Day Trip To The Dunes

Cole and I have had a really hard time making a solid trip to the dunes happen, but last minute for the past two weekends in a row we have totally been able to pull it together. Problems have been friends who are too busy, families not getting any attention from their husbands, no money, or a bad case of the throw ups. But each time, just minutes to hours before the trip we were able to rope someone into coming with us.

This Saturday was supposed to be the biggest trip, Cole, me, Stetson, Debi, Ammon and his wife, and one of Stetson's friends. The end result? Everyone bailed except Cole and me. Friday night though we were able to get Marcos to come with us. So the trip to the dunes was still on. Saturday morning came, and the three of us packed up the trailer, 2 quads and one dirt bike.

On the way, we stopped to get food for the dunes-- One important stop we made was at Beto's for Cole. Can't do the dunes right without a breakfast burrito.

Finally we were on our way. Part of the way there Leo (short for Leonitis, and the name of our truck) started acting up, which sucked because we just paid to have it fixed and chipped so that this problem wouldn't happen. It didn't happen to the same degree as it had before, but it wouldn't accelerate well (if at all) up the hills on the way out there. It would get to 50 mph and then the rpms stayed so low you couldn't go any faster. So both on the way there and on the way back we stopped several times hoping to fix it. Not fixed. Looks like another trip to Gillette is in the future.

Still, we made it to the dunes!! Then the truck got stuck in the soft sand, a little 4 wheel drive fixed that. Although we didn't realize right off the bat that we had to lock the front tires even for 4-hi. You do.

Finally, we were set up. The day was beautiful! The boys were trying to get some sun (mostly Marcos since he has the pallor of piece of chalk, no offense Marcos!).

We pulled the bikes out to ride--have I mentioned Marcos hasn't ever ridden quads before? The three of us started out. Marcos did awesome!! I think we owe it primarily to the fact that he wasn't afraid of anything and therefore had several rolls and falls. But Cole and I were so impressed! Although on several occasions we said to each other "this guy is crazy! he's going to kill himself." No one got hurt though, and it was an extremely successful day at the dunes. So glad we were able to go after all.

A Little Date Night

My sister and brother in law live up in Salt Lake, and as often as possible, Cole and I try to hang out with them. Because, well let's face it, they're pretty freaking cool.

The plan for this week (I think we went up Monday night), was to use our Trafalga Season Passes to do some free bowling. Awesome. So Cole and I ran up almost right after work (I went for a quick run as I'm determined to make sure I do something 5-6 times a week) but right after that we left! We met them at this Indian Food restaurant called Taste of Punjab. We had a little bit of fun with that name, and hopefully you don't judge me for that, but if you do--we totally earned it. Well... it was delicious! We love love love Indian food. A little tip: if you don't eat much or any of the rice you can totally leave feeling wonderful. But with expanding rice in the mix, you may get way too full. It's just impossible to stop eating once you start with good Indian food.

It was Adam's first time eating it, and like the Indian food connoisseurs we think we are, we advised him to eat the Chicken Tikka Masala. The most basic and delicious first step to Indian food. Well the rest of us proceeded to order that meal, and then Adam goes and is adventurous and orders something completely different that none of us have tried. So much for being connoisseurs and way to go Adam for being gutsy. It ended up being delicious.

After dinner we went to the bowling alley. The first game, couple versus couple, seemed like a total blow out at first but Cole and I came back to ALMOST make it a close game!! We weren't necessarily brining our A game. So we lost frozen yogurt to the Toblers. The second game was Cole versus me, and Adam versus Leslie. I think Adam and Leslie lost the competitive edge and didn't care anymore, but this is where Cole and I bring the intensity. I think in order for you to understand what it means for Cole and I to bring the intensity, I need to tell you a little story.

The night before our wedding, Cole's family put together a song that was meant to be representation of our relationship. What song did they choose? Anything you can do I can do better!! It was hilarious, in fact! Here it is:

Girls:Anything you can do, I can do better.

I can do anything better than you.

Greg: (talk)No, you can't.

Sunny: (talk)Yes, I can. 

Greg: (talk)No, you can't.

Sunny: (talk)Yes, I can. 

Greg: (talk) No, you can't.

Sunny: (talk) Yes, I can, yes I can!

Boys:  Anything you can be I can be greater.

Sooner or later, I'm greater than you.

Mom: (talk) No, you're not. 

Dad: (talk) Yes, I am.

Mom: (talk) No, you're not. 

Dad: (talk) Yes, I am.

Mom: (talk) No, you're NOT!. 

Dad: (talk)Yes, I am.Yes, I am!

Girls: I can drive a jetski, drive it with my hands free

Boys: I can ride a wakeboard, flying high, I just soar

Adrienne: (talk) I can sell most anything

Tyler: (talk)  Can you sell Vivint?

Adrienne: (talk) Yes!

Tyler: (talk)  I can’t do that.

Boys:  But when we scuba dive, I can go deeper

Girls: I can go deeper, much deeper than you

Logan: (talk)  No, you can’t

Lisa: (talk)  Yes I can

Logan: (talk)  No, you can’t

Lisa: (talk) Yes I can

Logan: (talk)  No you can’t 

Lisa: (talk)  Yes I can, Yes I can

Boys: Anything you can buy, I can buy cheaper

          I can buy anything cheaper than you.

Amanda: (talk)  fifty cents?

Matt: (talk)  forty cents!

Amanda: (talk)  Thirty cents?

Matt: (talk)  Twenty cents!

Amanda: (talk)  No you can’t 

Matt: (talk)  Yes I can, Yes I can

Boys: I can ride a snowboard, boogie with my skim board

Girls: I can drive a fast quad, snorkel, paint and cook good

Matt: (talk)  I can race most anything

Amanda:  (talk )  Can you race a plane

Matt:  (talk)  No!  that is insane!

Girls: Then there’s that time when I beat you at tennis

Boys: You didn’t beat me—I let you do that

Girls:  I won that game fair and square, just admit it

Boys: Yes, you are right, now I must admit that.

Tyler:  (talk)  You’re the best

Adrienne: (talk) So are you

Tyler:  (talk) You’re the best

Adrienne: (talk ) So are you 

Tyler:  (talk) You’re the best 

Adrienne:  (talk) So are you, so are you

Girls:  So when we’re married, we’ll do things together

Boys: We’ll conquer everything, we’ll be a team.

Girls:  We’ll ski and scuba dive, jet ski and rock climb

Boys: Boogie board, dirt bike, join a soccer team.

Girls:  And every day we will grow even closer

Boys:  Our love will deepen as we go through life

Girls:   We’ll serve each other and cherish each moment

Boys:  I feel so lucky that you’ll be my wife.

Sunny:  (talk) You’re so sweet

Greg:  (talk)  So are you

Sunny: (talk)  I can’t wait t’say “I Do”

Greg:  (talk)  You’re the best

Sunny: (talk)  So are you

Greg:  (talk)  I can’t wait t’say “I Do”

So now that I've explained THAT, you can understand how the second bowling game went between Cole and me. Well, I am awful at bowling, but some how this game I managed to get a 136!!! Totally smoked him. I'm pretty sure Cole wasn't too happy, and we may have gotten a little mad. Soon to be soothed by some frozen yogurt, or so we thought. One of my favorite treats was not so favorite at this crappy place I chose in Salt Lake. Such a disappointment. Oh well, good indian food and a great game that I won?? Still a terrific night. Thanks to Adam, Leslie and Cole :) I have an awesome family, I'm so lucky.

The Wedding, Continued, With Pictures

I know I didn't post many pictures in the wedding entry, so I put a few in here to satisfy anyone's curiosity and to fulfill the purpose of this being a little bit like a journal. Also, you can view ALL the pictures (if you are so inclined to spend some time looking at essentially the same thing over and over!) on Facebook

The Wedding

The wedding came a year and a half after Cole and I met. Sooner than we both thought it would come, but it was definitely the right time to have the party of the year--or at least it was the party of the year for us! I've come to think it's inevitable that the bride and groom have the most fun at their wedding and everyone else is wondering when the cake is going to be cut. We tried so hard to make sure our wedding was fun, so hopefully for everyone else it was. We definitely had a great time.

Since we got married in April (April 12), one of the most important factors in deciding where we were going to get married was that it was universal to all types of weather. I wanted something outside, but it can snow in April--and is well known for snowing in April when you're in Utah. Lucky us. So we decided to get married in a greenhouse that had a connected courtyard, so that if it was nice, there was still some outside portion. Well, as we prepared for snow, it snowed on our wedding day. The day started out okay, but as we closer and closer to the time of the ceremony the sky definitely darkened and heavy rain eventually turned into snow.

Thank goodness we went for a greenhouse!! The bridesmaids, flower girls, ring bearer, and my dad and I had to walk from one building to the outside and then into the greenhouse for the procession. Well needless to say we had an easy up tent set up outside (by my ever so thoughtful husband) so that we all wouldn't be soaked as we waited to take our turn to walk down the aisle. The sweet little lady helping me get from one building to the next dryly kept poking me in the face with her umbrella as she also tried to pick up my train so that it too would arrive clean and dry. After everything, it worked out wonderfully. It was absolutely perfect. 

I think it's important to mention that the song I walked down the aisle to was the instrumental version of "secrets" by One Republic (it's the theme song from Sorceror's Apprentice). You'll probably label me as a nerd at this point--and you'd be right. However, it was still a really cool song. Whether or not you believe me, I didn't choose it because of the movie, but that is the first place I heard it.

There were two bridesmaids, Leslie and Bethia, 5 flower girls, all of Cole's little nieces (my nieces now!), and a ring barer.

Cole's brother Logan performed the ceremony, and he did an amazing job. I think both of our families appreciated the thought and time he put into the words he spoke and the advice he gave. Cole and I definitely are very grateful for the love we felt from him that day. It was very special. Before the wedding Cole and I decided that we would write our own vows. Definitely one of the best decisions we made. It was so cool to be able to tell Cole how I felt about him and promise him things that will last for the rest of our lives right in front of all our family and friends. Cole absolutely blew me out of the water with his vows. They were so sweet.

After the ceremony, of course were pictures. We had a million family pictures that were pure craziness. Thanks to our photographer everything actually went very smoothly and the pictures turned out fantastic. Barbara and my mom don't know it yet, but they are getting a bunch of the family pictures for Mother's Day, and I'm so excited to hear their reactions. They're going to love it. The pictures Cole and I took of just him and me were great. The snow had cleared up and the sun was back out!! The mud completely destroyed my dress, but who cares--you wear the thing one time. The rest of the night was beautiful.

After pictures... talking. talking. talking. and more talking. And you'd think it would have been tiring. But it was so much fun!! We had so many friends and family at the wedding supporting us--I couldn't believe it. We have definitely been blessed and surrounded by good people.

There was also food. I didn't get to really enjoy that part, but it was beautiful!! Cole's sister Sunny put it together and she definitely needs to start a side job as a caterer. It was so well done, I still get people complimenting her on it and wondering what company I had do it :)

We did the traditional wedding activities like toasts, dances, cake, and bouquet toss. The toasts were amazing. My dad, my sister, and our good friend James gave toasts. All were funny and thoughtful and much appreciated by Cole and me.

At the end of the ceremony we danced. And danced, and danced! It was the one thing that Cole really wanted to have serious input about, and I think he was pretty pleased with the results.

All in all it was a beautiful day. One that I am glad we spent a few months preparing for as it will definitely be in our memories for the rest of our marriage. And I'm sure this is only the beginning of a fun and exciting adventure.

For more pictures: http://www.emilylesher.com/utahphotography/2012/04/30/amy-cole-wedding-utah-wedding-photographer/

The Adventures of Amy and Cole

You may be asking yourself, why would they chose a name for their blog that is slightly reminiscent of a squirmy repulsive Lord of the Rings character? The answer is..well,because we think we are funny. Of course it has nothing to do with any creatures from middle earth but is simply a mixture of last names we so cleverly fused (or so we think).

Instead of keeping scrap books and diaries we figured this would be a good way for us to log our new adventures and maybe share with all those who may be at least mildly interested.

Stay posted for whatever nonsense we feel may be noteworthy in our lives.