Silver Lake

If you haven't been up any of the canyons in Utah, then you are missing out. They are incredibly beautiful in the summer time (winter too, but hiking in snow is not really my thing...pretty much anything in snow isn't my thing). After this hike we did, I completely understand why people love summer and hiking here.


Yesterday we hiked the Silver Lake trail, up American Fork Canyon, with some of our favorite people. We didn't hike the whole thing since it was 4.5 miles one way and we unfortunately weren't prepared with enough water. So we went a little over half way and it was beautiful! Our original plan was to hike the Tibble Fork Reservoir loop (which was supposed to be fairly moderate in skill level) but we got to the canyon only to find out it has been closed since June 1st for construction. I am really glad we found another hike to do though, instead of turning around to leave.


Getting to the trail was pretty easy, but the last few miles were up the side of a mountain on an unpaved, bumpy, dirt road. Luckily it wasn't too bad for us since our truck has 4WD. Also, I am definitely scared of heights. We were on the side of the mountain and when I looked down my palms immediately started to sweat. They are actually sweating right now as I write this/think about it. I guess I have never known how scared I really am of heights. Now we know.


Once we got to the reservoir where the trail started, we parked and started going up a road that Anthony swore would turn into the trail...you can guess where this is going. Long story short, it didn't turn into the trail and after asking someone where we went wrong we turned around. Once we got to the actual trailhead, it was great!! It was seriously so beautiful. I cannot say that enough. I am sad it took us half the summer to actually get out and do something like this!! Now we know to get our butts out the door and go sooner! But for now, I cannot wait to get out to camp and hike away the rest of summer!


Here's the highlight real from the 171 pictures I actually took.... Also, a BIG thank you to Autumn and Brad (Fitz too!!) for being such good looking models and letting me take photos of them.

I think they love the truck more than we do!

She secretly loves dogs ;)

Fist pump for standing like a big kid!

My people

Ok Utah, I guess you are pretty beautiful...

Looking real focused...

A Very Special California Trip

I am finally getting around to this post, almost a week late...whoops!

We took a little road trip down to California about a week and a half ago and (not only was it much needed) it was a special little trip because my parents were finally returning home after living in Mexico for THREE years. They were there doing missionary work for the LDS church (they were assigned a certain geographical area of missionaries to lead and watch over) and were constantly on the go and working, so they were pretty tired when they got home but I know they met people and made memories that they will never forget.

Overall, it was a whirlwind of a trip, and I wish we could have stayed another week. Having everyone together again after 3 years was a blast and we had a lot of fun just spending time together. It's funny how things change when you and your siblings grow up. ha. Everything isn't quite so chaotic and you actually enjoy each others company! 

aaaaand here  are some of the pics I took, there were over 200 so I narrowed it down for this post ;)

Side note: Anthony and I went for a walk, just the two of us, on our last night there and I told him that sometimes I hate going back to visit California because I always get so depressed when it's time to leave. And then I cried all the way back to Utah! Hahaha. I really do love our life here, it's just not fun ending a great trip that wasn't quite long enough.  

Rain Is A Good Thing

Every time it rains I think of the Luke Bryan song, "Rain Is A Good Thing".

It's been raining on and off all day which has been kind of nice since its been in the 90's and hot all week. But I am not complaining because it's a million times better than the snow!


Anyway, we decided to go out in the rain and explore close to home today with the dogs since we have a neighborhood chili cook off to attend tonight. Anthony and I like to spend as much time as we can with the dogs during the weekend since they spend a lot of time during the week inside. We ended up going out to an empty field nearby where there were lots of trails we could walk on while the pups ran wild and free. Since they love water and freedom, they were in heaven! I took advantage of this opportunity to play around with my camera (Anthony wanted to play with it too, hence some of the pics below..) but since it was raining and I didn't have a lot of protection for my camera, I didn't get too many photos. Oh well! Still a good time practicing on my favorite furry subjects!

Mix it, Leave it, Eat it!

Well, I feel like I post a lot about food...but let's be honest, who doesn't love food?! I'm back with a delicious, easy, husband approved breakfast for you. I have seen the "overnight oatmeal" floating around for awhile but hadn't gotten around to trying it so when I was at Target last weekend I bought a dozen mason jars and decided this oatmeal concoction was going to be a thing at our house!


and man, am I glad it's become a thing.


So here's how it works:

1/2 cup of oatmeal
1/2 cup (sometimes a little more) of milk (we use almond over here since we have some lactose intolerance in the house)
1-3 spoonfuls of greek yogurt (only in mine-see above)
1 tablespoon of honey
and 1 tablespoon of chia seeds

Then you mix it all together in a bowl, mason jar, cup, WHATEVER you want and stick it in the fridge so it sits overnight.


Yup, it's that easy.



Oh, and in the morning you throw some fresh fruit or whatever toppings you would like on top and take it to go or eat it right then and there! I really need to try peanut butter/banana and cinnamon/apple next.....

Seriously, you can do anything with these. It's awesome.

(this morning I did strawberries and mango, yesterday was strawberries and blueberries...)

BONUS! Anyone who hates slimy chia seeds like me, don't fret! You can't even tell they are slimy or even in there for that matter! #win

Like always, tell me how you like them if you decide to give it a shot or what you like in them if you are already on the overnight oatmeal bandwagon!

Sunday Photos

So, most people who really know me and have known me for awhile, know that I love taking pictures. I was that annoying girl who ALWAYS had her camera and took pictures of every single event. Seriously, I had to go through and hide so many albums on Facebook because it was a little embarrassing!!

Anyway, Anthony has been telling me for ages that I should really get into photography and have fun with it. There has been a lot of debate, long conversations, him convincing me, and me being nervous/scared/weird about jumping in. It's kind of intimidating and a little scary putting yourself out there for others to see.

But! I've decided to do it, have fun, and see where this goes. I started a second Instagram (@paige.alise) so I could have a place to post photos and not bombard those who follow my personal account. So if you are interested in what I have to post, please go and check it out! 

Now to the good stuff (pictures obviously)

We had Harper and Blair over tonight for dinner and I got to do a little impromptu photo shoot with them as the sun was going down....and can I just say, 1) these two are such babes and SO photogenic and 2) these sunset photos gave me all kinds of heart eyes!! Ha! But really, I'm so grateful these two put up with me and walked through dirt and pokey bushes so I could snap some photos! 

 

 
 
 

When you need a little extra fiber....

Try these.

This recipe has become one of my favorites. I found it while searching for easy and healthy meals I could make during the week because one of the biggest struggles for me while working full time has been finding time to fit everything in, including meals that we could take for lunch or eat for dinner. But not just any meals. They had to be easy and healthy...which I always thought was a non existent combination. Well, turns out it's not impossible and there are some really good options out there!

When I first went to make this particular recipe I was a little skeptical....but I gave it a try and it obviously tasted great or else I wouldn't be sharing it here! The actual recipe is vegetarian but you can add chicken and its still just as tasty!! We have had it both ways and love it either way. (Although, I do think Anthony prefers the chicken version because he's a man and has to have his meat...)

I highly recommend these to everyone and I will be surprised if you try them and don't like them. That's how good they are....and bonus: I am usually good to go after eating three because they are filling (and good for you!!) so there are always leftovers.

Oh and before I forget, DON'T FORGET TO MAKE THE SAUCE TOO!!! It's a greek yogurt/avocado/lime dream combo. Seriously. It is so good. 

Please go try these and tell me what you think.....I need to know if you guys get as obsessed as I am...

Photo from I Heart Naptime

Mango Tango

I don't know about you, but I LOVE mangos. I'm pretty sure I've loved them for a very long time and I'm not really sure how anyone could NOT love them. But hey, whatever floats your boat.

I actually can't look at mangos or eat one anymore without thinking about a particular story and since I hate when people bring stuff up and then don't share, I'll share the story with you ;) cuz I'm nice like that.

Ok- so my family was in Cabo one summer, and I think we were driving home from probably the most depressing zoo of my life, when we saw a guy with big paper bags FULL of mangos for sale. My dad asked if anyone wanted to stop and buy some and of course my little mango loving self in the back seat shouted "YES!!" (Note: I'm not the only one who loves mangos, I'm pretty sure it's genetic and everyone in my family got the dominant mango loving gene) So we took a massive bag (of already RIPE mangos) back to our hotel and immediately started devouring them. I don't think my little heart could have been happier! Now, let's fast forward two days...surprise, surprise, we were all sick from eating so many mangos. And I mean sick...think 3 grams of fiber per mango..... it was a rough day or two after that binge and we still had at least half of the mangos left!!! That's how big that dang bag was. It literally felt like a never ending supply of mangos. Which would have made me happy, if I  hadn't just missed a day of swimming to sit on the toilet.... I believe we ended up giving or throwing away the remaining fruit since no one could handle any more mangos after that. Hahaha.

After that trip I was afraid the whole experience was going to make me never want to touch a mango again. But, surprisingly, I still loved them. I just learned to pace myself ;)


So now you all know what I think about when I eat or see mangos and hopefully you think about something a little more pleasant. I can laugh about the story now, but man, I'm not sure my body has ever hated me more than during that mango cleanse!!