Lions and Tigers and where are the Bears?

This weekend we were lucky to have Randi's cousins Wes and Ashurity and kids Piper and Kendell stay a night with us and then let us tag along on their trip to the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake.  We had such a good time just hanging out with  them, but especially at the zoo with a little girl.  It was a whole new fun experience.  Here are some pictures of our time at the zoo (the only time we pulled out the camera) and a few stories to go with them.

This elephant plays Pop Goes the Weasel and then sneezes shooting water out of its trunk. 

We went to the elephant show and the bird show while there.

Piper insisted that I wear the hat.

What blog entry would be complete without an adorable picture of a little boy?  Kendell had a good time looking at the animals too.

When Cass and I were dating we went to the zoo and took a picture in this same pose (see our first blog entry if you are really interested).  We had fun recreating the picture and then getting the Jones family to do the same :)

There was a little bit of a struggle for both of the boys to get up and down.

Kendell didn't have any problems getting up and down.

Before we left the zoo we took a trip on the train around the park.  Sorry no pictures of any of the animals there except for the homo sapiens on the train.  Thanks guys for coming down from Idaho and for allowing us to come with you to the zoo we both had a blast.

Memorial Day 2011

 

We spent this memorial day like most of the rest.  On Saturday we went up to Hyrum, Utah to place flowers on the graves of my Jones grandparents.  Uncle Joe and Bonnie came from Nebraska, my cousin Wes and his daughter Piper came down from Idaho Falls, and BJ came from Las Vegas so we had a large group and a nice afternoon to hang out and talk.

the whole group with the beautiful flowers that LaWayne got.

 

Piper was fun to have this year because she wanted to help with everything as you can see in the next pictures.  She also bossed her grandpa around about which flowers needed more water :)

 

After the cemetery we went to a ward breakfast on Monday before sending BJ home and taking Cassidy to the instacare for a persistent fever and headache.  We hope you all had a good Memorial Day and took time to remember our ancestors and all they did for us.  

Doing The Grind

About a month ago we ordered a 45 lbs bucket of wheat and this last Saturday we spent grinding it into flour.  For those who have never had the opportunity to do this it is one tough workout and a very long process.  Here are some fun pictures of us doing it.

 

Well we really only did about a pound this way and then took it to a lady that had an electric grinder to do the rest.

1 Year Later

The top layer of our wedding cake before we unwrapped it.

Cass doing the honors and being annoyed at me taking so many pictures :)

First bite, it tasted great!

Sunday was our one year anniversary.  This past year went by so fast and hopefully it really is the hardest year of our marriage because we both thought it went pretty well and it would be nice to know that the rest of our lives together will be just as enjoyable, if not more.  I have loved every minute of getting to know each other better and am grateful for such a wonderful man for my husband.  He is patient, caring, loyal, understanding, hard working, dedicated, funny, sweet, thoughtful, faithful to all of our covenants and so many more things that I am sure the rest of you don't want to hear.  Just know he pushes me to be better and I will be thankful for that until the day I die.  

After flying home from Seattle we celebrated by eating the top layer of our wedding cake.  My dad did an awesome job of wrapping it up last year because it tasted just as it did on our wedding day.  And it still looked awesome too!  Thanks dad. 

Seattle Days 2 and 3

Warning there are a lot of pictures in this post.

This was on the back side of the temple and I just loved how big the words Holiness to the Lord are.

With that said, Friday morning we got up and went to a session in the Seattle Washington LDS temple.  It was an interesting experience starting with there would never be so few people in a Utah temple :)  We really enjoyed it and the opportunity to walk around the beautiful grounds afterward.

 

After the temple we drove about thirty miles north to Mukliteo where one of my cousins is the big chef at Arnie's restaurant.  The building is right on the Puget sound with an amazing view and to top off a perfect meal a couple of cousins and their families came down with my Aunt to see us for lunch.  Thanks again for making the drive down to see us we had a great time at lunch.

Aunt Lois, Lucy and Bonnie at the Arnie's.

Liz, Brooklyn, Scott and Lauren, and Doug (the chef).  I even got to be the first in my family to hold Lauren so lunch was a little bit better :) 

After lunch we went a couple of miles down the road to the Boeing factory to see where they make 747, 767, 777, and 787 jets.  The tour was amazing to see how these giant planes are made.  The factory itself covers 98 acres and has at least 15,000 employees.  There are like 20 something restaurants or coffee shops in it, a gym, a credit union, and day care for the employees.  We also learned a lot of cool facts like the paint on the airplane can weigh up to 1,200 lbs.  That's why most planes are white because it is lighter.  Anytime you are in the Seattle area we definitely recommend this tour. 

Looking at the factory where the planes are made. Each of the garage doors are at least the size of a football field!

In front of the yard where they keep planes that are ready for testing or to be shipped out.

Cass in front of an engine in the museum.

 

Saturday we started the day off with a tour of Seattle's Underground.  If you are smarter than I am you know that Seattle burned down at one point and was going to take 7-10 years to rebuild the city in a better way that also cut down on flooding and human waste disposal problems.  In short they were going to shallow out the steep grade leading from the port to where the homes were located.  The business owners at the time said they didn't have 7-10 years and they were going to start rebuilding and the city could find a way to catch up.  The amazing part is the city said ok.  So downtown was rebuilt with the intentions to pretty much bury the first floor or more of the buildings that were put up in that period.  They would build the building then a sidewalk up to a retaining wall that held up the street anywhere from 7-30 feet above.  Before the end of the project you would have to climb a ladder down from street level to the business entrance and then carry whatever you purchased back up the ladder.  Today most businesses use this area as storage or extra retail space, but there are some places that you can walk through to get an idea of what it was like at about the turn of the century. 

Toilets used to have to be elevated or at high tide whatever was in the pipe would come back out in your home or business.

A street sign.  It is now completely underground.

This is looking down an old sidewalk with the building windows or entrances on the right.

Going into an old bank vault.

 

After the underground we took a tour of Safeco Field were the Seattle Mariners play.  It was very interesting and we got to see some cool places as well as go down on the field and hang out in the dugouts.  Too bad the Mariners weren't in town so we could actually go to a game. One of my favorite parts of the tour was the guest team club house.  There is a batting cage in the club house as well as a gym, infirmary, showers, meeting room and kitchen.  While we were in there the tour guide went on and on about how they have to treat the athletes well and that there is a restaurant where the athletes can order whatever they want and it is almost 5 star quality blah blah blah.  When we walked in to the eating area there was a hot dog roller and nacho machine like most gas stations.  Obviously nothing says luxury better than that :)  There was also a keg and a beer tap.

Cass chillin in the Mariner's dugout.

After the tour we went to one of my family's favorite Mexican restaurants to see if it is really as good as my mom and LaWayne claim, and it wasn't bad.  Then we wandered around a gigantic mall before heading to the hotel for some swimming and early bed for an early Sunday morning.

Seattle Day 1

 For our 1st Wedding Anniversary we decided to take a vacation.  After looking in to several cities we decided on Seattle because neither of us had ever been and we got a really good deal on airfare and everything.  We arrived Thursday morning and packed a lot in to our first day.

Trying my hand at milking in the farm area.

Cassidy's must have picture with the Monkeys.

Playing around in the kids area. 

 After the Zoo we headed downtown to the Spaceneedle!  The view from the top was pretty amazing even if it isn't the tallest building in Seattle. 

The city skyline from the top of the Spaceneedle.

From the top of the Spaceneedle we could see this maze painted on the ground and people walking it so naturally we had to go try it out as well.  I think Cass was tired of the camera at this point. 

We also saw this water fountain from the top and right as we walked by a show started.   

  

 After the Spaceneedle it was over to Pike's Market Place where Cass bought me some flowers for our anniversary to keep in our hotel room.  We also got some really huge delicious fruit here too.  We are not sure of the importance of the pig, but lots of people were taking pictures there and it was less crowded than actually being in the market so that's the history behind this picture.

 It was a great day followed by a soak in the hot tub to rest our feet from all of the walking.  Stay tuned for the rest of our vacation.

Buzz In The Air

A few weeks ago we saw an add on TV for four box seat tickets to the local triple A baseball team the Salt Lake Bees (they feed in to the Angels) for $20. We called up our friends Mike and Angela who love baseball to see if they wanted to come with us and then got the tickets. We had a fun evening and got to see two games for the price of one because the game from the night before was canceled due to weather so it was a double header. Here are some pictures from the game and some of the activities we did with Cooper in between the two games to keep him entertained.

I took this picture and then he hit a home run. It was the only one for the Bees for the evening. They lost both games, but since we have never been to a game they have one we weren't expecting much and we weren't disappointed.

Cooper's first time getting his painted. It looked so cute even if he didn't enjoy the experience.

It was pretty cold by the time the second game started and a lot of people left so Bumble the mascot wandered through the crowd taking pictures with whomever wanted them. Thanks Mike, Angela, and Cooper for coming with us we had a really good time and can't wait to go to another game later this season.