Fishing at Scofield

Friday night we closed shop early to head down to Scofield with Dan's family, Grandma and Grandpa Jensen, and two cousins Josh and Quinton. On our way down we got a call from Grandpa saying he needed more rainbow powerbait, so we stopped at Wal-Mart--they were cleaned out! We stopped at big five--they were also cleaned out. We stopped at Cal Ranch, and luckily they had a few cans left! By the time we got to camp everybody except Grandma was already out of the lake so we didn't get to fish Friday night. We helped prepare dinner, which was delicious! We had hot dogs, hamburgers, baked beans, corn on the cob, watermelon, chips and dip... and much more. After dinner we chatted, ate smore's, and played cards. Bed time came and of course there were a bunch of drunks yelling and being obnoxious all night. It wasn't the best night's sleep...

We woke up bright and early Saturday morning and spent about five hours out on the lake. I was catching fish left and right for about the first two hours. It was very exciting! But after that I caught nothing. That's pretty much how it went for all of us. Around noon we decided to switch from bate to spinners and were able to catch a few more. There were also a bunch of fish that would follow the spinner in all the way to the boat but not get hooked. I tried getting them with the net just for fun, but they were too fast. We let all of them go because I am not a huge trout fan, and it's just a lot easier that way. Grandpa Jensen has a big boat, and Dan, Brent, and his dad recently bought a small fishing boat so everybody was able to be out on a boat fishing! Dan, Brent, Bridgette and I had the small boat all to ourselves Saturday! Being in a boat instead of on shore is much more fun!

Lots of waiting patiently, and lots of catches to make it all worth the wait!

I am looking forward to more fishing excursions this summer!

Stewart Falls

Tonight Dan, Brent, Bridgette, and I hiked to Stewart Falls. I had never been, so I didn't know what to expect. It's up in Sundance, so you take the ski lifts up to the very top then follow a trail that leads you to the waterfalls. It was a leisurely and beautiful trail! At times I thought I was going to need a machete to chop through the foliage! Some places were so thick and overgrown that you couldn't see the trail. We saw lots of wild life--plenty of chip monks, squirrels, and a deer. We also witnessed two squirrels flirting or playing...they may have even been mating for all I know. It was pretty funny. Once they realized they had an audience they got all bashful and hid in the bushes.

Once we got to the waterfall we had a pretty scary moment. Some little kid decided to climb up this steep ledge above the water fall and just kept going and going. He was just free climbing up the mountain, and couldn't have been more than 8 years old. He was the stupidest kid I have ever seen! He wouldn't listen to any of us yelling for him to come back down. He got so high that he disapeared from sight for what seemed like forever. We climbed up the other side of the waterfall to try and see him. We also were yelling across the waterfall trying to see if he was okay. Some other people who were also there sent a young man up after him to help him get down. Finally he reappeared, but he started climbing down the mountain through the middle of the waterfall, we kept yelling for him to stop and go down another way because it was slippery and very mossy. He was just bawling, and I probably would have felt bad for him if he hadn't been such an idiot in the first place. He was able to get down safely, but it was a miracle. He was hiking with his grandpa and I thought that poor old man was going to die of a heart attack. My heart was racing the entire time for that stupid kid that I almost had a heart attack. I thought about recording the entire thing but seriously thought he was going to die, and I didn't want footage of that! It was a pretty effective form of birth control for me :) I officially never want a little boy lol! I guess I am so upset because he was literally so close to dying. Sheeeeesh...okay I am over it.

The gang

Dan and Brent putting their water bottles in the water fall to get them cold

Peace

The Cheever's

The Jensen's

Fun Filled 4th of July Weekend

I always look forward to the 4th for two main reasons:

1-watching fireworks is something Dan and I really enjoy! We have been lucky enough to go to the stadium of fire for the past three years, but weren't able to score free tickets this year :( Instead we decided to haul our guest-bed twin mattress out the front window and on to the roof (It wasn't technically our roof, but the roof of one of the storage sheds just outside our windows...I was so afraid it was going to break and we would fall through to our death, but it was actually pretty sturdy) to watch the Pleasant Grove Fireworks. It ended up being quite a show because we were able to see most of the fireworks going on in North Utah County...including Lindon, Lehi, Pleasant Grove, and Thanksgiving Point. We couldn't see the Stadium fireworks, or any others south of Orem because of big buildings in our way. Nevertheless, PG put on a great show. It lasted for at least 40 minutes. I keep thinking, "Here's the grand finale...no, this is definitely the grand finale...it's gotta be the finale..." but it just kept going and going! Yuki was even mesmerized by them.

2- All the yummy food and BBQ's! This year was the exception to a BBQ, but certainly not to good food. I made pork chops, mashed potatoes and gravy, and some yummy summer squash/zuchinni. It was delicious, and looked really good too, but we ate it before I thought about taking a picture.

Another big event this 4th of July weekend:

Cheyenne's baptism!!! She looked so pretty, and very happy on her special day. I got asked to lead the music. Grandma Jensen and Bridgette gave some great talks that were very simplified for Cheyenne, but I felt like they were just perfect for me to hear too! We took some family pictures, and pictures of Chey outside the church, but I don't have any copies yet...

After-wards the family went to eat lunch at Dalton's in Payson. It was yummy as always! We spent the afternoon hanging around and visiting. Later that day Dan, Brent, Jake, Lorin and I went to a spot Dan had found to "bash" their remote control trucks...I know, I know...my husband is a 12 year old boy again :) Ha ha, actually these monster trucks are the real deal. They are gas powered, really fast, and really fun to watch them wreck. I recorded a lot of footage of them "bashing" it up--you can check it out on facebook if you like. Luckily, Dan's truck escaped undamaged, even though he rolled down 30 foot cliffs all day.

Baby Shower

Yesterday I threw a baby shower for my sister Jessie with the Malan side of the family and some of her friends. I spent the day cooking, cleaning, and preparing, but it was definitely worth the effort to see Jessie so happy and blessed with all the fun stuff she got! She got hooked up! She got so many cute outfits, some bottles, a bottle cleaner, diapers, some baby shampoo and soap, burping clothes, a nice blanket, a rubber ducky, a boppie, a car seat, and a travel bed. We played a few games including "name the baby animal" and the one where you guess how big Jessie's stomach is with yarn--what's a baby shower without the cheesy games :). It was a lot of fun visiting with everyone who came, and we had some yummy food(if I do say so myself lol). Jessie also got a lot of good advice about being a mom.

P.S. I couldn't find my camera anywhere, so these pics were taken with my phone camera--better than nothing!

Opening Gifts:

Cute denim shorts!

One of my favorites with the little tiger on the bum!

My cousin Paige, my aunt Laurie, and my grandma Malan

Judy and her daughter, some friends of Jessie

My mom and Jessie

Jessie with all her gifts!

Her cute prego belly!

~Thanks to everyone who came and made this day special for her~

Payson Canyon = Good Times

Dan and I spent the weekend in nature. We had a bonfire with our friends Casey and Kristi--which included roasting weenies, and lots of smores! Ace was so cute! It was the first time Kristi gave him chocolate, and he loved it (duh)! He ate it all night! He was also quite the cuddle bug with me. When I woke up the next morning I had chocolate all over my hoodie...it took me a minute to remember that it wasn't from me!

We also spent the night camping up Payson Canyon at Maple Bench. The weather was perfect! But I forgot our pillows, so it made for an uncomfortable sleep! On top of that, any time there was a noise outside our tent, I would reach over to Dan and ask, "did you hear that??" certain it was a bear. It must have gone and eaten someone else though because our camp wasn't bothered.

My boy scout getting the fire started

We woke up early enough Saturday morning to get out to Maple lake while the fish were still biting. We caught a few fish, and had a lot of fun! At first I was getting pretty bored and discouraged after sitting on the lake for a whole five minutes without catching anything, but soon enough I felt my line start to tighten, and my pole start to wiggle. I quickly jerked and started to real in but got caught in a bunch of moss on the way in. I thought for sure the fish had gotten away because it wasn't fighting any more, but sure enough the little guy was still on my line, along with 10 lbs of moss! After that we had a few more catches and a lot more snags (well at least I did). Fishing is not really my thing because I hate the waiting time...I am so not good at just chilling and relaxing...but the few catches in between made it exciting and worth it! The last cast of the day didn't end so well-- as I bull-whipped my line across the lake! I ended up loosing my hook, line, and sinker. Oh well. It was a good time to end the trip anyway!

No...this wasn't the first time I have caught a fish. My wacky facial expression is due to the fact that the little guy kept wiggling around and getting his yucky fish water all over me!

Dan is not afraid to grab the fish with his bare hands!

We love each other :)

Zumba Party!

Back in November of last year I was at the Orem rec center when I saw a bunch of ladies waiting anxiously in line for something. I saw a lady in my ward, so I asked her what was going on. She said, "zumba!" I had seen flyers for zumba, but had never really thought about going to a class. For some reason I decided to try it that night. Ever since then I have been hooked. I have made a lot of good friends, and look forward to it every week. Part of the reason I love it so much is because I have an amazing teacher (trust me a great teacher makes all the difference!) She is an amazing dancer, and so much fun! She really works your butt off too! Well, because she is so good, better opportunities came her way so she is leaving the Orem rec center :(

To thank her a bunch of us decided to throw her a surprise thank you party. We had yummy food, a DJ with awesome music, and of course tons of dancing. We invited at least 70 people, but only 15 of us could make it. We still had a great time though! I made my delicious creme puffs, only this time I tried a new strawberry creme filling along with my usual banana. The strawberry is my new favorite!

How low can ya go??

I was on the way back up...I got low...

My friend Karen and me

Karen, Ana, and me

The gang who came out to party!

Karen made this cute poster! Cecilia and me

Yuki

We don't need to buy expensive toys for our dog...


She is happy to chew on our hangers, shoes, dirty socks, and any thing else we leave lying around.

If I ever meet a cuter dog, I'll be damned.

If you think there is a cuter dog on this planet...you are wrong :)

When the hubby's away....

...the wife plays!

Dan is playing in an all-nighter softball tournament in Delta. I had planned on laying low, cleaning the house, maybe eating a whole package of Oreos...er...broccoli... and watching a Lifetime Original Movie, but my friend Hailey called and asked if I wanted to play on her co-ed softball team, so I played a little softball of my own.

After our games Danica, Hailey, and I decided to do a little shopping. We went to the mall and looked at sunglasses for about 30 minutes... none of us decided to get some in the end. We ate some dinner, then went to Kohls where I do "expect great things." Oh Kohls. I could close my eyes and fill my arms with the first things they made contact with, and love it all. I had $10 in Kohls cash, and a coupon for 15% off my entire purchase...so of course I had to use them. I got some really cute shirts and a cute pair of jean capris. I called Dan on my way home and told him "I had found a few things I liked at Kohls" He then asked, "how much did you spend?" Before I could answer that question I had to tell him how much I had saved with my coupons and Kohls cash. He guessed I had spent more than I actually did though, so I guess I still have some money to spend :) JK.

When I got home I managed to take a bath, actually shave my entire leg (even above the knee), whiten my teeth, do the dishes, paint my finger nails, and write this post. This is what I call a productive evening.

Tomorrow morning I am going to a Zumba party from 11-2 which I am so excited for! I sure miss Daniel, but it's amazing what you can accomplish when you don't have a cute husband to distract you!

At a master's zumba class...us girls and our amazing teacher (in the pink). I just hate when I have a post without a picture, so this will do!