Happy Birthday Mark!

After 4 months of waiting, Mark and I are finally the same age again. Ironically, when I was first "investigating him" back in the day, I figured he was a year older than me. He just looked so grown up and mature...or maybe it was because it's hard to figure out that kind of thing at 6am.

I think Mark's birthday is my favorite time of the year. I get to spoil him without worrying about being "outdone" on gifts (like Christmas). I had a hard time shopping for him because there were a lot of things I knew he would like. New clothes, a new razor, a new blender, or the bedspread seen below. But when it came time to buy, I couldn't bring myself to buy him something that I wanted just as bad. So I bought him a new electric razor, some cool legos, and the "Love You Forever" book. (I've started a tradition that each year for his birthday I buy him a book from his childhood. This year, it worked well because I also LOVE the book as well.)

Even though I had happily purchased Mark his presents, my heart still yearned for a beautiful bedspread that was on sale at Kohls. After telling him we could pay for it using the paycheck I would get that week, he agreed and off we went. The set matches perfectly with the sheets we currently have. And the bedskirt hides the fact that all we have is a bed frame for the time being. Although the comforter has spent every night on the floor due to the heat, it will be lovely in the winter.
Mark's birthday was unfortunately the first day of check-ins for fall semester. So while I made him dinner and he got to unwrap his presents, we waited until Saturday to do cake and ice cream with some family and friends. Thanks to all who came despite our small living space!
Almost 4 months ago, I discovered this "Lego Cake" from Betty Crocker. Knowing how much Mark loves legos, I decided it would be a fun project. How could you go wrong with a 9x13 cake cut into shapes, topped and frosted with marshmallows? I managed to keep it a secret up until the night before when I finally broke and gave him an obvious hint.

I think my only regret was that I used normal food coloring rather than gel. Reviews said gel coloring helps the legos be more vibrant. As you can see, I couldn't quite get the blue, and the red looked a little more pastel than I would have preferred.
And one day...one day I will be able to make a cake that is perfectly smooth across the top. I suppose the sooner I take that cake decorating class, the sooner I could learn the tricks. I did break out the kit my mother-in-law gave me and used the frosting knife. It may have been purely psychological but I felt more confident using it.

School is now in full swing and Mark has his first class tonight. We are hopeful that this will be a 3 year adventure...yet using adventure to describe school somehow gives me the feeling it may be more....who knows! Maybe he'll fall in love with school and want to get a masters. (Heaven help us!)

Camping and More Slumber Parties

After a year of marriage, and one previous attempt, we finally went camping with some good friends of ours. We camped about an hour south of here, just past Mona. We were supposed to go with a 3rd couple but they cancelled last minute. It ended up being a good thing as you can see, there was not a lot of room for us. This campsite somehow fits 8 people? Not really with the sloped ground.

Our two manly, extremely hot husbands showing off their pyro skills.

Armed and dangerous....thanks again Martins for the outdoor utensils! We finally got to use our skewers and barbeque stuff!

Breanne on the other side of the fence. She may be pondering, or looking for a good place to use the facilities. She's definitely not looking for loose wood for our quickly dying fire...

The happy couple. Such youngin's! Married a whole 2 weeks less than us!

Our foil dinners turned out rather well for two girls making them for the first time without a mom or young women's leader around. Next time: more foil.

Mark: In his natural environment-nature. Me: In my natural environment- with my husband.
We roasted s'mores, and then played poker and blackjack. (no gambling of course). Having never played before, I learned that 1) I'm horrible and 2) People risk a lot of money at that game. I prefer quarter slots myself. We slept fitfully through the night, both thinking we were too tough for an air mattress. Needless to say, we went out and bought one the next week. Perhaps for the first time ever, I may actually sleep decently while camping.

The next week, we had my nieces Kaylie and Brandy over for a slumber party before they went back to Virginia. (Their dad has been deployed for 6 months with air force so they decided an extended trip to Grandma and Grandpa's would help the time go by faster.)

On July 4th, I got brave and finally started giving Kaylie some of her shots (she's a diabetic). After giving her those a few times, learning how to count carbs, and even give her the night-time shot, we were ready for a slumber party. We had fun with the girls and they were great. Kaylie and Brandy are some of the most creative kids you'll meet. Confession: I never got a picture of Kaylie to put on here, but this picture of Brandy and her creation was too cute to pass up!

I'm going to miss this little face, her "attitude" and all her little sayings!

Part of the evening was spent playing with Uncle Mark's nerf gun, using their "Webkinz" (the TY overpriced toy line of their generation) as target practice. No animals were harmed in the entertainment of these 8 and 5 year olds.

Come back soon Farfans! 6 months went by way too fast!

A Trip to Vernal

Back in July, we had the chance to take a quick overnight trip to Vernal. My niece Ella was coming out this way to a 3-day girl scout camp. I though it would be a great chance for some one-on-one time with this fabulous little girl, so I picked her up Wednesday and we drove back to Vernal on Friday. Ella has been a fun ball of energy since the day I remember meeting her many years ago. She was so excited that so many people were over, she just spun in circles, fell down, laughed and did it all over again. She's a LITTLE more mellow now that she's almost 8, but she still is quite a different dynamic than other nieces and nephews. Her sleeping position isn't even a glimpse of how crazy she can get! =)
We brought the kids to our hotel in Vernal and went swimming Friday evening and enjoyed some Cafe Rio. (Thanks Jenae and Chad!). The next morning we drove out about 30 minutes to Roosevelt where there was a car show. Having never been to one of these before, it was pretty cool. I think this was my favorite car there:
I love old fashioned cars. As much as I love my 21st century luxuries, I always imagine how cool it would have been to have rode in one of these wearing a fancy hat and gloves.
Brock and Miri were content to be there...only as long as their fruit snacks lasted though. They were a lot of fun to play with at the house.
I love capturing moments like this........Brock refused to hold anyone's hand but Marks.
We left after a delicious barbecue at Jenae and Chads and headed home. I am a very bad co-pilot for road trips and unless I'm driving, I can do a substantial amount of sleeping. Thankfully Mark stays wide awake....having bugs splatter on your windshield going at 70 miles an hour helps too.

Caught a glimpse of Bridal Veil falls on the way back. This is a straight run-off from melted snow so the water temperature is pretty much freezing. One summer when we were younger all 6 of my sisters and I actually climbed into the river and onto this rock (which now no longer exists after an avalanche). Now we have more common sense and maybe dip our toes in, but it still holds fond memories. It was a short trip, but a great getaway from life, and fun as always to see some of my family.