Utah Engagement Party

Our engagement party this past weekend was a blast. It was such a wise idea for us to have an event in Utah because we both have a lot of friends and family that are in that area. The venue was in a very spacious ballroom in the old Provo library. Angela's extended family did most of the cooking and even brought food with out being asked. We had fried rice, roasted quail, egg rolls, macaroons and a few other things. In all it was way too much food, but it was all appreciated.

 Both of my sisters were able to come. Ashlee is nice and plump with a baby girl due in September and Hannah brought a long some guy that likes to go by the name "Dick" who she is marrying next month. Unfortunately Ashlee and her husband Smith will not be at our wedding in September because it is so close to her due date, but we got our fill of them anyways.

What we brought the gifts in

We had a Vietnamese engagement ceremony with most of our immediate families dressed in ao dai (long dress) that were made in Vietnam for us. The ceremony consisted of my family presenting gifts for fruit, nuts, jewelry and a few other things and I was formally introduced to Angela. Her dad also modernized the ceremony by giving me a high-five. It was a lot of fun to see all whom we did and interacting with everyone.

 This was just one step closer for Angela and I and we are excited for September 1st when we are actually getting married.

The Long Road to Oklahoma

After fending off the crazy western Washington snow storm, Angela and I hit the road with hopes that we would be able to drive from Seattle to Kimberly, ID with out any road closures.  On Thursday night (19 Jan 12) before we left I was checking the DOT sites for the different states we would be driving though, and Oregon was the only one with any road closures.  After seeing the closures I got a little concerned, but we still planned on leaving in the morning regardless of the weather.  Later we found out that the roads were only closed after dark because of the poor conditions but we still had to deal with Snoqualmie Pass.

The Pass had be closed on and off all week because of the storm but with my truck bed weighed down and snow chains ready to go nothing was stopping us.

Snoqualmie Pass by "stump lake"

It was slow going until we got over the pass, we only drove about 40mph because the roads were so slick and the highway was basically cut down to one lane each direction, but we made it just the same.

It was great having Angela by my side for most of the drive, she's a great co-pilot and we were able to see all the fun sites with each other. It was beautiful driving up into the Blues in Oregon.  As you can see in the pictures bellow, there was a thick layer of fog covering the entire area bellow.  As always the pictures never do it justice.

Looking west towards Pendleton, OR

Angela enjoying the cold view

We spent the weekend in Utah see Angela's family on Saturday then after a Southwest flight on Sunday tore us apart I went and spent Sunday with my grandparent before hitting the road again.

I was very lucky to have Angela as my guardian angel for the drive because she arranged for me to stay with he friend's parents in Ft. Collins Colorado.  This was a perfect resting spot and allowed me to push on for ten hours the next day till I arrived at Vance AFB in good old Enid, OK.  It was a fun adventure getting out here but it won't compare to the training experience I'm about to go through. 

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Snow Days!!

All Week long schools and business have been closed.  Angela was able to spend the entire week over at my parents house as we filled out days with lounging around the house watching movies with the occasional trip out to brave the weather.  On one of the first days of the storm I decided to park my truck in the driveway with the fear that it might get damaged being parked in the street.  Well it turns out that my truck was the one that wanted to do some damage because when I came out to check on the weather an hour later it had slid all the way down the driveway and was parked half way in the street.  Just a little scary. There was just enough snow on the driveway (maybe 1/8 in.) to help it slide down.

Just after one day of snow fall...

How I found my truck after is slid down the drive way

Don't worry, we also made time to do a little sledding as well.

Goldmyer Hot Springs

We finally made it and we don't really want to go back again.  As a scout I had my first opportunity to venture out to Goldmyer.  It was a great adventure, our scout leaders drove fast on an unimproved road and we had to ford a river with snow on the banks.  What more could you ask for in a camping experience when your young.

Well after some flooding in 2006 or 2007 some of the road out to the site washed out and now the fun drive has been cut short and you have to hike for four miles just to get to the trail head.  Four miles isn't a lot but its not worth going to a hot springs that was packed with a bunch of nudies.

At the Goldmyer Trailhead

I had the great Idea to bring bikes to help make the trip shorter.  Well, there were four of us and only two bikes, well more like 1.5.  My mom's bike has seen better days and both Angela and Hannah gave up on it a little fast.  So to counter that I had Hannah and Angela take turns riding on my handel bars.  It didn't work out as well for them as I had hoped but it still made for a fun experience.

Angela and me near the Dingford Creek Trailhead

Angela had never been there before so I wanted her to see what it was like.  Now we can check that off our list of things to do.  It would have been better if we had chosen to go on a non holiday weekend and we all had bikes.  So if you want to go, bring bikes.