Still Alive

Here's an update on our lives since it's been forever. We aren't going to Vegas anymore, due to the economy, we didn't think that it was wise to adventure into that city for lack of jobs and a high cost of living. So we both settled for Salt Lake. Actually Taylorsville, Utah. Rachael was assigned to a 6th grade class (funny huh, they'll be tall as her and just as mouthy)! Plymouth Elementary is the school in the granite county school district. We are still working on the apartment transition, think we found one we like. I will transfer walmarts (plesant thoughts), but spend every lasting moment finding a career path in the Occupational Safety and Health field. Probably have a job with the company that i did my internship (InterMech) with in South Carolina in the spring.
We spend a week at rachaels grandparents and got to see lots of family, which many sacrificed time to come see us, which we are grateful for, it was a blast to see them all! (They're all just as crazy as the last time we saw them)! I actually think that i married into one of the coolest families around, they really are so fun! Also on the way to Monroe (Richfield, Ut) we saw some more of rachaels family (aunt calien) and my mom. It was a fun time, but ever good to get home!
We had several friends come over last saturday for gingerbread house making, but they came and went throughout the night. For games and a movie. We're quite the partiers! Okay enough works to read, here's some pictures.
Dusty and melanie Jacobson

Robert and brittany

My wonderful, pleasant homemaker (as you can see) Rachael Lee Smith

Chris, becky, and little carter tanner

Kate and oh boy i forgot um the new fling!

And i had to add my good friend Colby jacobson and his wife Mariah

Sin City Here We Come

I got accepted to Student Teach in Las Vegas. Yay! We will be there the beginning of January- just in time to escape to the beautiful weather!! I will get the experience of the inner city diversity I wanted and be only two hours from my family.

I'm just a little bit excited and Zane is such a sweetheart about going. However, Zane and I are beginning the search for work and housing which is a little stressful so if anybody has any tips that would be greatly appreciated!

Oh and did I mention- YAY!!!

The Good, The Bad, and The Garden

Yay!! Zane and I finally have the internet again. It moved on the last day of school with our favorite neighbors and we finally decided to actually pay for it. I love it. It is so nice not to have to plan a special trip to check my email or update the blog.

Unfortunatly, schools starts in a week- so even though I now have the internet, I will be back to two jobs and 12 credits with no time to actually update. Yuck.

What we're up to. . .

Our amazing neighbors let Zane and I have a little corner of their yard to garden and we have been having so much fun with it. We have tons of veggies so if anyone, and I do mean ANYONE, would like to swing by and pick some up we would love to share!


This is of our first little sprouts- we were so proud


Look at it now! All grown up.

Also, my smart shopper husband who works in the wonderful Walmart produce section noticed that a whole bunch of really ripe bananas came in. Of course they had to be discounted and OF COURSE Zane just couldn't let a good deal pass by so . . .



We have way more dried banana chips, banana cream pie, and banana bread than any two people should ever eat. PLEASE let us know if you would be willing to take a loaf of bread off our hands and we would be happy to drop one by.

Yellowstone

The Lee and McCullough(Rachaels sister)families all went with us to Yellowstone. They all stayed the night in our two bedroom aparatment, all 12 of us! Rach and I slept on our couch hide-a-bed. Wow we definately got that thing at the DI for 25 dollars! Not a wink of sleep, too many bars. Good thing the in-laws didn't sleep on it!

The next day we went to the Teton Dam site, the mesa falls, Island Park Resevoir for a picinic, and then we camped at a site that we didn't have to be around other people and pay. My friend chris and I found this spot two summers ago. It took several dirtroads to refresh my memory of its location, sorry family. Its nestled above Henrys Fork of the Snake River, a gorgeous view.

Next day, we spent all day in Yellowstone seeing the sites. That evening we stayed in West Yellowstone in a resort- thanks to Aunt Shelia and Mom Lee. It was a ball. Since some of the family was Yellowstoned out, only Dad Lee, Sara Lee and i (Zane)went back.(Sara commented that she was "going back to yellowstone with the two tours guides", not nice sara). We went back for Mammoth Hot Springs, but we didn't know that they dried up in 1998, so the trip was a total disappointment.

We had a bar-b-que with my family at their home that night and played games. Then the next morning we picked the Smith Family favorite,huckleberries, along Palisade Resevoir. After a gallon of picking we parted.

Thanks mom and dad lee for the fun week and lacey and casey for coming with us. It was a ball!

The camping squad

My berry pickers (maggie and Ryan)

camp

Toby lovin the life in the woods! (Toby's my truck, i know sad! I love it him!

camp

Rachael and Evie

A bear along the road

Lower Fall of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Upper Fall

Old Faithful startin to steam

Palisades Upper Lake

This weekend Zane and I took his brother Cody with us to the Upper Lakes above Swan Valley where he grew up. It turned out to be quite the adventure.

Zane was in such a hurry to get us up there that we didn't take the time to pack things very well. Cody and I had to keep stopping along the way to readjust our packs (I'm sad we didn't get a picture - we all looked pretty funny)

We set up camp just before dark, haha!! There was only one pole in the pack when we unloaded the tent. I've never laughed so hard in my life as when we were trying to make this work:



The door doesn't zip closed so it was cold, we were paranoid of animals crawling in, and our site was anything but flat. So while Cody slept like a rock- Zane and I grumbled and got NO sleep.

It is beautiful up there and we had a blast the next day exploring the emergency cabin and picking huckleberries along the way. There were plenty of little green water snakes and Cody and I had a ball watching Zane squirm.

The lake was gorgeous and the water was amazingly clear. You could see the fish following your lure so it was even more frustrating when they wouldn't bite. Cody caught the only fish of the trip but unfortunately the picture we took of it was on his camera which got lost somehow on the way down.

Haha, this is where we think it may have come off, haha!!


He tripped (after making fun of howold and slow Zane was)while running down the hill and spread eagled it right it the dirt (he tripped on the large rock behind him). Poor Cody! Hurt his ego more than anything but Zane and I weren't much help for how hard we were laughing.

Fourteen miles later, I am painfully aware of every muscle in my body. But we had fun and the trip was well worth it! Here are a few pictures of just how pretty it is up there.

PackSaddle Lake

Zane and I went exploring a couple weeks ago... Thank Heavens God loves us! After taking every wrong road possible we were almost out of gas and completely lost. We had no cell phone service and had turned so many times we wouldn't have known where to tell anyone we were anyway.

By the time we got back to a road we recognized we had barely had enough gas left in the truck to make it back to town. There was one road left we hadn't tried and we're stubborn- so we parked the truck, unloaded our bikes and took off again.

The road was terrible! About 100 yards in I parked my bike off to the side and started walking. By the time I found Zane he had dropped his bike right in the middle of the road and was wandering aimlessly.

Just as we were about to turn around and go home we noticed a trail off to the side. Yay!! At the bottom was the prettiest little lake with a rope swing. Look how pretty!





We now know the CORRECT way to get there if anyone wants directions!

Through the woods to Grandmas we went

This is a few months old, but it's as updated as we have, no other trips yet. I'm suppose to be studing for my two finals tomorrow, but i really don't want to so i decided to make it my turn to do the blog. I will be in trouble for the one picture oh you'll know. Love you all!!! We stopped and camped with my family for two nights in McCoy Crrek then headed for Grand M &P Spence in Bear Lake, Utah.

This is the inside of the Paris Tabernacle. Drove past it all the time as a kid and finally got to go in!

This is grandmas and grandpas house (spence side my mom) We love visiting grndpa and ma.

This is the backside of the Tabernacle.

Front view of tabernacle.

Rach and i in soda springs at the sister to old faithful gysier. Good mineral water, try it some time.

The Smith mofia! That's only half the guns.

Colter (my little bro) Locked himself in the camper, it took them a while to get him to get out! He didn't know how to unlock the door. It was entertaining, atleast for me, i'm not the parent! HA HA

Rach and cody shooting She's actually a good shoot, well at least she got me shen she aimed. bah ah

My little pleasant camper!!

This ones for tamron, i grew up in Swan valley where this store is located. Their store theme, When you cuss, think of us!! The Dam Store, Swan Valley idaho