Lately..

Okay I haven't been much of a blogger lately, and I wish I could say a lot has changed since I last blogged- but not much has. So I will just ramble for those of you who are mildly interested in any of the minor things that have happened since I blogged last. Starting with right after Halloween...

Kyle took a job with Ernst & Young in the bay area. So starting in August 2010- we will become official residents of Northern California. Pretty sweet huh? Neither of us have really lived away from Utah so it should be fun to get out an experience something different for however long we are out there (okay so Kyle lived away from Utah for 2 years while he was gone on his mission...but you get my point). Not to mention we have lots of family in the area and we are both pumped to be close to our darling neices and nephews. However, it will be sad to leave our home as well as all of our family here. But it will be an adventure and who can object to an adventure?

Then there was Thanksgiving Break which was pretty much amazing. We went bowling (Simpson family Thanksgiving tradition), watched movies, put up our Christmas tree and did some shopping. Oh and we saw the Blindside and New Moon, both of which I loved. Am I the only one who contemplated becoming Team Jacob just based off of the movie? I mean normally I am Team Edward all the way...but the movie kind of changed my mind.

Last week we kicked off the Christmas season by going up to Temple Square with Blaine and Kristin. Nothing gets me in the Christmas mood better than that. I wish I had pictures to post but I am a slacker and as always forgot my camera- maybe on our next post I will have some good pictures?

As of this week we have just been hanging out and drinking a lot of hot chocolate (one of my favorite parts of winter). Kyle is busy getting ready for finals next week while I am trying to keep myself sane with 27 7-8 year olds bouncing off the walls in anticipation of Christmas. Don't get me wrong they are the cutest, funniest people ever and I love what I do- but don't you remember how exciting the countdown to Christmas was when you were a kid? It's all they can do to not burst with excitement. I really do love it though; they have done a great job of helping me find my Christmas spirit.

Anyway until next time- and Happy Holidays!

Happy Halloween!

So it's been a while since we have updated on here- and really not much has changed in the last 2 months. Kyle is busy as ever with school, and my 2nd graders are keeping me on my toes everyday. Life couldn't be any better though. Last weekend we joined some of Kyle's family for the annual pumpkin carving festivities. So below are some pictures- as you can see some of the pumpkins turned out pretty cool. Kyle channeled his artistic ability into carving our last name into a pumpkin. I also posted a picture of my class all dressed up in their costumes. There is no better place to get into Halloween spirit than in an elementary school. I forgot how much fun holidays are in school.

Hopefully everyone has a Happy Halloween!

My Domestic Husband

Since we got back from California, life has been kinda crazy for me. I pretty much went straight from the plane to setting up my classroom and straight from setting up my classroom to teaching. And teaching for a first year teacher (well for any teacher but especially a first year teacher) is a lot of work. Anyway since I have been super busy, Kyle has stepped up and taken on the role of the domestic spouse in our marriage. Every morning he wakes up with me (keep in mind I have to be to work at 7:30) and makes me a hot breakfast and protein shake along with my lunch packed and ready to go. And by the time I get home he is making dinner. It has made my life much easier these past couple of weeks and he definitely deserves a shout out for it- So here are few pictures of Kyle's cooking:

San Francisco Weekend

Since we are out here we decided that we would go into San Francisco for a weekend (before God knocks it into the ocean).

First stop Wicked
<--------- and since they pay me the big bucks out here we got ourselves dang good seats. It is actually pretty sweet.




Next stop was Fisherman's Wharf
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We checked out Alcatraz, walked around the pier, and ate some super good clam chowder

After that we checked out some of the old boats there that they let you walk around.
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Then we went to the place that makes San Francisco, San Francisco- the Golden Gate Bridge

It was sweet


Perhaps a little too much for me to handle, so we called the crisis hotline because there is hope if you make the call, afterall the consequences of jumping from a few thousand foot bridge are fatal. oh and tragic.

Zumba!

My blog would not be complete without blogging about one of the highlights of our extended stay here in California- Zumba. Zumba was something I had not even heard of until I came out here and my sister convinced me to go to a class with her, but after that one class I was hooked. Three times a week I enjoy one hour of as the instructor puts it 'a party workout'. So here are the top 5 things I love about Zumba:

1. The 80 year old woman in the front of the room who is probably better than I am and doesn't hold back on shaking it at all

2. Quality bonding time with my sister.

3. It's the first time I have ever worked out without looking at the clock and wondering how much longer I still have. Time flies when zumbaing (I know thats not a word, but it should be).

4. Margot. That is the name of our instructor. She has got to be about 55 and is in way better shape than I am, not to mention she makes fabulous eyes at herself in the mirror while zumbaing. If you were to look up the word awesome in the dictionary, Margot's name would be right by it as the definition.

5. I leave class feeling good about myself. It must be all those endorphins.

Wedding Pictures

Here are some pictures from our wedding. Enjoy!

Don't watch it for too long, there are a ton of pictures.

4th of July weekend

So far California has been treating us great and believe it or not- we are loving it out here. Shocker right? I mean, who would love California? Kyle's internship is going well and we are loving being able to spend time with family who normally we don't get to see nearly as much as we would like to. Anyway last weekend was the 4th and since it fell on a Saturday this year, Kyle got Friday off. So we headed down south to Monterey with my sister Shara and her family as well as Kyle's brother Tres and his baby. Needless to say we had a good time. Our first stop was the "Dennis the Menace Park". It was a pretty awesome park, if I were about 10 years younger I would have been in heaven. The kids had a great time playing there while we adults talked and chased them around.

Kaya and Brad on the climbing wall

Kaya and Ashlyn playing

Next stop was downtown Monterey to ride bikes along the coast. We figured it would be cheaper for a few of us to rent a surrey (a bicycle built for more than two?) and ride together. So Kyle, me, Tres and his baby Evan loaded up and off we went in this beauty.

Saturday we had a laid back day of mostly just swimming and eating. That night we had a family barbeque, played some football and headed over to the park to watch fireworks.

Hopefully everyone had a great holiday weekend! Till next time..

Greetings from Sunny California!

K so in case you can't tell I have pretty much been slacking off on this whole blogging thing for the last...oh 5 and a half months or so. But after talking to many friends and family I have been persuaded to change my ways and get back on the whole blog thing- so here are some updates.

Kyle and I got married on May 2nd and are loving married life ( yes that is a cheesy, cliched statement but it is true). There is nothing better than being with your best friend all the time. We spent the month of May working here and there but mostly just playing. We were biding our time before we came out to California for Kyle's internship. We watched a lot of movies, played a lot of golf (I should say Kyle played a lot of golf) and read Harry Potter 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 together. If you didn't think we were nerds yet you probably do now- but what can I say those books have a place in my heart.

We arrived in California about a week ago and have been enjoying the wonderful, hot weather out here. Kyle is working during the day while I relax and spend time with family. I know I must sound like a total bum, Kyle off working all day while I just chill- but I am enjoying my time off before I start teaching in August. More to come on some of our California adventures out here in the bay area-

First post

So now that we are officially engaged, I figured we would get on this whole blogging thing! Ha I am still learning so we will see how it goes..