Could Have Been Worse

Sunday Jared and I went to look at a cabin lot.  We have been perusing lots online for several years and wanted to get a better feel for a few areas.  And it sounded fun to get out of the house and go on a drive.

We drove around the reservoir by the lot and the road was mostly packed snow.  It hadn't been cleared very well but people were driving over it anyway.  And it wasn't deep or anything.  Then we saw the turnout for the lot and it was also snow covered, there were lots of tire tracks and it looked pretty packed too.

Jared asked me, do you think I should go down that?  And I said, "Sure!  We've got 4 wheel drive! Do you think you can make it over that bump of snow?  He said he could, and we decided to go for it.  Haha. 

He starts saying that he is sliding around on the snow and worried about going off the edge so he was hugging the other side of the road which wasn't packed as much.  Suddenly, we are stuck.  We got out of the car and realized the "tire tracks"  were actually from snowmobiles and snow cats.  Great.  We were a 150 yards in by this point and the snow we were driving on was actually several feet deep.  Our truck was so heavy it broke through the hard crust at the top and sunk into this super soft snow that had no traction at all.  It was fluff.  And we had no cell service.

So we walked out and walked about a half mile to the top of a big hill and our phones worked, thankfully. He called the owner of the lots and was given a little info about another person who was also stuck and had a tow truck coming in from Price to help and maybe they could pull us out too.

Then a car pulled up and offered to give us a ride into town.  It happened to be a husband and wife from our area who also have a cabin by that reservoir.  And it was really fun to talk to them.  The wife was Italian and their kids all served in Italy too.  And the husband was a Dr in our area, she had worked in the NP program at BYU.  It was super nice of them to help us.

We got connected with Mike in this tiny, tiny town (population 18) and he drove the backhoe around the reservoir to the truck and had to plow out the road with the backhoe, attach a chain and drag us out backwards.  

He was the nicest guy and apparently all these out of towners being stupid like we were keep him in business!  He has to do this a lot.

We felt very grateful for a few things:

1.  The timing was earlier in the day so we got out before dark

2.  There was cell phone service relatively close

3.  We brought coats (sometimes you think you won't need them but I always bring one just in case)

4.  We got to meet all these new people and found that this is a very nice community.

5.  I got a good look at the lot!  Plenty of time to look at everything when we were waiting to get towed out.

We were sure happy to get home and that there was someone with the backhoe close.  A tow truck couldn't have pulled us out because they would have been stuck too.  I'll for sure be a lot more cautious in the future  and not go down any unknown roads.  But at the end of the day, it was kinda fun actually.  The lot is really pretty and overlooks the reservoir.  Maybe time to pull the trigger.

Happy Birthday Miles and Room Update

Miles is 17!  Its gone by too fast. 

Some things I love about Miles:

1.  He has a big heart.  He has pulled out some really sweet grand gestures.  And he gets all the little ones too, like carrying anything heavy, working hard to connect with Soren, etc.  He coached Soren's game the other day since Jared has a cough, and he made me a breakfast burrito. 

2.  He's super loyal.  Sometimes a little too loyal!  Haha!  The avenging of his friends is an issue sometimes.  He is also protective of his friends. 

3.  I've always loved how he likes to figure things out on his own.  Very resourceful and independent.  When he was 2, we had a complicated tv system.  He watched me and learned how to start the DVD's without any help.  We hid the DVD's up in the laundry room on the very top shelf.  He still figured out how to get to them.  Yikes.

4.  He remembers practically everything he reads.  He's always got some interesting facts that you would think was false but we fact check him and he's spot on.  He just has a curious mind and remembers things really well.

5.  Miles loves to read.  And he reads super fast.  I'm not sure how he does it, but I think its pretty cool.  

6.  He's super funny.  He makes us all laugh all the time.  It was cute to get his "time capsule" that his first grade teacher did.  She send this sweet letter too and talked about how funny Miles is.

7.  He is outgoing, interested in people and likes to connect with all kinds of people.

8.  He has great taste in girls.  Seriously.  He hasn't had a girlfriend in awhile (which makes my life very easy) but the girls he likes are smart, funny, and make good choices.  This is encouraging to me.

9.  When I hear him talk about his future, it includes serving a mission, getting married, providing for his family.  

10.  When he's home, he always has a project going on.  He likes working on his car or the crypto miners, business stuff, etc.  He likes to stay busy.  I think its my favorite part of ADHD.

One thing Miles is not, is organized.

I've been trying to not clean his room for him.  Often I'll offer to help him, but he knows that means a deep clean and he always insists he will do it himself.  Which doesn't happen too often.  I just have to rarely go into his bedroom and then it doesn't bother me.  But I told him I would clean his room and do all his laundry for his birthday.

Elise was excited when she came up last Sunday and wanted to help get things arranged better.  And Elise has a knack for that kind of thing.  It was really fun to have the whole family hanging out in his room and figuring out where to put everything and making a plan.  Elise is very action oriented and dragged the heavy ladder up so we could get that flag moved ASAP.

I think his room turned out really cool! He gets the big room over the garage because he's the oldest kid living at home.  All the kids really covet this room.  Someday it will be a bunkroom/playroom for the grandkids.

It took me an entire day to get this room clean.  Lol.  I should have taken more befores.

Before:

After:

He got the electric guitar at the DI.  Jared drew the Shaq picture in High School.  And the Firebird clock, etc is stuff Jared got him for Christmas last year.

He really likes his collectible Travis Scott Reese's puffs and includes them when he sells the shoes.  I have no idea where the record player came from.  Probably DI. 

The new decal for his Firebird was 5" too small, but it looked cool on his wall.

We hung the skateboard decks (this was before we hung them) , lined the table with 1's, and he really likes the salt lamp he's had for years.  He just really wanted one when he was younger!  kinda funny.

He coached Soren's team last week 

The Big Five vs Italy

I've been waiting and waiting to go explore Italy. 

In high school I was obsessed with it.  I took Italian in college so I could speak a little when I finally got to go.  Its been on my bucket list for YEARS.  Like 12 years ago when we first lived in Highland my neighbor across the street went for her 40th birthday and I was like yes, that is what I want for my birthday too someday.

It was so fun when we went to Italy with our family in 2017.  We had only 6 days but it was so fun.  We chose to go south and do Rome and the Amalfi coast, and I wanted to come back soon and do the Northern part, particularly Florence and Venice and the Dolomites.  I bought all the books.  I did a ton of research, and it was the next trip on my list.

Then Elise got her mission call in 2018 and suddenly going to Italy was out for at least the next two years.  We had the cruise with Jared's family planned already for that next summer and had 2 days in Italy.  Cruises give you a little taste of a city, but not enough time to really explore.  We only had a couple hours because of the cruise situation.  We hoped we could return with Elise after her mission.  We knew that because of the timing of school starting we would have to come back to Italy with her instead of picking her up and exploring.

Then covid hit and everything shut down anyway.  And ever since, I've been waiting for the world to open back up again--without masks.  I hope it does soon!

There is only one thing I want to do before I die and that is to go explore Southern France and Northern Italy.

Anyway, last summer there was a glimmer of hope with covid tested flights.  But it just wasn't a good time with wedding planning and all the other things we had happening.  Plus Jared hates wearing a mask.  And with all the crowded public spaces we would have to wear one constantly.  

So hopefully this summer we will be able to go for a little while.  But if not, maybe 2023.

Years ago when we went to Europe a few times in a few years, I kept thinking why are we going to these far away places when there are so many National Parks and other beautiful spots I've never seen nearby?

But now, given the current situation, I'm so happy that it all happened in the order it did because the past year we've really enjoyed going to Yosemite, all the national parks in Utah, Oregon, Arizona, California, etc.  We've loved Lake Powell too.  

So here are some pictures of my local travels.  I want to sign up for a photography class and do cool hiking day trips and backpacking adventures.  That's my life plan for when I'm an empty nester.  Take pretty pictures.  Backpack and/or hike year round.  I love all the beauty that surrounds us.  I love a good long drive with new views.  And I love seeing what's around the bend on every hike.

Its not so hard to be patient and wait for the world to open up again with surroundings like these!  On my bucket list for this year is Glacier National Park and the Cascades.

Harris Beach State Park Brookings, OR

Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, CA

Yosemite National Park

Capitol Reef National Park

Cassidy Arch

Coolest friend ever!  Carla with all the canyoneering expertise

Bryce Canyon National Park

Canyonlands National Park

Arches National Park

Zion National Park

Snow Canyon State Park

Goblin Valley State Park

Kolob Canyon