Ahh....Checkettsi...We miss you so much! (said in my best Italian accent)

Mt. Timpanogos Caves!

So after a 1 1/2 hour hike that we did in 1/2 an hour in the heat of the day we made it to Timp. caves. We had never been before and couldn't believe we hadn't done this while we lived in Utah. Thanks Dayna for such a fun idea and adventure! A Checkadams adventure that is!

Dayna inside the cave. Unfortunately none of these pictures captured the amazing colors of the rock! It was so cool! They were all these beautiful amber colored things. Actually calcite to be exact. The cave was created in the mountain from an earthquake. It is right on the fault line. Actually...I think it is the fault line. Creepy....

This picture is purely for Chris' face. LOL! He looks really happy to be in the cave. He wasn't so happy about all the pictures. Sometimes I go a little overboard.

us and Nate in front of some cool stuff. It was 40 degrees inside the cave so thankfully the Checketts had a blanket. I was totally unprepared.

The Checkadams showcasing the rocks.

I'm not sure what we were trying to do here.

Chris in front of the tooth rock. Actually I think they called it the heart of Timpanogos but we saw a tooth. It actually weighs 6,000 pounds! Good luck drilling that one Chris!

Some parts of the cave were really open and big with the most intricate ceilings of rocks being slowly created through water carrying calcite and minerals. The cave was very wet inside.

Some of the fun rock formations. Pictures just don't do it justice.

Other parts of the cave were very narrow and small.

Checking it out. We had the coolest tourguide. She had lots of personality and fun stories to tell.

Trying to capture the delicate rock formations. Some of them were like straws and others like curly fries.

This was a "flow" of rock. It looked like a waterfall but was all rock. There was one part that looked like a carmel sundae but my camera battery was gone by then. It was some really cool stuff!

These rock formations looked like giant slices of bacon.

These are the cave straws.

More stalagmites or stalagtites. Not sure. Or both....

We spent the day and next morning with the Checketts exploring the caves, eating some awesome waffles, malts from the malt shoppe, and at this great place called Noodles. Then of course there were some mean games of our favorite card game "Oh Heck". The next morning we headed back to SF. It was a really fun trip!

My Boys!!!

After the reunion, we headed up to SLC to see Jon and Joe my two younger brothers (Mikey I will get a picture of us on here someday) who are going to the U right now.

We took them to our favorite Thai place in SLC when we lived there. I miss you guys!!

If only the other 3 siblings could have joined us. We had a great night and went to this new Yogurt place afterwards called Spoon Me. It was REALLY good! I wish they had them in SF. Ahh....my brothers...it was really hard to say goodbye. But I will see them at Jonny's wedding in a few weeks in Boston!!

Family Reunion Trip and 4th of July

So moving really threw our summer plans out the window. We ended up working it out so that we could go away for the 4th and visit with my brother Dan and Christine who just had my cute little nephew William in Vegas, visit with Brian and Jenn, an then head up to Utah for the Barney (Chris' Mom's side of the family) family reunion. It was a lot of fun. Then we ended the trip seeing Jonny and Guiseppe in SLC and our bestest pals the Checketts.

Me with my new nephew William. SO cute!

A quick visit with the Laniers at Brian's parents' house.

Me and my "sister" Jenn. I love you girl!

My super cute and cuddly "niece" Addisen. She's so fun!

She got so excited abou seeing little Maximus (who was AMAZING the whole trip).

And then......well....she did something not so nice. LOL!!

We stayed with Chris' Aunt for the 4th and unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the awesome spread of a BBQ we had, fireworks, and some rockin pool volleyball until late hours of the evening. The next morning we drove up to Cedar Breaks UT for the reunion.

Here we are playing a friendly game of Scum. The whole Adams family. It was great to have all the siblings back together again.

Then we had a family sacrament and testimony meeting on Sunday. It was so great to hear everyone speak about eternal families and how thankful we are to have everyone and their examples. The reunion was also a special tribute to grandpa and grandma Barney who are really one amazing couple! It brought us to tears many times. We love our family!

We Moved!!

Ok after a MILLION requests....here are the pictures of our new place that we just moved into. Actually...it's been almost a month we have just been really busy!

The view from our balcony. It was really smoky from the fires that day but it has a great view of Mt. Tamalpais. We love sitting on the balcony and watching the sunset over the mountain.

The entryway...nothing exciting. I painted the wall! Our washer and dryer are in the side closets.

The bedroom.

The master bath.

More of the bedroom.

The "kitchen area". We had to sell my big hutch and take a leaf out of the table to fit everything.

The kitchen. It has nice granite countertops which is cool but they are black which is a clean freak's (like myself) nightmare. They show everything! I'm always wiping them down.

The main living room area. We did get new furniture for the move. We were getting sick of the big pottery barn couches. Plus apparently Chris' lifelong dream of owning a leather recliner has come true. LOL.

The office/ Red Sox/ Guest Room. One day they will be separate rooms.

The office again.

The guest bath. I went with a palm theme. The old fashioned antiquey palm. You can't see all of it.

Maximus goofing off in the new place. I found this doggy raincoat for a dollar at this store and thought it would be cute for Maximus since it rains here for about two months straight. Umm....WAY too small! But cute!

Maximus is digging the new pad with his little toys.

An action shot.

His favorite spot is to sit out in the sun on our balcony. We have 2 rocking lawn chairs and a table out there and we join him sometimes. Hope you enjoyed the tour!

A Mormon Version of God Parents?

This is Maximus' Auntie Steffi. His official God Parent. Josh would be in the picture too but he isn't the dog lover in the relationship. We know he will be taken good care of if we need someone to watch him. No Steffi you cannot paint his nails blue.

Congratulations to Dan and Christine!!

This is our newest nephew William Wyatt Umina. I'm a little late on the post but we are so excited for my brother Dan and Christine! Congratulations! He's beautiful! We can't wait to meet him!

Tahoe

We are up at my boss' cabin this weekend in Tahoe. Maximus came with us and he has been such a trooper. He slept on my lap the whole car ride there. We did make a few potty stops for him and our monthly Wal Mart visit for some more doggy toys. I'll post more pictures later but I have a few now to show.

We hiked up to Ellis Peak. Before we left we had a little picnic lunch on this big tree stump. Maximus was feeling tortured for this picture because all he wanted to do was to explore!

That is me and Maximus. It had to have been his first time in snow. It was hilarious! He touched it and jumped. Then after he figured it out he was a little snowdog. We couldn't hike all the way up because there was just too much snow. In June?

After I fell and got a soggy bottom from the wet wet snow Maximus came to my rescue. He's such a great dog!

INTRODUCING................

We have finally added to our family....Baby steps right?? Here he is!

Maximus Decimus Meridius Adams (from Gladiator our favorite movie). This boy is a total stud! The vet thinks he is between 2-3 and a daschund/some kind of terrier or Chihuhua mix. He is completely potty trained and a TOTAL lap dog. He's very mellow but can get really excited when we play with him. He LOVE attention but isn't a crazy dog. He's perfect!

The new collar and name tag.

Those are the tired eyes after being at the park all day for a picnic and then for a long walk.

He's our little cuddle bug. So handsome!

He has already had two baths and so good for them. He just stands there and lets you wash him.

Then he loves to be snuggled up in a towel afterwards.

We just LOVE this little dog. His personality is a perfect match for us! He's going to be so spoiled. He already has a ton of treats and toys. It's fun! Next step...House..then....baby. We are on our way....

Moving....

So we found out last week that we have to move. Our landlords are moving into our place when our contract expires the end of this month. Bummer....But it actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we were able to go through all of our stuff and de clutter and downsize. We are glad to do this now and not next year when we are looking for a house and a job. Plus...we were able to have room to add to our family. I will post pictures soon!

A Project

So I hope that my Great-Grandmother is not rolling over in her grave but this cabinet really needed some updating. I was in the mood for a project one Saturday and decided to make it this. Unfortunately I didn't take any before pics but it was in bad shape.

Just a little sanding. Yes...that is a dental mask.

And some friendly spray paint....

And there you have it. It was really fast and fun!

My Latest Creation...I Love Working With Fondant

It was my boss' birthday and I wanted to do something fun and different for her so I made this fun cake. It took a LONG time but it was really fun.

I have extra fondant in all the colors so I may want to make some more. What an addicting hobbby.