Brian Head

We though it was finally time to post pictures from our trip to Brian Head, we were there from July 24-27. Brian Head is a ski-resort about 45 minutes away from Cedar City. The elevation is around 10,000 feet so when everybody else had temperatures in the 100's the high for us was a little over 70 degrees. We were there for the Godfrey family reunion (My, Erik, mother's side). Near the resort is Cedar Breaks, which is similar in geography to Bryce Canyon National Park.


Here is my Dad and I on a trail that went around the rim of Cedar Breaks

This is my cousin Blake and I keeping up on our scouting skills by utilizing the "scout chair."

The wildflowers on the trail were very nice. As was the cabin we stayed in. It had many beds, and also came with a Playstation 2...So here is my father playing a little Guitar Hero at the cabin. We never knew he was such a rocker.


Here we have the happy couple at the Pizza Factory in Cedar City. Those lovely skewers were breadsticks. Very tasty. We were in Cedar City for the Shakespearean Festival. We saw "Two Gentlemen From Verona" and that night we were going to see "Fiddler On The Roof," which is not a Shakespeare, but was an awesome show.

NObama

Our Trip to Happiness (a vacation, not drugs)

We went on a trip this last weekend to two of the best places on earth, Yellowstone and the Tetons, thanks to Chris and Kathy! They are so good to us. I guess that the Merkley's used to go here all the time, but Erik hasn't been for years, and neither have I. We decided that the abundance of visible wildlife was actually a celebration commemorating my return after 10-plus years.

This elk was grazing right on the side of the road, just for us. Within the first couple of hours in Yellowstone, we had already seen bison, elk, a bald eagle, a Grizzly, and two black bears. It was amazing. The weird thing is that we saw three bears, but no moose (meese? mooses?). Here's our first black bear. I know the shot's not great, but that's about as close as I was going to get after Chris and Kathy regaled me with stories of bear attacks leaving nothing but lips.

I wasn't as worried about this variety.

We headed to Mammoth Hot Springs to look at the sights, but this was about as exciting as it got. For whatever reason, the hot springs are almost entirely gone. There were only about two or three little pools left in the whole region. There were all these boardwalks leading nowhere - it was kind of sad.



In celebration of the Fourth, Chris brought along his enormous flag. Actually, the flag just goes wherever Chris does. This is now my second trip with the flag. Thankfully, this trip didn't involve posing in front of the flag in a swimsuit (aren't you glad). This is the cabin we stayed at in Island Park. It was a great place, and since there was a full kitchen, we had a lot of great meals from the Merkley women (and men).

Like this one! Even casual picnics seemed like gourmet meals. Here's everyone that came, except Camille and Chris. We all wished that the missing parts of our families could have been there.

Here's a highlight of our trip: little Eliza. This is the first time we've met Taylor and Kaitlin's new baby, and she's darling. As you can tell by his face, Erik wants one for Christmas. I, on the other hand, was reminded of just how much work babies are.

See? That could be you, Erik...

We went to Harriman State Park the next day, had a fabulous camp stove breakfast by Rob and Jen, and went hiking. We have fond memories of the horse manure and the flies.




A Chris and Kathy original. It happened spontaneously, but by the time I got the camera out, it was over. I had to ask them to reenact this for posterity.

Here's our last day in Yellowstone, hiking to the falls:





Sunday night we stayed at the Jackson Lake Lodge in the Tetons. When we first caught sight of the Tetons, Erik nearly wept. I'm not sure that he's ever been that excited to see me, but then I've never been absent for eight years. He hasn't even known me that long.





Kathy kept remarking on how happy she was on this trip; I think they both felt that way. I'm pretty sure that part of Erik's happiness stemmed from the enormous breakfast buffet Monday morning. This should give you an idea.


After such a breakfast, it's no suprise that Kathy took us on a hike around String and Leigh Lakes.


Erik in front of Zoe's mountain. Hello, Zoe.


There's probably not a more beautiful spot on earth. How blessed we are to live in such a world, and to have such good relatives to vacation with. And if the Tetons are my only competition, I think I can handle that.

The Man I Married

We had to buy a microwave when we moved to our new apartment, so after much examination of the two items at Target, this is what we got. That's not the news, by the way. When I unpacked it and set it up, I of course read the instruction manual so that I could understand the intricacies of our newest appliance. Good thing, too, because it has buttons like "melt," "soften," "warm," and "reheat" in addition to start and defrost. After all that, I was a little disappointed that it wouldn't just pop out whatever I ordered, like on Star Trek. When Erik first tried to use this technological wonder, he was a little baffled. This is where he proved his worth to me. Instead of doing something typically male, like punching every button twice or asking me to do it, he pulled out the instruction manual and solved his own problem.


I'm so proud!

Spa Night

Waiting for the mask to harden
So fresh and so clean-clean

A few weeks ago Lauren and I were both fairly stressed out. We were planning a move, worrying about medical school, and just ready for a break, so for our date of the week Lauren suggested "Spa Night." Now don't picture us wrapped up in seaweed and covered in mud, because that's not what happened. We both put on a "mask" and then watched a movie. I don't remember much about the movie because Lauren was giving me a foot rub. So spa night was a smashing success. Be warned, I am taking the names of those who are laughing at me or calling me a whoopsie.

Um, Change of Plans...

On Saturday the 23rd I opened the mailbox and discovered a letter from the U of U admissions office. My heart sank, because it was only a letter and not a packet, but then I thought, why would they be sending us anything unless it was an acceptance letter? After all, we are on the alternate list. I ran inside and called Erik frantically three times, but he didn't answer (being at work was no excuse - what if I was bleeding to death?). Finally I just texted him the news and waited. When he clued in, he paced around at work for a while, and then finally gave up and pedaled his little heart out home. He was shaking so badly I almost offered to open the envelope for him, but I already knew the answer to that one. As I'm sure you've guessed by the fact that I'm even posting this, we got in!! I didn't realize until then how much I didn't want to move to Missouri, because I'd been trying to be so supportive and see the positive. We'll be close to family, I get to student teach and graduate in December, I get to walk at my graduation, we'll still have mountains so I know which way is north, I don't have to have a baby far away from everyone, our move will only take a day or so instead of a week, med school is half the cost... can you tell I'm excited? I really was ok with Missouri, we all were, but we're so much happier about SLC. The first thing we did was to get down on our knees and thank God for this blessing. We put this into his hands a long time ago, and he has answered our prayers and reaffirmed our faith in him. He truly is a loving Father; we know that he would have taken care of us wherever we went. We've been humbled by the knowledge that there were others more deserving of admission. The joke around the Merkley house is that Kathy was praying us in to the U, and it looks like it worked. Chris admonished her that you can't make deals with the Lord, but I don't think she'll believe him now! Thank you all again for your prayers and support - we know they've helped buoy us up when things got difficult. And hey, if you know of any housing in SLC, give us a call!



We had to throw this picture in to alarm sports fans. Don't worry, Erik will never support U of U athletics. He's a Cougar fan til he dies. However, we will support the U of U medical department. Remember that previous blog title that said, "We Hate the U of U"? Yeah, we take it back.

Missouri Bound

For those of you who haven't heard yet, Erik was accepted at a med school in Kirksville Missouri! It's called A.T. Still University, and it's way out in the boonies. The nearest airport is two hours away in Kansas City. I have never lived that far from civilization before. It should be a good experience for me. It'll also be a good experience for our wallet: the cost of living there is as cheap or cheaper than Logan, and shopping options are definitely meager. WalMart is probably the biggest thing to hit that town since the university was built back in the late 1800's. We're both a little nervous to move somewhere completely unfamiliar and distant from family, but it should be a fun adventure. It's only an hour or so from Nauvoo - which is our closest temple - and there are tons of state parks nearby. When Erik interviewed out there, he drove past all sorts of church landmarks like Adam-ondi-omen (sp?). There are a lot of LDS students out there, and there's even an Institute class and LDSSA. Everyone we've talked to loves it out there, which is reassuring. School starts the latter part of August, so we need to get going on finding a place to live. The hard part is that we've had contact with the U of U lately, and they're reviewing Erik's file and asking him questions about his plans. We'd like to think that means he could be accepted there, but we don't dare plan on it or delay plans for Missouri. What a frustrating process this is! We'd like to stay in Utah, especially because I have a student teaching placement in SLC, but who knows what'll happen. We're just thrilled that Erik was accepted and that we have a viable option for this fall. Thanks for all your prayers and support on our behalf!