A Predicament

Here is a funny story for ya.  Once at ARL there was a sweet morning sweeper who I befriended.  She told me that she had two transplanted plants that she would like to give me.  I was very excited to get some more plants (I inherited several large plants from Tracy MacDonald when she moved back to Idaho).  Everything was going fine and dandy with the new plants.  Then one day I noticed that part of one of the plants had died and was rotting.  Out of nowhere fruit flies were flying around my head.  In a few days I noticed that my students were swatting at flies instead of working on their work.  I was SO embarrassed!  Finally I decided to make a game of it.  I awarded students points (playing into part of my classroom management point system) for quietly killing fruit flies.  We had about two days of fun before I caved in and bought bug spray.  I honestly did not think that we would have that many fruit flies.  On Thursday I asked my students to draw a picture of our class being infested by an army of fruit flies on the back of their vocabulary test.  There were so many great drawings.  This one highlighted the fact that we were outnumbered 4 to 1! 

Usually I don't blog at all... but I'm out sick from school.  This is the first time I called in sick.  I'm stuck with strep/the flu.  I wish I wasn't sick because I am not only missing school but also SIOP training up in Provo.  I hope the district can get a reimbursement for my absence.

Thanks for reading!  Merry Christmas!

A New Puppy!

Well we have a new puppy in our home.  Her name is Indie and we have had her for several weeks now.  She has a lot of spunk and loves to play with City boy.  Even though they are not from the same litter or even have the same parents, they look so much like each other!  They have the same colorings, and we assume they will be close to the same size.  Indie's litter was dropped off on the side of the highway, and a family picked them up.  We learned about the litter through Malia.  At first we went to look at the litter for my brother.  We fell in love with Indie and decided we would take her home.  If my brother decided he wanted her, he could have here.  Thankfully he hasn't said a word :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ok, I am really behind with blogging.  I wish I had some great excuse answering your question of why.  Why do you limit us from reading about your lives?  Why, Marissa, must I wait weeks before I find out what you did with your Thanksgiving break?  I know its a hard reality to swallow, but it's the reality of the matter.  Hopefully you caught on early into this post that I am trying for sarcasm.  And I realize it is just that... trying :)  For Thanksgiving we were able to visit our awesome family!  We headed down to St. George (or St. Gizzy as I like to call it-- that did earn me a few odd looks at a faculty meeting).  We had a ton of fun in the sun with the Merket family and we were able to check out Larry and Roxy's awesome new home.  It is a beautiful (and large) place in Bloomington.  They are situated right next to an amazing park that even has geocaches galore.  We brought the pups (and there are more than one these days) and had a ton of fun.  The only downside to the entire trip was the fact that I did not get any pictures.  I do not know how this is possible... I must be off my A-game these days.  I must say the visit to St. Gizzy has made me more and more interested in moving there.  It would be so great to live by family again.  Plus, it is situated right in the middle of Salt Lake and southern California.  The only family member that is left out of this picture is my father... but hell, I only get to see him once in a blue moon anyways.  Maybe one day when Chris and I have grown up we can figure out if St. Gizzy is a good spot for our family or not.

Sunday... not such a fun day

Growing up I absolutely loved Sundays.  I would read the Sunday paper with my mom and take a long luxurious nap in the afternoon.  The evening would be spent working on homework for school or washing clothes.  No cares in the world beyond a typical high school student's cares.  I loved Sundays as a child and teenager.  Now that I am an adult with responsibilities, I dislike Sundays almost as much as I hate Mondays.  I start to get in a foul mood in the early afternoon realizing that my weekend was not as productive as I dreamed that it would be.  The work I need to put in to be prepared for school for the week starts to flash before my eyes.  I count down the hours before I need to be in bed and realize that there will never be enough time.  I slump in my seat and give up on being completely prepared for Monday.  I also struggle to fall asleep every Sunday night.  A good night sleep would only benefit me, but it is the last thing available to me.  A nighttime sleep aid like Tylenol PM does not work either.  Any suggestions to help me avoid these 12:45 AM blogging sessions?

Update

Just a little update for the few people who read our blog.  We created a cute quote thingy for our dining room wall.  We both love this quote thanks to the viral youtube video.  If you aren't familiar with the video, click here.

We got a great open back frame from Hobby Lobby in Grand Junction, Co, for a great price.  We bought some paint and uses my mom's cricket to cut the lettering.  I think it turned out really cute. 

Another update includes school for me (Marissa).  I know I just finished school a year and a half ago, but I miss it.... so I'm getting a M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from WGU.  I earned a partial scholarship by working in my school district, too.  I'm excited to get started but nervous about the time requirement.  We don't have kids... there aren't a lot of distractions for us in Blanding... perfect situation, right?  Somehow with all of those pros I am still nervous.  I am only a 2nd year teacher and I'm fearful I'm biting off too much than I can handle.  Yesterday was my first official day, and I've realized that online schooling is going to be a challenge!  Wish me luck!

California 2011

It has been a very long time since I have blogged about anything.  The table (see below) finally got me to blog again.  This post is dedicated to our trip to California.  Unfortunately, my pictures were posted backwards and I'm too lazy to switch them.  It was such a fun vacation filled with fun and family! 

This is our last night  at Carpenteria.  We were able to camp 20 feet from the water.  It was such a fun experience and a first time camping on the beach for me.  We were able to spend a week with the Birds, the Merkets, and the Heils.    The sunsets were beautiful and we enjoyed having City with us.

 One day we were sitting around the campfire and we heard several excited people talking about an idiotic man who sailed his ship onto the exposed reef.  The next day they dragged the boat up the beach.  It was pretty dang funny to see.

 Chris had a ton of fun seeing his cousins.  He even was sweater buddies with Jack.

City really enjoyed swimming in the ocean, but one day he stepped in tar.  All 4 paws were thickly coated.  City even began biting at the tar to get it off.  We had to buy baby socks to prevent him from getting tar on all of his teeth.  In the end a camp host said that soaking his paws in vegetable oil would do the trick easily.  She was right!  Sadly City had to suffer through 10 minutes of soaking for each paw. 

 

We actually started the vacation by visiting my dad in Northern California.  This is a great picture capturing the usual agenda while visiting my dad.  He works so much that we rarely get to do things outside of his market.  If you'll notice, behind us is a shelving unit full of liquor.  I love visiting my dad, but I wish, wish, wish that we could go on a vacation together and not hang out at the market all day.

My dad loved City.  He thought that City was the smartest dog :)  We actually taught City  how to shake while hanging out at the market.  City liked my daddy as well but began the trip by barking at him.  We figured City barked because my dad is a lot quieter that Chris or me.  City always knows where we are at home because we are loud.  My dad on the other hand is very quiet.  City would bark because he was surprised!

We visited Lafayette Reservoir with City in tow.  He wished that he could have swam in the water, but was content with just staring at the ducks.

Besides bowling, my father loves to play ping pong.  We thought we would show him.... he kicked our trash.  I now know where my competitive nature comes from.  My dad is very competitive at any sport even if it is ping pong at 11:00 pm on a Wednesday night.

We were fortunate to stop in Salt Lake for 2 nights before we headed out to California.  It was fun seeing my mom, but Brody stole the show by being a pooper.  He is such a funny dog.



New (to us) Table

We have FINALLY moved in our new table.  We worked on this table throughout the summer, but sadly it took us forever to finish it.  We decided at first to stain the table... that required a ton of sanding.  We got the flat parts of the chairs sanded, but the spools were a different story.  When we put the stain on the flat and sanded parts soaked up that stain like none other.  They were pitch black whereas the not so sanded spools were still the original brown.  It was sad to see that our hard work wasn't paying off.  After that horrible fiasco we decided to simply paint the table and chairs black.  That was a pain as well, but in the end we were very happy with the product. 

 The fabric took us a while to pick out.  I really wanted a fabric that was young and vibrant with color, but who knows how long we would like it... plus, home decor fabric doesn't usually fit the category "young and vibrant."  We looked online, at different stores, and while in Grand Junction, Co, we found this fabric.  It had some color (plum, something we normally wouldn't go for) and we felt like we would like it for awhile.  I'm very happy with how everything turned out!

We can now seat 6 comfortably (10 with our old chairs) and hope to have you over for dinner soon! 

A Little History

My dad catching the ball as goalie on the Iranian National Soccer Team.

I have always enjoyed visiting my dad.  My parents have always been divorced... well as long as I can remember.  The one thing that I am sad about (regarding my parent's divorce) was the fact that I never was given the opportunity to really get to know my dad.  There is only one way to know a person and that is to spend time with them.  My dad has always been in the bay area and I have only been able to spend vacation time with him.  I wish I could go back in time and somehow spend more time with him... maybe a year with him in Northern California.  I would have been able to get to know him and learn about my Iranian heritage.  Every time that I visit I try to learn something new about my dad and the culture that we come from. 

During this visit I asked my dad one question that has been on my mind for awhile... is the surname "Pourheidari" a common name like Smith or Jones is in America?  The answer surprised me a bit.  Apparently some time ago, you were allowed to choose your own last name.  Often the last name was determined by the towns you visited or the occupation your family practiced.  My family's original last name was EXTREMELY long.  You might be thinking I'm exaggerating, but honestly our last night included the names of four towns and "heidari."  "Heidari" is the Farsi word for God.  My grandfather decided to change our extremely long name to Pourheidari which means the song of God.  Ha!  Apparently the Pourheidari's thought pretty highly of ourselves!  :)

Our First Garden

This year we were able to plant a garden in our backyard.  We planted a variety of different things including: two types of tomatoes, basil, green peppers, summer squash, zucchini, red onions, watermelon, and pumpkin.  We have really enjoyed seeing it grow and when we left Utah it was thriving beautifully!  We have gotten our neighbor's kids to water it and we hope it will still be alive when we get back! 

This is the first "harvest" from our garden.  Apparently you are supposed to pick the zucchini before it gets this big... I guess our motto is "you live, you learn." Next year we'll be able to pick it at the perfect moment! 

Vacancy

     The day I didn't think would grace us with its presence has come. We no longer have a "renter" living with us. Kaleb has decided to move on to his next big adventure. I am very happy that our home is now our home (the first time since we purchased it), but I am sad to see Kaleb go. He has such a funny personality and served as great entertainment for us over the last few months. I didn't get to know him until the summer when I was done with school and he was around more. Kaleb really is such a freaking funny individual.

     I think the move was good for both parties. Kaleb now has the opportunity to move into student housing and make new friends who are in the same stages of life that he is in. Chris and I have our home to ourselves (it's such an amazing feeling to know that you are the only ones who will be home). I am also very thankful that our friendship with Kaleb was not compromised by renting a room to him. Kaleb was very smart with his timing. We never argued with him or asked him to move out... he came to that decision on his own. If it had gotten ugly, we would have lost one of the only friends we have in Blanding... plus, Chris' job would be even more awkward. I'll admit I complained about having Kaleb live with us because I couldn't handle the stress. It's a skill I need to look into mastering.
     I wish only the best for Kaleb, and the offer of renting the room is still there if he ever needs it. Any other "renters" will just have to find another place to rest their heads.

Kaleb's awesome picture in front of the vacant home (behind our home) that was burned down a few months ago.

City's 1st Birthday!

Happy Independence Day to everyone!!  We had a great 4th of July this year.  The holiday was filled with a parade, a little work, Navajo tacos, shaved ice, friends, and lot of fireworks.  Chris and I both figured Blanding would have mediocre fireworks because of its size, but boy were we wrong.  We were both really surprised with the duration of the show and the variety of the fireworks.  We sat far away from everyone (literally a baseball field away) so that City could be off his leash.  With time families started to sit by us... City made a few friends out of little kids.  They just loved giving him treats, telling him to sit, and playing fetch.  We love our City boy!  Something that we learned this year is that City is not afraid of fireworks.  He is as calm as any other day and doesn't even pay attention to them.   

Today is July 5th... nothing too important about the date, right?  Wrong!  When we first found City we were told he was about 3-4 months old.  So we dated back and figured on July 5th for his birthday.  When the day came around I figured we should do something to celebrate!

Our first step to celebrate was to go on a hike.  Chris had to work so I called up Malia and ventured just south of town to hike around.  We literally parked our car, turned to each other, and asked, "where would the ruins be?"  The answer was straight across a shallow canyon.  I couldn't even believe my eyes when we saw them for the first time next to the car.  Here are a few pictures of the ruins.  There were three or four circular kivas total and a ton of smaller rooms.  These ruins were pretty badly hashed by the "locals."  We could read the names of several large families on the walls.

When we finished with the hike, I headed home and found a dog-friendly cake recipe online.  The ingredients included: whole wheat flower, peanut butter, vegetable oil, vanilla, cinnamon, and baking soda.  That's it!  The frosting was simply plain yogurt and peanut butter.  The one is made out of carrots.  Pre-baked the cake looked disgusting, but afterwards the doggy cake turned out pretty darn cute (if I do so myself).  City absolutely loved it, but was a little afraid of the candles :)

I realize this post is a little laughable.  I've been laughing at myself for awhile now.  WE NEED TO HAVE CHILDREN!!  Can you tell that City truly is my first born?  I freaking made a cake for him :)  I love him to death and I'm glad we can involve him in so much of our lives, but I want to add to this family.  We are getting to a position that we are comfortable (with finances and careers) in our lives.  Hopefully we'll grow some figurative balls soon and get to baby making!  Here's to walking the plank in the near or not so near future-- and no we are not currently pregnant.

Dry Wash Ruins Hike

This time we decided to try a different type of trail.  Instead of slick rock and sandy trails, we went to the foothills of the Abajo Mountains.  This trail starts by the Nizhoni campground north of Blanding.  The pine trees and brown dirt remind me of the camping experiences I shared with my family.  It was such a fun hike to take on a beautiful Sunday.  City loved the hike because he was off his leash AND there was a babbling stream next to the trail.  If City got too hot he would simply step in the water and cool off.

This picture is by far my favorite because: 1. Chris' new mustache isn't visible and 2. Chris and City are shown in their true light- as two peas in a pod! 

City also enjoyed fetching sticks and chasing butterflies.  He would jump off the trail as each new friend made an appearance.

The trail ended at the base of a huge amount of rock. The Pueblos used this rock to store food up and away from sun, water, and rodents.  These ruins were dated A.D. 1250!  I am always blown away to see these structures still standing.  There were three granaries total and the trail ended below the largest of the three granaries.  There were logs still holding the rock wall together.  These ruins are titled inaccessible, and I'm happy that they are.  A lot of ruins have been ruined by careless people or people who want to profit from illegally taking artifacts from ruins or graves.  It disgusts me to think that people would justify taking what doesn't belong to them.  (Ok, I'm off my soap box... I guess hearing different people defend the actions of their friends or neighbors has gotten to me.)  Another thing that I enjoyed about this hike was the view.  The bottom picture is an example of the great view.  To see the layers of red rock in between the green, green trees was great. 

Ballroom Cave Ruins

Last Sunday we decided to hike Upper Butler Wash.  We have tried before, but failed horribly.  I guess while searching for information I didn't realize that the Butler Wash and Upper Butler Wash have separate trail heads.  Oops! 

Here is a picture of City venturing out on a tree with Chris.  He wasn't as scared as I expected him to be.

When we finally reached Ballroom Cave Ruins we were surprised that some of the ruins were down in a cave (but I guess the name of the ruins would have given it away).  You travel about 35 feet down into the main cave and two side caves.  It was considerably cooler down in the cave and very interesting to see.

This is a view of the top.  You can see the wall that served as a lookout for the residents of Ballroom Cave Ruin.  It was precariously perched on top of loose boulders.

Here are some light pictographs painted on the wall.  If you can't see it, there are three figures painted in orange, yellow, and red. 

These were some ruins further up the canyon in a different cave.  I don't know if they are technically called Ballroom Cave Ruins, but they were pretty cool.  This ruin was perched on top of a whole lot of sand.  Surprisingly the sand resembled that of the finest beaches in Hawaii :) We took a mini-vacation while we were out having fun!

Here is a picture of City enjoying the sand in front of a granary.  City loved the coolness of the sand a little too much.  He rolled around in it while we rested.

To get up to the ruins pictured above, we had to climb up this rickety ladder.  I am a lot shorter than Chris and struggled with getting on the top of the sand.  The next problem we faced was getting City up and down this old ladder.  He is so curious that he wants to try everything and he will not allow us to go on ahead and leave him behind! 

 The solution that we came up with involved Chris, City, and that rickety ladder.  I was surprised that City was so calm in Chris' arms, but I'm glad he was... otherwise he would have dropped to a painful landing 20 feet bellow!

I had a lot of fun getting up and down that ladder, but needed assistance from Chris.  He eventually lodged his hand underneath my rump and pushed!!!  Thankfully I latched onto a tree lodged above the ladder and clambered my way up. 

The ladder doesn't look so imposing when GIANT Chris stands on it.  We finally got down after resting for an hour and realized that we had forgotten City's Tupperware filled with water on top.  When Chris went to go grab it City went crazy!!!  He barked his head off and tried to climb up the ladder on his own.  It was a little funny to watch.  Luckily I was able to get this one awesome picture!  If you can see, City has his head between the ladder and his tongue is actually hanging out!  City is such an awesome puppy!!!

We headed out after seeing the second ruin because we were so flippin tired.  There is one more ruin in this particular canyon called Target Ruin.  Apparently you can't climb up to the ruin, but you can see the entire front from ground level.  There is even a completely intact mud roof on one of the rooms.  I wish we had gone to this last ruin, but I was completely zapped of all strength.  The sun really got to me during this hike, but it was fun anyway! 



Recapture Reservoir

I miss a lot of things about Logan, UT.  One thing that I miss the most is swimming in the dams in the summer.  I had so many great memories with friends bridge jumping.  These memories are most likely very special because it was the most carefree time in my life... whatever the reason I'll still treasure them.  Summer has brought out an adventurous side in me and I've visited the local reservoir with City a few times.  Since we have no children, I will add even more content to my blog about City! 

City is the perfect dog for an adventurous person.  I keep imaging the typical American boy who is as mischievous as can be.  Running right next to him is his best friend, his dog.  City is the dog for that little boy.  Too bad he's ours!!!  We will not give him up!

This video is of City fearlessly jumping into the water after the stick.

A beautiful image of Recapture Reservoir.  It's a beautiful place to take a break and swim. 

I also love the picture of City. He is always so great at posing for pictures, however he might not ENJOY posing. The look in his eyes is priceless! It screams, "Take the damn pictures already!"  

This last video is of City swimming on top of the water.  We didn't think City would be the typical dog to doggy-paddle on top of the water.  It was hilarious to say the least.  Plus, the looks right and left add so much to the scene.  City is simply wondering why he isn't moving!

 City loves to swim!  I think we might make this a daily tradition!

The new and improved front yard.

This is our new front yard.  My mom came down to show what plans she had created with the help of our wonderful neighbor Cricket Raulston.  Those two are the BEST at planning a yard.  When my mom came down we ordered the dirt to create the flower beds but had to wait a few days.  We shopped the local stores and ventured to Farmington, New Mexico, for more plants that would work well in the area.  My favorite additions to the front yard are the two new trees.  My mom brought down a Japanese Red Maple from Salt Lake.  The leaves were whipped off the tree and some of the bark was rubbed raw.  My mom doesn't think that the tree will live :( I hope it does!!  We planted it anyway to see if it could last and grow.  The second tree is a flowering pear.  It'll have beautiful red leaves in the fall and brilliant white flowers in the spring.  I hope the horrible wind wont blow it over! Chris, my mom, and I went searching for flat rocks that we could use for a rock pathway.  The rock pathway is starting to come together and it's looking great.  We are going to continue looking for rocks to use in our entry.  I will post more pictures when we get farther through our projects. 

Calf Creek Falls

Chris and I had an awesome weekend adventure in Escalante, Ut.  We found out that the campgrounds at the trail head of Calf Creek Falls were very popular and almost always full.  Although we could have made reservations at other campgrounds in the area we decided (a little stupidly) to just go with the flow.  As we drove to our destination, we came across some BEAUTIFUL scenery.  Capitol Reef National Park is a gorgeous park that we have never visited.  We want to visit soon!

The campground by the trail was full so we headed closer to town.  The second campground we visited was also full, and the feedback we got from the visitor's center was a resounding GOOD LUCK!  I got a little worried that we would have to get a motel room and somehow sneak City in with us.  We decided to try one more campground located in the mountains north of Escalante.  When we got to Posey Lake Campgrounds we lucked out and got the second to last open site.  It was a beautifully wooded area that reminded me of the campgrounds I visited as a child.  I loved camping with my family up Big Cottonwood Canyon.

The view of Posey Lake.

The hike was pretty crowded but very beautiful.  This is a shot of the canyon as we walked toward the falls. 

A view of the falls through the trees.

The three of us enjoying a family portrait.

City enjoyed the pool at the bottom of the falls.  We risked taking City of the leash so that he could fetch a few sticks in the water.  City behaved very well and was rewarded with a fun time.  He was so ornery on the way to the campground.  He did not want to be in the car a minute longer!  When we had to get back in the car for the trip home, City started whining and glaring at us immediately.  It made us laugh to see his personality so clear on this trip.

Mountain Dog City Boy Merket is his full name.