Bonneville Salt Flats

Sunday after church we headed for the Bonneville Salt Flats and Speedway. Ryan had been wanting to go all Summer and do some photography and we just couldn't squeeze it in until last weekend. We packed a dinner and drove out there for the evening for some good photography lighting. We had great family time, which I think we don't get enough of. I love hanging with my boys and having them all to myself. I highly recommend the Flats, it's like you are on another planet. We got on the Speedway and Ed drove pretty fast, no land records were broken, but it was pretty exhilirating. Ryan practiced his photography and driving. Brennan and I walked around and did some reading.
On our way out from the Speedway, we stopped at the entrance to eat our dinner and ran across a biker couple with their "hogs" who were having some mechanical problems. Ed asked if they needed help and they said they were okay, but I encouraged Ed to wait and finish our dinner and make sure they got off okay because it was getting dark and the speedway had pretty much cleared out. After about 45 minutes, they couldn't get their bike started so we offered to push start. Because of Ed's back he couldn't help, but Ryan and I threw on our running shoes (Ed always throws in a pair of extra shoes for us) and we got the bike going. It feels so good to help people.
The Salt Flats are called the "Salt Flats" for a reason. It is Salty. Because Ryan was laying down on the ground for some of his shots, the ground is moist and he was soaked and salty. His clothes were hard when they dried. The inside of the car was packed with salt from our shoes. When we got a look at the car the next day the wheel wells of the car were packed with salt that looked like snow and outside of the car had a thick coating of salt. Needless to say, a serious car wash was in order Monday morning.

Lake Powell 2010

Ryan wakeboarding

Brennan and Aunt Donna

Scrabble with Natalie, Brennan, Simone, Chad and Sabrina

Brennan Fishing

Sabrina, Donna and Natalie

June started out with our yearly trip to Lake Powell. It was most amazing because this year we were joined by the other Callahan Clan, Ed's brother and his family. We had a great time, lots of laughs, food, fun and sun. The top 5 things I want to remember about the trip are:

1. Spending time with my sis-in-law Donna. She rocks!

2. Spending time with my niece Natalie. She makes me feel important.

3. Brennan studying fish, reading about fish, catching fish and torturing everyone else with fish facts. My nephew, Chad was the most incredible patient fishing assistant to Brennan ever. Thanks Chad!

4. Cliff jumping - NEVER tell Donna and Yolanda that they are NO fun! We will prove you wrong, even if that means jumping off cliffs.

5. Playing Scrabble with the girls and having the biggest laugh of the weekend about the spelling of "jive/give". Sabrina and Simone, just thinking about you two gives me the biggest smile.

Visit to the Ranch - Spring 2010

A couple weeks ago we had a nice visit to the grandarent's ranch in Colorado. We always enjoy our visits. It's always relaxing and there is always something for the boys to do. On this visit, grandpa put the boys to work. Grandpa gathers and collects wood all year round to run his wood burning furnace.

Grandpa's wood pile and woodburning furnace

While Grandpa, Ed and Ryan were working, Brennan was doing this:

There was also some of this.... boys being boys:

The Callahan boys

Arches National Park-Winter 2010

In January we made a day trip to Moab/Arches National Park. Ryan wanted to test out his new camera and we thought it would be a great day trip and an opportunity for some family time. We had so much fun hiking and exploring. We practically had the park all to ourselves. We spent a few hours at the park, went into town for some dinner, then went back at night.

Ryan took this picture of Ed & me. We are sitting under an Arch.

Brennan with Fiery Furnace in the background

Brennan is also an aspiring photrographer. He likes to do whatever his big brother does.

I took this picture of Ryan taking a picture of me.

Brennan took this picture of me under an arch and I can't get over how huge my ba dunk a dunk is. I knew it was big, but no denying it now.

Busy and Blogless

I have been so busy with life, the boys and work that I have not had time to update my blog, so I am trying to play catch up. I picked my favorite picture over the past 3 months of each boy.

Brennan at the Flash game having just been sprayed by silly string by Flash the Fox, he got me good too!

Ed showing us that he can now do a headstand, thanks to Yoga. Let's not forget who introduced Ed to Yoga.

Ryan looking like a rockstar after straightening his hair.

Highlights of the last few months:

• Ed had his 42nd Birthday (more pics coming).
• We went to Arches for the day (more pics coming).
• Ryan entered his first photography contest. He did amazing work and we are so proud of him.
• Ryan has been doing amazing in school. He's been on the honor roll. We also met with his school counselor and received his Iowa Test results, a composite score in the 94th percentile. Not only is he a good son, so nice, kind, sweet, generous, and cute, he is also "freakin'" smart!
• I registered to do the Ragnar Relay (Wasatch Back). This will be my 2nd Ragnar and Ed and Ryan's 1st. Bad news is I've been struggling with a bum knee.
• I got tickets to U2 (another item off the bucket list). Going to see U2 twice in June, girl's weekend to Denver for the concert thanks to the generous gift of free tickets from my friend Nissa's brother. Thanks Hans! Amazing 2nd row tickets in an amazing section for the Salt Lake show thanks to my friend Diane. Thanks Diane (membership definitely has it's priveleges)!
• Brennan is growing and learning and saying the funniest things. I will have to share the Chinchilla story in a later post. I think he keeps us young at heart.
• I have discovered Pilates, Spinning and Core Mix/Pump. Have had to replace running with these new activities to try to give my knee a chance to heal. I am really enjoying these activities, although the next day my body aches all over and talks back to me for submitting it to torture. In Spinning, I fantasize about Lotoja.....you never know, crazier things have happened.

I know there is probably a lot more, but it is 2:30 am and I am finally getting very tired.......

20 Years!

Today is Ed and I's 20, yes you hear right TWENTY year Anniversary. A couple years back, I started to save up for a big celebration of 20 years. I thought, we're gonna do this right....well then the economy tanked and Ed's income got cut by more than half, so my $$$ that was tucked away was used for things like groceries, clothing for growing boys and utilities. No fancy trips, cruises, weekend away to celebrate 20! Do I sound bitter? I am! I really was thinking ahead and had saved up a lot of dough, but oh well, we still got a roof over our heads!

Ok, on a more serious note, there was a time in the very recent past that we didn't think we would make it this far. We've had some extremely rough patches lately, lots of heartache and headache. Alot of facing our demons, being honest and confronting our fears. Two solid years of therapy so far, and here we still are. There are days when I'm not sure we have another year in us, but then there are days when I feel we have an eternity ahead of us. Not sure, where we'll end up, it's been a wild ride so far, but I'm glad to be on the ride and have Ed beside me. Our marriage is stronger than it has ever been, yet I am more aware of how fragile our relationships are. We have to care for them, nurture them, take risks, be vulnerable and nourish them daily. I have learned so much these past 2 years that I wish I would have known sooner, but at least I know it now and for this we must celebrate! Happy Anniversary to Ed and me!

Thanksgiving Holiday

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. This year, Ed's brother John and his family were here from Tucson. We had such a great time. We really love those guys. I wish I would have taken more pics, but sometimes I get so wrapped up in the moment that I forget to take pics. Everyone was busy doing one thing or another or participating in something. Our long weekend included Zumba, movies (2012 and/or Old Dogs), football (lots of football on TV or participating), boomerangs, 'man massages' from Brennan, Temple, BYU Basketball, shopping at Gardner Village and University Mall, skiing/snowboarding at Brighton, Wii bowling tournament, money extortion from Brennan, visits from the tooth fairy, food....lots of food!

The Callahan brothers & Family

The Callahan cousins: Ryan, Simone, Chad, Brennan & Natalie