Pioneer Day

One of the beauties of being in Utah for Pioneer Day is that I got the day off! So, I flew home to see Landon and our families. I spent most of Friday and Saturday with my parents while Landon's family was working on the farm. It was great to be home!  Mom and Dad tried to leave the weekend available so they could spend time with me, which was fun.  We went to the ward pioneer day celebration, and it was really great to see all of the women in our ward that I grew up with--Sister Monson, Sister Strebel, Sister Pierce, etc. They just make me smile. I got Mom and Dad to pose in a pioneer picture with me too.

We were being like pioneer days when they were always serious in pictures.

 On Saturday we went swimming at the Haine's and admired their beautiful yard while we were there. Mom cracked me up with the swimming because she was so sure she would drown.  But Dad and I talked her into a good kickboard race with us.  Oh, and can I tell you how much I miss having raspberries growing in the backyard! Dad and I had raspberries and milk for breakfast one day, and it reminded me of when I was little.  We would put lots of sugar on it, and you would scrape it off the bottom of the bowl with the raspberry milk that was left after finishing the berries. I never get to do that these days because they are so expensive!
I also met David this weekend--the brother who has been on a mission to Brasil. He gave his homecoming talk on Sunday and did a fantastic job. There was a huge get together at the Rowley home afterwards for lunch, which was fun.   We got in some family pictures while everyone was home.  Ryan even made it because he graduated from BYU-I this weekend!
I got to stay through Monday, so I took some pictures of people working and did some other office work until we had to leave to catch my plane.  It was really nice to be home!

Buckets

That's what I affectionately call my sister :) Probably nobody knows why except Michael, maybe not even Angie, but it makes me smile.  Sometimes we call her Rooney (for Angarooney), or Angie Bear, but mostly I just call her Ang.  She's pretty much my hero this summer. When Landon left, I didn't know how I'd make it two months alone, but Angie decided to come for her summer between semesters at Central. She's probably pretty bored, and her ward is the most anti-social young adults group I have ever seen, but she is stickin' it out so I don't have to be here by myself. And what better person to have around. We are two years apart, and grew up doing everything together.  Aside from sharing a room, we we spent most of every day together.  We fought here and there, but we were always great friends. Some people say we bicker, but both of us just think the sarcasm is hilarious, and we don't see why they think we were mad at each other at all, ha.  We went through high school and friend groups, sports and mutual activities together.  She has always been someone I could talk to about boy-talk, ambitions, struggles, or whatever. She just listens, and loves you for it. Gets excited when you are excited, and sad for you when it's hard.  She's probably one of the most encouraging people I know.  She was my maid of honor at my wedding, and did everything she could think of to make it fun and perfect for me.  The funny thing is, the older I get the more I realize that we are very different in a lot of ways.  But that works out when you can use those differences to make each other happy.  The best part is that when I'm around her I always end up laughing, which is a good thing for me right now.  I thank God all the time that he blessed me with my sister.

Lobsters

It's official. I think I have my first real sunburn. I have had little ones before that maybe lasted a night and then turned into a tan.  Angie and Michael were never impressed. But this weekend Angie and I went to Seven Peaks water park for about 4 hours in the middle of the day. Despite putting on sunscreen multiple times, we both look like lobsters.  I think that's what you get for buying the cheap brand of sunscreen. I feel bad for Angie, because she burns a lot worse than I do, and she was already peeling from last week--so her pain is a bit more severe.  But my neck, back and shoulders are a bright red, and we have been reapplying aloe vera pretty regularly.  Man, I hate being sticky! But it was a pretty fun time, so it made it more worth it.  I even got Angie to go on some of the crazy high scary slides, like the Free Fall.  My personal favorite was the one that looked like a half pipe for skateboarders, just higher.  So you go down, and then back up, and then you go back down backwards.  We may or may not have screamed.  We got to try out all the slides, relax on the lazy river, swim in the wave pool, and have a pretty great time. I even won the race where they have 8 people go down this one slide headfirst on mats.  It was great.  Gotta love half off coupons!

Here is a view of two of the scarier slides.
Angie chickened out on the blue one--it goes straight
down from that hole to the bottom.  You even fly
 off the slide a little.  What a rush! :)

Hot Wheels!

Landon's faster transportation these days.  I thought it was pretty high quality with the steering and all...

Tamarinski

If you click on it you can see it closer up. Sweet sledding hill!

We were being like the hippos at the zoo

It's my sister's birthday today, so I thought that since I was thinking about her (and she's so far away) I would post some of my thoughts.  I feel that if I had to choose someone that is the most like me, Tami would be it.  Maybe that's because she was 8 years older than me, so I thought everything she did was cool and I followed in her footsteps.  Some sisters might find that annoying, or even become bitter.  Especially when her little sister got birthday parties instead of her (with birthdays two days apart), or when she had to babysit me all the time because I didn't like to go to anyone else.  But Tami has always been an amazing example and support.  She taught me a lot about music and sports.  I could go to her when I had to change schools for different classes, or apply for specific programs because she had already done them.  

I think some older sisters might find it great to get out of the house and be crazy and independent in college. But Tami invited each of us to spend a week individually with her in Seattle, so that we would  stay close.  My parents willingly sent us because they trusted her so much.  I still remember her sending me post cards, which made me feel important.  Even now, I've learned so much about being a mom from her because I have been around to watch her learn as she goes.  God did a great job deciding which of us should come first.

As I've gotten older she's still a role model, but also a friend.  With sisters, things are just easier.  We laugh at the same things and react the same to ideas and opinions.  We both love to curl up to a movie while eating warm cookies, or dress up for a night out to see a symphony and feel "high-rollin".  We both hate losing at card games and expect each other to "play to win".  I can go running with her because we have the same genes and go about the same pace.  I can joke about her quirks and she knows I love her because of them (I hope).  We can even give each other hair tips, and heaven knows there are very few people who have experience with my kind of hair.  There are lots of reasons why I love her as a sister and a friend, but I just wanted to write today and say that I think she has lived a fabulous life to this point. Happy Birthday Tami, and have another great year!

Independence Day n' stuff

Angie and I have been doing all the crazy activities that I have said I want to do while in Utah, but never had time for. So, this week we were on a waterfall hiking craze.  We started with a short hike outside of pleasant grove to Battle Creek's waterfall.

And we even climbed down behind the waterfall a bit.  When you stand right at the bottom, it's overwhelming how powerful those are!

On Friday, some of the couples in our ward needed more girls to play in their softball game with the city league.  So we played and it was a blast.  I haven't played in so long!  They put me in left field, which is new for me.  But since it was slow-pitch, I think I got most of the balls.  I got a few sweet catches, and Angie was representing at third base :)  I was on first when the guy behind me hit a sweet shot to left field.  I got on my horse, and sprinted around third.  I could see the catcher getting ready for the throw, and I heard it hit his glove just as I was approaching, so I slid on instinct--something I am now regretting.  I was safe! But they tell me he actually didn't catch it, the ball just hit off his mit.  So I didn't have to slide, and now I'm paying for it. Apparently you shouldn't slide in shorts without sliding shorts on under.  I have a pretty huge strawberry on my leg that I have had to keep bandaged up with lots of gauze and neosporin.  Luckily, it is getting a lot better after about a week.

Then I took a second stab at Stewart Falls.  It's a little bit longer than the other hike, but worth it!

I had to wear "stretchy pants" (you have to say that like Nacho Libre) because of my sliding wound :)

Crazy, but with the 90 degree weather, there was still snow-pack
 at the bottom of the waterfall where we were standing.

From a little further away you could actually see two waterfalls.  

We also took part in lots of the Independence Day festivities.  The Stadium of Fire was pretty great, with dancers, a local version of American Idol, David Archuletta, Brad Paisley, and some amazing fireworks. Our seats weren't amazing, but Brad Paisley was as awesome as ever, and the fireworks were very impressive.  Definitely the longest show I've ever seen. Whitney went with us, and we hit up the dance party on the street for a little bit afterwards.

Dancers in the shape of the liberty bell

David Archuletta

When they say "Stadium of Fire" they aren't kiddin'

On Monday morning, we also went to the awesome parade, and around the Freedom Festival booths.

Not sure how the Llamas always end up in Utah activities, but I had to get a picture.

For an update on my broken husband--Landon went to the doctor yesterday and they gave him a stylin' shoe that he can wear and start putting pressure on his foot soon. He will still be using crutches for a couple weeks, but they said it was healing nicely. If I remember right, he got his stitches out too, so he's just waiting for it to heal.  The cut on his foot was in the shape of a Y, so he will forever be a loyal Cougar fan :)