Business Trip Time

**Warning: This post contains only ONE picture.

Last Monday, Bryan & I spent our FOURTH night apart as a betrothed couple, which we are quickly learning that we hate.

I left on Monday morning at 7 AM to train a new agency management system in one of the Leavitt agencies in California. Here's the fun part: I got to ride on Leavitt's private plane! I arrived at the hanger (yes, they also have a private hanger) that morning only to find the pilot cooking french toast casserole, hash browns, bacon, sliced strawberries, and orange juice. It was at that point that I realized the next 48 hours might not be so bad.

When we were ready to leave, we skipped security checks and baggage check-in and simply loaded our suitcases on as if we were loading them into the trunk of our own car and took off. We landed at the airport in California in the private driveway, took our own suitcases off, and went to the private glass suite for rich people to check our plane in where our rental cars were waiting for us with the trunks popped. After I stomped the red carpet back up, we arrived at our hotel.

My room had a king sized bed with six, count them, six memory foam pillows. After spending a fun birthday eve night with Ben, Kirsten, Lady, and Zzyyxx Intertia Snowball Squirts Tyrrel who were, like, seven miles away, I came back to the hotel and zonked out. Thank you, Tyrrel's for chauffering me around and letting me play! It was a blast! When I woke up on Tuesday morning, I realized that I had slept in about 1/8 of the king sized bed and used two pillows. I missed Bryan.

The training at the agency went well on both Monday and Tuesday. We finished working a little earlier than planned on Tuesday, so we simply alerted our pilot that we were ready to go. No waiting for a commercial flight for us. We drove to the secret private roadway/entrance at the airport, pulled our suitcases on, and flew away. Again, after the red carpet was rolled back up, I took my seat on the plane. This time, I was the co-pilot! I got to sit in the cockpit and wear the headphones with the microphone (to talk to the pilot) and push and pull some buttons! I even got to hear him get clearance for take off and all other pilot language that I didn't understand. "Niner, niner, 26, 34, Delta, V36, sixty eight, niner."

While my first business trip was a fun experience, I was very happy to see the Red Dragon (my car) and Bryan! I miss him even when I'm only gone for 36 hours.

Sensational Summer Games

Bryan, Mandy, and myself had the spectacular opportunity of helping with the 2008 Summer Games Opening Ceremonies this year (thank you, Mindy)! Our job was to host Collin Raye. In other words, we were supposed to keep him and his band happy. Our day started at 11:00 AM and ended around midnight. Phew! What a day!

The Three Stooges - 8 PM

Chandi & Mandy in the Production Room

Chandi & Mandy - 10:30 PM

Ba Da Da Da Da - - I'm NOT Lovin' This!

The Three Stooges Ready to quit Summer Games - 11:00 PM


Bryan & Chandi with our passes tryin' to remember that there are still two more hours to go and that attitude is everything!

As you can see, we got a little tired and grouchy around about 10, but we trudged on and actually had a ton of fun laughing and giggling! Thank you, Mandy, for accidentally brushing your hair with an unknown blonde brush in the dressing room and acting as a Disney line guard with your flashligh! Thank you, Mindy, for smirking about the "special musical number" and suggesting other ridiculous solutions! Thank you, Bryan, for being such a tough security guard and kicking everyone out of everywhere and for ALWAYS making me smile!

Motorcycle Mania

Bryan and I spent our third night apart as a betrothed couple on June 06 while Bryan and his Daddy-O went on a motorcycle ride up to Torrey, UT and back where they were able to see and capture the beautiful scenery!

Luckily, Bryan and Dad returned home safe and sound (thanks to my million finger points and lectures I'm sure) with smashed yellow bugs all over their clothes to prove their "man ride" was successful! They had a wonderful time (except when Bryan went to bed and I wasn't. . ."sleeping" with him) and enjoyed breathtaking views right outside our back door(as you can see)!

And, if you're worried about how my night went, don't because I spent it playing with Mandy! I tried to sleep at my parent's house as to avoid the lurking boogie men in our house, but I couldn't sleep so I ended up driving home around 2:30 AM, turning the hall light on, and sleeping in our bed with the TV on all night! Yes, I am a night time wuss. I love you, Bryan, and I'm thankful I have you to "sleep" and sleep with every single night!

Memorial Day

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Panaca this year where we enjoyed lots of time with our wonderful family, and some delicious breakfast at Cindy Sooz! We were also able to enjoy an old car show as we ate breakfast where Bryan took some neat pictures of the old cars and their old owners!
Count it as another fun weekend in Panaca! It's so nice to be over there in the nice weather and play and stay up all night with family! We love you, Allen fam!!

Picture Tag

I know I'm not really one to respond to tags, but this one was fun and different. (Thanks, Kirsten!) To play, type in the answer to the following questions on a photo website and save the first picture that pops up. [Note: Okay, I cheated a little and picked the first cute or interesting picture that popped up.]

Favorite Food

Middle Name

Favorite Place To Be

Favorite Color

Place I'd Like To Visit

Worst Habit

Major In School

Favorite Holiday

Name Of Past Pet

Age I'll Be On My Next Birthday

See how fun!? Did you learn something new? I tag everyone who wants to play!

Graduation

The Cedar High School boys track team won state this year! In Cedar, this means the fire trucks meet the boys at the top of Main Street when they get home (in this case, 11:00 PM), all the boys pile on the top of the truck (this time they all took their shirts off and whirled them around their heads), and the lights flash and sirens run all the way down to the high school! All along the way, there are parents and community members on the side of the road and other parents following behind the fire trucks honking their pants off! It's pretty much a schmorgasborde of noise, but it's a cute tradition! Fire fighting dad plus track runner brother equals dad driving one of the trucks and a very excited Bryan in shot gun honking the fire truck horn for the first time!



Bryce's Seminary Graduation was on May 18 and went really well (mostly because Bryce was a speaker - - the BEST one)!


And, on May 22, Brycie Boy graduated from high school! I was just so proud that I ran right down to the floor for a quick picture before the ceremony began. (Isn't he so big and handsome?)

Bryce walking through the "C" in all of his graduating glory! What a hoot!

Proud Bryan & Chandi with the stunning graduate!

After winning state track the Saturday before graduation, delivering a spectacular talk at Seminary Graduation the next day, and graduating high school on the 22nd, Bryce was a very happy boy!!

More Flowers & Success

I know I've said it a million times, but I have the best husband ever! He got me these darling flowers for Mother's Day with a cute, "I can't wait to see you as a mommy and you'll be the best one ever," comment! I love them! (No, we're not announcing anything.) They're like tiny, pink palm trees!
I took my Utah Property & Casualty Agent's Licensing Exam last Saturday and the week before was a smush full of studying, eating, studying, not cleaning anything, dreaming about insurance, studying, daydreaming about passing the test, running out of food and not grocery shopping, and studying some more. See the following picture to discover what we had for dinner most nights.

The following picture is what I looked like for most of the week. I know, I don't usually put this much effort into studying, but I DID NOT want to take the test more than once, so I suffered through.

Can you find the following things in the picture above?

One sleeve of Saltine crackers - I pretty much lived off of crackers and sprite all week long.
Homemade flash cards - I know, who really does that? Desperate times . . .
Exam Cram red book - I felt like I was in a high school class where you have a fake baby and you have to carry it with you everywhere you go for a certain amount of time.
My backpack - Who would have ever thought that I would really fill one of those things with school supplies?

The week was worth it because I PASSED!!! I took my 150 question test in 1.5 hours and got 82% (70% is passing)!!! Of course, Bryan was right there by me and met me at the door with a brand new congratulatory purse!! I will be taking congratulatory gifts from all for the next month.

Shout Out

I'd just like to give a shout out to my sweet husband! He's absolutely the best husband in the world! Last week, I came home to a sweet "old time scroll" (hand burnt by Bryan) and some beautiful Spring flowers!


Bryan also finished Spring semester 2008 (his first one at SUU) with flying colors! He took six classes and got A's in ALL of them! Way to go, babe!! [Note: In this comic, I would be the confused parent figure since I NEVER got straight A's in college. Bryan is a way better student than me - - by far.]

And finally, last week during a pretty big rain pour, Bryan and I were sitting inside watching TV and a huge grin appeared on his face as he said, "Chand, it's been a while since we've kissed in the rain," took me by the hand and led me outside in my bare feet, scooped me up into his arms and took me out in the rain to give me a big kiss and share lots of laughter! [Note: This is just a picture of us after I ran inside to get the camera to take a picture in the rain.]

I am so thankful to be married to Bryan! He is everything I ever dreamed my husband would be plus so, so, so much more! There is not one person in the world whom I would rather spend every waking second with! He is my best friend and my true love! I LOVE YOU, BRYAN!!

Happy Birthday, Bryce!

That's right! My teeny, baby brother, Brycie boy, turned 18 yesterday!!

While some of you blog readers might think that I made Bryce spaghetti for his big day--April Fools! I actually decorated cupcakes to make them look like a plate of spaghetti and meatballs! We also gave him a Wendy's gift card. He would happily plug himself into a Wendy's IV if he could.

And, here he is singing us a "Thank You" song on his brand new acoustic guitar!

18 Things We Love About Bryce:
His witty text banter all day long.
His dedication to his Priesthood responsibilities.
How he ate an ornament off the Christmas Tree when he was little.
His mad guitar/singing skills.
His ability to make ANYONE smile at ANY TIME.
His un-ceasing clever remarks to anything that anyone says.
The things like, "I think I just ran into your car, Bryan," "Well look what the wind blew in," and "I'm going to Club 900" that he says all the time.
The fact that he actually likes to run and is good at it - - especially the "Root Beer Mile!"
His adorable dimples when he really smiles.
The way he comes to our house when he gets a concussion from boxing.
How cute he was when he was a little boy and he would dress up in his White Ranger outfit at least once a day.
The way he is so generous and kind and sweet to everyone around him.
His SARCASM and SENSE OF HUMOR!!!
How he still loved "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," or "TMNT," when he was 17 years old.
The way he can eat and eat and eat and eat and eat - - especially on Thanksgiving Day 2007.
How he has changed his mind from "going to the circus" to going on a mission and is excited and preparing to go.
How he always looks into the distance during a family picture.
How he wouldn't get out of his new Tonka Truck on Christmas morning because he was afraid it was going to disappear.
Happy Birthday, Bryce!! WE LOVE YOU!!

Extreme Rollerblading

Yep, that's right. Mandy called me yesterday and requested that I be her rollerskating buddy. At the time, we both agreed that it sounded fun and it was easy the last time we did it (10 years ago) so why shouldn't it be fun and easy this time?



Well, although this time did provide much laughter (I laughed when Mandy fell, she laughed when I fell), it did not provide an easy activity. Most of the time on our wheels was spent like this:
Grabbing each others jackets or arms up in the air for balance, squeeling, and much struggling. We each took a turn falling. My turn took me for a ride under a construction fence where I landed on my butt as the dirt made a cloud around my head, skidded to a halt with my hands through the gravel, and got my right rollerblade stuck under the fence. Oh, and I also skinned my hand.
Mandy's fall was quite hilarious. She was going up a slope and her feet went right out from under her almost in slow motion and then she hit the concrete. THUD. That's all I heard. [No dad, Mandy DID NOT hurt her back.] I somehow managed to get a, "Are you okay?" out without giggling. After she said yes, I burst into uncontrolable "girl sleepover" giggles!! [Sorry, Mand, for not helping you up, but I couldn't breathe from the laughter.]

This is us after "blading" (that's slang for "rollerblading") for less than a block.

Two pair of rollerblades: $50
One block of sidewalk with construction: $500
One evening rollerblading: One good idea, one hour, one open wound, one huge bruise, and a lot of laughter.
One Chandi and Mandy after a night of Extreme Rollerblading: POOPED [and a dead Mandy].