Brad and Glenna Wendt

My Slumber Party!!!

2012-01-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

On the evening of the slumber party I took the kids hiking to Stewart Falls. We were accompanied by my friend, Megan and her four kiddos. We really enjoyed the hike. After the hike, we came to the apartment for root beer floats and birthday cupcakes.

My absolute favorite picture from the weekend.

Megan and her kids.

The next day,we took all the kids to the Children's museum in Salt Lake City. I think the kids had a lot of fun there.

WHAT'S UP WITH THE WENDTS?

2012-01-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure where to begin since it has been so long. I had been so busy with work and school that we didn't have very many adventures. I considered our lives too ordinary to be anything but boring to our blog followers. However, I will update on our status.

Last fall I made the Dean's list which I was pretty proud of. In June, Brad and I moved into our own apartment in North Orem. We love having our own place. We have a new appreciation of each other and our hidden talents. For example, although I knew Brad was good at working on cars, I had no idea that he could be so handy with the appliances like when our dryer broke. He took it apart, replaced the defective part and put it back together, saving us tons of money.

For my birthday in August I had a slumber party. It was in part to help my 15 year old niece who shares my birthday and was having a slumber party of her own. I took the younger kids and we had a great time. I have lots of pics and will post on that adventure later.

In November, my sister Beth, went into labor and had a beautiful baby boy (on 11-11-11) who lived for about 23 hours. It was devastating for the entire family but I admire the resiliency and strength of my sister and brother-in-law.

Our first Christmas in our own place was memorable. Funds were low but our spirits were high. We had a tree which fits in the lone box with the rest of our decorations. Hopefully we'll have a bigger one next year.

That is all the big news from our year. I will be starting the Elementary Education program at Utah Valley University in about a week. I am so excited to finally be a junior and to be done with generals.

IT'S BEEN A WHOLE YEAR!!!

2011-12-28T12:34:00.000-08:00

New Year's resolution....... Do more blogging. I will get on later and give updates from our year.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T15:48:00.000-08:00

Brad and I drove to Idaho to see some of my family this holiday season. We drove to Ririe, Idaho on Thursday and spent Christmas Eve morning with my sister, Stephanie and her family. They open their Christmas on Christmas Eve morning so we got to be there for that. Here are some of the highlights.

On Christmas Eve, we drove to my parent's house in Dietrich, Idaho. There was a ton of family there and it was so good to see everyone. I have three musically talented nieces. They are all sisters and they perform together regularly. We enjoyed some songs from them. Here they sing three part harmony, acapella.

Livin' the Good Life

2010-11-19T13:38:00.000-08:00

Last March at work we learned that about three quarters of our co-workers were being laid off and that their jobs were being outsourced to Slovakia. This brought great concern to many of the remaining employees.

I began looking for another job almost right away. The thought of not being able to make payments on my debts was more stress than I could deal with at the time. I applied for several jobs. One that I applied for, I had connections in the HR department. Another, I was referred by the vice-president of the company. And on another I had many connections and previous experience with that company. I had many interviews but no luck. I concluded that I was being turned down due to a lack of degree. With so many out of work these days, I don't think companies can even consider someone without a degree.

It was a pivotal moment in our lives. We knew that going back to school for me was a must. But how? We had too many bills that we couldn't afford for me to not work and I didn't think that I would be able to handle the stress of attending school full-time while working full-time. My job was getting more stressful by the day and I was literally a basketcase. I had been with the company for two and a half years but I knew I wasn't going to last much longer. We finally figured out a way that I could quit my full-time job and go back to school.

After careful consideration we decided to sell our newer cars and pay cash for a couple of older cars. This was one of the best choices we could've made. By selling our newer cars we got rid of two car payments and we were able to get rid of two additional debts (a grand total of about $830 a month in payments). I gave up my 2006 Nissan Sentra and Brad parted with his 2008 Honda CRV.

Brad found an old truck (something he's always wanted). It's a 1967 Ford F100 pick-up truck. He's only the third owner. The gentleman he bought it from had had it since 1969 and it only had 66,000 miles on it when we got it. It still has the original engine and transmission. It is Brad's pride and joy. The find was a one in a million. We only paid $1750 for it.

Before the paint job.

And after the paint job

Brad found me a 1988 Honda accord for $1400. I didn't want a car because we live close enough to the school for me to walk there. However with all of the events I get hired at I need transportation and the bus isn't really an option for those. And, not long after all this happened I got my pizza delivery job back and my little Honda is the perfect Pizza car.

Hiking

2010-06-06T19:15:00.001-07:00

I've started hiking with my 15 year old nephew, Jared. The first week that Sundance was opened for summer, I picked up Jared early in the morning and we drove out there. It was raining when we left and by the time we reached the resort there was somewhat of a blizzard. Even though we dedided not to hike that day, we wanted to go into the lodge and pick up some trail maps. They didn't open for another hour and a half so we decided to bag it for that day.The following week, I picked Jared up a little later in the morning. We drove out there, went in and got the trail maps and learned that the trail to Stewart Falls was still closed due to the freak snowstorm from the week before. So finally, yesterday, we got to hike for the first time. The trail to Stewart Falls was still closed but we were able to take the tram to Ray's Summit and get out and hike around the loop. Brad came with us but stayed on the tram after Jared and I got off at the summit. The hike was roughly one mile and took about 30 minutes. The guides pointed out some numbers on the map and assured us that all of the trails were clearly marked. As it turned out, the map was marked with only numbers while the trails were marked with names of places such as Arrowhead Summit, Stewart Falls, etc. Even Ray's Summit on the map went by a completely different name on the trail. We were confused but in the end figured out how to get back to Rays Summit. It was a very fun hike. The trail was narrow with a steep mountain climbing up on the left with an equally steep mountain climbing down on the right. There were some loose rocks and even trees growing out of the side of the mountain that we had to climb over. It was more dangerous than any hike I'd been on in a while but we had a really good time.

When we got up there the second week and still couldn't hike, we walked around and took a few pictures.

I really love the flowers in the spring time.

A Native American statue on the grounds of the Sundance Resort.

A little closer view.

A totem pole.

When we couldn't hike at Sundance on that second week we decided to go hiking at Vivian Park. We saw an old payphone and decided to take a picture since it's a rare site anymore. We didn't get very far on that hike since the wind was so cold.

After Jared and I got off the tram we waited on Ray's Summit for Brad to loop around and come back so we could get a couple pictures of him. It was so nice to have my hubby with us.

More of Baby J

2010-02-21T17:51:00.000-08:00

This is another video I did of our nephew Jackson. Make sure you have your sound on.

Jackson

2010-02-06T07:53:00.000-08:00

This is a short video I put together of our nephew, Jackson.

New Year's Day

2010-01-03T18:15:00.000-08:00

I went sledding with Beth and her kids on New Year's Day. We had a great time. I went down the hill about 5 times. I was so sore after that......not sure how that happened but it sure was fun.

Sarah heads down the hill.

The temperature was warm enough that we saw that some of the snow was beginning to melt. Here R2 was stopped by a patch of slush.

Sarah getting ready to go down.

R2 is having a great time.

Coral helps R2 up the hill while Janet decides how to best get back to the top.

Alice making her way back up the hill.

Sarah took a spill.

Janet got warm and took off her coat, then proceeded to rub snow on her head.

Then she tried going down the hill on just her snow pants.

Quote of the day, "Aunt Glenna, take a picture of my tongue." (cuckoo)

CLOSE CALL.....

2009-12-11T19:51:00.000-08:00

On Thursday morning at about 2:30 I woke up with a horrific headache. I woke up Brad and told him that this is absolutely the worst headache I've ever had. He went upstairs and got me some medicine. I took it and a short time later threw it up. I woke up three more times to throw up. Every time I was sweating bullets. I checked my blood sugar which registered normal. I got out a thermometer and checked my temperature. I did not have a fever which I found strange despite my other symptoms.

I really did not want to miss work because it was the company Christmas party and I was to make balloons all day for employees (on the clock) instead of doing my real work. I was really looking forward to it and did not want to call in. At about 7:30 I called my boss and told him that I had been throwing up all night and could not come in.

I couldn't hear outside of my head. I was hearing my heart beating and swooshing sounds. It was something that I had never experienced before.

At about 9:00 am I called my doctor's office and made an appointment for 11:00. I laid back down next to Brad. I woke him up at about 10:00 and told him that we needed to get up so he could take me to my appointment. He stood up and told me that he was feeling dizzy. Around that time my mother-in-law called us from upstairs. She said that she had been throwing up and could not get out of bed and that she had called in to work.

Suddenly my mind became clear. Something told me that this was carbon monoxide poisoning. I told Brad that he needed to come outside with me right now. Earlier in the morning I could barely get from the couch to my bed but at that moment it was like I floated up the stairs. It came so easy to me. I went out onto the patio and sat in a snow filled chair. After a few deep breaths the nausea was completely gone. We had the patio door wide open and Brad was sitting on a kitchen chair just inside the door. It was zero degrees that morning and I can't say that I blame him for not wanting to come out. He kept trying to close the door but I wouldn't let him.

I called the fire department. I didn't want anyone to think I was over reacting so I thought, "I'm just going to call the non-emergency number and ask them to come check it out." Well, I called the non-emergency number and when I told the operator that I suspected carbon monoxide she transferred me to 911 dispatch. Within 3 minutes we had 2 fire trucks, 2 ambulances and a few other emergency vehicles at our house. The street was blocked off.

The carbon monoxide level in anyone's home should be ZERO. We were told that at a reading of 200, a person would be dead within 5 minutes. When they brought the reader into the house it went straight to 45 and climbed until it got to 145. They got us all out and transported us to the hospital in the ambulances. We spent the next couple of hours in the emergency room and the following 3 hours in the hyperbaric chamber to remove the poison from our blood. We had to return today for two more 90 minute sessions in the chamber.

All is once again well in the Wendt household. Santa brought us some early Christmas presents. We are grateful for some carbon monoxide detectors, a new furnace, and another chance at life.

We want to thank all of the first responders, the firemen and EMTs, all of the emergency room personnel, Dr. Worth and all of his staff in the hyperbaric section and the countless neighbors, freinds and family that reached out to help us. Thank you so much everyone. We owe you big time!!!

I'm so grateful to the Lord helping us to realize what was going on. I'm thankful that He gave Brad and I the strength to get up the stairs when previously we could barely get from the bedroom to the couch. I'm grateful that my mother-in-law alerted us to her symptoms. Without that the realization of the seriousness of the problem may not have come about. All of these things were absolute miracles that morning. Without any one of those events we may not be here today. I'm grateful that the Lord spared each of our lives. I hope that I can be a better person and not take this second chance for granted.

Brad gets oxygen in the ambulance while waiting to be transported.

Donald breaths some good air while waiting to be taught about the hyperbaric chamber.

Jaynann gets her neck measured to be fitted for the sexy helmets we got to wear in the chamber.

Waiting to go into the hyperbaric chamber for our second "dive."

Inside the chamber waiting to start. The headphones were for the movie that we watched. That session we saw National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

This tank stores water but we got a kick out of the sign which was meant to be facetious.

Another hillarious sign

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-29T08:53:00.001-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving this year in Phoenix and had a wonderful time. It was Brad and Myself and his parents, Donald and Jaynann. We were visiting Brad's sister Kelly, her husband Christian, and their son Baby J.

Phoenix has tons fo palm trees which I don't recall having ever seen before.

Phoenix also has tons of cacti. Not the little ones that you see growing along the ground randomly, but the giant ones with the arms that, until you see a real one, you think only are found in the cartoons.

This is Kelly and Christian's backyard. Christian designed the pool himself. Although the weather was absolutely beautiful while we were there, the water in the pool was way too cold for swimming in.

This is the view from the back yard. Don't you just love all those cacti?

This is Christian and Baby J.

Baby J. What a cutie.

This is Anne's dog, Charlie. Anne is one of Kelly's best friends. Charlie is the perfect dog. I love Charlie.

Grandma Jaynann and Baby J hangin' out.

Baby J loves the show, "The Imagination Movers." We watched it alot during the week.

For lunch on Thanksgiving Day we had appetizers. This awesome vegetable tray was brought by Christian's brother, Skip.

Skip also brought a very delicious fruit tray. It was wonderful.

The table looked great!! Kelly did an awesome job and was absolutely the perfect hostess!!

Thanks Kelly!!

Jaynann did the turkey. This turkey was the most moist turkey I've ever had. It was wonderful!!

Donald carved the turkey and did a great job.

Charlie supervised the turkey carving, hoping that some would fall on the floor.

Anne prepared the potatoes.

Kelly got the serving spoon ready.

I made the rolls from scratch and have been informed that I will be in charge of the rolls from now on. YAY!!

Everybody enjoyed the feast. I tried everything and everything was wonderful. The stuffing, yams, cranberries, potatoes and turkey. It was all so good. It seemed that everyone was so pleased with how it all turned out.

On the day after Thanksgiving, Anne took me hiking. Anne is an amazing athlete. She has participated in at least three iron man events. She is a teriffic inspiration.

I love hiking and this was a great hike. It was about a mile to the road at the top and it was steep. I had a great time and the view and weather were beautiful. I wish I had worn shorts.

Anne, Charlie and myself at the top. Well done everyone!!!

From the road we could see 25 to 30 bikers going further up the mountain.

We even came across a geochache. If you've never been geocaching you should try it. We weren't looking for any caches but recognized it as soon as we saw it.

We could see downtown Phoenix from the road at the top of the trail we hiked.

Later that evening the whole family went to look at Christmas lights. I loved seeing the giant cacti all lit up.

See? Pretty cool huh?

We left Phoenix on Saturday morning. We stopped at this lookout on Glen Canyon.

This is the Glen Canyon Dam.

We found a port-a-potty on the edge of a cliff. We couldn't get a good rating because it was padlocked shut. But we find it hillarious at the weird and random places you can find a port-a-potty.

We saw some pretty amazing scenery along the way. I thought this was pretty incredible. I can't wait to go back to Arizona.

Our First Vacation

2009-11-07T17:59:00.000-08:00

This past week Brad and I had the opportunity to travel to Dietrich, Idaho to see my folks. I was desparate for a break from my three jobs and I really miss my hubby when we are apart for so many hours of the day. We enjoyed the four hour drive do Dietrich together. Upon arriving in town Brad's comment was "I'm NOT impressed." But by the end of the trip he admitted that it had kind of grown on him.

The town's welcome sign doesn't mention the population. I'm guessing it's because there isn't one. Just kidding. It is a small town but you've never met a nicer bunch of folks.

This is the Dietrich High School. Actually, it's just the Dietrich school. It holds grades K-12.

My dad is the librarian here and my mom frequently substitute teaches.

I thought this was kind of neat. It's an elk BBQ pit. I believe it was built by the high school metal shop class (if anyone from Dietrich is reading this and knows for sure who built it and what for please leave a comment).

This is Dietrich's main intersection. The cinderblock building with the red garage door is the Dietrich City Hall. My mom was re-elected to the city council during our visit.

This is the Dietrich Mercantile aka "The Merc." The rumor is that they used to sell gas once upon a time but they no longer do. If you want to buy gas it's an eight mile drive to the next town down the road...Shoshone.

Brad visits with one of the locals in the Merc.

Just wanted to show everyone the inside of the Mercantile. Great place for that chocolate fix or for a cold soda. They can also hook you up if you run out of milk. You can get a little more in Shoshone than in Dietrich but if you want Wal-Mart it's about 30 minutes to Jerome and the nearest mall, Costco, Target, ShopKo etc. you're looking at a 45 minute drive to Twin Falls.

I think you can get Idaho Spud Bites in just about every convenience store in Idaho.

This is a lovely pasture of goats (in town) at the end of the road that my parents live on.

This is the back yard of my parent's next door neighbor, complete with well and outhouse.

Close up of the outhouse.

This is inside the Snack Bar in Shoshone. Brad ordered the medium cone. He got a couple of good bites off before I could get a picture. This is about the size of the small cone.

This is the Little Wood River where it runs through the city park in Shoshone. When I was about 12 years old I would come to this park and jump off of that bridge (the water level was much higher at that time).

The current would then carry me through the park.

When I got to the foot bridge I would grab it and pull myself across and do it all over again. It was so much fun.

Brad took this picture of me in front of this awesome tree in the Shoshone City Park.

This is Mom's dog Tootsie.

Brad and Tootsie got along just great all week.

We snapped this picture of a wavy outhouse near Jerome, Idaho.

On the way home from our trip we stopped in Roy, Utah at the U.S. Air Force Museum. Brad was absolutely in Heaven. He loves military aircraft and knows everything about every plane we saw there. Brad points out the C-54.

Here he is soluting an S-58 helicopter.

These nifty little things are assist rockets that help the airplane to become airborn. The plane is a C-130 Hercules.

Brad admires the guns on the B-29 Bomber...aka the Super Fortress.

This is a B-47 Bomber.

This is a McDonald Douglas F-4 Phantom II.

In Vietnam this was called the Goony Bird....aka C47.

Halloween Contests

2009-10-31T21:54:00.000-07:00

We had Halloween competitions at work everyday this week. I participated on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday was pumpkin carving day. They were giving out prizes for the best carved pumpkin and the best decorated pumpkin. Mine was a little of both.

Brad and I going to work on our pumpkins.

I took an eyeball balloon and pulled it through a hole I had carved and then pinned it on the inside of the pumpkin.

So far it's just a cyclopse pumpkin.

Pumpkin carving brings out the kid in all of us.

Brad wins the prize for the pumpkin that most resembles Iron Man.

I accessorized and turned mine into a pirate. But I felt a few changes were needed.

I didn't like the flag coming out of the back like that so I was brave and cut a hole in the scarf so that the flag could be seen from the front.

And with the help of some household opinions added another deflated eyeball out of the patch and an earing. That seemed to complete my pirate pumpkin.

Out of seven entries my pirate was not a winner but I had a lot of fun with it anyway and it was later proudly displayed in Pizza Hut for the rest of the week through Halloween.

Thursday was spooky treat day. I made spider cupcakes. All of the entries were displayed throughout the day while they were silently auctioned.

I made one dozen of these scary spider cupcakes and again had a lot of fun. Again, I did not win but my cupcakes auctioned off for $12.

Friday was costume day. Every year I'm asked if I'm going to be a clown for Halloween and every year I think....NO WAY!!! It's the one day during the year that I can be anything else. But they were giving out prizes based on good costumes and one thing about being a professional clown is that my costume has gotten pretty good over the years. So, why not give it a shot? Finally, I won a prize for the funniest costume!! Great way to end the week.

The Goal

2009-10-13T08:57:00.001-07:00

So Brad and I are going to be working together toward a couple of trips in the next year. We both have been working on getting more exercise. I walk part way to work and catch the bus the rest of the way. Brad also goes walking regularly and manages to get up to the rec center for swimming quite often. So, goal number one is to visit my hometown of Helena in June for the Governor's Cup 5k. This is a pretty big event. The distance isn't like a marathon or anything, in fact the few times I've gone, there have been families with children and often times strollers and the like. It's should be just right for a couple of beginners like Brad and myself. I'm excited for the opportunity to show Brad where I grew up. The next goal is to go to Astoria, Oregon a year from now for the Great Columbia Crossing which is a 10k race. Again, somewhere I used to live and can't wait to show Brad around as well as another good goal to work toward. I don't plan on winning any of the races....I just want to finish them.

I'm tracking my progress on another blog..... http://runglennarun.blogspot.com

The Apple Harvest

2009-10-08T20:34:00.000-07:00

It was a nice evening for apple picking. We mozied on out to the back yard and picked apples for a little while. perhaps we will make some yummy apple crisp this weekend.

MMMMmmmmm

Zoo Meets Zoo

2009-10-04T16:29:00.000-07:00

So, I went with my sisters and their kids to Utah's Hogle Zoo on Saturday. Stephanie with her three daughters and Beth with her four daughters and one son and myself. We implemented the buddy system. Beth was buddies with R2. Stephanie with baby Sawyer. Sarah with her cousin Ricky. Coral with cousin Alexis. And myself with both Alice and Janet. Let the good times roll.

Sarah jumps up and down while Ricky expresses her excitement at finally arriving at the zoo.

Alice....being Alice

This was just a quick way to take down what everyone was wearing in case anyone disappeared. Just kidding. Group photo prior to entering in a last ditch effort to torture everyone that we're here but not inside yet.

R2 patiently waits on the bicycle rack for everyone to get their acts together so that we can go in.

Just inside the entrance is a magical black ball that spins around in a little pool of water...OOOOH!
Alexis balances on the edge while everyone looks and feels.

Coral and Alexis decide to stop the ball and try to get it to spin the other direction. Nice socks girls.

Alice almost got eaten by a lion.

R2 bravely gets a drink from the lion.

Super Duper cute Sawyer. Ahh. Loving life.

Janet, Alice and R2 wanted to get a picture in front of the wild turkeys. I told them they could only get their picture taken if they made turkey noises while I was taking it. And they quickly complied.

Heavy Metal Elephant. All the kids needed a turn getting their picture taken while on the trunk

Alice got the first turn.

Now R2

And Janet

The baby elephant was one of my favorites.

Janet shows us the map of the zoo.

Alice hides in the brush in a crouching position.

I had never seen a real rhino before. The picture does not do them justice.

And the Penguins

The zebras

The giraffes were also among my favorites.

This is the new baby giraffe.

My absolute favorite picture of the whole day! The baby giraffe nibbles on the grass.

Close up of the baby giraffe.

One of the grown up giraffes with its tongue rolled up in its mouth.

Janet and R2 pose on some of the big cats.

Our last stop was the zoo playground. Here Alice pokes her head out of a log.

Ricky takes Sawyer down the elephant slide with R2 following behind.

Wheeeeeeee!!!

In Loving Memory...

2009-09-28T17:37:00.000-07:00

About two weeks before Brad and I were to be married, I received a phone call at work. I was told that Grandma wasn't doing well and if I wanted to say good-bye I should probably come to Idaho. So Beth, Coral and I hopped into Coral's car (Dodge Charger) and drove to Idaho. We went directly to Jerome where Grandma was in the hospital. We were very surprised when we walked into her room to see her sitting up on the edge of the bed facing the window. There had been several occaisions when we would get the call that Grandpa wasn't doing well and he just kept hanging in there. He was on Hospice for an entire year before he passed away. I thought we would have a little more time with Grandma.The nurse came in and helped her lie back down. We each took turns giving her a hug. I leaned over to her and said, "I love you, Grandma," to which she replied....."PROVE IT!" So we knew that her mind was still in tact and she was still Grandma. It was her body that had quit working. Her kidneys had shut down and she was filling up with fluid. There was nothing the doctors could do for her except to help her be comfortable. We sat in silence before we decided that she needed music. We didn't have any so we decided to sing her some hymns (sorry Grandma). She was probably grateful when other family began to arrive and the singing stopped. Mom and Dad came and Dad's brother Joel and his family. I think there was a sense of urgency for Stephanie to get there as I know that it would mean a lot to her if Grandma could meet her newest Great Granddaughter before leaving this earth. Stephanie arrived with Alexis and baby Sawyer. Grandma passed away the next evening.

Grandma and Grandpa Chambers celebrated 50 years of marriage on September 7, 1990.

Several months ago I had the opportunity to visit Grandma at DeSano Place in Shoshone and make balloons for her and the other residents. Grandma is sporting a stylish monkey hat.

Baby Sawyer Jane and her Great Grandmother met for the first time. Grandma seemed to be so alert at that moment and even Sawyer seemed happy to meet her Great Grandma.

Okay....so this pic is actually at Grandpa's Funeral about 27 months earlier. Grandpa had served in the U.S. Army and was in the U.S. Navy during WWII.

My cousin Ben was home from Iraq for a time when Grandpa passed away and had the great priveledge of presenting Grandpa's flag to Grandma. It was an emotional moment to watch as Ben stepped back after handing Grandma the flag with a tear in his eye and a great sense of pride on his face and saluted her.

Also at Grandpa's funeral were his younger siblings.

(left to right..Guy, Joanne, and Nellie) Aunt Nellie passed away just a week after Grandma but I was unable to attend the funeral as it was held the same weekend as my wedding.

Back to Grandma. Grandma was awesome with arts and crafts. Her hands were always busy with crocheting, quilting, and other needle work. Here Alice and Janet show off some of the things that Grandma used to make for us.

My brothers David and Lee, mingling before the services begin.

Dad, trying to be cheerful and composed while visitors greet him with condolences.

Becky and Lee sit and ponder during the viewing.

Eathan, Tiger, and Jared sit and visit during the viewing.

Family and friends gathering at the cemetery.

My cousins, nephews and brothers were the pallbearers for the service.

One by one the pallbearers laid their boutonnieres on the casket.

Mom and David visit at the Shoshone Cemetery.

Grandma and Grandpa, I love you and I miss you both.

Goin' Topless!!!

2009-09-06T20:36:00.001-07:00

That's right.....TOPLESS!!!

We took the top off Donald's Jeep and went for a ride up Nebo Canyon.

Jaynann climbs into the Jeep "Dukes of Hazard" style with Donald near by just in case.

Everywhere we go, the facilities get a rating from the expert. Here the rating is "beautiful."

Have you ever eaten chicken with the wind in your face at 80 mph while balancing a jug of root beer on one knee and a bucket of chicken on the other? It is an adventure all by itself.

While we were still on the interstate we put the chicken bones in a bag but once we turned into nature and started up the canyon we decided we could throw the bones into nature for the critters. So Brad said, "where's the bag?" His dad replied, "just throw it outside." So Brad threw that chicken right out the top of the Jeep and into our path where we drove into it and it rested on the hood. It was hard to get a good shot of it while we were driving but there it is, the chicken on the hood.

The chicken eventually fell off but it left a crumb and while we were stopped for some photos and a leg stretch we decided to get an unblurry picture of what was left.

Utah Lake from the lookout point we stopped at.

My hubby and me.

Jaynann and myself on the back of the Jeep before heading home.

Some friends we met along the way.

And the sunset....

Brad and His Buddy!

2009-08-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

Brad and I are both a couple of kids at heart. As a result we love to play and who better to play with...? KIDS!!

Brad has become attached to several of my nieces and nephews that live in the area but there is one nephew in particular that Brad is fond of. We call him R2. R2 and Brad are buddies because they both have something in common.....CARS!!! R2 loves anything with wheels (except roller skates because apparently those are for girls). They both love anything to do with cars.....books, pictures, games, toy cars, real cars, etc. Even motorcycles, airplanes, helicopters and boats are on the list of favorites.

So, here are a few pics of Brad and R2 doing what they love to do.

We promised R2 that once he was potty trained we would take him on the race cars. He would not ride with me because I am a girl and apparently boys go faster.

Brad has a tradition of going to the UVU car show every May at Thanksgiving Point. The new tradition is to bring his favorite little buddy that shares his passion. Here R2 is showing off the new T-shirt that Uncle Brad bought him at the car show.

Another pose in front of a pretty awesome something or other.

WOW!! Who knew this would be so much fun?

R2 was especially excited about this car because it reminded him of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!

R2 is giving Brad a big thanks for such a fun day.

The Honeymoon!!!

2009-08-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

We spent four wonderful days at Moon Lake Resort in the high Uinta Mountains of Utah. We left the camera crew at home so unfortunately we only have one picture of the both of us together (courtesy of the guy who helped us launch the rented boat).

The Fantastic Honeymoon Resort!!!

The Honeymoon Suite

(Honey)Moon Lake

One of the highlights of our trip was going out on the lake.

Brad had so much fun driving the boat.

After a few hours of tooting around the lake looking for fish to catch, the sky began to darken.

It began raining so we headed back toward shore. Soon it was hailing and no matter how fast we rowed and paddled, we could not seem to get ahead of the storm. The sun was shining again by the time we docked but we were so wet and cold that we decided to call it a day.

Brad Warming by the a fire that I built. (I'm such a pyro!)

Brad was convinced that every camping trip needs a foil dinner. I was so not impressed with my version of one. I'm pretty sure I would have been on the brink of starvation if it hadn't of been for the delicious s'mores we had later.

It wasn't a total waste though......Meet Wilbur. He ate pretty much anything we dropped.

This is me by some logs.....not sure what they were doing there but decided to get a picture next to them anyway.

Brad building me a teepee for the Indian Chicken Dance.

True Story...About a week before the wedding we went to the county offices to get our marriage license. My wonderful hubby, fiancee at the time, loves to be random and loves to embarrass me. As we sat there waiting for the lady to process our paperwork, Brad took full advantage of the little silent moment. He said to her, "And on the honeymoon, I'm going to dress her up like a chicken. Then I'm going to put on my Indian costume and chase her around." I was mortified. This woman processes marriage licenses every day for a living. Hopefully, she's heard worse.

Out for a little hike in the woods.

Going for a spin in the boat.

(unfortunately my antique camera has no audio.)

THE BIG DAY!!!

2009-08-18T13:09:00.000-07:00

This is my absolute favorite picture from that day!!!

Just the two of us.

My Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love

(see what I mean?)

The Mommas and the Papas
(and us of course)

Hers

His

Ours

The Reception

2009-08-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

We knew from the get go that having an out door reception was risky. On the actual wedding day, the weather was very cooperative during pictures outside of the temple. But as the day went on, the sky began to darken. Our plan was to head to the park at about 4pm to begin setting up for the reception.

This wasn't going to be your everyday formal reception where folks walk in, shake hands with the everyone in the line and then leave with a little nut cup. This was going to be a casual summer picnic. We were serving hamburgers, chips, beans, potato salad and punch while friends and family mingled. We just wanted everyone to come and have a good time.

At 2pm it was raining cats and dogs and the wind was blowing something fierce. I was a wreck. I was on the phone trying to make arrangements to have the festivities moved to the church without knowing exactly how we were going to notify the guests. Everyone kept reassuring me that it would blow over. And they were right. When we left to head up to the park, it had reduced to a light drizzle despite dodging branches and twigs in the road on the way. As we began setting up the clouds parted and the sky cleared. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful reception.

Have you ever seen a better looking bride and groom?

(The Lord's stamp of approval in the background)

Donald greeting some of the cousins as they arrive.

Kelly helping Baby J. with the treats he recovered from THE GREAT PINATA BUST!!

Family and friends enjoying a casual summer picnic reception.

Esther made the cake. Great Job Esther!! And THANK YOU!!

Christian and Baby J. just chillin' as guests arrive.

Donald (my awesome father-in-law) hand painted the banner for us that is seen in the background.

A little history......

2009-08-15T21:35:00.000-07:00

We met online on a singles website. After a few months of chatting we decided to meet in person. I (Glenna) asked Brad out on the first date. He thought I was psychotic because I was asking him out over the internet. My thoughts were that singles websites were intended for eventually hooking up. And he was apparently not going to make the first move.

We went out on our first date on February 11, 2008. He brought me a beautiful orchid plant which I have managed to keep alive and still have. That weekend his family had me over for Sunday dinner. Brad was telling me about going to an air force museum and how he was allowed to tour the very first plane that was ever used as Air Force One. He said, "That thing was such a piece of crap." His mom was horrified and said, "Brad don't say piece of crap." To which he replied, "sorry, ...CRAP!" We all laughed and I knew I was going to like this guy.

Brad proposed on August 13th just two days after his 33rd birthday and our six month anniversary. I accepted and exactly 10 months later we were married in the Mount Timpanogos Temple in American Fork, Utah.