chocolate and strawberries....need I say more?

Yesterday my friend Amanda who works at a chocolate shop showed me how to make chocolate dipped strawberries. My favorite were topped with cinnamon covered almonds. I will not admit on this blog how many I ate but they were delicious!

"If you build it, they will come"

This week in my first grade class we have been learning about insects. We have made spider webs, listened to "Flight of the Bumblebee," put together ladybugs and other insects, and read lots of books. Because I am a big proponent of hands-on learning I took a little inspiration from "Field of Dreams." The line, "If you build it, they will come" has never been so true! I got out the old bug cage (yes, I made it myself) and the kids have been adding all manner of bugs to it the last couple of days. The cage is pictured below. It doesn't look too full of bugs in the picture, but believe me they are there.



Today was especially comical because we already had several potato bugs, a beetle, and some ladybugs in the cage. When a cricket was added, some of the kids went into hysterics that it would eat the other bugs. Things were going pretty well until the beetle escaped during math later in the day. Luckily, we were able to catch it in time and return it to its cage.

Not to outdo the bug cage, I also decided to bring out the ant farm. Who would have thought a $5.49 tube of ants could bring so much entertainment? The kids are so enthralled by it, it's hard to keep them focused on their work. They would watch the ants all day if they could. Some of their questions about ants were pretty hilarious today. Some of the best were: Do ants eat? If they bite you, will you start bleeding? and Why do ants have to work so hard? This is how much work these little fire ants have accomplished in the last 24 hours!

Spring Break!

This last week was Spring Break so I decided to go home for a few days to see the family. Believe it or not it snowed on Wednesday before I left. Who would have thought in April?



It was deja vu the next few days in Colorado with the same storm. This is what our street looked like.



Despite my being very sick of the snow and very disappointed at missing some great tennis playing, we had fun at home being nearly snowed in. My mom and I went to get manicures (my first ever) and then went to lunch along with my dad. My little sister Whitney and I spent the afternoon putting together this puzzle. We had to take a picture to make all that work worth it! With a little snowshoeing, some snowball fights, a few movies, and some of Dad's famous popcorn, it was a great weekend!



My little brother Nathan introduced me to the world of tech deck. The video shows his homemade skate park and incredible skill at this little known sport. Who would have thought you could have so much fun with old cereal boxes?

It's All In the Shoes

I am not a big t.v. watcher. Actually, I rarely watch t.v. I just don't have the time or interest. However, I did watch What Not To Wear the other night for the first time. This one line from the show inspired this blog post: "The shoe sets the tone for the outfit." So true. So I feel I must confess now- I love shoes! In light of the above quote I thought I would post a picture of my latest shoe purchase. I can hardly wait to wear them!

My first half marathon!

This weekend I ran my first half marathon! The place - Moab, UT. The trail - down the canyon. My running buddy - my sister Lindsay! The trail and the run were great until about mile eleven. Thanks you Gatorade and power gel for helping me through to the end. Lindsay and I are pictured below after the race. The rest of the family came out from Colorado to cheer us on. They are also pictured with us.





After the race we had a picnic and toured Arches National Park. We made the rounds to delicate arch and many other sights.



Kristen is pictured here trying to hold up balanced rock. Check out those muscles!

This weekend I went down to St. George with a friend, Heather, for a little rest and relaxation. Our itinerary was the following:

1. Arrive in St. George.

2. Drove straight to Nielsen's Custard Shop. Best custard I have had in a long while. I recommend the classic vanilla with brownie bits. Delicious!

3. Watched the Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets game. What a great comeback from the Jazz!

4. Slept in.

5. Went for a long trail run in the surrounding bluffs. It was nice to run in warm weather again and to burn a few calories- see numbers 2, 6, and 10. This sign was posted along the road and I couldn't resist taking a picture of it.



And I thought I was obsessive about cleaning!

6. Ate a delicious hamburger, fries, and strawberry shake at In-N-Out. I had no idea In-N-Out came to Utah! Heather and I are pictured below.



7. Went shopping at the outlets. However, neither of us are big shoppers so it didn't last very long.

8. Read outside in the sun next to a golf course for a few hours.

9. Visited sights around the city such as the tabernacle and the temple.

10. Made dinner and sampled many flavors of ice-cream. Yumm!

Believe it or not, this was my first trip to St. George. I love it and am already looking forward for the time I can relax in the beauty of the red rocks and warm sun.

To An Unnamed Hero

Since becoming a gym regular, I have found a new hero. No, no, it's not the body builders or the class instructors, but a fit old woman! Not only does this woman come to the gym regularly every morning (very early at that) but she is really fit. With incredible energy and spunk, this woman works the machines and weights like anyone else there. Maybe one day I will personally thank this woman, but for now, thank you to my unnamed hero for the inspiration to work hard so I can still be fit at age 70!