Happy Birthday to the Love of my Life!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKE!!!!

Happy Birthday to the most amazing man in the world!

Today is Jake's Birthday and what is he doing...of course playing basketball...his second love. :) But I think today was a really good day for him. It started it off with me making him pancakes for breakfast...so of course you already know that it is going to be a good day if it starts off with panckaes. I also gave him two of his presents so that he could wear them to work. During work, he was supposed to go into the main office where I had snuck in the day before and left him a present on his desk....but he ended up going to the other office....so I guess he will get that gift tomorrow... :) But it ended up being good for him since the internet stopped working so he was able to come home early instead of the 7:30 nights like it has been. So when I got home from work we ended up going out to dinner at Jake's favorite resturant...Chili's. After dinner we came back and opened up the rest of the presents. After trying out all of his presents he got dressed and went to go play basketball with his friends. But overall I think he really enjoyed his day and his presents. And even more, I'm sure that he really enjoys being 32!!!

Sweetheart, I hope that you had a great birthday! You are so amazing and you make me the happiest woman alive!

I love you!

One With Nature....

Over the 4th of July weekend Jake and I had the opportunity to go backpacking for the first time together (first time for me all together!)! We went up into the Uinta Mountains with Jake's dad, his 4 brothers, 2 sisters, and 1 brother in law. We were quite the group. :) We left Salt Lake around 4:30am on Thursday morning and drove up to the trail head. When we got there, we all got our packs on (everyone's packs were ranging from around 35 to 60 pounds) and off we went! The hike started off pretty good. The group ended up splitting into two groups....the fast group and the slow group. :) The slow group was comprised of the 4 oldest people in the group...and then me... :) I guess that's what I get for marring an old man! :) (Just Kidding sweet heart!) Anyways, when everyone got to the top of the mountain we all met up again and walked down the other side of the mountain towards Granddaddy Lake. The whole time that we were hiking we were supposed to be looking for this sign that pointed us to another path to take us to the other side of the lake....well....we kept walking....and walking....and walking...and we kept getting closer and closer to the lake...but no sign in sight. Jake's brother Tyson ended up leaving the trail and going down towards the lake and realized that we were on almost the complete opposite side of the lake that we wanted to be on. So at this point, I think everyone started to get a little bit grumpy after having hiked 3 or 4 miles (the total amount of what we were supposed to do) and was now going to have to hike another 2 or 3 miles to get to the spot that we wanted to be at. At this point we decided that we were not going to be fooled again by looking for the sign, so we decided to all go down by the lake and just hike by the lakes edge..........maybe not the best idea. Most of the land around the lake was soggy from snow run off and very difficult to walk across without getting your boots wet. But after getting across the sloppy grounds, we FINALLY MADE IT TO THE PERFECT CAMPSITE! Everyone set up their tents and then gathered together to start setting up the fire area. All of the boys walked around and found the perfect sitting logs and made a lovely area for us to hang out around the camp fire. Overall, the campsite was pretty sweet. Well, after setting everything up, we were all so tired after having woken up at 4am that we all decided to take a nap. We all slept for a few hours...luckily while it was raining (it didn't start raining until we were all asleep). When we all woke up, we built a fire and started cooking the amazing steak dinner that we packed in. :) (yeah, we pretty much ate like a King during this trip...but I guess we paid for it with how heavy most of our packs were. :)). After dinner we sat around the fire and roasted smores and popped pop corn. The first night in the tent though was a little rough...not because it was uncomfortable...because it was actually really nice since we had sleeping pads...it was more because I was paranoid about every little sound that I heard out in the woods. Eventually it started raining again, and I think that helped me fall asleep. The next morning we had another amazing camp meal of bacon, bagels and cream cheese. After breakfast the boys decided that they were going to make spears out of branches with their hatchets and knifes. Once all the boys had all of their spears whittled down to perfection, we all made the hike over to a nearby stream. All of the brothers had their spears in hand and the girls had fishing poles. Well, to make a long story short (because this post is probably going to be so long that no one will read it all) the boys ended up spearing 8 fish and the girls ended up with only 1 fish using their poles! I thought that was pretty funny and ironic. But the best part about that whole trip was when Maggy decided that she was going to catch a fish with her bare hands. As she was bending over for the attack, I was across the stream to capture the victory...when all of a sudden I have this fish fall into my lap! I was a little shocked at first but I was able to compose myself and grab a shot of the floundering fish. :) After that adventure, we all hiked back, cooked up the fish, and hung out for the rest of the night. Luckily that night and the rest of the trip it never rained another drop...we were really lucky. The last full day that we were out there we mostly just hung out around the camp, trying to finish off all the snacks and treats so that we wouldn't have to hike them out. Later in the afternoon, we climbed the rocky mountainside to see the view of the whole lake. This was also nice because it got us away from the tons of mosquitoes that were everywhere around the lake, if you don't believe me...just ask Tyson... :) But after hanging out for a little bit, Jake started throwing rocks at this bigger rock...and naturally we all joined in. It's amazing how even the most simplest games make the competitiveness in us come out. :) After we all threw our arms out and took a few crazy pictures, we walked back to the camp and played a few games with some dice that we brought up. We enjoyed our last night with some more smores and popcorn and got ready for our early morning departure. The next morning, we woke up at 5am so that we could leave camp by 6:30. On our hike back we decided to just climb up the side of the mountain towards where we thought the trail was going to be...and what do you know...we found the trail that Gary was looking for on the way down! In his defence there was so sign like there used to be the last time he came there...but if we ever go back there, we will know right where it is! :) But we ended up leaving so early because on Sunday afternoon one of my new nephews - Gavin Paul Renshaw and a new niece - Reese Renshaw (they are my two brothers kids) were going to be blessed. So we raced down the canyon and arrived at my brothers house straight off the trail. I'm sure we didn't smell all that great and didn't look all that fresh since neither of us had showered since the Wednesday before, but luckily family doesn't seem to care about that all that much. But both blessings were beautiful and both of them are so darling. The sad part about that though is that my memory card was full, so I didn't get a chance to take pictures of them...so these last few are borrowed. :) But that was our amazing 4Th of July backpacking trip. Everything couldn't have gone any better. But for my first backpacking trip ever, I think I kicked butt! If anyone ever wants to go, Jake and I are always up for it! :) I hope everyone had a happy 4th!

Baby Tyson's Blessing

This past weekend my nephew Tyson was blessed. A few of my family members were able to go to Arizona to see the him and be there when he was blessed. My brother in law Spencer did a great job on the blessing. We had a good time the whole weekend. We went off roading to this place where there were a few old houses because my dad wanted to try to metal detecting. I guess the trip was worth it because he ended up finding a 2005 quarter. :) The kids were pretty impressed with it though, and Brandon now wants to be just like grandpa. Over all the weekend was pretty fun. Here is a quick slide show of some of the pictures that I took during the weekend. Enjoy!

A Day At The Air Show

This past weekend Jake and I went to Salt Lake City....(wow, I think 90% of my posts start off that way....hmmmm..... :) ) We went into town last weekend to go to the United States Air Force Air Show. The show was definitely worth the plane ticket and time. The main event that happened was seeing the Thunderbirds perform their air show (the Thunderbirds are the Air Force's Performance team....kind of like the Blue Angels for the Navy). It really is truly amazing to see how closely they fly to each other and all of the different stunts that they do. Our favorite part was when four of the planes flew by the crowd and as everyone had their heads turned watching them fly away, one rouge plane came and buzzed the crowd. The plane was sooooo loud and low to the ground. It scared the crap out of everyone! :) Another awesome moment was when they would fly past each other while one is upside down. Well, I'm sure the pictures can do a better job of describing this than I can. But besides the great Thunderbirds show, they also had a few others shows that happened before the finale. Some included a parachuting group, an F-22, propeller stunt planes, tribute to all of the different planes through the different wars, and tons more. Either way, if you ever have a chance to see them in action, I would definitely recommend it!
I think what made the day really special though was to be at the show with three of Jake's brothers that are all going into the Air Force. The first brother, from the last post, is leaving in October to hopefully fly fighter planes. The other two are in the ROTC program at their school. One of them already has a pilots slot and the other one just started. But we are so proud of all three of them, and are so thankful for their willingness to serve our country. It is because of the military that we are able to enjoy the freedoms that we do....and I am so very thankful for that. Thanks guys!

Enjoy the pictures......there's a lot of them. :)

Yes Ladies, He is Sexy, Single, and Looking!

Well, I don't know if anyone even checks my blog anymore since it takes me so long to post, but here goes nothing. Since it has been so long, I will just post the most recent event which was Jake's brother Jordan's commissioning into the Air Force. We flew into Salt Lake to see his "graduation" from the ROTC program into the full time Air Force. The ceremony was really cool, and much better than any school graduation. It was held at the state capitol, which is actually really beautiful. He was sworn in by his Dad who is a retired Air Force Officer. He was then pinned by his mom, dad and younger brother Mikey, who will be commissioning next year. The whole ceremony went really well and was really neat to watch. Jordan actually had over 30 people show up to the ceremony, which I think was about half the room. :) Gotta love the Lawrence family events! :) The next day a few of us gave him some presents for all the hard work that he has put into the ROTC for the past few years. Jake, Maggy, Kit, Abbie and I decided to go in on a quilt that I made for him. It was only my third quilt and I am so dang proud of it! Overall the weekend went really well, and we are all really proud of what Jordan has accomplished. So if any of you ladies reading this know of any hot single ladies that would like to travel the world with their fly boy, let me know and we can hook it up! :) That ones for you Jord! Keep up the good work bro!

Broadway...Here She Comes!!!!

Jake and I went to Salt Lake (What a surprise :) ) to watch his younger sister Maggy in her lead roll in the play Thoroughly Modern Millie. SHE WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!! She could totally be the lead roll on Broadway! Everything about the play was perfect though! When the show started her mic wasn't working...and you could tell that everyone was pretty ticked...but then during the first song when they finally fixed it...the crowed erupted! It was fun! Her dancing, singing and acting were all perfect! Maggy, we will fly in to come and watch you anytime!

Congratulations Abbie and Jordan!

Jake's youngest sister Abbie got married on January 31 to Jordan Stoneman. The wedding was beautiful, and no one killed anyone. They are such a cute couple and we wish them all the best! (and I know everyone is probably getting tired of slide shows....but I like to be able to show lots of pictures....and there just isn't enough room on the blog to do it.....so deal with it! :) )

Also, Jake, Maggy (Jake's other sister) and I went in on making Abbie and Jordan a quilt for their wedding gift. It was a small miracle that I finished it in 1 week. Thanks Jill, Jessica, Jennifer and Jake for helping me out with it!

Grandma Got Hitched!

It's true. On January 17th Jake and I had the opportunity to go to his Grandma's wedding. This is both of their second marriages since both of their spouses died over 2 years ago. The best part of the story is that both couples knew each other when everyone was still alive, which I think is really cute and helps with the whole "second marriage shock." They really are cute together and it is good that they have companionship until they are with their eternal companions again. I am just gald that she has someone to hang out with and watch over her. Congrats Grandma Matheson! (P.S. if I die before Jake and he thinks about getting married again...someone please shoot either her or him....thank you. :) haha.....I'm not very good at sharing. )

Quick Catch Up

Holy Cow! It sure has been a long time since I have done a real post. I almost don't want to do one now...because it seems like it would be easier to not do one than to try to catch up on the past few months of activities....so I am going to do a quick slide show to show everyone all the fun we have been having the past few months. I am going to take you way back to November when we went to Jake's families how for Thanksgiving. Hopefully most of the pictures will explain themselves. I'll try to do better. ENJOY! :)