Kanarraville Falls

Back at the end of August, Trev and I went on the Kanarraville Falls hike.  If you are ever in the area you should definitely do it.  It's about a 10-15 minute drive south of Cedar City.  The hike was bea-utiful!!!  The hike started out in a wide canyon and towards the end, there was about five minutes of narrow slot canyon. I've seen pictures of slot canyons and have always thought they were amazing but it's even better being in them.  The enormity of the walls and the light as it dances on the rock, pictures just can't capture that (at least the pictures I take).  Anyways, we got our first taste of slot canyons and I want more!

It was hot so we loved walking in the creek.

We had to climb this rickety-make shift ladder to pass this first set of falls.  Just before it was our turn to climb up, the very top rung fell off which was a little creepy.  Going up was the easy part.  On the way down this ladder, my shoes lost grip and I slid down the ladder for a moment.  It was just a moment, but for that moment, I thought I was going to die. It was a little scary but totally worth it!

We had a great time!

Birthdays

So I had a really fun birthday this year!  Trev and I had made plans to go to St George for dinner and a movie to celebrate.  We couldn't make it down to Vegas for the weekend and my family was really busy.  Since all I really wanted for my birthday was to be with my family, I was kinda bummed.  

But I was still excited to go out with my hubby.  I picked Despicable Me for the movie and I really wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse for dinner (the ribs are TO DIE FOR-they are so tender you literally pull them apart with your fork).  We got tickets to the matinee movie and headed in to get our seats.  

So we were sitting in our seats at the movie theater.  It was super dark... the usual "mood lighting" was out so it was really hard to see.  

Trevor leaned over to me and said, "Hey, that guy looks like your dad." 
So I looked at where he's pointing,  "Yeah right, he's like a foot shorter and bald." 
"Not that guy. That guy, by the doors, but the tall dude." 
"Oh that does look like dad.  A lot.  Oh, and that tall guy looks like Jesse!"
waiting...waiting....waiting.....CLICK! 
(in my defense, it was really dark)

Really!?!?!?!
excitement, exitement, excitement
It was my dad and my brother.  And my mom was there too!  They came up to meet us in St George and celebrate with us.  What a great surprise!  My family is the best!

Victory Lap

After my summer classes finally got over, Trevor and I took the Victory Lap to celebrate the forever done-ness of me and school. We drove to Ruidoso with Katie and Ryan and it was so great to be in New Mexico with our family.  They are amazing and I always feel so lucky to be part of the family.  

When people ask where my husband is from, they usually have no idea where Ruidoso is (in case you are wondering, its about three hours south of Albuquerque, up high in the mountains and trees).  If they do know where it is, its because of the horse racing.  They have the biggest quarter horse race in the country or something like that.  So I finally got to go to a horse race.  It was fun!   

ok, I didn't take this one... its courtesy of wiki

We went up to Josh and Tara's property for a dutch oven dinner.  Delish!  We played horseshoes and Ethan and Jake showed us their hut made out of tree scraps.

Trevor got a new gun.  Its a Swiss K31 and we took it out shooting for the first time.  He totally had that little boy excitement look on his face.  It was so cute!

 And there is a glimpse of that face. :)  Love it!

We got rained out and had to leave. It was sad...but I love the rain, so it wasn't that sad. 

Monjeau Lookout is one of the places that Trev has wanted to take me since we got married.  Every time we went to Ruidoso, it didn't work out; the road was closed every time!  Well we finally made it up there and it was amazing!  The lookout is used by the forest service to watch for forest fires, so we had beautiful views of the mountains and of town.  Before I met Trevor, I thought all of New Mexico was high desert... I had no idea that there were beautiful places like this!  

We played a ton of games played an insane game of Egyptian Ratsu (my favorite!).  It was so intense.  It took like two hours and I was literally breaking a sweat.  I'm looking forward to a rematch with Katie and Ryan... if they dare... :)

 I like this picture of Katie, Amy, and Mom.  It was so cute watching them play the piano together!

We had so much fun hanging out with the nephews.  They are seriously some of the cutest kids ever!  I read like a zillion books with Ethan and Jake and I loved every minute of it.  The family dog, Duke, killed one of the neighbors chickens... that was interesting and gross.  We crocheted, we played, we cooked, we ate, we talked, we laughed a lot, and we enjoyed being with the family!  

Angela and Strings

Angela is one of my best friends from Washington State.  This girl is seriously amazing and she just got done serving a mission at Temple Square in SLC. 

SO.

Over the summer, while she was still on her mission...

We drove to SLC with Mom, Dad, and Amy as they were heading back to New Mexico after the wedding festivities.  It had been a while since they had visited Temple Square, so we all went to visit, (Katie, Ryan, Jen, and the munchkins went too). 

I knew Angela was there...somewhere.  I was really hoping that we would run into each other.  REALLY hoping.  But I was trying to not get my hopes up because I didn't want to be disappointed.  Because I would have been REALLY disappointed.  

She was literally the first person I saw.  

Trev said, "Look, it's Angela."

Me: "Trev, that's not funny."

It was really her. 

It was so fun to see her!

Strings! 

Well we were trying anyways.  I think we were both giggling too much to do it well.

(There are only two other people who would get this, so sorry if this doesn't make any sense to you.)

Love you Ange!

Show Me the True Blooded Aggie...

who doesn't love the spot, where the sagebrush grows!!!

These pictures are from the summer as I was finishing up my on campus classes at Utah State. 

My Grandpa was a professor here for many years and was the head of the Sociology Department.  His office was here, look for the second set of windows down from the top on the right side in the picture above.  That was his office.  Growing up, my family would drive up to Logan to visit my Grandparents.  As we exited Sardine Canyon, the first thing we looked for was the lights of the Temple and then we would look for the bright "A" on Old Main.  I love Old Main.  It is a beautiful building with so much history.  I was really happy with how these pictures turned out.

GO AGGIES!!!

By the way, how awesome is it that USU beat BYU in football this season?!?!?

Katie+Ryan=Wedding!

The bride and groom, Katie and Ryan.  Doesn't she look purdy?!  Katie is my sis-in-law.  They got married in June in the Bountiful Temple.

We were expecting nice weather, it being the middle of June and all, but the weather was terrible.  It was tree-bendingly windy with horizontal rain through most of the day.  Katie and Ryan took it well and despite the weather, it was a beautiful day!  The only thing that we needed was Tara and her cute family to be there.  We sure missed them!

 She's got attitude in this one.  Love it. :)

Amy and I with the beautiful bride.  Amy (my other sis-in-law) decorated the cake. 

CATching Up

I know, I know, an update is long overdue!  I left y'all hangin on my last post about what we got ourselves for our anniversary.  It's not a big deal, but it is something for us to love on.  And its furry.  Have you guessed it?  We got ourselves a little kitty.  It is so cute and we lurve it! 

We originally named him Skippyjon Jones from the kids books by Judy Schachner.  We call him Skipeeto for short, It seemed to fit.  However, as he is getting older, we aren't sure if he is really a he.  Our he kitty might be a she kitty.  Anyone know how to tell?

We don't really want to give our kitty a boy name if it's actually a girl or vice-versa, so its name has become kit-kat or just kitty until we can figure out the gender thing. 

Anyways, kit-kat is white with five black dots on its back and kinda looks like a furry soccer ball.  Our kitty is precious.  He cuddles and plays all day long.  How can you not love that cute little face?

When I'm not playing with kitty, I've been crocheting.  As you can imagine kitty and crocheting do not mix well!  Trev's family got me a crocheting kit for a graduation present so I could do something fun for a change.  Anyway, I'm totally hooked.  My sis-in-law,Tara, made this big beautiful soft blanket and it was fun seeing what the end product could be!  So I am making a blanket for Trev and  hopefully mine will look as good as hers!  It is really nice to have a hobby again and to feel productive by doing something other than studying!

So now summer is over and work and classes are back in full swing.  I am officially done with school and my degree has finally been posted!  It has been glorious not having to worry about classes while I work. 

More catching up to come!

Four Sweet Years

Four years ago today Trev and I got married in Logan.  Happy anniversary to us!  We got ourselves a really cute anniversary gift but you'll have to wait to see what it is.  More posts to come!

Andy Capp's Cheddar Fries

Does anyone remember Andy Capp's Cheddar Fries and Hot Fries?  They were like a staple of the middle school years but I haven't seen them in forever.  As we were driving to Vegas, we stopped by a gas station in Mesquite of all places and there they were!  They tasted exactly the same as I remembered.  It was glorious!  

Red Cliffs

We went to St George a few weekends ago to hang out with some of our besties Jason and Lisa.  They took us hiking at Red Cliffs.  It was so beautiful and we had a blast!  It was our first taste of spring which made our adventures even more enjoyable.  We love St George and we love Jason and Lisa!

This stupid guy wouldn't get out of my photo.  But it shows how pretty the area is.

Classic Trevor picture. 

There are these pools of melt water along the trail where people who were much braver than us went swimming-the water was frigid.  It doesn't look like it but the water is deep enough for cliff jumping.  

Lisa and me.  For some reason people always ask us if we are sisters.

We had a great time hanging out with them!  We are so glad that they are only 45 minutes away-it helps us stay sane!

Backyard Adventures

While in Logan for graduation, we visited Grandma and Grandpa's house.  They've both been gone for a while now but house is still in the family.  The house is empty and it doesn't smell the same.  It makes me a sad but its ok.  I know they are happy.

I've always loved my Grandparents house.  When I was little I loved exploring the garden and yard.  It always seemed that there was something new or an unexplored area.  When we wanted a snack we would pick peas and raspberries and eat them straight from the bushes.  It was so idyllic.  While there it was fun to realize that some things haven't changed.  Their yard still full of wonders and patches of greenery in need of exploration.  I love green and I love trees.  I think this is where I fell in love with nature.

There is a swing in the backyard on the tree where my parents got married.  I love it.  The chain is so long so you swing forward forever before you start to fall backwards again.  I'm still eight years old inside so I was giddy all over.

Jesse is the best swing pusher ever.  I guess that makes sense since he's the best brother ever.  

I love this picture of Trev-his expression says everything.  He loves having his picture taken (when I say love I'm  really being hopeful... if I say it enough maybe it will come true?).  His face is saying "I know what you're trying to do..." But he's not quick enough... I got a picture before he could put his hand in front of his face.  Success!  Hahaha!

 Chatting in the garden.

Isn't Logan beautiful?  I love this time of year....when the valley is green and snow still decorates the tops of the Wellsvilles.  I so miss living in Logan.  Yes, I even miss the winters.  Ok, maybe not really.