Halloween & Visit from the Parents!

My mom and dad came to visit Erica and I on Erica's birthday! It couldn't have been more perfect timing because it was right in the middle of our time at Jacob Lake. It was so fun to have them and show them all our favorite things to do! 

We met them in St. George and went to dinner with my cousin who also lives in St. George and then relaxed at our hotel! We woke up Saturday and headed up to Jacob Lake! We took them to the Grand Canyon, took them to dinner and enjoyed being guests at the lodge rather than employees for once! 

When they left on Sunday I was so sad! I wanted to go with them more than anything and it seemed like we still had {forever} to go! But I sucked it up and stuck it out...and I'm so glad I did! :] 

This is a view called Angel's Window at the Canyon!  

I'm really going to miss being able to see this view whenever I want! 

 For Halloween they told us we could dress up! I decided to dress up like a scarecrow last minute! I was confused all day for a cowgirl rag doll but I don't care it was a fun day! 

Jacob Lake So Far.....

Internet is very limited so I'm not able to post as much so this is a wrap up of the last month for Erica and I! 

Jacob Lake is located about 45 minutes from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We are about 1.5 hours from St. George! The weeks go by like days but the days are like weeks! We never know our schedule until the day before so life is really unpredictable but I've had to learn to be ok with that! We are well into our fourth week here at Jacob lake and I can certainly tell this is going to be an amazing experience for both Erica and I. I can also honestly say I would not be able to do this if Erica was not here! We are having so much fun and meeting so many new people! I think it will be harder to leave here than it was to come! 

To be quite honest....

When we first arrived I cried! I saw what the place looked like and I thought to myself I am living at girls camp for the next four months! But luckily it has not been nearly as bad as I anticipated or first thought! Sure the living conditions are not my favorite but the experience and adventure we get to have makes up for all the rest!

Jacob Lake has certainly been an adventure! most nights consist of bon fires, ultimate frisbee or watching movies. 

Ok so my job is in the Gift shop, and I LOVE IT! I really did not expect to come into this job and catch on so fast, and feel as comfortable as I do. My bosses are so nice and patient when we make mistakes and I am learning so much about the Native American Culture that I never would have even cared to learn about before. It's amazing how much talent and skill they have to create the art that they do! Let's just say it's pretty cool!

So like I said life is pretty unpredictable, you never really know when your going to be off or what shift you are working next. But luckily Erica and I were able to have our first few days off together. We went to the Grand Canyon, explored St. George, and relaxed! 

Day by day it feels like we are in the Groundhog Day movie, we do the same thing! But at the same time it's an adventure and I always think to myself how glad I am that I did this! I am making the best memories and taking advantage of this time in my life and I am so happy about that! 

Rain storms always bring out the prettiest side of Arizona! 

(We had a 1920's dress up party)

Cabin Trip 2014!

My family did our annual big trip to the cabin the first week of August! It was a great trip and we always leave more anxious for the next year to come! We started our trip out by heading into Yellowstone to have dinner and then go to the IMAX to see Disney Bears! It was adorable and I would totally see it again! 

The next day Erica, Holli, My dad and myself headed into the park around 5:30 ish AM! We were on a bear hunt and came up short with only seeing a couple but the memories we made make up for the lack of wild animals! We also went to The Top of The World! It was so pretty! 

We met the rest of my family for the traditional picnic in the park and continued on to find hundreds of thousands of buffalo and a few bull elk! 

The next day we went to the lake and played around. We went paddle boarding, went boating and just had fun! This is something that we will surely do again! It was so much fun and was a different adventure for us to do. 

The next day was a relaxing one! Some of us floated the river, some just watched movies and read, and some went for rides! These days tend to be my favorite because it's just wonderful to actually relax on a vacation rather than a busy busy schedule! 

The trip came to an end and we sadly had to say good-bye to Hyle for four months because Erica and were on our way to work in Arizona! 

Life has so far been great...really busy but really great too! 

Summer wrap up!

This last week Holli and I went to Utah to visit our sister Shawna who was moving apartments. We helped her move and in return she showed us a great time! 

We left Sunday after church and once we got there we realized we didn't have an air pump for our air mattress so we headed to Wal-Mart. Shawna may have parked a little too close to a mini-van because when we came out our car was a little messed with! The wind-shield wipers were flipped around, the rear-view mirrors were turned inside and we just thought, "that is what we get for going to Wal-Mart on Sunday!" I thought I had a picture but I think my phone died right as I took the pictures, so your imagination will just have to do! 

Monday morning we decided to go for a hike! We hiked to this place called Donut Falls! It was such a fun hike!  The falls we hiked to came through what looks like a donut hole, hence the name "donut falls". It was really cold but really to go in! After words we began packing and cleaning her apartment. 

After we finished our cousin Lisa invited us over for a hot dog roast, and s'mores! It was so fun! It was a pretty eventful night but I'll talk more about that later! We watched TV, played hide and go seek, and just hung out it was really fun! 

Emma loves my sister Shawna, and when it was time to leave she did not want her to go! She hung onto her leg all around the house and when we went to take a picture she posed like this haha! She is sure a cute girl! 

Tuesday I had an interview for a job so we spent most of that day packing and cleaning again. 

Tuesday night we went to the Drive-In movie which was really fun because I've never gone to a drive-in before! 

Wednesday we moved all of Shawna's stuff into her new apartment! That was a lot of work! She lived on the third floor so moving everything up was quite a workout but it was all very worth it! 

Thursday we cleaned her old apartment all morning and then went to Seven Peaks all afternoon! Going to Seven Peaks really made all the hard work worth it! It was so much fun! 

All week Shawna had been talking about this place called the MovieGrille. It's basically just what it says, except you sit in the most luscious and cozy recliners, they bring you a menu and you order dinner and watch a movie! So after Seven Peaks we decided we would not have another chance for a while to go so we thought what the heck! We left Seven Peaks at 6:00, and the movie started at 7:10. It took and hour to get there and we had no change of clothes! So we made a quick trip to walmart to buy a change of sweats and some blankets and then we were off to the movie in our swimsuits! It was sure an adventure, but sitting in those chairs made up for it! It was honestly the only way I want to ever watch a movie again! So wonderful! 

Friday we packed up and headed home! It was a really fun and exciting week! 

So the interview that I went in for was for a job in Arizona! There is a resort called Jacob Lake about 45 mins from the Grand Canyon. My sister Erica is doing an internship there and they needed some more help and one thing led to another and I decided to defer a semester and go have an adventure! I am so stinking nervous but the way everything just fell into place I know it is what I need to be doing! We leave next week and it's coming a lot faster than I anticipated but it will be a great experience and I am excited to not have any homework for a while! 

America's Birthday

Happy Birthday America!

This past week my family got to go to the cabin in Island Park! It is our favorite place to vacation; I’ve been going there since before I can even remember! This is the first time, I can remember, that we went over the 4^th of July and it has now become my favorite time to be there!

Before we headed up to the cabin we started the week off with a bang with the annual Rupert, fireworks! I went to a play with my neighbors and met my mom at our usual spot for the fireworks, got some infamous kettle corn and enjoyed our little town’s traditions!

Wednesday morning I headed off by myself to Rexburg to get Holli and Heidi who were ecstatic to join me in the journey to Island Park!

We arrived and just hung around because that is the best thing to do but we eventually ventured out for a moose drive which came up hopeless until we drove on the cabin road and were greeted by not 1 but 2 moose! It was a great start to our trip!

Thursday we went swimming and then a thunderstorm rolled through so we decided to go on another moose drive and were able to see 4 moose 2 moms and 2 babies! The babies we so cute! We could have watched them forever!

Everyone else came up that afternoon/night and we enjoyed another night of relaxing and hanging around the cabin!

Friday we decided to celebrate America’s birthday by floating down the Buffalo Rive just a couple miles from our cabin. We also saw a bull moose not far from the cabin just before the float trip.

Floating was quite the adventure! When we float the river at home we just use inner tubes from the tire store. Well this river was a lot more shallow and had a lot of rocks! We made it through the first part just fine and were willing to go on. As we went we thought it was better than the first part, but it eventually got way worse, and we were split up with the rest of the group. Erica, Holli and I trudged through the water and eventually decided to just get out and go find a phone because there was no way our tubes were going anywhere. We got my dad and he came to get us and the rest of the group said it never got better so we were smart to get out when we did.

We went into West Yellowstone to watch the fireworks and had a great rest of our night!

Saturday we decided to do a re-do float trip and went down Box canyon which was way more fun and exciting than the first day! We had a few rapids and the weather was perfect, it was a great way to end the trip! We had plenty of sun for a while and decided to call it a day!

This was one of the best trips we have been on! We relaxed and had a lot of fun! I can’t wait to go back up in a couple of weeks for a longer!