The Reba Experience

So a few years ago Kelly and I made a list of things we have always wanted to do a. I faithfully keep a running list as I think of things, and I just checked one off. See Reba in concert. I am not a concert go-er. For the price of two concert tickets I can fly to San Francisco and back. Except for Reba, she is different. Katie Jo has wow'ed me with Reba stories for several years, and when I found out she and Kelly Clarkston were coming, I just had to go. Reba does not disappoint.
My favorite Reba song is Fancy. I know its a little weird that a someone who investigates child abuse for a living loves a song about child prostitution. I don't know what to tell you... for the details of the concert, check out Katie's web site. We had great seats! My friend Lisa from work came and we ran into a NICU nurse who was sitting a few rows back. I 'm not sure what she thought of us after the concert, she never said anything to me but she just laughs and shakes her head when I see her in the unit. She has great taste in concerts :) Oh yea, Kelly Clarkston was suprisingly good.
Katie and I after the concert

KSL rocks

So along with a house, I thought I might want to furnish it as well. Being somewhat of a tight wad when it comes to things that are practical, I was slightly concerned when I realized I don't have any of the big ticket items that are a smidge important to have in a house. Like a refrigerator. Or a table to eat at; washer and dryer also come in handy, sometimes people look at you funny when you wear smelly clothes and eat off of the floors (that reminds me, I need to buy some plates). KSL.com to the rescue. (For those of you that don't live in Utah, KSL.com is Utah's version of craig's list.)

I should probably tell you that when I started looking at what I was going to get for the the house, I was trying to avoid my 13yr history of eclectic college apartment style living and go more for the "I'm a responsible adult" look. The must-have list looked something like this: "Tivo, leather couches, high-bar table w/matching chairs, flat screen TV, heavy duty cooking pans and all Teflon-coated cooking utensils, matching table settings for 8 and a stereo that I could plug my Ipod into. Go ahead and laugh. It's funny.....really funny.

Reality check. I figure if I pay my tithing at 12%, and with KSL's (and the Lords) help I may find a couch with no animal hair, smoke smell or stains, an Ipod that works ( forget the stereo, I'll just use my old ear-buds), a table with four legs that are firmly attached, something tall enough to sit on and eat and a HDTV converter box for the TV my co-worker is giving to me (bless you Lisa!). Kelly also gave me a DVD player, so I have something to watch, as the Tivo thing may not be a fiscal option. Luckily the guy is leaving the microwave, so I will have something to cook my food in until the after Christmas sales, where I hope to get a pot and a frying pan. Kelly also gave me a blender, so I am gong to start researching and adapting recipes for blenders. If I want matching plates, Big Lots has dishwasher safe plates that don't warp for the first 3 months. I do however draw the line at going any less than 2-ply TP. Believe it or not, you can even find that on KSL.com

Glacier Stories

So for a few years, Kelly and I have been trying to get to Glacier National Park. We've had some... lets call them "adventures" in our attempts to get there, (some being more enjoyable than others). But none actually ended in us getting there.

We have fishing stories, horse-on-the-loose stories and some stories involve wrecks and wounds. We have a casino story, stories of mechanical misfortune, one story where I got a little wet, one I call Kelly vs the epson salt and we have stories about confused airline booking agents. But we had no Glacier stories. Until this year :) So, here is a little slide show of some of the pictures from the trip. It was worth all the years of thwarted attempts. :)

Now we have camping stories, campfire (or lack of a campfire) stories, grizzly bear stories, moose stories and black bear stories. Stories about hiking, swimming, glacier sledding, boarder patrol agents, head-butting deer and KOA showers. These tales may get a wee bit bigger and better the more I tell them. If you want the boring (but accurate) version, talk to Kelly.

When Did I Fall Behind?

I never professed to be on the "cutting edge" of technology, but this is crazy! It has taken me hours to figure out this blogging thing. How did this entire unfamiliar culture develop w/out me noticing? Ok, lots of things happen w/out me noticing, so maybe I'm the only one surprised.

There are so many of you that I have not kept up with very well, so here is a brief synopsis of life over the last 5 years. Went to grad school, worked, traveled. Now I'm graduated, got a job, passed board exams, working, trying travel. I just had an offer on a house in Ogden accepted. Not to sure how much I'm going to love a mortgage. A little worried that my life will become work, yard work, only dream of traveling. See my problem?

I do have 2 cute nieces (thanks Laura and Mike). Lilly (16m) and McKenna (2m).




This summer I didn't get out too much, but here are some picts of what did happen.
I went with my parents and Seth to Island Park for a week. This is Cliff Lake, when the wind wasn't blowing and when the sun came out, the water was remarkably clear.

We did a bit of fly fishing, but of course I still stink at it. Seth more than makes up for my lack of talent. He said he knew if he didn't keep this one, no one would believe him...Aunt Joann called it "the whale". His smile is about as big as the fish. Here's to bragging rights!