Happy 3rd and 4th of July!

My sister and her family have been in town staying at my parents house this week. I got off of work a day early and decided to come down for the 4th of July! My family is kind of spur of the moment, we must get it from my dad:) We woke up and decided to go on a hike up to Squaw Peak. It was so much fun to be able to go up with family. Starting at the top, my brother Gary, my nephew Spencer(standing up), Patrick, my nephew Jordan, me, my niece Kelsey, and my nephew Cody. When we got back we went sat out on the deck, playing with Gary's dog, and we only had so many chairs. I, of course, got to sit on the little kid chair. I have to blame the heat, it definately wasn't me being to big for the chair, but the legs decided to slowly give out. You can't tell very well in this picture, but the legs are all flat going in opposite ways. Pretty funny! While sitting on the deck, we thought it would be great to go swimming. Gary mentioned that we could go rafting down the Provo river. Denise, called and found out that it is only 15 dollars a person. Patrick, me and Katie(Gary's wife) didn't have swimming stuff, so we ran to Savers and bought 2 dollar pair of shorts. This was so much fun. The Provo river is not really strong or scary, so it was perfect for the little kids and just relaxing. It is about an hour and half long. Starting from the left, top row: my sister Denise, me, Patrick, Gary, Katie, and Jordan. Bottom row: Cody, Kelsey and Spencer.So far we have had a great weekend. Tonight we are planning to stake out a spot and watch the Stadium of fire. Happy 4th of July!

The Future Is Here!!!

A friend showed this to me the other night and I have to say that this looks amazing. Microsoft has released a video of their next generation console and video games. There is no controller to play the games. The videos explain. The first one is cool but the second one is cooler. At YouTube it is under "Project Natal".

Cool Beans!!!

Happy Birthday!

DC Trip Day 6

Day 6 was both Nicky and I's favorite day. We started out by picking up our rental car. We went cheap and got the most gutless and gas efficient car we could get. We ended up with the truly gutless wonder which we quickly named "The Tiny Turd" because it had no automatic locks, windows, and an engine that made us feel like the car had a lawn mower engine. The rest of the morning we spent with Hillary and JJ at Lexington market in Baltimore. Baltimore hosts the Preakness Stakes and it happened to be the week that we were there (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preakness_Stakes). So in honor of this great horse race the city host blue crab races to get the town excited acout the race since Baltimore is known for their crabs. Competitors spray crabs with water and bounce a ball around the crabs to scare them backwards until they crossed a line. Afterward, we went and tried the world famous crabs cakes at Lexington Market. After the crab races we took off for Gettysburg. I have to mention here briefly that we took and audio tour which was a CD that plays in the car and it tells you stories and takes you to different spots. Being there on that battlefield was one of the most moving activites ever. To hear the stories of the sacrifices of so many men and the tales of valor and honor sent chills up our spine a few times and one story almost brought us to tears. If you ever have the chance, go to Gettysburg.

The Tiny Turd The Blue Racing Crab The Crazy Woman Who Dressed Like a Crab Crab Cakes Gettysburg Slush Puppy Tongues The view from Little Round Top facing towards the Confederate Lines Penslyvania Monument (Each state has their own monument)

D.C. Trip Day 5...10 Days Later

We've been home from our trip to D.C. and the surrounding area for over a week now and we never finished the postings of what we did. I blame Nicky! She took the camera with her to Branson, MO while she hung out with her mom and sisters for a few days and getting her to post anything has been like trying to get a monkey to stop throwing poo! (I've actually never seen a monkey throw poo but I want to see it before I die cause there can be no greater comedy than a happy primate insulting their more intelligent cousins with their own feces.)

The Metro

The Museum of Natural History (Nicky LOVES her Dinosaurs)

The White House

D.C. Trip Day 4

Day 4 has brought us back to D.C. to experience tours of some of the two most recognizable buildings in our nation. We started out day with a tour of the White House.  It wasn't as cool as we had hoped but it was nice to be able to say that we had been there. We also had a tour of the capital building which was way awesome. There is one room where President Lincoln and another man had their desks.  They were on opposite sides of the room, but there is a rumor that they could hear each other and would listen in on conversations.  Our guide stood on one side and whispered into the floor, we could hear him very clearly on the other side.  It was really cool. It was a great tour with a lot of cool information.The afternoon was filled with going to the Natural History Museum and eating at the Hard Rock Cafe. The Natural History Museum was way cool, we even planned on going back he next day.  We watched a 3D movie on the ocean, it is crazy what they can do in 3D and make it look so life like.

The one funny event of the day happened right when we got off the metro to start the day. We were greeted by a local hobo who offered free flowers to Nicky.  He then kindly asked if I could give him money for the flowers. I ended up giving him a dollar because I feel so bad for people like that. It was sad because he is a homeless man, but we had to laugh because of the flowers. They were very pretty, but he had to of just picked them from somewhere.  We weren't sure what to do with them, or him.

D.C. Trip Day 3

After a relaxing weekend with the Campos Family we set off very early on our journey to the nation's capital. We took the train from Baltimore to Union Station in downtown D.C. and from there, the blisters began.

Being so young and naive in the ways of the Washington area we decided to walk to the monuments first. There is so much now that I wish that I could tell that younger me to not do but it's too late and I'm reaping my rewards. From Union Station to the monuments we experienced the full 4 mile walk. By the time we reached Mr. Lincoln's residence we were more concerned with trying to decide if our feet were still attached. 

In all honesty, we actually got to see some great creations that give tribute to some of the greatest people and sacrifices in the history of our young country. It was moving to see the names of the thousands of soldiers who gave their names in Vietnam at the Vietnam Memorial and to see the message at the Korean Memorial that reads, "Freedom is not Free!" 

(I have to add here that my Grandpa fought in the Korean War and it brought back memories of his funeral 15 years ago with the 21 gun solute so this one meant a lot to me). I have to add that the Lincoln Memorial was intimidating in size and in the tribute to the former President. All this made the long walk worth it. 

(This is at the Korean Memorial)

We ended the day by visiting the American History Museum (where we saw some amazing things that included the uniform of George Washington, the original Star Spangled Banner, and Oscar the Grouch) and visiting the National Archives (the setup is nothing like National Treasure when viewing the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution). 

D.C.Trip Day 2

So after experiencing a rough start to our trip we are off and running on all cylinders. Because Day 2 was Sunday our options were limited to anything that doesn't break the Sabbath. After a great sacrament meeting in downtown Baltimore we changed and went to a park that happened to contain  Fort McHenry. For those of you who don't know Fort McHenry let me tell you a tale. In the war of 1812 the British wanted to capture the port at Baltimore and they could only do that once they conquered Fort McHenry. One of the British ships that attacked Fort McHenry held a prisoner by the name of Francis Scott Key. This Mr. Key was so impressed by the attack and the fact that he could see the US flag all through the battle that he wrote the words to our National Anthem. 

Anyway, the fort was awesome and I got to go on a nice drive through Baltimore to see the original Washington Monument which is in downtown Baltimore! So cool! 

Our Trip: Day 1

Ever since Patrick and I got married we have really wanted to go on a big trip, but never seem to find the time or money to go.  We finally decided that if we didn't just go, we never would.  We have been thinking of different places we wanted to go, from a Caribbean cruise to San Francisco to Disney World.  We both decided that we have always wanted to go to Washington DC.  One of Patrick's really good friends growing up lives in Baltimore with his family.  They were kind enough to offer us a place to stay and come to visit.  We are so excited for our trip!

Day 1:

We left Logan bright and early...9:00 AM! (Our flight didn't actually leave until 1:55 PM, so we weren't in to big of a rush.)  On our way down to the airport, I had a uneasy feeling.  I hate it when that happens and you just don't know what is going to happen.  Our first flight left on time actually arriving early to Denver.  As we were on same plane waiting for more passengers to board, I looked out the window and saw our bags...leaving the plane.  We kindly notified the flight attendant, but our bags are green and you can't ever really be too sure which bags are yours.  She told us we would be fine and our bags would get to Baltimore with no problems.

After waiting until the last bag came out of the baggage claim, and the belt stopped, we knew what that uneasy feeling was all about.  Our bags were nowhere to be found!  

We found that this had happened to many others who had also come from Salt Lake.  Luckily they came a few hours later on the next flight. 

Easter Fun

We had a great Easter. I don't really have a lot to write, but here are some pictures. I always loved robin eggs and using them for lipstick. I had to do it, even if my lips were blue for quite a while afterwards:) Doesn't it look great!We spent Friday and Saturday at Patrick's families house. It was a lot of fun just hanging out and playing games. Thanks Easter Bunny for the great presents.On Sunday night the Staley's invited us for some egg dying. I think I am a kid at heart cause I love doing fun things that I did growing up...like dying Easter eggs. It is one of my favorite parts of Easter. You get to be really creative. This year I found a sports egg dye kit and just had to get it for Patrick:) It had some really cool shrink things that made the eggs look like basket/base/soccer/football's.Here's the result. Thanks Niki and Jason for a great night.

And the Winner is...

Meeeeeeeee!!! So I am sitting at work today at my desk, focusing hard at being a good employee, when the radio gets ready to announce the winners for the Fisher Home Furnishing anniversary give-away. When all of the sudden I heard MY name. I was so excited. Yeah!!! Patrick says I am acting like the guy from "A Christmas Story" when he gets the famous 'leg lamp.' Here's what I won. For anyone who is interested, they still have 10 items left to give away. You just stop my Fisher's and grab an entry. You can fill out one per day. Good Luck!!

Scientific Experiment

A while back Patrick and I were watching Myth Busters. If you haven't seen it, it's great. They try out things that people email them or that they find on the internet to see if it is really true. It is fun to watch and see what the outcome is. While watching an episode I told Patrick I really wanted to try it. For this myth buster, they used Diet Coke and Mentos. You drop four Mentos into a 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke and watch what happens. Here is a little video so you can see how it worked for us.

It didn't last for as long as we would have liked, but it was fun to do. Here the link to the Myth Busters episode on Diet Coke and Mentos. They explain why the reaction happens. It is pretty interesting. http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/mythbusters-diet-coke-and-mentos.html

Spring is Coming....Soon?

The last couple of days have been so nice outside. Patrick and I even played a little frisbee. I have really been enjoying the weather and hope it continues to get warm. You never know what your going to get living in Logan:) A couple of nights ago we went on a walk because it was so nice outside. When we got back, we saw a whole lot of snow on the grass in front of our door. All of our neighbors were asleep, it was a late walk, so we decided we just had to play a small prank on the Staley's.(We knew you could handle it)This last weekend we went down to my parents house and my mom and I made some really cute Easter blocks. Just wanted to share them because they turned out really fun. It makes me excited for Spring.

Happy St Patrick's Day

A while back I saw some really cute cupcakes in a magazine, and saved the page because I really wanted to try to make them. Well....here is the result. They were lots of fun to make and turned out really cute.