Hiking adventures!

Since Billy has been gone I have been trying to keep myself really busy.  One way I've been doing that is by hiking with some girl friends twice a week!  I have a pretty awesome workout routine currently going actually, and I have the girls in my ward to thank 100% for it!  It was definitely meant to be that we  moved here to this ward.  We have made so many great friends!  So Mondays I run with Diana and Liz, Tuesdays I hike with Danielle and Heidi, Wednesday I do Tabata with Diana and Liz and sometimes Danielle, Thursday is my early school day so I have been taking Thursdays off (I need to incorporate yoga or something), Fridays I hike with Danielle and Heidi, and Saturday is usually on my own (except me and Heidi did an amazing hike up and down BOTH sides of Camelback the other Saturday.  It was amazing!)

I love all my workouts, but I have really been taking to this whole hiking Camelback Mountain early in the morning thing!  Don't get me wrong, it is the hardest workout I have done in a LONG time.  I seriously feel like I'm going to pass out every time we hike it.  These girls are no joke on the mountain.  The endorphins plus the sunrises make it SO WORTH IT though!  I love it!  Here are some pictures from my hiking adventures.

These are from Heidi and my super intense yo-yo over the mountain!  It took us about 3 hours, but DANG it was worth it!  We are amazing.  

Seriously love this girl!

All 3 of us one morning!  Pardon my nastiness in all of these photos!

Don't mind the sweat...we rock!

A different morning with some amazing rain storms and a killer sunrise.  (Not sure why a lot of these pics are blurry, I'm pretty bummed bout it)

DANGGGG can't beat that!

This was actually THIS morning!  Amazing sunrise.  We start at 5, so we get to the top about 5:45 ish, which is when the sun really starts coming up.  It's incredible and so worth the early wake up call.

Blurry...ugh.  Strugglin over some rocks

Sorry for the blurry pics.  I think my phone is ready to call it quits on me, it keeps doing  all these annoying things that totally bug me.  Anyways, I have loved this new hobby and the girls I am doing it with!  Thanks Heidi and Danielle for pushing me farther and higher!

5 years at a glance!

Series of pics from all our anniversary dinners...just for fun!

Year one...Vail, Colorado

Year two (not sure why this pic is so blurry)...St. George, UT

Year three...Gilbert, AZ

Year four...Phoenix, AZ

Year five...Scottsdale, AZ

Billy looks like such a kid in the first photo :)  We really have grown up!  I love this man!  He helps me be better in so many ways.  We are continuously working to be each other's soul mates!

Anniversary weekend

Billy was home for the weekend of August 8th.  He was here for just that Friday evening and Saturday, then he flew to Ethiopia on Sunday, which is where he is now for 2 weeks!  We were both super excited to see each other, it had been over a month since we were together.  We went down to Billy's parents house on Friday to hang out with his sisters and all the nieces and nephews since Kara and her kids were in town from Georgia.  It was a fun night.  We were both pretty pooped by 9 PM so we had to head back home.

Piper looks a little freaked out by my super excited face

She is so chunky, I love it!

Saturday we woke up late and headed to the gym for a couple bonding sweat sesh!  Then we headed to Del Taco for lunch (we are really good influences on each other...) and grocery shopping.  Billy had to work on packing for Ethiopia and I had to prep my YW lesson so we took some time and did that.  Then we got ready for our big fancy anniversary dinner at the Melting Pot!  We booked a private booth with a curtain (ooh la la) and got the 4 course meal.  It was awesome and so fun!  We took 3 hours to eat.  It was a super fun time.  Lots of good chats, lots of good eats, it was perfect.

Ok y'all, I LOVE this picture!!  I think it's our best picture ever!  It's too bad we couldn't get the digital copy of it.  Dang look how good we look!  We had an awesome night.

After we got home we watched some Big Bang Theory and fell asleep on the couch.  So we went to bed and Billy got up at like 4 AM to finish packing, that crazy guy.

Sunday I had to drop him at the airport which was super sad :(  then I taught YW.  I snapped this pic of Meredith with her cookie and cactus.  It was her birthday.  I think this girl is freaking hilarious.  I have the best calling.

Sunday night I went to Bruce and Karen's for dinner and a little birthday party for Maddison!  It was insane with all the kids there!  A very fun insane.

All the kids minus the babies!

The girls had fun trying on old prom dresses from Jenny and Jody's prom days!

Great weekend!  On our actual anniversary, my mom sent me this awesome cookie basket.  I was so surprised to see it on my desk!  I thought it was from Billy but it turned out to be from my parents which was so sweet!  Billy gets a free pass since he's in Ethiopia without internet.

I had a super fun anniversary party for one with Chipotle for dinner :)  A few people told me after I should have called them to hang out that day, I didn't think about it really but I wish I hadn't been alone!  But it's all good!  It was an awesome party for one.

Back to school, back to school...

Well, life is back in full force!  It sucks, especially since Billy hasn't been here for any of it.  It was super funny I was hanging out with Danielle Johnson one night and was talking about school and she was like "ugh, don't even talk about the "s" word..."  We both have similar feelings about being back to real life :)

The school year so far has been kind of rough.  I'm tired all the time and the kids bug the crap out of me most days haha.  I'm pretty sure I might be ready for a career change :)  I made it longer than most teachers do!  Not sure what's in the plans for my future but I'm excited/anxious/nervous to find out.

I did a summer program called BOSS (BASIS organizational skills for success) 2 weeks before school started.  It was a rough week but I got paid a bunch of money for it so it was worth it, I think.  The next week was teacher training which was actually really fun and needed!  I was super busy and had all my work friends to hang out with again which was awesome!  It's honestly been pretty dang lonely without Billy around, but I only have a week left!  And my friends and Billy's family have been helping me stay busy so it's all good! Ok finished with my sob story!

My classroom this year the morning of the first day of school:

 Looks just like I'd imagine a prison cell to look like with all the gray walls and no windows ;)

San Diego before school started

After all our traveling to Canada, Montana, etc. I (Caitlin) flew back to San Diego to spend a couple weeks so I wouldn't have to be all alone at our apartment in Phoenix.  It was so fun!  I can't remember the details of each day anymore, but I know I got to do all my favorite things.  I went shopping with my mom, went to the beach, got golden spoon, snuggled with Penny, read a LOT of Harry Potter, went running with my mom and did Tabata with the neighbor ladies, and just hung out with the fam!  It was an awesome time.

Beach day #1 was a ton of fun.  Cody switched to only working Tuesdays and Thursdays so he could spend more time focusing on his pole vaulting so we dragged him along with us.  He is so whiny about the beach, it's super annoying haha.  He hates it.  But Jayce and I had a good time!  The water felt AMAZING and it was SO clear!  The clearest I have ever seen it!  And no seaweed wrapping around my legs!  Basically the best beach day in history.  Except Billy wasn't there.  But I never want to forget how funny Jayce was out in the water.  I took him pretty deep in the water with me, I don't think he had ever been that deep before.  We were jumping over waves and diving under them and sitting on the ground while they rolled over us.  He kept saying "this is SO FUN!" over and over again.  He also kept saying "Cody is missing out!" and I would ask "should we go get him?" and he was like "no I don't want to get out!"  It was cute too because I got a little separated from him once and he was like "Caitlin!  Can you just stay close?  I'm not scared but just in case" and it was cute.  It was also super funny because he kept saying "ouch my nipples hurt!!" hahahah I was dying.  So I offered to hold his rash guard.  It was pretty funny.

Mom and my shopping day!  This is us on our lunch break.  We take these days very seriously and hit the mall hard.  The only thing that confuses me about these days is how the time goes so fast?!  We got to the mall at like 9:30 AM and before we knew it it was 4:30!  Craziness.  We had a blast as usual and bought way too much as usual (oops!).

Reading time with Penny.  I did a lot of this over the two weeks.  Notice how pretty the house is!

My mom and I made a few fun meals!  This one was homemade chicken nuggets with homemade mac and cheese!  Yummmm!  They turned out really good but oh so bad for us I'm sure.  I made a few other treats while I was there too.  Let's just say I gained some weight while home :)

I also went through a lot of my old school stuff.  There were some real gems in there.  I haven't changed much, it's pretty funny.  I also seemed to have followed my dream of becoming a teacher.

"Caitlin Sutherland is a third grader at Park Village Elementary School.  She is eight years old and her favorite subject in school is art and science and PE.  Her hobbys are doing gymnastics and collecting jewels and pencils.  When she grows up she wants to be a teacher"

Sorry these are sideways.  "Dear Mrs. Rosengard, I didn't get to talk about me in my Jurnle yet so I am going to.  My teacher last year was Mrs. Marker and Mrs. DeCramer.  The year befor that I had Mrs. Mcord.  My favorit subjeck in school is art and math.  I love to swing on the swings and I wish I had a pet!  I have 3 brothers and I hate it!  My family is grate.  I have a grate..."

"way to live.  My hole family like all my ants and unkles.  They are very nice!  I know that my dad just met you and he thinks you are a grate teacher.  These are some of my friends in our class Natasha, Stephanie, Michelle, Loren and a lot more.  I play with them a lot and this is some of the times I do it.  I sit by them at lunch and play with them at recess."

"If someone is left out I will get them back in and I always make new friends!  Love, Caitlin"  Pretty cute.

I was on a girl scout trip on Billy's birthday in 1998 <3 awww

My mom got accepted to graduate school while I was there!  WOOHOO MOM!!!  She's amazing!

Penny being the cutest thing evz

Beach day 2.  More boogie boarding and wave jumping.  We got tired faster this time.  Only stayed out for about 40 minutes rather than like 1.5 hours.

 

 

Fresh out of the shower after the beach Penny snuggles

I planned on flying home on Tuesday but then we were driving to the airport and I was like why am I leaving now?  So I switched my flight to Friday so I could go to Abbie Dunn's bridal shower on Thursday!  It was the right choice!  So fun staying longer.

When I did leave, the security line was crazy long!

It was tough fitting all my new stuff into my bag haha but I eventually got it all and it was a lifting hazard.

Such a great, relaxing trip.  Thanks Mom and Dad as always for having me and for flying me back home!  You're the best!!  Mom, let me know if I forgot anything, I can't remember anymore!  Bah!