Repelling the Narrows~

Over the weekend, Chris and I had this grand opportunity to go repelling down the Narrows at Zions National Park. I can't even describe the freezing cold temperature we experienced trucking through the water!
We started our drive down to St. George Friday evening after work and arrived around 10pm at the town house we were all staying at. There were 9 of us on this trip from people at work and or relatives of Matt's. We all just ate and chatted as we met one by one at the town house and eventually went to bed. Due to our late night, we did not get started as early as we had hoped so it was about 1pm by the time we checked out, loaded up with gas, drove to the top of the Narrows and began our hike down for the next 7 hours.
It was so nice and the weather was perfect! Not to hot and not to cold until the little sun we had left came to an end due to the tall rocks blocking most of the beaming sun. The whole first half of the hike was super fun and dry! We first repelled down a 130+ ft. drop followed by several smaller 40+ ft. drops. It was my first time and I was so proud of my husband and I for making it. We were like pros LOL! Okay maybe it was just the lack of fear in me. I love heights! Matt had Chris be the lead repel guide so he always went first so Matt could stay behind and help everyone down.
The entire second half of the hike down the Narrows was after the sun disappeared and in the coldest water I have ever felt in my life time!!! There was one drop that we could not repel down. There was this pool of water so we stopped and put everything in our waterproof packs such as our gear and camera's etc. One by one we had to toss our packs in the pool of water and jump in after it and swim to the side! Oh my heck! There was no getting warm at this point! We all did our best to dry off and de clothe what we could to avoid the wet cotton clothes on our backs! Matt was so kind to let me use a coat that was made out of this sleeping bag material that worked wonders for my upper body! It quickly got dark at this point so we finished the last hour and a half in the dark. It was hard because we were also still in water! My muscles at this point never relaxed and they were now at the point of not functioning with what my brain was trying to tell them ha ha!
Oh how happy Chris and I were when we reached the end which ended up being super familiar. It was the part we were at a few weeks prior LOL. At this point we all took the shuttle bus to the main entrance where we left one of the vehicles. Chris and I were so so worn and so cold that the first thing we wanted to do was go to our nice warm bed at home! So that was what we did. While Matt and one of the other guys went to get the truck, the rest of the crew went to a place in Zions to eat! After we filled our tummy's with some food, Chris and I drove back home! So much for camping! Ha, I was so grateful though because I woke up the most sore and stiff person alive! It felt so so good to shower up and snuggle up in our nice warm bed :)

Josh's Homecoming!

I love love love family gatherings such as these! What a wonderful opportunity it is for family to come from all over and support a return missionary :)

Indeed without failure, the Wilson's and Whitchurch's have been so supportive and we had a grand turnout! Josh did so well with his talk in church. Josh is so humorous and very naturally comfortable with speaking. At least that was the appearance. I also could not help but think how much apart of the family I already was and he only really new me for a couple months before he left and now he has a sister n law that has been married to his brother for a year now. I could not believe how fast the time went!

I am so grateful for Chris and the example he set for his two younger brother's who followed by serving missions. What a joy and what growth comes form serving a mission. I am grateful for the example that this will all have for their children, our children to come. I have two very wonderful families and I couldn't imagine ever being without either one. It was so fun for me to look back at where we all were when Josh left in comparison to his return! I can't wait for our friendship to grow and for the opportunity Chris has to bond more with his brother's now that they are all around the same stage in life!

Welcome home Josh and way to go!

India Fest

I made it through my first week of work! Chris and I are loving it so far and we are thrilled if it works out! Today, we joined my manager, Matt and one of my friends Jennifer at the India Fest in Spanish Fork!

I loved how good of a friend Chris has been for Matt while he deals with the difficulties life can bring. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him in person. Matt wore is Monk robs and talked to us a lot about some of the beliefs shared. I really enjoyed the yummy food and the music/dancing! I was also happy to have Jennifer with us! How nice it was for her to escape for a but while her husband Ryan was surrounded by loads of homework. I loved this opportunity because it was all new to me and it pulled me away from my everyday life :)

Above are a couple pics of some dancing!

First day at Heritage Web Design

So here I am! Chris and I went through my crash course and yesterday I came in for my "interview" with Matt who was over Tech Support and Updates. I had heard so much of Matt but I had only met him twice before at the summer company parties. I new Chris really enjoyed his friendship and wanted us to hang out with him more but that was about it. The pressure was on for me since I new I was in Chris' territory. Everyone thought so highly of my husband and like everyone, he was totally adored a work. Now I am here and I am the complete opposite of Chris in the "computer world."
The interview went well and it was a joke at the same time! I practically bypassed HR until they forced an interview after I was hired? At that point, I thought I made it through but then I was set for the typing test and the other quiz to figure out just ho much I really new. Well, to say the least, I impressed management since there expectations were set so low LOL! They were just hoping that I could type 5 wpm and to say the least, I was able to exceed ha ha! I then had lunch with all of the managers and one of the owners of the company experiencing a few laughs and off I went to take my pee test to make sure I don't do drugs LOL! It was great because I had the rest of the day to run errands and pick up my last check and etc. before I needed to start work as the new Updates Admin tomorrow morning.
When Chris came home, he was the happiest boy alive! He finally got his wife to come into his world and we had this grand opportunity to spend so much more time together!

Last day at Central

After our return from New York, I was so dreading the return for work Monday morning :( I worked at Central for nearly 3 years and was so done with the unhappy customer's and the boredom that made my 10 hour work days drag out for eternity. Especially when they removed my lunch since everyone dreaded covering for me. Yes, that will tell you a little about how hard it was to put on a happy face while the customer's are screaming at you because someone hit them which caused such an inconvenience and/or they hit someone which costs them an arm and a leg that they don't have.
Don't get me wrong, I loved it for the first year and a half - two years when all the great people were still around the office but the atmosphere quickly turned when I was the last LDS person there. I soon had a hard time working with the employees that I could not relate to in any way shape or form and carried such a negative vibe with them. It was easy to take on the beating from the customer's when you had the coworkers backing you up with a positive atmosphere but once everyone turned so negative, it was so hard for me to want to continue working at Central.
I feel that it was such a blessing for me to be let go for reasons that a should not say to benefit the company. I still have respect for my manager and the owner of the company which was why I could not bare leaving until they did not need me any longer. The car industry is so bad with the fall of the economy and they paid me really good so I new that I would be one of the first cuts in the company when they could so easily pay a girl $9-10 an hour to do what I did. Even then, I could not have left them until they made the decision so I am again so happy to be released from that burden and begin with a new environment!
Right after I was let go, I called Chris to tell him, it was crazy cause I told him on a break early that morning that I hated being back but I felt that I was going to be done with it. Anyway, he comforted me and was happy for me since he new I did not like work. He told his friend Matt who was another Manager at Heritage that I was now jobless so he said that he would hire me today! I was so so nervous because Chris has been trying to get me there for a year now but I was so unsure of the whole working together thing. I hated the thought that it would be hard on our marriage and I also did not want to let him or our friend Matt down with my lack of computer skills. Chris told me that the moment us working together begins to not work he would let me look elsewhere but loved every thought of having us car pool together and have lunch together! I then said okay, but I had to take a crash course from Chris this very night before I came in to work the following day for the interview. So here we go..........

N.Y.C. Trip

We are on our way to NYC, the BIG APPLE. The flight was long, and the airplane food was bland, but the trip was fantastic.

We were all heading eastward to pick up Joshua, my brother who was wrapping up his mission.
We stayed downtown in Time Square at the Marriott, which was more than luxurious, :)

Alana found her true style in fashion while spending time in New York. I saw her spend more money in New York than I had ever seen her spend in a shopping spree. We were both real happy about the outfits she selected, and we both loved being around so many people.

In our many Taxi cab rides, we experienced one, crazy driver. Who would run anyone over if he had the chance. Our parents and us drove in separate cabs and our driver got us their in half the time. Driving inner city at 60 MPH, with the speed limit of 30. Alana felt like we were truly in the movies as we were slung side to side in the back seat of the Taxi. It was more the splendid.

Our experience in seeing Josh again was a fun memory for the whole family. Josh was just his usual self, loving kind, and entertaining.

We were able to see all of the sights. The NYC temple, Grand Central Station, the Statue of Liberty, and even 'Wicked' the Broadway play.

Check out the NY video, for a preview of our trip.