Independence Day Weekend Fun

Mike and I had a lot of fun during Independence Day weekend - we both had Monday off of work, so it was fun to spend some extra time together.

On Saturday, we went 4-wheeling on Skyline Drive with the Jaques. The weather was beautiful! We brought a picnic dinner and ate at the top of the mountain. Our view spanned from Utah County in the South to at least Layton in the North.

After dinner, we kept going and the trail led us back by this peaceful pond. There was a huge beaver dam in the middle. The air was so crisp and I loved being able to smell the pine.

As we continued on the trail, we found this out-of-the-way, but pretty nice, campground. We totally want to check it out this summer! After 4-wheeling, we went back to our house for some fireworks. Camille's snakes were the best!

On Sunday, we went to my parent's house for dinner. After dinner, we headed up Little Cottonwood Canyon for some family pictures. These are a few of my favorites:

When we came home, we ended up doing a few more fireworks with our neighbors from across the street. We haven't gotten to know them very well, so it was cool to get to know them better. One of the neighbors accidentally set his grass on fire, but fortunately it wasn't too big of a deal. :)

On Monday, we went out for our traditional "Fourth of July" breakfast. Later in the day, we went down to Mike's mom's house for a BBQ with his family. Some of his cousins and his grandparents were able to come, so it was fun to see people. When we got home, our other neighbors were doing fireworks, so we did a few more.

All in all, it was a really nice weekend. I am so grateful that we could enjoy the time that we spent with each other, our families, and our friends. I am grateful that I live in a country that allows me to enjoy these freedoms and so many others.

Ten on Tuesdays

1. Growing up, I never considered myself to be that great of a gardener. This year, I decided to try planting a small vegetable garden. So far, it has been less than fruitful. I started out by planting strawberries, watermelon, tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumber. I also did a seed starting kit for a salsa garden, which included tomatoes, parsley, cilantro, onion, jalapeno peppers, and cayenne peppers. My watermelon plant withered and died during the time when we were getting all the rain. My dog has eaten my strawberries and almost all of the seeds I planted from my salsa garden starting kit have failed to sprout. Hopefully I will at least be able to get a few tomatoes!
2. Yesterday morning when I got out of bed, I noticed that Faline was sniffing something on the carpet. My first thought was that maybe she had an accident, but as I got closer, I realized it was something else. Turns out, Faline caught a bird! She was apparently so proud of her kill that she had to bring it in to show off. She wasn’t very happy when Mike threw it out.
3. On Sunday, Mike and I headed up the canyon to have some family pictures done. From what I have seen so far, they turned out really cute. I will post some as soon as I get the disc.
4. We decided to bite the bullet and upgrade to cell phones with data plans. I am pretty excited to have new features and freedom with my new phone. I think that we ended up getting the Samsung Reality, but I am not positive.
5. Ideeli has turned into one of my favorite places to shop online. Most recently, I was able to get this cute Rebecca Beeson shirt – it retailed for around $55 or so, but Ideeli was selling it for $18. After another discount that I had, I only paid $2 plus shipping!



6. It looks like the voles have moved back into our yard. We were so excited when it looked like they had either moved away or died. Then last week when we were working in the yard, I saw something run across the flower bed and their tunnels have reappeared in our grass. We put out some poison for them, plus Faline has been in the backyard more often lately, so hopefully we can get rid of them for good this time!
7. I have heard a lot about this website called Bountiful Baskets. Basically, you pay a fee each week that you want to participate, and then you get a huge basket full of fresh fruits and vegetables. They will occasionally have other stuff to, such as fresh salsa or bread. I want to try this out sometime, but I know that Mike and I won’t be able to eat all of the produce without it going bad. Would anyone want to try splitting a basket with us sometime?
8. I feel like I would be remiss if I didn’t post something about Eclipse. I went to see Eclipse last week, and I will say that it is better than the previous two movies. I still think that the acting isn’t the greatest, but that is okay. Something I didn’t realize is that Stephanie Meyer’s latest book, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, is actually about one of the newborn vampires in Eclipse. I found out last week that you could read the book online for free. Reading it kind of put a few things about the vampire army and a few comments from the movie in perspective for me. Unfortunately, the offer to read the book online for free ended yesterday.
9. Thank you to the Jaques for our year supply of Malt-o-meal! We are so excited!
10. When we went 4-wheeling on Saturday, we found this great little campground off Skyline Drive. It has running water and toilets, which is a bonus in my opinion. Now, we just need to plan a weekend to go!

Amish Bread

I baked up my Amish Friendship Bread on Wednesday, and I was pleasantly surprised! I was so nervous that it would end up looking/tasting nasty or just would not bake well. It turned out really well and tastes really good! The recipe made enough for one large loaf and three smaller loaves, so I can freeze some and save it for later. Yum!

Ten on Tuesdays

Introducing…Ten on Tuesdays! I got this idea from Marla, a fellow blogger. Basically, this is a way for me to post about random thoughts, ideas, and experiences that might not make it into a post of their own. I am hoping that this will get me posting more regularly again, but I am not making any guarantees that I won’t miss a week. :)

1. Last week, I started reading a novel by Jodi Picoult called “19 Minutes”. It is the story of a fictional high school shooting in New Hampshire. Although I haven’t finished reading it yet, it has really got me thinking about life, loved ones, and the effect of each person’s actions. If you can stomach the topic, I recommend it.
2. I really want to go camping. Maybe it is just because we went up on Skyline Drive last Saturday and it has been a while since I had been in the mountains, but I really want to go. Mike and I were talking about going a week from this Friday (July 9). I think that we are debating between going out to the west desert where you don’t need reservations (you just pick a spot and build your own area) and trying to get a site up Big Cottonwood Canyon, where we would have to fight for a spot. Anyone interested?
3. My sister, Beth, and I have started tentatively planning another girl’s trip. Our last one was to Hawaii. We have been talking about going to Boston over Columbus Day weekend. We are hoping that we will be there to enjoy the fall foliage. If you have ever been to Boston or New England in general, is there anything that you would recommend?
4. Last night, Mike and I went to a BBQ that was hosted by one of our old friends from the singles ward. It was so fun to visit and get caught up with people that we hadn’t seen for a while.
5. I know that this is old news, but on behalf of every Bachelor viewer, can I just say “I told you so” to Jake and Vienna.
6. About a month ago, Mike transferred offices and is now at his company’s Bountiful Branch. It has been SO nice to have him closer – we get to occasionally have lunch together, carpool, plus we are saving a TON on gas and mileage.
7. I can’t believe that it is already the end of June! Where did it go??? I think that it seems so much shorter because the beginning of this month was so rainy. It seems crazy to me that July 4th is this weekend.
8. Speaking of July 4th, I have decided that this is probably my favorite “not big” holiday. What I mean is, that besides the big three (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter), this is probably my favorite. I think that it is so important to take the time to reflect on our nation’s history and what it took for us to attain it. I know that it is easy to just think of it as another day off or a good excuse to BBQ with family/friends, but to me it is so much more.
9. Mike and I were able to get some free tickets to go see Eclipse tomorrow night. Mike is a good sport – he is not a fan of the Twilight series and absolutely hates going to a movie during the opening week when it is likely that there will be people dressed up/cheering during the movie/etc. I have decided that while I am not sick of the books or the movies, I am getting sick of all of the hype. Vampires and Werewolves are not real – move on, people.
10. Last week, I was given a “starter” for Amish Friendship Bread. How it works is someone gives you a baggy with batter in it. For the next ten days, you keep it on your counter, knead it, and add a few more ingredients. On the tenth day, you divide it into five parts. Four of the parts are given away for someone else to start and then you add more ingredients to the part that is left, which forms dough and you make bread. Today is the eighth day, and I think it has grossed out Mike that we have had a bag full of batter on our counter. Everyone assures me that the bread ends up tasting good and will not make you sick. I will have to report on how the bread turns out next week!

Skyline Drive

Last night, Mike and I took the 4-wheelers up to ride the Skyline Drive Trail and watch the sunset. Skyline Drive is located right by the Bountiful 'B', so it is nice to have a trail that is so close to home.

The weather was beautiful! By the time we got to the top of the mountain, the air felt crisp. It was so beautiful - the birds were chirping, the flowers were blooming...

There is one part of the trail where you can look to the west and see the Great Salt Lake and the Wasatch Front:

If you look towards the east, all you see is mountains. You can also see a little bit of Echo Reservoir.

This is our view of when we were watching the sunset. It was so beautiful and peaceful!

It was so nice to go up and enjoy the mountains. I told Mike that it is sad that we live so close to them, but don't take advantage of them being so close. Hopefully we can keep planning some more trips and enjoy them this summer.

Charleston/Nashville Vacay!

Last week, Mike and I went on a fun-filled vacation to Charleston, SC and Nashville, TN with our families. We have been planning this trip to Nashville forever...we went so that I could participate in graduation ceremonies! We figured that since we were kind of in the area, we should also go to South Carolina, since that is where Mike went on his mission. My family and Mike's mom, sister, and step dad came along with us to Charleston, and then my grandparents also joined us in Nashville.

Day 1: Travel...not much to report other than we flew into Atlanta and then drove to Charleston.

Day 2: We took a walking tour of historic Charleston. I absolutely loved seeing all of the old buildings! It was amazing to see all of the history; it almost reminded me of stepping back in time.
This was also a neat day because Mike's family got to call and talk to his brother, Trevor, who is on his mission!

Khemia, me, and Beth

St. Michael's Church: I believe that this church dates back to the 1600's. Two of the signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried in its cemetery.

Historic "Rainbow Row": this row of houses got its name because each house is a different color.

A view of the cobblestone streets.

Day 3: We headed out to Fort Sumter, which is where the Civil War began. The Fort is located on an island just outside of Charleston Harbor.

It was pretty interesting to learn more about the Fort and see all the cannons. There are a few places where you can still see cannon balls lodged in the side of the wall.

Day 4: We went back to downtown Charleston to do some more exploring and then went to Folley Beach. The beach was great! The water was warm enough to swim in...it was so wonderful!

Khemia and Beth in the Pineapple Fountain. We were joking about how there was a sign that had tons of different rules about wading in the fountain, such as not blowing your nose.

Mike and me at Folley Beach

Mandy and me

Day 5: We travelled from Charleston to Nashville...it was a LONG drive, but the scenery was beautiful. We drove through the Appalachians and the Blue Smoky Mountains.

Day 6: We visited the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and explored downtown Nashville. We also grabbed some lunch from a DELICIOUS BBQ place called Jack's BBQ.

Me pointing out Elvis's start on the walk of fame..

Beth, me, and Khemia in downtown Nashville.

For dinner, we went to the Loveless Cafe. While we were waiting for our dinner, my dad, Beth, Kristin, David, and Khemia decided to pose for a picture.

Day 7: GRADUATION DAY!

Vanderbilt's graduation ceremonies are pretty formal. After doing some ceremonies with all of the graduates, each school broke off and did their own event. During the nursing graduation, I received my academic hood. It was so hot and humid in that cap and gown, but I am also really glad that I decided to go out and participate in commencement. It was really neat to see the campus, since all of my classes were done online and I had only visited it once before.

Later in the afternoon, we got a HUGE rainstorm, which I loved. The house we were staying in had a screened-in porch, so I sat outside and enjoyed most of it. Later, we went out for more BBQ at Judge Bean's. It was way good!

Day 8: We visited a Civil War battlefield in Franklin, TN. This site was significant because a nearby plantation was turned into a make-shift hospital. You could still see blood stains on the floor in a few rooms. Also, this is the site where four Confederate Generals were killed and their bodies were laid out on the back porch.

The site is home to the largest private military cemetery in the United States. After the battle ended, the plantation owner buried all of the bodies. A few years later, the bodies were moved to this cemetery.

Later that night, Beth, Mandy, and I decided to go back into Nashville. We went to a few different bars and listened to some live music. Unfortunately, it seemed like each time we got into the bar, the band was just finishing and we had to wait while the new band set up.

Day 9: We left to come back home. It was so fun to get away, and I am so thankful to both of our families for taking the time to come out and support me during my graduation. Thanks for the fun times!

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday, Mike!!!

Earlier this month, Mike turned the big 3-0! We had some friends over to BBQ and celebrate the occasion. Unfortunately, the weather didn't really cooperate, but we still had a good time. We had some friends come that we hadn't seen for a while, so it was great to be able to catch up with everyone. Besides the food, we also enjoyed a few card games and a sweet game of Pictionary Man...I will never be able to play that game again without laughing.

Thank you so much to everyone who brought food and celebrated Mike's big day with us. I know it really meant a lot to him!