Halloween Memories

Thirteen years ago today was my first date with Wyatt. I'm usually not very good at remembering specific dates, but Halloween is pretty easy to remember. He had asked me to the Halloween Howl, a big dance at USU. Then before the dance he asked if I wanted to go to dinner with him. Of course I was delighted. His best buddy Chase was proposing to his girlfriend Annette. He had led her all around town on a scavenger hunt, and then they ended up at a nice restaurant in Logan canyon. Chase wanted the waiter to bring Annette a red rose about every 5-10 minutes. Then the last rose was a white one, with her engagement ring. Anyway, Chase didn't trust some waiter with the engagement ring so Wyatt and I were going to eat on the other side of the restaurant (so we couldn't be seen by Annette) and give the waiter the ring when needed. Well the restaurant was really small and nobody else was there that night. There was no place for us to sit so that we wouldn't be seen. We ended up standing in the kitchen of the restaurant just talking to each other, the waiter and other employees. We did get to spy on the engagement, which was quite romantic, but we didn't even get anything to eat. We had so much fun though. That could have been such an awkward first date with a lot of guys, but Wyatt and I just hit it off from the beginning. We could totally just talk and have fun together.  After the  restaurant we  went back to my apartment and got our costumes for the Halloween Howl. My roommates helped both Wyatt and Chase with their costumes, makeup, and hair. Then we went to the pumpkin walk in Logan before going to the dance. We had a great time the whole night. It was a little strange to dance with someone dressed like a girl, but we still had a great time. I don't think we ever ate dinner that night. I guess I didn't care too much, because obviously I went out with him again. In fact we just were kind of together after that. Not always formal dates, but just together all the time. Halloween is not my favorite holiday, but 1995 was definitely my favorite Halloween.

Sweet Reunion

My mom and dad have been on a mission in Little Rock, Arkansas for the last 18 months. This week we were able to see them. They stopped by our house for a couple of days on their way home. It was so great to see them again and to be able to spend time with them. We enjoyed hearing about their mission and the people that they have grown to love in Arkansas. It was great to see their love for missionary work, and their desire to work hard when they get home. I think we all could do a little better at being member missionaries. It was fun to see the kids as they enjoyed spending time with their grandparents. They just loved having them here. They all wanted the spotlight and wanted to be with grandma and grandpa. Grandma and Grandpa did great giving them all their own attention. They read books to the kids, played with the kids, listened to them, and just made them feel special. Sadie was only 8 months old when my parents left, so I didn't know how she we do with them, but she did great. It didn't take her long to warm up to them. Everyone was excited to have Grandma and Grandpa at our house. Grandma even made cinnamon rolls with the kids before she left, which was an added bonus. Thanks for coming to our house Grandma and Grandpa. We love you and we look forward to seeing you more often now that you are home.

Super Bowl Champs!

Did you know the Vikings defeated the Cowboys in the Super Bowl on Saturday? Well Kamryn's football team the Vikings. His team had a great season. They only lost one game all season. They played in the league Super Bowl on Saturday, and won 36-14. They played on the high school football field. They had announcers, and even played music during time outs. It seemed very official. It was great for Kamryn to hear them announce over the loud speaker, "tackled by Kamryn Mansfield". O.k. who am I kidding, it was great for mom and dad to hear that over the loud speaker too. Kamryn had a really good season, and a great last game. He either tackled, or was in on the tackle, a dozen times in the last game (I didn't really count, but we sure heard his name a lot). He really loves football, especially defense. He loves to tackle! He did pretty good on the offensive line too. It was a lot of fun to watch him play. Since some of you missed it, we thought we would add a video clip. We were so excited watching the game, that we didn't even think about pictures or video until the last quarter. We only got one video clip, but it was a pretty good one. We added this thumbnail of the video with arrows of where Kamryn is, so you can hopefully follow him a little better. He starts out on the left side, but then runs across the field and gets the tackle. He is number 84, and he's wearing black socks. (that always helps me find him). Hope you enjoy.

Moab Adventure

Wyatt and I had a great, much needed, weekend in Moab. We hadn't been away, just the two of us, for 3 1/2 years. Thanks to Alys, Melanie, and Megan for watching all the kids and making it possible for us to go. It was great to not have to worry about the kids. We took our mountain bikes to do some trails in Moab. Moab has great mountain bike trails. Wyatt has been with "the guys" before, but I have never mountain biked in Moab. In fact I haven't done much mountain biking. I got a new, full suspension, Gary Fisher last summer. I ride it a lot on family bike rides, some longer bike rides on the road, and even a few mountain bike trails here in town, but I still feel that I have not used this bike to it's potential... until this weekend. The bike and I both got a great workout. Like I said, I'm a novice rider, so I was both nervous and excited about this trip. My husband, on the other hand, is very experienced and maybe even leans toward extreme (probably where my nervousness came from). We left Friday morning after we got all the kids to school and to the babysitter. As we approached Moab it was still too early to check into the Bed & Breakfast, so we decided to hit a trail on our way into town. We did the Klondike Bluffs trail. This was a great trail to start with. It had a pretty good uphill, but it was doable. Then we took a short hike to a beautiful overlook of Arches National Park. Then the downhill was a lot of fun. I decided that this must be the girls trail. We saw quite a few couples as we rode the trail, and even one group of all girls. After this ride I felt much more confident about riding. I felt pretty good and I was ready for some more riding. But I don't think I was quite ready for what was to come.

Saturday we decided to do the Slick Rock trail. I was a little nervous, especially after reading it's ratings in the trail guide. The ratings were as follows... Grunt Factor: (10) very tough roller coaster ride-lots of short steeps; Techno Factor: (10) very difficult, very steep ups/downs on rock; Fear Factor: (10) very scary in spots. The Klondike Bluffs trail we had already done was rated (5, 3, 3), so all 10's was a little intimidating. Wyatt assured me that I could do it. He said, "You can't come mountain biking in Moab without doing Slick Rock". I made sure that I prayed Saturday morning. I wanted to live through my Moab adventure.  After a great breakfast we hit the trail at about 9:00 a.m. The weather was overcast and rainy, but at least it wasn't scorching hot. We started with the practice loop which added another 2 miles to the 13 mile ride. It was a very intense, tough ride. I did my share of walking. I either powered out on the really steep uphills, or chickened out on the really steep, scary downhills. I got pretty good at my dismount. No more not being able to clip out of my clipless pedals. My husband was awesome! He would ride his bike to the top of the tough hills, and then walk down to were I was and push my bike up so I just had to walk up. He was really good to wait for me and tell me how good I was doing, even though I know I was totally holding him back. It was not the same experience as when he goes with the guys. This wasn't the girly ride like Klondike Bluffs. We saw one other couple that turned back shortly after starting. Then we saw another younger girl who was with a group of guys, who finished the trail. There were two other girls just starting as we finished, so I'm not sure if they finished or not. We saw a lot more guys than girls. As Wyatt was waiting for me in one spot, there was a guy that passed by him and said, "You've got one tough chic". I'm sure he was pretty proud at that point. I really felt like a tough chic. I completed Slick Rock! I may have walked some, and cursed more than I'd like to admit (sorry mom), but I completed Slick Rock, in the rain no less. It rained the whole time and we were drenched by the time we were finished. Our original plan was to ride two trails on Saturday, but after 4 1/2 hours of Slick Rock, and with the rain still coming down, I was spent after one. We went back to our room, showered, got something to eat, shopped and just relaxed. It was a great weekend! We had a lot of fun (it was fun after we finished), and I was quite proud of my accomplishment. I really enjoy mountain biking and would like to do more of it. We'd like to make this an annual event. If anyone would like to come with us next time let us know. We would love to have company.

Silly Sadie

Sadie got her jammies on all by herself tonight. She was pretty proud of herself. I guess Derek left his drawer open, and since she can't reach her own jammies, she thought she would try Derek's. Yes, she even put on his boxers. And yes, she took her diaper off before she put on the boxers. Luckily we didn't have any accidents. Good job, Sadie. You are just way to cute!

Tag Time

I have been tagged by my friend Chauntue
10 years ago I...
1- Was pregnant with my first child.
2- Had recently graduated from college.
3- Had recently bought our first house (same house we are in now).
4- Had just gotten back from Cancun.
5- Was driving a little white Nissan Sentra.

5 things on today's "to do" list...
1- pray and read scriptures
2- exercise
3- unpack, and do laundry
4- do something to donate to service auction
5- Family Home Evening

5 snacks I enjoy...
1- ice cream
2- cheesecake
3- cinnamon rolls
4- Holly's homemade caramels (or any caramels, but Holly's are divine.)
5- Almond Joy has been my candy bar of choice lately.

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire...
1- pay my tithing and donate to charity.
2- build a new house and furnish it. (hopefully I don't have to become a millionaire before I build a new house.)
3- Travel
4- Put money away for college for each of my kids.
5- If my husband has anything to do with it, I'm sure he will want some new toys: motorcycles, snowmobiles, etc.

5 places I have lived...
1-Vernal, Ut

2-Logan, Ut
3-Rexburg, Id
4-Lehi, Ut
5.Nampa, Id. (I don't remember living here, but my Mom says I did.)

5 jobs that I have had...
1-Mom: Kamryn, Derek, Brynli, Sadie

2-Teacher: Connections After School Program
3-Office Manager: Mansfield Printing, Alignment Specialist
4- Food Service Worker: The Hub @ Utah State University, Wendy's, Vittles
5-Library Assistant: Library @ Ricks College

5 people I tag...

1-Jodi (you need something to help you get motivated to blog)

2-Annette (you also need a little motivation)

3-Melanie

4-Janet

5-Jamie