We Burned the Boxes

The pack rat in me loves to save boxes.

"Oh, I could use this box to wrap a gift in."

"Oh, if we ever move, we will need boxes."

The boxes started piling up in our back room. They took up a lot of space and looked trashy. There were a few days when I organized them to maybe throw a few out, but I always kept them. Finally, the clean freak in me overtook the pack rat and I asked Steve to build me a fire. He was more than happy to.

It was a tough thing to let go, but I am happy I did. Boxes are not hard to come by, and my back room is in a lot better shape.

Saturday Bliss

I have never really appreciated Saturdays as an adult until I was employed full time. Since then, it seems that Steve and I are constantly going somewhere for the weekend. Today, I stayed home.
It was wonderful!
I slept in, did a long exercise routine, and took my time in the shower. I enjoyed the sunshine in the afternoon with Trace and Maddie. I savored a peach frozen yogurt as I sat by my flowers.

Jen gave me some columbine flowers last year. They grow in a bush of some sorts, but since mine are young, I have only gotten one blossom so far. This made my so happy that there is some beauty in my flower beds.

So now I am a firm believer in relaxing weekends! Hopefully, I can enjoy the summer with much bliss.

One Week Off Work

I went to Idaho for a few days to spend with my parents and the Johnson's. Mom and I did yoga, ran, ate great food, went shopping, and did pedicures. I got to watch Elliott and Logan for a little bit. I love these two! So much fun! Thanks Mom, Dad, and the Johnson's, for a few fun days. It was a fun little holiday!

This month is such a special one...

... it's birthday time for you!

The Pickerings have three birthdays that are very close together (Trace, Eric, and Latara). So we all gathered to St. George to celebrate!

We played in the pool, had some barbeque, and opened presents.

2 Years Strong

Steve is very tricky sometimes. We both agreed that the cruise was our gifts to each other for our anniversary. I came home from work a few days before our anniversary and found a bouquet of roses. I squealed and swooned over them and tackled Steve when he came home. He is a sweetheart! On our anniversary, I made him a very fancy steak dinner. We were both a very happy married couple.

We are loving, laughing, growing, learning, and understanding together.

Yay for 2 years!!

Death By Powerpoints

Last February I got a job as a dental assistant at the office that I interned at. I am so excited for my new job and I am loving it. I feel so blessed! I didn't have my radiology certificate, so my boss paid for a radiology class that I could attend so I could be certified. The class was at a dental convention in Salt Lake City. Dr. Van Tassell described the convention as "Death By Powerpoints." And sure enough, my class was basically a powerpoint. I passed the class, and now I am officially certified to send radiation through someone's mouth.

That evening we ate with Dad, Mom, and Janeen at The Rooftop Restaurant. It was really nice, and it was fun to spend time with some of my family.

Other than an awesome new job, not much has been happening in the Pickering household. For Valentine's Day, I made this amazingly-shaped pizza. We were both surprised how well it turned out.

Mexican Riviera Cruise

Steve and I went on a cruise Jan 29th- Feb 5th with Eric and LaDawna. We are so grateful that we were able to take a week out of winter to enjoy sunshine, playing, and time with eachother.

We left Saturday early in the morning and drove all the way to San Diego. We were on the Oosterdam for lunch and wandered around. Every night we would eat a fancy dinner then go to the shows. The food was excellent, as my 10 lbs. heavier body can agree with. I wanted to try new and excotic foods, which I did. I tried estcargot! The shows were fun and entertaining.
On Sunday, it was a little overcast, so we spent the time playing shuffleboard, giant chess, little chess, and a movie.
Monday was a little bit sunnier, so Steve and I went swimming, played more chess, and walked around.

Our first stop was beautiful Puerto Vallarta. It was so green and lush. Once we were off the ship, we met up with our group. We piled in an inflatable speed boat to go across the bay. Once we got there, we piled into a yellow bus that hauled us up a bumpy dirt road. Then we went zip-lining. It was so fun! We rode mules up a trail, and zip-lined and repelled through the jungle and waterfalls. I would recommend it to anyon who loves adventure. Even if you don't love adventure, it was beautiful and fun (coming from someone who is terrified of heights.) We didn't get any picture because of safety reasons, and the professional ones they took were high priced.
But we ate some authentic quesadillas and got back on the bus. We stopped at a tequila factory. I was more interested in the pretty pink flowers than anything else. Once we were back on our speedboat, our guides were kind enough to let us look at some rock islands. During this time, LaDawna saw a whale JUMP out of the water. We sped over to see it. There were two of them, both jumping up and playing. We were so lucky to see that.

The next day we woke up to the most gorgeous sunrise that I had ever seen in Mazatlan. We went kayaking with a small group around Goat Island, then spent the day lounging at the beach, buying things from vendors, and eating real guacomole.

Thurday we spend in Cabo San Lucas. We watched LaDawna play with the dolphins, walked around the marina, and laid on the beach. Steve and I rented a waverunner, and checked out Lover's Beach, Divorce Beach, El Arco, and the rest of the bay. It was freezing. If there was no wind, it would have been perfect. But Cabo was really fun.

Friday we were on the ship heading back north. We watched movies, relaxed and swam in some cool pool water. By Saturday, we were back in San Diego.

This vacation was so fun! We both feel so blessed in our lives, and we are so grateful for so many opportunities. Thank you Eric and LaDawna, for letting us come with you. It was fun to spend time with you.

For all of my pictures, you can visit this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=330113&id=636902358&l=1eab277b67