We are SO outdoorsy!

This last weekend we had a lot of fun ... and were very outdoorsy! On Saturday morning we hiked up Stuart Falls in Sundance. It was so much fun! Ellie went with us ... she loves to be our fearless leader. Anyone who says small dogs aren't good in the wilderness are wrong :)! Overall, it's a great hike - so if you are local and looking for a pretty hike that offers a good workout - this is a good one.

We also went up the canyon with some friends that night. We made tin-foil dinners (my first ever) - they ended up being great! It was a fun night with old and new friends.

Fun weekend!

"Smart" Weekend Plans

Last weekend we went to see "Get Smart." It was great! We loved it for many reasons. Just to name a few 1) Steve Carrell is funny, but not over-the-top, or trying-too-hard to be funny. 2) Steve Carrell. 3) It has a great cast (Steve Carrell) and has a fun good guy/bad guy story line. 4) It's quirky ... and we weren't sure if we were going to like it ... but we laughed pretty hard. And last but not least 5) The Rock actually dies in one of his movies - YAY!! If you are looking for a fun, witty movie you might like it too!

Have you seen anything good lately?

Not a Vampire Fan

I love to read. It is a huge past time of mine. I love books with great plots ... and great plot twists ... and interesting characters. I love everything from Jane Eyre (my mom just bought me a fantastic hardbound copy) to Harry Potter. So I decided to read the Twilight series because it is all the rage.

I really expected to love them. But I didn't. So if you are a huge Twilight fan ... or if you haven't read them yet and want you you probably shouldn't read any farther.

Twilight was pretty good, but I disliked New Moon and Eclipse a lot. I didn't expect to get in to the story at all. Vampires are NOT my thing. I had a roommate once who thought she was one (don't ask ... it's a long story ... but perhaps as a result I am biased against vampires). I will give the books this - as much as I didn't like them I was still compelled to finish them. So that is my I'm-trying-to-be-positive moment.

By the end I hated Edward and Bella ... It started off that I just didn't like Edward. He is controlling and manipulative. It was his way or no way ... and he was going to destroy himself when she died/or was going to die. Just a fantastic thing for teenagers to get in their heads. My next issues is that he was just too suave. Like a 30 year old seducing a 17 year old. And to top it all off she saw him as being perfect. Gross.

And Bella. Don't even get me started! She is moody and irrational. She has no idea how to have any kind of normal relationship with anyone ... friends, boyfriends, you name it. She is also very manipulative, a liar and played a ton of games ... not to mention how many people she destroyed along the way to getting what she wants. She is obviously highly incapable of making life-altering decisions in her state of mind. Annoying.

Jake ... now I really did like Jake's character. He was like a normal teenage boy with the obvious difference of being a wolf (always a problem ...). But I felt like even if he was trying to get his way he had her best interests at heart and he went about it the same way 17 year olds should. And ultimately he brought out the best in Bella ... which is what a healthy relationship (friendship or otherwise) should do.

Overall, I'm not a fan (just in case you couldn't tell). I think it is great that people enjoy them ... and like I said before ... they are strangely compelling. But overall - I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

Vacationing in Glennwood

Just before Memorial Day weekend we decided we totally needed a vacation. We asked around and some of our fantastic neighbors suggested Glennwood Springs, CO. So with only a few days of planning that's where we headed! It was SO much fun!! We stayed at a little mountain inn/bed and breakfast called the Sunlight Mountain Inn. It was adorable ... and the breakfast was super yummy. There was also NO cell services ... and NO internet. Jeff was delighted ... and I panicked :)! But it was just what we needed.

The first day we hiked up to Hanging Lake. We heard it is an easy 1 mile hike ... so we were thinking "no biggie" we'll just hike up and back and then maybe go on a longer hike later in the afternoon. I even thought the sign at the bottom saying "the end is really steep and make sure you have plenty of water" was comical. The joke was on us :)! It was only a mile up ... but up is a very literal term. We hiked over big rocks and up through a downhill stream. It took us a while :)! But it was worth every step ... the lake and waterfalls at the top were breathtaking!! We spent quite a while up there because it was just so peaceful. But, boy ... does listening to two waterfalls with no water with you make you thirsty :)!! Overall, it was a great experience though because we decided we need to do more hiking (only with water next time)!


Next we went to see Doc Holliday's grave site. Jeff is a HUGE Tombstone fan ... so we simply couldn't be near his grave and not go pay our respects. They don't actually know where in the cemetery he is buried ... but he is in fact there. His final words were "this is funny" because he died of Tuberculosis instead of a gunfight ... and he was an outlaw! Here's to the good Dr.

The next day we went white water rafting. We loved it! We took a half day trip (so 3 1/2 hours). It was pretty cold so we were wearing full wet suits. Unfortunately we forgot to take pictures of us ... but I assure you never did anyone look as sexy in their wet suites as we did! The water was running really high because of the very snowy winter, so it was really fun. The rapids were mainly class 3. The only bummer was the people assigned to our boat - they were kind-of weird. And they kept their beer held in their life vests during the rapids. I'm not sure why anyone let them be in the front ... isn't there a rule against rafting drunk :)!?

That night we went out for a romantic dinner downtown and walked around. The dinner was great ... and the company even better!!

On our last day there we went up the mountain to their caves. I love tram rides up mountains ... they are so pretty! We discovered we are not really cave people. The tour was fine, but got long and boring (we have short attention spans) and there is only so many rocks we can stare at. But they have high adventure rides up there ... and THOSE were fantastic!! First we went on the Alpine Coaster ... it was a little bit like an alpine slide. But it goes WAY faster ... especially with Jeff controlling the speed :)! We loved it! The other adventure ride we did was called the Swing Shot. It is a giant swing (and I am very serious about the giant part) that pulls you back and then lets you swing out over the edge of a 1300 ft. canyon. Scary!! But so beautiful! And once you get past the initial rush you are too busy looking around to worry about being scared. Amazing!

Overall we had an amazing time ... and realized that we need to get away from home a lot more often! A little R&R goes a long way ... it is amazing!!

The First

So for a while now I have been talking about creating a blog. I mean ... we are really interesting people (ha ha) so I can't imagine people not wanting to read about our fascinating lives! I will begin by giving a quick insight into what we are up to right now, then I will try my hardest to keep this updated frequently.

Jeff just finished his last class EVER of his undergrad (he graduated in business from UVU)! He accepted an internship in the HR field doing recruiting for Myriad Genetics (a company that does research on breast cancer and Alzheimer's ... very important stuff). It's weird to have him not in school ... it hasn't quite sunk in yet. But I am very proud of him and can't wait to see where this will lead (I also love that he dresses up for work every day ... so cute!). He is also busy trying to help me perfect my tennis skills (which are not many at this point)!

I just got back from a week at girls' camp (okay, a week is a stretch ... more like 3 days)! Anyone who knows me knows that I have a love/hate relationship with camping ... leaning a lot more to the hate side. It just isn't my thing. I will only camp for Jeff (that's love) and for my adorable young women. It was actually my second time to go ... and like I said it was a lot of fun. We were very cold ... but we were in cabins so we couldn't complain too much :)! You notice there are NO pictures of me at camp posted ... I know better than to let the world see me dancing around during skit night. I'm also busy working in admissions at New Haven - which I love.

Ellie is our dog ... but most people think of her as our practice child. She is adorable (obviously ...) and very fun (her favorite game, and most-consuming life ambition is to be the best fetcher on the block). She is also an excellent nurse when you are sick, and a good snuggler during movies.
We love her (no matter what Jeff professes).


Well, that is our exciting life right now ... we will keep you updated!