Mackenzie on the Appalachian Trail

a thought on mail drops

2012-02-02T09:51:00.001-07:00

Why do them?

See here, here and here.

Seriously, I'm interested in opinions. They seem like a huge hassle and potentially a waste of time.

(Packing too much food, packing not enough, getting sick of the food you thought you'd like, not arriving in town when the post office is open, expense of mailing, worry about package not getting to where it should be... etc.)

Enlighten me!

routines

2012-01-27T08:26:00.001-07:00

I love having a routine. I love having a schedule.

(Unless I'm on vacation, in which case the only scheduled activities should be meals, reading, and watching animal planet.)

After Jimmy went back into retirement, I found myself a little lost in the evening. Get home from work at 5:30 and then.... what now? Beau has been going to the library most evenings to study for the upcoming GMAT, and the other nights are occupied by basketball. I remember just a few months ago when I LONGED for just an hour of free time or hanging around with just Beau. Now I find myself looking for new things. Book club? Don't mind if I do. Actually putting time into visiting teaching? Sure!

Over time, I've developed a schedule that makes me happy. Admittedly (embarrassingly?) way more chill than ever before. Monday is library night. Tuesday is Power Pump class. Wednesday is Biggest Loser. Thursday is yoga night. Friday is make-a-treat-from-Pinterest night.

I find so much comfort in daily, hourly, minute-ly routines. After my morning workout, I set out my station at locker #94- gym bag in the middle, work clothes on the right, lotion and deodorant on the left, shower shoes on my feet and towel hanging by the door. Get to work, wake up computer, make my morning oatmeal- 1 packet + 2 handfulls oats + smidge of coffee creamer. Bed time: pack gym bag for the morning, brush/floss, roll around on the foam roller, read scriptures, read my personal book, prayers, cuddle, sleep.

I wonder what my schedule will turn into when I'm on the AT. (I was trying to keep this a thru hike free post.... nope.) The routine I'll have for breaking camp, packing my backpack, and planning the mileage every day. Systems for resupply and zero days. Sometimes I think of it like any other time you have major changes in your life- things will be different, but I can adapt! I can adapt and create normalcy. A new kind of normal.

suggestions and tips from successful thru hikers

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

A compilation of suggestions on tips from successful thru hikers (mostly from recent email correspondences):

Equipment

"For clothing, I'd highly recommend buying as much merino wool as you can. Merino wool is amazing for a bunch of reasons. It keeps you cool when it's hot and warm when it's cold (even when you're wet). It's very odor resistant. My friends and I would hike 5 or 6 days straight and my unwashed clothes would smell better than their freshly washed synthetic clothes. I still wear my wool hiking clothes from my thru, and I can assure you theirs have been tossed into the garbage."

"In an effort to save weight, I got an extra-small sleeping pad, which only reached down to my butt. This was great for the warmer weather, but horrible when cold because my legs froze on the cold ground."

"I recommend wearing lightweight, wicking running shorts instead of actual "hiking" clothing. The running shorts dries much faster, weighs less and overall more comfortable"

"If I could do it over again, I would have carried a Kindle with me rather than actual books. Kindle weighs less. And I often finished my book before reaching the next town, which was very frustrating and wouldn't happen with a Kindle (read lot at night before sleeping)."

Food & Mail Drops

"My advice is at first (till you get food supply down to a science), carry "emergency food" that you haven't built into what you think you need between towns. For me, this was a packet of Raman noodles and a giant protein bar."

"I recommend AquaMira drops for purifying water. Pumps are heavy, I saw a number of SteriPens break on hikers, and iodine tablets taste horrible."

"Here are a few things I recommend getting in mail drops: roll of toilet paper (seems they only sell the rough stuff one at a time in the stores), however many multivitamins needed to get you to the next mail drop (weighs less than carrying big bottle of them), proper number of pain reliever meds (again, lighter than the bottle full), pre-measured protein powder in a zip loc, pre-measured gatorade powder in a zip loc, needed amount of calcium chews (because of the beating your body takes, especially as a woman), any food you need."

"I bought all of my food along the way, and yes mail drops are a hassle. I used a bounce box for my laptop, camera batteries etc and it was such a pain trying to guess where you'd be in 2 weeks and then rushing to a town before the post office closed."

Mental Attitude

"Take your time in the beginning. The hikers I saw fall off the trail with overuse injuries were the ones that from Springer were trying to do 17 - 20 miles a day. Just listen to your body"

"Don't get too committed to hiking with one person or one group. I saw lots of people mess up their hikes by hurrying to catch up with friends or waiting around for friends to catch up. It's funny how bonded people get, and how quickly. Just move at your own pace. You will make amazing friends, and they will still be your friends after the hike is over. "

"Nothing is ever as bad or ever as good as people say on the trail. You will notice people trying to convince you that you are going to die in the Smokies, for example. Just make your own judgements and don't over-plan or expect anything too extreme to happen. "

"I wish I'd paid more attention to deteriorations in my gear and in my health. On the trail, little things tend to turn into big ones if you neglect them."

"The trail is close enough to civilization so you can make new decisions (about gear, food, etc.) as you go, so don't worry about figuring everything out perfectly ahead of time."

"It's funny how the brain works and what this trail does to you. I only look back on my experiences in a positive light, it's like I forgot all the pain and misery or maybe I like it?! You'll know what I mean once you finish the trail (notice I said FINISH!). Seriously, short of actually having a major injury, this thing is pretty much all mental."

Other

"I would suggest starting mid week (as opposed to on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday) to avoid the huge crowd and also, to be a bit later."

"Here's a random piece of advice: pee rags are awesome."

Random indeed.

AT thru hiker gear

2012-01-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, thinking about thru hiking gear literally makes my head explode.

Back in May when I was first entertaining the idea of a thru hike, I looked at a lot of blogs and hiking forums on whiteblaze.net. Thru hikers, it seems, are obsessed with spreadsheets documenting the weight of their packs. I had always known about the weight obsession... when you're carrying everything on your back, weight is crucial and every ounce counts. But the endless lists and spreadsheets actually deterred me from going. All that planning looked like a headache.

Fast forward to October. I was comparing tents and sleeping systems and things and I thought to myself, "Man, I really ought to make a spreadsheet with all this information."

So... now I'm one of them- one of those spreadsheet people. Sometimes I get to a point when I can't figure out which specific gear item I like best and I start to go a little crazy and have to just decide I'll think about it later. I have a love hate relationship with sleeping pads right now.
In the past several years, there has been a huge transition towards ultra light backpacking. This book (Lighten Up! by Don Ladigin) is an excellent resource for those who want to learn a little more about how to get your packweight under 20 pounds. While I certainly won't make it under 20, anyone could benefit from the ideas he proposes.

Here are some important items that I have decided on:

Pack- Mountainsmith something or other... Got it in Utah, liked it, keeping it. It's not the lightest pack you could find- I haven't weighed it but I'm guessing it's around 4 lbs. If I didn't already have it, I would probably go for a frameless lightweight pack that is around 2.5 lbs.

Boots- I just decided over the weekend to exchange the Vasque Breeze hiking boots I have been trying out for a lighter weight hiking shoe, like Keen's Targhee women's shoe:

I have toe issues sometimes, and I've heard that Keens tend to have a wide toe box. And they draw me in with their cute shoelaces.

Tent- TarpTent Notch- 1 lb 10 oz, baby. This model is brand new as of a month ago, and I just got an email today notifying me that it has shipped. The genius behind the Tarp Tent (and other similar models like LightHeart gear) is in the lack of tent poles. No tent poles = less weight. Instead, you use your trekking poles as supports.

Sleeping bag- I'm leaning towards the ZPacks sleeping bag, which is only 1 lb. My next favorite is the Te-Wa quilt, which has a friendlier price tag. It's crazy to me that the sleeping bag is by far the most expensive item! Especially since I'll switch over to a simple fleece liner for the summer months.

TBD:
Sleeping pad. Something self inflatable and light. I'm up for suggestions.
Clothing... this overwhelms me the most. One of the reasons I'm starting early April instead of mid March like most people is to avoid some of the cold. I'm still not sure exactly how many layers I'll need to bring to be comfortable.

This weekend was lovely and my parents, Beau, and I went for a little day hike on the north end of the "roller coaster".

82 days.... aahhh!

gettin our craft on

2011-12-27T10:20:00.001-07:00

Christmas for the Holmes girls:

The unidentifiable princess on the far right is actually a prince with Justin Bieber hair. These little figures fit perfectly in the Tonka ambulance and helicopter, so these princesses are rescuing/being rescued left and right.

Christmas for the Otto boys (and each of our Primary kiddies):

This one is Carson's, and Everett got a slightly smaller and thus easier version as well.

Parks families- don't show your kids this because they will probably receive the same or similar thing next year. Our creativity only goes so far.

Every Sunday for our Primary class:

Beau draws these for most of our Primary lessons. These are just a few of my faves.

Instructions for those who care after the jump.
Princess figures, orginally from here.
These little figures are "game pieces" from the wood section of the craft store. The rest is pretty self explanatory... paint on the dresses and hair and eyes! We didn't trace every detail like the orginal blogger did. Beau has a pretty good eye for stuff like this. After they dried, we painted a sealant on the figures to prevent chipping. And cut down pom poms to glue on for Tiana and Cinderella's hair. The box was a last minute addition and fits the princesses perfectly.

Puzzle
These little blocks are 1" x 1" squares at the craft store. I printed out 6 pictures that could be cut down to 3" x 4" on cardstock paper. I'm sure regular photo paper would work, too. On the back of the photo we drew a grid to outline where we would cut out the photo squares. It actually needs to be a little smaller than 1 inch because you don't want the paper to be hanging off the edge. Anyway. Mod Podge the photo on the block, wait to dry, and Mod Podge over top.
You should mostly be impressed at my Mod Podge proficiency. Youtube showed me how to use it.
Coloring Pages
Have innate art talent like Beau and draw a picture during Sacrament meeting.

outtakes from my camera

2011-12-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

Stay, Jimmer.

See? That's cute.

Face off.

"WHY YOU GIVE ME APPLE WITH FLASH NOSEBAND."

Also, demonstrating my Wolverine-like characteristics while Allison tries to come up with an idea for an X Men themed picture.

frequently asked thru hiking questions

2011-12-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

How long are you hiking?
The trail runs from Springer Mountain in Georgiato Mt Katahdin in Maine,around 2,100 miles. Most thru hikers start in GA, but an increasing percentageof hikers are starting in Maineand heading south (southbonders, or SOBOs). I'll be starting in the beginning of April in Georgiaand finish 5 to 6 months later in Maine.

How do you get food?
The trail travels near and literally through towns. It seems like mostthru hikers these days buy food along the way, but some still use the mail dropmethod, where they send packages to post offices all along the trail and pickthem up as they get there. This sounds like a huge hassle to me to package allthat and plan when you'll need food. Lucky for me, I can also send word to Beauand let him know if I'm going to need something in particular and he can mailit ahead for me to pick up. Post offices in trail towns are accostomed to holding packages for thru hikers.

Wait, so Beau's not going with you? YOU'RE GOING ALONE??
Yikes, chill out. No, Beau is not going with me. He doesn't want to, and Idon't blame him. Not many people think walking for 5 months straight sounds asfun as I do. But I wouldn’t say thatI’ll be alone. No, I’m not setting out with a partner like some people do, butconsidering a couple thousand people attempt this every year, I’m pretty sureI’ll meet some people I like and generally stick with. While of course I’d like the support (and sharing pack weight!) ofhaving my husband with me, I’m confident that we can do this. We happen to live 45 minutes from the midpoint of the trail- Harper’s Ferry. Thisworks out quite nicely that I’m never more than a day’s drive away, so Beauwill be coming to visit any weekend he can. My parents, who have a goal of section hiking the trail (they havecompleted 500 miles so far) will probably meet up with me at various times aswell.

Is it safe?
An observation: This is a common question I get from people who are unfamiliar with the Appalachian Trail. Anyone who is familiar with the AT does not really question safety (with the exception of my dear grandma- but you're allowed to do whatever you want when you're Gram). I'm actually surprised and a little amused at the reactions I've gotten from some people in regards to this topic. I have concluded that I cannot convince anyone who thinks thru hiking is unsafe otherwise. I think I will be justas safe thru hiking as I would be going about business in NoVa. I recently read Women and Thru Hiking on the Appalachian Trail, which gave me some goodguidelines to follow about personal safety. If you’re really really concerned, shoot me an email and I am happy to explain the safetyprecautions I will be taking. If it’sany consolation, my dad is not overly concerned, and he is the most practicalperson I know.

Where do you stay along the way?
There are 274 shelters on the Appalachian Trail. Shelters are usually 3 sided structures that sleepanywhere from 4-20 people in addition to tent areas. I believe most, if not all, have watersources. Thru hikers also frequenthostels or hotels, depending on budget and schedule.

Do people get lost? How do you know where shelters, water and towns are?
Getting lost is pretty difficult. The trail is marked by white blazes (paint) on trees or rocks the whole way. There are actually two different and popular guidebooks designed just for thru hikers. They list distances to the nearest shelters and springs and towns. They also list what amenities the town has- grocery stores, hotels, dentists, laundromats, restaurants, post offices, etc. Sometimes they even have numbers of locals who will provide rides or help thru hikers out.
2,100 miles... 5-6 months... How many miles a day is that? Are you doing anything to train?
This, of course, varies per person. People come in with varying fitness levels, but after the first several weeks, most hikers are doing 20 mile days on average terrain, and I've read tons of blogs where they're doing 25+ miles per day on easy terrain. Of course, thru hikers take "zero days" in town every so often to resupply, do laundry, rest, etc. So an average schedule would be wake up early, walk a bunch, have some snacks, walk some more, stop at a shelter for the evening, make some dinner, go to bed. As far as training, they say the best way to train for walking up and down mountains with a pack on your back is... walking up and down mountains with a pack on your back. On the job training. Of course, I'm going to continue running, cycling, going to the gym, etc., so I'll probably be a little more ready on the first day than your average bear, but everyone will be pretty evened out after a little while.

What about going to church?
I hope to attend church as often as I can. That may end up being only once a month, but my plan is to contact the bishop or Relief Society president when the trail is within reasonable distance to a chapel and see if anyone in the ward would be willing to pick me up and give me a ride. Maybe I can even get a shower out of the deal, too...
This is something I thought a lot about when I was first contemplating this whole thru hiking business. In my church, the Sabbath is a day for rest and worship. I don't think that sitting in a shelter all day on Sundays is really honoring the Sabbath much, but I would like to try to make Sundays a little different. One idea I had was to put conference talks on an ipod reserved for Sunday use or having a more focused scripture study time.

Why do you want to do this?
That is an excellent question to which I am still forming a response. Theeasy answer is that it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and Ithink it will be one the coolest experiences of my life. The more reflective (yet still brief) answer, is thatI like to prove to myself that I can do hard things. Yes, I like running and cycling- but runningfor 13 miles? That’s kind of hard. Cycling for 100 miles? That’s really hard. Completing a thru hike is myultimate bucket list experience.

This was fun! Any more questions I can address?

family- isn't it about time? and food? and running?

2011-12-05T06:47:00.000-07:00

Sometimes my family is so cool that we do themed dinners. Egg-stravaganza! Soup night! Tuber-tacular!

A few weeks ago we had the much anticipated BYU foods night. The menu:

bread and honey butter :: Sugar and Spice in the Cougareat

pasta salad :: the Skyroom

(And Dallyn, mid-bite)

J Dawgs, including the sauce (recipe here)

Navajo Tacos :: L&T in the Cougareat
(I see a suspicious lack of lettuce on Daren's birthday plate....)

Smoothies :: Jamba Juice

mint brownies :: Sugar and Spice... and any BYU catered event

Mackenzie Trivia: I have worked at two of the above mentioned establishments.

Continuing on the topic of delicious food, Beau and I went to Colorado for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time with the whole Parks family. Ellen is always a great hostess to everyone and we enjoyed spending time with family and continuing the tradition of the desirable White Elephant gift exchange.

This is a lot of cuteness (and pregnant ladies and mustaches) for one photo.

Beau is so photogenic. And/or Jocelyn is just a good photographer.

My sister in law Alyse's child in utero has a serious birth defect that will require the baby to have all sorts of therapy and open heart surgery and other scary things. Please check out their website to learn more about the situation and what you can do to help.

Back on the East Coast, we went on a little jaunt to North Carolina to participate in the Mistletoe Half Marathon. I am super proud of my mom for doing her first half! Page and Rick and I planned on doing this a while ago, and for weeks I kept trying to convince Mom to sign up. I received very negative responses. Then, on Thanksgiving day I called to say hello from Colorado and she reported she had done 10 miles that morning and signed up that weekend.

Unfortunately none of us actually ran together because we were all different paces... but we all came through with Mom as she finished.

I did not train very well for this race- a combination of poor planning, lack of daylight, and some random tendon pain. However, I am pleased to report that I finished at 2:07- a couple minutes faster than my last half. Go figure.

And a little programming note... get ready for more frequent posting and an inundation of thru hiking talk. :)

i can do hard things

2011-11-29T18:29:00.000-07:00

For the past 7 months I have been making plans to put one of my life goals in action: thru hiking the Appalachian Trail.

This is something I have wanted to do ever since my 4th year at Girls Camp. In my stake, the 4th year girls backpacked for 4 days on the AT covering 40-50 miles in Maryland in the month of June, a good time to see plenty of thru hikers making their way from Georgia to Maine. I was fascinated by their stories, their drive to complete this enormous undertaking, and most of all, the culture of the trail.

Last May, Beau and I did a 4 day hike, covering many of the same parts I had done when I was 15. On the last day of our trip, I felt so sad to be leaving and kept day dreaming of ways to thru hike. You know those kind of thoughts- the "what if I...." inserting the "..." with something crazy but fun to think about. What if I left next week and went with the south bounders? What if I joined in with the thru hikers now and did VA-ME this summer, and finish the other half another time? What would thru hiking be like... how would I manage the logistics? What would my trail name be?

But then I was thinking- why don't I just GO? We don't have kids yet, I don't have a fantastic enough job to keep me from leaving, and most importantly, Beau supports this crazy adventure. From the beginning, he has been encouraging me to go. When I say that I don't want to go that long without being together, he assures me he will meet up with me every weekend he can. When I bring up concerns about day to day logistics, he reassures me that I'm a smart person and I can figure it out. When I start to think about all the things I will miss when I'm gone, he reminds me that I will miss having this experience even more.

With the reassurance from Beau, I decided that if I wanted to thru hike, I would have to make it happen. No one was going to plan it for me, buy my gear for me, or put me on Springer Mountain and send me on my way. I would have to make it happen, and the only thing stopping me would be myself.

So I'm going. All summer I've been thinking about it and planning a few things, but I've mostly kept it to myself and Beau because, I'll admit, I feel a little silly saying that I'm going to thru hike. It reminds me of a junior in high school saying, "I'm going to graduate from Harvard!" Uh, sure you are. Most people who say they are going to thru hike don't actually go. And most of the people who actually set out to begin the trail don't finish. What makes me think I'm going to be in this small percentage of successful hikers?

I'm aware that it will not be all fun and games. I try to think about the really not-fun parts (hiking in rain for days, humidity, biting flies in New England, being lonely) as much or more than the awesome ones (making friends on the trail, getting my picture in the book in Harper's Ferry, experiencing trail magic, KATAHDIN). Yes, it's going to be ridiculously enormously hard. The hardest thing I've ever done physically or mentally. But I know I can do this- I can do hard things.

book review part II

2011-11-18T08:35:00.001-07:00

I love reading.

I wanted to pick my top 5 favorite books read in the past year, and thanks to goodreads.com, it was easy for me to look at my comprehensive list to narrow down. Striking books of this list to come to the "Top 5" was like cutting my arm off. Not that I have cut my arm off, but nonetheless it was painful. I felt like the cast off books were really sad to be deleted and not even mentioned.

The Book Thief :: Markus Zusak

I love books based on the Holocaust, but sometimes they blend together. The way this is written, from the perspective of Death, is fascinating and captivating, standing out from any other World War II book I've read. Death, while you would expect "him" to be gloomy, is actually personified as compassionate and, at times, oddly humorous.
"There was once a strange, small man. He decided three important details about his life:
1. He would part his hair from the opposite side to everyone else.
2. He would make himself a small, strange mustache.
3. He would one day rule the world.
...Yes, the Fuhrer decided that he would rule the world with words."

The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio :: Terry Ryan

Likeable account of a woman in the 1950's trying to provide for her family by winning prizes and money through contests. Unintentionally, this is the only book in this list that isn't a little dark. I found it very entertaining and actually a little inspiring. I mostly appreciated the story shows that you don't have to be wealthy or have a perfect life to be happy. This book makes me want to be persistent.

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea :: Barbara Demick

Other than some education from 30 Rock, I knew very little about North Korea. Because the media is so restricted in gathering information about the conditions there, the author interviewed several North Koreans who had defected to South Korea or China. During the first few chapters, I kept having to remind myself of the time period. I caught myself picturing the setting in the 1940s because of the technology and culture, but seeing a date and realizing it was actually in the 1990s. It is fascinating and heartbreaking to read about this country and culture.

The Cellist of Sarajevo :: Steven Galloway

Another book proving my cultural ignorance. What Bosnian siege? While the novel is based on actual events, these characters are made up/loosely based on real people. I loved that the chapters were from 4 different character's perspectives, bringing a greater understanding to what was going on while Sarajevo civilians were under attack by snipers, or "men in the hills".

Cutting for Stone :: Abraham Verghese

Possibly the most beautifully written novels I have ever read. I don't think I could put into words an accurate "review", other than the second I finished the last page I wanted to start it all over again.

Okay, I guess I will mention the runner's up that I don't want to feel neglected:
Bossypants :: Tina Fey
The Nazi Officer's Wife :: Edith H. Beer
Half Broke Horses :: Jeannette Walls

Isn't reading the best? I love goodreads.com as a way to keep track of what I've read and to get ideas from other people on what I might want to read. Does anyone have any books they can suggest for me to read next?

time out for halloweekend get away

2011-11-07T09:45:00.001-07:00

Ever since the MD Horse Trials, Jimmy has been a little off (someone forgot to remind him he's 22 and shouldn't be so exuberant cross country) so we have unfortunately not been able to show the rest of the season. The good thing is that this allows me to actually do other things on weekends.

Several months ago, Gram wanted to organize a girls weekend, and planned for any family who was available to attend Time Out for Women in Richmond. Time Out is sponsored by Deseret Book and reminds me of an EFY for adult women. Unfortunately, Gram's sister passed away the week prior and was unable to attend, but it still provided for a fun weekend.

Fantastic pizza place in downtown Richmond

Capitol building? I guess? Also, some good stairs to add to our morning run.

The whole group- my sisters & mom plus aunts Melody and Melaney and cousin Bethanie

Me, Pagie, mom, Ashley, Reagan and Truman

After watching all 5 X-Men movies in the past week, Beau and I were feeling the super hero love when thinking of Halloween costumes.

SuperBeau and SuperMackenzie.

Me and T-Man at the ward party.

Beau and I did something last weekend we've never done before. We took off work Friday and went away for a weekend JUST FOR FUN. And by "away", I really mean a hour and a half south to Front Royal. Although anyone who's familiar with northern Virginia knows that an hour and a half south can feel like you actually traveled into another state, country, or possibly decade.

Friday night dinner- Element in Front Royal. Highly recommend. The menu was quite short, so I was a little disappointed at first that there was nothing I was super jazzed about ordering. The table next to me got the black bean and beef quesadillas, and they looked super yummy so I went with that. Beau got pork chops with cabbage and root mash (what?) and it was AMAZING. Root mash, in case you were wondering, is a mashed concoction of carrots, potatoes, rutabegas, parsnips, squash, or any other tuber. Then I wanted to try a bite of everything on the menu because if they can make cabbage delicious, I can only imagine what the Blue Cheese Crusted Mignottes would be like.

Anyway, the next morning we went for a bike ride in Shenandoah Natoinal Park. Lovely lovely.

I thought this sign was cool.

Who spells Mackenzie with out a "c"? This was our lunch destination on Saturday. 30 different burgers on the menu, and Beau chose this monster:

Of course, we stopped by the barn on the way home and Beau sat on Jimmy for the first time.

Fuzzy, fat, and ready for retirement.

I was talking about Jimmer.

horses and seagulls

2011-11-01T09:55:00.000-06:00

In October, I competed in my very first horse trial. Horse trials are different from the shows I've done since I was a kid- those were typically a jumping or flat class that was judged on either the horse or the rider's performance. Recently, I've gotten into eventing, kind of a triathlon for riding. There are three phases: dressage, stadium jumping, and cross country. Dressage is on the flat and judged on the accuracy and performance of a prescribed test. Stadium jumping is over about 10 jumps in an arena, with penalties for going over time or knocking rails down. Cross country is over natural obstacles on a longer course in fields and woods and such, with penalities for time.

Jimmy has competed in the highest level of eventing in his younger days, and I entered us in the lowest divison. :) It's always good when you're super nervous at a show for the jumps to seem small. Anyway, rather than getting unnecessarily super detailed about everything, here are some photos from the photographer's site.

Beau's photography skills

smiling because I'm finished!

I finished 6th, so I was pleased to be in the ribbons on my first time out! There were lots of professionals in my division, and I saw later I was 3rd among the amateurs. Yay for horses.

Speaking of event pictures... check out this shot of Beau at the Seagull Century!

Beau went with some guys from our ward down to Assateague and fought head wind and wild ponies for several hours.

Beau's awesome post race hair, with little ridges where the air vents are in his helmet.

Next up is the Mistletoe Half Marathon with my sister in Winston-Salem, NC. On Saturday, Page asked if I had done a long run that day, and it occurred to me I have done absolutely zero preparation. Oops. Let's see if I can squeeze in some training in the next 4 weeks.

no longer a fraud

2011-10-12T18:30:00.001-06:00

Want to hear something embarrassing?

I finished my last semester at BYU in April 2010. I had one GE requirement left to fill- Civ II. I originally planned to take it spring semester, but since I was able to find a job so quickly, it made more sense to take History 202 through independent study so I could work full time. My goal was to finish it by the end of the year, when we'd be leaving Utah anyway.

I just took the final a week ago. And was sure I failed it. But miraculously, I passed! So I can finally proceed with actually graduating from BYU.

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, we did survive the aforementioned Civil War Century just fine. I would even say it was one of the more enjoyable centuries we've done. The first quarter was a killer and I was contemplating doing the short route, but then I had a little conversation with myself and was able to finish with no problem.

First rest stop at Gathland State Park

Nothing beats a PBJ.

Finished! With free ice cream!

Beau's got the Seagull Century in Assateague, VA this week. I opted out because my month is so full of horse stuff, so this will be the first century we haven't done together.

This picture cracks me up. Every Sunday when we come into our class, the accordion divider is open and Beau closes it with the kids "helping". This week, Beau and I must have been setting up chairs or something because before we knew it, the kids had closed it themselves. Teamwork. It was so cute how they were evenly spaced out pushing it shut.

Also, we have a new nephew! Truman, or "Big Baby" (both from Toy Story and referring to his 10 lb 8 oz size).

We love having 6 nieces and 6 nephews! And 2 more baby girls on the way!

Finally, last weekend I competed in my first recognized event with Jimmer. Stay tuned for more pictures.

rainrainrainrainrainrainrain

2011-09-09T07:47:00.001-06:00

this weekend:
The Civil War Century. 105 miles

It has been raining non stop all week and while this race is rain or shine, I'm wondering how accessible these roads are going to be. Also, the pre race email stated that the roads will probably be too wet to mark and riders will have to rely on cue sheets. AWESOME.

By looking at this map, one would think that things are pretty smooth sailing when you hit mile 62, right? Somehow these maps always lie to me.

Either that, or it will be pouring the whole time and we'll call it quits after a couple hours.

Even if we end up doing a shorter route, this ride will still be fantastic with the scenery. It's so much easier to do long distances on supported rides because of the plentiful fuel and company.

my four loves

2011-08-26T20:12:00.000-06:00

In the past few months since I've been doing the 40+ hours per week office job, I have made sure to utilize my Saturdays to the best of my ability. Almost every week I have a schedule written in my planner to make sure I can get it all in- running, riding, going to dinner with a friend, horse shows, bike rides, temple trips, hiking, shopping, etc.

This past Saturday was one my favorites.

Made a friend on my 8 mile run. I usually park a couple miles from the W&OD trail, hop on the trail for a few miles and turn around and come back. Shortly after I joined the trail, a girl came the other way in Vibrams. We did the "sweet shoes" comment to each other, and she turned around and asked if she could join me. We had a grand time talking about running, cycling, triathlons, families, the church, and all sorts of things.

Then I went to a dressage clinic with Lorna Donahue at the barn.

Learned a ton and Beau was able to come watch as well.

Beau and I went to Middleburg, one my favorite places in the world. It is hunt country and horse person heaven. It seems like every little shop has something horse related in their name, decor, products, or logo. At the grocery store, the ratio of people in barn clothes to normal is about 1:1. The locals are all snobby and I love it.

After picking a few things up at the Tack Exchange, Beau and I went to lunch at the Upper Crust bakery, which was documented by the Daily Dollar!

Then we went on a bike ride through Middleburg and Philomont. Beau's new smartphone showed our elevation profile like this:

yikes.

"How come I'm always the one in pictures?" "Because you're prettier than me."

To finish out the day, we changed clothes and went to a friend's wedding reception.

There are few things I see at weddings that I feel are actually worth the time and money that went into them. Here is one exception: after going through the receiving line, we were escorted to a little bench and the photographer took our picture. At the end, we were handed the framed photo to keep. Genius!

Best Saturday so far. Running, horses, cycling, and Beau.

i got the moves like jagger

2011-08-18T13:30:00.002-06:00

This week was a good week because...
- Cheddar Bunnies were on clearance at Harris Teeter.
- My bike and I became best friends again. We had a little bit of separation and she got jealous that I was spending more time with the Vibrams.
- I competed in my first dressage show and it was fantastic.
- Beau had more fun at said dressage show than was expected.
- There is a not-dead turtle somewhere in the woods by rt 606.
- I completed my first bid proposal at work.
- I learned the magical properties of fabric when cut diagonally to make it stretchy.
- We saw HP7.2 with Katie and Joe
- I unexpectedly needed to buy a new dressage saddle this week and found a smokin deal on CL.

I have started so many blog posts in the past little while and have yet to finish any of them. On one hand, we are super busy over here with work, riding (horses for me, cycling for both of us), vacationing, looking for an apartment, deciding to not move, making future plans, etc., but then when I look back to see what needs to be updated, it doesn't seem like there are many exciting things to tell. And a lack of photos, as per usual.

Thankfully, I have sisters-in-law that DO take pictures, so I can give a decent account of our lake vacation to Colorado!

The main reason for this gathering was to celebrate Beau's brother Brady coming home from his mission in Brazil. Yay Brady!

errbody

Check out these beautiful children.

Beau's family is big into waterskiing, and they are all amazing at it. I prefer to watch from the boat.

Isn't this the cutest?

Models, I'm telling you.

This is me surviving and feeling uncomfortable because water is frightening to me.

Other stuff? We went for a jaunt on the AT with the Anna and Rob and baby. This is us in the swanky Ed Garvey shelter.. when I die I want my money to go to building nice AT shelters like this. Well, some of it anyway. The rest can go to the church.

I don't think I've introduced the world to my new man, Jimmy (who also answers to Jimmer). He is a super athlete, imported from England, and a former Advanced level horse. Which means he used to do stuff like this:

And now he has to be bored and do this:

Okay, we usually jump much higher than this, but it was our first show when I'd only had him for a couple weeks. But we competed in my first dressage show last weekend, and did really well.

The End.

a race, a mission, a job, a car

2011-07-02T01:41:00.000-06:00

I am happy to report that both Beau and I have jobs!

Beau's ultimate goal is to work for the FBI, CIA, DIA, or some other acronym. Unfortunately, the hiring process takes FOREVER, so Beau has been looking for something else in the meantime. A couple weeks ago he was able to get a job in quality control at Don's Johns, a portable restroom company. Also, when he was interviewing there, they mentioned another position open and I was able to interview and be hired for that as well. Random? Absolutely. But we really like the company and people and we're in a good situation.

Hooray for jobs!

You might think this would save us from buying a second car. But my work day starts at 7:30, and going to the gym beforehand puts me out the door at 5:30. Beau doesn't need to be there till 9, and some days he finishes later than me. A lot of good Craigslist searching (really just checking it every half hour) lead us to finding our little Hyundai Accent. Beau looked through hundreds of used car ads to find one that had low enough miles and within our price range.

On a totally unrelated note (but the only thing I have pictures from), I ran my second half marathon! This was the first race ever that I did by myself- I couldn't cajole any friends, sisters, husbands, or moms to join me. It went really well and I definitely had more fun in this race than others I've done. Full report can be found here.

Cheesin.

I love me some Vibrams.

This is Rosario. We met at the starting line and ran the whole thing together!

Beau gets a gold star and 50 points for being my support staff. He woke up at 4:30 to drive to the race in Pennsylvania while I slept in the car, ate the pre race donuts they had out, took some pictures, cheered me at the finish, fetched my post race snacks while I got a massage, and drove me home. Way to go, husband.

Jobs-check. Car- check. Now we're on a mission for an apartment...

this is how we do unemployment.

2011-05-31T08:33:00.000-06:00

Cap2Cap 50 mile ride in Richmond, VA.

Our entry in the ride also got us a great BBQ lunch and lots of free samples from sponsors.

Afterwards, we went to colonial Willamsburg and walked around town.

Matching bows with Adriel!

Cheesy flatwork shot.

See, unemployment is all fun and games! Just kidding. It stinks. We are trying hard to find jobs.

Last week, we went on a 50 mile hike on the Appalachian Trail. We left Wednesday afternoon to start in Pennsylvania and finished Saturday around noon at Harper's Ferry where my parents picked us up and took us back to our car. I <3 the AT.

This next series displays some of the animals we saw that I could catch.

day 1: toad. we actually saw lots of toads, but this was just the first one.

day 2: box turtle!

day 3: baby snapping turtle! this little guy tried to eat me.

Not pictured: lots of big black snakes. Including one in a shelter we stayed in. Maybe that's why there were no mice in that one...

Of course, I forgot the Joby so we had to do these silly self taken shots.

Harper's Ferry, atop Weverton Cliffs

seven

2011-05-06T19:53:00.005-06:00

Because I seem to have the inability to produce a coherent thought, here is the mashup of things I have been meaning to share:

- I re-read all 7 Harry Potter books in about 2.5 weeks. It was one of the best decision in my life. Especially as it coincided with the viewing of this video:

- We saw a snapping turtle on Smith Circle. It was scary.

I saw a baby box turtle at the barn and it was the size of a quarter! It was cute.

- We have been house sitting for a few families in the area and it has been tons of fun! If anyone is going away and wants a cute couple to stay in their house, we are up for the job. And we really like dogs.

- Beau comes to work with me on Mondays and we have fun.

- We went to see the cherry blossoms with Zack and Jocelyn and Millie over conference weekend and had a grand time. Jocelyn takes good pictures. I am a little embarrassed at my schleppy appearance in this photo, but not embarrassed enough to not post it.

- A few weeks ago, I was teaching a 7 year old girl on her pony Simon. Everything was going fine until he spooked at who knows what and she ended up falling off. I went to her to dust her off and put her back on, and much to my surprise I find her with blood squirting out above her elbow and a bone sticking a few inches out of her arm. Hello! The poor girl was very brave and didn't cry too hard while we waited for the ambulance. Unfortunately, the healing process isn't going as well as predicted and SEVEN surgeries later, she is still in the hospital. I believe she is supposed to come home on Monday.

Blogger is being really slow. Until next time, friends!

sympathy for the martyr

2011-03-23T19:54:00.000-06:00

We are still alive!

Recent thoughts:

- I love rural Virginia and Maryland. The recent monsoon created a blow down on rt 28 on the way to the barn.

No biggie, the guy in the white truck pulled out his chainsaw and started hacking away before the firemen even got there.

- Beau loves cardinals. He'd never seen one till Virginia, and is fascinated by their bright color.

- I rode home from the barn yesterday. I think I'll make that a habit. Plus, it saves money on the ferry ride! I still fail to understand why there aren't more bridges across the Potomac River. We have also been on a few rides on the W&OD trail, which runs from Alexandria-ish to Purcellville.

- I had my first ever roadkill today. A squirrel. The bump was so insignificant as I ran over the little thing that I wondered if I had killed other animals and not even realized it. Ashley, remember that time you hit a little white dog?

- We got a new windshield today. It had cracked last summer (presumably because of heat, as there was no chip and it appeared on a day we hadn't driven it) and it was big enough to stop us from passing Virginia's safety inspection. The emissions inspection was a whole other drama- the "check engine" light has been on in our car for as long as I can remember. When we've taken it in for oil changes and such, they have never been concerned. Now that we are needing to pass the state emissions, I was nervous about how we were going to fix the problem. We got a diagnostic and they estimated $800 to fix the problem that they admitted was nothing serious. After some grumbling, we decided that we'd better make an appointment to get this clunker of a car inspection-ready. Two days later, the check engine light miraculously turned off, giving me the opportunity to get the car checked and passed. Done and done! I felt like I should get a prize. I guess I did, as we didn't have to pay $800.

- Beau's birthday is a week from tomorrow, and mine is two weeks after that! Happy birthdays. 25 and 23.

- I have been reading "Eat, Pray, Love" and I'm surprised how much I enjoy it. I have a weird habit of disliking the norm. Sometimes I feel like it is a personality flaw, other times an opportunity for expression. Either way, I was not dying to read the novel as I felt that it was too cliche. But any book that is made into a movie should be good, right? I'm not finished yet, but I recommend what I've read so far.

- In case anyone is wondering, we are still living in Ashburn with my parents. My job is in Poolesville, Maryland, which is 35-45 minutes away. We are hoping to find a cheap apartment up there, not only to be closer to the barn but also because the area is just lovely. Beau is still looking, and may be going the law enforcement route. We are excited!

Welp, this is getting longer than I intended. Maybe one day we'll have a real life and real jobs and a real update. I hope that day comes soon.

shappy abble earrings and other events

2011-02-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

Apparently everyone knows about this but me, but our dear friends at Shabby Apple are giving away earrings if you post (blog, twitter, facebook, etc.) about your favorite dress. I do love their clothes, it's just too bad they're so dang expensive!

Garden Isle

Whisk me away, Garden Isle dress, to a nice beach where I can lean against a rock and look tragically beautiful.

As for updates on the job front, I am starting work at a nice hunter show barn in Poolesville, Maryland. There is an apartment on the property that we will probably be moving into in a few weeks.

This week, we went on an overnight hiking trip on the Appalachian Trail. Beau's first time! I believe I have mentioned the AT before... it is a great trail that runs from Georgia to Maryland, covering over 2,000 miles. There are shelters all along the way and hundreds of people "thru hike" (hike the whole distance) every year. I dream of being one of those people.

As usual, I didn't take as many pictures as I should have...

Beau enjoying a sammich

I can start the stove all by myself.

And lastly, want to try something fun? Play around with this time waster.

happy valentine's day/3 years of being a couple anniversary

2011-02-14T06:08:00.000-07:00

virginia is for lovers

2011-02-09T08:13:00.005-07:00

We are here! Not too much to report on; we're just actively on the job search. I have a few things that may come to pass, so we'll see. I hope that next time I post I will have something to tell about! Here are the photos we've taken recently...

A few of Beau's old roommates had a hard time saying bye as we left Provo.

This is Beau and Guy (his dad) trying to start the car in -10 degree weather.

The car now looks beautiful, a piece of moving art. As you can see in the picture it is missing its passenger-side fender, and because of the cold, the latch for the hood broke so Beau and his dad had to take off the grill. The car from the front looks like a smiling hobo. We're oh so proud of our little Trooper. We also ended up getting a new battery and were on our way as soon as the storm cleared in the midwest.

Beau felt we needed to document our trip. Or maybe he was just bored. Either way, this must have been in Kansas or something because there is a whole lot of nothing. We made it from Colorado to Virginia in two days- one 14 hour day to Jefferson City (where we stayed with Ashley's parents-in-law) and then a 16 hour day to Ashburn.

This portrait by Beau makes it seem like I did most of the driving, which was certainly not the case. I think I did one "shift" (meaning one tank of gas, as that was the only time we stopped) each day. While Beau was driving I kept him entertained by reading books out loud, talking (I can talk for a long time. About nothing. Maybe that was more boring than entertaining...), napping, and quoting these clips:

"Violence at nbc ge.... com?" "What is the internet, anyway? Is it like a bulletin board?"

Upon arrival in Virginia, we were greeted by warm(er) weather and one thing Utah lacks: trees. I took a run through some wooded paths next to my house. How did I not know how great these were while I was younger? Oh right, I hated runnning. Foolish Mackenzie.

The girls were a little taken aback by my hair. When I first saw them early the next morning, Brooklee said "You don't look like Mackenzie...". Adriel keeps asking why I cut it (apparently she's on a Tangled kick) and Dallyn told me I look weird. Oh well!

STUCK (but at least we're having fun).

2011-02-01T23:49:00.000-07:00

all of our wordly possessions

This was us, leaving Utah on Saturday afternoon to head to Virginia. The plan was to stop in Colorado and chill with the Parks for a couple days, leave on Tuesday morn, stay in St. Louis that night, and drive many many hours to Ashburn on Wednesday. Then, leave on Friday afternoon (after a job interview that morning) with my dad for North Carolina to see the the Ottos and the babe.

Sounds like a plan. Right?

We got to Colorado fine and dandy, and saw pending snow storms in the next couple days. We decided to push back our departure one day (so, leaving on Wednesday) to avoid it. Now (Tuesday night) it is looking like there is more warning of severe weather tomorrow, road closures, etc. To top things off, Beau went to the car earlier this evening and it does NOT want to start. It is negative 10 degrees, after all, so the oil is probably nice and thick.

While we do enjoy being stuck in Colorado with Beau's family (much much better than a stinky motel or stranded in our car!), it'd be reeeeeally nice to be able to interview for this job and go to North Carolina. I have already made it to the pro level in Wii tennis and I'm anxious to consume the SunChips that were designated as "car food", so can we get this show on the road??

whelmed.

2011-01-28T14:47:00.001-07:00

Packing is hard. I have so many piles and things to do that I'm having a hard time starting ANY of them. Unload the dishwasher- but wait, I should just unload them into a box. Pack up clothes- but which ones do I want to put in a suit case to use in the near future? But I shouldn't be complaining... we don't have that much stuff or any children to be worrying about!

So, instead, I am doing this and waiting for Beau to get back from skiing to help me.

Other thoughts:

- I got my hair trimmed yesterday, as it was getting shaggy in the back and Utah is the Land of Cheap Haircuts. Buuut, it's a little shorter than I intended. Woops.
- My sister Page had her baby yesterday, 8 days after she was due. Can't wait to meet the little gal.
- I had a riding lesson the other day for the first time in 9 months. I am embarrassingly sore.
- I registered for my next race, a half marathon in Chesapeake, VA on April 16th. Happy birthday, Mackenzie. You get to run 13 miles.
- Why do I keep finding ponytail holders all over the house when I rounded them all up after I cut my hair?
- I am not very good at Wii rowing. The 5 year old child I was babysitting consistently beat me. And I was trying.

Welp, time to go back to packing! At least it was warm enough to go on a bike ride today, right?

Holy smog, batman!

a late christmas report

2011-01-16T22:32:00.000-07:00

This year, we had the pleasure of spending Christmas in Colorado with Beau's family. Everyone was there (minus Brady on a mission in Brazil) and it was great relaxing and playing Bananagrams with the family!

It was fun having all the little cousins together. I would have liked to have seen the outtakes of this series...

I especially like their symmetry.

Amelia and Emerson are the most easygoing and happy babies and didn't mind being passed around all the time. I am excited for them to grow up being friends and in 10 years maybe I can teach them to ride ponies together.

Thanks to Beau's generous parents, we were spoiled in the gifts department Christmas morning. We got some camping equipment, cycling gear, and most notably... Vibram FiveFingers!

These babies are even better than I had imagined. Running has come to a whole new level, as documented here.

I thoroughly enjoyed the warmer-than-Utah weather, and went for daily walks with my friend Sammy.

We all had a great time and were sad to go back to real life. Real life comes with looking for jobs, telling your boss you're leaving, looking for jobs, figuring out moving arrangements, and looking for jobs. Beau wants me to include that he made cupcakes from scratch- red velvet.

There is so much color clashing in this picture I can hardly stand it.

We had a little sleepover at our friends house for New Years Eve, which I do have a picture but I will spare everyone because we all look really disheveled. And by "we all", I really mean me. And I have no shame so I'll put it up anyway to prove we have friends.

Also, we signed up for a free trial with Netflix and have watched The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Best in Show, Hunt for Red October, Food, Inc., Eight Men Out, and Everything is Illuminated. Swing Kids is in the mail.

Winter stinks.

ch- ch- ch- changes!

2010-12-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

announcement one:

I cut my hair really short.

announcement two:

We are moving to the motherland, Northern Virginia, in early February.

No, we don't have jobs there (yet), but a large majority of jobs for Russian linguists are in the DC area. We'll be staying at my parent's house until we figure out what we're doing. Scary? Yes. Exciting? More so.

if anyone has not had the joy of flying with me...

2010-12-22T18:58:00.002-07:00

... this will be me tomorrow at 8:05am as we are waiting to get off the plane in Denver.

parks and dickson- out!

2010-12-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

After a combined 20 semesters, we are both DONE at BYU! Beau finished his last final today and never looked back. No more commuting to Provo every day, no more papers to write, and no more tuition.

(Don't worry about my independent study class- I just took the midterm and I am determined to be done.... soon.)

This was where we had our first conversation playing Stake Conference bingo. RIP Provo Tabernacle.

oh hey, december (notice a trend?)

2010-12-02T22:12:00.002-07:00

Oh, blast. It happened again. Another month where I didn't post anything. If you are dying to view my wit and charm, head on over to the fitness blog, as I keep that up pretty well.

First up, I helped throw a baby shower for dear Anna. Thanks for the picture, Emily! We had fun making neat little appliqued onesies. I also learned what "appliqued" means.

This should be the first of several, as I have a few more pregnant friends and coworkers. BABIES!

We went for our last hike (without snowshoes, anyway) of 2010 up Butler Fork trail. Isn't it pretty?

Aiight Utah. Stop trying to win me over with your outdoorsy-ness.

I really need to do better about taking photos of things other than hiking or cycling. Because it really ends up looking like that's all we do. Not true!

And then there was Thanksgiving. Best weekend ever. Started out with getting out of work early because of supposed "Blizzard of 2010". So we saw Inception at the dollar theater! So good. Luckily, we were able to traverse through the 3-4 inch snowfall to get home without any incident. Thanksgiving morning brought a little Turkey Trot. My partner in crime with the Mia Maids is even more crazy than I am, and we were able to convince some girls to come with us. It was COLD. But great!

I got home just in time for my favorite part of Thanksgiving- the Purina Dog Show! I was excited that 3/7 final dogs were my very favorite breeds, but alas, the Irish Setter won it all.

Black Friday, normally something I don't participate in, lured me in with the promise of $20 gift cards for the first 150 people in line at REI. I am bought for a small price.

Our other crazy moment of the weekend was going on a group ride Saturday morning- the "Saturday Fatterday" ride. 30 miles from Saratoga Springs to Suncrest and back.

Winter cycling: colder than winter hiking or running. Wind plays large factor.

To give our apartment a little Christmas cheer, we put up our 2 foot Christmas tree (same one from the dorms, Kate!) and made some ornaments. Because we don't have any.

Isn't Beau's skiing santa cute? It is especially neat when you know that we didn't have any glue. That is all staples and tape, my friends.

Not pictured- trip to the Salt Lake temple, our attempt at cross country skiing, BYU's loss to Utah, and the viewing of Toy Story 3 and Enchanted.

Now it is back to work/school, with only a few weeks left in the semester for Beau! Hip, hip, hooray!

oh hey, november

2010-11-03T21:24:00.001-06:00

Isn't this picture just the greatest? I know I already talked about Ashley's wedding, but her photos turned out so well I had to share more. Next time I get married I am using her photographer.

The whole fam. Well, until Page has her baby in a few months. It's so challenging to keep an updated family photo... Also, I love that even though all four of us got married in the DC temple, all of our group shots were unintentionally taken in different locations.

Dallyn sat on Ashley's lap for most of the morning, taking everything in. There were a million of Ashley's friends doing her hair and makeup all morning and Dally was a little overwhelmed.

Well that's my little Ashley wedding montage.

Sadly, I didn't really take any picture during our Halloween weekend. We went to Park City to spend time with several friends at their condo, playing games, watching the Sister Wives marathon (I don't recommend it) and making caramel apples.

Brittany and I are thinking about going into the business.

Oh, and my bike got stolen. That was fun. Bought a new one, that was more fun.

To prevent this blog from being all about cycling and running adventures, I created a fitness blog, appropriately titled justanotherfitnessblog.blogspot.com . Hop on over to read about our second century, the new bike, and the half marathon I did this past weekend.

Peace out, homies!

three and a half seconds about life.

2010-10-17T21:16:00.002-06:00

Three and a Half Seconds About Life from Eran Hilleli on Vimeo.

a wedding of the century!

2010-09-28T21:10:00.001-06:00

Last weekend, this cute couple got married in the DC temple.

We don't really know Tim yet, but we're excited to have him in the family! And anyone who grew up in the DC area is okay in my book. Ashley has great style that showed in every aspect of the decoration and the reception was perfect.

This picture cracks me up:

Carson was told to act like a soldier and he stayed just like this. Even when all the other children were running away and Ashley had gotten up.

Tyler and Beau at the yummy dinner the night before with my cousin Camilla's baby, Kingsley. I believe he (the baby, not Beau or Tyler) had an accident, hence the nakedness.

ALSO, our quick trip to Virginia allowed us to meet up with Zack, Jocelyn, and Amelia! Thanks for the picture, Jocie! Millie is a doll.

I want to go back. ASAP. If anyone wants to offer Beau a job in the DC area let us know.

Then, back in Utah, it was century time. We did the Heber Valley century, 100 miles from Heber, north to Kamas and beyond.

We did some of this

A little of this

But mostly a lot of this

update-o-rama

2010-09-12T21:16:00.002-06:00

Update 1: I crossed off 3 states from my list in one week. I went to Minnesota (where my company is based) for a conference, and those who weren't at the bar in the evening decided to go on a jaunt to Wisconsin- just to say we did. 15 minutes later we crossed the border, took a picture, and went back. Go Mormons.

A few days later Beau and I drove to Colorado for a mini vacation to Horsetooth with his family, crossing through Wyoming, adding the third state.

Beau tearing it up on the reservoir

Nephews! Cooper and Jackson.

Update 2: Beau started school. Last semester! Stay tuned for details on what's next after graduation... because your guess is as good as ours.

Update 3: Beau got a (part time) job. Tutoring kids in math at Mathnasium!

Update 4: Beau got a makeover- new glasses and no beard!

Update 5: We got callings! Drumroll.... Beau is now the assistant scoutmaster and I'm an advisor for the Mia Maids. Yay! We're excited.

And for the best news of all, we're going to Virginia this week! My sister Ashley is getting married, so we'll get to meet our new brother in law, visit lots of family, meet our niece Millie, and ride KILLIAN!

this bugs me.

2010-09-06T16:09:00.004-06:00

It's not "watching", it's PARENTING. How nice of your husband to do you big favor and watch his own child while you take a nap/do anything for yourself.

In other news, we saw a dinosaur on our bike ride today.

book review!

2010-08-28T07:22:00.004-06:00

Books I've read recently:

The Lovely Bones ::: Alice Sebold

Girl is murdered and the killer is not found. She watches her family/friends go through life without her, and tries to help them identify the killer. Definitely a good read. Her description of heaven seems a bit unrealistic, to say the least, but as the book is more about life than death, it's tolerable.

Rating: 4/5 stars!

Infidel ::: Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Saw this as recommended in Self magazine. Infidel is a biography of a Somali feminist, activist, and politician. She grew up very Muslim with a prominant Muslim father, and gradually formed her own belief about religion and other practices. Very culturally eye opening and especially fascinating because it all occurs within the past 30 years. I'll throw out a warning for some graphic imagery.

Rating: A-! Because the end got a little more tediously political than I enjoy.

The Secret Life of Bees ::: Sue Monk Kidd

I figured if they made movie on this, it had to be kind of good. Story of 14 year old girl searching for the history of her deceased mother. I liked the setting of the Civil Rights era. Definitely a "heartwarming" book.

Rating: Two thumbs up!

Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics ::: Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner

I read Freakonomics a long time ago and when I saw there was a sequel, I got both to read again. These authors have an amazing capability to analyze data, notice trends, and write it in an interesting, funny, and comprehensible way. Makes me want to be an economist.

Rating: 8/10 points! Some parts, especially in Superfreakonomics, get a little too wordy and I zoned out during the global warming talk.

the Hunger Games :: Suzanne Collins

So THIS is what all the hype is about. FANTASTIC. ADDICTIVE. I'm excited I started reading this right as the third and final book is coming out. So while everyone is frantically reading Mockingjay, I'm just waiting for Catching Fire to be available at the library.

Rating: GOLD STAR! And family friendly, too! Except for the parts when people die. That can be a little gruesome.

and currently reading:
the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ::: Mary Ann Shaffer

Not as much of a page-turner like the rest of these, but still very enjoyable. I'm having trouble keeping track of all the characters. Rating to be determined!

timpanogos, steve holt, and a new computer.

2010-08-12T23:21:00.002-06:00

Another thing checked off our Utah to-do list: Hike Timp.

You'd THINK the summit was actually the peak a little to the right, but depth perception gets little thrown off. Get out your binoculars and check. You'll see the little hut that marks the top.

Oh, hey Beau.

K I'm going to brag for a second. (Since that's what this whole blog thing is all about. Don't lie. You do it too.) For once, I was physically more capable than Beau. I believe these words came out of his mouth: "Do you ever get tired?" As the hours/miles went on it became clear my hours of cardio work actually pays off a little bit. Breaks are for wusses.

Mountain goats. These guys defy gravity.

Nice little climb closer to the summit.

Some genius was apparently an Arrested Development fan. STEVE HOLT!

Happy Valley. Someday I will leave you.

The aftermath. Little sunburned/wiped out Beau slept from 7pm to 9am.

(Note the empty container of ice cream on the floor)

On an unrelated note, THIS is what $140 will get you on KSL.com:

Kids, never buy anything new ever again. Basically new computer with Microsoft and Anti Virus already installed on it. Anyone now of an easy way to get all your iTunes switched over to a new computer?

thought of the day

2010-08-03T13:43:00.000-06:00

I realized that the reason why I favor cherry and grape flavored Jolly Ranchers is because they tend to be the ones left over. I remember feeling badly for these flavors in 6th grade and announcing grape was my favorite. I hope grape feels better now.

pioneer day weekend

2010-07-28T22:44:00.001-06:00

Day 1- Friday
Hiking in Big Cottonwood Canyon, shopping at a consignment store for outdoors equipment, thrift stores, and the Spanish Fork rodeo.

Hotdogs and soda? Who ARE we??

They were free. Don't judge.

Day 2: Speedy Spaniard 10k and Taste of the Valley!

Why does no one ever remind me that I don't even like running? That's what I was thinking as we were getting ready to start. And during the first 4 miles. But then afterwards, I only remember finishing and feeling accomplished and sign up for another race.

Don't mess.

We were proud of our times. I was 177th place! I don't think I passed a single person. I guess 177 people passed me. But I did beat the other 523 people, so there.

My mom found a couple classmates from her Spanish Fork High School days. They dominated the 55+ age group. Go Dons!

Beau watched safely from the sidelines.

Then, Taste of the Valley.

Several local restaurants had booths set up with samples. $10 bought you a ticket to visit each booth. The samples were fairly large and we so should have split a ticket. We were throwing away good food because we were just too full! Even Beau was refusing samples.

Day 3:

Well, nothing exciting on day 3 of pioneer weekend. We did take this random picture though, including this shirt I got at Wandering Wardrobe (my favorite consignment store ever).

CYCLECYCLECYCLECYCLE

2010-07-18T17:37:00.003-06:00

Once upon a time, just a few months ago, I decided I wanted to get into cycling. So I bought an old but solid road bike. Bluie and I went from West Jordan to the Bingham Copper mines, the Salt Lake Temple, and to work every day. Beau wanted to join the fun, so we got him an even older and less solid bike for way cheap on KSL and great fun was had. We got a little carried away at the REI tent sale and got ourselves bike shorts, cycle shoes, and other accessories to make us feel more legit.

But of course, we started itching for newer, nicer bikes, and after scouring KSL with much patience (not really) we both upgraded. So, for a week or so we owned 4 road bikes while we were in the process of selling Bluie and Goldie. Both old bikes went to a nice couple who was a few months behind us and were just getting in to cycling as well and wanted something to get around with.

So to really feel initiated in the cycling scene, we did our first cycling race yesterday!

www.utahtourdedonut.org
The Tour de Donut is a 3 laps at 7 miles each race where contestants can eat as many donuts as they want between laps 1&2 and 2&3. Each donut consumed takes three minutes off your total time.

Just before the start. This pictures also shows the cute argyle jersey I was envying.

As you can probably guess, I didn't eat any donuts but Beau enjoyed 6 total. The race was SO fun and we can't wait to do another. I beat Beau by a few minutes, but that's just because he stopped to eat. :)

I didn't realize my face got so red in the heat...

Update: After checking the results, Beau placed 15th in his age group and I placed 12th. Note that these are ranked by net time, including the donut consumption. The winner ate 25 donuts for a net time of 13 seconds.

These guys decided to dress up?

Oh, and as promised, the table I painted!

This was our kitchen table that was left for us in our Provo apartment. It was a plain basic table from Ikea, and I had visions of painting it. So we took it with us to West Jordan, and now we have a colorful computer desk. I went to Home Depot and picked out 5 pretty colors without really matching them together, and started putting down painting tape at varying widths and no particular order of color. It was fun. and took a long time.

Stay tuned for more adventures from the Dickson-Parks union.

vinyl!

2010-07-10T15:45:00.001-06:00

My sister Page has a great little vinyl business for home decor. Originally I didn't think I would have much use for vinyl projects, as I'm not a huge fan of the stickered writing on the wall. BUT there are so many other ways you can decorate with vinyl! And it's very inexpensive, so cheap people like me do okay.

I LOVE this poster that Page made for us for Christmas.

Also, as a side note, directly above our stove is a mirror (as seen below).

What the heck am I supposed to do with a mirror above the stove?? Any suggestions?

This was a wedding gift from Page. It's a 12x12 floor, with the date of our wedding underneath. It helps me remember if we got married on the 27th or 28th because I get mixed up sometimes.

These flower tiles were the first project I did myself. Page mailed me the stickers, and I put them on the 6x6 tiles myself. It was surprisingly easy and I quite like this bathroom decor.

And this has nothing to do with vinyl but I thought this mirror was pretty sweet. 75% off at the Tai Pan tent sale YES.

Coming up in future blog posts: Why we currently own 4 road bikes and all about the table I'm painting!

wj livin

2010-06-23T22:35:00.000-06:00

BUSYBUSYBUSY.

Things that have changed since moving to West Jordan/starting my new job:
- I haven't driven a car for about 3 weeks.
- I am in a car about twice a week.
- Sometimes, I have to yell for Beau to hear me when we are both home. This definitely did not happen in our Provo apartment.
- There are more tupperware containers in the dishwasher than dishes.
- We have a dishwasher.
- We have a TV. I gave Beau a $20 limit for a TV, and within a day he had gotten one. Free dish- so why not?
- I watch TV.
- We have a couch.
- We are in a true Utah ward. Last Sunday, a woman in Relief Society asked how I heard about the church "all the way out in Virginia". Also, there is a family in the ward with the last name "Diehl". We still haven't figured out if it is pronounced "deal" or "dill". I think maybe they don't know.

Blast, no pictures again. Time for a random archived photo. Isn't Brooklee's face the best??

happy father's day!

2010-06-19T22:40:00.000-06:00

bitter with baggage seeks same

2010-06-08T21:27:00.002-06:00

the time has come, the walrus said

2010-05-24T19:35:00.002-06:00

Surprise! We're moving to West Jordan next week.

Today was our last Sunday in the BYU 199th ward. I really like our ward, so I'm sad to be moving to a boring family ward. Not boring, just not the same as having everyone in your same stage of life. If I get a Primary calling.... we're moving back. Just kidding. At least not a Primary calling with children under 8, how's that for a compromise.

I've been in training for my new job for a couple weeks. And by training, I don't mean a little orientation with the software and duties. I am in the process of memorizing a very long presentation verbatim about the school. I'm more anxious about this than any test I've taken in school. I'll pass that off this week in front of bosses, coworkers, and a video camera. After that, training will be a lot less stressful.

Conversation with 4 year old Lexi:
"Lexi, are those gummy butterflies? Where did you get those?"
"A place that I love."

I don't care what kind of loyalties you have to your neighborhood grocery store, you need to experience the magic that is the WinCo bulk foods section. Candy (like the previously mentioned gummy butterflies. And they have gummy army men, too), baking supplies (sugar, baking soda, many kinds of wheat), like 10 different kinds of granola, dried fruit, cereal, SPICES, dog/cat food, honey, etc. I could go on for a long time. But I don't have to, because this girl already did.

When I wasn't busy studying and memorizing, I..

bought a bike for my new commute from the WJ apartment to work (really just an excuse to buy a road bike. I have a new-found love of cycling)

went to a Lamb and Wool show

This sheep just sat there while the guy was shearing it and kids were petting it. It was fascinating.

hiked Slide Canyon

note the off center-ness. if only we had this cool toy.

got my hair cut (it had been 8 months... a new record for me!)

picked up this sweet elephant

and held Nicole's precious week old baby, Symoni.

stay tuned for a photo that nicole should be sending me. to say this woman is busy would be an understatement.

PS. This was my drive to work today.

Thanks, Emily, for saying what we all wanted to.

happy mothers day to all mothers and mothers to be!

2010-05-09T06:02:00.000-06:00

Is this not a great sight to behold? Utah is earning major bonus points for me now that it has springy weather.

Highlights of our hike in the aptly named Green River and in/around Arches:

Beau posing for the newest Izusu Trooper ad.

Finding a dead, headless rabbit.

Cacti!

Contemplating life whilst overlooking a scene that reminds me of Land Before Time. Seriously, this was the best view I'd ever seen. Photos (at least with my point-and-shoot camera) cannot convey how green and bright this canyon is, especially considering we were in the middle of the desert!

Ice cream and sunburn: the beginnings of a fantastic summer.

And for some other really exciting news.....

After just one week of job hunting, I have landed my first grown-up job! I start tomorrow at Utah Career College as an admission representative.

They offer courses for nursing, vet tech, pharmacy tech, criminal justice, and lots more. I will be contacting high school kids who are interested in enrolling. That's kind of all I know now, but after 3 weeks of training I should be a little more knowledgeable about what I'm doing. The campus is in West Jordan, and Beau also works in West Jordan, so it looks like we'll be thinking about moving a little further north. Alyse- too bad you guys just left!

So, think I'll be able to handle being stuck in an office 9-5? Good thing there's a Gold's right next door...

songs that make my heart hurt.

2010-04-29T10:08:00.002-06:00

Back in high school, I was a lot more "into"music than I am now. I hung out with the choir/drama kids, and I had a couple friends that were always sharing new bands or albums that I still love now.

Most people have a "favorites" folder on their iTunes, which has a hundred or so of your absolute favorite songs, and I started a playlist titled, "songs that make my heart hurt" for those select few songs that the moment you hear it, you have to stop and listen they're that good. I don't add to it very often, so it's a big deal when I hear a song I deem worthy of the heart hurt list.

Newest addition to the list:

"Cosmic Love" by Florence the Machine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfBY96qxVRQ

Dear radio, please don't fall in love with this song like I did and kill it. Love, Mackenzie.

The rest of the list- if you care- after the jump...
Songs That Make My Heart Hurt

Somewhere Only We Know -- Keane

Breakable-- Ingrid Michaelson

What Sarah Said-- Death Cab for Cutie

Doubting Thomas-- Nickel Creek

The Luckiest-- Ben Folds

I Will Follow You Into the Dark-- Death Cab for Cutie

Clocks-- Coldplay

Styrofoam Plates-- Death Cab for Cutie

Such Great Heights-- the Postal Service AND the cover by Iron & Wine

Starlight-- Muse

Last Kiss-- Pearl Jam

Samson-- Regina Spektor

Viva la Vida-- Coldplay

Halo-- Beyonce

spring! and a fantastic weekend.

2010-04-25T18:02:00.001-06:00

If you look closely, you will notice that Beau is wearing a t shirt. This is because he did not graduate, and actually, I didn't either. The only reason I would want to walk is for the photo op- and so we took care of that by borrowing a couple friend's attire for a few minutes to create some false memories.

In actuality, I have one class left (an independent study class) and Beau has one more semester.

I have a life goal to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, a 2,000 mile trail that runs from Georgia to Maine. (Read all about that here). We were going to take a two week long trip in August to cover a section, but after seeing ticket prices to VA ($500 for one round trip ticket!) we thought it might be a better idea to backpack somewhere around here, and buy some equipment rather than borrow from my parents. Saturday, we went to a local outdoors shop and REI to get some information about equipment and figure out what things we were going to purchase.

In the afternoon we did a little day hike in Rock Canyon, something we will go back to do when all the snow has melted and we can get up to Squaw Peak.

Bright and sunny, yet several feet of snow on the ground. In some places where Beau walked, his foot fell through snow past his knee.

That night, a bunch of Beau's freshman friends got together for a little park BBQ.

I am loving this warm weather and no school! Now I get to start the really fun process of finding a job...

taxes, yogurt, and basketball.

2010-03-18T20:35:00.003-06:00

Where have we been? I wish I could report some cool stuff we've been doing, like doing triathlons or getting awesome summer internships or at least ~~finishing~~ starting painting our room, but no. February was just a boring month, and all it got were 2 fake blog posts. March just feels better. Spring is here! I'm riding outside! Beau's going golfing! The semester is ending in four weeks!

Recent accomplishments:
- Finishing taxes. Did everybody know BYU offers a free tax service? The accounting students practice on you. (Don't worry, they check each other.) Room 332 of the Tanner building- check it out. So thanks, Jon, for checking that off our to do list. And thanks Obama, for the return.
- Speaking of government things, Beau is working for the census. There's a call center in Sandy and he answers calls of people with questions. Specifically, Russian people. So, fill out your census, and if you have a question call Beau!
- My interviewing job is just about wrapped up, so I've been working as a secretary in the JFSB for the past few months. I like it. Unfortunately, I knew going into it I could only work there for the semester, so that will be ending at the end of April.
- A few home decor additions, but that will be for a later post.
- I made YOGURT. No joke. Which is really the whole reason why I'm updating the blog today.

So I'm pretty much never buying yogurt again.

The first time I tried it, I failed. Although now that I've researched the techniques of yogurt in the crockpot, I probably could have saved it. The second time, I changed two things: I used whole milk (recommended for first timers) and I wrapped the crockpot better. So now I don't know which change fixed it, although I think it's the latter because I've read that many other people have used low fat.

You can find the recipe on the recipe blog I have with my darling former roommates here.

Annnd the only recent photo I have is of Beau's intramural basketball team after their first round tourney win. Pretty impressive, because the team really isn't all that good.

Don't worry, I cut Beau's hair a couple days later.

bad days in basketball

2010-02-21T22:58:00.006-07:00

1. The Nuggets lost to the Jazz

2. Beau hurt his ankle

*note: Neither of these occurrences are very recent. But there seems to be a lack of excitement... both above mentioned wounds are healing nicely.

for the past two years

2010-02-14T13:13:00.003-07:00

To Mackenzie
From Beau

southern utah adventure

2010-01-25T21:37:00.014-07:00

Dear BYU,

Thanks for sending us on a wonderful trip to lovely St. George last weekend.

I know that the intended purpose was for me to interview some people in Fillmore, Cedar City, Kanab, and St. George about the Placement Program, but we really spent most of our time playing.

We quite enjoyed driving the cute little Prius you gave us to use. We are still trying to figure out how it knows to unlock the door when the keys are in my pocket and my hand is just at the door handle. It is a smart little thing. It doesn't unlock if I wave the key by the handle, only when my hand is just about to grab the handle and the key is nearby. It is also so smart that it locks the door for me when it sees me walking away with the keys. But I'm sure you already know this, because it is your car.

Thank you for paying for our hotels and food, too. We made a rule that we would only go to non-chain restaurants (something I think I will adopt for the rest of my life). Because of you and your fantastic usage of member's tithing, we were able go to fine dining such as Arshel's in Beaver, UT.

We also appreciate you providing me with hours to pay for a GPS system to guide us around foreign territory. Because of it, we were able to find Snow Canyon, Fremont Indian State Park, and the Shade Outlet store.

(That picture ^ was taken standing on here v )

The drive through Zion National Forest was especially beautiful. I though it was funny that we could experience snowy canyons and dry deserts all within a few hours.

So, thanks again, Cecil. This almost compensates for not letting us publish any findings.

Love,

Mackenzie and Beau

what we learned in 2009

2010-01-12T20:42:00.001-07:00

- Beau may have a hard time getting to an 8am class on time, but 6am basketball is not a problem.
- Mackenzie is much happier when she is riding regularly.
- Beau is much happier when Mackenzie is riding regularly.
- 30 Rock > The Office
- Latina ladies at California Tortilla see Beau as a pretty cute green card.
- How not to run a business. I don't think I should go any further, because this IS the internets, after all.
- If you're subletting your apartment, change the bills our of your name because the other tenants miiiight not pay their bills.
- Beau is a much better Russian student than engineering.
- Just because you had a calling in nursery in one ward does not make you immune to it in the next.
- You can go until about December 3rd without turning the heat on in your apartment.

I am one week into my last semester at BYU (except for 1 class in the spring- but we won't count that. And maybe more if I want to repeat classes to raise my GPA) and already counting down the days till we can leave Utah. Too bad Beau doesn't graduate until December 2010. Less than a year, right?

I am finishing up the interviews for the Placement Program with a trip to St. George this weekend, and just started a new job as a secretary in the Sociology department. The highlight of my day is getting the mail. Beau has been reffing for Provo City basketball and should be starting work with the census soon administering surveys to the Russian American population.

Hm, no pictures for this one? Let's pick a random one from the archives of my computer.

Scrawny newborn Carson.

CHRISTMAS.

2010-01-09T18:45:00.008-07:00

I get a big fat FAIL for not taking very many pictures over Christmas break.

BOTH of our parents came to Utah this year, so we got to see lots of family.

My trainer was out of town for a few days, so the first half of my break was spent mostly at the barn. Nothing like feeding and mucking out stalls on Christmas morning. Meant to take a photo there. Didn't happen.

Christmas morning was hilarious- so much more fun when there are little kids super excited to play with new toys. And my mom made the craziest pajamas for the kiddies. All Carson needs is a couple gold chains and his Halloween pimp costume is set.

Christmas afternoon we went to Alyse's house and hung out and saw Avatar in 3D. Note Beau's new Christmas sweater.

Okay, I don't get why people are saying how amazing this movie is. The visual effects are fantastic, especially in 3D, but the plot was terribly predictable and, as a friend pointed out, already done in Fern Gully. And Pocahontas. As documented here.

We went on a few field trips- like the Bean Museum (pictured), Jumpin Jax, and everyone came to see the horses while I was working.

Baby Cooper was blessed the Sunday after Christmas. Isn't he darling? I hope my babies have hair. Oh wait, but I'm a Dickson.

Me and Martha are BFFL. Her brother lives in SLC and she was visiting for the holidays.

And in between working at the barn, skiing, and playing with kids we painted our apartment! We're not quite done, so I'll put up pictures when we're all finished.

And this paint really is yellow, but the flash made it look otherwise...

all this holiday baking has got to stop..

2009-12-07T22:04:00.002-07:00

Can you believe it's Christmas time already? It finally snowed (a LOT) here in Provo, and it finally feels like it's time for the holidays.

We spent Thanksgiving in Parker, Colorado with Beau's family, and it was GREAT. So relaxing. I hadn't seen Miller... since our wedding, maybe? Here he is sitting in this cute little chair.

Thanks to Brady for letting us borrow his clothes while he's on his mission. I also like how the TV in the background looks like it's one of those fake fireplace things. I think really it was on the news and they were covering a warehouse fire.

Sammy, my running buddy! We went 5 miles on Thanksgiving. I still don't think that made up for the massive quantities of food I ate.

It's hard to take good pictures of children. They move around a lot.

We had a wonderful makeup free and shave free weekend. Thanks, Guy and Ellen!

Saturday we went to the barn to film a little video for one of Beau's Russian classes. Here's me and a fuzzy Buckwheat.

And THEN, we went to Salt Lake for some interviews (which reminds me, I don't think I've mentioned my job before. I interview people. More on that later) and went to this little Russian cafe/store, picture below. We had verenky (kind of like potstickers) and pelmeni (kind of like ravioli) and borscht. It was actually pretty good.

On the way back we stopped at a tack store in Draper, where I got me some new warm riding/work gloves. I get really excited about little things like that. I'm realizing that I haven't worked at a barn in the winter since junior year of high school, and I'm struggling to know how to dress.

So, my job. I work for the BYU Sociology department (specifically the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies) for a professor who is collecting oral histories about experiences with the Indian Placement Program. The Placement Program was a program by the church that placed Native American kids in Mormon foster homes. The program was completely voluntary, of course, and it was to give the Indian kids opportunities to go to school and live off of the reservation. It started in 1947 and ended in 1996, but it was mostly popular in the 70's. I interview families that hosted the Placement kids about their experiences. It's really interesting and I'm learning a lot about Native American culture. I also get to talk to some really funny people.

Welp, that's about it for now. Happy end of the semester, everybody!

Oh, an impromptu clip from Beau's video.

IT'S MY MAMA'S BIRFDAY.

2009-11-30T16:30:00.010-07:00

Today is mi madre's birthday, which deserves a dedicatory blog post.

On Mia, the first horse I leased. My mom likes paint horses because she likes to think she's a cowgirl.

Skiing at Sundance with Dad. I'm her favorite daughter because I'm the best skier of my sisters. Last winter, she called Beau to go skiing with her when my dad was sick. Just Beau and Mom. What a cute date.

My parents are Appalachian Trail fanatics. They hiked 12 miles on Thanksgiving day.

Sometimes they let me go with them.

It's fun to have a mom that is so exercise and health oriented. She goes to the gym 6 times a week, always takes the stairs, initiates family walks/bike rides, and takes walks on her lunch breaks at work. One time she walked the 6 miles home from my high school because my dad wanted to finish watching the homecoming game.

Showing off her orange peeling skills.

I think this is my favorite picture of my mom (taken by Page when my mom was visiting their Wymount apt) because it simultaneously shows her compulsion to organize other people's things and Page's bag collecting habits.

I don't know any other girls my age that share clothes with their mom- not only are we the same size, but she has great taste in clothes. It comes in really handy.

Happy 55th, mother!

rip toby and other halloween events

2009-11-02T18:00:00.017-07:00

Beau=golfer. Or 1940's person. Or Newsies boy.
And I'm a puppy!

First stop on our Halloween tour: my english teacher's house. She has the tradition of making doughnuts for the neighborhood/ward (since they are the same thing in Utah) on Halloween. I'm not even a doughnut fan, but they were way good. The garage was a makeshift bakery to cook the 1,000 doughnuts and tables were set up with powdered sugar, regular sugar, glazes, etc.

Next was Spencer and Aly's annual Halloween bash (shown as the old couple on the right). I have fun cousins. And Aly is the best hostess ever.

In other, more saddening news...

In January of 2007, my dear roommate Kate and I brought home a new addition to our dorm, Toby. We had been preparing for our new arrival by polluting the snow with the contents of a free lava lamp from Wells Fargo Bank and filling it with nice clean water for our new friend.

Unfortunately, we got the wrong kind of water conditioner (even though I worked at PetSmart for 3 years? Fail.) and he died in a few hours.

But then we got a NEW Toby, a much better Toby, and he followed us around all over Provo until he passed away this morning in Kate's home. It must be noted that he survived through 10 different homes, several traumatic water changing experiences (that lava lamp had a narrow opening), neglect while Beau had him summer semester, and many minutes out of water and on Katie Smith's kitchen floor while she freaked out that she had dropped him.

Rest in peace, Toby. He was a good little fish.

happy halloween!

2009-10-25T21:02:00.002-06:00

Beau made this instead of studying.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

just a little update.

2009-10-18T18:03:00.008-06:00

Not too much to report here. Beau is loving his Russian classes, and actually wants to do homework now. I have decided to pursue a masters in social work post grad, so I'll just look into programs once we move somewhere slightly more permanent after graduation. Right now I'm shooting for George Mason, but that could very possibly change.

Here's what pictures I have floating around:

A small portion of Beau's Provo rec softball league! Some guy I don't know, Andy, Brandon, and Beau. I like watching and getting eaten alive by bugs (September) and freezing to death (October). This was after a game where they won after being behind by 13 after the 3rd inning. In the bottom of the last inning Beau was at bat. It was 17-17, 2 outs and a runner on 3rd. Beau hit a hard line drive over the third baseman and the runner came in to win the game. Hooray!

The babes turned two!!

And baby Cooper was born to Bryan and Alyse! He is only two days old here. Such a cute baby with lots of hair!

And just to brighten everyone's day, I'll leave you with Beau's favorite lolcat.

MANZANAS galore!

2009-09-27T16:24:00.012-06:00

I've been wanting to make caramel apples for a long time, like since Beau and I were dating. But he's allergic to them. So we never have. BUT, Beau just discovered that fresh picked apples don't make his throat close up! It must be some crazy preservatives or pesticides. So I thought it'd be super fun to make caramel apples.

I was in Spanish Fork this week for a riding clinic, and I stopped by my grandpa's house to pick some apples. He died last year, but his house hasn't been sold and the tree still remains. I can remember playing in the backyard in the sprinklers and climbing the apple tree. I also had a lot of imaginary horses but we don't need to go into that.

My grandpa was pretty smart and planted a red apple tree but grafted green apple tree branches into it so the tree produces both kinds of apples.

I invited a couple from the ward over Saturday night for the festivites.. and let me tell you, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has nothing on us.

Chad and Danielle aren't normally dressed like twins. They had just come back from the BYU v. CSU game.

YAY for having friends in the ward.

I bet you can't tell the difference, so I'll just tell you that the above pictured apples are from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and the one on the right is ours. Maybe we should sell it for $8 like they do.

YUM.

end of summer wrap up

2009-09-16T21:15:00.002-06:00

Maybe one day I will have an interesting enough life to say "here's what happened at a really cool event!" and then write about it. But until then, I'll continue with mass picture uploading and captions.

Us at Beau's friend's wedding reception. Dane and Beau went to high school together, and Dane happened to marry a girl from McLean. We got to go to their fancy shmancy reception at the Ritz Carlton. I have never had so many good desserts in my life.

This is also a testament to what humidity will do to your hair.

Reagan and Tyler snuck away for a weekend to go to NYC and the four remaining adults (me, Beau, Grandmama, and Pappy) were in charge. Pretty good ratio. My mom and dad met me at work and I gave any willing participant (Adriel, Brooklee, and Grandmama) a pony ride. Dallyn politely declined.

This is also the same horse that, on my last day, Martha and I put Beau on. He POSTED and knew TWO-POINT and even checked his diagonal! Then Martha set up a jump and we pretty much died laughing at Beau's attempts.

I think we went to the District all of two times this summer. This is one of them.

Same trip.

Adriel cut her hair. But not while we were in charge. I don't think she understands that she did a bad thing.

I love box turtles. When I was younger I would catch one at the beginning of the summer and keep it till September when it was time for my little friends to go hibernate. I would buy worms from the fishing stores and keep them (the turtles, not the worms) in a big pen in my back yard. On the very last day we were in Virginia, as we were getting in the car to go to the airport, this turtle came to say goodbye to me.

MIDDLE GIRL REUNION!

Age order, which clearly has nothing to do with height: Maria, Shawney, Natalie, me, Eliza, Sarah Rose, Anne, Sarah Michelle.

At the taking of this picture, Maria was a few days returned from her mission to Brazil and Eliza had just gotten set apart to go on her mission.

The middle girls are named so because the "big girls" were a few years older than us, and we were the "little girls". But then one day someone (probably Mel) decided that we were getting to be too old to be called little girls, so we became the middle girls.

And that is all! More to come about Beau's game-winning hit in tonight's softball tourney.

And I'm still missing this guy terribly.

ode to Killian

2009-09-06T13:58:00.000-06:00

I try not to mention my "horse thing" to people other than family, in attempts to not to not be like this:
Or like these creepy people:

And this one just makes me laugh.
Anyway, most people view horses as being a little girl thing, like my little pony or black beauty.

And sure, a lot of horse people ARE weirdos. Especially in the under 15 category. But I promise, the REAL horse people, the ones that are taken seriously by the horse community, are pretty normal and just have a very consuming hobby.

With that intro, here is my ode to Killian, the most fantastic horse I've ever had the privilege of riding.

Before we returned to Virginia, I'd been searching for a good horse to lease for the summer. Many people who don't have the time or money to keep their horse lease them to others, either on their own farm or they allow the leasee to move the horse to their own farm. Typically, the leasee pays for expenses, but doesn't have to take the risks of actually owning a horse. I was in communication with a few different people, and mostly by luck Killian was the first one I saw. I took him for a trial period, but before I even jumped him I knew that he would be an awesome horse.
Go ahead, make fun of me all you want for getting sappy about a horse.

But I have never felt so strongly that this is what I'm supposed to be doing in life. Horses are my thing.

sarah shaw dickson

2009-08-18T17:43:00.000-06:00

Check out this post by my cousin Camilla, in tribute to our grandmother.

I couldn't have said it better.

I have so many fond memories of Gram- goodie bags for the drive home from her house, the annual Easter egg hunt, stories about her dogs, and the Chiquita banana song. :)

(I found this photo from the beach in 2005. Coincidentally, the same house we rented this year!)

We love Gram!

do you think i have pigs in my head?

2009-08-15T09:43:00.000-06:00

This is what we did last week!

(Almost) the whooooole Dickson Dynasty familia was in attendance. 52 people in all. Gathered in the best place ever.

The lady who started it all:

Unfortunately, I'm not a very conscientious picture taker. So most of these pictures are credited to other people. Oh well.

Boys playing football!

Also, most of these pictures are of the kiddies. They are just too fun.

Late night beach walks!

Pagie and Everett.

Adriel loved playing in the water with her cousins, or second cousins, whatever my cousin's children would be called.

The babes fought over who got to have the Cabbage Patch doll hair crimper on their face. Brooklee won this one.

9/12 of the great-grandchildren.
Ryder, Adriel, Ellery (3 weeks old!), Dallyn, Brooklee, Sofie, Lucy, Carson, Everett.

And this is what was going on behind the camera:

Can't wait for the next one!

2 weeks from yesterday, camp will be all done. 2 weeks from today, we will fly back to Utah. And 2 weeks from Monday, we will start school.

Hooray.

solitude: day 4

2009-07-16T19:26:00.000-06:00

Since Sunday, Beau has been having fun with the family water skiing and lake-ing in Colorado. I'm not able to up and leave camp, especially not this week, since I am taking care of a friends horses while she is away. I've been jealous of the Parks clan the past few days.

Since I spend a lot of time at my friend's barn, I've been staying in her apartment in Purcellville. No babies, no sisters, no parents, no husband = sad face.

And I just finished a bag of chocolate chips I opened Monday night.

But I have gotten a few things done on the life to-do list... bought plane tickets for the trip back to Utah, straightened out our new phone plan. Why is Southwest the only airline that doesn't charge for luggage?? Three cheers for them and their ghetto airplanes.

Oh right, pictures.

Look! All 5 grandkids together with Grandmama.

Playing in the driveway is a daily occurrence.

One of Adriel's favorite things about Smith Circle is seeing various wildlife most days. Not that we're in the middle of the wilderness, but toads, deer, and foxes are pretty cool to a 3 year old.

Not gonna lie, I wasn't even present for this picture. Or the toad one, for that matter. But it's cute nonetheless.

3 more days till Beau's back!!

1 week down, 8 to go

2009-06-26T19:33:00.000-06:00

First week of camp completed, and I am WIPED OUT. Additionally, I was farm sitting for my trainer so I had couple extra hours of barn work in the morning and evening.

I am conveniently hidden on the far right, red shirt. 10 boxes of pizza had just arrived, and I was more concerned with an efficient distribution of lunch than a photo.

We had an exactly full camp- 24 kids. Camp is for kids 7-13, and it's allll day. They are split into 4 groups by age and ability, and I teach two and Christine (owner of RGF) teach the others. First is cleaning stalls, grooming and tacking, then two groups ride and two have crafts, they switch, lunch, activity (wet n' wild day, luau, carnival day, etc.) and pool time.

This group was more on the young side with a couple 5s and 6s. I prefer teaching beginners, which was mildly painful this week since these kids were so young. It's hard to entertain five year olds in the heat on horseback for an hour.

That, my friends, is 72 cupcakes.

Hmmm what other photos do I have now that my power cord is in working order..

The twins love Beau.

Baaaaad Killian. He got his halter stuck in the eye screw (HOW did he get it in there??) and broke his halter. I show this as an example for why we have breakaway halters.

Oh, in response to the strawberry/sour cream/brown sugar deliciousness:

I'm getting a rockin polo tan.

In other news, Beau and I are in nursery at church! It's only fair considering 3 of the children are from our family. I have never appreciated being able to go to Sunday School and Relief Society more in my life.

Beau has a job now! Actually, it's been a couple weeks. The original plan was to get some neat internship in engineering and be on our merry way to becoming my parents. This wasn't going as well as hoped. At a job fair several weeks ago, Beau was talking to lots of people that didn't care about hiring any interns but were impressed with fluency in Russian. Believe it or not, folks, people actually want Russian interpreters. CIA, FBI, NSA, etc. And I don't even know what the third one even stands for.

So, Beau is changing his major to Russian. AND, it only requires 34 more credits to graduate! It's like when you're playing Ticket to Ride and you pick a new destination that you only need to connect one more city.

Unfortunately, none of the above conversations lead to a new awesome job. Desperation set in an Beau applied to anywhere and everywhere. Which brought us to...
Where Beau now manages the making of delicious burritos.

We are both tired and happy at the end of the day!

Time for sleepies. Back to the barn early in the morn.

post sans photos

2009-06-06T09:18:00.000-06:00

I've been having some difficulty with my computer's power cord (as in, it doesn't work) so we'll have to do an update with no pictures. Boo.

Why I love summer:

- WORKING. Being productive! Making money! Right now I'm teaching a few lessons a week as well as regular barn work. Camp starts in a couple weeks and then I'll really get busy. 24+ kids in the barn at once- sounds like a good time. PetSmart grooming was kind enough to take me back part time until camp, so I've been back with the doggies twice a week. I smell delicious.

- Time for new hobbies. Beau and I picked up tennis, something we'd never really done before. I mostly like it because I have a chance at beating Beau.

- Riding! Oh, and I even have a photo for this one. Killian is my lease for the summer, and he is fantastic.

Beau likes my game face in this one. You'd look like that too if you knew you had to halt from a hand gallop after this fence. We got a third in this class!

- Our transient lifestyle. We split our time between my house in Ashburn and my boss's house in Purcellville. We like the idea of becoming professional house sitters, as we enjoyed our time at two family's homes while they were away.

- Family! Living with the Holmes's has been splendid. Adriel's catch phrases have made it into our regular vocabulary. And it's okay with me that the girls like Beau better than me. We've been to the Tagg's for Sunday dinner twice, and we got to have a sleepover with Zack and Jocelyn.

- Summer fruit sales. I have eaten more strawberries with sour cream and brown sugar than ever imagined. Try it.

- Realizing on Sunday that your make up bag is still in the car from last Sunday. And that your straightener and blowdryer haven't been unpacked. And that you didn't bring any heels home from Utah.

ch ch ch check it out

2009-05-01T15:05:00.000-06:00

How good are you at recognizing a criminal?

Hours of entertainment!

http://picktheperp.com/

"SYKE" -- spring

2009-04-15T21:40:00.000-06:00

Spring has brought us such a nice surprise!

Snowflakes falling right before my eyes.

10 points if you noticed the familiarity in the above words with the lyrics of "popcorn popping". Beau thought of this himself. He is very proud.

Happy finals week!

BABIES!

2009-04-11T21:19:00.000-06:00

I meant to post this earlier, but my sister Page had her baby last Saturday! Everett Dickson Otto:

I'm so excited to see him when we go back east in 2 weeks!

ALSO..... My sister-in-law Alyse is expecting her second in October. Babies everywhere!! We are so lucky to have family close by.

Beau the brownie monster.

2009-04-01T17:51:00.001-06:00

Happy birthday Beau! (yesterday)

He requested enchiladas for his birthday dinner. I believe this was the first thing I ever cooked for him, when we were dating. I've only been a disappointment since.

At first he wanted cheesecake (which I love to make) but on second thought, he chose brownies and mint chocolate chip ice cream. Easier, cheaper... sounds good.

After coming back from class/work today this is what was left:

Now you know why I hide treats from him.

Just kidding. I wouldn't do that. I think.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Overheard on Campus
Guy 1: Yeah, my high school was crazy... Like three kids got arrested in the parking lot, and there were drug busts all the time.
Guy 2: That's awesome! All we had were lesbians.

weekend.

2009-03-12T15:38:00.000-06:00

I've been working a bit at a home for at-risk youth in the area, to start an equestrian program. They have three (ugly) old horses, barbed wire fences, and a couple run-in sheds. And that's what I have to work with. We spent a few hours there the past couple Saturdays working with the kids on building some stalls.

Crude, but it works.

Dirty horse #2 eating hay in her new stall:

Some of the girls enjoyed decorating the new "barn":

Our lovely kitchen table and chairs were left to us from the previous tenants, and we soon discovered that they're not the most sturdy. But hey, they were free, so what do we care? Anyway, Beau sat down the other day and the chair completely fell apart:

We have a couple folding chairs (we bring out the big guns for guests) so don't worry, I didn't make Beau stand for meals after this.

So, we added a trip Ikea to our list of things to do Saturday. Neither of us had ever been to Ikea before, and HOLY CRAP IT'S HUGE. Seriously, I felt like one of the little mice the graduate students experiment with on the 12th floor of the SWKT. After aimlessly wandering around the displays, we found ourself at the warehouse portion where we picked out an almost identical replacement chair. Many thanks to Zack and Jocelyn for the gift card. :)

Then we went to a session at the Timpanogas temple, which I'd never been to before. It's fun to see the differences in each temple. I especially liked the chapel windows. I've heard the Draper temple is fantastic, but we have yet to go there.

After a quick stop to for Petey, the horse I feed every night (Beau found it amusing to see me working with a horse in a skirt and heels. I assured him it was not the first time.), we went to Red Robin to use yet another gift card. Those bottomless steak fries are dangerous.

Oh, one more thing! Apparently, it was our 2 monthiversary the other day. We were driving to something, and Beau kept asking about what I would be okay with splurging on for a dessert. I thought he was just interested in my calorie-watching hobby, but no. I returned home later to find this:

An apple pie! He scoured the pie section to find the least fattening one. Cute.

OH NO SHE DIDN'T!

2009-03-05T15:47:00.000-07:00

Oh, Tanya Harding.

"All publicity is good publicity?" Do people, as she says, still pay to see her?

I would pay to see those bangs.

meet our baby.

2009-02-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

What do you think about my little new baby Baby Parks?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

wedding cd has arrived!

2009-01-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

Our photographer, Susan Mezzullo, did such a great job! I highly recommend her.

Here are some more favorites. I've posted the whole cd on picasa here.

since we don't have our own kids to write about...

2009-01-21T12:59:00.000-07:00

Today, all three of our nephews had blog-worthy accomplishments posted by their mothers. I'm pretty sure these are the cutest kids ever....

Miller (6 months) can now sit up all by himself.

Jackson (16 months) slept in a big boy bed for the first time.

And Carson (13 months) is signing like a pro. See this video.

And here's a cute picture of the Holmes girls playing with Beau's guitar. We babysat them for a few hours last Saturday in our tiny apartment. The Wallace and Gromit DVD entertained Adriel and Beau for most of the time. :)

wedding type pictures continued...

2009-01-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

Days 1 and 2: Spent in Washington DC. Attended the DC 3rd ward (great people there!), wandered around, and visited the monuments, Arlington cemetary, and Iwo Jima memorial. Then we went back to Ashburn for our lovely reception at the Smith home. The food was excellent (thanks Mom! And Costco.), lots of friends came, and much fun was had by all.

Arlington cemetery, JFK's grave, changing of the guards, etc. Beau's main goal was to catch up to the Russian tour guides ahead of us.

FDR memorial, my favorite. But I say that about a lot of them.

Our tribute.

Days 3 and 4: You can't visit VA without going into horse country (especially when you're married to me), so we stayed at a B&B in Middleburg. We perused my favorite tack stores, window shopped at stores where we will never afford to shop, and tasted some homemade marshmallows and cookies at the Upper Crust Bakery.

Briar Patch Inn. Cute, huh?

Us at Red Gate Farm (where I work) on Prince and Hershey. Beau tried posting for the first time!

Days 5 and 6: Back to DC. Holocaust Museum, the Smithsonians, and dinner at the Melting Pot.

Our New Year's dinner- Chinese takeout. :)

Beau loves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Really, he does. He dressed up as one of them for Halloween several times, and he (now we, I guess) have all the movies .

Vintage kitchen display at American History. I want it.

Beau was really excited to see the dinosaurs.

Melting Pot mmmm good. These smiles look fake- but we're happy, I promise! When we were trying to park, we were shown an empty space by a new friend, Homeless Carl. He even gave us marital advice.

The End.

Now that we're back to reality...

2009-01-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

Why do the first few weeks of the semester have to be so crazy? We've been busy getting schedules organized, running to target (so far we've spent $700. Yeah gift cards!), researching insurance, buying/selling textbooks, and looking for better jobs.

Conveniently, my computer's power cord broke so I have no access to honeymoon pictures. A new one should be arriving in the mail shortly. To tide you over (since I know you're dying to see them) here are some favorite wedding photos!

It was surprisingly a really nice day (the high was 60 degrees, I think) which was very lucky since I never got around to getting half sleeves added to the dress. The temple was busy with more than 15 brides that day, but everything went very smoothly. We had a family luncheon at Mariachi's in Leesburg and then Beau and I were off to our week in DC and Middleburg.

Beau calls this one his gay pose.

I love that the shoes were the only thing I was wearing that was actually mine. Everything else was borrowed- dress, necklace (my grandmother's), veil, slip, even the bra. Yup.

Thanks for the veil, Katie! And for the hair, Page!

Don't even try to get within 5 feet of me and my hoop skirt.

My mom did the bouquet. Didn't she do a good job?

Honeymoon pictures to follow, eventually!

hairy beau.

2008-12-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

The only instance I have found so far that guys have MORE maintenance than girls is haircuts. Haircuts, for me, tend to happen about 3 times annually (seriously... since Beau and I have been together, I have cut my hair a grand total of one time) whereas it seems like every couple weeks Beau is saying his hair is too long.

His hair, he says, looks its best 2 weeks after its been cut. Which would put the pre-wedding haircut at December 13. However, It was before Thanksgiving break that he decided he was overdue. Rather than cut it then, and again 3 weeks later, he decided to wait it out.

before:

after:

in one month from today...

2008-11-27T14:04:00.000-07:00

... these cute kids will be sealed for time and all eternity.

our favorite things.

2008-11-16T22:53:00.001-07:00

- Sammy's Cafe. Though it looks a little sketchy from the outside, Sammy's makes the most excellent shakes in Provo. The first time we went, we got a pumpkin pie cheesecake shake- where they literally put a piece of pie in the cup with ice cream and blended it. I also like the triple berry shake. The cute indie decor adds a nice touch. :)

- Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog. Not sure how to explain this one. Wikipedia describes it as a "43 minute musical film... telling the story of Dr. Horrible, the aspiring supervillian; Captain Hammer, his nemesis; and Penny, their mutual love interest." Basically it's the results of actors and writers being bored during the writer's strike. And who doesn't love Neil Patrick Harris, aka Doogie Howser?

- My Vanilla Chai Deodorant. Positively the most delicious smelling thing you will put on your armpit. On several occasions, Beau has wondered what perfume I'm wearing. Nope, just the deodorant.

- Corn Salsa. It makes a HUGE amount, and is usually gone within 24 hours. Originally meant with chips, but we prefer eating it with a spoon. I'll post the recipe (from my aunt Mel) in the comments.

- Snow. I like to ski. Beau LOVES to ski. Either way, we both love snow. Snow= Christmas, cuddling, and cozy slippers. Which, incidentally, all start with the letter C.

- Our nieces and nephews.
Adriel, Dallyn, Brooklee, Jackson, Carson, Miller, and Mr. Fetus (future child of Page and Rick).

- Reading the Police Beat from the Daily Universe. A favorite in every BYU student's Tuesday paper.

"A female BYU student fell through the ceiling of the Thomas L. Martin Building while playing a game of hide and seek. The student was in an area of the building being remodeled where ceiling tiles had been removed for electrical work. Friends boosted the student into the opening where she fell through other ceiling tiles upon crawling around. She was not hurt."

"BYU police were called out to assist Provo police who had pulled over a man for a traffic offense who did not speak English. Upon arrival of the Spanish-speaking officer, the man realized he was getting a ticket despite the language barrier and was able to speak English fluently."

In other news, I now have a wedding dress!! I'm using my sister Reagan's. It's simple and classy and I love it. :) And we just got our invitations printed, which are just darling. This fantastic girl Jessica designed them and she did such a good job. Her blog showcases her work and it makes me want to have a baby just so I can use her announcements. Not really though.

People often ask me, "How are wedding plans going?" and I never really know what that means. Maybe it'll hit me on December 20th, but it doesn't seem like there's all that much to plan... I mean, there are lots of little things like how I'll do my hair or picking out our wedding bands, but I've just never really cared about things like flowers or centerpieces. I appreciate that others do-the world needs people like that. I'm just not one of them. Maybe my mom's doing such a good job coordinating everything it just all goes over my head. :)

first blog experience!

2008-10-31T14:29:00.000-06:00

Welp, we've made a blog. I think Katie summed up the reasoning in her post.

We met in our Liberty Square ward at BYU in fall of 2007. We were dating by Valentine's Day, had fun together during spring semester, and were engaged in September of this year. We are getting married December 27th, 2008 in the Washington DC temple and are so excited!

Behold, a picture timeline of our relationship:

Our first public outing as a couple- a ward activity. The girls made up anonymous dates and the guys bid on them with cans of food. Beau won mine, as planned. :)

At Thanksgiving Point. They had a birthday celebration for all the animals, with cake and everything. This goat was particularly friendly.

On the ferris wheel! I love his scruffy beard.

Spring semester brought beautiful weather and a great time to get to know each other.

I was able to visit Beau's home state of Colorado over the summer and meet his wonderful family- and be present for baby Miller's blessing! We are excited to jointly have 3 nieces and 3 nephews.
Then we got engaged! Beau proposed in the canyon, by hiding the ring box under our picnic blanket. One of my best friends Kate is a photographer and took our pictures.

Beau's half birthday celebration- note the half cake.
A few weekends ago, we got to go to Beau's brother's wedding in LA. Unfortunately, I don't have a full group shot... but this is us outside the temple with my first real live palm tree!
Sorry for the mass amount of pictures... but I covered 9 months, so I guess it's justified.

57 days!