Beehive State Visit - Part 1

I felt like it had been so long since we were in Utah. This time it would be an entirely different season with a lot of changes. I was excited to see my family and to be with Kyle’s family, especially in his childhood vacation spot, Catherine Creek, Oregon. The night before as we were packing, we could tell Boo knew something was up. He kept jumping in our suitcase (he was probably just playing but I like to think he wanted to come with us). 

Not this time Boo....probably not any time, in fact. It costs $150 to take a pet on a plane with you. Yes....I've checked. 

We landed in Utah and I could immediately tell a difference in the air (lack of humidity). As we were coming down the escalator, I pulled a “You Know you’re In Utah When…” and took a picture of all of these families welcoming home missionaries. It was quite a sight to see.

Missionaries right behind us!

That night we went out with Liv and Carl to Red Iguana because I’ve never been and it’s amazing Mexican food. Yum yum. It was so fun walking into my home in Pleasant View and feeling the spirit through the service of 3 missionaries out. You can read about them here. Great food and treats everywhere along with the warmth of family nearby…there is something so special about coming home. 

Utah....Sweet, Utah. 

Peach Tree! Be still my heart!

Scott's famous waffles with peaches from their peach tree! 

I was in heaven with two peach trees out in my parent's garden to have every morning. 

I had made a dental appointment cleaning at our family place in Ogden so I grudgingly went the next morning and met my family and Kyle at the Ogden temple open house. This is the temple I went to beginning with my days as a beehive and all the way to pre-mission days. It was a little hard to see it redone because I remembered it how I always saw it…but at the same time it was gorgeous inside! It had followed the art deco style seen in a lot of old buildings around Ogden. I’m hoping it really gives Ogden a much needed lift.

Ogden did a project a while back where they placed painted horse statues all over the city. This one reminded me of Mary Poppins.

We had a great lunch at Five Guys followed by a Junction movie showing of Guardians of the Galaxy. I didn’t think I would like it but ended up loving it! We came home where I asked my mom if I could make bread and cinnamon rolls with her. Whenever I try to make them out in Virginia, I feel like they never turn out. It could be the change in elevation as well as the humidity, but I just wanted to watch step by step with her. I think they were the best batch of cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had by her. Magic. We ended the night by playing cards which is always a must in my family.

The next day, Kyle and I decided to go to the Golden Spike National Monument since we hadn’t been before. It was hilarious watching these older folks from around the area dress up and reenact the day the Union and Pacific Railroads finally met up in good ol’ Northwest Utah. 

The meeting of the trains...and awesome period clothing.

The husband. 

Will you smile for me in front of the train, please? 

A plaque to commemorate...

After the monument, we drove 15 minutes to the west to see Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty. This was actually really neat. This man in the 70’s went out to the northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake and formed rocks into a spiral formation. While we were out there, it seemed like we were in a totally different area. The area where the water receded left little formations of salt crystals.

In all her glory on the edge of the wilderness...

Such photo skillz...

The water had receded and the salt just stayed glued to this rock. 

Feets. 

I call this 'Man Wandering to Nowhere'.

I wrote out this cute message only to discover a mean 3-degree burn an hour later (yes…the sand felt hot…but not that hot! Or so I thought...) 

We didn't realize how long we had been out without sunscreen. Kyle got the worst of it. 

This wasn't as bad as the doosey he got on our honeymoon. He woke up one night and was heating up and sticking to our sheets from his sunburn.

We went back to swim with my family and checked out the Weber County Fair afterwards, full of good food and cute animals. 

Cute little doughnut maker...it pushes out the dough into the oil and travels down a little chute where metal wires flip them over once one side has been cooked. Kyle and I will own one someday.

Needed to buy the homemade rootbeer, obviously. 

Fluffy cloud of dissolvable sugar. My favorite.

I love how all the pens of animals have homemade posters with quirky themes for each animal owner.

Big Bertha....actually I really didn't know her name. That just sounds like a good one. 

I wanted a picture with the cow...who wanted a piece of my shorts. 

All the animals loved Kyle. And this one was hungry for paper.

Growing up, I always begged to have a rabbit. My mom would call everyone she knew who had rabbits and make me talk to them until I was "convinced" they were hard to take care of. This didn't stop me from buying my rabbit fur every year in West Yellowstone. I still have a hard time leaving the bunny exhibit. 

Hey little dude...

Since we were in Virginia over our first anniversary we had to wait until we were in Utah to have a piece of our wedding cake. And it was actually still really good. Lemon with raspberry. 

Kyle was a gem on our wedding day and didn't smash the cake into my face. I knew I wasn't going to be that lucky this time. 

We went to church the next morning with my family and came home to a yummy treat of Scott's homemade salsa...we sent this picture to him of the boys feasting since he wasn't there at the moment. I love Kyle's face. 

A chorus of angels sing whenever I take a bite of homemade peach pie. 

My mom was wonderful and invited whoever could come from the extended family up to see us. It was so nice to be with everyone for a brief moment. 

My cousin Torrey's little Lu (my middle namesake!).

The next morning, we went down to play tennis at Weber High School, walked straight up our mile long hill home and cooled off in the pool. We played the 'hit the cup off of Kyle's head with a ball' game.

Trying to get a nice picture of the both of us... in vain. 

And again...

Success! 

We attempted a jump in the pool picture but some...well....one of us was a little off. Still, this is pretty epic. 

We made this little girl swim in the pool too....and she HATED it.

Oh Utah at dusk...you are beautiful. Such a great weekend with the fam! Next...our trip up with Kyle's family to...get this...The Beaver State. Yes, Oregon, My Oregon. 

Boo's Fight With Nature

Last night, I was with Boo letting him get his outside time and he was so happy and excited – leaping and jumping around, attacking every blade of grass that moved, chirping/air-gnawing at all the birds in the trees and timidly (although it may be not so timid in the future) watching the cars that drove down the street.  Just as I was about ready to pick up his little paws and carry him back inside, I decide to watch him run out one last frolic. He did this ginormous (in his eyes, but to me it was the cutest tiny leap) jump into the grass face first and paused for a second. All the sudden, he leapt back with high pitched meow and booked it over to the edge of the concrete pad. He immediately started pawing at his nose and face and meowing over and over again. Insert my thoughts: I knew getting Boo would include the responsibility of watching over a cat but I think I underestimated the emotional connection of getting our little guy. I immediately freaked out, picked him up and cried out for Kyle while running down to our apartment. I was certain he had been stung by a bee or other bug and that he was going to puff up in the face at any second. Kyle knows me too well and told me to calm down while he looked at Boo. Boo’s left eye was swollen shut and he just cried and cried. It killed me! Well…now Boo is fine. His eye eventually opened back up ten minutes later and he was playing like nothing had happened. I realized if it killed me this much to see our little kitty in pain, how bad is it going to be when we have actual kids?! Kyle told me I’m going to have to work on remaining calm and letting them know they are fine (even if they aren’t) when they get in an accident or get hurt. I think this is something I will have to work on consistently and especially when we welcome little ones into our family. 

Watching Milo and Otis

Boo the Cat

Yes, this blog has a label named 'Boo the Cat'. And yes, Kyle and I got a little kitten although he is growing bigger and bigger every day. I didn't think I was going to become so attached to this little guy. He has become part of our family and makes us laugh. It all started when we noticed little bite marks in our bread packaging. One night we came home from a movie and heard rustling coming from the garbage can ... and there it was ... a big fat brown mouse. We tried to kill it but it was too fast. We went out and got traps and food poisoning. It made me so angry that they were getting bold enough to come into our living room! After the traps weren't working, Kyle came up with the idea to get a cat. After our landlady Martina complied, Kyle started the search on craigslist. There were a few we found but no one (or I should say no kitty) was really jumping out. And then Kyle found Boo. It was a litter of 5 kittens from a nice family that lived in Alexandria. Kyle went to visit them first and was leaning towards a black one. The mom had more of a fluffy coat and we noticed the black one was developing that same trait that we didn't want. That's when we started looking at Boo, known at the time as 'Squeaker'. He was so vocal and was always running off and exploring while his brothers and sisters were hanging out together. The more I thought about Boo, the more I wanted to bring him home. His 9 week mark hit, we went and purchased all the necessities (little box, kitten food and more toys than he would ever need) and drove down to pick him up. He was really nervous at first and it took him a while to get used to us, but now he is doing great. Boo is very active which will be good if the mice decide to come back although I've heard having a cat in the house will prevent mice from even venturing into the walls. Oh Boo, we're glad you are with us (namesake: from the great novel 'To Kill A Mockingbird', Boo Radley). Since it's been almost 5 months since we brought the little guy home, I thought I would put up some of my favorite photos. 

He was so tiny when we first got him..this was his first night in our apartment.

He eventually warmed up to us. 

And started playing in a box that Kyle designed for him. 

From day one he has always been curious and for lack of a better term, nosy. 

One night he wouldn't stop meowing until we picked him up. He just wants to be included in what's going on.

One of my all time favorites. 

One Eyed Willie. 

Cross-eyed Willie. 

Fashion. Glamour. 

We don't know how he gets into these positions. 

How does he sleep like this?

Or this? 

Boo has had his fair share of check-ups and shots. Here he was not wanting to be there anymore. 

Seeing the light after he had been examined.

And yet again...spending an hour in a cardboard carrier waiting to get his shots. 

Somehow, he still likes us...or so we like to think. 

Sleeping in random places. 

This still has to be made into a meme.

Sleeping with his tongue out...a lot. 

He found the one ounce of spotlight coming in through our window. 

Card shark. 

So domestic. 

In his first days, he'd climb up the back of our legs and sit on our shoulders when we would come home. 

What can we say? We love ya Boo. Glad you're with us.