We LOVE Visitors...

Well this post is a little late...infact it's almost two weeks late...but I haven't wanted to update my blog. But I decided we needed to talk about something other then Zoey...I didn't realize she was on the last two posts that we did! We are those weird dog people!

So my friend Kortsen came to visit me the other weekend...it was great to see her! We hadn't seen eachother for about a year and a half...that's a long time...but I think about it and I haven't seen some of you in that amount of time too! That's what we get for moving 9 hours away from everyone!

Well we ended up having tons of fun with Kortsen...mainly me, because Cody worked most of the days. The first day she was here my cheeks hurt so bad, we were laughing and smiling about everything! The fun thing about having visitors is we get to go and see new places...we ended up doing a lot down in Colorado Springs. I think that City is so beautiful! We had beautiful weather for her...she is a "desert rat", so I am glad the weather warmed up to the 70's in the day and only the 30's at night. I also made my first layered cake for Kortsen's birthday...Steph helped me the day before and it turned out beautiful! So with lots to see and yummy cake to eat we had a blast!

Here is a list of things we did...
1. Slept in!
2. Visited The Barn, antique store...it's so fun!
3. Went to the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame...now that was awesome! My favorite thing to do by far!
4. Went to Texas Road House...YUMMY!!!
5. Made Kortsen blow out 26 candles on her cake...too fun!!!
6. Played with the Horses
7. Went to Garden of the Gods...pretty cool
8. Went to a couple old towns in the mountains...old towns are so much fun! There's a lot of them around here too!
9. Went to Canon National Park and Helen Hut Falls...really pretty!
10. Relaxed...Kortsen liked this part!
11. Movie night every night...Kortsen said it was like going to the movie theater with all our movies...it was funny!
12. Went and took pictures of the old towns...Kortsen is getting her degree in photography.

It was a fun weekend...Don't you guys think it would be so fun to come and visit us???? We welcome any guest...and we can find even more to do then this list! And if you don't want to do anything, our place is really quiet and relaxing...just come and be lazy...we like to be lazy too, especially after a hard working summer in our yard!


Cody & I at Canon National Park


Kortsen trying on her Red Hat Society hat...I don't know how they wear these things!


Trying on my Red Hat Society hat...too funny...ugly hats!!


Kortsen and her beautiful PINK cake! It was really yummy too!


Kortsen & I...gotta love these kind of pictures!

Our cute little Zoe Zoe...

So having dogs is just like having kids...

We had to have Zoey spayed the other day...cause we didn't want to deal with her womenly issues...there's one in the house and that's enough! So the night before she knew something was going one...she was just snuggling with Cody and it was so dang cute to see. That dog has softened both our hearts, but I must say Cody is the cuttest guy in the whole world...I can't wait to see him with kids!
But leaving Zoey at the vets was awful...I hated it! Then going home to an empty house was just horrible...I even missed her messes! I make this seem like it was like a week before we could see her again, but really it was a day and we missed her like crazy. Cody even called a couple times to see if I heard anything from the vet.

We are pretty sad...but we love our animals!
She is doing fine...infact she bounced back so fast she decided she didn't need to have stiches in her stomach any more and tore them out! So we had to get her a special looking collar...and she did look special!

Zoey is doing great...acts like nothing even happened!


Zoey with her special collar...she hates this thing...she won't even move when she has it on...it's pretty funny!


After the surgery...she was drugged for a bit, but in our opinion the drugs didn't last long enough...


The night before...so cute!

Our Little Princess

I know I already updated the blog today but Cody and I had to show you Zoey's new outfit and hair clips! She is so cute! We don't have any kids to dress and have fun with so we are going to be the "weird" dog people and dress up our little dog, do her hair, and pamper her like crazy! We had so much fun shopping for her and are excited to get more little outfits for her! Plus, we know she will never talk back or be a brat if we spoil her too much!

Moving Dad & Mom

Well this past week I have been in Utah helping my Dad and Mom move out of their home. It was great to spend time with my parents and help them go through and move a ton of stuff! It's amazing how many things you accumulate when you live in a home for 15 years. I also got to spend a lot of time with my Grandpa and Grandma Garrett...I love them so much!
It wasn't the easiest week on me. For one I worked really hard. But I think the hardest thing was the fact that the house I lived in since I was 10 years old was empty and none of the familiar things were there any more. I didn't think that it would be that hard on me. But I soon realized that I loved that home, but also there are a lot of memories in it too! It is weird to think that there will be a new family living in it when I come back to Utah next time, but they sound like a cute little family and they love the home! It was really hard leaving on Saturday morning. I walked around the home and yard taking in everything, I cried...and just thinking about it makes me cry now. I have just been so sentimental lately, but I really did love growing up in that home, it was a good place to be young at! Life does bring changes no matter how old you are and that is what makes us strong! I will miss that house, but I have many more memories to make with my family! Life is GOOD and we are BLESSED!
Well I enough of the sappy stuff, I did take some pictures of the weeks adventures! I loved being there, but love being home in Colorado with my husband!

Our Naughty Puppies...

I don't know why our puppies were so naughty this week...Zoey had to be watched at every moment or she would get into everything and tear it a part!
Buddy he stole the car and thought it was funny! And of course his every night ritual is to tear the garage apart...he is one of a kind!


Buddy's first attempt to steal the car...he had to concentrate really hard!


He finally got the hang of it and was laughing at us!!


Zoey tearing up the sandwich bag box and then spreading the bags out strategically on the kitchen floor...she looks cute, but is the devil in disguise!


She thinks it's fun to tear apart everything in the kitchen drawers...we caught her in the act!!!

Wood Cutting - Part 2

Cody cutting some trees...this trip was too fun! I got to watch Cody almost get smashed by a tree about 3 times...not funny!


Our friend Matt Jones...doing the no look and cutting the tree...He's alot braver then me...no arms or legs were missing at the end of the day so I guess you would call him a pro!


Margaret and I hauling the cut trees...it was nice to have help!


Taking a break...waiting to see what the storm was going to do...


At the end of the day...in front of Matt's trailer...ours was full too...a lot of work! We are so tough! But hey I didn't get as dirty this time, I was really trying hard not to touch my face!


Well we finally got all our wood out of the mountains this last weekend...I am glad we don't have to do that again until next year! It's a lot of work! But I do have to say I wasn't nearly as sore as I was the first time...Cody either...the only thing this time was we got a little sun burnt on our necks, but all and all it was a good trip. Our friend Matt Jones and his daughter Margaret came with use this time. He had to get some wood for his house too, so we told him we would help him...it was fun to have some company and help too! The day started out so beautiful, but by 2 pm, a storm was rolling in and we didn't know what we were going to get. Thank heavens the worst of it didn't hit where we were, but we did get rained on a little. It felt really nice, cooled everything off for us. The weather is so weird in Colorado, one minute beautiful skies, the next not so beautiful! We made it off the mountain safely and home before dark...which was nice, because last time we didn't get home until 9 pm or so.

Well that's all the news on wood cutting...there will be updates really soon on remodeling our kitchen...Cody and I decided that was going to be our Christmas present to eachother...one reason being Cody had to rip out our side cabinet to get our new stove in, so really there are no options if we don't want to live in a ghetto house. So I am way excited! I thought I would have to wait forever to get the nasty wall paper and counter tops gone!

Windy, I hope you enjoy this new post...sorry it took me so long to get a new one on here...but now I know to update more often...we don't want any withdrawals happening!
Love ya!

Start of the Remodel

Almost but not quite...it was like a quarter of an inch off...the old man that built this place didn't make anything standard size...so out came the cabinet!


Now it fits...and now we get a new cabinet...it will be fun trying to match it to the others...but I love my black appliances...it looks so good!


Well as I stated in my last post...I get to remodel my kitchen now! I am really excited and can't wait to see what I come up with...already have a lot of idea's but need to get with my cousin Steph to help me make some decisions...she's great! So here are two pictures for you to see the start of our remodel...I hate the wall paper and can't wait to see that gone!

SEPTEMBER 11TH

This morning I woke up to a phone call from my dear sweet husband telling me to do one thing for him this morning...he told me to make sure I went out and flew our flag because it was September 11th and today marks the 7th anniversary of the dreadful day that changed our country. He also told me that it would be a good thing to put something on the blog. So here goes...
Thinking about that day I am sure everyone of us can remember where we were and what were doing. Life changed that day for everyone. The way we looked at the world was completely different and we realized that the country that we lived in really was a beautiful place. It was almost hard to believe that there had been such an attack on our country. How grateful I am for the men and women that gave their lives that day for our country and for those in the towers. I am still grateful for the men and women of our country who still fight for our freedoms. We have so much to be grateful and have no reason not to be. The men and women who died that day and who have died since have not forgotten what they are fighting for...I hope and pray that we will not either!
My heart and prays go out to those families who lost someone on this sad day in history.

Wood Cutting

Wood Cutting this year was quite the experience...pretty much because last year it was a lot easier, everything was already cut for us and stacked in little nice piles for us to just put into our trailer and truck. This year we went a little late and didn't want to go all the way up to Granby, Colorado so we chose to go South to Colorado Springs thinking it was closer and just the same work. Well it took us about 3 hours to get there...because I, Michele, didn't the greatest directions to the place. I learned my lesson believe you me...never will I leave the house without exact mileage to and from each city and road to where ever it may be we are going...that is how Cody said I should've done it! Well thanks to Steph she was able to help us find our way back down the road we got lost on to find a dark brown worn out sign pointing us to our destination. When we finally got there we didn't know what a task it would be, turns out that the area we could get our wood in was a burn area and it was messy, but we got to work. Cody got to cut down the trees and I hauled them to the trailer (no chainsaws for me)...at least Cody put them all in the trailer for me. All in all it was a great experience once again, a lot of fun memories and laughs came out of that night. The best was seeing Zoey completely covered in ash and pretty much black by the time we left...no pictures were taken of her, but it took me 3 washings to get her white again. And I found out that I touch my face way to much while working...thus my face all black at the end of the night. We can't wait to go back and get the rest of the wood we bought!

Spirit Lake

The past week Cody and I spent our time hiking, fishing, 4-wheeling, camping, boating, and sitting around a campfire at Spirit Lake. A Halley family tradition, it was my first year, and I loved every minute of it. Cody took me to all the lakes they go to every year...it was great! In order of what we hiked too...Lost Lake, Tamarack Lake, Jessen Lake, Spirit Lake, Judy Lake, Hidden Lake, and Daggett Lake...a lot of hiking and a lot of fun memories! Each lake had their beauties and to be able to hike to them was great! We were lucky enough to get up there on Monday and spend 3 whole days with Lee/Dad all to ourselves...we had an adventure every minute we were there...it was great! Buddy and Zoey were troopers too...they hiked with us every day. Zoey proved herself...she is no longer known as the sissy dog in the family...she is just as tough as Buddy. She is our little log hopping machine. We were really suprised most of the time, it was fun to watch both of them run up and down the mountain...basically running circles around us the whole time.It is hard to say what my favorite day was, or my favorite lake. But going out on Spirit Lake was one of my favorite days, we were able to go out in the boat, that was fun watching Lee/Dad juggle fishing with two poles and trying to drive the boat at the same time. We caught a lot of fish...and I was able to eat one almost everyday! Thursday night the whole clan arrived and it was a great reunion. Cody and I hadn't seen Travis, Jamie, Brighten, and Easton for more then a year. And we hadn't seen Rusty, Josie, and Max since Christmas...so it was great to see everyone. The kids have all grown up so much and were so much fun to be with for a couple of days. It was fun to spend a couple of days hiking and fishing with everyone. Saturday was another great day hiking to a lake called Daggett...4 miles in and 4 miles out...it was a hard one...but what you saw at the end made it all worth it...poor little Zoey had it by the end of the week, she was all tuckered out and I hiked with her in my little carrier for most of the hike home. They also slept the whole 7 1/2 hours home too...didn't move a muscle. What a great trip~!!! It is now both of our favorite places to be...one of them any way!
We are already looking forward to next year! What a great family tradtion Grandpa and Grandma Halley started over 50 years ago...what a beautiful place to get out of the world and spend time with those you love!
I put together a slide show...since I took over 80 pictures...this was the most simple way to show most of them too you!

Pictures of Spirit Lake