Half a year

Where has the time gone? There was so much anticipation when we were waiting to move and I kept thinking, soon you'll be there and you'll be looking back as time has flown by. It's amazing that as you are looking forward to something, time seems to drag. But once you are in a place with no changes on the horizon, time seems to speed on by. I can't believe we've been here for this long and yet it seems so long ago that we were in Price. We are loving it here (more me than Scott). Scott likes it but would rather be in a small town. I am the exact opposite. I'm so content and happy here. I enjoy the variety of entertainment, the variety of restaurants, the variety and diversity of people, and I love that I can go to any kind of doctor and it's no more than a 20 minute drive. I love my job, I love our ward, I love my calling, and I love this place we call home. I'm less homesick than I anticipated, I think mainly because we are so busy. I didn't think we could be busier than we were in Price (with all the involvement we had with the theater), but it didn't take long for us to be busier.

Scott and I are really enjoying our callings. We love being able to develop relationships with those that we are serving with and those we are serving. Each time I move wards I'm amazed at how each ward is just what we need at that time.

Here are some of the things we've done the past 6 months:

• Moved everything we own 595 miles
• Started a new job position (me), started a new job (Scott)
• One surgery
• One bout of kidney stones
• Trunk or treat in short sleeves and flip-flops
• A Thanksgiving that wasn't homeade
• A Christmas with no jacket needed
• 4 bad doggy haircuts 
• Steph's parents came to visit after Christmas
• Scott's parents and brother came to visit in January
• One dead scorpion sighting at work, haven't seen a live one yet
• Several explorations of the valley
• Two business trips to SLC
• Two Vitamin D deficient adults
• Countless mornings woken before 7am by the construction across the street
• Numerous new friends
• Endless memories

 What a fun 6 months it has been! I'm so excited for more adventures here.

A day at the park

Today Scott and I were able to spend the day with my friend Amber's kids. We decided to spend the day in the park. It was a beautiful February day in the 60's and it couldn't have been more perfect. Here are a few pictures of our park adventures.

Kiwanis Lake

Feeding the ducks

We had a great time riding in a peddle boat. We were able to feed the ducks while in the boat as well, it was a lot of fun! 

We took the kids to play at the playground after our boat ride. The kids asked Scott to play tag with them and they ran and ran for a good 20 minutes. It was fun to watch.

All in all, it was a fabulous day. I just adore these kids and was so glad we were able to spend time with them.

Recipe Blog

I finally got brave and started a recipe blog. I have recipes all over the place and it will be nice to collect them all in one place. This is also a way that I can share recipes with my mom and sister since they often ask for new dinner ideas. Don't expect anything fancy. I like easy, yummy food so that's what you'll find.

You can find this block at http://cookingitupstephstyle.blogspot.com/

Photo Dump

Here's a photo dump of the latest random pictures I've taken on my phone. None of these deserve their own post so they are compiled all together. 

Thanksgiving was spent at Golden Corral. Now we can say we've done that. Lots of variety but I missed the home cooking. We ate with Scott's cousin and his family.

Who says you can't have pizza and steak on Thanksgiving?

My car had a very big milestone in December. I don't have one regret buying my Honda. It's been a great car and has been a trooper getting us so many different destinations. 

Christmas morning sunrise taken from work. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was beautiful. 

 

 Christmas afternoon picture. Cosmo was ready to open some presents!

 

 We opened the container for Cosmo's toys and 5 minutes later he'd gone through each toy making sure they still had squeakers. Now if we could just teach him to put them back.

 

The forecast in January. Rough life here.

A funny sign mocking the Mayan calendar. I got a good laugh.

We had dinner with Scott's great uncle and his wife while Scott's parents were in town. We hung out outside while dinner was grilling. It was such a nice night!

A roadrunner next to my office.

Yes that's frost on my car! My scraper is packed away. I definitely wasn't expecting this.

The view out of my boss' window. Not too shabby.

And finally, our silly dog. He always sleeps in the funniest positions. Love him!