Lately...

I fell like we always get done doing something and I say, we didn't take a picture!  We have been busy with life, but nothing really worth documenting (yet).  What we have been up to, in whatever order I can think of:

1. Evan took the Utah bar, which means we are finally setting up roots
2. We are still looking for the perfect house
3. I introduced three new products at work, so life has been a little hectic
4. We have had MANY visitors since moving to Salt Lake- my mom, Evan's parents, lots of siblings (my sister Sarah, Evan's brother Lance, Evan's sister Heidi and her husband Jerry, Evan's sister Juliet and her four kids)
5. We are both still training for different races; Evan the Logan marathon and me the Soda Springs 1/2 marathon and Orem sprint tri
6. I have been crafting like crazy for a cute little baby girl that I know

I think that is the highlights from the last month. We should hear back from the bar soon, but I am not worried about it.

4th of July

We love the 4th!  It is our favorite holiday around here; Christmas is a close second.  Since our first date was on the 4th (technically it was from 10 am on the 4th to about 1 am on the 5th), we try to re-create it every year. Our first date included a BBQ, baseball game, and fireworks.  So this year we went to the SL Bees game.  We were a little bummed that they lost by 1 point (I think), but it was still fun.  After we went to Sonic for 1/2 price milkshakes.

Cookie Woes

I *think* I can cook anything.  Give me a bunch of random ingredients and I can make an good meal ( I even won an iPad for my mad cooking skills).  I can even bake; I can make decadent desserts. Most often at restaurants Evan tells me something along the lines of "I like your version better".  EXCEPT, chocolate chip cookies. Until tonight!  I finally think I figured out how to make them.  I know this sounds weird, but I have never found the balance between under and over cooked, spreading too much, or losing its cookie shape.

Here are some things I learned:
1. After creaming the butter and sugar, mix with the eggs for 3 minutes.
2. Add chocolate chips BEFORE flour so you don't over mix.
3. Keep dough in the refrigerator when a batch is in the oven.
4. Remove from oven when slightly undercooked and let sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes.

Cookies right from the oven

Cookies after sitting for two minutes

All ready to eat!

Jaxson Ryder Thomas

Jaxson is here!  My little brother's son was born yesterday.  After 28+ hours of labor, getting stuck a few times, and an emergency c-section, little baby Jax made his way into the world.  In true SoCal style, he keeps finding places to kick his feet up and relax.  And thanks to the long, complicated labor, he gets to take his first helicopter ride to the Children's Hospital in San Diego so they can monitor his heart and stress levels.  Say a little prayer for Jax that everything will be ok and for Christina since they will be separated until tomorrow when she can leave the hospital.

Utah Valley Half Marathon

I finished! My goal was to just finish, and I came in at 1:52.  I never thought I could do it under 2 hours. Heidi, Evan's sister, ran it with me.  It was surprisingly fun (I know, who knew running a half marathon would be fun).  I am glad that I did it and I was able to finish.  Around mile 10 I felt like I was going to die, but by the time I could see the finish line I had so much energy and I just wanted to be done.  It was really pretty running down the canyon and the weather was perfect.  Thanks Heidi for coming all the way from Idaho to run with me.

GRADUATION!!!

After 2,550 days in school, this cool dude finally finished school! 

"The group". These guys have been together since the beginning; some we meet during orientation week.  The boys have spent more time together than with their wives.

Caribbean Cruise

After graduation, Evan and I and our good friends went on a Caribbean cruise!  It was so much fun. We stopped at Key West, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica.  Below are a few pictures that we took.  

Before we even left Utah we had our own little adventure.  Evan locked his wallet in the car right before we took off from Salt Lake. It was a little stressful but Eric's dad came to the rescue and drove down with the spare key.  

This is a light house that was on Key West.  It was fun to walk around and see the town and all the shops.

This picture refuses to rotate, but it is the largest piece of Key lime pie EVER!  We asked a local the best place to find pie, and he send us to a restaurant named Blue Heaven. It was sooooo good!

This was just one of the dinners. The food was ok on the ship; they shot for quantity more than quality most of the time.  We also had really funny table-mates.  They were from Georgia and really nice people.

While in the Caymans we went snorkeling. The water was so clear and pretty.  As the boat was driving, the kept dropping food so by the time we stopped, there were about 30 stingrays all around. It was a little freaky, but so cool. Evan swallowed about half the ocean (which is the 4th most salty water in the world)  so he is well hydrated now!

Jamaica was really laid back- as expected.  Evan said it reminded him of the Philippines.  We went tubing down the Great River while we were there.

On the ship, the only place that had ESPN was a bar called the Bronx.  So as expected, we spent most of our evenings there hanging out on our coach.

And of course, it would not be a cruise without unlimited soft serve.  We have lots of other pictures on our underwater camera of all the exertions so I will post those when we get them developed.