What Have We Been Up To?

Well Mike and I had the last couple of weeks to enjoy eachother and just do our own thing. We have been mountain biking a lot! I've been practicing a lot for the Horny Toad Hustle and Mike has been getting ready for all his upcoming races. I feel really good and its been such good exercise!

Mike raced in Albuquerque and well...he had some technical difficulties with his seat. Let's just say he rode the last eight miles without it! Ouch!

We had a lot of people in and out of town. Dad and Georgia started the trend whn they helped me move my stuff here.

Mike and I had our Las Cruces reception on July 11th. It was fun to get dressed up again!
I got a job at Zia Middle School. I'm a little nervous about teaching eighth grade, but we will see!
The Barrow Family had a mini reunion and had a lot of dinners and hanging out time!
Jen and Wayne came down to visit for the reception and we got to take them around Cruces, Cloudcroft, and White Sands.

Mom came out Fourth of July weekend and hung out with us. This picture makes me laugh!
Christa and I went to the Albuquerque Temple and had a good time! It was so nice to go to the temple!!

One More Week!

A week from today Mike and I will be flying to San Juan, Puerto Rico for a seven day cruise!! I have been dying for a vacation! We both have! We like how there are so many ports so we can explore the Caribbean. Here is the order of where we are going.

San Juan

The first day is quick because we get in at 3pm and have to be to the boat quick. As soon as we get ont he boat, we can leave and go explore San Juan. I'm excited for Mike to have his first cruise experience. This is the day we do muster and pretty much explore the ship!

St. Thomas/St. John (Trunk Bay)

I've been to St. Thomas before on a family vacation. When we went, we took a ferry over to trunk bay in St. John. This is a picture of it. It is one of the most beautiful beaches I have evr seen in my life! We plan on going here and snorkeling for a while..maybe some snuba too! :)

Dominica

I have never been to any of the rest of these ports but I am superexcited about it. Some options for us are Trafalgar Falls and Emerald Pools, Jaco Falls, and Hot Springs. There is an option to go on a tour of the island for only twenty five bucks...but we will see how we are feeling!

Barbados

It was highly recommended to just explore the beaches here. They do have a shipwreck snorkel and also you can rent scooters for five bucks! I have a feeling it will be a chill day here. All the reviews keep saying how wonderful the beaches are here.



St. Lucia

They have rainforests here and ziplining is the thing to do! I really want to do this and if I can get a reservation for it we will. They also have bike rentals here.




Antigua

We want to rent some ATVs here and go around the island. Also the reviews said that snorkeling was the thing to do!

St. Kitts

So this is where they say that mountain biking is the best. We hope to try it out just to say we have mountain biked in the Caribbean. Also, I guess the people here are really pushy about buying things, so we are prepared to fight them off!

Then its back to San Juan, where we will spend the night and enjoy the sites! It came so fast...we hope it doesn't go too fast!

White Sands

In the last week and a half, Mike and I have been to White Sands three times! Judging by the amount of sand that was sitting in my car...it was pretty obvious! It is one of those wonders that you have to go to in your lifetime. Every time I go there, I want to run barefoot across the dunes like a little kid.


This past weekend Jen and Wayne came into town and we did a photo shoot at White Sands. Mike and I didn't get a lot of wedding pictures with just us and we have been dying to go to do a shoot at White Sands, so we flew Jen out to take some.....and she did amazing! Here are some from her shoot:

The Best of Las Cruces

So far almost every time the past couple of weeks when I introduce myself to someone and tell them I just moved here from Las Vegas I get an "I'm sorry."... or a "Why?". Yes, it doesn't exactly feel great to hear it, but instead of being bitter like most people are who move here, I am taking it to the next level.

Back in Vegas the newspaper released a Best of Las Vegas issue every year. I decided it is my job to go and try out things here in Las Cruces and basically give my review of the "best" things. I am going to blog about it on a separate blog and give my opinion of what I like and why I like it. Hey, it will give me a chance to find things here that I enjoyed back home!

Here is one thing I'm going to put on my list:



Best Smoothie

The place is called Junga Juice on Lohman right behind the Target parking lot. I'll be honest, most of the smoothies are really sweet and sugary, but go in there and order the Acai Berry Blast. Best smoothie. Let's just say I tried the other smoothie places in town and they just don't live up to my expectations of a good smoothie. Try it!

Stay tuned for more!

Inspiration

In my last ward, I visit taught a girl that I hardly knew without a companion. I only met with her a few times, but this girl is seriously my hero. She goes on so many adventures..its crazy! She has this attitude about living life to the fullest and making each day exciting and brand new. I swear she has been to every continent and can speak different languages.

Anyway, go check out her blog. She is such a fantastic person and totally motivates me! I really look up to her in the sense of making sure that I just don't sit around doing nothing. Nothing can stop you! My favorite quote is by John Bytheway and its:

"Don't obsess over what you can't control. Live life at the top of your lungs!"

I'm glad I have Megann to remind me of that and how I want to use that as my inspiration in life.

Here is her blog if you want to check it out:

http://megannwilkerson.blogspot.com/

Things to Blog About

I am so lazy today! I thought about how all school year I was wishing for summer and I haven't even took a day to just chill! Between school ending, and the wedding, and moving, and unpacking, I don't think I've really had a moment to slow down!

Anyway, during the day I think of things that I want to blog and then when it comes time to get on here, I completely freeze up. So I am going to make a list of things to blog about for future reference and then sometime down the road, I will just use this list. Hey, maybe I can give you some ideas or you can even suggest some for me to do.

Liz's Things to Blog About

The Difference Between Living in Las Cruces and Las Vegas

How Often I Use Facebook and How It Affects My Life

Being Married vs. Being Single

The Top Ten Things Everyone Should Do During The Summer

What Other Careers Would I Do If I Could Go Back To School?

Books I Want To Read

My Top Ten Guilty Pleasures

Random Quotes of the Day

Things I Would Do If I Had The Guts To Do It

The Pros and Cons of Being A Teacher

Inspirational People Who Have Influenced My Decision Making

The Color Code: The Book That I Think About Every Day

Why Am I Obsessed With Disney World?

What Channels I Watch on TV Every Day

My List of Secrets

Who is Easier to Be Friends With: Guys or Girls?

Las Vegas Destination Spots

Cruises: What to Do and What Not to Do

Why Wasn't I Born With An Inate Sense of Style?