This week.....

Just a couple things...

On Wednesday, I have class right after work, so I just take the trax down to my car, then drive to class. Class goes from 6-9:30pm about, so I don't get to see Steve from 7am until then (sad I know). But........... this week, I was hurrying out the door from work, and looked up and there was Steve!!! I looked at him and recognized he was there waiting for me, took a couple more steps, then took a second glance at him. I then asked, "What are you doing here?" He said since we don't get to see each other much on Wednesday's he thought he'd ride back down w/ me on the trax. He rode the trax up to Gateway, just to come right back down, but w/ me this time. He also brought me some snacks to eat during class....such a cutie ;)

Thursday after work, Steve and I went swimming in our pool which was just opened Memorial Weekend. The water was surprisingly warm. We swam for about an hour. It was a lot of fun! After that I made a cheesecake for Steve, and a white cake w/ cheesecake and whip cream and strawberries on top. I also got stuff ready for Eve's party on Friday. She turned 30 so I wanted to throw her a party. The girl who took my spot, Hannah, has been helping me. Steve had to watch a foreign film for his humanities film, so he watched "Coco before Chanel." It was interesting.

Friday after work, I hurried to go down to American Fork. Since it was Friday and the weekend, traffic was crazy (I hate traffic). I made it down there though and we got things set up. We had a good group of girls show up. We had Cafe Rio salad, chatted, then played "Diva Family Feud." It was a lot of fun. We then had strawberry shortcake kinda. I made a white cake then put cream cheese mixed w/ cool whip on top, then made a strawberry sauce to put on top. We sang to her and had her open gifts also. We were going to watch "13 going on 30" but it was pretty late so we didn't.

Well today at church we found out Little Cottonwood creek has been flooding (off 13th east, in our Stake). Last night there were people from our branch helping to sand bag. Then, after church Steve got a call to come and help. Apparently the bags weren't holding, so they had to re-due them and keep adding on to it. Steve was there 3 hours about, then came home to go to LuDeans for dinner. He barely got done w/ dinner then was called to go back and help. He's been there since seven or so. There are over 500 hundred volunteers from around the community along w/ firefighters, police, etc. And then it started rain Here are some pics:














Here's the article on KSL.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=11064362

Cabin Weekend #2........

So last weekend for Memorial Day, we went up to the cabin again. We didn't go up until Saturday evening but still had enough a good amount of time up there. We decided to go to the Jordan River Temple Friday night to do a session. It was really nice being there. We even ran into a couple from our branch who were in the same session, kinda funny. We've ran into them while doing a session at the Draper Temple too a couple months ago. After the temple we stopped at Maverick at got a frozen yogurt, yummm ;)

Saturday I met my sisters for lunch (see my previous post). It was great seeing them and just hanging out. I then hurried home where we packed and went up to the cabin. Melanie, Brandon, their 3 boys, Dave, Joann, and Diane were all up there since the night before. We got up there just in time for dinner. We helped get dinner ready, then afterwards Steve and I went on a short ATV ride. Later, after the kids were put to bed, we all watched the movie "Invictus" and I made some popcorn.



On Sunday we all went to the Fruitland Branch again. Since it was a holiday, it was COMPLETELY packed!!! We left a 1/2 hr early and barely got seats in the back of the chapel. Everyone else that came in after us basically sat in the halls and in the small class rooms. Since it's only a branch, they don't have a very big building. The sacrament took the longest part of the meeting of course. The deacons were weaving in and around people trying to get to everyone. People were there who were camping or at their cabins. It's crazy how many come, but it's good that they all came, though on vacation. After we got back from church, we ate, then Steve and I took a nap. Steve woke up after an hour or so, but I kept sleeping for a couple more hours (I guess I was pretty tired). The rest of the day we had dinner, walked down to the Lake and skipped rocks, made a bonfire outside (until we got smoked out), played games and chatted.







On Monday, Steve and Dave went out fishing on the boat. The didn't have much luck catching any fish, but they said they still had a good time. I stayed at the cabin to work on my homework assignments the best I could. After lunch we cleaned up, packed, went w/ the boys to catch crawdads, then left. Once we got home, I worked on homework some more (lucky me I know).

Lunch w/ Sisters!

On Saturday I got together w/ 2 of my 4 sisters. It was Rose's b-day last week so we got together for lunch; she chose to go to Super Salad. They closed the one close to me here in Midvale and the other one in Sugarhouse, so we went out to Taylorsville. Rose had some coupons so we got the lunch buffet for 5 bucks! It was fun to just get together and enjoy ourselves. We stayed about 2 hours just talking and having fun. Rose and Pauline had some nail polish, lip gloss and other make-up, so we had a little makeover time too. It was a lot of fun, thanks sisters! (Hopefully soon we can get together w/ all 4 sisters)

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