Snow Shoeing

Is that how you spell it? Either way, it is a blast! Jon and I got each other snow shoes for Christmas, so we finally got out to use them. (This was a while ago on February 18, but I just got the pictures off the camera!)

So we went up Donut Falls in Big Cottonwood Canyon and I was amazed at the pristine beauty of somewhat untouched nature. Snow shoeing is exciting because you get to go places you can't easily get to in the summer. So we went a while up the trail, then because everything is frozen we got to hike the actual river bed and up the falls! The videos of us sliding are actually taken on the waterfall. It's times like this that I realize how much I love Utah (and how bad I am at videography.) :) Good times.

Just to preface the video of me, I had thrown my ski pole down the falls to Jon, but I can't aim and it got stuck in a snowbank. Thus, after sliding and trying to grab it, I had to climb back up and get it. Jon is mean for videotaping that!

I'm sick of being sick... I'm tired of being tired.

That was a dreary title, and it doesn't really explain what I'm going to write, but Jon said it the other day out of nowhere and I thought it was funny.
ANYWAY, I have decided that since I'm back up to my mission weight - the heaviest I've ever been - that I'm going to declare war on my body. Several of my friends are doing weight loss challenges or rewarding themselves for weight loss. I don't know which technique is going to help me, but I've decided to reach out for a little moral support. I've taken "before" pictures that are REALLY scary. Some people say that posting them helps motivate you. But for your sake, and mine, I'm going to keep those private. (I don't want to lose any friends for the sake of a thinner body!)
But I will post occasional successes to keep me going. This week we enrolled in Boot Camp (bootcampwithjess.com) - a brutal 1 hour a day workout that literally kills me. We did boot camp to get ready for our wedding and it paid off. But the rewards of our first time around made me forget the agony that boot camp is.
After Day 1 (Monday) I couldn't put on my own clothes or wash my own hair. (it was an arms day.) After Day 2 I couldn't go up stairs or sit down without cringing (legs day). Day 3, 4, 5 were pretty much just hideous. I'm seeing some slight results in the definition in my legs, and my abs are possibly a bit thinner. But the funniest, and most painful, side effect is that my arms took such a beating that they actually swelled up. I look like I gained about 10 lbs. in my arms alone. I can't put on a seatbelt, jacket, back pack, or anything without Jon's help. I couldn't even put on makeup or do my hair, or reach my mouth to eat! (Now there's a diet plan!) But my honey is so patient and massages me every morning, probably so I'll stop complaining. But if the size of my arms is any indication, I can't wait to see how ripped they're going to be once the swelling goes down!
GO BOOTCAMP!

Moving ... back

Our lives have been crazy for about 6 months... but the good news is that we're getting back to normal. Back in October we packed up our entire lives and put everything in storage in Denver with the intention of moving out there in January and starting a new job out there.

But after months and months of waiting for the job to come through (which Comcast said would happen quickly) we decided last week that we were done putting our lives on hold. Jon found a job as the IT administrator for a charter school here in Utah. I, consequently, am going to be working there next year as well. Hallelujah! No more Denver! So last week we flew out to Denver, packed up a U-haul, and drove back through Wyoming and into "Zion". :) Now we're house hunting and loving every minute of it!

We didn't document the trip very well... the only picture we got was of a nasty no-tell motel in Wyoming. Ew...

Dogs and First Graders

Every week we do a "Student of the Week" where the kids bring in a poster and take a few minutes at the end of the day to tell the class all about themselves. It's pretty cute what they come up with. Last week was Dax's turn. This kid is hilarious - so hyper and crazy. He was so excited to tell about his poster that I pretty much just stood aside and let him go for it.

His favorite part was telling about his puppy Buster. Someone asked what kind of dog it was, and Dax told them it was a Shih-tzu. "A WHAT?" they all asked. Several kids tried to say it: "Shut-sit?" "Shoe-zit?" "Shut-zoo?" Dax was getting frustrated, so he yelled "SHIT - ZOO! SHIT - ZOO! SHIT - ZOO!" with a definite pause between the syllables. And all the kids were repeating it at the top of their lungs in pure first grade style.

Not one of them realized they were swearing - that's how sweet my little babies are. But I was dying. I had to pretend I was writing on the board and bite my finger so I didn't die laughing right in front of them.

The best part? My door was open and a third grade class was walking by. :) I'm so getting fired!

Seattle Pics

Sorry to any of you who were actually interested in seeing some pics from Seattle. I think I worked out the kinks and a smaller version of our web gallery is finally up. Cross your fingers and spin around twice while patting your head and rubbing your stomach ... and it may work. Go to gallery.mac.com/bon.jon

Thanks!

Happy Birthday to Bonnie!

I just have to tell you how cute Jon is. He made my birthday so special! We went to the gym in the morning and ran three miles, which I felt was an awesome way to start my 27th year of life!!! (Crazy, now I'm in my upper twenties - ahhhhhh!)

Then we were off to do something, but the only hints he gave me were that I should wear kind of grubby clothes and not put on makeup because we were going to do a service project. He also told me that it was downtown by the Gateway Mall. So, as we ate lunch at a place called "The Soup Kitchen" I thought I was very smart in figuring out that we were going to feed the homeless. It all made sense because we had talked about going to do that anyway, and it's right next to the mall. So Jon let me believe that and I tried to convince myself that it was a cool idea for a birthday.

Anyway, we drove downtown and right past the shelter. Huh? It turned out that Jon and scheduled a couple's massage for us in the mall. He even made Creme brulee, my favorite, for them to bring in to us afterward. It was the perfect way to enjoy my day. Then we had dinner with my family and called it a night... not too eventful, but absolutely perfect!

Seattle Rocks!

We decided to get away for the weekend, and since we didn't know where we wanted to go, we just searched where the airlines flew for pretty cheap. As soon as we saw Seattle on the list, we knew it was a winner!
The trip was amazing. We ate the most expensive meal of our lives (accidentally) at Morton's Steakhouse, because we didn't know what it was and felt stupid leaving after the prices were given to us in the "Verbal Menu Presentation". So funny! (Go to www.mortons.com for an idea of what we paid!)
We fell in love with the people, the scenery, the seafood, and the artsy feel of the city. Even church was fun there! Here are some of our favorite finds:
1. The Crab Pot - a place where they throw your seafood feast on the table and you just dig in!
2. Pike Place Market - so many fun things to do and see that we went back three times.
3. The Seattle Aquarium - it would have been more fun with kids, but we loved it anyway!
4. Smith Tower - A way cheaper way to see Seattle than the Space Needle, though that was awesome, too.
5. The Underground Tour - a bizarre little tour that shows how crazy and inventive the early Seattle-ites were to solve a fire and toilet flushing problem in their little marsh city. Basically there's a city under the city and we go to see it!

6. The Wexley School for Girls - though it's not actually a school, it gave us lots of fun photo ops and their website is awesome. www.wexley.com

7. Todai - the BEST sushi buffet we've ever seen. Good sushi, plus desserts, a hot food bar, and a killer view of the commercial district. SWEET!
8. The Aurora Bridge Troll - a glob of concrete shaped into a troll that was actually commissioned by Seattle City Council to "encourage a bond and artistic feel in the city" or something like that. It was pretty awesome.

I can't wait to go back. There is so much to do and see, plus my skin has never felt softer. Utah is so dang dry! For more pics of our trip, go to gallery.mac.com/bon.jon and you can see our favorites.