Adventures in summer-land

Our first month of summer has been pretty full. Here is what has been going on since the kids brought home their backpacks for the last time with shouts of joy.

We took a trip to California to visit my family. We have to go to the beach while we are there- it is a requirement! I guess this wave was bigger then the rest and surprised everyone while I was taking the picture. We got home from this trip and I realized I was not in a single picture. I was there, really.

Instead of Mickey's house (which we have visited plenty), we decided to go to Magic Mountain for a change of pace. This was more fun for us older kids who like something a little spicier then the teacups. Kenzie would have been happier at the Happiest Place on Earth, but she was a good sport and got to have her fill of all the kiddie rides, and see super heroes! Tanner and Kylie got their fill of big coasters. Wow, they have a lot at this park. We didn't even get to all of them because our stomachs just couldn't take it.

After the CA trip Paul ran his big 50 mile race. This was the second year he has done this and I am still questioning his sanity, but he made it and this picture proves he was still walking after 12 hours on the trails!

Our next adventure was the Grand Canyon. We hiked down to the area called Havasupai, which is an Indian reservation inside the Canyon with natural springs and beautiful waterfalls. It was so amazing. We went with Paul's dad and brother Kendal and his wife Shannon. Our little girls stayed home with Grandma. The ten mile hike in and out was too much for them! We hiked down in and camped 2 nights before making the trek back out. This is our group ready to hike down early in the morning after spending the night in the parking lot at the top- not my favorite part of the trip!

This is Mooney falls- just one of the gorgeous falls to see down there. The hike from our camp to get to this point was straight down a cliff in parts- freaky. I was praying the chains would hold. So worth it though.

Tanner jumping from one of the falls by our camp. We figured this was about 35 feet- he loved it. I endured the watching of it. But no bones were broken. This was an amazing trip. We are so grateful to our friend David for planning it and letting us join his group!


After a fast day turn around from the Grand Canyon (in which many loads of laundry were washed), Kylie and I were off to our church Young Women's girls camp. Kylie had been last year but this was my first time to go as a leader. We had tons of fun and it was actually quite luxurious after our backpacking adventure, to have a cabin and cots to sleep in and flushing potties. Though there was no hot water and this is on one of the last days with no showers. So I think we look pretty good taking that into consideration. Our camp color was pink and yes I am wearing pearls- it went with our theme! I don't usually camp with jewelry but at girls camp it's a little more feminine.

Paul's last big adventure for June was the Wasatch Back Relay Race. It is a team of 12 (this is the 6 people in his van) and they take turns running on a 190 mile course. It takes them about 24 hours. Last year I drove the van which was a lot of fun, but this year I was still at camp so I missed out on the all night party! Their calves say COD for Crack O' Dawners (team name) and 3 peat because they are serious! Their team had won their division (co-ed submasters, meaning everyone on the team is at least 30 years old) for the last 2 years and they were going for a 3peat. And they won it again. They are crazy good. 1st in their division and 3rd out of 600+ co-ed teams! There were something like 1000 teams this year in the race, it has gotten huge. And yes they are already signed up for next year.
So you can see our June was pretty jam packed and this is a long post! I will report on the rest of our summer later. It will be shorter because there is a lot less happening from here on out!