Fishtailing in a Winter Wonderland.

Let me tell you how much I love being back all day every day doing what I love... without school.  

Anyone who knows me at all knows that once I set my mind on an adventure theres no backing down.

So on saturday when it was snowing,  you better believe I was still heading up the canyon! 

I turned off at vivian park and headed up the road to big springs... except the roads weren't plowed

and I got to test out my insanely good truck and trailer driving skills kicking it in 4high and fishtailing up the hill... poor Arizona swaying in the back!

Finally made it up there and met up with the guys and they took me on a long ride around the mountains and it was beautiful! 

I mean look at this landscape

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Anyway. These boys had "restored" a cabin they'd found years before and even put in a tent stove and brought up food and slept there the night before. It was like a Jeremiah Johnson cabin it was so cute!

Gus had to leave early so me and Kyle hung out at the cabin for a while

While we were sitting there... we heard a snap from outside.  We looked outside and our horses were gone (along with my keys and phone in my saddlebags) not to mention my brand new headstall...

oh.... and that high maintenance horse too. 

So I laughed. he finally laughed too and we started walking back to the trucks.  There were lots of streams on the way back so I'm so grateful someone was there to help me from falling on my face walking across logs and slippery rocks in cowboy boots.  

Thankfully we started seeing more hoof prints and tracks from a pole being dragged on the ground.. 

And then I got to start my first snowball fight of the year! 

And we made it back to see the kiddos just standing by the trailer looking at us like... "where ya'll been?"  

All and all... I love winter rides, little cabins, white-washing, waterproof cowboy boots and people that are just as crazy ambitious as me. 

More to come!  

Dear Santa,

I'm putting my christmas list on here k peeps?

I've already got too many ponies so no worries there.. but donations of hay and grain are greatly appreciated.









First of all... can I just say I love these boots... they're $150... minus the $20 coupon code I've got... these might just have to slip into my budget this month.... just saying.. I'd get married in these!  you know... something blue?









This backpack.. I need a new one anyway and I love this one... I love the indian print and it's from Victorias Secret for less than $50 I'm pretty sure!

I've always wanted a pair of Chacos.  I got to borrow Lenzi's on our river trip and I got the coolest tan line ever.... and they are just plain fantastic... $100 for this pair, and I love this particular pair.  

And as obvious by my blog title pic.. I love dreamcatchers... I think they are so darling! So I would love this necklace and bracelet off of easy... I think they're like 20 each... but come on they are homemade and just so lovely.

Merry Christmas!

and love to you all ;)

Dear Cousins...

Dear Cousins,

I love my cousins more than anything, in a lot of ways they've shaped me into the gal I am today.  And better than that they're some of my dearest closest friends who I get to be with forever and ever!

My family is the ultimate support system, I can lean on them for anything... I'll tell a story to explain this.

So... if any of you know in my previous blog posts I got a ticket for having an "animal at large" aka dog off a leash... and if any of you know the kind of person that I am you know that I am a firm believer that stupid things are meant to be broken.  So I refused to pay that ticket, then I found out I had a warrant out for my arrest... because it had been 5 months since I had gotten the ticket


I was going to my cousin's farewell and I was late!  of course I was speeding, and I got pulled over for going 73 in a 45... oops.  Pulled over to the side of the road and all I could think about was... who am I going to call to bail me out?   My best friend Alisha was out of town..  My mom would leave me there...

Luckily, due to the tender mercies of God... or perhaps the fact that I only had one earring in, and looked frantic to get out of there.. he let me off... after running through my drivers license.  Thank you officer!!!

So I made it in time to hear Brayden speak and he did amazing of course.. and I mentioned it to my family that I almost had to call them to come bail me out and everyone told me to call them any day anytime to have anything and they'd be there.. And most people would say that... I know these people mean it.







So Brayden... He's just one of the rocks in my life that I can lean on, one of those good, solid people you know you can count on 110% of the time to be there for you, to tell you the things you need to hear, and just to make you smile!  I have so so many fond memories of this man!

I remember us being really little and I didn't like playing house like the other girls, so me and Brayden, Jeremy, my brothers, and Johnny would all play night games and explore around the pond at grandma's house even though we weren't supposed to... or we'd sneak next door to play on the teeter-totter.

Fast forward a little bit to when we were older and we would start branding and taking down cows and teasing uncle leland.  Although they're a little braver than I... I don't know if I could quite outrun leland...




Fast forward a little bit more to when we would spend the weekends at Bear Lake with all the cousins... and me, Brayden, and Jeremy took the canoe out on the lake.. I don't remember who's genius idea it was to tip it... but for the life of all of us, we couldn't get that canoe up again... so we sat there until a wave-runner came and rescued us.

Or back track a little bit to winters up at Randy's cabin.... and we'd go sledding and jump off the deck, fight over the pinball machine, and stay up late with "the older kids".

And that brings us back to our most recent adventure.  For the past few years we always spend a couple nights at Aspen Grove as a family.  We tell christmas stories, watch the kids perform the nativity, and listen to Grandma and Grandpa speak.

OK now onto the adventure part... my brothers LOVE playing poker, I do too... I am my (other grandfather's) daughter of course! So me, my brothers, Brayden, and Andrew played a friendly game of Texas hold'em...  rebellious as that is.. My grandma doesn't approve of face cards, which is why we had to hide in one of the rooms to play it, and when Aunt Suzy walked in.... we were playing a grueling game of Go Fish, with face cards and chips... holla!

The second thing my grandma doesn't believe in... caffeine... and
since Aspen Grove is BYU run, neither does Aspen grove vending machines... and I happen to believe in Dr. Pepper.... and I didn't think the situation through and bring my own.  So we decided to utilize this dilema and make a run down to the Maverik in Orem, at 4 in the morning!  I would only ever stay up this late for Brayden and it being his last night to stay up late and drink caffeine for a while... not to mention play poker until 5:30 in the morning when we snuck back in!

But you know what?  I love playing the game, our family loves to play it together, and I know for a fact if I were to ever really gamble I would lose all my money... so no need to worry folks.

So Brayden?  I'm going to miss you like crazy nummie!  Especially your hugs.. I can't wait to write and send packages to you in Ohio! I'll see you in two years! Love you!

My life's been one long country song...

Ok there's a lot of people out there who love to make fun of country music, but they all know they're wrong in the end.  I particularly love old country... Chris Ledoux, Clint Black, Weylin Jennings, these are the classics.  So today's thoughts are on how country music has changed my life, and lessons I learn from them.

1.  If he can't bait a hook, drive a truck, or skin a buck... run. just run.

2.  Thank God every day... even for unanswered prayers.  Because any road that will lead you somewhere great will be broken.

3.  There is nothing like listening to a night train...

4. Girls and Guys both look hot in Wranglers and trucks...

5.  If there's any doubt in your mind guys... just kiss the girl... it'll either be amazing or you'll know that she doesn't want to kiss you.

6. Life's better taking backroads and stopping in small towns.

7.  Sometimes you just need to get up and leave town

8.  Don't whine.. cowboy up or go sit in the truck...

9.  It's a sad thing when your dog dies.

10. Honor God and this country.

Yolo?

Yolo Right?

- Stephen Brockbank

I guess this is what I get for leaving my computer out for him to get to.. gotta love lil bros!

I personally think YOLO is kinda ridiculous... isn't it.. You only live once?

What kind of people say yolo.  People Making Stupid Decisions (aka. PMSD).

Let's go back to this moment in my life... my first "cliff dive" I know it's a tree... but either way, it was really high and really scary.. I get to the edge of the log looking down at the water... and I thought of my brother who is always saying "YOLO!" you only live once, yeah... then why the H*** am I jumping off this thing!  If I only live once, I don't want to screw it over... But then somebody said cowgirl up and I jumped.

So... end of the story is just don't be stupid. John Wayne sums it up perfectly...



And although I don't believe in YOLO, I do believe that I'd rather have a life full of oh wells. than a life full of what ifs.