The Ranch

A couple weekends back, Mike and I were able to go down to 

Panguitch lake to go camping with some of the Riding clan. 

I guess Mike's great Uncle has land down there that we get to visit! It is absolutely beautiful!

This was a fun chance for me to meet the other side of Mike's family! Because of different circumstances, we just haven't had a chance to really sit down and visit with them. 

How grateful I was for the opportunity to really get to know this amazing family I am blessed to be a part of!

Sorry for the rough picture, but for the first time ever we 

were able to try out 

sleeping in the back of our Tribeca! 

Our friends let us borrow their SUV mattress and it worked out so well!

We slept like rocks!

Some of the boys went down by the river 

and found a place to build up a dam! 

They raised the water level from 1 foot to 4 feet!

It was a pretty impressive watering hole!

We were so happy to be able to spend a weekend out of cell

phone service, and with such an amazing family!

How lucky we are!

BETTER THAN CHRISTMAS!

My best friend is finally home!

After 2 weeks of sweating in 120 degree weather, 

Mike has returned!

Basically I love this man more than ever before.

They say that absence makes the heart grow stronger,

and this my friend is so true! 

Each day I thank my Heavenly Father for this amazing man!

Thanks for Reading!

The Ridings

'Merica

Happy   I N D E P E N D E N C E   Day! 

Normally this picture would be of me and my extremely handsome husband, 

but he was actually spending his 4th of July honoring his commitment to the

Marine Corps! 

Yes, this outfit is   E X T R E M E L Y   patriotic, but it seemed appropriate

to me that I should wear what Michael would wear had he 

been able to celebrate! 

God Bless America!

The day was spent with a lot of family thank goodness!

Every year, we go to the Lasson family picnic at Scera park.

Last year, we came up with a game that has really seemed to catch on!

You take a ball (one that is fairly light and is easy to hit ex. volleyball, soccer ball, etc...)

and hit it around trying to keep it off the ground. 

Basically it is the equivalent to "Keep it Up," normally played with a  balloon.

The hint to this game is the classic toe point.

This hint is accomplished by thrusting both arms out so your body forms a "T" like shape.

(This is to help better your balance.)

Then, flexing your leg, you lift it in a firm toe point in an attempt to make contact with the ball.

It is a skill that I don't think can ever be perfected! 

We love this game!

Our evening was spent without fireworks this year, which is just as well seeing how dry it has been! I hope you all were careful, and celebrated wisely!

We spent our evening in Park City swimming, eating, and playing games with our cousins.

Such a fun time! 

I am so grateful to have a family who is as ridiculous as I am!

They are even patient to put up with the weird games I think of,

and the awkward comments I make! 

Good thing Families are forever! 

#bedwetting

Thanks for reading!

The Ridings :)

Love the One You Choose

A phone call.

All it takes is one simple phone call to change

a bad day into T H  E  B E S T  D A Y!

Being away from Michael has taught me a couple of things:

1. I actually can get out of bed on my own really early when necessary.

Which is an A M A Z I N G accomplishment for me!

&

2. Going days without a communication with Michael makes motivation hard to find.

Mike left for Annual Training in California on Saturday the 29th of June. 

Since then, I was able to talk with him most of Saturday through text messages,

but once they arrived on base, it was silence. 

I had no idea how he was, where he was, what he was doing, what was going on,

if he was happy, or if he was healthy!

It doesn't sound like it would be T O O excruciating,

 but it was worse than I thought it would be.

Sunday, I got O N E text message saying he didn't have much service and wouldn't be able to talk with me until next friday. (Just to be clear, the friday he was referring too is July 12th!)

This put me into an instant panic. How the lick was I supposed to survive without any sort of communication???

I   W E N T   N U M B.

Much to my surprise, however, my amazing husband surprised me with a phone call on Monday evening! 

It had only been a couple days since we last communicated, 

but my mind was so focused on the long term ahead of not talking, 

that the phone call 

forced my emotions to do a complete 180 degrees!

A simple 29 minute phone call that could have fueled me for days.

It really made me realize how much I should appreciate the little things Michael does for me. He brings me flowers, calls me just to tell me he loves me, hugs me till I pop, even down to getting me a glass of water. 

What is that quote, 

"Chose the one you love, and love the one you choose?"

At no greater time in my life have I felt this to be true.

It is hard having him leave me so much. 

I can hear people talk, wondering where he is, if we are doing alright, why he isn't with me;

They wonder if we are fighting... Always is it hard to be without him, but I wouldn't trade it for a thing. I am so proud to say that my husband is willing to put his life on the line to defend this country. 

I am proud to be an A M E R I C A N. 

ANNUAL TRAINING

Every year, Michael has to leave me for anywhere from 2-4 weeks to train with the Marine Corps. Well, Michael leaves me tomorrow for 15 days... KILL ME NOW! It will be the longest we have been a part, and the least we will be able to talk. I am just so grateful for this man and the amazing influence he is on my life!

Here is to the next two weeks of DIY decorations for our new apartment!

No Longer a Teenager!

Growing up is kind of a bitter sweet situation. My 20th birthday just passed and Mike made it a Birthday to remember! However, I feel sad to be leaving my teenage years! The teenage years were amazing and I guess it is just time to let them go!

I am very excited to be entering into a whole new part of my life though!

Michael spoiled me rotten for my Birthday! He took me shopping and let me spend way to much money! Then he got me my favorite food for dinner. (Pizza) and had a relaxing night of watching movies! How perfect is that??

Since my Birthday was on Monday, we celebrated on Saturday! It was definitely a memorable celebration!!

Then, on Monday, when I got home, Mike was waiting for me with our favorite donuts! He had pulled one out and lit 20 candles and sang to me when I walked in the door! It was such a perfect greeting! Unfortunately, the candles burned out of wax and started boiling the donut! It was wonderful! :)

That evening, we went to FHE and our amazing friends surprised me with decorations, and a candle lit cake! Who could have asked for as better celebration!? 

I am so blessed!

A New Look!

Alright, So as many know, I've been working for years on growing my hair out. After so long, I finally feel like it is getting longer.

Girls, you'll understand how frustrating it is to grow it out. You feel as though you aren't making progress and It is always the same style!

Lucky for me, I have an amazing hairstylist. (She also happens to be one of my best friends!) Kara Kocherhans! She is amazing! I trust her with anything she wants to do with my hair!

Anyway, Mike had this bright idea that I should cut bangs... So we did! We are loving them! Although they do require a lot of upkeep, they are pretty fun!

Laser Field

Living in Salt Lake City has provided us with many opportunities 

to be with our new friends! 

We decided to try and put together a FHE group, and much to our delight, it has been quite a success!

I'm going to post some of our activity ideas.. I always forget to take pictures while doing things, but hopefully I will get better!

On this particular occasion  my random brain decided it would be so fun to set up a pretend laser field in our home. 

We took red yarn and taped it down our hallway in a pretty complex pattern. (Not really. We just zigzagged down the wall.) 

It looked a little something like this:

I didn't know I was so flexible!

You learn a lot about yourself when going to a laser field of death!

I didn't get a picture of it, but Becky actually taped her pants to her ankles so as not to burn herself on those lasers! OUCH!

Mike and Ian were probably the most creative when it came to going through.

They folded their bodies in ways we never thought possible!

Sharesa was moving so quickly,

it was hard to catch a still shot!

BobbyJames really got into it! Look at that form!

This is just one of my many ideas! More to come!

My random brain sure does make for a fun activity!

Thanks for Reading!

The Ridings :)

C O L O R A D O

The week after we got back from Disneyland, we were fortunate enough to be able to go to Frisco, Colorado with the Mike's family!

We did so much, I couldn't possibly post all of it, but here is a summary in pictures!

Found some fun costumes at the Childrens Museum!

Hiking to Hanging Falls with the family!

This day was such an "Adventure!"

This swing takes you over a cliff 1,700 feet off the ground! 

Plus, we went on cool cave tours, a way fun alpine slide, AND a roller coaster that is the highest elevated coaster in North America! 

Quite a sucessful day!

Thanks for reading!

The Ridings :)

M E M O R I A L D A Y

First of all, thank you to all of those who are out

serving our country, and to those who have served in the 

past! What an amazing opportunity

we are given to spend a day in memory of those who

have done us such a great service!

Lucky for me, I got to spend Memorial Day weekend with 

my own American hero. 

A couple of months ago, some good friends of ours decided we were

going to make the trip to Disneyland over Memorial Day weekend.

So, Friday night, we packed up our vehicle and headed off! 

In case you are wondering, we took a Dodge Journey. 

We had 6 people packed into it.

Mike and I have never been in a car ride for so

 long that made us feel so squished!

It was totally worth it!

So we drove through the night stopping for gas occasionally.

Sorry it's so blurry! 

There was little room for movement to get a good picture!

After the longest car ride of my life, we finally got to Disneyland! 

This was the picture that I begged we take! 

I was so happy he dipped me!

This was right as we got into the park... Becky and I went a little Picture happy! 

Totally worth it though!

I will probably post another time about our beach experience just FYI!

We did the classics of course. This is at "It's Tough to be a Bug."

I actually can't watch most of the show because it has spiders in it.

Yes, I am terrified of the ugly things, but Mike loves it so much

we go every time! It's fine though, I burry my face in his shoulder 

and make him feel like a man, so it is a win win situation!

This is our group! We feel so blessed to have met these people!

They made for an extremely memorable trip to Disneyland!

(Left to Right: Sharesa Bedingfield, Ian Bedingfield, us, 

BobbyJames Hubbard and Becky Hubbard.)

This was taken after we went on Splash Mountain... Mike barely got wet!

Lucky dog!

I know this one is HUGE, but this picture is too priceless to be left small!

Most won't understand the beauty behind this picture, but if any 

of you are youtube lovers like we are, Olan Rogers is a must to look up!

Once you watch a couple of his videos, this picture will make more sense..

#mischiefmanaged #thechiefhaslanded 

This is our last picture from Disneyland.

If you are going in the near future, I highly recommend going on the 

new Car's ride. It was probably my favorite ride this time around. 

You need to get in the fast pass line though as soon as you get into the park!

Not only will your kids love it, but it is fun for adults too!

Mike and I realized on this trip how truly blessed we are. 

We have amazing friends, who we love so much, an opportunity for travel,

and we have each other. 

I love this boy more and more each day, and I can't believe he is mine for all eternity. 

I'd call that the greatest blessing of them all!

Thanks for reading!

The Ridings :)

S U M M E R

Summer has officially arrived! 

So excited to see that it is finally warm enough to 

hit the canyon!

Stay safe out there!

Watch out for bikers!

Careful of the old bumpy bridge!

Thanks for reading!

The Ridings!

Z O O

When it comes to some things, I swear Mike and I will never grow up.

A couple of weekends ago, we decided we would make a trip to the Zoo!

It was absolutely fabulous! 

As kids, I'm not quite sure we completely appreciated the Zoo!

Sure the animals were cool, but during this trip , I feel like I learned more 

than I had in my entire life.

We timed our visit perfectly enough to catch an amazing Bird show! It was so fun! 

They literally had birds swooping right over our heads! 

They had talking parrots, a bald eagle, and beautiful doves flying all over the place!

We highly recommend staying for it!

Seriously, it was such a fun day!

I could only get a picture of the Bald Eagle from afar!

If you look closely, you can see the parrots in the background. 

I had been dying to see the Polar Bear ever since we went to the Zoo during Christmas.

Lucky for us, the polar bear was out and roaming around! It made me so happy!

I didn't get a picture of the polar bear because their were to many people there.

It still was such a fun way to spend our Saturday!

Thanks for readings!

The Ridings :) 

Napoleon Dynamite!

Last week was a good friend of our's Birthday! 

His wonderful wife decided she was going to go all out for him! 

She threw him a Napoleon Dynamite surprise party! It ended up turning out pretty legit!

A couple of us decided we were going to dress up, and boy did we go all out!

A while ago, BJ made a special request that Mike would dress up as Uncle Rico...
Here is what we came up with!
What do ya think?

We even made a place for Deb's Glam Shots!

 Seriously it was absolutely amazing!

Becky, BJ's wife, went seriously all out! 

I wish I hade more pictures, but it was such a fun evening! 

Definitely something we will never want to forget! 

Thanks for reading!

The Ridings :)

Easter Bunny Surprise!

I'll probably end up doing another post about Easter later, but I am so excited about what Michael gave me for Easter, that I simply can not wait to post it!

Mike gave me tickets to see one of my FAVORITE artists perform!

H E   I S    W E

I am absolutely beyond pumped! This poor kid doesn't even really like their

music, but he is willing to sit through it because he loves me!

I don't know how I got so lucky with this one, but 

I love him!

Happy late Easter!

Thanks for reading!

The Ridings :)

F R I E N D S

Anyone who has seen me recently knows already, but 

we have kind of some big news!

Ready for it???

WE FOUND FRIENDS IN SLC!!!

Oh man, oh man! To some this may not seem like a big deal,

but Mike and I have been hoping and praying that we would find some 

solid friends here, and boy did we ever!

Lucky for us, they accept us for our crazy selves! 

We do a lot together, and are so grateful for them!

Mike and BobbyJames seriously are long lost brothers, it seems!
... Aren't they just adorable? :)

The men even let Becky and I go do girly things sometimes!
This time we got to go get our nails done!
Hooray for mani/pedi's!! :)

Anyway... This was kind of a big moment in our lives...
Finding friends!!!

I have been beyond excited about meeting these guys!
If anyone asks me, I get the biggest, goofiest, most ridiculous smile on my face,
shake my hands in the air, and repeat in a high pitched voice
"We have friends!"

... Most people laugh at me...
I still am not sure why!

We love these guys and are so blessed to have met the Hubbards!

Thanks for reading!

The Ridings :)

While Mike's away... I craft away!!! ;)

After High School, Michael joined the Marine Corps. 

He did all of his training before the mission, and has 

been able to start back at Camp Williams since his return from Madagascar. 

Since he is in the reserves, he only has to go once a month to Drill. 

While he is gone, I spend my time in Orem with my parents. 

These weekends can be really long, but thankfully,

 my Mom keeps me busy! This past Drill, 

we worked on a couple of fun things!

The first project was to spray paint a white dresser black! 

Our bedroom is pretty large, and has tons of awkward walls.

 We wanted something to cover a wall, 

so we made the wall art in the picture below.

The other project was a pallet shelf! 

Most people didnt think it would look good, 

but I am pretty excited about how it turned out!

These projects were simple, but added a lot to our home!

Thanks for Reading!

The Ridings :)

Home Cooked Manicure!

Michael Linley is the most amazing person ever!

Seriously! My dear, dear husband gave me a manicure!

It definitely wasn't perfect, but not too shabby for his first time!

Poor kid just got himself into a lifetime of painting his wife's nails!!

Thanks for reading!

The Ridings! :)

A R C A D E S!

I don't think Mike and I will ever officially grow up.

Sure our bodies may mature and our family may grow, 

but at heart, we are both little children.

Recently, Mike was put in as 2nd counselor in the Young Mens.

Naturally, we were so excited because this gave us the opportunity to 

make friends in our ward!

In an attempt to start the friendship, we suggested we go bowling.

The other couples agreed, and we decided to go to FatCats. 

We did a lot of things while there, 

although the wait on bowling was too long so we never did bowl.

HOWEVER, we did spend a sufficient amount of time in the 

little arcade they have there.

Boy did we go crazy there!

The other 2 couples scored big at certain games, and got a lot more

tickets than we did, but we were bouncing off the walls like little children!

I guess the sad part of the story is that less than a week later, we 

were back at the FatCats arcade with my older brother and his girlfriend!

We can't stay away! 

It's an evil addiction!

Anyone want to go to the Arcade with us!?!?!!?!! 

 

One time I fell in the parking lot into a giant mud puddle... It was SUPER embarrassing... 

Thanks for Reading!

The Ridings!

:)