Let's Go Phoenix Suns!

On Wednesday night Mike was able to get hooked up with tickets to the Phoenix Suns Pre-Season Game. I was really excited because I had never been to a game before.
When we got to the arena, the tickets were waiting for us along with another surpise...we got hooked up with "back-stage" tickets after the game too!

Our seats were also pretty good, we were sitting lower level and the game was easier to watch since we were so close. Mike and I left a couple of minutes before the game ended so that we could go to the Team Store and get something to autograph. Once we found a little basketball, Mike and I headed toward the Suns' locker room!

We saw all of the players! And let me tell you that Shaquil O'Neal is freaking huge! I felt so short standing there by them. Mike was looking forward to seeing Steve Nash the most, so when Nash came out, Mike got his autograph and a picture! For my first time at a Phoenix Suns' basketball game, it was awesome!

Here Kitty, Kitty!

About a week and a half ago at work I decided to go to lunch. As I walked out of the doors of the bank I heard a little kitten crying in the bush. The kitty was the littlest thing I have ever seen and I thought the mother would be somewhere around. I kept looking for the mama cat and couldn't find her. I couldn't leave the kitten outside by itself, you could tell that she was really scared, so I brought her into the bank. No one at the bank wanted her and I couldn't just let her go outside. So I called Mike and he told me to bring her home!

I first took Kitty (that is what we are calling her until we decide if we are keeping her or not) to the vet. I didn't want to bring her home if she had anything wrong with her. The vet weighed her and she didn't even weigh a pound! He also said that she was probably only 4 weeks old, if even that. After we found out the Kitty was healthy I brought her home and introduced her to Mayhem.



Mayhem has definitely been curious of Kitty and loves to play with her. But we have to remind him to be more gentle....he tends to get a little rough with her. But Kitty seems to like Mayhem too! I'm starting to really get attached and now have to convince Mike to keep Kitty!

California, Here We Come!!!!

About 5 months ago, Mike told me that he was going to be signing up to do the Disney 1/2 Marathon over Labor Day Weekend. He was going to do this with a couple of Wells Fargo Employees. Together, they would wake up at 4:30 in the morning at least 3 times a week. They were completely dedicated.

Well the weekend finally came and we all headed to California! We were all So excited. Mike, Cassidi and Graham were excited for the marathon, and I was SUPER excited for Disneyland....and their marathon! :)

We left on Saturday, August 30th REALLY early in the morning. We were driving and we wanted to make sure that we had plenty of time to shop in Palm Springs and make it in time for the marathon check-in. We spent about 2 hours in Palm Springs and then had to drag ourselves away from the Outlets before we spent all of our money. Mike was obsessed with the Nike Outlet, while I was obsessed with Coach, Banana Republic, Prada, Gucci, and the Kate Spade Outlets! :)

After shopping we continued the drive to check-in to our hotel, and then to check-in for the marathon. The marathon check-in was at the Disneyland Resort so we had to walk through Downtown Disney. This REALLY made the excitement grow more! We walked around and did a little shopping after Mike and the others collected their marathon things. However, Mike dragged us away before we really wanted to go so that they could rest before the 1/2 Marathon.

Sunday morning Mike, Cassidi, and Graham were all awake by 3:30 in the morning. Landon (Cassidi's Fiance) and I were not about to get up that early, so we said that we would meet them at the finish line. I know, I know, we could have been a lot more supportive, but 3:30 is WAY too early!!!! By 7:30am Landon and I were up and heading to the finish line to meet everyone. There were TONS of people there and I was surprised that we found them! Everyone did a really good job. Mike finished 13.1 miles in under 2 hours and Graham and Cassidi were just over 2 hours and 15 minutes! Good Job Guys! That night we went for a little dinner celebration to everyone's favorite....Sushi!

Monday we celebrated Labor Day at Hunnington Beach. Mike, Cassidi, and Graham were really sore and wanted to take it easy for the day. So we hung out on the beach, rented body boards, and played smash ball. It was a really good day except for the fact that Cassidi and I almost drowned in the ocean! Note to self....don't rent a body board and go out in the ocean without instructions or knowing how to swim well!!!!

Tuesday was the best day by far....well, at least for me....we were spending the day at DISNEYLAND! I absolutely love it there and Mike hadn't been there since he was 10 so there was a lot of new additions. We were able to go on all of the rides that we wanted with the exception of the Haunted Manson, it was closed for "Beautification" and I was really disappointed. However, both of us experienced a new ride for the first time and Mike and I both said that it was our favorite. It is the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster, and it is light a giant video game. We loved it and were able to get this picture from it! As you can see, I totally kicked Mike's butt in the game! :) Another picture that we got was at Splash Mountain. We had to ride this ride twice to actually get a good picture. However, I was not so happy after the second time around. I was placed in the very front row and got COMPLETELY drenched!

Disneyland was so much fun! There are also WAY too many pictures to actually show, so I have created another slideshow for everyone to enjoy. We had a blast and have already been talking about next years trip. I told Mike that next year I MIGHT do the 1/2 Marathon with them. But that is a REALLY big Might! :)

Monsoon Season Is Here!!!!

August in Arizona has always been known as Monsoon season. We get most of our rain the entire year in one month. This year has been crazy, and I've never seen Monsoon season this bad! The other day the wind and rain was so hard that it looked like a mild hurricane. After the storm was over there were trees uprooted everywhere. Then tonight we had another storm pass through. This one didn't have wind like the last one, but it was the craziest lightning storm I have ever seen. This video doesn't even do it justice. It looked like someone had a strobe light outside, lighting up the whole sky when it flickered! :)

BUSY, BUSY, July!!!!!

As I stated before, July FLEW by because we were so busy all month! With that said, I apologize to everyone for barely posting anything this month. But I figured that I would make it all up in one big blog! So.....here goes!

July started out with a proud parent moment....Yes, my baby graduated from Puppy Training School! We named our baby Mayhem for a reason, he was out of control! So I looked into taking him to a couple of training classes. I didn't think they would work as well as they did, but it is amazing! He is the best dog now and knows lots of new tricks! He's growing up so fast!

Later in the month...July 14th to be exact, Mike and Caleb celebrated their 26th birthday. (See blog below!) Happy Birthday Boys! :)

After Mike and Caleb's birthday, we were busy preparing for our week and a half trip to Idaho! I was SOOOOO excited I couldn't wait! We were going to be having a family reunion for both sides of my family. So there was a lot to do! We went and bought our first family tent, sleeping bags, lantern, and pads to sleep on. We love camping, so we were really excited to finally have camping gear! :)

On Wednesday, the 23rd, Mike, Mayhem and I started our vacation. It started with a 14 and 1/2 hour drive to Idaho. Mike was not too thrilled about having to drive, but with all of our camping stuff, and our little baby, Mayhem, we really didn't have a choice. I was really nervous that Mayhem would have a hard time being in the car that long, BUT he was VERY good! We left the house at 5:30 am Arizona time, and pulled into my dad's driveway at 10:00pm Idaho time. It was a VERY long day!

Thursday was the first day of the Gutierrez Family Reunion. We had to wake up early so that we could get up to the camp-site in time. However, we were not woken up by our alarm clocks! We received a text from Caleb! Christopher Dashel Peters was born on Thursday morning, making Mike and I an Uncle and Aunt for the second time! We haven't met him in person yet, but he is a beautiful baby in his pictures! CONGRATULATIONS, Caleb and Marti!

After getting the exciting news, we were finally off to the reunion. We had a blast! I LOVE spending time with my family! We sat around the campfire, played games, made boats to float down the river (which never happened), golfed, visited Mesa Falls, floated Warm River, had a program, which WE won, and took LOTS of pictures. There are so many pictures that I had to make a slide show! So feel free to watch the slide show in the blog below! :)

After leaving the Gutierrez Reunion, we headed directly to the Sommer Reunion. This was a little bit more domestic and we actually were in our family cabin in Island Park. We got there a little late so I wasn't able to get any pictures there, which I am now regretting! :( Mike, Ammon, Ty and my cousin Miguel decided to jump in Henry's Lake that night! Then we sat around and played games until it was time to go to bed. It was fun being able to see my Dad's side of the family too!

After the reunions passed, we were able to sit and relax the rest of the week at my dad's house. I think its the perfect vacation because we don't have an itinerary and we CAN actually relax! We visited with family, went to a couple of movies and then went shoot guns with my dad on his birthday, August 1st! Happy Birthday, Dad! Shooting guns is one of my dad's favorite things and now I think its one of Mike's favorite things too! (They always say "You marry someone like your parent!") Mike actually picked up on it really quick and had a really good aim! Then once the event was over, Mike was soon planning his next big purchase....a GUN! He will also be joining my dad and brother next year during hunting season!


Finally our trip was ending but we had one last thing to do! We were heading to Utah for the day to visit some of my best friends and their husbands. We spent Saturday with Sadie and Nathan Schanz and Shalee and Chet Blasucci! It started at the local swimming pool and then ended at Sadie and Nathan's for a BBQ and games. I love seeing them and I wish I could see them more! Plus, all of our husbands get along well so we have a lot of fun! Every time I see them though, we swear that we are going to take pictures. And every time we forget.....this time was no different! We end up having so much fun that we completely forget to bust the camera's out! Again, another regret!!!! :(

Then today, 3rd, Mike and I started our drive back home. We arrived safely home and are preparing to go back to work tomorrow. :( Why is it that vacations have to go by way too fast? At least we are going back fully rested! :)

The Reunion!

We took SOOO many pictures at the reunion, that I had to create a slideshow! Enjoy!

Happy BELATED Birthday to Mike & Caleb!

First things first.....I need to apologize to my husband and brother-in-law for getting this up SOOOOO late! This month has been EXTREMELY busy and I didn't get around to posting this up! (Again, Sorry!)

As many of you know, my husband is a twin....not identical. On July 14th Mike and Caleb celebrated their 26th birthday! We went to Mike's parents and had a really nice dinner and then had cake. It was really fun. But the very best part of Mike's birthday is that for a couple more months he only sounds ONE year younger than me! :) That is until October rolls around, then I go back to being the cradle robber!

Happy Belated Birthday, Mike and Caleb! :)