Letters to Lyla and Lottie

Last weekend we had an odd Saturday. First, we went bowling. Zach's short-lived career at the bowling ally facilitated some free fun....I must say since my bowling class (yes I took a bowling class as an undergrad) I dig on this redneck tradition.

Todd, deflated after a bad bowl You can't tell but at this point I AM BEATING TODD!!Zach, the professional bowlerMelissaGood timesWe also enjoyed some serious air hockey games :)
After leaving bowling we went to Leeds of all places (a tiny town south of Cedar) to eat at this 5-star restaurant called the Cosmopolitan. It's so random but in a beautiful setting. It's one of those small but elegant places with only a few items on the menu (including fillet Mignon, buffalo, and salmon). It was super fun.

My dinner...chicken in cranberries and sage (scrumptious)
Todd got Buffalo. I thought it was nasty but he liked it (although he didn't think it was worth THIRTY BUCKS!!! Good thing my mom foot the bill)
YAY for bowling and fine dining

Can I just say that I am tired of the presidential elections. It seems that every candidate is now more concerned about dragging their opponent through the mud (while airing as much of their crap as possible) than they are working at appearing to be a qualified person to lead our country. I swear, I could turn to a soap opera for the same amount of drama with half the amount of BULLSHIT! I hate everyone now. Ugh. This first video very much highlights the way I feel about the election presently.

p.s. I still support my OBAMA...crazy priest/white racism and all (I say we whities could stand to have a little oppression). I'm just venting here.



This video proves that I can have a sense of humor about my political preferences. HE HE.

So since Todd and I don't work Fridays anymore, we've decided to do away with the whole "Friday night date night" and have "Friday, date DAY!". While admitting this reveals the nerd/freak in me, in lieu of the new date day I spent a good three hours last week researching different fun things we could do and made a list to check off when we do them...haha like I said, freak. I guess its my attempt not to go crazy here, where it seems like there is NOTHING ever to do (don't ask how I survived 18 years of it). So...this Friday we went to Zion National Park. Since we got married Todd always tells people, "my wife is from Southern Utah and she's never taken me to Zion". I decided to change that! I guess I just take advantage of things I've grown up around. Zion is such an amazing place, with plenty to do and see. We had a lot of fun and came home worn out! Here's some pics from our first date day adventure!

One of about a billion slick-redrock mt sides that surround everywhere you goZion Lodge...a random tree (still alive) w/ a huge hole in the middle of itThe SHUTTLE on the way to our hikeMy map-guide extraordinaire (his map navigation skills are amazing!)The start of our hike to Emerald Pools The view the entire way was amazing! Like I said...amazingWe saw a few signs of life...this squirrel, two deer (1 buck), and a few lizardsA side trail led to this red rock where erosion formed these random holes (at least I think that's what happened)...it looks almost like a bear clawI'm really not trying to show off my butt in this picture...haha I don't know why the crap I was sitting like that..but the rock is coolWe made it...! They call it the "Oasis in the desert" the lower pools are shadowed by this huge wall...you can't see but a very small water fall runs off it and fills the poolsThe pools. You can hardly seem them bc the wall darkens that area and makes it hard to photographA better shot? The sun is glistening off the waterfallI thought this wall was coolOn the way back...Todd mocking my picture taking needs...quite the pose huh?The start of The Narrows Soooo beautiful!After spending all day in the park hiking, we went to "Treasure of the Gods", the IMAX. I had seen it before but forgot how cool it was. Todd liked it a lot. In the gift shop before the movie started, Todd pretending to be Indiana Jones...what a nerd right?

So that's the end of our adventure in Zion. We saw a lot and enjoyed the time to appreciate nature at its finest...CHECK!

So I've gotten a few requests that I post about life in Cedar for us AND Ty so here's what we've been up to since moving (aside from unpacking and working). BTW we are officially moved in...yippie! Todd says he likes his job working in the obscure parts of Southern Utah. He has a coworker (who he calls Lew bc he reminds him of my dad) who has taken him under his wing...which I appreciate. The last few days Todd has been manning the shovel (for what reason I don't know) he definitely hasn't enjoyed that too much. I guess it's not strenuous, he just clears out the backhoe (I think)...but it gets old. Also, his truck doesn't have AC... BOO! Aside from those woes, he says the job is pretty good...it seems that him having Fridays off trumps any woe. My days here, I must admit, have been quite foreign and lovely. I wake whenever I want, eat breakfast, walk Ty to my sisters, throw the ball around and then work on the computer doing research for 5-6 hours a day with intermittent "breaks" to play Mario Cart on the WII with my sisters. Pretty rough right? It's so lovely!!! I thought I'd go crazy after working 50 hour work weeks and going to school full time...but the insanity hasn't really set in!! The guilt however has (Todd working his butt off while I leisurely "work") and anticipate looking for a job within the next couple weeks. Todd doesn't want me to though bc he wants me to have Fridays off and thinks I should just relax for a while....ha! Okay, enough riveting updates....here's some pics.

We had my dad and sisters up for a BBQ of steak and dutch-oven potatoes...delishWe've been having play-dates with my dad's dogs Annie and LB (stands for "little bits"...she''s the huge one). Melissa, her friend and I took them on a walk the other day...my was that an adventuredventure!The way is should be...The way it was....I LOVE THIS PIC!!! All two lbs of Ty ran off LB and Annie from their own water after the walk. What an idiot dog.Ty thoroughly enjoys Grandma's house....she has a huge yard where we play ball everydayTy helps Melissa with her ball-handling skills. I'm not kidding they seriously play soccer together...I joined in yesterday and got a serious work out.Ty also loves Grandma's floor-to-ceiling pantry...He fully got his head stuck in the granola bar box and could not get it off...like I said, what an idiot dogMario Cart on the WII has definitely been another highlight of our time here....Sad as it is, we've had sooo much fun playing it! The other night we played my Friend Tiffany using WIFI...she lives in California...it was so fun!

That's all for now!!!