Viva Las Vegas

Last weekend, Air Force played at UNLV so I drove down to see Matt. (Thanks to Priceline and their $55 Marriott hotel rooms for making that possible.) Although we obviously wish Matt could've stayed healthy this season, there are definite benefits to being a coach instead--one being a later curfew. So we hit up the strip, of course, and watched the fountains at the Bellagio... three times. Mr. Engineer was loving it.

We also spent some time at the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace... which, as you can see, Matt thoroughly enjoyed.

On Saturday, we hung out in the team's hotel lobby and grabbed lunch here...

... before heading to the game, which the Falcons won 29-28!

All the while, my family was busy going on some ridiculously beautiful hikes with the Grafs. Case in point, Kolob:

I did, however, get to hang out with them in Cedar for a bit on the way home. I have such fun aunts and uncles (and grandparents! Hi grandma!). Pretty sure you can tell my aunt Lisa and I are related.

The Vegas streak continued yesterday when UNLV came up to Provo to get beat 42-35. Matt was down in New Mexico coaching so I got to play Cougar United VP again for the day! Oh, I miss those CU days. I spent the first 3 quarters with my great friend/CU President Josh Reschke on the sidelines before meeting up with my dad and 3-year-old brother Josh. Joshie had been crying at the prospects of only getting to watch BYU football on TV so my dad took him to the game. He had that smile on his face the entire time...

... especially when I brought him onto the field with me so he could watch BYU score a touchdown. Go Cougs!

Over, Under

My younger sister Heidi is always telling me how lucky I am to get so many airport scenes because "they're so romantic." I always tell her they're actually a bit overrated. Even though the arrivals are lovely, the mere fact that we have to have them--instead of always getting to be together--makes them a little bittersweet at the same time, and you'd better believe that saying goodbye gets old fast. Then again, sometimes the romance factor does win me over... Like when I left Colorado after Conference weekend.

Matt dropped me off at the airport as usual and we said goodbye, for two weeks this time. I was cutting it close for my flight so I hurried past ticketing, down the escalators and to the other end so I could go through security. Right as I'm about to enter the TSA line, someone touched me so I turned around... and saw Matt there, breathless, with a dozen roses in his hands. They had been in the car but with my hurried goodbye he'd forgotten to give them to me... so he left his car in the passenger drop-off lane and sprinted through the airport to get my roses to me in time. Yeah, that's my fiance :-)

Meanwhile, I've come to find that, although I miss Matt on our off-weeks, the ability to stay home and relax for a weekend is most definitely underrated. Traveling so much can really wear you down, so sometimes its nice to skip out on my TSA buddies and enjoy virgin cocktails with good friends instead.

Many thanks to Josh for having a Mad Men (high society Madison Ave. in the early 60s) themed cocktail party for his birthday celebration.

Beat by a Goat.

Last weekend was the Air Force v. Navy football game. This is a huge deal, because the winner of this game (once they beat Army) wins the Commander in Chief trophy... which is presented to them by the President of the United States in the White House on an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C.

Talk about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The football program kicked off the weekend well as the JV team pulled out another win on Friday night!

Must be that awesome coaching those receivers are getting :-)

Saturday was a bit of a different story. I learned from the Utah game that it's a good idea to take pictures before a big game, just in case. So I present Matt, me, Anthony & his dad Randy, pre-game.

Although they are the Navy Midshipmen, for some (very) odd reason, their mascot is a goat.

A live goat. Sure strikes fear into the hearts of their opponents, don't you think?

Well, must've worked with the Falcons because they CHOKED. They lost 33-27, thanks mostly to not one but TWO blocked punts returned for touchdowns along with TWO fumbles that led to Navy points. Just makes you cringe reading that, right? Without those embarrassing mistakes, it would have been an Air Force blowout and Matt would be waltzing his way into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in just a few months. Oh well. It's times like these I'm glad I have my Cougars (although, 34-14 over Utah State? Kind of embarrassing, too).

On the bright side, however, there were some pretty sweet flyovers. First, a stealth plane that was unbelievably quiet and, well, stealthlike... and then two F-22s (the most powerful fighters in the world) that just rocked the stadium. Navy might have Top Gun, but Air Force is where the real pilots are at.

Also on the bright side: When the sight on the field was too awful to even look at, I averted my eyes to a rather attractive coach on the sidelines. Not bad, right?

After the game, Matt rushed off to the Priesthood session of General Conference (which was GREAT, because his post-game mood definitely called for a pick-me-up) and then we went out for dinner at Biaggi's...

where our friend Shawn and his super cute girlfriend Whitney met up with us :-)

Then, on Sunday, we got to enjoy an entire day of General Conference with the entire Hendricks family, Steve included! Can't beat that.

Back to My Roots!

Although I grew up as a Cali girl (with a couple stints in Utah), I was actually born back East and lived there for my first few years while my dad was working for Goldman Sachs on Wall Street (before he decided to work for CES). I love it so much that I moved back for a semester when I was 18 and always planned on working there after graduating... until I got engaged to Matt. Funny how boys can change your plans like that :-) Anyway, once the "moving there" plan was thrown out the window, I planned on taking my mom on a trip out there once I graduated. Well, 9 months later, we finally got around to it!

We planned our visit around my aunt Janell's birthday (she lives in NJ) and had a blast! Like the good ol' days, we rode the train into the city and tried to decide what we wanted to do that day. We'd already seen/done all the big things, so it was kind of nice to have that must-do-it-all toursity pressure off and just get to enjoy our time there.

We ended up choosing...

Times Square (always something new),

Central Park (always so beautiful),

and shopping (always fun in New York!).

We happened to choose to visit on a weekend with a tropical storm and were preparing ourselves for a torrential downpour, but we lucked out and just got rain.

Once upon a time when I lived in NJ, I had tickets to see the original cast of Wicked. I ended up moving home a week before and have been kicking myself for the three years since. So naturally, when planning this trip, the #1 thing on our to-do list was to see Wicked with Janell and Sidney. In fact, we bought those tickets before booking our flights.

It was INCREDIBLE, of course.

I know I could have seen the traveling show sooner, but I'm glad I waited to see it in New York.

There's nothing quite like a show on Broadway.

With item #1 complete, it was on to #2 (okay, there were actually only two things on the list):

Amish Ice Cream!

I fell in love with it during that same semester I took off. You haven't lived until you've eaten this ice cream. So we stopped at an Amish market in Princeton...

...on our way to Philadelphia, where we walked along the historic streets, ate Philly cheesesteaks, and took a picture at Independence Hall to commemorate our visit :-).

We spent the rest of our time hanging out with Janell, John & my cute cousins and were sad to leave. All I can say is that it's a good thing the Air Force is deciding where we'll live because I'd never be able to decide between my east and west coasts.

The Big 2-5!

Happy birthday to my dashingly handsome fiance!

As I'm sure you all know, the 25th birthday is a big deal because 25-year-olds can rent a car from anyone, anywhere. Such a momumental birthday requires an extra-long celebration, of course, so we kicked it off by letting Matt come to a Girl's Night on Thursday.

Just kidding. Kind of. See, I happened to be on the exact same flight as Jodie's sister, Becky, so Matt & Jodie picked us up together and we headed to Cheesecake Factory... which happens to be in a great mall... where Patsy happened to be running errands... so we happened to do what girls do best: shop. I helped Matt feel included by letting him pick out a shirt for me to wear for his actual birthday. I think he did well! Oh, and Cheesecake Factory was delicious as usual.

On Friday, Air Force's JV team beat the #7 JC team in the country 38-36! Matt's parents, brother & sister-in-law came into town for the Utah game and got to see Matt coach as well.

We went out to Ted's for a little post-game meal. If you don't remember my previous tribute, Ted's holds a special place in my heart thanks to their juicy buffalo burgers... even though mine looks like it's sticking its tongue out for the picture? Maybe I should lay off on the ketchup.

Since Matt's family was leaving shortly after the Utah game on his real birthday, we decided to have a little birthday party with them and some of Matt's best friends Friday night.

Matt's parents basically made his year by giving him the Garmin he's been obsessing over since he was in the womb. (Not that Matt really needs it, since he only ever drives to the airport or Anthony's, but that's beside the point.)

The highlight of the night, however, was the PINATA! These boys had fun trying to hit the ref...

...although Matt & Chase were mildly upset that Anthony broke it open and not them.

I guess beating up a referee the night before a big game is bad karma. The Falcons led Utah for most of the game but lost it in the final minute. Shoot, huh? Good thing we took our picture before the game.

(Also a good thing my Cougars continue to win in rather convincing fashion!)

If not for Texas Roadhouse's pork dinner, I don't know if Matt ever could been consoled.
Matt's family flew home after dinner, so it was just the two of us that night. We began our laid-back birthday date with free ice cream at Cold Stone (you have to love those birthday clubs)...

...and then went back to Anthony's to watch a movie, open presents from me & my fam, and just enjoy our alone time together. Being in a long distance relationship, we never get enough of that.

My life is like an episode of The Office.

Every rose has its thorn, right? Now that you all know I don't hate my job (I work as a marketing communications specialist and actually like it a lot), let me tell you about a big, fat thorn in my side right now:

My working conditions.

Picture, for a moment, Michael Scott & Co. getting kicked out of their office and moving in with Darryl at the warehouse. For three months. Someone please send in this storyline because you can't make this stuff up.

Here's the short version: My company decided to move to a brand new building right by my exit in Pleasant Grove when its completed in October. Heavenly. Not so heavenly? The fact that our old building in the Riverwoods threw a fit about us not renewing our lease and kicked us out. And what happens when a company becomes temporarily homeless? Why, they move into their warehouse in Spanish Fork, of course. Amuse me for a moment and take a little tour!

THAT would be the outside of our warehouse/manufacturing facility, right next to my parking spot. THIS would be the sound that it makes:

I only wish I could record the smell. Feel free to conjure up burnt rubber mixed with rotten fish and take a whiff. Anyway, so the sound is slightly obnoxious when I'm trying to talk to my fiance who lives one thousand miles away on my lunch break. Naturally, I try to walk away from the noise by going around to the back of the building, where I'm greeted by this:

This may come as a surprise, but those semi trucks aren't exactly quiet, either.

Thank goodness for our quiet next-door neighbors:

Too bad their fields attract every wasp in the Northern Hemisphere. My solution? I tend to walk along the cracks in the middle of the road for the duration of our phone calls (Good thing we're in the middle of nowhere).

Now, you may ask, why don't I just stay inside? May I present to you the mental asylum hallway, lovingly named for its appearance... and the fact that there were two scientists in white lab coats at the other end on Day 1.

Not convinced about its psych ward charm? Check out what's inside the doorways on the left:

At the end of the hallway & around the corner is a storage room that we, the marketing department, have adopted as our own (the track lighting & hanging cords are my favorite. Then again, when the room gets FULL of boxes, that's pretty fun, too).

We even got to choose our table buddies! (Anyone else flash back to 5th grade for about two seconds?) Luckily for me, I love my table buddy. See, Lacey and I even look happy in our corner:

For now, the wedding countdown has been put on the shelf and replaced by the countdown to the move-in date for the new building (which was just postponed thanks to a flood).

I may or may not have already made a paper chain.