My Talented Sister

Before we came to Cali, Andee took some Glamour shots of me. I must say that Andee must be pretty darn talented in order to make me look this good. For Gary's Birthday I wrote him a poem. Andee was able to take the poem I wrote and paste it on one of the glamour shots that she took. Gary loved it. Thanks to Andee and her talent that keeps on getting better and better.

American Idol

So Wednesday around seven o'clock I heard on the radio that American Idol auditions were being held the next day. So my curiosity started ticking. In previous seasons of American Idol I have always wished that I would have tried out. I felt like if I didn't take the opportunity then I would regret it. So I called my wonderful husband up who was on his way home and told him about it. He was so supportive and agreed to drive down to San Fran with me that night and register for the audition. The next morning we woke up at five thirty and left for the audition. There were ridiculous amounts of people there, thousands! There were also at least ten video cameras going around and filming the maddness. We even saw Justin off of the first Season of American Idol (he is the one that was in the final two with Kelly Clarkson). It was awesome. His hair is even bigger in person. We were told the night before at registration that it would be a fast prosess, ha! Gary and I were there for 10 hours! Seven in the morning till five in the evening. Yeah I was about ready to burst. Gary was more patient then me. He is so chill, it helps me stay calm. We waited ten hours for me to sing ten seconds of a song. American Idol auditions is really not what it seems. Very few people actually see Randy, Paula, and Simon. They were not even there at these auditions. Out of four to five thousand people that were there, probably only about fifty made it to the second round. Unfortunately I was not one of them, however, it was such a good experience. I am so happy that I did it. Now I can say that I tried and not have to wonder and regret anymore. After the audition, traffic was so bad that Gary and I went to Fisherman's Wharf and had a sour dough bread bowl and shared a fantastic crepe. It was a great reward for waiting all day in an American Idol line. What husband waits in a ten hour line with his wife. Talk about supportive. I love you Gary!

Weekend Get Away

Last week Gary came home from work and suggested that we have a weekend get away. So, we did just that. We packed up our camping gear and drove about two hours away to the beautiful Sonorah, California. Before we came out to Cali, Gary was watching Discovery Channel and saw that you could pan for Gold in Sonorah. Gary's dream is to be Nicolas Cage in National Treasure. He is so funny. So we found a nice camp site that was right next to the noisie high way and that felt like sleeping on slanted concrete, its all about the experience right? After a long night of no rest we got up around six and went exploring and then BB gun shooting (THe Firstline Security sign made a great shooting target). Durring our expedition we came across the most beautiful lake I have ever seen. It was called Pinecrest Lake. At Pincrest we rented a kiyak and explored around the lake. Gary and I got in a water fight and of course he won. We just had a blast. This lake was seriously a little spot of paradise. After the Lake we fufilled Gary's treasure hunting dream and went Gold Panning. This was so cool. There is a lot more to Gold Panning then I ever would have thought. Even thought we probably only found about ten dollars worth of Gold, Gary absolutely loved it. He said that he could do it every day and be the happiest man alive. He is crazy, I love it. The only bad thing about it was that my camra died so I couldnt get any shots of our fun Gold Panning expereince. Gary said that we will just have to do it again so we can capture the moment on film. Gary has never suggested going to such length just to take a picture, ha, he is just my little gold panning man.

Happy Birthday Gary!

July 5th was Gary's 25th birthday. I started the day off with making Gary's favorite breakfast, crepes with strawberry's and chocolate. Gary had the day off, but I had to work with a client for about three hours. So, Gary decided to come to work with me. We had a blast. Romell (my client) thought Gary was super funny and super cool. We played basketball at the church and Romell beat both Gary and I in "PIG." Then we went to Cold Stone and got our selves a treat. After taking Romell home, Gary and I went to Lake Elizabeth which is about three minutes away from our apartaments. I think this lake is one of my favorite places. It is so beautiful and soothing. After walking around the lake Gary and I went to the pool and soaked up the sun for a little bit. That night we went out to eat at AppleBee's and Gary got to open the presents I got him. It was such a great day.

Fun with the Family

My fantastic family came and visited Gary and I in California. We had so much fun. We went to Muir Woods, the Okland Temple, Fisherman's Warf, Alkatraz Island, etc, etc. We painted the town red! (that phrase is for you Dad) My family is so incredible! Not only are they hilarious and fun to be with but they are so selfless and thoughtful as well. My parents totally spoiled us. They do way too much for us and no matter how hard we try, they keep on spoiling and spoiling us. Gary and I feel so lucky to have such an amazing family. What a great example to follow for Gary's and mine future family. Pictures of our fantastic vacation with the fam are soon to come.

More Fun in the Sun!

Well hello hello. First off, I would like to apologize for my lack of blogging. I have had some camera difficulties and have been unable to post pictures. For some reason I thought that a blog wouldn't be complete with out a pic, but today i over came that thought and decided to blog anyways. Life in Cali is still going great. Last week Gary and I went to Muir Woods and went on a hike. We thought that the hike would be fun and relaxing. There was no doubt that it was fun, but it was probably the farthest thing from relaxing. The hike ended up being six miles long and more then half the time vertical. Towards the end of the hike Gary and I got lost some how and ended up in a quaint little town right by the beach. So, we played on the beach a bit and got a bus ride back to our car. It was quite the adventure. An adventure that will not be forgotten. Another unforgetable event that happened a couple of weeks ago was when Gary and I played tennis. Gary wants to become a better tennis player so i put some targets up on the opposite side and said that if he hit one of them then he would get a ten minute back message. So, with his determined eyes on the target, Gary tossed his ball in an attempt to hit a serve, but as he swung, his body followed with a tad pit too much force and ended up face planting it on the court! It was probably one of the funniest things I have ever seen Gary do. Just thinking about it, even two weeks later, makes me crack up. Ah, life is good. Gary is doing great at his job and I am loving my job more and more each day. Well I will try to post pic's ASAP and also try to keep you all updated more frequently.

Gary is #1!

Last week Gary's office was told that who ever had the most sales would recieve a hefty cash reward. It was a long tough week, but guess who pulled through as the number one salesman? Yup, thats right, the one and only Gary Buckway Jr. I was so proud of him. Gary also got a 3.9 this last semester and just recieved notice that he was put on the Dean's list at UVU. Gary's basically got it going on! I landed a great job out here in Cali. I work for a company called Cypress and I am a Life Skill Couch. Basically this means that I go around to homes of mentally challenged individuals and teach them about basic life skills that we all tend to take advantage of sometimes. I am pretty excited about it and it seems to be treating me right thus far. It is a job that is super rewarding and that helps me realize just how blessed I am. I have Gary to thank for that as well. He is always helping me look at the positive things in life and to be hopeful, rather then worry like I do so well. I am so grateful for that!