Memorial Day Weekend

Anthony, Caleb and I headed to California for Memorial Day weekend. We went to Aaron and Jacklyn's house. My mom joined us for the weekend and Ben and a couple kids came for a night. It was a lot of fun. We played games, hiked, biked, visited and ate way too much. We drove my car and she ran GREAT!

Friday we were lazy in the morning because we had gotten in so late. My mom get to Susanville mid morning. We then set out on a little hike. Then Jacklyn and I took the dogs while we Mt. Biked. It was a beautiful day. We rode on the Biz Johnson trail. It was awesome.

 Aaron made some yummy burgers that we ate for dinner that night.

Saturday we headed to the subway lava caves and Burney Falls. More driving than I like but it was nice. We started at the caves. It was a short little hike and walk through the cave. It was fun to see.

 Then we headed to Burney Falls. Burney Falls is always beautiful.

 We ate a yummy tri-tip dinner. Anthony, Aaron and I headed out on a post dinner walk. It was a beautiful evening.

Sunday I woke up and my mom and I went for a walk. Then I went on a nice road bike ride. When I got home Ben, Braxton and Katelyn had arrived. We played games, visited, went for a walk, got ice cream and had a campfire. It was such a nice day. the weather was perfect and the company was great.

Ice cream!

Our evening walk with the kids.

I really love visiting Susanville. It is such a beautiful place.

 Monday I woke up early to sneak in a quick bike ride before we started the trek home. It felt good to get a little exercise before sitting all day. The drive home was great. Aaron and Jacklyn were awesome hosts. It was a fun little weekend getaway. Another short time when life felt almost normal.

Lake Blanche

Anthony called me later one Friday night and asked if I wanted to get up early the next day and hike Lake Blanche. I have a hard time turning down an adventure so I was in. The only thing I hate is that Moki isn't allowed up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was a beautiful Saturday morning. We hiked fast and hard. The reward of the beauty at the lake is always worth the effort.

This picture is so funny because I did not want to get up so I gave Anthony my phone to take a picture of the lake and he took one of me. SO ANNOYING! But hilarious. So most my pictures he took with my phone.

I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and I was soooo tired. We hiked hard and I actually felt like I might throw-up. I don't usually feel that way. So I sat right down when we got to the lake. I was fine after I sat for a few minutes:)

The hike was just over 6 miles and we gained 2500 ft in elevation. It took us just under three hours, not including the time we spent at the lake. It was a fun adventure. I am glad we left earlier because it was so hot on the way down.

Samanda's Kids

It was so hard the first few weeks of quarantine when I couldn't see Andrew, Emerson, and Audrey. Like really HARD! Recently I was able to have a sleepover for Andrew and Emerson. We did dinner on the Traegar, made smores, and camped in my backyard. So much fun. The next day we hiked Upper Falls and stopped by Bridal Veil Falls as well. Such a fun day!

Upper Falls is a short but steep hike. Both boys did awesome. Andrew has really gotten so much stronger this year. I have noticed it when he bikes and hikes. Emerson fell down a few times and he would just say, "It's ok I just broke a bone!"

Bridal Veil Falls is always beautiful.

 It was a successful sleepover!

Another day I was able to take all three kids for the afternoon. We went to a park close to their house and then went to Bountiful to surprise Nancy. It was a very fun afternoon.

The sun was out and it was actually quite warm. Only Andrew would pose for a picture. Emerson said, "no thanks!"

 I love when Utah is green.

 We stopped and checked out the ducks. Emerson and Audrey could have stayed here for a very long time.

 Andrew and Emerson climbed a tree. They both needed help down.

 We were super hot when we finished at the park. We tried to get ice cream but no McDonald's had any, what the heck. So we got push pops from the gas station. The kids loved them so that was great. Audrey got hers everywhere and I made her change her clothes. You would have thought the world ended. She threw a major fit and was hysterical. She finally got control of herself and got back to playing.

It was nice to visit with Katie and Nancy as well. I took the kids home in time for dinner. Amanda made some yummy pulled pork and cole slaw. It has been nice to be able to see these kids again.

Coyote Gulch

Years ago I was researching a place to camp with a co-worker and I came across Coyote Gulch. We didn't go at that time, Amber and I have talked about going multiple times, finally I got invited to go with Erica Hancock and friends. We had a pretty good group and it was such a fun trip. I loved that the weather was so warm. I loved that I didn't have to drive or plan anything, I literally just showed up. I loved that we had teenagers with us and that we hung out at night playing games. I loved meeting new people. I loved that we didn't worry about covid-19 and social distancing. We just hiked and camped and shared food and water and had an awesome time. I slipped and fell down a rock face. . . . . that was not a highlight. I was SUPER embarrassed. I think because I didn't know everyone really well and I felt stupid. But that was the only downer. It hurt my pride a little but I recovered. The trip was so fun. Erica took the majority of these pictures. She did a great job of documenting the trip.

 We entered the canyon through the crack in the wall. This was a very narrow crack you had to climb through. Backpacks would not fit so we had to use rope and lower them down the side. It was a little crazy. Glad there were lots of strong men to do that. We hiked 3-4 miles the first evening to get to where we camped. We started hiking a little after 6 so we set up camp in the dark. The views were amazing. We hiked through so much fine sand. It was all downhill so it was easy just super sandy.

Getting close to camp. There aren't designated campgrounds so we just found a cool little shelf and set up camp.

 Friday morning we woke up and planned on hiking to Jacob Hamblins Arch. This would end up being a 15 mile round trip hike for us. That is with a couple side excursions. We left our heavy backpacks and just hiked with daypacks which was awesome.

Group shot pretty early in the morning.

 Most of the hike was in the water. That was really nice. We could cool off when we needed to. The water was pretty shallow. Apparently the water level fluctuates regularly but we never had water above our knees. All the girls posing at Coyote's Natural Bridge.

 This is a little section called swiss cheese.

Erica and I had to fill our selfie quota:)

The views were incredible all day.

 Jacob Hamblins Arch. So cool. It is huge in real life. Pictures don't really do it justice.

 On the way back to camp we did a side trip to the black Lagoon.

 Friday we got back to camp and ate and then played lots of games. It was so fun! Saturday morning we hiked out in the heat of the day. It was so hot and all uphill but we survived. It was much trickier getting the bags up the wall on rope. It took quite a while. This made me realize I would not choose that entry point if it were just me and one other person hiking. Always good to learn some things.

We finished the hike and hopped in the cars to hike Spooky and Peek-a-boo canyons. These are two slot canyons that are pretty close to each other. You can hike a little loop and do both of them. It was interesting to see but I felt like Spooky was a little too tight. It made me feel claustrophobic. Luckily the tight spots didn't last too long. There were also some pretty big drops so I was really grateful we had a large group and could help each other down. It was so hot and we didn't have enough water. That was a little mistake but we all survived.

We finished the slot canyons and then started the drive home. We stopped at a fun little pizza place just outside of Torrey. Again I was so grateful to not be driving. We didn't get home until after midnight. It was a short and packed trip, just how I like them. I was really grateful I got to join in on the fun!

Family Visits

Soooo everyone was getting sick of quarantine and I lucked out with some visitors. My mom came for two weeks. . . so fun. I was working so I didn't see her a ton but I saw her some. She came and helped me work one day. I really appreciated that and was so grateful to spend some time with her. We also had some family outdoor gatherings, played games, and visited. I didn't get a ton of pictures. That is super LAME!

Then Ben and Katie came to town. Their time here overlapped with my moms and that was seriously so fun. I loved having them in town and spending time with them. The weather was amazing and we spent a ton of time outside playing and visiting. It felt almost normal, a feeling I really really miss.

Ben, Katie and I took the older kids on a bike ride. Amanda and my mom had the younger kids on the trail. It was a beautiful day. We biked a little over 6 miles. Really a great ride for those little legs.

 We finished the evening with a barbecue at Dan's house. Loralie has a great backyard so we hung out in the backyard and visited. The kids ran around and played. I played games with this cutie!

 The kids enjoyed a flag game they created at the park. They played so hard. It was so fun to watch.

It eventually became a tackle game and then we had some tears.


One morning Ben, Katie, family and me went up to check out Bridal Veil Falls. We walked on the trail and enjoyed all the spring beauty.

Braxton was in a mood so I didn't get an individual shot of him. It was a nice morning.

We spent a lot of time hanging out in the common area behind my house. We weren't supposed to have groups larger than 20 and we still weren't supposed to visit other peoples homes so we stayed outside as much as possible.

 The last night we were all together we took some pictures of the cute grandkids. Man I love these kids so much. It is so fun to watch them play and enjoy life together.

 We did a couple swing pictures and then moved to the common area.

These kids are my favorite.

 We spent the last evening making smores. It was so fun!

 Braxton lasted the longest around the camp fire. He requested I get a picture. He is adorable and such a handful all rolled into one.

 Having family in town is always a little crazy but I LOVE IT! I was grateful for a clean house but I missed the noise and chaos. Come back soon people!!!!!