Girls Trip to San Diego & Family Trip to Denver

It has been a while since I last blogged. May was a busy month for us, but now that I am unemployed I have more time on my hands. I quit my job on June 4 to relax and get ready to move. It is hard to believe that our time in Minneapolis is almost over. There are several things that I will miss (Granite City, running by the river, and my job), and several things that I won't miss (winter, being away from family, and potholes). They just built a brand new baseball stadium near our apartment and we have been to a couple of Twins games. Now we are just winding down and looking forward to being back in Utah.

In May, I flew to San Diego to be with my girls. I was so fun to have a whole weekend full of girl talk. I haven't made many good friends in Minneapolis, so I was really in desperate need of some girl time. Our weekend was filled with shopping, laying out on the beach, eating, and lots of talking. It was exactly what I needed. I love my girlfriends!

In May, we also went to Chicago and Denver in the same weekend. Ryan had to present his final project at the AAPD conference in Chicago. We were only there for 2 days, but we made the most of our time. I was able to spend one day with my friend Debra and her son Max. We went to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. Then we flew to Denver to spend time with Ryan's family for his brothers graduation from medical school. We went to the Denver Zoo and the new Shrek Movie.

Family Vacation

You may notice that Ryan is not in any of my pictures. Unfortunately, he was unable to take the time off work. So I left him and went to Hawaii with my family and I had a fabulous time. My parents have a time share on the west coast of Oahu. It is absolute paradise! It was a very relaxing trip. I spent a lot of time laying by the pool, reading my book, and soaking up the sun. We had all visited Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Culture Center on a previous family vacation. So instead we spent more time on the beach and sight seeing. It was fun to spend time with my parents and sister. They really know how to have a good time! I am amazed at how active my parents are, my dad went running every morning. I joined him once, but I was usually still sleeping when he got home. We hiked to the top of Diamond Head volcano. What an amazing view from the top! I can't wait to go back.

It could be worse!

Oops, I forgot our passports. We had a fabulous vacation, but it started a one day late. We were planning to fly out early Saturday morning and arrive in Acapulco the same day. We got up at 4:45 a.m. to catch our flight. We took the train to the airport and arrived with plenty of time. We were checking in and that is the moment I realized that I forgot our passports! How could I be so stupid?? I am usually so organized and think of everything. Unfortunately we didn't have time to rush home to get them before our flight left. We were able to get booked on a later flight to Phoenix on Saturday and would fly to Acapulco the next day. The low point was when we had to take the train home and then walk from the train station in the freezing cold with our luggage. At least we were able to get to Phoenix and spent time with Ryan's family. His mom was also town visiting. We were able to get a last minute hotel near the airport. "It could be worse." (We said that a lot.) The next day our flight to Acapulco was delayed by two hours. "It could be worse." We finally made it to sunny Acapulco on Sunday evening. And it was definitely worth the wait. The resort was breathtaking! Lucky for Ryan we happened to be there the same week as the Mexican Open tennis tournament and it was in walking distance of our hotel. I spent two nights at the tennis tournament and Ryan went one night without me. We had perfect weather, sunny and high 80's everyday. We did lots of relaxing in the sun, reading, and long walks on the beach. Ryan had a blast riding waves on a boogie board. Our resort was 20 minutes away from downtown Acapulco. One day we took a city tour and saw all the tourist attractions, including the famous cliff divers. We took a cab into town for dinner and a movie one night. (We saw "Valentine's Day" and I loved it!) We were definitely not ready to leave paradise. At the airport on our way home we saw Sam Querry and John Isner (American tennis players). Now Ryan wants to go to Acapulco every year, but next time I won't forget our passports.

Sam Querry at the airport. (He is tall!)

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!