It's been awhile....I know!!!

Ok So I know it has been forever, like 5 months since I posted anything so here is a brief summary of the last 5 months.

My brother Scott got married (actually in December) and so I got a new sister in law Ubon and niece (her daughter) Sara.

I went backpacking with my boyfriend to a hidden forest just outside of Vegas....yeah you heard right, there is a hidden forest in the desert! It was beautiful. By then end of the trip we had hiked about 16 miles!

On the trip we hiked to the top of a peak....most strenuous hike ever!!! I was proud of myself for making it!

And Brenon enjoyed a hot bath after the long hike. Not something you see everyday!

This cabin is maintained by volunteers and is great!

We took a day trip to Cathedral Gorge which is some amazing clay silt formations. The weather report was horribly wrong and it snowed on us. Needless to say, it was an adventure in mud!

My good friend and roommate Kaitlin had a birthday so while she was gone for the weekend Brenon got out his air compressor and we blew up over 150 balloons and filled her room!

She loved it and had a great birthday!

My friends/co-workers got married!

Did I mention they got married by Elvis....it was probably one of the funnest weddings I have been to!

And just last weekend we hiked to the Goldstrike hot springs and then down to the Colorado River. That is the bridge over Hoover Dam in the background.

Brenon decided he wanted to swim in the freezing cold river to a sauna cave...I passed.

We enjoyed a hot shower in nature!!!

So we have had quite the adventures lately and that's not even all of it!!! Just the highlights. Sometimes I feel like a weekend at home is a past time but we do enjoy all our adventures and hobbies. I also started tennis lessons so now we play tennis, rock climb, hike, camp and backpack!

2 weeks in paradise!

Sooooooo....I went with my boyfriend to Puerto Rico and the Domincan Republic...get ready for lots of pictures! We had such a great time. We started in the Dominican and spent a week there then went to Puerto Rico for a week. 2 of my co-workers are from Puerto Rico and were there the same time as us so we got to hang out with them and really get a taste of Puerto Rican life! It was wonderful and we never wanted to leave.

Since I always forget that Blogger puts the last pictures uploaded first, we are going to start with the end of the trip and go from there....sorry. :)

Last moments on the beach in Isla Verde, PR

Last night in PR, we ate traditional Mofongo with Churrasco (mashed plantains with steak....soooo good)

In Old San Juan, PR many of the streets still have the cobblestone from when the island was settled over 500 years ago!

San Cristobal Fortress in San Juan, PR. It is one of 2 large fortress built when Spain first discovered PR. The fortress wall is more like a city wall and goes all around the coast/city of Old San Juan to this day!

Below the city wall enjoying the blue blue ocean in Old San Juan, PR

You can see the wall in the background that surrounds all of Old San Juan, PR

My co-workers and friends at a waterfall in San Sebastian, PR

Climbing up a hillside on some vines at a local hike in San Sebastian, PR

Brenon likes to be like a monkey and climb to the impossible spots.

Enjoying the day at El Rincon beach in PR

Waterfall in the jungle of El Yunque, PR

One of my favorites things about PR is the coqui...small little frogs that make a chirping sound at night, lulled me to sleep every night.

My co-workers dad was about as energetic as the energizer bunny. He taught me how to dance the merengue!

Three Kings Day is celebrated and we got a traditional feast of roasted pig!

First traditional food in PR, blood sausage, pork, rice and beans and tamales made with plantains.

Now to the Dominican Republic.

Beautiful waterfall in Jarabocao, DR

Revolutionary Monument in Santiago, DR

One of our favorite beaches in DR, Cabarete. Lots of wind/kite surfing goes on here and it is just so relaxing and beautiful.

Over looking the bay in Puerto Plata, DR

We spent New Years in Bayahibe, DR. We made some Canadian friends and had a great time!

Our first outing in Santo Domingo, DR
An old fortress.

Likes/Dislikes in Puerto Rico:
LIKES:
-People treat you like family, even when you just met them.
-Yunque Rainforest, need to go back and spend more time there
-Small island so it isn't too far to go anywhere, only a couple hours end to end.
-Old San Juan and the cobblestone roads
-Having hot water in the hotels
-Mofongo with Churrasco
-People have such a positive energy, passion for life, music and dancing
-Coqui
-I didn't have to use my horrible Spanish skills, most people understand English and many speak
-Traditional feasts/parties
DISLIKES:
-Very Americanized, could easily live there because it is so Americanized
-People party too much, and too long, we were up until all hours of the night all weekend long
-Mosquitos
-Ferries got closed to go to Culebra, supposedly the most amazing little Island in the world

Likes/Dislikes The Dominican Republic
LIKES:
-Met some awesome Canadians to hang out with for a few days
-Crashing all-inclusive hotels for free food and drinks
-Beaches are beautiful
-Beautiful waterfalls
-Very green and beautiful
-Gua-gua's(local minivan transport but imagine shoving 20 people into one van) Such an adventure!!
DISLIKES:
-Mosquitoes ate me alive....I think I had like 20 bites on one leg at one point.
-It rained on our plans to go see/hike a place called 27 waterfalls
-Driving/traffic is ridiculous, no rhyme or reason, just a lot of honking, cutting off, and crazy driving, gave me a headache just being a passenger.
-No hot water

Tournament of the Kings!

My brother and his new wife Taryn came to Vegas for a mini-honeymoon so my friends and I went to see Tournament of the Kings with them at Excalibur!

Brenon and I....ahh so cute!

My sister in law surpised us girls with cute floral crowns for the show....Brenon was sly and got in the background!

My brother's married!!!!

My brother Ryan and his fiance Taryn were married on Saturday, November 13th. It was so perfect, perfect weather and everything. I am so happy and excited with my growing family. It was great to spend time with all of them.

I even caught the bouquet!!!

4 generations! My Grandma Carly came out from SLC for the wedding, it was so nice to have here there!

Isn't my family just growing!!! My brother Scott on the left is going to marry his fiance Ubon on December 26th so we get to do this all over again!!! So excited....they are also expecting their first child together in July!!! I love my family!

Brunette!

SO I have gone brunette in the past and hated it......the last time I remember liking it was when my little sister got married nearly 6 years ago! The last time I went brunette I hated it and dyed it back blond within a month. But, I decided to try it again and was so glad I did. I even went to a brand new hair stylist, so I was really taking a risk. But I am so glad I took the risk. My new hair stylist did an amazing job, not too dark and not too ashy!!! I absolutely love it!!! Must admit, I have been having lots of fun with my brunette hair too! Who says blonds have more fun?

Me and two of my roommates, Jennifer and Kaitlin. Lots of people say Kaitlin and I look like sisters now that my hair is dark.

October Fun!!!!

So in Vegas each year the radio station 94.1 puts on this big event called The Bite of Las Vegas. It has lots of restaurants from all over Vegas come and offer different types of food and bands come and play as well. This year the Plain White T's, Sara Barelleis and Switchfoot came. We only saw the Plain White T's because unless you want to eat all day there wasn't much else to do in between the hours between bands playing.

Me and my friend Kristy decided to try pulling a full size GMC truck hoping to show up the boys.

We watched others do it before us and got a rhythm going to get momentum and sure enough.....

We pulled that truck a good 10 yards. Believe it or not, some teams of boys couldn't even pull it. We were very proud of ourselves!!!

The boys wanted to challenge each other dragging tires and then carrying them across.

My friend Brenon and I listening to the Plain W

Plain White T's