Hawaii

So apologies for taking for freaking ever to get this post up. I have been going crazy the last couple weeks and I still don't have very much time so this post is gonna be pretty basic. This year the WAC tournament was in Hawaii so we all decided to be a really good family and go support Liz. Haha, it was a blast! We got to stay in the same hotel as Liz so she just came and stayed in me and Kade's room and my parents and Hunter were next door so we had the whole fam together. The team didn't win but Liz played awesome and we were so proud of her. I hadn't been back to Hawaii since I lived there so it was nice to return and see my "old stompin' ground" as my dad called it.(Yeah Bre it was crazy to see everything that had changed in 3 years) This was Kade's second time in Oahu (the first was when he came to pick me up) and the rest of us had been there multiple times so it was nice not to have to do any of the "touristy" things, we just got to chill and hang out a lot at North Shore. We had a wonderful time and it was so good to just relax for a couple weeks. My fam is the best and we all have so much fun together. Enjoy the pic's, I did :)

 

 

Yeah, Hunter took this picture of Kade and I, isn't he good!?

Family Pictures

It's that time again...Time for family pictures. Thanks Richelle for some awesome ones. This year we just stuck around my parents yard. It was simple and fun. The best part was that Liz was home for the weekend. The first time she has been home since JULY!!! We were all dying with excitement for her to be home and we had an awesome weekend!

 

Wedding Cake

Well last weekend my mom's cousing Matt got married to a darling girl. The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time with family. The only problem was that my mom volunteered me for the wedding cake, yikes! I haven't done a cake FOREVER and I'm not a crafty person so I'm not very good at it any way but I did my best. I made my mom help since she sucked me into it anyway and we were pretty proud of how it turned out. I think it's cute and the cupcake thing is great. People just come up and take one so you don't have to cut anything. Anyway, I'm glad it's over. I hate stress, that's why I avoid it at all costs!:)

Tagged!

Ok Shelli, here you go. This is the tag where you open the 4th folder and find the 4th picture and describe it.

This is a picture of us and our great friends Pascal and Suzanna on our way to Florida for our first cruise together. We ate lunch at the Chili's in the airport and you can just see how excited we all our from the grins on our faces. This cruise we hit up St. Maarten and St. Tomas and had a freaking blast!

Riding

 

So, this last weekend was an interesting one. Kade decided last minute to go to the beach house with his dad and brother. I got the invite but I didn't really want to leave on such short notice and figured the boys could have a fun "guy weekend" without me so I stayed home. I am so grateful for the relationship Kade and I have. We love being together but we are both fine with separate time too. We don't have to be conjoined to have fun. Anyway, I stayed home and my brother and parents talked me into spending the weekend at their house so Zoey and I had a sleep over at my parents which is exactly 4 minutes away from our own house! Haha! It actually was really fun though. I stayed in my old room and just spent quality time with my parents and little bro. So anyone that knows my family very well knows that we love our dirt bikes. I got my first bike when I was about 8, and learned to drive a clutch a few years later. We used to ride all the time as a fam (and with awesome friends Crys :) and Liz and I have tonz of motorcycle memories but poor Hunter is at the end and by the time he was old enough to ride we were all so busy we weren't riding as much so he actually never learned to drive a clutch. So this Saturday was the day. My dad and I took him out front and taught him the ropes. Then we rode to the desert and got some practice in and rode a few trails. I haven't riden for a while and it felt really good to just be careless and ride fast. I love the feel of the wind and the exhileration of being free. How cliche but oh well. Kade had fun in San Diego too and Zoey and I were very excited to welcome him home!

Liz's first start!

 

Last weekend I made another trip up to Logan to visit my lil' sis. She had double home games and my dad and I really wanted to watch the team play. Then, a couple days before we left Liz called me and told me that she was going to be starting. She competes for her position with two seniors who are really good so she hasn't been seeing the court as much as she is used to so we were all really happy for her. We spent 4 days up there and had a great time watching her play and just being together. I miss her a ton and since she is so busy with volleyball she never gets to come home so although I freaking hate the drive I must admit that it is worth it to see my sis every once in a while. Liz played awesome and it almost made me teary eyed to see her play again. I am always so amazed at how talented she is and it makes me sad to think that I don't get to watch her all the time anymore like I did when she was in high school. I guess that's life. We all have to grow up sometime! Good luck Libbi, GO AGGIES! P.S. For those of you who want to know they lost to Fresno State in 5 and beat Nevada in 5.

Birthday Weekend in Vegas!

 

This last Saturday was my birthday so Kade asked me what I wanted and I said, "I want to go shopping in Vegas!" So off we went with our BFF's Pascal and Suzanna. We left Saturday afternoon and shopped at the Fashion Show mall until it was time for dinner at Cheesecake Factory, which was amazing as usual, and after that we did some more shopping at the Forum shops. Of course I had to hit up A&F and I could never pass up the MAC store; which is technically my version of heaven:). After that we walked the strip a little and did some gambling-nothing too big. I did double my money at one point. I put a dollar in the machine to play some Black Jack and started winning a few and Suzanna told me if i made it to 2 dollars I should cash out so that's what I did. Haha, like I said "Big Money!" We spent the night at South Point, and it was a really nice hotel. It had a bowling alley in it so we bowled a few games, and I even beat Kade 2 of the 3 games we played. It was definitely birthday luck! Sunday we went to the new outlet mall at the south end of town and it was beautiful and they had an H&M so I was super excited. We also ate at YougurtLand and it was delicious. Sorry this is so long, I just had the greatest birthday ever! Thanks to Kade, Pascal, and Suzanna for an awesome birthday!

Good Friends=Good Times

This last weekend we spent up at our friend's, Josh Hurst's, cabin in Beaver. It was a beautiful place and we had so dang much fun. Our friends Blake & Bre and Josh & Michelle moved to Cedar a while ago for school and since then we don't get to see them near as much which saddens us deeply. We are counting down the days 'til their return to sunny St. George but until then we will enjoy our few weekends together. We had a blast playing volleyball, horseshoes, pool, Scum, and watching some great football. Josh also fed the deer. They were so cute! We love our friends and appreciate them putting up with us! Thanks guys for the great times!

San Francisco!

 

It seems like I have been gone doing something fun almost every single weekend. Don't get me wrong, I have had a blast but I think one weekend I just want to spend at my house. Until then I guess I will just keep blogging about all the crap I'm doing. Anyway, this weekend adventure was San Fran, Cali! Kade didn't get to go on this one since his boss is more strict about time off than mine (haha) so I went down there with my fam. Liz's team had a tournament down there so we decided we could go watch and do some sight-seeing as well. The team actually didn't do so good but we had a fun time besides. Plus, it was so awesome to see Liz again. We get to talk all the time on ichat but it isn't the same as real life. Dang, I miss that girl (don't tell her I said that!). Anyway, we got to do all the traditional stuff, ride on the cable car, eat a ton of sourdough bread since that's my fam's fav anyway, clam chowder, walk the piers, walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, eat pizza, visit the Ghirardelli chocolate factory, check out Lombard Street (the most crooked street in the world), ya know... Stuff like that. I had a good time with my little bro and it was his b-day on Sunday so we decided to celebrate on Saturday since we would be going home on his actual b-day. We went to Rainforest Cafe and had dinner and a "Volcano" cake for dessert. San Fran is a beautiful city and it was fun to visit.

Mountain Meadows Cabin Trip

 

This weekend was not only labor day but Kade's birthday so since the beach house was taken we decided to head up to the Ence's cabin in Mountain Meadows. It is a cozy little thing surrounded by grassy fields and tons of riding trails. We took up the 450 (motorcycle), the Grizzly, the Rhino, and Kim's latest toy a doon buggy that can haul butt. I think we all filled up on our need for speed and adrenaline bursts. Since I have riden motorcycles my whole life it was fun to become more acquainted with 4-wheelers. It was me, Kade, Kolby, and one of our very bestest friends in the whole world, Pascal and Suzanna. We love them and since they live in Nephi we don't get to see them near enough. As you can see in the pictures, Zoey thinks that everyone should be her friend and decided that the horses up there were her new buddies. She also tried to make friends with some wasps when we weren't looking and got stung pretty good. She cried for like half an hour, it was pretty sad. Oh, and the first picture is me with this cute little snake I found. I love snakes and think they are so awesome. Kade hates them so when I find one I like to chase him around and try to make him touch it. It's like him chasing me with a bug, only I think it's "funnier":). All in all it was a really fun weekend and we couldn't have asked for better company. Also, since it was Kade's birthday I just want to tell him how wonderful he is and how grateful I am to have such an awesome partner in all our adventures. We make the perfect team and no matter when or where I can't imagine being with anyone else. I love you so much Kade and am sooooooooooooo happy to have the best eternal comp. in the whole freakin' world. LOVE YA! Ok, sorry for all the mush. I am heading to San Francisco this weekend so I will update when I get back. Peace out.

Utah State...

A few weeks ago my dad and I drove up to Logan to officially move my sister in. She had actually gone up there at the beginning of July to start lifting with the team and getting better acquainted with their routines but she had come home almost every weekend and we had still seen her a lot. This time it was a for real move and now we don't get to see her unless we go to her games. It was fun to get her all settled but it sucked for both of us to realize that it will never be the same again. I am gonna miss her so much, she has been such a huge part of my life and it is gonna feel so empty without her here. She is my best friend and I love her to death! I am so proud of everything she has accomplished and I know that she will be an awesome volleyball player for Utah State. Go Aggies!




I got her the bedding for her 18th birthday and we have just been saving it until now. Please tell me that is not the cutest thing EVER!

Lake Powell

 

Our summer trip to Powell this year was a blast! We stayed on the Ence's house boat with family and friends and it was awesome. Everyday we would wake up early and go wakeboarding and then head home for lunch, go out to wake surf, head home for dinner, and sometimes we would even make a 3rd run. I love being in the water, I really think Kade and I might produce some kind of aquatic creature as our child because we both can't ever get enough of the water whether it's swimming pool, ocean, or lake we love it all. We got to spend some great times with our good friends Rhett and Sara Frei and Brian and Jenn Schiller and of course we can't forget the adorable Breckin, he made the trip even more fun! Kade's Uncle Jon and his wife were also there. It was good times had by all I think. We even got to go on a private helicopter ride around lake Powell, it was absolutely beautiful. Sorry we don't have very many pictures. Sometimes we get having too much fun and forget to snap the camera. I just want to say thanks to our great friends. We are so blessed to have such awesome people in our lives.

Return"ed" With Honor

 

Kade's little bro Kolby just returned from serving his mission in Cape Verde, some islands off the coast of Africa. It is so awesome to have him home. Kolby and I have a great relationship and it feels good to have him back here with us. We really missed his jokes and his ability to make tense situations light. He served honorably and we are so proud of him. We picked him up at St. George airport. That night we took him to Texas Roadhouse for his first steak dinner in 2 years. The day after he got home all he wanted to do was go to the lake so that's what we did. He had his first homecoming in Nephi the following Sunday and he has one here this Sunday. Kolby also got to meet Zoey for the first time and as you can see it was love at first sight. Those 2 cuddle all the time and Zoey's butt wags almost as hard as it does when she sees Kade whenever Kolby comes over. Everyday since he has been home he has been wearing out his old brother and sister. He wants to stay up late and do fun things all day. We are having a blast and I just want to tell Kolby how much I love him and how proud I am of everything he has accomplished.

Bear Lake

A few weeks ago we had another family reunion. It was with Kade's, Mom's, Dad and Stepmom. (Haha, you have no idea how confusing Kade's family is!) Anyway, we grudgingly went up to freezing Bear Lake but we had a good time. Liz had recently moved up to Logan to get prepared for her first D1 Volleyball Season so we picked her up on the way which made the trip even more enjoyable. It was a freaking long drive but we all do crazy things for our families!

Walking down to the Lake

Zoey finally passed out after chasing the birds all day

Our little family

Out on the wave runner

Crazy man Kade on the wave runner

Costa Rica!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

K so anyone who knows my family very well knows that I have loved to travel before I met Kade because my family loves it. I have always been so grateful to my parents for taking us around the world to experience other cultures and just make memories. So this trip was of course another fun family vacation but I think I must say that this was the most high adventrue trip we have ever taken. We were going crazy the whole time. It ws so freakin' awesome. We saw tonz of wildlife, got to go to 2 different cities for church, saw the temple, hiked through the dense rain forest, went on 2 zip lines, played at the beach, and I'm sure some other stuff. I guess the pictures explain it pretty well. Sorry that this took me so long, we have been in and out of town for over a month now, but we are settling down for at least a couple weeks anyway. Anyway, we had a blast, just like all our trips, and I have to vocally express my love and appreciation for my family and my husband because none of these amazing experiences would be amazing without them!

McArthur Family Reunion

 

So since both my dad's parents died we haven't been seeing his side of the family much. There are 8 kids and I think we all just get busy. So this reunion was the first in like I don't even know how many years but it was a blast! Friday night we had a BBQ and swam at my parents and then Sat. we went up to my uncle's cabin in Pine Valley. It was really beautiful up there and we had a great time. It is weird that now all the little kids running around are my cousins kids instead of my cousins and I. Time flies I guess.

SCHS Graduation

 

Well, I can't believe it but Liz is actually graduated. It was fun to be there and remember my graduation exactly 4 years ago. I was kinda sad but very proud of her. Graduation was just another step towards her leaving, which I am not excited for but I know it will be awesome for her. Kade and I also got asked to help with grad night. The theme was Indiana Jones, we all looked pretty good and we actually had a really fun night. I'm glad we got to go. Kade had never seen a grad night, especially not one like the ones we have at SC so he thought it was pretty cool. The picture in the middle is what Indiana flew in on and jumped out of. It was crazy! So it was a very fun day!

P.S. Thanks for all your support as a brunette but I am just a blonde at heart. I also have some hot pink streaks in there, see if you can find them!