Good Day L.A.

This past Saturday Jeremy planned a day date for us in LA. With school coming up again and college football season starting soon (aka my husband keeps quite "busy" with football on saturdays) we decided to get out and do something. We started the day off by attending a session in the LA Temple. We had gone up there before to see the Christmas lights and to attend sealings but I had never done a session there before. The temple was massive and beautiful inside and out.

After the temple Jeremy took us to lunch at El Cholo in Santa Monica. It was a very yummy mexican restaurant. Its been in LA for a looong time and the food was quite authentic. We got to valet park the camry for the 1st time ever! We had to valet because there were no places to park (in LA of course not right?)..so there was our camry parked next to a bunch of Beamers and Benzes and what Jeremy said was a Mazerati>? After lunch we wanted dessert so we stopped by Diddy Riese to get some ice-cream cookies. Don't worry, there was so much traffic on Wilshire Blvd we had time to digest our mexican food by the time we got there. These are the BEST and it combines what I love (Ice cream) with what Jeremy loves (cookies) all into one!! If anyone ever is up in the LA temple area its a definite stop to make.

Goodbye LA and your wayyy-too crowded streets/freeways! Muchas gracias to my husband for planning such a sweet day for us to be together!

Great Summer Weekend

We had such a nice weekend, it's crazy to think that the summer is almost over. Friday night we had a bbq with Paul, Erin and Eva. They cooked up some killer steaks (and some delicious potatoes!!) On top of that Erin made the best ever chocolate pudding dessert. Thanks so much for a great time!

Sweet baby Eva

Saturday morning we got up early and drove out with Jeremy's family to a 4x4 trail to go quading. It was a long fun trail and we had a blast.

Every year the girls on my mom's side of the family (Aunt Pam, cousin Melissa and her 3 kids and me) try to get together to have some fun for a girls weekend. Shane came because he is still a baby. Anyways, this year we went to Oceanside, CA and stayed in a beachfront condo. It was so much fun to be with the girls and relax and have fun. The weather was beautiful in Oceanside. We rented bikes and played on the beach and swam in the condo pool. We stayed up late playing games and laughing. It was so much fun to be with them. My Aunt Pam and her daughter Melissa both live in UT and so it's fun when we can all get together. I don't have any sisters so it has always been fun to be with the girls. Thanks so much for a great weekend!

Natalie, Megan and Melissa

In Loving Memory

Rick Meldon Poole

July 10, 1964 - July 4, 2008

My Uncle Rick unexpectedly passed away on the morning of July 4th. He had been battling cancer since January. We are all very sad to see him go but we know he is not in pain anymore and that he is in a better place. Rick was such a great example to everyone in my family. He was a very humble man and had great faith and a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He loved his family more than anything. His funeral was very peaceful. We were all able to mourn and also celebrate his life. Family came in from all over the country and it was nice to all be together. Elder John C. Dalton , Area Seventy, spoke on the plan of happiness and eternal families. It is so comforting to know that Rick is sealed to his family for time and all eternity. What a great blessing it is to know this. I am so thankful for my temple sealing.

Saturday most of us were able to attend the Newport Beach temple. It was such a wonderful experience to be in the Celestial room with my family.

My first 5k!

On the 4th of July Jeremy, Erin, Becky and I ran the Anaheim Hills firecracker 5k. This was my first race. My goal was to try and stick with Erin, or run it under 30 minutes, and I did. I think my time was somewhere around 28 minutes. I don't usually run for fun. It is something I do to work out because I have to. But this race was actually fun! Maybe because it was the 4th of July and everyone was in a patriotic spirit. When we finished the race they had towels, water, orange slices, banannas, yogurt, etc. That was my favorite part.

Jeremy and I at the finish line. We made it!

Erin, Becky, me and Jeremy. Erin has a 3 month old baby (Eva) and Becky who has two little boys placed 2nd in our age group. They worked it and are my inspiration.

This little seven year old gave Jeremy a run for his money. When they were close to the finish line she could hear Jeremy catching up to her. She then decided to kick it into gear. She said, "I'm not gonna let you beat me!" She and Jeremy raced to the finish line and yes, she beat Jeremy by a step! The crowd was definitely on her side. (Please note she started before Jeremy so he still got a better time than she did.)

Happy 1st Birthday Travis!!

Our Nephew Travis turned 1 on June 9th. Mary and Scott had a nice little party for him at the park here in Fullerton. I can't believe how big he has gotten. We love Travis so much and are so happy we live so close and get to see him a lot.

Look how tiny he used to be. So sweet.

Rockin' R Ranch

I know I have been slacking big time on blogging and I'm sorry. Where has June gone? Anyways, the first weekend in June Jeremy and I went to Rockin' R Ranch for the Murdock Family reunion. Sheri (Jeremy's mom) found this dude ranch in Antimony, Utah and planned the whole thing! It was so much fun!!! Antimony is a very small town of 160 people but it is an incredibly beautiful place. We were able to do tons of things we would never do as the city dwellers we are. My two favorite parts of the trip were the long trail rides on horseback and riding the quads up into the mountains, crossing creeks, and Jeremy almost rolling us both on the 2 seater quad going over a tree log going down a steep hillside! We got to have an adventure every day we were there. I took some pics of the beautiful view.

Down in those trees is where Jeremy almost rolled the quad!

The fam on the hay ride around Antimony.

My hot husband ow!

The beautiful ranch we stayed at.

We were also able to go canoeing, learned how to rope a cow, learned how to shoot a bow and arrow, and had a camp fire. It was definitely an experience I will never forget and I would recommend it to everyone to experience sometime in their life!