Our New Toy

And by "ours," I really mean "Brian's"

We went out on Saturday morning to try it out around our condo. I liked it- but it's more an "I'll-ride-it-2-or-3-times-a-year" kind of like. Whereas Brian has a much more sincere interest. He even rode it to the grocery store last night to pick up some extra things for dinner!

Isn't he a stud?

My Funny Husband

Brian has a new hobby . . .
Every night, as I'm brushing my teeth or washing my face or otherwise engaged, he hides my blanket. (He hides 2, actually, so I won't have a back-up!) So as soon as I'm climbing into bed, I realize that he's done it again. It's a different place every night (the balcony, above the tv, in the laundry hamper, etc). Sometimes he gives me clues; sometimes he doesn't. The other night I found this clue written on a post-it note: "Tonight your blanket will keep you nice and cool." I searched for about 2-3 minutes before I finally realized where it was...

What a crazy man!

How to Become the Teacher's Favorite . . .

On Tuesday morning (the 2nd day of school), I was walking around the classroom as my students were doing their work. I stopped at Braxton's desk when he said, "Mrs. Nye, look!" I looked-- and there was my last-year's school picture taped to his desk right next to his nametag! My first response was to ask him where he got it. He informed me that he had ripped it out of his yearbook the night before. Today was the 4th day of school, and it's still there. I can't help but laugh inside (and a little out loud sometimes) when I see it each time I pass his desk!

Dana the Master Photographer

Recently we signed Dana up for a photography class because she is always taking the most amazing pictures. She has been enjoying it very much and I am very proud of her. I would like to share with you several of the pictures she has taken. She is super duper talented.
Dana With Her new camera
Ethan Drinking Starbucks
Me climbing
Dana's Favorite childhood toy
A wide angle shot on Mount Eirie
Steve and Ethan in Washington
Anthony Chertudi Climbing Super Tweaked 5.14 in Logan
Me in the wind tunnel
Cassidy at the parkCarter smiling big

Tre's first birthday party eating his very own cake
Some lake somewhereMy favorite to date picture, totally gay, but funny.

Rock climbing in Ogden

Dana is amazing she seems to develop new talents and gifts by the minute. I love her very much, I hope she is not embarrassed by this post. If so it will just be added to the many times a day I try to embarrass her.

Our Olympic Debut

I just stole this from my friend Tegan's blog. But it was too funny! I had to try it myself!

Enjoy!

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We can fly! We can fly! We can fly!

All it takes is faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust . . . well, and I guess you also need a flying instructor, a nice hook-up through your husband's job, and a lot of ridiculous-looking gear!

getting ready to fly with our friends, Nathan and Shar

For those of you who haven't seen it, iFly is a place where they have an indoor wind tunnel that makes you feel weightless and lets you fly. It's supposed to be like skydiving. I thought it was way fun.
My only complaint is that I would smile too big and the wind would start blowing spit out of my mouth and onto my face! Then if I tried to wipe it off, my arms would break their position and I'd fall back down to the floor! It was harder to do than it looked!

Thank Goodness for Daddies

For years, I've been calling my dad (pictured above, whistling) whenever I had any problem with my car (which was more frequent than it should've been!). He would always drop anything he was doing to diagnose my problem over the phone or call different places in Utah to find someone to help me.

Apparently I married into another wonderful family, because Brian's dad dropped everything last night and helped Brian put a new radiator into my broken car. Thank you Steve!

Thank goodness for dads with extensive car knowledge!!

My Quirks

I've never done a "tag" before. But I can't really turn Holly down-- so here it goes!

6 quirks that make me ME:

1. I cry for strange reasons. I cry when I'm sick just because I feel helpless and can't control it. I also cry if someone honks at me while I'm driving- it makes me feel really bad.

2. I can find over 100 things to do before I go to bed. When I was single, I could start "getting ready" for bed around 8 and not end up in bed until midnight.

3. I am a HEAVY sleeper. My college roommate used to wake up to my alarm and throw pillows across the room to get me up. When I had my own room, I often slept in accidentally. Luckily, I have Brian now to nudge me and wake me up every morning when my alarm goes off!

4. I'm deathly scared of mice. And I hate snakes only because I know that they eat mice. When I see a mouse, I cry (surprise, surprise!). This is rather inconvenient since there are mice at my school. =(

5. My worst household chore is taking out the bathroom trash. It completely grosses me out and I can't concentrate on anything else until I get it to the dumpster and wash my hands with soap.

6. My favorite color is green. I chose that color as my favorite because I miss the trees in Washington. I also considered blue because I miss the ocean as well. But green won- so maybe I do like it for more than the trees. =)

Not sure who to tag (I'm really not that good at this, am I?!), so if anyone wants to do this, just write about your 6 quirks! Here are the rules, if you want them:

The Rules:
Link the person who tagged you
Mention the rules on your blog
Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them.
Leave a comment on each of the tagged bloggers blogs letting them know they've been tagged!

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