The Salt's

Happy Birthday Grandpa

2011-12-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

This past week we were able to travel back to Logan to celebrate my Grandpa's 80th Birthday.

It was great to be back where I spent most of my childhood summers (maybe part of the reason that I love Texas so much, having never really born the full brunt of a Houston summer).

There are tons of great memories that come back as we drive through town. Evening trips to Aggie Ice Cream, floating down the canal, following my dad and uncles around the golf courses of Cache County, games of capture the flag and all the summer camping trips. It always feels like I'm on vacation when I'm able to be there.

It was also great to have so many family members together. It was the first time that we'd all been together since my grandmother's funeral. I struggled to realize how old some of my younger cousins are. Most of my memories are of them as little children, but now they're getting older, graduating from high school, going to college, etc. We had so much fun being with them. It was also great to see the growing number of great-grandchildren (3).

We had dinner at a nice place in Logan with all of Grandpa's kids, grandchildren & great-grandchildren. Later that evening, there was an open house at a nearby church where all of the extended family and friends were able to attend. It was a lot of work, especially for Julie & Theresa, but it was a great day and a great time.

On top of that, being there was a great opportunity to be reminded of the great man that is my Grandpa Joe. Because we spent almost every summer there growing up, there were a lot of opportunities to learn from him.

He taught me to work hard. He had a large garden at his house in Hyde Park, and so we got to help him as he irrigated, pull weeds, pick food & prepare it for eating. We had great dinners of food straight from the garden. I also remember him always getting up early to take care of his cows.

He taught me how to fish. Some of my greatest memories are trips to Wyoming, Hyrum Dam or just up Cache Canyon to go fishing. It was always a great time, even if Grandpa had to spend most of his time helping little city kids figure it out. I also remember the time that he had to fish me out of the river.

He taught me to shoot, not that I'm any good at it. I do remember going with Grandpa and Bruce up to the mountains east of his house to shoot bb guns.

Grandpa, I hope that you had a great birthday. I know that we had a great time celebrating it with you.

Good Morning, Good Morning, It's Christmas

2011-12-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

This is how Carli woke us up on Chirstmas morning. She said it in such a sweet, yet excited way, that it couldn't help but make you smile even though there was no way that we had had enough sleep.

We had so much fun at Christmas. Matt and I traveled to my parents house in Utah. We got their on Christmas Eve. Kammi, Kristin & Mike, and Pam were already at my parents house. Soon thereafter, Sharon and Spencer and family joined the party. Having the young ones there was the icing on the cake as Christmas is always better with kids. Early Christmas morning, Carli busted through the door and made her proclamation.

We were able to spend a week in Utah and our time there was filled with all sorts of fun. One day we went down to Provo. It was fun to walk around campus and be reminded of all the fun times we had there. It is so weird to think that I graduated from there 6 years ago. Wow, time flies.

While on campus, we went to the Museum of Art where there was an exhibit of Carl Bloch paintings. This was beautiful. He is well know for many paintings that are very familiar to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Finally, I spent lots of time shopping with Kammi. It is always fun to shop with her. One day we were even lucky enough to get Sharon to come along.

We spent an evening at my cousins house. Three of the four of the Johnson family were able to make it, and it meant so much to us that they took the time to catch up.

One night we ventured to Temple Square. It had just snowed and was freezing cold, but was still fun and beautiful.

While we were their it snowed and was fun to have Sharon's Arizona kids play in the snow and do things for the first time, like making a snow man and snow angels, snow shoveling, and throwing snow balls, to scraping windows. Cale and Carli got in the car, and it was so fun to watch their faces as Matt scraped the windows, they did not know what was going on.

I love Christmas time and we were so sad to see it end.

A Better Offer...

2010-12-26T09:09:00.005-07:00

Since we moved to Colorado, Debbie has wanted to work at The Children's Hospital in Denver. However, they only hired nurses that have Bachelor's degrees in Nursing. Debbie's Bachelor's degree is in Human Development, and her nursing degree is an Associate's degree. So even though she had applied several times, she was never able to get past the initial screening of her application. But that didn't stop me from encouraging her from applying when she told me about jobs that came open that I thought she was qualified for.

A couple of weeks ago she had a frustrating day at work, and when she came home she looked at the available jobs on their website. She found one in the operating room where she works now. So on top of the degrees that she has earned, she also was able to add a couple of years of experience to her resume as well. While one side of her was excited by the possibility of a new job at her dream hospital, she also realized that starting a new job while also starting a new RN to BSN would be very difficult. I think that she was not going to apply, but when she talked to me, I told her that she should apply anyway, and see what happened.

Well everything went great! On Thursday, they made her an offer, and she accepted. It was very hard for her to let her previous employer know, because she had really enjoyed her time there, and would probably not have left for any other hospital except The Children's Hospital. But that's how life works sometimes. When you're not really looking for it, a better opportunity finds you.

Blue Man Group

2010-12-17T22:36:00.004-07:00

On Tuesday Night we were able to go to the Blue Man Group. It was very interesting. I would have never picked it, but Matt wanted to go and I ended up enjoying it. We went with my sister, Donna, and her husband, Jeff. It is always a good time to be with them. I have enjoyed living close to them. The night started at dinner. Then ended with the show. If you ever get the chance it is very visually stimulating.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-12T11:39:00.005-07:00

Thanksgiving this year was a great one. I always love this time of year as we gather with family and think about what we are grateful for. The Salt family came to our house to celebrate. All but Sarah and her family were able to make it, sad!!

The boys spent most of their time like this.

They either were playing video games or watching T.V. The popoular choices were football and Man vs Food. I found the second entertaining, it was like their were preparing for their own man vs food challenge.

Here is what Matt's dad likes to do in his free time.

And it is never a true family vacation with out Andrew stealing my camera to take a picture of himself.
Then some how he roped Natalie in as well. She sure is a sucker.

Here is the table. I am not much of a decorator, and this table is pretty simple, but I think it turned out alright.

Here are the boys peeling the potatoes, it is about the only thing we can get them to do besides eat.

Then Steve an Natalie in the kitchen.

For some reason I didn't get any pictures on me, Barbara, or the food.

The week was filled with together time, shopping, crafts, and food. I am so thankful for my family and the great time that we had together.

CRUISE (day 5-8)

2010-10-30T16:20:00.010-06:00

Hopefully one day I will finish my blogs about the cruise.

Day 5 on the cruise we stopped off at St. Thomas. This was my favorite island of the four that we stopped at. It was beautiful. I enjoyed the scenery and loved the beach that we went to. At this island, I wanted to enjoy a beach, again, and do some shopping. I got to do both. I loved both of them. Matt and I were with big group of my family and we got this taxi.

He drove us around so that we could see a bit of the island. We stopped to take pictures at fun places.

This is the beach that we ended at. It was gorgeous.
Here is a lovely picture of Matt and I in the water.

Several people in our group went snorkeling here. I, at times get a little motion sick when I snorkel and wasn't feeling great, so I stayed on the beach. From what I heard, the snorkeling was amazing. Their were large fish. One of my brother in laws found a doggie treat and the fish would come and eat the food right out of their hand. I had a great time with Jennie and Brooke on the shore. The water and sun felt great.

Here is Jennie on the beach. This picture was taken by my brother, and you can really see how beautiful it was there.

On the way back to the boat, we stopped to take some more pictures.

This is black beards castle. It is the building to the right.

Then the harbor.

Then all of us that hung out that day. Dorothy, Jennie, Donna, Brooke, Kelsie, Sharon, Spencer, Debbie and Matt. We are missing Bryan because he is taking the picture.

While shopping I was able to buy a purse that I love and Matt got some fake Oakley sunglasses that lasted him about four months. Totally worth it!

Day 6
We stopped at Grand Turk. This was the one and only island that we decided to do an excursion with the cruise line. I liked doing both, excursions and my own thing. We got off the boat and had a few hours before our excursion time, so we joined a bunch of our family at the beach, it was a long walk down. As we were at this beach several people again started snorkeling and ended up finding a bunch of silver dollars. They were very delicate. Matt tried to dive for some, but after getting to them and coming to the surface they would fall apart and crumble.

Here is Matt and I on the beach with the cruise ship behind us, the some sail boats. I love that these pictures look kind of fake.

Sharon and Spencer joined us for our excursion, which started with snorkeling. This was fun because we were out in the middle of the ocean with a coral reef.
Here is Matt snorkeling.

Sharon Snorkeling
Sharon and Spencer together
Matt and I. We are not that good at taking these together.
Matt

A self portrait of Debbie

All done, and back on the boat. Notice the marks from our masks on our faces.
Next we stopped to swim with stingrays!! I thought this part was so much fun.
We kissed the sting ray.

Matt kissed the barb, which gave him good luck for 7 years.

I got a back massage. I really felt slimmy. It was weird.
Here is the guide showing us a trick with the stingray. He lifted it up and water came out of its mouth. If you notice, in the back their is a guy on the beach. If you look close you will notice it is my brother in law Spencer. What is he doing?
This picture was taken at the same time as the previous one, I am just showing it because again, what is Spencer doing?
Matt, Debbie, Spencer, Sharon

The four of us missed dinner with the family that night because our excursion was later than our dinner appointment. Here are the four of us at a table.
Sharon, Spencer, Matt and Debbie

Day 7
We were at sea this day. I don't have any pictures, it was another hang out day. My favorite part about this day came that night. If you have ever been on a cruise before you know that you are supposed to have your bags all packed, except for a carry on, and out side your door before you go to dinner. The staff come and get your luggage and have if for you the next day when you depart the ship. Matt and I were trying to get ready for dinner and pack our bags were getting frustrated at each other. I wanted him to get ready so that I could pack his clothes, he was no wanting to get ready at that moment, etc. We figured it out and got to dinner. All week at dinner our family had taken up two tables. The couples always sat together, but we moved around to different seats every day. This night we decided to sit the girls at one table and the boys at the other. I started telling someone how Matt and I had a disagreement while packing. Others started saying they had disagreements with their husbands while packing as well. We all went around the table and told our packing drama. It was awesome. We all had drama except for my sister Donna and Kristin. Donna said that she packed her stuff and Jeff still had not packed his stuff and she just didn't care. Kristin, who had been married at this time for three months, said that she just did it all while Mike watched TV. I laughed the hardest at this one. I wonder how long that plan will work.

Thanks Mom and Dad for the wonderful cruise. I loved the time to spend with you and all the siblings. I loved the time that it allowed me with my husband. When I am away from home I am able to focus and him and realize how truly I am in love with him, and how perfect he is for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It is a vacation that I will never forget.

THE CRUISE (day 3&4)

2010-10-21T16:45:00.008-06:00

The third day of the cruise was a great one, because it was a relaxing day. We were at sea all that day and hung out by the pool, ate, and enjoyed one another. At one point I had decided I wanted ice cream, and it was convienent that their was an ice cream bar. Matt said he also wanted one, so I headed on my way to get two ones. As I was returning with my treat the ice cream started melting. I was eating mine as fast as I could to keep up with the melting, but could do nothing for Matt's. By the time I returned, his cone had melted all down my hand and looked delicious. He then asked me, "what did you do?", really, cause I totally meant to do that. I laughed at that for a while.

Kammi, Sharon, Donna, Jeff, Matt, Debbie
After we had been out for a couple of hours it started raining and people were scrambling every which way to get out of it.
I promptly went back to my room, expecting Matt to follow, but he never did. I ended up taking a nap and enjoying myself. Come to find out, the rain only lasted a minute, then when it stopped all of the prime lounge chairs were available, and Matt and the others took advantage of the situation.

After dinner we went to a show called MotorCity. They sang songs from Motown. I liked the songs, but as Matt stated, their was no soul in the group. It was just missing something.

Day four we stopped at St. Maarten. On this island, Matt and I had decided we wanted to venture off by ourselves. I was kind of excited. We had looked at different things to do there and had decided on an island. Off the ship, we got in a taxi cab. The cab drove us to where we could catch a boat for a short ride to this beautiful island. We walked to the opposite side of the island and were all alone on our own beach. Matt and I relaxed, read books, snorkeled, and just enjoyed the scenery. There were sailboats out in the water. It was beautiful.

Here is the beach. We ended up walking to the far end.

After a while we go hungry and walked back to the side of the island where the boat dropped us off. There were a few restaurants here and Matt was able to order lobster that he then went and picked out of a cage in the ocean. It can't get any fresher than that.

This is our server getting the cage that has the lobster in it.
More Lobster

Matt with the food that he had picked out.

Our table
Matt's food grilling
Yummy

Here are some pictures of the St Maarten, and the boat docked there.

THE CRUISE!! (day 1 & 2)

2010-09-20T20:10:00.009-06:00

We had a vacation of a life time this summer. My parents treated all of my siblings and I, along with spouses, to a cruise. We went to the Eastern Caribbean. It was so amazing. I loved having that week with my siblings. All were able to come expect Sandi. We sure missed her. Her husband is in the Air Force and he was sent over seas and they were getting him ready and saying good bye. It was so fun being around everyone, and a cruise is perfect because their was plenty of time that we were able to all be together and plenty of space and privacy if needed. Also, grandchildren were not there. I enjoyed hanging out with my siblings without them having to worry about their children. Don't get me wrong, I love their children, but it was fun to be with just the siblings.
The whole thing started in Ft Lauderdale. We arrived on Saturday and boarded the boat on Sunday. We spent the day exploring, unpacking and eating. In other words it started off great. Here are a bunch of pictures from that day.

Walking across the bridge to enter the boat for the first time.
Kammi is excited!
Leaving Ft. Lauderdale
Muster Station. Jennie, Bryan, Kristin, Mike, Debbie, Matt
Matt
Our first dinner together. Kelsie, Jennie, Bryan, Mark, Karen, Larry, Dorothy, Matt, Debbie, Pam. We were too big of a group to all fit at one table, so this is only half of us.
Here are several of the boat.

DAY TWO - Princess Cays, Bahamas
The second day we went to Princess Cays, which is a private island owned by Princess cruise lines. It was pretty much a day at the beach. There were plenty of lounge chairs and food provided, and we just laid out, played in the water, read, and took pictures. I enjoyed it all, Matt of course could do with out the laying out, as he is prone to burning. Who would have guessed with the red hair.

In a boat that took us from the cruise ship to the island.
Brooke, Kammi, Donna, Pam, Kristin, Mike, Sharon, Debbie, Kelsie

This picture is fun because you can see Kammi, Brooke and Donna in it. I don't think Matt even realized that when he took the picture.

Our group, My parents, Larry and Dorothy, Karen, Mark, Pam, Kammi, Jeff, Donna, Sharon, Spencer, Mike, Kristin, Matt, Debbie, Bryan, and Jennie
Dinner that night. Kristin, Mike, Matt and Debbie
Mark eating who knows what.
That night we went dancing. They had a line dance night going on and I convinced a few of my sisters that they wanted to go. We went and it was actually really fun. One on the many highlights of the week.

Here is Sharon enjoying the music. I think she actually had Spencer dance with Kammi on one of the slow songs because we all kept dancing as couples and Kammi would sit all by herself. It was just cute to she Sharon enjoying herself.

Near the end of the line dance time, they played a game where everyone got in a circle and they elimated people by talent. Well, Sharon and Kristin got down to I think the final six or four. Then it came down to Kristin and one other. Then Kristin won!! Well the staff had her cheat to win, but she took that.
This was her prize. Alcohol, just what she wanted!
They were able to trade it in for this, much better!!
Thanks for a good night sisters and brothers in law. I love my country line dancing.

Matt Turned 30!!

2010-09-18T13:47:00.005-06:00

We had a lot going on for Matt's 30th Birthday, all the way back in May. His mother and brother, who had recently returned from his mission, came to visit for the weekend. We also had a big get together with lots of people and food. Thanks for all that came and the food that you brought. It meant a lot to Matt.

Sorry I didn't get a picture till after the candles and singing.

The Birthday Boy. I love you Matt!!
Andrew, in thought about Samoa. Not knowing how to talk to people. Oh I love newly returned missionaries. He was excited that the missionaries showed up.
Matt's mom, Barbara, helping out. (And Brother Gildea)
Elder Barlow and Elder Jangula. These are the last two missionaries that lived with us before Kammi moved in for the summer. We loved these two. Their story is awesome, Elder Barlow is deaf, and all of his companions had received their calls as ASL elders so that they were able to translate for him, in church and well every where. Elder Jangula was not called as an ASL elder. In one of Elder J's areas he was a district leader over Elder Barlow, they had to work together at various times. Elder Jangula decided he wanted to learn sign language, so Elder Barlow taught him. Elder Jangula practiced till he could sign everything. He translates all church long. It is amazing what he was able to learn. We loved these two and the spirit that they had with them. The members loved being around them.
Random pictures of some of the people that attended. You will have to forgive me, I am not the best picture taker.

Denver Nuggets

2010-09-18T13:24:00.004-06:00

At work, Matt was looking into his work getting suite tickets for the company to use. He was in contact with the Pepsi Center working out details with this. This was occuring during basketball season. Then right during the playoffs when Denver was playing the Utah Jazz, she contacted Matt and said she had some suite tickets, and asked if he wanted them. Therefore we got to go to a game, and invite some friends to go with us. I was excited that we were able to pull enough people together since we got the tickets the same day as the game.

The game was late, and I was very tired.
Matt and I with Libby, our friends little girl. She is awesome. I also found out that the suite is a great place for children because their is an open space for them to walk around, not that Libby needed that.

Caden's Baptism

2010-09-18T08:17:00.006-06:00

I have neglected my blog long enough and now it is time to catch up. This is what we have been up to in the last six months.

My nephew, Caden, who lives here in Denver, turned eight in April and was baptized on his birthday. It was so fun because my parents, Pam, and Sharon and Spencer's family were all able to come to town.

Sharon and Spencer and kids arrived, then we headed to our favorite family dining, Sweet Tomatoes. Nothing like buffet style food.

Spencer with Cale and Carli waiting to eat.
Danielle enjoying her food.
Kelsie, Brooke, Pam, Donna, Sharon, Danielle, Spencer, Jeff, Matt, Dorothy, Larry. (Sorry dad, not the best picture of you, but it is the only one that I have like this.)
Cade, Cale, Paige, Dillon, and Carli

The Mercer clan ready for the baptism
Matt and Debbie with Cade

I like this picture because I don't think Paige was too happy to have his feet in her face.

That night Brooke had a play that she was in and we were all able to attend. It was fun because she had this part where she didn't talk, but just had to be really scary. I thought she did an excellent job.

More Wedding Pictures

2010-03-07T20:55:00.013-07:00

Here are some more wedding pictures.

The family outside the temple

The parents and newlyweds

The lovely desert scenery

My family
Family with no in-laws
My poor only brother always gets his own picture with the bride, poor for being the only boy, not for getting his own picture.
The sisters. I am so sad that half got some message to lean in and the other half didn't. What is with that?
My family started decorating the car
Then Mike's brothers finished the job
Larry and Dorothy
It was raining as we were taking pictures, and this beautiful rainbow appeared

Kristin's wedding

2010-03-03T20:47:00.010-07:00

Kristin, my little sister, was married to Mike on February 20th. Matt and I traveled to Phoenix for the event. It was so much fun and very romantic. All of my siblings were able to come, but not all of the spouses or nieces and nephews. It was still fun with who was able to attend. Sharon and Karen also live in Phoenix, and Matt and I have not been there since they both bought their houses. It was great seeing their houses and what they have done to them. I love hanging out with my family and am always sad to leave when we are all together.

Here are some fun pictures of the two love birds.

DU here we come!

2010-03-03T20:31:00.002-07:00

Matt has always wanted to get a masters. We had different plans at different times, masters full time, then job, or job and masters at the same time. Well the latter is obviously what worked out. Now that he was settled in his job, he started preparing for the GMAT, took it and did great. Then applied and got in to University of Denver Masters of Business Administration. He will be starting in the fall and is kind of excited about it. He does great in school, not stressed, not over worked, and still does well. Unlike me who is completely opposite. Congrats honey, I am proud of you and know that you will do great.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-01T17:48:00.008-07:00

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. Matt and I traveled to Utah where my parents rented a couple cabins in Aspen Grove. We stayed there for a few days and loved being in the mountains, all together and with tons of space.
Here is a picture of all of us.

Matt and I

Some people went on a hike to a waterfall. I started but got scared because it was cold and snowy, so I turned back to sit in the warm lodge.

We also had a race between Grammy and all the grandchildren.

Then Jeremy decided to throw some people in the snow. I didn't get any pictures of Kelsie, but I did get Kammi.

Thanks Mom and Dad, we had a great time and are looking forward to when we can do it again.

Goodbye Elder Leafa

2009-11-09T19:02:00.004-07:00

Elder Leafa was transferred this morning. He has moved on to Longmont. Before he left he gave us what he called a speech. It is from his Samoan culture to do speeches. I hope you enjoy it, because I did.

The Missionaries

2009-11-07T15:31:00.006-07:00

Towards the beginning of October the missionaries moved in with us. At first we were a bit hesitant. Now we love it. It is so interesting talking to them daily, feeling their spirit, learning what being a missionary is all about, and having someone that will empty the dishwasher living with us.

Here are our elders, Elder Slezak and Elder Leafa.

It is especially fun because Matt's brother is currently on his mission to Samoa, and Elder Leafa is from Samoa. We tell him stories and pictures from Andrew and make Elder Leafa home sick. These elders are happy, work hard and are always laughing and giggling.

I totally started laughing today when I went into the garage and saw this
Who knew that missionaries had weight benches and weights, and why did it just show us today?

Another thing that I think is so hilarious is that they drive a minivan. I have never seen missionaries drive a minivan. It is so great, these two young guys in a mom mobile. It is nice because they put their bikes in it, but they said that all the other elders have cars with bike racks on them, and they have no idea how they were lucky enough to get the minivan.

Winter Storm and Halloween

2009-11-07T15:00:00.008-07:00

A few days before Halloween we had a big snow storm. came down and didn't stop for two straight days. On the first day, I was out shoveling and when I was about three fourths of the way done, the missionaries pulled up. They ran over and said I was not supposed to get started without them and stole the shovel from my hands. After they finished they took my shovels "to go build the kingdom of God."

The next day I shoveled all by myself, and the snow was heavier, higher and our driveway is huge. It took me two and a half hours to shovel it all. The whole time I was trying to figure out how we could afford to buy a snow blower.

Here is a picture of me shoveling
Our trees and driveway.

Look how much snow we had, and it was wet and heavy.

This is a picture from our kitchen to the deck, it was awesome how the snow was blown up on the door.

For Halloween we went over to some friends house. It is interesting how Matt and I are in similar in random things, like neither of us really like to dress up. Whenever Halloween comes around we don't know what to do when it comes to dressing up, and are in no way creative with costumes. This year, I just borrowed a bunch of stuff from work and we dressed up as a surgeon and a patient. So creative, I know.

WICKED!!!

2009-10-26T19:32:00.006-06:00

My best friend from high school and maid of honor, Angela, and her husband Ben, came to Denver for the weekend. This is the second time that they have done this and we love it. They stay for a couple days and we hang out, play games, tour the city, and this year we went to the musical Wicked. Of the four of us, only Angela has seen the show. I loved it. It was great and in great company.

Sorry this picture is so dark, you are not supposed to have cameras in the theater and so we took it without a flash to be sneaky.

Lily's Baby Blessing

2009-08-08T16:14:00.007-06:00

Matt and I were able to travel to Wisconsin to be present for Lily's (Matt's sister's baby) baby blessing. She was a beautiful little girl and we really enjoyed our time.
For some reason I never took a picture of her all ready in her dress, but I did get this one of her from he back while laying on Matt.
It was funny because while all the men got up and walked to the front, Ally, who is three, decided to follow them up, then proceeded to make her way into the middle of circle standing under Lily the whole time.
While in Wisconsin, there was a mustard festival, which we were able to attend. They had more kinds of mustard than one could ever imaging. They even had mustard custard which I had to try. It was very interesting, it started creamy like custard and ended with a burning mustard kick. I decided I didn't like it. They had different cars in yellow, a big wiener mobile, and more.

Matt's parents with a yellow car

In this little town they had all sorts of fun shops and troll stuff. Here is Matt and I with a troll statue.

Inside the store we found this great hat

We gave Sarah some pretty bows to put in her girls hair, but Ally had more fun putting them in our hair, and found it especially funny in the boys hair.

Girls Camp

2009-08-08T15:39:00.010-06:00

As a teenage girl I LOVED girls camp. It was filled with camping, hiking, repelling, rifle shooting, going down a huge slide, playing in the creek and anything else we could think of. Since becoming a nurse I always wanted to go to camp as the nurse, well this year I got the chance. It was a great week. At first I was like what am I doing as I sat there thinking of what I could be doing at home, then I realized that I should enjoy my time. I spent the week in the wilderness helping where needed, reading, taking naps, and doing as I felt. It was great to have no direct responsibilities besides being available for potential injuries (which, thank goodness were very minor). Here are some fun pictures of the girls in our ward, also since I am the 12-14 year old Sunday school teacher, they are also some girls from my class.

The first year girls with our bishop, sitting on the "chair" that they made for him. Is it just me or is he sitting backwards?

While there, I could not stop thinking about my times as a young women at girls camp. Not only did I remember all the activities and fun times, it also brought back all the memories of how my testimony grew. Here are some pictures of my years for a trip down memory lane.
Tammy and Me

Rifles

Requel, Candace, Jill, Me

Repelling

Slide with Requel and Jill

Jill, Requel, Me, Melissa, Tammy
Berry, Sara

Kandis

Treating my blisters

4th of July

2009-08-08T14:56:00.010-06:00

This post is a bit past due. The 4th of July has always been my favorite holiday. I am not sure why, but some times I feel that it was the great time I had as a child celebrating the birth of our country. Growing up in Idaho we had this routine that we did every year and us children all love it. When talking about our favorite holidays, many of us say the 4th of July, then follow up with the same reasoning. Fourth of July in Idaho meant a beautiful summer day. It started with a parade, then swimming at Rigby Lake, a BBQ, and ended with a great fireworks show. I loved all of these things.

This year for the 4th of July we went to my parents house, but the holiday has greatly changed since they no longer live in Idaho. Yet, the vacation was still relaxing and fun. Matt, Kammi and I, along with Sharon and Spencer and kids went to Utah.

One of the first days we were there, Pam and Sandi and Jeremy came down. That evening we headed up into he canyon and roasted hot dogs.

After dinner Cale encouraged us to go hiking and we found this big boulder to climb on.
Debbie, Sharon, and Kammi:

Carli, Spencer and Cale:

Debbie and Matt:

The weekend was filled of fun activities including, golfing, fireworks, swimming, snowies, more. Here is a fun picture of Matt and Cale on the trampoline. I liked this picture because it took when Cale was really high and I think it kind of scared him.

One last thing we were able to do is attend the Oquirrh Mountain temple open house. I loved this and here are some pictures of us afterward. (As you should be able to tell, it was kind of bright)
Cale and Carli
Cale, Carli and Danielle

Sharon, Spencer, Danielle, Matt, Cale, Debbie, Carli, Mother, Pam

Me and Matt

The Yard

2009-06-11T17:29:00.013-06:00

Matt and I decided to work on the yard a bit this summer. Last year we "let it go" and that was a big mistake. It became a jungle back there and made the work to fix it much worse. It had a grassy area, with no sprinklers and we always forgot to put the sprinkler out there to water it and then the grass died and weeds came. Then there was a rock garden, in one corner their was a square, blocked out with bricks that had all rocks in it. We decided we wanted to put in a sprinkler system so that the grass would no longer die and to take out the rock garden and make the grass area larger. When Matt's parents, Nathan and Natalie were all in town we solicited their help to removing all the rocks. It was great of them to help, as that is a horrible chore. Here is a picture after the rocks were all removed. (Unfortunately we have no before pictures)

Then we spent the next week planning and preparing. I got to till the ground and it was so much fun, I was pleasantly surprised. Then the morning of installing the sprinklers came. We again solicited the help of others. A guy in our ward, Steve, has a pipe puller, so he was invited. Here he is with his machine.
We have power boxes in our backyard, therefore power lines run right through the middle of the yard and the pipe puller couldn't be used all the way across. Some other friends from the ward came and helped build trenches. Our yard is not big so the work didn't take too long.

We were very thankful to all those that came and helped, we could not have done it without all the help. Especially to the Huber's who stayed all day long and got all the fine pieces put together.

We then put some seed down and this hay stuff so that the seed would not blow away. Now we just have to wait and see it anything grows. I will keep updating with pictures. Hopefully it will turn into a nice back yard.

Then I just like this picture of Kammi, sitting waiting to get to work, she has been a great help going out with us every night working till dark with us.

A New Calling

2009-05-11T20:40:00.010-06:00

(Just before we start, if you're not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, this may not make a ton of sense to you. Feel free to ask any clarifying questions that may come up.)

So about two weeks ago I got a random phone call from the Stake Executive Secretary asking if I could come and talk to the 1st Counselor in the Stake Presidency. It was Saturday, and when Debbie was around I casually mentioned it to her. We thought that it was no big deal, in fact she had gotten a similar call recently which lead to her position as Girl's Camp Nurse.

Maybe I should preface all that by saying that there was an opening in our Bishopric, but it had been open for several weeks and I was certain that by now they already had gotten their man. Debbie even reassured me the night before that she as sure that that calling had already been filled.

Since we thought that it was no big deal, and she hadn't been asked to come, Debbie decided not to make the 8am meeting. The member of the Stake Presidency & the Executive Secretary seemed very upset about that, and that made me start to think that maybe this was more than just a simple assignment. I went into the room with President Fafita, and he began to talk to me.

I started to look around to see if I could find any hint of what the calling I was about to receive was going to be. Nothing on the paper he had out. Nothing in the binder. Then I looked down into his bag for a moment and saw the Priesthood Advancement form. I knew that this couldn't be good. Then he extended the calling, 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric.

To say the least, I was stunned. I had never really considered myself to be the kind of person that would be called to the bishopric, my father hadn't ever been. Most of my friends growing up didn't have parents that were ever in the Bishopric. I was overwhelmed. He said that I should talk to my wife about it and get back to him before the meetings began at 11.

I went out to my car to call Debbie and to see what she thought. When I called her and told her what they had wanted me to do, she laughed. I think that she thought that I was kidding. When I made it clear that I was not, she was very supportive. She told me that she was sure that I would do a great job, and her words seemed to calm me down a great deal. Knowing that she was supportive seemed to give me the confidence that I needed to be able to accept this new position.

After I got off the phone with her, I decided that it was time to call my parents. I wanted them to know about such an important change in my life. My dad answered the phone. I told him about my new calling. Without missing a beat, he told me that our ward must be getting desperate. I told him that there were only 3 guys in the ward, so they didn't really have a lot of choices. If you ever wonder about my sarcastic nature (or of any of the Salt boys) you can look no further than our father. He is always joking and making wise-cracks, and so it's not that surprising that his kids are that way.

Then I talked to my mom. When I told her what was going on, she told me that it must have ruined my day. I told her that it ruined more than my day. I think that my dad is rubbing off on her. But they were very supportive, and "fortunately" my family was already planning to be here in Denver the next weekend. I got on the phone to call my grandpa, to see if he would be able to make, and he was able to come, so it became a mini-reunion.

This was six weeks ago and since then it's been a different and difficult challenge working in the bishopric, but I've been very fortunate to have so many people offer their support and encouragement. It will continue to be a different & unique opportunity going forward.

In loving Memory

2009-04-02T10:57:00.020-06:00

With mixed emotions I wanted to write about my wonderful grandma, whom I call Bomma. She is an amazing woman, whose life ended peacefully on March 21, 2009. Bomma has always been the one grandparent I was closest with. Papa, her husband, died on my sixth birthday, resulting in faded memories and images from stories told by others. My fathers parents live on the other side of the country. Growing up in a large family made it so that traveling to their house only happened once in my entire life. Therefore, Bomma was the grandparent I knew, I talked to, I saw, I thought of when I took care of elderly people in the hospital, I cared about, and loved. She was always the fun energetic and spunky little old lady. She drove fast and would curse when she messed up. When we roasted hot dogs on Memorial Day she would call them wienies, and never understood why we snickered. At Bomma's house we always ate eggo waffles for breakfast, and crackers of all kind were available in a plastic tupperware. She had the coolest lava lamp in her basement and pictures galore that I could have looked at for hours. She loved animals, especially cats, and I loved her Skip and Targa.

Bomma's health was always pretty good. A few years ago it started on the decline. It went from her living by herself to needing an aide in the house, to moving to an assisted living facility. My mom would visit her often and give us updates and we knew the end was coming. In the last month, Bomma developed congestive heart failure, was placed on hospice, started wheezing when she breathed, and required oxygen. The night before Bomma passed, my uncle gave her a blessing stating that it was okay and she could go whenever she desired. The next day family gathered at her side. Later that evening my mother and my aunt sat at her side and just talked. They talked of life memories and laughed. At about 10:30pm they stopped for a minute and sat in silence. Bomma had always loved listening to her daughters talk. When they paused for a few minutes she decided it was time and passed into the next life. I know Bomma is happy because she is with her husband again.

I was able to travel out to the funeral. It was great to see so much family. All of my siblings were there and only one spouse. It was kind of fun to hang out with the girls. Then at the funeral there were so many cousins. Some cousins I hadn't seen since I was eleven. We talked, caught up, laughed, and had a great time.

It was sad that my Bomma has passed, but it is for the better. She used to tell me that her mother lived till she was 96, then get teary and tell me that she did not want to live till she was 96. I am happy that she was able to live a good life, that she is now able to be with Papa, and that she no longer has to be in pain. I love you Bomma and I will miss you, but I know that you are in a better place.

Now for the pictures:
This is Bomma's grave site and carrying the casket. After the site was dedicated, they said that we would take a pedal or flower from her arrangement. The great grand children love this and my mother ended up with lots of beautiful flowers.

After the funeral we had a luncheon. Then started taking family pictures. First my family:
This is my parents in front and all he siblings from oldest to youngest.
Donna, Pam, Bryan, Karen, Sandi, Sharon, Debbie, Kristin, Kammi

Then my family with the one in-law present and the children:

Here is my mother with her siblings. Tom, Dorothy, Janet, Bob

Bob's family: Jessica, Bobby, Lesli, Bob, Nichole, Ashley

Tom's Family: Wendy, Tom, Nga, Jason, Shirley, Nate, Jonathan

Then Janet's Family: Hailey, Chris, Sarah, Janet, Marc, Sammy, Sean, Lindsay, Krista, Janie, Jesse, Kyra

This picture is special to me because it is me with two cousins of mine. We are all the same age and I don't even remember the last time we were all three together. Maybe my grandfathers funeral when I was six. Yeah it is that bad. So here we are, Wendy, Ashley, and I:

Then a random picture that I wanted to put in because it was cute. Here is Declan:

Then I like this picture because you can see Karen's belly. In this picture she is 36 weeks along, and looks great!

Here is a copy of Bomma's obituary:
Leila Allen Alexander 1918 ~ 2009 Leila Allen Alexander, known as Bomma to all her family, passed away March 21, 2009 at the age of 90.Leila was born in Salt Lake City, October 20, 1918 to Frank Stewart and Inez Allen. She and her family lived in Coalville until she was seven years old. The family moved to Salt Lake City where she attended school and graduated from East High School. Leila met and married Albert James Alexander (Alex) who was in the Army Air Corps, on August 16, 1941. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple. When World War II broke out, he was sent to the South Pacific for four years returning in 1945. Through the years after that, Leila and Alex raised their family of four children in California, Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia. While living in Salt Lake City, Leila served 11 years as a guide in the LDS Church Office Building and the Church Museum. She also served in many ward and stake positions throughout her life. She has always been a source of energy and spiritual strength to others. Leila was a tremendously unifying influence in her family and loved having them around to share special times. A typical family get-together for her would be a breakfast or picnic in Mill Creek Canyon with her brothers and their families. She has also loved and been very attached to her pet cats. She was kind hearted and enjoyed helping others in need, even during hard times for her own family. Leila was preceded in death by her husband Alex and is survived by her four children - Robert James (Betty), Dorothy (Larry) Hunt, Thomas Frank (Shirley), and Janet (Marc) Johnson; her brother, Frank (Lola), 21 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren.

Intriguing to me, nauseating to Matt

2009-03-04T15:20:00.001-07:00

Today was a great day at work. It was one of those pick a room and observe. So I decided to go to the heart room, I have never seen any surgery on the heart. I was observing in amazement at the difference between the set up of this open-heart surgery and a plain gallbladder removal surgery. The best part happened when I got to go stand up by the anesthesiologist. The best part of “observing” is that I have no responsibilities and get to watch and ask questions. As I stood at the head of the bed and peered over the surgical draped, I saw the chest wide open and the heart in plain sight, beating. It was the craziest thing. When it was beating, it was more like jiggling. As the surgery progressed, they needed the beating to stop, so ice was placed on it to make it cold and it stopped beating. At this point, the heart and lungs were being run by some pump machine. I loved it. The anesthesiologist was great explaining all the anatomy and what the two surgeons were doing.

The body is just an amazing thing. The more I learn and see, the more I do not know. I am truly amazed at what we, in this day, are able to accomplish, and how science has improved our lives.

New Furniture

2009-02-27T15:19:00.008-07:00

We FINALLY splurged and got new furniture. It was so much fun and stressful at the same time. Matt has wanted a dinning room table and I could no longer stand our old couch.

Here is a picture of the old couch and chairs. (Although I am grateful to Matt's grandpa for giving them to us, as we have gotten by for so long with out purchasing new ones, I am glad to let them go to their new life.)

And the new couch and chairs

Then the dinning room table

This table can be extended and seat 10 people. The only problem is that now Matt wants to invite 10 people over and have me cook for them. Having 10 people over is fun, cooking for them, not so much. If only we had this table at Thanksgiving.

Locked doors and Alarms

2009-02-26T13:33:00.003-07:00

This funny thing happened to me at work the other day. As I was telling my sister, Sharon, about it she said that I needed to blog about it, so here it goes. I now work in the Operating Room at the hospital. Since their is so much to learn, I am in this class that goes for 9 weeks were we learn and study and take quizzes and such. There are 5 of us students, with our teacher, Jan. We were walking around one day trying to find something and went down a hallway that we hardly ever go by. When we got there I recognized it as a way I had gone before while following a nurse around. This nurse had showed me a trick to get through the door. I decided to show the rest of the students. This door was an entrance from the outside hallway into the OR and was locked. I showed them how if you pull up on this pole in the middle it would unlock. Next thing I know the alarm is going off and we red lights flashing, so what do we do, we ran away. We laughed pretty hard about that one. Then about two days later, we went through that door again, and on our way back, I informed everyone I had figured out why the alarm had gone off.I forgot to scan my badge. This time I scanned my badge and then pulled on the pole, but guess what the alarm went off again, and again we ran. I was so confused; I had been given access, why did it alarm for me and not that other nurse. Come to find out, my fellow classmates said I took too long and when I had scanned my badge the light turned green than red. I am curious to go back and try again, but I do not want to make the alarm go off for a third time. That would not be good.

It Looks The Same To Me...

2009-02-06T18:10:00.002-07:00

Well at the end of the year we promised a new (or a slight change) in the format that we were using, and then we disappeared. Well we didn’t really disappear, but Debbie started a new job (what no blog post on that? I know, but ask her…) and I didn’t really have that much going on.

As I pondered it, I noticed that Debbie & I had decided to alter the format at the height of the political scene that reached it's height in November 2008. We were thinking about and discussing the things that were being debated in the elections.

Since we elected a new president, there has been a lot less conversation around our house about politics & my Econ degree hasn’t been speaking to me as much as it was (it loves a good political conversation/debate).

I am hoping to correct that soon, so be on the look out. There have been an increasing number of things going on in the world that have caught my eye, so be on the lookout.

Christmas Letter 2008

2009-02-02T14:26:00.002-07:00

As the year comes to a close, we look back at the last year and see how wonderful & challenging it really was for us. We know that many of you have gotten a glimpse into our lives via our blog and other avenues, but we hope that this letter helps provide some insight into what’s been going on with the Salt’s in 2008.

As we left 2007 and entered 2008, Debbie & I left Provo, our home for many years, and headed to Denver. While it was sad to leave so many good friends and family there, we were excited to begin our grown-up lives. Debbie had accepted a job as a Nurse at The Medical Center of Aurora (TMCA) NICU/Nursery, and I had accepted a position as a Financial Analyst at Northrop Grumman. For the first time in our lives we would both be working and neither of us would be in school.

Our move was an interesting one. The movers couldn’t have been worse, taking forever to deliver our stuff (so long in fact that we almost had to delay working, because all of our important documents were locked up in a storage unit for almost 3 weeks). It was an interesting way to begin our new lives in Denver, sitting at the social security office for several hours, but the crisis was averted and we both were able to start on time.

I have enjoyed my work at Northrop Grumman. I am working in the Finance Office, and while the office is a little introverted (I’m not sure if we’re better or worse than the computer nerds we work with), it has been a great job. My primary responsibilities are over cash, meaning that it is my job to make sure that invoices pay on time, that we meet cash collection goals and that all of our key metrics are meet. It is great to use my love of numbers and spreadsheets (if you’re thinking, what a nerd, that’s fine my wife says that to me all the time), and according to what my bosses say, I’ve been a great asset to the team in helping reach their goals this year. I have also loved my 5 minute commute, and would recommend it to everyone. Words cannot describe how wonderful that is.

Debbie’s year has been more interesting. When she took the position at TMCA, she thought that she was taking a position that was very similar to the one that she had at Utah Valley RMC in 2007; however that was not the case. There were two key differences.

First, TMCA required time in the well-baby nursery. Due to our difficulties in having children, she is not a huge fan of being around the happy families in the well-baby nursery (if you’re thinking, “What difficulties?” you probably should email or call us, because that’s a longer story than there’s room for here).
Second, the nursery/NICU in Provo is busier that the one in Aurora. (I wonder why that would be?) But because they’re not as busy, there was a propensity to get canceled shifts cancelled, not what you’re looking for if you’re trying to pay off school loans (hopefully before our family grows).

So in November, Debbie took a PRN position at Denver Health. It’s more downtown and has more of the work she was looking for and they have plenty of shifts available to work. I wasn’t the least bit surprised when she came home very excited from her first day and she always seems happy when she comes home from work, which wasn’t the story after most nights in the well-baby nursery at TMCA.

That position made the opportunity that she took in December all the more exciting. She interviewed and accepted a position in the Operating Room at TMCA, and her transfer was approved this week, meaning that she’ll be starting there in January. She’s excited for a new opportunity and to see what a different part of the hospital is like. I am excited to not have my wife working nights, meaning that I can see her everyday, and not just for 30 minutes at dinner.

Outside of work, life has been eventful as well. We began house hunting in the spring time, and in late May we closed on our first house. We love the neighborhood, nice and quiet, but close enough to just about everything. I love that the houses in this area have a lot of brick for being in Denver, and Debbie loves the big kitchen and lots of storage space (but thinks the walk-out basement is creepy). For a foreclosure, it was in great shape and that has been a real blessing as I don’t have the skills needed to do a ton of work on the house. It’s really starting to take shape. If you’re ever passing through we hope that you at least stop by to take a peak, if not spend the night.

For Labor Day, we took a trip to Moab to camp at Arches National Park. We met up with family from Phoenix, Provo, and Denver. I was glad to see one of my brothers who recently returned from his mission to Tulsa. It was great to spend time with everyone, hiking, climbing and seeing the beauty contained at that park. I for one was also glad to not have drowned in the Colorado River, I think that Debbie was as well (again a story for another time, contact us for further details).

At Thanksgiving, we swapped hosting a Salt Family Thanksgiving for hosting a Salt/Smith Family one and a wedding. It was an adventure to prepare a Thanksgiving that met my exacting standards as well as fed 31 people, especially given that we only had table and chairs for 4. Oh, and the next day Nathan (my brother back from Tulsa) & Natalie were married in the Denver temple. It was a real challenge, and gratefully it turned out well, but that credit goes to Debbie & my mom who spent countless hours worrying about and planning for the event.

At church Debbie & I took a calling as Sunday School Teachers for the 12-14 year olds. They are a wonderful group of children and we have enjoyed seeing them interact with each other and hopefully learning the gospel as well. I think that one of Debbie’s favorite memories of this year is when we had the kids over for an end of summer party and one of the quietest young women in the class dominated all the other kids in Guitar Hero. She laughs about it to this day.

At this holiday season we’re grateful for so many things. In this economic climate to be working. In this cold winter, to have a warm and inviting place to live. And most of all for each one of you and the role that you’ve played in our lives. We hope that you too can be grateful for these things, and that 2009 will as good or better for each of you.
Marry Christmas,

Matt & Debbie

Christmas 2008

2009-02-02T13:57:00.005-07:00

Christmas this year was different than Christmas have been in the past. All of our past Christmas' have been traveling home to mom's house. It was always so nice to not have to worry about cooking, cleaning, planing, etc.

Married life for Matt and I still included traveling at Christmas time rotating between families and learning of each others tradition. This year was a Hunt Family year. There were only a couple problems, one, my family Christmas' kept getting smaller and smaller as siblings decided to start personal family traditions, and two, I had to work on Christmas night. Some where along the way, our family decided to have Christmas is Denver (well a post Christmas gathering). Many of the siblings traveled over to Denver the day or two after Christmas and spent the week until New Years. It ended up being great fun. Each family was able to have their personal family tradition, and we were still able to get together during the holidays.

On Christmas Eve, Matt and I went over to Donna's house to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with her and her family. It was so much fun being around a younger group for present opening. (Her oldest is 14 and the youngest is 4.) One thing that I found interesting was that their 12 and 14 year old girls did was put their makeup on before lining up to go downstairs. I asked them what they were doing and they told me they get their pictures taken, so they needed makeup. They also had plenty of time to do so because if any of you know their father, he takes forever to get up and go downstairs. Even still, the children's excitement for what ever they are open is great. I loved watching them.

Later in the week family started to arrive. Some stayed at my house and others at Donna's. We spent the time hanging out, eating, going to the museum, playing games and watching movies. I love to spend time with my family.

On New Years Eve the children, Cade, Cale, Paige, and Carli went our a few hours early and banged some pans. Oh how fun and the memories of when I used to do that myself.

Carli, Paige, Cade and Cale at my house.

A Slight Change Of Format

2009-01-10T09:17:00.003-07:00

Over the past year since we started this little blog of ours, I've pondered how to best approach it. For the most part it's been a place where we post pictures and stories of our lives to keep our family & friends up to date on the goings on in our lives.

At times though I've had thoughts that I thought would be good to get off my chest and maybe see how others that stop by here would feel about those same things. I have resisted that urge though until now.

Recently my wife has convinced me that it would be a good idea to have this be a journal of sorts for our family. And if you've ever kept a journal (ok well I can't say that I have really ever been good at that, but I assume that if you keep a journal) you would eventually stray from the basic this is what happened today and into the world of this is what I was thinking about today.

So from now on be prepared to hear some of the things that we're thinking. I think that this will be something that I use more than Debbie, but she may surprise us.

I hope that this change will be one that encourages us to blog more, and that everyone will enjoy hearing not only about what the Salt's are doing, but what we're thinking about.

Let us know what you think about the new "format".

Andrew Blesses Wedding From Samoa

2008-12-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

Why We Went Through With It

2008-12-27T09:25:00.011-07:00

Just a few photos of the wedding that made all the difficulties worth it. Just FYI, the best pictures are at the bottom, so if you're here, you may as well scroll down and see them all.

The entire wedding party (with a few people blocked out, oops)

The Salt Family (minus Andrew)

Anyone able to add Andrew In?

The cute couple

Nice Groom's Cake!!!

I'm with him for how long?

I'm surprised that no one has a hernia (and that Sarah didn't get kicked in the face!)

And now the good stuff... Nathan decided that he should also get some shots to add to his portfolio for his future modeling career. Please forward to the right people as you see fit.

Hopefully you can see how happy they look and know that while it was difficult for us to feed so many and get everything ready while my wife worked just about every night the week previous, it was a great day.

We wish Natalie & Nathan all the luck in the world.

We Survived!!!

2008-12-02T11:29:00.008-07:00

Thanksgiving this year was a little over whelming for me. As it approached I tried to not think about it. Thanksgiving plans for this year started many months ago. I was scheduled to work the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, and was not looking forward to flying to the Momma and Papa Salt house after work. Matt suggested that the family come here, to Colorado for Thanksgiving, and they agreed. I can handle that, me, Matt, Momma and Papa Salt, Choppy, Sarah, Ally, Nathan, Natalie, Adam, Grandpa Joe and Annette. No big deal, 12 people.

Then Nathan and Natalie decided they wanted to get married, and they could not wait for a better time than Thanksgiving and a wedding in Denver. My guest list for dinner jumped from 12 to 32 as it included Natalie's parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. I was just a little worried, mainly because I only have 4 kitchen chairs. During my stressed out moments, I would call my mother, who suggested I lay out a blanket and we have dinner picnic style. I liked that idea, Matthew did not. This is where my quest for chairs, tables, tablecloths, plates, silverware, cooking pots, food, etc, began.

Now that it is over I can say that it went alright. Nonetheless, it did not go with out my moments of crying and freaking out. As the day got closer, things started falling into place, mainly because Matt's mother is amazing and did a ton, including all the cooking. We had several late nights and early mornings to prepare. Here are some pictures:

Summer of A Thousand Vacations: Act IV - BYU vs UCLA

2008-10-28T09:02:00.002-06:00

As you may be able to tell this post is way over due. A while back Matt kept telling his brother to find him a UCLA ticket and that he would drive out and go to the game. I thought to myself, like that is going to happen, that game is sold out, and the only tickets available one could purchase for over $100 a ticket. Well, the week of the game, Nathan called and said that some one in his group was actually not going to be able to attend the game and he had one extra ticket. That was enough for Matt so we made the trip. We arrived at my parents house late Friday night. Soon after Nathan and a few of his buddies arrived as well. The boys went downstairs and started playing XBox. They had so much fun on my parents projector that they played till 4:30am.

The next day as they were all leaving to head to Provo for the game, my generous little sister called and said that she had homework or what ever and I could use her ticket if I wanted. I was torn, can I take this ticket from her. My mom said don't worry about it and if she wants to give it to me, than take it. So I jumped in the car and off I went.

We don't need to dwell on the game much because we all know BYU Football is amazing, and that game was awesome, well at least the 2nd quarter was really exciting.

It was a fast trip, but fun none the less. Thanks to Kristin and Jamie for letting us have their tickets at no cost. (We will not tell them that they could have sold them for some good money)

If you look really hard, you might even be able to see the score in this picture.

Summer of A Thousand Vacations: Act III - Matt's High School Reunion

2008-10-12T15:12:00.003-06:00

The week after our camping trip, was my 10 year high school reunion. So after a strenuous 3 day work week, we flew down to Houston for the weekend.

I will admit that I always enjoy going home. Even if my parents decide to retire somewhere else, Houston will always be home. The thick air, an Ultimate Cheeseburger & Milkshake at Jack In The Box, Blue Bell, and just being in the places that are so familiar. It happens when you spend 16+ years living there.

So we headed to the Salt Homestead, and enjoyed the afternoon with my parents. The it was off to a seminary reunion. It was good to see some of my friends that went through four years of early morning seminary together. We enjoyed cupcakes and updates from everyone in attendance and what they knew about other friends that couldn't be there. Thanks to Charlotte & Shannon for helping to arrange things. I hope that we can do this again at the next high school reunion, as it was the better of the two events for sure.

The next day was the high school reunion. It was at a posh hotel in the Galleria (the upscale shopping district in Houston). After wandering around the mall trying to find it, let's just say that I was underwhelmed at the attendance. For a class of 400+ kids, there were maybe 40 or so people in attendance. And the people there were predominantly the kids that were popular in high school. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed being there and seeing a few friends from HS, but there were only 4 or 5 people that I really hung out with in High School. I actually had a better time when we left the reunion and headed to a nearby bar with those 4-5. Good to know AFTER shelling out $130. My advice, make sure that the people that you want to see are going to go before you spend the money to go.

The next day we spent time with my parents, and headed back to Denver. It was a nice weekend, but I have conflicted feelings about doing it again.

Summer of A Thousand Vacations: Act II - Arches

2008-09-20T16:36:00.013-06:00

Over Labor Day weekend we arranged some camp sites in Arches National Forest, and invited several family members to attend. We had quite a turn out with my parents, sisters, suedo brother-in-law, Matt's brother, girlfriend, and old mission companion. Our total was about 30 people. It is always so much fun to get together with family.

We camped in Arches at Devils Campground. It turned out to be fun. We were surrounded by large rocks that we very pretty. We arrived Thursday night along with my sisters Pam and Kristin and Kristin's mission comp. The next morning after breakfast, Matt said he would be back because he was going to explore/climb the rocks. I chuckled at this because it is always fun to see his boyhood come out.

Among other things we did were hiking the delicate arch, swimming in the river, roasted marshmallows, and survive the heat, rain, and wind. If you have never been, you should try to make it some time.

As we were packing up, preparing, and planning to go to Arches, I was thinking to myself, this is a lot of work and it is just Matt and I. Think about my sister with her 5 kids. Then we arrived and talking with the adults and watching the little children run and play, climb in the rocks and dig in the sand, you realize that the work is all worth it.

Matt and Carli

Paige with Kanobee

Cale

Debbie and Cale

Summer of A Thousand Vacations: Act I - Idaho

2008-09-11T21:30:00.013-06:00

As our first summer in Denver drew to a close, Debbie & I found ourselves in the middle of a whirlwind tour of America. It seems that everything that we had to do all summer was scheduled in a 5 week window in late August and early September.

Our first destination, Idaho. Debbie's Maid-of Honor, Angela, was herself getting married. So we loaded up the car and decided to head over after work on a Thursday. Because my wife is too cheap to spring for a hotel, we decided to camp in Jackson Hole (or thereabouts) on our way to Idaho Falls. (On a side note, this can at times be a good quality of my wife. At other times it's rather frustrating. This time I'll go with good quality).

Near the place that we stayed, we even had the pleasure of seeing some Buffalo on the side of a road on our way back to the highway.

This was a part of Wyoming that I never knew existed. It was a pleasure to drive through, unlike the god-forsaken wilderness that surrounds most of I-80 through the state.

It was so nice we stopped to take a picture (not too bad for setting it on top of the car and running over to the spot if I do say so myself).

I think that it was especially fun for Debbie as she got to visit all the places that she got to go to as a child. We stopped and had a square ice cream, visited the place that she went to girls camp and reminisced about all the time that she spent in the mountains between Jackson Hole and Idaho Falls.

This trip also became our de facto anniversary celebration. We stayed at the same hotel that we did when we were married. It was nice to be able to get away from our jobs and enjoy some time where someone else picks up the towels (ok well that was nice for Debbie, cause she does do most of the picking up at the Salt Casa).

And of course there was the wedding. What does a guy really supposed to say about a wedding? Well except that it was very warm to be outside wating for the bride and groom to come out for pictures, it was very nice. Beyond that, I guess I'll let our photos say it for us.

Have and Have nots!

2008-09-02T09:17:00.002-06:00

I found this off a friend's blog, Jill, and I thought it might be fun. You should do it too! If you'd like to take up this challenge, simply reprint this list on your blog, and highlight in bold the things your have accomplished.

Have and Have nots!

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby's diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said "I love you" and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don't
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hotel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a campfire
189. Kept a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Known CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Responded to a NJP newsletter

What a great mother we have!

2008-08-20T14:35:00.007-06:00

My wonderful mother has done it! She and my dad dropped their last child off at college. I was curious how my mother was holding up, having pictured this day for a long time and it not being pretty. Then I received this e-mail. It was sent by my mother to all of us kids. It is just a little spec of how much my mother loves us all.

Well, we're officially "empty nesters" and it isn't all that great. After 38 years of raising kids in the home, it's sad to have them all gone. But when I saw Kammi in her college apartment and she was so happy, and was growing up to experience being on her own, I didn't feel sad, but was very happy for her. I will sure miss her being around here and hearing her music and seeing her shoes in the living room and her other stuff left around, and her friends over to visit. She'll come back once in a while and I will really love that. . . I really do enjoy the times that we can all get together. Enjoy raising your kids while they are in your home. They are all so precious. I'm grateful I was blessed to be able to raise kids for so long. It's been the very best part of my life.

I love you all,

Mom

I am so thankful for all that my mother has and still does. She loves all of us and we all know that we are her #1. We know that what ever we do she will always support us. When ever we have a hard day she is always available to talk about it. I always knew growing up that no matter what happened to me, be it at school, in my social life or other, that she would take my side while all the others were wrong. Thanks for everything mom!! I love you!

This is a picture of all of us (except for Kristin and the new babies) last year at Karen's wedding

Fortune cookie I hope comes true soon.

2008-07-29T09:07:00.003-06:00

The other night Matt and I went out to eat at PF Chang's. It was a great dinner. The conversation, as usual, turned to children. As many may know, Matt and I can't have children, so we were discussing adoption options, for the millionth time, timing, finances, etc. The conversation changed and we went on with our meal. As we paid for our meal they brought us our fortune cookies. After Matt ate his, he smiled and handed me his fortune. This is what his fortune read.

It was a good ending to a good meal.

Hotter Than Hell???

2008-07-13T20:19:00.006-06:00

Well I can confirm one thing, Arizona in July is really quite warm. It's really a dead heat for which is hotter in the summer in my mind, Houston or Phoenix.

Thank goodness for Blue Bell (available in both places), Jack-In-The-Box Milkshakes (available in both places) & swimming pools (a requirement in both places).

We had a great time with everyone that we were able to see, and we're sad we couldn't be there longer to see everyone else (and that Debbie was sick for a day or two, cutting into visiting time).

I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we had being a part of them!!!

Uncle Matt & Danielle became fast friends!!!

Cale & Carli ready for church.

What they were really thinking!!!

Carli looks lovely in the morning!!!

After the blessing, all the family took a picture:

The Little Kammi all grown up!

2008-06-27T13:38:00.007-06:00

This post is a bit over due. Last month I was able to travel back to Utah to attend Kammi's High School graduation. It was fun to be with Kammi and to celebrate with her. Going to a high school graduation brought back many memories. I loved high school, I loved all the talk about starting a new adventure, about the friendships made, and on and on. Now she is off to college. Through out the whole graduation my mother kept commenting, "I can't believe Kammi is graduating." I don't think she ever imagined this, she has been raising children since our oldest sister was born in 1970. That is 38 years of raising kids. What a wonderful mom with all the service that she has put into her children. She won't know what to do with herself next year with out having Kammi's games to go to.

Kammi, along with all of her soccer teammates, wore her soccer socks. It was pretty stylish with her skirt and cute shoes.

Good Luck Kammi!!!

New Tagged

2008-05-20T12:36:00.002-06:00

The Five Tag

5 years ago: (2003) I had just finished my junior year at BYU. Matt and I had just started dating. I went to Denver for the summer, to live with my sister and work for South Suburban Parks and Rec moving parks with Rahmon. What a strange person. Great times.

5 Months Ago: (January) I was studying for the NCLEX. Yuck!! After I passed I started my current job as a RN

5 Things on my to do list:
1. Finish unpacking
2. Check out of apartment
3. Send e-mails
4. Iron
5. Make dinner

5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. Any candy/sweets
2. Yogurt
3. Pretzels/chips
4. Peanuts
5. Drinks, such as crystal light, and choc milk

5 Things I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire:
1. Adopt some children from Africa and Asia
2. Pay off our school loans
3. Build an amazing house
4. Buy a fast car, and I guess one that would fit our new children
5. Invest for the future

5 of my BAD habits:
1. My OCD tendencies, then teasing my sisters for doing the exact same thing
2. Being mean to Matt to make him mad
3. Wasting time
4. Interrupting others conversations
5. Forgetting who I told what to

5 Places I have lived:
1. Idaho Falls, ID
2. Provo, UT
3. Hite, UT
4. Katy, TX
5. Aurora, CO

5 Jobs I have had:
1. Counter girl at D&L Cleaners
2. Parks and Rec mover
3. Lake Powell Dock worker
4. Nanny
5. Registered Nurse

5 things people don't know about me:
1. I am not sure, I usually tell everyone everything.
2.
3.
4.
5.

5 people that I tag:
1. Angela
2. Sarah
3. Katie
4. Stacey
5. Kristen

THE KITCHEN

2008-05-09T08:03:00.005-06:00

Well, we finally got all of our appliances. Since we bought a foreclosure the previous owner took everything, all the appliances, the garage door opener and even the rack to hang the towels on. They did leave the end things, what ever they are called, to attach the rack to. That was nice. The one good thing about it was that we got to go and pick out nice matching appliances. The last one was delivered yesterday. Also, Matt was brave enough to install the microwave. He did a great job, and was so proud of himself. He is definitely getting braver at trying things and seeing how it goes. Who knew he was so handy? Enjoy the pictures.

This is where we will be putting our kitchen table in addition to replacing a few blinds. Nice!

We bought a house!!!

2008-05-07T10:35:00.004-06:00

Matt and I are officially home owners. It is kind of strange, yet exciting. We closed on April 30th and had some problems getting the water turned on and other things, but it finally is all set to go. It was a foreclosure and had been empty for quite a while, therefore we are taking our time moving in. My sister Donna, and her five kids came over and helped us clean. It is pretty dirty and there is dog hair everywhere. Thanks Donna for your help!! It was great!! Her kids were awesome, they have too much of her OCD personality in them that they were so excited to clean and were constantly wanting to do more and help out. We are almost finished with cleaning and yesterday our carpets got cleaned and the house looks so different and so much better just with those few changes. Here is a picture of the outside. I will post more of the inside as we get more appliances and furniture moved in. (BTW, the neighbor was kind enough to leave his cars in our driveway while the house was empty)

Something About Matthew

2008-05-07T09:59:00.001-06:00

I got tagged to write things about Matt, so here it goes:

A -ATV of choice? No idea
B - Born? May 1980
C-Cookies or Candy? Actually he would rather have a hamburger. There are certain cookies like snickerdoodles and candy like crunch bars and starburst, but he has to be in the right mood and have milk with his cookie or else he won't eat it.
D-Date of Choice when you go out? Dinner, then to some sort of ball game, Dynamo, Rockets, etc
E-Essential Item? Cell Phone and glasses
F-Favorite Foods? Matt loves dinner, lasagna, fish, and steak
G-Gas or Diesel vehicle? Gas
H-Hobbies? Let's see.... watching or playing sports, watching the Discovery and History channel, creating excel spreadsheets.
I-Ice Cream Flavor? I am not real sure, we don't ever buy it and he never asks for it, but I would guess either vanilla or mint.
J-Job? Financial Analyst at Northrup Grumman
K-Kids? none
L-Last Vacation as a couple? Pretty much every vacation we go on is as a couple, but last summer we went to D.C. with my sister Sharon and her husband.
M-Morning person or night owl? Night owl--stays up all hours of the night
N-Number of Siblings? 3 brothers and 1 sister, he is oldest.
O-OCD or sloppy? Sloppy, although he can be clean when he wants to be, if he knows people are coming over and such.
P-Pet Peeves? When I interrupt him when he is trying to tell me something
Q-Quiet or Loud? Loud.
R-Restaurant? Any fish place, because I never cook fish.
S-Sports? ALL
T-Tight wad or spender? Depends on what you are comparing it to. Compared to me, a spender, but that is not saying much.
U-Unknown Fact about him? He was best friends with his grandma and he has three kidneys.
V-Vegetables? Almost all of them.
W- Worst Habit? Leaving his dirty dishes around the house.
X-Xtra Curricular activities in high school? Seminary, I would consider early morning as extra, other than that I am not sure, he worked his junior and senior year.
Y-Your favorite things about him? He is always so nice and polite to me, and his favorite thing is to make me laugh
Z-Zodiac Sign? not sure... hmm.

I tag Sharon, Jill and Jana.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT!!!

2008-05-01T09:49:00.002-06:00

Today is Matt's Birthday and I wanted to wish him a happy birthday. You are the best. I love you so much, you make me laugh and cry and everything in between. I don't know what I would do without you. Thanks for all your help and always believing in me.

Do I Look Like A Little Girl???

2008-04-09T22:09:00.009-06:00

(This post was not meant to offend little girls, in fact they are some of my favorite people.)

The other day I went to the doctor to among other things have them take a wart of my foot. When we got to that point of the procedure, he told me that the new laser treatment was better on your foot on the 2nd & 3rd day, but that it was worse on the day they did the treatment.

While he removed some of the skin in the area with a razor blade, I remembered that I had a basketball game that evening. So I asked the doctor how bad it was going to hurt that evening because I had said basketball game. He told me that it might hurt quite a bit and that we could wait until my next visit to take care of the wart.

Well that was just insulting. In my mind I thought to myself, do I look like a little girl? I was tempted to tell him to go ahead and shoot the wart & then just for fun shoot that laser somewhere else on my foot just for giggles. I mean seriously, do I look like a little girl?

And if the doctor thought that the laser was painful, then man he better hope to not have half the stuff I've had, because this was nothing. And thinking about that experience and having my wife laugh at the story repeatedly (is that a good thing or a bad thing???) had made me think about things that have made me "tough".

Kidney stones, concussions, a broken thumb & broken nose all seem to jump to the top of the list. Surfing lessons, climbing mountains & white water rafting also make the list. Growing up I did a lot of things that looking back on them would be considered really dangerous. And truth be told I wasn't even the adventurous one in the family, not by a long shot.

But I think that all those things made me a better person. Some were hard or painful. Some took more determination than I thought that I had. But they made me a better person and I hope that I can overlook the danger and let my kids enjoy some of life's more challenging adventures, even if they fall and scrap their knees along the way.

I mean, I don't want them to look like a little girl, well except if they are in fact little girls.

Bend it like Beckham

2008-03-31T13:28:00.005-06:00

As many may know, Matt is an avid sports fan. He is a fan of any sport, and not biased to any sport in particular. Lately, he has become a great Houston Dynamo Soccer fan. When we moved to Denver Matt started looking into the Colorado soccer team to see when they play the Dynamo. We then decided since we both like soccer to buy tickets to several games. Therefore, on Saturday night we went to our first soccer game here and it was the Colorado Rapids versus the LA Galaxy. You know what that means? Yup, David Beckham was coming to town. I was excited for this game because he is so famous and because I wanted to see him play. I wanted to see his infamous kicks and if he was really as good as they say. I would have to agree, he is great with his kicks not only from a free kick/corner kick point of view, but also during the game. He had some beautiful kicks that put the ball exactly were he wanted it. Too bad for him, that their are no other good players (besides Landon Donovan) so those perfectly placed balls were never taken advantage of.

One other fun thing about soccer is at the beginning of the game when the players are entering the field, they come out in a line, holding hands with little kids. These kids are probably grade school age soccer players. I would have loved that. I think this is a great and should be incorporated into other sports. I have attached a picture, but I am not sure you can see it very well.

All in all I had a great time. I enjoy my date night with Matt and going to sporting events, especially soccer.

Andrew Goes On A Mission

2008-03-30T21:50:00.007-06:00

I never apologize for taking a long time between blogs. Sometimes, there just isn't a lot going on and so rather than bore people with the mundane day-to-day details. I mean who wants to hear that today I woke up, went to work, came home ate dinner played on the internet & then went to bed? Especially when that can describe many days recently.

It's not that I'm complaining. It's great to have a job that pays well to go to. It's great to have a wife that wants to make dinner. And isn't the internet amazing? But I'm sure that reading that would get tedious after awhile. But I wanted to mention one great thing that has happened recently.

My youngest brother Andrew is in the MTC. He's on his way to Samoa. It's a great opportunity for him to serve the people of Samoa and grow himself. I had the opportunity to do the same in Denver from 1999-2001 & enjoyed every minute of it. He joins Nathan (Tulsa, OK) & Adam (Baltimore, MD) who are also currently serving missions for our church at the same time.

I was grateful to be able to join him in Houston when he went through the temple. It was good to be home (isn't it always?) and the weather was great. I enjoyed spending a couple of days with him and being able to joke around. I have been greatly blessed to have spent time with my two youngest brothers when they were at BYU. Leaving when they were 11 & 10, they were always a part of me, but I have drawn closer to them as young adults (or whatever you call 19+ year olds). Everything was great, minus my grandpa falling and breaking his hip at 5:30 in morning, but that's another story entirely. While we were there we even ran into a local celebrity (well to two die-hard BYU fans he's a celebrity), Gifford Nielson!!! .

He even gave Andrew a pep talk telling him to not waste a moment and to go for it. I felt that all that was missing was a pat on the butt as Andrew ran out onto the field. It was a great.

When we returned from Houston, Andrew and my parents stopped by on their way to Provo. It was fun to show off our apartment and to get to spend a couple more days with Andrew. We went to the Mercer children's play, we played Guitar Hero & then he was off. It's always hard to send off my brothers (my mom's weeping gene seems to manifest itself at that point, kind of like in the X-Men where the children can't control their powers, except this isn't really a power). But it's great to see them become young adults instead of the teenagers they were.

We wish him the best, and you can do so to if you would like: asalt2@myldsmail.net

A Perk Of Living In Denver [Part I]

2008-02-24T16:09:00.014-07:00

As some of you may know, I wasn't always in love with Denver, CO. Serving my mission there, I dealt with a lot of people that put down my hometown. The work there was very difficult, especially at the end of my mission. But when the position at NG came available, it was for sure the right place. And the longer I'm there, the more that I am sure that we made the right choice. Every few blogs, I think that I may try to point out why, if not for you, then for me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PART I

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For some time now the Mercer Family (Donna, Debbie's sister, Jeff, Donna's husband & kids, Brooke, Kelsie, Dillon, Caden & Paige) have been involved with a theater group in their area.

The Gotta Dance Gotta Sing Theater has given the kids an opportunity to be involved in theatre productions for several years. Debbie & I made numerous trips to see the kids in their plays and have enjoyed them immensely. Conveniently for me, the plays were often the same weekend that the Mountain West Conference held it's basketball tournament in Denver. What a deal!

Brooke (13) & Kelsie (11) have had leading roles in many of the plays. To their many potential careers they have added actress and singer.

But moving to Denver has added a little something extra. Jeff also has been in numerous productions. However, they have been harder to attend (not matching up with the basketball weekends) until his last show. It was great to see him play his role. He had several solo performances, which he did quite well on (I did mention that this was a musical, didn't I?). Seeing him in this role was entirely different from the roles that I normally see him in (job hunter extraordinaire, BYU die-hard, father, annoying neighbor). It was a good show and a definite perk to living in Denver.

I have been blessed to get to know Spencer before they moved to Arizona, Jeremy since he was stationed at Hill AFB & now Jeff. Being part of a large family (the Hunt's have 9 children) was more than a little overwhelming at first. How in the world do you deal with that many people? But after getting to know them, I consider them to be just as much a part of my life as I do my own family, and living in Denver has just made it that much better.

I Feel The Urge To Splurge

2008-02-15T18:58:00.004-07:00

Matt and I have been looking into getting a few needed electronics and other such items for a while now. Then we heard about CompUSA going out of business. We headed on over and found several good deals, kept checking back regularly and finally made a few purchases. This is probably our favorite.

Now Matt can truly enjoy the XBox 360 he got for Christmas!!

But going out of business got us a new TV, Printer, Digital Camera (that took this picture) & iPod. Not a bad haul if I do say so myself. I guess we were both just feeling relieved to be working and thought that a couple of new toys were in order.

Just wait till you see what else we bought...

A Tribute to my Grandfather

2008-02-07T21:08:00.001-07:00

At 2:50am on the morning of Feb 2, 2008, my grandpa Hunt passed from this life into the next. He would have turned 86 later this month, he had been married to my grandma for 64 1/2 years. His health had been getting worse and worse and a few weeks ago suffered from a stroke. The stoke created a situation in which my grandpa was not able to eat or drink hardly anything at all. His children all gathered at his side and were fortunately all in town when he decided to let go. My grandmother was afraid before he passed and would not leave his side, she slept in a chair beside him and would kiss him as if saying goodbye forever every time she left his side. The Friday before he passed my father told her that she should tell him that it is okay if he lets go. Her response was that she was not ready. That night my grandma slept in her room for the first time in a few days. She realized it was alright to say goodbye.

Here is his obituary:

Ralph Emerson Hunt, age 85, died of natural causes at Abernethy Laurels in Newton, North Carolina, on February 2, 2008. He was surrounded by his loving family.
Ralph was born in Rutland, Vermont, on February 17, 1922, the son of the late Lawrence Emerson Hunt, the late Jennie May (Lincoln) Hunt, and his stepmother, the late Jessie (Collins) Hunt.
On June 25, 1943, Ralph married Ruth Mary (Paul) Hunt at the First Congregational Church in Washington, D.C. Through their 64 years of marriage, Ralph and Ruth lived in Newark, Belleville, and Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, Grantham, New Hampshire and Newton, North Carolina. In addition to his beloved wife, he is survived by his five children and their spouses (Lawrence P. and Dorothy

Hunt, William and Carol H. Ruhle, Geoffrey and Shirley H. Harris, Robert and Joyce H. Wetmore, William L. and Jacqueline Hunt). He also leaves nineteen grandchildren and eighteen great-grandchildren.

Following high school graduation from Rutland High School as salutatorian, Ralph attended Cornell University, studying floriculture. Ralph took accounting courses from LaSalle University and passed his Certified Public Accountant examination in 1949. During his career, Ralph worked as an auditor for the Haskins and Sells accounting firm from 1946 to 1958. He joined Lehn and Fink Products Corporation in 1958 and retired as Manager of Finance in 1982.

His family gratefully remembers Ralph’s deep love of family, quiet dignity and his sense of humor. He enjoyed classical music, playing piano and singing in church and community choirs. He had been a member of the Pro Arte Chorale in New Jersey for a number of years.

Debbie's A Genius & Matt's First Week

2008-01-21T21:56:00.001-07:00

Well I am hoping to update the blog on a semi-frequent basis, and I thought that now would be a good time to do so.

I start with the most exciting bit of news from the Salt household. Debbie is now a registered RN. She passed her national boards on Thursday. She spent most of Thursday & Friday checking for her results. It took incredible will power for her to only check every hour, on the hour. She was even kind enough to wake me early on Saturday morning to let me know that her results were in.

While I joke about her incessant checking, I can say that I grateful I am for all of her hard work and for doing so well and passing on the first attempt. It was difficult for her to focus with the movers and getting settled into a new place, and all that entails. But she got the job done and in fact started orientation today at her new job (Medical Center of Aurora - South Campus, NICU/Nursery). I am enormously proud of her efforts & accomplishments (and the end of all ties to Provo College, but that is for another blog).

As for me, I started my new job last Monday, and I must say that it felt like the first day of school all over again. You know how on the first day at a new school you get your picture taken, you're not quit sure what to expect and who your going to see and how you'll fit in ? Well that was what I was feeling as I walked across the street to my new office. (Did I mention that our apartment is across the street from my office? Well if not, let me tell you that it's amazing! Going home for lunch, leaving work and being home in less than 5 minutes. I'm not sure how I'm going to give it up.)

Anyway, I got there and went through the orientation stuff, and then it was off to actually do work. I guess you could say that I was a bit nervous. I didn't really know what they wanted me to do or how I was supposed to add value to anything at that point, but I'm starting to get over it. So far it's a great place to work. I share a good sized office with a computer engineer named Karl. He seems to have a similar personality, and we crack jokes and make sarcastic comments back and forth. I work on a team of 4 or 5 individuals (still trying to make out some of the office dynamics) in the Finance department. I think that they're a good bunch and that we should be able to work well together and get a lot done. Basically at this point, I don't hate going to work everyday, so that's a good thing.

And now as I have started week two, Karl has made sure to point out that I am no longer the new guy (they hired a new woman to work as an admin assistant in the office and she started today), and will be expected to carry my weight. Thanks a lot Karl.

Movers From Hell

2008-01-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

Because it's entertaining if you're into dark humor I thought that I'd share what's been going on in our lives. When I accepted this job in Colorado they told us that they would pay for us to move to Colorado. We thought that was great. We could use UHAUL if we wanted them to pay or we could arrange it ourselves and they would reimburse us. Well since the weather between Provo & Denver can be very volatile this time of year, we decided to have someone drive our stuff over to Colorado for us.

We went with a company, Nationwide Relocation (NR) that promised to pick up our stuff either Dec 18 or 19 and then deliver it between Dec 19 & 23. WE thought that that sounded great. Their bid was well below the limit and they said that it would be no problem to have it there by the 23^rd, and it had to be there then since we had a flight from Denver to Houston on the 24^th.

Well needless to say, the days came and went and no movers showed up. I called NR and they said that the pickup date had been moved to Thursday, but that it would still be no problem to have the items in Denver by the 23^rd. Then Thursday came, and I was on the phone with them basically all day trying to figure out when they would be there, since we were living at the Hunt's since all our stuff was packed. They had said 2:30pm but at about 2:50 they finally made me call the driver with Ben Hur Moving & Storage (BH) who told me that he couldn't be there until Saturday the 22^nd.

Well that wasn't good since we couldn't wait that long and still have our stuff delivered before we left for Houston, but there was little that we could do at that point. We arranged to have Larry or Dorothy at our place while the movers packed up and that we would drive over to Aurora on Sat. Then we would have our landlords let the movers in when they got there the following week. When Saturday came, the movers were of course late, and of course they had left no where near the room that they needed to bring all of our belongings with them. They spent nearly 8 hours wrapping our belongings in blankets. In that amount of time, Debbie & people from the ward could have loaded the truck and driven it half way to Denver.

So when we get to Denver, instead of having all of our stuff and beginning to unpack, Debbie & I spend a couple of days at Jeff & Donna's because there is literally only clothes for our trip and some dishes in our apartment. No bed. No table. No silverware to compliment those dishes. But we do make it to the airport and to Houston to begin enjoying our Christmas break. Now I didn't mention that BH told us that they would have all the stuff in the apartment just a few days after the first load arrived shortly after Christmas, so we joyfully enjoy our break eating at JITB, playing croquet and helping Ally to enjoy the Naughty Uncle's Club.

Now when we return, we are glad to notice that we now have furniture. In fact, we have almost half our stuff. But try living a week without any hangers. Or in fact, any clothes that you didn't take to Houston for Christmas. It's really a chore. And they broke anything that had wheels, so goodbye microwave stand & awesome desk chair that Debbie got me for my birthday. So I get on the phone with BH since it's now Jan 3 and my stuff is nowhere to be found and I'm supposed to start work and my SS Card is in their possession somewhere. Well they tell me it will be a few more days until a driver can get there. But they tell me he will be there on Monday the 7^th and will be delivering on Wed the 9^th.

That doesn't sound too bad, so I call my work to make sure that it's ok if I start without my ID. They tell me that it's no problem, well except that if I don't have my ID by the end of the third day of employment, then they are forced to terminate me (well my employment, but same thing right?). Well I think that this is a problem, since BH (and NR, who has offered me no assistance in my situation despite numerous phone calls) has basically not delivered on one thing since I started dealing with them.

So I push my move date back to the 14^th, and good thing that I did, since on Monday night I get a phone call from BH stating that the driver who was to pick up my items in Utah will not be there until the 14^th at the earliest (later they tell me, and you can believe at your own peril, that the driver was in an accident that cost the company $15,000 to repair the truck and that's why he won't be there). They blame me for not taking these important documents with me (and while I will not make that mistake again, who really think that a mover will take three times as many days to do a job as hours it takes to drive from Provo to Aurora?), and so they thwart my many attempts to get my belongings out of storage to be sent to Provo.

Now luckily, on Thursday the 9^th, we also discover that my company will take a letter from the SS office as proof that I have a SS Card and that I can just bring in the card when I get it in the mail (around the 23^rd) or when I get my stuff (before the 23^rd???). So like I said, I'll be starting work tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited. While it's fun to sit around and bother Debbie all day, the credit cards / bank accounts can only take so long with out me or her working.

But hopefully this tale is picking up pace towards happily ever after, but we'll have to see. I hope that we have something better to report in a day or two.

2007 Year In Review

2008-01-13T21:12:00.001-07:00

This is the time of year that we all get to take a look at our lives and realize how much we have to be and let our friends and family know what has been going on in our lives. Debbie & I aren't much of the mailing kind of people (or apparently the on time kind of people either), but we wanted to let you all know what's been going on in our lives.

Matthew spent this year working for AXA Advisors as a Financial Planner in their Salt Lake City office. He enjoyed the work and the people that he was able to work with, but it has always been our goal to live outside of the state of Utah. This being the case, he put his agent (Debbie) on the situation. She spent the late summer applying for close to a hundred jobs for Matt and he spent September interviewing with numerous companies. In the end, we decided to take a job with Northrop Grumman in Aurora, CO. He will be working in the finance department helping to keep the projects within the budget restrictions. He is very excited about this new position and new opportunity.

Debbie has finally finished school at Provo College in November. (Please remember that friends don't let friends go to Provo College!!) She is now eligible to take her national board exams, and upon passing this exam can work as an RN. It was an extremely difficult time for her and for us. The program was designed as a 14 month program, but it took closer to 20 months to actually finish, so we're extremely excited to be finished and free to move on to other opportunities. And now that she is done with school, Debbie is in high demand. She spent the last year working in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at Utah Valley Medical Center.

The Salt's have had an exciting year outside of work and school.

In February, to celebrate a break in Debbie's schooling & for Matt to do some work, we took a trip to AZ. Matthew has a sister in Tucson and Debbie had a sister in Tucson and Phoenix at the time. It was great to be out of the snow and into the beautiful weather. Matt played golf while Debbie played with the 2 nieces and nephew.

In July we took a trip to Denver (unknowing that it would be our future home) to visit one of Debbie's sisters and to be there for a nephew's baptism.

Later in July, we were able to take a trip to Washington DC with Debbie's sister, Sharon, and her husband, Spencer. It was a wonderful experience, and Matthew in particular loved being in such a beautiful and historic city. It worked out well because the boys enjoyed spending hours in the museum while the girls speed through and spent time visiting and urging their husbands to hurry up.

Later in the summer, we went to visit Matt's grandparents in Bandon, OR. Matt's parents rented a house about a 3 minute walk from the beach. It was a great time to visit with Matt's grandparents, relax near the ocean and to see all of the Salt family.

Well the time has come for us to pack our bags (and all our other stuff) and head out to our new home to be. We thought that some of you might be interested in having our new mailing address, so here it is:

We're very excited to start this new adventure in our lives and hope to hear from you all from time to time to let us know what your up to and where your lives have taken you. And if you're ever in the area, let us know so we can get together.

~ Matthew & Debbie