We're off...

On one of these for a 7-day Alaskan cruise! I've been saving up my PTO all year for this. Seriously, I haven't taken a single day off. And yes, I'm excited!

I probably won't be posting while we're gone, so if you don't hear from me for awhile, it's not because I have died of a ruptured ovarian cyst.

SYTYCD Top 8

This week was so AWESOME! Ellen DeGeneres was on the Wednesday show. And I admit, I was a little skeptical, but she was really funny! My favorite was Tyce DiOrio's dance about breast cancer. Melissa and Ade danced it beautifully and it was very touching. I love how dance can portray things so much better than words.

The results show was the 100th show of SYTYCD, so they went all out! They had all the Emmy award winning dances from past seasons. One word: AMAZING! Jeanette and Jason left and I was ok with that.

Southeastern Utah

This weekend we were off for a good old Road Trip! 852.4 miles in 2 days... Bless you Meg for having cruise control! I'm not a very good long distance driver, but we discovered a secret that allows me to be an awesome driver... I easily drove more than half of the way. What is this secret, you may ask? Read me Harry Potter and I'll drive forever.

Friday we left right after work and drove all the way to a campground 8 miles north of Monticello, UT. We got there around 10:00, so we used our car lights to set up the tent. The next morning we woke up, put on our church clothes, and headed to the Monticello Temple for a session. Then we were off to the 4 Corners Monument. There were a lot of people waiting in line, so we didn't have as much time as we would have liked to take lots of creative pictures in the four states. But we had a friendly family from Pennsylvania snap a few pictures and then we were back on the road.

The next stop was Monument Valley. It was beautiful! But by that time Rog had broken the number 1 rule of taking care of a Chief... I was starving and nothing but a Navajo Taco would satisfy me. We finally found a restaurant that was open at 4:00 in the afternoon, served Navajo Tacos, and took credit (not as easy as you might think)! Seriously, if you ever venture down to this area of the state, BRING CASH!! We had a good laugh over the "power sugar" they gave us when we asked for powder sugar. We bought a magnet and were on our way. We made a quick stop at Newspaper Rock and headed home. We pulled into our parking lot at about 11:40, exhausted, but happy after another wonderful adventure of Rog and Chief!

Incubus

Last Wednesday at work was a crazy day full of ups and downs. First I was informed that I would be moving into an office with the Controller and Assistant Controller (NOT a pleasant idea AT ALL). Luckily with the help of my amazing coworkers, we convinced them to keep all the staff accountants together thereby preserving my sanity. (I am not a fan of the Assistant Controller. In fact, he's probably the person I like least in this world right now.)

Somewhere in the midst of that, Roger's boss called (he never calls me, so I was very confused) and asked what I was doing Thursday night. When I replied that I would be watching SYTYCD, he asked if I could miss that to go see Incubus. I said yes because I could watch SYTYCD on TiVo later. When I talked to Roger, he filled me in on the details... VIP parking, free food, and VIP seats all on APX! Sweet, right? So the day was looking up again.

But then I got a call from my OBGYN office with the results from an ultrasound I had the previous week confirming my suspicion that I have a few cysts right now... all smaller than the cyst I had last summer, but one that is complex... While I was on the phone I couldn't remember exactly what a complex cyst is (mine was a simple blood one before)... The nurse told me it is nothing to worry about, but that we need to do a follow-up ultrasound in a few weeks to make sure it is shrinking on its own. While I was driving home I remembered that complex cysts are made up of part liquid and part solid material. And that they are more likely to be cancerous or become cancerous. WONDERFUL, right!? So when I got home I looked up complex cyst on google and my memory was confirmed. So I broke down and cried hysterically for a good half hour. Everyone has to be good at something and I guess this is what I am good at - growing cysts. I wish I knew more details, but for now we just have to see what it does in the next few weeks and then we'll decide if it has to be removed surgically. The surgery I can handle... I did it before. The timing is just really bad because we were going to start trying to get pregnant and now we have to wait. I know that everything is in the Lord's hands and He'll take care of us, but it just sucks right now.

Anyway, sorry about that tangent... Back to Incubus... I wish I could say that I love Incubus, that they're my favorite band. But I can't. I like the few songs I know (Stellar and Drive), but that's about it. That being said, I did have a good time at the concert. It definitely was an eye-opening, out-of-bubble experience to see LOTS of people drinking and smell what Rog informed me was weed. Haha... and it was in Utah!

Rog LOVED the concert. I had no idea he was so into Incubus. The whole drive home he kept saying how awesome it was. Over two years of marriage and I'm still learning new things about my redhead!

We almost left without taking a picture of me at the concert. I look like a ghost, but I promise it's just the flash.

SYTYCD Top 10

This week I liked all of the dances except I didn't think the Paso Doble was very good (mostly because Kupono was a weak partner). My favorite was Melissa and Brandon in a Tyce Diorio Broadway.

Kupono is finally gone!! Yipee! But, I was so sad that Randi was voted off this week. I knew she wouldn't win, but I really really liked her and not just because she's from Orem. She is such a strong dancer, but she just doesn't have the lines that Melissa, Kayla, and even Jeanine have. Sigh.

Look who's taller than Rog now!

My little brother has always been short... until now. It seems like every time we see him he's taller than the last time we saw him. First he passed me and now he has passed Rog. Looks like he actually might have a chance at getting married now. :)



It's ok Rog, I still love you even though you are shorter than my little bro and losing your hair. I really don't mind not wearing high heals and we all knew the balding thing was inevitable.

Duckies, Babies, Lagoon, and Settlers

My family came up from St. George for the weekend because my Uncle Chris, Aunt Tracy, and Cousin Sam were here from Virginia. It was fun to have my whole family on my mom's side together. Friday night some of us went golfing in Park City. My dad got an eagle on one of the holes. It was a Par 4 and he got it in the hole in 2 shots! It was amazing! My mom and I were more interested in the cute little duckies...



Saturday was my BFF Amber's baby shower. She has such a cute little belly (emphasis on little) and she's due in less than a month! We can't wait to meet the little guy who I hope for her sake is actually little. She told us that Dane (her husband) was 24 inches long when he was born!

Saturday night we headed off to Lagoon! My Grandpa Ririe came which was really fun! He rode with us on Rattlesnake Rapids (we all got soaked) and the Log Flume. We made sure to start out with my favorite, the Rocket (Re-entry). We also did Wicked which looked terrifying, but actually wasn't too bad.

Sunday we had dinner at the Ford's house and then played Settlers. I was obsessed with Settlers my freshman year, but I haven't played it too much since then. Diana recently discovered that she likes Settlers too which is pretty funny because we always used to try to get her to play with us and she wouldn't.



It was fun to see the Virginia part of our family although we didn't get to do enough with them!

July 4th

Sorry for the delay... I had this post all ready to go on Wednesday morning, but when I pushed Publish, my internet freaked out on me...

We started out our 4th of July with the Freedom Run 5K. It was a good race and a good way to start the day. My only complaint is that the race shirts they gave us were pretty cool... other than the fact that they were much bigger than most race shirts. So Rog has two shirts - mine that fits him and his that is too big for him. Ah well.

After our run, we joined our friends Daniel and Aeff (and a bunch of their friends we didn't know) to float the Mighty Provo River. The water was absolutely FREEZING, but it was fun anyway. I would describe it as one big, long, natural water slide. Definitely an experience to remember!

Finally we headed up to SLC for the Bees game. Ever since we have known each other, we have watched the Stadium of Fire fireworks outside the stadium (it was actually our first date). But this year we wanted to do something different. We figured, what better to do on the 4th of July than watch a baseball game? It is America's past time! The game went into 3 extra innings which was a little annoying because by then we just wanted to see the fireworks. But we waited it out and got to enjoy the firework show from the field!



We are so lucky that we live in a country where we are free. God Bless America!!

SYTYCD Top 12

This week all the couples performed 2 dances each, so there were a lot of good ones to choose from. My favorite ended up being a Wade Robson jazz number performed by Brandon and Jeanette.

I'm pretty happy about the top 10 dancers. Although I can't believe Kupono hasn't been kicked off yet! He's just lucky that he has been paired with Kayla! Now things get interesting because the partnerships will be shuffled around and America's votes are all that count... That means the judges can't fix anything that America gets wrong! Ahhh!

July 3rd

Because the 4th was on a Saturday this year, we got the 3rd off. There really is nothing better than getting paid for not working! We started out the morning bright and early at the balloon festival. As expected, it did not disappoint! I told Rog that someday I want a blue hot air balloon with a big Y on the side. We'll see if he can deliver.

After watching the balloons, we headed over to Kneaders for their AMAZING french toast. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Seriously.

Then it was off to the Great Salt Lake. I've lived in Utah my whole life and have never been, so we decided we needed to go. That is definitely one disguisting lake, but it is definitely something everyone should do once. It really is crazy how easy it is to float!



Finally we went to Gateway to play in the fountains. Despite the dirty looks we got from the parents there with their kids, we had a great time!



Thanks McKae and Tony for joining us for our adventures in SLC!

Ogre Temple

We're definitely going to the bad place for joking about this, but we always call the Oquirrh Mountain Temple the Ogre Temple. You know, like in Shrek.... Every time we pass it we have to say, in our best ogre voice, "Welcome to the House of God. Recommend please." We imagine them pounding their fists and saying, "I'm sorry, recommend expired. Please step into this room and we will eat you now." I know, I know... We're horrible!

We were able to go to the open house last Thursday night and it was a very beautiful temple, definitely not a place where ogres would live. It's crazy to think that when this temple is dedicated there will be 13 temples in Utah. Not to mention, 2 in South Jordan alone!

Finally...

Got my diploma framed! I've only been graduated since April... of 2008! But better late than never, right? Michaels had their framing 60% off two weeks ago, so I took it in. I just got it back last night and I love it!



P.S. I will be blogging ALL about our awesome 4th of July weekend tonight.

Patriotic Door Hanging

For July's enrichment craft night we made patriotic door hangings. Here are the directions.

You will need: Mod Podge, paint, brush, piece of wood (I found the wood we used at Michaels. I liked the border it had, but any piece of wood would do.), letters, paper cutter, paper, ribbon, wire, pliers (to cut the wire), hole punch, drill (not pictured), sand paper (optional), wood stars, and buttons.

1. Cut out a patriotic phrase (Proud to be an American, God bless America, Long may she wave, Freedom, Let freedom ring, etc...) using a cricut machine. (Or you could use letter stickers if you don't have access to a cricut machine.) Arrange the letters on a coordinating piece of paper and glue them down using Mod Podge.

2. Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge over the entire piece of paper to seal it.

3. Sand down your wood if desired. Paint the edges of your wood. (Don't mind the blue, I was testing colors.)

4. Paint your wood stars.

5. Cut out your ribbon in varying lengths and apply the stars to the ribbon using a generous amount of Mod Podge.

6. Apply the ribbons to the back of the wood again using a generous amount of Mod Podge. Let dry.

7. Drill a hole in the two top corners of your wood.

8. Punch two holes in the paper making sure to line them up with the holes in your wood. Glue the paper to the wood using Mod Podge.

9. Cut the wire, thread it through the holes, and wind it around itself to hold it in place.

10. Apply buttons to embellish wherever you want.

And you're done!

SYTYCD Top 14

This week again there were lots of good ones. For the first time on the show they did a classical ballet piece (using Melissa of course). It was really good. My favorite was Phillip and Jeanine doing a Tabitha and Napoleon hip hop routine while being chained together.

Oddly enough they were in the bottom 3 and the one I thought for sure would be in the bottom 3 (the alien dance) wasn't. Puzzling! But in the end I was satisfied with who went home. Next week should be interesting because it determines the top 10!