Mud Hogs

So being that we are serious bikers and all, we decided it was time for us to take a big trip. So we did. We headed with Austin and Krystal down to Bear Lake for a little weekend jaunt. 

We left on Friday afternoon and stopped in to Idaho Falls for gas, and the bank, and for Kolton and I to ditch our helmets because it was sooo hot and also because we are dumb. 

When we finally got on the road again we got to Pocatello and rounded the corner to Inkom and saw the biggest and blackest storm clouds. But we just kept going.

Shortly thereafter we were in the middle of the biggest pounding rainstorm. 

It was one of those instances where you can choose to get mad because the rain is beating on you and feels like nails pounding into your skin and you are getting soaked and this is so not fun anymore....or you can choose to laugh about it. 

We chose to laugh. 

And it really was hilarious. Krystal and I had our big buggy sunglasses on and they were just gathering water like I couldn't believe. My eyes were so full of mascara and water and we later decided that the best description for what were were experiencing was that it felt like we were wearing goggles that were half full of water. 

So we are riding through this storm side by side and just laughing our heads off and stretching out our arms and in a weird way it really was kind of refreshing. 

We finally made it out of the storm and then stopped in Soda for gas and to stretch our legs. 

We freaked out when we noticed the time and realized we had about half an hour to get to the show we had bought tickets for and Garden City was a long ways away. 

So we hopped back on the bikes and told Austin to take the lead. 

And oh boy, he sure did. 

We were FLYING down the road and speeds that I don't care to go in a car let alone on a bike with no helmet. 

I was terrified and finally decided that I was not going to look at the speedometer again. We did finally make it to Pickleville Playhouse with only a few near misses for traffic accidents. 

We were only 20 minutes late to see our favorite Juanito Bandito! 

The play was hilarious as always and we sure had a nice time. 

After that we jumped back on the bikes and headed for Logan where we were going to eat and stay the night. So we just keep going down the same road and had an amazing view of the lake. Then we started going through a little canyon full of sagebrush and a tiny creek that we thought was sure pretty then we just kept going and going and going and going til we hit a town and decided to ask for directions. 

Turns out, we had gone 30 miles in the wrong direction and that not all roads lead to Logan as we had previously thought. 

Stupid. 

So we turned back around and went the way we came back to Garden City where we found the correct turn and got back on the right track.

We went through Logan Canyon and holy hannah banana...it was GORGEOUS. It made that other canyon look like nothing. The trees, river, cliffs, everything was just blowing us away. I was just in awe at how a place that beautiful could actually exist. I tried to take mental pictures of everything I saw. That was definitely the best part of the trip for me. 

When we finally made it to Logan we ate some dinner and then went to crash at the hotel. We had big ideas about going to the hot tubs but as soon as we laid down on the beds, there was not getting up. We were exhausted. 

The next morning after a lot of planning and debating and discussing and looking at maps we planned our route home. 

We went through Preston where we tried to find the Napoleon Dynamite statue which obviously doesn't exist and ended up talking to some strangers for 20 minutes. That Austin sure is a friendly one. 

Then we went to Grace where Kolton had gone on a high adventure with the scouts a couple years ago. He had a blast and wanted to do some of the same things they had done. 

So we went to the river and climbed down the rocks to find a waterfall to climb. But after sitting and searching for a while, we couldn't figure out where to go so we just enjoyed cooling off and then jumped back on the bike. In our swimsuits, I may add, which definitely got us some looks. 

Then we went to the flume which looked super fun, but the water was too high and we didn't feel like conking our heads and dying so that plan was out too. It was a nice try though! Next time we will plan ahead a little better. 

After that we headed on home. We went through Alpine and stopped at a little cafe to grab some snacks and shakes. It was the cutest little diner all decked out in American pride. I loved it. Then we got back on the bikes and rode past Palisades and again went through some beautiful country. I just love seeing all the rolling hills and the farmland and it always makes me wonder why our ancestors kept going and passing all this beautiful land and then stopped in Monteview and said, "This is the place." I really don't know what they were thinking. 

We finally made it home after a stop at the MotoRodeo where we watched our friends and family ride. It was definitely a good trip and though my bum was sore and needed some time to recover we are looking forward to going again! 

Infestations

We had a bit of excitement over here the other day. 

I was cleaning up the house and while I was picking up our room I picked up my pants from off the floor and put them on the bed before I folded them. From out of my pants came the biggest, sickest, nastiest beetle-y insect I have EVER seen. I'm not kidding when I say it was as long as my pinky and as wide as my thumb. I have never seen a bug that big before. 

Oh, I am shuddering just writing about it. 

I jumped back and then tried to figure out what to do. My sheets were in the wash so this nasty beetle similar to something you would find in the Amazon rainforest is just cruising around on the mattress pad. 

So I ran into the bathroom to grab some toilet paper, but as soon as I thought through how exactly I would go about squishing that bug with just a little piece of toilet paper, I knew that was not the right route for a wanny like me. 

So then I grabbed the fly swatter and figured I could get it to climb on that and then run to the bathroom and dumb it in the toilet. But that little bugger was way too fast and would climb over the flyswatter before I could even get anywhere. 

Finally, I saw what I had to do and I used the flyswatter to squash that sucker. 

Oh, it was the sickest thing ever with all the grossness and guts and I just don't even want to talk about it anymore. 

So there was that. 

Now I can't lay in bed comfortably because I have the creepy crawlies and I'm a little bit paranoid. 

So that same day after Kolton got home from work we were laying on the couch watching The Office (our new favorite Netflix addiction) when Kolton all the sudden sits up and claims he saw a mouse. 

That statement does not make me very happy. 

So I immediately climb up the couch and perch on the back as far away from the floor as I can get while Kolton starts poking around the entertainment center. 

After a few minutes he hadn't seen it again and was just starting to think that maybe he had imagined it when I yelped, "Ah!! It's right there! Ah! Get it, GET IT!!!"

and this was the funniest ever. 

Kolton leaps up and starts hopping around in a circle on one foot, "Where, where, where!" Oh I died laughing and pointed to the kitchen. 

So Kolton goes to the kitchen and I perch on the counter while he pokes around. Finally I told him to move the fridge and look behind there. As he's moving the fridge and commenting on how he thought I had spring cleaned the kitchen so why didn't I clean behind the fridge and I was in the middle of telling him because I was afraid there was a mouse behind there, sure enough, that little nasty mouse comes running out and heads for the laundry room. 

See the above situation for an idea of how me yelping and Kolton jumping around in circles went. Because it was basically a repeat. And I died laughing again. 

Then Kolton was on the prowl to the laundry room he told me to come in there, but on account of there not being a high enough perch, there was no way that was going to happen. So he was on his own.

But pretty soon I heard a "bang bang!" and then "OH YEAH! GOTCHA YOU LITTLE SUCKER!! WHOO-WEE!" 

And that was the end of our mouse problem. And I could sit with my feet touching the floor again. 

Mickelsen Reunion/Fourth of July!

So for the Mickelsen reunion we always go up to Island Park over the Fourth of July. 

It is just fabulous and I love the 4th. 

We went up Thursday evening and enjoyed some peace and quiet while we waited for everyone else to show up. I sat in a chair outside and read my book and Kolton played fetch with his dog. That's all that dog wants to do. He also tried to teach him to swim, and I think Duke kinda liked it! 

Then we had pizza for dinner and found our reunion mascot on the roof. How fitting!

On Saturday we just played on the water and sat in the sun and went on the boat and loved every second. I wakeboarded a couple times and had to show Brevan how it was done! I told my mom to get me jumping but she didn't. Trust me when I say I got some big air. Six inches at least!

Then Kolton came out and showed me up of course. 

Madison and Addi also enjoyed the wakeboard. 

Later in the day we tried to teach Davis how to wakeboard and he was NOT happy about it. The whole experience brought back SO many memories of my dad teaching me to ski. I would sit out in the water and just cry and cry and cry and beg him to let me stop and it was just awful. But it built character! 

Lately I get motion sick super easy so after some time in the boat I was ready for a break. I sat on the beach  and just relaxed and visited and it was great. 

When it was time to make dinner I had to share my expertise in scone making with everyone. They made fun of me, but I DID work for four years in the drill team/cheerleading booth at the Mud Lake Fair making scones. I know a thing or two about it! 

And holy cow, dinner was just the best ever. We had ribs and beans and scones and salads and I don't even know what else but I didn't want to stop. 

Then we went out on the boat to enjoy the fireworks. The other boat wasn't working so we had quite the load! As always, the fireworks were fantastic. I think they get better every year! But again, we kept saying "Oh! The grand finale!" and then the fireworks would stop and everyone in all the boats would cheer and clap and then they would start up again. This happened probably 10 times. My favorite part though was when everyone started chanting "USA! USA!" It was great. 

After the big fireworks we lit off some of our own at the cabin. I don't know what it is about men and fireworks, but they were sure busy. 

Kolton and I took a quiet little canoe ride in the dark to the other cabin which I just really loved. It was so peaceful and quiet and I told Kolton to paddle slower so we could enjoy it longer. 

The next morning we hung out for a bit and then left to hang out with Hansens at Kilgore. 

And that was that! 

I just always love the Fourth of July. I think it is such a great holiday celebrating such a great event. I loved teaching my kids about it a little bit this year and realizing how big and important this holiday really is. 

God Bless America! 

Kitties!

So last year we got two cats near the end of the summer. 

They were pretty wild and we didn't know how long they would stick around so we didn't give them any names. We just called them the big one and the little one. 

Well, the big one ended up running away...we hope. But the little one has stuck around and we noticed she was getting wider. 

One day my mom came over and the cat was nuzzling our legs when I said, "Look at our pregnant cat." But as we looked closer we saw she didn't look so pregnant anymore. So we followed her around and saw her squeeze down in the little window well that is boarded up.

Sure enough we could hear some faint little cries. 

When Kolton got home I told him what was up and he grabbed his phone and snapped a few pictures. 

So we have three baby kitties. We haven't seen too much of them because we are trying to protect them from the dog. But maybe someday when they look less like drowned rats we'll pull them out and make friends. 

Recent Dates

I really love going on dates. I feel like we don't go out for a while and then I realize that basically everything we do is a date. Unfortunately that also includes grocery shopping and parts runs. 

But lately we've gone on a few super fun dates that I want to remember. 

1. It rained on our hay. A LOT. So we decided to ease our sorrows and go into town with Bitters and Andersons. We went into the Copper Rill restaurant (I told Brevan where we had gone and he said he'd never heard of it. I explained that it was the place Shandi owned and he said, "Ohhh...I thought the name of that restaurant was Shandi's Place." Probably because that's how everyone refers to it haha! ) and had a lovely dinner. It was a very looong dinner and Kolton was a bit grumpy about it, and normally I would have been too, but it had been such a long time since we'd been anywhere with friends and we had nothing better to do than look at ruined hay, so I didn't mind too much. 

2. The very next day Kolton had to go to Montana to get some wood for the fence they are building at the cabin and half-serious asked me if I wanted to go. Since I had nothing better to do than spring clean and since I've been doing my best to avoid that, I said yes. So away we went. And we had a great time just bouncing along in the truck. We took the scenic route (for the desert anyway) through Leadore and up because we are scenic route people...and also because our truck wasn't legal. We had a nice little visit which I just love and Kolton had to help me with my 2nd church talk in about as many weeks. We had quite the little heated gospel discussion which may have included me telling Kolton that he was destroying my testimony. But it ended well, despite the fact that I feel like I know very little and understand even less about church doctrine. Something I need to work on. And I just love that patient husband who is so sweet and good at explaining things even when I'm arguing over every word he says. 

On the way home we stopped at the gas station for square ice cream cones which was a very bad idea because we had bellyaches from too much sugar and nothing of substance. And that was that! 

Oh, and I fell asleep and Kolton took this picture of me. 

Lovely.

3. The last date we went on had kind of a rough start. Kolton had been telling me all week that he was taking me on a date so I was excited. But THEN I figured out that he wasn't so much taking me on a date as he was wanting me to drive in and home separately so he could get his new tired put on the roadbike. So I felt stupid because I hadn't gotten ready and thrown a hat on because I was planning on riding the roadbike. I was pretty angry with him as I followed him into town but as soon as I ate some dinner my outlook on the evening brightened considerably. Amazing how that happens. After dinner once he realized he had his wife back instead of a grizzly bear, Kolton suggested we go to the arcade and race cars against each other. So that's what we did! And I am happy to say that I beat Kolton more than he beat me! And Kolton is happy to say that he was able to dig 3 quarters out of the machine so we had some free games! A cheapskate to the T. Then we teamed up and battled some zombies and it was pretty awesome! After that we grabbed some snow cones and while we were waiting we showed our artistic abilities with the sidewalk chalk. And then we were able to ride home side by side on the freeway with Kolton on the bike and me in the car. Super romantic. 

Man, I just love it when we get a chance to spend some time together that's somewhere other than in front of the T.V. It's great! 

Hansen Reunion

This year the Hansen Reunion was held in Ashton. 

Because of the never ending problems on the farm we didn't get to go until Saturday afternoon. And because I had to talk in church on Sunday we had to come home that night too. But we still had a nice time visiting with family, riding in the razr up to the lake and going for a little canoe ride which I pictured as being relaxing and Kolton pictured as being a competition (as everything is to him) and then eating a delicious dinner as always and sitting around the campfire and hearing stories from the brothers and sisters about their parents and dying laughing over all the funny things they talked about. It was a good time! 

We are exceedingly fascinated by ants and had to stop and watch them for a bit. 

I had to get a picture of the men helping with the meal. Not something you see every day!

He said, She said

Usually when I start feeling sick for whatever reason I try to backtrack and think what I did wrong to get myself in that position and how I can start feeling better as soon as possible. 

Well, the other morning we were walking around the uard in Island Park and all the sudden Kolton said he got a nasty taste in his mouth and about threw up. (I'm not nice and stepped away from him so I wouldn't have to witness it).

After a minute the feeling passed and then he was all better. 

But later when we were talking about it, Kolton had this to say, 

"That was just such a weird feeling. I don't know what it was, but maybe it's like I have a sixth sense . You know, like a superpower that lets me know when an earthquake is coming or something."

Yeah hon. I'm sure that's what it was.