MOST RECENT HOUSE PICS!!!

The countertops are in, backsplash is going on, walls are painted and cabinets are stained!

Happy Birthday, Kevin!

Dear Kevin:

As I know this will be read by many people and I don't want to thoroughly embarrass you by too much gooshy-love-talk, I will simply say that I love you and that I hope you have a great birthday! This has been a really big year for you and I am so proud of all of your accomplishments (hopefully on Nov 6th we can add passing the Bar to the list!). You are my best friend and the only one that can really make me laugh!

Thank you for everything you do, including, but not limited to the following:

1. Reminding me to grab my cell phone when I leave the house
2. Helping me take the cap off the chapstick when I have lotion on my hands
3. Keeping our Crystal Light supply full
4. Filling my gas tank
5. Not getting mad at me when I accidentaly turn your whites pink
6. Letting me cry on your shoulder ALL the time
7. Allowing me to eat part of whatever you are eating, even though I originally declined your offer to make me my own portion
8. Realizing that when I say I am mad about one thing, it probably means I am actually mad about something else
9. Buying me a house
10. Loving me
11. Making me laugh
12. Providing for me (soon!)
13. Reading scriptures with me
14. Agreeing to be with me FOREVER!!

Love you, Babe!

Happy 28th!

Random Vacation Pics

DRINKS

On of the things you just have to do when on vacation is to order cocktails (virgin, of course!) at least once...and what's better than ordering drinks at a swim up bar?!

Pina Colada for me!

and a strawberry daiquiri for Kevin!

TUBING

Another must do is to sample the local water sport/activities available...my choice?

TUBING!! I know that to many of you, this is just something your family does routinely when you go out on your boat, but to me (non-boat family) it was so much fun that I had to go twice! I got to go once with Kevin, bumper boat style, and then once solo as Kevin had an ear infection(a story for another blog post) and could not go :(

please excuse my lack of gracefulness in ALL of these pictures!

By this point, I'd figured out that the driver of the boat was tenaciously trying to flip me and I was trying my best to stay afloat! And I even got some pretty good air!
But alas, I was no match to the experienced driver who flipped me...twice

Even with Kevin in the boat telling the driver that I fell off the tube, it took him longer than what should have been necessary to figure out I was missing! (Where's Leslie?)

She's okay!
FREE DINNER
In order to get $125 in Marriott gift certificates, Kevin and I sat through their timeshare presentation...and it was totally worth it! We used the certificates to go to a restaurant WAY out of our price range and it was delicious. If you are ever in Aruba, take my advice and go to the Screaming Eagle restaurant - you won't regret it! I had Indonesian short ribs and Kevin had Salmon with an amazing hollandaise sauce and it was soooo good! Even their creme brulee was Divine (I am kind of a creme brulee snob)! But the best part of the meal was definitely the price - thanks Marriott for the delightful meal!!

ATV Tour

There are two really neat natural "wonders" on the island that we were eager to see - the Natural Bridge and the Natural Pools. However, they are only accessible by ATV or jeep, so we opted for an ATV tour to take us there and we were not sorry!

Ready to go!

View from the back of the ATV...sooo beautiful!

In front of the fallen Natural Bridge (it fell in 2005)

Thankfully, there is a smaller Natural Bridge right there!

Overlooking the northern coast of Aruba

Notice the heart on the side of Kevin's sunglasses - before we left the hotel, I asked Kevin if he wanted to bring his sunglasses and he said no. Well, riding ATVs on a dirt road without something to protect your eyes is not so smart and not so comfortable so at the Natural Bridge we were able to buy Kevin some new sunglasses. As luck would have it, they only had women's glasses at the souvenir shop so Kevin got to sport some super sexy sunglasses for the rest of the day! It was a great "I told you so" moment for me!

The beautiful Natural Pools!

Aruba...it's kind of desolate!

On the way back we passed a bunch of donkey's walking along the road...I think they wanted to take a dip in the ocean as well!

More from Aruba

I have to admit, when Kevin and I first planned our trip, I didn't really know where Aruba was, and I am sure I am not the only one! Well, it turns out that Aruba is a tiny island about 15 miles off the coast of Venezuela. Aruba is about 6 miles wide and 20 miles long with beautiful beaches and a completely desert inland (think Tucson with a beach) - we were totally expecting lush tropical scenery, but instead we got cacti and rocks!

Aug 31st was my actual birthday and per tradition, Kevin made me a cake :)

The day after, we went out for dinner to celebrate

Kevin found this really cool restaurant on a pier and we got to eat looking out over the water - so romantic!

We got to enjoy a gorgeous sunset while we dined!

Aruban Bar Trip

After graduating from law school and finishing the grueling task of studying and taking the Bar, it is customary to take a fun trip before starting work in the fall. Well, technically, Kevin and I have been taking one long extended two month Bar Trip with weeks spent at both of our hometowns of Yorba Linda, CA and Cedar City, UT - but we did take an "official" Bar Trip to Aruba a few weeks ago (I am so far behind in my blogging!) and it was AWESOME!

Without a ton of money to spend, we didn't have a lot of options for our vacation, but thankfully, my parent's had an extra timeshare week that we were able to trade in for a week at the Marriott Surf Club Resort in Aruba and all we had to pay for were the flights, food, and souvenirs - thanks Mom and Dad!

Our condo had a full kitchen, so we took a bus ride to the grocery store and ate mostly in our room to save money

View from our balcony

Our resort had several pools and even a water slide (Kevin's favorite!)

But my favorite part was the lazy river :)

We were right on the ocean and loved taking walks along the turquoise water

Iguanas were everywhere!

The end of another day in paradise

Happy Birthday to ME!!

A few days before my birthday, my whole family was able to spend the day together and we had so much fun!

Opening Kevin's present (he even wrapped it...with a little bow tying help from my mom)

An ice cream maker!! I have wanted an ice cream maker for years now...it was the perfect present! My husband knows me so well!

For lunch we all went to Chipotle and then the boys went to Outdoor World together, while us girls went to the new Tai Pan Trading store in Rancho Cucamonga. Ever since I heard of TPT, I have been wanting to go and luckily they built one about a half an hour away from my parent's house, and I couldn't be more happy! If you are unfamiliar with TPT, they are a huge discount decorator store where you can find everything from seasonal home decorations to dishware to furniture to artwork and silk flowers...in a word, HEAVEN!

Shana playing with butterfly catchers...

and candy corn!

In the evening, we went over to my sister-in-law Tracy's parent's house for a bbq provided by my brother Steve! We had little sliders, bbq pizza, carne asada, bruschetta, and everything else in between! Steve is an amazing cook and I am always happy to eat anything he makes us!

Of course, one of the advantages of going to the Sharp's is the amazing pool, spa, and view of Orange County! Cody and I had fun hanging out in the spa!

Grandma also had fun with the Cody-man!

A beautiful sunset is enjoyed best from the spa!

I love my dad!