It keeps getting closer!

This last week has been super busy. Trav had a telephone meeting with his advisor at USU and was able to register for classes for Fall 2009. He is on a waiting list for one more class that he won't know until August if he can get into or not, otherwise he got into all the classes that the advisor suggested. Because of all his experience working as the graphic designer for Bull Frog Spas, he was able to get one of his professors permission to take some Upper Division course work that he otherwise would have needed to complete prerequisites for. I think he is getting excited to start, but will be very happy for a break from school this summer.

Today we took another trip to Logan to check out the progress of our home in the last 3 weeks..and once again we were surprised at how much had been done in such a short amount of time...here are a few pictures...the first one of each set is from 3 weeks ago and the second was just today! (click on each picture if you would like to see it larger)...


Laundry Room...we have plumbing!!


Living Room....we have windows!!!

Office...love the vaulted ceiling and windows on BOTH walls!

Side view from street...we have a roof and a cute front patio :)

(remember ours is on the very left end)

Front view from the street. It's really starting to look like a house!

Other exciting progress...both showers are in the house! (sorry no pictures of those..oops!) They are in the bathrooms, but not secured in place. We think that since they are so big and bulky, maybe a crane or something airlifts them into the home before the roof gets put on. In the next couple of weeks we will have to go up to meet with the builder and complete a 4-way inspection. This is where we go through the home, room by room, and make sure everything is structurally correct. Then, after the plumbing and electric is finished, they will start with the sheet rock...and from there we have been told it should go very quickly! We are still supposed to close on the home by the end of June which is almost right around the corner...can't wait!

13.1 Miles!

Growing up I HATED running. My dad was a track star in high school. He would run 10 miles a day, 5 days a week or something crazy like that. I remember in Jr. High and High School my Dad telling me that I should go out for track because I had "such a natural stride." I figured he just wanted me to follow in his footsteps because until recently NOTHING about running felt natural to me!

At family dinner at the beginning of February, my brother in law Keith invited me to run with him and some co-workers in the half marathon in April. "Since you have already been running it will be easy to train" he said... (I had done a couple of 5K's and ran 3 miles or so 3-4 times a week...but I mixed running with other cardio stuff so was FAR from considering myself a runner)... I agreed to start training, but told him I wouldn't register for the race until after I ran the 12 miles that was part of the training leading up to race day...I honestly didn't know if I could work up to that kind of mileage and didn't want to waste money.

And so it started...I ran 3 times a week, and each week I got better and my times were improving. Strangely enough, I was actually enjoying myself! Each week was a new challenge, a new distance to accomplish..first 4 miles, 6 miles, then 8 miles! The first time I ran 10 miles was the BIGGEST confidence booster...and I think that is when I truly "became" a runner. (ya, I know that sounds dumb...) I was always so excited to call and tell my Dad how I had done on my long runs and how I was actually starting to crave running. If i missed a day I felt like there was really something missing. Two weeks before the scheduled race day I was supposed to do my 12 mile run. I had ran 10 miles 3 times by that point and so I was confident it would go well...and it did...the biggest challenge was having my pace ruined by busy intersections!

After finishing my 12 mile run, as promised, I registered for the Salt Lake City Half Marathon...and this past Saturday I finished it! Our goal at the starting line was to finish in under 2 hours 20 minutes.

The first 10 miles went really quickly...the adrenaline from everyone around us was truly contagious! The only part of the race I didn't enjoy was between mile 11 and mile 12 where it was up hill...I really had to tell myself to keep pace and to not give up and walk. We had great support of friends and family at the finish line and our official time was 2:05:58...much better then either one of us expected to do!

I still can't believe that I ran a half marathon. Just to remind myself I have my finisher's medal hanging up on our TV! (I am sure eventually Trav will ask me nicely to put it somewhere else, but for now he is letting me have my moment) Not only did I finish the half marathon, but I did better than I thought I was capable of doing. Maybe my Dad was right all along, maybe I do have it in me to be a good runner...it was an AMAZING feeling to cross that finish line Saturday morning and I can't wait for my next race... I have already been looking online at what other races are happening around the state this year...who knows, maybe someday I will even do a full marathon?!

Easter Weekend 2009

This past weekend we had a BLAST with friends and family. It is a tradition with Trav's family that we go to the San Rafael Swell desert (in East Central Utah) over Easter weekend. The past couple of years we have been unable to go because of poor weather so this year we were really excited to do our trip...despite the chance of rain for Saturday.

This year our friends John and Angela came along with us for the festivities. The four of us took off after work on Thursday to go meet up with Travis' family who went down the day before to get us a camping spot out in the middle of nowhere.

Friday we woke up to a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit, french toast, and bacon. Then we were off for the day to hike through Crack Canyon. I LOVE hiking slot canyons! My favorite parts are the scrambling up and down the big rocks and simply enjoying the gorgeous scenery that is so different from what I see every day in Salt Lake City. We had such a blast (make sure to check out the slide show of pictures below) and I was definitely impressed with all of our scrambling abilities (especially Travis' parents'!!) Friday night Travis' dad didn't disappoint at his dutch oven cooking...chicken pot pie and cobbler for dessert! We also played some horse shoes, roasted marshmallows, and told stories over the campfire.

Unfortunately, the weather man knew what he was talking about this time and it was raining on Saturday morning when we woke up. We still had an amazing breakfast of pancakes with homemade buttermilk syrup, scrambled eggs, bacon/sausage, and fresh fruit. (We all decided it was a good thing we didn't eat like that all the time!) Since the remainder of the weekend's weather looked bad, and going into a slot canyon is not an option when there is a chance for rain (due to flash flooding) we decided that we would come home a day early.

After we were all packed up, the skies had cleared off a bit so we decided to do one last hike up to this HUGE cave-type thing called Wild Horse Window. The views, as expected, were incredible. Even though we didn't get to stay as long as we would have liked it was a great weekend and left us all looking forward to next time! Enjoy the slide show!...

HOORAY for our HOUSE!

Today we took a trip to Logan with Travis' parents and youngest brother to make sure that the builders have been doing something since I was up there 3 weeks ago. Since the framing stage of building a home is COMPLETELY dependent on the weather, and since the weather has been SO bad here the last few weeks, we didn't know what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised at how much progress there actually was. Our place seemed like it was practically all framed in. It was so exciting to walk through all the rooms and to see our home taking shape. We fell in love with this floor plan because of all the windows, and the views from all the different rooms were as incredible as we were hoping they would be!


Travis' office...AMAZING panoramic view!


Master bathroom..I am just imagining what it
will be like to soak in a deep tub after a long day :)


Living room..Great view, great windows!


Trav admiring his favorite part... the GARAGE!
He has never had a covered parking spot so
he is looking forward to having one now


Guest bedroom for all our loved ones...we are
already taking reservations :)


View from the street (ours is the on the left end)


Side View (again, ours is the one of the left end)


Front of home (they haven't finished with the
landscaping yet!)..so MUDDY!!

If I had my way we would go up there every weekend to see the progress...unfortunately it IS a little over an hour drive which takes time and money. I am sure if I bat my eyes at Travis he will agree on going again in another few weeks! :)

So Proud!

On Wednesday we received a letter from Utah State University (where Trav will start school in the fall.) The letter was from the admissions office so I wasn't expecting anything spectacular...but what we found out was indeed fantastic news! Because of Travis' hard work so far to maintain a high GPA, they have awarded him a transfer student SCHOLARSHIP! The money that they are awarding him will be applied towards his tuition expenses and will be given in installments over 4 consecutive semesters-the equivalent of 2 years (excluding summer term.) The money that he was awarded will pay for about HALF of the tuition cost! His original plan was to complete the school that he had remaining in 2 years time so this would equal the remainder of his school experience... YAY!!! This was such great news to us since we have been talking lately about how we will be able to pull off paying for tuition at the University as well as we did at the community college without having to take out student loans...up until this point we have been very fortunate to be able to pay for school out-of-pocket. I am sooooo proud of my husband! He works so hard to get good grades and it is so nice to have him receive this scholarship to make him feel like all that hard work has paid off! GREAT WORK SWEETHEART!!

On another note, my brother Matthew got great news this week too. Over the last couple of months (or at least it seems like it has been going on for that long) he has been searching for a job for after he graduates from school in May this year. He will have his degree in Marketing so his options for employment were pretty wide open. He has been going through the interview process with a couple of places, including Enterprise (the car rental company) Yesterday they offered him a position that he accepted!! HOORAY!! When I talked to him he told me he was so excited during the conversation that he was offered the position that he was actually shaking!..Funny thing is I was the same way when my new job was offering me the position...it must be genetic!! :) Matthew will be doing the "manager's training program" and within a year he will be an assistant manager. By the sounds of it, from there the sky is the limit for him for climbing up the corporate ladder! Props to him for actually finishing his bachelors degree in 4 years time...not many people will do that now and I know he has worked super hard! GREAT JOB LITTLE BROTHER!! :)

A Trip to the Park