A WONDERFUL AND RELAXING DAY IN GARLAND WITH MY MAMA!!

Last Saturday was the most relaxing day that I have had in a very long time. My mom and I have both been a little stressed lately, and were both in great need of getting away to somewhere beautiful and relaxing. My mom has a friend that has property up north in a tiny town called Garland, and so she had the marvelous idea of asking me to spend the day up there with her.. and I am so thankful I did. The drive up there took a little more than 2 hours, but we were well prepared for the ride with salt and vinegar chips, peppered beef jerky, and drinks! When we finally pulled up to the property, I couldn't believe how many acres of property there was.. it seemed to go on forever. It was so incredibly beautiful! My mom and I spent the next couple of hours relaxing and taking wonderful walks around the beautiful area. My favorite walk was a big trail full of gorgeous trees on either side of the trail. I honestly felt like I was walking in a fairlyland. It was absolutely so peaceful! It was so neat, because about half way through the trail, an adorable cat started following us, so I just had to take a picture of him! :) Another beautiful walk that we took was down a big long trail that passed acres and acres of barley and corn. My Mom and I even took pictures standing in the middle of the barley. The trail seemed to go on forever, but at the end, the walk was very rewarding with the most incredible view of the beautiful Malad River. My Mom and I just sat on the hill and watched the gorgeous view. We even saw about 4 deer down by the river. It was so peaceful! I was in heaven!! I think I could have sat there all day! After our wonderful time at the property, my Mom and I decided to check out the town cemetary a couple miles from the property. It was so cute and probably had a total of 30 tombstones. From the cemetary you could see the Bear river, it was very neat! It was so much fun to spend the day relaxing with my mom.. and next time, we are planning to pitch a tent and stay the night!! We had such a wonderful day! Thanks Mom!! :)

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY to all of those wonderful fathers out there!! On this special day, I wanted to especially thank my own Dad!! I will forever be indebted to him for everything that he has taught me. Among the many things I have learned from him, I am especially grateful for his appreciation and love for different countries and culture...and the incredible importance of family history and in knowing our ancestors and the places and people that we came from. Because of him, I have had incredible experiences traveling to over 15 countries. He has also instilled in me a great appreciation for books, knowledge and education and made me thankful for the many opportunities that are open to us because we live in a free country! And I think as I become older, I appreciate these things more and more! Another thing I love about my Dad, is that he is so aware of our individual needs, and will go out of his way to do cute little thoughtful things for us! Whether it be random articles that he cuts out and gives us about something we are interested in, or quietly asking us how our day was while we are lying in bed... he tried his best to show us in his own special way that he loves us and cares about each one of us individually. My father is a truely loving man. There are so many more reasons why I love my father, but these are just a couple. Dad, HAPPY FATHERS DAY! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH and am so thankful for you!!

Also, I wanted to say thank you so much to my husbands fathers Doug and Clyde. You both have touched my husbands life (and my life) in such incredible ways. You both are marvelous, wonderful men, and I am thankful that my husband (and me :) ) were able to be so blessed with wonderful Dad's like you both!! I want you both to know how thankful I am, that you are in our lives, and that you really have touched us and changed us both for the better! You have been incredible examples to us, and we have learned so much from the both of you!! HAPPY FATHERS DAY DOUG AND CLYDE! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

Here is just a poem about fathers that I found, that I loved, so enjoy!!

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain, The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,

The power of the eagle's flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,

The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity,

The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities,

When there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete,

And so,
He called it ... Dad

- Author Unknown

PAUL IS FINISHED! GOOD JOB BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!

YIPEEEEEEE!! We are so extremely excited because Paul has finally finished his Independent Study Physics 1 and 2 classes!! After almost a year and a half of having these classes hanging over his shoulder, three extensions, studying every day and almost every night for hours on end, and 8 tests in about a two week period, Paul is finally done with Physics. I am so proud of him and the hard work that he has put into these classes to finally get them done!! He is such an incredible student and I am so thankful that I married such an intelligent man!!! To celebrate the completion of this course, I bought Paul a cute chocolate cake and we are going to spend the weekend in Moab. It was kind of sad because the day after Paul took his last final for his Physics 2 class, I think his body finally collasped and all of the sleepless nights and hard studying caught up with him and he got way sick. So hopefully he feels better soon, and rests a lot before he starts his next semester classes!!

I AM SO PROUD OF YOU AND LOVE YOU SO MUCH SWEETHEART!! GOOD JOB AT COMPLETING THESE INCREDIBLY HARD CLASSES AND NOT GIVING UP!