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Thursday, July 31, 2008

90 days, goin' strong!

so josh and i hit the 3 month mark yesterday... who would've thought?!?!?! jk but we were able to spend the day together with friends and family in salt lake, which was fabulous. josh had a bunch of appointments, including his laser hair removal, and a couple of dr appts so we decided to make a day of it. we made sure to hit up the fashion place mall and the nordstrom sale. and honestly, what is a trip to salt lake without a little cheesecake factory lovin? well, we picked a fabulous day to go because it was national cheesecake day! and even better than being a holiday to honor my favorite dessert... all cheesecake slices were only $1.50 instead of the usual $7-8. we had to take advantage of such a great deal! josh's family was kind enough to meet up with us and treat us to lunch and it was great. thank you so much!



after our tummies were full, we headed to josh's dr appt's and i'm happy to report that everything looked great and they didn't find anything new or suspicious looking. no news is great news to us! so now we get to get to sleep soundly for the next few months until we visit the dr again. after the appts, i headed over to my friend collie's house to see her cute new baby easton! collie and i have been friend since we were born and it's so exciting to see her all grown up and a mom! she and zach are such a pretty couple and they sure do make one beautiful baby! i forgot to take my camera out and take some pictures but she has some cute ones on her blog if you want to check them out. thanks for letting me come visit you and hold your cute little one!

after a little more visiting with our families, we met up with our friends to have a bbq. thanks to the romero family for providing the meat (i'm not sure they know they did, though) and thanks to our friends who came! the food was great and the company was too. after dinner, we headed to artic circle for some ice cream cones. when we got back to the house, we busted out the poker chips. us girls are going to vegas in just over a week and we're planning on spending a little bit of money gambling because we're finally old enough to and we finally have a little bit of money to spend. however, lindsey didn't know how to play blackjack so josh offered to teach her and give me a little "refresher course" so i don't look stupid sitting at the blackjack tables too. we had a blast playing 21 and josh taught lindsey (and me) enough that we can hopefully come home a little bit richer (or at least a little more well dressed!) we were so into our game that we didn't even stop playing until close to midnight. and then josh and i had to drive home. the drive wasn't fun but the day was awesome and we had a great time hanging out and laughing with everyone!
this is cameron pointing at his favorite thing in the whole world... his iPhone
and this is cameron's picture after he used some fun features on my new camera to let the whole world know just how much he loves that iPhone.


oh, on our last hand, decided to go "all in". i bet just over $300 in chips and i was dealt an ace and a 10... i made $750 on that hand... hopefully that luck continues with me for the next 2 weeks... then our vegas trip won't be a bust!

underwater camera

so, i have had an underwater camera for a few months that needed to be used and developed and it finally happened! we bought the camera while on our honeymoon because we planned to swim with the dolphins in tortola (tortola is part of the british virgin islands and is right in the heart of the caribbean). it has been a dream of mine since i was young and we had a blast! here are a few pictures from that day...aww... what a happy boy!
dolphin kisses for josh
here, there are 2 dolphins pushing on my feet... they were so strong that i stood up completely
oh earplugs... what would i do without you and your boldness? oh pathetic...

josh holding on to their fins
getting pulled along...
our day with the dolphins was an experience of a lifetime and one that we will never forget! if anyone gets a chance to do it, it's well worth the money, i promise! we bought some of the pictures that they took of us while playing with the dolphins, but i wish we would have bought the video that recorded our whole experience. oh well... next cruise!

the other adventure that our underwater camera came on was us floating down the Bear River just outside of Preston. many of my friends float this river weekly and the redneck in me was dying to go. since we didn't have to work on the 24th of july, we decided it'd be a perfect day to spend some time in the sun, have a little fun, and relax. kelsey and lauren came with us and we had a great time.
it's obvious that i was super excited...oh so manlythere were only 2 things that happened on the river that i wish hadn't. first- don't listen to kelsey when you're approaching some rapids and some rocks. she was leading the pack and told me to go right. well, i went right... right into the worst part of the rapids! i tipped and got sucked under and my sunglasses floated away. geez kelse, thanks! not too cool. :) other "not too cool" thing... while floating, stupid dragonflies kept landing on us. it was annoying but they are pretty harmless. well, i wasn't paying attention to them too much and felt a creature land on me and just brushed it away without looking at it. unbeknownst to me, it was a bee who decided to retaliate and sting me. it was the first time i have ever been stung by a bee and it hurt like crazy! i made josh come to my rescue and pull the stinger out. i couldn't keep the tears from welling up in my eyes... what a wuss. other than those unfortunate events, the float was fun and we're looking forward to doing it again when brett and amber come to visit next week!

Monday, July 28, 2008

yummy in my tummy

ok, so these are one of my favorite treats ever! they are indoor smores made with golden graham cereal. i love them and could probably eat a whole batch if i didn't have to share. i had a dream last night completely centered around these treats so i decided i'd share the recipe with everyone and then i'll probably go and make a batch, too!

indoor smores
8 cups (13-ounce box) graham cracker cereal
6 cups (10-ounce bag) miniature marshmallows, divided use
1 1/2 cups NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Milk Chocolate Morsels
5 tablespoons butter OR margarine, cut into pieces
1/4 cup light corn syrup, (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Pour cereal into large bowl.
  2. Heat 5 cups marshmallows, morsels, butter and corn syrup in medium, heavy-duty saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract.
  3. Pour marshmallow mixture over cereal; stir until well coated. Stir in remaining marshmallows. Press mixture into prepared pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Cut into bars.
yummy!

it's that time of the year...

that's right. shark week. one of the most anticipated weeks of the entire year. the discovery channel goes crazy with shark documentaries and crazy marine biologists who will do just about anything to find the great white sharks and get cool footage while doing so.
the mythbuster clan have also taken on solving certain myths pertaining to sharks- whether or not they are affected by magnets; if you were being attacked by a shark and hit its nose, would it back away and your life would be spared; does the way a dog paddles frantically in the water as well as the scent of their urine and pheromones attract sharks; and is it in your best interest to play dead or try to swim away while stranded in the middle of shark infested waters? all of these questions and more are being answered this week.
i am terrified of sharks. always have been and always will be. i always get a little nervous jumping into the ocean because i have always felt that they can smell my fear. josh however is obsessed with them. his dream is to one day swim with the sharks. quite a death wish, right? the best place to swim with the sharks is in the bahammas... i told him we can go as long as while he's out swimming with the sharks, i can be on dry land hopefully pampering myself at a luxurious spa. and hopefully he will return to me!
anyway, if there are any of you that are as obsessed with ocean life as my husband is... tune into the discovery channel this week. you will not be disappointed.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

these are a few of my favorite things

so we've had yet another fabulous week of fun and sunshine so i thought i'd share a few things this week that have made me smile.

i'll start with the obvious first...

that's right, super creepy joker played by heath ledger made for an amazing movie! i was so excited to see the dark knight, and in honor of its opening weekend, josh and i watched batman begins... twice. we got tickets to the midnight showing and i was so excited to see it, but a little nervous as well. i don't do well with late-night movies... the lights go off and my eyes usually shut. but we (me, josh, and spencer) loaded up on plenty of sugar filled sweets and i made it through the entire movie completely wired. i'm not going to comment on the movie itself or any scenes specifically because i think this is a movie that everyone will be seeing eventually and everyone will have their own opinions and critiques. all i can say is that i'm sure i'll be seeing it again real soon. and i want a batman t-shirt.

next, raspberry + cream waffles. you can't get much better than these.

i got a mad craving for one the other day when josh was at work. of course i had to make an entire batch of waffles for just me so i ended up freezing most of them. however, they're almost gone because i keep craving them!! i think i've had at least 2 of these delicious waffles every day for the past week. basically i just can't get enough of the fresh raspberries... yum!

next happy thing...my new camera! i've been wanting a new one since i dropped my last one while traveling to alaska 2 years ago and the screen cracked. i've dealt with it long enough! josh decided to scope out the selection at best buy one night while i was working and decided on this one. this is a big deal for us because i love taking pictures of everything and anything and it drives josh crazy. that's why i was shocked when he said he found me a new one. how could someone who hates pictures so much want to spend more money on a new fancier camera and fuel my addiction? well, we made a deal and a new iPhone is on its way with josh's name on it to satisfy his cravings. i think we're pretty even now. now the tricky part is learning how to use this little thing. it's one smart gadget but i'm sure i'll be posting trial pictures real soon!

this next movie was so random, i couldn't help but laugh. for those of you who've seen it know what i'm talking about. we have heard good things about it so the other night while looking for a good movie at the local hollywood video, we all (me, josh, danielle, and brian) decided that this would be an interesting choice. and that it was. everyone pretty much knows that it's a story about a guy who falls in love with a doll basically. however, it's strange because at first, all you can think is "this guy is a crazy lunatic who loves a doll. how on earth can i sit through a whole movie about this?" but by the end, you don't find the doll that strange or the relationship this guy has with it. actually, you almost feel bad for the guy by the end. weird movie, but i would probably recommend it to anyone to at least see it once.




next thing on the list didn't just make me (and josh and spencer) smile, but made us laugh and giggle uncontrollably. so the portable carnival came to town this weekend. i've always been a little skeptical of these things... i find it hard to trust my life to a ride that can be set up and taken down in about 5 hours and operated by snaggle-toothed, cross-eyed carnival folk. however, while checking out the scene saturday afternoon after a fabulous meal at olive garden, one ride stood out among the rest....
that's right. the gravitron... a large spaceship looking attraction that gave us all flashbacks of the 49th street galleria (aka the fun dome). we absolutely could not resist. we bought our tickets and despite the full tummies we all had, we endured the spinning motion for what seemed like hours. for those of you who were not fortunate enough to experience this ride as a child, basically you lean on these padded panels as the ride starts spinning. due to the centrifugal force, you're basically sucked against the pads- you can go upside down and any which-way as you're spinning round and round. this is definitely not a ride for those with weak stomaches (especially after eating a full meal) but we just couldn't help ourselves. it was amazing.



and last but not least, i figured i'd let everyone know who i was cheering for on sytycd...
chelsie hightower, i heart you. and not just because you're from pleasant grove. actually, i didn't even remember she was a utah girl until i found this picture of her. but that makes her even better! she's amazing, she's gorgeous, and for me, her dances are the most memorable. my favorite dance of hers was the "bleeding love" dance and everytime i hear the song, i can't help but think of it. she's a great dancer and i hope she goes all the way. i'm excited to watch tonight's show and i'm especially grateful for being able to TiVo it since i'm unfortunate enough to work every wed night.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

"oh, what do you do in the summertime when all the world is green?"

alright, so i think we're due for another weekly update. however, i will give a disclaimer that this is a long post-- this week has been full of fun and adventures!

it started off when i headed down to salt lake to see my old roommate lindsay's baby, reagan. he is the stinkin cutest thing ever and i was so excited to finally get to see him and hold him! he was only 3 days old when i went to visit and i couldn't get enough of him. i don't have any pictures of me with him because i was so focused on holding him the whole time. oh well, he's cuter anyway. lindsay and ryan are going to be the best parents ever and they sure do make one beautiful baby! for anyone who knows lindsay, you know she sleeps with her hand touching her face somehow. cute little reagan is following in his mommy's footsteps.

after visiting lindsay, laura, katie, and i decided to make a day of running errands. we went shopping at the mall, got a sno-asis (the absolute best snow cones in all of utah) and then we hit up the cheesecake factory with lindsey and kim. it was fabulous (as usual) and i spoiled my co-workers by bringing them a lemon raspberry cheesecake for them to all enjoy. i am now the new favorite employee.
so, up here in logan, they celebrate the 4th of july with fireworks on the 3rd. this year i was looking forward to fireworks that actually took place on the 4th because up in alaska they do them on the 3rd as well so i haven't had 4th of july fireworks in a few years. here in logan they do them at the stadium on the 3rd because they assume everyone will be heading to ogden or salt lake to see the bigger shows on the 4th. it actually worked out well though because i had to work friday night so having fireworks on thursday were in my favor. we met up with kellan and shelly and watched them on the hyper field so we wouldn't have to pay to see them from the stadium. of course, i forgot my camera. josh had friday off so we lazied around, went to lunch, checked out some gizmos and gadgets and best buy and the it was my time to head to work. since i'd be gone all night, josh decided to head to ogden to hang out with his boys. he left at 4:30, the same time i had to work assuming that i'd get off at 10 or so. it was a slow night at the restaurant so they cut me early (a little after 7) so i spent my 4th of july catching up on re-runs of 90210. i can't complain too much.

the 5th of july is the big "cruise-in" here in town. it's supposedly the biggest car show in utah and it was the talk of the town the whole week leading up to the official "cruise." we were able to get a great spot and watched as some sweet cars drove past us for an hour or two. there were lots of old-fashioned cars, plenty of corvettes (josh's favorites), and lots of large-and-in-charge trucks that make my heart rumble as they drove past. i'm not a car guru and mostly liked the colorful ones or the creative ones, but it was a fun time. here are a couple of my favorites:

the delorean from back to the future. the drivers dressed up like doc. pretty sweet.
this one looked like a huge silver bullet. so that's what we called it.
can you say low-rider? this was my favorite truck.

the cruise-in was a good time, but i guess it's really only fun and interesting for those who are car fanatics. i mostly enjoyed sitting outside hanging out with our friends. when we returned home, spencer and a few of his friends stopped by to say hi on their way back from bear lake. they decided to have a little bit of fun with the illegal fireworks they purchased in wyoming. they stood in the street and shot roman candles at each other (smart, i know). this is the damage left on kevin's shirt.
he wasn't too excited to have ruined a shirt, his shorts, and his underwear. should've thought of that before someone shoots at you with fireworks.
so the boys said their goodbyes around 11 as they set out to drive back to salt lake. however, they picked the wrong night to be driving around without lights on their trailer and got told by several police officers that they were not allowed to drive back. so, they returned to our home to crash for the night. as they were getting ready for bed, i asked how many of them wanted blankets and they all said in a manly tone, "nope, we don't need blankets." well, needless to say, when i woke up the next morning to make them all breakfast, they had taken advantage of the blankets i had left out for them. girls always know best.
since we had been so kind to the boys and had given them shelter and food in their time of need, they invited us to join them in bear lake this weekend. of course we said we'd come and i even offered to bake treats. so, friday night after i got off work, we packed up the car and headed out to spencer's friend's cabin. all three of the boys brought girls with them and i knew one of the girls (hailey) from our spring break cruise last year. i was happy to have someone to hang out with while the boys participated in stupid boy activities. we woke up early saturday morning and headed out on the water. the lake was freezing at first, but we all got used to it eventually. the water was perfect, too, for a day of boating. we heard that friday was a terrible day to be out there so we definitely lucked out.

while josh was wakeboarding, i was in charge of picture taking, which put spencer in charge of holding the flag. typical spencer.
josh has only been wakeboarding a few times many years ago. however, he got right up and was able to ride for a while. i was proud of him!

i was excited to go tubing. believe it or not, i have never been pulled on a tube behind a boat. everyone always talks about how fun it is so i was pumped that i'd finally get my chance. here's josh helping me get all suited up. also, i have some super sweet yellow earplugs in... i have always had problems with my ears and currently have holes in my eardrum when my tubes fell out a couple of years ago. that means when water gets in my ears, it hurts like crazy and makes me nauseous and throws off my balance. i told josh he'd better be gentle with me on the tubes because one bad crash on the tubes could cause the earplugs to come out which would put me in pain for the rest of the day. he agreed to be nice (and he actually followed through!)

this was after i lost the first heat. i went 0-4 against josh.




after a full day of boating, we headed back to the cabin, had a little bbq, and immediately headed out on our 4 wheeling adventures. we decided to head into a spot the boys knew in logan canyon.
after about an hour of riding through some crazy trails, we ended up at temple peak with the most amazing view of logan canyon i have ever seen. so of course, when standing on a cliff looking at an amazing view, what better activity than start up the 2nd annual rtg (rock throwing game)?! basically the boys would collect 5 rocks and stand on this cliff...
overlooking this mountain range...
and would throw rocks at this dead tree... they would get 2 points if it hit the one of the branches, and 3 points if they could hit the trunk. the first person to win 2 rounds was the winner. in case of a tie, a "rock-off" was performed.
josh had great form...
and ended up winning the game! who knew that throwing rocks at a tree would cause such happiness in the lives of these boys?? i couldn't complain though because since i was on the winning "team hankins", i reap the benefits of the bear lake raspberry shake that was on the line.

this is me with cute hailey... the boys were making fun of me because my hair was out of control. what do you expect when i have boating and helmet hair?

we had a fabulous time with the boys up at the cabin and can't wait to go back up there again! we left early sunday morning so we could make it down to murray for a bbq at katrina's house. she and her husband scott just built a gorgeous home and it was fun to have a few of our high school friends get together to hang out and eat some good food. of couse, i forgot my camera at the dinner as well.

we also had the pleasure of having lindsey and cameron come to visit us this week. i was excited for them to come and see our new place and was excited to finally have people to cook for! we made fajitas (they were ok, i still need to tweak the recipe a wee little bit) and then we headed over to charlies for ice cream! yum! i love that both josh and i can get along with lindsey and cameron so well. lindz and i can talk about anything and everything and the boys are both into fancy phones and computers (especially cameron, king of the apple store). the visit was a success, not only because we were able to visit with some fabulous friends of ours but also because cameron was able to convince josh to get an iphone (and stop checking out the $700 nokia phone he wanted) and he also worked his magic to get josh to reconsider getting me a macbook for school! josh thinks a regular laptop would be just fine, but cam knows how to sell those apple products so hopefully in the next month, we'll have a couple new additions to the hankins household! next time they come up, i'm determined to send them home with at least 1 of the 4 kittens that play in my backyard. lindsey fell in love with them and i just don't care for cats enough to make them mine. jinx, watch out!

well, that pretty much sums up this week's events. i hope everyone is also having a fun summer! it feels like it's flying by so fast and i'm sad that the warmth and sun will be fading away soon and school will begin again. i'm definitely excited to start up school again because i know the next time i stop, i'm done forever, however, we still have some fun things planned for the next month so i don't want to get school on the mind too much! i had a list of things i wanted to do this summer and we only have a few more things to cross off: roadtrip to vegas, white water rafting, hiking the windcaves (for josh's sake), camping in logan canyon, floating the canal in logan and floating the river in preston, horseback riding, a trip to porcupine dam, and a weekend in lava hot springs. if anyone wants to join us in any of these activities, let us know!!