After 10.5 years of knowing Jon I have recently learned something new about him. I never would have thought it would have taken me over ten years to learn this, maybe one year but certainly not ten. Jon is scared of spiders. Now he won't actually admit to his fear of spiders, he will just say he doesn't like spiders, but believe me he is scared of them.

Our house in Lehi didn't have too many spiders and I was usually the one to spot them so I always killed them (I am scared of them too by the way). In our new house we have a basement and the basement just seems to breed spiders, they are everywhere. I am killing them all the time.

The other night Jon and I were watching TV and I spotted a spider on the wall. Jon was already up so I told him to kill it. I learned that my idea of killing a spider and his idea of killing a spider are two different things. I will get paper towels and squish it to make sure it is dead and throw it away. After telling Jon there is a spider on the wall he proceeds to get a piece of cardboard and have the spider land on the cardboard and then his idea was to throw it in the fireplace. That would have been all good if we actually had a fire going but we didn't and the spider could end up crawling out of the fireplace and hiding somewhere in the basement. Jon gets the spider on the cardboard alright but then the spider starts to crawl towards him. Jon drops the cardboard and loses the spider in the process. I begin to ask him why on earth would he drop the cardboard instead of just getting rid of the spider like any normal person would do. Jon tells me that the spider was coming to get him and that's when it occurred to me that he is scared of spiders.

We have now agreed that I will kill the spiders if he will take care of any mice. So far so good with the mice.

I can't believe it took me over ten years to find this out about Jon. Can't wait to see what I will learn after twenty years.

The poor tree has no idea what's coming to it

Timber!!!!

Zach taking a swing with the ax

Jon's turn

It's Hailing

The weight of the hail on the tarp busted the pole

Zach and Megan trying to fix the pole

Our backyard has a new landscape thanks to Jon. We had a few trees on the north edge of our property that hung over the neighbors driveway and garage that could become questionable during the winter months. Our neighbor told us that last winter he was a little nervous that one of the trees would topple on top of his motor home. We didn't really want to buy a damaged motorhome and decided that it would be cheaper to just cut down the troublesome trees. Jon was able to use some equipment from work and cut down two trees and trimmed another one. Now that the trees are gone it has dramatically changed the scenery. We can rest easy knowing that our trees won't cause damage to our neighbors property.

Recently we went camping near Ferron Reservoir with the Sweeney's, our rock crawling buddies. We were able to go fishing, ride 4-wheelers and even watch the dogs scare some sheep away. I caught five fish but I had to resort to bait fishing instead of my preferred spinner fishing. It seems as of late the fish just aren't taking to the spinners like they used to. We had a great relaxing weekend, and the scenery wasn't that bad either.

A couple of weeks ago I decided that I wanted to have a picnic and drive the Alpine Loop. Jon and I took off in the 4-Runner for an adventure. It was great to get away in the mountains even if it was for just an evening. We took our time and drove on little side roads just to see what was there. We decided to stop for dinner on a dirt road where we used to ride the 4-wheelers when we were dating. It brought back a lot of memories. When we stopped we ended up with a little trouble.



From the picture you might think that we had car troubles but that was not the case. The car was running perfectly. In packing everything for dinner I had failed include the matches for the BBQ. Jon and I searched all over the car for a matchbook or lighter or anything that would start the BBQ but no such luck. Jon had a brilliant idea that one would only see on MacGyver (that is if MacGyver was hungry and forgot matches for the BBQ). Jon decided that if he took of the spark plug wire and held it up the BBQ while I started the vehicle the spark from the wire would light the BBQ. Stroke of genius he was right. I now have my own MacGyver.

Recently we had our annual family campout. Each year one of the siblings is in charge and gets to pick the location of the campout. This year it was my sister Angie's turn and we ended up going to the Tifie Ranch near Morgan, UT. The Tifie Ranch is part of a non-profit organization, you can find out more about it here. Their facilities are amazing. It doesn't really feel like camping. We occupied the small pavilion which inlcuded a full kitchen, two bathrooms (with showers), BBQ grill, folding tables and chairs. At the ranch there is a playground, archery range, teepee village, and paintball course (you have to bring your own paintball equipment though). We didn't have as large a group as in previous years but those who came had a great time and I really enjoyed just hanging out, playing games and just being away from work for a couple of days. Here is a picture of my cute mom humoring me. We saw this face on the tree by the teepee village and I made her pose for the camera - she is such a good sport.



Here is a picture of the small pavilion. There were screens that you could roll down and hooked to the ground so when the wind blew it wouldn't blow in the pavilion.




At the Tifie Ranch they use alternate sources of energy. Here is a picture of some of the solar panels and windmills, they also have hydro electric energy.

A few weeks ago I was involved in an accident on the freeway on my way home. Traffic had come to a hault and I was stopped in my lane. I looked in my rear-view mirror and see a truck come barreling towards me trying to swerve to miss me. He was traveling too fast and too close to miss me but instead of hitting me straigt on he only hit my driver side rear bumber. Fortunately nobody was hurt, but it did do quite some damage to my little Beth. You may remember my tribute to Beth when she turned 200,000 miles. Now 3,500 miles later she has been totaled out.





The other driver's insurance decided that my little Beth wasn't worth fixing. Part of the problem was that not only did the driver smash in the rear driver side when he did so it bent the frame, which can be costly to fix. After reviewing the pictures that the adjuster took our claims specialist decided that our vehicle was worth $2,200.

WHAT?!?

Our vehicle was worth more than that and there is now way we can replace our vehicle for $2,200 dollars. After much discussion back and forth I forwarded comparables from our area. They came back with $2,600.

SERIOUSLY?!?

About this time Jon and I getting very frustrated. Beth never had any major problems and we weren't planning on getting rid of her anytime in the near future. Jon spoke to our claims lady and told her that $2,600 was unacceptable and they needed to reevaluate the valuation of our car. She told Jon that in my comparables that I had included dealer sales and as we all know dealers make more money on car sales that "for sale by owner" vehicles. She explained that our car was not dealer ready. Jon responded with "of course it's not dealer ready, you client rear ended our vehicle and if you want we will vacuum our car and spray new car smell into it to be dealer ready." That was basically the end of their conversation. The next day I wrote our claims lady a lengthy fax stating our position again and that had we not been so carelessly rammed into we wouldn't be in this situation and wouldn't have to spend our time dealing with this. I included more comparables this time they were all "for sale by owner." The claims lady called me back the next day and said that they had done another valuation based on my comparables and they were ready to offer $3,800 - now that was more like it. We accepted their offer with the option to buy the vehicle back for $400 and are now glad to have it settled. We hope to be able to sell Beth in the near future and hope she can make someone else as happy as we were with her.

Amongst all the remodeling going on at our new home we have managed to get away for a couple of weekends.

Father's Day weekend we headed up the our favorite mountain area (the Uinta's)for some camping and fishing. It was a rainy weekend (much like the rest of June) but we made the best of it and we still had a great time. It was nice to get away from the mess that was our house and just enjoy each others company. We pulled into the Provo River Falls area where we found a friend from our old neighborhood who was having car troubles. We weren't able to help fix it but we were able to offer some assistance in getting it back home. We were just glad that we were able to offer some sort of help for them. Hopefully if we are ever in the same situation someone will offer to help us.







Then over the 4th of July we were able to go to the other end of the state and spend some time in Moab. It was hot but I expected worse. We spent time rock crawling, playing in the river and watching fireworks. It was a great weekend.

At least something good can come from all the rain we've had - RAINBOWS! Here are a few pictures.

So you may be asking yourself what do these two things have in common. I would be asking the same thing if it weren't for the fact that I have experienced this twice in one month. For reasons unknown birds seem to find our chimney a magical place, that is until they actually end up at the bottom of it. Then they just flutter around trying to get out and occasionally smack themselves right into the glass. The fireplace isn't really all that big to be fluttering around, but they think it will make a big difference.

The first time this happened I was watching TV and I hear this noise coming from the fireplace. I go to check it out and just as I am intently searching for the noise that is coming from the fireplace the bird comes out of the darkness right into the glass. Good thing the glass was closed otherwise he would have hit me in the face. It was almost like I had something to do with his being trapped in my fireplace. Sure I could open the glass and let him fly out, but whose to say he would actually go outside and the last thing I want to do is clean up bird poop inside my house. I immediately call Jon and tell him that there is a bird in the fireplace and he will need to get it out when he gets home. Now I can kill spiders and other insects that have invaded my home, but I draw the line at catching birds from fireplaces it may have something to do with the movie "The Birds". Needless to say Jon and his brother get the bird out and all is well at our house. At least it was for three weeks.

This morning I go down to watch the news while I eat breakfast and right when I turn the TV on there is a story about birds in San Francisco attacking pedestrians. Right at that moment I hear it. The sound of wings flapping. There it was again. Another bird caught in our fireplace. We must have one great chimney to make the birds want to check out the deep dark hole. Either that or the birds around us can't make a smooth landing and end up falling in. Either way we need to put a mesh over the opening of chimney. These birds are freaking me out. I made Jon promise that he would get the bird out before he left for work this morning. So hopefully when I get home there will be no birds in my fireplace.

Nine years ago today I married my best friend. We have had some wonderful times during those years and I look forward to many more years. So to celebrate the nine years here are nine things you may or may not know about us.


1. My older sister set us up. My sister and Jon went to culinary school together for two years. During that time he kept hearing "I have this sister you need to ask out" and I kept hearing "there's this guy in my class you need to meet". Needless to say 2 1/2 years later he asked me out and we have been inseparable ever since.

2. We were engaged for one year. I know it is a long time - trust me. But considering how long it took him to ask me out, I think it could have been worse.

3. We are both the youngest in our families and both left handed - truly a match made in heaven!

4. We have never paid rent since we have been married. My parents went on a LDS mission shortly after we were married and we were lucky enough to house-sit for them. This helped us save money for a house once they returned.

5. I always wanted to marry someone who knew how to change the oil in the car (isn't this what every girl has on her list when looking for a mate?). Jon not only knows how to change the oil, but so much more. He has saved us so much money in auto repairs.

6. When we first met I always heard from Jon how much he hated the desert and how the mountains are far superior to the desert. Yes, if you are talking about the west desert in Utah I would have to agree that the mountains are superior, but I grew up camping in southern Utah amidst all the red rock and I love southern Utah. Once I introduced him to southern Utah and all the beautiful red rock he agrees that the desert of southern Utah can be just as beautiful as the mountains.

7. I hated fishing and thought it was boring (even though I had never done it). Jon had me try it during one of our many camping trips and now I love it and find it very relaxing. It is something we enjoy doing together.

8. We both hate Valentine's Day. Don't ask why, we just do. It makes it really easy to decide what to do on that "holiday".

9. We love to travel - which makes it very easy when you don't have any kids.

For Memorial weekend we went camping with friends up Mayfield canyon. It was great to get away and go camping. Our friends went up a day early and warned us there would mud. I was not completely prepared for exactly how much mud there would be. It was bad. We ended up putting our tent on the flatbed trailer to keep it out of the mud. Basically we made a redneck tent trailer. It rained, hailed and rained some more on us the whole weekend. We did have some sun which helped dry out the mud, but then it would just rain again. On Saturday Jon discovered that the bolts for the steering on the 4-Runner had broke off and the vehicle wouldn't be usable. So we decided that instead of having our weekend spoiled by not being able to go 4-wheeling (which was the whole purpose of this trip)that we would go home to get the bolts and fix the knuckle. We called every local auto parts store to find the part so we wouldn't have to go all the way back, but the part is only found at dealership and the closest dealership is in Orem. Luckily it wasn't too far of a drive. We left camp at about 2pm and were back by 7pm - not too bad. It was worth it we had a great time wheeling and camping.

THE REDNECK TENT TRAILER

FIXING THE 4-RUNNER

THE VIEW FROM OUR CAMPSITE

It's been almost a month since we have moved but I wanted to post the pictures I took of our empty house. Our last week in our home was crazy with packing and cleaning, but we finished at midnight on Thursday night. We were much too excited about our new home to be sad about leaving this one. We made great memories and friends there and it was a great house for our first home. Now we have the stress of remodeling our new home. When we left our old home for the last time I told Jon to say goodbye because we would never be back inside. It was just really weird to think that this place where we had spent the last 6 1/2 years we would no longer walk into. So here's my empty house.

My little Beth has hit a milestone recently. And with this milestone I believe I can say she is all grown up. It's kind of sad really because with this milestone it also means that she is on her way downhill. I'm not quite ready for her to leave. She has been with us to so many exciting places and has never let us down. We got her in 2000 when she was just three years old. Now after just nine short years she has hit 200,000 miles - that's right my little Honda Accord hit 200,000 miles. She still runs great and I have to say that it is a testament to the TLC that Jon has given her over the years. It is great that Jon knows so much about cars and can take care of them properly. Beth is still going strong but I know that vehicles don't last forever. So I hopingly say "Here's to nine more years??"

A couple of pictures capturing the momentous occasion

I don't have any kids and don't work with any kids but that doesn't mean my friends kids still don't say funny things to me. So here are a couple of recent ones that I keep laughing at.

In Sacrament Meeting Jon and I sit with our friend and her three kids while her husband sits on the stand. They are great kids and we have really enjoyed sitting with them. Last Sunday the five year old daughter was sitting on Jon's lap and I guess she had leaned her mouth on his shoulder and she accidentally slobbered on him and this is the conversation they had

Jon: Brynlee, did you just slobber on me?
Brynlee: Yeah (sheepishly)
Jon: That's okay, it will dry

Then Jon turns to me and says "Look what Brynlee just did" pointing at his shirt. I look at Brynlee and say "Brynlee did you just slobber on Jon?" Brynlee looks at me and holds her hand up like she is saying stop and assures me "Don't worry it will dry". Now Jon and I will frequently walk around the house with our hand up saying "Don't worry, blah blah blah" We get a chuckle everytime.

Then yesterday another friend dropped by with her three year old to get some raspberry starts. It was raining outside so the three year old and I were inside while my friend was outside digging up my raspberries. Her three year old was climbing all over me and I was telling her not to get too close because I was sick. This is how our conversation went.

Me: Don't get too close Brin, I'm sick.
Brin: Are you going to throw up?
Me: No, I'm not going to throw up.
Brin: Well when will you throw up?
Me: I'm not going to throw up because my tummy doesn't hurt, only my throat.
Brin: No, when are you going to throw up?
Me: I'm not going to throw up Brin
Brin: But I want you to throw up.

So what does that say when a three year old wants to watch you throw up? These kids just keep me smiling!!

Yes, we have sold our home. We have twelve days till we sign the papers. We are crossing our fingers that the buyer doesn't back out, but with twelve days left it's almost a done deal. She hasn't given us any reason to believe she will back out, but you never know. It just hit me - 12 DAYS - I better get packing. We put a lot of stuff in boxes when we put our home on the market, now I have to do the rest.

We are excited for our new home. The house we found almost two years ago was still available and we got it for what I feel like is a screamin' deal. It will be a lot of work, but we are looking forward to it.

12 days aaaaggghhhh!!!

THE NEW HOME

On our cruise Jon was brought up on stage to participate in the fun. In the first video he is supposed to be a backup singer to the comedian who is lipsyncing. Poor Jon has no rhythm. Yes, you can hear me talking and laughing at him in the background. The comedian is in front of Jon for part of the time but it is still funny.


In this next video Jon is supposed to lipsync to the song, however he has no clue what song this is. Afterwards they gave each participant a bottle of champagne. Yeah - we don't drink! So on our way out of the theater Jon pawned it off on a family group and they couldn't believe that he would give up his free bottle of champagne. Throughout the rest of the cruise Jon would always get these looks from people like they knew him and then they would realize that he was one of the men onstage and ask him something about it. It would give us a little chuckle each time.

To celebrate my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary my family went on a Wester Caribbean Cruise. It was just my parents, their children and spouses, so no grandchildren. Their anniversary is actually in August, but who wants to cruise in the summer when it is warm, unless you go to someplace like Alaska.

Anyways, we have been planning this for five years. We were all very excited, especially since for most of the group this would be their first time on a cruise. We set sail from Tampa on the Carnival Legend for a weeklong cruise with stops in Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and Roatan. In Grand Cayman and Roatan Jon and I, along with my sister Nancy, went scuba diving which was amazing, especially in Roatan. In Cozumel the whole family went to the Mayan Ruins of Tulum. It was soooo beautiful there. I can see why they built where they did. There is a nice breeze and the water and view is amazing. In Belize the whole family (with the exception of my brother and his wife) went cave tubbing and zip lining which was so much fun. Come on ziplining in the jungle of Belize and then floating on tubes down a river with caves up to 3/4 of mile long. AMAZING!

It was fun to just spend time with my family without any children distractions. The adults could be kids. Our first cruise it was just Jon and I which was really fun, but I liked having other people to talk to and do things with. We definitely liked Royal Caribbean better than Carnival but we had an excellent time and both cruise lines have advantages and disadvantages. To each his own I guess. The week after our cruise was difficult but we have survived and things are finally back to normal.