4th of July Fun!

Happy 4th of July!! What a fun day we had. Nick and I decided that we would head to Sunsplash waterpark for the day. We haven't really done too much outside this summer yet, so what better day to do it then on the 4th. We got there early enough to hit up all the slides before it got to busy, and then spent the afternoon in the wave pool and lazy river. We sure got some sun (in Nick's case that is an understatement-I might have forgot to put sunscreen on his lower back..oops!).

We thought we would have a low key night, but then our friend's Garrett and Tara called and wanted to play. So we went to Waldo's BBQ for dinner--so good!!! Then we took the light rail to Tempe Town Lake to watch the firework show with everyone else in AZ. It sure was busy down there--and hot--ugh-something about it being 11pm and a 104 degrees out in a mass of people that just isn't very appealing to me anymore. In case you haven't been on the light rail yet to get anywhere downtown-you need to take it! It is so nice to not have to deal with the traffic and parking.

We had a great, long, and HOT day! We are grateful for the freedoms we have and for those that serve our country. God Bless the USA!

Nick and I at Waldo's BBQUs on the light rail headed to Tempe
Waiting and sweating for the fireworks to start
Tara and Garrett
Fireworks

The Denver Details!

As fun as our trip to Denver was I was dreading writing this post because I knew it would be so hard to pick out pictures because we had way too many good ones. Three of our good friends-TJ, Michelle, and Paul-live in Denver. Since I had several days off work and Nick had a little break from summer school we knew we needed to make a trip. We went to Red Rocks Amphitheater, hiking in Estes Park, mountain biking in Winter Park, shopping in Boulder and downtown Denver, swimming, and played horse at the neighborhood park with TJ boys Brandon and Mason (which I am happy to report that I won both games)! We had such a great time, and already have decided that this needs to be an annual trip!

16th St. Mall-Downtown Denver

Michelle and I at Red Rocks Amphitheater

Nick and I at Red Rocks Amphitheater

Us at a delicious icecream parlor

Shopping at 16th St. Mall

TJ and Nick=Man Love in Estes Park

The Boys hiking in Estes Park, CO

Us hiking to Alberta Falls

Jen and Nick-almost to the top of the falls

Us at Grand Lake, CO

Nick, Jen, Michelle, TJ

We drove across the Continental Divide

Lots of Elk on the drive across Colorado

Nick and Jen at the WinterPark Resort

Trying to get these helmets on!

Frazier River Trail-WinterPark, CO

Mountain Biking

A Denver Sneak Peak....

Just got back from Denver on Sunday night and have been way too busy to blog about our fabulous trip to see our friends TJ and Michelle. Here is a sneak peak of Michelle and I. We all had such a blast, and it made me realize just how much I miss Michelle not living here in AZ anymore. More to come...

Baby Shower for Bethanie and Baby Girl!

Congrats to Bethanie and Greg Romney! Baby girl (I am pretty sure they haven't decided on a name yet) is going to make an appearance next month!! I am so excited for her! My excitement is shared with 2 other very close friends-Heather and Rochelle. The four of us (Heather, Ro, Beth and I) were all college roommates, and are so grateful that we can share big and important events in each other lives. We decided a group gift was in order so we could get Bethanie something she really wanted. So an Ergobaby carrier was in order! Here she is modeling it below. I also had my friend, Mallory, make Bethanie a baby wipe holder. It turned out SO cute and I must say it was the hit gift at the shower! Love you Bethanie!! I can't wait to meet your cute little girl very soon!

I Love My Daddy-Happy Father's Day

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!! I love my daddy! He has done so much in his life, but mostly I think about how much he has done for me! I think we can all look back once we get older and realized what our parents have done for us. When my parents had all four of us kids my dad decided to go back to school. I think my mom thought he was crazy when he told her that he was going to leave his construction company behind in Phoenix, AZ and move us all to to College Station, TX so he could get a doctorate in Entrepreneurship. First, we all had to ask what did that long word mean!! Off to Texas we went, and somehow for those four long years that my dad was in school-my parents made it work. My two brothers were in charge (who were just barely teenagers themselves) and my sister and I survived!

When school was over we moved to SC and then on to CA where my dad worked for different universities, but it was my junior year that my dad went to Sweden to work at an International Business School. He was gone quite a bit that year, but that is what jump started his career I guess you could say. The next year we moved to Louisville, where my Dad was hired to start up the PhD program in Entrepreneurship from the ground up. Nine years later it has been a HUGE success, and my parents plan on staying there for long haul. Recently dad has been named the eighth most-prolific researcher in the world and fifth in the United States in a study ranking top entrepreneurship researchers. Congrats! That proves that brains are in my gene pool!!!

Besides all the smarts that my dad has, he has been such a big support to me. I am thankful that my parents have supported me in all that I have done. They have always emphasized education (of course) and helped put me through college to ensure that I only had school to worry about. It was my sophomore year in college that Dad called me up and said, "You need to pick a major-and stop wasting your time, but most importantly our money!" Next thing I knew I was in hygiene school and graduating.

Now days my dad is a phone call away for sound advice. Whether I need advice on real estate, cars, money, or who to pick in my march madness brackets--he is there. I love you daddy!!

Mom's in Town!--Part 2

We did so much with my mom in town that I could have parts 3, 4, 5...and so on. However, I will condense it to this last post. I was fortunate to only have to work 3 days the whole time she was here!! So nice. We played a lot, and of course ate a lot. We went to the Diamondbacks game for memorial day with Grandma's 60 plus club! It was safe to say that Mom, Nick, and I were the youngest there by a good 40 or more years! You won't hear me complain though because we took a chartered bus, got dropped off at the entrance, and had excelled seats next to all the food. Being with old people does have its advantages--you hardly walk anywhere far!!

Also on the agenda was going to the Desert Botanical Gardens. We wanted to go there because it was the final weekend of the Dale Chihuly glass exhibit. It was so hot that day. We went around 4pm so we could see the glass during the day, but then also be there when it was dark because we had heard how neat it was to see how they light up all the glass.

We pretty much had no shame sweating through our shirts as we walked around the desert with the blazing sun beating down on us in the over 100 degree heat. Here are a few pictures of the glass.

Other highlights of Mom's visit included buying Grandma a new flat screen TV, and assembling her entertainment stand (3 hours later--we all sure do LOVE Nick---it looks great). We ate at some of our favorite restaurants, and Nick and I made Mom and Grandma dinner two nights. We ate lots of See's candy and Mom and Grandma even made pecan pie. Needless to say, the diet will now begin! We love you Mom and we are so glad you could come to AZ for a visit.

Mom's In Town! Part 1-Kartchner Caves

Mom came from Kentucky for a ten day visit! It was so fun to have her out here. Last Sunday (May 24th) we went to Tucson, where Carol (my mom's sister) and her husband, Jim live. We ate lunch at a gorgeous garden tea room. The weather couldn't have been better. From there we drove another hour SE and went to Kartchner Caves. They wouldn't let you take any pictures inside unfortanetly! We had a great time, other than the 90% humidity in the cave! I must say I was very impressed with grandma because she was passing all the fat middle-aged men in the cave!

It was pretty funny!

They had a museum and in it they had examples of different passageways that the explorers had to fit it. Hah--this is the only one that I could even budge! Must be the hips.

The classic picture of Nick and I at the entrace to the cave.

Mom and I outside the cave at the desert gardens.