Dominican Republic Trip!!

Paul and I spent a week relaxing on the beautiful beach in the Dominican Republic a few weeks ago! I already miss the white sand and the palm trees! This was right outside our resort. The ocean was such a pretty color. There was a lot of seaweed by us so we didn't spend too much time out in the water, but that was fine because the resort had a great pool!There were lots of food options but not all of them were very good. One thing I did enjoy eating was cheeseburgers! I had three of them while we were there which many of you know is extremely unusual for me! They were so yummy...

In the evenings after dinner we went to a crepe shop on the resort. The taste wasn't great (Maestros is so much better!!) but it was fun to go.

We had unlimited free drinks so Jeanne & Kevin told us to try Miami Vice (no alcohol of course). It was so good!! We got that and strawberry daiquiri's multiple times a day.

The Mexican restaurant was good- we both got fajitas!! The best part was wearing these hats.

We took lots of random pictures around the pretty resort. Everything was so green!

We had a hammock on our balcony which was so relaxing!

Random alligator statue...

Hiding in a palm tree

Paul posed with our waiter at the Steakhouse. The food was pretty good but the cheesecake was rubbery and seemed to be missing the cream cheese...We played tennis a few times and Paul made friends with a huge, ugly crab right by the court. It would hide in a hole until Paul poked it with a stick, and then it would come charging out. Scary!
Paul's goal during the week was to climb a palm tree and to pick a coconut. He finally succeeded and definitely looked like a monkey as he hurried up the trunk- such talent!!
After 6 amazing days it was time to return to our normal responsibilities and to face real life again. We were sad to leave such a beautiful place!! The airport was hilarious though- it was basically a series of big grass huts!!

Ok go!

I couldn't help it...I just had to post the Ok Go dance we did. Hopefully this works...I've never posted a video before.

Past summers...

I've been thinking about how much I love summer and the great things that I've done through the years! Especially the last few summers have been filled with vacations with friends and family, BBQs, swimming, chillin at the 104 lobby, softball games, midnight Denny's runs, chickflicks while eating ice cream out of the carton, playing at the Wal Mart park, and so much more! I think my favorite was the trip a group of us took to CA two years ago to go to Wicked and the beach and just to be together!!

The happiest place on earth!

We were referred to as the 5 T-3 roommates

even though only 4 of us actually slept there!

T-3 after our amazing Ok-go performance!

Good times...I'm looking forward to another great summer this year!!

Happy Tax Day!!!!

Could this day really be here? The day I've dreamed of for months? The day my life is returned to me??? As with many looked-forward to events, it all seems rather anti-climatic. Shouldn't there be something incredible going on to mark this momentous occasion such as fireworks going off or our clients doing something to recognize our many sacrifices on their behalf? Instead I drove to work in a rain storm which made the commute long, I'm feeling physically drained despite the 8 hours of sleep I somehow managed to get, and my head feels like it's spinning out of control. I've realized that there comes a point where you have accumulated such a huge deficit of sleep that no attempts of catching up will ever leave you feeling rested. Despite these unpleasant feelings however, I'm so extremely ecstatic to have reached this day and to have a wonderful summer up ahead! Let me share the statistics from this busy season:

Latest night in the office: Left at 3:30, home at 4:15, left home at 7 to return to the office
Longest day worked: 20 hours
Most hours in one week: 85.4
Longest tax return prepared: the federal return alone was 1,657 pages and yes I had to look at every single page!! I could have read the Book of Mormon 3 times!! On top of that there were 27 state and city returns.

Overall I must say I've learned a lot and busy season has gone by quickly. I know I would have had a nervous breakdown along the way without an amazing, patient, and supportive husband who picked up the slack for me when I wasn't able to get to everything. Thanks Paul- love you!!

Opening Day: It's time for redemption

What's my age again? What's my age again...

I submit to you that one of the worst experiences in life is getting sick. I have a slight case of allergies that kicks in for a few weeks in the beginning of spring, so I chalked up my stuffy nose and red eyes to my annual fun. Then, during our basketball game I felt a loss of energy and quite a bit weaker, which had half to do with the most annoying team I've ever played in intramural basketball. Actually, the most annoying team I have ever played. Period. Let me enlighten you on some of our intellectually stimulating conversation:

After being bullied in the paint by a 6'4" man weighing in at 225 lbs I felt a little abused, but happy that I had prevented him from scoring. Said Behemoth then decides to complain to the referees, saying that I "was shoving him around." Somebody explain to me how the stick figure that is me was able to bully around a giant. So I responded with, "Seriously? You're a big boy!" To which he so smartly replied, "Your Mom's big!" ....This so called man had his wife and 2 year-old toddler at the game, yet I felt like he had just graduated the fifth grade. I tried not to laugh, and then considered how ridiculous we can all act in sports games. Did man really evolve from a cave man? I now have more reasons that suggest that we have not evolved at all.

Number of Casualties: 2

You'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now, but no. Every season I tell myself, don't pick BYU to win any games in your March Madness bracket. Every year I convince myself that they have a chance, and I pick them to have some kind of an upset. What a fool I am. I'm tired of watching BYU lose it's composure every time it comes to a tournament of some kind. Three-time Mountain West Conference Champions, three-time losers of the Mountain West Tournament, and three-time losers of their first fame in the NCAA Tournament. What a joke.

Rooting for BYU is like rooting for Wile Coyote- every time you think he's finally going to catch that Roadrunner. I mean look at this- He has the bird in a choke hold! What could go wrong??!!


And then reality hits, and by that I mean you're fighting against the laws of nature. Yes, just a second ago you were on firm ground, but you manage to find the edge of a cliff....