Go Jazz, Go!

Last Friday, Mike and I had the opportunity to go see the Utah Jazz play the Houston Rockets in game 6 of the playoff series. This was our first trip to a playoff game, let alone one with such significance, so we were stoked that we got tickets. We doubled with my sister, Beth, and her boy (dare I say boyfriend?).

The game was great! Our seats were in the upper bowl, but we were behind the basket, so I feel like we still had good seats. The energy in the arena was crazy intense! Fans were chanting, cheering, and booing...it was probably the loudest game I have been to.

Fortunately, the Jazz pulled away with a victory, which advanced them to round two of the playoffs. Mike and I have definitely watched more games this year and have become bigger fans. We are watching with excitement and nervousness as they face the Lakers. All I can say is "Go Jazz, Go!"

Mike and Lisa at the Jazz game!

Beth and Lisa

Lisa and Beth dressing up as Williams and Brewer

15 Minutes of Fame

A few weeks ago, Mike's company had their final "open house/grand opening" for the credit union branch that he manages. Some of the festivities consisted of giving away food, prizes, live radio broadcasts by 99.5, rock walls, and guest appearances from Swoop and Cosmo (U of U and BYU mascots). I think that Mike's favorite part was when the KSL morning show did a live broadcast from the credit union on Friday morning. Mike was so excited that he got to be on the air - I guess that everyone gets their fifteen minutes of fame!

A New Toy

We are such pushovers! Never ever go to a dealership unless you are serious about buying. Yes, we bought a new car. Our old Subaru Legacy has a ton of miles and as much money as we are putting into keeping it up, it was time think about a new car. I wanted something comparable to what we had just newer with less miles. The mistake we made was test driving the turbocharged Legacy GT. The thing was incredibly fun to drive and needless to say, it handled much more aggressive than the regular Legacy. At 3500 RPMs, the turbo reaches optimal boost and the thing takes off! I don't mean for this post to sound like Motor Trend Magazine but what a fun car. So after spending 5 hours at the dealer in negotiations, we left with a beautiful Pearl White Legacy GT. Now I can get to work 10 minutes faster...At the speed limit of course!

The Pearson Family is Expanding!

Great news...the Pearson Family is expanding! We are so excited that the family is growing.

On March 29, we welcomed John into the family. Mike's mom was remarried and we are so happy for her! Denece and John seem so happy together and it has been fun to get to know him. Their wedding was very nice - they were married in the Zions Bank Building, which had a beautiful view of Temple Square and the downtown area in general. It really was a nice ceremony.

We will be welcoming another family member this weekend. Mike's dad is getting remarried as well...his fiance's name is Dana. We have had the opportunity to get to know Dana over the past eighteen months or so, and we have had a lot of fun. Jace and Dana are having a private ceremony, but we are sure it will be great!

We are very excited for both of Mike's parents and we wish them both happiness. It will be fun to get to know them better and make new memories with each new part of the family.

An Update on Faline

I am pleased to annouce that Faline is finally starting to grasp how to use her doggie door properly! She will now go through the door if she is highly motivated (i.e. she goes out if there is something outside that she wants to bark at or she comes in when she gets cold outside). Hopefully, she will keep progressing and we will be able to stop chaining her up or keeping her in her pen. If she only would realize that it is for her own good...

Faline's Easter Gift

Mike and I recently discovered that Faline was using our living room as her personal litter box. Needless to say, this has resulted in a huge effort to clean our carpet and remove her 'scent'. So...a little advice to anyone who may be in a similar predicament: over time, corn starch and Natures Miracle will slowly bring up dog urine from carpet.

So, Faline has had some house restrictions. For the meanwhile, she has lost the privilege of being left unattended in the house. If we leave, she gets to stay in the basement or in the backyard. We also decided that Faline would get a little 'gift' to assist her in her restroom efforts...we bought her a doggie door. Now, you would think that it would be fairly easy to train a dog to use a doggie door, but no. She does not quite get the concept that she can push the flap forward and move in and out as she pleases. She will not go in or out unless we hold the door flap open for her.

So, the moral of the story is...if you feel that you need an added form of birth control, all you need to do is buy a dog (or just watch ours for the afternoon).

The Happiest Place on Earth!

Mike and I just returned from a week-long trip to sunny Southern California with my family. We could not have asked for a smoother vacation - the weather was perfect, everyone had a great time, and it was not busy at all!

The trip was originally planned because we were unable to make it to Florida for my dad's family reunion. So, we had our own 'reunion' on the west coast. We were able to visit with members from both my mom and dad's families. It was great to visit with relatives that we had not seen for a while - I don't think that I had seen one of my aunts and her family for nearly ten years!

We decided to stay in St. George on our way to California, especially since we didn't leave until after work on Friday. As it happened, Mike's mom was staying in St. George for the weekend with her fiance and Mike's siblings, so we were able to meet them for a delicious breakfast at the Bear Paw Saturday morning. We then continued on to Mira Loma, California, where we stayed with my Aunt Shirley until Monday morning.

My parents booked a stay for us at the Castle Inn...it is right across the street from Disneyland, so we were conveniently close to the park. We also had a five day hopper pass, so we had plenty of time to see everything without being rushed. As an added bonus, the both Disneyland and California Adventures parks were hardly crowded. Most rides had a five - ten minute wait, and I think the longest wait was maybe thirty minutes or so. We didn't have to use any 'fast passes' at all! Our package also gave us two "Magic Mornings" where we were able to enter the park before it opened to the general public.

The newest ride at Disneyland is the Finding Nemo Submarine Ride. Because it is so new, it was definately the most popular and always had the longest wait. We were fortunate to be able to get in line during one of our "Magic Mornings" so we only had to wait twenty minutes or so - otherwise the wait would have easily been over an hour! Besides experiencing the Finding Nemo ride, I also went on the Hollywood Tower of Terror Ride for the first time. Unlike Mike, I am not always huge into big drops and rollercoasters, but it was still fun.

Besides spending time at Disneyland, we also went to the beach. We chose Corona Del Mar so that we could explore the tide pools. I cannot express how much I love the beach! Hearing the waves crash against the shore, feeling the sand between my toes, smelling the salt water...it is all very therapeutic. While we were at the beach, Mike and I tried to fly a kite that we got for Christmas. However, there wasn't enough wind to keep the kite flying for more than a minute or so.

So, it really was a great trip to Southern California. The last time that Mike and I went was for our honeymoon. I always love to visit Disneyland and the beach...I don't know that it will ever get old for me. I will work on getting pictures from our trip posted on the blog - I have a few, but I need to get more from the rest of the fam's cameras.

Also - a big shout out and thank you to Mike's sister, Mandy, for watching Mookie and Faline and taking care of things at home for us while we were away. She did a great job and we really appreciated her help!