Our trip to Island Park with the Wilsons

We took off on Thurs. to have the time of our lives. Our friends Steve and Deb Wilson (friends for the past 22 years) invited us to go to their new cabin at Island Park. We packed all our food, clothes, the 4 wheeler, games etc and off we went. I haven't had such a fun vacation in a long time. I've never laughed so hard as we did the past 4 days.
For starters Steve got pulled over by a highway patrol in Sandy for not having a registration sticker on his big trailer that was pulled the 4 wheelers. Well, while the officer was looking it up on the computer to see if they had actually paid the registration Steve found the sticker in his wallet. So he ended up not getting a ticket.
We got to their cabin on Thurs. evening. It was so beautiful as you can see. There isn't any landscaping yet but that is yet to come. It has a beautiful kitchen and family room and two huge bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs. Downstairs the family room is finished then they will eventually have the two other bedrooms and bathrooms done. There is a gorgeous deck off the back where we sat in the evenings just visiting.
Friday morning we headed down to Macks Inn and rented a raft. We floated down the Henrys Fork river. I"ve never seen anything so beautiful. There were so many fish that you could see swimming around. We were lucky enough to have seen a cow moose and her baby just off the side of the river. We got some beautiful pictures of them too. That float took us about 2.5 hours so that afternoon when we got back to the cabin we changed our clothes and loaded up the 4 wheelers. We went on a beautiful ride all around Henrys Lake. We went about 35-40 miles that afternoon. It's amazing the scenery you can see on those rides. You wouldn't believe it even existed if you didn't get off on those side trails.
That evening we went to a real Ho Down just up the street from the cabin. Every Friday and Saturday night they put on a little rodeo and have a dutch oven dinner, entertainment and a country dance. The rodeo consisted of teenagers from all over the United States that come there for a week to learn how to ride horses, saddle them, clean stalls etc. Some learn to barrel race, ride bulls etc. It was so fun to see these kids and it was quite entertaining. After the rodeo we walked over to the dutch oven dinner that they put on. It was steak, chicken, potatoes, salad and rolls and cobler for dessert. While we ate our dinner they had a country singer singing for us. He sang several songs that required audience participation. Well, on one song he was picking people out of the audience and guess who got chosen? Me!! He chose me and two others that were teenagers. He then told us that we were going to be Rappers. He gave us each a hat ( wore mine sideways like a Rapper) and he had some kind of garb necklaces. He had one kid making boom bop noises in a microphone and the other girl had to play a cowbell. And he chose me to be the one who sang the rap song he had made up. Oh my!!! Quite the experience. The rap was about the rodeo, the beans we had for dinner that make you go toot!! It was so funny. I about pee'd my pants I was laughing so hard. After that was all over they had a little time to dance afterwards and that was fun.
Saturday we spent the morning golfing at the Island Park resort golf course. That was awesome since it was only the second time this year for me to golf. We had a blast. After we got home we went on another 4 wheel ride and it was so beautiful. We chose another trail to go on and we were on top of the world. When we got home that evening we decided to go look for some wild life. We had been told that there were some moose sightings so we went to see if we could find them. We did but they were in a different place than we were told. We saw two cow moose and one bull. It's so neat to see these things in real life. I got some awesome pictures from this trip and I'll share a few.
We are so fortunate to have such good friends as Steve and Debbie. We have everything in common. We are the best of friends and always will be. I'm so glad they invited us up and look forward to going next year when we take all of our kids and make it a big family party with all of their kids too. Thanks Steve and Deb!! We love you!!!

Happy 30th Anniversary

Happy Anniversary Rog!!
It's hard to believe we've been married 30 years. The time has flown. We've shared many, many experiences together.
Just a little about ourselves. I met Roger when I was 15 years old. I had seen him in the hall and thought he was really cute. He was a senior and I was a sophomore. One day in school a girl came up to me and asked me what my name was and I asked her why she wanted to know. She just told me that I'd find out. Well in December, it happened to be the day we buried my grandma, he called me on the phone and we talked and he asked me out. I was so afraid to ask my parents because I was only 15. But they said I could go. Rog and I went on our first date to a movie. I guess I was smitten with him. We continued dating but my parents were determined I was going to date others too. Which is a good thing of course at that age. But Roger and I seemed to enjoy being together. He eventually graduated and I continued on in high school. I dated other guys but was still attracted to Rog.
By the time I graduated from high school we knew we were in love and we were determined to be married. I was only 18 but thought I knew it all. We could conquer the world together.
Through the course of our married life we've been blessed with three beautiful children. Jared, Shana and Troy. We've had lots of fun family trips. Camping, fishing experiences galore. Roger has been a wonderful husband and father. He's had to put up with me so he should get a reward for that. Through our married life we have shared the death of both of our parents. What a wonderful support we have been to each other for that. We've had our ups and downs in our married life just as a lot of marriages do. But we have succeeded and come out on top. The odds were against us getting married at such a young age but we've stuck with it and here we are now 30 years later.

I want Roger to know that I am by his side through thick and thin. For better or worse .In sickness and in health. He's a great husband and we are looking forward to retirement and getting out and seeing the world.

Here's to another 30 years honey!!! Happy Anniversary

Love,

ME

Exercising your body

For the most part most of my life I have done some kind of exercising. And would you believe I enjoy it? I rarely have anyone to go with so I just go by myself. I used to have a girlfriend who always wanted to go and I told her to just call me and she can come along. We exercised for quite a while together then she quit due to being a single mom and working. But I decided at that time that I can't count on anyone but myself to make my butt get out there so I just do it alone. I loved when Shana was close by and we could meet at the gym.
I have a membership to Golds Gym and I use that a lot in the winter time but when the weather gets nice I'm an outside person. Lately, I've been going up Provo Canyon and either riding my bike or walking. The trail is so beautiful. It's so invigorating and when I get to Bridal Veil Falls I have to stop and take in the view. It's so beautiful. When I ride my bike I start at the mouth of Provo Canyon and ride up to Vivian Park. It's about a 15 mile round trip ride. When I walk I start at Canyon Glen and walk almost to Vivian Park and it's about a 5 mile walk. I put on my tunes and carry my 2 lb. weights and do exercises with my arms while I'm walking. Sometimes I won't take my Ipod and I just use that time to clear my head and think. I'm so fortunate to have a body that is healthy enough to get to enjoy doing these kinds of things. I love the fact that when I'm done it is so satisfying and that it makes you mentally ready for a new day.

Warning!!

I know there are a few of you who read my blogs. I'm writing this right now with a heavy heart. With much sadness and grief.
I went over to my work at 11:30am this morning to fix my time card and as I pulled up into the parking lot a truck was driving very fast to the ambulance door area. The parents were screaming and screaming. I saw the two nurses come out and grab a little child. I went inside and found them working on him. Giving him CPR, blood everywhere and this little boy unresponsive.
The family is Spanish so it was hard to get information from them. I went outside to try and find out what had happened and to try to console the parents. As you can imagine they were hysterical. The mom had backed over her precious little boy. You can only imagine how distraught she was. I was hugging her, trying to give her some encouragement all the time knowing that he wasn't going to make it. She kept asking me if he was going to be ok? I reassurred her that we had our best nurses and doctor on and that they were doing everything they could to help him. As I sat on the curb holding the mom I said a prayer in my heart pleading with Heavenly Father to please comfort this family. As I know they will need it for a long time.
Many police officers, paramedics and family arrived. They worked on their little two year old boy for 30 minutes and the doctor finally asked me to bring the parents in. As I did and the doctor tried to explain to them that he had passed away the mother passed out on the floor. She was covered in blood from her sons accident. We got her on a gurney and put cold compresses on her face and gave her oxygen to help her come to.
I can't believe I walked in by accident on this situation. I work in an emergency room where we don't see a lot of trauma. Several times I had to go into the bathroom to cry as I kept trying to imagine what they were going through. I can't imagine if that was my own grandchild and having to see my own children have to accept the death of one of their kids.
My warning is this: Please, please, make sure you know where your children are when you are backing out of your driveway. That was my biggest fear when Brayden and Daxton were living with us and as I drove out of my driveway I had my foot on the brake and crept out very slowly. Please be safe. Keep a constant eye on your children. Don't ever assume it won't happen to my child. I witnessed today how this will now change this moms life. The guilt she will feel the rest of her life.
Hold your little ones tight today and give them a big hug and kiss.

Our Weekend in the Uintas

Rog and I just got back from spending a couple of nights in one of our favorite places called Sulpher Campground. When the kids were growing up it was one of their favorite places to go too. We loved going there because you would inevitably see moose and elk all over the place in the camground. One year Roger was so close to them I was screaming to get away but he wanted me to take his picture with them.
There is a little river that runs right in the campground so we always fish in that. I caught 4 the first day and Rog caught a few too. It's so beautiful and so calming to just walk up and down the stream trying to find the right spot where the little fishies will be. (I really do mean little as you can see in the pictures.)The weather is always so nice and cool up there.
On Friday we went on a two hour hike to Scud Lake. We hadn't ever been there before so we thought we'd try something new. The hike wasn't too hard. We finally got to the lake and it was so beautiful. Lily Pads all over it. The colors were so vibrant. When I'm enjoying these things I'm always thinking about our generous God who created all of these things for us to enjoy. I'm so blessed to be healthy enough to enjoy these beautiful creations. The air is so fresh and clean and the smells are of wonderful pine trees. It's so worth it to hike in to see all of these things.
I miss having our kids there with us and I hope some day they can once again join us for these kinds of adventures.

Sunday thoughts

It's kind of crazy lately when I think of the changes that have taken place in our lives. Rog and I have been feeling an empty void in our lives as our kids take on their own lives. Sunday mornings when we aren't camping we have been going up Provo Canyon and either walking or riding our bike. It's so beautiful up there.
With Shana and her family gone and Troy and Kori away we are relying on Jared and Kristi and their girls to keep us company. They are so busy too though so it's hard to get together. They'll be coming over today for Sunday dinner though so it will be nice to visit with them.
Life goes on. Many changes take place. It's exciting to see our kids making choices in their lives that are positive. As a parent you only want them to be successful and happy. I love the times that we are together. I love the noises of the little kids laughing, screaming and having a good time. I miss the little handprints on my walls and windows. I'm tempted sometimes to just keep them there as a reminder that they're still close by.
I hope as I get older that I won't ever be a burden to my children. I remember my mom saying the same thing. I want to be able to hold my own, take care of myself, be self sufficient. Even though I loved helping my mom as she was sick, feeding her, brushing her hair I don't ever want to have my kids feel like they have to help me.
I know Roger feels the same way. He always feels like a burden but he's not. I know I haven't been very patient at times but I'm trying. He does his best to keep up and to not be a burden. I know as a spouse that you vow to be there in sickness and in health and that's what we have to do for each other.

I've been tagged by Shana

Job's I've Had:
1.Mom
2.The Downry
3. Hickory Farms
4. Engraving Etc
5.Currently at Orem Co Hospital for 19 years now

Movies I watch Over and Over:
1. The Sound of Music
2. The Wizard of Oz
3. Dumb & Dumber

Places I have Lived:
1. Orem, Utah
2. Provo Utah

Places I Want to Visit:
1. England
2. Caribbean
3. Switzerland

Places I have visited:
1. Canada
2. Hawaii
3. Mexico
4. Florida
5. California
6. Chicago

T.V. Shows I watch:
1. American Idol
2. Oprah
3. Deal or No Deal
4. Dr. Phil

Favorite Places to Eat:
1. Red Lobster
2. Rumbi Grill
3. Cafe Rio

Websites I Visit:

1. Hark The Herald
2. KSL.com
3. SLTRIB

I Tag:
1. Abbi
2. Diana
3. Kim
4. Kami

Just copy and paste to your blog then change the answers. If I can do it you can do it..hahaha