that arizona sun

this weekend steven took me to Arizona to meet his family.

to say i had a good time would be an understatement.

my second graders would know to use words like excellent, spectacular, and magnificent to describe it, but i still feel like those aren't quite good enough!

so here's how it went.

friday

i woke up at 3.40 am so i could shower and be ready to leave at 4.15 am.  yeah.  thanks, steven.

i don't think i've ever been more tired in my life.

but it was totally worth it.

so worth it, in fact, that i would do it again!

steven's parents picked us up from the airport and took us to Paradise Bakery for breakfast.  yum!

after stopping home, we hiked up the mountain so we could see all of phoenix.

we picked up his sisters from school then made paninis.  steven and i taught the fam how to play rummikub.  dangerous.  i think it is safe to say this kendrick family favorite is now a hopper family favorite, too.

we played at the park.  the girls were swinging.  the boys were playing basketball.

then lauren and i went to a suns game.

oooooh yeah. steven was just a wee bit jealous.  he's kind of (a lot) obsessed with the suns.

thanks lauren!

saturday

michael, steven, and i went to ihop for breakfast. yum!  michael is probably the funniest boy, i'm sorry, man i know.

lauren, steven and i went shopppppppping! lauren and i are in love with the same things.  i think steven may have been regretting his decision to go shopping with us. i'm sorry, steven. 

andrea, steven, and i went to gap and got andi some super cute flats.  2 pair!  then we got free jamba juice from lauren.  

{yes, that means all we did for saturday, so far, was eat and shop.  so what?}

later that evening we picked up some dinner and ate it at grandma hopper's casa.  steven and i went on a little double date with his parents.  we went back go grandma hopper's to pick up andi and michael.  but before we left we chatted and looked at some pictures.  and then michael decided to take a picture of all of us.  it was the most entertaining and hilarious 5 minutes of my life.  thank you michael.  you sacrificed your head for that.

don't we look so happy to be together in this picture? 

sunday

always my favorite day of the week.

we had a fabulous french toast breakfast. {french toast + nutella = love}

we went to church.  the speakers were incredible.

i got to go to young women's {that's the 12-18 year old girls} with lauren and her mom.  first time back in 6 years.  now that's old.

after church we made a delicious dinner.  his family and some friends came over.  we ate, played rummikub, and chatted.

steven and i went for a nice little drive around phoenix.

then we had a nice conversation with his parents.

life is looking great.

monday

i was not looking forward to this day.  the weekend was too good.

first, steven and i made a quick trip to the mall for something.

then we took some pictures.

and theeeen {teacher voice}, we said our goodbyes and went to the airport.

aaaaand we got paradise bakery while we waited.

and then we took some pictures on the plane.

and steven knew one of the guys on the plane, so naturally he did what any plane steward you know would do.  he gave us a huge bag of peanuts.  and he said goodbye to us over the intercom when we were leaving. who needs business class?

to sum it up: the weekend was greater than i thought it could be.  i loved every minute it of it.  from scandalous plays to crazy rock band shows to grandmas sitting on heads to early early plane flights. 

 hopper family: i love you.

2010 in review

please click links for more pictures and details.

{probably, if i were you, just scroll through the pictures. just for fun.}

january

i went to the mountains with some new friends for the mlk jr. holiday.

above and below: here

lyndi and i made some awesome cakes. well, lyndi did.

lyndi and i took our buddies to the best buddies ball.

i donned the red lipstick {which was lost at halloween. sad.}

one night it snowed. A TON. we made a 7 foot snowman and then went sledding at midnight. 

i also decided i was crazy and would train and run for a marathon.

{what was i thinking? i don't know. but i loooooved it.}

february

we made a trip home for disneyland and V day.  it was so fun.

i started my marathon training. in the dead of winter.  one time i ran 11 miles in a blizzard.

march

i started my practicum in 2nd grade. i realized that i was made to teach. {not that i'm anything fabulous, but i realized loooooove it.}

mom, dad, and g.ma came up for a visit.

what a FUN & CRAZY weekend.

 

i found out i was going to be miss kendrick.

april

erin came for general conference & easter

i finished winter semester

spring came

marissa & ty got married

i moved in with katie

marathon training bumped up to 18, then 20.

may

marathon training was getting bloody.  okay, not really bloody.

and really taking it's toll on my toes!

i was taking too many classes.

and buying books & things for my classroom.

i was eating lots of watermelon.

and going on lots and lots of bike rides with katie.

katie and i were decorating our apartment.

i made a last minute trip home to surprise my best friend for her graduation!

june

shin splints attacked a mere 10 days before my marathon!!

NO BUENO!

training was winding down. over 700 miles run total!

pre-race nerves were setting in.

i ran a MARATHON!!! {play by play here, in case you missed it in june.}

i had post-marathon blues.  kind of like postpartum. and i wanted to run another race.

july

i had a fun 4th of july weekend.

i hiked the subway in zion's.  SO fun!

i was really stressed and feeling the pressure of teaching 2nd grade.

we went to the river.

august

golden spoon opened.

and i go there a lot. like once a week. sometimes twice. one time katie and i went three times {we went on tuesday and they told us the grand opening was friday and saturday and you get free yogurt! so we went friday and saturday for a total of 3 times that week! hasn't happened since, nor will it.}

my classroom was coming together, thanks to help from katie and some friends.

i was still stressed out of my mind.

{click here and here for pictures of my classroom pre-school starting.}

James Danger came into my life.

i went home for the last HURRAH before school started.

{here, here, here}

september

school started!

{check out all the funny things here under "miss kendrick" label at right}

erin and mike came for a visit.

mike took us to tucanos.  then we went to sundance and the first byu home game!

we went for a labor day hike.

i was trying to keep my head above water with all of my lesson planning, trying to go to the gym, etc.

october

em, dana, and claire came for conference

{here and here}

i had a much welcomed fall break. {1, 2}

and brought back the side bangs.

fall was here, halloween was near, bucky was sick. {here}

all dogs go to heaven, and that's where bucky went.

halloween in 2nd grade is the best.

and halloween as a mime or fairy is also fun.

snow was trying to sneak in early.

november

more funny happenings in miss kendrick's class.

always.

fall was beautiful. i love it.

apparently steven didn't think i was crazy and we started dating.

i had the best bday ever.

we went to the brandon flowers concert.

and my friends had a surprise party for me.

thanksgiving break was glorious.

i had my first ever black friday experience at gap. will be going every year.

december

my kids gave me a sweet christmas gift. i teared up.

it snowed a lot.

{here and here}

steven and i went to the lights at temple square and he introduced me to paradise bakery.

the world celebrated Christ's birth.

i went home!  we celebrated christmas with family and had lots of family time.

steven came to california.

and met the whole fam {well most of my mom's side}.

and now it's a new year!!