Les Grandes Tetons

What an adventure Jared and I had last weekend. I took a day off of work because we both really wanted to get OUT of Utah. When I say both of us, I mean mostly me.

Since I have been dying to go camping for the last few weekends, this was the perfect opportunity to do so, a long weekend, in-laws with camping gear we could borrow, a car full of gas, and the determination to drive 7 hours to get there. That drive could not have been more worth it.

Gotta love PB and Honey, the perfect hiking lunch.
Jared recently told me he ONLY likes white bread for PB sandwiches...spoiled. 

Hiking South from String Lake trailhead to Jenny Lake

Since they say that a picture is worth a thousand words, I won't labor over describing how beautiful those mountains are, I'll just post many many pictures. My first glimpse of them was breathtaking, as they peeked over the edge of the Idaho horizon under a stormy gray sky, and it just kept getting better as we got closer.

















We picked the perfect time of year to go, as the crowds were small, the air temperature cool (in the 60's and 70's the whole time), and the campsites plentiful.


Gotta love the green. I miss the trees. This weekend in Utah is registering +100 F. The thought of that is pure torture, just wait till tomorrow gets here. Yuck.












 Can you see the rainbow in this shot? It's there very faintly. Plus one point for awesome capture. Way to go Al.






























All along the shores of Jenny Lake, I kept stopping and saying, "can you hear that!?" Jared would reach for the bear spray.

No, Jared, the sound of waves down there on the rocks. I love the sound of waves.






Jared demonstrating that he will either:

A. Crush this hike
B. Fight the bears with our fists
C. Turn into Superman.


....in any case, I love him.

So, see the marmot over there on the right? This animal was strange. We kept hearing rustles in the bushes, and thought it was a chipmunk or a squirrel. We were wrong five times when this huge (size of a large cat) animal would pop out in front of us. They were not shy of humans at all.



This tree trunk actually asked me to a take a picture of it. Truth.


Of course I had to oblige. How often is it that trees speak to you? Unless you're a hobbit of course...

Cheese. 

Hidden Falls. Seriously hidden, but worth finding. 

In addition to the marmots, we saw a few pronghorn antelope, a red fox and at least 4 French families. Jared wondered why so many French. My only explanation, which I gave in jest, was that there must be some link to the French and the name of this mountain. I mean, Le Grand Teton en francais, basically means, the Big Tit, so there must be a loving relationship between them and the mountain. If that isn't typical of French culture I don't know what is. I guess hiking and exploring the outdoors, which the French also enjoy.

So, remember how I said I had many many pictures? Well here you go. This trip was also an excuse to be artsy. I indulged just a teensy bit.

Dinner. 

 We chose Colter Bay as our campground, and we definitely would like to go there again, it is right on the shores of Jackson Lake, which is the largest lake in the park, and affords stunning views of the Tetons. We enjoyed lots of good camp food: Jared ate an entire package of Hebrew National hotdogs (minus the one I ate) as we roasted them on the fire.

We learned a valuable lesson about camping: it is important that each person have a role. Jared and I divided responsibilities at the campsite.




I think this helped us to avoid conflict and arguments. Jared set up the tent. I made the fire and did the food. I realize we reverted back to caveman type roles, but it worked out for the best since when Jared tried to stoke the fire he ended up putting it out completely. Fortunately, I was able to get it lit again.

We love hiking, and the outdoors, and each other, and selfie shots. 

After our long hike ( 9 miles in 5 hours) we ate all those hotdogs, beans tomatoes, cleaned up so the bears wouldn't get us. Sprayed ourselves down with bug spray. Yes, the kind with DEET and walked right over to Jackson lake. It took us 2 minutes. The perfect spot. Commence photo shoot.



 Jared is really good a skipping rocks. I'm serious. This picture just doesn't show that skill. I was just being artsy.

Since you aren't supposed to take the rocks with you. I took pictures of the rocks. Beautiful, no?

Look at that sky. I wish all skies looked like that. Big, grand and beautiful.

Haha, yes. I did this. Stacking rocks. I couldn't resist. ironic since we ended up sleeping on rocks the whole night and we both woke up bruised. Next time we need to get better sleeping pads.

Dawn was cold, as it always is camping. So what better way to warm up than with a hot breakfast of skillet scrambled eggs, toast and honey. 

The recipe for below toast is a blue ribbon winner. How do I know? Jared ate 5 slices. Here's what you do. Get a cast iron skillet really hot. Put in a slab of butter and rub piece of bread in it, then let it get toasty. Flip. Serve topped with scrambled eggs and honey. It takes just like French toast without all the mess and ingredients.

 Alex cooks. Jared eats.


And eats some more.

Alex gets jealous, and steals Jared's food when he isn't looking.

Typical Saturday morning, so why should camping be any different?

Our bear box. They have one of these at all the camp spots. A great idea. One of those crazy adventure junkies should cover themselves in honey and lock themselves up inside to see if the bears really can get in or not.

Like that documentary  I saw once where this man built a "tough as nails" glass box, took it to Africa, and locked himself inside with a camera. Did I mention that his buddy put a slaughtered antelope on top?

That guy was attacked by lions all night long. Cool documentary. Watch it sometime, and rejoice in your sanity.

Back to the Tetons.

The Evans family has a tradition that started during the many European adventures we had.

Snickers bars are the preferred energy food. They are perfect, sweet and salty, and coated in chocolate. And if I'm going to eat something like that, I'd much rather have it in candy bar form rather than something gross like a FiberOne bar etc.

Dont judge us until you've tried it. You're life will change.

The small and middle Tetons. Unfortunately, the Grand Teton was covered in cloud most of the morning. We spent a few hours hiking to Bradley and Taggart Lakes. Very pretty. 

He's tough and gnarly, braving the rapids.

She loves butterflies and nature walks. 

They are a perfect pair. 

Our first view of Bradley Lake. This might have been my favorite lake of all the ones we hiked to. We decided that the next time we come up to Teton NP, we need to rent a kayak or two and spend the whole trip paddling around.

Alright! There's that mountain! Way to go Snickers! You got us through another 5 mile hike!

It pays to be huge. Your wife will take a picture and put it online. 

Toughness, Jared vs mountain. 

With only a Snickers bar. 

You can't see the back side of this log from the photo, but this is the worlds largest natural teeter totter. 

Moos has the BEST ice cream in Jackson, if not the best ice cream I have ever tasted. It is fresh made and organic. A perfect afternoon treat to enjoy in the sun at Jackson Hole.

Hiker a la mode. 

Enjoying this place like a fat kid in a candy store...oh wait...

Sorry Dahling, I'd love to stay, but I really mustache. 

Peace out Jackson.

Commence series of wild poppies. I love poppies. 

Wait, that's not a poppy. No, it's Jared getting ready to enjoy his birthday dinner at a cute local Italian restaurant in Driggs. He got a calzone as big as his head. I'm sad I didn't get a picture, but I guess that gives us an excuse to go back again. Also, if you ever drive through Driggs on a Friday morning, they have a wonderful farmer's market. We stopped on our way into Jackson, and sampled some of the best cheeses this side of the pond (raw goats milk and cows milk cheeses), looked fondly at beautiful craft projects that don't involve headbands for your babies (which is what the Provo Farmer's Market is RIDDLED with. Gross) and I actually ogled at the beautiful produce. I'm sad we couldn't get any. But, here's to hoping that the next place we move will have a great farmer's market.

All in all a perfect weekend. 

Happy Tails!

 Look at these beauties who wished us farewell on the drive home.


Jared indulged me COMPLETELY since he pulled over to the side of the road just to let me take pictures of horses.




I felt like I was channeling to energy of my father as I ran through the bushes, camera in hand, in the attempt to get the perfect shot.




Dad used to do that when we would take vacations. I remember once, we were driving in the rain, and we kids were all starving, I was probably 6. Suddenly, Dad stops the car, gets out in the rain and walks over to a pond, where he commences to squat down low and take pictures of the rain drops splashing the surface. Granted, he got some very cool pictures that later ended up on the walls in the house, but at the time all I thought was, "Dad, where are going, again?"

 Oh yes, and happy Trails as well. Until next time folks. 

Buffalo heat

picture credit tablespoon.com

Last night was Buffalo night at the Holloway house. University of Buffalo ranks as a top contender for dental school for us. Of course, we are only just in the beginning stages of applications, but still--you have to have dreams. I figured, on the chance that we get in there, we (meaning I) will have to learn to like Buffalo sauce. Buffalo wings were invented there, and in fact, locals just call them chicken wings. Calling them Buffalo wings brands you as an out-of-towner.

For dinner, we made Buffalo roasted cauliflower and Buffalo bleu cheese chicken pizza. Talk about a lot of Buffalo sauce--we went through 3/4 of a bottle of Franks buffalo sauce during this one meal. The pizza was delicious, but unfortunately, I made the roasted cauliflower wrong, so they were so hot and buffalo-y that we could barely eat them. It was fun  to try something new though, and we will have to make them again--the right way this time. Haley made them for us once during General Conference and they were delicious.

Jared has been devoted to shadowing and the dental school applications over the last week. He often comes home with gorey stories of people who have had their mouths bashed in with baseball bats and kids who have rotten candy teeth. Sometimes he smells like dental office....not my favorite smell in the world, but I'm sure I will one day come to love it. Or at least appreciate it.

I've been training for a triathlon again. I finally busted out my old bike and have started riding it to and from the train/work again. It's nice to feel the wind in my face again even if it is a short ride. I will have lots of weekends to take the bike down to the lake and ride around on the cycle paths there. I have yet to swim--the tricky thing is finding a pool not too expensive... but hey, I have until Sept 21 to get ready.

Evenings have started getting too hot again, I even broke down yesterday and turned on the air conditioner as soon as I got home. I always try to keep the air off for as long as possible, for two reasons 1. Saves money on electric bill. 2. Fresh air is good for you. But, there are times when I am extremely grateful we have AC. Like yesterday, when both my body and my mouth were sweating from the temperature and that Buffalo heat.

Geography nerd takes a hike.

Today was Memorial Day! It is always so nice to have a holiday from work and a beautiful summery day to spend with my husband. Especially when we get to spend it outside together.

Yesterday--Sunday--we had a fun family picnic with lots of the Holloway's. Jared and I started playing a game with 3 of the young boys, aged about 3, 5, and 6. The game consisted of them standing on one about 5 feet from me. I, or Jared would bounce a kickball at the ground and then the boys had to catch it. Probably one of the most simple games I have ever played, but they LOVED it. Soon, five other kids ran over and wanted to play with us. We moved our game out into a large grassy field, and Jared and I started punting the ball as high as we possibly could. This provided an opportunity for shrill screams from the girls as they crouched on the ground with their hands covering their heads waiting for the ball to drop. The boys, contrarily ran around arms outstretched trying to catch the ball. It was hilarious. The older girls soon started hogging the ball to themselves, and the younger kids started getting sad because they were not getting a turn any more. I reasoned with the girls about being fair and immediately the three year old ran up to me and said, "You're going to be the coach!". Cries of agreement rippled through the rest of the cousins.

Sure, why not? I'll be coach. A coach that occasionally gets bored with being coach and runs into the crowd, grabs two kids around the waist and runs pel-mel in between the other kids and intercepting the ball. A coach that won't let a real game happen--with scoring and rules etc. Since it was Sunday I didn't want to get into competition and feelings hurt so I said no when they asked if we could play soccer. I will have to play soccer with them some other time. Jared and I eventually wore ourselves out when each kid asked us to be twirled...

So today was a holiday!! And it was a perfect day. Jared and I both woke up early, and having planned the night before to have breakfast and leave a quick as possible, we actually accomplished our goal and were on the road by 9:00 am. Hooray!

We had no idea where we ought to hike, but wanted to try some place new. We drove up to Draper--by way of the pass that goes over the mountain rather than around on the I-15. There were gobs and gobs of bikers climbing that huge hill. We even drove past a team of cyclists speeding down the hill in the opposite lanes. I exclaimed, "oh man, my dad would love this! He'd be all, 'what kind of bike is that, what is that one, oh that is sooooo cool!'". Sorry dad, I didn't see what any of them were, but I'm pretty sure I've seen that team ride by when you were out here once before. They wear green and black.

So, back to finding a trail. Long story short, it took us 20 minutes, but we found a trail and started walking. We had no idea where it went, if it was even a public trail, or what kind of terrain we would find. We were pleasantly surprised by the following spectacular trail. Turns out it is called Corner Canyon Park. I very much want to go there again.

Mount Timpanogus. The snow is melting! Almost ready to be hiked!

Wild flowers, so pretty. 

Draper temple

We ran into some other hikers who said the trail we were on connected with another  that Trail-headed at Jacob's Ladder. Never been, but we will have to try it sometime

What a beautiful day. 

Yours Truly.  I was loving every minute of this hike. It went from rolling hills with deep water carved gullies to rugged, steep mountain slopes with sagebrush.

The smell reminded me of being a kid and going on hiking trips with my family.

I'm so happy that now I have this man in my family to share these new adventures with. He makes me so happy.  And he looks so good in his hiking boots. Those were one of the best things we ever bought--perfect for Utah. One day not long from now, I know I will miss getting to drive <30 minutes to spots like this.

Snack break

One of the greenest summer's we have had so far. The rain makes every day that much more beautiful. 

Being myself. Weird. 

Oh hey. 

I don't even know. But he looks pretty great doing what ever it is he's doing. 

Look at those cool rocks. 

We paused on this rock (below) and recovered our strength with a few snacks and water. While we sat reposing and planning a backpacking trip to Europe (ASAP), we heard a loud "Boom". The sound shuddered the air and was followed by 8 others. They were spaced out equally, and though we still don't know what caused them, we think that it was either dynamite in the Geneva rock quarry, or a cannon.

At this exact moment, Jared is singing, "I'm a maniac, Maniac! 

The best part of this morning hike was spending it with Jared. He is now in Billings, and tomorrow, he begins his week of shadowing. I'm really looking forward to hearing from him how it is going. Also because it's going to be lonely without this guy. He makes me smile. 

The Spice of Life

Who wants to know what has been happing in the life of the Holloway's recently?

**pause for raise of hands...

Jared has been unreachable these last few weeks, since he was so busy prepping for the upcoming DAT exam. Occasionally he'd holler at me from the den about how many apples Nancy has now, if Polly increased her ratio of oranges to apples by 3/4, and Nancy has a 2/3 ration of oranges to apples. Or something like that (quantitative reasoning). Anyways, I'd grab up a pen and scribble on paper all that I needed to know, then set about solving the problem. After coming up with an answer, I'd holler it back at Jared, whereupon, he'd come walking out of the den, scratching his head and asking, "What? That's right. How did you do that?"

Jared dear, God gave me the answer so you'd pay attention to me. Also, I'm a genius.

No, not really. But going over those questions helped him understand the "reasoning" of the problems, and boosted my confidence since clearly my entire brain has not yet turned to mush from lack of use.

The best part is now,  Jared has finally finished the DAT! After one solid month of 12 hour study days, after an endless of supply of wife-made PBJ's, and after bringing home 20 additional library books, he can rest. All his hard work has paid off, and with the score he got, we will definitely be applying to several schools in the next few weeks. We are thinking about five schools which we should have a reasonable chance of getting into.

We celebrated with Star Trek last night, and home made peach crisp for breakfast this morning. It's mostly peaches anyways, so not too unhealthy right?

(side note: ST was incredible, and if you have not seen it yet, or if you disagree with me, I might rip off your bangs)

This next week Jared is taking a trip to Billings, MT to shadow his uncle and several other dentists at the same office and to rack up those shadowing hours. It will be a special experience, since J will be exposed to dentistry for 12 hours a day. I think he will learn a lot and I can't wait to hear the stories when he gets back.

I am going to keep myself busy with exercise, working on my book, and cleaning the apartment.
I plan to deep clean the entire place, and live off cereal, as well as canned and frozen goods so I don't have to go to the store. If I make anything blog worthy, I'll post it, although the likelihood of this happening in slim. Food just is not my priority this week. My co-workers were joking with me that they would come into the office each morning and find that I'd been camping overnight, since there is no reason for me to go home this week with Jared gone, and since my commute is so long. I guess it's something to consider...no. I could never stay in the office that long. I'd feel like I was suffocating--I need fresh air!

our little basil plants :)

You know what else needs fresh air? Plants. Jared bought me a window box herb garden for mother's day, and 4 days ago I noticed a tiny little green speck--our basil is coming up!!

On Friday, I had the BEST phone run with Rachael. When she lived in Utah we used to run together, and now that she lives in VA, we found a new way to continue our runs. We call each other up, put in head phones with speakers, and off we run. She in her neighborhood, and I in the Memorial Grove canyon of Salt Lake. It is such a treat to have such a great friend!

 I'm looking forward to having some fun with Jared now that he is done with that confounded test. Good thing tomorrow is Memorial day! Stay tuned for photos.

Here is what we made on Friday to prep Jared for the DAT.

Gluten free cheesy bread and turkey Ragu (a red sauce with meat).

Blog Resurrected

Guess what!?!?!?!?!

I got a new computer. Finally. And it is awesome. And it is a Mac.

Jared said to me on Saturday, after purchase of said awesomeness, "Can I play with it a little bit too?"
I was always one, when after Christmas or a birthday, NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE, could play, touch or man-handle my new things until I had broken them in. I'm still like this. Perhaps not my best characteristic, but we all have things about ourselves that we are not proud of. So, sorry husband, you'll have to wait. I still love you.

Here is picture of me and my mum from the best Wednesday I've ever had. She came out to visit and we spent the whole day having a blast shopping, chatting, and laughing. I miss her already.

So, since I'm a foodie, and now I've got a great new computer, here is the most recent deliciousness we sampled. This is an old favorite my roommate used to make for our apartment, back when I was single.

White Chicken Chili 

makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast cooked and shredded
1 Tb olive oil
1 white onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic
8 oz diced green chiles
2 15 oz cans Great Northern beans
4 C water
1 Tb "Better than Bouillon" chicken base
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1 C plain yogurt


Toppings:
chopped tomato
diced avocado
1 C Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:
In a large dutch oven, or soup pot, heat oil on medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until translucent. Add the chicken, chiles, beans, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper, salt, chicken broth (water and base mixed together). Simmer 30-45 minutes. Add the yogurt and cook another five minutes while stirring. Serve with cheese, avocado, and tomatoes. 

Note to chef: I boiled the chicken first, then reserved 4 cups of the water to use in the chili. 

And now for the  cornbread!

Preheat the oven to 400 F and place the cast iron skillet in the oven with 1 Tb butter. 

Sweet cornbread, tastes better than Jiffy+ cake mix

Ingredients:

1 C all-purpose flour

3/4 C cornmeal

2 Tb sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

2 eggs, beaten

1 C milk

1/4 C canola

Directions:

In a medium bowl stir together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder.  In separate, small bowl combine oil, eggs and milk. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Pour batter into hot skillet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

Also Haley came down from Logan so we could attend one of our best friends' weddings. This family has been our friends for the last 15 years or more so we were so happy to attend the wedding reception.

Sisters, sisters, never were there such devoted sisters

I'm gonna keep my eye on her

Already May

I have been getting into lots of trouble recently for not updating my blog. Ever. 

Please note: my personal computer just really isn't working great, and I have been trying to shop for a new one. However, shopping online for new computers, on a computer that doesn't want to work, usually gets me no where fast, so that search has been going on since February.

To justify spending the money on a new computer below is a list of other things besides this blog that require a new computer: 

I have a new business plan in the work
I have book to write
I need to use email/facebook to communicate with the women in my ward as part of my new calling
Jared needs my help with dental applications this summer, < 1 month away
TV shows while I ride my bike on my new wind trainer :).
Register for Bear Lake Brawl and other triathlons and races this summer
Email and skype my friends who live far far away.
More ideas and stitches for my embroidering phase/craft projects
Do something awesome with all the pictures on my camera.

Did I mention my family? I need to be able to skype with them's too, since it will be Christmas by the time I go home again.

For now here is shout out to all our homies, groupies, fans, enemies, old neighbors, friends, study buddies, running buddies and gang members across the world!

 Miss you lots, look for more updates soon!