Happy Huntsman

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

2011-12-14T11:38:00.001-07:00

Blessing Day

2011-06-15T09:55:00.002-06:00

We blessed Mason on June 5, 2011. We had lots of family & friends come support us. Brad did such a amazing job. I'm so glad to have a worthy priesthood in my home that we can call upon when we need.

Blessing Day - picture slideshow

Mason's First Photo Shoot

2011-06-15T09:48:00.001-06:00

My good friend Dezi lives in Lyman, WY. We were headed to Rock Springs to a party and decided to stop and visit and take some pictures. She did a really amazing job and got some good pictures. Mason was only 2 weeks old and was great the whole time (well except for the last 10 minutes or so). Thanks again Dezi!!!

Mason's First Photo Shoot - picture slideshow

Coming Home

2011-06-15T09:31:00.001-06:00

Here are a few random pictures of life at home.

Coming Home - picture slideshow

Mason Ronald Huntsman

2011-06-15T09:28:00.002-06:00

Mason was born on April 27, 2011 at 10:51 pm. He weight 6 lbs 13 ounces and was 21 inches long. He is 7 weeks old today. I can't believe how fast time has gone.

I was in labor for 15 hours and then had to have a c-section. He had the cord wrapped around his neck and his hand on his forehead, so he wasn't coming on his own.

Here are some pictures from the hospital.

hospital - picture slideshow

Baby's Room

2011-04-16T20:15:00.002-06:00

The cute bear and moose we are going to hang up as a border.

Amazing book shelf Brad's grandpa made for us

One of the corners

Changing table and dresser

Crib and baby Mason's name

We are all ready for baby Mason to come home and can't wait for it. We only have 9 days left so we will keep you posted as the week goes on.

pass this on to people please

2011-02-19T21:49:00.000-07:00

download from itunes

And then there was a baby bump....

2011-02-16T07:30:00.002-07:00

I thought that I would upload a picture of my cute big baby bump. I feel like I have doubled in size over the last few weeks. I've had a really good pregnancy and I don't have much to complain about. I passed my glucose sugar test on the first try so that made me really happy. It's been great. We have 10 weeks left. I can't believe how fast it has gone.

It's gonna be a boy!

2010-12-14T08:09:00.004-07:00

We're having a baby boy in April! We're so freaking excited! I (brad) and more excited that I was right than I was about the outcome of the ultrasound. As a husband I only get to be right once in a while. HAHA. We are working on picking a name but are open to some suggestions. Let's hear your name choices for little baby boy huntsman.

Mama's Boy

2010-10-20T00:01:00.002-06:00

Just decided to post my Mama's Boy song. I love my mom and I wrote this song about her and to all of the wonderful mothers in the world.

Mama's Boy

Bradford Huntsman on iLike - Get updates inside iTunes

We're Having a Baby!

2010-10-03T00:36:00.001-06:00

I'm so excited to announce that we are having a baby in April. We have waited so long for this and neither Rachael nor I can wait for it. We'll keep it updated when we know more.

House Update

2010-03-01T12:57:00.006-07:00

Last week, we found out that we were not going to close on our house before the end of the month. We quickly found a storage unit and started moving stuff in there. We had to file an extension because our lender is an idiot and didn't get his stuff together very quickly. Last Wednesday, we moved all of our "big stuff" out and little by little the rest of our stuff. I forgot how much "stuff" we have until we moved...and boy do we have a lot. My (Rachael) sister Lisa, came up for Friday and Saturday and helped me clean. Also, we had some very nice ladies from our ward come on Saturday morning and help us finish cleaning. So thanks to everyone's help we were able to be done on Saturday night. It looked so clean, cleaner than it was when we moved in.

This morning (Monday) we had our move out inspection with the apartment. It went really well. I have been stressing over for a while. Chena chewed about 2 inches off the bottom of the door and we lost a 5 gallon jug of liquid soap on the carpet, so I was pretty sure we would have to pay. But she was very nice, down to earth and completely understood. I was so grateful for that...we even get money back. Hip Hip Hooray! Something I didn't think would ever happen.

We are having our house walk through tomorrow. We are waiting on GBS (Government Bidding Service) to finish with those papers and we can close. We are scheduled to close on Thursday @ 3 pm. Since it is a bank owned home, we have to wait for it to be fully funded before we can have our keys, which we are hoping in Friday! So everything pray for things to go smoothly. We are hoping to have a big moving party on Saturday.

We are so excited to get into our home. I'm very thankful for a Father in Heaven, who looks out for us and is aware of our needs. We have been so blessed through this whole process. Even though we have had some struggles, I know he is there for us and is watching over us.

Happy Anniversary Babe

2010-02-08T08:30:00.002-07:00

Rach and I have been married for 2 years today. These have been the best 2 years of my life. I love Rachael so much. On Saturday we went snowmachining and I had never driven a snowmachine. She trusts me enough to sit on back while I drive like a madman. What a great wife! She gives me the inspiration to try to become a better man. She is my everything. I LOVE YOU RACHAEL!!!!!!!!!!!

New Blog

2010-01-27T11:32:00.002-07:00

I have created a Pampered Chef blog so I don't have to use this one for business. Check it out today....rachpampchef.blogspot.com. I have January's guest special posted so let me know if you want me to order something for you!

We are buying a house

2010-01-12T15:48:00.003-07:00

We just had our offer accepted to buy a house. We should close by the end of February. Pictures will soon follow. It's a 3 bed 2 bath home. 2 car garage, 1700 sq feet, fenced yard.... oh and rach's favorite; the marble jetted tub. for pictures follow this link. It's a blog we started when we did a biggest loser contest... don't worry about our self-esteem... haha.. www.proudtobelosers.blogspot.com

Update

2010-01-10T19:22:00.002-07:00

Wow! Where has all the time gone. The holidays have come and gone and we haven't blogged about anything.

We spend Thanksgiving at my parent house in Soda Springs with 75 other family members. It was so much fun to get together and eat good food. We had a blast.

For Christmas, we were able to go Rock Springs to spend time the Brad's family. All three of his sisters and their families were there. His sister, Michelle, had a baby on Nov 3o so we were able to meet him, have him blessed and spend time with the family.

For New Years, my sister Lisa and her friend came up and we played Wii games & had some really good food. They bought up Guitar Hero and we rocked all night long. I've found a new favorite game for the Wii.

Brad has his gallbladder out on Jan 4 and is recovering very nicely from that. His parents came up this weekend and were able to spend some time with us.

We have decided to stay in the Idaho Falls area for a long time and have started to look for a house. We have found a few good ones. So we will keep you posted when we have found the one. It has been very educational and a lot to take in but we are loving it and know the right one is just around the corner.

Other than that, we have been busy working and spending time together. It seems like we have been really busy but I'm not sure doing what.

Hope everyone had a great holiday season and is having a great New Year!

Black Friday Sale -- November 27

2009-11-24T22:58:00.011-07:00

BLACK FRIDAY SALE -- Friday November 27 starting @ 7 am

Don’t miss the Black Friday Shopping Sale!!!!

Call between 7 am and 8 am & receive a 20% discount
Call between 8 am and 9 am & receive a 15% discount
Call between 10 am and 11 am & receive a 10% discount

Call after 11 am & receive 5% discount

If I do not get to your call, please your name, number & time you called. I WILL CALL YOU BACK

If you would like direct shipping, we can do that for a little extra .

I can ship anywhere in the US and guarantee Christmas delivery.

I take Visa, MC, Discover, American Express.

Cannot make the Black Friday sale, our last date for orders to receive shipping in time for Christmas is December 15th, so please have all orders and payment to me by December 13th to ensure processing. Need last minute gift ideas...check out my website http://www.pamperedchef.biz/rachaelh to view the catalog and get great gift giving ideas.

Call me at 208-520-2408

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU & YOURS

Help Whip Cancer with Pampered Chef

2009-10-15T11:09:00.005-06:00

Limited-edition pink products for Help Whip Cancer available only for the month of October! Every purchase you make on our limited-edition pink products in October,The Pampered Chef donates $1 to the American Cancer Society.

Check out my website for more info and the products available. www.pamperedchef.biz/rachaelh

Happy Birthday Brad

2009-10-11T17:42:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow is my honey's birthday. I'm wanted to wish him a happy birthday and tell him how thankful I am to have him in my life. I sure don't know where I would be without him.

There are so many reasons why I ♥ him.....here are some of my favorite.

1. He is a worthy priesthood holder & is able to take me to the temple often

2. The amazing example he is to me

3. The way he looks at me and still gives me butterflies

4. The cute little boy smile he gets on his face when something makes him happy (usually BYU football, when they are winning :) )

5. The way he takes care of me and assure him that everything is going to be okay, when I'm pretty sure they are not

6. The cute little love notes he leaves me

7. He is a fabulous chef & grill master

8. His ♥ for knowledge & learning and always wanting to make himself better

9. His hard work & dedication for everything he does

10 A. The way he lives his life through the gospel

10 B. Most of all for being there for me all the time, for being a great shoulder to cry on & a strong rock to reply on.

I'm so glad I married him. I'm also thankful for Vaughn & Elaine for raising an amazing man, for teaching him what is right.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRADFORD! I LOVE YOU

Weekend for Birthday Fun

2009-10-04T21:27:00.009-06:00

We just got back from an fun early birthday weekend in Salt Lake. We were there from Friday morning to Sunday evening.

Friday, when we got into Salt Lake, we went to Joe Morley's with some friends to eat lunch. It was delicious BBQ. One of my best friends, Miranda & her husband Mano & daughter Sami, flew in from Hawaii to visit her parents in Sandy and we were able to spend some time with them. After lunch, the girls went to go get "pedicures". Brad's birthday is on the 12th and I wanted to do something fun for it. I got us a room at the Holiday Inn Express in Sandy, UT. The girls went with me to help decorate the room while Brad went to get a haircut. I got him this yummy fruit arrangement from Edible Arrangements. It was so good. It came in a football. I also made him a BYU blanket for the game to help keep us warm. Thanks Deanna for all your help...I couldn't have done it without you :)

That night, we went to the BYU vs Utah State football game in Provo. We went with Miranda & Mano to the game. It was a great game and they won. It wasn't as cold as I thought it would be. It had snowed earlier in the week so I was really afraid we were going to freeze.

Saturday we went and ate lunch with some friends. We went to Tucanos in Provo Canyon.

It was delicious as always....thanks Felt's.

After lunch, Brad went with his dad shopping and I went with his mom & sister's shopping at Ikea. It was a very successful trip. Elaine (Brad's mom) bought us a dinning set for his birthday & an early Christmas present from there. So I bought some chair cushions & a nice rug to go in our kitchen.

It is an awesome table that has two leaves that pull out so you can have it small or big. It's great. We have some other tables & a bookshelf from Ikea and now they all match. I bought some red cushions to go with. They look really good, if I can say that.

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Thanks again Vaughn & Elaine :)

That night we went to Mapleton, to his Grandpa's house. Brad and him have the same birthday and they are turning opposites this year. Grandpa will be 92 & Brad will be 29. We had delicious pumpkin pie & pumpkin dessert.

Sunday, we had breakfast with some good friends, watched the first session of Sunday morning conference and drove home.

A big thank you also goes to my parents & Lisa for watching Chena for us while we play. She loves it there!

It was a such a great weekend...Thanks to all that made it memorable. Enjoy some random pictures from the weekend.

Look what we have grown!

2009-09-07T10:00:00.004-06:00

Our veggie pots have done a lot better than I thought they would. This morning, this is what Brad picked from our little garden. They will be delicious I'm sure.

Check out my website

2009-09-04T18:49:00.004-06:00

Hey Everyone-

Check out my new Pampered Chef website. www.pamperedchef.biz/rachaelh

You can order right from my website and it goes right to your front door. Check out our new Fall/Winter Catalog for our new products. I'm adding a little incentive for you to book a party in September or October. If you host a party & the party sales are over $150, you will earn an extra $10 in FREE product!!!

Remember that the holidays are just around the corner and Pampered Chef makes a great holiday gift.

HAPPY SHOPPING

WOW! Where did the time go?

2009-09-01T22:50:00.003-06:00

Time sure has flown by....It has been over a month since we have updated. We have had a lot going on.

Brad's Grandma passed away the end of July so we headed up to Boise for a funeral. It was really nice. I didn't know her very well so it was great to hear all the stories & memories that were shared.

The first week in August was the Bonneville County Fair. I was involved with that through my job. It was great and we had a such a fun week. I learned a ton.

August was a very busy month for me with Pampered Chef. I was in my first month and had lots to do to get it going. It was great and I had some really fun shows. I got off to a great start. Thank you to all who helped me out.

Telford & Sadie got married on August 29, 2009 in the Logan LDS Temple. It was so nice to be able to be in the temple with them on their special day. We had a luncheon at my parents house in Soda Springs that afternoon. We ate dutch oven chicken & potatoes, corn on the cob, homemade root beer, and creamies. It was a very delicious meal. Thanks Mom, Dad & Spence. That night we had a reception at the Rock House. They did a beautiful job decorating. It was an amazing day...thanks to everyone that made it so special for them.

Happy Birthday to my wife

2009-08-02T18:20:00.001-06:00

Today is Rach's B-day. She's the big 27. I love her so much and am so happy she is in my life. We had a wonderful party with her family today and some scrumptious food was partaken of. We will post some pics later. LOVE YOU RACHY RACH.

It's Official

2009-07-21T10:52:00.004-06:00

That's right...I'M NOW A PAMPERED CHEF CONSULTANT. If you would like to have a party and get some free things let me know. If you just want to have a catalog party, I can do that to. Or if you just want to order something, I can also do that. I travel too, so I would be more than happy to come to your house if you don't live in Idaho Falls.

LOOK AT YOUR CALENDARS & LET'S HAVE A PARTY!

Myers Family Reunion

2009-07-19T17:34:00.006-06:00

Yes, it is that time again for family reunions. The Myers Family Reunion was held in my parents backyard in Soda Springs. We had lots of fun. We did all sorts of things: eating good food, having birthday cake & ice cream, sleeping, lots of boat rides, swimming in really gross green water, more good food, volleyball, helping the little ones make cardboard cars to go to the "Drive-In", watching the movie Cars, eating popcorn, sleeping, eating zuccinni bread (yummy), more boat rides, washer toss game, guessing number of candies in a jar, amazing dutch oven chicken and potatoes for lunch, lots & lots laughs, and last but not least, making memories with the ones we love. I haven't seen some members of my family for quite some time and it was nice to get together. Thanks everyone that came & made our reunion amazing!

Fun in Rock Springs

2009-07-18T22:04:00.008-06:00

We were able to go to Brad's parents house in Rock Springs, WY for a few days. Brad & his dad, Vaughn had planned a fishing trip to Tomahawk Lake in the Wind Rivers.

We got to Rock Springs late Tuesday (14th) night. They got up Wednesday morning at 6am and headed out fishing. They had to drive a few hours and then hike in about 5 miles. They came back later that night with great sucess. They were able to find lots of fish to catch. Needless to say, they were sore, sunburned, mosquito bitten, and tired. Here are a few pictures:

While the boys were out fishing, I stayed home with Elaine (Brad's mom) and helped out with the kids. She runs a day care business in her home. We took the kids to story time at the library and to the movie The Tale of Despereaux. It was fun and the kids enjoyed the movie. After all the kids were gone, Elaine, Lisa (Brad's sister) and I went out to eat and shopping. We found a few exciting things.

Chena got to play with all the day care kids and they loved her. She was there little doll for a few days. Elaine has some play houses in the back yard and they would put her in the house &"play house". They actually had a real dog to "play house" with. She was cute.

Thursday moring, Brad & Vaughn got up early to go golfing. They had a great time. We spent the rest of the morning just hanging around the house.

Over the weekend, Brad lost his grandma (Vaughn's mother). She has been sick for a while and it is good that she is not suffering anymore. We know she is in a better place, with her Heavenly Father & others that have passed. We will be heading to Boise next weekend for a funeral. Our hearts, prayers & thoughts are with the whole Huntsman family for their loss at this time.

Thank you Elaine, Lisa & Vaughn for a great time in Rock Springs! We ♥ you guys

Happy Birthday Mom

2009-07-18T21:51:00.004-06:00

My (Rachael) amazing mom turned 50th on July 13th. She was able to spend her birthday hiking, enjoying the outdoors and time with friends. She is such a great example to me. We love and appreciate all she does for us. THANK YOU MOM FOR BEING WHO YOU ARE!

Not her best picture, but I love to see her relax, because it doesn't happen very often

My Mom and Dad @ my Dad's Scout Award Ceremony

4th of July

2009-07-06T15:40:00.002-06:00

We had a fabulous weekend with our families. Brad was able to get some time off and it was so nice to have him around. BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE PICTURES BELOW.

On Wednesday, we went down to Soda Springs and stayed the night with my family.

On Thursday, Brad, Chena, my sister Lisa, and I went to Bear Lake to swim. Chena loved it and enjoyed swimming around. It was fun to watch her play around. It was such a nice day to be there. We even got a little sun burned. We packed a lunch and ate it on the beach. Thursday afternoon, Brad's parents, his sister Kellee and her family, sister Michelle and her family, sister Lisa and Brad & I went and stayed the weekend in Lava Hot Springs in a yurt. It was so nice. It had 5 queen beds, 2 couches, TV, microwave and fridge. Brad & I brought our tent to sleep in since we had Chena to take care of.

On Friday, we spent most of the day at the pool in Lava. We rode the slides, jumped off the high drives, got some sun, ate some good snacks and swam, swam, & swam. I hadn't been to Lava since I was little so it was fun to go back. They have done so much to improve that place. We paid a little extra and got wrist bands so we could get into the hot pools that night. We went back to camp and Dennis (Kellee's husband) made us a great dutch oven chicken and potato dinner. Then we played some games, roasted some marshmallows and went to bed. It had rained really bad and our tent leaked. My sleeping bag and mat were soaked. So we ended up going to Soda Springs to stay the night.

Bright and early Saturday morning, we ran a 5K (3.1 miles). We had done a little training but not as much as we should have. I had a really hard time. Soda has a lot more hills than I thought. I started running and immediately my side started to cramp. So needless to say, I walked more than I wanted to but I finished and that's all I wanted to do. Brad did really good!! He ran it in 42 minutes. He wanted to beat his sister Lisa and he did by 4 seconds. But his Dad, Vaughn, ran it in 37 minutes. He's amazing! After the race, we watched the parade, walked around city park, saw some old friends, the kids played some games, and ate some good food. The boys then went golfing and the girls went back to Lava to take a nap. That night we ate some more good food and roasted more marshmallows. We stayed in Lava for the fireworks. We were about to take our chairs out to the edge of our camp spot and sit & watch them. Elaine & Michelle got us some glow in the dark braclets and sparklers. I ♥ sparklers & fireworks.

It was so nice to be able to spend some time with his family. We were all able to be there. Thanks again, Vaughn & Elaine for all you do for us....we love you!

Hope everyone else had a great 4th!

FUN IN THE RAIN

2009-06-27T14:02:00.008-06:00

YESTERDAY WAS A GREAT DAY! WE HAD SO MUCH FUN. ON OUR WAY BACK FROM SODA SPRINGS, WE HAD TO STOP IN POCATELLO AND DROP OFF THOSE SILLY LIFE JACKETS AND OARS @ THE ISU OUTDOOR CENTER. IT STARTED TO HAIL AND RAIN LIKE CRAZY AS WE GOT INTO POKY. THERE WAS ABOUT 6 INCHES OF STANDING RAIN AND THE PUDDLES WERE HUGE.

SO WE GOT CLOSER TO IDAHO FALLS, IT STARTED TO CLEAR UP. WHEN WE GOT TO IDAHO FALLS, WE DECIDED WE WOULD GO HIT SOME BALLS AT THE DRIVING RANGE. BY THE TIME WE GOT THERE, THE CLOUDS HAD MOVED IN AND IT STARTED TO RAIN & HAIL AGAIN. WE WERE STUCK AT THE GOLF COURSE UNTIL IT CLEARED UP A LITTLE.

AFTER ALL THAT RAIN, THE FRONT OF OUR APARTMENT COMPLEX LAWN WAS FLOODED. WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH CHENA TO GET HER IN THE WATER. SHE IS GETTING MUCH BETTER. SHE LOVED IT. WE HAD A FUN 45 MINUTES PLAYING IN THE PUDDLE.

JUNE HAPPENINGS

2009-06-27T12:44:00.010-06:00

JUNE STARTED OUT WITH BLITZ WEEK AT THE EXTENSION OFFICE. IT WAS JUNE 8-12, A WEEK LONG SEWING AND COOKING DAY CAMPS FOR ABOUT 75 4H KIDS. THEY MADE QUICK BREADS, HURRY UP MEALS, ZIPPERED HOODIES AND PJ PANTS. ON FRIDAY, JUNE 12, WE HAD A FASHION SHOW FOR THE THE KIDS THAT HAD MADE A SEWING PROJECT THEY WANTED TO MODEL. THEY WERE SO CUTE AND THEIR PROJECTS TURNED OUT SO NICE.

JUNE 16, MY BOSS, DEANNA AND I WENT TO THE CANNERY TO CAN 108 #10 CANS OF AIR. WE MADE TIN CAN STOVES @ 4H CAMP. I HAD NEVER BEEN TO THE CANNERY AND IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. IT WENT SO QUICKLY AND WE WERE IN & OUT IN NO TIME. WE WILL DEFINATELY BE BACK FOR SOME CANNING FUN.

JUNE 17-19 WAS 4H CAMP IN ALPINE, WY. WE WENT WITH BANNOCK (POCATELLO) COUNTY. WE HAD ABOUT 92 KIDS & 20 ADULTS. I HAVEN'T BEEN TO 4H CAMP SINCE I WAS A TEENAGER AND I WAS SO EXCITED TO GET TO GO BACK. IT LOOKED THE SAME. REALLY NOTHING HAD CHANGED.

ON THURSDAY, WE SPENT MOST OF THE DAY IN WORKSHOPS. WE HAD TIN FOIL COOKING, TIN CANS STOVES, RIFLE & ARCHERY, AND A HIKE WITH ICE CREAM. I HELPED WITH TIN FOIL COOKING. IT WAS A LOT HARDER THAN I THOUGHT. THEY DIDN'T TURN OUT VERY WELL, THEY WERE BURNT ON ONE SIDE AND RAW ON THE OTHER. BUT THE KIDS LIKED THEM AND DIDN'T COMPLAIN.

THAT NIGHT WE HAD A DANCE. WE JUST GOT AN AMAZING SOUND SYSTEM AT WORK AND DEANNA & I WERE THE BEST DJ'S EVER. THE KIDS HAD A BLAST AND ONLY A FEW OF MY SONG THEY DIDN'T LIKE. AFTER ALL THOSE HOURS, I WAS ABLE TO TAKE MOST OF LAST WEEK OFF. I ♥ MY JOB!!!!

ON MONDAY, JUNE 22, MY SISTER LISA CAME TO IDAHO FALLS TO PICK CHENA & I UP FOR AN ADVENTURE (LITTLE DID WE KNOW WHAT WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN). WE WERE DROPPING OFF SOME LIFE JACKETS AND OARS FOR MY PARENTS & OTHER TO USE AT CEDAR BADGE. WE WERE SUPPOSE TO MEET ANOTHER COUPLE IN ALPINE, WY TO DROP OFF THE STUFF. WE GOT TO ALPINE ABOUT 8 PM. AFTER 3 1/2 HRS OF DRIVING AROUND LOOKING FOR THEM AND MAKING A TON OF PHONE CALLS, WE LEARED THEY WERE NOT STAYING IN ALPINE THAT NIGHT. FRUSTRATED & UPSET, WE LEFT THEM AT THE PARENTS TRUCK. THEY HAD HIKED UP TO LOWER PALISADES LAKE AND LEFT THE TRUCK IN THE PARKING LOT. AFTER WE DROPPED THEM OFF @ 11:30 PM, WE WENT BACK TO SODA SPRINGS FOR THE NIGHT. CHENA WAS GOING TO STAY WITH LISA FOR THE WEEK WHILE BRAD & I WERE IN SLC.

ON TUESDAY, JUNE 23, BRAD & I LEFT FOR SLC. BRAD HAD WORK TRAINING FOR A FEW DAYS. TUESDAY AFTERNOON, WE WENT TO SPANISH OAKS GOLF COURSE TO DO A LITTLE GOLFING. I'M THE BEST GOLF CART DRIVER EVER. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN TO DRIVE BRAD AROUND. HERE ARE FEW PICTURES.

AFTER WE WENT GOLFING, WE STOPPED BY GRANDPA BRADFORD'S HOUSE TO PICK UP ON ORGAN HE GOT FOR BRAD. IT IS BALDWIN FUN MACHINE. HE HAS ALREADY STARTED TO PLAY IT.

ON WEDNESDAY, WE WENT TO THE THE OQUIRRH MOUNTAIN TEMPLE WITH DAVE & MIQUELYN. THEY LIVE RIGHT BY THE TEMPLE. THERE IS SUCH A WONDERFUL FEELING INSIDE THE TEMPLES. I ♥ GOING THERE. I FORGOT MY CAMERA, SO I COPIED THIS PICTURE FROM LDS.ORG

ON THURSDAY, WE WENT BACK TO SODA SPRINGS TO PICK UP CHENA. BRAD LOVES A NEW ADVENTURE SO WE TOOK THE SCENIC ROUTE HOME. WE STOPPED IN LOGAN FOR DINNER @ CENTER STREET GRILL. I ♥ THAT PLACE! THEY HAVE THE BEST WRAPS EVER! THEN WE DROVE THROUGH LOGAN CANYON AND THROUGH BEAR LAKE. IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL THAT DAY/NIGHT. WE STOPPED IN GARDEN CITY FOR THOSE FAMOUS RASPBERRY SHAKES. THEY WERE DELICIOUS!!!

Fishing

2009-06-16T21:13:00.006-06:00

We have been doing some fishing lately and have taken some good pictures. I am also a proud owner of the Ugly Stick fishing pole. It works really great. I haven't caught anything with it yet, but I will. We went fishing at Palisades Dam on Saturday and had a great time. Chena loved playing in the water. She ran circles with her mouth open. It was cute, so we took a little video.

Chena hiding in the weeds

The lake we were fishing on

On our way home, we came around a corner and saw some deer on the road. We pulled over and saw a baby deer about 20 ft off the road. We got out and took some pictures. The deer was probably born the day before. It was still in a ball and wasn't walking.

Brad had today off and I had to work so he took Chena and went fishing. They went to lots of different places but didn't have any luck. He took some good pictures so here are a few.

Summer Time Fun

2009-05-30T20:08:00.005-06:00

I haven't written on here in a while and it's about time I do. Rach and I have been loving the weather lately. It's been in the 70's and even 80's a couple days. So we have started to do some fun summer activities. We started grillin' outside almost every night. Food on the grill just tastes so much better to me. My new favorite is grilled asparagus. It's really easy, just take about 15 spears and place them in a ziploc bag. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil, and some sea salt. Shake it around for a few minutes and grill 'em for about 2 minutes per side. I like 'em a little crispy.

We also decided to see how green our thumbs are, so we've planted some veggies on the back patio. Living in an apartment doesn't make it so easy, so we just bought some potting plants and some miracle grow soil. We've got some onions, peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes. I love veggies and we'll see if we can get Rach loving them too. Also Rach forgot to mention part of our workout; On Memorial Day we went with Rach's parents to Lower Palisade's lake, around Swan Valley, Idaho. We thought we were in for a 3.5 mile hike, nothing right?? But we got there and it was 4.4 miles each way. So we walked nearly 9 miles that day, up and down hills, through muddy trails, and some parts completely flooded over. Wouldn't ya know we forgot the camera in the car. We'll there's always next time. Hope you all are taking advantage of this beautiful green earth and the summer weather that we are being blessed with.

A New Commitment to Ourselves!

2009-05-28T17:22:00.007-06:00

This is for all of you that are feeling really FAT this time of year.

I have been able to get away with wearing hoodies, long sleeve shirts, sweater and jeans all winter but now it is summer, I ready to bust out the capri's, shorts and shorter sleeve shirts. A couple of weeks ago, I went to put on my jean capri's and they didn't fit...not even close. My clothes are feeling a little tighter & nothing seems to fit anymore.

I'VE HAD ENOUGH!!!

Brad & I are running a 5K (3 mile) race in July so we have started to train a little bit. I have been getting in a little more exercise but I need more. We have only been jogging a day or two a week, but this morning while we were out, we decided enough is enough. It was such a beautiful morning. We are running around the "green belt" in Idaho Falls that goes passed the temple and the falls, that is a 3 mile loop. It was so nice to be out @ 8 am in the beautiful sunshine. It was so nice to run pass the temple, the falls and the beautiful park we have. Chena loves it too! She was chasing all the little gosslings, geese and ducks around and into the water. I think she would have dove in after them if Brad would have let her. I came home this morning feeling so good & thought why don't we do this every morning.

SO HERE'S TO US. WE ARE RECOMMITTING OURSELVES TO GETTING MORE EXCERISE, LOSING WEIGHT & JUST FEELING GREAT!!!

Las Vegas

2009-05-11T21:21:00.007-06:00

Over the weekend, Brad & I went to Las Vegas to my sister, Lisa, gradutation from UNLV (University of Nevada Las Vegas). She graduated with a Masters in Social Work. We are so proud of her, getting a Masters is such an accomplishment. We had a such a fun time. We were all able to be there as a family. We picked up Tauna & Dustin in Pocatello on our way down and we rode together. Mom, Dad & Telford came down together on Friday. We did some fun things while we were there.

We went to the Aquarium at the Silverton and saw some cool fish, sting rays and jelly fish.

While we were at the Silverton, we went into Bass Pro Shop. Tauna, Lisa & I found these way cool hats and wanted to take them home but we decided not to.

Saturday morning, we went to graduation. It was at the Thomas & Mack Center on campus. It was about 3 hours long but it went pretty quick. I bet there was about 1,000 kids graduating. Here is a picture of the family after graduation (minus Telford, he was there but left early to enjoy the sunshine and go dirt biking).

After graduation, we walked around the strip and then went back to the pool to enjoy the sunshine. That night, we went to Cheeseburger in Paradise (my favorite Hawaiian restaurant) and ate some good burgers. I ♥ that place. After the amazing dinner, we went the Fast Lap and raced go - karts. It was so much fun. I had never race go karts and we had a good time. Telford, his friend AJ, my dad, and Lisa were fasting laps around us. They are really good.

We drove back to Soda Springs on Sunday night for a little more family time. On Monday, we drove to Pocatello to have lunch with Tauna & Dustin. It was Dustin's birthday. We grilled up some really AMAZING steaks and played some Guitar Hero.

A big, big thank you goes to Vaughn, Elaine, Lisa, Michelle & Kobe for taking care of Chena while we were gone and letting her stay at your house. Thank you so much!

It was a great vacation but we are so glad to be back home!

Sewing Machine

2009-04-18T11:42:00.002-06:00

I am working at the county extension office and we had a lady donated her sewing machine, 3 large trash bags of fabric, couple shoe boxes of button, zippers, lace and everything else you could think of. The sewing machine is a Bernina 800. I think it was made in the 70's. Anywho, my wonderful co-workers decided that I needed to have it.

SO I GOT AN AMAZING BERNINA SEWING MACHINE FOR FREE!!!

It is in great condition. She has taken really good care of it. I have been talking to my co-workers about my sudden desire to sew, so THANK YOU SO MUCH ANDI & DEB for letting me give it a good home! I'm so excited to start sewing again.

Shredder

2009-04-18T11:32:00.004-06:00

This is why you shouldn't give your dog this.....

It ends up like this!

Thankful for Families

2009-04-14T13:54:00.014-06:00

Brad & I had such a great week/weekend with our families. I was so excited to spend time with both of them.

Brad's family came down on Wednesday night and stayed the night with us. They were here until Saturday afternoon. It was fun to have them there. We ate good food, colored Easter eggs, laughed, packed, cleaned, golfed, shopped, swam and had a good time. They came up for his sister Lisa's graduation. She graduated from BYU-Idaho with a Bachelors degree in Communications. We are so proud of her!!!

On Saturday afternoon, we went to my parents house in Soda Springs. My sister, Lisa and brother Telford were both home too! We also ate good food, laughed, colored Easter eggs, went on a walk to the geyser and had such a good time. We were there until Monday afternoon.

While we were at home, I made a quilt. A few weeks ago, my cousin had a baby shower & there she received this really cute rag quilt. I decided that was something I could sew and sew I did. It was simple to sew and it turned out really cute. It is 1/2 yard of seven different flannel fabrics. Cut 2 3-inch strips & 2 6-inch strips and sew together. The seam is 1-inch. Cut, wash & dry.

While coloring Easter eggs, I turned my family into eggs.

Dad, Mom, Rachael, Brad, Lisa, Tauna, Dustin, Jaxon, & Telford
Don't I have such a cute family?

Chena loved being at my parents house. She was free to run & play and not be in her cage all day. I found this cute bunny ears at Walmart for a dollar that I put on her just for fun. She was really good and left them on long enough for Lisa to get some good pictures.

These are some cute pictures for Brad & Chena. They are such good friends.

Lisa & I got matching white jackets for Easter :) Thanks Dad!

We are so thankful for our families and the chance we had to spend with them!!! I don't know where we would be without all the love & support from them. It is comforting to know we are an eternal family & can be together forever, thank goodness for the gospel. LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

We got a PUPPY!!

2009-04-09T08:41:00.003-06:00

Chena playing in the woods

Her first water experience

Sleeping at Ron and Lorraine's

Rach taught her to get on the bed. :-(

Chena with her first toy.... She ate it... oops

Usually for me(Bradford), around March/April, I get spring fever and I need some change. It all started with working in Alaska. Around this time I would usually zone out of whatever else I was doing and concentrate on getting ready for Alaska. So this year we have made the unfortunate decision to not go to AK, so we were itching for some change. So, we decided to get a puppy. We went to PetSmart and they said that the Humane Society comes on Saturdays. As is usual with Rach and I, once we make a decision we get it done quick. So that weekend we found Chena. She is a Yellow Lab/Golden Retriever mix. She was 6 months old when we adopted her. She and her siblings were found on the side of the highway abandoned. We named her Chena after a river in Alaska. Our second choice was Nuchalawaya (inside joke). We are so excited for this new addition to our family. But don't worry Elder Oaks, we're still trying to have kids too.

Does this look like SPRING?

2009-03-29T18:44:00.004-06:00

When we came out of church today, it was a snowing blizzard. I couldn't believe how much snow we got. I was really hoping that it would be nice but instead it is snowing. We did go out and play in the snow. It was fun to put on our warm clothes and play around for a little bit. But hopefully soon the warm weather will come.

You can't really see it but look hard, there is snow on the sliding.

Our palm tree welcome mat has a little bit of snow on it

This is in front of our apartment, probably 3 or 4 inches of snow

Cold frosty windows -- looks like it should be December not March

Thumbs way down for Twilight

2009-03-26T11:55:00.006-06:00

I (Rachael) rented Twilight from Redbox last night and I was very disappointed in it! I had this great story all planned out in my head and it was NOTHING like it was in my head. It never is but I had a little hope. First off, Edward is not cute! Edward's parents are way to young to be real. Jasper looks horrible. He has no personality. Charlie is not fat enough and Jacob needs to be taller and a little bigger. He is suppose to be this big, strong guy and he is not. Some of the scenes were that horrible gray/green that just made it look bad. This is one of the reasons why I don't read books is because the movie just ruins it all for me. Good thing it was free, I would have been mad if I would have spend $9.50 on it.

This is all MY opinion, I know there are lots out there that loved it so don't hate me, I'm just expressing my disappointment.

Wanna Win Something Special.....Keep Reading!!!

2009-03-03T16:45:00.000-07:00

I got this game from the sister-in-laws blog. I thought it would be fun! So hear goes nothing....

Another fun blog game!
The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! (Though I hope you will!)
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year. {might be a little while}
4. You have no clue what it's going to be. I don't even have a clue what it's going to be.
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a homemade gift! It may not be great, but it will be fun!!
* * *Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!* * *

Good Luck!

Our Caribbean Cruise Adventure

2009-02-17T22:33:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon, we still didn't have a plan of what we were going to do. About two hours before we were going to get on the plane and we got a call from the cruise people. We got on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas, which is the largest ship in the waters right now. We were so lucky to get on this boat. It holds about 4,600 passengers and 1,500 crew members. It was giant to say the least.

We spent Saturday, Feb 7 & Sunday, Feb 8 at sea. The seas were a little rough and the boat was rocking a little but it got better as the days went on. We did a lot of reading, sun bathing, swimming in the different pools, eating ice cream and having delicious meals. They had some really amazing fruit art and I took lots of pictures. They also had a basketball court, mini golf course, ping pong tables, ice skating, swimming pools, a soft serve ice cream machine, and the Flow Rider to keep us busy. They also had a golf simulator that Brad, Ron & Vaughn hit some golf balls around in. Royal Caribbean has some really amazing show. We went to a show everynight. They had ice skating, singing, dancing, comedians and jugglers. They were all fantastic. The talent on that ship was mind blowing.

Monday, Feb 9 was our first stop in San Juan Puerto Rico. Brad & I have a friend (Joey) that lives there. We worked with in Alaska last summer. He was very nice and was our tour guide. He took us around some of the island and shared some Puerto Rican history with us. We stopped by a food stand on the side of the road and had some really amazing fried food. I don't remember what any of the names are but it was delicious. He then dropped us off downtown so we could do a little shopping before we got back on the ship. Thanks again Joey, you were great!!!

Tuesday, Feb 10, we stopped in St Thomas in the Virgin Islands. My parents went on a bike riding tour on Water Island and had a blast! Brad's parent and Brad & I went to a beach called Megan's Beach. One of the taxi drivers said it was one of the top 10 beaches in the world. He must have been mistaken, it was in the bottom 100 beaches in my book. It was a rainy day but it was fun to be in the ocean while it was raining. The beach was about 20 mintues north on the other side of the island. The taxi's there are trucks that have 3 or 4 metal rows of seats in the back. The side of the truck where you get in didn't have a cross bar to keep you in so you had to hold on tight. They also drive on the other side of the road, so that was a little scary as they would whoop around the corners going 10 miles an hour, while we are holding on for dear life. I wish I had gotten a picture. I also ran into one of my friends from high school, who I have not seen since then, Wendy Brown. It was great to see her and meet her husband. Of all the places to see each other, small world.

Wednesday, Feb 11, we stopped in St Maarten. Vaughn, Elaine, Ron, Brad & I all went on snorkeling excursions. It was called Tiki Hut Snorkel Adventure. First, they asked my dad to hold the Tiki Hut sign and yell out "Tiki Hut Tour, anyone going on the Tiki Hut Tour", he was really good at it. They gave him a free drink, but dont worry Mom it was just a bottle of water. They took us out on a little boat that looked like a bathtub. When we got there, it was a long dock all linked together with a hole in the middle they called the "pool". We sat around there and got a few safety tips and then we were off. The snorkeling was pretty lame. I have snorkeled in Hawaii where it is ten times better and there are tons of fish to see. Here the only place we saw fish was in the "pool". They had a kayak there that Brad took for a little ride. They also had a floatie noodle thing that we could play on. It was so good to be back in the ocean. My, how I have missed it. On our way back, we had them drop us off in town so we could do some more shopping. I think the best thing we found was POPCORN. My mom had be carving popcorn all week and we found a little stand on the beach that was selling it. It was such a good little treat and my mom was so happy to get some popcorn.

Thursday, Feb 12, we were at sea. We did more of the same we did the other two days we were at sea. More eating, playing, swimming and eating some more. For those of you that don't know my mom, she is a avid runner and she even managed to get in some running while we were at sea. They had two formal nights that we got all dressed up for. Sometimes it is fun to put on your nice clothes and get all pretty. We had an amazing waiter, who definately made our dining experience. Royal Caribbean does a really good job with training their employees with great people skills. Thomas and Renal, were our waiters and they remembered what everyone was drinking and bought that to us every night. They also knew, after one time of ordering, how we wanted our meal cooked. They were very impressive.

Friday, Feb 13, we were in Labadee, Haiti. Not one of my favorite ports at all. We went jet skiing and that was so much fun. My mom, dad, Brad & I had never been jet skiing so we were in for a treat. Jet skiing in the ocean was different, especially when going against the current. There were some pretty big waves and I thought for sure I was going to fall off. But I held on so tight that the next day, the inside of my thighs were burning. Brad had white knuckles from holding on so tight. There was about 8 of us in the group. We had a leader in the front, who showed us the way. There were a few areas that had a shallow reef and they didn't want us to get stuck or rip up the bottom of the skiis. But it was a great time and we can't wait to go again sometime.

Saturday, Feb 14, we were at sea again. They had a flower shop on the boat and every time we walked past it, I said to Brad, "I wish I would get flowers". So he gave me some for Valentines. Sadly, I had to leave them behind, I couldn't take them through customs. But they were great for the day I had them. He is so thoughtful. On the top floor, on the back of the ship was the Flow Rider. It is a wave pool that you could surf or boogie board on. Brad, Ron, and Vaughn had all done it earlier in the week and I knew I wanted to do it. It took me a while to get my nerves up to do it. I am so glad that I did it....it was a real thrill.

Sunday, Feb 15, we had to get off. We planned to go on an Everglades excursion. After our long wait to get off the ship, they picked us up with our luggage and took us out to their set up. We went on a airboat tour, saw 5 alligators and some really big birds. It was way cool to see the gators out in their natural habitat. I was starting to feel like a tourist in Alaska when they don't see animals in the park....it took us a while to see a gator. After the boat ride, they were having a gator show. This crazy man was holding the alligators mouth open with his head. They had a baby gator they were letting us hold & we got to hold it. Brad & I were so brave. After the tour, they took us to the airport, where we got to sit for 6 hours and wait. But we made the best of it.

It was cold and snowy when we got into Salt Lake @ midnight. We were not excited to come back to the snow, but it was good to be back home. Thanks to my amazing husband, my mom and dad, Vaughn & Elaine for making our vacation wonderful!!!! It worked out amazing perfect for not having a plan.

Brad & I celebrated our one year anniversary on the cruise, Feb 8. Vaughn & Elaine, thank you for raising such an amazing son. I am so thankful he came from an amazing family and grew up in the gospel. Brad, thank you for being the best thing ever. I am so thankful I found you. Thanks for being an amazing husband and being my best friend. I LOVE YOU!!!

Here are two of my favorite wedding pictures:

Florida - Caribbean Bound

2009-02-05T16:41:00.000-07:00

So we are leaving on my parents house tonight in Soda Springs. Then we are getting up in the morning and driving to Salt Lake. We are dropping my car off with a good friend (thanks again Nativa & Derreck) to babysit it while we are gone and then off to the airport. We leave @ 1:25 pm and get into Fort Lauderdale at 10:45 pm. Brad's parents will get in on Saturday morning around 10:30 am and then let the vacation begin. We still haven't heard if we got on our cruise or not but hopefully we will hear something tomorrow. Wish us luck, we will post pictures when we get back when in 10 days.

Caribou Classic

2009-01-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

On Friday & Saturday, I went to Soda Springs to help my parents with a food stand at the snow machine hill climbs. It was so much fun. We use to help with the hill climbs when I was in high school, so Tauna & I got to re-live some old memories. We made hamburger, hot dogs, walking tacos (a bag of Doritos, taco meat, shredded cheese, lettuce and salsa), hot chocolate, cinnamon rolls, chips, candy and soda pop. Friday was a nice day, it was a little over cast. Saturday, on the other hand, was cold and snowy. We sold over 300 burgers on Friday and didn't have any for Saturday so I volunteered to go to Poky and get some more. It was the worst winter driving ever. I started crying on the way there on the freeway and I was ready to pull over and not go any more. But I keep going and finally got to Poky. On the way back, the roads where just a little slushy and not bad at all. We sold lots and lots of food. When we finally left, the road were bare and dry. I would not believed it had snowed that morning if I had not been driving in it. We had a lot of fun. I'm sad that Brad wasn't able to come, he had to work. But I hope there will be more in the future....

This is the starting line, they totally tore up that poor hill

On the left is the return lane, where they would come down the hill

The worker bees

Our little set up

The mud pit we worked in for two days

This show exactly how muddy it was, we were up to our ankles in mud
Dustin - the burger boy

Drinking some hot chocolate

Dad taking a break from grilling

Wife skills

2009-01-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

Last week I made a Chicken Enchilada Casserole. It was so good. I was so proud of it, I thought I would post a picture of it. It was a big hit, Lisa & Brad loved it! It was tortilla chips, cream of chicken soup, green chilies, chicken, and cheese. You start with the chips on the tops, pour the soup milk on top, then sprinkle with green chilies and cheese and repeat layers. Then put it in the oven and bake.

The finished product

Cute Baby!

2009-01-15T16:24:00.000-07:00

Averi & I

Cute little Averi

Brad is kissing her and she was laughing

I just wanted to upload a few pictures of our cute niece, Averi. She belongs to Kellee and Dennis, Brad's sister. We were able to spend the weekend with them and do some babysitting while they worked on Monday. It was so much fun to be around her. We went to get Brad's haircut on Monday and I didn't realize what work went to going out. It was good practice. I can't wait to someday have a cute little one of our own.

Quiche

2009-01-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

So George Bush and Dick Cheney were sitting in a diner getting ready to order breakfast. The cute little waitress comes up to take their order and Bush leans a little closer to her and says, "How 'bout a quickie?" She slaps him across the face and storms off. Dick Cheney, astonished, looks at Bush and says, "You idiot! It's pronounced Keesh".

So last week I was watching food network and they had a Quiche on there and it looked so tasty, so Rach and I decided to give it a try. It turned out so good. I recommend trying it. Basically, make a pie crust. Double recipe so you have a crust for the bottom and for the top. Then, make the filling, which should include about 4 eggs, a cup of your choice of cheese, onions, some breakfast meat... we had leftover Christmas ham, and some shredded potatoes... I recommend boiling the potatoes before, so they are cooked through. Simply fill the pie crust, cover with the other crust, crimp the edges to make it look like a pie crust. Cut a few (3) vent holes in the top crust, prob an inch long. Put it in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes and then turn it down to 300 and cook for 40 more minutes.. Pull it out and devour... I recommend putting spinach and or tomatoes in it, but Rach doesn't like those, so we had the non vegetarian version. Give it a shot. Here's the finished product.

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it is already 2009! Where has the time gone. We had a great New Year's and I thought I would share some pictures. Yesterday, we went to Island Park to play in the snow. We had a few days of nice weather in Idaho Falls and it has melted most of our snow. We just pulled over at one of those turn around spot and played in the snow bank. The snow bank was huge. It took us a few running jumps to get over it. The snow was hard and crunchy but so much fun to play in.

Check out the huge snow bank!!!

The snow chairs we made in the snow bank.

Brad LOVING every minute of playing in the snow.

The drive up to Island Park. I didn't think it was this dark and cloudy.

We came home and got ready for dinner. We went to Pocatello to eat dinner with my sister, Tauna and her husband Dustin. We went to Ruby Tuesday and had a great meal there. We went @ 5 pm and it was busy. Tauna had called ahead and got us on "the list" so we didn't have to wait to long. Thank goodness!

Dustin, Tauna, me, Brad @ dinner

After dinner, we went to the Black Swan Inn. I made a reservation for Brad & I to stay in the Rocky Mountain Cabin. It was so amazing! The Black Swan is an amazing place to stay at. I highly recommend it to all of those that need a romantic getaway! You will love it. They had breakfast basket, microwave popcorn, bottled water and Swiss Miss packets for us in our room.

The fireplace was the first thing you saw when we walked in the door.

On top of the fireplace, was a huge moose head and a giant big screen TV.

The tub was next as we walked around the corner. It was really cool and big. The water came out of a barrel.

Next to the tub, was a spiral stair case that lead to a loft area. The bed was in the loft.

This is our bed.

This is a view of the sink area from the stairs.

Hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year's!!

We just got Elfed

2008-12-21T21:52:00.001-07:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Merry Christmas

2008-12-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

Here is our Christmas Card. We are being "green" this year and emailing/blogging it out this year.
Merry Christmas. We hope all is well with you and your family!

Love, Brad and Rachael Huntsman

Caribbean Cruise

2008-12-09T10:39:00.000-07:00

Okay I just wanted to brag a little. For working in Alaska for Royal Celebrity/Caribbean last summer, Brad and I both get basically a free cruise. We have to pay taxes and gratuities. So it works out to about $20 a day. Brad has been promising his parents for 3 summers that he would take them, so we decided to take both of our parents. We get two cabins on the boat, I'm not sure how all six of us are going to sleep but it will all work out somehow.

We have to go on a stand by basis. We picked two Eastern Caribbean Cruises that leave in February. They both leave around our one year anniversary. So we get to spend it with our parents. One is an 7 day and the other is 8 days. We bought our plane tickets and its official. We won't know until a few days before the cruise if we get on but it will still be a fun adventure if we won't.

Wish us luck, everyone needs a vacation from the snow in February. You can all count down with us, that is why I put the countdown on our blog, so I know how many more days we have left.

Little Update

2008-12-06T23:02:00.000-07:00

Well its been a while since we wrote anything so here is an update. Brad is working for Verizon Wireless. He is in Salt Lake for two more weeks (until Dec 20) for training. I hate being apart! I can't wait to have him back. I was able to come down this weekend and spend it with him. We went to the BYU vs. USU game at the Energy Solutions Center in Salt Lake tonight for free!!! Can't complain about free. It was a great game. GO COUGARS!!! BYU won! Watch out for the USU fans though, they are pretty loud. After the game, we went and walked around Temple Square. I love that place during Christmas. There is such an amazing feeling there.

I am working at the County Extension Office doing office secretary stuff. I love it. It is only 19 hours a weeks. I can come and go at my own time. Its a perfect job for me, especially with Brad gone I can spend the weekend with him.

We had a great Thanksgiving with his family in Mapleton, UT (just south of Provo). His parents and sisters came down and got to spend some time with them. We went to Soda Springs on Thursday night. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, we go get Christmas trees with my mom's family. It's great and we had a fun time getting our tree. See the pictures below. When I get a picture of the tree all pretty, I'll post it.

Me sawing down our tree

Brad & I with our tree

My family - minus my little sister Tauna and little brother Telford

Lisa, Brad & I on the drive out

We got jobs

2008-11-12T19:17:00.001-07:00

We are employed once again! Rachael got a great job at the Bonneville County Extension office doing 4-H and helping them with a grant. I just got hired at Verizon Wireless doing sales. It will be part customer sales and part business sales. Wish us luck.

Things we saw & did in Soda Springs

2008-11-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

We went to my parents house for the weekend to make chocolates. My mom has learned how to make hand dipped chocolates from my dad's sister. So we decided to give it a shot. Here are some pictures. We made mint, vanilla and maple nut chocolates and peanut clusters.

The starting of the chocolate centers.

Adding some flavor to them.

The center of the chocolates.

THE FINISHED PRODUCT - DON'T THEY LOOK SO GOOD.

We also saw a musk rat walking down the street in front of our house. I live on the main road that goes through Soda and the huge rat was just walking down the street minding his own business. He finally walked over into the Alco parking lot, we figured he was just going to pick up a few things.

Boston, Maine, & New Hampshire

2008-10-20T18:44:00.000-06:00

Fenway Park - Brad's favorite place. We did a tour and they took us all over. One of the pictures is of some of the original seats from 1934. They were not fun to sit on for very long.

Freedom Trail and Cheers - We walked a little of the Freedom Trail. We went past Paul Revere house, the Old North Church, Bunker Hill and the original Cheers.

Cranberry Harvest Festival - Some of our guests had told us about the cranberry harvest that happens in October. Brad did a little research and found out where it was happening. We went out to a place on the Cape and saw them harvesting the cranberries. Cranberries grow on vines in bogs and then they fill the bog up with a little water and take a machine through them that knocks the berries off the vines. Then they fill the bog up with more water and get a vacuum hose and suck up the berries into a large truck. The berries then go to the Ocean Spray factory that is just down the street. The other interesting thing we learned, is that they rent out bees for a few weeks to pollinate the cranberries.

Plymouth - Brad's ancestors came into America here. His 9th great grandpa was the first governor of the pilgrims.

Maine & New Hampshire

New York, New York

2008-10-15T16:58:00.000-06:00

Okay, I'm sorry this has taken so long to get some of our New York pictures up. This is going to be a long post but it will be good, I promise.

Museum of Natural History - for those of you that have seen Night at the Museum, this is the museum they filmed in.

World Trade Center - we did a walking tour with a guy that worked on the 82nd floor of the first trade center that got hit. He shared his personal story with us. They are rebuilding the block, 16 acres. They are going to put reflecting pools where the orginial buildings were. Then, a few more towers and a really big one called the Freedom Tower. It is going to be higher than the orginal. It will be 1776 feet, symbolic of the year our country declared independence. There will be a memorial building built between the reflecting pools.

Wall Street

Empire State Building - we took a tour that goes all the way to the top. It was an amazing view up there.

Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island

Time Square, 5th Ave, Broadway, & David Letterman Show - we went to the Letterman show. They didn't let us take any pictures, except on the outside. It was fun to be that close to David and the band. We were about 10 rows from the band. Debra Messing was one of the guest stars.

Yankee Staduim & Fun with Andy & Stefany

Phantom of the Opera - My parents bought us phantom tickets for Brad's birthday. We were twenty rows from the stage. It was so amazing. We got all dressed up for a night on the town. Thanks mom and dad!

Central Park Zoo - it was an interesting zoo experience. I was very disappointed that I didn't see zebras, hippos, lions or giraffes. I was basing my expectations from Madagascar (the cartoon movie). They were from the New York Central Zoo. I assumed it was Central Park but it really is the Bronx Zoo. Sad! We also saw monkeys eating off each other, turtles doing turtle things and our trip would not be complete with the homeless.

A special thanks to Andy & Stefany for letting us crash on their living room floor. You guys helped make this an awesome trip!

Washington D.C.

2008-10-05T21:12:00.001-06:00

Quick Update

2008-10-03T22:04:00.001-06:00

We are having an awesome vacation here on the east coast. We spent 3 days in DC and loved every minute. Our legs are KILLING us from all the walking. The first day we felt really ambitious and only rode the Metrorail in to Arlington and then walked to DC... about 2 miles, then proceded to walk around downtown DC all day. We've probably walked 20 miles in the 3 days we were here. We are leaving tomorrow and takin' a bus up to NYC. We got Phantom tickets from Rach's mom for my b-day...Thanks Lorraine, and we got Letterman tickets because it has been a boyhood dream of mine to go see a live taping. I had tickets twice previously, but I wasn't planning on attending NYC, so I had to cancel them. We're so excited to see the city that never sleeps. So Tuesday, watch Letterman everyone. It is at 10:35 mountain and central and 11:35 pacific and eastern on CBS. I'm gonna do everything I can to make it on camera. Well, we'll post pictures as soon as we upload them to my computer. Until then, I hope all is well with all of you.

BYU Football Game -- Go Cougars!

2008-09-26T11:52:00.000-06:00

The gang

Football field -- in case you couldn't tell

My first ever BYU shirt...doesn't it look nice

Last Saturday, Sept 20th, we went to the BYU vs. Wyoming Game. It was a total blow out but still a fun game. We had a tailgate party before the game. We BBQ'd dogs and burgers and ate salad, chips and delicious cookies.

The last time Brad and I went to the BYU football game was last fall. That night we spent $110 on some great 50 yardline seats and that night we said we loved each other. This time we got budget tickets but sat with family and friends.

Cooking Competition

2008-09-26T11:41:00.000-06:00

Brad and I were going to dinner with some friends and decided to make rice krispy treats with some chocolate butterscotch goodness on top. Round 1 was me....my chips did not melt so well. Round 2 was Brad...he has the magic touch because his turned out very nice. You make regular rice krispy and then take a half bag of milk chocolate & butterscotch chips and melt them in the microwave one minute at a time and then pour on top of krispy. That was my big mistake. I tried to melt them first on the stove (not a good idea) then since they were not melting there, I moved them into a microwaved bowl and tried to melt them in there...still not a good idea. I think this is why Brad won.

1990 called, they need their hair back

2008-09-16T18:41:00.000-06:00

There's this cool site that show's you yearbook pics from different years and you upload your pic and it show's you what you'd look like! These are ours from 1990... I always wanted a mullet. The website is WWW.YEARBOOKYOURSELF.COM

ITS ALL OVER TODAY

2008-09-12T11:36:00.000-06:00

Alaska State Flag

Denali South Overlook - Mt Mckinley (Denali) in the back

State Map

Our last day working in Alaska is about to come to an end. I can't decide if it is a good or a bad thing. We have loved our jobs up here and have loved being in Alaska. Alaska is such a beautfiul place. It is has an indescribable beauty.

I am sitting here at Hotel Alyeska in Girdwood babysitting luggage while our guests are out enjoying Girdwood. They don't leave for the cruise ship until 1:45 pm so we have a room where they can leave a bag or two. Brad is outside in the pouring rain loading a million and a half bags, the other luggage suitcases they couldn't carry with them. There are three tour groups that stayed here last night, probably 200 people or so. You can probably imagine all the bags they bring with them. It's a lot. We load their bags into a luggage truck that takes them down to the ship. As I sit here, I am getting emotional, a part of me doesn't want to leave.

We have had some amazing memeories created here in Alaska. I am so thankful for a Heavenly Father who answers prayers, leads and guides us. If it was not for those answered prayers and the choice to move from Hawaii to Alaska, I would have not found Brad. I am so thankful to have him in my life. He is such an amazing man! I love you honey.

We will start our journey home after we get back to Anchorage this afternoon. We will make it to Tok, AK tonight and tomorrow our journey home will begin. Can't wait to get home and see everyone!!!

CHURCH!!!!

2008-09-07T10:09:00.000-06:00

We have been working every single Sunday since May 20th and we finally get to go to church in a few minutes. I'm so excited. I have been feeling guilty ALL summer long and we begged for our schedule change, but it never came. I long for the noisy kids in sacrament meeting and the crazy guy with all the answers in sunday school, and the Elders Quorum meetings of just passing around the manual and everyone reading a paragraph. I miss all of that. But most of all, I just miss the blessings that come from going to church every week. I mean we have been doing better at scripture study on our own, and we even made it out to the temple a couple times, but nothing can match the spirit of being in the church with all the other members sharing the same values and beliefs as us, feeding off of each other's thoughts and answers. I'm so excited to feel the spirit again.

Oh, so I just got back from church and had to make a quick edit.... I forgot about the crazy people who bear their testimonies about THEM and nothing about Heavenly Father. I want to bear my testimony that I know that we have a loving Father in Heaven who loves us and sent His Son to live and die for us. We are led by a prophet today and I yearn for his counsel and guidance.

It's coming to an end...

2008-09-02T21:14:00.000-06:00

So with the end of the summer rapidly approaching, I have been going through some of the pictures on our camera. I thought I would add a few.

These are some of the clothes you can buy on the train. Brad was the train model for the afternoon.

It rained here for about 5 weeks or so. With all the raining comes flooding. These pictures were taken from the train we were riding in a placed called Nenana. We were the first group to ride the train from Denali to Fairbanks in about 2 weeks or so.

So during all the rain, we took a Kenai Fjords Tour with one of our groups. The tour goes out into the ocean and looks for sea life. Those are sea lions, in case you can't tell. It was a very rainy day but we still went and enjoyed it. We loved being paid to be on vacation with people.

We also stop with some of your tours at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. It is a place of injured or orphaned animals. It is a guarneeted wildlife stop. Here are a few of the animals they have there.

Things you see at the

2008-09-01T13:58:00.000-06:00

Here in Alaska, the fair is a BIG deal. We have been talking all summer about the size of the fruits and veggies at the fair. It was fun to finally get to see them.

The pumpkin weighed in at 907 lbs.
The record for the pumpkin is over a 1,000 lbs.

The squash weight in at 328 lbs.

And the giant cabbage weighting at 79.1 lbs.

Alaskans are proud of their crops!!!

Also only in Alaska can you find a reindeer in with the livestock.

Sad that we won't be here next year for the fair...hopefully the Idaho State Fair is exciting.

We are moving to IDAHO!!

2008-08-20T22:13:00.000-06:00

We are now the proud renters of an apartment in Idaho Falls, ID. We got a cute two bedroom one bath apartment in a complex called Teton Apartments. It is over 800 square feet...twice as big as our apartment in Utah. Yahoo!!! We will be moving in on Sept 24th. You can send mail after that to:

Brad and Rachael Huntsman
2775 St Clair Road #N104
Idaho Falls, ID 83404

Now begins the job search...wish us luck!

4 more ship days

2008-08-16T11:00:00.000-06:00

We only have 4 more ships days and then we are done with another great summer in Alaska. I can't believe how fast it has gone but we have really enjoyed our summer up here. It is so beautiful up here. I wish everyone could come up and visit. We are contracted through Sept 18th and our last ship day is Sept 12th. Hopefully, we get a short tour that week and we can head home early. After we get home, we have a few busy weeks with friends to see in Utah, a baby blessing in Boise and a two week trip planned for back east. When we get home from all our traveling, we think we will settled in Idaho Falls, ID. We are not sure what we are going to do so if anyone has any suggestions, we are currently taking applications :)

Can't wait to get home and see all of our families and friends.

Forty Below

2008-07-31T15:35:00.000-06:00

When we decided to come to Alaska this summer, we pondered the idea of staying for one winter. We have since chicken'd out, but we wanted to see what winter here was like so we found a place in Fairbanks that will let you go into a freezer set at 40 below. They had a frozen banana that you could hammer in a nail with.

Fishing Like Bears

2008-07-30T22:01:00.001-06:00

We decided that looked fun, and we tried our hand at bear fishing. We each caught a few, but the signs told us we couldn't fish within 300 feet of the gulch. Salmon are born in fresh water, and most swim to the ocean for the majority of their lives. Then, after 5-7 years at sea, they swim back to the original spot of their birth and spawn, and die. They are instincively led back to sometimes within 50 feet of where they were born before they die. These salmon were hatchery salmon and were trying to swim back in the fish hatchery, but the hatchery is only allowing a certain number back in, and the rest are left to feed the bears, seagulls, eagles, ravens and other wildlife of the area.

Black Bear

2008-07-30T21:22:00.000-06:00

We went to Valdez to go camping and when we got there, we decided to go see the Alyeska pipeline terminal. We were driving down the road and we saw a sign that said, "Bears in area, do not approach". Well, let's just say we approached.

Bike Riding in the Rain

2008-07-26T14:23:00.000-06:00

Last Monday we had a day off. We were feeling like we needed to get out and do something outside. We decided to rent bikes and ride the coastal trail. The coastal trail goes from downtown Anchorage to the Anchorage Airport, 12 miles away. It was a blast. We probably only did about 10 miles of the trail, and then we turned around to check out the Chester Creek trail that runs through some of the parks in Anchorage. We saw a moose and two calves that crossed the path about 50 yards in front of us. She stared us down as we quickly came to a stop and yielded to her and her young ones. It was raining the whole time and there were some awesome puddles to splash through. By the time we made it back to the bike shop my clothes were all muddy in the back and our butts were sore! I still can't sit on a wooden chair without grimacing. The rest of the week we just caught up on some much needed sleep. Next week we have our last 4 days off of the season probably as a lot of the college aged tour directors will be returning to school. We're looking forward to getting more hours and making lots of moolah. So since it's our last 4 days off, we're going to Valdez to go camping. Look for some awesome waterfall pictures next thursday!

Boston Here We Come

2008-07-23T11:27:00.001-06:00

We did it. We bought our plane tickets and we're heading east. We were going to road trip to NYC in October, but with gas at nearly eleventy billion dollars a gallon, we decided to just fly out to the east. The other day I was looking for plane tickets and trying to figure out how to get in everything we wanted to see, but not wanting to rent a car for 2 weeks. So we found a flight that leaves from Salt Lake, goes to Baltimore on Sept. 30th. We'll hang in DC for about 3 days, take a train up to NYC and hang with Andy and Stef for a few days, then train up to Boston for 4 days, fly out of Boston to Buffalo to check out Niagara Falls and then drive to Palmyra to see the Sacred Grove and other church history sites. We then fly out of Rochester a couple days later on Oct. 16th. We are so excited. If you live in the east or have been there please let us know things we must see or do. Hope to see some of you while we're there!

Fishing

2008-07-23T10:39:00.000-06:00

So for the past couple years, my boyhood passion for fishing has returned and I just love to be out there holding a rod in my hand, tossing the line in a small river or stream. When I was little I had my Dad to take me to the prime fishing spots but now that I'm on my own I've struggled to catch fish. I guess I need to take some lessons from my wife. We went fishing in Chesterfield Reservoir in Bancroft, Idaho in June. I was so excited to teach Rachael how to fish. She had never caught a fish (that she remembers) before. We were out there about 2 hours and I had gone to the car to get another lure to set-up my pole because whatever I had wasn't working. When I came back Rachael was standing up and her pole was bent almost in half! She was working a fish back to shore... Great job Honey!!!!!!!!!

Memories

2008-07-14T20:39:00.000-06:00

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I (or both of us) have had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments. That's it!!!---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-07-14T18:19:00.001-06:00

Summer is halfway over! oops

2008-07-14T17:39:00.000-06:00

Well, summer is half over already and we have been so busy. We got to Alaska May 6th and Rach had training for a couple weeks. We then did two tours each before flying to Spokane for my friend, Andy's wedding. We flew overnight sleeping for an hour on the Sea-Tac airport floor. While in Spokane we went to the historic Riverfront Park and fed the Garbage Eating Goat. (see pics above) We then borrowed Andy's car (he was on his honeymoon and we jumped on the opportunity for a free rental car) and drove to Pocatello for Rachael's sister, Tauna's wedding. We drove through Coeur D'Alene and McCall down to Caldwell for a night at my sisters and then on to Rock Springs to hang with the Huntsmans and fit a golf game in. We got to Soda Springs and had a bridal shower for Tauna and then went to Pocatello to get ready for the wedding. After the wedding we headed back to Spokane to drop off the car and fly back so we could get back to work. We've done a few tours since then and we're having a good time, but we're ready for summer to be over so we can finally get a home-base and settle down. We have 9 tours left and we should be driving home on or around the 15th of September. Well, we'll try to keep at least a monthly update in here from now on, once we have cute kids to write about I'm sure we'll add stuff daily. Oh... if any of you know a good maternity insurance... let us know. No, we're not pregnant, just thinking of trying that whole parenting thing out someday and want to be prepared.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-05-06T12:45:00.001-06:00

On the move

2008-04-28T17:03:00.000-06:00

We're on the move again. Since about 5 years ago I've lived in 5 different places. Oregon and California for the summer, Rexburg for school, and Alaska for work. Rachael lived in Hawaii for two-and-a-half years and then Alaska for a summer where we met and both moved to Salt Lake. Well here we go again. Rach and I are moving back to Alaska for the summer to be tour guides for Royal Celebrity Tours. Above are pictures from the leaving part. We've quit our jobs, packed up everything in our 418 sq ft. apartment and we're on our way. We just barely fit our belongings into and on top of our CR-V and left the rest in Soda Springs at our heated and decorated storage unit.(Thanks Ron and Lorraine) We are now off on a 7 day journey filled with camping in the frozen tundra of northern Canada and probably rainy souther Canada. This year we're gonna check out Skagway and Haines Alaska before arriving in Anchorage on May 6th or 7th.

Vegas Vacation

2008-04-16T10:09:00.000-06:00

We had a weekend off work for the first time in a long time so we decided we needed to do something fun. There were rumors that 'summer' weather was headed to SLC, but we weren't gonna risk it. Luckily we've got good friends in Vegas who would let us stay at their place, so we hit the road. We got their about 9:45 Friday night and met Dave, Miquelyn and Jeffrey at the movies to see 21. Great movie! The next morning started off with a killer breakfest from Miquelyn and some guitar hero. That game is much tougher than actually playing the guitar. We chekced the temperature outside and it was at least 80, so we decided to check out the pool. We sat in th ehot tub for a few minutes and then decided to jump in the pool. We didn't realize they don't heat it. The water had to be 50 degrees or colder. It took our breath away when we jumped in. It took us about 25 minutes to get used to it. We both got pretty good sunburns and mine(brad) still hurts. Dave was out at some scout jamboree so Rachael, Miquelyn and I went downtown to have lunch at In & Out and go to the M & M factory before we realized Dave would be home soon and didn't have a way inside, so we headed back. We got home and Dave and Jeffrey were just getting there with Rockband in tow. We set up the video game and rocked out for a few hours. The day ended with a Cheescake Factory meal and some more rockband until about midnight. On Sunday we went back down to the strip to take a few pictures and grab some lunch and we headed back. It was a much needed vacation from the winter. On Monday, our first day back at work, it was about 80 degrees, but today we woke up with snow on the ground. Not cool! I'm sick of winter... and we're moving to Alaska???? hmmm.

Moab Pictures

2008-03-31T21:41:00.001-06:00

Moab

2008-03-30T15:40:00.000-06:00

We got all sorts of camping stuff for our wedding, so we decided to go to Moab and try them out. We have some friends down there we wanted to see and then go to the national parks. We had three days off from work and decided to go. We arrived in Moab about 7 pm at night. We thought we were in luck to set up our tent in the light. We took a turn into the BLM land to find an open spot that would let us have a camp fire. It is not camping without a fire, hot dogs and marshmallows. After an hour of driving and still no camp spot, we head into Moab to find something else. We called severals places and finally found one that would let us have a fire. We camped at OK RV Park. It was a great little place. We set up our tent and decided to make the classic camp dinner...yes that's right, hot dogs & marshmallows.

After a night's sleep under the stars, we got up and had a great breakfast. We decided to go into Arches National Park to do some hiking and sight seeing. We stopped at Park Ave first and hiked around there for a while. Then we went to The Windows and Turret Arch. Once we got done hiking around there, we decided to eat a little lunch. It is a good thing we did, our next hike our took it out of us. We decided to go hike Delicate Arch. For those of you that don't know your Utah history, that is the arch that is on the license plates here. It was pretty amazing. According the the map it said it was only 3 miles round trip, but that was the longest three miles of my life. But it was well worth it. After driving around some more, we decided to head back into Moab for some dinner. We made the best tin foil dinners ever! They were delicious.

The next day we headed into Canyonlands National Park. It was amazing to see the difference between the two parks. They are only 20 miles apart but the landscape is totally different. We did a little hiking around there and then went back into Moab for a little lunch. We ate at the Moab Brewery. After a little lunch, we stopped by Moab Adventure Center to see some good friends from Soda Springs.

Moab is such an amazing place, highly recommended by the Huntsman family.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-03-29T15:32:00.001-06:00

Honeymoon

2008-03-29T14:45:00.000-06:00

After our luncheon, we rushed out of town and headed straight to the SLC airport and flew to Long Beach Airport. If you've never been here before, it's the white trashiest airport I've ever been to. Instead of big terminals, there are trailers everywhere that serve as the waiting rooms. So when you land, you get to feel like the pope or the president and walk down the stairs of the plane. But, it was cheaper than LAX, so, being a newly married poor married couple, we took the cheap way out. Our first night we spent in a hotel near Disneyland. it was close to the airport and we didn't get in until about 10 pm. I won't go into more detail about that.... ;-)
The next day we drove into Hollywood and checked out the Walk of Fame.... not that cool really. They used to give those to big named stars, now everyone gets one.... Ryan Seacrest has one.... what's up with that. While there we went to the Hollywood Wax Museum and the Guiness Book of Records Museum. Next, my wonderful new wife was gracious enough to let me drive all around my old mission areas so I could get all sentimental and stuff. After visiting Reseda, we ate at In and Out Burger(if you haven't, you must) and went to Woodland Hills. We then drove up the PCH to Santa Barbara, where we were staying at the Old Yacht Club for the next 2 days. It was amazing! We walked the beach the next day and got our charicature's drawn by some hippy.
Monday we went to Long Beach to get on our Cruise! During the cruise we went to Catalina and drove around the island on a golf cart, went to Ensenada and learned to make Mexican food, and we spent Valentine's day in bed... but not for good reasons... because the new groom was a little sea sick.
We got off the cruise on Friday and went to the Santa Monica Peir for lunch. We ate at a little mexican restaurant at the end of the peir and had to compete for our food with the local pigeons. After we left the peir we went to the LA temple for an afternoon session. It is an amazing temple. We then met up with my uncle Jay and aunt Karen at the Staples Center for a Kings v. Calgary Flames hockey game. We first ate at an exclusive members only restaurant in the Staples Center called "The Grand Reserve". It was a buffet style restaurant but had choices such as lobster mashed potatoes, filet mingon, and shrimp cocktail. I accidently saw the bill which was almost as much as my car payment! Thanks Jay and Karen. As we entered the arena, we went down to row 4 behind the Kings bench and it was amazing. The Kings slaughtered the Flames and we got to see it up close. The best was seeing the players slam each other into the boards just a few feet from where we sat. A couple of good fights broke out and a player in the penalty box broke out a box of doughnuts to keep himself busy. Friday was a great day!
Saturday we woke up and drove to the airport and flew home. Finally... sleeping in our own bed! We'll post pictures below

Welcome Friends!

2008-03-09T19:37:00.000-06:00

Aloha and Howdy,
We are starting this blog to keep our friends and loved ones up to date about our new family! We are so happy that we met and are so in love! Here's the cute story! Rachael and I met in the summer of '07 while working in the great state of Alaska. I was a tour guide for Royal Celebrity Tours and Rachael was working at the Grande Denali Lodge. I brought my guests through Denali weekly and was lucky enough to have tours that mostly stayed at the Grande. Rachael was the cute front desk girl whose name tag said she was from Honolulu, Hawaii, but didn't look polynesian. We started chatting and I found out she was actually from Soda Springs, Idaho, but had worked and lived in Hawaii for the past 3 years. We really didn't think to much about dating each other at first. At the end of August I had a guest who had a lost bag and I found out at about 11:15 pm. Rachael was still working at the desk that evening and offered to come help look for it. We were alone in the elevator and....... nothing happened..... except for the first time I thought, "I could date this girl." A few weeks later a co-worker of mine was teasing me about it saying I should, and, at the same time, another co-worker was saying the same thing to her. Well, fast forward a few weeks to when I had moved to Utah, she was on her way there, and I texted her to see if she wanted to hang out. She said she was in Hawaii but as soon as she got back we could hang out. We went to see "Into the Wild" on October 19. After the movie we sat in my car and talked for about 30 minutes about everything. A few days later we went on date # 2 to Buca di Beppos. A few short weeks and family visits later, on Nov. 17th 2007 in Logan on the temple grounds,I asked Rachael to be my wife. Luckily for me, she said yes. We were on our way. Well, long story even longer, we were married Feb 8th, 2008 in the Logan Utah Temple. After a few pictures in the cold and a luncheon at the Blue Bird Restaurant, we were off to sunny Southern California for our honeymoon, but that's another story.