The Adventures of April.. and Moments in May

As always... I'm behind on my blogging and have a lot of catching up to do. So... of course that means this is going to be a long post, be prepared for a picture overload... don’t say I didn’t warn you.

First things first.

Jeff and a bunch of his classmates particapated in a contest in which they called.... "mustachio bashio"... it apparently was for some kind of charity, but I'm still unsure exactly what growing out a mustache has anything to do with giving to charity. But, they grew out a mustache nonetheless and here is what Jeff has to show for it.
Picture A.

Picture B.

And the final product...

Pretty sexy eh??
He wouldn't let me post a close up of this last one... he thought it was funny at first but now that everyone has given him so much crap I think he's a little embarrassed!

We went to a Pitt baseball game when my parents were here and lucky for me Jeff was sportin the mustache.... (I'm ashamed to say I was a little embarrassed to be with him!)
Here is what one of my friends Laci had to say when she saw this photo... "OH MY GOSH. Kimi, you even warned me, but there is no preparation for that."
A few people said he looked like Kip from Napolean Dynamite, others said he looked like the guy on “My Name is Earl” and some said he looked like a child molester... what do YOU think?? Sorry Jeff, but a mustache is NOT for you!

My family came out the middle of April and stayed for 10 days. We had a great time! Here's a recap of some of the things we did while they were here...

Went to Kirtland...

We lucked out and happened to be there at the time they had what they called the traveling bronze museum. There was some unbelievable sculptings of Christ. It was amazing!

Took a tour of the Kirtland Temple.

We went on a little road trip while they were here and were able to go to Washington DC, Lancaster, Hershey, PA, and Gettysburg. We covered a lot of ground in 3 days! Jeff wasn't able to come due to school and having to study for finals.

Washington DC

Me and my sister on the tram in DC... that was an experience!

It rained pretty hard the whole second day in DC... we were SOAKED from all that walking!

We got to see the White House up close and personal. It was really cool to see it all lit up at night. We also spent a few hours in the Holocoust Museum (such a neat thing to see but so depressing) as well as the Natural History, American History, and Air and Space Museum.... I think that will hold me over for a few years.

Amish Country in Lancaster, PA

We took a horse and buggy ride that took us around a largely populater Amish community. I loved Amish country! Everything about it is so intriguing to me!

One of the many houses we saw that had their clothes hanging out on clothes lines... they don't believe in using electricity.... so they use air or hydraulic powered motors to run their washers and then they hang dry all their clothes. They even had all their underwear hanging out on the lines! I can't imagine!

We drove by a local convenient store where the Amish get their groceries... this little girl was kind enough to let me take her picture. (We were told the Amish get mad if you ask them to take their picture, lucky for me I was able to snap a shot before her mom saw me!)

Here are the horses and buggies lined up outside the convenient store. Traveling by horse and buggy is the prominent mode of transportation for the Amish... they don't believe in public transportation because it allows for outside interaction with the non-Amish world. Like I said before... SO intriguing...

On to Hershey, Pennsylvania... We got to see the assembly line of how they make their chocolate and then how it is made into all different types of candy.

Mmmm.... chocolate!

All the Reese's I could ever want!

They even had Hershey's kisses on all the lamp posts in Hershey. I thought that was so cute!

Gettysburg. We were able to see where the Battle of Gettysburg took place and also see a little bit of the visitors center in Gettysburg.

The Battlefield

The war lasted 4 long years with over 600,000 deaths... the price we paid for freedom... what an incredible sacrifice.

Chillin at Mi Casa

The Pirates Game (One of the pictures from the game is posted above, the one with the mustache)

Isn't that such a pretty view?? The games almost worth going to just to see that!

We ate at a lot of yummy restaraunts while my family was here... Pamela's included. It was so good to have my family come visit and experience what it's like living in the Burgh. Please come back soon!

The following weekend after my family left, Jeff and I went to Utah. Jeff had a week off between semesters and I was able to get a few days off work, so we bought some tickets and headed home to surprise our families! (most of them anyway) We had a blast in Utah. The time went by way too fast as always, but it was definitely good to see everyone again! I’ve come to appreciate Utah more and more every time we go home. It really is such a pretty state, and it took me moving away to realize that. I could make a whole list of why I’ve come to appreciate Utah more… but that might have to come in a later post…. these pictures will have to explain for now.

Coming into Sardine canyon.

View of the Valley... I mean come on, it doesn't get much better than that.

I showed my coworkers this picture and told them this is where I got married. They said it looks like a castle where a princess should get married. :)

My adorable little niece Brynli... she has gotten so big since I saw her last. I miss her already!

Surprise! Lunch with the girls... (Only Kelli knew I was in town)

Don't ask....

Playing games at Marci and Jason's.

Love this picture... we told her to smile. haha

Sportin the Pitt gear... that's what I'm talkin about!

Me and Grammy and Grampy in their cabin.

Games at Angie and Shane's. I miss those days...

Lunch again at Firehouse... it was delightful... as always.

Jeff's nephew Asher's appendix burst while we were home. This poor little guy had to spend a week in the hospital. He was so tough though and we are so glad he is home and doing lots better!

Lunch again with the girls... only we went to Laci's and hung out afterwards... and of course doted over her cute little baby!

My little buddy...

Waving goodbye before we head back to Utah... (I think it's about time I have some kids of my own and stop obsessing over my sisters!)

We got home late Wednesday night and I had to return back to work Thursday morning… Reality hit for me a little too quick. Jeff, fortunately still had a few days off to relax and prepare himself for yet another long and grueling semester. He also proved to me how he would make an excellent house wife. I think he would secretly like to switch rolls. He kept up the house and accomplished all the annoying but necessary weekly tasks such as grocery shopping, weeding the garden, mowing the lawn and even planting some things in our garden. And on top of all that, he cooked dinner every night. It was so nice to come home and have dinner hot and ready when I walked in the door. Here is a glimpse of one of the delicious meals he cooked for me….

Yes... he cooked some awesome shish-ka-bobs. (sp?)

Me and a few of the first year girls planned a baby shower for our good friend Nicole on Saturday. She is having a baby girl and is due July 3rd. You’d never guess she was 7 months pregnant! She is such a cute pregnant girl, I can hardly stand it!

And here is the girl herself... can you tell she is 7 months pregnant??

Yesterday was Mother’s Day and although I am not yet a mother, Jeff has always gone out of his way to make this day special for me. He makes sure to remind me that I WILL be the future mother of his children... so why not start appreciating me now?? Hey, I won't complain! (We won’t mention how I completely forgot to do or say ANYTHING to him last Father’s Day) Oops, I know, I’m such a bad wife! Jeff cooked me one of my favorite things…. Salmon! He made this glaze that he made up on his own and it was soo good! He also made cheddar bay biscuits (the ones from Red Lobster) and lime rice. Yeah my husband rocks. :) Thanks Jeff for always being so thoughtful!

I also wanted to give a shout out to my mother and mother-in-law and let them know how much I appreciate them and all they do for me. I couldn’t ask for two better examples in my life! Hope you both had a very Happy Mother's Day!

And while I was on the subject of bragging about my husband I might as well brag a little more about how well he did in school this last semester. I really am so proud of him. He has worked so hard and deserves every bit of credit. He just started back up last week and is preparing himself for a really tough summer semester. He is taking 26 credits and has class every day from 8-5… his biggest semester yet. I’m already planning on not seeing him much. It’s going to be a long and stressful summer, but I know he will do great! Almost one year down and counting!

I wasn't kidding when I said this would be a long post! If you made it to the end, I am impressed! Happy late Mother's Day to all you mom's out there!

April Fools!

I'm deciding that I really like April Fools. Last year I got Kimi pretty good (click here) so I thought I would try it again. Here is what I did.....I set up 4 pranks:

#1. I set her alarm on her phone to go off at 5:00 a.m.

#2. We have a shampoo bottle and conditioner bottle in our shower that look exactly the same except for they are both right side up and the colors of the lids are different. So... I switched the caps yesterday. (Kimi heard me doing this because it apparently makes quite a noise taking those caps off....and was drilling me as to what was going on. I made something up and the prank was set and safe.)

#3. I took the bar of soap and coated it with Kimi's clear fingernail polish. You know...so when you go to lather up....nothing happens. #4. I stitched together one leg of her underwear and placed in her drawer where it was sure to be the one to be picked in the morning.
She figured out #1 before she went to bed by noticing the tiny alarm icon on here phone and just thought that it was weird that her phone magically set itself for 5:00 a.m. Who notices that?

#2 and #3 worked as planned....#2 succeeded in connecting that prank to the phone alarm and she realized that the April Fools tormenting was on. It also prepared her for #3. The best part is coming up.... If you know Kimi, you know she is a little grumpy in the mornings and I don't think she was extremely happy about the pranks. I would guess she was somewhere between annoyed and tired. Anyway, the whole time she was in the shower I was laying in bed laughing to myself as I hear her get a new bar of soap etc. etc. Her plan was to come and get dressed and go on like nothing had happened.....like my pranks didn't work or something. So she comes out and ignores my smiling face and grabs her underwear and tries to put them on. Review #4. After a little struggling and stumbling she throws them at me and says, "I'm going to kill you!" ….I haven't been able to stop smiling.

Oh, and I told her there were a lot more pranks planned so, as we speak, she is probably at work worried about what is coming next. What a great holiday.