Why We Love Ogden Pt. 2

So many reasons why Ogden is our new favorite place. You would think that spending so much time up here would make us hate it. We are always on the look out for little adventures and activities. On our way to find the local Home Depot... I never thought I would spend so much time in one of these stores! We happened on a darling little Farr's Ice Cream shop! The ice cream was not that expensive and the atmosphere was adorable and rustic as you can see from above picture!

We do these little adventures to help keep my attention... I can only sand, paint, caulk and use a miter saw for so long before I start to get antsy! And when that happens I start following Andrew around and drive him nuts. So no work gets done! Anyway, on this little outing we decided to go to the nearest park (Ogden is abundant in beautiful parks!) We decided we would enjoy our ice cream there! (I promise after this house is finished I will start doing my hair and make-up, there just doesn't seem to be much point when you leave the house caked in dust and paint)

To our ultimate pleasure we happened upon another fun activity Ogden has to offer. It was "Movie Night at the Park" So fun, people come with chairs, blankets, food and frisbees. Before the movie starts they have karaoke! I begged Andrew to sign up, but the sign up was full. So we went back to work on the house. You better believe we will be on stage next time! We got there just in time to hear a lovely version of "Sweet Child of Mine" how lucky are we?!!

I just think this picture is darling of my cute husband Drew!

As mentioned above, I sometimes need a little break from construction. Lucky for me I have a dear friend/sorority sister who is a local Ogdenonian... Yes I made up that word myself... But I feel it will catch on quickly! I call up Chewbs (not sure where that nickname started but it fits her more than her name Chelsea) and make her take me to the local hot spots. This one such adventure we went to the taco vendors on main street. I asked Chewbs if I was going to contract hepatitis... She assured me they are abundant in both B and C. How can you pass that up? Well it was a Wednesday and you know what that means.... TWO TACOS FOR A DOLLAR!! haha! Seriously they were the most amazing tacos we have ever had!! So excited it's Wednesday today because Chewbs and I have a standing date night every Wednesday from now on!!

Happy Fathers Day! To Two Great Men!

To my wonderful dad (sorry I don't have any recent pictures of us on my computer.... but this one is good of both of us!) Thank you, thank you, thank you... for showing me the importance of hard work! You have been an incredible example to me of perserverance and determination. Thank you for working so that I could be afforded so many blessings in my life.... You remind me of a quote I once read by Thomas Jefferson where he stated "I am a firm believer in luck, I find the harder I work, the more I have of it." You have worked hard everyday of your life yet I can only remember, at the most two times where you missed one of my events... You were at every dance recital, baseball, basketball, soccer, lacrosse game and even to high school assemblies that I was in.... You have always been there, and I want you to know, that I am so grateful to you for your support!

One of the most memorable trips that I have ever been on was to Torreon, Mexico.... To meet Andrew's wonderful parents... Andrew and I both knew that we were getting married, but we hadn't told anyone yet. However Rich and Amy could not have made me feel anymore welcome! They treated me like family from the very beginning. I knew after I met them there was no doubt in my mind that I had to marry Andrew. His parents were too great to pass up! Rich, I just want to say thank you for raising such a phenomenal man! As I tried to give Amy a compliment about raising such a gentleman, she turned and said "Well that's because his father has always been an example of that!" Thank you for teaching integrity in your home. For showing your son how important hard work and honesty are. Thank you for accepting and serving a mission. We are so grateful for the blessings that we receive in our life because of your service. We love you Rich, and can't wait to beat you in ping pong in two weeks!

Our Dog on Miracle Grow!

Caesar next to his kennel that he was shipped to us in.... He was small enough two months ago to stand completely upright, and still have two or three inches before his head touched...

Caesar nestled soundly in Drew's arms, on the night of his arrival into the Salt Lake valley....

Drew and Caesar wrestling in the back yard, two months and two weeks later...

Caesar snoozing on his favorite pillow.....

Caesar taking a break from all of his hard work up in Ogden.... Not much room left on his pillow... The pillow has lost a little bit of its fluff...

Caesar and his friend Fenway. Fenway used to love pinning Caesar to the ground and sitting on him.....

There isn't much of that going on anymore!!!

Caesars new kennel!!!!! The first day we brought it home, we were shocked by the size of it... Drew calls it the Taj Mahal of dog kennels.... It is quite spacious.... We had to try it out!! Thank goodness for self timers!

The amazing tower of kennels that Caesar has been able to call home...

It's What Fun Is........

How can you pass up Ten Dollar Lagoon passes?! You can't!! Kami, being a local in the Farmington area, has inner connections to one of the greatest attractions in Utah... Andrew and I raced up to Lagoon after work and had a blast! I haven't been to Lagoon since Dare Lagoon Day in 6th grade... I have been missing out... Poor Andrew it had been a lot longer... A Family Reunion in his youth... Being raised in Houston he didn't have the luxury of Stake Lagoon Day... Bummer! But we're back, and LOVING IT!!

Katie and Redd enjoying a ride on the "Wild Mouse". Probably the most terrifying ride at the park... I'm not sure how the car stays on those rails... Traumatizing! The kids didn't seem to notice how close to death they were coming!

It's just not Lagoon unless you take a ride on the "White Roller coaster." My niece growing up in the Farmington/Lagoon area, now is well versed in the Lagoon Trivia, and informed us that the "White Roller Coaster" was the only thing that survived Lagoon's huge fire in it's early years! Just a little 'Gee Wizz' knowledge for you.... Hopefully you can use that as a great conversation starter... I know I will!

Here we are about to start our ride! Forgive the low quality picture, I left the camera (of course) so our trusty camera phone came in very handy!

The "White Roller Coaster" in all of its glory!! It had a little more kick to it than I can remember!

Mimi and Sara Jane! This little girl L O V E S her Mimi!! I have never seen her like this with ANYONE!! My mom went on the Carousel with some of the other grand kids, and Sara Jane would scream Mimi every time she saw her come around! Adorable!

ReddMan on the carousel!

"Little Andrew" as he is now called on a ride on the worlds fastest spinning Carousel!

SOOO EXCITED!! I told Andrew we had to walk around holding each other and kissing a lot or you just don't get the full blown Lagoon effect! Just "Big Andrew" and me waiting to go on the 'Terror Ride' that Little Lizzy insisted she go on and watch all of the scary stuff! Then she told me that she "went on a ride with Mimi and it was so fast I puke-ted." Who even knows where she came up with that... And she pretended to dry-heave when she saw Colossus! And said "See I told you I would just puke if I saw Colossus!" Such a fun place! (I should be paid for my endorsements... I know, Lagoon and I are working out a contract)

Why We LOVE Ogden

After being bedridden with the flu this weekend, we had to get out of the house! We decided to take our Sunday drive up to Ogden. (As if we aren't there enough) Ogden has to be on of my favorite places in Utah... It is relatively close and has so many fun things to do. It's a beautiful drive that we would recommend!

Pineview Reservoir, its like our own little fjord in Utah! The water levels are really high this year which will make for great water skiing!! Can't wait! Our claim to fame with Pineview is that our Granny Combe in high school swam the entire length of the reservoir, quite a feat!

We pulled over on the side of the road to let the dogs get out and play. (We are puppy sitting our friends Golden Retriever Fenway!)

We forgot to bring toys with us, so we improvised with an empty Gatorade bottle to retrieve!

This dog is amazing, he could retrieve the bottle no matter how far into the water you threw it... Caesar just splashed around the edge of the water and watched Fenway have all the fun!

Andrew jumped in last minute to my beautiful scenery shot! I think he makes the picture better!

Just a picture of us, just off of bed rest! You'll have to forgive my haggard appearance it was a long weekend!

A wonderful drive on Utah's Scenic Byway!! How can you not appreciate the beauty here?! Incredible country!

Our last photo of a perfect day.... Just the two of us, a camera, and two wet dogs!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!

Happy Birthday to our Special Guy!! ; ) No but seriously Mike we hope you have a wonderful day! We love you and can't wait to see you in July!! Thanks for being such a great big brother! (I'm not sure how this picture got on our computer, but THANK GOODNESS!)

Interesting Problem Solving!!

We were visiting my parents on Saturday evening. My Dad was determined to get some vines out of this tree and needed a really tall ladder to get them down...

He had nothing to lean his ladder on, so seeing Drew, (a man large in stature) thought it would be a great idea to have him hold the ladder.

And to everyone's surprise it worked!! The vines came down, my dad was happy, saved the tree and Drew got to show off his super human strength!!! Atta Boy!! Yes that is my Dad's favorite hat!!