where do I start?

More than a month has flown by since I have blogged...hence the title of my post! I am only touching on a few events as you will see below. Enjoy!


~General Conference & mission reunion! It was Rocky's first time watching General Conference in the conference center and we were excited to have lower level seats for the Sunday afternoon session. My mission reunion was very fun as well and I loved visiting as well as listening to the inspiring words of my mission president as well as the past and current presidents. I love updates about the mission!





~Going to the Melting Pot with my friend Nicole for her birthday! So fun! Everyone should go at least once. And don't be deceived, it may not look like a lot but by the end we were soo full! We got the spinach artichoke cheese fondue and the yin yang chocolate fondue. Thanks to Carissa for the suggestion, we had a great time!


~My sister's wedding, which included seeing a bunch of family and friends I haven't seen in a while! It was a great weekend and I made it back to SLC exhausted but with a lot of great memories. I also have a lot of pictures from the wedding that won't make it into this blog post.

~Apartment hunting. LOTS of apartment hunting! We moved last weekend and are still in Salt Lake but just more in the downtown area. It isn't too far from the restaurant, gym, work, all those good things and we gained a Whole Foods right across the street and more importantly we gained more privacy and some needed space! Rocky is the best and I love how he notices the little things and tells me how much he appreciates what I do and has such a great attitude. Also how he helped to get things in order once we moved (including helping me do a clothing purge!) I love that we have free internet and a washer and dryer (doing laundry at the laundromat can really add up!). There are some other things that I for sure do NOT love but we know this location is just temporary!

Rocky has a new schedule starting this week and he will have 2 days off (Tuesday and Thursday this week and Monday and Wednesday the following week and this schedule will alternate). Hopefully things go as planned and this schedule sticks for a while! I know it will help him to be able to relax a little more and we are already planning all the things we want to do on the days he has off! My schedule is flexible at the moment that i can either get off early or take the day off (depending on what day it is) and we are going to go to the Tulip Festival in Thanksgiving Point on Thursday because this is the last week.

We are also going to do things like ice skating (Rocky has never been!), hiking & outdoor activities, trying some new local restaurants that we have seen nearby, going to the outdoor movies, seeing what surrounding areas in Utah have to offer, and just spending time together! Like I said, we will see how this arrangement of time off works! I am optimistic and even if it ends up he has just one day off instead of two it will be better than what we have had, which is basically late in the evenings and Sunday.

I love my family so much, including my new extended family- Rocky's family. I have the best suegras (in-laws) EVER and I love everyone I have gotten to meet so far and the ones I have talked to over the phone and through skype! That is why we were all glued to the tv and trying to call over to his family who live in Japan Thursday night where the 9.1 earthquake took place. For them it was around 2pm Friday.

Thankfully they are all okay! We were worried because we weren't able to get a hold of anyone by phone at first because the lines were jammed and at one point they may have been down. They live near Tokyo so they felt the quake pretty strongly and the oil refinery that caught on fire is in the city where they live as well. They did have some evacuations but luckily the tsunami did not affect their area. They are still feeling aftershocks this morning when we skyped with them and say things are a mess.

I can't even imagine what it must be like. We are keeping all of them in our prayers and are glad they are safe and that Japan is a country that is better prepared for this kind of natural disaster. I will keep you (that read the blog!) updated as we learn more. It for sure seems more real when it happens to people you know.

Miracle Monday

So it has been no secret that gas prices have skyrocketed. I can't imagine how people in the Los Angeles area feel (sorry Julianne!) because their prices have reached $5.00 in some areas. We are hovering around the 3.30 mark.

How much is gas for you where you live??

I got gas today for 3.25. It was the cheapest I saw. My gas light was on and part of me STILL was thinking I would be able to find it for cheaper somewhere else. Because, 3.25?!?! Rocky advised me I'd better get it because tomorrow it could go up. That and I knew I would need it today anyways forced me to pull into the gas station. I decided to only fill up with $25 worth of gas, still hoping it might go down a few cents in the next few days. While we waited Rocky and I talked about a story I had heard on the news about a gas station in Roseville, CA that lowered their gas prices by 20 cents for one hour last week. Is that the best thing ever or not? Every little bit helps! Especially when you think about people who have to commute, families with only one person working...there are plenty of examples and even with the price drop (for just an hour!) I'm sure they got so many customers it made up for it!

After replacing the gas cap and getting back into my car we drove off and my eyes wandered to my gas gauge, fully expecting to see it around 1/2 full. I had to look twice because it was FULL. A full tank of gas on $25??? We couldn't believe it! Possibly something wrong with the gas pump? A miracle? For us it's definitely a yes on the second.

(celebrating! me, Rocky, niece Kayra and sister Rossmary)

March started out with a birthday! Rocky's birthday is March 1st (although his family teases him saying he was born February 29th)...the way I see it is that in 2012 we will celebrate 2 days in a row (just in case!)

It really started at midnight~ his sister's took him out to eat and of course he was itching to open his gifts as well! He was very excited to get a REAL Salt Lake soccer jersey. I think it's a fun tradition to celebrate a little at the real "start" of the day. It can make for a sleepy workday but it is so fun! And birthdays are only once a year and the memories are worth it. Our birthday traditions growing up are very similar (besides the whole celebrating at midnight!) and I love the traditions we are forming- incorporating from our families as well as creating our own.

We were both able to get some of the work day off and we headed up to Park City. Rocky had never been so it was a perfect opportunity! I love the time we got to spend together since we have such hectic schedules. We hit up the outlets...there are SO many but some of them that drew us in were Adidas, Aldo, Nike, Aeropostale, Volcom, Pacsun, Guess, and Oakley. We found some super great sales in Nike, Aldo, and Volcom and Aero. Some stores were more "browsing" stores and that is fun too. I love bargain shopping and Rocky has caught onto it too. If I had pulled out my camera during our shopping adventures you would have laughed!

We will for sure be back to Park City, it is super close and there is so much more to see and explore~ much more than just shopping (although that is always fun too), they have all kinds of events and it is beautiful to be up in the mountains.

I love that we were able to do something fun and different for his special day. Rocky is the best and I am excited for all the future birthdays we get to celebrate together! (and next year I am serious about having a pinata!)

The day ended with Rocky cutting his birthday cake, singing happy birthday, eating cake (made by me!) and homemade cookies from his sisters, and lots of photos!

What is one of your favorite birthday traditions?

For me, the tradition of going out to breakfast with my dad on birthday morning and also the amazing birthday decorations! We went all out with streamers and balloons in our favorite color and a huge banner that everyone signed and decorated!

Missionary Monday

I think about my mission every day. The people I met, companions I had, the experiences and the teaching opportunities were endless! I love being able to share the gospel as a member of the church as well. Today I realized I hadn't posted yet about the next missionary who will soon be serving from my family!

Matthew got his mission call about 2 weeks ago to serve in the Houston Texas South mission!!! I am so super excited for him!! And while part of me wished he was going to be serving in Salt Lake City (because it is the best mission!) I know that he is being called where the Lord needs him and he will have so many unforgettable experiences and touch so many lives. Matthew has always been an example to me for his hard work, eagerness to learn and share the gospel, as well as always finding the good in others. He reports to the Missionary Training Center May 25th, three days after his 19th birthday! He will be there 2-3 weeks to learn about how to be an effective missionary and then he will go to Texas where he will spend the next two years teaching the gospel, doing service, and having some of the best experiences of his life!

Congrats, good luck, I love you, and yes....I am a little jealous! I will look forward to reading about your experiences over the next two years and am interested to see what kind of accent you come back with!

(for more about missionary work, look here)

(L-R: Matt aka Future Elder Skinner, Rocky, me, and Evan. Thanksgiving 2010)

Thursday Overload

Do you ever feel like there is SO MUCH you want to do but not enough time?

Or even that there is so much you want to do in a day and the day flies by with not even half the hours you need?

I made a list today….I used to make lists a lot but lately they have fell by the wayside. But really, when you are “too busy” to make a list is when you need a list the most!

Some off of my list…

Rocky’s birthday prep (I have big decoration plans!! Plus I am making his cake, and I have to track down his present!) MARCH 1^st is the big day!

I have a bunch of phone calls to make (this makes up most of my list actually)

Relief Society lesson (I am teaching in March. They asked me last Sunday if I would and I’m excited!). Rocky and I went over the lesson yesterday. He is an amazing teacher and I learn so much from his insights and his tips on teaching.

Go to the gym. Should this be on my to-do list? Sadly, yes. But it makes me excited that I’ll get to cross it off!

Highlights from this week:

Talking with my Dad yesterday on the phone, just catching up on what has been going on in our lives in the last week.

Going to Park City Monday with Nicole, who is AMAZING! We had fun checking out the outlets and found some great deals! Also we ate delicious food together at the restaurant! Yay for ½ days off!

Playing the piano…it’s been too long. I hate to admit that! However, it brought back the desire even stronger to make sure I get in some playing time! LOVE.

When work orders lunch. Randomly on the day that I decided to work through lunch. Right now I am enjoying turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese and avocado on sourdough. It is not complicated, just delicious! I love sandwiches, they remind me of picnics!

Returning Redbox movies the day after renting them! Yes and Yes!

Rocky getting off early- we are going to eat at a new restaurant thanks to a Groupon I have. It's for a place called Pat's Barbecue- its local so look for a review on it soon!

Plus a highlight is that Rocky gets to go play soccer tonight with some guys at church. This is a highlight because of two things. 1. I love seeing how excited he gets to play- its so fun (I want to say cute but won't!) . 2. He always has some hilarious stories to tell afterward! It is the best!

I love it when...

Rocky & I eat breakfast together.
I know, its the simple things, right?
It's not something we get to do on a daily basis.
During the week I leave for work an hour and a half before him so I bring my breakfast to work and he eats something at home before he leaves.
We ate cinnamon raisin toast, fruit, and drank chocolate milk
It was the perfect way to start our day.

in other news...
I ordered a new camera! Its a Canon and I can't wait till it gets here!!
It's raining today.
I only work 1/2 day Monday!
We have decided on moving to Orlando instead of Miami after going through more of the pros and cons and we feel really good about our decision!
Rocky will be studying culinary arts.
I will be doing something a little different than planned. I'm still working on the details!
Rocky's birthday is coming up! March 1st. (I tell him I'm planning a huge party for him and inviting alllll the people I know and we are going to have a pinata and a huge cake...etcetcetc!! (btw he does NOT want a huge party! But I was just teasing him about doing all that although I do want to get him a pinata!!!!!)