Someone else's trash is my treasure

I have been needing a new dresser for a while. My old dresser is fine. I bought it at IKEA 8 years ago, and it was just starting to get old, and have issues. (maybe it is because I was CRAMMING the drawers full.... whatever!)
So I have been on the hunt for something new. I decided to browse the consignments stores too for treasures. And, guess what..... I found a treasure! I went in and saw a beautiful dresser, but then noticed it had a "hold" tag on it for someone else. (how dare they!) I put my name with the store just in case things changed.... and they did! I got a beautiful, solid, espresso dresser that hardly has a scratch. Score!

I don't really have a good before picture.... but my dresser was light like my bed.



And now.... check it out! New pictures (thanks to Sam Moons!), and gorgeous new dresser! Happiness!!!




Thank you to whoever got rid of this gem so that I can enjoy it! And a BIG thanks to my dad and Matt who helped heft this behemoth up the stairs and into my room! Not an easy task, but worth it!

Just around the riverbend....

Nothing like a fun day down the lazy river with the youth in our ward.

Good times.... some girls don't like getting their pictures taken without makeup on! :)

My crew on my boat. Such cute girls. However they were much more interested in water fights and boys than rowing....Wow. I got my work-out for the day!

How y'all doin' down in Texas?!?

The Aunties decided to go take a trip and see where our cute niece and nephew moved to. Welcome to Texas!
We immediately felt the heat and humidity, kinda like a tropical vacation. The heat didn't bother me too much, but then again, we spent most of our time indoors!
Our first night, we decided on an outing for dinner where the kids could be entertained too.

The food was great at this classy restaurant. A huge salt water fish tank, a view over the water....

That's right.... we ate at the Bass Pro Shop! Welcome to Texas!

There was a mini "beach" out back by the water. Lest you think we have left, you can see the sign in the background. Yep, still in Texas!

A little target practice for the girls. A great after dinner activity!

The best way to beat the heat... Swimming!!!

Love having the waterproof camera to catch cute moments at any time.


One of the great reasons to go for a visit was cute Rini-roo's 4th birthday!
Happy birthday cute girl! It was so fun being in Texas with family who I love so much. It was a fantastic trip. Good food, some great swimming time, and just being with family. Love you guys!

Campin' with the Girls!

Ah, to be 16ish again....
Oh wait! I got to be 16 again at Girls Camp a couple weeks ago!

The outdoors. The great food cooked for you. The ponytails and pigtails. The fun and water fights. Lots of giggling. Late nights and cumulative sleep deprivation.
Yep. That's Girls Camp AND being 16ish again! Lucky me.

So, as usual, it was so great to have my Dad up there too. It is so great to have him there and also to see him being so much fun with all those teen girls that look up to him.


And I had the great experience of having a long time friend be up there too as a cook. We got a chance to hang out a little bit and found out that we are mean kayakers!


And then I also got to relive a little bit of the college days and be a roomie again with my old roomie. Look at us.... we don't look a day older! (or something like that...) So fun to have a good friend that has known me for a very long time, and still finds time to be a good friend inbetween being a great mom to 3 great kids. I loved catching up on the chit-chatting!



Good times! No wonder I love going every year!

Big climbing on a big wall!

Okay, so I am finally posting these pics.... About time!
Andy and I decided to attempt Washington Column in Yosemite one more time. We did it a year ago, and got 2/3 of the way up. We were on a mission to succeed!
The scenery was gorgeous and the weather was actually decent!

Climbing up the 6th pitch. Glad I didn't look down!
See my little red helmet at the bottom of the picture. Great pic Andy!


A more up close look at a sweaty and grimy climber on day 2 of the climb. We were working hard! Andy was a champ! Being the lead climber is hard work!


The kind of climbing we did is called aid climbing. It is labor intensive, gear intensive, and time consuming. Check out all the stuff Andy is carrying! I must admit that the climbing itself is not as fun as regular climbing, but it makes it worth it to get to the top of things that you can't get to otherwise.


This is the great view from out not-so-spacious sleeping spot. Spacious or not, I was tired and actually slept pretty decent!


Everytime I got a chance to hang on to a rock, I took it! I love rocks!


Unfortunately, we did not make it to the top this time either! But this was the highest point we reached. We made it 3/4 way up, so hey, at least we did better than last time!


I like this picture for 2 reasons. First, it looks cool. And second, when you compare it to the previous photo, you can tell how far up we climbed. Yeah!


Lookin' tough. Well.... we gotta carry all the stuff somehow! I actually put my backpack on over the top of the ropes even. Crazy!


Good climbin, and good times! I am not sure if I will do this kind of climbing again.... but it was a good experience anyway. All that effort is exhausting!

and another thought...

I was looking at that sign in my previous post, and had another thought. I have been to 6 of the 9 places on there. Pretty good!
I saw Facebookers doing "how well do you know me" stuff, so here's a question (if you care to play...)

Which 3 places has Kristin not been?

Where there are stingrays, there are sharks....

That is what my nephew said when we told him we were so excited to go to Grand Cayman Island and swim with the stingrays. He was very upset and told my mom she couldn't go unless she wore "a shield" because, where there are stingrays...there are sharks! (thanks Nemo!)

So off we went. Hello carribbean life! The humidity hits you like a wall when you step out of the plane (onto the tarmack, by the way), but it was fantastic!!! We stayed on the east end of the island, away from the cruise ships and stuff.
Life cannot be bad when you are on the beach 10-12 hours a day. Love it! reading. tanning. snorkeling.


And yes we did go to Stingray City and feed the stingrays. Wow! I must admit that it is a tad unsettling seeing this 3-4 foot wide dark spot coming at you, but we got used to it. They were very friendly and their bodies and undersides were so soft. It was awesome! What a cool experience.

That guy looks kinda big...

they were definitely not shy (especially when they smell squid!)

We took a catamaran out there. Gorgeous ride/sail!


Don't worry Alli.... I'll save you!


We snorkeled a couple days. Who needs to scuba when you can see all this in shallow water! Saw cool fish, spotted rays, even a nasty moray eel (eek!), and a group of squid... cool to watch them swim!



My Dad found a cool event. I don't know what it is offically called, but I'll call it Turbo Snorkeling. We had these motors that helped do the work for us. Not too shabby! And no... the picture below is not of aliens.



Believe it or not, there was one bad spot in the week. Hell. That's right we went to Hell! Who would name a town that? Apparently the Grand Caymanians! It was hot, but not unbearable, and the power was out while we were there. How appropriate! And now I can say " I have been to Hell and back to be here today...." Nice!



We stopped at this cute beach for a photo opportunity. The colors and everything were so great! They had these gazebo-like covered seats. We had to take pictures. We realized as we got closer that they were made for giants! Do you see how far off the ground my parents feet are? Seriously....made for super tall people!


The swing picture was cute in theory, but when we all sat down, my behind was almost on the ground! Hurry Dad... take the picture!


What a wonderful relaxing vacation! I would definitely go to an island like this again!

Where to next....

Saw this sign on Grand Cayman island, and it got me thinking.... where am I going to go next?
Stay tuned for vacation pics. So beautiful!

Family Togetherness

The Danes and the American-Danes came together for a wonderful day of good company and good times.

My mom had the great idea of going to eat and play bocce ball. It was entertaining for the little kids, allowed the "big kids" to visit. (and the "big kids" played some too!)

The Danish women.


Nicholas and Joshua... so cute!


Lovely ladies socializing


Me and my cousins!


It was so sweet that our cousins made the effort to come see us and bring Aunt Jytte while she was here in the states for a short visit. Oh how we love her!
Making time for my family is so important and it was well worth it. What a great time we had!

Run for your life!!!

So I did another half marathon last weekend. Part of me wanted to do better (aka run faster) than last time, but part of me wasn't committing to that goal. Good thing!

So my wonderful friend Kari and I planned a nice weekend. We got a hotel room near the race in Santa Cruz. We relaxed at the beach, read books, shopped, and got ready for the big race. The race started at 8am. If any of you know Santa Cruz, it is always foggy or cool in the morning, and sometimes it takes until noon to start warming up - hence the appeal for the beautiful morning run along the coastline. Let's just say I was surprised when I was already feeling the sun beating on me at the start line.
We had record heat that day in Santa Cruz. Drat! But I did okay. I did have to stop and walk for a bit to douse myself with water and rehydrate. I was a little slower than my previous time, but I survived.
So the big question is... do 2 halves make a whole marathon??? :)