Showing posts with label Friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friends. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

On To The Next Adventure

From Ireland to AZ, these buddies have trotted the globe together. Now our pals are off on their next adventure. Peace out Leon's - check a few items off that bucket list for us!!



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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Just Cruisin'

Last week we went on a weekend cruise to Ensenada with friends. Although the weather wasn't quite what we had hoped for, it was so much fun getting to hang out without the kids for a couple of days. Some highlights of the trip included:

  • Going to the flee market and enjoying Costco-like samples from the vendors
  • Late night comedy shows with "DJ Lance"
  • Embracing our indecisiveness by ordering multiple entrees & appetizers including crocodile fritters and duck
  • Ryan being able to eat all the seafood he wanted
  • Our romantic suite complete with bunk beds


Our cheesy prom pose

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Monday, December 19, 2011

Parade of Homes

Looking for your gingerbread's dream home? Well look no further! This year's gingerbread parade of homes is sure to offer a home for every taste and style!

The Haunted Mansion

Adorned in orange, yellow, and black lights, this mansion is the ideal home for any gloomy gingerbread man or woman. Towering into the sky, this 3-story home features low maintenance landscaping, simple buttercream trim, and absolutely no front entry. But you better hurry up, this one will have every Debby-Downer up off their feet!

Rapunzel's Tower

Located in the middle of the woods, this historic tower was built to ward off even the most heroic of heroes. This home's most unique feature is undoubtedly its two long braids of hair providing instant access to the tower's penthouse suite. With its minimalist landscaping and restrained decor, this tower would make the perfect home for any long-haired gingerbread woman.

The Candy Cottage

This chic cottage home makes an idyllic retreat. The cottage is candy-clad with a radiant exterior which blends beautifully with the tin foil base. Floor-to-ceiling graham cracker walls, an original wood burning fireplace, and a gorgeous candy walkway make this cottage prime real estate for the busy, on-the-go gingerbread man/woman in need of a weekend getaway.


The Love Shack

This gorgeous home (often referred to as "The Love Shack") is an intimate getaway for the gingerbread couple who love simple luxury in a private, natural setting. Adorned in red and pink decor, this home is sure to create ambiance and set the mood for any romantic rendezvous.

The Modern Flat

This sleek home is a beautiful example of blending shapes with the latest in candy-building technology. This home was designed to increase sugar consumption and sports spacious interiors with contemporary design. It’s simple, stylish and edible architecture.

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Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Running Ragged in Vegas


This last weekend I had the opportunity to participate in the Las Vegas Ragnar with a group of friends. A Ragnar is a 188-mile running relay which usually consists of 12 team members. Since the distance is so long, the team splits into two vans and rotates running over a period of 1-2 days. Needless to say, we were pretty exhausted by the end of the trip.

Since it would take way too long to write down all of the memories from the trip, I figured I'd summarize by listing the top ten things I learned during Ragnar. Drum roll please...

1. 12 girls in 1 van is CRAZY! - On the way to and from Vegas we all traveled in one 12-passenger van. I'm not gonna lie, it was chaotic but it was one of the highlights of the trip. With that many people in one car you get to know each other VERY well, VERY quickly.


2. Heat + Hills = One Miserable Run - While the distance of the run wasn't too bad, the combination of the heat, hills, and exhaustion made the run much more difficult. The daytime runs were brutal with the heat beating down on us. I like to think of myself as being pretty tough but I can honestly say that the elements made this run much more difficult than I originally anticipated.

3. Never underestimate how fast a pregnant girl can run - When running my nighttime leg, I watched as my team pulled the van over and started getting out of the car. I assumed they were stopping to give me water so I just waved them away telling them I was fine. Moments later I felt someone touching my back only to realize that 24-week pregnant Melissa had chased me down to get me to stop and put on a new "butt" light.


4. The more variety, the better - The personalities of the girls on our team couldn't have been more different. As you can see from the pictures, our team was made up of some real "weirdo's" which made it all the more crazy. Luckily, we had a few that were more "normal" than others (i.e. me) to level "the crazies" out. ;-)






5. If you think getting a tattoo is a good idea, think again - When checking-in for the race, all team members received a Ragnar temporary tattoo. While the "tatt's" seemed like a good idea at the time, we failed to consider the fact that we would be in the sun for the next 2 days. The result? My temporary tattoo has now turned into a "not so temporary" tan line.


6. Don't talk flirt with strangers - One of our team members, Annie, is extremely outgoing and talked to EVERYONE we came across on the trip. One particular man that she met took a liking to her and continued to pop-up unannounced throughout the run. Although it was a bit creepy, it became a fun game trying to guess where he would pop-up next. Runner #7....


7. Don't expect to get much sleep in a van - When the vans switched off, the group that wasn't running had the opportunity to get some food and a little shut-eye. While the getting food part was easy, the sleeping part was a bit more difficult. Although there were only 6 of us in the van, the combination of sore muscles, seat belts, and the cold made sleeping pretty much impossible. By the time our last legs came around we were all pretty drained.


8. Friends don't let friends run 6 miles UPHILL alone - One of our best runners had the toughest leg on the last day which consisted of 10 miles - 6 straight uphill and 4 downhill. After getting a cramp at mile 2 she sucked it up and ran another 3 miles. Although she could have finished it on her own, we as a team jumped in and helped her get to the top of the hill. After getting that short break she was able to finish the leg like the "racehorse" that she is.


9. Walking the Vegas Strip after Ragnar is a bad idea - After finishing the race we planned to check-in to our hotel, get cleaned up, and enjoy a night-out in Vegas. However, when walking to the restaurant for dinner we quickly realized what a horrible idea that really was. I'm sure we looked pretty pathetic hobbling up and down Las Vegas Blvd. Needless to say, our husbands didn't have much to worry about that night. ;-)

10. You quickly forget the low's - I can vividly remember thinking during my last leg that I would NEVER do Ragnar again. In my head I was cursing the girls who dragged me into this thing and couldn't understand why 3 short runs in a 2-day period were kicking my butt so badly. But it didn't take long to forget the pain and be ready to do it again. The weekend was full of high's and low's but all I seem to remember now are the positive experiences.

I think it's pretty safe to say that Ragnar will go down in my book as one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Never before have I walked away from a group event where I have felt so loyal to the people I was with. I hope I have the opportunity to do it again in the future! Go team!

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Sunday, October 9, 2011

Busy Weekend

This last weekend was a busy one with us visiting the Phoenix Children's Museum on Friday night and Schnepf Farms on Saturday. Since the museum hosts a free night on the first Friday of every month, the museum was totally packed. We went with some friends in the ward and I think we were all pretty exhausted after trying to keep track of our kids in the madhouse.

On Saturday we toned things down a bit by visiting Queen Creek's main attraction, Schnepf Farms. The weather was perfect and Maeli enjoyed a day of train rides, giant slides, pig races, a petting zoo, and most importantly, playing in the dirt. And to wrap up the fun, Maeli got to pick out her very own pumpkin. It was a busy weekend but was the perfect way to kick off the holiday season!









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Thursday, August 25, 2011

Summer Campout

This last weekend we went camping with some friends just outside of Payson. It was a short trip but was exactly what we needed to get out of the heat!

We were a little nervous about this being Maeli's first campout but she did surprisingly well. In fact, I'm pretty sure the whole "eating dirt" thing was her favorite part. ;-)







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Friday, December 17, 2010

Gingerbread Habitat for Humanity

This year we took our gingerbread-making pretty seriously. After all, gingerbread men and women need homes too.

THE MOBILE HOME




THE CLASSIC COTTAGE


AND THE....?

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Tuesday, July 6, 2010

4th of July Campout

To celebrate the holiday weekend we decided to go camping with some friends up by Heber. Sadly, it took Ryan and I four years to take our first camping trip together. ;-) Although it was a short trip, we were pretty amazed by how much food and lounging we could fit into 2 days.






Altogether there were 7 couples and 10 kids that went on the trip which made for quite the crazy campsite. The kids seemed to have a blast exploring and opened Ryan and I's eyes to how dirty kids can really get when given a little bit of freedom outdoors.



On the last night of the trip we went to the "big" fireworks show in Heber (big for Heber at least). The show was great and it was nice getting to watch fireworks in cooler weather. While it was nice getting to come home and sleep in our own bed, camping definitely made this 4th of July a weekend to remember!



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