I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Tri-tip is delish!

Ring toss game. Boys vs. girls.....best of 5 games....

YEP, I look sober!

No, we didn't really give her any!

Stace - ring toss badass!



I love Troy's face in this pic. He looks super duper excited!

Fremont Lake - gorgeous!

Ring toss - this game was so addicting! We played it for HOURS AND HOURS!


Stacy and I beat the boys at ring toss! HOORAY! They had to do shots of Jaegermeister.

TDog & I

Campfire fun! John's dad and stepmom and some friends stopped by for ring toss & cocktails.

We took a 20 minute drive up to see the view over the lakes. Cold outside!!!!!!!

Deer by the road on the way back to camp.

Stacy & I on the new boat. That water was FRIGID!

NEW POST: After a blogging sabbatical, I am officially back to the blogging world! It was just too hard to keep it up when I was in CO! I like to post pictures & I had the camera but Troy had the camera attachments, etc. But I am home now and resuming the blog.

Troy & I just got back from a great Memorial Day weekend at Fremont Lake in Pinedale, WY. We met John & Stacy Pivic up there, along with Stacy's brother Paul Maestas & his wife & friends. We had a great camping spot, everyone was right next to one another. Stacy & John have a gorgeous new boat that we were able to go out on for a couple of hours on Saturday. The water was WAY TOO COLD to ski or wakeboard though. The weather was pretty good Friday & Saturday, but turned a little colder Sunday & I nearly froze to death Sunday night in that tent. Between the icy cold air & Troy's thunderous snores, I did not sleep at all. Should have gotten up & gone into Stacy's trailer for some warmth but didn't want to abandon Troy Boy out there all alone. So I was sick as a dog the next day with a fever & sore throat which has carried over to today. And I have so much to do! No time for being sick. I was supposed to babysit little Boko today (I was SOOOOOOO excited!) but had to back out for fear of getting him sick or being too sick to really watch him. There is a freakin' mountain of laundry down in the basement, my bedroom looks like a tornado hit it, and I need to find a landscaper to come out here & clean up my crazy overgrown yard. Oh yeah, and I need to find a JOB!!! :)

Have been looking into some insurance positions with several agencies, but not sure if that is the right move or not. Have a promising option at a bank in Houston in the future, but not for six months or so. Applied for a bilingual finance position (PERFECT!) with a bank but they only interview sporadically so still waiting to hear back on that. Overall, looking for a job is a job in and of itself! I don't recommend it!

Well, here are some photos from our recent trip to Wyoming. We will be going to Lake Powell for Memorial Day in the future. I want sunshine, heat & waterskiing!

homeward bound

NEW POST:I am going back to SLC for the weekend! Can't wait to see the fam & go skiing. Troy said there has been a bunch of snow so I am hoping it will not warm up in the next couple of days! Recently discovered the joys of Solitude, so we will probably go there again. Anyone want to go? :)

Fog - not my favorite weather

NEW POST:

Life is going on pretty much the same, these days. I am still staying with Diana & Gentry, two of the greatest people on the entire earth, and their adorable kids Dylan & Kylee. I am working at a Beneficial branch in CO Springs & Troy is still in SLC working as a realtor & for 406 Partners as a sales manager. Yes, 600+ miles is a LONG commute. We were doing well seeing each other nearly every week at first, but now it is getting harder to fork over the $$$ for a flight every weekend. So I was VERY excited to go home this weekend. I miss Troy, of course, but I miss my friends, my family and my pets a whole lot too! The weekdays are not so bad because I am busy at work, but the weekends are harder because I miss my old "schedule", like sleeping in until Troy has paced up & down the stairs enough for me to feel guilty enough to get up! Then we lounge around the house & catch up on our old TIVO shows, then head out in search of something delicious to eat. Anyway, I was supposed to fly home on Friday after work. Everything was going well, my flight left CO Springs on time, and I was engrossed in my new book (Twilight) during the flight. My phone battery was charged, my ipod battery was charged, I felt like I had remembered to pack all my necessary clothes, shoes, makeup, etc. I was looking forward to a date w/ my hubby & we were getting close to landing when I heard the dreaded crackle come over the loudspeaker on the plane. "Uhhhh, folks, this is your pilot. Unfortunately we have been informed that Salt Lake has been hit with some unexpected weather and we are going to have to return to CO Springs. We are not sure if we will be able to try again later, but I would not count on it. The weather pattern appears to be set in for a while and there is not enough visibility for us to land." WELL..........As you can imagine, I was not happy to hear this. Everyone on the plane took the news relatively well, so I tried to put on a brave face. But inside, I was BAWLING MY EYES OUT. Damn fog!!!!!!! The worst thing is, I have a work trip to Portland next week, and Troy wanted to see the superbowl so he had moved his flight from next weekend to the 6th. So won't see Troy for 2 more weeks now. Well, we were all sitting in the CO Springs airport for over 3 hrs when my flight was officially cancelled. I wearily approached the long line of frustrated people & waited to learn my fate. The very nice guy at the Delta counter informed me he had booked me on the 8:30am flight the next day. I told him that I really wanted to go, but I would honestly rather use my ticket another weekend so that I have 2 full days to see the fam before I had to fly back. (I had already explored this option with the NOT so friendly lady on the Delta 1-800 number. She informed me, quite smugly, that I could use my ticket another time but I would have to pay a $150 transfer fee. I informed her I could buy tickets on their competitor Southwest for less than the proposed transfer fee, and that my bags would also be FREE, so thanks but no F***ing thanks. *******OK, I didn't use the F word with her, but I thought it. I am so tough!) Back to the nice guy at the counter - he covertly made the switch in the computer & I am now flying home for Valentine's Day, which is great because we hadn't decided where to meet for VDay yet. Looking forward to it, I am getting very homesick. Diana has done all that is humanly possible to take care of me, I honestly could never explain my gratitude for her & Gentry, but it is still hard to be away from home. My girl Stacy has a son, and I have not even met him! That is awful.....It hurts my heart. Anyway, this is me just feeling sorry for myself, but I feel a little better just writing it down! Hope all is well with everyone. If anyone wants to buy me a care package, I am obsessing with the Twilight series now so I will be buying book #2 tomorrow, but #3 would be GREAT! haha. I can't believe I waited so long to read these. Diana had a Pampered Chef party today at the house (I must be homesick - I actually BOUGHT something which can only mean I am trying to "nest" or something!) and I had to excuse myself early to hole up in my room & finish the damn book! I also want to HIGHLY recommend reading The Secret Life of Bees - it is adorable, I laughed & cried reading it. OK, signing off now. JRo

PS- There's no place like home! :)

Stolen from an e-mail - Hormone guide

NEW POST: An odd thing occurs when women spend a lot of time together. They end up on the same cycle. I don't know why & I don't have the attention span to go find out why. I just know it always happens. Diana & I discovered that we have gotten "in sync" this morning. Then I got this e-mail, and it cracked me up so I had to steal it from an e-mail & make it a post. Hope everyone is well & has had a good winter.

Ralphie's big party

NEW POST: We held our annual movie-themed Christmas party last night. This year, the theme was A Christmas Story. There were some great costumes last night! We had a costume contest this year and everyone voted for their favorite costume. It was a very close race between my cousin Piper, dressed as the elf from the department store, and Jamie, dressed as the star of the movie------ the lamp! In the end, Jamie won the contest. What a great costume!! Piper came in 2nd place, and my mom & Grandma won 3rd place as Black Bart's gang of robbers. Piper had a fun introduction to my neighbors when her dog ran up the street & she chased her down wearing her hilarious elf costume. If my neighbors didn't think we were nuts before, they certainly do now! She said it would have been even better if I had been with her dressed as a deranged Easter bunny! LOL! I bought a costume online that never showed up......I was very stressed out & called the Hale Theatre, which was open & I was able to go in & get a pink rabbit costume about 6 hrs before the party. WHEW! We made Chinese food in honor of the movie, and everyone seemed to have a great time. Here are some fun pics of the evening!

Hailey, the Bumpass's dog & Jenny the pink nightmare!

Amy & Troy cooking up some yummy egg rolls.

Trent, Troy & Rik

Jenny, Troy & Deb

"Team Longbranch" celebrating Craig's upcoming retirement! Congrats!




The Fam...

Jamie "The Lamp" - our costume contest winner. Stacy's gonna be pissed! :)

Soap posioned Pat feels his way around the kitchen...

Ralphie whips up on town bully Scott Fargas.

Eric dares grandma to stick her tongue to a pole outside, but she declines!

Ralphie is so tough, I am so impressed!

Jenny & her mommy.

Best damn elf costume EVER. Piper made this everyone. AWESOME!

LMAO!! Check out that hat!!!

"Adios Black Bart!"

Amy & Hailey. You can't see amy's full costume here but she had a hilarious Chinese waiter costume! Fa Ra Ra Ra RAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Our Charlie's Angel's pose. Another strange family tradition we have.

Jenny mixing up the costumes...

Group photo. A little dark...but still cute! Thanks to all who made it. Many people were stuck in Wyo due to bad roads & Stacy & Cory were missed dearly. They were en route home, with their son Boko, from Ethiopia. Next year's theme is still up in the air..........let us know if you would rather do Elf or the Grinch??? Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

NEW POST: I am thrilled to be home in Salt Lake, with my house filled up with my loved ones. Piper, Patrick & Eric stayed with us last night, and the rest of the fam was here when I finally made it home from CO. Troy made a turkey (SO YUMMY) and we wrapped presents and watched Achmed the Terrorist Christmas special! Patrick & Eric had a rousing game of rock/paper/scissors to determine occupancy of the second master bedroom, which Eric won with a tricky repeat of the rock! Patty was devastated until he realized he would have the whole basement and his own bathroom, which turned out to be the quietest and coolest room in the house! Piper and her new Shih-tzu, Zoey, are already two peas in a pod and were truly supposed to be family!

Troy & I want to say Merry Christmas to you all, and here's to a very happy 2009 also! We have spent the morning opening our stockings & laughing at the Christmas Story movie that never seems to get old. Mom and Grandma are on their way here to make their infamous ranch eggs, and everyone can't wait for their first plate. Not to mention their first bloody mary! I hope you all are with those you love today. Gifts are always fun, but being with friends and family is the best gift anyone can ask for. I want to send a special note out to Stacy & Cory, who are in Ethiopia right now, and will soon come home with their adorable son Boko Jaxson! We miss you guys & are so thrilled for you. I can't wait to hear about your experiences there.

NEW POST:So, as you all know, Troy & I are not living together right now due to our decisions surrounding the difficult financial times facing the lending industry. I would just like to say Merry Christmas to those of you with whom I have not recently been in contact. Living away from the comforts of home causes time warps that drastically affect my ability to contact people as often as I once could. If you have my blog address & occasionally have the time and interest to visit it, I can only hope you love Troy & I. With that assumption, I must assure you in return that I love you all. If you have called me (Some of you.....multiple times......) without a return call please take into consideration the fact that I now call Troy at all free moments in my life. And those moments used to be the moments during which I called YOU ALL. As much as you may all be thinking, "What about me???", PLEASE consider how you would allocate your limited free time in my place. And we all know that I spend a LOT of time on the phone at work, so I only allocate a limited time to being on the telephone when I am off work. Tough times call for tough measures, but never think that a decrease in phone calls equates to a decrease in love and concerrn. Merry Christmas everyone. Always count your blessings and remember that others count you as one. :)