4 Years!

Dallas and I just celebrated our 4 year anniversary last month! Since I'm doing a blog update of the last few months, I felt THIS was a very worthy topic to post about. It's amazing to me that all at once our wedding feels like it just happened AND that it was a lifetime ago. Dallas and I have been so blessed these last four years and experienced so much together. Aside from all the busy and crazy things we've been doing the whole time, I think the thing I am most grateful for is how much our relationship has developed. I remember thinking when we were engaged how I couldn't imagine things being any better than they were at that moment. I can't tell you how many times I have felt that very same way since then. Dallas' ability to love and forgive never ceases to amaze me. He has taught me so much about living every day to its fullest, the importance of letting go, being passionate about the things I love, making a choice every day to be happy and most importantly, how important it is to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. I thank the Lord every day for Dallas and what he's brought to my life. I suppose it is impossible to explain to you all what makes me love him so much, but I guess that's the beauty of it.

Here are some pictures from our wedding day. They say this is the happiest day of your life. They're wrong. It only gets better!

Snickers Speedwalker Ad

I love this!! For all you fans of Mormon Cinema, you'll recognize Kirby Heyborne from Singles Ward and his other movies. I sure do miss my Saturday Morning cartoons with Mr. T!

What Taiwan's New President thinks about Mormons!

I thought this was a cool little article about missionaries in Taiwan.  Thanks to all you wonderful Elders, Sisters and Members in Taiwan who have helped to build such a wonderful reputation.  Click on the link below.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/07/16/2003417620

Here are some fun pictures as well of my mission.  I think these depict the stereotype of crazy young people riding bikes everywhere and talking to people any chance they get :)  We did stick out like a sore thumb!

Star Wars Kid

Whenever I watch this clip, I die laughing. And then I remember that I used to do the same thing with my makeshift light-saber... Except I was only 10 years old... I think :)

I like it :) God Bless the USA!

Some Great Political Cartoons

Global Warming... Is it a Myth?

I propose that it is!! And I'm not even a scientist. So why don't we see what the founder of the Weather Channel has to say about it. Click on this link.

http://www.kusi.com/weather/colemanscorner/19842304.html

PS - Al Gore is such a moron...

Funny Videos for your enjoyment

To this day, this is my all time favorite commercial :)

I still remember watching this skit with my family many moons ago and rolling on the ground laughing. I still quote this skit today.

And this is probably Will Ferrell at his best.

MARATHON #2: COMPLETED!!

So...Thanks to Kyndra Dalton, I've completed my 2nd marathon! She was the one that got me started on the whole thing, since I swore I would never run one after my first one six years ago. Absolutely NO desire. Kyndra trained with me through the hardest part and was unfortunately not able to finish training, but without her, there's no way I'd have even considered running another one. Plus, you can talk about a lot of things for a couple hours during a run, so that was the best part of it all. I fully expect to see you running in Newport 2009 Kyndra!



This one's kinda dark, but we drove up to Newport on the coast of Oregon and got all checked in for the race. I started getting a little nervous at work that day, and that night when I was coming out of the registration area, I tripped up the stairs... not sure how one does THAT. Wouldn't that have been a bummer...the night before, I break my ankle and can't run...lol...SOMEONE was watchin' out for me. :)



Okay, so the dude in the navy blue long sleeve shirt, out in front of everyone....he set the course record and ran a 2:22 time. Insanity is what that is. Running 26.2 miles is crazy as it is, but in 2 hours and 22 minutes. Whoa. What a stud!



That's a nervous smile if you couldn't tell. I was more nervous to run a marathon then I was to get married. Well I wasn't nervous to get married at all, so I guess that's not a good comparison, but I was REALLY nervous for the run. Which was weird. I surprised myself with how nervous I was, but after I started running, it all went away really quickly.



That's me! So the guy in the glasses right in front of me...he's in a later pic, so stay tuned...
The first few miles were through town and then at about mile 4 we were off onto this road that just lined the coast and it was so beautiful. There were even people running with cameras, taking pictures as they passed.

This course was a there-and-back course, which was awesome!! At mile 15 we turned around and headed back. Dallas met me at that point and had my family in CA on speaker phone to cheer me on. Then he gave me some much needed Ibuprofen, which I proceeded to drop everywhere. Still, without walking I got it all together and continued the race! :)



So here's the guy in the glasses. If any of you know me well enough, you know when I'm hurt or working out, leave me alone because I get a bit irritable. I know...I'm working on it because I shouldn't get that way, but that's how it is for now. So, throughout the run, there was only one thing that bothered me. This guy with the glasses in the picture above. For the last 7 miles or so, he would run up ahead of me really fast, then stop and walk, then I'd pass him, then he'd run up ahead of me again and do the same thing. I almost wanted to say, "Dude, if you're gonna run a marathon, RUN it, walking and then running isn't that much easier on your body." But, my parents have taught me patience and people skills, so I kept my big mouth shut. He helped me realize how important it is to just focus on "your own game" and let it go...which I did.



So here's the best part!! Finishing! Miles 17, 18, and 19 were pretty rough for me, but then a really nice guy started running with me at mile 20, so chatting with him got my mind of my hips and glutes locking up. Then the last few miles took me longer than I would've liked, but overall, I finished without walking and had a great experience and learned that it is okay to have fun while competing. Something that was NEVER something I would've EVER done before. I've been extremely competitive my whole life, so it's always a head game for me. But, I've learned there really is more to life and competition than beating other people, being the best, or being frustrated with less than ideal performance. I didn't run as fast as I would have liked, but the overall experience was awesome and I got to spend time with Dallas and the Daltons on the coast afterwards, which was great!


I would totally recommend running a marathon to anyone. Seriously. If you can run 3 miles, you can run 26.2. Just start slow and go from there. Training is obviously key, but it's not that big of a deal. Once you get out there running with 700+ people you are just like the rest of them. As I was running, I was thinking, "I don't think Heavenly Father made our bodies to do stuff like this, we are pushing the limits, don't you think?" Then at the end, this 70+ year old man crossed the finish line and the announcer said that he had just finished his 425th marathon. Are you kidding me? AMAZING is all I have to say about that. Absolutely AMAZING.



Dallas, being the wonderful husband he is, pampered me at the finish line with roses and a bottle of sparkling apple cider, (which everyone thought was wine) :). Asher is sitting next to me in this picture enjoying his goldfish crackers. (He's gonna grow up to be a hottie). Notice my sweet triangle tan on the inner part of my elbow. This is the best part of training...lol. I have the best tank top and shorts tan, and these little triangles on the inside of my elbows from keeping my arms up when I run. The ipod armband tan is pretty sweet as well.



Here are just a few pictures of the coast. They don't do it justice, but the view was amazing throughout my run.



Four and a half hours of this weather. Who could've asked for a better day to run on. I am grateful for my health and that God has blessed me with a mind and body that allows me to do great things. Without His help, I wouldn't have finished. It really is amazing to be surrounded by so many fit people with such great and positive attitudes.
So, after a couple of days rest and a nice massage, I should be good as new!

Camping with the Masse Clan!

Dallas and I went camping last weekend with the Masse clan. We had so much fun. I overpacked of course, but didn't really realize it till I saw that Brian and 4 of his kids packed about as much stuff as Dallas and I did for one night. Pretty funny. Here we have Devin on the left, me, Natalie and Camdeyn. I don't know many kids that are more well behaved than the Masses, that's for sure!



Camdeyn is absolutely hilarious. This kid was cracking us up the whole trip. He's in my Sunday School class and is this quiet, reverent child, and then you get him in the wilderness with a few sticks and he's a complete chatter box, which we loved!!



This is Dallas.



Our tent is on the right. Lol. Devin sacrificed for the rest of us and slept like a real man out on the ground with a tarp covering him. I absolutely LOVE camping, but I absolutely HATE having to get up in the middle of the night to get out of my warm mummy bag to go outside and go to the bathroom in the cold middle of nowhere. If there was a better way to handle that slight detail, camping would be that much cooler.



Here we have the Pyro section. Devin and Brian like to make fires.



Trying to be a chipper morning person...sort of. Guess I need to start practicing for Girl's Camp, eh?



Some complete LAMOs left their nasty trash out for the beasts in the wilderness to devour. C'mon did they really think a tied garbage bag out there wasn't going to attract anything?



So, being the good kids they are, the Masses led the pack in cleaning up the trash.



TA DA!!



Devin, with the new Do I gave him on the left. Us trying to fit everyone in the picture (through a foggy lens) on the right.



Cam Man was tired on the way home, if you look closely, you can see his little pop belly. He was all warm in his tight UnderArmor.



This was the first waterfall we hiked to. I love this kind of stuff. I actually hiked down underneath it, which was very cool. I've always thought it'd be fun to live out in a place like this under a waterfall for a SHORT time. :)



This was the second waterfall we hiked to. A pretty steep hike down, but it was totally worth it. The boys were hoping to catch some fish...



Unfortunately, they didn't have much luck. But, it was a great time out there anyway.

My sexy feet

I know, probably more than you care to see, but I just thought it was cool. My 2nd toenails on both feet started to die right around my 15 mile runs. The one on the right had a sweet blister behind the toenail that pushed the nail out and I guess that's what killed it. So, I've not polished my toes for the last few weeks, which does bother me, but I guess that's the price you pay for running. I think it was Erica Graves in high school that told me I have turtle toes....it really is fitting, don't you think? I've got some nice scars, callouses, blisters, and sausage looking toes from being broken. Soccer and running aren't that conducive to feminine feet I suppose.



This is a tribute to the best pair of shoes ever. If any of you think it's not worth it to spend $55.00 on a pair of flip flops, I will fight you to the death. (Well, at the time, my mom broke a pair of mine, so we split the cost, and I guess I only paid $22.50). But still. These Reef sandles are the best pair of shoes ever. I've had them for about 6 years and not only did they meet my shoe height requirement of at least 3 inches, :), they were so comfortable, never gave me blisters, and despite all the times I tripped over myself, they never broke or stretched. However, they now look completely gross and need to retire. I found the pair on the right at Ross for $12 bucks and although they aren't quite as tall or comfortable, I'm hoping they will replace my old ones rather well. However, I will miss the originals. I still can't throw them away yet.



Now to the more important things in life. Kyndra and Drew are the best. We hang out with them all the time and this was just a random Sunday with the Dalton family. Asher and Ruth are super cute and oh so smart!!! They make us laugh all the time and we are grateful to have such great friends!



I love this picture. Dallas is a total natural with kids, it's really fun to watch.



This is Ruthie trying to wear Dallas' Longhorn's hat. I think she's the cutest little girl ever.


No wonder their kids are so cute!!!!