McPolin Moose at the Jordanelle Triathlon

So in June, 2 days after arriving in Utah, a lady from our school calls us and asks if we would like to do a triathlon on August 23rd. Now, we had never met this lady before and, certainly, had no idea about any staff members at our new school. We didn't even know where the school was located at this point in June. Being the outgoing people we are, we said, "Sure." We thought it would be a great way to get to know the staff better. Our school was doing it as relay teams so Andy signed up to do a biking leg and I said I would do a running leg. So, August 23rd has passed and we successfully completed our legs of the triathlon.

Here is just some of our staff that participated in the triathlon. (I must be trying to take my glasses off before the photo was snapped...too late, though.)


It was SO hot that day. The sun and heat were just pounding down on us. Phew...but I finished!!


What a great way to spend our 2-week anniversary!!!

Pre-Wedding Photos

We had a lot of festivities leading up to the wedding. I just thought I would share a few photos from those events. Fun times! It was so wonderful to have both of our families finally meet. We all had such a wonderful time and have so many wonderful memories to keep and share.

On the Thursday before the wedding, we had a BBQ/frisbee golf outing at the cabin in Brighton.

Claire (Andy's cousin), Andy, Grace (Andy's cousin), and Abbie (Andy's grandmother)


My cousins, Oliver and Frederick, playing frisbee golf. They live in Washington, D.C. so I don't get to see them too much. It was so much fun to go fishing with them, too. I've never seen two kids so attached to fishing poles!

My sister treated the bridesmaids and moms to pedicures and manicures the day before the wedding.

Now I could get used to this kind of treatment!


Here we are eating a delicious lunch at Baja Cantina after our spa treatment.

Back to the Real World

This is our last official weekend of summer. Oh my, the summer went by so quickly. I guess that is what happens, though, when you move from one state to another, find a new place to live, plan a wedding, and start a new job. Oh well...it's all been an adventure, that's for sure.

We've had orientation this past Wednesday, Thursday and Friday but we officially start on Monday, August 18th. Next week we have a lot of trainings, and we also have some time to work in our classrooms. The students start on Monday, August 25th. It's actually a pretty nice schedule. I think school starts at 8:15 (I'm an early person) and we get out around 3:05. That's on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, the kids get dismissed at 12:30 and that leaves the afternoon for meetings and additional prep. time. In February we have an entire week off. Guess what for...ski week!!!!

Andy and I both went into school today to get some work done. We took a little detour, though, on the Lost Prospector Loop trail. Beautiful!




Of course, I had to include a photo of Cooper!

Some pictures from the BIG day...

Well, here they are...some pictures from our BIG day. We have not gotten the photos from our photographer yet, but a friend of mine emailed me some that she took at the wedding.

I woke up to sunny skies and thought the entire day would be rain-free. Wrong. The dark clouds gathered around the mountain around 3:15 and it started to sprinkle as I was riding the chair lift up to the meadow. Bummer. When I was up high enough to see the meadow, guests were gathered under the few little gazebo areas and under their umbrellas. Oh no, I thought. I just wanted it to hold off long enough for us to have the ceremony. The rain stopped but the wind picked up. Oh, geez. I turned to my mom and said, "Well, I guess we always like an adventure." We made it through the ceremony but when it came time for the formal pictures, it started to hail for a couple of minutes! Not only that, but the resort does not run the alpine slide in the rain and the chair lift stopped running because of some lightning. They only had 2 vans to transport people back down to the base of the resort so a lot of guests walked down the mountain! (It was not raining at this point.) What troopers! Had people not made the big hike down, it would have taken hours for guests to get to the reception. The ceremony was still very beautiful. The sun even peeked out for a bit while we were saying our vows. :) The reception was TONS of fun!! People danced...and danced...and danced some more. Enjoy!

My parents and me getting ready to walk down the aisle--At this point, I could feel the tears coming so I was doing anything I had to to stop them, including deep breaths! I walked down the aisle to "Lucky" by Jason Mraz featuring Colbie Caillat.

Andy was so excited about the first kiss that he did so before the minister told him to "kiss your bride" (and he knocked my flower halo off of my head in his excitement)!

Mr. and Mrs. Tullis!!!! During the recessional, we played "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang.

I did have really pretty curls in my hair but, unfortunately, my hair went kind of flat because of the rain and hail.

Here I am with two of my very good college girlfriends, Lisa and Leah.

Utah Olympic Park

I had a lot of family in town for the wedding this past week so, one day, we went to the Utah Olympic Park here in Park City. It's the venue where ski jumping, bobsledding, the luge, and the skeleton took place for the 2002 winter Olympics. During the summer time, ski jumping clubs continue to practice there, only they land in a giant pool instead of on snow. They also have zip lines and an alpine slide for people to ride. If you're really brave, you can take a ride down the bobsled track (with a professional driver, of course) at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. I haven't done it yet, but I will some day. It was also fun to look at all of the memorabilia from the Olympics.


Wheeeeee...

It looks like fun, but I don't think I could ever do that!

My sister and I getting ready to go down the world's steepest zipline

Taking a Trip Down Memory Lane

Andy is at the cabin for his bachelor's party tonight, so I decided to take a trip down memory lane. Andy and I have shared so many wonderful times together, it was hard to pick the ones to post on here. I tried to pick photos I have not posted before. In just 7 days, we will exchange our vows (I guess I better get working on that!) in front of our many friends and family members. It will be such a special time for us. We look forward to sharing our future adventures with you all.


Ahhh...Chicago...riding Segways in the rain


Cooper misses you, Sarah (that's the blood hound on the right)!


I can't remember which concert this was, but it was one of the many concerts we went to at the Moose's Tooth. Leftover Salmon, maybe?


Andy, me, Jeff, and Ben at the Eagle River Yurt. I think it rained the entire time. Oh well, that's what good gear is for!


My very good friend, Angie, and me...I miss you girls!