BullDog Canyon

Last night Sean & I took my nephews Desmond & Max out with us to cook out in the desert & ride the quad. We went to Bulldog Canyon way out east & north by the river & took the dogs so they could run around like crazy. We had a blast! & what trip would have been complete without Sean getting stuck somewhere? Ok, it was very minor, but I think it made the boys feel good to be able to help him out.
Here is Des & Alex hanging out by the truck getting ready to go.

and Max looking very pensive
I put the boys on fire making duty immedietly upon arrival, but ended up taking on the wood finding part myself for quite some time.
I'm sorry... but who dosn't love the shots I take with my arm stretched out?!?
Here is Sean giving Alex a little love. She tends to think if you pet her that that is the green light to jump up into your lap & receive a full dose of love. She is a lover... not a fighter!

Now the real action begins... the quad riding lessons. Des & Max had never been on a quad before, so I think Sean really enjoyed giving lessons, although it just looks like he is passing gas on Des right here, he is actually demonstrating the starting of the fine vehicle. Notice the look of excitement on Desmonds face.
Now, here is poor Max. If you notice, he has a brace on one wrist. I'm not sure how he did it, but before he came with us, slightly injured himself. As a result, his mother forbade him to ride the quad for fear of further injury. He was all set on riding it anyway until I reminded him how he has severe problems lying to his mother, who would most likely drill him about whether or not he really did ride it. So he just decided to do a photo shoot on it for awhile. Here is what he would have looked like after his first ride.... Here is Max & Des together.. sitting around the campfire being amazed at Sean's old camping stories.
and of course, our favorite camp cook (besides my own dad) Sean with his amazing steak grilling capabilities. Only his & Max's steaks were slightly burnt... mine was fantastic :)

Here is Max confusing the quad with a surfboard. Or imitating Hot Rod.

And this is Desmonds, post-ride picture. It took him a few tries & I think I gathered a whole new set of fire wood in the meantime... but he learned the art of riding the quad. We weren't sure if he was actually shifting out of first gear, but he claims he was. He then proceeded to brag to Max about the serious rush he was missing out on... what cousing wouldn't ?
ok, now the fire smoke is getting a little out of hand! Max was attempting a superman stunt here with Des holding his feet, so if you look hard enough you might see him amidst the smoke.
These steaks are fantastic!
and of course, the awesome people who brought this night all together!

All in all... fantastic fun :) Sean & I used to do stuff like this all the time when we were dating & now we are just old folgies who go to work, come home, & sleep & then just go back to work. Darn us! I'm trying to shake it up a little, cause I think I'm the culprit of the whole "routine" thing. Hope you enjoyed our night out of the city!

Yummy!

Sean is so great! He bought us an ice cream maker for $5! Thats right my folks, $5! Last night we tried it out at JoDee & Andy's. Actually, Sean did ALL the work. When I got home from work it looked like he had set the kitchen aid on the counter, turned it on full blast & watched the chocolate fly! Literally! He did ask me to commend him for soaking the dishes in the sink when he was done. Well, tasting the ice cream, you might agree it was worth it! Chocolate (off Martha Stuarts websight) with heath bar crushed in it.
I took this picture of Sean & Katie... they crushed the Heath Bars together :) Sean looks like the old farmer with the pitchfork in this picture!!!! ha ha

Thanx for the yummy ice cream Sean!!!!

seriously

I mean... just look at that face?! Don't I have the worlds cutest husband?!!! Today I just really realized how amazing he really is. I'm so lucky that I married my best friend! Just felt like saying that!!!!

.... yet I can't look away

Repulsive! Yesterday I had a visit to the orthodontist. That statement alone should strike fear in the hearts of all men! I thought I would just get some new wires, but he decided to add a few rubberbands into the mix... 3 to be exact, one of which runs right across my front teeth. He not only gave me these little rubber treats to wear, but asked me to wear them for 12 hours every day. Well, home & bed are the only places these puppies are getting worn, I'll tell you that much right now! The lisp it gives me probably wouldn't go over well as I'm talking to my patients. Why didn't he just ask me to wear a giant sign that says "worlds biggest geek!"?
They name the different rubber bands by the size of it.. they use countries. So I have France on the right & Switzerland on the left! If I dont' have the worlds most amazing smile when these braces come off.... well... I better!!!!

On a much warmer note... last night on my way to bed I passed the thermometer & it read....................................................77 degrees!!!! The high today was 84. Its still February, right?

Easily Amused

I think my subject heading explains this clip, for both me & the dogs....

The do's & don't's

Yesterday after I got off work Sean & I drove to Snowflake to buy a car dolly... this one actually!

He found an incredible deal, so he just couldn't pass it up. Now we both knew there was some storms headed this way, but Sean really wanted to go yesterday. I suggested we drive through Globe, but he really wanted to go the Payson way. From Payson to Heber it looked like this...

We used 4 wheel for awhile. Needless to say.. it took way too long to get there! & it was crazy cause once we hit Snowflake it was clear skies, no rain, & no snow. Wierd. Well, we bought it, & went on our way back through the Sslt River Canyon & Globe to avoid alot of snow.
Now I want you to remember that I was with Sean on this trip. The running lights on the dolly didn't seem to be working, so we only got pulled over twice on the way home. Now I did remind you that I was with Sean, right? He has a giant invisible red flag hanging from his car that says... pull me over! I used to just think it was cause he was a horrible driver, which maybe true, but he still honestly gets pulled over constantly for ridiculous reasons.
The first DPS officer gave us a repair order & basically told us that he didn't ever check to see if they were filled, & just to get it fixed ASAP. After we drove away Sean began to give me the do's & don't of being pulled over. They are as follows:
Do turn the inside lights on. Dont sit in the dark
Do roll your window down. Don't wait for the cop to tap on your window.
Do put your hands on the steering wheel & look forward (they hate it when they can't see what your doing when they walk up)
DONOT ever, ever fiddle around in the glove box or console for your registration or insurance info as the officer is walking up.
Do politely greet the officer as he approaches the vehicle.
Do Not speak unless you are spoken to.
Do not ever lie, if you lie, they know it!
Do be clear & decisive in answering all of the officers questions, if you aren't they may think your on drugs or drunk.
Do immedietly inform the officer of any firearms that are in the vehicle
Do NOT ever get out of the vehicle unless asked by the officer.
Do Not ever argue, you never want an arguement with a poicleman, its just best not to argue.
Do Not ever make loud comments on how they should be pulling over someone else who is speeding by while the officer is back at his squad car looking up your information, they don't like being told what to do.
Do keep your hands out front & in plain view for the officer to see.
Do not put your hands in your pockets at any time
Do NOT make any jokes about his hat or the size of his gun.
And last but not least... do NOT peel out as your leave the scene.

I hope you have enjoyed these little nuggets of wisdom from a seasoned veteran. Have a wonderful day :)

Tame the beast

I got back on the saddle this week. Monday I started back on the good ol treadmill. The first day I honestly thought I was gonna die after 30 minutes. I could not have prepared myself for the second day. Jogging while in excruciating pain is not always fun. I kept thinking... 29 more minutes, you can make it!.... 28 more minutes... you can make it! Today actually wasn't too bad. I made Sean put the tv right in front of the treadmill, so Malcolm in the Middle & half of King of the Hill later... sucess! I do have to say, that as my pain is disapating, I am starting to feel refreshed! no pain.. no gain :)... or loss in this matter!
Little known fact: I am an ugly exerciser. My face turns very red & the horrible color dosn't go away for awhile. Its quite frightening. This is why I choose to exercise in the privacy of my own home.

Happy Anniversary!!!!!!

Well... this past week we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary! It was on Monday the 11th & we spent the weekend before in Payson & around the Salt River Canyon. On Friday Sean came home with this in the back of his truck.... So we headed to Payson for the night. We stayed at the Majestic Mountain Inn in Payson. It was pretty nice! A fireplace & a HUGE spa tub in the room!! Only problem was, I'm pretty sure the people before us smoked a few packs of cigarettes. I was reading in their room book that if you smoke in the room they charge you $150! Well, even though we mentioned this to them, they were fully booked & didn't move us. I wrote a little email to them, explaining how much fun I had washing everything we had brought when I got home to get the smoke smell out. they sent us a gift certificate for our next stay :) Then the next morning we drove over by the Salt River Canyon & Sean put ol trusty on his belt.. & we were off! Needless to say... Sean did not take into consideration that there were storms earlier that week, & most of the area was covered in mud & snow. What fun we had!!!!! We actually eventually got out of the mud & into some very pretty areas. Sean really enjoys this are of Arizona & I can't blame him!! It had the most amazing views... the pictures don't do it much justice! Here we are riding along, please notice the flecks of mud on my sleeve. Here is us almost to the bottom of the canyon at the River. I just took this picture cause I thought Sean looked cute... I love that guy:) Us again... aren't we just cute? & here is our individual riding shots... yes, I actually drove it like the stud I am, with my man on the back! This is seriously after I had already scraped my shoes off more than once. The amount of mud that was on my shoes was unbelievable!!! Here we are with me hanging off the back And this is my... look at the mud in my hair... shot. Now... I know this looks like it was all fun & games, but I had no idea mud would be involved. When the first softball sized piece of mud flung into my hair... I actually cried. We stopped & Sean said we could just go home if I wanted to. I decided to suck it up & have fun despite the amount of dirt & mud I had covering me that day.. & we did have a fantastic time. There was some serious mud on the way out in the truck too.. but we made it back. When we were in Globe Sean remembered that he had left his gun on the top of his truck. We had to go all the way back & look for it in the dark! I prayed so hard we would find it!!! It was Sean's grandpas gun. We did find it, thankfully!!! & then drove home to take hot showers & get clean. Happy Anniversary to us :)

The Depot

Sean & I made our last stop of the night at the HomeDepot to look for a new pot. Sean bought some new plants & flowers & wanted to replant them & it was very necessary for us to do it at 9:45 tonight!!!! Anyways, there was a young guy helping us & he picked up this mesh bag with a little rock-like object inside. Apparently you can buy praying mantis eggs at the Homedepot!! It hatches something insane like 200 of them. Slowly one by one other workers gathered around to look at them. there was about 5 guys standing around looking at them. It was kind of a humorous site. He said that last year they put them outside & they hatched & there were tons of them everywhere!! Craziness!!!

lets make a deal

Yes... its true... I'm amazing! About $13 for all this treasure trove :) Go me !!!