Mexico 2012

Hey Everyone!

Kiley has done such a wonderful job with keeping the blog up to date. She is such a wonderful wife! After many months, I am finally going to add a post to the blog. I hope you enjoy!

For our anniversary trip, Kiley and I headed off with the Kartchners to Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point), Mexico. We had a blast! Here are some of the photos we took.

Kevin and Baby Noelle:

We spent most of our time on the beach:

This is Kiley's absolute favorite picture of the trip. Please excuse the nudity:

Look at all the animals we found!

Cute little crabs:

Awesome octopus:

Hermit crabs and clams:

Star fish and other types of fish:

We also spotted lots of dolphins jumping out of the water from a distance. So cool!

Here's Zach looking cool with his shades:

Kiley and I both agree that one of the highlights of our trip was getting to know Darren's girlfriend Cait better. Since there were limited rooms on the trip, we roomed with Cait the entire time! It was a blast. :)

Darren and Cait (aren't they cute together???):

Mexican Ice Cream!

Look at my cool sombrero and the shirt I got for Father's Day:

Aren't these dresses pretty?

Every day in Mexico, a different family was in charge of a meal. Kiley and I grouped together with Darren and Cait and decided to make homemade Mexican pizza! We made tons of dough and sauce, using only ingredients we found at the supermarket. It was a lot of fun! 

Yeah, it was pretty hot outside:

This is the beach house we stayed at:

This trip was definitely one of the highlights of the year! We loved the time that we could spend with our family. It was a great was to celebrate our 1 year anniversary!

One Year Ago

One year ago I was zipping up the back of my wedding dress, sitting in the celestial room, kneeling across the altar, taking pictures in the heat, eating at Golden Coral, setting up for the reception, feeling grateful for the love and support of so many people, seeing my brother catch the garter, driving away in a decked out Corolla, and, most importantly, getting sealed for time and all eternity to my best friend and knew that I never had to leave his side.  Best day of my life.

Happy anniversary Sam!  This year has been far my best and favorite year and I have grown so much!  I truly love you, even more than that day when we kissed across the altar.  I hope that this next year will be better yet.

 Love,

         Kiley

Ps. Here's the link to our wedding day

Memorial Day

Hey, I hope everyone had a good memorial day weekend.  The summer recreation program that I'm going to work in doesn't start for another week, so I'm enjoying this time with Sam before we both start work.  Sam is shadowing a doctor this week, so Monday we decided to have fun and have a mini hike up the Embudo canyon to have lunch.

We then headed over to my parents' house to enjoy a BBQ.  I had fun snapping photos, so I'm sorry!

My parents bought a new grill that day and my dad and Sam had fun putting it together

Heidi's kiddos modeling for me!

Kayla took this pic.  Pretty awesome!

Then Devery and her kids came!

I want my kids to be as adorable and chunky as Noelle!

Trying on my parents' shoes

Playing with blocks

 It was a fun day and I'm very thankful for those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

Please Pray for Sam

He's taking the MCAT tomorrow!  Thanks!

Solar Eclipse

For the 2012 solar eclipse, Albuquerque happened to be one of the few places in the world that you could see the full eclipse.  How often does that happen?  My parents invited Sam and I to go see it at my aunt and uncle's house, where another one of my uncles set up a telescope.  My parents also bought those solar glasses so you can stare at the sun safely.  It was pretty darn awesome.  Sam got a few pictures on his iPhone through the telescope.

At my aunt and uncle's house

The beginning:

Almost time!

The Ring of Fire!

Don't know when I could experience something like this again.  

Summer Time!

Summer is here for us!  We did really well this semester, but are sooo glad it's over.  It was a killer semester for Sam and I'm glad to have my husband back.  These are the things occupying our summer.

Sam takes the MCAT in a little over a week and is studying hard.  To study we're having to buy old MCAT tests online each day for $35 a piece.  It's worth it, right?

I have a summer job, but I'm not sure when and where I will be working for another two weeks.  I hope it's still at the same elementary school I'm working at right now!  Sam is going to work also at his old nursing job, but he's taking a break for MCAT studying and is going to shadow a doctor somewhere else for a letter of recommendation to medical school.

Sam also signed up for a summer course in July so he can receive his double major in Chemistry and Spanish.  I didn't realize how expensive summer courses are!  But I have to get used to these expenses especially for medical school.

We're coming up on a year of being married.  Best year of my life!

In June my family is hoping to go to a beach house down in Mexico and is inviting us to come along.  I've been to that beach house before and it is really nice.  It will be fun having Sam down there with me because not only is he my best friend, but he speaks Spanish!  It will make grocery shopping more fun.

Lastly, I have a new calling in church!  It surprised me, but I'm up for the challenge to be the first counselor in the primary presidency!  Sam still is executive secretary and second counselor in the stake Sunday school.  We also work at the temple once a month.  Busy busy busy!!

To celebrate summer, I photoshopped some photos to give them a more summer glow.  Let me know what you think.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Yay for summer!!  Do you have any plans for the summer?

Weird Al

Yesterday I got a text from Sam. "Tonight we're going to have a date!"  Naturally I was excited, but I had no idea what he had in mind.  Well, Jared and Jenny won tickets to see Weird Al and invited us!  I grew up on his songs and movie UHF.  It was an awesome date, especially for a last minute one.  We sat near to the front (but nothing compared to Jared and Jenny's seats).  I apologize for the photos...they aren't the greatest...

The show was pretty hilarious. Some songs were better than others, but I couldn't stop laughing at his song "Wanna B Ur Lovr".  He loved creeping all the ladies out by saying ridiculously cheesy pick up lines and making his moves on them.  

 He played some of our favorites: White and Nerdy, Amish Paradise, Eat It, Fat, and The Saga Begins!!  What kind of world would we be without Weird Al?  A sad, pitiful one, that's for sure.  A girl we knew that we saw at the concert thought Sam must have dragged me along because I didn't seem the type to be a Weird Al fan.  But who doesn't like a song parody about the Amish?

 Thank you Jared and Jenny for being so awesome!  Now excuse us while we go watch some Star Wars.