Deep in the heart of Texas!

We decided to take a little break from the cold weather and visit Mitch's brothers family in Texas. The weather was perfect, 80 degree's, humid....AMAZING! We had so much fun and they, as always, were terrific hosts! Here are a few pictures from our amazing adventure! It began with a trip to San Antonio where we visited the Alamo and the famous Riverwalk!
The next day we traveled to Fossil Rim park for an African Safari! This was a 1700 acre Texan wildlife preserve turned Africa!! We took two cars because we could not all fit into the one, which was perfect because Ellie slept in the SUV for most of the excitement. We spent 2 hours driving through the park and enjoying all the wild animals. The good news is, the animals LOVED US TOO!We don't have any animals like this in Utah, They are right, everything in Texas is better (at least it was that weekend!)

Confessions of a 'Wax-aholic'

My name is Stacie Dorius and I AM A WAXAHOLIC. It's true I have a secret love for waxing. I have to admit that this is not something that I necessarily brought on by myself. It really has to do with a little syndrome I have called 'Murry-ism'. Please let me define it for you...

MURRAY-ISM: ThE AcT Of bEinG bOrN iNTo tHe MuRraY BlOoD LinE

To put it in less complex words, if you are a Murray you are hairy.
So here is my story, my name is Stacie, I am a Murray, I am Hairy, therefore I am a WAXAHOLIC. It's not that I sit up at night thinking 'ooo I just can't wait to wax again'. It's more of a fear induced obsession. Please read on...

It started when I was in highschool and became more terrible when I went to college. It was not until I imagined myself introducing myself to my future husband using the words, "Hi, I'm Stacie and I am a hairy ape" that I decided to do something about it. So I did. I began to wax. I wax my arms so children don't come up to me and pet them (this has happened before), I wax my eyebrows so I don't have to part them to see out of my eyes, and I admit, I WAX THE UPPER LIP!....shocking, i know, who admits that! Well I'm stepping out. I'm putting it all out there for future generations, so they know that there is no shame in what we do!

The day came when I finally got married, and I felt like I had to do my waxing in secret. As the nair strip ripped across my lip and a slight squeal came out from underneath the shut and LOCKED door, there was a small knock followed by a, "honey, you okay in there?" "Just Peachy!" I respond. It was not long after that I walked out of the bathroom with that identifying red upper lip, and eyebrows. My sweet husband just looked at me with wide eyes. I simply respond, "beauty is my duty!"

There was even a summer that I worked extra hard to afford electrolysis, and laser hair removal in college. At the time I was dating Mitch and I took extra precautions to make sure he did not know my little secret. I simply "had to run an errand in layton and would not be back for a few hours" However, I avoided him for the rest of the day so he did not see my 'battle wounds'. A few years later the secret got out. He must have been feeling extra brave one day when he asked "so where did you get laser done?". For a moment I froze, then I responded, "some secrets with women are so precious, not even a husband can know" a short silence. Then I responded in a much more snappy tone, "and I will never tell you that!" He never asked again.

Then I had a baby and the whole summer of laser was wasted. So I continued my waxing. Nair waxing strips were the product of choice. Affordable, quick, clean, and easy. I have to admit I'm a bit of a professional at the procedure now. Even family parties have turned into 'waxing parties' in which we rid ourselves of our extra fur. But I was not always this good. For example, I have waxed off my eyebrows entirely, I have missed huge patches of arm hair, I have bled, and I have waxed off the top layer of skin above my lip which caused an embarrassing scab there (BEWARE: this happens if you wax while you are on your period). Skills like mine don't come without some abuse.

I proudly admit that it is the Lifferth girls who keep NAIR in business. Because now we walk without fear of that sneaky little hair coming out in just the right light, or having small children wonder why a gorilla lives at that house. So I am admitting, for all those future generations of hairy girls, that I Stacie, am a WAXAHOLIC! So if you are ever in need of a good wax, come on over and I'll get rid of those nasty little hairs for you! No girl should be embarrassed because of their hairy blood lines!! :)

El-No respecter of persons.

One of my favorite things about El is she is definitely NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS! She does not care who you are, what you look like, how old you are, or if your her mom or not! She will undoubtedly smile, accept and LOVE YOU!

Here is my favorite picture that clearly demonstrates how she really is no respecter of persons but in a different way! My Dad was taking a nap on the floor today when Ellie backed up and sat on his head to look at a few DVD's. Man, she just cracks me up!

Love you Grandpa Lifferth!

Fall Family Pictures!

Mitch and I took the in-laws Ranger out for a fall picnic. We drove up to Peterson (by Morgan) onto some family property and enjoyed a fun ride. The fall colors were amazing! While we were there we decided to take some family pics. Unfortunately for us we didn't have a photographer so we used the timer on our camera. We took over 200 pics because that's how long it takes to get a few good ones when you are trying to push the button, run back to the rest of the family, get in a 'natural' pose, and get your 10 m old to smile! Indy also joined in on the adventure. The poor thing is starting to answer to the name of 'dumb dog' as he either ran into the pictures he was not supposed to be in, or kept looking the wrong way for the pictures for the ones we wanted him in. The point of it all is that we had a whole lot of ridiculous Dorius fun!

I love this picture of Ellie.

Our sweet ride. Indy rode in the back and loved every second of it!

Makeshift golf lesson's

I'm all about trying new things, this time it was golfing. Yes, I'm 24 and have never played a round of golf. Honestly, my expectations of the activity were pretty darn low but I had a great time! Let me give you a quick lesson from what I learned from my first round...

RULES or I guess they are beginner tips: 1) Try to smack the ball, you'll likely miss. Don't give up you'll get it...eventually. 2) spend the next 15 minutes looking for your ball (you'll likely not find it), 3) talk quietly, 4) smack the ball again and if your me, you'll smack it 8 or 9 more times before getting to the green (well that's only if you don't lose it, in that case get a new ball and throw it as close to the hole as you can). 5) Don't scream in amazement when it actually goes in. (refer to rule #3) 6) Don't hit someone else's ball if it's in your way. 7) If by chance you lose your ball more than 3 times during one hole may I suggest quitting and starting over at the next hole (I did that 3 times). 8) Use the right whacking tool AKA "a club" ( Mitch kindly corrected me after the 5th hole of teeing off with a sand wedge (IT WORKED, SO I USED IT!)). 9) When you're golfing with me the HIGHEST score wins! Yay! GO ME!

We went with our good friends Jami and Adam. Lucky for us, they weren't taking it too serious either.
My sub-par form. I guess your not supposed to run up on it.A good picture in the cart that made all the difference. It was obviously dark by the time we finished. Good times! Thanks for the date!

Cabin Trip!

Our family spent the weekend up at the cabin with our fabulous friends the Petty's. The fall colors were beautiful and the crisp air is always refreshing. On our way up to the cabin we stopped off at the "Roadside Diner" in Oakley. It's a cute railroad cart that has been turned into a diner. The fries there were delish! Ellie of coarse was happy as ever and loved the hike in the backpack. Thanks Petty's for a great weekend!

Mitch Update: Mitch is doing great. He doesn't have any major problems from the accident except for a really sore back. He insists that only a back scratch will make him feel better...nice try Mitchell. :)

Mitch's Accident

Yesterday Mitch took his 11 year old scouts on their summer over nighter. Little did we know that we would actually be spending it in the Emergency Room. Just to warn you the pictures are pretty graphic so if you have a weak stomach beware. The whole story is so random that everyone who was a part of the fiasco just shakes their head and say's "that was so crazy".

The group consisting of 3 adults and 4 boys (at the time) left Layton at about 3:30 on Friday afternoon. Around 5:45 they started setting up tents. In the process of setting up Mitch and another leader were trying to hang a tarp over the eating area when Mitch stepped in a hole and hurt his ankle. He then hobbled over to the nearby picnic table and sat down. In the meantime a microburst of wind picked up causing the tents to start blowing away. Then there was a big snap and Brother Slaughter yelled, "look out!'. Mitch doesn't remember that, in fact he doesn't remember any of it. The wind had broke the top part of a cottonwood tree off and it fell directly on top of him. It pinned his head between his legs knocking him unconscious. Brother Ellison and Brother Slaughter rushed over and (quite miraculously) lifted the tree off of Mitch.
Once the tree was off, Mitch toppled to the ground and was laying in a pool of his own blood. Brother Ellison who is a firefighter went into work mode and tried to stop the blood coming from Mitch's head. All the while Mitch was coming in and out of consciousness. The 2 leaders then hoisted Mitch into the back of the suburban and drove him down to Huntsville where he was met by an ambulance. He was then taken to Mckay Dee Hospital.

Meanwhile, back at home: Friday afternoon was really strange for me and Ellie. We had plans to go to Park City to stay the night with my sister Trish and her family. Around 4:30 Ellie started running a fever and I decided to put her in pajamas (something I usually do at 8). Then around 5 I called my sister and we decided, with Ellie not feeling so hot we better just stay at home. For the next hour, I honestly could not think of anything to do that night. A friend stopped by and we visited for a while, but in my mind I had a very long and boring night ahead of me.

Until I got that terrible phone call. It was something like this, "Hi, is this Stacie?" I responded "yes" then the man on the phone said, "this is Jessie with Ogden fire and rescue" and i replied "Jessie why are you calling me..." he then said, "Your husband was in an accident and we are in and ambulance headed to Mckay Dee, can you meet us there?" That is a bad call to get. I then called my mom who just 'happened' to be less then 2 miles away from my house and she babysat Ellie while Larry, Sherrill ,my dad and I all rushed to the hospital.

Meanwhile back at camp: Obviously everyone was a little shaken up. When the tree fell it released a beehive from it's inner trunk. They were a bit ticked off and began stinging everyone including the 4 boy scouts. Brother Slaughter received 6 or 7 stings as one flew in his shirt.
The boys were told to get into one particular tent (it was the tent with the least amount of bee's (1)) and stay there. Once brother Ellison had left with Mitch, brother Slaughter returned to find the 4 boy scouts in a circle. They were taking turns praying for Mitch and telling things they liked about "Brother Dorius" to help them stay positive. When Mitch and I heard this (after the fact), we couldn't help but cry, we are so thankful for innocent prayers.

They then packed up the camp and came home. Brother Ellison and the emt's cleaned the blood out of the suburban and brought it home for us. Val, Matt and Kiera (Dorius) came and unpacked all of the food and gear.

The Hospital: When I got to the hospital the first picture is how I found Mitch. He was still in and out of it but was slowly beginning to come to. His whole body was shaking as he was strapped to the board. You might be thinking 'you heartless woman, why were you taking pictures of him at a time like this!' well, I didn't take them until after he had calmed down a bit and he had received a blessing and I knew he was going to be okay. He was very stiff at this point because he had been on a backboard for over an hour and a half. They were afraid of moving him as he had severe pain in his head, neck, and back. Amazingly enough, all of the test's came back just fine.

This is how I found Mitch. He wasn't smiling much at this point. It was really quite terrible to see him like this. His clothes had blood all over them.

This is the gash in the top of his head. The piece on the right is his scalp that was pulled back with the hair follicles below. The dark red middle part is the deepest part of the cut. He had to receive 4 staples to get his head back together. Amazingly enough, he came away with a minor concussion.

The staples in his head. They had to numb it by giving him several shots in the top of his head. Even that part made me a little squeamish.

When he got hit he bit his tongue on top and bottom. This picture does not do justice to what it really looks like.

He has cuts down the back of the head and onto his back. The rest of him is badly bruised. His arm is also very itchy from those darn bees s stinging him! We got home from the hospital at midnight.

Today we drove back to the campsite to look for Mitch's glasses (we will have enough medical expenses). Everything was just as they left it. Mitch was sitting on the far left side of the picnic table while Landon Slaughter (one of his scouts) was sitting on the right. The rest of his scouts were sitting beside Mitch until their tent started to blow away just before the tree fell. Landon's shirt was torn and he also had a few scratches. The table itself was most likely what saved his life as it took most of the blow. The metal table was bent (see pictures on top right).

We are so blessed and so fortunate to have Mitch with us today. It has been amazing to see how our Heavenly Father prepared, watched over and blessed us during this crazy accident, he really is aware of us and creates a perfect plan for our lives. We are so grateful for the calls, texts, and prayers that were given in our behalf. We truly were and are watched over...and yes we found the glasses.