Brad's summer project...

Is finally finished.  I hope you enjoy his teaser.

This is just the intro he has made changes and it is now officially on a DVD.

Summer coming to an end

With less than two weeks until Brad starts school again it is sad to say our summer is quickly coming to a close.  So what did we do this summer... ?

Besides me spending most of my time working...

And Brad spending most of his time doing research.

We were able to go to the Winter Quarters temple in Omaha Nebraska,  

I miss being close to so many temples.

We laughed at Brad during MUSTACHE MAY

I got a shiny new mountain bike.

It didn't stay shiny for long.

We enjoyed riding the trails in Iowa

And we even managed to get away for a weekend 

and went to Kansas City Missouri.

Enjoyed the pool at the hotel

Saw the Community of Christ temple in Independence.  

Learned that over 40 churches broke away from our LDS church.  

And a lot of them seemed to be there in Independence Missouri.

We listened to a lot of sister missionaries at the visitors centers.  

And we also saw Liberty Jail.

Enjoyed fireworks right outside our hotel.

And my favorite part of our weekend get away.  Was ADAM-ONDI-AHMAN.  

It was so beautiful and green.

We've been able to enjoy some of the great things Des Moines has to offer.  

Including the art festival and our local art sculptures.

We ventured to Saylorville lake only twenty minutes from our house.

We planted new grass.

And we will continue to enjoy more Iowa mountain biking 

It wasn't some amazing vacation back to the mountains the ocean or lake powell 

but it's been a pretty good summer and we still have two more weeks to go.

Coming soon Brad's summer project... THE SKI MOVIE!!!

Lost

We finally got around to taking Brad's jeep in to get fixed.  We had what we thought was a simple plan.  I was going to follow Brad in my car to the shop, pick him up and take him back to work.  Everything was going great up until the first stop light.  Yes, Brad went through at the end of a yellow leaving me with no choice but to stop.

No big deal I knew how to get there right, WRONG.  I thought I saw Brad turn down a street further up but once again WRONG.  So I'm going in circles trying to find Brad meanwhile Brad has turned around trying to find me.  So why haven't we just picked up our phones and called each other.  Oh that's right I left my phone home.  Was it this chaotic back in the days when cell phones didn't exist.

Once I realized I was thoroughly lost and honestly had no clue where to find DRAKE GARAGE I stopped at a gas station and asked.  After getting my directions I wasn't even close I quickly jumped in the car and made my way over.  I finally got to the garage and there was no sign of Brad or the jeep.  So being the lost and confused person I was at the time I went in and asked if they had seen a guy who brought in a green jeep.  Finally one guy mentioned he saw him walking the other direction.  EXCELLENT,  once again I jumped in my car and the chase was on.  Sure enough I find Brad walking back towards the school.  

REALLY, this shouldn't have been so difficult.

SUMMER GOAL

Brad and I will be sticking around Des Moines this summer since both of us will be working.  So I figure it's about time we figure out what there is to do in this flat corn growing country.

My list so far:

1. Buy a mountain bike for Charlie
   
2. Go Mountain Biking
   
3. Check out Saylorville lake
   
4. Rock Climbing, we here Climb Iowa is pretty good
   
5. Go on our own high adventure since Brad can't go with the scouts.
   
6. Find somewhere to go Kayaking
   
7. Hiking 
   
8. Camping
   
9. Go to Ledges State Park
   

And so much more...So if anyone has any other suggestions, or knows some good places to enjoy outdoor fun please let me know.  I'm still very new to Iowa.  

Better yet let me know if you want to come.

Maggie Sottero Dresses

I remember hating shopping for a prom/homecoming dress.  It always seemed so stressful and when we finally found one that seemed like it would work it cost way too much.  Mary has been lucky and my Aunt Janet has helped us find some amazing dresses for an even more amazing price.   I only have pictures of two of them.

PROM 2009

WITH THE JACKET AND THE BOY

THE FRONT

THE BACK

Prom 2008

Thanks to the same aunt I was extremley lucky when it came to shopping for my wedding dress.  It took about two hours and my aunt hooked us up.  My mom picked me up from the airport and we went straight to Maggie Sottero where my aunt had already pulled all the dresses I had said I liked and some she thought I'd like.  I had an incredible selection.  Found one I loved, they ordered it, and sent it to us with extra material from the same dye lot to make the jacket.  We got a killer deal and I didn't have to shop which I hate.  It's great knowing people in high places.  She sent me an email telling me they put my picture on the website.  You can check it out, my dress was the Victoriana.

Sometimes you just have to laugh...

one... When you have to evacuate a 25 story building at work because our floor thank goodness we were only on the eighth floor didn't get the memo that they were only testing the fire alarms.  This wouldn't have been so bad if Brad and I hadn't had an extra good workout at the gym the night before.  My legs were burning before I began the 8 floor decent.

two... My third calling that I have been blessed with is Scouts.  I get to work with the bears.  While we were outside playing games the boys showed me the almost perfect shell of a robins egg.  Of course I was thinking about all the diseases on this egg shell and avoided holding it for them.  Low and behold what did I find in my purse the next day?  That's right a now crushed robins egg. 

three... being sick. It started with Brad and now it's gotten to me.

four... Our wonderful old duplex that we live in has a few small problems.  The most recent has come along with the wonderful rainstorms and humidity of Iowa.  Water has been seeping into our basement.  I've done some creative rearranging to keep things dry.

Wilderness vs. Civlization

Brad wonders how it is that I lived in the wilderness... 

went weeks without showering, 

no candy, 

no junk food, 

no toothpaste,

rocks for a bed, 

drank cow tank water,

wore dirty grimy sweaty clothes, 

slept with cochroaches in my sleeping bag, 

rattle snakes threatening me while checking my traps, (aka using the bathroom) 

tarantulas, 

being eaten by chiggers, 

living off the land, 

being rolled over by boulders, 

surviving off crawdads and prickly pears, 

crawling through catclaw, 

lovin' up dried tomatoes, 

encounters with cactus

and so many other things I dare not mention.  

AND I FREAK OUT WITH A FEW ANTS IN THE KITCHEN.