Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Camping: The art of getting closer to nature while getting farther away from the nearest cold beverage, hot shower and flush toilet.

Let me just say, I was right…my exact locations may have varied by a few miles. But nonetheless, I was right.

     My mom and I decided we wanted to go camping before summer had completely ended. We conversed with our husbands and decided to go forth with the plans.  I had told her of a site, located in the Wasatch Mountains, that I had camped at for the past three years.  It was beautiful and in the middle of nowhere; since Pop decided that our normal location had been “all camped out” and not worth going.
(Which I would imagine looking something like this)

My description went something like this:
Completely serene, in a field surrounded by trees, located on the foothill of the mountain.  You were a thirty-second walk away from a fish filled river, complete with a swimming area to wade in.  Across the river were trails to hike and four-wheel on and never ending beauty. Best of all, it was only a short thirty minute drive from my house in Lyman.
Which was supposed to look something like this.
(Yes, this is the actual campsite where we were anyway.) 

Deal.  Location was set. We packed up, and headed out down the road.
Thirty minutes later, no campsite to be found...

Forty…fifty ….an hour down the road; nothing. My heart sunk even more after passing a “no four-wheeling past this point” sign...so much for that idea.

      After an hour and a half drive and a half of tank of gas later, we finally pulled into the elusive camp site.  Yes, it is most definitely in the middle of nowhere…No, it is not thirty minutes from my house.  My first of many incorrect memories.
After Brent and Mom impeded their giggles due to my horrible sense of direction and recollections, we set up camp. Night falls, and Brent and I headed to make a quick trip to the river to fill the dog’s water bowls.  I can’t find the river.  I attributed it to the darkness but Brent is beginning to think there is no rive.

     Morning came and my mom headed into town to go meet Pop to guide him up. Meanwhile, I am determined to find my river.  Mind you, I have complete evidence that this river exists. I had been camping here numerous times, and walked down to the water with my dog to play, as well as tons of pictures to prove it.

We walk...and walk, and walk, and walk. No river. My thirty second jaunt turned into a two hour hike with hardly a hint of any sort of water. We found small creeks and decided to follow them in hopes they would lead us to it. Nope.


Once again, my past memories have failed me, and my wonderful-amazing-beautiful campsite had turned into a semi decent grove of trees…minus the river.

My mom and Pop return and having full faith in me and my river, we set out once more to find it. Eventually, after directional argumentation, we (meaning Brent and my mom) found the river! Though it wasn't the same place I had been before, it was a river, and I found it. 

I felt like a used car salesman. I made something sound so great and wonderful, you just have to have it, and in the end you ended up with a clunker that barley runs.  But that was just my feelings. My mom, Pop, and Brent all agree the site couldn’t have been more beautiful, and they loved the location.  No, we didn’t fish, four-wheel or wade in the water, but we all had a blast. The rest of the weekend included Dutch-oven dinners, games, hikes, site seeing, and lots of play time for our four dogs.  




 





















What I like about camping is you can get really dirty.  Either you're all by yourself, so no one else sees you, or everyone you're with is just as dirty as you are, so nobody cares.  ~Anonymous

It always rains on tents.  Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent.  ~Dave Barry

Campers: Nature's way of feeding mosquitoes.  ~Author Unknown


How is it that one match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box of matches to start a campfire?  ~Christy Whitehead







Monday, August 23, 2010

Nothing But Things



Things I'm Missing
Brent
My mom
Bandon
constant summer
Sadie
The feel of sand on my feet

Things I want
Brent to come home
to go bungee jumping/sky dive
swim in the ocean
to feel better today
a random visit from a friend
good news
my phone to have a longer battery life
a new bedspread
a baby someday
to change someone for the better
to help a complete stranger
to build a house
to give a hitch hiker a ride
  
Things I am excited for
Camping this weekend
visiting Sadie in October
the possibility of Hillary coming to visit
Thursdays
my the rest of my life
horseback riding lessons
becoming an EMT

Things I'm scared of
loosing my family
something happening to Brent while he is gone
my dogs waking up the neighborhood at nights




Will you still need me? Will you still feed me? When I'm 64!

Happy birthday to the hippest 64 year old I know...my Momma!
This past weekend, Brent and I went down to Park City to celebrate my mom's birthday.  She considers herself spoiled this weekend, but she deserved even more!


On Thursday, my Pop got her fly fishing gear, and her and my brother headed off to the river and fished for the afternoon. Friday was the John Prine concert. Then Saturday was a day at Costco, (which doesn't seem too exciting to most people...but our family loves Costco) then a steak and lobster dinner with close friends. My Pop, once again, outdid himself and gave my mom a new spankin' nice camera! Which, of course, contains all of the pictures from the Birthday Bash, hence the picture-free-post this time. I'll be sure to post them soon though! 

Happy Birthday to you Mom!
 I love you!

I could be handy, mending a fuse
When your lights have gone.
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday mornings go for a ride.

Doing the garden, digging the weeds,
Who could ask for more.
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four.

Friday, August 20, 2010

John Prine


"Make me an angle that flies from Montgomery, make me a poster of an old rodeo. Just give me one thing, that I can old on to. To believe in this living is just a hard way to go..."
John Prine

My entire life, my Pop has listened to what we now affectionately call "old, ugly, white guy" music. Artists such as Lenord Cohen, Dave VanRonk, Neil Young, Tom Waits, and my personal favorite John Prine.  In order for my family to listen to you, you must be old...ugly...white...and/or sound like you're near death.  After years of fighting the obsession, I have become a lifetime fan. My Pop and I share a love for music together, so getting the experience to see John Prine in concert with my Pop, Mom, and husband was absolutely amazing, and will be a memory I will cherish for my lifetime. 





Monday, August 16, 2010

It's What Fun Is!


Clark family trip to Lagoon

What could be better than a day of
roller coasters
 water parks 
 funnel cake 
and family!









The Catapult gives riders a unique, high-adrenaline, vertical experience. When launched, riders will experience forces similar to astronauts as they are rocketed from ground level to well over 200 feet in the air. At the highest point, riders will become momentarily weightless as they freely rotate forward and backward before being pulled back to Earth. After several up-and-down oscillations, the capsule is lowered to the boarding area to unload the riders.
Ps. This was the scariest moment of my life.


Sunday, August 15, 2010

Ode de Boys

Have you ever gone to bed thinking how great it is that you get to sleep-in as long as you desire?  Only to wake up at 6:00 am the next morning to licked-on fingers and a high pitched whining.  Or how about coming home after a stressful day of work, only to find the trash can tumbled over with last night’s dinner smeared across your kitchen floor. Or even those smudge marks from little wet noses that constantly reside on your living room windows that overlook the driveway.

My life is full of wet fingers, dried food, and smudges…and I love it.  The same faces that have those cold noses that nudge me every morning, also have these peering eyes that just make you want to wake up and play.  The kitchen floor can be cleaned knowing that they now had a taste of what they no doubt had plenty of last night anyway. And those smudges; though they can be cleaned with a little Windex and a rag, represent a day’s worth of longing and anticipation of waiting for mom or dad to walk in the front door.

No matter how bad the day went, a wagging tail was sure to greet you. It doesn’t matter how many tricks they know (...or don’t know...), or how good they are at bringing the stick back from a game of fetch. It’s that quirky personality that just makes you laugh as if the silly things were done on purpose.  I can’t be sure, but I have a feeling my dogs understand English, and they speak back through their eyes.

Word of advice for dog owners: If you ever need advice without hearing someone lecture, just look at your dog. If you ever have a bad, stressful, sad, frustrating, or an all around no-good-grumpy day, just look at your dog. I mean stare into those eyes…they will tell you everything you need to know.

Advice for non-dog owners: I am completely aware of the fact that I sound nuts. I’m sorry you don’t know what I’m talking about...go out and get one, and then re-read my blog.





Thursday, August 12, 2010

Two months of Marital bliss



I love being married.  It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.  ~Rita Rudner


A long marriage is two people trying to dance a duet and two solos at the same time.  ~Anne Taylor Fleming


A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.  ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966



Spouse:  someone who'll stand by you through all the trouble you wouldn't have had if you'd stayed single.  ~Author Unknown


Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Working hard or hardly working?


As I thought out my next blog, I realized most of them pertain to our "play time". Well folks, believe it or not we actually spend a good portion of our time working.  About a month ago, I realized everything in my life had reached “dream come true” material…except my job. So slowly but surely, I readied myself for my ideal career. I combined my love for horses, children, and teaching into one, and “Clark Riding Lessons” was born.   I have four lesson horses, and I teach ages 4 and up. I have a pretty good clientele here in the Valley, but I’m hoping by next summer roles around to be teaching all over my area.  I couldn’t be happier doing what I love, therefore never working a day in my life.

As for Brent; he works for the oil fields. He manages, monitors, and maintains all the caped sites.  He is working is way up in the business, learning the traded and going to school.  Up until now, he has been working within our area, but starting this last week he will be gone 4-5 days at a time.  We realize it’s a small sacrifice for the time being, but a hard one at that!   He enjoys it, but hopes to move up soon. He is such a hard worker and I couldn't be more proud of him! 

Two of my students learning about Sysco


Sysco, my Quarter/Morgan cross gelding and Cheyenne my Paint mare

Brinley and Clarissa finish their lesson as my other students wait



Wednesday, August 4, 2010

One of those days...

I know that anyone who has ever been in love will know exactly what I am talking about.

 "Love" doesn't just come in strong and stay that way forever. No, it creeps up slow, takes time to build, and over a life time it grows into something more amazing than I, the little ol' newly wed could ever imagine.  Even if love blind sides you and just takes over your life at a moments notice, you will never love the person you have fallen for more than you will tomorrow...and the next day...and the next.  

Over my life, I have come to realize that love comes in many shapes and sizes. Often real love and puppy love (for the lack of a better word) sometimes meet in the gray area; indistinguishable from sensible and practicable. 

But once in a life time, do you find that one person who just makes sense.  Who fits you like a glove. Completes you. And for good reasons, contradicts you. The person who brings you up, instead of pulls you down. The person who relies on you to pull them up when they might be down. Someone who you just fall so in love with, that for no reason at all, you find yourself more in love with them than you were five minutes ago. And today happens to be one of those days. And if I were a betting girl...I'd say tomorrow will be one of those days too.