Easter Weekend

Yes, we were in beautiful St. George again. Dave and I are beginning to believe we're locals down there. It's kind of fun.

Friday, we tracked back up and down Angels Landing, but this time we took my dad. We pushed him pretty hard and made it in under 3 hours round trip. We stopped at the top to take in the view and eat a little lunch. On the way back down, my dad decided he would count the switchbacks the trail had to offer...46 switchbacks later we were at the bottom. Which means you do a total of 92 switchbacks when hiking just up to the base, before the spine.

Dave lived for egg hunts (which were really candy hunts because there was too much candy and not enough patience for stuffing the plastic eggs) growing up. They enjoyed finding candy months later in new places around the house. I decided to give him a little taste of his childhood along with the other kids (Kaitlin, her friend, Michael and his gf-Terissa).

Easter came and brought a lot of joy to this Robin Egg fanatic!

We even caught my dad joining in the festivities.

Us Lately

It's been awhile since I've sat down and posted anything other than our St. George trips so I decided I should finally sit down and post other things.

Dave:

1. Chugging away at his Masters program (gritting his teeth along the way)

2. Still employed thanks to the government not shutting down

3. Sold the moto... I'm not sure how I feel about it.

4. Just signed up for his 3rd go around of Lotoja

5. Gave us a 3 week vacation in San Diego this summer (he has some work stuff to do)

6. Keeps our cars running for minimum cost

Rach

1. Finally found the answers to my exhaustion that I've had since Christmas - Epstein-Barr Virus (the virus that Mono comes from) Think I am finally feeling myself again, energy wise, if I can ever get a decent night sleep that is! :)

2. Have 30 days left of teaching my little munchkins...and the only reason I know that is because we count our days in school, it's not that I'm am yearning for that day because I'm actually not. I have loved those little ones since the day I got each one of them and might cry the day they leave...

3. Trying to keep up the exercise routine despite sleep deprivation.

4. On the job hunt again for next year, and trying to not be bitter about it.

5. Getting Dave involved in my love of playing basketball and tennis (we try to play both together each week)

6. Last, trying not to let the weather determine my happiness. I want more sunshine!

Yes, Yes, Another St. George Post

I finally took some personal days off work last week. I was stubborn. I didn't want to use any of my days off because I wanted to save up, but it was honestly the best thing I could have done! And of course we went to St. George. We went down with Dave's whole fam this time and, boy, did we have one fantastic time! There was 15 of us sleeping in my parents house down there and there were no blow ups or hard feelings towards one another! It will be interesting if we can still make it work as the family grows more.

I swear, St. George just keeps getting better in my book. I keep finding mor

e and more things I love about it. We left Wednesday evening and came back Sunday. We didn't waste a second of enjoyment. We hiked, biked, ran, swam, relaxed and of course ate! We celebrated Ryan's birthday as well. Happy 31st Ry! The weather was perfect! It was high 70s to mid 80s during the day and only got to the low 70s at night. Can't get more perfect than that.

We spent Friday day in Zions. I finally experienced Angels' Landing. On the spine part of the hike, I did pretty well because I just wouldn't think. I just focused on the steps in front of me and didn't look around. I didn't get freaked out until right close to the top where it seems as if every step gets a little tighter. As Dave's other half, I seem to do pretty well with his extreme childlike exploration but on this hike I almost lost my nerve a couple times because of some of the things he did. Normally, I just laugh at everyone else freaking out at the things he does but this time, I was not okay with them. But, we all made it through it and enjoyed it. I was quite sore the next couple of days because of the constant pressure from the steep switch backs on the way back down.

Snow Canyon Hike

Michael and I on our way up to Angels' Landing

The Top

I wouldn't get within 5 feet of the drop off

The whole gang- minus the munchkins and the 2 babysitters

On our way back down

My first bad sunburn everHuman Totem Pole

The Zen Trail

(Mountain biking is not my thing)

Flying a kite off the deck of the house

Awe...beautiful!

A Much Needed St. George Trip

This last weekend, Dave and I left Thursday for St. George. We had all day Friday to ourselves down there. We slept in, went shopping, took an intense ride up Snow Canyon on the bikes, and enjoyed eating at our number #1, favorite place, Parrothead Island Broiler! Oh man, it's heavenly!

Late Friday night, Brittney, Michael and his friend John joined us. Saturday we slept in, and then took advantage of the mid-60 degree sunshine. Britt and I went for a nice exploration run in the red rocked hills, we all played some tennis, and then went for a late afternoon hike in Snow Canyon State Park. That night we ate at a Mexican restaurant and enjoyed some thick, creamy Iceberg shakes. When Sunday afternoon came, it was hard to say good-bye. I really have never felt so much awe when thinking about a place to be. I love St. George and I'm not just saying that. AWE....

Hike in Snow Canyon

It's entertaining to watch Michael do these kinds of things like hikes and outdoor-sie things. We didn't really ever experience much of it growing up :)

President's Weekend

Well, the St. George plans changed as the weekend forecast continued to be the bearer of bad news as the weekend approached. We ended up staying northward, but it turned out to be full of activities and fun.

Friday was a date night. Dinner was famous Big Bens at the Burger Bar. Saturday, we went down to Sandy. We ate lunch, went to a movie, watched the NBA All-Star competitions, and played games with my family. I have never been one for video games and I even have a hard time liking the Wii but I found that I really like the game Just Dance 2. I could play it forever. Catch Phase was a lot of fun with my family too. We were with Dave's family on Sunday celebrating Bridget's birthday. We stayed late talking with them and debating whether or not to go snowboarding Monday. Well, with our cheap ways we decided to still enjoy the fresh new snow but instead of trying to beat the crowds and all we went snow-shoeing. It was a lot of fun! We got good exercise and had fun trudging out new trails up at Snowbasin.

Dave had to try this out. I tried to take more pictures of us actually snow-shoeing but the camera was being touchy.

I love my adventurous husband! Thanks for a terrific weekend!

Kitchen and Bedroom Before and Afters

A couple weeks ago we finally fixed two things in our kitchen that have been nipping at us since we moved in. We got a new light for over the sink. Dave busted the light cover with his head when we first painted the kitchen, I hated the light anyway. We also replaced the faucet. If you were one of those that thought you busted our sink faucet while trying to turn it off, you're welcome, no more worrying now. They are two simple things that have made my kitchen even more to love...now if I could talk Dave into redoing the cabinets.

Befores

Afters

I really love how it just brings the whole window scene together!

Bedroom

We purchased and built our new bedroom set at the end of last year but we have had to send back two mattresses because of defects so I have not been able to take pictures. The third mattress has been fine so far so we shouldn't have to send this one back and we can finally enjoy it! I love it! I can't believe that we spent almost 4 years without this amazing thing. I love the new look of our bedroom too!

Before

Afters

The Clark Planetarium

We celebrated Mike Price's (my father-in-law) Birthday visiting the Clark Planetarium Saturday. We saw the Hubble 3D movie and explored the planetarium. If you know Dave, seeing him in that place is like watching a kid in a candy shop. He loves it! So it kind of felt like Dave's Birthday...

Happy Birthday Mike!

On the moon....well, sort of.

Look like a diagram you've seen before???

I couldn't help but making a connection between the stages of evolution and this picture...and yes, Dave and I are the early stages.

The New Year

I haven't had a chance to sit down and write any goals or resolutions down for the new year but I have thought a lot about it. Among many other goals like doing all of Lotoja and such, I've decided that my ultimate goal this year is to live and teach by example. I want my actions to show who I am and what I believe and stand for. This goal stretches from being Mrs. Price to being Rachel, and even a stranger getting cut off on the way home from a long day at school. I have been blessed with so much and even though life is tough and busy, someone out there is worse off.

Dave and I are so grateful for all that we have. Life just seems to pass by quicker each year but we love the memories we get to hold close to our hearts. Here are a few of our New Years' celebrations so far:

Friends

Family

Christmas 2010

Christmas Eve

Started out with some arm wrestling...

next came some grub...

then came the Christmas story re-enactment (minus our real baby-baby Everett had a rough night so he was replaced by a rolled up towel which Cora took great care of),

next came presents,

then off to bed and awaiting Santa's visit.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning brunch,

settling down for a long winter's nap (while cheering on Miami, only for the sake of the Lakers losing... and Michael),

then on to our 4th annual Christmas dinner at the Little America,

and last but certainly not least, some Christmas lights on Temple Square.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!