Uintas

So a couple weeks ago, Mike, Dad, Chris, Ivan, Heather and I went backpacking. It was such an incredible experience, quite different than what we were expecting, but still so fun!
Let me just tell you a little bit about my experience:

We get there and started the hike...we thought it would be about 4 hours or so and that we would get to where we were camping at about 5 or so. Well, that didn't happen to say the least. HAHAH...there were a few things that set us back a few hours. We got poured on a couple times, I twisted my ankle, pulled my groin and my thigh (all on the right side), we got lost, kinda and when we finally saw the ridge to the lake we decided to stay at we walked over to the edge of it and realized it was a lot steeper than we thought. So, after hiking down the mountain with boulders, dead trees to climb over, mud, small rocks and mosquitos attacking us, we finally made it to the lake right before it got dark. It was quite the excruciating task, but we all made it. The site of the lake was absolutely breathtaking and WELL worth all the pain. I am so lucky I was able to see the things I saw and experience all of it with people I love. The second day was SO fun. We hiked about a mile to another lake. There we went fishing. We were all very successful with catching our dinner for that night. We did get caught in a hail storm while we were fishing, but Mike and Dad made us all a very nice shelter and the storm only lasted about 5-10 minutes. It was actually pretty fun! Here are a few pictures from our trip...hope you enjoy! I know I did.

so much has happened...

I haven't blogged in FOREVER! I know I say that with just about every post, but oh well. So many wonderful things have happened and I would love to blog about it...and I will, just not right now. I am extremely tired and I am still at work.

In due time my friends, in due time.

PERFECT!!! could not have done it better myself...

I hope all drug seekers watch this!

For My Best Friend!!!

I know I am late, but I guess late is better than never. Yesterday was my BEST friends birthday, and I am a BIG jerk and didn't call her. I meant to post this yesterday and I didn't so here it is today.

Why is Mandi my best friend...
she has never judged me

she is ALWAYS there no matter what!

she is a part of my family, even more than I am at times

She is supportive

she is beautiful in every way

she is a great example to me and everyone around her

she is a hard worker

she is passionate

she is driven

she is THE PERFECT definition of what a best friend should be

and she has a great love for the Gospel.

Mandi, I love you and thank you for all that you do! I could not have asked for a better best friend. Happy birthday!

Californ-I-A

Before we went to Cali we were able to spend time with Chris who is visiting Utah and we were also able to spend time with Mike's fam, which is always a great time! I am sad though, I am such a loser and did not take pictures at Dad and Sonya's house...I have been so bad about taking pictures lately...I will try to do better.

We left for Acton on Tuesday morning, Kenny was nice enough to take us to the airport AND pick us up! I love that man! Anyway, here are just a few pics from Cali, the rest are going to be on FB. It takes WAY too long to upload them on here...

OH YEAH!!! While we were in California we had SO much fun and between the 2 of us we gained about 15 pounds...SICK AND WRONG!!!! Besides stuffing our faces, we played basketball, kickball, capture the flag, had a cooking competition, played lots of other games, had Christmas and made WONDERFUL memories with the family.

The dark side and packing...

Next thing to blog about...So, I always complained about my roots when I was blonde...Mike suggested I go dark...so we went to the market (sorry Mandi) to buy some dye and he colored my hair for me...I LOVED IT! It eventually started fading, so we did it again, this time we picked out a darker color...and I LOVED IT EVEN MORE!! And better yet, so did Mike. Here are some pics of the new hair color and a few of us having fun while we packed for California. We hardly take pictures anymore, so we decided to have some fun....well we thought it was fun anyway...;)

Christmas at the Dexter's

I have a lot to blog about, so I will start with our fun Christmas in Springville. Mike was on call Christmas day and I was scheduled to work Christmas night, but I got called off. So, needless to say, we were able to spend our first Christmas together, just the 2 of us. We were bummed we could not be with our families, but it was SO nice spending time alone....here are the pics of Christmas at the Dexter's:

Visit with My Mama and Wes....

This last week, I got to spend a lot of time with my favorite woman in the world! MY MOM!!!! She arrived here on the 9th and left on the 14th. We had so much fun while she was here and lots of good talks. The last day she was here, we went up to see Wes. We both were looking forward to it, but we also knew it would be emotional. When we first got up there the whole cemetery was covered in about 7 inches of snow. We had an idea of where he was, but didn't know exactly where it was at. I go up there quite often and didn't think it would be that hard to find it...BOY WAS I WRONG! We did not bring shovels, but I had 2 window scrapers so we used those. We dug for a while and came across a couple headstones, but not his. We both said, "OKAY WES! Help us out a little!" The next one I came across was his. I was so excited. I started cleaning off the snow and I found a penny sitting next to his picture. My mom and I were so happy! We had a good visit while we were up there. It is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous up there. We brought a plastic bag to put over his headstone, so it would be easier to find and so it would be easier to get the snow off of it. We also built a little wall around it to hold the bag down. My mom brought up a giant candy cane to put next to his grave site. When we were about to leave we threw a few pennies on it. Here are a few pictures of our adventure...

So..yeah, I am not REALLY a lumberjack, but....

So, we went down to Salina last weekend to visit Mike's mom, sister Rachelle and niece Gabie and Jeanette (one of his other sister's) came with us. It was SO fun to be able to spend time with the family. I love his family SO much and am so blessed to have such incredible in laws. Anyways, one of the reasons for going was to cut down some trees for firewood and to get ourselves a Christmas tree. I had never done such a thing before and it was SO SO FUN!!! I used Mike's chainsaw and he taught me how to cut down trees and Jeanette and I learned how to sharpen the chainsaw. Thanks Andrew for calling me butch. You are just jealous that you have never done it. =) jk. Well, it was a lot of hard work, but we were able to fill 2 trucks full of wood and get our tree!!! I hope this becomes a tradition for years to come. I am so thankful for Mike and all the opportunities he has given me. I have learned so much from him and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband! I love you sweetheart.

I am a lumberjack!!! Well, my husband is...=