Birthday Boy

Ten more things you may not know about this Birthday Boy!

1. He is turning 28 today. I can only say two words: Old Man!

2. Hiking is one of his favorite pastimes. Unfortunately we are both too busy we can't get out there as much as we would like.

3. He loves doing yard work. I don't mow the lawn on purposes because I know he would be sad if he got home and saw it was done.

4. He is a great neighbor. The other night our neighbor's garage door was open when we were on our way to bed. He called them and left a message. But he couldn't go to bed knowing it was open. He ended up going over there to shut it but they got his message and closed it.

5. Some of the things on his wish list include a truck and a gun. I told him I would buy him a gun but he hasn't taken me up on my offer. :)

6. He owns about 30 ties. That's a lot, right? Or is that pretty typical?

7. He bought boat shoes the other day and now really wants linen pants. Does that scream Old Man to anyone else? Don't worry everyone; I said NO to the linen pants.

8. He is still a perfect gentleman. He hasn't missed opening the car door for me in over two years.

9. He would be an excellent game show contestant. He knows all the puzzles on Wheel of Fortune before I do and can answer random questions on Jeopardy. I really need to get him on one of these shows.

10. He gives great foot and back rubs. And he does them all the time without me asking. I love it!!

These are just ten more of the hundreds of reasons I love this Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday Brandon!!

Fall City Farms

Last Saturday we made our yearly trip to the Fall City Farms to pick pumpkins. We walked around the pumpkin patch and finally picked our pumpkins. This year we got bigger ones so I made Brandon carry both of them to the car. We also sat and ate their homemade doughnuts and drank hot apple cider as we listened to the live Cuban Salsa band. This year they added an air cannon and would shoot small pumpkins and squash about 100 yards across an empty field. Here we are sitting at the mini concert.

This is Brandon's pumpkin.This is my pumpkin.And here is the finished product. Sunday afternoon we carved them for our 2nd Annual Plaster Pumpkin Carving Contest!! Please cast your vote in the comments: Jack or the haunted house.

Happy Halloween everyone!!

What we've been up to

PUYALLUP FAIR:We went to the Puyallup Fair again this year. We ate at Longhorn BBQ and then walked through all the vendor booths. We were suckered into buying 'Purple Polish' which cleans stainless steel appliances (it works alright). And you can't go to the fair without getting your picture taken by the big carrot. WALLACE FALLS:
Friday afternoon we went on a short hike up to Wallace Falls. It was a beautiful day and a fun, easy hike. Here are the lower falls.

This is the view from the Middle Falls.

Here is my handsome husband.GARDENING:

Saturday afternoon Brandon and I worked in our yard as we listened to conference. We planted 50 tulip bulbs and 100 crocus bulbs. It is kind of sad to work so hard all day and then not have any flowers right there to show for it! But come spring it will look amazing! We also replaced three dead bushes in our backyard and planted three viola plants in the front. And we planted a peach and pear tree out front. So excited for those! :) And look at our sad lawn. It has officially seen better days. Our backyard doesn't get direct sunlight so the grass never dries out. It has been a constant swamp back there and this is the result. We re-seeded it but it probably won't come around until spring (if at all).

GENERAL CONFERENCE:

Sunday we watched conference via the internet! We had peach and banana crepes in honor of the Cannon family tradition. We sure missed being with family! Conference was amazing! If you missed it you can listen here.

Utah Trip 2010

The main reason for our adventure to Utah this summer was to see two very good friends FINALLY tie the knot. Marcy and Johnny-- CONGRATULATIONS on being married in the temple. It was an absolutely beautiful day and we couldn't be happier for you.
Marcy was a beautiful bride! They had LOTS of family and friends there to help celebrate!This is Jana and me waiting outside the temple for the bride and groom to come out! Marcy, Jana, and I were roommates in the Enclave 2+ years ago. We were all dating our future hubbies! We have tons of crazy/funny memories together! Next time we are all together we will play Bocce! ;)Isn't my husband HANDSOME!?!The first 2 days were in Utah were dedicated to the wedding but after the bride and groom left on their honeymoon Brandon and I were able to spend some time with my family. Saturday my parents took us to the Mayan Restaurant and Inception on the IMAX. The Mayan has a fun atmosphere and while you eat there is a diving show. And for anyone who hasn't seen Inception...you really need to. It is the best movie I've seen in a long time.

Sunday was the day we got all of the family together (except the Shamos who are still in CT) for a big dinner and fun. It was great to see everyone. Here is Brandon and Brigham throwing the football. (Brig and Jake just started their 1st season of contact football!)

Kail showed us how to play baseball. He is a good hitter and throws a wicked curve ball!Kalvin found this feather. He would chase (and scream) after it whenever the wind would blow it away!The kids flew kites. The wind was touch and go so it required a lot of FAST running!Watch out Isaac...

And of course a kite ended up in a neighbors tree. Here is Clint getting it down (Clint is SO tall!)

And most importantly I got to meet this guy! Nathan Grant Brown was born in July! He is a very special and beautiful baby! Congrats again Chris and Greg on the new addition!

I thought this was a really cute one of Nate and his mom!

And here I am with little Nathan! So tiny!Brandon and the kids. This picture is strangely familiar. (Check out this post) I don't know what it is but kids love to pile on top of this guy!Monday I went golfing for the first time in my life. I shot a 129! I can only describe my skills in one word: AWFUL!!! I'm glad we only counted the swings were I actually hit the ball. My score might have been over 200 if we included all my 'strikes!' For Family Night my parents took us to a Bees game. It was a close game but the Bees came out victorious!

Tuesday morning we got up extra early so Brandon and Clint could go golfing before Clint went to work. School started Monday and because I was there early in the morning I got to walk the Halverson kids to their brand new elementary school. The special treat of the day was that Brigham was in the school assembly. He is a member of student council and they did a skit to introduce the school rules. Brig's performance was OUT OF THIS WORLD!

That night Brandon and I went on a date. He took me to Costa Vida...our favorite Mexican place that is no where near Washington State. It is always a must on our list of things to do when we come to Utah. After dinner we went to the Drive-in. We watched Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me. It was a perfectly warm summer night and a fun night out!

Wednesday I had a lunch date with all my beautiful high school friends! I really wish I would have taken a picture. I loved sitting, snacking, and catching up on each others lives. I miss you girls! That night we went to dinner at the Market Street Grill.

Thursday we spent the morning visiting my sweet Grandma Cannon. We sure love her and still think about Grandpa Cannon every day! Then Brandon was off to Provo to go to lunch with some friends and then participate in a EY recruiting event at BYU. I went to Kaysville to go shopping for home decorations with mom and this lovely lady! Lisa has a great eye for cute stuff at a great deal so I was happy to have her as my personal consultant for the entire day!

That was it for our time in Utah. Friday morning we packed up and headed to Boise! We spent the weekend hanging out with the Meyer family. We got a private tour around Boise, saw Bronco stadium, played at a few beautiful parks, and had lunch at Fuddruckers! Thanks for letting us crash on your living room floor for a few nights. It was great seeing you guys!

My parents visit

My folks came to visit last weekend. They wanted to check up on us and see our new home. Brandon and I picked them up from the airport Friday night and then came home and gave them the grand tour. Sorry I still haven't taken any pictures of the house since we moved in. We haven't really decorated or hung any pictures so it doesn't look like our home yet. I promise I'll post some soon.

The next morning we woke up and Brandon and my dad worked around the house while my mom and I talked and cooked lunch. That evening we went downtown. After all, what would a trip to Seattle be without going to Pike's Market? We ate dinner at this delicious crepe place and then headed to Safeco Field to watch the Mariners and Red Sox game. Miraculously the Mariners won! It was a great game and perfect weather.

Sunday we went to church, went on a walk around the neighborhood, had a BBQ, and played some games. Early Monday morning I took my parents back to the airport. It was great to have them here even if it was just for a couple days. I'm so happy they would take the time to make the trip. Thanks Mom and Dad and we'll see you in August!**Here is my dad buying post cards. He does this everywhere he travels and sends them to all the family. My dad has been traveling a lot lately so we have quiet a collection.**

Rock n' Roll Seattle Marathon 2010

We did it! We finished the Rock n' Roll Seattle Marathon! It was so much fun and such a beautiful course.

The night before the big race we went down to Qwest field to pick up our bib numbers and goodies bag. We then shopped at the huge Expo where we bought shirts, fleeces, and running socks...and of course ate all the free samples of power bars, granola, etc. Jim and Debby were over this way because of some work meetings and decided to stay the weekend to help cheer us on at the race. After the Expo, we all went to The Old Spaghetti Factory to carb load!! Then it was off to bed. Brandon and I had decided we wanted to get a hotel downtown the night before because we didn't want to wake up extra early to fight traffic and parking. We stayed at the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle and had the most awesome view overlooking the city and Sound.
The next morning we woke up at 4:30am to catch the 5am shuttle to the start line in Tukwila. The shuttle pick up was right outside our hotel lobby (soooo great). Once we got to the start line we sat and waited with the other 27,000 runners for the race to start. Finally we were all off and running around 7:30am.

The course was beautiful and the weather was perfect. We made our way along Lake Washington and Seward Park. We even got to run on the I-90 floating bridge. We then went up by Lake Union and the Space Needle. All along the way were local rock bands and cheer teams to pump us up and keep us going. I loved the energy of this run. It felt so much bigger than St. George and the time seemed to pass by much faster.

We finally made it back to Qwest Field in 4 hours 30 minutes and enjoyed all the free food and rock concert by Tonic! It was so much fun to run this race with Brandon! He was a rock star! The longest run he had done before the marathon was 14 or 15 miles. That's a big jump to go from that to 26.2 miles. He did get sick to his stomach afterward but by the next day he was fine. And then within a couple days he wasn't even sore anymore! He left for Alaska again Monday morning and the other night when we were talking on the phone he said he wanted to do another marathon! ;) Now we are getting ready to move on Saturday! I have been slowly packing up the apartment over the last couple weeks. I can't wait to be done with transition and just be in our new home. We are so excited for this change but so sad to leave our good friends in Redmond!

Tulum 2010

For Valentine's Day and our Anniversary, Brandon took me to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. This year we went to Tulum which is about an hour and a half drive south of Cancun. The weather was PERFECT....90 degrees and sunny! The resort was great! A little more crowded than last year when there was the swine flu epidemic scaring everyone away. We really didn't do much. We pretty much sat on the beach and read books and soaked up the sun! It was SOOO RELAXING!! One day we went to the Mayan ruins of Tulum. We walked around the ruins and then went swimming at the gorgeous Tulum Beach which had warm crystal clear waters.


This is Tulum Beach...

The Tulum Ruins...

The entrance to the ruins...

At our resort...

We drank a lot of Pina Coladas and Daiquiris...

This is our view as we sat on the beach...

The only down part of the trip was coming home to 50 degree weather and rain! Thanks for the wonderful trip Brandon!! I loved spending the entire week with you!