REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.) Garage Sale

Today REI has their twice-a-year sale of returned goods or display items. For me it is kind of like my Christmas after Christmas! In fact, there are only a couple of times each year I don't mind getting up before 6:00am : backpacking in September, hunting in October, and the REI sale.

Today I woke up early and went with my buddy Lynn Peterson to the sale. We arrived and it was way too cold to both stand in line, so we rotated going back to the car. The sale didn't start til 9am and we were there around 7am. The sale doesn't take place in the store either, it is in the parking lot roped off so people can't sneak in or out.

We had a pretty good position in line since we were there early. I think we numbered the 50th or 60th people in line so I was pretty happy. Once the gate opens it is an all out rush to the goods dispersed somewhat systematically throughout the lot. The strategy here is to just grab as much stuff as you can and look at it an hour later or so once the looting is finished. If you take too much time looking at the items as you go, you are going to miss out on some good spoils. This year I took home around $1450 worth of gear for $278.85. Here is the list

1. Asics running shoes $89.95 (worn outside and returned-$11)
2. REI Hiking boot GTX $189 (didn't like the color-$15.93)
3. Keen clog shoes $99.95 (ripped pull tab in back-$2.93)
4. Bath toy kayak $18 (missing one dude-$4.93)
5. Keen sandals for Savannah $19.99 (elastic piece broken-$2.93)
6. Kamik boots for Savannah $29.95 (dirty-$4.93)
7. Polar RS200 and extra accessories $219.95 (battery comes on and off-$9.93)
8. Cateye LED flashlight $40 (broken strap- $4.93)
9. REI sleeping back 15degree liner $59 (too thin-$20.93)
10. North Face backpack $69 (ripped mesh-$29.93)
11. Running Soles $45 (display- $7.93)
12. North Face Tent Tadpole $239 (??? no problem-$70.93)
13. Merrell Leather shoes $89 (??? $7.93)
14. Brunton compass $19.99 (missing lanyard $0.93)
15. North Face gloves $65 (missing liner- $13.93)
16. Salomon XAP hiking shoe $89.99 (tear- $19.93)
17. Pearl Izumi leg support $34.99 (used- $4.93)
18. Eagle Creak travel luggage $239 (?? -$39)

I realize that some of their listed prices probably aren't the actual market value. In fact, I could find much of this even new on the net for lower than their listed price, but I want to think that I got a better deal than I did anyway.

Santa's a Nice Man!

For about a year we've been working with Cade to instill in him the jolly goodness of St. Nick. Last year at our ward Christmas party, Santa came and Cade was beyond terrified of him. For several weeks after that, every time we went to church, he would reassure himself, "Santa's not here" before walking through the front doors.

I think this year he has gotten the concept that Santa gives presents. When Cade sees something he wants grocery shopping my line has been, "Well, maybe Santa will make you one for Christmas."

We are in Orem now watching our nephew and went to my sister's ward Christmas party last night. Santa came, and surprisingly Cade did not run out of the gym crying upon spotting the man in the red suit. Instead he mustered up the courage to get in line to see him. When Santa handed Cade a candy cane he shouted,

"SANTA'S A NICE MAN!!!"

Any of you who know Cade, know that candy is the way to his heart. Nice work, Santa.

The Greatest Gift

I really should be crawling into bed right now but I couldn't go to bed without writing about the greatest gift.

The gift of time alone!

My girlfriend called me last night totally out of the blue and told me she would watch my kids if I wanted to run some errands for a few hours without them. I could not turn down the offer. Moments before I had been sulking to myself how impossible it has been to get anything done this week. It couldn't have come at a better time. We are heading out of town soon and I have about 10 million things I need to do. What's even more sweet about this generous offer is this dear friend is not one who is looking for things to keep her occupied. She is a very busy mom herself, and today was her only day off this week. She chose to spend her few precious hours watching my kids! It was great.

Those of you who have had children in your care at some time are aware that the time it takes to run errands is tripled or quadrupled when they are accompanying you. I got so much done this morning! I even managed to buy a few Christmas presents for myself---- from the kids of course. :-)

It gets better.

When I came back to pick up the kids, I found her in the kitchen giving Cade a haircut!!!! How great is that?! That was on my list of things to do, and has been for like 2 weeks, but I still hadn't done it and probably wouldn't have gotten around to it until Cade started growing a mullet.

I am so lucky to have people looking out for me. It's so wonderful!!

Bingo

I am the Varsity Coach for the Boy Scouts here at our church. Each month, or every so often, we look for service opportunities locally to volunteer at. Sometimes the ideas are better than others. Tonight the boys decided that they wanted to visit the nice old people at the assisted living facility close to church.

We asked if we could come and play bingo with them and that seemed like an innocent enough request. But as luck would have it, we could have picked a better activity. And I guess the activity went well overall, but there were some "moments".

The first "moment" happened as one of us (scouters) happened to win bingo. We began playing about twenty minutes into the tournament. Excitedly a young scout screamed out that he had "bingo". I guess either the old lady was mad that we had won on our first round, or that we didn't actually live at the facility. Either way, she was very adimant that we not be recognized as players. (which was a mini-sized snickers bar) She mustered up quite a bit of strength to stand up and claim that he should not be awarded the bingo prize. The boy was a bit embarassed and declined the highly coveted chocolate morsel.

I am not sure how the other "moments" happened, they just did. I guess one nice old couple got pretty fired up and shouted, "We can't play this game with you talking to us." I was on the other side of the room, but the sweet couple decided to use their outside voice to communicate to one of the scouts.

We had a great time and I would love to go again. Most of the people were very sweet and happy to talk to us while the game was going on. Some people stopped playing altogether to talk to the scouts. It was a very rewarding experience for all of us. Many of the boys doubted and even openly expressed their disapoval of the selected activity. However, they couldn't stop talking about the funny things that happened in a mere 45 minutes of gaming with the elderly. Another thing that I love is how they get away with casual swearing...for some reason it is hilarious to me. Maybe as I get older and balder Michelle will allow me a couple casual swear words to mix things up :)

Let it SNOW!

Life is good. Cade and I put up the Christmas tree earlier this week and it was such a memorable experience for me. He was literally squealing for joy when I brought in the Christmas bins. We managed to break only one ornament. Savannah has made numerous attempts at attacking the tree, but fortunately her efforts have not been fruitful.

We got dumped on yesterday and I couldn't be happier. There is something magical about snow that really makes it feel like Christmas. Kyle and Cade played in the snow last night and had a blast driving the Jeep around and making a snowman.

Thanks for the cute outfit, Gramma!

Don't I look precious!?

Thanksgiving 2007

Thanksgiving was a while ago, but it was definitely a blogworthy occasion.
Reason #1: We stayed in town.
I LOVED not running myself ragged trying to get everything ready for a trip. While it is nice to be with family and loved ones when we do hop on the plane, it is also nice staying put!
Reason #2: I still didn't have to cook!
I got off easy this year. Dear friends of ours invited us over, and asked us to only bring ONE dish. How much easier can Thanksgiving dinner be???? The food was amazing, and the company was even better.
Reason #3: Bill Hall introduced the kiddies to the wonderful world of blanket swinging!
See below.

Good food, good company..... it was a great evening. :-)

Fast one

I was laying (or is it lying??) in bed reading a book when Kyle kindly asked,

"Would you like some Oreos and milk, sweetie?"

Um, is there any better way to my heart than that?

I grinned and without hesitation heartily accepted the offer.

Kyle came back with a plate full of cookies and some milk. Ah, what could be better than this, I thought. Reading, relaxing, and Oreos! I grabbed a cookie and dunked it in the milk, allowing it to get sufficiently soggy before I took a bite---

"OOOh gross!" I screamed.

This is sick! This is NOT an Oreo!"

I looked down at the plate full of cookies. All of them had the "OREO" imprint on them. I was confused. Whatever it was that made its way into my mouth was not an Oreo cookie. Kyle shrieked with laughter. He grabbed the cookie out of my hand and examined it. Then he said,

"I don't believe you!"

Turns out Mr. Prankster tried to pull a fast one on me. He put a Poser Oreo cookie on the plate with the True Oreos and it just so happened the first one I ate was the Poser. I have warned friends that Target's attempt at an Oreo cookie is disgusting. How do I know this? Well, there is an advertisement in Target with an up-close picture of their Oreo wannabes with the phrase "Tastes the same, only much cheaper" --or something like that. So, several weeks ago when my beloved Oreos were priced above the 2.52 limit, I decided to give the wannabes a try. BIG mistake. I kept them in the pantry for Cade because to him a cookie is a cookie. (He calls Oreos "black cookies.") His taste buds haven't matured yet, you know. I guess Kyle decided to put my tastebuds to the test to determine if I really could taste the difference.

I'm proud to say that yes, I reeeeallly know my Oreo cookies.

Also-- FYI-- Only one row of cookies was eaten while Kyle was out of town. That's like a record for me!! He's gone again so we'll see what kind of dent I make in the next batch...

Sabanna Wee

Our lil' Savannah is growing up too fast! She is full of giggles and grins and brings so much sunshine to our lives. Here are her latest Savannah-isms....

She's still obesessed with putting everything in her mouth. Including the floor. She crawls along the floor and stops when she spots a particularly tasty looking slab of hardwood or ceramic tile and tries will all her might to get a good bite out of it. I've got to get a picture of her face to the floor gnawing on nothing. It's hilarious.

She is a drama queen. She'll be playing with Cade or by herself even and then burst into a hysterical fit of tears and shrieks, as if she was bitten by a snake or something. We dash to her side to see what was the matter and then she just looks up and smiles, as if nothing ever happened. She gets us every time.

After each bite of baby food she always says "mmm". Gerber would be pleased.

When she's feeling left out she lets out a huge scream until someone makes eye contact with her. Then she stops and lets out a little chuckle to let you know she's cool with you again.

Bouillon Cubes Are Not Candy!

Even though Cade is almost 4 years old, he still gets a marshmellow every time he goes to the bathroom. Now that he is pretty independent I also notice that the marshmellow jar seems to empty at a much faster rate, because he takes it upon himself to reward his pottying accomplishments.

Yesterday Michelle went to the store to buy bouillon cubes for dinner. She left the jar on the table and then it soon disapeared. I am sure that she thought that I put them away, and likewise I figured she put them in the cupboard. What a funny surprise it was to find the buillon cube jar right next to the marshmellows in the bathroom (we keep a jar of marshmallows on a shelf in there) with an opened cube half eaten and neatly placed back in the wrapper. I guess it wasn't as tasty as a Reese's peanut butter cup after all. Those foil wrappers are sure misleading!

Why bottled water?

I am about sick and tired of bottled water. I am not sure where I was when this became all the rage. People carrying Nalgene bottles full of water was cool for a little while, but now it has gone one step further--individual disposable bottles of water.

Now I know and acknowlege that I am usually in the fading years of almost all things fashionable and so it is no surprise that I am just now getting around to accepting that people actully buy this stuff. Maybe it is because I lived in Idaho/Utah for so much of my life. I think people in Idaho were still wearing MC Hammer pants when people elsewhere where sporting Abercrombie and Fitch.

The Michelle Woodbury side of the Kyle Woodbury family started buying water when we moved to Chicago. Water here costs between 79 cents to $1.99 for most water that I have seen. That is more than 5 cents per ounce! I am paying only 2.3 cents per ounce for gas for our cars. I think West Chicago City charges 1.5 cents per GALLON. Next time someone complains about how much money oil companies are making they had better not be drinking from a bottle of water.

Here are the facts:

1. bottled water isn't a good price
2. bottled water isn't proven to be better for you
3. bottled water creates more garbage (and I am not a green person)

As for me...I will keep drinking from the fridge filter. (even though it takes like 2 minutes to fill a small cup)

Fall Hunting Season

Every fall since I can remember my family goes hunting for elk and deer. In fact, some of my fondest memories are of hunting up on Castle Mountain with my dad, brothers, and closest friends. When I was in grade school and high school, I would take a full week off and go up hunting in the backcountry near Garden Valley, Idaho.

My hunting experience on Castle Mountain included us taking our sheep-herders tent, (which doesn't have a bottom, but does have sides and a wall and a stove with a chimney) we would also bring our motorcycles to drive around the hills. Often times it would snow 2"-5" of snow during the week. I also remember that everyone had their specific spot that they would hunt and noone else would go...I am not sure why that is just what happened. The Bob Borg family went to "The Face" while the Marc Haws family went to "No Tell'em Creek" and the Don Woodbury family went to "Bumper Bowl."

Now these names were not the actual names of the places. They are names that were assigned through several years of hunting by each individual family. Bumper Bowl was named because for some odd reason there was an automobile bumper halfway down the mountain in the strangest place. I have no idea why or how it got there, nor could I come up with any reason why anyone would bring it there. There was definitely no way, in my mind anyone could drive a car to this location, so I just assumed it must have gotten dropped there by a helicopter. (Remember I was 12 or so when I had this idea)

Yesterday I returned home from the yearly hunt. This year I went with my Dad, Grandpa Hunter, and Wayne Hunter. This was my first year shooting black powder with a muzzleloader and it was definitely more difficult. The muzzleloader hunt is later in the year, which means it is a lot colder. Saturday I was hunting in 24" of snow or more part of the day. While I was walking in the snow sopping wet I was trying to remember why I like hunting so much. I was freezing cold and 4 hours away from camp and it was getting dark.

I tell my wife that the reason I MUST go hunting is "so that I can provide for the family." It seems like a pretty good line, but she doesn't buy it. I guess I don't really buy it either so I am searching for a better one. I was gonna try another one next year, "I need to go hunting because it is a family tradition" or because "my grandpa is getting old and I don't know how many years I will be able to spend time with him out hunting." The truth is that he is in pretty good health though and I kind of feel guilty for saying that. I am pretty sure that he will never read this though...or hope that he doesn't. (grandpa, if you do read this I am sure that someone else had to show you so don't be mad.)

Well, I will spare that details but say that I was successful this year. I didn't have time to cut up the elk and wrap it so I had to take it to a butcher. I will attach a couple of pictures from the trip.

This is taken from the top of 8 Mile Creek Ridge

This is the legendary Grandpa Lavell Hunter

This year this was our kitchen, bedroom, and living room

The morning of the day we saw over 40 elk

The camp cook Don Woodbury frying up some hash browns and eggs

Grandpa Lavell Hunter and Kyle Woodbury

My Curious George

Now that I am comfortably supporting myself on kickbacks from Nabisco for being the official spokeswoman for the Oreo cookie, it is high time I write about the other loves in my life!

The last few days have been an odd combination of lazy,crazy, busy, miserable and enjoyable. With Kyle out of town for the week, my schedule in some strange ways has become quite flexible. Meal time is whenever, and I haven't worried so much about the state of the house. (*Disclaimer. This does not mean that when Kyle is around I keep the place spotless and feed him grand meals. There is just certainly more effort when he is around. That in and of itself is funny because he expects neither a hot meal or a spotless housewhen he comes in the door from work.)

Well, I was laid back about the house until today when I realized I might have a babysitter in the home and that certainly got me moving. An hour or so into my mad rampage of laundry, dishes, mopping and the like, the reality hit that I was going to have to bring the kiddies with me with me on my outing because institute is on Thursday nites. Dang institute teachers have to be so good that it keeps my "driving babysitters" away! Then I relaxed again. It was actually kind of nice knowing that any further cleaning I was going to do could be at my pace and I had no deadline. Once the kids woke from their nap, I really got to enjoy them and for a few hours, didn't have to worry about getting anything ready.

I realized how different my life is when those feelings of having to "get ready" are present. Different things get done. The feeling isn't intrinsically bad-- after all, some times we need a good adrenaline push to get stuff done. But when the adrenaline wasn't there, I was better able to focus on my little ones running around in the nursery giggling. I was relishing in their cuteness and trying to read their personalities. Then my mind drifted to some of the funny things Cade has said this week. I realized I neeed to do a better job at documenting these things because they are just too cute to not!

Yesterday evening I decided to take the kids to the mall during the "witching hours" --that's what I call them--- the hours between 4pm and bedtime. The kids are cranky, hyper, but I can't exactly take them anywhere because I have to get dinner prepared and them ready for bed. After they expended their energy at the indoor play place, we got some food to eat. I was eating a sandwich and Cade discovered my cup contained a liquid substance far greater than water-- an extreme rarity. Root beer! He quickly decided he wanted to be in charge of the drink and began sipping away. A few minutes later I was ready for a sip myself and asked Cade if I could have a drink.

"No Mama, you hafta eat your sammich first. Then you can have pop."

Said like a true parent!

On the way home he asked, "Where's Curious George's Mommy?"

Cade despises the response, "I don't know" so I answered,

"In the jungles of Africa." At least to the best of my knowledge that's where she was.

He seemed satisfied with the answer. I suppose it really started to bother him that there was no maternal figure in George's life. Just the Man in the Yellow Hat.

A few weeks ago Cade was watching a "big" baseball game with Kyle (if you ask me, every one Kyle insists upon watching is a "big" game. What consitutes a little game then, because they all seem big!") and said,

"Daddy, you're my best friend. And baseball's my cousin."

Here are some pictures of the fun Halloween festivities Cade and Savvy joined in on while we were away on our cruise.....

Lesson learnt

After reading the last two posts anyone perusing our blog must think we are junk-food addicts. I firmly hold my ground that I am simply a HUGE Oreo fan (okay, and sweets in general--but the only junk food we have in the house are my Oreos). And as for Kyle--well, I am honestly surprised that he blogged about Oberweis ice cream. He is usually quite anti-desserts and more pro-entree-like foods. Lest we forget that there are still a good 6 (or more!) weeks left in the Hunter family Biggest Loser contest? Blogging about junk food is not going to win us anything!

In any case, time for a fresh topic to blog about.

Wait--- except I do have to confess something. (uh-oh. This could get scary) Two days ago the kids were napping and I felt some hunger pangs. I realized I hadn't eaten yet for the day (For busy, SAHMs forgetting to eat is a common occurence. You know, so much to do and keep up with that we remember at aboout 4pm that we forgot to eat breakfast*) and a smile quickly came to my face. "I've got Oreos," I said to myself. So I grabbed a glass, poured the milk and took a handful of cookies. I sat down in the living room and dunked a few (okay, like 6) oreos in milk and washed them down. I sat on the couch enjoying the hunger that was just appeased.

Moments later my head began to spin and I could not even stand up. This uneasy feeling crept up my throat and my mouth watered. Just like the pregnant days--only I am not pregant. I was closest to my front door so I ran for it and reached the front yard just in time.

I literally tossed my cookies.

So, dear friends, I have learnt my lesson well. Thou shalt not eat cookies on an empty stomach.

Next time I'll be sure to eat something substancial before I partake in the Oreo goodness. I know, even after that, I still swear upon the greatness of Oreos. Psycho.

Okay, I'll blog about something else now. :-)

Good news!

Oreos were on sale yesterday.

This is a big deal for me. It's been about 5 weeks since I purchased any. I don't know how I've survived. Well, the all-I-could-eat-at-all-hours-of-the-day weeklong food fest (aka-- "cruise") probably helped some. I've made this deal with myself that if Oreos are more than 2.54 a package I can not purchase them. I know at Wal-mart they are about 2.52 all the time. Sometimes they drop the price to 2.39--- but I don't frequent Wal-Mart very often. Chicago doesn't seem to believe in the Super form of Wal-marts, so the Super Target's have taken over around here, which is fine by me because I love that place. The last several weeks the going price for a package of Oreos has been 2.70. Just couldn't do it. So what's 24 cents? Perhaps it's just the principle of it I guess. I set a standard and I committed to keeping it. Maybe it just makes me think that I am doing well with sticking to the grocery budget or something. But in any case, the heavens opened and knew that in order for me to get through this week, (Kyle's out of town....again) I needed to be well-stocked on Oreos and they were on sale --2 for $5. So I bought three packages! We'll see how long they last.....

While on the Oreo's topic, I was in Utah back in September and went to Reams, this huge warehouse grocery store in Provo where Food for Less used to be. From what I understood, Reams is supposed to be this super-thrifty, awesome place for folks to get groceries. It is not. It is terrible! Worse than Albertsons! Guess how I know? Oreos are 3.69 per package. Outrageous, isn't it?

Oberweis Dairy

I remember a couple of our friends ranting about how good the ice cream was at Oberweis Dairy. (Alicia & Luke, Jared & Jodie) It took me about 9 months to finally decide to give it a shot and now I am hooked. It is the chocolate-peanut-butter ice cream shake that gets me.

We're baaack!

After a lovely 7 days cruising the Mexican Riviera, Kyle and I have returned to the real world. We missed Cade and Savannah so much, but they had a blast with our friends, the Michnicks. We came home to a plate of halloween cookies, Sunday dinner, and a cute little poster with pictures of what they did this past week (including artwork from Cade). We are so lucky to have such a wonderful family take care of our kids.

Cade's latest style

My girlfriend took this picture while she was visiting and it pretty much sums up Cadewear, the hottest new clothing line for toddlers.

The shirt: I picked it up at a second hand clothing sale a several weeks ago. He seriously puts it on every single day. He LOVES it. I am not sure why. It's comfy and blue, two of his preferences. And notice it's tucked in.

The shorts: When he decides to be independent and dress himself, he prefers the back pockets in front. This is so he can put his hands in his pockets, naturally. He has discovered the coolness of hands in pockets I guess.

Times haven't changed much

This pretty much describes my morning...

Freshening things up..

For the last several weeks Kyle has been oogling over the fabulous templates our fellow bloggers have-- man code language for "will-you-get-us-a-more-hip-blog-background-please-dear!?. I have silently been craving some jazzy schnazzyness on the blog, too, but just never took the time to figure it out.

I waited for the perfect time--- laundry is strewn all over the floor, dinner dishes still on the table, toys and paper everywhere. There's no time like the present! I will say it was supremely easy (probably not the proper use of supremely...but) and anyone can do it. I have now joined the ranks of owning a blogsite that may take so long to download that you might change your mind before the page has completed and go to another site. Yay!

Also, I am still working on getting all of our side bar stuff back, so if your blog site isn't on my list yet, take no offense. Our friendship has not been cancelled. It's just on hold. Ha ha.

On a completely unrelated note (but related in that this still me rambling) I want to announce that I am hooked. I read Twilight by Stephenie Meyers back when we were at Lake Powell. I started New Moon when we went to San Fran. I was borrowing Melody's (I took it from her when she had a few chapters left. I'm mean) and gave it back before coming back to Chicago. It's been a few weeks and I couldn't take it anymore, so I bought my own copy. Can't wait! I have joined the teenage girls in their hopelessly dreamy crush on a fictional character.

Look Who's Twenty!

Waaaah! We are so sad we couldn't be there for your birthday, Gooser! We hope you enjoy the non-teen years!!! We love you for so many reasons.....

You make one beautiful bride:

Love the fond memories together--- water drinking contests!
You are the greatest Auntie!! the kids LOVE you! You married a really cool guy, too!
Hey-- this one kinda looks like your senior picture!

Happy Birthday!!!

It's Fall!!

After a perfectly mild couple of weeks mother nature decided it was time to bring in some fall-like weather, so my blog background had to follow suit. This past week has reminded me of Goldilocks and the 3 bears... Monday the weather was too hot. Tuesday it was just right. Wednesday it was too cold....

I kind of panicked when I had to dress the kids in warm clothes --I totally underestimated the temperature when we went to the Pumpkin Farm Wednesday. Savannah needs to wear shoes? What? I have really taken this barefoot weather for granted. I was lucky I had a pair for her that still fit! Thank goodness Cade just ran around the entire time and Savannah could be bundled up in blankets. It was a good time.

Conference Sunday

Coming home to the kids was a sweet reunion. Cade had his ultra-mega parental sensors on and woke up when we got back to Melody's Saturday evening. Secretly I was thrilled. He was so cute! I snuggled him to bed again and a few moments after laying next to him he said, "Mommy, can you go take a nap on the couch?" So I did.

Sunday morning I awoke to Melody whipping up some breakfast yummy-ness in the kitchen. The fam arrived and we were soon eating delicious food and watching conference. Cade was even taking notes...

Frisco!

The morning after Gramma Berry and Gramma Hunter left we headed to the airport for San Fransico--business for Kyle, pleasure for me! We had a layover in Salt Lake, allowing for dear sister Melody to pick up the kids and watch them (again!) while we headed to the Bay.

The hubbies worked hard and the wives shopped San Fransisco until we dropped. It was fun to be back in the city we used to live by and reminisce. Nina and Nicole were great shopping companions. Addelin, Nicole's daughter, was such a trooper to come with us on every outing. She's such a mellow and great baby! (Cute, too!) I got a Mac makeover and after 9 years of wearing make-up, was taught the correct way to apply eye shadow. By a man. Thank you Victor. I tried on more clothes in the two days I was there than I have in my entire life! I managed to fit my purchases in the same suitcase as when we arrived. Mom, you'd be proud. Kyle and I shared a suitcase!

The flight back was nothing short of a nightmare. As soon as I stepped on the plane I whispered to Kyle, "It smells like a stinky armpit in here!" It really did. If I was pregnant, I would have been puking the entire trip back to Salt Lake. Here's how Brent spent most of the plane ride home (until the ink from the magazine melted onto his face...):