The Hunters

I blogged.... You're welcome!

2011-09-09T16:57:00.011-06:00

Blogging is hard....... I don't know why. I just can't get back into it, no matter how many times I tell myself I will. Today however I have a little time. I got off work early and I am exhausted so rather than clean my house, I am watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and playing on my lap top. So I will upload the few pictures I have taken over the summer and attempt to update you all on the Hunter's :)

Summer was fun but busy! Benn took a full load of school of course. He also studied like crazy for the MCAT and began applying for Medical Schools! That blasted test took over our lives for about 6 months. Ben got a pretty decent score I thought! He was hoping for a better score of course, but that's Ben... always wanting to do better :) He has so many awesome things to put on his resume though and he is very well rounded with service, clinical experience, leadership and has an awesome GPA so we are hoping for the best these upcoming months while Ben interviews at some schools! He will definitely be busy this semester. He is taking a full load of classes, plus working 2 jobs and is interviewing next week for a third job! Such a hard worker he is :)

Here are some pics from the summer:

We spent the 4th of July in Jackson, Wyoming. It was sooooo fun to have the whole family together and spend a few days.

Jackson Lodge. Such a pretty view!

In August Ben and I were itching to go on another fun trip so last minute we decided to drive all the way down to Newport Beach, CA. My sister Kate and her family were down there and we decided to crash their vacation. We hit up the beach, Balboa Island and Disneyland before heading back home. It was such a fun trip but way too short.

I also got to spend a fun weekend relaxing in Vegas with my two girlfriends, Chelsie and Kate back in July. It was so nice to just sit by the pool and do nothing. I love vacations

As for a little update on me, I got a new job this summer! Starting in July, I now work at LDS Hospital in the same day surgery department. I absolutely LOVE it. I could not be happier with this change! It literally takes me 5 minutes to drive to work, I work Monday through Friday, no weekends, nights, or holidays. It really is the best nursing gig around in my opinion. It is a super busy unit and I finally feel like I am getting really good at placing IV's since I do like 10 a day now. I am also starting back up in school next week. Still working on my Bachelors degree. I have been in school for way too long. I decided to speed up my graduation process so I can graduate the same time as Ben. So that means I will have a crazy school load this semester. I will get to do more rotations in the Intensive Care Unit which will be interesting. I will also get to do a lot of Community Health stuff.

In other good news... Ben and I gained a niece and a nephew in last few months! Liam was born in June and he is about this sweetest little boy I have ever seen :) We are so happy for Chad and Hadley!

My sister Molly also finally had her baby last Saturday. Her name is Greta and I am pretty much obsessed with her. Molly let me be in the room when she was born and it was about the best thing I have ever seen! Such a miracle!! I am so happy that Molly, Adam and Ruby have a new healthy little family member :)

She is adorable!!!

By the way. this blog post took FOREVER. I now remember why I hardly ever blog. Blogger is so slow and hard to format! If anyone has any tips on how to blog faster, please share the info! Blogging is hard work! So at least let me know if you read the whole thing! post a comment. Comments are like the reward for the time put in to blogging. otherwise it's just a journal, which I suppose is fine too. Until next time!!!

I heart LAX

2011-05-09T22:04:00.012-06:00

I have been living the dream that past few months playing Lacrosse for the U. It has been such a blast and I am so glad that I decided to play. We had such an incredible season! It was the first year that the U has had a legit/organized team and we did awesome. This year we qualified for the National Tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona which was a huge deal because only 8 teams out of 181 in our division qualify for this tournament. We played in Scottsdale last weekend and took 3rd in the nation! It was such a blast and SOOOOO nice to get some sun! It was super warm down there and it made me so excited for summer!

I was so bummed that Ben has had so much going on with studying for the MCAT and couldn't come down, but he pulled a fast one and surprised me and flew down for the last game. It was so fun to have him there as well as my mother in law Jenny. They got to stay with Ben's brother Daniel and his wife Nicole who live in Glendale so they are were all able to come watch our final game! Thanks guys! I loved having you all there as well as Miley and Anya to cheer us on!
Here are a few of my favorite actions shots from the season :) (thanks to Jim Rennert for taking such awesome pics at all our games!)

I am going to miss my girls! I love my team so much! We had so many good times. There is something so special about being a part of a team. You are able to bond and form friendships with people in a way that is so unique. You all work so hard and it feels so good when it pays off. We have the best, most hard working, hilarious girls on our team and I loved hanging out with them.

Santa Barbara Feb 2011

Love these girls :)
Ben has been working sooooo hard this semester and I was glad to still have his support. He is super busy preparing for the MCAT which he is taking in one month!!! I can't believe it! So he will be applying for Med Schools starting in June! This is a very exciting time for us. I have NO idea where we are going to end up. So that is what he will be busy doing this summer as well as school which both of us are in. I am still working on my bachelors degree. This semester I am taking an advanced physical assessment class and I have been shadowing a OB/GYN and it has been soooo interesting. I get to shadow him once a week and he even lets me watch surgeries and deliveries when he gets called in. It has gotten me a lot more interested in working in either an Operating Room or in Labor and Delivery. I love it! Life is busy but I am hoping we will be able to have time to do some fun stuff this summer and have stuff to blog about ;)

back to blogging....

2011-01-30T21:26:00.008-07:00

What can I say?? I totally have fallen off the blog bandwagon! Life has just been so busy/hectic/crazy to even think about blogging let alone actually do it. That and I pretty much have not documented much of anything fun or exciting that has gone on in the last few months and who wants to read a blog without visuals to follow along?? I know I don't ;) So I will try my best to update you and also provide some fun pics. Ben and I have been super busy with this new semester starting. Ben will be taking the MCAT and applying for Medical Schools this year so he is studying pretty much every day. He is also taking some tough classes at the U and working as a Supplemental Instructor for the anatomy class at the U. Life has been busy for me too. Right now I am working full time at the hospital, going to school full time at the U (working on my BSN) and playing Lacrosse for the University of Utah. I didn't think it was possible to have time for all that but I have found a way to make it work. Don't ask me why I put myself through this. I guess all I would say is that I am obsessed with Lacrosse and if there is an opportunity to play then I am there! It has been such a blast so far to be playing again. I absolutely LOVE all the girls I am playing with. They are so fun and it has been so good for me to be part of a team again and be hanging out with girls! When you get married your girl time totally suffers. no offense Ben :) So for now life is crazy but I love being busy. It makes me feel so productive and having an excuse to work out to relieve all my stress is a plus.

This pic is from a scrimmage vs BYU in the Fall.

So the other day I was at Petsmart with Leah getting her a new dog tag cause her's fell off and got lost. There was this little pen of puppies sitting in the middle of the store and I couldn't resist. I went over and started playing with them. There was a lady there putting them up for adoption. I sat and talked with her and she was trying to talk me into adopting a puppy. I told her we couldn't get another dog right now but then she ended up asking if I was interested in fostering a puppy for a night or two. I told her I'd think about it, talk to Ben and let her know. Well long story short, we ended up taking TWO puppies home that night! ha ha what can I say? If there is one thing Ben and I have in common, it's that we both LOVE dogs. It was so fun having these two little creatures for a couple of nights! but they are a LOT of work! I think within the first 2o min I had already cleaned up two poops and 3 pee puddles! ha ha but they were a ctually really good puppies, slept in their kennel and didn't make a peep! Ben was instantly in love :) Leah was a little more skeptical..

Maybe one day we will get another dog, but for now I think we will stick to fostering.
Puppies are fun, but it is nice to be able to give them back after chasing them around for 24 hours! ha ha.

I also recently got to go snowboarding with my big sis Molly :) It's always fun to spend time with her. It seems like I have seen so much less of her since she moved out to Draper so it was fun to hang out. We haven't been snowboarding together for YEARS!

I love the snow for snowboarding but right about this time of year it starts to get really old... I am ready for Spring! I'm so ready for it to be warm out for Lacrosse, I want to get some sun on my skin! I feel like I have been pasty white for way too long! I wanna be able to lay out and walk outside in flip flops. Summer needs to come sooner! Ben and I have had some fun hikes in the cold weather though.

Life Lately....

2010-10-23T15:19:00.006-06:00

It has been a while since I have updated the world on Ben and I. Life has been sooooo busy lately! Especially with school starting! Ben has been working so hard in all his ridiculously hard classes plus working at the lab and doing anatomy review sessions for the anatomy students. He really has a knack for teaching people. I think he will make an AMAZING teacher one day if he ever gets the chance. Maybe one day he will teach at a medical school? Anyways I am proud of him for how hard he is working and all the experience he is getting. Hopefully it will all pay off when the time comes to apply for medical school! I have been busy too. I am still working full time at the hospital. I also got into the RN to BSN nursing program online at BYU Idaho. Yes, many of you are wondering why I am back in school? Didn't I graduate last December? Well the answer to that is yes I graduated with my RN (Registered Nurse License) but only an associate degree. so after a little break I am back in school. I am doing it part time. I am also taking a class at the U because I need a few others for my Bachelors Degree. So life has been crazy busy! On top of everything I have been playing Fall Ball Lacrosse for the University of Utah. It has been such a blast! I have met so many cool girls and I can't tell you how happy it has made me to be playing Lacrosse again! I have missed it so much and I have loved getting back in shape and just doing what I love! If all goes to plan I will be playing in the spring and I can't wait. For now I am just enjoying this time of year. It is so beautiful outside. I love seeing the leaves changes, I love the excitement of all the upcoming holidays! I love seeing people with cute fall boots! I love that the Jazz went 8-0 preseason. I love the cool weather but that it hasn't been too cold yet! Here is a little of what Ben and I have been up to lately. It's not much but we try to have a little fun now and again :)

Last Saturday we rounded up our friends Nate and Ashley, TJ and Liz, and Daniel and Christine. We woke up bright and early about 5am and starting hiking up Mt Olympus. We have been talking about doing this hike pretty much ever since we started dating! We finally made it happen and it was a killer hike but it was so fun! It was pitch black when we started but so pretty once it got lighter and we could see all the colorful leaves.

Our good friends, Nate and Ashley such troopers to get up bright and early with us! Thanks guys!

The view was so awesome once we started getting up towards the top! I unfortunately forgot to bring my camera all the way to the top! such a bummer cause it was awesome!

Our Little Family :)

Is she not the cutest dog you have ever seen? Look at that face!

Okay so I know all of you think we are weird "dog people" but guess what, until we have kids she is all we have to brag about so just bear with us ok? So lately Leah has been jumping up on our bed and trying to sleep with us in the middle of the night. I have a problem with this becasue I HATE dog hair on the comforter. Ben on the other hand doesn't mind. So I came up with the solution that Leah can lay on the bed if she has a shirt on to keep most of the hair off the bed. Well come to find out Leah LOVES wearing a shirt. ha ha whenever I get one out and hold it in front if her she goes nuts. I swear she just wants to be human.

Leah snuggling up with Ben wearing her favorite hand me down triathlon shirt. In pink of course. ha ha! She loves life!

better late than never....

2010-09-24T12:24:00.004-06:00

This guy's birthday came and went so fast! We were able to have a nice relaxing weekend together since I didn't have to work. It was very nice just to hang out together! We both have been so super busy with school, work and now I'm playing lacrosse at the U so it seems like we are always just passing each other coming and going. Anyways, it just seemed wrong not to do a little post for Ben for his Birthday. Even if it is way late. Thanks for working so hard for us Ben. You are doing so well in school and I am so proud of all the things you are learning and getting involved in! Love you babe! Hope year 24 is a good one for ya!

I think he's got a "NAC" for this

2010-08-16T23:06:00.004-06:00

This last Friday, my mom and I were able to go with my dad while he Waterskied! It was so much fun to see him do it. Thanks to the National Ability Center (NAC) up at Jordanelle Resovoir, my Dad was able to Waterski for the first time in probably about... 15 years? My Dad used to waterski all the time and was excellent at it. I thought he did a pretty good job this time too :) Doesn't he look legit in his wet suit? Still fits even all these years after his scuba diving days. Way to stay in shape Dad!

So how it works is he sat in a snug little seat attatched to a ski. Those skis are also attached to 2 outriggers to keep from tipping over. He started out in the water and as son as the boat starts up he pops right out of the water! pretty sweet. He even had someone following right behind him in a jetski to come to his rescue is case anything happened. Next time he wants to try it without the outriggers which would require a lot more balance and skill. Go Dad!

Isn't he the greatest? I look up to this guy so much! He is so positive and fun to be around. I am so glad that he was able to enjoy this! It seems these days he is always the one stuck on the sidelines watching us have all the fun. It was about time he got to get in on the action. Thanks Schneider Family for telling us about the NAC!

Triathlon....athon

2010-08-08T12:26:00.006-06:00

The past two Saturdays Ben and I have done TWO Triathlons! I know, we are crazy but we just LOVE them! We have such a blast doing them and it's so fun to be able to do them together. Two Saturdays ago we drove up to good old Burley, Idaho with my sister Molly and friend Erika. We camped out on the golf course where the triathlon started. We got up bright and early and were pumped for the race!
As you can see, we were pretty excited to get our "SPUD"man souvenir. Every year along with your souvenir shirt everyone gets an Idaho Spud. It's pretty great.
Just before the start of the swim! The energy at triathlons is so awesome! You can just feel the excitement in the air. We were pretty nervous for the race but the swim is the best part. It's 1 mile but it's in a river so there is a nice current pushing you along. I'm not sure I could swim 1 whole mile without it
Just after the finish line. We were so proud of ourselves. We did much better at this race then last year. Our times were much better and I remember after last years race we literally just collapsed and layed on the ground for like 15 minutes.
It was such a blast to do the race with my sister Molly. It was her first TRI and she did awesome! She was brave to do an Olympic distance for the first one. She did awesome and I hope she does more with me in the future!
Last Saturday we did the BAM (Battle at Midway) Triathlon. Exactly one week after the Spudman. We did this race with Ben's dad Matt. It was a really fun race but really hard! We thought this rae would be fairly easy after doing the Spudman but it ended up being harder because the bike was an Olympic distance (22 miles) but it was super hilly. I bike great when it's flat but throw in some hills and I'm done.
Ben on the other hand is an amazing road biker. This race was fun because we got to start in the same wave which means we started the swim at the same time. I beat him out of the water and was changed and gone on my bike before he even got out of the Lake. I totally thought I had him on this race! about 15 minutes in I was climbing a hill and all of a sudden Ben comes flying by. So dang fast. He didn't just slowly pass me. He was past me and out of my sight within 2 minutes. I was amazed. He totally killed me in the bike but when I arrived to my second transition area where the run portion starts, Ben was waiting for me! He waiting for like 8 minutes! what a sweetie. So we did the whole run side by side. That was a first. It was really fun to finish the race together. Matt wasn't too far behind us either! He did awesome. What a rock star.Thanks Mom and Dad for driving all the way up to Midway to watch us! It was so fun to have a cheering section! It really meant a lot having you there. Love you!

Blog Overload!

2010-07-31T20:08:00.007-06:00

Okay, Seriously? Where have the past few months gone? Summer as flown by way t0o fast! So much has been going on with us I don't even know where to begin. I guess I will start with the most exciting news and that is we bought a Condo!! Yep, we are now officially HOMEOWNERS! The place is right downtown and we are absolutely LOVING it! It could not be more perfect for us! We moved in a little over a month ago. It has been so much fun getting everything moved in and starting to decorate and stuff. It is starting to feel more like a home every day. We have met some cool people that live in the condo's and I can tell we are really going to like it here. We were really sad to leave our university married ward but The new ward we are living in will definitely be different and take some getting used to but I think it will be a good growing experience for us! I have been waiting forever to post some pics but whenever I have time to take pictures it seems like the place is always a little messy. Well I gave up on that tonight and decided to just post some anyways so I apologize for the messiness.

Our couch that we are obsessed with. If you take all the pillows off of it, it is basically as wide as a twin bed. Which means Ben and I can actually SPOON on our couch while we watch movies!!! It is great :)

I am in love with the kitchen. It even has a dishwasher and a disposal!!!! Now Ben and I don't have to fight about who does the dishes!! It practically does the work for us! Such a great invention.

Ben and I are loving our new office space! It looks a little cluttered at the moment but I promise it is really cool in real life.
All of June was pretty much a blast! My sister Sarah and her kids were in town for pretty much the entire month and it was so much fun to have them here! We were also able to go to Bear Lake as a family with everyone (Except Ben who was stuck in school which totally sucked). But it was nice to have all my siblings together and their kids! We stayed in an awesome Cabin and got to go boating, play on the beach, explore caves, and eat raspberry shakes. It was awesome.

Another thing I love about summer is TRIATHLON season!!!! I was able to do a triathlon with some girls in my ward back in April but I wasn't able to do another one until a few weeks ago at Echo reservoir with my Father in Law. It was such a blast. Ben and I decided to find a camping spot up there the day before so we wouldn't have to wake up so early for the race. It turned out to be so nice! We camped right next to the lake and it was gorgeous! The Race was pretty awesome too. It was my first open water swim which I was nervous about but I survived! It was also the first chance I got to use my new wetsuit that my parents got me for my birthday! I was pretty excited. It was fun to do the race with my father in law. My mom even drove up to watch me in the race and it really made me so happy to see her there! Love ya mom!

Since I don't have a lot of opportunity to play Lacrosse these days, I ALWAYS look forward to June for the Ski Town Shootout. My sister Molly always puts together a team to play in the tournament. It is so much fun. We get to play three games in a row and it brings me pure JOY! ha ha. This year we went undefeated. We beat Tribal West, Westminster and BYU! It was really fun to have Ben come watch too.

Sorry for the update overload. I have been wanting to Blog for awhile but I have just been so busy with work, moving and having fun! I was glad to finally have a night at home to just chill and do whatever. hopefully I will be able to keep up from now on.

Missing him already!

2010-06-01T23:38:00.003-06:00

My little brother Daniel leaves for the MTC tomorrow! I can't believe how fast it came! When he got his call it seemed like we had so much time before he left and now he is leaving tomorrow! I am going to miss him so much! Daniel is the greatest! Everyone just loves to be around him. He is so much fun yet so chill. He is just about my favorite person to have around. He is going to be such a great missionary. He has always been so good at serving people... especially our family whenever we need anything we can always count on Dan. I am so excited for him to start this new chapter in his life! It is so crazy to think of all he is going to be learning and experiencing in the next two years! Love you Elder Claflin! I will miss you so much! Good luck in Korea!

Blonde

2010-05-16T14:49:00.006-06:00

I recently dyed my hair blonde! It was a bold move for me. I have always had dark hair so it has been quite the change! I have always wanted to try out blonde so I guess this is the summer for it! I don't plan on keeping it this color very long because think it will be pretty high maintenance but I thought Summer would be a fun time to try it out for a bit. Not quite sure if I can pull it off. I have gotten some pretty funny comments from people. Some of my favorites...

-Wow! you look..... different
-This will take some getting used to
-Well I sure like it more than the BLACK hair!
-I didn't even recognize you!
-It's... a little much
-don't worry Laura. I think your beautiful no matter what -DAD
-can't you just be happy with what god gave you?
-you just weren't meant to be blonde

Hmmmm. I have gotten some really positive responses too ha ha so we'll see how long I keep it. It's fun to try something different and be semi surprised every time I look in the mirror. I think Ben is counting down the days until I go brown again. Here are some fun pictures I took from this past weekend. Our friends Tally Barth and Katie Connor tied the knot! It was a beautiful wedding and so much fun to be a part of. Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Barth!!!

The groom and his number one grooms men. I was so excited for Ben to wear a tux :) Doesn't he look handsome?? Makes me wanna marry him all over again!
The happy couple!!

So fun to see my girls again!!! It is way to far and few between seeing them!! Love you guys! Still planning on the august SC8 reunion!

Weekend Getaway :)

2010-03-29T09:14:00.015-06:00

Ben has been DYING to take a trip down to Moab to go mountain biking. This was probably the first weekend it was remotely warm enough. Ben had spring break and I got off work so we decided to go down. Ben was so excited to use all of the camping gear we have recently got. We found some way cheap stuff on overstock.com like our tent, sleeping bags and sleeping pads. Leah of course came along. It was fun to have her run along side us on our bike rides. She was in heaven. We also had Ben's dad Matt down there with us too. He knows anything and everything there is to know about Moab. We love having him around.

We really had such a blast. I wasn't particularly excited to drive all the way down there for such a short trip but we packed so much in that short amount of time! We drove down Saturday afternoon. Got there in time to do my FAVORITE ride of all time Klondike Bluffs. Then we set up camp and went out to dinner at the Moab Diner (always a treat) The next day we slept in and then went on a ride called Amasa Back. Neither of us had ever done this ride before but it was supposed to be pretty hard. It started out really crappy. We kept having to get off our bikes and carry it over places we couldn't bike but once we got more in the trail we were loving it. It was such a beautiful trail. The whole time there was really pretty scenery and lookout points. Leah stayed right with is the whole time. She is such a good dog.

Ben is awesome. It is so fun to be married to someone who is always up to do fun things like this. Ben has introduced me to so many fun things. If it wasnt for him I probably would have never done a Triathlon. We did a relay when we were dating and he got me hooked. Last year we bought me a mountain bike and Ben has been teaching me and now I can do rides I never thought in a million years I would be able to do! He is the ultimate motivator. He is always making getting me outside and doing fun things rather than just sitting inside and watch TV or sleep or be lazy. I am so lucky! Thanks for the fun trip Ben!

Weekend in Seattle

2010-03-11T22:14:00.004-07:00

I was able to go to Seattle this past weekend to visit my sister Kate and her family! It was such a blast! I was able to go with my good friend Karen from nursing and my younger brother Daniel. It was such a nice vacation! Seattle is beautiful and so much fun! I would love to live there some day. The first day we were there we went on a sweet hike to this pretty beachy area and then went to Pike's Market and shopped. It was so much fun. We got these yummy donuts there. I was in heaven!

The next day we drove to a place called Snoqualmie Falls It was this really cool waterfall about 45 min away from Seattle. Then Kate drove us to this cool Lake called Rattlesnake River or something. It was beautiful. There were all these old giant tree stumps and on one of them had all these small trees growing out if it, Kate and I climbed up and took these pics.

I miss these two little kids so much! Hazel entertains me to no end. She is so cute. I loved her in her adorable ballet outfit. ha ha and she was so excited for school with her cute little book bag! I can't believe how big she is getting. Little Wells is so cute!!! I love him! He is the absolute SWEETEST baby ever.

One day we went to the University Village and got some famous "Trophy" cupcakes. so yummy! Kate lives in a development called Issaquah. I found some sweet "Issaquah" paraphernelia and just had to try it on.

A definite highlight of the trip was the "Pho" This awesome Vietnamese dish that I had never tried. It was a bowl of rice noodles with different meat in it. I got chicken in mine but you can also get steak, shrimp, tofu, veggies, etc. It was so yummy! It was fun for us and Dan to get a taste of some Asian culture before his mission. He just got called to Busan Korea. We are so excited for him! He leaves June 2nd!

It was an awesome trip. One last trip with Dan before his mission and a great way for Karen and I to celebrate passing the NCLEX! YAHOOO!

Thanks so much to my AWESOME sister Kate for letting us stay and being such an awesome hostess! You are the best! I am already missing your home cookin!! Thanks to taking Brian too for everything! Love you guys! It was a great trip but I did miss Ben a lot. It was so good to come home and be with him. He had freshly baked cookies and flowers waiting for me. My fave. What a sweetie.

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-14T12:56:00.008-07:00

Happy Valentines Day! I love Valentines Day. It is such a simple holiday yet it can give us such a great reminder of how important it is to show love to those around us. I have always loved making Valentines cards. I am not the most crafty person but I try. This year I decided to try this cute paper bouquet of flowers I saw on this website. It took me all day but I was able to do it and even better it looked just like the picture!

So this was Ben's little Valentines surprise. It's hard to see but inside the paper flowers are small coiled up paper and written on them are my favorite memories of Ben and I. So cheesy. He loved it. Ben and I were able to have such a fun Valentines Weekend. On Friday night we went and saw Bill Cosby at the U! It was so much fun! I love Bill Cosby and he was so funny. I love how clean his jokes are and how naturally funny he is. We had a blast.

On Saturday we were going to get up early and try out cross country skiing but we were way too tired from staying out late at the cosby show the night before. Hopefully we can go some time this week! Ben and I have become addicted to hiking up Millcreek with our dog. Last week we went on a hike and brought sleds with us and when we reached the top we sledded down. It was awesome! I wish we had pictures. Hopefully one of these days I will.

Instead on Saturday we were able to go out to lunch to the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate my sister Molly's Birthday! Then we went out to Dinner at The Mandarin for Ben's sister Hadley's Birthday! Happy Birthday Sisters! We Love you guys!

Update!

2010-02-09T13:16:00.006-07:00

Honestly, Where did January go? not that I am complaining that it's over cause January might be the worst month ever minus my birthday. The Holidays came and went so dang fast! We have been so busy and I haven't blogged about anything! Here is a quick recap of the last little while....

-Christmas was so fun! minus the fact that I had to work for part of it. We got to spend tons of time with both our families and did so many fun things.

-Ben and I celebrated our One Year Anniversary! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. We love being married and have had so much fun this past year. I made Ben a book of all the fun adventures we had in our first year of marriage. It's way cute.

-New years we spend playing games at the Hunter's. Always a blast. It was so fun to have everyone around!

-My Birthday was perfect. Ben is great at making our holidays awesome. He planned a whole fun filled day. He got me up early and served me a gourmet breakfast! Then he made a scavenger hunt with clues leading me to various parts of our house where my presents were hiding. Then while he worked my family took me out to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch. Then when Ben got home we packed up and headed up to Snowbird Lodge for the night! The next day we got a full day of Snowboarding in. It was so fun.

-Ben started back up in school! He is taking 19 credits plus working hard at the Lab. I am so proud of him! I am so lucky to have such a hard working, smart, motivated husband. He is the best.

-We have been enjoying life with our new dog Leah. She is such a good dog and is so well behaved. Ben loves this dog so much! We have been going on Sunday walks up the canyon with her every week and she LOVES it!

-I started training for my RN position at my job. It has been great! I have a about two weeks left and I'll be on my own again. I took my state nursing boards last week (NCLEX) and passed!! I was sure that I failed because I got all 265 questions and it took me 5 hours. It was awful but such a relief that I passed. I feel so blessed.

Unfortunately I don't have any fun pictures from any of the above! sad. oh well, now that life has calmed down, hopefully there will be a reason to take fun pictures! Valentines maybe?? Here is one picture that pretty much sums up what its like at home when we have time to be here.....

Leah

2009-12-24T16:42:00.000-07:00

This is Leah! Ben's early Christmas present! Ben has been wanting a dog for months. Each time he asks me I tell him the same thing. NO. We can't get a dog right now with our living situation. little did he know I was planning to get him one for Christmas! hehehe. So about a week ago I went down to the Humane Society with a friend from my ward who works part time down there. I told her what kind of dog I was looking for, hoping she would know some of the more well behaved dogs. She had a few that she thought I would like. First i decided to look around myself and pick one out to take for a walk. Leah was the first one I picked. I walked half a dozen other dogs and decided I like Leah best.
The next day I came down to the Shelter and adopted Leah. I decided to keep her at my parents house for a week so I could hide her from Ben. Well of course on Sunday night she figured out how to open the gate with her nose while we were all in Provo. She was gone by the time we got home! We looked everywhere! I had to tell Ben that his present had run away :( He was so sweet about it. We got up early the next day and went and looked. We made signs and I went down to the Shelters to see if she was there. No luck. The next day I decided to go to the shelter again. On my way down I got a call from a lady who had found Leah! She had been taking care of her since Sunday. I was so happy and relieved. I surprised Ben with her that night. He was so happy! He LOVES that dog so much! It is so cute watching him with her. On top of everything she is a perfect dog! She is super obedient, doesn't need a leash when we go out, doesn't bark a lot, she is pretty mellow but can also be very playful. Ben is in love. He even woke up extra early today to take her to the park. Merry Christmas Ben. Love ya.

Graduation!!

2009-12-21T15:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I graduated! I think it's finally starting to feel real. These past few days the freedom has just been sinking in. I have had all the time in the world to do whatever I want! I keep catching myself from time to time stressing out and feeling guilty. It's like I still feel like I have some big paper to write or some test to study for. But I don't! I have a job set up too! I will continue working on the Orthopedic Floor at Intermountain Medical Center and will start as an RN on January 19th. I can't wait.

The Nursing pinning ceremony was very nice. It was cool to see all my classmates dress up all nice and see all their proud families. It was very cool to have my mom pin me with our custom designed UVU Nursing pin. She was so proud! Isn't she cute? I was also so glad to have my dad and Grandpa Loren there! I hardly ever get to see him so it was very special.

Thank you to all my family members who came to support me! Molly, Adam, Ruby, Daniel (who had just gotten his wisdom teeth out that morning!) Mom, Dad, Grandpa Loren, Aunt Darlene (who let me stay at her house in Orem at least two nights out of every week so I wouldn't have to drive down every day) Jenny, Matt, Grandma Welling (thanks for the nice cards and gifts :) Hadley, Chad, Hunter, Jane, Matthew, Katie and My wonderful hubby Benn. I had quite the crowd. thanks so much for supporting me! It really meant a lot to have everyone there! Also, thanks to Claire who dyed my hair for me earlier that day! Love it! Happy Graduation to me!

I just think these videos are awesome

2009-12-16T20:44:00.005-07:00

Holiday Awesomeness

2009-11-30T04:19:00.004-07:00

Picasa is my new favorite discovery. I used it to make collages of each night of the holiday week! So easy and I just couldn't leave these pictures out!

We have had way too much fun this week! Everyone came into town for Thanksgiving! Aunt Amy and her family, Sarah and her kids, and Kate and Brian and their kids. It was a blast. Ben and I have been in heaven. Ben was so dang cute with the kids. They loved him! The first night we all got together, Amy surprised the kids with matching pajamas to wear to the Polar Express! So cute!

The Polar Express was so much fun! We boarded on the train and got hot chocolate and cokies served to us by elves. Then we set off for the North Pole. on the way there the elves danced and told jokes. They even read "The Polar Express" book to each of us! When we got to the North Pole, Santa came on the train and greeted us. He gave each kid a Bell! On the way home Mrs. Claus came and handed each of us a recipe for her famous cookies. The kids were star struck.

Ice Skating was a blast! At first the kids were pretty timid on the ice but by the end of the day they were doing great! I however but really sore the next day!

Another fun part of the week was making Ginger bread houses! the first attempt kind of struggled cause the Costco gingerbread house kits were falling apart. But we got one that worked and all the kids decorated it beautifully. Avery was enjoying the frosting a little too much I think :)

On Saturday night Molly made some awesome scones and on Sunday we just got to come over and hang out with everyone. Ben and I took some of the kids on a walk around the neighborhood. It was so fun just to have everyone around! I wish it was like this all the time. By the way, Isn't max the absolute cutest little chunk you have ever seen? I am so in love with him!

Back to real life I guess!

just me thinking out loud :)

2009-11-24T15:12:00.006-07:00

So.... I don't really have anything interesting to say today.. I'm just bored and felt like blogging :) No recent fun events, no new pictures. So even though I'm pretty sure nobody will actually read this I just felt like writing today. What I'm really just excited and happy about is what exciting events and pictures are yet to come! With this week being Thanksgiving and all :) Pretty much my whole family will be in town except my brother Brian and brother in law Perry on my side and Daniel and Nicole on Ben's side. They will be greatly missed! hopefully we will get to see them soon though. that's what I love about the holidays. It brings family together. It's always something to look forward to. I love seeing my sisters. I look up to them so much. Always have. Sarah is super mom. I hope I'm as good a of mom as her. She just seems to always have it together. Perry is in the military and unfortunately had to be away for months at a time and Sarah handles those three kids like a champ. She is always fun to be around and always has something good to say about someone. I love her laugh. It always makes me happy. She has the kind of laugh that makes whatever she is laughing at ten times funnier. Kate is also awesome. She is so creative and crafty. You should see the birthday parties this girl plans. She is amazing in the kitchen and can make any cute/yummy treat in the book. She is so stylish and has awesome taste. I miss her and Brian so much since they moved to Seattle. They are so fun to have around and are always helping in any way they can. Molly is my best friend. She is so spontaneous and always up for anything whether it's hiking at three in the morning, rollerblading at midnight or just catching a dollar movie. She is so easy to talk to and always has a good story to tell. She is so thrifty and always finding good deals. She is also becoming a very talented photographer. She is pretty much a rockstar. Wow totally didnt intend on doing a tribute to my sista's but there ya have it. They rock I know!

Anywho, while I'm talking about awesome people I should probably mention my hubby. Ben is awesome. He is pretty much a total sweetheart and I love him. He works so hard and recently got a cool new job at the Center for Human Genetics at the U and is learning tons and doing research and stuff. He is so excited and I am so proud of him. We are so blessed to have each other and such awesome family members that live so close. With a lot of my family moving away recently, It's so nice to have his family just down the street. It's always fun to be able to stop by whenever and see everyone. We totally take it for granted but who knows pretty soon we may only even get to do that at holidays and stuff.

Other exciting news...... I am only a few weeks away from graduating from nursing school. wow. I can't believe how close it is. I was talking to my friend Karen who I go to school with today and we were talking about how crazy it is! Just looking back and remembering all the clinicals, 5 hour class periods, hours doing case studies and projects, studying for and taking all the dreaded tests! it seemed like it would never end! I remember how scared I was that first day of class, or the first day of clinical! how awkward it was for me just talking to a patient, or doing simple procedures or giving meds! I was so terrified! ha ha I'm so glad I can laugh about all that now. I have learned so much and grown so much these past two years! It's crazy to think how much has happened and how I've changed. I love being a nurse. I love being able to help people do things they cant do alone. I love teaching and knowing enough to be able to help people understand things, even though I know there is still so much to learn!

I am excited to be home more. This semester I spent more nights away from Ben than with him. Between working nights and being in Provo for school half of each week it felt like we barely saw each other. Now I may actually be home most days in time to make dinner for Ben. Or do laundry, or iron clothes! all the things that Ben has been picking up my slack on! I'm excited. Life is good.

Bebecha

2009-11-16T12:04:00.005-07:00

So I am totally into headbands right now. I found this adorable Etsy shop with the cutest headbands, fabric earrings, hair clips, and other way fun stuff! After I found a bunch of stuff I wanted I noticed that the girl selling lived in Provo. So since I pretty much live there these days with school being so crazy, I asked if I could come look at all her stuff while I was down there one week! She is so creative and makes the cutest accessories. I was in heaven! check out her Etsy shop here. Her prices are awesome! especially for the earrings! Here are some of my favorites:

So, the shop's name is Bebecha. She is doing an open house in North Salt Lake this Saturday from 12-3 and another one next month in Provo on Dec. 12th from 10-2. Let me know if you want to go and need the address! If you bring 3 friends you get a free pair of earrings. This is a good opportunity to get some cute Christmas gifts for your friends!

Isn't Halloween the Best?

2009-11-09T12:24:00.007-07:00

I love Halloween mainly because I love seeing what parents come up with for costumes for their kids! ha ha here are a few of my nieces and nephew's costumes.

These are my sister Sarah's kids. Andrew, Avery, and Abby. I'm loving these costumes. Doesnt Andrew make a scary Dracula? Apparently Andrew stayed in character all night with that serious expression. Aren't Avery and Abby such babes? I can't believe how big they are getting. click here to see more cute pics from their halloween!

Ruby made the absolute cutest Dorothy! She was so excited for Halloween this year! Ruby has been talking SO much lately and she loved telling people what she was dressing up as. See more pics here

Last but not least, here is little Hazelbop. She made the best Wonder Woman ever! ha ha I love this costume! My sister Kate found this at a costume store and tailored it specially for Hazel. She looks like she was really getting into character!

I also love Halloween just purely for all the fun festivities that surround it! For my friend Kate's birthday we got a bunch of the girls together and went to Cornbelly's Corn Maze at Thanksgiving Point. It was FREEZING! and we definitely struggled in the Maze ha ha I don't think we ever actually found the right way out.

Don't ya just love these goofy walls? ha ha. we were lovin it.

I can't believe it's already November!!! The Holidays are coming fast! I can't wait for the next couple of months! Between now and January we have Thanksgiving, GRADUATION, Christmas, One year Anniversary for Ben and I, then my Birthday!!!! yay! I can't wait!

Fall Break

2009-10-19T01:11:00.012-06:00

This week was so much fun! Ben and I had a couple days of break for school so we were able to take a little vacation out to Oakland, California just the two of us :) I had bought our plane tickets a few months go for Ben's birthday present and this was the big weekend! We have been wanting to go out and visit Ben's mission forever and we finally we are able to do it! We did so many fun things! I was able to meet a lot of families and people that Ben taught. They were all so happy and excited to see him again and it was awesome for me to finally meet all these people that Ben has been telling me about for years now!

Our first stop in California was the Bay Bridge. We spent the first day in downtown San Francisco but I HAD to get a Golden Gate picture with Ben. Of course it was super foggy that day and you could barely see it but it was beautiful!
This is another attempt at getting a picture with the Golden Gate Bridge. I'm pretty sure this was the only 30 second period when it was completely invisible because even as we were walking back to the car it was coming back into view! dang! It's still a pretty cool pic I think :)First pic of the trip! We were so excited! This is just us waiting for the shuttle to take us to the rental car place. We made reservation for the cheapest car there. it was supposed to be a compaq and we wanted a trunk so our luggage wasn't visible when we were parked in San Francisco. Instead we ended up with a JEEP? Okay whatever. I will say though. GPS saved our lives this trip! thanks to the Hunters for letting us use it. We didn't get lost once! I'm sure it saved us hours of grief and frustration in an unfamiliar city!
After was seemed like hours of driving around the city looking for parking we finally made it down to Pier 39! It was so much fun looking in the little shops and things. Behind us in this picture is a huge random group of sea lions? Well they look like seals to me but apparently they are sea lions. they just all sit here and make noise and push each other off the docks. It is hilarious to watch them! I know this picture of me is awesome. I look so attractive. Ben was supposed to make a funny face too but of course he smiled. I usually can't keep him from making funny faces in pictures. go figure.
We didn't make the trip out to alcatraz but there it is in the background. It was such great weather out there. We were getting hot in those clothes!

Oh man. such a highlight of the trip! I was able to find a SWEET deal on tickets to WICKED at the Orpheum Theater. I have been wanting to see this Show FOREVER! and now I finally got that chance. It totally lived up to all the hype. I was in heaven. Ben probably won't admit it but he loved it too :) I would totally go see it again. worth every penny.
On Friday we were able to go do a session at the Oakland Temple. This is Ben's favorite temple. I was excited too because this is where my parents were married. It really is such a beautiful temple and it has an AMAZING view of the city. It was awesome.Afterwards we went to Fenton's for some ICE CREAM. oh my heck. they gave me so much. IT really was the biggest serving of ice cream ever! That was pretty much our lunch because I was stuffed after. DELISH
After visiting a family that Ben taught we found this awesome place. In this neighborhood all the streets are named after women. This one was my favorite :) Ben told me when he was on his mission, every time he rode his bike past this street he thought of me :) isn't that romantic?

Okay major highlight coming up. After visiting the member in the lady street neighborhood, we were supposedly going to meet up with some other people that Ben knew to go to a drive in movie. so we were driving along and I was giving Ben directions from the GPS. Well as we arrived at our destination I saw that instead of a Drive in theater, we were at the HP Pavillion Center. Confused I looked at Ben who clearly thought I had caught on by now. I was just thinking "oh the drive in must be behind this huge place." Then I saw a sign that said Rascal Flatts tonight! I said to Ben, Look! Rascal Flatts are playing there tonight! He just smiled and said nothing. "Ben... are we going to Rascal Flatts?" oh my goodness I was DYING! I have always wanted to see them in concert!
The funny thing was... Ben totally was having a hard time keeping this surprise to himself all week. and earlier that day when we were driving, I randomly put on all the Rascal Flatts songs on a playlist and was rocking out to them. He totally thought I knew and was trying to hint to him. ha ha. nope. I was totally oblivious. It was such an amazing concert and we had a blast!! Thanks Ben. I love ya.
Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures on Saturday! We were so busy going from house to house visiting Ben's friends from the mission and I kept leaving my camera in the car. We really had a blast though. A much needed break for us! Can't wait for the next one!

So the day before we left for Oakland, Molly and I (and a few of Kate's friends) got to fly up to Seattle on a Private Jet and hang out with Kate for a few hours! It was so random! Kate has a friend, Nora and her dad has a jet and was using it to go pick up his son for some family thing in Salt Lake. they had some empty seats on the jet so she invited us! It was such a blast and so nice to see Kate, Bri, Hazel, and little Wells (who by the way is sooooo cute!)

Here we are about to take off! Natalie, Me, Molly and NoraChubby little Max, Hazel and I. I miss these little ones so incredibly much! Can't wait for thanksgiving to spend more time with them!
I can't believe how grown up she is getting. Look at that long hair! ha ha and I love that she insisted on carrying that lotion everywhere we went.
Again with the lotion... ha ha love ya Hazelbop

Happy Birthday Ben!

2009-09-12T15:15:00.003-06:00

Today is Ben's 23rd Birthday!! We are having a great day full of adventures so i don't have too much time to Blog today but i just wanted to post some pics of Ben and I. Just reminding everyone not to forget to call or send a text wishing Ben a happy day. I love you Ben. You are the best!

Jordanelle Triathlon

2009-08-25T17:18:00.013-06:00

Last Saturday, Ben, Matt and I participated in the Jordanelle Triathlon! We did it as a relay team and it was such a blast! It's becoming sort of a tradition for the three of us. last year we did the Echo Triathlon as a relay team and that was Matt's first ever triathlon. He has been hooked ever since. Only problem is he keeps injuring himself in training for the Xterra Triathlon. Luckily, this years injury didn't keep him from swimming!

I did the run this year. It was a 10k (6.2 miles) and it was brutal! I haven't been training one bit this summer which is horrible! But I didnt want to let my team down so I really went hard! I actually ended up with a better time than usual so that was good! It was a fun run but it was so dang hot! I was so red in the face by the end!

Ben also did awesome! We have mostly been mountain biking this summer so I was proud of him for busting out 26.2 miles on the road bike. Here he is running in to give me the time chip so I could start my run.

After the race we were exhausted! Especially me. I hadn't quite recovered in this picture. This was about 15 seconds after the run. I am still so red! It was such a blast to do this race as a team. Go Hunter Dogs! (yes that is our team name. ha ha no idea where we came up with that one)

Polish Golf

2009-08-22T18:15:00.007-06:00

This is Polish Golf. My uncle Dennis came to town a few weeks ago and he brought this with him. He taught us how to play and Benn (being the handy and crafty husband that he is) decided to re create it! So we went to HomeDepot, bought some PVC pipe and Benn went to town! Hadley and Chad came over to try it out with us and it was pretty dang fun! If anyone wants the rules and instructions let me know

Lake Powell

2009-08-18T21:53:00.009-06:00

Last week Ben and I went to Lake Powell with The Hunter's! it was such a blast. Lake Powell has always been one of my favorite places to visit and i haven't been down for a few years so i was super excited to go!

Ben and I on the boat :)

This is one of my favorite tubing pics. Ben was determined to turn that tube over!

Ben's first time wakeboarding and he got up! not only that but he was throwing in some fancy moves. one handin it!

Rainbow bridge was awesome! so beautiful! we boated there and then hiked about 2/3 mile in.

I love wakeboarding! I hadn't been in a long time! One day I'll actually succeed in catching some air!It was so much fun spending time with the family! We don't get to see Daniel and Nicole very often so it was fun hanging out with them!

After the Rainbow bridge excursion, we wer on our way back to the boat and a storm was brewing. We were about 200 yards away from the house boat when we ran completely out of gas! We were stuck out in the water with one paddle and, a wakeboard and no boat in site. Then out of nowhere this boat came and saved us. They towed us back to the house boat even though they were almost out of gas themselves! It was lucky!

This our sweet house boat!

Spudman!

2009-07-25T21:51:00.022-06:00

This past weekend Benn, Dan and I drove up to Burley Idaho for the Spudman Triathlon! It was such a blast! Benn and I have been looking forward to this for weeks (even though we totally neglected training for it!) and we asked my little brother Daniel the week of if he wanted to come with us and he said yes! It was such a hard race but we all came out alive! it was 1 mile swimming, 24 miles biking, and 6.2 miles running. What a sweet workout! They gave each participant a sweet shirt and their very own "spud" souvenir. We had so much fun. We were so nervous but it really was such a blast to race. The energy is just so high and it's so exciting to be there. It definitely won't be our last triathlon!

Camping on the Beach!

2009-07-14T17:34:00.016-06:00

This last week my family and I went camping at Camp Pendleton! It was such a blast. I had so much fun seeing my sisters and all my nieces and nephews and just relaxing on the beach! We were able to celebrate my Dad's birthday, and go to Sea World while we were there too!

We ate so well the entire trip and there was always something fun gong on whether it was playing in the waves, flying kites, playing games, or just watching all the cousins play! Every night we sat around the fire, shared our high's and low's of the day and ate s'mores and hot chocolate. I loved being with my family cause we hardly ever get to get all of us together with everyone living so far away!

It was so beautiful there! I absolutely loved it. I missed Ben so much by the end but I had such a nice relaxing trip and I just wish he could have came because he would have loved it!

Happy Six Month Anniversary!

2009-07-02T23:09:00.004-06:00

Tuesday was Ben and My six month anniversary! our first little milestone! I can't believe how fast that six months went by! crazy! We had a fun day. We woke up early and made breakfast together, we tried out a recipe for german pancakes for the first time and they turned out great! Ben made me a sweet CD that we listened to all morning. Ben had to work for most the day but when he got home I had a surprise for him! a brand new tent set up and waiting in our living room! ha ha he was so excited. we have been wanting to start getting some camping gear so this was our first thing. After he got home we went out to dinner at one of my favorite restaraunts California Pizza Kitchen and then we came home and we were gonna watch a movie but instead Ben surprised me and had borrowed some of my families roller blades! ha ha so we rollerbladed around our neighbor hood! it was so fun. Roller blading was one of the things we did on one of our first dates so it was fun to remember that. After that adventure we curled up in our new tent and watched Kung Fu Panda in the living room and fell asleep! It was a great day! Love ya Ben!

Park City Ski Town Shootout!

2009-06-23T17:26:00.005-06:00

Last Weekend I was able to play in the Park City Ski Town Shootout. It was SO much fun to play again! I really get so happy when I play Lacrosse, it is the best sport ever! I got to play with my sister Molly and she put together a sweet team and her work, Face Off Lax, sponsored us. We did really well! We won all our games except one, which was BYU and we lost in overtime! But we actually did pretty well considering BYU usually kills us. So it was a super fun weekend!

I hate wearing the mouthguards. They make me gag if i put them all the way in. Whenever I play it's always hanging out of my mouth like this ha ha

Me and my big sis Molly

This is our awesome team! Go Face Off!! We really had some awesome players and that made it really fun to play with them!

Happy Fathers Day!

2009-06-22T10:29:00.003-06:00

Benn and I both have awesome Dad's! So we just wanted to wish them both a Happy Father's Day and let them know how much we love and appreciate them!

My Dad, Todd Claflin is the best! He is always so interested in our lives and supports us in every way. He always tries to make it to our lacrosse games or whatever else we have going on. He is fun to hang out with and is a great example to me of being positive and making the best out of a not so fun situation. He is always crackin jokes, and making me smile. Isn't he the cutest? Love you Dad!
Matt is a rock star. He is always so giving of him time and talents to his family. he is always helping out and more than willing to spend time with his kids. He works super hard and is always making everyone around him laugh. He is an awesome biker and swimmer and those are things Benn and I love doing with him. Love ya Matt, thanks for all you do!

Moab!

2009-06-01T18:14:00.004-06:00

Over memorial day weekend Ben's dad Matt took us down to Moab! I just got a new bike so I was super excited to try it out. Even though it was short and it rained pretty much the whole time it was still an awesome trip!!
This was the first trail we rode. It's called Bartlett Wash. It was all slick rock. very different than what I'm used to but very fun!
This is my sweet new bike! If anyone is looking for a place to buy a bike, go to "highlander" on highland drive. they have some awesome prices and the people there are way cool. we got a sweet deal.
This is at the very top of Klondike Bluffs. It was such a beautiful view. Right after this we rode down and it started raining soooo hard! it was a flash flood! Athe little streams we rode through on the way up had turned into thigh high rivers! it was crazy! a couple of times after ben crossed the water with his bike he came back, picked up me, and my bike at the same time and carried us across. such a nice husband.
This is the aftermath of riding down in the flash flood. we got so muddy!
After church we decided to hike up to delicate arch. Ben changed but i just kept my skirt on.

These are Matt's awesome "Bikapelli" socks that he wore on the trip. He insisted i take a picture of them.
Thanks for taking us down Matt! We had a blast!

Oh how I love this picture. I love how they are both making the same face... like father like son!

We Love you Grandma Hunter!

2009-05-18T20:59:00.003-06:00

It was a very emotional day for our family. Ben's Grandma, Marjorie Hunter passed away peacefully this morning at Intermountain Medical Center surrounded by her family. Grandma suffered a fall last friday night in her home and broke some ribs as well as her arm. She was taken by an ambulance to LDS hospital where she was evaluated then sent to the ICU at IMC. She seemed to be doing well the first few days but unfortunately last night, grandma's conditon worsened and she passed away this morning. Ben and I have become very close to to grandma the past few months while living in her basement. We are going to miss her very much. We loved visiting grandma and watching our favorite shows together. especially LOST. I think Grandma Hunter knew more about LOST than anyone! She was always so sweet to us and we loved just sitting and talking with her. She had such a good life and we were glad to be small part of it. We know that grandma is happy with her husband now. It was a very special and spiritual experience for me today to be with Grandma in her last minutes of life and listen to her grandchildren sing her a love song that she shared with her husband. We love you grandma and we will miss you!

Our St. Patty's Day Adventures!!

2009-03-20T12:00:00.008-06:00

Ben and I had a sweet St. Patrick's Day together! it was the only day of spring break that Ben and both had completely off of work so we totally lived it up!

First, Ben woke me up pretty much at the crack of dawn so we could go on our first bike ride of the season! We went on the shoreline trail and it kicked my butt!

Luckily i made it all the way to the top! last year i tried the same trail with Ben and only made it about halfway! Thanks for letting me borrow your mountain bike Kate!

Our next activity was snowboarding up at Snowbird! we still had a few extra passes left over from our honeymoon so we have been really wanting to use them. it was a super warm day up there! so although it was a it slushy, the warmth made up for it. if there is anything i hate it is being cold!

We only went half day but we got to do almost every lift at least once! it was awesome

Next on the list was stopping off at Ben's parents for a St Patrick's Day Dinner!

Jenny made us green pancakes! They were super yummy! Thanks Jenny!

Next we were on our way to the jazz game. I got Ben a few tickets for Christmas. on our way up to the delta center we saw this carriage. I looked at Ben and said oh man! i wish we had time for a ride! Then this nice lady driving the carriage came over and asked us if we wanted a ride, we told her we would but we were on our way to the Jazz game. she said she was headed towards the delta center anyways so she would give us a free ride over there! SWEET!

The game was sweet! We killed the Wizards!

The best part was the halftime show. They had these kids who river danced. ha ha it was amazing.

Last stop was ICEBERG. I had been craving some good ice cream for awhile so this totally hit the spot. a perfect ending to a way fun day!

Spring!

2009-03-03T15:00:00.007-07:00

Today was such a beautiful day! it made me so happy to wake up to the sun shining! It's amazing how a pretty spring day can put you in such a great mood! My friend Hannah who got married just a few weeks before i did, came down from provo today to play a little tennis with me! we used to play all the time together and it was so much fun to play again! Thanks hans!

Here is some other fun things we've been up to......

Ben took me to the Jazz game last week and we wore the jazz jerseys we got for christmas!

We have been wanting to make it down to temple square to see music and the spoken word and we finally went with our friends TJ and Liz Connolly and Liz's sister and her husband. it was a really nice way to spend a sunday morning! i highly recommend going if you haven't gone for awhile.

We went to the BYU- UTAH game down in provo and it was really fun! Ben is a major BYU fan and honestly i've always been more of a U fan but being the awesome wife that i am... i sported the blue and cheer for the Y. It was a great game!

My Hubby

2009-02-23T10:33:00.005-07:00

I just love my husband Benn. We haven’t been married long but I must say I am so grateful to have him in my life. Valentines day just reminded me how lucky I am. He took me to the Peter Breinholt concert which was awesome! Ryan Shupe and Nancy Hansen performed too. It was so much fun to see them in concert. Thanks hun! I love you!

Here are a few things I love about Benn.......

-He tells me how beautiful I am at least three times a day

-He is always complimenting me on my hair or my clothes and he always notices if I do something new or different

-He is so cute with my nieces and nephews! My niece hazel absolutely loves him and get so excited when we come over

-I never have to clean up after him he is super tidy (a great room mate!)

-He helps out around the house dishes, bathroom, vacuuming, garbage, you name it and he does it.

-He goes running with me even though he doesn’t like to run

-He is so motivated in school and does super well in all his classes

-He has the greatest smile of all time even though he hates to show it in pictures

-He can always make me laugh

-Such a fast learner! He is learning Spanish right now and gets to practice all the time since he got hired at the Spanish branch of zions bank.

-He sleeps on his back so I can cuddle up to him easier at night

-Lets me talk his ear off every night before bed

-He makes sure we read and pray together every single night before bed

-He is always looking for missionary oppurtunites and ways to help people learn about the church.

-He supports me in everything I do! Lacrosse, marathon running, nursing school, etc and helps me with everything.

This is a picture we took on our first date. Benn took me to the Jazz game. So fun!

A few fun Wedding Pictures

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Welcome to our Blog!

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Benn and I tied the knot on December 30th 2008! I figured since everyone has been bugging me to jump on the blog bandwagon that i'd better get moving so here we are! enjoy!

we got married in the beautiful salt lake temple This is us just after the ceremony right outside the temple! yay!
more pictures are still to come!