Memorial Day Weekend

Marq & I spent Memorial Day Weekend in St. George with his parents. We had a great time laying by the pool, visiting Marq's sister Kim & her family and of course... doing a little hiking.
This is a hike we did in Zions.
More pics to come.

Devil's Garden Trail

On Sunday we headed back into the park and hiked the Devil's Garden trail. Here we are at Landscape Arch. The weather was perfect, warm but a little breezy. This is me on the spine of the trail, there are huge drops on both sides.
Here's Marq on the spine.
This is the Double O Arch. We are the 2 tiny specs in the lower arch. Marq in the lower O.
That's me, look closely.
Marq on the other side of the arches.
As usual we had a lot of fun spending time together and exploring. We are so lucky to live in a place with so much natural beauty. I love that Marq & I share a love of the outdoors and that we're able to do these things together. It was a wonderful weekend of reconnecting. Happy Anniversary Marq, I love you more & more each day.

Desert Bistro

Saturday night, after hiking, we found a great little restaurant called the Desert Bistro. The food was fantastic and it was a very serene, relaxing end to the day. I didn't get any photos but I had to mention it because we are still talking about the food! You can view pics and the menu and www.desertbistro.com. Marq had an awesome smoked buffalo steak and I had a chicken breast stuffed with Gorgonzola cheese. Next time you're in Moab check it out!

4-years already?

Last weekend we celebrated our 4-Year Wedding Anniversary with a trip to Moab, UT. I had never been to Arches National Park and we thought this was a good opportunity to ditch our dogs (not allowed in Arches) and check it out.
I have seen a million pictures of Delicate Arch but until you see it in person you cannot possibly appreciate it's wonder. You can't see the arch from the trail until the very end when you come up over the rock formation and suddenly the arch comes into view. It is spectacular!
This is definitely one of the wonders of the word that everyone should see! I am grateful that I finally made it there with Marq.
Our "classic Denice & Chico shot".
One more great adventure together down.... MANY more to go!

Mother's Day

In celebration of Mother's Day my adorable doggies took me for a hike :) We headed up Millcreek Canyon and hiked for a few hours. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. We got to see both of our mom's and almost all of our grandmas. I am so grateful to be surrounded by so many amazing women and mothers who are all an example to me in their own ways. Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers who have raised us, loved us, taught us and been examples to us in one way or another.

GRADUATION!!!

May 7th, 2010 was one of the greatest, most anticipated days of our lives here at the Rasmussen residence. Marq graduated from grad school earning his Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Utah. The day began early, especially for Marq who had been up until 2:30am finishing a paper the night before. We attended a very nice Commencement Ceremony that morning with some of Marq's family, where former Gov. Huntsman spoke.
After the ceremony we hurried home to finish getting ready. Marq mowed the lawns while Tahna and I took care of some last minute details. We ran to the store to get balloons for my cute centerpieces. When we got back we were unloading the truck when Tahna realized the balloons were flying away!!! I had left the front door open and they all escaped! Marq laughed but I was bummed because my centerpieces weren't nearly as cute without them. Luckily Tahna (being the best friend that she is) loves me enough to go get more balloons while I showered and got ready. THANKS TAHNA!!!We had both our families over for a big celebration BBQ. I think we ended up with about 30 people and it was nice to have everyone here with us to celebrate this huge accomplishment. We had 6 of our 7 nephews here (along with 3 of our nieces)and they managed to get along for the most part and tried to share all of the cars/toys. No one got punched in the nose that I'm aware of so I guess that's a success. They did manage to find the only dirt pile in our yard and I think they all ended up a little muddy :) After the BBQ we headed back up to the University for the College of Engineering Convocation Ceremony where we got to watch Marq walk. He is now the most highly educated member in either of our immediate families :) Way to go! Words cannot describe how proud I am of this man. He is the most determined, focused, brilliant, ambitious, hardworking person I know. He knows what he wants and is willing to do what it takes to get there. He has such a passion for learning that is inspirational to me. I love that despite the time restraints of school and a full time job he still makes time to be here and be a an amazing husband. I am thankful to be by his side and I look forward to seeing the amazing things he will accomplish.
We are also very thankful for all the support of both of our awesome families. We couldn't have done it without them. Marq has amazing parents that have always encouraged him to follow his dreams. They obviously did a fantastic job!
After the last ceremony it was time for the final celebration. Lots of our friends stop by to congratulate Marq and help celebrate. Thank you to all our good friends for all of their support and patience :) Hopefully now we'll be free to hang out with them all a lot more!