Desert Adventure

Since I am a boring person who has too much homework, I don't really have anything exciting to write about. Most of my posts have been about cars so I thought I would switch it up and tell you about a recent trip we took - in the car.

Because the mountains around here have been covered in snow, we decided to head out to the west desert to see if we could find ghost towns and good views of the salt flats from some mountain peaks. We packed a lunch and met up early with some friends and then off we headed into the middle of nowhere, not too far from the Bonneville Salt Flats.


We left the freeway and headed across the desert into the distant mountains. It seemed like the only other living things within sight were cows that liked to stand in the middle of the road, especially around corners. As we headed into the mountains, the air got colder and the roads muddier.


As we exited a corner, there it was. Could this be the ghost town we were looking for? Nope. Well, it was what was left of this supposed ghost town. The lone house was definitely in shambles but based on the sheet-rocked walls and tiled floor, it was far from ancient. Still cool to look at.


A little further up the road, the hillside opened up into a huge open pit mine - quite an impressive sight. We played around in the snow for a little while, looking for some more ruins from the mining days. Unfortunately, the old house was the closest we got to a ghost town, but we did find some interesting signs of life...


We ate lunch in the canyon, overlooking the valleys west of Salt Lake City and then decided to head out and see what else we could find.


After some bumpy roads and more obstinate cattle, we got back to the freeway. As thoughts of heading home filled our minds, we saw it. Just across the freeway, a tall hill with a narrow gravel road heading straight up the side of it. A steep gravel road, and a good view at the top for some photo ops proved to be more tempting that being back at home and up we went. As my sister's face shows, it was actually kind of a lame hill.



Finally, at the top - Amazing Views of the surrounding desert. With the rays of sun breaking through the clouds. This is what we were looking for. Of course, the car wanted to be in the pictures too.


All-in-all, it was a fun trip. Close enough to home to be reached in a day, but far enough to feel as though we were light years away from anything - including school. We have a couple other adventures but I'll save those for another day - or another blog when Kandis changes her password to this one and doesn't tell me.

Hahaha

OK I am not saying that what happened to this lady was funny but her response and what the criminal got out of it is funny! So this is from KSL news today...

Police said the 90-year-old woman had just left the building near 1400 South and 2200 East in Salt Lake City around 4 p.m. when she was approached by a man who said he would kill her if she didn't hand over her purse.

Police said the woman refused and told him to go ahead and kill her. He grabbed what he thought was her purse -- it was actually her scriptures -- pushed her out of the car and took off.

The woman suffered a few minor cuts on her head.

Baby Shower!

Jessica and Adam are expecting a baby boy! Samantha and I threw Jessica a shower this last weekend, it was so fun to get together with all the O'town girls again and celebrate! Samantha thanks for all your hard work, and Ann thanks for letting us take over your house. Jessica you will be the cutest little mommy!

Porter Joe Robins!

Welcome to the world little guy! My new nephew is here and he is the cutest thing ever!



He has the same middle name as his favorite aunt (ok Grandma too) and I know already we are going to be best buds! Don't worry bud I would be crying to if Dad was dressing me like a Y fan.

Happy Birthday Honey Buns!

I have the most amazing husband and today is his birthday! A day to spoil, smooch, and pour out love for him all day long! Derek you are the greatest and are perfect for me! I love how you...
always make me laugh,
love to hang out with me no matter what I'm doing,
spoil me with kisses,
think you are hilarious (you are funny, but you get an extra big kick out of yourself sometimes)
tuck me into bed each night,
are a worthy priesthood holder,
can be OCD at times,
help me around the house,
are always so warm, you are a great personal heater,
think and tell me how pretty I am (even with the extra pounds as of late)
let me park under the carport so I don't have to scrape my windows,
always take the trash out for me,
love to snuggle,
how you tell me you love me each day,
listen to me complain and vent if needed,
want to spend as much time with me as possible,
how you think going to bed is boring cause we aren't talking (though a girl needs her beauty sleep)
how excited you get when it snows,
how you always try to keep me warm,
are always willing to go on photo shoots with me,
how you don't whine about watching my chic flics with me,
And the list goes on and on! You really are the greatest and I hope you know just how much I love you! Happy Birthday Derek!

So I've kind of been in a rut lately. A scrooge like rut.

It all started when I wanted to put the Christmas tree up Thanksgiving night! I was super excited and feeling all the holiday cheer, I love Christmas time. BUT the tree wasn't at our house, we had forgotten that we stored it at my mother-in-laws. No worries right? She was coming down the next night to go to dinner and could bring it down with her, and she did.

So Sunday night we finally go it up and then went to get the decoration box...MISSING! I can't find my Christmas decorations anywhere! We checked Derek's Mom's again and opened each and every box in our entire house looking for them. Some time-probably during the move-they dissappeared! We didn't have a lot but did have the cutest stockings ever and some sweet ornaments that I'm way bummed about. We went to the store and bought some cheep basics to decorate with, but even those have sat on the floor and still aren't hung. So 2 weeks left til Christmas and I still have a bare tree sitting in living room and not a hint of Christmas anywhere else in the house.

GOAL-This weekend I am going to get them up and see if that doesn't help me feel more "Christmas-y"

On a higher note, we have gotten the chance to go to multiple Christmas events that help me forget about the missing decorations (at least until I'm back home with a bare tree.)

For my birthday Derek took me to the Utah Symphony concert. It was so nice to get all dolled up and have a night on the town. We ate at the Garden in the JSMB on temple square and enjoyed the beauty of the Christmas lights below. Then we headed to Abravenal Hall to the concert. It was Handel's Messiah, as a sing along. Now we don't have the music so we sang the songs we knew and sat back to enjoy the sounds of the symphony for the rest. It was a beautifully magical night. Thanks Honey!

Then our dear friends Samantha and Steve invited us to join them for The Forgotten Carols. I had heard the songs but never seen the entire production. It was great! Michael McClane was quite entertaining. Always nice to have a reminder of the true spirit of Christmas. Thanks Wayments!

We also got to go be in the conference center to see the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. What a magnificent production they put on. So many people piling into that building and beautiful Christmas trees and decorations everywhere. My brother and his girlfriend joined us for the evening. Always an honor to be the same building as a Prophet of God.

Maybe I'll make my Christmas cookies this weekend and continue the festivities...

Merry Christmas!

You'll have to ignore the the "Taylorsville Branch" Derek made this for his work, he's pretty funny like that! Thought I'd share cause I thought it was hilarious! Don't forget to use your best broken english.