The Great Outdoors

After playing in the waterfall.

The morning after we nearly froze to death.

Richard made these pancakes on the camping
stove. He was hungry. I was proud.

Here we are in the meadow w/ the Pursers
on our first hike. See the cowboy hat?

I had to add this picture just
because of Richard's hat!

That's us under the waterfall.

Last weekend we went camping for the very first time since we got married. It was very exciting! We went to Payson Lakes with our friends the Pursers, Hardcastles, and Hoellins. We left on Thursday evening after I got home from work ( and after we donated plasma to pay for gas, of course! ). It is just south of Provo and a little ways up the canyon in Payson, so it only took a couple of hours to get there. It was still light out when we arrived, so we hurried to pitch our tent while we could still see everything. It was then that we realized just how small our tent was...our air mattress touched every side. It's just a small backpacking tent, but we made it work. Let's just say it was really cozy! The first night we were freezing cold! We did not prepare for the elements very well at all. We snuggled all night...I'm pretty sure we've never slept that close in the two years we've been married! The next two nights were much better, but that first one was a doozy!
Our first full day there we went on a hike. There wasn't anything real exciting at the end of it, but we did see two elk, which was very exciting! Later that day Richard and I went into town to get some ice for the coolers, and while we were there we decided to invest in some float tubes to keep us cool on the lake...it was a very wise investment! As soon as we got back we floated it up on the lake in the nice brisk water, and it was fabulous! That night we also cooked a dutch oven dinner for everyone. It was our first time doing it on our own, and I have to admit that it was a success. Thanks mom and dad for the recipes, and for letting us borrow your dutch ovens.
We went on another hike that led up to a waterfall that emptied into a pool, and it was by far our favorite part of the trip! We all wore our swimsuits "just in case," but no one was planning to get in the water. Then before we knew it Marc was taking off his clothes and running into the waterfall. Richard followed him, and the rest of us just couldn't resist. The water was icy cold, but it was a blast!
Oh...I can't leave out the fact that Richard wore a cowboy hat the entire time! Sounds like something he wouldn't be caught dead doing, right? Well, right before we left our house he grabbed it and said, "I'm gonna take this." I just laughed, of course, because he didn't even want to buy that hat in the first place when I made him dress up like a cowboy for Halloween, so I was sure he had to be joking. I was wrong. It was like a dang security blanket! His reasoning behind it is that he sunburns really easy, and the cowboy hat shades his head, neck and ears better than a ball cap. He was right. He didn't burn at all. I still think its funny, though.
We left Sunday morning and made it home in time for church, which surprised both of us! It was an awesome weekend, and we had so much fun! We got to make some new friends, and we had another summer adventure.

Mardi Gras & Waterfalls

This is the rockin' Zydeco band!

We're not telling you what we did for these beads...

Richard, Amanda, Jeremy & Scott taking
a breather on our way to the waterfall.

We made it to the top!

We snagged another hiker to take our picture...
Great view, huh?!

So, last weekend we were trying to think of something fun to do, but wanting to save money at the same time...Friday, my dad came to the rescue with some free tickets to a concert at the Ogden Amphitheater. We met my parents and their friends the Saal's and the Howell's at the venue, and we had a great night! We saw a local guy play guitar and sing some original songs to start things off, but the headliner was Dwayne Dopsie and his Zydeco band from Louisiana. Their music was sort of Cajun style, and so fun! Dwayne played an accordion, and there was a guy who killed on the washboard. I have to admit that I wasn't expecting too much , but they blew me away, for sure. They even threw out mardi gras beads, and we totally caught some. It was awesome, thanks Dad!
I came up with something brilliant for Saturday! We hiked Waterfall Canyon in Ogden. We recruited our favorite friends Jeremy and Amanda ( who recently got engaged! ) and our brother-in-law Scott to come with us, and we had a blast! We packed some snacks and hit the trail at about 7:30, which ended up being perfect timing because we got to the top of the trail where the waterfall is just before sunset. We took lots of pictures at the top and then started our way back down. We all went home and showered and then met up at Jeremy and Amanda's place to play games and eat pizza. We definitely ate pizza, but we watched movies instead. First, we started to watch "Ghost Dad" with Bill Cosby, but it was lame, so we put in "Robots." I fell asleep on the floor, and Amanda went to bed...we were all tuckered out from the hike! It was such a fun night, though! I think we'll definitely be doing some more hikes this summer. Free entertainment!

Once upon a time...

We are starting a blog! Well, actually, I'm starting it. When I showed it to Richard he just rolled his eyes and laughed at me. He's gonna love it though, I know he will! Anyway, I'm pretty excited about it.
Anyone who knows us and reads this will already know our story, but I'm going to tell it anyway...just in case.
Richard is originally from Montana ( well, technically he was born in Wyoming, but that's not the point ). On his senior year Spring Break trip with a few friends he stayed in St. George and decided that he would like to go to Dixie State College for school after graduation. He met one of my neighbors there, and they became best friends. After a few semesters he went on his mission to Vina del Mar, Chile ( which he loved! ). His family moved to St. George from Montana, and he finished his Associates of Art at Dixie when he got home from the mission. He stayed really close with my neighbor, who eventually invited him to move up to West Point and live with him so they could play guitars whenever they wanted. Playing guitar is what brought the two of them together in the first place, and Richard wasn't sure what he wanted to do after he got his AA, so he did it.
His first Sunday in the West Point 9th ward was my last before I moved back down to Salt Lake to continue attending the University of Utah. I had been there the previous Spring semester in the dorms, but I had moved out and into an apartment with two of my best friends, Katie and Emilee, and Katie's sister. We saw each other at church, but we didn't talk and we were never introduced to each other. So, I went to school ( sometimes ) and worked at Starbucks in SLC while he played guitar and worked at Fun Daze (owned by his friend's aunt). We were both hanging out with lots of different people, but luckily none of it was working out for either of us! His friend's mom kept telling him "Call Rachel Porter, she's a fun girl!" But Richard didn't want to have to drive all the way to SLC.
Finally, the Friday of Halloween weekend 2005 he called me. I was at work so he left me a message. I had no idea who this stranger was on my voicemail, but the message was so funny that I decided to call him back. We talked for a few minutes and he invited me to go to a haunted house that night, but I already had plans with some friends so I had to say no. He didn't give up, though. He asked me to come watch his new band play their very first show the next night, and I said I would be there. I called my friend Marissa who was in the West Point ward to go with me to the show. She knew him and hung out with his group of friends, so I felt much better about the whole situation. The show was fun, and he asked if I wanted to hang out again. I said yes. The next weekend I went home again and we went to a movie. We started hanging out more and more, and we emailed everyday because he didn't have a cell phone. We got to be really good friends, and he invited me to go home with him to St. George for Thanksgiving. We hadn't even held hands or anything yet, and even though I felt like it was crazy I wanted to go! So I did. It could have blown up in my face, but everything worked out great! He held my hand for the first time on Thanksgiving, and the next day he kissed me. Six months to the day after we met he proposed to me ( it was a complete surprise! ), and here we are today.
Right now we have the summer off, but we are both attending Weber State University. I should graduate next spring with a BS major in Human Performance Management and minor in Nutrition Education, and Richard is working on his Bachelor's in Business Administration ( maybe, he hasn't decided for sure yet ).
Welp, I've written a lot! There is more to come, though, so stay tuned!