February 2007 (Yurt Fantasy)

Andy and the boys went for the Yurt Fantasy this month. This is the 2nd annual for Andy. They go to the bunchgrass yurt in Logan canyon. The men he goes with have gone to this yurt for 10 years, every year.
Andy was ready to go, had practiced his turns ready to compete with the seasoned. Apparently they made it in just great but this year snow fall was way less to be desired. In fact the trail head was dirt. Pretty disappointing comparing from last year. Last year was incredible snow...digging out the yurt-8feet or so. Anyway they made it, spent the night and geared up for the next three days of skiing. However, on Andy's first trip down, first turn in fact he twisted up crazy and sprained his ankle. Total bummer. He spend the rest of the trip in and close by the yurt. I think he was in pain but I'm not sure if he knew it. They took care of pain through self medication or something like that. He luckily made it out of there, he left to ski down by himself 3 hours before the rest of the boys and they all made it to the car at the same time. He spent some time at home layed up. He did finally get an xray, nothing broken. Next year has got to be better!

December 2006 ( Xmas, Seattle Trip)

Well the obvious Xmas happens in December. We had a small affair at the Porter home in SLC. Andy and I went down to spend a few days with my parents before leaving for Seattle for our first Xmas in Seattle.

Seattle is a great city and we had a great time. Joni and Don were wonderful hosts. Brian came over quite a bit. He took Andy telemark skiing to get ready for the January Yurt Fantasy. Apparently the skiing was the best of the year in Seattle. It snowed all day, Andy brought the good snow luck was the rumor. I stayed with Joni, we did some shopping and such. We all went to the IKEA store. That is a crazy place! While in Seattle we got to see Kevin and his girlfriend. We found a great little dive bar after we ate at a high priced restaurant, Amber, downtown. We decided to go here because Jon Hess is the manager and we were able to visit him that way. He works ALOT. Thanks to Jon for the drinks and it was way good to see him. Anyway the dive bar was much more our style, reminiscent of the Eagles Lodge at home. We played some pool before

going home. Way good to see Kevin...twice in one year! :0)

October 2006 (NYC)

I can't believe that I haven't ever been to NYC. Andy and I had some much fun. The sightseeing bus was fun, I thought I would feel like a dork riding around in the double decker bus but in my opinion there was not a better way to have a

quick and dirty tour of this awesome city.

I'm not sure what was my favorite thing about NYC. We went to see The Lion King, that was totally amazing. I liked it more that I thought I would. Andy too. We went to The Met Museum and the MOMA. Both had incredible works of art and you could easily spend days there. I really enjoyed spending time with Steve Spear. I hadn't seen him in a long time. He was an incredible guide for the East Village where he lives. His place is small but all one needs.

August 2006 (NW Road Trip)

I'm still off work but poor Andy is slaving away at the housing mess at USU. The giant hole that will one day be new housing for students on campus. He worked very hard this summer.

With my time off I joined up with my folks for a great old road trip. We hit the road with our bikes and each other. Our first stop, Boise of course. We spent a few nights with Travis, Michele and Julia. Then off we went to Bend Oregon. A great place...I had never spent time here and I really like it. We did some biking and hiking shopping and sightseeing. Nice place. After a night or two we headed off for the Oregon Coast. We hit the coast around Tillamook. Who could stop here without hitting the cheese factory? I thought I knew cheese factory's living in Cache Valley but I was wrong. This is one to stop at. We did some awesome biking here, the

Three Capes loop. Of course my parents are in way better shape than I am. Should I be happy or sad about this? I drove the car up the monster hills, felt a little like a loser but I am way over it. Anyway the sights on the coast are better seen on a bike that is for sure! After Tillamook we headed up the coast and made some more stops and rides.


Another great stop was in Astoria Oregon. WAY COOL place. The Colombia River hits the Ocean here which makes is have great bridges. They have an awesome bike trails to ride and we stayed in small hotel right on the water. I love looking at all the boats in the harbor. Peaceful place but I here it rains some 200+ days a year.

Finally our last stop was Seattle. This was our main destination, to see Jon Hess marry his girl. It was the most beautiful wedding ever. They were married on a steamship that cruised us through Lake Union and Lake Washington. It was great fun, I saw some old friends from High School. That was cool. We were all very happy to have made the journey for such a great event. Ahhh Weddings!

We had visits with Uncle Chris and Katherine, I got to see Kevin and his girl and of course I couldn't go to Seattle without seeing my lovely sis in law, Joni and her Don. What a great couple they are.

June 2006 (Boise, 5th Anniversary)

Recap: I had to include the trip to Boise that I made by myself. Many of you know how I hate to drive on the highway. I guess these years of country living has changed me. Anyhow I made the journey with thoughts the whole time of turning around. Boy I am glad I made it. Here is a photo of my favorite girl playing by the awesome Boise River. We have seriously thought of moving there. What a great city and a great trip.

I had to also include our 5th wedding anniversary. Boy am I lucky...so is he. We went to Sun Valley for a camping trip and had an excellent time. We sat by the river, rode our bikes (Andy was kicking my butt on bike trails)had some great meals and relaxed.

I hadn't been back to Sun Valley for a long time. It brought back many memories of living there. That place changed my life for the better that is for sure. Besides I would have never met Kevin, who would I be without him in my life.