Antelope Island

Things I learned from camping & hiking on Antelope Island:

1. There's a huge, secluded, desert wilderness less than 20 miles from our house . . . who knew?
2. If I was stranded on a desert island (aka Antelope island), I would bring my husband. I love him. =)

3. Sunsets always look better when they're setting over a body of water. So beautiful!
4. The Great Salt Lake is beautiful from afar, but kinda nasty close-up.

5. Those black spots covering the ground next to the water are not moss- it's a zillion bugs.

6. When your husband lets you go first to run through all the bugs, he's really just letting you clear the path for him.

7. Brian's afraid of spiders. =)
8. When Brian points to a mountain peak that you can barely see and says, "That's where we're hiking to," Do not leave the car.
9. Knowing how many miles you're hiking is important. But you also need to ask about elevation. 7 miles sounds okay, right? No-- not when your gaining 2050 feet of elevation on the 3 1/2 mile trip up!

10. When planning to hike, bring more water than you think you're going to need- otherwise you'll end up with both camelbacks being empty just as you reach the summit, 2 1/2 hours into your 4 hour hike.

11. Never take water for granted. By the last bit of our hike, I would have paid up to $50 just for a bottle of water.

12. Maybe I should start a lemonade/water stand on a hiking trail?

13. Standing on the summit, at the highest point, looking down on all the other mountains around you-- it's pretty cool.
14. Brian has amazing patience with me. You'd think that hearing someone complain for 4 hours straight would push anyone over the edge. But not Brian. And I did complain A LOT!

15. Brian is an amazing husband. He carried my pack AND his the whole 3 1/2 miles back down the mountain just so I could have a break. And he insisted that it "balanced him out" to carry a pack on the front and the back-- just so I wouldn't feel bad. How sweet is that?!
16. It's nice to come home.

Oh, and one more:

17. If you wait until late Saturday night to buy the new Stephanie Meyer book, there won't be any copies left for you! (But it's okay- I have another book I'm reading right now anyway!)

Sonora Grill

To anyone who lives in Utah . . .

If you haven't eaten there . . . you should. (It's located in Ogden- right next to Brian's gym.) Brian & I ate there last night and I was overwhelmed with amazing food and drinks. I have never been this passionate about a restaurant before. But seriously-- wow. They're lunch menu averages in the $8-$12 range, and the dinner menu in the $12-$22 range. So it's perfect for a night out (or a date!).

My Favorite Entree:
STACKED ENCHILADA WITH CHÍLE RELLENO $16.95
We went to Sonora Grill last night only because I was craving this entree so badly. I love it. It just knocked mashed potatoes out of my "favorite food" spot. The stuffed chile it comes with isn't my favorite- but only because I don't like anything spicy.

Brian's Favorite Entree:
CARNE ASADA Tacos $13.95
I don't have much commentary on these b/c it's Brian's favorite. But I have had them before too and they were really good. It comes with a lime to squeeze the juice onto it. So good!

The Most Amazing Drink:
Aguas Frescas $2.99
Okay- I could probably do a whole blog about this drink alone. They make these drinks with fresh fruit and they do a different one each day. Last night the flavor was "Raspberry Ginger Lemonade." I have never had a drink I loved so much. It was sweet like a raspberries, then had a hint of ginger in the aftertaste. Amazing!! If it weren't so tacky, I'd bring several empty Snapple bottles with me next time and just ask them to fill 'em up. =)

Okay, as if I wasn't impressed enough by the end of my meal, we got:
Banana Split $7 vanilla ice cream, sautéed plantains, cajeta, chocolate sauce
I know $7 is a bit pricey for a dessert (at least I wouldn't usually pay that much). But after having this once, I don't know if I can go there again without getting it!

**If you go to this link, you can get a free dessert with any entree (through August 31):
http://www.thesonoragrill.com/promo.html

Since You Went Away

Until my nephew, Garrett, was about 2-3 years old, my sister and her husband lived down the street from me in good ol' Provo. I would head over there after a long day of student-teaching and classes and just hang out. I got to babysit Garrett whenever they needed me because they were SO close.
I ended up seeing them several times a week. Now that they live in Texas, I have to settle for once a year. Here are the cuties I am missing:

Garrett, who has become quite the little boy (from the toddler I knew) and is very mature. He starts kindergarten this year, but he already sits down and read the Magic Treehouse chapter books on his own.

Ethan, who I only know from the once-a-year visits. But he is adorable! And a starbucks junkie-- okay, not really, it was just water or milk or something. =)


Although I am missing these boys like crazy, I am very blessed to have 9 nieces and nephews on Brian's side who all live so close! We love them!

Thunderstorms & Ice Cream

Disclaimer: I did not take this picture. I found it online. =)

Last night around midnight-ish, Brian and I were getting ready for bed and digging in to our nightly bowls of ice cream (Target brand: "Archer Farms" Mint Chip flavor . . . our current favorite!) when we couldn't resist the lightning show going on outside. So, ice cream bowls in hand, we went out searching for the best corner of the parking lot to watch the storm. It was one of those moments when everything in the world seems perfect: warm breeze, no rain (at first), amazing lightning, the man I love next to me, AND ice cream!! Does life get any better? It was so much fun! Eventually, though, the rain started. And since we had chosen the furthest spot away from our condo, we were thoroughly wet by the time we ran back. I love storms!

Washington Trip

As I mentioned in my last post, Brian and I recently took a trip to Washington to welcome my little bro home from his mission. The day after getting back, I left for our ward YW Girls Camp. Now that I'm back from that, I finally have a second to let everyone know what we've been up to. Here are some of the highlight from our WA trip:

Pictures of the whole fam-- it was the first time in probably 3-4 years that my whole family was all together!


Of course we welcomed Derek back home (the whole reason we went!):


Visited Mt. Erie- so gorgeous because you can see a bunch of islands in the Puget Sound from above:


Took my siblings rock-climbing on Mt. Erie:

(a panoramic shot to show the gorgeous view we had while climbing- Brian is belaying on the right, then just a few yards away is the edge of the mountain and you can see the islands & puget sound again):


Took several walks down to the beach (aka- my most favorite place in the world):


Frequented Starbucks for our favorite treats (mint chip frappuccino, peppermint hot cocoa, & spiced carmel cider). Yum!


Played with the nephews (Brian didn't know what to do half the time- he's used to leading his nieces & nephews into mischief. But Garrett refused to do anything he wasn't supposed to- doorbell ditching being one. Instead, they settled on reading together and science experiments. Garrett's such a good influence on Brian! =) :

My favorite shot of Garrett & Brian doing their scary faces (using headlamps):


It was a great trip. We had perfect summer weather while we were there- it wasn't cloudy at all! I already miss Washington again. But, it's still nice to be back home and get into my regular schedule . . . I guess. =)

He's Home!!!

After 2 years of serving the Lord, my little brother came home from his mission last week! Brian and I (and all my other siblings) flew to Washington to see him come home. It was a great week- I'll have to post more pictures from our trip later.
Derek served his mission in Toronto, Ontario. He was a great missionary. But it's SO nice to have him back home again!!

My Husband Made the News!!

This is something you probably won't hear shouted from the housetops by all the criminals' wives whose husbands also made the news last night. . . but I will-- because my husband made the news because he was the hottest guy they could find. K, that's not really why either. But follow this link to see the video on ksl:

(warning: you have to watch a stupid commercial before- then Brian's about 1 1/2 minutes into the clip)

CLICK HERE!!

They're talking about his gym. And it only shows him for a few seconds of it. But they managed to catch him falling as well as climbing! Tee hee hee!

Okay, enjoy!

Savage Lies!!

I know that Dana said that the picture of us in the sleeping bags was my favorite picture but this is a terrible lie. This is my favorite picture.

Camping Trip

Last week, Brian and I went camping with some of our really good friends.

Michelle was my roommate for all 4 years of college. She and her husband, Devin, and daughter, Ava, were in town for the week. We've been planning this since we hung out with them in Boise a few months ago.
Jill came with us too! She was our roommate for only 1 semester of college, but she still practically lived with us cuz we still did everything together. I was so excited to hang out with my girls again!! (Danielle and Ash- we missed you!)
(And, yes, I know I have the control to only post good pictures of myself . . . but I couldn't find another one with just us 3 girls- so the climbing-up-a-mountain, red-faced pic will have to do.)

We decided on Little Cottonwood Canyon- mostly so we could get some rock-climbing in for Brian! But the place we found to climb was actually really stupid. It has such a weird slope (I think they call it slab climbing). But there was nothing to hold on to! So it was pretty much just pushing yourself up with your feet while praying that you don't slip! This was our first and last slab climb.

The good thing about this spot, though, was that it had a gorgeous waterfall right next to the place we were climbing on the rock.

Here's our beautiful campsite- just next to a little river. So pretty!:
Here's Brian's favorite pic from the camping trip:

Here's my favorite pic from our camping trip:

Here's Brian looking at the mountain where the pioneers quarried the huge blocks of granite for the Salt Lake Temple.

And here's my sweet husband, who after 2 long days of camping, refused to let me carry any of the gear back up to our 3rd floor condo. And, being as buff as he is, he made it in only 2 trips!!

Back to School???

Yesterday was a big day. I was shopping at WalMart, getting supplies for our camping trip today. As I was searching for the Hershey bars, I stumbled upon the most wonderful and exciting sight: just a few aisles over, employees were setting up the Back-to-School section!!

Now, you might wonder why a teacher is excited to see this very apparent sign that summer break is drawing to its close . . . but somehow, the "magic" of the school supply section usually makes me want to go back! But it's really not a sign anyway- my break isn't even halfway over yet.

I do feel particularly excited because I'm a teacher (and school supplies are what I live on all year). But really, I think everyone should walk down memory lane (aka: the school supply aisles), and do some back-to-school shopping. Because really, is there anything better than buying a new set of (sharp) crayons for 25 cents a box? Or getting a new set of cute organizational tools for your desk in this year's newest fashions (polka dots? paisley?)? Or can anyone really top the 6-cent portfolios that you can get at WalMart if you're watching closely enough to catch the week that they're on sale? And doesn't everyone always need new markers?

This is a great time of the year-- and inevitably means all my trips to the store will now be about 20 minutes longer!