Wednesday's Read

The book for this week is  Marley and Me by John Grogan.  I was inspired to share this book with you because of these little guys.  Back in Logan, Ut there is a beautiful golden retriever named Dakota who has 8 adorable puppies.  It is REALLY hard for us to not be able to play and snuggle them. 

  Justin and I both have a very deep love for pets, especially dogs.  Seeing the way Justin is when he is with his dogs is something that I deeply love about him. To give you an idea, I met his two dogs before I met his parents. Early on in our relationship we spent a lot of time bonding on walks in the canyon or the neighborhood and the dogs always went along with us. When we were dating Justin's beloved dog Abby( Dakotas mom) passed away very suddenly.  It was a very emotional time and a night that I will always remember. Seeing Dakota have her first litter of puppies brought such happiness and so much fun.  It is amazing how these dogs have impacted our life and our relationship. Literally at least every week we mention how excited we are to have a house someday for one reason, so we can finally get our first dog. 

Now on to the book.....

When I read Marley and Me I laughed, I cried(wept), and most of all I related.  This is such a wonderful book about a family and their dog.  I love the message it conveys, that animals really impact our lives and they really do become our family.  If you are looking for an easy read with a lot of heart and a LOT of humor, read this. I LOVED this book and highly recommend this one to all of you!

p.s. How can you not read this book? Just look at the cover! SOOOO cute!

p.p.s. I had a couple of people tell me that they liked last weeks pick, "The Hunger Games". Told ya!

Windrivers

Me, my dad, my brothers and my uncle Josh recently took a backpacking trip to the Wind Rivers in Wyoming. Packing a 40-lb pack a couple thousand feet uphill may not sound like very much fun, but the amazing views at the top are worth every step. We camped at a few lakes, including Diamond, Big Sandy, and Black Joe Lake. We spent a lot of time fishing and went on a couple of day hikes. The highlight of the trip was a grueling day hike to Jackass pass (we soon discovered that the name describes anyone who thinks they're up for the challenge) which overlooks the Cirque of the Towers, a semicircle of enormous granite peaks that make for a breathtaking view. Overall, the trip was a success considering that the fishing was great, the mosquitoes weren't as bad as we expected, we didn't have any run-ins with bears (unlike the last trip).

Walk in the Canyon

One of our favorite things to do is take walks in the mountains. These are some pictures of us and dakota, the family dog, up smithfield canyon.

I love this picture of Dakota. She is so happy!

Jess and "Koda"

Justin and Dakota