Welcome Reygan Makenzie

On November 19th, Gary and I got a new niece!!! She is so cute and we are so excited to have her here. We got to spend a lot of time with her up at the hospital because we live so close. And it was also nice to be able to help Trina out when she NEEDED us. :) We also got to take Taylor to the Aquarium. That is a really cool place! She was so excited to show us around because she has been there a bunch and is an old pro. Other than that, we haven't really been up to much. Our Billy Joel and Elton John concert was postponed, which sucked! Anyway, here are the pictures of Reygan and Taylor and some fish at the Aquarium.

Can't wait!

Sushi Party

Last night, we celebrated my Dad and Kym's Birthdays, and had a Sushi Party at Trina and Aaron's house. They invited their friend "Chef Johnny B" over to teach us how to roll sushi. It was a blast and the sushi was awesome! After he rolled a bunch of good ones, he let us loose to create our own rolls. They all turned out so good. Mandee and I created one with smoked salmon and mandarin oranges, it was called the......."MANDANARIN ROLL" and Trina made a tempura roll that we dubbed the..........."TRAMPURA ROLL". But, I must say that the Eel was my favorite! Thanks Trina and Aaron and Chef Johnny B we had so much fun! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD AND KYM!

Cabin Trip

Bree: This post is mostly for you. So you can see how weird the cabin looks.

Over the weekend we took a day trip up to the cabin. A bunch of the trees had to be cut down because they had died, dried and become a fire hazard. So we went to check it out. It was so sad, because the two huge trees in the front (the ones with the swings) had to be cut down. Those swings have been up since before I was born. I have been pushed many times on those swings. AND, my sisters and I have come up with some pretty sweet swing tricks. But, if they were a fire hazard, I guess it's best that they are gone. It was fun to go and see the changes and we had a lot of fun just hanging out and going fishing with my dad.

Whats left of the rope swings. It looks like a tragic ending.

LOVE THIS

Bree, I posted this for you. Bride to Be! I will only be a bridesmaid if we do this. I'm serious.

My Friends!

Last night I went out to dinner with the girls I grew up with. I hate calling them "Old Friends" or "Elementary School Friends", because I think that makes them seem like a thing of the past. But really we have kept pretty good tabs on each other. It's crazy that we still have so much to talk about and how connected we are. They have been my best friends and I am so lucky to have them. So THANKS Kristen for setting this whole thing up. It was so fun and I can't wait to do it again. We missed you Heidi and Jenny!

Hawaii

Gary and I were lucky enough to go to Hawaii this past week. Gary's parents took the whole family to Maui. When we landed at the airport, Vicki had arranged for some locals to dress in traditional clothing and give us each real flower leis. It was so cute!!! We stayed in the cutest condo right on the beach in a community called Puamana, in Lahaina. We were just around the corner from the best shopping. We played on the beach the 1st and 2nd days, got a little fried, so we took the next day to go shop and look around. We also went to a Luau at the Royal Lahaina and it was so awesome! Jana and I even went on stage and learned to hula. (we hid in the back of everyone else). For some reason, I was waking up at 6:00 every morning, which was fine with me. I went on walks and hung out on the beach for a few hours until everyone else woke up. The next day we went to the Crater/Volcano. We ate at this really cute restaurant on the mountain. The Crater was pretty cool, but I got so sick on the way up, and that's all I am going to say about that. Really early (for everyone else) the next morning went on a snorkel cruise on the Maui Pride and went to Molokini and Turtle Town were we got to swim with Sea Turtles. (I don't have those pics back yet but I will post them when I have them. They are really cool). On Tuesday, we went on the Road to Hana. It was so pretty! That was one of my favorite parts of the trip. There were so many cool places to stop on the way. It took us about 3 hours I think, to make it to Hana. Hana has a population of like 700 and is very spread out and kind of in the middle of nowhere. Doesn't really have grocery stores or restaurants or shopping. It kind of just seems like a few little huts in the middle of a jungle. But...........they had an LDS church off the highway! It was so funny to see. It was the most beautiful ward house I had ever seen. It sat on the side of the mountain overlooking the ocean. After the road to Hana, Gary and I had to hurry back to the condo to pack. We had to take a red eye flight back to Salt Lake so that we could work the next morning. Kind of crazy! We landed at like 7:45 a.m. and were at work by 9:00 a.m. Most exhausting and torturous day of my life! The rest of the fam stayed a few days longer and will be home tomorrow. We all had so much fun! Gary and I loved it so much that we are already looking into going again next year. (seriously, we came home and have already searched for the best flights and hotels) I have been bummed out ever since we have been home. Ha ha ha! I really do miss it! Gary and I have decided that we were both meant to live somewhere near the ocean. So, hopefully Gary will be excepted by a school were we can do just that. And then come back when he's done. :) Anyway, THANKS PETE AND VICKI and all of the G-nander/Strong clan for such an awesome experience. We had so much fun with all of you and love you very much. Enjoy the Pics!

After we got leied at the airport :)

Our Condo in Puamana

The street we took to get to the beach

Us

Brent, Me and Gary headed to the Beach

All of us shopping in Lahaina

My favorite street. (Best shopping and right on the beach)

Me and Jana

Gary and I at the Luau

All of us

Me, a cute hawaiian, and Jana

I took this picture and I am so proud of it, so I posted it

Pete needed a rash guard for snorkeling. I had bought a new one, so jokingly

I told Pete he could use my other one. (He didn't realize that it was a joke)

He was grateful and agreed to wear it before he saw it. Needless to say

he went and bought his own once he saw it. I made him put it on for kicks. :)

This was the Resturant on the side of the mountain that we

ate at after the Crater.

Fruit stand on the Road to Hana. They had the best Banana

Bread in the world.

Me Vicki and Jana at one of the Waterfalls on the Road

to Hana

Black Sand Beach

Our last night, leaving for the airport