Jackson Hole: Take Two!

This last week I got to go to Jackson Hole again. I know I went two weeks ago, but Jackson is so wonderful, I don’t mind going twice in a summer (honestly, I wouldn’t mind living there for the entire summer!) This time I went with my parents, my little brother, my SIL Liz, niece Madison, and my friend Bethany. Unfortunately, the rest of our family couldn’t come due to work, but we still tried to have fun ;)

We left on Wednesday morning and arrived in Jackson late in the afternoon. The trip was a bit long (and filled with lots of construction and accidents) but we finally got there! That night it was over to the Bar-J Wranglers for a yummy dinner and a great show!

We woke up early the next day to get ready to hit the Snake River. Maddie kept us all entertained as we got breakfast ready.

While our family generally takes a raft down the river, my dad and I have always wanted to try rafting the river in duckies (little two person rafts). Since we had less people with us on this trip we decided that it was the perfect opportunity! Dad and Eric went down in one, and Bethany and I went down in the other (the duckies really didn’t appeal to Mom or Liz, so Bethany came along to be my rafting buddy) Here we are before we set off on our adventure!

I have always loved river rafting, but never been in charge of guiding the boat! Bethany had never rafted the river before, so it was my responsibility to get us in the right place and not get us killed! I got quite the workout and ended up putting us in lots of eddies! On our first trip down I didn’t see a rock in front of us, and we ended up stuck on top of the rock! My dad and brother were further downstream, and couldn’t stop laughing. Right at the end of the first trip we hit a rough rapid sideways that almost threw both of us out of the boat, but just Bethany was lucky enough to go swimming!

By the second trip down we had gotten the hang of things and enjoyed the rapids! It was awesome! I will definitely be going down the river in one of these things again!

That night we went back to camp and enjoyed tin foil dinners and peach cobbler. I love camping food! I don’t think it gets much better!

We headed home Friday morning. It was a short trip, but very enjoyable!

The Adventures of Paula and Katie

This weekend my MTC companion, Paula, came from a land far, far away to spend the weekend with me. We did lots of random things, spoke Portuguese, and had a great time! Here is a glimpse of some of the things that we did . . .

P & K at Lagoon:

P & K Take a Hike:

P & K get smoothies after the hike: (Yes, we are gross here, we had just climbed a mountain!)

P & K taste cheese on a cheese tour: (P's favorite was Squeaky cheese, I liked the Jalapeno cheddar)

P & K go shopping :

P & K & friend Kim Make (and eat) Beans and Rice, YUM:

It was great! After Paula left my Mom commented that she now understands why we got along so well, because we are so much alike! Thanks for coming, Paula!

Summer Prep

I DID IT! I AM DONE! (at least until the end of August) It feels so good! I took my last test on Monday and have spent the last two day vegetating. I am loving the feeling of freedom! On Monday, after my last test, I decided to reward myself by buying a pair of sandals that I have been wanting. I was disappointed when the store I was at didn’t even carry the brand I was looking for, but as I was leaving I saw a pair of swim shorts and knew I had to buy them. Now usually, I am not such a fan of swim wear so I don’t get excited when it comes to buying stuff, but these swim shorts are different. They are blue and green checkered and they come to my knees. Yes, my knees. I have never been so thrilled in my life. I tried them on, they fit, and I bought them! My SIL was so excited that she bought a pair too (though hers are pink and brown). They look like this . . .(please ignore the white, dry legs and pay attention to the cute, stylish shorts)

They are so fun! They cover up way more leg than my old shorts, and I LOVE THAT! I could definitely spend the day at the beach in these and feel totally comfortable. I could go river rafting without problems. They don’t match my swimsuit perfectly (my swimsuit is shades of blue, and the shorts are shades of greenish blues) but I don’t care! I love them!

Me and Liz decided to use are new swim shorts and go swimming last night. We also took my little niece Maddie swimming for her first time (I have to say, she looks far better in her cute little swimsuit than I look in mine!) It was so much fun! Maddie loved the water and kicked and splashed all over. We were trying to get a good picture, but Maddie was too intrigued with the water to look up for the camera (not normal for her). So cute!

When I got home I told me mom that with my new swim wear I am set for a big vacation to somewhere cool and exotic . . .like Hawaii, or Cancun or Bear Lake. She just laughed. I guess I will just have to make good use of the neighborhood pool for now.