Romantic Weekend Getaway

Jeff and I just returned from a 'Romantic Weekend Getaway.' Halfway through the move we decided if we survived we definitely deserved some couple time before Jeff started school and I got too pregnant to enjoy myself. We needed to go somewhere close and inexpensive. Growing up in Southern Utah it seems like we went to Zion for all sorts of picnics, dates, and activities, but I haven't been there since I moved away to college. We decided it was the perfect destination. After dropping the kids off with my parents we headed to St. George and went to High School Musical 3. It was the opening night for Twilight so we were the only ones in the theater...literally, which made things very fun! The next morning we went to the temple and then ate at Iggy's (yum!) before heading over to Rockville. We stayed at this charming Bed & Breakfast (pictured) called the Rockville Rose. We had never stayed at a bed & breakfast before and we were a little nervous, but it was perfect! Our room was adorable and the home made breakfast was amazing! If you ever decide to stay near Zion, this would be on the top of my recommendation list.

Just a few miles outside of Rockville is the ghost town of Grafton. My grandma lived there when she was a little girl. There is not much there now, only a few buildings and a cemetery, but the place has a ton of history and amazingly beautiful surroundings.

This may seem like a strange picture of the Grafton Cemetery, but I posted it because you can see the mounds; each of the graves, even those without headstones, are mounded. I hadn't seen anything like it before. A few of the headstones even read 'killed by Indians.'

We had a blast hiking Zion. We did several trails and took lots of pictures. I swear I don't know how couples survive without spending time together like this! It was the greatest thing to just talk about everything and have nothing but each other to worry about.

Zion was maybe even more beautiful than I remember. The weather was perfect (which is unusual because Zion is typically way too hot!) and the 'season' is over so the crowds were very thin and we were able to drive instead of taking the shuttle. We saw a ton of climbers scaling the giant walls. Jeff's most exciting thing was the bucks we saw because we were able to get really close to them. By the end of our mini vacation we were both ready to see the kids again but we came away somewhat renewed and a little more grateful for life, nature, and each other.

More You Didn't Want to Know About Me

My friend Shalise tagged me, so here you go:
Rules: Post eight habits, quirks, or interesting facts about yourself then tag eight people at the end.
1. I am not a girly girl, even though sometimes I wish I was. I don't wear perfume, jewelry (really - none, just my wedding ring and a pair of small silver hoops,) paint my nails, color my hair, and I wear jeans almost every day.
2. I don't like to shop. I mean really shop. I don't mind doing the grocery shopping and basics like that, it doesn't bother me or even feel like a chore, but I don't like to go shopping for clothes, shoes, decorations, furniture, etc. I would much rather browse online and not have to deal with stores, racks, crowds, salespeople, or trying things on.
3. My favorite drink is water. I prefer it over anything else. I rarely order a 'value meal' because I would rather have water than soda. I drink a ton of it and there's nothing I like more.
4. Three of my great-grandmothers are still living, which means we have five generations three different ways. Two of them are in poor health, but one of my Great-Grandmothers will most likely be around for a while to come. This is not only a 'unique' thing about me, but a very cool blessing.
5. I have an obsession with putting shopping carts away. It drives me CRAZY when people unload their cart and PUSH IT INTO THE PARKING LOT to hit someone else's car. If you push it out, put it away. It's not that difficult. I've often watched people go to more effort to wedge their car into the curb or grass than it would take to put it into the little cart corral.
6. I love mustard. I think it is the greatest invention ever that someone took a little seed, crushed it, mixed it with vinegar and voila! Mustard! It has such a great unique flavor and is good on nearly everything. I dip my french fries and pretzels in mustard, and now Daisy does too.
7. I had VERY blond hair as a child. It gradually got darker as I got older, then when I stopped coloring it in college it was very dark brown - only my eyebrows didn't get the memo and they are still blond, which means I have to color them every day. Yes, I look very funny without my make-up on.
8. I am NOT a night owl. Jeff teases that the coach turns into a pumpkin at 10:05. I can't stay awake and I am no fun at night. I can get up at 5:30 (but why would I unless I have to) and be good to go all day long, but put me to bed early.
I tag Christel, Jana, Susan, Emily, Brandi, Bethany, Kadie, and Rachel.

Body Worlds

Jeff and I went to Body Worlds last night with his mom and dad, brother and sister and their spouses. It was so nice to have an 'adult night out.' We ate at the Texas Roadhouse (yum!) and then headed to The Leonardo in Salt Lake. (http://www.theleonardo.org/)


There is NO PHOTOGRAPHY allowed, which naturally troubled me as a blog addict, so even though these photos from the internet aren't very good it gives you and idea of what it's all about. A German doctor invented a process called 'plastination' where he takes real donated bodies and preserves them by transforming them into a form of plastic.

Seeing the inside of our bodies in all different positions was fascinating. If you have ever taken anatomy or even human biology you would totally dig this exhibit. One of my favorite exhibits was the Early Stages of Pregnancy. There was a set of 9 or ten glass cylindars each containing an embryo at a different week between week 3 and week 9. They were naturally very difficult to see because they were so small, but it was awe inspiring to see the fingers, toes, spinal column and eyes on an embryo only 9 weeks old and less than 1/2 inch long.

Another of my favorites was a man with one hand in the air holding all of his internal organs in the exact positions they are found inside our bodies. His back was open and lifted so you could see the cavity inside.

Here are a few things I took away from the experience:

1. Plastinated bodies must need to be preserved in high temperatures because it was somewhere around 117 degrees in there and we were all DYING!

2. People will take an infant and breastfeed ANYWHERE!

3. Call me naive but it is impossible for me to imagine how anyone could look at these bodies and not be convinced that we were created by an all-knowing perfect God. It was such a testament to me of the perfection of His creation.

4. While I'm certainly not disputing his genius, I think this Gunther Von Haggen (the German doctor) has to be a little twisted.

5. The exhibit closes in January so make time to see it before it's gone!

Elk Hunt 2008

Jeff drew out on the Late Limited-entry Any Bull Elk hunt. He's been very excited and a little stressed. He's been looking at maps, finding trails, getting new gear, sighting in his gun, and talking elk to everyone he sees. The first picture is of Trevin, Jason, and Jeff with the big kill. Trevin won the camp award for the most impressive horsemanship skills.

The men got the camp trailer and the horse trailer all packed last Friday. I was assigned banana bread, cookies, and stew, along with the grocery list so I had been baking all day. They headed out around noon. He called on Saturday to say they had seen some big bulls, taken some shots, but not had any success. This picture is of Taylor, Ryan, and Jeff. Although Ryan may have been a little disappointed in Jeff's hunting skills, Jeff sure appreciated his help. Sunday when I got home from church Jeff had left a message on the answering machine that he had gotten an elk and they were working on getting it out. He got home late that night and we were all happy to see him, and happy that he wasn't going to be hunting ALL week long.

He was pretty disappointed with his harvest. He's been thinking about it ever since. While it's a nice bull, the biggest one he's ever killed, he said they saw several that were a lot bigger if he would have just waited and taken his time. Now he has a waiting period and won't be eligible for a big bull tag for at least 5 years! I must confess I am relieved that we don't have to mount it, which we would if it were any bigger. Big bull or not, it's all about the memories, right?

Halloween!

Our happy Halloween began with the family Halloween party put on by the party guru herself: Grandma JoAnn. All the cousins came in costume and played all sorts of spooky games including a scavenger hunt and a cupcake walk. Levi's costume wasn't quite ready yet so he had to substitute as a 'hunter.'

We carved pumpkins for family home evening. Daisy really got into digging the guts out. Levi said it was 'stinky.'

Thursday the kids got to wear their costumes to the preschool Halloween party, then Thursday night Jeff and I transformed ourselves into mechanics for the Couples Costume version of Supper Club. We even had a couples pumpkin carving contest!

Friday we were all set to go trick-or-treating. Levi's 'dinosaur rex' was a dream come true thanks to Grandma Jones. What could be better than being a two-year-old boy who could transform yourself into a dinosaur and then you knock on doors and people give you candy? We hit all the preschool, nursery and primary friends, a few relatives and called it a night. Happy Halloween!