Happy Belated B-day Mitch!

So, forgive me for I am a slacker. Yesterday was my father-in-laws 60th birthday! For his birthday, Lish and his sister made him a playlist of 3 songs from every year he has been alive. That's a lot of songs. He loved it!

I remember the first time I met Lish's dad. I'm not gonna lie, I felt awkward. Lish and I had just started dating about 3 months earlier and decided to take a roadtrip out to California. Lish was telling me that his dad had never met a girl he was dating before, so I felt that the pressure was on. But it worked out great! Mitch is such an easy person to be around. He's so personable. And funny. He really goes out of his way to mess with people, mostly his wife. (Lucky you Bev!) He is such a great entertainer, and a fabulous cook of chicken, fish, and frozen pizzas.

The more time I spend with Mitch and Lish, the more I realize how similar they are. Mitch has some very wonderful qualities that were passed on to Lish, such as his ability to get along with anybody and his sense of humor. Lish also got the teasing attribute from his father, and I get the grunt of that, so... don't expect any thank you's for that here.

Mitch, thank you for being such a fabulous father-in-law! I wish we didn't live so far away, because we love getting to spend time with you. Happy (belated) birthday! We love you!

Mom's Day!

Happy birthday Mom! Today is my mom's birthday. I'm sure you caught that by now. Sadly I cannot be out there to celebrate it with her again, but it was great getting to see her a couple weeks ago.


Now, what do I say about my mother? She's amazing. Anyone who has met her can testify to this. There are so many great qualities that describe my mother, so I'll just name a few.

She's always put her children first. When we were younger, she did a great job at making sure we learned what we needed to for our life's journey. She was and still is a fantastic teacher. She has always put her children's happiness very up high on her priority list. If her children are happy, she's happy. She has always wanted the best for her children. She has been such a great example to me about how to be a good friend and a loving mother. I love being able to consider my mother one of my best friends. I am so grateful for all the hard work she did to help raise us. I know it wasn't easy for her, but she kept at it day in and day out.


She is a very strong woman. She is very caring and compassionate. She is hard working and driven. She does a fantastic job at making us laugh, even if we're mostly laughing at her. She has a great ability of not taking things too seriously. She's got a wonderful sense of humor. She's easy to get along with, because she will accept people as they are, faults and all. Like I said, she's pretty much amazing!

I love spending time with my mom. I love our phone conversations and getting emails from her. I love knowing how much she cares about me because she doesn't let me forget it. I love hearing from her, even if it's just saying, "I was just thinking about you." I hope she know how much I care about her. I hope she knows how amazing I think she is.

I love you Mom! Thanks for everything! I wouldn't trade you or anything about you for the world!

Addiction Dance

If you haven't had the chance to watch this dance yet, please do. It is absolutely amazing. I have never felt so much emotion during a dance before. Mia Michaels is a brilliant choreographer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhKjA6u27xQ#watch-main-area

South for the Summer...?

(Note: Click on the links to see more pictures of what I am talking about) It has been a while since I took the time to launch the details of my life into cyberspace. I suppose I could blame it on the mundaneness I feel within the confines of my own life, but I seriously busted out of those a few weeks ago, so a post is certainly in order. This is not because Whitney told me she would flog me mercilessly if I did not write a post about my trip. Ok, maybe its partially because of that. She is stronger that she looks.

This story starts in the early 90's when people still had yet to let go of the big hair from the 80's, namely my Dad's great quasi-mullet, and people only assumed Paula Abdul was crazy. My Dad and some of his colleagues from the CSL (Comparative Sedimentology Lab) at the University of Miami started taking students on field trips to the Bahamas to study the unique aspects of sand and subsequent island formation that happens there. My Dad was specially qualified to help on these trips because he did his dissertation studying ooid (a particular type of sand grain) formation and such in a place in the Bahamas called Joulter's Cay. The fact that he used to enjoyed bouncing around the Bahamas in a speedo was just icing on the cake (key words in sentence: used to).

So when I felt grown up enough to ask (I think I was about 15), I started harassing my Dad to take me on one of his field trips. After only 12 years of bugging him, he relented. Maybe I needed those extra 12 years to grow up a little more. Although I would like to make it clear that I still have a very juvenile sense of humor. In fact, bodily functions are funnier now than they were when I was 15 because no one gets mad at me for laughing anymore (MAGGIE!). And so I accompanied a bunch of rock nerds on their week long exploration of the Great Bahama Bank.

I flew to Miami on June 14th and met up with my Dad. We spent that night and the following day and night in Miami. The field trip officially started on the 15th with a day of lectures. I sat through a majority of them, but I didn't really get all of the discussion. Either way, it was fun to see my Dad lecture in front of some students. It was enlightening. I say this because he does so many things I do when I lecture. Like father, like son I suppose. And the students on the trip were from all over the world. Don't believe me? Here is a list of the countries represented by the eleven students: USA, Venezuela, Brazil, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Japan, Algeria, and Indonesia. So I may not have been the only one that didn't fully understand the lectures.

The morning of the 16th we flew from Ft. Lauderdale to Bimini, which is a little island right off the east coast of Florida. There we met up with our boat Captain, Captain John (one of my new favorite people) and jumped on the research vessel Coral Reef 2. It is an 80 foot boat owned by the University of Chicago that they use to catch fish for the Shedd Aquarium. We got onto our home for the next 5 days and headed off into the great blue. Seriously, the color of the water was unbelievable.

Starting that Tuesday through Friday, we traveled from Bimini to New Providence Island (where Nassau is located). We went across the Great Bahama Bank and snorkeled all around looking at the sand and other rocks. We walked along sections of the isolated coast lines on Andros Island and at Joulter's Cay. We swam all over the place and walked in places where nobody else walks. It was fantastic. We also swam around some beautiful patch reefs and the Andros barrier reef, which is the 3rd largest barrier reef in the world. I encountered fish of all kinds, beautiful rays including 2 spotted eagle rays, and a handful of sharks (my dive buddy and I were approached by 3 black tip sharks and we also saw a Caribbean reef shark and a nurse shark). The diving was astounding. It was 4 days at sea, living, eating (lots of this due to the chef onboard), and sleeping on the boat. I tried my best to soak up as much of it as I could and wish I would have had more time on the boat to eat even more of it up.

Although the surroundings were breathtaking and the marine life was extraordinary, my favorite part of the trip was spending that time with my Dad. At the chance of sounding sappy, I really felt like I became good friends with him. Maybe it has been because of physical distance or because of a lack of time spent in circumstances like these, but I grew to see and respect my Dad in new ways. I am not sure if he feels the same way (note: see the comment about my 14 year old sense of humor), but I hope this trip can serve as a strength to our relationship for the rest of our lives.

After the field trip ended, we stayed in Nassau for a few days to help scour the island for more rocks to help a master's student at the CSL with his thesis and then we made a quick trip to Wierton, WV to visit my Dad's family. Both of these legs of the trip were great too, but I would be lying if I didn't say they paled in comparison to the week spent at sea. I will always remember this trip and hope I can bug my Dad to take me again. And if I play my cards right, maybe it won't take another 12 years.

Utah Vacation

Alright everyone, this is going to be a long post. I had the opportunity to go out to Utah to visit my family 2 weeks ago. It was fabulous! I got to see some friends and lots of family. So thanks to everyone I saw for making an effort to come see me!

The day after I flew in, my dad hosted a BBQ swim party. We didn't get to swim much because it was raining, but I got to see some friends and family that day, so I wasn't upset.

On Sunday I headed up to my mom's to go to church with her. There was a girl I had grown up with who was leaving on her mission, so I got to see a lot of old friends from high school. President Uchtdorf was also presiding, so that was pretty amazing. I got to go up and shake his hand afterwards. Then I headed back down to my dad's to celebrate Father's Day.
On Monday my dad and I headed up to Idaho to spend a little time at the family cabin. It was amazing. I love it up there. I got to spend some time with my grandparents and with Troy. We headed back on Tuesday, after a round of golf and getting to see where Troy lives.
My dad dropped me off in Bountiful that night, and Kyle had just gotten home from California a couple hours before I got there. It was nice to just relax and catch up with him and Courtney a little. On Wednesday, my mom and I started working on a little craft project. Then she took me out to get a pedicure. It was nice. She drove me into Salt Lake so I could meet up with my dad for dinner that night. I met up with him and we went out to eat with Alisia, Dallas, and Ashley. I stayed with them that night and headed back up to Bountiful on Thursday morning.On Thursday, my mom and I finished that project. I had another friend come visit me that afternoon. That evening I headed into Salt Lake again to take Courtney out for dinner. We went to the Cheesecake Factory, and it was delicious! When we got back up to Bountiful, we had a girls night game night with some of my mom's friends and Shelly. It was a lot of fun!
On Friday, my mom and I ran some errands, then headed into Salt Lake one more time to meet up with Karen and Stephanie for lunch. After lunch, she dropped me off so I could meet up with Brittany and Trisha. We bought our "Brooke Shoes" and then just sat and visited for a while. That night, we headed down to Brian and Shelly's for dinner and games, and to spend more time with Hunter and Kaitlyn.
The last full day I was there, Saturday, my mom, Kyle, and I went to the temple and did a session. Then we headed up to my grandparents place. We went to see the movie "Up" in 3D. Then we went back to their house for dinner and dessert and games. (We are a game playing family, can you tell?) It was such a great trip! I love getting to spend some quality time with my family, and the trip was definitely full of quality time. I certainly love my family and my friends. It was an amazing vacation, but it's so nice to be back with my hubby!

Quarter of a Century!

Troy! You're 25 today! I'm sure you know. I've told you a couple times now. Anyway, happy birthday! This post is dedicated to you!

Troy is a fabulous brother. We are only 13 months apart, so growing up I was always looking up to him. He taught me how to swing a golf club (didn't work out so well though, as evidenced by the scar on my face), he taught me how to snitch candy, and he taught me how to have patience in the toughest times. He is so easy going and down to earth. Troy can get along with pretty much anybody. He has one of the funniest sense of humors of anybody I know. It's so dry and nonchalant. Makes me laugh.

Troy is such a caring person. He really is just a softie. (Sorry Troy if I'm ruining your reputation with the ladies.) Everything about him is just so nice and kind. I'm not sure how to describe it really. Pretty much, Troy is amazing, in everything he does.Thank you, Troy, for being such a great brother! Thanks for teaching me lessons through your example. Thank you for everything you do and for everything you are. I hope you have a happy birthday, and I'm so glad I got to spend some time with you last week. I love you!

Harris Life Update

So, a few things today. First off, Lish is gone. And it makes me sad. I dropped him off at the airport just over an hour ago. We'll be apart for two weeks. He's down south, heading to Miami to meet up with his dad. From there, he will fly even further south to a tiny island, hop on a boat, and float around the Bahamas, with his dad and a bunch of other geologists. Now, some of you make be thinking, "Is Lish a geologist?" Well folks, he is not. But his pop is and he does field trips every year. Lish has always wanted to go, and this year was the golden year. Needless to say, he's very excited. He'll be on the boat until Friday or Saturday, and then he'll stay on the islands with his dad while they explore the rocks on the island. From there, he'll fly up to West Virginia to visit his grandparents. It will be a very fun couple of week for him.

Don't worry though, it will be fun for me too. I get to head out to Utah this Friday to visit my family! I get to meet my niece, play with my nephews. It will be fun. I love family! I'll be out there for about 9 days, which is fabulous! Then Lish and I will meet back up at home, two weeks from today.

In other news, I just wanted to show off what we gave each other for our anniversary. I didn't think Lish would have time to get me anything, because we had all his family the weekend before. So, I didn't rush to get him anything. Go figure, when I got home from work that day, this was sitting on the table-- --and I love it! (For those who aren't sure what this is for, it's a sewing box.) I was planning on getting him something, but I just decided to make it an anniversary/Bahama trip gift. So I didn't give it to him until a week ago. I didn't take a "during" or "after" picture, but the wrapped presents are: a new swimsuit, some games for the DS in case he gets bored at his grandparents, and an underwater disposable camera for when he's snorkeling. He can take some pretty pictures for me.

This picture was just before we went to bed on our anniversary. We were so tired, we didn't go out or anything. It was lovely. I'm so lucky to be married to this man!

Last order of business, or whatever. . . I got a very early birthday present this year. I had been hinting to Lish for a while that I wanted a new camera. The one I have I got for my 19th birthday, so it's a little aged for the digital era. It has been broken for a while (the dial on top doesn't work, still takes pictures though) and Lish's camera was broken when he got it (the lens cover is broken, so it doesn't close). Anyway, this little family has been in need of a new camera. And thanks to my wonderful family and my amazing husband, I got one! We decided to get it early so I can learn how to use it while I'm flying to and from Utah. Then I can show it off to the fam and get to know the ins and outs of the camera, because I'll have time!

So there it is! My beautiful camera! It's a Nikon Coolpix P90. I decided not to get an SLR yet because I want to learn more about cameras and photography first. This is like my starter/practice camera. I love it. There is a feature on it that takes several consecutive pictures, and I took some of Lish dancing. It was just beautiful. The pictures and the dancing. So thank you everyone for my early birthday present! I can't wait to learn more about it's features and show it off!

So, that's what's been going on here lately. Sorry I've been so bad with my updating! Sheesh! It happens sometimes I guess. Thanks for still checking back. :)