Cannot believe it's over... but memories were MADE... and I will hold them dear FOREVER

To try and put the past 6 months into words just won't do justice. But to let it slip without recording the memories would be a misdeed. What an incredible basketball season it has been. I haven't quite come to grips with the fact that it's over yet. The truth is, this has been the most memorable and enjoyable basketball season of my life. There are obviously many reasons for this but I think what sits at the very top of those reasons is the camaraderie that existed between a group of girls working towards one common goal.

The group of girls that made up the team this year was incredible. Obviously nothing can replace playing with two of my very best friends, Kristen Riley and Dani Peterson. We've spent four amazing years together, forming memories that I wouldn't trade for the world. Seriously those two girls have left a lasting impression on me and I will forever hold them close to my heart. Love you girls!!!

As I think about the other girls on the team, I feel so proud to have associated with them and call them my teammates forever. What a great group of girls to be around every single day. There is no doubt that I would not rather be on any other team in the world. Every single girls from top to bottom contributed so much to our success in some irreplaceable way. I love you girls and thank you for all of your hard work, your friendship, and your incredible examples.

What a successful season we had this year!! 26-7 is definitely something to be so proud of. Our coaching staff did an amazing job this year. I owe so much to the coaches. They have influenced my life in such a positive way. I could go on and on about each one of them and how much I appreciate what they have done for me. Thanks coaches!!! And Melinda and Wendy better get ready for our tennis club!

Now a bit about one of the most memorable games of my life. The West Coast Conference tournament championship! What a great day that I will cherish forever. What a great feat for our team to come out and take down the 23rd ranked team in the country, a team that dominated the conference for 10 years. We showed so much heart and determination in that game. It left me with a feeling that will always be apart of me. No one can ever take that championship away from us! The feeling that I felt walking off the court victorious was inexplainable. Tears streamed down my face as I realized that we had reached a long awaited goal. It was a moment of triumph. A moment that made those long and painful three years of fighting through injury all worth it. It's true what they say, everything does happen for a reason and hard work does indeed payoff. That feeling of exhilaration is exactly why I play basketball.

Going to the NCAA tournament was a great experience. It was a goal that we have had for the last 5 years. A goal that we had failed to accomplish for several years in a row. We came into this season with ONE goal in mind... to go dancing! And we did it! We saw our name called on selection monday and it was so much fun. We went to Chicago confident and expecting to win. Obviously most good things eventually come to an end. And our season came to an end a little bit prematurely. But what we did was build a stepping stone. We built a foundation for the future to add upon. I'm so proud to be a cougar. So proud to be part of this team during this special season. It has been a season that has changed my life and given me memories and friendships that will last FOREVER!

Legit Campers

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE camping. The mountains are my favorite place in the whole world to be so naturally camping is one of my favorite things to do. Well this weekend we had a legit camping trip :)
I say legit because we parked the car and hiked up a big ol' mountain and pitched a tent in the middle of the wilderness. Soooo much fun! When I say we, I mean Me, Bo, Melinda, and Nate. Nate knew about a cool place up at Brighton ski resort so we all agreed to take the trek up. At first, we were a little apprehensive when we saw how much snow was still up there. I cannot believe there can be that much snow in the month of July... crazy! But we had a blast. It was a beautiful hike and it ended at this little lake that was incredibly gorgeous! It was seriously one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.
We found a little spot to camp and while the boys set up the tent, Melinda and I went firewood hunting. Let me just say that we are dang good at finding firewood. We could have definitely survived back in the mountain man days. The guys did a great job of starting the fire and then we made s'mores and roasted starbursts. Although we joked a lot about bears, we didn't see any, or anything scary for that matter while we were there. We did see a cool moose on our drive up there though!
When it was time to go to bed we all got in the tent and laid down when Bo decided that we definitely needed to switch our heads to a different side of the tent cause it was slanted. Well, it turns out that the side we had to turn our heads to was the short side of the tent. So we all slept in a pretty small space, especially considering that we are four grown adults. But since it was cold we decided that it might be a good idea to sleep close haha. Oh geez this was a hilarious idea. For one thing, Bo really needs his space when he sleeps, so he had a couple little claustrophobic moments during the night and we all tossed and turned quite a bit. It was pretty funny.
 But morning came and we were up and at it pretty early. Our hike down was just as beautiful as the hike up. I really can't wait to go back to that same place again someday. Thanks for a great weekend guys! 

Independence Day!!!

Since the 4th of July is Bo's 2nd favorite holiday (a very close second behind only Christmas) we had to make sure that this past weekend was a great one.
It all started when Bo won tickets to the Stadium of Fire on sports radio. The story is actually pretty hilarious. So Bo ALWAYS listens to sports radio. And last week he called in to win Stadium of Fire tickets. He was one of the first two callers, so he and the other caller had a trivia war to win the tickets. Well since Bo is a sports fanatic, he naturally won the contest, therefore winning the tickets. However the funny part of the story is that Bo was embarrassed when he was one of the first two callers (he would never want his friends, who also listen to sports radio, thinking he was calling in to win tickets to the Stadium of Fire where David Archuletta would be performing) so on live radio he said that his name was Jo. Hahahaha... Then when he won the contest and had to talk to the radio dude off the air, he had to verify his name, so Bo said "oh you must have heard me wrong, my name is actually Bo". Oh I love my husband. And I'm soooo glad he called in and won us tickets!!! Thanks "Jo".

Well it turns out that the Stadium of Fire was AWESOME! David Archuletta opened for Brad Paisley who is always incredible. The fireworks after the concert were some of the best I've ever seen. Overall, it was a great night and it was all made possible because my cute husband called in and won tickets :)

The 4th was a lot of fun too. Both Bo and I woke up very early to start the day off right. I went and ran in the West Point 5k while Bo went golfing with my Dad and brother. The 5k was a blast. I actually ran very well with a time of 21.25. I finished first place in my age group and 2nd place in the women's overall. That dang girl that finished in front of me really ruined my day! Haha just kidding it was fun and I felt really good about my time.
After our morning activities we went and spent some time at the West Point park. How funny was that! Since both Bo and I grew up in West Point it was very interesting to go back together and see a lot of random people and kind of reminisce about our past memories in that park. Neither of us really enjoy that scene so we didn't spend much time there. We got starving and decided to eat at Costa Vida... great choice! It was delicious and I tried my first cinnamon tortilla and OH MY GOSH I seriously cannot wait for the day that I have another one of those heavenly things.
When we left Costa Vida we headed for Barnes Park for 3-on-3 sand volleyball with my fam. Me, Bo, and Kins vs. Dad, Ty, and Mitch. Needless to say we won the best out of 5 contest in only 4 games. Wow it was a blast though. We are always competitive no matter what we do so you can imagine that our tournament got a little heated. Especially when the 3 boys were losing to there 2 sisters and brother in law.

Then it was off the Bees game for me and Bo. Good choice for a 4th of July activity. We really had so much fun. It was so funny though because by the 9th inning everyone was so ready for the fireworks. Going into the inning, we were winning 10-2. Well our closing pitcher wasn't so hot and gave up a grand slam and 6 runs total. So the game got to 10-8 and everyone was going crazy wanting the game to get over. It was pretty funny. Luckily we finally got three outs and ended the game before it had to go into extra innings. The fireworks afterward were pretty good. We were exhausted when we got home, we had a very long day but it was so much fun! Love you Bo! Hope your 4th of July was all you dreamed of and more :)

HoNeYmOoN CaNcUn

Oh our wonderful trip to Cancun....
The morning after we were married, Bo and I took off to Cancun for our honeymoon! It was sooooo beautiful and we had an incredible time!
There were so many great memories in Cancun, but some of my favorites were...
-Our long walk on the beach down hotel row while the sun set.
-Free gelato ALL DAY EVERY DAY
-Our jungle tour (Bo was the driver and he was loving life)
-The Croc that just swam right up to us while we were walking down the road
-Our stop at the drugstore for pepto bismol.... (Mexican food can really take a toll on the stomach)
-Trivia night where we answered 0 questions
-Senor frogs where we became Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
-Free pina coladas by the pool
-Calling Bo my Husband :)
-Hearing Bo call me his Wife!
-Hanging out with my best friend all week long in paradise!

 

The Steeds!!!

On May 21, 2011, Bo and I were sealed for Time and all Eternity in the Bountiful Temple. It was an absolutely incredible day. The feeling that we both had that day was a feeling that we will never forget. Being sealed in the temple was a dream come true.
We were sealed at 12:15, which was a perfect time. The weather was so beautiful that day. In fact, the weather was a miracle since it literally rained all week and then cleared up Saturday. It could not have been any more beautiful.
After the temple we had a luncheon at the Wight House in Bountiful. It was just a small gathering with our family and very closest friends. It was exactly how I always wanted my wedding day to be. We were done with everything by 4:30 that afternoon.
I could not have possibly dreamed a more perfect day.
And... I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with my best friend!

INCREDIBLE week!!!

So it was quite the week to say the very least. The good news came Tuesday night when Bo and I met his mother in Salt Lake to open a long awaited letter that had finally arrived. We were so excited to find that we would be able to be sealed in the Temple for Time and all Eternity.  Not two minutes after opening the letter, Bo was on the phone with the Bountiful temple scheduling our wedding for the 21st of May. On the ride home we realized that we were going to be planning an entire wedding in 11 days. But the excitement far outweighed the stress of it all. By the time I left Bo's that night I just couldn't hold back the tears. They were tears of happiness and gratitude as I felt so extremely blessed. We were able to get our letter back in just a short 4 weeks after submitting. I still just feel so blessed to be getting married next week and am so grateful to my Father in Heaven. 

  Wednesday and Thursday I was able to really put a dent in all my planning. Wednesday I spent the entire day taking care of the necessities... honeymoon, luncheon, photographer, flowers, etc. Thursday and Friday were equally as busy. But really the best and most memorable part of my week was today. This afternoon I was able to go through the temple for the first time to receive my endowment. It was an incredible experience, one that I have waited my entire life for. It far exceeded my expectations and I could not be more grateful to be a member of the only true and living church on this earth, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I'm so glad that Bo was there with me. I cannot wait to go back with him next weekend and then again and again throughout our lives. It was also a wonderful experience to have my mother as my escort. I will always remember that time with her and I am so grateful for her and the example she sets for me. Thanks also to My Dad, Ty, Karen, and Staisha. It meant so much to have them there as well. It was truly the perfect day :)