Phoenix Racquetball Roadtrip

We (Loran, Marcile (Mark's parents), Mark and I) went to Phoenix last week and I just have to say that I loved it! I would move there. The weather was perfect! When I say that, I realize that it gets a whole lot hotter, but I think I would still do it. Never having to drive in the snow again…FANTASTIC! I had been there before, but my observations didn't get very far past the car that I was riding in. What can I say…It was a HOT car! This time I paid attention to my surroundings because none of us knew where we were going. Poor Mark! He had 3 passenger seat drivers and a GPS that hadn't been updated in awhile. I was a lot better than I normally am though. I only said, "Breaks, Breaks!" like twice the whole time. I have been in so many accidents that I am a freak in the car now. None of them my fault by the way! That would be a fun blog post...stories of all my car accidents! :) Anyway, it is a good thing Mark is so patient and laid back. I wasn't even driving and my blood pressure was out of control. Thank goodness I have 2 weeks before my Apple health test to calm down! :)
We went down to Phoenix for Mark's racquetball competition at ASU. I only saw the student rec. center and I wished I had gone to school there. It was awesome! Mark did alright in the competition. I know he wanted to win a few more games. He started getting body aches and a sick stomach on the second day. He didn't eat very much that day and I knew something was wrong! The games were pretty cool. When Mark was playing I got really in to it, but as soon as he wasn't playing and I tried to watch other games my eyes would glaze over. Thank you Katie for your entertaining text messages!! You are why I didn't lose my mind!
We got a chance to hang out with Mark's cousins down there. They are all really cool girls that I could see myself hanging out with! We stayed with Brock and Ang in their little casita. Their house is BEAUTIFUL! We lived in luxury while we were down there. :) We were able to go see Bob and Krista's house and Kim's also. They all have really nice houses and are all great decorators! We were also able to go to the Easter Pageant at the Mesa temple. It was really neat and I would recommend going if the opportunity arises. Anyway! It was a fun trip and great to get to know the cousins a little better.




(We were not good at taking pictures at all so...most of these are pretty lame. Mark is the jumper in the first picture in case you can't tell.)

Jackson Hill Climb

Mark and I were finally invited by Jen and Chris to the Jackson Hole Hill Climb! Woohoo! They have been going for years now and we have finally been invited! Just kidding! They have probably invited us before and we just have had stuff going on. We drove up to Afton, WY Friday night March 27th and stayed with the Bucks. I guess I had met them before but didn’t remember. They are so cool! They have a way cute cabin nestled in a huge snow bank, in the middle of nowhere! We played the Wii and everyone laughed at me because I can’t help but get my whole body involved in playing. They tried to get video, but thank goodness I lost before they could get too much damaging footage. I have an image to protect people. Geeez! So fun! I have to share an incident that proves I am not ready to have children though…They have the cutest little boy named Xander. I messed up on the game and shouted, “CRAP”. The next thing I know…I hear him shouting, “Crap, Crap, Crap”. I felt horrible! They said he already knew the word and not to worry about it, but I still felt bad! I really shouldn’t be over the Nursery in my ward! Who knows what I will teach the little children on accident!
Anyway! The next morning we woke up bright and early to get to the mountain. We rode the lift up and slid down the mountain to where we wanted to be and got in touch with our inner rednecks. It had just snowed a couple days before so the snow was pretty good which means there weren’t many wrecks! I was kind of disappointed because these hill climbs are all about the WRECKS baby! It was still fun and Jen and I enjoyed doing our hip-hop/hustle dance for everyone to stay warm! It was cold so Jen and I had our own workout session with squats and running in place. Good times! I think the slide down the mountain on our butts, sorry mom, BOTTOMS made my whole day though. That was soooo much fun! Thanks Jen and Chris for showing us such a great time! Great memories! In the first video...you have to watch Chris. I hate to laugh because he hurt himself, but it was funny! He is the guy in black behind me.

Key West Reunion!

Last night Jen, Chris, Mark and I went to Layton to meet Heidi and Porter. It was a Key West roommate reunion! It is the first time we have all been able to hang out husbands and all! We have all gone to each other's weddings, but there wasn't really time to sit down and chat. It was so much fun! We went to Applebees and went bowling. I love those girls! Key West was a hard 4 1/2 months because we were away from our families during the holidays, long distance relationship dramas, and our other roommate was going through some sort of identity crisis which put a lot of stress on us all. We lived through the most active Atlantic hurricane season in history! We cleaned up after Katrina and survived Rita and Wilma. There are so many great memories also though. Del Sol, beaches, laying out, snorkeling, parasailing, riding sea doos around the island, Dry Tortugas, the ghost tour, Miami, Miami Zoo, Jupiter :), the Everglades, Bike Week, the speed boat races, Rick's Upstairs, the Real World, the Conch Republic, Fantasy Fest, the Bone Island Shuttle...I could go on and on! I knew Jen before we went, but I am so glad that we were able to meet Heidi. She is such a great girl and a fantastic friend. I am so glad we are all still friends and we can hang out together!

Mark....his prime is gone!

This week was Mark's last Spring Break before he graduates! As I write this he shouts to the ceiling, "Oh no! It is my last Spring Break EVER!" because he didn't realize it until I just wrote that. hahaha...I feel a mid-twenties crisis coming on in my husband. ANYWAY...Tuesday he went snowboarding and the second run down the mountain he took a jump and he thought it was going to be powder, but it was ice and he cracked his board and hurt his back. Instead of bouncing right back up like he would if he were 18 it hurt him! Poor guy! He snowboarded the rest of the day thanks to an 800mg Ibuprofen. I found him laying dejectedly on the couch when I got home from work.

The next day he went snowmobiling with his brothers even though his back still hurt. When I got home from work that night he was laying on the couch looking sad again. I started to make dinner and he came in and hobbled around following me explaining that he will never get any better at snowboarding or anything else because he has reached his peak. He is going to be 26 this year! hahaha...he is so cute! He makes me laugh! Thursday, Friday, and now Saturday he is still hobbling around, but finally feeling a little bit better. I have been making sure he uses ice and heat on his back. We are hoping he will be feeling better for his raquetball competition at BYU this next weekend and for Nationals 2 weeks after that.

NOOOOOOO!!

I am giving in! I said I wasn't going to set up a blog until I could be a "stay at home blogger", but Jen talked me into it one Saturday about a month ago. See if I ever invite her over again while Chris is working a weekend! :) Just kidding! I just figured blogs were for documenting the nightma....uhhh joys of raising children. Plus, when I get home from work I just want to chill...read a book, watch TV....not worry about updating my blog! So...just as a warning...I am not going to be very good at this! :)