Phil and Mel

2009-11-28T15:26:00.004-07:00

Halloween we went up to Phils parents and enjoyed the nieces and nephew. I didn't seem to get any pictures of the kids, but Phils mom dressed up and looked awesome as a spider witch.

My birthday was at the beginning of the month and Phil spoiled me like usual.

Thanksgiving has come and gone which I am truly grateful for my family and friends.

Happy Holidays!!!

2009-11-28T15:23:00.003-07:00

Cayman had a birthday party the weekend after we got home from San Fran. We enjoyed a princess party. I went down Friday night and was able to have a sleepover with her. You can see we didn't get much sleep. Later that night Phil and I were able to go see David Sedaris. Love him. Check him out if you haven't heard of him.

2009-11-28T15:09:00.010-07:00

We're back. Things are going to be crazy through the holidays, but I have to blog about our vacation to San Francisco. I heart San Fran. I love the weather, the atmosphere, the pier, the CREPES, the food, the street performers and that I can find my way around the city.

We went on a really fun fast trip. I love this comedian Mike Birbigila and he was performing and Phil really wanted to see this band Edward Sharpe and they both happened to be there on different nights. I bought the tickets and we were there for 3 short, but fun days.

I always leave my heart there, but I know we will be back!

2009-09-24T12:28:00.004-06:00

After our hiking adventure we headed up to Park City and spent two days there. It was nice to recover because I was soooo SORE. It was hard to walk up and down stairs but well worth it because we had never been to downtown Park City and it was awesome.

We spent the night with July, Cayman and Cooper and had so much fun. Phil and I took Cayman swimming. Alli and Paul joined us for dinner and then we were headed to DENVER in the morning.

We were running behind Wednesday morning and had to make our flight. We thought we were parking in long term parking when really it wasn't and would later cost us $125 to park at the airport. We checked in, got some food, went to the bathroom and were the last TWO on the flight. We made it to Denver and headed out to Vail. The drive on I-70 is beautiful. The mountains, trees, rocks, rivers just BEAUTIFUL!! Vail was pretty and all SHUT down. School started early so nothing was opened. We talked to some locals and they told us to go to this place called "Hanging Lakes." We hiked in and it was amazing. It is this remote lake on the mountain and then if you hike up another hundred yards there is a HUGE waterfall. Just beautiful. Who knew I would become such a HIKER on one vacation.

We headed to Denver on Thursday and went to the 16Th street mall. It was fun and HOT. We decided to go the the Aquarium but once we got there we noticed they had BIKES for rent so we rented a bike and rode around the river. We noticed there was a Bronco's game and found a scalper and bought tickets. 2 tickets for $25 bucks if you like sitting in section 5 row 14. Totally fun!

Friday we went to a movie and then head out to see Tyler and Heidi (Phil's sister). We had so much fun. They have a crazy cat named Ruby. We visited, went to a show, dinner and had a blast. They took us to Boulder on Saturday and we saw lots of crazy street performers. We were sad to leave but glad to be home. After being gone since Sunday it was nice to not live out of a suit case and sleep in your own BED.

Reality is hard to come back to. At least we have San Francisco to look forward to in October!

Vacation

2009-09-24T12:06:00.003-06:00

VACATION! The words holiday or vacation have related meanings in different English-speaking countries and continents, but usually refer to one of the following activities or events:

A general leave of absence from a regular occupation for rest or recreation
A specific trip or journey for the purposes of recreation or tourism

Two things Phil and I did. We took a leave of absence from work for NINE days and enjoyed a journey.

Phil grew up backpacking, hiking, fishing, and camping so did I however mine was easy campers, showers, toilets, and YUMMY food. He finally convinced me to go back packing. We borrowed some things from his Dad and headed out on our two day journey. The preparation was FUN! Grocery shopping, packing, and realizing everything you want you have to hike in. We headed out and got to our destination to the trail head where the sign read GREEN LAKES 6.5 miles. WOW, not only is it far I have a 30 pound pack on my back. We hiked in and started to set up camp. We had lunch (rice and ramen) and of course I brought every kind of candy you could think of. We had peach rings, red vines, gummies, cookies and me not being so careful spilled FOOD. We decided to take a nap, read,and play cards. We woke up to start dinner (ramen and rice) I know twice in one day and Phil went to explore. He ran up some rocks and ran down a different direction. He looked panicked and said "We need to talk." He pulled me over by the tent and said "THERE IS A BEAR" in the next camp what do you want to do??? Me, not really believing him say what really are you sure. Phil yes, I go into PANIC mode. GET ME OUT OF HERE! oh wait, its 7:00 at night and the car is 6.5 miles away. I start to clean up the tent and Phil says "Mel look, I look and the BEAR is 20 yards away. We packed up camp and hiked 6.5 miles to the car in 2 hours and 10 minutes.

My first camping experience went well if you ignore the fact that we were only there for 6 hours, I didn't have to sleep in the tent, I showered when we got home and I didn't even have to use a bush! HA HA. When we try this next year maybe we will make it through the night.

2009-08-25T14:53:00.002-06:00

I'm back! I know you have all missed me and my updates so here it goes:

March:
Nothing fun except skiing

April:
Ski season ended and Phil started school

May:
Phil is still in school, July and Cayman came for a visit. Phil and I started mountain biking

June:
Phil, Alli, Paul, and myself ran in the Dam Marathon. We had lots of fun and I took 3RD in my age group. Phil had the fastest time at like 27 minutes and some seconds. We had lots of fun training and since I have reverted back to NOT running.

July:
Phil danced in the 4Th of July parade, we had a BBQ with the Ashton's.
Our nephew Paul Kolter Ashton was born on our Anniversary. Happy 3 years to us.
Our sweet little Kira (my cousins daughter) returned to her Heavenly Father. Such an amazing family.
We had my 10 year class reunion which by the way was awesome because a dear friend helped me with all the planning. LOVE YOU CAMIE!!(couldn't have done it without her)
Phil finished school and we headed into the six week break.

August:
Cooper Vincent Cottrell joined the Skidmore family.
I got to go to Utah and help Jules for a couple days. Went swimming with Cayman, who is a total fish and I thought she was going to drown, but no just LOVES the water. I also got to take her to see a princess, where she got all shy.
Got our SEASON PASSES TO TARGHEE!! That's right I officially LOVE Skiing.
Planned our vacation to Colorado. We leave September 2 and return September 6. We will be going to Vail and Denver and hanging out with Tyler and Heidi. (Heather, we really are trying to be everyones favorite HAHA!!)

My favorite of all, Going to San Francisco in October to see MIKE BIRBIGLIA and and the Treasure Island Festival. Super spontaneous of us. We are only young once!

I would love to post pictures however they are all on my phone and our Mac Book and I don't know how to blog on the Mac Book so this will have to do.

See ya in a few months!

2009-02-22T14:30:00.005-07:00

We're back!! I know you have been missing us and are ready for a post so here it goes.

Phil and I bought season passes to go skiing with this winter and it has been so FUN! Phil is a great teacher and I have really enjoyed being active. Usually in the winter I stay inside, eat and watch movies and it has been nice to know that on every THURSDAY we have plan to go ski. I was finally brave enough to move off of the little kids mountain and try the aduly mountain and Phil took some pictures of me skiing down. I must say I think I do OK as long as Phil is there to instruct me.

We also have a new addition to the family. We bought a new car. I know what you all are thinking AGAIN. Phil and I figured since we have been married which will be 3 years in July we have had SEVEN different cars. Olds Alero, Dodge Neon, Toyota Camry, Mits Lancer, Nissan Xterra, Volvo S40, Ford Ranger, and now a Subaru Forester.

We had a great Vday with lots of treats and fun. We are looking forward to going to Utah for a few days to see Andrew Bird in concert and going skiing at Beaver Mountain.

2008-12-11T18:05:00.002-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY! Today is Phil's birthday and we had an awesome day. We woke up early and went to breakfast at JB'S. After breakfast we headed up to Targhee for some SKIING!! I was nervous because it was only my 3rd time going but I must say I think I ROCKED!! Phil would get so excited watching me ski down the mountain. It was great. After skiing Phil had to go to work and I have just been chilling. I just wanted to take a minute and tell everyone what an awesome husband I have. He is so caring and loving. He always makes me laugh and we have the best time together. He is honestly my best friend and I can not imagine life without him. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hurry and have some more birthdays so you can catch up to me!!

2008-11-30T15:08:00.002-07:00

What a busy week. It was Thanksgiving with my family this year and boy was it BUSY! It started with my dad and Carma moving into their new home. It is so nice and I am glad we have a place to call home. My family got here Wednesday night and the cooking began. We made salads, cheese balls, pies, deviled eggs and chatted. It is always fun to be around family and food.

Thursday the fun began. We ate, laughed, played ROCK BAND (which is a great way to bring family together), basketball for the boys and talked.

Friday, July, me and my dad got up early and went to Idaho Falls to do some shopping!! Lame, I will never do that again. Everyone helped my dad finish cleaning the garage and then we went to dinner. July, Cory, and Cayman left after dinner and the rest of us went to see 4 Christmas's. It was so funny. I don't think Paul quit laughing.

Saturday Alli and Paul left and we could finally we put up our Christmas Tree. Phil has been asking for over a week and we finally did. It is always fun to pull out the decorations for the tree because my mom made them for my families tree and now I have them for my tree. Phil also has an ornament from his Grandma so our tree is very special to us. I love the christmas season and can't wait to spend the holidays with family.

I wish I knew how to download pictures to the mac book but for now just picture our tree with

2008-11-18T22:17:00.002-07:00

Looks like Linsey tagged me here it goes:

7 Quirks

1. Before I can fall asleep at night all the closet doors have to be closed in our bedroom and everything picked up off the floor. Phil will open the closet door just to see if I will get up and close it. Of course I will! Also, Seinfeld has to be on the TV with the sleep timer set for 1 hour to shut the TV off.

2. I love to SNOOZE!! I will set my alarm 30 to 40 minutes before I have to get up. My alarm goes off every 9 minutes!

3. I DVR a lot of shows and like to fast forward through the parts that don't interest me. Phil always ask "Are you going to watch it normal or fast forward through it." It drives him crazy.

4. I like to be really warm when I sleep. I sleep with a heating pad, flannel blanket, top sheet, comforter and a feather blanket all year round.

5. I bite my nails. I have tried to determine if it is nerves or what but I think I just get bored.

6. I love SALT!! I put it on everything. I know I shouldn't but I do.

7. I change my scentsy candle almost every day. I pour the old wax into a glass cup and have ruined 3 glasses. What else am I suppose to do with the wax.

Now that you know how weird I am, I tag anyone who is brave enough to expose the weird things about YOU!!

P.S. Did you notice how many of my quirks had to do with SLEEPING!!

2008-11-16T16:29:00.001-07:00

Tag I'm it!

Here it goes!

8 Favorite TV shows:

1. Dr. 90210

2. Kimora Life in the Fab Lane

3. The Doctors

4. E True Hollywood Story

5. House Hunters

6. What not to Wear

7. Prison Break

8. The Office

8 Things I did yesterday:

1. Woke up and got ready for work

2. Worked from 9-1

3. Met my family for lunch at the hospital

4. Took Phil lunch

5. Went to my dads new house and watched Paul put together a

desk

6. Took Ryan to his car and saw Karen doing extensions

7. Ate Pizza with my family(Dad, Carma, Alli, Paul, Ryan, Phil and I) We missed you July, Cory and Cayman!!

8. Went to Bed

8 Things I look forward to

1. Phil being done with school

2. Skiing

3. Thanksgiving

4. Christmas

5. Going on Vacation

6. Saving money

7. Getting into shape so I can run a half marathon this summer

8. Being with family and friends what else could be better

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Cheesecake Factory

2. Costa Vida

3. Johnny Carinos

4. Millhollow

5. Crepe factory in San Fran

6. TGIF

7. Sweet Tomatoes

8. Anything Mexican

8 Things on my Wish list:

1. Visit the New England States this summer

2. Drive down the coast (east and west)

3. Get out of debt

4. Buy a house

5. Volvo XC 90

6. BABIES!! (Just 2)

7. To take Phil to another Radio Head concert

8. To see our families more often

I tag everyone! It is fun to see favorites!

2008-11-08T18:05:00.001-07:00

I am stealing this picture from a friends post but I just wanted to to remember what a historic night!

2008-11-08T17:53:00.002-07:00

Fall has come and gone and I am afraid that Winter is right around the corner. I love the snow, but why does it have to be so COLD!! I am looking forward to this winter because Phil and I bought season passes to TARGHEE!! I hope I remember how to ski from last season and that Phil will be patient with me. He is the best SKI teacher.

We have had a couple of changes in our family. I have transferred to the Rexburg Westmark as a loan officer. I am so excited to be closer to Phil but will miss my co workers. I always thought of them as my family away from home and will miss them.

The other change is that we sold the VOLVO!! I loved that car. We decided where I was going to be working in Rexburg why not eliminate a payment. BYE BYE CAR!

I celebrated my 28Th b-day and wow, I am closer to 30!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and am looking forward to spending it with my family.

2008-09-06T15:01:00.002-06:00

Wow, it has been forever since I have updated. The last TWO months of summer have been crazy. I won't bore you with all of it but I will tell you all how much fun our VACATION was. We flew out on a Wednesday and arrived in San Fran. It was humid and nice. We got checked into our hotel that was nice. It definitely wasn't the Fitzpatrick that we stayed in New York. After getting settled in we headed down to Union Square to do some SHOPPING!! We each had a certain $ amount that we could spend and I spent mine the first day we were there. Good thing I snuck the debit card a few times when Phil wasn't looking. The next day we headed down to the Wharf. It was beautiful. I love the ocean. We hung out there all day and watched the Sea Lions, the street performers, and ate lots of YUMMY food. Friday was RADIO HEAD!!! We slept in got ready and headed to the Golden Gate Park. It was HUGE. The concert was AWESOME!! After 8 hours of music we headed home. Saturday was just a casual day china town, aquarium of the bay, and union square. Sunday we biked the Golden Gate Bridge. It was AWESOME. I never thought of a vacation where you would bike 8 miles but it was beautiful. You start out at the Wharf follow the bike path to the bridge and end up in Saucilito where you catch a ferry bike to the wharf. Saucilto was this cute little yacht type town. I loved it there. Monday was our final day in San Fran and we went to Alcatraz. Alcatraz was a maximum security federal penitentiary. We got to tour the prison and see how the prisoners lived. You had a tour that was audio and it explained about the famous prisoners. After that we caught a flight bake to reality. Phil starts school and we both will continue to work.

2008-07-09T20:00:00.005-06:00

Okay this is a lot to take in for one day but I really want to get caught up.

Yesterday was our TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY!! The day started with my making breakfast in bed for Phil. A bowl of Raisin Bran. Then off to work. I got home and it was the worst day at work. I cried for most of the ride home but who cares right! I got home and Phil walked in behind me with flowers, a popcorn popper, and popcorn.

For those of you who don't know I love air popped popcorn. When we got married Phil helped me move out of my apartment and threw my popcorn popper away. I tease him all the time about "I wish I had my popcorn popper" so now I have one. I on the other hand opted not to get my husband anything because I didn't know what to get him. The only thing I could think of was a WII and that is $300.00. After lots of crying because Phil kept asking where his gift and I felt like a bad wife, we went and ate. I just want Phil to know he is a great husband. I am an emotional person (who isn't once a month) and he is always so patient with me. I love you BABE!!

Oh, about the one photo of him, he tried to grow some facial hair
last winter. The stach is all he could grow. Looks kinda creepy if you ask me.

2008-07-09T19:34:00.002-06:00

What a busy few weeks for us. Phil is still in school and I am still working. Phil's mom went to Japan for 3 weeks and got home right before the 4Th. She bought us some great Japanese souvenirs. My favorite gift were the socks. I have never seen anything like them. She told me she got them because I always were FLIP FLOPS and now in the winter my feet will stay warm and I can still wear my favorite shoes. Thanks Sally for the gifts we loved them.

The 4Th was good as usual. We spent the day just chillaxion (sp) and went up to the Ashton's for a BBQ. After that we set off fire works. I was sad that my family weren't able to make it but hopefully next year.

On the 5Th Phil and I woke up really early to go to LAGOON with July, Cory and Cayman. Cayman got sick so she was not able to come. It was a BLAST!! They have got some pretty good rides and I was impressed with July for riding most of them. Cory and Phil were so excited it reminded me of little boys. After Lagoon, Phil and I got a hotel room and went to Gateway. We ran into July, Cory, and Cayman. I love that little girl. I wish she lived closer. Uncle Phil let her build a bear and it was fun.

Phil's brother Seth blessed Baby Miles on Sunday. It was fun to be with the Ashton's. Phil was so cute with Miles. I have never seem him like that with a baby before. I only see him teasing Sage, Annie, and Brig. After the blessing it was back to reality. We had to come home, clean, do laundry and get ready for the week ahead of us. Only two more weeks and Phil is done with SCHOOL!!!

2008-06-12T15:54:00.003-06:00

Phil is in school this semester. He is taking Anat and Phys, Child Development, and ARCHERY!! He is so nerdy but I love him. He has a lot of homework and so my nights are fairly boring. I love the weekends because that is when we get to hang out.

2008-06-12T15:45:00.002-06:00

A girl I work with gave me this awesome cookie recipe. Here it is:

1 can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 c skippy peanut butter
1tsp. vanilla
2 cups Bisquick

Cream the first 3 ingredients together and add Bisquick
Roll cookies into ball and into sugar

Bake on 325 for 8 minutes

As soon as you pull out of oven put a kiss in the center.

Enjoy!!

2008-05-25T12:48:00.002-06:00

Phil has a love for music and is always mentioning bands he would like to go see in concert. He got his new Rolling Stones magazine and it showed that Radio Head was going to be on tour this summer. Friday night I casually mentioned "Should we go see Radio Head?" He got all excited and we looked and the closest they come to Idaho is California so Saturday after work I booked us a room in San Francisco and bought tickets. We not only get to go on vacation somewhere fun he also gets to go see 3 of his favorite bands. I think he might owe me on the next vacation.

2008-05-22T10:47:00.000-06:00

So we are new to this, but we thought what a fun way to keep in touch with all our family and friends.