Happy Birthday Chance!

After six long years of being in the military and either spending birthdays out to sea, at bootcamp, or alone, Carrie and I were excited to throw Chance an actual birthday party! We invited over our closest friends and family to celebrate! We grilled up a lot of kabobs, and made his favorite chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. It was so nice to spend that time with everyone because it was our last weekend in town. Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us!

The Boys (Chance, Donnie, Glenn)

John and Tammy

This Day Would Not Have Been Possible Without Her Help! Thank you Carrie

Me and Lo

A group of Great Friends! (who can come visit anytime)

Happy Birthday to Chance!!! I am so happy to have known you as long as I have and to have spent the last two years of my life with you. We are beginning chapter 2 of our adventure now and I am looking forward to everything that is to come. I am so thankful for you, for the man that your parents have brought you up to be, and for the love that you have shown me. I am one amazingly lucky girl to have such a handsome stud like you! I look forward to many many more birthdays to come with you. Love you to the farthest galaxy in the universe and back!

Schmoopy ;)

Bocce Ball and Ladderball Tournament

John and Tammy were so kind as to host a Memorial Day Weekend BBQ at their house and invite my family over as well. John set it all up in the front yard and decided to add some friendly competition to the day. I drew up some pretty fancy brackets and we had two tournaments, Ladderball, and Bocce Ball. The top three winners won gift cards! My dad and brothers came over, as well as Tammy's son and his wife. The weather was great and the games were a blast. The Vinnie's took first place in both categories! We cooked up some corn and brats on the grill, and mixed up a pitcher of mango mojitos.

The games were fun to watch and fun to play. Pat and Joey started strategizing a lot in Bocce Ball, but Vinnie came out the winner in that one. I figured my Dad would be good at these games because he is good at outdoor games. In fact just a couple weeks after this he entered in to the Utah Summer Games, which is kind of a big deal for the state, to play horseshoes and he ended up taking home the gold medal. Go Dad! :)

Big thanks to John and Tammy for all the work they put in to this BBQ. It was a blast and I look forward to the next one! :)

Spending Time With Carrie

We were lucky enough to spend some time with Carrie after her wedding and it was great. Chance and I went over on Mother's Day and cooked her dinner, drank some wine, and hung out. We had a wonderufl time. While Chance was around he also convinced his Mom to buy a computer for her house and got her all set up with internet. I never knew it would be so difficult to find a desk but it took us quite a while to find one (Chance and I are still searching for one for our new home). Now we are able to skype with her as well, which is awesome!

Jim, Carrie, and Chance 

Happy Mother's Day to a Great Mom!! :)

We took a day hike with her up to Zion. Last year when Chance and I visited home we went up to Angel's Landing, but it was so crowded and I had worn these crumby shoes and ended up going barefoot most of the way so we only went as far as Scout's Lookout. This time I was determined to make it all the way to the top, and I am so glad I did! It was incredible! I stayed focused on my feet holding on ever so tightly to the chains that pave the way to the top. I was very cautious not to look down at the straight drop on either side of me. It was so nice to go with Chance and Carrie though, this is something they have done together for many years. He used to run up as quick as he could and she would have to chase after him, he was not allowed to go up Angel's Landing until he was 10 or 11 I think because it is not some small hike. In fact the day we went Carrie and I literally saw this man scrambling at the edge, hand waving for balance, and trying not to die right in front of us. It scared me to death to see that! I kept going though! I will post a video of the views soon :)

Walter's Wiggles (I think)

On the Edge :)

Brotherly Love

I got to spend almost 6 whole weeks with my family and I was so very excited to hang out with my brothers! I kind of think they are a big deal and they mean the world to me. The first few weeks I was there they were still in school and it felt like the only time I got to see them was at the ball fields. Pat and Vinnie were on the same this team and Joey was in a separate league, this meant that one or the others had practice and/or a game EVERY night. So I kind of lived at the ball fields, but enjoyed watching every minute of it! My Dad helped coach Pat and Vinnie's team which was fun to watch. Vinnie is good at stopping those grounders at second and Pat is good at catching fly balls in the outfield, always managing to lose his hat and wisp his luscious locks around (haha). Joey's team actually went on to win the championships this year, his team nicknamed him twinkie and although he is good on defense, the poor runt of the team has such a small strike zone that 90% of the time he gets walked or pegged with the ball.

Twinkie

Vin-Nay

Patticakes

I was also able to go on a field trip to Zion National Park with Joey and about 200 5th graders, not to mention the flood of other schools that were going on the same hike the same day. There was a lot of "get down from there" "you  need to slow down" "stay on the trail" "no you can not go swimming in the water" going on that day. It was still a blast though. My Dad and I both chaperoned and the weather was gorgeous!

Dad and Joey at the First Pool 

Headed Off to Middle School Soon

Emerald Pools 

My Dad had to leave town for a couple days so Chance conjured up this master plan to clean the house up really nice for my Dad and in return for their help my brothers would get a new Xbox. It took two days and a lot of elbow grease to accomplish this, but the boys were troopers (for the most part) and had their eyes set on the prize. Now they can play Xbox Live with Chance (woo!).

Summer is in full swing now and the boys have transitioned from snowboarding the slopes, to mountain biking the trails. I think they do a lot of nothing these days. Staying up late, sleeping in, playing video games, floating the river, and hanging out with friends. What else is Summer for? I miss them so very very much every day, but I was able to set them up with my old laptop while I was home and Skype is the closest I can get to seeing their handsome faces!

Carrie and Jim Got Married

This is the beginning of a whole string of updates from the past two months! We landed in Las Vegas from Hawaii and had an agenda of things to do for the weekend. Chance's Mom (Carrie) was getting married and we were so excited to be a part of it. I got the privilege of meeting Carrie's three sisters for the first time and actually riding up to Utah with them from Vegas. We spent the weekend with them, Carrie's parents, Jim, his daughter Jenni and her friend, and Jim's brothers as well. The day started with a hike in Zion. It was kind of chilly out that day, but beautiful nonetheless. It was so great to be out in the open and the mountains helped to ease the pain of leaving Hawaii. Carrie and Jim got us all rooms in Zion, after our hike we headed to the hotel to get cleaned up for the ceremony which was held at Jim's brother's house in Springdale. His house is beautiful and it was the perfect setting for the wedding. We all gathered outside for the vows it was quaint, elegant, and beautiful. I, along with all the other females, cried and then we had some amazing dinner and enjoyed each others company for the evening. I thought I had pictures from the hike somewhere, but apparently they are just of the wedding. Either way, it was absolutely beautiful and we were so thankful to be there! CONGRATULATIONS to Jim and Carrie! :)

The Lovely Bride and Groom 

Randy's Backyard is Zion - LUCKY! 

Enjoying the Wedding 

Eat, Sleep, Snowboard

So for those of  you that do not know I have three young brothers who know how to kill it on the slopes. They are 14,13, and 11. From November until late Spring they spend every second they can on the slopes, jibbing in the front  yard, travelling to various mountains to board, and competing in competitions. I may be slightly biased but I happen to think they are pretty freakin' awesome. They travel all over Utah, Nevada, and California competing in any competitions they can get to. Today they were at the Volcom Peanut Butter Rail Jam in Brighton, UT. They have now competed in four of these events this season. I was able to go home to watch a couple of the competitions this past January and was amazed at their talents. While I watch I get this complete nervous stomach of aches and mush because it scares the hell out of me to watch them hit these rails and jumps, but even when they fall they dust off and hustle to top to try again. Vinnie (14) and Pat (13) placed at the Volcom events so they get to head off to finals next month in Mammoth, CA. They have all placed in various competitions this season and I could not be more proud of them! :) 

The snow groms doing their thing 

Joey (11) doing a one footer off a jump in BH

Vinnie (14) getting some sick air

Patrick (13) loving what he does

So as you can guess these three took all of the cool genes in the family. I am a proud sister and love to show people how amazing they are. They have a few videos up and will be up against kids from all over the nation next month in Mammoth, CA. One day I may even be posting pictures from winter X-Games or even the Olympics.. they are that good!