Ring of Fire

This ominous orange glow, the air thick with the smell of smoke making it almost hard to breath, ashes raining down from fires near by. Fear and anxiety.



Ash in the parking lot at work.

These are what the past few days have been like. Great big wildfires breaking out all around Utah. People being evacuated from their homes and some of them have nothing to return to. Many many Firemen and women out everyday trying to contain these beasts just for another one to flare up. We are only at the end of June and everything is already burning out of control. With it being the driest month since 1914, I guess that shouldn't be a surprise.

~The first in Saratoga Springs "Dump Fire" started last Thursday (6/14/12) by target shooting. About 2,300 evacuees were allowed to return to their homes Saturday evening after officials determined the blaze no longer posed a threat to them. The fire has burned over approx. 6,023 acres and was 30 percent contained Saturday evening.

Saratoga Springs "Dump Fire"

~The second is the "Wood Hollow Fire" that started on Saturday (6/23/12) by what they believe was copper wire thieves, which caused the ground wire to get hot. As of today it has burned approx. 46,400 acres. Officials were still estimating that about 56 structures have been destroyed but that number could increase. Many cattle and livestock (one person reported their heard of 100 sheep) couldn't be evacuated in time and were lost in the fire. A fatality was also discovered by search and rescue crews. As of this morning they have it 25% contained and Fairview residents have been allowed to return to their homes (still evacuated in Indian Ridge, Elk Ridge, Big Hollow and Oaker Hills). This has been devastating for so many people and is even scarier because it's so close to home.


"Wood Hollow Fire"

Some of the ash at our house.

~The third is the "Seeley Fire" (15 miles northwest of Huntington, near Huntington Canyon and Gentry Mountain in the Manti-LaSal National Forest). It started by dry lightning on Tuesday (6/26/12), has now burned approx. 20,300, and is not yet contained.

"Seeley Fire"

~The forth is the "Clay Springs Fire" that is burning East of Delta. It has burned approx. 47,000 acres and about 15% containment. The town of Oak City was evacuated, but families were able to return to their homes Thursday but are still on standby.

"Clay Springs Fire"

~And now just today within the last hour there is a big one that started and took off in Rose Canyon in Herriman with mandatory evacuations in place. 3 homes already consumed by fire.

"Rose Canyon Fire"

Utah is on fire....stay safe everyone...

Curiouser & curiouser!

Have you ever seen such a strange thing as an apple with on outy?!

Not I! It had to be documented!

Back to the Future!

Antler Fest

Today was the AntlerFest here in good ol' Nephi! As you probably already guessed we have been pretty excited for this day to get here! Marcel even ordered us shirts early so we'd have them in time to wear today!

Apparently Toby wanted his picture taken too! :)

It was awesome and we spent the majority of the day there (taking multiple trips to go with my dad and Jes who came over too)! They are saying that next year will be even bigger and we can't wait! We bought some good stuff (new hats incuded, whoop whoop!!) but the main thing was WAM-Wild Antler Magic. It helps color sheds from white back to what they would've looked like when they were freshly dropped and let me tell you, it seriously is magic!

Now time for a funny story: Shortly after we bought this kit we went home to try it out on some of our sheds. There was a packet in the kit that Marcel wasn't sure about so we took a trip back to the AntlerFest to ask the Vender about it. A few minutes after we walked in the building they called Marcel's name for the free drawing because he'd won a prize! I walked over to see what he'd won & guess what it was.... 

Yep! Another WAM kit! Score!! We'll be set for quite a while now!

Here are the finished sets just to show you how awesome this stuff works! Marcel did them all in just a few hours (along with a bunch of our other single sheds)!

Another story: Marcel went to help his friend Jeff Hansen set up some stuff for the AntlerFest last night. While helping him move some sheds around there was one that caught his eye. The way it curved at the end really resembled the monster shed he found last year that he's hiked miles searching for it's mate. Could this be it? He wasn't sure so this morning he took our side with us to compare and sure enough, they match! A pair once again united!

Jeff was a pal and told Marcel he'd trade him for it (Marcel was almost giddy to have this match) so we took them home, Marcel stained our side to match (Jeff had already WAMed the other side), we put it on a skull kit and viola!!

It's no longer a mystery as to why Marcel couldn't ever find the other side. Not because Jeff found it but because there was 6 miles between the two! This buck is a traveler!! We are really hoping to find him this year on either Marcel's-Bow or my-Muzzle Loader hunt! Strike is getting really lonely all alone up on our wall!! ;) 

1st year down!

One year ago today Marcel started his dream job! I can't believe how fast that went by! He's accomplished a lot in that year and I'm truly grateful and so proud of him! He is so amazing! We love the Salt Lake City Fire Department and look forward to many more years with them and the great people that serve there!

Congrats guys on surviving the first year!


That is one smokin' hott Fireman! I'm one lucky girl! ;)

I love you tons Hun! <3

*mwah*

Father I love you!

Father's Day this year was pretty laid back, which I loved! Marcel came home from work just as the stuffed french toast was coming out of the oven for breakfast!

After the scrumptious breakfast we relaxed on the couch for a while and ended up taking a nap! Love those naps!

Once we were caught up on a few Z's we headed to Moroni where we had a delicious lunch followed by my Fire Cake!

Austen, Jes, Mom, Dad, Uncle Mathew, Grandma, Grandpa, & my 2 crazies! 

We ended the evening watching the new Sherlock Holmes (SO good!). I love days like these that are spent relaxing with the ones you love!

A day of tribute to those dads we love so much!

What is a Dad?

A dad is someone who

wants to catch you before you fall

but insead picks you up,

brushes you off,

 and lets you try again.

A dad is someone who

wants to keep you from making mistakes

but instead lets you find your own way,

even though his heart breaks in silence

when you get hurt.

A dad is someone who

holds you when you cry,

scolds you when you break the rules,

shines with pride when you succeed,

and has faith in you even when you fail...

~Author Unknown

*My dad isn't a man of many words but you always know where you stand with him. This poem sums up so much of what I feel for my dad. He is always there for me and always has been. He has worked so hard his whole life and sacrificed so much just to make sure we had/have it good. He is a tough guy but he would never hurt anyone (unless they threatened those he loves). He is always helping others and always puts himself last. I look forward to his hugs when I visit because they make the world feel safe and just like that I feel like Daddy's little girl again! There is so much warmth and love in those strong embraces! He has accepted Marcel from the very beginning and treats him like his own, which I know Marcel really appreciates! My dad has a smile that lights up his face and when he laughs you can't help but join him! He has the greatest personality too! So many great memories playing tag around the house, dancing around whether there is music playing or not, karate, marbles, drawing, school projects, the list goes on and on! I love this man to the moon and back and I'm so very lucky I get to call him Dad! 

Famous Face

  Guess who was spotted in little Mt. Pleasant Utah earlier this week? Go ahead, just try and guess! And in Cavalier Pizza no less!

No guesses? Let me give you a few hints..... Taken, Clash of the Titans/Wrath of the Titans, A-Team, Narnia, Batman Begins, Battleship....just to name a few! What do all of these movies have in common? 

Photo via facebook (of course!)

Liam Neeson that's who!!!!

I can't even believe it!! Liam Neeson spending some time in little Mt. Pleasant Utah of all the places in this big big world! Can you say "WHAT"?! I am so unbelievably jealous that I didn't get to meet him because let's be honest, that's probably as close as I'll ever get to him. A mere 30 miles between me and this great actor. There is no justice!!

Cake Boss

 My dearest sister-in-law Suzanna invited me to a cake decorating class for "Ladies Night Out" (once a month the VA has a group of military wives get together and do something fun)! We were taught how to make fondant and then got to decorate our cakes with it!

We seriously had so much fun and will for sure be doing more cake decorating in the future!

Close up of my Fire Cake!

Take me out to the ball game!

Yesterday the Relief Association for Salt Lake City Fire Department provided tickets for us to go to a Bee's game for free! We met up with some friends and grabbed a bite to eat at an interesting pub called "Lucky 13". I wish I wouldn've taken some pictures while we were there but I forgot to. I took a quick one as we were leaving after the game though (it's across the street from the Bee's Stadium)!

Good food, great fries, and excellent fry sauce! If you go there don't forget your ID because they check it at the door! :)

The game ended up being pretty fun and we had a lot of laughs! We always have a great time with these two!

Andrew, Alesha, & us! No Andrew doesn't look like that normally! ;)

Marcel and I ended up leaving at the beginning of the 8th to beat traffic and to get home to Toby since he'd been in his kennel for about 6hrs so I don't even know who ended up winning! Regardless it was a fun night and a good time out with friends!

A Day Away

I love the mountains. It is my happy place. So peaceful and refreshing. It always smells good and it's pretty hard to be stressed when you're there. You can think clearer and just relax. I'm lucky to have a husband who shares this love for the mountains! We decided to go for a 4-Wheeler ride yesterday to enjoy our happy place!

Some scouting was done of course!

Me collecting pretty rocks! Marcel LOVES when I do this! ;)

 We ended up finding an old mining cave that we ventured into which was terrifying to me but Marcel loved it! I didn't snatch a picture of the cave because I was focused on getting away! Luckily Marcel was brave and took one for me! :)

We had such a good time together out in nature just enjoying the beautiful day and each others company! Can't wait to do it again soon!

3-Alarm Fire

Marcel's station was awoken by the Station Alarm paging them to a fire.

Pic. sent to me by Marcel via text. Kinda scary to wake up to!!

They rotated stations to take care of the fire and had to go back later for mop up. It made for an eventful day!

Pic. via text from Marcel of "clean up"! ;)

The fire made KSL (more pictures there):

"SALT LAKE CITY — A grass fire burned about two acres Saturday morning.

The fire, the cause of which is unknown, started just before 6 a.m. Love Communications was filming in inside bar and music venue, The Garage, at 1199 N. Beck Street in Salt Lake when one of the crew members noticed the fire behind the building. The salvage yard containing old tires and cars, as well as railroad ties had caught fire.



Pics courtesy of KSL

"It got really intense at the end, people were yelling because the heat was so intense and then all of a sudden, it's like it's not worth it anymore," said Preston Wood, who was filming with Love Communications.

The back end of The Garage, where the office is, caught fire, but firefighters quickly extinguished it and removed computer equipment and filing cabinets before they caught fire. The bar is expected to be closed for about two weeks. Saturday night's show will be moved to the Gallivan Center.

The fire, which was called in as a grass fire, turned into a three-alarm fire, and crews were concerned with the blaze spreading to a nearby Tesoro oil refinery. The refinery's private fire department was called in to help with preventative measures.

No injuries were reported as a result of the blaze.
Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the fire, and are looking to the video of the filming crew that reported the fire for possible leads. The Salt Lake City Fire Department was on scene for most of the day monitoring for rekindling."

Jes is officially an adult!!

Jes turned the big 21 yesterday!! We had a delicious dinner and then headed to watch "Snow White and the Huntsman" (which is SO good! We loved it!).

After the movie we opened presents and ended the night with some scrumptious cake and ice cream!

I love the pretty flowers amongst the Batman Figurines!

 

Happy Birthday to the prettiest, smartest, silliest, creative, most talented sister ever! I love you Jes!

WeeWoo WeeWoo!

Station 2 got a new fire engine and guess who got to be the first to drive it?!

Needless to say he was pretty dang nervous!! However he did very well and there were no accidents! ;)