Best Birthday Weekend!

     Wow, how February has gone way to fast!  This last weekend, The Anderson's came to visit, my sister Jami, Brad, and Harper Jo.  Friday was my birthday and Saturday was Brad's.  We have just been so lucky to be able to celebrate our birthdays together for the past 6 years....haha.  Ryan had a very busy weekend because this week is the end of the quarter for him so that means.....FINALS!  So while Ryan was busy studying away, my family was here to entertain me and celebrate my birthday weekend!!!
We started off the celebration by waking up to this cutie pie!

    
     Then Ryan headed to class so we headed to the mall to do some shopping.  I found some new black boots that my sister bought me!  After the mall we headed to the Harley Davidson shop for Brad.  After a fun day of shopping we went and ate at the Elephant Bar.  It is an Asian/American restaurant.

waiting for our table

    
     After eating, we came back to our apartment and opened presents.  Ryan got me some movies and a new CTR ring!   Then, Jami made Brad and I our family tradition Red Velvet Cake!  It was amazing, of course!   After a long day of playing, we all went to bed and woke up on Saturday for Brad's Birthday.  Brad wanted to take Harper Jo to the Phoenix Zoo, but unfortunately it was raining that day.  We haven't received any rain for months, so of course it has to rain when family comes and visits.  So we went to the Sea Life Aquarium instead.  I enjoyed it a lot, but it was so fun to see Harper Jo look at all of the fish and talk to them!

Looking at the Star Fish on the rock

I love this picture, she is the cutest little girl ever!

Tiger Shark

Sea Horse

     One fun fact that I learned at the Aquarium is that the male Sea Horse carries the babies!  We saw so many fish and sea creatures, it was a blast!

The Anderson's

     After the aquarium, Ryan and I were able to babysit Harper Jo while Jami and Brad went to the movies!  It was a lot of fun, kind of crazy at times to take care of a 9 month old but we all survived!

Ryan teaching Harper to play the piano

What they both do best.....make messes and study

     It was such a fun weekend, I was sad that it actually rained while they were down here, but it was the best trip ever.  Monday morning rolled around and we had to say goodbye, but in a couple of months we will see them again!  Thanks for a great birthday weekend Ryan and the Anderson's.  I have the best family in the whole world!

Few of My Favorite Things.....

     Lately when I have been reading all of my friends blogs the topic has been about "Love" and "Valentine's Day" so I decided to finally jump on the bandwagon.  So here are a few of MY Favorite things and what I Love.....

• First off is BEING IN LOVE! Oh Boy there isn't much else to say then that.  I love knowing I would do anything and everything just to make my husband happy.  The best is knowing that he would do the same for me.
• Second, I love the month of February.  Not only is it the month of love, but my Birthday month as well and that makes it pretty dang special!   haha
• I love a great workout.  I love the feeling of having no energy left after a long hard two hour workout and the muscles ache in my body.  It is the best feeling in the whole wide world.  Some people may consider this statement sick, but I have been blessed with a strong and healthy body that lets me do about anything.  Ryan bought me trail shoes to run in for Christmas so we have been doing a lot of trail running at a place called Thunderbird Park.  Even though there is not grass and trees I have really grown to the love the cacti, rocks to jump, and sand to run in.  It is the only place around here were we can get some elevation.  There are a few pictures of the place at the bottom of the post....
• I like how I have a job that pays for our necessities of life.  The economy hit pretty hard in AZ so we were lucky that I was able to get my job right away.  I say like because I can't wait to start school up again.
• I love how Ryan makes me laugh every second we are together.  It is the best knowing that after a bad day of work I can come home and vent and then be laughing the very next second. 
• Even though we miss the cold in Idaho, I am loving the 60 to 70 degree weather right now! It is so beautiful everyday.  The weather is almost to perfect down here to exist.  I think I understand why all of the "Snow Birds" head down here for the winter.
• I am so thankful for being LDS.  I love being a member of the true gospel.  It brightens my day and helps me live everyday to the fullest.  It is a huge blessing to be sealed to my best friend for eternity!
• Oh Boy, one of my most favorite thing is CHOCOLATE!!! Oh my gosh I could eat it any time of the day.  Since Ryan and I have been losing weight and eating healthy it is a big deal when we get chocolate in our diets!
• Last but not least, of course The Most Favorite thing in my life is my Husband.  I know how sappy that is, but it really is the truth.  I married the best guy for me.  He is an amazing student and husband.  I love how he goes running with me almost everyday and will take time away from his studies on my day off from work to make me feel special and go to dinner with me after I force him to come....hahaha ya right, trust me I don't have to force him!

I Love Him!

     Well there you have it, here are some of my favorite things right now, of course not all of them are listed.  I hope that everyone has a great Valentines Days and a great month of February.

View of the hills that we run on

I added this because I laughed at how they try to make Cacti look so appealing to have around