My Happy Place

Our Jackson trip was so amazing! It was so cool to be back in that special place and get to share it with my sweetheart. I took him all over town. I showed him my favorite used bookstore, the Browse ‘n Buy thrift shop, the really cool eco-friendly library, and of course all my favorite places to eat! I took him to Bubba’s BBQ for breakfast and the Caddilac Bar. I was most excited for Josh to try the little hole-in-the-wall where I fell in love with Thai food!

Josh approves!

Teton Thai Green Curry on a warm Summer evening is heaven on a plate! Unfortunately it’s been shi shi-ed up and moved to Teton Village, about 20 minutes away, but we found out it’s still the same recipes and everything, so yes, we drove out to the Village for Thai. And it was delicious!

On our last night in town we met up with Bekah for Sidewinder’s: our favorite little sports bar. They have the best stuffed pretzels and BBQ Chopped salad in the world! And it was so great to hang out with Bekah and catch up! She’s the one who helped me get to Jackson so a lot of my great memories are of her.

It was great to see her!

I know everyone rafts the Snake when they go to Jackson but man it is EXPENSIVE!! I had no idea because I always went with people who worked as river guides so we just all pitched in a few bucks for the raft rental. Josh and I have both done it before so we decided to just play in the river. Fortunately I worked with locals so I took Josh to a little rock beach where the current isn’t too fast. We made some friends, met some dogs, and enjoyed the river.

I think the best memories of our trip were created at our little campground. This is the view from our spot!

When we pulled into Jackson we went to the Visitor’s Center where they recommended the Gros Ventre (pronounced Grow Vaunt) campground and told us to watch for a herd of bison reported to be moving through. We kept our eyes peeled but we didn’t need to, because the herd was literally crossing the highway!

The next night, while Josh was building us a fire, I was brushing my teeth a few feet away. Suddenly we heard a rustle in the bushes behind me. I shined my flashlight and watched a full grown bull moose trample through the brush and head straight for me! I slowly backed away, knowing full well how aggressive a bull can be. Josh started to edge towards the 9 mil he had just loaded. Mr. Moose passed within a yard of me and slowly lumbered up the ridge, and out into the meadow beyond the campground. My heart was pounding, my eyes straining to catch any hint that he might charge, and all my senses keenly aware of my surroundings and situation. I about wet myself!

That night we watched the most beautiful thunderstorm move up over the Tetons. When the lightning struck, those mountains lit up so grandly they looked even more purple and majestic than in the day. The storm came within 2 counts of us so we scrambled into the car, just in case, and just watched the storm chase itself across the Gros Ventre. It was so incredible!

Then we realized our tent was leaking. Hence Josh’s state of the art…er draining methods the next morning!

We thought about toughing it out, until we had everything almost dry and saw another storm rolling in. We ended up coming home late that night.

In efforts to escape the storm, we visited the Museum of Wildlife Art. You know how I know I married the right guy? We spent the morning looking at paintings, picking out our favorite artists, checking out the super cool kids art studio, and watching a video of the artist creating this painting of a bull Bison emerging from his dusty herd. It was fantastic.

It felt so good to be back in that special little town. It brought back so many sweet memories of my kids and all the fun things we did, and of course Justin, my trusty vanmate. As I look back on that Summer I remember vividly how much my choices were guided by my Heavenly Father and the protection, guidance, and growth I gained from him in Jackson. I cried as we drove out of town, but not so much out of sadness for leaving, though those tears were there too, but out of gratitude for my experiences there and the joy of including my sweet husband in my happy place!

We're Taking the Yellow Brick Road...All the Way to Jackson

Hello out there!! I'm still here! I just went on a Summer hiatus. Ever since my summer of '08 in Jackson Hole, I make a list in late May of all the fun things I want to accomplish before the end of August. This year the list was particularly long so I decided to forgo blogging for the Summer.

But now we're on...

VACATION!!!

So I thought I'd document and then catch up on Summer later.

Josh and I have been looking forward to this rare week off for such a long time. It's nice to get some away time together. But we have a lot on the docket for the next 5 1/2 days! We wanted to see some family and spend time in Northern Utah since we so rarely do, but we also wanted to really get away and after a lot of thought and research, we decided it was time to return to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I'm so excited to share my favorite place in the world with my sweetheart!

We set out from Cedar yesterday and got to Orem in the afternoon. Josh went to my dad's house to snag a nap while I spent a couple of hours with my cousin Kiara and her little boy, Kai. We hung out at the pool and then chatted at her house until Josh came back for me. Kiara and I grew up together and rarely get quality time to talk and catch up so this was really nice.

After Grammy Venturi's funeral a couple of weeks ago (a whole other post) Josh and I talked about what a wonderful homemaker she was and how much we both want to be better cooks, so I set a goal to cook at least once per week (which we consider quite a feat since I work at least 3 nights a week). We also want to broaden our perspectives by learning different styles of cooking. Thus, we asked my dad to teach us how to cook a pot roast. I grew up eating my dad's delicious Burgundy Pot Roast with mashed potatoes, homemade gravy and roasted vegetables on a wintry Sunday afternoon, followed by fresh chocolate chip cookies hot from the oven. Yeah. That's what WE did for family home evening last night! It was so much fun to watch my dad light up over seasonings and wine discussions with the smells of my childhood filling the kitchen. My dad loves to teach anything; cooking, golf, how to properly throw a football or light a campfire, and the Gospel, among other topics. He seems really happy when he's sharing his own knowledge with others. And it was delicious. I think Josh got a real taste of what my Sundays were like as a kid!

Today we meant to get up early, but now that prospect seems laughable. And actually, I did get up at about 6:30 am to do Haela's hair for her first day of school, which turned out cute...and then I went right back to bed!

Anyway, my computer has been making a funny sound when I open it so we had an appointment at the Genius Bar at Fashion Place this morning that we almost missed. But we did get in at the last minute, thank goodness. The "Genius" helping us was just lovely! He wasn't condescending at all! I just love it when smart people are still nice to me when I ask them for help! We stopped for some See's samples and headed up to Kamas to hang out with my mom and Richard and their rescue dog, Glacier. He likes me :) Tonight we'll have dinner and enjoy a nice evening with them. They live in this great house up in the mountains that feels super homey. We like being there and are excited to spent some time there!

Tomorrow we set out...for Jackson. And I just can't wait! It's like I'm going home!

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes...

Last month we celebrated our 1^st wedding anniversary! It was simple, (tax season. Nuff said.) but it was nice to spend time together. We went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and shopped a little in St. George the Friday before. Sunday night we were hanging out, enjoying some precious us-home-simultaneously time and we reflected about the last year. Here are some highlights:

Josh started working full-time at the festival, doing what he loves

My brother, Chad, was called to serve in the Mexico City North mission and is still loving it and having lots of success

I was called to serve in the Young Women Presidency

Josh was called to teach the 11 year old boys in Primary (anyone else sensing a theme in the populations we tend to work with?)

My mom was married to Richard, who we just adore

I was promoted to a supervisor position at Sunrise

I was hired part-time at Wingers (I just can’t get enough of that place!)

We visited the Grand Canyon with John and Bobbe for my first time

We became an aunt and uncle in October when little Joseph arrived and welcomed another little Joseph into our lives when Kellie and Troy brought their second child into the world. We love both of them so much!

Josh was offered a job assistant directing A Midsummer Night’s Dream this summer with Fred Adams

Only shortly after our 1^st anniversary we received our clearance letter allowing us to be sealed for Eternity

It has been an amazing year! We love the life we are creating together and are excited for everything that it is to come!

Now and Then

Our first Valentine’s Day together turned out to be nothing like we planned. Cara’s family invited us up to attend the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House over Valentine's day weekend. It worked out nicely because it’s a lot easier to have a night out on the town in Provo than in Cedar so, the night before the open house, we decided to get all gussied up and have dinner at Carabba’s and see the new Valentine’s day release, He’s Just Not That Into You. And gussied up we got! I curled my hair, we wore nice clothes…we made all the necessary preparations…except, ya know, the dinner reservation and movie tickets.

Of course every showing was sold out and Carrabba’s had a 2 hour wait. We remembered why we love our little Cedar. Poor Josh felt so bad! He wanted to make me happy but everywhere we went the line was way out the door! And then I started thinking outside the box and remembered how much I love California Pizza Kitchen. I suggested CPK and they weren’t on a wait-probably because a pizza joint isn’t usually considered a particularly romantic atmosphere. Go figure!

Not only did we walk in and were seated immediately, but the manager recognized me from our days serving at Wingers together and gave us a discount! We had a great meal and were so pleased with ourselves for beating Valentine’s Day at it’s own game. After dinner we went to check out what wasn’t sold out at the movie theater and ended up seeing the “Underworld” Prequel and loved it! We had so much more fun than I think we would have had we followed “the plan.”

~So, now that you have some context, I’ll tell the story of our first Valentine’s day as a married couple.~

I was a little disappointed when I was scheduled to be on call at Wingers for the evening on V-day, but I figured we’d just make it work somehow. We got worried that I’d get called in and be stuck there all night so Josh suggested we go out to lunch so we at least got some "us" time in. I got all pretty and we went to Chilli’s and made the most of Josh’s lunch break. Later Josh came home and we gave each other our cards and Josh unveiled a beautiful Calla Lily plant for me so I could have my favorite flowers anytime! By the time I called in to Wingers and was told I wasn’t needed, we were pretty cozy and neither of us felt eager to brave the crowds and busy restaurants so we went down the street to the Maverick and bought…wait for it…Bahama Mamma hot dogs to eat in the comfort of our own little home.

I spent the evening scrapbooking with Josh next to me playing on the computer while we watched Terminator II on AMC! It was perfect! We decided it was just the best way to spend Valentines day: have a yummy lunch when no one else is out and enjoy our favorite hot dogs at home in the evening. As for the totally non-traditional movies we keep choosing…I wouldn’t mind keeping that one around either!

New Beginnings

So I have some events to catch up on!

In February my Young Women celebrated New Beginnings. It’s a great opportunity to start getting to know the girls who will be coming in over the next year. Our ward is pretty small so we only have one new Beehive coming in but we as a presidency still wanted to make it really special for her and the other girls.

Our super crafty secretary figured out some really cute decorations to have the girls make for the special night. I think the girls enjoyed the creativity and they did a great job! They yummy cupcakes helped a bit, I think! Mine (the chocolate ones) were a hit thanks to Bobbe’s frosting! Someday I’ll learn how to make it myself!

We asked the parents of the new girl and the two who came in this past year to stand and give a little spotlight about their daughters and tell us what they love most about their young women. It was very touching to hear these parents express in husky, emotion-filled tones how much they love their little girls. It reminded me why I love my calling.

I got to be in charge of creating a slideshow set to music of the young women. Each girl was equally represented and they all got a copy. It was fun to hear the giggles and gasps over the silly pictures and listen to them sweetly compliment each other on the pretty, serious ones.

The Presidency

Our YW Pres. Michele Malie (who is also my second cousin’s wife. Small world.) found a program online with music written by Jennie Phillips that focuses on the youth theme for this year, which is We Believe and centers on the 13^th Article of Faith. The girls each had at least one speaking part and sang with the group. One of our Beehives even sang a lovely solo. The girls were not thrilled to hear that we not only expected them to show up, but learn and perform their parts as well, but the results were awesome! There was such a beautiful spirit in the room and I think it touched the girls.

It was a really nice night. It made me think of my New Beginnings and how excited I was to FINALLY join Young Women when I turned twelve. It’s a pretty cool organization and I am grateful to be part of it.