Los Chapines

Well, Jenny tells me that I need to participate in our blogging so I thought I would show some pictures from my recent trip to Guatemala. Eric Harris was kind enough to take me to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala (where I served my mission) to participate in a medical mission. We worked in conjunction with the medical school in Xela (the mayan name for Quetzaltenango). We worked from Monday through Friday and we were able to have a day to hang-out and explore in Antigua, a beautiful city near the capital of Guatemala.

The picture above is of one the many volcanos in Guatemala. I lived at the base of it for 6 months during my mission. One of the beautiful things about Guatemala is the drastic change in scenery due to the elevation changes. Xela sits around 9,000 ft. and is filled with pine trees, yet the coast looks tropical just like you would assume. This second picture is of the same volcano from the costal side

This next image shows the people of San Francisco El Alto lined up  to be treated. San Francisco El Alto is a small town about 45min. from where we were staying in Xela, and sits at the top of a mountain. You'll notice the "tipica" clothing the women are wearing. Most of the people in this town survive by making this clothing themselves and selling it at the local market.

This is the group of volunteers from the states with a few of the patients.

Yes, in case you are wondering....that's me and that is a tooth in my hand.  Oh, and yep I was the one pulling it too.  Ssshhhh....don't tell her that it was my first time. It went well, I mean, the tooth did come out.  Actually, Eric and Kevin taught me a lot about dentistry and allowed me to participate when it was appropriate.  

These next two pictures will most likely not make any sense to you unless you have done this yourself.  Most of you probably don't know what "Jowlers" are or perhaps as Eric says, "Shaky Face!!!"  I know you are going to go and try this after you see it so please make sure to put at least one photo on your blog of yourself looking as stupid if not more stupid than I do.  This is how it works... loosen your face up and then shake it as fast as you can and then take a picture. This is how we entertained ourselves in Guatemala, after our work was done of course!

La Fiesta en Cancun!

we went to cancun on a family trip with the olson's....what a blast! it was a much needed vacation for chris and me. we stayed in an all enclusive resort that was absolutely gorgeous. for those of you who know about our honeymoon....i am happy to say that on this trip i did not have to get an IV, i did not get stung by a jelly-fish, and i finally was able to drink pina coladas on a beautiful white sandy beach! woo-hoo! while we were visiting the ruins at Chitza Nitza, i experienced my first tropical rainstorm. HOLY COW.....the rain came down and it came down hard. we were able to get one hour of sunshine in which we basically ran from ruin to ruin taking pics and quickly taking in how amazing they were! the myans know how to build! we also went to a beautiful reserve area for snorkeling. i swam among a school of HUGE tropical fish and chris saw a stingray....i have to say that freaked me out a little! the rest of our time was spent enjoying the activities that our hotel offered including sailing and kayaking. we played in the pool, walked along the beach, and had one great time! thanks kathy and ken!

my eventful month of May....

I have to say that May is my favorite month....summer starts, the sun is out, it's my birthday--what's there not to love! It flew by so fast though! I can't believe that we are coming up on June already. Well, we aren't quite there yet, so I'll fill you in on my month.

First off, I went to Utah one weekend to see my niece, Ashley, participate in a dance competition. (Her team took first by-the-way). The competition took place in Lagoon, and I was able to catch a quick picture of her on one of the rides....this cracks me up!



The doctors that I work for took us to see the Diamondbacks play at Chase field. We had a ball...no pun intended!



Next, I turned 28! Birthdays are big in my family, so naturally we stretched it out as long as possible. I celebrated with Chris one night, opened presents with Chris' family via ichat, then my parents took us to dinner, and last but not least we opened presents on Sunday! Fun times!



Girls Night Out........SLUMBER PARTY! One of my cute MiaMaids is moving so we decided to have a surprise going away sleep-over at my house. We ate pizza, watched movies, and ate doughnuts in the a.m. I just love my girlie girls!



All-in-all it's been a pretty busy month....I love May!

more april birthdays!

April is a big birthday month for us. Happy 40th to my brother Scott and happy 11th to my nephew Sam! You guys are studs. Love you lots!

happy birthday to you........

just wanted to wish my sister-in-law, Kira, a very happy 30th birthday! have the best day!

over the hill......

i just wanted to with my brother-in-law, Claud, a happy 40th birthday!  hope you have a great day!  

a shout out to my dad....

i had no idea....but my dad is an accomplished saxophone musician.  HOW CAN YOU KEEP THAT FROM YOUR CHILD FOR 27 YEARS?...that's the real question.  so my dad graduated from the university of utah, with a degree in music, and his instrument was the sax.  he use to play to make extra money when he and my mom were first married.  how cool is that.....my dad was in a band!  anyways, after 30 years of not playing, two weeks ago he picked up his sax and played in the ward variety show.  and he was awesome.  my dad is a total stud.  go dad!

happy easter....

happy belated easter everyone!  here are some cute shots of my niece and nephew, emmet and emery.  they spent the night and woke up for their easter party on saturday morning.  such cute kids! 

i just want to take a second and recognize my sister-in-law, kira.  she lost her husband, sam, over a year ago to cancer and i want her to know how much I respect her.  she has accepted this trial and has moved forward with such faith and hope.  she is tackling the struggles of this life head on and she does so with a positive energy.   she is darling mom.  a supportive sister.  and a dear friend.......i simply admire her. 

I'LL LOVE YOU FOREVER!

Chris and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary on Tuesday.  I can't believe how fast time flies!  In the two years we have been married we have moved three times, lived in three states, changed occupations, and gone back to school.  We have experienced a lot of change, but one thing that remains constant is that we LOVE each other.  I am so glad that Chris is in my life.  He is the perfect match for me.  I appreciate all that he does for our little family.  I feel so lucky to be able to enjoy life with him.  Love you lots Chris!  XOXOXOX

Chris surprised me and took me to see Cirque- Jungle Dreams at the Orpheum Theatre Downtown.  What an amazing show!  I also got the most beautiful roses.....flowers just make me smile!  Thanks for such a fun evening babe!

I NEED TO BACK UP FOR A SECOND........

I hope you don't mind, but I have to mention a few more fun things that took place in December.  

#1.....The Nutcracker Ballet.  It has been a part of my life for 23 years now!  I can't stop now.  I didn't dance in one this year, but I did have the opportunity to choreograph some pieces for Ballet Etudes Nutcracker (the studio that I teach at)!  My girls did a fantastic job!  

#2....Bowling! I absolutely LOVE bowling! Chris and I went with his family while they were in town.

#3......Christmas Lights. Chris and I did date night at the Mesa Temple to see the Christmas Lights. We pulled out our winter gear (yes, we are wearing scarfs and beanies!). I know, I know.....we are wimps! After we walked around, we hit Starbucks for some hot chocolate. Fun times!

RESOLUTIONS

I love the word NEW and all that is associated with it. I especially love a NEW YEAR. I feel like it's a fresh start, a clean slate, a new adventure!  That's where resolutions come in.  I have thought long and hard about New Year Resolutions.  I have so many things that I want to accomplish, try, try-again, finish, start, re-start..... you know what I mean.  Most of my new goals are too personal to share, but there is one that involves everyone reading this entry.  I received a little nudge from some friends on this one (thank you Brooke and the Rowans)......I am going to try and update my blog more.  So here goes........

CHRISTMAS 2007

           We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at the Olson's.  This year we added a new event (which I hope sticks because it was rather fun)....we picked names for candy grams and exchanged them before we went to bed.  It was a crack up!  

Chris' family has a Christmas Eve party for friends and family.  It was fun to catch up with people that you unfortunately don't get to see all the time.  

Now the word that comes to mind with this next picture is ....SPOILED!!!  We are very, very spoiled!

After opening up presents...........We then headed to the Bawden's to enjoy a little more Christmas with my family.  We wanted to make Christmas last as long as we possibly could!

What a fun time!  I just want my family and friends to know how much I love them.  I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people!  I hope that everyone enjoyed the holiday season!  Love you all!