A Look Back at 2010

I didn't get around to writing a Christmas letter this year. I was too busy. I have a bit of time now that I'd like to use to reminisce about the past year.

Jared

Jared found a new passion this year - running. He competed in two half marathons and was able to achieve his goal of finishing under 2:30. Jared started working for Velocity Webworks in June. He does sales for websites (mostly for quilting companies) and holds the title of CEO. He enjoys his job and works from home 3 days a week. Due to our switch in work situations, Jared has transferred to Western Governor's University to complete his degree in Information Systems. All of his classes are online, allowing for much more flexibility. The system the school runs on is very non-traditional, but Jared is well on his way to graduation.
Jared and I celebrated our 5-year anniversary in October. Thanks to the kindness of my mom, the two of us were able to escape to Southern California for a few days. We had a blast and can't wait until the day that we will be able to afford to go on more trips.

Cambria

Due to budget cuts, I was laid off from my position at SUU at the end of March. I quickly received multiple job offers and was only without work for three days, though. With the change of circumstances, I chose to work part-time and pursue my education full time, so that I can escape being a secretary for the rest of my life. I now have only 5 classes left to complete, looking forward to graduating May 2011 with my Bachelor's of Science in Marketing. This last semester I took 18 credits and earned a 4.0. I'm now in the process of applying to two graduate programs in Denver, Colorado. 
I currently work at the Volunteer Center of Iron County, which has been interesting. I work to recruit, retain and recognize our volunteer base of about 700 people. One the funnest things I did over the summer was to recruit, lineup, and coordinate the Iron County Parade. It was a lot of work, but I utilized a lot of my marketing education.

Being inspired by Jared, I tried my hand at running as well. I ran in a 5k in September and placed 2nd in my age division, lost 10 pounds, and then promptly quit. The only time I could find to run was at 5:30 in the morning and it became impossible to maintain since I had to stay up late to study. Maybe since I'm taking one less class in the Spring I'll be able to start running again...

MJ

MJ has grown and changed in the last year beyond belief. At the beginning of the year, MJ wasn't even walking or talking much. She was still our baby girl! In April, we celebrated her first birthday with a bug-themed party. Soon afterward she began to walk in earnest and now she's unstoppable. MJ can now read very simple books to me, point out about 200 items and name them, count (though not in much of an order), and say a few sentences. She loves to run, jump, splash in the tub and in puddles, color, wrap up her baby dolls, and play in the snow. She's become very opinionated and insists on making all her own decisions.She loves monsters, dinosaurs and anything "scary". She is an absolute joy and we delight in spending every minute with her (even though she's recently started to throw a lot of temper-tantrums). 
A look ahead
We have some exciting changes to look forward to in 2011. We're planning on moving to Denver after I graduate in May. We'll miss being near my family, but there is a serious lack of good jobs in this area. I'm hoping to start my career in marketing while completing my Master's degree. But if things don't work out, then I'll be going to school full-time and be finished in 15 months. 
We just took a quick trip to Denver to tour grad schools, and we're really ecstatic about moving! It's a lovely place with many parks, beautiful scenery, ski resorts, breweries, museums, family activities, and things to keep us busy. Once we're settled into our new place, we invite anyone to come stay with us.
Jared will turn 30 this year (and MJ will be 2)! Family and friends should plan on coming for a visit in April, as I will be planning a big party. I'm open to suggestions about some big, fun thing that Jared and I could do to celebrate as well. I'm thinking something like skydiving...

Christmas Pictures

Our humble Christmas tree. I had fun making snow ornaments for it. MJ had fun dumping all the beads out that I was using to make snow ornaments.

Opening some puzzles. MJ needed a little help, but was way more into opening presents this year than last.

A new monster friend. Yes, my daughter loves monsters, dinosaurs and skeletons.

Hi

The feast of crown roast, wild rice dressing, honey glazed carrots and biscuits that I made. Only took me about 3 hours, but it was delicious.

Our Little Monster

It took a lot of coaxing and bribery to get MJ to put on the hat, but she was the cutest monster for Halloween. She was a bit apprehensive about going door-to-door, until she discovered that people were giving her candy... Once she figured that out we were running to keep up with her.

Distracted her with a book and was finally successful getting the hat on.

All ready to go!

Getting really sticky, but thoroughly enjoying a sucker.

We also recently had family portraits taken. They turned out spectacular. When I get some time, I'll post some of the pictures.

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween!

Proof that we have the cutest girl in the world

As a prelude to this story, whenever Jared puts MJ up on his shoulders, he tells her to hold on to his ears. He'll pop her up there and say "Hold on tight."

So yesterday MJ and I went for a quick trip to the park. There is a fantastic park here with tons of slides, swings, things to climb on, tunnel and so forth. MJ really enjoys it. We went down every slide at the park several times (there are 4 or 5 of them). She enjoyed sliding on her belly backwards through the tunnel. She got very dirty in the wood chips and sand.

MJ's favorite attraction at the park are the swings though. Once she saw the swings she ran over to them, eager to go for a ride. I put her in and told her to "Hold on tight." She immediately grabbed on to her ears. Needless to say, she was a little confused when I had to explain to her, through fits of laughter, that she was supposed to hold on to the swing.

Five Year Celebration!

October 1st marked Jared and my fifth anniversary. And, what a journey it has been! 

I decided years ago that for our fifth anniversary we were going to do something special, so we did. We took a four day trip to Southern California.

We left on Thursday and drove to Long Beach then hopped on a ferry to Catalina. We arrived just as the sun was setting. It was beautiful and the weather was perfect. After having colds for a week, it was just so nice to be able to breathe the oxygen saturated air. We didn't have much time to do anything that night. We just ate dinner, took a walk on the beach and checked into the hotel. 

On Friday (our anniversary) morning, we rented kayaks and went for a paddle down the shore. The water was unbelievably clear and we were able to see many bright orange fish. Jared and I have both lost a lot of upper body strength since training for running events. So, we weren't able to handle kayaking for too long before our arms gave out.

Intrigued by all the fish we had seen, we then rented snorkeling equipment and walked down to the nature preserve. We should have rented wetsuits! The water was a crisp 66 degrees. We thought that once we got in and accustomed to the temperature, it wouldn't be so bad. Needless to say, we lasted about a 1/2 hour before we were both shivering and ready to go. 

After showering and warming up, we wandered around the quaint town of Avalon. We checked out all the little shops and played some mini golf. We had some particularly good food and beer, too. We got on the ferry back to Long Beach in the late afternoon, then traveled to our hotel in Costa Mesa.

That night we ate at Marrakesh, just blocks from our hotel. We had 7 course Moroccan feast and it was beyond delicious! Just thinking about it is making my mouth water again.

On Saturday, we went down to San Clemente for a surf lesson in the morning. We were hoping to learn on some baby waves, but the swell was huge. The average waves were 4 to 5 feet. We got extremely beat up in the surf, but had a ton of fun. Jared and I both were able to stand up and ride in after the second try. My problem was dismounting the board at the shore. I was afraid of planting the nose of the board in the sand, so I'd try to jump off before I got too far on the beach. So, I'd jump and crash and burn in the shallow water. I have some spectacular bruises on my butt, elbows, knees and I think I pulled a groin muscle. At one point the leash got wrapped around my foot while I was being tossed around under water and it felt like my foot was going to be sliced in half. Another time, I came up right under my board and hit my head on the skag. Fun stuff! 

It really was a blast. We both enjoyed it thoroughly. We were just exhausted and really sore afterward.

That night we ate at the Yard House, a restaurant we stumbled upon near our hotel. It had like 100 different kinds of beer on tap. Jared was in heaven and was really bummed he was only able to try two. 

Sunday we hopped in the car for the long drive home. After all the fun we had, we are so tired, sore and ready to relax at home. My mom was kind enough to watch MJ the whole time we were gone. Each time we saw little kids on our trip, I experienced painful MJ withdrawals. By Sunday I was so anxious to get home to her that I didn't even complain when Jared drove like a maniac.
After all that we have been through in our five years as husband and wife, we hope the next five will be a filled with many more good memories, love and happiness. Happy anniversary to us!

Half Marathon Complete... Now What?

After months of training, Jared competed in his first half marathon - the Cedar Canyon Half. And, he did fantastically! He finished in 2:07.


However, his little brother, whose entire training was done in about a week and altogether was about 13 miles, ran the half in 1:35. He placed third in his age division and 36th in the Men's overall.

The Course

Andy Zooming By

Jared Close to the Finish Line

Good job to both of them! Jared is now looking for something else to keep him motivated. Anyone care to run the Snow Canyon half marathon with him in November?

A Bunch of Random Happenings

I'll work my way backwards.

Today, MJ painted for the first time. I captured the experience on video. It's a little long and the commentary is lacking, but if you watch it to the end, it's worth it.

Over the weekend (before fall semester started) I hurried to finish a few projects I've been working on. Here are three paintings, to complete a triptych, I finally finished.

I also made MJ a sock dog.

And, on Saturday I competed in my first ever 5k.The race was held at Brian Head Resort, 9,600 feet in elevation. I placed second in my age division and 10th overall. The trail was really pretty, winding through trees and near a creek. But, the majority of it was steep uphill climbs. I'm still sore from the workout.

Update Before School

I figured that I had better update the blog before I got so inundated with school that I wouldn't have time...

This summer has been hectic. Yet, we weren't able to do nearly as many things as we wanted to. No camping trips, hardly any hiking, few vacations. But, as I was working full time and take 3 classes. It was hard to get away from all the homework.

We were able to make a quick trip up to Idaho to see my Grandma, Aunt Evelyn, Uncle Brian and their family. It was a great trip and did the soul good to see everyone. Pocatello is very pretty.

This past weekend, we drove up North to welcome Jared's mom, Geri, back from Russia. MJ wasn't feeling well and had a really bad, sleepless night. So, we weren't able to stay for very long- just overnight. But it was great to see that she was home safely and to hear her stories about Russia. 

This upcoming Saturday, I will be running in my first 5k. I just hope I don't die. A 5k isn't very long, but this one will be on trails at 9,600 feet. Should be fun!

Jared (along with his sister, brother & brother-in-law) will be running a half-marathon in the middle of September. All I can say is "Good Luck"! The half marathon is in Cedar Canyon and will be down hill the whole way. I opted out since it would put way too much strain on my knees (and I don't have time to train for more than 30 minutes in the morning).

SUU's fall semester starts on Monday. I'll be taking 6 classes (18 credits) this semester while working part time. It will be a real change to go to school full time, but I will be finished with my much Bachelor's sooner. 

Since Jared is now working full time, he has decided to try taking classes through the Western Governor's University. All classes are offered online and are competency-based, rather than credit hour based. The programs are geared towards people that work and already possess some experience, so it should be a good fit. If we can get all his paperwork filed in time, he should be starting in September. 

All in all, we have some good changes coming our way.

Now, to update on MJ. She is as beautiful, silly and intelligent as ever. She is now 16 months old and gets more fun every day. During the fall, I will be able to spend an extra hour with her everyday and I can't wait! She absolutely loves to color (on everything, including herself), read books, splash in the pool, take bubble baths, eat corn on the cob, jump on the couch, dance, pretend to be a monster, play hide and seek, run in the grass and give gifts of rocks. She make us smile with everything she does.

Amazing!

Sometimes MJ just amazes us with her intelligence.

The other night, I was trying to finish some reading for class while MJ was playing in our living room. I was sitting on the couch and to try to keep MJ busy for a minute I asked her if she would give me a block that was sitting on the nearby side table. We have a set of 10 blocks, with 5 colors (2 red, 2 blue, 2 orange, 2 green and 2 yellow).

So, I asked MJ if she could bring me the blue block. She walked over to the stack of blocks, correctly picked out a blue one and climbed up on the couch and handed it to me. Thinking it was luck that she actually picked out the block of the right color, I asked her then if she could bring me the yellow block. She got off the couch, went over to the stack of blocks, correctly picked out a yellow one, climbed back up on the couch and handed it to me. She did this with all 10 blocks, giving them to me or to Jared. It was amazing!

We had no idea that she knew colors, much less that she could identify them so well.

Beautiful Daughter

Here's our beautiful 15-month old girl!

Is it July already?

I know I promised to post some video of MJ... But, I can't get the video to save on my computer. It says I don't have a DVD decoder or something dumb like that. I will eventually figure it out and post the video.
MJ is so darn cute. I love just watching her play, discover and explore. She is very good at climbing on and off the couch, my bed, and the rocking chair. Once in a while she tumbles and has the bruises to prove it. All in all, she's very resilient and keeps trying until she masters whatever she's doing. She amazed me the other day by taking out and inserting a straw into a plastic-lidded cup. I know it sounds dumb, but I couldn't believe that she could be that dexterous and have such good depth-perception.
Any moment that I have free from homework and my job, I try to spend with my little one. She especially enjoys playing outside (and has the tan to prove it), splashing in the kiddie pool, finding bugs, and coloring. Lately she's been pretty grumpy (and cuddly!) because she has three molars coming in. Poor girl! But, generally she's a happy-go-lucky girl that is always on the go. I spend most of my time following her around picking up all the messes she makes. She empties drawers, the DVD cabinet, all the books from her bookshelf, all of the crayons onto the floor, the silverware from the dishwasher...
I am also constantly amazed by how much she comprehends. She can identify and point out nearly all objects in books (for example, we'll be looking at a book and I'll ask "Where is the teddy bear? and she immediately point to it). She can follow simple directions. And, she's starting to identify objects by color. Her vocabulary has increased to about 10 words, in addition to all of the animal sounds she can imitate. On Saturday she said two new words: done and boat. MJ is also very helpful. She'll put trash in the trash can, put clothes in the hamper, help me empty the dishwasher, and wipe off her highchair.
My little girl is growing up so fast! It's exciting and troublesome at the same time. As she gets older she's only becoming more opinionated and harder to catch.
In other news, Summer classes will be over in a month. Business Law is particularly burdensome and I want it to end quickly. I get to enjoy two whole weeks of freedom between semesters and then I'll be taking 18 credits in the Fall! I don't know what I've gotten myself into. Especially since I found out that I need to take the GMAT in early Fall to meet application deadlines for grad school.
Jared switched jobs. He is now working with Velocity Webworks out of St George. He gets to tele-commute most days and is making about $3 an hour more than his previous job. We're really hoping that things will turn out well and he'll be able to get some good experience in web development.
Until next time... Adieu!

Coming Soon

I've been incredibly busy with family, school and daily living. But, I promise to soon post some video of MJ. She does a myriad of animal imitations, including elephant, sheep, cow, pig, lion, dog, cat and monkey to name a few. She also will jump, kick, laugh, hug, kiss and wave on command. Stay posted...

Birthday Girl

I'm a little late blogging about this... but it's been pretty hectic with finals, going back to work full time and everyone's birthdays.

MJ's first birthday was a smashing success. It was a bug theme. We had ladybug and butterfly cupcakes. And, I made a smash cake of a ladybug just for MJ to enjoy. At first she was a little tentative about eating the cake, but after tasting the icing, she dove right in, grabbing handfuls and shoving them in her mouth.

She also enjoyed opening all of her presents. It was hard getting her to maintain interest in opening rather than playing with her other presents. I think her favorite part of the day was riding home in the car from the store with all of her balloons. She was giggling and playing the whole way.

I can't beleive my baby girl is one! She has grown up way too fast. She is now getting a lot more confident with walking and will take several steps before losing her balance. She's suprised us a few times by making it all the way across the living room.

MJ enjoys reading books, singing songs and listening to music, and making constant messes. Some of her favorite foods are yogurt, blueberries, cheese and eggs. She will try to eat just about anything that Jared and I have and really enjoys sharing her food with us too. MJ also likes to make funny faces and give hugs and kisses. She's such a joy to have around. We're thouroughly looking forward to continuing to watch her grow, learn and mature.

We celebrated Jared's birthday recently too. For hating birthdays, I think he still had a good one. Next year we'll have to throw a big party for his 30th.

School is now over for the semester. I suprisingly got an A- in my Business Statistics course. Jared did well, too. We have a 4 week break between semesters before summer semester starts. But, I'm on track to finish my BS in Marketing in Spring 2011- only one more year!

Jared is now working for Ruesch Motorsports as a Web Programmer. He feels he's in way over his head, but is really enjoying the work and is learning a lot. I am working for the Volunteer Center of Iron County. I'll be working full time during the summer and then cut back to part time once Fall semester starts. I'm hoping to use some marketing skills in this position and really grow the program I'm working with.

All in all, things have been pretty good. We're as busy as ever, but there are so many things to enjoy and be thankful for.

Easter & the Park

Our Easter was pretty uneventful. Jared and I had fun coloring the eggs and then later hiding them for MJ. MJ was a champ during the egg hunt. She was very interested in finding the eggs and then promptly throwing them on the floor. It took me about 25 shots to get one of MJ with her Easter eggs. She does not like to sit still.


Later on Sunday, we went to my mom's house for a delicious dinner. I strongly am against ham, so my wonderful mom made us a crown roast. It was heavenly. The Easter bunny left MJ a basket of goodies at my mom's house too! The next day, before I had a chance to put the second basket away, MJ made huge mess with all the Easter grass.


MJ is developing quite the little personality and sense of humor. She thinks she is soooo hilarious and cracks up at her own antics. It's really hard to discipline her when she's laughing her head off.
This past weekend, Jared's parents visited. We had a relaxing weekend and took MJ to the park for the first time, since the weather was somewhat cooperating. MJ had an absolute blast. She was giddy about the trip for days afterwards. She especially enjoyed crawling through the tunnel and going on the swings. Mostly, she just loves spending time outside. Everyday she insists on going for a walk in her stroller. We might be doing something right!

We can't beleive that MJ is almost a year old!! We'll be having a birthday bash for her next Saturday, April 17. Stay tuned for updates. It's going to be a ton of fun.

Blanket

Just a little blanket I made as a gift for MJ's first birthday. It took me two tries, but I think it turned out alright. The first one fell to pieces when I washed it- not really sure why.

11 Months Old

As of Monday, MJ will be 11 months old. Time to get serious about planning her first birthday party! I'm thinking of having a bug theme. I found a really cute idea for ladybug and butterfly cupcakes. I would also like to make MJ her own smash cake. But, I'm having difficulties finding a good bug look and a reduced sugar recipe. (I avoid giving MJ any added sugar, attempting to set her off on a healthy start with food. And, I don't want to give her a sugar-laden cake that will probably make her sick with all it's sweetness.) Any ideas or recipes?

MJ has taken two independent steps. And, she has spoken a few words. She says "ball" and "up". But, the only time she says "up" when she wants to climb up the stairs. She also imitates a variety of animal sounds including barking like a dog, making an elephant sounds and roaring. She is the cutest thing in the whole world! And, no, I'm not biased.

Crawling Maniac

After months of only pushing herself backward, MJ one day decided to crawl forward and now she's unstoppable! I suspected that she was going to skip over crawling all together and go straight to walking, since that's what she's interested in. For weeks all she wanted to do was pull herself up and cruise along the furniture. It really surprised us all around when she crawled right across the room. Now we're in a mad panic to baby proof our house. We've been scoping out and comparing safety gates for a while. But, when we went to Target last weekend, there were none left in store. I ordered some online, but with all the snow back East, they're delayed until next Tuesday! MJ in the mean time has taken quite an interest in the stairs and it's a constant fight to keep her away from them. Several times I've barely caught her before she tumbled head first down the flight of stairs. She's very adept at climbing the stairs too. She can get about halfway up before she tires of it.

MJ also has quite an interest in the dog's food. We only feed Loki once a day, but the dog doesn't chow it all down quickly. Instead Loki goes back and forth from the bowl in the kitchen to the living room and sometimes she won't eat her food at all. MJ watches the dog eating and thinks that the food is for her too. MJ also likes to bark at our dog- or any others that she sees whether it be on tv, in a book or on the street.
For Valentine's day we'll be (hopefully) driving to Kanab to eat at Escobar's. I know... we're real romantics! But, it is pretty much the best Mexican food place in existence.
And, MJ will be 10 months old on Monday!! I've already started to plan her 1st birthday. It will be awesome.

New Painting

Here's a pic of my latest paintings. I've been meaning to do some for MJ's room since she was born. I finally got some time to work on them at the Christmas break. Forgive the crookedness... Jared and I can't hang pictures very well and I also made the canvases myself.

MJ 9 months

Our little one is now 9-months old! I literally can't believe it. The time goes by way too fast.

We took her to her well baby check up and MJ she measures:
Weight- 18 lbs (36th percentile)
Height- 28 inches (75th percentile)

Luckily she did not need any shots this time, so she was stayed a happy little girl.

MJ's top two teeth have cut through- so she has 4 teeth in all. And, to my displeasure, she likes to bite!

MJ is getting increasingly more mobile. She can go from being on her belly to sitting to pulling herself up and then to slowly cruising along the ottoman/couch/legs. She doesn't seem very interested in crawling, though. She would rather sit up and scoot everywhere on her bum. Her favorite activity at the moment is to pull up on our ottoman, turn and fall into me and give me kisses and then turn back to the ottoman. She's happy going back and forth for a good half-hour or so.
MJ is also a pro at waving bye-bye and clapping her hands. She has also discovered that it is fun to feed the dog cheerios and other finger foods. She giggles hilariously at it, so it's hard to tell her "no."
It's so much fun, as a parent, to watch her grow and to see her personality emerge!

Silly Backwards Girl

MJ is trying night and day to master her crawling skills. (Seriously... I go into her room at night and it's noticeable that she crawls around until she gets stuck in a corner of her crib.) I'm sure in a few weeks she'll have it perfect and we'll be madly chasing her around all day. Right now, though, she's doing this awesome stink bug move... it's hard to explain, so check out the video.

MJ's really been working those muscles with all the push ups she's been doing, too!