I Heart Mount'n

Bald Mountain

Wasatch-Cache National Forest

Elevation: 11,943 feet at summitI absolutely love being in the mount'ns (or moun-tains, for those of you who don't know how to say it properly). On Saturday we took advantage of a beautiful summer day for some great outdoors. From the top of Bald Mountain you can see for a million miles, or so it seemed to me.

This picture is perfectly staged to look like I am giving a thumbs up at the awesome view, when really I just needed to stop because my lungs were about to burst right out of my heaving chest. It wouldn't have been such an awesome view then.

"I thought the Rocky Mountains would be a little more rockier than this. That John Denver's full of..."

What you can't see is me freaking out that he's so close to the edge. He's not only close to the edge, part of him is off the edge, which makes part of me very... shall we say, uncomfortable. Deep breaths Gina, deep deep breaths.

Summer Pies

One of my most favorite things about summer would have to be my moms fresh fruit pies. She always uses fresh rhubarb or peaches from her garden, and raspberries from my Grandma's garden. On Sunday she made a Raspberry+Rhubarb Pie that was to die for. I really need to start taking pie-making lessons from her, she's got it down to a science. I have only attempted to make a homemade pie a couple of times. Pie making takes a lot of practice and patience. Here is a picture of my mom in her garden with the pie. It didn't last long after this shot was taken.

RIP sweet pie. You will not be forgotten.

Also on Sunday: Here is a little video clip of my niece Shelby demonstrating her awesome tumbling skills. She is totally amazing!

What love song are you?

I was very curious to find out that the love song that describes my romantic life was "Your Body is a Wonderland" by John Mayer. Interesting. I would have thought I was a little more "Eternal Flame" 1988-The Bangles. Or at the very least "Total Eclipse of the Heart" 1983-Bonnie Tyler. Both are songs that ring very true to my heart. No seriously, they do. I'm fairly certain that "God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You" 1998-'N Sync, was a close second. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't be surprised at all. After all my body is a wonderland. In the same way that skinny jeans look great on everyone.

Your Love Song Is

Your Body Is a Wonderland by John Mayer "One mile to every inch of Your skin like porcelain One pair of candy lips and Your bubblegum tongue" Why go out... when so much fun can be had indoors?

What Love Song Are You?

Countdown to Eclipse

Sunny: World's perfect dog

Well, one of the first posts on my blog was about my dog Sunny, so it's fitting that I put a remembrance post up about her also since she's passed away.



Today when my little brother went to feed the dogs, he found Sunny in the back yard in kind of a low spot in the grass. He could see that she couldn't get up and was in obvious pain. When he tried to lift her out of the dip, she started trying to move but just seemed to thrash around. I was at work in Orem, so I went over to my dad's house to see what was up. When I saw her, I could see that there was something wrong. I first thought that her hip was broken because it has been giving her lots of problems lately anyway and she's had a hard time walking. When I tried to lift her, I could see that it didn't seem like her hip, but I didn't know what it was. We took her to the vet and he determined that she'd had a stroke. After he said that, everything clicked because her face looked droopy on one side and she couldn't move one side of her body. Strokes are hard to recover from for a human, and we just couldn't imagine Sunny living as a vegetable in my dad's back yard, so the decision was made to put her down. My dad came to the vet and me, Russ, Michelle, and my dad were there when they put her down. It was sad and those of you that have had a 14 year old pet die that you are very close to will understand. We all cried and we're still mourning the loss, she will be missed.

Here she is guarding the tent on a campout:


Here she is guarding the camp spot:


She definitely won't be a dog that can be replaced easily, she was perfect in every way and never caused any problems. She was friendly to all and just her being there has given the rest of us comfort many times over. She's a sweetheart. She was in so much pain near the end and her sight and hearing were going also, so it was for the better. We were lucky in a way that something major happened, like this stroke, because that made the decision to put her down easier. Sunny, we love you, you were such a big part of our lives growing up!

Lake Powell 2007

This past weekend we were lucky enough to join some friends down at Lake Powell for more water fun. The weather was gorgeous, hot and dry just like it should be, and the water was cool and refreshing. Lake Powell is so beautiful and we had a total blast with our friends. A big thanks to Jeff and Stacey for making it all happen. We owe you guys big time. We all played really hard out on the water, ate lots of yummy food, and stayed up late playing Signs, Mafia, and just talking and laughing. My body still aches from all the fun we had. Good times!

Gettin' some sun on the back of the boat...

Crazy JD cliff jumpingSix girls on the tube! So freakin' fun...Ka-Boom!!! Wipe out

There....he's a natural pro

Mmmmm...Grilled pineapple and bacon wrapped banana kabobs G - L - A - M - O - R - O - U - S

Richman's on a Boat: The Virgin Islands

Ahoy! Brad and I returned on Sunday from a 10 day sailing trip with my family to The Virgin Islands. We chartered our own 40 foot Catamaran named "Clarity." My older brother Tom captained our vessel and the rest of us, okay mostly the guys, worked hard as the sailing crew. The boys really loved sailing and caught on quickly to the process. We had great food, okay amazing food, that we prepared right on the boat. We spent our days sailing, swimming, snorkeling, eating...you get the idea. Needless to say, we had so much fun! It has been slow getting back into work and day to day life and my mind keeps drifting back to the awesome memories we have made. Take us back to paradise...

More Weekend Pics

Today was Kenadie's baby blessing. Rachel and Greg had family and friends over to their house afterwards for brunch. Here are a few pics we snapped of the after party.

Visit from Grandma

This past week Brad's Grandma "Noni" and Aunt Amy (his mom's mother and sister) have been in town visiting from Arizona. It's so fun when she comes up! We were sad to see her go. Hopefully we can make it down to visit her soon.

2007 Grads

Brad's youngest siblings Graduated from Orem High School yesterday. We can hardly believe they could be that old. Which certainly makes us feel even that much older. We are so proud of Russell and Michelle! The twins have been such a blessing to our family these last 4 years. It has been so much fun to watch them "grow up" during High School and become the beautiful people they are today. We are so excited to see what life brings them next. Congrats Russell and Michelle! We love you!

Might as well face it, you're addicted to LOST

At last night's LOST Season 3 Finale par-tay we felt a little bit like we were attending an AA meeting. "Hello, my name is Gina. And I watch LOST." The finale accomplished everything it was set out to do, namely answer 2 or 3 questions and then open up 100 more. Wonderful. Each year we gather for the finale and renounce this show, yet admittedly we'll all be back again for season 4. We are completely and totally, 100% addicted to LOST. Here are the top 10 ways to know if you are addicted to LOST:
10. You have literally pulled out your hair in frustration at this show.
9. Your theory about LOST is the right one.
8. You SO get Kate.
7. You've practiced your best "Sawyer Scowl" in the mirror.
6. You bought a Korean dictionary to better understand Sun and Jin.
5. You knew Hurley was hero material all along.
4. Your Wednesday nights are completely booked for the next 3 years.
3. You cheered out loud when an older looking Walt suddenly appeared to help Locke.
2. You are wearing black today to mourn the death of our beloved Charlie.
1. You have nominated Jack for the 2008 Presidential Election.

It's BBQ Time

Our good friends Rachel and Greg hosted a BBQ this weekend at their house. It was the first of many more BBQ's we will have this summer. It was so fun to relax outside and catch up with friends. Lauren's divine homemade ice cream was a huge hit with the big kids. Laura's dog Bib-Bid-Dee was an even bigger hit with the little kids. Check out our slide show...

Lisa's Baby Shower

Sorry this post is so late, I've had a busy week! We threw a baby shower for Lisa (Lawrence) Peterson last Saturday. She is due any day now...and we are all excited to see this little baby girl. Lisa and Chris are still undecided on a name, but I'm sure once they see her they'll know what to call her. Regardless of her name, we can't wait to meet her!

A few of the Girls (L to R): Stacey Wilding, Jessie O'Neal, Lauren Tuttle, Rachel Lloyd, Lisa Peterson and Emily Harris (with Kenadie Lloyd).

Lauren (also expecting a baby girl) and Emily holding little Kenadie.

Emily and cutie Brynn Ford

Em, you are looking like a natural mom!

Big yawn Kenadie!

More Collegiate Cycling

We just got home tonight from Grand Junction, CO where the U of U Cycling Team competed in the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Cycling Conference Finals. The team did great overall, but Brad especially rocked! But I am a little biased, being his not-so-secret admirer. He came in 6th in the road race, 3rd in the team time trial and 6th in the criterium, each event was out of about 40 racers in his group. To be honest, these races are not necessarily super fun to watch because 1) they are generally long (were talking hours here), and 2) the road races and time trials are not spectator friendly (you only get to see them for seconds as they fly by...and then you wait). But it is all worth it to see the pain and suffering on Brad's face during the race turn into complete and utter joy as he finishes. He turns into a little boy who just won a Big Wheel race against the neighborhood boys. And because I have willingly accompanied him on several of these cycling road trips I have earned plenty of "good wifey" points that can be cashed in at a later date. Everything else aside, Brad really pushed himself this weekend and I'm so proud.

Cupcake Indulgence

We are having a little company BBQ tonight so I wanted to make a delicious treat. I had the idea to make homemade Hostess Cupcakes. I tried a new chocolate glaze recipe that used Karo syrup. Needless to say, I didn't like it so I reverted back to my mom's fail-safe classic chocolate icing. The end product turned out very cute though.

I still haven't figured out how to make cupcakes without using every dish and utensil in the whole kitchen! Brad was my guiney pig and I let him taste the one I split open. He ate it so fast, I didn't even see him chew...I guess that's a good sign.