Chaffin (SNOW) Lake

Attempt 2 at backpacking in the summer where the SNOW NEVER melts!

Two weeks ago we drove up to Montana.  It was so so warm and sunny.   In the valley it was like 90 degrees.  The forest was so pretty and so alive compared to the first hike we went on this year.  It was so green.  I loved it!  We hiked the along the river/creek.  I love the sound of water....so relaxing! 

About 5 miles into the hike you had to cross the river.  The river was super high from all the snow melt.  We had to hike off the trail to find a safe place to cross.  Once we crossed the creek we stepped into SNOW! YES, it was like 80 degrees but we reached the snow line at about 7,000 ft.  No fun!  No trail and lots of snow in tenny shoes!  Along our snow hike we did come across a beautiful waterfall that was coming down every way possible.  It was one of the prettiest waterfalls we have ever seen.  

 

We finally reached the lake thinking oh the snow will be more melted since it gets direct sunlight....WRONG!  The lake was still frozen on the out shirts.  We walked around the entire like before we found a HUGH rock to camp on.  My spirits where pretty low and I was praying like crazy that we would find a place to stay. I was just so burnt out from hiking in all the snow and water.  I wanted to get dry and restore my energy plus I fell like a billion times in the snow.  It was either super slushy/slick or you just fell though to your knee.  Not fun.  The rock was our moment of glory!

We set up camp..got fire wood...made dinner and checked out the 2nd lake above us.  After dinner we made scones!  Yes, in the middle of the woods we made scones with maple frosting.  I buy rhodes rolls and make the frosting before we leave.  It has become a tradition that we make scones when we car camp or go on a night trip.  Its just so yummy! We had so much fun and I'm so happy that we found that rock! It saved our trip.  I love spending time with my sugar in nature.  We have so much fun together.  It's one of our most favorite things to do together!  Yeah for summer and snow!

This is the lake we camped at.....you can see our little orange tent in the background

July or December?

This is the upper lake....half frozen.  I guess there is one more lake after this one but we couldn't see it with all the snow.

Yeah for weekend fun getaway with my best friend! 

Humidity FUN

After school was out I took the first chance I got to visit my family in OHIO!  I went for about a week.  It's never long enough.  I love to visit my family and since I have been married the visits just don't come around as often as they did when I was single.  

I left the day after Moab. My fun just never stopped for like 2 straight weeks. On our way back from Moab I got dropped off at one of my besties Shelli's house. The last time I spend more than like 4 hours with Shelli was when we both where single....no children.   I love this lady.  She is such a special friend!  Shelli is the proud mama to two of the cutest little twin girls.  She is such a great mother and I just loved seeing her with her kids.  She was one of the first of my close friends to have kids.  

I loved how her kids welcomed me with open arms! They let me play and give them lots of cuddly hugs!  That night we of course watched the bachelorette.. that Bentley and mask guy! Loved it!  The next day we went to ZUMBA!  Shelli goes to the gym where I got certified to teach.  I love the instructor....her name is Lindsey.  She is so FUN...so CUTE and YES I want to be just like her because I love Zumba so MUCH! Check out her video here with Pitbull. (She's the brown haired girl) Ps.... I learned this song for my class! Its so much FUN! My class loves it! After Zumba Shell took me to the airport. Thanks Shell for the fun visit!

By the time I finally got to Ohio it was late. I stayed up late chatting with my Mommy!  I love my Mom so much! I'm not sure how I got so lucky to have such a great Mom.  She did everything for my sissy and I.  She was a single mother who worked full time.  She did an awesome job and recently she has had so many struggles.  She lost her job and had to live in Columbus.   I just have felt so bad for her because who wants to have to live in a town where you know no one and pay rent for an apartment that you wished was your home that is in Cleveland.   Her job is so STRESSFUL!!  I pray for my Mama everyday.  I think the blessing are starting to pour in.   I'm just so excited for her!!! 

When I woke up the next morning my sissy was there with her two babies!! I had never met little Natalie!  It was so exciting to finally meet her.  I of course fell in love with her on the spot. She has such a special little spirit about her.  I just never wanted to let her go.  I loved when she got confused when mommy wasn't there and thought I was mommy.  I got lots of snuggles on those rare occasions.


We went swimming...played at the splash park....ate lots and lots of ice cream.....visited family and friends like crazy......went to the zoo....and had lots of girl time!!  

The 5 cuties...Natalie Gabby Emma Alli and Avery.  The first 2 our my sisters and the other 3 are my cousin Shannon's.

I love spending time with all these CUTE girls!

Shannon and My sister Jackie.  LOVE THEM SO MUCH!

How cute is this?!

Zoo fun ...in the million degree weather. I truly thought I might just melt! It was so HOT and humid!

I loved seeing family and friends.   Its always so nice to be back in the place that I grew up in.   I still remember it like I lived there yesterday.  People know who I am and they remember me when I was just a tiny tot.   I always love to go to church and see all the people who helped me become the person I am today.  I loved loved loved all my young woman leaders.   At the time when I was a teen, I really never realized how much of a great example they where to me.   Its always fun to drive down memory lane in the place that I grew up.  Things really don't change in the FPK( Fairview Park the city I'm from).  


While I was home my Mom asked me to go through some boxes from my childhood.  Wow....the things you forget about.  My friends and I would always write notes and than make crazy drawling to go with them.  It was just so fun to look back and remember things that I forgot about!  Its crazy how life changes so fast and how much you change but still stay the same?! If that makes any sense! 


I love my family so much and I'm so thankful that I got to visit them in Ohio! I miss my sister so MUCH!  It's hard living so far from her.  She is the one person that I can do anything and everything with and just be so happy that we our together.  I love all my sisters!  I married into such a great family and I couldn't have hand picked better sisters! I can also spend all my time with them and be as happy as can be!  Hooray for family! 

Gabby is a little stinker...look at that cute face!

Missing.....

I miss this little girl......why must my family live so far!!!

Love you Natalie...Please don't forget me since I live so FAR AWAY!

MOAB

For Memorial Day weekend we went to MOAB! Sterling's sister works on the river in Moab.  We of course had to use any excuse we could to go visit! We went with Kate, Jedd and Jess's boy toy Danial! We left Thursday night and got there Friday afternoon. We found a camp site..unpacked and went on a BIKE RIDE!

Moab is GORGEOUS! The red rocks just take my breath away....no 2 rocks are the same!  Every where you look is just so different than Idaho.  Idaho is green and brown.  Moab is RED!  That night we camped under the stars.....perfect!

The next day we woke up ready to GO!  Jessica had to work, so we went mountain biking. We rode porky pine rim which is like 24 miles and pretty intense at times.  Well to me it was intense seeing that I have been mountain biking a total of like maybe 3 times! I love it and wish we could do it more. Bikes just cost like a million trillion DOLLARS!  One day we will have bikes.... anywho back to the trip. The views where so pretty!  It was just so fun to play with Jedd and Katie.  I also loved the warmth of the SUN! The sun is like my happy drug. The trip took longer than we expected but it still was a blast.  I also may have thought I was going to DIE on the trail from dehydration and cooking like a lobster. We only brought like 4 water bottles. Yes, it was like a zillion degrees and it took us about 8 hours and oh yes we are from Idaho where the sun shines every 5 months! Not a good combination for a white girl who sweats like a beast! I did make it though....my lobster bod and all!

On top of the Mountain before our 24 miles

Hard core BIKERS! Really maybe just Katie and Jedd!

Towards the end.....the only thing on our minds was WATER

Love them! They let me have all the WATER!

When we got back we headed straight to a burger shack to grab some yummy food. We met up with Jessica and Jedd's brothers family.  Best burger and fries ever!   After a late din din we went to camp and went to sleep!

Sunday we woke up... made some yummy breakfast burritos and headed off to church. I knew we where in Moab when most people not just me looked like LOBSTERS!  It forsure was a holiday weekend where most people flocked to the warmth.  I also knew it was a holiday when I saw these guys charging their phones in sacrament....really?!

After church we went to a swimming hole. So fun! It was packed but worth the crowds. We hiked about a mile up river to get to some cliffs that we could jump off.  Talk about a great place to people watch.  Oh there where some guys there that I thought wow I wish I wasn't married to this ridiculously good looking person so I could hit on the guy with a baby belly.... drinking out of a wine bottle and dreads?! Yummy....barf!  Yes, a few of those yummy man and woman loved this water hole.  Besides the people watching I jumped into the water twice and it was freezing but fun.  That night we made tin foil dinners which never ever ever disappoint. So yummy in my tummy! I then ended the night with of course the camping  classic a s'more.

Soaking up the rays at the water hole....

Monday came way to fast! We packed up camp and headed over to Arches while Kate and Jedd went rock climbing.  I'm so happy we got to see a glimpse of Arches.  Its amazing the things that Heavenly Father has created on this earth for us.  This is one of those places you just have to see.  I mean the rocks just stand against all the odds.  There is just so much to see and we only got to see one thing.  Totally worth it though! The hike was short and the reward was AMAZING!

Coolest ARCH EVER

 

Jess and Danial....we are the worst this is the only picture we got of these two cuties!

Our trip was a blast. We had so much fun!  Its just so fun to travel and spend time with family! I love to see and explore new places! Moab has been on my list for places to go and I'm so happy that I now can scratch it off. What a great way to start the summer off with a bang!

The hottest fashion trend

Moab I love you! Thanks for the great weekend with lots of sunshine!

Puppy LOVE

I just finished watching Marley and Me....and I cried like BABY!

I LOVE my PUPPY so much! He is so much a part of our family.  I know he's a dog but I just love him so much and he always loves me back! Dogs are so awesome for the reason that they love you no matter what and they are always so HAPPY!  JACKSON is the best to come home to....he goes crazy and jumps up and down. He just is so small and 

his energy is going to burst out of his little body!

He loves to cuddle 24/7!  He also loves to PLAY! He makes the weirdest growling sound I have ever heard! But I love it! I tell Ster all the time that he is the toy that just keeps giving back! He's the best $200 bucks we have ever spent! He will be my puppy FOREVER! 

I LOVE MY PUP PUP!

Cutest PUPPY ever and cutest owner ever! Ha mer

 PS: YES, I'm a crazy owner who loves their puppy to death! Yes, I miss my puppy like crazy when I'm away from him and Yes, we take him every where! I'm pretty sure Ster feels the same way...he just doesn't like to admit it!

FYI....

When you really want a baby NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER EVER watch a live birth of a baby! Not going to lie when I saw how much pain the lady was in...than saw her fit a bowling ball through the size of a apple and then on the top of that got some sweet stitches in her tenders!! Yes, I call them tenders because it started to hurt just thinking about it! Woman are so BRAVE!  Ah, the joys of children! I can't wait! 

HA ma ha.... or maybe I CAN!

Dreaming.....maybe reality?

 

Oh Happy Day Goes to Paris

Um can I please go to Paris and eat gelato every 30 min or maybe 5 mins? Can I please walk the street in my High fashion Idaho clothes! I can I please stop in every Bakery and get a treat at every stop! Can I please eat a crepe at every corner with yummy nutella? Can I please go see the Mona Lisa and be more impressed by the largest picture in the world? Can I please hear those scary sirens again and not see some poor girl lose her life!? Castles of course and the pretty river to please! Oh yes Paris is the DREAM LIFE!!!

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