2 months and lots of stuff later

Wow, time flies. I will try to briefly summarize our last 2 months, but they have been fun and busy, so this post may turn out to be a short novel, with the chapters somewhat in or out of order and TONS of pictures.

Chapter 1: Shingle Springs
I drove out to Shingle Springs, CA (near Sacramento) with my parents to visit my sister Jenni and her husband Dustin. The area is beautiful and peaceful, dense with trees and past
ure land for horses. We went horseback riding, hiking by the river, had a hot dog roast over a bonfire, and most importantly, . . . Jenni is pregnant. She is scheduled to have a baby girl on Dec 21. I can't wait! Jenni and Dustin will be awesome parents!

Chapter 2: Good Old Friends.
My old buddy Kris was in town for work. It is to Kris that I owe my love for mountain biking because he is the one who convinced me to take a mountain biking class when I had never even contemplated the sport before. Appropriately, we attempted to go biking on the Ridge Trail, my favorite trail of all time. Unfortunately the road to the trail head was still closed, my bike decided to brake (meaning that I rode with the brakes on for the entire hour and a half ride), and our ride ended up somewhat in shambles. Luckily we were still able to bike up the canyon road and enjoy the beauty of the mountains in the spring.

Chapter 3: Congratulations Joe!
Joe finished and defended his thesis. After ridiculous amounts of ridiculous formatting changes, Joe was finally given the okay . . . you can be done now. Although he technically doesn't graduate until August, he has received his letter of completion and has been on the job hunt ever since. We had a fun dinner and ice cream with family and friends celebrating the completion of his work.

Chapter 4: American Fork Canyon
We had a weinee/mallow roast up AF canyon with Joe's family. His parents, brother, sister, and their families (including 9 nieces and nephews) were all there. It is always fun to enjoy the beauty and peace of the mountains. The proximity of the mountains is absolutely my favorite thing about living in Utah.

Chapter 5: Happy Anniversary!
Joe and I have been happily married now for 4 years. I love you babe!!!

Chapter 6: Havasupai
We made a last minute decision to go to Havasupai with our friends Jared and Rachel. I think pictures speak louder than words in describing this trip. It was a beautiful and exhausting hike, followed by the great reward of beautiful waterfalls, swimming, cliff jumping and camping out in what we somewhat affectionately named hobo village.

Chapter 7: Happy Independence Day!
We traveled to Idaho Falls for the biggest fire work display west of the Mississippi. We ran the customary Fireworks 5K, watched the oh so impressive IF parade, and then really enjoyed the fireworks, all the while looking forward to the next week because . . .

Chapter 8: Welcome Home Jeffrey!!

My little bro returned from his mission to Brisbane Australia. We met him at the airport, teased him about his Aussie accent, and spent a wonderful week in Idaho with my family, playing frisbee golf, eating good food, listening to Jeff play his didgeridoo, and staying up all night talking. One evening we drove to Jackson, WY and ate at Bar J Wranglers. Basically, it was just awesome to have everyone together for a week (I guess the last time that happened, was oh, about 2 years ago).

Chapter 9: Kayaking
Jenni and Dustin brought 8 kayaks to Idaho with them from California; we had a couple of fun kayaking trips while we were up in Idaho. The first was out to Rirey Reservoir to shore up our kayaking skills. We were able to find some rocks to jump from had a fun, relaxing day, soaking up some sun (which was very much needed as you may surmise from our overly white bodies) and practicing with the paddles.

For the second trip, we paddled 10 miles of the Snake River, found more jumping rocks, and had some more fun, still practicing for the real trip (which I will just have to write about next time, because this novel is coming to a close).

Finally, after tons of fun (with more yet to come, of course) and for better or worse, we are back in Provo with life continuing pretty much as normal.