O Christmas Tree

Here's a picture of our tree and to go along with it a story or two. I have not had a chance to play Drew's game yet and now seems to be perfect.

What Christmas memories do I have? One of my favorites to laugh about now is "gambling" for a time. Andrew and I used to play simple card games like go fish or gin to decide what time we would wake up on Christmas morning. He always wanted to sleep a little longer and I couldn't wait to be out of bed. We'd start with a happy medium like 6 am and move in 10 minute intervals. If I won we'd wake up earlier and if he won we could sleep in. Really I never slept Christmas eve and made myself sick with anticipation, I still do. It's time I enjoyed spending with Andrew.

I remember getting my first bike on Christmas. It was pink and the padding had an ice cream cone print on it. I loved riding it everywhere I could, while it had its training wheels. The day I had my dad take them off was the day I stopped riding. I later taught myself on that pink bike coasting down my driveway, walking it up the Searle's driveway, and once again coasting down their's and the sidewalk in between. I was so stubborn and I'm sure I hold the record for the longest time it took to learn to ride a bike.

Drew and I were at the grocery store a week or so ago and I started to cry in the cookie isle. This time every year Mother's Cookies puts out the frosted cookies in holiday shapes. Growing up I always remember my dad having some in the Tercel. Since we never took that car as a family I know it was his secret stash, his major award to himself. The year my Dad was alone in Magna I knew he wouldn't buy them for himself, so I created a plan to secretly give him those cookies and a gallon of milk. Just what Santa ordered. When Andrew and I visited him he already had a gallon of milk and so I didn't include it. Of course as an adult I realize if I had bought it, he would drink it. Anyway, we were late leaving his house and it ended up being around 10:30 or so when I finally had purchased the cookies, driven back to his house, rang the doorbell, and then hide. I know my dad was a little upset to have a suspected visitor that late but I hope he was happy to see his major award. Those cookies now remind me of what it means to give.

Things I learned from Grandma

This morning I learned that my lovely Grandma had passed away and I'd like to share a few things I learned from her.

• Always have a tissue handy. Who says you need pockets!
• There's nothing wrong with putting half a slice of bread back in the bag.
• You can make someone feel like the most important person by remembering their name.
• You don't need a reason to wear a dress or a nice piece of jewelry.
• Offer popsicles and they will come.
• Do the good ones twice. A good joke never gets old.

I will always cherish the time I spent with her and Grandpa and I'm so happy that they are united once more in their best form. I love them both!

New game for everyone including Aaron

I have always loved Christmas because it brings out the good in everyone and I am sure we all have fond memories of years that have past so here is the new game. Everyone needs to post about a Christmas that has special meaning to that person and if you share a blog each of you have to post something.

My most memorable Christmas came when I was on my mission. It was my last Christmas in the mission and instead of buying gifts and mailing them to us my family would just send cash so we could get something from our mission that would be something we could have for a long time, I really wanted a leather coat. So everybody sent me cash and I had just barley enough to buy the leather coat I wanted. It was the day before Christmas and we had just received a media referral, somebody had ordered the Lamb of God and it was a Spanish order, we never got those because the Hispanic people thought we were the government and we were going to arrest them when they called and ordered the movie. We went over to this woman's house and showed her the movie she was really touched by it and asked if we could come back when her husband was there. She had 5 or 6 kids and she couldn't have been older than 30. We asked her what her husband did for work and she explained that he was one of the guys who would stand out on the corner and wait for someone to pick them up to go work construction for the day but they hadn't had much luck in the last couple of weeks. She then asked if we knew of anyone who would be able to help her with Christmas because she couldn't afford it that year. I told her being the day before Christmas I was sure that no one had any presents left but we would check. We left and I had the biggest pit in my stomach and I felt like I needed to spend the money I got from my parents to get them stuff, so my companion and I went to the store and he went crazy we started grabbing stuff and throwing them in the basket, I watched as my coat fund slowly dwindled away. We split the cost and I spent 40 dollars, no leather coat for me. We took the presents over and a member of the ward provided a whole turkey dinner with all the trimmings for the family so we took them to this woman's house. Her eyes got really big and she started trying to get her children in the only bedroom so she could get the presents in without them seeing. The oldest boy realized what was going on and he was dragging his younger brothers in the room by any means necessary. We gave her all of the stuff and wished her a Merry Christmas and we left. Because we had spent all of our money the member took us out for dinner and he made sure we knew we would be blessed for our service but I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed I wouldn't be getting my jacket. He took us home and dropped us off and I walked up to the mail box and there was a Christmas card from my Stake President I opened it up and a check fell out, the check was more than double what I had spent, some of the Stake members had donated money to the missionary fund and they had a surplus so they sent a check to every missionary currently serving. I still have that leather coat to this day and it serves as a reminder that if I put others first I will always be taken care of. We went back a week after Christmas and found out her husband found a job in another state and they moved. I'm not sure what ever came of it, if anything, but I am sure grateful that I took the time to put somebodies needs before mine.

Drew's wish list!!!!!

I thought that since it's Christmas time and I know everyone is pondering what should they get Drew for Christmas, I would make it easy and post what I want this year!
Besides the obvious peace and goodwill there are a few things I would like to see.

1. What ever happened to carolers? I remember even as the less active family that scared most people off we still got the brave family from down the street that would come over and sing. I miss that.

2. I was so disappointed when we didn't get any sweets from the ward members for Halloween. (we did get cookies from the Huff's and they were delicious.) (thanks Huff's)Our ward better get some crazy goodie exchange going on this Christmas! And I know a lot of you check out our blog so hop to it!

3. I wish everybody had real trees and on the same token I wish the clean up was as easy as the fake ones. Emily and I get a real one every year from the 5 dollar forest but the temptation to get a fake one gets bigger and bigger.

4. I wish more people would decorate their homes it doesn't have to be much just a window or a tree outside. Unless you can find a street with people who go all out, the decorated houses seem to be disappearing and that's sad.

5. I wish it snowed more, I remember making a lot of money shoveling snow and I remember the forts we would make and the snowball fights. I don't remember much of my childhood but I do remember the snow. (Andrew and Josh since we will have lots of free time on our hands we should build a huge fort in my yard!)(the invite extends to all who want to participate!)

For those of you who actually want ideas and it might be a little too far to travel for caroling I would like a propane torch, welding gloves, a gift certificate to Walmart (I need to stock up on fishing stuff), clay and if they offer it a gift certificate to capital ceramics.

Let's play a new game.

We've been tagged once more, this time by our beloved Bigger Family. I would love to tell you more things about myself but I had a hard enough time doing it once. In good faith I will leave you with two.

I watch Matlock on my lunch hour. Drew makes fun of me but it's the only decent television on at 1pm.
Drew always wanted an easy bake oven growing up. I've thought it would be fun to buy one for him but we have a real size oven, so it wouldn't be as fun.

Hope you enjoy these!

Trick or Treat

We had one, and only one, trick-or-treater. It made me sad because we bought extra candy, I put signs in the yard, and Drew performed brain surgery on our head shaped lamp to light the way. I was excited to hear little voices and very excited to see Andrew, Kristi, and Ethan. Too bad they were the only ones to partake of our candy.

One Year.....

Drew and I headed to the large metropolis of Salt Lake City this past weekend. My oldest brother Aaron was nice enough to fly in my dad from Texas so we could see him before he heads to Iraq to be a civilian bus driver on a military base for 1 year. Thanks Aaron!

It was fun to see him and go miniture golfing with the fam. Anna even scored a hit in one, as she liked to call it. We all went to the 5 Star restaurant, where Aaron is a star! And we had some good laughs and good food.

My Dad mentioned that a lot can happen in a year and started to list the things that have happened in his last year. I thought a lot has happened in my last year, and where it is close to my birthday it's a good time to reflect.

I've worked full-time this whole year, we got out of debt, we saved and went on a honeymoon to San Diego. Drew saw the ocean for the first time and we attended our first major league baseball game. We had a taste of parenthood when we adopted 3 kids for a week and we participated in the first annual Clark hoopla. Brad and Tahnie announced the first Roska grandchild. We have outstayed another couple in our apartment building and Drew for the very first time is a full-time student, period. Let's not forget...I caught my very first fish!!! Most of which has been put on this blog another item of this year.

Now I need to decide what needs to be done in the next year, because that's all the time I have before my "Things to do before 25" list needs to be done. AH!

7 things I love about my wife!

I thought since it's her birthday I will post some of my favorite things about her.

1. Emily has some of the best childhood pictures I have ever seen. Two of my favorites are of her as a little girl. First one is of her in a dance club and she is looking at the other girls to see what dance step they're suppose to be doing. (it's her mom's fault for not practicing with her.) Second one is of her at her brother's birthday party and she is holding a book her brother got for his birthday and she is holding it upside down with the biggest grin on her face! I love it.
2. She is so great at sewing, she doesn't think so but I could never do what she does. Artists are their own greatest critic and Emily suffers form this big time. She made a quilt for my little brother and I think it's perfect I will post that when I get pictures, she is currently making Ethan a firefighter suit for Halloween and it looks great.
3. She has helped me through some of the hardest times in my life, I know I wouldn't be where I am at today without her help. I have said this before but my wife couldn't carry me more than 2 feet physically but spiritually she has carried me for miles.
4. She is so supportive of everything I do and even when I think my pottery or work is terrible she is there to pick me up. She wont let me give up on anything and she helps me see everything through.
5. I don't say this very often but I think sometimes she is a lot funnier than I am. I know hard to believe but she can be really funny sometimes, usually after a sugar rush and when I am trying to sleep.
6. She is starting to get into fishing! She went fishing with me this spring during the free fishing day and she caught a couple of little fish but she was really excited about it. She also out fished Brad and I last time we went to strawberry, she even says she will go ice fishing this winter. I am so pumped.
7. She likes the comic book movies. I don't know if I could survive without them and it makes it even better that she is willing to go to the store and stand in line at midnight so we can get one of the first copies of Transformers and a transformer beanie!
I could list a lot more but I guess the one thing I love about her the most is that she is mine! Take that Daniel Goodmonsen

Greatest suprise party ever!

This year Emily and I got each other our presents really early so we really didn't have anything to give to the other on their birthday(I got a Grill Griddle combo and Emily got a sweet bike!). So we decided we were going to do surprise for each other and so on my b-day Em got me some cookies and balloons and brought them to work. I have unsuccessfully in the past tried to throw Em a surprise birthday party but it has never worked out and I was determined to do it this year. I made sure the house was as clean as it could be and I did the best I could to invite people without Emily knowing. (I would have liked to invite people from her work but that proved harder than I thought.) Kristi was so helpful in getting it put together for us and she provided all the decorations and the cake, thanks Kristi! Everybody who came brought a little treat and it was nice to see everyone there. We sat around and talked for awhile and played a round of catch phrase. Thanks to Kendra the guys won;) It was a very fun night and it was nice to have everyone there. Em took a couple of pictures so I am sure we will post those later. Thanks once again for all who came and finally happy birthday sweetheart!

Week in review.

Last week was the real test to see how efficient not working really was for me. I had the second chemistry test of the semester, first test...lets just say I did really bad. After taking most of the week to study and really try to get what he wants us to learn I got an 85% on the test! Which is the lowest score I've got since I quit. Emily always tells me how great I am doing and it's all me but I have to thank her for the chance she has given me to focus this semester on school. I finished my fish for ceramics and he is being fired right now. I never had a desire to do hand built stuff but it has been a real treat and I am not as bad as I remember. I threw 12 little vases all of which I will be firing in different firings but using the same glaze. Emily and I went to Hamilton's with Andrew and Kristi (always a treat) and Emily and I hung out a lot this weekend, Something that seems more and more difficult to do. Here are two pictures of my fish I will post more pots when I have them glazed. >

Do I have 8 items?

I've been mulling over this for days and these are the things I can think to share....
1. I've lived in Utah all my life and I have never been skiing or snowboarding.
2. I hated spaghetti sauce all my youth. I'd eat my pasta with cheese. I am more willing to eat sauce now but I still prefer noodles and cheese.
3. I had 4"Grandmother's" growing up. Granny Clark, Grandma Swensen (both are real blood relation), Grandma Lorea who lived downtown, and Grandma Hartford in Canada. Drew thought this was really weird until we had friends close enough to consider family.
4. I spent a month just outside of Chicago between 9th and 10th grade. I learned to appreciate new experiences, being the youngest, and home-cooking. I was also amazed at the lengths members of the church travel to gather on Sundays.
5. In a way I owe my interest in sewing to my brother. He took Interior Design and met girls and I took interior design to be like my big brother. I liked the teacher and the next semester when I was looking for a class to fill my time slot I ended up in her sewing class. I've loved sewing ever since.
6. I want a pet cow. I just couldn't handle the getting old and slaughter time.
7. Most people are surprised when I tell them this: I dream of smoking cigarettes. In my dreams it is what I enjoy. I take deep puffs and feel the silky smooth nicotine. When I realize I that I can feel the cigarette in my hand I think "This isn't right" and I wake up. That is why I will never take a puff, EVER. I think I'd be addicted.
8. I am married to a genius! I love you Drew!

I'm it

So Brad and Tahnie decided to finally get a blog and they were tagged by a friend to list 8 things about them that most wouldn't know. So I am taking said challenge and will be passing this on to anybody who frequents our blog.

1.) Most people think I am a big tough guy but the truth is I am as soft as they come. There is a Caterpillar migration across 6th west in Logan right next to Icon. I slow down and maneuver around them because I feel bad if I kill them. One time I went to scout camp and Brad was suppose to moisten the soil for my toads but he didn't and they died because they couldn't get themselves out of the soil. I cried for days (stupid Brad)
2.) I can do a cartwheel. Not a crappy one, well I think they're good. I tried to do one after I saw Chris Farley do one on Tommy Boy and amazingly I did not kill myself.
3.) Emily is the only girl I've ever kissed, this is partly due to Brad. He was always kissing someone new and I always heard about it, it was something he would brag about and I hated hearing about it so it's something I never cared to do. I am just glad that the one I finally felt comfortable kissing is also the one I married.
4.) I have to be in a really weird mood for eggs. I generally can't eat them and the site of a runny egg will make me hurl. It's hard for me to eat them when they are out in the open because I syke myself out and I think I see runny parts. And eventually I have to stop eating them or I will not keep down what I have already eaten. In fact just talking about them has made my stomach uneasy.
5.) I constantly think of how I can be a hero, not only do I think about it a lot I think of situations happening in a room where I have to be the hero and figure out what I need to do to save the people in the room with me. Generally I know every possible escape route and ways I can secure the room and keep people out. I know what I could throw really hard and fast to take out the intruder.
6.) I always thought growing up I would be a fish and game guy and that I would live in the woods and survive off of the land, in fact had I not met Emily when I did I probably would have sold the jeep and bought a scooter and drove across the country, I have always wanted to see if I could survive on what I know about the land. Something I now realize I probably would have regretted.
7.) I always got confused about what hand to put over my heart. I finally got it down after I fell and cut open my hand while fishing, there is a scar on my left hand in the center of my palm and I would feel for the scar to see what one is my left and then I knew what one was my right. But every time I hear the national anthem I still feel for the scar out of habit.
8.) I wanted to tryout for cheer leading my senior year in high school but was too afraid my friends would make fun of me so I never did and I have never said anything about it until now.

A Great Friend

Ag week at USU will has had a bitter-sweet feel to it and this year is no different. I love the time of the year and the sites and smells but a part of me will always look at it as a time where I lost one of my best friends. Curt or as most of you knew him as "mad dog" died 2 years ago yesterday in the tragic USU van roller over accident. It's the only time of year that I associate my thoughts for him and this school. The Ag department always parks tractors around the campus and all of the pictures I can remember of Curt on his mission were of him next to a tractor. I first met Curt in Garland Texas. He was companions with a very high strung elder and so was I. We both felt if had the other not been there, either one of us would have gone crazy. Curt and I stayed friends throughout the mission. I bought a lot of phone cards to keep in touch with him when he was sent out East. I returned home and and met Emily who was returning to Logan to go to school. I knew that Curt had ventured up here and I knew he would open up his room for the occasional visit. He lived in a room by himself not much bigger than a walk in closet and when I would visit I slept on the couch. Soon after Em and I started dating I decided to move up to Logan where Curt with open arms opened up his room for me to stay in until Em and I got married. To say the least that room wasn't big enough for one full-grown person let alone two. Curt would joke around about it and I am sure we bugged him a lot but he was always grateful to have us around. After we got married Curt hung out at our place a lot and he always managed to show up around dinner. I always had someone to hang out with and talk to when Em was working late. I knew I could call Curt for anything and I know he felt the same. I tried to talk curt into going fishing with me the night of the accident but he felt like he couldn't miss class. There's not a week that goes by that I don't think about him and the profound impact he had on our marriage. We miss him and we want his family to know our thoughts and prayers are with them this week.

Obviously not much...but come to think of it...maybe there is something

Obviously there has not been much in the last two weeks to shout about. But come to think of it maybe there has been.

On the 15th we, along with The Logan Clarks, and others attended the last demo derby of the season. Don't knock it 'til you try it. One car ended upside down! This event held a special treat of a truck demolition round. They were SO fun. people came from Idaho to participate. They have a lot of dead space in the rear that the drivers are more willing to crumple up. They were bigger and faster and the crashes were louder. CRASH!

USU lost another home game. Which was B-o-l-o-g-n-a! There was no reason for them to lose. They played well until the 4th quarter and they even pulled ahead for 90 seconds. ARGH!
It was very nice that Brad and Tahnie could come and try out the Ag Day BBQ. The food was great and I wish the weather had been a little more picnic friendly.

And oh yeah, Drew quit his job at ICON. He had been at ICON for a long 3 years and held many positions and in the end it was his wife who made him quit. This is an intense semester at school and work was becoming too stressful and time consuming. It's my chance to give Drew the gift of "full-time student" status. And I am a "sugar momma".

school isn't half bad...but I am not saying it's good.

This year I am taking a couple of the core classes. I have always looked at them as being dumb and really haven't liked many of them. I am trying to change my attitude this year and have a brighter outlook on those classes. I have taken Chemistry in the past with the same professor, last time I took it I had a hard time staying awake. I have never seen someone so excited about chemistry and I probably spent more time asleep in his class then I should have. I'm taking the class with Josh Huff and that seems to be helping out a lot. I still am a little nervous about the screwballs he'll throw in the exams.
I am also taking Geology 1010 and now I wish I would have paid more attention when pops was going off about rocks and how they form. We had a lab today and I was able to spit out most of the names for the rocks that were shown. I don't know how many countless hours I listened to my dad spout off about rocks and "how cool" they are. I think that some of it did sink in.
I am also taking intermediate hand-building and I have the chance to make some pretty cool stuff. This is the first time I will have a different professor teaching my class. He gives great insight and a very different view of the world of ceramics. So everybody needs to expect some very different pottery from me this year more organic and rigid and less exact and uniform.
I am also taking an institute class this year first time ever on my own. I went for the first time this week and I loved it. I'm taking the Acts-Revelations so as you can imagine the class is packed all ten of us cramped into a fifty seat classroom.
And for the grand finale the class I like the most but counts for the least is my weight lifting class. Finally a class I feel comfortable in! It's like I am in high school again...minus the Tighty Whites short shorts and awkward grunting it's like I am lifting after football practice. I missed the atmosphere, the smells and the feeling of being the "big man" in the weight room.
If our football team can look half decent out there on the football field maybe even win a game or heaven forbid two. I think this aspiring student can get excited for chemistry, heck maybe he can even study two days before a test and attend class on a regular basis and yes folks even pass stats. In the words of a very intelligent almost three year old, "GO AGGIES!" -Ethan Clark

Apple Days Parade

That's part of the charm of living in Cache Valley. Every couple of weeks you can attend a different parade celebrating different but natural themes. In May we went to the Black and White Days parade in Richmond (dairy cows), on the 4th of July we went to a traditional parade in Hyrum and this past weekend we went to celebrate Apple Days in River Heights. I'm glad that Andrew has taken an interest in knowing the local holidays and invites us to come with.

One of the sections I really liked this weekend was the walking section. The group of young kids and parents who meet at the start and walk or bike or skate down the route. It reminded me of Magna and all the years we dressed up in a costume way too hot for July or spent time wrapping our bikes in crepe paper. One year Aaron had to be warned not to squirt us with his headband water gun. (I know it wasn't a gun but it shot water and it fit on your head.)

The Apple Days Parade even included a local dentist driving a truck with young teeth following behind. That's the one time I remember sleeping at Granny and Grandpa's. Aaron was armed with an oversized toothbrush and Dusty was decay attacking all his younger cousins, the teeth.

Next year, Wellsville Days and Trout and Berry Days in Paradise.

We'll Always Have Mesquite

Drew and I had a great time with his dad and we have a great picture to remember the fun we had. giggle

The Naus-a-naus

We heard that San Diego Zoo is one of the best and neither of us had been there, so we went. We wanted to share a couple of our favorite animals with you. Especially the rhinoceros.

At Balboa Park we also visited the Art Museum, with an impressionist exhibit, the history museum, and the Japanese Friendship Garden, which was more about the pots than the plants for us.

We were pleased to see a visiting artist. (Drew Roska and his Gorilla, which is which?)

When I become a millionaire

Before we left Brad and Tahnie had told us to make sure we visit Coronado. It's a little island with a bridge connecting it to San Diego. It seemed like all of our attempts to go were a failure. The last night we were in San Diego we finished up with Sea World and our original plan was to head to our hotel and eat left-overs. I told Emily that we should go eat off of the pier in downtown San Diego and she agreed, but really I was going to take her to Coronado. So after our driving to towards downtown and Emily getting mad at me because I kept "missing" our exit I told her where we were going. Emily took some beautiful pictures off of the Coronado bridge.
I instantly fell in love with this place and once I become a millionaire I will buy a place here. Or unless someone wants to go in on it! We took some pictures overlooking the San Diego skyline and we ate at a little cafe called the Bay Side Cafe. I had lamb and Emily had the Salmon. It was great. We were able to see the firework show from Sea World from where we ate dinner, afterwards we took a walk out onto the pier and we watched some people fish. What a wonderful way to end our stay in San Diego! This was our favorite picture of me and the skyline!

Drew sees ocean. Yada,yada,yada. Very dissappointed.

Sailing the High Seas... or Maybe Just the Harbor

Searching online Drew and I found this really neat harbor tour you can take in San Diego. You are on a boat with several other people and the captain narrates about the significant items in the harbor. Each North and South are one hour long so we did both. We picked a great day to go. The sun was shining, the breeze was cool and the water was calm. Not to mention we met some really great folks from Utah.

We boarded the boat and chose some seats on the upper deck where we could watch others have their photos taken and board the boat. Drew commented about one attractive couple having their photo taken and that they represent what we want to be like when we are retired.

Soon thereafter a couple came to sit next to us. She very nicely asked, "So where are you from?" "Utah" was our response. Then they told us they were from Vernal. Isn't that funny. So we got to chatting and they were on a cruise that was ported at San Diego. And chose to do some activities their kids at home wouldn't mind missing, like the harbor tour and USS Midway instead of Sea World or the Zoo. For the first hour we would chat here and there and I noticed the cute couple at the photo opp were also on the upper deck.

In between the North and South hours I asked the husband where they were from. "Glendora, CA." Didn't mean much to me but they were sure nice. When they found out I was from Utah Vernon asked if I went to church in Utah, you know, "Are you Mormon?" Yes and so were they. The six of us introduced ourselves and found that common bond and instantly we had friends. Turns out the four of them were on the same cruise.

We finished out the tour all together and took pictures of each other and went on to the USS Midway for lunch. As we shared stories, we found out that Vern was part of the Wandamere Ward many years ago. That's the ward Drew grew up in. The stories turned to the golf course on 7th East and how they had both gathered golf balls. It was so much fun to have friends to gather with and share the experience.

When we parted it felt like we were saying goodbye to family instead of 3 hour friends. We swapped e-mails and hope to keep in touch. Thank you to our friends.

A whole new world

Growing up I thought my life was much like the Truman show. I was always being told I would go on vacation here or we would see this but it never happened. I thought I lived in a bubble the size of Utah and would never get to see the "outside world." Minus the mountains and the temperature differences Texas is a lot like Utah so even then I really didn't feel like I got to experience much. That is until my wife took me to California. Our first stop in California was the Wild Animal park in San Diego.
After taking this picture we went to the petting zoo and we got to pet deer! They were a little timid, but after a few scratches on the back they warmed right up. We then headed down to the bus tour where we sat and listened to a narrated tour by the driver. He told us about the several different programs they have had for reproduction in their facilities. The one that stuck out to me was of the rhinos. they had brought in several male and females into the park and let them out in the open land to reproduce. The males were unable to reproduce because they were too young so they borrowed a male from the San Diego Zoo and he went to town fathering 59 rhinos in a short time! Below are two pictures to show how big the park is where they let the non- aggressive animals live.

Next it was off to the lions and I really liked their home. They had a 4runner that they had "lion proofed", they even filled the tires with cement so they couldn't push it around. As you can see they really liked it.
Next we went to the elephants. Just in the one enclosure they had over 12 elephants. They had 2 really small ones that ran around and played a lot, they were a lot of fun. The giraffes we a lot of fun as well. The big tall one had eaten all the leafs off of the trees to a certain height so the smaller ones couldn't eat them!

I sure hope we get a chance to go back one day it was a lot of fun.

Sea World

Thursday we went to Sea World. I've been a couple of times but would often choose Sea World over a Zoo. The shows are fun, the animals are different, and you have the possiblity of cooling down with a big splash from Shamu and his friends.

And of course Drew wanted to sit in the splash zone. He said it was like taking a child to Anaheim and asking if they wanted to go to Disneyland. I should have known he wanted to get soaked. He even wore his flip flops and swim trunks. He never wears his flip flops.

In preparation for the soaking I took a before picture (as seen above left), planning to take an after picture as well. We came very close to Shamu and his killer whale friends and saw the show twice. 1. The show was good and 2. We didn't get wet at all the first time around.

In the mean time we did lots of fun things, like check out other shows and pet sea stars and stand in the park's "Photo Opportunity" areas provided by Fuji Film. That makes me laugh a little. We cooled off inside watching the polar bear and the penquins. The penquins actually became one of our favorite exhibits. We watched them eat and run and swim and fall into the water. We found out that Ethan was tutored on the art of running by a flock of penquins.

In the end there was no soaked picture. As many times as we sat in the soak zone, not once did we get wet. Thank goodness we didn't pay for a poncho!

San Francisco Giants

Drew and I decided to extend the vacation one day. We found a cheap hotel just outside of San Francisco and bought tickets for a Giants Game. The drive was a longer than expected and the game was a lot colder than we had prepared for but it was a ton of fun. It's the first "Major League" anything I can remember attending and it's fun to say we saw Barry Bonds play the same season he broke the home run record. And he hit a home run while we were there.

Usurper of The Title

I almost forgot to let everyone know that I took home the title of Greatest American Fisherwoman. I went fishing for the very first time in June when I didn't need a license. Well, I fell for that as soon as I hooked my first 4 inch fish. Other than the worm, I did it all by myself. I started screaming, "I caught a fish! I caught a fish!" It was so loud people on the other side of the shore were looking to see my whale of a fish. As soon as I got it in I had to yell to them, "It's just a little one." I ended up catching 3 that day. One happened to be a large mouth bass.

No longer do I have to say, "It's just a little one." On August the 4th we went to Strawberry Resevoir, 365 day fishing licencse in hand. I cast my line ever so gracefully and not even 5 minutes had passed when I caught a 20 inch Cutthroat Trout. *Pictures Pending* He was a fighter and I was SO excited. I out-fished both Drew and his brother Brad.

Blame it on beginner's luck, I still did it! Thanks to Drew for showing me the joy of fishing.

Time flies when you are preparing for fun

More than two weeks have passed and I apologize. The big news with us is.....Today is Drew's birthday! YEA! I like Drew's birthday because it comes with fun memories.
2003: On the 13th Andrew and Kristi were married. Drew came to the reception with his friend (we were all co-workers at the time). I went to give Drew a hug and he thought I was going to go dukes with him so he put up his fists ready to block his face. On the 14th he asked me out. (Supposedly I couldn't refuse because it was his birthday.) One week later was our first date. It was easily the best date I had ever been on.
2005: I pulled the BEST birthday surprise ever. Drew really wanted a jacket, so I bought it then had my mom buy it from me to give to Drew. So when Drew asked if I got him the jacket I told him no. He was so disappointed and upset that I hadn't got it. I captured his face on camera as he opened the box. Priceless.

This weekend we will be leaving for So. Cali. Drew was excited to share about that. When we started planning our trip it seemed so distant and now it's here! We're VERY excited!!!

Honeymoon...better late than never

Most of you are aware that after getting ourselves out of debt Emily and I decided to save up for a vacation and since we never could afford one when we first got married we thought now would be a great time. We are going to California for 7 days and most of it will be spent in San Diego and the rest in San Fran. While in San Diego we will go to the Wild Animal park, San Diego Zoo, Sea World. We will take a day long cruise around the bay and we will hop a ferry to Cornado. We will go to Balboa park and go to the museums, Emily is excited to go the museum for the impressionism show. We will drive up the coast and go to a Giants game and do a double decker tour bus trip around the golden gate bridge and finish off with a drive across Nevada back to SLC. We're both really excited and we'll be sure to post new stuff when we get back.

While we're at it...

I now see that we haven't posted about one of our favorite Logan Summer traditions. The Demolition Derby, of course! 10-15 cars line up and after the signal they ram into one another until the car can be driven no more. Sometimes it's because the car ends up on it's side.

This year's demo was fun cause we ran into some old friends and Drew caught a t-shirt thrown into the audience. The tag said Large but it certainly wasn't an Adult Drew size large. After the derby we took a moment to salute Grampy Tex. This one's for you!

Mmm, Mmm, MMM

I have to brag about the gourmet meals we eat, because of our garden and Chef Drew. Check these out!

Garden of Logan

After 2 years of not having a garden Emily and I decided we were going to do one this year. Both of our upstairs neighbors decided they did not want to do one this year, so we had a lot of extra space so we invited several couples to join us. Andrew and Kristi wanted to do a joint garden so we decided what we wanted to grow and we planted. We planted peas, watermelon, cantaloupe, peppers, huckleberries and cucumbers. Our pea plants were the first to shine but as soon as the really hot weather hit they didn't last long (we waited too long to plant those) we did however get a couple of hand fulls. The peas we got tasted great!!! I am starting to think we might have planted our cantaloupe and watermelon a little too late, but we do have some good looking flowers on each so we might end up with bite sized melons! We also ran into a huge problem with our cucumbers. we had several plants at the beginning and they looked wonderful but slowly they all began to get a white film on them and then they would die. It was really disappointing we went from having seven plants to two. One of the plants is really small and the other is doing well. The picture at the top is a picture of the flowers on our good cucumber plant. Now I do have to brag about our tomatoes, peppers and huckleberries. we have five regular tomato plants and they all are doing well. We also have 3 cherry tomato plants that just keep producing tomatoes, I have already picked about a dozen cherry tomatoes and there is no end in sight. We are both really proud of our tomatoes and we










are both really glad that Andrew and Kristi are helping us with the garden. I don't think I could eat that many tomatoes on my own. We have already picked several hand fulls of peppers, we planted Anaheim and Golden bells. We're still waiting for the golden bells to go golden and they seem to be getting the largest. The other night we had kabobs for dinner and we got to use some Anaheim's on them. They were really good!!! We're still waiting for the huckleberries to ripen...a good lesson we learned is that you're not supposed to eat them before they are ripe. Even if they are are black it still doesn't mean they're ripe, they kind of taste like peppers but with a really weird after taste. YUCK!!!