In our own backyard

This Pioneer Day, Dan had the day off!! It was a wonderful day. First of all, he let me sleep in, and by the time I woke up he had the kitchen cleaned, the floors mopped, the rugs washed and the family room cleaned. Ahhhh....what a wonderful feeling. We decided that since we don't usually get to do a lot of hiking due to him never being home on Saturdays, that we would take advantage of the beauty in our own backyard...so we headed to Provo Canyon.

We did the Steward Falls hike, which was great. We took Chloe along with us, and she absolutely loved it. The hike was really good. Not too hard, not too easy, and lots of shade made it not too hot. MMM HMM. The trail was pretty dusty, and this is what our feet looked like by the time we got to the falls.

Dan and his baby. Seriously. He treats her like she is a baby. Sometimes I have to remind him that she is a dog.

Ok: Story time. Dan can't stand to not do everything when we go somewhere. He needed to run through these freezing cold falls, and he needed to take Chloe with him. He just did. He couldn't stand not doing it. So this is the process: Waiting to go through...Realizing Chloe is shocked from the cold and stopping to pick her up and carry her through...Grabbing her and making a run for it because it is breathtakingly cold...Poor, wet, rat looking Chloe....

Ok, my story. I didn't want to run through the falls because they were cold, and I was feeling great just playing in the water and feeling the mist. But of course, Dan likes a challenge and he dares me to do it. DARES me. Well, obviously I can't resist that. So I made a run for it.

It was a beautiful day. We had tons of fun hiking and being able to enjoy the great outdoors. We are lucky to live in such a beautiful place, with such great canyons and trails available to us so close. Love it. And of course we ended the day with the traditional bbq with great friends, and fireworks. A perfect end to a perfect day.

Our little garden

What started out as our little garden has turned into our HUGE garden!! I love it. All of our gardens (fruit, veggie, and flower) have been doing so well. Since we got back from Europe, they have exploded. It has been fun watching them start out as tiny seeds and get so big. I have to admit, I didn't think we would be successful gardeners, espeically starting all from seed, but I am proud of us. We haven't been as committed as we could have been, but nevertheless, we have succeeded. Even our raspberries and blackberries have fruit on them!!

The Full GardenTomatoesPeppersCarrotsPeasZucchiniBeansStrawberriesOur very 1st strawberry-not that greatBut look what they have become!!RaspberriesOur first zucchini (it was delicious)Even our carrots are getting bigger...and we have apricots!!Some of our flowers
Aren't you proud of us?

CaLiFoRnIa~4th of July

Well, Danny and I both thought that we haven't been traveling enough, and we needed another vacation. Mostly, I needed the BEACH!! This has been a sad summer for me. The last two summers, we lived in an apartment with a pool at which I could lounge around on Saturdays while D man is working. This summer I have nothing. No rays of sunshine to brighten my lonely Saturdays, unless I want to roast in my front yard, full of dead weeds, which I don't. So, I proposed that we make the 9 hour drive to LA for a fun filled weekend at Knottsberry Farm and Venice Beach. We took our good friends Von and Ash with us, along with their 3 adorable kiddos. They did amazing in the car, and the whole vaca, and it was tons of fun to have them with us.

Our Room

It was quite a quick trip, but well worth it. We took Friday off and drove to Cali. We got there at around 6, checked into our hotel and headed down to Downtown Disney. It is the Exit of Disney Land, and is totally free. They have tons of restaurants and shops, and street performers. We ate at the House of Blues, which was practically freezing.

Cash and Danny

Saturday we went to Knottsberry Farm. It was SO much fun. There was hardley anybody there, so we walked on to almost every ride. I think our longest wait was about 10 minutes. It was amazing. We ate at Joe's Crab Shack, which was delicious. MMMMM Fresh sea food!

This rollercoaster goes 0-80 mph in 2 seconds. AHHHH!

Sunday was a wonderful day. We spent it at Venice Beach. It was tons of fun to see all the performers, shops, and let's be honest, people. The beach was crowded, but not too bad. We got a good spot not too far from the shore. The waves were really big, and the water was cold, but once you got used to it, it wasn't so bad. The sun felt AMAZING. We were planning to stay on the beach and watch fireworks from the boardwalk, but it got really cold and windy all of a sudden so we decided to head back to Downtown Disney and watch the Disney Land fireworks, which did not disapoint.

This guy did a front flip over 10 people. It was crazy!

Sawyer and his Winnie the Pooh Sunglasses. He chose them himself.

This guy and this picture alone made the trip worth while. We wanted to take a picture with him for 2 reasons: #1-he's HUGE #2= he was wearing a very festive 4th of July swimsuit. Classic. Ash asked if we could take our picture with him because he looked so festive. He asked where we were from. We said, "Utah" and he said, "Well, welcome to LA" Hilarious.

All in all it was a really fun trip. We are glad that Von and Ash came with us. It made the drive a little better (and way more entertaining) for all of us. VIVA CALIFORNIA!!

PS) When we came home, we found some fun critters waiting for us. I think this bird flew into our house when we got home, but I don't know for sure...

EWWW!! BLACK WIDOW