Pies, Tires, and One Good Hammock

As usual, last week kind of blurred together so we'll just cover highlights.
Monday we were going to go to more of the Parade of Homes...until we got to one and remembered they weren't running it on Monday. Instead we bought some pie crust and made this beautiful(ish) pie out of some of those blueberries we got! We made a second one today just because it was so good.

 Wednesday night Darrell went on a bike ride with the Young Men while the Young Women finished up preparation for camp this week. I stayed after to talk to a few of the other leaders and then made a friend in the street-yes really, on my walk home. By the time I got back to the house and saw Darrell's car wasn't back yet, I was a little troubled. He texted me when they got back to service to let me know things didn't go quite as planned. Basically, his tire got messed up so he had to hike back on the last stretch and some of the boys also got lost. In the end, everyone was fine though home a couple hours later than anticipated. Darrell fixed his tire before going on another ride up the canyon while I worked late on Thursday night. Then this happened.

Again, thankfully he was fine but we definitely got a new tire yesterday at a new biking store we found in Salt Lake so this doesn't happen anymore.
Friday afternoon Darrell left to go camping with the scouts so I had a night out on the town with my friend Marissa. We tried out a new Mediterranean place in Sugarhouse that was delicious, had some gelato (coconut sticky rice and cinnamon=delicious), and then hit the arts festival in downtown Salt Lake. Here is how we expressed our creativity...

Poetry at its finest, you must admit. Then I went home and spent my first night away from Darrell since we got married. It wasn't as great, but then we hung out the rest of the weekend.
He had a good time camping and even got to try out our hammock we bought a few months back. Needless to say, he made me try it out when he got home and we will be getting a second one for a hammock camping trip we're now planning for the 4th of July. Here is his set up at the campsite and then me trying it out yesterday morning in our backyard after he got home.

Saturday we also went to a work party for Darrell's uncle's company here in Orem, and then went up to wedding reception in Paradise for a friend who also went to Armenia on his mission and married an Armenian girl. It was fun for Darrell to be able to reminisce in Armenian and an old Armenian lady taught me to dance like an Armenian.
Today we watched part of the Worldwide Training Broadcast on missionary work before heading out to Eagle Mountain to eat a yummy Dutch oven dinner with Darrell's cousins Ryan and Lynette and their neighbors. The neighbors had this giant blow up ball that a person (pretty sure it was only intended for kids) could get inside and then roll around. Unsurprisingly, we did not suppress the urge to try it out and spent about ten minutes rolling each other around the yard. I wish we would have taken a picture. For real.
I think that's it! Have a good week everyone!

Figuring Out Life In Utah Valley

So I have struggled a little over the 6+ months since we got married and I moved down to Orem. Cache Valley had become my home away from home, and Utah Valley was never a place I had planned to end up. After I figured out where the heck things were, readjusted to roads that were not straight and on a decent grid system (back to my roots, Omaha), and made some friends in the area I felt a little better acclimated. Thinking back on our weekend, I feel even better about how well we're doing in this "other valley."
We had Friday afternoon through Sunday night to spend together doing whatever we wanted and it was a treat. When we both got home from work Friday afternoon we checked out Wild Mustang Grill & Bakery for dinner. Didn't realize it was a little spendy but we had heard good things about it as well as seen the sign everyday on our way home that advertised it as "best in the valley." They may have exaggerated or we went on an off night. Regardless, we had a good waiter, my tummy was happy, and I know from previous experience that they at least have awesome pie. We'll probably try them again before passing a final judgement. Then we took off to go check out the Parade of Homes. We have a friend in our ward who had some tickets and he gave us two for free! We only checked out two because we got sidetracked at the second one, but it was fun and good for giving us ideas for when we get our own place. I loved the kitchens best and I'm guessing Darrell would say he liked the theater room in the second one best because they were playing Warren Miller when we walked by. I had to drag him away before he hopped the rope and spent the night in one of the recliners.
As we were leaving the second house, we saw some ladies selling some art. Darrell and I both have a thing for art and I'll even admit I'm a bit of a snob. I don't like things because they are expensive, I just have my likes and dislikes. Thankfully I married a man with an appreciation for art who has been collecting cool things as he's traveled over the past few years. So we stopped and looked through a few things. I was super impressed! Not only did they have a clever name-Art De Couer (means 'art of the heart' in French, but also is pronounced 'art decor'), but they had a great selection! They were all good quality and even though some weren't my style, I was thoroughly impressed. More than I can remember being in a long time, let's just say. I may have bought a few things. Wanna see? Okay, but only because you said, "please."

They were reasonably priced and also did framing, but when you have a sister-in-law who works in the framing department at Hobby Lobby, it's hard to pass that option up. We talked to them until the Parade of Homes had ended for the evening so we didn't see any other houses, but it was more than worth it.
Saturday we slept in a bit and then headed up the canyon for a mountain bike ride. Darrell usually goes with friends who are better than me, but he drags my amateur self along behind him every so often. He's a good sport and doesn't mock me when my legs give out on the big hills. He gave me some tips on the downhill and I almost kept up with that fearlessly speedy boy!
We went to do a sealing session that afternoon after scrubbing off all the dirt from the bike ride and then did a grocery run. Sprouts is right by our house so even though we got a Bountiful Basket that morning, we still stopped by to pick up some mangoes on sale, fresh ground peanut butter (I like it for dipping carrots and raw sweet potatoes), a seedless watermelon on sale at 4 lbs for $1.00, and 6 oz packs of blueberries for $0.99!!!!!! You may not all think that is something to fuss about, but we bought ten packs and will probably eat them all this week. Can't beat that!
That night we ignored our tired legs and dragged ourselves over to watch the parade for Orem's summerfest. It was weird to have a parade at night but they had some of the most elaborate floats either of us had ever seen. It was cool though to actually know a couple people in the parade. We'd taken the motorcycle for parking purposes :) so we hopped on after getting some coupons from the parade and got some food and a peanut butter fudge shake from Sonic to munch on while waiting for the fireworks. We may or may not have had a few of those half price shakes in the last few weeks... The carnival part of the celebration was big but also packed with moody teens by that point in the night so we set up our blanket and waited for the fireworks instead of walking around much. The fireworks were also pretty dang great. Don't judge my iPhone firework photographing abilities.

Today we took a nice long nap after church and then went to my grandparents house for the monthly extended FHE they hold. We also got to talk to both of our dads for Father's Day and Darrell got some pie that they were serving to all the men at the end of church.
All in all, I'd say it was quite the weekend. We're starting to feel like Orem-ites and I'd say that's a good thing considering we may stay here for awhile... Foreshadow, much?
Til next week!

Sometimes in life, there are weekends that only last one day. Thankfully, in my life those weekends result in a three day weekend the next week. We had Youth Conference with our Young Men & Young Women Friday and Saturday this week, so last weekend was made worth it when I didn't get up to my alarm Friday morning. We went up to Heber Valley Girls Camp, which I had never heard up but is super snazzy. They had big flags at the entrance for each of the Young Women values, and each of the campsites were named after women in the church/scriptures. We did a challenge course (including a zip line!) Friday afternoon, had a fireside after dutch oven fajitas, and then learned from one of the other leaders what birch bending (or in our campsite's case, aspen bending) was. About ten of the teachers really stuck on that, as you'd imagine.
Saturday morning we had the stake president come and talk to the youth. Turns out, he is one of the facilities managers for the church so we got to hear some really cool stories about some of the temples and MTCs being built right now. Also found out one of the other YM leaders in our ward used to live in Iowa and did the plumbing for the Winter Quarters temple! We hung around and talked to the stake president after and it was cool listening to him talk about how they pick sites, the processes they go through with making sure the temples look exactly like the renderings made beforehand, and even some stories of contractors saying that they couldn't do the kind of work that the plans called for. But they train them to do the kind of quality of work that the Lord expects for these temples, and they all turn out so beautifully! Wish we could write all the things we talked about, especially about the temples in the area, but it would take too long. Let's just say that he was a great choice of who to talk to the youth about standing in holy places.
Later that day we went canoeing and paddle-boating on the lake, played some volleyball and then cleaned up the campsite before heading down the mountain. I have to admit that we were a little hesitant when we read the 5 pages (5 pages!!!!) of rules for the camp before heading up there, but after seeing how beautiful the camp was and how perfect of a place it was for the youth to have a good experience, we forgot the rules were even there.
Saturday night we went to a(nother) wedding reception for one of Darrell's old roommates. Wedding season is only beginning. We'll be up in Logan at least twice this month for two others! It's fun to see friends that we don't run into too often though, and to celebrate with them as they start a new stage of life.
In other news...Friday was our six month anniversary!!!!!!!!!!! We feel pretty cool about that. It feels like we've been married a lot longer than that. In a good way :) Since we were up at the camp for our anniversary, we put off celebrating but we may or may not be pounding some delicious peanut butter chocolate gelato right now as a partial celebration...
Another good Sunday for us. We love our ward, love Sunday naps, and getting to eat good food because there's actually enough time to cook. Tonight was blue cheese burgers with Franks hot sauce cooked by Darrell. I made some swiss chard so we could still feel healthy. That and because I've put off cooking it for over a week now since I got it in my Bountiful Basket.
That's all I can think of at the moment. Sorry there aren't any pictures. Maybe down the road we'll get ones back from another leader at Youth Conference of us doing the ropes course and zip line. We're impressive.

Loopin' the Loop

So I realized that our life seems exciting because I only ever put on here the cool things we do. I'm okay with that. Go ahead and think our lives are lively and we don't come home and sit on our butts most nights because we're too tired/lazy to do anything else. Totally fine with me!

This week...what did we do? Friday was the first exciting day. Darrell met me at my work and we went to the Draper temple, to the distribution center, and then bought groceries to have a campfire dinner. We have this park that is basically our backyard (and thankfully maintained by another family in the neighborhood) which includes, among other things, a fire pit. So we roasted brats with banana peppers, J-Dawg's sauce, and sauerkraut. It was good. Some of the kids that live upstairs came and hung out with us too. Thankfully they ate the rest of a bag of marshmallows we'd used for Rice Krispies that was just sitting in our pantry.

Sorry for the crappy quality of the pictures. I was more interested in my food at the time.
Saturday I worked so I can take off this Friday for Youth Conference. I got to run some of the orientation workshops we had going on so it wasn't too bad, even for a Saturday. Then we met up with Darrell's dad who was in town for work and went to the RSL game (yes, another one). And we won!!!!!!!!!!!! Definitely time for a sweet victory and to not leave the stadium bummed out. Joao Plata is my favorite even though I found out he's two years younger and two inches shorter than me. Who cares? That kid can run! Darrell likes Javier Morales. Can't blame him. He has some serious style when he plays.
Today we went on a motorcycle ride with Darrell's old roommate Craig, and took the Alpine Loop and then up to Squaw Peak. I may be getting a little more okay with living in this part of the state everyday. Just don't ask me how I feel about it in the bottle-necked traffic by the point of the mountain on my way to work tomorrow morning. We also got to see Lesa, a friend of mine from Omaha who just got home from her mission, and I got to talk to one of my favorite people in the world-Felony Melanie who is town!
Life is good, June is here, and Darrell and I will have been married 6 months on Friday. Time flies, doesn't it?
Have a good and safe week!

My Knees and Why They Hurt

So let's all just acknowledge last week's post didn't happen and move on.  If it's any consolation, I can't remember what I would have even talked about in it. All I remember from that week is work and "Arrested Development." Yeah. Moving on.
This past Monday, Darrell and I took off around noon and headed to Zion National Park to meet up with my parents. We camped there for two nights, and got home Wednesday night/Thursday morning around 2:00 am. It was awesome. Seriously. Well, besides the late night drive home.
We'd planned this trip awhile back and wanted to hike the Narrows from the top down and the Subway. Originally we wanted to have a day in between and do the Subway first, but because of how the availability for the passes turned out the plan turned into Tuesday-Narrows & Wednesday-Subway.
We had checklists and coordination phone calls, got all packed up, and Darrell and I even got to try out our new (and admittedly ridiculously large) tent! Darrell's sister Mindy came and had dinner at our campsite with us Monday night (and we snuck off to find some weirdly delicious peanut butter-chocolate-habanero creme brulee -yes, you read that right), and then we crashed for the night so we would be ready for the drive to the trail head at 5:30 am. Got up, left a car at the bottom and took the other on the drive to the trail head, and started hiking a little before 7:30.

Now I know pretty much everyone we mentioned doing this hike to thought we were crazy, but it was 89% great. It started on a dirt trail, met up with the river, started crossing back and forth, hit the beginning of the narrows, the river got about knee high though we got as far as chest deep once or twice, and was 16 miles or so, but it was downriver.

 We'd gotten neoprene socks and used the accompanying shoes since we didn't want to risk blisters for the intended hike on the Subway the next day so our feet stayed mostly dry and we were ridiculously grateful for good walking sticks. The water wasn't too cold and the scenery was beautiful. That being said, I wish we saw more of it since the natural inclination was to watch our feet so we didn't slip on the rocks. It was quite the leg workout and we all did okay until about Big Springs (about 11 miles down and the highest anyone coming from the bottom is supposed to hike). Then I started dragging. Turns out walking on rocks for 16 miles hurts your feet and knees, and once your socks get some water weight in them the hip flexors start having to work harder than normal. Thus we began being passed a lot. Pretty sure the last mile on the paved River Walk trail consisted of Darrell dragging me and me walking like a little chimpanzee at his side. A ninety year old with a cane could have passed me. Only a few blisters came out of it, but the next morning we woke up and decided embarking on a 9 hour hike that included some technical parts wasn't too wise. The shuttle driver asked us if we'd done the Narrows from top down when we got on though, so I think we weren't too atypical. Unfortunately there weren't enough cancellations for us to do the Subway the following day instead so we did a nice easy stroll to the Emerald Pools and have been planning a return trip ever since. I did get to talk to two different French couples, one of which took our picture for us at the top Emerald Pool. Love Zion!

Basically, the trip was great, the hike was intense but good, and Darrell and I have decided we want to at least do the 10 mile round trip to Big Springs from the bottom and back to see the parts we missed because we were too focused on just keeping moving at the time.

And where did we find ourselves less than a week later aka today? Biking 27.82 miles. My knees hurt again, but it feels sooo good. Also since getting back home, we had dinner with Darrell's dad, other sister and her fiance, went to a RLS game, saw Picketts last week and Jorgensens this week, and saw the new Star Trek. And more "Arrested Development".... Gotta catch up, right? The new season already rolled out and there isn't much time before the spoilers become inevitable.
We're pretty stoked summer is here and I even convinced Darrell that we should buy a $2 kite at Walgreens today. I'm sure that will be in a future post.
On a gastronomic note, I'm happy peaches, berries, watermelon, cherries, etc are out and about again. Between that and a sale on salmon, we've been eating good!
Til next week!
P.s. When I asked Darrell if there was anything else he wanted me to add in here, he said to mention fixing a weed whacker with help from the internet. He fixes stuff a lot. :) I'm okay with that.

In Loving Memory

I wanted to write a post for my grandmother Julia Rawlins who passed away yesterday at the age of 90.  It is a bitter sweet moment to see someone you love pass away when you know it is the best thing for her to do.  Her body was like that old car that many of us have owned at one point in time.  The paint has faded, the bumper is falling off, rust has put holes in the body, and the tires are going bald.  Yet for some reason, the engine and transmission keep going and you just stare at it in wonder and if it will last 200 thousand...300 thousand miles?   But the moment finally came for her to be reunited with her husband who had gone on to the other world 19 long years before, and we can't do anything but stand back and cheer for a woman who has been an example of faith, love, and charity to her family and those she cared for. 

I spoke with Mindy, my sister, shortly after she passed and we both agreed that we are grateful for the memories that we have of her.  Her smile and laughter can be heard in our minds and her love is felt in our hearts. 

Enjoy your next mission Grandma!  We will miss you terribly but are grateful for your legacy and memory. 

Weddings and a Celebrity Siting!

This week we had some great people get hitched together for time and all eternity.  Friday night we went to a reception in Sandy for one of Darrell's friends from college.  Congratulation to Cassie and Collin.  While we were there, the unpredictable Utah weather hit, and left the crowd staring into the parking lot as golden sunbeams lit up a flash flood type rain storm.  It was beautiful as was the reception and the glowing couple. 

Saturday was an even bigger day for weddings.  Jeff Parker, who is buddies with Darrell from their trip to eastern Europe, sealed the deal with his wife Kailey in the Salt Lake Temple.  We were privileged enough to
be invited to the sealing at 8:20 in the morning.  The couple was ecstatic as they made their commitments to one another and the Lord and were glowing in the fresh morning light. 

BAM!!!!! YOU DID IT BOY!  CONGRATS ON GETTING IT DONE!!!!!

For any one who was outside yesterday in the Wasatch Front area of Utah, you know how beautiful of a day it was for a wedding.  So too did the Temple Square grounds crew.  I think that's why they wanted to rip up all of the spring flowers out side the temple so all the pictures would have that touch of brown that every bride wants. 

I don't think that really bothered Jeff and Kailey.  Lets have one more look shall we. 

The day was not over from there, after was their luncheon followed by a reception later that evening.  Our plan was to stick around the SLC area run some errands for mothers day then go on a hike or something like that.  But after one of our stops took us all the way back to Sandy we decided to just continue the rest of the way back to Orem for some much needed rest, only to drive back up to Kaysville for the reception.  It felt like a lot of unnecessary driving.  But never ever underestimate the value of a good nap.  #wellworthit

Back to the Reception!

So, this is getting sort of wordy for a quick congratulations to our friends but we've got to tell you who we saw at the reception.  Al Gore!!!!

Ok so maybe it's not really Al Gore but it definitely is Jeff's dad, David.   But I made you look twice didn't I.  Especially when you compare it to this picture. 

Anyway, Jeff and Kailey drove off in the sunset to begin their new life and we left the reception with one of the Corn Hole boards that was provided for guest to play with.  He he, I want to yell THROW IT IN YOUR CORN HOLE whenever I play that game.  Kaela gives me funny looks when I do. 

Other than weddings this week, we are getting our preps ready for hiking the Subway and Narrow next week with the Jorgensens.  More on this later.

Leaving you with pictures of us.  Have a good week!!!