Barlow's Blog

Feelin Crafty

2012-01-26T00:11:00.000-08:00

It's true, I have been having an itch to sew, craft, change things in my house, etc. Lucky for me Crew had to have a stocking for his first Christmas so I decided to make one for each of us. I love how cheap you can make stuff for! I made three stockings for the price you can buy one in a store. Plus I still have enough fabric to make more for future kids so they will match. I wanted stockings with a classic but slightly modern look. I played around with some fabrics and this is what I got!

I tend to get bored of decor quickly so I decided to make these stockings with two different sides. One side with color and pattern for a fun, modern look and the other a simple neutral burlap.

I didn't get them finished this year but I will add some red rope with embellished name tags dangling on the end to this side for a pop of color and so they wont be so boring. However, I like the neutral classic look because I will be able to use them for a long time, even if I change my decor

They were so fun to make but the craft itch still isn't out of my system so I am thinking pillows next. Stay tuned...

Holidays

2012-01-25T23:39:00.000-08:00

The holidays are even more exciting with our little munchkin around! I love that we have had so much time to spend as a family and to focus on the things that really matter in this life. We hope all our friends and loved ones had wonderful holidays as well. Here are our highlights.

Crew had his first visit to Temple Square. He was mesmerized by all the lights.

Then he had his first visit with Santa. Kudos to my baby boy for not having a freak out!

He was such a happy boy Christmas morning...he knew it was a special day!

Family Pictures 2011

2011-11-16T18:46:00.001-08:00

We are so happy Crew is here to add to our family pictures this year! The photographer/friend who has taken our family pictures the past couple years has had a lot going on recently and hasn't been doing much photography so we went a different route. We loved how they turned out! Unfortunately we couldn't include Harli, she is so sad :(

Crew is such a smiley, happy boy at home when it is just mommy and daddy with him but when he gets into public with strange people around he is a tough cookie to crack. I'll be honest...he freaked out a couple times. However, we were still able to get a few smiles from him. I LOVE his many expressions, even his scowl and terrified face. I thought I would share some of our favorites.

Blessed

2011-09-28T14:28:00.001-07:00

Words can't describe how grateful I am for this little family of mine. I love all the precious moments we have together and I know I am blessed to have them forever, no matter what comes our way in this life. My boys truly warm my heart and make me feel like the richest girl in the world.

Crew's Blessing

2011-08-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

Oh how I love my baby boy! We blessed Crew at the end of July and it was a wonderful day, to say the least. We want to thank all our family and friends who joined us in celebrating our son's special day. The day passed by so fast and I wasn't able to get pictures of all the people who came to give support but I did get lots of pictures of my little stud in his suit. I normally don't love the bow tie look but I think my handsome Cruiser pulled it off quite well so I had to do a mini DIY photo shoot to capture the memories.

Our Family on Crew's blessing day July 31st, 2011

Growing Boy

2011-08-02T23:53:00.001-07:00

I know that every parent says this but my baby really is growing so fast! I have never taken so many pictures in my life. I find myself trying to document almost everyday with pictures in fear I will forget some of these precious moments. Crew is 9 weeks old now and is looking more and more like a little boy rather than a newborn baby. Words can't explain how blessed I feel to have this little guy as my son. I could stare at him all day and never get tired of it. I am extremely grateful I have the opportunity to stay at home with him everyday. It is the best job in the world! Here are some pictures of Crew during his second month of life, weeks 4-9.

Just relaxin'!

Here is his "thinker's face" again

Crew and his best buddy Tydan

Life with Crew

2011-07-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

I know this post is long over due but I am just now finding time to sit and blog. Crew joined our family on 5/31/2011...I can't believe he is already 5 weeks! He was born at 1am weighing 7 pounds 12 ounces and 21 inches long. I went to the hospital at 7 am on Monday 5/30 and after 17 hours of exhausting labor, an epidural that only worked on one side, an infection and a C-section later we were blessed with an amazing baby boy. Crew is so handsome, just like his daddy :) Crew is a wonderful baby and has brought so much joy and happiness to our family. Here are some pictures of his short little life so far.

Last prego shots taken when we arrived at the hosptial.

Here at last!

Meeting my handsome son for the first time.

Meeting daddy.

We had a lot of visitors but I was not able to get pictures of everyone. Thank you to all the family and friends who came to visit and give support!
Grandpa and Grandma Cross

Grandma Barlow

Aunt Stephanie and cousin Kyson

Friends Michelle, Colby and Nicole

Krista

Dan and Natalie

Alex and Danielle

Renee and Apri

Grandma Cross

Uncle Andrew and cousin Kyson

Aunt Becca

Aunt Amber and Uncle Jesse

Nicole

Going home after 5 days in the hospital!

Meeting Harli

1 week

First Bath at Home

2 weeks

We call this his "thinker's face". Crew makes this face often and always seems to have something weighing on his mind.

This is the first time he spit up in his own hair, yuck!

3 weeks

Sheldon's first happy Father's Day!

4 Weeks

Update

2011-03-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

Some people have reminded me that I haven't made a post in forever. That is because life in our home has been insanely crazy! In addition to the craziness of jobs, Sheldon's school and preparing for baby we are trying to finish up the house remodel. For those of you who know us well and visit us often you know that our stairs have been ripped up for OVER 6 months! I guess I am admitting this has been a source of frustration to say the least! Sheldon got a little ambitious and ripped up all the carpet on the stairs over 6 months ago and then his busiest school semesters and intense (but wonderful) job hit. So, progress is slow but finally moving forward. We keep running into glitches with the hardwood but the glitches are almost worked out. Here are some pictures of our most recent construction. This is actually the best they have looked in 6 months and they are still missing the wood treads! Hopefully I will be able to show the final result in my next post....knock on wood. They are a little dangerous right now with no treads or spindles...good thing we don't have kids running around yet!

***

Moving on from the construction chaos! In February some close friends and I threw a shower for our wonderful friend Bree. It was so fun helping Bree and Tyler prepare for baby Tydan. It has been so fun having such a close friend to experience pregnancy with! I believe I am about 24 weeks and Bree is about 30 weeks in this picture. I love these girls! (L to R Danielle, Bree, and Nicole) So, Bree and I were supposed to be about 6 weeks apart but baby Tydan decided to make his entrance into the world about 3 1/2 weeks early! He was born this past weekend and is such a beautiful little baby with the cutest head of hair. Nicole, Jake, Sheldon and I were lucky enough to get to visit Bree, Tyler, and baby Tydan in the hospital. Bree is such a beautiful mommy and Tyler such a happy daddy! Only two of the pictures on my camera worked out so I don't have a close up of baby Tydan or any with Tyler.

***

Next, a baby shower of my own! A couple weeks ago my in-laws threw me an awesome baby shower with Sheldon's side of the family. I just want to say THANK YOU to my in-laws for all their hard work and everyone who came to support and help us prepare for our baby Crew. The support is greatly appreciated and we love all the gifts!

After the shower with some of Sheldon's family and my mom.

I had to include a picture of these adorable little party goodies Amber made for the shower. They were chocolate covered rice crispy treats with the baby's name and anticipated arrival date. They tasted as good as they looked too!

***

Finally, more baby bump pictures! (Krista, these are mostly for you because you begged for them when we talked on the phone and they will prove to you that I AM growing BIG! Hopefully we can see each other soon so you can see for yourself in person!)

This is around 26 weeks...right around time time my belly seem to quadruple in size over night.

This is around 27 weeks.

And most recently, 30 1/2 weeks.

Time is flyin' by! I can't believe we only have a couple more months to go but at the same I can't believe my belly has to expand for that much longer! Despite the discomfort I want him to be healthy and full term so I will not complain :)

Baby Crew

2011-01-23T22:54:00.000-08:00

Baby Crew deserves an update post of his own so here we go...

This is a pic from our first ultrasound at 10 weeks. He looks like an angel with a halo, I love it! We were so excited to see our peanut at the first ultrasound, but Sheldon and I were even more thrilled when we saw him for the first time and he was flapping his little nubs around like crazy. It was such an amazing thing!

Right before Christmas we went to our 16 week appointment to find out if our peanut was a boy or girl. I will never forget the grin that came over Sheldon's face when we were told it was a boy. I really thought we were going to have a girl first but Sheldon said we were going to have a boy. We didn't care if it was a boy or a girl, but Sheldon just wanted to be right. The ultrasound tech, kept saying "Looks like you have a boy" and we just had to trust her expertise because we couldn't see it but we were so happy!

I loved seeing his profile and his little body. Turns out he is quite the hyperactive little one.

Everybody, including myself, thinks this next picture is a little scary of him but Sheldon LOVES it. He says it is his favorite of all the pictures we have of him. YIKES! I guess his little skeleton is kind of cute though.

These are from our 20 week (technically almost 21 weeks) ultrasound. This is a picture of his face with his hand up to his mouth.

And now we can see for ourselves that he is DEFINITELY a BOY. Haha, he put on a pretty good show!

Finally, my first baby bump photos! I have not been taking pictures and documenting as often as I would like to but that is what happens when life is so crazy! This is me at 14 weeks (excuse the construction in the background, that is to be explained in another post all on it's own)

(I am not sure why I have such a weird, mischievous look on my face??? Just pay attention to the bump, not my face :)

This is at 16 weeks

This is me at 19 weeks. I think I felt him move a little bit prior to this, but I definitely felt him move at 19 1/2 weeks. It was January 11th to be exact. I was sitting in court for work and all of a sudden it felt like someone had flicked me from the inside. At first I was startled and then when I realized what it was I just smiled. I am pretty sure people around me were wondering why I was randomly smiling in court regarding a very serious case...oops!

And finally 22 weeks

We can't wait to meet our baby Crew. Time seems to be going by so fast and everyday it seems more and more real as he kicks me and moves around like crazy. Sometimes, usually at night, it seems like he is having a little dance party in my belly. Although we can't wait to meet him we have plenty to do to get ready for the biggest change of our lives. We finally have some baby gear and a room for his nursery. I will post pictures of the house construction and the nursery soon (hopefully).

The Holidays (better late than never :)

2011-01-20T21:25:00.000-08:00

I am finally getting around to posting about the holidays. The holidays are so long gone I debated even making this post. It is an understatement saying I haven't had any time and even less energy. But, my baby in my belly and the stresses of life are making falling asleep difficult these days so I figured instead of laying in bed wide awake doing nothing I should at least be productive. So, here is a brief glimpse of our 2010 holidays.

***

Miss Harli knows how to spend holidays! She does enough sleeping for both Sheldon and I. Yes, we envy her.

Looks like she has such a tough life huh? She actually should be in trouble here because she is on my carpet and not on her bed, which is like 5 inches away from her! I swear she lays on the carpet instead of her bed to spite me. Anyway, I couldn't get mad at her...she just looked so comfy and cute.

Again, Harli knows how to celebrate the holidays! (don't worry, we don't give our pup eggnog just the empty bottles:)

***

We kicked off the holiday's with Nicole and Jake's annual Ugly Sweater Party. We helped out by holding the party at our place and we had so much fun! We are so lucky to have such an amazing group of friends!

Sheldon and I in our ugly sweaters (and Sheldon's gangsta hat??? not sure what that was about)

Playing Minute to Win It

We also had a Wii dance party. I love the faces on these girls in this pic. They all look like they are experiencing pure joy! Especially Danielle there in the front, she is having too much fun :)

***

We spent Christmas Eve with Sheldon's family and had tons of fun watching the excited little ones. Here they are opening their Christmas jammies.

My darling niece, Scotti and me (and Dave, her daddy there in the corner of the pic)

We spent some time with my family on Christmas. This pic is of my handsome nephew Kyson and my mom. I just love Kyson's face of surprise as he is opening one of his presents in this photo.

My brother Andrew and his family.

We gave Kyson Gator Golf for Christmas and I am pretty sure Sheldon played with it more than Ky did.

My dad cutting the prime rib...yum!

My handsome hubby and me on Christmas day.

My siblings

***

And finally we brought in the new year with our good friends, Nicole and Jake and Danielle and Alex. We went to a nice dinner at Bistro 258 (I think that is what the place is called) and then we celebrated at Jake and Nicole's.

Jake and Nicole's satellite froze (why do we live in Utah again?) so we couldn't watch the ball drop on TV. We thought of the next best thing which was to watch the ball drop online. So, right before midnight we started setting up the computer to get live footage to watch the ball drop. Shortly after we realized we were looking up LIVE footage of the New Year's Eve Party in New York and the ball had already dropped long before because of the time difference...oops. So, about 5 or 10 minutes after midnight we did our own count down and then jammed out to Mariah Carey's awesome New Years song. It was pretty funny...but maybe you had to be there.

Our first kiss of 2011!

Jammin' out to Mariah Carey...we are awesome :)

We hope your holidays were wonderful and you are having a good 2011 so far!

Exciting News!

2011-01-02T21:39:00.000-08:00

First, after 6 years of school, a few internships and over 2 years of professional practice as a therapist I am FINALLY an LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker)!!! That probably doesn't mean much to a lot of you but I had to share my excitement because it is a big deal in my world. I am finally fully licensed and love it. My goal was to have my license by the time we had our first baby and I am relieved I was able to do it!

And for the BIGGEST news yet. A few weeks ago we found out what we are having. Sheldon and I knew that we would find out what we were having right before Christmas but we had to lie to everybody (sorry about that) and tell people we weren't going to find out until after Christmas because we wanted to surprise our families with a gift on Christmas announcing the sex of the baby. So for those of you who don't already know we are having a ......

BOY!

We are so very excited. I was kind of surprised because I thought we would have a girl, but I am not disappointed in any way! A lot of other people kept telling me they were convinced it was a girl too. However, Sheldon was guessing that it was a boy and he was right! We know we will call him Crew but we have not decided on his full name yet. We have thought about Sheldon Crew and calling him by his middle name but we are not sure if that will create problems for him. If anyone knows what is like to be known by your middle name rather than your first, or knows someone who does will you please leave a comment with some advice. Is it annoying to always be telling people you go by your middle name rather than your first since all records usually have the first name on it? We have also thought about Crew Alexander, which I love, but it is not sentimental in anyway since there are no family names in it. So, then we are left with Crew Sheldon which we don't think flows very well. I guess we will see. I will post some pictures of the recent ultrasound which show an actual human baby! (unlike the first ultrasound pictures). We hope you all had happy holidays!

TSO

2010-12-05T13:29:00.000-08:00

We are keeping up with our tradition! We went to the Tran Siberian Orchestra concert again this year and loved it as usual. This year was especially great because some of our good friends Jake and Nicole decided to join us. Also, Luck was on our side because after a major mishap our seats were upgraded for free!

We went to dinner at Z'tejas at the Gateway before the show. (I LOVE this place simply because of one amazing salad they have...and of course now I can't remember the name of it to tell you but it is the only chopped salad on the menu. Try it if you have the chance.)

I snapped the rest of these during the show. I am not really sure why they have the no camera rule since EVERYBODY, including me had a camera there. I am glad I was able to get some decent shots even with my crappy camera!

It is one of the best shows I have ever been too! If you have never been you must go at least once. If you love music and have an open mind, you will appreciate it!

I also have to share these pics of my dear Harli. She had the time of her life this year during the first snow of the season. She ran around so fast in the backyard I was afraid she was going to hurt herself because she was slipping and sliding around everywhere. She LOVES it!

If you look really hard in the back ground, past the snow flakes, you can see Harli running around.

One of the great things about Harli is that her fur is water resistant because she is a water hunting dog so we can just brush the snow and water drops off her and she is not even wet! But that feature makes baths hard; we have to drench her several times before we can soak her down.

We hope the holiday season is going well for you all so far! I have just been working on the house like crazy and Sheldon is finishing up the semester. We recently went to the doctor again and heard baby's very healthy heartbeat, which was a joyous sound! Next time we will find out if we are bringing a boy or girl into the world! I, along with my parents, most friends, coworkers and our Sunday school class believe a little girl is cookin'. However, Sheldon and his mom think it is a boy. We shall see, we shall see! BUT I can't stress enough that Sheldon and I don't care what we have. Our instincts are not indicative of what we want, just what we think. We have waited so long to start our family and that is what we want is a family, not a baby with a certain gender. But now that the reality of the pregnancy is setting in I am getting the biggest itch to shop and decorate!!! It would probably be wise for my wallet not to find out what we are having until it makes it's entrance into the world, but let's face it...we all know that is never going happen. So far we have been very laid back and sometimes forgetful that we are having a child because it has been so long with just the two of us. We have not even bought one single baby item, which I think is impressive being almost 4 months. But as soon as we know a gender, decisions will start to be made, especially regarding a name (as many of you know choosing a name will be a dilemma for Sheldon and I) and baby items will start to accumulate in our house. So, we will keep you posted.

FREE Shutterfly cards (I knew the word FREE would get your attention!)

2010-11-30T20:36:00.000-08:00

Oh my…I can’t believe it is that time of year again! I feel like Christmas has snuck up on us. Christmas time means holiday cards! Since Sheldon and I have been married I have made it a tradition to send out Christmas cards every year in order to send holiday messages of love to family and friends. In my search to find the perfect card this year I fell upon a fabulous promotion from Shutterfly. They are generously offering 50 FREE Christmas cards for bloggers…yes I said FREE!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all of Shutterfly’s products, but especially the variety of cards they have. They have such an awesome selection between their Christmas cards-http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards and their general holiday cards- http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards I love all the unique designs and I am struggling to just choose one! Plus they have so much more than just cards. I also love their calendars- http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars which are great for gifts around Christmas time. If you have never used Shutterfly you must give them a try!

To get in on the action all you have to do is go to http://bit.ly/sfly2010 to learn how.

Happy Holidays!!!

2010-11-26T22:55:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is true! For those of you who care and thought this day would never come...well it has. Sheldon and I are expecting our first baby right after I turn 27 and just before our 7 year wedding anniversary, talk about the best birthday and anniversary present ever! I am around 13 weeks and we are due June 5th. We are so thankful and very excited :)

Here are baby's first pictures as a little peanut.

This is my second test...I just bought the Walmart brand tests and the positives were VERY VERY faint. So it was very hard to believe that there was anything growing inside me until sickness set in (just a little bit, nothing unbearable) and I went to the doctor. If I would have had it my way we wouldn't have told anyone until Thanksgiving, BUT it's funny how things have a way of slipping out and getting around without you knowing! Plus Sheldon can't keep a secret for his life!

This is my sister's reaction as she found out, first very confused and then excited. I think this picture was snapped during the confused part.

If you know my sister you know that the whole attitude saying totally fits.

This is how we announced the news to our parents. We bought pies and put signs and binkis in them and then put them back in the box. Then we took them over to our parent's houses and told them we brought dessert to share. When my mom opened the box and saw the pie she said with a very confused look "What kind of pie did you get?" (haha, come on mom get there faster) And then when my father-in-law saw the pie he was very confused because of the 2010 part. Oops, that was my bad! I wasn't really thinking when I typed up the sign. I totally spaced that it would be a new year when the baby actually came.

So that's the news! Yipee!

2010-11-03T18:58:00.000-07:00

Time and energy is hard to come by these days, hence the lack of posting! Anyway, I decided to upload all the photos on my camera and thought I would be ambitious and do a post while I was at it so here we go!

We had a blast celebrating Halloween! Some of our friends threw a murder mystery party. The setting of the murder mystery was the 50's so we didn't dress up as anything specific just the characters we were playing in the game. We have some of the funniest and most creative friends as you can see.

Just in case you were wondering, Nicole (far left) is demonstrating what Snooki would have looked like in the 50's. I just look like a nerd, but Danielle (far right) is one of the only girls that can make those glasses look good!

Sheldon got a little too much into his character.

***

Next, is pumpkin carving. My parents had a little pumpkin carving party a couple weeks before Halloween and we discovered that we rock at carving pumpkins. Unfortunately, I don't have the end results to prove it because my camera has been having an attitude lately (darn, guess that means new camera shopping :)

This is my adorable nephew Kyson (oh, and my mom). He was so over pumpkin carving as soon as he saw the pumpkin guts you have to take out before you start carving.

Handsome hard at work.

My brother and dad taking short cuts, and Stephanie (Andrew's wife) cracking up in the background.

I know my pumpkin doesn't look like much here but it turn out awesome, thanks to Sheldon and my dad for helping!

***

And finally, the last glimpse of summer. Way back in September we went to an annual family reunion and enjoyed the last days of summer. We were able to take our Harli with us and she loved it because she got to explore and swim, which is her favorite. I wished we lived closer to a pond or lake so we could take her swimming more.

Harli in her kennel ready to roll.

Our nieces getting ready to canoe.

I love how extra cute Harli is when she is wet...haha, I love my pup!

R & R

2010-08-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

Ahhh...I just had the best vacation of my life! Sheldon and I treated ourselves to a vacation just because WE NEEDED IT! Thanks to the stress of life we were barely hanging on just waiting for this trip to come, and now that we have been medicated with 7 days in Mexico we feel so much better. This is a long post and there are a lot of pictures but this is a glimpse.

Day 1: Destination, Puerto Morelos, MEXICO

Puerto Morelos is a little fishing village on the Mayan Riviera just outside Cancun. We loved our resort because it was quiet and away from all the commercialization.

Here we are in the air, on our way!

These are some of the first pictures of our vacation at the beach!

Day 2: Relaxation ONLY

Getting ready to casually explore the resort and go to the beach.

This is part of our resort, which we LOVED.

I snapped this picture of this hot guy in the lobby of the resort ;)

My first pina colada...I loved this chair by the way

Lunch by the beach.

Dressed for our first dinner...Japanese it was!

Sheldon catching the shrimp tossed by the chef.

Day 3: Craziness

So, Sheldon insisted we go on this wild adventure in the jungle, and that is just what we did. Our first stop was repelling. I don't normally have a problem with repelling but when it is in the middle of an exotic jungle, with a 50 ft cliff, with people who don't understand what I am saying and vise versa then I have a problem. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into with this excursion but we couldn't turn back. We did it and survived.

This is a Mayan priest who blessed us because we were considered strangers in their land.

Next, was zip lining across the jungle-this was awesome.

Next, Kayaking. Again, I don't normally have a problem with kayaking but our tour guide was so kind to educate us on the wildlife of their jungle which included: spider monkeys, jaguars, and crocodiles-just to name three of the several he told us about. I wasn't concerned about crocodiles until he brought us to this swap land and advised us, "DO NOT get out of your kayak, DO NOT tip over." But then he told us not to worry because the crocodiles only hunt at night...WHATEVER!!! I was kind of freaking out. I let Sheldon paddle and I tired to distract myself by taking pictures the whole time...and yes we did see some crocodiles.

Whew! We made out of the water and back on to land only to hike a few miles through the jungle. No crocodiles to worry about here, just jaguars; thank goodness we didn't see any of those. The jungle was green, lush and breathtaking.

Next, exploring a cenote. Cenotes are water filled sinkholes in the earth. We had to descend down into a cave-like hole in the ground to get to this cenote. Once we were down in the cenote we could see stalactites and stalagmites and there was amazingly clear water with healing minerals, or that is what the Mayan people believe.

Next, eating an authentic Mayan lunch in a small Mayan village.

And finally, exploring the Mayan ruin Coba.

Coba is the only temple ruin in Mexico they still allow you to climb. It stands almost 140 ft tall. The climb is a good workout, the view from the top is stunning, and the climb down is enough to make you dizzy and sick...even if you aren't afraid of heights.

We were POOPED at the end of this day!

Day 4: Snorkeling at a barrier reef

Just goofing off before our snorkel adventure.

For this excursion we were taken about 10 minutes from our resort to this amazing beach. We jumped on a boat and went two miles from shore into the ocean to a barrier reef and did some awesome snorkeling.

Jesus visited Mexico while we were there...haha, ok I am totally joking but doesn't this picture look like he is about to appear? It was so beautiful.

Washing off the saltwater and sand and spraying Sheldon with the hose :)

I told you we saw crocodiles. Look closely, can you see them?

Could resist, and I don't know what is up with the sudden underlining of this sentence???

Day 5: More Relaxation

Well, I relaxed and Sheldon kayaked.

Going to another dinner.

Walking on the beach at night. I am not sure what I am doing but I look like I am having fun.

Playing card games in the room.

Haha, these pictures make me laugh. Something about being on vacation makes jumping on the bed fun and OK, even though we are in our late 20's. :)

Day 6: Tulum

Tulum is another ancient ruin civilization. Touring this was one of the highlights of the trip.

The ruins are all on top of a cliff, and this is what is below the cliff...stunning beach and ocean.

These guys were everywhere. This one was kind of scary, I don't think he liked being photographed.

Back at the resort and making sad faces because it was our last day :( :( :(

Our last night spending time on the beach.

Day 6: Farewell

These are just some random pictures I shot on our last day. There was nothing happy about this day, excepting maybe going home to my Harli, but nothing else.

That's all! If you are considering a Mexican vacation, we highly recommended this!

2010-07-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

One of my very best friends moved far, far away to Kentucky in January :( I have to admit before she told me she was moving to Kentucky I wasn't even sure where it was, but I have since learned that it is far away. Renee and I go way back! We met in junior high and have remained friends over the years. Lucky for us she came back to Utah this month and I got to see her and her kiddos. I know she had a lot of family and friends to visit while she was here but I am so glad we got to catch up. Thank you so much Renee for making the time and making it a top priority to get together a couple of times, I had so much fun!

Renee and her kids Apri and Camden

I Love you Renee and miss you already!

Summer Happenings

2010-07-14T21:14:00.000-07:00

I was going through my camera tonight and realized how much we have been doing lately. My camera is so full with pictures I had to take time to put them on my computer so I thought I would make a post while I was at it. So, with that being said this is another long post. Life has been rather stressful lately so it is refreshing to have these pictures to look at to remind us we still manage to have a little bit of fun every once in a while :).

***
Just the other night I was able to go out with some of the greatest girls I know for a girls night. We went to Zupa's and had a yummy dinner and scored some free brownies (thanks Kami)! Thank you to my wonderful girlfriends who are willing to make time get together...it keeps me sane!

***

Last Sunday we went to the Weber State Fireworks and we had a blast. I forget how many people attend that event. It was so crowded but thanks to Bree, who laid out blankets Saturday night, we had a perfect spot to see the show.

Nicole and Bree were terrified the cannons were going to go off without warning...the anticipation was killing them. I am not sure what is going on with Jake in this picture??

We took these pictures while Danielle and Alex were on a walk so she is missing from these pictures...sorry Danielle :(

Sheldon and Bree are easily entertained. Here they are throwing Swedish fish for people to catch in their mouths.

Me and my handsome man. I think the camera flash explains the cute squinty eyes.

After the fireworks we went to Nicole and Jake's house and had an awesome JUST DANCE Wii party. We had lots of laughs.

If you can, enlarge this picture and check out the facial expressions on these guys...it will give you a laugh.

Danielle and I workin it!

Nicole and I workin' it. It was really fun and a slight workout might I add. I sometimes forget I haven't danced in like 8 years!

***
On the 5th of July we celebrated my mother-in-laws birthday with the family. While we were waiting for dinner we played out in the sunshine. Sheldon always has so much fun with his nieces and nephew. I love that Sheldon is a kid at heart and he never thinks or acts like he is too mature or old to play with the little ones.

***
We have managed to fit in one hike so far this summer. We usually try to do more hiking and biking but life has been a little crazy. We originally started our hike up Adams canyon but we were not far up the trail when my poor Harli started crying and wailing. Sheldon and I first looked at each other so confused because we had no idea what was going on. Once I looked at Harli I realized that she was trying to hold her paws up from touching he ground. The trail was made of sand and because it was so hot outside the sand was very hot and it was burning her paws. So once we realized we hurried and ran her to the car as fast as we could to get her off the ground. We were able to find another trial that didn't have sand on it, which soaks up the heat of the sun like crazy, and with more shade.

My Harli and me.

Harli loved the stream on the trail. She is such a water dog.

In the car riding home.

***
Last but not least...Cherry Hill! My sister-in-law had a work party at Cherry Hill so I was able to go with all my siblings. We were also able to meet up with some friends, Michelle and Marie and their families, while we were there.

My brother and his family.

My nephew Kyson. He is such a fun little guy. I am pretty sure I rode down the kiddie slide on the pirate ship with him like 20 times because he was obsessed with it but we had so much fun together. He was so elated to be playing in the water.

My sister Becca and Nick.

Sheldon had school this night so he could not be with us but with the exception of him, this is all of us!

I hope you're all having a great summer! Try to have fun, it goes by fast..I am trying to take my own advice.

6 years

2010-07-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

"In a time when nothing is more certain than change, the commitment of two people to one another has become difficult and rare. Yet, by its scarcity, the beauty and value of this exchange have only been enhanced." ~Robert Sexton

Back in June Sheldon and I celebrated 6 years of marriage. The journey of being married to this man has been the best experience of my life. I feel so privileged to know Sheldon as deeply as I do because he has such a beautiful spirit. I am especially thankful we have each other for eternity. Thank you to all those who have supported us and shared memories with us over the years!

2010-06-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

I celebrated my 26th birthday in May and I just wanted to say thank you to those of you who wished me a happy day. Sheldon gathered people and I was able to spend some time with great friends. Thanks guys!

We had dinner at Red Robin and it was delish!

After dinner Sheldon treated me to Zeppe's and Nicole and Jake joined us.

***

We have also been loving the summer weather! A while ago we had a get together around our fire pit and made some yummy s'mores.

At one point the fire got a little out of control and Nicole was a little nervous.

Happy summer everyone :)

26.2 Miles...Utah Valley Marathon

2010-06-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I ran the Utah Valley Marathon. It was my first marathon and first time running 26.2 miles! I am so glad I did it and can't wait to do it again! It was definitely intense, especially because it was pouring rain in the canyon but it was worth it! Here are some shots of the event.

(Warning, I look far from glamorous in these...I had just run 26 miles in the cold, pouring rain!)

Here is the proof that I finished!

My greatest fan!

My other greatest fan. Excuse the language on the sign...you just have to know my sister. I thought is was pretty funny though.

My running buddy.

My sweet mother-in-law came to my house with one of my sister-in-laws and decorated my front door to congratulate me. It was such a fun surprise.

This sign was also taped to the door but it had blown off by the time we got home. I loved it!

Hello Again

2010-05-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

I'm back...at least for a small moment. The last few months have been crazy busy and things don't seem to be settling down. The only reason I am even making a post right now is because I have been sick and stuck on my couch for the past couple of days, so I figured rather than being bored I should do something productive like make a post. Anyway, we have been busy with the house remodel, work and our own individual activities. For Sheldon it has been school, school, school and for me it has been work, work, work and training for the marathon. I have had some setbacks with the training due to a few spouts with illness but I am hoping for the best. Anyway, here is a glimpse into our recent lives.

First of all, my little brother got married this past weekend. I guess I should say younger brother, rather than little brother. We are very happy for him and his beautiful sweetheart. Andrew and Stephanie have been dating for 4 years and we are so happy to finally have Stephanie and her adorable son Kyson join our family. Here are some snap shots from the wedding.

This is my brother's beautiful bride. Nicole (Nicole Grace Photography) did her bridals and I LOVE how they turned out!

Dancing at the wedding reception.

This is Steph dancing with her son Kyson. He had to cut in during Andrew and Steph's first dance...guess he was feeling left out.

This is the awesome photographer. Poor Nicole had no idea what she was getting herself into when she said she would be the photographer for this wedding. She was such a trooper and she did an amazing job. Thanks Nicole! We owe you big!

Sheldon and I loaded all of the wedding gifts in our car and took them to our house for them. So they decided to come to our house to open them and they let us watch. Little do they know we secretly kept some...just kidding.

My mom and dad.

Becca and Nick and my uncle Terry and Pam.

***

I couldn't resist but end this post with some photos of my naughty, naughty, naughty yet adorable puppy.

RAIN+DIRT=.......

.....A very MUDDY PUPPY! (Yes, all the dark spots are MUD)

I actually took these photos months ago before I knew mother nature was going to make a habit of this wet weather. Let's just say Harli is making this her new look. The dog LOVES MUD!!! I am sure I have given this dog more baths (I guess I should say Sheldon has given this dog more baths) than a dog should have in a life time.

Isn't she adorable?....OK I am being sarcastic. But it is a good thing she really is because if she wasn't I am sure Sheldon would have given her away by now.

Washington DC

2010-02-23T21:51:00.000-08:00

Brrrr...I NEVER thought I would go on a vacation where I would have to pack snow gear! I HATE the snow and cold...however, the scenery of beautiful Washington DC and being with our good friends made it all worth it. This vacation was jam packed with activities and site seeing so we literally came home with HUNDREDS of pictures. I have posted only a small number of them here on my blog but this post still managed to be SUPER LONG! There are so many pictures!

Our first day in DC we went on a White House Tour at 7:30 am. It was early but fascinating. After the tour we attempted to tour some of the monuments but didn't last long because it was SOOOO cold and gray.

Later that night we went out for a night on the town and had a Valentine's Dinner at the Melting Pot. It was quite a fun experience.

Dear oh dear...we could rarely get him to take a decent picture with a straight smile.

This is Sheldon demonstrating how he felt after eating our delicious dinner.

Nicole and I celebrating our 1 year Friendaversary...haha (inside joke for Nicole)

The next day mother nature gave us some SUNSHINE and slightly warmer weather, mid 30's maybe. We spent the day site seeing the White House and all the Monuments.

Nicole and Jake just jumping for joy and having fun.

I know it looks like I am falling in this picture but I am not. We were just playin' around but we thought this photo was hilarious.

The Thomas Jefferson Monument.

Cute Nicole jumping for joy again, she is super excited in this picture!

The Lincoln Monument.

Views of the Washington Monument and the frozen Reflecting Pond from the Lincoln.

Love this picture of these two...so cute.

We were not sure what Sheldon was doing in this picture, proposing I think (guess he forgot he already did that and got me almost 6 years ago)

The Vietnam Monument.

The following Day we rode the METRO into the city to tour some of the Smithsonian Museums.

Exploring the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

Touring the Smithsonian Museum of Art. Sheldon doesn't appreciate art like I do hence the forced smile in this next picture. Lets just say the art museums were not his favorite but I LOVED them...amazing!

This picture was created solely from human finger prints dipped in ink...we are staring hard to see the individual finger prints. It was the most amazing piece of art.

An original PICASSO

Sheldon, Nicole and Jake staring hard, too hard, at nude Adam and Eve. haha

Touring the Smithsonian Museum of American History. The piece below was pulled from the ruble of one of the World Trade Centers that was destroyed on 9/11.

On our final day we went to the Washington DC Temple. It is a breathtaking temple.

Here is what we did on our down time...Wii boxing matches.

I kicked Sheldon's butt however I was so sore the next day.

This is where Nicole and I could be found anytime we weren't out site seeing or doing an activity. I loved the black recliner I am in. I claimed it our entire trip. I wanted to bring it home so badly. And Nicole was always right beside me in her recliner that she loves. We had to get a picture of us in our recliners...it was comical how often we were in them. We are cheering our delicious peanut butter shakes made by our hubbies.

Got snow?...Crazy huh? The boys helped Nicole's dad chip out ice on the roof and in the rain gutters to prevent leaking.

Jake and Nicole with Nicole's parents. They were so sweet to let us stay in their home during our visit.

Vacation ending :( Here we are getting ready to go home. We were sad to leave. Nicole and I were secretly hoping to get snowed in so we didn't have to go home but at the same time we were ready to get home to our puppies! I missed Harli SOOO much!

Told you it was a LONG POST! We had such a blast and saw some amazing things. Despite the snow and the cold it was beautiful and I am so glad we went. Thanks for the adventure Jake and Nicole!

Holiday Festivities

2010-01-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

I am still recovering from my holiday vacation. I hate going back to work after two weeks off! It almost doesn't even make the vacation worth it....isn't that a horrible thing to say? It is a good thing I love my job! Anyway, our holidays were wonderful and I just thought I would share some pictures from our festivities.

***

Ugly Sweater Party 2009

We started the holidays off with the best Ugly Sweater Party. We laughed hysterically the entire night. We have the best friends who all know how to have a good time!

Sheldon's sweater wasn't so much as ugly as it was creepy.

Jake showing off his hot new white elephant jacket.

One of the couples who came to the party own a limo so they brought it along and we used it as transportation for the night...best idea ever, we had a blast!

We can always count on Kami to get a little wild...haha!

Who said Nicklecade is just for kids? Talk about ghetto fun! Sheldon loves the place. I love it too, the ghettoness of it cracks me up.

Lets just say Nicole has an addiction...OK maybe I introduced her to this game machine but it is the most addicting Nicklecade game ever. We literally spent ALL our nickles at this one game machine. When you put nickles in the machine it fills up a table of nickles and pushes nickles that can't fit over the edge. It pays out the most tickets and that is why we love it. Is that considered gambling? :)

This is when Jake won the 500 tickets jackpot on our machine. He was so elated.

And this is 1minute later when Bree won the 750 tickets jackpot on another machine and stole Jake's thunder.

***

Christmas 2009!

Harli was so excited to open presents she kept giving me lots of kisses!

Sheldon opening his first present, can you feel the anticipation?

Love my new comfy boots...just thought I would model them for you.

Sheldon's parents opening their presents.

This is the only other picture I got to snap of the family on Sheldon's side on Christmas. Brad giving a big smile!

My brother Andrew, his girlfriend Stephanie and her little one Kyson.

My sister Becca

Becca got a Wii and Wii fit for Christmas and Sheldon tested it out for her. I was laughing hysterically watching Sheldon do the ski jump. He would stick out his bum when he squat right before the jump; it was so funny looking. Check out that nice booty!

I decided to re-gift Harli.
Just kidding, that would never happen. I got distracted when I was cleaning up the wrapping paper mess from gift opening. So cute and so patient.

***

Happy New Year!!!

Unfortunately on New Years Eve Sheldon happened to find some old fireworks that we ironically had stashed away. For this I apologize to my neighbors.

TROUBLE! Sheldon and Jake were setting these off right outside my back door! I really was scared and a little frustrated when I was taking these pictures. However I think the picture taking just reinforced the behavior. Sometimes Sheldon is crazy, hence the crazy face.

Jake and Nicole bringing in the new year.

And finally, our first picture of 2010!

Happy New Year!!! We hope 2010 brings you all great things!

Recent Happenings

2009-12-13T10:46:00.000-08:00

I just realized I haven't posted since the beginning of October! It is just an indicator of how our life has been. Anyway here are LOTS of pictures of what has been happening with the Barlow's, starting with the most recent memories.

***

Emi and Harli are fascinated with each other. Emi loves grabbing Harli's fur and ears and Harli is so dazzled by Emi's smallness and unique noises she makes. It is so funny and super cute.

Emi just chillin'. She is the happiest and most content baby I know.
She looks just like a mini Dan (but more feminine).

***

We have also been trying to get use to the bitter snow. Actually I should say except Harli because she loves playing in it. She just hasn't quite picked up on the fact that Sheldon and I are not diggin' it.

It is too cold when we have to bundle up in several layers (literally several) head to toe just to take our pup on a walk.

***

On Halloween we went galactic mini golfing and had a BLAST. Bree had the brilliant idea to get our camera out and snap some fun shots with the black lights and crazy colored props.

Needless to say, I think things got a little out of hand...

(I am pretty sure Bree was the brains behind this shot too.)
Thanks for the fun and late night Bree and Tyler!

***

Next...this is what our yard looked like way back in October.

If you are wondering, NO it did not snow in October. Our yard only looked like this because we have one of these...

She looks ashamed in this picture for a reason. This was Harli's second, and thankfully last episode of naughtiness (if you saw the previous post you saw her first episode of naughtiness). I had put her bed outside in the shed for her to lay on during the day while we were gone at work because it was starting to get cold. Looks like she had other plans with it. Sheldon and I have made a decision that she no longer gets beds with stuffing in them. This mess took me almost 1 HOUR and I think it was five 13 gallon garbage bags to clean up. I made Harli sit on the porch (without getting up) and watch me clean up the mess as her discipline. I think she knew she was in trouble because she didn't even think about moving the whole time I was cleaning up.

***

Despite her few episodes of naughtiness Harli still graduated from puppy training. We actually can't complain, she is a really good dog and one of the cutest might I add :).

Receiving her certificate from her trainer.

***

Last but not least! In September (holy moly I haven't posted in forever!) we went on a hike up Adam's Canyons. Just looking at these pictures makes me sick of the snow already. The leaves were in the process of changing and they were gorgeous.

That's all the memories for now!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS !

Angel turned Demon

2009-10-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

Hmmm....somehow my angel turned into a demon over night. This is what I found the other morning when I went to get Harli out of her kennel to let her outside.

Bed stuffing everywhere!

NAUGHTY HARLI! (Her eyes are such a crazy color they even look like little devil eyes in these pictures because of the camera flash.) This was quite a surprise to me. Harlie is such a good dog this incident was out of character for her. But I must say I do believe we are to blame; we put her in her kennel really early the night before and I slept in later than usual too. We also forgot to put her bone/chew toy in the kennel with her so add up all those factors and we get a bored little puppy, which in turns equals a very large mess.

I was laughing so hard. She had stuffing from her bed stuck on her snout. It was so cute, I had to wake up Sheldon to show him and I had to get some pictures. Maybe she turned demon for a night but isn't she still so adorable?

Family Pictures 2009

2009-10-03T00:03:00.000-07:00

One of our wonderful friends is an amazing photographer!!! Sheldon and I have tried to get pictures done every year so one day we will be able to look back and remember each amazing year we have spent together (kinda cheesy but I am serious). Our dear friend Nicole (Nicole Grace Photography) does photography on the side of her day job and she offered to do them for us despite her busy schedule. Nicole is so gifted and she did an AMAZING JOB! Plus she has a wonderful assistant who will even hold all your stuff for you and watch your dog during your photo shoot...her husband! (Thanks Jake).

I know it may seem like we are some of those crazy people who treat their pet like their child but don't worry...we are not, crazy that is. Or I guess I would like to think we are not...don't judge me. We just love Harli so much. She is very much a part of our little family and will be for a very long time, even after our little ones come. So of course Harli had to be in our family pictures. Nicole shot some great pics of her. I am pretty sure she is one of the cutest dogs ever...and one of the best.

I know there are a lot of photos of us...sorry. I tried to condense the post by putting some of our favorites in a collage rather than posting each photo individually. I just had to showcase Nicole's talent. She has a great eye for this stuff and there is a lot of variety in her work.

If you are looking to get some pictures done you should definitely check out Nicole's photography blog, Nicole Grace Photography at http://nicolegracephotos.blogspot.com/
It has some samples of her work. She recently did some amazing new born photos our friends Michelle and Justin's baby, baby Tate. You have to check them out! She is very reasonable too.

THANK YOU NICOLE, YOU ARE AWESOME...you too Jake.

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

We did some camping, fishing, swimming, and Canoeing this weekend. We had fun and it was nice to get away.

Of course Harli came with us and she had a blast...we think.

2 more posts...Boating and 13.1 Miles

2009-08-31T18:34:00.000-07:00

My half marathon is over! The race was in Logan and the route was beautiful. I wanted to do the St. George half last year when my friend asked me to but I had too much going on at the time. In May two of my friends/coworkers asked me to run the Top of Utah half with them and I decided to go for it and I am so glad I did. I have loved the training process and the race was a blast. I can't wait to do it again! I am trying to get Sheldon and Dan to do the next one with me. I am hoping to go for a full 26 miles eventually...we will see.

I am so close to the finish line here. I guess I was running too fast for Sheldon to get a front shot! haha J/K I am actually pretty slow but I didn't stop the whole time! But our camera is just really slow. I was waving to my one and only fan..Sheldon.

With Kami and Katie, my running buddies.

***
NEXT...Pineview! Jake and Nicole invited us to go boating. We had so much fun hanging out with all our friends.

Justin and Colby just chillin' on the boat.

Sheldon pulling a face...one of many.

Sheldon trying to get up.

Colby and Carson...awwh! They are the best of friends...haha!

Jake and Nicole, these guys crack us up. Thanks for the invite guys.

Poor Michelle...maybe we should invent a maternity life jacket!

I can't figure out if I am just really that white or if Michelle is just really tan like she usually is. Which ever it is...note to self, do not stand next to Michelle in a swimsuit photo.

Look who went wake boarding for the very first time...Carson! He is only 2! He loved it too! We were impressed.

Michelle and Tate wake boarding...Michelle is over 8 months pregnant!

Marie getting some sweet air.

We love that we have friends who still go out and do fun and crazy stuff! Thanks guys, we love you all!

Another Long One

2009-08-22T16:39:00.000-07:00

I am creating a bad habit of slow posting, so before I know it I have so much to share!!! So this is another long one.

FIRST....our family is growing, not of the human kind though.

Meet Harli...

She is my precious Chesapeake Bay Retriever. For those of you who know me well, know I LOVE dogs! I have wanted a dog ever since my childhood Chesapeake Bay Retriever-Coco-died soon after Sheldon and I were married. The day she died Sheldon promised one day he would get me a dog. Up until now we have known that a dog in our life was not practical. Even though I have wanted one so badly Sheldon and I also wanted to make sure we were in a place where we could keep a dog with us forever (well until the dog grows old and...well you know) when we did get one. Now that we are settling down more we felt it was time to take the next step in our life. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes school, then comes house, then comes dog...right?! (And no one needs to tell us what comes next, we know :)

So, on Sheldon's birthday I came home from work and...SURPRISE! I was SHOCKED to say the least. How was my birthday present to him going to top that???!!! Sheldon bought her while I was working and brought her home. She was a steal of a deal which is why Sheldon decided to finally take the plunge, and she is past the tiny puppy stage which was also comforting for him. I am not naive and knew having a puppy would be hard. The first day she didn't prove us wrong with the being hard thing BUT everyday after we have been very pleasantly surprised. She is quite mellow. She is already used to being outside in the back with no one with her and she is not even barking or howling for us like she did the first day. She is training well and is warming up to her kennel. Overall she is a happy and sweet pup. WE LOVE HER!

***

As I just mentioned Sheldon also turned 26. Happy late B-day Sheldon!

***

This past weekend we went camping with our ward at Monte Cristo. The scenery was beautiful. I broke the camera out a little late but I captured a few moments. We took Harli with us and she did great. We have learned she does not love other dogs but that is seriously her only flaw, and she will learn to get over that with her training (fingers crossed).

She already knows she is my baby, next to Sheldon of course.

***

NEXT...Rindee Lynn has arrived. Krista had her baby girl 4 weeks early due to high blood pressure issues.

Luckily 5 lb 1 oz Rindee came very quick but HEALTHY and with the most adorable strawberry-blond hair, a lot of it too! She is a doll.

***

Finally, I just thought I would share some pics from our Bear Lake trip we took a long while ago.

I woke up at 5 am to do my run before it heated up and this is the view of the sunrise from our cabin deck.

Sheldon and I on the beach happy to be alive. My brother is wicked with the wave runners! He almost killed us all including his own girlfriend who he brutally threw off the back.

Below is the Merlinator, which is a GIGANTIC, extremely unhealthy might I ad, hamburger (the regular size ones are not even healthy!) The picture doesn't even do the size justice, it was the size of my face. Anyway, if you eat the whole thing your picture gets put on the wall of the restaurant and you get a bumper sticker.

Well, not only did my brother eat it, he ate it in only 9 MINUTES! He also ate fries and then ordered a shake! Ugh, it makes me sick thinking about it.

He was proud though.

DONE! Savor the rest of your summer, it is coming to an end real fast! By the way, yesterday I was in Hobby Lobby and they have Christmas stuff out, CHRISTMAS STUFF!
Ok, now I am done.

4th of July Weekend

2009-07-11T23:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the 4th of July has come and gone. We spent time with friends and family and had a blast! We had a BBQ at my in-laws and ate some delish ribs and did some fireworks.

Mischievous boys...

Dan was attacked by a firework. I was able to get a great action shot of it coming right at us...although I don't know how since I was screaming and running in the other direction. It was hilarious except for the fact that I plowed my poor mom-in-law over while I was running for my life.

I LOVE this picture of Autumn (niece)! She was just enjoying her sparkler when a LOUD firework went off and scared her right as I shot this. Her face in this picture is classic. :)

Madi

Still being mischievous with "fireworks"...we will just leave it at that.

Emilily was so good even with all the noise.

Sheldon playing with some of his nieces.

***

We finally hit the mountains with our bikes. Here are some pics from our trip.

Happy July!!!

Summer Thus Far

2009-06-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

Now that the rain is finally gone summer is here...yipee! I always take more pictures in the summer, so here is what has been going on with us so far.

First....Emilily arrived on Father's Day! Happy Father's Day Dan!

Oh my she is such a beauty.

Dan and Natalie are such proud parents. Congrats you guys!

***

Next...Sheldon and I celebrated 5 years together. Time has flown by so fast! Every anniversary we can't help but reflect on all that we have been blessed with throughout our marriage, especially the company of each other! We went to dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant in Salt Lake and then spent some time at the Gateway for Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory caramel apples (YUM), shopping, and a movie. The weather decided to make our trip interesting. While we were walking around a storm came in out of no where and it started pouring rain! Sheldon being the adventurous soul he is insisted we stay and continue to walk around and shop. I am glad we did because after the storm a gorgeous rainbow appeared and the sky looked amazing.

The sky looked like the painted ceiling of the Bellagio in Vegas.

In honor of 5 years I have included 5 fun facts about Sheldon and I.
1. We met in junior high school.
2. Sheldon and I have NEVER (in 5 years) been grocery shopping without each other
3. We have known each other for almost 12 years.
4. We have never enjoyed a marriage without school..blah...but hopefully soon when Sheldon graduates we will get to see what a life without school feels like.
5. I have never done Sheldon's laundry and he has never done mine AND we plan on keeping it that way!

Every year we like to take pictures on our anniversary so one day we can look back and see the changes. Here is us before and on our date.

***

Finally...we have cherries, lots of cherries.
We picked 2 huge bowls of cherries off our cherry tree and let our neighbors take the rest. There were SO many. Sheldon and I didn't even notice how many cherries were on the tree and how beautiful they were until a couple of our neighbors came and knocked on our door to let us know that we should pick them or the birds were going to devour them. Our neighbors even offered to pick them for us and then some for themselves. Anyway, Sheldon and I knew that we would never even make a dent in eating the cherries that were on the tree so our neighbors were glad to take some off our hands.

It was raining (surprise) so we had to bundle up!

They were very pretty.

Hope your all having a great summer.

Just Bloggin'

2009-06-01T18:52:00.000-07:00

I thought I would be efficient and blog while I am watching THE BACHELORETTE. Therefore, your going to have to hear some of my thoughts regarding tonight's episode.

Ed...I like. He seems very sweet and genuine. I think Jill likes him too!

Tanner P. foot fetish guy...I am diagnosing him as a WEIRDO! What was up with him taking her feet and rubbing them on his face in the hot tub tonight? I would say NO ROSE FOR YOU!

Robby...seems innocent. Their kiss was pretty cute. (BTW what is up with all the kissing this season? She is getting physical really early with ALL the men.)

David...AKA the Juan hater. He is just a raging bully. I can't wait until Jill sees his true colors and kicks him out of there!

OK now I will blog.

I had another birthday and turned 25. Time is flying by but I am glad I still have some of my youth. I just wanted to say THANK YOU to all those who called, text, or just wished me a Happy Birthday. Sheldon gave me a CHI. Wahoo! I can finally get my wavy, frizzy hair under control with little time and effort. My parents-in-law gave me BEAUTIFUL potted sunny yellow Calla Lillies. If you know me you know I LOVE callas; that was my wedding flower. I am just too afraid to plant them outside because I am scared they will die. I am thinking I will put them in some pretty pots.

Sheldon and I on my bday eating Zeppes, mmm.

Pretty huh?

Next, smores! We pulled our fire pit out last week and made yummy smores. I usually don't even like smores but they were pretty good.

Dan, Natalie and Sheldon (Natalie is about to have her baby the first week of July...she is so small I am wondering if there is really a baby in there.)

Sheldon making a mess...isn't' he good looking? haha

Memorial Day Weekend at Zions Ponderosa

2009-05-26T20:46:00.000-07:00

Wow...this is a super long post with lots of pictures but you gotta love getaways! We had an awesome time this past weekend spending time with friends in Zions. We stayed in a great cabin at the Zions Ponderosa Ranch and Resort and loved it.

Nicole and Colby just chillin'

Celebrating birthdays. Tyler turned 26, I turned 25 and Jake turned 39....oh I mean 29 (haha)

Men making breakfast...yum!

Women waiting for breakfast.

Pictures of us in front and in our cabin.

Just the two of us.

My new friend....

My new love...

Meet Shiloh (in my arms) and Abby (in Nicole's arms). Some employees at the ranch owned adorable puppies. I am still anxiously waiting for my own and had to get my fix on these cuties. Sheldon and I wanted to take Shiloh home.

Riding in the golf cart...why the crazy face you ask? Sheldon decided to hang off the back of the cart while we were moving. I still love him.

Just us making more memories.

Nicole was very proud in this photo because she was about to drive the golf cart. About 5 minutes after this picture she discovered that it wasn't so simple. After it was figured out she did great!

Swimming at the resort.

Sheldon loves playing with Colby...I think the feeling is mutual...?

Sweating it out at the barn dance.

Michelle and Justin after a zip-line ride. So cute.

This is my proudest moment of the trip...I went paintballing!!! I was SO nervous because I had never done it before, Nicole was in the same boat. We almost hyperventilated several times before starting. My hardest hit was from Sheldon of course. I have a bruise on the back of my arm from his ruthlessness! Nicole and Bree, I am so proud of us!

4 wheeling with Bree and Tyler. (I'm really not a midget, Tyler and Bree are just model tall)

At Jolly's Gully. This place had a crazy story but it is too long to write.

Last, Sheldon and I in front of the cabin. The trip was a nice break for the both of us. Thanks for all the laughs friends. We had a blast.

We hope you all had a great weekend too!

Babblings of Randomness

2009-04-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

First, I LOVE this weather! Sunshine I love you, please don't leave...ever.

(a picture for the visual folks)

Second, last week Sheldon and I fit in a rare weekday date; it was much needed to make it through the week. Anyway, at the end of the night we ended up at a new frozen yogurt shop in Layton called the RED MANGO. I have been wanting to try this place since it went in, so I thought I would share my review. My first reaction was confused...they only had three flavors 1-plain, 2-pomegranate, and 3-green tea. They had some toppings but still only 3 flavors, seriously? So we both went for the twist flavor. It tasted like plain dairy yogurt but frozen, I guess that's why they call it REAL frozen yogurt. It was OK but NOT $9 worth of deliciousness. It didn't even hit us until after we paid and were walking out of the shop that we had just paid almost $9 for 2 small plain, no toppings might I add, frozen yogurts . However, by the time I had almost finished mine the taste had grown on me a little. So just in case you have been wondering the final verdict is RED MANGO provides a mediocre, money eating treat.

Have a good week!

It Shouldn't Hurt to be a Child

2009-04-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

April is Child Abuse Awareness Month. If your not already, be aware of what is going on with the children of the world. Help bring awareness to others and do your part to prevent child abuse and neglect. A little education goes along way and can change the future of thousands.

Remember "Child abuse casts a shadow the length of a lifetime." (Herbert Ward)

Become educated and prevent! That's all.

Dreaming of White

2009-03-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

We love white kitchens! Krista this post is for you! Remember when you said "Why do you want to redo your kitchen white?" Hopefully these pictures will help you see my vision! One day (hopefully soon) our oak kitchen will be white.

Clean, bright, pretty! Until then we will just have to enjoy these pictures.

Vegas Vacation

2009-03-18T20:12:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I am finally back again. I wish I had the time to post all the happenings from the past 3 months-which is the last time I made a real post-but we all need to face the fact that is not gonna happen. However, here is a glimpse.

We went to Vegas with a group of friends from our ward over a month ago and we had a blast! I just wanted to share some photos. And while we are at it, lets kill two posts at once! I also chopped my hair over a month ago. I have a good friend who is very talented who did it for me; she did an awesome job! (Thanks Michelle). Anyway, it has been a good change.

By the way, about the hat...I am not sure what possessed him to buy it but while we were shopping at the St. George outlets that was one of Sheldon's buys. When I saw him wearing it I thought he was just messing around with me, but it turns out he really bought it. Despite the fact that I discouraged it (because I think it looks like a pimp hat) all the guys encouraged him. Sheldon wore the hat almost the whole vacation. That hat was the topic of a lot of conversations during the trip but I must admit, it eventually grew on me.

Still Alive and Well

2009-02-19T20:27:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, if you usually keep up with our blog obviously you know there has not been much to read up on about us lately. Even though it appears as if nothing exciting is happening in our lives reality is it is just the opposite...well not all of it is too exciting. We have been so extremely, crazy busy!!! I really can't believe how crazy things have been lately! Anyway, I just wanted to say that we are still here and doing well. A post of some recent happenings will be on soon! TO BE CONTINUED.......(when I have the luxury and time to blog again :)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! (our electronic christmas card :)

2008-12-22T17:44:00.000-08:00

Every year around the holidays we like to take a picture so when we get old and wrinkly we can look back on each year to remember special memories and see how we and our family(...one day) have changed. This year we never made it out of the house so our trusty tripod was our photographer :).

Anyway, we hope you all have happy holidays! If a Christmas card never makes it your way lets make this count. I fell upon this quote on another blog and I love it (I am kind of a quote fanatic, they are simple but powerful). It really helps me put things into perspective and helps me remember what I need to focus on this Christmas and every other day of the year. Sara Ban Breathnach said "Both abundance and lack (of abundance) exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend... when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present-love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us happiness-the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth."

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND WE REALLY DO HOPE YOU HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!-LOVE the Barlows

The Hot Soccer Mama's

2008-11-10T18:00:00.000-08:00

I have joined an indoor soccer team with some friends and I forgot how much energy you must have to play soccer! However we have a lot of fun and we are awesome! OK, so maybe we are working on the awesome part but by the end of the season we are hoping to be awesome. So together we make up the Hot Mama's. I am not sure because I didn't help with the team name but I think that name was decided on because the majority of the team members have children. There are only a couple of us that don't have kiddos. Here are some pictures from our first game.

Our Team

Huddle!

Hmmm...Sheldon decided to take pictures and get some action shots but this is the only one that was actually in focus. I wonder what Sheldon was doing?

B-Ball...Go Jazz!

2008-11-10T17:24:00.000-08:00

Recently we went to a Jazz game with some friends and we had so much fun!!! The game was awesome because the Jazz rocked and there was an unexpected surprise...President Monson was there! He was across the arena from us, and when I say across the arena I mean clear on the other side, but he was easy to pick out because I think he was the only one in the crowd wearing a suit and tie. So luckily I had my camera with me and I used my super zoom to snap a couple shots of him. I kind of felt like a stocker because we took a ton of pictures but it was really hard to get a good shot because he was so far away. Anyway, we had a blast! Thanks Justin and Michelle!!!

Here are some pics...

These were the best shots I could get. Can you find him?

Justin, Michelle, and their little Colby!

CHEESE! Cheering and having fun!

HALLOWEEN 2008

2008-11-02T12:58:00.001-08:00

I can't believe October has come and gone....so fast! Well, as exciting as Sheldon and I are this is what we decided to dress up as on Halloween night...............

YES, you guessed it we were Chelsea and Sheldon Barlow! Clever huh? Maybe one day when we have children Halloween will be more exciting for us, but for now we just enjoy a date night on Halloween. At least I wore my orange jacket which is better than nothing! Sheldon always tells me I look like a pumpkin in that jacket so I decided to wear it to work on Halloween so I could at least be a little bit festive for my little ones at work. I even thought about putting a pumpkin face on the back of my jacket but the thought never made it out of my head.

The night after Halloween we were a little bit more festive...not by much though. We went to a Murder Mystery Party my good friend Renee hosted. It was so much fun! The theme was based on an Italian family in the family's restaurant "La Sparenza", which was also the murder scene. Each suspect was assigned a character and expected to dress up as that person. Sheldon was Rocco Scarfazzi a mafia like "tough-talking no-nonsense Italian business man" who was the twin brother of the murdered victim Pepi Roni. I was assigned to be Tara Misu who was Rocco's gold diggin' "vivacious young fiancee". Ha ha I love the cheesy names! Anyway, this is what Sheldon and I came up with for our costumes..........

Sheldon was actually wearing a suit jacket too but he had already taken it off. We looked for a mafia looking hat but all we could find was the one pictured. Because we didn't put too much thought into our costumes I think Sheldon ended up looking more like a missionary with a cowboy hat and I ended up looking like a show girl (with clothes) rather than a gold digger that was supposed to be "dressed to kill". All the other costumes looked awesome and I forgot to snap a picture while we were actually at the party. But, we had so much fun!!! Thanks Renee and Wayne, we had a blast! And shame on you Wayne/Bo, you murder you! :)

I Think Mother Nature is Confused!

2008-10-13T19:24:00.000-07:00

Seriously???...we only had 2 weeks of fall! We didn't even have a chance to get pictures of the colorful leaves. We had to really bundle up for our Sunday drive. However, as much as I hate to admit it, it was very pretty so we had to get some pictures.

This one is just dang funny!

A Week to Celebrate!

2008-10-11T22:56:00.000-07:00

This past week was a stressful, but good one! There were a few reasons to celebrate! ***WARNING VERY LONG POST***

CELEBRATION REASON #1: I finished my first sewing project! It was hard work and I am glad it is done, but I learned so much. It all began months ago, in March to be exact, after I found out my dear friend Krista was pregnant with baby boy #2 (ok so we didn't know it was a boy at the time, obviously she found out later). Soon after I found out about Krista's pregnancy one of my clients who had just had a baby walked into my office one day with her infant baby wrapped in a beautiful quilt/blanket. I fell in love with it and immediately thought of Krista. I knew I wanted to make one for her; she is such a special person to me and has been the greatest friend. She is like a second sister and I love her and her family so I knew this endeavor would be worth it. So after all these years that is what inspired me to start sewing-thanks Krista! After I had made this decision my mother-in-law and sister-in-law invited me to join a quilt blocking class with them at a local sewing store. The timing was perfect because this helped me get motivated to start the blanket. Thanks to the help of my sister-in-law Stephanie who showed me some darling fabric and my mother-in-law who seriously walked me through the WHOLE process, it is finally done! Ironically the finished project looks nothing like the inspiration quilt/blanket from what I can remember but I am pleased with the way my first project turned out. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU Carolyn for coming to my rescue again, I couldn't have done it without you!

Enjoy Krista and Jakob, I love you!

CELEBRATION REASON #2: This one is the most important of them all! Jakob Matthew Johnson finally arrived on October 7, 2008! I was so excited to see the little man I had made the blanket for and to give it to Krista! Of course Jakob is so sweet and adorable, just like his big brother who he looks a lot alike-I think! Congrats Krista, Kent, and Sawyer on your new family member. We love you.

CELEBRATION REASON #3: I passed my clinical licensing exam!!! Talk about relief. This exam is the last exam a social worker must pass before they enter the field of clinical therapy practice. It is 4 hours long and dreadful. I have been dreading taking this exam since May when I graduated. I spent the whole summer studying for it but have never felt prepared to take it. I was even scheduled to take it in September but then rescheduled my testing appointment until today because I was so fearful and felt so unprepared. After all if you don't pass the exam the first time you have to wait 3 months before you can re-attempt and lets just say the pass rate is not ideal for first attempts. I have been so stressed that earlier this week I even told Sheldon that I was considering rescheduling it again. Luckily, he knocked some sense into me and confronted me on my avoidance. So after approximately 2 weeks of high anxiety-to the point I have been sick to my stomach, intense studying, and sleepless nights (because of both the anxiety and studying) I am finally done! The education chapter of my life has officially closed. No more papers, tests, studying, and school! YIPEE!!!!!!!! I have finally reached one of my major life goals.

I must say however, I know it was not all my doing. Sheldon has been the biggest support of me and my education. He has never treated his education as more important than mine. He has been supportive of my decision to take this journey and at times pushed me through it because he knew it was important to me-cheesy I know but it's true. And most important of all I have my Heavenly Father to thank. I am nothing without him and I know that I only made it to this point because this is what he wanted and expected of me, so he helped me. Thank you to everyone who was so happy for me and expressed care.

Sheldon gave me congratulation flowers, so sweet.

Sheldon and my mother-in-law congratulated me with suprise decorations and a ton of treats, thanks Carolyn.

And my cute little nieces made and hung up a "Good Job" banner. It was so long I couldn't even fit in into one camera frame. Thanks Taylor, Jaedi, Autumn, Kaydee, and Madison!

FYI...

2008-10-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

October is domestic violence awareness month!

For a moment I am letting the social worker in me take over blog posting, however this is one of the most important posts I can make. October has been designated as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Despite what some think domestic violence affects people of all races, ages, religions and socioeconomic statuses. Domestic violence scars people physically and emotionally when it doesn't kill. It is likely that you currently know someone who is being affected by domestic violence, most importantly it is possible that someone is a child. It is considered neglect when children witness domestic violence! It is extremely unhealthy and detrimental to a child's development when they witness domestic violence; this is manifested to me on a daily basis with my clients. James Baldwin stated it best when he said 'Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.'

Help promote awareness of domestic violence in your area this month. You should be able to Google "domestic violence awareness month" followed by your state and area to learn about promotion efforts local to you. In Northern Utah there is a 5K in Layton park October 11th and a supplies drive for Safe Harbor Domestic Violence Shelter. I will post detailed information about these events and more.

If you know someone who is a victim of DV encourage them to seek help. If you know a child who is in a violent home seek help for them. For help call 1-800-897-LINK (5465). The LINKline operates 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The Utah Statewide Domestic Violence Info-line will LINK you to free help. They can refer you to counseling, shelter and other services. You can also call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) if you are outside the state of Utah.

Let's work together to reduce the violence. THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR VIOLENCE!!!

The BEST way to watch "So You Think You Can Dance"....

2008-09-25T21:49:00.001-07:00

...is definitely LIVE! Thanks to Michelle who picked up my ticket for me I was able to go the concert tour and it was AWESOME! We really didn't know what to expect but the show exceeded my expectations. It was so much different than watching it on TV. I know I am a little obsessed, maybe too obsessed, but it sure is dang good entertainment. Unfortunately, we didn't get pictures during the concert but we snapped some after for memories sake. And poor Sheldon, he missed out on the whole thing! (ha, ha)

Cruise Vacation

2008-09-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

We finally were able to take a MUCH needed vacation (ahhh)! It was quite an adventure and we had SO MUCH FUN!!! Thanks to our traveling buddies-well we are friends even when we are not traveling, but you get my point-we never had a dull moment. We had so many laughs and good times despite our major cruise disappointment (read below). So here is a run-down of our trip with some pics.

SAN DIEGO
Sheldon and I decided to spend a night in San Diego, where our cruise started and ended, so we left a day early. We went to La Jolla beaches, visited the beutiful temple, and explored the city. I also must comment on our hotel-it was amazing! I love interior design and architecture so I didn't want to stay in a cookie cutter hotel when we were in SD; I wanted to stay in a hotel that was unique. So I chose The Bristol, it is a historic building with a lot of architectual detail but with modern interior design. Before we actually arrived Sheldon was extremely paranoid because the hotel is known for being trendy and unique, so it attracts the same kind of people if you know what I mean. Sheldon repeatedly told me he wanted to stay at the Hilton-boring! But he was pleasantly suprised!

3 1/2 DAYS & 3 NIGHTS AT SEA!
The next day we met up with friends and went cruising! Our cruise was scheduled to go to Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada. The disapointment was that we cruised all the way down to Cabo and were told we could not get off the ship becuase of a "dangerous tropical storm"-oh ha Carnival! So we didn't even get off the ship for 3 1/2 days! The plus side is we still had a blast. We past the time by going to the cruise line activities and shows, playing basketball and volleyball, laying out under the sun, swimming, playing cards, and of course eating and sleeping!

ENSENADA
We finally got off the ship in Ensenada where we spent about 10 hours. Ensenada was awesome! It definitely made up for Cabo. We were literally the first ones off the boat we were so excited to be on land. In Ensenada we rented 4-wheelers and drove them on the Mexico highway (I know we are crazy! I still can't believe we did that and that it is legal!) all the way to La Bufadora. It took about 45 minutes for us to get to La Bufadora on the quads but it was SO worth it! The views were breath-taking and the blow hole was pretty cool too. We did some shopping and ate some real Mexican food. We also went off-roading and drove to the top of a very large mountain where we were able to see for miles-it was so beautiful. Later we rode back to Ensenada and spent some time at the beach.

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Despite missing Cabo our trip was a success! Justin and Michelle and Missy and Jared were exicited to get back home to see their kids, but Sheldon and I could have stayed on vacation forever. We miss it already! Thanks for the fun friends!

Happy Birthday Sheldon Ray!

2008-08-17T21:15:00.000-07:00

Sheldon is 25! We celebrated the whole weekend and had lots of fun. On Friday I took Sheldon to our favorite Thai food restaurant downtown SLC and then we went on a 4x4 drive up to Bountiful peak, which was beautiful! On Saturday we went to Lagoon and rode the new ride WICKED; that was quite the adventure, a scary adventure. Finally, on Sunday we had a get together with family.

This year I decided to make Sheldon 2 homemade cakes because he had picked them out of one of my cooking magazines a month ago; this was quite an adventure too! One was a butter pecan cake which I was not a fan of, but Sheldon loved it. The second was a strawberry cream dessert, which was actually pretty good. I was just glad that Sheldon liked them both and had a good birthday weekend. Here are some pictures of our activities :)

Silly Sheldon!

2008-08-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

The other day Sheldon was running and when I walked into the room to talk to him this is what I found....

He had literally cut the sleeve off his T-shirt and put the sleeve on his head for a sweat band. HAHA

I was laughing so hard, and he was pretty embarrassed. This is how dang funny Sheldon is. This is half the reason why I married him. He can always make me smile and laugh even on the gloomiest of days!

Farewell Rebecca, we will miss you :(

2008-08-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

Despite all our differences, my sister and I share one passion-social work. This past weekend Becca moved to New York to pursue her Master's degree in Clinical Social Work at NYU.

***

As sad as we are to see you go, we wish you the best of luck. Your journey will be hard and long but we know you can do it! We will miss you and love you very much. MAKE US PROUD!!!

The Adventures of Packing Rebecca...if you knew her you would understand but she always seems to make sense of the chaos!!! haha

Saying good-bye at the airport :(sniffle, sniffle):

Becca's Good-bye BBQ

2008-08-06T20:07:00.000-07:00

I am not saying good-bye yet! I was just finally able to get pictures of my siblings together, and this will be the last time in a long while.

LAKE POWELL, we miss you!

2008-07-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

Sheldon and I vacationed at Lake Powell with friends this last week. This was Sheldon's first time ever and he loved it. The weather was hot, but beautiful;one day we were told the temp. reached 106 degrees! We had a blast spending time with everyone-thanks for the adventure everyone! And a special thanks to Michelle and Marie for giving us this opportunity!!! Here are some, OK a lot, of photos. ENJOY ;D

Fishing

2008-07-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

I caught my first fish ever! The fishing trip began with Sheldon and Dan teaching me how to use a fishing pole. The fishing trip ended with only one fish caught by me. Sheldon was very proud, but I think Dan was pretty resentful-sorry Dan! Even though we didn't catch much we had a great day.

Weekend Biking

2008-06-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

This weekend's ride was a challenge, but we had a blast! However, Sheldon lost his position as the leader. He sometimes fails to remember that bikes do not have brake lights like cars which can create a problem when I am going full speed behind him and he stops! Sheldon would also like everyone to know that I also experienced my first biff of the year. The sad thing was that I wasn't even riding! We were walking our bikes down a VERY steep slope with boulders that lead into a river. As I was walking down the slope my bike over took me and I went down with it-OUCH! Sheldon laughed and thought it was very comical; I agree it was pretty dang funny.

A Happy 4 Years

2008-06-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

This past week Sheldon and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary. We took a short city getaway to Salt Lake and stayed at the Anniversary Inn, again. We can't believe we are now working on our 5th year. Time seems to have gone by sooo fast! We have accomplished so much together in these past 4 years and we are very excited for all that we will accomplish together in the future. We want to say thank you to all our family and friends who have provided support-Thanks!

Leisure Drive

2008-06-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

Sheldon and I love to take drives! Ever since we have been married it has been our informal tradition to take leisure drives almost every week; we enjoy the scenery and each others company. Over the weekend we drove up by the Bountiful "B" on the mountain and caught some amazing views of the city and the sunset, I thought I would share.