I love long weekends!

Oh, we had such a blast over the 4th of July weekend. July 3rd we went hiking all day. We went up to the old Steam Mill and Steam Mill Lake. What a beautiful hike. I can't believe the different scenery on this one hike, you go through meadows and forest then a come to a lake. (It's a good thing it was so beautiful because it was a very strenuous hike.) Of course we took Monty with us and he loved it, as always!

Here is the old Steam Mill

Steam Mill LakeI went boot skiing for the first time. I figured that it's something I've never tried so why not? Here is why...(BTW, I can't believe I'm posting this 'cause it's a little embarrassing! Oh, and be sure to listen closely to the commentary!)

Monty always manages to get dirty...I guess that just means he's having fun!More glorious viewsI think this is how we all felt after that hike! Pooped!!!And of course I have more wildflower pictures to share with everyone. Enjoy!

Wow, that was a ton of pics...sorry to bore you all, I seem to have some sort of fascination with wildflowers! BTW on Aug. 04 I'm scheduled to have my surgery for my gum graft. Not looking forward to it however, I think I will have plenty of time to sit around and identify the flowers in my pics. (I know, I know, I'm kind of a nerd!!!)

On July 4, it was Daniel's day to decide everything we did. So we went to the Hyrum parade with Ryan and Stacy and James. It was my first time to the parade but I loved the atmosphere and all the kids running around laughing and chasing candy. Then it was off to the Hyrum square for lunch. After that we went out to my in-laws and swam for the rest of the day. I think it was one of the best days ever!!

The next day was baby Anders baby blessing and the little guy looked just adorable in his baby tux! I can't believe how big he is getting...I'm sure his mama feels the same! Everything at the lunch after the blessing was so tastey and it turned out to be a truly special day!

Most of all I just enjoyed the long weekend with my husband and being able to sleep in every morning. We both had a lot of fun being with family and friends and each other.

Independence Day

Yes, this is a bit late but I just had to share...This is what I saw driving through my neighborhood.
I have to say that seeing this overwhelmed me with pride. I couldn't be more proud to be here. And I just want to express how thankful I am to all those fighting for my freedom.

Awesome new background!

If you notice my blog background has now changed! The pictures are ones that I took. The best part is if you hit the refresh button a new pic will load and every time you log on to read my blog, a new pic will load then too. How cool is that??!?
Now I know you are all thinking "that is way too high tech for Sarah to figure out" and you are absolutely right! I have a friend from work that put this together for me. And in the future he may be making it available to others. I will keep you updated!

Jardine Juniper Tree

On June 6 2009 my older brother (Jeff) and I went hiking. We went up to the Jardine Juniper Tree. We both decided that since neither of us have seen it that it was time. (Growing up in Cache Valley and all!)

Now for the boring stuff! The Jardine Juniper tree is thought to be about 3200 years old. (According to a sign right next to the tree -- however, I have also heard that it is 1500 years old) It is one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever been on. Not only was the scenery amazing but the smells and sounds were astonishing. This is the perfect time of year to go on this hike, I couldn't believe how much water there was! I would definitely recommend it for anyone! It's about 10 miles round trip but it's not very strenuous.

The views are incredible!

You can see at the top of the tree where it is still alive.

My handsome brother Jeff!

Don't worry...Monty's just sitting on a rock, it's not a cliff! BTW he loves the mountains just as much as I do!

This is me, proud I finished the hike! SUPERWOMAN! (heh.)
Looky there, another reptile friend...at least it wasn't a snake, I don't think I could have handled another run in with another snake!

Now I just want to share some photos I took of some of the glorious wildflowers I saw on the hike. ENJOY!

Yes! I was finally able to put my new camera to the true test...and if you ask me it definitely passed! I think the pictures turned out better than I could have hoped for!

I just want Jeff to know what a good time I had with him. We don't get to do things together very often, so I truly cherish the time we do get to hang. I know we have had our differences in the past, but I feel that this experience has brought us closer and I love being your little sis! I love you Jeffy!

Memorial weekend

So, my husband had me all pumped up to go to the condo in Bear Lake over Memorial weekend. I even got half a day off on Friday so we could get an early start and miss all of the traffic in the canyon. So on the Wednesday before the weekend I casually asked Daniel, "now are you sure we have the condo THIS weekend?..because it is such a big weekend and it surprises me that no one else claimed it." He says to me, "I know, I know, that's what I thought but it is this weekend for sure."

So now it's Thursday and I'm just getting home from work and Daniel says to me, "now don't kill me or be mad at me, but apparently I was wrong about the date and we have the condo the weekend AFTER Memorial weekend." Ugh. I was so pumped and ready for a get-away and now what? Oh well, I can't be mad at him (he's just too darn cute!) so we decided to spend all weekend just being together and having fun.

I decided that since I already had one let down for the week that I wasn't going to have another so I still took half day off on Friday. When I got home, Daniel took me out to lunch at Sizzler to get the salad bar (YUM!). Then we went out to his parents and went swimming. Monty jumped into the pool all on his own, I don't think he liked having the water in his ears and he wouldn't get back in. (I wonder if Monty thinks they just look like floating heads in the water?)

So after swimming we just played fetch with Monty in the back yard and tuckered the poor fella out!

When we got home I still had a TON of energy, so we went for a run. I didn't run the mile as fast as I wanted to...but at least I still did it! When we got home and cleaned up, we decided that grilling some hot dogs and hamburgers would be the perfect end to the day.

On Saturday, we went to Al's for their huge Memorial day sale. Daniel and I got new hiking shoes. He got a new camel back and I got some more hiking clothes. (I love shopping!) By the time we were done it was about noon 30 so we grabbed some lunch at Grist Mill went home got our crap together and headed up Crimson trail. So, so, so pretty right now!

Here are some pics of wildflowers I took while hiking.It was a perfect day to hike. It did rain on us just a little but it was definitely welcomed...cooled us down just right and then stopped. Awesome time! Well except for this...

Seriously? This guy scared the CRAP out of us! (Brandy, how many times have we hiked Crimson or any trail for that matter, and seen a rattlesnake? Umm. Never.) We did however learn a very valuable lesson from him. We came so close to loosing our puppy Monty to him. We were just walking along, Monty leading the way when we hit a switchback and Monty stopped, he had stepped right over the snake that was stretched out across the trail, so the snake was right under Monty's belly. (No warning from the snake at all.) When I looked down I saw it on the trail, not moving at all. My first thought was "is that a dead snake?" Then I realized what it was and jumped back and called for Monty, just as I did that the snake coiled up and started rattling its tail (all while under Monty's belly) then I called for Monty again...it almost looked like he wanted to play with the snake and couldn't figure out why I was trying to get him away from it...but he finally came to me! Anyway, we waited a while for the snake to retreat off the trail but he never really backed off far enough for us to pass by. (BTW the sound of a rattlesnake is the CREEPIEST noise EVER - still gives me the chills just thinking about it.) We ended up making our own trail to get by. And we all made it out without a snake bite! For the rest of the hike Daniel was in front (on lookout), then Monty and then me. I think it will be that way anytime we go hiking now. Also, there is a vaccination for dogs for rattlesnake bites that I am looking into. I'm going to call my vet and get more info because hiking is something we all enjoy doing and I don't ever want to be in that situation again. I have never been so scared, I really thought that poor little Monty was going to die at that moment.

Now for Sunday. We were going to go golfing (well, he was going to golf and I was wanting to soak up some sun) but the weather was awful and rainy. He attempted to go while I stayed home and deep cleaned the house. He ended up getting a "rain" check because of the rain and came home early to help me. We ended up re-arranging our bedroom and that prompted me to go get a new bedspread and shams! I love them and I love TJ Max!

Next, curtains! On Memorial day, we went to Heber for a family reunion for Daniels moms side. We ate lots of good food, socialized, and sat in the sun! Later that night I finally got to meat my friend Sheena's baby boy Blayzen, and I had so much fun with him! What an adorable baby! And mad props to Sheena for everything she has been through...!
We stayed busy all weekend and still found time to relax! I had a ton of fun and I really enjoy being with my husband, he is truly my best friend!

Playing catch up.

There has been a lot going on that I haven't gotten around to blogging about. Some not so exciting news and others, well for lack of a better word, HUGE news! I'm going to start with the RSL game from 04/25/09. Me, Daniel, Micah, Joel, my father-in-law, his brother Bob, and his son Ty all went. In my opinion, it was the best game EVER! They played New England and kick butt! RSL shut them out 6 to (a big fat) 0!!!I loved it! I don't think I have ever screamed so much in my life. My throat was sore for 2 days after the game and I nearly lost my voice. (Which kinda sucked, cause the following Monday was when all the media coverage about the "swine flu" started. So me sounding all horse, everyone kept asking if I had swine flu...got old, real fast!)

Now onto more exciting news...My friends Brandy and Cam welcomed their first child into the world on April 30, 2009. He is a healthy, beautiful baby boy named Anders.

Both mom and dad are so proud of this little boy...as they should be, he is amazing. I love watching Brandy be a mom, I can only hope that when it's my turn I will be as natural at it as she is!

I LOVE SPRING!!! The colors, everything coming back to life, planting flowers, the yard work, and yes even the spring cleaning! We got our very first lawn mower. Nothing special, we decided that since we didn't have a very big yard all we needed was a push one with blades. (Monty kinda makes everything a little harder to do, he thought the mower was a new toy. If we're not careful he may loose an ear...)

We decided that the back yard was in need of some TLC. So we spent an entire day cleaning, mowing, planting and putting stuff together...but the outcome was SO worth the effort!

I can't wait to host tons of BBQ's! Next on the list (keeping my fingers crossed!) patio furniture!

Mothers day. We had a beautiful day. We first went over to my mom's house and had breakfast with her. Spent most of the morning and first half of the afternoon over there. Then we went over to Daniel's parents and the boys cooked dinner for her and everyone else. We didn't have a lot of money to spend on their gifts this year. So I ordered personalized notepads for each of them, got them each a framed (wedding) picture of us and I made carnation flowers out of tissue paper...but I used one on a pen (as the stem) to go with the notepads.

Recently I have taken up a new hobby. Running. Yes, me running! I know it's crazy. But ever since I got married last Aug. I have put on about 15lbs. and I am not happy about it. So in Jan. I decided to go to the gym. I was going 4 days a week, every week. I lost 5 lbs. and plateaued. So I thought I would add in more cardio and started running. I ran my first my mile (since high school, which was almost 10 years ago) in 10 minutes (and I didn't walk at all...so proud of myself). My second go at it, I made it in 9 minutes. I'm thinking of setting a goal for myself of running in a 5k, but I'm not so sure yet! Well I'm off to go hiking now, we're going up Crimson! Hooray!!!