Take a walk with me...

For a while now I've been wanting to get some winter shots outdoors. I would have preferred to go up one of the canyons but I knew I wouldn't have enough time that day before it got dark. I settled for a solo trip to Wheeler Farm to check out the scenery. I wasn't disappointed. There was fresh snow on the ground and the farm was so serene and quiet. As I walked the perimeter, I snapped tons of photos but here are a few of the highlights.

I just love the rustic look of this barn.

This was one of many horses that was friendly and wanting loves. He was by far the largest and most photogenic (in my opinion!). My head and the middle of his back were the same height. He was massive to say the least. Truly a gentle giant. I managed to pluck some grass from beneath the snow as a gesture of goodwill. He rewarded me with some lovely photos.

After leaving my horse friends, I heard some raucous honking up the road. I came across a fairly large pond on the property that was occupied by hundreds of geese and ducks.

I'm not exactly sure who they were honking at before I came along but as soon as they saw me they came running and flying towards me. I don't know if you've ever had hundreds of birds coming at you at once but let me tell you it can be a bit unnerving!

One of many antique pieces of equipment that Wheeler Farm has displayed.

So that was my Sunday walk at the farm. Thanks for walking with me and checking out the sights!

Going to the Dogs

Friday Doug and I went to see the movie Marley and Me. I've read the book and loved it. The sad thing is I knew how it ended and I still cried. Pathetic, I know. It got me thinking about my own dogs and how they have occasionally been the World's Worst dogs.

Ok Eden not so much. She had her moments that first year. Especially the day I came home to our apartment and found a partially eaten library book (paperback, thank goodness! Hardbacks are expensive!). She still has a thing about pens/pencils and paper. If any of these items get left within her reach she will chew them up. A couple of years ago I got home from work and found she had chewed up a blue pen. Not the ball point kind either. It was one of those fluid type that create a HUGE mess. A few cuss words and lots of glaring ("WHAT DID YOU DO???") and I was able to get most of the ink out. That and the nice new shag carpet got a bit of a trim in the places the ink wouldn't come out.

The real trouble maker in our house is Dakota (aka Dee-duh-dee). We got him when he was about 1 and I keep telling myself that any time now he's going to settle down. Any time now. Well, he's going on 5 and he is still a wild child. The dog has endless energy and is a ball-chasing, food stealing maniac that thinks he is a lap dog. My case in point:

Dakota has stolen various meats from the counter in the few seconds it takes to walk outside and light the grill. We have gotten to the point that we are putting any food left in the kitchen in the highest possible point just so that he cannot reach it (though try as he might). He ate a baby bird that had fallen in the window well and jumped through the open window while Doug was trying to rescue him (a very sad day). He also ate the corners on several of my couch pillows. He was then relegated to a crate for the times we are not at home. I have even blogged about his ritual of crashing down the door when I am in the bathroom. Much like Jennifer Aniston in the movie, I have had several episodes where I am seething mad at the dog for whatever his latest indiscretion is and seriously considered finding another home for him. Yet despite all of his "issues", I can't bring myself to do it. In my opinion, that's not how you deal with a situation with a family member. You don't just give a dog away because they're naughty. I've come to accept that a lot of his problem is a training issue and that falls on me, not him. So we strive to do better with him which ultimately means trying to give him as much exercise as possible. Hell, we even bought a treadmill for the damn dog so we could run him on it. Oh sure, I justified it by saying that it was for me but let's be honest here, the dog's seen more miles on that thing than I ever have. I'll give him this much though - that dog LOVES to play. He and Tyson are best buds and I am so thankful that they can wear each other out.

So that's my post on my very lovable, playful, and yes even sometimes unruly pair of dogs. I wouldn't have it any other way.

A Followup to the Ute Victory

So a co-worker sent me this AWESOME article written by Rick Reilly of ESPN. I liked it so much I thought it was worth linking to.

Check it out!

My favorite quote from the article...

"FIND ME ANYBODY ELSE THAT WENT UNDEFEATED. THIRTEEN-AND-ZERO. BEAT FOUR RANKED TEAMS. WENT TO THE DEEP SOUTH AND SEAL-CLUBBED ALABAMA IN THE SUGAR BOWL."

Give Me Some Sugar!!!

I just watched the most exciting football game EVER!!!!! It beats BY FAR any BYU-Utah game I've ever watched. I have to admit I was sick to my stomach with nerves for a good part of the game. Not because my beloved Utes were losing, but the opposite. They were WINNING and I was petrified that they would blow it at the end. But my fears were put to rest when the Utes trounced the Crimson Tide. Coach Saban, you may now take a minute to eat a bit of a tasty dish I like to call 'crow'!

Giggles

I found this video of Tyson taking a bath when he was about 6 months old and just had to share. I still laugh my butt off every time I see it. We submitted it to America's Funniest Videos but we never heard anything from them. Oh well, it's still hilarious!

2008 Update

Ok so I'm lazy and rather than type up a cutesy letter on festive paper to send out with Christmas cards, I decided this year to simply put a note on some of them stating "Want to know what we've been up to? Check out our blog." Although I've posted a lot of our adventures over the last 6 months or so, I figured I'd summarize them in one post for anyone who comes here but doesn't want to read EVERY post I've done since July (I mean really, who wouldn't want to? Jeez.).

2008 has been a very busy year for our little family. We have gone on some amazing family vacations this year... Moab was in June for our anniversary/Tyson's Birthday and we loved seeing him toddle around the red rock and packing him in the Kelty backpack. In September we took our first trip to Yellowstone (see the blog from that trip here). It was amazing and we cannot wait to go back. In fact we loved it so much, I'm watching the job openings in the park and applying for every possible position I think I may qualify for!! And finally we wrapped up the year of trips by flying up to Washington to visit my sister and her family (check it out). They hadn't seen Tyson since before he was crawling and now he was running! Crazy how fast they change. Here's a brief update on what each of us has been doing this year...

Doug started a new job (it seems like this is turning into an annual event for him!) with a commercial electric company called All Phase. He was a little nervous to work on the commercial side, having worked with residential jobs for the last few years but he definitely needed a switch and took a chance with this company. It has proven to be a very wise decision! His boss is so generous that he even handed over a substantial check to Doug for our summer softball team, "It's All Relative". It was enough to cover the league fees and a portion of the cost for new team jerseys! Doug is still attending the apprenticeship program at SLCC and has a year and a half left of the program. Then he can test for the Journeyman's license which will hopefully mean a big raise!
I am still working at VISTA Staffing downtown and loving it. My coworkers are great to work with and I love the job that I do. I sometimes wish that I could work only part time so that I could spend more time with Tyson but it is what it is. I am grateful to have a job in these tough economic times and that we have a roof over our heads. This past spring/summer Doug and I were so excited for softball season to start that before we knew it we had committed ourselves to 5 teams between the two of us. It put us at the ball fields every night of the week and we definitely were wearing ourselves thin. We had a great time playing and our family team did very well this fall, just barely missing out on first place and settling for second. Ironically, both Doug and I won the hitting title for the league! We each got our own (identical) little trophy declaring us leading hitters. I think my hitting average came out to about .824, which is not too shabby considering I was only a year out from having a baby! And to BOTH win the title at the same time was pretty damn good if you ask me!
Last but not least, our little man Tyson is the light of our lives. He is wicked smart and always knows just what to do to make us laugh at him. He has grown by leaps and bounds in the last year and in looking through the pictures from then until now I can't help but feel like my baby is gone, replaced by this devilishly handsome boy. His favorite game right now is to tell us what all his favorite animals/people say: A snake says "ssssss", a pirate says "aaaaarrgghh!" and Mama says "no no no!" Where he got that one, I have no idea! He loves going to Christy's house while we are at work (I know this because more often than not he throws a fit when I pick him up). And for those of you who keep hinting at the possibility of adding #2 to our brood (ahem, LONNA), don't get your hopes up. We are keeping ourselves plenty busy chasing after Tyson and participating in waaaaaaay too much softball!

Well that's the scoop on the family.. thanks for checking out our blog and feel free to leave a comment... especially if you have blogs of your own! I love reading and checking out what other people are up to!

Wasn't it just October?

Wow the last couple of months seem like they have zoomed by and I feel like I blinked and missed a month or two! Here is an update on the last few things we've done...

Lights!

The day after Thanksgiving we decided to start a new tradition of going downtown to look at the lights. We parked at my office and hiked walked to Gallivan Plaza. We arrived just in time for Kurt Bestor to sing my favorite song "Prayer of the Children" (which I saw him do in concert on the 12th and he is AMAZING!).

Then we walked over to Temple Square to deal with hoards of people look at the beautiful lights. Ok it wasn't THAT bad, but it sure was packed with people. I secretly wished I had worn my Utah apparel just to spite them all. Teehee. That's just the way I roll.

Gardner Village
Another favorite place of ours to go is Gardner Village. I had been wanting to visit their fantastic Christmas store, so what better excuse to go there! They have decorated the grounds with cute elves (which Tyson found somewhat scary at first) and lovely lights. I think I got some pretty cool shots if I do say so myself!

Tyson did NOT want to leave the elves once he realized they weren't going to maim him.

SANTA!

And finally, on Saturday we went to a "Breakfast with Santa" with my parents. Tyson had a blast! He was a little unsure about the gi-normous dog but he didn't cry at all when he sat on Santa's lap. And ironically, he had nearly the same photo as last year!! I did get a good one though.. I treasure these memories!

See what I mean?? He has the same look in both pictures!