Easing on Down the Road

When I started my individual blog, the now infamous Super Speak, I had the idea that it would be different from this, our family blog. I wasn't sure the direction it was going to take, I figured I would just start to write and see where it took me.

Now more than 5 months later I don't feel like it has taken too much of a different path than this blog. Some posts even mirror posts from the opposite blog. Frankly it has been hard sometimes coming up with different posts for each blog when in reality they are both about my life, our life and everyday happenings. I am toying around with the idea for a more niche blog/website but keeping up 3 sites might be more than I can chew. For this reason I am condensing the two current blogs into one. Since I love Wordpress more than Blogger, from now on you can find all updates at www.robynstorms.com. And thanks to the web nerds that I work with I was even able to import all posts from this blog over to that blog so if you have a favorite you would like to reference it is there. Plus I figure my posterity might want to read them too.

Hope you will continue to stay tuned. I won't be deleting this blog anytime soon to make sure you all know where to find me. And if you have a private blog, please send me an invite to robynstorms@gmail.com so I can continue to follow you.

Anniversary Catch-Up

So since you faithfully read our blog you should already know that we celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary just over 2 weeks ago. But what you don't know is how we celebrated. So I'm about to fill you in...We left the family reunion (see below) on Saturday and instead of driving home like everyone else we decided to spend an extra night in Colorado to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Loving to visit new places I discovered a quaint little town called Glenwood Springs. They brag about having the largest hot springs pool in the country, and maybe even the world, so I thought that sounded like a fun place to go. After doing some research I found a great hotel, that accepts pets, and booked us a king bed suite complete with whirlpool and fireplace. Didn't think we would need the fireplace for warmth but it might add to the mood. Wink, wink! When we went to check in the inappropriately dressed, not-so-customer-friendly lady at the desk informed us that the room type we were booked for did NOT accept pets. The conversation went something like this:

"You are booked for a king bed suite but we don't allow pets in those rooms." (This was said with a bit of disgust while she eyed Kingston.)

"Oh, when I booked the room online there was no mention that only certain rooms allowed pets."

"We only accept pets in our ground floor rooms and we are all out of those."

"Since I have a reservation and that was not clear could you put us somewhere else?"

"We have other rooms available but they don't accept pets. I can put you in one of those but the dog is not allowed."

"What do you expect me to do with my dog?" ("Imbecile," this part was silent but I thought it)

At this point her manager who had a little bit more sense than she did informed her that there was an available room we could use, with Kingston. We made sure he peed on the carpet. Just once.

Once we had the room situation figured out Matt and I headed out to dinner. We found a delicious little Mexican restaurant that came highly recommended from Twitter peeps and enjoyed a great meal. After dinner we went back to the hotel to let Kingston out and then changed into our bathing suits and went to spend some time at the hot springs. On our way into town we had noticed a sign pointing the way to Doc Holladay's grave. Part of the fun when visiting new places is discovering small, random points of interest so on our way out of town the next morning we decided to stop. It ended up being a 1/2 mile hike to the cemetery and once we found his grave we were a bit disappointed to find out the grave is just a marker and no one is sure exactly where is body is. Too funny. But that hasn't stopped people from adorning his tombstone with fake mustaches, poker chips and mini bottles.

When we got home we exchanged gifts with each other. I have always thought it would be fun to follow the traditional anniversary gifts, which meant this year's gift had to do with paper. Matt bought me "The Grimmerie," which for those who don't know is a fantastic book all about the musical, Wicked. I've been coveting wanting it for some time. Good job, Matt! In return I bought Matt a great travel book on the Tour de France. Our first year has been full of many fun times and I look forward to many, many more.

Saunders Family Reunion 09

We left for Colorado on Aug 5 to spend a few days at my family's cabin for the annual Saunders' reunion. We even brought Kingston along, who may I add was a champ during the 8 hr car ride. Everyone was there, except for Chris, Tiffiney and baby, Lariah makes 3. It was good to see Kim's family and meet their not-so-new daughter, Liz, who was born last year just before Matt and I got married. We spent time hiking, riding the 4-wheelers, eating dutch oven, playing baseball, and spending time with each other. It is always nice to get away to peace and quiet. Did I say 'quiet?" Not in this family! And of course there were the nightly card games. All in all we had a great time. Though I think Matt wouldn't mind if we stayed away from Logan for a month or two. Thirty Saunders' are a lot to take. He's adjusting well. :)

One Year Ago...

A year ago today Matt and I were married in the Bountiful LDS Temple. When I think back on that day I have nothing but wonderful memories. Everything went smoothly and I wouldn't have changed a thing. The colors, the flowers, the dress, the cake, the dancing; everything was how we had planned. But most importantly we became a forever family that day and I look forward to this lifetime and eternity with the man I love.

Birthday #33

There is a lot of pressure on Matt to make my birthday special. I start counting down to the darn thing 3 months in advance because I love having a birthday so much. I don't care that I am getting older, I just focus on the good part. Cake, ice cream, an excuse to not work out all week (because I need at least a week to celebrate) and fun surprises. All things I love!

I had just purchased this fun cake pan from Williams-Sonoma and my birthday was the perfect occasion to try it out. Or in this case, Matt was the first to try it out since the honored guest should never have to make their own cake. I think he did a wonderful job.


And what do you get the girl who has had 14 speeding tickets throughout her young driving career? A chance to go really, really fast. By pulling a few strings I was able to do some "hot laps" at Miller Motorsports. Matt was so excited about his gift to me he has been trying to give it to be for over a month. Unfortunately I didn't get to drive the car, but going 115 mph in a mustang even as a passenger was pretty sweet.
Though I don't care about getting older each year, and sure don't feel it, I did get a small reminder that I am not as young as I once was. After speeding around the racetrack a few times I did start to feel sick. Thankfully nothing came up, but maybe next year I will just have a party.

Looking the Part

A few of you have asked to see me in my full motorcycle glory. And I don't blame you. It's like I take on a whole new persona once the gear is on and the motorcycle engine starts to purr. But I am happy to have been able to stay true to my girlish ways by incorporating a lot of pink and a sparkly butterfly or two. One of my coworkers filmed a short video of me getting ready to head home. Check it out here.

Our 4th of July Adventure

July is one of my favorite months. I have a birthday and since I live in Utah, an entire month of fireworks. It's nothing compared to ending everyday with fireworks like I did in Florida, but I will take what I can get.

Now that I am a certified and legal motorcycle rider, Matt and I planned a fun ride over the 4th of July weekend. Overall we rode almost 800 miles. We left Thursday night and rode as far as my sister's house in Wellsville. It was raining, which had me worried, but I handled it like a pro. Especially if you have heard me describe my first time on the freeway only a month previous. There was a lot of pulling over and freaking out happening on my part. But I eventually overcame the fear because I knew I had to in order to make this trip happen.

Day 2 started with a ride through Logan Canyon. We stopped in Bear Lake and enjoyed a raspberry shake and fries from LaBeau's.

The morning started off great with clear, blue skies, but by the time we would arrive at our hotel for the night we rode through 6 rainstorms. That's right, 6! The good thing is that most of them were short-lived and we could always see clear skies in the distance to help us keep going. Our agenda for that day was to continue on US-89 to Jackson, stop for dinner and then ride over Teton Pass into Drigg's, ID. The last rainstorm just happened to start right as we left Jackson and were headed over the pass. The scariest 10 miles of my life! It was bad enough going up the pass, but once we neared the top I realized I would also have to ride down. By that time the rain was coming down pretty hard, I was cold, wet and the roads were covered in water. I was sure I was going to drop my bike but with a lot of careful maneuvering we both made it down safe. Initiation over. We arrived to our cabin in Drigg's cold, wet and tired. After a hot bath I was asleep by 9.

One of many elk arches in Jackson

Our cozy cabin in Driggs
My favorite day on the bikes was Saturday. From Driggs we rode up through Ashton, ID to Mesa Falls. Who knew Idaho could be so beautiful. Ashton is full of rolling hills, which were a blast on the motorcycle, and green, lush farmlands. And Mesa Falls was so beautiful I couldn't add just one picture so I put together a slideshow for your viewing pleasure. The other plus to this day. No rain!

After Mesa Falls, we continued south to Idaho Falls/Shelley where we were staying with some friends of ours. I had always heard that the fireworks in Idaho Falls were some of the best. And they really were. It helps to have such a picturesque backdrop with the temple on one side of the river and fireworks on the other. Add in some cuddling and Neil Diamond and my 4th of July was complete.









We left Shelley after church on Sunday for the final 200 miles. It's amazing how comfortable I am on the bike now and happy for Matt's sake. We are now able to share in a hobby that he has loved for so long. And I look forward to many more road trips in the future.

Don't Cha Wish Your Weekend Was Fun Like Ours?

This post is long overdue because the weekend I'm referring to was almost 2 weeks ago. We traveled to Stanley, ID to do some river rafting, stopped for dinner in Sun Valley, and brought home our puppy, Kingston. You can read more about our river rafting adventure here. But I want to introduce you all to Kingston Bret Michaels. Isn't he the cutest thing? And no, Dad, we are not planning on having a puppy replace babies.

If you are wondering about his name, I have a thing for animals who have human names. I thought it would be hilarious to have a dog named Bret Michaels but for some reason Matt thought it might be weird calling out to him in public places. Go figure. So one night as we were going to bed we started thinking of names and came up with Kingston. And since we spent out honeymoon in Jamaica it has some meaning for us as well. He has been so much fun though he gets us up very early to pee. Who knows, maybe all this training will make us ready for a baby sooner than later.

Happy Birthday, Matt!

Today is Matt's birthday. He is the exact opposite of me and hates all the attention a birthday can bring. Not sure what is wrong with him, but if you see him on the street be sure to tell him "Happy Birthday!" He will love me for it.

Matt is not much of a cake guy, so he requested pie. Being the loving wife that I am I agreed to give it a shot. Matt gave me a cookbook titled, "Sweety Pies" for Christmas, so finding a good recipe wasn't a problem. The problem would be if it came out looking nothing like the picture in the book. I figured worse case scenario if it didn't work out there was always Marie Callendar's. I am happy to report that it DID work out. I made my first ever strawberry-rhubarb pie, with a homemade crust to boot. No back up plan necessary. Matt has even requested I make it again. Definitely a good sign.

I Can See Clearly Now

Wondering why my glasses and contact supplies are in the garbage? It's because I don't need them anymore. That's right, I had lasik surgery! And it wasn't even scary. It could be due to the Valium they gave me, but that is beside the point. And thanks to the good folks at TLC Laser Eye Center I am now seeing clearly without corrective lenses.

Culinary Inspirations

I often tell my mom that I need a wife. She usually laughs, especially now that I am one. I try to explain to her that with working full-time, teaching dance, and every other thing Matt and I seem to be busy with that there is no time to cook a decent meal on a regular basis. There are so many nights that one or both of us gets home way past dinner time and so we just scrape up whatever is quick and easy. I tell myself I will do much better on the weekend, but lack of planning ahead usually results in a less than perfect meal. This is one of the main reasons I hate grocery shopping. I write a list for a few regular purchases, but usually end up wondering, "What am I going to make?" as I wander up and down the aisles. I have great aspirations of being one of those wives and moms that plans my menu out for 1 or 2 weeks at a time and then shopping for the needed supplies. Baby steps are imperative though. I came across a great website and hopefully it will help out some. I know planning is key, but there will still be nights where that may not be possible. Enter Supercook. I still need to try it out, but the idea is to make a list of ingredients you already have in your kitchen and Supercook does the rest. It compiles recipes, from various websites, that can be made with your ingredient list. Why didn't I think of this? It's genius. And I'm sharing it with all of you. And if you check my sidebar you will also see a couple of other links for cooking websites/blogs that have inspired me or been recommended by others. Any others I should know about?

My parents are both wonderful cooks and I would like to think that someday my future children will say the same about me. As it stands right now, all they have to go on is chocolate chip cookies, a great recipe I found for homemade macaroni and cheese, and great tastes in restaurants. It's a start.

Pomp and Circumstance

It's official, Matt is a college graduate! Working hard and doing 4 years of school in only 3, Matt received his Bachelor of Science in Sport Management from the University of Utah. I am so proud of him and all he has accomplished. He now has his eyes on an even bigger goal of getting his Masters degree, but one step at a time.

Matt's mom was able to come visit from California and spend the weekend with us. It was a busy few days but we enjoyed the visit and she had fun seeing the sights of Salt Lake City. As well as a few of our favorite restaurants. Luckily I had a chance to cook on Sunday so she knows we don't eat out ALL the time. But special occasions call for a meal prepared by someone else. Also thanks to my mom and dad, and Jack and Patty for traveling to share in Matt's great achievement.

In addition to graduation last week, check out my personal blog to read about an exciting announcement about our growing family.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

For the last 3 years, Matt has been growing his hair out. Partly because he could, but the eventual plan was to always donate it to Locks of Love. Matt's friend, April, who is a stylist in San Diego happened to be in town this weekend so it was off with his hair.

So now with 4 fresh ponytails to send off to the charity...
I introduce the new Matt. I like what I see. Meow!

As for the pornstache he is sporting. That's temporary. He just likes to find new ways to provoke me. It usually works but I love him anyway.

A Bunny and a Bike

The Easter Bunny found our house...Yay! Matt is great to humor my love of holidays and there is no reason why we shouldn't wake up to baskets filled with goodies too. Since I doubled as the Easter Bunny it wasn't much of a surprise for me but it was fun to shop for baskets and put it all together. Those buckets cost me a whopping $.89 at Target.

Like most of you, Matt and I enjoyed spending some time with our family over the Easter weekend. Matt has been busy getting trained to become a motorcycle safety instructor. He had class most of the weekend so we went up to Logan after church to enjoy dinner and steal candy from my nieces and nephews. It is a great plan, they do all the work finding the eggs and we find ways to convince them to hand some of it over. I am so good with kids!


In more exciting news, we also bought a motorcycle for me!! Matt has been riding for years, we met on the bike, so it was only fitting that eventually I would get my own. Since I have no riding experience sitting on the bike for a picture is about as close as I have come so far. But next month I will be taking the safety course and getting my license. Watch out!

Will blog for spa treatments

The Sego Lily Day Spa is holding a contest to be their official blogger for the next year, and I have officially entered. If I am chosen as a finalist you will all have the opportunity to leave your comments and vote for me. I am using my new blog to post my entry for the contest. What? You didn't know I had a new blog? Well then let me introduce you to....SUPER Speak!

I am going to continue using this blog for updates on Matt and I, so continue to check in. But if you also want to be entertained by the musings of my mind, be sure to check out my new blog.

Wish me luck!

Domestic Goddess

I think that Martha would be very proud of me this week. Not only did I make lemon bars, twice, I also made a blanket for my soon-to-be-born niece. The potential has been there along. I guess it's like my mom always said, "You just need to apply yourself." Dang, I hate when she is right!

Look at that smile! My sister-in-law, Tiffiney, is showing off what is clearly her favorite baby shower gift.

I now have a request from my sister to make her daughter a blanket too. I best get on it, not sure how long my domesticating is going to last.

My 15 minutes

As an addendum to my last post, I have some exciting news. I am now semi-famous. I knew it would happen sooner or later and thanks to my friend Sarah, who writes a weekly column for IN Utah This Week, I got a mention in her latest column. Read it for yourself!

Hammertime!

Matt and I took a trip back to 1991 this past weekend. As a surprise to Matt, I purchased tickets to the reunion concert of Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer. What a night! The concert was down in Orem at the McKay Dee Events Center and upon arrival neon was everywhere. The funniest thing about those decked out in their best 80's attire was that most of them probably don't even remember living during that decade. I would like to say that the concert was worth it, but it was a night of long waits. Getting our tickets out of will call was the first obstacle. If you know anyone who works at McKay please tell them what a horrible job they did with crowd control. They probably already know, but one more opinion might make it sink in. I've waited in my share of lines but the problem with this system was there was no system. Just masses of people congregating to 2 available windows, much like sending something through a funnel. It was madness and I was very close to losing my dinner from such close proximity with strangers.

Once we finally retrieved our tickets we made it to the concert. I was afraid we would miss some, but since they were so on schedule (sarcasm for "they haven't even started') we had plenty of time to prepare. I took some time to polish up on my old school dance moves; Running Man, Cabbage Patch and the Roger Rabbit. When Vanilla finally made it out on stage it was already 10:30pm. This may not seem that late to some, but in recent years partying til the wee hours of the morning is getting hard for me. Especially on a friday night after a long week of work. Since there was another 45 min break from the time Mr. Ice finished until MC started, it was that much later when Hammertime officially started. By that point we were both tired and decided that once we heard a song we recognized we would leave. So with "Pray" as our swan song and a final boost of dance energy we exited the facility. We blame it on wanting to beat the parking lot rush and we are sticking to that story.

P.S In case the above post tells a different story, we did have a good time together. But the only time I want to wait that long for something is when I am waiting to board Splash Mountain. That is totally worth it!

The Newlywed Game!

I was tagged in a note on Facebook and thought I would post my answers on our blog as well. This may be a repeat for some of you, but oh well..deal! And if you want to post your own answers I would love to see them.

♥ What are your middle names?
Matt's is Kent, and I don't have one...just like Madonna...Robyn!
♥ How long have you been together?
We met and started dating in July 2007, and were married August 9, 2008
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
About 4 hours... we met while I was on a date with someone else and by that night we were going out on our first date.
♥ Who asked who out?
Matt asked me after finding out I wasn't "with" the guy I was out with.
♥ How old are each of you?
I am 32, and Matt is 30. He loves being married to an older woman
♥ Whose siblings do/ did you see the most?
Mine... They live closer and there are more of them.
♥ Do you have any children together?
Not yet
♥ What about pets?
We are talking about getting a dog
♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Getting married later than average, means we are both more set in our ways. I would say after 6 months of marriage, we are doing pretty good with this though.
♥ Did you go to the same school?
Nope
♥ Are you from the same home town?
No, I am from Hyde Park in Cache Valley, and Matt is from Desert Hot Springs, CA (near Palm Springs)
♥ Who is the smartest?
We are both smart in different ways...it's nice to have a man around that can share his thoughts and opinions intellectually.
♥ Who is the most sensitive?
For sure, me!
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Lone Star Taqueria (best fish tacos) and Mazza
♥ Who has the worst temper?
Me..but since Matt never wants to fight back it tempers mine down some.
♥ Who does the cooking?
My man is skilled in the kitchen. He loves to cook and I love to eat it. But I can hold mine own
♥ Who is more social?
We both are, depending on the situation
♥Who is the neat Freak?
Me...does OCD ring a bell!?
♥ Who is the more stubborn?
we both are
♥ Who hogs the bed?
Matt says me, but I think I give him equal share. I just like to cuddle up close.
♥ Who wakes up earlier?
usually me, I have to be at work sooner but Matt is up in time to kiss me goodbye.
♥ Where was your first date?
Jamba Juice and a talk until 3am
♥ Who has the bigger family?
Me for sure...8 siblings, 21 nieces and nephews
♥ Do you get flowers often?
Not too often, but they mean more when I do...especially when they are for no reason at all.
♥ How do you spend the holidays?
Since Matt's family is in California and Canada, we end up spending more time with mine, more often. Holidays spent with his family is more of a trip away.
♥ How long did it take to get serious?
Matt's "rules" were 1 month to kiss someone and 3 months until he got exclusive, but it took him only 5 days to kiss me and 2 weeks to tell me he loved me...Rules were meant to be broken!
♥ Who does/ did the laundry?
me...Matt will do some if we are out of clothes and I am pressed for time.
♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Matt
♥ Who drives when you are together?
Since Matt rides his motorcycle 80% of the year, it ends up being me driving my car most of the time.

A change has done me good!

I started my new job last Monday and after only a week the decision to leave my old job, for one that pays me a lot less, continues to feel like the right one. For those of you who weren't aware I had even changed jobs, I am now working as a web marketer for an ad agency downtown. This is new territory for me, but I am learning a lot and feel the skills I am learning will be a great asset to me in the future. Who knows, with all the SEO and social media skills Matt is also exploring with his internship maybe one day we can start our own business.

Top things I love about the new job:

1. Bagel Fridays- This is our weekly staff meeting and although we had muffins this week it is nice to be in a meeting where only good news is shared.
2. My sweet 24-inch Mac.
3. An office where the IT guy actually knows how to fix a computer problem.
4. Toilets that flush, an actual breakroom, and a receptionist to cover the phone during lunch.
5. Wearing jeans everday if I want
6. Riding an elevator to the office
7. Having actual work to do and feeling like I am contributing to something of real value, instead of made-up busy work.

I miss my peeps at the old place and know we will stay in touch, but in this case the grass really is greener on the other side.

Holiday Hoopla!!

When I lived in Ogden it became a holiday tradition to do a performance, and by performance I mean lip sync, to a popular Michael McLean song. Even though that tradition ceased once my roommates and I moved from the house on 40th street, when the holidays come to an end I still "cry the day that I take the tree down." I haven't taken it down yet, but this weekend is the time the holiday cheer will be packed up and put away until another Christmas season is upon us. We had a memorable first Christmas as a married couple and look forward to many more.

Our festivities began with the annual Saunders' Christmas party on the 23rd. Part of the night's activities always includes listening to the story of the Polar Express. This year we took it one step further and trekked up to the Heber Valley Railroad and rode the Polar Express. I had high expectations since I love this story, but honestly for the money they could have done a better job. And as a co-worker of mine pointed out, "It wasn't done by Disney, Robyn!" And she is right. It was a good time but not something I would do every year. Matt and I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day just the two of us. We exchanged gifts from each other and Santa and Matt made a wonderful dinner. I love having a husband that loves to cook.

We decided to take advantage of all the snow and went up to Logan the weekend after Christmas for some snowmobiling and sledding with my sister and her family. This was Matt's first time on a snowmobile and I think he enjoyed himself a lot.


For New Year's Eve we had dinner at Log Haven with our friends, Charity and Sultan. We got home just in time to count down to 2009 with Ryan Seacrest and Dick Clark. All in all, a great holiday season.