New Goal: To update my blog regularly

So uh.... I guess I haven't really blogged in a while. The summer is over 1/2 way over and I really haven't updated this thing. (Not that anyone reads it... I wish I knew how to make it cuter.) So here is a recap for whoever cares:

May: I was BORED. I was only working 18 hours a week and school was over. There are people that thrive on free time. Not this girl. I spent most of my time cooking, running and facebooking. Lame. But after finals were over Justin and I went on a fun little trip to Moab and hiked Arches. It was our first trip to Moab together that wasn't spent mountain biking.

June: Lots lots lots!!! First and bestest: KAUA'I!!! That trip was INSANELY fun. My awesome parents have a timeshare and this year they were able to score two condos for our fam. Caroling and Jordan stayed in the condo with us while Hilary stayed with Mom and Dad. Sa-weet! After a run to Costco in Lihue stocking up on hot dogs, pita chips, spinach artichoke dip, chips and peach mango salsa we were good to go. We rented some kayaks, kayaked up the Wailua river about 5 miles and stopped for a hike up to Secret Falls one day. The Hawaiians used to hike up there to pray/bless only other people. So beautiful! We did a TON of snorkeling. We even fed the fish on mushed up wheat bread. It only took a day to get over my fear of fish. (I was stung by a jellyfish in North Carolina when I was 14--it actually got smooshed in my swimsuit.) We tried Saimin, a local Hawaiian noodle soup. Wasn't my fave, but it had a good flavor. (Pho is better.) I also fell in love with the lychee fruit. It's like a cross between raspberries and grapefruit. Holy crap that stuff is amazing.

Second: JACKSON HOLE RIVER TRIP! We left on my birthday and stayed for 2 1/2 days. Zach and Brandi, Hilary, Dad, and all the Einfeldts were there. Justin's best friend, Tyrel, is a river guide-- as well as his whole family. They own 3 rafts and do a river trip every year. We ran the river about 3 times, went mountain biking and justed enjoyed the beauty of the Snake River. Zach actually fell out of the raft on the biggest white water wave, Lunch Counter. My Dad learned that he loves the middle of the boat on the rapids. We all had a great time and I had a great birthday.

Third: I started work! Same as last year. Nannying the kids. Quinn, Grayson and Luke. They are bigger this year and way more active. It took me about 2 weeks to get back into their groove, but now we're having a great time.

Fourth: I got sick a lot. I got a cold from Brandi on the river trip, then food poisening from some Octopus at a sushi restaurant, then allergies made the cold last for weeks. It put my running on the backburner.

July: One weekend we went backpacking up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Lake Blanche. The 2.8 mile hike felt like 10 miles because of the grade. So steep! It took us 2 1/2 hours to get to the lake and only 1 hour and 15 minutes to get down. Lake Blanche rocks. Seriously. With a natural sun dial overlooking the lake, fresh mountain runoff water and the beautiful view over the canyon, this place feels almost sacred. We watched a lightning storm over the distant mountains. It was AWESOME.

I started going to the Farmers Markets. I love the crowd, dogs, food, art... everything. It makes me feel like SLC is more urban than it is.

Justin has been biking more than ever. He rides frequently up to Emigration Canyon and East Canyon resort. One day he did Big and Little Cottonwood. My husband is a stud. And he looks hot in those spandex bibs. That probably sounds messed up to anyone unfamiliar with the cycling world.

We cancelled our Brasil trip. :( Tyrel decided to get married during our trip. Jerk. Who does that? Dates someone for 5 months and then gets married. Such a stupid idea. Oh wait... I guess it worked for my parents. And Zach and Brandi. Oh well. Justin and I dated for a year, and the first 4 months of adjusting to living together was tough. But it works for some people! Good luck Tyrel and Sam. We'll be there at their wedding.

Anywho. Hopefully I'll get around to cute-ifying my blog and update it regularly.

SCHOOL IS OUT FOR THE SUMMER!!!!!!!!

Guess what?

SCHOOL

IS

OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I'm totally bummed. What am I going to do without the late night cramming, lack of exercise and sleep, Schultz's sweater vest outfits, the stinky breath kid in my math class and the annoying people in the library that talk on their cell phones? Let's see....

Oh yeah. I remember. I'm going to HAWAII, Jackson Hole, possibly Brazil and lots of weekend backpacking trips. Between those I'll be working with the McCall children again. What a crap hole that is. I really hate playing with three adorable kids who just want to hike, run in the sprinklers and play the Wii. Being a nanny is so tough when you have to play with three active kids. After work and before work I'll be training for a marathon and possibly a triathlon. And for the first time in 4 years, I'll only be working 40 hours a week instead of 70!! Weekends OFF!

It's looking like it'll be a totally sweet summer. The only downside is lack of AC in our little apartment. Looks like we'll be sleeping in the living room next to the little swamp cooler on thermarests. I'm so stoked for all our vacations and especially shedding the winter poundage. Hurray for summers! They are definitely one of God's best ideas EVER.

Easter

The highlight of my Easter, by far, was watching the Mormon Messages video on youtube from a talk given last conference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpFhS0dAduc

I love when Elder Holland talks about the Atonement. Justin got me a painting of Christ coming out of the tomb and the American Folk Hymn collection of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who loves American history and Mo Tab. They were very sensitive to the history of american spiritual music and even included african american spirituals in the collection. It made me want to read more history books this summer.

Anyway, it was a great relaxing Easter Sunday. I wish this holiday was a bigger deal in a non-comercial way because I think Christ's death and resurrection is more important than His birth.I also love that we celebrate Christ conquering death during the spring when life re-emerges from the dead, cold earth. It's such a warm, happy time to come out of hibernation. I feel so revitalized in the spring knowing that school is almost over and I can play in the sun all summer long. Birds chirp, plants turn green again and the sun seems so warm and friendly. It's like all the earth remembers and acknowledges that it's Savior lives and overcame the grave 2000+ years ago.

Concentration Gradients

The more I learn about how the body works, the more I'm convinced that every reaction, production or change occurs by concentration (or pressure or osmotic) gradients. For anyone unfamiliar with concentration gradients, here is a picture to illustrate the concept:

Basically, molecules move from a high to low concentration. Like when you pour water, the molecules flow into the empty glass.

Well, here is the point of this entry. Concentration gradients should always apply to picking a chair to sit in when in public places. If you walk on a train or bus and there is one other person, don't sit RIGHT next to that person! Pick a seat far away!! This defies all laws of nature that have taken millions of years to perfect!

To the kid in my math class that always sits RIGHT next to me: Use the concentration gradient method!!!! Pick a different bloody seat!!! Your breath reeks of stale coffee and cigarettes! Every time you ask a question your horrible odors waft to my nose. You need to shower DAILY... and drenching colgne on your dirty clothes is not an effective solution! So either: learn some basic hygiene techniques taught to small children or use the concentration gradient!!!

This also applies to people driving on the freeway. Don't tailgate other cars, people. There is plenty of room on the road, space yourself away from the other cars.

That is all I have to say.

Swimming with the babies

Today I also want to blog about this. Mostly so I can procrastinate studying, but also because it's more fun than memorizing my physiology words.

When I married Justin one of my favorite things I got from him were his nieces and nephew. I loved kids to begin with (which is why I always find myself babysitting or nannying) but these kids blow me away. They are so much cuter than any other children. I LOVE THEM!!! Ashton is four and is the oldest. He's so funny. When I first met him he would throw tantrums by running headfirst into the wall. He would collapse on the floor and just lay there until someone paid attention to him. He called Justin "Papa Sustin" for the longest time! Oakley is the next one and she is two. She's just putting sentences together and she LOVES men. It's so funny to see how she gets all gooshy with Justin. She's a princess. One time Brandi (her mom) asked her "Do you want to be a dancer?" She said, "no." "Do you want to be a gymnist?" "No." "Do you want to be a model?" "Yeah!" And she could too. She would make all the other Gap babies look like Raggedy Ann. Rylee is the last one and she was born in November. She is the serious one but I'm barely starting to get her to smile. She is quiet and sweet and adorable.

On Saturday we took the two oldest to an indoor swimming pool. They were a little freaked out at first because they are Hawaiian. They are used to beaches and outdoor pools. Even though they've grown up in Utah their mom has made sure they kept their roots. Eventually we got them to play.

White Rim Trail!

For spring break Justin and I drove down to southern Utah with friends and family. It was the Einfeldts (minus Dave), Mike and Janine Pope, Tom Swallow, my dad and Justin and I. We decided to do the white rim trail (80+ miles in the backcountry) in three days on mountain bikes. Yikes.

I will be honest. I'm not hardcore. I would love to be but that requires time. Time requires sacrifice in school and work which I cannot give. So after coming out of hybernation from the winter time with virtually no physical exercise and lots of holiday treats we decided to ride the trail.

However, I'm proud to say that I rode most of it. I rode 90% of the first day, 100% of the second day and 70% of the third day. The third day I took it easy because my wrists were starting to hurt and being a massage therapist requires my wrists to be healthy. Let me just say, my sore butt and back couldn't hold a candle to the AMAZING scenery that we were surrounded in. Here are some of the gorgeous pictures:

Here are all the girls ready to go at the trailhead.

Here we are in our goofy jerseys riding the first day.

And here are the gorgeous views of some of God's best work.

Guess who's back?

WE ARE! Yes, after four months we've come out of newlywed hiding and are re-appearing on blogspot!
Actually, what really happened is this...
We got married in the middle of the semester. After the wedding we were thrown back into the middle of finals, papers, projects, etc. The Holidays came and now we had our Christmas shopping list doubled. Meanwhile, we were working like crazy. The honeymoon came and the last thing either of us wanted to do was blog.... so we skied/snowboarded! Then school started back up again and having a full load, I just never got around to it...
Basically our lives are consumed with work and school. Lots of things are being neglected... laundry, unpacking our stuff (there's still that one damn box in the corner that won't go away), exercise, thank you notes, writing missionary friends (sorry Evelyn and Adrienne!) and the oil change that the camry needs desperately... sigh. I'll never be super wife.
I would love to write a big long entry catching everyone up but it's late and I am still nauseous from the mashed potato quesadilla my friend from work made me five days ago. I'll condense it.

The end of fall semester: Great! Justin got an A in chemistry which is no small feat. I got good grades too, hurray! I was asked to be an anatomy T.A. but after learning that there are no monetary/tuition benefits and it would require ten hours a week plus my friday and saturday nights I had to turn it down. I guess I won't be spending my weekend nights with the cadavers. It'll just be me and Justin. (oh darn.)

The Holidays: Holidays as a married couple are great. Not only do you get to share it with someone, but on a more superficial (a.k.a. honest) note, you get twice as many presents!

The Honeymoon: We went to Jackson Hole where it was 15 degrees. But after two days and a night of skiing/boarding and snowshoeing I was happy. Besides it being national drunken college singles weekend, our resort was great. However, I was sick of snow by the end of the trip. Good thing we got to come back to Salt Lake to.... oh yeah, snow.

Spring Semester: First of all, why is called spring semester? Give me a break. There is only 3 weeks of spring and in Utah spring is cold! We've both got pretty heavy schedules. Justin's in calculus 2, chemistry 2 and evolutionary biology. I'm in precalc (which is tough for me), physiology, motor behavior and a really tough nutrition class. We're barely scraping by as spring fever is kicking in.

Spring break: Next week! Next week! Next week! Holy cow are we jazzed. A three day bike ride in southern Utah with friends and family is gonna be a blast! My butt is gonna fall off by the 100th mile, but I didn't need it anyway. The rest of it will be spent working a ton.

Well, that about sums it up. Pretty soon I'll have pictures of the White Rim trail up. Hopefully it's not gonna snow on us. My skin is in some serious need of sunshine and my body needs that vitamin D. It couldn't hurt Justin to get a little tan on.