Now We Know ReNo

Derrick and I spent the weekend in Reno. And I must say, it was kind of a cool town. Here's what I liked...
1. The downtown was really very cool. I expected it to be like Vegas. Not at all.
2. The river running down town with the kayakers...AWESOME!
3. Scheeles. I wish we'd spent more time there.
4. Nice people. Very friendly.
5. The surrounding area...Tahoe, California, etc....
6. Nevada...no state tax. It's always nice to get to take home a little more paycheck.

And I wasn't so fond of....
1. Casinos and what comes with them. Yuck.
2. The drive home. So long, and SO blaaahhh.
3. The unemployment rate at a whopping 15%. It made me very sad.
4. The drive home (counts as two dislikes). It really was that bad. And I like home.

So that's it for Reno! I was expecting not great things and was quite pleasantly surprised. Thanks for the input in my previous post. And thanks mom, Shawn & Yuri, and Tyson and Mandi for taking the kiddos. I'm sure glad we didn't have them with us since the drive really was that bad!

Reno, Anyone?

For my whole life, I've noticed that everyone knows someone from Preston. It's just such a small world. And when we went to Spokanne a couple months ago, we discovered that several of our friends here in Pocatello have lived there in the past. So this weekend, Derrick and I are going to Reno, but I can't seem to find ANYONE who has lived there or even spent much time there. So, my friends, have any of you ever lived or even spent time in Reno? I mean, more time than a bathroom break on the way to Northern California. All that I've really heard is that it's in the mountains, close to Tahoe, WINDY (seriously, after Pocatello, do you think the wind could even phase us?), mini-Las Vegas (meaning casinose), and no state sales tax (can't hate that). But I would love to know more. So tell me all about it!

A Little Piece of Sunshine Goes a LONG Ways!

A couple of weeks ago (ya, a little behind on the blogging thing), we left our world of snow and freezing cold temperatures for a just a couple of days in sunny St. George. It was a great time, and the warmth and sunshine did wonders. We spent time exploring, shopping, swimming and hiking. On the way home, we detoured up to Zions and went for a nice hike up to some beautiful spring waterfalls. I just have one thing to say....Sunshine makes me HAPPY! Very, very happy.

The temple was purdy...I didn't actually get any pictures of the temple, but I got the cute kids in front of the temple. Does that count?

The hotel was great too. Nice rooms, fun swimming. What more could we ask for?

The local redrock hiking was so fun, so close, & so convenient.

And Zions was, as always, totally and unbelievably beautiful. We met a lot of people along the trail that had travelled across the country to enjoy such beauty. We're so lucky to have such amazing nature all around us! Sounds cheesy, I know, but seriously...it was beautiful.

...and nobody was happier than these two. They have already started planning their backpacking trips for this summer. This was just a small taste of the good stuff.

Oh Jordan!

I really did know that tomorrow is Jordan's birthday (referring to the post below). One little brother has a birthday on the 8th of March, and the other on the 18th, and I always get them mixed up in my brain. Maybe Derrick isn't the only one who is a complete goof! We're a perfect match I suppose.

Sooooo......Happy Birthday Jordan!

Tyson Tyson Tyson

Last night, Derrick had to call his elders quorum secretary to remind him of an early morning meeting on Sunday. His name is Tyson Harris. So he grabbed the phone and pulled up the caller ID and scrolled down to Tyson's name and hit dial. His wife answered, and Derrick left her a rather lengthy message to pass along to her husband about the Sunday morning meeting. He reminded her that it was going to be ward conference so the stake pres would be there, etc. etc. etc......

After a while she politely asked what in the heck he was talking about. It turns out, he had called Tyson Moser (my brother) and was talking to Mandi the whole time. She was so confused and taken back that she didn't even stop him, but just let him continue her ramblings. When she finally straightened him out and hung up, I'm thinking she probably peed her pants. That's just a guess though.

Derrick is a pretty smart fella, but boy, what a goof! And I love him for it.

Speaking of Tyson (the moser one)...HappyBirthday tomorrow!

Be Careful What You Wish For

Today, Skyler told me that he wished 'he could have straight hair' instead of all of those great curls that in my opinion, make Skyler...Skyler! So I told him to have a seat (since I can't really reach the top of his head very easily while he's standing). And just 10 minutes later....Whalaaaa! Straight hair! It'll only last until he showers (thank goodness), but for now...I am his very own Fairy Godmother, and his wish for the day came true. So here's the proof that Skyler had straight hair for a day, and only for a day....I hope. Now let's just hope that he doesn't wish for a mullet next!