A Crappy Day

This was a while ago, but one day Ashton came home and we discovered a little bird surprise! And look--Ashton smiled through it all. What a trooper!

East Coast Livin'

Our only rain game--Charleston, WV

Our first capitol of the tour--Albuquerque, NM

So my computer has been broken and then something went crazy with trying to download pictures onto the computer..... And I've been too lazy to try and figure it all out, really.

Anyway, Ashton and I have been out here in Baltimore for about a month now and have been enjoying the beautiful green landscape minus the humidity. Ashton has been selling like a mad man and I am oh so proud of him. I, on the other hand, do enough lounging around for the both of us. I spend much of the day running and then reading for school (and leisure, of course). So many things to do before the fall so speedily creeps into existence as it does every year.

On our way out to Balitmore, Ashton and I naturally had to stop and play croquet. We hit up Santa Fe, NM (and then stayed in Albuquerque with the Hardy's...we love you!); Oklahoma City, OK; Little Rock, AR (where we drove through a horrible storm); Nashville, TN; Frankfort, KY (where we saw some horses from the Kentucky derby being pulled back to safety); Charleston, WV; and Richmond, VA. It was the long way to Baltimore, but definitely the fun way.

Since being here, I have been able to spend lots of time with my grandparents and my Aunts and Uncles. We have enjoyed the poolside, as well as hoppin' birthday parties. I went to visit my friend Carrie who just graduated from GW and is now in Hollywood! Tyler and Rachel came for a short visit right when we got here. We loved having visitors! We have even been back to UT once already for right before Memorial day and spent some quality time with Ashton's family.

While in UT, Blake and I went on a fabulous 18 mile run (thanks Blake!), we all went 4-wheeling, swimming, played volleyball and just had a grand old time!

I can't believe that it is June already! Ashton and I are looking forward to the rest of the summer and have some fun things planned.

Sorry for the delayed post!

Salt Lake City Marathon

With my welcoming crew, Rachel, Jessie and Melissa,
just after crossing the finish line. #1 Cohort!

With my great support crew, Keith and Tyler.
Thanks for cheering me on!

What?: Salt Lake City Marathon
Date?: April 18, 2009
Start time?: A little after 6:05 am
Finish time?: 3 hours 49 minutes and 27 seconds later
Boston Qualified?: Missed it by 9 minutes!

This past week was absolutely crazy. I had a paper due Monday, one due Tuesday, and another due Wednesday. I turned in a final on Thursday, took an oral exam on Friday. And then raced in a marathon on Saturday and then went straight back to Provo to take a written exam! Really it was a marathon week of sorts.

Friday night I went up to Salt Lake and stayed with my brother and sister-in-law, Tyler and Rachel. They were so good to let me stay with them. I had a great pre-race spaghetti dinner and they provided a nice place for me to get some rest for the big race. I signed up to do the early start--to start an hour ahead of everyone because I had to go back to Provo to take that final. Usually to be in the early start you have to know that you will finish the marathon in over 6 hours. I am lucky they made an exception for me.

I ran by myself practically the whole time. It was nice to think that when people cheered, it was just for me. The fast men from the regular start marathon passed me between mile 15 and 16. And then no woman passed me until around mile 21 or so. So for nearly 21 miles, I had all these people along the sidelines thinking that I was in first place. I didn't mind too much. It was nice thinking that I was the first place finisher. But, little did all these people know that I had started an hour earlier than everyone else. By the time I reached the finish line, 3 girls had passed me, the last one just a half a mile to the end. I came across the finish line as the 4th place winner. All these reporters came up and started asking me how it felt to finish in the top 5. I had to explain that I had an hour head start and I wasn't really in the top five. Although, I liked pretending that I was.

It was a good race. I felt strong the whole time and I finished strong. This course was much easier than what I trained on. Ashton's dad and brother came out to cheer me on, and missed me at every spot. I was going a little faster than what I told them I think I could run it. I had some friends from school come up also, and they just barely made it to see me cross the finish line. So I wasn't aiming to qulify for Boston, but now I can see that it is a good possibility. So maybe next time I'll aim for qualifying. That would be so much fun! I can't wait to run another marathon!

Grandpa Sheen

So my sweet grandpa died a few weeks ago. His funeral was absolutely wonderful. Every one of my aunts and uncles got up and told stories of how my grandpa was a strong man, yet a gentle man. He worked hard and taught by example. He taught his kids to put in a full day's work, make an honest living, and take an opportunity when it arises. He was a farmer, a cultivator of the earth. He knew well the law of the harvest, and he taught his family that as well. In fact, the chapel where his funeral was just so happens to be the very land that he cultivated many years ago as a farmer. Not only was he a cultivator of the earth, he was a cultivator of people. He planted in people the seed of the gospel, a love of the Lord, and faith in the Savior. He helped nurture this seed in each of his children. I love my grandpa very much and hope to be more like him.

Ashton and I love and miss you grandpa! We can't wait till we can see you again!

Summer '09

Only one more week left before Ashton heads out to start selling for the summer. We will be in Baltimore this summer, which we are both so excited about. I have spent countless summers out there living with my grandparents and uncles. It seems like I'll be going home. We are excited to be spending time with family again this summer!

And there are so many things that I have done out there that I want to take Ashton to do. We have done many of them already (as we have made trips out frequently and also living in Pittsburgh last summer), but there is so much to see and do out there. I love the east coast!

So Ashton will be leaving in a week, and I will be staying to finish up my semester. He will fly back at the end of April and we will drive out together and get there the beginning of May. We are also excited for the drive out. We are going to add some capitols to our list for our croquet tour!

I will miss you a lot. Good luck Ashton! Keep it real! Rock and Roll! Huff and puff!

Local Marathon

This was about mile 18. I was running so fast all he could catch was my dust.

Since January I have been training to run the Salt Lake marathon in April...just a few weeks away. After we got back from our ski trip, I decided that I was going to do my 21 mile training run, but it was so nice that day that I just decided to keep running and do a marathon. Ashton will be leaving to go to Baltimore to sell for the summer, before the Salt Lake marathon, so he won't be here to see me run, so I thought I might as well do a local marathon so he can be there to see me do my first. It was such a nice day, so why not just keep running?

Ashton was so supportive. He drove around and found me around mile 12 and brought me water and orange slices. And then I ran past home to use the bathroom and refuel and then he set out with me to run the last 8.5 miles. He bought me flowers and told me how proud he was of me. He always knows how to make me feel so good.

My run ended up being 27.25 miles...I might as well sign up for an ultra! A 50k is not too far away! Thanks Ashton for all of your love and support as I train constantly...as I have been training since the day we got married. Always out running. A day without running is like a day without waking up. I just don't think it's possible. I am especially grateful for your love and support as I spend hours and hours every weekend on the road.

While I am at it, I must also take the time to thank you for your love and support of me while doing my master's program. It is not always easy. There is a lot of time and hard work that goes into my classes and projects and papers. I could not imagine trying to conquer this feat without you by my side.

I love you Ashton! You are the champion of my heart.

Lily Lake

On our way out to the yurt

At the yurt...finally able to take that pack off!

The day after we got back from Cancun, we traded in out swimsuits for snow pants so we could join my cohort on a cross country ski trip into the Unita mountains.

We had a fantastic trip skiing a few miles into the mountains to stay at a yurt. And then spent the whole next day skiing around.

We had a great time laughing with all of our friends. Reading the poop book (that inappropriate story!), playing the mexican horse racing game, eating roasted starbursts, falling down all over the place (turn that camera off!), and cuddling up all together were some of our favorite memories of this trip.

1st year cohort is #1!

Cancun

Pinnacle Christmas party 2008, Ashton and I were were sitting around the table with some selling mates and then the raffle started. The prize for a trip to somewhere in the Caribbean for two came up and the winner was....Ashton Bushwell! Bushwell, Buswell, Whatever.

So we planned a trip to Cancun--all expense paid. We stayed in an all inclusive resort and went snorkeling, drove speed boats, rode atvs. It was all so much fun.

We actually went a long time ago. Back in the middle of February, but school has just been so busy that I haven't had any time to write about it.

We loved our trip, and have compared it to other experiences that we have had since we have been married. And although the resort was nice, we really love just staying at the down and dirty, in the trenches with the locals.

Updated...finally!

I have been such a slacker in the blogging world as of late. Things with school and keeping up with Ashton has kept me busy. But I finally found some time to kill...or be distracted from other, more pressing items of business, and update this thing.

We have been having such a great time traveling and being outside (Utah has been so lovely lately) that I just haven't had time. So many things to blog about, but no time to blog about them because we've been so busy doing them!

So, there are a few posts below which briefly describe our Thanksgiving and Christmas, a few outdoor adventures, and Ashton's birthday. I hope it's not too boring!

Happy Birthday Buzz

Just last week was Ashton's birthday! The big 2-7! Yikes! One year closer to 30. I keep having to remind him of that. He's much older than I am despite my graduating college first and being in graduate school first.

Ashton you are a gem in my life. I am so grateful for your hard work and strong example of living the gospel of Jesus Christ valiantly. You have accomplished more in your short 27 years of life than some people do in a lifetime. I am proud of you schnook!

Snow Sports

After enjoying the beautiful warm weather of central America, we came back to the ice block of Provo and decided that we should make the best of the cold weather as well. Plus, we need to prepare for our overnight cross country ski adventure that is upcoming. A little snowshoeing and cross country skiing has helped us enjoy this time of year!

And I think snowshoeing has become a new favorite of ours!

From Collages

Guatemala and Belize

After our trip to Disneyworld, we caught a flight down to Guatemala City. It was so beautiful there. I can see why some suspect it as the land of bountiful. We went to the temple right when we got there and stayed a night at the temple accommodations.

The next morning we flew north to Flores where we stayed for the next few days. We spend New Year's Eve there and it was insane. I am surprised buildings did not burn down from all the fireworks people set off. Flores is a little island in the middle of a lake and so it was beautiful to see all the lights reflect on the water.

New Years Day we woke up before dawn and headed to Tikal, an ancient Mayan city. The temples and buildings were amazing. There were spider monkeys all over the place too! A nice addition to the beautiful green scenery.

We also spent a few days across the border in Belize. We stayed in the jungle areas and rented a canoe and paddled up the river one afternoon. We saw lots of iguanas and some of the most beautiful birds I have ever seen in my life.

We also had the great opportunity of going to church there. The people all speak English, that is the official language there, but everyone speaks Creole and where we were nearly everyone spoke Spanish. Needless to say, church was quite interesting. But we felt the language of the spirit strongly while we were there. The saints there are pure and it opened our eyes to realize that the Church is true all over the world and that the people in Belize care about the same things as the people in America--they care about keeping their families with them forever. It is a beautiful gospel indeed.

We spent one more day in Guatemala City with some friends of ours and had a great Family Home Evening night where we shared our testimonies of the gospel. We were lucky enough to meet so many people who knew English so we could communicate so well.

All in all, it was a great trip and we feel lucky to have gone and see some more of the beautiful world that we live in and meet some of the beautiful people God has created.

Disneyworld

Ashton and I had a wonderful Christmas break. We went to Las Vegas for a day or so and then headed down to Arizona to be with my family. It was so warm and perfect to run in. We spent lots of good time with family and friends. The Smiths invited us to spend some time with them on Christmas day volunteering at the Salvation Army dinner. Ashton had a grand time handing less fortunate children toys for Christmas.

Not long after Christmas, we flew to Florida and spent a day with our friends in Disneyworld. Thanks Andy for the tickets and fun time!

Thanksgiving

Let's back up all the way to Thanksgiving. Ashton and I had a great thanksgiving down in Richfield with Ashton's family. We even to go to Uncle Paul' s buffalo ranch.

I made this yummy pumpkin banana tart. It was so much better
than pumpkin pie. Even Ashton liked it and pumpkin pie is his favorite!

Fly Fishing

This was just a baby fish to some of the other ones we caught.

Brian, Jessie, Me, and Rachel

This Friday Fun Break was fly fishing thanks to Ramon! We had a great time catching some rainbow trout up Provo Canyon.

I am grateful for my program and my awesome cohort. I love being able to practice what we preach and grow closer together as we learn together!