Little Wild Horse Canyon and Goblin Valley- Roadtrip!!

Last week I decided that since most on my roommates were moving, I too needed to get out of Provo. I figured that Goblin Valley was only a few hours away and I always wanted to go there, so it was the perfect one day get away :) Unfortunately, I sprained my ankle on Friday so I couldn't run around as much as I wanted- in fact I gimp-hobbled my way through everything. But I've never been one to do the prudent thing and stay home, so away I went!

I first stopped at Earlene's house in Emery and she showed me around the town and their farm on their dune buggy. It was awesome! I've never really been in a little town like that :) I then finished my drive and decided to "hike" through Little Wild Horse Canyon before continuing on to Goblins.

Little Wild Horse is a slot canyon, so it gets very narrow and has the coolest formations. I actually did slip through all these little spaces :)

Me squeezing through the canyon.

I just love this slot canyon- little waves of color and rock everywhere. Of course, I kept looking at everything with a rock climber's eye: maybe if I grabbed here, I could reach to there... I really wanted to climb the walls!

I played with the timer function on my camera and got a few shots of myself.

Probably I had a little too much fun with it :)

After a while the canyon narrowed too much for me to continue hobbling over rocks, so I drove a couple miles down the road to Goblin Valley!

Goblins are cool formations left behind from the time when this was a tidal flat of a large, inland sea. I like them cuz they have so much character :)

Me and the Goblins. There weren't very many people there at that time, so I actually wandered around surrounded by silence for the most part. It was very peaceful :)

I liked this guy especially. He's actually really huge when you're standing next to him. It was a great adventure and wonderful to leave Utah valley for a day. Next time I go I'll make sure I'm not a gimp so I can hike everywhere and climb a few walls!

Shelly's final pre-miss days

As many of you know, last Wednesday my little sissy Michelle entered the MTC on her way to the Porto, Portugal mission. It was a crazy whirlwind getting her there with everything done- she had to finish up finals for the semester, move out and clean out her apartment, and visit home one last time- but we managed and she is now learning Portugese 24/7.
They've changed how missionaries are dropped off. Instead of escorting them inside, you literally drop them at the curb and wave goodbye! So on Tuesday night, we decided to drive up to the MTC and take a few of the customary missionary farewell pics, sans the sunday best.

We deided the theme here was "All The Single Ladies", even though Jenny's not single :P I'm sure that Shelly will be a wonderful, spiritual, and awesome missionary and I wish her the best! It will be hard not having my buddy with me for the next little while, but I guess I'll just have to branch out and make new friends. Preferrably some who will travel with me all over the world. Any takers?

Luau- He Huaka'i Aloha

This year's Luau, He Huaka'i Aloha, talked about the journey of the missionaries to the Polynesian islands. I was in the Hawai'i section and danced the Pa Lua- couples dance :) It was so much fun! So here are some pictures from the show! Above is Shelby and me.

Eva, Eileen, and me. Eileen danced in Hawaii too, but the slow dance of Auana (I might not have spelled that right).
Roomies!!! Lynnell, Eva, and me.
Rachel Ann, Rachel, and me :) The other girls also danced in New Zealand and did amazing!
Kumu Keoki- he did great as Eva's dance partner :)
Rachel and me again.
Me and my dance partner, Erwin :)
Eva and I and some random guy. But seriously, he said that we should take a picture of the 3 of us and hopped right in :)
Me and Eva :) Luau is so great and even though I won't miss getting up early on Saturday mornings, I'm already looking forward to next year!

Girl's Night Out With Shelly

Shelly and I decided to have our own little girl's party Friday night. We saw "Leap Year" and then went out to Chinatown restaurant!

Good food, good fun, good times all over the place :) Thanks Shel for being a great sister!!

Living Legends!!

Since I am in charge of enrichment in my ward and can do whatever I want, I decided that my girls needed to discover their inner brown. That coupled will a large, leftover budget last year prompted me to buy our Relief Society tickets to Living Legends. It was awesome as only Living Legends can be!!! Thanks to all who came and especially to the dancers!! You are amazing!!

The girls with Eva after she beautifully sang Go My Son.
My hooper, Cheyenne, who hit both circles tonight!! Whoot whoot!!

The magic backstage coordinated by our own Lauren :)

Eva!!! Rockin' the dances and shining on stage; she was awesome :)

Jake was full of energy as always and did a spectacular job!!

It's been fun getting to know more people in legends thanks to Eva and Jake. Loving every minute of it and I can't wait to dance my own performances in Luau and Pow Wow this year!!

Christmas With The Fam In Arizona!

Christmas at home this year!! Fun times with the fam :) I wasn't always great at taking pictures, but here are a few to give you an idea of what crazy shinanigans occurred at the end of the last year.

Dad discovered long boarding.

Phil decided to be a deranged lumberjack (it's actually my ax and I'm so excited to chop some wood with it!).
Jenny- the point of sweetness in our rather sarcastic family.
Reading all the books we got for Christmas!!

Since in AZ Christmas is fairly warmish, Shelly Dad and I went on a hike to Picacho Peak. This is the trail starting point.

We kind of wore Dad out just a little, but he kept trucking along. Mostly cuz we made him :) Love you Dad!!

The northern side of Picacho before we crossed to the other side and ascended the peak.

Dad and I at the Saddle.

Did a little rock climbing on the hike :)
The trail is pretty up and down and steep all the way up. Fun times!
The southern side. I love AZ!
So steep they even installed cables to help the weary hiker :)
Shelly and Dad pondering the view from the top!!

Now the actual view :)
Love the AZ sunsets!

The shadow of Picacho on the valley floor. Mmm pretty sunset.

We finished our hike right as the sun finished setting and the moon was ascending over the peak. Such a gorgeous 4 hour hike! Christmas break was great and I'm so glad I got to spend time at home. Love you fam and Happy New Years!!

BIrthday Fun Times

My 27th birthday fell on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so only Lynnell and I were around to celebrate. And this we did by watching BYU defeat the U of U at the football game!! Oh the sweetness of a birthday victory!! Lynnell invited me over to her sister's house after the game, and Cami made me a birthday cake with candles and everything :)

After everyone got back from vacation, we decided to go to the Texas Roadhouse in Lehi for some tasty treats :) This pic is of us before leaving for dinner in front of the Christmas tree we put up. I love Christmas!
Every Texas Roadhouse has a unique mural painted specifically for it. The owners of this one thought that natives were more American than cowboys, and we all agreed :) So this is Lynnell, me, Kaylan, Candace, and Eva. I always forget how pale I am until I see myself in pictures with them. I guess I just think my inner brown should be more obvious than it is :) Thanks for the awesome birthday guys!!