First Day of School 2009

Well, I am a week behind getting these first day of school pics posted since I wasn't even here for the first day of school on last Tuesday. The girls didn't really seem to mind us being gone since Aunt Kristen and Addie stayed with them. So, thanks to Kristen I have these pictures to post. Thanks again Kristen and Addie for staying with the girls they love you both and had a great time with you guys!!



Alanna- first day of 4th grade.

Makenna- first day of 6th grade.

To see more pics of the girls from last week, please join me on facebook!

San Francisco/VMWorld 2009

Brad and I spent last week in San Francisco where he attended VMWorld for work. While we were there, we were able to do some sightseeing. We had a great time and met some great people.


View of Golden Gate Bridge from Coit Tower.


Walking down Lombard Street, the croodest street in the country. It felt like being at Cosmos in the Black Hills.



Lombard Street, speed limit 5mph.

On the bay cruise.

Eating cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.

To see more pics from our amazing trips, please join me on facebook!

Hawg Wild 2009

We went to a pig roast in Big Horn, WY Saturday that our friends host every year. We had a lot of fun playing volleyball, football, having sack races, singing karoke and enjoying good food with friends.

Our 10 Year Anniversary Vacation

Well, I guess it is about time I blog again; I've been busy on Facebook-you can find me on Facebook by searching my name or email address.

Anyways, before any more time flies by, I figured I should post this...

We went to Mexico for our 10 year wedding anniversary vacation. We stayed at the Golden Parnassus Resort in Cancun. We don't usually do much for our anniversary but this year we felt like doing something special. We had such a great time I think maybe we should take a special trip every year on our anniversary!


Brad opening our sparkling wine that came with our room. We opened it the day we left...we weren't missing out because it wasn't that good.


Standing in the window on the 12th story of the Great Parnassus Resort. It was an amazing view. You can see the lagoon, the ocean, and most of the Cancun strip from here.



In the lobby of the spa at the Great Parnassus Resort. We had two massages during our trip-one at the Golden Parnassus and one at the Great Parnassus.

Eating our dessert sampler and drinking our Legally Blonde at Planet Hollywood downtown Cancun.

The view from our hotel room balcony. We sat on the balcony often just to listen to the ocean.

The Big Chop!

Today was the day for the "Big Chop," aka the girls' hair cuts. About 2 weeks ago I finally gave in and told the girls they could get their hair cut short after national dance competition. Makenna always wants to get her hair cut short and Alanna has been after me for about 6 months or so to get hers cut short. I have to say I really didn't want to see Alanna get her long, beautiful hair cut short, but I told her if that was what she really wanted, she would at least have to donate her hair. So, a couple weeks ago we started researching Locks of Love (www.locksoflove.org). After doing some research, I decided I would be okay with her cutting her hair as long as she donated it to such a good cause like Locks of Love. As it turns out, I didn't even cry when she got it chopped off like I thought I might. She ended up donating 12 inches of hair, which, by the way, doesn't look like much. Makenna also cut her hair short but did not have quite enough to donate.



So happy after the first big chop!








My sweet, cute girls!

Beautiful Big Horns

This past weekend we went to the Big Horn Mountains and camped for 2 nights. It was our first camping trip of the season. We had a lot of fun and rode over 115 miles on our 4 wheelers. As you can see from the pictures, it was kind of cold up there, especially while riding. I'm glad we brought our winter gear. On Friday night it rained; on Saturday it rained, hailed, snowed and was thundering and lightning. But during the day on Saturday and Sunday it was nice. We found some new trails that we really like and can't wait to get back there again! It was really nice because it felt like we had the mountains to ourselves; we had our choice of campsites and we had most of the trails to ourselves.

Deadwood Mickelson Trail Half Marathon

On Sunday, Brad and I ran the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Half Marathon with Matt and Kristen. The good news is we all finished, the bad news is we all hurt. It was a lot of fun and I highly recommend running a half marathon if you ever get the chance. Training is a lot of work, but rewarding yourself with finishing a race is well worth every bit of work it takes to get there! I NEVER thought I would run a mile or two without walking and/or complaining let alone 13 miles. However, once I started running I got addicted, and now I look forward to it. Thanks Matt and Kristen for inviting us to run the half marathon with you guys way back in January. If it weren't for you guys I would have never fell in love with running!