The Day of Presidents

Our Presidents have done some pretty cool stuff.  Abraham Lincoln emancipated slaves.  George Washington fought for our independence.  But there is one thing they've done collectively that trumps all the other great things they've done.  They got me a day off of work every February.  Now that's something worth celebrating.

Holidays are the greatest thing ever.  They're like Saturdays on steroids.  Saturdays are great, but I often spend the majority of the day doing little chores around the house, things that don't get done during the week.  Holidays are like a bonus Saturday, but they're even better because I already did all my chores on Saturday.

President's Day was an excellent example of how great holidays are.  We didn't go on a fancy trip or anything.  We were just at home, but it was great nonetheless.

We started the day by sleeping in.  Once our sleep was complete we wanted to get some exercise.

Last time we had driven to the temple we noticed there was a walking trail next to the river, so we decided to give that a try.

The river was beautiful and the company was excellent.

If you can't tell, Robyn was really cranky that I made her be in a picture.

We walked the whole length of the trail, and still wanted more.  So we climbed the hill toward the temple.  We didn't make it all the way there because at the top of the hill we decided to explore the park across the street and then do some stairs at the amphitheater.

This is how precious I look on the stairs.

Robyn descended so fast that it was like a blur.

On the way back down the hill we decided to run as fast as we can.  There was a slight problem, though.  Remember when you were a kid and you were growing so fast that your parents had to buy you new clothes every few months?  We have that problem in reverse.  We're shrinking fast enough that it's hard to have clothes that fit us.  Both of us have pants that are just little too big.  Once you get running pretty good, the pants have a tendency to jostle themselves downward.  So, we weren't able to run quite as fast since we were both holding up our pants.

After a morning of good exercise, we figured we had earned a good meal.  Plus, we didn't go out for Valentine's (Because we hate going out that night.  Everything is crowded and extra expensive.) so this was our belated Valentine's date.  Robyn had heard of a placed called Tsunami's in South Jordan.  We drove up there and had some serious deliciousness.

I had a seaweed salad just because I wanted to try it.  It was pretty good.

Tempura shrimp, teriyaki chicken, rice, too much goodness to handle.

After our meal we came back to the house, relaxed, and I read a book.  It was an excellent day and the best part was that I totally didn't do any work, at home or at the office.

I'd like to thank George and Abe for a great day.  Oh, and thanks for freedom from tyranny and slavery, that's pretty cool too.

Robyn's New Ride

This past weekend we said goodbye to an old friend.  Robyn's been driving Malora (That's the name she gave her Toyota Corolla) for approximately one million years.  (I may not be the best at estimating time.)

Malora has been burning oil for 6 or 7 months.  A few weeks ago, our mechanic had a heart to heart with us.  He said that the oil burning problem is getting worse and the worse it gets, the more risk there is of destroying the engine.  He said that to fix it would be a couple thousand dollars, and we decided that just wasn't worth it.

So we began shopping.  Robyn really wanted all wheel drive so she can stop being so afraid of snow.  We decided that a Subaru would be the way to go.  Robyn really liked the SUVish look of the Forester, so that was the model we had been looking at the most.

On Saturday we test drove a 2011 Forester with 76,000 miles.  The miles were a little high for its young age but it meant that we got a pretty sweet deal on the car.  So we decided to make it happen.

Saying goodbye to Malora

Hello to the sweet new ride

I was in charge of approving the finances.  I thought it was a great deal.   I was also very pleased with all of the safety features.  That left Robyn the ability to make the emotional decision.  I really wanted her to get something she would be excited to drive.

An added bonus is that it has an after market media system with DVD player, navigation, and bluetooth.  Robyn called me today on her way home from work, and she spoke through the car!  She was very excited.   I told her we need to drive into the mountains and watch a movie, because we can.

Robyn pulling into the garage for the first time.

Now we're totally gonna be outdoorsy.  Next step is to buy some sweet bikes and a bike rack.

Isn't she so cute in her sweet new ride?