Lake POWELL 2013

After the Brown family left, our summer vacations weren't over just yet! The day we got back from St. George, Andrew's brother Aaron flew in so that he could go to Volleyball camp at BYU for the next two weeks. We hung out with him on the weekends and when the camp went to seven peaks we met up with him and got to play around for a few hours.

I went on the orange slide for the first time. This probably isn't a great accomplishment for most, like Andrew, but it was for me. I finally convinced myself to do it. The line was short so we went up and we had to wait for like 10 minutes because the life guard wasn't there. Turns out that someone had just gotten hurt (they just hit there head on the side of the slide wall so nothing too crazy but..) but luckily I didn't know that until after I went down. It was a scary experience but I have to admit it was fun and I have already gone on it again! ha yay me.

We even taught Aaron how to do his own laundry at a laundry mat! He is going to BYU-I in the fall so we thought it was important to show him how that type of thing worked because his complex has its own laundry mat. It was really funny and fun to teach him how it works and some of the unwritten rules, like you don't have to sit there and wait for it like some movies show.

On Aaron's last day of camp we got to go watch him play! He was on the top court of the camp so they got to play the BYU team! It was fun to see how they compare. If you didn't know, Aaron is a really good Volleyball player. Andrew played as well and so did their dad. He played on the BYU team back in the day.

When the game was over we left for LAKE POWELL 2013! It was about time for that to happen again :) we had been waiting for a while!

I think I say this every year but Lake Powell is truly magical. It is SO beautiful and peaceful and the perfect way to spend a week. We look forward to this the moment we come off of the lake the year before to the moment we get onto the lake. Being surrounded by the red rock and beauty of God's earth is a real spiritual experience. I also love that you can disconnect from the rest of the world. No facebook. No cell phones. No instagram. Just us and about 15 other people and the beauty of the earth.

Richard brought all the boys shorts from back in the day.
 shorrrty shorts. look at all those legs! 

At Trails End - this is the place we eat after we get off the Lake. 

This year I failed at taking pictures.. at least on my own camera. I took plenty of pictures using other people's cameras except for my own! gr. I will just have to get a copy from everyone.

This was a pretty relaxing year. We had the Sorensen's, the Turnbull's, Julie and Val, and for the first three days we had Andrew's Aunt Joyce and Uncle Rod and Cousin Katie with her son Trevin. We went to West Canyon which was so nice. There weren't a lot of people this year, probably because the water was so low. But it made for really nice water wake boarding in the morning. For two of the mornings I was able to wake board out of the canyon because everyone else wanted to wake board in the channel so they could do their tricks. It was AWESOME because I had perfect water! It was glass the whole way out. I loved it and really made me enjoy my run! I think I am slowly getting better at wake boarding. It is hard that we just do it once a year but every year I think I get a little more comfortable than the last! Now I just need to try snowboarding.

Andrew was jumping and throwing tricks the moment we got on the lake. and then he went head first into a wake and might have gotten a slight concussion.. or something like that. He was really hoping to get his backflip down this year. Maybe next year sir.

This year Julie and Val brought some paddle boards and I was SO excited about it. I have always wanted to paddle board even though I thought I would be horrible at it. But it turns out it is not too hard unless you have really bad balance or a wake that comes rollin in. HA I was working on staying up with that. I don't know how people do it in the ocean! It might take me a while to learn to balance on that. I also did a little bit of kayaking which was equally as awesome and relaxing.

We also had a few wave runners. Let's just say it was a.w.e.s.o.m.e. Every year since coming to Lake Powell I have slowly been getting more and more comfortable on them. This year, on one day especially, I went all out and it was awesome. I kept trying to see how fast I could go on it and then we started jumping tour boat wakes. Which let me tell you are the scariest things on the lake! I thought I was going to get eaten by a wave! but it was awesome! Andrew and I had a lot of fun going out for rides on them and exploring the beautiful canyons!

On Sunday we held our own church service and then went for a hike in another canyon. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen! My jaw was dropped the entire time in awh.. or because I was in freezing cold water. But it really was incredible. You know those pictures you see of the small slivers of canyons and you look up and they are just like rolling hills but they are rocks that are horizontal? Yea, that is what we were walking through. It was one of those hikes I will never forget. These next pictures are all from the hike and honestly the pictures do NOT do it justice.

All of these pictures were taken with the GoPro so thats why they are a little funky

amazing right??

Like I said, the pictures do not do it justice 

this was the end of the hike 

that is the end and if you can see it that hole is where we had just come from

On the way in we were helping each other climb this
 so on the way out we were helping each other down

On the way back to the house boat there was a storm chasing us. 

This is from a morning run but its the same landscape of the picture above just with sun! 

I also got to read the book Divergent by Veronica Roth. Andrew had already listened to it on tape and said that it was amazing so I knew I had to read it, especially because the movie is coming out next year. and he was right,  I.could.not.put.it.down. It is so so so gooood. I think I read it in two or three days. I had to finish it so that I could pay more attention to the people around me. HA. If you liked Hunger Games you will LOVE this book. It is a trilogy like Hunger Games. And has a strong female main character. Honestly you just need to read it!

It was a good year at Lake Powell. We are already counting down for next year.
Hopefully I will get more pictures and post them later!
love,alex&andrew

p.s- if you went to Lake Powell and have pictures, SEND THEM TO ME! thanks :)

Southern Utah

After Idaho we traveled down to southern Utah to spend some time in St. George. This was a great way to just relax. We didn't have a schedule or anything we had to do or people we had to see. It was just do what we want when we want kind of weekend. So we rode four wheelers a little, went swimming a lot and explored Zion National Park. 

Going out for a ride. 

This little man loved chillen in his sail boat. 

Playing in the pool

They liked trying to play ping pong. 

God gave us such a beautiful world. I am so grateful I get to see bits and pieces of this beauty. It is mind blowing. And really makes me feel close to God and feel of his love for me. Even though I feel small and insignificant compared to such magnificent places I know he created these things for us to enjoy because he loves us. I am glad that I get to enjoy and experience these places with the ones I love.

Exploring Zion 

Exploring Zion 

Exploring Zion. 

It was really a great weekend and an overall great two weeks with my family. I was so sad to see them go and have to go back to Provo without them. It was defiantly much quieter though ;)

I am so glad I had this time to spend with my family and really grow as a family and get to know each other as we grow in this life. I hate missing out on my younger siblings achievements and high school years. This trip really gave me some time to get to know the people they are growing up to become. I love them all so much and am proud to call them my siblings and proud to have the wonderful parents that I have.

love,alex&andrew

I scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice Cream

For our last day in Idaho.. or something like that, at this point those days are all blurring together, we hung out with more cousins at the Rexburg water pad and then got some yummy ice cream.

Ever since I can remember this carousel has been in Rexburg. The little ones begged to go on so of course we gave in. I got to ride for free because I was an escort. SCORE! The kids loved it and did not want to get off. 

This waterpark is great for little kids but obviously not for anyone like me. I sat/ tried to sit and read for a while and then I left and got my ring cleaned. ha it was such a hot day outside that this was perfect for the kids. 

You can't end a hot day with out getting some good old ice cream either. And I was determined to go to G's Dairy while we were in Rexburg. There are not a lot of things I miss about Rexburg but this sure is one of them. I LOVE G's Dairy. They make their ice cream fresh in Idaho Falls at Reed's Dairy (we think they are brothers or cousins or something like that) and ship it into Rexburg. AND the cones are made right in front of you with a waffle iron. They are sweet and delicious and now my mouth is watering for one as I type this. The best ice cream they have is called Gavin's Mess. It is chocolate ice cream with caramel swirl, marshmallow swirl, and oreo chunks. It is heavenly. and obviously I could talk about it for a while.

I think I need to go get some ice cream now. awesome.
Whats your favorite ice cream?
love,alex&andrew

That one time we payed to jump on a trampoline...

We got to play at the Jump on it... or i jump place. I don't really remember what it is called. But it was SO MUCH FUN! It was the first time I had ever gone to one of those places and I loved it. It was exhausting and I swear my bladder hates me but I loved it. I love jumping on the trampoline. We had one growing up and it was my fav. I would go out and jump on it by myself all of the time. and at night I loved going out and laying on it and looking up at the stars. Its dreamy. You should try it sometime.

I loved trying new tricks here and having so much family around to hang out with. I don't know how people go longer than an hour. I was exhausted by the end of it... well lets be honest, I was exhausted by the middle of it.

We were throwing front flips all over the place and doing our favorite, toe touches. yeaaa we are cool. I wish I could play there all the time and learn all different kinds of tricks. I'm pretty much too much of a scaredy cat to throw a backflip.. even into the pit. Maybe if I had those cordy things to hold me up, but until then all I got is a front flip. Which I am still very proud of myself for being able to do!

It was really fun with all the kids and people to play with. No matter where I went I found someone I knew. When we weren't just jumping around there was also dodgeball which I think everyone loved. and it cleared up the foam pit, which was awesome!

Overall it was an awesome hour of fun with family!

Don't worry there is still lots more to come!

love,alex&andrew

Fishing at Meadow Lake

When we lived in Idaho we had been wanting to go to Meadow Lake for a long time. Justina and Curtis had talked about it a lot and had lots of fun stories to share about it. Unfortunately we were never able to go because we were either too busy or it was too early in the season and there was still snow on the roads to it, even in June! wowza. So when we had an open day while my family was in Idaho we jumped at the chance to spend a day here fishing.

We left early and got there just around lunch time. After eating and getting every thing ready we headed down to the lake. Curtis had rented a raft so a few of us, Curtis, Andrew, Emily, Nathan, Taeden, and I went out on the raft for a few hours. Taeden was a little grumpy and kept asking to go back to shore with his mama, luckily he fell asleep for a while. I was the first one to catch a fish! YAY! After that we all actually caught quite a few. Each of us probably caught 5 or more fish. We kept 12 of them and let the rest go.

When Taeden woke up from his nap I got him to fish with me and right away we caught two in a row! That little guy is one awesome fisher! I couldn't believe how quickly he got them. It was hilarious and awesome. Emily caught the littlest fish and Curtis caught the biggest.. until later when Aaron went out and caught a big guy!

hiding from mosquitos 

It was a lot of fun and really relaxing to just hang out on the lake and do a little fishing. It was also so gorgeous up there. So breathtaking!

She loves him. 

I love s'mores

The fish we kept and cooked.

Me and the babes. 

Us on the beautiful lake. 

After the other group went out on the lake and we just hang out on the shore we started cooking some fish and hot dogs. What a good combo right? ha. It was super yummy. I am not a huge fish person but it wasn't too bad.. until I ate a bone and got a little grossed out so I switched to a good old hot dog.

It was such a beautiful, amazing day on the lake with family. a day to never forget!
love,alex&andrew

Hanging with the piggies.

While in Idaho we were staying with my Grandpa Hansen. The house they live in is over 100 years old. When they bought it, it was so worn down and small. I could not even imagine trying to fix it up. But that is what my grandparents did and it is now such a beautiful house. I love its charm and all of the special touches they have put into it. They are quite crafty and it has just made a lovely home. They also have a few acres of land with a couple horses, a few chickens, 2 pigs, and a beautiful garden. It is the most perfect place. I love that they have enough space for their needs and aren't completely surrounded by neighbors. Its wonderful. I would love to own a place like that someday. Probably not in Idaho but somewhere beautiful, thats for sure. In the morning we were able to just walk outside and shoot grandpas newest gun. It was a lot of fun and very powerful!

Our little Piggies! 

Then we went and saw Displaceable Me 2. We had already watched the first one probably 3 or 4 times in the car the past 3 days so I was pretty up to date on the series. It was SUPER cute. I love the minions and the little girls are adorable. It is funny to me how predictable all little kids movies are. But I kinda like that I can just rely on them to make me happy!

That weekend we got to hang out with the Brown family a little. We had a family reunion at Heise Hot Springs. It was fun to catch up with everyone and play around a little. I think the kids had a ton of fun running around and having lots of cousins to play with. And who doesn't enjoy a good s'more and cobbler! it was so yummmmmmmmy. Andrew even got to come up for the weekend to spend a little time with us. Unfortunately I got no pictures. Horrible, I know. But I will share more from our adventure with the Brown's at the jumping place, soon :)

until next time!
love,alex&andrew

p.s- aren't these the cutest photos EVER! Melts my heart. This top one totally reminds me of a husband and wife. The husband won't stop talking so the wife is pulling him along and he turns to say goodbye to his buddies! HA I love it. They are so cute when they are being cute.

Mama for the day

Going to Idaho means major family time! Like mmmajor. If you didn't know most of my aunts, uncles, grandmas, and grandpas are in Idaho. Not all but most of them. So when we go there we have a lot of family time, hanging out, eating lots of food, and doing what we do best, going cccrazy. The first day that we were there we hung out with my cousins from my mom's side. They were visiting Grandma for the week and were leaving the next day so we spent the day with them at Rexburg Rapids and then went to Grandmas house and made dinner. It was SO crazy with SO many kids! And lets be honest we really didn't have that many.

We went to McDonalds for lunch before Rexburg Rapids and it was SO crazy. We had picked up Taeden from his mama so she could finish getting ready and getting Caleb ready. While we were ordering, Taeden had to go to the bathroom so I took him and of course at the same time Haizlee says she has to go too! So I take them both to the bathroom and I tell Haizlee to stand in a certain spot while Taeden goes and she starts fffffreaking out! AHHH I'm trying to calm her and Taeden is freaking out that he has to go and then she runs out of the bathroom. AHHH (how do people have 2 children. I have SO much to learn!) Luckily Emily got her, they were done ordering and my mom was able to calm her while I attended to Taeden. It was an adventure.

Being with those kids the past few weeks really gave me appreciation for mamas with multiple kids and having to go to the restroom in public. Just trying to take Haizlee with me was a challenge  She wanted to go under the door, or open the door, or just awkwardly have a full on conversation. HA I guess I need to get used to it if I am going to be a mama some day.

I had to post this for Emily. She was SOOOO Sunburnt
 from Schlitterbuan. She lathered on that sunscreen

Honestly I love those kids to death but I sure did see how much of a handful they can be! I have so much to learn when I become a mama. 

Stay tuned for more adventures!  

love,alex&andrew