Princesses Don't Touch Slimy Fish

I'm a princess.  There is really no doubt about it.  Let's be honest, I'm qutie happy about my princess status.  I have a tiara proudly displayed in my office, and coworkers are well aware that I'm a princess.  My family doesn't even try to fight it.  I'm a princess. 

There are certain things princesses don't do...

• Princesses don't get dirty.
• Princesses don't go camping.
• Princesses don't get told, "No." (My principal learned that quickly...)
• Princesses don't have to do stupid chores (being a homeowner is a challenge for this one).
• Princesses don't get dirt under their fingernails.
• Princesses don't touch slimy things.
• Princesses don't go fishing.

Travis took issue with the last item on the list.  However, since I've known Travis I have had to do many thing princesses aren't supposed to do and it sort of makes my head explode.

Travis decided that my life wasn't complete because I have never been fishing.  That fact has never once made me feel sad or feel as though I am missing out on something.  I'm convinced that he felt he couldn't marry a girl who had never been fishing.  Therefore, last Saturday October 27th I found myself standing at a trout farm in Spring Lake holding a fishing pole.  The young lady helping us was probably about 15 years old and she instantly became my hero.  You should have seen the way she got that worm on the hook!  There was no way I was going to touch that thing.  She got our poles all ready to go and we walked toward the pond.  Travis taught me how to cast my line and we were off.  Guess who caught the first fish of the afternoon.... ME! 

As I somehow managed to pull my monster fish out of the pond it swung precariously from the end of my pole, "Now what do I do?!"  Travis' response, "What do you think you should do?"  "Oh right, I should just wait for you to take care of it."  So, my fish was just swinging through the air until Travis realized I really wasn't going to touch it and he set his pole down and came to my assistance.

Yep, that face sure explains the whole event.

That's my bobber in the process of catching a fish.

"Oh my gosh!  I got another one!  What do I do? What do I do?"

I caught that fish.  He may have swallowed the hook, and once again, there was no way I was going to touch it.

Apparently I am now marriage material.  I caught my 3 fish before Travis caught his 3.  I win!

See that big one?  Right there in the middle?  That was the biggest fish caught and he was caught by your's truly!

 

Once we decided 6 fish were enough the young lady fileted them for us.  I sat there watching her thinking, "Oh my goodness, I'm a murderer!"  I felt so badly as I watched the fish wriggle.  It also didn't help that I had Travis standing behind me whispering, "You caught those.  You're a murderer.  You did this.  You're a murderer."  Charming....

 

There ends the story of my first fishing adventure.  We caught 6 fish in the matter of 15 minutes.  My mom told me it was cheating to fish at a trout farm, but it's really the only way I would have survived it.  If I had to sit at a lake for hours only to catch a big fat nothing I would have turned into my princess self, "Are we done yet?  This is boring.  I'm ready to go home.  I'm bored."

If You Build It, Stuff Will Come

Once upon a time I was engaged to a man with a whole bunch of STUFF!  Camping stuff, hunting stuff, football stuff, random stuff, just lots of stuff.  When I moved into my house I often thought, "Wow, look at all of these empty closets and cupboards.  I have so much space."  Along comes Travis and his stuff.  Suddenly I'm greatly concerned about my lack of space, "Whatever shall I do with all of this stuff?"

Recently Travis moved into a new house and needed places to put his stuff.  Well, at some point in the near future he will be moving into my house, so it only made sense for his stuff to begin moving here.  Maybe it will save some stress come January.  As the camping stuff and hunting stuff moved in my garage began to look much smaller.  Travis to the rescue!

Can he build it? Yes, he can!  We considered purchasing garage storage shelves and looked at several websites for such items.  The longer Travis looked the more convinced he became that he could build on with some wood and a drill.  Sure enough, look what he fashioned in the corner of my garage.  Now we have a place for camping stuff, hunting stuff, and football stuff.  All this was brought to you from the mind and building abilities of Travis the Tool Man (complete with the grunting).

Now... how will I ever make room for his clothes?

Return of The Concert Snobs

Yes, it's true.  Janelle and I are concert snobs and we are proud of it.  We made the trek to downtown Salt Lake on Thursday September 20th to see Train.  However, I true motivation for purchasing these particular tickets was Mat Kearney.  Yes friends, it is true, we went to a concert for an opener.  While we both enjoy Train, Mat Kearney would win in a battle.  The Gallivan Center is not a good venue (this is according to the self proclaimed concert snobs).  We even showed up a little early (which we never do) and could not see the stage at all.  Irritating!  So, we sat on a bench in the back and listened to Andry Grammer (not bad, definitely interested in hearing more of his music), then stood up for Mat Kearney because that's who we were there for, and finally returned to our seats for Train.  Train did well live and they were quite entertaining, but it's hard to keep focused when you can't see a thing.  So, we left 3/4 of the way through Train.  See, now you agree, we are concert snobs.

Janelle is one of my favorite people.  Really she is.  She's the best concert buddy.

It was the perfect night for a concert... even if we couldn't see.  This is on my tip-toes with the camera held high above my head.

Songs About Corn Dogs and 2 Year Olds

Our friend Zach has been in town and we enjoy spending time with Zach and his girlfriend Ashley.  Friday night we were at Zach's house and he said that one of his favorite bands, Ryan Shupe and The Rubber Band, was playing Saturday night at Thanksgiving Point and he asked if we would like to go.  Considering I never turn down a concert I said yes, and fully expected Travis to protest; he doesn't like concerts (we really have nothing in common).  But, by some miracle Travis agreed to go (apparently he'll go to concerts with Zach but not when I invite him... go figure).

So, Saturday night we met Zach and Ashley at Thanksgiving Point.  The show was great.  I'm not terribly familiar with Ryan Shupe and The Rubber Band, I know a couple of there songs.  But, I loved this concert.  They are great performers!  They have some of the most interesting songs.  Seriously, they sang a song about corn dogs, and another song about 2 year old attitudes.  I'm going to put their music on my iPod.  I love good new music!

As is custom when I go to a concert, I need a concert picture.  It's nearly impossible to get Travis to smile like a normal person in a picture.  It took us several tries...

I finally got a good one.  See, he's got a great smile.  He should really use it more often.

Ashley noticed my dilemma and offered to help, which resulted in another decent picture.  Thanks Ashley!

Ashley and Zach enjoying the opener.

It was a beautiful night in Lehi.  We even got a brief but beautiful sunset.

 



Ryan Shupe and The Rubber Band

 

It was a fun night!  Thanks Zach for inviting us.  Thanks Travis for actually going to a concert with me!  It was a September miracle.

My New Roommate

Meet Shelby.  She is my new roommate.  She has lived with me for just over 2 weeks now.  She's a sweetheart.
Shelby is actually Travis' dog, but he had to move to a new place and couldn't take Shelby.  We figured she'd move in eventually so we moved her in 4 months early.

A few Shelby facts:

Shelby is quite good at playing fetch, but only when Travis is not around.  When Travis is around she has to be right next to him constantly so he's too much of a distraction.

Shelby nips at your ankles as soon as your running shoes are on.  She loves running.

Shelby is afraid of cats.  Darcy has figured this out and uses it to his advantage.

Shelby is very obedient, unless she is convinced the cats are trying to play with her when in fact they are either chasing each other or running away from her.

Shelby loves everyone!

If you let your foot hang off the couch or bed or something you are seated on she walks over and proceeds to pet herself with your foot.

Shelby doesn't like to be alone.

Shelby is super curious about everything.

Shelby doesn't like bedtime.

Shelby will attack your vacuum.

Shelby never barks or makes any noise unless she's just been put to bed.

Shelby gives good hugs.

And, Shelby loves Sarah more than Travis. :)

An Ending to the Suspense... A Date Has Been Set

I'm a lover of countdown chains.  Usually I only have 1 reason to make a countdown chain... the end of the school year.  This countdown chain, however, is not for the end of the school year (I would probably make myself crazy if I made a chain for that already).  This chain is for something even more exciting... My WeDdInG!  Yep, miracles do happen, we finally set a date.  Let it be know that on Saturday January 19, 2013 Sarah and Travis will be sealed in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.

Great Friends, KOA, Les Mis, Fortune Teller... Summer of Fun Finale

Saturday August 18, 2012 6 awesome girls loaded in D'Nell's car (DON'T OPEN THE BACK!) and headed toward Cedar City to see Les Miserables at the Shakespeare Festival.  I seriously have the best friends ever!  They are just so darn much fun!

The trip down was an adventure all on it's own.  As we drove south we saw a cute store and just had to stop (according to D'Nell they had apples that tasted like candy!).  After exploring there for a bit we loaded back in and were on our way again. 

 

Next we spotted a gas station with a petting zoo.  That turned out to be irresistible!  We piled out and went off to make some new friends.

 

This zebra with Nicole turned out to be starved for attention.  Insisted on trying to be in every picture we took.

 



Suzie in deep conversation with a new friend, who turned out to be her mortal enemy.  The birds seemed to have something against Suzie and eventually chased her out of the enclosure.

Apparently the goats and sheep can be bought with only a quarter.  All Gen did was get buy a little food and she was instantly surrounded.

As we left we found this sign, which then became the rules for our road trip.  We are NOT responsible for butts, kicks, and poo on shoes!

 



D'Nell's Summer of Fun wish list included staying in a KOA kabin.  Here's her wish come true....  Complete with Vegas style bathrooms.  Yes folks, there was music playing in the bathrooms!  We felt better about "kamping" after that.

After unloading and exploring our home for the night we headed toward SUU for our show.  Here I am with Nicole.

Here we are:  Suzie, D'Nell, Amber, Gen, me, and Nicole about to go in to watch Les Mis.

Nicole, Gen, Amber, Suzie, and D'Nell.  FUN friends!

 

The show was great, and we all felt as though we were qualified to make a few critiques (but really, the lead could have been a little better).

 

After the show we went back to our kabin.  We gathered around the table outside for a round of fortune teller.  After our unhappy neighbors slammed their window shut we changed locations.  Fortune  Teller really was quite epic, and as Gen said (about a thousand times!) "That makes sense."  We learned many interesting things about several guys after asking intriguing questions.  The cards never lie!

Here we are outside of our fabulous kabin Sunday morning.  The music in the bathrooms was Church music that morning, not even lying!  It made us feel a little more spiritual since we weren't going to be going to church.  We got all 6 of us and our stuff back into D'Nell's car and after a lovely breakfast at the All-American Diner we headed north.

Another Summer Of Fun activity in the history books... one that will not be forgotten.  I am so glad that I've been able to tag along on this Summer of Fun!  Really, I couldn't ask for better friends.  I thank Heavenly Father every day for them.  Love you guys!  "That makes sense..."