Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Las Vegas

Las Vegas was everything we hoped for and more! I tried this new layout and I can't seem to get the pictures in order- so it's not chronological, but just a sampling from our trip:


Praise the heavens, Scott got new board shorts! His old shorts will be burnt at our next campfire. That's how bad they were.
Our first stop was the outlet mall.
Ravella. Our hotel was about 30 min. from the strip. Far enough to relax, close enough to hit the shows!
Once there, I realized it was our first hotel since our honeymoon! We have stayed in motels, but they don't compare :)



Out on the town... hi Vess!
Vess and Angie at the Venitian

The taco competition next to our hotel made for a delicious lunch!
We went to the Hoover Dam! A pretty fun outing :)



Just out for our morning walk. So relaxing!

James and Kylie got a DELICOUS fried oreo dessert which they shared with us. YUM.


The Ravella has lots of gardens- rumor is that it is the old Ritz Carlton!

Vess and Angie are sooo romantic with the famous frozen hot chocolate from Serindipity. I would highly recommend that restaurant on the strip!

Mystere pretty much blew us away. So graceful, and SO strong!
We had a big waterfall and beach at the hotel too! Perfect place to lay out!



Op- there is Hoover dam again!

And Vess, photobombing again.

James and Scott were good drivers. Never crashed. Not even once!

the lobster at the Treasure Island buffet was delish! (Not the best buffet ever...)

There were chandeliers like this about every 10 feet in the hotel. How de-LIGHT-ful!

The whole crew at Serendipity!

Kylie was in the market for some new glasses, do you think these work?

Scott at the hotel beach. We could definitely go back!!!

Friday, May 27, 2011

I don't know if I told you...

but I sold "Golda" this week!
This is one of those things where it is
happy
and
sad
all at the same time.
We already know I am kind of a nostalgic person,
but even I didn't know that nostalgia applied to cars.
I mean, really?

Golda has been in our family forever. I always felt it kind of a privilege to drive her.
Even on the hot hot hot days without AC.
Golda was my car and I thought of Heather, Bryan and Noelle every time I drove.
(Well, may not every time, but almost!)

I vividly remember going on a hunt for Golda on/near Heather's 16th birthday. The car was hidden down the street at a neighbors house. I remember being 8 years old and sitting in the backseat as Heather tried to get the stick shift up the steep hill to our house. We did a lot of backward rolling, what a time! Since then, all 4 kids have learned to drive a manual car, and we loved every minute. I think each of us left our mark on the car- whether from the trailer hitch in front of us on a rainy day (me) or backing into a garbage can on the street (sibling remains nameless).

Well friends, I have good news for you. The car went to a grateful guy. He is tall and skinny, and he has wild, orange hair. I tried to tell him the car meant a lot to me, and that he was lucky to get it. But I didn't want to freak him out, or get emotional, so I didn't. And that is why I am writing it here :)

Golda has been great to the Tanner family. Though we all have cars more comfortable than a '95 now, I think we will all remember our days with Golda fondly!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Thoughts

Not much going on lately, but because I haven't blogged much at all lately, here is what we're up to:

Still watering the garden. Tomatoes are doing great, basil not so much- I moved it to a sunnier spot!

We are the proud owners of a 3 TERAbite hard drive :) :) :) Yeah. Do you know how many GB that is? Over 3,000. Considering that I have fried literally every hard drive I have ever used, Scott put in place some new rules for me this time around. I hope I follow them and let this drive LIVE!

Primary teacher training tonight was great! I really believe kids can learn the language of the scriptures.

I got my license plates all attached to the Kia (which we are loving!) while Scott made us a fantastic curry for dinner. Yum!

Bermuda shorts are on sale at Old Navy for $11. I now own 2 pair of shorts :) My blue ones I wore (read: ruined) in Asia, and now a nice neutral pair. Bring on the summer!

So happy Elizabeth Smarts abductor got life in prison. I've followed this story closely, very intriguing.

It is late, I am tired. I think I will paint my toenails tomorrow. Gotta get packed for the big trip to Vegas!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Simply Orange

"Simply Orange Juice is the best juice money can buy."


We have a hospice nurse who brings us leftover juice from their team meetings. He has come in 2 weeks in a row now, touting the great qualities of Simply and encouraging us to have a glass before he takes it up to the fridge.


Not from concentrate.
Delicious.
Gives you a full dose of Vitamin C.
Delicious.
Contains Calcium phosphate and calcium lactate*
Delicious.
It even has 2 grams of protein.
Delicious.
Various sizes to quench your thirst:
13.5oz, 59oz and even 89oz.
Delicious.

*Ingredients not found in normal OJ.

If you have never had Simply then you must stop blog hopping and grab your keys immediately to go get some. If you have had it before, and you know what I'm talking about, and you are already craving it by now :) Delicious.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Viva

So my computer's hard drive has been full for over a year. I have deleted everything I can bear to delete. So, I've been using an external hard drive, but guess what? It fried last weekend. I soooo hope i can get back our wedding pictures, Asia pictures, and all the pics from our first year married. Wow, I am really hoping.

Long story short: no space = no pictures = no blogging. BUT, the big news from today does not require pics from my camera. Only pics from the internet:
The Ravella Hotel

And tickets to this show:
Have been purchased for next weekend.
Hathaways, Drapers, and Pearsons will spend
Memorial Day
Las Vegas Style.
Woot!

Friday, May 13, 2011

I have a Green Thumb

I have had a long time dream of being a gardner. And it all started this week. I have been waiting aaallllllll of winter for this day- the day I could plant my garden :)





We only bought 1 bag of potting soil, so we had to go out with a hammer and salad server (so we don't have gardening tools) to dig up some mulch. See that dirt next to the cars. There is less of it now...
While we were planting, Scott got a bit confused, thinking he is the master gardner and I am the assistant. Sorry Babe, other way around! We have rosemary, thyme and oregano in the box!



Tomato:

Basil:

Just FYI- I'm not sure a patio garden is cost effective. So if you're looking to plant on a budget, you better not buy planter boxes, potting soil, or any $3.33 plants like we did. We could probably buy herbs all year with the money we spent on this experience. But hey, we are GROWING things and beautifying our patio, and we will eat a lot a LOT of fresh pesto. With all this tomato and basil, I feel some ensalada caprese coming on!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Man Date + Girls

That's right. Shooting.

It's hard for me to understand why people shoot real guns with real bullets just for fun...

Why not play a nice game of laser tag?

That said, it was pretty fun to get out of the house and do something we never really do! Katrina and I each took one shot and decided to not do it again.My picture is on their camera, but when I get it, I may just post it so you can see my fear and pain (that gun kicks back!) mid-shot.


Overall, it was a fun night! It got more fun once we had wings and asphalt pie at Wingers.
Bring on the summer nights!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Pasty Skin Forever.

It is spring! Hallelujah. Utah is an eternal winter. I don't know why people (let alone us!) live here where it is winter 8 months of the year. October - May people. The summer is really great, and we always find fun things to do outside, but winter is just really long. Saturday was truly SUNNY! So, we went up the canyon to one of our favorite places (just a pull off above Vivian Park) for a few hours of sun and fun. The spf 8 is mine, 55 is for Scott.
Good books, conference talks, starburst, and a bit of cantaloupe made for a perfect afternoon.

The sky is now cloud-covered once again, with rain on and off. People who think Seattle weather is bad should come to Utah to find out about bad weather...

But hey, we had a beautiful weekend, let's be grateful for that. And, let's plan to escape Utah. Where winter and pasty skin both last forever.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mothers Day 2011

Five memories with mom:


1. I remember my mom loading us up into the car about a million times to go to the beach or the tide pools to play. After she always got us KFC and we would eat it on the bluff in Corona del Mar.

2. My mom was always there doing projects or homework with me. For one history day project, we watched movies, got boxes and cutouts, spray painted them, build a cool stand, typed the report and we didn't win anything! My mom was just as mad as I was.

3. One time, John and I decided we didn't want to go to church. My dad eventually got fed up and left us in the backyard. My mom went to church early for a meeting, but when she heard what happened, she came home in a flurry and grabbed us and said, "Church is not optional! Get in the car!"


4. Christina and I went with my mom to visit Fairview, ID where she was born. She borrowed some horse from a friend so we could go for a ride. They put me on a retired race horse. A little into our walk, I started kicking the horse to get it to run. My mom started frantically yelling at me. "Stop it! That is not one of those flee bitten nags you ride in California! You make horse run, and it will throw you off!" Haha. She is such a cowgirl.


5. The first time I started using an alarm clock was at college, because my mom woke us up for early morning seminary every day during high school. She would come up the stairs and open our doors singing and clapping to, "Rise and shout, the cougars are out!" It was painful and hilarious. She always made us a hot breakfast to get us going.





1. The year she home schooled me, we did lots of fun things like when she took me to talk with the orderers at the grocery store to learn about supply and demand.

2. One time we got in a whip cream war and we chased each other around and around the kitchen island until finally someone opened the front door and we took it outside to go round and round the cul-de-sac.

3. Our family was in Switzerland one summer and my mom was the only one who knew German (she knew ALL the languages through Europe- French, Italian, German...). Since we couldn't read the sign beside the bridge read "No jumping allowed," she pretended not to be able to either. The five of us held hands and jumped of that bridge in Bern so many times- it was a total highlight of my life! Also, whatever situation we are in she has the perfect things with her. Like that day she had a blow up balloon that we passed through the river.

4. We would watch movies in her bed and eat popcorn together (we both LOVE popcorn!) and try really hard not to spill so dad wouldn't be mad :) If dad said I had to go to my room, she would let me sneak in on her side of the bed and not let on to dad. hahaha

5. Mom would drive me to and from jump rope practice every day (including many Saturdays) for about 11 years- talk about sacrifice! She would encourage me to make a goal for myself each practice.


HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Cinco De Mayo

Is this not my fastest turn around time yet? The party was last night and the post is already up! I am shocked.

Well as the text invite said,

"No time for Siesta, it's time to FIESTA!"



Every good party has good food. So we did our best:


a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3JQvR2RaA9QUcTJznR2kUg1d-1NcbEDVFnv_Vw3K_Y1eSud4x2uTGIp91QMyHqzb1qTf5KwzeUy-4Yu3pjwqGZo2vKEpOu8raJLMqS_N1LcPDoVzE6ctgtS6B8byBAK7533tE3E3uDDh/s1600/IMG_4101.JPG"> My goal was to have a tres leches (i think it should actually be cuatro leches, since I put in 4 milks...) cake that was NOT saugy. And I think that goal was achieved :)
Mexican Limeade. This was a new recipe where you blend the rind into the drink and include sweet and condensed milk (probs to offset the bitter rind). It was still a bit bitter so we just added more and more sugar until it was delcioso.
At 10 limes/ $1, I bought a few extra limes for decor and to freeze and use as ice in the drink. Maria's Corn Salsa! This recipe is from my friend Ali's mom Marie, so it was very convienient to give her credit for the best corn salsa anyone has ever tasted.
Luckily a friend at work had TONS of tissue paper flowers from past fiestas that she let me borrow.
Korine was our token Mexican at the party:
(BTW, she said that, not me.)

AND, the highlight of the party:

A limbo contest! With a cash prize. I wanted to win soooo bad to fund a Jamba this weekend, but

Rachel won. The pregnant girl WON the limbo contest!




How cool is that?



Dane, Korine and little Vaughn


Charlie, Carolyn, and little Charlie :)


Craig and Rachel


and


James and Kylie (not pictured)


Hasta el próximo año!