Happy Christmas

This last year has been a very busy year for us. Starting with tax season for me again and now it is just around the corner. I am still working at the same accounting firm here in Laramie and Ashley is still in school. Now for some of the fun stuff we did this year. In June we went camping with Ashley’s family in Manti, Utah. Every year Ashley’s family goes and we love to go too as we were married in the Manti Temple. We always go to the Mormon Miracle Pageant, which portrays the history of the church.

In July I turned 30 years old… can you believe it? Ashley surprised me by getting me a few days off work and we went to my grandparents cabin for a family gathering. She organized the whole thing and I had no clue what was going on. It was great. It is one of our favorite places to go and we had such a great time. She also asked many of my friends and family to write me something for my 30th birthday. I would like to thank all of you who did so.

This is Ashley’s final year in pharmacy school. YES!!! This time next year she will be Dr. Luck. I am so proud of her and all the hard work and sacrifice she has gone through to accomplish this goal. During this last year of school she is not actually doing any bookwork, but is at different locations doing her rotations. Each month she goes to a different pharmacy and works. None of these rotations are in Laramie so we only see each other on the weekends and breaks that she has. She will have four more after the New Year and then graduation.

Ashley and I continue to stay busy with our church callings. Ashley is now in Young Womens helping the girls with their personal progress. I was called just after the New Year to be the Young Men’s president. They are both challenging callings, but we have a lot of fun in them. During the year that I have been involved in Young Mens, we have activated one young man, had a convert baptism, an eagle scout, and one of the boys who graduated last May is now preparing for his mission. As you can see this calling keeps me very busy, but I really do enjoy it.

Next year with Ashley graduating we could be moving, but we will keep you all informed. Who knows where life will lead us but we are excited to start this new journey in our lives together and as always with the Lord.

We love you and know we wish the best for you in the coming year. May Heavenly Father continue to bless you. We know the church is true, the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and the atonement is a wonderful gift from him. Please remember the true meaning for this holiday season our Savior Jesus Christ whom we are so grateful for. Through him we can be saved and live with our families forever.

Love, Randy & Ashley

A house divided...

The annual Luck War came and passed. Alabama blocked Tennessee's field goal attempt that would win the game. Another victory for good ol' Crimson tide!





ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!



Here's hoping to 364 days of mutual agreements :)

Randy started the fire (at church)

So today Randy had an incident, that to me was so hilarious I had to post about it. Randy is the Young Men's President for our ward. He is in charge of making sure a family in the ward brings bread for the Sacrament. In case the family forgets to bring the bread, he keeps a spare loaf of bread in the freezer at the church. Today about 5 minutes before church started, the bread had not shown up. Randy decided he would go get the bread out of the freezer to use instead. He went to the freezer and put the loaf of bread in the microwave to thaw it out. Unfortunately, he forgot that bread (still in its package) has a METAL twisty tie. So after popping the bread into the microwave, Randy realized that the bread inside the microwave had caught on fire because metal and microwaves do not mix. Frantically Randy opened the microwave and blew out the fire he had created. (For those of you unaware, this is in the church. He was is in the church's kitchen.) So five minutes before church today, Randy set the Sacrament bread on fire in the microwave. LOL....Thank goodness the family assigned to bring the bread showed up, and Randy's burnt mess was not needed. I was unaware of any of this happening. I was sitting in the Chapel waiting for Randy to show up. It was noon and church would be starting. He finally showed up and told me the whole story. I could hardly contain myself. All I could think of was The Office episode where Ryan leaves his pita in the toaster oven, and catches the office on fire. Then Dwight goes around singing "Ryan started the fire." So sitting in the chapel during Sacrament meeting today all I could think about was singing "Randy started the fire" in my head. I love church.

Moral of the story...Bread should not be thawed out in the microwave if it is still in the plastic packing, because yes, twisty ties DO catch on fire. When our mothers taught us never to put metal in the microwave...they knew what they were talking about. :)

Meet my new nephew!!!!!

RYLAN JAMES VEST
6 Ibs 11 oz
19 inches
August 17, 2009
8:58 AM


http://picasaweb.google.com/hdharken/BabyRylan?feat=directlink

SURPRISE!!!!!!

July has been crazy month for Randy and I. We haven't been home for a single weekend in Laramie! It started with the 4th when we were down in Utah. Where we went to Stadium of Fire with my family. The Jonas Brothers were eh...fun. The fireworks were AMAZING! Check them out!



Next we went to Green River to witness Randy's cousin Sara get married to Jason. We love these guys and couldn't be more happy for them! Here is a picture from the wedding.

Then this past weekend I was finally able to let Randy in on "the surprise." For the past month and a half I had planned a surprise cabin trip for Randy for his birthday. (I will start rotations ON HIS BIRTHDAY so I had to do something before his big 3-0!) So I contacted Randy's mom and we set up a cabin vacation. I even called Randy's boss and got him the days off. All the family was also invited, so there were many great people up to celebrate the occasion with us! Wednesday Randy came home from work and I told him we had to run an errand. I started driving and one of the beverages from the back seat fell over. Randy looked back (and saw all the stuff packed) and asked what was going on. I smiled and was able to FINALLY tell him we were going on vacation. Everything was packed, and we were on our way! At first he was like "I have to work tomorrow." Once I explained everything was taken care of he was shocked, and pretty excited. The whole thing was a blast! We went hiking, fishing, played games, saw the Bar J Wranglers in Jackson Hole, and ended the vacation Saturday with a big birthday bash including cake, ice cream and presents.

THE BAR J WRANGLERS






This is the first fish I have ever caught NOT in a fish farm (where everyone catches fish.) Sorry about the blood, Randy said that I gutted my poor fish with the hook, the worst he had ever seen. I guess I was serious about catching the stinker!





HAPPY 30TH RANDY! I LOVE YOU! All in all "the surprise" was a great success. And it really was a surprise. Now we are just getting ready for me to start rotations. :(

To boldly go where no (wo)man has gone before...

If you know me, it's no secret that I am a closet Star Trek fan. Growing up daddy/daughter time consisted of watching Star Trek, and that is where I gained my love for the silly shows. Over the Fourth of July weekend, Rachel my sister took us to her job. She works at the Spacecenter, where she simulates different missions based off of Star Trek. Naturally I was Captain...later to be titled Captain Buttheadius, Randy was my first assistant, my dad was the pilot, my mom was my controller, Katlin was the in charge of scanning space, and Mike was the engineer. (Rachel was in charge of the mission.) We had a fabulous time. We met all of our requirements, with the one mishap that mom killed us when we didn't transport a bomb off our ship. (Rachel let us start over so we could keep going...) Other than that, I was an amazing captain. Battling the Borg, and destroying the weapons of mass destruction. I loved the power, including my phaser(gun). Thanks Rachel!!!!


This is when we got blown up by a bomb! (Thanks mom...)

Katlin, Mike, Mom, and Randy in the ship.

Captain Buttheadius and the first assistant with our phasers.

Randy learning how to do his jobs...

Me as the Captain in my captain seat.

Dad the pilot.

Mike the engineer.

Mom the controller. (She controlled all the energy and the transporter system.)

Randy and Katlin hard at work.

June in Rewind

Ashley, Randy, Julie, and Robby

Randy, Meryle, Gerald, Fay, and Robby

Randy and I have enjoyed little vacations here and there for the past month. We have been to Denver to visit the temple and friends, Green River for a 60th Wedding Anniversary, and we recently ended June with a bang "Harken Camping."

Randy's grandparents celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary at the Nine Iron Grill in Rock Springs Wyoming. It was great to have all the family there and share in the memories.

Harken Camping was also great. We went to the Mexican Restaurant as always, and then watched Transformers. I liked it, my mom tried to sleep through it. The next day Randy, Katlin, Mike and I got to go to a temple session at Manti. (Randy and I especially enjoy going to the Manti temple since that is where we were sealed.) Then unfortunately tradition was broken when my dad had to go to the ER. He has a herniated disk in his back. So no bowling, or hockey. Then dad was a trooper and we all went and got homemade lemonade. Next we went to the traditional turkey dinner. Finally we went to the pageant. It was a complete success minus the minor set back of dad's back...

We are now excited to jump into July. We have many great plans ahead. Starting with us going back to Utah to celebrate the 4th! More to come.