Goin' fishing

On Saturday Derek took me fishing for my very first time (unless you count trout farms) and it was awesome! We drove up to the beautiful Uintas, making a very necessary stop at Wendy's on the way, and stopped at a lake whose name I can't remember. It was so pretty though.

We brought an inflatable raft up and tried fishing from that for a while. It was so fun and relaxing to just float along, casting your line into the water over and over.

We didn't have any luck with the fish in the raft, so after a while we decided to get out and hike down 1/2 a mile to Fehr Lake and fish from the shore. Here's me getting ready to cast:

We had probably been at this particular lake for 1/2 an hour or so when I felt a tug on my line. I had a fish! I started reeling him in, but I guess I was going too slow because Derek told me to go faster. He grabbed the video camera to catch it all on film and he captured the fish coming into shore and then jumping off the hook. But don't worry! Derek saved the day and caught it with his hands before it could get away. He also set the video camera down without turning it off, so we have a fun video of the fish, and then the ground. Right then this guy came along and asked if we wanted him to take a picture, so then he took the camera and got us both on film. But it kind of has a Blair Witch Project thing going on for a little while.

Me and my fish!

A little while later it started raining so we sat under a tree to see if we could wait it out. Well it didn't seem like it was going to stop, so we hiked back up to the truck in the rain, which was so fun! Then we ate dinner in the truck, and it stopped raining. So then we decided to go back out on the raft and see if the albino trout would start biting. We stayed out there for a while with no luck. Those darn albinos. Before we left, though, Derek made me gut the fish. Ugh. I actually ended up just starting it and he finished it because I accidentally ripped the head off. Oops.

So fishing was pretty much awesome and I can't wait to do it again!

Happy Pioneer Day!

For those who live in Utah, July 24th is celebrated as Pioneer Day. I unfortunately didn't have the day off, but I did take the morning off to go to Good Things Utah! It's kind of like Good Morning Utah or Good Morning America. My friend Julie got tickets so we all went. It was fun; it's the first time I've ever been on a TV set!

Us with the Animaniacs

With the ladies of Good Things Utah

Pretending we are the ladies of Good Things Utah

On the night of the 23rd there was a big parade and fireworks in Bountiful that Derek and I and some of his family went to. It was awesome! Definitely the best parade and fireworks I have ever been to.

Derek, who was on the ark float again? ;)

One of the ladies in my Guatemala group has a sister who lives down there. So while we were there, her sister's cook made a bunch of black refried beans for anyone who wanted to take some home with them. So for dinner last night, we had a Guatemalan meal, complete with the black beans (topped with crema, which is more Mexican than Guatemalan). It was so yummy!

Here's a fun game

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Guatemala 4: el turismo (the touristy stuff that we did)

The last two days in Guatemala were play days. On Thursday we went to the famous market in Chichicastenango and spent money like crazy! First a few of us took at little tour in the Mayan/Catholic church.

There were a couple of guys waving incense in front of the doors. I don't like incense very much and it was really strong. Then when we got inside this guy asked if he could give us the 15 minute explanation/tour thing, so we did. It was really interesting; all the Mayan stuff was up the center of the church, and all the Catholic stuff was on the sides. I don't know if that makes sense or not, but I don't really know how to explain it. Basically the main Mayan thing I remember is that they have stone slabs all up the center aisle and the slabs have white candles and red & white rose petals on it. The candles are for the boys and the rose petals for the girls. There are 12 slabs and each one is for something different; the first half are for asking for things and the last half are for thanking. The ask and thank for things like children, family, health, safety, good crops, etc. One tradition he told us about is this thing they do when there is going to be a marriage. The Mayan witch doctor person, along with the bride, groom, a hen and a rooseter go up the mountain to do a little ritual. He (or she) pricks the ring fingers of the bride and groom, squeezes a few drops into a bowl and mixes it up. This is supposed to keep them together for eternity (like sealing?). Then he cuts the heads off the rooster and the hen and spreads/pours their blood around the groom (rooster) and bride (hen). I don't remember what that signified.

After we did the little tour thing we shopped! It was really really crowded, but there were so many stores and so much to look at. It was awesome!

One lady I was with wanted to buy some incense and they still weigh it like this:

I bought a lot of cool things, including a hammock that I have no place for yet. Someday.

On Friday a bunch of our group went to Tikal, but a few of us who stayed behind went horseback riding up a volcano! Probably one of the coolest things I have ever done, although I was a little saddle-sore for a few days afterward.

My horse (or mule, or whatever it is):

I was a little nervous.

I know it looks like I'm leaning, but the guy who took the picture just didn't know what he was doing I guess.

We were on the horses for an hour going up, and the whole way it felt like we were just on a mountain. It was just grass, trees and dirt. No lava yet. But then we got to a point where you have to leave the horses behind (with the guides) and hike up the lava on foot.


We got to see real lava flowing.

This stick burst into flames a few seconds after we threw it down there because of the heat. We could feel the heat rising up from the ground we were walking on.


And we roasted marshmallows! When the mallow's a-flamin'...(name that movie! Hint: I've quoted it on my blog before. I think.)

So that's pretty much the end of my Guatemala pictures. I had a great time and met a lot of really awesome people. It's definitely something I want to do again, whether I go with the same group or decide to go to another country with someone else. If anyone is itching to do this next summer, just let me know and I'll get you the contact info.

Guatemala 3: el hotel y el Lago Atitlan (the hotel and Lake Atitlan)

The whole time I was there I could not get over how beautiful Guatemala is. It's so green everywhere and the vegetation is very thick. Guatemala actually means "land of the forest" in a Mayan language. I can imagine that before any of the land was settled it must have been pure forest and vegetation. The most beautiful sight, however, would have to be Lake Atitlan. For those of you familiar with the Book of Mormon, this lake (along with many other sites in Guate and Mexico) has been about 99% archeologically proven to be the Waters of Mormon. It's so big that I could never fit it all into my camera. Our hotel was called Hotel Atitlan, and just happened to be right on the shore of the lake. It gave us a pretty nice view all the time, especially during breakfast and dinner where we had a huge window looking right at the lake.

The hotel is one of the nicest in Guatemala. It's actually a pretty famous site for weddings and receptions. In fact, there was a wedding held there during our stay. I think their music was still playing at 3 am. I liked it though. I could hear some reggaeton in there and I love that kind of music.

Branching out

Right before I left for Guatemala (more posts will be coming about that by the way), I told my boss that I would give in and try sushi after I got back. He and a bunch of others in the department love to walk over to Mikado's for lunch and get sushi. I went once and got ginger pork. I love trying new foods, but I have this thing about fish. I don't like it. My boss is always giving me a hard time about not liking seafood and such. To him, it's a great crime.

Anyways, so my first day back (yesterday) he reminded me of the commitment I had made. Then today they decided to hold me to it. They thought it was a good day, seeing as how Tuesday is 1/2 price sushi day at Mikado's. So we walked over and I got gyoza and then tried not one, but three different kinds of sushi (off of the others' plates). I tried a California Roll, a Caterpillar and....I can't remember what the other one was called, but it had eel in it. I was quite proud of myself for trying that many and not getting sick. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture! But here is a picture of what it looked like:

It's probably not something I would ever actually order, but at least I got through it without hurling and my boss can't make fun of me anymore.

Guatemala 2: la bodega (the storage room where we organized all the donations)

The bodega was the other place I worked at. When we got there, there was one set of shelves with clothes on it and everything else was just thrown into bins or scattered on the floor. We had a big job ahead of us! Along with organizing what was already there, we had to go through all the suitcases of donations that our group had brought, plus others that were already there.

Some of the men in our group spent their time building shelves for the bodega, and tables and benches for the orphanage. Thank goodness for those shelves! We filled them all.

I worked with a great group of ladies at the bodega. Claudia, Maria, and Kathy were the main ones. We had a lot of fun! Especially when we found the box of Halloween costumes...there are a couple of pictures mixed in with the rest, so if you take the time to watch the slide show you'll see them.

The fun ladies! L to R: me, Kathy, Maria, Claudia (we used her scissors a lot, that's why she's holding them up).

Guatemala 1: el orfanato y los niños (the orphanage and the kids)

I have so many pictures of all the things we did in Guatemala, so I decided to do a few different posts and divide everything into categories with a slide show in each one.

First of all, Guatemala was awesome! I had such a good time and am so glad I went. The weather was perfect the whole time, even though they are in their rainy season and it should have poured every day. It was about 70 degrees the whole time and even though it was overcast a lot of the time, it only rained a couple of times at night. This was an awesome blessing because a lot of the members of our group wouldn't have been able to work if it was raining.

I think my favorite part of the trip (besides the shopping) would have to be playing with the kids. They are so much fun and just love the attention! Our first day there we brought bubbles and they had a blast. One girl, Ana Maria (8) went through a whole bottle. It took her about 3 or 4 hours, but she did it. There are a couple of babies there that we got to hold a lot. There is also a 3-year-old girl, Lydia, who only weighed 8 pounds when they got her a couple of months ago. She has gained a few pounds since then, but she is still so tiny. She was severly malnourished and I think has fetal alcohol syndrome. She was very sweet and loved to be held or pushed in her stroller.

There were a couple of boys that were about two, Carlos and Abraham, that loved to be held as well. Carlos would pretty much attach himself to you and if you tried to put him down he would collapse and start crying. So if you were holding him, you were stuck with him. Which was totally fine with me. The only bad part was when you had to leave for the day and give him up. It was heart breaking to watch him cry.

There were a few teenagers there that I would talk to a lot. It's really sad that they have to be there, but that's how it is until they turn 18.

The orphanage itself is....probably not a place I would want to live in. The kids mostly hung around outside, because most of the orphanage is not enclosed. The bedrooms are, but that's about it. Thank goodness they're building a new one about 1/2 an hour away that will be much nicer.

There were about 3 kids that I would have gladly adopted if I could have. Unfortunately adoptions are closed in Guatemala right now :( But I am SO glad I got to go down and help at least a little. It was amazing!

After nearly 12 hours of travel tme

I'm back! Guatemala was super awesome and I loved every minute I was there! It is good to be home though. I'll hopefully get some pictures up tomorrow or Monday so keep your eyes open. I'll probably do a few different posts because there is so much to talk about.

See you next week!

Well, I'm off to Guatemala tonight! I'll be back next Saturday, so expect lots of pictures!

Whatever happened to Squeezits?

I'm sure you can all remember your elementary school days when you scouted the cafeteria tables looking for the people with the good stuff. Trading sandwiches for chips and carrots for goldfish crackers was pretty big. But do you remember Squeezits??? Those awesomely fun plastic bottles with a small hole on top where the juice squeezes out and into your mouth? Well, they don't make them anymore, sadly enough. Apparently they were replaced by Kool-aid Bursts. But they taste and look exactly the same!

The reason I bring this up is because Derek and I were scouring the stores this weekend looking for Squeezits. I ended up googling it and found out that they are no longer in production :(. So we got some Kool-aid Bursts instead to try them out. We took them to the drive-in on Saturday and ta-da! A trip down memory lane.

We also got pizza from Dominos because I can't say no to fundraisers. I walked out of Wal-mart the other day and there were two guys outside selling Dominos coupon card things for their football team, so of course I bought one. So if anybody needs pizza and really wants Dominos, just let me know.

At the drive-in we saw Wall-E and Prince Caspian. They were both really really good! I recommend them to everybody. Especially if you have small children; I hear they really like Wall-E.

Parade of Homes #3

Saturday was our last run through of the Parade of Homes. We made it through 12, all in Mountain Green. They were all nice homes, but by the end I was tired so I really just wanted to get through. I still have a ton of pictures though, so once again, bear with me.

House #1

I loved the hallway, esp. the picture at the end.

Flip-flop hooks!

Really cool magnet board for a bedroom.

House #2
There were kids with golf carts driving people up and down the driveway, so I took this picture on the way down.

There was an airplane in one of the many garages.

The ultimate guy's bathroom.

The guy's bedroom. Check out the nightstand.

The girl's bedroom. Love the colors!

House #3

Master bedroom fireplace.

House #4

My favorite part, right inside the front door.

Front entryway.

Downstairs room.

I love this faucet!

Scrapbook room!

Cool sink.

House #5

Pirate room.

House #6

The master bathroom shower had a window!

Downstairs room.

House #7

This was right inside the front door. I really liked how they laid out the pictures of their kids.

Cute girl's room.

House #8

A really cool place to keep your curling iron and blow dryer.

Living room. I liked the dark orange accents.

House #9

The ultimate scrapbook room!

Nice to have in the bathroom.

The view from the kitchen/living room.

Downstairs. All the balls on the shelves are signed. The basketball was signed by John Stockton.

Theater room.

House #10

Right inside.

Most houses we went to had stereo systems set up throughout the house, with speakers on every ceiling, and one of these on a wall in every room.

A phone booth!

House #11

Living room.

House #12
This was a townhouse, going for $260.

The coolest headboard I have ever seen.

This was the first year that I have gone to the Parade of Homes and it was a lot of fun, although after a while the houses started to run together and all seem the same. It's something I would definitely do again, but maybe not every year. It's fun to see what's "in" now though!