Friends Forever...

riends forever - totally cliche - but for reals y'all, these peeps are going to be part of my life FOREVER - whether they like it or not.  We were lucky enough to catch up with a few of our friends while in Utah.  We wish we could see everyone, every time, but we can't.  Darn it!  Stringham's planned a fun night out for us at a yummy pizza restaurant, and, while the adults caught up, the kids ran wild and had a great time together.  So rewarding!  It made me miss Utah like never before, and I look forward to having regular play dates with that crazy bunch.  

We also met up with Mitch's life-long friends at Airborn for a fun family night.  I can't get over these three best friends and their mini-me sons.  So adorable!  These guys always revert back to their high school ways when they get together - competing in this or that and always on the verge of getting injured.  Lucky for me, they have adorable wives whom I love hanging out with.  I wish we could all get together more often, but living in three different states makes that a difficult task.  We'll take what we can get.  Thanks for the fun night Fairbanks and Taylors!

It's a Pool Party...

We have been having the best time here in Utah the past week or so. The thing that makes it so darn great, is being able to see all the people we don't get to see back home in California - our families and friends. We had a little pool gathering with a few of our close friends. As always, we had a great time catching up and getting to know each other's new additions. We missed those that weren't able to attend, and look forward to seeing you this winter.

Mitch and Dieter grilled the burgers and dogs, everyone brought delicious sides, and we finished the night off with my dad's soft serve ice cream, chocolate toppings, and shake maker. Thanks for sharing your family night with us! Can't wait to get together again soon.

(A few of the last stragglers...wish we got a picture with everyone.)

Another Day at Disney...

On my birthday my friend Courtnie Hopkin flew in town with her little girl Myka to hang out with me for the week. It was the best birthday present and we had a blast. After spending time at Griffith Park, the Americana, and driving around Hollywood, her husband arrived in CA and we met up with the Pizza's on day three at Disneyland. We tried to squeeze as much as we could into one day, and were all exhausted by the end.

The new parade was adorable, and probably one of the kid's favorite parts.

The Boys...

The Girls...

I Finally Tri'd It...

I realize this is a little overkill on the running pictures, but I'm waiting for my mom and sister to email me the rest of our spring break pictures still. HINT! ;)

I have been wanting to do a triathlon for a long time, but for fear of the unknown I couldn't get the guts to sign up for one. Thank goodness my friends Amy and Courtnie talked me into doing the Lake Las Vegas Iron Girl last weekend. It was seriously awesome. We loaded 6 bikes onto Court's little SUV and headed south. It took us forever to get down there. We had already made 3 pit stops by the time we reached Payson. I guess that's what happens when you're traveling with 11 girls!

Mary, Amy and Court

We swam one 1/2 mile, biked 14 miles, and ran 3
It was really fun and I loved it. I'm excited to try another one - this time an Olympic.

Me and Amy Rosevear at the finish line!

The whole group!

Kimi, Amy and Courtnie

The Best Way to Catch Up...

One gorgeous ski day,
One beautiful friend,
One free morning,
One free babysitter,
Lot's to chat about...

I think we've found our new tradition - a day of skiing. Chatting on the lift ride up, challenging ourselves on the runs down. One of my favorite ski days yet! Thanks Court!

NorCal meets SoCal...

I think its safe to say that Spencer and Marianne were mine and Mitch's first friends as, well, "Mitch and Lindsay". We have friends we've known for years before we got together, and friends we've met since, but I'm pretty sure these two are the first ones we made together as a couple. How fun is that? The best part is that we still get together even though they now live up in Sacramento, and we're down in L.A.

Marianne and I have to just laugh at our men, because when they get together they become boys. You should have seen them racing through Disneyland pushing our kids in the strollers. They were weaving around people and popping off curbs, all in the name of beating each other to the next ride. The best part? It doesn't matter who wins, they don't keep score (okay, maybe a little), and they just do it again to the next ride.

We had a fun night with them up in Old Town Pasadena. We showed them around our hood, ate delicious pizza at The Kitchen, and finished the night off with Pinkberry. Next, we met up with them at Disneyland for a fun night. And finally, Mitch and Spen got in a early, quick and chilly surf session at the river jetty.

The second generation get along pretty darn good as well! Jack and Finn were such buddies the whole time. It was fun watching them giggle and play. Even Dane got some gut laughs out, that pretty much had me melting. Seriously, adorable.

Thanks for the fun times Christensens! We cherish your friendship, and are eagerly awaiting our next adventure.

Dinner Group...

When we were newly married, us and a few of our newlywed couple-friends got together each month and took turns hosting a dinner at our homes. It was something I looked forward to every month. As children have arrived, and the group has evolved, the dinners don't happen as regularly as they used to, but we still make it a point to get together when we are all in town.

This year we met up at Salt City Burger, and had a great night laughing and catching up. I wish we could do this monthly like "the good old days" but in reality, it probably wouldn't happen even if we did live in Utah. We felt like youngins again, staying up until almost 2 AM chatting and playing games. Thanks for the fun night, and an even BIGGER thanks to all our free babysitters over the break.

Baby on the way...

Last week we celebrated a new baby on the way! My cute friend Kate is counting down the weeks until her cute baby boy makes his debut. I couldn't be more excited for her and Pehrson. Good luck guys.

Kate and Pehrson are the epitome of beach bums, so we had to go with a beach theme. I mean, these two blondies met in Hawaii, surf like pros and even ride their beach cruisers to church! Can't wait to see them do it with little Beck on the back. ;)

Kate and her mom and sisters.

Our great ward. Good luck Kate!

I almost forgot...

Way back in July the Copple's came to Newport for two weeks of family fun!
Alyssa was nice enough to invite us down to celebrate Talli's birthday, and spend the day lounging by the pool. We miss the Copple's so, so much, and loved seeing Alyssa and her cute family again.

Finnley was so excited to see Talli, and continues to ask "will Talli be there?" whenever we're doing things with friends. Hopefully I can say "YES" soon! Come back and visit so we can hang out.

Amber's Wedding...

I am so, so, so glad I got to fly up to Utah for my good friend Amber's GORGEOUS wedding. Seriously, I've never been to one like it. It was Perfect...just how Amber planned it! I took notes so I could have Finnley's exactly like it (in, say, 20 or 30 years). I loved catching up with all my gorgeous girlfriends and laughing my guts out at the always-funny-yet-slightly-inappropriate Sam and Matt.

I wish I'd had my good camera...my little Nikon just doesn't do the night justice.

Later that night as I was reviewing my pictures, these two were surprisingly (yet not THAT surprisingly) on my camera. I had to share.

UT v. San Jose...

We made the 6 hour drive up to San Jose to see the Ute's play San Jose State. Mitch definitely misses going up to Rice-Eccles stadium and cheering on his team, so he wanted to see them while they were "kinda close". His sister Dayna and her family decided to make the drive from UT so we were able to see them and spend a few days driving down the coast and enjoying Disneyland. We were also thrilled to see our newest fellow Californians the Christensens! Spencer accepted a job in Sacramento so they made the two hour drive to see the Utes play as well. We hope that we see them more often now that we are living in the same state (even though we are a mere 5+ hours apart).

The Biggest Hamburger EVER...

The Stringhams invited us over for a little BBQ (I had been dying to see their new place and was NOT disappointed...gorgeous!) Rye cooked up the most JUICY, PLUMP, TASTY Burgers EVER! It was a chore to eat them, but well worth it. The kids were hilarious - cleaning the windows with wipes, playing on the playground, having races, and each eating in their own little chair. Miss Finn definitely misses these little rascals; we can always count on a fun time when we're with them.Thanks Stringhams and Pizza's for chatting the night away with us. We miss you guys already!