...Big Sky...

Just Married!

Here we are with Tyler and Chelsea.

Chillaxin' in the hammocks.

Richard has great biking skills.

My sweet ride.

In the middle of August we made a much anticipated trip up to Richard's old stomping grounds of Bozeman, MT. This is where he graduated from high school, and he absolutely loved living there. He's always told me stories about him and his buddies Tyler, Miles, the triplets, Alonzo, Chase, and his cousin Eric and the fun they would have...and the trouble they'd get in. He's been wanting to take me there since we met, and we finally got to go. His friend Alonzo got married, and we thought that was the perfect reason to make the trip.
We stayed with Susan and Walt Connell, Richard's aunt and uncle. We had big breakfasts every morning, and dessert was the bomb...literally. Our first day there I got the complete tour of Bozeman. Richard was so excited he couldn't even sleep, so he woke me up bright and early and we headed out. He took me on the driving tour of his old neighborhood, showed me his and his friends' houses, and the many other places they used to hang out at. He showed me his high school, and it was actually open so we got to walk through the halls. We drove down Main Street and past the baseball field where he played Bucks baseball. Rich is a wonderful tour guide! That night we met up with his friend Tyler and his wife Chelsea and some of their friends, and we did some tight-rope walking on slackline tied to trees. It was so much fun!
The next day we hung out with Susan and Walt. They took us to the Farmer's Market at the fairgrounds. I felt so inspired to attempt making some new crafts! And there was some jewelery made from recycled bottle glass that was so cool, but pretty pricey. We made our way downtown and walked up and down Main Street. There were so many cool shops and boutiques. The boys were such good sports while Susan and I dragged them into all the clothing, shoe and makeup stores we could find! We had lunch at an awesome Mexican restaurant, and then Walt took us on a drive up Hyalite Canyon. It was beautiful! We had some time to kill before the wedding reception that night, so Rich and I went for a bike ride on some really sweet bikes. There are trails all over the place up there--it was so much fun! When we got home, Susan busted out some camping hammocks for us to relax in. We just laid in the shade, and enjoyed the perfect weather. It was my favorite day of the whole weekend.
The reception was incredible. It was in a gorgeous backyard, with a big canopy, a dance floor, and lights hanging from all the trees. The food was scrumptous, and Alonzo and Ashley looked very happy. Richard was in some of the slideshow pictures, which he was pretty excited about. After the reception is when the party really started, though. We went with Tyler and Chelsea and some other friends to Bozeman Hot Springs! The boys were so funny--they made up so many games and were doing so many tricks. It was hilarious!
Sunday, we went to church and then took off to make the long drive home. It was about an 7 hour drive, but it seemed to fly by because we listened to the book Twilight on cd. Richard loves it, by the way!
We had so much fun, and it was by far one of our favorite parts of the summer. We didn't get to do or see everything we wanted to, though. But that just means we'll have to go back again soon. Thanks Susan, Walt, Tyler and Chelsea. We love you guys!

Sister, Sister!

This summer I decided to start a new tradition...its called Sisters Day. And its awesome. One day a week my sisters Sarah and Chelsea meet me somewhere and we hang out. Pretty basic, but its a big deal. We are all 4 1/2 years apart in age, so when we were little we weren't really that close. We didn't really start bonding and being tight until I moved to SLC for awhile. Then I moved home, and shortly after I got married, so of course things changed. It was weird and stupid and rough, but now we're getting to be super-duper tight again and I LOVE IT! We've missed some weeks, but the days we get together are always spectacular. Usually we eat and watch a movie or episodes of The OC (our very favorite show ever). In these pictures we drew Enrique moles on each others faces, and met our old friend Allie in SLC. This is where Sarah found her "woman of the night dress." Its fierce. I love my sisters' guts, and I just think they're the best things to come out of the 90's. :) Sisters day is pretty much my favorite part of the week, so I'm pretty sure we'll continue doing it forever.

As they walked, and walked, and walked, and walked...

This is Shirl, the hippest grandma around.
She always makes sure we have cake.

Dad and Richard working up a sweat at the
ping-pong table. Sweet action shot!

Kody (with a K) and Chelsea. Don't you love
how they're both making the same face?!

Grandma B. and Georgia on the deck.

Me and my daddy.

So hard core.

Mom and Darren giggling about technology.
They're old.

I almost got everyone in this one!

We love our aunt Dayna!

Tari and Chris...awwwww.

Me and Chels mackin' the wall Indian.

This is before we left. She's a crazy driver.

Happy late Pioneer Day, everyone!!! We went up to a cabin to visit with some family from out of state. We celebrated my mom's and her brother Darren's birthdays with cake and ice cream, of course. My dad and Rich found the ping-pong table and were never heard from again, while I went 4-wheeling with Chelsea and our cousin Christopher and his girlfriend Tari. It was a blast! We decided we definitely want to have a cabin someday.

Two down...eternity to go!

The SLC temple...where it all started!

Richard enjoying his half of our
Tour of Italy.

Yumm-o!

Topping the night off at our fave...
the Kaysville Theatre.

August 9, 2006 we tied the knot in the Salt Lake City temple for time and all eternity. Richard signed up for his ball and chain, and I asked to be teased for the rest of my life. We've never been so happy! I can't believe that its already been two years!! Although some days it feels like its been twenty...hahaha!
We made a day out of celebrating our anniversary. We celebrated a couple of days early because we were on-call at the mortuary, and work schedules were crazy. That morning we rode the Front Runner down to SLC and did a session at the temple. It was AWESOME! We loved it, and we can't wait to go back again. Then we walked a few blocks away to the Olive Garden downtown for a late lunch. Our waiter wasn't very nice, but we still had a good time. And of course, the food was magnifico! We usually split a meal, and this time it was the Tour of Italy. We made our way back home on Trax and the Front Runner, and then we went to a dollar movie at the Kaysville Theater. We saw the Hulk, and we weren't very impressed. But last year we saw Shrek 3, and we didn't like that one either, so its kind of turning into a tradition to see a dumb movie on our anniversary. We love the dollar movie, though. Its one of our very favorite places to go on dates! I actually have a goal to one day own it--I think that would be the coolest thing ever!
So anyway, we had a really fun day! We made it two years, and I'm so excited to see what our future holds! Some goals we have for our next year are making it to Richard's mission in Chile and going on some other trips we're dreaming about, graduating from WSU, and lots of other fun stuff. All I know is that I love Richard more and more everyday. Things have changed so much since we were dating, but in a good way. I wouldn't change us for anything. I LOVE YOU, BABE!

Way to go, Idaho!

Richard & buddies.

Alex, Rich, Clark, Garrett

The happy couple...and the newlyweds.

Ahhh, Barney Dairy Rd.

The Rexburg house with the tin roof.

Here is Richard being sad that the hill is gone.

A few weeks ago we trekked on up to Rexburg, ID to see one of Rich's best friends Clark Dabell get married. Clark is a triplet, and Richard grew up with him and his brothers Garrett and Alex in Rexburg and Bozeman, MT. They've remained close through the years, and I've come to love them, too! The ceremony was in the Rexburg temple, and the luncheon was across the street at BYU ID. It was fun to see Richard with his old buddies! Congrats Clark and Andrea!
After the luncheon, Richard gave me the official tour of his favorite places in Rexburg. We drove down the infamous Barney Dairy Road, and we went to the house his family lived in there. The people who live there now leveled a big hill that Richard's dad made in the backyard, and Richard was so sad to see it gone! We also drove past two parks he played lots of baseball games in. One was called Smith Park, and the other was Porter Park....Coincidence? I think not! We were totally meant to be!

The BIG 25

Our chef was the best!

Ashley & Travis, Marc & Katherine,
Jeremy & Amanda

Scott & Megan, Rich & me

The Birthday Boy

August 2, 2008 was a big day for Richard. He turned 25 years old! We celebrated in style, of course. My Dad's Henderson side of the family had a reunion luncheon that day, so we went to that for a few hours. We ate lots of good food, and laughed really hard with family that we never get to see. I didn't tell Richard what we would be doing that day...I wanted it to be a surprise! First, I took him shopping for new work clothes. We found some killer deals at Bukoos and Ross, and he walked out of the stores a happy man. Next I took him to meet some of his favorite people at Tepenyaki for dinner. He'd never been there before so I thought it would be something fun. He loved it! Our chef was so fun, and he let all of us taste a little bit of everything. I think we all caught the shrimp in our mouth when he flipped it at us...we're so talented! We had tickets to see The Dark Knight after dinner, but we had a longer wait than we'd planned on, so we killed some time walking around the mall. All of the couples went in different doors and then tried to find each other without using our phones to call one another. Kind of dumb, but fun! The movie was incredible! I nearly had a nervous breakdown due to all of the seriously intense scenes (I was literally in tears for at least 30 minutes), but we loved it! We love Heath Ledger, RIP.
Rich said he had a great day, and that's really all that matters. Happy Birthday, baby!