Yum...

I've been trying to get my hands on one of these all semester long. Really all semester. I think it is BYU's way of telling me Happy Friday! It was delicious  :)

Ashley's skills...

Ashley has many skills. 

She can fight off the most terrifying bears with just two fingers each hand.

She can shrink jars of mayonnaise.

In all seriousness, Ashley does have many skills. Each year as we decorate the Christmas tree we have continued the Flynn family's tradition of stringing popcorn for garland as we watch a Christmas movie. And each year she string way more than me. In previous years you might say I wasn't really trying. Last year we bought cheap popcorn which made it really tough on the fingers and without mentioning to Ashley I began slowing down and watching the movie. However, this year again without telling Ashley it was my intention to leave her in the dust and do way more than she. I made sure we bought better popcorn to help with my baby-soft fingers. Here's the result:

Yep, she's got skills!!

"Just do it for George"...

A couple nights ago, Sunday night, Ashley and I went to bed at a late 11 pm. Ashley had fallen asleep an hour earlier (having worked her 12 hr shift) on the couch but I stayed up as I wasn't tired yet. Excited for the week I couldn't sleep. I only had a couple of classes starting at 8 am the next day and then my holiday week would start and I was so excited. Ashley didn't have to work until Wednesday which meant it was party time!

I tossed and turned, which is unusual for me these days sense I typically fall asleep within minutes of laying down. My mind just kept on thinking of the fun things we could do. Every 10 minutes or so I'd move to a new position. With each move Ashley would stir and we might exchange a few loving words. "I love you Patrick" "I love you Ashley". Ahh, so sweet I know.

Now it was 12:30 am and this was getting silly. I was nowhere near sleepy. Tossing and turning again the following exchange occurred:

P: "I just can't fall asleep!"
A: "Just turn on your side!"
P: "We were just like that."
A: "Just do it for George!" she commanded.

Wait. What?

P: "Who's George?" and I started laughing.
A: Waking up a bit more, laughing too she said, "He's a patient of mine"

It was really funny so I wrote down dialogue right then so I wouldn't forget.

The unfortunate thing is that I now have a bit of cold. I think partially due to a number nights that I didn't get much sleep. Lame!

Lazyman = fit man...

In October we participated in BYU's Lazyman Ironman. To complete it we were supposed to do all of the swimming, biking, and running that someone would do in a regular ironman race that takes place in one day but we had the whole month to do it. BYU did a little rounding so we had to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26 miles. As you would expect Patrick made a sweet excel file for us to track our progress.  It was a little tricky to make sure we kept on target with school, work, and other stuff that popped up but we did it. To get our miles in we swam at BYU's pool, biked in the gym and by taking spin classes, and ran in the indoor track, outside on paved trails, used the elliptical, and even did some trail running!!!!! We were excited to finish it and are happy that we are now in better shape.

Here we are before trail running one day.

 For finishing we got shirts! 

I still can't believe that some people do all of this in one day. Crazy! And even crazier to think I know one of them, go Devin!

Outdoor fun...

This weekend we went to St. George to visit Danielle and Chad!

 We started things off with delicious Mexican food from Alberto's and then went rock climbing! Chad has taken a rock climbing class at school and it's one of their newer hobbies.

We did two different climbs. This was the first and everyone did great. I like climbing up but hate coming down.

 The second climb was a lot harder. Both boys made it all the way to the top.

 Patrick really rocked it. He went fast and we were all impressed!

Hiking back to the car after climbing. Rukia came too!

Danielle and Chad cooked us spaghetti for dinner. Then we chased it down by splitting a dozen donuts:)

Saturday morning we enjoyed some Kneader's breakfast on the way to Zion's. The plan was to go hike Angel's Landing. To say I was a little nervous would be a huge understatement. We had heard horror stories from Danielle about the first time they attempted the hike which included a lot of crying so I was not sure if we'd be able to do it.

This is part of the hike. It also had some easy flat places through the canyon and a lot of switch backs as we got closer to the last stretch leading to the chained route to the top. Yes, you read right, chained path.

This sign greeted us before the last 1/2 mile just so we knew what we were getting into. It told us that 6 people had died doing the hike, that it was strenuous, and not to do it if you were afraid of heights. Everyone started this final portion but Patrick decided 30 feet in that he was not going to continue. He doesn't like heights and was afraid he'd panic and freeze not being able to move. So he enjoyed the view as the three of us continued. He told me to be extra safe.

 A portion of the hike.

Climbing away. Parts were pretty narrow and I just tried not to look down and hold on to the chain.

 We were about half way there and paused for pictures.

I made it to the top!

I think this was their 5th time doing this hike. Danielle got concerned along the way that maybe they were pushing their luck since they had done it so many times. 

The view from the top was beautiful!

 In front of Angel's Landing after I was all done and back safely.

 I told Patrick later that day that looking back I probably shouldn't have gone since it was  dangerous and that I won't be doing it again.

Playing down by the river.

 We hiked around the Emerald Pools and found a cave.

We stopped for a Chinese Buffet for dinner on the way home. We had been there before at Christmas time and the food was just as good as we remembered. It really hit the spot.

After regular food we had ice cream, cookies, and jello. We were all pretty tired when we got back to the apartment and watched some Adventure Time and Big Bang Theory before calling it a night. 

We woke up sore today and made the drive back to Provo. We didn't want the weekend to end!

Crocktober...

While on a recent trip to Costco we came across a few crockpot cooking books that looked promising. After looking through them Patrick picked one by America's Test Kitchen for easy-prep crockpot meals. We decided we'd start trying a few of the recipes here and there. Then we decided it would be really fun to only cook out of the book for the whole month of October! So that's what we've been doing. Some take 6-8 hours and some only take 3, which are perfect for days where we are at church.

Our first recipe was Spanish Chicken and Saffron Stew. It was just ok. Kinda one note.

 The chicken wraps on the other hand were awesome and very easy. We put cilantro and lime juice on them. We couldn't find the right type of ground chicken so we used turkey instead. It's Patrick's favorite recipe so far.

This is Tomatillo Chicken Chili. I liked this one a lot. It even used an ingredient I've never cooked with before, hominy (dried corn kernels that are soaked to remove the germ and hull).

We've also cooked Spinach Manicotti and Asian-Style Braised Short Ribs, we liked both! Tonight we are finishing off the Tomatillo Chicken Soft Tacos. And since we will both be busy tomorrow during the day and we can't cook something in the crockpot for 12+ hours we have Lemony Chicken and Potatoes cooking away for later. We are excited to keep trying more recipes!

My assignment...

Every year, the MBA and the Law student spouses get together and, in connection with community donations, organize a used children's clothing pickup. Ashley volunteered the day before and for her time she received a get-in-early pass (before the already pre-public time). That night, Ashley asked me if I would go  in her place and take advantage of this pass since she had to work. Obviously, we don't have kids and WE ARE NOT EXPECTING (that's for the parents) but when something is offered for free it's hard to say no. So I accepted this request. Ashley told me how there were bags and bags of clothing brought in from a storage unit but I was not prepared. She was very excited about it and the thought of finding cute clothes for our future little ones. I thought to myself, "no problem, I'm good at picking clothing. I got this."

It wasn't until the morning as I walked to the church that I realized I really was not up to the task. It was a cold, chilly morning. Not the chill of a cool autumn morning but the cold that comes before winter. As I approached the building I saw that the line extended to nearly the street and by the time the doors opened it had started to wrap down the street. Feeling extremely out of place I joined the line; one of only three guys. After some long intro and hurrahs by the event leaders that I couldn't hear so far back in the line the doors opened and we all moved in. Every fiber in my body was telling me to "Run! Get out!". But I knew I couldn't, Ashley's excitement meant that I had to enter and I could not come home empty handed.

I was shocked by the quantity of clothes I found inside. Unbelievable. Equally unbelievable was the ferociousness that some women took to the event. Some were armed with laundry baskets others with plastic bags, but they all rummaged quickly and skillfully through the clothes. I tried to casually walk through, taking it all in. I tried to blend in and not let the women smell my fear. Occasionally, I would make a noise by accident and make eye contact with one mid-rummage. I would offer a firm nod, never a sound, then looked away; trying to communicate confidence and strength where there wasn't any. After a few minutes fighting the reoccurring thought to get out I notice a ladybug sleeper for a baby. Ashley likes ladybug things and I knew she would like this. Having something good to show for my time I felt a major burden lifted. I was emboldened and I picked out a cute pair of zebra shoes for a little toddler (baby?? I have no idea). I threw in a onesie and a winter patterned sleeper into the backpack then slowly walked out. Again, trying not to make any sudden movements that might alert the women feasting on their prey.

It was quite a traumatic experience. So I was so happy to find myself safe at home again.

Run run run...

As Patrick has mentioned before we started running/jogging in Oregon. It's something that we wanted to continue once moving back to Utah and thought it'd be fun to do a 5k sometime this Fall. I was looking at different options and nothing was really calling to me. We just needed a race that we could run together and that would give us a tee-shirt. But then on Living Social they offered a race deal on the Color Run! So we signed up to run and did it a few days after getting back.

 We stuck together and ran the whole time!

During the race there were different color stations were workers throw colored powder on you, or pour it on you in some cases. 

At then end of the race there was music and a stage with dancers. We participated in a couple of "color throws" were we would count down and then throw our colored powder in the air. It was super fun and we made sure to keep our mouths closed.

 As one point they had a small hose they were using to squirt us with colored water!

  The race was a just for fun race which meant no timing. But we're pretty sure we finished it under 30 minutes.

 Patrick loved it! After the race he wanted to sign up for a timed 5k with no walkers so he could see how fast he can do it.

It was a little harder to clean off the powder than we anticipated. But we cleaned off our faces and arms before heading home. You better believe that it took a long time (many days) to clean all of the red/orange dye out of my ear!

More fun in Portland...

Here are more fun happenings from the summer.

 Jack got baptized!

 Patrick and I loved going to the Asian store. We loved trying new things, this was a soft roll filled with pork!

 Maddie liked helping me with our laundry. She liked to fold clothes and try them on.

 We went on some picnics at the park and always ate more dessert food than real food. 

But they had fun!

A favorite past time was to wrestle with Patrick after he came home from work. Yes sometimes it was topless wrestling.

 DQ lunch date on Saturday :)

Someone went through a phase where they only wanted to wear swimsuits.

 Snowcones with Grandma Flynn.

 Maddie liked to go on a "walk around the block" with me in our last few weeks there.

 Patrick bought us matching exercise shoes at Nike! I love them!

 Morning cartoons one Saturday. As you can see I had some competition if I tried to snuggle with Patrick.

 Patrick scored free passes to Bullwinkle's, a fun center, where we putt-putt golfed, rode bumper water boats, go carts, played laser tag, had free food, and had tons of fun!

 We got to play arcade games too.

 We hiked Multnomah Falls and Wakeenah Falls again.

 And I am happy to report that it went a lot better than the first time. It looks like all the running we did paid off and helped to get us in better shape. I also felt cool in my fancy spandex quick drying exercise apparel.

 Devin & Bridget invited us to go to Black Butte with them and we went. It was nice to have a week with each other where we could just relax and have fun before heading back to Provo for real life to start. One day we went to see the lava rock and all of the mountains at an observation place.

 The ranch had tons of bike paths which we biked, walked, and ran on. We also did our fair share of swimming and canoeing. 

 Patrick in front of Black Butte.

 We hiked Black Butte one day while we were there.

It was such a fun summer. We're so glad we are moving back after school's done in the springtime!