October 15

This past Wednesday Daniel and I finally got around to doing something we've wanted to do for a long time...

We rented a tandem bike!

Laugh and poke fun if you want, we don't care, because we were laughing the whole time ourselves.  It was actually one of the funnest things we've ever done!  After getting the hang of it (we had some near-death experiences) it was really relaxing and fun.

I was in the back, Daniel was in the front.  I think I got the better end of the deal ;)

     1.  The bugs and wind were deflected off Daniel face and not mine
     2.  He got to steer and judge how wide to swing the corners
     3.  Even though we both peddled, I'm pretty sure I had to do less work
     4.  I had a pretty good view (of nature and his backside) haha

We ended up going all the way up the Bridal Veil Falls and back then swing up to my parents house to show off our toy, then up around the temple.  All in all we estimated it was about 18 miles.  I don't know if we have to split that in half because there were two of us? haha

Provo Canyon was amazing.  The leaves around the trail were breathtaking and the air was crisp and clear.  We should have stopped to take more pictures, but we were enjoying the journey.  Coming down the canyon was the best!  Because we had both of our weights combined on one bicycle, we got cookin!  I swear we could've been in the tour d'france.  We were screaming and laughing with our eyes watering the whole way down!

Another bonus of being in the back, I could take pictures when we were going because I couldn't steer anything! 

My awesome view the whole time :)  I could even get snack out of the backpack while we were going haha

Finally made it to bridal-veil, and enjoying our picnic lunch.
**Thats not sweat on his shirt btw, the water bottle spilled

Me: "Daniel go get by the bike so I can take a picture of you."  He rides away and when he comes out of the trees this is what I see haha.  Daniel: "Look hun, I'm ghost riding the whip!" 

Demonstrating the maneuverability of the bike, and his super strength?

Co-pilot for life!  You can see a bit of the waterfall in the upper right-hand corner. 

Anywho, it was a blast and if you've never done it we highly recommend it!  Sometimes you've got to let yourself feel like the biggest goof in order to have the most amount of fun :)  

Camping

Daniel finally got a Saturday off of work, so we decided to make the most of it, and go camping!  We headed up the alpine loop and ended up camping around Cascade Springs... the leaves were so beautiful on the drive up, I tried to document with phone pictures, but they didn't quite do it justice.

I love camping!  Being surrounded by the nature and beauty really makes me grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves us enough to give us beauty to look at.  Plus, the campfire hot dogs, and 'smores don't hurt the experience either!

The drive up Provo Canyon

Took a while to get there with the nat-mobile and bumpy, gravely roads.... but we made it!

After we had everything set up, and had gone about gathering wood, we had time to kill so Daniel wanted to start a fire... caveman style.  haha You know, like in the movie Castaway with Tom Hanks, you rub two pieces of wood together till they catch fire!  He has done it once before, and wanted to show his rugged mountain man skills.   He got it smoking multiple times, but we never actually got fire... must have been some bad wood :)  

The fire-making station

After a while of just pure smoke, and no flames, we decided to be more civilized and start a fire with matches haha.  Once we got it going, we threw on the hot dogs and chowed down... normally I think hot dogs are nasty, but there's something about roasting them over a fire that brings out the deliciousness. 

Ok ok, most of my dinner was comprised of smores... can you blame me?

A little toasted from the fire haha

Thank goodness for the extra blankets we brought because it was freezing at night!  Thanks to borrowed thermarests (thanks mom and dad), our sleeping bags, multiple layers, and a couple blankets we were as snug as could be.

The next morning I really wanted to try to get pictures with the leaves... haha we should have done it before we slept all night on the ground because we look a little frazzled.   And getting a picture of the two of you, that isn't into the sun, that also has the pretty leaves in the back is quite the task :)

All in all it was a good, cheap "vacation".  Too bad the Cougars didn't pull the game out in the end... then it would have been a perfect weekend! 

Grandpa

Yesterday was hard.  It was the first day of school, which wasn't too bad because it is my last semester and I only have one class a day pretty much.  What made the day hard was that it has been a year since my sweet Grandpa died.

I've grown up with my grandparents less than 30 minutes away my whole life.  I know everybody thinks this, but my grandparents are really the best out there.  As little kids we would have our own private birthday weekends with grandma and grandpa.  At family gatherings the kids would play in the beautiful cottage built for the grandkids, swim in the sparkling pool, and get to feed and ride the strong horses.

My grandparents' story is incredible.  They fell in love in small-town southern utah, married at 15, had children at 18 and have loved each other more deeply than any other couple I've seen since.  Watching how my Grandpa always treated my Grandma was what made him my ultimate hero and example growing up.  In all the time we spent over there, not only did I never see him get angry with her, but he was always by her side, serving her.

One story that is engrained in my mind, however small and silly, is the perfect example of how sweet and caring he was.  My sister and I were at my grandparents' house the day before Thanksgiving helping (more like getting in the way) to prepare the turkey for the following day.  Grandma had sent Grandpa to get some cranberries for her famously delicious cranberry sauce along with various other groceries.  He happily agreed, and set of to the store.  When he returned and started unloading the groceries my grandma kindly pointed out he had forgotten the cranberries.  Without a moment's hesitation, my Grandpa sincerely apologized, kissed her cheek and set out once again to get the cranberries.

I miss my Grandpa so much.  It makes me cry that I have no pictures with him from my wedding after he worked so hard while being so sick to make the garden beautiful for our wedding.  That is how he was... never complained about the pain and agony he was in, while tirelessly serving those around him. It makes me cry that he wont be able to hold our future children, and have that proud look in his eye that I've seen when he held my siblings children so many times.

Then, I have to smile remembering all the things I did get to do with my Grandpa.  I got to help crank the rickety old ice cream maker on Christmas Eve after our nativity reinactment.  I got to ride the horses while he watched carefully to make sure I never got hurt.  He was able to come to some of my gymnastics meets, even though he hated the crowds.  I am so glad that he doesn't have to be suffering from the cancer any more, and that he is no longer in so much agony.  I was able to live so close to him most of my life and observe this truly amazing man.  Although he didn't attend church very often, my grandpa was one of the most Christlike people I've ever met.

I'm so grateful for the time I was able to spend with my Grandpa, and for the lessons I've learned from him.  Miss you grandpa, you'll always be my hero!

Making ice cream on Christmas Eve.

Goulash

It kind of seems like I haven't posted in a while... maybe thats because it has been a while haha.  You'd think that because I have no job and don't really do anything too useful these days, I could at least keep the blog from getting cobwebs.  I could lie and say I will do better, but let's be honest; I'll get to it when I get to it.  With school starting just around the corner, my blogging frequency isn't bound to improve much either.

This summer has been funny.  It has been particularly bi-polar... that is, if a season can be bi-polar.  I swear we go through a couple weeks where we just do nothing at all, then the next few weeks we are traveling, entertaining, and partying like rockstars!  Don't get me wrong, I love a little variety but the huge swings from one end of the spectrum to the other are started to wear me down.

So... here's our summer, mostly (at least the exciting parts.  Because who wants to take pictures of the boring parts where we just sit and watch 24 on netflix?!)

1.  We got to go to San Francisco for a few days for bro-in-law's dental school graduation/ to visit new baby Landon.  It was fun to get to tour the city, but unfortunate our camera was dead.  These pics are from our handy-dandy phone cameras! (We did more than just see the bridge, but sadly forgot to photograph the fun)

Jealous of the frown? I worked really hard for it... totally appropriate for the sign! 

2.  We have tried to spend as much time outside this summer as possible!  We've gone on some hikes, bike rides, runs, boating and so on and so forth.  I love being outside with people I love, and being immersed in the beautiful nature that God has blessed us with.  I hope we always live close to somewhere where we can explore and appreciate the beautiful landscape.

Beautiful Bridal Veil Falls

I have awesome videos of us wakeboarding and whatnot but they don't seem to want to be loading... frustrating.  Oh well, my skills are very very limited (I triumph when I do not face plant after jumping), but Daniel has legit skills! He motivates me to want to be better, thats for sure.

3. On June 18th we had our one year anniversary!  What the?!  How has it already been a year since we were married?  I have no idea!  We didn't do anything too extravagant for our anniversary, but we spent time together, which is good enough for me!

My sweet and generous parents brought by these cute goodies to help us celebrate... thank you!!!

Our delicious meal!  Salmon is my favorite, and Daniel also made it for me the night he proposed :)

The top tier of our wedding cake.  The cake part was great, the icing part was not so great... still fun!

My amazing hubby got me a bunch of fresh peonies (one of my favorites)!  They lasted long, smelled so great, and were very beautiful!!!

4.  Daniel's little sister Krista got married!!  We went out to California, and it was beautiful.  Sadly, we didn't take any pictures... but in our minds it is beautiful.   Then they had a reception out here, so we got to see the whole fam again and spend some time together.  We went up to Park City a few days and it was so fun to ride the Alpine Coaster, and Slide!

5.  Daniel took the PCAT exam and did awesome!!! 94th percentile overall (and 99th percentile in chemistry)  what a smarty!  He has been working hard writing his personal statement, getting his application polished, and of course dominating his exam!

6.  We were able to go out and visit my sister Allegra and her hubby and kids last week.  It was so fun to be able to kinda pick up last minute and make the long drive out there.  I think road trips are exciting, so the 13.5 hour trek each way wasn't too bad.  We had so much fun going to the beach, on a ferry, berry picking, to a park and visiting our great friends Holland and Matt.

Finally in Washington... only a few more hours to go!

On the Ferry to Bainbridge Island... So fun! (Thanks for the pictures allegra! )

So delicious!! And really cheap too :) 

Max loved getting buried in the sand... he probably got buried 6 different times, no joke!

Love this little Ruby girl

She didn't like it at first...

but then she got comfy!

and then they snuggled!  Max and Ruby are just too cute for words!

"I like your glasses Addalie..."  -Ruby

At Gas Works park with the kids after meeting with Holl and Matt!  So fun :)

There were a bunch of weirdos in the park trying to slip-n-slide drunk.  Ok ok it was actually really entertaining. 

Whatever number I'm on now.  Today I went to the Truck Show at Thanksgiving point with Whit, Warren and my mom.  It was actually pretty cool seeing how high tech those things can be inside.  There were some seriously tricked out semi-trucks.  Plus because Warren is so stinking adorable, most of the owners were really nice and let us sit in the trucks and take pictures and what not. 

In the cow train today at the Truck Show..

Wouldn't this be awesome to rent for like a girls trip or something?  Or as a family vacation vehicle?

Well that about sums up the past couple months!  Its been great to be so many places and spend time with friends and family :)  We are very grateful for those around us that love and care and do so much for us.  We are truly blessed!