Lake Powell - Oh yeah!!!

Lake Powell 2008 with the Christensens was a blast! The weather was the best we've had and the company was great, as usual. Brittany and Eric came down for the first three days, which was awesome. Cassidee had cheer camp, so she couldn't make it. And Devin was too far along to feel comfortable spending a week so far away from medical care. But Teneil brought a friend, Kristen. And Griff's parents invited another family, the Larsens. So it was still a big, fun group! It was kind of a bummer to be pregnant and not able to do most things, but come on.... who can ever complain about being in Lake Powell!? Everyone had fun doing everything from wakeboarding to riding the water weenie. Check out Brittany and Eric's blog to see more cute pics, but here are a few that I took to capture the trip for you:
Brittany, Gabe, and Eric on the Red Ryder (The Christensen's boat). Gabe was so funny in his life vest. At one point, he kept trying to lay his head on Brittany's shoulder, but he couldn't reach that far past his life jacket. He was a trooper though. :)
Ok, so I am not the best photographer. Tyler and Devin both got a little cut off. You can see Greg, Sandra, Brooke, and Eric in the background. I am usually not a huge fan of the water weenie, but this year all the laughing made me jealous I wasn't bouncing around and falling off with everyone else!
Nelly doing flag duty while Randy shows Devin how to strap into the air chair in the background.
Randy, Greg, Devin, Kristen, and Eric roasting their cheddar dogs. Randy brings them every year to Lake Powell, and let me tell you.... they are worth every bit of the 30 grams of fat in each one. Delicious! We had Cheddar Dogs/Brats on Thursday night, too, with smores afterward. It was a little warm for a fire this year, but that didn't stop anyone from having one of these mouth watering babies.

We played a lot of games... ok, mostly Settlers... at night. That game is very addicting.
Brittany won "Best Crash Caught on Camera" Isn't her face hillarious!? I am a poor photographer, so although I took a million pics of her (and others) wakeboarding, I didn't catch any good jumps. However, believe me there were many! Brittany hasn't been for almost 5 years, but she can still jump the wake. She's awesome!
Brittany and I on one perfect morning. You can kind of see my baby's bulge. Can't wait until next year when our baby will really get to experience Lake Powell.
I caught this little cat fish from the back of the boat on anchovies (which consequently perfumed my fingers for the rest of the night... and if you haven't smelled anchovies, believe me... disgusting). Randy pulled the fish out of the water for me, and it decided to flip fish slime on my face right when Griff snapped this picture. We had a good laugh when we saw it!

Wow! Isn't it beautiful?! I have always wanted to go to Rainbow Bridge, and we got to go this time. I had no idea that it was so big. The park ranger who was there told us that it is bigger than the Statue of Liberty. It was "discovered" officially by whites in 1909, when they took an expedition there in August. August?! What were they thinking. It is June and I almost died of heat exhaustion in a swim suit walking the 2/3mile up to it. How on earth did they survive several weeks on horses and on foot in full clothing?! Well, I didn't have to do all that, but I was thoroughly impressed by this amazing and beautiful national monument.

Cindy on the way into Rainbow Bridge. Lake Powell has so many beautiful rock formations, doesn't it?
My hot husband getting ready for a morning ski. He looks so cute to me here... his eyes are even still kind of puffy from sleeping. He wakeboarded most of the week, but the last day he got a good ski in.
This is the best picture I got of Griff wakeboarding, and it really even isn't that great. I always get everyone coming down or going up it seems. I told Griff I need a really nice camera to get better shots of him. He isn't sold yet. Maybe by the time the baby comes...
The Nautical Lady. We have made a lot of great memories on this house boat.

Oops... you'll have to turn your computer sideways for this one. Randy won the "Best Morning Hair" award hands down! Thanks for the awesome vacation Randy and Cindy. We look forward to many more awesome memories made in Lake Powell. PS We missed you Hullingers and Cassidee!

PSS: Here is a video of Griff on the Air Chair. It is so fun to watch. Right before everyone crashes, they look like bronc riders. Griff adds to the effect by lassoing the air just before he crashes.

Bear Hunting Adventure

Wahoo! I got work off this weekend to go bear hunting with my husband. This is my first experience with bear hunting, so it was especially exciting. Griff, Matt, my Dad, Rich, and Scott had all been up the week before to rebait/set up baits and hunt so everything was ready to go when we got there. We rolled in around 8:30pm on Thursday night, so we decided not to sit in the tree stands since we only had an hour and half. Instead, we sneaked in quietly and just checked as many as we could before dark. You cover up the bait with sticks so that the bear has to brush it all off to get to the food. The first two had been hit hard - I included a picture of bait #2 as we found it and another when we rebaited it so you can tell the difference. We were stoked! The next morning Griff and I jumped on the four wheelers and cruised down to put out more bait. Griff wouldn't let me lift anything heavy since I am pregnant... thankfully he made it across that log without falling into the river. :) After we were done baiting we spent some time fishing. The river was super high and just roaring, so we'd drive or hike up the river and fish little holes here and there. I caught that little brookie on my second cast! Around 4pm we washed with scent killer soap, sprayed with scent killer spray, and then put on our camo which we had in a black garbage bag with pine boughs. Griff helped me into my tree stand both nights...it's kind of scary climbing up those little pegs, but once your up there it's fun and really pretty. Griff heard cracking twigs circling around him the first night, but no bear showed himself. And the second night despite all our careful planning, we didn't see a thing. Bummer! Scott, Harold, and Rich came up the night we left though and Matt is going back up next week... so I am still crossing my fingers someone is successful. This is such a laid back, fun hunt. We are hoping to continue this it every year.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to the wonderful fathers in our lives! We had a great day spent with the fathers we love. Griff was bear hunting in Idaho with my Dad, Matt, and a couple of friends. So they barely rolled in in time for Father's Day dinner at my parents' house. (no bears though, dang it). Mom had a sign up wishing all the fathers a happy day... and "Almost Griff" was listed along with all the other names. So he barely sneaked it in. :) We had fun eating a very delicious dinner my mom prepared and opening gifts at my parents house, then we jumped on the road to see our other Dad. Randy got a new James Bond style pellet gun for Father's Day - it was complete with laser scope, mounted flashlight, and a bipod mounted on the gun. Randy could tell you all the specs, but let me assure you... very impressive for a pellet gun. Griff, underestimating this fine machine, promptly shot a hole in the smilely faced ball Kara had been playing with. He claimed he thought the pellet would bounce off. Uncle Griff! Luckily, Kara didn't seem too tramatized. :) We were even able to visit with Griff's Grandpa Cassity before we finally made our way home late that night. I think we are so lucky to live close enough to our Dads to be able to spend time with both of them on their day. Griff and I often talk about how much our dads have influenced our lives. They are strong, righteous men. Men who have a great capacity to love and believe in their children, even when we don't believe in ourselves. I used to keep a letter from my dad by my bed in highschool. In it, he told me how proud he was of my character and the person I was. Even through college I kept this letter with me and on the hard days or the down days, I would take this letter out and read my dad's words to me. I knew that he believed what he wrote. And because I trust and love my dad, it would lift my spirits and I would start to believe in my own goodness again, too. Griff and I both were blessed with fathers like this. Fathers we loved, trusted, and have looked up to all our lives. Thank you, Dads, for being those kind of men for us. We love you!

Double Date on Horses

Matt, Amy, Griff, and I went on beautiful ride on Matt and my Dad's Missouri Foxtrotters last week. I don't know how much you know about Foxtrotters, but they are really fun horses to ride. Just like their name suggests, their trot is incredibly smooth. So you can be moving pretty fast, but you feel as comfortable as if the horse were walking. Spring/early summer is my second favorite time of the year to ride. June is usually warm and the world is so green. I love the picture of Matt and Amy where you can see the green mountain behind, but the peak is still capped with snow. Oh, and if you are wondering what my first favorite time to ride is....nothing tops riding on a cool autumn day with the landscape brushed with reds, pinks, oranges, and yellows. It's like the earth's version of the finale before the end of a firework show. I love it! Our ride was so much fun. I rode my mom's horse, Chief, who is just awesome. He gaits great, and he is pretty bullet proof. Baldo is the same way - that's Amy's horse. Matt and Griff took turns riding the newer horses. The palimino is Rio, and the grey horse is Coltrain, my Dad's new horse. We just walked across the street from where they keep the horses near Provo Canyon and rode on a trail there. How convenient is that? What a great afternoon! Oh, and thanks so much for watching Wesley so Amy could come, Dad. We love you!

Sweet 16...right, Cassidee?

Griff's little sister, Cassidee, turned 16 on Sunday. Wahoo! Sixteen was my favorite birthday... driving, dating. I remember my dad took me to breakfast for my "first date". I had a new boyfriend at the time who wanted to take me out on our first date that night, but my Dad didn't want to be beat out. :) It was the ultimate of many daddy-daughter dates over the years. I probably reminisce too much on my blog, but I can't help it. Everything that happens reminds me of good memories! But alas, I am twenty seven now. So I'll have to leave all that new excitement to Cassidee. And she is certainly living life up. She just made varsity cheer, went to state in track, and she rocks as a soccer player. We're super proud of her. We had fun at Griff's parents, too. Dinner was delicious, and then we got to have the Christensen favorite... Cream Cheese Pie. It was very fun. We even fit in a little golf game - Randy and Cindy handily beat us, so we'll have to practice up and challenge them again next time. And look at how big the twins are! Did you ever see such cute smiles? I love that picture of Randy talking to Chet with the balloons. He is the best grandpa. I tried to get video of Griff making Chet laugh his head off, but wouldn't you know it? As soon as I turned on the video he stopped. Well, here's to many more fun parties at the Christensens!

Our Baby's First Photo Shoot

Look at our beautiful baby! Ok, so even Griff had trouble telling what was what, and he was at the ultrasound. I wish I had a program that would let me draw pointers, but oh well! The roundish part on the left is the head. The oval part to the right of that is the body. The two whitish areas at the bottom of the body are the legs. I'm sure your not alone if you have no idea what I'm talking about. I have brought home our baby heart monitor from work a bunch of times, so Griff and I have been listening to our baby's heart beat since it was 8 weeks. But we still had so much fun seeing our little guy (or girl) on ultrasound today. Technically we could find out the sex in 3 weeks. Isn't that crazy!? Except that I feel chubby around the middle, I sometimes still can't believe I'm pregnant. Can't wait for the next photoshoot...

Double Birthday Dinner

We had a delicious carribean dinner at my parents house today for Melanie and Connor's birthdays. It was very fun. Griff and I are so lucky to live near our families. We just have so much fun with them!




Connor is 11! Crazy. He is growing up. He's such a sweetheart, too. I was cleaning up in the kitchen with my mom when Connor walked in and asked what he could do to help. Then I watched him entertaining Cannon later, and thought he was such a good brother. He's all boy but with this sweet underlying personality. Connor was my first nephew, and I have enjoyed watching him grow up so much! (Eric did a fabulous job with the candles, didn't he? Very artistic.)



The boys all took turns batting with the wiffle ball while Griff, Brad, Eric or my dad pitched to them.


My dad built a basketball court in our backyard, and it has been a HUGE hit in our family. Griff keeps trying to figure out how to put one in our tiny backyard, because he has so much fun playing at our parents.



Brad, Griff, and TJ





Brittany serving her red beans and rice.

Dinner was so good! Everyone was there except Matt... I was just a slacker and didn't get pictures of everyone. Melanie made Connor's favorite cake - peanut butter fudge. And Griff and I made coconut macadamia nut ice cream that was to die for - at least we thought so. :) I posted it on Sister's Cafe if you feel like making it (http://www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com/). The picture stinks... but we can't all be photographers, I guess.

Grandma and Gabe reading his new birthday book from Aunt Mindy and Uncle Griff. :)

Grandpa and Cannon