3 Years of Wedded Bliss

Happy 3rd Anniversary to Us! This is a pic of Kyle stepping on my dress accidently as we're walking out of the Portland Temple...I'm trying to keep a smiling face on as I am propelled backwards.


We had guests over on our anniversary {July 1st} so we couldn't really go out and celebrate, nor did we tell them it was our anniversary as to not make them feel bad. We celebrated on 4th of July instead. Bravo.

Kyle, thanks for being the best husband and friend a girl could ask for!

Remember Fruit Stripe Gum?

I could go for some of that right now, especially since that's where Kyle is right now: at his new internship for the summer...Wrigley/Mars! We will never want for gum or candy (especially my favorite: Snickers and 5 Gum!) Currently, we are in Chicago for the summer and right now I'm looking out my enormous window at a gorgeous unobstructed view of the city and Lake Michigan: stunning. I think we're really going to LOVE Chicago. Kyle says we get to go to their fashion week too! Whoopee!

It's been a while since we've posted any life events on here...we're a little behind so please excuse us. So, here's the collection of events from the past month:

Kickin It Old School

We got free tickets to Roller Derby! It was hilarious. All the teams for this game were girls and basically they wear little burlesque outfits and booty shorts and roller skate around a track and try to push each other down and to pass the blockers from what we saw...the crowd was equally as interesting to watch as the game. Plenty of Mohawks and the like. Priceless. We were munching on healthy snacks: celery. Here's a little preview:




Trail Racing...Alone

We signed up for a 8K trail race that only allowed for 200 participants in Barrington, IL. It was really fun, but the best part was the prize for the winner: a sliced stump of wood with engraving on it. LOL! I was dying when I saw the winner's face! Usually you get money...guess that was a little dissapointing for them.


Denver Delicacies

Last week we drove 16 hours to visit Kyle's grandparents and aunt and uncle in Denver. We had a great time and a well deserved break for Kyle after finishing finals!

Kyle's aunt Sherri and uncle Vint were running the Boulder Boulder 10K race on Memorial Day a few days after we arrived in Denver so we thought it'd be fun to run it too! Our goal has been to run a race everywhere that we visit! What we didn't take into account is the 6,000 ft elevation...we're used to sea level. Besides being pretty hard on the lungs, it was one of the most fun races we've done! People on the sidelines were handing out hot bacon and tator tots to runners. A couple of houses on the streets had slip n' slides and there were a couple groups of belly dancers. Hehe! Of course, there were your typical dressed up runners too. Next race, Kyle and I are going to dress up too...we'll see what we decide to do.

Air Force Academia

On our day trip with Kyle's grandparents to Pike's Peak, we stopped by the U.S. Air Force Academy.

This non-denominational church was totally groovy...inside and out! Not that I'm looking for a new church, but wow, psychedelic!

They always have a row saved for the POWs and those who didn't make it.


This was the plane that Kyle's Grandpa flew over "The Hump" during WWII! He has a pretty cool resume'--in the pilot during WWII, FBI agent, lawyer...seriously, how is this generation supposed to live up to something like that?


Peaking Pike



We drove an hour out of Denver to Pike's Peak, 13,000 ft that you can get up to via a "Cog Train"...though this may be common knowledge, I didn't know what a cog is. For those of you like me, it's like a gear shaped wheel and track...the way a clock gear turns, that's the way it propells itself up the mountain with its "teeth." If you didn't already, now you know.


Waiting for the Cog Train...these magnetic rocks were wonderous!


Look at how cute they are! We had such a blast hanging out with them!

I didn't know there was going to be snow...I'm slightly under-dressed.



Hiking with the Olsens

Near the end of our trip, we went hiking with our friends Natalie and Zach and their cute little hatchling Jane...though I thought they should've named her Mary Kate or Ashley as a tribute to those adorable twins that are so accomplished and role models. LOL, okay not really, but why not?


Thanks Denver, we enjoyed our visit!

I'll be better about posting more frequently so the posts are not so long next time!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/73360/saturday-night-live-lawrence-welk

Shake Your Groove Thang, Please

Last weekend we went to Kyle's MBA Spring Ball. The theme was Bollywood, but I didn't have a sari, not that many other people do either, so a regular semi-formal dress had to do. But it is so difficult to find a dress that covers you to one of these events--more on that later.




I designed all of the advertising materials for the event {save the date, poster, and tickets} and it was a lot of fun--first timer here, but people everyone seemed to like them, so bravo. I'd say drawing the hand with henna on it was the hardest part.

Kyle snapped this pic of me and Heather so quaintly embracing, and I'm totally caught off guard. I had no idea they were going to call me up to the stand...I wasn't even expecting a "shout-out." Hmmm, I think Kyle knew, but he didn't warn me. This may have been the first time he was able to keep a surprise/secret from me. I always know every present he's going to get me--I'm just that good at getting stuff out of him I guess! Hehe.

Kyle won the award of "Best Dressed" and our friends Greg and Heidi Rose were there and Greg won "Mr. Congeniality." Kyle wore his tux he had from proms during high school because he had to go to so many, he just bought one. Not that he wears it for anything--he wore a simple suit to our wedding. He thought it'd be funny to wear a tuxedo to the dance; like on the old show "The State" and the guy walks around town saying "I'm wearing a tuxedo!"...Kyle dies laughing every time.

And that's a wrap. A really fun night. The hardest thing about this night was finding a dress for it, as mentioned above. I had gone shopping EVERYWHERE to find a dress and finally just decided to buy this one and fix it. I hemmed a piece of silk around the hem of the dress and made it look a little more retro! You can't see it, but it turned out pretty swell, if I don't say so myself and it is supposed to be one of the hardest fabrics to work with--go me! ;)

Today's Quote eloquently comes from my little brother Jared when he was about 7:

The Kids: "So Jared, you like [name omitted] don't you? Oooooo!"
Jared: (calmly) "Yeah."
Mom: "No, Jared likes her as a friend. Don't you Jared?"
The Kids: "No, Mom, Jared likes her like "Mushy Gushy!" Don't you Jared!? [lots of laughter]"
Mom: "Now, you guys...Jared likes her as a friend."
Jared: (convincingly and serious) "No Mom...like mushy gushy."

Stay tuned for: "Kickin it Old School"

Destination...Destin {Florida, that is}

Sorry, but the pun on words was inevitable. For Spring Break a couple of weeks ago, we flew to Atlanta to visit Kyle's family and soak in some necessary rays. I'm sure we're vitamin D deficient due to the lack of sun here--for example: it is supposed to be spring (supposedly), but it snowed a couple of inches on Saturday. I don't think spring exists here, though locals have been insisting that it starts around the end of April. At any rate, we didn't have that kind of time to wait around to experience a little flora, fauna, and sun!

We had a splendid week at the Nel's and enjoyed all of the Magnolia trees in blossom, which I didn't even get a picture of {*sigh*} and of course, we went on our favorite trail for trail running! Oh how I've missed it.

One of our goals while we were there was to go to the beach in Destin, Florida {on the Gulf of Mexico side} for you non-easterners, but no one seemed to be able to go. So, we got Kyle's sister and her husband to take off work and take a day trip with us down there.

A day trip includes waking up 3:45 am, throwing clothes on, packing the cooler, and getting out of the house and on the road by 4:00 am. Then, it gets better...7 hours driving through No-Man's-Land Georgia and Alabama (now that's a state I'm glad I'll never boast to have lived in...sheesh!) The Confederate flags were full force there, of course, I don't think they even realize they lost the war.

Once we got to the pristine beaches, we were in heaven and played and sun-bathed all day! There wasn't a cloud in the sky, except for random fighter pilots that would fly overhead occasionally through out the day, VERY CLOSE, to check out the beach bathers--soldiers need motivation too, I guess. Unfortunately, I didn't put sunscreen on vital areas like shoulders, face and chest...we were using oil with SPF 8, so I figured that the oil might only direct more burn to the areas I applied it to, hence I didn't apply it to places I was more prone to burning. Seemed like a good idea at the time...

Of course Kyle didn't put any sunscreen on at all because he wanted to make sure he got a tan--well, he certainly got his fair share of those rays. He started looking like a lobster during the mid-day heat and we started to slather him in sunscreen, but it was FAR too late. Damage done. And he is still peeling on his ears a little 2 weeks later. I didn't get to much of a burn and mine stopped peeling last week...yum!

When dinner rolled around, we were famished and at this point Kyle had been "sun-bathing" in all of his clothes and a towel over his upper body and face . We went to Fudpucker's...many people cannot pronounce this name correctly, as it obviously turns into an explative when you try, so I don't even bother. Nor should have I bothered attempting to eat anything on their menu. It was disgusting to say the least. I had some nasty version of Gumbo and a fish sandwich--I think they ate me more than I ate them...the stomach ache was something fierce...certainly not a place I'd go to again.

As for driving home: we didn't get there until 2:00 am--thank you NPR!

Oh, I almost forgot! We had a Chicago "blow-out" whilst driving home on the ridiculous roads home from the airport downtown...and our tires were BRAND NEW! We had to drive the 3 hours home on a spare on a Sunday night, and couldn't go over 50 miles per hour or else the tire would pop...that made for a very long ride home. We found out after the fact, that if you blow a tire on one of Chicago's horribly unkempt roads, you are supposed to take a picture of the pot-hole and your popped tire and send them to the state department of something or another and they're supposed to reimburse you...when or how much, I don't know. At least our tires still had a warrenty! :D

Stay Tuned for the Next Official Post: MBA Spring Ball {but that's not till April 18th, so we'll see what happens between now and then}

Oh the Places We'll See

We went to ATL for Spring Break last week and had a delightful time. Kyle has the camera with him at school right now, but I will post pictures on Sunday--tune in for Floridian Burns + Chicago Off-Roading.

Oh and for the sanity of all, I did a quick little bit of housekeeping on our blog from the Christmas colors...I guess its supposed to be spring now, but I don't see a green thing outside. In fact, there is still a bit of melting snow on the ground.

Today's Tribute: I will miss Gumby and Pokey as our main pic, but I really love Sloane Tannen's work, so pipe-cleaner chicks are the profile pic for now folks.

Beard Off + Mouse Paraphernalia

Well, Christmas has come and gone and Kyle seems to be winning the annual "Beard Off"...poor me, I never win these contests. I doubt I'll ever win the prestigious award of everyone coming up to me and asking if I feel warmer due to my new layer on my face or if I like it or if everyone else likes it.

But I do feel at peace that I will be able have those feelings via Kyle. My wonderful, handsome mountain man. One day, back at the parents' house, Kyle just decided not to shave anymore and that was that. We'll see how long it lasts...people are starting to mistake him for their professors.

As a side note, the anniversary of my birth arrived, the same time as usual this year. And, of course, Kyle and I were still on Christmas vacation (over a month...whoopee), so we were able to spend the day together. I received awesome gifts from Kyle's family and mine and Kyle bought be some great clothes and a sewing machine! I was blindfolded and taken around town, ate at this DELICIOUS restaurant that serves only organic, local, seasonal cuisine. Decadent. I'm so very lucky, even for a mouse.

I learned from our Chinese friend in Kyle's MBA program, that I was born in the year of the mouse...but further study into Chinese Zodiac Astrology says that translates to "Rat" or "Rodent" as well...take your pick. I pick mouse, for its more delicate nature.

Luckily, it stands for: protector and bringer of material prosperity. But it does also bring a few other associations to the table: aggression, wealth, charm, and order, yet also associated with death, war, the occult, pestilence, and atrocities. Yay!

I did ask what was the best year to be born in. Answer? No, not the mouse...the Pig. Its for good luck and if a couple could choose any year to wait and have their 1 child in, it would definitely be the pig. I think that's what Kyle and I will do. Oh, I just checked...that's in 11 years. Okay, I'll be 35. Perfect. Although, perhaps the year of the Dragon or Horse might suffice.

Best Day of My Birth ever!

Oh, and since we've been experiencing those wonderful -25 degree record-breaking low temperatures, we've often pondered on the thought of running away to Costa Rica again. How we long to go and play in the sweltering heat once more!

A quick tribute to Costa Rican beaches {the most beautiful in the world...though I only have a few other Central American beaches to compare it to}. Please, oh please, take me back!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggidy Jog

I know this is a little late of an update...but we went to Yacolt, WA this year for Christmas. The 1st year in 3 years! And we got snowed in...a local record since 1967. Whoopee!

And though we were in the middle of a snowstorm in WI, we didn't think about there being much snow in WA...so we didn't bring gear....

...except running tights, which you see Kyle modeling here. Yes, we're awesome.

So, we got creative. Plastic grocery bags took the place of waterproofing for both our hands and our shoes. Fashion awards? I think we were quite deserved.

We did find out that Amanda doesn't mind wearing shorts in the snow, so long as she has knee high rain boots.

And we built a 9 foot snowman and juiced a lot of carrots...gotta stay healthy in all this cold weather!

Being turned into a snow-caterpillar was certainly a highlight of the trip. And, yes, Amanda is still in shorts.

We also got to catch up (very quickly) with cousin Erica and her husband Brad while going to weddings at the Portland Temple. They are the cutest couple...so, glad we got to bump into them! We love you two!

Thanks family for such a wonderful Christmas! We love and miss you!

Bonus: a little adios movie clip...



p.s. "Thanks Buddy, hope you find your dad." -Norwhale