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.