The Not So AVERAGE JOES

Triathlon #2

Troy, Chad and Brandon did their second Sprint Relay Triathlon on Saturday June 9th. 

It was at Daybreak Lake (practically our backyard).

It's such a beautiful area and the weather that day was great too! 

 Chad finishing the swim and switching the time strap to Brandon

 Brandon rode up to Kennecott Mine and back
(13 miles)

 We were so excited to welcome him through the time mat

 He has to put his bike back before he can tag Troy (the runner)

 So proud and happy for my "not so Average Joe"

 The Relay team

 Troy, Neil, Brandon, Chad

Neil did his first Olympic Triathlon
(which is double the sprint!)
He did awesome! Way to go big bro!

 The Proud Supporters, I love my family!!

Chad swam 1/2 mile, Brandon biked 13 miles and Troy ran 3 miles.

They took FIRST PLACE this year :) Way to go guys!

Josh Kelley - Naleigh Moon

Exciting News...

We are adopting!! We are so excited to announce that we are hoping to adopt a baby. We started the process in January, working with LDS Family Services. After lots of paperwork and getting our profile ready, we're thrilled to know that we are approved to move forward and have our profile visible online. Anyone can check it out on the website: www.itsaboutlove.org. Our profile ID is 27472514. There are so many families waiting, but we are hopeful that it will happen for us when it's meant to. We are grateful for all who have helped us get through this process. We had a lot of support and help from some close friends and of course family, and we appreciate it so much! We feel the love and know that the child that will be in our family will also have that amazing love from all of you! We are so blessed! We will keep ya posted on all the details and future updates :) So exciting!!

First Triathlon

Last weekend we went to California to try out our first experience in a triathlon. It was at Huntington Lake in central Cali, just northeast of Fresno. It was so beautiful and breathtaking, literally, being at 7000 feet in the High Sierra Mountains. Neil did the full sprint triathlon on his own. Brandon joined Troy and Chad in a relay; Chad swimming 1/2 mile, Brandon biking 15 miles, and Troy running 3 miles to finish. It was so exciting and such a rush even being a spectator. You could feel the energy and excitement from all the participants. The race went really well for them. They finished in an hour and forty three minutes, taking 3rd place out of all the relay teams. Way to go! Neil did it all in an hour and fifty eight minutes, very impressive for his first sprint triathlon!

We both want to train to do a sprint or an olympic triathlon next summer, if we can wait that long. It was so fun, we already want to do it again!

Back to school :-)

Yah, I'm so excited!! Last night I registered at SLCC to start school again this fall :) I will be doing some prerequisites for now that will eventually get me into the Surgical Tech Program there. My goal is to be certified by the time I'm 30. I'm pretty sure it will happen before then, hopefully within the next 3 or 4 years I will be done with the program. But I'm very excited and motivated to do this and start a career as a surgical tech soon!

I'm Forever Grateful!!

This is a bittersweet time for me...and its not what I thought I'd have to do anytime soon. This week is my last week as a nanny :'( About a month ago I found out that I wouldn't be watching Lily (one of the girls I nanny) after May 1st. I have been a nanny for the past 4 years and I have absolutely LOVED every minute of it. My heart is so full of love for the kids I've watched and the families!! I've gained friendships that I know will last forever! I couldnt be more grateful for the chance I've had to be a part of their lives and watch them grow...Its crazy how fast kids grow up! I have loved every moment and never took the experiences I've had for granted. I've learned so much that I would have never been able to learn anywhere else...I'm so grateful! I am so sad and can't believe this day has come :(  I know that I need to accept that things are changing for me and it'll be different from here on out. I am excited to start something new...But my heart will always be with watching these children. Nothing can replace what I've gained from being nanny and nothing will compare to how GREAT these last 4 years have been for me. I hope Charlie, Finn, Lily, and Lola will always remember me and know how much I loved them and always will love them! I never thought being a nanny could bring so much joy and light to my life! I love these children and all I have gained from them I will cherish my whole life! Its so hard for me to think of what it'll be like for me without seeing their faces and giving them hugs and kisses everyday. But the best part is knowing I will always be a part of their lives and the love I have for them will never go away. Thank you all for the best years I've had with your children and for loving me and making me a part of your families!! I'm forever grateful!

Baby Quilt for Cambrie!

Brandon's brother Jourdon and his girlfriend Shireece had a baby girl on January 24th. They named her Cambrie! She is so adorable! I have been wanting to make a quilt, so I decided to make my first one for her. I went to Hobby Lobby with my mom and Traci and we picked out this super cute fabric. She has a ladybug themed nursery so we coordinated the others around this ladybug fleece we found.

I cut all the fabric and then laid it out to make a pattern we all liked. Then sewed an X on all the squares with the polka dot print on the back and batting between the two, and sewed each row together. After it was all one quilt, I cut the ends to have it fray and "rag" and we had to wash it a few times to get it to rag really well. It all turned out so cute! I loved it and they did too! It was a lot of fun and simple to do. I can't wait to make another one! Thanks Mom for all your help!! And Traci for helping and taking the pics!
(I forgot to get a picture of it after we washed it, but you can get an idea of how it looked)

Five Years!

Today is our 5 year anniversary of the day Brandon and I met!!

I just have to say thanks to Gandolfo's and Sports Center! And if it weren't for my family opening up a Gandolfo's I wouldn't have applied at the Herriman location where Brandon was talked into, by his former students at South Hills middle school, to go eat lunch that day...

Thanks to Sports Center for starting up a conversation that led to the "can I get your number" line that led to dates and fun times together, that led to falling in love and then eventually to a marriage of eternal bliss! I am so blessed to be with the man I love!

My life has never been better since the day I first saw Brandon... in Gandolfo's, ordering a sandwich (the new york ranger, no tomatoes, no onions...i still remember!), and watching SC! I know it all happen the way it was suppose to and when it was suppose to. I'm forever grateful!

Temple Picture

A couple weeks ago, a friend from our ward asked if I wanted to do this class with her to make a temple picture. She told me about the website http://poppyseedprojects.com/ (which is amazing, I love all their cute stuff!) And after seeing the picture on the site I was all for it! Not to mention the size is a 32X26 and it was only $46 (plus tax). They people who own it are in Herriman. They have a teacher who brings all the supplies to you which included the paint, brushes, wood pieces, particle board, temple photograph, glue, texturizing cream and brush, and a staple gun. And they explained each step while we did it and continued to help throughout the whole process. Which took over 2 hours! It was a lot of fun and they turned out AMAZING! I love it :) We had to paint the frame pieces (they were white) then glue the picture on to the board then texturize the photo with the cream, then staple the painted pieces together to make the frame, then staple the board to the frame and it turned out like this...


I was the last to finish and we had leftover paint that my friend was going to throw away so I asked if I could take it. I bought this shelf at Roberts for 1/2 off about 3 months ago and hadn't gotten around to paint it, so I used the leftover paint and finished my shelf! I love black and use it in our decor so I'm really excited to hang it somewhere. I'll take finished photos of that too once I get it done. I hope to do more crafty stuff. I have found that it is so relaxing and I love it!!

Goodbye '09...Hello 2010!

Oh my, 2009 went by so quickly, its insane! I am usually not the type to make a resolution but I do like to make goals for myself each year. This year I would like to be more productive with my time and attempt to learn a few new talents (since I lack in that area). I only work part-time so I do have a lot of time that I feel I could use to my benefit and others. Here are my "be more productive" goals:

1. I want to learn to and actually play my guitar that I've had for at least 5 years...if anyone knows someone who is willing to teach lessons, please let me know... I'm ready!
2. I would like to do more crafty, creative things that I can make and give as gifts and/or display in our home...homemade is always better (and a little cheaper) so if anyone wants to start a monthly get-together to find some cute and fun ideas, and then make them... Count me in!
3. I've just decided that I want to learn how to speak Italian...dont ask me why, I just think it would be cool to learn a language and thats what I want to learn.
   Maybe someday...
4. Lastly, I want to learn how to and make quilts (especially once Amber gets home so we can do some together!) Any kind, but I especially love the patchwork ones!

Just wanted to share (I will more likely do them if I publicly list them) and I encourage you to make a few goals for this year! :) There's nothing like bettering ourselves and feeling good inside knowing you did it for yourself (and sometimes others too!). I'm thankful for all the people I have in my life that help me want to be a better person and for the love I feel from them! I wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Ahh, the memories...

Over the last couple of days, Brandon and I have had a lot of fun looking up things on the internet that we remembered growing up...the good old 80's!! One thing we kept saying was "I wish we still HAD this stuff" because its so true how awesome it would be if we had them or could pass down to our own kids. But we can only think back on all the memories (which is fun to do too!) Even though we were both born in the 80's, we are 4 years apart and there are some things he remembers more than I do. I love how excited and funny Brandon is when he finds something and starts to laugh and tells me what he remembers about it! There's so many good memories!
We couldn't put everything, so here are just a few things we reminisced about and looked up on the Internet. And share any memories you have of any of these things...Maybe you'll get a good laugh out of them too :)