Summer Hiking

This summer we did some fun HIKES!

Hike #1: To the hot springs up Diamond Fork. The little hike was nice, and the hot springs felt great!

Hike #2: This was the most challenging hike for me that we did. It was very steep,

just a little more than 6.5 miles round trip. But the view at the top was well worth the hike.
So pretty, we stayed for lunch and soaked up some sun.

Hike #3: We had a wedding this Saturday... so we had to do a short hike. :) The "Y" was a perfect one to do in little time. Actually a first for me. The view was pretty.

Hike #4: Every summer for the most part it seems that I hike stewart falls. Always a good adventure.

Hike #5: Mount. Timpanogos!! I am still suprised that I let Cruz drag me up this mountain. LOL. It was not that bad. Long? Yes. Fun? Yes. Worth the effort? Yes. I loved the view, and I was pretty pround of myself for making it to the summit.

I have to say that I have had so much fun hiking this summer. My husband is fantastic, and encouraged me to go higher and higher. I am seriously the luckiest girl I know. I can't wait until the fall leaves are here and we can do some fall hikes.

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4th of JULY weekend...

I love it when the holidays land on a weekend...

Some pretty waterfalls in the Uinta Mountains... we were headed to Bear Lake.

We packed a picnic lunch to enjoy when we got to the lake. It was such a nice day.

The Lake was so pretty. I wanted to stay forever. The water was cool, but it felt so good.

And the shakes were yummy.

The views were nice too. We went home through Logan, and took a little stop to see the temple.

When we got home the Cul-de-sac of Fire was already starting. So we hurried over and got a seat.

It was good to see our friends, that we don't always get to see.

Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band was there! Oh, and the fireworks were fantastic.

Pretty much a great way to start the long weekend.

We love sitting by a fire... and the company was good too.

We made some yummy bread. Cinnamon and Sugar... and carmel sauce. Another perfect day.

We have a tradition to have a family breakfast for the 4th.

The food was good, it was fun to be with the entire family.

What a fantastic weekend!!!

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the rest of JUNE 2010

Little David turned one. It was so cute to see him figure out what to do with his cake; he wasn't quite sure what to do with it.

Love all the little festivals during the summer. Orem was great, and loved the fire works.

We took a day drive with my parents, to scofield and other places. It was Cruz's 1st time to see where my Mom grew up. It was great to get out and see the sunny day.

Had a chance to go back to camp shalom. I only went up for Friday, but it was so fun to see the girls in all there glory. Wish that I could have gone for the entire week.

We celebrated Cruz's birthday a few days in a row. It was so fun. 1st celebration was TUCANOS. 2nd was with my family, I made a yummy layered cake. 3rd was on his actual birthday we went to dinner and a movie.

 

We went to Iceland days. We arrived just as they announced "The lunch is ready" talk about perfect timing. We enjoyed Icelandic hot dogs, and Icelandic donuts. Yum!

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happy birthday CRUZ!

I love you and I hope that you have a wonderful and the most FESTIVE birthday ever!!!

Still in LOVE

We had such a fun time. I got off work at 4, and since Cruz had to work until 7... I decided to put together a little surprise. I made a picnic dinner. BBQ chicken, grilled veggies, and arepas. Then when he got home I sneaked into the car and put everything into the trunk. Lucky, he'd called on his way home from work, so I knew he was coming. But he also said he wanted to go up the canyon for a ride. (Can you say perfect?!!) So, we did exactly that. We drove up Provo canyon, and I said let's walk around Timpanogos park. So, we pulled into the parking lot... and I told him I had a surprise. I opened the trunk, so he could see that I had packed a dinner. We then found "our" table. Set up for the dinner. Then this funny lady said "I hope you are at least newlyweds." We laughed and said... well, kinda. She then said "After 13 years, my husband would never do that." It was an interesting thing to think about. Both Cruz and I said that we hope in 13 years we celebrate in the exact same way. Love ya babe.

Welcome HOME!!!

They are back! My Mom and Dad returned from their mission in Iceland. They have been home since June 2nd. They got in at 11:20-ish p.m., so not all the kid-os could stay up so late to greet them at the air-port... But we were all so happy to see them. My cute Mom cried, and we all hugged. They are home a little earlier than planed, due to some health concerns. They served a fantastic mission, and the length is not what is important. I am so proud of them. They are such good examples to our family. I can't wait to serve a mission with my LOVE. It is going to be just as great. I love hearing my Mom tell about the Elders. I can tell she loved every minute of helping them, they were both sad and yet excited to come home (just like every missionary should be.) Love you Mom and Dad.

Keep Calm... The theme of the last week.

Sometimes things are just a little crazy. This last week was one of those weeks.

I felt more like...

 Now Panic and Freak Out

But for the most part...I have been able to just carry on.

I think the graphic design on the poster is fantastic, and lovely.

I love all the spoofs that have come with the design of this poster as well.

Here is the history about the poster... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Calm_and_Carry_On

Hope you had a good week, and got to play in the sunshine.

I feel like it is Christmas Eve!

This was the view from the back door of where I work. Burrr! Seriously it's the last week in May. We could have built a snowman today. (Sad that we didn't bring our gloves.) Really, it did feel like it was Christmas Eve, I even got a text that said "Merry Christmas." So, I think we should all go home and put up our Christmas tree. That would be festive. So, a MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all.

PS... I just hope our newly planted flowers don't die.

i am happy: 05.17.2010 edition

1. reading my parents weekly email, about their adventures in iceland.
2. green grass, and flowers.
3. string cheese.
4. laying in my hubby's arm pit. (really I am laying more towards his shoulder, but we call it the arm pit. I say "love, can I lay in your arm pit", he then says "yes" It is one of the best places to lay.)
5. afternoon nap.
6. the ride home from work, 12 relaxing minutes all to myself.
7. flip-flops.
8. giant flowers in babies hair.
9. watching my husband watch americas most funny videos... he laughs way too hard. (I think we've only seen this twice, but his reaction is more funny than the show.)
10. picnics on a cozy blanket, on a spring day.

What things make YOU happy?

ocho de mayo

We really haven’t had so much fun for a while. Ocho de Mayo, who would have know that you’d be such a hit. :) A bunch of friends gathered at our place, and then we went to cafe rio. It was so fun to see friends we hadn't see in a long while, as well as those we see all the time. ;) We ordered food of our choice and then took it back to our place. Yum! All in all I think there were about 20 friends that gathered at some point that evening. We had lots of good eats... guacamole, salsas, queso, chips, fruit, etc... Our stomachs were full all night. Megan and I even made a tres leches cake. To finish off the night there were margaritas, pina colada, and strawberry daiquiris for everyone. (Thanks Andre for picking up some extra ice.) Loved the games and most of all loved all those who came to celebrate with us. (I am planning for all the pics to go up on facebook, so I only posted one here.)

Here is the recipe for the TRES LECHES CAKE: (Sad that there is no picture, it was super good.)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup white sugar
5 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups whole milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Strawberries (Sliced)


Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x13 inch baking pan.
2.Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.
3.Cream butter or margarine and the 1 cup sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; beat well.
4.Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture 2 tablespoons at a time; mix until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.
5.Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Pierce cake several times with a fork.
6.Combine the whole milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk together. Pour over the top of the cooled cake.
7.Whip whipping cream, the remaining 1 cup of the sugar, and the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla together until thick. Spread over the top of cake. Top with sliced strawberries. Be sure and keep cake refrigerated, enjoy!

saturday sunshine

We have been taking full advantage of 2 things:

1. The fantastic sunshine that we've had the last 2 saturdays
2. The fact that Cruz's job doesn't require him to work saturdays. (They are suppose to work them once a month... but they haven't had to, yet.) I love spending the whole day together.

We have enjoyed the sunshine by going on a few walking adventures...

04.17.10: was a walk from our house (in Orem) to Utah Lake.  I think it took about 40 minutes... so we got to soak up some sunshine, and it felt good. 

04.24.10: was a walk up the path from Bridal Veil Falls to Vivian Park.  I think it also took about 40 minutes... it was fun walk, there were many people out and about. I guess we are not the only ones who are loving the good weather.  

it's always nice to say GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE with a little walk!!! We seriously LOVE it, and hope it stays around for a long while.

happy cookie

So yesterday Cruz and I went to see the Sherlock Holmes movie. We had about an hour until the movie started. We decided to get some dinner, we were planning on going to Zupas since it is near by the theater; but we changed plans at the last minute. When we went into the parking lot of the theater we saw a chinese buffet. So, we went there instead. It was just ok. Maybe a 5 or 6 on our ranking scale. They gave us 2 fortune cookies when we left. We were in a bit of a hurry to get to the movie, so I just tossed them into my purse. Today at work, I was craving a sweet snack. I didn't have anything, then I remembered the fortune cookies. I took one out and cracked it open. Not only was it yummy, but it had a fun fortune surprise, like most fortune cookies do... but let's be honest; most aren't that great.

"An interesting sports opportunity is in your near future."

I hope that is true. It is going to be sunny the next few days. I wonder what it will be (please don't be softball or baseball... I'm not a fan), and if it will happen?

I was going to save the other cookie for Cruz to eat. But I didn't... I ate it too. To my surprise again, it was another good fortune. I think it is my lucky day.

"You will enjoy doing something different this coming weekend."

How do these fortune cookies know how much I like to do NEW things, and oh, how I love the weekends. I can't wait. Let's just say these fortune cookies made me one happy cookie.

happy easter

(this picture is too funny. i love it.)