Whirlwind Summer

This summer has been a whirlwind of driving and hot weather. Dave and I have logged a lot of hours in the car, mostly heading north. We have loved going to cooler weather during the weekend. Each time we come back to St. George and step out of the car, I think, yep it is still hot here. Hopefully the heat breaks soon, but after being here for a second summer, I definitely have a hard time with the desert summer.
Here is my list of our summer traveling adventures:
July 4th - Smithfield & Malad: We enjoyed a few days in Smithfield with Dave's family, watching fireworks etc. and then we headed to Malad for my 10 year class reunion and time with my parents

July 16th- Idaho: The Ranch & Tubbs Family Reunion: We had a great time camping with my sister's family at The Ranch (my grandparent's homestead). I loved breathing in the cool fresh air, hiking to the cave, four wheeling, and just having a great time. On Saturday, we headed to Indian Spring, to swim and enjoy being with my whole family. It was really fun and relaxing weekend.

July 25th- Salt Lake City & Ogden: My dear friend, Susie got married and so we headed to her very fun reception in Salt Lake City. It was so beautifully done with lots of fun food and great visiting time with dear friend from Jerusalem. We then headed to Ogden to spend the night at Dave's brother's house and see his family. It was fun to be with them and their kids.

July 31st- Beaver: The Gardner's family reunion was held up a mountain by Beaver for the second time. We were so excited to go to this one, because we knew what to expect and how fun the campground is. There is a lake, nice hikes/ walks/, bathrooms, canoes, auction, and fun family time. After the reunion, Dave's family came back to St. George and stayed with us for a few days and we enjoyed a weekend with them.

August 8th- Boulder, Ut: Last weekend we headed to see Dave's Grandma and Grandpa Gardner. This was a really relaxing and beautiful weekend. I had never gone to their ranch before and it was a lot of fun to spend time getting to know then and seeing a new part of Utah. It is beautiful up there and very secluded from anyone. We had a nice time hiking, cooking, playing games, reading, and just enjoying the country air and beautiful scenery.

August 14th- Mt. Carmel/ Orderville, Ut: We just got back from going over the mountain to Dave's other grandma's house. I wanted to do some recuriting for my programs at the Kane County Fair and we also wanted to visit Dave's Grandma Mona. We had a fun time doing both. Their county fair is much different than my home one in Idaho, but it was fun to remember all the years that I spent being a part of that one and it made me miss it. I also was glad to get the word out about my programs and hopefully I can get some volunteers to join. I was grateful that Dave could come and help and be with me too.
So that is our whirlwind of a summer so far. We still have a couple more things in the works, but they are things that are closer to St. George. It has been so fun to see family, but I also am really appreciating being at home. Dave and I don't want to go any where far until the december holidays. I am doubting that will happen, we just have a hard time staying put. :)
Here are a few pictures from the past little while. Enjoy!

Surprise Date

Dave took me on a surpise date to Tuachn to watch some bull riding. It was so much fun to watch the Professional Bull Riders and to be with Dave. I just love rodeos and bull riding. I am glad that Dave is coming around to the country lifestyle. I am hoping we can go to a few rodeos this summer. Also the seats and view was great!

Karen comes to visit

 We were so excited to have Karen, aka sheryl's mom, come to visit for a few days in sunny St. George. I was hoping that the weather would indeed be sunny, one can never quite tell. We had a busy and fun weekend. A few things we did were to go to Brigham Young's Winter Home. Pretty cool, especially all the things they did with the wood to make it look fancy. We also ate at some fun places, like Judd's General Store and the Pizza factory. One day we went hiking in Zion's it was really busy, but also very beautiful. In-between those things my mom and I got to spend alot of time catching up and having fun girls talk. We were so glad that Karen could come and visit us and see where we live and all the red rocks. Love ya!

Reflection: Wedding Photos

I have been creating a photo book of my wedding photos. It has been really fun to reminisce about that day and our dating days.

Dave has been out of town lately and it has taken me back to my single days. I feel so lucky to have meet Dave and to enjoy being married to him!

Hope everyone has a lovely Saturday!

Washing Machine

Last week, Dave and I acquired a broken washing machine for FREE! This was made possible by our neighbors who asked us how to get rid of it (it has been sitting on their front porch quite some time) and then offered it to Dave, probably so he could scrap it. Dave is amazing and figured out what was wrong with it. We are not awaiting a part and crossing our fingers that it works.

We do have hook ups for a washer and dryer in our townhouse, but we have opted to go to the laundry mat for the last year. It worked out to be about the same amount of money. The laundry mat has provided a lot of entertainment and stories, but it would be quite nice to be able to wash those undies at home and stop gaining mass amounts of quarters.

Here's to hoping and waiting to see if this washer was meant to be ours.

San Diego: Day 4

Our last day of vacation was mostly spent driving home on back highways and even historic route 99. The drive was broken up by a few stops. We started it by looking around Slab City and exploring their golf course. We also walked around and admired Salvation Mountain. If you want to know more about it visit their official website. http://www.slab-city.com/ 

It is a fascinating city, basically made up of people living a more free kind of lifestyle. I don't really know how to describe it all, so just look at the website, it is interesting. Salvation Mountain is pretty cool too, this guy spent a long, long time creating this art work. 

 After this, our next stop was the Salton Sea. Also an interesting place with a lot of history. It reminded me of the Great Salt Lake but a little less salty and smelly.

 After this we drove for a little ways and enjoyed the agricultural. A museum for General Patton caught Dave's eye and so we made a little detour. Interesting man. 

Our last day was still good, a little long of a drive home, but Dave and I enjoyed being together. We had such a fun vacation and time in San Diego and everywhere in-between.

San Diego: Day 3

We started our last day in San Diego with a walk on the beach. It was quite lovely and a little sad to leave the water. 

We then headed to church and then to the Mormon Battalion Site. It is located in the old part of San Diego. We loved this lds church site. It was so fun and interactive. I learned a ton about the men and women who served the USA in this capacity. So cool! 

It was such a fun time wandering around Old Town San Diego. It had a fun vibe and was full of historic sites and shops. 

We then drove to Slab City. The drive took about 3 hours and the drive was really interesting and beautiful. It was crazy to think how close we were driving to Mexico. Day 3 was a great day and it was nice to drive a different way and stop somewhere new on the way home. We stayed in Slab City for the night and our host Ray was interesting to talk to and learn about his lifestyle and the area.  More about that on Day 4.