12 weeks...

I must say I'm not feeling quite so fatigued at this point. I'm still tired after working but at least I can get my head off of my pillow in the morning.

Sigma Nu 85th Anniversary Party

Last weekend we went to a very nice dinner up at The Canyons. It was a celebration for the 85th anniversary of the Sigma Nu house at the University of Utah, Andy's fraternity. There were guys of all ages there...from guys who currently live in the house to guys in their 50's and 60's. It was a lot of fun to see the brotherhood with which Andy spent so much of his time. It was even more special that both Andy and his father were there because they were both commanders at the house.

I'm not sure if I got all of them in the picture, but this is all of the guys who attended...


Former commanders of the house...Andy's father is to the right of Andy.



Drinking my Sprite with cranberry juice...

Our Alaskan Adventure

Wow, it's taken me a while to get these photos on the blog. We returned to Alaska for a 2-week vacation from July 21st-August 4th. It felt great to be back in good ol' AK. Andy and I had different agendas while we were there. Along with camping and hiking, Andy wanted to fish as much as he could. I was completely content with a little camping, some hiking and spending quality time with some very good friends.

*Please note-Andy and I both agree we were not very good at taking pictures during this trip.


Collecting firewood for our campsite near Kenai Lake


Awww...Natalie playing with Ben's dog, Sarah




Fishing the confluence of Kenai River and Russian River



Fish on!




Andy's fishing trip near Talkeetna (not sure who this person is)




We decided to hike Flattop on one of the windiest days we were there. Once at the top, you had to lay down so you wouldn't get blown over! It took a little while to get used to, and it was a tad tough to walk around the top, but, still a great hike!

And then there were three...

We would like to introduce you to Baby Tullis, approximately 9 weeks along and moving like crazy!! We had our first ultrasound today and I don't think words can describe the feeling of seeing our baby for the first time. We saw the heart beating, its head and little arms and legs. Enjoy!

Hiking in Honeycomb Canyon

What a splendid day for a hike. We drove over to Brighton to hike Honeycomb Canyon. It was amazing!

Summer...So Far

I love summer!! The day after we arrived back in Park City from our road trip, the 4th of July festivities began at the cabin in Brighton. Andy's mom was in town so we were back and forth from Brighton a lot. We couldn't have asked for better weather. There were a few sprinkles in the afternoon but nothing that lasted more than about an hour. I wasn't very good about taking photos at the cabin. I was too busy relaxing and trying to get caught up with Harry Potter. I am finally on book seven so I'm super excited about seeing number six in the theatre. (Hey, Tina--thanks for the $10. :) )

We've been doing a lot of recreating. The weather has been sensational so we're taking full advantage of it. I do, however, love those thunderstorms, though. We are in the process of moving right now. It's a bigger place (a single family home) that we are renting from a good friend at work. The best part is that it has a yard for Cooper. We'll be paying less than we're paying right now so we plan to stick the extra into savings. We have a realtor on the lookout for houses, too. It's nothing we're needing to rush into--just getting started with the process.

Enjoy the photos!



Every Wednesday, at the Deer Valley Resort, they have a free concert series. You can bring food, beverages (including alcoholic), lawn chairs (the low kind) and blankets. It's a blast!





This is just a photo of some gigantic hotel they are building at the Deer Valley Resort. You can see the little rail system--that's how guests will get up to the hotel.



We play golf every Thursday evening. From left to right: Uncle Jim, Andy, me, Kim, Dave



Every 4th of July Brighton has a parade. (I have never been whacked with candy as much as I have at this parade.) It's not really an organized event so people just sort of join in as they please. Andy decided to join in this year.

Road Trippin' to WI (and Back)

I'd have to say that this was the longest road trip I've ever taken, for sure. When you are on the road system for 3,684 miles you are sure to have many adventures. Our time spent on the road was amazing. Our time spent with family and friends was fabulous. The humidity--not so fun. It's funny to think that I lived in that type of weather for 22 years and I still seemed to have difficulty adjusting. Enjoy the photos...there's lots of them!


After driving for nearly 9 hours, we decided to set up camp at the Sitting Bull campground near Buffalo, WY. The most amazing thing about this site was hearing the elk calls throughout the night and into the morning hours.



I may be mistaken, but this looks like one very happy passenger.


We took a scenic detour to see Devil's Tower.


After driving through Deadwood, SD, our first stop was the Crazy Horse Monument. The man who initially started the monument as since passed, but the work is being continued by his wife and 7 children. This project receives no federal funding.


On our second night, we stayed at a campground about 5 minutes from Mt. Rushmore. This was the first campground we've stayed at where we had to pay a $2 pet fee. I wonder what they use that $2 for????



One of the greatest things about camping with Cooper is that it really tires him out, especially if he chases squirrels.



I love this photo!


We just had to make a stop at the Wall Drug store in Wall, SD. Afterwards, we stopped at the Badlands Bar. Two beers, one soda, a basket of fries and a personal-sized pizza only cost $12!! Now that's a deal!



As we were driving along Interstate 90 in SD, the sky turned an eerie purple color. We didn't think that looked good so we turned on the radio and found out that a tornado was spotted 10 miles southwest of where we were. Yikes! Thank goodness we stayed at our friend Angie's parents house near Mitchell, SD that night. It was great so see Angie and Natalie. The next morning, we all went to the Corn Palace. What a place!



We drove through Badlands National Park.


On our fourth night we stayed at a campground in Zumbroro Falls, MN. This was the most expensive campground we've ever stayed at ($43/night). As were were sitting around the campfire, we started to hear thunder. A couple of hours later it started to sprinkle. We didn't think it was any big deal. Throughout the night, however, we awoke to these amazing lightning storms. It lit up the entire sky for hours. The next morning my mom called and asked if we were okay. Of course we were, why? She said there were 5 tornadoes spotted near Austin, MN. This was a little scary because that was one of the last towns we drove through before setting up camp.



We went ATVing with my dad one day. We went about 30 miles and, boy, was that some dusty 30 miles.



Thank goodness for those handkerchiefs!


We spent a couple of nights up in Hayward, WI. We stayed with a good friend of mine and her parents (who live right on the lake). One day we took a boat ride across the lake and camped out at the beach for a few hours.



Cooper made 2 new friends, Korbel and Windsor. As you can see, Cooper towered over them.


My mom bought some land and will soon be in the process of building a house. Her next door neighbors are llamas. I could watch them for hours, especially when they chew grass. They've got some funky looking teeth.


This was our first stop on our way back to Utah--a KOA near Omaha, Nebraska.



The KOA even had a Kamp K9 where dogs could be off-leash. I tried to get Cooper to do some tricks but he wasn't very interested.


He did, however, enjoy playing mini golf.


Every 30 minutes or so we had to open the window so Cooper could get a shot of fresh air. Super dog!