PARTIES, AND BABIES, AND BEACH, OH MY!!

So this is a little past due. We have been home for over a week now and have been lazy on the blog front. The trip back to NC was wonderful! Below are some pics to show you just how great it really was.

A couple of things on the radar - Hamlin and Caddy are due this Friday with their first baby girl Avery!!!! Also, this Sunday is our 1 year anniversary. We are headed to Portland, OR for the weekend. We are going to see Jerry Seinfeld live, explore the Columbia River Gorge, and enjoy some of the things Portland is famous for - gardens, food, and beer!

Me with all my wonderful in-laws at G-Ma's surprise birthday in Goldboro

A family shot at Ashley's Bachelorette Party - what a crazy night!

Nice quality time (and yummy meals) with my sister and parents

Ashley and Ryan's brand new crib- what a great first house together!

Meeting my kinda-sorta-niece Emerson for the first time. The flood gates opened when she started cooing. Well, it was part laughing /part crying. Emerson is Mark and Amy's baby so she technically is my 2nd cousin but she feels more like a niece since Mark and I practically grew up together.

A close up of beautiful Emerson Kay

(If you wanna see more Emerson - click on the link for Mark & Amy's Baby Blog under "Floogen Links")

Me with baby Owen, my friend Whitney's son who was born in February. Sorry for the fuziness, I forgot my camera and was working from a crappy camera phone.

Topping off the trip with a beautiful wedding ceremony on the beach. Ardi, my new sister in law, was such a beautiful bride! (Ardi, hope you don't mind. I stole this pic from your facebook page :-)

I couldn't resist adding this one. This is Michaela and Savana - 2 of my 4 nieces through Alan's brother Shane.

NORTH CAROLINA BOUND!

Tomorrow I fly to Raleigh and this is going to be a BIG trip to say the least. In 10 days I will fit in G-Ma's 80th birthday, Ashley's Bachelorette Party, meeting Emerson Kaye (Mark and Amy's baby) for the first time, seeing pregnant Caddy right before the arrival of baby Avery Catherine, seeing Ashley and Ryan's new house in Charlotte, seeing Ashley and Ian's new house in Raleigh, and topping the trip off with a weekend in Ocean Isle to watch Alan's brother Shane and Ardie say "I DO!" (Wow that was a long sentence!) Not to mention the fact that I will get to see lots of family and friends that I have dearly missed! With so many big events, I am very thankful I can get home to be part of all of it. Alan was only able to take off enough time from work for the wedding, but I will be sure to take plenty of pictures so he can share in the excitement! I will also be sure to update our website with some pictures and stories from the trip to NC when I get back to Utah. See you guys soon!

p.s. I am excited to be packing tank tops and dresses for my trip to NC. We actually got some snow this past weekend (Alan was in heaven yet I am just so ready for spring). It was just a dusting at our house but we headed back in the mountains for a little hike where there was plenty of fresh snow. I will go ahead and use this as an opportunity to share some pics from our weekend...

This is Alan on a bridge near a trail head in Little Cottonwood Canyon. A little while ago the entire bridge was filled to the top with snow. It is starting to melt some along the sides so Alan could fit in there. Pretty cool!

This is me beside a trail sign. We will post another pic this summer where I am standing next to this same sign so you can see just how much snow there was.

POTATO SALAD FALLS

So I guess old man winter left us again. He’s probably somewhere down in southern Florida playing shuffleboard with Santa Claus. Lazy bums. So, exactly how many days are left until first flakes of winter 09-10? Summer does allow our marshmallow colored skin some time over the campfire to achieve that perfect golden brown. We may get one more ride out of the skis this year, and then it’s off to hit the national and state park circuit. We got our inaugural spring hike out of the way today, with an after work special to Bell’s Canyon. The initial thought of a short, somewhat easy hike, was soon replaced by telling Kara that I’m sure that it’s just around the next bend or over the next ridge. Two hours later we arrived at a nameless waterfall that we’ll call Potato Salad Falls. It was definitely worth the pain in Kara’s legs, or any future pain for that matter I decided. As a final note I would like to personally thank all of you overly intelligent people who voted for our future Alaskan husky, Denali. Kara thanks you as well even if she disguises it, she’s just playing coy. And now for your viewing pleasure, Potato Salad Falls . . .

A HOUSE AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD

Recently we've moved from our apartment in the valley to a townhouse about 6 miles south and 2000 feet up. Just to put it in perspective, we are currently living at 6200 feet- close to the altitude of the highest point east of the Mississippi. Pop quiz: What is the name of that mountain in NC?

Most times when storms roll in we live for days at a time literally in a cloud. We made a decision that it didn't snow quite enough for our taste (or my taste) down in the valley so we moved to a place where that is never a problem. We have yet to live a full winter up here. But if this spring is any indication, we may not walk around the neighborhood as much as we would tunnel. This new place is an outdoor enthusiast's dream. Within walking distance we have over 35 miles of trails throughout Corner Canyon, one of which connects to the best trail in the Wasatch called Jacobs Ladder. Jackpot.

The view from our oversized porch (joking, it's like the size of a washing machine) you can see the entire valley, downtown, and the Great Salt Lake beyond. At night the city looks like a blanket of stars you just want to hit golf balls at. Oh yeah, and the inside of the townhouse isn't too shabby either. Below are some pictures to go along with all these words.

UPDATES ON TONY IN AFGHANISTAN

Tony is Alan's best friend and we have both known him since the days of Carroll Middle School. He was also the best man in our wedding (looking mighty sharp in his army get-up). Back in September he stopped and spent a couple of days with us on his drive to Alaska where he was being stationed. It was so good to catch up with him since we had not seen him since the wedding day. Anyways, after surving the winter in Alaska he was sent to Afghanistan a few months ago. He stays in touch via email and here is some of the things he has shared with us.

http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=9862607&nav=menu510_2

In the video, Tony gives the introduction at a Purple Heart presentation. Kind of hard to spot him but you can tell it's his voice. This was back in Alaska, as you can see from the news channel.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101377415

This article on NPR sheds some light about what Tony is working on in Afghanistan, although he cannot share any specifics.

"Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men."

- General George Patton Jr

Please keep him and the rest of the soldiers fighting for all of us in your prayers. Some fun pics with Tony from the wedding to finish this up...

WE MISS YOU TONY!!

MO-OBB (Moab) WITH KARA'S PARENTS

Mama K and Big Poppa came to visit us from April 2nd through April 8th. There were lots of new adventures for them, to say the least.

Big Poppa tries snow shoeing for the 1st time with Kara's purple snow shoes! Alan took him on one of the trails in our neighborhood. Don't think they were expecting snow on their trip since it was a vacation planned during Mama K's "spring" break.

Alan and Big Poppa on the rocks in Arches NP.
Who exactly is the ALPHA male? Mom on the ladder. Her kids at school would be so proud!

And, let's finish with a hilarious video of Mama K on a more difficult trail.
Video Title: "AHHH don't touch me!!"

Sorry for the sniffles. Eventually the video gets turned the right way.