Labor Day Weekend

This post is long overdue, I know.

We had such a fun filled labor day weekend! It was great seeing lots of family members we hadn't seen since before the summer. 

Saturday: We spent the day at Lava Hot Springs with my family, Annie, Casperson's, Peterson's, and Bundy's. I got brave, after going off the 2nd platform, and went off the 3rd. I only did it one time however, because it hurt my ears so bad. I'm glad I did it though. We also floated the river and had such a fun time. We loved it so much, we did it twice and decided to go off the bigger waterfall the second time. I was on a four man tube with my mom and two cousins the first time and Brad was by himself. He got a few scratches so decided he'd come with us the second time since we were told the four man doesn't flip. We went down the big waterfall fine, but when it came to the smaller one, we flipped and Brad and I were in the back of the tube so we got the worst of it. I got a pretty nasty cut on my knee and some scratches. Brad got some bruises and scratches. We decided to be done for the day after that. But, it was still such a fun day.

The left one is my knee the day of. The white stuff is just some medicine we put on. The middle is Brad's back, and the right is my knee a few days after. I'm a little embarrassed to say that this is the worst injury I've ever had, but it's true. (Or is a fractured elbow, that didn't hurt much, worse?)

Sunday-Monday: We spent the rest of the weekend at the cabin with Brad's family. We had some fun shooting bow and arrows, going on a 4-wheeler/motorcycle rides, playing games and eating lots of yummy food. Brad's sister and brother-in-law have an exchange student living with them for 10 months. She is from Denmark and she is so fun and cute.  We were sad Brooke and Elgin had to leave Sunday late afternoon and we only got to spend a few hours with them. 

Life after Texas

Life in Utah has been busy, but great! We flew my mom out to Texas to help me drive home. It was so nice to have her come and to be home a few days before Brad to get settled in a little. We stopped and spent the night at Kylee and Brody's since it was almost exactly half way. We went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse, then did a little shopping at Charming Charlie (our favorite). Ky and I had fun trying on some sweet hats. 

We went for a walk and got some ice cream, which is right across from their apartment complex. 

We got a picture of all the hats that I've made during the summer. I can't believe how many I've done. Shows how bored I was! 

Brad and I went boating with some of our friends. It was so much fun. I had not been for a couple of years so I was afraid I wouldn't remember how to wakeboard, but I got up just fine. :) I was not near as good as Brad though. 

And of course I've done some babysitting for the Hess'! The girls have gotten so big. Lucy was not even walking when I left. And Charlie can swim all by himself! It was so fun to hang out with them. 

Brad got himself two new toys when we got home. The first is one that he got a good deal on, and he is not sure if he is going to keep it. He's had fun riding it a few times though. 

The second is one that he earned as an incentive during the summer. If he got 12 sells in one week, his boss told him he would buy him a mountain bike of his choice. 

I've decided to take the semester off of school so I have been very busy working. Brad with his second to last semester of school at USU. We are enjoying life back in Utah very much. 

Last few weeks of TX

I've been to Bahama Bucks so many times that I've filled up a punch card. (actually a couple... shhh) So, we decided to go get our free one, on a Sunday after church. We could get a free one in any size, so we got the biggest one, and it was huge! We couldn't even finish it. It was fun to get to go with Brad for a change though. 

I did NOT like seeing this when I came down the stairs one night.

However, I did LOVE waking up to these the next morning. They were from Nick (Brad's boss) as a thanks for supporting Brad. 

One of the other wives and I went to the discovery center one day with her darling twin girls. I'm sad I didn't get more pictures, cause the place was pretty awesome. It had TONS of little activities for kids to do. There was these dinosaurs that looked real- they even moved and had sound effects!

 Pretty!

On Sunday, Brad and I went to Palo Duro. It was pretty neat, and I'm glad we went, even though we didn't really get out and hike very much.  

My mom flies in tomorrow to help me drive home Monday/Tuesday. I can't believe the summer is already over, but I am so ready to be back in Utah!

Update

We got to go to Splash Amarillo last week. It was the day before my friend, Meagan left to go back home so the boys took off half the day and we had a lot of fun for a few hours. This place is like a mini version of 7 Peaks. Our favorite was the 'U' shaped slide that we called the taco. This is also the slide (at 7 peaks) where my brother, Cam, said the famous line, "if we die, oh well." Then we went to bahama bucks afterwards. It was such a fun day. 

Just to show you a little bit of what Amarillo is like everyday... Luckily there is no humidity so it doesn't feel too much hotter than that. 

The wives and I went to the Amarillo Zoo on Saturday. There are 5 of us wives and one of them has twin little girls so it was fun to see their reactions to all the animals. The snakes definitely freaked me out, as always, but the Nemo looking one was pretty cool. This zoo was only 3 dollars, so we weren't expecting much. It was more like a zoo/farm. Along with the lions, tigers, and bears (we didn't see the bear) there was also horses, sheep and a bison. We went to lunch afterwards. 

We finally made it to the last Harry Potter movie and got to see it in 3D. It was such a great movie and I am so sad that they are completely over now! 

This has been my new hobby as of lately....

Amarillo by Morning

For those of you who don't know, we moved to Amarillo last Sunday. The team that was here before left and there was still a lot of great area. Brad's manager thought they would do well, and they have. However, the area is not as fun as Houston and our apartments are not as new. Since there was another team here before us, we took over their apartments and they did not get cleaned. They were pretty nasty so we spent all of last Sunday cleaning it. 

These might possibly be my new favorite things!
Love Bahama Bucks!!

I need to give a shout out to Brad. He got his best week ever last week. His boss gave him an incentive and told him if he could get 12 in one week, (he's never gotten more than 9) he would give him a mountain bike of his choice. He did it!! I'm so proud of him. He has also never gotten more than 3 in a day and he got 4 on Saturday. He is one amazing man and I love him. 

Sunday we had the coolest thunderstorm ever. Have you ever tried to take out a picture of lightning? It's not as easy as it looks, but it is easier when there is lightning about every 5 seconds. We got some pretty sweet pictures before it started pouring. 

4TH OF JULY

Since today was like a Saturday for the boys, I had some extra time to make a few desserts. My friend, Meagan, and I went to watch a lazar/water show at a nearby park. Since it is so dry here, and there have been too many fires, they were not allowed to do fireworks. I was really bummed, because what's the fourth of july without fireworks?! But I guess I can count the lightning the night before as our fireworks show. We went a few hours early and sat on our blanket and talked. It was fun to catch up with her, since she has been in Logan for a few weeks. The boys were able to get off early and made it in time for the show. However, it was a major let down. No water, just lazars flashing to music. Needless to say, we only stayed for about 5 minutes. We came home and had pancakes with strawberries and blueberries. 

Picture a little blurry :(

Birthday Weekend

I had such a fun weekend. For those of you who don't know, my mom and I share a birthday. We have never been apart for our birthdays and this year was going to be the first. So I decided to come home and surprise her. It was so awesome and we got her good! Kylee picked me up from the airport since she had an appointment in SLC anyways. Then she dropped me off at All About Kids so I could visit there for a bit. I miss it there so much. My dad picked me up on his way home from work and Jake did his job of getting my mom to go downstairs so that I could come in and hide in the closet. Kylee told my mom to get her camera (which was in the closet) because she had some questions about the camera she had just bought that is similar. My mom screamed and didn't know what to think for a minute, but she was so surprised and happy. 

I came home the day after my dad's birthday so my grandparents came over for a little BBQ that night. Friday we spent the day just mostly hanging out. Kylee has been planning a surprise party for my mom for a while since it is her 50th. I helped her frost some cookies at my Grandmas that night while my mom was having a sisters party. (She thought we were babysitting for the Hess') We spent Saturday morning making some cute cards, then watching a movie. I went to Zeppies with my friend Amy. Did I mention I love that girl? It was fun to catch up with her. My parents, sister and I played some fun card games Friday and Saturday night. 

Sunday was the big party day. We went to my grandparents for dinner and then my dad blindfolded my mom and drove her around for a bit so we could get to the park before she got there. Kylee did such an amazing job with the whole thing. It was a milk and cookies theme, since that is what my mom is known for.  We played a few games including: who knows Lee best, guess how old she is in each picture and, how many cookies are in the jar. Kylee really went all out. 

My mom was very surprised and loved the whole thing. She even didn't mind the mixing of family, and if you know her at all.. you know that is a big deal! I still cannot believe she is 50 years old. She does not act or look like it at all. She is one amazing woman and I hope I can be just like her one day. I held cute baby Dane the whole party. :) I missed him and he has gotten so huge in the last month. It was such a fun night, and I even got to open a few presents when we got home even though I had already done that before we left. Happy late Birthday to the best mom in the world! 

Monday morning we woke up to these cute signs in our yard. They were mostly for my mom, but I thought they were cute. I love sharing a birthday with my mom and I was glad to be there to take our traditional picture by the happy birthday banner. :) 

We went to the gateway to shop for a bit before they took me to the airport. 

Since I was getting in at 6, Brad said he wouldn't be able to pick me up because he would still be working. So, I had arranged for another wife to pick me up, but then Brad really came and surprised me. It was so great and I loved being with him again. We stopped by the mall and he bought me some new running shoes. I love them!! We went home before going to get dinner and he had decorated our apartment with streamers, balloons and a sign. He even bought me a cute little cake. It was so cute and such a fun night. We got chinese food and ate it at our house and watched a movie. It was such a fun birthday weekend. 

Houston Zoo

One Saturday, we had a baby shower for one of the wives out here. Everyone brought some yummy food and we had fun playing games, eating and hanging out. We can't wait to see your baby girl, Taiya!

We had a BBQ at the pool with our Vivint team on a Sunday. It was fun to be able to hang out with everyone, and eat some yummy food. 

We had our friends, Nate and Meagan, over for dinner before Meag went back home to work. We have a lot of fun with them and that night was a night to remember! 

I gave Brad a haircut on Sunday- a first for me. I don't think it looks too bad, hopefully! 

A few of us wives wanted to go to the zoo. We found out that it was free the first Tuesday of every month. Score! There were only four of us that went, and Lindsey's two kids, but we had a blast! 

These were some of my favorites. Look how cute those baby elephants are!