Up on West Mountain

I am still awake and will be until 5:00am. Yes, I am observing in the mountains of Utah! I am becoming a real live astronomer by making a rite of passage into no-sleep land. And, even better, it looks like some of my research may be observed tonight, while I am here.

So if I talk a little slurred and make some non-nonsensical comments when I see you next, it is because I am working on my astronomy night habits!

IT"S OVER!!!

I did it! I passed my thesis defense. I felt good about the questions, I didn't blush too much, and most importantly, I AM DONE!!! But I don't have pictures of that.

However I do have pictures of Peder's graduation. I have heard he has a new haircut, but let us reminense about his old haircut and his graduation.

Congratulations PEDER!!!

Frazzled....

My defense is on Wednesday...enough said!

Thanks Jimmy, for keeping me sane! Isn't he cute?!

Youth Conference

Have you ever spent 2 nights and 3 days with a bunch of youth? Oh I have, and it was great! Not only that, but we spent this delightful little conference in Aspen Grove, a family camp owned by BYU. It was beautiful and well stocked with entertainment. The second day we went hiking, the youth on a short hike, and then some of us leader on a second longer hike. At the end of the hike there was a very large waterfall. Jimmy tested out his coat. Here are some pictures.

26 candles

This last Thursday was my 26th birthday. I feel kind of old.....

*********See pictures and words below*********

Roland's brother Adrian had his birthday on the 15th. It was a joint celebration!

Zion's National Park

The group

The most exciting thing about my birthday was that I was able to spend it with several of my family members. Johanna was in town visiting and we(Gretch, Jo, Jimmy, and I--and Nick Carigan) went down to St. George to see Ange, Roland and Liam. It was a splendid trip. We were easily entertained by Liam, who can walk, yoodle like the best of them, and steal people's cell phones. We also went to Zion's national park and did two hikes, one to the Narrows, which was flooded and unhikable, and Angel's landing (we only hiked the concrete and safe parts!).

PLUS Jimmy gave me a wonderful scrapbook for my birthday. I asked him where he got all of his scrapbooking skill. He said that he picked up a book from the library "Scrapbooking for Dummies" but in the end used what he learned for watching his mom make them. I was very impressed! Let's just say in summary, I am very thankful for all the great family and friends who made this week wonderful. I am very grateful for you all!

****Nerd Note: I submitted 2, yes 2 radio observation proposals. Not only that but I did it four days ahead of time. Victory!!!!****

Tentin'

Well, I see from other blogs, that it looks like I put up another post, but in fact I didn't. I had a draft of one, but our computer at home is finicky about uploading pictures and all that jazz. So I will finish this blog mostly so you can see something new. Last week was Jimmy's Grandpa's funeral. It was wonderful. I was impressed by my in-laws talks and I especially loved seeing all the grandsons as pallbearers. There was just something about it that seemed very special to me. Maybe because my husband was one of them and I was honored to be part of their family and be there with him...I don't know. Everything was special about it...

The tentin' part is actually because Jimmy and I slept in the backyard the night before the funeral. Grandma Marie's house was FULL of family. And we gladly accepted because we had been camping the week before in Moab, and her soft cushy lawn was much more comfortable than dirt and rocks. But I did love camping in Moab, don't get me wrong...

So there you go, a post, little bit of an explanation of why this post is called "tentin'" and of course an opportunity to see some pictures. Yes, the pictures are random, but that is just the way I like it ;)

Grandma and Grandpa Bob were so wonderful to let my family visit....

Moab's petraglyphs

Jimmy, the hikin' man

Chili

I haven't reported on our food lately. We haven't had too much to brag about until today!

First, we went to Costco this week and stocked up on eveything lovely. Produce, so we could dehydrate a lot, and the essentials for meal planning. Since then we have made some pretty yummy meals. Yesterday I tried making risotto. It was kind of a flop mostly because I have never made it before and didn't know what I was doing. But it was worth eating and Jimmy told me the flavor was really good, I just needed to improve upon it. Heather I would love to know your secret. According to your blog your risotto sound delicious. I submit to having no risotto talent.

Today we made chili and I am proud of it. It looks good and the flavor seems authentic. Thank you Racheal Ray. You do have a good basic recipe that is easy to build upon. We took the "chili for veg-heads", and added meat (we are far for vegetarians) and corn. Who doesn't like chili with corn?! It has the kick for the "wow-factor" and the substance for nutritional value. It is nice to know that I can cook things well once and a while.