Jon & Courtney

So it's been a while and I got married

2018-03-01T15:53:00.001-07:00

Does anyone blog anymore? It's been almost 5 years for me, so clearly I am very good at committing to things. ha. Quite a bit has happened in the last 5 years, but most importantly...I got married!

October 21, 2017

As soon as I started dating Jon, everything felt like it was just as it should be. He is far better than I ever imagined. I am constantly reminded of the love Heavenly Father has for me, because he blessed me with Jon! I had to wait 31 years for him, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Marrying him was the easiest decision. He is so good to me. I definitely married up.

I'm planning on writing our "story" on here soon. Mostly putting this on here for my memory. You know, in case our house burns down or something and my journal goes up in flames. I mean, I wrote 15 pages about every detail of our wedding day in there, but you never know!! I am now Courtney Jensen and couldn't be happier about it :)

2013-10-31T16:01:00.001-06:00

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Happy Halloween!

PS. Major update coming (aka multiple posts about my super duper awesome trip to Cambodia & Thailand!)

Love,

Elliot & E.T.

what what?!

2013-09-03T11:39:00.003-06:00

We're in the TEENS!!

!!!!!!!

Am I annoying yet? I don't care.
So so soooooo excited.

And uhhhhh....SO much to do before then. Send help.

Preferably a professional suitcase packer who specializes in 2 weeks in Southeast Asia (aka: It's crazy humid there and I'll probably be sweating the entire time so I'll need a ton of wardrobe changes and this could be a problem in one suitcase Kthanksbye).

27 things for my 27th year

2013-07-29T12:08:00.001-06:00

Yes, 'tis true....today is my 27th birthday. Holy cow. How did that happen? I'm only 3 years away from 30! Thirty. T-H-I-R-T-Y. What?!?! Am I officially considered "late 20's" now? I was discussing this with my roommates last night, and ~~they think I am~~. Or at least severely borderline. Rude.

Here are 27 things I would like to accomplish in my 27th year:

1. Travel to another continent (Happening in September. Go Asia!)

2. Finish the Book of Mormon again.

3. Visit the temple at least once a month, if not more.

4. Go on a spending fast for 1 month (ie. Don't buy unnecessary items. I guess I don't need every new shade of OPI nail polish....)

5. Run 5 half marathons. (If $$$ permits. Running is an expensive hobby.)

6. Hit my ideal (what even is my ideal?) weight. (37 lbs down, 15(ish) lbs to go!)

7. Trick someone into marrying me. Or have a fiancé. Boyfriend for more than the typical few months? HA! haha. ha. ha! HA.....ha...

8. Improve my cooking skills.

9. Pick one attribute per month I would like to improve on, and do it.

10. Go to Disneyland.

11. Actually pay attention and enjoy one of my half marathons. I've discovered I usually block out several miles, then later think, "wait...did I run past that? Yes? Okay?"

12. Go skiing or snowboarding. I've been once and that was in 3rd grade.

13. Do something that scares the crap out of me.

14. Set a budget and save $$$$$.

15. Trade in my car? Maybe.

16. Visit my friend Kyla and her family in Vegas.

17. Read at least one book per month.

18. Try a food I'm scared of in Cambodia.

19. Snorkel in Thailand. (I'm REALLY afraid of open water, guys.)

20. Run a half marathon in under 2 hours. I'm close!! I need to shave about 20 seconds off each mile.

21. Learn to rap an entire song.

22. Get a massage.

23. Go to a concert.

24. Go dancing at a club.

25. De-junk my closet/dresser! I have separation anxiety.

26. Sew.... something.

27. Stop saying you can't, and just do it. Be happy.

Southeast Asia here we come

2013-07-22T11:37:00.004-06:00

60 Days! 60. (!!!!)

Did you hear? I'm going to Cambodia & Thailand! 60 days until I fly out to the land of humidity and coconuts.

My roommate/bff Kara served her mission for our church in Cambodia, and has been talking about going back, for for-ev-er. This year she decided that if her tax return was big enough, she was just going to buy a ticket and go, and we were invited. I wasn't going to go at first. Cambodia isn't exactly high on my "wanting to vacation" spots (or on that list at all). It's kind of a third world country, guys. And it was going to cost a lot to get there.

Then one day I decided, What the heck! Let's go! So in March, we booked our flights. I fly out of Salt Lake City on Sept 20th, and we return home Oct 2nd. Two weeks. Two weeks of no work, beaches, jungle, temples, monks, humidity, scary food... yeah. It's going to be amazing.

We'll spend 9 days in Cambodia, touring all over the country, then on Sept 29, we fly from Siem Reap, Cambodia.....

to Phuket, Thailand.....

...where we will spend the remaining 4 days.

I. can't. wait.

See, guys? Sometimes it pays to be old and single (yes I realize I'm NOT that old (27 next week)), and have friends who are also old and single who like to do fun stuff like blow their money on frivolous things and take long vacations to way cool places! I'm super 1000% grateful that we're going with someone who knows the language/where to go/what to do. She's our own personal tour guide.

PS. I have 23 hours of flight time ahead of me (both there and back, heaven help me).... so book recommendations are being accepted!

Trip of a lifetime. Get me to that beach, stat.

American Fork Canyon Half Marathon

2013-07-01T22:46:00.000-06:00

Well, I DID IT! I ran my first ever half marathon on Saturday, June 15th! Surprisingly enough, I'm so sad (but also very happy :), it's over! What possessed me to run a half marathon, you ask? I do not know. I ran cross country in high school (10 years ago...), but have never been a super runner, and the thought of 13 miles made me want to kill myself. Alas, I ran one anyways :)

Last fall, right after I moved to Salt Lake, and before I started my job, I didn't have much to do....so I started spending a healthy amount of time at the gym, which got me running pretty seriously. Around December I thought, "Hey, maybe I should run a half marathon." (yeah, I don't even know) So... I did my research and found one I thought I'd like. I specifically picked this one because the first 7 miles were downhill. I'm not dumb. I signed up in January, with the final push of my friend Brock (who runs full's). Brock was supposed to run with me, but ended up hurting his ankle pretty bad and had to bow out. Sad face.

Basically, all I did for 5 months was run. A lot. More than I ever have in my life. I found a training schedule on Pinterest, wrote the miles I was supposed to run each day on my calendar, and stuck to them. And I've got the runners injuries to prove it. I had TERRIBLE shin splints that made me take a month off until they healed, my IT Band started acting up (basically a constant burning pain in my hip. Not fun.), then my left knee started feeling like it was really loose, and was going to blow out at any second. So that was cool. I eventually invested in KT Tape. Saved my life. Or my legs. It's magical. Buy some. And chafing. Oh, the chafing. Basically anywhere a sports bra could rub, it happened. TMI? Showering hurt like the devil, btw. Body Glide is my new bff.

Anways, where was I? So yes, I ran. I ran and ran and ran. You want to know how many miles I ran around Sugar House? A million. You want to know how many laps I ran around Liberty Park? I don't even know. About a bazillion. Love/hate that place. There are some interesting creatures that spend their time there. Love those bongo drumming, Quidditch playing, hippies. Some entertaining times, my friends. Also, all those peeps who bbq'd whilst I was running mile after mile torturing me with their amazing smells? Shame on you. You didn't even offer me a hamburger when I was done...

Finally... It was race weekend! I was freaking out. Just a little. The farthest I ran in my training was 11.5 miles. I was feeling pretty confident that I could do it, but still. 13.1 miles is really far, guys. Yikes. My family was super crazy supportive, and my parents flew down from Washington to watch me run! Yay for them, they are so great. Friday night was one crazy night. I picked up my mom from the airport about 5, because she ended up being able to come earlier than my dad. This was a blessing because the ac at my house was broken (it was 86 degrees in there, guys) and the repair guy was coming that night. Problem... I had to pick up my bib & packet in American Fork before 7pm (and none of my roommates could be home at that time), so I dropped her off at my house so she could wait for the guy...who eventually NEVER came. Yeah, I KNOW. It was HOT. What was he thinking?!

So anyways, I dropped my mom off at my house (who then made dinner, vacuumed, and mopped our floors. I should drop her off more often.), and started my trek down south. During rush hour. In Salt Lake City. Basically I was going 30 mph the entire way. Whatever. I made it back home about 8pm. By this time my dad was there, and my sister in law Lisa and my nieces had come in to spend the night. It was super fun to have all my family there to support my freak out that night. What was I thinking voluntarily signing up to run 13 miles?

I had made plans to be in bed by 9pm that night, seeing as how I had to wake up at 2:30am to get down to the busses in time. Yeah, 9pm came and I wasn't tired. At all. I usually go to bed about midnight. Shocker. I finally climbed in bed at 10... not falling asleep until 11. Kill me. About midnight I get woken up hearing my 9 mo old niece Estelle crying. Like really crying. I'm thinking "I have to wake up in 2 hours make her stoooppp!" Then, all of a sudden I hear my roommate Debbi yell, "Help me! Somebody help me! I need help!" Something wasn't right. So I bolt out of bed and run downstairs to find Debbi almost in tears herself, holding a screaming, panicking Estelle. My mom, Lisa, and Ava are no where to be found. She tells me that Ava (my 3 yr old niece) accidently ate a Peanut Butter Pop-tart, and they took her to the ER. You see, Ava is allergic to peanuts. Very very allergic. I guess she starting saying that her tongue was itchy, started getting puffy, and then she started throwing up... Lisa used the Epi-Pen and off to the ER they went. Scary.

So... I take Estelle and try to console her from her screaming bloody murder panic. For 45 minutes. Not working. I'm pretty sure she just woke up in a strange place, to someone who she doesn't know that well (my roommate), her mom wasn't around, and panicked like she'd been abandoned. That's the only reason I can think for the amount of decibel's coming from that child. I felt bad for the girl, but seriously, I have never prayed so hard for something in my life, than I did at that moment. She HAD to stop. I had to wake up and run 13 miles in about an hour on practically NO sleep. This was not going to be good. Finally they return from the ER about 1am, my dad had gotten Estelle to stop crying by this point. Figures. I was back off to bed. (Ava is fine now, btw)

My alarm went off at 2:30am. No. No. Nononononononono. I was so crazy tired. But I had a race that I paid $65 for, had ran for 5 months training for, and was NOT going to miss it! I got up, got dressed, put my #1183 bib on, ate a bagel and my mom and I hit the road for the 45 min drive down to American Fork High School (the finish line, and where they busses were leaving from). I parked, put on my throw away sweatpants and sweatshirt, and hopped on the greyhound for the 40 minute ride to the starting line. That ride seemed to take forever! And knowing that I had to run my way back? Yeahhhh....

We got to the staring line at 5am, so I had a whole hour to wait until race time. I used one of the 50 port-a-potty's, and tried to keep warm. I looked for my cousin, Kira, who was also running, but there were 2,200 runners that day, and didn't ever find her :( I eventually sat down by and leaned up against the tire of a truck and tried to sleep a little (didn't happen). About 5:30 I thought I had better try and use the bathroom again. Good thing I got in line when I did, because it seemed like everyone else had the same idea, and at 5:50am I was still a ways from the front of the line. I started to freak a little thinking, "I'm still going to be in line when the gun goes off at 6!" Luckily, I made it out with about 3 minutes to spare. I ripped my sweatshirt and pants off, made sure my shoes were double knotted, got my music queued, said another quick prayer (I was sure going to need the Lord's help!), the MC played the theme song for the race (I don't remember what it was)..... and then fired the gun!

I probably started about half way back in the crowd, so I ended up crossing the starting line 4 minutes after the gun, but no big deal it was chip timed. The moment I got up to the start at 5am, I was just like okay let's get this started! But once the gun went off, and I was inching my way to the start, all I could think was, no I changed my mind! I don't want to do this anymore! But the hoards of people kept pushing me forward, and I had no choice but to run across that starting line.

I decided to not start my music right off, and just enjoy the sea of other runners around me. Eavesdrop on conversations, enjoy the pounding of thousands of other feet, & get my rhythm and pace going. The first 2 or 3 miles of any run are always the worst for me. It's when my muscles are still going through the pain/waking up stage telling me "No. Stop. You don't want to do this." But not that day! I seriously felt awesome. I was so blessed. I ran the first mile in 7:34 min, which was a mistake. I was just so full of adrenaline and excitement that my little legs were MOVING. I knew I had to slow down if I wanted to keep going for 12 more miles. The first 4 miles FLEW by. Seriously, it went so fast. I was just enjoying running down the canyon and others around me. The crowd was beginning to thin out by that time, and I decided to start my music up. I had to keep reminding myself to look up, and not just stare at the ground, because you guys....American Fork Canyon is crazy beautiful! It was my first time there, and I could not get over it. I was running along to my tunes, when all of a sudden the mile 6 marker showed up. It was then that I thought, man, this is so easy! If this was a 10k I would be done already! Ha. Yeah. I had to quickly eat my own words when my IT Band started flaring up, causing crazy pain in my left hip. All I could think was, nooooooo I have to run 6 more miles! Luckily, the pain only lasted for about a half mile. Thank goodness or I would have been toast.

About mile 7.5 is where we came out of the canyon. I could see a big group of supporters standing there, and knew my family was with them. I was so excited to see them, and got a little teary eyed as I ran past them all with their cow bell and homemade signs, screaming my name. They are the best. From there we ran on the path next to a golf course until about mile 9, where my family was waiting again! My niece Ava gave me a cute little high five, and it gave me a push to keep going.

The mile 10 marker finally came into sight, and I was so happy. I had just run 10 miles! Without stopping! And I was feeling GREAT! Until... about mile 10.5. There was a hill. It felt like Mt. Everest. In reality it wasn't that steep, but it lasted for a while with a steady incline. I about died. I realized right then that my legs were shot. I had just run 10 miles for goodness sakes! I was going so slow that I was barely running by this point, so I told myself that I could walk for 30 seconds, but after that I had to get going again. So that I did. I tried to keep a fast pace walk going, and didn't feel too bad about it when I looked around me and saw that everyone else was walking up the hill too.

I made it to the crest of the hill and told myself to get going again. Oh. my. gosh. It hurt. It hurt bad. Mile 10.5-11.5 was probably the hardest of all the miles for me. I immediately regretted my decision to walk, because it was so hard to get myself going again, and up to the pace I wanted. I finally got my groove back, just in time to see mile marker 12. Twelve! Only 1 mile left! ONE MILE left?!!?! I was so happy, but the thought of one more mile about did me in. I told myself, it's only 9 more minutes. You can definitely run 9 more minutes! Get it! So off I went on my merry way for my last mile. I could tell that I was getting really close to the finish line, because we were weaving through neighborhoods that I remembered from studying the course map. Oh, and I could also tell I was close to being done because I wanted to die. Yeah, that.

I turned the corner and saw a big crowd at the end of the street. There it was! The FINISH! I gave it all I had (which wasn't much by this point), and tried my best to finish strong. I saw my family standing there on the right side, gave them fives as I ran past, and finally, finally crossed that finish line. I was handed a medal and a water bottle, and stopped. I did it! I had just ran a half marathon!!!! ME! I DID! I found my family and we celebrated for a bit. Then I went to stuff my face. Kneaders were offering free breakfast for all participants. I was not hungry at all afterwards, but got it anyways and my family ate most of it. It was such a great feeling knowing that I had finished! All of my hard work had paid off, and I was done. I only had two goals going into the race, both of which I completed: #1 To finish, #2 Not get last place. My official time was 2:11:31. I was the 660th woman, and got 1036th place out of 2,200 runners. I may not be the fastest, but hey, I finished! 13.1 miles.

The rest of the day was spent lounging on the couch, icing my knees until that night when my neighbor, Cameron, took me for a celebratory ice cream cone. I am so happy I did this. It was so much fun. If you would have told me 6 months ago that I would run a half marathon, I would have told you you were crazy. Not so anymore. I am proof that it can be done! Will I ever run a full marathon? No. Hell no. And I bet my roommate $50 I will never do one (payable on my 80th birthday, or unless I get a deadly illness). Can't wait to spend that $50, Kara! Oh and guess what? Surprisingly, you can have FUN running! So much fun, that I am officially addicted to it, and have signed up for two more! I'm running the Deseret News Classic Half on July 24th, then I'm running the Provo Halloween Half on Oct 26th, and this time I have brainwashed some friends into running with me! It'll be a good time. Come run with us!

Wow. This may be the longest post I've ever written. I realize this is the first time I have blogged in like two years, so at this rate... see you in another two. If you made it to the end, you deserve a medal. Come to my house and I'll let you wear mine :)

Now for some pictures. But seriously, why do they have photographers taking pictures of you while you're running? It's NEVER attractive. These were the best ones, and they are not great. Please don't zoom.

The finish line!

Dad and me

The hardware

I call this face: Sweet Relief.

The cutest cheerleaders there ever was.

Look how I'm all defying gravity and stuff here...

My awesome roommate Debbi who came to cheer. Don't judge us, it was really bright.

At the starting line

The sea of runners. This was probably about mile 2. It's hard to take a picture and run at the same time.

An accident at Seven Peaks Water Park

2013-06-12T09:45:00.003-06:00

You may have already seen this on the news....but there was an accident at Seven Peaks last night.... involving me, and my roommates Debbi and Kara.

Okay just kidding, it wasn't on the news...and the stupid life guard wasn't even paying attention, but it was still very bad. So, for our very last ride of the night, we decided to trade in our single tubes for one triple tube, so we could all ride together. Mistake.

Here we were, joy riding down the slide, having a great time, going very fast mind you, because of the increased body weight. We get to the bottom and there are two big drops, plummeting us even faster down the slide. Kara was in front, I was the middle, and Debbi was the back. We reach the water and all flip out of the tube. Here is where the accident happened: I'm still propelling through the water, and Kara has stopped. My jaw SLAMS into the back of her head.

Oh. My. Gosh. I have never known pain like that in my face. I come up for air all "oh my gosh. I think I just broke my face. I'm bleeding. ouch ouch ouchouchouch. My jaw. Holy &#%$" I'm just kind of lying there in the water with a lip of blood looking for the lifeguard, and he's over on the side chatting with his friends. Do your job, loser.

I can't begin to describe to you how much that hurt. Sooooooo bad. This morning my bottom right side of my lip and chin (at the point of impact) is all swollen, I have this awesome crooked smile going on right now because of the swelling, and I can feel my cheek is bruised/tender all the way up to my eye on the right side of my face. I got an instant headache that has never really gone away.

The swelling HAS to go down by next weekend though!!! Seeing as how I have to be a bridesmaid on June 21st, and a plethora of photos will be taken. I cut my lip on the inside of my mouth, thank goodness. Can't have a jacked up face if I plan on being a hot bridesmaid. I don't know how my teeth didn't cut through my mouth though, but I'm grateful they didn't!

Also, I'm running a half marathon this Saturday (the American Fork Canyon Half, starts at 6am, come cheer me on!) It better not hurt during each pound of my foot. That would be 13.1 miles of misery. Pray for me.

Here's a pic of me smiling...and the swelling. See how my lip won't go down on one side? Yeah.... Laugh it up, folks. But beware: triple tubes are dangerous.

...and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my favorite 3 year old! My niece Ava!

Oh, and btw... I've lost 33 lbs. Wooooooooo. Go me.

2012-10-15T10:49:00.001-06:00

Estelle Grace Maxfield

I'm an Aunt again!

2012-10-10T10:49:00.001-06:00

We have another little baby girl Maxfield!!

Born October 9, 2012 at 10:26pm. She was 7 lbs 15 oz., 21 inches. Everyone is doing great! Big sis Ava already loves her tons and cried when I tried to take the baby and hold her. We're in love!

The big reveal

2012-09-17T22:11:00.005-06:00

Oh my goodness. Sorry to leave you hanging there, but I've been busy. And by busy, I mean Bath & Body Works had their fall festival and I went 3 times in 4 days... so... you know. My house is smelling amazingly fall-ish now.

Anywhozzle.... this is what's up. So, you know how I've been living in the tri-cities for about the past four years, and it's pretty much killed my social life? Weeeellllll... that's about to change!

What do these things have in common?

Yes! You guess it! I'm MOVING!! To Salt Lake City! On September 28th!

And i get to live with these sassy ladies again in an awesome townhouse, near Sugar House! woooooo!

I cannot wait.

SO... I need your help. I need a JOB! Anyone have any leads they can give me? I pretty much did something TOTALLY unlike me, a "planner", and uhhh... I gave my two weeks notice last Thursday. With no real plan but to move. I have thought and prayed A LOT about this, and I know it's the right decision. So, that's it. I'm scared. (I've applied for like 40 jobs so far, btw)

Help a sista out... pleeeeeeease?

Oh, and since I will have a life again, I will return to blog land. Huzzah!

For real?!

2012-09-13T08:31:00.001-06:00

Guys, I'm about to do something that's maybe slightly stupid... And crazy... And scary... And exciting... And I'm really putting all my eggs in one basket. Sooo.... Pray for me, okay? I'll let you in on the secret tomorrow. Promise!!

The one where I lied

2012-06-21T14:51:00.002-06:00

So.... Remember when I said I was "back" and was going to start blogging regularly? Yeahhhh... I've epically failed at that one.

BUT! I am going to be back. We've got lots to cover...memorial day weekend...Renton and Lisa's move... Ava's birthday... my review of different face washes... Etc.

Get excited, peeps!!!

Oh, and apparently I like watches? Btw, this does not include a couple that are broken. As one friend said, I "have issues". Whatev. At least they're stylish issues, amiright?

2012-06-12T22:35:00.001-06:00

Happy 2nd Birthday to my favorite person in the whole world.... my niece Ava!

This is not okay.

2012-06-01T10:36:00.001-06:00

She's moving tomorrow. Wah Wah Wah :(

This just in.

2012-05-23T11:20:00.000-06:00

I'm filling in for a co-worker on a few things today, and it has just been confirmed to me that I could NEVER work customer service. People are so RUDE! How can they think it's okay to speak to someone like that? I think it's because they can hide behind their phone and don't have to actually see my face. Jerks.

Mama's Day

2012-05-13T10:23:00.002-06:00

Happy Mother's Day to the greatest woman I know.

Love you, Mom.

Takes me back...

2012-05-10T22:14:00.000-06:00

You know those songs you hear and a million and one memories come flooding back?

Oh man.

My itunes was on shuffle and good old Damien Rice just clicked on.

One of the best summer/fall's of my life, with Damien.

He's a little old school, as in my favorite album of his was released in 2002.... but it's amazing none the less. My favorite homework/chill/summer drive with the windows down tunes.

You rock, Damien.

"I'm going to make a decision. I've made my decision. Decision made."

2012-05-09T18:09:00.003-06:00

I've decided to make my return to the blogging world. Huzzahhh!

I know you've missed me.

My life as of late, via iPhone....

Yes, she's still cute.

Such a cheeser

Celebrating Andrew's 4th Birthday/Angelversary at the park

Just singing a little Biebs on Karaoke

Eater Egg Hunt. Holy. I've never seen eggs go so fast. Kids are vicious!

Snuggle bug

Mom had a birthday! Hollaaaa!

Circa 1989ish

New iPhone case!

Treasures found at the back of my Us Weekly

Went to Utah a couple weeks ago

While there, I got my hairs did.

(post highlight, pre trim)

Got stuck at the airport for 6 hours. A happy accident because I got to have Cafe Rio with my brother! Hollllaaaa again.

Playing Pretty Pretty Princess

Moving Renton, Lisa, and Ava out of their house :( They're moving to Utah next month.

My brother eating dinner. Now this doesn't look very exciting, but you guys....see that plate? It's actually a PLATTER. Probably 16 inches across, I'd guess. And it is FILLED with enchiladas. He's a growing boy.

I'm baaaaaaaack!

New posts coming soon.

Peeta is my hero!!

2011-11-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

I just died and went to Hunger Games heaven.

I wish it was March 23rd now!! aaaahhhhhh I can't wait!!!!

If you haven't read The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay, first of all....shame on you. Now go repent and partake of the goodness. I'm serious.

She's got the fever...

2011-10-12T22:09:00.000-06:00

The girl loves Bieber.

General Conference

2011-10-01T12:16:00.000-06:00

My heart is so full. Conference literally ended two minutes ago, but I just had to jump on and blog about it. This mornings session was incredible! I've had SO many prayers answered already.

God is SO GOOD!!! We are so blessed to be able to hear messages from the Lord through Prophets on this earth today.

Earth life is only temporary! Eternal Life is forever! Be faithful and it will be a wonderful experience.

Want to know more? GO HERE!!

First Officer Maxfield

2011-08-27T11:24:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to my brother Renton, the newest pilot at Skywest Airlines!!!!

If you know Renton at all, you know that flying is ALL he has wanted to do since he was about 4 years old.

Renton interviewed about 6 weeks ago, and was offered a job on the spot! Here's the email we received from Lisa, letting us know the good news!

Hey family,

As all of you know, the last few days, weeks, & months have been kind of crazy in our household as Renton has been preparing to interview with SkyWest airlines. After much hassle in getting to SLC, he finally had an interview yesterday. Thank you all for your prayers and for being so concerned for him. It has meant the world! So here's how it went, the interview started at 8 am and lasted until about 4 pm. It was a three stage process consisting of a CRJ simulated scenerio (which a radical Arab locked himself into the bathroom praying and they had to make an emergency landing at an unplanned airport, & apparently this was a real situation!), then he had a simulated flight in a seminole (which is the multiengine plane he currently flies in & has probably shown most of you:), lastly he met with a friendly SkyWest captain who asked him multiple technical questions about systems in the plane, weather, etc. (which Renton said he aced:) When all was said and done, Renton felt he had done well and they said they'd contact him in the next 24-48 with an answer. Thinking the hard part was over Renton rushed to the SLC airport to catch his flight home, which turned out to be delayed cuz of low visiblity in San Francisco (where his layover would be). Long story short, Renton ended his interview day sleeping in the San Francisco airport with a dead phone and no money. To our relief, he finally made it home this morning safe and sound, only to tell me he had told me a little white lie...they had finished the interview saying they would contact him in the next 24-48 hour, but not with an answer...with a start date:) Renton has officially been hired by SkyWest airlines as a first officer in the CRJ!!! They offered him the job on the spot at the conclusion of the interview. We are thrilled as can be! I was so surprised & couldn't believe he had kept it a secret so long. He has already been contacted by HR early this morning, and told his training would begin Aug. 29th. That is our exciting news today. We look forward to sharing more details with each of you when we have a chance to talk to you. Love you all and thank you again for everything!

Renton, Lisa, and Ava

We are all sooooo excited for them, and even MORE excited that they'll get flight benefits now and can come visit whenever they want!

So, next time you're on a Skywest flight and they announce First Office Maxfield, you can say you know him!

His new office:

CONGRATULATIONS Renton!!! We love you!

SO excited we'll get to see her more!

YIKES.... just... yikes...

2011-06-30T18:21:00.000-06:00

"I'm allergic to the sun.... death..deathly allergic..."

2011-06-24T20:54:00.000-06:00

So apparently when an antibiotic says to avoid direct sunlight exposure, they aren't messing around. I am now covered head to toe in red blotches/hives. Feels like someone threw me in a swimming pool of flames. I die.

If you need me you can find me face down in a big vat of aloe vera and cortisone. I'm not allowed to go outside.

cabinfevercabinfevercabinfever

This better go away before I head to Phoenix next Friday. I doubt my skin would agree with the Valley of the Sun.

**If you can name the movie that the title of this post comes from, you win 5 golden sparkle hearts**

Sleeping habits of the rich and famous.

2011-05-04T22:45:00.000-06:00

So around 3:30am last night I woke up with this sudden urge to unplug my alarm clock. Why? I don't know because I obviously needed it to wake up in the morning for work. I just knew that I needed to unplug it though...so what do I do? I reach over and start trying to unplug it. I was struggling to reach behind my bedside table and actually find the outlet all whist only being about 10% awake and aware of what I was actually doing. I don't know how long it actually took me to unplug it, it felt like eternity, but I finally got it out.

But once I got it out I just sat there like "What now?" I honestly didn't know what I was supposed to do next....so naturally I cradled it in my arms like a baby and laid back down with it. That was obviously the smart thing to do. I laid there for a while drifting in and out of sleep, but my mind was going a million miles a minute trying to figure out what to do next. Finally I realized that I would need it to actually go off in 2 hours to wake me up so I sat up and tried to find the outlet to plug it back in. I was too tired to actually get out of bed so I just sat there aimlessly trying to find the outlet...to no avail. I eventually just gave up and set the clock on the table. I had also set a couple alarms on my phone, so not all was lost. But seriously.....what the heck was I trying to do?! All I know it that it was imperative that I unplug it. I have weird sleeping habits and have been known to walk and talk in my sleep, but man, I wish someone would have been there to take a picture of me cradling my alarm clock. I can only imagine how rich that must have looked. Ha.

There Kyla. I blogged.