The Baby Bump Is Growing

The baby bump is growing bigger as we get closer to the holidays.

Dead Bird In Our Bedroom

Our cat, who used to pee on top of her litter box because she couldn’t figure out the litter box cat door, has now become an expert on cat doors. Moki is so proficient with cat doors that she can bring other animals through them with her, for her to enjoy mutilating on the floor of our bedroom all afternoon. Good job Moki; I’m sure that formerly-cute robin deserved it.

Here lies the chewed-up snake she left us 2 weeks ago.

Long Lost Days Of Summer

This last weekend Bade and I went to a family reunion for his mom’s side of the family. While there, Bade, one of his brothers, and myself were able to slip away and head to a skate park where Bade and his brother hopped on their skateboards for the first time in (Bade’s estimate) 7 years. They were pretty good regardless of the fact that they are both in their 30’s and haven’t ‘surfed the bowl’ in years :).

Big Boring Bugs

The previous tenants of our house had a nice way of dealing with dead trees.  They would cut the trees down and leave a 4-foot stump, then put a birdhouse on top of the stump.  I’m sure that the trees didn’t go to waste, and were used in the wood burning fireplace to heat the home, but now our yard has a small handful of stumps with birdhouses on them.  Today is the day that we remove some of those 4-foot stumps, and their birdhouses, from our yard.

The first stump was incredibly easy to knock over, but we got a big ‘ol surprise once it was on its side that is best shown in the video below.

The stump was so easy to remove because this killer grub had bored the whole thing nearly hollow.

Quickie

Bade and I like to take little quickie (get your mind out of the gutter :) ) dirt bike rides up our canyon after work.  Today we went up to the place where Bade proposed to me nearly a year ago.

 

Exhausted

Sometimes I just can’t wait for Bade to be done with his bath.

 

Seven Swans A Swimming

Another Saturday doing house projects, cleaning, and just enjoying our cabin home. Today we watched a few deer dig in the snow to eat our dead fall leaves, and watched 2 big swans clean themselves in the river off our back deck. This house is SO cozy!

Deer In The Morning

Bade and I woke up this morning to deer in our yard.  Normally I would think this was awesome.  However, last night, I spent 5 – 10 minutes explaining to my family that our yard would not be dangerous for a cat, we NEVER have wild animals on our side of the river. Argument fail :-/.

Very Full Week

 This week included the biggest push to get the wedding planned. We finished registering, I had two bridal showers, I got my wedding dress. I p

icked up my veil.  We  had or engagement photos taken. We  collected  all our mailing addresses. I picked out  our centerpieces. I  scheduled  next week’s meetings with family. I helped my mother shop for her dress. We  also did lots of little things like picked out hundreds of photos for the wedding slideshow,  ordered prints to display at the showers and the wedding,  and  got decorations for the showers. It’s  now Friday,  the  beginning  of LDS General Conference  weekend,  and also the beginning of this week’s house projects. When I  looked out the window this morning,  there was a layer of snow on the  porch.  Our wedding  is nearly all  planned and winter  is  officially here all in one short week.

Feather Tornado

feather tornado aftermath

Accidental experiment instructions:

1 – Place a big box of goose down feathers on the back seat of your Honda Civic. Don’t ask why I even own large boxes of goose down feathers :).

2 – Turn on Amos Lee’s “Windows Are Rolled Down.” This will cause Bade to roll down his window and request that everyone else in the car roll down their windows.

Result: Within seconds, the box of goose down feathers will fly open and you will be in the middle of a feather tornado!

SO Funny!

Provo Canyon Picnic

I love taking my motorcycle up into Provo Canyon to have a picnic.  Today I picked Bade up and we ate sandwiches under a bridge, next to the river near Bridal Veil Falls.

Later in the day, we went to the Art City Days festival in downtown Springville, UT.

Not-So-Easy Slack Lining

Bade and I tried slack lining today.  It’s easy to get up, easy to stand if you are barely touching the tree branch, then the second you let go of the tree, your feet start shaking like crazy! After you fall off you think “next time I got this” but that’s not really the case.  We tried it a few times and got better each time by a tiny increment.  It was fun to try; it was my first time. The key is apparently to focus your gaze on a spot in front of you on your horizon; I wasn’t very good at that :-/.

Remembering Our Mothers

This weekend was not only Mother’s Day, but also my mother’s birthday, so I wanted to give a shout out to my mother. My mom has always been the most caring and selfless person that I know. It’s not just a saying that she would give the shirt off her back to anyone, she regularly does give all that she has to others.  My mom keeps peace in our family, worries about her children, watches over her grandchild, volunteers for others, and always makes those around her feel loved. She deserves to have a great weekend! Happy birthday and Happy Mother’s Day Mom!

 

Day’s Highlight… Fishing?

I am still recovering from being sick for the last two weeks, but I had a few new symptoms pop up, and I am so sore from working out lately that it is hard for me to stand up straight.  After a long day of work we went to Bade’s house to do more work.  After a 3 hour ordeal of trying to get a new router installed (second night working on this) so that I have internet for work, trying to stay warm because it was so cold, and being really frustrated at the situation, I am finally able to work…even though now I should be getting ready for bed. I went to bed much later than I anticipated/hoped, and with much less work done than I had anticipated/hoped. I got a few hours of sleep in, before getting an emergency phone call that kept Bade up the rest of the night, and me up for some of the rest of the night.

Sick, sore, frustrated, behind, and now sleep deprived, I am looking back at the day’s events.  Could fishing off the back deck really have been the highlight of the entire day?  Bade caught the first fish within 30 seconds.  I then requested that he catch a smaller fish. He caught a really tiny fish a few minutes later.

Birthday Update

So my birthday ended AWESOME! After waking up to breakfast and a bunch of fun gifts ranging from tangible, to edible, to fun adventures, I was treated to a manicure and pedicure, then lunch at Happy Sumo and dessert at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for some delicious caramel apples.  Bade hates sushi, almost as much as I hate avocado, but since it was my day he sacrificed for me.

In the afternoon I had to do a little work, but birthday celebrations continued for dinner.  Bade took me to Black Sheep Cafe, which is a Native American restaurant. We have been wanting to go there for weeks, but every time we try there is a big wait. The food was yummy, the decor was odd, and birthday dessert was ice cream with homemade caramel (my favorite), yum!

Leprechaun Canyon Near Hite

Leprechaun Canyon is a very narrow slot canyon with three forks. The left fork (looking up the canyon) is incredibly narrow and difficult.  My friend Carrie just did this fork.  She is a smaller girl in excellent climbing shape and she was exhausted by the end (plus, had difficulty fitting through a few areas and had to go up and over). The main fork is the longest of the three and is also very narrow.  It has one main repel.  If you are going to do the main or left forks of Leprechaun Canyon, I would suggest warm clothes, and possible thin elbow and knee pads since you will be on those a lot.

The right fork of Leprechaun Canyon is the one we did. The right fork is suppose to be the prettiest of all three.  There is one short repel (about 30 feet) a little more than half way through the canyon. The right fork has a good balance of down climbing, narrow slots, slots to go over, and relaxed walking through a more open slot. This canyon is definitely worth the drive out there.  But if I did it again, I would plan on doing 2 of the 3 forks (possibly 2 in one day if you have a smaller group and started early. You will be very tired by the end).

 

 

 

 

5 miles down the road from Leprechaun Canyon is a hike to a waterfall. The waterfall is tiny, but has a weeping rock around it and a pool at the bottom. To get to the waterfall you hike through a light marsh for a mile or two, but if you aren’t too late in the day (or too cold) you can jump in the pool under the waterfall when you arrive. It is deep with excellent ledges for jumping.

Family Sunday Games

Every Sunday my family gets together, along with some friends, and we have a big dinner, my dad makes cookies, and we play games all evening long.  Today the games started with The aMAZEing Labyrinth. I have been wanting to play this game for weeks, and I was sure that we had two copies (my sister has one at her house).  Since, in those few weeks, I was unable to find our second copy, I had to purchase a new one.  Finally, we got to play it today…and I came in dead last! Granted, I had a stroke of bad luck on my last piece, but I lost :(. I did rock some of the other games that we played this evening. I love Sunday Family Game Night!

Close via Property

So in church today, a newly-wed individual stood up and testified of the importance of temples.  He noted that it was such a grace of God to place templates, his houses, here on Earth, so that we could have a space to feel closer to him.  Now on the surface, this seems boring, regular, and just spiritual’ish, something that someone just says.  However, when I really got thinking about it, I remembered how I felt when I was driving Bade’s truck this week and it made this idea stick out to me.

I had offered to get Bade’s truck an oil change, so we switched cars for the day. Not only did I feel really cool, a hot chick driving a big black truck, but I also had the though cross my mind “This is Bade’s steering wheel he grips on a regular basis” (creepy I know :) ), “and this is ‘his’ space where he spends at least an hour every day, enjoying his music, thinking about projects, etc.” Just having those semi-creepy/stalkerish thoughts about Bade made me feel more connected to him, without being closer to him or even talking with him.

Remembering this thought process made the idea of temples so much more real.  God allowed his homes to be built and for us to visit so that we can enjoy his things.  We can walk in his hallways and listen to uplifting meetings in rooms where he spends much of his time.

Wish Reminiscing

Chilling at the mall, Bade and I came across a fountain.  Ah, the memories I have of trying to get my pennies and nickels to land on a rock ledge that has water flowing over it, and to get stuck there. We tried, and failed, but it was fun to attempt something I haven’t thought about in years.

Halloween Half Sign Up

I have signed up for the Halloween Half this coming October.  This is my first commitment for being able to run more than a 5K comfortably.