Happy Halloween!

Such a happy polygamist with my framed picture of Warren Jeffs!

Tuff guy biker!

Thanks to Tiffany for helping me get my polyg hair just right! Lots of ratting and hairspray. You can't see the back, but she did a french braid.

The doctor is in.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween. We had lots of fun! We went with my sister Tiffany and her family to a family party in St. George. We don't usually get that into Halloween but this year we decided to dress up. Michael wanted to be a biker, and I had the idea to be something pretty common that we see in Walmart from time to time......a polygamist! Actually one of Warren Jeffs' pregnant polygamist wives! Tiffany was a tired mommy, Isaac was the hillbilly, Caleb was a doctor, and little Ella was a pumpkin. It was fun to get together for Halloween and dress up as well. We had lots of good treats and watched Ghost Busters 2 outside with a projector. It was fun even though it was a little embarassing when I handed out treats and the kids' parents didn't know if I was a real polygamist or not, but it made Halloween much more fun this year! I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

A week ago Michael and I got to take our nephew Caleb to the pumpkin festival that was going on in town. It was fun to spend time with him again since they've been in Sandy for the last 4 months. There were a lot of games and interactive Halloween activities going on for the kids. It was just fun to have Caleb with us for part of the day and pretend like he was ours! :) I hope his mom, Tiffany doesn't mind - he's just too cute!

Fall is Here!

We had a fun ride up the canyon on our motorcycle.

A view of Cedar Mountain.

We took a ride up Cedar canyon on the motorcycle one day after work to enjoy the beautiful fall leaves. We couldn't believe how bright and vibrant the colors were! We also took Charlie along, of course. He LOVES riding on the motorcycle! We had a great time enjoying all of the fall leaves. We love the fall season - the sights, the smell, and the crisp air. If you haven't been up into the mountains yet to enjoy the scenery - hurry before its gone! :)

Peterson Campout

After the Sorensen reunion which is Michael's mom's side of the family, all of the kids decided that they'd like to have a Peterson reunion this year as well. So they decided that we'd have a reunion camp out at Fish Lake on the second weekend of September. We got there Friday evening and enjoyed a great dutch oven cook out. It was fun to catch up with the Peterson side and see all of the cousins get together again. We all just sat around the camp fire and listened to Thomas, Jeffery, and Kay swap funny stories about their mom and dad and what it was like for them growing up - they had everyone rolling with laughter! A lot of us also try to "skin the cat." A fun game that gets you all twisted up. The next day we got up, had a nice breakfast, sat around and visited a little bit, played some card games, then all joined in on a softball game. It was lots of fun to see everyone play together. Lots of motorcycles, four wheelers, and petal bikes going back and forth all day. They had a zip line set up for the kids to use, there were lots of games, horse shoes, etc. After softball we all came in for lunch, then after that they set up a net and we played some volleyball. That was really fun! It was hilarious to watch his mom shut down Michael and his brothers at the net - she did really good! After volleyball we played "flying dutchman," a game where you stand in a circle holding hands then chase someone (kind of like duck duck goose, but with a partner) That was fun and tiring. Before we had to head home the guys all helped us cut some firewood and load it into our truck to take home since we have a wood burning stove this year. We really appreciated everyone's help and had a great time! Camping with the Peterson's is definitely tiring but lots and lots of fun!

Michael and some nieces, nephews, and other Peterson cousins all waiting to try out the zip line that Uncle Kay set up for us!

Michael trying out the zip line!

Our nephews, Logan and Ryker found these giant bones and thought that Charlie would enjoy them. lol

Setting up our little camp area. Michael brought along his trials bike to play on the boulders.

Beautiful quakies at our camp site at Fish Lake.

Our cousin Craig attempting to "Skin the Cat." A game where you try to step your whole body through a pole while holding on to it at the same time. Pretty difficult.

We have a wood burning stove this year, so all of the guys helped us out by loading a truck load of wood for us! Thanks again to everyone for their help!!!

The little assembly line

Pitty the Kitty...

So, Michael and I moved across town around June into a basement home that has two bedrooms, a yard, a shed for Michael's motorcycles and it allows dogs. We were both happy about it and have enjoyed the extra space and beautiful views from our house of three peaks, and of Cedar mountain. The house is on the border of Enoch and Cedar City and is surrounded by fields. There is a dirt road that goes behind our house that has a horse shed, a barn, and some other property; it also has lots of farm animals. Horses, ponies, wild peacocks, goats, and lots of CATS!

This is the cat house that Michael built for out kitty. It's lined with carpet.

So one day this calico cat started coming around our house because one of the little neighbor girls that live upstairs kept feeding her bugs that she would catch with her bug zapper. Well, one night I was talking Charlie out for a walk on that dirt road when that same cat came right up to me and was crying and rubbing against my leg. I felt bad for it so I reached down to pet it - - and literally felt SKIN and BONE! I felt so bad for it that I immediately carried it home and fed her whatever leftovers and were in our fridge. It was obvious she was starving. I think that first night she ate two hot dogs, some rice, and some dog food. We kept feeding her for a few weeks thinking that she'd just come and go and that we'd only see her speratically. But we found out that she would stay by our porch everyday waiting for us to come home. So - since she was sticking around, we wanted to help her, but because she was a stray we were a little worried that she might have some diseases or something. So I called around and found out that the local pound would pay for her shots and to have her spayed. We made an appointment and got her all up-to-date with her shots and her spaying. We named her Cali The Calico Cat. (thanks to Tiffany for thinking of that!) I took her home the next day from the vet, but when I got home from work, I could tell she wasn't doing very good. She had thrown up a lot and when I went to pick her up she winced in pain started bleeding from her stitches. I set her down and drops of blood started to drip faster and faster from her. So I called the vet's emergency number and brought her in in a kennel. It was a very sad sight - there was blood in the kennel from the ride there, they pulled her out and she was so weak and faint and covered in blood. She was already still so skinny and they had to wrap her wound so tight around her back and belly that she was crying because they were squeezing the bandage so tight. She looked like a mummy when they were done and they also had to give her fluids through an I.V. because she was so skinny and not strong enough on her own. They would just grab her skin and stick the needle with the tube in her, then when the fluid was too full in a certain spot the skin would bubble up and the needle would drop out, then they'd grab another fold of skin and do it again. She was so out of it that she even stopped crying and just had this spaced out look in her eyes- Let me just say first of all - that I am typically not a cat person, but when I saw her on the table in the condition she was in - I couldn't help the tears from coming. It was a little embarrassing, in fact the doctor had to console me a bit. They wanted to keep her there overnight and so I said goodbye, I really thought I'd never see her again, but suprising I called the next morning and she was still alive! She was still weak, so they kept her there for almost a week. We finally got to pick her up and bring her home. I thought she'd run away from us after that, but she has stuck around ever since. Oh - and we feed her real cat food now. Michael built her a nice, warm cat house that is lined with carpet and has a towel in there to hopefully keep her warm through the winter. Oh and she is strictly an outside cat she's still a little on the wild side but is very loving, we don't have any mice around thanks to her.

I'm pretty sure that they love each other. This is Charlie biting her ears, he always does that when I try to pet her.

This Cali telling him who's boss. They're just playing.

They love to chase each other around in the yard.

These are the little neighbor girls that love to dress up the animals.

They tried to give her this stuffed animal.

The Grand Canyon

Yay! The Grand Canyon!

Fun times with old friends!

This is the awesome lodge where we ate dinner and spent time checking out the view.

A beautiful view!

This is me thinking, "I wish there were an elevator back to the top...."

Yay! We finally got to see the Grand Canyon, thanks to some awesome friends. Tyler and Nicole invited us to go camping at the Grand Canyon the second weekend in August. There were seven of us in the group that went. Seeing the Grand Canyon has been on Michael and I's "To Do" list for a while, and we were finally able to cross it off! It was so much fun! We met up with Hayley and carpooled with her from Hurricane and got there early Friday evening. I had no idea it was only like three hours to the Canyon (at least to the North Rim). We set up camp and our tents. Then cooked some great dutch oven chicken with potatoes, corn on the cob, fresh vegetables, and of course some smores for dessert, later we played some games then headed to bed. Then the next day most of us slept in a bit (except for a crazy girl who ran 18 miles that morning to train for a marathon...NICOLE - she's amazing!) and then had some breakfast. The scenery was beautiful! Our campsite wasn't far from a lookout into the canyon. We spent some time at the beautiful huge lodge that has the most amazing view of the canyon. After breakfast we decided to head out for a little hike. There were only a few trail heads that led into the canyon, but then we had the option of hiking all the way into the bottom or even out the other side. I think the trail dropped about 2,500 ft or more in only a 1 1/2! The way down was easy and had a great view, but then the hike up was a little more difficult! The trail was pretty dusty because it was also used as a mule trail, so on the way up we had to stop several times to allow groups of mules to pass by. It was a steep hike up, but it was worth it for the beautiful view. Later that night we all went to eat dinner at the lodge. The restaurant has an amazing view that looks into the canyon. We spent some time at the lodge afterward taking in the view at the different lookout points. They also had a huge fireplace out back - it felt very cozy to sit there and watch the fire, and sit in the nice leather couches. Then later we went to see a presentation about the history of the Grand Canyon. It was pretty fun, and I think the lady park ranger who gave it was even funnier. As we were headed out from the lodge we could see some of the flames from a fire on the South rim in the glow of the moonlight. It was a pretty awesome sight. It was a great weekend - we had so much fun enjoying the beautiful park and spending time with great friends. Thanks again!

Family Reunion

Do-Si-Do

Michael's first time repelling!

I was a little rusty....

Repelling at Big Rocks.

The "Peterson boys," David, Cliff, Michael, and Ryan......so tuff! lol

It took me several shots just to get a normal smile out of these guys! Always being silly.
Michael is a real cowboy...:)

This year's Sorenson reunion was held by Michael's family in Loa. His mom and sisters put in a lot of hard work, but it turned out to be a great reunion and lots of fun! We were a little crazy and decided to take the motorcycle AND Charlie. I had a backpack that he sat in, in the front of me. It was a little difficult, but we made it! When we got there we had a nice dinner in the civic center, visited with cousins and family, and then all learned how to square dance! I felt like I was in 6th grade again. It was lots of fun to learn how to dance like that again. The next day, the theme for the reunion was the "Amazing Race." So we split up into teams, got our first clue and then started running! Each clue was based around grandpa and grandma Sorenson and the details of their lives. We learned what they like to eat by eating a bread in milk challenge, learned where they like to play as children growing up - so we went repelling out at Big Rocks, we learned about how they worked so we had a challenge of changing sprinklers in the fastest time. They loved to sing so we had a challenge to sing a song together in the chapel, we had pole races out at the rodeo grounds, and we learned about other relatives by finding their names on gravestones in the cemetery. It was a lot of fun. After all of that we came in had dinner, and participated in an auction they had every year to earn money for next year's reunion.

Our newest nephew - Zackery Ryan Peterson. He's so cute!

Ryan, Jessica, and Zackery with Michael's parents after the blessing.
Wow...this is the best picture that turned out from the family pictures on my camera. Sorry about that. I don't think I'm even looking. lol It was a little crazy trying to get everyone's attention I guess.

Als0, Michael's brother Ryan and his family had flown in from New York to bless their baby. So the family was all together Sunday for the blessing and dinner afterward. I got sick somehow the night before and was throwing up ALL night and was pretty worn out for all of the family festivities for that day. On Monday the whole family headed down to Lake Powell. I hadn't been since I was 18, so it was a lot of fun to be there again. I was still a little sick so wasn't up for much activity, but there were several boats there and everyone had a great time skiing, tubing, and solemn skiing. They also had a huge inflatable trampoline in the water. All the kids had a great time. (I really wanted to post some pictures from Lake Powell, but I was dumb and accidentally dropped the camera into one of the inner tubes that had water in the bottom of it - our camera was completely dead.)

Michael's Birthday!

Wow, that looks like a lot of candles to blow out - must be getting pretty old!

Snake eyes!

Get that spare!

One of Michael's best friends, Clint Chappell

Ride, ride, ride, that pony, get up and ride that big fat pony!

Michael turned 23 years old on July 31st. To celebrate his birthday we took a bunch of friends out to dinner at pizza hut, and then went bowling, then came back to our apartment to play games and eat cake and ice cream with a couple of friends. I think Michael has gone bowling with his friend Clint for almost every year of his birthday. Their birthdays are only a couple weeks apart so it was kind of a joint birthday. For his birthday gift I got him a subscription to a trials motorcycle newsletter/magazine. He was way excited about that, but I also got him tickets to the Dew Tour that was in September. He was so excited about that! And because I'm catching up in my blogging - we actually just got back from the Dew Tour in Salt Lake City and we had a ton of fun. We went up on a Friday and stayed in a hotel we went to dinner, shopped around at the mall, and then road the UTA trax up to the event on Saturday. It was basically an all day event lasting until about 10:30 pm. They had BMX professional finals, jam sessions, and the skateboard finals as well. It was really fun to watch in person. Afterward Michael felt inspired to try out some of their tricks on his own and wishes he had a BMX bike of his own. I hope Michael had a great birthday! I love you!

It was VERY hot sitting in the sun during the competition, and I just happened to wear a layered shirt, so later we caught a free t-shirt they threw and I put it on to cool off. lolThis picture is hard to see, but Verizon had a promo where anyone could text message their number and you text would show up on this big screen during the event. Michael texted: "thanks for the birthday gift lindz! I love you!" Thanks Michael - Love you too! :)

Yankee Meadows & Pioneer Day

Let me just say that I have a lot of blogging to catch up on. I've been slacking for mainly two reasons: 1) our camera was broke for a while and we had to wait while it was being fixed and 2) We moved across town a few months ago and therefore have not had the internet. We finally got it hooked up and so here I go blogging again. :) Yay for the internet! The modern miracle!

Beautiful Yankee Meadow!

I love seeing that red rock through the trees.

An open meadow after hiking through the trees.

That was a heavy log to lift to clear our path! jk

Charlie loved the free ride on our hike!


Michael - herding the cattle along.

A little stream coming into Yankee reservoir.

Yankee reservoir.

We got to go on this wagon ride through Parowan town.

The old pioneer museum.

We went camping at Yankee Meadow for Pioneer Day weekend. We had a lot of fun! We originally thought about bringing the motorcycle, but by the time we got everything packed on there - it was a pretty heavy load so, so we decided to take the truck instead. (good thing we did because it ended up raining at night). We found a nice little spot to put up our tent and set up camp. Charlie was way excited with every new smell. We just relaxed around the campfire the first night and cooked some hot dogs and roasted some marshmallows. The next day we got up, explored a little and went on a hike. We had no idea where it would go, but we found out that it was a straight up steep steep trail that was also used as a cattle trail. It was straight up the whole way, we didn't make it all the way to the top, but after hiking for a while we reached a pretty cool overlook and took some pictures. Charlie was too little to keep up, so we invented a way to carry him by putting him in our camelback - at first he was scared, but later I think he enjoyed the free ride. lol. We camped another night it rained a little bit, but not for very long. That day we went up to the resevoir and walked around the lake. We spent some time there, then left our campsite to go home and get cleaned up. Later we went to Parawon for their Pioneer Day celebrations. They had free dinner in the park, wagon rides with a tour of the town and the historical sites, and a pioneer program play. We also toured the old pioneer museum where I found one of my ancestors! Charles A. Harper. He was one of the first companies to come across the planes and was later sent to settle parts of Southern Utah. He was a wheelwright. (I'm sure my mom can tell you a lot more about him if anyone is interested). It was a great weekend! We had lots of fun enjoying the outdoors and spending time together.

Our Newest Addition....

This is from the day we brought him home.Always ready to play!

He loves to be right where the cold air is blowing

We tried to teach him to "fold his arms" and he finally caught on!

The little neighbor girls were having a "yard sale" and put these butterfly wings on Charlie.

The day we brought him home.

Showing off all of his tricks.

Ok... I know it's cheesy, but he technically is the "newest member of our family!" His name is Charlie Brown and he is a shih-tzu/poodle mix, a shih-poo. Not to be confused with another bad word that could be formed mixing these two breeds. We'd been looking for a dog for a while when my sister Tiffany and her husband Isaac let us know about a breeder where they got their dog from. So we called and she luckily had a new litter of pups! We were so excited that before we were able to take him home we'd go visit him every week until he was old enough to take home. We brought him home at 6 weeks old, now he's about 6 months. We've love every minute of having him! He's so smart and playful, and the best part is he's hypoallergenic so he doesn't shed! He's totally house trained and has already learned how to: sit, lay down, shake, roll over, jump, sit pretty, fold his arms, and he plays dead when we say "Bang!" He's so fun to take everywhere we go. He loves riding on the motorcycle with us, so it makes taking him along very easy. He loves to chase rocks we throw for him on walks, he pretends to hate to be brushed - but secretly loves it, and his best friend is a stuffed teddy bear. He'll live to be about 15+years, so he'll be a part of our family for a long time.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Trying to get in the "Bad to the Bone" mood! jk

This is what my view looks like on the back.


Us trying look cool and fit in with the real bikers..not working so well!
Oh- we also just found those cheesy ugly helmets at the car show, we bought them because they were so rediculously cheap..I wonder why.. oh well - there's always spray paint. :)
The "Duck Creek Days" festival.

We bought this bandanna at the festival to try to look more hard core to fit in with the real bikers. It wasn't working so well either....lol That is all we brought!

We did a hike call Queen somthing that merged into Navajo loop. Beautiful!

At the end of the hike we got to hike up steep switch backs. This is looking back.

Awesome archways that were carved out in the trail.

Michael and I took a motorcycle/camping trip this last weekend. We took advantage of the few fee-free national park days that are being offered this year and went to Bryce Canyon National Park. We found someone to dog-sit for us, loaded up what few items would fit on the bike, then hit the road! There is something is fun and liberating about being on a motorcycle! All we literally had packed for the overnight trip was: two sleeping bags strapped to the side, a 12x8 cooler, a tarp, and our camel back! Minimalism is key when on a motorcycle. :) It was a beautiful drive up Cedar canyon through Hatch and on into Bryce. We stopped in Duck Creek because they were having "Duck Creek Days" Lots of vendors, rides, food, etc. and tons and TONS of bikers! We've never seen so many in one day! They were all on a "poker run." It's where they have a planned course with mapped out junctions. I had Michael stop to talked to some of the "fellow" bikers.... only they are not "fellow" bikers. It was so funny because to them here we were all dressed in bright clothes, cheesey ugly full-faced helmets (which totally lame to the true bikers) and with our sleeping bags strapped onto the back. We stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the Harley black motorcycles, real leather, tattoos, braided goaties, and matching leather jackets. It was kind of embarrassing, but we got a kick out of it. Bryce Canyon was beautiful. We found a nice camp spot, then went on an awesome hike. Neither of us had been before so it was a great expience. For dinner we had roasted hot-dogs, then slept under the stars. It wasn't an extravagant campout but lots of fun!

Car Show

Michael and I went to the annual car show with a few old friends a couple of weeks ago. We finally were able to coordinate with some of my old roommates to get together. So we went out to dinner at the Garden house, after dinner we went to Miranda's house to play games and hang out. We hadn't done that for a while, so it was a lot of fun! The next day we all went to the car show on main street in town. It was fun to walk around and see all of the neat old cars. That evening everyone came back to our new place to have a camp fire to roast some dogs, and smores. It was lots of fun to catch up with some great old friends! We love you guys!

SeattleTrip!

The week of the 4th, Michael and I made a trip to Seattle, WA. We went to go help his sister, Lisa and her family pack up and move to Colorado. They flew us out there Saturday, with the plan to stay there for a week then help drive them to Richfield the next Friday. We had a lot of fun! The first day out there, their friends were having a little going away party where we played sand volleyball. We went to church with them on Sunday, then later that day a friend invited them to come out to their cabin on the lake. It was a gorgeous view. We got to do a little kayaking on the lake and try some tasty egg rolls. They let us use their car on Monday and so we explored the city all day. We walked up and down the piers checking out the shops and beautiful scenery. We went and walked around the the famous Public Market. It was fun to see the fresh flowers, fruit, fish, and everything else that they were selling. We tasted samples everywhere we went, and everything was so delicious! We also did a tour of the city on a "duck," a WWII vehicle. We drove all around the city and even into Union Bay. It was a land/water vehicle. From the bay we had a beautiful view of the cityscape and all of the awesome floating houses and houseboats. We even got to see the original "Sleepless in Seattle" home. We went to dinner that night at a great restaurant that was right on the ocean. We got to see a beautiful sunset as we ate. The next day we went on a hike that led to the ocean. The hike looked like we were in the middle of the jungle. Huge trees, and wild raspberries we picked and ate. The hike let to the ocean. We walked underneath a train overpass that ran along the beach. It was forestry and rocky, but very beautiful. We had a picnic here and looked for jellyfish and seashells. We were lucky and had great weather while we were there. That night we went out to dinner with the family and later Michael and I went to a drive in theater! They are my favorite. It was a double feature, Transformers 2 and Star Trek. I wish they still had more of these in Utah. The rest of the week we helped box up things around the house, load them into the big moving truck, and clean up. It was great to be able to spend time with Lisa, Brian, and our 3 adorable nieces and nephew. The trip home went pretty smooth. It was about a 15 -17 hr. drive, but it went pretty quick. We stopped half way in Boise and slept at a cousins house. It was a great trip, we were able to do a little vacationing and spend some time with family. Thanks Lisa & Brian for everything. We love you guys, and we loved Seattle!

Relaxing in a mark along the market streets.

So delicious!

Fresh flowers! And they were so cheap!


The famous "Public Market Center" sign.

We followed these pigs that let us to the market.

A walk around the park of the Space Needle.

The view from the pier.

Michael posing with some random stuff in a gift shop.

The "Duck" we had a tour in.


Sunset, and view of Union Bay.

Getting ready for the movie to start.

The perfect seat!

Michael climbing a huge tree trunk.

Checking out the beautiful view.

All of the seashells and treasures we found.

1 Year Anniversary Trip

For our one year anniversary, which was May 10th, we drove to California and spent a week in San Diego. We had an amazing time. It was perfect time to experience some rest and relaxation after a busy and stressful semester for Michael and and an equally stressful time for me from work as well. It took about 7 or so hours to travel there. We stayed just out of the down town area. We were just a short drive away from several beaches, seaworld, and the zoo. We were nervous about the traffic beforehand but when we got there it much more more manageable that we expected. When we arrived we checked in and drove straight to the nearest beach to dip our toes in the ocean and sand. The second day we went to ocean beach where Michael attempted surfing for the first time at Ocean beach (specifically for surfing). He rented a surf bored and wet suit and hit the waves. The first run made him extremely tired because he tried to cut into the big waves, but after a while he got the hang of it and was able to stand up a few times. We spent the whole day on the beach. There was a neat pier that extended way out into the ocean. There was a small cafe the was part of the pier where serious fisherman came to try their luck. From there we could see the big waves looking back at the ocean and watched the "professional" surfers. They were amazing to watch. The third day went to Seaworld. We had a great time there watching the dolphin, sea lion, pet, and whale shows. There were also some rides and of course lots of animal exhibits. I got to touch a dolphin and we both got to pet some sting ray. (they felt like mucusy slugs). We also went and saw the San Diego Temple and did a session there. The temple was breathtakingly beautiful inside and out. We were grateful we were able to spend time there away from the hectic world. We saw lots of site seeing in between the big events and went to several different beaches. We loved Cornida Island it had beautiful resorts and a great beach. The last day we went to the Zoo. We loved watching the big primates. Our favorite was watching the playful orangutans and baby gorilla. After a full of site seeing we jumped in the car and drove all the way home! It was a long day but defiantly worth it. It was a great trip full of adventure and relaxation. We couldn't believe how fast the first year went by and were so glad we had this time to celebrate our first year of marriage together and are looking forward for many many more to come!

Finding our way in and to San Diego.

The beautiful San Diego Temple.

One of my favorite spots in San Diego. ”Unconditional Surrender,” is a 25-foot sculpture that brings to life a famous black-and-white image of a sailor kissing a young nurse in Times Square, New York City, on Aug. 14, 1945.

The USS Midway.

Balboa Park Lilly Pond. Park had tons of museums and gardens.

Our HOG & Easter Weekend

BORN TO BE WILD! jk :) So Michael and I decided that there was a great opportunity to sell our truck we recently purchased for more than what we paid for it. We purchased our truck during a great time in the vehicle market and saved a lot of money (we even went to Arizona to pick it up). We had an idea to sell it for it's KBB value and buy a motorcycle instead and save the rest of the money. We both thought this was a little crazy, but tons of fun and couldn't resist shopping for a motorcycle. We had been searching in local shops and classifieds but found nothing in our price range that was decent until we went on a walk together round the town. We were on our way back when I decided to go look at this motorcycle we had seen several times in a guy's carport just collecting dust. It was great weather at the time, and so we figured the owner must not ride it anymore. So I was checking it out, but Michael wouldn't dare step into his property, I kept motioning him towareds me but he wouldn't come. He said that the people inside were all staring at him and could see he was looking at me. I'm sure they were a little suspicious and the guy came out and say, "HEY! Can I HELP you?" We almost took off running but decided to tell him we were intersting in his bike. He thought we might be some huligans trying to steal his kids pedal bike. He was friendly after that. He said that it was his baby but he didn't ride it anymore, and that he'd talk to his wife about selling it. Well he called us the next day and said we could have it for less than half of what this bike was really worth. (I guess we just get lucky with great deals) We were thrilled! This bike is a 98 Honda Shadow Aero 1100 Classic style. The engine size is big enough to do long road trips comfortably and with enough power for freeway speeds. We were gone for an hour on the first test drive. We loved it! So we bought it the next day. Probably a very irresponsible rash decision, but we don't care! It's too much fun. We're on it everyday (weather permitting). We even took it all the way to Wayne county for Easter weekend. It so fun and liberating to ride on. We named it the "Greamcycle" We hope to have many fun adventures to come with this bike!

EASTER WEEKEND

Me giving in and splashing in the mudd. Everyone else was a little smarter and hiked up and over the big mud puddle!Is this an amazing rock or what? Michael's mom spotted it from the road. It looks EXACTLY like a foot holding up a boulder!

For Easter weekend we spent half with the Petersons and half with the Harwards. We camped Thursday night down by horse canyon in the desert with the Petersons. Friday we hiked all day through beautiful canyons, washes, and slot canyons. The hike was beautiful, but at some points a little muddy. There was a section where hardly anyone could cross. Michael made it across ok and I thought I could too, but the mud was too slippery and I fell into the mud puddle up to my knees. It was so think and goupy, but I thought "if you can't beat 'em join 'em" So I decided to play and splash around in the mud. Later my shoe got stuck and I had to pull it out (I was up to my elbows in mudd). They were so soaked I literally was able to ring the mud out of my shoes. ha ha. It was a lot of fun. I was proud of all the mom's with babies and little toddlers making the hike. It wasn't that easy. There were points were we had to hike out of the slot. Lori P.'s 4 week old baby had to be hoisted out by passing her in her hiking carrier one by one up the slot like a sack of potatoes. I think everyone was holding their breath! She was awesome for doing it! Saturday we spend with the Harwards hiding easter eggs, rolling them down the hill and even found a fun little hike in the hills. It was fun to spend the weekend with family and friends, enjoy the beautiful outdoors.

Life's Full of Trials!

Yet another trial! They just seem to keep coming in our lives. Michael had a trials competition in Moab. The scenery was beautiful, but the road there was killer! The road that detoured from Moab to the meet was about 15 miles, and took 50 minutes to drive! It was about an hour out of town in a little place called Hurrah Pass. There was lots of competition with other riders from Colorado. It was a fun day with beautiful scenery. The meet was basically on the banks of the Colorado River that provided spectacular scenery. Michael's parents road down with us. It was fun to have some other fans in the cheer section. (oh yes and I did cut my hair! I think I cut about 6 in. off. It was time for a change!)The crazy scary windy road. It had straight drop offs with high cliffs! If you look closely in this picture you can see the SUV rounding the corner on the road.

The Great Day of Love

For Valentine's day we just stayed in Cedar City and took it easy. We wanted to go play in the snow, but we didn't have any sleds or tubes. We finally found a snowboard to borrow from a friend. So we made the most out of it and had a great time.

This is our "heart" sculpture we made together. It's hard to see but we scratched our initials in the heart. It's not very pretty, but we thought it was fitting to make a heart instead of a snowman for Valentines day. This was my gift to Michael. I designed some Valentine's coupons for him to redeem. Things like one teddy bear squeeze, one camping trip, etc. Michael got me a plethora of gifts. A cute white teddy bear, a HUGE box of chocolates, a rose, candy hearts, a red love journal where he recorded his feelings for me from the first time he saw me, and a huge soft pillow. We made chocolate fondu with all the goodies to dip in it and played the longest game of scrabble ever..... but of course I won!

Birthday Weekend!

For my birthday Michael took me up to the Provo and Salt Lake area. We shopped around in Provo and then headed up into Salt Lake to walk around Temple Square, and took a tour of the Beehive home. We went out to dinner later that night at the Brick Oven and then Michael surprised me with a massage at Provo College! I was way excited because I've never had a real massage before. It was wonderful I asked for the deeper tissue massage because I had a lot of knots in my back from work. It hurt so bad when she was working the knots out, but it was totally worth it when she was done. It was so relaxing! I can't wait for my next one! When we went back to the car Michael had a decorative sign he had made for me. It was black with white vinyal lettering that said, "Come What May." One of my favorite sayings. We also got a free upgrade to a suit because the heater in the room we booked was broken. Woo hoo! It was a great birthday!

National Home Builders Convention

Michael went with his fellow construction major students to a National Home Builders convention in Las Vegas. They presented their plans for a proposed project for a subdivision in San Antonio.

Wow! Most random picture ever! Lol! This is a picture of all of the free loot Michael got at the convention. Including: 8 hats, 6 stress balls, 3 t-shirts, 29 pens, and a few bags along with other miscellaneous items.
A giant drill in the outside portion of the convention!

TRIALS MEET

This weekend there was another trials meet, this time it was just outside of Santa Clara, close to St. George, and it turned out pretty good. The rain and fog weren't too encouraging and made for a muddy, slippery morning, but the sun came out and it turned out to be a beautiful day. I rode in the Champ class again, which is the highest/hardest class in the club, and was a little nervous since i haven't ridden in several months. After the first few courses, called "sections" i was feeling pretty comfortable again and confident but that got me in a little trouble. In section 4 i tried to go up a pretty big and tricky obstacle and didn't make it and ended up coming back off of it with my motorcycle falling on its side in some rocks breaking my clutch off of my handlebars. not good. but luckily a spectator wanted me to continue riding and offered for me to ride a spare bike of his, so i finished out that loop on his and at lunch, another guy said that he had a spare part that i could use, so we fixed my motorcycle and i was able to finish out the day, and even ended up taking 1st!
It was a lot of fun, and Lindsey was a great photographer, as you can tell by the awesome pictures. we'll have her on one and competing in no time.

The other riders in the club have nick-named Michael the "Splatter King" because he loves to build splatters (kind of like a little launching ramp to a big boulder). He's the best at them!



It was fun to take the truck with us and break it in a little by rolling it around in the mud.

Vegas Baby!

Michael had school and work off on Martin Luther King Jr. day and so we decided to take a little stay-cation to take a break from work and school. We've had a lot of fun family trips home, but we realized we hadn't taken a weekend away for just the two of us in quite a while. (I know all of you reading this with kids are rolling your eyes saying, "oh ya, just wait until you have kids and then you'll think you haven't had a vacation in a while.." :) Well - that's partly the other reason we decided to go as well. We want to take full advantage of the free time we have together while we can. (oh p.s. this photo of the waterfalls is not our hotel or pool. We stayed at a pretty cheap casino/hotel and the pool and hot tub were closed, so we sneaked into a nicer one on the strip) ha ha.

We walked around Freemont street one night, which is the older original part of the strip, and we saw some motorcycle guiness book of work record performers. They performed in the globe of death. Three grown men on real motorcycles locked in one cage together! Pretty entertaining. They were literally only inches away from each other at times. Afterwards, Michael got a picture with one of the guys.

Viva Las Vegas!

We tried to do as many free things as possible in Vegas as we could, and seeing the lions at the MGM Grand casino was one of them. Their habitat was really cool because you could walk right underneath them and watch them eat and sleep only feet away due to a glass cage.

Yeah another free activity! We went to the Silverton casino just off the strip to see the 4,000 aquarium tank. It was cool to see the sting ray and all the different kind of fish. We also saw the mirmaid show! It was fun to see her get in the tank and swim with all of the fish.