Bryce Canyon

Can you be sooo close to Bryce Canyon and not stop????? I say no!!!! Bryce is so beautiful. I love love love this national park. Andrew had never been so we decided to pack up camp and stop in Bryce on our way home. It did not disappoint. Andrew was in it for the pin i told him I would buy if he did another hike . . . bribery at its finest.

Really it was a walk from Sunrise to Sunset point.

This is the only hike Moki can do in the national park so we were very limited on our options. She pooped right away.

Andrew was grossed out.

I feel like it is never ending views in Bryce Canyon. This little boy was hamming it up for me.

 I am not sure what is happening in this picture:)

 I love this picture of Hannah.

 Such a fun little stop to stretch our legs before the long drive back.

I loved this trip. It was the perfect amount of time, beautiful scenery, pretty close to home, new things to see. So much fun. I feel so lucky to have met Hannah through work so I have a teacher friend to adventure with, well that is one of the many reasons I am thankful for her. Andrew told Hannah, while I was in the shower, that I love to spend money. I am going to try to be better about that. I do spend so much money on my nieces and nephews. I just love them and love having fun with them. That comment made me realize I should be a little more careful. This trip was a definite success!

We got home in the early afternoon. We took a scenic route because we wanted to stay off I-15 as long as possible because my AC wasn't working. The route we drove was gorgeous. Once home Shelby, a young women from my ward, came over for a french braid. She stayed and played UNO with Andrew for an hour. That allowed me to get all the camp stuff put away. I had a basketball game that Andrew came and watched. He said it was so fun. He is very nice. Then I took him home all exhausted and tuckered out.

Kodachrome Basin Day 2

Day 2 was much better . . . . although it started way too early. Why do all my nieces and nephews wake up so early. My dad would be so proud:) Andrew was awake at 5:30am and ready to party. It is quiet hours in the campground until 7am. That boy has the loudest morning voice ever. Not really but it seemed loud when we were trying to be quiet. Finally I told him to grab his jacket and that we were leaving the campground and not coming back until 7. We hopped on our bikes and rode around and explored for a little while.

 Despite the early hour it was a beautiful morning.

 We biked through the park and I let Andrew explore and climb on rocks as well. He could be as loud as he wanted once we were away from people.

He read the signs about all the different wildlife. That may have been a mistake because he was very worried about scorpions and rattlesnakes after that. We hung our until after 7am and then headed back to camp to eat and get ready for the day.

Adventure #1 Hike Angels Palace. This is a 1.4 mile loop trail. One of the things I loved about the hikes was that they were all super easy. This was great since we had Andrew with us.

Hannah brought the cutest little hat for Andrew and I almost dies from his cuteness.

 This hike was fun because it gave us great views of the park and we could walk to it from our campsite.

 We were following the red arrows all morning long.

 Andrew is such a ham.

This little steep section was the scariest part. Andrew did great.

 We took one little break but that was it. It was a nice morning hike and it was definitely starting to heat up.

On the way back to camp we saw the nature trail and so we did that too. It is a little 1/2 mile hike with signs about the different nature you see in the park. It was an easy walk.

By the time we finished both hikes/walks and walked to and from camp we needed to give the little guy a break. We went back to camp and had Mac and cheese and grabbed all our stuff we needed for the day.

Our next adventure was Shakespeare arch and the Sentinel loop trail. This is a 1.6 mile hike that is rated moderate. It really isn't hard but there was a little more up and down than what we did in the morning. It was now quite hot so I wasn't sure how Andrew would do on this hike. Honeslty he did AMAZING!

There was not really shade and it was a lot hotter than the northern Utah weather we are used to.

Shakespeare arch collapsed in April so we were really there for the hike. It was really pretty and hot. Moki rested in all the shade she could find.

 Andrew posing with me.

 We took a little break in the shade.

 This hike was great. When we finished we knew we were done until the evening because it was so hot. We drove out to see Chimney Rock and then we headed into town for some lunch and ice cream.

Andrew started with ice cream since he had eaten lunch earlier. He earned every bite.

 Hannah and I got some food at a BBQ place. It was very average. Andrew decided he needed some nachos too. They had a cool wall where you could sign your name.

We hung out at the lunch spot for a long time. We were enjoying the AC and were in no rush to leave. Once we felt we had wore out our welcome we headed to the park to rest. We all took naps in the shade.

 The park was right across the street from the ranger station. I decided to head inside and see if they had any recommendations for the area. The ranger told me about an easy slot canyon hike. It sounded fun and so Hannah and I decided that would be a good evening hike. Andrew was in denial that we were still expecting him to hike. Poor Kid was tired and ready to be done.

We hiked the Willis Slot Canyon for our final adventure for the day. This included a long drive on a dirt road to get to the trailhead. Andrew whined a little on the way but once we got there he hopped out and did awesome. It was a really cool hike. We hiked just under 3 miles. Andrew had tons of fun.

 Slot Canyons are amazing to me. They are so beautiful. Andrew loved walking in the water. It was awesome that it was extremely flat.

 A group picture!!!!! I never get enough of these. Just enjoying our hike. Don't mind my crazy hair. I was tired amd hot.

 Andrews little sandal feet are so stinking cute.

 Andrew LOVES hannah. She makes everything so fun!!!! It is great to have her with me when I am hiking with him because she does a great job of encouraging him.

 Another group picture

 Once we got a ways in Andrew started what I though would be a meltdown because he was so worried about how far we would have to hike to get back to the car. He did a good job of controlling his emotions. We hiked a little further, took a break, had a snack, and then tried to go faster and beat our time on the way back. We beat it by like 15 minutes. We hiked out sooooo fast.

 This was a spot where he could touch both sides of the wall.

 He climbed back into the waterfall.

 I was copying him without him knowing it in the picture. He thought it was hilarious.

 This was my favorite hike we did on this trip. I think it was Hannahs and Andrews favorite as well. The evening temperatures were amazing and the scenery was too.

We got back to camp soooooooo late. We built a fire, took showers and let Andrew have smores. He fell asleep so fast, but it was 11pm. Hannah and I hung out and enjoyed the fire. It was a beautiful evening. One of my favorite things about this trip was the night sky. It was gorgeous. We slept with the fly off the tent and the stars and moon were beautiful. We ended up hiking a little over 7 miles including our walking to and from hikes. That is a long ways for Andrews little legs. It was a great day and I was really proud of him.

Kodachrome Basin Part 1

One of my co-workers has talked a lot about Kodachrome Basin. It is in Southern Utah by Bryce Canyon and her family loves it. I have wanted to go for awhile. Hannah and I had some open days and so we decided to go check it out. The great thing is that because we are teachers we can go during the week and get last minute camping. Hannah was nice and was ok if I invited Andrew. So the three of us headed out on a hot Wednesday afternoon for a couple of days of camping.

Loaded in the car and excited to go! I was surprised Andrew chose to come, mainly because he was missing a friends birthday party. I am so glad he did come. And I am really grateful Hannah was ok with it.

The trip down was not completely uneventful. Right before Beaver my AC stopped working. Are you kidding me?????? So annoying. I told Andrew that this is a little picture into his dads childhood. Unfortunately it was not an easy fix so we went the rest of the trip with no AC.

Andrew is great in the car which is so nice. He played with his legos, did some math and visited with us. The trip down was so LONG. Once we got to Kodachrome we set up camp and had a little time to play. Then we had our next set back. . . . . Andrew was sick. He laid down for a bit but then said he needed to throw up. We got him out of the tent and he threw up . . . . a lot. At that point he was pretty upset and just wanted his mom, which I don't blame him. Throwing up is seriously the worst. Hannah took Moki on a walk and Andrew and I hung out to see of he would start to feel better. The other problem was there were millions of Gnats. Gnats that bite you like mosquitoes. They were the most obnoxious things ever. They finally went to bed with the sun. So the trip started off a little dramatic. Luckily Andrew started feeling better. He even did a little bike ride with me. The gnats went to bed. We had a camp fire and smores. Tomorrow was looking more promising.

Summer Fun

I feel like I have been playing hard this summer. I love playing hard. I have been able to spend time with lots of different people and participating in activities that I love! The weather in June has been pretty mild so we have been blessed that way.

One of the first orders of business this summer was girls camp.

Selfie as my car is fully loaded and I am headed to camp! This year we went to Jolleys Ranch up the Hobble Creek Canyon.

 A picture of the girls before we head to camp. I love these girls.

 Because we switched camps we got to go to the ropes course in Provo. Their course is awesome. We spent 6-7 hours there. It was so fun. I did a couple of the activities with the girls. We had tons of fun.

 We got back to camp super late. Camp flew by. It was Tuesday - Friday. A little bit shorter than normal.

 Overall I felt like it was a success. it is always nice when it is over so I am not worrying about it in the back of my mind.

Erica and I hiked Horsetail Falls one evening. It was a beautiful night. There was so much water on the trail and coming off the waterfall. We got so much snow this winter and rain this spring. It has been a gorgeous year in Utah.

 It was a fun evening and I love visiting with Erica!

 Moki was obviously in heaven!

 Amber and I hiked up Dry Canyon on a Saturday. Again the weather was amazing. We headed towards Baldy so we were going straight up. We hiked 2.5 miles up to the meadow and then turned around.

Looking down from where we came.  

 Enjoying the views in the meadow

 Such a gorgeous day!

I have also had a chance to hang out with Sam and Amanda's kids a few times. These kids are the best. We can swim, bike, or play and they are pretty happy.

Now that Audrey is a year old I finally finished her baby quilt!

 I taught Andrew all about rock Cairns and how to build them.

 I played with them one Thursday. We swam, had dinner and then biked at the church. A great evening. The boys got so hot and sweaty.

 Audrey loves the stroller.

 I could watch these boys ride their bikes all day!

 Sam sent me and my mom the cutest pictures of Andrew and Emerson on their way home from church. They look so handsome in their little church outfits.

Amanda came down to Provo one day and we took the kids to Bartholomew Park in Springville. It is a little man-made reservoir. We used the paddle boards and hung out for the morning. So fun.

 Amanda with the boys

 Andrew is a lot better this year!

 Me hanging out with the grumpy little miss. She was only grumpy when her mom was not in eye sight.

 Afterwards we went to my house and had snow cones.

 Seriously this girl is adorable.

 She also adores my dog:)

My cousin Melissa contacted me and asked if I wanted to meet her and her daughter at Causey Reservoir to paddle board. Causey was CRAZY busy but it was so pretty and fun. There were sooooo many paddle-boards and kayaks. It was insane. I didn't take many pictures though:(


 This picture does not show how crowded the lake was. But it was beautiful!

 The Stutzneggers were in town visiting and the Rotars hosted a little Oroville get together. It is always fun to see everyone. Someone took pictures of me and my brothers and this is all I have. But I like those boys so I thought I should put them here.

When I have been in town Jacqui Carter and I have hiked in the mornings. That has been great! I love getting up early and exercising. I have also played a lot of basketball this summer. There is a group of ladies that play every Monday and Wednesday and I have gone when I have been available. I am also trying to make sure I bike a lot as well. I have been pretty active in June! That is how I like it. This week I also re-arranged all my upstairs bedrooms. It's nice to clean everything and move it around. I am so grateful for my little home. Right now it is perfect for me.