I'm a Daddy's Girl.

I love my dad. He's been my biggest support, cheerleader, and adviser. He taught me how to ride a bike, took me camping every summer, and helped me apply for college. So this Father's Day, I just want everyone to know how grateful I am for him. He's really is the World's Best Dad. 

I love you Dad!

Towel Animals.

One of my favorite things about cruises is the cute towel animals that they put on your bed as part of their turn-down service. I wish I knew how to do them. Wouldn't this be fun to do for kids? Enjoy!

Swan.

Sea Lion.

We guessed that this was a either a snake or a bird. 

Joe loved the mystery towel animal.

Bear.

Another bird?

Bunny.

My favorite, the Elephant!

We went searching for the sun.

I know that I should have blogged about this a long time ago, but better late than never, eh?  In May, Joe and I went on a Mexican Riviera cruise. We had yet to go on a vacation with just the two of us, and our honeymoon was just two days at the beach. So, we thought it was worth spending our tax return on this getaway. We had seven lovely days on a cruise ship with no places we had to  be and no deadlines to meet. It was FANTASTIC! We stopped at Caba San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta. Highlights of the trip include:

Swimming with dolphins

Kayaking with a glass bottom kayak

All you can eat soft serve ice cream (Joe made sure to take PLENTY advantage of this)

Playing mini golf on the ship

Sleeping in and not feeling guilty of it

Para-sailing over the ocean

Chillin' in the hot tub

Awesome shopping (Well, this was a highlight for me.)

Formal dress-up dinners

Meeting new friends

Wonderfully warm weather

Snorkeling in a coral reef and seeing the most beautiful fish

Reading the entire Hunger Games series

Getting an incredible massage

Zip-lining in the jungle canopy

Towel animals

All you want room service

Being able to spent wonderful time with each other

We had a wonderful time and are so glad that we got to take a break. The only downer was that it ended so soon!

The first day at sea was cloudy, but the weather got better as we traveled more south.

It was mother's day weekend so this guy made an ice sculpture of "MOM." It was cool to watch.

Our lovely room. 

We got a yummy pina-colada in this fun coconut monkey!

We saw this cute guy in Cabo San Lucas.

Our ship: Carnival Spendor

Lovers Beach in Cabo.

Supposedly this is a really famous arch. I thought it was pretty.

I'm not  a fan of salt water, but it was worth it!

Getting ready to go para-sailing! I think Joe was a little nervous.

We had a GREAT time. I hope we can go on another cruise someday!

Running, running.

I ran 2.5 miles tonight. I know that doesn't sound like a lot to some of you, but for me, that's exciting. The best part? My knee feels fabulous! It been really frustrating over the past two years when I would try to run a mile or two and not be able to walk the rest of the day because of my swollen and painful knee.  But, so far, that hasn't been the case this time and that makes me SO happy!! I've been running pretty consistently over the last few weeks and my knee hasn't bothered me once. Actually, the only time it was sore was after a long workout on the elliptical last week. Go figure.  After two years of nursing this hurt knee, I think the time has come where I can get back to running as much as I like. I am starting slowly though. I don't want to overwork it all at once and get hurt again. So for me, 2.5 miles is a good start.  Running makes me feel happy, good about myself, and like I accomplished something. Who doesn't want a daily dose of those things?

P.S. My friend Lauren has convinced me to train for a Ragnar relay in the fall. Yeah. The only thing that comes to mind is, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!!"

P.P.S. Another Bonus--My husband told me I look hot when I work out. Yeah, definitely going to keep this up!

Justice, finally.

I remember exactly where I was when the first plane hit the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. I  was an 18 year old freshman at BYU and was walking from my dorm room down to the Cannon Center to eat breakfast. A friend of mine was walking toward me and told me the news. I quickly went into the Cannon Center and joined the crowd gathered around the T.V., only to see the second tower being hit. I remember the tears running down my cheeks and how my heart hurt for all those on the planes and in the towers who were lost that day. That experience is what comes to my mind when I hear the word "terrorism." 

Now, almost ten years later, President Obama has confirmed that the man who orchestrated those attacks is dead. 

Osama Bin Laden has finally met justice.

I can't help but reflect on the teaching in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, about fighting against evil and secret combinations. I find it no coincidence that so much of that sacred book is dedicated to how to fight against evil leaders and evil groups, of which Al-Qaida is undoubtedly one. The following verse comes to mind:

3 Nephi 5:6

And thus they did put an end to all those wicked, and secret, and abominable combinations, in the which there was so much wickedness, and so many murders committed.

There is still much to do in fighting for freedom, truth, and righteousness.  However, the end of that evil man who has caused the murder of thousands of innocent people is good progress in that fight. I honor and am so grateful for all the men and women who have sacrificed their time and put their life on the line to fight against terrorism. 

They are heroes.

I am proud to be an American. God Bless the USA!

Are you Gorky?

iPhone auto-correct can turn any conversation into something hilarious. Here's a little snippet from a conversation between me and my hunk yesterday. You may not find it as funny as I do, but it had me laughing for a good hour. 

Notice the random insertion of what the hunk should eat for lunch. That's a common occurrence. Just to clarify, I am NOT a socialist. A little while later I got on Facebook to see that the hunk had updated his status to the following: 

 

That made me smile. :)

I have NO idea why my phone thinks "girly" should be "Gorky." When I googled "Gorky", it came up as a last names of a Russian socialist writer and an American artist from the 1940s. Who texts about those people on a regular basis that they would be programmed into iPhone auto-correct?

In any case, it gave us a good laugh.  

Thunderstorms

Right now I am sitting on my couch, snuggled up in the quilt my mother made me, listening to the most glorious thunderstorm. I absolutely  love thunderstorms. I love them because they remind me of how marvelous and powerful nature is, and how small I am. I also love the memories that thunderstorms bring to me.

I remember as a young girl, my sisters and I would wait by the window to see the lightening until the thunder cracked. Then, we would run as fast as we could to our bed and hide under the covers until we gained enough courage to venture out to the window again. We would do this over and over, laughing the whole time, until the storm was over.

When we were a bit older, ages six or seven, we would pretend to be on a ship in the sea during a horrible storm. We would rock back and forth on our big rocking chair that my great grandpa made, pretending that it was a ship being tossed in the waves. Mother had a candlestick holder that we would hold and it made the imaginary scene even more real to us. The thunder and the lightening added the final touch to our adventure. I can still hear Cecily yelling, "Beware the rocks off the port bow!"

As a teenager, thunderstorms meant that swim practice was over. Some of you might not know this, but I swam competitively for ten years. I was even captain of my high school swim team my senior year. I was never very good, but I had a lot of fun. In Sacramento, most of the pools, including all the ones I swam in, were outdoor. So, we swam in all kinds of weather. Rain. Hail. Wind. We braved it all. The only weather that would force us out of the pool was lightening. I remember swimming laps and hearing the crack of thunder. My coach would blow the whistle and we would jump out of the pool as fast as we could. After all, we had been told how people who swim in thunderstorms always get struck by lightening and drown and we weren't going to let that happen to us.

In Oregon, there were lots of thunderstorms. I have a lot of sweet memories of watching thunderstorms with Joe when we were dating and engaged. Thunderstorms make for perfect snuggling weather. We would make hot chocolate, cuddle, and talk for hours. Those were some of the best days of my life.

The rain has slowed down and its been awhile since I've heard a crack of thunder.  I think I can see some sunlight poking through. That's the thing with thunderstorms--they never last forever. Soon the sun comes out and the sky is calm again.

What Easter Means to Me

This is a re-post from a few Easter's ago. My feeling and testimony is the same, but stronger.

My heart is full. My cup runneth over. I woke up this morning hearing the wind rustle through the blooming trees and the birds chirping in their nests. It is Easter. What a special day!

It is this day 2011 years ago that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, walked out of the garden tomb and broke the bands of death, that we may all live again. Friends, I hope you know that I have a firm testimony of the divinity and mission of Jesus Christ. His is the Savior of all mankind. He came to this earth for a special purpose. He came to ransom us from the fall, to provide a way that we could repent and overcome our own imperfections that we might live again with God the Father. He suffered the pains of sin in Gethsemane, alone, bleeding from every pore. He was judged of men, scoffed and scorned, though he had done no wrong. He was nailed to the cross, suffering even more. And when it was enough, he died. For three days his body lay in a mountain tomb. However, that would not be its final resting place. As angels rolled the stone of the tomb back, he arose, resurrected and glorified. He lives! With His resurrection he broke the bands of death, that in due time all men and women may rise again. That weekend 2011 years ago, Jesus Christ won the battle over sin and death, and provided a way in which we can overcome them too.

Jesus Christ is the Savior of mankind, the Redeemer of the world, the Son of the living God. He lives and loves us. May we all, accept the gift that he has given. May we repent of our weaknesses and sins and come unto Him that we may live with the Father and the Son again.

This is my testimony and I bear it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Something Sweet

 This is what happens when I finish my finals, its Easter weekend, and I am scheduled to teach Relief Society.

 CUPCAKES! 

I wanted to make something sweet for my Relief Society sisters since it was such a special Sunday. Easter is my favorite! Little did I know that in Sacrament meeting they would announce that they are dissolving our ward and that all us young marrieds would be asked to go to the local family wards. This was our last Sunday and my lesson was the last one that they would hear in that ward. Talk about pressure! My lesson went OK and I think these cupcakes turned out cute. Everyone seemed to enjoy them! 

I made 40 of them and had a bit of fun with food coloring and sprinkles!

I love this cute bunny and the Easter egg sprinkles.

Hope you had a SWEET Easter too!

I'm a Lucky girl.

Finals tally: 2 papers done, 3 tests taken, 1 test to go.

Yesterday I had my last scheduled final. It was in my favorite class--immigration law. It was three hours of non-stop crazy typing and I loved it. All I have to say is I better get a good grade in that class. After the final I came home and fell asleep for 3 hours. It was an afternoon final, which  means I feel asleep around 6pm. I was so tired. After 4 nights of 4 hours of sleep each, my body just crashed. I don't know how new moms do it! Anyways, I woke up at 9pm, completely confused, watched a couple of episodes of Criminal Minds, then went back to sleep and didn't wake up until 9:30am this morning. It was amazing! I had forgotten what it was like to get more than 6 hours of sleep at a time. I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I just have to finish this take home final and I'll be free!

Oh, and want to know why I am such a lucky girl? Because my husband knows how to make me happy when I am "a train wreck," as he calls it. He brought home this lovely box of my favorite Lucky Charms and said I didn't have to share. What a sweetheart. I love that man.