Random Updates

So, it's been over a month since I blogged, and some fun things have happened since then. In June, my big sister, Meg, went on a cruise with her hubby and left her two little boys with my parents here in Provo. DJ and I had a BLAST playing with those kids! We just love them!

In the beginning of July, DJ's family came to visit, which was great! We had so much fun hanging out with them. They were only here for a few days, but when they went back home they left DJ's 12-year-old sister, Savanna, with DJ and I for a week and a half. We had so much fun with her staying with us! She is such a sweetheart, and it was so great to have her around. DJ gave her a private basketball camp and helped her improve her already impressive skills. She was super helpful in the kitchen with me, and I had a blast doing her nails, hair, and choosing out clothes for her to wear :) I just love my Vanna!

Work has been soooo busy lately, and I've been working around 50 hours a week. Needless to say, I'm exhausted, but in this economy it's a good problem to have. I especially can't complain when I get my paycheck :) DJ has been amazing with helping me around the house and being completely understanding when I have my frequent come-aparts. He's learned that lack of sleep plus working extra hours means lots more tears in our house. Good thing I married such a compassionate guy who just holds me so I can let it all out :)

DJ bought me a new iPod touch, which I LOVE! My old iPod was from when I was about 18 and only had 4 gigs. I was constantly deleting music so I could add new stuff. It sure is nice to have and iPod with more space! I've got such a great husband!

When my mom and Meg ran the half marathon in June, they each got a coupon for an hour long full body massage for $25. Since Meg lives in Denver and my mom doesn't like people to touch her, DJ and I used the coupons. We got our massages on Wednesday, and it was so nice! It was great to just relax and let someone take care of you for an hour. We were grateful we got the benefit of Meg and mom's hard work :)

DJ and Jordan playing Mario Kart with their feet. I think DJ took first place out of everyone, even the computer players.... those crazy boys.....

Me, Nik, and Keesh having fun!

Meg's adorable boys at the Bean Museum at BYU. Ty loved all the animals!!!

Utah Valley Marathon

So today, my mom and sister ran a half marathon in Provo. I decided to volunteer at the race, and convinced Nikki to volunteer with me :) We went to our station at 5am and got set up in the pouring rain. We were at mile marker 25 (12 for the half marathon). We just had a table full of Powerade and handed it to runners who wanted it as they ran by. Since we were one mile from the finish, and there were 2 other tables about 30 feet before ours, we didn't have many people who wanted our drinks. We basically turned into the entertainment committee instead. We danced and screamed and cheered every single person who passed, trying to pump them up for the last mile of their run. We had a blast, and it turns out it was actually useful, because my mom told me afterwards that it was really encouraging to have people cheering all along the trail. There's a chance she was just trying to make me feel good... she's my mom ;) Meg finished first, in 2 hours, and my mom finished in about 2 hours and 15 minutes. She had to stop to change in the race and went well off the trail, so if she had had a smoother race they probably would have finished at about the same time. They both did amazing an I was so proud of them!!!

Mom after she passed me

This is what 5:00 am in the rain looks like when you're a Savage girl :)

Best Vacation EVER!!! Day 7

Day 7: HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN, JIGGITY JOG

Yesterday we came home, and it was at just the right time. There were lots of people in Cali for Memorial Day Weekend, and we're glad we weren't there for the madness. The traffic was pretty terrible between Carlsbad and Vegas, but we made it through and got home in fairly good time. We had such an amazing week together and can't wait to do it again!

Best Vacation EVER!!! Day 6

Day 6: CARLSBAD AND SAN DIEGO

We decided on Friday to go down to San Diego to the Las Americas outlet mall. We were driving south and kept thinking we should be getting close... turns out the exit we took was the VERY last USA exit. We were literally right on the border of Mexico. I wanted to take a picture of the HUGE Mexican flag on the hill, but I couldn't get a good view of it on our way back. We had a great time shopping, and found some CRAZY deals! We seriously love Old Navy now. We wanted to stop at the San Diego temple on our way back to Carlsbad, so we did, but didn't take any pictures because there were scaffoldings covering the whole temple. I'm not sure what they were doing to it, but it was kind of disappointing not to be able to have a good view of the temple. Also, the temple grounds are super small! Some of the smallest grounds I've seen at any temple. Unfortunately there wasn't really even a place for us just to sit and talk and relax, so we didn't stay long. We headed back up to Carlsbad and went to the beach. The water was really cold, but we decided to go swimming. As soon as one wave covered us completely we weren't cold anymore, and we had so much fun playing in the waves for a while! We probably would have stayed out longer but I kept getting salt in my eyes and not being able to see. We went to Olive Garden for dinner that night, which was really nice. We also had a little fashion show of some of the new clothes we got. We know how to entertain ourselves :) We went to Ralph's (which is the California version of Smith's) to get snacks for the way home and as we were leaving there was a huge flock of ducks walking in the parking lot and they would not get out of the way of our car! We were honking and people were trying to shoo them away, but it seriously took so long to get out of that parking lot! DJ wanted to just drive and hope they got out of the way and if they didn't, well... tough luck, but there were kids watching and he didn't want to scar them :)

DJ fashion-showing a new outfit

My new favorite dress! $13!!!

Another great, inexpensive outfit! Originally $60, we paid $15!!!

Best Vacation EVER!!! Day 5

Day 5: CARLSBAD

On Thursday we didn't do much. We slept in, went and bought DJ some new shoes at the Adidas outlet, came back and took a nap, and went to the beach in the afternoon. I was getting some heat rash on my arms and legs from being in the sun so much, so I wore jeans and a jacket to the beach. It was a really relaxed day with not much going on. The highlight of the day was getting a Domino's pizza and Cinnastix for $4. Yep, my husband is a crazy deal finder :)

The beach in Carlsbad

Best Vacation EVER!!! Day 4

Day 4: CARLSBAD

On Wednesday we got up and drove to Carlsbad. We stayed at a hotel that was less than a mile from the beach, which was great! It was pretty windy on the beach, so it was kinda chilly, but the sun was so hot that within 45 minutes of being out there I had burned my legs way worse than the entire time I was in Palm Springs. When we went back out to the beach that afternoon I decided not to wear a swimming suit, just relax on the beach and read. We stayed on the beach until sunset, and it was so pretty! Since there was just the two of us we had a blast setting the camera on the sand and putting the timer on and running out by the ocean to get a good picture of us both. I'm pretty sure other people on the beach were pretty entertained by us as well :)

Yep. This was my life for an entire week. Be jealous.

I think everyone who knows me knows how obsessed I am with jumping pictures :)

Watching the sunset... the background almost looks fake. It was so pretty!

DJ watching the sunset.

One of the pictures we set the timer to take. We LOVE silhouette pictures!

Best Vacation EVER!!! Day 3

Day 3: PALM SPRINGS

Tuesday was our only full day in Palm Springs, and we had a blast! DJ went golfing in the morning at a little 9-hole, par-3 golf course. I went with him and just walked around enjoying the sunshine. I got a great farmers tan :) That afternoon we went to the pool again. We mostly laid out reading books the entire day. I read a 600-page book while we were in Palm Springs. Most relaxing vacation ever? Check!

DJ underwater... with a crazy amount of bubbles

Me underwater... my bubbles were a little more controlled ;)

This was in the pond at the golf course

DJ golfing

And again.