Fun in the Sun (no doubt about it)

We were able to take a vacation down to Arizona the week of 5/11. After work that Monday I rushed home to help finalize our packing. We loaded the Corolla and hit the road! We found that splitting up the trip makes the drive seem a lot shorter so our goal for the night was to reach Kanab, UT. We made it around 9:30p, ate dinner and then proceeded to find a camping spot...When I say camping spot, I really mean in a two man tent in a wash off the side of the road. It seemed safe enough since the skies were clear, and we survived. Plus it was FREE! and much more comfortable then the car (our usual method). We woke up early the next morning so we could make a stop at Slide Rock National Park near (or in?) Sedona. We were the first ones through the gates and some of the ONLY ones in the water LOL It was a mild 41 degrees. Brrrrr.





When we finally reached AZ we really just enjoyed the ~105 degree weather with blue skies, and visiting with family and friends (Thanks mom and dad Nelson for putting up with us!) We couldn't believe a year passed since we last were there and had seen some of them. We made a list of our favorite places/things to eat and tried to get to them all:
1) Grimaldi's (Best pizza EVER - thanks for taking us Mom and Dad!)
2) QT's Horchata Slurpee

Mmmmmmmmmm :P

3) Serrano's Bean Dip and Salsa
*And a couple places we didn't get to that we'll have to hit up next time*
4) Higley Hot Dog
5) Nielsen's Frozen Custard - the one in UT just isn't the same :(

We also got to visit our favorite mall (very exciting I know...) Actually we were just needing to waste some time and it was pretty hot for outdoor activities :)

We were especially fond of these glasses. What do you think??


We got to visit Matt and McKenna and their little girl Eila, Strider and Jana and their little boy Grayson and we were SO excited to be able to congradulate Skyler's little sis' Aubrie and her husband Jake on their soon-to-be little one (Can't wait until Nov/Dec).
Here's cute Aubs with Skyler. I should have got a pic of her tummy - she's already showing!!

I got to visit with my buddy Lauren who is ROCKING at being a teacher (hope geocaching went well LOL), and with my aunt Barb, cousin Cameron, Tawni and her little boys. We also got to meet my aunt Cyndi's boys Josh, Adam, and Austin (Jeremy cound't make it) for some ice cream. It had been several years since we'd seen some of them and Josh was leaving for his mission that coming Sunday so we were lucky. They have grown so much!

Gotta throw in the "Goofy Face" pic


We got to kayak the Salt River thanks to Skyler's buddy Jake and his dad who is always so nice to let us borrow the kayaks.

We were able to attend Jacobs graduation from ASU - Congradulations!! - and we were invited to Strider's and Cherish's ASU graduation party that same night. Good job guys. Sister Pittam makes the BEST food (just ask Skyler) and we still need to call her for a couple of recipies from the BBQ ;)

Here's Skyler and I at the BBQ. I really should just ask people to takes pics of us, but I'm getting so good at this self portrait, one arm thing.

Kai, Clarissa, and Brinley hung out with us all after the graduation. I don't think little Brinley likes getting her hair done...



We even lucked out that Jace (Skyler's bro) and Melinda and the kids (including the newest member little Hinckley) came in town that Friday and were there for Saturday and Sunday. It was fun to be able to spend time with them and hear about their fun lives and activities. They should actually be coming to UT soon so we'll even get to see them again in not-too-long.
What a great uncle my sweetie is :D

Here we are at the park with Trae, Kali, and Kamea. So much fun!

We missed out on seeing Destry, Heather, Brody and Brooklyn who wont be getting to AZ until June, but we hope they have as much fun as we did!

All in all it was a wonderful trip. Mom and Dad Nelson took great care of us and were so willing (as always) to open their doors - home, car, cupboard, fridge :) - to us. And although we were glad to be home again, we look forward to another trip out to see our quickly and forever changing family.

Skyler and I were able to participate again this year in Utah's Walk Now For Autism. Last year (our first time) we walked with Miles 4 Maia. This year we signed up as volunteers and we got to be in charges of the kids games. It POURED rain the entire time, but there was still a good turn out which we were all grateful for. I was so glad that Skyler grabbed the poncho for me otherwise I would have been miserable. He braved the rain in his hunting jacket :) Here's what their official website (http://www.walknowforautism.org/) said about the turn out this year:

"We did it Utah!
On Saturday, May 2nd, over 2,000 people
braved the rain to attend the 2nd annual Utah Walk Now for Autism at Utah Valley
University in Orem, Utah and raised over $145,000 for Autism Speaks so far,
funding work in research, family services, advocacy and awareness. Without each
of you, this would not have been possible, and for that, we thank you. A special
thank you to our newly inducted Grand Club Members, donors, sponsors, Team
Captains, walkers, in-kind sponsors, committee, walk day volunteers, Resource
Fair Vendors, entertainers, supporters and friends. Together, we made a
difference in the lives of so many. THANK YOU to all of you for joining
together to raise our voices for autism awareness in the Utah!"

Here are some pics from that day. Skyler and I even got to challenge a couple of kids to the fighting ring LOL

All the way back in...May I think...we went to Duchesne to help my dad work on the cabin. I couldn't believe how much it has changed since I saw it last year. I worked on painting while they worked on putting up what I'd painted - good team work!

I have to catch you all up!

Here are some pics of what we've been up to this year - most recent to not-most-recent

This is my sister, Heidi, yesterday after she had her surgery to fuse her neck. My mom and I went to visit her at the hospital. I was actually going to record her because she was being hilarious, but just as I got out the camera she went back to being in pain (as you can see in the pic) This is me and hubby a few days ago. We had been studying for finals like crazy! Do we look drained or what?

This is a random pic I took of myself to see what I looked like in a hat...Usually they make me look like a cone head, so this wasn't bad.

Sunday (4/19) was when Heidi decided she needed to go to the ER for her neck. We ended up taking the girls, Alyssa and Abby, to church with us and then to my dad's and Joans for dinner. The girls were wonderful! Especially at church which was their second time going that Sunday. After, we took them to the park to play on the playground and fly a kite. Abby loved chasing after the kite in the sky. This pic is of my dad playing his banjo with a little help from Abby. She was fascinated by it. I think he loved having them over, but SORRY DAD, you won't have grandkids from me for a couple more years :(

The dinner at their house was to say "bye" to Clay before he left for base training. He joined the Army Reserves and has been in training for about 2 weeks now.

He's so good with the kids and they love him!

Just the Saturday before, Skyler and I went to the zoo with Heidi, Nick, and the girls. It was the first time Skyler had been to the Hogle zoo here. It was so much fun. These were the only pictures we got on our camera before it died :(

I'm holding Abby and sitting next to Heidi. In the front is cute Alyssa.

These are some pictures of our Easter morning. It was such a nice day that Skyler and I hid each other's Easter baskets outside. Skyler made us carry around this flashlight because "it is our spotlight to help find the Easter baskets" LOL He is such a goof, and I love him.

The Muhlestein's had their Easter party and Skyler and I got to hide all of the eggs. It was probably the most fun part!

Good old pinewood durby! Our ward did a "Soup-er Durby" dinner night. I made mine into...well you can see what I made mine into :)

Skyler was very proud of his creation. Although it didn't contain any pinewood - or wood at all - it was probably THE coolest car there (other than the durby car that had the motor). I think it was only 2 lbs over the weight limit - Not Bad!

Happy Belated St. Patricks Day! Our Muhlestein family went to the St. Patty's Day parade down at the Gateway. It was a 2 hour parade full of the most random, green things you've ever seen LOL

This is what happens when the woman is taller than the man - any other Sista's out there know what I'm sayin'!?
We even got to see my mom and Vince there. It was so cute to see her groovin' to the music. Although, I never thought I would witness my mom pulling some of those moves!

This was the group Skyler got together for my "surprise" Valentines Day party. It turned out to be a BLAST! We went shooting, at dutch oven peach cobbler, and went to our Stake Adult Valentines Day dance...yes, he got all of these people to agree to go to our stake dance LOL It turned out to be the best part!

Since it was Valentines, we had to do the kissy picture. And that is what we've been up to in-a-jist (I'm not sure if that's a word...)

It Begins...

The weather is finally getting to a consistent temp that it's time to get out and start running (or in my case jogging) again. Luckily with our gym membership this winter, we haven't gotten TOO out of shape. Have you ever noticed how quickly you get out of shape?? I swear, one week of slacking (let alone a few months) and it's back to a turtles pace and an asthma attack - okay, not literally, but it sure feels like it sometimes - The sign-up's for Hobble Creek 1/2 marathon opens up on May 2nd (this Saturday) and Skyler and I are going to register again. I'm determined to beat my 2hr 11min time WITH OUT getting sick as a dog like before. Hopefully we can recruit some others to suffer, I mean, train along side with us :) Today was a perfect running-weather day. I just finished a quick 3 mi jog in 27 min which is not too bad for me. And that's with stopping to talk to my friend Amanda, AND stopping for a CHICKEN...yes, a chicken. It ran out in front of me from someones yard and I didn't want to chase it into the road so I stopped until the dumb thing went back where it came from. Anyway, we look forward to sweating and getting tan in the sunshine. If you know of any free/cheap fun runs or 5K's to run for training, let us know!

Huh?!

It snowed last week...It's going to reach 80s this week...I shouldn't be amazed, yet here I am, - amazed!

The blog fad

So we finally gave in and started a blog - it just became socially necessary. I tried to avoid it as long as possible since it's just the two of us and our life is pretty routine right now. Hopefully I will get the hang of this thing so I can organize our profile and add something interesting to the page like pics or some amazing link. Anyway, I really should be doing homework and Skyler is at scouts so it's the perfect time - better get on that...

~Lyndsey