You in the Uinta's

Sometimes, it feels so good to lie in a little plastic house while it rains. I may be having some Oregon withdrawals, because all I wanted to do was walk in the rain.

Mr. Moose was banished to this towel for most of the trip. Mmmmmm, wet dog. 

RAIN WALKS

Fall is in the air.

Mandy and Sean have mastered the cow grate crossing. Check out those clouds, eh?

This game was not notable on any level; I lost.

 On Sunday we hiked to Granddaddy Lake. 9 miles (it should have been 8, but we got a bit lost).

 Is there a lake monster in there, or was Rusty skipping rocks?

 Ah, the self-timer shot...Mandy doesn't think I'm ready. 

Yay for the yurt and the rainy Uinta Mountains!

Change is Change

After 11 months, my crazy, start up, unorganized, occasionally fun, hectic job has ended. I say "has ended" instead of saying that I got laid off, or fired, because (although I did technically get laid off) my company ran out of money. I have a measure of relief, because a lot of the elements of that "start up culture" clash with my personality. Mixed with relief, I have a measure of panic -what now? I'm thankful that my online teaching is starting again - Aggie Pride. I'm thankful for Michael's steady job and benefits (being a married lady is kind of nice sometimes). I'm thankful that I get to hang out with Moose Dog for a few days and focus on my PhD applications.


But...what now? This year, with wedding madness, and my 40+ hour job, and my teaching job, has been chock-a-block full of activity. I'm gearing up for the job hunt (already been cruising Indeed.com), recovering from the whirlwind that was this job, and looking ahead. Any suggestions, any one want to be my life guru?

I went over the relief and the panic, but--and this one is surprising me--I also have a small measure of pride. I survived. Made it through this company from start to finish; I feel like I did all that I could (sometimes in a heroic way) to sustain the company I worked for. Working in a HR capacity can often be emotionally draining -- does anyone really want to fire someone, or watch a company capsize? But, I made it. I also kicked some student loans right in the face -- hiyah! I'm excited to move forward, and even though it would be very easy to bash on the job that just ended, I'm going to focus on the fact that it was very good for my little family's finances and it helped me understand what I'm good at. I also got to meet some amazing people. Will I miss fighting for regulation compliance and pushing payroll through?

The very last thing I did as HR (besides fire myself...) was run a food drive for the Utah Food Bank. We collected 486 pounds of food! Loved taking the collection into the food bank, and award prizes in the office. That may sound like a little thing, but I'm going to cling to it.

 Weighing in on the mega-scale. 

Here's to the future--Cheers! *throws up*

Sheepdogs and Kettle Corn

Michael and I went up to Soldier Hollow to watch Sheepdog trials as the start of our Labor Day weekend. Since we are currently babysitting my parent's border collie, it seemed fitting. 

I'm not sure that Moose could ever be convinced to usher sheep around a giant field, but after the film 'Babe', what right do any of us have to underestimate an animal's shepherding skills? 

See the sheepies? Really though, Moose wouldn't even be aware that there were sheep up the hill. 

We very much enjoyed the Splash Dogs too. I think my niece, Callie, could join this contest. 

 

We ended up at a Mexican restaurant in Midway with a awesome salsa bar. 

Yay holidays! Someday I'm going to go teach moose how to heard bunnies. For now he'll just focus on cuddling his friends. 

Moose has an Uncle Named Theodore

Somedays are days where you save a dog from the Humane Society and eat a lot of chocolate. Those are the best days.

Brunch at Snowbird was very nice. Sushi + chocolate + cheese? I accept.

 We went to the Humane Society on Saturday, but we were a little too late to adopt, so we had to go to back the next day. When we got there on Sunday, though, he was not in his kennel. We were a little concerned/horrified, but it turned out that he was out on a field trip to Petsmart. So, we sped to South Jordan. 

My dad was happy to see his birthday present.

He wasn't so sure about the car. If only he new he was coming home to a fun backyard and a bunch of people who already love him. 

This is how the backseat feels about the puppy. 

Welcome to the family, Theo.

The Calm After the Party

Whew, we made it.

Dear everyone who as every been involved in planning a wedding,

Good work.

Love,
Sarah

In my case, all that work really paid off. I'm not sure how my family/friends feel about that--since I spent the last month ordering them around--but I'm so happy with how it turned out. I'm excited to get pictures back. I'll be a postin'.

Part of me wishes that I had invited everyone I've ever met, because we had such a good time, but I also am so happy with the way it turned out that I wouldn't change a thing. I'm so proud of my family for pulling it off and I'm so happy that I was able to enjoy the day. It didn't even rain!

My post-wedding brain can't quite seem to sit still. Despite my unsubscribing from many wedding blogs (except for Green Wedding Shoes, still like that one), I still seem to be on high alert for all things wedding. I don't think I'll be joining the wedding business anytime soon though--I consider myself a reasonable person, but during wedding time? Total loon. Who would want to work in an industry where everyone is the craziest version of themselves? I'll pass on that. I'll also pass on getting married again. Best anti-divorce plan? Plan a wedding.

My griping aside, I loved our ceremony so much. I am going to post the transcript of the ceremony here, after I finish scanning it in. Our officiant, Roxanne, did such a good job and helped everyone focus on what the day was supposed to be about: a celebration of love and the conception of a new family. The only snafu? I bit too much blubbering on my part, and my putting the ring on Michael's wrong hand--we should have practiced that I suppose.

Part of our ceremony included putting letters in a box that will open on our one year anniversary -- wedding guests and Michael and I added our thoughts. Looking forward to remembering the feeling of our ceremony and wedding day when we re-read these messages.

To sum up, I feel very lucky and very married. That's a good place to be. I will share pictures and other wedding tidbits as I have time--seem to have a lot more of that time thing lately!

Super Cool Runnings

Father's Day is adventure day. My sister and I always spend Father's Day with my dad, going on some sort of awesome adventure. One memorable year, we went to Tracy Aviary and were interviewed on the local news.  Next to an emu. Apparently emus are good fathers...who knew?

This year, we hopped up to Park City and went on the bobsled run. If you've seen me in the last week, I've already told you about this. It was so cool.


We watched the aerial show. $10--totally worth it. These people are kind of awesome. I'm not afraid of skis or hieghts, but I don't know if I want to fall from a height. into water. while wearing skis. Although, perhaps water is better than an icy slope? I seem to be all prepped for the Sochi Olympics.

Then we did the bobsled. Yeah!

Laura is laughing at me in my helmet. Little does she know...I have a camera. And a blog.

I have the coolest Dad.

We traveled one mile in 1:00.08 minutes. ONE MINUTE. The track record is half that, which makes my mouth fall open in a stupor. It was an expensive minute, but pretty awesome. The driver said that locals don't do it very often, so come on Salt Lakians, let's go! I have a new found respect for the 2 & 3 man who jump in -- it's really not that big. I also can't believe that it goes twice as fast in the winter. The summer sled is basically on big roller blade wheels, is more padded and easier to drive, while the winter sled is on actual metal blades, has no padding, and is very hard to steer. I think I'll stick the summer version, with the employee pilot. I also learned that if you're a super snob, you call the sport "bob sleigh."

It was super fun, and a little crazy--just like my Dad.

Pool Time is Cool Time

I'm a bit behind on this blog, but I've been missing those Arizonian (almost) in-laws that I have. I got to go visit for a weekend a while back and see those brand new little matching babies.

Here's a few pictures from our trip. So happy that I get to see them all again soon.

 Some chose to just Slip n'Run.

 She's holding her pink brush above water, so that it doesn't get wet. Obviously.

 Are you going to do it, Ellie? She'll be jumping in a few weeks--she's a better swimmer than me. Maybe I should get some pink polka dot water wings, to improve my form.

 Learning from her big sis. Look at those pudgy little fingers.

Meanwhile, Moose keeps a look out. He's not really looking out, he's just trying to get everyone to stop making fun of him--our dog is terrified of water. Good work, Moose, way to be a lab.


Those kids are so sweet sometimes. The night before I left, I went to bed pretty early. I saw a little blond head poke into the room and sneak into the room. As I jumped up to say, "grumble, grumble, go to bed." Brynn presented me with a burger king crown with hair bows all over it. "For your wedding," she said sleepily. Then, she curtsied. Should anyone have a last minute wedding headpiece emergency, I recommend Brynn; she'll stay up late into the night to make something fabulous. I have a half a mind to wear it... Needless to say, I did not yell at her, I just tried not to cry.

How lucky am I to be marrying into this awesome family?