Thanksgiving 2008

These are a few of my favorite people...

I'm thankful for soooo many things but the following is a list of the things I think of most in no particular order. Family, friends, love, Jesus Christ, work, supportive people, goals, travel, new babies, nieces and nephews, food, (especially fresh Mexican food), service, Holidays, the ocean and much more. I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving surrounded by those you love.

Bear Lake- Family Camping Trip

We spent the past four days as a family camping at Bear Lake. I don't think that I have camped that many consecutive nights since girls camp. It took a little getting used to but thanks to Becky I have discovered 'car camping' . Each night Becky and I would sleep in the back of our cars. It may sound a bit weird but if you drive an SUV you can lay the back seats down flat. I had enough room to stretch out and the best part is that it's not as cold, noisy or scary. In fact I highly reccomend that you try it the next time you go camping. We spent our days down at the beach and our nights by the campfire. We even through a baby shower for Emily and managed to keep it mostly a suprise. Our time at Bear Lake minus the mosquitos was a blast.

4th of July- Oregon Coast

I spent the 4th of July on the Oregon Coast. It was seriously one of the most beautiful places that I've been to. I loved it! And for those of you Twilight fans I felt like I had arrived in Forks.

Owyhee Canyonlands Hike

Yesterday we decided to check out a hike that nobody in the group had ever been on (note to self don't go on hikes with guys that haven't ever been there). We drove to an extremely remote place about 3hrs outside of Boise. We were looking for a spring fed meadow to mark the trail and actually I don't think we really ever found the trail head. We just set out on a journey to find a "spectacular waterfall". We never found the waterfall but the whole experience was kind of amazing because to begin with we were driving in what seemed like desert conditions and then out of nowhere there were these vast canyons. They were bright green and full of trees and flowers and life. We saw antelope, lots of cows (some alive/some dead), a badger and ticks (I had one on me, scary). I also stepped into Stinging Nettle (Sp?) and got a taste of the burning sensation. A couple of the guys actually fell into it when we were crossing a river and they had it all over there arms and legs. To add to the excitement of the trip we got a flat tire on the way home but everything considered the trip was tons of fun. The picture of me standing on the edge of a cliff is my interpretation of the scene from Pride and Prejudice when Elizabeth is traveling with her aunt and uncle in the country side. You probably had to be there to capture that moment but all the girls on the trip agreed with the resemblance of the place. I wish I was wearing a long flowing dress that would have helped recreate that moment instead I was wearing a borrowed pair of pants from one of the guys in the group (after my stinging nettle experience) and clearly they are huge, possibly they are almost flowing.

Mykalah's 3rd B-day Party

Mykalah's birthday was so fun. She is such a cutie. There were so many friends and family there and she was loving every minute of it. We will miss them when they move.

Spring!

I think that Spring is my new favorite season. I have never been so excited to see the flowers blooming and the leaves on the trees. This past winter brought so much snow and ice and I decided that I like to play with it and look at it but I don't like to drive in it. Anyways these are some pictures from around town. Hope you enjoy.

Conference Weekend

Conference weekend was fantastic. I drove down to SLC with my Ecuadorian friend Jorge. We spoke Spanish the entire trip, it was super fantastico. He hooked me up with Plaza level seets for the Saturday morning session. It was sooooo cool to be in the conference center during the Solemn Assembly. Saturday night I visited my cousin, Cynthia and her family. These are pictures from that event. The boys decided to go for a motorcycle ride and strapped children to them with bath robe ties. It was a sight to see (look closely at Parker's chest). Sunday morning I attended Conference ,again Plaza level and witnessed the powerhouse of a man, President Monson bears his testimony to the world. The feeling was incredible. After the morning session I met with a few other friends and squezeed into a Subaru Hatchback with four other full grown adults and headed back to Boise It was tight in every sense of the word. Before we left we dined at my friend Katie's house and partook of a dutch oven lunch. I forgot how great food is slow cooked. Chao!