Griswold Family Fourwheeler Ride

Our first weekend home Landon and I finally got to visit our family in Panguitch! It was so good to see some familiar faces. We were there for three days. We played lots of games, ate lots of food, saw lots of family, and went on a fourwheeler ride! Now Fullmer family fourwheeler rides are nothing like when I grew up. Ours consisted of twenty minutes to the sand dunes and back, but theirs are all day, pack a lunch, see some sights kind of riding.... and I LOVE it!

Part of the charm of the rides are the crazy contraptions that Bruce and Di-izzle wear on their faces. I'm talking goggles and surgical masks. (Unfortunately, I have no photographic proof of this.) It's a kick. 

Sid and Klyn

Above: Kade and Kambree Below: Di-izzle and Kodee

We left the farm at about 11:00 and rode up Casto Canyon, across to Tropic Reservoir, down Proctor Canyon to Hatch and then back to Panguitch. It was a gorgeous ride! 

 

We had to keep stopping and waiting for Bruce. It did not take long for Sid and Dianne to figure out that he was stopping to collect pretty rocks that he could make arrow heads out of. After we had been waiting for about 10 minutes he would come riding up with the front of his fourwheeler completely loaded with rocks. Hilarious. 

Dianne packed the yummiest lunch! She had made chicken salad, homemade rolls, and Chex mix. Landon and I love when we visit her because she always makes the best food. I got some recipes from her this weekend, but have yet to attempt any of them. My face was filthy. I don't know why, but I always seem to get dirtier than other people on these outings. 

Of course we played games this trip and I am devastated to say I lost at all of them! On Sunday, we went to Landon's cousin's farewell so we got to see most of the extended family. It was good to see them and I am finally starting to recognize faces and be able to group them with the appropriate family. Names....? Not so much. But I'm optimistic. I love visiting Panguitch, our trips there are always so laid back. I'm really lucky to have in-laws that I love. Thank you so much for all the work... and food that goes into our visits Di-iz. I really appreciate it! 

SO long....

We made it home! We had the most outrageous trip. It was a 21 hour drive and we oh so brightly decided that we were going to do in one straight shot. We left San Antonio at 10:30 p.m. on Friday night. The first three hours went by without a hitch and neither of us were really feeling tired at all until about 2:30 at which point I asked Landon to pull over so that I could brush my teeth and wash my face at a gas station. I was so embarrassed everytime someone would walk into the bathroom. I really looked homeless with my little cosmetic caboodle, scrubbing my face in the dirty little sink. 

Driving while it was dark was actually by far the easiest part, we made it clear to New Mexico before the sun came up. Once it did though, the time seemed to crawl! 

Here is the border patrol that we had to go through to get home. It was actually pretty funny because our car was SO loaded with crap. The little guy looked through the window with a flashlight and asked us both if we were citizens. When Landon said he was the guy asked him if he was from Canada because of his crazy accent. (?) It would have been so easy for us to smuggle a couple of illegs under all the luggage.... Hmmm, we probably could have made a little gas money doing that. 
Landon and I were SO tired at about 7:30 so we stopped to get some hot chocolate and walk around a bit. We went through some serious roller coaster emotions. Some times one or both of us would get so tired that we would take a 20 minute "power nap" which was actually just closing your eyes for a few moments. When we weren't feeling that way though, it was hilarious! We were both feeling so goofy and were honestly laughing hysterically about nothing. 
We finally stopped for breakfast at 10:00 at some place called "Pietown NM". That's right... Pie town, population 56. If you are ever going through, stop in and tell them Landon and Che' say hello. 

I made Landon pull over and take some picture with some sunflowers at some point during the trip. I really don't have any idea where we were or what time it was. But he was a good sport about it and it was so good to just straighten my legs out! 

This sign was such a blessing! The picture is blurry, but it officially announced our arrival back to Utah. Woohoo! 

We arrived in Panguitch at 9:00p.m. on Saturday night. We were in the car for 23 hours straight. Neither of us slept at all for fear the other would fall asleep as well. We stopped for gas 4 times, stopped to eat twice, ate 2 bags of sunflower seeds, 6 bottles of propel, 2 bottles of water, lots of snack size candy bars, 1 hot chocolate and Landon downed 2 energy drinks. (Much to my dismay). Listened through our 7 hour MP3 twice and the first six chapters of Harry Potter 6. As crazy as it sounds, that drive will always hold some great memories for me. We had so much fun making fun of the little towns we were driving through and everything seemed 14 times funnier because we were so tired. We are both so happy to be home and get back to real life although we are both finding it bittersweet to see another summer go. We can't wait to see everyone again! 

...Bag Tag...

So Amanda bag tagged me... I originally thought this would be super fun, but now I'm a bit sheepish about the contents of my purse. However, the rules are clear. No cleaning the purse prior to submission. So... here are the nerd alert contents of my purse. 

1 vest... (I know, right?), sunglasses, the Pride and Prejudice, a necklace, some beauty blotters (for all us oily gals), 2 tubes of blistex, 2 camcorder tapes, a receipt/2 tickets to Sea World, my wallet, 3 bobby pins and 1 baby hair barette, some wrappers, an assortment of highlighters (my name is Che' and I am a highlightolic), 1 pen and a creepy, little wad of tulle 
Ta da! This has officially motivated and inspired me to clean out my suitcase. Oh, I mean purse. Thanks Amanda! I tag Cortney, Carlie, Kim, Jennifer, Maggie (Jordan, make her do it) and Britt. Ha Ha! That reminded me of a funny 'Brittney what's in your purse?' story. Have fun! 

Things to See at Sea World

Last week Landon and I went to Sea World! We are trying to fit all of the different things to see into our last couple of weeks here. We got to go to Sea World for free because he is in the military! So thanks Anheuser Busch, much appreciated! 

There were lots of really cool things to see. This dolphin swam up right by my hand. 

Landon loved the sharks. He really wanted us to be there when they did their feedings. Unfortunately for him, we missed it. 

The shows were amazing, here's a picture from our favorite.  The performers could do amazing things on skis. It was  fun to watch. We were both so jealous of their career. Which is humorous, because I have never been on a pair of skis in my life. 

And for good measure... here's a picture of us together. Unfortunately we are both squinting within an inch of our lives because it was so bright and sunny that day! We went to the water park for a little while to cool down, but didn't stay long because we did not want to miss any of the animal shows. 
Unfortunately, I did not get a good picture of Shamu's show. That was incredible. I can't believe people are able to train whales like that. This was the last big place that we wanted to see before we leave. We are on the downhill slope now for sure. Only one week of selling left, let's all hope Landon hits his goal in that amount of time! 

Generation X

Game night: A particular night set aside for friendly competition; consisting of great games and great friends. 

Well, what then are you to do when you are a couple thousand miles away from your favorite game night companions?! 

 1608: Deal with it... or walk

1715: Ride a horse, or maybe if we were wealthy, ride in a carriage!

1839: Take the train! 

1847: Catch the horse drawn-bus...

1871: Drive a steam car

1928: Run to the airport...don't miss your commercial flight!

1994: Drive your own car.  Gas- $1.12/gallon

2008: Forget this travel business.... grab your computer! 

Saturday night we had a virtual game night with our best friends, Cade and Andi. It was such a hoot! (do people still say 'hoot'?) We played the Newlywed game via ichat. I was surprised at how well it actually turned out. Connecting was super easy and we could see and hear each other really clearly! 

We all grabbed treats and drinks and just settled in front of the laptop. 

I am ashamed to admit, that they beat us by 5 points! The end question was, " When your mate has a date to meet someone, is she usually early, on time or late?" I said that I am usually early and Landon said "on time". Oh well, it was a super close race! 

I just want to say that I am so grateful for Cade and Andi. It's really hard to find couple friends because it's tough matching 4 personalities, but they are amazing and we always have such a blast with them! Thanks for helping us reconnect with the outside world, even if we were still at home! We love you...

GeTtInG tO kNoW yOu...

I am : eating

I know: the church is true

I think: it is too hot

I want: to sell 3 systems today

I have: a hot wife

I wish: i was at Lake Powell

I hate: non qualifying accounts

I miss: our families

I fear: failure

I feel: relaxed

I hear: a pipe cleaning truck

I smell: my food

I crave: a sno-cone

I search: for a puppy

I wonder: if I'll be late to my meeting because of this thing

I regret: staying up so late last night

I love: Che'

I care: about her feelings

I always: work hard

I am not: a good singer

I believe: in Lane Frost

I dance: with style

I sing: too much

I don't always: have good manners

I write: very legibly 

I win: in Phase 10

I lose: to Che' in Sudoku

I never: quit

I listen: not enough

I can usually be found: on the toilet or working

I am scared: of sharks and wild boars

I need: new shorts

I am happy about: going back to Utah in 2 weeks

I am : Che'Lyn Crapo Fullmer! 

I know: I'm a daughter of God

I think: about things way too much

I want: to get a 4.0 all through college

I have: a great life

I wish: Britters lived here

I hate: losing

I miss: my family! 

I fear: Landon going back to Iraq

I feel: sleepy

I hear: Saved By the Bell

I smell: turkey stuffing

I crave: Cafe' Rio

I search: google for ridiculous things...

I wonder: what my children will look like

I regret: a lot of things

I love: Landon's mom's laugh

I care: what other people think

I always: sneeze after I eat

I am not: good at making chocolate chip cookies

I believe: in the atonement 

I dance: to get Landon to smile 

I sing: when no one is around

I don't always: act like a lady

I write: in my journal 3 times a week

I win: guitar hero

I lose: socks in the wash

I never: stop worrying about silly things

I listen: when Landon is upset

I can usually be found: on my computer

I am scared: that I won't be accepted into nursing school

I need: a shower

I am happy about: visiting Panguitch and Idaho soon! 

..She's Arrived!...

Yoohoo! She has finally arrived! We were so excited to see each other. As I'm sure anyone in the airport would testify. Picture this.... thrown luggage, thrown purse, running in slow motion with open arms. You know, something to that effect. We took her to dinner at Chacho's on our way home from the airport (see previous post) and it was hilarious. It was karaoke night and I will just say there were some interesting candidates. Then to top it off, when we finally found our table the guy next to us was so drunk he urinated himself and couldn't find his car. (Which I am appalled to say, he finally found and drove away.) 

That night we all had a camp-out in the living room. Landon dragged our mattress out and we all slept out here together and watched Friends. 

When I asked Carlie what she wanted to do her first day here, she of course wanted to go shopping and spend some of her hard earned money on some major wardrobe. We went to the North Star Mall. The mall is huge and we were there for like 5 1/2 hours. Needless to say, we both left with way too many purchases, but it was so fun! I have not gone shopping for a long time. The highlight of the day was when Carlie went to this salon called Toni & Guy. I don't know if you have heard of it but it is super modern and trendy. Every stylist had purple, pink, green, yellow or no hair. It was hilarious. We were a tad out of place but Carlie ended up with an amazing hair cut! It's so pretty! When she walks it's like va va voom Pantene commercial style. 

Carlie and Robert before he performed his magic. 

Ta da! The finished look! He put in a ton of layers and gave her a heavy bang, it suits her really well. I can't wait to go back there and get my ugly hair cut! 

Here we are with all of our purchases. Pretty ridiculous. We found some great deals though and should both be heading back to school in style. I look forward to four more days with Carlie. She really is one of my best friends and we have so much fun together. We miss you Cort, wish you could be here with us too.