Powell

Last week we went to Lake Powell with the Vance clan.

It was for most of us our first time, so we had some interesting experiences learning how to beach a houseboat.  I've never been on a lake so deep before that you couldn't just throw your anchor in anywhere and chill in the middle of the lake all night. It's fun to be able to just jump from the boat to the beach and play a round of bocce ball, or make a campfire and then be able to just jump right back to the boat to sleep in a normal bed.  The water rose over a foot everyday, so we were tightening our ropes almost every 3 hours.  Thank goodness for my brother-in law Jeremy for being able to take charge and drive the boat, and tell us what we needed to do to keep anchored to the beach.

I can't believe how beautiful that lake is. All my life I've had the attitude that to find cool places like that you have to go foreign. I never realized (even living in Utah) that places existed in the US where you could explore on a jet ski and find little secret lagoons or hike into little canyons, or get into caves that are only accessible by water.  There is so much beauty on that lake, and an unlimited number of places to explore.

Dallin getting ready to show his mad skills

Britteny jumping off the roof of the boat

Weston and Sawyer watching Despicable Me while their mother's swim

Dallin jumping the campfire

We had a lot of fun. We played poker with the family, we took the jet skis all over the lake, Dallin and Brandon went wake boarding, the little nephews got to play on the beach, we had a campfire almost every night, we made s'mores and played bocce ball, we sat in the hot tub on top of the boat under the stars.  I'd definitely do Powell again. I don't know if i'd do a house boat though. It's so much work. I think i'd rather just take a speed boat and camping gear and sleep on the beach. Also i'd like to go in September next time so the water level is lower and theres even more to explore. :)

Oh yeah, and there's one more development that occurred on this trip.....

My mom and Robbie are officially engaged. The wedding is on July 22nd.

Negligence- An Update

So I apparently have sucked quite a bit at blogging lately- Apologies!! I promise to try to do better in the future. :)

So my blog is sadly not the only thing i've forsaken over the past few months. My camera has sadly sat in the back corner of our desk drawer also, and as a result all photos of fun we've had are limited to Dallin's iPhone. (which never leaves his possession long enough for me to swipe them) So more apologies for the lack of pictures.

Things are good with the V's. Dallin is currently a shoo in for the supervisor position at work, which makes us super excited. He should get a raise and benefit options. We sold Orion the Scion (my car), getting enough money to eliminate all our debt. :-D ZERO DEBT! Best Spring ever!  I've been walking everywhere which is good cause i'm super out of shape, and i've been getting to know our neighbors better, making friends.  Also, on that note, my co-workers peer pressured me into doing a 5K to help people with Hemophilia last weekend. I walked for most of it, but I didn't die and I didn't come in last.  Dallin was wonderful, he made me run everyday it wasn't raining so that my heart and lungs wouldn't give out come race time.  We've been trying to make the most of the summer thus far- casino nights, trips to the hot springs, neighborhood BBQ's, reading, and trying to soak up as much sun as humanly possible.  Now that I'm no longer doing massage and Dallin isn't in school, we've both been on regular people schedules which means that the only day we don't see each other is Thursdays. :) One day a week is nothing compared to 3 in a row on weekends and another on tuesdays. It's so nice to be able to spend real time together instead of just playing catch up with each other's lives. We're currently attempting some Spring cleaning.  Apparently we have ants in the apartment- yikes. However, I got rid of the brown recluse problem on my own a year ago, so these ants should be heading for the hills soon. Things are really good. I'll do my best to keep the blog as up to date as I can!

So I realize I havent exactly been the best of bloggers lately. I haven't had a real post since October, but I'd be lying if I said that it was accidental. To be completely honest, it's been hard to want to blog about things that make your head spin. I feel like people really only want to read about the good things that are going on in other peoples lives. Well, not that the past little while hasn't had any good in it, but it certainly has been a rough few months.
I suppose the best way to say what i'm trying to say is that these past few months have been a real learning curve.  Sometimes the toughest trials teach you the most valuable lessons.  For instance, family really is the most important thing.  The only real constant in life is inconsistency, and we need to be adaptable.  Just because you've gone through a really tough trial doesn't mean that you're exempt from other really hard ones, or even the same ones repeated over.  I've prided myself my whole life for being adaptable to change.  I'm quickly finding, however, that if you let your guard down and settle into one state of mind, or put all your eggs into one basket (in terms of plans) there's a good chance the rug will be swept out from under your feet.  (no matter how much practice with change you've had)
Sometimes it seems like you're being kicked when you're down and things keep flying at you regardless of your lack of energy to cope with them.  Some of these things are true tragedies, or really rough trials, but a lot of them are made out to be much worse than they actually are because they've let down our unrealistic expectations.  We can't expect to get everything we want in life, and we are certainly not entitled to any of it.
The trick is to put your faith in the plan of the man upstairs and trust that he knows you well enough and loves you well enough to provide the things you require to be happy.  The rest is just superfluous.

What happened to good advertising?

Wouldnt it be nice if the ad agencies went vintage for a couple years?

Productivity/Braggy Mcgee

Okay, so this is a post that no one really should care about, however i have just had an extremely productive morning and i feel i need to brag about it.

Dallin and I woke up at 6:30 this morning and went to the gym for the first time in who knows how long. We stayed for an hour. I ran farther than i ever have (since i was on the dance team at least) and we successfully navigated the machines.

When we got home I made Egyptian eyes and plain fried eggs for us both- this is something that i have never been successful at till this morning.  I even did multiple eggs in one tiny pan (one over easy and one sunny-side up)  :)

I took Dallin to school, and did 2 loads of laundry, finished the dishes, actually got ready, updated my resume, and watched the new treehouse of horror. It's spectacular btw. i highly recommend it.

I then set off to my job interview at the plasma center- no i do not want to be a phlebotomist, just a donor processor.  I was super nervous. it'd been a year since my last interview, but i pulled it together and nailed it. It also helps that i have friends working there. I feel i have a pretty good shot. (but please cross your fingers for me anyway)

I then finished getting the mail/dropping it off, our grocery shopping, and another load of laundry.

I'm off to work again in about an hour and a half and then i plan on lazing the rest of the night away. I feel I've earned it. :)

The Freaks Come Out at Night

So I realize I havent been the best of bloggers lately, which is sad because October is my favorite month!  I honestly feel like Dallin and I do more fun things in the month of October than we do in the entire winter and spring seasons put together.  It's the best! So I doubt I could cover it all, but here are some of our highlights:

Dinner and a Murder

We threw a murder mystery party for some of our friends. It took place during the 20's and we all got to dress up like flappers and gangsters.  Everyone played their parts wonderfully and it all came together very nicely. :) Sadly Steveo and Katie are missing in the pictures because they had to take off so quickly.  Apparently there is a sequel game that takes place 4 years later. It's just a matter of time before we do it again. (Hopefully with all of our friends currently in Danville involved)

We got to do Valencia, Saves the Day, Motion City Soundtrack and Say Anything at the Avalon. New Favorite venue, and immediate addition to my top 5 shows ever. They were spectacular. All 4 of them.

We got to keep up our yearly tradition of carving pumpkins while watching a Tim Burton film. This year we watched Corpse Bride and carved with Brian and Jennica. They did the computer wink face which i found hilarious. Dallin did a fantastic Darkwing Duck which tragically melted (as pumpkins do) within a week. Mine's the bat.

On a silly note, Dallin decided to be Edward Scissorhands this year.  So yesterday while I was at work, Dallin and Jake spent most of the day taking videos of Edward Scissorhands doing funny everyday things. Exercising, playing golf, riding scooters... you get the picture. It'll be posted on our communal youtube account in the very near future, so look forward to that. What i've seen has been pretty gut busting. :)

So last night we went to a party Sarah's friend Calissa was throwing to benefit kids in Haiti. It was a ton of fun. We played Mafia, which is quickly becoming a Halloween tradition, and got to make some new friends. Justin and Katey were Ross and Rachel when they got drunk and married in Vegas and Jake and Sarah were treasure trolls. Dallin was Scissorhands and I was Coraline.

It's trippy to think that Dallin and I (and Justin) just spent our 4th Halloween together. It's crazy to think how much time has gone by. Looking back it makes you realize how young you truly were. I'm just grateful that this was the first year dallin hasnt found part of his costume from the womens section of D.I.

'07

'08

'09

'10

Craziness. I feel like i wear less and less makeup every year.....

Mad Men

If you don't watch this show, only start if you have time because you can't stop.