Mtn. Biking Pics

The last few weeks Spencer and I have been taking pictures with the main purpose being to post them on our blog, but we of course have been forgetting to put them up...So these are pictures from our Mountain Biking excursion a few weeks ago.

Setting out...
















We laughed so hard at this sign, but should have learned from it (as you can see...)







This was my big woops...but I felt so lucky that on a trail strewn with cactus, I fell into one of the few bare spots! Thanks goodness or I'd still look like a pin cushion!

More Tucson Adventures...

What an awesome week! I know I say that every week, but it's cuz every week is so much fun in this Tucson town. It felt like a really busy week and flew by with going out with the elders, scouts (with a 100% increase in numbers as we went from 1 scout to 2!), institute, mucho studying, Jake's football game, mountain biking, baby showers, etc. etc. Busy, but very fun.
So, on to our questions:
1-the scariest moment of the week for me was probably way back on Monday when I went grocery shopping. Being from the city of Zion, there was this understanding that after grocery shopping, you could wheel the cart back to your house, then bring it back later. That way, you could get all you want and not have to grow extra appendages to get it home. So I walked to the grocery store, bought all we needed: a ten lb bag of flour, 6 lb bag of sugar, some milk, plus 5 bags full of other things. I set out to wheel the cart home, when I get to a big sign that says as soon as you get out of the bounds of the parking lot, the wheels on the cart will lock. And sure enough, right outside the parking lot, there were a bunch of carts turned on their side, obviously discarded after they stopped working. So I gathered up all the groceries and set out towards home. It wasn't long before I started seeing tears in all the bags. And then everything seemed to drop all at once. ketchup rolling down the street, apples fillling the gutter, a glass jar of something broken and strewn all over, and very smooshed bread with the milk on top (one of my pet peeves inherited from my mom). And I was still a block from home. I started scouting for places to hide the groceries so i could come back with a car, scared that they would get taken or something. Then, out of the clear blue sky came this sweet elderly couple, decked out in sunhats, overalls on him, sundress on her, and full of giggles. They pulled over, hopped out, helped lme gather up all my groceries and took me home (even carried the groceries to my apartment!). It was so sweet of them and I couldn't have been more grateful/relieved at the sight of them! They totally came to the rescue in my scary moment!
2-I think the scariest moment for Spencer may have been when we went to Target to shop for a baby shower of a friend. We sat there, staring at the baby clothes, lotions, trinkets, etc. and could not say a word to each other. Finally he asked if he could go look at the movies...I think we'll be a family of two for a while!
3-I don't know if I could pick a very favorite activity of the week...I loved them all, but i especially loved going to Jake's game in Benson. It was the most amazing high school game I'd ever seen with two touchdowns in the last 45 seconds, it was awesome to be with the Hansens, and, for the first time since coming to Arizona, I wore was cold! Hooray-almost like being home! It was a really fun night. However, mountain biking was just as fun--and super exciting, with my biggest fall of the year. And equally fun, though in a different way was watching Gettysburg with Spencer. It was an amazing eye-opener to me and it was cool to see Spencer's passion for history and our country.
So, it's been an awesome week. Spencer is still taking care of me and finishing raising me. Last week, he brought me breakfast in bed one day, made me lunch, bought me M&M's, came grocery shopping, and (even though he wouldn't admit it) he even read Martha Stewart with me...what a trooper! I've never been happier, thanks to him.
I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Super Woman Week

This is blog entry dedicated to Anna. She is Super Woman in all shapes, forms, and actions. Just check out her super, supine stretch down the half-pipe! We had a great week in Tucson. If anyone is looking for a place to live with Awesome weather, now is the time to cash in on the area here. Everyday I ask Anna if she could have the weather a constant temperature the rest of her life, would she want it how it is now? I would be tempted to ask my genie for such a wish. We've had fun adventures this week. On Monday night we planned to go out with the Elders. They arrived at our house without dinner so we gave them the lion's share of an awesome homemade pizza Anna created!! We were said we couldn't give them more. Then we booked it to the southern boundary of the ward. The contacts were not home but we made some street contacts with some snickering, smoking youth. That's a rough part of town that reminded me of the nights walking along the back streets of Rio de Janeiro. Preaching the gospel is fun.
Tuesday night we had cub scouts and Anna arranged the make sugar cookies with the boys. We have one more buy now so our attendance has increased %100. Anna has magnified every aspect of her calling and every duty she's undertaken since we got married. She is so caring that I think she even felt the pain of the dear pork chops she accidently burnt for dinner. Those poor babies :) Seriously though, it's awesome to me as I go throughout my day to see how much more drive I have to be a better person as I live with Super Woman.
Yesterday we went mountan biking at Fantasy Island. It's a bunch of trails coiled together in a desert patch right on the edge of town. We had a great ride, full of falls, thorns, and Christmas trees.
Our first question this week is: What was the scariest moment of the week? I was scared when I saw Anna riding through the half pipe. We had never ridden the trail before so we had no idea what to expect. She made it up an incline and then paused to see where the trail was going. The sandy trail gave out and she started teetering. The next thing I saw was Anna extended parallel to the ground, arms outstretched, holding on to the bike until gravity sucked her down the little ravine. After riding past miles of cactus, I was scared Anna would become Mrs. Porcupine. She seems to be doing all right.
Second question: What we think scariest moment for spouse was: On Friday when I went to school, Anna jumped in the shower. She found a bee in the bathroom and they quickly became friends. The bee stuck around all day and when I got home I saw the bee in the bathroom. I left the bathroom and gave Anna a kiss in the hallway. While we were kissing I slapped my neck and yelled, "Ouch!" Her face was priceless :) I think I scared her the bee relationship had backfired on us! Out bee friend is MIA.
The final question is what was the favorite activity of the week: The mornings are great times with Anna. The morning Sun pours down through the eucalyptus trees in the morning and since we live on the third floor, it looks like we live in a forest if you look straight out our front porch windows. On Thursday morning we made breakfast together, omeletes and fruit and cottage cheese, and talked about Infinite Atonement by Elder Callister. I learned much from Anna Thursday morning.
Life is great. How could it not be when you live with superwoman. And how could it not be when your wife wants to watch Gettysburg with you on a Saturday night? Thanks Anna!

Utah and Back Again...

It's been another awesome week for us! I felt spoiled--we got to spend the whole weekend with my family up in Utah! It was so great to see them! We had a blast mountain biking, playing/watching football, catching up, and eating like kings. Spencer and I even had fun driving up (10 hours both ways!). Spencer had a test last week, so he had practically lived in his books. So, it was so great to just be with him again. So, to answer the questions: My favorite part of the drive was the hoover dam on the way up. It totally looked like it was straight out Lord of the Rings! It was so huge and looming, with subtle light and no visible humans. And to make it all the more intense, Spencer and I were playing the soundtrack to some eerie movie, so there was just the intense drum beat going. I wouldn't have been surprised to see an army of orks chasing us!
My favorite part of mountain biking was just that--mountain biking, doing it! Everything about it is so fun and it felt like it had been too long. I hope we can find more trails around tucson! I also loved having pedals...something I appreciate now :)
Something I learned from being with family this weekend was something more just re-inforced to me than taught. I realized again how cool family is in that there doesn't have to be catch up time, re-aquainting, or readjusting. Even with the biggest change and the biggest move of my life, I feel the same with them. I'm still "Earth", all our jokes are still the same, and I still rely on their support as much as ever. It was so cool to be with them and really feel that--Thanks so much to you guys if you read this! I love you!
I know I've already written a lot, but I wanted to write just a few more tender mercies of this week: One was Wednesday morning. For the first time in our whole marriage, I left in the morning and Spencer stayed to do homework and it turned out to be such a GOOD thing! He was sitting there studying when all the sudden he heard a huge whoosh and the main pipe to our sink had exploded! So water shot all over the kitchen and was headed toward flooding our apartment. Luckily, he had the presence of mind to get maintenance as fast as possible, and they had it cleaned up within an hour, leaving us only a few cracks in the floor and a new faucet. It was so ironic that happened the ONLY morning Spencer was home, but thank heavens!
Anyway, it's been a grea week and I'm excited for what's coming!

I never make peas!

What do you get from a girl named Anna? Enough fun to make peas non-stop!! We have had a fun week so far after such an awesome weekend! Last Thursday after my test I came home to a beautiful angel-food cake! I would take a test everyday for Anna's angelic touch (cheese please). Married life is fun and it's fun watching each other grow. This morning I looked at Anna's left hand, peppered with cuts and scars from her personal food fights in the kitchen. She came off conquerer though as we dined last night to homemade pizza (thanks Rachel), homemade breadsticks, and homemade frozen yogurt. Anna made pizza for some neighbors and the missionaries too. She's an iron chef.
Anyway, back to last Thursday. We drove up to St. George to play for the weekend with the Boyers. After a tortuous ten-hour drive involving blinking bus lights and "99 bottles of root beer on the wall," we finally made it. It was fun watching Anna get antsy into the wee hours of the morning waiting for her parents to arrive. When they did we had a great reunion and then we hit the hay for a few hours. On Friday Rich, Jennie, Joe, Anna, Eliza, Ben, and I went biking on the Stucki trail. We came home, played some football, and dined out on steak. It was fun. On Saturday we hit the JEM trail, another fantastic mountain bike trail coursing around Hurricane, UT. By the end of the ride it was fun to feel the sore muscles that I never use to just run. We spent the rest of the weekend visiting, playing, lounging, laughing, and more playing. Rich cooked up some fantastic steaks and Lori enhanced it with a great spread of food on the table. Lori, as great as your cooking is, I'm intoxiated with your chili sauce and so that was my delectable high light. So our three questions of the week:
1) Best part of the road trip? Ask Anna why she never makes peas. But one of my favorite parts was watching Anna get wired as a city bus passed us in slow traffic, winking at us the whole way with four tail lights that shined in incoherent and random order. I also loved reading Les Mis with her on the ride.
2) What I like most about Mountain Biking? Pedals
3) Something learned from the family this weekend? I learned again how the only thing that matters is family, not school, jobs, money, cars, even mtn. biking, because in the end that's all we can take with us.
Ate mais amiginos.

thank goodness for pedals!

Wasn't conference AWESOME?! You'd think after 20 years I would learn, but I'm still always amazed at how many answers to prayers and tender mercies there are in conference. We had a blast staying in Thatcher with the Hansens. We got to see Jake OWN his football game, go mtn biking and target shooting, experience Kim's authentic Belgian waffles, and have lots of laughs. We're also excited to go to St. George with my family this weekend--we're so spoiled!
So Spencer has a test this week and probably won't be able to write, but I couldn't resist writing about my adventure of last week. Wednesday morning was gorgeous and clear, so i thought i'd go for a little bike ride. I rode on the river trail by our house for about an hour. I was in absolute heaven until out of the blue, one of my pedals popped off. I was more amused than anything, so I chuckled, picked it up, and rode with one leg for aobut twenty minutes. Then the other pedal popped off. This was not amusing anymore--being 6.5 miles from home. So i gritted my teeth, turned my ipod to mormon tabernacle choir to keep from cursing, and made the trek home. At first, I was a little peeved that such a thing could happen, but then i realized how hilarious it was...especially when I was pedaling with one leg. I know I'm always a spaz...but that was extreme. Anyway...I made it safe and now it's just a good story to tell.
One more thing I have to write about was another romantic Spencer episode. When we were coming home from institute the other night, he threw a blind fold on me. Then he drove to Border's books and pulled the blindfold off for me to see our own little table in the kid's section with two mugs of hot chocolate. We spent the next hours reading Berenstein Bears and Curious George, and reminiscing about being kids. It was so fun!
So...things are just great here! We'll see what adventures this week brings...

The better angels of our nature

Today is Thursday. I want to go find a place to sit and just smile. Sounds simple and cheesy enough, but there are moments in life when a smile handicaps you and all you can do is sit and wonder...and smile. It's a wonder the smile doesn't rip your ears off sometimes.
Tonight, walking into the door, I quickly felt the onset of another S.H.E. (Smile Handicap Episode) I walked into the front room to the aroma of sweet and sour chicken floating from the crock-pot. I know it's the pot's maiden cookage, and what a job it has done. I glanced at our IKEA table and see it set for two. The daisies stand as sentinels in a vase just to affirm that, "yes, life is bueatiful." Then I saw Anna walk down the hall to give me a warm hug. A day studying in the cold library is now a distant memory. After a long hug we caught up on our day and she takes me around to the kitchen where she shows me her minor changes that make the area more short-people friendly (aka taking things off the top shelves so they can be reached without a chair). Then we sit down and eat that sweet and sour delight.
Two months ago I came home to this same apartment. I walked in, saw my guitar against the bare, white wall next to my love-sac/bed. I walked to the kitchen, made mac and cheese, studied a couple hours and went to bed, alone.
Who wouldn't have an S.H.E. after tonight? These Smile Handicap Episodes are heaven sent. And now here's the chocolate to the milk...Anna's got skills. Mad skills. She will make the world a better place by working in it as a nurse. I know that means school and job will replace aromas from the crock-pot. But this, in the end, is what brings me the biggest S.H.E. But for now, I'll take that warm hug and hot supper while it lasts. Thanks Anna, you're the Bomb!

October and another week gone by...and what a week! My position is so different from last week! Last week I wondered if the whole "getting a job" idea was a myth, and now I have some AWESOME offers which I just have to choose between. Maybe with next weeks entry will come a report of a job! Hopefully...
We've had so much fun together this week! We had another "we're official" moment as we bought a TV (with a total steal of a deal!!!), we went on some really fun dates, hung out with cool couples, started our calling as cub scout leaders, ate more burned meals, went for a moonlight walk among the huge sugaro cacti of Sabino canyon, hung out with Jan one afternoon, etc. etc. etc. As hard as I've prayed for a job, it will be kind of bittersweet when I start one because some of our playtime will go away. I'm trying to soak in all I can now...
So, the three topics. The first topic, favorite quote of the week, I resent because Spencer has such a good one on me. Martha...I don't know if you ever read this, but if you do, maybe you can be assured that I took your place with saying comments such as this! However, Spencer did give me a laugh when he asked the difference between lemon meringue pie and lime bars. I don't know if that's a reflection of my cooking, colorblindness, his healthy habits, or what...
Second, what was our favorite activity of the week? Hard to say because we had a lot of fun...This may sound boring, but reading Les Mis together definitely ranks up there. We always have cool discussions and it usually comes with a nice foot rub :) . But I also loved walking through Sabino Canyon under the full moon. The silhouettes of all the cactuses, the sound of the coyotes, the smell of the desert...everything was just all around romantic. And finally, I loved Saturday night. We have so many gift cards from generous wedding guests, but no more household needs. So, we decided to go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and independently pick out a gift for the other person. It was hard! That is so much more of a chick place than a guy-particularly Spencer-place. But we had a lot of fun. Spencer got me a really plushy pillow, with a massage thing, bookshelf thing, and a yummy candle. Sweet thing!
Finally, what was our favorite meal of the week? I'm not sure i could name a favorite meal, but I love dessert each night. We got on awesome icecream maker, so each night we've made frozen yogurt and dipped graham crackers in it. It's yummy and it's fun to do together.
So, it's been an awesome week. We're still learning so much and we're still creating our life here in Tucson, but it's a blast. I feel luckier and luckier every day!
Have a great week y'all!