Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Tundra Meter



Latest on the Tundra Meter...





 He's bigger...



Bigger still....




Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Gettin' Our Natural History On




Sunday has rapidly become Derek and I's favorite day of the week. Especially now that we live in Salt Lake. It's the day that we do all the fun things we always talk about doing but never have the time. Sunday is often the only day Derek and I have off together so now we plan fun SLC things that we have been talking about for weeks. This week was the Natural History Museum up by the UofU. 

We brought Tundra and walked around the Bonneville shoreline for a bit first, and decided that we are going to watch Andrew Bird from the hill for free because we can't afford Red Butte Gardens. 


I seriously don't know why the face.....

The museum is actually pretty huge and awesome. It covered different stuff than the Dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point, which I didn't think it would be able to pull off.



Of course Derek's favorite part was the Early Humans section. He's right though, it is really fun to read about that them. Although I prefer looking at all of the pretty jewelry and baskets that they make.

Derek found this amusing





Last Minute Surfer



Just before Memorial weekend we received a request from Nate and his adorable pup, Panda. He had just been hired to be a field mentor at a wilderness therapy program in Huntington, Utah and he was looking for a ride share to get back to Portland, Maine to visit with his family before moving back here. 
I told him he could crash on our couch but we wouldn't be home till quite late because we were in Sandy. So we planned on calling him, until he text that he finally found someone. So we spent the weekend up in Sandy, Me at work, and Derek hiking with Cole. Then, yesterday while at work I got a text from him saying he had no luck finding a ride yet so he would like to stay with us. Again I had to say the same thing because we were going to Brady's Surprise B-Day Party in American Fork. 
He said that would be just fine because he would be sleeping under a tree otherwise. Apparently he was having trouble finding hosts that were okay with pets.  

Panda

 Unfortunately Derek and I both had to leave early this morning for work and Dugway, so we did not get to spend any time with Nate and Panda. And to make matters worse I had to leave them hanging on the door step today with nothing to do and nowhere to go. I told him to check out Liberty Park, so hopefully he will do that. Nate had been to Burning Man twice and highly recommended it to us. I have been wanting to go for sometime but Derek on the other hand is quite leery about the whole thing. So maybe the next time we see Nate it will be on our way to a crazy adventure.




Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Solar B-Day



Mr. Larry Jensen had a birthday last weekend that was more special than most. It wasn't because we drove to St. George to celebrate, or because we hiked Zion's National Park, or even because we stayed in the same hotel that his family has been staying in for all of their vacations for over ten years. It was because the moon decided to pass in between the sun and the earth on his birthday. 

This was the first time that any of us had seen an annular eclipse before. It was honestly one of the coolest things I've had the opportunity to see. 

Shirley was the one who planned this little birthday adventure. St. George was one of the best places in the country to watch this particular eclipse, so we thought we'd go down and get front row seats. 

We drove down Friday night after everyone struggled to get off work early. We headed straight through to Aunt Carol's shared place in St. George. We got settled in and headed out to dinner at Red Robin. Shara and I shared a burger and a bottomless root beer float. That's right... bottomless! So yum! Of course, Derek over did it with his bottomless fries and jalapeno rings. We rented "In Time" from red box and stayed up way too late. 

The next morning we got up and drove to Zions National Park. I hadn't been to Zions since the road trip we took to drop me off for school back in 2005. We drove through most of it but also did a couple hikes, including the emerald pools. We had to take the tour bus up to the lodge and my camera lens flew out of the window. We searched for it when we got back, but it's lost and gone forever. 
After Zions we drove to our hotel, which used to be a Holiday Inn but is now a Lexington. Fortunately, the name was the only thing that changed. The Jensen family has been going to this hotel for years and they would have been very sad if it weren't the same. There is an indoor/outdoor pool, a ping pong table and pool table, and they serve a giant, hot breakfast in the morning. 

Derek testing out the magnets 













Cactus flowers were in bloom










So after two human totem poles in the pool, three games of ping pong, and four showers, we went out to a birthday dinner at Los Pericos Mexican Restaurant. Larry was ambushed with a loud birthday greeting and fried ice cream. I don't think he minded much...


We went to bed early and woke up to a big, yummy breakfast. Derek needed some more comfy sandals for his sensitive feet, so we shopped around the outlet malls for a bit and got subway for lunch. 
With our trip being almost over, we headed over to Kolab Canyon and drove through a bit before all the crazy Eclipse watchers showed up. 

Love the red roads


We decided to try to watch the eclipse from Cedar City because Kolab was way too crowded. But on the way to Cedar we happened upon open spots along the road in Kanarraville. Which just so happens to be the best place in the country to watch this eclipse. It was so much fun just hanging out with all the other people watching. We had to share our glasses because a lot of people didn't have them and you can’t see anything without them. Even when eclipse was full, it was still too bright to look at. There was basically just a sunset type shadow that swept across the valley. 


We stopped at Wendy's for dinner, and I finally got to try the new sweet potato. It was actually a slight disappointment. Tiny and shriveled. We were pretty much in traffic the whole way home. 


The next morning I had to go to work while Derek picked up our little Tundra. I missed him so much. It was weird how worried I was about him and how much I thought about him and what he might be doing. Derek's friend, Napune watched him for the weekend. 


Friday, May 18, 2012

Our Star Gazing Extravaganza




Last Monday I came home to a very sweet surprise. I was expecting a normal, go to the gym, watch Breaking Bad, kind of Monday night. Instead Derek greeted me at the door with beautiful Tulips and asked me if I would go out with him. Of course I said yes! So Derek made me watch Bones on my phone in the bathroom while he shuffled around doing mysterious things in the main room. Finally he was ready to go with a pack on his back and Tundra on the leash. 

We hopped in the car and headed up towards the Capitol Building. When we reached our destination we were at Ensign Park, which is a very special place for Derek and I . When we first started dating we used to go there to stargaze with Tash and Felipe. Then, three years later, Derek purposed there. This was the first time we had been there since our engagement. 


Derek opened up his pack and pulled out blankets, a bottle of wine, fancy cheese, strawberries, a loaf of bread, Swiss chocolate, and hummus. We had a romantic little European adventure. Just sitting in the grass with our treats and hanging out reminded me so much of Paris. I want to live their so bad.
For now I will just have to make do with our little version of Europe.















One summer bucket list item down!


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Summer Musts



Thanks to a friend whose blog I sometimes read, Derek and I have decided to start a new tradition. Every summer we will create a Bucket List and make a point to do each of them before it gets cold. I won't put a serious expiration date on it cause that's just no fun. Then I'll replace each of these with a picture of us after we complete the event. Hopefully we can get them all. I am so excited!


Summer 2012 Bucket List

Timpanogos Cave
Have a BBQ at Liberty Park

Twilight Concert Series
Go to Six Flags
Go to Hot Pots
Make Sun Tea like Mom's

Carnival Cruise


Day time Skinny Dipping at Jordanelle

Town Days: Riverton Carnival
Go to a Rodeo
Capital Movie night: Muppets
Camping at the Grand Canyon
Our European Adventure Scavenger Hunt
The Da' Vinci Museum (Green Screen Exhibit)
Bring a Meal to the Homeless

Utah State Fair
 Star gazing at Ensign Peak
 Utah Pride Festival
Have a YES Day

Sleep somewhere Random: 
Funny thing about this.
 It happened in Dugway, which is a military base. 
No pictures allowed. 

Dance in the Street
California Trip
Watch the Sunrise
Go to Tracy Aviary
Buy Coffee for a Stranger
Do Karaoke
Jump into a Pool Fully Clothed
Camp with Occupy Salt Lake


Speed at the UMFH
 Natural History Museum