So I’ve been slacking on the blogging due to the fact that we have had a lot going on. So I decided to sit down for a second between errands and give you a quick run down.

Making dinner is hard to do now that I am working, but for some reason the other day I really wanted to try and make sushi! This is my attempt. It actually tasted pretty good. I learned how to make yum yum sauce too!

It’s been raining a lot here in Cruces. My hair has been acting up with all the humidity. The other day we had an amazing rainbow out front of our house.

I’m back to school! The hardest thing to get used to is the Mrs. Barrow business! Haha. Today I sent an email to a parent and signed it Ms. Bray…then I had to rewrite it and put Mrs. Barrow. Even when my kids call me that, I don’t really pay attention and then realize they are talking to me! Also, the pronunciations are cracking me up…I get Mrs. Borrow, Bar-o, etc…so many variations.

The mosquitos are out and my arms and legs are raw! My arm started to swell the other day after I got a bite. I am scared I might get the swine flu!

I was tired of looking at the front of my car and not seeing the license plate so I bought a Fox plate to represent the biking world. Mike and I have been practicing a lot for the Horny Toad Hustle (the Las Cruces mountain bike race) which is in less than a month!

I have been decorating a lot around the house. Mainly I have been hanging curtains and getting the downstairs down. My next project is our bedroom.

The end. 🙂

At Trunk Bay with Mike

The view from the taxi

Inside the taxi

Welcome to St. John!

Our sign picture right off the ship.

The view of St. Thomas

Mike on the ferry!

Our first iguana sighting.

So I attempted to mountain bike race this weekend. I hadn’t planned on it but I thought it would be fun to give it a try! Mike and I left Saturday for Albuquerque and went to the temple. We then switched into our bike gear and did a practice run of the beginner loop of Cedro Peak. I was loving it. It was really fun to ride through the woods and it didn’t seem bad at all. There was one part though called The Hills of Death…and I had to walk it up, but I kept thinking that even that wasn’t bad. I felt pretty good too because the beginner loop was only seven miles and I usually end up doing about eight when we do the Dona Ana’s back in Las Cruces.

Boy was I wrong! It is so different when you race! Don’t get me wrong, it was fun, but it is so much harder! At the starting line you have to push your way through bikes and when we turned off the road the first person got stuck so we all had to hop off our bikes and run around them. I was flying downhill trying to keep pace and not have people pass me. It flustered me a little to the point where my front wheel hit a big rock and then I went flying over the handle bars with my bike landing right on me!

After I regained composure…I was good. Even though a god number of people got in front of me, I still kept pushing. What seemed like an easy ride before was really hard! I was breathing a lot harder due to how nervous I was! The only people that passed me were pro riders and a couple men, which was fine with me, because they were not in my category! Haha..

When I got to the Hills of Death I was beat…I made it up a little and then jumped off my bike and started running up the hill. One mile later I was able to hop back on and get my bike up the mountain. It was so hot! While I was running up, I made it up to this guy in front of me who was resting under a tree, but as soon as he saw me he started running again! (I seem to have that effect on people!). After that, it was all down hill!

I made it to the end in fifty three minutes and I was good to go. I got first out of two people in the 19-29 category and got the prize for second place over all for the women’s beginner division. I got beat out by a 12 year old girl…who made it in 38 minutes. She seriously rocked it.

Lots of fun and very hard work! I think I’m going to race the Farmington Race and Gallup too.

Wearing our cool championship shirts!

My battle wounds!

Mike at the starting line…

At the starting line…

We had a lot of people in and out of town. Dad and Georgia started the trend whn they helped me move my stuff here.

Mike and I had our Las Cruces reception on July 11th. It was fun to get dressed up again!
I got a job at Zia Middle School. I’m a little nervous about teaching eighth grade, but we will see!
The Barrow Family had a mini reunion and had a lot of dinners and hanging out time!
Jen and Wayne came down to visit for the reception and we got to take them around Cruces, Cloudcroft, and White Sands.

Mom came out Fourth of July weekend and hung out with us. This picture makes me laugh!
Christa and I went to the Albuquerque Temple and had a good time! It was so nice to go to the temple!!

A week from today Mike and I will be flying to San Juan, Puerto Rico for a seven day cruise!! I have been dying for a vacation! We both have! We like how there are so many ports so we can explore the Caribbean. Here is the order of where we are going.

San Juan

The first day is quick because we get in at 3pm and have to be to the boat quick. As soon as we get ont he boat, we can leave and go explore San Juan. I’m excited for Mike to have his first cruise experience. This is the day we do muster and pretty much explore the ship!

St. Thomas/St. John (Trunk Bay)

I’ve been to St. Thomas before on a family vacation. When we went, we took a ferry over to trunk bay in St. John. This is a picture of it. It is one of the most beautiful beaches I have evr seen in my life! We plan on going here and snorkeling for a while..maybe some snuba too! 🙂

Dominica

I have never been to any of the rest of these ports but I am superexcited about it. Some options for us are Trafalgar Falls and Emerald Pools, Jaco Falls, and Hot Springs. There is an option to go on a tour of the island for only twenty five bucks…but we will see how we are feeling!

Barbados

It was highly recommended to just explore the beaches here. They do have a shipwreck snorkel and also you can rent scooters for five bucks! I have a feeling it will be a chill day here. All the reviews keep saying how wonderful the beaches are here.

St. Lucia

They have rainforests here and ziplining is the thing to do! I really want to do this and if I can get a reservation for it we will. They also have bike rentals here.

Antigua

We want to rent some ATVs here and go around the island. Also the reviews said that snorkeling was the thing to do!

St. Kitts

So this is where they say that mountain biking is the best. We hope to try it out just to say we have mountain biked in the Caribbean. Also, I guess the people here are really pushy about buying things, so we are prepared to fight them off!

Then its back to San Juan, where we will spend the night and enjoy the sites! It came so fast…we hope it doesn’t go too fast!

In the last week and a half, Mike and I have been to White Sands three times! Judging by the amount of sand that was sitting in my car…it was pretty obvious! It is one of those wonders that you have to go to in your lifetime. Every time I go there, I want to run barefoot across the dunes like a little kid.

This past weekend Jen and Wayne came into town and we did a photo shoot at White Sands. Mike and I didn’t get a lot of wedding pictures with just us and we have been dying to go to do a shoot at White Sands, so we flew Jen out to take some…..and she did amazing! Here are some from her shoot:

In my last ward, I visit taught a girl that I hardly knew without a companion. I only met with her a few times, but this girl is seriously my hero. She goes on so many adventures..its crazy! She has this attitude about living life to the fullest and making each day exciting and brand new. I swear she has been to every continent and can speak different languages.

Anyway, go check out her blog. She is such a fantastic person and totally motivates me! I really look up to her in the sense of making sure that I just don’t sit around doing nothing. Nothing can stop you! My favorite quote is by John Bytheway and its:

“Don’t obsess over what you can’t control. Live life at the top of your lungs!”

I’m glad I have Megann to remind me of that and how I want to use that as my inspiration in life.

Here is her blog if you want to check it out:

http://megannwilkerson.blogspot.com/