Family Update

Hello everyone! I decided it has been way way too long since I've personally posted anything so here ya go...

Life is crazy busy right now. We were so spoiled in the summer but now its back to reality. I still have to get used to not seeing Zach as often...its sad! I am taking three classes at the BYU Salt Lake Center, this semester is the first one in their new building downtown Salt Lake in the Triad center. It is really nice! I'm also slowing working on an online class. If all goes according to plan I will be graduating April 2008!! Not very far away. It seems like time is just whipping by me. I'm still at my job at Davinci Suites. They have been really good to let me leave when I need to for class but it is still considered full time so it keeps me quite busy. Its challenging but I'm learning a lot and its been really good for me. I'm working on trying to balance church, family, work and school...its hard though! :)

Zach is so busy too. He is taking four classes, working semi full time, one of the editors of the school newspaper and involved with this TV show for the local television. He was doing a show that reviewed movies but that is not going well so he is starting up with this other show that does issues on the politics related to education. This time he is going to be the one in front of the camera!! He is super excited and I'm excited for him...political reporting is what he wants to do so this is going to be a great opportunity for him!

We love our ward and are kept busy there too! I am still in the nursery...those kids are so cute normally but the other day one of the boys wacked another boy in the head with a toy phone and one of the girls peed all over herself and the bathroom floor when I took her "potty". The one thing I don't have experience with when it comes to little kids is potty training! Goodness gracious! Zach recently got called to be the Young Mens secretary and is enjoying that. He teaches on Sundays once and a while and then helps with Mutual. There are a lot of younger couples in our ward so that is fun!

If you are wondering about Zach and his pilonidal cist...he is doing MUCH BETTER!! It was really painful there for about a week but its gotten a ton better and doesn't hurt him anymore. Doing that packing every day was pretty traumatic for us but we got through it. :) Now we just need to schedule his surgery to get the cist removed. Zach has a co worker that had the same surgery done and she said that she couldn't sit for THREE WEEKS so we may have to wait till next summer when school is slower.

Zach's mom turned 50 about a week or so ago so we all went to the fair and saw SheDaisy in concert...it was AWESOME!! I've posted some pictures from there with me in my new pink cowgirl hat. I LOVED IT! Then we all went to Lagoon that Saturday...my work was going so some of us got in free and then others got discounted tickets. It was fun.

The SheDaisy sisters!

Zach and I at the concert. I love that silly boy!

Anyway...thats about it for us. We are happy and busy but we miss you all! We love you all and would love to hear from you!

Zach and Amy (but mostly Amy) :)

A Pilonidal Cyst is a pain in the butt...

Just to make it known... so that everyone doesn't feel like they have to tiptoe around the subject... I have a cyst on my tailbone... and its healing fine.

I was kind of embarrassed to discuss it before, but I realized that it’s a medical condition and nothing to be embarrassed about.It started in Hawaii, 2 weeks ago... We had been lounging in these awesome cabanas on the beach, it was just a lazy day and we'd spent a few hours just lounging. Afterward, my tailbone felt a little sore. I didn't think anything of it, but as the days progressed, it got worse... to the point that I could barely sit down.

I didn't let (or tried not to let it) ruin the rest of our Hawaii trip... I don't think it did. We had the most wonderful time in Maui. (Except for the plane ride home... 6 hours sitting in a plane was NOT cool. Partly because I don't sleep well in planes... I think I got a collective 1 hour.)

Well, I tolerated the pain for the next couple days thinking I had just bruised my tailbone somehow. I went to the doctor on Wednesday. He took one look and pronounced the diagnosis... pilonidal cyst. "Pilowha?" I said.

Apparently, it is most common in men in their 20s and 30s... so watch out! He said he needed to drain the infection and told me to lay down on the table... "What? You're going to drain it now?" I said, with disbelief in my voice. Well, I did get on the exam table and he sliced me open and drained the infection from my tailbone.

Then, as is common practice with infected pilonidal cysts... he packed the wound so that it would heal from the inside out to ensure all the infection is out.Having an open wound is not fun, especially when it is on your tailbone. It makes sitting uncomfortable and it is quite literally a pain in the behind. Not to mention the fact that the wound has to be changed daily. Well, we could've paid to have a home health nurse come and do that deed, but opting for the more frugal and less embarrassing approach, I volunteered Amy to do that.

I'm sure she doesn't enjoy the task. I'm sure I don't help, I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to pain and I just plain don't handle medical situations very well (a curse from my father.)

Thankfully, I had an check up appointment with my doctor a few days ago and he said it is healing very well, faster than he expected given the severity. Also... I am NOT looking forward to the imminent surgery that will be required to remove the cyst completely... a feat which couldn't be done now due to the infection.

I've spared all of you and my posterity by not documenting this event with pictures... I'm sure you wouldn't want to see it anyway, I know I don't.

Mahalo Nui Loa...

Two weeks ago we had the great opportunity to take a vacation to the "Sandwich Islands." (Aka Hawaii) Amy's parents were so generous and paid for us to join them in their vacation.

We stayed on the island of Maui. It is just as much a tropical paradise as everyone makes it seem. There were palm trees everywhere and tropical flowers just sprang up spontaneously. I was definitely in paradise. Amy has already been to Hawaii a couple times (although she was about 10 the last time she was in Maui.) It was my first time and I was just soaking it all in.

The first thing I noticed about Hawaii is how extremely humid it is. I expected as much from a tropical climate... but I didn't realize how much it would effect me coming from one of the driest states in the country. Regardless, it was amazing. We stayed in the Mariott resort in Ka'anapali. It was gorgeous and very spacious.

Our days were spent lounging by the pool sipping our strawberry daiquiris, snorkeling where we saw sea turtles and tropical fish... ( I think I found Nemo!), hanging out on the beach and playing in the ocean.

We went to an authentic Hawaiian luau and tried all the traditional Hawaiian food. Apparently, apart from the pig roasted whole, the islands are famous for their fish. (Amy is not a fan of fish, but she did order some at one restaurant we went to and said it was alright.) I had Pilio (or something like that...), Mahi Mahi, Ono, and Opah.

Our trip seemed to go by too quickly and we wish we could go back... and now for some pictures!

Lounging by the pool. Amy in the sun wanting to get tan, me in the shade, avoiding the curse of the lobster.

Eating dinner at "The Plantation House." An extremely nice restaurant at an elite golf course. It was very good. (This is where Amy got fish.)

All ready to go snorkling!

Amy enjoyed the shopping, and trying on the big sunglasses!

Hawaiian sunsets truly are an amazing sight.

These boots were NOT made for walking...

I love my cowboy boots. They are perhaps my favorite pair of footwear, but it was a grave lack in judgement to think they would make worthy walking boots. I guess in my mind I rationalized saying that cowboys walk all the time, so I could handle walking to work in mine.
By the time I reached my destination (only about 4 blocks away) my feet were throbbing. Either these boots were not made for walking (and Nancy Sinatra is a liar) or I haven't worn mine enough to break them in...

Either way, my feet hate me today.

Some of you may be wondering why I walked to work at all. Being that I only work 4 blocks from our house, I would like to be able to say it is because I am very self conscience and want to watch my weight in a country that is on average overweight. Unfortunately, I can't say that. Normally I would take the lazy route and drive, but my walking comes out of necessity rather than initiative.

Yesterday I lost a dear friend of mine, Ben. For those who don't know, Ben is (was) my 2001 Nissan Frontier. I bought Ben in August 2004. We had been through a lot of moving and drive-ins.

Unfortunately, it became necessary to sell my beloved truck. We need the money that would go toward his monthly payment to save for Amy's and my future.

In actuality, we'd been trying to sell Ben for a while now. I'll be honest, I'd been reluctant to sell him and my whole heart was not into selling him. Not to mention, we hadn't gotten much response to the various ads we'd placed (autotrader.com, craigslist, etc.)

In the past week though, I fully realized the necessity of selling Ben and, despite my attachment to my truck, I put forth the concentrated effort to sell him. The biggest problem with selling was that I owed more on the loan than the worth of the truck. Lowbook price was lower than my balance (although, not very significantly). Plus, I didn't want to sell my Ben to just anyone, I wanted to give him a good home.

On Monday I received a phone call from David. He seemed like a nice enough guy. I gave him directions to my house, we weren't going to be there, but I told him where the truck would be so he could look at it if he wanted. He didn't end up coming on Monday, but called again on Tuesday and asked if he could come. I told him I would be there and to come by. He came with his dad. Turns out David just returned from a mission... and his brother lived in our ward. It was definitely a small world moment. I drove around the block with him and he afterward he made an offer. It was the lowbook price, which I was kind of expecting. But more than that, I just felt good about this kid. I could tell that Ben would have a good home with him. So, I agreed to sell.

Wednesday I secured financing for the difference between the selling price and the loan balance. Thursday evening David came back with his dad and they took Ben away. It was sad to clean out my belongings from the Ben and remember all the good times we'd had with Ben. Regrettably, He'd never been so clean as he was that day. But, I'll miss him.

One of the pictures that was on the Cars.com ad.

Look closely, you can see Amy taking the picture in the reflection of Ben...

Boca Jrs. vs. Real Salt Lake

June 24th marked the 60th anniversary of the pioneer's arrival in the Salt Lake Valley. That means the famous 24th of July festivities.

I love state holidays, especially because I get work off. Unfortunately, Amy did not. So she went to work and I stayed home and watched the parade. Luckily Amy got off work early, so we made plans to go to the Boca vs. Real Salt Lake soccer game. I'd wanted to go to a Real Salt Lake game before. Soccer is my favorite sport. Boca Jrs. is an Argentine superteam. I believe they won the South American cup last year. I had heard Boca was coming a while ago. Even though I am more of a River fan, I still appreciate a fine Argentine soccer team (I served my mission in Argentina), but knew the price would not be cheap...

Then I found out that good 'ol KFC offers amazingly discounted tickets. The Coronel has always been good like that. We jumped on the chance. When we arrived at the game, it was fun to see all the Boca jerseys and Argentine jerseys. Made me wish I'd worn my Argentina jersey.

They were supposed to have fireworks following the game, but because of the recent forest fires Utah has had, two from the 4th of July, the fireworks were canceled - Downside. Upside - We got a voucher for $5 tickets to tomorrow's game against the New England Revolution... GOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!

The game was great! Even if it did end in a 1 to 1 tie. Amy didn't see the whole game, she was reading the new Harry Potter book, which according to Amy, is great.

It started to rain a little bit during the game. Good thing Amy had her handy, dandy polka dot umbrella. She's reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. She just couldn't put it down, even for Boca.

It was an intense game... both teams were great and even though it was a low scoring game, it was still great.

Boca player #3, Claudio Rodriguez, took quite the foul. The was taken out for the rest of the game.

The game ended up a 1 to 1 tie. And even without the fireworks, it was a wonderful night.