#hashtags 2

#backfromasia

At long last, Dan is back from his one month stint in Korea. Of course, upon return, we found ourselves at Pizza Hut at 10pm, doing happy dances. Kimichi Free. My little sister and her friend decorated our concrete outdoor wall - not sure how accurate the Korean is...

#uselesscollegedegreegettingmenowhere

After much work on my resume design, I am still no closer to being a contributing member of society. There are seriously no jobs in Logan. None. I really don't want to end up back at Applebee's. Actually I can't. When I quit, I was warned: "If you quit now, YOU CAN NEVER COME BACK!" I hope that wasn't an empty promise.

#hedestroyseverything

This is Mr. Piggy, proudly ridding atop my Costco groceries. I was looking at him at Costco, and a lady came up to me and said, "Those are great! I have a rottweiler and he loves his, the are really tough." The tag touted him as "indestructible". So I thought I'd give it a go. 

He lasted all of 5 minutes before being disemboweled. 

Its a good thing I love you Otto, because you're kind of a terrorist. 

#ireallymissmyfamily

{eating Aggie Ice Cream}

{paddleboating around bear lake, well more like around the dock of bear lake. Otto wasn't a fan, but put up with it because I promised him some of my raspberry shake...}

{brigham city temple - not dressing up - pretending to be non-members}

{my dad cut these for me on the way home from bear lake - I love them}

This weekend my family came up to visit and because it was the same weekend as the USU/Utah football game, Lotoja, and Peach days - there were no hotel rooms to be found. Meaning they had to stay at Dan and I's apartment - which I quite preferred. I would be with them every second of the day, if possible. We went to the Pet Fair, Brigham City Temple, Bear Lake, and countless other mini adventures. Otto and I both shed tears when they were gone (my Dad lavishes more attention on the little dog than anyone else). 

Another One?

I'm not really sure what happened this summer, but I ended up running an inordinate amount of Half Marathons. Someone mentions a race, the thought of medals and chocolate milk comes into play, and the next thing I know I'm signed up for six races this season... Ridiculous, I know. But the only race I've done this year that I would do again is the one Anna and I did this weekend:

TOP OF UTAH 1/2

The night before the race, Anna and I debated whether we should bring sweatshirts - I didn't think we'd need them. But Anna, in her infinite wisdom and non-existent body fat, urged that we throw in some warm stuff - just in case. OH. MY. GOSH. It was soooo cold. Seriously, Logan in August is freezing (can't wait for winter to roll around!)

This is what freezing looks like. Its not cute!

And then we were off! Flattering pictures ensued as we proceeded down Logan Canyon. This race was awesome. The course was gentle downhill (read: not deathly downhill like Parowan), it was scenic, and there was a nice light tailwind - like angel wings pushing you along... Well maybe thats too far, but seriously, it was nice. Also nice was that Anna has been sick most the summer so I could actually keep up with her for awhile before she took off. 

The pressure was on to finish in under two hours, being that Anna had a freshman orientation to get to. Luckily we both crossed with time to spare - though I really wanted to break 1:50, I finished in 1:51, with Anna coming in at 1:49. 

The Moose medals were the real catalyst for getting us to sign up for this race. I'm a sucker for anything with a moose on it. Perhaps the most memorable element of this race will forever be what ensued afterword...After getting Anna up to USU, I headed home to find this:

Otto had broken through the baby gate (not that my shoddy assembling craftsmanship had anything to do with that....) and basically wrecked havoc on the house for 4 hours. I mean, I was almost impressed, he must have managed his time wisely. He was able to shred an entire roll of toilet paper, strew the contents of the bathroom garbage around, take shoes and dirty laundry out of our closet and deposit them in random places, pee on my egyptian tapestries!, and eat an entire stick of body glide:

Don't worry, poison control assured me he'd be fine. 

But back to the happy stuff...Later that evening I got a call that from a florist trying to deliver to my house. Getting flowers stresses me out - they die so quickly and they're ridiculously expensive (I mean I'd rather have a lulu tank than a bouquet of roses!). I was so excited to see that they weren't actually short lived flowers, but that my Mom and Dad had sent us congratulatory potted plants! 

Overall, I'd recommend the Top of Utah to anyone as an awesome race. But I'd also recommend securing your destructive puppy before you go. Just a tip.

They grow up so fast...

Its hard sending your baby off to school.

I was a fairly nervous new parent today as Otto and I walked into his first day at puppy preschool,  though he kept it together and exuded limitless confidence in his jazzy new control harness - I was a bit of a wreck. I was unsure of how things would play out: how will he handle having to sit still and learn, will the other kids will be nice to him, will his teacher will appreciate what a perfect little guy he is? 

Turns out Otto is kind of every puppy parent's worst nightmare: 

The only kid in class barking while the teacher is talking. 

Relentlessly bullying the tiny maltese next to us. 

Being easily distracted by the admittedly cute female chocolate lab in class, Kona. 

Dare I say, the most behaviorally challenged kid in class.

Not that I myself was excelling at puppy preschool - I dropped his whole treat bag during the first exercise - free for all! Good thing we have 8 more weeks to get this down, progress must be made... For both of us. 

Otto was able to start obedience classes this week because he turned the big 3 months. Time flies. So in honor of the little guy's every growing list of milestones, may I present:

{Otto Facts at 3 Months Old}

He is a biter. 
Seriously, my arms look like I have a pet piranha. As he's gotten bigger, and his fangs sharper, skin has been broken. I know he doesn't mean to hurt me, and he's so dang cute, but seriously - the biting has gotta go Otto!

He is a chewer.
He shreds anything he can get his paws on. Including an ethernet cord, vital to the installation process, 5 minutes before the comcast guy shows up to do our internet, after waiting 1.5wks for this appointment....Thanks little dog!

{in more irreverent circles, this picture is entitled "Jesus and the Lab}

He's kinda wussy.
For a lab he sure doesn't like running, hiking or the water. So we took him on an activity that encapsulated all of his hates: hiking to dog lake.

His given name is in fact Otto Von Bismarck. 
However, he is called by various people at various times: little bear, otter pop, otto bot, little dog, and pooch. He comes to all names about equally, in that he doesn't come to any of them.

This Otto's bed, aka where expensive toys go to die.
Seriously, I've tried every toy known to man, read every amazon review promising a "bite proof" toy. Nope, my 20 lb. lab shreds any and everything. Including this blue ball - which was toted as "indestructible."

He still doesn't sleep through the night. 
I get to take him out to potty at about 3am every night. In the dark, in my nightgown, with a headlamp on. Its pretty sweet.

I think by this point you must be saying to yourself one of the following things:

A) This girl needs a job/a life/ a hobby

B) There is an unhealthy amount of dog obsession going on here

C) The line between pet and surrogate child is getting awfully blurry, and its scary

D) All of the Above*

* this is the correct answer

FOUR

FOUR

- The number of years Dan and I have been married (year one here, and two, and three) 

- The number of places we've lived since we've been married (Provo, Monterey, SLC, Logan)

- Two of Four - the number of anniversaries we've spent in the same country (Dan is in Korea!)

Stats aside, I thought I'd take the time to do my yearly anniversary write up and record the wise knowledge I've gained on the institution of marriage... Or something like that. Recently I was sitting in a married student ward, and I looked around and saw something that initially repulsed me: newlyweds. You know, the ones who just got married this summer, who just had their one month anniversary. The ones that can't keep their hands off each other (even in sacrament meeting), the ones that seem so happy, so down right giddy about life. They made me sick. 

Then I realized, perhaps they were just making me jealous. Being married for four years in no way means were hardened marriage vetrans, but I saw in these young couples this glee about everything being so new and exciting. Though we can't necessarily make everything new again, we can still certainly make life together exciting! Right? 

I came across a blog a while ago, fittingly titled A blog about love. One post in particular "The Best tips I can give you for a REALLY, REALLY, Great Marriage" stood out to me. In some ways her list mirrored another I had read a few months back on the Huffington Post, "15 ways to stay married for 15 years." Maybe for some people it is just effortless and organic to stay blissful newlyweds forever. But I think for most of us, it takes some concerted effort. I think especially as the years go by, the more and more comfortable you get, the easier it is to become complacent and not prioritize improving your relationship. The above articles really helped me, and I can definitely feel more of the "giddy newlywed spark" when I make an effort do some of the suggestions on the list. Like when I do something special (make a nice dinner and actually set the table, or plan a fun date), be on my best behavior (ie talk nicely and watch my tone), and say thank you for everything he does (even the little things)! Even though Dan is off with Army today, he still managed to put forth a newlywed like effort to make things special:

Thank you Dan! And delivery boys, Chris and Denise. It was a sweet gesture that made my day.

And may I end with one non-sequitur gem from the Huffington post article, one which those little newlyweds in the student ward should really be told:

1. Go to bed mad. 

The old maxim that you shouldn't go to bed mad is stupid. Sometimes you need to just go to freakin' bed. "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath" is prefaced in the Bible by the phrase "Be angry and sin not." So, who's to say it doesn't mean "Stay angry, b*tches. Don't let the sun go down on that awesome fierce wrath of yours." Seriously. Whoever interpreted this to mean that you should stay up after midnight, tear-stained and petulant, trying to iron out some kind of overtired and breathy accord -- was stupid. Shut up, go to bed, let your husband get some sleep. In the morning, eat some pancakes. Everything will seem better, I swear.

Happy 4th Anniversary Dan! 

Here's to many more years of keeping the newlywed spirit alive.

And to sometimes just going to bed and waking up to a better pancake filled morning. 

#hashtag

Dan and I are little behind the technology curve. Though most fifth graders have had them for years at this point, we just got iphones. Like last month. I've wanted one forever, and at long last my dreams came true! Honestly, its been everything I hoped for and more. One new element I've come across in the iphone world is the hashtag. Per google, 

"Hashtag: A tag embedded in a message posted on the Twitter microblogging service, consisting of a word within the message prefixed with a hash sign." 

I don't have twitter. But I still use hashtags, albeit inappropriately. I text them, and even talk in them. So in honor of keeping up my tradition of flagrant misuse of the hashtag, may I present a blog recap of recent events, as recorded on my beloved phone, and defiled with hashtags:

#rainestraceever

{its hard being this photogenic, it really is}

{only picture i took: this one of pete at an awesome photo-op on the way home}

A really long time ago, my friend Sue told me she was running the Bryce Canyon Half, and encouraged Bonni and I to join her.  Being that I never pass up the opportunity to pay money to be tortured for around two hours, I was in. With the craziness of the summer, the race crept up on me. Luckily Bonni was far more organized and arranged for us to crash with her sister who rented a cabin in Cannonville. It turned out to be a lot of fun (don't know why I didn't take pictures?), despite the fact that it rained like crazy, the last mile was a downpour. 

#ilovestgeorge

One of the best parts of this summer was that i've spent so much of it in the STG:

Celebrating Katheryn's (aka the HoneyBadger's) 15th Birthday. She is rad. And really good at soccer.

Running errands (usually for more dog treats), going for doggie runs, and going to Parowan with my favorite Dad. 

Meeting Sue and McCoy for lunch at the Pasta Factory. How cute is he?

Taking Copper and Otto to the Splash pad with Katheryn. 

Getting to see/run with/ Zumba with/ shop with Brandalee!

#seeyouin18months

{note: I was very sick at the time of this picture. i decided to overcompensate by smiling so big, its ridiculous}

Dan's little sister, Jill, is off to the Denver North Mission. So before she left on her big adventure, we got one last family photo and spent some quality family time. 

Celebrating Miss Molly's 3rd Birthday

And playing with Charlie!

#i'mnotgreatattakingpictures

A lot of other really great memorable things happened, of which I have no pictures. But thanks to my trusty phone, times are changing. Soon, this will be me:

Running through the Mother Town

I love to run races. I love the tiny town of Parowan. So when I heard about the Parowan Half Marathon "Yankee Meadow Run", I knew I needed in. I was able recruit my dad to join in, Parowan is his hometown and the source of all goodness and light after all. But my delight reached new levels when my BFF Brandalee decided to get in on this action. At long last, yesterday was the big day, and off to Iron County we went!

We carbo loaded at the Pizza Barn (one of only 3 restaurants in Parowan). It was... carb filled. 

And then headed over to sleep at my Grandpa and Grandma Benson's house. Branda and I stayed up late talking in their beautiful backyard, it was almost just like the good old days! Except our version of late is now 10 p.m., not the 3am of yesteryears. When we were getting ready to leave for the race at 6 am, my Grandma got up and wanted to take our picture, "Go stand by Jesus so I can take your picture." She's rad.

The race started up at the Yankee Reservoir. It was really pretty. 

At the starting line, for reasons unknown, my dad identified this super tall guy as his archenemy - the one he must beat! Don't worry, he achieved his goal - by quite a ways. 

I tried to take some action shots without breaking pace, it turned out some really flattering and clear photos (not). Also, parts of this course were so steep it was dangerous - I'm hoping that why my face looks so scary. I'm still marveling that I didn't biff it. 

Probably the best picture of Branda ever. I told you I got some good ones. 

My Grandma took this one, hence why its good. My Dad rocked it, finishing his "comeback run" in record time. Go Dad!!!  Branda also set a new half marathon PR. And she has two busy little guys to take care of. She's my hero.

Speaking of her busy little guys, they came up to see her finish and cheer her on. Are they not the cutest little family ever? I vote yes. 

So this run was sort of low budget... No finishing medals. But no worries, they had finisher bandanas!!! What does one do with an awesome yellow bandana like this? Well, of course tie it on your baby chocolate lab while he bites your face off. 

Branda and I ran cross country together in High School. We were awful. No really, we were. We were way too busy talking about boys and giggling to concern ourselves with such things as "running" and "running fast". Being reunited in an actual race where we actually tried our best just proves that our running, and our ten year old friendship, only gets better with age.