February 29, 2024

I wouldn’t call it a perfect day at CocoCay but it was a very good one. Fun to watch Darren totally enjoy snorkeling.

The water was so pretty and the white sand - so Bahamas. I liked the little grass strands floating in the water. Some blue skies, some white clouds, seagulls, and palm trees completed the Bahamas vibe. Bonus was the white egret!

 

February 28, 2024

Boat day. It included Kindle and booby watching and so much eating. The stars in the ocean sky tonight were cool. 

February 27, 2024

We had the best day in the Dominican Republic doing a zip line and then 7 waterfalls of Damajagua. It really was an awesome adventure with Em and Brian plus Heather and Danen.

Long walk to the zip line but the rain and mud made it feel epic DR. Zipping over the forest with rain hitting your face was just what I was hoping for when I heard we were going on a cruise. 

We had such a blast jumping and sliding down the natural rock water slides. After a slide while swimming through some narrows I had a huge smile on my face. 

To top off the adventure they fed us lunch with the best pineapple I have ever eaten. Pineapple worth writing home about. 

 

 

February 26, 2024

All you can eat watermelon and fruit already cut is a fabulous perk of the cruise. Macaroon flat cookie with lunch today was so good! We spent the day at fake Haiti. Swimming and relaxing on the beach and in the water was a great stop getting off the boat. 

February 25, 2024

Cruising is underway.  Got on the boat yesterday and we're cruising the day away. This cruise life is weird. It takes some adjusting for me to sit around all day with lots of strangers.  Saw a brown booby flying along side the boat.  Darren is racking up his bird totals on this trip.  My summer clothes are so excited to be out in the winter.

(Ben, Cole, Heather, Danen, me, Darren, Em, Brian)

February 22, 2024

Good evening workout at the leg. Then D and I grabbed some costa Vida from Sadie. Everyone she works with loves her and they let us know that this evening. Camrie’s bosses also tell me constantly how great she is to have at work.

February 19, 2024

Baylie let me go on her hike. Then we all went to Pizza Pie Cafe for $100 lunch.  Good way to spend President's Day with most of us.

February 18, 2024

Darren knocked it out of the park with his talk! Loved the part about his North Timp hike and how making the choice to be able to hike and choosing that trail led to a magical sunset moment. Choices are important and God will reward us generously. Found out he loves Hymn 5 - High On a Mountain Top. Makes perfect sense.  It was the Draper show today as I taught Sunday school.

We had an awesome family evening. Mexican feast and a really fun couple of games played after dinner. 

Check out this photo from 12 years ago. 

February 17, 2024

Sunrises are magical and spiritual. One of my favorite names of Christ is - the bright and morning star (Revelation 22:16).

There really is light at the end of the tunnel. It is the Light of the World, the Bright and Morning Star, the “light that is endless, that can never be darkened.” It is the very Son of God Himself. - Elder Holland, October 1999 GC. 

Also - first peeps eating of the season. Wahoo!

February 16, 2024

Some days it just hits you that you don’t get to see your parents again on this earth. It makes me very teary. And then tonight we grabbed some donuts with Ry and I got the chocolate chocolate cake donut which my mom would always choose for her donut. 

February 14, 2024

I love Darren. He always comes through with some things I love. Today it was flowers, chocolate strawberries, and food I didn’t have to cook (which included K and T out to eat double date). More things I love that I can think of right now:

Blankets, Utah, socks, sleeping in a tent when it’s warm, road trips, sunrises, small towns, dark chocolate, vitamin water bubbly, taking a good photo, random texts from someone, smell of dirt after it rained, newly mowed soft green grass, reading a good picture book (2 good ones lately are Buffalo Fluffalo and The Hare-Shaped Hole), trees, and Pine Hollow second meadow.

 

February 12, 2024

I sure love that Sadie kid. Cannot believe we are registering her for senior year.

February 10, 2024

Time for cabin time. Each year I love the consistency of getting together with these college friends of mine and each year our overnight cabin stay is a little different. Same - Out to eat (Strap Tank again. Don’t get their side salad). Plenty of chatting. Bacon and eggs breakfast. Mary and Tara on the couches, Pats and me on the floor. Different - lots of sleeping with earlier bedtime and naps by Patty and Mary Ellen. Fruit dip. Only one movie. We wore our matching Moab sweatshirts (maybe this will be the same next year).

February 9, 2024

I have been having a hard time getting myself to the winter mountains but today I did and it was a winter wonderland up AF Canyon. Sigh. 

 

February 4, 2024

So many good things from this week that I wrote down as I sat in sacrament meeting:

St. George temple - white - art in the St. George temple - temple “tour” - looking down the staircase from 5 floors up - delicious Mexican food - chatting with the Draper family - rainy hike that wasn’t too rainy - water coming down the rock - cholla cactus - views - talking with Emily - Snow Canyon - blue skies - puffy white clouds - good little hikes - choosing a good place to eat (Bishop’s Grill) - seeing Cam and Sadie after getting home - extra chatting with Sadie - picadilly chips at the Beaver Drive In - sealing promises - colors and textures in Snow Canyon - Darren - “I had joy and great hopes” 1 Nephi 16:5

 

February 3, 2024

Today on the drive home from St George I really really wished we could stop and say hi to my parents. As we passed the exit to do so my heart just hurt. I wish there could be just one more visit.

(We hiked Padre Canyon Loop today.  Good, easy, pretty hike. 6 miles and really the way Padre Canyon should be hiked.)

February 2, 2024

Today was just such a good day! We celebrating Jessie and Harley going through the temple and getting sealed.

9am endowment session with a 12:00 sealing in the St. George temple. In between those two some kind temple workers gave us a tour of the temple. It was really cool and so beautiful! The art was so pretty as was looking down the staircase from 5 floors up. My mom and dad were constantly on my mind today as it was Groundhog Day (which they loved) and they were married in the St George temple. My great grandma and grandpa (my mom’s mom’s mom and dad) were also sealed there. It was a tender day filled with so much good. 

The sealing was the shortest ceremony in the history of ceremonies which was awesome because the promises were front and center with nothing else to distract from them.

After that we all headed to Los Tapatios for a delicious Mexican lunch. I would definitely eat there again. Then Darren and I waited out the big rain to walk on dirt in a drizzle. Snow Canyon White Rocks Trail was awesome in the rain with water flowing down the white rock and it had some cool views. I loved it.

We spent the evening chatting with everyone in Beaver Dam and playing cards. A great day spent with family. I’m always thankful to add good memories with family. And Josh mentioned how he kept thinking he saw my mom in the temple today. Makes sense to me.