The McPhersons

Paul and Amy Adopt

2011-01-15T17:50:00.000-08:00

So I found out through my face book account that a fellow sister that served in the same mission as I did is trying to adopt with her husband. I haven't seen her for years so it was really fun to see all the fun and exciting things that have happened within the past 10 years or so. I can't believe all that these two have to offer and all the fun experiences they have been able to share together. They are both lawyers and live in the San Francisco Bay area and are ready to start their family but due to a genetic disorder she has she is unable to conceive ever. I think their story is really inspiring and think that they will make some seriously awesome parents to lucky kids in the future. If you run across this and have a spare few minutes, please put a link on your blog or face book about it, it only takes a second but could possibly have big effects for this sweet couple. Good luck Paul and Amy!

Click Here:

Paul and Amy Adopt

Love them both so much

2010-12-18T21:41:00.000-08:00

Fall Pictures

2010-12-18T11:27:00.001-08:00

She had the most beautiful hair, and such a cutie!

Not My Three Sons

2010-12-16T17:15:00.000-08:00

These little guys were so fun to hang out with and crawl around their grandparents wood pile, I am loving the matching hoodies their mom bought them for the shoot!

Recent Session

2010-12-10T10:58:00.000-08:00

This little girl was such a sweetie, the weather is getting cold here and luckily her mom brought a warm hat!

This kid cracks me up

2010-12-06T16:53:00.000-08:00

Q-T

2010-11-28T20:29:00.000-08:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving down South in B-town and had a lot of fun hanging out with everyone, it's always a little crazy with all I think 24 of us together, but then there are also lots of great memories, late nights staying up laughing and telling stories and it's always good to reconnect and look forward to the next time we will see each other again. We stayed in the bunkhouse with Heather, Charles, Michelle and Ben and little Andy. It made me want a bunkhouse of my own, hopefully we can utilize it again in the future, Jon and Camie stayed with a friend in town and the rest were at Dave's parents, definitely nice having everyone spread out a little. We all went for a hike on Saturday where we could see some ruins high up in the cliffs, there are so many cool hiking trails in the area and lots of ruins to see. On the way there we had three cute little guys in the back of the truck and they were pretty happy to be along with Uncle Dave who is pretty much worshiped by any kid in the world. We ended up bushwhacking our way during the first of it. We lost the trail at one point and it was funny to watch Charles as he was crawling on his stomach with Andy on his back in the kid carrier through some bushes with Andy acting a little nervous. Then we all sort of scrambled up a steep bank where we giggled when Jon and the other brothers helped everyone up which meant shoving and pulling whatever it took to get up. I loved having three-year-old Morgann be my little side kick over and all the attention she gave me. I managed to snap a few shots of my nephews and nieces while there. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

This little guy was so good as long as he had a sucker in his hand, no problem, just cropped it out.

October, 2010

2010-11-21T20:08:00.000-08:00

The Weigts

2010-11-19T10:14:00.000-08:00

I love this one with Little C being his active self and M-moo is looking so happy and content. So I was going over all of their pictures from their session and I was getting a little emotional because I seriously love this family so much and think they are all such cool, fun people, I'm so lucky to have such a sweet sis!

So much concentration

2010-11-19T09:43:00.000-08:00

I always laugh and imitate Dave whenever he's really focusing or concentrating on doing something and he sticks his tongue out, I think it probably started when he was Little C's age.

Little house on the corner

2010-11-19T09:19:00.000-08:00

Little C

2010-11-19T08:37:00.000-08:00

Just a Friday morning with Dave off on a Coyote contest hunt with friends in Bryce Canyon and no work today I am on the computer for the 20th hour this week I swear. I am still trying to get my images to look as sharp as I can on screen and playing around a little, these shots were taken this summer.

Pretty in Pink

2010-11-19T08:27:00.000-08:00

Fun photo session!

2010-11-18T20:22:00.001-08:00

Sisters

2010-11-17T16:56:00.000-08:00

The White Family

2010-11-14T21:00:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun doing a session with this awesome family. Their backyard was perfect with lots of old farm equipment, old barns and fields to play around with. The kids were seriously cool, sweet and all have possible future careers as models, here's a teaser with more to come soon.

2010-11-11T21:19:00.000-08:00

Fun to do a photo session in my room I have a huge window that is way too big but for pictures pretty fun, had a good time trying to keep this one contained while I snapped a few, she was a real busy body and so patient with me, what a sweetie, fun to see her take notice as I recited the names of her brothers and sisters and listened to her say "dadadada."

Westwater Canyon on the Colorado, November 2010

2010-11-07T13:47:00.000-08:00

We went and rafted down Westwater this last weekend and lucked out with great weather, it was 70 degrees and blue skies with no wind. Dave came home Friday after I had bought the food for the lunch, classic river wraps, and it was a hurry and put together another boat for Charles, throw everything in the truck and take off as soon as we could. It was about 6 o'clock and we were going through Price when Charles called to tell us that his ride down from Ogden had forgot about him. We ended up waiting at the Wal-Mart there in Price for a couple hours until he made his way down. I read magazines while Dave had a lengthy conversation with his Mom on the phone all about Thanksgiving weekend. Charles made the drive safely and we all piled into the truck and made it to the put in at midnight where Curt, Zach and Chris were all waiting up and helped us unload boats and boxes and set up our tent. Everyone else made it there by the next morning and the 12 off us pushed off. It turned out to be a great day not as many people were on the river compared to the same time last month. We waited a few times for kayakers to get back into their boats after getting tossed out, stopped and had lunch then an hour and a half later of flat water rowing brought us to the take out. The group was so fun and laid back and it definitely didn't feel like November down in the canyon, it was a beautiful fall day.
Dave and I were talking about how nice it is to get away for the weekend and have a little adventure before heading back into another work week and how it is such a sanity saver. Dave definitely needed it with his crazy work schedule lately. This new job has kind of thrown him for a loop, well both of us actually, I think he has been working 80 hour weeks and most of it has been typing numbers into excel and doing fun things like making spreadsheets for presentations to oilfield companies and driving a ton of miles everyday out in "The Patch". It was great to hang out with some old friends from Cedar City days and forget about work and worries for a day, which is always easy to day when you're floatin the riv.

Dusty, Chris and Lail

Jon

Roy

Charles and Trevor

Zach and Jon

Curt and Dave

Ryann

2010-10-31T14:11:00.000-07:00

So I am trying to figure out my photo editing software program and I can't tell you how completely frustrating it has been and at the same time really exciting. I think I have started to figure out how to make my pics on the web look like they do in my program. I have been disappointed at how they look on my blog, so here goes the first one.
Tell me the truth does this one look more crisp and clear than the previous ones, if not I think I might go shoot myself, why am I so computer stupid?

Halloween 2010

2010-10-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

I don't think my aunt Sheila is competitive at all : )

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

This is our annual Halloween party that my mom goes to a lot of time and effort to put together, thanks Mom for all your work!! We had dinner, games, musical chairs, a fishing pond, decorating cookies and of course sloppy joes, potato salad, chips and root beer with dry ice, a classic family get together meal good for feeding large masses of people. My mom even found some spooky straws to slurp it down with skeletons on them that all the kids loved. I love it when we can all get together as a family and every time a new someone has been added to the mix. My Uncle Lynn and his wife Janet just got their mission calls to the Dominican Republic. This is him with the "large hat" on, I don't know how to spell it okay?? He usually likes to sit in the background, I think you will see him like this a lot as he watches his kids and grand kids and prepares to leave them for awhile while he serves people on what might as well be another planet, I am sure it is a sacrifice that will bring many blessings for everyone involved. I really appreciate their example.
You know how it's easy to take things for granted...I think it's really easy to take for granted that I get to live by my mom and dad, brothers and sisters, lots of aunts and uncles and cousins. I think I have such an awesome family and extended family. It has been a lot of fun to be able to see everyone more since we moved back and fun to have opportunities to strengthen friendships whether through being able to work with my cousin in the OR, see my other cousins house in my sisters backyard when I visit and watch her children jump on their trampoline or run through the alfalfa field that separates the two and watch their kids play together just like we used to do. I love that I can go hang out with my aunt because we both work at the hospital and plan our next bike ride together or early morning workout, or when my grandma calls to say she has her potato salad she wants to share then watching her take off in walking shoes to lap the pond on the golf course with a neighborhood friend, a nightly routine for both of them. I also really love being able to spend time with my sister, she is so easy to be around and is such an awesome, cool, hip mom that I want to be like when I grow up and have kids too. I'm glad we can hang out together whether we are DI'ing, decorating, reconfiguring furniture in a room or fun weekend trips to the city with mom and the kids, yea, I'm just feeling really happy today.

Fall Time

2010-10-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

This cat reminds me of how I feel with the cold weather moving in as I sit here with a space heater on nearby, a blanket on my lap and an empty hot beverage cup on the table.

Gallop NM

2010-10-15T13:42:00.000-07:00

Corbin is one of my cool nephews. Dave and I recently headed South for him to do some coyote hunting outside Gallop, New Mexico and me to hang out with my cool brother and sister in law and their four great kids. This little guy is only 8 years old and has been riding since he was three. I still remember when he could ride a bicycle without any training wheels. We visited him one day and he was riding in a parking lot nearby with his dads helmet on and riding gloves that hung about 6 inches over the handlebars with adult-sized goggles to top off the ensemble. Once you helped him start he could pedal forever and in order to stop he would coast into the building and hit it head on because he was still trying to figure out the brakes, otherwise we would run along and grab him before he tipped over although that happened sometimes too. Even when he has fallen down he always gets back on and keeps going. It's cool how at such a young age he already has so much character and emotional maturity I think it shows in the way he rides.

Westwater Canyon on the Colorado

2010-10-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

On the first weekend of October we were lucky enough to be able to go down Westwater Canyon. The put-in is just outside Green River and then floated about 17 miles downriver to the ghost town of Cisco. The water was running about 3200 cfs and the rapids were a little more difficult than they are at higher levels. I realized it's good to get my momentum going in order to punch through some of the holes, one of them surfed me for a little bit and that was all the convincing I needed. This trip also reminded us how easy it is to take a quick weekend trip down the canyon and how close it is to us, we are going to do it more often in the future. Everyone had fun listening to Dave's stories. I like the picture where all the kayakers are gathered around his boat while he's telling them one of his funny stories.
The weather was perfectly warm and the water wasn't too cold yet. We met up with some friends from Cedar City days and friends of theirs showed up also. We are looking forward to meeting up with everyone again in November and doing it all over again.

Peek-A-Boo

2010-10-05T17:56:00.000-07:00

I got to watch C-Man the other day and he was such a good sport to be my little model, not kidding this is one of the easiest kids to hang with. He was content to pose, go to the store, humor his weird aunt and eat hot dogs dipped in BBQ sauce while we hung out. He's in such a sweet stage of life, giving lots of hugs and kisses as long as he gets as many 4-wheeler rides as he wants, too easy.

The Main Salmon, Idaho

2010-09-28T19:32:00.000-07:00

           I am finally getting around to the Main Salmon trip we were able to do in June of 2010. We decided to go down before the season officially started because it is pretty much impossible to draw a permit during the permitted season so we often opt to go before it officially starts, which = more river trips. It always comes down to not going on a trip or chancing the weather and we usually choose the later because we would rather suffer some stormy cold days on the river than stay home in our warm, cozy house and besides we're just crazy like that.
              The Main Salmon is one of the most beautiful rivers in my opinion. Dave and I had done a 10-day trip with our friend Alex down the middle fork that joins up with the Main years ago and were excited to go again. The group consisted of Dave and I, my Mom and Dad, Dave's brother Dan and friend, Alex and his Dad Ken, Ken and Emily and Heather and Charles. It was such a sweet group and the weather was a little rainy but otherwise awesome with lots of fun stops along the way checking out historical sites, stopping for ice cream breaks and visiting with other boaters and enjoying hikes along the way.

Some highlights of the trip that are memorable would be hiking to a small cottage overlooking the river where a woman and her husband who works for the forest service live. They have been there for years and are caretakers of the place complete with a large garden, pool and guest house, it was incredible. They get their mail once a week along with any supplies they need that are flown in, talk about a simple life. Another highlight was being able to stop and see where Buckskin Bill lived years ago he was a legend on the river and seemed to be quite a quirky guy and a little paranoid. We also stopped along the way and sat in some hot springs that had been built by some hard workers willing to haul concrete up a mountainside, it was a pretty cool day when we stopped by and it felt so good to relax in the hot water. We also had a lot of fun playing KOOB in camp and it has become a group favorite of camp games...come to think of it it's actually the only game we play, if anyone knows Dave he is not a fan of board games and thinks they're called that for a reason. Emily and I did an awesome hike on a ridgeline that was pretty vertical with some incredible views at the top, it was fun to look across the canyon and see Dave and Dan ascending the other steep ridge line. Rainy nights sitting around the fire eating dutch oven enchiladas. Spending time with family and friends was definitely the best of all though and we wish we could all get together more often. Hopefully the next trip will come sooner than later, thanks for all the fun memories everyone!

Practicing

2010-09-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

So..... I have a little dream........but first off....I have decided to start posting more pictures that I have been working on in photoshop and playing around with, one ambition I have is to someday be an awesome landscape and portrait photographer, but I have a very long way to go. One thing I think will help me get motivated and focused is to post more photos on this blog but most of all I need input and suggestions as to what you like and think looks good and what really doesn't look good. I am grateful for any comments. I'm still trying to find a style that is mine and can be proud of and am really enjoying the whole fun, exciting, frustrating, trying hard to stay sane and not give up process. I already feel like I have come quite a ways because I no longer feel like crying when I start clicking through photoshop from frustartion. I finally wised up and ordered a Scott Kelby book and have loved it. I also think it will be fun to look back and see the progression from the first pictures I posted and then see what the difference is in a year or so and see how the pictures have changed.

First Grader

2010-08-25T18:50:00.001-07:00

Love this girl!

Mr. and Mrs. G

2010-08-16T20:55:00.000-07:00

Something amazing has happened this year that we thought never happen.....My big brother found an awesome girl that agreed to tie the knot with him, we are so happy to have her in the family and the fact that she makes my big brother so happy has scored major points with everyone. They are such a great couple and are have fun trying new adventures together and luckily she is a great sport when it comes to either putting on her cowboy boots to go horse packing in the mountains or relocating to our small town after a life in the city. I think she has been a great sport with all the changes lately and seems to take it all in stride. Here are some photos from the wedding in her parent's back yard.

The Mr. and Mrs.

Pappa and Mr. C

Big sister little brother

Pink is her favorite color!


Little bro and girlfriend the cute couple


One of my Heroes Grandma and favorite granddaughter

Daves new Job

2010-08-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

After we got back from the river Dave found out that he had gotten a new job with a company called NALCO. He had been operating a wirelining truck for the past few years which means that he would set off explosives on oil and gas wells and find out what they needed to do to produce better and also run diagnostic logs. He here not knowing anything about oilfield work and planning on just doing something until I got through nursing school. So he said a prayer and headed down to job service and found a job as a wireline operator about six months later he was an engineer and running his own truck and surprisingly totally enjoyed how challenging it was and all the problem solving that went into it. But like a lot of oilfield jobs they are very physically demanding and after four years the strain of not having a consistent schedule job was taking its toll . How many times can you get up at three in the morning and get home around nine or 10 at night and not want to shoot yourself. In fact I think for about two years while the oilfield was booming he worked an average of 12-16 hour days 6 days a week.          He was so patient all that time that he was practically on call 24/7 because his job did give him a lot of freedom like being able to take off for three weeks at a time but he could also be called out to a location at a moments notice. One example was back in April this year when my family was headed down South we all were loaded up with the 4-wheelers and about 20 minutes before we left he was called to go up to Northern Idaho for a few days that kept adding on for a total of 23 days...so sometimes it was ridiculous and I was often getting worn down and feeling like a loser single girl half the time hanging out at her parents house. We were also getting a little frustrated with how unpredictable his boss was and the company was as a whole when it came to salary, benefits and a lot of other things. When a friend of his he had met at his job called him up and told him he had found the perfect job for his personality and that it was a sales position with a chemical company we were pretty interested, to say the least.
          Dave sent his resume in and got an interview along with 12 other candidates from across the country. Out of those 12 he was called back to interview again with another guy.   After the interview he was still unsure about what would happen because the other candidate had two masters degrees one in chemical engineering and one in physics, so we really weren't really wanting to get our hopes up. Well the end of the story is that all worked out and he got it!!!!   So we are pretty excited it means that he now will work 7-4 pm Mon-Friday with all weekends and Holidays off which will be something he has never had with any job he's ever worked. He also got to pick out a new work truck and will be spending a lot of time in it driving around the oil patch selling chemicals. He will get to do this for the most part on his own which means that he will be a one man show in many ways and his success will be largely dependent on how much he wants to put into it, which will hopefully bring more sanity into his life.
           Getting his truck all put together has been a big project and he has had a lot of fun getting it just to his liking, here are some pictures of how detailed everything is and believe me when I say that he thought everything through down to the very organized truck box, seat covers and tinted window.

His co-worker Matt got this same truck but with the extended version, Dave wanted the extra truck bed space instead, he was pretty good at working a good deal with the salesman on the lot. Things sure have changed over the years, it's funny to think about "little red", Dave's first Toyota. I am sure my sister in law will never forget the three of us truckin down the highway in Idaho after a river trip with two raft frames on top of the pig hauler, no air conditioner, with it pinned at 55 mph and the three of us crammed in front with the gear shifter between knees. Good Times

Plenty of possibilities for strapping things down, I am sure this will double for convenience on river trips I think the blue and yellow NRS straps will go nicely with the red

Little Red

2010-08-10T16:26:00.000-07:00

Emily and I after the race with our tiaras

              After our trip down the river the weekend after I had signed up to do little red up in Logan. It was my first organized bike ride and I was pretty nervous and worried that I was going to make a total fool of myself. I decided what they hey anyways I'll go for it and it was an opportunity for Dave and I to take off and hang out with our long time friends. The race turned out to be a lot of fun, there were about 8 of us girls that were riding together and it was my first time riding single file and taking turns leading and it is about a million times more fun than going solo. One of the riders crashed in front of me about 15 miles into the race and I didn't even have time to react and I went down also, luckily no one was really hurt other than a little road rash on the other girls chin.
            We took advantage of all the pit stops and I decided that I would try to break my record for how many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I could down in a day. There were plenty of port-a-potties, sports drinks and sugar, which is really all a girl needs when out riding. The race was so well organized and the weather perfect with great views all along the way, plus the company was so fun and I was glad to finally get to hang out with Emily without the guys being around. I loved it and am looking forward to the next century.
                The only other small incidence was at mile 80 when I came to a stop and clipped out on my left side and there must have been a sniper in the bushes because before I knew what was happening I had toppled over onto my right hip, looking like a beetle that had been turned on it's backside and couldn't get up. You just have to laugh when things like that happen I think I had too many gel packs in my right pocket or something or was just a little tired and not concentrating enough. When I first got my bike everyone told me I would eventually fall clipped in and they were right, hopefully I learned my lesson.

Desolation Canyon

2010-08-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

DESOLATION CANYON MAY, 2010

We were lucky enough to score a Desolation Canyon permit the week before Memorial weekend thanks to my awesome brother in-law Jon who diligently pressed redial a hundred times before he was able to get through to the river rangers office. So we were pretty excited to finally get to go on a trip with Jon and Camie and their seriously cool kids and then were even more stoked when we were able to get my sister SueLyn and her hubby Steve along with their two awesome kids Macey and Caleb also. The trip also included Ben and Michelle who luckily had not started their summer jobs yet and were a big help with the kids throughout the trip and hauling extra gear. It turned out to be a great trip and lots of fun memories made with family!

We started at the Sand Wash put in after a day of shuttling vehicles around which by the way is not for the faint of heart, the road down in is bumpy and long.....thanks so much to my mom, Steve's dad and my Grandpa for going the extra mile and getting all of us there and saving us a lot of money on shuttle expenses, we totally appreciated it!!! The above photo is the morning of putting on the river, we had a safety meeting before hand where the kids all learned what to do if they were to end up in the river and how to operate the throw bags properly, they were all ears when being instructed on what to do if they fell in and knew that that they needed to grab on and pull their life jackets down away from their faces then point their toes down river. We didn't have any mishaps though the whole trip which was a big relief at the end especially with a 2 year old along for the ride.

Sand Wash river put in, morning of start of trip

Dave's new, improved and fail-proof wash bucket system, his third one to date, hopefully this will be a winner. Just remember red, yellow, green and blue for bleach.

Jon and Camie enjoying the views, this was their first trip and they rowed like pros, Camie rowed the biggest rapid on the river with a little persuasion from Jon and was a serious rock star, I would have peed my pants to have rowed such a big one my first time.

We were lucky to have "The Legend" as Dave calls him along, it was the first time he had rowed a boat but you would have thought he had been doing it for years, all those hours in the gym paid off when the up-canyon winds hit and Steve made it all look like child's play.

Ryann is pretty mild mannered but also has a little bit of a wild side to her which is showing in the hairdo on this particular morning she is such a sweetie.

In this photo I think Macey had just gotten done doing a free style tap dance for us on the dry boxes, she is talented when it comes to singing and dancing and was such a big helper on the trip with her little bro Caleb. We were all impressed at how well all the kids got along the whole week.


Dave, our fearless leader, wearing his cobra hat. Thanks again for putting together such a great trip, nobody knows all the time, effort and concern over everything and everyone he puts into every trip.

Macey, Ryann and Uncle Dave

Steve and SueLyn

Cadin is such a sweetie with quite a bit of spunk. One day Corbin was being a big helper by lugging the big dry bags down to the boat and had one on like a backpack. As he was lumbering down a steep sand hill Cadin passed him as he was going up just as Corbin moved on by Cadin tuned around and without really thinking gave Corbin a good shove that left him face down in the sand. I don't know what Cadin was thinking other than maybe he was a little curious as to what would happen or with Corbin being the bigger brother, Cadin couldn't let an opportunity like that pass him by.

Camie, the brave mom who brought three kids along and left her two year old with her mom for the week both not too easy to do but in the end all the fun memories are worth all the effort.

Jon and Camie's seriously good cherry bars, we had great food on the river like Jon's clam chowder with big chunks of shrimp, Steves bratwursts, taco bowls, chicken enchiladas, beef burritos....kind of like going on a cruise with an endless supply of good stuff to eat. We also had steaks, potatoes and salad the last night with dutch oven birthday cake for Dave who turned 36 this year.

This was Ben's first multi-day trip even though he has kayaked quite a bit. These two had been married a couple years when last year she tore her ACL skiing and then this year Ben tore his skiing also, so now they have matching scars, luckily he was healed up enough in time to go on the trip. They had fun in the cutthroat boats and were a lot of help when it came to the assembly lines during meal times and making sure all the kids were fed.

Corbin, 8 years old, wasn't scared to get behind the oars. He was pretty determined to go the right way and had good natural instincts when it came to flexing them, it also doesn't hurt when you have an experienced oarswoman coach too.


My sister Sue was so fun to have along she is always laughing and cracking jokes, I'm so glad we got to finally go together, we decided this group and river should become a yearly tradition. THANKS AGAIN FOR THE GREAT TRIP EVERYONE WE LOVED IT! LET'S DO IT AGAIN SOON.

The Verde

2010-08-07T15:23:00.000-07:00

THE VERDE RIVER APRIL, 2010

We left for Arizona the week before Easter stayed in Blanding on the way home and back and returned home 8 days later. This was the first multi-day trip we had gone on with just the two of us since our honeymoon on the San Juan and we were really looking forward to a relaxing slow-paced vacation after a busy winter of working in the OR and non-stop oilfield freeze ups and problems so we were happy to leave the cold and head for warmer temperatures.
It turned out to be a great trip there were some fun rapids that were about class III but the real technical part was trying navigate through all the trees in the river because the water was at such high levels. Dave did a great job making the choices as to whether right or left would lead us to where we should go. A couple of times we were frantically rowing upriver against a strong current to go the other way, otherwise our only option to get through would be to hack our way through a wall of small trees with our steak knives. I'm not going to lie one time I was rowing upriver for about 5 minutes but was so tired at the end from the adrenaline rush of being left behind. It was really hard at time to have a few different options and as Dave would disappear around a corner I would say a little prayer that it would be the right way and we would emerge from the forest without incident on the other end of the forest of trees. I have never been on a river with so many trees in the water.

Dave attempting the first major rapid on the river after he made it through all safe the rest of us weren't so timid to give it a try, it was worse from the shore than it really was, but when going on a river you don't know a lot about and having it be the first time, there is always more suspenseful.

We got to this campsite before our neighbors showed up an hour later and we thought hmmm.....that's unusual there are how many camp sites and they choose to be right next to us? So we were a little bewildered by their choice. We hunkered down in the tent for a few hours and read because the wind was blowing hard and when we came out and I started getting food out for dinner one of the boaters across the way came to the shore and yelled for us to come over and have dinner with them so we both grabbed a plate and fork and loaded up on Dave's boat and scooted over to their side. We ended up having a great Mexican dinner with two couples that were all retired school teachers living out their retirement dreams. Their goal for the year was to spend three months on rivers and they were about halfway there when we met up with them.
We had so much fun visiting with them for a few hours around the camp fire while Dave shared his classic Edward Abby story with them and how his Dad had met up with him in Southern Utah when he was passing through. They hiked the next day to Indian ruins that were in the area and we continued down river.

This was the only stream we saw on the whole trip all the others were dried up by the time we got there.

Dave getting working on dinner with his fire pan and beloved fire logs.

This was on top of an old bridge that had been rebuilt to resemble the old one that was used to drive sheep across the river, they found it was easier to do that than take them by ferry. I can't imagine how hard it would be to live in this land in the early days and try to make a living out of nothing.

The takeout: This was just a quick picture before we loaded up and hit the road with Babe, our shuttle driver. The lake in the background was the reservoir that we ended having to cross at the end. The map said that sometimes at high water there is a flat water row out that is 8 miles long and we happened to be at the perfect time and were rowing through a maze of drift wood at the end with a slight breeze trying to push us back upriver. Dave blazed on ahead and left me and before long all that I could see was his oar blades dipping up and down in the water about a mile away. I know I am not that mentally strong but I honestly thought this was really hard. I also realized that I am a true emotional eater when my way of coping was to grab a string cheese and granola bar in each hand and in between each 4-5 rows I would take another bite my biggest fear was that I would run out of snacks before water. At one point I even contemplated just jumping in and ending it right then and there, I know...what drama, but it was hard so anyways there's my little experience....wahhhhhhh. Dave was to the boat ramp about 1 1/2 hours before me and I could barely walk from being stuck in the same rowing position all day. I stumbled up the hill and he gave me a big hug as I was fighting back tears but also didn't dish out a lot of sympathy as he said, "You know, honestly bud, I didn't think that was really that hard at all." And was a little incredulous that I didn't share the same feelings. That's what happens when your forearms are like popeys I guess. So if you decide to do the Verde just keep that 8 miles in mind and mentally prepare yourself for the row out. We headed home after dropping Babe off at her home and found a cute consignment store on the way home where I found a cute chair and night stand, then on the way home we picked up two hitch hikers one just south of Bluff finishing a San Juan trip and another North of Bluff that was from the East coast headed to visit his sister in CO and had come by foot. Dave always has pity for hitch hikers because one time he and his brother Dan were finishing a hike and it was 15 miles back to the trailhead and Dave started walking. Fifteen miles later he got in his car and went back to get his brother and all their gear. I bet that wasn't that hard either though. ; )

Livin the Life and Loving it!

2010-04-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

So I cannot say enough good about this lifestyle program. I would love to talk about it if anyone has any questions and tell you a little about my story, my e-mail is ojerseygirl22@hotmail.com contact me if interested. I started back in November wanting to eat healthier and see results from my workouts and I knew my main problem was nutrition. I feel like it has been such a learning experience, it is so empowering to know that for life this is something I can maintain and know that I am treating my body optimally.

You owe it to yourself to check it out no matter what your fitness and eating habits are this program benefits everyone I know who has started. I am in better health now than in high school when I was on the dance team and doing ballet for hours and hours every week.....anyways I know I've posted about this before but I just continue to love it more and more. I feel like my old habits are constantly being replaced by better ones. I want everyone to feel this good, have more energy and a more simplified life when it comes to doing what is best for your body, so check it out and I'll be quiet already : )
http://kristiapproved.infusionsoft.com/go/ltlwomens/michelle/

Carb Rite Protein Bars

2010-04-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

So I just have to share the love I have with all of you about carb rite bars because they are the BEST! I love these bars, I eat them with a piece of fruit for a meal during the day sometimes and I feel like I am having dessert. My favorite is for sure the toasted coconut, so good frozen too, I just ordered the chocolate brownie so I will have to give a review later, but seriously the toasted coconut is great more so than the peanut butter and smore's. I have not found a protein bar that is as good nutritionally with comparable flavor and texture and no weird aftertaste, happy protein eating.

Free stuff

2010-04-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

So I found out something kind of fun today when I was ordering some stuff online. I forget to do this all the time, but if are ordering items online, just go to google and type in the website and something about coupons or promotions along with it and you will get a list of offers that site has provided in the past some are already over with and won't work but......when I ordered today from vitacost, I googled coupons and was able to get a years free subscription of prevention magazine with it, one of my favorite mags to read...anyways I need to remember to do this more often. Who doesn't love getting something for free?

Cedar City

2010-04-13T20:31:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year we were able to go to Cedar City and visit with family. We hung out with Liz and Spence and Kids we had a fun time watching Corbin, Jon, Dan and Spence race in Mesquite at a desert race in February and enjoyed some warmer weather I felt like the winter here lasted forever. Liz and Spence had the cutest birthday party for their little guys Preston and Parker where they all had their own building aprons and had different stations with different projects, the kids loved it and thought it was the best party ever! One funny thing was that we stayed at our friend Curt's house and slept in his basement that we lived in when we were newly weds we even got to sleep on the futon, we stayed up and visited with Curt until 2 in the morning.....just like the good 'ol days we really miss Cedar City what a sweet town with lots of great memories.

LIFE THE LIFE

2010-01-14T14:29:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to put this new post up. Some of you might have already heard about LIVE THE LIFE also known as Kristi Approved. It is a lifestyle program that helps guide you in nutrition, exercise, resistance training, supplementation, accountability and other habits that help guide you throughout your life so that you can feel the best you possibly can.
I feel like I have always struggled with emotional eating, then over-exercising to compensate and just always feeling like I was on a roller coaster ride. Being in control then out of control depending on stress and happiness levels. I have always loved running and staying in shape but never felt like I was seeing the results I wanted for the amount of effort I was putting in. I feel like Live the Life has completely turned around a lot of false conceptions I had about staying in shape and doing what I needed to just feeling good and have the energy I needed despite all my reading and researching. I am now on my 10th week and have lost a total of 12 pounds and inches off my waist and hips without feeling totally deprived.

You can check out the free week of meals and workouts or check out the link at the bottom of the post for the official website.
FREE WEEK OF MEALS/WORKOUTS
http://kristiapproved.infusionsoft.com/go/7DC/michelle/

1. Live the Life Book = This contains all the meals and workout plans you will need for 12 weeks along with grocery shopping lists. I loved the fact that all the work was already done for me. All I needed to do was buy the food and eat it and do the workouts to the best of my ability. I feel like I have had a registered dietician and personal trainer I hired for a fraction of the cost.
2. Instructional DVD = This DVD has a lot of success stories and goes over the 7 principles they want you to incorporate into your life. The number one thing they focus on is NUTRITION which is exactly the knowledge that has been absent my whole life. I never feel like I was never really taught proper nutrition such as which foods to combine when to eat my meals, how many in a day, how much protein versus carbohydrates to eat, when to incorporate sugar etc.
3. Support Team = Trish and Kristi, the two women that developed the program, are with you the entire way whether it's through personal phone calls, e-mails, weekly conference calls they are right there with you to answer any questions, give support, motivation..
If you want to find out more check out the link of give me a call I'd love to talk more about it with you.

http://kristiapproved.infusionsoft.com/go/ltlwomens/michelle/

Reading list for the New Year

2009-12-23T09:19:00.000-08:00

My father in law gave me a list of some books he is having students in his literature class read for this next semester, I am excited to get going on them, he also had some good advise on where to purchase them. If you go to Dover books online about 4 of them were only $1.50 each, which means a run of the meal paper back but who cares, I'm thinking no hassle with the library due back date was worth the $20 bucks to get all of them, just thought I would share, I'm always looking for some good reads.
1. THE SCARLET LETTER
2. THE DOLL HOUSE
3. CANDIDE
4. WALDEN
5. 100 BEST POEMS
6. BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES
7. LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLAS

Has anyone already read any of these?

Cute mom and dad

2009-12-19T12:00:00.001-08:00

JUst a fun picture of the parents, I love em!

Christmas

2009-12-19T11:45:00.000-08:00

This last weekend was the McPherson Family get together. We had fun playing games, visiting, eating good food and just plain hanging out. Unforutnately Dave wasn't able to show up until saturday night because he was stuck in Reno all week for a job that was only supposed to take a couple days, but that's how the oilfield goes I guess. I love my in-laws and love spending time with them and their cute kids that are such sweethearts, I wish I would have taken more pictures and these were done in very, very low light and although I'm not too happy how they turned out, they give the general idea. My sister Cami put together a cute nativitiy and then we all opened presents. Morgan made a very cute sheep! We ended up driving home Sunday night in a crazy snowstorm and were pretty happy to be back safely in town.
Merry Christmas everyone, hope your holidays are filled with the Christmas spirit, family and friends.

Cute Witch

2009-10-30T19:24:00.001-07:00

My mom makes a cute witch

My two Buds...

2009-10-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't had as much time as I would like to take pictures, but I have a couple cute models that have been willing lately.....
Macey was such a good sport

and Caleb.....well...let's just say this kid never stops moving. Poor little guy had a red nose from taking a dive off the back porch

I wish I had a picture

2009-10-28T06:53:00.000-07:00

The other night we did a Halloween party for the Gardner family that my mom put together. Dave and I waited last minute to get our costumes together and I wish I had gotten a picture, but here's what he came up with. We have these seriously weird, bright yellow and black with huge zippers going across the chest dry suits for rafting. He put one on and we proceeded to inflate it with our raft pump. The end result was pretty sweet, he put on his rafting helmet and we headed to the party. Since it was a costume party we were excited to see the other costumes, especially what the adults were wearing. When we got there we were a little disappointed that only a few had dared to.....just picture this thing twice it's regular size. Everyone looked a little confused so Dave kept saying, "I'm a fat rafter." If we would have been better prepared we would have put a red cape on him and called him super Dave because it looked more like he was bulging with muscles. After awhile beads of sweat were starting to form and he had to take it off.
My cousin Sage showed up as a gypsy and put up a tent with a fortune telling sign on the top and had a glittery ball she would spin around on a table, it was too cool and she came up with the idea all on her own and the kids loved it. My grandma very fittingly showed up as a pioneer woman which she really is and with hiking boots on too. What's everyone going to be for halloween?

Taking Chance

2009-10-28T06:48:00.000-07:00

Dave and I watched this Red Box movie the other night, so, so good.
It made me so grateful for those that serve our country I highly
recommend it, at some point during it I was crying, Dave was or we both were.

Movies

2009-09-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

So not a whole lot has been going on lately other than Dave was able to go down to a Unit this last week and shoot his antelope, he was one happy guy and I was so happy he got one, he has been trying to get back into hunting post-college for a few years now but it has taken him some time to accumulate all of his hunting gear. He is now looking forward to the elk and deer hunts too which is great because I would to look into our freezer and see it stocked with meat as for now we have four six small baggies of antelope meat, which isn't THAT bad contrary to what most everyone told me....anyways I have seen some great movies lately that I wanted to share a couple are foreign or independent films and so good.... let me know if you have seen or if you check them out what you think, I'm kind of a good movie junkie so let me know if you have any others you love.

Very Annie Mary: This actress is so funny, this is such a quirkie movie

Dear Frankie: Made me cry, such a sweet film

Hot Rod: Quickly becoming on of our most favorite quoted films

Road Trip Anyone?

2009-08-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you spend about 30 hours, at least, in a truck? That's right one impatient person to get hiking which was Dave and I on our trip through the Tetons, Yellowstone and Glacier. I have wanted to go mainly to Glacier forever and after 4 years of nothing but rafting trips I felt like I was entitled to one major road trip request and I think Dave was a little intrigued with the idea being so different from the norm. We set off for our 11 day getaway last week and saw this moose on our way to stay with Ben and Michelle, Dave's sister. Thanks again for sharing your cute cabin in the woods with us you guys and for the birthday cake Michelle, you are seriously so thoughtful and freakin nice!

A moose we saw on the way to the Swaners cabin

p.S. CAN YOU SAY VINGETTING ANYONE? I tried to crop the pictures, but am frustrated with the slowness and incapability of myself, that they are staying like that

If you want to see some wildlife and scenery read on, I am still getting the hang of my camera and still feel retarded half the time and realize I've got a long way to go until I can quit my nursing job, ha...

We ended up camping the ENTIRE time, yes every night at first it felt a little bit like a hasstle, but being the thrifty/$ conscious gal I am, I always convince myself that I prefer the roughing it. After a few days though it was getting more and more fun not knowing where we would set up camp for the night and there were plenty of camnpgrounds all along the way so it wasn't too stressful either. This trip was a little different with all the bears and we ended up putting all food and food preparation items in the truck each and every night because we feared the wrath of the rangers, oh yeah and the bears too.

This is a river/waterfall in yellowstone, these are called the Lower Falls,

On day 5 we made our way to Glacier and ended up staying in the park for a few nights. We drove up the Going to The Sun Road which was seriously crazy and beautiful, I can't imagine all the effort it took to carve the road into the mountain. All I can say is that it is worth the drive up there to see it and of course the pictures definitely don't do it justice. The wildflowers were everywhere and I'd never seen so many waterfalls all at once. It was fun to play tourists for a day but that was enough. We were able to kind of get away from the crowds by hiking to haystack peak....which is where Dave was excited to glass the hillside and find some sheep and mtn. goats

The next day we went 14 miles to Cracker Lake, a turqoise, glacier fed lake. On this trip I learned some new terms about glaciers and other random snow stuff I was having fun referring to Dave as Mr. Google, or Encyclopedia, because I feel like I'm reading one when he explains things to me, those of you who know Dave know what I'm talking about...

After hiking for a day we were feeling it the next day and took an easy day to Hidden Lake which is behind the visitors center.

When we came back from our hike we were surprised to find some Rams hanging around the parking lot, it was almost funny because you would have thought they were posing for their photo shoot and were very patient with everyone taking pictures, of course the Rangers were honking their horns and trying to shoo them away too....

I would definitely recommend Glacier though, totally worth the gas and drive.

The Snake

2009-07-28T16:01:00.001-07:00

Every summer for the last 13 years my cousing Darren has put together trips to Jackson Hole to run the daily on the Snake and do other fun stuff around that area. This last weekend over the 24th was the week he had reserved the campsite. Dave and I were planning on going but after months of not having to work weekends he had to work this last one, such a bummer, it's always more fun when he's there. Instead my friend, whom I like to call "Boss" because she actually is let me tag along with her and her hubbie Albert. We ran it on Friday and then went into town that night and got some delicious salt water taffy, I seriously love that stuff, then watched my brother Jason try on cowboy hats, ate at the Merry Piglets, then ran it again on Saturday.

I went in a duckie with Boss for the first time and we just about got bowled over by on small wave, but were victorious in the end. We did bail out and hop in the raft before Kahuna and Lunch Counter rapids though, maybe next year. It was fun to get together with cousins I haven't hung out with for years even though we live in the same town (which is ridiculous I know) and it was also a good reminder that although some things are a long drive away, it's worth the effort and drive.

I'm loving the picture of the red miniature boat with 5 adults in it popping a wheelie, ohh yea!

More fun on the 4th

2009-07-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

Corbin and Cayden are both awesome dirt bike riders, here are some shots of Corbins bike and some of his gear, he is such a sweetie and was nice to provide the riding shoe shots. Thanks Corb and Cayden you guys are serious studs!

I have to say that my little niece, Ryan, wanted to make sure I got her Minnie Mouse T-shirt in the pictures, she was such a good little sport, maybe sitting in her princess chair helped?

Just some fun pictures of the kids and other Random Stuff

Celebrating the 4th

2009-07-16T17:57:00.001-07:00

This year for th 4th we spent in in Blanding, which just happens to be one of the cutest towns in Utah I think. Everybody turned up for the weekend, all I think 22 or 23 of us, I don't know I seriously lost count. I have to give serious props to my in-laws for hosting the event and having the house turned upside down for the weekend. It was fun to get together and do some 4-wheeling, watching the boys ride their dirt bikes, hanging out, playing ladder ball, eating good food, watching the parade, the fireworks, all the late nights and early mornings, watching the kids enjoy each other, and going to all the festivities. Let's do it again next year.

Storm

2009-07-16T17:51:00.001-07:00

I was over at my parents house the other day and this storm was rolling on through, I thought the clouds were pretty cool. Macey, Caleb and I took a walk around the pond with the dogs and it was thundering and lightening by the end and skidaddled it back to the house with Caleb picking up rocks all along the way. In some of my pictures you'll see my hard working Dad putting in a fountain, the only thing that gets him in the house is either the sun going down or a heavy dose of rain.

Kindergarten here she comes!

2009-07-16T17:26:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it my little niece Macey turned the big #5 this last week - time flies!!! I was instructed by her to listen to the doctors at work and help get the babies out so I could get money to buy her a birthday gift, when I asked her how much the doctors would give me she said $3 dollars. Macey used to be addicted to the Discovery Health show and loved to watch the babies be born, I think at one time I had told her that sometimes I did C-sections and she still remembers. We love you Macey Ray

We're Home

2009-06-16T16:10:00.000-07:00

Well we're finally back from our trip here are some pictures I took with my handy dandy new camera, I am definitely a beginner wanna-be photographer. We had a great time, a trip of a lifetime as Dave would say, maybe two. We all went into the trip feeling a little anxious/excited not quite knowing what to expect, having never rafted it before. The rapids turned out to be big, weather and water levels were in our favor and we were able to get through unscathed with no flipped or ripped boats, thank goodness... We rafted about 15 miles a day and all in all did 26 hikes from the river, a lot of these were slot canyons with waterfalls at the end or indian ruins or reservations such as Havasupai.
Thank you thank you my sweet hubby for having an adventurous nature and putting all the time and effort into making it all a success, you are seriously the Best ever! (ahhhhh I know... so cute)
P.S. this post is also a ploy to get all of our friends to buy rafts so you can put in for river permits so we can eventually take over the world....um more on that later..

Charles is contemplating how to single-handedly slaughter the rapid
While his sister Geneva is getting ready to get pounded by the waves the ???time

Alex this is no time to be practicing your ninja skills

Dave was pretty excited to see some of these 4-legged friends, His plan is to commit homicide on one of them some day.

Seeing this old metal thing makes me grateful for our pretty rubber boats.

The small squares in the background is a grainery. We hiked up to in extremely hot temps, bring on the gatorade-and bacon

Dave is the big 35 on this trip Happy Birthday Bud!

We did whatever it took to stay cool, one night we went to bed and it was 90 degrees at 11 at night, didn't help we camped by some black canyon walls.

I managed to get stuck with some prickley things multiple times I attribute it to my abnormally long feet and tendency to be clumsy

Charles documenting the trip

Scouting the route

One hike we did was Havasu Canyon. I was really excited about having been there years ago. It was a little different this time around, I guess when you hear the word "blowout," it usually isn't good because that's what happened to the place last summer in a flood. This hike was 12 miles round trip and half-way through a few of us had been scratched by the branches of small shrubbery around our calves and ankles and were really, really sore and red, then it was time to turn around and get more ripped to shreds on the way back and then there the ingenious idea to put some aloe vera on our sore legs, which by the way contains alcohol oh and by the way so does lotion and most other topical agents....just thought you would all like to know that. One thing I've realized though is that sometimes suffering is part of the fun and makes almost anything more memorable maybe that's why Dave enjoys it so much or else he's just really sick in the head, who knows?

It was hard to come back to reality and to convince myself all over again as to why I live a conventional, semi-normal life and am not a river guide living in a teepee, actually I never want to live in a teepee, maybe a broken down bus instead So here's to all the "Fun Hogs" as Dave would say that we were able to spend so much time with on the riv. Let's do it again soon so we'll have a reason to empty those blasted toilets.

Dreams Really Do Come True

2009-04-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

If it looks like a long way..... it is about 220 miles

I can only hope to look this sexy in shorts!

So some of you might know that Dave has been paying the $25 bucks a year faithfully for the past 12 plus years, trying to get a permit to raft the Grand Canyon. We had all but given up hope that this would be another year we wouldn't be able to go down, when we were luckily able to pick up a cancellation permit, we had 1 hour to decide whether or not to take it and we said what the heck, let's do it....So....the fun will begin on May 24 and for the next 16 days we will be floating on flat water/ getting pummeled by water in the waves/finding sand in our food/sleeping in sand/baking in the hot sun/cooking on a camp stove and lots of other things that go with rafting for two plus weeks. We are pretty excited.. and more excited to have some good friends be able to join us. I am sure we will have some crazy stories to tell after all is said and done as there always seems to be. I found some pics on the internet that kind of give a good idea of what we get to expect....

This is Havasupai, It's "only" an 8 mile hike to get up to it from the River, but I am willing because it is like a paradise island in the middle of the desert. The coolest thing is that you can go get some fry bread and a navajo taco because it is on a reservation and you know how I love my fry bread..mmmm

Skiing with Friends

2009-03-26T13:42:00.001-07:00

Monday was a good day! because....I got to go skiing with my college buddy Traci and her husband Christian and Dave was able to get the day off, so for the second time this season they were able to hook up and spend the day at Deer Valley, thank you again Traci and Christian for the free tickets, what a fun day. We were thinking it was going to be a good powder day with the storm moving in, but it must have all been blown off the mountain, it was an ice festival instead. At the end of the day Dave said he thought the conditions were fun, which is so Dave he's all into the surviving harsh conditions because he's tough 'n stuff, despite the weather which really wasn't that bad, it was fun to hang out with friends that are awesome skiers and so laid back. We only wish we lived closer and could do more stuff together. Traci and Christian, when you want a fun weekend in the Basin (we could 4-wheel, stay in a yurt...etc) come on out. It was fun to follow Christian who knows the mountain really well and with his help were able to find some fun snow. I'm so lucky to have Traci as a friend, she is one tough girl and is totally independent and comfortable in her skin. This is the girl that took off to Austria by herself on our post-college Europe trip then met up with us in Switzerland I think it was...plus she is all about living a healthy, whole life, she is one crazy cool girl

Neice and Nephew

2009-03-25T18:25:00.001-07:00

Just a little note on how much I love Macey and Caleb, they are the best ever and always make me happy to be around. We fixed up our spare guest bedroom, and when I told Macey it was ready for her to come and stay she was pretty excited and had to come right on over and check out "her room," she loved it and was telling a friend later that,"It was beautiful," she is so funny. Dave had thrown some clothes in the bottom of the closet and she informed him that he needed to get those out so there would be enough room for her clothes. Later on I guess she was feeling more charitable and told him that it was actually okay if he wanted to leave them in there and she would find the room. Caleb is always laughing, he is so happy and is already such a tease.

4-Wheeling again

2009-03-25T18:21:00.000-07:00

So Dave had been working like a mad man for 3 days straight to get his friend, Adam's, four-wheeler ready for a shed hunting excursion they were planning a couple weekends ago. He put a winch on the front a tow bar on the back, a huge box, a cage on the front and a rifle case. I must admit it was a pretty sweet setup, and it was done Dave style, anyone that knows Dave knows what this means, I'm talking all the electrical ends were covered with electrical tape, all the wiring was bomber and there were probably plenty of boyscout knots involved also, I ended getting the "abridged" tour at the end that took about an hour, just kidding not that long, but to say the least he was a little proud of the end product.
I guess the winch came in handy over their guycation they ended up having to winch all 3 wheelers at various times through the knee deep snow and hand a generally good time being boys. I'm glad Dave has such good friends to hang out with. As a thank you present for the 4-wheeler set up, Adam surprised Dave with a new pistol that is pretty sweet, what a nice guy to be so thoughtful, as a result Dave has been cleaning it and shining it up while watching hunting shows this whole last week, but that is another obsession in and of itself to talk about some other time : )
The pictures of Dave and I are from a trip we took to Moab about a month ago, we went to Gemini bridges which was pretty fun to see, it's nice that Moab is only a little drive away, The reason my face looks so weird is because there is some serious dirt accumulation there.

Painting Furniture/Losing my Mind

2009-03-25T18:02:00.000-07:00

So you might be wondering why I would put pictures of furniture on this blog well I will tell you why because this is what I have been doing lately. It has sort of become an obsession and it's sick because there is an endless amount of old furniture out in the world and I have plenty of sponge brushes. I have a couple other projects I'm still working on, I have an addiction to glazing somebody help me, hopefully I will like how these pieces look for years to come because painting is tedious! to say the least. The buffet table was an ugly apple green when I got it at Taipan, so I changed it to match my cabinets. The red entertainment center used to be my mom's, thank you mom so much for hand me downs I love it now, just needs some cute handles though. Next up is my sewing room table, cedar chest and picture fram that I'm going to put fabric covered cork on.

Desert race down South

2009-03-25T17:56:00.000-07:00

A few weekends back we were excited to be able to go to Cedar City and hang out with Liz and Spencer and kids and Jon and Cami 'n kids. Liz and Jon are Dave's siblings. It was such a fun getaway. It was great to be back in Cedar again, I would move back in a heart beat and it would be a bonus to be in the same town as Liz because she is such a stud muffin. We went to Jon and Corbins desert races on Saturday down by Washington. I think Dave shed a few tears (and he would admit it) as Corbin raced around the track. Corbin has been riding without training wheels since he was 2 years old and is going to be a star someday I'm pretty sure. We hung out for a few hours near the car waiting for Jon to come by to refill his tank. Just a fun day hanging out with my two amazing sister in-laws and spend time with their cute kiddos.

SKIING WITH THE GIRLS

2009-03-09T14:13:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago we girls had a fun day at Sundance. I have been wanting to take Macey, my neice, skiing for a couple years and was happy to have a willing mom and sister too. Macey being 4 years old now is more than qualified and I knew her athletic would help. It was a sunny day and the snow was perfect, not a bit of ice and it was warm. I was a little hesitant not knowing how she would take to the whole experience but as always Macey was completely excited and gave it her all. The first ski lift ride we rode she was loving it. I have to admit I have really missed ski instructing over the past few years, but it was a good reminder as to why so many (young) college students do it for work. My main motivation was to get her to quit falling down so I would limit my hiking time.
The funniest quote of the day was when we were halfway down the first run and she was feeling a little worked over she stopped in her biggest pizza move and said, "Chell, when are we goin shoppin?" I thought oh man we need to do more things like this rather than go shopping with the girls all the time. I said, "Macey we're not shoppin today we're skiin" The day turned out great after the first run, Macey took a quick snack break while mom and I took off and when we met back up she was good to go. For the next 3 1/2 hours she did not stop and loved the freedom of sliding on snow and was wanting to go through trees and powder. It was also fun to see mom ski after 6 years of not going, she was pretty excited when she didn't fall getting off the lift the first time.
It was so fun to just have it be the girls out enjoying the mountains together.

Hanging out with Macey

2009-01-24T14:19:00.001-08:00

It is Saturday and after going for a run with SueLyn, my sister and lifting some weights, she very nicely agreed to put some blonde in my hair. I ended up painting Maceys nails if you click on the picture of her and me you see that she put some stickers on her lips and nose, just another lazy Saturday in Roosevelt, luckily Dave just called and he is home from work, so yeah we can have some hang out time together before he heads back out to the oil patch tomorrow. I hate it when he works Sundays I get some sad looks from people who think my husband is inactive I think

New Truck

2009-01-24T14:17:00.000-08:00

So after all the mayhem of trying to truck shop this is what we ended up with, so tell me the honest truth, do you think the wheels are too Hoochie Mamma? They came with, so I'm thinking if my brother could work these maybe I can too?
Oh and question of the day what does Hoochie Mamma mean?

Blanding for the Weekend

2009-01-24T13:46:00.000-08:00

This was a fun last week, luckily Dave and I have some good friends that hooked us up with some ski passes at Deer Valley. Traci, a college roommate and traveling bud and her husband Christian gave us a day tour as we skied around the resort. This might seem like something stupid to write about but it was the first time that I had gone skiing since the winter of 2007 so it had been about 2 years since I had been last due to my broken leg incident. At first I thought I'm gonna ski cautiously today and take it easy, well forget that it was so what's a good word-invigorating to finally be back on the snow, it reminded me all over again how much I love skiing and what a great way to experience the moutains in the wintertime. I also appreciated the fact that we had friends to go with. I taught skiing for 4 years in college at BrianHead and was trying to recruit friends to the sport when Traci proved to be a willing student, I actually think she was just being a good patient friend, so we went up one night night skiing at Brianhead on their very small bunny hill. One motivating factor was that Dave, whom I had a major crush on and his room mate Curtis whom Traci had a crush on were working weekend nights on ski patrol up there. So we were pretty excited to have them pull chairs for us while we lapped the hill. I'll never forget Traci who who is all guts raced down the hill and at the last minute ducked a guard rope before becoming a human slingshot, scared me to death. The Paul Harvey rest of the story is that a few years later, Traci went out with a guy who had seen her up at Snowbird where she was teaching ski lessons and he was a big skier and their first date was a ski date and he had back country gear and Dave had helped her get her own back country skis so it was a match made in heaven, they were married about a year ago.

So Friday of last week we headed down to Blanding for the weekend, John and Cami were there along with Liz and her kids. It was so fun, we don't get to see a lot of each other so when we do we take advantage of it. We were up until 2:30 in the morning of Friday and Dave and Liz stayed up until 4:30 in the morning talking. We went four wheeling on Saturday by Lake Powell but were both pretty tired. We did a birthday party with individual cakes for four of the grand kids which was fun and exciting for them then had another late night. I love my in-laws so much and am so lucky to consider them my best friends. I also appreciate Bob and Betsy for hosting these crazy weekends, feeding and cleaning up after us and being such great parents to us and Dave we appreciate their examples so much. So there's my ahhhh moment.

Cross Country Skiing

2009-01-24T13:33:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago Mom and I both had basinitis, this is when you get the bug to get out of town, I called her up on Friday and asked her if she would want to go cross country skiing at Wasatch State Park. She replied with a hearty "Yes," it is something she had never done and something I've wanted to do ever since going a few times back in college. We had a fun time, sliding around on the snow and the weather was great, we didn't really know what we were doing, but fake it till you make it right? We did the lake course first, which was pretty mellow we were getting pretty excited and feeling pretty athletic I think and talked all the way about how we could buy our own equipment and lap the golf course back at home. We fully intended on hitting D.I. when we headed on into Provo later that day to get all set up with our own gear. At the end of the lake course is the mountain course and at that point I think we were both feeling pretty brave and confident, so we crossed the road and started hiking our first steep ascent. Well things got a little hairy after that, turns out going downhill is a lot different when your heels are not locked down and are standing on skis the width of tooth picks. After quite a few wrecks and my mom hearing me yell up the hill, "Just don't break a hip," we were done.
The best part was seeing my mom come up a huge hill and ski down towards me without the jacket that was wrapped around her waist, luckily it didn't take too long to retrieve it, otherwise we were just going to call it a loss, at this point we were tuckered out, wet and cold. We got back to the lodge and ran our hands under hot water for a few minutes, regained the feeling and headed out. Suffice it to say we didn't go to D.I. that day. I'm glad I've got a buddy to do some fun advetures with me though, thanks Mom!

What's been happening

2009-01-06T14:59:00.000-08:00

I am finally getting around to doing this, I am a lazy blogger, what can I say...Plus...I enjoy giving all the usual excuses such as I have been working a lot, the holidays...ummm..working a lot, anyways life has been busy.
I am pleased to announce that the last scab has fallen off my scar from getting my plate taken out of my leg awhile back I now have a beautiful reminder for the rest of my life that suggests what a year 2008 was. Looking back over the year it's crazy how much and how little can happen at the same time. Some of the recaps were my car wreck, hospital bills, more hospital bills, building our house doing a lot of the finish work ourselves, moving into our first house, yipeee and finally!!!As a result Dave lost even more of what remains of his sense of freedom..kind of kidding, we both now realize that being tied down to a mortgage payment is worth it.
Other eventful things that happened in 2008:
Broken Leg/totaled car, SueLyn my sister had Caleb a new addiction for us, Michelle my sis-in-law got married, Dan my bro-in-law divorced, Jon and Cami had Morgan, baby #4, Heather my sis-in-law is pregnant with surprise baby #1, Michael, my little bro, broke off his engagement thank goodness, I was able to start working in Surgery as a circulating nurse, and and so glad to not have any more graveyard shifts, after about 9 months I am finally not losing sleep over stressing over work and the doctors don't scare me as bad or at all. Jason started working with my Dad for RNI and they haven't killed each other yet, Mom continues to spoil all of us rotten, We finally spent 5 days on the Selway river in N. Idaho, so pretty and Dave shot his first and hopefully only bear, you can only do so many things with a bear rug. We also floated the daily on the green with family, what a disappointing year for river trips though, hopefully we will make up for it in 2009. One of the best things that has happened to us was the purchase of our 4-wheelers, talk about having something to look forward to on weekends changing ones life, we went with our friends down by the green river, up by Flaming Gorge a lot, In Moab for a weekend by ourselves and then my Dad bit the bullet and got one and him and my mom went on a day trip to Moab with us too. Seeing how excited Mom was after conquering a tough trail was definitely a highlight, she is such a good example to me. Dave is in the Elders Quorum presidency the perfect calling for his busy job, I am teaching the 4-6 year olds and learning a LOT. Thanksgiving was spent in Blanding with my in-laws that I seriously love to death I always leave wanting to be more like my sister-in-laws and committing myself to being a nicer me, Christmas in Roosevelt was fun with only 1 grandkid and 8 adults doing the nativity - we love you macey! and other random stuff. So there it is our kind of sort of history for the year

One "fun" thing that happened recently was when I had a more than usual retarded moment. I went to Park City for a day to do some shopping and noticed the oil pressure gauge was a little lower than when I started, I mentioned this to Dave and he said make sure you check it before you come home, well I didn't want to in the parking lot outside the stores and then by the time I got to Heber, I thought I'm so close to home, and the truck has been running great...blah blah blah, long story short, the engine exploded about 1/2 hour later in curn creek, luckily right by a gas station. Oh my stupidity I thought, why didn't I just check it, I called Dave and you can guess it he asked me if I had checked the oil, "No" I say, "Well, check it and call me back," he answers. So I check it and call back, I say, "There's no oil in it", Dave says using a lot patience, "Oh, okay well I'll be there in a while to get ya," It was a quiet ride home, the only silver lining was that the truck was 16 years old and had multiple rust spots and we were waiting for it to explode before we got a new one, anyways....I learned a valuable lesson that day and will always check the oil, no matter what.
Luckily Jason my bro had a truck that he was thinking of selling and we liked it and convenience of just buying it from him, so we are the proud owners of a Nissan Titan, woo hoo, I'm just nervous driving it though, my track record is not good.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-06T14:19:00.001-08:00

This was a great year in Blanding, as always there was a large crowd and lots of late nights, I don't think any of the adults went to bed before midnight the whole weekend because it's always too much fun to reminisce and hear jokes and tell stories. After thanksgiving dinner all the girls got together at Betsy's art room at the school and had a craft/project night. On Friday we went hiking in a place I didn't even know existed called Natural Bridges National Park, it is so pretty a lot like arches or canyonlands I would think, we hiked to an arch with the little kids and I had to smile when I heard my brilliant sister-in-law, Liz, tell the little kids that all the kids who finished the hike by themselves got a piece of bubble gum at the top, luckily that promise was good for us big kids too.
After the hike we hung out and told more stories, then on Saturday Dave and I went four wheeling around Lake Powell for some nice "time away from the mayhem" not that we don't love all the nieces and nephews, but just nice to ride around alone. All in all it was such a fun weekend. We are so blessed with such an amazing family and always leave with a few more inside jokes and stories we continue to laugh about for weeks afterwards.

Tagged

2008-11-14T07:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks Alisha for tagging me, I'll try to make this as interesting as possible.
8 Shows I like to watch...

1. HGTV, Design Star
2. HGTV, Design on a Dime
3. HGTV, Color Splash, are you noticing a theme?
4. Ellen
5. 24
6. Biggest Loser
7. So you think you can dance; Dave "really" likes it too, yeah right
8. Discovery Channel anything

8 Restaurants I Like...

1. Cafe Rio
2. Olive Garden
3. Gandolfos, this ones for you Jason
4. The Train Station, in Heber
5. Pizza Factory
6. The Grill for the ambiance ;)
7. Los Hermanos
8. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, okay so it's not a restaurant

8 Things that happened yesterday...

1. Slept in until 9 am, which never happens
2. Hung out with my niece and nephew for a couple hours
3. Went running/walking due to my non-work day, so nice to have a morning
4. Did a couple loads of laundry
5. Read for 1 hour in "Far from the Madding Crowd," pretty good book
6. Won both of my city league volleyball games woo hoo!
7. Actually made my bed, boring I know..
8. I found my wedding ring that has been lost for 2 weeks, Thanks Sue!

8 I things I'm looking forward to...

1. Thanksgiving in Blanding, spending time with my in-laws
2. Getting the plate taken out of my leg next friday and being able to run with no pain, hopefully someday
3. Going to Orem with my mom this weekend and going to Heathers shower
4. Getting off work early today
5. 4-Wheeling in Blanding over Holiday
6. Getting the basement all cleaned up and setting up the bow flex
7. Just life in General
8. Snow and Ski Season

8 things on my wish list...

1. For David on Color Splash to decorate my house, somebody help me!
2. For all that time on the stair climber to pay off
3. To have a new car, not that I don't dig my 94' toyota with the pig hauler, the pig is Dave's Raft
4. Finish our basement
5. Come home one day and have a fully lanscaped yard, free of charge
6. Become a better cook, my sister and mom will back me up on this one
7. Stop biting my nails
8. To go on a big Alaska Trip in the spring with my hubs

I see STARS!

2008-11-13T14:10:00.001-08:00

Hey all you McPherson girls...Here are the stars, just get some regular mod podge matte-mat, you can get it at wal-mart for like $3.70, and you could even just use one type of paper on the whole star or do different, way cute with little boy and girl colors too or whatever you guys are better at this stuff than I am, a really big bow really makes it though and spray glitter at the end finishes it off, looking forward to our girls night over the Holidays!

4-Wheeling with Mom and Dad

2008-11-13T13:52:00.000-08:00

This last weekend, my parents were up for a spur of the moment trip to Moab, we left early on Saturday, went and road the Determination Towers trail we had rode in the past and had a lot of fun putting along. I was a little nervous for my Mom starting at the begining and worried she'd be hateing her life and us by the end because I had forgotten just how technicle it was and the only 4-wheeling Mom has done has been on dirt roads. I soon realized though that my mom has some serious skills. Throughout the ride I kept looking over my shoulder hopeing she wouldn't be at a stand still and she'd be right behind me, I was so impressed. I think she has learned to deal so well in these situations ever since we took her skiing for the first time and went straight to the top of the mountain thinking she would have no problem we have never lived that one down. After the ride we ate a late lunch at a Mexican restaurant and walked down main street, Dave gave us permission to go into 3 stores. Thanks for going Mom and Dad, it was so fun to spend the day with you. We are lucky to have parents that will go rafting, hiking and wheelin with us!

MOAB TRIP

2008-10-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

So due to Dave's, I know you're all sick of hearing about it, crazy schedule we decided we needed some R&R and were luckily able to take off to Moab for 4 days this last weekend, it was the only other kind of longer trip we had done since May and long overdue. Nothing is better than going away for an extended period of time, but to be honest about a month would have been ideal. It was so relaxing..I woke up the second day there and saw something I hadn't seen for awhile - clear white eyes. - I've gotten so used to having red eyes I forgot what it was like and no visine doesn't help, only restful sleep. I know what you're all thinking "Just wait till you have kids, right?"
So anyways the first trail we did was Determination towers, then we did another one where we crossed a creed about 40 times, then we did the Manti La Sal Pass and then another one where there was some wind caves and old homesteads. The fun thing with Moab is there is a never-ending network of trails and you never get bored of the red rock scenery, plus the town has such a cool feel to it with all the bikers and jeepers running around. We are trying to figure out when to go back.

Taylor Mountain

2008-10-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

Just a fun day up on Taylor Mtn. This place only took about 45 minutes to get to and was a hidden fun spot to ride, the fall colors were great and luckily we got this ride in because a day later during the Elk hunt when my dad and brothers were not so lucky it snowed about 2 feet in the mountain.

Day for the Girls

2008-10-17T18:50:00.000-07:00

So did I mention I think my mom is pretty much the "coolest" mom around? We have had some pretty fun adventures in the past and a couple weekends ago I had had it with Dave's work schedule; meaning that I was feeling desperate to do something fun before heading back to work the next week. So my very nice, understanding and open-minded mom was willing to go 4-wheeling. Only problem when she showed up with the truck, Dave had locked the trailer hitch - agghhh, darn his safety conscious mind sometimes, but at the same time I love that about him, so with Dave away on a job with the key in his truck we hauled my brother Mikes trailer to the house, in the process, gasing up the truck, getting the 4-wheeler on the trailer and getting out of town despite scary looking clouds looming in the direction we were headed, we were gone. We went up to Yellowstone Canyon and my mom had never been there so it was fun to show her around.
We had quite the time, everything was fun and games until out of nowhere the clouds were black all around us and we were about 2 hours from the truck...well you can guess what happened next the rain really came down, along with hail and a lot of wind. We were pretty much unprepared too since we're not boy scouts. Luckily my mom had the ingenious idea of taking my socks off and using them for mittens which she had to do for me because my hands were frozen from driving, then I would stop every ten minutes and put them next to the exhaust to warm them up which worked surprisingly well. Some of my favorite lines from my mom were: "Is the hail hurting your face too?", and I yelled "YES!" in addition to: "Are you sitting in a puddle too?" to which I replied "YES!" We were soaked from the waist down and so cold by the time we got back to the truck, but had a blast, thanks mom for being such a good sport on my crazy/unprepared adventures....next time we will have full body rain suits or something.

Painting time

2008-09-11T17:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I was bored again this last weekend, due to widowitis. It's what I sometimes get when my husband is gone for an extended amount of time due to crazy work hours and I start to feel like I am not married anymore. So I do some desperate things when I start feeling this way like looking around at my house, then at my moms and seeing if anything needs to be transplanted, luckily my mom is an eager giver and has a lot of garage sale worthy stuff in my dads shop that he is equally eager to get rid of, so he can have more room for his own junk.
So this last weekend I inherited her old CD player which might not sound like a great find, but I don't have an IPOD, so am still in the stone age using CD's. Then I got her old sewing machine stand, I felt the frustration of sewing would ease the symptoms of my disease. I also got the old mirrors to my bedroom set and had the idea to paint them, the pictures don't do them justice, they're uglier in person.
I also got an old sewing machine chair too that has a hole in the seat that will somehow get patched. So after I made out like a bandit, I spent the rest of the day painting. Our front door was red, but I didn't care for it much, so now after a patient sister and 3 trips to Ace Hardware for a color match, I finally found this on-the-shelf color and called it good. I like the result, I just need a cute wreath to go on it....."mom....."
I also painted the mirrors brown and they look hideous. Luckily I was able to find some knobs for my moms old dresser at Target at a great price and got that project finished finally. All in all it was a productive weekend.

Hiking up Rock Creek

2008-09-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

My mom is the best sport ever!! A couple years ago she hiked the Kings Peak trip with me, then she did Timpanogos the next year, then....she was again a great sport this fall to do another hike this time, Rock Creek, which is North of the Still Water Dam and resevoir. We thought we would just take it easy, but it always happens, curiosity gets the best of you and you just have to keep seeing what's up ahead, even though all 3 of your granola bars were eating long ago and it's incredibly hot and the trail is steep. We made it up these switchbacks wishing to see a lake or something significant, but no, just more mtns. So at this point we'd been hiking for 4 hours and were tired, we decided to turn around, much to my moms disappointment. We passed some horsemen on the way down and told them where we'd been, we had no clue how far, but they said that we had hiked 10 miles, so that means at 4 pm that afternoon and a lot of stopping to dip our toes in the river or take pictures we made it 20 miles. We could not eat the sandwiches we had left in the car fast enough, and just missed a major downpour by the time we hoped in the car. Thanks mom for being so tough at such an old age, and caring that your daughter might get eaten by a bear if she hikes alone :) You are such a good example to me, most moms would say forget it, not you.

Weekend Fun

2008-09-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, my mom, sis and I plus 2 little kids, Macey and Caleb went to....Swiss Days. For all of you who have never been, it's crazy, there are a million, seriously a million craft booths, your husbands would hate it! Where you can see tons of magnetic boards and frames with stickers on them, plus lots of good "Swiss" food. I got the swiss chicken sandwich and it did have a slice of swiss cheese. We hung out and walked around all morning, and found some good finds where we felt pretty sure we could go home and make some of our own, or in other words, copy them, hee, hee
After swiss days we headed to Orem, for some more self-induced mayhem of shopping around. Thanks Aunt Janae for letting us stay the night and humoring our attempts at being crafty by helping us make head bands, you are a very good sport. Saturday we stopped at bridal veil falls on the way home and took some pics, and ate lunch. We saw a funny thing on the way there, this bare-chested guy that had all bodily hair shaved off, race walking on the canyon trail, just out doing his thang I guess. It reminded me of a funny Mr. T commercial, where he's making fun of a guy just like this one, it is definetely looking up on you tube!

Neice, Nephew and Sister

2008-08-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the pool, I'm amazed at how swift of a swimmer my 4 year old neice Macey has become, she is such a fish...we are hanging out at Sue's house and just having fun, here are some pictures so you can meet a the cuties I can't get enough of.

Rafting the Green

2008-08-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

Don't you think these pictures of Dave are so flattering to his lips? Gotta love him

I don't know if you can call it rafting or floating at this water level, but it was a nice relaxing day with family and some friends of my brother Jason, who is captain of the paddle boat. He is dateing a cute girl, Sherry, that we are all trying to not get too attached too, she brought her two incredibly cute kids out along with some other friends. Dave and I loaded up one of our cutthroats and put on below the dam. The best thing about the Green river is that the water is crystal clear and there's so many fish there you can see them floating along as you go down.

We took off the river and drove home and were too tired to do much of anything for the rest of the day. Why is it that in college I used to stay up until 2 in the morning and now I start to freak out if I'm not in bed by 10 pm?
This is the big dilemma, maybe some of you can relate....If I'm not in bed by a certain time I start to stress out because I have to get up at 5 a.m., so it's a balancing act of being proactive with motivating Dave to go to bed who always needs to read himself a bedtime story of some hunter out there committing homicide on creatures with antlers. Hopefully at by the time the lights are out I can stay relaxed enough to get some shut eye. If not then I am checking my alarm clock at 10:30, then at 11:00, then at 11:30, then feeling desperate enough to get myself out of bed and do what I should have done hours ago, pop a benadryl!

Dave and I went to my parents house on Sunday for birthday dinner for my dad, had some hamburgers and hung out after. It's so fun to have my parents in town and always relaxing to go hang out and my mom always manages to have something good to eat when we're there, just like my Grandma Gardner has always been. I can't go visit my grandma without her sending me home with a jar of homemade jam or a plate of cookies, these ladies are my inspiration!!

Here Elk, Here Elk

2008-08-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

Blanding, Utah
Around the end of July Dave and I went to Blanding for a pre-hunt scouting session with our friends Paula and Braedon Richmond who drew an elk tag for the upcoming bowhunt in August. This was the first time I was able to go into the Blue Mountains and Elk Ridge area and it was incredible! I guess all mountains have certain things that make them unique and these have a lot of red and white cliffs with very dense forests. We rode our 4-wheelers all around and set up cameras around watering holes and wallows, which is a place they like to roll around in the mud. We loved hanging out with Braedons family and enjoyed getting away for a few days. I came off the mountain on Saturday and hung out with my mom and dad in-law and my sister in-law Cami whose baby is 3 weeks old and adorable. It was fun to take the kids on rides and just hang out. Dave came off the mountain late Saturday night and then we headed home on Sunday.

4-WHEELING IN THE HIGH UINTAHS

2008-07-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

Dave and I got, as Cayden calls them "Fear Wheeler,"

this year and have had a lot of fun exploring more of

what Uintah Basin has to offer. They've also been to

Blanding to do Arch Canyon and around July 24, we'll

be, as I was told, seriously combing the Blue Mountains

in blanding for Elk with some friends.

Right after Dave got his he was so excited on the new tires and rims he found and insisted I get them too. Come to find out they decreased the power and he is now chalking it up to an expensive learning experience. Anybody need any rims and tires?

I told Dave that going on rides has redeemed the Basin for me, we have been in some beautiful areas covered with wild flowers and don't ever seem many other rides around, it's great to have something to do after a day of work.

The Selway River May of 2008

2008-07-22T18:49:00.000-07:00

This is considered to be one of the 10 best river
trips in the world and I believe it. It rained for
the whole trip with off and on sunshine. There was
some carnage but that only makes the trips more memorable
Dave, Michelle, Braedon Richmond and Ken Sim were participants

RECAP OF HOUSE BUILDING FOR DUMMIES

2008-07-22T18:26:00.000-07:00

After much debate we finally started building in August of 2007 and were able to move in during April, what an experience and not one we want to repeat any time soon as I'm sure all couples say after building together, sadly Dave and I will be getting a divorced now, just kidding, isn't that what everyone says if you can handle a house project your marriage can survive anything, so bring on the trials now, I'm really interested what our limit is.

RAFTING PHOTOS

2008-07-22T18:10:00.000-07:00

I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUN FOR EVERYONE TO BE REMINDED
OF WHY WE BOAT THESE ARE SOME OF THE BEST MEMORIES!
Rafting the MiddleFork with the McPhersons and Marshalls (August of 2007)
This was when the water was so low and there were tears shed out of frustration due to constantly hitting rocks, it felt like you were in a pinball machine

July 16, 2008

2008-07-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

Dave is finally returning home today from his Grand Junction/Moab trip/Job he's been out on, talk about frustrating for him, the guys with him and me and everyone else involved I'm sure. I went down to Moab early Monday morning, thanks mom for letting me borrow your car, and got to spend a couple relaxing days there. Dave was excited to have some company I think after being with the same 3 guys for so many days. Moab is a great town, I woke up the next morning and went for a 2 hour walk on the paths they have all around the town and decided my mom, sis and I all need to come down some time and go hiking and swimming. Dave went out to location on Monday and I headed home that afternoon, it was great to do a fast road trip. It is now Wednesday and Dave gets to come home today, yeah! Dan is in town to visit and brought his four wheeler, so hopefully we can get a ride in.
Jason knocked on my door last night and said, "Get your suit on, we're going boating," so I grudgingly, just kidding, quickly got ready and a few minutes later we were at Bottle Hollow, it was warm, the sun was out and not a breeze in the air. Michael showed up too and a "friend" of Jasons called Vi, which is not a shortened name by the way. Jason had just bought a surf board and we all had fun playing around on it, it's great because you're only going about 12 miles an hour and you can wreck time after time and it never hurts, it's my new favorite thing to do on the water. Whoever thought you'd be able to go surfing in the Basin. Boating last night made me want to get a boat or maybe just go with Jason more often, what a way to decompress after a long day of work.

Getting started, whaz up?

2008-07-07T19:35:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I decided we had better get with the times and start "blogging" as they call it, I am new to this and it will probably seem pretty retarded at first, but oh well, if you want to know what's going on in our lives you'll have to suffer through the learning curve. :)

Hopefully everyone had a fun July 4th Holiday! We went four wheeling on Friday then had a hot dog roast at my parents house and watched the fireworks, Dave had to work Saturday so I headed out boating with the family, Sue and I were really sick on the two-person tube and didn't get bucked off, I also slalom skied while my little brother Mike proceeded to take me for a spin around the lake at 40 mph, while he tried to figure out how to get the boat off of cruise control, needless to say I was exhausted after a few minutes, out of breath (I'm out of shape!) and called it good after that. We went to the pow wow that night where there was a jewelry showcase and of course my aunt Janae had to examine every booth searching for the best turqoise while my uncle Darreld was perfectly content with a $1 popcorn ball, then had desert at mom and dads afterwards where Dave fell asleep watching deadliest catch.
Dave had to work on Sunday and I taught my primary class again and feel like the little gremlins, I mean angels are coming around to the fact that I'm not gonna take any of their little antics (crap), just kidding I'm trying to sound all hard core, but the fact is that I just try not to let them see how scared I really am by keeping them busy with crayons and scissors. Dave had to work on Sunday unfortunately, which only rarely happens and so I visited grandma and grandpa, worked int he garden, yes even though it's a Sunday, boredom drives you to do some crazy stuff. Anyways that was out fun 4th of July, this might be a little(a lot) boring for a lot of you, but bear with me while I try to make some sort of a journal/history out of this......I'll get some pictures on soon and that will be a lot better.