2018 Highlights

Preston 

Continues to work for a Real Estate Development Company in Couer d'Alene Idaho. He was promoted to Senior Financial Analyst in September.  He is the teachers quorum adviser at church and loves it.  

Hannah 

Preston so kindly got her a part time job for his company as an Apartment Manager for one of their many complexes. Since her compensation is a place to live we all moved to Hayden, Idaho in April. She and Neal walk across the parking lot to work every morning. She a Relief Society teacher and loves telling her mission stories to a captive audience.

Neal 

Neal had his first birthday in March. He learned to walk in June and is now running. He is starting to talk. He says "more," "please" "dada" "duck" and "baby." He is now in nursery at church and hates when mom or dad leave him there alone. 

 Big news 

We are expecting a boy in February. We are so excited to have another little boy to chase around.  

Happy Father's Day

My dad is always getting on me for not updating my blog and since it is a little weird to buy a present for someone that loans you money, I decided to go sentimental this year and up date my blog. Just for you, Dad.

Let's start out by saying a few nice things about my dad 

1. He is smart. Very smart. The smartest person I know. When I was in college I saw some guy with a very complicated text book and asked him what he was studying. Turned out he was going to be a Material Science like my dad. and that's when I realized my dad was literally the smartest person I've ever met. I mean I should have figured that out in high school when he spend 80% of the night helping me with all my homework from every subject including spanish.. which he doesn't speak. Oh and watching Jeopardy with him is crazy. I'm frequently looking over him and asking "why, and how do you know that?"  
2. He is funny. Very funny. He is full of dad joke but some of them are actually funny, but I was more referring to the time I witnessed him act out walking down a runway like a model. he cracks me up unexpectedly all the time.   
3. He loves me. I know he loves me because when I was 8 years old I went to work with him and wow is his job boring, although he claims to like it. I just remember waking up at 4 am to get ready then driving to the train station, taking the train 2 hours to the bay area, then getting on two different buses then working 8 hours and returning the same way we came. When we got home I distinctly remember sitting on the edge of my parents beds thinking about how tired I was and coming to the realization that my dad must really love me to do that everyday. I mean he told me he loved me all the time but it sure didn't sink in until that day.
4. He loves the Lord. Ok so maybe I tease him a little when he chokes up in church but he is an example to of a true disciple of Christ. He is a silent follower always serving and never expecting anything in return. I can't tell you how many priesthood blessings he has given me. Some just when I had the stomach flu or starting a new school but others have had a lasting impact. Like the one the eve of my wedding night or the one before my mission.  

So happy fathers day. And remember you said you wouldn't comment on my grammar or spelling

 Rock climbing at Christmas time

 I was a group fitness instructor for a minute and it was a fun minute

 My cute family running

 Neal loves to read

 And take baths

 My cute family hiking

 Hiking with my dad. I love living so close to my parents. We visit frequently on the weekends.

 Neal eating avocado

 Neal practicing walking with grandpa and dad

 My sweet new hiking backpack

 We moved... again. Thanks for coming out and helping us move.

 Grandpa and Neal before church (excuse the moving boxes)

 Grandma and Grandpa Robins and Neal

 Seriously, what a cutie

 We went to Maui

 Happy birthday to me

 Silverwood theme park!

 Dad, nice ride?

 Group shot

 Neal turned one!

Classic grandpa! 

The Year 2016

I can't lie, we have had a great year. So great that you might hate us after reading and seeing all about our great year. I'll wrap it up for you in a few words, if you would rather not commit one of the 7 deathly sins. 

New jobs, great church calling, hiking, camping, Hawaii, boating, and a baby on the way.

OK here we go, be prepared to be jealous, envious and covetous.  It started out with us both getting new jobs. Preston works for Marcus and Millichap as an assistant to a real estate broker, which he really excels at and has helped his boss close many deals. I changed pharmacies to Community Pharmacy, which has been more relaxed and a better schedule for me and my fun driven life.

I made him take this photo. 

We are also Cub scout leaders for the wolf pack.

January:

I found my 2nd favorite sport, cross country skiing.

Preston, his parents and I drove down to St George and I ran the St George half marathon.  I won for my age division but my audience didn't seem too impressed.

For Presidents we drove down to Goblin Valley and got for first taste of car camping. We loved it and continued our adventure through out the summer.

February:

Preston had his 25th birthday party at Lowes Extreme Air Sports (a trampoline gym) and I made the cup cakes 

Leap day was a hit with my traditional frog cookies. 

In a moment of weakness I told Preston he could get a gun. The next morning he ditched class and bought a hand gun. He took me to the gun range a few weeks later. He had fun...

March:

In march I got a new car, after my car (actually my dad's car that I drove) got stolen out of the parking garage at work, which wasn't the first time it had been stolen while in my care. The day after we bought the new car the civic was recovered.

Then we had 3 cars until we gave the civic to my brother but not before it was stolen one more time.

April: 

For April fools I tried to convince Preston I was pregnant. He didn't believe it for a second.

May:

My aunt deb and I made a nightstand for Preston. He loves it and I'm proud of my handy work,

I ran the Ogden Marathon in terrible rain and wind. Even with the bad weather, I qualified for the Boston Marathon.

For memorial day,  we went up to Washington to visit my parents. We had a blast painting my parents room, hiking, doing an escape room and kayaking on Lake Washington.

June:

 For my birthday we took the Alexander's boat to the lake with some friends and a 6 foot sub.

We went car camping up in the Uintas. Our hike didn't turn out due to the snow, but we still had fun!

I ran Ragnar, which is a popular 12 person relay race. Its hard to find 12 friends that are willing to do a 200 mile relay over a 2 day span, so I found a random group and invited a friend to come with me. 

Here is one picture to wrap up the many times we went boating on Deer Creek Reservoir this summer.

July:

We spent a week on the Hawaiian island of Kauai with the whole Alexander family. I could go on and on about the surfing, boogie boarding, kayaking, hiking, and swimming we did in paradise but I wouldn't want to make you hate us.

The week we got back from Hawaii we went to Bear Lake for an extended family reunion. We showed off our mad skills by surfing together behind the boat.

Preston ran his first half marathon. He finished before his time goal and with a smile! 

August:

My brother, Noah, invited us to on a rock climbing trip in Maple canyon and we used our tent for the first time.

We celebrated our first married year, with a trip down to Los Angles and San Diego for my cousins wedding.  We enjoyed Hollywood and the beach and then learned an important lesson about LA traffic. Grandma Deon was a great host.

We backpacked Red Pine Lake which is the same hike we did on our first date. It was a lot harder then we remembered but the view the next morning was worth it.

September:

We rode our bikes to Kneaders, for unlimited french toast. 

We went white water rafting in Moab with our adventurous friends Heather and Craig. 

I ran the Uintah half marathon 15 weeks pregnant and survived. I came in first place for my age division (it was a small town race).

October:

Preston ran the Halloween half marathon and beat his previous half marathon time. 

We dressed up like a hunter and a bear for the ward trunk or treat. You could tell we were new to the family ward thing when we ran out of candy after 5 minutes. 

And the best news of all we are expecting out first baby March 2017. We are thrilled. Preston couldn't be happier to be having a boy. So far the pregnancy has been great. My only complaint is that its difficult to run, which I get many eye rolls for because I guess that's not much of a complaint. Next year will be a lot different, but are excited for this new phase of life.