My Turn - Labor Day Weekend

So I promised my wife that I would do the next post on the blog. The only problem is that I promised that to her about a week and a half ago. So I am going to do my best to make this a really good and long blog post.

About a week ago was Labor Day. Which meant two things for us, no school and no work on Monday.

So, we did what most families do on holidays. We went out of town to Panguitch Lake for some fishing and relaxation. We left Saturday literally fifteen minutes after we were both off of work. On our way up we stopped at our favorite little shake joint "Iceberg" in St. George. After picking up our favorite frozen treat it we had to go through Hurricane to pick up our little sister Emily and her best friend Destiney "Little Bit". From there we spent the rest of the drive rocking out to whatever random CD Sam would put on.

We thought that we would be able to go to sleep right when we got there but that didn't happen. After a little bit of drama we finally made it to bed around 2 A.M. Utah time.

The next two days were supposed to be all about fishing and relaxing. However, when we woke up the next morning the wind was blowing a solid 40 MPH. So that ruined any chance of us making it out onto the lake. Instead, we all took a drive down to Panguitch City to look at the house mom and Joe are thinking about buying for all of us to use for a summer vacation house.

The house that they took us to could be a really nice house, once we fix it up a decent amount. The only downside to the house is that there is a room on the back side of the house that has no doors that lead in or out of it. After spending a couple hours down in Panguitch it was time to return back to the lake to relax and take a nap.

After we were done with our naps it was time to go for a quad ride through some of the trails around the lake. So Joe, Brad, Sam and I all hopped on quads and took off with Joe leading us. We thought that we were going to have a nice long joy ride but it got cut really short when Joe decided to take us up a hill that only he could make it up. Sam's quad stalled half way up and and I was right behind her so I was forced to stop as well. As we tried to turn our quads around I tried to put mine into neutral to make it easier. BIG MISTAKE. The quad started to slide backward and eventually turned sideways and both me and the quad started rolling down the hill.

From what Sam and Joe said I did a perfect barrel roll down the hill. It certainly didn't feel that way though. I tumbled a good 20 or 30 feet down the hill and was finally able to roll to the side and stop. After about 30 minutes of working on the quads we were able to get going again. Only this time it wasn't back up the hill. We headed straight back for camp to try to figure out what was wrong with the quads. We finally decided it would be best if we just stayed at camp and hung out until it was time to eat dinner.

For dinner we had the most fabulous deep fried ribs. I know what you're thinking but they were actually really good. Along with the ribs we had shrimp, corn, cheese potatoes and scones. After dinner we all just hung out around the campfire until it was time to go to bed. After a good night rest it was time to go fishing. The wind had finally died down so Joe, Papa, Emily and myself all went out on the lake and dropped in our lines.

After only being out on the lake for ten minutes I had my first fish of the day. Almost immediately after catching my fish Papa got a bite on his line. When he realed his in we saw something that we had never seen before. Papas hook caught the fish on his top fin. The hook never went into the fish's mouth. It was absolutely crazy. Before Papas fish was even in the boat Joe's line started to tug as well. As Joe started to pull his line in he noticed that his and Emily's lines had gotten tangled. So instead of continuing to reel his line is he grabbed it with his hands and started pulling it in. After a minute or so we were able to pull the fish in. Before we could even cast our lines out again it was time to go in for breakfast. Once breakfast was complete most of the crew went back out onto the lake to continue fishing. So while they were out the rest of us finished cleaning up camp so that we could head back home as soon as they got back.

Finally, it was time to head home. With one little pit stop on the way. We had to go take a look at a puppy that we were thinking about buying. The little Yorkie's were so small and cute. We didn't end up leaving with one but I have a good feeling that we will be returning to pick up the little guy that we love in a week or so. Since we were out in the middle of nowhere, we decided to take the scenic route back to Vegas. On our way through the highway we noticed something on the side of the road. A gravesite memorial for what is called the "Mountain Meadows Massacre". We knew that we couldn't just drive by and not go look so we stopped for a little bit and went to pay our respects. After leaving the gravesite we had to work double time to get back since it was starting to get dark. About 15 minutes outside of Mesquite we noticed a car coming from behind Sam and I. We tried to wave it around but it just stayed behind us and would not go around. Finally, we found out why as the red and blue lights started flashing in the rearview mirror. Joe got pulled over for not having running lights on the quad trailer. Of course he talked his way out of it but it was definitely not fun. After dealing with the cops for 20 minutes we were back on the road. Around 10 P.M. we finally pulled into Vegas. We stopped by Del Taco on the route home because we were starving. After getting home it was finally time to crawl into bed and fall asleep.

Overall, it was a great weekend and it was exactly what Sam and I needed after a long couple weeks at work. I hope that this post was long enough for you guys and I promise that I will start writing more often so these posts aren't as long. Until next time, Thomas.