Saturday, July 26, 2008

Anniversary Note

Every year it seems that we have something major going on over our anniversary. Last year, we were at a family reunion with a 3 week old baby. This year, our anniversary happened to fall on the weekend of our move to Utah. So we've decided to pretend that our anniversary is still a few days away and will celebrate it after we get to Park City.

But that doesn't change the fact that Cambria and I have now been married for 11 years. It's been an eventful time with 3 children born, 1 business started and closed, 2 houses bought and sold, a few vacations, and a wide variety of difficult and wonderful times.

I just wanted to say that I'm very thankful for having Cambria as my wife. Despite our having completely opposite personalities (I'm an INFP and she's an ESTJ), I can't think of a better person to be my wife and the mother of my children. She works harder than anyone I've ever known and is a wonderful mother. She also really helps to keep me from disappearing into my own head too much. Without her, I'd probably be a major mess (rather than just the minor mess that I am now).

Anyways, I just wanted to say that I love you, Cambria. Thank you for being such a wonderful wife to me. I'm excited about our new life and adventures in Park City and I'm certain that you'll love it there.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

1 Year Old


IMG_6560.JPG
Originally uploaded by bcrollo
Saturday was Gretchen's First Birthday. Thank you to the Watters, Esias, Kallins, Chasteens, Tipps, and Jamie and Shannon for celebrating with us. It was a good time. Click the picture to see more.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

about my kiddos...

Joanna tagged me so here's how it works...

1. Link your tagger and list the rules on the blog.
2. Share 7 facts about your kiddos on your blog…random, weird, funny…whatever you want!
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post

Lydia Cassie

1. loves to read, play webkinz, mountain bike and play soccer
2. didn't have her first hair cut until she was almost 3 years old
3. always wants to fit "one more thing" into each day
4. won the award for "Most Intense" on her last soccer team
5. has had the same best friends since she was 3 months old
6. chews her nails since she was 2 to avoid fingernail clippers
7. is my CTO (Chief Technical Officer) while her dad is gone

Maille Renee


1. is very proud of her recent reading accomplishments
2. loves to ride her bike around "the loop" at our house
3. is friends with everyone, but really wants a "best friend"
4. loves arts and crafts
5. is NOT a morning person
6. has feet almost as big as her older sister's
7. was not a very cute baby, but is a very beautiful little girl (now her dad has to worry!)

Gretchen Sophia

1. has a bit of a temper already
2. is taller and has more hair than both her older sisters did at one year old
3. LOVES her bottle (i'm a little worried about how we're going to get her off of it!)
4. climbs everything, but especially likes stairs
5. her favorite book is "Pat the Bunny"
6. has 9 teeth and is working on 3 more!
7. all 4 legged animals bark

So I tag Lisa, Betsy, Tami, Amy, and Sara

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Flaming Gorge: Green River Fishing Report

The Green River just below the Flaming Gorge Dam is well worth a visit. I fished it for two days this weekend. I was going to fish for 3 days, but I developed some blisters on my feet that cut things short.

The Green River flows through a steep canyon of red rocks. The water is amazingly clear which makes it fairly easy to see the trout. A number of times I was able to watch a trout for several minutes as it would rise for bugs or cruise a hole.

There were a lot more people there than I would have liked. Every 10 minutes or so a boat of fishermen or rafters would come by. The "A" stretch of the river is about 8 miles long. I hiked in from Little Hole which is at the bottom of the "A" stretch. After about a mile and a half, I was by myself on the shore. The first mile or so seems to get a lot of traffic as there were fishermen everywhere. I have heard that going downriver from Little Hole into the "B" stretch or even further into the "C" stretch, will reduce both the numbers of fishermen and fish (though the fish are supposed to be much larger).

I actually saw a fish swim up to my fly (size 10 cicada), pause, and then finally go for it! That was my first catch and it was an awesome way to catch a fish. That fish ended up being a 14 or 15 inch brown trout. Since that fish was being fairly stubborn about coming to shore, I was able to turn on my camera and get it ready. I ended up with these pictures:




I also took a few pictures of the river and the surrounding areas. Unfortunately, the area is much browner than it used to be because of forest fires a few years ago. You can really see this in the 2nd picture down.








This last picture shows the Flaming Gorge just above the dam. The dam is just to the left of the picture.