Some unexpected but entertaining visitors

So today I'm cleaning away in my workout clothes with my hair pulled back and no makeup when I hear my doorbell ring at least 5 times in a row. Most likely not a salesperson, I thought, so I opened the door. Joseph (left) and Hank (right) were trying to hide on either side of the door, but they were quite easy to spot. "Hi Joseph and Hank!" Hank to Joseph: I told you this was a good idea! Joseph: How did you know our names? Hank: She's Kindra! Me: Joseph, I'm your Primary teacher! Joseph with a big smile: Oh! Me: Do I look different today? Joseph: Yes. Me: What are you guys doing today? Hank: We're scouting around. Someone stole our kitten. I would hunt them down but it was a stranger so I don't know who it is. I thought maybe you stole it. Me: What? I would never steal your kitten. That's sad. I hope you find it. Did you lose your shirts? Hank: No, we're getting strong! Then they started flexing their muscles and I couldn't help but laugh my head off. So they readily obliged to a picture. I hope their moms don't care. After about 10 minutes of chit chat (I wish I had a recorder for all of it), they were on their way across the street to find that kitten. As Hank was going down the stairs, he turned around and said: Bye! Love ya! See ya! Me: I love you, too! Have a good day! It was the funniest little encounter and they made my day. I'm sure going to miss those rascals. We only get to teach them for two more weeks! We have 7 sunbeams total and they are all so fun in their own way.

Happy One Year Anniversary!

Happy one year anniversary to us! One year ago June 12th was the best day of our lives (right, hunny?). It's hard to believe it's already been a year. It has been a great one full of hard work and fun. But we think this next year will be full of even more big changes. To celebrate, we went to Las Vegas where we had a screaming package deal that included 3 nights at the Encore resort (a five diamond hotel), free tickets to Le Reve (best show in Vegas - seriously), and $35 to gamble with. We lost it all at the dang Wheel of Fortune machine in about 5 minutes. I might have gotten carried away with pictures of our hotel and the room, but it really was spectacular and we had a fabulous time. I especially loved our bathroom. I mean, a phone in the toilet room, robes to use for free, and a TV! One downer was our snack area. If you lifted anything for over 60 seconds, your room was charged for it. We resisted the temptation no matter how thirsty we were. By the end of our trip, however, we decided that 2 days in Vegas is plenty and we are glad to be home.

The decor was really eye-catching and fun to look at everywhere we went.

Splash and Sprint Triathlon

So remember that post a few months ago about how I finally learned how to swim? If you had asked me then about doing a triathlon I would have said you were crazy. Well, I don't know what happened between then and now, but here I am doing a sprint triathlon. I will say that in December, Marty and I started working out at an awesome place called O.zone Fit. The idea is you do short, intense workouts that kick your butt. Over time I've noticed my endurance and strength getting remarkably better. This is the reason I decided to embark on this challenge. I signed both Marty and myself up in March for the big event on May 8th. I was most nervous about the swimming part. It was 400 meters which was 16 lengths of the pool at the South Davis Rec Center. Marty and I went a couple of times to practice before the big day. Mom and Tressa came to document the historic occasion and were very patient since we were some of the last ones in the pool. I had the runs 4 times that morning in anticipation of the swimming. Sorry to be so graphic, but you need to know how freaking scared I was. When we finally lined up, there were 4 other people from our ward who were there doing it as well and then it got fun. When I finally got in the pool, I had to do the backstroke about every other lap, but I still finished and was so happy to be done with that part! Marty was a much faster swimmer than me, but that was okay. He was sweet to wait for me to do the bike portion. Our skills and pace were equal in biking and running so we stayed together for the rest of it. The bike was 11+ miles and the run was a 5K. Thanks to our workouts, neither of us were sore at all and the bike and run were fairly easy for me. We even had a couple of our trainers there at the finish line to cheer for us. I have to add a disclaimer for how pasty my legs were. I get free laser hair removal at Dr. Dunkley's office where I work sometimes and you can't have it done if there is any kind of sunless tanner on your skin. Clearly I was ready to be lasered as you can tell from the pictures. Unfortunately, they couldn't fit me in before the race. The saddest part is that after all of that, they cancelled my appointment the following week. I was a titch upset, but what's done is done. So sorry for the blinding whiteness. The point of this post, however, is to celebrate the fact that I did something new and that I had fun doing it. Marty was a perfect teammate and we will most likely do this again someday.

Marty's graduation

On May 1st, Marty walked for his MBA. Only employees of University of Phoenix also get to wear that special flower. He will be officially done in September and I couldn't be more proud. He has done this in spite of working on the house, working full-time, and keeping me happy. It's been a crazy year but he has stayed focused, organized and kept his priorities straight. Thank you to our moms who came to support him at the ceremony and to Tressa who joined us for lunch afterwards. Congratulations, hunny! Also, thanks to those of you who sent cards and gifts. Completely unexpected, but so appreciated!

Happy Birthday Marty!

We have been celebrating Marty's birthday for at least 2 weeks now. It started in New Harmony at his parents house on Valentine's Day. Marty and his brother, Travis and their niece, Maddie, shared a party there. Then Marty got to share another birthday party with my brother Devon, his wife, Alicia and their daughter, Aria. Alicia is very prego and forbids me to put pictures of her on my blog. But we have a cute one of Marty and Aria. Then yesterday was Marty's REAL birthday and I surprised him by inviting a bunch of our good friends in our ward over for cake and ice cream that night. He got to celebrate it on his own with all of the attention on himself. I was Betty Crocker all day and barely got everything done in the nick of time. I made him a key lime pie, a super rich chocolate cake (my first round and double layer cake ever), and herb crusted salmon with risotto and salad for dinner. We literally sat down to eat at 7:30 and I had told people to start coming by at 8:00. So I was trying not to look obvious as I scarfed down my food without much chit chat. I was putting the last few dishes in the dishwasher when the doorbell rang right at 8:00. Whew! Marty was very surprised, even though later he said he wondered why the house was so clean. We have such great friends here and it was really neat to see how many came. The pictures don't show everyone who was there. Thanks to everyone for keeping such a good secret! I had fun doing all of that for my sweetheart. I love you, babe! Happy 35th from your cougar!