HAPPY 16th ANNIVERSARY

May 30, 1992

Sixteen years ago Bryan and I got married in the Salt Lake Temple. It was a beautiful day!

I look back on these photos and I'm filled with wonderful memories. The wedding ceremony, pictures, wedding breakfast at the Lion House & wedding reception at Wheeler Farm were all great.

Because it's been 16 years, I wanted to write 16 of the many great memories & things I love about Bry.

1. Graduating from the U of U side by side.
2. Laying in bed in our little rental house in Grand Island, NE trying to figure out how fast we could get back to Utah.
3. Adventuring through Tikal together.
4. Watching him coach the boys' baseball games.
5.Looking into Bry's eyes and squeezing his hands trying to get through the pain of the doctors rotating the breach baby inside of my tummy.
6. Laughing & talking on every long distance drive.
7. Bry honors his Priesthood. This is one of the most special things for which I am eternally grateful.
8. Bry's sense of humor brings light to my life. I love his craziness!
9.Bry's work ethic is amazing. He conquers projects that seem huge. He is incredibly organized and detail oriented.
10. Hawaii - every trip has been amazing.
11. Struggling together through epilepsy. This has bound us together.
12. Remodeling homes.
13. The red scooter
14. Watching Bry play with our dog Ariel in the snow.
15. Feeling the butterflies in my stomach when I hear him walk in the door everyday.
16. Being truly loved by my eternal companion - through health & sickness, good days & bad days, trials & blessings, weaknesses & strengths.

I love my husband. I'm grateful for 16 years of time with Bry.

The Incredible Holts Run Again

The Incredible Holts running team is taking on the Wasatch Back this June 20-21. I had so much fun last year with our team running the Hood to Coast in Oregon. It's with complete excitement that I am captaining this years team. Our H2C captain was Marie, Bry's younger sister. She was a great captain but felt having a baby in June might be a problem:) So, trying to follow in her amazing captaining footsteps, I took on the Wasatch Back. The Holt family is great! It might sound weird but I'm really looking forward to basically missing sleep for 2 nights, crowding with sweaty people into a Suburban for 178 miles, trying to figure out when and what to eat to stay fueled without being overly full, working to prevent my muscles from getting too tight between runs and running what is equivalent to a half marathon for each runner!

The hard parts about this run for me will be THE HEAT, THE ELEVATION & A LARGE HILL. Yikes. Hill training is not fun but I'm definitely working on building the muscles and endurance for tackling them.

Isn't this picture beautiful? The Wasatch Back begins in Logan, UT and ends 178 miles later in Park City, UT. It winds through the backside of the Wasatch Mountains. 566 teams are registered with 12 runners each! It's such a fun experience!

Our team rocks! The team is 15 Holts & 2 friends. 12 Runners - Me, Bry, Steph (sister), Brian (brother-in-law), Devin (niece), Amy & Scott (niece & spouse), Becky (niece), Cody (friend), Meriel (niece), Jeanne (sister-in-law), and Virginia (niece). But, there is more... 2 Van Drivers - Nanette (sister) & Mat (Bry's best friend from high school) AND 3 Volunteers - Jordan (brother-in-law), Maclaine (niece) & Rachel (niece). Not to leave out my official advice guru for being a team captain- Marie (sister), Karen (Bry's Mom) for hosting our Pasta feed gathering the night before the run & Jenna (sister-in-law) hosting our alternating vans as we rest and chill while the other Van is running on Friday.

Bring on the WB!!

Church Friends

Hanging out with church friends has been a strange balancing act lately.
I love my non-LDS friendships. They are powerful, strong and special. I also really love my friends from church. I really value their spiritual experiences, strength and advice. I enjoy hanging out with them, knowing that I really don't have to worry about feeling uncomfortable. Of course, we have some interpretation differences here and there. That's normal. But for the most part, our experiences, values, hopes, dreams and goals are very similar.
Recently, I've felt weird about the delicate balance of hanging out with church friends. Someone always feels left out. Because church families are so close, it is difficult to hang out with some but not all. It's impossible to get together with every church friend. It's impossible to invite everyone out to lunch. Small group friendships are important too. Yet, I don't want anyone to feel left out either.
We do our best to have different friends and families to our home for smores' throughout the summer. But hanging out isn't just about inviting people over. It's all about dynamics too. My kids getting along with other people's kids, my husband clicking with the other husband, etc. It's such a balancing act.
My sweet friends that I went to Mama Mia and New York with are an interesting group. We're all so different and yet the dynamic of that group is special. We don't hang as a group with all of our children and husbands. Yet, when it's the women, it's crazy and amazing. We've taken some flack for not "inviting" everyone. I honestly feel bad about that sometimes. But other times, I realize that the dynamics would change too.
So much feeds into friendships. I feel close to many other church friends. How can I hang out with a small group without hurting others? Big groups are fun. Small groups are fun. Both have their place. But how can I balance it? Does this sounds totally weird? I can't believe I worry about this stuff. But if you know me, you know I dislike hurting other people.
Everyone can't do everything together. That is really the bottom line. So, Bry and I will continue to have friends over randomly throughout the summer trying to build those friendships. I'll just keep being me, calling and chillin' with my pals in all my "spare time." Hee hee!

My sweet friend Kinney said it best........"Don't we hope that our closest friends have other friendships too? Would we wish for others to only have one friend in the whole world?"

Thanks for readin' this silly blog about something that has been buggin'!

Strawberries = Jam

Two years ago Bryan purchased tons of strawberry plants. Since that time, the plants have grown and proliferated a plenty!! My family, mostly Bryan, has been picking like crazy. So far, I've put up 3 batches of strawberry jam. I decided not to make freezer jam because it takes up all of my freezer space. I also wanted to follow my mother-in-laws advice and lower the content of sugar in my jam. I purchased No (or low) Sugar Pectin and used 1/2 of the amount of sugar normally used. I love homemade strawberry jam. I'm so excited to have canned the jam too. All of my jars sealed!! Yay!! Helpful Hint - Walmart is extremely inexpensive for canning supplies. They also have a great selection of canning products.

Tonight I'm have a tall Glass of Skim Milk andToast with Trader Joes Natural Creamy Peanut Butter & Homemade Strawberry Jam!

The Big Apple

I spent a weekend with some of my close friends in New York. I've never gone on a "girlfriend" trip. This trip was great! It was fun to celebrate Gwen's 40th in New York. She is a serious hotty and it was a challenge keepin' the men away from her all weekend:)She was a crazy woman! I loved experiencing the city with her because her energy is non-stop. Amy is a close friend. It meant so much that she sat with me Saturday late at night in our hotel room, while I cried because I felt helpless after finding out Noah had experienced a seizure while I was gone. I can open up to Amy and feel completely secure in our friendship.

Liz is brilliant. She is like an arrow. Bam - she heads straight forward, gets where she is going quickly, calls things like she sees them. I love it and wish I could be half as determined and direct as she is each day. She also has a spiritual side that I like to listen to when she opens up.

Melissa is a strong and totally inspiring Mom and friend! Can you believe she took us all over New York? You just say - "I want to go here or there"..... and...... she gets you there. She sees the world in specific ways and I love that. When I am wishy washy on an issue, I listen to Melissa's view point. Whether I agree or not, I love the wisdom and thought she puts into her words. I miss Melissa living closer.We are quite a crew. So different and yet the dynamics work really well. I hope they all enjoyed themselves as much as I did. Thanks to my amazing husband for being so supportive. A few times I wanted to back down and just take care of Noah. He's had some breakthrough seizures and sometimes I just want to hunker down and hide in my house. I'm grateful for his encouragement and willingness to play both Dad and Mom for a weekend.

I loved Wicked!! Powerful!
Loved Mary Poppins! Lighter and fun!
The Met - Oh My - Sooo wonderful! Food - yummy!
SoHo - fancy!
Central Park - I need to go back there! Times Square - Rockin'
9-11 Site - Touching & Profound!
Subway - Fast & Confusing
American Girl Doll Store-Fun

Talking & Giggling late into the night with my girlfriends - PRICELESS!!

I love my friends!