Dana's Birthday!

So, after posting Dana's clues on the blog, I thought it would only be fair to post some pictures of Dana's search and the seafood dinner that followed.

Yes, here is a picture of our blog on our blog. I don't think Dana appreciated me hiding his presents...

He said the first clue was hard. I helped him out by giving him "hot/cold" clues. He found it eventually. A butterfly spreading board! (Complete with butterfly stickers to help you visualize the board in working order.)

The second clue was even harder, though he made it to the right corner pretty fast. I hid his new ear buds inside my robot box. You can tell the game was intense by how bad this picture is...


To make up for the first two being pretty hard, the third clue was very easy; Dana found it right away. If you're not in the know, this is Plo Koon (from Star Wars) on a key chain. Thank you, Lego.

For dinner, Dana decided to cook a seafood dinner at home instead of going to a resturant. We bought king crab legs, precooked shrimp, and scallops. Dana grilled two of the crab legs and boiled two. The shrimp went into some fettuccine Alfredo I made, and then we sauteed the scallops with mushrooms and green onions.

It was super tasty! And for dessert we got a key lime pie from Costco. Happy Birthday, Dana!

To Dana, My Beloved Husband

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
most awesome husband!



I decided rather than just giving you your presents wrapped in snowman paper, I would make you work for them. Just a little.



Here are some pictures I took around our apartment...



I have hidden your presents at these locations. Do you recognize your own home?



I certainly hope so.



Clue Picture #1:




Clue Picture #2:




Clue Picture #3:


Happy Hunting.

Some Recent Adventures

In the last few weeks we have had some fun exploring. This post is about the two national parks we have visited. The first was Bryce Canyon on Memorial Day. We took the day off school and work to have some fun.

The weather was good, even though it was a bit stormy. We got to see lightning and the rain kept it cool and never stayed long.

While there we did a short hike down into the hoodoos.

Here is Thor's Hammer:

The hike we took was the Navajo Loop. It drops fairly quickly into the canyon and includes these fantastic switchbacks.

This is a tree found on Wall Street. The Ponderosa Pines grow very straight and tall between the hoodoos:


After Bryce we took a drive down Highway 12, "the most scenic road in America," through Escalante/Grand Staircase NM. It was an amazing drive


On June 6 we took another drive down another interesting road: Highway 6, "the loneliest road in America." It is an interesting drive across the West Desert of Utah past Delta. There is no buildings for over 80 miles. We did see some neat wildlife, though we did not get pictures of all of them. These include prairie dogs, a badger, and an antelope.


This road leads to Great Basin NP in Nevada. This is where I proposed to Ruth 3 years ago, so this was a special trip.

Wheeler Peak is the main mountain ion the park. It is the highest peak in Nevada and has Nevada's only glacier. The scenic drive goes over 10,000 ft.

The other main thing in the park is Lehman Caves, a limestone cave.


This is called the Parachute, the most famous formation in the cave. It is a cave shield, a very rare type of formation that is common in these caves.

Hope everyone is doing well, and we will post more latter.