Our August adventure... Buck's sister got married!

We traveled out to Jackson, Wisconsin and stayed with his parents for a few days. Then the whole Darley clan ventured to Nauvoo, Illinois right along the Mississippi river for a beautiful temple wedding.

We enjoyed a wonderful bit of entertainment the night before the wedding.. something like a riverboat show along the banks of the Mississippi. It had 'pioneer' type entertainment followed by an AmAzInG a Capella group. Loved it!

Her colors were very sassy for a late summer wedding... it made it fun! Below, a few pictures of the groomsmen and bridesmaids:

After the wedding, we headed back to Jackson to rest up before the ring ceremony the next day.

Held for family and friends who were unable to travel to the temple, the setting was breathtaking; outside a vintage farm.

We really enjoyed the mini-vacation, and enjoyed spending time with his family...

Here are a few more pictures from the weekend I thought you'd like!

It's been so long since our last post! Sorry to all of you who have been checking for updates- I will try to do better in the future! ;)

Here are a couple pictures from the Seven Falls area over Summer 2009 I never posted!

I'll try to catch everyone up on the last six months of our lives over the next few days! Merry Christmas- Wish we could have spent it with you!

Ok... Ew.

Ok.. No one warned us about this season of bugs in Colorado. Granted, we've both been here about 5 years, but neither I nor he recalls anything to this extreme before. Locals say this is an unusually  bad season- but dang! I am talking about lovely millers. We called them moths in the south, but I guess this is some different breed called millers. They're not here reproducing (thank goodness), nor making this their home; they are only momentarily passing through. Supposedly, they are 'migrating'. Traveling away from the warm weather towards the mountains. So, because of this- there is no repellent or anything that can be done to rid them!  And you're probably sitting there thinking- "Ok, what's the big deal? Let them migrate..." NO! You must understand, even during the day time, doors cannot stay open long or they venture in. They're not only attracted to the light, but also to the dark. Nothing is more creepy than opening your shed doors and out fly hundreds (seriously) of nasty, brown creatures. Hubs calls it the bat cave- I call it disgusting. Luckily, Sariah gets a kick out of the pests. I can smack them away from the lights or walls her way and she chomps away at them. Perk: I don't have to vacuum or pick up their nasty little remains! So, wish us luck as we continue through this nasty welcome to summer... and feel lucky when you open doors and nothing flies at you! 

Fishing and Walks...

Well, it has been another eventful couple of weeks! I don't think I'm ever going to have a time where nothing goes on... *sigh* 

Buck and I enjoy taking walks, and Sariah is happy to join us. We went down to Runyon River last Sunday to scope out fishing, and walked the loop. Sariah had a good time, although she was scared of the dam. 

Here she is with mom... I love her! 

Buck and I have gone fishing at Lake Pueblo, and having a blast. I have resolved to come out at least once a week on my day off. It's free fun! Plus, I get to work on my tan! ;) 

We've been teaching Sariah all sorts of new tricks! She now has quail feathers we've attached to a floating training stick. We rigged it to my old broken fishing pole, and let her run around the backyard chasing it. She can't get enough of it, and for about 30 minutes after we've put it away, she just runs around the yard sniffing until she picks up scent and realizes she's not going to find the 'bird'. This is her after about 20 minutes of chasing the stick. It took me about ten frames to get a picture where she wasn't flying through it. 

This is another adorable picture of her from a few days ago... she totes this little duck around the house every waking moment. 

We took the youth to the Denver Temple today for baptisms. Leaving the church at 7AM was early, but I didn't get tired until about 2PM once we were home! I'm so grateful to be a part of their lives, and although they are younger- they teach me so much. I love the Tuesday night events, playing volleyball and watching their endless energy. I love my calling. Here is a picture of all the youth in front of the Temple. 

Buck and I are so excited for this week! I start my job Monday morning, and I am estatic. I feel so lucky to not only have a job at this point, but to have a job I'm truly going to enjoy every day. :) Plus, Buck is officially on summer vacation from nursing school- so I get my husband back! No more grumpy and stressed from nursing-criteron hubs for me! In a word... Yay.  

Wonderful Weekend

So, the minute I tell everyone we don't have too much of an exciting life- things start to pick up. We have had quite the weekend and as Sunday comes to a close, I am exhausted. 

We are continuing to train Sariah; she's getting better at her basics as the days go by. This week we have started teaching her to use her nose to find treats. For some reason, no store in Colorado sells/has in stock quail or pheasant scent; so for Sariah's benefit, we're using chunks of hot dogs.  We let her smell the meat, break it into pieces, tell her to sit/stay and she watches us throw it into the bushes- and in her little nose goes!  

I went out for a drive on Friday to one of my favorite places;  and there were some of the prettiest flowers on the side of the road. And as you all know, purple is my favorite - I couldn't help myself.  I also managed to catch a bumble bee in mid-flight!  I was estatic. 

Saturday morning, Buck and I made our first mark on the land for years to come. We bought a Crimson Red Maple tree and planted it in the front yard. It looks sad now, but hopefully we will get to see it grow tall! There was a tree in the same spot when we moved into the house, but the landlord had it removed because of some parasite it contracted. Hopefully by the end of the summer, it will be rooted and our grass seed will sprout around it. We shall see- but leave it to us to get excited over a little maple! 

We had our hands full Saturday night! Good friends of ours, Johanna and John called and asked if we were free to babysit their toddler. Buck was finishing his clinical report, and I had nothing of dire importance to do- so we accepted! Boy, 2 &1/2 year old Anna definitely wore me out. We had dinner, bath, and got to know Sariah. Anna had a fear of dogs, and anytime Sariah came close she would let out a scream that echoed through our house. She ran to Buck at one point, and he uttered "um.. I don't pick up kids..."  but actually picked her up- so I couldn't resist the chance to snap a picture!! 

By morning, the two babies were best friends- running up and down the hall while I got ready for church. Nice for a visit, but for now I'm glad I'm not a mom. 

Last Sunday, Mother's Day was our anniversary and I didn't post anything related to the holiday, so... Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all you moms out there- it is very hard work, and you deserve a holiday every day of the year!! 

An addition to our family...

So, Buck and I refuse to rejoin Facebook, or MySpace- if boredom encourages me one day, I might blog about that! :) For compensation, here is the closest thing we will get to posting pictures and updates for the goings on of our life. 

Last week, after Ashton's graduation from business school, we ventured down to Arizona. There, we picked up our new baby, Sariah. She's an English Springer Spaniel, field bred. I'm sure I will post more pictures later, but this is about as still as we could get her to sit- preoccupied with a rawhide! 

She's adorable!! Definitely a 'mama's girl', and that's what I had hoped for. She is a cuddler, and growing more brave as the days go by. She's mastered the art of riding in cars, playing with Macie (Blake's dog), and swimming at our local lake. She's already learned to tell us when she needs to go out to do her business (ZERO accidents in the house!!), has learned 'come', 'sit', 'fetch' and the most used: 'No'.

   

Of course, we made the most out of our journey. We visited old friends, and made some new. Our favorite, by far, was venturing to Mesa and Snowflake to attend sessions in their temples. Both were absolutely beautiful and breathtaking.  Mesa, which wouldn't fit in the frame, is on the right; and Snowflake is on the left.

Buck and I are Temple Junkies, if you could create a catch phrase for it. Our honeymoon was spent touring as many as we could find on our random driving adventure, and ever since then, any place we go- we have to visit the temples. :)

President Thomas S. Monson has counseled us, "To you who are able to attend the temple, I would counsel you to go often. Doing so will help to strengthen marriages and families.

Let us be kind to one another, be aware of each other’s needs, and try to help in that regard." 

There, in the temple, will we be able to grow closer together in our marriage - and to Christ.