Hiking Zion's Subway

Call me crazy, but I woke up at 6 AM this Saturday morning to drive down to Zion's National Park with possibly the cutest boy on planet Earth. We decided to spend the day together hiking The Subway. I had never hiked it before and was not disappointed! With fall just around the corner, the weather was perfect and the trail weaving through the ravine was stunning. We climbed over boulders, splashed through water, and slid down waterfalls all the way to the tunnel carved in the cliff called "The Subway." We held random conversations, laughed a ton, and met people from all over the world. How fortunate are we to live in Utah and to have this beauty within reach! We ended the day cleaning ourselves up and making chicken fettuccine at my house for dinner. Today was the perfect Saturday :)



See? He's pretty dang cute!

Just starting out!




I <3 Fall!

 

The Subway



Inside the Subway



We did it!

Gone Camping

This weekend I escaped the monotony of everyday life to go on a young single adult campout at Navajo Lake. My sister and I headed up the canyon right after work, and the drive alone was enough to make me sing of happiness! The green forest landscape against the vivid red cliffs was absolutely breathtaking. As I took in the sight, I felt the weight from my stressful week begin to lift off my shoulders.


We were half-way to the lake when it began to rain. Hard. Assuming that our ward members had ditched the lake and headed for cover, we passed Navajo Lake in search of the cabin we would be lodging in that night. We had a map and instructions to follow the signs with orange tape. Well, the map was nothing but a line scribbled on a half-sheet of paper and there were NO signs with orange tape to be found. The dirt road quickly became a mud slide streaming with water. After about a half-hour of searching in frustration, we decided to give up and get a pizza in town instead. But just as we were passing Navajo Lake, we saw a figure standing on the side of the road. As we got closer, I peered through my window and realized it was the YSA bishop from the 12th ward! He flagged us down and said that everyone was down by the lake having dinner. Hallelujah!



Navajo Lake

The sun started to break through the clouds as we ate our hamburgers grilled on the camp stove, and the rain let up just enough so we could go walk around the edge of the lake. The water reflecting the sky was stunning, and I couldn't get enough of that fresh mountain air in my lungs! After exploring for a bit, we had our stake president Brother Esplin speak to us for a fireside. He spoke about Satan's biggest tool - discouragement. He said discouragement is dangerous because it allows for us to look back at things that happened in the past and lose hope for our future. We discussed different ways we can continue to live life with hope and remember our worth, such as relying on the Savior's atonement, looking to positive role models in our lives for guidance, staying true to our values, etc. I felt truly inspired by the topic, and the discussion combined with the beautiful mountain backdrop made me feel revitalized.









Members of YSA 2nd Stake
 

After the fireside, we played volleyball on the lake's edge until it was too dark to see. Then we loaded into our vehicles to head to the cabin. By sheer miracle, by Dodge Stratus made it down the winding, muddy path to the cabin hidden in the forest. The place was quaint, complete with a vintage cook stove and a massive stone fireplace in the center of the living room. We played the card game Scum for awhile and then the girls went to bed upstairs while the men set up a tent outside. Although the mattress was lumpy and I had seen way too many large insects crawling around for comfort, I fell asleep immediately and woke up bright and early the next morning for breakfast. The bishop from the 12th ward cooked us pancakes, eggs, and sausage on the camp stove, and it was delicious! It had rained all night so the world seemed shiny and new. We took a group picture and headed for home. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to breathe in some fresh air this weekend and clear my head. Sometimes life gets so crazy busy, and it takes going somewhere new to disconnect from all that & find yourself again. I feel more alive among the trees.

"Yay pioneers!"

Mormon pioneers

pi·o·neer noun : 1. a person or group that opens up or prepares for others to follow.

The Mormon pioneers made it to Utah July 24, 1847

Yesterday I had the privilege to celebrate "Pioneer Day," or the 24th of July, with the rest of the state of Utah. To start the day off right, my sister and I met up with a bunch of friends on Main Street for the city parade. We laid a blanket out on the side of the street and cheered as people walked by dressed as their pioneer ancestors pulling handcarts. We compiled quite the stash of candy and popsicles during the course of the parade. I guess some things never change! 

After the parade, we headed to Great Harvest for a yummy lunch and then walked around the city park for awhile. After lounging in the grass and giving each other fake tattoos, we decided to cool off at the city reservoir. The water was so cold we could only bear to go in up to our waists, and then we'd freak out whenever we thought a fish touched us. One guy even ran out of the water screaming a fresh-water eel had grazed his leg. Chaz, our friend from the Caribbean, said very seriously, "There are no eels in this water." Yeah. We always have a good time.

Well, the reservoir quickly became a little too cool for us after it started to downpour. Welcome to Cedar City in July. Although the thunder was quite impressive as it echoed across the water, we decided to ditch the beach and make chicken parmesan for dinner instead. There is something about a rainy summer's afternoon that is so comforting to me. I loved the feeling of spending time with good company: pots and pans clattering, people laughing, distant thunder and the smell of rain wafting through the windows. Could life be any more perfect? Yes, yes it can because we followed dinner with cheesecake and the movie "Star Dust," which is probably one of the best movies ever made. We ended the night with a bang by playing some mud volleyball in the Stadium Way Apartments volleyball pit. Due to the thunderstorm, the pit was full of wet sand and big puddles of rain water. We slipped off our shoes and had a ball running around in the squishy sand, splashing water and oozing sand between our toes. For one hilarious moment we tried to use the parking lot garbage can to scoop up some of the water, which worked to no avail. The night air was so clean and fresh, and there were fireworks exploding  in the air all around us as we played two rousing games of mud volleyball. I am so fortunate to have such a great group of friends!

Brent, David, Chaz, me, and Quinn at the parade.

 

I am even more fortunate to come from a strong pioneer heritage. My pioneer ancestors on my mother's side traveled all the way to America from England. The two women were sisters, who also happened to be royal duchesses, and after meeting two Mormon missionaries on the street one day they snuck away on a ship to come to Zion. They gave up all their riches and comforts of life in exchange for hope of a better future. These women packed only the bare necessities in a little wooden handcart and made the treacherous trek across the continent to settle in Utah. I can only imagine the determination, the pain, the relief that these women, and countless others, must have felt on their journey.  And I can only hope that if I were to be  given the same opportunity, I would have the strength and courage to take it. I owe everything to my ancestors. I would not be where I am today without them, and I will be forever grateful for their sacrifices. I am hopeful that I can continue to honor our family name  as a latter-day pioneer by paving the way for future generations to follow. 

Sweet Summertime

I cannot believe it is the middle of JULY already. Times flies when you're having fun! Here's a sneak peek of what I have been up to these past two months.

My sister Katie moved in with me the beginning of June, and it has been one adventure after another!
Here we are at the Green Show, a public performance the Utah Shakespeare Festival puts on every summer.
 

Cedar City hosts Groovefest every summer at the city park.
My sister and I met up with a bunch of my coworkers to jam out to the bands!

 

At the July Jamboree. Main Street was flooded with sports cars,
BBQ vendors, and free entertainment.




I really liked this sassy '69 Ford Mustang ;)

At the same time as the July Jamboree, Cedar City had a Renaissance Fair
in the park with some pretty legit stuff.

"Do your best gladiator face."