You 2013, you.

It is actually crazy to think how much happens in one year. As I was thinking of writing this post, I was trying to think about all that we did this year, and got confused because it seemed so long ago. Then some things feel just like yesterday.

We started off 2013 world travelers, with our first Asia experience. China was so cool. And by cool, I mean incredibly cold. And also the other kind of cool. It was so crazy being in such a foreign place where there was absolutely no English spoken. The Great Wall was just freaking awesome. That was such a cool experience walking up those steps and being apart of such great history.

Then back to the sand pit.

Then, in March Kaylee came to visit! We had an absolute blast! So many memories made and so many laughs. I am so glad I got to share this experience with one of my best friends.

Then, just a few days after, my mom came!! I was so happy to see my mom and bring her into our world while we were over seas. A time I will never forget.

In April we had Spring Break and we traveled to Sri Lanka! It was absolutely beautiful! We stayed on Mirissa Beach and had the most gorgeous views and sunsets. This was such a relaxing trip for us where we got to lay on the beach and ride around on our little moped.

In June we got to travel to South Korea as Justin competed in The Crossfit Games. Another very cool place, but we didn't really get to travel around and explore that much because we were at the competition all day. My studly husband took 4th!

As the school year ended, we had to make a life changing decision. We took a risk, and resigned from our jobs in the Middle East, and decided it was time to come home. You can read all about our story here.

Bam, bam, bam I got a teaching job in Arizona, and we moved! Just like that. 

My best friend also gave birth to her perfect little boy Kyson, whom has completely stolen my heart, we went to The Crossfit Games down in LA, crossed off seeing my love, Michael Buble in concert off my bucket list, got my first bar muscle up, used my kitchen aide for the first time because we finally got to open our wedding gifts, and so much more. We are so incredibly blessed.

Looking back, we have had one heck of a year. We relied on our faith to get us through the hard times, and when we had no idea what was in store for us. Thank goodness, God is faithful and always provides. I have a feeling 2014 will just as big a year as the last! You never know what God has in store for The Ahrens :)

Have a very blessed and safe New Years Eve everyone!

God bless!

Kaylee's visit.

I can't tell ya how much I love this girl! I have been anxiously counting down the days until she arrived ever since our surprise visit home in December for Christmas. We've sent email after email to each other just basically saying the same thing, "I am so excited to get there!", "I am so excited you're coming!" over and over again.

She finally arrived on Thursday night and we were non stop ever since! Justin and I can say we think we hit every single spot between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. She was such a trooper! Never complained that the drive was too long, or she was bored while we were at work, and we are so thankful. How many people can say their friend flew half way across the world to come visit you?

She rocks!

It was just what we needed. Though we are exhausted, lacking in the sleeping category, and we I am a few pounds heavier from all the sweets, it was worth every minute. Justin and I were in a little bit of a funk with the same routines, pressures from work, pressures about the future, that we needed something to lift our spirits...and there she came!

We had so much fun together every single day. We went on a desert safari where we went dune jumping and rode camels, went shopping at the numerous malls, went to the souks, ate TONS of food, went to the beach, rode jet skiis, did handstands, took silly picutres, went out clubbing with our friends, she met our kiddos, laughed A LOT, Justin and her had many fights that included things that smell..., more eating, 13.1 and 13.2 Open Workouts at The Burn Room, the top of the Burj...and much, much more.

We are both so blessed to have such a wonderful friend. She is such an amazing and beautiful girl in every way and we thank the Lord for putting her in our lives. All I gotta say is whoever ends up with this girl is going to be the luckiest man on the planet . . . besides Justin of course ;)

We love you Kay!!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip!

 

Love this girl so so so much!

God bless!

Summer in Winter.

Thank you Prophet Mohammed's mama for making you be born on this day so we can have a 3 day weekend! YAHOO!

The weather right now is incredible! I mean high 70's, low 80's with a cool breeze and no clouds in the sky. It's absolutely beautiful. We took full advantage with a few of our fellow Burn Roomers and we had a picnic in the park. It was NOT paleo. We took a walk on the beach for a bit and enjoyed the sunshine!

I made some yummy treats for the picnic and I am so happy to share one of them with you! I just ask for one thing in return! My wonderful friend Carmen, gave us a very sweet thank you gift! A CROCK POT! In this crazy place, she found one! So if you have any simple ideas/recipes, I would love it if you shared them with me!

Our awesome view in the mornings! Sunshine by 10 am :)

Strawberry/Applesauce Muffins (click for the recipe)

I used whole wheat flower instead of all purpose, but upped the baking soda a little bit and they turned out great!

An afternoon sesh at The Burn Room pre picnic! (Showing off my new shin skins from the hubs)

Us girlies on the beach!

A beautiful Summer day in the middle of Winter!

Hope you're having a great end to your week!

God Bless!

The Weekend.

Another glorious weekened here in Abu Dhabi. I have loads of pictures to show you all! :)

On Thursday night Justin and I had our favorite new restaurant called Wagamama's (seriously if you don't love the name you can slap yo'self) and had delicious food! Justin and I are in love with edamame now because of this place. MMMmmmm

Friday morning was the first Throwdown at The Burn Room! It was seriously so cool to see all the fit people (ok most of them) of Abu Dhabi come together for one event. Justin, Emily, Craig, and Laura were on a team and they smashed it! I am so proud of the hubs for his two PR's on his power snatch and clean and jerk. So cool! I was the supporting wife/photographer for the event :) There were 4 teams that represented The Burn Room and they did such an awesome job! So proud to be a Burn Roomer!

I made the ever-so-fattening cookie/oreo/brownies after the throwdown. WOW! Delicious.
On Saturday morning Justin and I slept in woke ourselves up at 8:30, got ready and had a nice sit down breakfast together at a cafe. Because I am so cool and have my UAE drivers license now, I drove all by myself to the Dubai Mall (largest in the world boo ya!) to go to the Organic Store to pick up a few groceries. I snapped a quick picture of The Burj Khalifa (tallest building in the world boo ya x2!) as I ran outside the mall. It's still partly "Summer" here which means the temperatures aren't melting off your skin anymore, but it is still roasting at 12:00 in the afternoon.

Another weekend gone and in the books with our amazing friends! Oh and the Ducks gave another beat down! BOOM!

God bless! :)

A clean and jerk PR myself :) 130 pounds!

Crossfit: Beauty in Strength.

My husband posted this video today called Crossfit: Beauty in Strength.

It is such an inspiring video for women. Women have always had such pressure put on them because they are too skinny, too fat, too muscly, not enough muscle; it is so sad to see beautiful women who are unhappy with their bodies just because the world tells them something different. 

Because of Crossfit, I have gained muscle. And with this muscle has come confidence. Such a different confidence than I have ever had. It has made me want to work harder and be healthier. Though I still struggle with body image, as I am sure every girl does, I know that when I look in the mirror, the work I am putting in is paying off. My goals have become muscle ups and handstand push ups rather than losing 10 pounds to fit into skinny jeans. Muscles are empowering and when I get a new PR on pull ups and clean and jerk, it's such a cool feeling. A better feeling than starving myself and feeling unhappy. Thank you Crossfit for this empowerment and this confidence of being a woman. Strong is the new skinny, ladies :)

Girls, if you are worried about going to the gym to become "bulky", watch this video. Your perception of beauty will change; mine did.

God bless!

Hawaii.

Our Hawaii trip was amazing. Such a relaxing time together as we came off a crazy end to what seemed like the hardest year of my life. It was so nice to go to the beach for a few hours and lay in the sun and not be melting (aka in the desert). We had a great couple of days with my best friend and her new hubby! I got to shoot their wedding photos so I'll be doing a post on that soon :)

We tried stand-up paddle boarding for the first time! Oh my goodness, I have not laughed that hard in quite some time. Justin, for the life of him, could not stay balanced on his board and would fall in every 5 seconds. Jeffrey (the bff's hubs) would start dying laughing at him and would loose his balance and would fall in right after him. Alisha and I had such a great time making fun of the both of them as we would graciously paddle by :)

We also did a bit of Crossfitting there at Lahaina Crossfit and I did my first tire flips! (see below) We're even on their website in one of the pictures! Whoop!

All in all it was such an amazing, relaxing trip. Lots of memories made. So blessed with the lives we have, thank you Jesus.

Enjoy some snap shots of the trip!

God Bless!