself until a few days ago, call me lame or whatever, but I had never been put in a situation where I needed to. Well my friends, all that has changed.

My experience went like this: So, I'm driving home from work, exhausted and excited get the H out of the office. I am pretty sure I was rockin out to Maino, All the Above or something like that when all of the sudden. . .BAM_WHACK_THUD_THUD_THUD. . .my back right tire was totally flat. Somehow, and I am not kidding I don't even know how because I was too busy peeing my pants, I pulled off to the side of the road to check out the damage. Yup, flat tire for sure! So I call Zach and he says he is busy with appointments and would come as soon as he got done, but that meant I would have to sit and wait in the HOT car for who knows how long. Being the ‘outdoorsy’ girl that I think I am, I was convinced that I could do it myself. Well I did it, I changed my flat tire all by myself and I am pretty proud of my accomplishment. Zach arrived just in time to watch me put the flat in the trunk. I think he was a little shocked that I decided to do it myself, the look on his face when he pulled up was priceless. . . looking a bit confused but delighted that he didn’t have to get his hands dirty.

The piece of Metal that caused all the trouble. How I ran over this is beside me.

We Survived. . .but the car didn't

Zach and I were called to be in charge of this year's Youth Conference and all I can say is WE SURVIVED! It was really quite fun and we enjoyed hanging out with all the youth in our ward.

Our car however did not survive. Luckily, no one was in the car when it rolled or should I say plowed into the back of a trailer, ricocheted off it and finally came to a halt when it collided with a tree. . .all of which happened just moments before we were supposed to leave from the church parking lot. . .big sigh! {you can ask Zach to tell you the story if you want more details}. These pictures don't do the damage justice, but now this puppy is in the shop and Zach and I out a couple thousand dollars. Great fun isn't it?

Stratford East Reunion

Love these people!

MLS All-Star Game

The Game; pre-game dinner with VIP's, dynamic atmosphere, amazing seats, and overall awe-inspiring soccer.

The After-Party; soccer studs, good food, refreshing mountain air, and hip entertainment. What more could you ask for?

Independence Day

Our 4th of July Weekend was filled lots of BBQ's, our neighborhood breakfast and parade, a picnic, the Real Game, and the Sugarhouse Fireworks. All were enjoyed with our favorite family and friends.

On our way to the Real Game with Lynsie & Joey

Real Salt Lake's Star Forward, Yura Movsisyan and studly defender, Robbie Russell just showing up for the game.

The Boys enjoying a summertime treat, Popsicles. Thanks Kurt and Erika for allowing us to BBQ at your lovely new home.

Zach loves playing with the Nieces and Nephews. Here he is with Ellie and Gavin

Kate, Lynsie, Molly, and Ruby waiting for the Fireworks to begin

The 4th of July is by far one of the best holidays!

Little Red Riding Hood '09

This year I rode in the Little Red Riding Hood women's only ride to benefit women's cancer research. I was amazed by the number of cyclists who were participating in the ride- 2,600 ladies out on the road that day! After 5 hours and 65 miles, we were ready to give our bee-hinds a break! Here are pics of before, during, and after the ride. {gross and sweaty, but hey, what can I say?}

Farewell Three Amigos!

May has been a busy month for our family as three of our brothers all left to serve missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am so proud of Kevin, Bryan, and Chris and will miss them lots, but am excited for their journey ahead. It all started when they got their mission calls a few months ago.

from left (Chris, Bryan, Kevin)

Kevin will be serving in Omaha, Nebraska. Bryan will be serving in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Chris will be serving in Kobe, Japan. All three boys checked into the MTC with Chris first on May 6th. Then it was the Twins turn, Kevin and Bryan went in on May 20th.

Zach and I were sad we couldn't make it to see Chris off, but we were able to go with our family when Kevin and Bryan went into the MTC. I couldn't help but think how lucky they were to have each other to experience this moment together. Being twins, they have done just about everything together and although they will all be hundreds and thousands of mile apart, they will all still have something in common and that is sharing the gospel. How cool is that?

Just as we were in the middle of taking pictures, someone spotted our very own Elder McConnell! We were so happy to see our step-brother and his companion heading out to play softball with the other elders and they even came over to say hi and snap a few photos.

Chris had a huge smile on his face the whole time. It's extraordinary to have two brothers leave for missions the same day, but then to have a third be put in the mix has been a tremendous experience. These guys are all so close and to see them so ready to serve is humbling.
Proud Parents, Krehl and Debi. They have successfully gotten all of their children out of the house and are now empty nesters.

"Church is true, see ya in two!"

We love you guys!

Today I Will Blog

Well I will be the first to admit that it has been a day or two. . .or 40 since we last blogged. Well today is a new day and a new leaf is being turned over. We're back in the game, back on the saddle, whatever you want to call it! Here are just a few things we've been up to lately. . .

REAL GAMES. . . Yes, we gave into the peer pressure from these two and bought season tickets! Here we are with one of the players after the season opener.

PIT CREW CHALLENGE. . .

I was challenged to participate in a "pit-crew challenge" and WON!! Me and my teammate rocked it and beat out a bunch of guys for the win in our high heels and all!

PARKING LOT FUN. . . let me explain

One day after work, we decided to go shopping at the Gateway. As we were walking back to our car in the underground parking lot, Zach was tossing the car keys in the air and seeing how high he could throw them. Well, one of the times he tossed them up in the air, they didn't come back down. "Uh-Oh," he says as he realizes that the keys got stuck on a ledge on the ceiling. This is a picture of him using someones random windshield scraper to try to get them down. I was just laughing so hard, I couldn't even help him. Needless to say, about twenty minutes later we got them down and were able to go home.

HANGING WITH OLD FRIENDS. . .

I got together with a few old college friends. . . always a good time with Hammy and Lisa.

WHITE MAN CAN JUMP. . . Zach plays on a rec basketball team with my brothers. I just had to post this picture of my brother, Kevin as he is about to block this dude. Those boys have major hops!