WAC champion! (or MY champion!)

This past weekend was the Track and Field WAC championships in Boise, Idaho. Convenient for us since my family lives there! It was a very fun trip. Chase ended up scoring for his team for the championships, qualifiying for regionals, placing fourth out of all, and hitting a season best. Chase's family was able to drive up, my family came of course, and then our "extended family" (practically) the Leavitts and Purcells came to watch too. We have such awesome family and we love to spend time with them.

We were all SO proud of Chase! This means that we get to go to Regionals in Northridge, California next week. Unless he qualifies for Nationals, this will be his very last track meet ever. I know he will miss it a lot. Maybe we'll have to save up so he can replace this hobby with golf or something else. Here are a few pictures from the trip.He is about to start his "crossovers", they look more like "grapevines" to me

Chase accidently missed his award ceremony so we went back to take a picture of him on the fourth place stair. Going into the 5th out of 6th throws, he was in first place still.

The Seniors on the track team

The cutest dog ever

We have had Penny for almost 3 weeks now and we are just as happy now as when we first got her. We had a lot of people tell us that we were crazy for wanting a dog and that she'd be a big pain but so far we've loved it! We studied up on training techniques because we really want to make sure that she is obedient and likable. Also, she doesn't shed because she has hair instead of fur-this also means that she doesn't have dog dander (which is what some people are allergic to) and it takes longer for her to start smelling like a dog.

Surprisingly, she has learned so much so fast! She already knows the basic commands (sit, lay down, roll over) and a few tricks also. We are doing the crate training thing to house train her. This is the part that I am most excited about! We had a breakthrough this weekend on the house-training! When she has to go she just walks right over to the door and looks at us. Cool huh! We are proud parents! Now if only we can get her to consistantly sleep through the entire night without whining to go out. She got a cute little bandana when we got her groomed at Petsmart

The whole family at WAC championships

Our little baby and the Javelin competition

Penny has been an absolute doll to have. She is so much fun and is even cuter in real life than in pictures. She has a sweet, spunky personality and I can tell she is very happy in her new home. We are working hard to train her correctly so that she likes people, other pets and dogs, house training, and of course the basic commands. The housetraining part is going really well but we aren't all that fond of the 3 am and 4 am whining for a potty trip. I think this is a good experience for Chase and I to practice being parents! We love our little Penny.

Quick story: Last year at my sister in law Jade's graduation, Chase told my Dad that even though he can throw the javelin 208 ft, my Dad wouldn't even be able to throw 90 feet if he picked up a javelin. My Dad and brother took this as a challenge and we have joked about that for the last year. We always talked about actually putting it to the test but never got a chance. Finally while everyone was in town, we decided to make it happen. It was hilarious! Chase gave us all a mini lesson on the technique and then we did our best to throw the javelin. Just as Chase suspected, Kyle and my Dad threw about 100 ft. after practicing over and over. It was a very fun experience and I loved to watch my husband humbly teach my Dad and brother something that he is extremely good at.

Also, it was my Dad's birthday yesterday and I just wanted to tell him that he is the best Dad in the whole world and I have learned so much about life and hard work from him! I love his cheerful disposition and his health-conscious attitude. I love you Dad!!!

Utah State Alumni!

I cannot believe that I am actually a college graduate. What a great day! I was lucky enough to have my family as well as Chase's parents come to Logan to help me celebrate. It is a long way to drive and I was SO happy to have them here. I went to both the Commencement Ceremony and my College Ceremony, the Alumni picnic, and as a special treat for everyone Chase took us to the track field to have a little javelin competition. More on this event to come... Anyway, I am so grateful to my parents for helping me reach this exciting occasion. Not only did they help me pay for college, but they were so supportive and cheered me on the whole time. I just can't believe it went by so fast! I have LOVED every minute of Utah State and I will really miss this great time in my life. Here are some pictures of the day.

Elder L. Tom Perry recieved an honorary degree at Commencement and I got to meet him afterwards!

My wonderful parents, Kaela, Jade, Kyle, and their future baby.

I have the BEST in-laws ever!

yeah Big Blue!!

"You're gonna miss this"

My theme song right now is: "You're gonna miss this" by Trace Adkins. For some reason I really relate to songs. I have songs that instantly bring me back to certain times in my life. Like "This one's for the Girls" and "Front Porch Looking In" for my senior year in High School with all "the girls". Everytime I hear "Coconut" (...put the lime in the coconut...) I have hilarious memories of Q2 and my wonderful roomies. So anyway, my theme song for the changes in my life right now is called "You're gonna miss this". Chase and I are at a wonderful stage in our lives. We live in an itty bitty apartment and have fun trying to make the budget balance while we work and study. As great as it is to be graduating this semester, I really am going to miss this! I have just had the BEST college experience. It just feels like a turning point. A lot of our close friends are moving (and some far away). Chase still has a year of school left but I will be working out in the real world and that will for sure be a change. Life moves on and it is wonderful, but I really am going to miss this stage of our lives!

Here is a quick update on what is going on in our lives. I just took my very last final ever in college. WEIRD! Our families are coming this weekend for graduation and I am excited to have everyone together. This summer we are going to Seattle to sell Pest Control with Eclipse. Chase has track until June so we are starting a little Window Cleaning business in the meantime before we leave for Seattle. Life is fun and you never know what it will bring next!

Also: Big news!! We are adding a member to the Taylor family tomorrow. Her name is Penny and she is a PUPPY! We are unbelievably excited. She is coming to us all the way from Pennsylvania. Here are some pictures. She is a Havamalt and I think she is the cutest thing I've ever seen!

A wonderful weekend of memories

This weekend was a fairly close replica of a very special weekend exactly 2 years ago. First I'll tell you about the one 2 years ago, then this weekend. Chase and I had been dating about 3 weeks and it was the busiest time of my life up to that point. I logistically had no time for a boyfriend but I just couldn't keep myself from irresponsibly spending as much time as I could with Chase. I was frantically learning all that I could about my newly elected position as the ASUSU Service VP and was also making final arrangements for Utah State's Blue Carpet Ball that I was in charge of planning. The big weekend and hard work boiled down to April 20. My parents were coming into town for my ASUSU inauguration on Friday, I was speaking at my good friend's baptism (Jason Nichols), Chase's one and only home track meet was on Saturday (so his parents were coming up to watch), and then my Blue Carpet Ball was that night. Circumstantially, this was a big weekend for us! I met Chase's family for the first time, he met mine, and they met each other! Everything about the weekend went perfectly. Chase even rented a tux and got me a corsage for the dance. So cute. I think that weekend was a kind of turning point in our dating and we knew that we really liked each other a lot after having so much fun sharing each other's special occasions.

This weekend had many of the same occasions. Chase did great in his home track meet yesterday. (He won the javelin competition with a throw of 195. The wind was incredibly hard and blowing the opposite direction though so that made the meet tough). The Taylors came up to visit and this time Lincoln came and brought his girlfriend. That night we went to eat at a fantastic Thai restaurant and then a bunch of friends (including Lincoln and Jesse) all went to the Blue Carpet Ball. We had a TON of fun together. What a great memory I will have of the time right before graduation.

Sunny California!

boardwalk and beach-reminds me of New Jersey!
Chase and Lincoln in front of the Batman ride (our second favorite roller coaster)
The Pantages theater where WICKED was playing was amazing!

What a wonderful and exhausting 2 days! We packed everything that we possibly could into our short time in L.A. but gosh was it a BLAST! Chase's meet was at UCLA so my mother and brother in law (Rhonda and Lincoln) flew to LA to watch his meet. We had SO much fun! The first day we went to Universal Studios, watched Chase throw, and then walked on the beach and the boardwalk at night. As far as the meet goes, it wasn't Chase's best. This weekend is a home meet at Utah State though and he usually does amazing here. The next day we got up really early and went to Six Flags! We only had a half day because we had to get Chase back with the team in time to catch his flight so we just ran from roller coaster to roller coaster! To be honest I was super nervous about all these crazy roller coasters. It seemed like every single one was "the highest, fastest, or most upside down" It was weird though because as soon as the ride actually started down the first big hill, I thoroughly enjoyed it and LOVED every minute of it. Then after waiting in line and anticipating what the next roller coaster would be like, I would panic again and get all nervous. It was weird. So here's my story. I LOVE roller coasters but I work myself up about them and get nervous right before they actually begin.

After we dropped Chase off we got tickets to go see WICKED. OH my gosh this musical was amazing! I had heard that it was good but I didn't know that it would be THIS good. I can't get the music out of my head, nor do I really want to. If you ever get the chance to see it, take it!

I feel so blessed to have married into such a wonderful family. I had so much fun with Lincoln and Rhonda. They spoil me to death and I love it! Thanks for yet another fun trip! Love you Taylors!!!