Arlington Ward Camp out 2010

Sharon, VT

Matt and I were so excited to participate in our first Arlington ward camp out. We had heard such great things about it and were literally counting down the days until we could take off and set up camp.

We bought all the necessary camp equipment, loaded up the car on Friday night and made our way to Sharon Vermont. We stayed at Camp Joseph which was absolutely beautiful and the perfect location for a camp out. I'm a little bit of a wimp sometimes, so the hot showers, flushing toilets and our air bed made the whole experience so much nicer for me. Seriously, I never want to camp again without an airbed. It truly made a world of difference!

Having never been to any church history sites, I was so excited to be camping literally next door to Joseph Smith's birth place. Matt and I took a small tour and walked the grounds where his home once stood.

It was so cool to hear the Tabernacle Choir singing from the trees (they had hidden speakers that surrounded the place) as we read the prophets testimony and learned more about his life.

After having lunch back at camp and playing a little catch (my new favorite activity) we decided to get ourselves some real desert and check out the Ben & Jerry's factory. We died laughing as we pulled up and saw the huge containers of ingredients. Check out all that SUGAR!

There were about a million people at the factory and it wasn't even running because it was a Saturday, so we opted to forgo the big tour. We did walk through their flavor graveyard however which was just as cool. I seriously couldn't believe some of the flavors they tried out. One of them was seriously peanuts and popcorn. Not a huge surprise that one didn't work out.

Matt and I couldn't leave without getting our hands on some of the flavors that have lasted though, so we made our way to the gift shop to make our purchase. Why the gift shop? Well, there was a massive line to get a scoop of ice cream and it cost the same as getting a whole carton. We laughed to ourselves thinking about how we could have just driven two minutes up the road to the nearest Shaw's Market to get the same thing. Maybe one day we'll have to go back when it's not so busy, like on a weekday when the factory is actually running. :)

Once we returned to camp we took a seriously needed nap, ate some awesome tinfoil dinners prepared by Matt and roasted enough marshmallows to feed an army.

We met so many new people in our ward and really enjoyed sitting around the camp fires listening to them all tell the funniest stories. I think we were all up until around 1:00 a.m. on Saturday and still had to get up the next morning for our 8:45 testimony meeting. It was such a blast. Our bishop even brought up his banjo to play around the fire and to accompany the Sunday hymns which was so cool.

Getting away from the city for the weekend to hang out with awesome people in the great outdoors was just what Matt and I needed. It was the perfect camping trip!

THE HONEYMOON: Part Two

Breckenridge/Frisco/Vail, Colorado

Matt and I took off from Telluride and went on another road trip. We ended up in Vail Colorado where we stayed for the next few days. The first day we were there we had ourselves a little adventure. We got up super early and rented a 4 wheeler. We had so much fun playing on Matt's sister's at Christmas time that we couldn't pass up the opportunity to do it again.

We had the 4 wheeler for 3 hours and really had a good time. We were super lucky that we decided last minute to throw some sweatshirts in our suitcases because as you can see, there was still SNOW! Also, when we had about a half hour left with the ATV, we started to feel a little rain. We tried to rush back before the storm really hit but didn't quite make it. We got poured on and let me tell you, getting pelted with rain as your flying down a mountain does not feel good. You could hear us laughing the whole way back between our yelps in pain. :)

Matt and I explored Breckenridge and Frisco while staying in Vail and were so excited to find out that there were art festivals going on across both towns. The one in Frisco had all kinds of family fun activities like riding donkeys for kids. The cool thing about riding a donkey in Frisco was that they didn't just make you walk in a big circle like most places, they actually marched you around town. It was so fun to watch.

Breckenridge had a very cool sidewalk chalk art competition. You were assigned a square to do what you wanted in and at the end of the day they picked a winner. You wouldn't believe what people can do with side walk chalk.

There was also a river that ran through the town that people just couldn't keep themselves out of. Loved. it. :)

And because a festival just isn't complete with out Kettle corn, we had to get our hands on some of that too. We were the first customers for this new batch, so the guy let us get up close to watch the making process. We had to step back once it started popping though because the kernels flew everywhere!

Colorado is seriously one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It was so laid back, easy going and peaceful. We just wanted to stay forever. But who wouldn't want to stay on vacation forever? :)

THE HONEYMOON: Part One

Telluride, Colorado

I just have to start off by saying that our honeymoon was so much better than anything I could have possibly imagined. I loved feeling completely removed from everyone and everything. It was easily the most relaxing vacation I have ever been on.

We started off in Denver where we rented this guy (below). Matt and I love to drive, so we were excited to start the first part of our honeymoon with a 6 1/2 hour road trip. We blared the music, ate junk food, stopped where we wanted and enjoyed the amazing scenery.



Once we reached Telluride we promptly checked into our hotel which was by far the most amazing hotel I have ever stayed in. If you ever find yourself wanting to vacation in Telluride stay at Capella in Mountain Village. Trust me, you won't regret it.



We parked our car at the hotel in Mountain Village and took the free gondola into the town of Telluride every day. It was absolutely beautiful and so nice not to worry about parking or getting around.



Telluride was little but so charming. It's main area consisted of one stretch of road filled with shops and restaurants. There were friendly faces everywhere and everyone owned a dog. I'm not talking about the little rat dogs you see all over the place in the city either, people owned actual dogs.



There was plenty of good food and thanks to our personal assistant (yes the hotel provided us with a personal assistant!) we were able to enjoy lunch at a great pizza place. The atmosphere was so fun and relaxed. Again, I was in heaven.



While walking around, Matt and I stopped to look at all the events going on in Telluride and came across this little gem. The poster says, "Learn the fundamentals of hip hop as we choreograph a dance inspired by Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy." We died laughing and were a little sad we couldn't participate. Is that not the funniest thing ever?



Matt and I got really good at sharing meals. The portions are always so huge and when you're staying in a hotel with a small fridge you can't always take your left overs home. Not a problem usually, but when the food is AMAZING it may not be the best idea.

We ate at a restaurant called Cosmo which is famous for their donut deserts. We split Calamari and Steak, which in their own right were above and beyond amazing, and then sunk out teeth into the warmest, most delicious donuts ever! We were really sad we didn't get a chance to eat at this place again before heading home.



Telluride basically has only one road that leads in and out. On the other side of town is this huge waterfall surrounded by smaller waterfalls. Our waitress at Cosmo encouraged us to drive up to the falls and to explore the old coal mines out there. So we did.



Okay, I'm a chicken and we didn't make it all the way to the top but we got close. The roads were dirt, steep and narrow. I was so afraid that a car would start coming down and then we would be stuck. Poor Matt had to hear me squeal every time we turned a corner.



The old coal mine was a bit of a bust. It looked really unsafe and as we approached we kept hearing all these weird high pitched beeping noises. It didn't take us long to discover where the sound was coming from as gofers (I think) popped up here and there. This one (below) let us get really close.



We stayed in Telluride for about 4 days and then headed out for our next adventure. We truly loved Telluride though and both agree that it was our favorite part of the Honeymoon. You really are so removed from real life that you can't help but relax and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. We hope we're lucky enough to go back some day.


FYI: I still can't hear out of one ear but I am feeling a little better. Thanks for all the kind words and well wishes. Also, I'm blogging a little backwards and the wedding will come after the honeymoon.

Sick, Sick and Sick

I've been meaning to update with pictures from my wedding, honeymoon and new life as a married woman but just when I got my pictures together something serious hit. Matt was sick first with a horrible sore throat and terrible cough. I wasn't too worried about catching anything because every time Matt got sick while we were dating I never once caught it. I considered my immune system to be invincible.

Well, I was not so lucky this time. I caught what Matt had and apparently my immune system just wasn't quite ready for it because I was so much worse than he was. I've been home from work since last Friday sicker than I've been in a long time. I thought I was over it on Tuesday but when I got up to go to work things got worse, I couldn't hear out of my right ear. I called a 24 hour nurse to ask if that was normal. She assured me that it was and that I just needed to relax and take it easy and I would be hearing again soon. So, I stayed home again and tried everything I could think of to get my hearing to come back with no luck.

On Wednesday morning at about 3:00 am I woke up in more pain than I have ever felt in all my life. It literally took my breath away and brought me to my knees. Matt jumped out of bed and we rushed to the hospital. We headed home about an hour later with a diagnosis of a middle ear infection. The doctor said that in her opinion ear infections are worse than labor. Not having had a baby, I don't know if that's true but it sure made me feel better. I haven't been able to lie down completely for about 2 days now which means I'm not really sleeping. Oh and on top of that, all of the pain medications that they gave me make me nauseous and miserable. My poor husband has been so good to take care of me even giving up work and sleep just so I can be comfortable. I love him so much.

I normally wouldn't blog about this kind of thing but I just wanted to let you all know that I will blog the wedding and honeymoon and everything else soon. I just need to get on my feet again first. Until then, here is a fun video from our honeymoon. This may be more fun for Matt and I to watch, so consider yourself warned. We really do laugh and have fun all the time.