Frandtastic!

Red.

2012-01-28T14:22:00.001-07:00

Today I wore some cropped red skinnies. And I liked it.

(Trying to expand my wardrobe and bravery one sale item at a time.)

Happy Weekend to all and Happy Birthday to my favorite brother Eric.

PS.. Remember how last week there was snow, and today it's (almost) nice enough out for no jacket?

Oh East Coast weather, you're so crazy this year.

Snow finally.

2012-01-21T08:15:00.001-07:00

After months of anticipation and jealous conversations with my homies in Utah- we finally got ourselves some snow in New Jersey.

Game plan: Watch the snow fall, eat pancakes, and stay in our pjs to watch planet earth and life all day. And maybe run to Sam's Club to stock up on Lucky Charms.

Our mono fatigue doesn't stand a chance today! Recovery time!

blogging break

2012-01-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

(our beautifully frosted windshield early one morning)

It looks like these last couple of weeks I've taken an unintentional blogging break. Usually I get super anxious if I don't have something current up here - but lately I've laked a bit of the motivation and energy (maybe a mix of January blues, sickness, and being alone). Plus! Paul was in Guyana with the camera, and honestly not that much was going on here in his absense.

Writing and photos are something I really love, so this blog is really about giving me an outlet to use those mediums. Sometimes it feels like I'm just trying to catch up, and that's not what I want this to be. I guess I need to refocus my efforts here and blog for me and my memory more than for anyone else.

At the same time, I always appreciate great comments here and in person letting me know that people like seeing what we are up to - and being across the country from so much of our family and friends, it really is meaningful to me to still be sorta involved with those people. (And I love hearing the other side too! So, hey family and friends! Remember to update me on your lives too!)

So I guess what I'm saying here is sorry for the lack of posts, I'll get back to it as soon as I find my stride again. Look forward to some of Paul's amazing Guyana pictures and video. That boy is an adventurer.

PS I'm being a pretty consistant Instagram poster lately, if for some reason you are missing frequent updates of my life, you can find me there at christinecfrandsen.

Christmas at the Goates

2012-01-04T19:46:00.001-07:00

Christmas at the Goates looked something like this:

These girls and their Blythe dolls were excited to see what awaited them around the corner...

Reuben on the other hand.... hahahaha

Don't worry, he was happy when he opened all his trains!
Other presents, he put to the side and went for the next train shaped present.

We got Audrey a bow and arrow. I don't think we need to talk about if she liked it or not.

Cute older sister.

Audrey got me this rocking' bracelet. Don't worry it lights up too.

Marian fell down in the process of taking this picture but just held on to her cute little fortune cookie the whole way down with a big huge smile.

Denim blanket from Momma Donna! She made SEVEN of those guys!

I loved watching Valerie open this little mini drawing from Marian - so much love going on.

Marian made Paul and I these awesome guys.

Post-Christmas morning we had some bow and arrow fun with Katniss. :)

And I caught Reuben playing with trains and I wanted to get some pictures of him and his obsession. He was the most cooperative subject - which I promise never happens with this little dude. He hates cameras.

But he loooooves his trains so those got him to smile. :)

Happy Christmas indeed.

happpppy new year dudes

2011-12-31T13:04:00.000-07:00

Time for a little flashback. Here we are on New Years Eve 2007...

Ironically, we will be recreating the fondue part.

And maybe even this part... ;)

(I was so embarrassed to be kissed in front of his family, we were just barely dating! But, before I drove up to Idaho Falls for New Years Eve, my mom said, "If you are going and staying with him and his family, you better marry him." Gladly, mom!)

Hope you get a nice New Years smooch too!

For a review of this past year - and the last four really, check out this post!

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

... better late than never. And in this house, we celebrate Christmas for a week :)

Christmas in NY!

2011-12-24T13:18:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas Folks!
We are enjoying our first ever East Coast Christmas. Last week we braved the crowds and saw some classic New York Christmas sights. Enjoy some caption-less pics, because it's Christmas Eve and there is no time for that!

You'd think we'd forgotten about Christmas!

2011-12-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

With my Thanksgiving post hanging around forever you might think that we aren't the Christmas type.

We most totally are!

In fact, there is almost always a Christmas movie playing in the background (thanks ABC Fam!), Pepperminty treats, and twinkly lights all around. We even Googled which NJ radio station has 24/7 Christmas music. Magic 98.3, baby!

This year we might be lacking the snow and tons of family all around, in fact last year we went home on the 14th (two days from now!). But guess what... we are still very excited for our Christmas in the East. Very much looking forward to it in fact.

Here is what Christmas is looking like so far at the Frandsen's.

Sunday morning Christmas pancakes made by Paul - that Mamma Donna taught him well.

You want some close ups of my snowflakes? Well alrighty! I became a little obsessed with making these guys.

The second most mini-est tree (see above for the first mini-est.)

Suvi from Indy!!

Also! My work is real great, and one day we went out to lunch at Cheeburger Cheeburger (does anyone know about that SNL skit? I don't but apparently this restaurant is based off it). Then we went and got us a real live Christmas tree!

It smelled delicious and we decorated it and drank hot chocolate and listened to Christmas music.

Another Christmasy thing that Paul and I did on Saturday was to run in the Big Chill! It's a charity 5k that Rutger's puts on. Thousands and thousands (six thousand I heard!) of people donate new toys for kids in NJ and run their little hearts out. I donated a Barbie and Ken, haha. Paul wanted me to get Star Wars toys but weapons weren't allowed and little action figures are weird to me kind of and so that didn't work out. Sorry Paul.

The streets were so full of people you couldn't even run at the start line, just baby steps and lots of flat tires. Even that gimpy knee Paul ran it with me and he helped me get a decent time! Gracias dude.

So, my friends, have yourself a Merry Little Christmas already!

Thanksgiving Roadtrip!

2011-12-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving weekend Paul and I was a great time! Lots of driving and adventuring. Not your traditional gotograndmasandeattoomuchpie Thanksgiving... but really great fun with my best friend Paul seeing some new things!

First up was Pittsburgh! Hooray! We joined Paul's sister's family for a delicious Thanksgiving meal in a new city.

Pittsburgh is right on the Ohio River. Industrial architecture for sure. Does it scream Batman to anyone else?

The restaurant where we ate our Thanksgiving dinner was on the other side of the river, looking at the great skyline. In addition, the restaurant is a converted train station which pleased the heck out of Reuben - train-lover-extrodonaire because trains were all over the place.

The Grand Concourse was pretty spiffy! I went straight for the food. Mashed potatoes for five please!

Luckily it was a buffet and my worries of not having seconds on Thanksgiving soon melted away.

There were chandeliers in the bathroom! And great mirrors! Why is it that bathrooms are always so photogenic, and yet so inappropriate to take pictures in? (I definitely do it anyway...).

The main concourse was pretty darn fabulous with lots of stain glass and a great archy ceiling.

This fancy guy was making a weird ice cream/banana dessert. Paul got some. It had Rum in it. :)

I helped hungover Paul (just kidding, the Rum was cooked out and he only ate the ice cream anyway) to our downtown Pitts hotel. Reuben thought the view was pretty great, but liked the free chocolate chip cookies even better.

And look at our great view! Occupy Pittsburgh right beneath my window. Please check out the fancy buildings and pretty trees too!

Of course we watched some fooooootball. All day. And took naps, and all things Thanksgiving.

Then we went on a little stroll and I saw these great churches! Next door neighbors. I wanted to go see the old cemetery because I think those are great and Paul thinks I'm weird for that, but across the street was the best I got.

And hello huge nativity! I took the kids down to check out it while.... (this part is sad) Paul tried to figure how to retrieve our towed car... dumb Pittsburgh - tricking us with Holiday parking regulations then towing the crap out of us anyway. How rude.

So, while the boys figured out the parking incident, Valerie and I took the kids to the Children's museum in Pittsburgh. These neon streamers were really magical and if my house had tall ceilings and a push over husband I would probably try to replicate. However, my house has neither of those.

This is the best news! Children's Museum of Pittsburgh is home to these guys!

Do you recognize their friendly and slightly creepy faces? Queen Sara is the best one!

That's right folks, Mr. Rodgers puppets! So great to see in person! I miss that friendly neighbor!

Reuben found trains and could not be swayed to leave them for quite some time.

Not even the giant lite bright could persuade the little dude.

Me on the other hand...

I finally coerced Reu away from his choo friends with this great sand art. Basically it was sand on top of different color lights, but I found it quite magical.

Audrey and I explored another section of the museum, which featured lots of mirrors.

Which resulted in lots of self portraits!

And the weirdest room that was a little bit tippy and made me crazy dizzy.

And there were some great bugs randomly framed in this section! Paul would have loved these giant guys if he hadn't been trying to get our car back from the Pittsburgh rudies.

This giant Kalediscope projection was probably not meant for children's faces, but being the excellent Aunt that I am - I encouraged it. Haha! Marian's face is so great times 10!

We (Paul) finally got the car back (after walking 3 miles uphill). And we decided to make our way to our next destination.

Kirtland! It was really magically driving into the town and on top of the hill, peaking over the trees was this guy:

The green doors were really what color they were originally. What a great color!

The Church of Christ did a great job with the temple and I really enjoyed my experience there. Unfortunately no inside pictures. I've never had a harder time not whipping on the iPhone to take a sneaky shot. The inside was amazing and white and really beautiful!

Then we headed down the hill to the LDS Visitor's Center. They had a bunch of nativities on the display and this one made me so excited. I must have some distant relatives in the town!

We hurried outside pre-tour to snap some pictures before the sun went down. The grounds were perfectly rustic and beautiful. A lot of the early saints were baptized in that little river!

The Newel K Whitney store was a real treat to see, and even better to tour the inside later.

The best news of all was that our tour guide just happened to be this lovely sister missionary - who happens to be a good friend from my Freshman year at BYU! What a great surprise! And, I caught her just in time! She was going home in just two weeks!

Then we ate dinner in Mentor (pronounced Menner) and Mama Roberto's! Paul really likes me when he takes me out to Italian food.

The next day we drove a few hundred miles to Indianapolis! The highlight along the way was Bob Evan's and the nicest Mid-West server who even finagled her way into getting us from free cookies since we told her how much we were liking our first Bob Evan's experience!

We stayed an a fancy pants hotel, and since we were on the 10th floor, we often had to wait a bit for the elevator. And fortunately there was a mirror there to keep me entertained!

A couple of times!

Remember how Paul bought be tickets to the Colts for my birthday? The time had finally come!

Maybe he bought them before PMan was out of the season. Maybe we tried to sell them? Maybe nobody would buy them because the Colts haven't won a game this year but MAYBE we are just die hard fans anyway! I'm so glad we ended up going, it was a great time!

During this part said Paul "That flag is kind of small."
hahaha! What a loon.

Hi Collie, Garcon, Wayne, Freeny, Mathis! I'm glad we're all best friends now!

What a lucky lady I am.

Post-game: A few more self-photos at the hotel... when there are so many great mirrors all around, I just can't resist! My dad always accused me of loving mirrors - aka loving to look at myself in mirrors, and I guess this post is evidence thereof.

Then here I sat for a few hours (30 minutes) in this winged back chair while Paul downloaded the 8th book of the Hunger Games (free wifi in the lobby :)! )

We then took a tour around the fancy lobby and loved all the Christmas decoration so much that right before we went to sleep that night Paul said,"Let's go down to the Mezzanine and look at Christmas decorations again." I was all in.

Oh and we can't forgot the Christmasy shake we had at Steak and Shake.

The next morning we woke up early, got in the car and hit the road. Our GPS told us the news:

689 miles until your destination.
YYIIIIIKKESSSSSS.

The Hunger Games on tape pretty much saved our lives, as well as the occasional border crossing. I thinking crossing a border is such a great event! It's a little bit like time travel or something to me.

We made sure to sing John Denver's "Country Roads" as we drove through the skinniest part of West Virginia.

Then a final fast food stop at Taco Bell to fuel us for the last couple hours on the road...
and that my friends was a SPICY weekend. :)

No Shave November.

2011-11-30T19:34:00.001-07:00

No Shave November my friends.

The beard got a little out-of-control and a bit too itchy.

So one Sunday morning Paul had a shaving party.

And I felt it necessary to document the hairs as they fell.

And let me just show you who I've been married to for the last two weeks:

He has been told he looks like...

70's Sheriff from Convey Busters

Beastie Boys - Sabotage

Bo, from Dukes of Hazard?

His very own father!

Handsome man. That's for sure - I think I'll actually miss the mustachio come tomorrow :)

Christmas Hint...

2011-11-28T18:47:00.001-07:00

Paul and I just finished up a 700 mile drive today. It was looong - but fun in the way only road trips with your best friend are. Plus - we listened to Hunger Games and that helped a ton.

I can't wait to post about the fun adventures we had in Pittsburgh, Kirtland and Indianapolis. Such a great trip.

But, before this cyber Monday ends (or a belated Small Business Saturday!), I have to let you in on this great Christmas hint:

These mugs are some of my absolute favorite things. We own a couple and I love drinking my hot chocolate and hot cider out of them. I'm sure someone on your Christmas list (or you!) would love to own one too. I can promise ya that!

Paul's sister Valerie hand makes them all and she's fantastic. Really some of my favorite gifts ever. Her shop is full of goodness. Plus! Lucky you, she's offering her first coupon code today: CYBER15 - ends at Midnight EST tonight.

Merry Christmas to you!

www.etsy.com/shop/purplepetunia

Rutgers!

2011-11-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

We went to the Rutgers game Saturday with our friends The Harts. Family Fun pack for 4? We'll take it!

Bonus: Rutgers won!

Double bouns: The free hot dog and soft drinks that came with the Family Fun Pack!

For dinner, we ventured to downtown New Brunswick, which is at times sketchy - but also has some hole-in-the-wall type restaurants that I've been wanting to experience.

China City: Szechuan, Hunan & Cantonese Cuisine was a success! In fact, we had leftovers for Sunday dinner and it's always a blessing not to have to make Sunday dinner.

I feel like I should leave you a portion of the Scarlet Knight fight song:

R-U Rah Rah!

Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah!

Rutgers Rah!

Upstream Redteam

Redteam Upstream

Rah! Rah! Rutgers Rah!

FOUR YEARS on the BLOG

2011-11-21T05:42:00.000-07:00

Today is the 4-year anniversary of my blog!

When I asked Paul what I should do for this momentous occasion he said I should write

"I've only been blogging for 4 years, but it seems like I've been blogging my whole entire life!"

While this may be extremely touching and nostalgia inducing ---I think he was mostly making fun of the fact that I think this is a significant moment. But as a treat for you - I came up with this fantastic idea, let us take a little trip down memory lane with some of my favorite blogging moments as well as some never-before-seen pictures and details.

(This is also basically a trip down Paul+Christine memory lane, since I started this blog about the same time we started dating!)

My first blog post: November 21, 2007. I reminisced on every weekend Paul and I had spent together thus far. This picture was not included in that first post - because it was Paul's picture and we didn't share pictures then. Paul always says this is when he knew I liked him because I came in close for the picture. He liked it. I think this may be the first picture ever of us together, at our first FHE in a new ward.

Guess what was a mere 8 blog posts later? hahaha... too quick. But luckily, it worked out.

Plus, I never explained this awesome part of engagement night. He proposed on the side of a mountain, so as we were walking back to the car (I thought) he was going kind of slow, then he made a right when we should have made a left. Then - he calls into the woods "hello?" and someone yells back "not yet!", but we kept walking (now very slowly) and we find this nice table all set up under the stars, with our favorite Thai food and everything romantic. It was really neat. (Thanks Camie and Cody! Sorry Paul proposed too fast and you didn't have enough set up time!) :)

That summer, we were in the best shapes of our lives and we ran a 1/2 marathon (ok, I was in the best shape of my life - Paul had already ran a full marathon! It still makes me tear up thinking about him crossing that finish line).

What I didn't post about, was how Paul convinced his two best friends Kurt and Justin to come down to Bryce Canyon and enjoy a day of hiking before hand.

(And now, Kurt and Justin have both found nice wives too! In fact, Kurt's wife Paige is pregnant with their second kid and Justin's wife Alli is pregnant with their first! Holy cow!)

I failed to post about the million times that Paul and I drove back and forth from Utah to Idaho while we lived in different states while engaged (with gas at $4.50 a gallon) - and how one weekend in Idaho we had a badminton tournament. It was fun.

(After Paul saw this picture he said "maybe I should start lifting weights again... :)")

Then of course, was the best day ev.

But I have behind-the-scene footage of that day too!

Like how I was going crazy with excitement that morning.

Or how I wore Paul's clothes instead of my dress while we were setting up (pre-rain).

What our reception was going to look like - in Mindy and Jason's beautiful yard, until the rain clouds drove us away into the most beautiful reception center at the neighbors. How lucky!

And - our Open House in Idaho Falls the next weekend.

Soon after we were married we took a trip to Washington where Paul served his mission and were able to see a family Paul helped teach and baptize go through the temple.

And also enjoyed the sights in Seattle, like Pike Place! How did I resist posting about these flowers the first time around? They were so nice!

Since becoming part of the Frandsen family, six new babies have been born (plus twins on the way right now!) Getting to meet these tiny little things has been one of my favorite things - plus watching them grow up. Looking through old pictures for this post, I can't believe how much things have changed!

For example: This crazy little guitarist Irelynd (we had her and cousin Erica over for a sleepover at our first apartment) is now an old mature lady in Jr. High/Young Women's.

In Fall of '08 I did write about writing for the Daily Universe, but failed to document when Mark carved a pumpkin with us for FHE (this was brought up in the a phone conversation the other day and I was the only one who remember it - so here is some proof.)

And I never included this gem, right before Paul and I rode the sky coaster at Lagoon that summer, right before Mongolia time!

Right after Paul got back from Mongolia, we hiked Havasupai, to date one of my favorite trips ever. I am missing those tan legs right now.

Of course, we've enjoyed many Lake Powell trips in the past few year.... this one being one of my favorites since Paul was there (he's had to miss a few!) . But I didn't mention a trip we took that Fall to the Frandsen cabin - with lots of 4-wheeling fun, 500 (the Frandsen's favorite card game), and sow belly, cackle berries and light and flufflies (aka bacon, eggs and pancakes - a cabin tradition). We just love O'Dell and Ona.

We had one of the worst days ever that December... But we also loved the snow that covered our porch. Boy I miss that tiny apartment...

We graduated from college... but I forgot to show you about how that Spring I got to babysit Mykita all the time and we had great fun together on that porch.

We enjoyed that summer in Provo - we still think of it as the summer of our dreams. We would work (a little) and play (a lot!). My favorite memories are waking up in our cozy little apartment, watching the Tour de France in the mornings, then Paul would go ride Alpine Loop or we would Mountain Bike in the glorious mountains, and we might have dinner at Happy Sumo or Thai Ruby and/or dessert at Coney's. It was a great time.

We also had the June trips of wonders (Disneyland! Lake Powell! Oregon/Northern California, Nevada!)

Then, we made the big move to New Jersey! We got to know the Shore, the City and felt grateful for family who came to visit us.

(I can't believe this was over a year ago! Holy smokes!)

Then, we came to know the sport of Cyclocross and the passion has only grown since. I also got to start coaching lacrosse which was the best news of my life and really helped me love New Jersey and make it feel like home. But, I don't believe I ever showed you this picture of my crazy team who just hanging out being weirdos before practice one day - yes, rollerblading. (Plus, look how nice all those lovely green trees look! It's rare to be above the trees in New Jersey, but the school I coach at is on a rare hill. It's quite refreshing, those trees get me a little claustrophobic!)

We went to LONDON! It was so unreal to get to travel overseas and I hope to do it a million more times.
I didn't show you this great picture of us in our nice London hotel room.

Or...

How we had a long layover in Canada, and went outside the airport so we could count it as a country we visited.

Then Paul left for several weeks this past summer so I got brave and lived alone again and then decided to apply for Survivor. Then we went to Minnesota, Utah and Idaho, and maybe I forgot to tell you above that one time Paul did cockroach races at Rutger's Field Day?

Around this time in our lives, Paul gave me a new computer and it made my life - most especially my blogging life, much easier and more efficient - therefore not much of our life was left undocumented because it was so easy! However, I don't know that I posted this behind-the-scenes of Jeff and Demi's wedding. Paul hates waiting for people - even people to come out of the temple after being wed. :) He also hates my constant need for pictures - I think he is expressing frustration about one or both of these things.

And you remember that recently we learned from the master artist himself, Bob Ross. But I didn't show you this great artistic picture I sent to Paul when he was gone on a cyclocross trip and I missed him and needed a good laugh. This did just the trick.

And that pretty much brings us to November! Four years of good times and memories and a little behind-the-scences fun. Thanks for reading, enjoying and sometimes commenting! :)

mourning on a saturday morning.

2011-11-19T08:03:00.001-07:00

This morning we are sad. Paul has been in the lead for his division in the ECCC (East Coast Cycling Conference) for being a champ all year and fighting for top finishes every race.

But, right now we are supposed to be in Long Island enjoying another day of cyclocross - but his knee decided to ruin his life and it's swollen/painful/maybe ruined so he can't race. He got up at 5:30 this morning to ride the trainer and see if he'd be alright - but... no dice.

So, we are mourning the loss of his lead in the division by eating crepes and enjoying sports center. Later we are going to the Rutgers football game. When life gives you a bad knee, sit around and enjoy your ottoman, right?

I guess I just want everyone to know, mostly him, how proud I am and how I know he would've won it all if we was able to race.

-----

Also....

Somehow, when I dumped all my iPhone photos, I forgot these gems:

A lunch trip to the "famous" Tiger Noodles in Princeton. I hurried and texted Megan for advice on her favorite asian cuisine. Everything ended up pretty delicious!

They had Halloweenish fortune cookies, which was slightly strange and not quite as delicious as their normal counterparts.

And will everyone please check out this bag that Donna, the mother-in-law of wonders, made for me. It has as many pockets as a church leader could ask for, plus steady and cute and the perfect size! My activity days girls were super impressed with her sewing abilities... me too!

And while I'm bragging about relatives' sewing abilities...

My grandma made us this great blanket when we got married, and I've also meant to send her these photos of a lovely picnic we had on it a few months ago. Oh boy do I wish it was sunny and warm and picnicy still.

Also, Celeste put up her wedding pictures on Facebook - and I have to note, that my dear mother is also a master seamstress. She made the bridesmaids skirts (and also her cute top)! What a happy day that was, and the pictures turned out really beautiful!

this is about to get random.

2011-11-17T20:38:00.001-07:00

I'm a little overwhelmed at the lack of spare time in my life. Just ask my kitchen, it's feeling pretty neglected. But I'm sick of seeing that picture of my tooth hurting and I'm feeling the need to show you my random iPhone pictures from the past couple weeks. Here is what's been going on in my life as far as my phone pictures can tell.

These trees outside Paul's lab were the nicest red I'd ever seen. So, I wanted to take a picture - Paul told me to join in the fun.

This is a foggy commute. Hello Rt 1 - also known as my best friend, who I see for 2 hours a day everyday. I wish you always looked like this picture is portraying as far as lack of traffic but unfortunately it's typically quite the opposite - I must have been stopped at a red light or something and been first in line. Bumper to bumper - with a stick shift = great thigh muscles developing!

More trees...

This was a nice spot that I ate lunch one day. I really liked it. There is something about sports fields that just makes me feel good. In fact, when I was walking across the field to get to these bleachers, I just felt different right when I stepped over the out-of-bounds line - like I was walking on special ground, that emotions are felt in that space. I miss lacrosse coaching! This is getting weird lets move on.

Oh, this is actually exciting. One day I came home from work with to a package on the table for ME. What!? The only packages we ever get are from nashbar.com with new bike equipment. Then I saw it was from my Kayla friend and I got very excited!

This nicest girl sent me a new mixed CD (the last CD she gave me, when she moved to California, is basically the only music I listen to) in celebration of me getting an adult job. And with the commute mentioned above, I was needing some new musica! Because sometimes NPR has lame stories and I have to switch to some music. This was just the trick!

Plus she has great taste. Nicest award ever goes to Kayla. (Thanks again if you ever read this!)

The only time Paul and I get to spend together is doing the dishes. Sometimes not having a dishwasher is good for the marriage.

I took this blurry picture and didn't make a wish because I didn't know that I was supposed to until I checked Facebook a couple hours later and everyone was talking about the great wishes they made. Oh well.

I bought this cupcake to eat on 11/11/11. It was Jeff's birthday - whenever it's someone's birthday I literally crave cake, and this time I just couldn't resist the bakery when I was 15 min early to work.

Oh! This is great stuff coming up right here. Paul was so nice and wanted to get me some good carbs the night before cyclocross race and so he took me to this new Italian Bistro in Highland Park. Authentico dudes!

I got the most delicious pasta/sausage/yumminess and Paul got some tasty Chicken Parmigiana. We also got bruschetta and pesto/bread combos pre-meal. The people next to us were acting like they were food critiques so maybe I should have asked them to write a food description for my blog. They probably could have made you feel really jealous about how fancy and nice everything was. How about this: it was very delicious and I felt like I was in Italy!

Plus.
Creme Brûlée. mmmmmmmm.

This was at Staten Island Cross. Early morning beautiful day on the bay!

Handsome beardy man on the bay too!

Panera goodness post Staten Island race.. (we were about to eat when Paul said, we got to go girl! So we asked for to-go containers so we could come home and watch the cyclocross grand prix live on the internet. True story. JPOOWW! (won).

It was about 67 degrees the other day and so I took a really nice walk outside to Rider's campus, and took more pictures of trees. What the heck will I take pictures of during lunch when there are no more colorful trees? I better start brainstorming.... because today was freezing, hello bitter cold and humid winter!

Not sure how to end this one.

teeth.

2011-11-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

A little dental emergency has put me out of commission for the night.

Usually I'm a toughy when it comes to these things, but I'm feeling the pain.

I had a lazy night watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, and now I think I'll have some hot cider (requested by Paul), and then go right to bed... ice pack in hand.

Taking a bite out of the Big Apple. Cyclocross style.

2011-11-13T20:37:00.001-07:00

Paul and I decided that a cyclocross bike for me would be a good thing. So, this past weekend I broke my bike in NY style at the Staten Island Cyclocross race.

The three nights before the race I had nightmares about every possible thing that could go wrong - i.e. showing up late, my seat post dropping, my handlebars breaking, etc etc. Obviously I was a bit nervous.

Luckily, it was an amazing venue - a park in Staten Island, right on the Lower Bay.
(Here is a handy map so you know what I'm talking about! The race was in the park that the word "Pleasant Plains" is over, Manhattan is in the top right corner - and our house is towards the far left of the map.)

So, yes. Racing.

Apparently I was nervous... because every picture Paul took of me at the start line I was biting my lip. I didn't even know I had that nervous habit... haha. That's how scared I was, I developed a new one.

And guess what guys, cyclocross is way hard. It totally made me appreciate how good Paul is and how hard he works every week to have really good results.

This is called the sand run. It was sandy, deep sandy. I should have felt like a baywatch babe but mostly I felt like falling over and never getting up. Soooo tired.
And since in cyclocross you do laps, I got to run this sandy-fun-time three more times!

I could have cropped out the homies at the bottom of the stairs, but it's New York and that's cyclocross hipster for you but not even the best example. Anyways, I ran up some stairs (also, four times).

But the stairs were a breeze compared to the crazy backwoods section. Yikes!

And guess what! I finished! Which is pretty miraculous! And not even last place at all... haha.

(so tired at this moment...)

So I felt like I champ and basically it was a showing of my love for that Paul. I always think it's important to appreciate and be involved in each other's interest so this was me doing my best.

And now I have a bike so we can ride together and enjoy riding/racing all the time! Hooray for that.

PS When I was passing the start/finish at the beginning of my last lap, they said "and here's number 313 - Christine Frandsen!" and I am only slightly embarrassed to say that it made me choke up a bit because I was just trying so hard and they were all cheering me on! Hooray for pain bringing out the truest emotions in people/me.

Now, let's get to the REAL cyclist already. Paul had an amazing race.
Here, he and a team mate and storming the beach.

Now he looks baywatch!!!!!

Paul was in first place collegiate and catching up to the lead group in the overall race. They went into the woods section (out of sight) and when they emerged I couldn't find Paul. I started freaking out a little because it's basically my worst nightmare. A few moments later he came riding through - after a painful crash that set him back quite a bit and also hurt his body and bike. Quite the heartbreaker since his first four laps were the best I've ever seen him race and then the last lap was sadness/pain. Such is cycling I guess.

One of the more minor injuries - some painful road rash.

Okay, so I love Paul and actually love/appreciate cyclocross even more now! :) Aka.. I did it!

PS- No-shave November is making me think I might have to nominate Paul for THIS website sometime in the future.

Happy Leaf Day!

2011-11-09T19:06:00.001-07:00

I was informed by my mother that todays the day!

Leaf day!

This Carruth holiday was explained here.

...also tonight I am grateful for the HP marathon on ABC Family. The Sorcerer's Stone is on right now and I just love baby Ron, Hermione and Harry and Dumbledore #1. :)

Let me tell ya a little bit 'bout my roots.

2011-11-08T18:03:00.000-07:00

(Morgan County, May 2007)

I believe there is a reason why I have a slightly hick-ish Utahan accent.

It's all about my roots.

You see, my parents met in high school. Morgan High School, located in Morgan City located in Morgan County, Utah.

There is, to this day, not a single stop light in the entire county.

Both of my grandparents still live in Morgan. They basically run the place! In fact, my ancestors settled the valley.

My point is this...

It's a big deal in Morgan if you get your name on the Larry Spring Chicken Inn or Jubilee Marquee.

BIG DEAL.

And guess who made it on the VIP list?

Das right. Ma Grandparents. :)

*photos curtesy of my cousin Corrine

I started a new job and got so busy!

2011-11-05T20:25:00.001-06:00

Back back back to the blogging. This is what we call a catch-up post!

Paul is racing at CycleSmart in Massachusetts this weekend and I didn't make the trek - so I have a free weekend to get a few things checked off my to-do list.

An oil change, a library visit, some deep cleaning, a visit to IKEA and some blog catch up.

Here is what I have been up in the last two weeks aka since I started working full-time with a 2 hour a day commute and barely having any free time.

First up, a new job is the best news, but also hard saying goodbye to some of my first (and still some of my only, haha) NJ friends.

Including JOE! This guy comes into the OG twice a day every day. Lunch and Dinner. Soup and Salad with Pasta e Fagioli for lunch and Chicken Parmigana for dinner. Don't worry - he requested me on my last day and tipped me extra (that's a big thing for a man who does the same thing everyday!)

Then nice friends got me a cake, cards and a balloon!

And I decided it was time for a group picture of sorts.

I then bestowed my good upon some of my friends.
My button to Heather...

A tie for Cierra...

And an apron for Jess.

Then I walked out those doors, me and my balloon... and drove away.
(until I realized I'd forgotten to grab my free pumpkin cheese cake and I drove right back!)

But now that I don't work nights and weekends all the time, I get to do lots of fun things like normal people. For example, Paul's flag football games!

My new job is going so great! One of the best parts is the occasional lunch time field trip.

To... the Sacred Grove!
(Almost, but not really actually the Sacred Grove - just one state away!)

We found this pile of feathers which was sad/gross and totally awesome at the same time because the feathers were really cool! Bright yellow, lots of different patterns... and the little down feathers had hearts!

On my drove home this little Hymonoptera hitched a ride on my windshield. Such nice company!

Every time I see this huge field full of geese on my commute, I think of my dad who hates geese because they ruin his golf course.

Another day at lunch I stopped by this bakery to get a treat for the Diwali party we were going to that night. I loved the bread! I bought a baguette for my spinachi! (Marie, the baguettes, hurry up!)

Then I realized I work about 5 miles from Princeton University and I thought I had just enough time to take my bakery cupcake to Princeton and check out the campus I had heard so much about.

It was awesome.

Ivy League indeed.

This cupcake was also very awesome.

England or New Jersey? Same thing almost?

More castles!

Princeton you are sooooo fancy.

Then I headed to the Diwali party. Diwali is the Indian holiday that celebrates all sorts of things, but mostly it's the Festival of Lights? I'm pretty sure most people know about it thanks to Kelly from The Office. Did I want to be a cheerleader? Kind of. Did I wish I had my Sari from Ryan Martelly's mom? Definitely.

The food was so good! Craving it still.

A bit of Henna to feel more legitimate.

Did you know that red dot is paint made from rose petals?

The religious ceremony part of the evening was (a little long)/very interesting and I like experiencing new cultures!

The next night was more parties at our Ward's trunk or treat - but guess what? SNOW! (As seen in my cyclocross report). So... we had it inside, and instead of transforming my car into this great monster thing, I used the doorway. (Thanks activity day girls for helping me make the decorations!)

I think this little Woody enjoyed walking through the mouth of a monster... muaahaha!

And here are some more photos of a few of my lunch breaks this week. I just take an hour a day to explore the new city I work in, find pretty things, and eat my Jello Snack Packs. YUM!

And aren't car washes one of the more fun things in life?

Ok that was great! I'll try to stay more up-to-date but no guarantees people.

Army & HPCX

2011-11-05T20:04:00.000-06:00

A couple Saturday's ago we drove up to West Point in New York for Paul's CX race at Army and I loved these rolling hills of color.

And I got to use my favorite new lens to document some of that up nice and close.

West Point had this dreamy lake and I was imagining summer days jumping off the doc. Lets go back in mid-July, alright?

This bridge was part of the race course. How lucky!

This racer was part of the race too. And also he has some nice legs! Go Paul.

So proud of this guy.

(our photographer reminded him to be excited because...)

FIRST PLACE! PAUL FRANDSEN #1!

I'm so glad I captured this triumphant return with the Gold Medal of Glory!

Gold medal photoshoot by the lake.

Just pretend he's on a podium since West Point didn't provide one...

And look how much this Odonata loved the Entomologist.

The next weekend was cold and miserable for Beacon Cross (in South Jersey) and HPCX (Rutgers' "home" cyclocross race).

I sat in the car until the absolute last minute...

Actually so did Paul. hahah

It was rainy and muddy and blurry.

Gravel face slash so tired.

But I had to have a post race picture with the man. Doesn't he look like John Wayne or some old-fashioned hero tough man?

The truth is he was showing several signs of hypothermia so I decided to stop taking pictures and let him warm up!

The drive home from Beacon was scary Turnpike snowy bad drivers etc.

And we arrived in our parking lot to mucho snow. I texted my family and said "New Jersey is pretending to be Utah right now." You see, last year - the first snow fall here was Dec 24.

But we had to rise and shine the next morning for more racing and lots of snow.

Good thing Paul is from Idaho and he did terrific in the snow.

Terrific as in first place for a lap or so which is hard and a big huge deal especially when you are being a snowplow for the 70 people trying to catch you.

Way to go IDAHO!

The snow quickly turned to mud...

But I loved the snow for great lighting!

Maybe it looks like I'm going snow skiing but being a scout leader has taught me to be prepared. :)

yeahhhh cyclocross...

Towpath (updated!)

2011-10-23T08:57:00.002-06:00

One of my favorite things/places in the city we live is the Towpath. It is a little path between the Raritan and the canal that is lined with trees and is perfectly beautiful. I love it for long runs (I forget how much it hurts because it's so pretty!), Sunday bike rides, and most recently - walks with my parents and grandparents.

I finally got some pictures of the pretty thing!

PS - Irene wiped the poor towpath out a bit, but I'm so happy they are fixing it up for us again! Maybe someday Paul and I will ride it all the way to Trenton and back.

***This just in! I imported pictures from my real camera to my computer, and it looks like I brought it along to the towpath. Yay High Res!

We also visited Old Towne this rainy morning - a little village near my house where they have brought a bunch of historic restored building from the 17 and 1800's.
:)

Since they only do tours once a day, I decided to be a tour guide and used all their nice brochures to get my somewhat sketchy information.

I felt so lucky to have my grandparents and parents in my very own city!

I would love if this was our house - but it's not. It's from the 1700's. :)

I like the handwriting on these, and like that they say New Brunswick because we live there! (Technically in Piscataway, but NB is just across the river!)

And I loved this fireplace and it's hardworking people tiles.

Now everyone come to visit and see Old Towne and the Towpath with your own eyes!

lucky me

2011-10-19T20:32:00.001-06:00

dance party at 12:27 am (my time of birth) to this favorite
breakfast in bed with lemon poppyseed cupcakes, scrambled eggs, and hot hot chocolate.

lucky presents (colts tickets!!! new camera lens!!!)
a bon iver morning with rain on the windows
a little clothes shopping trip for myself (while P was in class)
dinner for two

knot tying and Coldstone ice-cream cake with our 11-year old scouts
and catching up on amazing race and a new episode of psych to finish off the lovely day
nice friends and family and lots of birthday wishes.

...and mostly the sweetest husband, who puts every effort into making sure i feel loved.

hello 24 :)

Bob Ross in yo face.

2011-10-18T08:56:00.002-06:00

If you didn't watch Bob Ross as a kid on PBS I am so sorry, but you were deprived.

But, have no fear, if that was the case I will help you out a little today - and show you just what Bob Ross can do for you.

With his easy step-by-step instructions and comical narrative, you can create a masterpiece!

We started with the sky and the lake...

Then we added some "happy clouds"...

Add a few mountains which (according to Bob) are inspired by those in Alaska (but to me, they are the Grand Tetons).

Some misty foothills...

A nice shot of our mountains, and our instructor - Bob Ross himself in all his afro glory.

Our fellow artisans, Kerri and Drew

We even had a pallette!

A few fancy trees here and there...

The final products...

With our creation...

Hooray for new friends in New Jersey, Kerri and Drew, who invited us along for this fun Bob Ross night for Drew's birthday.

Another creation I successfully executed recently was this delicious dinner for when my parents and grandparents were here in New Jersey.
(My mom wanted the recipes so it looks like you get them too!)

Although the presentation is less than fancy the taste was delicious!

(I will have glasses and matching plates someday... but at least I have my hand-made bowls, thank you Valerie!!!)

For the Bruschetta I used this recipe and then toasted Panera baguettes with olive oil.

For the soup I used this recipe (crockpot, baby!) but added cubed boiled chicken breast and artichoke hearts and a little Sriracha (which, according to Paul, is the best hot sauce in the world). Also, I used frozen tortellini instead of dried, and I'd recommend waiting to put that in until about 30 minutes before serving so they don't overcook.

Totally a delicious fall meal.

my man and his bike

2011-10-17T09:19:00.001-06:00

Paul races cyclocross, and he is doing really well in his first season racing, and I am proud of him so I'm going to post some pictures of his races.

Stop being so jealous of how good he looks in spandex.

The first race of the season was Nittany Lion Cross in Trexlertown, PA.

Barriers!

It was one muddy race!

Nathan (brother-in-law) also raced!

And so did JPOWWWW (he won the pro race of course!)

The next race was called the Hillbilly Hustle, in South Jersey.
It was very rainy and cloudy and that means no great natural light and blurry pictures, so I only got a few decent ones. I mean, he's just moving way too fast!

At the start, Paul was nice enough to give me a little smile!

Then it was time to get down to business.

Then we headed up to Providence Rhode Island! We didn't get to see much of the state, but we did get to see a lot of great bike racing at one of the coolest park - Roger Williams was it's name I believe. They have swan boats - next year, we are going on the swan boats.

This park was so nice, all these great lakes and old structures, I just loved it!

This was called the temple of music. ha!

(neon sighting #7?)

Providence was a big race, so they had tents and food trucks and a beer garden, all sorts of fun.
This food truck had ice cream, but soon I realized it was vegan, and so I went with a root beer because ice cream is supposed to have milk/cream in it, yes?

Paul went with a watermelon slushy.

We sat under a tree and picnicked, and I was getting tired from long days out in the sun.

And this penny farthing guy was awesome, until we were leaving for the day and a big van cut us off, and guess it who was. Mr. Pennyfarthing.

Triumphant statues...

See! Swan Boats!

The next morning, we were up and at it again for more bike racing.

Paul is real good at cyclocross and it's become a fun weekend ritual for us to go and get to see new places around the East. Hooray!

Mini-soda & AC

2011-10-14T09:28:00.000-06:00

I just came across some fantastic pictures of our Minnesota trip, and came to the realization that I only posted a teensy bit about that.

And since the fall colors are coming (so pretty!) but it's all rainy here in NJ, I'm already getting a bit nostalgic about summer, so let's do a little catching up, alrighty?

Paul was in Minnesota for quite a while (5 weeks round trip!), so I got to fly out and meet him there. I still love flying as much as I did on my first flight just 5 years ago.

Minneapolis is home to the largest Mall! The Mall of America!

It has roller coasters inside and everything.

Minnesota is also home to one of Paul's favorite fast food places that I'd never heard of - Culver's.

Welcome to delicious is right!

We rented a Prius and drove from Minneapolis up to Karl's (Paul's advisor at Rutgers) cabin in some town that I can't remember but which I just googled mapped and I believe it was Furgus Falls.

This happened to be the weekend that Minnesota's government shut down, which was fine for us except that all the Rest Areas were closed and we actually needed them.

When we got to Karl's lake house, I spotted this nice mailbox and knew my family would appreciate it.

It rained on us right when we got there, but then it settled down and we went out for a ride on the Lake in the pontoon boat, which was fun!

When we came back inside, I realized the rain and humidity had done a number on my hair - most especially the bald spot hairs from this incident that are growing in so nicely but are extra susceptible to curly/frizziness.

Then we went rented some bikes (except for Paul because of course he brought his) in Alexandria, which is apparently the birthplace of America thanks to some Vikings.

And we caught some fish! Northern Pike and a Crappie.

Maybe that hat looks foolish on me but I didn't want to get skin cancer, alright? Plus, Paul looked so nice in his, I thought I could maybe look as good, but that didn't work out.

And since we were only about a half hour away, we drove to North Dakota!

To get some ice cream.

And here we are, Paul is in Minnesota and I'm in North Dakota. Right on the border!

Then we came back to the lake house for a firework show!

I was so excited to capture this picture! What luck!

Paul and I decided we'd like to see Lake Superior, so we took off in our little Prius and drove to Duluth!

HAY!

And we stopped for lunch at Dairy Queen.

And then we spotted the lake ahead, and we were excited about that.

Duluth was really nice, and had a nice park right on the waterfront.

And maybe you've seen some of these pictures in this post, but we are reviewing for chronological orders sake!

This bridge was really neat! It would go up and down to let the boats pass through.

So we walked across it!

Then we drove up to Two Harbors and took some more pictures that you may have already seen.

And there are the Two Harbors that the two gets it's name from!

Crystal clear water that was freeeeeeezing.

The next day was July 4th! We decided to go on this alpine roller coaster and it was blast and a half!

Then we drove back to Minneapolis through the land of 10,000 lakes (did you know there are actually more than 10,000 lake in Minnesota!?) I loved it because I love lakes!

And we couldn't resist a picture with the World's Largest Walleye?

Minnesota has all sorts of these hokie "worlds largest whatevers" we even tried to find the statues of Paul Bunyan but we got lost and it didn't end well.

So we went back to Ralph (the professor Paul was working with in Minnesota) and Yolanda's (his wife, who is Dutch and hilarious) house and enjoyed their beautiful backyard! They had the neatest house, I loved it.

And while I was traveling through lost photos on my computer, I came upon these nice guys from AC! Also known as Atlantic City, the Vegas of the East where we went for our 3rd anniversary. Little known fact - this is where the Monopoly streets come from. See! Park Place....

They also have one of the largest boardwalks

AND this is where Salt Water Taffy started! And those Salt Water Taffy's were delicious!

Three years!

(want to look back and see two years and one year (he was in Mongolia!) and the very day?)

We also went to the AC aquarium, and the beach (which was free there! did you know most NJ beaches cost money!? Lame!) But I'm not finding those pictures and I'm hoping Paul has them somewhere.

Sorry for being 4 months late on these pictures but at least they made it up here eventually!

Philadelphia TODAY

2011-10-11T18:13:00.000-06:00

This is the most on-top-of things blogging I've ever done. It's practically live.

Today I was lucky enough to go with my grandparents and parents to Philadelphia. They have been touring around New York and Canada, but are finally back in New Jersey. Hooray!

(And now they are enjoying a post-dinner movie, and so I thought I'd blog before I forget and it doesn't happen for 2 months.)

First stop: Liberty Bell! Without a thousand tourists getting all up in my picture.

Lots of walking walking walking

Independence hall! I just love that slatey blue and that green together. Oh yeah, and our country was founded in this nicely styled room.

And the baby blue/white stairwell

Old piano and a giant map of the Eastern United States that I desperately want to steal for my very own home.

What a pretty contemplating mother!

I'd love these dishes.

I'll take one of those 1700 clocks also, pretty please!

Where the senate met.

Looking out the window towards Independence Hall

Street truck Philly Cheese Steaks!

My grandma collected all the beautiful maple leaves. Can you blame her?

"The Signer!!"

hair failure.

Where Benjamin Franklin's house stood

Betsy Ross's bedroom! Sorry for taking pictures Betsy Ross house, I know it's illegal but I couldn't help it.

This lady was so cute and pretended she was Betsy Ross and I pretty much thought she was by the end of her spiel.

I loved these Mums!

How could I resist taking a picture of our whole group in this great mirror?

Elrefth's Alley!

This is my mom's Philly Phave.

How about that old old brick and the yellow accents?

How could you not take a picture of those lovers in that perfect tree?

We also saw the US Mint, but you can't take pictures. Laaaaame.

And that my friends, was a fun day in Philadelphia.

A Walk Down Metlars Lane

2011-10-11T10:46:00.000-06:00

Paul and I have just one car. We left our other one behind in Utah. We both work, and have fairly busy lives. Somehow, it's always worked out that we have been able to get where we need to with no problem. (Usually because Paul will take the hit and ride his bike or take the Rutgers bus when I'm desperate for the car).

The other day when I was finishing up work, I realized that Paul had to leave for cyclocross practice and wouldn't have time to pick me up before he had to leave. Lucky for me, it was a beautiful day, and I really wanted to spend some time outside - so I texted him not to worry about it, and I decided I'd just walk home.

People really need to do this more often, and not give me strange looks from their car.

Walking home was so nice because there were so many great things to see that I usually just zoom past.

There are real nice scenic places that don't even look like over-populated, crowded and busy New Jersey.

Piscataway's own "Pit Park"

Seriously! It really is a pit that they are turning into a park, and if you don't know what I'm talking about you probably don't know who Ron Swanson is either, and that's a shame.

(Sorry for the blurry picture, I had to hurry and cross the street).

There are some deer in the little island of the river. Kind of far away, but I promise they are there.

I always think of my nephew Drake when I cross this sign, but now I finally had the chance to take a picture of it for him.

I just google mapped it to see how far my walk was, because I never even checked. Three point six miles! Good thing I had picture taking to distract me. The weather, the scenery, the sunset, everything was so nice I really enjoyed it.

The next day, I was feeling so great about the experience that I rode my bike to and from work! Who needs cars!?

Celeste and Brandon's Wedding

2011-10-09T19:32:00.002-06:00

September 17 was such a great day in my books. Celeste was married to her sweetie Brandon. It was such a beautiful and perfect day. I think Celeste's personality really showed in some unique touches she added to the wedding, executed perfectly by her, my mom and Chelsey.

It was really so dreamy and I tried to take plenty of pictures to help remember how great it was.

Getting ready for the big day... with Chelsey the makeup artist.

Wedding breakfast, at the lovely Lion House

I loved these dishes.

After the delicious breakfast, we had some time to burn before the sealing. Chelsey gave me a mini-tour of the Lion House, and I loved all the couches and such, and tried to convince Paul to take some pictures with me, but he thought I was loony.

Eric caught on to the idea.

And Chelsey

But Paul is much more interested in the biology of the plants surrounding the Lion house.

But I just wanted pictures. This is a constant battle in our lives.

Eric and Kimberly are looking so nice.

Sorry to leave you out Celeste, you were getting ready to get married or something.

And we found these nice fountains downtown.

And Chelsey got all modelish on me crossing the street. Isn't she so nice?

But of course, the most important thing is that Celeste and Brandon got married in this beautiful place!

Nice friends in waiting.

The Sharps!

Celeste is an aunt!

And a cousin, with a jealous niece... hahahaha

Group friend hug!

Aren't these Grandparents so nice looking?

My dad was warming up my mom and I thought it was so sweet.

Can you spot the greatness in this picture? There are a lot of great moments...

But my Grandpa Carruth is the best part. So great!

iPhone boyz

Nathan and Courtney - Nathan and I were in the BYU PR program together, and then his brother married my sister! What a coincidence.

Kimberly was showing off how much taller she is than me.

My dad was being a goof, and Celeste just looks so beautiful I couldn't help posting this one.

Hahaha, apparently something nice was happening up in the sky to entertain Celeste and Brandon's friends.

The grey clouds came in a little, but I thought it looked great.

Brandon and Celeste had their reception at the Garden Park Ward in Salt Lake. An old church building with beautiful grounds.

I got to do a little bit of graphic design work and whipped up these labels for the reception. The cupcakes were marvelous!

The cake that Chelsey hand painted. That umbrella was my favorite part.

And now for some terrible news that I just found out this very moment. Celeste's photographer was there for the beginning of the reception, but Celeste left it up to me to get some of the classic shots - like the cake cutting, dance and bouquet throw at the end of the reception.

Somehow my camera self destructed and did this sort of thing to some pictures and totally lost others.

Holy cow that stinks.

***Good news... found the other pictures (filed under a different folder because their 10000 IMG # - some were still distorted but most are ok). phew....

Celeste and Brandon made these awesome pinwheels, and they were very fun and neat.

My newest sister-in-law (and her husband Jeff) came to visit us at the reception!

This is Patriarch Hanney! He married Paul and I.

Traditions! Traditions! Traditions
(I hope you knew that was Fiddler on the Roof I was singing in my head).

That little guy REALLY wants to get married soon.

So glad I found those pictures. It was a beautiful day.

Happy wedding Celeste and Brandon!

This must be done.

2011-10-03T08:31:00.000-06:00

I'm sorry folks, but the backlog on blogging is really getting the best of me, and there is just one thing that must be done. Prepare yourself for a massive photo dump (it's for posterity's sake, I'm sure!). This makes me a little sad because I'm sure I could make great stories out of most of these pictures, but lets be honest, it's no fun reading about July when it's October. Actually, I think it is kind of fun and also necessary since having all these photos just waiting to be blogged is stressing me out and I want to get to pictures of Celeste's wedding and cyclocross season already!

So, if you ever wanted to see a blog post with 66 pictures and videos, here is your chance!

Tour of Utah! A pro bike race! We collected so many water bottles from all the best teams: Garmin Vervelo, Liquigas, BMC, etc! We saw Levi Lephimer, Teejay VanGarderen, Tommy Danielson, Brent Bookwalter, and lots of other skinny spandex men.

Look close and you can see a train of cyclists climbing the hill behind the capital. Luckily, Camie took some more pictures, because I only took videos.

Jeff and Paul saw another stage in Alpine!

Lake Powell sunset (as you can see this post is going to jump around a lot).

An essential part of Lake Powell trips: Hollow Mountain

Jo jo before Rigby Lake!

Rigby Lake cousin fun!

Such a lovely little beach in the middle of Idaho!

Amari learned a great trick at church. I should've taught her this years ago, because it's one of my favorites.

Flour game...?

So glad I didn't lose. So glad Irelynd and Marian did because they loved having flour all over their face.

Amari on her actual birthday. I really wish I would've bought that hat for her (or me).

Utah sunny mountain love

Echo reservoir and Carruth Canyon to the left (seriously! A canyon named after my great great grandparents! proof!

A hair cut, before and...

after... Maybe you can't tell a difference, like Paul but it's nice and healthy now!

Some of the best shoes I ever did find.

A haily rainstorm, I love those guys!

The animal bushes in my neighborhood. This is where me and Lyndsi Thompson would meet to walk to school.

A screen shot of my house getting pummeled by a hurricane.

My tree that I won in 3rd grade that has grown so nice and large! Plus, it's an Idaho Spruce, so I think I was destined to marry that Idaho boy Paul.

Golfing Murray Parkway with my parents!

Doesn't my dad do such a great job at keeping this place so lovely?

"The longest shadows ever cast" (name those lyrics!)

Beautiful pink mountains and clouds

Shopping with Camie and Mykita

Jovi says cheese, hahahahaha

Amari's kitty watering can we gave her for her birthday. Please note her cape. She wears one everyday I think.

Hot pink clouds, hot pink shirt. (Saying goodbye to Utah for a couple weeks!)

Back with my Pauly friend! We took a walk down by the Raritan River, Boyd Park is so nice!

Except pretty damaged by Ms. Ireney (aka the Hurricane)

Cyclocross season begins!

J POW!!!!!!!!!!!! (Best cyclocross racer in the world!)

Flying back to Utah and enjoying the nicest clouds...

Bachelorette Party for Celestatron

or should I say... Bacheceleste Party, hahahah oh Maddi.

Celeste was throwing away this Tiger, but I knew Amari would love it so we took it to her.

And Zander praised the fire.

And we had pushup contests. Even Jovi wanted to try.

And we roasted some mallows. And Paul payed Zander 5 bucks because he did 51 pushups, and it was really impressive and almost made me cry because he was trying so hard.

And then I had to send my sweetie Paul off to Germany, and I stayed in Utah a little while longer.

And I went and hung out with the Brown kiddos. And Mari chose her superman cape today, which was so nice, and I fell in love with her Saltwaters, and she jumped on the tramp seeing "I believe I can fly" and it was such a great time.

And Jovi can jump higher than any 2 year-old I've ever known.

Then all the kids (minus sick Irelynd) came out to watch Uncle Paul's plane fly over their house.

And I think we saw it, but it wasn't this plane, but this was a nice picture.

Then I went skiing some more... at Rockport. And just two weeks later, we deemed the dry suit necessary because it got real cold while I was away in New Jersey.

And the newlyweds came home and cheered for all their presents!

And my mom and I went to Morrelia's for dinner and I loved this little dish.

Another round of golf...

And some more pictures of Mt. Olympus, which is probably my favorite one because it's right in my own backyard pretty much.

I know that was a bit much, but really, now we can move on to some more recent events and I can start sleeping at night again because I've done my blogging duties and saved my pictures on the internet for future generations to enjoy.

Also, my grandparents and my parents are flying into New York tomorrow! Isn't that great news? Maybe I should go clean my house in that case... ok bye.

I went to Utah and ate a bunch of things I miss.

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Of course when I went to Utah I ate all of my unavailable on the East Coast favorites.

I went to Cafe Rio.

I am not ashamed of being part of this trend because it really tastes so good. Also, I learned this new trick. A tostada is a mini salad, and you don't have to throw half of it away, and you don't have to try to warm it up the next day and eat goopy lettuce. I ask for a flour tortilla instead of the corn.

Demi and Jeff's wedding cake!

My dad made sure we stopped at one of his favorite ice cream spots: Polar King on our way home from Echo reservoir. However, when we arrived, we found that it was recently renamed "Rodriguez Polar King Authentic Mexican Food". Interesting!

Mmmmm! Jalepenos and Ice Cream go so nice together?

I really enjoyed this cactus touch!

(PS Don't worry, Rodriguez's Polar King's ice cream was still pretty good!)

Noodles & Co. Duh.

Wisconsin Mac & Cheese with cavatappi noodles of course.

Practicing cupcakes for Celeste's wedding.

Reed's dairy chocolate milk. Maybe the only milk that has potatoes in it, but it's from Idaho Falls so that makes sense, and also it so the most delicious chocolate milk I have ever consumed.

Snow cones are better than Italian Ice every time. And New Jersey loves it's Italian Ice, and I love my snow cones.

My recipe for deliciousness is raspberry + watermelon with cream.

Karn.

(Corn.)

As much as I love those Utah restaurants, nothing beats my mom's home cooking.

99 cent Monday Night Rootbeer Floats at A&W!

Apples in the sink.

(Prepping for Celeste's wedding).

Happy Sumo!

And I almost forgot to take a picture of the roll until I only had one piece left, because I was so hungry and it was so delicious. Vegas Roll!

That food was all so good, I'm already craving it all of it all over again. Eat it for me you lucky Utahans.

Oh yes, and speaking of delicious food. Look what that sweet Paul brought me from Germany:

Alpenmilch (German Chocolate), Dairy Milk (hooray for layovers in London!) some handmade Czeck earrings (not actually food), but they were also in the picture, as well as some Euros, Kuronas, and Pence - all sorts of neat loose change. :) And a real nice watercolor of Prague obviously not pictured here, which is a shame, because it's really lovely.

Me and Those Mountains

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You are probably aware of my deep, bizarre and obsessive love for mountains. How could I help it? I've had these guys in my back yard my whole life and all the sudden I miss them like crazy in the flat as a pancake but green as can be East.

So it's not wonder, or surprise that the first thing I did when I got back to my mountains was photograph them from the plane, and another thing I did was hike the crap out of them. A few times. It was one of my favorite events during my time in Utah, so as far as iPhone picture dumps (I finally hooked up my phone with my new computer! Three cheers for that!), mountains to go first.

Driving up Little Cottonwood canyon is dreamy.

And it's green as green this year, thanks rain!

Alta ski resort, minus snow. (This is where we hiked).

Looking across to Mt. Superior and Mounte Cristo. (keep reading to hear more about these guys).

The wildflowers were all dreamy and nice.

As my mom said "in all of the value colors!"

True words.

Some poor skier lost his pole, but it was a funny sight for me to see.

What a view!

What a guy!

Oh hey dorky picture.

My beautiful mother!

mi padres.

My dearest father.

And on our drive down the canyon we got to see this nice storm brewing in the Valley. Utah is really cool like that.

While we were hiking on this lovely day, my dad kept looking over at the Mountains across from Alta. He said, we need to hike those. I knew I wouldn't be able to go because I was flying out before we'd be able to. Then Hurricane Irene decided to let me stay in Utah for an extra week, and so my dad and I conquered Mt. Superior and it's neighbor Monte Cristo.

Looking in Big Cottonwood canyon.

Snowy tops in Little Cottonwood.

The winds at the peak were absolutely insane. There were several times we had to go down on all four to avoid falling off the mountain.

Hello Snowbird! No snow!

Feeling on top of the world.

And then we hiked back down and looked up at the two peaks we had climbed.

Thanks for having mountains Utah! Thanks for taking me hiking on them parents!

Amari Party

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My little friend Amari had a birthday party while we were in Idaho. Lucky girl got to hang out with all her cousins.

The festivities included Duck Duck Goose, Farmer in the Dell, two delicious cakes made by Grandma Donna, and some presents.

birthday giiiiiiirl!

Mama Donna made Creme de Menthe cake - my favorite!

Poor Mari had a tough little moment post-Duck Duck Goose. She was a sad lady, but did her best to stay happy for her party.

She had to use her fingers to make a smile because her sad face just didn't want to do it on it's own.

Wishes!!!

Cousin Ellee - they are less than a month apart! Lucky cousin friends.

And a pretty Idaho sunset to top it all off.

(So this concludes my series of post from Idaho/Utah that were taken with a real camera -- so now it's iPhone picture time. Hooray blogging progress!)

Jeff and Demi's Reception

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I think I was almost as excited as Jeff when Demi said yes to marrying him. I love this lady, and it was fun to see her plan her perfect day. We did some pinterest collaboration, and she thought of some fun, unique and of course) "vintage" ideas and executed them perfectly.

The setting was her grandparents beautiful backyard, right on the dreamy Snake River in Firth, ID

(just south of Idaho Falls).

This is my and my husband, his name is Paul.

And he is one dapper guy.

My newest sister-in-law, hooray hooray!

(This picture is also convincing me that i could be blonde really easy - our hair is pretty close in color, right?)

The groomsy men

Devn had to take off his bling for the pictures... too bad.

A glowing mother-of-the-groom

Donna and Paul's sisters (and sister's in law) worked together to create the boys bow ties and suspenders, and all the little girls dresses. They were my favorite part of the whole thing.

Donna had these little footlets at a wedding (her sisters?) when she was a little girl. It was a truly vintage detail, that the little girls loved.

Oh yeah! I made these little flower corsage/broochy things for her bridesmaids.

It was a very fun, happy, lovely wedding!