Camping with Higgs Stuff

Last weekend was SO gorgeous weather wise. We thought we were in the clear to start celebrating summer. Jack text me on Monday and asked if I wanted to go camping this weekend. I was super excited. I LOVE camping. I love camping food, games, talking, etc. We invited our friend Higgs to come with us so he could protect Jack from any bear attacks (Jack is beyond scared of bears and we usually end up sleeping in the car).

As the week progressed we realized our summer camping trip was turning into more of a winter camp out. We drove up near Nephi Utah to a campground we love (Ponderosa) which of course was closed for the winter. So we pulled over at a makeshift camp site on the side of the road near a creek. It was beautiful- especially for the side of the road.

We made Tinfoil dinners with steak and potatoes. Topped it off with S'mores. Which is by far my fave part of camp food. We explored our little area and then settled in for the night. Luckily none of us got much sleep the night before so we fell asleep incredibly early. I was sleeping on 3 blankets and a foam pad, snuggled in my sleeping bag and topped off with 4 heavy blankets on top of me. I slept warm a cozy. Which was nice since we woke up in the middle of the night to hear it snowing on us. Lucky us!

We packed up first thing in the morning and stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way home to eat breakfast. Delicious pancakes covered in blackberries and cream. Delicious. Can't wait for our next camp out!

San Diego Stuff

Argh. I need to be a better blogger. Part of it is that we never do anything exciting. And on the rare occasion that we do I put off blogging till I have "time". I'm sure we all know how often that comes around. So here it is. Late but here. That's all that counts.

A few weeks ago Jack and I felt like we deserved a vacation. For the first time in 4 years we got a tax return. We paid all our overdue bills and had a little bit left so we decided to go somewhere. We've been talking about going to San Diego for quite a while. Neither of us had been and it sounded so relaxing and fun. Exactly what we needed.

We packed up our car on Thursday night and drove to California. We got to San Diego at about 8am and it was heaven. We wanted to scope out some beaches and by total accident we ended up on Coronado Island and fell head over heels in love with that place. We stopped at a local market and grabbed some juice and donuts and ate breakfast on the beach. The locals waved at us. Everyone said Hi. The people were buying fresh flowers and produce. Everyone was walking or riding their bikes. It was relaxing. I wanted to sit on that beach for the rest of the weekend. It was amazing.

We spent the majority of the day on the Island. We went to a few different beaches. Ate dinner at a lovely outdoor restaurant. I even tried swordfish tacos. (which were amazing) We'd only been there a matter of hours and we were already feeling refreshed. Saturday we spent the entire day at Sea World. I've wanted to go for so long and it did not disappoint. We went to every show. We fed dolphins. Held star fish. It was amazing. I wish we could have stayed a few more days.

Sunday we drove back to Utah. It was the longest day ever! haha We left in the morning hoping to be back around 7 or 8 at night. We had a tire blowout a few hours away from San Diego and we spent over 3 hours stranded at a Wal-Mart while they fixed our tire. (It better indestructible if it took them that long!) We pulled into Orem at about 2am and literally fell into our beds. We both had to be up at 6 for a full days work. It's taken us a few weeks to catch up on our sleep but the trip was so worth it.

Easter Stuff

Easter is one of those holidays that Jack insists is for kids. He doesn't really get into the whole dying Easter eggs and finding baskets. Luckily he married a girl that gets crazy excited about every holiday. I force him to enjoy them too.

This year I made Jack go on a treasure hunt to find his basket. He thinks I'm cheesy but later told me it was the best Easter. He humored me and dyed eggs (even though we always end up throwing them away). Then he BBQed some amazing steaks and asparagus for Easter dinner. Delicious.

Baylie Stuff

Our favorite little girl is turning 2 this week. I remember when her parents moved into our ward and I leaned over to Jack and said "we should be friends with them cuz their baby is SO cute". Who would have known that her parents would be pretty great too =). We're so grateful to have such great friends. I've leaned on Kristin a lot this past year and honestly i'm not sure I could have gotten through it without her friendship and support. I love her to pieces! PLUS she shares her kids with me- she knows exactly what I need.

Baylie is turning two this week so Jack and I decided we wanted to take her on a birthday date. I was giddy ALL day waiting for 3:45 to roll around. haha We took her to the Bean Museum up at BYU to see all the animals. It took her a minute to warm up to all the stuffed scary animals but then she ran around like crazy. She loved looking at the fish on the wall and the birds. She knew the names of so many animals and loved telling us what they said.

After the museum we took her to a few pet stores to see live animals. She loved looking at the fish. One pet store had a tank on the bottom shelf with the lid off and she just stood over the tank watching the fish. She also loved the puppies and snakes. Ugh! She was mesmerized with the snakes climbing up the sides and staring at her. We're pretty sure they were planning their dinner. I HATE snakes!

After the pet stores we took her to McDonalds to eat dinner. All she wanted was fries and her apple juice. At one point I dumped her fries out into her chicken nugget box so she could grab them easier and she refused to eat them. It took us a minute to realize she wanted them back in the fry bag so I gave it back to her and she proceeding to put all the fries back in and then she was happy to continue eating them. haha so cute. She loved playing in the play land. Jack even let her go into the big jungle gym slides. haha He thought it was cute till she looked at me from the top and said "Dayna, help" so I sent him in to get her. She loved playing with the "music" (largo piano keys on the floor that make noise when you step on them) and jumping on the guitar.

We made her run errands with us too. I had to pick up a few things from the grocery store and Jack kept her entertained by pretending to run into things or fall and she would laugh hysterically. I'm sure people thought we were ridiculous because we would just stand in an isle for 5 minutes running into things and taking videos.

We're so glad we get to have Baylie in our lives. She brightens our days and makes us smile just when we need it. Happy Birthday Baylie. We love you!

Girls Night Stuff

Margo and I have been friends forever. We go way back. She married her sweetheart almost two years ago and he moved her to Provo so she could be closer to me! (I'm pretty sure proximity to me was the focal point in many of their decisions... right Margs?) Now they have decided to move all the way to California. =( We're trying to utilize our time wisely and spend as much time together as possible.

Last night we had Girls Night at my house. I made a delicious menu of appetizers (you can go HERE to get the recipes). Ever since we started our recipe blog I am kind of obsessed with trying new recipes and I LOVED having someone to try out all the food Jack refuses to eat. Everything turned out so yummy and fun! We ate till we were bursting and then spent the evening talking. We also fit a chick flick in- we went to the dollar theater to see Leap Year (so cute).

I love having forever friends. I love knowing that no matter how long we go without seeing each other or talking, we can still pick up right where we left off. I am going to miss this girl.

Ephraim Stuff

I can't remember the last time Jack and I had been on a date. In the middle of the week Jack suggested we go somewhere on Saturday. I am all for getting out of town. We decided to head down to Ephraim. sigh. We love Ephraim. We go down there every once in a while just to slow down a little and visit our old stomping grounds. Jack claims we hating living in such a small town but every time we go down there I fall in love with it all over again.

We left Saturday afternoon after spending the morning with our adorable niece Kathryn. We may be biased but we're pretty sure she loves us the very most. Jack got her to smile and giggle SO much. Aw. We just love this girl.

After Adam and Angeline left we headed down to Ephraim. We stopped and ate at Fat Jack's Pizza. Their food is definitely worth the drive! (yes, we are aware the name was changed to Roy's Pizza... but it will always be Fat Jack's in our heart) We spent the next hour just driving around. Sitting in our old parking lots and remembering the times when we couldn't leave our drive way because farmers were using the roads to herd their sheep. The first Elders Quorum activity we went to and Jack insisted on wearing his ugly sweater. No wonder we had no friends. Playing volleyball with the only other married couple we knew. Running around the track at night. Renting at least 5 movies every weekend from Movie Gallery.

Life was good then.

Life is good now. I have an amazing husband who wants to hold my hand.

What more could a girl ask for.

New Blog Stuff

It's FINALLY happening.

Better Than Burgers is up and running!

My Mom and I recently started our own recipe blog. We are SO excited about this new hobby.

Check it out at betterthanburgers.blogspot.com

We're having a GIVEAWAY right now. Loaded with lots of fun and fabulous recipes.

Add us to your Google Reader, your blog list or just your daily reading. You are sure to find something that anyone can cook!