Ty & Bre Murdock

7 Month Snapshot

2010-08-06T21:41:00.000-07:00

The following is my attempt at documenting the last 7 or so months. I know it's long, but what can you do?
January - I finally graduated after 7 long years of juggling work and school. Tyler started another semester of school and we moved into our new apartment in Sandy.
February - School, work, sleep, repeat. That's all.
March - A much needed Spring Break in Escalante.

April - I was offered a teaching job at Summit Academy in Draper teaching 8th grade English. I guess I'm a real grown up now. Ty finished up the semester with straight A's. We hung his report card on the fridge.
May - I continued working at the Center, but did find the time to take a week off for a river trip on the San Juan. We also spent a few days in Moab after the river trip and did a little hiking/canyoneering. Ty bummed around while his sugar mama worked for rent money. Oh and he also planted his vegetable garden.

June - I worked A LOT during this month. It was stressful, and I almost had a nervous breakdown. But in the end, I survived. I quit the Center after 8 years. It was exciting and sad all at the same time. I will miss many things about CFC, but I'm super excited to venture into the education field. Tyler worked on his online stats class and also kept up on the housework.
July - On July 1st we headed to Maui for 10 days with my fam. It was amazing. When we got back we realized that we were true bums and decided to do a little playing. We hiked Mount Nebo, we went camping (see the previous post), and we hung out with family. It was delightful.

Ty doing a little surfingThe summit of Mt. Nebo

We're holding back the tears at this point
Hiking to Hidden Lake in Albion Basin
A couple days later, we went back up to Hidden Lake and did a little car camping

CamPeeing

2010-07-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

This morning Tyler and I woke up to the sound of a little boy laughing and something wet being sprayed on our tent.

Tyler: "Micah is peeing on our tent." (He opens the tent door) "Micah that's not funny!"

Micah: "Ya it is funny TyTy." (laughing hysterically and continuing to pee on our tent)

Tyler: "No, it's not funny! You are going to have to go to time out!"

Micah: "Ya it is funny! And TyTy will go to time out." (still laughing his head off)

Tyler (to me): "We are never having kids..."

Thank you Micah for this wake up call. What would we do without you?

10 Reasons Why We Are Horrible Bloggers

2010-01-05T21:51:00.000-08:00

10. Student teaching pretty much took up all of my time from September through December. Glad it's done and done.
9. Ty is ridiculously devoted to school and didn't get out much. He also monopolized the computer and I rarely had a chance to use it, other than to QUICKLY check my email. It really wasn't fair, now that I think about it.

8. We lost our camera. Posts without pictures just aren't as exciting. Face it, they're not.

7. The holidays. Chaotic, fun, crazy busy, and slightly relaxing. Not much time for blogging though.

6. Work, well not really since I'm only working 15 hours a week right now. I'm not sure what happens the rest of the week, but it seems to fly by.

5. A preoccupation with Criminal Minds. It's on for 3 hours straight every night and it has turned into an unhealthy addiction. In fact, it gives me nightmares and makes me scared to walk downstairs by myself.

4. I wish I could say it was because I was training for another half marathon, but that's definitely not it since I haven't been running for months. I was just feeling really guilty while looking at the previous post. Dang. I guess that's my New Year's resolution.

3. Nothing exciting has happened in our lives. Really. We are quite boring as of late. We did find a new apartment in Sandy, so that is fun I guess. Maybe that will be my next post...assuming we find our camera in the move.

2. We have been busy trying to make decisions, just in general. We can't make decisions. Unless they are planned out and made in advance. We suck at making last minute decisions. Like tonight we spent 4 hours trying to decide if we should fly to California in the morning. Don't ask. Just know that I wanted to poke my eyes out. And we didn't end up going. Sometimes I wonder if we should really be considered adults. We struggle sometimes, but at least we struggle together, right?

1. Pure laziness is what has really driven me to become a really crappy blogger. I can't believe you people who blog multiple times a week! I am simply too lazy. That's it. Lazy.

Anyways, happy late holidays to those of you that still take the time to check our rarely updated blog, and who take the time to read a boring post with no pictures. Sorry. Hopefully more to come sooner rather than later. :)

Annual Westwater Trip

2009-09-11T23:48:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we enjoyed our annual fall Westwater trip. We had a great evening under the full moon followed by an excellent day of rapids. I stole these pictures from Paul and Tiff, thanks Tiff for the great shots.

This is my "slow" brother Creed, maybe he can explain.

Brian dropping into the hole in Last Chance

A couple of heads is all that can be seen of the paddle raft.

Hobble Creek Half Marathon

2009-08-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

After weeks (or months) of training, the much-anticipated half marathon is now over. Since I'm not much of a runner, this was a big accomplishment for me. It was so fun to train with Kell and Miranda...we bonded. :)

All of the girls after running 13.1 miles. We're pretty much awesome.

My mom still thinks I'm number one, even though I was 843rd.

Summer Closure

2009-08-16T19:21:00.000-07:00

Well, it's true. Summer has come to a screeching halt. School starts Wednesday and student teaching begins. Ty's semester starts in a couple of weeks which means we are heading for another lifestyle change. We are giving up our nights of lying around the house and our longer-than-a-weekend vacations and devoting our evenings to lesson planning and homework. This summer has been so crazy with so many things happening, but we have enjoyed every minute of it. I'm always excited for a nice, relaxing summer vacation and then the next thing I know school is about to start and I can't figure our where the time went. It seems like our summer lifestyle ends up being just as chaotic as the rest of the year. Here are a few highlights of our last few get-a-ways before we have to buckle down to a more routine schedule.

Ouray and Birth Control

A few weeks ago we drove to Moab and met up with Alina, Brian and the boys and went to Ouray, Colorado for the weekend. The boys were so fun to be with because everything was so exciting and new and they definitely spiced things up. By the end of the trip Ty was questioning whether or not he wanted kids of his own, but I reassured him that typically they only come one at a time. I don't know whether or not he was convinced by that, but I think that if we have twins we are doomed.

Taking a dip in Cowboy Jacuzzi before our trip to Colorado.

Ryder and Ridge on our way out of Moab. The boys took turns riding in our car and we separated them with boxes so they couldn't touch each other. See, we have this parenting thing down.

Cascade Falls in Ouray

Me and River getting ready to run for the trailhead after hearing thunder that was too close for comfort.Ty and the boys. You can't tell in this picture, but they just finished writing a rap song about a train, the rain, and some other words that end in "ain." It was pretty hilarious and I wish I had it on video. Next time.
Enjoying the campfire while telling our most embarrassing moments to the boys.

Weekend at Bear Lake

We spent a weekend in Bear Lake with some of my friends from high school. It's always fun to get everyone together and remember the good 'ol days of Springville High. While they went boating, me and Ty hiked Mount Naomi up Loga

n Canyon. It was beautiful and the wild flowers were amazing. Thanks Nick and Dy for inviting us to the cabin.

We couldn't really get a picture that captured the beauty of all the wildflowers. This will have to do I guess.

On the summit of Mt. Naomi

Our Future Plans

We are still a little clueless about where our lives our headed at this point. We are still living with Janine and Steve as our apartment searching has been unsuccessful and has slowly come to a halt. Right now we are thinking about staying there until I'm done student teaching and can get a job that actually brings in more than $400 a month. I guess my 10 hours a week can't support us while Ty finishes school. I will be graduating in December and Ty will finish up with his undergrad in Environmental Studies in 3 more semesters. For now Ty is still planning on Law School after that, but ask us tomorrow and the plans may have changed. Our lives our up in the air and they will probably be that way for months or years to come. I would feel bad about it, except we are taking advantage of our lack of responsibility by vacationing, spending time with family and friends, and doing things that we may not have the flexibility to do in the future. I can't complain yet.

So, if you have made it to the end of this post... congratulations! I now know who really cares about our lives and/or who is so bored that they have nothing better to do than to read a fairly long and boring blog post. Anyways, that's all I have to say for now.

And just one more...

2009-07-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

I know everyone is probably sick of our Middle Fork pics, but I had to put this one on too because I love the faces that everyone is making. Ash and Mike look like twins and I love it. Thanks for the picture Nate.

Oh, and just for the record, I was not screaming like a mad woman when I caught that fish. I was just really excited. Anyone who knows Tyler knows he exaggerates a little, or a lot.

More Pictures

2009-07-15T08:50:00.001-07:00

Looking down into Impassable Canyon from Elk Bar, our last nights camp.

River with his frog.

Elk Bar

Our last night on the river Bre took my fly rod down the river and about ten minutes later I could hear her screaming like she was being attacked by a bear, I guess catching your first fish on a fly rod will make you scream. I am still not sure whether the scream was fear or excitement?

Middle Fork of The Salmon

2009-07-14T07:47:00.001-07:00

We just returned home from a week on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. My family did this river in 2003 and have since had a six year drought on drawing permits until this year, apparently Ashli has been doing something right. The Idaho Fly Fishing guide book says "If God were to set out to design the perfect river for wilderness trips, he'd make sure there were series after series of exciting but negotiable rapids and falls, schools of trout waiting to take the first fly they see, and hot springs all along the route in which to soak at the end of a hard day. That describes the Middle Fork perfectly." I don't think there is any place on earth that I would rather be than floating, fishing, sitting in hot springs, eating and relaxing on the Middle Fork.

The Confluence of Loon Creek and the Middle Fork.

Throwing dry flies at some West Slope Cutthroats.

Sunflower Hot Springs pour over a rock ledge right next to the river providing a perfect shower.

Trail Flat hot spring provided a nice warm break on a cool first day.

Running Lake Creek Rapid, this newly formed

rapid shows how the river is constantly evolving.

Wedding and Missionary

2009-06-01T19:02:00.001-07:00

Could the month of May have been any more crazy? With Sean and Mike's surgeries, Nikki's wedding, and Mike's farewell we have had quite the month. Friday was the big wedding and it was beautiful. Congrats Nikki and Matt! We love you guys and are so happy for you.

On Wednesday we will be sending Mike off to the MTC for "the best two years of his life." I'm not totally convinced on that one, but I am proud of him for making the decision to serve the Lord. We love you Mike and we'll be thinking about you while you're in Samara, Russia.

Escalante

2009-05-21T22:40:00.000-07:00

Last week Bre and I went down to the desert near Escalante for a little break before I started back to school this week. Every time I go to this part of southern Utah I am constantly singing the words of RJ Garn from his song Escalante... "Camping alone late at night on the river darkness settles down over me cold as the breeze gently rustles the trees and it sounds just like waves on the sea. I’m camping alone late at night on the Escalante and I'm free under the cottonwood trees." We watched the sun set on the slick rock while laying on a small beach under the cottonwoods.

The Cottonwoods are all filled with tent caterpillars right now. There were so many falling from the trees that it sounded like it was raining on our tent.

Bre making her first jump into Bluebelly.

This is one of the arches located a couple miles up the Escalante river. The alcove in the bottom left has three large Anasazi structures.

Twitterpated

2009-04-18T15:35:00.000-07:00

What is with the new "Twitter" fad? I don't get it... Every news station, TV show, or radio station that I have listened to this week has mentioned "Twitter" and I really don't understand what it is. On KUER today, they were talking about a Twitter Revolution, and this makes me nervous. Please, if you tweet or have been tweeted, enlighten me. What is so awesome and why is everyone so Twitterpated?

Read this article if you are as confused as me... It doesn't answer any of my questions, but it demonstrates the fascination that I'm talking about.

Spring Break

2009-03-23T16:36:00.000-07:00

I know I have become a horrible blogger, but our lives haven't slowed down since January. Ty started his first semester at the U and he has enjoyed it so far. The worst part is he has to drive from Springville to Orem so he can catch the bus at 6AM that takes him to school. It's only on Tuesdays and Thursdays so it hasn't been too bad, but we're hoping to relocate further north as soon as this semester is over. I am almost finished with my last semester of classes and I couldn't be more excited. I will student teach in the fall and then I'll finally be a college grad (without a job, nice!) We change our plans of where we are going to live and what we are going to do with our lives on a regular basis, but that's life!

We did manage to squeeze in a much needed vacation last week during our Spring Break. We were excited to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather and we were extremely disappointed as we drove home through Spanish Fork canyon in the snow. We had a fun weekend and I got some excellent advice from our nephew, Ryder, when we stopped in Moab for a night. He was debating on whether or not he should listen to his mom and go get his pajamas on and he said, "If I listen to my mom, then my life will be good." Very sound advice from a four-year-old who has heard that phrase a few times.

Sorry about the mini video... I don't have time right now to try and fix it.

Eavesdropping

2009-02-17T19:54:00.000-08:00

Me listening to a conversation between three junior high kids at lunch today...

A bus pulls up to the gas station. The kids see it out the window.
Girl 1 - I want to be a bus driver. Ya know, like, a cool one. You could play, like, cool music and stuff.
Girl 2 - What? Why?
Girl 1 - Do you know how much they make?! They only work four hours a day and get paid for six!
Girl 2 - What would you do for the rest of the day if you're only working four hours?
Girl 1 - I don't know, like, go shopping or something.
Girl 2 - Why would you be a bus driver if you could be a doctor or something?
Girl 1 - No way! That takes way to much time, and, like, money.
Boy 1 - Where's our food?

(And, yes Kell, the exclamation points are very necessary in this conversation.)

Moral of the story: Why am I wasting all this time and money to get a degree when I could be a bus driver? Hmmm...

Get Your Snuggie

2008-12-15T17:17:00.000-08:00

This week Bre has been complaining that our apartment is too cold. Well I just so happened to find this great product on TV and thought it would be a perfect gift for her. It really is such a great idea because isn't everybody as sick of blankets as I am? Blankets today can just be so frustrating to use. I am so thankful there are people out there creating such fine products. I just wanted to share this great Christmas gift idea for everyone. Be sure to order soon before they are sold out!

I Am Thankful For..

2008-11-27T11:02:00.000-08:00

1. Tyler - I'm thankful to be married to such an amazing person. I could go on and on, but that gets annoying.
2. The Gospel
3. Our awesome families - we are so lucky to have amazing families who we love to be with.
4. Sonic Diet Coke with real cherries and limes (yes, it is this high on my list)
5. Our jobs and great employers who are flexible with our crazy schedules.
6. My education
7. This country and the freedoms that we enjoy.
8. Chocolate and Salt - not together, but two of my favorite things.
9. A great landlord and a warm place to sleep at night.
10. All of the little things we enjoy each day that get taken for granted.

Me Being Patriotic

2008-11-03T20:33:00.000-08:00

Patriotism... this word has taken on so many different (and strange) meanings in the last few years. What makes me patriotic? I don't fly an American flag from my car, I don't have American flags hanging from my ears, my husband doesn't sing Toby Keith's "I'll put a boot in your ass..." at the top of his lungs. (I can't even finish the lyrics because they are so ridiculous.) So are we patriotic?

I was thinking about the different ways people support the country and I believe the number one way we can do what's best for this country is by letting our voices be heard tomorrow, election day. Tyler and I voted early this year and it made me think about how involved we have become in this election. We researched the candidates, found out the FACTS (which can be hard to do) and we really made educated decisions when it came to most of the candidates. I'm proud to say that I made a contribution to the future of our country, especially in this scary time of uncertainty and doubt with many of the issues we are being faced with today. I'm feeling very patriotic, although I may not look the part. No matter which candidates you support, tomorrow is the day to let your voice be heard. I know you'll make the right choice. (right Bob and Mom?) Just remember, "Yes we can."

Another funny political comment for the day... my little brother, Mike, text me this today "my friends are bashing Obama, I need some good stuff to argue about him." His friend said that "there is no good reason to vote for Obama." I would definitely beg to differ, but like I told Mike, that can be his opinion but obviously there must be SOMETHING good about him since he's made it this far in the race. You need to research those issues that are important to you and decide for yourself. Funny how we can see things so one-sided and not think twice about it. Moral of the story: Be open to others opinions and look at both sides of the argument.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

Halloween/Maren's Birthday Party

2008-10-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

This post is a little late but we have had a crazy week with school and work. After taking two weekend vacations in a row, we had a lot of catching up to do. I know you were all excited to see Tyler in Mickey Mouse ears but he "accidently" forgot the camera in the car. Whoops! So we have no pictures of the magical kingdom...

We also went on a tram ride in the San Jacinto State Park that made me much more sick than any of the roller coasters at Disneyland. Going up 9,000 feet with a rotating floor just didn't do it for me. (Did I mention that we were swaying each time we went over a pole.) Once we got to the top, we realized that the farther we hiked the fewer people we encountered. So we did manage to escape the huge crowds, but it was still a pretty popular/touristy place. All-in-all, it was a beautiful view, the weather was perfect, and it was fun to be with my family.

Escape to the Desert

2008-10-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

While Utah County was getting rain and snow last weekend, we were enjoying the nice, mostly warm weather in Canyonlands. But the fun isn't over yet! Tonight we are headed down to California for the weekend. Disneyland, here we come! I'm sure you can all guess how excited Tyler is. I will try to convince him to put on some Mickey ears for a photo shoot but I'm not going to hold my breath.

The Goat Show On Timp

2008-09-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday while Bre was doing a project for school I decided to hike Timpanogos along with the rest of Utah County. We forgot there was no BYU game so apparently all of the zoobies needed something to occupy their time. I have never seen so many people in wilderness on cellphones before. With that being said I guess it's a good thing that their not sitting home watching TV. The leaves were changing into bright colors and the air was cool which made for a beautiful fall day.

Just on the summit there was easily over 50 people. If you look close most of them will be on cellphones.

The Big Race

2008-09-22T21:44:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the Top of Utah Marathon and to show our support for Todd and Ash, we decided to run the 5K (23 miles shorter than what they ran). Congrats Todd and Ash for making it the entire race without dying... quite the accomplishment.

The 5K was a big feat for me, since I started off the summer without the ability to run around the block before getting a massive side-ache (you know the kind that cut off your breathing...). Although Ty and Nate left us in the dust before we could even start running, Miranda, Kell, Hatee and I had a mostly enjoyable race. Hatee even took first place in her division. Nice job, Hatee! Hopefully next year we'll be shooting for the half-marathon.
And to top it off, matching team Murdock shirts.. Love it!

Sarah or Tina?

2008-09-16T17:31:00.001-07:00

The Contrast (as told by one side)

2008-09-10T22:33:00.001-07:00

Today in my British Literature class we were studying the French Revolution and how it influenced Great Britain and its literature. My professor had us look at this picture drawn by Thomas Rowlandson in 1792 that was used as British propaganda against the revolution. Many of the upper class citizens in Great Britain were against the French Revolution and they began posting pictures like this one on the windows of stores so that the lower working class (those that couldn't afford to buy propaganda) could see how "horrible" the French were. So.... why did this make the blog cut?

I was thinking about how this related to politics today and how funny it is that political parties become so one-sided and extreme. As you watch commercials, read e-mails, or watch the news, it's hard to know what to believe because all of the politicians are typically going to tear down the other party. What I've decided is rather than believe everything I hear, I need to research it myself in order to find the "truth" behind the political schemes. No matter which party you are going to vote for this November, try to find out the facts. Don't rely on sources from the other party to sway your opinion. For all you know, it could be bogus just like this British propaganda. So ask yourself the same simple question the British asked; which is best?

Slacking on Westwater

2008-09-09T19:15:00.000-07:00

We have been in school for about two weeks now and have already needed a break... I'm pretty sure that's not a very good beginning to the semester. For some reason, Tyler and I tend to be easily stressed out, so it's nice when we can take a break from our school, work, homework routine. I feel like a huge slacker since we have only been in school for such a short period of time but I guess there's no better way to slack then on a river trip. For some video footage of the big adventure, see Brian's blog.

Veggin' Out

2008-09-01T12:18:00.000-07:00

Tyler has never been a big vegetable eater, but I think we've finally discovered how to get him to eat and ENJOY them. He's been helping his mom in her vegetable garden and it has been really fun to "live off the land." He is actually excited to eat fresh steamed carrots for dinner, which is highly unusual.

I still haven't been able to convince him to put tomatoes on his bacon sandwhiches, but we're taking baby steps.

Cottonwood Creek

2008-08-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Creed, Chad, and I went down to kayak Cottonwood Creek. On our way we stopped in the great metropolis of Castle Dale for lunch. I get depressed every time I go to that little town. While we were eating, I heard the people at the other table say they had to take there dog to the vet because he was sick and the kid said, "ya he got maggots all over him." If that doesn't make you hungry! We had a great run down Cottonwood with no major accidents other than a couple of pinned boats, a few swims, and a 3 inch gash in the floor of Creed's boat.

Gimme a Head of Hair

2008-08-06T00:05:00.000-07:00

Due to the recent popularity of Ty's long, curly locks and some pictures that I found from our crazy hair girl's night, I decided to create this masterpiece... I will apologize now for the song but I just couldn't resist.

High Uintas Wilderness

2008-07-31T21:47:00.000-07:00

This past week I spent in the Grandaddy and Four Lakes Basins of the Uintas. Todd is working as the wilderness ranger in those basins for the summer. So Brian, River, Mikey (Ashli's little brother) and I went in to keep him company. We had a great trip and caught alot of Big Brookies and Artic Grayling.

Daynes Lake in the Four Lakes Basin with Cyclone pass in the background. We spent the entire day here fishing and sleeping.

Brinton Meadows

This is one of the Brookies we caught out of Rainbow Lake.

Rainbow Lake with Mt. Agassiz in the Back.

Todd and I at Daynes Lake.

2008-07-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

Red Pine Lake up Little Cottonwood Canyon

Mikey, Aubrey, Ash, Me and Ty

New Pad

2008-07-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

After a few weeks of packing, hauling, and carrying boxes and furniture between our places, we are officially moved in! It has been a lot of work with between moving and painting but definitely worth it now that we are in and settled. We actually bought groceries for the first time in a month because we were living in limbo between Orem and Springville.

Last night, we finished the bedroom painting project. It was a little sketchy at first, since the paint was looking more fuschia than red. In the end, it turned out to be the color we were hoping for (after about 20 coats of paint).

Wedding Bells

2008-07-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

Finally, the waiting is over and my mom and Paul got hitched on Thursday, June 26th. After being engaged for over seven months, we were all ready for Paul to officially become part of the family. We love them both and we are glad they found each other. Right now they are enjoying the beautiful sights of Italy and we can't wait for them to come home next week. Congrats Mom and Paul! We love you!

The San Rafael River

2008-06-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we met "Wild Bri" and the Nielson's for a nice relaxing trip down the San Rafael River. The river flows through an area known as the Little Grand Canyon which deep canyon walls provide beautiful scenery for the float. It was a great day to be on the river.

The Old Man in his fish cat.

Go With the Flow

2008-06-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

"Ah the river... who knows where she'll take you. When you are adrift at last, give thanks to the fates. No matter what you've forgotten, everything you need is here. All you can do is go with the flow."

--Ann Walka

We all know that Ty and I have a hard time "going with the flow" (Ty especially..:) but one thing that I've learned to love about floating down the river is you really have to let go of everything and literally go with the flow of the river. We had a very nice and relaxing trip with the Murdock clan and it was hard to get back to work on Monday. It's crazy how fast the relaxation from the river trip can disappear once we get back to our stress-filled lives!

Horsetail Falls

2008-05-19T21:21:00.001-07:00

On Saturday Ty and I went up to Lone Peak Wilderness area and hiked into Horsetail Falls. It was one of the prettiest falls I have seen, especially right now with so much water coming off the mountains. It was a beautiful day to be out hiking.

Springtime in the Desert

2008-05-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

Last week we went down south to visit Bri, Alina and the boys. After driving through a complete whiteout in Spanish Fork Canyon it turned out to be a very nice weekend. We Climbed on Potash Friday, Hiked up Mill Creek Friday evening and went Backpacking Saturday and Sunday. While Bri, River and I went Backpacking the girls even found time to watch 8 hours of Pride and Prejudice and 4 hours of Wives and Daughters. I was really sad that I missed 8 hours of Mr. Darci.

Kell and Bre climbing above Potash.

Brian, River and I headed down to Cedar Mesa on saturday and sunday. We went down Bullet Canyon to the Confluence of Grand Gulch.

This is at the Perfect Kiva Ruin which was found in near perfect condition in the late 1800's. They have since stabalized the roof so you can go inside. Kiva's are thought to have been used by the Anasazi's for spirtual or religous ceremonies. It is amazing to think of the work that went into building these structures.

2008-04-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

Summer has officially started for me and Ty and we couldn't be happier. We have been so busy the last month with papers, quizzes, presentations, and finals that we didn't have time to leave the house. Our weekends consisted of homework-eat-homework-sleep. Now that school is out and finals are over we are ready to play! This weekend we partied it up with the Murdock fam. We went to Jumping Jacks for Ridges birthday and got to experience a million kids running all over the place and creating mass chaos. I'm sure Alina will have a great movie posted shortly to give you an idea of the excitement. On Saturday I went with my friend, Dyanna, to the Jazz game (Ty was very jealous that he wasn't able to go :) Thanks to Nick for providing the seats, the shirts and the food!

2008-03-17T22:10:00.000-07:00

This past week was our spring break, so we decided to head south for warmer weather. Bre, Kell and I had planned on going backpacking down La Verkin Creek in Zions, however before I knew it the trip slowly turned into a girls party with myself. The weather was wonderful and the canyons were beautiful. Bre is working on making a video of the trip but is experiencing some techinical difficulties so this will have to do for now.
This was our first camp in Timber Creek.
Bre, Kell, Darci, and Natalie
We spent the second night just below Kolob Arch.
It snowed the whole drive home so we decided to stop in Meadow at the hot springs which were amazing.

2008-02-19T21:00:00.001-08:00

BUSINESS IN THE FRONT

PARTY IN THE BACK

THE MULLET

THE ARTIST

The 'F' Word

2008-02-11T20:09:00.000-08:00

First story... On Friday night we went to visit baby Everett, on Saturday Miranda makes pregnancy comment on blog, Saturday night we went to see Juno, which is about a girl who gets pregnant... Moral of the story is, when we got home Tyler was in a panic and made me take a pregnancy test and we would just like to announce that we are NOT expecting! :)

Second story... I'm on this new kick about women's rights due to my Literature by Women class so I wanted to share this article with everyone. My teacher gave it to us today and I thought it was so TRUE! It was published in the Salt Lake Tribune last week. So read on and find out if you could describe yourself with the dreaded 'F' word...Feminist.

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_8178525

2008-02-07T21:12:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we went and saw the newest addition to the Murdock family, Everett Creed Murdock. He is so adorable and sweet. Maren and Hatee couldn't get enough of him.
On our way back from Salt Lake, the girls decided to plan a little party and so Maren and Hatee came over and we made brownies, valentines, learned the oompa loompa dance, did pull-ups on our way cool bar, and much more. It was quite the party, although somehow Ty ended up asleep in our bedroom. I guess he didn't find it as exciting as the girls did.

On Sunday we went to my mom's and had a raging Superbowl party with lots and lots of food.

2008-01-30T12:38:00.000-08:00

Last Friday we went to the Jazz game with my little brothers, Sean and Mike, and my sister, Nikki. As you can see, there isn't anyone in the seats behind us. This is because we were there almost an hour early! Whoops! And I just wanted to thank Nikki for navigating us through SLC and not killing us (although, there were a few close calls...)

On Saturday night, we went to a Fiesta hosted by Alina and Emily at a cabin in Sundance. It was quite the party, as you can imagine since Alina was behind the party planning... Check out her blog for the full video of the nights events! www.wildmurdocks.blogspot.com

2008-01-21T09:33:00.000-08:00

We decided to take a break from homework for a couple of days and go to Moab. It was nice to get away. We hiked into Corona and Bowtie arches on Saturday.

Bri and I hiked into this panel yesterday it was amazing. This Owl looks like it was made yesterday.

A little late...

2007-12-29T18:09:00.000-08:00

I know we're a few days late but we just wanted to wish all of our friends and family Happy Holidays! Our New Year's resolution will be to update our blog more frequently. :)

Turkey Freeze Out '07

2007-11-26T09:51:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was the annual Turkey Freeze Out. Bri and I went down Horseshoe Canyon to the Great Gallery on Saturday and Hiked part of Blue John Canyon on Sunday. It was incredibly cold with 3-4 inches of fresh snow.

Full Moon above Horseshoe Canyon

The Great Gallery.
Blue John Canyon.

OCMS Encore

2007-11-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

I was so excited to post pictures of Old Crow Medicine Show live at the Depot. There we were, right next to the stage singing along with Willie, Ketch and the gang when we realized we had left the camera in the car. Sad story, I know. But I decided to post their music video anyway because they are amazing.

The Annual Moab Trip

2007-11-07T22:51:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of our fun-filled weekend in Moab.

The boys on the summit of Elephant Butte, the highest point in Arches.

Ty introducing Micah to the world of slot canyons.

We also went to the Folk Festival and saw Peter Rowan, Kenny White, and Catie Curtis.

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-29T17:20:00.001-07:00

On Friday, we celebrated Halloween Murdock style. It was pretty exciting this year with a lot of fun and creepy costumes. Mckell won "best costume" with her 80's school teacher attire and Ty came in second with his disturbing mask.

For our spooky costumes, I was a black cat/mouse/creature and we decided it doesn't get scarier than President Bush.
It got a little political, with Ty as President Bush, Alina as the Devil in her "WAR" shirt and Brian as the Angel in his "PEACE" shirt...

We're Baaaack!

2007-10-10T21:15:00.001-07:00

I know it has been AGES since we updated our blog, but we haven't had anything too exciting to share with everyone... until now! While we have been busy with work, school, and homework, we found some time to squeeze in a river trip! It was a much needed break away from our crazy busy lives.

On Friday we hiked up to the Doll House. Although I realized how out of shape I am, it was really beautiful!

Me and Kell, pondering on life! Look closely and you can see the La Sal Mountains in the background.

Miss Teen USA

2007-08-27T21:54:00.000-07:00

WOW! We're speechless.

Oregon Pictures Continued...

2007-08-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

Oregon Coast

2007-08-22T20:56:00.000-07:00

This gives you an idea of how green it is there.

Yes, Todd and Ash that is The Be Good Tanyas with Old Crow Medicine Show. We thought of you the whole time and wished guys were with us. They were playing in Portland and we just couldn't pass the oppurtunity to see them play together.

We went backpacking on the northern Oregon coast. It was amazing even though it rained pretty much the whole time.

Bre Standing in the midst of a giant Sitka spruce.

We just got home from our trip to Oregon this week. We had two weeks off of school before we started back yesterday so we decided to take off for a couple of days. It was nice to get away from the heat of Utah and especially our apartment with no AC and enjoy the nice coastal tempatures of Oregon.

Westwater Canyon

2007-08-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

Lower Cougar Camp

Look close, Yes that is Creed in Sedona's purple flower sleeping bag.

Last weekend Bri, Creed, Chad Nelson and I ran Westwater Canyon on the Colorado. It was a great trip and was the inaugural trip for Creeds new boat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMNuN5VhRKI

La Sal Mountains

2007-07-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

On saturday Creed, Bri and Nate and I hiked to the summit of Manns Peak (12,272)

This past weekend we spent in the La Sals with the family. It was nice to get out of the heat and into the cool air. We also hiked into the "Cowboy Jacuzzi" to do a little swimming.

Beetle Infestation

2007-07-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

Last week, Ty found a little friend hiding behind our fridge! It was seriously the biggest beetle I have ever seen! River, I'm sure you've seen bigger but we thought you might like these pictures.. Due to the bug infestation, we are moving out of our apartment sometime in the next couple of weeks! Okay, maybe not because of the bugs but we really are moving! We found a pretty cheap apartment in Orem about ten minutes from work and school for both of us. Hopefully this will save us some time and also some gas money!

Silver Lake Extravaganza

2007-07-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Tyler and I went hiking up American Fork Canyon to Silver Lake. We attempted to hike to Silver Glance Lake which is just above Silver Lake but... whoops we hiked up the wrong ridge! It was still fun except somehow I ended up with only 9 toenails left by the time we were done! :) Anyways, that was pretty painful but I learned a valuable lesson... no more hiking in chaco's!

REK Concert

2007-07-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to the Robert Earl Keen concert. I don't know who was more entertaining between Robert and the people around us! We're working on a youtube video so as soon as it's ready, you will have the pleasure of watching the cutest old man jammin out! It was hilarious!

Left Fork of Huntington

2007-07-06T18:52:00.000-07:00

For our big 4th of July vacation, we went backpacking with Mckell, Sam, and Stevie Boy. Me and Mckell "hung out" in our cacoons while the boys went fishing.

Goodbye RKelly link :(

2007-06-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

So as much as we love good ol' RKelly, his music video has some pretty nasty coments on it(thanks Miranda for spotting those!:) Anyways, I'm sad to say I have taken off the link and I know you will all be devestated... Try to be tough and RKelly will remain in your hearts if you let him! Speaking of criminals, the best news of the day... the utah county jail website is open again so if you are bored, google it and you will get some pretty cheap thrills!

Crawdad Canyon

2007-06-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

We went to St George this weekend and took my family rock climbing in Crawdad Canyon. Even though it was a little cooler in the canyon, it was still roasting!

Like Sheep..

2007-06-24T19:58:00.000-07:00

We follow! Okay, so we finally caved and started our own blog. I know it won't compare to Alina's creativity, Todd and Ash's sweet Belize pics, or Kell's "punny" jokes, but here it goes anyways...

2007-06-19T21:57:00.000-07:00