July 27 - Aug. 20 (Finally... LOL) (lots more pics)

I finally have some time to get all caught up with my summer activities...

From July 28-July31 I sent to Cedar City to visit with my friend and her family. I visit them every summer and we always have so much fun!

We went to Navajo Lake and rented a boat to drive around the lake. It was a lot of fun. I was a little scared at first...

Such a beautiful area

Look! Look! I'm driving the boat!!!

The water was so clear you could see all the greenery growing on the bottom of the lake. We figure the tops of this greenery were at least 6ft down...

Here's my friend driving the boat.

We went out to movies, went tubing down the Virgin River (I still have to get those pictures developed...), and got bombarded by rain one evening. There was a HUGE lightning bolt that hit right by the house, causing all the fire alarms inside the house to go off, and since I was standing outside, causing all the hair on my arms to stand straight up!

On Friday morning before I left, we went on a walk on the Canyon Park trail. We came upon these ants trying to take the cheerio to their home... but they were not working together very well. It was funny to watch them.

Here's me, Melissa, and Brenda.

The next major event I had was Aug. 6 to 7th. I went backpacking with my best friend and her family. We hiked up Timp and stayed overnight, so we could celebrate Becky's birthday on the mountain! :)
Here's our group: Me, Chris, Becky, Kailani, Athen, and Rachael.

There are so many awesome waterfalls up there!

While we were hiking up, we watched the clouds roll in, but we never got any rain. It was rather a beautiful sight to see.

The sun shining through the mist over the mountains was gorgeous.

At 2 o'clock in the morning, we awoke to the sound of someone scratching on the wood. This is what we saw when we turned our flashlights on it...

Yep... a porcupine! He was big. This is actually the second porcupine that Becky and I have seen while we've been on Timp. The first was years and years ago... I'll have to find a picture of that one ;)
We woke up, took pictures...

Happy Birthday Becky!!!

Cuties!

...and went hiking again

So many pretty flowers were out and greeting us on our hike.

There was a debate if we should summit, or go to Emerald Lake.
Emerald Lake won out :)

I love that this 'iceberg' was in the Lake.

So pretty!

We got back to camp and I took my hats off... I think I should do my hair like this more often. LOL.

We left camp and headed back for the parking lot (home).
This is a Colorado Columbine. Very pretty.

Not sure what this flower is, but it was cute and even though it was at night, it turned out looking really cute.

On Aug. 8 we had a family party in conjunction with Alpine Days.
Chloe found this alligator bead thing and decided it tasted pretty good. She had it in her mouth for a good long time. It was funny to watch her.

Lots of games were played this year.
Steal the flag

red rover

adults played card games at home (notice Chloe is still eating the alligator)

water in the face (very funny to watch)

some game where you can't show your teeth and if you do, you lose (this one not only looks silly, but sounds hilarious when you try to talk. haha)

crossed-arm slapping game

hee-yah. Or whatever it's called

I forget the name of this one, but it is hilarious to watch and listen to. Boom-cha maybe it's called?

Fireworks that night. Love fireworks!!

From Aug. 10-12 I was in Smoot, Wyoming. This is another place I visit every summer. I love the area. It is so beautiful and peaceful.
This is the sunset on the first night I was there.

Roasting marshmallows in the fire pit they built themselves.

My friend, Carrie, and I took her oldest three boys bowling. They had never been before, so it was a learning experience for them. It was fun.

They have a cat who recently had 5 kittens. They were all sleeping in a huddle, and so much fun to watch while they were playing with each other. Three gold/white ones, one black and white, and one black.

Here's mommy. Her name is Saphira (yep, after the dragon in Eragon)

I think she didn't appreciate me taking this picture of her... LOL

One night for dinner, we wanted to have grilled hamburgers. Carrie fired up the grill (literally)... and we all had to vacate the house while we tried to get all the smoke out. It was a funny event. Luckily, none of the neighbors called the fire department; nor were our burgers burnt! They actually tasted perfect :)

The kittens, every morning, would play with each other and the legs of the chairs. So funny to watch.

On the 14th of August, I went hiking with Allison. It was our 3rd anniversary (we met on Aug. 14th, 06), so we spent the day together.
The wind was playing tricks with our hair...

These moths were all over the grasses. I got this one to open it's wings... it thought I was a predator I think.

Allison saw this little guy (he was only about 3 inches long) and he posed long enough for me to get this awesome picture of him.

Smile!

Ah yeah!

We hiked down the mountain, and due to the graces of Becky, we got a ride back up the mountain to get my truck. What a day!

After I took Allison home, I packed a bag and drove to Stacey's. We had a movie night, and movie day on the 15th. We watched 5 movies total and had a blast!

While I was in Wyoming, I bought some new tiger pictures, so I added them to my wall...

...and had to rearrange this wall because of them.

On Sunday the 16th I had a busy day. I went to a song practice at 9:45 with Allison, then I played for her and a group at 11. I went from there to another practice at 12:30, and played for that singer at 1. Then I taught at 3. What a day that was!

On the 18th there was an Employee Celebration meeting at Lone Peak High School, and our first Faculty meeting after that. It was after those meetings that I got excited for school to be starting again. Back to School was on the 19th, and it was fun to see a lot of the kids and parents I knew from last year.
On the 20th (first day of school) I went with Becky and her family up the canyon to have our annual "First Day of School Celebration". We made dinner and had fun talking about school. These marshmallows did not taste very good being only 'smoked'... always roast your marshmallows before eating them :)

The corn was so yummy!!!

Now that I am back at work, I can keep my blog updated on a regular basis again. Thanks for keeping with me during the summer! Hope you all had a great summer!!