The Wonder Years

New home

2010-04-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

We are moving to a new home! Blogger is trying to make us use HTML to edit everything on our blog now and we lost a lot of links to our friends blogs. Please come visit us at our new home at www.chrisandamandswonderyears.wordpress.com. If you want us to link to your blog, then please comment for us here or there leaving a web adress for your blog.

Thanks everyone,

See you soon!

Now introducing...

2010-03-06T09:32:00.000-08:00

The last month has been full of exciting events. Amanda and I have been looking for a bigger apartment. However the scope of our search was limited because we really wanted to stay in our ward. I have been the Young Men's President for the last year and Amanda has been the Laurels advisor. Even though we were in an apartment, our ward had always made us feel welcome and like we were a part of the ward family. Not to mention the youth that we worked with were incredible. So we searched through the limited apartments available in the ward boundaries that were bigger than what we were living in. We thought that had a place secured but the land lord rented it out from under us after we told him that we would take it. So we expanded our horizons and looked elsewhere. It didn't take us long to find a bigger place, for comparable rent. So after a few tearful discussions we decided to move. We are going to miss our ward and the friends that we made there. But at least we are close enough that we will still see everyone with some regularity. (We are still setting things up, but once we are done, we will post pictures.)

In other news we have new family members to celebrate! My brother Taylor and his wife Meg who live in Arkansas just had a little boy! His name is Fielding Elias Beckstead. He was born Sunday February 21st weighing in at 7 lbs, 13 oz and was 20.5 inches long. He has a full head of long black hair. I think that he is going to be tall and skinny like his dad. You can see pictures and videos of the little guy on their blog. My parents now have 3 grandkids, Grayson, Ella, and Fielding. (Fielding could have been born on 363 different days and not shared a birthday with a cousin, but both Fiedling and Grayson share the same birthday. I am sure Gray won't mind.)

Following up with the baby news from Taylor and Meg, my cousin Phillip and his wife Amy had their baby boy also! Crue Phillip Secrist was born February 28 weighing 8 lbs, 2 oz and 20 inches long. Congrats to Phil and Amy!

Finally it's time to introduce the newest member of our family! Last week Amanda and I while we were moving had the opportunity to bring a new bundle of joy into our lives. His name is Rusty, he weighs 11 pounds and has short red hair! He enjoys taking naps and going for walks in the neighbor hood. No we didn't have a baby and no we aren't pregnant. The new apartment allows us to have small pets and so a small pet we now have! Rusty is a seven year old Dachshund that we rescued from the Hurricane Animal Shelter. They found him wandering the streets, hungry and cold. When they contacted his owners, they were told he could be adopted out. So we took him home the day we moved into our new place. He is extremely nervous and has a problem where he piddles if you look at him wrong, but he is quickly overcoming that.

Enjoy the pics of Rusty, our Sunday drive to a snowy Zion National Park and hiking to Johnson's Arch with my dad.

No, we aren't dead...yet...

2010-01-28T19:50:00.000-08:00

The last few months have been crazy! Life has been really great and we have a lot going on. Amanda is having a lot of fun teaching, and studying. She is rocking her classes and is on schedule to complete her masters in the fall. As for me, work was CRAZY between October and December. I put on four events and helped on two others. Plus I am going to take the GMAT in march.

Trying to establish a study program for the GMAT was a bit of an adventure. No prep classes are taught in St. George (Or southern Utah for that matter). So unless I wanted to pay 1,500 dollars for an online course, I needed to come up with my own study programs. I went to Dixie college and talked to some tutors about helping me prepare. I decided not to pursue their help though when people asked me "The GMAT is for medical school right?" and "What is the GMAT?"

We had a ball during the holidays. We spent Christmas at my parents house since Alex, Heather and Ella were in town. Ella is unbelievable. She turned 2 at the end of October, but she counts to 10 in English, Spanish and German. German was our favorite because she yells when she does it. She sings songs, plays games and loves to ask you "what happened."

The best one liner from Christmas, came from our nephew Grayson. He came to my parents house that afternoon and was opening presents. (I think that he had been opening presents for three days straight.) He was about 3 gifts into his pile of boxes when he stopped and said, "I don't want to open any more presents... I don't want any more presents."

New years was phenomenal. We hung out at the Parslow's up in Monroe. The Parslow family tradition is to have a fondue feast to usher in the new year. There was shrimp, chicken, steak and lots of other stuff. Not to mention the bacon wrapped water chestnuts that are baked in BBQ sauce. KC, Amanda's baby brother came up to me, put his hands on my stomach and said "Why is your belly so big."

We appreciate what everyone has done for us during the last few months. We were spoiled during the holidays and had a lot of family support in our studies, work and callings. Thanks everyone for everything!

Stepping Up

2009-08-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

After 5 years of fun, my college ride was passed back to my parents. We both enjoyed the Saturn and are so grateful to my parents for letting us use it for so long and pay our insurance for it as well. However after finding out the Saturn needed another major repair, we both decided that it was time for us to take on more responsibility and get our own car. (I know, I know, so pathetic.)

So after a week of research on Consumer Reports and test driving many cars, we found a steal on a 2006 Toyota Rav4.

We love the new car and enjoy some sweet gadgets that we didn't have before like power locks and windows, and cruise control. Some of our friends asked us who will get to drive the car most often; for now we are going to trade off every other week but we all know who will get to drive it more!! (wink!)

Although it is exciting to get a new car, I was so impressed with how we both handled the buying process together. For some reason I was expecting it to be more stressful but it wasn't to bad.

By the way, I have an awesome husband! I love you so much and thank you for always being there for me. I appreciate how patient you are with me and how easily you brighten up my day! Love you tons Loves!

2009-07-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

Photo via flickr

I love lightning! I love it even more when it's a far distance away. Last night there was a huge lightning storm in the mountains around St. George. As soon as Chris came home, we jumped in the car and headed up to the airport and watched it from on top of the bluff. We weren't the only ones with the idea, many more cars came up quickly after us. There were some awesome blots that lit up the sky for several seconds at a time. My favorite are the lightning blots that stretched across the sky like fingers. It was just like watching the fireworks, after each strike, Chris and I starting shouting, "Oh wow! Look at that one!"

What's Up...

2009-07-13T19:26:00.001-07:00

Very sorry for the lack of posting. I do have several good excuses if you care to hear. First, our computer has been broken for over a month. Reasons for taking so long to get it fixed include being out of town, working, and simply I don't understand what the repair guy says when he explains what's wrong. Well, that's not true. I do understand computers, I just don't understand what they mean when they tell me how to fix it. (You know what I mean?)

Well some highlights of June include the following:

Our 2nd anniversary! Played in Park City for a weekend. Our adventure included going to the Olympic Park, bobsledding, zip lines, and eating at the most amazing Asian restaurant called WAHSO. I love Park City!

I started my first class for my masters. It was a week long course, kind of an easy credit but juggling it with work was difficult and required saying goodbye to my comfy bed for a week.

Chris had High Adventure Camp with his Young Men. From what I have heard, it was a fun trip in a super awesome cabin.

Girls Camp. Loved it! Our ward's theme was "Ladies of the Round Table". The ward camp director goes all out. Camp included a spa day, marshmallow gun war, and a huge round table (seriously, nobody could reach the center of the table). Of course, it was a great time for me to get to know the girls a little bit better and just have fun being silly like a teenager! By the way, one night our dinner was brought in by helicopter! Crazy! The other ward's were sooo jealous!

So far July has been pretty exciting as well! On July 4th, we played with family and went swimming with our awesome nephew, Gray. Last week was Youth Conference. I would go into detail about that trip but I'll save it for another post after we get our pictures loaded. Let's just say, WOW!! Our ward sure knows how to party! We went to SLC for three days with our youth and had an awesome time! We both love working with the youth so much! I just wanted to hug each teenager all the time and tell them how great they are! All I can say is that we have the BEST youth in our ward!

Well since we now have a computer again, I will be more diligent in posting. Or at least I will give more thought about posting.

Self- Esteem Booster...

2009-05-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

I was recently called as the Young Women's Laural Advisor in our family ward. (By the way, Chris was also recently called to be the Young Men's President. We are totally taking the youth over!) At first I was nervous, sad to leave my primary class, but excited to be with the youth. After two weekly activities and one Sunday lesson, I am totally jazzed. If you are needing a quick self-esteem boost, get involved with the youth. I was floating on cloud nine...

"I love your shoes!"

"Wow, where did you get your purse!"

"You have such a nice smile!"

Why thank you girls! Treats on Sunday for sure!

My New Favorite Holiday

2009-05-07T14:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, college didn't prepare me for the most exciting part of being teacher, Teacher Appreciation Week. Hello, best day of my life! So much food and so many sweet notes for the wonderful paraprofessional's in my classroom. I didn't even know it was Teacher Appreciation Week, or that there was such a thing. (How did I miss that? There must have been some shiny objects in the classroom or something to distract me)

Anyway, I just wanted to say THANK YOU to all my peers and coworkers, who are wonderful teachers of LIFE to me.

So do some good and thank a teacher today. By the way, I was told by the school nurse that Wednesday was also Thank A Nurse Day, just a little FYI.

Cupcake Goodness...

2009-04-15T18:07:00.001-07:00

I am so proud of myself this Easter season. For months, I have restrained myself from buying multiple bags of Mini Cadbury Eggs. I only gave into a couple of the single serving sized bags to share with Chris but besides that, we were without candy this Easter. However, I did want to make something awesome for our Easter dinner. I found this recipe for coconut cupcakes that turned out amazing! They were so good and super easy! The icing is the best part, load up on the icing!

Hope you had a wonderful Easter Sunday!

What a week...

2009-03-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I had a great time in Disney World. We saw all four theme parks, rode all the cool rides and enjoyed each others company. The details of our trip will come later with our developed film. As much fun as we had in Florida it was not all sunshine. We are sad to say, but while in Florida we received the news that my grandfather William Warner Heiner had passed away. Born in May 17, 1929 he quietly passed on March 19th. Married for 59 years he loved his wife Peggy and raised seven children. His many grandchildren and great grandchildren will remember him for his outrageous story telling, and his ability look inside himself and change for the better. He had just celebrated his 9th anniversary of sobriety and we could not be more proud of him. We will miss him but know that he is in a better place. We love you grandpa!

Spring Break...Disney World!

2009-03-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

This time next week I will be experiencing my first day ever at a Disney park. I am so excited but overwhelmed. Will I have enough time to fully experience the ultimate Disney World adventure? Definitely hitting the Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and enjoying a safari at the Animal Kingdom, and who knows what else! I think I was promised a ride on the Jungle Book ride with my favorite father-in-law!

Any suggestions of what is totally worth standing in line for or sights that must not be missed!

Oh don't worry, Mickey Ears are first on the list of must haves!

Bear Hugs...

2009-03-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

My dad gives the best hugs in the whole world! His big strong arms wrap around me tight and I feel as if I might suffocate. I can't even get my arms around because they are caught in between his. Squeezing me tight for several seconds, I want to push away and end the hug but I don't. I feel safe in his hugs. I feel like I will always be his little girl.

After all goodbyes are said and slobbery kisses from my youngest brother, I always go back for one more hug; stocking up for the next couple of months until I see my dad again.

Yep, my dad gives the best hugs ever!

Pictures that bring a smile...

2009-02-17T22:01:00.000-08:00

We hiked several trails in Snow Canyon on President's Day. The remaining photos were taken with our cool new camera on a lazy Saturday. We don't really know what we're doing but it's fun to play around. I've been thinking about signing us up for some classes at the community center but for now, we'll just keep playing around.

We've been having fun...

2009-02-04T16:16:00.000-08:00

When Amanda and I finally see each other after a long days work we kind of have a ritual that we go through. We say hello and catch up while we get into our pajamas. After we eat we promptly turn on our newly found cable TV to one of our favorite shows and then cuddle up to each other on the couch. Although our television addiction rarely gives us much to talk about, this week it gave us two gifts of value. Denny's and The Office. The office is one of our favorite shows and the beginning of this weeks episode was outstanding! I haven't laughed so hard at the TV in a long time. (I'm laughing as a blog about it!) I am including a link to what I am referring to for anyone who missed it. All I have to say is that Dwight and Michael blow my mind!

While watching the Super Bowl on Sunday we saw this great commercial. Well the commercial itself wasn't that great, but when it offered me a free Grandslam breakfast at Denny's I was sold. I don't particularly enjoy Denny's but college wasn't that long ago and free food has the tendency to command my attention. Amanda and I called some friends and asked them to join us for what was sure to be a gourmet meal and they agreed. So Amanda woke up around 5:00 AM to get ready and I rolled out of bead at about 5:50 so we could be to Denny's by six. Unfortunately the Super Bowl's advertising probably reached every home in the greater St George area, and what seemed like one in three house holds were represented at the restaurant. After a 40 minute wait with bleary eyed children, wives who were irritated at their husbands for draging the entire family out for what was sure to be a great thing, and some woman who thought that she could skip the wait be claiming that the hostess meant to say Janice and not Jane when she was calling for the next group to be seated, we were able to saddle up to the bar. (Minus our friends who "slept through their alarm.") Amazingly we didn't even have to look at the menu because we new what we wanted to eat. Another 20 minutes later we finally received our plates of pure awesomeness. Our waitress was great by the way, she kept our drinks fairly full, our food was warm when she brought it to us and she had a great attitude. (I probably would have cracked under the pressure and started yelling at people.) It was a great start to an average day. Thanks Denny's do it again soon!

Our Happy Holidays

2009-01-02T17:46:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how long it has been since I have been the one to post, but I figured it was my

turn and that I could fill you all in on some of our Holiday adventures. We had a GREAT Christmas this year. We were able to spend time with both families, see some snow (more than I care for), shop, and just have fun. In the three years that Amanda and I have known each other we have never been able to spend Christmas with my family. My mom has always been the one who takes it the hardest. This year we decided to surprise her. When we went to Logan and Salt Lake for my graduation at the beginning of December, we told my mom that we would arrive in Salt Lake City on Christmas Eve and leave the day after Christmas. She was super sad because my Dad's side of the family throws the biggest party of the year with the best food on the 23rd. My mom almost cried when we told her that we were going to miss it, I almost caved in and told her that we would be there. So on the 22nd we drove to Monroe and spent a wonderful night with Amanda's family. They are always really good to us and have done a great job of making me feel like part of the family. KC and Serena were extremely excited for Santa to come. On the 23rd we opened presents with from her family and just spent time together talking. Early afternoon, we jumped in the car and drove to Salt Lake. When we got home mom was the only one there. We walked in the door and she yelled "Who's here?" We didn't say anything until we walked into her work room. It took her a second to process what was going on but she almost immediately started to cry. She did okay for awhile but she cried again a few hours later. We love you mom and hope that you will forgive us for the deception.

Amanda and I had a lot of fun at the family party. The food was delicious like always, and the nativity was a blast. This is a family tradition from my Dad's childhood. Everyone dresses up for it with assigned speaking parts. This year my Aunt Ann narrated instead of everyone else speaking, and the wise men had a new addition to their costume. Beards. My dad put it on his head like a toupee and down his shirt like chest hair. Holiday Ann was not impressed. I would have to say that the highlight of the nativity was Grayson. He was easily the coolest sheep in the stable.

On Christmas Eve Amanda and I went and looked at Christmas lights for awhile and just had fun with the family. Spencer set out cookies and milk for Santa with Grayson's help. When Gray wasn't looking Santa drank the milk and he was uber excited. "Santa drank the milk!!! Santa drank the milk!!!" Christmas day was great. We got to see Gray open all of his presents that morning, and opened ours too. We had the traditional breakfast casserole and sticky buns and went to see Grandma and Grandpa. We relaxed through the day and just had a great holiday. Plans were to drive back on the 26th but my parent's house had over a foot of new snow in the night. So we stayed one more day and came home the morning of the 27th.

We had a great holiday and we were glad that we got to see everyone including Taylor and Meg. We wish that Alex, Heather and Ella could have made it too but we we were happy with what we had.

I am including pictures from our adventures. These pictures were taken on our new camera. My dad gave us his old Pentax and we love it! It shoots film pictures not digital but when Wal-Mart develops your film they make a digital copy of it and put in on a CD for you. So that is where these pictures are coming from. (Thanks Dad for the awesome camera!)

CHRISTMAS IN ST. GEORGE

Amanda got a new dress. What a hottie!

Just what I wanted!

CHRISTMAS IN MONROE

Amanda took this photo just outside of Monroe as we were pulling into town. Proof that we had blue sky's for our drive. Isn't it beautiful?

Thanks Serena! We love it.

Awesome!

CHRISTMAS IN SALT LAKE CITY

Best Buddies!

Tool set

Our gift was a favorite.

Gray and Uncle Taylor.

Grayson's new favorite movie is Ghostbusters. This is us catching ghosts.

We aint 'fraid of no ghosts!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

(My favorite Christmas Decoration!)

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.

- Dr. Suess

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

An Amusing Waste of Time...

2008-12-18T14:40:00.000-08:00

Want to waste at least 15 minutes of time? Try to stop pushing the red button here.

Believe me, biggest waste of time ever!

The Graduate

2008-12-15T18:39:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Chris! I love you and am super proud of you!

It was certainly a memorable day in many different ways!

(Congratulations to Chase too!)

Zion, oh Zion...

2008-12-07T13:33:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, we had a wonderful day exploring Zion Canyon. It was a fun day of hiking and enjoying our surroundings! Going during the off season has plenty of perks! Less people which also means less traffic. Less creepy crawly things to be paranoid about coming across, such as snakes and tarantulas! (gross!) As well as, depending on how you like it, better temperatures to deal with. Even though the trees were bare, the grass dull, and the river low, I think that Zion was just as beautiful in the winter as in the summer.

Can't wait to go again and explore some more! We think that it would be fun to do 'The Narrows' hike in late summer next year!

Day of Thanks

2008-12-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful and of course a day full of thanks and delicious food. It was nice to be home and receive much needed one-on-one time with my Mom!

At the Parslow household, Thanksgiving is a small and simple celebration. The boys go out and enjoy 'Guy Time' which consists of shooting guns and driving around in foothills. While the boys are out of the way, the girls get to talk about EVERYTHING, make delicious food, and look through magazines for holiday decoration ideas. The food is the usual Thanksgiving feast along with my special appetizer. I have made these appetizers since I was eight (or sometime around then). The special treat is made with three main ingredients, sharp cheddar cheese, dill pickles, and black olives. Cut into small pieces and stack one of each onto a toothpick. Nothing to strenuous. I'm not sure how this tradition started. My guess is when I was younger and wanted to help with the feast, my Mom gave me this to stay out of her hair while she cooked the food. It's never a complete Thanksgiving without my treat!

Other highlights of our Thanksgiving trip include:

Watching 'Bolt' in a very old Theater in Richfield
TLC's 'What Not To Wear' Marathon (Oh, all those beautiful shoes!!)
Family Games and Wrestling...Adam vs KC, winner -KC
Homemade Pecan Pie

Highlights from the big fight!

I Heart National Ability Center

2008-11-10T17:03:00.000-08:00

This weekend, Chris' class took a field trip to the NATIONAL ABILITY CENTER in Park City! I was lucky enough to tag along and see the cool programs the center offered. Basically, the motto of the center is, "If you want it, you got it. All you need is a bit of padding and some duct tape."

Chris didn't get the memo that this would be a "hands on" type of field trip but then again, he didn't get the "Bring your own lunch" memo either! However, adapting and improvising is what the National Ability Center is all about. The people were kind enough to help us find gloves so we could participate too! First we got to try our hand at sled ice skating. It was fun but I think I did more falling over than actually skating! Once I was trying to hit the puck but got plowed over by someone! (Above is my brother Adam in his ice hockey gear!)

On the Rock Wall, they had each person pick a disability and climb. Adam and Chris both picked the most difficult route and climbed as someone who is blind. It was fun to watch them try to guide each other up the wall by calling out directions. They both made it to the top and got to ring the bell! (Above is Chris climbing the wall! What a hottie!)

Overall the National Ability Center was awesome! I loved how everybody who worked at the center used person first language. One of my major pet peeves is when people say "handicapped person" or "autistic child". Chris is good to listen to my rant each time that they are people with a disability not just a disability. (Thanks Love!) By the way, the center even has a competing bobsled team! How cool is that!

After the National Ability Center tour, we played around on Main Street in Park City! I love Park City! It's such a great place to people watch, window shop, buy some books at an independent book store, and drink warm steamers!

I love my crock pot!

2008-10-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

Crock Pots are traditional gift that most couples receive for their wedding. We got one too but I'm not going to lie, I wasn't super excited about it. It mostly stayed in the box for the first year of marriage. But when we moved down to St. George, I came across it and decided that I would rebel no longer. Guess what...I LOVE MY CROCK POT!! The last couple of months I have made so many yummy Sunday dinners in it; just last Sunday I made my first Pot Roast with it as well! I was so excited that it turned out, I called my Mom.; although I don't think she shared the same enthusiasm as I did. If you have a good recipe, please share! I can't get enough of the crock pot goodness!

Chris and I are doing well and very much enjoying the beautiful weather here in St. George. The summer heat was starting to wear me down and become one of my weekly complaints; Chris was wonderful by just nodding his head though.

Well, more later! Have a great week!

What's Your Color...

2008-09-23T16:37:00.001-07:00

I am obsessed with burnt orange. I love anything that I see in that color and want it immediately. If only my bank account would agree with me as well.

I found this fun site that tells you what your perfect color is. It's complete fate, my perfect color is BURNT ORANGE! As my high school English Teacher would say,"It's a sign and a symbol!"

Click here and find out yours!
http://www.colorstrology.com/colorstrology_sniffer.html.

It's been awhile...

2008-09-21T16:16:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, I walked into a craft store and got the crafting fever! There was some cute ribbon in the dollar bin and I immediately decided that my picture board could use a makeover! I love fall colors and now the picture board is my new favorite decoration!

On Sunday, my primary class (Valiant 9's!) were suppose to be in charge of Sharing Time. However, there was a mix-up in the schedule and we got booted off! Unfortunately, I was trying to prepare ahead of time and sI already had most of my lesson planned. The theme was going to be with fortune cookies and how they contain words of wisdom like unto the scriptures which also contain words of wisdom on how we should live our lives. I found a cute fortune cookie pattern online and spent the night in front of the T.V. making cookies. The good thing is that they are fat free and calorie free! (Perfect with a cold Diet Coke!) Well, they won't be used for Sharing Time, which is probably a good thing because I was rather fond of them and I didn't want to see them ruined in the sweaty palms of a preteens hands. Now they get center spot on my green coffee table! (By the way, Chris finally admitted that he like the table! It's been a two year battle!)

Sorry for the delay in posts, August flew by, much like September is. Chris said he is going to post about a camping trip we took recently, so stay tuned!

July 24th- Monroe style...

2008-07-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

Monroe, Utah doesn't have much going for it. On the main street of my hometown there are two stores, two restaurants, a library, and a movie store. There isn't even a stop light. However, this is definitely the place to be for a rockin' 24th of July celebration!

After a filling breakfast, the festivities start with a parade on Main Street. The parade mostly consists of tractors, new and old, old souped up cars, high school bands, the drill team, and cheerleaders; as well as the junior drill team and cheerleaders. Oh, let's not forget the local beauty queens !

Here come the cars!

Chris helping Serena and KC gather in the loot!

After lunch, we head over the mountain to Marysvale, which is literally a dip in the road. If you blink, you would miss the whole town! In Marysvale, there is a small rodeo. The highlight of the entertainment is the 'Chicken Run'. The rules consist of the kids (broken into age groups), start at one end of the arena and run to the other end to catch the chickens. If you are lucky enough to catch a chicken, your prise is a crisp $5 bill and... you can keep the chicken, if you want to! I have never felt the urge to participate in the sport but it is a hoot to watch!

The boy in the yellow shirt is proudly walking back to the stands with his prize and chicken in hand!

The night ends with a concert and fireworks. My mom insists on going early to the fireworks to buy raffle tickets. Apparently, she wins something every year. This year they had para gliders fly over the field right before the fireworks started. Although the show is small, the fireworks are so much fun! They are right in your face and after the show, you have to dust the ashes off each other!

If you squint, you can see the gliders. Please excuse my camera!

Happy 24th of July!

Tarantula Hawk Wasp

2008-07-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

Some people that I work with at the community center are bug fanatics. One of the managers takes a yearly trip to the jungles of Mexico to collect bugs and beetles and other creepy crawlies that he proudly has on display in his office. I was telling him and another co-worker about the huge bug we saw at the theater the night before and they identified it for me. It is called a Tarantula Hawk Wasp and it has one of the most painful stings in the world! I looked it up in wikipedia and this it what I learned.

"These wasps are usually not aggressive[1], but the sting, particularly of Pepsis formosa, is among the most painful of any insect. Commenting on his own experience, one researcher described the pain as "...immediate, excruciating pain that simply shuts down one's ability to do anything, except, perhaps, scream. Mental discipline simply does not work in these situations."[2] In terms of scale, the wasp's sting is rated at the top of the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, second only to that of the bullet ant.^[2] Because of their extremely large stingers, very few animals are able to eat them"

So basically these wasps have almost no natural predators because of how painful the sting is. I linked from this explanation to the Schmidt Sting Pain Index and this is what it said:

1.0 Sweat bee: Light, ephemeral, almost fruity. A tiny spark has singed a single hair on your arm.
1.2 Fire ant: Sharp, sudden, mildly alarming. Like walking across a shag carpet & reaching for the light switch.
1.8 Bullhorn acacia ant: A rare, piercing, elevated sort of pain. Someone has fired a staple into your cheek.
2.0 Bald-faced hornet: Rich, hearty, slightly crunchy. Similar to getting your hand mashed in a revolving door.
2.0 Yellowjacket: Hot and smoky, almost irreverent. Imagine W. C. Fields extinguishing a cigar on your tongue.
2.x Honey bee and European hornet: Like a matchhead that flips off and burns on your skin.
3.0 Red harvester ant: Bold and unrelenting. Somebody is using a drill to excavate your ingrown toenail.
3.0 Paper wasp: Caustic & burning. Distinctly bitter aftertaste. Like spilling a beaker of hydrochloric acid on a paper cut.
4.0 Tarantula hawk: Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair drier has been dropped into your bubble bath.
4.0+ Bullet ant: Pure, intense, brilliant pain. Like fire-walking over flaming charcoal with a 3-inch rusty nail in your heel.

So basically it hunts Tarantulas, stings it so its paralyzed, lays an egg in the spider, then buries it so the egg can hatch and eat the Tarantula while its still alive. But its not all scary. At least the wings are really pretty.

Do-Re-Mi...

2008-07-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

If you ever find yourself in St. George, Utah, there is one thing that you must do; visit the Tuacahn Amphitheater. We have gone twice since we moved in May! The red rock never ceases to amaze me and so far the musical productions have been awesome! In June we saw Les Miserables. It was amazing and by far the best show ever.

Last night we ventured out there to see The Sound of Music. I was surprised at how good the production was. I even found myself humming to the music. (It’s kind of hard not to though. Admit it; the songs are a little catchy!)

Before the show started, the guy sitting on the other side of me noticed this huge fly/ant/I have no idea what it is/insect on the seat in front of me. I swear it was at least 3 inches big with beautiful orange wings. It wouldn't die either! The guy smashed it with his foot several times and it kept getting up! Finally, someone picked it up with a napkin and threw the poor bug away! (I was secretly grateful though. I think I would have been paranoid that it was crawling up my leg the entire performance if we had left it there.)

Just Another Saturday

2008-07-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

Since moving to St. George, we realized that we now have time to actually have a 'Date Night' each weekend! Our usual dates have occurred on Saturday nights but last week we decided to switch it up a bit by going out for breakfast instead.

Our date started with a tasty breakfast at 'Bear Paw Cafe'. There was 30 minute wait, so to pass the time, we wandered over to the farmers market down the street. It was kind of disappointing with only a few booths. However, it wasn't a total bust, there was live music and samples to taste at each booth!After a scrumptious breakfast of French toast and strawberry crepes, we drove out to Santa Clara to check out the fresh produce market! It was much better compared to the farmers market with actual produce for sell! We got our weeks worth of veggies and fruit for less then half the price I pay at the super market! Overall, it was a successful date! Oh, and for all our worried friends and family, worry no more, we finally got our helmets and are safe to go!

Scooter Time!

2008-07-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

Well, after months of researching everything about scooters that you could possibly want to know, we finally got one! The original plan was to wait a couple more weeks, but hey, why wait for a good thing! It's a ZEN 150 cc in a super cool blue color.When we bought it, there was only 1 mile on it. After two days we have put about 90 miles on it! I guess, you could say we are pretty excited about having a scooter.

We did order helmets earlier this week but we just couldn't wait! Chris is a great driver but I'm still mustering up the courage to learn! I do want to but right now I am content on sitting on the back!

Chris is so funny! Whenever we pass another person on a motorcycle or scooter, he waves. He says, "Just waving to my brothers!" He is just so cute sometimes!

We'll be posting more about our scooter adventures to come!

Weekend Fun

2008-06-30T07:31:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Chris's boss gave us his extra tickets to a Roadrunner's game. I guess they are a minor league team here in St. George. I do enjoy baseball but the game was pretty uneventful and slow. However it was a great place to people watch and make fun of the annoying songs they kept playing. Plus with the water misters and fans, we could be outside but cooled off as well!

This week I also decided to stop drinking Diet Coke. Seems like an easy thing to quit but I have been regularly drinking at least one or two a day since I was a junior in high school. Diet Coke is such a comfort item to me and it goes so well with chocolate. However, everything is going up in cost and why not stop something that really isn't that good for me. (I am always hearing from other people if I know what it's doing to the inside of my stomach, like the mento in diet coke experiment. It's a myth by the way, I saw that one on the show 'Myth Busters'. )

I thought that stopping would be a week of torturous headache and going through all those withdrawal symptoms and what not. It really wasn't that hard though. Okay, so it's not like quitting some of the harder substances out there but I am feeling pretty proud of myself. (Chris is such a sweetheart for cheering me on each day too!)

Home Sweet Home

2008-06-16T20:40:00.000-07:00

About three weeks ago, I went home to visit my family in Monroe. We had a good time digging around in the garden, watching KC play tee ball like a pro, and sitting on the patio enjoying the sun!

I just want to brag about my little brother KC for a second. He is such a natural at sports, he makes it look easy! He just saunters up to the plate, waits for his coach to pitch the ball, and hits it right down the middle. Mom told me that he has hit his coach a couple of times. I love watching tee ball though. It's the most positive age for sports where everybody is just happy to be there and watch the kids play. Plus every player is a winner in tee ball!

One Year Anniversary

2008-06-16T17:42:00.000-07:00

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!

We had an awesome one year anniversary! I vote Chris for the 'Best Husband of the Year' award! He surprised me Saturday morning with his plans to go to Vegas but that was not all that he had up his sleeve! On our way down he told me that we were staying at the MGM Grand and then he started singing Beatles songs to give me clue about what the next surprise would be. I couldn't figure it out until we got to Vegas and drove down the strip. On the Mirage casino, there was a huge advertisement for The Beatles "Love" by Cirque du Soleil!

The show was so much fun, I couldn't stop smiling until we got back to our room!

Since this was my first trip to Vegas, I did try my hand at a coin slot or two. (But I only did two dollars, I promise!) I also had to check out the M&M factory, eat at a buffet, check out the lion exhibit in the MGM, and go shopping at H&M! Aside from the show though, Chris and I loved watching the fountains at the Bellagio!

Thanks Love for the best trip ever and a wonderful anniversary!

Snow Canyon

2008-05-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a lovely day with a nice breeze and 70 degree highs. I have wanted to do some more exploring of what St. George has to offer. Snow Canyon is a small state park near St. George with beautiful red rock and desert flowers. We even saw a couple of small lizards!

We didn't have a lot of time to hike before Chris had to work, so we did a quick hike to some lava caves and red rock.

Here's some pictures of our adventure!

What a Sweetie!!

2008-05-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share the beautiful flowers that Chris brought home yesterday for me! The Rec. Center Chris works at had their grand opening this week. Which meant that Chris had to work 13-14 hour days almost everyday! But my Lovey knew how bored I have been this whole week and the flowers are so pretty, I smile every time I walk by them! I did go visit my new class and meet some of the aides that I will be working with. I'm very lucky because all the aides are very well trained and seem very nice! I can't wait to start, only one more week!

Speedy Catch Up!

2008-05-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry, the last couple of weeks have gone by so fast!

Graduation was great! I wasn't so sure if I wanted to do all the traditional graduation stuff. At the end of the day though, it was a fun day and nice to catch up quick with everybody from my classes about their future plans and how they survived student teaching!

After graduation, it was packing time! I had started the week earlier but you can only pack so many days in advance. We had to put everything in our small living room and kitchen while we painted the bedrooms. It was pretty crowed and there was no where to sit for a couple of days!

The move went prefect though! We left Logan on Friday May 8th at 7:00 a.m. and made it down to St. George by 2:30 p.m.! I was surprised how fast we made it! My brother Adam and I were in separate cars behind Chris in the Budget truck. It was like we had a our own small caravan heading south! Thank you so much Adam, Trevor, and Dad with the move! We couldn't have done it so smoothly without all your help! You're the best!

Our first week in St. George has been great! I have a couple of weeks before I start working so I have enjoyed the time getting our apartment together, read three books in one week (those darn twilight books! I got sucked in after the first twenty pages!) and have made dinner for Chris every night when he gets home. I haven't cooked that much in our first year of marriage but I do enjoy making my love happy!

Chris is loving his new job! I think he is all ready for the opening day of the center tomorrow! On Friday, I helped him put all the holds in the rock wall. After 13 sweaty hours we finally finished the wall! It was a crazy long day and the next day our whole bodies hurt!

Yeah, I hated being up in that thing! Every time it swayed, I thought I was going to fall out!

I promise to do a better job at posting more often! I would also love any recommendations on some good books to read! I haven't been able to read for fun in the longest time!

Sweet....I've been tagged!

2008-05-01T15:28:00.001-07:00

It's cheesy but I am excited to be tagged! Okay, here it goes!

Favorite Color- Orange, Burnt Orange to be exactFavorite Holiday- Thanksgiving, nothing compares to a holiday where all you do is eat awesome food and take a nice nap afterwards!

Favorite Animal- I'm kind of heartless but I'm not a huge fan of animals. However, I would someday like a dog and if I did ever get a dog it would be a Boston Terrier. Favorite Food- MexicanWhere I work- Right now, I'm a server at Iron Gate Grill but for only 1 more day!

Dream Vacation- Backpacking through Europe for a month! Chris and I are planning on going next summer and I can't wait! It's going to be awesome!

Most annoying habit- I talk about characters on TV shows like they are close friends of mine. It's kind of pathetic to tell you the truth.

Favorite Treat- Diet Coke and Chocolate! Favorite Hobby- Reading and shopping for shoes!

I tag Chris, Meg, Heather, Danni, Kori, and anyone else who would like to do it!

Last Day...Oh man!

2008-04-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

Friday was my last day of student teaching! I was excited to be done but now I'm nervous for the future. Back to Friday though, it was great end to a long semester! I wanted to have a small party with my students and thank the teacher and aides in the classroom for being so patient with me while I was learning!

Here are some pictures from the day:

I'm ready for the day dressed in my "cougar blues" (the school colors).

I made Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats for my students. I got one very nice complement from a student, "These are fabulous. I think it's the best treat I have ever had." Then the student tried to take more because, "he had to share with everybody the delicious treat!"
There was also plenty of juice boxes for the students and Diet Coke for the teachers, aides, and myself. I have learned that Diet Coke is a necessity while teaching!

Here is the bulletin board I did for April. I thought is was super cute and all the other teachers loved it!

While I was having a party in Logan with my students, Chris was on his way down to St. George to have a final interview for his job. He got it and is so excited to start! He will be the manger for the rock wall at the Washington City Rec Center, as well as the Personal Assistant (oh my!) to the Prgrams Director!

We are starting to get more serious with packing now! It's going to be new adventure and I can't wait!

24 hours of student teaching left and counting...

2008-04-22T15:53:00.001-07:00

I am so excited! I am almost done with my semester of student teaching!!! It has gone by super fast but I loved ALMOST every day of it. There were some days that would be best left forgotten but they do make great stories. When I was in Monroe last weekend, my mom and I laughed for a several hours about some of the crazy, scary, and super cute things our students do. Every night I come home and say to Chris, "You would not believe what happened today!"

There has only been one day this whole semester where I came home so frustrated with things that I just sat down and cried and wondered if I should change majors. (But it was a day that was completely out of the ordinary.) However, at the end of the day (most days), I still love working with my students and feel so proud when a student has made progress on a goal ! Not only does the whole class celebrate but seeing how happy the parent's are when their child has done something that was a challenge before is the best!

Oops!

2008-04-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

Uh oh! Chris is amazing and figured out how to change the template for our blog! (It really wasn't that hard! I was surprised!) But we lost all of our links to friends and family's blogs. Taylor and Meg, Alex and Heather, and anybody else who wants a link from our page; leave a comment with your address. We love looking at your blogs and are panicking that it's lost! Or a safer option, email Chris!

Baby Animal Days and St. George

2008-04-14T17:16:00.000-07:00

This weekend was pretty crazy for both of us! I went down to St. George with my mom to apartment hunt, (not that fun!). Chris would have come down too but one of his classes requires them to put on Baby Animal Days at the American West Heritage Center. Both of us were pretty much wiped by Sunday. Even though we were on opposites ends of the state, I would say it was pretty much a success!

On the southern end of the state:
We did find a nice little apartment within our budget! Here's a couple pictures of it!

It was perfect weather while we were down but I can only imagine what it's going to be like in a couple of months! Not fun!!

On the northern end of the state: (Where Chris was freezing for a couple of days!)
BabyAnimal Days! Chris helped out with the Little Buckaroo Rodeo! He had a fabulous time chasing sheep and goats around! Not to mention repeating directions and rules five thousand times over and over to all the super happy parents there with their children! (He was not to anxious to go by Saturday morning!)

Here's some photo's of Chris at the Mutton Bustin', Goat Tie, and greasing up the money pole. There is $100 dollars at the top!!

Looks like fun!

A little more ...PIZZAZZ

2008-04-14T16:56:00.000-07:00

Well, since I am about to graduate, and I don't really have anything to do(at the moment that is), I thought that I would help Chris out on keeping everybody updated on how we are. I was also feeling guilty about reading other's blogs but never adding anything to ours. Plus, I thought the blog could use some spring cleaning!!

2008-04-01T14:02:00.001-07:00

This is just a simple post, but we found out that some of our good friends have a blog and we didn't even know it! Chase and I have classes together at Utah State University, and we end up spending Tuesdays and Thursdays together. Chase and I also presented at the 2008 Utah Recreation and Parks Association conference in St. George Utah. There are some pictures on his blog of what we did in St. George and our side trip to Vegas. Don't forget what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and we were there strictly for academic purposes.

The Holidays

2007-12-28T15:02:00.000-08:00

The holidays have reached the apex of their swing and are starting to wind down. Amanda and I have had a great first married holiday season together. Halloween was uneventful. Amanda had to work and we only had one group of trick or treaters. We didn't even have a jack o' lantern. Although we did have a bat that hung out across the hall from our front door for a few days.

Thanksgiving was a tasty treat. Amanda and I went to my parents home. We arrived the night before the party and helped mom and dad set everything up. For Thanksgiving itself we were given one assignment and one assignment only. We were supposed to entertain (distract) the small children long enough for the adults to finish final preparations of the meal and clean up from the meal. Mom suggested that we put in Ratatouille, while we did end up doing that Amanda had some additional ideas. When the kids showed up, we went to the basement and did thanksgiving crossword puzzles, drew thanksgiving pictures and made thanksgiving turkeys out of our hand outlines. When our nephew Grayson showed up he played in the bus that dad and I put together that morning just for him. We had a great time, with our family and with the kids. In fact we had such a good time we forgot to take any pictures.

Fast forward a month through the stress of finals week and Christmas shopping to Christmas. We spent Christmas with Amanda's family this year. Since we weren't going to be home in our condo on Christmas day we had our Christmas on the 22nd.

We drove down to Monroe

on the 23rd. When we pulled into Amanda's parents driveway, and were instantly greeted by her younger sister and baby brother. Her brother KC gave us the peace sign and said "only two more sleeps until Christmas." We spent that day doing things around the house and catching up with everyone. On Christmas eve, we went to the local Ace Hardware store. A Monroe tradition for newly weds is for people from the town to place money on an account for the lucky couple as a wedding gift. We took Amanda's baby brother and sister with us to the store and shopped around for a while.

After the store we went back to the house and made sugar cookies.

After we made sugar cookies and made some final preparations for the next day and ate dinner, we all piled into the suburban and drove around Monroe and Richfield to look at the Christmas lights. I thought it was a very clever ploy to get KC to fall asleep early. Although we did see a house that looked a lot like the Griswalds home on Christmas Vacation. The hill side behind the house, the front yard, and the house were either solid lights or very ornate patterns of Christmas lights. I have seen some pretty impressive homes as far as decorations go, but that one took the cake. That night before we went to bed we sat down as a family and read the Christmas Story out of Luke 2. I thought it was a perfect ending to a long day.

On Christmas morning Amanda's family has a couple of traditions. Among them is a before picture...

and and after picture...

We had a lot of fun opening the presents. Amanda and I made out like bandits, and so did everyone else.

Everyone got some new pajamas, myself included but I think that KC was the most excited for his new digs.

But his favorite gift was easily the skate board he got because "he has only wanted it for his whole life."

Serena was very excited about the day as well. She got a lot of fun gifts and I think that she was very happy. (Although she doesn't look very excited in this picture.)

After we opened a few presents we ate breakfast and then opened the rest of the presents. After we finished with the presents, the boys (except KC) went shooting. We shot shotguns, an SKS assult rifle, a .357 magnum and a .44 magnum. I loved it. Amanda's brother Adam rode his dirt bike out to the shooting site, and thanks to the snow and ice on the road, he crashed twice. Other than a few scrapes and bruises he was fine. That night we had a huge turkey dinner. Between Christmas breakfast and Christmas dinner I think that I gained at least 10 lbs. It was awesome.

The next morning we packed up the car and drove to Salt Lake to see my parents. They had a bunch of presents for us as well.

Both families were overly generous and we received far more than we deserved, and we never feel like we give enough in return.

For the rest of the afternoon we saw the grandparents, went to dinner with my parents, and stopped and spent a few moments with the Marshells. I played guitar hero and was crushed by Rob. We went home for the evening and got to spend a few hours hanging out with Taylor and Meg. We hadn't seen then since we helped them move down to Phoenix in August. It was a lot of fun to catch up with them and joke around until 1:00 in the morning.

The next day we drove back to Logan. It has been a crazy season this year with a lot on our minds. Amanda has received a job offer for after she graduates in May, this semester was very challenging, and work has been tough. But we have really experienced an outpouring of blessings, and everything has come together for us very nicely.

Now we are preparing for the new year and our new years party.

As a side note we have received multiple requests to see pictures of our apartment. (Since only two members of my family have seen it.) So here they are, Christmas decorations and all.

The Honeymoon

2007-06-26T14:34:00.001-07:00

Well its official... Amanda is a Beckstead and I couldn't be happier. Its the new awesome! The wedding was great. We were married in the Logan Utah Temple on June 7th 2007 around 12:00 in the afternoon. I loved being able to look into Amanda's eyes as we were married for time and all eternity. I've never experienced anything like it. After the deed was done, we went outside and had our pictures taken with the family and photos of just the two of us. Our photographer Kellee was a dream to work with and we would recommend her to anyone and everyone. We don't have our photos just yet, but when we do then we are going to make sure and post our favorites here on our blog.

After our wedding, we had a luncheon at The Iron Gate Grill. It was fun to be surrounded by friends and family who have been there for us every step of the way. It was an emotional experience to say the least. We had a lot of people there from out of state as well. Alex and Heather flew in from San Francisco. Alex actually flew back to California that night and flew back to Utah the next afternoon for our reception and then flew back to California for good. My good friend Danial Atkins flew in from Chicago. Other people came from St. George Utah, from Idaho, and Colorado. We loved it.

Amanda and I spent that night at the luxurious Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City.

The hotel was good to us. When we were checking in, the girl at the counter said "You two look happy... Is it your honeymoon?" we said "Yes." and she gave us a complimentary upgrade to a bigger better room! Can you say, cha ching! That night was our reception at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in down town Salt Lake. We were in the Wasatch Room over looking the east valley. It was beautiful. Some of the highlights of the night are when Amanda's baby brother KC was drinking the water out of the fountain, Amanda smashing the cake in my face and running away and seeing our family and friends.

(This is Amanda's mom Julia helping her get ready for the reception.)

(This is the bouquet that Amanda had. Isn't it awesome?!)

The reception was good and our friends and family were generous. So after a restful nights sleep at the hotel, we set out for beautiful Jackson Hole Wyoming. The trip was a lot of fun. We made a thousand stops along the way for various reasons.The first stop that we made was in Almy. The writing is hard to read in the picture, but it talks about a mine explosion that happened during the late 1800's early 1900's. It was the 3rd largest explosion in Wyoming history. According to my dad we had family in that mine when it exploded and we had family who had just walked out of the mine when it exploded.

I eventually grew tired of driving and took my life in my hands. I let Amanda drive.
After a short gas up and leg stretch in Cokeville, we were on our way again. But before long we stopped in Geneva Idaho. That's the town were Amanda's dad grew up. We took some pictures of the house that her Dad grew up in. No one lives there now, but Amanda's Aunt and Uncle live next door.

This is the house...

This is the land Amanda's parents inherited...And this is a present from Amanda's Aunt and Uncle's cat...It was fun to see where Victor grew up.

From there we continued north and made sure to stop in all of the small towns and take a picture. We stopped at a couple other sights as well.

We eventually came to Star Valley where the town of Afton is located. It looked like Afton was proud of 3 things. 1) Afton is home of the worlds largest Elk Antler Arch. 2) Afton is home to the Olympic wrestler Rulon Gardner. 3) Afton now has a Taco Time.

This is the Elk Antler Arch I was talking about. The Taco Time was about 1/2 mile up this street and there were signs everywhere proclaiming their love for the big R.G. (More commonly known as Rulon Gardner.)

We continued to stop at all of the small towns along the way.

About 45 minutes out of Jackson hole we stopped to take a picture of the Snake River. Little did we know, we would be rafting on the river past that very spot the next day.

Welcome to Jackson!!! (Finally)

And Welcome to our cabin. We stayed in a private cabin at the Elk Country Inn.

We were only two block from the down town area. There was a lot of cool things to see there. The had shoot out, and everything. One of the local theaters was promoting their production of Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, and there was another theater company that sent people out to sing old time tunes to attract patrons as well. That first night we ate dinner at a restaurant called Trio an American Bistro. I had a Bison Burger and sweet potato fries. It was delish!

And Downtown was fun.This Elk Antler Arch is in downtown Jackson. According to our river guide a local Best Western had recently bought one the four arches at the park for 50 thousand dollars. I guess no one told them you can pick up antlers for free.

The next day Amanda and I went on a white water rafting trip. We booked our trip with Jackson Hole White Water. The whitewater trip was a definite highpoint for us. While we were floating along, we got to see an immature Bald Eagle land right in front of our boat and then fly away. That was pretty cool. Amanda and I went swimming on the trip too. (Don't worry it was on purpose.) There was a cute old couple there who took our pictures while we were in the water and sent them to us. I'll scan them and put them on the blog eventually.

This is us getting ready to go on our rafting trip.

Amanda and I went to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. It wasn't worth the money, and we don't believe it.

The sign said that it was for the man who had everything and that it only cost $20, but Amanda still said no.

The day after we went white water rafting we went to Dornans Pizza and Pasta. They had great food and fun atmosphere. But I think that our favorite part was the view from where we ate. We ate on the roof of the restaurant, and had an unobstructed view of the Tetons. We wanted to make it in time for the sunset, but I think that we were a little early. But here are the photos of what we saw.

The next day we checked out Yellowstone National Park. I hadn't been to Jackson or to Yellowstone since I was about 7 and Amanda hadn't been since she was about 13. So we had a lot of ground to cover, and cover ground we did. Yellowstone's South entrance is about an hours drive from Jackson. Then once in the park, we drove another 123 miles. Needless to say, we saw a good portion of the park.

We stopped and saw some of the sights on the way in...

We saw some wildlife...

We saw Old Faithful and the surrounding area...

This Bison was hanging out about 50 feet from the 300+ people that were waiting for Old Faithful to erupt.

A little ways up the road we came across another Elk. He still had the velvet on his antlers and everything. It was awesome!

After the elk there was a cool waterfall...

Then we saw our rarest sight, a coyote. He was just off the road, and everybody else had stopped to see the bison on the oposite side of the road.

From here we went on to see a beautiful waterfall that was a little way of the primary road. There weren't nearly as many people here, and I'm glad that we decided to take the time to see it. It was beatiful.

I would have to say that the highlight of the park itself was the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It was huge and the waterfall was incredible. The canyon walls are active geysers. Not that kind that spurt hundreds of feet in the air, but the kind that bubble and drip. Because of that, the canyon walls erode very quickly and change a lot every year. We also saw a large Osprey nest from one of the over looks.

Yellowstone lake was cool...

Yellowstone had a lot to see. We could have spent another 3 days in the park and still not see all of the cool stuff. But we feel like we saw a lot of the things worth seeing. The next day we went to Teton National Park. This park didn't have as much to see but it had a lot more hiking, camping and backpacking available. Amanda and I kept saying that we want to go back to the Tetons for a camping/backpacking trip. But there were some incredible views of the mountains throughout the park.

After the park we went to the Teton Village where they have a huge ski resort. During the summer the have a gondola you can take to the top of the resort and get the views from the top of the teton Range. It was incredible.

That night we ate dinner at the Bar J Ranch and watched the Bar J Wranglers. This was the highlight of my entire trip. The Bar J Wranglers were a riot, the food was great, and the music was a lot of fun.

That was our final night. We had a ball in Jackson hole, and it was hard to say goodbye and go home to Logan. Jackson was so much fun, the parks were beautiful and it was a great overall trip.

So we said our goodbyes to Jackson and headed home...
Our final stop on our way home was at the Bear Lake over look.

Thats it for the honeymoon. When Amanda and I cam home we were expecting to find our brand new bedroom set that we ordered 3 weeks before we got married. But instead all we found was a mattress and a box springs. Needless to say we were a little upset. It only took a week to get the rest of our bedroom set.

Now Amanda and I are workig for the summer and trying to prepare for the upcoming semester. I'm taking an Arts Symposium class as well. We are grateful that we were able to go on a honeymoon and celebrate our marriage. Now its back to the grind stone and the starting of our eternal journey together.

13...12...11...10...9...8...

2007-05-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

The big day for Amanda and I is quickly approaching. Only 13 days stand between us and our marriage. Everything is coming together and we owe the majority of that to our loving families, generous parents, and patient mothers. Yesterday, we had our final interviews with the stake president where we received our temple recommends. During the upcoming week we will pick up our marriage licence and any other final paper work.
We will be living in a condo that Amanda's parents are kind enough to rent to us for the first few years of our marriage. Amanda has already been living in the condo for the last year with several different roommates. All of whom left their own distinctive mark not only on us but on the condo as well. So over the last 2 weeks we have been trying to make this condo our own home. The in laws were gracious enough to let us paint our room. But it wasn't until we had finished painting that Amanda said "Oh my gosh , it's the same color as your parents room." After painting, shampooing the carpet, and organizing the condo a little differently this place is really starting to feel like our own.
We can hardly wait to be married, and we are very excited to go on our honeymoon to Jackson Hole Wyoming. We have booked a white water rafting trip and are planning to spend time in Yellowstone National Park. If we can, we would like to see the Bar J Wranglers in action and if gas prices go down then we will be stopping in at Bear World for our final adventure.

2007-04-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Amanda and I went and had our engagement photos taken. Our Photographer Kellee Smith did a great job and it was a lot of fun to work with her. The pictures were taken in a field just North West of Clarkston Utah, a wall in Smithfield Utah, and the Utah State University Campus. The pictures on the campus were taken in front of the Animal Science Building, and in the Amphitheater on Old Main Hill. The shoot took a little over three hours and Kellee took a lot of great pictures. (Then again we are a little biased.)

Kellee has posted some of the pictures on her website and her blog. Here are the links.

http://www.momentsbykellee.com/amanda/

http://momentsbykellee.blogspot.com/

Amanda and I really like the photos from the field. It had been raining earlier that day, and there were a lot of clouds in the sky. As a result the the lighting was really cool, but hard to catch as the sun passed in and out from behind the clouds. We were really pleased with Kellee, she was a lot of fun and made us feel very comfortable.

Just in case the links don't work here are some pictures from Kellee's blog.

In the beginning...

2007-03-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

This is Amanda and I. (Chris) We were on a trip during December 2006, in San Francisco visiting my brother and sister-in-law, seeing the sights and getting engaged. It was quite the trip. Heather (my sister-in-law) couldn't help but jab at me when I repeatedly told them, "I don't think it will take me long to propose. 30 minutes tops." They were very generous to us on our trip, between time, meals, friends and fun, they made a great trip better.

I first met Amanda through our church. We shared a church calling together in our LDS student ward. She always came up with cute activities for your group to participate in. One of the first things I remember noticing about Amanda was her eyes. Big blue eyes. Big blue eyes with a dark outer ring. I eventually was given a different responsibility but Amanda and I still saw each other on a regular basis. We had known each other for about 7-8 months but I was way too scared to ask her out. But, that didn't stop Amanda's roommates from encouraging her to break the dating Ice. So Amanda took me out on our first date. We went dancing. (And even though I embarrassed my self at dinner, she stuck it out.) So I cowboyed up and asked Amanda out myself. We dated for 9 months. All through the summer, fall and winter, I couldn't get enough of Amanda and I eventually knew I wanted to marry her. I was terrified again when I asked Amanda's dad Victor for his blessing. Gratefully he said yes. So we went ring shopping and found what Amanda wanted. I lied to Amanda and said her ring wouldn't be ready for about a month. A week later her ring was burning a hole in my pocket. We touched down in San Francisco December 16, 2006 and met Alex (my brother) and Heather. That evening I took Amanda to a hill that over looked the Bay Area. I wanted to make it by sunset, we didn't. It was dark. From the top of the hill however we could see the entire Bay Area illuminated. We could see Oakland, San Francisco and the ships in between. After a few short words, I dropped to my knee and took the ring out of my pocket and asked Amanda to marry me. She said yes and I went to slip the ring on her finger. I was nervous and she was sweet. "Wrong hand" she said. I put the ring on proper finger and we were engaged.Now we are planning the wedding which will take place on June 7.

Because I don't do a great job of keeping family and friends updated, I intend on this blog being a record of our young married years. (Or however long it is until I stop the blog) This way loved ones know where we are and what we are doing. I won't make daily entries and chances are I won't make weekly entries either. But I will give as complete of updates as I can when I do post our thoughts and experiences.