Day 3

Day 3 - My idea of the perfect date

Ummmmm.....due to my incredibly vast dating experience (HA HA HA.  Thank you 10 dates of my entire 4 year BYU career).

I would have to say an exploration.  Because, "Adventure is out there!"  And I am serious.  Probably my favorite date Derek and I have gone on was when we were first dating and were "Homeless" and we went to the store and bought granola bars, a jar a peanut butter, yogurt, and bananas and we set off to explore somewhere we'd never been.  American Fork Canyon was still closed due to snow.  So we parked and hiked through the snow is shorts, t-shirts, and regular shoes.  It took hours.  But it was SO FUN!  and it provides opportunity for great conversation, laughs, and the opportunity to really get to know the person.  I already knew I could marry that kid by the end of that hike.   And we hadn't even said the "L" word yet.  But the best part is the AWESOME memories we both have.  And that there, is why it was a GREAT DATE!

Parking lot view

Model shots: Katie

Model shots: Derek

The stick we placed to say we came, we saw, we conquered, we took the picture

A waterfall of Spring run off water.  Very chilly....

Day 2

Day 2 = Tell us about your job  (i totally forgot about my challenge already.  i just got bored, got on and went oh crap!)

I know I pretty much dominate our blog.  In a way it is my blog that I share with Derek.  Anyway, I can tell you about MY job and then he can tell you about HIS job.

So.  I, Katie, work at the Marian Center.  The Marian Center is an Acute Psychiatric Lock-down Hospital Unit for Geriatric Patients.  Wow.  That is a mouth full.  AKA I work at a short term psychiatric hospital unit for old people.  I am a Recreation Therapist and even have alphabet soup behind my name!

Anyway, I do rec therapy with my old people.  Every morning we do chair exercises and listen to the Billboard Top 10 from the 1920's.  It's awesome.  Because exercise is good for the body, mind, soul, emotions, etc.  Then we do some other type of therapeutic group or activity etc. in the afternoon.  We color, paint, play bingo, play the wii, play games, and with balls, and do therapeutic stuff.

It is fun and I always come home with great stories.

Derek works as a Physical Therapy Aide at the Memorial Clinic in Salt Lake.  And he started working at the Death Star (aka the Intermountain Medical Center aka the HUGE new hospital IHC just built).

My job is fun.  I help schedule patients and make them laugh as the therapist causes them severe pain.  I help patients with their exercises and help them have the correct form.  I pump them up to do their home exercises and comment on how much stronger they are getting throughout their therapy.  Then....I never see them again.

Life and things

So life has been on a dull streak at the Storrs house.  Not that our lives are dull or anything but it's the gray part of winter where it doesn't snow in the valley and the air is gross and people fear going outside because if they breathe they will die.

Also, we have just been patiently waiting to hear back from physical therapy schools for Derek so we can make some decisions about summer jobs etc.  Are we full on quitting when we leave to South America and being guides again?  Are we going to Jackson or Moab?  We need to decide and let the employers know.  If we go to Jackson we need to find housing......the list goes on and on.

Or are we going to keep our jobs after South America?  Both our jobs said we could.

Anyway that is what is going on in our lives.

So since our lives are SO incredibly exciting I decided to copy my good pal Megan with the 30 Day Blog Challenge.  So here it is.

30 Day Blog Challenge: 

Day 1 – A photo of yourself and a description of how your day was. 
Day 2 – Tell us about your job. 
Day 3 – Your idea of the perfect first date. 
Day 4 – Your favorite photograph of your best friend. 
Day 5 – A photo of yourself two years ago. 
Day 6 – A photo of an animal you’d love to keep as a pet. 
Day 7 – Your dream wedding. 
Day 8 – A song to match your mood. 
Day 9 – A photo of the item you last purchased. 
Day 10 – A photo of your favorite place to eat. 
Day 11 – What’s in your makeup bag? 
Day 12 – A photograph of the town you live in. 
Day 13 – Your favorite musician and why? 
Day 14 – A TV show you’re currently addicted to. 
Day 15 – Something you don’t leave the house without. 
Day 16 – Your celebrity crush. 
Day 17 – A photo of you and your family. 
Day 18 – Something you crave a lot. 
Day 19 – Another picture of yourself. 
Day 20 – The meaning behind your blog name. 
Day 21 – A photo of something that makes you happy. 
Day 22 – A letter to someone who has hurt you recently. 
Day 23 – 15 facts about you. 
Day 24 – A photo of something that means a lot to you. 
Day 25 – What’s in your purse? 
Day 26 – A photo of somewhere you’ve been to. 
Day 27 – A picture of you last year and now and how have you changed since then? 
Day 28 – Your favorite movie. 
Day 29 - Your biggest Pet Peeve 
Day 30 – Something you could never get tired of doing. 
Day 31 – A photograph of yourself today + three good things that have happened to you today. 


Day 1

So this is the most recent picture taken on me.  It was 2 weeks ago.  I am not taking a picture of myself now because it is 6:30 in the morning and I don't want to go find the camera take a picture of me looking like Medusa, plug it in, import it, blah blah blah.  Way too much work.  So you get this picture.

This was an AWESOME day!  We went snowshoeing and Cross Country Skiing in Park City and Midway.  Oh, and we walked around on Jordanelle cuz it is TOTALLY frozen solid.  This is me getting ready to set off on the SC Skis.  It was SUPER fun!  (There is a previous post all about it)

Until Day 2.  I wish you Adieu.

Snow Day

We took a Snow Day on Saturday.  It was fun.  Here is the photographical evidence of our day.

Jordanalle is very much frozen...

Really frozen up until about this point...this is as far as we ventured

Snowshoeing in the hills by PC.  Trail blazing.  Super fun.

View from the top.  

XC Skiing in Midway.  Also very fun.

We saw turkeys while we were XC Skiing...we tried to chase them but they flew away so this is the closest we were able to get....with the zoom.

All in all.  It was an AWESOME day!  Gotta love getting outside and movin and groovin.  Especially going where you can actually breathe the air.  Curse you smog (imagine me shaking my fist at the nasty smog now)

Ode to Callie

She may have been fat and lazy, but she was great.
She was a lion hunter.

Born Spring of 2000 - Callie came into our lives a rambunxious ball of fur and fury.
I asked Mom which one are we getting and she pointed to the one puppy running rampant around the yard chasing anything and everything that moved.

We bought her as a guard dog.
I was 12 and the only kid at home, my parents felt better about a dog than an alarm system.
Her bark is much worse than her bite.
I'm sure her bite would hurt, however she is far too kind.
She'll just slobber you with kisses from that big, wet tongue.
Her puppihood was great.  So fully of energy and life and chewed apart anything on the floor.
And even my brand new pointe shoes from the counter....she had a knack for shoes.

She was a wrestler.
She was a theif.
But only once,
She ever so sneakily put her head sideways and with one swipe of her ginormous tongue nabbed half of the roast right off the table.
Dad was furious.
Sweetpea bossed her around.
Callie was sweet and nice.
Fun and rambunxious.
Fat and lazy.

Callie's life came to a sad ending.
She got old.
She got sick.
She lost 40-45 pounds.
She couldn't go up and down the garage stairs.
She peed in the house....a lot....

But we loved her.

On January 10, 2011 Callie's life ended.

Bittersweet. 

Love you forever dog among dogs.  Best guard ever.  Lion Huntress.

Christmas and Anniversary

I am going to let the pictures tell.

Mom got a Wii for Christmas....this is a family favorite

For our anniversary we were going to go out, but just like last year, and probably every December 29 for eternity, it was a blizzard.  So I made Thai food at home and we had dessert....aka our frozen top of our weeding cake.  I had a bite once it thawed.  It's actually really good.  If anybody wants some we have a lot of it left.

To really celebrate our anniversary we waited til New Years.  We both got work off, went skiing at Alta (Awesome and FREEZING), then went up to Park City and walked around, got the BEST steamed milk i have EVER had (Screw Starbucks.  Go local)

A creepy abandoned mall in Park City

Dinner at Baja Cantina.  Delicious....once they gave me a fork and not a dinglehopper

Did we mention it was 0 degrees?  So cold!  But we were ok.  Lots of layers.  Unfortunately I had to get back in the car and watch fireworks from there.

We stayed at the Homestead in Midway.  We never quite figured out the mystery to these little babies.

It was fun!  Yay for Christmas and New Years/Anniversary and yes, I stayed up till 12:00!  Only to watch the New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys perform though.

One Year!!!!!

Well everybody, Derek and I have been married one year today and somehow we still love each other.  In fact, I think we may love each other more.....weird how that works.  (PS this is totally besides the point but I think the word weird is spelled weird, it just looks weird.  how fitting)

Anyway, we have had quite the first year of marriage and would like to give a brief little update of what it is our lives have done as we've woven them into one.

Well, one year from today...we were doing this, and the sky was so happy it let down confetti ALL DAY!

It may have been FREEZING but we didn't mind, i think we were euphoric or something......

We honeymooned in Sun Valley, Iderho

Our first week of marriage Derek almost burned down the house....aka.....the oven started on fire

We went on a cross county skiing/snowshoeing trip to Bryce Canyon National Park with Lisa and Matt in January of MLK Day

In Feb. we escaped for Valentine/Pres Day Weekend and went to Zion National Park.  It got cold, and Derek got sick....it was fun, but possibly not the smartest idea

Capitol Reef National Park with friends at Jesse's Cabin in April

We said goodbye to this little place in late April because.....

I did this and we left Provo FOREVER....except Derek's commute Summer Semester......

And to celebrate we went to Hawaii.  (I threw up four times this day....I threw up just after this picture was taken but it was a sweet as hike) and I was ok from the day after onward.

The Summer was full of hikes, bike rides, and boating adventures (And lots of camping for Katie with West Ridge)

6 Month Anniversary = Picnic up Little Cottonwood Canyon after work

Hooray for Ta Tas!  Raft for the Cure (July)

In August, Derek graduated and dressed up for fun...

August, Sept, Oct = 3 Epic Lake Powell trips

Labor Day Weekend = Hava Supai with Paxtons, Storrs, + mas familia and friends

We ran the St. George Marathon....Well, I limped and it sure looks like I was a champion although I was not.

Halloween = Star Wars finest

For Derek's Bday we got him Preview Showing tickets for Harry Potter 7 Part 1

Our First Christmas and Christmas Tree.  Aint it cute???

This year has been great and full of adventure.  We both graduated from school.  Lived in the Blue House (adventure on its own).  Live with my parents...(jokes they're great), have been on campouts and adventures galore, rafted, climbed, Derek almost burned the house down, got stitches, I nearly needed stitches last week, Derek's dad got re-married, the list goes on and on and on.  I ruined my hips and knee for awhile, we both have jobs (i have a career, weird) and life is wonderful.  We can't wait to see what next year brings us.  Until then, we'll keep you updated