A bicycle built for two

Casey and I spend quite a bit of time in southern California so we've pretty much done every activity there is to do down there except for tandem bike riding. So for our 6 month anniversary I surprised him by renting a tandem bike. We spent the afternoon riding around Balboa and along the beach. We had a blast but only once we figured out our balance point.

If you know Casey then you know that he is a crazy driver and unfortunatley for me he treated our bike the same as a car. The picture above captures my true expression about his bike skills. We did try me in the front but for some reason Casey couldn't handle not stearing so he would try to stear from the back. That led to lots of swerving and near crashes so I gave up the front.

Who can pass up a Balboa bar? Not us. Since I was riding in the back I thought I could eat my bar while we were riding - I was wrong! It is a lot harder than it looks. The wind kept blowing off the top layer. When we stopped I had ice cream all over me.

At one point Casey thought it would be nice to let me do all the pedaling. He said I needed a good work out. So he put his feet up in the front and let me do all the work. He got a lot of funny comments along the way such as "Way to let the woman work. All you need is a 6 pack and some chips". You gotta love men:)

Casey with our sweet ride!

This was at the very end and as you can tell I'm more comfortable riding with him or I'm really good at faking it!

Apple of my eye

When Casey came home and asked if I wanted to go to a teacher luncheon I was excited because that meant I got to leave the home office and mingle with adults. But my excitment doubled when he told me that he was getting an award at the luncheon. Yes, it is true, Casey received the prestigious Golden Apple Award. To be honest, I'm shocked that he hadn't received the award sooner because he consistently puts so much time and effort into teaching. I'm extremely proud of him and feel lucky to be his wife.

Okay, I can't pass up the opportunity to share a story about Casey even if he ends up hating me. Casey is a very popular teacher and everyone here in Orem treats him just like a Rockstar. For example, I went to an event at the school and I had a 4th grade girl come up to me and ask if I was Mr. Robles' wife. When I said "yes" she got excited, flapped her hands and quickly said "it was nice to meet you" before running off to tell her friends that she met Mr. Robles' wife. At the same event two families were fighting over who Mr. Robles should sit with. So to keep it fair he split his time between the two families. That is only one example and trust me there are plenty more to share. I have to admit that sometimes it is a bit awkward going to activities at the school because everyone wants to hug or talk to Mr. Robles. I'm pretty much his shadow but I'm okay with that because I love to see him shine.

Principal, Casey, Me, PTA President, and Assistant Principal


Here's a video clip of him receiving the award. If you listen hard you'll hear all the wonderful things they said about him.

Thanks Ron and Sue for sending the delicious fruit basket.

Family Vacation in St. George

My family (minus a few members) met in St.George on Easter weekend. We decided a few months earlier that it would be fun to get together and go somewhere warm in the spring. We lucked out because the weather was nice except for Saturday morning. Our weekend was filled with lots of hiking, game playing, and family quality time. We had a blast and can't wait for next years family vacation.

Our big hike was Angels Landing which from far away doesn't seem too intense but once you get upclose you start to question yourself. It was a good work out the whole way up but what probably helped us get to the top was Casey and Levi's funny comments. Probably one of the most killer parts of the hike were the neverending switchbacks. Just when we thought we were finished we realized there were more. The real challenge to this hike was the last 1/2 mile which was shear rock on both sides with only a few ropes to hold onto (photo below). I'd liked to think that I wasn't the only one hoping that we'd turn back. My dad, Levi, Riki, Casey and I started the last 1/2 mile with the intention of only going a little ways. We made a pack that if anyone at any point felt uncomfortable or wanted to turn back that we all would. That never happened because all of us are competitive and wanted to say that we finished the hike. I do have to admit that there were times that I felt like giving up.

The brave finishers!
Thanks to our awesome gorilla (camera tripod that wraps around anything) we were able to get a picture of all of us at the top of Angels Landing.


A view of the valley from the very top

Casey risking his life for no good reason! Between him and Riki we had multiple heart attacks at the top. Both of them had no fear of falling off the edge or at least that is the vibe they were putting off.

Riki standing as close to the edge as possible. At one point she was jumping up and down.

Casey wanting me to smile along this terrifying hike. How could I smile when I was peeing my pants? And, yes we were on a flat surface but only for that minute. The rest of the way was straight up.

Casey and I taking a breather along the hike up.


Karen hiding in a crack and scaring people as they went by. Okay, so she never actually scared anyone because she's too nice but it would have been hilarious if she would have. No one could see her in that little crack.


Casey and I at the end of the hike. Tired but thrilled we completed it!

Guys go golfing while the women stay back and clean

As the family vacation was coming to a close, the guys felt it was only right to go and hit up 9 holes of golf before calling an end to the trip. We left in plenty of time to play 9 holes and be back in time to help finish the clean-up. If it wasn't for the many minutes used to look for balls that landed no where near the fairway we would have made it. We were cutting it so close to the time we were to check out, we got a call from the wives wondering if we were ever coming back.

I must apologize to my father for my horrible golf game (is it even possible to have a golf game if you never play?) I also must apologize to any of the guys who may have possibly heard a curse word resulting from my frustration on not being able to hit a ball. One last thing, I am thankful there was no enforcement of the rule if you can't hit it past the woman's tee.


Anyone looking at this photo is probably critique the crap out of it. I am willing to take free lessons from anyone that wants to give them to me.


Ryanne's brother-in-law Chad. Sorry I let our team down. I know how it feels to be put on a team and have your teammate suck. Sorry you got stuck with me.


Ryanne's dad, Scott. Thanks for the golf carts. It wouldn't have been that bad to walk the 9 holes but adding all the extra ball hunting miles, I'm glad we had the carts.


Ryanne's sister Riki's common law lover (sorry I was not sure on the label), Levi. I'm pretty sure Levi went and hit balls a few times prior to arriving in St. George. It's was very evident on the score card.

The Happiest Birthday on Earth

For Ryanne's birthday we decided to spend it at the happiest place on earth. We could not think of a better place to spend it then here. One added bonus, Ryanne got a free ticket into the park and a birthday pin. For those of you that are not aware of the power of the birthday pin, here's what you have been missing: as cast members pass you by they will say "Happy Birthday," as random people pass you by they too will wish you a happy birthday. But the best perk of the button happens over in California Adventure at the Mission Tortila Factory where they will give you a bag of a dozen tortilas for your birthday. Unfortunately the free pass is for one park and never made it to California Adventure.
We decided to take a pictures of the signs of all the rides we went on and if possible, take a picture of us on the ride. Here, in order, are the rides we went on:

We started off with her favorite ride which just so happens to be my favorite ride too.

Try as hard as she can she is just not the Space Ranger that I am.

It's scary in there. All those ghosts and especially the floating orb with the ladies head in it with random instruments playing. . . . get me out!

We decided to shake off the fear from the Haunted Mansion
and take on the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness.

It was so hot that a splash from Splash Mountain was just what we needed. Even an hour and a half after initially standing in line the water felt so good as we came over the top and splashed down. I thought it would be fun to cover Ryanne's eyes from behind. I'm not sure she did.

Sometimes you just have to take it back a notch at D-land and take a breather if you are going to last the whole day. Plus the line was only a 3 minute wait.

It's been a long time since It's a Small World has been open. They have changed it up a bit. Throughout the ride they have added movie characters to the countries they come from. It was fun to look for them. It kept us from watching the young couple in front of us who felt it was the right time to show each other how much they like each other.

Ryanne begged me not to take her on this ride but it was time she grew up and faced her fears.

While standing in line for this ride we made some new friends. There were these two little girls with their dad. It started off with a few faces being made at each other and ended up with one of the girls asking us if it was alright if she could tickle our armpits. These two girls were so cute.

Up to this point Ryanne did not know Alice in Wonderland existed. Here's how she found out.
We were at a cross road: save a seat for the fire works or go on the Matterhorn. The line for Matterhorn was too long so I suggested Alice in Wonderland. She looked at me as though I was crazy. I showed her where it was. She asked me how long it had been there. I asked her if she was kidding and she wasn't.

The one thing Ryanne wanted to make sure we did at D-land was to watch the fireworks. We have always seen them as we were walking through the park but never took the time to get a good spot. We found a perfect spot in front of the castle. As we waited for the spectacular show to start we needed some food. Some good friends of ours told us about the HUGE corn dogs they sell on Main Street. I found the cart and the corn dog was delicious.

The Jungle Cruise is always a must. I personally love all the jokes they tell but it seems like you are not allowed to laugh at any of them. No one ever does. I did laugh at one out loud and people looked at me like I was crazy. Sorry, it was a funny joke.

Indiana Jones was soooooooo good. It felt like they loosened up the suspension because it was more jerky then usual. Definitely not a bad thing.

If you are going to start the day off right you have to end the day right!
Why does seem like we are having more fun at the end of the day?