False Hopes

I absolutely love the fall!! It's such a fun season! I love the warm sweaters, football games, pumpkin carving, leaves changing colors, the crisp cool air, the smell of hot apple cider, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, costumes, decorations, trick-or-treaters, and yummy treats! Whenever this wonderful season approaches, I always think of Linus from the Peanuts Gang. It always bothered me that he spent every Halloween night waiting for the Great Pumpkin instead of trick-or-treating, and yet the Great Pumpkin never came. His friends always criticized him for believing in that sort of stuff, but Linus never gave up hope. He remained optimistic despite all odds. He always knew the Great Pumpkin was going to bring candy and toys for all the little children. Some may say Linus had unrealistic expectations. But I always had a small kindle of hope that the Great Pumpkin was going to come just for him. Linus is my favorite character in the Peanuts Gang because he always remained positive and looked on the bright side of things. During the fall season I try to be like Linus, because winter is right around the corner...and I am not looking forward to bitter cold months ahead!

Gotta love Utah Football!

What would autumn be like if there was no football?? Pretty boring if you ask me! If you come over to our apartment, I guarantee you we have a football game on TV. Dan and I love going to the Utah football games. This is our last year in the Mighty Utah Student Section (tear), so we are living it up this season! Of course, no football game would be complete without a tailgate party. We are always at the Muss tailgating party as soon as it starts! You could call us die hard Utah fans, but honestly, we just like getting the free food, haha. Our seats are amazing! We are on the 12th row right next to the families of the football players. They always sit down, so we have a clear view of the new and improved football field. Our entire lives are consumed of football during the fall season, but it makes life interesting. I know more about the game of football than I ever have in my entire life, all thanks to Dan :-). All I can say is, I am stoked about the blackout game on Halloween night! It's going to be awesome!! Enjoy these pics of us at the fabulous game against Louisville. Go Utes!!

Last Day of Summer...

Dan's a natural wakeboarder!!

His signature move.

Smile!

My nephew Christian wanted some lemonade.

Us after my huge wipeout...I look nasty.

That's me on the tube with my nephew's legs flinging in the air.

Dan, Christian, Devin, and Jim.

It all began on a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon. It was our last day of freedom before school started. Dan's brother Matt took us out on his boat at Pineview with his 3 boys, Dan's brother Jim, his wife Angela and their 2 kids. Matt brought a huge 3-man tube for us to ride before we went wakeboarding. It was my first ride of the day out on the water. I climbed on the tube all excited and ready to go! With me was my nephew Andrew and Matt's neighbor. It was really crowded on the lake. There were boats everywhere and we hit every single wake! We were flying and bouncing all over the place! It was so much fun, I could not stop laughing! Before I knew it, we hit a wake sending all of us high in the air as the tube flipped over. We all crashed into the water. My nephew was crying so I grabbed him and started swimming to the boat. My head was throbbing, but didn't think much of it. As we got closer to the boat, everyone was focused on me. They all told me I was bleeding. Immediately I thought of the worse case scenario that my ear had ripped off. I climbed onto the boat as Dan examined my head. That huge crash had caused my ear to split open, right along the inside crease. It was still bleeding, so they wrapped some ice in a towel to stop it. My ear didn't hurt much, it felt like someone had clobbered me on the side of my head. Soon, my body started going into shock. I could feel myself getting really light-headed and very tired. My face was turning pale and I thought I was going to pass out. But everyone took good care of me. They gave me some lemonade to get some sugar into my body. I laid down in the boat with my feet up so the blood would rush back into my head. Dan was a wonderful husband and sat next to me never leaving my side, making sure I was alright. After a few minutes, I got back up and felt much better. Luckily, it wasn't too serious of an injury to stop the boating trip, so everyone still got to go wakeboarding. Dan was able to go out on the water as I took pictures. For his second time wakeboarding, he did an awesome job!! My 7 and 9 year-old nephews were able to get up on the wake board! The day was more chaotic than we expected, but it definitely ended our summer with a bang!!

Hirst Pineview Trip

Ok, so I am really behind on my blog. Now it's time to update when I have the chance. This past month the Hirst family spent a weekend up at Pineview Reservoir for a boating trip. It was too cold to go out on the water, so we went to Snowbasin and rode the gondola up to the top of the mountain. It was freezing!! It felt like it was going to snow! But we had a great time as we hiked up a beautiful trail along the ski slopes. Later that night, we all went to the Jon Schmidt concert at Wolf Mountain. Again, it was was freezing cold! The concert was fabulous! It was a wonderful trip with the Hirst family!

One Year Anniversary!!!

Yesterday, July 31, 2009, was our one year anniversary!! I can't believe how fast time flies!! It seems like our wedding was just a few weeks ago. It has been one incredible year with one amazing guy! Dan is my best friend, my better half, and the love of my life! He means the world to me, and I love him so much. We have had many good times together, and we can't wait for the many years to come!

Lovin it in Utah

Dan & Lindsay (She looks so happy).

Paige & our cousin Kyle.

I asked Ethan to smile...this is what he did.

Lil' Tatum (aka family photographer).

My cute grandparents.

My "Utah" Man.

Over the 24th of July weekend, my family had our Lovin Reunion! My grandparents, aunts & uncles, and cousins all drove up here to Utah to have some fun. On the 24th of July, my Dad, Lindsay, Paige, Ethan, Aunt Julie, Uncle Randy, Uncle Darren, and cousins Natalie and Blake, and I ran the Deseret News 5k! It was such an adrenaline rush running along the parade route with tons of people cheering for you (or for the 5 year old boy running next to me). Dan was helping his brothers install a sprinkler system that morning. He is always willing to lend a hand, he is such a trooper. Later that night, Dan and I went over to my parents' house to light fireworks. My Dad hung a sheet up in the backyard to project a movie to make our own little theatre. We watched "Forever Strong" about Highland High School's Rugby team. Being an alumni of Highland High, it was pretty cool to see a film about one of our sports teams. It was a great weekend, and I am so happy we got to spend time with the good ol' Lovin Clan!

Harry Potter Date Night

Last week, Dan and I went and saw the new Harry Potter movie opening night!! Dan was able to get tickets to a private screening from attending a computer software seminar. He knew I had been looking forward to this movie for months, and he was so sweet to take time off work to go to the seminar so we could see it. He is such a good husband! At the theatre, there was a huge Harry Potter costume contest. There were tons of people dressed up as witches and wizards doing magic tricks and talking in British accents, it was awesome! And the movie...amazing!! Absolutely loved it! Can't wait for the next two movies!! (Yes, I am a huge Harry Potter fan). Thanks Dan for a great night, you are the best husband ever!