Summer, Summer, Summer

We've had such a wonderful summer this year. I must say I have questioned whether I should have been a teacher instead of doing hygiene based solely on the fact that they get summers off work, and I don't. But I have a feeling that starting tomorrow when school starts up again, and I don't have a class of 30 little kids to babysit all day, I'll realize I made the better choice. Anyway... Jordan and I have had a great summer. There's just something about coming home from work in the daylight, and being able to be a little carefree and feeling like you have time to really enjoy life.

So here are a few of the things that we've been up to lately...

We went to a Bee's Game with my parents and McKenzie. Summer isn't complete without attending a baseball game and eating a rubber hotdog. I mostly just talked through the game to my Mom and Kenz, but Jordan had a great time talking sports with Dad.

My good friend Erin is starting Dental Hygiene school so she had to quit assisting at the office. We've worked together for a long time, and have become really great friends. I'm going to miss seeing her at work everyday. Good thing we're friends outside of work too, so I'll still see her, and it will be fun hearing all the hygiene school drama that I so miss :) ha!

We dressed in black on Erin's last day, "The Day of Mourning", and all went out to lunch together. I love my job, and work with some of the greatest girls around.

My blog wouldn't be complete without mentioning our Harry Potter happenings. Jordan and I had a Harry Potter marathon in anticipation for the final movie to come out this Summer. We watched all 7 movies in a row, (and I must mention what a sweetheart he is for enduring them. I'm kind of a nerd, and he's an angel for putting up with me) and then on opening weekend we went and saw Harry Potter 7.2 with Casey & Nick. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, loved the movie, and am so sad it's over. I feel like a nerd saying this, but I feel like I grew up with Harry Potter. I remember reading the very first book in 7th grade, and kind of being embarrassed because it was a new book, and I didn't want people to think I was a weirdo for reading about wizards and stuff. Ha! Who would've ever thought 13 years later, I'd still be a fan? I secretly wish Harry Potter was real. I'm crossing my fingers that I can convince Jordan to take me to Harry Potter world in Florida one day, and that Casey & Nick will really name their baby after one of the Harry Potter characters. (Hooray!... Casey & Nick are expecting!!! Soooo excited for them.)

We bought a new kitchen table! We'd been using my parents old one that's been around for 40+ years. It was time, and we're so happy with it. I think it looks so nice with the wood floor.

Jordan and I have loved working in the yard this summer. We've been so happy with our flowers this year. I'd definitely say I have a little "Howard" in me.

Who would've ever thought after that crazy rain this spring that I'd be able to grow a garden? My garden has exploded. I thought my garden area was huge, but I think we might need to expand it next year. The squash has grown right into the common's area (aka...weed patch) behind our house. I picked some peppers this week, and have tons of tomatoes, onions, and spaghetti and banana squash growing. My guess is we'll use like 1/10th of the produce grown from the garden, but now I have an excuse to be a good neighbor and share the harvest. Being in the yard seriously makes me so happy.

Girls Camp!!!... This was my first year going to camp as a leader. (Am I seriously old enough for this?!!) We went to Lava Hot Springs in Idaho, and had a blast. We tubed the river, played at the awesome swimming pool that had tons of water slides, went hiking/geocaching, sang a million silly songs, and had a great time together. We have such a wonderful ward. All of the girls get along so well, and are so nice to each other. It was a great experience to be in the beautiful outdoors, without all of our worldly distractions, and be able to bear testimony to the sweet girls I've grown to love.

As soon as I got home from Girl's Camp, Jordan & I headed up to Park City to spend a day with my family at their condo. We went up earlier that week after work one day too, just to swim and relax in the hot tubs. I wish we could've stayed longer, but due to work and church responsibilities we had to cut our time short this year. We always manage to have a fun time no matter how long we stay though.

It's been so fun to watch the new Station Park development pop up around the corner from us this Summer. We now have a grocery store, a few retail stores, and a nice new movie Theater within walking distance. There's still a lot more that's going to be built, and it sounds like it's going to be beautiful and maybe even have a "Cheesecake Factory"...yeah!!! Yesterday Jordan & I walked to the theater to see "Planet of the Apes". How cool is it that we can WALK to the theater?! Then we walked over to the Davis County Fair, which was pretty white trash, but I did get a snow cone out of it, so I won't complain. But it ended up to be a fun day. We love where we live, and are so blessed.

And to finish off the summer with a bang, McKenzie and I went to the Sugarland/Sara Bareilles concert. It was so much fun!! I just love that little sister of mine. Jordan stayed home and had a guys night with some old buddies of his. Pizza and corny movies. It doesn't take much to entertain a few guys :)

And thus concludes the Harrison Summer. Jordan has school orientation on Monday, and then officially starts classes for his Masters next Tuesday. Reality hits hard and quick. I have a feeling I'm going to be a widow for the next 21 months. I better get myself some hobbies and quick. We're both excited for a new adventure though. We are so blessed to be able to have experiences like this. So as Elder Wirthlin once said, "COME WHAT MAY, AND LOVE IT."

Camping With Friends

Our good friends Bret & Amberly invited us and another couple from the ward (Marc & Eliza) to go camping with them up to Strawberry over the weekend. Their grandma has a cute, old cabin up there so we didn't have to sleep in a tent (hooray!), but we still were able to have a camp fire, chase lizards & frogs, shoot guns, dutch oven, and get plenty dirty. We had a great time.

Jordan the Fisherman. When Jordan told my Dad we were going to go fishing, my Dad's whole face lit up. He got Jordan all hooked up with fishing gear, and started extending invitations for future fishing trips. Hopefully he'll have better luck fishing with a pro like my Dad then he had this weekend.

Here's Amberly not catching anything either. haha

Jordan was in heaven being somewhere that he could get his gun out and target shoot.

The trout fishing was awful, but the crawdad catching was excellent!

You just throw a raw chicken leg in the lake, and when you pull it up it's covered with crawdads.

We caught a whole cooler full of crawdad's and Bret insisted we take them back to the cabin and cook them up. Look at that sink completely filled.

Am & I with the boiled Crawdad presentation. They looked fancy, but I couldn't convince myself to eat one, and either could Jordan. I bet we cooked up over 100 and maybe 2 got eaten. Oh well, they provided much entertainment over the weekend.

It was so fun watching Jordan laugh & run around like a little boy chasing lizards, frogs, and crawdads with the guys. I love having friends that both Jordan & I get a long with. Thanks for a fun trip Bret & Am.

Megan's Baptism

My cute nieces and nephews are growing up!!!! Megan turned 8 earlier this month and was baptized on the 16th. She is absolutely darling, and I'm so proud of her. One of the cutest things at the baptism was watching my other 8 yr old niece Alyssa write Megan a letter on her special day. Her letter said something to the effect of, "Dear Megan, I am so proud of you for getting baptized. I know you made a good choice, and I know Heavenly Father is very happy." I couldn't help but smile at these cute girls. I just love them.

Megan with her Dad. She was so happy and said her face hurt from smiling so much.

I LOVE this picture. I think my mom looks so beautiful here. She's such a good Grandma.

All nine of the Grandkids together.

Cache Valley Sprint Triathlon

Julianne convinced me to do a Triathlon with her while she was up in Utah for the summer. I was hesitant at first, but figured, What the heck? You only live once right?

So... here it is, our First Triathlon Adventure.

Big Smiles before the race begins

500 Meter Swim

Transition Area

12.5 mile Bike Ride

(Jordan let me borrow his brand new road bike. It worked like a charm)

3.1 Mile Run

(alone: Very Easy... after a 12.5 mile bike ride: Very Hard)

WE DID IT!!! (1:44:13)

Thanks for pushing me to try new things Jules. You're awesome. I had so much fun, and was glad to have a buddy to do the race with.

*PS... me completing this race in one piece, and smiling is a complete miracle. 3 weeks ago, I crashed into a stupid metal pole on my bike with McKenzie as a witness (a LAUGHING witness mind you) and cracked my rib. It finally started feeling better the last few days, and it didn't give me any trouble on the race thank goodness. Then... 4 days ago I got a horrible cold. I haven't been able to train much this week because my throat has hurt so bad. I have been so worried I wouldn't be able to do the Tri. But... I woke up the morning of the race feeling great, and my throat didn't bother me the entire time.

Moral of the story... Miracles happen, prayers are answered, and I am one happy girl.

4th of July Festivities

We had a fabulous Fourth of July. Here are a few of the events that made is special.

4th of July isn't the same without Jordan singing in the bank choir Sunday night at the Layton Amphitheater . Haha this is always a comical scene.

Jordan & I ran the Layton 4th of July 5K early in the morning, and then headed off to Mom & Dad's to celebrate Julianne's birthday with a pancake breakfast. Julianne & I are doing a Triathlon this coming Saturday. We've been swimming, running, and biking together. Hopefully our hard work will pay off, and we'll have some fun.

Then off to the Kaysville parade. Classic. We sat on Grandma John's lawn, because one of Paul's friends lives there now. He let us walk around the house and yard, and it brought back so many memories of Grandma. Oh how I miss her. I can't think of 4th of July without thinking of her.

After the parade me and McKenzie threw a little Birthday party for all our cute nieces. Brooklynn, Alyssa, Megan, Paige, and Ashlie all have birthdays from June 29th- July 11th. So we had a water/birthday party for them all. We did the slip 'n slide, ran through the sprinklers, jumped on the tramp, tossed water balloons, swam in the the hot tub, and had cupcakes and popsicles. Fun, Fun.

Then we headed off to Jordan's sister, Natalie's house for a yummy BBQ, and then ended the night off at Adam's house for our own personal firework show. This year aerial fireworks became legal, so Adam took advantage. I've never seen Adam so excited, as he was to show off his firework display. He was like a kid on Christmas morning.

Good news... the firework show did not disappoint. It was AWESOME!! Good work Adam.

What a fun 4th of July we had. Lots of family, lots of food, and lots of fun. Too bad this all came with lots of allergies that turned into a nasty cold for me. Boo. So now I'm soaking off my Holiday Hangover in bed drinking wassail, and popping Claritin and cough drops like candy.

Even though my celebrating left me under the weather, I'm still proud to be an American.

God Bless America!!

Birthdays, Baptisms, Blessings.

July 2nd was a whirlwind of a day. Julianne & Paul's family came up from Arizona to celebrate this busy time of year with the family, and it's always fun to be with them. We started the morning off by celebrating Mom's 60th Birthday. We had a delicious breakfast cooked by Dad in the backyard, and then had our little party. All of the gifts were so thoughtful. I made Mom a book that had pictures and letters to her from every person in the family. It made her cry, I guess the gift was a success. We love you Mom. You're the best, and make everyone around you so happy. Thanks for raising a family that loves to be together.

Then the day turned from Birthdays to Blessings & Baptisms. My oldest niece Alyssa got baptized that afternoon, followed by her little brother Connor getting blessed.

It was a special day for the Odell family. We came back to my parent's house and had a big BBQ with the whole extended family. It was a perfect day, and nice to have everyone together. I think it was the perfect way to celebrate Mom's birthday. She was so happy to celebrate this way instead of with a dumb reception with coffins and black balloons.

Cute cousins. Megan's getting baptized in 2 weeks.

Speaking of blessings, Emily & Simon's little girl, Olivia was blessed Sunday. She is so beautiful, and we were happy to be a part of this special day with them. This weekend made me realize how blessed I am to be married to such a wonderful man. I'm so grateful that Jordan honors and is able to use his Priesthood to bless lives. I love him.

Happy 25th Birthday Jordan!

Jordan turned 25 (finally) on June 26th. He requested a "low-key" birthday. But... I have a strong belief that birthdays should be anything but low-key so.... we celebrated in style.

We had both sides of the family over for cake and ice cream Sunday. We also spent time with our friends Casey & Nick, Bret & Amberly.

We've had fun going to the Davis County Parade of Homes together. The homes were beautiful, but every night that we came home, we both agreed that our home is perfect for us. We're so happy here, but would possibly like to do some wainscoting to our walls to spice things up a bit.

Jordan's big birthday present... a new road bike!!! We're excited to go out biking together.

He then spent his birthday money on a pair of sweet new running shoes. (don't be shocked if you see this birthday boy doing a triathlon soon)

These Nerf guns might just be the best present Jordan got. His eyes lit up when he opened them and insisted we play "steal the flag" right that second. Picture this... Two 25 year olds dressed for church, running up and down the stairs shooting Nerf guns at each other in a mad game of steal the flag. It was classic.

I guess age is all relative.

Happy Birthday Jordan, I love you so much!

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In other news... Jordan has officially been accepted into Westminster's Masters Program!! He'll start his MBA there in August. He is so excited. It's a 21 month program, with classes 2 nights a week. He'll be crazy busy, but it'll be worth it. I'm so proud of him. Good luck Jordan!