It's been such a fabulous summer and I have so much to write about! At the top of our list of fun happenings this summer is the newest addition to the Talbot family. (I would say Talbot home, but we don't really have one just yet...Hopefully that will be the next big post. We may be able to close next week. Thank you Rachel, and Jo and everyone else for the prayers! In the meantime we are so blessed to have great friends who share our love of dogs and are so kid to let us stay with them...with a new puppy. They have a new one too. Her dog Gambit and my dog, Tucker, have been best buddies. But since Saundra and I have both found our own new "best buddies" (Micheal and Ammon), Gambit and Tucker needed buddies too! I certainly was not thinking about getting a puppy for awhile when Ammon started talking about getting a pointer pup. He started looking online and I didn't really think he was serious but I enjoyed looking. He has hunted with pointers before and has wanted to eventually have one. The more I learned, the more I fell in love with the breed too. After hours of searching online, we found a site that stood out and thus began our interest in Numark Kennels, in Missouri. http://www.numarkkennel.com/ We found a litter that was just what we were looking for and planned a trip to pick up our little Paisley. We had talked about wanting to go to Branson, MO sometime. So we thought making a vacation out of picking up our puppy would fun! The trip was great! We stayed with my Grandma Driggs' sister, our Aunt Linda the first night. She is a lot like grandma. We a had a great time on her beautiful farm. Next, we spent a couple nights in Branson fishing in Dogwood Canyon and going to some show. We saw the Dixie Stampede,The Sons of the Pioneers, and a play about the history of that Ozark area. After our playing and having a great time in Branson we drove to Cassiville. There, we went to the little branch, then met John Lossing. We followed him and his wife, Carol, back to their house. We really enjoyed our time with them. They were so good to us, feeding us and letting us stay at their house. Sunday evening we went to their church for singing and scripture study. We couldn't wait for Monday, to pick out our pup and play with the dogs. We both liked Paisley best. She was John's favorite, but he let us have her anyway. She is adorable! We took pictures of her parents and the other dogs in the kennel. Ammon really liked her dad, Flashpan. I wanted to bring home a beautiful black and white puppy in an older litter to breed with Paisley. He was so cute and just watched me. Maybe another time. And we came away with good friends we hope to see again!

New Blogspot

So I couldn't figure out how to move this blog to my new email address so I'm starting a new blog. You can find it at:

http://ammonmandy.blogspot.com/

100 Mile Club

May 28, 2010
This is a post from our wellness blog: http://100mileclubtalbot.blogspot.com/

I finished my first 100 miles!! We got off to a good start but slowed down for awhile. Ammon and I were sick 2 times since we started which took it's toll on our running. Many of our middle miles were nice walks around Big League Dreams or at the Gilbert Riparian Reserve. I loved every minute of those walks, enjoying the beautiful valley summer, my new husband and sometimes Liz and my family. I ran a few times on my own at the gym and outside.

For the last two weeks Liz, Ammon and I have been running 2 miles in the evening. It's getting easier to run and next week we'll take it up to 3 miles. My last two miles were on my last day of work... My goal was to finish before school got out! Monday we start our next 100!

Here are our plans for the summer:

*75 miles RUNNING/WALKING by the time school starts in August

*100 miles BIKING by the end of the calendar year

*100 miles HIKING by the end of the calendar year

Liz
*2500 sit-ups this summer

Ammon
*2500 sit-ups this summer

*Ammon is going to catch 100 FISH... He caught 16 this weekend on Christmas Tree Lake

Mandy
*I'm also planning to incorporate WORK_OUT hours, 100 blocks of 15 min.

*100 laps SWIMMING by the time school starts





It's a GET-FIT-SUMMER! Tomorrow Ammon, Liz and I will add our first 6 hiking miles hiking Escudilla. We'll let you know how things go. Here is the link to our log sheet. Anyone is welcome to join us!

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Av83vhmjKgMNdGJEVEVqd3VDcTJWVU1tUW9DckxmVWc&hl=en

Adventures Around Mount Lemmon

May 2010



Ammon, Liz and I drove down to Tucson to check out a few spots we’ve heard are pretty great. As we drove into town we gave Tom a call to go with us to BK’s Carne Asada & Hot Dogs to try their famous Sonoran Hot Dog. Turns out it was right around the corner from his apartment.

BK’s was tasty, but we think Liz’s Sonoran dogs from our bar-b-que with Marth and Ben were better. It was fun hangin’ with Tom and catching up on all his happenings. Tom, we hope you can get out of there soon and good luck with the ladies!
Next stop, Mount Lemon. Tom gave us directions and we headed up the mountain. Mount Lemmon is known for having the major biomes fund between Mexico and Canada and you can drive through them all in about half an hour or so. It was pretty cool to watch the terrain change from arid desert, to brush, and to high desert.
As we neared the top the ski lift caught our eye. We bought a ticket and before I knew it we were about 30 feet off the ground in a little metal chair on our way up the mountain. At the top the guy told us we could hike around so we did a little exploring. We went by the outside of Stewart observatory on the top of the mountain, chatted with the guy on the watchtower and then headed back. Wouldn’t you know they shut down the ski life in the meantime. I was a little disappointed as I had been looking forward to the ride back, but running down the green grass on the ski slopes quickly cured my angst. You can see the lift at http://www.skithelemmon.com/page2.html
Who’d have guessed what we saw halfway down Gobbler’s Way… Two turkey hens! After we followed and watched them awhile, Ammon ran up the hill to get a closer look. When Liz and I heard a gobble we knew Ammon was into something better than hens and we set out up the hill. We followed him from about 20 yards for about 20 minutes watching him strut. Ammon “gobbled” and got him to gobble back several times. Who knew my husband speaks TURKEY!



On the way home we stopped at the Cookie Cabin for a nice little snack, then headed to one of the top 20 Legendary places to eat in the country, El Charro Cafe to taste their famous cuisine. Mhh. http://www.elcharrocafe.com/
What a great day!

Gila Valley Temple Dedication

May 23, 2010

Today Ammon and I attended the dedication of the Gila Valley Temple broadcasted in our stake center. We learned that Ammon’s Great-Grandpa, John W. Taylor, had prophesied that there would be a temple in the Gila Valley.
I felt a strong desire to attend the temple more, to immerse myself in the Book of Mormon and the words of the prophets, and to be clean. I also thought of Grandma Bernice as I imagined making our house like the temple.
While I was on my mission, Elder Jensen of the seventy came. He said when he was called to be a General Authority, the man interviewing him asked if his testimony burned within him as it did on his mission. I have thought of that phrase several times since then and wondered if my testimony is burning as it has in the moments it burned brightest in my life. Today it does.
I am so grateful for the truths of the gospel! Dad always said enthusiasm means God within us. What a beautiful time to be alive, with so much to be enthusiastic about.
As I held tight to Ammon’s hand, I was so grateful for the temple and the sealing power so that I can be with him and with our future children forever.
I am grateful for living prophets like President Monson and President Eyring to inspired, lead, warn, and remind us of the things the Lord. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have to pray and to talk with my Heavenly Father and to feel Him near. He listens, He cares, and He knows me.
I am grateful for my family and my new family, a job I love, a place to live, a healthy body, the opportunity to learn and grow continually, and mostly the opportunity to change and improve thanks to the atonement of our dear Savior.

http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/gilavalley/gallery/images/gila-valley-mormon-temple1.jpg

Happy Halloween

Halloween this year was a blast! Ammon works with the priests in his ward and they were in charge of putting together a spook alley for their "Trunk-r-Treat" party the week before Halloween. It had an old western town theme. Ammon and I were in the last tent, the medics tent... He was a rail-worker who had had his leg severed in an accident. I was his crazy doctor.

As people came through I would hack at his leg with an axe and he was making all sorts of pain-filled sounds! His bishop, who was next to us in the tent, said it sounded like Ammon was having labor pains! Who knew he had hidden drama skills! It was pretty funny. The next day in church several kids were concerned about his leg and wanted to be sure he was ok!


We spent Halloween deer hunting in the Kiabab forest on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. This was a first for me, but tons of fun! We hiked and hiked then drove and drove through beautiful country looking for an elusive buck. We saw more the 80 deer - all does and fawns, until sunset the last night, when we saw one little buck. Then another, after dark, on the way to St. George to see Ammon's brother Darren and his family. Ammon's sister, Liz, picked up a pumpkin for us that Ammon carved and we put outside the cabin the night before Halloween.

We stayed with Darren and Suhui and their kids. It was great to meet more fabulous Talbots. I had heard about Suhui's amazing cooking skills and we sure ate well! Ribs, coconut souffle with homemade pineapple jam, fried rice... It was great. I especially enjoyed the little science experiments with the kids. Dallin did some research and learned how to light a dollar on fire without it burning. Of course we had to try it!

Happy Girl!

My favorite song for a long time has been Martina McBride's "Happy Girl." Lately I am the happiest girl! One month ago today I met Ammon Talbot and I can tell you October 2009, has been the best month of my life...so far!

I'll have to tell more about how we met and our first couple of dates in another post.

Just to follow up...

This is from the NIH website:

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., was officially sworn in on Monday, August 17, 2009 as the 16th director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Collins was nominated by President Barack Obama on July 8, and was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 7.

http://www.nih.gov/about/director/index.htm

Francis Collins nominated as NIH Director

This is pretty neat. Last week Obama, not that I am a huge fan, nominated Francis Collins, of whom I am a huge fan, as the director for the National Institute of Health. Francis Collins is viewed as one of the top scientists in the world... and is very outwardly Christian. He was a key player in the Human Genome Prject and he and his team found genes contributing to cystic fibrosis. In 2006, he wrote The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, a book in which he describes his process of becoming Christian. I've read part of it and am anxious now to read the rest.

I believe as does President Eyring's dad, Henry Eyring that "Science has rendered a service to religion. The scientific spirit is the essence of religion." When it really comes down to what is real and important and we get to sit in that great Celestial Sunday school class, science and religion will blend beautifully.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-Intent-to-Nominate-Francis-Collins-as-NIH-Director/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Collins_(geneticist)

Tender merices, little moments, and some thoughts

This is a picture of a snowflake by Wilson Bentley. He spent his life perfecting techniques to take these pictures so the world could see the beauty of individual snowflakes. I think this quote by Aristotle fits it well.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."

I have this posted by my computer at home and in my classroom. It reminds me to be conscious of, to recognize and to enjoy and the beauty in life. Often the beauty is in nature, the smile of a caring friend, or a feeling of peace that fills a troubled heart. Elder Bednar called these tender mercies.

I think excellence and beauty are intertwined. A life of excellence is not always the most traveled or obvious path. I believe excellence to be in the soft voice of a mother who responds in love when frustration would have been her first reaction. It's in finding passion and being true to ones' self. It's in smiling when you want to complain. It's in praying when you want you to cry. It's working when you want to play and play that helps you forget work. It's hours and hours invested in learning a skill. It's loving when you want to be angry. It's sacrificing good for better. It's conscious choices to take the higher road.

I love these two photographs as well. these are by Ansel Adams, another pioneer photographer who worked to make the Lord' beautiful handywork accessible to all....

Happy Mother's Day Mom! Thank you for bringing beauty and excellence into my life my whole life.

My Little Tucker

This is my little dog, Tucker. He was born on February 23, 2007. Since I have had him for two years now I thought I would introduce him formally. My Suzie died while I was on my mission and I had missed having a dog since then. After much thinking, researching and looking, I bought Tuck in April 2007. He had a beautiful brindle brother and I couldn't decide between the two. Ultimately his personality was the decision maker.



The first time we took him hiking was to Flatiron. It was a warm day and his little paws weren't used to the heat. He ran from shadow to shadow. We'd pass him and then he'd run to the next shady spot. I think we may have carried him at the end. He loves hiking now and still runs for the shadows.

He and Asia, have been best friends from day 1. Even now he cries when she leaves. He is such a baby!

Escadilla summer 2007


Right after I got my new camera!


This is one of my favorites. It is last Christmas in Lakeside. Elsie loves Tucker and will let him, Asia and Deli (her dog) kiss her all over. She loves all animals for that matter. It was hilarious to watch her with this cat. She dragged it all over the place. I am not so sure the cat was too comfortable when she dragged Oliver over to Tucker. Brandon just about went and bought a cat after watching Elsie with this one.


Last summer was a rough one for Tucker. It started with little sores on his snout. They got worse and worse and new ones began to form on his neck, behind his ears, and in his arm pits. We also noticed a small, pencil eraser sized growth on his testes. I took him to Dr. Hunt at Homstead Animal Clinic in Mesa. He and his staff are great. They love Tucker. they take time to sit with us and be sure I really understand what is going on. Dr. Hunt suspected the sores to be allergy related and put Tucker on an antibiotic and the steriod, prednisone. He suggested changing his diet to an allergy formula... Who knew dog food could be so expensive! The sores improved but not the growth got bigger.

The next time we went in Dr. Hunt SRTONGLY recommended neutering him and doing a scrotal oblation to remove the growth entirely. He didn't think it was cancerous, but it would be better to be safe. Also, with his allergies he shouldn't be bred. This was tough for me. We had planned on breeding tucker and Asia. I called my coworker, Robin, who has dobermins Tucker's age. I felt better after atlking with her. We set the surgery date and as Robin said, it was more tramatic for me than for him. He was up and running in no time.

Tucker's didn't heal well and his sores came back with a vengence so we went back to Dr. Hunt. He said Tucker will probably have to be on some sort of steriod the rest of his life. Although we had tried before, it was time to put my science skills to the test. We switched his dog food back to a sweet potato and fish blend for allergies, gove him not table scraps (he hated this), and gave him baths at least weekly. He was back on predinsone and the antobiotic as well as an antifungal pill. The sores quickly healed and as they did we gradually cut back the steriod dosage and stopped the other meds as he ran out. I've noticed he is itchy after eating red meat--his favorite! Now I give him 5mg of prednisone every few days as needed and bath him often. I am careful about what human food I give him, but did switch back to the Costco brand (lamb instead of chicken) purely for financial reasons. He is doing very well... beter than the orange tree he pulled out of the ground a few weeks ago! Thanks Dr. Hunt and staff!

That's my baby!

FRIENDS

These are my darling friends Saundra and Lori. We like to watch chick flicks, laugh, eat buffalo wings, shop... and give Wayne a hard time. Lori is moving back to Texas this weekend and we are going to miss her. Saundra and I are praying she gets a job with Gilbert Public Schools and can stay to teach our kiddos about the Holocaust in her cute Texas accent with a little sass... ok, so a lot of sass!

Heather & Mike's Wedding

I took the pictures for her announcement on a cloudy day at the river. I have to say it was pretty cool to see pictures I took come in the mail on someone's wedding announcement! They are great together and the wedding was beautiful. Very Heather with simple white and blue flowers and decor, but classy and beautiful. This picture is also very Heather!

It was fun to be with the girls again for a little bit.

In the Kitchen...mhh

I just started Pampered Chef and am having tons of fun practicing recipes and learning to use all my new "tools."

Fun times in Lakeside, AZ with the fam!!

Gage, my nephew

Bridget, The bunny that has more than one name, Gage & Rachel

Rachel, my littlest sister

David and his big guns. Congrats on graduation Dave!!

There once was a garage...

There once was a garage that you wouldn’t dare to walk through for fear of what might be lurking beneath a half dissected quad, between the cushions of a moldy, old chair, or inside a television set from the 70’s.

Beware, you just might trip and sprain an ankle on the old rake that broke last year or maybe even the racquet-ball racquet that could not be found so it has been replace… oh, about 4 times now.

But, never fear!! Such is not longer the case.
Remember, Dad quoting Grandpa,
“A place for everything and everything in its place.”

This project was actually a lot of fun. Wayne and I cleaned out the white shed in Mesa and took a 4’x 8’ trailer full of tools and other stuff up to Lakeside. After arriving in Pinetop at 3am Saturday morning we looked around the garage planning, watched the sun rise a bit then went to bed about 4:30am. About 6:30 or 7am we hit the garage hard with help from everyone! Even Gage helped. Our first task was to take out everything except the food storage. Mom worked on organizing, Jared and Wayne power-washed the garage and the rest of us found things to do. After it was cleaned out, Wayne, Jared and I went to Lowes (Yes, they have one now and a Home Depot too.) to get lumber and supplies. Dad has a new chop saw now. Under Wayne’s direction we built some strong work shelves. Kember, Jared and I were learning.

We took a huge load of stuff to the Woodland Lake house barn, threw thing away, moved the food storage closer to the house, put a bunch of stuff into the attic, built more shelves for storage and a hanging place for the bikes, etc. I was a lot of fun and the best part is everyone happily worked together and contributed what they could. At 12.30 am we finally turned off the lights and locked the doors. There is still work to be done, but we made a lot of progress.

Now Wayne and I can start doing similar work at his house. He is moving this week and I am quite excited. He’ll be living with some guys in the ward in the same neighborhood as Heidi, by the Cotters and not far from Kember.

Here is a picture in the middle of the process. We don't have an after picture just yet.