Dustin caught a fish in Utah!!!

If you know Dustin very well, you know that one of his favorite things to do is go fishing. Usually, he only gets to fish at Pop's farm when we go to Texas. That is until now. Last summer, we tried to catch fish off the bay of Utah Lake but no luck. We had heard that the fishing was crazy good a few weeks ago, so we decided to go give it another try. We drove out to the dock, and the rangers told us there was a great spot just up stream. Off we went. He cast a few times then caught one! He was so excited!!! His first fish in Utah.

Then, he kept casting time and time again and still wasn't catching anything. This was really weird, because everyone else around was pulling them out just about every cast. A little frustrated, we were getting ready to leave when this really nice, really happy guy asked how many we caught. Dustin said one. The guy just couldn't believe it. He let Dustin borrow a lure, and give it another shot. He started catching more, and that's when it got super fun. It was crazy to watch, because as he was reeling in the bait, you could see about 5 fish following it in the water before one would snatch it. The next week or so, Dustin went fishing quite a bit, and with the right bait, he caught a ton of fish! One time, when he reeled in a fish, he went to get it off the hook when he realized he had hooked it in the fin! Crazy!

Now, he just wants to figure out how to catch those huge carp in the lake.

This is me just chillin' watching my HOT fisherman!!!

Tennis!

When I married Dustin I had no idea that I was marrying a family of tennis players. His whole family played tennis and Dustin was quite the tennis star back in high school or so I hear. As for me, I took tennis lessons for a few weeks from my 5th grade student teacher because me and my friends thought she was cool. Anyways... Dani, Rach and Destiny invited me to go play with them today. I was really excited because I have always thought that tennis would be a fun sport to play (and they get to wear the cutest outfits, and when they keep score sometimes it's love, how cute!) So I showed up all decked out, I was so excited I finally got to wear my tennis skirt! When we first started I was wacking the balls all over and making poor Dani chase them. Then she taught me some 'moves' and the right way to hit the ball and it got a little better. (Thanks Dani for the lessons!) I felt so uncoordinated, and probably looked it as well but after it was all said and done I LOVED IT!!! I got a work out, hung out with my awesome sister-in-laws, got some sun and got a tiny bit better at tennis. Ask Dustin, I think I'm addicted! After I came home and showered I think I asked him twice if we could go play. It was so much fun and I am seriously looking forward to next week!
P.S. You've got to check out this tennis court in Dubai

Strawberry Days Rodeo

Summer is officially here and we are LOVING it!!! One thing that we love to do in the summer is go to rodeos. Something about the music and being outside and seeing guys jump on crazy wild bull is fun! This time we went with Roxanne and Clayton to the Strawberry Days Rodeo, named because they sell strawberries and cream there (which Rox figured out about halfway through the rodeo :) and I think because they used to farm lots of strawberries in P.G. Anyways, Clayton used to Rodeo so that was interesting sitting by him because he would fill us in on interesting facts. They started with mutton bustin' with the little kids, so cute but I think my favorite was the bare back riding.

Oh and they had these BMX bikers come and do tricks off this big ramp. That was probably my absolute favorite. They did all these CRAZY tricks and I don't have any pictures because I was so into watching them I didn't want to miss anything while I messed with my camera. Their finally was one of the guys doing a back flip with his bike before he landed! Wow! Anyways, It was a fun night.

bring on the sun

I think today marks the third warm day in Utah this year...warm by my standards anyway. We're stuck in a perpetual winter, and I wonder how much more of this weather my sanity can handle. Up until I was 23 or so, I think it's safe to say that at least 50% of my time, I was strutting around in shorts, sandals, a t-shirt, and, of course, a ball cap (excluding Peru). Lately, I've been trying on the old uniform, but inevitably, I freeze my buttocks off. Texas is calling my name in more ways than one, but sometimes you're dealt a different hand than anticipated. What an analogy: play with the hand your dealt. I like to think that we can stack the deck a little and deal our own cards, and you can always win big with nothing in your hand, but not knowing a good strategy to do so when looking at your cards for months can be a little frustrating. You following? Being married to Caren is awesome; being married to a house or a business...not so much. = ) Life is good and all, but wanting to do some things while tied down to other things can get really confusing when the ropes are too strong and the knots too tight. I could always be like Alexander and the Gordion knot, but his ambition didn't exactly lead to the greatest outcome. Long story short - there are things I really want to do here; there are things I really want to do over there; I'm not certain which will be best for us; I am certain I can only do things here until my house sells; and alas, the more things I begin here, the more complicated the knot becomes. Not complaining...just verbalizing the situation. I think I just need some more sunshine, a better way to catch fish out of Utah lake, and maybe a four-wheeler for the mountain in my backyard.

Bear Lake

We spent a weekend in a condo on Bear Lake. It was such a beautiful place. Dustin and I were so busy talking and playing Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader (a GREAT roadtrip game) that we missed the turn to go up Logan Canyon and we ended up in Preston, Idaho. Oops! So we took the 2 hour detour but made it there around 11 PM. The weather was nice so we got some good sun, but the water was FREEZING! Dani, Matt, Lexi and Jax went up with us for a few nights. One afternoon we walked out to the water, took our shoes off and walked around. The water was REALLY clear, and there were seashells covering the beach (kind of random). Lexi was having a lot of fun splashing around!

We also went kayaking one day, and it was fun to go out farther and still be able to see pretty far down. We watched movies, played games, ate hobo dinners and cinnamon rolls for breakfast, went swimming in the pool, played on the merry-go-round and ate yummy raspberry shakes! It was a fun relaxing weekend.

Dustin and Lexi walking around. She sure loves her Uncle Dud-dee (Dusty)


The view from our condo window.

Dustin... The T.V. Star!!!

That's right, Dustin was on the news tonight! Pretty cool! The guy he bought his natural gas van from was being interviewed for a segment about natural gas vehicles and they wanted some of his happy customers to talk about driving one. He looked so HOT and did so great! I can't get the link to work so go to kutv.com, look for the living greener clip about natural gas vehicles then the clip is on the right side of the screen.

Enjoy!

Grandma Little

My sweet Grandma Little was reunited with her parents and siblings recently. Her health hadn't been the best over the past few years but I just always thought she would be around forever. She was an incredible lady from whom I learned a lot. All my life I have lived within an hour of my Grandparents and for many years I lived only 10 minutes away. Grandma and Grandpa were always so involved with my life. They came to many of my performances and special events. Grandma was always interested in what I was up to. Living close I loved just dropping by and visiting with them, they always made me feel so special and loved. Grandma had such a positive attitude about life. Dustin and I went up visit them for Grandpa's birthday about two weeks before she passed away. I am so grateful that we did because we had a wonderful visit.

My very favorite memory with Grandma was just this past October. My mom and I took Grandma to New York City. She had always wanted to go but had never made it. We saw lots of plays and the sights and did so many fun things but the night we went to Carniege Hall was the best. We could not flag a taxi because all the shows in NYC start at 8 o'clock when a little bicycle taxi pulled up and asked us if we wanted a ride. We looked at his little contraption and thought how hard it would be for us to get it and all fit. He said we could fit so we gave it a try. Mom and Grandma climbed in then I sat on their laps. It was raining so we had this clear tarp thing over us. We started giggling before we ever even left because we were squished in a little cart behind a bicycle taxi, all dressed up, going to Carniege Hall! The guy took off riding and he was working for his money this time. He got us there pretty quick and we laughed the whole way. Getting out was an interesting feat but we were all in one piece with tears streaming down our cheeks because we were laughing so hard. After the recital when we were going down the elevator Grandma kept telling everyone "You'll never guess how we got here..." and she would bust up laughing again. It was really fun to see a silly, carefree, laugh till you cry Grandma that night.



It's times like this that really strengthen my testimony and make me so grateful for the plan of salvation. I don't know what I would do if I thought that this was it, how depressing. Life is so much better and trails are more bearable knowing that there is life after this. I am also grateful that Heavenly Father gave us families, people who love and care about us no matter what and that are there for us as we go through these trials. I have learned so much from my family and are so grateful for them.

P.S. Grandpa, I love you so much and I am so lucky to have you as my Grandpa. We need to have root beer floats on your back porch again this summer!