No more rusty clothes...

I'm sure everyone out there is dying to know about our latest unexpected purchase, so here goes: We got a new washing machine on Tuesday to replace our old one that had started to leave rust on our clothes when we (well, mostly Linzi, let's be honest) were washing them...not something we wanted. Luckily, it did it mostly to our socks or workout clothes, so no real damage done. After the first few loads, we're loving our new GE washer...it's even got pictures so now I have no excuse to not do the laundry. :)

Karren's came for a visit

So the day after we returned from Utah, my family came for a visit. Here's what we did:

1. Nauvoo. Chris had never been there and it had been 8 years since my family had been there when Kylee got baptized. The temple was absolutly amazing. I learned that oxen won't move no matter what unless comanded and that me and my sisters and mom all eat chips the same way.

2. Grant's Farm: we fed the goats milk with bottles. Jaxton almost got trampled by several of the hungry little boogers. My dad was mad that he didn't get to try the free Budwiser products at the end.

3. The City Museum. This is a place unlike any other and it is impossible to describe. It is an adult playground/artsy/crazy place that is entirely made out of recycled materials. You crawl through all sorts of slinkies and caves and go on slides.

4. The Science Museum. The dinosaurs were the big hit here, well until they almost made Jaxton cry....

5. The Magic House (I had to miss this one due to school, but I think is was everyone's favorite place)

6. The Zoo. It was super hot out, I splurged on dippin dots, that's the highlight of the trip.

7. Nordstoms. My mom wouldn't have come otherwise!!!!

8. The Arch, fireworks and all.

Jaxton fell in love with Chris and it made me soooo jealous. Chris would do something totally stupid and Jaxton would just laugh and laugh and then I would do it and he would look at me like I was a complete idiot. Joselyn was so sweet and made me a birthday cake and brought it all the way from Utah and kept it hidden in her suitcase. Kylee was mistaken for me several times, apparently 7 years haven't been too rough on me! The week went by way too fast and now our house is very quite again!

Happy Birthday Linzi

As if a Mongoose wasn't enough, Linzi got to celebrate her 23rd with her family in town and with some limited-edition pancakes made by her Betty Crocker Husband, a delicious DQ ice cream cake (that she ate all by herself...ha ha ha...she wanted to though) and fireworks on the Mississippi. I love you Linz! (even though this is a bit late)

Summer Break in Utah

The race wasn't our big reason to come back to Utah...just a fortunate bonus because of good timing. My mom planned a trip for our family up to Park City, figuring it would be a lot easier for us to come out to Utah than to fly everyone out to St. Louis...which is probably correct.

It was great to visit. We were able to spend time with family and friends, eat at Wendy's and Keva, play golf and get a pedicure (guess who got which?), shop for new luggage and clothes at the outlets, hang out in Park City for a weekend and play the Wii that my Mom bought my Dad for his birthday. I am rather jealous of anyone that has one of those...I love 'em.

Wasatch Back Relay!!!

On June 20-21 while we were back in Utah we got to run in the Wasatch Back Relay. It is a relay race which goes from Logan to Park City covering 180 miles or so. Each team had 12 runners on it, so Linzi and I ended up running about 15-16 miles over 3 legs. "Fun" isn't really the word to describe it (getting no real sleep over the two days and having to jump into a van right after completing a 5-7 mile run), but it was incredibly rewarding to have run it. Linzi did amazing, running two really long and hot legs of the race, and doing it at least a minute or so faster per mile than she had planned. The scenery along the way was amazing...running up the road to Snowbasin and looking down into the resevoir below, running in solitude in the middle of the night by the light of the moon, or coming over the mountain between Park City and Heber and getting to look out over the valley on the way down to Park City. It was a great way to start our week of vacation in Utah!!!

We got medals...Yeah! - Team Bunions of Steel - Our comfortable sleeping arrangements

Birthday Bikes

This year for our birthdays Linzi came up with the great idea of getting each other bikes (which we did with a bit of help from our parents....thanks Moms and Dads). We found a great deal on Craigslist, and took them for their first spin last week. Linzi got a lot better workout than I did due to the fact that her front brake pad was rubbing against the rim during the whole ride without her knowlege...woops...but we've got it fixed and are excited for our next ride (hopefully our bums will be a little less sore after the next one).

Linzi's Mongoose and Chris' Jeep

Happy Anniversary

Seeing as it was our second anniversary on the second of June, it was only fitting that we got to celebrate our anniversary two times!! On our actual anniversary (even though Linzi wasn't feeling too well) we had a fun picnic at Forest Park in front of the Art Museum. We got a Blimpie sandwich at the Walmart right behind our house. For some reason I thought it was very funny when Linzi was able to fit the entire sandwich in her purse as we were walking out of the store. The picnic was very fun, especially watching some group of guys high-stepping around a statue, and running ladders up and down the hill...they looked ridiculous, and we've laughed about them many times since then.

This past weekend Linzi planned a getaway for us down to St. Genevieve Wine Country, about an hour south of St. Louis. She found a deal where we had to listen to a timeshare presentation, and for our troubles they gave us 2 nights at a hotel, 18 holes of golf for each of us, as well as dinner at a Tiger Ridge Restaurant (the fanciest restaurant we've ever been to, where the food was perfect, and we got to look at a few of the tigers they had living at a sancuary by the restaurant). The landscape was so beautiful, and it was an incredibly enjoyable weekend (except for the killer sunburns that we got from golfing...you'd think we would be able to remember to wear sunscreen after 2 years, but we're still working on it).

Linzi and I are incredibly grateful to have each other, and can't wait for the next two years that we have together.