I've Been Tagged!

I have been tagged for the first time by my sister Holly so here I go.

3 Joys:
-My Husband
-nap taking (although it really is a retched thing)
-food (that too is a horrible thing to me)

3 Fears:
-Spiders
-Having someone close to me die.
-running over somebody in a car

3 Goals:
-Losing weight (40-50lbs) ha I wish!
-get my thank you cards done.
-finish the book of Mormon for this year.

3 Obsessions/Collections
-I Love collecting the Disney Classics and a lot of their other really good cartoon shows. I probably have hundreds of dollars worth of them and only lend them out to very trusting people.
-knowing my financial status at all times
-turning off all the lights while watching t.v.

3 Facts about myself:
-I just got married a month ago
-I am 21 yrs old
- I dislike, rather a lot going to school

Family Pictures!

Brad was leaving for two years so we had to take pictures while we could. Everyone in our family took family pictures so it took quite a while but it is done and they turned out great. Here are just a few.

I'm back and I'm Married!

So it has definitely been a while since I have blogged anything. Lets just say I've been a bit busy planning a wedding in the time of one month. I had tons of help thanks to my Mom and sisters and of course my new Mother-in-Law Valerie. I have been going to school at SUU which was very hard to do considering I was in bliss with my soon to be husband and all the stress of the wedding. The wedding turned out very well and it was a great turn out. The dinner was great and the day went perfect for how Ladd and I wanted it to. We went to Park City for our honeymoon for only a couple of days because we had to get back to school but it was the perfect amount of time because it was nice to get back and start our lives together. I will post some pictures when I get them.

Happiest Day of My Life!!!

On the 21st of August, the Love of my Life and I were officially engaged! It all happened on our way home from Texas, in the Rocky Mountains. Ladd wanted to stop for a little break after driving awhile and so we stopped at a beautiful lake called Dillon Reservoir. We were just walking around it enjoying the scenery having a good and peaceful time. We sat on a bench that overlooked the lake. Ladd starting picking some wild flowers for me and when he was about to give them to me he got on one knee and asked me to marry him!!! Anyway, I was so excited and so happy that we were finally engaged. The ring is gorgeous...well at least I think so and that is all that matters right? I tried to take a few pictures of it but they are not the best seeming that I am not a photographer and I definitely don't have the best of camera but anyways, this is the best I could do. We will be getting married on September 27, 2008.

cookies!!!

I am finally done making cookies!!! For the past couple of weeks I have been making around 150 cookies a day! Yesterday I was finally done. I have been making these cookies for the big horse sale that is this Saturday. I also am almost done working for the whole summer. Tomorrow, is my last day here. I am actually really sad to leave and get back to real life. I could live here forever...it is just so pretty and relaxing. On the other hand I don't know if I could cook forever so I am glad to get a little break. Anyways, I just thought I could give everyone an update on my life.

Bird Killers

I have decided that this ranch is a bird killing ranch...well not really but a lot of birds die here. The reason for the death of the birds is because we have to have the windows SPOTLESS. There are two really large windows in the lodge that have to be very clean for the guests and because they are so clean the birds don't realize that it is a window, thence they fly full speed towards it and knock themselves out for good. Some are lucky enough to just get knocked out for a bit and then they can fly away again. It is quite startling when you are just sitting there in the lodge when a bird bangs against the window...but it is really funny at the same time. One time there was a humming bird that it pretty hard so I went outside to see if it was dead or not...it was just sitting there not knowing what just happened because it probably got brain damage...I think it bent it's beak as well. I nudged it with a stick to try to get it to fly off but it was still pretty dizzy. I have never seen a humming bird fly so slow. The other day a bigger bird hit the window really hard. We thought for sure it was dead but nope; it was still breathing. It was so funny watching the bird. I definitely think it had brain damage after that one. It wouldn't close it's mouth and it let my friend Janae pick it up and hold it with out any struggle at all. It was like her little pet for a bit. We call her Snow White because she always tends to the birds when they hit the window and she doesn't think it is gross to touch them with her hands. It wouldn't fly away at all. So she held it for a while and its mouth still wouldn't close. Finally, the bird pooped on her hand and flew off. What a rude thank you! I guess that's all it needed to do in order to get back into the air. It was hilarious!

Jane with her little pet bird.

Cliff Jumping!

On the 24th of July we all decided to go do something fun since we missed out on the festivities. We decided to go cliff jumping! I think cliff jumping is soooo scary. I always want to do it but then I think about it way to much and freak myself out. Well, this was a really high cliff...at least the highest I have ever been cliff jumping off of and so I was really freaked out. Anyway, I only went once because it took me the whole time we were there to finally get the courage to jump. The water was freezing!!!

Just Another Day in Paradise

This place is so amazilingly beautiful out here I just can't believe it. The other day the whole crew and family was all able to go on a horse ride clear up on this hill. It was an incredible view of the ranch and everything else. It was great fun except for one thing...allergies!!! My allergies were acting up really bad and so I wasn't able to enjoy in as much as I wanted to but that was ok. In fact, the day before, I had a really bad allergic reaction down by the pool and my eye swelled up to the size of a golf ball! It was really sad because we were going to town that night and I looked like the hunchback of Nortre Dam! So I had to wear my sunglasses every where so no one would notice. It was quite funny actually. Any ways, here are a couple of pics of our horse ride. If you look close enough you can see the Grand Tetons in the background.

Happy 24th!!!

Happy 24th everyone! I am sad to say that I will not even be in Utah for the celebration. Beaver has a huge celebration for the 24th and it is my favorite day of the year so I feel bad I can't be in Beaver with my family and loved ones.
Just some updates on with whats going with me here at the ranch; I am just doing the same old thing cooking, playing, going on horse rides and having a blast. The summer is flying by that I just can't believe it! I am happy though that it is going fast because then I get to see Ladd again!!! I never wrote about this but I was able to go see him over the 4th of July and it was a blast. We went swimming, went to a rodeo, went to Billy Bobs, and just spent time together. I had such a great time and I did not want to leave for anything! Anyways, sorry I don't have any pictures but maybe I can get some good ones before the summer is over. I hope everyone has a great 24th!!!

Have Fun While We Can!!!

This week we have no guests and we are taking full advantage of it! Of course there is still work to be done but we are still able to relax and have some fun of our own since we have nobody here. The other day we went down to Teton National Park and went hiking to some Hidden Falls by Jenny Lake. It was cloudy when we got there and it was perfect weather for hiking until it started pouring rain! Well, the rain made it even the more fun. It was quite the long hike and we ran quite a bit of it from tree to tree to get some shelter from the rain. Finally we got up to the Hidden Falls and the hike/jog was well worth the beauty of the falls. We had a great time! We have to have all the fun we can because after this week it is going to be full of guests for the rest of the summer. Here are a few pics of the falls and the rain.

This is all of us hiking in the rain. We are soaked!

Jenny Lake in the rain.

This is the whole Crew.

L-R: Hayden, Me, Laura, Carolyn, Janae, Lachelle, Brad.

The Hidden Falls

Pics of the Headquarters

So this is the bunk-house. All the crew sleep here. The window on the right is where I sleep. The "cook" gets to have thier own room. The boys share a room right next to me and the rest of the girls stay upstairs. It is just one big room upstairs where most of the fun happens. As you can see, this just used to be an old barn turned into a bunk-house.












Just a different view of the bunk house.

Here is the Lodge where all the guests mingle and eat.

This is inside the Lodge.

This is where I am most of my day...in the kitchen

OUCH!!!

This is one of my many burns that I have received here at Red Hills Ranch. It's a tough and dangerous life working this job and it hurts a lot at times. This particular burn was from a pan that I was carrying. I was going through the door while carrying this pan (I was in a hurry) and there was something behind the door which made the pan fall off my hand and onto my arm! It hurt really bad. I have a few others as well: one is from just opening the oven door, another is from a skillet plug (the long metal thing that goes into the plug) and another is just from touching a hot pot. One of the things I hate cooking most is bacon and sausage. I have started wearing gloves to protect my arm from the popping grease. The frying pans don't have any lids for some reason so the grease just pops everywhere. I'm surprised grease hasn't popped in my eye yet! Anyways, regardless of the danger and pain, this job is very enjoyable and I am learning new things everyday.

My Day Off!

Today was mine and Brads day off. We didn't have any guests today and so I didn't feel guilty taking my day off. We get to have one day out of the week that we don't have to work. It was quite nice not having to spend my whole day in the kitchen. We went into town today and just browsed the shops. The crew also took advantage of not having any guests so we all went riding horses and it was the most perfect evening to go! Here are some pictures of the day.



Here is a huge buffalo that hangs out in Jackson. Its quite tame and lets all the people pet him.








I don't know why people are so afraid of Big Foot. He is really quite friendly actually.






This is the horse I rode on our ride this evening. His name is Indian.







This is me and the crew except one of the boys who was too tired to come...they work us to death here! Just teasing.




This is overlooking the place where I work. The trees right next to the fields is where the house is and the bunkhouse (the place the crew sleeps) is. The fields is obviously just where all the horses roam. I will get some better pictures close up around the ranch.

I hope they call me on a mission!

Brad got his mission call! He is going to the Charleston, West Virginia Mission. Brad and I are up here at Wyoming together working on a private ranch. We are having a blast! Brad got his mission call while he was up here so I recorded it so the family could see his expression when he opened it. Brad is going to be a great missionary and will serve the Lord all he can. Congrats Brad on your mission call!....sorry every body...i was not able to get the video to work on this so I guess you will have to see it another time.

Cooking, Cooking and more Cooking....

So I am the Ranch for good for the summer and I am having a great time. Pretty much all I do here is cook lots and lots of food. It's an adventure every meal...trying new recipes, doing things I have never done before...its somewhat of a thrill! I have made a few really good meals like Salmon, pork chops (I used this really good marinade for them), shrimp scampi, and lots of other things. I am still testing the waters before the guests arrive. I have been practicing different things so I kind of know whats good and whats not. Another thing that is quite difficult is knowing how much food to make. I would rather cook too much food than not enough food but then I get a lot of left overs and I hate leftovers because I can't really do to much with them but I feel too guilty throwing them all away! So that is one thing I am going to have to learn to judge. The flu has been going on around here...at least that's what I hope it is and that its not my cooking...that would be horrible if I have poisoned everybody!!! No, it has actually been really cold here and so I'm hoping that its just the cold weather and a virus. We went fishing last night in the little pond here where they just dumped a lot of fish and I caught two!!! I was so excited...but I guess its not that great seeming their is a lot of fish in a little pond but it was still very fun. Anyways, I am having a good time and learning lots of new things. Next time I will try and get some pictures.

Aloha

Sorry this is all backwards, you might want to read the post just under this and then read this one. I am unable to fit everything into one post so day one starts on the next post just under this one.

Still on day 2: Just after the temple we went to the PCC (Polynesian cultural center). It is run by the LDS church and it represents a bunch of different Polynesian islands i.e. Samoa, New Zealand, Tahiti, Fiji, etc. I happen to be at New Zealand in this picture. They gave us fake tattoos and they had a little show and a bunch of activities at each island.

Day 3: We went to another beach, but this beach's main attraction was the snorkeling. It was really cool to see a ton of fish and really cool looking ones at that.

After the beach we went to the Dole Plantation where they grow fields and fields of pineapples. They also had a 3 acre garden of different kinds of fruits plants and flowers. This tree was my favorite, it looks painted and fake but its really not! That's the real color of the bark...crazy.

Day 4: This was our last day we could do anything in Hawaii because the next day was Sunday and we were leaving anyway. We spent our last day at Pearl Harbor. The names behind us were all the people that died on the USS Arizona. These names don't include everybody else from other ships or whoever else died in the attack. I couldn't believe how many of them that were killed. At the memorial we are at you can still see the ship in the water, where the bodies of the men that were killed still lie beneath its chambers!

Day 5: We just went to church on Sunday and then flew out a few hours later. It was a long drive home from LA but it was worth the trip we had all just came home from.

Just some other things about our trip...We stayed in a beach house which was really fun and the island was just beautiful. There were the prettiest flowers there just in our front yard and all over where we went. I would always pick one and put it in my hair.
Another fun thing about Hawaii was that there were a ton of wild chickens all over the island. At the house we stayed at, there were chickens all over the place. The first night we stayed there, we were awakened by a very obnoxious rooster very early in the morning. We walked out one morning and found an egg on the porch a chicken had just laid. Every few years I guess the islanders have a chicken round up because there are too many chickens around.

All in all, we are home now and the trip was very fun. We had a blast and made lots of memories! Aloha, and thanks for reading.

Aloha!

Aloha everybody! I just got back from Hawaii vacationing with my family. The whole family came except Andrea's husband and all the little kids other than the nursing babies of course. We all had a blast. We drove all the way to LA to fly out because the plane tickets were so cheap and I guess it was even worth the gas to get down there. We left at three in the morning to leave and we finally got into Hawaii at six in the afternoon. It was a long day, and I had jet lag major! We did so many things. We did all we could squeeze into the week that we were there.

Day 1: our first day was beach day. The beach that we went to that day had this perfect cliff jumping rock. I thought I was going to be big bad and cool by jumping off. It didn't look that high from the ground but when I got up there it was way high and scary. It took me forever to finally get myself to jump. We were also able to do some snorkeling at this beach. I had never snorkeled before so it was weird at first but I got the hang of it and I snorkeled forever and found some really cool fish.

Ahhhh! Sharks! ha ha teasing. They are actually dolphins, but they do look like sharks though huh. They got really close to shore and the life guard was saying that they were still babies and quite dangerous so we weren't allowed to swim by them. They were really showing off though...they were flipping and twirling and doing all sorts of stuff.

Supposedly this place is famous for its shaved ice. It was good but nothing to be that famous over. They put ice cream in the bottom and so that made it pretty good I guess.

Day 2: We went to the temple and did baptisms for the dead. The temple was very pretty and it was just amazing how they set it all up. There were palm trees just lined up on each side clear from the road up to the temple and made it quite a sight to see.

There was this awesome tree behind the temple. It's quite hard to explain how it works but I guess vines grow from the branches and root into the ground and it makes all these trunks and it is just keep making more and more. You can't even tell where the original tree trunk is. The boys had a great time climbing it.

Scandinavian Days!

Every year the whole Anderson family gets together for the festival Scandinavian Days. We do a food booth there and sell Sanpete BBQ turkey--its a famous food there and everybody loves it. We all work together in the booth and have lots of fun. This festival is always over memorial day weekend and so we always go to the cemetary to pay our respects to all my reletives in Ephraim. Thats always a good thing to do as well. Scandinavian Days is definatley something I look forward to every year. Here are just some more pictures of the festival.

Graduation

Congratulations to Bradley Anderson for graduating High School! I came home from the Ranch to go to my brothers graduation last weekend. It was good to get some experience for a week at the Ranch so I could know a little of what is going on. All my family was home for this and so it was a fun eventful night to be able to celebrate my brother. Congrats again! I wish the best for you.

Home on the Range....

So the time I have been home from school I have been preparing to go to Wyoming to be a cook at a Dude Ranch! I have been cooking nearly every breakfast and dinner since I have been home. I start work on the 15th of May to get trained and then I get to take a break and go to Hawii and then I am on my back to the range right after that. I will be working for my cousin and her husband and my brother will be out there as well so it should be lots of fun. The job description is to just cook... cook all day long--breakfast, lunch and dinner for all the guest and the crew and the family that will be up there. There could be up to twenty guests and there is twelve crew and family so I be really busy sweating over the hot stove trying to fix up a gormet meal. I think this will be a great oportunity and a ton of fun! Wish me luck!

Add on to the "Last Days"

Just More Pictures of Ladd and Me.

Don't even ask......