Hawaii, just us.

Eric and I went to Hawaii for a week in December. It was probably the most relaxing vacation I've been on. I was 25 weeks pregnant, so I was pretty much forced not to do much. We went for a run every morning along the ocean, ate lots of macadamia nut pancakes and hula pie, and then hung out at the beach all day. A few things I noticed, being away from the kids, was being able to sleep and eat whenever I wanted to, and us being able to talk to each other without being interrupted a million times. It was wonderful! And weird. 

Also, I'm including the middle picture of me wearing a lion shirt, because I want to remember that funny memory. I would basically bend and it looked like the lion was talking. Then Eric would talk in a funny voice. We laughed so hard, I don't think I'll ever throw that shirt away haha!

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PNW for a season

I've decided I need to blog more. For me and my family. I've noticed that there are very few places that I record my memories these days, and I need to be better at it. I love looking through my past posts and remembering all the great times with my family. I hope I can blog more for my family to look back on. And then maybe it will trickle into better journal writing and other kinds of record keeping. 

So... Here's some past entries I don't want to forget.


Washington! We spent roughly 4 months in Puyallup, Washington in the fall of 2014 for Eric to do a physical therapy rotation. This is actually a really neat story that I just can't forget, so I will try my hardest to remember the details. 
We had originally planned to go in the summer but last minute Eric's professor told us the internship had fallen through and our only other option was to go in the fall. We decided to go with it since my twin sister lived 10 minutes away and it would be a fun adventure that we probably would never be able to do again. 2 small kids, 2 cars packed with 4 months worth of living supplies, 12 hours of driving with Eric's brother and his wife to help us (they have no idea how much that meant to us), figuring out insurance, furniture and all the logistics, we finally made it to our tiny apartment. It was no beauty. Dark basement, sleeping on an aerobed, Seattle rain, weird neighbors that smoked all day- filtering into our apartment, Eric's awful work hours, kids getting pneumonia, etc, etc. BUT, we had a wonderful time, saw and did some amazing things, and learned a lot. With all of the hard, there is no doubt in my mind we were supposed to be there at that time. And that is what I want to remember most. That God directs our lives and knows exactly where and when we should be in life.


Alex and Lacee saved us. They helped us move up there and we got to hang out with them for a couple days.


We went to a Mariner's game. REI headquarters, space needle, lots of bike rides, hikes, museums, all the Seattle downtown sights, I did a triathlon in Bonney Lake, we made it to the Oregon coast, etc. We made some great memories.


We got to spend a few weeks with Jackie's family before everything went crazy. We even took a trip to the coast one weekend and did family pictures. Washington was beautiful, and it was just so fun to have cousins playing together almost everyday.
Then one day Jack dropped her kids off at my place for a routine checkup and found out she had a lump in her breast. It was surreal. We didn't believe it. A couple weeks went by before they confirmed it was indeed breast cancer. And that's when everything changed. No more frolicking around in Washington. (Not that that was what we were doing, but we realized we were there for a reason). It all clicked. We knew we were meant to be there for her since we were their only family close by. The next couple months were constant dr's. appointments and babysitting her kids, making meals, and just being there for her. It was crazy because I know if I was living someplace else at the time, my twin sister bond would have ached to be next to her the entire time, and I think God knew that, so he put me there ahead of time. I am still sooo grateful for that. Jack did awesome with surgery, chemo and radiation. She is now fine and is a giant of a person I hope to be like some day. 



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Monterey, CA

Eric had a rotation for school out in Monterey. Heber and I went with him but came home a couple weeks early. It was such a fun adventure to have as a little family. We stayed in an extended stay hotel and were within 10 minutes walking distance from the ocean. Heber and I would drop Eric off at the hospital every morning and then find something fun to do. We went on lots of walks and played at the beach a ton. Heber looooved the rocks sand! We were lucky to have some friends out there. My good friend growing up (Karalee McNeil) happened to be living there with here little family, so it was fun to hang around with them. We had to get creative with dinners since our little place didn't have much to cook with. Lots of frozen dinners and simple meals. Weekends were the best because we could all go and do something. We drove up to San Francisco and went to a Giants game. We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We got together with Eric's uncle Paul and Anna and went on a hike. Eric's parents were there at the beginning and then my parents came at the end to take me and Heber home. I was 36 weeks pregnant, so I wanted to be home in Utah that late in my pregnancy. Luckily nothing happened, but it was nice for the peace of mind.
We had such a great time in that beautiful area. It was great to just have all that time together and get a little adventure in with Heber before the new baby.
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Bali Adventure

After the long flights, lots of stress over Eric's passport, and a little bit of confusion with some hotels, we finally made it to Bali. It was quite the adventure, so read on if you like. And if you ever head that way yourself... let us know, we've got some great secrets for travelers. 

Kuta: We landed at noon and took a nap. Jet lag. We finally got settled and walked out into town and hung out at the beach. Madness everywhere. Scooters gallore- i have not seen so many scooters in my life! and people selling things all along the streets, bombarding you. It was a bit of a headache after the long flights. So we grabbed some dinner and called it a day. I wouldn't really recommend spending much time in Kuta unless your Australian and like to party. 

Nusa Dua: The next day we headed to a beautiful part of the island that was meant for the ritzy. The beach was covered with fancy hotels for miles. So we found our own spot and camped out. We walked down the beach to a "waterblow" which was a really cool way to get drenched by the ocean, and wandered around some temples. Then headed out to Uluwatu, a sacred temple on the cliffs. You have to wear a sarong anytime you enter the temples, so we had to purchase one for Eric. Our first encounter with monkeys was out there. They just do their thing and if you bother them, they will let you know. The sunset was amazing there.

Ubud: The next day we headed out to Ubud. A little touristy, but so beautiful up in the jungle part of the island. We wandered around the markets for a few hours and then went to our hotel. Let me just tell you- the hotels in Bali are awesome!! Cheap, fancy, awesome service, and all include nice breakfasts and luxurious pools. You will not be disappointed if you end up in any Bali hotel.

We spent a few days in Ubud and went on a little hike through some rice fields, went to some Balinese dances, and then went on an elephant ride. We really like the elephant ride. They took good care of the animals and we were really impressed with the way they ran the park. We also met up with Eric's high school friend and her family living in Ubud. It was cool to hang out with them for the evening and they shared a little bit more about the way of living there. We also walked through Monkey Forest. Dense jungle with tons of monkeys roaming around. 

Candi Dasa: Beach time. We planned a few days out on the beach and booked a hotel right along the shore. We had a sweet little bungalow with a shower outside and a pool over looking the ocean. We were lazy there. I read three books. We went snorkeling, found "White Sands Beach" and drank from a coconut. mmmm. 

One morning Eric and I went running. Not only did we get chased by millions of dogs, buy we got to our turning point and found a cluster of monkeys. We didn't think they'd bother us too much, so we started to walk amongst them. Bad idea. They attacked. We were now being surrounded by hissing, sharp dagger teeth monkeys. Eric kicked one when it advanced. Then we booked it. I have never ran so fast in my life!!! We decided we do not like monkeys. period. 

Lake Batan: The last part of our adventure was definitely the most authentic. We headed to the mountains next to the lake where they get their "holy water". It was real there. We were in a small village where they don't really like tourists and we got to peek inside the real culture. It was pretty neat to learn so much about their history and experience some authentic meals. (um yeah, i totally ate that piranha-like fish on that plate. I was proud of myself :)) We also went biking (where i had to wear a sarong again... not fun) and canoeing on the holy lake. We also met the only Americans from our entire trip, and in our tour group. Americans just do not go to Bali... so we all got along really well, and it was actually kind-of sad to say goodbye. 

Singapore: We planned our last day in Singapore. We were pretty tired so we decided to just walk around and see the city at our own pace. We had a Subway sandwich- the best i've ever had. :) Singapore is really fun. Big city, lots to do, clean, friendly, and very rich! They had a free concert out on the water that night so we hung out for awhile. It was quite a treat after the long 2 weeks staying in a somewhat 3rd world country. 

The flight home was brutal. I didn't sleep, got sick with some kind of bug, and had serious jet lag when we got home. To work the next day and Eric started school. It was a good week before I fully recovered.

*Special cheers go to Eric's dad (for driving us to and from the airport), Chuck (for all his Bali wisdom) banana grams (for entertaining us for hours) Bali airport (for your sweet foot massage) and Subway (for that delicious sandwich in Singapore!)

where the sky meets the land

We went on a campout this weekend. Just me and E-Roy. 
It was so peaceful. 
I love Utah.

Guten Tag!

He's back! Eric was crazy busy in Germany, but he did manage to snap a few photos for me. I love this photo of a barn where you can see Zugspitze, the highest peak in Germany. Such a cool little town in the middle of the Alps. Eric mostly loved his ski time, eating delicious crepes, and trying out some tasty brats while he had the chance without me saying 'nah, let's eat something else'. 

I was just glad to have him back. And that armful of chocolate sure made him even more huggable. mmmm. I love Milka.
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Rocky Mountain High

Eric has had a long couple of weeks. He's been in Colorado covering the World Cup. I got to stay with him in Aspen for the long Thanksgiving weekend, then took a long train ride back to Utah to be alone for a week - until Eric could rejoin me.
Aspen was so neat. You could see the race hill from the little village, and hear all the cow bells jangling. Aspen was like a Christmas wonderland: snow, skiing, hot cocoa, hot tubs, warm socks, and lots of Christmas lights at night in a little town.

A beautiful place to ski.

This is a shot from Eric. He was allowed to go down the race course before the events. Sometimes they are VERY icy and steep... makes me wonder how those racers go down the hill 80+ miles per hour. Yikes!


Lovely Christmas Song- Ron Sexsmith

Jackson Town

Surprise Lake, Teton National Park. Wyoming

Eric and I ventured up to the Tetons a couple of weekends ago. We grabbed our gear and headed into "bear country". The hike was up to a beautiful lake. It was pretty steep and long, so we were exhausted when we got to camp. We made a simple yet tasty dinner next to the lake as the sun set, and then crawled into our sleeping bags around 8:30. We haven't been to bed that early for years... and it was sooo nice. Woke before the sun broke over the peaks and headed up to another lake in the quiet morning. We were suddenly surrounded by deer- they didn't seem to care we were there. It was so peaceful to be high up in the mountains and enjoy all the surroundings with E.roy. I felt completely recharged.

Jackson was/is always a fun spot to hang out. We explored it for an evening and then went river rafting down the Snake the next day. It was a delightful trip. (glad we didn't run into any bears).