Graduation Trip

The day after Zack's graduation we hit the road to visit Yellowstone, Lewis and Clark Caverns, and Glacier with our family. Once again, all photos for your viewing pleasure :)

Lisa

Jacob

Lisa and Jim

Old Faithful Inn

Lisa at Old Faithful

Old Faithful

At Mud Volcano

Morgan, Ashley, Jacob

Mud sloshing at Mud Volcano

Me at Mud Volcano

Zack and Dave

Zack getting attention from the ladies

Bald Eagles in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

Us

Patricia

Dave and Morgan

Lisa and Jim

Family bench!

Mammoth Hot Springs

Some terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs

Up close

Zack and Dave at Mammoth

Lisa, Zack, and Dave

Jacob and Morgan

Zack goofing around, as usual

More up close shots

A photo of everyone :)

Lisa, Jim, Jacob, Morgan, Ashley, Zack, Dave, Patricia

Ashley with her mom, Patricia

Hiking up to Lewis and Clark Caverns

Dave taking a rest

The hole through which the caverns were originally discovered

Inside the caverns

Jacob going down into the caverns

A stalagmite

Going down Beaver Slide

Dave getting a picture of the cave bacon

Ashley and Patricia

Ashley and Zack

A cute family Zack took a picture of in hopes we'd send it to them. Unfortunately we didn't get their info, perhaps they will see this someday!

Dave in one of the rooms

Lisa and Jacob

Looking up at stalactites

Down, down, down

Crystal clear water in the caverns

Stalactites

Bending down to fit through to the next room

Abandoned stairway

Garden of the Gods

Our awesome guide

A section of the long tunnel we left the caverns from

Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park

Dave with his feet in Lake McDonald

I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm excited!

The color of the rivers and streams in Glacier NP are a gorgeous aqua

Dave

Zack and Dave in front of Heaven's Peak (I believe)

One of two tunnels we pass through on the Going-to-the-Sun Road

We were so happy that we got the opportunity to go!

Melting snow bridge

Mountain goats

Glacier Tour Bus

Bighorn Sheep

St. Mary Lake

Hungry Horse Dam

Graduation

Zack graduated on the 23rd of this month. My mom, his Dad, his Mom and her boyfriend Jim, and two of his younger siblings came to watch! Warning, this post is ALL photos!

Zack's graduation announcement

 Our lunch at Famous Dave's BBQ

My sneaky photo of Braden alongside Kaitlin's parents

 It's Zack!

 Zack is almost dead center, behind the teleprompter

Zack's college

 Lisa, Zack, Morgan, Jacob, Dave

 Zack with his Mom and Dad

 Us!

Laurie, Connor, & Garrett

Z getting hugs from Laurie

Zack goofing around 

Our neighbors :)

Garrett pondering

Garrett, Connor, Laurie, Bryce, Bret 

Courtney is so happy to get that diploma!

THIS.

Brianna and Terry Evans

Connor being a goof

It's clear where Connor gets it, his Daddy, Brett!

My cute graduate!

Z and my mom

Z's always such a clown!

Patricia, Zack, Ashley

4th of July, Color in Motion 5K, and Braden's birthday party.

This post is WAY overdue, but I have been busy!

On the 4th of July we went to the parade here in Rexburg, and then hung around at home instead of fighting for parking spots, seats, and traffic in Idaho Falls for fireworks. The neighbors put on quite a show (no photos of them, sorry)!

 My favorite photo I took

 Our friend Terry Bagley

 One of the many floats celebrating Madison County's 100th anniversary/birthday

Two days later we ran the Color in Motion 5K. Here's what we looked like after the run: 

It was an absolute blast and I'm so glad we got to do it!

That was the same day as Braden's birthday. It was a Split Second LAN party, and we hosted it at our apartment. After some issues getting everyone connected we were able to have a grand ol' time! We filled our bellies with pizza and raced to the death!

June in Review

It's been a while since I've updated the blog! My apologies. So here's a post dedicated to the month of June!

I (Ashley) coached soccer for the JV girls spring season here at the local high school in April and May. We had our 'end of the season party' in June. It was a good experience and I'm so glad I got the opportunity to meet such wonderful girls as well as get something new to add to a resume. This past Saturday I finally relieved myself of all the equipment from the season. :)

This happened.

I got new pots and pans! They were worth every cent. I even managed to sell my old set for $20. The new ones are Cuisinart's Stainless Steel mulit-clad pro set. We also got some extras to help suit our needs. We found a great deal on Amazon and I couldn't be happier.

The second week of June we went home for a Baldwin family reunion. We stayed for a week and got to spend some much needed time with family. Zack missed a chunk of school, but he didn't mind. :p Other than Proton getting car sick, everything was quite perfect. We attended the reunion, picked strawberries, went to Morgan's 8th grade graduation (that's Zack's little sister), visited Zack's great grandmother, and got to celebrate my Father's 60th birthday plus Father's Day. I'm so glad we were able to squeeze it in before our big move. We really don't know when we will be back! Possibly Christmas.

When we got back I was able to get back to work on the Lazy Man Triathlon that BYU-I puts on every semester. You have a month to complete every aspect of a regular Triathlon (2.4mi swim, 112mi bike, and 26.2mi run) and the first 100 finishers get a free T-shirt. I was finisher #30 even with the week delay from our trip home! I should receive an email any day now about what I need to do to pick up my shirt. I've done the Lazy Man before and it really is easy to complete if you focus on completing it. I'm doing another one this month that my sister-in-law is putting on. I'm hoping to finish by the 15th because this month is going to be CRAZY after the 20th.

We sat outside for over an hour hoping we'd get to see the supermoon and get a good picture to no avail.

We started using Metamucil. Our colons thank us.

I went to book club. We read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and it was fantastic.

Zack did this to our TV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i7nGneSlwk It's LED lights around the back that light up to match the colors on the edge of the screen. We've got 100 behind our 47" and it looks great!

We spent lots of time at the lake! It's been really warm (finally!) so we've been trying to be outside and spend as much time with friends as possible before we leave. I love summer!

So that's what we did in June! In July there's a LOT going on and we are so excited!

An Announcement

On Thursday Zack and I had a little getaway after all the craziness last week. We went to Destinations Inn in Idaho Falls and stayed in the "England" room. It was too much fun! There was a giant tub, an aromatherapy steam shower, a giant bed (it was supposedly a king, but I'm telling you it was GIANT), a projector, a bookshelf that was really a doorway to the bathroom, a drawbridge entry, and just pure fabulousness! We were having trouble deciding on where to eat dinner, but we saw Famous Dave's BBQ as we were out and about and that made it easy. As we walked toward the door I knew right away we were in for a treat because the smell outside was HEAVENLY. They sat us down in a cozy booth and we ordered the feast for two. And a feast we had! Incredible amounts of all kinds of meats, each one more delicious than the last. I don't even know if I could give you a favorite, everything was simply THAT GOOD. Since it was our first time, the manager came out to talk to us and give us some of their BBQ sauce! Absolutely fabulous experience. The next morning we ate breakfast at Smitty's (via our voucher from the Inn) and headed home.

Friday was Zack's birthday and we had a fun party that evening with some close friends. It was totally last minute, so I'm so happy it turned out so well. Zack loved it also, and that is what's most important! We had pizza and cake, we played some games, and Z got a few gifts. I'm really grateful to everyone who came and helped make it a party!

Our awesome neighbors Brianna and Terry

Our buddy Lucas tucked in the corner

Zack, Sabrina, Quinn, Brianna, Terry, Kaitlin, Garrett, Lucas, and Braden playing games

My favorite photo - Sabrina and Quinn with Proton

Friday was extra special because not only was it Zack's birthday, but we got a very important phone call. Zack got the job with USAA in San Antonio, Texas! We are so excited and feel so very blessed for this opportunity. That was by far Zack's best present. He starts August 19th. That gives us a few days to get down there and settle in after his graduation.

I can't wait! I'm already going through everything throwing out coats and things we don't need to take with us. I'm definitely a bit too excited! I already know where I'd like to live. It's less than a mile from Zack's work. I've started to look at jobs for myself down there, but I have the exact opposite problem I have up here. There are too many jobs!!! I'm sure I could find a lovely job, if only I could find it! I have lots of time to do that though, so I'm sure SOMETHING will come up. Fingers crossed that I find a job that is worth while, and they don't need someone who speaks Spanish. That is definitely going to be my downfall while job hunting in that area. 

Any moving tips are welcome! We do not like moving, so hopefully we get lots of help from friends at church. We're looking into U boxes so we don't have to drive a U haul for 24+ hours. Then we could just drive our truck (plus kitties!) and take the time to see things along the way like Cadillac Ranch! Woo!

Missed Anniversary and Birthday

This past Saturday I had to coach soccer in Pocatello all day so we didn't get to do anything for our anniversary. We ate dinner at 10pm! It was a long, cold, windy day and I was absolutely exhausted. I slept for almost 12 hours! 

I skipped out on choir practice Sunday morning and we went to church just in time to take the sacrament and then we ran our sinner butts to Walmart to do some shopping for Z's big trip to San Antonio. I spent the rest of the day doing laundry, ironing, and packing Zack's suitcase for the trip. 

We got up before 5 Monday morning and I took him to the airport. I didn't really get to talk to him during the trip, but he text me a couple times from his 5 star hotel room to tell me he was having fun and enjoying his stay. He had a big fancy dinner at the white table cloth restaurant the night he arrived. Then he text me saying not to call because he was enjoying a bath! Stinker!

The next morning he had to get up early for his interview and building tour. He had nothing but great things to say about the whole thing. I'm so glad he got to go, over spring break no less! I missed him terribly, especially overnight and then on my birthday. However, I got to visit a couple friends and had a little birthday party with our friends Sabrina and Quinn. Quinn's birthday was Monday so it worked out perfectly to have a little doubled up birthday party. We love them! I really hope that where ever we end up we can find some good friends like them. We will miss them terribly! My first cake I made completely fell apart so I had to make a new one. It was super delicious, but not completely chilled. Not everything can go perfectly! :p Late that night I got to go pick Zack up from the airport (I timed my drive perfectly, he only waited for like 2 minutes). I was so happy to see him! He cruised the shops in the airport and got me some chocolate and work out gear for my birthday. He is so sweet! 

Tomorrow we are going to stay at a themed hotel to actually spend some time together and celebrate our birthdays (Zack's is Friday) and anniversary. :) I can't believe we are in our mid 20's now!

Me on my birthday with my cake :)

General Conference

General Conference happens twice a year for us Latter-Day Saints. There are several 2 hour sessions on Saturday and Sunday where we get to hear talks from our leaders. They talk about things like the importance of families, reading our scriptures, the Savior, repentance, and more! It's always very uplifting and helps you get back on track. It's also fun because we can sit and watch it in our own homes (minus priesthood Saturday evening where all the men have to go to a meetinghouse for satellite transmission)!

We had a great time. It's always a big weekend for eating baked goods and feeling like a stuffed turkey for the next week. On Saturday I made the famous "Sausage Souffle" composed of bread, milk, eggs, Italian sausage, and cream of mushroom soup. I know it might sound a little vile, but OMG IS IT DELICIOUS. I also usually make cinnamon rolls, but thought I'd skip them this time (because the ones I make are very involved and make a TON). Then Saturday night Zack confessed he had to have them, oh boy! I've grown fond of my bread machine as of late, and we are becoming quite close. I thought I'd give it a go using the machine. I was only up till about 1:30 in the morning with them fully baked and ready to eat (minus the icing) and minimal effort. Here's the recipes I used this time: Cinnamon Rolls (add some more butter and sugar to that filling, for real!), Icing (I use less butter, and more cream cheese than it calls for, always perfect). I heated a couple up for us in the morning and iced all of them. Total YUM! Not as totally amazing as my usual, but such a close second I will probably revert to these more often when I am craving cinnamon rolls or in a bind for time and effort.

Our friends Sabrina and Quinn often join us to watch a session or two. Quinn had a big Saturday run planned so Sabrina came by and we went to an antique shop and the hardware store in a nearby town between sessions to get some stuff for her to re-pot her plants. They turned out really awesome. She found some cute old pots to put them in. Then she watched the second session on Saturday with us. Zack slept through most of conference I do admit, but it's finals week and he's pulling several all-nighters to get everything done. He works so hard for us! I'm so lucky to have him as my husband! :)

In other news, Zack had an interview Thursday for a big job, but we don't know anything yet, so I'll let you know more about that as we do. :D