the time traveler's wife

i am so excited for this film, as is every other girl who saw rachel mcadams in the notebook. she is an amazing actress and hello eric bana! but before i see it, i want to read it. so herein lies my dilemma. the library doesn't have it in (obviously) and i don't want to buy it, so . . .

do any of you bloggers that live in southern utah want to borrow it to me? i am a fast reader! pretty please!

meanwhile, enjoy the trailer. :)



and who wants to plan a girls night out to see the movie??!!

perfect way to start a monday

i won a giveaway! yea! i enter these all the time and this is my first win! i chose this cute clock from decoylab shop.

the giveaway was hosted by m.writes. i lalalalove her blog. if you haven't been there yet, go check it out!

stella & dot

i will take this necklace please! love their jewelry!

national parks fee free weekends!

this weekend is the second weekend of three this summer that you can get into most national parks for free!!! so make sure to plan a trip with you family, your bf/gf, or your friends.

go early!

happy hiking!

image via

beckend coasters

so kendall and i have been making coasters. we made a bunch for mother's day and then i made more for my pay it forward post. {those three lucky ladies already have some!} this has been a fun summer project to learn how to do and we are seriously considering the idea of opening up an etsy shop. but for now i am showing them off on my blog because i think they are so darling.

these are the cute, mismatched ones that i made for my house.

some of the other cute options

so if you want a cute homemade gift to give or some cute coasters for your own coffee table. let me know. we are accepting orders. :)

new look :)

i finally made the time to re-vamp my blog! come check it out and let me know what you think!

floating down the virgin river

so i started my day off on friday at 5:30am! i was going to go hiking with corinne and mary in zion and they are way on time people so i woke up earlier than needed to make sure i was ready. :) we hiked watchmen's and then weeping rock and then had a fabulous breakfast at oscar's, which is still my favorite restaurant ever. {mary still needs to email the pics from our little adventure . . . yes mary - email them :) }

then i met up with my fab fam to float down the virgin river. we rented tubes from zion adventure company. they were awesome. they give you huge tubes, you float for like 2 hours down the river and then they pick you up at the bottom. and if you want to go again, it only costs five bucks.

heading down to get in the river.

the stick they are holding onto totally helped out because then the other person could pull you if you got stuck. the water wasn't that deep.

but it was so much fun! cold water. hot day. totally fun and relaxing.

there was even a rope swing!

my mom's first time ever going on a rope swing. can you believe it!? she said she was always holding babies and watching us go. she was funny to watch. :)

the perfect tarzan pose by michael!

jeff climbing the rope.

finished off the day with a little picnic!

totally fun! the river really was awesome. just remember to keep your bum up.

totally awesome trick me and michael discovered. :) love my family!

what is love?

happy 4th of july weekend!

this video is dedicated to my brotha brad who called me and we watched this video together by phone. and laughed. hard. :)

3 cheese chicken pasta bake

i don't cook very often, except to bake treats, so when i do i like to make it good. :) this was a recipe i read on cookbook junkies the other day. i made it a couple nights ago. sooo yummy!! it doesn't take very long and it's super easy!

Three-Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

1-1/2 cups multi-grain penne pasta, uncooked (use whatever pasta you have)

1 pkg. (9 oz.) fresh spinach leaves

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 tsp. dried basil leaves

1 jar (14-1/2 oz.) spaghetti sauce

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained

2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese, cubed

1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

COOK pasta as directed on package, adding spinach to the boiling water the last minute.

COOK and stir chicken and basil in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 3 min. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomatoes; bring to boil. Simmer on low heat 3 min. or until chicken is done. Stir in cream cheese.

DRAIN pasta mixture; return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole or 8-inch square baking dish.

BAKE 20 min. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake 3 min.

enjoy!

swimming lessons

yes. i am taking swimming lessons.

not normal swimming lessons, but learn the technique swimming lessons. i know how to swim, but this is teaching me each of the strokes and how to do them correctly. my first one was last night and wow! it was awesome. :) i have a lot to learn and a lot to train my muscles and my breathing on, but i am pretty excited about it. jen is an amazing instructor! thanks jen! i am hoping to prepare for a triathlon in the fall or something. yea!