Manti

We decided to combine going to the Manti temple with seeing the Manti pageant.  Everything worked out so much better than I could have hoped for.  Shaun's mom knows someone in her ward in Brigham whose parents live in Manti.  So we got hold of them and asked if we could camp in their yard.  They offered their yard and bathroom.  We invited my mom and dad and Brooke.  Friday after work we headed to Tremonton and picked up my mom and Brooke.  Then we drove to SL and picked up my dad from his new job.  Then we headed to Manti.  We got there later than we thought we would, but thankfully the guy from Brigham (whose mom's house we were camping at) was there to see the pageant and saved us seats.  We were spoiled!  I had a lot of fun hanging out with Brooke.  She and I are the farthest apart of all of our sisters, so we haven't spent as much time together, and hardly any time with just us two.

I am so jealous of Brooke's long, thick hair.

Brooke, Mom, Me

Dad and Shaun setting up the tent in the yard.

Getting ready to move in.

We've never tried blowing up the air mattress BEFORE putting it in the tent.

I thought both air mattresses would fit EASY.  They fit.  But not easily.

This was the space left for Brooke.  :)

We went to the pageant Friday night.

Then did a session at the temple Saturday morning.

My dad's new work.

We had dinner at Red Robin.  My favorite restaurant!  I had a free burger coupon that I got for my birthday for being signed up for their e-club.

Fishing

We have done quite a bit of fishing.  Shaun more than me.

Shaun, my dad and I at Mantua:

Shaun and I and our friends the Farnsworths at Willard Bay:

First wiper I've ever seen.

First walleye I've ever seen.  Creepy.  But he was yummy!

Awesome sunset at Willard.

Duckies!

Aren't baby ducks the cutest thing?  One day Shaun came home from work, and I was fixing dinner, and he came in and asked if I could take a break for about 20 minutes.  He said he had a surprise for me.  I had no idea whatsoever what he was up to.  We hopped in the car and he drove me back towards his work.  He pulled over next to a canal, and we got out and there was a mama duck with seven babies!!

Yard Sale Obsession

I used to have an aversion to yard sales.  About a month ago I decided to try them.  I did research and made a game plan.  I chose 6 yards sales and decided what order to go to them according to where they were, when they started and ended, and what kinds of things they had for sale.  I dragged Shaun along and made him get up early on a Saturday morning.  Things I learned:

-You can't tell how good/disappointing one will be by the description in their ad.  You just have to go to as many as you can and see what you find.
-Yard sales are WAY cheaper than the DI
-I prefer yard sales to the DI because you can see and meet the previous owners of what you are buying
-If there is a coveted item listed in their ad you have to get there EARLY or it will be gone
-A lot of sales aren't advertised online, but you will find a TON just driving around Saturday morning looking for signs
-Some sales are several days long, starting on Thursday or Friday.  Sometimes it's good to go early, before the good stuff is gone, and sometimes it's good to go at the end when they're just trying to get rid of everything that's left.
-Moving sales are awesome, because people are just trying to get rid of stuff, and if they don't sell it they will end up giving it to the DI rather than move it, so you get stuff REALLY cheap!

Here are the things I got over the past few weekends:

Almost the whole Chronicles of Narnia set.  Missing #2 - $1

DVD - $1

Puzzle - $1

Unopened swimming rafts - 25 cents each

Backpacks - $2 each

4 hotdog roasters - $1

Blue glass vases - $1 each (not the best deal, but I really like them)

Each of these were 5 cents, except the smallest was free, so 20 cents total!

These varied from 5 cents to 50 cents, all together they were $2.40.  Most are scratched, but I will pay $2 at Hasting's to get them buffed out, and they will still only be about $2.10 per movie!

I got two of these - just couldn't find the other at the moment I took the picture.  They were 25 cents each!  Okay, that is crazy.  They are at least $8 new!  Shaun and I used to be obsessed, but we wore some of the colors off of ours.  What good is a rubik's cube without colors??  Now we each have our own, and they are really nice ones.  We have both recently remembered how to solve them.  Good times.

Vernal

We are trying to go to every temple in Utah.  Over memorial day weekend we decided to go to the Vernal temple.  And the Dinosaur Park.                    We stopped at this "Pizzaria" on the way down.  When we walked in I wanted to turn right back around.  Several of the people there were missing several teeth.  I wasn't sure I trusted them to prepare my food.  I still don't.  But we stayed and there were no negative effects from the food. :)

Vernal temple, right next to a church building.  We ran into Shaun's dad's cousin at the front desk.  Pretty weird.  We run into people all the time who ask us if we're related to such-and-such Jolley, and we never know the person.  This time the guy just looked at Shaun and said, "You look like Brad's son."  Weird.

Shaun setting up the tent in his church clothes after visiting the temple.

There were chipmunks, lizards and BUNNIES all over our camp.  So cute!  I never got a picture of a bunny, but the chipmunks were pretty brave.

Real fossil preserved as they found it in the rock!

Grilled cheese, which we could barely get to cook because the wind was blowing and cooling it off faster than it could cook!

Turtle rock

petroglyphs?  not sure what they're called, but they were cool

saw a coyote right along the side of the road!

Ground hog?

I have an obsession with bare trees

We took a little hike up to this amazing view.

Shaun peeking into my sleeping bag.

Me peeking out.