There's nothing like a morining ride to start your day off right!

I woke up on Sunday morning and felt like I needed to go for a ride. It was one of the best ideas I had in a long time. The down side was it was only 30 degrees when I started out. The nice thing about cold weather is you can put many layers on and not be too effected. This was the case for the morning. I ended up riding for 2 hours and got about 32 miles under me. (I know John has calculated my mph and is probably laughing) but it was a relaxing ride. There were few cars on the road that I had to deal with. It was just me and my surroundings. I look forward to being able to do it again soon. I think Ryanne should invest in a bike so she can come with me, only when it warmer. By the time I finished it had warmed up to 39 degrees. I encourage anyone to get out in the morning and bike, run, hike or what ever you want to and enjoy the quietness of it all.

Valentine's Day- 2

After our full day of skiing we were extremely tired and ended up sleeping in the next morning. I don't know why I don't do this more often. We ate at the lodge, attended sacrament meeting and then decided we should go out and enjoy our surroundings. We drove up to Targhee Canyon and found many cars parked by a gate with many tracks heading into the woods and decided this is where we wanted to go snowshoeing. It was beautiful, sunny and and not too cold according to me, Ryanne thought it was freezing. As we were getting our stuff on I couldn't seem to get my shoes tightened. As any smart person would do I found myself pulling harder because that meant it would tighten up. Well guess who broke his snowshoe. I didn't let it get me down and put it on the best I could and started off. We did not follow any trails. We made our own. It was so much fun. Yes, my shoe kept falling off and finally said the heck with it and took them both off and followed Ryanne. You will see in the pictures how sucky it was from that point until we got to the car (it did turn out to be a great work out).
The highlight of the trek was on our way back as we were crossing a frozen streem. It was not deep but the water was freezing. Ryanne was very cautious crossing and I threw caution to the wind. She was feeling the ice out as she crossed. I on the other hand followed her with the occasional hard stomp down to see if I could get a feel of how deep it was. Well I found a thin spot and all of a sudden herd the most terrifying sound ever. . . . ice cracking under your feet. Next thing you know the ice breaks and I have to jump and when I land I seem to find another weak spot and the cracking continues. All this time Ryanne has jumped to the bank and is safe. I finally got to where Ryanne was and all I could say was, "That was COOL!" She thinks I'm crazy.
After snowshoeing we left to visit my aunt in Idaho Falls. It just so happened to be my cousin Heather's birthday. It was good to see my cousins due to the fact that it had been forever since I last saw them. We were having such a great time it was 8:15 before we knew it and still had to drive home. We got in about 12. It was a great trip and can't wait for our next one.

Us outside the Lodge


Snowshoeing


Ryanne all bundled up and ready for anything that comes her way.


This is how deep the snow was. You would never have known with snowshoes on.

Valentine's Day

What do you do on your first Valentine's Day for your wife to let her know how much you love her? Take her on a romantic weekend get away. I surprised her with a trip to Grand Targhee Ski Resort and a stay at Teton Springs Lodge and Spa. We left Friday after school and drove to her aunt Robyn's house in Rexburg (thanks for the satin sheets). On Saturday morning we drove to Grand Targhee Resort and ski/snowboarded all day. Unfortunately it was overcast and freezing cold all day so thank goodness for feet and hand warmers or I would have lost Ryanne after about an hour. After a long day of great mountain time we found the lodge we are staying at. The comfortable beds and jetted tub was exactly what we needed to relax. It's been a great day and looking forward to the rest of the weekend.

Grand Targhee Resort

Leaving the Resort with our killer outfits.

A romantic dinner at Knotty Pine.
Ryanne was not too happy with this resturant. She wanted to try their carrot fries but the waitress said they only served them with their elk burger which neither of us wanted.

Honeymoon in New Zealand

We waited 2 1/2 months to go on our honeymoon, but well worth it! We used my Christmas break to drive all over New Zealand. We wish we had more time to explore. To check out all our photos click here. We decided to make a top 5 list of the things we did. Here it goes . . . . . . .

Fox Glacier



Skydiving in Queenstown



Hiking in National Park



Zorbing in Rotorua



New Year's Eve in Christchurch

Our Wedding Day

On Saturday October 18, 2008 Ryanne and I were married! It took place at the Newport Beach Temple. It was an amazing day spent with family and many friends. The best part of the day was the realization that neither of us ever had to be apart from each other. Those that knew us during our dating and engagement couldn't believe how often we found time to visit each other. We love each other and are glad to be able to spend everyday together.