Josh & Sharon Falk

2012-01-20T07:52:00.000-08:00

Ashtyn does some crazy things.

1. She always says "mom" like it's a question.

2. She says "dad" repeatedly and then adds "tha" sounds to the last dad... why you ask, good question. Cuz she's a crazy girl.

3. She pretends she is blind. In this video it looks like she's pretending to be asleep, but don't be fooled. She goes into blind mode at random. ...when she walking at a store (this makes it awkward for onlookers) when she's eating, and as seen here when she's in the middle of a conversation in her car seat. We have no idea where she came up with this.

4. Ashtyn's favorite thing to say is, "Set... Go". She's always says the "go" delayed and in a manly voice.

She's so crazy! ...and that's why we love her so much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWUYx58M7Y8

Photo Shoot with Aunt Amy

2011-08-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

Ashtyn hearts --- Chuck-E-Cheese

2011-08-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

Grocery Shopping @ Kroger

2011-05-23T17:44:00.000-07:00

I honest don't think I can thank Kroger enough for making my grocery shopping experience 120% better. Ashtyn normally makes it a little rough to shop with, but she LOVED driving her own car and wished that I had more groceries to buy so that it would last longer.

For the love of Mac N Cheese

2011-05-13T21:50:00.001-07:00

Ashtyn is growing up so fast. She is enjoying feeding herself, and despite the fact that I try so hard to feed her only healthy choices, she LOVES mac N cheese. I'm pretty sure it's her favorite meal right now. She'll even eat the same size bowl as me.

2010-11-28T12:28:00.001-08:00

Somebody thinks she's a big girl pulling up on anything and everything.

Tub time

2010-11-05T05:14:00.001-07:00

SO easy, SO yummy!!!

2010-10-17T09:25:00.001-07:00

Microwave Caramel Popcorn

16 Servings, Prep Time: 5 Minutes, Cook Time: 10 Minutes

Description

Caramel popcorn made in under 15 minutes with the miracle of the microwave. Easy and fun - not to mention delicious.

Ingredients

4 quarts popped popcorn
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Directions

Place the popped popcorn into a large brown paper bag. Set aside
In a 2 quart casserole dish, or other heat-proof glass dish, combine the brown sugar, margarine, corn syrup, salt and vanilla. Heat for 3 minutes in the microwave, then take out and stir until well blended. Return to the microwave, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from microwave, and stir in the baking soda.
Pour syrup over the popcorn in the bag. Roll down the top once or twice to close the bag, and shake to coat the corn. Place bag into the microwave, and cook for 1 minute and 10 seconds. Remove, shake, flip the bag over, and return it to the microwave. Cook for another 1 minute and 10 seconds. Dump the popcorn out onto waxed paper, and let cool until coating is set. Store in an airtight container.
Nutritional Information

Servings Per Recipe: 16
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 173

Carbohydrates: 23.8g
Fat: 8.7g
Dietary Fiber: 1.1g
Sodium: 282.0mg
Protein: 1.1g
Cholesterol: 0.0mg

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © 2010 Allrecipescom

2010-08-11T07:32:00.000-07:00

I layed Ashtyn down for bed last night and I thought she had fallen to sleep because I could not hear her on the baby monitor. I went in to check on her and she had scooted to the top of her crib and was entertaining herself by sucking on the monitors warning label.

Every girl needs a play kitchen

2010-07-13T12:42:00.001-07:00

OMG walmart has this kitchen on sale for $65 shipped. Complete with stainless steel microwave, fridge and oven. I think Ashtyn NEEDS this.

First baby = TONS OF PICTURES

2010-07-13T06:19:00.001-07:00

I just love her cute little tushy in this picture.

This is an outfit that my mom gave Ashtyn and I've been waiting for it to fit because it is so cute.

This onesie josh's cousin Jackie made. It has matching handmade shoes and a hair bow. She did such a good job.

Two timing it with the babies

2010-07-01T10:06:00.001-07:00

I have a lot of respect for mothers of twins. Two babies at one time can be tricky.

Jinbeh with Rachel & Peter

2010-06-25T18:48:00.001-07:00

Many faces of Ashtyn

2010-06-22T10:12:00.001-07:00

2010-06-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wonder what babies are dreaming of? Ashtyn always makes the funniest faces whiles she is sleeping.

A Date!

2010-06-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

Josh and I had our first non baby date night last night!

Ashtyn has spoiled us. Since she is such a good baby we've been able to take her to movies with us. She sleeps the majority of the time, so it's been pretty nice.

She went to her first movie, Bounty Hunter w/ Gerald Butler and Jennifer Aniston when she was only 2 weeks and 3 days old.

Last night my mom watched Ashtyn while we went to The A-Team and Taco Bueno (Josh's fav). It was so nice to have some time with my hubby and actually hold hands. Usually there is a baby in one of our arms.

On a side note, (I know, this is TMI, but this is MY blog.) I had to pump 3 different times to get enough milk for one bottle. I'm so frustrated. Now I'm all freaked out that Ashtyn is not getting enough milk. Urgh.

Grandma gave us a good report, when we got back from the movies. Ashtyn took her bottle really well and was sleeping while being rocked in the rocking chair. I'm thinking this babysitter/date night thing needs to happen more often.

Ahhhhh zzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

2010-06-17T10:11:00.001-07:00

As much fun as it is to play with the babies, there is something to be said about naptime.

Ashtyn was laying on a blanket playing and crashed.

Kyle was enjoying being bounced, but the heavy eyelides got the best of him.

Happy 3 month birthday!

2010-06-16T17:15:00.001-07:00

My little girls is growing up. She is three months today. She is still wearing newborn size clothes. I bought some size one diapers yesterday and they are way too big. I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited that they are still too big. I want her to stay little forever, okay not really but maybe just a little while longer.

Two Peas In A Pod

2010-06-03T07:32:00.000-07:00

Ashtyn, Josh and I went over the the Dietz's house yesterday. Michelle was in town visiting her parents with her little baby Taylor. Taylor was two month premature, so she is a "littles". (thats my nickname for ashtyn) They were born two days apart. They are both 2 1/2 month olds wearing newborn size clothes, it's pretty cute. Tiny little babes.

Fun at the Vernon's Lake House

2010-05-10T08:30:00.000-07:00

2010-04-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

Hiccups

2010-04-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

Ashtyn gets hiccups all the time. She got them when I was pregnant with her and has just continued into the "realworld". They are so cute, but sometimes I feel bad for her.

Sweet Dreams

2010-04-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

Being Ashtyn's mom I hate to say has been way too easy. Last night she sleep from 10:30-4:15 and then 4:30-8:00. She's amazing. She is always so happy. Rarely cries. Makes the cutesy little smiley faces. And stretches any chance she can get. We love her so much.

Wowzers

2010-04-04T18:22:00.000-07:00

Ashtyn shot poop all over Nathan and Natalie's sink. It was so funny.

2010-04-04T17:09:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Easter Ashtyn

2010-04-04T16:45:00.000-07:00

Today is Easter and general conference. Grandma and grandpa Taylor came over to the Vernons and brought homemade cinnamon roll. They are so yummy. Grandma Taylor is famous for them. Then we headed to grandpa Falk's for dinner and to watch the 2nd session of conference.

Heather Hicksen

2010-04-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

We went to visit my old roommate from college heather today. Her whole family could not get over how small Ashtyn is. Heather made her a beautiful baby blanket. I just love it. We were so excited to go out to lunch because colleyville has a Costa Vida.

First Movie

2010-04-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

Ashtyn went to her first movie tonight. Bounty Hunter w/ Gerald Butler and Jennifer Aniston. She was so good and only fussed once for like two seconds. She is such a great baby. So happy all the time.

5 Hours

2010-04-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

Ashtyn is such a good sleeper. Since she was born I've had to wake her up to sleep. We went to the pediatrician this week and she said that I could try going 5 hours at night between feeding. We gave in a try last night and Ashtyn slept from 2 to 7 am straight. She makes parenting way too easy. She only cries when she's hungry, has a messy diaper or is naked. Other then that she is all smiles! We love her so much.

Our Little Princess ... Ashtyn Ilene Falk

2010-03-31T16:33:00.000-07:00

Healthy Kids Pediatrics - 2 Week Doctors Appt.

2010-03-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

W: 4 lbs, 13 oz, H: 18.25 in, Head: 12.25 in

Thumb Sucker

2010-03-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Taylor taught Ashtyn to suck her thumb while we were at the pediatrician today.

Moving In

2010-03-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

Aunt Rachel and uncle Peter came over today. Rachel held you while I unpacked for several hours. Josh left and helped Jim and Kelly move Kristen out of her old apt. For dinner we went out to Herrera's for mexican food with the Vernons and Falks.

The Cord

2010-03-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

Ashtyn lost her umbilical cord today.

Road Trip Day 2

2010-03-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

We underestimate how long our walking / nursing breaks would be, so we planned on getting to Denver around 9 pm but did not arrive until 4 am. I-80 was closed so we had to redirect and then we had to stop every two hours. Ashtyn normally crys in her car bed, but she is wide wake and making happy Cooo noises. What a sweetheart.

TEXAS

2010-03-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

On our way to Texas. You are being such an angel. We stopped at walmart to get travel snacks and your dad went to change your diaper and as soon as he did you pooped the new diaper. What luck!

Visitors At Grandmas

2010-03-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

Today was our first whole day at home. She has been such a sweetie. We have to wake her up to eat because Ashtyn sleeps all day and all night. She only is awake a few times a day. Holding her during those times is amazing. You get to see her beautiful blue eyes. She and Josh both fell asleep today snuggling on the couch. She loves her daddy. Her uncle Brent came to visit her after he got out of church. Later Brian and Candice's family came over.
We took a car ride to visit Ashtyn's aunt Lauralee in her car seat bed. It is a pretty cool contraption. Her grandma Taylor made a yummy roast for dinner. We came back from lauralee's and cindy and her daughters were waiting to see Ashtyn. Nobody can believe how small she is. Josh and I can't believe how much we love her and are so excited that Heavenly Father trusted us with her.

A Pee Story

2010-03-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

Ashtyn has been peeing when we change her diaper before we can get the new one on. Tonight she peed when Josh was trying to change her, so then I held her so he could clean up. Ashtyn then decided to pee again only this time all over me. Needless to say Ashtyn got her first bath.

2010-01-17T20:57:00.000-08:00

We Got A HYBRID :)

2009-11-29T11:43:00.001-08:00

Yummies

2009-08-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

Dinner: Homemade PF Changs Lettuce Wraps and Eggrolls

Josh helped me make dinner this week and it turned out to be a huge success. Here are the recipes we used:

Lettuce Wraps

Sharon: I like to make 3x or 4x more sauce then they suggest and then I fry up some Chinese rice noodles to add the crisp on top like Changs does it.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup water chestnut
2/3 cup mushroom
3 tablespoons chopped onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4-5 leaves iceberg lettuce

Stir Fry Sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Directions

Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan.
Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done.
Remove chicken from the pan and cool.
Keep oil in the pan, keep hot.
As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas.
Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.
When chicken is cool, mince it as the mushrooms and water chestnuts are.
With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil.
Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan.
Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce"cups".

Egg Rolls

INGREDIENTS

6 cups cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts
1 celery stalk, diced
2 tablespoons chopped onion (optional) SHARON: I added like a cup and a half, but I like onion.
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
black pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
cornstarch
20 egg roll wrappers
vegetable oil for frying
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, mix together cabbage, carrots, sprouts, celery, and onion. Stir in soy sauce, garlic powder, and black pepper.
Pour beaten egg into a skillet placed over medium heat; cook flat and thin, flipping once, until done. Remove from skillet, cool, and chop finely. Stir egg into cabbage mixture. Sprinkle top with cornstarch, mix, and allow to sit 10 minutes.
Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water. Set aside.
Place 2 or 3 tablespoons of the shrimp mixture into the center of an egg roll skin. Dip a spoon into the water and cornstarch mixture, and moisten all corners but the bottom corner. Fold the egg roll skin from the bottom over the mixture, making a tight tube of the shrimp mixture. Fold corners in from the sides, and press to stick against folded roll. Then roll the rest of the way. Repeat with remaining egg roll wrappers.
Pour vegetable oil into a deep frying pan to a depth of 3 or 4 inches, and heat oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Carefully place egg rolls into hot oil, and fry until golden brown. Remove to paper towels.

How cute is this?!?

2009-07-24T15:05:00.001-07:00

josh and i are moving out of our lindon basement apt. after living here for 2 years. i am packing and while going through everything i came across this letter from amy.

SO CUTE

the letter is complete with a $2 gift and drawing depicting amy and i as penguins.

here's her follow up christmas letter....

macie's chrismas letter...

out with the old, in with the new

2009-07-22T20:06:00.000-07:00

josh and i bought the canon tx1 right before we got married to take on our honeymoon with us. after a short 2 years, it won't focus! lame. luckily, i work at a camera store and we have a SWEET canon rep. he let me exchange my camera for a canon g10... can you say AMAZING :)

i love my g10

here's one of my first shots with the new guy.

these are some tomatoes from our garden --- we are so proud that
a. our tomato plant grew and
b. that they taste delicious.

good buy

2009-07-22T17:42:00.000-07:00

TIGI BED HEAD 1875W ACTIVE IONIC TOURMALINE DRYERmy old blow dryer went ka-put. i found this bad boy at costco for $15!!! best $15 i've ever spent. it works like a charm. you can change settings from negative to positive ions for more conditioning or faster drying.

Tremonton Rodeo

2009-07-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

Josh's uncle was in charge of the Tremonton Rodeo and Josh's cousin Conner was ridding bareback, so we went to show our support, plus we love rodeos.

Not Much of a Blogger Aeh...

2009-06-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

So if you haven't quite clued in after my four months of silence, I'm not really the blogger type. Don't get me wrong, I try, but I never end up getting around to posting. I'll try and do a quick update.

Tasha the dog... GONE GONE GONE.

TOO much dog hair, TOO much sneezing, TOO many accidents, TOO much too soon.

Don't worry. She's with a new loving family.

If you have not already tried Nothing Bundt Cake. You have not truly lived yet. It is Josh and my new obsession. We got one on my birthday, pumkin--- divine. For Josh's birthday we got red velvet---delish. I had a work party over the weekend and we brought the cinnamon swirl, and it was a HUGE hit.

I LOVE NOTHING BUNDT CAKE

The weather is finally warming up and we can enjoy going outside. It has been rainy for several weeks straight. Yeah for summer!

We had a great time celebrating our anniversary in St. George and Las Vegas with Brittani and Jason. (Our anniversaries are only a few days apart.) It was amazing.

We went and did a session at the St. George temple before embarking on our adventures in Sin City.

The newest Falk...

2009-02-17T08:31:00.000-08:00

2009-01-12T18:12:00.000-08:00

For those of you that don't know Josh and I teach primary. It is really fun and also really challenging. They say that darnedest things.

We like to ask the kids about their week and this was one of the responses we got.

Megan, one of our girls told us that "My brother said that he was going to kick me in the nuts if I did not give him my toy"

Madeline is one of our girls and she is autistic. She LOVES to scream at the top of her lungs as often as possible. BUT Josh and my favorite is when she yells in front of the whole primary, "YOUR BREATH STINKS, DON'T TALK TO ME!"

We have found that this comment can come even when you have just brushed your teeth and even have a fresh stick of gum in your mouth. FUN HUH. :)

And through it all we are so excited to see their sweet faces week after week.

(We made them a fort for snack time. It was uh... to show them uh... what it was like to be Lehi and his family in the wilderness dwelling in a tent.)

Briana Palmer's Wedding

2009-01-12T17:59:00.000-08:00

The weekend after Thanksgiving Josh and I went to my best friend when I lived in Vegas' wedding. It was the nicest wedding we have ever been to. Here are some pics.

Isn't she a beautiful bride.

The most unbelievable part of the night was, on our way out of the hotel's casino, there was a ball of crinkled up money that we found on the ground. We were excited that it might be $5 or $10. OH NO... it was $200 baby!!!!

Josh felt a bit guilt about taking the money. I talked him out of trying to turn it in. In "sin city" there was no way to find the rightful owner. It was a casino for crying out loud. EVERYONE had lost money that night. :)

After that Josh and I had fun spending our extra cash at some of the fine dining Vegas has to offer. Claim Jumper and Buffalo Wild Wings.

My Birthday (Nov.19th)

2009-01-12T17:39:00.000-08:00

It has been way too long since I have blogged. Sorry... but I'm not a blogger. It really takes a lot of effort to get me motivated to blog. BUT I have to give my husband credit for an AMAZING birthday.

Josh had his pharmacy class the night of my birthday, so we did not celebrate until the next day. We had a date at PF Changs and then on Friday we had a party with friends and family. We went to a Teppanyaki grill.

Josh got me a Nothing Bundt Cake. Which if you have not tried before, you are not living. They are to die for.

the cemetery test

2008-10-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

Tonight we made a pit stop at the cemetery by our house with Brittani and Jason to see if any orbs would show up in our pictures. We weren't disappointed. Josh and I aren't convinced of what this is all about yet, but I can say this... it's quite odd.

The perfect OCTOBER tale...

2008-10-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

I have a crazy story to share, but first I must preface it with a little history. For those of you that don't know, I work at pictureline. It is an amazing photography store in Salt Lake that caters to professionals. I have worked there for 2 years now and have loved learning more and more about this line of work. You can check out my amazing face on their website at http://www.pictureline.com/info/aboutus.php.
Just before Josh and my honeymoon last year we decided to buy a fancy point and shoot camera. We purchased the Canon TX1. At the time it was a pretty innovative camera that has a 10x zoom and can also record 480P HD video. To say the least we have loved it. It takes great pictures and even better video. Up to this point we have not had any complaints about this little guy.
Well Tuesday night I met up with my sister and her husband Dean at a gymnastic tumbling gym in South Provo, and while I was there I took several pictures of everyone goofing around and having a good time. When I got back to the house I pulled out my camera and looked at the pictures I had taken. Several of the shots had translucent circles in them.
Since working at pictureline I have helped customers on numerous occasions with their cameras, but I could not figure out what might have caused this. Sometimes dust on your lens or sensor can show up, but it would be consistently in the same place in EVERY picture. Puzzled I went to work the next day to consult with my coworkers of whom many are professional photographers themselves.

I was surprised that no one really knew what the cause could be. Luckily our Canon sales rep, Kevin, was scheduled to come in that afternoon. He would for sure have an answer on how to fix my camera. As soon as he arrived I pulled him aside and showed him my images and ask him what could have caused the spots. His reply was that there was nothing wrong with my camera, and that it was just an encounter with "orbs". I don't know about you, but I don't know what the heck "orbs" are. He then told me that they are spirits. At this point I thought he was just messing with me so I told him that I wasn't buying it and that I needed a technical answer. He told me that there was no technical answer and that it was a commonly experienced phenomenon, especially in old buildings and cemeteries. I still thought that he was full of it, but he told me to google it and see what I could find.

Here are the google results...

What are these balls of transparent light we find in photos taken in allegedly haunted places? I won't tell you I know the answer to this question. No one has the true answer to this question yet, but that's part of the job of researchers and investigator.

One of the leading theories concerning what orbs are and the one that I lean towards the most is that they are not the spirit at all. The orb is the energy being transferred from a source (i.e. power lines, heat energy, batteries, people, etc) to the spirit so they can manifest. This may not even be a conscious thing the spirit is doing, just a natural way they get their energy. This would explain why the orbs are round balls. According to the laws of Physics energy being transferring like that would assume is natural shape of a sphere. This theory can also be tied into the EMF readings we get during spirit activity.

I always approach things with a bit of skepticism, so when I saw all these websites start showing off these photos as ghosts, I was just as weary as most of you. I just had to try it for myself. I took a 35mm camera that I had used regularly for 6 years in all types of lighting and weather and had never gotten an orb or other unexplainable photo before and went out with a few seasoned field investigators on a cemetery investigation. One of the investigators was psychic and she pointed out a few areas we should take photos, so I did. I also had ghost footsteps walk up behind me twice and I turned around quickly and took photos of the empty air. When I got my photos developed, I had these orbs and fog in those photos that I was told to take, as well as the footstep ones. All my other photos were normal. Coincidence?

Kevin then said his dad had just recently passed away and all the pictures that he took at his dad's house had just one orb in them. Crazy right?

I couldn't handle all this orb talk without getting to the bottom of it, so I started questioning all of my co-workers to see if they had heard of orbs.

Ken said that one of our customers had an experience similar to the one I found online where she had gone to a cemetery and taken pictures at night and when she developed her film, it was covered in orbs. One of the prints she blew up and inside one of the spheres was a women's face. She was so shocked that she brought in the print and shared it with everyone and has now joined a group that studies supernatural events such as these.

Dana, another co-worker was a major skeptic. However she said that she first learn about orbs when she was visiting Prague last year with her husband. One night they went out, shot some pictures of a Jewish cemetery, and every shot was filled with these translucent spheres.

SO I DON'T KNOW IF I'M CONVINCED, BUT I THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE MY PICTURES AND YOU GUYS CAN TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF IT.

ENJOY :)

I know this last shot is pretty blurry, but that did not chase away the clarity of the orbs.

This is a picture that I took today at work just to make sure that my camera IS working and that it could take an "orb" free image.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN ORBS???

Our New Car

2008-10-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

So Sharon & I found out that Mini Coopers are TERRIBLE cars. They basically fall apart and cost tens of thousands of dollars to fix...that's why we bought another Avalon! Since mine has been amazing we thought it would be a good route to go. Anyway, here are some pics.

Babysitting

2008-09-27T07:08:00.000-07:00

Last night our neighbors asked us if we could babysit their kids. I have been home sick with a cold for the last two days, so that left Josh with baby duties. He really stepped up to the plate. He is going to be such a cute dad. This is MaKenna and she is the perfect baby. She never cries. She just sits around making cute baby noises all night long. If we could only guarantee that when we have a child they would be just like this.
MaKenna is totally content to sit her baby carrier. She was especially mesmerized by the dangling butterfly and flowers.

It looks like he's a natural!

American Fork Canyon

2008-09-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

We went camping with Brittani and Jason in American Fork Canyon. Brittani already blogged about it, so I stole her blog because she told of the experience so well. I am pretty proud of these pictures because I was able to take a Nikon D300 and an 18-200mm lens with me (about $3,000 worth of equipment. ) It was a blast.

Hurley loved to be outside in nature.Just setting up camp.

We bought matching camping chairs. They are so comfy!

Brittani and Hurley dog.

After we got all set up, we decided to go on a little hike. The trails close at dusk, and that is when we arrived. We decided to head out on our journey anyway thinking there would be enough day light left. After we had been walking for about a mile, Josh heard a noise that spooked us all. We decided the trails close at dusk for a reason and took off running for our lives thinking there was a bear or wild bore out there! Once we got to the car, we realized there really wasn't anything out there, but we were ready to leave. Josh reached in his pocket to get his car keys to open the door, and they were gone. We figured they fell out of his pocket when we took off running. So we headed back down the trail trying to find our needle in a hay stack. We decided to say a prayer for some help and guidance on finding these keys.

This is what the sky looked like after we had been looking for about 30 minutes. So we were out in the mountains stranded, about 30 minutes away from our camp site, and it was getting dark. One other thing you should know is that we didn't have a flash light. So we were using our cell phones as light, and they weren't working too well. Just a side note... On the way to the trail we talked about turning around to bring a flash light, but we decided against it. I'm pretty sure we were regretting that decision about now.

After about an hour and a half of looking, Josh found his keys! They were about 2 feet off the path in the tall grass. I know our prayers were answered that night and we were blessed to be able to find the keys and get back to camp. I am so grateful for prayer!

On our way back to the camp site we had an interesting experience...

So we just had this spiritual experience with being blessed to find our keys and we started the drive back to the camp. On our way down the windy narrow road, we saw a man running down the right side of the road. We thought that was kind of weird for him to be jogging late at night in the mountains. Well, it got even weirder when we got closer because the only thing this man was wearing was his socks and shoes, and the Burger King Man mask. (you know the burger king man you see on the commercials) Yeah... I am not lying to you! It was so random and after the fact pretty funny. We decided it was probably a college kid who lost a bet.So you'd think that was enough adventure for one night...not quite! When we got back to our campsite it was locked. There were a few of us locked out with all of our stuff inside, so we had to figure out how to break in over the exit spikes. The middle car didn't dare try and took off.After we came up with the plan of using our car mats to hold the spikes down, Jason and I helped this guy get his SUV through, then he and J helped helped me get over the spikes too.

Once we finally got back we decided to build a fire and cook some dinner.

About an hour after we went to bed that night we woke up to animal noises in our camp site. At this point we just couldn't handle any more excitement in our night. We were scared thinking it could be a bear or something. Turns out is was a couple of massive raccoons who were eating Hurley's dog food. So the boys got up and put the dog food and the coolers in the cars. Finally, it was time for the eventful night to be over.

The next day we woke up and hiked the Timpanogos cave.
The hike was really hard, but so beautiful!

This squirrel picture was one of my favorites of the trip.

Welcome back to UTAH!!!

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This is a picture that I took out the window of our car in Utah on our way back from Texas. Although our heart is in Texas, Utah can sure be beautiful.

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The Lake house was one of the highlights of our trip. The Vernon's have been such a big part of all of the Falk kid's lives and they think of them as a second set of parents. My little sister Amy was able to come this trip and wakeboarded for the first time. She did great!

Texas Rangers & Dallas Cowboys

2008-09-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

Gayle was so sweet to get us amazing seat at the Texas Ranger game while we were in town. It was so much fun and the Rangers kicked butt that night. THANKS GAYLE!

Josh was in hog heaven because Gayle ALSO gave tickets to David, Josh & Walter to have a "Boys Night Out". Pictures are to come...

Buffalo Wild Wings

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Josh could eat at Buffalo Wild Wings for every meal. When I worked in Las Vegas, one of the foster girls that was in my Boystown home worked for Buffalo Wild Wings. I would always have her bring me wings from work. The day after Josh and I got married I asked him if we could go to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch. (They do not have these in Utah) It was love at first wing for Josh. Now every time someone goes to Texas Josh has them bring home a bottle of wing sauce for him, so of course we had to go back when we were in Texas visiting.

Bowling at Main Event

2008-09-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

We went to Main Event with Lynsi, Walter, Nathan, Natalie, David, Amy & Macie. We realized that bowling is EXPENSIVE! Since Lynsi and I are cheap we practiced our "mommy skills" and supervised the bowlers. Josh and Walter shared shoes and took turns bowling every other time. (We're so cheap, but I'm telling you it was REALLY expensive.)

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We are quite the family.

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It was doggy mayhem at my mom's house. She was crazy enough to allow us to keep Hurley at her house for our entire stay. Hurley had fun playing with his cousin's Daisy the lab, Cooper the terrier, and London the kitty.

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Luckily Josh was to the rescue. Both Josh and Hurley were safe and sound.

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We had a near death experience where Nathan accidentally kicked Hurley into the pool and he sunk to the bottom "like a pencil" as Josh puts it.

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Josh finally got to hang out with "the boys".

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Winston & Garrett fell in love with Macie and wanted her to do everything with them. I can't blame them... she's beautiful.

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We had the Falk's over and we all went swimming at my parents house. Josh and I were so glad to be in Texas.

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We had a celebration dinner at Goodwood BBQ and then right after we were done Josh & I hit the road and drove through the night to TEXAS!!!

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We want to thank everyone for their love and support. It was so nice to share this experience with both sets of Grandparents, Aunt Merlynn, Chance, Aunt Laurie and Brittani and Jason.

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Graduation was GREAT. It was only 1 1/2 hours. Josh said that he is requiring all of our kids to walk in August.

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FYI: Just to so that we do not confuse anyone, Josh does not graduate until December, but BYU does not have a ceremony then.

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Josh wasn't sure if he wanted to walk for Graduation and I convinced him that grandparents like it. What he didn't know was that along with agreeing to walk he was also agreeing to a thorough photo shoot. We only had my little point and shoot camera, but I was mighty proud of the results. These are some of my favorites.

2008-09-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

J-DAWGS For those of you that are unfamiliar with J-Dawgs. Words are hard to describe this bit of perfection. They are a polish sausage or beef hot-dog on a gourmet bun with special sauce, sourkrout, a pickel spear, jalapeños, onions and banana peppers.

2008-09-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

Josh made sure that while Nathan & Natalie were here they were able to soak up some of the fine dining in Utah. CAFE RIO... oh yeah and...

2008-09-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

I'm glad that we got to go and visit Ilene's grave site while the twins were in town.

2008-09-08T19:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Brittani! July 25th --- 24 years old :)

2008-09-08T19:31:00.000-07:00

Josh & Jason both have Monkey Ball downloaded on their iPod touch and the whole weekend was spent with the boys trying to top each other's high score.

2008-09-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

Last month for Brittani's birthday Jason surprised her with Nathan and Natalie for a week. Josh & I loved to reap the rewards as well.

The Amazing Bread Recipe

2008-09-08T19:16:00.000-07:00

10 1/2 C Four
1/2 C Sugar
1 T Salt
3 T Instant Yeast
3 T Lecithin (found in health food store)
4 C water

Add flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Mix. Add in lecithin, and water. Make the water as hot as the tap will allow before mixing in. I always end up adding a tablespoon or two more of water. You want it to stick to the sides. Once it is the right consistency mix for 5 min. in mixer. After mixing spray your hands and counter with Pam. Scrape dough onto counter and knead for a minute. This recipe makes 4 items. (ie One loaf of bread, one pizza, one tray of rolls, or one tray of bread sticks.) Sometimes I half the recipe when I don't want to make that many things. For bread you take a 1/4 the dough and shape it into a loaf. Let it raise for 25 min. and then cook it for 25 min. at 350. For pizza you roll it out in a pizza shape and without letting it raise put it in the oven at 425 for 15-20 min. There you have it YUM YUM!

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But did I mention that the pizza turned out awesome?

2008-08-31T16:20:00.000-07:00

We have continued our efforts and attempted to make homemade strawberry jam... yeah.... at 2 am. That ended up being a live and learn. The pot boiled over, we did not measure the ingredients right, but after all was said and done... we had a year supply of strawberry syrup. Food storage right? Anyone hungry for pancakes???

2008-08-31T16:13:00.000-07:00

Josh & I attended an enrichment activity where the ladies from Pantry Secrets (pantrysecrets.net) taught us to make bread, pizza, rolls, cinnamon roll... you get the idea... all from the same recipe. Brittani came over and we put the recipe to the test. The results were amazing! Josh and Jason said it was the best pizza they had ever had. They are our husbands however, so they have to say nice things like that so that we will continue cooking homemade meals for them.