Update Part 1

Here is our little update of the past couple months:

April:
April was a crazy month for us - we were frantically studying and getting ready for finals, finishing up big semester projects and trying to squeeze in some fun. I am so glad that that month is long gone and I don't have to stress about having tons on my plate for the next few months.
We were able to do a couple fun things with some friends before and after finals hit - the week before finals, we went tandem biking with another couple in our ward, and we had a BLAST. If you haven't ever tried it, I highly recommend it! We rented our bikes at outdoors unlimited for pretty cheap, and rode from there down to the canyon and all the way to the end of the Provo River Trail (which is perfect for bike riding). We had so much fun, and it was great because all I had to do was pedal sometimes, and then Richard did what I would consider the hard part - steering us safely and not getting us killed. So that was nice. :) He is so good at it too! We didn't fall even once (which is really good for me - usually if I bike for long enough, I end up crashing or falling) Good job, honey! Way to keep us safe! Here are some pictures of our adventure!





Then, the day after finals ended, Richard and I went with Max and Rebecca to Zion's National Park...and oh man, that was something else. We realllly want to go back there again sometime next year. It was so breathtaking. Unfortunately, it was raining and cold when we were driving there, but luckily the rain stopped in time for us to set up camp, and cook our food. It was just really cold. Here is us being cute ridiculous as we roast our marshmallows:
The next day, we decided to hike Angel's Landing...that was one INTENSE hike. It was absolutely beautiful for one thing - the scenery just kept getting better and better as we went along. There were fun caves to climb in, along the way too - which kept it entertaining



But this wasn't even the BEST part. Wait till you see the pictures of the end of the hike... it is crazy. Let me explain. In case you are like I was and have never heard of Angel's Landing, it is known for how dangerous it can be. There are always stories floating around about how people have fallen off, and how they're talking about closing the trail down. I realized why when we toward the end. The main part of the hike is relatively easy, and safe, but when you get to the last half mile, all you see is a narrow ridge (probably about 10-20 feet wide)that connects you to a plateau at the end, which I assume is the "landing." The whole time, you have to hold on to a thick chain that is bolted into the rock, so you don't lose your balance as you traverse various narrow parts of the trail. OK, I know you just want to see pictures, so here they are:

Us on the trail, holding onto the chain for dear life:

The view from the beginning of the scary part.

Do you see the sheer drop off?? It is hundreds of feet down on either side...yikes!

Ok, so I may be trying to just rub in the fact that I think we are totally brave and basically invincible for doing this...but I feel so proud of us!

Here is all of us at the top:


And some more pictures:

Richard's Birthday...

...was March 11th.

Regardless of the fact that I am super late posting, I still want to share our fun day we had!

The day started out with me getting up early to make breakfast for Richard. We had crepes filled with strawberries, peaches, yogurt and whipped cream. D-e-l-c-i-o-u-s. Richard loved them, and I felt pretty proud of myself for making them, because 1. I got up way earlier than usual, and 2. I surprised Richard and 3. They were yummy.

The day before, I wrote down 23 reasons for Richard to be excited and happy it was his birthday on 23 sticky notes, and put them all over the bathroom mirror. He liked that, and I think it just a little thing that made his day happier.

Then we went to school, and when we were done for the day, we went to Tucano's Brazillian Grill for the first time ever! Yummmy. Did you know if you join their birthday club, you can get your dinner for freeeee?? Its true! So, Richard joined the club just in time to get his free coupon mailed to him (sweet!) and we went there with Rochelle and BJ and Gabriel. We really enjoyed having dinner with them, and having the legendary Tucano's experience.


After that, we went back to our place and had lemon poppyseed cake with them, as well as with our good friends, Max and Rebecca. Then we played some games, watched some funny youtube videos, and called it a night! We had so much fun, and I think it ended up being a good and happy birthday for Richard! I love you honey!!!

Shabby Apple San Gabriel GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

I totally want this dress, it is A-Dorable! Check it out!

Shabby Apple San Gabriel GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

L-O-V-E

...That's all that was in the air on February 13-14. (I know this is late!)



We had a WONDERFUL weekend together, starting with the morning of the 13th, when I woke up and there was a rose and a box of chocolates sitting on the table, waiting for me so lovingly! Hazelnut chocolate...Mmmmm! Couldn't have asked for anything better! What a sweetheart husband I have! :)

Richard then told me that I needed to get on warm clothes, because he was taking me somewhere secret...(He eventually caved after all my questioning and told me we were going cross country skiing! haha) I was so excited! It was both of our first time going, so we were a little nervous. We must have had a "newby" vibe, because a couple of older men stopped and offered to give us a few pointers. We were falling all over the trail...up and down and all around... so I can't blame them for wanting to help our sorry souls. We eventually figured it out toward the end, but we had fun from beginning to end. I didn't realize how much of a workout it is to cross-country ski...or maybe I'm just out of shape (but we can just ignore that part)...I am still recovering...

Beautiful view from the trail

Us being happy little skiers!

After we got home and got cleaned up, we headed out to the stake valentine's dance. Richard tried to trick me and tell me we had to go to the dance early, but I wasn't buying that...I know his tricks all to well by now! I wasn't surprised when we "accidentally" took a long route, and ended up at Chili's (our favorite restauraunt ever) for dinner. YUM! A pleasant "surprise."

Then, we went to the Valentine's dance, and ate all kinds of delicious treats dipped in CHOCOLATE... oh my... it was heavenly. OH, and we had fun dancing together too.

On the morning of Valentine's day, I made breakfast for Richard - strawberry and peach crepes with whipped cream! Yumm...
And Richard made dinner - green thai curry, bless his heart. It was really SPICY... in fact, I don't think I have ever attempted to eat anything so spicy in my life. It hurt, and it burned, and I couldn't tell if it was because the food itself was too hot, or if it was the spice that was burning my tongue and stomach...ooh boy.. two tums and a LOT of milk, and it still burned. Good memories anyway though!

We didn't write cards to each other this year, but instead, we sat down and wrote 10 things we love about each other, and then let each other read what we wrote. It was simple, but it meant a lot to me!

It was a perfect Valentine's Weekend.

I need your help!

I am in a class this semester called "Technology and Health Promotion" and in it, our semester project is to create a blog about a health topic that will be useful to the general public. I chose to focus my blog on Womens' Health. I am interested in what your main concerns are about womens' health, and the things you would be most interested in learning about, on a website. If you would please vote on the side, and let me know what you would most like to learn about, and also comment on this post if you have any other ideas that I could write about, your help would be so greatly appreciated!

Feel free to check out the blog, it will be a work in progress, but with your input, I will be putting up some (hopefully) helpful info and tips on there! everywomanshealth.wordpress.com

Thanks in advance for helping me out! (Guys, your votes and ideas would be wonderful, too!)

I'm all made of hinges...

....But they don't all bend!
This week has been a week of relief and healing, literally. I have been feeling kind of down lately because I have felt like my body is aging way too fast - everything is breaking down! My issues have been pain in my wrists and my feet. I don't write to complain, so here's the upside: Its not as bad as I thought!
I went to the doctor last week for the wrist pain, I thought maybe it was carpal tunnel. Luckily, after the doctor had a look, he told me that I have something much more fixable. It's called Dequervains Tenosynovitis. Sounds scary, but it just means repetitive strain thumb pain. I think it is a result of typing, texting, and crocheting (I think its mostly from crocheting too much over the Christmas break..oops). So, my doctor gave me two thumb/wrist splints (one for each hand) that I get to wear day and night for the next 3 weeks! Lucky me! I'm being sarcastic, but I really am grateful that it isn't as bad as it could have been. I also went in to see a podiatrist for some foot pain. I am glad that I finally went in, because it was very helpful and enlightening. My feet have been the biggest source of pain and resistance to do much physical activity for the past couple years, and I thought that maybe I'd just have to live with it. So, bad news: my doctor told me that I most definitely have flat feet, but the good news is that I can get custom orthotics, that will improve everything.
I am so grateful to say that because of BYU insurance, I can get those custom orthotics for my feet- one pair especially made for dress shoes (thank goodness, because that's all I wear) and one pair for sports shoes (so now I can be active again), at an extremely low cost ($60 per pair, as opposed to $360). I only wish I would have known about this option sooner, because my feet unfortunately have some irreversible damage, including bunions and other bone structure changes, and its pretty constantly painful.

Lesson learned: don't put off taking care of your body - its not worth the pain, and you are worth the money spent on your comfort and health.

California and Crafts

Richard just spent the past weekend in Merced,CA, scouting out the area that he will be working in this upcoming summer. While it was hard for me to let him go for a couple days, I was able to fill up my "alone" time with family time! It was so nice - I just went over and babysat Gabe, then spent the night at R&BJ's. When I woke up, Rochelle and I started doing crafts - I gave our clock a makeover, and posted pictures on our new crafting blog. Check it out here! We've been having so much fun, getting together almost every week to make cool stuff. Our main objective is to come up with new ways of making classy things, spending as little money as possible (preferably none). Also, when we get enough courage, we want to branch out and try COOKING new things...yikes! Anyway, feel free to check our blog out, post comments, follow us, etc. And let me know if you have any cool ideas and want to contribute, or that you wouldn't mind us trying! :) Here's our actual blog URL: www.homesweethomebodies.blogspot.com

So, I'll just tell you a little about Richard's trip to CA (he can write more later if he wants). As much as I was bummed about him leaving me home without him, I am really glad that he went, it seemed to be a really good trip. Overall, he had really good impressions of the area, and of the managers there. They seemed to be really supportive and anxious to help the team out, which of course is very encouraging. What I'm most excited about is the fact that we'll be living within 60 or so miles of Yosemite National Park, so we'll be able to visit it a few times this summer!

p.s. so here's my plug: If you are interested, or you know of anyone who might be interested in selling pest control this summer, Richard is looking for people to be on his team. It is going to be a really good year, and Clark is an awesome company (Not to mention the awesome team leaders, Richard & Max). Let me know if you are interested, and I can give you more info!