Go Vikings!!

We live in Minnesota Vikings territory. The people out here are serious about their football team. I have been a Dallas Cowboys fan since Troy Aikman and Emmett Smith won the Superbowl in 1992. We got tickets to the Vikings playoff game before we knew who they would be playing. I was excited when I found out they would be playing the Cowboys. I really wanted to wear a pink Romo jersey to the game. Ryan warned me that I would get beat up by a crazed Vikings fan if I showed up in Cowboys apparel. The metrodome was filled with purple and gold. In hindsight, I am glad that wore purple. The Cowboys got crushed by the Vikings, 34-3. This city will shut down if the Vikings make it to the superbowl. The day after the game Ryan got interviewed by a local news station about the game. He was featured on the 10 o'clock news. Here's the link- http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/fans-excited-about-vikings-super-bowl-potential

The most wonderful time of year!

Ryan and I had a fabulous Christmas vacation. We were both able to get off work to go home for 10 days. We both really needed a break to spend time with family. We flew home the day before a huge blizzard hit Minneapolis. We were actually lucky that our flight was able to take off. We got delayed in Denver, but eventually we made it home. Oh, home sweet home!! We both had plenty of R&R. Ryan wore his PJ's and slippers for the majority of the trip. We got spoiled with presents and had lots of fun with our nieces and nephews. We went sledding, bowling, and saw a few movies. But my favorite part of Christmas time....is the FOOD!! There was always plenty to eat and lots of sweets. All of our siblings were able to come home this year. I hope that we can continue to be together every year for Christmas.

It's a brand new year. There will be a lot of changes for us in 2010. We will be moving to a new city at the end of June. We are still not sure where we will end up. It is hard to believe that we have almost been out here for two years. It has really gone by fast, there are a lot of things I will miss about Minneapolis. One thing that I definitely won't miss... the WINTER!!

Sunny California

Disneyland is the place where dreams come true! I love Disneyland, because it is overflowing with cheerful people and happiness. Ryan's family goes to Disneyland every year. I went once with him before we were married. This time all his nieces and nephews were able to come. Needless to say it was a little crazy, but we had so much fun. This year we avoided crowds by going the week after Utah's fall break. We average wait time for most rides was 10-15 minutes. That is really good for Disneyland, maybe it is the recession?? Ryan and I spent most our time with the older kids going on the "scary" rides. Tower of Terror, Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, etc. I even got a little scared on some of them. California Adventure park has several new fun rides. "Soarin Over California" is a virtual plane ride over the spectacular scenery of California. The only bad thing about this trip was that Ryan lost his wedding ring on Thunder Mountain. He put it is his pocket and after the ride it was gone. This is the second time he has lost his ring, but I think it is gone for good this time.

We also found time to visit the beach and swim in the ocean. My favorite part of the trip was the warm sunny weather!

Speed Blogging

So much has happened since I last blogged. I feel overwhelmed and cannot possibly include all the details. Instead, I will give you the abridged version of the past month.

August 27-31: My mother and sister came to visit. Unfortunately the weather was not great, but we still had a great time. Of course we went to the Mall of America to shop until we dropped. We had a hot dog at the Twins baseball game. We even went to the Minnesota State Fair and did not catch the swine flu. The Minnesota state fair is well known for fried food on a stick- Corn dogs, cheese curds, spam, pickles, spaghetti, etc. You name it, and they can fry it and put it on a stick. I ate a fried Snickers bar on a stick. It was actually pretty tasty!

September 4-7: Labor Day weekend in Duluth, Minnesota. We had a fabulous mini-vacation. We stayed in a great hotel on Lake Superior. The weather couldn't have been better. We went running, rode bikes, golfing and hiking at Gooseberry falls. It was a busy sports weekend for Ryan. Ryan watched the U.S. Open and BYU football, while I laid out and read my book. We would definitely like to go back again soon, but not during the winter.

September 11-14: Flew home to Utah for my aunts funeral. It was not a good excuse for a trip home. My mom's youngest sister died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism. It was a very hard day, but it was nice to have the whole family together for support. She will be missed by many. My thoughts and prayers are with her husband and children.

September 17-21: My wonderful mother-in-law came to visit. We had a very laid back weekend. We went to the Aveda institute for massages and facials. We went for several walks by the Mississippi River and Lake Calhoun. My favorite part was going to Mary Poppins at the Orpheum Theatre. It was spectacular! I hope she had as much fun as we did. Thanks for coming!

My Favorite Cuz!

My favorite cousin BECCA came to see me a few weeks ago. We have been very best friends since we were babies. At times we have drifted apart, but we always have fun and laugh when we are together. She left her hubby and daughter at home and flew half way across the country for me. As expected, we had a blast! Our weekend started out running a half marathon together. Becca was in much better shape than me, I have not been running much this summer. The race starts in Minnesota and finishes in Wisconsin. The weather did not cooperate, it rained pretty much the whole time. Not to mention, it was cold and windy. (Welcome to Minnesota!) Despite an asthma attack and squishy shoes, we finished!! Ryan also ran and finished with a much faster time. After the torture was over, we all got full body massages. Luckily, the rest of the weekend was warm and sunny. We took her kayaking on Lake Calhoun and managed to catch some rayson the beach. We went to the Mall of America, Walker sculpture garden, and saw a couple movies. We stayed in a hotel so that we could stay up late and talk. I realized that we are getting too old for all nighters. Most nights we were asleep by midnight. We were able to cram a lot of fun into 4 days, but I was still sad to see her go.

Next weekend my mother and sister will be paying a visit. I have noticed that I only get visitors between the months of June and August. I can't say I blame them, I would not visit Minnesota in the winter either. Even the summer is unusually cool this year, our high yesterday was only 66 degrees. Yippee! The other thing I love about visitors, is that I get to take time off work. I can't wait!

Jordan Family Vacation

We just returned from a fun-filled Jordan family vacation to Island Park, Idaho. It sounds like an exotic resort, but we actually stayed in a cabin in the wilderness. My dad rented a 15 passenger van for the week so we could all travel together. It was a little chaotic at times with 9 adults and 6 children in the same vehicle, but we had plenty of great family bonding and only a few meltdowns (mostly from Ryan). The cabin was big enough for the whole family. Ryan was glad that it had a hot tub, TV, and high speed Internet. This was my first trip to Yellowstone, and I saw plenty of buffalo, elk, and a bear. (We even had a moose wander into our back yard.) We saw Old Faithful erupt twice and several other geysers. We saw "Footloose" at the Playmill in West Yellowstone. We went to an IMAX movie and ate plenty of good food. We rented rafts and floated down the river. It was a lot of fun until I got soaked by Ryan, Tom, and Jarrett. (Thanks to Angela for bringing the squirt guns.) The water was FREEZING!! Overall, it was a really fun week. This is the first time that we have all been together for more than a day. A family vacation is never complete without family pictures! I hope we can make this a Jordan family tradition.

Two years and still going strong!

Ryan and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary on July 6th. It has gone by so fast! I wanted to do something romantic and memorable, but neither of us were able to get the day off work. So instead, we celebrated over the fourth of July weekend. We stayed at the Crown Plaza hotel in St. Paul. There was a huge 4th of July festival within walking distance of our hotel. It was called the 'Taste of Minnesota." They had amusement park rides, music, and lots of food! We ate buffalo wings, corn dogs, mini donuts, funnel cakes, corn on the cob, and ice cream. (We are lucky we didn't have a heart attack!) Ryan was a poor sport about the fireworks. We had to wait 10-15 minutes before they started, and he was not being patient. Then he wanted to go back to the room before they were over. I was a little upset that I missed the grand finale.

On our anniversary, Ryan surprised me and came home with roses and a heart felt card. He usually stresses out about what to get for me. He is a wonderful husband, and that is all I need. I bought him a pair of roller blades for our anniversary. He has been wanting them for a while. We went to Lake Calhoun to test them out and he had a great time. The only problem was he wore ankle socks and ended up with some big blisters.