Buckets o' Basketball

These last two weekends have been full of basketball. Last Saturday we took my niece and nephews to a Flash game (they had free tickets) at UVU. The Flash are basically a minor league team of the Jazz. Who knew?

Even though Clay, Faith, and Cole spent more time eating treats and playing on the blow-up bounce toys in the room next to the court than actually watching the game, we all had lots of fun. Cole even told me, "Today is the biggest day of my life 'cause I get to go to a basketball game with my aunt and uncle." Super cute!

Yesterday afternoon Scott and I went to a BYU basketball game with his cousin, Jacob (thanks for saving seats for us!). It was an intense game! Too bad it ended the wrong way...

Scott and Jacob were thrilled to get their picture taken. We have been to lots of BYU basketball games this season (thanks to our all-sports passes), and I told Scott I needed at least one picture of us there. He said we only need one picture of us there, period. Silly Scott. :)

After the disappointing BYU loss, we headed to Salt Lake to attend a Jazz game last night. The Jazz won easily, scoring over 130 points. It was fun but seemed a little boring after the intense BYU game.

We had seats in the very top row of the arena. Only the best for my Scottie's Christmas present. :)

I found it quite funny that Scott actually got a bloody nose in the nose-bleed section!

This is the best of several attempts to get a picture of us together.

I do enjoy basketball, but I am definitely looking forward to the upcoming baseball season. Go Cubs!

Vegas & Colorado

Scott and I have taken a couple of quick road trips these past 2 weekends. First, we drove to Vegas with Scott's cousin Jacob to visit Scott's sister MaryAnn and fam and to see her new baby. We stayed at Scott's aunt and uncle's house (thanks!), and we enjoyed lots of good baby-holding time. Scott also went to the horrible BYU/UNLV basketball game while we were there. Due to a miscommunication, there wasn't a ticket for me. Instead I enjoyed eating alone at In N Out and then watching the game with my sisters-in-law. A few pics:

Adorable Emily was born while we were in Hawaii.

Won't Scott make a cute daddy someday?!?

Megan & Lauren are always fun to spend time with.

Scott's sister Diana and her husband Sam were also in Vegas for the weekend. Fun family times!

This last weekend, Scott and I drove to Rifle, Colorado, to visit my sister Jen and her fam. We went to a ward Valentines dinner with Jen and Mike and really enjoyed the food and entertainment. We then spent most of the rest of the weekend watching the Olympics, playing games, and singing karaoke. It was a fun weekend! (Except for the drive home when Scott got a court summons for speeding in a construction zone. We actually have to go to Grand Junction next month for court. Annoying!!) More pics:

My niece Sierra has started playing the flute this year. I can't wait to play a duet with her sometime!

Karaoke time! Don't let the look on Scott's face fool you--he was singing along to many of the songs. :)

Mike and Ashley were more interested in coloring than singing.

On Monday we stopped for a delicious Thai dinner on our way home to celebrate Valentines Day and to try to eat away our court blues. We also wrote some amazing Valentines poems for each other that night. Let's just say they are a bit inappropriate to share, but they gave us a much-needed laugh.

We love road trips, but we are definitely looking forward to some quiet weekends at home.

Our 2-year Anniversary

We celebrated our 2-year anniversary last Tuesday. And although we did the real celebrating last month in Hawaii, we still had a nice anniversary. Scott went in to work late, so we spent some time together in the morning. After work, we met at Scott's favorite Mexican restaurant (La Casita) for dinner. I then had a church meeting and tap class that night. I think Scott enjoyed the quiet evening alone. I did manage to get one pic of our special day:

Nothing says love quite like delicious Mexican food.

And now I would like to take a moment to be cheesy. I feel I have the right to do so at least once a year. I just want you all to know how much I love Scott. He is the best thing in my life. He is constant, kind, patient, loving, thoughtful, supportive, and dang funny. He is my best friend and my favorite husband ever. :) We have experienced some unexpected life struggles together, and he is the only person I would want to go through these things with. I am so blessed to have him for my husband. My favorite thing is to just be with him, and I am so grateful that I get to be with him forever. I love you, Scottie!

**Please forgive the cheese. It won't happen again for about a year...

Hawaii 2010

Well, we've been home from our fabulous vacation/2-year anniversary celebration in Hawaii for two weeks now. Here are some (ok, way too many) pics to prove that we were once in a tropical paradise...

DAY 1: Fly to Honolulu with a layover in Portland (no pics taken--Scott was shocked)

DAY 2: Explore, try to attend church, & relax

drinking a delicious ginger limeade our first day on the beach

a pretty LDS church in Honolulu--we tried to attend but were too late due to stake conference

Scott standing next to a statue of King Kalakaua in front of our hotel

our first Hawaiian sunset together--super romantic!

DAY 3: Dole Plantation, North Shore, Polynesian Cultural Center, & Hawaii Temple

Scott learning about pineapples on our train tour at the Dole Plantation

eating the best ice cream in Hawaii--Dole Whip--YUM!

watching the surfers on the North Shore

Scott LOVED watching the huge waves!

Samoan guy at the PCC cracking open a coconut

the coconut cracker climbed this tree like a monkey--totally awesome!

canoe pageant at the PCC

We took advantage of the tram tour that took us to the beautiful Hawaii temple and to see the campus of BYU-Hawaii.

delicious luau at the PCC (I actually like this pic of us)

night show at the PCC--gotta love the fire dancers

our hotel room--I loved the tropical decor

Scott relaxing in the room

We spent most of our nights with me looking up our next day's adventures on mapquest and Scott watching the Australian Open.

our mini-kitchenette really came in handy--we saved a lot of money by eating breakfast in the room and packing snacks & sandwiches with us

the view from our balcony--it was a 7-minute walk to the beach through this beautiful park--Can you see the ocean beyond the trees?

Day 4: Beach, pool, beach, shop, & eat

our beautiful park and beach--Ft. DeRussy

our pool was a little chilly but still fun and relaxing

Waikiki Beach was a 5-minute walk from our beach. Here Scott is participating in his favorite Hawaiian past time--tormenting pigeons. He would lure them closer with pine nuts and then throw sand on them. Good times...

gorgeous sunset at Waikiki Beach--Scott claims that I am obsessed with sunsets, and maybe I am :)

shopping & dinner at the International Marketplace--I loved my macadamia nut-encrusted opaka paka, but Scott didn't love the shrimp that he had to peel or his tough steak.

DAY 5: Pearl Harbor, Aloha Stadium swap meet, & sushi

Scott looking at the sunken USS Arizona from the memorial deck

Pearl Harbor was a much more sacred experience for me than it was when I was 10 years old.

eating a shaved ice at the swap meet--Scott also thinks I'm obsessed with taking pics of food, and okay, I am :)

It rained lightly part of the afternoon (the only time), and we saw this rainbow from our balcony.

We played Solitaire & War while it rained. Playing cards in Hawaii is a Clayson family tradition.

a rainy, cloudy afternoon made for a beautiful sunset

We walked all over Honolulu before we discovered this yummy sushi place near our hotel.

DAY 6: Beach, whale-less whale watching, & steak

We went on a fun whale watching cruise, but the whales were hiding. Don't worry--we got a rain/whale check. (That's Diamond Head Crater in the background.)

another beautiful Hawaiian sunset--nothing beats watching the sun sink into the ocean

GORGEOUS!

Scott grilled us some delicious steaks.

DAY 7: Diamond Head Crater & snorkeling at Hanauma Bay

These are just 99 of the almost 300 stairs we had to climb, in addition to regular trails, to get to the top of Diamond Head Crater.

The view at the top was well worth the trek!

Doesn't Scott look thrilled to have made it to the top?

Hanauma Bay is a gorgeous nature preserve.

I know I look like a weirdy. We saw tons of beautiful fish and even a sea turtle. Way cool & fun!

It was a hazy day, so the sun actually set in the haze. Kinda cool.

DAY 8: Beach, whale-ful whale watching, drive around island, & more beach

our last day on our beach

one last pic of Scott tormenting pigeons

This time we saw plenty of whales on our whale watching cruise. Super fun!

The bright blue blob is a baby whale--super cute!

We started our drive around the island with a quick stop at the Dole Plantation for more ice cream and a pic of the cute baby pineapples.

We had to get shaved ice at Matsumoto's to eat on the North Shore (note the lack of huge waves in the background).

Matsumoto's puts ice cream & black beans at the bottom of their shaved ice. Sounds (and looks) nasty, but it's surprisingly tasty!

The prettiest part of our drive around the island was the super green east coast and Pali Lookout. Gorgeous!

We ended the day and our time in Hawaii on the dry, ugly northwest coast, but the beach was still pretty. Let's just say we were a bit nervous to find ourselves in the ghetto of Hawaii.

Apparently, a lot of people have died on Nanakuli Beach. Needless to say, we barely touched the water.

DAY 9: Loooooooong trip home

After an all-night flight from Hawaii to Portland, we were delighted to eat a delicious omelette breakfast in the airport. I didn't get a "drunk Mexican" picture of Scott on this trip, but I did get this "crazed Cougar fan" pic. Good thing Scott loves me. :)

One last pic on the flight to SLC. Scott was a little sleepy.

If you made it to the end of this post, you are a real trooper. Mahalo! We had a fabulous time in Hawaii, and we have plenty of pictures to help us remember it forever!