Arches National Park

 

A group of us took a weekend camping trip to Moab, UT. and hiked around Arches National Park. It was a great group of people, unreal scenery, overall: FUN.

Savage-Grillo Wedding

Jen's little Luke is my bud.

I love the Logan Temple. My parents were married there too.

 My cousin Monica Savage was married to Diego Grillo April 21 in the Logan Temple. It was a beautiful day! Perfect weather with flowers in bloom...

Naturally I waited outside with the kids and missed the whole wedding since I'm not endowed. I've perfected the role of being the wedding babysitter for all my best friend's biggest day of their lives. And I'm not bitter about it!

When I moved here in September, Monica and I started going to the single's ward in our area, which is where she met Diego. So really, I am the reason for their eternal happiness!

Purple was the color.

Oh DANG!

Monica and I have been close since we were young. Her Dad (Mylan) and my mom are siblings. With my family always in Washington and hers in Utah, we were great pen pals through the school year and cherished our summers together! I'm so glad I got to live with her for a few months after her mission.

Paul and Diego :)

 

Congratulations Monica and Diego!

My cousin Monica is getting married April 21st so we had to partay.

Cheesecake-filled strawberries, Cucumber Sandwiches, Chocolate covered Strawberries, Cadbury Eggs, Veggie Tray
DELISH

Monica & Diego sugar cookie panties! Rachael and I had fun making those! :)

Lots of presents... gees I can't wait to get married!

Rachael's mom made her a beautiful quilt. I am jealous.

We Bought a Zoo

I loved the movie We Bought A Zoo! It was the first movie I've seen in a while where I walked away feeling awesome! I swear every movie has a "if only there wasn't that one part..." But not this one! It's not a total chick-flick, I went with 2 other guys who enjoyed it as much as I did. I just saw it in the cheap theater so it should be out on DVD now? Great soundtrack too! Watch it.

WHAT A WEEK! FIRST: VALENTINE'S DAY: I've always been a fan of the LOVE holiday. Exchanging treats in elementary school, excessive amounts of flowers and chocolate (my 2 favorite things), even if it is "Singles Awareness Day," I still like it! (and I've been single for pretty much all 24 years of life)

But this Valentine's Day I actually had a date! Vance and I doubled with Monica and Diego. We rode the gondola up the mountain at SnowBasin and had a 5 course meal at Needles Lodge. The view was unreal.

My meal included an "amuse-bouche" which was an asian-style shredded duck as featured in the photo. I liked that so well I ordered duck for my starter as well. Champagne-infused sorbet was the palette cleanser, halibut on quinoa in a citrus sauce with roasted veggies as the entree, and a rich chocolate tart with fresh raspberries for dessert! Of course I had to taste everyone else's dishes so by the end of the night I had enjoyed ceviche, lamb in a red-wine/coffee sauce,prime rib, gourmet chicken in polenta, a killer mushroom-brie bisque, passion fruit cheesecake, and peanut butter truffles that were more of a PB mousse covered in dark chocolate. OH BABY.

Monica and Diego:

Even Honey was excited for me:

Shortly following Valentine's Day is my birthday. And I LOVE MY BIRTHDAY! My mom flew into town Friday and when Jana Bell is in town, I am a happy camper. You know those people that don't want anyone to know its their birthday? I'm the opposite. I announced my upcoming birthday at the staff meeting at work a month in advance, when the random grocery cashier gives a courteous " Hi, How are you?" I say "I'm great, my birthday is on Sunday." So Sunday came and I was greeted with our tradition of breakfast in bed.

We had a big dinner at Aunt Lesa's with lots of relatives from the Savage side. I LOVE MY EXTENDED FAMILY.

Logan modeling Jana Bell's new Alaska hat

Mum n Uncle Todd

Aunt Renee put together an Alaska survival kit for my mom so here she is sporting her new attire/tools/animal poops.

Nathan is a good sport :)

Uncle Corey giving me my birthday shoulder-rub that I convinced him he owed me:

Vance made me a chocolate tart with raspberries to duplicate the one I loved so much from the Valentine's dinner. OH YUM. And My Mom's overbaked brownies... almost as good as Vance's creation :) My mom is staying for a few more days and I have loved having her here. Also, thanks for all the birthday love from everyone not mentioned in this post. :) THE END. For now.

GO ADELE.

VEGAS

My parents stayed the weekend in Las Vegas after my Dad had a conference in St George, so I drove down with some girls from work for the weekend. We decided to go on Thursday and left Friday! It was a spontaneous, quick trip that was well worth it. It was great to see my parents! Most people my age don't go to Vegas to hang out with their Mom and Dad but apparently I love my parents. Who knew?

I must say, they are quite the attractive couple. Oh dang!

Juuuust enjoying my king size bed in the Marriott

We watched a cute little 3D film at the 4-floor M&M store.

and I danced with the Red M&M.

Lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. I LOVED the Aerosmith memorabilia!

And the highlight of the trip..... Riding the New York, New York with Jana Bell. She screamed the ENTIRE ride. And I laughed at her while screaming, the entire ride! She lost her voice and it made me laugh even more :)

This year for Thanksgiving, Amanda and I went to Nalani and Jed's house (cousins on my Dad's side). Some more cousins were there, along with aunts and uncles and Nalani's friends. As a teenager, I dreaded family gatherings where strange old people hugged me and said "You're huge!" ("SO ARE YOU!" was my response) But I have come to really enjoy family events. Its fun to see similarities between my parents and their siblings. Its cool how so many people automatically love you just cuz you're related. Its nice to be a part of something so loving. If you know my mother Jana Bell, you know she loves decorating and entertaining, and she's good at it! One year, a conversation between my mom and I went as follows:

Mom: "What should we do to decorate the table for Thanksgiving this year?" Me:"Well last year's set up was beautiful. Why don't we just do the same thing this year?" Mom: "Robin I cant just do the same thing. That's like wearing last year's prom dress!"

I know not everyone cares about the display of Thanksgiving dinner but I sure like it. That being said, I really appreciated how beautiful everything was at Nalani's. The table was set using her Grandma's China, napkin holders, tall stemmed glasses... everything to make it feel like a special occasion.

Yesterday I had a friend run the Santa Clause 5k here. Every runner got the same Santa suit/beard, so there were herd's of Santa's running up and down the streets of Ogden. Afterward was a little Holiday parade and the lighting of the Christmas village "downtown." We didn't stay for all the festivities (we were frozen!) but it was great to start the holidays.

I was Cindy Lou Who from the Grinch for Halloween. I had to think of a costume for work that would still be obvious with my lab coat covering me from shoulders to knees. I have a mini water bottle inside my hair and wires in my pig tails. I had to drive with my head sideways so my hair could clear the Jeep's ceiling. The End. Merry Christmas!

Catherine and Liz drove up from Southern California, picked me up in Ogden and we spent the weekend in Rexburg. Catherine just left on her mission so we had one last hoorah with our Idaho friends before she entered the MTC. She will be serving in Argentina - Buenos Aires West Mission.

We visited Bishop Sevy and his wife in their home that Sunday afternoon. Bishop Sevy is the Rexburg Temple Recorder- that is his full time occupation so he spends all day everyday in the temple. He has such unique, profound insights and wisdom regarding the Savior and the temple. After a round of hugs and laughter, Bishop shared some special experiences he has had and how it applies to each of us individually. Sister Sevy passed around the tissues. Several hours later, we left the Sevy's home filled with the spirit, ecstatic about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and full of hope for the future. I have so much respect and admiration for the Sevys!