May in Review

I have had an absolutely wonderful last month. My whole family visited and stayed with Chad and me for a week, Adam got married, we took a trip to Colorado for Adam's Colorado reception, I started my new position as kindergarten teacher at KinderCare, I had a blast babysitting my darling nephew Carson for a weekend, and I went on a super fun canoe trip on the Green River with Chad's family. I feel so blessed to have this time to enjoy so many wonderful things. Life is good.

River Trip

Last weekend Chad and I went on such a fun trip. I just had a blast! We went down the Green River in canoes with 13 other members of Chad’s family. It was so beautiful and fun! Props to Nate for making it such a fun, smooth trip. I would totally do it again. I probably liked it so much because I had nothing to worry about--Nate took care of pretty much everything as far as the logistics went, and Chad did most of the packing for us and then cleaned everything off when we got home. I'm so spoiled and I know it.

But besides it being a very relaxing trip for me, it was also a ton of fun to spend time with Chad's family and the views were AMAZING. It was seriously one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

The first night we played some friendly softball.

A view from our first campsite.

Our first campsite (I didn't get a picture of it with all the tents up).

The place we stopped mid-day to hike around a bit. Most everybody hiked to the top of "pride rock" (center of the picture), but I couldn't get myself to do it, it was too high for me with nothing to hold onto. I'm sure Crystal will post pictures of it in her blog soon. Props to Dale for going to the top, even though he seemed to have a fear of heights like me!

The views were phenomenal. I just could not get over how spectacular the huge red rock cliffs were that sided the river the whole day. It was just amazing to me, and my pictures totally don’t do it justice.

We even got to take a nap on the river! Talk about relaxing! Here's Colbs and Chad enjoying a sleep on the river.
I'm not sure if you can tell, but in this picture three canoes are tied together. Just a while later we tied all six of our canoes together and floated down the river together. Talk about quality family time! We were all laying around on our canoes, talking, laughing, eating, sleeping, reading, enjoying the scenery and sun.

The campsite on our second night. Wow! Is it just me or is that one of the most beautiful things you've ever seen! The second morning I got up early and couldn't go back to sleep, so I got up and read my scriptures and took some pictures. That was such a lovely morning. It was so special to sit there surrounded by God's amazing creations and read the Book of Mormon. This was the view I had as I read. I eventually went back to bed for the cozy warmth of my sleeping bag, and I read "Enchantment," a novel Carrie lent to me, for the rest of the morning. Now that's life!

Another picture I took early in the morning.

Our six canoes, emptied of all our stuff (which was all at our campsite at the time). I thought it was such a picturesque sight.

P.S. Sorry I didn't include many close-up pictures of people--I'm never good at taking pictures of people. But here are the names of all the wonderful people who went:

Neal, Curt, Brady, Crystal, Dale, Natalie, Preston, Logan, Chad, me, Nate, Colby, Jon, Caytee, Preston.

Nieces and Nephews

I love my nieces and nephews so much! At Adam and Jessie's wedding in Colorado I tried to get pictures of me with each one of them, but I was unsuccessful (I didn't get one with Jordan or Emily). I'll get one with them the next time I see them!

My affectionate and helpful McKenna.

My confident and beautiful Lydia.

My kind-hearted and easy-going Kyle.

My humorous and friendly Jordan (he's on the right in this picture).

My expressive and imaginative Emily.

My goofball and chocolate-loving Tanner.

My gregarious and silly Summer.

And last, but most definitely not least, my CUTE and SWEET Josh!

I love them all so much!

One of my most favorite parts of having my family visit was the day after Adam and Jessie's wedding. It was the first day of May, and it snowed! We were all tired from the wedding celebrations from the previous two days, so we slept in and took it easy for the day. The adults ate leftovers and played Settlers of Catan while the kids watched movies and played video games (thanks Nate and Michelle for letting us borrow your Wii!). It felt just like Christmas morning to me (snow and all)! :) The same happiness, family-togetherness, excitement, and carefree feelings of Christmas were in the air. Later that day we went to the Rec Center and played games and swam in the pool with the kids. It was so much FUN!

I treasure that day in my heart when I feel sad, stressed, or I miss my family. I love my family so, so, so much and am so grateful for that fun week we were able to spend together. For quite a while after they left every little part of my home reminded me of my family--"That's where McKenna slept," "This is where we had such a nice FHE put on by my wonderful parents," "This is where we played Settlers of Catan together," etc., etc. I'm so glad they were able to stay with us. Thanks for staying with us, even if it was a little cramped and maybe not the most comfortable place to stay!

Adam and Jessie's wedding was beautiful and wonderful. We are so happy for them, and excited to have Jessie in our family.