Jaredites for Jared

My little brother Jared graduated high school yesterday!  Okay, so he's not so little anymore...

One of Jared's friends designed these t-shirts and a bunch of people bought them.  In case you can't tell from the picture they say "Jaredites: Jared Larsen is the Coolest Person I know."  My mom bought one for each family member but they didn't have any in Jason or Leila's sizes so I made them myself.  FYI, it is next to impossible to find a plain black onesie on short notice.  So I improvised and made a toddler's shirt into a dress for Leila.  She had matching booties on too but wouldn't keep them on...

Way to go Buddy Boy!  I'm so proud of you!

Birthday Getaway

Fact: My birthday usually falls on or around Memorial Day weekend.  Fact:  I LOVE vacations.  Fact: My husband is awesome and worked out a great birthday getaway.

We had been toying with going out of town for Memorial Day but never actually got around to making a plan.  Once I finally did start doing some looking for hotels and what not, I realized that every one else must also be trying to get away for the long weekend cuz there were no vacancies.  Not right near Bryce, Zion, Capitol Reef, Arches, or Vernal.  And I was bummed to say the least.  Jason didn't give up though.  He was able to find a decently priced hotel in Cedar City--which is about an hour away from Zion National Park.  So we packed up and left Saturday morning.

We got into the park in the late afternoon and rode the shuttle all the way up the canyon and most of the way back down before disembarking.  We decided to do the Lower Emerald Pool hike.  Beautiful!

Waiting for the Shuttle

Happy Family

Hiker Girls

In hindsight we should have hiked first and then rode the tram up the canyon and back down because the shuttle was PACKED trying to get back out of the canyon.  Standing room only with Leila strapped to my chest in a hot car with sweaty hikers all around...but we made it.  When we went through Springdale in January with my cousin Alicia, we had tried to go to Historic Pioneer Restaurant but it was closed for the season.  So we made up for it this time around.  We even got a slice of coconut cream pie to go that would serve as my birthday "cake" the next morning.

The next day I convinced Jason to forego going back into Zion and head over to Bryce Canyon instead.  Behind Arches, this is definitely my favorite Utah National Park.  Before going into the park we ate lunch at Ruby's Inn and then drove through the park while Leila was napping.  When she was done napping (or rather, when I was done driving) we hiked the Navajo Loop trail.  This trail goes down into the canyon, past Thor's Hammer and through Wall Street before winding back up to the top.

Down, Down, Down

Two Bridges

What a great way to spend my birthday!

Three Years and Counting

Jason and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary yesterday.  Grandma and Grandpa Larsen watched Leila for us while we went to a movie (The Avengers) and dinner (at Tepanyaki).  Once we got home, we exchanged gifts.  Jason got me the complete hardcover collection of Harry Potter books (yay!) and I got him the first two seasons of The Muppet Show on DVD along with a DVD player to put in our bedroom.  We also made each other some cards.

He cut out a large paper heart and filled it with handwritten words of love and commitment.  I took a slightly less serious approach and borrowed/tweaked the following poem: "I've stolen covers till you froze; change my hair, my shoes, my clothes; I've lost it when I'm PMS-ing; may have nagged when I'm obsessing; I've dragged you hiking in the hills; and criticized your driving skills; So I think it's time to say to you, hey, I'm your wife--that's what I do!"  I drew little stick figure scenes to go with each part and was rather pleased with how the whole thing turned out.

I am so blessed to have Jason in my life.  He is such an amazing support and always knows how to cheer me up.  He has grown to love Disneyland (nearly) as much as me if only because going there makes me so happy.  He makes me want to be a better person.  He is my best friend.  Here's to the best decision I ever made!

My First Mother's Day

Today I celebrated my very first mother's day and I gotta say I liked it!

Jason bought me some beautiful roses and pampered me all day long.  But mostly I just feel so grateful to have been blessed with such a beautiful, precious daughter.

My life has taken on a whole new meaning since she came into my life and my love for her grows deeper and deeper every day.