BFFs

Ben was telling someone the other day how he was going to school at Snow College when I told him he should come and live with us here in St. George and go to Dixie. He did and it was a huge mistake…

Ben and Alan have been getting into trouble ever since. These are only a few pictures of there adventures as BFF’s. Now when one of them wants to go and do something the conversation go something like this.

Alan: Hey Ben do you want to go riding long boards?
Ben: Ya, lets go when I get off work today.
Alan: Okay, we can go to that big hill that we crashed on last time.
Ben: Ha, ha, that was fun!
Mariah: MMMmmm….
Alan: Oh, Mariah you can come to if you want.

This may sound like I am complaining, but I am not. When Ben left on his mission I told him I would wait to get married until he came home. Well, I met Alan two months later and we were married a year before Ben got home. I always hoped they would get along, I just didn’t expect them to get along this well. I am really thankful for this time that Ben gets to live with us. He has also become part of Alan’s family. All of Alan’s nephews and niece love him. When we have a family dinner if Ben is not there everyone misses him. Alan’s mom even said she would adopt him into the family if he would wear contacts so he had brown eyes.

Being the “third wheel” isn’t as bad as one might think. There is a lot of fun and laughter when Ben and Alan go on their adventures.

I am a Graduate!

I finally graduated from Utah Hunters Education!!! I know most of you did it all when you were 14. So I am a few years late. I am also turning in my concealed weapons packet today so that I can protect myself and my family.

In our family we have had the conversation many times about owning guns and having guns in the house. I know that it isn’t the popular vote in society today to own guns, especially have them in your home. It scares me more to think of someone entering my home with a gun and not having one to protect my family.

There is a new law that they are trying to pass that would make it almost impossible to own a gun.

To find out about this - go to any government website and type in HR 45 or Google HR 45 Blair Holt Firearm Licensing & Record of Sales Act of 2009. You will get all the information.

Basically this would make it illegal to own a firearm - any rifle with a clip or ANY pistol unless: .It is registered

.You are fingerprinted

.You supply a current Driver's License

.You supply your Social Security #

.You will submit to a physical & mental evaluation at any time of their choosing

.Each update - change or ownership through private or public sale must be reported and costs $25 - Failure to do so you automatically lose the right to own a firearm and are subject up to a year in jail.

.There is a child provision clause on page 16 section 305 stating a child-access provision. Gun must be locked and inaccessible to any child under 18.

They would have the right to come and inspect that you are storing your gun safely away from accessibility to children and fine is punishable for up to 5 yrs. in prison.

Here are a couple websites that tell about the law.

http://thomas..loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.45:

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h45/show

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-45

And lastly here is some funny statistics I came across. I have no websites to validate these statistics but I found them funny none the less.

Federal statistics show that doctors cause accidental deaths are a rate 9000 times greater than firearms. It's a fact.

Here are the actual numbers: Think about this:

a. The number of physicians in the US is 700,000.

b. Accidental deaths caused by Physicians per year is 120,000.

c. Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171. (US Dept. of Health & Human Services)



Then think about this:

a. The number of gun owners in the US is 80,000,000.

b. The number of accidental gun deaths per year (all age groups) is 1,500.

c. The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is .0000188.



Statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.



FACT: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR. Please alert your friends to this alarming threat. We must ban doctors before this gets out of hand. As a public health measure I have withheld the statistics on lawyers for fear that the shock could cause people to seek medical attention.



OUTLAW DOCTORS before we're all dead!

Picture Tag

1. go to your my document/my pictures
2. go to your sixth file
3. go to your sixth picture
4. blog about it
5. tag six people
(no cheating!!!)




This is my picture. Alan is rock climbing up Maple Canyon, near Ephraim Ut. We have only been climbing up there a couple of times but it is really fun. When I went to college at Snow we went and camped up Maple Canyon, the next day I remember one of our friends staying and rock climbing. I thought it was cool that he did that but also thought of it as an "extream sport" and didn't think much of it again. Then I met Alan and it is one of our favorite activities. It was 60 degrees outside today and I think some more climbing is on its way. Yeah for spring!

I tag: Jessie, Nicole, Stephanie (Stretch), Becca, Tori, Megan

The Journey to Atlanta

Lots and lots have happened in the 5 weeks since I have posted last. The most recent was the trip to Atlanta Alan and I took for his work.

Last year Alan and I moved from Salt Lake to St. George without Alan getting a job. I had a job as a Special Education teacher for the public school system. In May, I decided not to renew my contract with the public school system and instead take a volunteer job for a private school. At this point Alan still didn’t have a job and we were still paying our mortgage on our house in Salt Lake. We sent in resume after resume and Alan had job interview after job interview. At each job he was either over qualified or not qualified enough. Then we filled out an application for a company called Shift 4, for a job that we thought would be “perfect.” Alan went in for a job interview at Adams and Co. Adams and Co. is a home décor store and Alan said he would decline the job even if he was offered. The next day the president of the company and his wife took Alan out to lunch and offered him a job. Not ever hearing back from the “perfect” job Alan took the job at Adams and Co. Alan went to work one day and was way over qualified for the position. That night the President of the company called him and promoted him to a higher position. Then Shift 4 called and offered Alan the “perfect” job. They gave him 4 hours to decide and only one week notice for his current job. We prayed and prayed of what to do but got no answer. At 5:00 we decided to go with Shift 4 because it was the “perfect” job. Giving Adams and Co. one week notice at their busiest time of the year. Alan went to work for one day at the “perfect” job. After one day he knew it wasn't perfect job. Good thing Adams and Co. called at 12:00 and asked Alan to come back with a raise.

Getting this job at Adams and Co. has been a huge blessing in our life. Alan likes what he does and the people he works with. He has been able to use his skills and have the flexibility he desires. There are also a lot of opportunities for growth. In August they were short on employees so I started to work at Adams and Co. as well. Once I started teaching again I would just go in on Mondays and Fridays but now I just work from home on the web page.


This is where Atlanta comes in. We were asked to go to Atlanta the biggest show of the year. It was our first business trip and we got to go together. It was a lot of fun. It was a lot of work. We had to be up at 6:30 a.m. and work all day then go back to the hotel and prepare paper work until 12:30. We were exhausted and our feet hurt like they have never hurt before. But it was a lot of fun and we learned a lot about the product and buyers.




Some of the highlights were eating at the Corner Bakery everyday. Umm I love muffins. Eating ribs with Alan’s cousin Michelle, and racing up 11 flights of stairs in my high heels. We also went to the Aquarium, and the famous Varsity car hop. It is true what people say about southern hospitality. They are so nice and accommodating. We loved the trip but we are also happy to be home.


This is the 11 flights of stairs I raced up. The escalators were packed and an old man jokingly said “lets take the stairs” so I stupidly said “I’ll race you” 11 flights of stairs later my calves were killing me but I found out he was a buyer. I convinced him to come and look at our booth, which he did and he bought $566.00 worth of product.








THE AQUARIUM

Gathering Cows

At this time of year the only cows left on the mountain are the crazy ones. My dad is still out 9 cows and as soon as they see us they split into 9 different directions at a dead run. Most of us try to keep with them tying to ignore the branches hitting us from all directions. The rest of us are smarter and choose to be the watch out. Even though it is freezing and we come away with new injuries each time it is still lots of fun!

After a long cold ride tying to keep up with the cows and not succeeding. Alan, Ben and I took off on the 4 wheelers to look for Christmas trees. We found this beautiful view instead.

Last Camping Trip of the Year

This was our last camping trip of the year. It was really really cold. We built a fire with a dried up palm tree, that Ben had in the back of his truck. Who knew palm trees had layers, and could be so much fun!

Trying to light their hats on fire to scare off any unwanted beasts.

Like I said it was really really cold. On our way out it started to snow "dip and dots."

Boys will be Boys

Last weekend we needed to move a group of Alan's dads cows to a different pasture. It started off as a little bit crazy becuase we were seperating some of the cows from thier calves. After moving the cows for several miles the cows settled down and Alan and Ben started to get creative to make the ride more intresting. This is what they came up with.

Side saddle

Ben trying to stand up.

Alan is not too sure about standing up.

After a few more miles they needed even more excitement. They started to ride the cows. I got a few of the good rides on video but I could not get them to load. I will keep trying and hopefully they will be added soon.