I still know what I did this summer 4

This summer, we wen't to Lake Arrowhead where B's Family has a timeshare.

and, of course, the shoes had to come. 

Carrisa and I went on hikes most mornings

I stood kinda funny near a rock

 

I wore the same tank top that I wear in almost every hiking photo I take

Though my sunglasses do change

Carrisa and I found a pretty Meadow at the top of a dirty, neglected, steep trail.

We played a few games of Aquire... which, to my surprise, Carrisa enjoyed. 

I found the the most innovative car wash ever, but no one else was as amused as I. 

Carrisa and I perused some antique stores. 

I found my favorite door ever.

And a funky birdcage

And another cute door

We tried out the Newsprint transfers on our nails.

I bought and returned 2 pairs of sunglasses  4 or so times. 

Predictably, Brett bought another puzzle at the toy shop. 

The cousins played some video games. 

In true Valantine family form, we played a lot of card games. 

  

I <3 playing Michigan!

We got Tracey hooked on Bambuu (and found out how long a 5 player game can last)

Trump family+ double pinochle+ marriage+ King in every suit+ 9 of trumps=most amazing meld ever (only one card not worth points)

It was awesome.

The END. 

still catching up

Still catching up on summer photos (and hoping to make a few more) and I wasn't going to post any photos from the reunion until I got to fixing up the reunion photos, but I decided to cheet and post 3 of my nephew J# J#### (that's right, they named him ju Jubee). I also have some adorable ones of my other Nephews and nieces, but I didn't have time to mess with all their photos yet, and I set the lights up for these ones, so I couldn't help checking them out.


or maybe I made an exception because he intimidated me with the the gangster pout he made in the middle image.

I know what I did this summer...part 1.

This has been my most eventful summer since getting married. it actually feels more like summer.
B's mom was visiting us on my birthday through our 6th anniversary, so Brett and I (and Carissa, because she is really that awesome) Celebrated everything a weekish after the anniversary by KAYAKING DOWN THE PROVO RIVER. It was fun... We all want to do it again. Brett has finally realized that his idea of kayaking down a peaceful lake is, in fact, boring, and we are all ready for something a little rougher than the Provo River. It had a nice steady flow, with a few minority rough parts (aka the fun parts). It was perfect for my first Kayaking adventure because it wasn't too dull nor to overwhelming.

Oh, Easter

Ya, Easter was a while ago, but I thought I'd show you some of the things Brett and Carrisa made and apparently photographed while I stayed in the other room and worked out the last of my coughs, and slept off the tail end of that cold.

Tomato soup from scratch... which is by far my fave tomato soup. Good Job Julia Child, Good Job.



They also made the Boursin from the recipe I discovered, tested, and approved a week earlier. FYI... Boursin is pretty much cream cheese and butter, but with a ton of herbs. Consume in moderation.




We used the lamb cut we had the most of, and as it turns out, it wasn't a great cut. Too grisly, by far. Oh well, We can't win everything.


My 4 seed bread was going to a part of it, but since Brett insisted on buying croissants and lunch meat, I didn't rush to make it the day before, put it off till last minute, and it didn't quite make it out onto the table.


Have I ever told you how much I love my silpat (above). I'd heard such great things about them online, and then I found one at a garage sale for 50 cents... unopened. The lady said it was too big for her pan. I figured if it was too big for mine, I'd just let it overhang. Turns out it was perfectly sized for mine.

Anyhow, we had more food, Can't remember specifically what. Pretty much every one decided to show up with a desert, so there was no shortage of sugar! Isn't that so exciting? that is why I gave it an explanation mark.

The end.

More Jackson

Let there be pope.

I had these made for my family christmas. I was intending to do a different kind of Pope Light, but Brett found this engraving option, and, though it was more expensive, it was far more useful as a gift than my idea.

After Brett did all the work of finding a good priced place who would do it in small orders (cheeper engraved then the plain ones on Amazon), I decided to try and make the logo fancy. I go back and forth on whether I like the font I used, but I'm glad I didn't just have them pick a font and do whatever.

What the Pope Light? Two Christmases ago My brother Corky had the christmas gifts shipped to the family house. Nathanial started peaking, and before he got caught he caught a glimps of the words "Pope Light." We spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out what a pope light was, and how the heck Corky bought it on Amazon when there were no Pope Lights on Amazon, let alone anywhere on the internet... although now there actually are a few out there.


Turns out it was a Pop Lite popcorn maker, and that Nathanial cannot read. Nathanial claimed to be fairly disappointed that he didn't get a Pope Light.
...and that's how the Pope stole Christmas

Handy Hubby

Brett did this for me, because pulling stacks of pans out from a cupboard is annoying. (we have one more pan to put up in the empty space, but we were using it.

He also found a way to squish our ironing board into unusable but easily accessible space.

And yesterday, I found some nice cords at Eddie bower. Brett likes me in cords, isn't that odd? I think it is because I had a lime and a cotton candy colored pairs when we got married.


And now I am done eating, so I will stop blogging and go to Tracie and Austin's, where I will inevitably have more fun than you are having.

Learning to love

If these weren't trashy, I'd wear them. I couldn't help but laugh.



available here

But this is not the point of my post.

I've been learning to Love Utah.

When I was single in Provo, Utah was O.K. but not in my top 10. I could never afford to do anything, never had much free time from school, and didn't know where all the cool stuff was.


When I lived in Wymount I hated Utah. It's cold, miserable, and a lot like Hell. because Wymount sucks and married people are boring. Or self righteous. Or both.

Now, coming back, having my own place that I LOVE, a place that I can paint, and having money to buy things like a kitchen table and drapes, and overall loving living 2 minutes from the freeway (halfway between Provo and SLC, snuggled in a 5-7 min freeway drive from any store I could possibly need), I'm starting to love utah. Mainly for four reasons:

1. I finally know how to dress for snow, so it's not as miserable.
2. My current ward may not be the all sparkles and glitter, but it sure kicks Wymount butt. 1 year here, and I have better/more friends than I ever did in 3 years at Wymount. (Not counting, of course When Tara decided to move into my building).
3. I've been more social, which I need. I've met several people out walking my dog, I've gone on weekly farmers market trips with my sister-in-law, I've just barely started spending little bits of time with my brother, talked with Rama (my neighbor from India) over sweet Kheer, and spent several evenings over at B's cousin's house (Austin and Tracie's) eating dinner and playing games, and made more of an effort to spend time with an old roommate. I've needed all of it. Social interaction can make or break a place.
4. I'm starting to figure out how awesome the Utah terrain is.

• Endless free hiking trails as close as 5 minutes away, many with waterfalls
• Natural Spas/hot pots (after years of googling I finally found one of the free ones, but not bathed in it)
• Nearby Rivers to raft/kayak/swim in
• Several lakes to boat, swim, or kayak in
• A nearby hot spot for Hang gliding
• Nearby canyons hooked up for rock climbing (technically, I did this way back when, I just never had my own stuff.)
• endless camping options
• backpacking trails
• several unique-ish landscapes (salt flats, sand dunes, land arches, hikes through slot canyons, hikes to cliff dwellings, etc)
• 5-10 ski slopes with in an hours drive
• many places for sledding, if you know where to find them
• bike trails galore

Basically if you can find your happiness drinking in outdoor adventure, Utah is a pretty awesome place. So, now that I am learning (a little late) how to use Utah to it's full advantage, and I am starting to entertain the idea of staying here even after Brett finishes his Masters.

No promises though, I'd like to tackle another winter here before I make any promises.

This summer I finally got myself a decent (though not hardcore) mountain bike, though it didn't see as much love as it should have. Still, I took it on several grocery store trips, and a few exploratory rides through the local neighboring cities.

But, after a summer of hardcore local (and some not-so-local) mountain biking, my brother Nathanial has found a handful of trails that I, in my gloriously newfound body fat, can handle. They are like baby trails to him, but perfect for me... not too easy, and not too intimidating. One of these places in Lambert Park, Alpine, Utah. There is a downhill trail here called "rodeo" that is awesome. it has several spots where you ride the wall/side of a banked turn then the other side. I call it "Mario Cart" because it reminds me of some of the races in the video game... except that THIS IS FUN. Swish swish swish.

I took brett here about 2 weeks ago (a week after Nathanial took me). In just that one week difference, Autumn claimed the hillside. I swear we wen't uphill, we just only took pictures going down.

It stinks that I am figuring these locations out at the end of the summer. And now it won't stop raining.








Another fun trail Nanial took me to m (just last friday) was 5th Water. We had both our dogs off leash, rode up to the hot springs (pretty but stinky), and rode back in the dark. If I get back there before the weather gets too bad, I'll bring a camera next time.