I can't believe how long its been since I updated this!

I'll start with Thanksgiving. We ended up spending most of the day at home by ourselves and having a quick dinner with my family. I made sugar cookies and garlic mashed potatoes. I have to say, it is one of my favorite recipes. I of course, went to dinner saying I wasn't going to eat too much - and I, of course, left stuffed!! It's so hard when there is so much good food.

The weekend of December 5-6, Geoff was in Colorado for two games. They won the first, and lost the second. During the second game, Geoff was thrown down, and hit his head. They said he had a mild concussion. He had a headache that night and a little the next day, but recovered quickly from it. He's fine now, but it did make me a little nervous.

December 13th was Geoff's birthday. It was the first year since he started college that he didn't have a final on his birthday. He did have practice though. We didn't do anything really exciting because we both had finals the next week. For his birthday I gave him a coat and some shoes - exciting, I know - but it's hard to buy things for someone who never asks for anything, or says they want anything.

The Fall semester ended a few weeks ago. We both did good in our classes. I'm especially proud of Geoff who was worried about his schedule. He actually ended up doing a lot better then he ever expected. His schedule next semester is killer, but he is so smart, I'm sure he'll do great. My finals went well, I'm just glad they are over. This break has been so nice, but its going way too fast.

This Christmas was one of the best I can remember. We decorated right after we got back from Thanksgiving dinner and watched our first Christmas movie that night. This is Geoff's favorite time of the year, and it's been so much fun to watch him be so excited. He even got up in the middle of the night and set up presents from Santa and turned the tree on for when I woke up. Christmas day is always busy for us, but I'm so thankful that our family's plans work out so we can be to just about everything.

This month has been so great -I hope everyone has had a good Christmas.

6-0

I really have tried to update this in the last month, but every time I sit down to update, there just isn't that much to write about...But I figured Westminster being 6-0 was a good reason to post.

Last weekend I was lucky enough to go down to Las Vegas to watch Geoff play in 2 games. The first game was against Vanguard - and it wasn't much of a game...they won 74-48. Geoff played well, and it really was a fun game to watch. He had 18 points and 9 rebounds. The second night they played Concordia - who is ranked 9th. (Westminster is 13th). Westminster won 89-81. That game was a little bit more exciting - although I must admit that it would have been better if Geoff wasn't on the bench with 2 fouls in the first few minutes. But either way, they beat the 9th ranked team and will move up in the rankings.

Saturday, after the game, we went to the Bellagio buffet - it was amazing!! They had tons of food - top sirloin, seafood, pasta, and the best part...the dessert bar. It was soooo good. After dinner we went to see Criss Angel at the Luxor. Now, I have only seen one episode of his show Mind Freak, but I was expecting some pretty cool tricks. Instead, it was a lot of normal stuff - you know, cut someone in half, disappear and reappear - that kind of stuff. The show also had a lot of Cirque De Soleil with it, which was cool, but not what I expected. I think the general consensus of the group was that if your wanting to see some cool magic...this probably isn't the show to see.

Tomorrow Geoff leaves for Idaho - and will hopefully come back 8-0!! Good Luck Griffins!

Good News...Bad News

So I went to the doctor (who I absolutely LOVE - partly because he's a Jayhawk) for my knee on Sept. 29, and he recommended I get an MRI because of my history with knee pain/surgery. When I went back on the 8th, I got some good news and some bad news...bad news is that I have a tear in my cartilage, another part of cartilage is wearing down, and I have a cyst in the back of my knee that is partially ruptured. Goods news is, it's not as bad as it sounds. I'll need to have surgery eventually, but at this point its up to me - and I'm in no hurry to have another surgery.

So, the plan is to keep running and training for the races I want to run in the spring, and hopefully get it fixed after either Ragnar or the Hobble Creek Half next year.

School is going good for both of us. We both have had a lot of tests and have done well on them. Geoff is taking a ton of classes trying to get everything done so he can graduate this summer. with all the transferring he's done, he's taken enough classes to graduate almost twice!!

Basketball started a few weeks ago for Geoff and their first game is on Halloween - and they're away in Montana. I can't believe how fast it came. I LOVE basketball, but at the same time I HATE basketball season :-).

It's been a busy last few weeks, but now that I think about it, I cant remember a whole lot that happened. But here's a few highlights:

Last Saturday we took Lynn to the vet. She has a slow thyroid and it was time for a refill. I decided to go to a new vet since the last one I took her to here in Salt Lake was really rude. This new vet was a TON better. I am so much happier taking here there. I was hoping her thyroid was still low because that would mean she would more medicine and it would hopefully solve her weight and shedding problem. Well, good news/bad news...her thyroid level is good on the medication that she is on. But that also means that we need to walk her more and switch her food - cause she needs to lose about 20 pounds...probably doesn't help that she ate a whole pumpkin pie at my parents last night (while we were gone).

Also, a few weeks ago I twisted my knee and felt this tingling sensation. It didn't hurt too bad, but always had this weird feeling in side of it. Then, a few days ago, it started to hurt really really bad. It was bad enough that I went and saw one of Geoff's trainers. He thought that I may have torn off a piece of cartilage and said that I should go see a doctor. I'd been putting that off cause it seems like by the time I can get into a doctor, the problem I'm going for has gone away. Well, I was able to get an appointment for Monday, and sure enough it doesn't hurt anymore. I was even able to run yesterday. I'm debating on whether or not to go - I hate going in the first place, but then going in a saying "My knee used to hurt, but its fine now" - I just don't see the point.

School is going good for both of us. Geoff took his first test this last week and I had my first one on Saturday. It's been really hard for both of us to stay on top of our homework. Basketball hasn't started yet for Geoff but they are doing conditioning and lifting. I've done a few of their workouts, and I can't believe some of the stuff they do - it's killer.

The spider problem has gone away, but we have a new bug come into our hall. It's called a Jerusalem Cricket, and they are so gross. Their like 1 1/2 inches long, and they don't even look like a real bug. We sprayed the first 2, but I guess they are supposed to be really good and harmless so we haven't sprayed any more of them. This is what they look like.

Gross - I know...

School, spiders, and fall

School started a few weeks ago for us. Needless to say, it's been two week and we're both already behind. It's just so hard to want to do homework when we could go swimming, go the gym together, or even just sit and do nothing. I'm taking 2 nutrition classes and a family economics class. Geoff has a full load of 16 hours with all accounting classes. He really amazes me - being able (or more willing) to take on that many upper division classes at a fairly hard school, and play basketball.



We've found a new nightly activity - we call it "spider hunting." For those who don't know, I DO NOT like spiders. And for some reason, our hall is the only hall in the whole complex that has a ton of bugs - trust me, we've gone and looked at quite a few other halls. So, every night when we go and take Lynn out, we take our bottle of spray and spray the bugs. I know, some bugs are good, and it's not so much that I think they will hurt me, as it is the fact that that I just don't like them. In the past week we have sprayed 8 BIG spiders - who have all had a ton of little spider babies hanging on them - and we also got a black widow. In the past few days there haven't been as many - hopefully the cooler weather will help with the problem.

I just have to say that I am sad to see summer go - I really do enjoy the heat, sun, and fun things to do. But, I also love fall. I like the cooler, fresh air and the leaves, and mountains. I also like the holidays, the decorations, the foods, the smells, and all those things that make fall, fall. I'm hoping we can get a few hikes or picnics in before it gets too cold.

A Very Traumatic Weekend...

Saturday was shot day - for the dogs. I took Lynn for her yearly vaccination. She is a very very clingy dog who doesn't like to leave my side - even for a minute - which doesn't make for a very easy vet appointment.

We got there early and there were about 10 dogs in line before us. The way it works, you go in and fill out the papers, wait for your turn and pay, and then your dog gets called back. My mom kept her dog out in the lobby while I took Lynn in to fill out the paper work. I opened the door and started walking in. It wasn't long before I realized Lynn was not following me. She had seen all the other dogs and was too scared. It took a minute but she finally followed me.

We made our way up to the counter and Lynn quickly hid in front of me. After filling out the paper work I tried to move to the bench to wait. And, again, Lynn would not follow. After some more coaxing I got her to come with. She headed strait for the corner and didn't move. Soon after she had found her spot (which also happened to be on the scale) she spotted my mom and her dog through the glass. This prompted quite a bit of whining - which sounds almost like a dying cow. We were then called up to pay which wasn't such a bad ordeal since most of the dogs had gone by then.

A few minutes later they were called back. Buckles - my mom's dog - went willingly. Lynn, on the other hand, was so set on staying with me she pulled right out of her collar. I finally ended up walking to the door with her so she would go. Thirty seconds later they were done and we were on our way home. Doesn't sound like that big of a deal...huh? And it really wasn't. But for a dog who won't leave my side, and is scared of almost any other dog, it was NOT a good day. Funny thing is, she was probably 25+ pounds heavier then any other dog in that room.

Bad news is, she is going to be groomed today...and compared to that, Saturday was NOTHING.

It's been a while...and a few things have happened, so I'll update on the big stuff.

First, we finally moved, and are now living in Sandy. We came up about 3 weeks ago. It was pretty crazy. Our landlord in Cedar told us that if we wanted to move early, he would give us some of our rent for that month back - and since we really had no reason to stay down there, we left. We had been looking for a place up here in Salt Lake for a while, but couldn't find anything we really liked, and would take our dog as well. So, for the first week we lived with my parents. It wasn't bad because we kinda just came and went as we wanted, but it wasn't the same as being on our own and being our own little family. Then, one Saturday, Geoff decided to go get us an apartment, and 4 hours later, we were moving in. It's a nice place, and I'm glad that we are on our own again - but I do appreciate my parents letting us stay there for the week that we did.

It's weird being back in Salt Lake. Even though we both lived here before we moved, coming back has been harder then we thought it would be. Geoff and I miss Cedar a TON!!! I never thought I would say it, but I really honestly LOVED being down there. In fact, I hate to admit it, I did cry a little when we left. Salt Lake will be good for us, but right now it's been a challenge adjusting.

The past few weeks have been filled with unpacking, starting a new job, basketball camps, and spending time with friends and family. I'm proud to say that we are done with the boxes and our house actually looks and feels like "our house." With everything that has been going on, we have had very little time to relax and spend time by ourselves. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have stuff to do, but sometimes I just want a minute to do nothing. Last weekend, (the 4th of July) we finally got that chance. We helped some of our good friends move into their new house, and spent the rest of the night just hanging out with us - and doing nothing. And I hate to say it, because I really do love the fireworks on the 4th, but the only reason we saw any was because Lynn, our dog, needed to go out. Geoff and I had even forgotten about the fireworks - and were both a little surprised when we walked out and saw all of our neighbors. (But it was fun to watch them for a minute.)

Hopefully life will return back to normal sometime soon.

An Easy 178...

This past weekend was the Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay. This is a 12-person, 178 mile relay from Logan to Park City. I was invited to be on a team by Geoff's cousin, Laura. The team was mostly made up by some form of family, but also had a few friends, too.

I started training again a few months ago for racing. I hadn't done any races in a year and was ready to get back into it. My training wasn't as consistent as it should have been because of all the stuff we had going on, but I figured I could just force my way through it. Boy was I wrong!! The lack of training, moving, and being sick made this race a lot harder then I thought it would be.

Our teams start time was 11:00 am. We got to the start line about 30 minutes early, and had enough time to check in and watch some other teams start. Finally, it was our teams turn. Geoff's cousin Spencer ran our first leg - and he did awesome. I was runner #5 which meant I ran legs 5, 17, and 29. Watching everyone else go before me, seeing how easy it looked for them, and knowing I had a very hard 7.4 uphill run coming, I couldn't help but be very nervous.

After a few hours of waiting, it came to my turn. Laura handed the baton off to me, and I took off. The Ragnar Relay classified my run as a Very Hard leg - but failed to mention that it was uphill on a DIRT trail. The first 2 miles went pretty good. Then, the 95 degree temperature got to me. I couldn't keep up my pace and ended up walking. This was the most frustrating part to me - I hate not being able to do something. I alternated walking and running for the rest of the leg, and what seemed like an eternity later, I finished.

We had one more runner, then handed off to the 2nd van. We waited for a few hours while van 2 ran their legs, then it was our turn again. The first 4 runners from my van ran their legs and did great. It was then my turn for my second leg. This leg was rated as a Moderate leg and was 5.9 miles long. I started running around midnight and was determined to not have the same problems as earlier in the day. During the race, the van you're in drives ahead and waits for your to give you water, then drives a little farther and waits. During my 2nd leg, I told them to go 2 miles. Everything was going good, so I was planning on telling them to just keep going. Well, there was a mix up and I didn't see them until about 3/4 of a mile until the end of my leg. It wasn't that big of a deal, except I didn't want to finish and have them not be there. But everything worked out ok.

After our last runner, we handed off to Van 2 again and headed to the middle school up there to sleep. We rolled our sleeping bags out and slept on the grass for 2 1/2 hours. It felt so good to sleep, but made it very hard to get up. We then headed off to start our final legs. Despite injuries and illnesses we were all able to run our legs - which was good because I don't think any of us could have run anyone elses leg! My third one was rated as Very Hard -even though it was mostly a steep downhill. I think I was more nervous for this leg then any others. Every race that I have run that has a steep downhill has been a challenge for me - I seem to always get really bad side aches that don't go away. This run was nothing different. About 10 steps into my run I got sharp pain on both sides of my ribs. I ran as long as I could like this, but ended up walking about a mile of the 4.1 mile run.

We made our last exchange with van 2 and headed to Park City to wait at the finish line. A few hours later our team finished. We ran the 178 miles in 31:39:18 . The race was so much fun!! I am so glad I was able to do it. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, and maybe I'm a little crazy, but I would LOVE to do it again...in fact, I'm already putting together my team for next year!!!

He finally got one...

Those of you who know Geoff, know that he is a BIG video game fan. We have the PS2, and for the last, well, forever, I haven't heard anything but how much he wanted the 80GB PS3. Granted, it is very cool how real it all works, but when they're around $600-700, it's not going to happen.

Well, Geoff was talking to a friend last week and found out that on June 12th, the Metal Gear Solid 4 game was being released, and Sony was going to be doing a bundle that included an 80GB Playstation, the game (regularly $60), and a controller (another $50) all for $499.00. When Geoff called me to tell me about this, I could tell how excited he was. So, we agreed that he could get one.

Later we found out that Walmart would be carrying these bundles, and also had an ad out for a $100 gift card with any Blu-Ray player - and they also had a 40 GB Playstation pictured. So, we were hoping that we could talk them into the gift card with this bundle. Then, to top things off, I found out that Chase was giving a $100 credit when you bought a Playstation with the Sony Chase Visa.

At 12:30 am on Monday, we went to Walmart because we had heard that some were selling the bundles early. We got to the Electronics department and saw the guy stocking some of the shelves. In the pile of things to be put away were two brown boxes that had big stickers that said "do not display or sell before 6/12/08." But the guy had them out so we were hoping we would luck out and he would put them away and we could buy one. After waiting for 1 1/2 hours, he took the boxes back to the back. We went home - disappointed.

Needless to say this whole week was filled with visits and phone calls to the Walmart Electronics department - only to be told that no one knew anything about Metal Gear Solid or any bundle.

So, last night, at 10:30 pm, we made our way to Walmart one last time to wait for the 12:00 release. We were the only ones in the department, and debated on if we wanted to wait or not, since we were the only ones who had asked the whole week about it, but decided to just wait it out. At 11:35 we asked if it was possible to just buy one now, but was told "you have to wait until midnight." Twenty-six minutes later we marched up to the counter, ad in hand to argue for the gift card, and asked if we could please buy our Playstation. FINALLY, they let us buy ours - and the gift card actually rang up too so we didn't have to argue. (Thank goodness since both Geoff and I hate to do stuff like that.)

Five minutes later, we walked out with our 80GB Playstation 3, game, and controller - all for $299.00!!! That's a KILLER deal!!! And the chance to see how excited Geoff was was worth all the hassle and waiting of this week.

It's been a little bit since I've updated this, but i have good excuses. We've been sooooo busy lately. This whole week both Geoff and I worked the SUU team camp - as gym supervisors. It was so much fun to be around that much basketball and some of Geoff's teammates and coaches for the week. Now Geoff will be helping with a lot of Westminster's camps.

It finally hit us this past week that we are really moving. This past year in Cedar has been so much fun and has been so good for us. We've had so many experiences that we wouldn't of had, had we not moved away. It's going to be very different being back in Salt Lake without many of the friends, teammates, and coaches that have been there for the last 3 years, but I'm sure this will be good for us too.

I know many of you are wondering when we're moving....we dont know yet. We are just waiting on a few things. Most of our house is packed, the guy at Budget said he would make sure he had a truck for us, and our awesome friends are read to help us. So, we're just waiting on the last few things to fall into place and then we'll be moving up.

Happy Mother's Day!! (Late)

Well, since I've been lazy the last few days, I am finally wishing my mom a happy Mothers Day!! She is the most amazing mom and does so much for me and my family.



We spent last weekend in Salt Lake looking for apartments. Don't worry, we found lots of places we're not going to live...still trying to find a place to live. We also got to talk to my cute little bro (he's the one on the right). He is in Seoul Korea on his mission. It's almost been a year!!

Other then that things are pretty quiet. We're just packing a getting ready to move!! YAY!!!

This is the plan...

I have decided on what races I'm doing this summer. If I don't have something to train for, I don't run...so this is it:

July 19th - Bryce Canyon Half (Possibly)
July 24th - Deseret Morning News/KJZZ 10K
August 23rd - Top of Utah Half or Hobble Creek Half
November 3rd - First Dam Run 10K

I think that's it for now. I'm excited to be in Salt Lake soon - there are a lot more races up there. If you know if any other good races let me know!!!

We started packing our house last weekend with what boxes we kept when we moved down here. We don't really know when we're going to actually be moving, but I would rather have it started since it could be a quick move. We're both a little sad to be moving. Cedar really has been fun - even though it's not as big as I'm used to (but at least we weren't married when Geoff was in Ephraim). And the coaches and teammates at SUU have all been good friends to us. Most of the coaches and some of the teammates came from Snow with Geoff, so we've known them a while. It's going to be weird to not see them during the games.

I've been looking everyday for a place for us but it's hard because of our dog. I've never understood why some places won't let you have a big dog, but you can have a little one. My big dog is better behaved then my mom's little dog (Sorry mom). But we'll find somewhere. If I can find us a place in Cedar, I can find us a place in Salt Lake.

It's Official

We are officially moving back to Salt Lake!!! Geoff is going to go play for Westminster so we will be moving back up North probably very soon. We are both pretty excited. It's a good opportunity for Geoff to continue to play - you only get one chance...right? It will also be nice to be close to my school so I can finish faster. We're planning on moving as soon as I can find a job and a place for us to live.

I'll update more later...

Decisions

The past week has been both a relief and frustrating. I finished my classes, but Geoff still has finals next week.

We've talked to a lot of people and looked at a lot of options, and at this point there are so many things up in the air so its we really can't decide what we want to do. It seems like things eventually always fall into place. But, as many people know, I am not the kind of person who can sit around and just wait. I like to have things planned out and have some sort of idea what we're doing.

Hopefully we will know a little bit more in the next few weeks.

Monday, I am going to start training again for races. I'm really going to do it. The last few months have not been good for me, and I feel really lazy. I miss the days when I could run for hours and it was fun. (And yes, I'm still working on Geoff...I'll get him sooner or later :-) )

Almost done...

School is finally almost done for this semester!!! Too bad we both have quite a bit more until we graduate. It will be so nice to just hang out and not worry about tests! We're just going to stay here this summer and both work. It's going to be fun...lots of hiking and outdoors stuff.

We've been playing racquetball a lot lately. That game is so much fun! You should try it if you haven't. It's SO much better then tennis. Some of our friends taught us a few weeks ago and now we play almost every other day. Needless to say we are both very bad and it's more about how hard we can hit it. And yes, I have gotten my fair share of bruises.

I've had a lot of friends and family asking me about nutrition and exercise. So, I decided that I would start a blog dedicated to just that. I'll let you know when it's done...hopefully it will be soon. (Probably after finals)

Now that basketball is over, I'm trying to get Geoff to run with me. Maybe do a few halfs, at least a 10k, and maybe even do a triathlon together. It would be so much fun, but knowing Geoff it's going to take a lot of convincing - but I'm still trying!

Ups and Downs

Yesterday was just one of those days that are both good and bad.

First, Geoff found out yesterday that the NCAA denied his appeal for another year to play. (It's a long story) We both really thought that they would give him one more year, and so when we found out that they denied it it was really kinda sad. All of the sudden basketball was over.

We're not sure whats going to happen now. We're most likely going to just stay here and Geoff will finish school. At the same time though it will be nice to have Geoff around and be able to have a little more freedom to do fun stuff.

The good part of yesterday was KU WON!!!! I have had them winning every year for the past 23 years (probably not that long...but as long as I can remember) - and now they finally did it!

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK

We're Trying This Again....

So after my last failed attempt to join the blogging world, we, or I, have decided to try it again. And since I can't even remember our user name, so we're starting a whole new one. I'm not promising anything...so keep the expectations low.

Enjoy!!