St. George and Zion National Park

Jess and I, and Jess's mom, Kaye, were able to take off for a couple of days and play in St. George. None of us had ever been there, so we were excited. We had a great time!

We were able to stay with my great-uncle Darryl and his wife, Joann. They are a blast and so great to talk to.

Darryl drove us all around St. George to see the sights. Here is overlooking downtown St. George and the temple. After this we headed to In-N-Out Burger, which is new to St. George.

Coming out of Snow Canyon.

Snow Canyon. It was so neat to see all the red rock!!

The Tuacahn theater. When I asked around at work what we should see in St. George, this was one of the suggestions. We want to go back and see a play there sometime. :)

Joseph Hamblin's (the Buckskin Mormon) home in Santa Clara. He made friends with the local Indians in the 1850's-till he died. They taught him tricks like sleeping in the center of a horse hair rope laid on the ground in a circle to keep rodents from crawling on you at night. His house was neat, with lots of interesting facts. Church historical sites are the best because they are free!

In front of Brigham Young's Winter home in St. George. Here we found out why St. George is called St. George. The story was that George Albert Smith (later a prophet and president of the Church) lived in St. George with his family as one of the first settlers. There was hardly anything to eat except potatoes. George would peel potatoes and feed his family the potato and he would eat the skins. His entire family ended up dying of scurvy and he didn't. They figured out that something in the potato peels prevented scurvy, so George saved the other families in the area by telling them about his experience.

I also like the story of the green paint. When the Saints ordered white paint for the Salt Lake Temple, the paint that came was actually green. It was used on many homes at that time.

We were able to go to a temple session on Monday morning (yes, the temple was open!). It was very neat. This temple was dedicated in 1847!

Zion National Park--the Checkerboard Mesa.

Zion National Park--going through the narrow tunnel built in the 1920's!

It was a little warm, but from up here, the breeze was great! It felt really good after the heat on the hike up.

In the bottom left corner, you can see the tram on the road. This is what you ride to each stop/site in the park from about March to October.

The "organ" on the right.

Flowers of Zion National Park. It was neat to see desert and mountain-type flowers growing together.

The view from the Angel's Landing hike.

Taking a breather in the shade on the Angel's Landing trail.

The trial to the Narrows hike is closed now, because of high waters.

Kaye and I

It is amazing how these beautiful plants grow out of the rocks!

I love the contrasting red and green. It was sooo beautiful.

A few park natives.

The Weeping Rock.

Happy Anniversary

Jess surprised me again this year with a treat. He told me we were going to stay at the Marriot here in town because gas prices are to much. Then we started heading north instead of to the Marriot and he told me we were going to visit Tricia and Nigel. He "accidentally" missed their exit, and we headed to Salt Lake where he said we were going to go eat somewhere. I thought we'd go to the Little America again, which was cool, but then we drove right it. Then I knew Jess had probably booked something at the Anniversary Inn, and that's where he pulled in. :) We had a very nice 2 year Anniversary. We went to the top of the Church Office building, which neither of us has ever done. It has a great view, especially on a clear day.

Anniversary Inn on South Temple. Get a gift certificate at Costco for a better rate. My husband is so good at finding deals like that. :)

We also tried out the Mayan Adventure Restaurant in Sandy. It was pretty neat. Monday afternoons is good time to go. There were only 5 other occupied tables.

2 Whole Years!

Wow! Time flies! Tomorrow is our second wedding anniversary. It has been a good adventure. We've been so blessed and have had some great experiences!

May 12th, 2006

I was tagged by Megs a while ago, and this is appropriate for our anniversary. The "all about my man" quiz.

His name: Jess

Married: 2 years

How long did we date? About six months all together, in 2004 and 2006.

How old is he? 25

Who eats more sweets? I eat more baked sweets and Jess likes candy, popcorn, chips, etc.

Who said "I love you" first: Jess

Taller: Jess is 6'2"

Sings better: About the same, I think.

Smarter: Jess has more common sense, I have more book smarts.

Laundry: Jess did do the laundry when we were first married, now we share.

Bills: Jess!

Sleeps on right side of bed: Me

Mows the lawn: We don’t have one yet, but we’ll probably (hopefully) take turns.

Cooks dinner: We take turns. Jess is a good cook. Thanks Kaye!

Drives: Jess. Even when I am behind the steering wheel, Jess is driving.

More stubborn: I am on some things, Jess on others.

Who kissed who: Jess kissed me first; it was my very first kiss.

Asked out first: Jess’s friend asked me out for Jess because someone was a little nervous. We went on a sleigh ride! It was a blast! There wasn’t enough room on the hay bales for everyone to sit down, so I Jess had me sit in his lap. I was so nervous; I was really squeezing my butt muscles and trying not to be too heavy.

Proposed: Jess did

Who wears the pants: Jess. He says I do.

Jogging Tales

I was minding my own business going for a jog a couple of Saturdays ago, the 26th of April, actually. I went on my usual path west on the Provo River trail. It was a beautiful day, but a little chilly. There was a walk for Multiple Sclerosis going on; it was about 9 a.m. On the way back, I saw a man running towards me who did not have any clothes on! He only wore sneakers and was holding his shorts over his mouth. Being rather embarrassed to see an awake, upright naked person, I averted my eyes to the ground and ran faster to pass by him. The next ladies I saw were walking and I stopped them and asked if they had seen the streaker. They hadn't. I asked if it was legal to run naked on the river trail. They suggested I call the police. I had forgotten my cell phone, so hurried home and called the police for the first time in my life. I explained the situation to the dispatcher. I was worried kids at the MS walk would be traumatized for life by sight of the "streaker." The dispatcher asked for a description of the man. About 5'6", Hispanic, and naked. Later she asked, "So what was he wearing?" to which I replied "Nothing!" She sent an officer over to check it out, but I am sure the "streaker" was long gone by then. Beware of running on the Provo River trail. At least carry a phone and/or something more harmful (Mace).

Hogle Zoo

Last weekend we spent some quality time with Jess's family. The weekend before was with my family--but no pictures. Here is Jess being a good uncle; showing Madi the elephants.

I was impressed by the giraffes. They are my favorite animal to observe at zoos. We weren't able to find the giraffes at the San Diego Zoo, but the Hogle Zoo made up for it. :)

Jess's family all together

Yay! Up close and personal.

Good weekend

A few weekends ago we were able to have Jess's friends Logan, Lisa, and Sums stay with us. We had a great weekend and were able to drive north to see Lorin and Cassie's new arrival-Paisley. :) She's adorable!

The guys were able to help Lorin move a few rather large rocks to the front yard.

We also ate at the classic Pastorero. It is yummy!

Easter

My sister Claire and I had a great time dying Easter eggs. I promise, I haven't done this in years. I wanted to make deviled eggs with them, then Claire wouldn't let me. :) I'm sure they've been deviled by now...

Claire, my dad, and I.

Showing off her masterpieces.

Jess with his nephew Ethan. Ethan wanted to "race cars"--in the arcade part of the bowling alley we were at. Jess, being a good uncle, let Ethan sit on his lap while Jess did the driving. :)

Bowling with Jess's family.

On our way home, we were able to stop in Brigham City and visit one of my mission companions--Analisa. She looks adorable pregnant.

New Job

I failed to mention that Jess got a new job. He still works at the same hospital, just in a different department. He now takes care of more sickly people, in the Intensive Care Unit.

He went from this...

To this.
He is loving it and is doing a great job. I'm voting him employee of the month. (These aren't actual pictures of patients, by the way).

Jazz Game

Jess finally was able to use his Christmas present on March 20th (nothing like a present that you can a few months later...) when the Jazz played the Lakers! He got to see one of his favorite teams and one of his favorite players play some ball. The player is not on his favorite team. You can see this is below.

Any guesses? You may have to zoom in. His initials are KB. :)

The teams warming up during half time. We had a good night on the town enjoying some B-ball.