I have made two more backgrounds with corresponding headers for the blog. One is a fall theme and one is just for fun. I saw a way cute paper in all the digiscrap stuff I downloaded yesterday and was inspired to turn it into a background :)

Who doesn't love cake?
Doesn't Rachel have a cute smile?
YUM!

They like to beat on each other ;)

Me & cute Jenn

Presents!

Michelle, Camile, & Jennifer Presents are quite as exciting when they're not your own.

Matt caught a McKade!

More presents!

Gracie got 2 Barbies!

With a little help from TCBOTB, Photoshop Elements, and various free digiscrap stuff, I have customized my own background and header. TCBOTB even told me how to get rid of the little border around my header - which is nice, cuz it was never even, nor did it go all the way around my header picture. TCBOTB also directed me to a site with color hex codes, so I could actually find colors to match what I'd done. I had fun playing with Elements too, finding more effects and whatnot to further customize things without utilizing scrapbook stuff. In fact, the only things from the scrapbook world are the butterflies and ribbons. The rest was Photoshop. All in all, I'm quite pleased with my first original blog design. :)

The day after Pioneer Day! Too bad it doesn't have a cool name. Anyway - So I worked the 24th evening and left Matt to his own devices. I thought, Maybe his family is doing fireworks and he can go to that? I don't know what he did, really, but I had made plans with Shawn and Darren for a movie and cookie night on Saturday - but then Darren had to work (you bum!). It all worked out very well, though. Jason was kind enough to remind Matt that we had a family get-together with the Covalt side. So after working (yay for OT!), we rode down to Payson where we had a nice bbq. Jenn and I mostly hung out trying to get the other kittens who aren't so keen on people. We also finished naming them. Lynx wouldn't let us catch him (or her?), but he would attack my fingers rustling in the hay - and then he'd nibble on me. lol I don't really know what all Matt did since I was busy playing with the kitties. It was fun to visit with family that we don't see quite as often.

Well, this post was much more lame than the fun we had. Oh well. At least I posted again ;)

Yay for not being in parades! They aren't half bad when you get to watch. Especially if you have kids. Kids are so dang cute! I took the morning off of work to go watch the parade and then hang with my mom's side of the family at our now traditional bbq after the parade. Usually (I think), a lot more of my family attend the parade. Well this year, I parked at my cousin Tammy's as they were getting ready to go. It was Tammy, my aunt Chris, and Angie's three kids (Kaitlyn, Cambria, & Milton). It was cool. Guess who we ended up next to? Hmm, Shawn and Darren. How funny! So I chatted with them quite a bit. My uncle David and his two kids, Benjamin and Rebecca, also showed up part way through. My Grandpa Wilson was in the parade with the American Legion as well, which I didn't know was happening. I totally was going to take my camera....but I left it home :( Bad things happen when you're in a hurry. Poor White Peaks looked kinda small, but they sounded alright. It was only them and the Payson High School Pipe Band in the parade. (Days of '47 is in Salt Lake, so the northern bands do that - suckers, I hear it's a killer.) Usually Timpanogos makes an appearance at Spanish Fork, but no such luck.

Part way through the parade, Kaitlyn came over and sat on my lap. She's so cute! She's all, "Amber, it's been a long time since we've seen you." I'm pretty sure she had to ask Tammy or Chris what my name was - that's how often we see Angie's family. And they have been so little! So she chatted away while we watched the end of the parade. Near the end, she asked if it was over because she was tired of watching. So cute!

Anyway, after the parade, we walked back to Tammy's to relax before the bbq. I got to play with the kids some more and chat with Tammy - which we don't normally talk (or see each other, I might add). It was fun. The kids made birthday cards for their grandpa (my uncle Mike...one of my uncles Mike...) It was then that I noticed Angie's Kaitlyn was spelled that way.... I must say that I'd decided on that name with the exact spelling for if I ever get a girl. I came by it on my own... so Ange, if I do ever get pregnant and do have a girl, don't feel I'm name stealing! (K, now I probably would never name my daughter Kaitlyn since it would be the exact same as her second cousin...but I just wanted to point this out.)

Around 1pm, the rest of the fam began to show up. Grandma and Grandpa Wilson and Steven were first. Lloyd and Debbie showed up a little after that. Then eventually the Beardalls and David and Edna arrived. (The Wilson side is notorious for being late - some more so than others...) I was just excited I had enough time for some lunch before I had to go to work. :) It was way fun to hang out with my family. It seems to get harder and harder to get everyone together as the grandkids continue to get older. Sigh. And to think, I'm not going to the reunion either. :p Work officially sucks (Matt's, not mine - stupid no saturdays off....)

Just to start things off, I have to say that HP was awesome! The end.

But on to what I really want to blog about ... our anniversary trip! I had been pondering what to do for our anniversary for awhile. After Matt's aunt mentioned a few months ago that her 2nd anniversary was the last before kids....well, that could be true for us too! (With the way things are going, it might not be, but ya gotta make it count!) Last year, our anniversary sort of snuck up on us. We did dinner and a movie. How boring ;) So as I was trying to come up with ideas, I was thinking a night or two in a B&B would be kind of nice. It had to be far enough away to warrant paying money, though. And it also should be in an area where there is something to do during the day. Oh! And it had to be affordable. Let me tell you now, these three criteria are not met in Utah.

I really didn't want to just stay in a nice hotel in Provo or Salt Lake (or anywhere in between). We did SL for our honeymoon. It was nice, but I wanted to do something! Well, I got a BRILLIANT idea! One that I think meshes my desire to go somewhere and Matt's desire to take the bike everywhere - a motorcycle road trip! I told you it was brilliant!

Then I had to decide where we were going. Initially, I was thinking south - just take roads besides I-15 and explorer rural Utah. Being on the bike with no real set agenda would mean we can stop at random history markers or whatnot along the way. I decided Southern Utah was hot and boring in this regard, though. So why not head North? August is still way hot, and it might be nice to go somewhere a tad cooler.

My cousin Natalie and her husband, Dave, are in Montana for the summer working at the Pinecone Playhouse. Natalie had said we should come see a show... unfortunately, we won't be able to actually see one. However! we can at least see them and say hi :)

So here's my current plan (I'm so stoked!):
Saturday - Aug. 8:
After Matt gets off work, and we're all set to go, we will head up to Heber for a bite to eat, and then to Park City to browse the outlets. Then we'll head over to Evanston to stay the night.

Sunday - Aug. 9:
Sacrament meeting at 9 in Evanston then head north. Make a slight detour to the east to see Fossile Butte National Monument and maybe get a snack. Then we'll head up to Alpine, WY and get lunch near Palisades Reservoir. After lunch, we head up to Jackson, where we may or may not stop (I still don't understand why people flock there - and we'll be too early for the Scottish Festival), then a drive through the Grand Teton National Park - where being on a bike pays! ($20 instead of $25 - and the pass is good for Yellowstone, too!) After we fight through traffic (they're doing construction :p), we'll head up through Yellowstone and stay overnight in West Yellowstone. Hopefully Nat & Dave will have some time to play with us that night or Monday morning.

Monday - Aug. 10:
Do a little more Yellowstone and then head down to Malad, where my Grandpa Wilson grew up. I've driven past a bit, but never actually gotten off the freeway to see what is there. We'll probably stop for lunch in Idaho Falls. After wandering around Malad, we'll head down to Promontory and visit the Golden Spike National Monument. Then we'll spend the night either in Ogden or SL.

Tuesday - Aug. 11 (our actual anniversary):
If we're in Ogden (which is what I'm leaning towards), we'll go to the dinosaur park. Then we may stop in SL at the zoo, too. I don't think I've been since our honeymoon. Then it's home! However, Grandma Wilson's birthday is the 11th, so I'm thinking we may go to a nice dinner and take her and Grandpa.

So this is how it is working out in my head. Now we have to assess if we are going to buy luggage for the bike. (I don't know if I could sit on it with saddle bags - but perhaps a nice tank bag?) I'm going to make hotel reservations so we can hopefully get better rates, too. I also have to talk to Natalie to see if they can play with us, and find out if Grandma and Grandpa will let us take them out to dinner..... and I have to make sure we have the funds to pay for all of it!

Matt already has the time off (I was going to be so mad if he didn't get it), and I will definitely take the camera. My goal is to not only get pics of the places, but of us, too! I have like 3 of Matt from our honeymoon is all. lol I'm getting better, though. So you all have something to look forward to mid-August now ;)