Christmas in Hawaii

Because of my extremely awesome parents, Tyler and I got to spend

two weeks in Hawaii over our Christmas break.



Just arriving in Honolulu, Hawaii



If you know Hilo at all.. it doesn't just rain. It pours. It doesn't just

pour for a few hours. It pours for a week straight. Even though the weather

was not cooperating it wasn't keeping us from having fun. One of our first

stops was the Boiling Pots and Rainbow Falls. These are just a

few miles from my parents house and are some absolutely beautiful

sights.



Boiling Pots



Rainbow Falls



On the Big Island there are two huge Volcanoes. We decided that Tyler

needed to go see what it was like to be surrounded, I mean surrounded,

with lava rock.



Volcano visiting center

 

When we first arrived to the volcano it was a complete down poor.

I was miserable! However, there was no way the bad weather could

put me in a bad mood especially when I was surrounded by these..........

The rainbows were amazing. We were able to drive through the beginning

and end of many rainbows. Unfortunately, I never saw a pot of gold.

What a scam... 



After many years of living on the Big Island my dad discovered an

awesome hike that goes to lava flow. The hike was covered with lava rock

and was near a cliff that was right on the ocean. It's the best feeling to be

looking down on the ocean and hearing the waves hit the rocks. The ocean

is extremely relaxing to me so this spot just made my day!



For Christmas Eve we made pizza's. That is one of the Curtis traditions

and my parents wanted to make sure that Tyler felt at home.

With a fight I was able to convince Tyler to pick out some Christmas PJ's for

me. He made it obvious that that wasn't something he didn't enjoy. However,

he did a good job and I was pleased!

More south of Hilo there are a few black sand beaches. Even when I lived there I

had never been to this one. The beach was beautiful and there were HUGE

turtles everywhere. At first it was extremely windy but as the wind calmed

down and the sun came out, we started to really enjoy ourselves.

When the sun finally came out in Hilo, Tyler and I escaped to Coconut Island.

It's a cute little place to just go and relax in the sun. 

Carl Smith Beach was where my friends and I would always go when I

lived in Hilo. I always liked to go there because there are two turtles that are

always there and they come right up to anyone hoping that they will

get fed. It also is a nice shaded, grass area, surrounded by palm trees

and beautiful surroundings.

Tyler really wanted to go snorkeling. Well... so did I. So we took a trip

over to Kona side . 49 Black Sand Beach is a perfect place to go snorkeling.

We saw all sorts of types of fish and had a blast.

Dad was being such a good sport!

These were just a few of our extremely fun adventures. It was so good to see my

parents and let Tyler get to know them a little more. It was nice

to be able to get away from the cold and enjoy 80 degree weather. My parents

bought a connect(I think that's what it was), and we spent many of our

nights trying to figure it out and playing either tennis or golf. I wish

they lived closer so we all could spend more time together. However, I know

that that's where they're supposed to be and am so glad that they are happy

and keeping busy.



Leaving my parents, and Hawaii, was no easy business. I already miss them!

Getting back to the real world has been difficult but not as difficult

as getting used to the time difference! I'm so grateful that my parents

were willing to sacrifice so that Tyler and I could come be with them

over Christmas. 

Thanksgiving Weekend

This year was our turn to spend Thanksgiving with Tyler's family.

We had an absolute blast! After being in St.George for a few days we decided

to go to Las Vegas to meet our new niece Jocelyn Kate Irvin.



First time holding Jocelyn




Jersey and her new baby sister



My "baby" Jayne.. She is no longer a baby but she will always be mine



She is an absolute angel. I don't think I heard her cry once the whole

time we were there. It was so good to see Jay's beautiful family and

get to spend some time with them.

My father-in-law, Vardell, is a Harley fanatic. I've always

wanted to ride on one but we never were able to find the time to go for

a ride. Finally the day came and I can't explain how excited I was!

Our original plan was to go to Springville and grab some lunch. However,

it was cold and very windy so we decided to go out to Huricane and

head back home. Tyler and I both had a blast and now I can

understand why Vardell loves Harleys so much.

This trip we also get to hold for the first time ANOTHER new

niece. Peyton belongs to Megan and Curtis and is their second girl.

She is absolutely beautiful! Due to Megan's awesome timing we got to

go to Peyton's blessing that Sunday.



Grandma and Peyton



Doesn't it look like we need one of these?! :)



Niccole and Geoff




Grandma and Grandpa




The whole Fam Damnly

Our Thanksgiving was filled with food, love and family. I couldn't have
asked for more. Thank you all for making a difference in my
life. I'm grateful to be a part of the Curtis clan.



Our First Snow!

Tyler and I have never grown up in snow. We've lived in St. George

almost our whole lives where snow would surprisingly come

periodically. Because of this, our first snow fall in Salt Lake City was

extremely exciting!

Now that it has been snowing a little more often we don't like it

so much. I'm ready for it to be warm and sunny again and for me not to have

this ghostly white skin. Luckily for Tyler, he never has that problem. 

13.1 Miles

Nothing is quite like running a half marathon.. well, at least nothing that I have done.

About two months before the Snow Canyon Half I decided that this

 was something I wantedto do before I died. The training was strenuous and

demanded a tremendous amount of

dedication. Because of my type A personality, this was right up my allie.

The run was absolutely beautiful. We came through Snow Canyon Park and went

through Ivans ending at the Snow Canyon High School. More than half of it was down hill

but I never knew how hard it was to run down hill for that long. At the end of the

race I was overcome by the emotion of accomplishment.

Everyone is there to support you and to cheer you on as you run the last 400

 meters of the race. It made me think

of all those people in heaven watching us run this marathon called "life". How they are there to give us the support that we so badly need in this life

 that is full of hardship and trials,

that at times, make us feel like we can't go any further.

One of my biggest fears was coming in last. THANKFULLY there were plenty of people

that ran a lot slower than me. (Hopefully that didn't sound mean to most of you)

I finished with a time of 1:51:45. In my age group (20-24) I placed 20th out of 89.

Overall in the women's group I placed 248th out of 800, and Overall i placed 534th out

of 1405 people. I was very proud of myself. My goal was to get 2 hours and because

of my competitive side I beat my goal by 9 minutes!  

Oh How I Love my Husband...

Being poor college students is no easy business. You stress about money,

school work, grades, the apartment being clean, bills... all those silly things.

At times it's hard to concentrate on the things that REALLY matter. Tyler is

very good at helping me realize what's most important.. and that is my family..

I am the luckiest girl in the world! Tyler has been so sweet and helpful.
He gives me a sense of balance. Marrying him was the best decision I could've ever
made! He makes me want to be a better person. What more could I ask for? I have
been very blessed. I have never in my life felt neglected of love. Not a lot of people
can say that. SO whoever is reading this I have a little challenge for you:)

Make sure those around you never feel neglected of what is rightfully

theirs... LOVE!!



Easy Chicken Fajita Soup.. I Promise You'll Love it!

Tyler was getting pretty sick of my weekly meals of spaghetti and

taco soup, so I decided to switch it up with some new recipes. I

needed something healthy but hearty enough that it would fill Tyler up!

(Which is almost impossible to do)

I found this Chicken Fajita Soup recipe on allrecipies.com. It's an awesome

website where you can find recipes for someone like me (inexperienced) or

for you fabulous cookers/bakers out there! It also has a handy program

where you can make your weekly menu and it can put together your grocery

list.

Chicken Fajita Soup

1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

 1/2 lb. Skinless, Boneless, Chicken Breasts cut into Strips

 1/2 pack fajita seasoning

 1/2 red bell pepper

 1/2 green bell pepper

 1/2 poblano pepper

 1/2 large onion

 1 can (14.5 oz.) fire roasted diced tomatoes

 1 can (15 oz.) seasoned black beans

 1 can (15 oz.) Kidney Beans

14 oz. chicken broth

1. Chop all peppers and onion into desired sizes.

2. Put the Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil in a pan large enough to hold the soup.

3. Add the strips of Chicken into the pan and cook till nearly done. Then add the peppers and onions till they become soft.

4. Add the rest of the ingredients into the pan. Bring to a boil and serve!

*If you don't know what a poblano pepper is don't worry.. I didn't either!! If you shop at WalMart, the poblano peppers are right above the bell peppers.. They look like an  oversized chilli pepper.

Hope you all enjoy the recipe! It's perfect for the recent weather, healthy

and will fill all those hungry bellies. I'm going to be trying a new

meatloaf recipe on Saturday. I will let you know how it turns out!





BYU... Not Sure if I'm a Big Fan... Don't Hate

Once again because of Tyler's job we got some hook ups at the BYU game

last night. We had already had some mediocre tickets but

somehow Tyler talked a guy into letting us sit in the KSL radio booth.

This was our view..

As you can tell our seats rocked! We got free food, nice comfy seats,

nearby bathrooms, perfect air temps and some awesome cougar tails! We both 

were having a blast but for some reason I was stressing out for the 

Radio men. I've always listened to people broadcast games on the radio but 

never realized how difficult it really was and how many people it

involved. However, I'm torn... I can't decide if I'm a BYU or a Utah fan.

Obviously Utah is better because of the game that we all witnessed not too long

ago. But BYU is just awesome and I love the campus. I feel torn. I want

to be a fan of both.. Is that possible?

Sorry about the picture I had to download it off my phone and for some

reason it didn't work too well. These two random men (Mark and Greg) are the

KSL Radio broadcasters. They were both really nice, but I felt like

Greg always cut off Mark!! Which might be his job but I don't know!

The night was going so well until Tyler walked me to my car and we discovered

it was MISSING!!! Don't worry it didn't get stolen.. It got towed because of my lack of

attention to detail. That handicap of mine cost us $175! I tried to lighten

the mood that both Tyler and I were in by saying, "Well at least we will miss the

crazy traffic!" Because of Tyler's reaction I now know that was the worst

thing I could have said.

Other than the car being towed and me feeling very upset about having to pay

$175 for 3 hours of parking, last night was a blast!