Richard's Surprise

So I have known what I was going to get Richard for his birthday since February...yes, I know, that is 6 months in advance, but I was really excited. To make matters worse Richard knew how excited I was about it and so he was anxious and getting very antsy to know what he was getting (little did he know he would actually be doing something...not getting something). So we celebrated his birthday on Saturday the 15th because I have to work all day today (his birthday). We were supposed to do his birthday present first thing in the morning, but it didn't work out. For the surprise to work it had to be nice weather and it wasn't. He kept saying, "I'm willing to try", but he didn't realize that I didn't actually get to make the decision. So I was hoping it would work out for later in the day, I didn't think it would, but I was hoping. So to keep him occupied for the day we went and saw "Wolverine" at the dollar theater and then we went and got frozen yogurt from Hogi Yogi. YUM! When we came out of the movie theater the weather was GORGEOUS! So I was continuing to hope that things would work out for his birthday present later in the day.
So I got a phone call at about 4:30 pm telling me that we could be to the secret location for his present at 5:30, so I got very excited and ran to Richard announcing that it was time for his present and he was very excited (he was very patient waiting all day). So I got everything that we needed and I blind folded him and we were off. When we arrived he had NO idea where we were so I got him out of the car and said "You are going paragliding." And his response was, "nu-uh, no way, are you serious?" I loved it! I got the idea because last summer everytime we would drive by the point of the mountain and see all of the paragliders he would comment on how cool and fun he thought that would be so I made it happen. And he loved it and couldn't believe he was actually going to do it. He went on a tandem flight so he didn't have to stress about learning how to do it, he just got to sit back and enjoy the ride. He loved it and he got a really great instructor. Here are some pictures of the activity.

Getting strapped in and ready to go!

In the air (he is the one in the top left corner)

Flying high!

He had a camera with him and got a couple pictures, he made sure to get one of the Draper Temple.

The flight park, I am standing down there watching him.

Close up

Landing

All done

Richard and Richard (yes his instructors name was Richard)

HURRAY

You should notice that my blog is no longer Christmas themed! I finally got a new template to work! HURRAY!

My Brother Flies Like an Eagle!

CONGRATULATIONS JUSTIN! My brother Justin had his Eagle Court of Honor this Sunday. It was so fun to see him take that step in life! I am so proud of him, I love him so much and he is such a great example! Here are some pictures from the wonderful evening! Justin with his display table

Justin with his Aunt Lorie, Uncle Chris, and his cousins McKenzie, Alexa, and Riley

The family!

Grandma and Grandpa Hart

The siblings!

Justin has a great group of friends and they came to support him at his Court of Honor

Taking the oath

Getting his award

ANNIVERSARY

ONE YEAR!!! Hurray! Our one year anniversary was on Friday (7th), we didn't do a whole lot that day...because our crazy busy lives don't slow down...not even for our anniversary...how rude!

In the morning I made homemade lasagna becasue it is Richard's favorite, it turned out really well and he had no idea I was making it so he was very pleasantly surprised when he came home to homemade lasagna for dinner. Then we went to Salem to play softball in a 2 day tournament that we had been participating in with some friends, it was a lot of fun.

Saturday we had a competition thing for our dance class. It was actually really fun, we competed in ChaCha and we got to the semifinals...so we made it to the top 12 out of about 48 couples, it was really fun.

Then we got to celebrate our anniversary! HURRAY! We went to the temple to do sealings, which is always great, and it was really fun to celebrate our own sealing by helping other people become sealed to their own family. We are so richly blessed to know that we can be together forever so how can we not help others receive the same blessing!

Then we went to lunch at a place called Gurus Cafe. It is in Provo on Center Street, it was our first time there and it was DELICIOUS! I would highly recommend it to everybody! We got some really yummy pasta with an alfredo sauce and lots of veggies, cilantro and lime quesadillas and sweet potato fries! YUM!

It was a lot of fun to be able to take a day to celebrate the wonderful year we have had together! And we are excited for many more wonderful years to come! :)

Joseph

Last night we went and watched "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the Scera Shell outdoor theater in Orem. It was really fun! We went with Richard's Grandma, Aunt Amy, Uncle Ralph, and cousin Aimee. It was a lot of fun. The production was really fun and really well put together. The actors and actresses were really good and they put some really fun spins on the story. So yeah, I have a couple of pictures but I don't have my camera with me. I will try and post some later. But if you are in the area and need something to do I would highly recommend going and seeing this show!

I stink at this...I know...

So I now officially stink at blogging...I know. I know I said I would blog all about Guatemala when I got back...but I'm pretty sure that would take years...so if you have any questions just ask! But I will post some pictures, I really promise. Not in this post...but soon! I will also post some pictures from Richard's trip to China! Hurray!

So an update on our life...

As you know I went to Guatemala and Richard went to China. We both had absolutely amazing (and very different) experiences. We loved every minute of it, but we were happy to be home. Richard picked me up from the airport and we went straight to Olive Garden so that I could eat lots and lots of salad (you would be surprised how quickly you begin to miss lettuce when you can't eat it...I barely made it through 2 weeks!).

Since our wonderful trips we have been just as busy as ever. We are both going to school and working. I am taking my final class before August graduation (HURRAY!), so I just have my one class, it is my capstone class, so basically I am just writing a big long research paper. And I am working 30 hours a week, so needless to say I stay PLENTY busy! Richard is taking two classes and working about 20 hours a week, so we are both very busy!

We are also moving to a new apartment on July 27th so we are supposed to find time to pack and clean our current apartment in all of our spare time (right...). Life is busy, but we will find a way to get it all done...we always do! :)

Guatemala!

Hey!
If anybody wants updates on what is going on in Guatemala give me your email address and i will send you the bulk email. i would rather not post that on the blog right now. love you!