Thanksgiving in Aspen

Can I just say that this vacation was the best vacation I've had in a long time! It was one of those that you really felt like you were away from it all. Especially because we were in the mountains in Aspen Colorado! My Aunt Janet and Uncle Dustin are so generous. They used their time share points to reserve 4 condos at the Grand Hyatt Aspen. See the photos on the Hyatt's website. http://aspen.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp
Anyways, in the 4 condos there were 9 bedrooms in total with 3 full size kitchens, heated tile floors, and gorgeous bathrooms! My family sprawled out in one of the 3 bedrm condos while my aunts, uncles, grandma, and cousins all stayed in the other rooms. Travis and I got our own room for all but 2 nights! It was great!

Everyday was a different event: We all went 4wheeling on our ATV and shooting on Monday; Travis, Joseph and Uncle Mike went fishing while my mom and I went hiking to the base of Maroon Bells and then I took the little girls to the park on Tuesday; Wednesday we all went 4wheeling in the snow and sledding and sledding behind the 4wheeler which was a blast!; Thursday we all rode the gondola up to the top of Aspen Mtn to play and take pics in the snow and of course had a huge Turkey dinner; Friday we went 4wheelin in the snow again and played a whole lot of Ninetendo Wii since it got really cold by the end of the week; and Sat we all headed home. I'd have to say that my 2 favorite things were hiking at Maroon Bells and sledding behind the 4wheeler. It was so much fun! I couldn't have asked for a better time with my family and even extended family! (If you'd like to see more pics, I posted a whole bunch on facebook.)

You and me go fishin in the dark

Fishing in Minersville & Puffer Lake. We took our trip with Travis's dad the second weekend in November up to Beaver Utah to go fishing. Lately I'd been hearing this song a lot and it became our theme song for the trip: "You and me go fishing in the dark, lying on our backs and countin the stars..." I love that song! :) Anyways, the fishing wasn't good at all at Minersville because the water was so merky. We brought the trollin boat and everything, but it didn't help. Joseph came down for a few hours and not even a bite! :( I felt bad. After he left, we decided to go to Puffer Lake and caught a whole bunch of fish there! It was wonderful. Travis's dad gave me all the tips on how to hook them and everything. It was a nice relaxing fishing trip and definitely recommend the fishing at Puffer.

ELKO

So we went to Elko this last weekend to go check it out, to go chucker hunting, and most importantly to see Chelsea and her fam. And it's BEAUTIFUL there! The Ruby Mtns are gorgeous and the little town they live in, Spring Creek is the cutest ranch-style community! It's like a "West Woods" but everyone lives on 1 to 3 acre lots, hardly an fences, and people can have and do what they please: horses, ATV's, fish, golf, shoot at the range, bike, whatever! It's over the hill from Elko so you are separated from the commercial stuff-the small casinos, the small town blvd, Walmart, Home Depot, etc. There is very little commercial property in spring creek-grocery, gas, hair and nails and that's about it. The Ruby's are filled with hiking trails, back packing trails, and tons of animals. We saw in one weekend, about 40 deer, 100 antelope, 2 mtn goats, 100 sage grouse (big field birds), and of course chucker. Chelsea's kids are so cute! Porter and I had a blast singing the "1 banana, 2 banana..." Sing yourself silly song, for those of you who know what that is :) Their home is beautiful and Alma built it all himself. It's about 4000 sq ft too! You all should check it out when you get the chance!

Engaged in Moab!!!

I'm ENGAGED!!! And I couldn't have asked for a better proposal then in Moab! Travis and I and a bunch of our friends went to Moab for about 4 days. We went mountain biking, watched the jeeps since it was jeep week, hiked Arches, hiked more arches and watched more jeeps. :) It was a really fun trip, besides the fact that I got a horrible sunburn on the first day! Gotta remember to use that sunscreen!

Sunday was our last day. Everyone else had left by then, so we got up, packed the truck and went to church (Easter Sunday). We were dressed up nice, as nice as you can get for being on a camp out and decided to go out and take some scenic pictures on the rocks. I wasn't a big fan of the idea since I was wearing a skirt and flip flops, and didn't have any sunscreen on. But Travis insisted so I went a long with it. We finally found a spot all tucked away from everyone (there were jeeps everywhere) and hiked out a little ways to take some pictures. On the mini-hike out to the rocks, Travis mentioned that he forgot to give me my moab present. Lately he had been giving me little presents the last few weeks like flowers and a portable camping toilet, so the idea of him having another little present for me wasn't a surprise. He ran back to the truck to get it while I withered away in the sun.

He came back and gave me my present, which was a sporty watch to use doing outdoorsy stuff. It is really cute and was a nice thoughtful gift. So I put it on and of course had to set the time. Then he asks, "What time is it?" and I said, "1:15" and he said, "Good. Because I never wanted you to forget the time I gave you this" and pulled out the ring! I WAS IN SHOCK! I had no idea and didn't know whether to cry or scream or pass out. He was a little nervous as he got down on one knee and proposed. I was crying by then and of course said yes. I had so many thoughts and feelings rush through me and was overwhelmed by the whole experience. He couldn't have done it better-cute idea, in Moab, just the two of us. The ring is beautiful, 3 diamonds on a gorgeous setting equaling to about 1 carate with 2 mini diamonds on the sides. I love it! On the drive home I had so many questions about when and how and just everything! I had so many feelings rush through me all day that by the time the day was over, I was exhausted!

I'm sure you all want to know where and when. Tentatively we're thinking September-ish possibly in Las Vegas-in the temple of course! :)

Black Diamonds?

The Canyons Ski Resort

Valentines Day Adventure

Diamond Fork Hot Springs Utah. It was a 4.5mi out and back hike in the dark for our Valentine's Day Adventure. We weren't the only ones there, but surprisingly it wasn't crowded either. I loved reminicing about our first "date" to the Gold Strike Hot Springs while on this hot springs hike. It was the perfect alone time that we love to have when we finally get to be together.