Spain and Morocco Pictures...finally!!!

Spain and Morocco

When it rains...it SNOWS!

This is our DC winterland! Pretty much everything has been shut down for days!
There are new politicians in town and we were able to meet one :) I think he'll melt when the heat is on.

Our Little DC Family

Make your Stick Figure Family at FreeFlashToys.com

NYC Trip

It was Carolyns birthday on Wednesday so as part of the festivities we went to NYC for the weekend. We walked about 20 miles in three days and had a blast!

Along came a spider...

Living with a phobia can be a very limiting thing. When I was little I would vomit when I would see a spider....yes, that is arachnophobia at its finest. Over the years I have attempted to curb this fear. In the fourth grade I was super brave and actually held a spider. Okay, okay, it was so small that it was difficult to see, but still, I held it! The last few years I was fortunate enough to have roommates who would see the death note I would leave on a post-it note stuck to the jar covering the spider. The roommates usually obliged and took the "hit-money" of 24 cents as they got rid of the body. My luck was holding as I moved in with LG who has also agreed to kill for me. This luck ran out last night...

It was bound to happen eventually, I just never suspected it would go down like this. It was a hot, muggy DC summer night, LG and I went for a run on our favorite loop. After passing the monuments, we made it to the Memorial bridge which is the on the home stretch. We had been on this bridge just days before so I was very comfortable, however, time of day is EVERYTHING. This time it was 9 PM, not 9 AM. MISTAKE.

I brushed against the metal fence as I had done before, but this time I felt that stomach-turning, skin-crawling, hair-like stick that only comes from spider webs. My eyes refocused and I realized that each side of the fence, the entire length of the bridge was covered with THOUSANDS of SPIDERS just waiting and watching!!! (LG even says it was this many so I am not overestimating)

I could only walk to the other end of the long, long bridge. I wish I had not been so paralyzed, I would have run. As the full blown panic attack set in, LG helped me walk in the very center of the path and told me to just look down. I hate to admit, but I was sobbing with fear by the time we were off the bridge. It took me a bit to be able to breath evenly again. LG didn't even make fun of me...and there was plenty to make fun of.

This was definitely the most awful spider experience yet, and I have had so many. I do wish there was a way to find out how this phobia started...maybe in that dark playroom in Roberts, Idaho.

Eldred Lauren Gilbert is 29!

I have to say, I wasn't sure that a man like Lauren existed...not until I met him at his house in December 2007. He had just come home from a date, early I might add, and looked and smelled delicious. His presence filled the room and drew me to him. Truly it was love at first site for me, something that I didn't believe existed.


Now, after nearly a year of having the privilege of being his wife, I continue to see and learn things about him that make me again feel so happy that he is my Eternal Companion.

Lauren is sarcastic, funny, intelligent, driven, sweet, patient, loving, supportive, understanding, somewhat humble, and has dreams that I know he will achieve. He has a passion and zest for life that will take him where he wants to go.




He makes me laugh when I feel like crying and does my papers for me when I do. He scratches my back till I fall asleep and packs my lunch almost every day.

He comes to visit me at the hospital when my hours creep into the time I should be sleeping (please note his medical pose).

He tells me he loves me every day and means it.

Lauren will do things just because it will make me laugh or just to make me happy.

He is a wonderful husband and friend. I am proud of him and respect him. I have seen how much he has grown and accomplished the past year and look forward to getting to know him as we grow together.

So on June 10...just kidding, I know it's actually on June 11 (now), I want him to know that this day is such an important day in my life because it is the day that celebrates the one who IS my life.

~Happy Birthday "G"! I love you.~

Hola! Mexican Vacation!

For those of you who are still checking in with the smallest ray of hope that there may actually be something new to see or you just really love our last blog and want to review it daily...this is for you!

Married life has kept us super busy, well, more likely the life around us has. Lauren is loving his softball team and is a great team captain. Many of the games have been rained out so the season will most likely go late this year. He is rocking his Arabic class and will be moving on to advanced Arabic for the summer semester.

My time has been spent between work, work, work, school work, finals, Utah house stuff, and...work! Nothing fun to report, but I have some great ideas for this Fall when I hopefully have a little more time on my hands. Because Lauren wanted to spend some time together that we wouldn't be interrupted by my usual activities...he surprised me (in the nick of time) with a trip to Mexico!

We spent about 5 days in Tulum, Mexico. Super fun, super hot, and my stores of Vitamin D are finally replenished.
In the airport I finally broke down an bought Twilight (shout out to my sister-in-laws, I have joined the Edward fan club at last) I read it in 2 days! After holding off for nearly 24 hours, Lauren convinced me to purchase New Moon even though it would mean more time away from him...book 2 was done in less than one day! Out of love for LG I didn't buy the third book...motivation for finishing finals and FDA audits!

We had some vouchers for the spa and enjoyed using them. Lauren made me laugh when he came out to tell me that there was NO way he could wear only his provided robe and not expose all. Here is the outcome...I laughed so hard, we were interrupting the Zen!

Later we went to Chitzen Itza, pretty awesome! Our tour guide is an archaeologist there and has also studied Mayan theories, including the Book of Mormon. It is amazing what was done there.


The trip was so relaxing and, as do all vacations, slipped by all to quickly.

A Few Of Our Favoirite Wedding Pictures

We finally have our wedding pictures and are excited to share some of them with our friends and family!

Trouble visiting

Angie Burton, my adventure partner, came and visited me in DC! We had a great time and didn't get to do half the things we wanted to do. We did get to see the Ansel Adams exhibit, hike in the forest where I learned a few things about photography, and met some nice guys on the Metro (who we ran into at the Lincoln Memorial days later in the rain). So much to do the NEXT trip. I think Lauren wondered if we would come home a few times.

Thirty, Flirty and Thriving

Okay, so I turned the BIG 3-0 on October 14th. I have been excited for this birthday and have reflected on my life to this point. I am so greatful for the wonderful people in my life who have helped me become who I am today. There have been many ups and many downs as I have climbed to this number, but I wouldn't change any of them.

Couples Click

These pictures were taken on a hike with our friends: Bryant & Joleen and Henry & Charity.

Notice Bryant's agility! Even Joleen is impressed :)

Famous camera shot.
Amazing how a simple fallen tree in the forest can turn into such a fun sea saw. These tough boys proved their manhood this day!

What a cookie!

So I decided that I would make these chocolate oatmeal no-bake cookies that are easy to make and pretty cheap. Lauren picked up some milk on the way home to complete my ingredients. I could almost taste them!
LG was called away to mutual (do they still call it that?) as part of his new calling and I began to no-bake the cookies.
I added the:
1/3 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar (well, what we had left of it)
3/4 cube butter
1/2 cup of newly purchased milk
I boiled this for exactly 1 and 1/4 minutes, removed it from the heat and added:
1/2 cup peanut butter and
2 tsp vanilla (Mexican of course)
As I reached under the cupboard to get the oatmeal...I realized we were out!
Now, having only a few options at this point
1. climb the back yard fence and walk the 1/4 mile to the grocery store in the dark to purchase more oatmeal.
2.Call LG and ask him to pick some up on his way home...in an hour. OR
3. Use the instant oatmeal in the packets I found when looking for the regular oatmeal.
I choose option 3.
Now, if the original flavor had been enough to complete the:
3 cups needed, I would have been in good shape...no go. I also used Maple/brown sugar and Apple/Cinnamon packets to complete the recipe.
They are cooling now...but I cheated and tasted them...they aren't too bad... but very, very sweet, even after scooping most of the sugar out of the packets.
Would it be bad to give these to my neighbors? :)

I've been tagged!(thanks Flee)

The "rules" of the game are as follows:
1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Write 6 random things about yourself.
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
4. If you're tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag.

My 6 Random Things:
1. I have SEVERE arachnophobia...it's been there since I was a toddler and it's NEVER going away. Don't try to cure it...just Kill it for me please :)

2. My two favorite smells are: the smell of sagebrush rolling down the hills after a cool summer rain and the deep earthy smell of potato cellars.

3. I miss working in the potato harvest going on right now!

4. I still can't sleep Christmas Eve.

5. I have a crush on little old men.

6. I love the sound of Lauren's laugh when he finds something funny to himself.

I TAG:

1. Michigan Mom
2. Angie Burton
3. Kendrick Hanny
4. Harrison Gilbert
5. Ira (if you're still stalking)
6. Dave (sorry Flee...you may have to help)

What will I learn about you?

Cats In The Cradle

Fun in DC

You Say Goodbye...I Say Hello!

After packing for seems like forever, this is was the goodbye that Salt Lake City had for us. How beautiful! A simply perfect farewell.

We ended up with a 17 foot U-haul and a trailer to pull our car.
A special thanks to Felicia and Lizzy for giving us the kick in the rear to start moving things to the U-haul. Melanie was awesome in helping with the cleaning, seriously, we would still be in Utah without her~ what an awesome sister! Also big shout out to Mark, Katelyn, Grant, Austin, Devin, and Peter! WOW! We really have great family!

Lauren's first day work! He was so excited and looked great. Please note the American flag pin (given to him by Dan) on his lapel.

The Honeymoon

We had so much fun in Costa Rica on our honeymoon. We flew to San Jose and stayed at a beautiful hotel (Grano de Oro). The fountain was beautiful in the sitting room. We didn't want to leave, but knew our condo was waiting for us in Estrillos Oeste.

This was the view from our condo. It was amazing! It rained almost every night. One night we opened all of the blinds and had the most spectacular show of thunder and lightening.

ZIPLINE!

Ziplines in Costa Rica are amazing! This one had 15 lines on it and the longest one was just under 1/2 mile long. Thanks to Grandma Andrews for such a fun wedding present!

Our first accident as husband and wife! How sweet. Yes, we were told that everyone in Costa Rica drove a little crazy, but surely we wouldn't succumb to such a thing. Well, long story short, L was passing at the same time as the car in front of us and looked to the side to make sure the 2 bikers were not going to get hit. The car in front decided not to pass and slowed WAY down. Now, I had seen the entire thing happening, but had just sworn that I would stop backseat driving, therefore I resisted the urge to say...watch out! Well, at least until I realized that L really didn't see what was coming! We were both fine (besides a little whip-lash) and met some lovely people from Holland in that SUV we ran into!

This is the coolest tree ever! I love how the little horse is underneath it to get out of the rain...it will forever remind me of Costa Rica.