Happy FHE

We took a break from yardwork and training the dog to play in the mountains! We're used to the Wasatch Mountains and the beautiful canyons there, but now that we live on the OTHER side of the world from those, we did some exploring.

Butterfield Canyon was our first adventure! It goes right up to the south side of the Kennecott Copper Mine, so we drove up and had a great time. The view was awesome and Jovi enjoyed her time out in the "wild". Unfortunately Butterfield Canyon isn't as developed as the other side of the valley, and it doesn't have any actual campsites, so we made our own!

We dug out a fire pit, built a fire, and cooked tin foil dinners. YUM! Jon is an amazing chef, even in the outdoors. The most hilarious part was that we had a nice little hike, ran around with Jovi and got all settled in to roast marshmallows and and cook dinner - all with great weather. As soon as we sat down to eat our meal, it started STORMING! Lightning was just above our heads and it poured rain.

So, when all was said and done, we ate in the car. Yay for adventures!

Weezer Rocks

I have been in love with the nerd rockers in Weezer since I was about 14. My friends Molly, Amelia, Kathleen, and I listened to them a ton one summer in Lake Tahoe and I was sure they were the coolest band ever.

They continue to amaze me with their musical genius, but they've really outdone themselves with the hilarious video for "Pork and Beans". I can't stop watching it! For those of you who are YouTube nerds like me, this video highlights several famous YouTube-ers. I was curious which ones they were, so I found a site that lists them. Go to this link and you can find hours of YouTube heaven!

valleywag.com/392972/weezer-undestands-how-to-work-youtube

Long live geek bands and YouTube nerds everywhere!

More about me

Okay, so I'm feeling a little obsessive (like I said on the last entry) about getting to 100... but I don't know if I can think of 100 things that anyone else would want to read. Well, if you don't, it won't hurt my feelings!

21. The coolest place I've ever been is Tintern Abbey in Wales. See link: http://www.castlewales.com/tintern.html It took my breath away to be in such beautiful architecture, yet with nature intertwined.

22. I used to want to be a seal. Whenever anyone asked what I wanted to be, that's what I'd tell them.
23. I was a ballet dancer until the age of seven when I was kicked out for not being able to do a cartwheel. (see above)
24. I wrote for the newspapers at Alta High School, Ricks College, Utah State University, and the Idaho Falls Post Register. I love to write!
25. I have dabbled in basketball, volleyball, track and field, and even swim teams, but nothing really stuck.
26. I have run two 10K races in my life ... but I'm not very fast!
27. I love desserts. Creme Brulee is by far the greatest food ever invented. (probably why I'm not very fast!! Hee hee.)
28. Jon and I want to someday open a sit-down dessert restaurant. We were inspired by one in Boston that we loved!
29. I served a mission in San Francisco - that place will always have a special place in my heart.
30. I'm fluent in "Mexican" - not necessarily "Spanish" because I learned several dialects from many countries! Yay for our melting pot in the U.S.
31. I love taking hot HOT baths.
32. Getting a professional, full-body massage is part of my heaven on earth.
33. I have always wanted to shave my head. I will someday.
34. My fingernails do not grow. Not for anything. Ever.
35. We have a vegetable garden that may or may not survive the summer.
36. I love my Mac computer. Macs are superior to PCs hands down. I will have a conversation with you later if you do not agree.
37. I am a youTube junkie - it's hard to tear myself away from it!
38. I have lived in 17 different places in my life (counting college and mission). 18 if you count the fact that all our belongings were in Denver for 6 months. :)
39. I have had lots of pets in my life including: several bunnies, some ducks, a mean goat, more bunnies later, fish we poisoned with pencil shavings, paper clips and cookies, a boxer named Rispah, and Jovi.
40. I currently live in Riverton, Utah.

All About Me

My friend Melonie just started a blog ... YAY MEL! And on her blog she had 100 things about her. I don't usually do those "tags" where you have to answer a bunch of random questions, and to be honest I don't really read other peoples' either. :) But I read Mel's and learned some fun things about her. So, I'm going to just write some and see what comes out!

1. I'm 27 years old.
2. I'm married to Jon, the bestest hubby ever!
3. I'm obsessive about projects and getting them done, but not as obsessive as Jon!
4. I'm a neat freak - I have to have the bed made every day!
5. My favorite movie is "Benny and Joon".
6. My favorite TV show is "The Office", though I'm currently addicted to the online showing of past seasons of LOST. OH MY GOSH!
7. I teach elementary school - I will start teaching 3rd grade at a new school in September.
8. My longest dream has been to write childrens' books ... but I just can't get my head around it yet!
9. I have a dog named Jovi.
10. I sew baby shoes for fun (see jonniebean.blogspot.com)
11. My favorite color is green.
12. My lucky number is 12.
13. I have five sisters whom I love very much!
14. I graduated from USU where I was named the On Campus Student of the Year for the Eled Dept.
15. I absolutely love playing the piano... I want to do better and practice more.
16. I would love to teach piano someday... maybe soon!
17. I get road rage way too easily.
18. My biggest pet peeve is Utah Passive Agressive Women. I think it's a group. The UPAW's. (People who are nice to your face but do mean things behind your back. Grr.)
19. I love taking walks with Jovi and Jon.
20. I absolutely love volleyball - watching, playing, etc.


Thanks for reading! That's all for now!

Dog Blog update

Just in case anyone is wondering... Jovi is doing great. We got up with her every hour to an hour and a half on Friday night. But the sacrifice was worth it - NO ACCIDENTS IN HER KENNEL! (But I want to know who is training who??)

Then last night she slept outside (no whining or crying) until around 2 am so I got up, let her in, and fully expected to be up and at em in about 30 minutes. But she slept in until 7 a.m. when my sweet hubby dragged himself out of bed to take her out. This is truly a group effort, but she's getting there!

We'll see how tonight goes.

I love my little puppy - she keeps us on our toes!

I love my family!

Happy Fathers' Day everyone! We had a great day with the fam. First of all it was Stake Conference, so we only had 2 hours of church, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Then we got to head to Sandy to my grandparents' home. I just absolutely love hanging out on the porch, laughing and talking and teasing little kids. Jovi kept our hands full, too. She was a pretty good hit at the party, given that only one family in my entire extended family even has a dog. (We're not dog people... I'm going to change that!)

Then my immediate family came to our house for yet more food and presents. The final game of that one sport where they throw a ball into a round thing was also on, so it was a blast! (Jon and I aren't sports watchers... at least not on TV. Or at all.) Hee hee. It was so heart-warming to look around and see everyone I love in the same room. We played outside in the new yard, gave Saige a shower, and my dad opened some presents. It was low-key but just perfect.

I love you all!

Motherhood... sort of.

I promise this won't turn into a "doggie blog," but I saw this pic online and it is exactly how I feel right now. Yes, I realize this is a mother with a child. But Jon and I have been thrown into early parenthood with our cute little pup. We were so excited to get her yesterday, and my last entry was so much fun to write.

But when she didn't go into her kennel easily last night, then pooped TWICE before 1 a.m. and screamed her head off, I knew I was in for a rough night. She cried again around three and I let her around the garage for a bit, then at 5 a.m. this morning little Jovi was done sleeping.

When I rescued her, she was standing in the biggest pile of poop I've ever seen out of a small body. Gross. My gag reflex is not too forgiving and that was no exception. Ew. So I cleaned out the kennel and threw away the soiled towels. (No way was I going to wash those!) Then cute Jon decided it was his turn, so he dragged himself out of bed and took her on a walk so I could sleep for a couple of hours.

Then I took her on a walk so HE could sleep... sound familiar mothers out there?

That's how it went all day. She cries and cries if we leave her alone for more than 15 minutes, so we've just taken turns playing and bathing and walking.

Now it's nearly 11 p.m. and she's been crying in her kennel for 30 minutes plus. I read that it's the most important time to just ignore her and let her get accustomed to the kennel. "It's a safe place that dogs enjoy" says one website. MY FOOT!

I'm just hoping she'll sleep a bit before I have to take her out at midnight. Then at 2. Then at 4. Then at 6. Oh joy.

We have an announcement!!

Meet the newest member of the Hagen family - our new black lab JOVI! Today we went "dog shopping" and fell in love with the first dog we laid our eyes on. She's mellow, calm, and so cuddly. We think she may be having some separation anxiety from her mommy, but she's playful and we love her!

We loved several names (Lia, Sophie, Zoe, etc.) but then we thought Jon, Bon, Jovi ... she's a rock-star doggie! So, that's her name - Jovi!

If anyone has any tips on training doggies, please pass it along!

New Blog!

My cute friend Lauren is amazing at "pimping" blogs (see her link), so she took a stab at ours. It's pretty cute, don't you think? She's a great neighbor. Thanks Lauren!

Caity's Challenge

So, my darling friend Caity posted her bridal picture on her website and asked us to do the same. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't printed ANY of my bridals or wedding pictures yet and it's been over a year. But getting this out of the archives motivates me to 1. get some out and print them and 2. work out even harder for the summer! I loved this day. Jon is amazing and I can't believe how blessed I am to have him in my life. That day we joined our lives and I'll never be the same again! I love you honey!

Wow.

Jon is amazing. When he gets a project in his head he just goes all out and gets as much done as he can until he falls over half-dead. We moved into our house a month ago. Since then we've unpacked and made the house presentable. Then Jon attacked the yard.

Riverton, Utah is a very rocky, dry place. But the dirt is clay, so it's a weird mixture to work with. We have fought the gross clay with loads and loads of topsoil, water, and tlc. These pictures are kind of the process of turning a mess into a yard.

1.We dug trenches and laid sprinkler pipe.



2. We laid sod with our neighbors Daphne and Mark. (Thank goodness for awesome neighbors!)



3. We put in a fence and played with the flower beds a bit. (Thanks neighbor Brian for helping with the fence and Lauren for entertaining me!)


Notice the different clothes in each picture. Each project was a full day's work. I love being outside and seeing this come together...

Now I just have to recover from my first sunburn of the year!