A Weekend Getaway

We spent May 3rd and May 4th out at the cabin with Bret, Brittany, and Wyatt. Andy and I love going to the cabin. We enjoy getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city and being out in nature. We spent the day hiking, zip lining (more to come on this later), playing games, watching movies, barbequing, shooting guns, and relaxing.

Andy practicing.

My turn to shoot.

Brittany, Wyatt, and Bret.

We learned that Wyatt likes pancakes with blueberries.

Thanks Brittany and Bret for letting us have one last hoorah with you at the cabin before the move! We had a blast!

Hiking Big Springs

On Friday May 2nd we were able to spend some time with our friends Trent and Kirsten and their son Tanner. We (Kirsten and I) thought it would be fun to hike Big Springs in Provo Canyon.  We had heard that the trail was a pretty flat and 4 miles round trip.

Andy thought it was pretty cool that this tree was growing out of another tree that had fallen over.

The hike was not flat at all; it was a gradual incline the entire way. When we reached the area where the springs were supposed to be, we quickly discovered that the spring had already dried up for the year. It was kind of disappointing. On a positive note we saw some wild turkeys. I would make my turkey noise and they would talk back to me. It was pretty entertaining.

Me and Andy.

I think out of the four of us that Trent got the best workout. He carried Tanner on his back the entire way. Way to go Trent!

Tanner and Trent.

Tanner and a sweaty Trent.

Trent and Andy.

After our hike we headed back to the house to eat food and play some games. It was a great night!

Thought For The Day

Benjamin Franklin once said, "Energy and persistence conquer all things." I have been thinking a lot about this quote recently and I can't help but think how true it is. Have you ever achieved or accomplished something in life without putting all your energy into it? Can't say that I have. These words motivate and inspire me to do and be more.

The Book of Mormon

I don’t know about you, but I love setting goals. One of my goals for the year was to read The Book of Mormon again. I am proud to say that I accomplished my goal on April 30th. I feel like each time I read The Book of Mormon I learn something new. This book really contains a wealth of knowledge and is something I consider to be a “pearl of great price.” Any time life gets hard and I don’t know what to do, I can find peace, comfort, and answers to my problems by studying this book. I am so grateful for the scriptures and the joy they bring to my life.

If you have never read The Book of Mormon before I encourage you to read it. Find out for yourself whether this book is true. If you don’t have a copy of The Book of Mormon and would like one, let me know and I will mail you one. =)

A Date To Texas Roadhouse

On Friday April 25th Andy and I went on a date to Texas Roadhouse. Whenever we go to Texas Roadhouse we call ahead so that we can be seated faster, usually we still end up waiting quite awhile though. On this particular trip to Texas Roadhouse we were seated very quickly.

As soon as we were seated our waitress came up and started talking with us almost instantly, she told us that it was her first week on the job and took our orders. She noticed my wedding ring and came back to chat with us every time she had a spare moment.

Whenever Andy and I go out to eat, we sit next to each other. The waitress would sit down across from us and she started asking how we met, started dating, and she wanted to know how we knew that it was right to get married. She was shocked as we told her our story, it’s a little crazy.

As the night went on, I told Andy that we needed to ask her what her story was. I told him that she wasn’t just asking these questions to be friendly. Eventually we asked her what her story was and she told us that she had been dating a guy for about 10 months and he has a ring and wants to get married but she wasn’t sure if it was the right thing. She told us a few things about him and said that her family didn’t like him because of the things she had previously shared with us. This sweet beautiful waitress also told us that she is 23 and she is ready to move on to the next stage of life.

I reassured her that she is beautiful and she still has her whole life ahead and her. I told her not to rush into anything. I asked her to think about the things her boyfriend had done (most of these are bad habit type of things) and to think about how those things made her feel. I asked her if she wanted to live with those things the rest of her life. I told her to consider the things her family was saying about her boyfriend. I explained that when we are dating someone, we can only see the good things in that person and we overlook the bad but our families can see the big picture. I explained that when I was younger and dating that there were times when I wish I would have listened to my family’s advice. I told her her family loved and cared about her and only had her best interest at heart. The whole time we were at Texas Roadhouse it felt as if we were meant to be seated in that particular section, with that particular waitress, and that we were supposed to have the conversation we had with her.

I don’t remember our waitress’s name but I hope she made the best decision that she could for herself.

Easter Weekend

On Saturday April 19th, we drove out to Andy’s parents for the Easter weekend. We wanted to make one last trip out there before we move. Shortly after we arrived at the house, a neighbor knocked on the door and informed us that the field next to the house was on fire.

Earlier in the week Andy’s family had purposely burned the land. The fire started out as a controlled burn but quickly got out of hand and ended up burning over 300 acres. At one points Andy’s grandpa (who was in a tractor) was completely surrounded by the flames. He ended up driving the tractor through the flames in an attempt to save his own life. He was very lucky that the tractor didn’t catch on fire and he survived.

Once we were told that field was on fire, we all hopped in a truck and headed down to the field with gloves and shovels—we didn’t want to repeat what happened earlier in the week. The first wasn’t too big and we were able to put it out pretty quickly. Then Andy’s dad drove us around the property to show us everything that had burned two days before. It was pretty bad, not sure how many years it will take for everything to grow back.

Later that night we tried shooting Andy’s little brother Shaun’s bow and arrow. Andy and I both lack in archery skills.

Shaun practicing shooting with his bow.

Andy trying his hand at shooting.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and playing games.

Learning To Cut Hair

For quite some time Andy has been asking me to cut his hair. Typically my response would be something along the lines of, “I don’t know how to cut hair and I don’t want to mess yours up.” To which Andy would reply, “Well, if you mess it up I can go to the salon and get it fixed.” I never liked this idea and figured I would save myself the stress and have him just go to the salon.

One day while we were visiting my brother, I decided to try and cut Andy’s hair and I did a pretty good job. Andy was very impressed and went out and bought us some shears.

The next time I tried cutting Andy’s hair, I didn’t do so well. We both ended up frustrated, I cried, and he ended up going to the salon. The gal at the salon told him all I had to do was blend his hair, otherwise it looked great. Too bad I didn’t know how to blend his hair.

I decided to see if my neighbor Brooke (she went to hair school) could teach me how to cut his hair. Brooke agreed to teach me one evening and I have been cutting Andy’s hair ever since. I so glad I learned this useful skill, it saves us almost $200 a year.