To the Cabin.....

Friday afternoon, Steve went up to the cabin w/ Dave and Rob. They said they had to do some work up there, but they of course made some time to play too. Joann and I headed up after the baby shower for Melanie on Saturday. We got up there just in time to help w/ dinner. After dinner we went for an ATV ride, came back and played a game, then watched a movie.

Today we went to the Fruitland Branch for church. I think it's about the same size as our branch we attend here in SLC valley. :) We then played some more games, had lunch, and just enjoyed each others company. It's always nice to be up there to get away from our "normal" lives.


Bailey licking my plate, making sure she gets every last drop



Playing "Pig Pile." Steve wasn't doing so hot ;)



Bailey gets scared riding in the car. She has to hide under the sheet.


I took Monday off to get caught up on some things (from being on vacation). It's was pretty good weather so we went up Big Cottonwood Canyon for a hike. There's still a bunch of snow up there so we didn't get very far, but the view was worth it!


So beautiful!


At the top of the canyon

We also decided to use some of the money from our tax refund to pay off my car. So, Monday we went and paid it off! Both cars are paid off now and the only debt we have is our mortgage (which I'm not complaining about at all). It feels good to pay it off and follow the prophet's counsel in getting out of debt whenever possible.

Steve also started summer school this week. He has a humanities class, math class, and Radiology class/lab. He should also be finding out this week where he'll be doing his intern at. He has to put 200 hours in (free), then he can take his test to be licensed as a Medical Assistant. He's excited and a little nervous to get to work on "real people." He's been doing great in his classes though and loves the work, so I know he'll do an amazing job! ;)

Before our trip

Right before our trip we invited Rob and Zach over and watched "Avatar" and had popcorn. Also, since it was going to be Zach's birthday while we were gone, I made him a cake to make up for it.




Steve's creative candle for Zach

Also before we left, I found this recipe and had to try them. They turned out really good. I also turned some in to just regular rolls and some garlic rolls (though I had to keep those away from Steve since he thinks he'll melt if he has garlic).





Here's the recipe too

Chocolate Butterhorns (makes 32 rolls)

Dough:
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, cubed
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
4 – 4 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoons dry yeast, heaping

Rolls:
1-2 cups chocolate chips, depending on how chocolatey you want them

Combine all dough ingredients in the pan of your bread machine according to the manufacturer’s directions. Set on the dough cycle and start machine. When the machine beeps, remove dough from pan and divide it into four equal parts.

(While Crystal’s recipe make 32 larger rolls, I made the same number with about half the dough. This seemed to work better for my kids. Feel free to make 16 larger rolls if you’d rather.)

Roll each part into a 12-inch circle and cut each circle into 8 wedges. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the surface of each wedge. Roll each wedge like a crescent roll, starting with the bottom of the triangle and ending with the point.

If preparing ahead, place rolls, point down on baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, place in freezer bags and store in the freezer until needed.

To bake: Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment or a silicate mat. Place frozen rolls on prepared sheet. Allow to thaw and rise for five hours or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 375 ° and bake rolls for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

Out for a Hike

Today was such wonderful weather we just had to get outside. So we went for a hike up Little Bell Reservoir. There were a good amount of people both going up and down, apparently we all had the same idea. It was a fun hike w/ beautiful weather and even more beautiful nature. Steve brought his fly fishing gear and cast a couple times, though they weren't biting. We had a good time. Here are some pics.


City View


Still snow in the mountains


Steve casting


Just us


You know I couldn't resist taking a picture of the pretty flower


Another Pretty Flower


Our Chaco feet after the river trip

Grand Canyon Rafting Trip!!!

We'll we've been back from our Grand Canyon Rafting trip just over a week now. We left Tuesday around noon to drive down to Marble Canyon. We took the scenic route through Panquitch and down to Kanab. It was really pretty. It took us about 6 1/2 hours to get there. We got down there 7:30 our time 6:30 pm their time. We then got checked in at the lodge and went over for dinner. We both had burgers, which were huge and suprisingly really good.

The next morning we met our group by 7:30 am to get started. After a brief orientation we loaded up our gear and got going. There were 2 rafts in our group and 1 by themselves from Western River that we saw here and there throughout the trip. We had a really good group of people on our rafts, which was a bonus, and the river guides were all amazing!

Our days basically went like this: We raft (sit on the raft and hold on tight when rapids come), lounge, relax and talk during calm waters, eat, go on hikes during the day, then set up camp at night and then sleep. We would set up camp, eat, get ready for the next day and go over schedule and be to bed by sundown, usually by 9pm. We would then get up in the morning at sunrise, around 5:30 am.

The waters are always about 50 degrees (cold) so we all wore our rain gear most of the time. Though it was usually in the 80's during the day, with the canyon wall shadows and the wind down there, we didn't dry off too quickly so w/out the rain gear on it was REALLY cold. On the contrary, the good thing about this time of year is the beauty of the canyon. Since it was still spring, we got to see lots of greenery that tends to die later in the summer. The canyon walls were full of flowers, catuses, trees and animal life. I loved the scenery and the hikes, Steve loved just being on the raft and the water!

It was a really fun trip! I've never been to the Grand Canyon before and it was definitely a rare opportunity to see the canyon from the bottom up. I was really amazed how the canyon changed as we went on. From the type of rock that made up the canyon, to the greenery on it, to the animal life that we saw, it all varied dependin on where we were in the canyon. It was also interesting to note how others have come down the canyon before and died unfortunately. Also the indians that used to live in the canyon was really interesting to learn.

Most importantly, Steve and I got to spend a week w/ each other! Every day and every trip we make helps us grow closer together. We definitely had to work together during this trip, so I'm grateful for that. It's also nice to get away from our "normal life" and try something else that tests our relationship. Thanks for a great trip honey!!! ;)



Here are some pics from Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4158012&l=820b8b1d79&id=731191774

Here is a video from our trip a guy from our group made. I definitely screamed during the rapids :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JXpar5pdrA

Done with one and on to the next......

Well, things are going well for us. We're excited for the nice weather that we've been having and are looking forward to summer. April has been going by pretty quick, but we're not complaining.

This week I finished up my Financial Accounting class. I had a big project due, got that done, and got full credit on it. I then and a comprehensive final and felt pretty good about it. He still hasn't graded our finals, but we'll see. I actually start Managerial Accounting this Wednesday w/ the same teacher. Steve is getting ready to take all of his finals this week since we're leaving next week for the GRAND CANYON!!! We're getting pretty excited for that.

Friday, Steve picked me up after work and we headed out to Rose's. We showed up as a surprise to Jared for his birthday. We watched the 3 youngest girls while they went out to dinner. They were pretty easy. We just fed them dinner, which Rose had ready, then watched a movie and played games. We were only there for 3 hours or so, but we were happy to help at least for them to go out by themselves. Who knows, maybe one day Summer will be watching our kids. ;)

Saturday we got to sleep in, then did some serious cleaning of the condo. After we got done, I went and got some groceries, then we went over to Dave/Joann's to help rip out the carpet. We pulled out all the old carpet downstairs, almost in every room, and one upstairs. Of course we had to get the padding under the carpet and then sweep and vacuum the floors. It took us about 3 hours to do it, but we got a lot done. After we finished, we went home, ate some cereal, then went to the temple to some initiatories.

When we got home I decided since we had more of mom's great Rhubarb, I'd make a pie out of it. I haven't made a pie in a while, so I thought it'd be fun. I added some cinnamon on the top just because I love cinnamon and 2 small apples inside to sweeten it up a little. It turned out really well. Here's a picture and the recipe.



Fresh Rhubarb Pie

Ingredients

* 4 cups chopped rhubarb
* 1 1/3 cups white sugar
* 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. Combine sugar and flour. Sprinkle 1/4 of it over pastry in pie plate. Heap rhubarb over this mixture. Sprinkle with remaining sugar and flour. Dot with small pieces of butter. Cover with top crust.
3. Place pie on lowest rack in oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking for 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

Steve is officially the Branch Mission Leader, w/ me as his assistant per say. Today we got 2 more couples called as branch missionaries, which is going to be awesome. The more help the better. Since we're in a small branch, there's not as many people overall, but the turnover is HUGE since we are in condos/apartments. So probably our biggest issues is just keeping track of people moving in and out. We're going to work w/ the new missionaries called in our branch to try and figure out who is not coming to church and how we can best help them. I'm excited to get going finally and hopefully help either new members or help reactivate the less actives by finding their testimonies again. All 4 of the families we home/visit teach together are less active. 2 of them have been coming more regularly now though. I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK!!!!!

After church, we had the missionaries over for dinner. Elder Konstedaylo is heading to his "real mission" in the Ukraine. He was here for a month or so while he was waiting for his visa. He was actually born in the Ukraine, but moved to Australia when he was 9 so he has an accent. He's been in a 3 some w/ Elder Gates and Stokes this week until he leaves on Tuesday. We invited them over as a "goodbye party" and thought it would be fun w/ Rob too. I made 3 pizza's which seemed to be just enough. We then had brownies and ice cream and played games. They loved the game mom gave me a while back called "Pig Pile." Steve then talked then into playing the game where you pack flour down in a cup w/ a penny at the bottom, but we put a lifesaver instead. Elder Stokes was the lucky on that had to get it out. The Elders had a riot!

Quick Catch Up..........

I know I haven't been really updating much lately, so I figured I'd better do so.....if not for everyone else to know, than just for my own records.:)

So April is here, as we all know, and man is it flying by. Steve and I are pretty excited though because we're going rafting down the Grand Canyon for 6 days in May. Steve went once after graduating high school and has been begging to go back again. So, when a large group canceled a month or so ago, Steve talked me into signing up!

At the first of April we decided to go visit my parents up in Idaho. I took Friday and Monday off so we could enjoy our time up there, and so Steve could try going fishing w/ dad. We made it up there on Friday around 4 pm, got unpacked and had dinner shortly after. We bought the movie "Blind Side" and watched it that night. It's a great story, true story, so we figured mom and dad would like it. Mom actually sat through the whole thing, so that says a lot!!!

On Saturday, Steve went w/ dad to go fishing. They didn't have much luck so they came back and got the boat to try out. Dad has been fixing up this boat (Steve's dad Dave's old boat he gave to Dad) and was anxious to try it on the water. The good news was that it still floated and the engine ran, but the bad news was it would only go backwards. Though it didn't work as planned, I'm sure they had a good time. While they were gone, I eventually got up, ate, showered, and got ready. Barb, Rich and the kids showed up shortly after. We had General Conference on, but to say the least, not much was heard. Around noon, we all went down to Grandma Hegerhorst's place for lunch and Easter candy. It was fun to see everyone that was there and just visit. Kinda funny though, there were only 5 kids there (4 of which were Barbs...luckily they came).

The guys (Dad, Steve and Rich) took the boat out again in the afternoon. This time dad did something and it went forward now, not backwards. They made it back just in time to get the hot pizza coming out of the oven and head out the door for Priesthood session. While they were gone, we had Corinne come over to play games. When they came back, Jarom also came over and we played more games. It was a lot of fun; I love games!

On Sunday, Daron, Kristi and the kids showed up. Again, Conference was on....but
I'd have to say not much listening was going on. We ended up talking about when/where we wanted our family reunion this year. We decided to have it the same weekend of Grandma's birthday, since we were all planning on going up anyway and it would be easiest to do. Grandma came over for lunch, ham dinner, yumm. We then finally watched most of the afternoon session of conference. Afterwords, we had our Easter sack hunt hid in the machinery. We all ended up w/ sacks, but didn't find the Easter bunny this time (ironically we found it dead last year....). We all then went over to Daron/Kristi's to look at the new puppies then Barb and her family headed home. That night we played games w/ mom and dad....we just love that!

Monday morning, Dad and Steve tried to go fishing again, but had no luck w/ the weather. Since the weather wasn't too favorable, we decided to pack up and get going. We left before noon and made it home it good time. It rained most of the way, but luckily it didn't start snowing until later that night. We had a good trip to Idaho and always enjoy our time on "the farm" w/ mom and dad and everyone. We are trying to visit more often this year.

So, besides our trip to Idaho, Steve and I have been still going to school. This is my last week of lecture, so next week is my final. I'll then start another class. Steve is also getting close to being done. He has a couple more weeks of class then finals before we go to the Grand Canyon.

I just finished up a campaign (Feb-March) at work. I finished well enough to qualify for a $500 gift card, which I'm pretty excited about. I also had to take my Continuing Education test on the 6th, and passed it luckily. I can't believe it's been 2 years since I took the 7. Thanks goodness the Continuing Education test is NOT nearly as hard as the real one.

Last Thursday we went to the temple and did initiatories, which was great. On Friday we went w/ Steve and Abby Bonney to a movie for his birthday. And Saturday we cleaned our condo and helped Dave/Joann w/ their house "decluttering" that I already wrote about. We also went over our budget on Sunday, and though things are still tight, we're making it work. It's crazy how far we've come over this past year being married, especially when it comes to finances. There definitely is a lot more trust and understanding to say the least.

One more thing.....yesterday night we went and met w/ the Bishop. Steve has been called as the branch mission leader. We kinda figured it would be coming since our leader was called as the executive secretary. It should be a really good thing for Steve, and of course I'll be helping him along the way. Our home teaching is also going really well, especially since Steve and I are partners. ;)

Spring Cleaning......

On Thursday, Steve helped his dad dig a hole in order to fix the water main in their front yard. Steve ended up digging the hole, along w/ some help from his friend Rob. Dave helped by supervising, and Jeff also stopped by for a bit. The hole ended up being 5 feet deep. They had a neighbor/friend come fix the leak, then Steve and Rob filled it in on Saturday.


Working hard.....putting the dirt back in.


Posing for the picture


All done


While they were filling it in, I packed up all Steve's stuff from the house and loaded it up. Dave and Joann are trying to "declutter" so we figured we'd better do our part. Phil, Stacie, Jeff, us and Rob all came to help to move things. It took a lot of us to get things done, so luckily we had a lot of help....though I'm pretty sure we'll be doing it again soon. After that, we helped moved other furniture from inside the house to the garage, clean, move some boxes and stuff to the trailer, then unloading the stuff in the trailer into Jeff's garage. That morning we also cleaned our condo and got it organized. So, let's just say that by the time we got done w/ everything, we were pretty tired and sore.


All the cars in the driveway.


Taking a mattress to the trailer


All the furniture in the garage



Steve found a bunny lollipop somewhere and decided to eat it