Moni's Wedding

My good friend from work, Leamoni Leauanae, married his sweetheart on May 19th. Here are pictures from the reception.
Natalie, me, MJ, Kahiki, and Janelle.

Kevin and Me

Birthday Fun!

Here are some pics from Steph's Vegas b-day party and my b-day celebrations. We pretty much partied for 2 weeks.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

So I made it to 24. My body aches and I’m much more tired today than yesterday; I will attribute these symptoms of an aging body to the softball games I played last night and the gobs of Italian food and chocolate cake I just ate, not to being a year older.

For some reason I’m happier today than I’ve been on recent birthdays. Maybe it’s the great friends in my life, the handsome guy who sent me flowers, or the way it feels to be full of Italian food and chocolate cake. Yes….life is great!
So if any of you have read my "poetry" you know I hate rhyming and seldom do. However, I decided to be crazy and write a poem about being little in the same rhyming style I wrote poems when I was little. Enjoy!

Little Dirty Mitts:
I talked to the wind as she traveled by.
I saw wild horses and dreamed I could fly.
I played outside with out a single care.
I loved to smell each flower as I placed them in my hair.
I spoke to the birds and listened to the trees.
I crawled with the ants and ran from the bees.
I named the purple flowers and had tea with the squirrels.
Oh how I miss the joys of being a little girl.

Softball Time

We are for sure in "a league of our own" this year. We had our second work softball game last night. We won our first game and lost last night. My hamstrings and hip flexors are so sore!

Idaho Adventure

Courtney and I drove up to Rexburg, ID to pick up my cousin Whitney from school. On our way up we made the mistake of eating at a gas station diner in Preston, ID (home of Napolean). We had to pull over at the next exit because I was so sick and Courtney was sick the next morning. Once we got Whitney loaded up and on the road, we had a great time. We even trespassed into BEAR WORLD, which is this random place in ID where they keep bears in fenced in areas that you can drive through. They were closed, but we drove in on a back road and saw a few bears.
It was a fun trip!

Family Updates

Some of you are great about sending pictures from home, some not so much. Here are some recent pictures I've received from the home front.



Kaitlin, Jeremy and Lexi







Jason's sweetheart, Lainey






Hay Bug eating breakfast

Myrtle Beach 2007

It is official. Kevin and I are flying to SC for 10 days in June for the family beach trip festivities! Kevin will get the crash course in southern culture as we explore from Charlotte to Charleston. Load up the boogy boards, start boiling the peanuts, pass the sun screen, Here we come!

Muddy Creek Ride

I recently spent a day riding horses in the Muddy Creek Wilderness area in central Utah. 10 horses, 10 riders, and 3 dogs rode back and forth across the Muddy Creek in a beautiful canyon. We made our way to a cabin well over 100 years old and it still had a cast iron stove sitting on the buckling floor with the year 1899 on it. It left my mind full of questions about the people who lived there and the sacrifices they made to live in such a beautiful yet remote place.
About 4-5 hours into the ride our group separated into two groups and we kept our eyes open for the wild horses living in the area. The scenery was beautiful and the terrain rough; the horses worked hard for us. The final few hours of a 10 hour day in the saddle is a little “uncomfortable” and the horses were really tired. We kept getting cliffed-out and finally decided to maneuver down a sketchy drainage off of the plateau. As I led my horse, Laredo, down the steep and loose boulder filled drainage; it was a bit scary. Laredo would begin to lose control of her footing with me standing in front of her. A few tense moments later, we were all safely at the bottom.
When are spirits needed it the most, two wild horses put on a show for us. They ran away down a side canyon and circled in front of us. After watching us for a few moments they ran straight towards us, stopping a couple hundred yards away. My childhood day dreams were being played out in front of me.
Although it was a great day in the saddle, my body has never been so glad to see the truck and trailer. We were all walking a bit funny the next day.

Dear Kaitlin

~John Mauney Jr.

Life has always been a gift to cherish,
The pains of death are proof.
Live each day with strength and hope,
do more than simply breathe.
Succor yourself with meditation on blessings bestowed by God
The more you smile the happier you’ll be.
and the grief will slowly leave.
There’s joy to be found in the path you take,
wherever it may lead.

New Jersey Adventure

I flew to New Jersey Monday for work and flew back Tuesday evening. A lot happened in that 24 hour time span. I rented my first car, I learned that when people say you can only turn right in New Jersey- they are being literal, I figured out what a “jug handle” is, I spent my first night sleeping alone in a hotel room, I got lost in New Jersey and spent more than I want to admit on toll roads, and met an amazing family from Liberia, Africa. Now I could elaborate on everything mentioned above, but I won’t. However, I have to tell you about the family I met.

I got to my gate 2 hours early for my direct flight to Utah. I witnessed 2 guys about my age trying to understand what the gate attendant was saying and they were obviously having a hard time. I walked up to the attendant and said I’ll take them to their gate because I was really early. Come to find out, they were also flying to SLC and we were all at the wrong gate. I led the mom, dad, two sons, and young daughter to the correct gate. The little girl is 8 years old and has a disability; her face is severely disfigured, but she would smile when I would talk to her. They were dressed humbly and only the 2 boys spoke English. We struggled through conversation and we were each very curious about the other. When I pulled out my lap top they stared in awe. I let the little girl watch a horse DVD I had with me and the dad kept thanking me over and over. They started in Liberia, traveled by bus to a larger city, flew to Europe, and then flew to Newark, NJ. They were exhausted from such a long journey. I helped them find their seats on the flight and changed my seat to sit with them. When we got to SLC I tried to lead them down the escalator. They were very hesitant, but I eventually coaxed them on. The mom and daughter fell down a few stairs and the boys caught them; the dad’s eyes got really huge. When we all safely reached the bottom they let out a nice laugh and sigh of relief. They had never seen an escalator before. An African man named James who moved to the US 13 years ago greeted them. They had never spoken before. The mom started crying and the boys and dad couldn’t stop smiling. They had made it. For the entire family of 5, they only had two small suit cases. A Catholic center in SLC is housing them in a 3 bedroom apartment. I just can’t imagine what it has taken for them to get here and how scary it must be for them. It was a great experience traveling with them.

Fighting Sleep- 2am

So, do you ever have such a wonderful day, you fight your body's need to sleep? You don't want the day to end; you don't want to lose the feelings radiating from you. You're scared your dreams won't be as kind to you and the risk of not remembering your sweetest dreams is all too real. I suddenly can't remember how it feels to be sad or lonely. Sometimes life is wonderful. That sometimes happens to be now.

Different Strokes

So as friends from work and I sat in the back of Subway munching on our lunches, Gary Coleman walked in. He was wearing all camo, black moon boots and a depressing scowl that kept any of us from talking to him. As he walked outside to his sporty Saturn Sky, you could only hope you might hear him ask, “Whatchu talkin’ about?”

Boardin' with the CEO

I spent Saturday snowboarding with a group from work, which included the CEO and COO of CP. It is fun to work for guys who would spend their Saturday on the mountain with their employees. We all had a really fun day.

Isabel and James

Engagement photos:
http://indigo-photography.blogspot.com/

Boarding at the Bird

I went to Snowbird with friends on Saturday. Three of us didn't have to pay because we didn't get checked on the bottom lift and we stayed on the upper lifts all day. That right there made it a good day and all of the powder qualified it for a darn tootin' amazing day. These first two pics are me coming off this cliff in Mineral Basin. Too bad my head got chopped off. Look at how much powder was at the bottom though. It was a blast!