Truck=stuck

Kind of a funny story to tell if you haven't heard it. It had been a while since Andrew and I had been on a date together and we wanted to try something a little bit different so we booked a sitter and decided to take our truck up Provo Canyon on a pretty wet day (May 13th if you remember) to site-see and maybe find some mud. Well, we took the road that forks East off of Squaw Peak Road and drove about 3 miles near Rock Canyon Campground. Although we were on a dirt road most of the way up, the dirt was pretty packed and the steep incline was no trouble. However, there was one spot were they had just re-cut the trail and the fresh dirt had turned into some very sticky mud. We should have got the hint seeing a truck just like ours parked to the left of the trail because when we started going down hill we tried to turn the wheel to the right and we slid left, we tried breaking and we slid left. Everything we did made us slide closer to the edge to the left of the road, even being in 4WD. After several attempts go reverse back up the hill or go to the right, we decided to abandon the truck and start walking.

I was somewhat dressed up in red pointed flats and I couldn't even lift my leg without them getting stuck in the mud and my foot coming out. We held hands and made it up the hill and started our assent down with no real plan in mind. It was me who decided to approach a bunch of guys target shooting to let them know what had happened and to see if they caught up with us to give us a ride. As it turns out, they were about through and we hopped in the car of two total strangers and got a lift to the Riverwoods Mall where we enjoyed carmel apples from Rocky Mountain Candy Co. and chips and salsa from Bajios. Wonderful Grandma Smith picked us up and we dropped her back off to borrow her car to get back home. We drove it back to her that night.

We hoped the next day would be dry and sunny so the mud would be easier to handle, but it turned out to be even wetter and more muddy. We decided to take the trip up with our Corolla and park it just below that spot to check on Champ and to see if we could get it moved. Trying to brainstorm, I wondered if Geico could offer "roadside assistance" and tow us out for free. After talking with them for 30 mins and explaining where we were (since we were off the map), they agreed to contract with Larry's Towing and send us their "offroad rescue vehicle" to get us out free of charge. That was all wonderful since Andrew's attempt at moving it was unsuccessful, but this time we had Kaili with us and we had a 90 minute wait with pouring rain outside and too much mud to even want to step foot outside. Well, we made it through, every single minute of the wait and eventually our rescue vehicle arrived to winch us out.

Two things we learned: We love Geico and Grandma and we will try to enjoy more simple dates in the future.

Meet Champ

I'm not sure what it is with us and the color champagne, but it's kinda weird.

Here's the Corolla I bought just before Andrew and I got married.


Here's the Chevy Malibu that's Andrew's had since college.


Now, meet Champ (pronounced shamp, as in champagne).




Because the Malibu is actually the Skeen family college car, we needed to give it up to his sister, a freshman at UNLV. Andrew and I both work in opposite directions so we knew we would need to get another car to replace the Malibu. We started looking at trucks halfway through our car search process. We looked at a few Tacomas and some F-150s and Andrew really wanted a CNG (natural gas) truck, but we settled on the 2004 Dodge Dakota with a V-8 engine. It was well below blue book, had a back seat, and drove nice so we went for it. It has more miles than we would have liked (112,000), but hopefully we'll be able to upgrade to Andrew's CNG F-150 in the near future :). We are excited about Champ and feel lucky to have him.

Going on 16...

Sunday Bike Ride

A couple of Sundays ago, we were feeling cooped up so we decided to take a bike trek. No real destination or distance in mind, but in the end we biked about 5 miles and made friends with sheep, goats, horses, turkeys, cows, and beavers! (I swear I saw one pop it's head up in the canal).

We don't have a bike trailer yet, but I LOVE watching Andrew pack Kaili on his bike rides. Often when Andrew gets home from work or while I'm making dinner he likes to take her on a ride. He started out just holding her with one arm on his lap, but for the longer trips, it works great with the baby front-pack. Check this out:

Provo 1/4 Marathon

I decided to try out being a runner this year. I really don't like running all that much (probably because I could never get past the out-of-shape grind), but I wanted something to work towards. After a few weeks the runs got easier and I could add on miles. I enjoyed having a routine and being able to get away a few times a week.

My first race was on May 1st. Luckily, I have a good friend who was willing to step up to the challenge with me. We teamed up and split the 1/2 marathon and had a blast. We actually did fairly well overall. I ran a 59 minute split and she ran just over an our, putting us in 6th overall for the relay division.

The bad parts about the race:
#1. I ran into my big fear during the race- a sidepain that lasted about 2 1/2 miles. I couldn't run comfortably and I had to stop every once in a while and walk a bit to try and kick it. I pushed through and eventually it got better, but oddly the only thing that was sore after the race was my abdomen area just below my ribs.

#2. The weather was TERRIBLE. Rain, wind, and hail almost the entire way. Andrew insisted he bring the bike so that he and Kaili could chase me, but after they started Kaili was pretty frozen, so they turned around.

I actually really enjoyed it and am looking forward to August 21st when I take on a half marathon in Springville!

Easter Egg Hunt!

For Easter Weekend we had the Gadd's over with their baby boy who is just one week younger than Kaili. Jamie was my mission companion and BYU roommate and we get to see each other every once in a while. We thought it would be fun to send Kaili and Kale on their first easter egg hunt together. It took them a second to figure it out, but once Kaili figured out that she didn't have to carry all the eggs in her hands and that there was candy in each of the eggs, she had a heyday. I'm pretty sure Easter baskets and plastic eggs are her new favorite toys.

Kaili and Kale hashing it out!






This is where it gets messy!




New favorite toys!

Our Little Mess Maker

So I was looking through my pictures to decide where to start up again, and I compiled more than enough evidence to update you on my daughter's personality. So there are some people who are blessed to have a child that will sit on their lap for more than 5 minutes, or who will play daintily in one spot with one or two toys, but I feel lucky to have a daughter with a personality that is far from that. I like to think of her as my little Wall-E. It is not uncommon to find my mascara in the laundry room, a spatula in our bedroom, or my mail mixed in with her toys. She has to have something in both hands most of the time, and almost all the time she is on the hunt for something new and interesting -- It definitely makes church and grocery shopping very interesting, believe me. I snapped a couple of shots over the past few weeks that should give you a better idea of who our little girl is. Kaili's taught us that a computer mouse can be a phone, a guitar stand makes a great seat, and a bowl is an excellent hat. We love you Kaili!