Ian and Brandie got married in July. We were fortunate enough to go to UT to be a part of the festivities.
While there, Sol and I rappelled down on a real rock wall for our first time.
We also went to Lagoon (our first roller coaster park in the 8 years of our marriage)! Who knew Sol would like Lagoon? We had a blast and definitely look forward to going to more in the future.
We got to go hiking with some family friends. This is Elk River Falls, in Elk River, ID.
We didn't do much with our yard since we moved in because we are saving to put in a retaining wall (which we believe should come before the sprinkler system)... so this summer we watched the weeds grow as tall as us! Our poor neighbors. We are looking forward to this summer when we will have enough saved to put in our rock wall, sprinklers and grass!
We went to a handful of Cougar football games. Unfortunately it was a very, very sad season, but nonetheless fun!
Sol had the opportunity to go to Boise for work. While he was there he stopped by the Pyrah's and participated in pumpkin decorating. He also had the opportunity to give Stacia her very first bouquet of flowers from a boy! ;) We miss the Pyrah's so much!
My incredible sister and her little munchkin came to visit. Korver wanted nothing to do with me while he was eating the frosting off the cookie. I kid you not, this boy would eat candy for every meal if Wendy would let him. He loves sugar!
I set the Christmas tree up and enjoyed all 600 lights! It was pretty bright - I think everyone in the neighborhood could see the glow from our windows. I loved it! 
"Santa" was good to us this year! We have absolutely ENJOYED our VitaMix! It is amazing how much better I feel when I eat more fruits & veggies. We have made everything from smoothies to pancakes to soup to orange chocolate fondue! Yum! 
Sol also chose to grow some scruff for much longer than "normal" this winter. In the past, he grew a beard for the three weeks we spent with our families. However, this year was the first year his coworkers saw him - and the LOVED it! They told him he looked like Justin Timberlake, so he kept it for much longer than I would have preferred ;)
Last but not least, we live in the middle of a field and when winter rolls around we get "roommates." We do not care to share our living space with these "roommates," so we set out poison. This year one (or more) of our "roommates" created a nest where he/she shouldn't have, and after eating our poison passed away as evidenced by this...
Sol will be so upset this made it to the blog, but all I can do is laugh. No one I have spoken with has ever seen something like it (except for my brother-in-law who professionally cleans air duct systems). Any suggestions? :)
We got to the game early so one of my coworkers could try to get autographs. The rest of us walked around the ball park and this is what you see as you look out from the stadium! It was beautiful.
I will have to say that these beaches aren't highly sought after destinations like Hawaii, California or Florida - but it was the best we could do in Iowa!
It was difficult to know the stories behind all the homes, but this one appears to have been stripped of everything. It is hard to know if the owner was trying to dry it out before rebuilding or if they are in the process of tearing it down.
