Last Year at this Time...week 1

WE WERE ON A TRIP OF A LIFETIME. We put our slideshow up, but never explained exactly what we did, so here you go, obviously in the short, not detailed form.

Spencer and I had the opportunity to Backpack through Western Europe for 3 weeks. We visited 7 countries. It was adventurous and amazing. We had great experiences and learned a lot.

Day 1-2: Prauge, Czech Republic. This was one of our top 2 favorites. City of Prague and a statue on Charles BridgeDay 3: Salzburg, Austria. We took the Sound of Music tour, then ate authentic German food (don't recommend either!) Day 4: Munich, Germany. We went to a Nazi Concentration Camp. It was a very humbling experience. This is the large creamatorium. Sad.
Day 5: Rothenburg, Germany. Known for its well-preserved medieval old town. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City. This city is encircled with a large brick wall w/a walkway. Very neat. Day 6: Train ride from Koblenz to Mainz, Germany. We LOVED the riding the trains and subways. Very organized, nice and relaxing.Day 7-9: Paris, France. We saw ALL of Paris here (it felt like). The first day we toured the Catacombs, then rode up the Eiffel tower. The next day we started at the Notre Dame, then over to the Sacre Coeur. From there we saw the Louvre, walked through the Champs-Élysées, then to the Arc de Triomphe. Of course we ended at the Eiffel Tower. (we liked the view from the Arc better than the Eiffel)Stay tuned for weeks 2 & 3 to come

(Click HERE to see more pictures and in full size)

Mr. Potato Head & Big Blue Eyes

We got to hang out with these little cuties!

It's called a ponytail

And I LOVE it!!

Proud

My little sis (and her hubby) ran and completed their first 1/2 Marathon on Saturday at the Salt Lake Marathon. She tells her story here. I am so proud of her, because I know that I will never do that. Us Glade's were not blessed to run, so she has defied the odds. Spencer and I woke up at 5:30 a.m. so we could be up at the U where they took off when they started and be there to support and get footage from the beginning. Her knees and legs were hurting. We rode our bikes to Liberty Park from the Gateway to cheer them on the last 3 miles. Despite the time outcome, she wants to do another. Crazy!

Coyote Gulch

Last weekend was our Backpacking Coyote Gulch journey.
We drove down Thursday, started hiking around 6 p.m. We started at Crack in the Wall, which means literally what it says. We were constantly hiking in & out of the water. It went against all we've been taught...don't step in the water! We never got used to the feeling of wet shoes and socks. On Friday we hiked see the confluence of Coyote Gulch and the Escalante River on our way to Steven's Arch. Our surroundings were beautiful.This was where we camped for the first 2 nights. It was the best place you can go. Under the large overhang. Talk about LUXURY! This glorious throne was place here just in October, and was super nice to have.We saw 4-5 waterfalls throughout this hike. There is just something beautiful about these, and they always enhance the beauty around you.After around 18 miles. 4 days and 3 nights, WE MADE IT!!! Our hike ended at the Willow Tank Trailhead.Sandy sand and water is not our first choice to hike in, but being outside in this awesome world, anywhere, makes anything totally worth it (even if we can smell ourselves by the end of it all! We love this.) Thank you LeCheminants for letting us tag along with your family.

Why was the Ocean arrested?

...

BECAUSE IT BEAT UPON THE SHORE

I have a perfect example!

Joke courtesy of my *Wonka Laffy Taffy

"An enjoyable vacation is awaiting you"

That is what my fortune cookie fortune said

the first day we arrived in Hawaii

no joke

Our first day here was a Sunday. We went to church, then to the LDS Temple. Unfortunately it was under construction, so we weren't unable to go inside for a session. The grounds were beautiful.This night we walked to the beach and saw our only sunset. Perfect weather.

Love Spencer

Monday we headed to the PCC (Polynesian Cultural Center) We visited each "island" to learn about their culture. For dinner we ate the Ali'i Luau. This included a lei greeting, Hawaiian music and entertainment, All-you-can-eat buffet and more.
Tuesday was hiking the botanical gardens up to Waimea Falls. This was one of our most favorite experiences. The small hike was relaxing and enjoyable, and swimming in the falls was super fun. After this Spencer went golfing (didn't do so hot, weather was crapy) and the rest of us went to Waimea Beach. Also not great b/c of the weather. Wednesday we first went to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet. Hello, crazy lots of stuff here! It wraps all around the stadium. Mostly the same stuff, with some new things throughout. We came out with some great hawaiian treasures. After spending some money and walking for what seemed like forever, we made our way to Pearl Harbor. I really liked this place as well. We watched the movie Pearl Harbor before we came, so I could better understand what happened here. It really helped and made my experience here very memorable and sobering. After Pearl Harbor we traveled into downtown Waikiki. We ate at Duke's Fish which was amazing and highly recommended. We walked along the beach a little. There were lots of buildings, like there are in cities, and we were really glad to not be staying there, rather at the North Shore. On Thursday we drove past China Man's Hat to get to Makapuu Point Lighthouse, which we hiked up to see. It was a nice little hike that got us all some exercise. The view from up top was spectacular. After this we went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, which is the best place to go. Spencer enjoyed this more than me. (it kinda gets to me being that close to those fish and stuff) We stopped to see Halona Blow Hole. Was neat, cool pic. Friday was our last day here. We started out at the DOLE Pineapple Plantation. Took the train ride then walked around. We learned how to cut & serve pineapple (tutorial to come later).
After here we went into Haleiwa. We ate a a shrimp shack, then went and did some sea kayaking. Nice and relaxing, just the two of us. After here we did a little body surfing. We headed off to dinner then ice cream dessert (for the 3rd time!) and closed our night with packing.
So long, farewell Oahu , Hawaii. We wish you gave us more sunny weather. We'll definately come back to visit in a warmer season to see a different island. Until then. Ciao. It was my birthday on Saturday, as we flew home. Spencer asked the flight attendents if they had any of those little ice cream treats for me. They didn't, but brought me this snack box. That was thoughtful of them! My mom picked us up from the airport and had made me some cupcakes. It was perfect. Thanks mom.

Meatloaf Cupcakes?

I found this idea online. Make meatloaf. Instead of putting it in a large pan, put them in cupcake wrappers (supposed to use foil, forgot to buy those). Bake for 20 minutes. Then, make some instant potatoes, color it, and put on as "frosting." We'll see if anyone falls for this one! (I got 3 people!) Last Year...Office supplies + Jello = AWESOME!! I made it through half the day with no one guessing it was me. It was actually a lot harder to pull this off b/c everything floats, but it was totally worth it and will be hardest to top ever. HAPPY . APRIL . FOOLS . DAY
now go play a joke on someone

I Love Technology

My sister, coworker and I went on a special shopping trip today during work.
What made it so special you might ask?
Well, like I said, it was during work. However, we DID NOT ever get out of our chairs, and we DID NOT speak with each other in person or over the phone. BUT, we still managed to see our clothes and talk about which color and size we liked; we filled our shopping cart, then paid and checked out. We didn’t even have to worry about carrying a bag back to our car in this cold weather. Our items will simply be shipped right here to the office. Lovely.
I would like to thank a couple companies for making this possible.
First, I thank Hotmail for popping up the alert to tell me Shade had just sent me an email. Second, thank you Windows Live Messenger for enabling my sister and I to communicate without seeing each other or picking up a phone. Lastly, and most importantly, I would like to thank the World Wide Web. Thank you for making my shopping experience so easy today.

P.S. A big thank you to Microsoft Excel and Word, you have been so awesome to me these last couple months. I dare say you are some of my most favorite programs!