Macks Inn

I apologize ahead of time for this long "journal" entry.

We had another fun weekend. Some of my moms family was planning to go up to Macks Inn in Yellowstone and Owen happened to have those days off so we, decided to join in on the fun. It was just a quick but surely an eventful trip. I haven't been to Yellowstone since I was little and Owen had never been so we thought, why not. We visited Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho.

Saturday:

My Mom, Justin, and Tyler (my Dad couldn't go--we sure missed him) came to Cedar and we started our trip leaving Cedar City at about 10:00pm after Owen got off work. We were planning to stay the night in SLC but we decided we weren't that tired so we trecked onward. We made it to Shelley Idaho where my grandparents on my dad's side live. We got there at 4:30 in the morning and invaded their living room and crashed there for the night. It was nice to visit with them in the morning and also have a great breakfast as usual!

Sunday:

We left Sunday morning from Shelley and continued our long drive up to Yellowstone. We were able to make it just in time to meet the rest of the family there for the 1:20 Old Faithful Showing. Old Faithful is still faithful--no worries there. We then drove through Yellowstone some more and stopped and visited some Hot Spots. They were beautiful! I couldn't believe how clear and perfect the water was. It took all of Owen's willpower not to jump in them. We did notice (you will see in the photos) if you touched the water it would give you a little shock. Just like when you rub your feet on the carpet. It was pretty crazy and we all became obsessed with doing it. We then went and checked in at Macks Inn and played a good round of cards.

Monday:

We started the day off early and went and rented 2 fishing boats, 1 canoe, and 1 raft. They drove us up the river and then dropped us off where we started our 5 mile float. The boys fished while the teenagers headed down in the canoe and the women relaxed floating down the river. It was so beautiful! There was trees and wild flowers and the river--it just doesn't get much better than that. At the beginning of the river there was some pretty shallow spots and we (the girlies) were the first to be seen stuck. All the boys started laughing at us saying we were too fat. Well it wasn't too long before we looked back and every single one of them had to get out of the boat. We had our laugh at them. At the end of the day everyone on the fishing boats had caught a fish, my grandpa catching the four biggest, and Owen catching the very last one out of everyone. But he still caught one for the record. When we got back to Macks Inn we rented a paddle boat and had fun time on that. If we went to far out in the current then the current would just take us on down so we had to stay pretty close to the side of the river. We also saw a moose just walking down the river, that was pretty neat. We closed the night with the kids on the dock catching dozens of fish and a good dinner in West Yellowstone and of course another good game of cards.

Tuesday:

We got a later start but all the boys went over to Henry's Lake and rented two powered fishing boats and started fishing. The luck wasn't so good today. After five hours on the lake they never caught one fish so that was a little disappointing but they had fun I think. The ladies and the kids drove up to the top of the river where we fed the fish. We tried to feed the fish but the seagulls kind of stole everything. We had about five fish jump up and get some but we finally gave up and fed the seagulls. We then went and met the boys at Henry's Lake and had our packed lunches and after that we journeyed back to Southern Utah. We had a very long trip home but we had an Office marathon, watching episodes the whole way down. Owen had to work a grave so we got home by 11:00pm and Owen was off to work.

So that was our trip to Macks Inn. We had a really good time. My grandparents used to take all their kids up there almost every year when they were younger. I would like to share the infamous story of my dad and my grandpa at Macks Inn. When my mom and dad were dating they went up there with my moms family fishing at Macks Inn. My dad was trying to win things over with the soon to be in-laws but it didn't go so good for him. My Grandpa was standing up in one of the fishing boats, about half way down the river and they were docked on the side fishing when the boat started to drift off. I guess my dad didn't realize how much strength he had because he jerked the boat and my Grandpa when flying off. He went completely under water and started the gasping thing when you fall into cold water. When he finally got his breath he said "Rose, I want to go home right now!!". He was no happy camper and I am sure my dad was absolutely horrified. But in the end my grandpa forgave him I guess because he did still marry my mom. It sure makes for a good story now!!

The rock from H-E- Double Hocky Sticks!

Owen trying to leverage the rock out Frustrated???...Yes!! Tired???...Yes!!

Well Owen and I have been trying to get our backyard done. We are getting it ready to do a couple flower/vegetable gardens (for next year anyway) and to also lay sod. We have been working on it alot the last couple weeks as it has looked like a jungle out there for sometime. Owen got two trees from Marv's property and decided he wanted to try and transplant them. He started digging two holes in our backyard to place them in. The first hole went really well--no problems. Well then the second hole he begins digging and before long he hit a rock. He was thinking that it was no big deal, he would just dig out the rock and he would be able to move it in no time. Boy was he wrong! He worked on that stupid rock for well over 8 hours -- it was not just a rock it was pretty much a boulder. I kept telling him "Owen why don't we just pick another spot and dig a new hole". His reply was..."April there is no way I am letting this rock win this battle, I have spent way too much time on it". I had a few good laughs at him jumping up and down as hard as he could on the piece of wood he was prying with. It was a site to see. Eventually he knew he was going to need more than his weight so Owen, Jeff Goulding, and myself were all putting all our weight into trying to lift that stupid rock out of the whole. We finally (after many hours) got it off to the side and it will now be part of the landscape right there next to the good ole pine tree. --Just another example of how competitive our little Owie is, he was not going to give into the rock!

The three of us...this was especially a site to see. Wish Erica would have had a video camera and it would have been really funny to watch!

Using some muscle on the beast!

Lake Powell Photos

Lake Powell Once Again

Well we were in Orderville on Owen's days off this week which were Monday and Tuesday. Marv and Brandy wanted to go to the lake, so we decided to make a quick day trip on Monday. It was a perfect day at the Lake. It was a bit overcast so we didn't have to worry about sunscreen and the heat, we just had fun. Owen's family was there, along with my little brother Justin.

We had a really fun time tubing and swimming. I love tubing! I love having the rush of being on the tube as well as laughing as I watch others on the tube. I don't so much enjoy driving the boat it makes me a little nervous as I don't feel like I have enough control. But Owen and Marvin needed someone to drive them around. They had fun doing tricks and getting thrown off a bit--as you will see in the photos. I am so mean...I threw both the dogs in the lake when Owen and Marvin had fallin' off the tube. They were swimming like crazy--but didn't know whether to go towards Owen and Marv or to go to the boat! The dogs don't really love the water and want to get out as soon as possible but they do swim, which is really fun to watch. (You will see all the pictures). We found a little cove area where we did some swimming around, cliff jumping, and exploring. The predictable sand storm set in about 6:00ish and we were out of there pretty quick but overall we had a great time and I think we will make more day trips to Lake Powell in the future!

This was Brandy and Marvin. Sorry you can't really see this video very good but it was funny!

French Peasant Bread--Gotta Try It!

Okay I know this may seem really lame, but I had my first experience yesterday of making/taking a meal to somebody. Erica Goulding couldn't find anyone to take a meal to a couple in our ward who just had a baby so she asked me to do it. I couldn't say no and I knew I needed to just buck up. I do cook dinner for Owen every night (or most nights) but he doesn't really get a choice if he likes it or not, he has to like it :) I am a little self conscious in this area, therefore I have never been one to volunteer for it. I love to bake but cooking, I am not too comfortable with. Anyways, it turned out fine and it was really no big deal. But I did want to share the bread recipe I made real quick. I first used this recipe probably about a year ago when my aunt Pam and I were up at her house working and she had just gotten a new recipe book from my other aunt Lisa who said to try out this recipe. We looked at it and thought it sounded delish!! After our first experience it pretty much became a weekly ritual for some time. It is call French Peasant Bread and it is a little different but oh so good and super easy!

French Peasant Bread
1 package dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups flour
oil
corn meal (optional)
melted butter

Place yeast, water, sugar and salt in warm bowl and stir until dissolved. Add flour and stir until blended. Do not knead. Cover and let rise one hour or until doubled in size. Flour hands, remove dough from the bowl and place in 2 rounds on an oiled cookie sheet sprinkled with corn meal (optional). Let rise an additional hour. Brush the top with melted butter and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and cook an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush again with butter. Serve warm.

Dating...nerf guns...hide and seek...secret kissing??

Owie and I with our new Nerf guns

If you already saw the exact same thing on Courtney's blog I apologize. But on with my story... on Monday night Owen and I went on a double date with Courtney and Cassidy (who is one of Owen's cousins). We set them up on a date a few weeks ago and then we decided to go for round two. I think it is good for Owen and I because we actually go on dates that aren't dinner and a movie --which has always been our style.

So we were trying to think of things to do and Cassidy mentioned "Hey why don't we go buy Nerf guns and go to Discovery Park and shoot each other" Owen reacted as if he was a 6 year old little boy who just woke up Christmas morning. While Courtney and I looked at each other like "are you kidding me"? Courtney and I didn't have much of a choice after the boys started imagining their childhood Nerf gun years, so we went to Walmart and bought 4 little Nerf guns and went to Discovery Park (its a park here in Cedar that is really neat park) to play. We teamed up girls against boys at first and then couples. We then went and pretty much played hide and seek and then shot at each other. Surprisingly this was a lot of fun!! At one point during our game I was trying to hurry and go down the slide and well I crouched down and kinda figured I was still little enough to fit down the slide. Well I definitely wasn't. I hit my head so hard on the top of the slide!! I now have a very tender bump on my head. It then got dark so we went home to mine and Owen's house and we turned off all the lights and continued to play in the dark house. It was some good times!! I kind of felt like I was in high school again...Owen thought we had to secretly kiss everytime we could. It was a lot of fun and Owen had the time of his life. He kept saying the whole night, "this is my thing". Any type of game that has to do with sniping, strategies, sneaking, shooting etc is "Owen's game".

Right before I got shot...

Cassidy and Courtney

Me and Courtney--I am pretty sure we kicked the boys butts..or we would have if we didn't always start laughing every time they would get close to us.

I got Tagged

The Rules are as follows: List 3 Joys, 3 Fears, 3 Goals, 3 current obsessions, and 3 Random Surprising Facts about yourself. Tag 3 people at the end of your post by leaving their names.

3 Joys:
My husband
Being around Family
The Gospel

3 Fears:
fear of money/bills
fear of having children...various reasons...
fear of someone close to me passing on

3 Goals:
Read scriptures every day
Find a job--before I go crazy
Keep my house somewhat clean

3 Current Obsessions
Blogging
Magic Pen game on the Internet (it is sooo addicting)!
My yard--weeding, planting, watering etc.

3 Random Surprising Facts
I hate the world when I get up in the morning or up from a nap. Really ornery.
I HATE doing laundry and cooking..but that is what I get to do :) still don't know why I was born a girl for that reason.
I really want to visit Africa someday! It is dream of mine.

I want to tag
Courtney, Jana, and Ashley

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July!!! I am excited for today! We are going to a BBQ for lunch at some friends and then having another one at our house with Jeff and Erica while we watch fire works and maybe do a few of our own. I always love watching fireworks! Although I don't think anything will beat last year when we were in NYC and we watched them there. It was a pretty amazing show!!

Owen and Jeff chillin on the roof!

Kosmo in his bed on the air conditioner on the roof.

Here are a few pictures of our day today. We watched fireworks on our roof with Jeff and Erica and had a very good day!

BTW sorry I seem to blog so much but I am currently unemployed and it seems like Owen is either at work or trying to catch up on his sleep from working graves so I have some time on my hands.

Jeffery and Erica

The view from our roof--it

was actually a pretty good

firework show from here.

Owen and I just hangin' out on our roof.

Also I wanted to post a few pictures of my family. My parents, Tyler, and Justin went to Vegas this week because Justin's Valley baseball team was invited to go to the Bees game. All the Valley players got their names called and they got to walk out on the field and meet the player that plays their position. Justin was pretty stoked about it! He was also mad at me for not having one picture of him on my blog yet, so I decided I better post a few for him.(He is #25).

Here Justin is running out on the field and with the mascot.

Gardening/Yardening

Owen and I have had an eventful week so far in Cedar. We have kept ourselves busy with our yard!! We decided since we are going to be here the rest of the summer we better fix up our yard a bit. We still have a lot to do: figure out the sprinkling system, lay sod, and Owen's got a whole landscape for the backyard planned. Our house had so many weeds everywhere, it was pretty pathetic. I wish I would have taken a before and after picture of what we have done so far, but I just got the after. We planted some cucumbers (which I hope make it), tomatoes and strawberries in some pots. We decided to do them in pots because we were worried that it was too late in the season to do them in the ground. This way we can bring them in if it gets too cold. Anyways....we also bought a hanging flower pot and we bought and planted our first rose bush. I am really excited about that! I have always loved roses! I love getting up in the morning and watering all my little plants. Its so much fun for me. I am stressing about not having a job yet but I have definitely kept busy this week. Hopefully I get a job soon though because I am driving myself crazy thinking about it constantly. I will post a picture of our new additions to our front and backyard!