The Luke Clan

Christi loves volleyball

2010-12-14T21:21:00.000-08:00

I (Ryan) just went to one of C's tournaments. She loves volleyball. She played pretty well and when she was warmed up was killing the ball. Many people don't know this but she actually played on the UVSC club volleyball team. She was invited to tryout for the college team right out of high school but had messed her ankle up before the state tournament started and was hobbled up. I'd like to think that if she hadn't had that injury she might have played college volleyball.

We like to get together and play pepper (a volleyball practice for two people). Honestly I can say that it is really nice to have something that we both love to do. She has taught me a lot and I'm proud to say that the girl out there killing the volleyball is my wife. Kind of cool.

Side notes ...

2010-09-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

1. Yes, I wore the same dress to a few of my major events this year. Love the dress and don't have the budget so let's just say it got A LOT of use.
2. My blog's are long. I no longer write in a journal so they are very lengthy. I realize this and realize some may not care, but it's all good ...
3. Seems like all my fun events are over for the summer ... SAD!!!
4. Got to hang out with some friends last night from my college days ... LOVE you all.

Air Academy High School Reunion 2010

2010-09-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

My weekend in Colorado Springs in August was EPIC. Seriously … I had the BEST time that weekend and I am so happy it turned out so well! On Friday morning I flew to Denver and met up with Jesse Berry now Tevanga. Miss Jessie is a mother of 3 kids and looks absolutely amazing! We’ve been catching up over facebook the last few years but being able to hang out with her for a weekend was just so much fun. Allie was picking up Jessie so I hitched a ride to Colorado Springs as well. My plan was originally to stay with Ashley Potter throughout the weekend but since I went without Ryan my plans changed. We bought Ryan a plane ticket but two days before decided to cancel it. He had the chance to go hunting with his buddies and not many friends were bringing their significant others to the reunion so I decided he would be much happier if he stayed behind. I think he agreed. After arriving to the springs at our friend Katie’s house, Jessie and I went and did a little grocery shopping by ourselves. This allowed us to do some good girl talk. After that we headed back to the house to get ready for the first event of the evening at Old Chicago’s Pizzeria and Bar.

Friends! Jenna, Erin, me, Katie, Erin, and Allie at Old Chicago's.

John, Jessie, Trisha, Ashley, Dan and me.

Dan - "cleaning" the bar being "creepy". I love this guy!

When I showed up I didn’t really know that people that were there but soon enough my good buddies showed up – Dan Walsh and John Rembold. Love those guys and hung out with a lot over the weekend. Dan now lives in Boston. We see each other prob once a year since he lived in Vegas and traveled to Hawaii back when I lived there six years ago. Old Chicago’s turned into a lot of fun. It was actually “cool” to show up for the reunion venues unlike the reunion in Seattle. This one just flowed so great and so many people came which made it a total blast. I even had a slice or two or some delicious pizza that evening. One of my best friends Ashley Anderson showed up around 11:30 that night and I was so happy to see her! Ashley and I have stayed fairly close over the years and I consider her a close friend till this day. I ended up staying with her 2 of the 3 nights due to location and my late night party habits. We were out pretty late on Friday and enjoying every minute of catching up with old friends. Some great laughs and reminiscing about old times was just so wonderful.

On Saturday morning Ashley and I woke up and Dan and John came over. We just chilled on the back patio in the morning sun and again laughed about old times. Then Jessie picked me up and we headed for Garden of The Gods. Jessie and I decided to do a run/hike through the park and it was so much fun. It was a great workout, beautiful and again so much fun to catch up on each other’s lives.

Garden of the Gods with Jessie - Before our "run, walk, hike". It was beautiful.

After our workout we drove over to Manito Springs which I LOVE to meet Dan and John for lunch and my other friend Scott showed up as well. We decided to go to another place and eat called Jake and Telly’s. Dan suggested it and it was delicious! Super yummy Greek food and my salad was perfect! Ashley Anderson came and met up with us, Jessie peaced and we went to Ashley Potter’s parent’s house in downtown. We got to meet her cute son George but he wasn’t feeling well plus we had to get back to get ready for the evening festivities. I told Ashley Potter I would most likely stay with her that night but due to my late night party habits it went down a little different. Ashley Anderson and I got ready and her mom’s house and were off for the night and super excited about it. The actual reunion was held at a Bar downstairs in what was called the Elbo room. We had a private bar and some booths around the room dedicated to just our class until like midnight when some other weirdo’s started joining in. The venue was fairly conducive to good conversation but still a little loud. A few more classmates showed up that night and it was so fun to see the crowd of boys I used to hang out with! They were so much fun and I can’t believe it has been pretty much ten years since I’ve seen them. We all had such a good time that we’ve talked about planning a ski getaway here in Utah this winter. We even danced towards the end of the night and it was sooo fun! The best time I’ve had dancing in a LONG time! I would have kept dancing except it was 900 degrees since there was no air conditioning. Most people hadn’t changed a whole lot but a few scandalous events were going down. My friend Austin ended up letting my drive his FJ back to where I was staying on Saturday night because I was out until 4 am! I stayed that night at my friend Katie’s and could not fall asleep until after 6 am. I have no idea what was wrong with me but I felt HORRIBLE on Sunday morning. I even threw up. What the heck? I don’t even drink so I am not sure what was wrong with me. Sunday was the sad day since we all had to head back to the airport. We did get one last hu raw in when we met at the park for little food and goodbyes. Overall the weekend was a huge hit. I wasn’t expecting much after the Seattle reunion itself was a letdown minus so much fun time with Jessica and Alex. Again, Colorado was an absolute blast and I think it for sure set the precedence for reunions to come in the future. It was well worth the time and the money. And thank goodness it was so much freaking fun because I came home Sunday night and was laid off Monday morning. Not cool. Kadets … thanks for a great weekend! LOVED all of it and looking forward to seeing you next time!

Erin, me, Dan and Ashley AKA - Professor Potts. Thanks to Ashley I made some good friends and Air Academy.

Ashley Anderson - my other partner in crime throughout high school and John Rembold.

Austin, Pat, me, Chris and Hunter. It made my night to see these boys. It has been way too long!

Dan - AKA the psychologist, Chris and Pat. I can finally tell them apart again!

Spent a lot of time with these 3 in high school and over the weekend. It wouldn't had been the same without them!

This picture is more of an inside joke. But Dan ... this captures our high school joke perfectly!

The group who planned this weekend did an AMAZING job! I am so glad I went and can’t believe how well the weekend went. One of my favorite times in 2010 for sure! Give em’ the Beak!

Rome and Michelle’s High school Reunion. AKA - Jessica and Christi’s High school Reunion.

2010-09-26T18:21:00.000-07:00

Jessica and me before our highschool football game. We look AWESOME. Check out Jessica's Birkenstock's!

The weekend of July 28^th I flew to Seattle for my ten year high school reunion. I actually didn’t graduate from Inglemoor so I guess technically it wasn’t “my reunion”. I was born in Minnesota and moved to Washington when I was one. I lived in Redmond, WA until I was 16. My family moved the summer before my junior year of high school. Redmond will always be where I “grew” up. I just couldn’t imagine not going to the ten year when I spent 16 years of my life with some of this people. Literally 16 years considering I have baby pictures with one of them to prove it. This is how the weekend panned out.

Thursday evening I flew out on Southwest. The flight was delayed a couple hours but luckily I had Carly Hart now Crandall and her husband Scott to keep me company. I’ve only met Scott briefly so it was fun chatting with them for a couple hours. The only bad part was it put me into Sea Tac at 9:00 pm when I had planned on hanging out at the Red Hook brewery outdoor movie with Danny Martinsen, Ryan Ellsworth, Kati Naish and of course Jessica and Alex who were picking me up from the airport. We still made it to Red Hook and still got to hang out but it was definitely dark when I got there. Jessica is truly one of my best friends. Ryan and I visted her and Alex last summer in Boston. Jess and I went to school together since first grade and I even supposedly “stole” her boyfriend in 5^th grade. Jess and I have spent a lot of time traveling together. We grew up going to Lake Chelan, Levenworth, and even Florida! We’ve spent time together in Arizona, Las Vegas, and Boston. Jess and I laugh a lot when we are together and I was thrilled to be spending the weekend with her and Alex at her mom’s house in Lake Forest, WA. Alex and Jessica were married two years ago in Seattle where I was the matron of honor.

Jessica and me at the Space Needle for her 16th Birthday.

Jessica and me at her rehearsal dinner. Seattle August 2008.

Matron of Honor. I was so honored Jessica asked me! August 2008.

The Space Needle. July 2010.

It was an absolute GORGEOUS day in Seattle!

Danny is one of my best guy friends from Washington. Danny and I met when I was 6 years old and we were on the same t-ball team. Danny has always been a year younger than me in school. We hung out a lot in Junior High. I had not seen Danny in at least 9 years so I was really excited to see him as well. The day I moved to Colorado, Danny showed up that morning at my house with a “gift” to remember him by. It was his baby blanket! All these years – 12 to be exact I’ve hung on to the blanket. I finally took it with me this trip to give back to him. I only thought that was right. Danny’s the best and whoever he ends up with will be one lucky girl.

Breakfast and Woodinville Cafe. Delicious Eggs Benedict! Jessica, Danny and me.

Seeing Kati and Ryan was also great. Kati was a really good friend in Jr. High and high school as well. We would cruise around in her cream Toyota camry called the “Cream Machine”. We played sports together and definitely tried to get into any trouble we could. It was so great to see Kati and joke about all the good old times. We ended up leaving Red Hook and hung out in a parking lot on the tailgate of Kati’s boyfriend’s truck reminiscing about the old times. It was one of my favorite nights that weekend for sure. Friday I didn’t have any plans until Ryan Sorensen called me and asked if I would be the secret camera girl for his brother’s proposal to his girlfriend at the Space Needle. It was a gorgeous day in Seattle so of course I thought it would be a great idea. The proposal went off really well and the view from the Space Needle was spectacular. What a fun experience. After my afternoon downtown I headed across the I-90 floating bridge to visit my best friend from Sunrise Elementary, Amber Peterson. Amber and I played softball, did track and ran cross country together. Unfortunately for me her family moved to Lake Sammamish after 6^th grade. We had not seen each other in ten years. We had so much to catch up about and we had very little time Friday evening as she was taking off for Whidbey Island for the weekend with her family. I met her little girl – Autumn and chatted with her parents briefly. I wish I had more time to catch up with her but the time we did have was really great. Amber is married to the lead singer of Train. I’m sure you’ve heard their hit song on the radio this summer “Soul Sister”. That’s a whole other story. Friday night I hung out with Ryan Sorensen and his wife Shelley and their son Max. Ryan and I met in 7^th grade. Ryan and I became better friends in college and have stayed in touch. He’s a great guy friend. Someone who has proven to have really great morals and stands for who he is. Max is adorable and his wife Shelley is beautiful. They are expecting another boy any day.

Saturday in Seattle was the big reunion day. Jess, Alex and I went to breakfast with Danny at the Woodinville Café on Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon the sun came out again and Jessica and I had some girl time on the back deck sunning ourselves before the big night. Then … the big night. Ten years in the making … and unfortunately I was a little disappointed when it was all said and done. The venue for the reunion was at a bar in downtown Seattle that was also open to the public. It was dark and loud and there were a lot of people there we didn’t know so it was not conducive to catching up and reminiscing after 10 years which is really too bad. It was really great to see some old faces and see who has and hasn’t changed. I really wish some more of my girlfriends were there but it was great to chat with the few that did show. Wasn’t exactly my scene as the night went on but overall I am glad that I went.

Jessica and I before the reunion.

Ryan Sorensen and me.

Some old guy friends. Thanks Matt for wearing the classic Class of 2000 t-shirt!

Sarah, Jessica, me and Carly.

Lunch at Red Robin. Delicious!

The Woodland Park Zoo. So fun!

Thanks Jessica for making the weekend so much fun! Can't wait to see you and Alex again!

Bear Lake - July 2010

2010-09-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

The 3^rd weekend of July, Ryan and I hosted a bunch of friends up at the Lake House in Bear Lake. We definitely had a full house in a house that has 10 bedrooms. We got up there late Friday evening. Ryan, my parents and I had to stop to get all the groceries which took a lot longer than we thought when buying for 15 people. We were also pulling the boat which tends to make things slower as well. Friday night we all just hung around and chatted eating Adrienne’s delicious snickerdoodle cookies. I could sure use one of those right now. Not all the couples knew each other so it was good for everyone to get acquainted. Saturday we had a pancake breakfast and everyone slept in. We finally got out to the boat but the water was pretty choppy so we decided to go up Bloomington Canyon. Bloomington is a favorite activity we always do up at Bear Lake. The canyon is really pretty and there is a fun rope swing for those that are daring. The boys and a Jenna even decided to cliff jump! I was not daring or adventurous enough for either but I did finally get into the lake which is FREEZING! My chest literally was on fire for a good five minutes. I have never been in such cold water in my life. It was actually a good thing getting into the lake because when we got back to the house later that afternoon/evening I wakeboarding on great water and the lake felt really warm! Everyone thinks Bear Lake is freezing but ask the newbies like Rosie and Josh and they will tell you that it’s not that bad. Saturday evening we went into town and had a delicious Mexican meal at Café Sabor. It was really good and some of us even enjoyed a famous Bear Lake Raspberry shake – delish!

Sunday we started off the morning with breakfast burritos. The lake seemed a little bit calmer until that afternoon when a storm came through. Natalie, Madison (2 years old) and I were on a big circular raft when we started to drift fairly quick to the north. I turned to Natalie and asked “umm … I think the boat is moving as well!” Sure enough the X-45 mastercraft was headed North as well. Luckily Garrett was in a kayak and paddled out to the boat and saved the day! We made sure we tied ourselves after that to the dock and anchored the boat a lot better. After the storm passed we were able to do a little more wakeboarding and surprisingly I got really great water again. Bear Lake has the best water in the evenings if you can stand the water being a little cooler. Cold compared to Lake Powell but around the same temperature of the ocean in California. Getting out of the Lake House always takes a few hours. There are sheets to wash, 4-wheelers to clean off and boat toys to put away. We finally pulled away around 9 pm. What a great weekend but a ton of work playing hostess.

Layla the water dog saving the boys and brave girls after going off the rope swing. I am not one of those brave girls. Although I did get in the water this year and I have never felt anything so cold in my life. This was up Bloomington Canyon.

The Lake House.

The Ranger full of boys and Layla front and center.

The girls ... left to right - Jenna, Lori, Adrienne, Rosie, me, Natalie and Kim.

Hiking to the rope swing.

The marina at sun down. Beautiful huh?

Husband, wife # 1 and wife # 2. Love these two long time.

Work it Garrett and Nat. What a cute lil family!

Fun Island. We had to tie it to the dock because Natalie, Madison and I were in the middle of the lake before we knew it! Rosie, Lori and I having some girl talk.

Wakeboarding ... I had some great water ... for a minute.

Layla is obsessed with Ryan and starts to freak out when he wakeboards. She watches his every move and makes these high pitched crying noises.
Rosie, Kim and me. Loving the evening on the lake.

Kim got SOAKED ... on accident. Adrienne freaking out beside her.

The end. I will miss you Bear Lake in all your glory!

Zion ... on my top fav

2010-09-21T19:01:00.001-07:00

After 24 hours in Lake Powell Ryan and I loaded up and headed back up North and made a stop in Zion National Park. Last summer Ryan and I visited Zion and I fell in love. I posted on my blog at the beginning of the summer a few places I wanted to go and Powell and Zion were on that list. Before we left for Powell I researched a lot of hikes. When we got to Zion it was 106 degrees! It was sooo HOT! We went to the Back Country office and got permits for the next day to hike Orderville Canyon. That night Ryan and I slept in the camper in a bed and breakfast parking lot where we stayed last year but we couldn't get the camper air conditioning to work properly so we sweated to death all night. It was really miserable. It was horrible! We both didn't sleep too well but got up at 7:30 am to catch our shuttle. The shuttle took us an hour or so outside Zion and dropped us off in the middle of nowhere. All we knew about Orderville was that it's 13.5 miles and there was some repelling that would require some ropes. Luckily when we started out we met up with 4 other people who we stuck with the whole time and one of the guys had done this hike a handful of times before. We started the hike at 10 am and by 1 pm we dropped into the canyon and hit the water. The first repel was pretty tough ... 15ft or so. We had to do a few repels along the hike which was super fun. A little nerve racking but really exciting. The canyon walls were so high and beautiful. We were walking in and out of water and some as high as our waist. It was pretty amazing to say the least. By mile 10 we hit the famous NARROWS. Orderville Canyon intersects the narrows and for the last 3 miles you hike down the narrows back into the park. The Narrows is beautiful but very crowed. Fast flowing water with a lot of river rocks that are super slippery. After already hiking 10 miles the Narrows wasn’t as enjoying as I thought because we were so tired at this point. I kept turning around to look up stream to soak it all in. We finished the hike though … and it was pretty awesome so say the least. Hope the pictures prove that somewhat. Ryan and I drove part way home that evening stopping in Beaver at a truck stop to stay the night with 100+ other semis. It was a long adventurous weekend. I would love to go back to Powell or Zion anytime! Definitely worth it.

The Narrows. We finally made it! After 10 miles.

Ewwww. Ryan found a snake. Gross. To think they are in the water. Scary!

The waterfall repel.

In the water ... again. We were in the water a lot. It was awesome!

Hiking along and loving it!

The big repel. This one was kind of scary without being strapped in.

This was the beginning when we dropped into the canyon and now it's the end of the post! Goodbye Zion. I love you more than you will ever know!!!

Lake Powell - 3 down

2010-09-21T18:33:00.000-07:00

On June 24th Ryan and I headed out on a long road trip. First stop ... Roosevelt, UT to pick up Ryan's parents camper, trailer, toy hauler ... whatever you want to call it. Estimated time ... 2.5 hours. Next stop somewhere in the middle of Utah. Ryan and I left Roosevelt about 7:30 pm or so and drove about 4 hours until we got too tired to Junction, Utah. We pulled over on the side of the road by a park and crawled into the back of the trailer and went to sleep. Woke up around 7:30 am and headed the rest of the way to Lake Powell. We went through my favorite town of Kanab, UT. and got into Powell around 10:30 am. We met up with our 4 friends from Arizona for 2 days of fun in the sun in Powell. I have not been to Powell since 2003 in my college days so I was looking forward to the return. We met up with 8 month pregnant Bonnie and her husband Kamon Farmer who are our really close friends from AZ as well as Ed and Heidi Smith. The Smith's towed their Malibu and therefore we were set. The water at Lake Powell was AMAZING. So warm and so smooth. I loved it! The first day the weather wasn't so great but we spent all day Saturday on the water and it was super nice. We even made it all the way to Rainbow Bridge. Glen Canyon is amazing ... so beautiful. I had no idea because back in 2003 we didn't go up the canyon and this trip we spent hours up and down the canyon. It was awesome. I got some good wakeboarding and surfing time in. Ryan did AWESOME surfing. He was able to throw the rope back in and ride the wake. It was really cool. Lake Powell was awesome. Such a good time and can’t wait to go back again!

Ry... oh yeah!

The girls ...

The gang ...

Rainbow Arch. We finally made it!

Surfing USA ... don't get the song stuck in your head like I just did!

The boys ... in the boat.

Ry was AWESOME at surfing. Look how cool the water looks!

The ups and downs of this economy...

2010-09-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

So Christi went out and found a job that she really really liked, I was so proud of her. She was working for peanuts but really liked it. I have to applaud those people who find something they like and go and do it. A month goes by and what happens... she was laid off. Thing is she was doing great, she was really doing well with sales and bringing business to the company but some internal things (nothing to do with her at all nor her performance) happened and she was gone. I feel so bad for her. The one thing I did do was marry a trooper, She has bounced back and is networking like crazy and is pulling down some great leads... that's my girl. She is also interested in going out on her own. She has the talent to do it, she'll eventually be a really really good designer and very successful.

As for me (Ryan) I'm doing my own thing. I work for a company called Trimingham Capital. We structure deals and get people money. We make businesses grow. I have to admit, I really love it. It's fun, exciting and extremely stressful. My boss recently told me, we are the fighter pilots of the business world. Everyone else just flies bombers and cargo planes. Kind of an awesome analogy. I also have a blog that I'm doing to reveal my true roots, it is a precursor to a website I'll launch. thecountryboyliving.blogspot.com and the website will be www.countryboyliving.com. Anyway, this is what the economy does to you... makes you do things you never thought you'd do... but in the end are very grateful you did.

Quick update

2010-07-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

Christi and I have done quite a few things... she'll expound and post pics but here is the gist. Lake Powell, Orderville Canyon in Zion, I climbed Ibapah Peak in the Deep Creek Mountains in the west desert in Utah. We met our friends from Phoenix at Powell, had a blast and surfed like crazy. Went over to Zion National Park and got a permit for a back country hike, Orderville Canyon. It was awesome. We had three repels and decended through waterfalls etc... 13.5 miles, great time! Then I went with a mission buddy and we did a two day backpacking trip and climbed the peak (12,087 feet). We went to Bear Lake a couple of weekends ago and had a bunch of friends up there with us. We did the rope swing at Bloomington Lake, cliff jumped there... basically just have tried to live it up. Christi will explain more. Back to work!

The Swell ... one down!

2010-07-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

San Rafael Swell

On the weekend of June 18^th Ryan, Spencer, Layla and I packed up and headed out to the south east desert of Utah. On our way out I got a call from our good friend Michelle telling us the nats were horrible in the San Rafael Swell which was not what we wanted to hear. We decided to go for it anyway and see if we could deal with it. The crazy thing was is when I checked the weather report that morning it showed Windy for Saturday which I thought was so odd because no other days were Windy. It turned out to really work in our favor! It totally kept the nats away on Saturday on our hike. We got to the Swell late Friday night as the sun was going down which worked out great too because the nats were also going to bed. We got camp set up and ate delicious tin foil dinners brought to you by yours truly. That is actually making me hungry as we speak or it was the fact that I just texted Natalie about eating burgers and shakes next weekend in Bear Lake. Either way we got camp set up and it was a beautiful night. The stars were amazing! The weather was perfect. We took some Benadryl and were off to bed after our peanut butter recess cup smores. I think we all slept pretty decent. Saturday morning we did awake though to attack of the nats. Our mosquito nets for our heads and our homemade nat repellent didn’t really help … they were crazy like Michelle said so we packed up camp asap. We then headed to Goblin Valley State Park. Ryan visited once as a child. Spencer and I thought all the goblins were great and he enjoyed being the photographer. We explored the park for about an hour or so and it was nat free which was great. We then drove out of the park to the trail head of Little Wild Horse and Bell Canyon. Michelle suggested this slot canyon hike. I knew going into it that it was going to be 8 miles but we didn’t expect it to take as long as it did. We took the loop and headed up Bell Canyon first which was great because coming down Little Wild Horse was gorgeous. The slot canyon was really amazing. The sandstone walls were so high and close together. Layla loved it and was such a trooper because the terrain is really hard on her paws. The canyon was pretty dry for the most part but we definitely needed our water shoes and Layla definitely loved the water. Let’s just say she was orange for the next few days. The hike was great, rough when we were exposed for a few miles during the noon day sun but for sure an experience that was well worth it. After our long hike we got back to the trail head and decided to drive south west through Capital Reef. It was great because there was enough day light to see the amazing red rocks in this beautiful National Park. Although we didn’t explore the sites in Capital Reef we got a good glance at the greatness the park offers. We needed to get to the next town and make sure we could get a camping spot for Saturday night. We found the PERFECT spot! It was called RV Wonderland in Torrey, UT … and we found a great grassy camping area that came with usage of the showers. It was exactly what we needed after roughing it the first night and hiking ten miles total during the day. We all got a chance to take a nice warm shower and we roasted hot dogs for dinner with a delicious raspberry cobbler for dessert. I think we all slept pretty decent that night as well. Poor Layla was so tired and orange she could barely walk the next morning at first. We packed up again and headed for home. We went North up through some small towns and Manti. I have never been to Manti and the temple was gorgeous. We got home Sunday evening only 48 hours later which seemed like we were gone forever. It was a great camping trip though and a spot worth exploring again!

Goblin Valley State Park

Little Wild Horse Slot Canyon

It was a tight squeeze with water below.

Capital Reef

Our second night of camping and Layla as orange soda.

The beautiful Manti, UT temple.

He's 31 folks ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!

2010-06-06T23:07:00.000-07:00

Ryan is 31 today ... since it's officially after midnight. He is now a year into his 30's ... pretty crazy eh? Ryan is the love of my life, my best friend, my partner in crime, my provider, my protector and one day the father of our kids. No baby yet ... just sayin. Ryan loves sports! He is obsessed with the Red Sox and BYU football. He loves anything manly. My dad says he is a 10 on the man scale. Ryan shares the same birthday as Bear Grylls which he is very proud of. Ryan is very proud of his Scottish heritage and wants a kilt for his birthday. Really? He also wants to participate in the Highland Games at Thanksgiving Point next weekend. Ryan is super active. He loves the outdoors and last summer killed a rattlesnake and ate some of it - GROSS! Ryan enjoys playing basketball on Wednesday nights, hiking with Layla, taking Layla to the dog park, swimming with Layla, taking naps with Layla (you get the hint ... he LOVES Layla), hunting, watching any sports, likes CSI type shows, Chuck, Man vs. Wild, Myth Busters, and LOVES movies. Ryan also likes to read books and magazines like Outside and Men's Journal. Ryan loves mowing the lawn. Ryan loves to wear his cowboy boots and he loves spending time at Cabelas and the Nike outlet. He loves backpacks, knives, and all kind of gadgets. Ryan likes to grill on the BBQ and he loves black licorice. Ryan speaks 3 languages, 4 including English. He is great at drawing which is a hidden talent. He likes to play guitar hero and attempts singing when playing Rock Band. Ryan recently got into skiing this past winter and fell in LOVE with it. He is hooked. Ryan is a great friend to his brother Brandon and loves helping his parents when we go to visit. Ryan can be intense but overall loves to have a good time. Ryan is a renaissance man, a one of a kind and I am lucky to call him mine. Happy Birthday BEAR ... I love you!

Splash Dogs!

2010-06-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

As I mention in the next post … Layla is totally spoiled and for that reason we took her on Saturday to the Dog Days at Thanksgiving Point. It was an absolute gorgeous day and we had such a fun time. I think she thought it was the best day of her life and I’m pretty sure she thought it was Lagoon for dogs. She competed in a Splash Dogs competition where she would jump off the ramp as far as she could into a pool. She loved it. She went nuts for it … but she needs to learn to just run and jump. She would run as fast as she could down the ramp, STOP, look and then jump. She loves it though and understood right away where she needed to go to get out of the pool. Meanwhile I felt bad for the other dog owners whose dogs wouldn’t jump or after they did jump had no clue how to get out of the pool. Layla is smart which makes training really easy. Next we tried her on the Lure Course where they chased a fake squirrel looking thing and she went even crazier. She loved it. She would go through the course in 14 seconds while other dogs were so confused and their owners had to run the whole thing with them. It was pretty funny. We had a great time watching the dogs do the events. It was a great day for my dad, Ryan and I to just enjoy the sunshine and all the fun pup activities. I think Layla’s found her calling in life. Notice how she went from a lot of fur to a skinny poodle girl. Yeah … she had to get her summer puppy cut. We love her long fur but she is so much more manageable in the summer with it short.

Happy Birthday Layla!

2010-06-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

No one will ever understand what joy this (not so little) goldendoodle has brought into our lives. For that reason she is totally spoiled. Most of our friends have kids now … so they don’t really get it and think we are pathetic. But that is okay … Layla fills our lives every day with tons of love and she was the best purchase we’ve ever made. Layla turned two on May 29, 2010. We celebrated when we were in Roosevelt, UT for Memorial Day weekend. It was a great weekend filled with family and sunshine. Avery AKA Roobie (my little ten month old niece) is almost walking and is such a fun and happy baby. It was good to spend some time with her and the rest of the family. Ryan, Brandon, Becky and I played Rock Band and it was actually really fun. I totally embarrassed myself by being the lead singer but it was a good time. Thanks Layla for being the best dog anyone could ask for. All the money has been worth it and we would do it again for sure!

The birthday girl!

Layla got a backpack and we can't wait to go hiking!

Places I long to visit ...

2010-05-17T19:29:00.000-07:00

When I was younger my parents took us to a lot of places. Like Zion and Bryce Canyon and as a teenager I wasn't a fan. I wanted to be at an amusement park or the beach. Can you blame me? These days it's different. I really want to go to the following places so bad! I am going to try and make it to a few this summer. Hopefully Ryan wants to come. Please let me know if you would like to join Ryan and I on our adventures!

The Wave - outside Kanab, UT. I love, love, love Kanab! Not sure why, but I do.

Mt. Timpanogas - pretty much in the backyard of Utah Valley. I've been wanting to hike this for years. Maybe this will be the year?

Lake Powell. We hope to make this trip soon ... in June! Yeah for the Smiths and Farmers!

Bryce Canyon National Park - also one I would like to go back and visit since Christi at age 14 didn't enjoy it, Christi at age 28 will!

Capital Reef. Ryan says he's been a long time ago. And we've heard it's pretty cool.

Moab. I went summer of 2001 with some friends in college and another time as I recall and seriously want to go back again. Maybe float down the poo river again? AKA The Green River.

The Narrows in Zion National Park. This is on the top of my list. I REALLY want to do this. Like RIGHT NOW.

The Grand Canyon. My cousins are hiking this next Monday. All 21 miles down and across. I am dying to go with them. If only there was room in the car.

Havasupai ... oh how I long to go here. Ryan has been twice and I still need to figure out if we can get there anytime soon. Amazing I hear it is.

......................................................................................

There has to be some more awesome places out there that I've missed. Right Michelle? I need some suggestions on places we can take Layla because I don't think she can come to most of these. I also really want to do some river rafting. Pretty much I want to do a lot of hiking, camping, mountain biking and boating. I'm dying for summer. Please come!

A long spring and one LONG paragraph

2010-05-16T22:17:00.000-07:00

I must get better at updating. I love reading other blogs and I suck at writing in my journal but I just need a place to disperse my thoughts. Most of you probably won’t take the time to read the following post and I don’t blame you. But I just have to get it out and I realized cutting and pasting half my thoughts would be lame so this post is long. Since February … well … I guess some big events have occurred. I graduated. Yes … I got my Associates Degree from LDS Business College in Interior Design. Graduation and my big portfolio event came and went so fast it was bittersweet and almost anticlimactic. Real life I thought was about to set in … but really it’s just confusing, slow and yet still very overwhelming. Let me explain the portfolio event. On April 8^th I competed against 40 or so of my fellow classmates in a competition where we showcased our finest work. Everything we went to school for over the past 18 months came down to this final event. Each student received an area that was 60” x 40”. We set up on Wednesday night and let me just say it was a family affair. All hands were on deck that night, husbands, moms, dads, boyfriends, etc. I wanted to make a reality show about the big event set up. Display booths were created of all size and caliber to see. All two years came down to this moment as it seemed and at this event we displayed our work for judges, classmates, students, friends and family. I worked hard on my display. I wanted to put forth my best effort and be proud of myself but I wasn’t concerned about winning. It would be nice of course … but why put that sort of pressure on myself when I was surrounded with such amazing talent at school? So I did what I did … and the big day came. As I am sitting in my bed typing this I still am not sure how that came and went, what a whirlwind. I am now sitting outside on the deck because I realized I couldn’t waste such a beautiful day inside. Okay ... so I convinced myself repeatedly before the big event that I wasn’t going to win (again, I was totally okay with this, I was just happy to be done) and I had a coveted internship secured so I just kept reminding myself that my talents would be shown in other ways. I still believe this is the case but on the big night my name was announced as taking 2^nd place in the Residential Category. I was absolutely shocked and thrilled at the same time. There were two categories, commercial and residential where you could win 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd. I was so surprised in that moment it’s a little hard to remember but I do recall walking up to receive my award. I had a bouquet of flowers already in hand from my in-laws which I should have handed off but again, in the moment you just don’t really think. Before I knew it I was back surrounded by my family and was trying to hold the tears back. I remember looking at my mother and she started to cry but she says I started to cry. Again, crazy moments do weird things to you. Ryan’s parents, sister and my niece were there for support. They barely made the big winning announcement. They drove all the way out from Roosevelt (2.5 hours) prior to the event and Ryan’s mom had to be in a wheelchair from an ankle injury the day before. She called the night before and said she wasn’t sure if she was going to make it. I told Ryan I didn’t want to guilt trip her into being there but I really wanted her there. Honestly, this day ranked up there in importance with graduation, my wedding, etc. It was a big, BIG deal to me even though I thought I would walk out of there without winning, I still wanted the support of my family and friends. My grandparents who hardly EVER get out came with my aunt and cousin Alicia to the event. They are nearing their 90’s and live an hour away. I was thrilled they came and everyone was surprised. Natalie and Garrett, Curtis and my friend Megan also attended. Curtis asked me “Christi, you are really talented. Why don’t you ever talk about this?” To my reply … “would you even really understand or care if I did?” I guess I never really want to bore anyone with the details. Garrett and Natalie understood pretty well. Garrett was my lifesaver and helped me put together my portfolio book. I lined up a graphic designer who bailed at the last second and Garrett took on the task although he was underpaid but NOT under appreciated. I truly couldn’t have done it without him and his graphic design expertise. It was fun to spend some time with him and Natalie during my major time of stress. It made life a little more enjoyable during that time. My parents, Richard and Spencer were also at the event and of course my husband Ryan. To be honest I couldn’t have completed the school program without a lot of people in my life. As a lot of you know Ryan and I have been living at my parent’s house since July 2008. A lot longer than expected but life has decided to take a different course for us for a while. For 18 months my mother lived with a kitchen and dining room in a state of complete chaos. Books, t-squares, fabric, glue guns, foam core, markers, etc. scattered to and fro. Seriously … this interior design program took up a lot of space, not to mention time and money. My mom was so gracious to let me constantly have my stuff out and she finally said “take one room!” And so I did. I spread out all over the dining room and sometimes I still spread into the kitchen. I needed this area to do everything at any and all hours of the day. My mom and Ryan share the award for most valuable players. Ryan spent a lot of time cutting foam core for me. I had to mount and wrap fabrics around it and he was amazing at cutting it. He says he hated every minute of it but I’ve tried to tell him that it would have been impossible for me to finish the program without him. He also had to help me when it came to drawing in 3D. Perspective drawing was NOT my talent and another reason I didn’t think I would place in the portfolio competition. There were girls in the program that could draw so well! I was and still am so jealous of their talent. Seriously … amazing they all are. Ryan definitely had to teach me and help me understand the principles behind perspective drawing. He also would give me his opinion when I needed it on fabric selection or placement of items on my colorboards. Although he made it clear most of the time he didn’t care. I give him lot of credit for it, thank you Ryan. I truly appreciate all your love and support. My mom also helped me with a lot of fabric selection, picking out tile and paint colors, etc. I would say “Mom, let’s play interior designer” and we would sit down and discuss the possibilities of my project. Without these two I seriously don’t know how I would have survived the program. Most people think “interior design huh? Picking out paint colors, fluffing pillows, right?” WRONG. Seriously I only went to school for two years and most programs are four years. I don’t know how those girls do it. If it was my first degree I think I could survive four years but two years was good enough for me. This program was intense and is known at the business college to be pretty time consuming. We spend a lot of time on the 7^th and 8^th floor at the college. That is just putting it lightly. My days at school sometimes never ended. I was up until 3 am multiple nights. I even gave up facebook because it was taking too much time out of my day. I’m a social butterfly so I blame myself mostly for that. But I did make sure I made sure I gave myself time for the gym. I didn’t really workout the first year of the program and that was a big mistake. It was good for me to go on hikes with Layla and go running or go to my lifting classes when things got so busy. I needed that time to distress and breathe again. There were also a few friends at school in the program that I couldn’t have done it without as well. Adrienne, Lori and Jenna “adopted” me into their circle of friends at the end of the school year in 2009. They were the best group of friends I could have ever asked for at the business college. Considering I went back to school at the age of 26 you would think I would be the older one in the program but our graduating class on 2010 was quite unique. A few of us had returned to school with degrees from BYU. Others had started different programs before graduating, some were moms, some were the same age as my mom and some were young and 18. We had a few boys in the program and one became a good friend of mine. The 3 girls were exactly the kind of friends l needed going through the program. We tried to do things outside of school as well to get away from the grind. One of the activities consisted of ice skating for my first time. Other times we went to dinner and celebrated birthdays. They weren’t the only friends at school though that were and still are special. There were a few others. I hope you know who you are! Thanks to all of those that made the dream of a degree in Interior Design possible! Ryan’s family also probably hated me during school. I could never come out for a weekend visit without hauling at my supplies. But I did what I had to do and it was no easy task. So needless to say the night I placed at the competition was amazing. After the event we went out to dinner at Arella’s in Bountiful, one of my new favorite places to eat. That night I came home and the next day repeatedly asked my mom and Ryan, “did that just really happen?” I really couldn’t comprehend it. I still don’t think I can. So I think that’s what brings me to today. In a funk. I thought I would snap out of it by now. How can I possibly be in a funk after all the greatness I just experienced? Graduation was on April 15^th and it was pretty special as well but after the ceremony it was all done. Over, done, nothing. Empty would be the word I am feeling. Confused on where to go next. Curious for the future. I’ve been feeling a lot of feelings for the past 4 weeks. Trying to sort them all out in my head and none of them really making any sense. So I’m really not sure where that leads me but it has got to change. I don’t like going from such a high to such a weird complacency. Spring has taken awhile to arrive here in Salt Lake and that might be part of the problem. I also got sick with some weird strep throat/weird mouth thing that took two weeks out of me. I don’t know if getting sick has contributed to the funk that I’m in but I am committed to getting out of it. I have a great internship that I need to take full advantage of and just live life in the moment and not worry about the next steps. I need to make a list of all the things I’ve been wanting to do and just go do it. If you know my situation you realize money is tight so that will be a little problem but I am going to do my best to push through whatever I am feeling and just live. I am a planner and I realize that in my current situation I just have to forget the future and live in the present. This summer hosts a few big events for me. Its 2010 which means it has officially been 10 years since I graduated high school. I really don’t know where the time has gone at all! Seriously … ten years. Really? Okay … well since I moved from WA to CO when I was 16 a lot of the people who I still consider my good friends still live in Washington. I have decided with some asking of friends that I should do my best to attend the Inglemoor High school Class of 2010 reunion on July 31^st. I am not sure if this will happen for sure but I would really like to go. I would also like to attend Air Academy’s reunion sometime in August. Ryan and I plan on going to Lake Powell with some friends and there is a whole host of other things I would like to do which I will write about in my next entry. For the time being though … it’s all about living in the now. Trying to enjoy every day to the fullest. Ryan and I went running on Saturday with Layla. It was awesome. The weather was perfect and it was just great to be out in the sun. I hope to run more but I will have to work on getting up earlier before it gets too hot. Things might not be going exactly how I have planned but I am going to do my best again to just love what I have going on right now and just be happy and content.

We seem to be going through a period of nostalgia, and everyone seems to think yesterday was better than today. I don't think it was, and I would advise you not to wait ten years before admitting today was great. If you're hung up on nostalgia, pretend today is yesterday and just go out and have one hell of a time. ~Art Buchwald

No yesterdays are ever wasted for those who give themselves to today. ~Brendan Francis

Having spent the better part of my life trying either to relive the past or experience the future before it arrives, I have come to believe that in between these two extremes is peace. ~Author Unknown

Opportunities fly by while we sit regretting the chances we have lost, and the happiness that comes to us we heed not, because of the happiness that is gone. ~Jerome K. Jerome, The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, 1889

The living moment is everything. ~D.H. Lawrence

Me in front of my "area" at the portfolio event

Me, Jenna, Adrienne and Lori - miss you girls!

Graduation Day! April 15, 2010!

We are still here ...

2010-02-21T23:01:00.001-08:00

Yes, we are alive. Sometimes I don't think so since I "deactivated" my facebook account. I definitely wasn't one of those crazy people that updated my status multiple times a day but I did find myself checking my account a few times a day and I was just getting annoyed with myself. I have too much to do in order to graduate in 7 weeks so I decided it was time to FOCUS. Don't worry though, I have plenty of other things that I have been wasting my time on. I started a blog ... www.christilukedesign.blogspot.com. Check it out. Hopefully as I build my clientele it will get more interesting. Ryan is in the process of getting his concealed weapons permit and took a class on Saturday. He feels like he is exercising his constitutional right to bear arms. On the other extreme end he took me to the BALLET on Friday! We saw Swan Lake. Ry has a friend who got us great seats. It was quite the experience seeing all those men in TIGHT tights. Ryan definitely thinks he's done with the ballet but I think I would go again for sure. It was a little long but we were really impressed with the production overall. In January we went to Arizona and stayed with our friends the Farmers and as always had a GREAT weekend. Bonnie is pregnant with a GIRL and we are super excited for them. The weather was great and we took two really fun hikes. I also got to spend an evening with Victoria and April, love you girls. If I actually updated more this blog would be more concise and in chronological order but I guess this is what you get from me when I am seriously a stress-ball trying to complete my portfolio for graduation. CRAZY! Time has flown. Layla is great. I am sure some of you were wondering. She keeps us entertained daily. Didn't love her so much though when she ate my Valentine gifts for Ry and the family. Hope she was happy after two donuts and a cookie. Hope all our friends and family are doing great out there. Love and miss you!

And we're back ...

2009-12-27T22:02:00.000-08:00

Guess who's back back? Back again ...

It's me. Yes ... Christine Marie Luke. Ryan and I are in Roosevelt. It's Sunday night, 11:03 pm. I am bored so I turn to my favorite pastime - facebook. Ryan hates facebook so he goes for his favorite pastime - his IPOD. I decide to check blogs and realize ours has not been updated in months and realize that if I want updates from friends, I must also update. So here I am.

So ... 2009 has been an interesting year. Some of you know there has definitely been some tough times. But Ryan and I figure if we can survive this last year, we can hopefully get through anything. Regardless ... I am soooo grateful for our health!!! I always seem to get sick every year and knock on wood we have survived so far! I am sure it's still out to get me but as for now we are healthy and therefore I am SO happy. That is a major blessing in itself.

Ryan and I have spent the holidays back and forth between SLC and good old freezing Roosevelt where the low tonight will be -18. Aren't we lucky? Layla doesn't seem to mind it. She loves the cold and we can often find her outside laying in the snow. Ryan and I have enjoyed the snow a few times this month. Once making a snowman which Layla decided she would bark at 3 hours later after she forgot we made it, and another time sledding on Christmas day with 2 of my brothers. We also like to hike in the hills behind my parents house. When the nasty inversion is not in full effect we like to take advantage of those snowy hills as well.

School got out for me on Dec. 9th and I have been enjoying the time off. I go back January 11th and so far that time is approaching WAY too fast. I am not ready for the madness to begin again. Although Ryan and I are BOTH looking forward to eating healthy again. Too many treats for us. I am a sucker for anything NOT good for me. I have enjoyed it but my body is looking forward to less calories and more healthy foods. But for sure I will be enjoying it for the next few days. There is still too many tempting tasty treats around.

Christmas was nice. We spent the 24th and 25th with the Galovans (my family) in North Salt Lake and all my brothers were present. Yesterday (the 26th) Ryan and I came out here (to Roosevelt) where I am in my present state of laying around and eating food. What I really need to do is scrapbook but I have no motivation. I need to find it ... fast! I need to take advantage of this free time that I will not have once school starts up again. I graduate in April though - WOOT WOOT. It will be an Associates Degree in Interior Design which might not be worth as much on paper as my Bachelor Degree from BYU in Communications, I can definitely say I have worked my butt off for this. There were many late nights. And I could not have done it without Ryan. He has helped me SOOO much! The program really is so intense. I have made some great friends though in the process. They help me survive as well. Back to Christmas though ... it has been nice being able to spend time with both families. We are lucky to have such wonderful parents and siblings. VERY lucky. Our parents have helped us out a lot this last year and we want them to know grateful we are for them. We love you!

Layla still consumes our life. She is such a GREAT DOG. Seriously the best. She is 100% spoiled and loved by all. Right Curtis? Kamon? and maybe a few others out there? She keeps us active and has introduced us to a whole new world of being dog owners. She is quite expensive though. She gets priority on the grooming appointments. I just have my mom cut my hair these days - SAD! She is very expensive but we wouldn't trade it for anything. If I'm not at school, on facebook, or at the gym you will most likely find her sitting on my lap or cuddling with me. World's best cuddler by far ... and if you aren't convinced I'll send you some testimonials from other happy customers.

Ryan and I are hoping for a major vacation in 2010. We thought a cruise, Europe, a quick trip to AZ. Nothing planned yet but hopefully something will get on the calendar. We definitely need some time to ourselves outside of my parents house and UT. We are being patient though. But very hopeful.

Thanks again 2009 for bringing some ups and downs. Most of all though we are grateful again to our parents and friends that have stuck by our sides. A lot of you know I love to keep in contact with old friends and it means a lot for those friends that have kept in touch with us. I hope you know who you are because your friendship means a lot! We hope to have more updates in 2010. Updates full of good news and healthiness.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I passed

2009-10-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

So I just wanted to keep everyone updated about what happened. I passed the Phase II test for the FBI and they gave me a contingent offer. I found out on Monday that I had passed which was a releif. I thought I was going to get a phone call from the Agent here in SLC, but I got an email instead... I saw it and thought I hadn't passed, after reading it 3 x's I finally figured it out. Then I had my physical fitness test on Thursday. Here's the thing. I had done all of the exercises and done really well, when I did them individually (we were allowed 5 min. rest between events). I arrived at 7:15 am at East High School and we started off by doing sit ups... not my strong suit. I knocked out 44 in a minute, these guys were sticklers on form! Then the 300 meter sprint, this is where I was going to do well. I ran it in 41 seconds... my best time (and if I might brag a little... not that it's an accomplishment, but the best time there out of 13 applicants). I had to laugh, not bad for a white guy not in the Olympics! Then the push-ups. The agent that was watching me was also a stickler, no, anal retentive about the form. She docked 5 pushups from me. I only finished w/ 39, all the way up and all the way down. I was hurting at this point. Then the 1.5 mile. Ouch... lets just say that everyone else was hurting too, noone was cooking. I had the 4th fastest time there, and I was very pedestrian. I didn't want it to be close so I tried to sprint at the end and passed a guy in front of me. I took a few more steps, leaned over and the agent said to me "keep walking, blow it out" then I puked... and he said "oh... that's why you are bent over"... then I puked again. I cannot remember the last time I puked. This was hilarious... I laughed afterwords because I felt soooo much better, if I could have done it before the run it would have made a difference. The agent had told us that he was proud of another guy who passed a few months ago, because he "puked his way to qualifying". I was that guy on Thursday... there you go, it wasn't pretty but I passed. Moving on with the process.

Quick shout out

2009-10-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

Hey, just wanted to to let everyone know we are still alive and well. (This is Ryan btw, Christi said she was going to take care of the blogging but she hasn't done so well this last month). So what's new since our last post... well BYU lost it's shot at a natl championship run, ugh, we are really white on defense. I've been to Roosevelt to "get my head right" going into the final testing for the FBI which for me is on Oct. 8th. I'm excited, I've been working hard to get things ready for it, I hope it pays off. It would be an incredible honor to be a G-Man. My brother adn I went spelunking and found nothing, but it was a good experience.

SLC got it's first snow of the season... it really saddens me because I hate winter, you'd think that I'd be a ski bum or something but nope, I love the warm weather. The world is struggling still, Samoa just got hit by a big 'ol tsunami... good people, it's terrible to have that happen to them.

I went scouting for elk w/ an old mission buddy, that was fun, we didn't see a dang thing but just being out there was fun. I would love to go elk hunting but not sure if it's going to happen.

The colors in Utah are amazing. C, Layla and I went hiking in Logan canyon to to the Wind Caves... there were explosions of colors everywhere! It's amazing, I love fall for the football, the colors the nice sleeping weather but that's it.

Christi wants everyone to know that she went wakeboarding on Bear Lake Sept. 26... she thinks it's some kind of record... LOL... yeah, we all went that day dear.

I think I'd really like to take up photography, I may have said this before but I had thought about majoring in art but saw that there was no money in it, but I still have an eye for it. It'd be fun to get some great shots and start a little gallery.

I'm really into the southern rock thing right now. In my opinion it's the only true rock out there, not much much else out there that's being made that's worth listening to. Who are some of the bands you may ask... well Skynyrd, The Black Crowes, The Zac Brown Band and Cracker to name a few... check 'em out, you'll like em.

Christi has been so busy w/ school that I really don't have much to say for her. She tries hard and does a good job. She'll probably post some pics later on.

That's all I've got, nothing too exciting....