Nathan and Lara

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T12:19:00.000-08:00

We knew that December had arrived when we saw Santa Claus sitting in church. We believe he was making his list and checking it twice...
After the meeting Nathan went outside to make a phone call when Santa approached him and said, "Very nice meeting you," and shook his hand. (side note: we have never seen this man in our lives) This was a confirmation to us that Nathan had made it on the nice list.

We spent our December doing various Christmas activities such as:
Visiting cousins and reading Christmas stories,
Baking cookies (in Utah and California, these were made in Utah by my dad),
Going to the Nutcracker with the Anderson girls (I flew home for a short weekend),
and having a gingerbread contest with our good friends the McNally's. (ours is the one on the right, I will leave it up to you to decide which is better.)

On the 20th we were able to fly home for the holidays! Burgundy was in town from Chicago so we made a stop at her parent's house to meet her baby girl, Mayla.
It was love at first sight...
We also were able to go on the annual Barenz family trip into Salt Lake to go to Temple Square and stay in a hotel. We have missed this the past couple of years so it was great to be part of it this year.

Scout and I playing Peek-a-Boo. This was pretty much my strategy for the entire trip to distract her so she would like me. I must say it worked pretty well.

After the lights we were freezing so we headed in to Starbuck for some white hot chocolate.
Scout thoroughly enjoyed sharing our hot chocolate.

On Christmas Eve we started the day bowling with the Barenz family. This has become quite the tradition and it was fun to be a part of it this year.

We then had a lull so we headed to my house to frost some cookies for Santa with my nieces and nephews. I think most of them got more frosting in their mouths than they did on the cookies, however.
Then it was off to the Newman's for more Christmas Eve fun! We enjoyed delicious soup, appetizers, and chocolate fondue. After dinner we watched the kiddies open up their new Christmas pajamas...
and played a rousing game of Christmas pictionary sponsored by Libby. A good time was had by all.

We then headed to my house to sleep. We spent the next morning and most of the following day at my house. I had to sing with my sister at my parent's sacrament meeting but other than that the day was delightfully lazy and restful.
Because it was so lazy this photo, taken on Christmas morning, is the only photo I have of the day.

The following week was packed with friends and family. We had a fun party with Nathan's friends in which we played Bunco at Mark and Tannie's house.
The boys: James, BJ, Nathan, Jordan, Brick, Brandon, and Tyler.
The ladies: Rachel, Lara, Candace, Angie, Alicia, Whitney, and Loni. I am so lucky that my husband has such great friends and that they married such fun ladies!

The next night it was back to the Flammer's house for my friend's Christmas party. (Thanks to Mark and Tannie for sure!)
Ben and I meeting for the first time. He was so little and sweet he just melted my heart.

We played an awesome game of Time's Up and then chatted. I feel so rejuvenated after being with these ladies, they refill my cup and I am so lucky to have them as my friends.
The girls: Morgan, Kylee, Me, Caitlyn, Burgundy, and Tara.
The guys: Andy, Dan, Sam (with Ben), David, Nathan (with chocolate turtles??), and Trevor.

A lot of the time not spent at holiday parties was spent in the kitchen. My sister-in-law, Audrey, and I attempted to make fudge. The first batch didn't turn out at all and the second tasted pretty good, it was a little grainy, but pretty good. We also made some yummy suckers:
We played lots of games including this:
Gotta love Harry!

We went out with Dan and Tara one night and played an intense game of Blokus at their house afterwards.
After the game Tara and I filled in the Blokus board as much as we could, this is how it turned out.

On Friday night all of my brothers hired babysitters and we went out to dinner with just the adults in my family. I love my nieces and nephews, but it was great to be together and be able to talk with just the adults.
At dinner, the waitress struggled a bit with the camera, but you can see all our faces and that is what counts.
Krista and Nathan at dinner.

On New Year's Eve we started the night off at Boondock's with my family. We bowled, played laser tag and arcades, and had pizza for dinner.
Dad and I waiting to bowl.

Dinner

After Boondock's we went back to my parents house and had a chocolate fountain for dessert. While eating our dessert we came up with predictions for the New Year, I'm excited to see how those turn out.
We then played a hilarious game of Minute to Win It. Truthfully the tasks were a little too easy, but made for some hilarious pictures nonetheless.

We counted down to 2012 while watching the ball drop, kissed, toasted with some of this:
and ended the night with some of these:

Truly, a great way to start 2012 and a fantastic end to the holiday season. I get so sad at this time of year. If you know me at all you know how much I love Christmas. Nathan tells me that it's as if I live the rest of the year in anticipation for the month of December and that is when I really shine. I love everything about it...and am already looking forward to next year! Only 11 months!

4 Whole Months!

2011-11-13T13:07:00.000-08:00

...That is how long it has been since I have blogged. Either I am lazy or we have been busy or both. (I'm going to say a little bit of both but mostly the latter.) So I have compiled a few pictures from each month that I have missed. I have really tried to keep the pictures to a minimum, but I love pictures and am not very good at that. I will therefore keep the words to a minimum.

August:

We headed to So. Cal to meet up with my parents to attend the D23 convention. (Yes, I am that big of a Disney nerd.)

While there we met up with friends Nate, his wife Brittany, their son Noah, and another friend Johnny. We had delicious Mexican food and it was great to catch up!

We headed to Hollywood for a day searching for stars:

Of course, we attended the convention:
My mom and I with our passes waiting in line
And we spent a couple of days at Disneyland:

September:

Nathan had to go to Florida and Southern California for work so we made the most of it and a I tagged along.

We spent one day at Disney before heading down to Miami. It was September 11 and the parks were deserted. We went to all four parks and pretty much conquered them all in one day.

In Miami we went to a Monday Night Football Game...
...and I met this guy.
After Miami it was off to So. Cal where we spent some quality time with my brother Mike and his family.
They had a birthday party for Nathan who turned 27! Andy and Hayden made the crown and his cake.

Mike does consulting for Disney and so he was able to get us backstage into the Disney Studios. For a Disney nerd like me, this was awesome!

Coming full circle, my hands in the handprints of the voice of Cinderella.

The rest of September was not so much fun. 2 days after we got home I headed under the knife to get my tonsils out.
My mom came out to help and I am so glad she did! We made the most of it and ended up having fun watching chick flicks all week.

October:

In the beginning of October, we said goodbye to this sweet lady:
My Grandma Steed passed away on October 1st. We were able to go home to Utah for her funeral which was such a great experience. She was such an amazing woman and lived an amazing life. The whole situation was very bittersweet though as we know she is much happier and in a much better place. Love you Grandma!

At the end of October I joined the Young family on their annual trip to Disney World

It was a serious coincidence that my parents also happened to be there at the same time for my Dad's birthday with some friends. They were able to visit Snow White at a Halloween Party:
I think my mom picked the perfect costume for the occasion...
Their whole group with Snow White and The Prince. They really pulled out all the stops this year.

We also attended the Halloween Party on a different night:
Our group waiting for the parade.
Meg and I in our costumes.

Halloween at Disney is always the best and I am glad I got to go this year!

For actual Halloween my brother Mike and his family drove up from So. Cal to visit us! It was so great to have them here.

We went to the aquarium:
and to the Exploratorium:
We carved pumpkins:
And, of course, did some Trick-or-Treating!

Come again soon, please!!

November:

At the beginning of the month Nathan and Cody went to College Game Day at Stanford. These boys were in heaven and got to meet a few famous faces.
The story of this photo might be one of the greater stories Nathan tells, however, I don't think it will come off right on the blog so you'll just have to take my word for it.

The week before Thanksgiving I headed to Florida yet again with my Mom, Grandma, Krista, Aunt Lisa, and Cousin Ashley. We were there for about 5 days and packed in absolutely everything we could in those days. Some of the highlights were:

Harry Potter World:

Butterbeer!

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party:

The giant gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian:
And the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at the Studios:
We don't always get to spend a whole lot of time together so this trip was especially fun!

I then met Nathan in Utah for Thanksgiving.

We went to Zoe's Thanksgiving Preschool Program:
Had Thanksgiving with my family at the cabin:
And saw some serious effects of the combination of overeating and tryptophan:
We also celebrated little Sophie's first birthday!

December:

Our month started off with visit from the Homer's. We enjoyed having them stay with us and staying up late playing Mario Kart and Tetris on the Wii. Some other highlights of their stay included:

A walking tour of Stanford:

A trip to Monterey Bay and 17- Mile Drive:
Pebble Beach:
Alcatraz:

Rachel and I obviously hate the solitary confinement cell. However, B doesn't seem to mind it. ...Interesting.
And ate delicious ice cream sundaes at Ghirardelli:
Thanks, Homer's for coming to visit! We don't get enough visitors! So there it is folks, I will take care of the rest of December in a separate post.

Forget Me Not

2011-10-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know I am due for an update and I will do so shortly. However, tonight I found this beautiful talk by President Uchtdorf and it literally brought me to tears. I was not able to attend the RS broadcast because I had just gotten my tonsils out so I understand that to a lot of you this is old news, but I am just catching up. Anyway, enjoy.

Click HERE to find the link.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and Tent Dwelling

2011-08-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago we decided to head down to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk with the Johnsons. Neither Nathan or I had ever been which is crazy considering it is only about an hour away. We decided to make this excursion on a Saturday which means it was PACKED.
Us on the Boardwalk
Johnsons on the Boardwalk.
Nathan with deep fried Oreos. Yes, that is correct, fried OREOS! These were unbelievably delicious. We ate some things that were incredibly bad for us, but oh so good.
There were a few rides on the Boardwalk, most of which I felt like I would be taking my life in my hands to get on. We decided we would ride the skyride, nice and relaxing, and it gave us a nice view.
All in all it was a really fun day and we all left slightly sick to our stomachs from all the fried food...

Last weekend we decided to go on another adventure this time....camping! I know what you are all thinking... "Camping? Seriously? You guys?" But I am proud to say we did pretty well considering we are not the camping type. We rented some tents from a place at Stanford for a very reasonable price, borrowed some sleeping bags, grabbed some mallows and the Johnsons and were off! We went to a church owned site down in Santa Cruz called Camp Lehi. Being it was a church owned camp and a Saturday night we had the place almost completely to ourselves. It was the perfect place to go for inexperienced campers. Not too far away with flushing toilets. :)
After we arrived we quickly set up our tents.

And then took to the trail for a nice hike.
However, I am not so sure we were on the right trail and may have been horribly trespassing. We didn't hike long because of this fear but stopped for a minute to take a pic.

Once we got back to the campground, our fearless males went out in search of firewood...
...armed with a very large stick (he appropriately christened it "Gandalf")...
...and a machete. You heard me right, a machete. The previously unused machete found to be very useful on this camping trip.
While the men went in search of firewood we played card games...
...and took pictures of the sunset.

Once they got back we built a fire.
And took more pictures before the sun set completely.
The fire provided us some great entertainment that night. It is amazing how much fun it can be to poke a stick around in a fire. We kept the food simple on this trip and simply roasted some hot dogs and s'mores for dinner.
The machete worked well as a chocolate melting device.
Us with our s'mores. We had a good time the rest of the night staying up talking and playing with the campfire.
In the morning we built another fire. (of course!)
We had breakfast, took some more pics...
...played some more games. (Excuse my bright green Mickey socks, they kept me warm that night, okay?) And then we packed up and headed home. It was a quick trip but lots of fun and a good initiatory into the camping world. Who knows? We might even do it again!

A Dream Vacation

2011-07-21T19:12:00.000-07:00

For Christmas this year my parents gave my family a trip to the Bahamas on Disney's newest ship, the Disney Dream. So, on July 10th we set sail on a magical vacation...
Nathan and I waiting impatiently for our number to be called so we could board.

David, looking less excited than my Dad, Krista, and Mom.

After we got to our rooms...

We set off to explore!

Here are some of the things we found...
After exploring and a quick lifeboat drill we headed up to the pool for the "Sailing Away" Party
And then it was off to dinner!
Syd and I at dinner.

Mickey Ketchup for the kids

On our first night there was no big show, so they had a comedian come and he was hilarious.
Nathan and I at the show.

Then we headed back to the room.
Before we went to bed I had to take a picture of the cute pillow that I wanted to steal...
...and the adorable little chocolates we got every night!

The next morning we woke up in Castaway Cay.

Nathan and I on Castaway Cay. It was so beautiful and since it is Disney's private island, the only people on the island were the ones on the ship. Which made for nice, uncrowded beaches.
Me and Syd
A view of the ship.

While on the island we sought out something we thought was a basketball tournament. Turns out it was just Minnie and Mickey showing up to shoot some hoops.
Which was fun anyway.
We played foosball instead. Nathan won...but just barely. :)

After our game of foosball we sponsored a crab in the crab races.
Unfortunately we could think of no better name than "Crabby." And he was very slow.
The family also had two other crabs in the races, Iron Man and Harry Potter did their best but in the end, were just not fast enough.

After that it was time for lunch. If we did anything well on this vacation it was eating!
Dad, Mom, and sleepy Ben at lunch.

After a fun-filled day we headed back to the ship and got ready for dinner.
Dinner that night was at "The Royal Palace" so I ordered something called the "Princess Drink"... because, well, why not?
I also tried Escargot and it was no good.
Dad, Mom, and Krista at dinner.
Nathan, Me, Dave, and another sleepy Ben.

After dinner we took some photos...

Elise, Aubrey, and I
After the show that night we headed back to our room and found this little guy:
Very cute.

The following day we were in Nassau.
This is one of the first things I saw that morning...little Sophie in her shades. How could it not be a good day?!
We had booked an excursion to go to the Atlantis hotel and see the aquarium. Before we left though, we had to have breakfast... of course!
Sophia, rocking her two piece, and I at breakfast.

After breakfast we were loaded into buses and got a little tour of Nassau before heading to the hotel.

Nathan at the aquarium.
Pretty much the only reason we booked this particular excursion...to get a picture of this hotel.
On the way back to the ship we took this photo op. Kinda explains it all huh?

That night was "Pirate's in the Caribbean" night!

Our awesome waiters were all dressed for the occasion and did a few magic tricks. This dinner was strictly kid free for the Steed family. Everyone had decided to send their kids and babies to the kids club or the nursery. This is why Disney is the best! The kids were having a great time in their area, while we got to have a nice dinner. We definitely didn't do this every night, but for one night it was great!

After dinner we headed to the D Lounge to play the "A Pirate's Life for Me" game and then it was up to the pool where we waited for the fireworks. Too many cute pics so they are in collages...
Those bandanas were left in our room before dinner, Disney thinks of everything!
The fireworks were awesome as was the dance party and dessert buffet afterwards.

The next day was our day at sea. Don't have many pictures of this day because it consisted strictly of laying by the pool and watching Cars 2 in the Buena Vista theatre.
Krista...and the sea.
Aubrey enjoying the ice cream stations. We maybe took advantage of this a little too much.

That night we had dinner at "Animator's Palate." Which was quite the experience. Another collage...
Everything was so detailed and Crush came by the tables and talked to all the families. It was so cute!

After dinner we went to see The Golden Mickey's in the Walt Disney theatre.

This was by far the best show of the cruise.

Most of the little kids and their families had gone to an earlier showing and Elise, Aubrey, and Sydney were chosen to go on stage as dwarves...
So sad I missed this! But glad someone thought to take some pictures.

The next morning we were back in Castaway Cay.
We took the time to get a photo in front of the ship this time around.

We had decided to rent bikes that day so we could really explore the island so we headed there first thing before it got too hot and crowded.

Some pictures of our bike ride...

At one point on our ride we came across a lookout tower and decided to try to get a pic. This is the best we could do.
Elise and I on the beach
After we got back and ready for dinner we took a photo on our verandah.

And then headed down to see "Believe."
All the kids waiting for the show.
Nathan and Jack passing the time while we did a little shopping after the show. Once we were done shopping we decided we would try to accomplish the impossible and get a picture of all of us on the stairs.
Didn't turn out too bad, considering we handed the camera to a random lady.

We then headed to our last dinner at The Enchanted Garden.
The menus were so cute! And made me a little sad.
We had the waiter's sing to Mason for his birthday.
Before we left we had to get a picture with our incredible waiters! They were so great and we loved getting to know them each night.

One last picture in the Enchanted Garden.

That night we took advantage of the fact that the rest of the ship was either at dinner or a show and went swimming. The pool was empty and we swam and rode the AquaDuck over and over with no lines!
Hayden, Andy, and I in the hot tub.
After swimming we treated ourselves to one last ice cream cone. The perfect way to spend our last night. Me and Logan.

But the trip was not over yet. We headed to Orlando and spent 2 days at Disney World. The first at Epcot and the second at Magic Kingdom. Here are some photos of our day at Magic Kingdom.
Riding Splash Mountain... we were trying to look bored.
If any of you have been around Nathan in the past 4 years you might have noticed that he religiously wears a red band around his wrist. Well, little Sophia did me a favor at lunch and ripped it off. Good job Soph! However, he has since found another one to replace it. Oh well.
My dad went to Islands of Adventure with the other half of the family that day, so Nathan gladly stepped in as Fast Pass Man. He did a pretty good job too!
Andy sharing his popsicle with Sophia.
Riding Thunder Mountain.
This trip was so much fun and I still get a little sad every day that it is over. We had a blast having the whole family together. Guess we will just have to start planning the next one!

Independence Day Weekend

2011-07-21T17:53:00.000-07:00

There is nowhere quite like Utah for the Fourth of July. This year we were happy we got to be there for all the festivities. Especially since it was more like a weekend celebration instead of just one day.

Centerville had their parade and such on the 2nd and so we got up early to go to the parade with Nathan's family. After the parade we headed to Mueller Park, looks like this is becoming somewhat of a tradition. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and kept the kids away from the unusually high river.
Nathan enjoying his 2nd of July celebration
Scout and I

After Mueller Park the family all went our separate ways for some much needed naps. We met back up that evening to set off some fireworks.
Nathan LOVES lighting fireworks. He turns into a small child when July rolls around.
The little kiddos outside to watch the fireworks.

That night we headed up to Eaglewood to watch those fireworks with some friends. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of this event, but it was great seeing everyone and catching up a bit.

After church the next day we headed up to the cabin in Huntsville. We had a pretty lazy Sunday and then ...what else?... lit more fireworks!
Elise and I waiting for it to get dark outside.

While playing with the kiddos on the deck, my blonde self stumbled into the wall and I got the mother of all slivers in my finger.
Okay, I know you can't see it, it's a sliver. Even the biggest ones are hard to detect on camera.
Nathan and my dad had to do some serious surgery on my finger. Don't let my nonchalant attitude fool you, there were tears involved.

After I got out of surgery we headed back outside...

Gotta love the legalizing of illegal fireworks. Made for some really great home firework shows this year!

On the actual Fourth, we went to my parents house to have a BBQ with our friends since my family was still in Huntsville.

We did sparklers...

And once again, Nathan gave us a nice firework show...
Told ya this boy loves his fireworks!

That night most of us headed over to see the Davis fireworks. (Brick and Candice you were sorely missed, as was your small child)

All of us waiting for the fireworks to start. Note Quintin's earmuffs. He wore them to protect his ears from the noise. Classic. (Thanks Angie for the pics!)

All in all, another great holiday in the books.

Filling in the Blanks

2011-07-07T22:19:00.000-07:00

This update is late coming because of the camera issues mentioned in earlier posts. But we now have our camera back and all is well and good!

A couple of days before we left for Spain one of Nathan's best friends, James, got married in SLC. (Hence the beginning of the camera issues) It was a beautiful day and we couldn't be more happy for James and Whitney. So glad we got to be a part of their special day!
Nathan, James, and Brandon
Nathan during his speech at the dinner. He did a very nice job.
A picture with the boys
And of course, one with the wives! I predict good things for these couples right here.

A couple of days after we got back from Spain, we celebrated our 4th anniversary! Crazy how the time flies when you are having fun. Since we had just gotten back from our big vacation we decided to keep things simple. I made dinner, we opened presents, went on a walk, threw the frisbee, and finished the night by watching our wedding video.

The dinner I made. :)
As I have mentioned in previous posts Nathan and I follow the traditional anniversary gift giving guidelines. Year 4 was fruit and flowers. So I made Nathan chocolate covered strawberries.
And he gave me Fruit, Flowers, and chocolate covered strawberries! :) It was a great day and I consider myself one lucky gal. On to year 5!

A couple of days later my parents came into town. Unfortunately, we didn't take a ton of pictures but we did do a lot of fun things including: trips to the Stanford mall, breakfast at Mama's, breakfast at Stack's, and shopping in the city. We also went to see Beach Blanket Babylon for the first time. We loved it! For those of you that don't know, BBB is a musical that has been playing in San Francisco since 1974. It is all about Snow White trying to find her prince. The show is ever evolving and they throw in different acts and jokes according to what is going on in the media at the time. Oh, and they wear really large hats.
We couldn't take our own pictures so I found these on the website...see? Large hats.
Just to give you an idea of how up to date this show is. They already had a segment on the royal wedding that had taken place only about 2 weeks prior. I highly recommend this show to anyone visiting San Fran.

We also took in a Giant's game while my parents were here.

Outside the stadium.

We happened to go on a very special night...they were handing out free Giants Snuggies to some of the first people to get in.
Yep! We got our Snuggies! We had such a fun time with my parents here but I still feel like there is so much to show them...can't wait for next time!

For Memorial Day we headed home so I could give Burgundy a baby shower before she moves to Chicago. Tara and I and our moms threw it at my house and it turned out so great.
The setup
The food
She's having a girl, can you tell?
Everyone who was present posing in front of all the super cute outfits she got.
The friends. I love these girls!
Me and Burgs. Still having a hard time believing she is pregnant. It really threw me for a loop every time I looked at her, but so excited!
The onesies we decorated for Baby Girl Heiner.

Also while we were in Utah we celebrated Hollie's birthday
Nathan thought it would be funny to put the exact amount of candles on her cake.
That was a bright cake! It was fun being there to celebrate with the family.

After we got back from our trip we were able to spend a few weeks at home and it was so nice.
We got to go to Summer's ballet recital. She did such an awesome job! So adorable.

We also had the chance to go to Napa Valley for a couple of days. Neither Nathan or I had ever been and it is only about 2 hours from our house. It was a very relaxing weekend. We ate in the delicious restaurants, had a picnic in the park, and walked around the quaint towns. We also took a tour of the Robert Mondavi vineyard. I think it is safe to say that neither of us knew anything about wine before our tour and so it was quite interesting.
Nathan posing with the grapes
Me looking out at the vineyard.
Barrels full of aging wine.

It really was fascinating to learn about the process of making wine. It is so detailed. People on the tour thought we were out of our minds when we skipped out of the tasting at the end of the tour but we got what we came for and it was well worth it.

Napa Valley is so beautiful. Wine country looks exactly like you would imagine it and the one sunset we were able to see was breathtaking!
This picture was taken with my phone so it doesn't even kind of do it justice. Just know this sunset was incredible.

The weekend after Napa Nathan and I went our separate ways. He headed to Utah and I headed to Florida with my mom to work and get a relook. Again, we didn't take many pictures, but we did get some new shots of the new Fantasyland! I am so excited for this!

A map of the new plans

And the Beast's Castle was well on its way!...

Since I didn't get my relook until our last day I also got to spend some time with my good friend Pluto. Again, we had camera issues so no pictures, only a video. :)

We also had a great 4th of July in Utah... but that is another post for another day!

Madrid

2011-05-26T20:56:00.001-07:00

Our last, and favorite, stop on the trip was Madrid. We got off the train, dropped our bags off at our hotel and then headed out.
Our hotel was very close to the Puerta del Sol.

After dinner and scouting out the area we headed back to our hotel...
Our room
The balcony in our room was incredible.
This was our view from the balcony.

The next day we had another bike tour scheduled so we headed to that first thing.
I forget the name of this park but it had a great view.
We rode by the Royal Palace

It kind of reminded me of Versailles
Our bike tour also took us to the Plaza Mayor...which was overrun with a car show unfortunately.
Trying to get a picture without the car booths was difficult.

Our tour also took us through Retiro Park

Funnily enough, this building is called the Crystal Palace.
In front of the La Puerta De Alcala arch
Riding down La Gran Via...this got a little tricky.

After our bike tour we decided to get some sandwiches and head back to Retiro Park for a picnic.

This is definitely one of my favorite things we did on the trip

By a pond in Retiro Park
See the rowboats? Our bike tour guide told us that if you ever wanted to get serious with a girl in Madrid you had to take her out on a rowboat. Sounds like a good idea to me!

After our picnic we made our way over to the Prado Museum
Walking to the Prado
Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any pictures inside.
Here we are outside the museum. I told you we had camera issues on this trip. The camera that we ended up buying (from a small store in Barcelona) was not very good so these next couple pictures are dark. (we have since returned said camera)
We walked back to our hotel from the Prado. I had such a hard time remembering the names of places in Spain. We passed....this building, which is something because our tour guide told us it was, but for the life of me I can't remember what. But it was pretty so I wanted a picture. (Anyone want to help me out with this?)
Us with our hotel in the background. (Right underneath the giant Schweppes sign)

The next morning was super rainy. But we got up, put on our church clothes and got on the Metro to go to the temple.
Getting off the Metro stop we ran into these guys! They were coming from the MTC and heading to a park to practice proselyting.

Because of the rain we were late for a session so we decided to do sealings instead. The temple president was on hand to do them for us in English, but just for fun we did some in Spanish too. He then gave us a little tour of the temple and we had lunch in the cafeteria.
In front of the temple.
Nathan in front of the MTC

Such a great way to start off the day!

After the temple the Johnsons wanted to do some more shopping and we wanted to go to the Royal Palace, so we split off for a couple of hours so we could do both.
Outside the building across from the Royal Palace
In front of the palace gardens
In front of the palace
We weren't supposed to take pictures inside so we had to discreetly take this one with Nathan's phone. It was so elaborate inside! Seriously...like Versailles.

After our tour of the palace we headed back to the hotel to meet up with the Johnsons and took the opportunity to get some photos one our balcony.
Seriously, could not get enough of this view.

We then took to the streets
On La Gran Via
We found some delicious tapas and...
some more hot chocolate and churros. Yes that is a giant jug of hot chocolate...we got a deal if we bought it that big.
Meg enjoying the hot chocolate a little too much.

We then headed over to the Medina Mayrit which is a Turkish bath.
We couldn't take pictures inside but here is one that I found on their website. There were three different pools: a cold one, a warm one, and a hot one. It was a heavenly hour and a half.

On our last morning, we went to check out a famous flea market.
It was really just a lot of junk, but interesting to see nonetheless.

So there you have it! If you stuck with me, you are awesome! We had a great time in Spain and will hopefully make it back one day...

Marbella

2011-05-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

Our flight from Barcelona left pretty early so we had the whole day in front of us. We flew into the Malaga airport, rented a car and drove about 2 hours to the Alhambra, close to Granada. So...we weren't all that impressed with the Alhambra. We were told that we HAD to go, so we did, and it wasn't all that great. In all fairness though we were only able to tour the grounds. Because of a lack of planning on our part we weren't able to go in. I don't know, maybe it would have been worth it if we had?!
Nathan and I at the Alhambra
Megs and I. Don't get me wrong, the grounds were quite beautiful, just probably not worth the drive.
A false depiction of our feelings on the Alhambra
We got some girls from San Francisco CA(!) to take this picture for us. What are the chances?
We only paid for one audio guide so Harv played tour guide for the rest of us while he listened.

Walking back to the car... a more accurate depiction of our feelings on the Alhambra.

That night, despite having gone to a soccer game the night before, Megs and I were good sports and agreed to go to a restaurant to watch the Madrid vs Barcelona game on TV. Apparently it is a big deal.
It was all worth it though because the food was awesome!

The next day we headed to the beach and the pool at our hotel.
The boys played on the beach for a while but right after taking some pictures Meg and I headed to the pool.
We spent the morning and a good part of the afternoon here. It was fantastic.

After we had had our fill of the sunshine we got dressed and headed into old town Marbella.
It was the cutest little town with lots of small streets and little shops.

They even had an old castle up on the hill.
A lot of the houses were growing flowers on them, so cute!
We stopped at a little place and got some churros and hot chocolate to share. That hot chocolate was THICK. Apparently the thing to do is dip the churro in the hot chocolate....it was a good thing to do.
I won't take the time to explain this here, just thought it was interesting. Same logo and everything!
We found a restaurant in Marbella to eat at that night. The pasta Nathan ordered literally changed his life it was so good. (oh, and ignore the napkin on his neck, we were experimenting.)
After dinner we had a little fun with the water bottles they gave us. I think the people next to us were a little bugged.

The next day we headed into downtown Malaga to go to the Picasso Museum since we weren't able to go to the one in Barcelona. It was a small museum but that was just fine by us. We saw some of the more famous paintings and were completely satisfied.

The inside of the museum was very pretty.

Once we were done at the Museum we got some lunch and then had to head for the train station to catch our train to Madrid.
Downtown Malaga
Me with the lovely rental car before returning it.
We got to the train station super early and had some time to kill. So the boys went bowling and Megs and I went shopping.
Us on the train ready for Madrid!

Barcelona

2011-05-23T09:55:00.005-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we got back from a fabulous vacation to Spain! We took over 500 photos and so this blogging thing was super difficult. To make it easier on myself I broke up the posts into the three places that we traveled: Barcelona, Marbella, and Madrid. Please keep in mind though that I not only keep this blog to share with our family and friends that we don't live close to, but I also keep it as a kind of journal for us. So, with that said, there will be a lot of pictures...don't say I didn't warn you!

We started off the trip in Barcelona...

So, the night before we were to leave for Spain Nathan and I flew home from a friend's wedding in Utah. It was a little hectic and Nathan accidentally left our camera on the plane. (We have since located said camera) I wasn't really upset, but I was a little frantic because we were leaving and needed a camera! So once we got to the airport we stopped into a shop and bought a camera on the spot. Seen here:
We got ten steps out of the store and realized we didn't want the camera. This was to be the first in a long string of buying and returning cameras on this trip.
I was so worried about the camera that I put my shirt on inside out.
After 16 hours of traveling, we made it to Barcelona!
Nathan has been waiting 7 years to get that Spain stamp in his passport.

We got a cab and headed straight to our hotel:
It was small, but nice

I know it may seem weird that I included a picture of the shower in this post. However, if you had ever been in this shower you would not think me weird. It was pure heaven.
This was an interesting feature and it took us a good minute to figure it out. You had to put your key in this slot to turn on the lights in the hotel room. Very environmentally friendly.

After a very quick cat nap we hit the streets of Barcelona

We started the trip off with a 4 hour bike Tour
Here we are with our bikes
The Johnsons with their bikes
Nathan in front of the Palace of Catalan Music
Spain's Arc de Triomphe
Gaudi Fountains

I can't remember the name of the building in the background, but the tour guide sure had some jokes about it
Nathan in front of Barcelona's Bull Fighting Arena

Nathan and I in front of the Sagrada Familia. Just a little background on this church: It was designed by Gaudi (what in Barcelona wasn't?) and construction began in 1882. As you can see by the cranes it is still being built. Our tour guide told us that it is supposed to be completed in 2026 but that if it was he would "be the Queen of England."
Our tour ended at the beach where I bought those sunglasses and we saw some of the first of what would be many of the famous "Barcelona Nudes."
We ended our first day in Barcelona with some famous Tapas and went to bed early. We were e-x-h-a-u-s-t-e-d!

The next day we got up bright and early and headed to the Sagrada Familia, this time to go inside. We thought we would just grab some breakfast on the way there but that was easier said that done. It was about 9:30 am and NOTHING was open. Those Spaniards really do things on their own time schedule. After much searching we found something and made it to the Sagrada Familia before the line got super long.
Nathan, Meg, and I enjoying the outside portion of our audio tour.
Nathan and I in front of the Nativity Scene
The inside of the church was amazing! It was so bright!

If I hadn't heard of Gaudi before visiting Barcelona, I sure knew who he was after. We had to have some sort of commemoration of him...here is Nathan's.

After visiting the Sagrada Familia, we walked...A LOT! We had lunch on the beach and then went shopping and exploring. We had planned to visit the Picasso Museum...but it was closed on account of it being the first Monday of the month. ... ?!?!? I'm telling you, in my next life I am living in Spain!
Uh...wrong country boys. Don't let the language throw you off. The Spanish did not think he was funny trying to order burritos and enchiladas.
We found this cute street on the way to the Picasso Museum (before we knew it was closed). I loved the laundry strung across the buildings.

The next morning we started the day off by touring an apartment building designed by Gaudi.
It was right across the street from our hotel
The top of the building was very cool, it reminded me of something out of a Dr. Seuss book
All of us on top of the building with a view of the Sagrada Familia in the background

Afterwards we had reservations at a cooking class. They taught us how to make tomato soup, spanish omelets, paella, and catalan cream. After we cooked everything we got to eat it...it was really a lot of fun
Here we are cooking up a storm. Meg is making catalan cream and the rest of us are working on tomato soup. I included this picture for only one reason though, and that is the guy standing next to Meg. He had a thing for "Meghan" and kind of became the joke of the trip. He provided us a lot of entertainment so I thought it only fair to include him in the blog.

Nathan and I learning how to peel tomatoes

The boys did very well

Us with the finished Paella
Torching the catalan cream...I found that to be way too much fun.

After we were experts on Spanish cooking we hit the streets again for some more shopping!
Nathan and I on Las Ramblas street
We just liked the name of this hotel...
On our jaunt down Las Ramblas we found La Boqueria Market. It was crazy busy and they were selling some pretty unusual stuff.
The boys by a stand in the market. This spot smelled horrible.
We passed a library and Meg was so upset that it wasn't called a biblioteca. Seriously? What is up with that?
Another apartment building designed by....well you know.

That night we headed up to what we thought was a castle on the top of a hill. Well, it turned out to be a museum but the view from the steps was awesome nonetheless.

Nathan is so happy to be in Barcelona...
We had to climb a lot of stairs (okay and go up a couple of escalators) to get to this view. It was well worth it.
Boys being too cool

We then headed to a Bilbao vs Real Socialidad soccer game. It got a little stressful when our tickets wouldn't let us go in the same door. We decided to split up and Nathan went in a different door. We thought we would just find each other once we got inside but that was way easier said than done. None of us had cell phones and each section of the stadium was blocked off from one another. Finally, with a great amount of prayers and luck, we found each other and were able to enjoy the game. We even got to see a goal! Our night was complete.
I couldn't believe how big the stadium was! Imagine getting separated in THAT! I also couldn't believe how into the game everyone was. Not one eye in that stadium wasn't watching the game and there was NO ONE getting up to get treats or go to the bathroom. It was so different!

This was our last night in Barcelona. We got on a plane the next morning to fly to Malaga/Marbella.

What We've Been Up To...

2011-04-19T15:08:00.000-07:00

Time just keeps on flying by and once again I find myself with lots of pictures to put up. So if you are curious as to what the Barenz family has been up to here it is:

In February we took a quick trip to Utah and got to go to the opening gala of the new Centerpoint Theatre in Centerville. (That's right, I said gala and Centerville in the same sentence...) That was all well and good but we were really there to see Krista in her opening night of Hairspray. She did a fantastic job (as always) and we are so proud of her!
The dress was "Black Tie Optional" and so, unfortunately, I didn't have any place to put a camera. This is the only photo I have of the night, my dad and I dressed in our finest ready to watch the show.

Over President's Day we spontaneously took a road trip down to Southern California with The Crandall's. While we were there Harv and I took a couple of hours and went to visit these little cuties:
I think this photo is hilarious. When we first got there just Mike and Sophia were home and Sophia was asleep so I got to hold her for 2 hours uninterrupted while she slept. It was heavenly.

We really weren't planning on heading to Disneyland on this trip (no really, I swear) but as we were passing the magical place on the way to our hotel Saturday night the Crandall's mentioned that neither of them had been since they were small children. Well, that settled it for me. We HAD to go. Not a want....a necessity. So bright and early the next morning (okay, more like 11:00 am) we headed to the Happiest Place on Earth!

Here we are at the hit ride of the day: Toy Story Mania
Tower of Terror
California Screamin'
Classic Thunder Mountain Pics
Needless to say a magical time was had by all, and on a side note the Crandall's returned to Disneyland not even a month after this experience....I'm just sayin'.

On that happy note, we had to head to the emergency room a couple weeks later because of yet another basketball related injury...
Nathan sprained his ankle pretty badly at the beginning of March and is still hurting from it. Sadly, this could not have come at a more inconvenient time as his work is in the middle of a weight loss competition. This competition has also been a large part of our lives the past couple of months. He weighs in on Thursday...fingers crossed!

In the middle of March we headed to...you guessed it...Disneyland! (again!) Nathan's Mom, Sister and her family were there for Viewmont's cheerleading competition. My mom and little brother were also there, and of course my brother and his family. We had a great time with both of our families.
Nathan and Zoe on Dumbo
We had Zoe for a morning while Libby and Pat made a trip to LA. She was tall enough to ride Big Thunder Mountain so we took her on it for her first time.
How were we to know then that she is a little adrenaline junkie and would LOVE all the big rides, with Space Mountain being her favorite. It's always the quiet ones.

It was pretty rainy one of the days we were there. But we didn't let that get us down...
We put on our Mickey ponchos and kept going!
I love this picture of Andy...Just enjoying the ride on Dad's shoulders in the rain.
Even Sophia stayed and braved the rain.
On a drier day: David, Nathan, and I on Thunder Mountain.

Nathan also took a trip to Goofy's Kitchen with his family while I stayed and played in the park with mine.
So fun!
I was not there for this, but apparently Scout was tired and found Nathan's lap more than suitable for a nap.
Had to post one last pic of Sophia...in her super cute hat!

After 3 days of Disney with our families Nathan and I rented a car and drove to San Diego for a couple of days. He had to work so I passed the time nicely strolling around the city. Too bad there are no pictures to prove it, you will just have to take my word.

We have also had some fun at home the past couple of months. Including events such as:
Going to see Justin Bieber in 3D! Don't pretend like you don't like him. Even Nathan came out of the movie a fan.
Snapped this hilarious pic of Johnson at the movie theatre. I can't get over his face.
We are ready!

We also got a groupon back in October to a session at iFLY! There were going to expire so we headed out a couple of weeks ago to use them and were not disappointed. What a fun adventure that was!
Here I am demonstrating proper flying techniques...and there is Johnson jumping in my photo.
Nathan and I have got this thing down.
The entire iFLY group.

2 Weekends ago we headed up to the City to go to a Giants game and see the team get their World Series rings and got to take some pictures in the dugout before the game:

We then met up with the Crandall's...
...and headed up to a box suite where we ate entirely too much good food. I think they laced their caramel popcorn with cocaine.
Here are the Crandall's enjoying said popcorn. It was a great night and we are looking forward to a great season! Go Giants!

And, of course, this time of year would not be complete without a little Easter Egg dying. We had the Johnson's over last Sunday and we did just that. (To minimal complaints from the boys)
Our dyed beauties
Thanks for sticking with me...Stayed tuned for more exciting adventures sure to occur in the next couple months!

HAWAII

2011-03-04T14:19:00.001-08:00

Okay so the reasons why this blog is so late are two fold. 1) There were A LOT of pictures to sift through, not that I did a great job of that because there are A LOT of pictures in this post, but it still was daunting. 2) Looking at these pictures still makes me sad that this trip is over. In the middle of January we headed to Turtle Bay on Oahu with Nathan's family and we had a blast! Here are the pictures:
This picture was literally taken right on our back porch. That was what we woke up to every morning. *sigh* Take me back!
On the first night we were there it got super windy so we stepped outside to take some pictures of it. Notice the crazy hair...
See? Windy.
On Sunday morning we woke up and went to a farmer's market in a little town nearby. It was fun looking around and sampling all the local products.
After the farmer's market we took our first (of several) trips to Matsumoto's to get shaved ice. Please excuse the lack of make-up and my crazy hair...I was in Hawaii after all.
Enjoying our shaved ice.

The next day we headed over to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. The little kiddies were super excited to go through the maze, which is the largest in the world.
Here we are in front of the sign. Sadly, we did not get all the way through the maze. It was very hot, but interesting nonetheless.
I liked this post that they had showing the distance and direction of major cities. We were far from home.
Everyone inside the maze

We then got on a little train that took us around the plantation.
Us on the Train
Brooke, Max, Scout, and Zac. I'm gonna be honest, the train ride was not the most interesting thing, but we managed to make the most of it.

We finished off the trip with some Dole Whips. We certainly ate well in Hawaii...that is for sure.
Here is Lindsay's sweet ride for the vacation. Max and Zac were thrilled when they got to ride in it.

The next day we headed to Pearl Harbor
Me at Pearl Harbor
Nathan and Hollie

We watched a video and then got on a boat that took us out to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial.
Oil still leaking from the U.S.S. Arizona below the memorial.
Me at the memorial
Nathan-it was more difficult than you might think to get this photo...this spot was really crowded.
We took the scenic route back to Turtle Bay from Pearl Harbor and stopped at the Temple for a quick picture.
One of my favorite things we did on the trip was hiking up to Waimea falls. It was about a mile hike and ended at a waterfall where we went swimming.
Max and Zoe taking on the hike...I love this picture.
Scout is also ready for the hike.
At the falls.
We finally got in! The water was FREEZING! This is a nice action shot, there just wasn't one of all of us looking at the camera.
After the falls we headed to, where else? Matsumoto's to get some more shaved ice. I just love this picture of Nathan and Scout.

There was supposed to be a big surfing contest the week we were there but was canceled because the waves weren't just right. They were, however, extremely large. We ventured out one day to take pictures of them.
No this wave isn't particularly large, but the ones before and after it were. It was difficult to get a picture with a good one. Also, ignore Nathan's sunscreened face, there wasn't one without it. :)
There is a big wave.

Of course, the trip was also full of games...

Swimming...
And beach time!
I love this picture of Scout just laying out by the beach.

On our last full day we got the chance to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center. On the way there we stopped at the temple again to get a few pictures.
The kids in front of the temple.

Once we got to the PCC we had a little bit of time to kill before the Luau so we saw a few of the shows and went on a boat ride.
Nathan, Hollie, and I on the boat
Here is the illegal picture I took. I almost didn't get it, but we really needed this picture because it was the one time that all (well almost all) of us broke the number one family vacation rule: No Hang Loose Signs in Photos. Whoops! What can I say? We weren't on the Mainland and the guy taking the picture told us to! :)
Libby, Scout, and Hollie at the Luau
Nathan and I at the Luau
Do not be alarmed, but that is in fact a purple roll. It was actually pretty delicious too.
Our table at the Luau.
Max trying on all the leis
Me and Zoe
Ashley and Zoe
Lindsay, Zac, and Todd
After the Luau we had great seats for the show!

This trip was so much fun! I really am so sad that it is over, but look forward to many more trips like this to come...

Very Merry

2011-02-10T18:25:00.000-08:00

Yay! A Christmas post!...It is just my way of trying to keep you merry all year long. Another post in the line of catching up I have to do. So without further ado, I give you our merry making festivities:

We were lucky this year and were able to get to Utah an entire week before Christmas. We wasted no time and immediately had a Christmas party with all of Nathan's friends. We headed up to Huntsville where we ate soup, played Bunco (That's right, we all played Bunco), and the boys formed a rock band. Proof:
I love this photo so much. They were so into it. Sadly, I have no pictures of the ladies, but we all had a great time and can't wait to make this an annual event.

A couple nights later we had a Christmas get together with my friends at Tara's humble abode:
I love these girls! Unfortunately, we didn't think to take a picture until after Morgan and Burgundy left. :( Next time we shall do better. Just because it would be a shame to not show their smiling faces here is proof that they were there:

Burgs and Trev... (And Dan, seeming to be in the middle of a very interesting story)
Morgan and Andy...and Tara and Dan. :)

It just wouldn't be Christmas without a trip to Temple Square to view the lights.
It was raining and was a little different without some snow, but the lights were lovely just the same.

We spent Christmas Eve with my family this year. We started the festivities with some gingerbread house making. Here is ours:
Pretty fancy, eh?

Then Santa came and told all the children some wild stories about how there is more than one Santa and he is the Santa for Hawaii, California, and Utah. Um...it was weird and there was some damage control to do after he left. But he did leave us some pretty great pajamas...
Gotta love 'em...
..."Bob" sure did!
We were so lucky to be able to have Grandma Steed at our Christmas Eve this year. It was so great to have her there and have her join in on the fun. Zeus (small white dog in the photo) absolutely LOVED her!
The Steed family is now at a whopping 4 girls out of 13 grandchildren... and here are the little beauties in their Christmas jammies.
We did the impossible and gathered the whole clan for a photo. And it actually is a pretty good one.

That night we went to sleep at Nathan's house. We ended the night driving with Hollie around looking at all the Christmas lights and drinking hot chocolate.

We woke up the next morning and headed over to see Nathan's nephews and nieces open their presents:
Scout on Christmas Morning (isn't she precious?)
Zac helping Zoe open her presents
Cute little Zoe opening presents
Nathan did a great job with my gifts this year. I used that decorating pen 3 times just while we were in Utah. It is so much fun!
And this is what I gave him, a new tie from Express and a picture of us to go in his office.

Okay, I have a confession. Even though we took these pictures on Christmas morning we actually cheated and opened our presents from each other on Christmas Eve. We just couldn't wait!

That night we opened presents with Nathan's family...

...and then headed back to my house to see what everyone got for Christmas.
Hayden got a doctor set. He takes this very seriously.

Actual conversation with Hayden right after this picture was taken:

H: So what seems to be the problem?

L: Um...I have a sore throat and my ear hurts.

H: Is this real or pretend?

L: Pretend?

H: (gives stern look)

L: Oh! It's real...

H: Good, cause I don't like to waste my time on pretend patients!

He cracks me up.

This is what Krista got for Christmas:
He is very cute and she named him Mowgli.

The day after Christmas we we went to my parents house for Sophia's blessing.
She is the sweetest thing...

We spent the rest of the week eating, playing games, watching movies, eating, going to the cabin, shopping, and of course, eating. We also got to do something neither of us had done in a while. We went sledding! It was lots of fun, and a lot of work. I'm pretty sure I was carried up the hill when I was younger cause I don't remember that part of sledding.
After we were done...it was very cold.

We spent New Year's Eve with Nathan's friends at Brandon and Rachel's house.
This is how baby Boston spent the last little bit of 2010 :)
Last picture of 2010...literally taken about 15 seconds until 2011. It was a bit chaotic.
First picture of 2011
And, of course, the best way to ring in a new year is with a nice big smooch! We are excited for 2011 (even though we are now a month into it) and the fun we will most definitely have!

Ps: One more post til I am all caught up! Next up: Hawaii!

Flashback Friday: Tami the Nanny

2011-01-28T15:04:00.000-08:00

So my old babysitter found this story that I wrote for her when I was about 10 (?). I am guessing around 4th grade. Anyway she posted it on Facebook and now I am sharing it with you. Enjoy my writing masterpiece "Tami the Nanny:"

Apparently I then proceeded to draw some pictures of how her life might turn out. I warn you, it isn't pretty. For some reason I didn't think she would get anything she wanted...

Don't ask me how I knew what "Prozak" was.

So there you have it...Wow I was a weird child. And happily life for her seems to have gone much better than I predicted. Shocking.

Give Thanks: For Disney, Harry Potter, Preschool Programs, and the Beginning of the Holiday Season

2011-01-23T17:06:00.000-08:00

I know what you are all thinking: "Did she just say Thanksgiving?!" Yes, yes I did. I am that far behind. Never fear though, I have every intention to catch you up. (I know you were getting worried) So to start off we begin with our trip to Florida that occurred the week before Thanksgiving. Nathan and I went and hung out with my cousin and his family and then when they left my mom and sister joined us. But I will stop talking about it and show you instead...

We started the trip off with a visit to the Hollywood Studios where we met Woody. I made him cry when I asked him how Bo was, completely forgetting that they were no longer together in Toy Story 3. Whoops.
This is me apologizing profusely. He eventually got over it.

We had lunch at the Prime Time cafe where Meg was fascinated with the presentation of the dessert menu.
Had to watch the Jedi Training Show. Laila was riveted. She sat like this the entire time, holding Nathan's ear, of course.
After the show we got a special meet and greet with the cast. My first time meeting Vader.

Before we said goodnight to the Studios we had to take a walk through the Osbourne Family's Spectacle of Dancing Lights. Always a hit...

We ended the evening at Ohana's (yum!), where we met up with Tiny
It felt good to have these two together again, if only for one meal.
Meg and I getting into the spirit of it all.

The next day I spent some time with my friend Snow White while the others played in the park.
They came to visit though...

After I got off work I headed to the Magic Kingdom to join everyone at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.
Laila Boogs and I watched the parade together and she was still sporting her kiss from Snow White.

After the Christmas festivities we sent the parents and smaller children home so we could play some more.
This might be the greatest picture of the trip...riding on Thunder Mountain.

Someone in this photo is a dance major...I'll let you guess which one.
The Christmas lights on the castle were spectacular.

And so we said goodbye to the Young crew and hello to the Steed girls. We spent the first evening eating around the world at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.
At this point I had eaten far too much delicious food, but it was oh so worth it.

The next day was especially exciting. We headed over to Universal's Islands of Adventure to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! It was quite possibly the most magical experience I have had outside of a Disney park.
On the Jurassic Park Ride. We hadn't quite gotten to Harry Potter yet and the tension is building.
Da da da da! That's right folks, Hogsmeade.
We sampled some Butterbeer unaware of the ridiculous foam mustache it leaves behind, but we simply didn't care...it was that delicious.

Hogwarts, and one of the greatest rides of all time.
Saying goodbye, until next time!

The next day we had to say goodbye to Nathan and me, my mom, and Krista all headed to the Christmas Party once again.

This time, we were dressed for the occasion.

After all that fun it is hard to believe there is more, and yet, somehow there is. I headed straight from Florida to Utah for Thanksgiving and Nathan joined me a day later. This portion of the vacation consisted of the following activities:

Max, Zac, and Zoe had a Preschool program complete with songs and a total of 4 costume changes...

It was pretty great.

We also got to meet the Flammer's little peanut baby Boston for the first time and fell in love.

And of course, we enjoyed a beyond fantastic Thanksgiving dinner with Nathan's family.
The cute place settings
Ready to eat.

After Thanksgiving we headed up to my cabin to hang out with my family and some little cuties.

Example:

We also got lots of time with baby Sophia!

Alright, I feel as if we are off to a great start on the catch up thing...

A Gleeful Moment

2010-11-20T07:23:00.000-08:00

Anybody else love this as much as I did?

Happy Halloween...

2010-11-07T16:43:00.000-08:00

From Peter and Tink
Meeting Galinda at the Ward Halloween Party
Playing "Pin the Lips on the Witch" also at the Ward Halloween Party
Going Trick or Treating
The boys were there too.

We hung out with some cute Trick or Treaters...

Carved Pumpkins
And visited the most haunted of Mystery Houses (Winchester) at night armed only with flashlights and some super cool friends. (The Johnsons and the Crandalls)
It was very spooky...
And one more photo of our Halloween costumes to hold you over until next year!

The Longest Post of All Time

2010-11-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it is already November and the holidays are here! These past two months FLEW by. We haven't been home a lot the past couple of months and we did a whole lot of fun things that I have neglected to blog about. So here we go, another marathon blog post!

At the end of August I headed to Florida by myself and James came out to visit Nathan while I was gone. Against my better judgement they went surfing at Pacifica. (I am very afraid of Sharks) The weekend after they went surfing a Great White Shark was spotted at the exact same beach they had been on...
Nathan ready to hit the waves Good Lookin' Surfers

Over Labor Day weekend we headed home to Utah for the much anticipated Fantasy Football Draft. That weekend Nathan got the opportunity to go with Steve to the BYU opening football game. They were honoring past quarterbacks so Steve had to go on the field at half-time and Nathan tagged along.
On the field
Steve and the kids at the game

A couple weekends later Nathan had to go on a few business trips and then was going to have his friends come visit to go to a football game so I decided to head home for all that stuff. I spent a week in Utah and it was a lot of fun being with my family and friends and not having much of an agenda. While I was there my brother Mike who had been living with my parents for a month was leaving with their family to move to Southern California. Aubrey and Elise came over the night before they left to say goodbye and I got this cute pic:
These cousins love eachother so much. Right after this picture was take Aubrey (second from the left) started crying and apparently continued to cry long after she went home...so cute.
Also while I was in Utah we took the opportunity to do some Princess Tuck-ins. Anybody reading my blog is possibly a little tired of Princess pictures so feel free to skip over them. I want them on here for me but you are not obligated to look at yet more Cinderella pictures. :)
The first house I went to was my neighbor Marion's. She had her grand-daughters over and had set up a little tea party for us.

Princess Hugs
We then headed over to my other neighbors house to visit their grand-daughter Abbey.
We read a story together

She then decided to put on her Cinderella dress and we turned on Sound of Music and danced for a little bit. She was so adorable!
We then headed to the Bruce's house to visit their daughter Camilla. She was a little shy but oh so cute.
Mom had to get in the pic or it wasn't going to happen.
Saying Goodnight!
The next stop was Travis and Liz's house to visit Baylee on her birthday. She was having a Princess birthday with the whole family and was very surprised when Cinderella showed up.

A picture with Uncle Val and Aunt Shauna

After saying goodbye to Baylee we went on our last stop to a family up the street. They were going to Disneyland in a couple of weeks and I got to break the news to the kids!
They were super excited!

After Nathan got done with his work trips his friends came to visit the Bay Area.
James, Brandon, Nathan, and Brick by the Golden Gate.
Taking a bike ride around the Google campus
While they were visiting they got to go to a Monday Night Football Game
The boys at the game...love the shirts
The Boys meeting Joe Montana. Let's play "Where's Brandon?" Apparently there is a very funny story behind this picture because Harv laughs everytime he sees it.

The weekend after I got home from Utah we headed down to Southern California. Matt and his family were going to Disneyland on vacation so Nathan and I, Mike and Audrey and their kids, and my mom and dad decided to go too!
We stayed at the Grand Californian hotel and this is the view we had off our balcony. So the first night we were there we watched World of Color from our hotel room!?
The next day we woke up and headed to California Adventure
Andy so excited to go to Disneyland
We were excited too...
And so were Mom and Dad!
Mike and Andy ready for Muppets.
Logan and Justin playing at lunch. Mom and I on the Jungle Cruise
Nathan and I on the Jungle Cruise
Andy, Hayden, and I trying to pull the sword from the stone.
That night we saw World of Color for real and it was AMAZING!
Nathan and Justin decided to unwind that night by playing a couple of games on the iPhone. (I love this photo)
The next morning we got up early ready to do it all again. We started the day off with a the most random character breakfast. We met Meeko, Chip and Dale, and Kenai and Koda from Brother Bear...yeah, random.
Andy and Hayden with Meeko.
Justing and Logan with Chip
Logan and I at breakfast.
After breakfast we went into Disneyland
Hayden and I waiting for the Nemo ride
Andy with Grandma Peggy on the Nemo ride
Halloween is by far my favorite time to go to Disney and at Disneyland they turn the Haunted Mansion into Nightmare Before Christmas (my favorite Halloween movie)
Nathan and I in front of the newly decked out Haunted Mansion.
I was really excited to see Jack and Sally, and everyone else must have been as well because the line was super long. I decided to just take a picture from afar...
Eating one of my favorite Disneyland treats: a massive chocolate covered rice krispie treat. Yum!
My dad is known as the "Fast Pass Man" (refer to previous post) becuase he loves to get as many fast passes as he can. He will dissappear several times throughout the day in pursuit of more fastpasses. We rarely use all of them. In this picture we were only in the middle of the day and he had a grand total of 52 fast passes!
My dad was also very resourceful on this vacation. Justin was too short for all the big rides so my dad made a trip to Wal-Mart and bought him a pair of shoes and some flip flops. He cut up the flip flops and then super glued them to the new shoes so that Justin would be a couple of inches taller. They were successful and Justin got to ride on all the big rides! Good job Dad!
Justin trying out his "Disneyland Shoes"
The next day we had to go home, but before we did we went back into the park. Big mistake. It was 110*! We stayed for about 3 hours and went back to the hotel.
Saying goodbye to Disneyland...and the intense heat!
Whew! That was a lot of Disney...what? You haven't had enough?! Well neither had we apparently because two weeks later we went back to go to the Halloween Party. My parents were supposed to come with us but at the last minute they couldn't make it. Since they were an intricate part of our costume idea we decided to not dress up this time :(, but went and had fun anyway!
Nathan ready to go on the spooky Space Mountain.
Unfortunately, Space Mountain was broken down so we decided to head over to the Autopia while we waited for Mike and Audrey to get there. I was surprised to learn that Nathan had never been on the Autopia we we had to document his first time:

My Autopia Driver's licsence: they deemed me competent enough to drive their cars on a track.
We then headed over to the rockets aka "Nathan's favorite ride"

After we went on the rocket's we were joined by Indiana Jones and Woody!

We went on Casey Junior...I think it has been at least 15 years since I have gone on this ride.
We got TONS of candy (we ended up throwing it away a couple weeks ago) and had a lot of fun this year! Next year we WILL dress up!
The next day we headed to the beach...
This photo cracks me up...I love this little guy
Hayden found some crabs in the sand and decided he needed to take them home :)
Mike had to work all day the next day and so we decided to head to Universal Studios. It had been a while since either of us had been there and a lot had changed so it was fun to see. We even got season passes since it was the same price as a one day ticket (?) so if anyone wants to go to Universal with us...
Nathan in front of the Simpson's ride
Bart and I...we're both pretty coolWe went on the Backlot Tour and this was probably the coolest thing we saw. The Delorian from Back to the Future
Nice...

So we got home from Southern California and we barely had time to unpack, do laundry, and repack before we were headed off to Chicago! Nathan had to go for work and I didn't want to be left behind so I went along with him. We were also really eager to visit our friends BJ and Angie because they were moving back to Utah the very next weekend. We caught them just in time! The first night we spent with them at their house where their little boy Quintin entertained us with his wonderful singing and story telling. (I will post that later, it is not to be missed) The next day we went to church with them and then we were off to explore the city. I have only been to Chicago once in my life and we were only in the city for a day so this was basically my first experience and it was great!
We started of the excusion with a boat ride down the Chicago river
Me with baby Elise after we parked the car...it is so sweet and it was so fun to meet her this trip!
Quintin and Harv...these guys are best buds. At one point I witnessed a conversation between the two of them that went something like this:
Q: "Harv?"
H: "Yes Quintin?"
Q: "I sure do love you!"
It was so sweet!
Me on the boat in front of the Sears Tower
BJ and Quintin
Angie and Quintin. He thought it was loud when we went under the bridges so he covered his ears.
The whole crew...
After the boat ride we started to walk over to the Sears Tower
We passed this sign on the way...can anyone guess which city we are in? It starts with "Chi" (No this photo was not a mistake, I didn't want the whole sign)
The Allen's at the top of the Sears Tower
Us
They have a new lookout point (well, new to me) at the top where you can step out into an all glass window. I didn't think it would be so bad until I stepped onto it...
I look terrified in this photo, and I was.
There's our feet and the ground WAY below us
Harv and BJ standing in the window
Sadly at this point we had to say goodbye to the Allen family. We had so much fun with them and are so glad we made it out to see them before they moved. Thank to them for showing us around the city and letting us sleep on their couch!
The next day Nathan and I were on our own. We decided to take it easy and ended up walking down the Magnificent Mile.
Me on a bridge on the Chicago river
Our walk took us to Millenium Park where we took some fun pictures with "the bean"

Ok...so we took a lot of pictures with the bean. That night we went to a nice dinner to celebrate both of our birthdays. The next day Nathan was in meetings and so I took on the city by myself. An undisclosed amount of dollars later (I had birthday money) and I would say that I succesfully conquered the Magnificent Mile.

That weekend was my birthday! We had celebrated with Steve and Barb a couple of weeks earlier and because we were celebrating several birthdays at once they gave all of us these...
Beach Cruisers! They rock!
And mine is Pink! We have enjoyed several lovely rides on these bikes since.
On my actual birthday I decided I wanted to do something extra fun so we headed to Great America with the Johnsons and went to their Halloween Party. It was much spookier and had way more pot smoking than a Disneyland Halloween party but we had lots of fun. There were seven different haunted houses and some of them were pretty creepy.
We left our cameras in the car so this is the best photo I got of us on my phone. We are getting ready to go on a roller coaster at this point.
After we got done with Great America we went to the car and ate birthday cake...
It was a great day!
And last but not least a couple of weeks ago Nathan got free tickets to go to game 5 of the playoffs between the Giants and the Phillies. (seriously he might be the luckiest person ever) It was a great night and even though it rained we were nicely covered.
Unfortunately the Giants lost that night...but here is to the World Series!
Wow...for all those who kept with me the entire time you are a trooper, if you didn't I don't blame you. However, I feel much better now that I am all caught up. Sort of...I still have to blog about Halloween...but that is a post for another day! Bring on the Holidays!

A Man of Many Titles...

2010-10-18T18:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my Dad's Birthday...
40* years ago
Now
My dad is a man of many talents and titles...here are some of them:
"Boat Driver"
"Resourceful" or you could also say "Cobbler" for this one. (he made these shoes for my nephew so he would be tall enough to ride the big rides at Disneyland)
"Fastpass Man"
"Ultimate Fisherman"
"Sportsfan"
"Fashionable"...okay, I'm pretty sure we have never reffered to him as fashionable, but I had to put this picture in...
"All-Star Husband"
"Papa"
and of course...
"World's Greatest Dad!"

Happy Birthday Dad! We Love you!

*Numbers have been changed to protect privacy of those involved :)

Flashback Friday: Hey, Look at Me!

2010-10-01T12:26:00.001-07:00

This is my cousin Tara and I with a girl from our dance class at our dance recital. I believe I was in Kindergarten. Dontcha just love those costumes... and our Barbie bangs?! We were making quite a statment. We tapped to a song called "Hey, Look at Me" and we got these snazzy slap bracelets that we got to slap on our wrists at the end. As embarassing as it may sound I did convince my mom that I needed to wear that costume to Kindergarten one day and put up a fight until she let me. That was probably a more embarassing day for her than it was for me, but hey, I liked the purple spandex!

Thanks to Aunt Shauna for the photo :)

Today...

2010-09-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

...is this handsome boy's birthday!

He turns 26 today and I am not there to share it with him! However, he will be spending his birthday evening doing this...
with some of his best friends. So, don't feel too bad for him. When I get home we will celebrate properly. I don't believe I am one to get mushy over my husband on my blog, but it is his birthday and I just have to say that he is the greatest (no battle)! He works hard at his job, tells me he loves me and thinks I am beautiful everyday (several times), loves to have fun and have adventures with me, helps with dishes, vaccuums, does his own laundry, and is incredibly handsome! I just don't think it gets any better than that!
I am a lucky, lucky girl! Happy Birthday Nathan!

Flashback Friday: High School Musical

2010-09-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

Back before Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens were singing and dancing in the Disney Channel movie, I was singing and dancing in my High School Musical...and it was awesome! Yes, I guess I am openly admitting to the blogging world that I did musical theatre in high school and I guess I will take whatever teasing comes from me admitting that. Anyway, today I am at home in Utah and was looking through my mom's old pictures and came across these ones from Beauty and the Beast my senior year. This show was SO much fun and I couldn't help reminiscing as I scrolled through the photos. See for yourself:

Now you're wishing you had been there, huh?

Entertainment Weekly

2010-09-07T21:54:00.000-07:00

Nathan and I have indulged ourselves in a little guilty pleasure this Summer, that guilty pleasure would be...

Yes, we are coming clean. We are officially Big Brother fans! It's not neccesarily the most quality of TV shows, but it sure is entertaining. We are coming down to the wire and are down to the final four. Nathan and I both have picks of who we would like to win:
Nathan's Choice:

Pretty Boy Hayden. Yes, he sure is pretty. However, I find myself rooting for this guy...
Lara's Choice:

Tough Guy Lane
Now you can judge all you want, but I dare you to find another show on TV in which the contestants are forced to use sock puppets whenever they talk for a whole day. A particularly funny episode:

There, I said it, I am addicted to Big Brother. Wow, that feels good to get off my chest.

In other entertainment topics in the Barenz family, last week we watched the Emmy awards. I had mostly put it from my mind until I was browsing through my People magazine on the elliptical this afternoon and was reminded of my favorite dress of the night. I often fantasize about being a bigtime movie star and dream about what I would wear to the awards shows. Well, after watching the Emmy's last week I would like to think it would be something like this:

Claire Daines wins best dressed of Emmy night in my book and I loved this dress so much I considered it blogworthy...so there it is, what I will look like when I accept my Oscar.

My Mom is Awesome...

2010-09-04T11:53:00.001-07:00

...and today is her birthday! Happy Birthday to the greatest mom/best friend a girl could ask for!

Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer...

2010-08-31T14:57:00.001-07:00

Well, another Summer has come and gone. I can't believe today is the last day of August and that tomorrow it will be September! Where did the Summer go?! We sure have had a great couple of months though and now it is time for a recap. Warning: Because it has been awhile since my last post, this one is going to be loooong. So if you are interested in what the Barenz family has been up to, go get a snack or something cuz this may take awhile. :)

We headed home to Utah at the beginning of July for the Fourth and a couple of other events. The first of which was an early showing of Eclipse! I was so excited for this movie and was not dissappointed! Sadly, I could not convince Nathan that this was a movie he needed to see, but I went with my fam and we had a great time! (I did take him a week later after we were back in California with not so great results)
The crew sporting our Twilight best!
Go Team Edward!

A couple of days afterwards we went to Cherry Hill with Harv's sisters and nephews! No matter how old I get, Cherry Hill is still fun and brings back so many great memories...we had a blast!
I think this picture is hilarious. Nathan and Max getting taken out coming down the slide. After this trip down the slide, Max decided he wanted to ride with me. :)
Max and I going down the slide. Our trip down the slide was much calmer than with Uncle Nathan.
Zac got cold swimming in the water so he decided to take a break to soak up some rays.

That night, we had a birthday party for this cute little lady...
Grandma Steed turned 90! It was so fun to get the whole family together and celebrate such a wonderful woman! A year and half ago we weren't sure we would see this day with Grandma and we are so blessed to have her here with us. Isn't she beautiful?!
Krista...and the cake
Mom and Aunt Shauna
Both of my Grandmas. As Krista used to call them: The White Grandma and the Black Grandma. (She was very small and was not aware of the racial implications of those names, but you can see where she came up with it!)
Two little cuties, Elise and Andy at the party
Krista and Baby Logan...and Nathan
Dave and baby Logan
We finished off the party by singing some of Grandma's favorite songs to her! Such a great evening!

The next day we headed up to the Huntsville cabin for some boating.
Elise and I on the boat
Me, Krista, and the little ones swimming in the lake. It took some coaxing but we got them all in there!
On this boating trip, Jake got up on a wakeboard for the first time and he did awesome!

The next day was the 3rd of July on which we celebrated the 4th because the 4th fell on a Sunday. We started the day with the annual "unmissable" viewing of the Centerville Parade with Harv's family. And then we headed up to Mueller Park to make some s'mores!
Harv ready to roast him a mallowMy masterpiece of a s'more
Zoe in her patriotic finest at Mueller Park
After the park we went to lunch and then Nathan and I went up to my cabin to go see fireworks and spend the night.
The next day we continued with the celebrations by having a festive dinner followed by some fireworks with Harv's family.
Brooke decorated the table and it turned out SO cute!
Max in his 4th of July attire
Nathan and Zoe doing sparklers
Us with our sparklers

We headed back to California the next day and that weekend we went to see the Gipsy Kings at the Mountain Winery with Cody and Megs.
Nathan and I
Cody and Megs
I love this boy!! Even though the concert was entirely in Spanish, we had a good time dancing and singing along.

The next weekend we went to another concert. I told Harv at the beginning of the summer that the Beach Boys were coming and that I really wanted to go see them. So Harv, Steve, Barb, Megs, and Cody all decided they would suprise me by pretending to go to get some ice cream one Sunday and instead drove me to the Beach Boys concert! I seriously was so excited! I was pretty shocked at how old they were, but it didn't matter, they still sounded good. It was a fantastic Summer night!
See? Old.
Nathan, me, Cody, and Megs
Megs and I

Another week went by and the next weekend we had a "Harv Day" in which we did some things that he has been wanting to do for a long time. First, we went to breakfast at this fabulous restaurant in the City called Mama's. It has a stellar reputation and so we waited in line for over an hour and a half. But it was sure worth it! We decided that they must lace their jam (oogleberry?) with cocaine. It was so delicious!
We finally got to the front of the line!
Cody and Megs also got to the front of the line, and I crashed their pic.
After breakfast we went to Chinatown, bought kites, and headed over to Crissy Field to fly them. Harv has been talking about doing this since Spring and we finally got around to it. I was a bit skeptical of the idea at first, but it ended up being a lot of fun!
Nathan and his kite
Me and my kite...yes, it had Princesses on it :)
Cody and Megs flying their kites
What a fun day!

At the beginning of August we headed back to Utah to attend my cousin Kelsey's wedding. They got married in the Salt Lake Temple and had their reception at the Chantilly Mansion in Layton. It was a beautiful day and we had lots of fun being with the family!
Cousins! Tara, Angela, and I waiting for the bride and groom.
The boys outside the temple
The Bride and Groom at their reception. Her colors were blue and black and looked so gorgeous!

The next day I got a text message from my cousin Liz asking if I would come do a tuck-in for her daughter Baylee. They were headed to Disneyland and wanted to get Baylee excited. So I got all dressed up and spent the evening with Baylee and her friend.
They were so adorable!

So fun!

The next day we headed down to St. George with my friends and their husbands. The Flammer's were awesome enough to let us use their condo. It was our first trip together as couples and it was quite a success.
We drove down in Uncle Val's suburban with the Thompsons and the Waterfields
We had dinner that night at Texas Roadhouse and sat with Morgs and Andy
After dinner we all went to see Tarzan at Tuacahn.
Nathan and I ready for the show.
The show was alright, not the best I have ever seen and I can see why it didn't last long on Broadway, but it was entertaining nontheless. Would have been a lot better had it been about an hour shorter.
Tara and I got our picture with Kerchak after the show.
The next day the boys went golfing early in the morning and we girls hung out and made breakfast. Then we went swimming and out to dinner at a place called "Panchos and Lefty's." When Kylee suggested this restaurant Tara thought she said "Panchos a Lefty" so it will forever be called this now.

The girls at dinner

Half the boys at dinner
The rest of them...I am happy to say that they all got along great! What a relief!
That night after going to a movie and playing some games we sent the boys to bed and we girls stayed up late just like old times. We played the game "Have you Ever?" and if someone said something they had done that you hadn't done you had to eat a blue gumball.
Our wads of gum were the size of our fists by the time we were done and it made us all a little sick to our stomachs but it was fun nonetheless!
We had a great weekend together and I can't wait for our next trip! Where are we going?

That week Harv had to work in Salt Lake for a couple of days and so we stayed and hung out. My Grandma had tickets to the Lion King at the Capitol Theatre and was nice enough to give us two. It was a great show! Again, not my favorite, but I LOVED the scenery and the puppets. Amazing!

Me, Krista and my Mom

Us :)

Whew! I told you that was going to be a long post. Thanks to those who stuck it out to the end. We had a great Summer and are looking forward to Fall!

Lake Powell

2010-06-25T09:47:00.001-07:00

Is there any place in the world more beautiful than this?

In my opinion, there isn't. Last week I got home from a fantastic week in Lake Powell with my family. Unfortunately, Harv couldn't go because of work, not that he is sad about it (ya...weird I know). I LOVE Lake Powell. My family has been going almost every year since I was three and it is absolutely one of my favorite places of all time. Because of getting married, jobs, school, etc. I haven't been able to go for the past three years so I was pretty excited to go this year. Here are some pictures from the trip...
My dad taught me how to drive the boat and I took those girls on that tube behind me for a serious ride. They couldn't handle it and requested that my dad drive again. I am not sure to take this as if I was really good or really bad at driving the boat.
I got on the tube with the teenagers...I know, I'm brave.
Tube ballet
We had a couple of themed dinners throughout the trip, the first of which was Hawaiian night.
Dinner on Hawaiian night
Me, Krista, and Whitney
Erica, Laura, Krista and I discovered a new way to wear a life jacket while washing your hair. It is much more convenient.
Lather, JUMP!, rinse, repeat.
The teenage girls and I were in charge of dinner the next night and the theme was, (what else?) Twilight! :)
Dinner on Twilight night
My dad doing an excellent job of displaying the Twilight dinner table.
The red velvet cake I made for Twilight night
The boys did a lot of fishing, here is my cute dad cleaning a fish they caught.
Baby Logan ready to go on the boat
Mom, Me, and Justin on the boat
My mom and I
Justin in his cool shades
Me and Dave
Me and Kris
A picture of the houseboat taken from the boat.
I sunburnt my lips and one morning I woke up and the bottom one was HUGE! This picture was taken after I iced it so it had gone down it a bit, but for a while there it was pretty funny looking.
Here is our mode of transportation...nice huh? This picture was taken right after we got home. Directly after taking this picture I went inside the RV to grab a particularly heavy bag and twisted my ankle coming down the steps with it. Incidentally this was right as Harv was pulling up to come get me. We had a tearful renunion...but not because I was happy to see him. (Don't get me wrong, I was happy to see him, but my ankle hurt REALLY bad). So we called our friend Dr. Mark, found out he was working at Pioneer Valley hospital that night and ended up here...
He thought it would be a good idea to x-ray it, so we did. Nothing was broken but it was sprained so they gave me some pain meds and an ankle brace and that was that. Not the greatest ending to a vacation, but Lake Powell was fun nonetheless!

Beaches, Birthdays, and lots and lots of Disney...

2010-06-21T16:16:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day Megs, Cody, Harv, and I decided to take a very last minute road trip down the coast to Southern California. We stayed in the Anaheim Marriott in the same hotel room to keep things cheap. That was an adventure all by itself. On top of that adventure we went to the beach, Disneyland, and LA. Here are the pics...(In keeping with Barenz and Johnson tradition, there are a lot of them)
The first day was spent at Newport Beach where we enjoyed the warm sunshine!

Megs and I laying out. Does anyone else want to start singing Ebony and Ivory when they see this photo?
The boys were playing with the frisbee so I took the time to construct this.
While we were at the beach we met up with one of Cody's friends from high school who lives in Southern California. He brought along a couple of his friends and we all went to eat delicious crab.
Us at the restaurant...don't mind the way we look, we had just spent the day at the beach afterall.
The next day we went to (where else?) Disneyland!!
Our day at Disney consisted of the following activities...
Picture at the front of the park
Meeting with the boss
Picture in front of California Adventure
Riding Tower of Terror (not really sure why Harv and I found it neccesary to make hand signals for the photo...spur of the moment decision and I'm not afraid to admit it was a bad one)
Riding Splash Mountain
Making funny faces on Splash Mountain. (If you can see past the numbers, Harv's face is PRICELESS!)
Documenting our trip on Thunder Mountain
Helping Buzz defeat Emporer Zurg...well Harv helped more than I did
Attempting to emulate the famous mouse
and eating dinner at the Blue Bayou!
Just another great day at Disneyland!
The next day we drove to LA on our way home and bought a star map. After stalking a few celebrity homes and eating lunch we made the drive back to Northern California.
Here we are stuck in the holiday traffic out of LA.

The next weekend was this little cutie's birthday!

She had a Princess birthday party and Cinderella showed up!
I had to put this picture on here cuz I think it is hilarious. All the girls were in that back house and didn't know I was there until they came out and saw me sitting in the house across the lawn. They all started running and I crack up evertime I look at the face on the little girl in the Ariel dress. So cute!
Cinderella and Laila

Meg was the official birthday photographer. We took pictures at the beginning of the party and then Meg printed them out and put them in frames that she had made. She was running around like a chicken with her head cut off to get them done in time but they looked so cute!
This party was so fancy! I had a fun time being there and celebrating with Summer...I can't believe she is FOUR!

Recent Weekend Fun

2010-05-23T11:32:00.001-07:00

So...even though I thought I was caught up on my blog, I was looking through some photos and realized there was a lot I missed, mostly things we have done during the weekends, hence the title. So here are some fun things we have participated in on the weekends during the past few weeks all lumped into one post! Warning: this could get lengthy...
For a really long time our friend Megs has wanted to go eat crab at a restaraunt where they make you wear bibs and give you a whole bunch of crab that you have to crack yourself. A few weeks ago, we found just such a restaraunt...it was lots of fun and we ate lots of delicious crab.
Here we are at the restaraunt.
We also took a trip to the Oakland Temple one of these weekends but I forget which one.
Here we are at the temple. Once you get to it you have the most beautiful view of San Francisco and the bay.

On another weekend Harv and I got tickets through his work to go to the Opening Day for the Giant's. It was a great day out, even though our seats were in the sun and it was HOT!
Here is Harv after we had moved up a little into the shade. He is holding up the number 15 because that was what inning we were in...yeah...it went a little long.

Harv's mom came to visit us one weekend and we all went to see Conan O'Brien on tour. It was super funny and the comedians that were with him were really funny too, and minimally dirty. So it was a great night out.
Here is the best picture we could get at the show with Harv's iPhone.
The next day we decided to go to the Walt Disney Family Museum in the city. I have been wanting to go ever since it opened in October and I wasn't dissappointed. Being the avid Disney fan that I am, this place was right up my alley.
Me outside the museum
An award Walt got for Cinderella
Walt's Academy Awards for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Early Snow White toys.
We then went down to the water to get a picture with the bridge.
It was a great weekend, we love visitors!

Two weekends ago Harv and I flew home for a visit. My sister had a lead in her school play so I pretty much went home for that. As soon as I got there, I was immediately put on hair and makeup duty...
I think she looked great if I do say so myself.
The show was really cute and Krista was AMAZING! She was a little bit sexy for her older sisters taste (she had to kiss 2 different boys in a not very ladylike fashion) but I was proud of her none the less.
Still a little promiscuous even after the show...
That same weekend David went on his first date to Viewmont's prom.
Me and Dave...doesn't he look handsome?
David and his date Kellie, I can't believe he is old enough to go to prom! But they looked great.
The next weekend was Mother's Day. We started out by going to Oakridge with my family and then went to Harv's house for dinner before we had to get on an airplane.
Here we are at Oakridge

Jack really enjoyed the chocolate fountain.
I don't actually have a picture with my mom on Mother's Day...whoops, but I have the greatest mom in the world, she is my best friend and I am so lucky that I get to be her daughter. We had a great weekend with our families!

And finally we come to last weekend. Harv's mom takes her students on a World Religion's trip to San Francisco every year where they visit churches and cathedrals and museums. This year Pat, Libby, and Zoe came with her so we spent a lot of time in the city with them.
I was watching a show on TLC the other day that featured a bakery in San Francisco called Tartine. We decided to try it out and it did not dissappoint.
Here is Harv with their famous "Tres Leches Cake" Excuse the fancy attire, he had meetings that day in the city and I joined him after they were over.
I got the banana cream tart...looks like I enjoyed it huh?
We went to dinner at Scomas...again with the crab bib.
The next night Pat and Libby went to see In the Heights, so Harv, Hollie, and I took Zoe with us to dinner.
Zoe and I in the car. She didn't like the food at the place we went to so we had to make a stop at McDonalds. We had so much fun with Zoe this weekend! She is such a cute little girl and was constantly making us laugh. I have never seen anyone with a bigger imagination.
After dinner we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge to get some pictures.

It was such a fun weekend and so great to spend it with family!

3 Years!

2010-05-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Harv and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary! I cannot believe that it has been 3 whole years since we got married, and 6 years since we started dating. Time just keeps flying by! These past 3 years have been the absolute best of my life. Sure, marriage definitely has its ups and downs, but in our opinion, that just makes life more interesting. I am not one to get all mushy on my blog and tell you how perfect my husband is...you should already know :)...so I am not going to do that, I am simply going to state that my husband is the absolute greatest and married life so far has been pretty dang FANTASTIC! Okay, with that said here is how we celebrated this momentous occassion...
We started out the evening by going to see this:
Which I thought was really cool, Harv got a little bored and fell asleep, but I liked it!
We then went to a fancy dinner at the Melting Pot...

And went back home to open our presents. Harv and I are traditional and follow the traditional guidlines of anniversary gift giving. This year we had to give eachother leather.

Harv got me a purse that is magnetic so you can switch the outside of it to create a completely different purse. To this present, I have to say, well done Nathan. :)
I struggled to find Harv a gift this year. He has a wallet, just barely got new shoes, there just wasn't anything else that I could think of that was made of leather that would fit within our humble $25 budget. Until I found this...
Harv has found a new passion for throwing around a baseball. It is our go-to Sunday activity. However, he does not own a baseball glove and always has to borrow one...not anymore! He was pretty excited about his gift as well.
Year 3 was a great one. Not sure what exciting events and adventures year 4 has to offer, but we are ready for them!

I'm Thankful...

2010-05-03T13:09:00.001-07:00

for this boy... who is willing to watch TLC wedding show marathons with me while tickling my arms when I'm having an off night. My husband is the greatest, no battle!

Flashback Friday: SO Excited...

2010-04-23T23:43:00.000-07:00

...well, at least I am excited to see Shamu. :)