Oh yeah ... I am back from China!

China was amazing! Traveled with some amazing people that going into it I knew and then met so many more that were equally as fun! (And have some stories of a couple crazies too!) Traveling with groups has got to be one of the best ways to go, you always have a variety and if you get bored you just move on to hang out with someone new.

Got to go to the World Expo in Shanghai and many of the Pavilions for the different countries were really cool... USA it was a little embarrassing to be honest. But good to see non the less. There were so many people there, on average on a slow day there are 400,000 people that go there per day! SO MANY PEOPLE!

As an avid watcher of the Beijing Olympics it was really cool to get to see the Birds Nest!

The great wall of China was for sure one of my favorite highlights! Padgett and I climbed all the way to the top of the hard side... yeah it was hard they were not joking!!

Forbidden City, was really fun to see!

And what can be better than traveling with your sister... So much fun and so many funny stories to look back upon!

It would have been nice to see the sun once while we were there but I would go back and eat the food... it was delicious!

CHINA

I leave for China tomorrow!! I must go take one last test and then off for fall break... thank goodness because I need a break from school it was getting to be too much! Here are some things I hope to see... I will have a full report when we get back!

Running Man

Last weekend I had the pleasure of going down to St. George with Shane to support him while he ran the marathon! It was so much fun being a spectator and after watching all the people come into the finish line that is all I ever want to do. It was the hardest thing to watch the people that came in that were collapsing right in front of me. I am not a runner in the first place but to watch the people being carried over the finish line it confirmed that I am totally happy being a spectator!

Coming into the finish line!

Running away at mile 16... 7000 runners in total!

And to top it off he ran the Salt Lake half marathon four weeks earlier... a half marathon and a marathon all in a month! He is a runner that is for sure!
This was at the finish line of the half marathon!

A MUST SEE

ITS BACK!

I have missed it over the summer and if you are not watching this TV show it is a must!


Seriously funny TV!

Update!

It has been WAY too busy in my life... seriously! And my major news of the moment.... I AM A HOME OWNER! It is so fantastic and I can't wait to move over there!

(A little slice of the living room)

I will have to take more pictures but to be honest pictures just don't do this place justice... you will just have to come and see it! I also have to decorate so if anyone has any helpful hits and or places to start I am open to any and all suggestions!
What else.. school started again and i am only taking 3 classes (one of them being ANATOMY), which I had heard was going to be hard and a boat load of memorization but nothing could have prepared me fully for what I have gotten myself into... it is another language people!! And actually I don't really even have time right now to be writing this but I had to take a break!
Also preparing to have a fantastic Bridal Shower next weekend for my beautiful cousin getting married in November, Hannah and I made the invitations and after a couple trial and errors we finally came up with something terrific!

We also made a quick trip back to Maine right before school started and I would go to Maine anytime I had the chance it is SO pretty.

(P and I and beautiful background)

Well to leave you with that today... I must get back to moving, studying, two jobs, classes and trying to get the most out of the warm weather that we are still having!

Snorkel the Snake... or Tube!

Its always a pleasure to get to go home, and this one was no different. My dearest brother always has some crazy idea to execute and this was no different! He convinced 3 out of the 5 members of the family to SNORKEL down the Snake River, I was happy as a clam watching them from the comfort of my tube!




Maybe I will join the party next time if they go a shorter distance but for now I like my party ... on top of the tube!

Good by July and hello August!?

How is the summer going so fast? It is so sad, I am never ready for it to end! Well I finished all my summer classes and I have a couple weeks until the fall semester starts! I have been super busy, school, work, gym, and trying to spend all the time at the outside in the sun and at the pool as I can! I have been to Jackson and back for my 10 yeah High School Reunion (weird) and going back again next weekend! Shane has been to Cambodia and back also!

Looking through old pictures I found this one and it made me laugh! I think the hoop is bigger than I was...

Shane at the airport... those bags were so much heavier than they look in the picture! Glad he made it back safe!

Oh and very very exciting.... I made plans to go to CHINA! With Christina and the Chamber of Commerce and my favorite sister! Yahoo can't wait till October!

Oh hello....

Hi, its been awhile and I have great updates! First of all HAPPY SUMMER! Its the first official day of summer today and I have to say it finally really feels like summer, so needless to say I have made my home down at the pool!

On the educational side of my life I took and am certified Advanced First Aid and CPR and AED, it was the greatest class yet since going back to school. I had the greatest instructors that made going to class every day for two weeks straight so much fun! I will also have to say I learned more than I thought was possible in a two week span and now that its over I miss it already.

I already have a story where what I learned came in handy. One of our assignments was to build a first aid kit, so being a good student I or course did it and have stored it in my car. Shane's sister, her husband and their little girl (Hudson) are visiting for a couple weeks and we all were up in Heber, UT for fathers day to have dinner with Shane's dad and brother in law. To start off the night they headed to the park and Hudson was swinging on the swings and to make a long story short ended up face planting off the swing. But not to worry the second we pulled up, missed the incident by moments but came to the rescue with everything we needed to bandage, clean and care for poor Hudson's chin. YES, thank you for a great assignment and Hudson was great the whole time.

To go along with summer all the baby ducks at the park is incredible... there are SO many and they are so cute!
To leave you tonight with.... Happy First Day of Summer!
and Happy Fathers Day (yesterday) but I love this picture so it was a must!

Happy National Iced Tea Day

I never even knew this existed! But hey why not... so I found a good receipt for a very easy Iced Tea. It really is the perfect summer drink!

Needed (for 1 leter of tea)

• 800 ml (27.05 fl oz) of cool water, from a refrigerator or just tap water
• 200 ml (7.76 fl oz) of hot, boiled water
• 4 to 5 teaspoons lemon juice
• 4 green teabags, 3 clear green, and 1 mint tea
• Liquid sugar (or regular, fine sugar) (to taste) -- (Or my new favorite Agave Nectar!)
• 2 tablespoons fruit syrup or fruit juice (this is the secret ingredient, don't forget)
• Ice cubes
• 

Fill a pitcher with the 800ml/27.05 fl oz of cold water.

Fill a heatproof glass with the hot water, freshly boiled. Dip one or two of the teabags at the same time in the water until you have a glass with very strong tea.

Slowly pour the hot tea you made in the glass into the pitcher.

Repeat with the remaining teabags.

Sweeten. Once you have added all the tea, add the liquid sugar to taste.

Add 4 or 5 teaspoons of lemon juice into your tea.

Add the fruit syrup or fruit juice into the iced tea.

Add ice cubes and chill for about 1 minute. Enjoy your homemade iced tea!

Cupcakes!

I've had the materials to make multiple wreaths for a long time, and I finally succeeded! I watched my fantastic sister make wreath after wreath and was inspired to try one my self... so all it took was a little baby girl! Christi's baby shower seemed like the perfect time to make myself do it! I used some already fantastic cupcake liners from William Sonoma and 5 long hours later, TADA! Not gonna lie, I am pretty proud of it, so Christi, I hope you like it as much as I did!

And they're OFF!

For Salt Lake City, May 9th was the date of the 14th annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, for me it was my second annual as a committee member and just as good as the first year! To see all the people that come out to participate is so inspiring. Our little committee (I am the Cure) gathers the cheerleaders that line the race. This year the 5 of us on our committee organized over 250 cheerleaders and 2 drumlines! We are on the best committee for sure... all the cheerleaders are from different high schools around the Salt Lake Valley and they were great to work with.

These were the final numbers as of May 13, 2010 the donation amount could continue to raise, and 75% of what is raised stays in the valley.

$232,720.98 Raised

16,738 Participants

Shane and his family (Brad and Laurel- Luke not pictured but participated) all ran the race to commemorate their aunt and sister Bethany Wilkinson Thompson, who's long-time battle with Breast Cancer is a constant inspiration.

After the race they have a survivors parade, where cancer survivors march in order of the years since their diagnosis. The picture above is the end of their parade, where they gather to get their picture taken. The sheer numbers of survivors altogether creates such an amazing impact!

Here are some of our cheerleaders, all in the bright green t-shirts! They were so cute!


So if you didn't make it out for this years race plan on it next year... it really is an experience. Not only to support the survivors but also all the people that are there to support the cause.

Kate Spade Bali Bound Sweepstakes

Kate Spade Bali Bound Sweepstakes: "Kate Spade Bali Bound Sweepstakes"

Happy Mother's Day

Here's to YOU! Love you and thanks for everything and more!

(I don't know why I love this picture so much but I do... it makes me giggle!)

Triathlon in ACTION!

Driving up to the transition area (yeah I am already in my helmet... I was ready!)

Transition area ... you came here after the swim and then back here after the bike!

Right before we split up to get in our designated swim groups... they split the boys and the girls into different pools (thank goodness it was warm!)

Standing the line waiting to start in my fantastic silver swim cap!

Whew... one down two to go!

Shane and Tim at the transition spot after the swim!

And DONE! Came 1:30:09 .... swim 7:09 bike 48:41 run 33:28 and transition time :50!

Triathlon!

I DID IT! Today Shane, his buddy Tim and I all competed in a Intro-athlon.... it consisted of a 300 meter swim, 8.5 km mountain bike ride and ending with a 5 km run. It was such a cool experience and so much harder than I thought it was going to be! The swim which I was not concerned about going into was hard and the bike ride that I felt very prepared for (I take spin class lots) was hard too. Although they did send us all through the hills above the University and there were so many steep, really scary parts of the trail and to top it off it was SO rocky. The run which I was the most worried about was yeah pretty much what I expected, but finished with flying colors. My goal was to do it in under 2 hours, I really had no idea how long it would take and ended up doing it in 1 hour and 30 mins on the dot! I still have to figure out what I did in the individual events but I am pretty proud of that! We got some great pictures that I will post tomorrow... So I had a FANITASTIC SATURDAY and can't believe I am still awake so off to bed!