Attempted Family Picture

I thought it would be good to get a family picture this year in the beautiful fall leaves. But between getting Claire to look at the camera and smile and getting Dallin's entire head in the picture and getting Cody to look at the camera was no easy task. Here's the best we took.

Wallace Lake

So, we have 2 friends now that we have lived in Salmon for 2 years. There names are Tiffany and Jesse. They are husband and wife so maybe they only count as one friend, but anyways they have a cute little baby named Cameron. Not a baby anymore but they will always be our babies right Tiffany? And they so happen to have a Terrex. Good company + Terrex + adrenaline ride + Fly fishing + beautiful lake = good times had by all. Look at the size of this 10 footer we caught!

Happy Halloween!

So, I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. Claire had fun picking out our pumpkin and carving it. One of the pictures is of Claire giving the jack-o-lantern a love after knocking it onto the floor and cracking his face. At the pumpkin patch they were giving four wheeler rides to the kids. They had barrels painted like cows that they drug behind the four wheelers. She was a zebra this year for Halloween. The merchants on main street give out candy to the trick or treaters. There were so many people. Claire loved walking up and down the sidewalks saying "Treat!" and "tank-you!" Everyone thought she was so cute...because she is! Dallin and I got invited to go to a Halloween party. Costumes were requested so we dressed up and Marge and Homer Simpson. I think we look pretty good. We only took the one picture and it turned out blurry. Oh, well. You get the idea.

Rustic Desserts

So, while we were in Portland we went to an awesome bookstore! Probably the biggest in the world. It is called Powells. I got this awesome cookbook there called Rustic Desserts. I have been on a dessert rampage. They have all turned out very good indeed. This pie crust is made from scratch by the way. Actually everything is made from scratch...except the brownie one. The box in the picture kind of gave it away. One of Claire's favorite past times is to help me bake. She loves to eat the batter, squish the flour between her fingers, and help me stir with odd utensils. Enjoy looking at these wonderful desserts that I so proudly made. If you come visit I would love to cook one for you.

Portland Surprise

Since I surprised Dallin with the trip to Canada he decided to surprise me with a trip to Portland to see Cathy and Jake. What a good guy I married! We ate at many yummy restaurants that I will forever hold dear in my thighs. My favorite was this French restaurant that we went to...I can't remember the name of it though. One of the restaurants we ate lunch at I got mocked at because it was my first time drinking a chai tea...which by the way is just about the best thing I have ever drank...and I had never heard of Jack Kerouac. After the coffee shop guy looked at me like I was from Mars I assured him that his guess was really close but I was from Idaho. We went shopping one day which was very much fun. Shopping is very awesome when the store name does not end in -discount store and when I make more than $6.25 an hour. Dallin was very kind to take Claire to the zoo that day...again I married a great guy! I got me some tight jeans that squish my thigh fat so tight together that they can't jiggle...very cool...and it squishes my belly fat out over the top...not so cool, but Cathy assures me that I look skinnier in them...hhmmm...I wonder if she was lying to me? We also went and hung around beautiful Mt. Hood one day. We spent a day at the beach, which was very cold. We decided to go home when Claire's skin coloring started to look purple. It was a very fun trip. Thanks Cathy and Jake for the great food and letting us drive your car. We miss you guys.

Muddy Goodness

Dallin and I were out working in the yard one day...notice how I said one day. We were both minding our own business and I hear Dallin yell, "Wow, quick, look at what she's doing!" I look over and she has managed to find the only mud hole. By the time we saw her she had already got some on her dress and I just thought, "Welp, there's no use stopping her now; she's already muddy." So, we just let her have her fun in the mud. Your only a kid once...right? She had a grand ol' time.

Drawer-full of Goodness

The other night, I was being a lazy bum watching the tube when Claire decided to crawl into the kitchen out of my view. I did not really notice at first because whatever was on the tube was so intriguing; so intriguing that I don't even remember what I was watching. Anyways, after who knows how long...because once you realize, "Hey it's a little too quiet" who knows how much time has lapsed...I decided to call for Claire. I call again...and again because I just don't want to get my lazy bum off the couch to go see what my only begotten has gotten into. I go around the corner and this is what I find.
She had crawled into the drawer that houses my dish rags and towels and hot pads. I just had to take a picture.

Family Reunion

Last weekend we went to Logan for Jens family hang out day. We had a good time swimming and eating really good food. Jens brother Brad knows how to throw a good time. Anyway on the way home there was a storm and the light on the mountains was perfect. By the time I decided to pull over and get my camera out it was gone. It was still good for portrait shooting so I shot a couple photos. I was gone to Delaware for work this week and when I got home Jen left to go to BYU-I with her fam. It will be good to see her and Claire again.

Dallin

Redfish

So, we went on our annual Redfish Lake camping trip. We took Cody with us and he had a grand ole time. We got there a little late in the day so we didn't do a whole lot the first day. In the wee hours of the morning it started to rain. It rained really hard and I made Dallin go out in the rain and cover us with the rain fly. Then it started hailing. When it started lightening we decided sleeping on a cot with a metal frame was a little nerve-wracking. We thought we would head home because we didn't know what to do there in the rain. We went out for breakfast and luckily the rain cleared and it turned out to be a beautiful day! Dallin went for a mountain bike ride and Claire, Cody and I hung out at Stanley Lake sunbathing on the sand all day. Claire actually had more fun eating the sand.

And Finally...Claire's Easter Dress

Okay, so this post clearly without a doubt proves that I am a blog slacker. I finally got around to taking a picture of Claire in her Easter dress. Isn't she beautiful?

Fourth of July

So, like always I'm a slacker in posting blogs again. That be why I am posting about the 4th. Hey, it's still July maybe I'm not that bad of a slacker. Anyways, Mom and Dale came up the weekend of the 4th to visit us in Salmon. All of you should do likewise. Not because you're missing out on Salmon but because your dearly beloved friends or family live here. Someday I think I will post a blog on the people of Salmon. If I forget remind me about that. Anyways, Mom sewed all day on these beautiful curtains for Claire. I will post a picture of them soon. They turned out super cute and again it reminded me that my mom is an excellent seamstress and a perfectionist when it comes to sewing. It brings out the home ec. teacher in her. Then we headed up to Wallace Lake the next day to go fishing. Not much luck with us fishing but our neighbors had luck and they shared...already cooked fish too. We tried to keep Claire up to watch the fireworks but they start the fireworks at 10:30 here. Way too late for our Claire Bear. She started hitting and pinching and biting. I decided keeping my skin intact was more important than showing her some fireworks that she probably would forget about anyways by morning. Then we went out to dinner to 100 Acre Wood. It is a very quaint restaurant. When you all come and visit us we will go out to dinner there. Thanks Mom and Dale for a fun weekend.

Bannack and Dogs

So, Dallin and I have been thinking about getting another dog for a companion for Cody. He always looks at me with sad eyes...maybe he's not sad at all though...maybe he just looks at me with hound dog eyes. Anyways, he always looks sad. Someone Dallin knows recommended the animal shelter in Dillon MT. She said they train all of their dogs. We decided to go for a long drive to Dillon last weekend to go get a companion for Cody. We got to the animal shelter around 2:45 thinking they closed at 4:00. Nope...they close at 3:00. So we had a quick 15 minutes to find a friend for Cody.

We took this lab/hound dog for a walk. He didn't seem too bad. He pulled a little when we walked him, but we thought "nothing we can't fix." They have a 10 day trial period, so that if you get the dog home and he eats your garden, digs up your flowers, chews your sprinkler system, barks constantly, and bowls your child over you can always bring him back for a full refund. We thought what do we have to lose. We'll try him out and if we can't stand him we'll take him back. We adopt him after filling out a ridiculous form that asks ridiculous questions and pay A HUNDRED DOLLARS for him! No sooner do we get on the interstate to head back home Duggan...the dog...starts freaking out. He is barking so loud. And mind you in an enclosed tight quarter such as the car his bark is magnified by 10 fold. Poor little Claire is in the back seat right in front of him and starts shrilling for fear of being eaten. I'm hitting the brakes, swerving around on the interstate, yelling at this dog to shut the h*ll up. We find an emergency exit and turn around to take Duggan back to the pound. I bet that was the shortest adoption trial period ever recorded. Needless to say I do not want another dog. We drove the rest of the way home in peace and quiet.

So, that we didn't make this trip in vain we stopped at a ghost town called Bannack that I've always wanted to see. I can't help but be drawn to ghost towns. I love envisioning the streets full of men and women and horses of the 1800's. I love to walk through the homes and envision what the people were like that lived there. Bannack is neat because they don't totally renovate the homes and restore them, they keep them in the current condition that they were discovered in. The only downer was the buildings that had anything in them were locked up. It turned out to be a pretty good day.

Finally!

So, it has only taken me 9 years of my adult life to finally decide on a decorating style that is my absolute favorite. Are you all ready for me to reveal how I am going to decorate my home for the rest of my life? Wait for it...wait for it...drum roll please.............................................................................
COTTAGE STYLE! I have decided that I like the warmth that grows in my heart when I look at pictures of cottage style homes. The only bad news is the furniture and my window treatments that I have recently purchased are all wrong for a cottage style home. Too bad I didn't know what I liked before I bought all my new furniture and window treatments. Oh well, you live and you learn...right?

Oh Canada!

So, for Dallin's 30th birthday I surprised him with a trip to Canada. I went to a lot of effort to make it a surprise; from opening my own checking account to lying about how much I spent at stores. It was great fun. The first night we spent in Kalispell MT at the Kalispell Grand Hotel. Avalanche Lake. Hike we went on. Very beautiful. Notice the awesome waterfalls.

Hiking back from Avalanche Lake.

We then headed to Glacier National Park. We were planning on camping two nights there but it was so cold we headed on to Calgary Alberta Canada a night early. There was still a lot of things closed in Glacier including the main road that goes right through the middle. Claire spent her first night in a tent there. I think she slept better than me both nights camping simply because she is oblivious to the exponentially large number of bears that roam in the north country and the danger of a crazy ax murderer killing us in our sleep. When I camp I think about those two things most of the night along with how cold I am, how uncomfortable I am, and wondering how many hours until the sun comes up.
This is a picture of a waterfall we hiked to. It was such a beautiful hike through the canyon. The waterfall was really majestic. There was a place you could hike through at the end by the waterfall. You had to bend over and walk through this tunnel/cave thing right next to the waterfall. You could get sooo close to it. It made my heart pitter-patter just being so close to it. The spray from the fall drenched you. It was pretty cool.

Picture of Claire and I at Hotel swimming pool. She went down her first waterslide with Dad.

I was surprised how huge Calgary is. Our first night there we ate at a restaraunt called Sky 360. It is a restaraunt at the top of a building kind of like the Space needle in Seattle. The restaurant slowly spins so you can look out over the city. I was thinking that Lisa and Chuck would probably love to eat here. Then I thought again...I remembered Chuck's fear of heights. I have never been on a longer elevator ride. I think I also have a slight fear of heights because I was relieved when my feet were on the ground again. We were probably underdressed and I think the only one with a child there. I'm sure all of the rich, vogue, city people were turning their noses up at us, but what-ev-er. That was the first and LAST time that I will take a child to a fancy restaurant. She was making all kinds of fussy noises and every time we gave her a bite of anything she would stick out her tongue and let it fall out onto the table or the floor. She would throw her bread. So we pretty much paid a $100 to be embarassed. Never again.

Then we went to the Calgary Zoo. It is the second largest zoo in Canada. It was pretty fun. Claire liked it for about 20 minutes then she fell asleep. She liked the big fat hairy pigs the best.
Then we headed off to Banff National Forest. Banff is absolutely beautiful! I encourage everyone to head up there someday. The mountains are probably some of the most majestic mountains I have ever seen.

This is us standing in front of a hotel that you can stay in if you make 6 digits a year. Claire had attachment issues to mom that week as you can see.

It was very cold there also. The mountains there have glaciers on top. That was really beautiful to see also. We saw 4 bears while we were on our trip. 3 in Glacier and one in Banff. We had so much fun but were relieved to come home. Thanks Tiffany and Jesse for holding down the fort at home!