Summertime...

Now that summer has slowed down and the weather has cooled off, I finaly have a moment to make a post.  Most of the summer was spent fishing, gardening, working on the yard and house, and getting firewood off the mountain (my least favorite thing to do). 

Fishing
I think overall, Zach and I kept six fish this year.  I think that's less than half of what we caught, but there aren't a lot of big fish where we go (mainly Longspark, Spirit Lake, and Brown Lake).  We did try fishing down at the Gorge but none of us caught anything.  Sad...  The last time we went down to Longspark, Zach, Brandon (his little brother), and I had a competition to see who would catch the most fish.  Zach and Brand both had two fish before I even had a bite so I immediately demoted myself as the loser of the competition.  I decided to move over by them to see if that would help and the next two casts I had two fish.  Beautiful!!  Zach decided he needed to step it up and got serious.  Afterall, a seasoned fisherman should not lose to a novice or a girl.  Brand was the next to catch a fish, but as he was pulling it up to the bank, it got away.  He and I both thought that should count but Zach was very adimit that it had to be in our hands for it to count.  Zach caught the next and Brand followed right after.  Of the lot, Zach and Brand kept all the fish they caught and I only kept one.  The two I did catch were pretty good sized, but I still had a fish in the freezer so I decided not to keep both.  The final tally was Zach 3, Brand 3, and me 2.  I still think Brand won, but Zach would not have it so it ended up being a tie for first. 

Here's a glimse of what we caught that day.

 Brand has an obsession with licking everything, hence the photo.

My fish is on the left and Zach's are on the right.

I did have my day in the spotlight, though.  Earlier in the summer, Zach, Brand, Josh, Sky, and I all went up to Spirit Lake to fish.  I think everyone got at least one and Zach got two.  But, being the amazing novice that I am, I caught three!  Haha...it was a good day to gloat, beating four boys who've fished their whole lives.

We also went ling fishing.  Apparently ling are not native to the Flaming Gorge or the Green River, and they're disrupting the balance of fish there.  So, if you catch one you are supposed to kill it immediately.  The best time to catch them is at night, so Zach, Brand, and I went to the Gorge around 11 pm and brought an arsenal of minows and crawfish sented goop (most disgusting smell you'll ever experience).  We all had a lot of bites, but came up with nothing.  When we went to real them in, all we'd find is a mutalated minow.  Brand got bored, so he decided to go crawdad hunting instead.  He found a stick and sharpened one end and went a spearing.  He caught quite a bit of them, and we used some of them as bait.  Once again, his obsession shows once again in the shot.

Herbie
We had Herbie, Zach's bird, at our house for a couple of weeks to retrain him to be a kind, loving bird.  Zach got him in Phoenix when he was going to school and had him trained to jump on your finger and sit on your shoulder.  Now, you're lucky if you can get close to him without him taking off.  Zach trimmed his wings so he couldn't fly as well and the training commenced.  Sadly, Herbie still isn't quite as friendly, but he got a little better.  One thing he did decide, though, was that he absolutely hates me.  Any time I walked by his cage, he'd jump on the side and try to get as far away as possible.  Not sure what I did to cause such fear but apparently it was unforgivable.  One day, we were working with him and instead of sitting on Zach's shoulder he decided to sit on top of his head.  I thought it was kinda funny so here's a pic.

Wedding

A friend of ours, Ben also got married this summer in Idaho Falls.  He married Zach's cousin Lacy, which Zach vehemently disagreed with merely because they were related.  He found it just weird.  Personally, I saw nothing wrong with it especially considering how we met.  While we were in Idaho we met up with a few of my college friends Alesha, Jimmy, and Brooke and went to dinner and hot tubbing.  It was a good time, both to meet up with friends and attend the wedding.  It was a beautiful day and the rain held off until after pictures and lunch.

At the reception all of the groomsmen had evil plans to decorate the newlywed's car, but they were a little slow at getting it done.  By the time they gathered up all they needed, Lacy's family had most of it decorated.  They were all a little upset about it because they felt it was their deal and no one else's.  They did get a few items they wanted done.  At the end of it all, it was pretty :).

Hunting-Horsecreek

Once again hunting season is here.  On the weekend of September 17, we went down to Horsecreek for deer hunting.  The weather was beautiful.  I think it was around the low 80's the whole time we were there.  This wasn't good for hunting, though, because all the deer bed down longer than normal.  Zach bought a wall tent, stove, and other camping stuff just for this and elk season, so he was stoked to go.

When we were there, I went with the boys (Brand, Zach, and his dad) at least once every day.  I think in total I saw a handful of deer, elk, and a few moose.  On Saturday, I walked up the mountain with Zach and we didn't see one single thing.  The next morning I went with him, his dad, and Brand on the horses up Prospect.  We saw a few bucks when we got to the top.  However, Brand and Zach were a little slow deciding whether or not they wanted them and by the time they decided they did, the deer were booking it through the trees.  After that, we split up and Zach and I saw three more bucks.  I would have shot the four point, but it wasn't "Mega Buck" so Zach just watched them until they ran off.  Later that day, we saw a couple more deer and some elk, but no shots were taken.  On the ride down the hill I was so saddle sore I thought my hind quarters were going to fall off.  I thought I was going to die it hurt so bad.  Needless to say, I didn't ride on the horses the rest of the trip.

On Monday, we went down to Daniel to get ice and some drinks.  On the way down, I asked Zach where a dirt road went.  He said we'd check it out on the way back.  When we came back we took the road and drove up it until we hit a road closed sign.  As we were turning around I saw a nice 4-point buck running across the hill.  I told Zach, and he frantically searched for his orange vest and grabbed his gun.  By the time he got it all, the buck had run over the hill and was out of sight.  He went after him, but never saw him.  The funny thing about the whole story was that I made a comment saying that wouldn't it be cool if we saw one here and shot the big one?  The thought came close to being realized.  We decided to go back the next day to see if we could find him.  We never found him, but we did see a moose in the same area. Overall, it was a good trip, but I was a little disappointed no one shot anything.

It was also my birthday when we went, so Zach got a coconut cream pie and we had a little birthday dinner Friday night.  It was nice to get away to celebrate my birthday and hunt all at once.  Sadly, I don't have any pictures.  I did want to get one of the boys riding on top of one of the ridges, but my camera wasn't in my saddlebags.  Oh well, another trip.

Hunting-Fields

Last weekend, Zach, Brand, and I all went out around the fields to hunt.  I told Zach that if he didn't find "Maga Buck" at the end of the season, then he'd just have to shoot the biggest thing he saw the last day.  Well, as we walked on the backside of a hill, Zach saw a nice 4-point and a 3-point. He told me to sit and wait as they got closer.  To my amazement, I heard three loud shots!  I didn't think he'd actually shoot.  Zach thought he only hit him on the first shot, but as he cut up the deer, all three hit him.  His first shot hit it in the lungs and he found the bullet when he gutted it.  When I found the deer, I thought it's antlers were very unique.  The back fork was very small, which you'll see in the pictures.  After they found the deer, we went up and got some cows from his uncle's corrals, and then we came back to gut it and hang it in the shed.  He measured the width of the antlers and I think it came out to be 24.5".  It's the largest one he's shot so far.

Storage/Mudd Room Update
Here is a photo of how much we've finished on the storage room.  We've got all the walls except the north side finished, the roof up, metal roofing up, flooring, and storage under the floor finished.  Last weekend we got insulation, so as soon as we finish up the last wall, we'll start working on the inside walls and shelves.  I'm excited to be able to put all my food storage in one room instead of all over the house!

Canning
All of our beets and green beans made it so, being the industrious woman that I am, I decided to can and freeze them.  We ate over half of our beans so I decided to freeze the rest.  There wasn't much left over, but I did manage to get a gallon sized baggie full.  I canned the beets and that was a long and tedious process.  First I had to rinse them all off and cut the ends.  Then, I boiled them so I could tear off the skins.  After all that, I washed the mason jars and sliced the beets up.  Then I boiled the lids and boiled water to put in the bottles.  Finally, I stuck all 17 jars in the pressure cooker and vwa la...canned beets.  It took almost the entire day to get them all done.  Saddest part of the story, I hate beets!  Zach loves them and because I love him, he has beets.

Bella Sue
And last, but not least, we have Bella.  Just this past week we decided Bella needed to be spade.  She had several male friends dropping by and although I love puppies, they are too expensive and I don't think a lab and blue heelers would be a good mix.  The morning I was to take her to the vet, she was no where to be seen.  I called for and looked for her but nothing.  Finally after ten minutes she came running down the hill from our neighbor's place (Charley has an australian shephard which is Bell's best friend).  By the time I got her collar on and put her in the truck I was late, ugh.  When we got to the vet, Bella was all sorts of scared which is unusual for her.  She's usually very energetic and happy.  She kept whining and tugging on the leash, which she normally doesn't do either.  I felt awful.  The vet came and talked to me and explained the procedure and took her to the back.  He said they'd start in about an hour and would call when he was done.  A couple hours went by and no phone call. So, I called Zach to see if he called his number, but he hadn't.  Zach just laughed at me and said she'd be ok and not to worry.  She was fine, but still I expected a phone call that he promised.  The next morning I drove back down to the vet to pick her up.  As I spoke with the receptionist, she said I had the nicest, and most loving dog.  I already knew this, but it was nice to hear from someone else :).  When we got home, Bells got treated like my own baby.  She loved it.  Ten days after I was supposed to take her back to the vet to get her stitches out, but I guess she'd had enough of them and took them out herself.  She's back to her old self now, and active as ever chasing bunnies, squirrels, and me on the 4-wheeler.

My nephew Wyatt came to my house earlier in the summer and was playing with Bells.  It was so cute I had to take a picture, so here ya go.

Home Improvements

Oh my goodness, it's been a while since my last post.  It's been a crazy summer.  Zach and I have been fixing up the yard or rather making one since we moved here.  It was all sage brush and lots of dirt and rocks.  We have put up a fence, built a deck out the kitchen door, cleared out the front yard, planted the grass, and made a little corner flower bed.  The grass has come up pretty good, but it is patchy in some areas, especially in front of the house, but it is nice to be able to sit out on the lawn.  I also planted a bunch of poppies in my flower bed but nothing came up but weeds.  So, I guess next year I'll have to try something different.  I wish I had a before picture to show, but this is what it looks like so far.

Our deck is pretty nice too.  We decided to stain it a redwood color and it was brighter than we had expected, but it still looks quite nice.  Zach built some steps going down from the deck and I think they're only 6" wide which makes it hard to go down.  They're just temporary until we get some more wood, but everyone has a hard time walking on them, me included.  If I'm in anything other than flats, it's a gamble on whether or not I'll make it down without falling.  And I've had a few close calls.

We also planted a garden this summer.  The weather was not  very cooperative with snow storms at the end of May, but we finally got everything in by the second week in June.  Since then, we've only had one frost which wilted our tomatoes and squash, but they both came back.  In total, we planted squash, corn, green onions, peas, beans, lettuce, beets (at Zach's request), tomatoes, and some pumpkins.  So far, our beans, peas, and lettuce are ready and we've eaten a few!  I love fresh produce from home!  We also have a few small tomatoes, but they're still green.  I'm hoping our corn and squash will be ready. I absolutely love corn on the cobb, so hopefully it makes it!

Last but not least, we started a new project.  We have about zero storage space here, so we decided to add on a storage room slash mudd room.  We have a ton of camping supplies and no space for our food storage so we're adding on a 8'x14' room.  We also wanted a place to put our coats and muddy shoes when we come in so it will serve two purposes.  It gets extremely muddy round these parts so it will be nice to have all the dirty shoes some place other than my kitchen.  I can't wait to have it done!  All that's done so far is some cement work for the foundation and a few brace posts are in the ground.

Anniversary Numero Uno

Well...it's official, Zach and I survived the first year of married life. Zach gave me a bouquet of flowers (below) when he came home from work and made dinner for me.  After days of thinking what I could do for him, I finally decided on writing him a letter about all experiences we've had since we first started dating and everything we've accomplished since then.  I wasn't sure if he'd like it or not, but he loved it!

The next weekend, we went down to Utah to celebrate this somewhat amazing feat.  We stayed at the Inn on the Hill in Salt Lake. It had one of the best views I've ever had in Salt Lake.  This is a picture of the daytime view from our room.

 After we got there on Saturday, we went to a Bee's game.  Zach told me beforehand that he was not a huge fan of watching baseball.  He loves playing it, but he compared going to one as watching golf on TV.  That is so not the case!  Anyway, towards the end of the game, there were a couple of college kids yelling out some ridiculously funny chants at the players.  When the opposing team was at bat, one of the guys began to say how terrible he was and the next pitch he hit a home run.  How ironic, right?  The best part was that this player's family was at the game and only two rows down from the kids.  They were disgusted at the puns belted out from these kids and their faces were priceless.  Thanks to these kids, Zach found a new love for the game, lol.  Here is a picture of us at the game.

When we got back from the game, our room was filled with lit candles and music.  So Romatic!  By the window was a bottle of sparkling cider and a little vase of flowers.  Sweetest thing ever!

On Sunday, we went to my Aunt's church and listened to her and her husband speak for their mission farewell.  They were called to serve as Mission Presidents in Mongolia.  When we got there, after getting lost due to a lack of memory on my part, we saw that Elder Hales and Elder Anderson were in attendance!  Crazy!!  Their talks were amazing and we'll miss them as they serve.

Later that day, we decided to walk around temple square.  It was a beautiful day and perfect for a stroll.  On our way back to our hotel, we found a park dedicated to Brigham Young.  It's small but cute.   There were a lot of pretty flowers around and was a nice change from the cooler weather back in Wyoming.  Here are a few pictures we took there...

We had a great anniversary and can't wait for the rest of forever!

Easter

As I was planning my Easter lesson for church, I came across a video based on Jeffrey R. Holland's April 2009 Conference address titled, "None Were With Him."  As I watched the video, I was touched and reminded of the love and sacrfices that Christ truly made on our behalf.  His willingness to suffer, bleed, and die so that we may return to our Heavenly Father is so great it is beyond comprehension.  His fulfillment of the Father's plan has brought so many blessings into the lives of others and me.  I cannot imagine living here without his wonderful sacrifice.  His willingness to stand alone and bear our burdens, sins, infirmities, and trials is more than I could bear.  No other man could have accomplished such a task.

The most moving portion of Holland's address is this, "Because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so.  His solitary journey brought great company to us, for our little version of that path...Trumpted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are.  Truly the Redeemer of us all said, 'I will not leave you comfortless.  My Father and I will come to you and abide with you.'  These scenes of Christ's lonely sacrifice...must never be reinacted by us.  He has walked alone once, now may I ask that never again may he have to confront sin without aid and assistance.  That he never agian will be found unresponsive or see unresponsive onlookers when he sees you and me along his via de la rosa in our present day."

Holland's plea is as mine when he said, "This Easter week and always may we stand by Jesus Christ at all times, and in all things, and in all places that we may be in even until death, for surely that is how he stood by us.  When it was unto death and when he had to stand entirely and utterly alone."  It is my hope that I may be able to prove myself a true disciple of Christ and show that I will stand by Christ in ALL things. 

Photography

Recently, I have acquired a lot of free time.  I decided I would take some pictures around the ranch.  I love the photographs Ansel Adams takes, so I attempted to recreate something of a similar nature.  My mom told me the other day that I should buy a nice camera and open up a photography business.  I'm not sure I'm even close enough to having the talent, but I do enjoy taking a picture every now and then.

Antique

Standing Alone

A reminder of the past

This is one of my favorites!

Fred, Stumps, and Cinnamon

Fence Line

Shopping Spree

This past Saturday Wild West Motorsports was having a going-out-of-business sale.  Zach and I decided to stop by and see what they had.  We wanted a Yamaha 500, but they had already sold all of them.  All they had left was a Yamaha Grizzly 700 that was fuel injected.  Zach wanted to test it out, so he and I took it for a ride near the store, and we absolutely LOVED it.  The price was at dealer's cost so neither he nor I could go home empty handed.  Needless to say we ended up taking it home. 

We had already planned on going 4-wheeling with Ben and Lacy that day so, an hour later we were getting mud on the tires.  Earlier that day it was pretty warm, but by the time we got out it had cooled off pretty well, so after driving around and getting stuck in the snow, we built a fire and roasted hot dogs. 

When we'd reached our freezing point, we came back home and warmed up to a move at our house.

It was definately a fun, expensive weekend, but it was well worth it.  The Grizz is Zach's little baby and he has every intention of treating it like one when it's not being ridden. 

Renting Rant

Last December my husband and I moved out of our apartment in Twin Falls and came to Wyoming. A month after we moved, we received a notice from the owner concerning our deposit refund stating we owed him an additional $100 for unpaid rent and cleaning charges, and if the amount wasn't paid in 10 days we would be sent to small claims.

Upon receiving the letter I was all but happy. Here I was expecting at least $300 from our $350 deposit and all I received was a vindictive letter requesting more money!! Not only had they stated we didn't pay our first month's rent, but that the deposit amount was $50 less than what we actually paid and signed upon in our contract.

Needless to say, I sent a letter back with a copy of checks showing what we had paid. A month went by and nothing; two months, nothing. Finally, I decided that if they weren't going to take me seriously I would sound pretty serious. I sent a second letter requesting our deposit money back and stated the Idaho Tenant Laws they had violated by not responding to my first letter and gave them 3 days to comply with my request as allowed by Idaho State Law. I sent the letter via certified mail to make sure they received it and to verify timely action.

Today I received their responce. I was half expecting another rebuttal, but to my amazement it was a check. When I looked at the amount, I noticed they pocketed $50 just because they thought they deserved it or something. They still had the original deposit amount $50 short. UGH!!

I am vowing from this day forward to never rent again. Trying to get your own money back from landlords is ridiculous. I would understand if we were horrible tenants, but that was far from the truth.