Camping at Zi-ON

Top 10 things we learned about camping at Zion:

1. Unless you want to spend the night in your car, it's crucial to RESERVE YOUR CAMPING SITE! We learned this the hard way. We thought we would easily get a site because we planned our trip the day AFTER Memorial Day...the day people were supposed to be leaving the park and heading home. We were wrong. Luckily they had 1 group camp site they were opening up to groups of 2 or less. There were 4 groups of us who ended up sharing a site and a fire. We shared some interesting fire conversation :). We're just grateful to have had a place to camp! We only had the site for 1 night, so we had to pack up our stuff early the next day and find a new area. Our tent went up a lot quicker the 2nd time!

2. Apparently unless you're from Utah, the common pronunciation of Zion National Park is "Zi-ON". I found it interesting that even though on the shuttle rides they must say the name about 100 times, tourists still don't get it :).

3. Don't feed the animals! There's a fine of $100 for feeding them. The animals at the park are extremely domesticated, and it's hard to NOT feed them. We had deer walking right through our campsite without a care in the world, and Dale had an encounter with a very brave and reckless squirrel who climbed up on our water packs and stuck his head in our bag of cookies, trying to climb in. Dale had to swat it (gently :) to save the cookies. According do Dale, these weren't just any cookies, they were "scrumptious chocolate caramel cookies". Of course we had to save them :).

4. Cooking over the camp fire has its perks! We made tin foil dinners both nights we were there, and wow, there's NO CLEAN UP! You just throw the foil away when you're done...now that's my kind of cooking! The first night we made the traditional meat, onion, carrot and potato dinner, which turned out delicious. I'm not sure if it was because they were actually really tasty or because we were starving. Probably a little bit of both. On Tuesday night we ventured out and attempted tin foil calzones. We bought pizza crust and put suace, cheese, canadian bacon and pineapple in the middle and folded them over and sealed the edges and wrapped foil around them. I was a little unsure of how they would turn out, but wow, amazing! And once again, NO MESS!

5. The red rocks are absolutely stunning! We loved seeing all of the different colors on our amazing hikes!

6. There's a lot of religious background that accompany the names of the mountains. We saw "The Patriarch's Court. The mountains are named "Abraham, Isaac & Jacob" from the Old Testament. We also saw "The Podium" and "The Alter," and "The Organ," so named because it looks like organ pipes. Zion is beautiful!

7. It's important to follow the map carefully if you don't know your way around! We ended up driving up the same winding mountain 3 times looking for the place we wanted to hike. Turns out we should've taken the fork in the road, but didn't realize it until we took a look at our trusty map. We did however end up seeing a mountain that had what looked like a man flexing carved into the side :).

8. Keeping your firewood in a safe dry area is crucial if there's a storm coming :). Tuesday was our full day of camping. After resetting up camp we spent the afternoon hiking to "The Emerald Pools". It was about a 2 1/2 mile round trip paved hike- this is definitely my kind of hiking! It was beautiful weather...if anything, maybe a little on the warm side. When we finished we got some ice cream and relaxed at a park...and then the clouds started moving in. We thought we might be able to make 1 more run up the canyon for another quick hike before dinner when the rain came. It didn't just sprinkle, it POURED. Luckily we were already on the shuttle bus when it started, though the rain still came in through all the open windows that are impossible to shut! I was worried about what we were going to do about dinner. We had left our firewood out by our pit for easy access later that night, and I was just sure they were going to be soaked, which would mean no dinner for us! Everything we brought had to be cooked over the fire. Much to our surprise, it was raining EVERYWHERE except above our camp grounds. We were definitely blessed :).

9. If you leave the park and plan on getting back in, don't forget to bring your ticket with you! We had gotten a late start on the day, so we had to park in Springdale, the small tourist town outside of the park, and were going to take the shuttle back in. Well, we drove out there, found a parking spot, waited for the bus, drove back in, all to find out we had forgotten to bring our Park Pass with us. Lucky us, we got to take the shuttle back, find our parked car, wait the shuttle again, ride it back to Zion, and then FINALLY we got to visit the park. It was definitely worth the wait!

10. It's a lot easier and more fun packing to go camping than coming home and putting everything away...Need I say more?

Date Nights Continue :)

So taking turns to plan out our date nights lasted all of 2 weeks :). It gets too crazy when we only get 1 date night a week and other things come up. Oh well! We're back to planning them together. This week we went to Mulligans. The plan was to hit the batting cages. I've gotta admit I was pretty excited about this- it was different...out of the ordinary....something we had never done together. But once we got there it kinda lost its appeal. There were a bunch of 6 year olds and their dads occupying most of the cages, and you have to wear a huge heavy looking helmet when you bat! So much for doing my hair for date night :). We got looking at the miniature golfers, and decided they looked like they were having a lot more fun. Long story short, we ended up on the golfing greens.

Dale happens to be quite the golfer :). He was also in charge of keeping score...He kept trying to cheat for me and gave me 3 holes in ones I did NOT actually earn. What a sweet sneaky guy :). It was a great night! Afterwards we hit up Arctic Circle for a Raspberry Cheesecake shake and found a movie at Redbox. What a great night with my handsome hubby :).

Getting antsy while waiting for our turn...the trees smelled wonderful though!













Getting ready for the game winning shot...or my 5th try making it in the hole :)













Dale, ready to work his golfing magic!

Date Night!

It seems that since we've gotten married, date night has kinda gone by the wayside...not every week, but it just doesn't happen as consistently as it used to. We're busy married people now :), and it seems that by the time Friday night rolls around we're not really up to planning. Solution? We've decided to take turns planning our dates. This week was my turn. I picked Dale up after work and took him to the Draper park with the beautiful Gazebo where he proposed to me. Luckily it was a beautiful day! We had a picnic dinner on the grass. I was a little worried we wouldn't be able to eat there because I had driven by earlier in the day and there was a wedding in progress. Luckily by the time we got there they had split. We were going to play Frizbee afterwards and then go miniature golfing at Mulligans, but the wind had picked up and by the time we finished eating we were done with being outside. We decided to go see "Bedtime Stories" at the dollar movies instead. I had lots of fun with my sweet hubby! I am loving this new plan :), especially because this week it's Dale's turn! Can't wait to see what he comes up with!!

Lovin' date night!













The lovely Gazebo where Dale proposed :)













Our delicious picnic dinner! I realize it just looks like a bunch of tupperware containers, but I assure you, it was tasty!

The Festival of Colors

Okay, so it's actually been a while since we went to The Festival of Colors, but I figure it's better a little late than never! It was a good experience once we got there, but the part I remember most is the horrifically long walk there and back! We parked miles away and walked 45 minutes to and from the Festival! Here's a bunch of pics from the event.

The Temple at the Festival of Colors













Standing above the action on the top of the Temple













Dale taking pics...













The view from the top of the temple...we didn't get there until almost the end, but it was crazy how much color was everywhere!


























Dale, looking handsome as always :)













Check out the craziness in the background!!













These last 2 pics are looking out over the grounds after everyone threw the colored chalk! Those white papers all over the ground are the chalk wrappers. Those people gathered around the front tent are rocking out to the Hindu band that was playing.

Parowan or Bust!

This weekend Dale and I once again took the long trek down to Parowan to visit my fam.

The P-Hill



I admit this is not the most exciting drive, even with a working radio and snacks, but this time we didn't even have Dale's funky music to keep us alert :). We have been without a car radio for a couple of weeks now. Our car wouldn't start one morning and we had to get it jump-started. Our stereo system has been out of commission ever since. This is nothing new...I thought fixing the stereo would just require a call to the dealership with our Vin #. For whatever reason, instead of making the call we've been trying to guess the code for weeks now...hoping we will miraculously hit the jackpot and type in the correct 5 digits...HA!!! We gave up on this ploy yesterday when we realized this 3 hour road trip was going to be the longest of our lives if we didn't get some tunes! I called the dealership, confident this was the answer to our problem, but they were not helpful AT ALL...both dealerships told us we would have to bring our car in. What a joke!! Instead, we endured the 3 hour trip by making up our own songs (Dale is a master at this :).

It was fun being home...it's crazy how much things have changed in our family this year- 3 marriages in 7 months, and now my little brother Jared is getting married in July! Wow!!!
My poor parents! We had a good time just hanging out, eating, and we even all went bowling (I am a terrible bowler!) I think the highlight of the trip for Dale was our walk through The Heritage Park...this is one of Parowan's claims to Fame. President Hinkley dedicated this park when I was 12 years old. Of course, it has now become the local "Make-out Point"...go figure.

Pics from our trip!!!

Breaking the Ground with Parley P. Pratt!













Dale, getting ready to shoot a cannon...













Dale sitting by the "Birth place of Southern Utah" sign.













Me squinting into the bright light...beautiful day!













Dale helping Parley...













The sign Dale found and took a picture of :)













Dale and I squinting...don't judge me because of my messy hair :). I just woke from a 3 hour nap before going to this park!













The sign telling about the Spanish Trail and how it went through Parowan :)

7 Needs of a Starved Marriage

Last night Dale and I spent our Friday Date Night at the church at a fireside entitled "The 7 Needs of a Starved Marriage". We absolutely loved it and wanted to share what we learned:

Men's roles: Provide, protect, and preside
Women's roles: Nurture

1. Safety- Couples must feel safe:
- emotionally
- financially
- spiritually
- physically
- Men have huge egos that can get in the way when they communicate
- Women have egos too but don't let their egos get in the way of communication
- Men bond by ACTION
- Women bond by COMMUNICATING (this is why we love to talk!). Talking makes women feel safe.

**Being a marriage counselor, he spent quite a bit of time on this first subject. He said the reason people fight is because NEEDS are not being met- we aren't feeling SAFE. Most people dance around the real issue and have a lot of "smokey" fights. Smokey fights are never about the real issue. For example, we might fight about a partner who spends too much money, but the real issue is we don't feel safe financially with our partner. Or we might fight about a partner who spends too much time working...the issue isn't actually about the work, but about emotional needs not being met- it's an emotional safety issue.

2. Trust: We must trust each other emotionally, physically, spiritually and financially. It's hard to love someone you don't trust.

3. Appreciation: Everyone feels appreciated differently. A great book to read as a couple is "The 5 Love Languages!"

4. Respect: Do you feel like a daughter of God and that he's a son of God?

5. Valid: Does your opinion feel validated?

6. Encourage: Do you feel encouraged by your partner?

7. Dedication: Long term dedication requires that we are dedicated to each other.

These are the 7 needs in a starved marriage, but what about the solution?

Solution: It seems like a no-brainer, and is much easier said than done, but Charity is your answer! Serve them! We MUST learn to be charitable to our partner.

How do you get charity? Service and prayer- He mentioned that we need to pray for ourselves and ask that we may see past our partner's faults.

At the end of the night he gave us a homework assignment (kindof a switch for me :)-

Cuddletime for 20 minutes every day for 3 weeks

Cuddletime rules:
1. No groping (this is a time to TALK with your partner :)
2. No griping (it's not a complaint session- just talk about you as a couple- not work, kids, etc.)

Dale and I loved his counsel and hope you can get something from it too!

The FHE of Death

I'm not usually the working out kinda gal...I prefer doing something crafty, experimenting with new recipes (yes, eating :) or watching CSI with Dale. Believe it or not, this hasn't always been the case. I used to run track in High School (I got sucked in by a very convincing and relentless Coach), and in College I even went to the gym fairly consistently. But those days have long since passed.

That is, until tonight when Dale and I had what I like to refer to as the "FHE of Death." Dale suggested we have a Physical Fitness FHE. He's been pretty good at keeping himself fit- He does his pushups and sit-ups pretty regularly, and then shows off his "lucky egg". No wonder he chose this activity...he's already a pro :). We got all ready in our workout gear (yes, that is Dale's tie he's wearing around his head as a headband in his pic), and then Dale started our training session.

He's pretty hard core. He even has a timer on his computer he uses to count down the minutes as we huffed, puffed and grunted our way into sore muscles. He had us doing pushups, sit-ups, and even leg throws until our legs and stomach muscles felt like jell-o. In all fairness, I've gotta admit that now that the torture is over I do feel good...not good enough to do it again anytime soon, but that "Workout High" is starting to kick in. So, I guess it was a successful FHE! Way to go my taskmaster hunny!