Sweet Nixon

I get to spend all day tomorrow with the sweetest, most patient,

happiest baby in the world.

Sweet baby Nixon.

We are going to go swimming, and run errands (for my ward party),

and take naps, and eat, and play.

I live a glorious life.

September 3rd

In one of his emails he said how some moms have countdowns and for us to not to have a countdown and quoted some scripture like "sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof"

Well this is what I say to that...

48 days and counting....

In his last letter he said,

"I do you love you family and all but I will miss the islands.  Everything is so simple here.  It is one reason I would be ok with just staying out on my mission."

It is a good thing missions only give special permision to one extension.

I am starting to think this boy doesn't want to come home.

Well too bad...

I already have his first date lined up (this adorable LDS girl from Old Navy who saw his picture), his first shopping trip, and my siblings and I are buying him the sweetest Nixon watch.  It is actually called, "The Spencer"  It is a good thing he doesn't read my blog.

See you September 3rd at 3:05pm

Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport

My Summer Vacation: Provo

So as I mentioned in my previous post, I spent the last 10 days in Provo.  I did get all my hours signed off so I am so grateful for that.  Now I just need to wait for a letter from the clinic director and put all the paper work into the state and I will be good to go.  It was a nice trip and it was nice to get away to much cooler weather.

On Saturday the 3rd we had a bbq and got together with Jon and Code and Audrey, Kelli's brother JD, and Kelli's friends Joleen and Aubrey. 

After we ate, we headed to the football stadium for Stadium of Fire.  It was actually my first time and I am happy we went.  The Fourth of July is a big deal in Provo with all kinds of festivities and since this year it landed on a Sunday, Fourth of July lasted all weekend.  There was great entertainment and the largest Eagle Court of Honor ever.  Kind of cool.  But I guess not cool enough since I didn't take any pictures.  Just kidding.  My mother would be very offended by that statement.

Carrie Underwood sang and she is AMAZING.  I have always been a fan of her music and I must say she sounds better live then on the radio. Not even kidding.

I forgot my headband in the car.  Too bad.

 

On Monday, I went up to Centerville to see Kelli's new place.  So nice!  I loved it.  And she made homemade Cafe Rio Salads.  Once again...she out did herself.  Jon and Code and Audrey met up with us too and we went swimming.

AMAZING!

I was able to stay with my Grandma in Draper which was really nice.  She really takes care of me and I am so spoiled when I go up there.  She tends to my every need and makes sure I have plently of gas in the car (she was so afraid I was going to run out everyday), money, sleep, blankets, food, ect.  I was very grateful and tried to make the most of it since she is 87 and still going strong.  But you never know.  I can tell each time I see her, that her age is wearing on her, but I guess when I get to be 87 someday...it will wear on me too.  She really is so wonderful!!  I am her favorite grandchild but whatever.

It was a great trip and I am so happy I went but I am also happy to be home.  Even though it is a bit hot and muggy.  On my flight home, I saw the Y and had to take a picture.  I have flown a dozen times in and out of Salt Lake and never seen it or thought of looking for this great letter.

Provo may no longer be where I call home, but it is always fun to visit!

Grateful

Why???

I am here observing at the BYU Speech and Language clinic to finally get my last 25 licensing hours.  So grateful.  They are so nice and let me have access to just about anything I need.  I forgot how nice Sister Dorais was.

But...Provo doesn't feel like home anymore.  I am officially settled back in Mesa. 

Going to Stadium of Fire tomorrow night to see this girl bust a lung.  Never been to Stadium of Fire so very excited for this.  And I get to go with Kelli...

Purchased this dress ON SALE for Stacie's wedding

It is the fourth of July which means good food and fireworks.  Kind of sad I am not at home for this holiday but luckily it happens every year. 

And....

I get to spend time with a few of my very favorite people.  We went to Hale Theatre to see a play Lena was in.

Code's adorable baby girl Audrey.  So happy I finally get to see her.

Happy Fourth of July Weekend!

#1 Birthday Present EVER

The amazing piece of amazingness you see above is what Steven bought me for my birthday.  It is a Garmin watch which does just about everything you need it to do if you are running outside and it even comes with a heart rate monitor.  This monitor connects with the watch and you are able to track how many calories you burn.  But more importantly, as you run it has a GPS system so it tracks your mileage, your pace, your time, and will beep if you get too far ahead or behind of your pace.  It keeps track of all your activities and goals and times.  And I cannot forget about the part where the timer will automatically stop for you if you stop running.  It just stops.  How incredible is that!!  The watch has it's own little computer and when you plug the USB port into the computer, you just lay the watch next to it, and it automatically updates and transfers all the info onto your computer.  I have never been so excited to run in my life.  And I work so much harder cause I am able to watch my heart rate.  It is amazing!!  I am running RAGNAR with my sister and 10 other girls in October in Vegas so this is the perfect training tool to get my ready for that kick in the butt event.  I am excited!

Thank you Steven for knowing me well (and being kind and wonderful) enough to get this for me. 

Recipe #6: Penne Pasta with Shrimp

I am the worst at this picture recording for the recipes.  I get going and completely space it on pictures.  I had the sister missionaries over for dinner the other night and was excited to try out a new recipe.  I was kind of in a hurry since I got a late start which is probably why I forgot to take the pictures.  It was a shrimp penne pasta with a green salad and french bread.  It was really good if I do say so myself.  You can always just add chicken if you don't like shrimp.  I will never be making this for a few special people in my life since they don't eat seafood so I will have to try it again with some other kind of meat. But here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 pound penne pasta

1 pound shrimp

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

One 14.5 ounce can tomato sauce

1 cup heavy cream

milk for thinning

1/4 cup chopped parsley

6 basil leaves, cut

salt

pepper

Process:

Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.  Begin by peeling and deveining the shrimp and rinsing with cold water.  In a small skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  When the pan is hot, add the shrimp and cook on both sides until it is just starting to turn opaque, about 2 minutes.  Remove the shrimp to plate to cool.  Next, chop the onion and in the skillet, add the remaining butter and olive oil.  Chop the parsley and basil leaves.  Add the garlic and onion and stir to combine and cook, stirring occasionally.  This takes about 3 minutes to cook.  Pour in the tomato sauce and stir; reduce the heat to low.  Pour in the cream and stir well to combine, reduce heat to simmer.  Add the shrimp to the sauce and stir gently. Next dump in the herbs and stir.  Add the cooked pasta and stir gently.  If the sauce is too thick, you can add some milk.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

I served with a green salad with tomatoes and cucumber (Carly did a wonderful job at assembling) and some french bread.  It all came together very nicely.

Birthday Extravaganza

I turned 25 Saturday and am now a quarter of a century older.  And the older I get, the less I care about my birthday (I know that is such a party pooper attitude) so I wasn't looking a ton toward this day...but it ended up being the best birthday I have ever had...why?  Because of Steven...

Steven took me on a hot air balloon ride.  I told him a long time ago how much I wanted to go on one and he remembered!!  It was amazing!  We went with about 12 other people including a group of girls from Australia.  PS...they don't say their /l/s.  And a couple anniversary couples and it was just really great.  It was a beautiful day and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.  I wasn't scared at all and we even got up 7000 feet in the air.  I loved every second of it.

Here they are beginning to blow up the balloon

There were about 5 other balloons along with ours being blown up and it was super fun to watch.

Isn't that so cool??!!

I thought this picture was pretty awesome with the flame.  At the beginning of the trip I was wishing I would have remembered when Steven told me to bring a light jacket but when the flame got going, it warmed you up right away.  Our pilot was so funny and had been flying for 20 years.  He even extended our trip to an hour and a half.

This is about 7000 feet in the air and a view of Lake Pleasant.

After we landed, they treated us to a breakfast.  It was amazing.  We had a chocolate filled croissnat and a ham and egg quiche.  Am I spelling that right.  OH and apples and cheese. 

Here it is. 

It was the best day.  After the balloon ride, we went to the park and threw around the frisbee and the weather was perfect.  Not your typical June afternoon. We then did some shopping and had lunch and it was so nice just to not have to rush anywhere and spend time with Steven.  I am so grateful for Steven and making this day so special for me.  It was literally the best birthday I have ever had.  He is my best friend and I just love him!!!

Here are me and my cute nephews.  I love them too.  We had dinner and cheesecake and went and saw "Karate Kid"  It was actually super cute!! 

Thanks for all the birthday wishes from everyone.  I know I sound like a broken record but it was the best day for me!!  And I got the COOLEST birthday present in the WORLD so stay tuned for that because I will be posting about it.