Camping Trip #2

Ryan had been planning a quick lil camping trip with his family for the last few weeks but I had planned on not going for a few reasons and with the new kitty around it made me even more hesitant to leave. But somehow everything worked out and the day before is when I decided to go. I am so glad I got to go. It was a blast! Can I just say that I love my soon to be family?? There wasn't a day without laughing.
We headed down to Southern Utah bright and early on Saturday morning. We camped at a little campground between Torrey and Boulder. There was seriously hardly ANYONE there. But for some reason the few people that were there were in OUR spot when we showed up. So we sat around for about 2 hours waiting for them to pack up and leave. I was so ANNOYED.

Once they left and we set up our quiant lil camp, we headed down to lower Calf Creek Falls. Ryans dad didnt come with us and we didnt really know where we were going, so we just drove! We had to stop on Hogsback (kinda scary to drive on. It was cliffs on both sides).

After an hour of driving and much second guessing ourselves and dads directions we finally got there. We kinda had to hurry cause we didnt get there till 630 and it was a 5 mile hike in. Call us crazy but we ran alot of it. It kicked my butt but it was so fun! And much needed after all the snacking on the car ride.
Lower Calf Creek Falls!

It was really cold, but of course the boys jumped in. We barley made it back to the car before it was completely dark.

Next day we all headed out to a more intense hike. I should have known by just the car ride to get there that this hike was going to be intense. We have to drive 50 miles on a dirt road that I swear was made of rumble strips. I was sure that the car was going to break down and we were going to be stranded. Who knew a Saturn Ion was great for off roading? haha

It was almost 100 degrees at 10 in the morning. KILL ME! Hiking back up this mountain is what did me over. We went and hiked in that narrow canyon that is behind us.... and back. Makes me tired just thinking about it.

We found this awesome cove. It almost looked like some indians had lived there once.
We were hoping that once we reached this there would be water to swim in. But nope. There was no refreshing swim for us. It was much needed. Especially after climbing the huge hill that was PURE gravel.

The last day we all really wanted to go swimming. So we hiked down to upper calf creek.

It took me so long to jump in this water. I have a thing with water and the things that are in it. They give me the heeby geebies! But I finally did it; as the next picture proves. It took some moral support however. haha We all really needed to be washed off from all the sweat from the day before(gross I know!!). The water was absolutely freezing!! But VERY refreshing.

Of course the boys started to do flips and stuff. This was the funniest one ever. Jake tried to flip and dive out of it... just you watch how it turned out:

Hiking back UP the mountain again. This was taken on one of my many many breaks I had to take. Man Im really out of shape.

Although I have never hiked like that before and probably could have died, it was really fun. I am so blessed to be getting such a great "family-in-law".

Ps. I dont know why but I have a hard time considering this camping... We saw a million of these.

A Little Surprise

Last week Ryan called me early in the morning while I was getting ready for work. He had just gotten off of work and said that he was coming over to my house with a surprise. He showed up to my house with this little guy: He stole my heart immediately. I guess Ryan had found him while he was at work and decided to save him and bring him home. He was bones as if he hadnt eaten in a while. He was so friendly and very chatty. My mom wasnt too happy about it since we already have three other cats, the last thing we need is another one. So we decided to let him hang out at our house for a day or two and that we would take him to the shelter if we couldnt find someone to take him. Well... no one seemed to want him and it broke my heart and mothers to think of taking him to a shelter. So after much discussion we have decided to keep him. We only have about a month and a half till Ryan & I get married so he wont be at my parents house for long. He has been such a little sweetheart. But boy he is sure chatty!! So we have started our cute lil family. haha His name is Dante'!

When it Rains it Pours.

So I still don't have my car. As I stated earlier I was supposed to pick it up on Wednesday. My mother and I went down to the dealership to pick it up. When we got there we went straight to the cash register to pay and get my keys. Well...... when they handed me my keys they had two different ones and they said that I would need one to open my door and one to start the car. How obnoxious and inconvenient right?? I was pissed. I ran out to my car to see the "new" steering wheel they installed. OH MY HELL, that steering wheel looked even worse than the one I had before even when it was all ripped apart. This thing looked as if it had been sitting in a dumb for a few years and looked like it was disintegrating and had so many scratches on it. DISGUSTING! (I forgot to get pictures because I was so upset.) When the insurance guy called me on Monday and told me that they were ordering recycled parts I didn't think it would be a big deal cause I assumed that they would at least be NICE recycled parts. My mother being the mama bear that she is, called the insurance guy and chewed him out. He then blamed the dealership on not refusing the parts. They nice guy at the shop kept saying they have never been told that they could refuse parts and that no where it says they can. At this point I didn't really care whose fault it was I just wanted my car fixed but the insurance guy would not stop blaming it on the dealership. SO ANNOYED. So now the status is that I wont be getting my car back till next week but they are ordering and installing NEW parts.

On top of all of this last night Ryan's battery in his car died. Luckily we made it to Auto Zone to buy a new one before the car completely gave out. When it rains it pours eh??

Life...its what happens while you are making other plans

I have so much else to do right now, but I felt as if I needed to take a break and blog for a moment. Life has been so ridiculously busy and stressful lately. School is kicking my butt. I am taking three classes this summer and they move so quickly its hard to keep up. My photography class is a disappointment and I am so not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. I have so much reading for my online classes I might freak out. But thankfully I only have about 3 weeks left of this semester and then Ill finally have my Associates degree. Then I am so taking a break. Wedding plans are coming along quite nicely. Only 2 months left! HOLY CRAP! Time has flown and I get more excited every day. My car finally is done getting fixed. I need to go pick it up later this afternoon. Unfortunately the damages came to over $800 and my deductible is $750 so the insurance will only be paying for maybe $100 at the most. Life is full of fun surprises isn't it?? My parents are investing in some flood lights for the garage door and in one of these: The cop that came to take the report said that this is one of the best things next to a car alarm you can have in preventing people from trying to steal your car. So lets hope that it works. I can't afford dealing with anyone elses stupid decisions.

Almost Stolen

Yesterday morning I encountered a not so pleasant surprise. I was going out to my car to head to work. I first threw my purse in the car and didn't notice anything at first. But then when I was trying to get something out of my purse I noticed this cover just sitting on the seat. I was really confused.

I thought that it might have just fallen off of something and got down on my knees and started to look around for its place. I then looked up and noticed this:
That's when I knew there was something wrong. I have no idea why I didn't notice it at first.
Then I noticed the steering wheel looked all mangled too like they were trying to take out the air bag:

And then I noticed my window. I don't know if you can tell or not but it was pulled off the track and pried open quite aways:

So not cool. Pretty sure they tried stealing my car but got scared away before they could or they are just too stupid to actually finish the job. Our neighbor across the street has surveillance cameras and said that there were a few people coming in and out of our drive way.Unfortunately there wasn't another car or any recognizable faces. I so badly wish that there was a way to track down these douche bags and give them a little of my rage. I am now stuck dealing with the stupidity of others not to mention paying for it. I am still waiting to hear back from the shop on the damages. I feel so violated. But I am just glad that they didn't take it and anything inside of it. From now on though, you better believe my car will be spotless.

Camping

We decided to go camping for a night for the holiday with our friends Chris and Rachel. Our plan was pretty much just drive up to Mirror Lake and go from there. (the boys are the one that planned this). Its a good thing it was just a one nighter because it wasn't planned all that well. The boys didn't even think about food until we were about to leave. haha Boys! Cant live with them, cant live without them. On our way up to Mirror Lake we stopped at Provo River Falls. The mosquito's were crazy!!

This is their dog Draco. He didn't like the muddy ground so he sat on the table alot.

Rachel & Draco

Our feet got cold

I had THE most messy s'more of my life. It felt alot more messy that it looks. But it was YUMMY!

The next morning the boys got up early and went fishing. So Rachel & I slept in and the took Draco for a walk around the lake. Ryan didn't have much luck.But Chris did!

(look at Draco eyeing that thing!)

We went back and I made a fire! I even chopped the wood. I was so proud of myself.

Cold Draco

The boys fished forever. They missed breakfast! We were really annoyed with them when they finally got back, so they took us on a hike and we did a little rock climbing.

Draco & I on the way home! He is such a happy guy.

Besides all the frustration with the boys and their planning, and the 15 plus mosquito bites I received, it was fun and nice to get out into nature for a day. Next time, the girls are planning.