4th of July - Tusher Lake

Happy 4th of July...and 1st of July to all you Canadians :)

Once again we had a wonderful weekend full of outdoor splendor. The Melling clan let us crash their family reunion this year and we (36 people, 4 camping trailers, 5 trucks, 7 tents, and 1 dog) headed to Tusher Lake on Beaver Mountain. It was great fun with a lake just a short jaunt from our campsite stocked with canoes and paddles, teeny fish, and leeches (we'll get to that). It was quite the production and although it was rainy for the first day, it was a very relaxing camping trip with yummy food and great company.

Each family took turns cooking meals. We were in charge of breakfast and I was a little worried because I've never cooked for that many people while camping, but George and I worked as a team and with the camp chef it was no problem.

We enjoyed a lot of dutch oven which is a personal favorite and there was also the treat table fully stocked, mmm :) George introduced the Mellings to sobe bombs which were a hit with all the children and even a few adults ;) It turns out 'star-brulee' was more popular than roasting marshmallows! If you are unfamiliar with star-brulee, quite simply it is roasting starburst candy over the fire. Grandpa and Grandma gave great devotionals every night around the campfire; teaching about prayer, ancestors, and some history of Utah. There were many different activities to enjoy:

Canoeing

Water fights - as you can see Sadie was a top contender storing water in her cheeks.

Liar's Dice

Sleeping

Widdling sticks was the activity of choice by many producing fancy chains, sliding balls, and spoons.

Eating, of course :)

The wonderful candy bar game

Badmitton

So on day 3 it was nice and sunny so Sara, Katie, and I decided to take a dip in the lake. We headed to the dam and crawled down thru stinging nettle (without touching it) to the rocky shore where we jumped in. It was SO freezing it made it hard to breathe, but we managed some good screaming before we got out 3 seconds later. We then went back to camp to rinse off, and that is when I hear Sara yelling my name. I go to the trailer to see what's up and there was a leech attached to her leg, EEK!!! We stripped down to make sure there were no other lil boogers creeping around. Eww it gives me the heebie-jeebies just to write about it now. It made the dip not quite as refreshing, but hey no serious damage was done. Later that day George and I found a clear stream and tested out our bare-hand fishing skills...yea we're pro. Two trout for each of us :)

I know I look a little nervous...it was quite slimy!

Misty did her three daughter's hair before they came up to camp...a lot of people were jealous so she had to give all of them similar hair-do's.

Grandpa Shrek :)

We got back to town Saturday afternoon. After some work on our house in Cedar we parked the truck up on a small hill and sat on the roof while we watched the local fireworks in Cedar City. It was the perfect way to wrap up such a great weekend. We think the Mellings are such a wonderful family and are so grateful they include us in all their fun. Thank you!! Also I just want to add how grateful I am for our country and the freedoms we enjoy each day.

God Bless America!

Stout Canyon

I LOVE summers! We just spent a great weekend up at a friend's cabin. We went up with Brett & Kate and his brother's family. The owner of the cabin fit the perfect rancher grandpa profile. He was SO kind and very welcoming. It's seriously a patch of paradise with a spring and pond, view of red rock spires, horses, and fresh mountain air! I thought it was neat the the cabin was completely off the grid. There is a paddle wheel that kept batteries charged for electricity and all the water comes from the spring. The weekend was full of good company, perfect weather, walks, swimming, zip-lining, 4-wheeling, dutch oven, fly fishing, and games. I love this time of year, especially in southern Utah!

Stout Canyon

Fly fishing at dusk

Grace & Wes - the cutest fisher-children out there :)

Taylor, Evie, and Kate taking a break on the 4-wheeler

George back-flopping off the zipline, zow!

PB & ♥

George texted me this photo a week ago...I hope he doesn't mind me sharing it, but I thought it was so cute. He is always sending me little reminders like this that make me smile and let me know he loves me. It's hard to be away from each other right now, but it helps us cherish the time we do get to spend together. I'm so blessed to be married to such a great guy. I love you George and can't wait to see you!


P.S. I promise we eat food other than PB&J's!!

A new sister!

Mac and Stephanie got married!  I'm not sure we can say they eloped, because they didn't really 'plan' it, but either way we are SO excited!!  They were rafting the Grand Canyon and found out that a reverend was on the trip with them. So Mac, being the romantic, asked Steph if she thought they should get married. She agreed and so the next day the ceremony was held on the rocky shores of the Colorado River. Dutch oven pumpkin cobbler and strings for rings...sounds like the perfect wedding for Mac & Steph :)  Congratulations you two!! Steph, we're so excited to add another sister to our family...we think you are wonderful!

Mac & Steph

April 21, 2009 

The newly-weds

Make way for the Segway!

George and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary a little early (we were married June 7th) but we won't be together on the actual day so we decided to have a pre-party!

This past year has been quite eventful and has flown by for both of us. We've really enjoyed 'married life' and look forward to the many years to come! Here are 7 highlights from the past year, not in any particular order:

1. Our honeymoon on Kauai...the closest we've come to paradise.
2. Taking George to Colorado for our autumn cider-pressing tradition.
3. Helping out on the Melling farm, George especially enjoyed getting his hands dirty for branding.
   
4. Rafting the Deschutes in Oregon.
   
5. Celebrating our first Christmas together in Crescent City, CA.
6. Helping Jody & Alison (George's bro and sis-in-law) work on their new home in Canada.
7. Getting George into heli pilot school!

To celebrate our first, we drove up to New Smyrna Beach (if you watch Hell's Kitchen, that is where the winner Danny used to live and was head chef there at Flip Flops Grill and Chill). We started the day by taking a nice stroll on the beach.

After that came the segway tour! For those of you who don't know what a segway is...it's basically a self-balancing two-wheeler. It has four gyroscopes inside and you use weight on your toes or heels to propel the segway and there is a 'steering stick' of sorts to go right and left. They are REALLY easy to drive and George only wished that he could have gone faster. It was pretty fun, although I don't think we're ready to spend the $5,000 to buy one!

We then enjoyed burgers on the beach and ended the evening watching Night at the Museum (Smithsonian), there were definitely funny parts, but we liked the first one better.

It's hard to believe that a year ago at this time we were preparing to get married. What a wonderful year it has been! I'm so glad that George is my husband, he brings so much happiness into my life and I love being married to him! We are truly so blessed and feel very grateful for our little family.