J & J

Idiot Wounds

2010-11-07T07:14:00.000-08:00

So, I didn’t know about idiot wounds until about two years ago when I witnessed my first one. Jake and I took some friends from England out to go shooting. They had never done two things in their life that they wanted to experience here in the U.S. The first was shooting and the second was riding in the back of a pickup truck. I guess they had seen them both in movies and wanted to experience it themselves.
So it’s getting a little late and probably to the point where we want to stop shooting out in the middle of the desert, but we had one more watermelon to blow up before we called it quits. Jake pulls the scope up to his eye and being that its getting a little dark he can’t see very well and pulls the scope just that much closer…BAM… the recoil of the gun pushes the scope back into Jakes head and hits him right between the eyes, and that my friends is what an idiot wound is.
Now it’s my birthday weekend and Jake plans this romantic horseback ride through Pine Valley. We have Justia the pretty palomino of Phils that I will be riding, loaded into the trailer that Randy and Sharon were nice enough to let us borrow for the day. Now we only have the Knubbins to load and she is a pain. The last time I tried helping her load I was almost in tears because I thought for sure she was going to kill me. So I’m trying to tell myself that now she’s worked with so she should totally load easier…well… not what she had in mind and apparently being my birthday didn’t sink in for her. So Jake has her half way in and asks me to take the rope through the window of the front of the trailer. Okay first off I’m not so much of a rookie that I wrap the rope around my hand! I swear that rope was not looped but Knubbins of course freaks out and pulls back with all her strength and the rope start slipping through my hand and I must have had it bunched somehow because it burns my hand and then loops my pointer finger and I can’t let go!!! So her strength pulls my arm through the little window and my head slams right into the trailer and that my friends is how Julia got her first idiot wound!!!!
After a lot of ice and getting to the point quickly where I could laugh at myself, I was fine. I learned from my mistake and used the trailer for leverage with the rope and got the Knubbins beast in.
We then got to Pine Valley and had really the most amazing ride. We felt like the only two people out there and probably were with the cold. We road through some easy trails for my sake and we saw so many deer. Our horses weren’t too sure about them because at some points we were literally just surrounded by deer. Jake would even leave me to the trail and ride up through the trees towards them and get 10 feet from them and they would just watch us. They are curious creatures that followed us all the way to the horse trailer and then watched trying to figure out why we were loading two massive animals into a small white box lol.

So now I’m laying here in bed Sunday morning loving the time change because every inch of my body hurts…. Including my idiot wound. Honestly though, thank you Jake for a perfect birthday! He got me the game Parcheesi that is a very competitive game and we have been staying up until 1:00am each night playing the darn thing. He was going to get me the Nook because I’ve wanted it for so long, but I left to go pick it out and I just couldn’t do it. So we turned around and stopped at the library instead where I finally got a library card and got a book on cd and a paperback to read. Is it weird that I get this satisfaction of finishing a book and seeing all those pages I read? Would I feel the same way reading it off the Nook? That’s probably totally silly, but for now I’ll stick to my paper lol.
I totally got spoiled this year and thank you to all my friends who made it honestly so special. Mom and Dad and Aunt Donna, even living in Idaho I still felt totally loved on my birthday from you.
Love you guys!

Temple and Sealing post to follow…

2010-09-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

I finally got to go through the temple! It was an amazing experience! My mom and I
got to the temple early, well early for a Saturday, 8:30AM and I was instantly surrounded by the cutest little old ladies I have ever seen. Everyone just started congratulating me and acting like I had known them all my life. Instantly I just felt so peaceful and could feel the spirit so strongly.
Some funny moments during my experience that I can talk about was at one point my mom and I were in the waiting area which was a gorgeous prep room where they had lots of mirrors and big chandeliers and a bunch of stations where you could fix makeup and hair. Well one girl was in there flipping out because she didn’t fit in her wedding dress, all of a sudden??? Which how does that happen? The mom was freaking out and asking my mom for help and running around trying to get the temple helpers to assist and the whole time I’m thinking…what are we suppose to do??? Make her lose 5lbs in 5 min lol.? They finally squished her into her dress and I thought that the first person she hugs she is going to pop. Then of course you have the high maintenance St. George girl who was throwing a fit that she couldn’t keep her enormous daisy in her hair LOL! I was dying! She had this scowl on her face the whole time (which sad for her she isn’t realizing what’s most important about this day) and the cute worker ladies were all trying to remain nice and calm but you could just tell they were struggling. Then she comes out of her dressing room and the ladies are all looking at each other nervous and then one of them said “you need to bustle your dress” and the girl snaps back… It’s ALREADY bustled. So they were telling her how it was too long and they can’t have the train following her like that down the hall and she insisted she wasn’t going to change and that she would just hold the train. I about died laughing at that point… good luck to that poor husband.
They had someone by me every second of the way and my mom was with me of course and thank goodness she was, because she was a huge comfort, but right before I go walk into the room my mom decides to go to the restroom!!! SO I’m standing there by myself, totally overwhelmed and I see my friend Laura and Jake and my Dad and instant comfort!
Don’t worry that I have a big pink tag on me so EVERYONE can know I’m the new girl! Then they keep referring to Jake as my fiancé and I have to keep clarifying that he’s my husband. Then when everyone was again leaving me to fend for myself and I started to panic, out of nowhere this darling little cute temple worker is at my side and she helped me through everything. She was trying to calm me down and all I did was look at her and grab her hand and said “okay you’re going to tell me what to do right… you’re not leaving me … and you’re going to stay by me through the rest of this!” she looked at me and laughed a little and she did stay by my side the rest of the time. It was totally awesome and I just loved every moment of it all and looking over at my darling husband and him smiling back and thinking “this is awesome”.
Oh and Dad’s camera broke when it was time for pictures so all I have are these photos taken by my phone. I didn’t even get a shot with Brother and Sister Nielsen, are temple prep teachers that were absolutely awesome. They have become such a blessing in our lives and we were so grateful not only for the wonderful lessons but also the friendships that were made and getting to be a part of their loving home.
Also, Nicole and Laura - love you guys! Laura you were such a huge comfort to me and i was so thankful to have you right next to me through it all. Nicole, you were there in spirit lol She was two minutes late to the session and not allowed in...and after coming all the way from Vegas for it. Of course my parents - love you guys and i'm so blessed to have you in my life.

Lions and tigers and bears oh my August 28th!

2010-09-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

I had the chance to get away from St. George for a weekend to Boise Idaho to see Kimmie.

She is doing fantastic and still loves her awesome job at the law firm there. I took Hera all by myself on the airplane. I usually like the comfort of having Jake along with me and he carries her which is huge for me because she can get heavy when you’re hauling her down the endless terminals of the airport. I actually had a moment of weakness where I understood those ladies who took their dog around in a stroller – do no panic… I won’t be doing that EVER. The only challenge was trying to fit in the bathroom stall, with her, my luggage and then she jumped out of her carrier and so in this little bathroom stall I was trying to get her back in. I’m sure my neighbors were a little confused and hopefully understood I had my dog with me lol awkward!
Kim’s work is sponsoring the Giraffe exhibit at the Zoo so we took off early Saturday morning to the Boise Zoo. Now you wouldn’t think that Boise has a good zoo but they really have a great one. We reserved tickets to have breakfast with the lions… no not be the lions breakfast ;) they set out this great buffet breakfast and once you got into your meal a little they released the lions into their area. It was amazing to watch. They spread cinnamon and a few other herbs close to the window to entice them and they couldn’t get enough of it. They would rub their face all over it and roll in it. It was great.

We then headed over to the Giraffe exhibit where we got to feed them.

Our little viistor during our breakfast...

I don’t know what treat I was expecting but they gave us roman lettuce… I just thought they would give us something a little bit more than lettuce but the giraffe loved it lol. So my pictures of this is funny because from my view I thought I was really close to this guy. He was looking down on me and taking up my food and Kim kept telling me to get closer and I wouldn’t because that honestly seemed so close to me! Now I look at the pictures and thought what the heck perception was I having that day lol.

Do I need to explain why i took a picture of this -- i laughed so hard.

We then went around to the other animals and saw the Snow Leopard that every time I went to film him going NUTS… like jumping on the side of the wall and flipping backwards nuts. I would raise the camera and press record and like he was on queue he would collapse on the ground and act like he was just sleeping. He did it to me 3 times and finally and gave up trying to catch him in the act.

We then found ourselves in the same spot that the last time Kim and I came to the zoo this annoying lady was eaves dropping on our conversation. I came up to the exhibit and yelled back to Kimmie “check out the turtle!” this lady got in such a huff and corrected me “its NOT a turtle… it’s a tortoise” ohhhh okay, I don’t remember inviting you to this conversation but thanks for the info. So there we were reminiscing on that experience when I look over and see this whole display of nasty cockroaches. Kim turns her head to look and instantly is disgusted because who wants to see those at the zoo and makes one of her classic Kim remarks that I love. This girl comes up to us and corrects us “these are NOT bad cockroaches these are cockroaches you can set in your hand and they hiss… so they aren’t bad”. We just look at her and don’t know what to say. We made the decision to avoid that spot in the future of Idaho Zoo trips because all the crazy people seem to populate there.

check this brave lady out... brave to go into the Australian porcupine habitat to clean. she ended up defending herself with the broom:

This goat was awesome! This kid was pestering him and yelling at him for no reason and then he sticks his head in its area and decides he wants to pet him... BAM... the goat head buts him right in the head!

talk to the hand monkey...

other fun animals:

Once we were done with the zoo we did a little shopping and then went back home to have some of Kim’s yummy garlic chicken she makes. The puppies all behaved themselves. We had a little bit of a war between them over toys. Hera was a little bored so I pulled one of her horse hoofs to chew on – yes dogs chew on horse hoofs. You actually can buy them at the store for a lot of money but we just collect the clippings after the ferrier comes out to clip our horses hoofs and whala… instant chew toy. So I pull it out for Hera to play with and after a little while I put it away for later in get bag in my room. I’m chilling on the couch when Kim walks by and says “oh Bronte stole Hera’s chew toy?” and I told her no I just put it away. Well the little culprit Bronte went into the bedroom and into my bag and pulled out the chew toy. She was chewing away as fast as she could and Cooper was standing guard. Well what goes around comes around I guess because Hera goes over to Kims toy bin for the dogs and pulls out a huge bone for her to chew on. So that started it… fight for the toys. Her dogs would get distracted and she would go steal a there toys and then my dog would be distracted and they would come and steal hers. Then Cooper would get furious when he would see Hera having fun with one of his toys. It ended in a full on bark argument but they made up and got along in the end.
Thanks Kim for a great time!

Virginia In June

2010-07-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

I had planned like crazy for our trip to Virginia. When you standby travel you have to have at least 5 different scenarios in case your flights starts to fill up. Then the flight out of St. George cancelled and then the Cedar flight cancelled so when Jake came to pick me up at work I at that moment let him know we were off to Vegas. We get to Vegas and tried for a flight to Los Angeles where we would connect to Tucson and then stay the night there and go to Atlanta the next morning to connect yet again to a flight to Norfolk, VA. The agent called our names for the flight but we got ready to get on the plane and they wanted to check our bag (number one rule of standby travel – never.check.your.bag!) I told her we didn’t really know if Tucson would be our final destination and she said we had no choice the bag was being checked. Jake makes his classic comment “ya we have a choice… we don’t go” and we looked at each other and thought we should not get on this flight. So we back away from the gate and start panicking that we might have missed a great chance to get to Virginia. We had one more chance that night for an oversold flight to Washington Dulles and wouldn’t you know it that we totally slipped on that flight with no problem! We landed in Washington at 7:00am just as Andy my brother-in-law was pulling into town. Jake had never seen Washington DC and if you know Jake at all you know how much he loves his history. We did a quick view of the sites because Andy had to get some paperwork back to Yorktown before a certain time. We did have the special privilege to eat at the Washington DC military base located behind Arlington National Cemetery. We really will have to go back and do a real detailed tour of DC sometime.

Andy is going into the JAG and so he is based at the Naval Weapons Base in Yorktown . Let’s just say that they hooked him up! He has a darling family of 4 and so the Military requires that each kid gets their own room. So he was in a Colonel house looking over the huge York river (okay huge for a Utah girl). Andy’s wife Noemi is from Mexico so we had some delicious meals. In fact I would have been content playing games with the kids the whole time and eating her amazing food.
We did take a tour of Yorktown and saw the cave where General Cornwallis went to hide after Secretary Thomas Nelson bombed his home. He then shortly after that surrendered. We also saw where the battle of Yorktown took place and saw the battle hills that were made. We went to Jamestown (you know… Pocahontas) and saw the coolest glass blowing done there. We honestly could have spent hours just watching these guys do amazing artwork out of glass.

One of the highlights and at the same time disappointments was when we had the chance to take a fishing boat on the Chesapeake Bay. It was so fun being out on the water like that and fishing but the disappointment was when we only caught a few lame croaker fish. Now they call them croakers because that’s exactly what they sound like… some weird croaking sound – kind of freaks you out a bit. We did catch a flounder but it was so little that we had to throw it back.

When we took the little croakers back to the house to cook up because the kids had never caught and cooked up their own fish (what world are they from?) so Jake was showing the kids how to gut a fish and Olivia was just enthralled in the process and wanted to do everything that Jake was doing. So when Jake cut the fish she wanted to hold his hand in the process to also cut the fish, and when Jake tossed the guts she tossed the guts and best of all when Jake spit like a real man she… no kidding… turned and SPIT just like him… oops sorry Noemi about that one!

Last but not least we went to Williamsburg which is a darling historic town with people even dressed up in the typical colonial outfits. We caught a lot of fireflies with the kids and saw some of the fun sites and then ended on a perfect note in the candy shop with amazing caramel apples and fudge.
We had a tough time getting back to St. George with the flights but the whole trip made it worth it. Dan however had no problem! As we were waiting for a flight he read his horoscope that said he would fine with all his travels today and that nothing would stand in his way. Apparently the stars meant that we wouldn’t stand in his way because when the Flight Attendant called Rainey she informed us that she only had one seat and could only take one of our party… well have fun Dan LOL He made it home without a problem! We’ll have to check our horoscopes next time we plan to fly.

some more fun pics:

The Prince and the Princess tried to run away... shoot they didn't make it... guess you should have paid your taxes.

Jamestown:

the base:

Yorktown:

Williamsburg:

After a very long day and coming to the end of the journey...

Waterfalls and Primary Day

2010-07-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

I’m sorry I’ve been so horrible about posting and I promise to get better. Friday night Jake and I went to Beijing Buffet and I hesitate to even post this because the one thing we love about the place is the fact that we NEVER see anyone we know there lol. It’s our little secret rendezvous point where we can eat bad Chinese food and talk to each other about anything and everything. We then rented the book of Eli which was a bit weird but not a bad movie.
The next morning was the beginning of a day where I wished that I still drank Diet Coke lol. I had a primary pioneer day to put on but honestly it went off perfectly. We watched parts of Legacy to get a little bit of the spirit into the day. We have a little down-syndrome girl Amanda who totally bonded with Jake. She sat next to him during the movie and when it got scared she grabbed his hand. After the movie we played some fun games that I was in charge of. I had a relay race they had to do. Two teams of two and they would have to balance a balloon between their heads and run down the gym to the end where they would have to grab a straw and suck a marshmallow onto the straw and move it from one bowl to another bowl (10 total). Don’t worry that some kids kept blowing instead of sucking and that created a bit of a saliva mess - yuck. They would then move to the final obstacle of putting a spoon in their mouth and balancing a hard egg on it and race back to where they had started. They loved it! We then moved to the last game, the easiest to prepare and of course the biggest success - The stick pull! We had so much fun playing that and we had one kid in there that just was beating everyone so I had Jake jump in at the end and all the kids started laughing and screaming… he’s so big… he’s so going to win LOL. Of course Jake won and all the kids were so glad that the boy who had been in for so long finally was beat by someone.
We then had some time before we moved on to the yummy scones so we all passed around jars to make homemade butter, we shook them like crazy as we kept playing. We played with the balloons, Jake played catch with Amanda, and the boys wanted to try the marshmallow contest some more so I set that back up for them and don’t worry that the stick pull was still a success all the way until their parents were pulling them away to go home.
The scones were delicious with homemade butter (yes I can’t believe that the butter actually worked). The cutest little boy decided he didn’t want a scone, but that he would make one for me with every single topping available to him slathered on it. It was sure the best scone ever.
We then went home and had some time to rest and then took off with our friend Dave and Kara in their awesome Jeep to Toquerville. They told us they knew of some waterfalls out there, but with the insane terrain we were facing in the jeep and the endless miles of desert I could not believe the little oasis they lead us to. The pictures only show the smaller first falls but then it drops to a bigger second fall and a deep pool. A bunch of crazy guys were jumping off the cliff and into the second pool. I was so amazing! Being the romantic that Jake is he dunked me under the waterfall and I drank some of the nasty water and was totally sick lol. Don’t worry he made up for it with some romantic kisses behind the falls.
We then headed back to Dave and Kara’s house to have pizza and watch the Bounty Hunter. It was a perfect day.

We will miss you...

2010-04-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

Robert Rainey Robert Tolman Rainey, 67, loving husband, father and grandfather, passed his final test in mortality and was called home April 10, 2010.

Helen Tolman and William Webster Rainey welcomed Bob into their family July 29, 1942, in Monterey Park, Calif. The family later moved to Yucaipa, where Bob helped with the family chicken farm. He attended Yucaipa Junior High School, but went to Redlands High School for two years because Yucaipa didn't have a high school. He graduated from Baldwin Park High School and continued his education at what was then called the Church College of Hawaii. His LDS mission call was to the Gulf States which included Missouri, Louisiana and Mississippi. After his mission, Bob enrolled at Brigham Young University, where he met Marion Francis Hornor. They were married in the Los Angeles LDS Temple on June 11, 1965.

Bob taught seventh- and eighth-grade geography and history for more than 30 years at Terreton Elementary School and coached the eighth-grade basketball team for many years. His love of sports, besides BYU games, included coaching Little League football, Babe Ruth baseball, West Jefferson high school baseball and faithfully attending sports events for his children and grandchildren. He had an incredible gift for remembering and teaching geography and history, but his greatest gift was loving his children and grandchildren. He also loved to sing in the ward choir and enjoyed fishing at his cabin at Henry's Lake.

Bob is survived by his wife, Marion Rainey of Terreton; children, Marion F. (George) Avery of Lava Hot Springs, Jennifer (Tim) Beaman of Woodbridge, Va., Melanie (Neil) Baird of Macomb, Ill., Camila Rainey of Billings, Mont., Jessie Pearl (Devro) Brinkerhoff, James W. (Summer) Rainey and Robert T. Rainey, all of Terreton, Dan R. Rainey and William T. Rainey, both of Pocatello, Andrew J. (Nohemi) Rainey of Yorktown, Va., and Jacob H. (Julia) Rainey of St. George, Utah; sisters, Lareine (Bud) Stephens of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Christa (Jay) Fittinger of Molalla, Ore.; and 19 grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Jack Rainey; and a granddaughter, Rachel Hope Hunting.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 17, at the Terreton LDS Stake Center. The family will receive friends from 6 p. m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday, and from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a. m. prior to the services, both at the church. Burial will be in West Jefferson Cemetery, under the care of Eckersell Memorial Chapel in Rigby. Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.eckersellfuneralhome.com.

Small Things

2010-02-04T06:30:00.000-08:00

Just a random post of Jake and I out having fun at the horses. We have been watching these Clinton Anderson training videos and then going out and trying to train Zelph on them. As you can see he needs a lot of work and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to show you the video because of what a chicken I am in it. Just before I started recording Zelph seemed to be trying to see how high he could jump and kick in the air. Of course when I start recording he doesn’t show any of that and only me being all scared.
I love how Jake is just laughing at me as i'm scared lol!

Knubbins striking a pose:

this one is blurry but its the only one I have so far of Honey Pot:

I was called as the 2nd counselor in the primary – eek! I’m a little nervous about it but it should be a good experience for me. Its going to be interesting trying to juggle trips and work with church but I think it will come together in the end. I went to a little high school reunion in Provo a couple of weeks ago. I had a chance to hang out with Tiff and see a lot of people I haven’t seen in years. It was a lot of fun looking back on some really perfect times and getting to see where everyone was in life.

Me and one of me best of friends:

Tiff took me to this cute cupcake place - of course I saw the peanut butter fudge cookies and said heck with the cupcake I want that!

Well short post but really all I have for right now…

Happy New Year!

2010-01-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

Thursday night was a fun stay at home time with Jake. I made some delicious artichoke dip and crackers and fake champagne lol. We played the game Farkle, http://www.farklerules.com/ which is a blast of a game… I totally recommend it. We watched movies and watched the fireworks from our guest bedroom window, which was perfect because I was comfortably warm while watching the big event.
Friday was suppose to be a kick back and relax kind of day that turned into the absolutely crazy day. I woke up early so I could finish the Lost Symbol book by Dan Brown. It was such a good book and if you’ve read it let me know, because I would love to chat about it with someone who has read it. We got it for Dad’s Christmas gift and I think he finished the book in two days… that’s how much he loved it. It references the Mormons twice but it’s very brief and not in a negative light. If you know Professor Langdons character then you understand how he doesn’t believe in religion of any kind or God so he passes off many religious ideas as “magical” or “myth”.
Jake finally woke up and we were off to feed the horses and pick up straw. The family we got straw from have a pig farm and I have never seen such large pigs in my life. They also fight like crazy and the noise they make is defining! Imagine two 400-500 pound pigs dueling it out with each other. They also had the cutest little girls on the farm with their little cowgirl boots and they fell in love with Hera and were chasing her around the whole farm. What great people and so kind to us.
We then headed back to the horses to finish cleaning and to lay down the straw for them. As I was working away in Zelphs pen I had this feeling that Zelph was a little too pumped up. Phil and Keith had been working on fixing a pipe and kept running a wire through the pipe and back out of it and it got all the horses scared and Zelph especially. He decided he was going to run back and forth in his area and buck up as high as he could go. So I’m in his area shoveling and he normally likes to be right next to me and apparently I wasn’t giving him enough attention so he came up and bit me on my back! I screamed and spun around and smacked him in his face. That’s the first time he’s ever done that to me… you can tell he’s getting older and needing me to work with him more. Phil, Jake and Keith all just laughed and laughed at the situation (of course they weren’t the ones to get bit).
So we hurried and packed our stuff up because we were going with Phil and his family Geocaching http://www.geocaching.com/ if you haven’t tried this yet and you have kids – get out there and do it! We had such a great time hiking out to random places and searching under rocks all to find the “buried treasure” lol! It’s a website that lists coordinates and you get your GPS and you go out to the listed coordinate and you read the clue i.e. put the lime in the lava rock. Usually the treasure is something simple like a toy car and some nail polish, but you can imagine how the kids go crazy for it. You then take the prize and replace it with a prize of your own i.e toy frogs and a kaleidoscope. We were out searching for treasure for hours! I got home after 5 and Jake had to leave the fun early because he had work to go to. I went right for bed and slept until Jake got home from work.
I made this soup my Mom introduced me to. If you love mushrooms then you will love this soup! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/cream-of-wild-mushroom-soup-recipe/index.html. Its actually a lot easier than it seems. I think getting all the ingredients was the hardest part of the whole process.

Well Happy New Year everyone!

Thanksgiving / Fortune Cookies

2009-12-16T07:30:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was awesome with Jake and his family in Idaho. We had a HUGE meal at Jim and Summers house with the whole family. Dad Rainey is an awesome cook and he made the best ham and turkey feast. It was too cold (a first for Jake) to play football outside this year in the usual family tournament so instead they played football on the Playstation.
We brought Hera with us and she didn’t know what on earth to do with all these little kids around to love her and give her food. She ate so much she was sick that night. Hera and Jim and Summers youngest, Brooklyn, were running around together like the best of friends. She would yell “puppy” and go chasing Hera around the house and then catch and hug her - yes lots of puppy kisses were involved (I guess it’s good for the immune system right? LOL). I had pictures but my phone totally crashed and everything had to be erased from it :(!
I actually participated in Black Friday! I never do and avoid the shopping “heck” like no other, but it was really fun this year with Summer and her girls. We went all over the place and shopped the mall like I was a teenager again. I bought a pair of darling high heels and Summer was so nice and bought me another pair of black high heels. I should take pictures to show you, because they are really darling. We also went to this place that is kind of like a Roberts here in St. George. They had the best idea for a craft that I will have to post. It’s these big clothespins that you mog pog – I’ll get crafty here soon and post about it.
Random update on Austin & Skylers new puppy Lizzy:

So I was watching the food network which has become my new favorite channel to watch. Jake I’m sure can’t wait for me to actually apply some of the things I’ve learned from the shows and cook some dinners, but until then ;). I did come up with one great idea from it – Fortune Cookies!

Austin, Melanie, Ryan, Skyler and our cheerleaders on the side Jake and Russell all got together the other night for a big Holiday party to make fortune cookies for coworkers and neighbors. We watched the Griswald Christmas show and had a blast even though we had burnt fingers and severe overdoses of caffeine we made it through. Austin actually became our cookie folding expert! You have exactly 5 to 10 seconds to fold and mold your cookie before its too hard and just crumbles in your hands. We put in cute notes like “ditch the sleigh this year and take the limo instead” or “watch out for Jolly Old Men” or “Mistletoe is in your future” – I know totally cheesy but cute.
Some pictures of the night:
Get them done in 5 seconds ahhhhh picture & okay we can breath now for 7 min until the next batch comes out!!!!!

we did it!!!!

and almost brought Melanie to start drinking...

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Disco & Birthday Slideshow

2009-11-09T17:30:00.000-08:00

Birthday Fun

2009-11-09T14:24:00.002-08:00

I sure got spoiled on my birthday. I woke up to a wonderful breakfast that Jake made for me. He made his specialty omelet with toast and orange juice. I then got to work where I was greeted with hot chocolate and so many gifts.
Lori my boss got me the most beautiful bouquet of purple and white tulips and with it she gave me some relaxing bath/spa packages and a travel magazine so I can plan some trips this coming year. My corporate communications team got me a cute popcorn bowl with the perfect movie night supplies. Nicole got me this awesome wall hanging that I put in my art/music room and it looks awesome, along with the book Tempted. Not sure if any of you have caught the House of Night series but its such a fun series to read (warning it does have some language).
Lori and Mike my two Vice Presidents that I’m an assistant for took me to Benjas for lunch. I LOVE that place – the cashew chicken with a level 3 of spice is to die for. It was fun having a little down time with the two of them and getting to know them away from the office.
Austin also brought me an Orange Peel drink that was so good! I guess the lady at Orange Peel totally remembers me so when Austin went in to order he said he couldn’t remember what exactly I got and she said “oh the girl at SkyWest with the long black hair… oh she has been getting the same thing for 2 years now and I know exactly what she wants” haha --- wow I need to layoff the Orange Peels I guess.
The afternoon came and the best part of my birthday started. Jake surprised me by taking me away from work for the afternoon and taking me to Jolly Boot Shop. We pulled in and he said “go pick out any pair of cowgirl boots you want” I was so EXCITED!!! I have wanted a pair of my own cowgirl boots for forever now. I came back to work to even more gifts … I told you I got spoiled… a $40 gift card to the factory outlet from Marissa and Brandi and an offer from Jo to take me to the movies on Friday.
It was Spencer’s 10 year anniversary and we threw a big 70’s dinner on for him. Not sure if you have seen this from the Office http://www.skywest.com/skysend/speny10/wedding-dance.mp4 but we did a duplicate of it just all dressed up in 70’s apparel. We even cleared out the SkyWest basement and pulled out the roller-skates. Disco music/Pizza/bubble machine and the disco ball --- what can I say ---it was awesome and even though it was all about Spencer he still got me a $15 gift card to Cold Stone mmmmm ice cream!
We then changed out of our 70’s gear and Jake, Austin and Skyler all took me to the Bent Fork for my birthday dinner. We were in one of those goofy moods and just laughed our butts off through all of dinner. Its always best that way isn’t’ it? To end the night off right we went to Cold Stone where we met up with Von and Ryan and had delicious ice cream and sat outside talking and laughing until late that night.
It was really a perfect day and thank you to everyone who made it so special. From gifts to text messages they all brought me a smile and they were all very appreciated. Here comes another fun year worth celebrating.

Happy Halloween

2009-11-03T16:28:00.001-08:00

Gosh I noticed this week how I haven’t had any time to update my blog. I have had so many fun things that have happened the past few months and I really can’t wait to share. I hope I can get caught up here soon so be looking for some random updates and probably going back to my Nauvoo trip in September to my move just in the past few weeks – yikes lots of stuff!
Halloween was awesome! My work does this fun parade every year and we have a big contest for the best costume. This year I just couldn’t get into it and so Halloween morning and grabbed some devil horns and called it good. Of course Todd and Jo did a much better job than I did. Jo came as Michael Jackson and Todd was Dr. Feel Good. They happen to also be the announcers for the parade so Todd came out and announced his co-host and Jo was standing on the SkyWEst balcony hanging a fake baby over it. She then comes running down the stairs and is put in a wheel chair and rolled into the breakroom to start the parade. It was an awesome start for Halloween. Todd even had Nicole and I come out and stand on each side of him… She dressed as an angel and I was the devil. He held the microphone up to her and she said “stop giving Michael drugs” and then I said “give him more…give him more!!!” It was perfect!

Halloween night we went with Phil and his family to this cool haunted house in Ivins. I figured a haunted house you don’t have to pay for and that is located at a persons house --- no big deal --- wont be scary. It was crazy scary! Well not that scary, but I have paid $10 bucks for haunted houses and haven’t been that impressed with them. Kaytlyn decided she wanted to hold mine and Jakes hands while she went through her very first haunted house, but little did she know that I was probably a lot more scared then she was. I was for sure screaming a lot louder than she was LOL. Then she would scream really loud and you would hear this perfect giggle that would follow it. I think all the kids had a blast. We did the trunk-r-treat and then Jake and I decided to get some pumpkin shakes at Arctic Circle and head home to turn off all the lights and watch scary movies. It was really a fun sugar overloaded lots of screams Halloween.

Happy Anniversary

2009-07-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to wish my parents a wonderful anniversary today. 37 years ago they were married in the Provo temple. My mom reminisced a little on the phone with me today from Tampa Florida, they are celebrating their big day at Bush Gardens. She remembered my Uncle John and Aunt Jolene taking them out to a Mexican dinner after the temple and my aunt had baked her a wonderful cake. They spent the night at the Royal Inn that has been now "shockingly" torn down LOL. The very next day they took off to Alaska where a whole other world of adventure started.
Thanks Mom and Dad for being a wonderful example to us and we love you both very much. We look forward to our 37 year anniversary someday and being as happy and full of love and life as you guys.
I included above the caricature you sent me that you had drawn at Bush Gardens. Looks like you guys are having so much fun.

Happy 4th of July & Happy B-Day Mom!

2009-07-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

I couldn’t find my camera charger this weekend so I have horrible pictures taken with my phone. I’ll just comment on the highlight of my weekend and that was probably spending the 4th with my husband and the Gubler Family. We had so many hotdogs, hamburgers and watermelon that I never thought it would get all eaten. In fact I won’t be eating any amount of watermelon until probably the next 4th of July event.
We then met up to watch the St. George fireworks which are always an entertaining show. I always try to remind myself that seeing life as a kid is a good thing and should be practiced more often. Wanting to go to Disneyland, water gun fights and fireworks should still be enjoyed even if I’m about to turn 29 in November. Debbies little boy Preston reminded me just how exciting those fireworks really are. St. George would set a big batch of fireworks from the Sun Bowl and then behind us they would set off another batch up on the red hill. So Preston would watch the big show at the Sun Bowl and just scream with excitement the entire time. Then the show ended on that side and the fireworks would start up again on the red hill. Once he finally turned around and caught the first glimpse of them it was like he was seeing them for the very first time and would start screaming with excitement again and stomping his little feet. It was really the most adorable thing to watch and it continued for the entire show. I think I enjoyed Preston more than the actual fireworks show but they were both a treat to watch.

Also today is a very special day – it’s my Moms birthday so we wanted to wish her a very happy birthday. She is somewhere in Montana right now probably catching some very big fish and without phone signal. I hope you are having so much fun and we love you so very much! HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! : )

Coming Home to Flowers

2009-06-30T06:45:00.000-07:00

2009-06-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to be part of the SkyWest Leadership Conference in Salt Lake and had a blast. It took a lot of planning and a lot of work but in the end I think the managers enjoyed the event and had a good time. The theme of the event was back to basics and so to cut on cost we had the event at the accessory shop.
We also did a football themed event for team spirit and working together. I was in charge of the Tug-o-War game with Spencer and it was probably not the favorite out of all the stations. This wasn’t your typical tug-o-war with two teams going against each other by pulling on a big rope. We took it a step further and had them pulling an actual airplane tug. Most of the teams were not too happy to have to be pulling on this heavy tug with two of their team mates sitting on it LOL. Any time it got a bit heated I realized I was paired up with Spencer for a reason “my bouncer” for the night.
Overall I think it was a lot of fun and after we got some drinks in the employees they soon forgot about the tug experience and loved everything lol.

I came home exhausted and ready to sleep for 3 days and opened the door to these amazing flowers Jake bought for me. The house was super clean and the flowers were perfect.
Then Jake told me we had to go feed the cows this weekend. In my mind they were cute little cows that love you and jump over the moon. When I got there I realized they were bucking bulls. Jake then proceeded to tell me that they are just like pets and to go into that pen and yell at them to move aside while we feed them uhhhhhh noooooo those don’t look like pets and I’m sure the devil horned bull eyeing me down is not going to listen to me yelling at him.
I got some guts and walked in and started to walk/run to the safety of the other pen. Only to start to panic when Jake started yelling “oh my gosh run” (totally just as a mean joke) Come to find out the nice little cows in the other pen were probably worse, because they had their calves to take care of. Then the water line wouldn't work and Jake had me crawl into a pen with a wild Mustang to say hello to. Godo thing he was more afraid of me then I was of him (if thats possible) and kept his distance. It was an adventure and no I didn’t get killed by a bull but I certainly won’t be turning my back to them any time soon.

Aviation Day / Horses

2009-06-18T16:28:00.000-07:00

I woke up early this weekend for no particular reason other than it’s my one day to really sleep in and that almost always means I wake up ridiculously early. Jake and I went over to the St. George airport for Aviation Day. I actually wasn’t really sure what to expect and kind of thought it would be lame, but it surprised me how fun it was. We ate pancakes and sausage and sat around and talked for a little bit with people. We then ventured out to see the airplanes on display. Jake zeroed in on a World War II aircraft that is in the picture below. Next to Jake in the following picture is Flight Surgeon Evan Creed who was awesome to talk to.

Have you ever seen the movie Second Hand Lions? If you haven’t go out and rent it tonight and if you have you totally know what I mean when I say this guy reminds me of the two old timers in that movie. He had all sorts of stories he shared with us. His badge was in English and Arabic and I walked up to him and saw it and read it to him in Arabic and he was so thrilled. He said he never had anyone from the States read that to him before. Then the stories started of eating fine dinners with royalty in Iraq and learning the language. He talked of the places he traveled to and their cultures he learned from. He and Jake had a blast discussing the history of the airplane. We finished up by watching some of the cool air stunts and talking to some people who actually made their own airplanes. After that all Jake could think of was building his own airplane. We hat a bit of rain so we cooled off on the way home on the motorcycle – an adventure in itself.

The rest of the day was spent with the horses. It was the perfect day to go out and have fun training them and riding a little bit. I haven’t ridden since I was bucked off of Lady so I was a bit nervous. Of course the first horse I decide to get back on is Benji the “war horse”.
He was acting up so I tried to keep our ride short and sweet lol. You can see in this video how he didn’t really want to be ridden and was trying to act up a little with Jake (sorry my camera didn’t want to focus too well).Jake says he wasn't bucking and I say he was...you decide :).
Here Jake is roping Zelph and working with him a little bit. I finally got a chance to pet him and work with him. In the past every time I would get close to him he would turn around to kick me. Zelph and Mama did not like me after I pulled Knubs away while Tom and Jake took him to get iodine on his feet and umbilical cord. She hated me for that and I was sure she was going to strike me that day. Anyways, looks like we made up and that trust is building once again.

2009-06-14T11:40:00.001-07:00

Survivor

2009-06-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

The relaxing weekend get away with friends and family turned into a survivor episode minus Spencer and Heidi celebrity survivor edition. Jake went up for the whole week and spent some great quality time with his Dad. My parents came in on Thursday and probably didn’t leave the motor home the entire day… the May Flies hatched and they were swarming! When I arrived early Friday morning I ran from the SUV to the cabin trying to hold back my screams because that would only mean a swarm of bugs would be entering my mouth. I felt like you couldn’t even breath they were so bad.
So when you can’t play outside you play board games inside, and boy did we ever play some serious board games. Not sure if anyone has played Rummikub but it’s a blast!!! I came home from our vacation and went right to the store to purchase it. Friday night the bugs let up a little bit so I went out fishing with Dad and Jake on the little boat. They both had this complex technique to catching fish while I sat in the middle of the boat with my jacket pulled up around my face and my hat pulled down over my eyes and the fishing pole sticking out of my bundle of clothing. This is my moment to brag – my way WON!!!! I caught two fishes!!! I caught a 3lb and a 2.5lb and Jake and Dad…well…they caught NONE! Haha!
We then came back to a very happy family with a plentiful supply of fish for dinner. Grandma fried some up and we had a wonderful family dinner. Grandpa became very excited about the fishing and was of course proud of his granddaughter.
The next morning Dad, Grandpa and Jake went out early on the fishing boat and Dad caught a 3lb and Grandpa caught an “almost” 3lb ;)
Okay I wont leave out Jakes big catches… he caught a big 5lb earlier that week and a 3lb and a 2.5lb. So he brought in the bacon…or the fish.
My mom and I were done with the fishing and took off to pick up Austin and Skyler at the airport. We then went to Yellowstone national park and faced the worst animals of all time in fierce blizzards – we saw a wolf – which turned out to really be a deer – we saw a wild goose – we saw a huge bear, which turned out to be yet another buffalo. It was a lot of fun hanging out with them and even my mom had a blast with the crazy group. So after not seeing anything worth taking a National Geographic shot of we headed back to the cabin.
We had a wonderful dinner and Jake took Austin and Skyler out fishing. Skyler had never fished before and once I explained to him that he would have to put the worm on the hook, he didn’t really like the idea of going anymore lol. We came back empty handed and cold, so we jumped into the car and drove to town to buy drinks and snacks. We came back played a few games and watch the movie Taken.
The next morning we woke up to a HUGE snow storm. Austin and Skyler were debating the night before on staying outside in the tent or staying in the nice warm cabin. I think they made the right decision of staying in doors that night. You can check out the pictures…and no they are not computer altered : ) we really did have that much snow.
So we survived, random animals, may fly disaster and the white out blizzard but it was a blast hanging with family and friends.

2009-05-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Lake Powell - Lizard Combat

2009-05-29T05:55:00.000-07:00

The family and friends we spent the weekend with came up with Lizard Combat as the title of our awesome weekend. The kids catching and endless supply of lizards combined with water combat equals the perfect title to our trip.
I have never been to Lake Powell and I couldn’t have had a better first experience. Lori and her family were so much fun and I had to pinch myself several times during the weekend because I couldn’t believe the experience I was having. It started with a wonderful boat ride with red sheer rocks towering over us on each side of the boat with the perfect amount of over cast. The house boat was like a parade of home on water. We had our private room which included a plasma TV and all the movies we could ever dream of.
We had a wonderful dinner with the family and Lori has the tradition of asking a question every evening for conversation. Our first question was “what do you like best and dislike most about being a guy/girl?” and “would you want to meet your great great grandparents or your great grandchildren?” – my answers were… best thing about being a girl is being able to have children (even though I have yet to experience it) and the worst is being underestimated (which Jake laughed at lol). For the last question I would want to meet my great great Grandparents because of the history and stories and advice they would be able to give me. We then finished off the evening with the movie Mall Cop and went to bed on the incredible house boat.
The next morning it was raining and I was so sad that I couldn’t layout and take in some sun. We made breakfast and lounged around for a while. I had a chance to get to know everyone a little better and Jake was put to work doing a few massages. That is actually why we were invited on the house boat was for Jake to do massages while we were there. I’m so proud of him and how good he is at what he does. Everyone just loves him not just for his talent of massage but his personality that is so loving and uplifting and always welcoming.
The weather finally changed from a steady pour to more of a light drizzle and Lori took us out on the speed boat for some surfing. I actually for the very first time had fun doing water sports. Granted I didn’t stay up for long but I did get up and had fun for a moment before losing balance and diving into the lake. The group made it fun and an overall good time even when my lack of talent shone through. Jake of course did a wonderful job at it and looked like a pro in a matter of minutes…okay maybe not a pro but following my act makes anyone look great.
We then came back to the house boat to have a delicious dinner. Lori and her husband Scott have theme nights and that night was going to be African night! Everything down to the costumes we got to wear and the napkin holders in the shape of Zebras, Lions and giraffes, it was perfect. Lori introduced us to another tradition of going around the table and saying things that you are thankful for. Jake of course was thankful for the delicious steak in front of him and Lori and her husband who invited us to have this wonderful experience. I was thankful for flight benefits and not just for the superficial reasons of traveling the world but for bringing our families closer to each other so we can visit them more often. Later that evening I learned a new card game called Nertz and it was a blast. Here is the link to the directions...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nertz I lost but it was still a great time.
The next day was PERFECT!!! Jake went out for a nice swim in the rain and I watched Mamamia in our room before everyone woke up. Sara & Terry who became such a great friends while I was there and was so much fun took me out on some wave runners and we had so much fun catching the waves and me screaming like a dork. I had my water proof camera so I got some fun shots. Then Bronco Mendenhall and his family came to the boat and they were so nice. Bronco grew up training horses for his dad and just a down to earth person. Some of you might not know that he is the BYU football couch so you can only imagine how excited Jake was to meet him. Jake even had a chance to work on Bronco and he really thought Jake was a great therapist tat BYU would love to have.
We went out on the boat again with him and his family and his little boy were so much fun… Cutter, Raider and Breaker were the ideal kids. They encouraged one another and the littlest was so fearless and was first to try to wake board. He was so cute and Bronco once he got up on the surf board he did such a great job and his boys were so excited for him.
We then went back to the house boat and went off the cool slide from the second story. Here were these little kids having no problem going off the slide and then their was me freaking out at the top trying to encourage myself to go LOL!
Then to finish it all off we went Lizard hunting and of course Jake took time away from giving massages to be sure to help with the intense lizard catching.
Our theme for dinner that night was Hawaiian Luau with Hawaiian hay stacks and luau music in the back ground. Sea shells and candle light made it a perfect ending to our evening. We then had to say goodbye and head back to reality.

Weekend part 2:

We tried to stay up with Jakes Dad and watched a little of Band of Brothers. He had to go back to Idaho on Sunday so it was sad not to be able to spend some more time with him. Then we just slept and slept. I’m not sure if it was all the swimming or the sun vs. rain but we were so tired the next day and had several hours of sleep. We went to see Terminator and it was okay… really wish they would have taken the movie a different direction but it was action packed.
The next day we joined Philip and Debbie in Kolob with their family and had a great time hiking around. Hera was a trooper through it all and is now dead asleep next to me while I write this

We are truly blessed for all the people who have come into our lives. For Lori and her family who each welcomed me this weekend and not only showed us so much fun and excitement but friendship and kindness. You really can feel the spirit with them and they are an example to everyone around them. Also, Philip and his family who are so kind in every way and always wanting to do the right thing. Congratulations to him for being called as the bishop in his ward.
We love you all and appreciate what you bring to our lives.

Kansas City, MO & Long Layover in SLC

2009-05-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

Who’s in for a trip around the US? I guess Jake and I were for this last weekend. We were trying to get to Kansas City to go to a Royals game and it just didn’t want to fall into place for us. Austin came to the rescue with an idea of flying to LAX then taking a Midwest flight to Kansas City. We had a wonderful breakfast at Chilis in the LAX Airport and just had a nice relaxing time before our flight. The crazy plan Austin came up with worked and talk about a fun airline to fly on. They make you fresh baked cookies and you get all the drinks you want, not to mention the first class seating.
We rented our car and threw in a GPS for major needed assistants, because I didn’t have a chance to MapQuest anything for our trip. Talk about a blessing in disguise! I couldn’t figure out what direction we were going or how to get there and not a mountain in sight to help me feel my directions out. Even Jake was getting confused and next thing we knew that ladies GPS voice became our new BFF on our adventure.
We went to the Royals game and I will be honest with you…the last time I went to a baseball game it was the Atlanta Braves and I fell asleep!!! Yessss I know sad, but they really can get so boring. This game however was NOT boring! I have never had so much fun at a game. They were showing funny movie clips on the big screen, playing fun up beat music every time a new player came out to hit and flashing his stats for everyone to view. They would start off a cheer over the loud speaker and all the hard core fans would go nuts screaming and cheering on. The energy was amazing and the seats were perfect right behind the pitchers mound. We had about 5 foul balls come back towards us and Jake went running to try and catch them… I was usually either covering my head like a girl or wanting to run the other direction. I didn’t want to turn out like Drew Barymore in that one show where she got knocked out or Sandra Bullock in Two Weeks Notice messing up a catch and all the fans ready to kill me.
We then went out to dinner after the game to a fun BBQ place that our little BFF recommended on the GPS unit ;) It turned out delicious and I’m fairly sure Jake ordered almost half the menu which we enjoyed the rest of our trip home.

Yes Jake took his BBQ leftover through TSA security and surprising enough they didn’t even question us about it. We counted how many times we had to go through the screening process on this crazy trip and it was 5 times! 5 Times of taking your shoes off and taking your liquids out and removing your belt and putting it somehow all back together in a few seconds before the person behind you runs you over.LOL!
Overall we really liked Kansas City and if Jake gets that job with the Chiefs I think it will be a good place for him and I will love coming out all the time and visiting.
We then experienced a miracle coming home with being bumped on our Denver flight and then making a direct flight into Salt Lake with a flight that was asking for volunteers to stay behind and -4 seats open… WE MADE IT as the last two on the plane! During our 4 hour layover in Salt Lake we decided to go see the conference center and go on a tour. Jake had never seen it so it was a great time to relax and visit. Here are some of the art works that we had a chance to see. I forget how big that place is and as we went up and up on the escalator I watched Jake get more and more nervous LOL The guy is scared of heights so he had a tough time with the wide open space structure of the building and riding the escalators but he loved it all.

President Hinkleys portrait made me cry because our wonderful guide pointed out the little smudge on his name plate where people seemed to always tap it. She giggled and thought how perfect and how appropriate it would be to just give him a little tap on his name plate as you walked by him and then I looked at his face and how happy he looked and had to agree.

He finally arrived...our new Colt and don't miss the two new posts below...

2009-05-11T15:36:00.001-07:00

We were in Twin Falls this weekend celebrating mother’s day with my parents when we received a phone call Sunday morning. Jakes first comment was “its Phillip telling us we have a new colt” and I thought “that would just be our luck” lol. Sure enough he was right! Knubbins brought a wonderful healthy colt into the world bright and early Sunday morning. She is doing great and had no complications other than delivering a massive baby horse. Our friend Chase is studying to be a vet and asked if he could go out and check on him (which was very nice of him). As he was inspecting the colt and administering an enema he was talking to Jake on the phone. He said “this is the best looking horse I have seen all season…he’s healthy and strong ugh…” mid sentence he gets kicked and that ended that praise. So he’s a feisty little guy and mother is VERY protective of him. She flips her body around and kicks and any horse or person who gets just a little too close.
A few of our friends came out yesterday evening to say hi to the new little one. Austin, Skyler, Will, Phillip and his whole family were all out saying hi to the little one. We hung out until it got dark just running around with the dogs and having a great’ol time. I will keep you posted of what we decide on with his name and how he is doing.

Mothers Day

2009-05-11T15:00:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Mothers Day! I flew to Boise and drove with Kim to Twin and we didn’t expect Jake until Saturday mid day but he caught a flight that evening and arrived 10pm in Twin. We stayed up until 3am just talking and having so much fun catching up. We watched The Burbs (funny movie) on my Moms new DVD player – yes she got that from us for Mothers Day. We had the grand tour of the house and all the fun remodeling and furniture. It looks absolutely fabulous and it most defiantly feels like home.
The next day Jake and Dad spent the morning working on Dads new electric car. He designed, put together, and created this awesome new fully electric car and it runs. We took it out for a test drive and after working out a few minor problems it is running really well. So for 20 cents he can drive something like 50-100 miles. Its really exciting to see him having so much fun and Jake had a blast helping him out with it all.
We then went on a fun picnic in the park. My Mom was so excited about the new BBQ they purchased and the China man who designed it forgot to include the proper screws and didn’t mention that entire assembly was required. So Dad got working on assembling the BBQ and Jake got working on cleaning and cooking the provided park BBQ. We had a blast and got to fish a little afterwards and mostly had a great time talking with Kim and hanging with the family.
We then had a wonderful Brazilian dinner. If you have ever had my moms Brazilian cooking you understand how big of a deal this is!!!! It was so good but way too much food in one day lol.
Kim then had to leave us to go back to her puppies in Boise and it was sad to see her go. You never get enough time in a weekend to do and say everything you want to and it’s just been too long since I had a chance to hang with Kimmie. I can’t wait for our next visit.
The family then headed over to Grandma’s and Grandpa’s for ice cream and cake (yes more food) and to celebrate my cousin Marthas birthday. Jake had a chance to work on Grandpa’s back and it really helped him. Grandpa couldn’t even stand up straight but after Jake worked on him and showed him some good stretches he was up and dancing (yes really dancing around – showing off how good he felt lol) we sure love him!
Sunday morning went too fast with church and then a wonderful drive to Thousand Springs which we have to go back to. I wanted to explore and take some extra time there but dinner was ready at Aunt Donna’s house and we had to hurry. We had a great dinner with Cousins and Aunt Donna and Grandma and Grandpa and Mom and Dad… lots of food and lots of love at the table. Grandma gave me this beautiful necklace that she made out of beads and in this cute jewelry box. I also got some delicious cookies and Kimmie gave me a hat and scarf that she knitted herself and are adorable and two movies and the best thing of all, that brought tears to my eyes was a little jewelry box just big enough for my wedding ring. It belonged to her mother and she has one just like the one she gave me. It was perfect with a little fairy sitting on top of the box all in silver. I LOVE it and I’m going to put my wedding ring in it every night! Thank you Kim and the family for making our stay in Twin so special… we really love all of you.

Angels Landing...I made it to the top!

2009-05-11T14:46:00.001-07:00

She Thinks My Tractors Sexy!

2009-03-18T16:09:00.000-07:00

Well our earless horse Knubbins is now in sunny St. George! (PETA you can put the guns away now...Knubbins did not lose her ears through abuse from us but it happened when she was born with a circullation problem where blood didn't reach her ears and they flopped over and eventually fell off.) She made the long 8 hours of driving in this crazy horse trailer, not to mention she is pregnant and should be having her baby in about a week!
Jake and I really had a fun time driving across country. We had a chance to talk, play games and goof off. Coming home with a horse and trailer was a bit more stressful so I read The Alliance book out loud to him. We finally finished the book and it was awesome! I really recommend it to everyone, its written by an LDS author and if you watch the religious undertones of the novel (well in most cases blatant undertones) you can see the depiction of good and evil and Gods plan vs. Satan’s plan. How God has given us the freedom of choice and agency and Satan wanted everything about us controlled so we couldn’t make any mistakes and learn for ourselves in this life. Its really a wonderful book about courage to step forward and change what you feel is not right and move towards what you believe in.

Here are a few photos of Knubbins new home and Hera on the tractor LOL! We shaved her for the summer because her shedding was really out of control. She looks a bit like a bobble head but still adorable as ever.

and bobble head Hera LOL...

Scary trailer...

the end...

Annversary...sick...Valentines...sick...

2009-02-24T10:37:00.000-08:00

I cant believe I haven't posted for so long. So much has happened in such a short time frame that I can't even find time to relax in front of a computer and write about it. We have been sick...we had Valentines day... Parade of Homes and parents moving back to the States. However, with all that I wanted to concentrate on the most important event of all... our Anniversary.
***warning I do get mushy lol***
It’s hard to believe that I have been married now for a whole year. I always hear from couples how the first year is the hardest and to be honest I was a little nervous. What happens when you get married…does he turn into this mean troll that doesn’t want to have anything to do with you? Well I’m here to testify that I married no troll but truly my best friend who I fall in love with more and more every day. I’m always excited to go home and see him and I still get excited when he kisses me on my forehead. He’s always up for an adventure and we have had such fun times together. Most importantly he knows how to be a friend… how to listen to my problems and give advice and how to just love me no matter how dumb our goofy I act or how bad my hair day is.
I’m grateful for the friends I have found through him. He has truly wonderful friends that I love hanging out with and that are lasting ones.
I’m thankful for Austin and Skyler and Nicole and Christine and so many others … we have had such hilarious moments together… we have laughed and cried and worked through life and I’m so grateful and blessed to have you guys a part of our life and we love you and love our crazy party times with you.

Well I look forward to forever with Jake and so many more fun times ahead of us. I’m really so lucky and blessed in my life.

and because I love my little Hera so much here is a picture of her watching the Dog Show on TV. She brought her toy duck up to watch it with her (no i did not place it for her - she did that all on her own)

Sleigh Bells Ring...

2008-12-14T21:22:00.001-08:00

Let it Snow… Let it Snow

2008-12-14T19:35:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas is officially in the air. We have our snazzy little tree up that we got in Pine Valley. We had fun decorating it and thankfully Hera hasn’t decided to push it over, eat the ornaments or the presents.

and my two favorite buds...

We had the wonderful chance to go to a Rainey family party in Idaho this weekend. On our flight to Salt Lake the flight attendant said that the moon that night was the biggest its been since 1993. Jake and I both thought that sounded a bit funny but enjoyed the view regardless.

We got to Salt Lake and found out that the flight was oversold by 4 people and a bad storm was about to settle in. We also got the worst news of all that Jakes Dad was in the hospital with congestive heart failure and fluid in his lungs. We both prayed for a little Christmas miracle of getting on the flight. Another flight was delayed out of ATL and our prayers were answered. We made the flight even being 6th on the list.

Bob was not doing too well in the hospital that night but after some great medication and some good rest he was looking a lot better. He insisted that we continue on with our family party without him and honestly 11 kids and who knows how many grandkids really can’t fit in a little hospital room.

So we took off on a sleigh ride adventure in Lava Hot Springs Idaho. Out of all the places in Idaho I think Lava Hot Springs would be the place that I would love to live. It is beautiful scenery every which way you look. We got there and the mules were sattled up and I was bundled up in every jacket and pair of ski pants I could possibly find. It was a perfect winter wonderland. (i made a slide show below of all the pictures)

We then got our bathing suits on (yes you read that right) winds of -20 degrees and we got our bathing suits on and went to the hot springs. It was just amazing to have snow all around you and snowflakes falling on your cheeks while you stay toasty warm in a pool of naturally heated water.

Meanwhile…. Hera was having a blast with her new bff Austin at home. Thank you Austin for taking such good care of her!

Jakes Dad seems to be doing much better and will most likely be released here in the next few days. Our prayers are with him and we sure love him.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Mom & Dad Time

2008-12-09T14:56:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to say how much I appreciate my family. We had a chance to spend some time with my parents who were here for the weekend. They are so much fun to be around and make everything an adventure.
We watched the Hulk one night and Dad of course stressed out over in the corner as he watched (he gets so into the movies) he shuffles in his seat and I’m sure his heart rate was sky high. Even mom got into the movie and didn't fall asleep. We must have been a sight with Jake and I on the couch and my parents in our fancy $5 lawn chairs all in this little tiny living room LOL!
We also had a chance to go on a nice drive to Cedar City Navajo Lake. We played stupid games the whole way, like who can guess the temperature in Cedar City or who can guess the price of gas in Cedar. It was so simple but we had such a fun time guessing and being stupid.
Hera had her first experience with snow and she LOVED it! She is such a smart puppy and she would run as fast as she could and then slide on the ice. She also looked like a frog in the snow because she would spread her back legs out as far as she could and then hop through the snow; it was such a funny moment. Then I looked up and this HUGE bald eagle was looking down at her. I yelled for Jake to pick her up and he was able to scoop her up fast. The eagle kept watching for us to put her back down but then lost interest and flew away... what a close call!
Well thanks Mom & Dad for such a wonderful weekend! We love you guys so much!

Pictures will come shortly…

Also, here is a Tag that Nicole sent me:

Fun Tag!

I am- waiting for 3:00 so I can hang with my parents & Jake
I have- the best family!
I wish- I was with Jake in Maui or Paris
I miss- my Grandparents
I fear- spiders
I feel- loved
I hear- music, typing, people talking on the phone and my heater
I smell- my lotion! I’m trying to cover up the In&Out burger I ate at lunch
I crave- chocolate
I search- for fun times… adventures, knowledge and truth
I wonder- where I will be in 5 years
I regret- some things in my past but I have to remember its just that…my “past”
I love- My husband, parents, Hera, friends, my job, travel benefits, horses and just being loved. I care- about everything… too much at times
I always- try to be a good person
I am not- perfect
I believe- in people really wanting to do the right thing
I dance- when no one is watching
I sing- in the car
I don't like- being away from those I love
I fight for- what I believe in
I write- a little bit but believe in leaving words of wisdom for those who will need it in your future.
I lose- my keys all the time and blame it on everyone else but myself… sure enough I find them right where I left them.
I win- at gambling NEVER but in life I have all I would ever dream of winning.
I never- listened enough to my father… he always had some great words of wisdom and I should write them all down to keep forever with me.
I listen- to the negative too much
I can- always be better
I am scared- of losing people that matter to me most in my life
I need- to just breath
I am happy- yes I sure am

I tag anyone who feels like participating

Tagged

2008-11-12T18:30:00.000-08:00

Well Tiff tagged me with this little questionnaire... so here is a little get to know Jake and Julia moment...

What is your husbands name? Jacob Heber Rainey
How long have you been married? Almost 1 year - can you believe it!! 1/25/2008
How long did you date? oh goodness... we met in May (17th if my memory is right) what am I talking about... we still are dating ;)
How old is he? 29
Who eats more sweets? I DO! Its really sick how much candy I eat. He really doesn't care for the sweets as much as the salty. Put a bag a chips and a bag of chocolate in front of him... well they would both be gone but those chips would be enjoyed the most LOL.
Who said I love you first? Jake did... and right after that he said "will you marry me". Talk about a lot in one night.
Who is taller? still under debate... I would say he is but I swear I shrank a little because I was 5'8 and now I’m 5'7 and I think you could say he’s 5'9... so that little inch makes all the difference.
Who can sing the best? Jake... I love sitting in the car with our long drives through Idaho and he sings some country song and it gives me chills.
Who is smarter? Jake for sure! That boy can remember anything that has to do with History. He knows about any major event/politics... the boy has a brain and I could listen to him all day.
Who does the laundry? He does... once in a while when he doesn't get to it during the week I will take care of it on a Saturday but he would be the expert... every sock has to have its match or it drives him crazy.
Who pays the bills? We both do... he has half and I have half. It makes it super easy that way. Who mows the lawn? uhh... what lawn is this? LOL the Mexicans do I guess. I pick up most of the dog poop when Hera goes. Just recently did he decide he would be able to pick it up... the man that nothing grosses him out, can't pick up a little puppies poop??? weird!
Who cooks dinner? gosh he does... I’m still learning how to cook if you can believe it. I also get home from work and DO NOT want to cook so I bust out the cereal and call it good. He also hates to eat late and wont eat after 5:00 and I don't get home until 6:00
Who drives? both of us... his driving makes me nervous :)
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? He is really good about saying he's sorry... I need to learn from him.
Who kissed who first? Jake... he took forever to give me that first kiss... I had to work for it LOL
Who asked who out first? He did... he took me horseback riding.
Who wears the pants? Jake, but if I feel passionately about something I will always win...you know me ;)

The rules for this tag: answer questions about your spouse, list names of people you are tagging in your post, then leave a comment on their blog letting them know they've been tagged. I'm tagging: Jodi and Mom - I really don't have any other married friends that have a blog sorry!

Jakes Birthday

2008-10-31T19:07:00.000-07:00

I think I totally spoiled Jake for his birthday but I’m a little biased :)
We took off to Idaho… yes… Idaho again. We reserved the cabin at Henrys lake so we were ready for a cold secluded getaway weekend. We arrived Friday around 10am and got to the cabin around 1:00. I thought I was in for a cold weekend and believe it or not it ended up being around 70 degrees!
We went fishing out on our canoe and caught about a 3.5lb fish.

Here is the fish before me cooking and after… I had my parents on instant messaging guiding me through the cooking process. I was proud of myself for being able to have such a yummy finished product.

I have really come to realize that I was always with Dad and Grandpa for all the fishing and then running off to play when it came time for cooking… I have a lot of catching up to do!
We had a wonderful romantic evening watching the sun set over the lake and watching some old movies.

The next morning we woke up bright and early and Jake took off fishing again. I got caught up on my Desperate Housewives and cleaned the cabin. By the time Jake got back from his adventure I was packed up and ready to get on the road again. We took the most beautiful scenic route back to Mud Lake. It was endless perfect ranches and rolling hills.

Once in Mud Lake and with the Rainey family we got together for the Turkey Shoot!!! Now if you’re anything like me you think a turkey shoot must be some kind of hick event where everyone gets together and shoots turkeys. Well I learned that no turkey shooting is actually involved and its really skeet shooting. You have a team of 5 and you have to out shoot all the other members of the team in order to win a Turkey or Ham! Well my awesome husband won both a Turkey and a Ham in the events. I also participated and got a 10 out of 10 (that 10 misses out of 10 shots)

this old man was amazing!!! he couldn't even stand up right and yet he would shoot a real 9 out of 10 or 10 out of 10 every time he would compete... I have never seen anything like it before. Only once did he not shoot because he couldn't see the skeet :)

Jake then got ready for the big football event. It was the alumni football game for Jakes high school. He was so excited for it and had been preparing for the big day for weeks. He did such a great job and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. They had all ages out on the field… I was impressed with some of the oldies still showing off their moves.

After the game the family all came back to Summer and Jims place for a ham dinner followed by cake and ice cream. I made the cake and forgot the candles so Jake turned 21 again because that’s all that Summer could find LOL! Jake got the book he wanted 1776, an ipod shuffle for listening to Rush Limbagh and Glen Beck an unexpected Mormon talk on CD.

Parents Came to Town

2008-10-31T17:23:00.000-07:00

Its been such a long time since I’ve posted. I couldn’t find my camera cord to download pictures and what’s a blog update without fun pictures?!?
Well my parents came to visit and we went out to Pine Valley for some serious fishing. Jake and my Dad both caught a fish… it was actually my Dads firsts time catching a fish by fly fishing.

It was great to have Mom and Dad here to visit even if it wasn’t for very long. They are always up for an adventure and we always have so much fun with them.

This is Hera learning how to swim LOL! She got a little flusterd with the whole thing but had a great time fishing.

Hera Slideshow

2008-09-17T16:24:00.001-07:00

Team Captain

2008-09-12T06:20:00.000-07:00

I came home two weeks ago to find Jake sitting on the couch smiling at me in a little “up to no good smirk” when the most adorable little face popped up from behind him.

Here is the newest addition to the Rainey family… Hera! She is a 5lbs Pug mixed with an American Eskimo and is absolutely adorableHere she is in her little BYU t-shirt supporting the team and then also watching some TV.

She got her second set of shots yesterday and it was tough to watch her go through them. She has those perfect puppy dog eyes that just pull at the heart strings. Even the vet made the tech assistant be the mean guy while she held her. They both couldn’t stand the little eyes looking up and the little whine she makes.

She is excited and full of energy and just so fun to play with. We are so happy to have her in our life!

the Honeymoon

2008-08-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

I think Hawaii was the perfect place to spend our Honeymoon. We only got bumped off one flight on our way there and that was just because we refused to take the early 6am flight… its our honeymoon… who wants to wake up early :)

We had to take in some of the more traditional sites, like Pearl Harbor. We didn’t even go into the museum. Jake was happy to just have his picture taken by some of the main sites and be on our way. This ended up being perfect because the line was stretched out the door and around the building.

We then went to Hanama Bay which was probably one of the coolest parts of the trip. We snorkeled the whole length of the bay and saw every kind of fish you could imagine. The weather was bit touch and go with the fierce wind the waves would come in and knock us into the coral reef. We were a bloody mess by the end of the day but I think it was well worth the scars.

Before you can even go into this preserved bay you have to watch this stupid movie that talks about not stepping on the reef. Jake left singing along to the song that they played mostly for the kids. Don’t worry that during several moments of our snorkeling I would look up and see Jake hoping across the coral with his flippers pointing up and then diving off the reef into the deep water… I guess the movie didn’t really hit home for him.

Next day we went to explore more of the island. We went to the Dole Plantation which was really fun to walk around. We even went through this cool maze. After we were done exploring the plantation we enjoyed a bread bowl and some of the most amazing pineapple ice cream I have ever had.

We then went to Goat Island, a place that Jakes Dad recommended to us. We talked to some fisherman as we watched some old people (naturalists I imagine) walk out to the island on the coral reef. They made it look easy enough so we thought we would try it. I thought we for sure were going to die. Are feet were cut up and I was exhausted by the end of it. I insisted on taking the camera with us so poor Jake had to hold the camera up while keeping his balance on the reef. I am amazed we made it without destroying the camera.

Only later did I find out from a friend of Jakes that is native to that island that Goat Island happens to be one of the most shark infested waters known to the island.

To end the perfect honeymoon we had a romantic dinner on top of a rotating view restaurant. As we were sitting there having an extremely over priced dinner I told Jake the only thing that was missing from the whole trip was seeing some whales… sure enough I look out into the ocean and two whales leap out of the water and blow water out of their spout. I really couldn’t believe that everything turned out that perfect.

Well I married the best guy a girl could ever ask for and we started our married life off just perfectly with this amazing trip. I’m so lucky to get to spend so many more adventures with the guy I love so much.

Rome Slideshow

2008-08-08T16:03:00.000-07:00

Rome Jan 2007

2008-08-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

Another one of our crazy trips! We left out of ATL and had a wonderful white cloud landing in Rome. Again we had to sleep on the plane and then spent the day walking all of Rome and back on the plane that night to go home.

This was probably the trip we felt the poorest on. American Express was not everywhere we wanted to be… and every shop we went to wouldn’t accept anything but cash, so we had just a little money to live off of for the day. First stop of the day was the Vatican. Talk about a breath taking view.

Here is the Swiss Guard lower ranking. We would see all levels walking around the Vatican. Some you could tell were important just by the way the strut their stuff :)

This is Saint Peters sculpture. We must have arrived just on time because the line wasn’t bad at all, but when we left it was insanely long.

Here is the Gallery of Maps and some of the sculptures that we had the chance to look at through the tour.

San Pieetro’s Dome in the Vatican Laocoon and misc sculptures along the way...

The Sistine Chapel with the focus of God Creates Adam by Michelangelo. Probably the most amazing room of all. We just sat forever just taking in all the stories depicted around us. They had gaurds going around telling people to not take pictures so I had Austin watch for a guard as I knelt down in the crowd and started snapping shots. I was so hungry at this point that I couldn’t steady my hand. I was surprised they came out as well as they did and even more surprised I didn’t get caught.

Here is the staircase at the Vatican museum. We probably had our best meal there and I had been keeping my blood sugar up by just eating Peanut Butter M&M’s from my pocket all morning so anything was delicious at this point.

The Trevi Fountains... you throw a coin in a make a wish :)

The Colosseum was probably one of my favorite parts. We came out from the subway and their it was. How much history happened there and how many fights and deaths happened with so many spectators. The sun was setting and it was an amazing highlight.

The Arch of Constantine right outside of the Colosseum

The Monument Vittorio Emanuele just down the street from the Colosseum. You pass some amazing history along the way but this blog would be too long if I included it all. At the monument all of a sudden cops just started to march in and vans of cops drove in blocking the area off. I can’t believe I didn’t freak out but Austin and I just stood around taking in the sites when a big Immigration Rights Protestors came marching through the streets with their signs and shouting in Italian. Thank goodness they just stayed friendly and just passed on through.

On the flight back we were stuck in ATL for about 8 hours just walking from gate to gate trying to catch any flight back home. Nothing was available and when I get stressed I don’t eat so Austin left to get food and he got to the point of exhaustion where he didn’t’ care and everything was funny to him. So I’m having a breakdown and he is in 7th heaven with his mini hamburger meal he found in the airport!

Bristol & The End of the Trip

2008-08-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

After a night in Bristol which seems to be mostly a blur we took off to Oxford and I think that’s when the exahstion was taking over Austin a bit. We probably drove around for 2 hours just trying to find a parking spot. This all for me wanting to see some of the places where Harry Potter was filmed. Come to find out most of those places are blocked off to the public or they were already closed by the time we arrived. It still was an amazing experience and so fun to just walk around the campus and see all the sites… here are a few of them:
Our last day was spent touring the sites of England. Here is a few famous ones you will probably recognize.

The Guard at the Gate

oh and we can't forget some of our Harry Potter Moments. We walked FOREVER to find platform 9 3/4.. when we decided to give up we came across it.:

Well thats our crazy adventure to England

The End...

City of Bath

2008-08-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

We then went to the city of Bath and took a tour of the Roman baths there. The heat was incredible and the water must have been wonderful to swim in.

Here I am touching the water : )

Here is me actually drinking the water… and if it wasn’t for the fact we were in a fancy restaurant I probably would have spit it out!!!! The thought just turns my stomach even now.

Here is Austin in front of the medical baths and they were right across from where the royalty would take their bath. I guess the monks were in charge of the medical bath and they would put the sick people in it to help them heal from their ailments.

England 5/26/07

2008-08-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

What an amazing adventure! An 8 hour flight from ATL to London and I swear it felt twice that on the return. Austin and I rented a car and I am embarrassed to say I did not have the guts to drive and decided to stick to being the backseat driver for Austin “no you’re going the wrong way…get on the left” LOL! I think roundabouts were probably the most difficult part but Austin of course thought they were “fun”.

First stop Stonehenge and it was so peaceful there. Jake teases me now and says I’m one of those funny naturalist that finds my answers at Stonehenge, trust me it was nothing like that but everyone stayed relatively quite and just really took in the view.

England Slideshow

2008-08-06T09:41:00.000-07:00

Faces and Places

2008-08-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

I thought I would recap some of the crazy adventures I've been on !
Rome
England
Hawaii
Brazil
Oregon

Loving Life/Catch Up

2008-07-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

Well Nicole gently twisted my arm to start this blog and I’m actually enjoying it! I’m really not much of a writer and get distracted very easily but anyone who knows me and “Julia Lingo” should be just fine getting through this.I am living in St. George and both my husband Jake and I have been here for 7+ years now! I do love it here except for right now when it feels like 115 degrees!!!Jake and I were married January 25, 2008 and are living our happily ever after together (totally cheesy but what can I say when its true) We enjoy lunches in the park, football games, video games, good books we can read to each other and just a good political debate.Jake works at the Green Valley Spa and loves his job. I work at SkyWest and love the flight benefits J Well I think thats all for right now...