St. George Trip + Weekend

This weekend, Dan's work had a retreat in St. George. 

They have one every year just over a couple of days, and this was the first one for us!

We have been looking forward to it for a couple months now, anxiously awaiting the arrival of June.

It also happened to coincide with the weekend that Dan's cousin, Aiko and her husband Todd were baptizing their little baby girl.

It was a little too perfect, as we would come to find out, to be able to do all of it in one weekend.

But we thought it was great timing and why not do it all!

It was also the same weekend as the ward party, and I was a little bummed to be missing that.

Awesome barbecue and homemade ice cream?

Who wouldn't want to miss that!

I had it all planned out.

Work half day on Thursday and take Friday off; we'd be back by Sunday night so I could work on Monday. 

But as all well-laid plans go, you know exactly where it went.

Also, I got this crazy idea bouncing around in my head to chop my hair off.

So I had to find time to squeeze that in before we left.

More on that in a bit. 

Oh, and I got invited to play Bunco with some friends on Wednesday night!

The weekend was approaching and I was getting everything ready to go.

I made a packing list on Tuesday, started laundry on Wednesday afternoon, and got all packed up Wednesday night. 

I tried really really REALLY hard not to over-pack.

But of course I still did, packing almost double the amount of clothes I actually needed.

What's a girl to do.

Also I found these super cute shorts at Kohl's after work on Wednesday, and grabbed a couple of pairs.

Hopefully, enough to last me through the summer. 

I was debating the entire way home from Kohl's about not going to Bunco.

I just didn't feel like I had time to do all of it.

Thankfully, Dan told me to go!

I had such a blast with Char Larsen, Amy Smith, and Liz Palmer.

I also found out that Bunco was not as exclusive of a club as I thought!

It felt like half our ward was there playing, but of course only fun ladies.

It was so nice to get out of the house for a few hours and enjoy good company and way too many laughs.

At the end of the night, we all got a prize.

Amber (Char's daughter) made a holder for the hanging flower baskets.

It is so cute and I can't wait to hang something in it. 

I even branched out and got a light purple color (it's chalk paint called Bastille).

We sat outside Amber's house and ended up laughing hysterically for a good 30 minutes about random things.

Bottom line: Liz is hilarious when she gets hyper.

Love that girl to death.

So back to the hair chopping incident.

Monday-ish, I started itching to chop my hair.

I had honestly been thinking about it since I last got my hair done, about a month ago, but starting Monday I couldn't get the thought out of my head.

I talked to Dan, got gutsy, and called the girl who does my hair.

She's amazing, let me tell you!

Not only is she just straight awesome and hilarious, but she also squeezed me in to chop my hair before we left for St. George!

I went over right before we left, and off the hair went!

And this was the final product.

It's still a little crazy that I actually cut it.

I still have minor anxiety when I wash it or style it because it's gone!

But so far, I love it.

It's liberating.

I highly recommend it. 

So off we went to St. George, short hair, car packed, and ready for a relaxing weekend!

About 30 minutes south of Nephi, there are quite a few hills that are a little difficult to climb going 80mph on a 4 cylinder engine. 

Climbing one of these hills, the A/C went out.

Mind you, it's about 100 degrees outside.

We drove another hour to Beaver, with the windows down, and pulled off the freeway, hoping to get the Freon topped off and be back on our way.

Getting off the freeway, we started to hear this horrible rattling noise.

We got to a mechanic, and found out the pulley on the air compressor had broken and the compressor was hanging.

Sucky.

After about 15 minutes trying to decide what to do, we figured we better just drive home.

I suddenly got a horrible, horrible feeling and heavy weight on my chest.

I started tearing up and told Dan there is no way we can drive home.

We wouldn't make it.

The soonest they could get the part to fix it would be Friday.

We had no way to get to St. George, and no way to get home.

Thankfully, and by no small miracle, the mechanic who owned the shop said he had a van that we could borrow for the weekend.

It seriously was so incredibly generous of him, and probably saved our weekend.

It was an old 92 Dodge Conversion van, the kind that has curtains on the windows, and the back bench folds down into a bed.

Yeah.

But it ran, and had A/C, and got us to St. George and back home safely!

This was driving home.

I was not nearly as excited about driving it down to St. George as I was to be going home.

We finally made it to St. George and made it to the restaurant, surprisingly only 30 minutes late!

The food at the restaurant was pretty delicious.

We went to the Cliffside Inn for dinner.

It has a gorgeous view overlooking St. George.

And I forgot to take a picture.

I was a little too distracted with my own crap on Thursday to really relax and enjoy the time with Dan's co-workers.

Something that I didn't really appreciate until we were leaving to come back home, Dan's co-workers were all genuinely concerned about us.

Dan's boss, James, is an all around stand up guy.

He was trying to find us a ride from Beaver to St. George, sent out a mass text seeing if anyone could pick us up, and even offered to pay for a rental so we could still come this weekend.

Stand up guy.

I'm feeling so incredibly blessed for the company Dan works for and the people he is privileged to associate with and work beside.

James said something to me within 5 minutes of being at the restaurant that initially bothered me, but then I came to appreciate it.

He told me to not worry about the car, and to just relax and enjoy the weekend.

At first, I was a little bugged.

Of course I'm going to worry about my car!

It's going to put me out quite a few bones, but okay I'll try to enjoy my weekend.

After dinner, we ran back to the hotel, checked in and dropped off our bags.

We hopped in the car with Bryce and Megan Cranney, and off we went to Tuacahn for Beauty and the Beast.

Tuacahn is gorgeous, and so perfectly tucked into the rocks.

It was so hot in St. George that it was actually quite nice to get a little breeze blowing through the canyon, even if it did feel like a blow dryer on your face!

The show was awesome, and then I realized I had seen it before when Rylee was in high school.

I didn't realize it till the very end when Chip runs out as a little boy, and then I remembered Ethan played that little boy!

At intermission, we had to get some water, and Dan indulged in some frozen lemonade.

Anything to stay awake--it really stinks getting old and you want to go to bed early!

The show ended around 11:30, and we headed straight to bed.

The next morning, I slept in till probably 8:45.

Dan was kind enough to bring me breakfast, and even had an old fashioned cake donut!

My absolute favorite!!

We hurried to get dressed and head out to Sand Hollow for a day of fun playing on the lake and riding quads.

My entire goal for the trip was not to get sunburned.

I bought SPF 50 sunscreen just for that purpose.

I applied generously a couple times throughout the day, and laid out to enjoy the warm sunshine.

The boys played ultimate frisbee with a football, and the girls laid out by the shore.

I talked with Thea, James' wife for a little while.

She is such a hilarious and genuine person, and I instantly felt comfortable around her, and all the other wives too.

Now, I generously applied the sunscreen to my shoulders/back/face.

I neglected my legs.

They never burn, so I figured a little SPF 4 would suffice.

WRONG.

This wasn't even that bad.

It turned almost purple in some spots, but thankfully is getting better.

We went over to the cliffs to go cliff jumping.

Dan was super bummed he couldn't do it, since he'd strained his groin earlier that week playing softball.

He tried swimming earlier, and said one kick and it was painful.

But I jumped.

It was probably 20-25 ft high.

It was so intense and scary at first!

I don't know how I used to jump off the cliffs at Fry Mesa, but I did it!

It was so thrilling, and the water was so refreshing. 

Even Clint (who apparently is super afraid of heights) ended up jumping off the cliff.

We headed back home, and Dan and I ran to grab some food at Smashburger.

We weren't going to dinner till 7, and I needed some lunch pronto or else I would be so sick from being in the sun all day.

We saw Megan and Bryce there, and Megan asked if I wanted to go get a pedicure with her before dinner.

I'm always down for a good pedicure!

We got back to the hotel and I hurried to shower and get ready.

A bunch of us girls met in the lobby and even Berlin (one of Dan's coworker's daughter) came with us.

She was darling and so fun to have come with all the girls!

Off we went in the "shaggin wagon" to get our toes painted.

We met all the boys at dinner at Anasazi steakhouse.

Their big claim to fame is that you can cook your own food right in front of you on a hot stone.

They put these stones in the kiln and heat them for 10 hours till their 700 degrees and then they bring your meat out to you seared and you cook it to your liking.

It was an interesting and entertaining dinner.

We sat with James/Thea, Ryan/Amanda, and Grant/Tara.

It was a super fun table to be at.

James asked how we met, and I made Dan tell the WHOLE story, including the bumps.

It was super funny and everyone was laughing.

We finished up with dessert at Nielson's Frozen Custard.

Super yummy!!
I got chocolate chip cookie dough, but couldn't finish it was so rich and delicious.

We ended the evening by going back to the hotel and playing a game.
It was supposed to be a newlywed game, but one of the other "new" couples had to leave right after dinner to head back home.
So instead, we played a different game that Ryan and Amanda had.
We had to go into a dimly lit room individually.
I had a disclaimer when I walked in that I may or may not say bad words.
Ryan walked right up to you and said "Welcome to Brandmakers. If you want to be part of the team, you must perform until we applaud."
What. The. Hell.
Then Ammon started playing the music to Pharrell's "Happy."
I was so ticked, and tired, and seriously did not want to dance in front of all these people.
Everyone started copying me, whenever I would move or say something.
It honestly got irritating.
I finally just walked right out.
Amanda chased after me, and explained that since they were copying me, I just had to clap!
I felt a little silly for being so dramatic and walking out, but I really was so tired from being outside all day long.
Heat takes a toll on your patience...or at least mine.
Everyone eventually came into the room.
Some people had some sweet dance moves (James did double cartwheels, Thea stood on her head, and Megan busted out moves so awesome that we all just started clapping because we couldn't copy her!).
And let's not forget the full moon provided so kindly by Clint.
Yikes.
We all had a good laugh, and then headed off to bed.

Saturday morning, we slept in again.
There's something rejuvenating about not waking up at the butt crack of dawn every day.
We had breakfast, and got packed up.
James dropped by and handed Dan an envelope with some cash in it to help with the car repair.
I cried.
I have felt so incredibly blessed through this whole experience, despite the fact that we couldn't be in Arizona for Father's day and missed Aiko's daughter's baptism.
We have little miracles like this and I feel so blessed that Dan works with the company and the people he does.
They genuinely care about him and want him to stay with them for the long haul.
It's amazing.

We headed out in the shaggin wagon and made it home safely, and with an uneventful journey.
I couldn't wait to pick up our Ruby girl!
I miss her sweet face.
We dropped off all our stuff at home and picked up Ruby girl, and promptly gave her a bath.
Outside dogs STINK!
We went to the Ward Summer BBQ Party, which is always fun and full of delicious food!
I got to hold Liz's sweet little guy, and he fell right to sleep on my shoulder.
Ugh, those moments are my favorite and I can't wait to have one of our own to snuggle to sleep.

We topped off the evening watching Jurassic World.
So. Good.
It was epic.
And then of course I had to watch Jurassic Park on Sunday just to recap.
It was the perfect end to what started out horrible, and ended up being a fantastic weekend.

Deutschland

About a month ago, I left the precious American soil for the Fatherland.

It was awesome, stressful, and very worthwhile.

We went with Dan's parents, which I was initially a little apprehensive about.
I mean, traveling with anyone other than your spouse (and even them sometimes) can be emotionally taxing.
However, it ended up being a good thing...thank goodness!

This trip has been probably 4 months in the making.
We had talked about it so much that I honestly thought it wouldn't happen.
Jami and I talked about it to death.
It was like beating a dead horse.
So many flight options, and figure out dates to leave...I honestly had decided I didn't want to go.
It was way too much of a headache, and it's a lot of cash money to fly across the pond.
At one point, I told Dan he could just go and I would stay home.
He did not like that option one bit.

Then one day, his parents called and told us they bought the tickets and we were leaving this date at this time from this airport.
Well okay then...I guess this is actually happening.

Getting packed and ready for the trip was a nightmare.
Making sure we had the right converter for our appliances (which ended up singing my hair...more on that later), getting travel size shampoo, all the toiletries, etc.
This was significantly more stressful because it's not like I could just run to the corner Walgreens if we forgot something.
Talk about stress.

The day finally came that we were loading up and driving to Arizona.
We were flying out of Sky Harbor, plus leaving Ruby with my parents while we were gone.
When my Dad dropped us of at the airport, I may have started completely panicking.
It took a lot out of me to not run after the car as my Dad drove away.
And I may or may not have teared up in the airport before we even checked in with the airlines.

We got through security and all that fun stuff and got on the plane.
I still wasn't super stressed because this flight was going to Georgia.
And here's a happy selfie for you...because I really was pretty excited to leap across the pond.

On the flight to Georgia, I started reading a book which definitely helped pass the time.
I also watched the sunlight slowly disappear.

Jami had told us to bring our own water bottles because water is not free in Europe.
So we packed our good Contigo bottles.
Dan wanted a drink after take off, and I had completely forgotten about the pressure change.
So when he opened his bottle, water shot across the plane two rows up and hit some people.
It was the funniest/most embarrassing thing.
Thankfully, the people weren't mad, but it was hilarious!

We landed in Atlanta, and had to quickly make our way across the airport, take the right shuttle and make our connecting flight to Amsterdam.
Getting on that flight proved a little more difficult.
At this point, I decided I would rather pay the extra $30 for an international plan for Dan's phone than be caught without it in an foreign country.
Thank goodness for that!
We quickly added that on, and then off we flew to Amsterdam.

The KLM flight was pretty good, as far as long flights are concerned.
I had an endless selection of movies to watch, and they had a map where you could look and see where we were during the flight.
That was actually pretty cool to watch us fly up the Atlantic coast and then cross the ocean over to Ireland.
All the instructions were given in Dutch and then English.
That was a little...interesting.

And let's just go right into the food.
If I never see airplane food again, it will be too soon.
It was not bad at all.
Actually as far as airplane food goes, it was pretty good.
But man does that stuff just make you feel sick to your stomach!
Thankfully, we were hungry enough that we just ate it, but it was rough a few hours later.

When we finally hit daylight again, we were flying over Ireland and then England.
I was so excited just to see land, but it was also beautiful to see the countryside from the air.

Next we saw England from the air.
It's all very exciting, but really seeing land after only seeing vast expanse of ocean is quite exciting.
And please excuse the dirty airplane windows.
This is the closest I've ever been to Europe, and I was pretty excited.

Then we flew into Amsterdam.
Side note: the original flight plans we looked at included an 8 hour layover in Amsterdam.
I had great plans to go to the Van Gogh museum (he's seriously my favorite), and the Anne Frank house.
Sadly, for this trip we only had a 4 hour layover, which was not worth the hassle to try to venture out and come back through customs.
So here is Amsterdam from the air, and that will have to be enough for now.

As I mentioned above, we had a 4 hour layover in Amsterdam.
We had to go through customs at the airport.
That was a little different.
The customs agent had the most scrutinizing look on his face.
It was a little intimidating to say the least.
But I got a stamp on my passport!!

We got to our gate and waited the long four hours, fighting sleep in the middle of the airport.
Well, some of us were fighting sleep.

We finally got on our plane to Nuremberg, which was thankfully only an hour flight.
On that flight, the snacks were HORRIBLE.
Seriously horrible.
But I did get to sit in the emergency exit row, next to Dan.
So that was nice.
And we also saw a road (it seemed like a small highway) that went under the river!

When we arrived in Nuremberg, we got all our luggage and went outside to get on the U-bahn U2 train to connect with the Haupfbahnhof (which is the main train system in Germany).
That was a struggle.
We could not figure out the silly machine to buy the tickets.
Thankfully, a super nice man and his wife helped us get the tickets, and stayed with us until we got into Nuremberg.
Then they helped us get our tickets to get from Nuremberg to Vilseck.

We sat at the Nuremberg train station for an hour because we had barely missed the first train that goes to Vilseck.
So naturally we took a selfie.

This is the "I'm so bloody tired and desperately want to sleep and go home to America" face.
Pretty convincing, yes?

So we waited for the second train to come.
And we almost missed it.
Jami had told me that the trains run on time, to the minute.
Well, there was 2 trains in the station at the same time, only we didn't realize that.
Thankfully, the conductor must have seen our confused faces and helped us out.
That would have seriously sucked to miss that train.
By the end of the week, I was an expert at the train! (As long as I had the schedule.)

I was so stressed at this point.
Everyone was speaking German around me, and German is not pretty.
It sounds horrible actually, and super threatening.
Not to mention being in a foreign country, but add the language on top of it.
I also started to get sick on the train.

I usually do pretty well not getting motion sickness, but it was dark so I couldn't focus on anything except the swaying of the train.
It was all I could do to not throw up.
After an hour train ride, we made it to Vilseck.
Jami was waiting for us.
I've never been so excited to see a familiar face!

She drove us to our hotel, and I seriously thought I was going to get lost trying to find anything in the town.
Thankfully, we would come to find out that Vilseck is pretty small and fairly easy to walk around and find your way.

The hotel was so cute, and the staff was incredibly nice!
We ate some goulash and a dinner roll, and it might have been the best meal I had ever had.
We hauled all our luggage up three flights of stairs to our room.
Jami gave us a few tips (like the doors automatically lock, so always have your key; and the windows can swing open or tip open from the top, which is a brilliant idea!) and then said goodbye.
She would pick Dan and I up in the morning to take us to the train station to go to Rothenburg.

We unpacked, and I totally freaked out.
I was balling in the bathroom for a good five minutes.
I instantly missed America, my home, and my family.
I just wanted to go back.

Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband who was patient with me during my minor panic from culture shock.
I just needed sleep.
It was only a week.
6 short days and I would be heading back home, probably wishing we could stay longer.
I could do it.

Plus, with this cute guy by my side, I can do anything.

Day 2: Rothenburg ob der Tauber

California dreamin

Last weekend, we high-tailed it straight outta Provo and headed for warmer weather, and sunny shores. The drive was boring to say to least. We had no idea we were even in California until we came over the Sierra Nevadas. Really, we thought we had been driving through Nevada forever because it was so ugly. Then we came down the mountains into this gorgeous valley. Seriously, so green and lush and just beautiful. I could live in California just for that view, except for the fact that the gas prices are ridiculous ($4.30/gallon??) and the earthquakes, and the traffic. All are kind of deal breakers unfortunately, because I am so so in love with the beach.

Back on track. We stayed at Nicole's parent's home the first night and their home is nestled right up into the mountain. So freaking gorgeous. There are no words, it really is beautiful up there. We slept in the next day, or what felt like sleeping in. California is an hour behind us, so really it was probably a normal time to get up. We had planned to go to Newport Beach and then go by the temple. Nicole's dad (who is a hilarious guy by the way, always cracking jokes) suggested we go to the LA temple and then down to Santa Monica pier instead, much closer than Newport.

So we drove down to Santa Monica, and finally found the temple. It kind of rises out at you from the middle of the city. Such a gorgeous site. It sits up on a hill, and has all these green plants and beautiful flowers around the temple. And it's huge. It's funny, we walked into the visitor's center (Dan had to pee) and everyone commented about how big this temple it--something about it being the largest temple by square footage.

We walked around the temple for a few minutes. There was such a lovely breeze and the weather was perfect!! I could not have hand picked a more perfect day to be around the temple and down at the beach.

We drove down to the beach, and that traffic through downtown Santa Monica heading towards the promenade and the pier was ridiculous. Honestly, it was probably nothing compared to how bad it normally is/could be (it was Good Friday, so everyone had the day off from work). But we made it down to the beach!!

I could hardly contain my happiness when we got to the beach. There's something about the beach. It just brings peace to my soul and happiness to my heart. There is no place I'd rather be than sitting on the beach, breathing in that salty air, and letting the breeze hit my face.

We just laid on the beach for probably two hours, just enjoying the time together and relaxing. We walked down to the pier and ended up eating at Bubba Gump's!! It was so yummy, and Dan has never looked so happy to eat seafood.

 

This guy was standing still like a statue!! It was absolutely crazy. I really just sat there watching him for probably 5 minutes!

This is the ferris wheel (obviously...) on the Santa Monica Pier. Now, I took this shot because I've been watching Private Practice lately, and they always have shots of the Santa Monica Pier and this ferris wheel. It always makes me giggle to myself when I watch it now because I can say that I've been there!! Woot woot!

We went back to hang out with Trent and Nicole that evening, and got some fro-yo and sushi. It was so so much fun hanging out with them. I really can't wait for them to get back from their honeymoon and back to Provo so we can have more couple friends. It's been so great through this whole thing seeing Trent so happy. Dan says it all the time that Trent is back! This is the real Trent, his happy goofy self, and Nicole totally and completely compliments him with their goofiness. It's adorable.

The next day, we had a few hours to kill before Trent and Nicole's wedding. So we went to get pedicures!!! I love love love my husband. Seriously, he is the greatest and I just love him for so many reasons. One of the newest reasons is he went to get a pedicure with me! (I really hope he doesn't kill me for posting this.) Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture together. Should've known that the weekend before Easter would be packed with mamas getting their toesies done. So it was either wait for an hour or just sit one chair a part. So we texted the entire time. We had places to go after so we couldn't wait forever!

After, we went to Pieology. It's a yummy Chipotle-type restaurant for pizza that's only in California. Dan's coworker told him about the restaurant, so we drove to Azusa to try it. Oh my gosh it was TO DIE FOR!! Dan got the Hawaiian pizza, and I got the Buffalo chicken pizza. It's on thin crust, so you don't get too full from the crust, and they cook it in a brick oven. So so so yummy. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I actually want to drive back to CA just for the pizza.

We went back and started getting ready for the wedding. We were both just so so happy for Trent, and Nicole. It was so great to see them both so happy and in love with each other. I told Dan I wanted to get married again just to be that focused on each other and that moment and being so so happy, just like we were the day we got married.

 

The ceremony was beautiful. Nicole was beaming and they both couldn't stop smiling. Not that I blame them--being married is the best thing ever. We took pictures in between ceremony and reception, and Dan and Trent were taking a few pictures together. They both stuck out their butts, and Nicole and I happened to be right there so we started laughing! I can't wait to see how those pictures turned out. The reception was beautiful. One of the most beautiful church buildings I've ever seen. The cultural hall had exposed beams and gorgeous stained glass. The ceiling was lowered with beautiful fabric and Chinese lanterns, and ugh it was just so beautifully decorated!!!

The father of the groom and father of the bride made speeches, both beautiful tributes to Trent and Nicole. Then the best man was asked to give a speech. This caught Dan totally off guard and Trent wanted it that way. For the life of me, I can't remember what he said, but it was a great message to Trent and Nicole and great tribute to the long and wonderful friendship that Dan and Trent have been blessed to share.

We went to see Captain America 2 that night, and the seats were recliner chairs!! Super legit, but it definitely made me sleepy.

We left the next morning, very begrudgingly. We had done so well at not talking about school or anything else we needed to do once we got back to Provo. The drive back was fine, but it always seems like the last stretch from St. George to Provo takes FOR-EH-VER (*insert Sandlot reference here). But we made it back, very uneventfully I might add.

"Nothing soothes the soul like a walk on the beach."

BUFFALOOOOO

Last week my momma and the kiddos and I met up with the fam and went to Yellowstone. It was quite the eventful trip to say the list. I got to check off quite a few "FIRSTS" from my list.

#1. I got my first speeding ticket...well first ticket...ever. It sucked. End of story.
But the best part about the whole thing...get this. My mom had been driving the whole time. We're four hours into this drive, and I decided to drive for the next couple hours and give her a break. I pulled out of the City Market, drove not even 200 yards, and there's lights behind me. I have no clue where the cop came from...at all. The second best part about it, I didn't even see a speed limit sign, until right before I pulled off the road to get out of the way. 58 in a 40. That blows. Way to go out with a bang. And let's just say that Dan and I are even...and he's definitely driving home from Colorado.

#2. I saw a buffalo on the side of the road!! Seriously! We saw quite a few actually, and an entire herd! It was so stinking cool! Andddd...one of the best parts about the buffalo was Princess Caitlin's reaction to them...Enjoy.

#3. Elk. We saw two huge bull elks just walking along through the field. Huge racks! HUGE! Dan.Would. Have. Died. They were that close, and so beautiful! We also saw a field full of cow elk too. Definitely cool!

#4. Lions, and tigers, and BEARS! Oh my! Yes, the only thing my mom wanted to see the entire time was a bear. Me...not so much. But saw one we did. Thank goodness it was only one. It was actually quite cute, and pretty small, which is unnerving because you just know the mama bear probably wasn't far behind.

The thing that killed me about all of this is that these animals are wild. And people were walking into the fields to get closer pictures! Seriously the only thing I could think of was how stupid they are! One of the workers at the little gift shops told us that just earlier in the week, a guy had to go to the hospital because he got too close to a buffalo and it attacked him. Sucks.

The trip was awesome! Photo overload to come in a few.

A few highlights I definitely don't want to forget.
Princess Caitlin: (while admiring the buffaloes on the side of the road) Look at those balls...
    (she said this entirely straight faced, and completely serious...I don't think she quite realized what she had       said!)

Princess Caitlin: (again while admiring the buffaloes) OH MY GOSH THEIR HUGE!!!!

4 hours into our drive from Denver to the cabin we stayed at in Idaho:
Momma: Ethan, do you have your seat belt on?
Ethan: Oh darn it!

Rylee: I'm starting to think we should sing like that feral child from the zoo. Maybe the buffalo will come to us! They'll be like 'I hear the call! And the people!

Ethan: Get out of the way trees!!
We were all taking pictures as we drove through Yellowstone to get to the cabin. Ethan was taking pictures with his ipod. It was hilarious. We were dying laughing because he was so upset that the trees kept getting in the way of his pictures.

Dan told us all a joke before we left, and it's quite stupid, but really freaking funny!
What did the buffalo say as his child was leaving for school?
Bison!
See...dumb, but funny!

So the aforementioned feral child that we met at the zoo...she was singing to the lions. Like high pitched opera singing. Terrible. But whatever. So we thought it would be funny to see if we could call the buffalo. I don't remember who decided to come up with it, but we rolled down the windows and shouted: BuffalOOOOOOOOO!
We were all laughing about it the entire trip, and would have random little outbursts throughout the trips.

So after I got my ticket, I cried. Yes I'm a girl, and it was the first one. Anyway...Chandler wanted to throw her gum away, but we didn't have anything for her to put it in, so I handed her my tissue.
Arielle: It's just a tear tissue.
Rylee: No. It's a SNOT tissue.
Ethan: OHH! That's the worst kind!

AND...some personal favs from the trip.  
Caution: PHOTO DUMPAGE.

Old Faithful.

Grand Prismatic Spring.

Favorite Brother.

Upper/Lower Falls.

Elk.

Buffalo crossing the river.

Jackson Hole Arch.

Rainbow. Lower Falls.

Family. Greatest blessing ever.

Vacation

 

Last Thursday, we jumped on a plane at 9:40 pm going from Denver to Salt Lake City. We landed around 11:10 pm, got picked up by my gramma and great gramma, and hit the sheets pretty hard. We

were both pretty tired
Friday, we met up with Dan's family at the Draper temple to see them! We haven't seen them since February! We also got to see little Camden!! Oh my goodness I'm in love! As soon as Matt and Rhianna got out of the car with him, I ran over and just snatched him up. He was so smiley and happy and chubby! So seriously adorable. We met up with them before they headed up to Salt Lake to go to Temple Square and we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple for my sister in law's wedding.

The sealing was at 3 and you're supposed to be there 30 minutes early. We got there and headed upstairs to wait to be take to the sealing room. Not going to lie, as soon as we got up there, everyone knew exactly who we were. I mean there's no denying it. Kason looks exactly like Dan. It honestly made it kind of awkward, but we brushed it off. I guess if people are going to stare you should hold yourself together a  bit right?

Well anyway, we walk into the sealing room and I was immediately overwhelmed with a sense of peace and security, only the kind the temple can bring, except it was stronger, more reassuring. Through this entire experience, I've been calm, level headed, and honestly super excited for Jami! I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to lose Dan, and then she found Brad, and I still couldn't be happier for her! But about 2 hours before the wedding, I started to worry. Not about Jami, because I knew she was sure, but about Dan. I didn't know how he would handle it. I knew he was happy for her, and he wanted to be there, but it was his brother.

Anyway, back to the peace. It was amazing. I started tearing up right then and there...not a good sign when you still have to make it through the actual sealing! I enjoyed that peace so so much. I can't even begin to describe it. I didn't ever have the privilege to know Kam, but I've heard plenty of stories about him. And from what I heard, I knew he was there in that sealing room that day, if only for Dan and I to be reassured, but it was exactly what I needed.

Jami and Brad walked in, they were sealed, and I couldn't keep the tears back. I was so incredibly happy for her, and Brad. We walked by to congratulate them, I gave Brad a hug (awkward for the first meeting?) and just told him to take care of her, because we love her and Kason. Still crying. All it took was one look and Jami and I were both crying again. I just gave her a big hug, told her I loved her, and that I'd see her that night at the reception. I really don't think I could've said anymore...I was crying too much.

We walked out of the temple and immediately started looking for Kason. I just wanted to see him. We found him running around in front of the temple. I called out his name, he looked, and with a huge grin on his face started running towards us. He jumped (literally) into my arms and gave me the biggest hug in the entire world! He hugged me, looked at me and smiled, and hugged me again. It was the best feeling ever! That little boy has my heart wrapped around his finger, and he probably knows it too. I guess that's what I get for watching him every week for the last year.

We walked around for a bit waiting for Brad and Jami to come out. Finally they did!! Haha. They looked so so so happy!! It made me a little nostalgic for my own wedding. I remember that feeling. Vividly. It's one of the best feelings in the world. I love the look on Brad's face because you could just tell how much he loves Jami, and Kason.

 Just walking out the doors!!

 

This was so precious! They walked out and Kason came running up to give Jami and big hug!

Love this new little family so so much!!

So funny story...after they took a couple pictures, the photographer asked everyone to go up and congratulate them. Well...everyone kind of stared at each other wondering who would go first. Awkward. Jami's dad, Jeff, decided to break the ice and gave her a big hug. Then Dan and I went over and congratulated both of them (minus the tears this time) and then we left.


Her shoes were awesome! Toms!! And Brad had on Chucks!! So legit!!

We went down to Lehi to meet back up with Dan's mom and dad. We stopped at their hotel, hung out for about an hour or so, and then got ready...again...to go to the reception (which I didn't take pictures of...DUMB!!!). I love it though! She had so many cute decorations. I got nostalgic...again! I think I really just love weddings...especially the pictures. She had lights strung across the backyard and had red, yellow, and white Chinese lanterns covering some of them, and some of the lights just bare. It looked so cute! She also had a chalk board with their love story written on it. It had all the different times they would fly to see each other, when they said I love you, when he proposed, all of it. Precious! They also had (and this was my personal fav) a jar for a "Honeymoon Fund." Genius idea!! I wish I would have thought about that! Pretty much I just loved it all. She had antique doors, a big J with a little B and J on the sides, it was just awesome. Major props on the decor!!

It was fun just to be there and see her so happy. We took pictures with Camden and Kason, and we also took a big family picture with Jami and Brad, but that one will have to wait till her photographer gets her pictures back.

Everyone at the reception was loving on Camden though! I mean he is pretty much the cutest little baby ever, but the photographer was in love with him! It was hilarious to watch because we'd look over every so often and there she was snapping pictures of him!

Matt, Rhianna, Kason, and Camden.

After the reception, we went and grabbed some food at Texas Roadhouse before we went back to pick up Kason for the night. It was so yummy and so fun to be there together with my family. Camden was being fussy, and I felt so bad that Rhianna couldn't eat her food, so I grabbed him from her and just rocked him in the booth. He fell right to sleep too. It was so adorable, and it was right then that I just felt like one day I'll be a good mommy...hopefully :].

Dan and I drove back to Lehi to pick up Kason and go back to the hotel and swim. Well by the time we got back to the hotel it was 11, and unfortunately the pool closes then, so we just planned on going that next morning. I wasn't worried about Kason sleeping with Dan and I because Ethan has slept in my bed so many times that I didn't think it was a big deal. Well I severely underestimated his ability to roll from one side to the other in the middle of the night. He would roll from being right next to Dan to being right next to me. Back and forth. But it was okay. The next morning though, Dan and I were pretty exhausted. Dan however, did NOT want to get up. It was kind of cute. It reminded me of the time we were supposed to go to Six Flags and he wasn't out of bed until 15 minutes before we were supposed to leave! We skipped breakfast, went to the pool and swam for a few hours. I have a million and a half pictures from there, but I'll spare you. One day I'll upload a good one to fit right in here.

This is Kason trying to push Dan off the bed so that he would get dressed so we could go swimming! Haha. After swimming, we went to IHOP for breakfast, and then drove back to Lehi to drop Kason off with his Grandpa Jeff so he could spend time with him before he left too.

We took a bunch of pictures back at Jami's house with Kason, and then we left and drove up to my Gramma and Grampa's cabin for the rest of the weekend. We got a little lost on the way there, but once we figured it out, we arrived just fine! We finally met Caitlin's boyfriend David and had a really fun time on Saturday talking and enjoying each other's company.

We saw some deer, well quite a few deer actually, while we were there. It was super cool!! I haven't seen that many deer up there in a long long time! Princess Caitlin was actually down under the balcony and tossing carrots at the deer and they kept coming closer and closer. They had to have been at most 5 feet away. It was pretty cool! And I had to get a picture in with Dan and the deers. Him, Matt and his Dad were just dying that the deer were so close and they couldn't be hunting ;].

My Grampa made mountain trash the next morning (tradition of course!) and everyone loved it!! The Haban's left that morning and headed back to Az. We decided to skip out on Church that day...terrible, don't judge...and we just hung out some more. I really don't know what we did on Sunday to be honest. Dan and I left for the airport at 4 so we could make it for our flight. We actually ran into Jeff at the airport and sat next to him on the flight home. It was nice to talk with him and enjoy the company. We got back to Denver safe a sound, and as soon as we stepped off the plane, I wanted to go back.


I don't think so much that I want to be back in Utah, but I just want to come back to school...to our friends...to our family. I think the vacation was exactly what we needed, and to be reminded that we do actually like it there. It was so great to see our families, to be able to see Brad and Jami get sealed in the temple, to see Kason, and to just be together again.

Not going to lie...I'm looking forward to summer vacations next summer. It will be grand.

Oh and this picture was too cute not to share.

And just because we need a new picture update...
I think we're pretty cute if I do say so myself.