Summer Stories

I have the funniest mom in the world! I love and appreciate her so much. Since I’ve been out of school we play all the time. They live about a mile from our house so I wake up, pack my back pack, and ride my bike to her house. We work out to Jillian, get ready, quilt and scrapbook. When Derek gets off work I ride back home but most days we go back to my parents for dinner! I am sure they are getting sick of us but we don’t know what we’d do without them- starve for sure! It has been such a blessing having them here so close. We know that soon we will both be buying houses and moving apart so we are just grateful for this special time we have with them. Anyone who knows my parents know how giving and loving they are. They’re wonderful examples to us. We love them.

For Father’s Day we went to Idaho to spend time with my dad and grandpa and to celebrate with Derek’s dad John. We had a blast with everyone but my mom and I stayed for a few days to clean out my stuff in the house and shop. We were looking for our quilting frames in the shop and found them above the little office area. My mom decided she could climb up and hand them all down to me. It all worked out great until she was too scared to climb back down. She stayed up there for about 15 minutes until she got enough courage to slide down to the ladder. It was a little frightening but I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time. We’re both glad she got down safe and when Derek (the safety man) saw the pictures he just said, “not safe”. It wasn’t safe but it was really funny!

I am so grateful for the amazing fathers that I have in my life. My dad is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. He has been through so much in the last few years yet he never questioned his faith and he was always serving others. After 3 different kinds of cancers we are very grateful to have our dad for another Father’s Day. He is our hero! I also have a grandpa who    passed away over 2 years ago. He was the funniest man in the world. He knew everything and he loved to talk to us about everything he knew. He talked to Ryan about dancing. He talked to Nicole about art. And he talked to me about Texas and Spanish. He loved his kids and grandkids and he loved my sweet grandma. We miss him very much. My other grandpa has always been one of my best friends. He calls me his BB (best buddy). I have always had a special connection with him. He just knows me and what I need. He randomly calls on days that I need a little help and he always lifts my spirits. He has been such a great grandfather! John is the newest dad in my life and I love him so much! He was really scary at first but I am learning that he is a big teddy bear. He has welcomed me into their family and I love visiting him. He calls me Petunia and usually takes my side. I love my new dad! Although Derek isn’t a dad yet I know he will be and I am grateful for the man that he is. He tries to help people and is always willing to help. He is fun and easy to be around. I love my sweetie! We all had a great weekend!

   

Our First Camping Trip

We have been wanting to go camping for a while so this weekend we called Tyler, Cassie, BJ, Janna, and Bryant and packed up and drove to Mt. Timpanogas campground. We didn’t do much but it was a blast. We ate tinfoil dinners, peach cobbler, and dutch oven eggs for breakfast. It was all delicious. We got up Saturday morning and started hiking up Timpanogas Trail till we found the snow! We crossed the river and started hiking up the mountain in the snow. We had such a fun time with our family!

   

 

Summer Fun!

I have definitely loved my summer break! I have been enjoying my extra sleeping time and playing with my mom and husband! My mom is making a cute quilt for her spare bedroom and I have been making a Shutterfly scrapbook for my first year of teaching. We have stayed pretty busy. Derek and I have been able to spend some time with family and with each other. We wanted to share some of the fun things going on here!

Memorial Day: We had a great memorial day with the Steiner family in Rexburg. They took us to the Warbirds Cafe in Driggs and then to Jackson Hole. That night we went to the Bar J Wranglers dinner and show. We loved it! We played games with Derek’s brothers and had a delicious BBQ before we left. We are so grateful for John and Judy and all they do thefor us. We love them!

Dirty Dash: A few months ago Derek’s cousin BJ and his wife Jana asked us if we wanted to do a 5K dirty dash with them. It sounded adventurous so we said yes. Tyler and Cassie also signed up so on June 4 we all ran through 3 miles of mud! It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I am not a big runner but I figured I could do 3 miles. But these were no flat easy 3 miles. The first little while was a run through mud uphill. Then we ran for a while on dirt but occasionally had to jump over huge hay bales. Next was more mud and huge walls to climb over. By the end of the first mile we were exhausted and covered in mud. Most of the first half was uphill and really tough but lots of fun. Also included in the dirty obstacle course was a line of tires to jump through, tunnels to climb through, nets to crawl under, hills to climb up, mud and more mud, and to top it off there was a huge bouncy slide to end with! It was one of the greatest things we have ever done. It was hard but it was a blast! The worst part was the freezing water to shower off with before you leave. They provide hot showers for $3 but we thought we would just get the cold shower for free. Not smart! It was the coldest water I have ever felt!! I froze but it was such a fun experience!

Hiking: Derek and I want to do more things outdoors now that it is nice outside. So yesterday we drove up through Draper until we found a trail. We packed our water and sun screen and started walking. We ended up hiking for about 3 hours and found a fun trail. Derek is a great hiking buddy! We had a lot of fun!