A Pictureless Post

Alas, my camera cord has gone missing in the move. So the fun post I was going to do about our new house and Spring Mountain Ranch will just have to wait because who wants to read a post without pictures, right?!

Hanging Out in Hyrum

Happy Belated Fourth of July!  In celebration of our nations independence, Julie and I spent some time with her family in her mom's hometown of Hyrum, UT.  It was really fun, it turned into a mini-Keeley family reunion.  I think Megan said it best while she was talking to Julies mom-"I think I understand you a little better now that I know where you come from."  The Keeley family is so kind and welcoming, and they definitely have a sense of humor.  I had so much fun getting to meet aunts and uncles and cousins.  I also loved the fact that the temperature there was so mild.  This first picture was taken in the cool old cemetery that is just by Grandma Keeley's house, it's one of their favorite places to go and walk around.  There are some very old graves that have awesome grave markers and huge ornate mausoleum-esque tombs.  I found a few Andersons there, but I don't think I'm related to any of them.

 The other happening scene in Hyrum (besides the graveyard) is the 4th of July Parade!  When we got to Hyrum on Friday, people had been setting up chairs and marking off spaces for the parade on Monday.  They would seriously set up chairs and canopies and lay out blankets and just leave them there!  Hyrum is pretty serious about their parades.  The parade itself was pleasant enough, they had some really cool floats.  Julie revealed to me that all girls want to wear a pretty ball gown and ride on a float, so to that end we are working on our boss to create a "Ms. Vision Source" title for Julie.  I also discovered that if you are on a float, you can throw things at people all you want, and they are generally ok with it.  I watched a girl get pelted in the back of the head with a handful of candy, she was a little upset at first, but then she picked it up and was fine.  The candy was the definitive motivating drive for attendance.  Kids had sacks and pillow cases to pick up all the candy that the floats were throwing out, I think Jimmy was a little overwhelmed by all the kids scrambling for it at first, but he ended up with a decent sized sack.  All in all it was a great time.  Julie will be back to update you in our next post about our most recent adventure.  But here are some pictures of what we and some of our family members have been up to.  Thanks again for everyone that helped out!

Hyrum Graveyard with lots of mosquitoes-apparently Julie's blood is delicious, I think she got 4 on this walk alone.

Here are some happy parade goers-here you can see some of the prime real estate that was reserved days in advance.

Megan took this picture for us literally over her shoulder without looking.  Hence my somewhat confused expression.

I don't know why they bother setting up chairs, once the parade starts everyone ends up in the street anyway.

They did not throw candy, that is why no one is clapping or cheering for them.

Why yes, I do enjoy shelves.

Believe it or not, we are not keeping the stencil in the background.

Uncle Sam (and Linda) want you! to come help paint.

Thanks dad for all your help and Gatorade!

Making Kids Happy!

Today I did two things to make kids happy. The first for others kids and the second for my future children.

1. I donated my hair to Locks of Love. 16 inches of dark blonde thick hair that will make some little girl suffering with cancer feel pretty. I like my new short haircut, but let's be honest, I am a long hair person. Am I going to grow it back out? Much to my dad's relief, YES! Thanks you so much to my lovely sister-in-law who cut my hair for me. Thanks Kirsten.
Nathan wanted to experience this with me but alas his hair was not long enough so we just cut off the side-mullet he had been growing.

Before

It's kind of gross, right?

The after. A rockin A-line.

Side Mullet

The disappearing act

That is a lot of hair.

2. I bought a doll house! Every little girls dream. I saw it and had to have it. I hope we have girls, but if we only have boys they can use it for a fort for their army men because I had to have it. My future posterity (and the little girl inside me) NEEDED it. Be jealous.

Front

Back

Cool stuff for inside

Hikers

So lately it seems most of our dates end up being hikes with my family. I am fine with this. Nathan, who does not love hiking as much as I do, is good to accompany me.

A few weeks ago we hiked Lady Mountain at Zions with Dad, Robert, his love Claire and the Jensens. It was pretty intense. You could see Angels Landing and the people there looked like ants. We could see the tops of all the mountains around us. It is also a lot more exposed than Angels Landing, meaning there are lots more places you could fall to your death. FUN, right? Luckily no one died this time around. It used to be a park trail until they closed it in the 1940s...something about being too dangerous. We live on the edge. Here are some fun pictures. I put my hand in some of them so you would have something to scale with it is not that I am the worst picture taker ever.

Zions Park Lodge from less than 1/2 way up

Robert and Claire sittin in a tree...

Metal wheel points to all the other peaks

I was told there would be a register. I was lied to.

There are trees on top of the mountains at Zions. You just never see them, unless you're a bird. We did see birds flying below us when we were at the top.

Yes I am wearing brown books with black pants. What?

Lady Mountain

Then we had the Davis family reunion, which was awesome and while everyone else played the super intense soccer game which Nathan and I accidentally slept through the beginning of ( probably an effect from the Lady Mountain hike the day before) we took Jimmy up the mountain.

Then last weekend we woke up way too early for a Saturday so we could hike up to Big Falls at Mt. Charleston with Dad and Amy. Yes that is snow that you see in the picture. It is just starting to feel like summer here. We have been really lucky weather wise.

Jackets in June..in Vegas?!?

Yes, Amy and I are both rockin our GC T-shirts.

Guess how I got down the mountain.

Tomorrow I am off to Kolob to do some more hiking at Girl's Camp. My family was supposed to go up this weekend to help set up as per tradition, but it ended up not happening with all the snow that they got the roads were worse than what we thought was safe with the van. Not going to lie, I almost cried. I LOVE that tradition, and it was probably the last year Amy Linda and I would have been up there with Dad. Oh well, during the Millennium I am sure we will go camping there again. That mountain is part of my soul. I am pretty sure I helped with it during the creation. I probably could have still gone up by myself, but it just wouldn't have been the same. This week I came to the realization that what I really love about Kolob is Girls Camp and all the wonderful stake people that I love that are there, but mostly it is that I had a whole week each summer to spend working alongside my dad and sisters. I am going to miss that.

My mountain home

Conquering the Mountain

Saturday we woke up at 4:30 in the morning to prove to my dad that we could make it on the hike we are planning for family reunion Memorial Day weekend. This prep hike required us to hike Sunrise/Frechman Mountain. We went early because this mountain is nothing but rock so it gets hot really fast and so that Dad and Amy could make it back to clean the church building (we did not make it back in time for this).
This mountain and I do not have a good history. I have hiked it a few times in the past and gotten lost EVERY time. Don't ask me how I do it, I'm just that talented. My dad reminded me that my very emotional response the last time we hiked it was "I will never hike this mountain again as long as I live." Umm...so I lied. BUT yesterday I conquered it. I did not get majorly lost, minorly a few times. Why they put me in front knowing my history I am still not sure, but I made it all the way up and back and lived to tell about it. We saw two rattlesnakes and our knees almost gave out but we made it.

 (Dad was taking the picture)

 The whole group at the top!

After the hike Nathan and I went down some stairs together and looked like we were at least 90. We started to go down holding hands but necessity left us clinging to the rail and easing ourselves down the stairs. Not gonna lie it was pretty funny.

Anniversary

Nathan and I have officially enjoyed one year together as of today. I love him and am looking forward to spending eternity with him. To celebrate yesterday we went to the temple and did a session and sealing together to remember those wonderful covenant and promises of one year ago. Today we celebrated mothers day with both of our wonderful mothers and loved it. I know it doesn't sound like much of a celebration but for us it was perfect.

Here's a few pictures of what we have been up to lately.

We made delicious food, including almost a gallon of strawberry jam.

We went Hiking in Red Rock.

Nathan survived a weekend alone while Megan and I went off to California for our ANNUAL SPRING BREAK ROADTRIP.

We helped Linda with her Victorian picture project for her class.

In the process of doing my hair for this, I looked like the Cowardly Lion. Like I'm straight out of The Wizard of Oz.

We went for Sunday afternoon walks in our complex.

We made cards for our Grandmas and mothers.

I went on the Railroad tunnels hike out at the Dam to get ready for camp.

We love life together!