Good Friends

Last night was so much fun. I went out with some friends to Salt Lake. Nicole has been a friend of mine since forever when she went and left me for a man! (The nerve! ;) Her husband, Brent, is now working at the church office building so we went up to see what he does. Dave, a friend of Nicole's and mine came along as well. We eat at the Garden Resturant in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in downtown Salt Lake. Check out the view behind us!
Afterwards we stopped by Troy and Katie's to play "Bang", the stupidest game known to man. Brent and Katie had a bitter duel to the death that lasted a half hour!

But all in all we had lots of fun. And we're such a good looking group!

Finishing up Labor Day weekend

So just to finish up the Labor weekend, Sunday after church I went up to my parents cabin. This was sort of a sad as my parents are getting ready to sell it at the end of this month. I think they both are sad to see it go, but my dad is looking forward to building a new one just down the way. Either way, it was the first time in a long time since our family has had some quality time together so it was nice to bet here together. We just stayed over night, but still had plenty of time to goof around,

Get in some serious backgammon competitions,

Enjoy eating lots of vegtables from Mom's and Aunt Lisa's garden,

And just hang out

What a weekend! :)

I live in the best state ever part II

So when I got home from camping yesterday, it was still the middle of the day. Plenty of day light to burn. What could I possible do with a couple of hours in the middle of a beautiful day? Go on a motorcycle ride with my dad of course!
We went up around the Alpine loop that goes from American Fork Canyon to Provo Canyon. It was (I think) my first time around this loop (unless we did it as a kid and I just don't remember). But I can't believe what I was missing. It was the coolest ride ever!

I live in the best state ever!

I realize this is probably biased, but I think I live in the best state ever. Friday I had decided I wanted to go camping. Now there are a couple things you have to keep in mind, I hadn't given thiis much thought beforehand, and I don't get off work until 5. Fortunately I have friends who are always up for an adventure. Dave, a good friend of mine, said he would be up for the adventure and off we went. Within 20 minutes of leaving my house, we were at the mouth of the canyon, ready to head up. I didn't think we were going to have much luck, getting such a late start on a holiday weekend, but fortunately Dave knew exactly where to go.

We started at the trail head at 8:30 and got to the end of our 2.2 mile hike around 10. We had decided to give "hammock camping" a shot. This was my first time every sleeping in a hammock. And I have to say, aside from getting a little cold that night, it was pretty cool.
I realize there is something about being outdoors that makes food taste really good, but out omelets with avocados the next morning were sooooooo good!
This was our base camp. Again, I live in the coolest state ever!
It was so much fun! I can' t wait to go again! The lake you see behind me here was so clear and smooth, it was like glass. Except for the the 20 fish that were jumping out of it any given moment. (No exaggeration! At any given second, there were at least 20 fish jumping, ii

Summer is almost over

So I don't know about everyone else, but there are a couple things for me that indicate summer is winding down. Labor Day weekend is certainly one of them, but nothing says Fall is on its way like a football game.


Last night, I went to the first U of U game of the season and it was great. The entire stadium was completely sold out and people were proud to represent their team spirit. It has been quite a while since I've been a student, so sitting in the student section also proved extremely nostalgic. Everyone around me screaming all the cheers and fight songs, it was quite entertaining and a memorable night.

Climb Night

So what's the latest with me? Well last night I went rock climbing with a couple of co-workers and friends. This has been a new thing for me, I haven't done much climbing before but I really like it. Last night we went up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Challenge Bluff.

Hey down there! This is me, showing off my stuff.

This is Carolina, Skylar's wife. She's the coolest!

Brian and Skylar, a couple of guys I work with

Last but not least, this is a friend, Ryan, doing his thing

This one is for you

I started this blog when I was living in Romania as a way for people back home to keep up with what I was doing and see pictures of me. While I was never great at keeping it updated reguarly, such updates have been far and inbetween since I have come back to the States. I think my reasoning behind this was that I was mostly just seeing most of the people who wanted to know what was going on with me. These last few weeks have shown me that is not the case and I am touched. I have had several people who have become part of my life and have asked me to update my blog. To those people I say I am sorry I let that slip and that I will do better. I hope no one feels like I have been neglectful. That is not my feeling at all. I am so grateful for the people who have become a part of my life. And now that the schmary part is over, I now progress with today's entry. :)

So last summer my good friends, Sorina and Marian came to the US for almost a month and we drove all over Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California. Being from Romania, they are used to most goods being transported either via train. As we spent a siginificant amount of time on the highways, we had a good look at the US's main method of transporting goods; the semi truck. Sorina was facinated with these big trucks.

So when a good friend of mine who is a truck driver was passing through Utah, he offered me an inside look at the life of truck driver. Thank you, o' friend of mine!

This is inside living area where he spends a good part of his time when he isn't driving. I was surprised at how basic it was. I guess I thought it would be more like a mini apartment when really all it is is a bed with two shelves.

(sorry, the picture is on its side, I couldn't get it upright)

This is me in the living area. Just call me Vana White.

Wahoo! Look out! Here I come!