Under Construction...

Being that I'm living in Utah in the summer and can't go anywhere without seeing "Men at Work" signs and more orange cones than any one person should have to view in a life time, I think it's quite fitting that our blog is under construction. I've been up since 7 working on it, trying to update our background in honor of Tayvin's birthday, but to no avail. I'm doing it the same way I've always done (and we all know I change my background almost as much as one changes their underwear,) but there's a glitch somewhere. So please excuse the new, not-so-completed look of our blog. When I get another chance, I'll try to iron out the kinks. Too bad I can't write codes like Chad...

A day late and a dollar short...

Is that how the saying goes? I haven't got the day right yet this week. Everyday I would tell Nate it was a day later than it actually was. (Not that I wake up and say, "Good Morning Honey, today's Tuesday." But ya know, I'd just be planning or something and say it was the wrong day.)When I tried to get my brain straight today, I overcorrected and thought it was Tuesday. Nate "lovingly" corrected me AGAIN and informed me it's Wednesday... Whatever! Anyway, so since today is Whatever Wednesday, I'm supposed to post but I really don't have the energy to do a list or really anything so here's what's going on...
-I've been working on birthday party plans, I'll give you info after the party when I have pictures but the theme Tayvin picked was dinosaurs so we've got all kinds of dino things planned. (Actually, I gave Tayv the options of cars, animals, or bugs and he chose animals but then I couldn't find the right kind of animals for invitations so we changed it to dinosaurs.) Which brings me to my next grrr... I swear dinosaurs must be extinct or something... I have looked at so many stores for dinosaur anything and I have had no luck! No wrapping paper, gift bags, stickers, nothin'!
-Nate has had a few interviews and a few more coming up. Our first pick is one in Logan but we're not sure about all the details yet so we'll let you know what we find out!
-I'm starting to sell Mary Kay. I'm still not completely sure how I feel about it-I want to do it to help people and earn a little extra money but I'm not willing to spend a ton of time away from my family so we'll see how it goes. I'll probably be sending out invitations to my debut party in the next few weeks so if I know you and you have skin, you'll probably receive one! In the meantime, here's my plug... If you have any questions or want to learn more about it, leave a comment or call me... :)

We hope everyone is doing well...we miss you all!

Reasons I LOVE summer

I am absolutely soaking up the summer here, and can't even begin to count the reasons I love summer but here are my top ten:

• Peas. (Or pretty much anything homegrown.) I'm pretty sure if you've tried them, I need not say more. But for those of you who have not been so blessed, I"ll attempt to explain. Up until I was probably in junior high, I don't think I'd eaten frozen peas. There was just no reason to even try. My mom loves gardening and always grew peas. In fact, I think she used picking peas as a reward for behaving or doing our jobs. I've been out most days picking peas and I usually have them gone in an hour or so-I try to savor them. Is there anything better than homegrown peas in the pod? I submit that there is not.

• Biking. We've been working on that triathlon and thus have been biking a lot. Although it's not the same as biking the coastal trail and not near as pretty, I love getting out there and getting quick-moving exercise.


• Green Grass. I love soft green grass and let's face it, in Alaska, most of the grass is green but not so soft. I'm pretty sure the most important thing to my mom in the summer is her yard, more specifically, her grass so it's pretty soft here. Although, being in a drought, we are struggling to keep it green but we're doing our best.


• Summer Rain. You can smell it coming and there's nothing like it.


• Lightning Storms. I made Nate come outside with me at midnight a few weeks ago to watch several lightning storms going on at the same time. My favorite is sitting under the big trees, protected from the wind and rain and watching the lightning off in the hills. (We did have a small fire from lightning just down the road the other day though, it shook the house when it hit and shocked my dad who was outside-Scary.)


• The Smell of Grass. If you know me well, you probably know that's my favorite smell and I'm trying to take advantage of it. When my mom and I were deciding what chores I would take care of around the house, I begged for mowing!


• Summer nights. I love sitting outside in the evening, not needing a coat, and looking at the clear sky. There are so many stars out at night down here and it just can't be beat. Hopefully before the summer is over, I can talk Nate into sleeping outside under the stars with me.


• The Sound of Sprinklers. I grew up hauling pipe and all though it's not my favorite activity, I appreciate what it means. We work the land here and I have such great respect for those who do. The sound of sprinklers reminds me of working the land and of my childhood.


• Horse rides. My dad will pretty much ride anytime of the year but I'm more partial to summer rides. It's so amazing to be up exploring the mountains on horseback and spending time with my family. Oh, and the sunsets on the mountain are breathtaking.

• Sun. Duh. There's just nothing like lying in the sun with your eyes closed, just soaking it in.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go eat lunch. Do you think it's possible to OD on peas?

Bear Lake

I will warn you right now...I used all my creative juices on cards last night so this will be a terribly boring post...

We left on Tuesday morning to go to Bear Lake for our Anniversary. We stopped in Evanston to buy Tayv some beach toys then went straight to the beach. We had so much fun watching our boy play in the water and then the sand. He was a little scared in the water if we weren't too close to him and he did go in head first once and had to be saved by daddy. I love Bear Lake though because it's shallow for so long that I could just let him play in the water and not worry about him going too far out. He and Daddy made a sand castle but we couldn't find any buckets so we had to buy a flower pot. So good job boys, making do with your lame, but too expensive, tools. Tayvin declared later that he was making soup and cookies with his shovel. He even added water to his "soup." I think this means I cook too much and should probably cut back...right babe? :) On the way back, I spotted a caterpillar. I've been trying to notice things that may be common to me but that Tayvin doesn't know about, and point them out so he can learn. So we stopped to watch this caterpillar that was inching faster than I can walk and all the sudden Tayvin just stomps on it and says, "Ew, bug. Stomp on it!" I reacted fast enough that he only got one stomp in and didn't kill the poor thing but it took everything we had to not laugh hysterically. Then I had to explain that we only stomp on bugs and spiders, not caterpillars. I think I've trained him well, we should never have another bug in our house again!

We camped on Rendezvous beach that night. Tayvin went to bed early so Nate and I played cards and ate candy! The next morning we went back to the beach for a few hours then went back and packed up camp. We went over to look at Nate's grandparent's old cabin then stopped for lunch and raspberry shakes... Most definitely the reason people go to Bear Lake! Thanks for a fun trip and a great anniversary, babe!

I put all my pics on my flash drive and lost it so as soon as I locate it in all of my scrapbooking stuff, I'll post pictures.

Only 3 years?

Today Nate and I are celebrating our 3rd Anniversary. We're sharing it with my parents, who have been married now for 30 years, and my sister who has now been married for 9 years I believe. It's so crazy to think that in that time we've finished school, helped raise the Culver kids, and had a baby who is now two! And yet, there are days when I feel like I've been married most of my life. But either way, I'm pretty excited to know that we have so many more years together on this earth to learn and grow together. To raise a family in the gospel, create a loving home, and be an example of Christ have always been my top three goals and Nate helps me get closer to those each and every day. I still remember that seriously hot and beautiful day 3 years ago and wouldn't change it for the world. Happy Anniversary Babe! Here's to many more Sundays. :)

Lame

I know I've been a totally lame blogger-spending more time on other people's blogs than mine but what can I say? They're more interesting than I am.
Anyway, it's been almost a week since I said I would post about Nate's job and here I am...just now doing it. I do have excuses though, this is what we've been up to.

-On Friday, Nate quit his job. He just didn't feel like everything there was 100% honest and didn't feel like he could work there and keep his integrity. So he has another offer and is still looking into a few jobs. Hopefully, by Monday he'll be back to work.
-We also went camping Friday night. We packed up the 4-wheeler and took Tayv up to my family's hunting spot for the evening. I was just on a role-I forgot the hot dog buns, all the s'more supplies, pillows, and a few other things-but I remembered the matches and Tayvin so oh well.
-We went to Salt Lake on Saturday to get Breaking Dawn (I would have been there at midnight but I accidentally promised Nate I would go camping with him and didn't think I should back out) and eat dinner with Nate's cousin and her family. They absolutely loved Tayvin and he couldn't get enough of Aanika either.
-On Sunday I woke up and basically couldn't move my body. I don't know if I got the flu or what but I still don't have full use of my arms/hands. It's getting better though, I can get out of bed without crying now.
-My nephew came to stay with us on Sunday and just left today, it's been fun for Tayv to have someone to play with and beat up on him.
-And of course, I spent a couple days reading Breaking Dawn-I finished yesterday morning and am still deciding what I think about it. Caution: Spoiler coming up....



I did love that it ended well for everyone-I'm a sucker for happy endings!
-Nate's brother Mo will be in Salt Lake for a few hours Friday night so we get to go to dinner with him and then maybe see his wife, Julia for a minute before they head up to Idaho.
-Then...Nate's dad comes in Saturday morning for a day and we'll be picking him up then maybe going to the zoo with him. I'm so excited for Tayv to see him, just sad Jeanne can't come. (Hope you're feeling better, Jeanne.)
-I mentioned our Iron Man triathlon a while ago and we're starting it today, I'm only 5 lbs from my goal so hopefully this will finish it off...wish us luck!
Anyway, I'll seriously try to keep everyone updated on the job situation...

Out of the mouth's of babes...

Tayvin and I went shopping for new church clothes for him yesterday. We couldn't really find any we loved so instead, we just bought us some new clothes. (All on sale, of course.) He wanted to show everyone his new 'cowboy shirt.' So we went over to where they were hauling hay. This is how it went down:

Tayvin: "Cowboy shirt!"
Uncle Terence: "Wow, cool cowboy shirt. Where'd you get that?"
Tayvin: "The bag."
Uncle Terence: "Where?"
Tayvin: "The bag."
Me: "Translation? The bag."
Uncle Terence: "What bag?"
Me: "The shopping bag, Ter."

I sure wish that's all it took for me to get new clothes. Of course, then we'd have to build a second house for my clothes.

Check back later, we'll have news on Nate's job....