---t w e n t y f o u r t h ---

This year Ethan got work off on the 24th so we decided to make the most of it and drove up to Bryce Canyon! The hike was beautiful and the company was great! We went with two couples from our taco Tuesday group. It was a long fun day! We hiked for a few hours then drove home to go to a BBQ with some friends at Stone Cliff and then our tradition fireworks with the jansons up at the baseball fields. This years weren't as exciting as last years show, when little pieces of hot debry were falling on us haha

Here are the pictures from our trip!

 

 

goodbyes and brthdays!

One of our favorite cousins Austyn checked into the MTC this week so we stopped by beforehand to say our goodbyes and wish her well. We were even lucky enough to go out on one more night ride on the ranger with her. She is one of the sweetest, nicest, cutest girls I know and I know she has such a great outgoing personality to share the gospel and change lives. We love you Austyn! 

Believe it or not...I'm now 22!! I feel like I just celebrated my 21st bday with my "boyfriend" Ethan at the time. Now a year later and married to him this birthday was awesome being married. He is too good to me. I woke up to breakfast in bed from my babe. He did great on my gifts, even though I told him not to get me anything. He gave me another willow tree statue, to add to my collection. This one is special to me because it reminds me of a wife trying her best to support her husband in the military! He also gave me envelopes for the next 12 months with preplanned dates! Soo cute.

 That's not all...he let me go out shopping with my mom and sisters to spoil myself! Before the shopping, shay and I went with mom to do some family sealings at the St.George temple. We had such a great time attending the temple together. After that we met up with whit for our favorite lunch....breakfast at Denny's!! There we were surprised by our friend janessa who brought us balloons and a treat. So sweet! 

  

  

  

Love new clothes!!

That night after all the shopping we went back to moms for dinner with the family. I am so lucky to be able to celebrate my birthday with her every year! She is my best friend. Plus we have the best family!! Especially our lovable mom who dedicated all her time to us that day! 

That night Ethan took me to get dessert at Applebee's....where they sang to me. Kind of embarrassing, but I did manage to get free dessert out of it so I think it was worth it!!

My favorite part of the whole day was on our way home from getting dessert we had to make a quick at Walmart. When we pulled up Ethan said "oh, I know how to make your birthday real special!" Not knowing what to expect, we gathered up all the quarters we could find. Once inside we played the toy claw machines until all our quarters were gone. Did we win anything? No. Will it always be a favorite memory of just how funny and special Ethan makes me feel? You betcha!!! It wasn't about winning anything to me... I just enjoyed the excitement he had to play with me and cheer me on playing such a silly game...especially for 22 year olds. :) 

Before I forget I also was surprised to have my car decorated by some of our friends Ryan & Lisa. They knew we were out of town so they decided to surprise me when I got home...It was so sweet of them!

The weekend before my birthday, mom offered to pay for me to get my hair done for an early bday gift. How could I say no to that!? I was terrified but so ready for a change. Which is how I came to the decision of cutting my hair. Never satisfied with the length (taking forever to grow) I decided to get a cute cut. Tierra did such a great job I just had to hug her right after I saw it. Scariest thing I have done in a while...but I haven't regretted it yet!!

BEFORE.                   AFTER

*Adventures in Logan*

Baby McCoy Alan Janson 

Ethans brother keean and his wife tami just had their first baby a few weeks 

ago.  We rode up to Logan with Ethans parents to meet the little guy and I think it's save to say we all loved him! He was such a good happy baby overall. Congrats Tami and keean!

These few pictures were taken outside the cutest old LDS building I've seen. After sacrament meeting we all went exploring inside the church house. Very pretty.

Ethan feeding baby McCoy for the first time!

While visiting in Logan we got to see a little bit of the beautiful town on a walk to the park and temple. Logan definitely captures the beauty and simplicity of a nice small town.  I'm falling in love with logan.... Well summers in logan! 

 

Just a good looking picture of my husband I thought I'd share!!

J U L Y 4 T H

What a wonderful 4th of July,  spent with the people I love most!

We went to the annual BBQ with the spendlove clan in hurricane to kick off the evening.  Yummy food,  including my grandpa's famous potatoe salad, containing the perfect amount of pickles. Great company to mingle with including the Spanish missionaries.  And the weather in hurricane almost corporated....ALMOST.  We did make it a good couple of hours befor a not so surprising gust of crazy wind rolled on in. But what do you expect living in a town named Hurricane?  We've come to expect it anytime we plan an outdoor event. Odds are it will be *perfect* outside right up until your party begins.  Ugh,  that's hurricane for ya.  Anyways Ethan and I had just taken off on shay and Tysons motor scooter for what we expected to be a joyous and relaxing night ride. Well that didn't last long before we were being pelted by sand, rocks,  and any other flying objects the wind managed to sweep up.  We barely escaped with our lives!! (the proposal)
All in all,  it was a fun filled, adventure captivating BBQ!

 

We then took off to St. George for the best part of July 4th celebrations....FIREWORKS!! This year's display was bomb mostly due to the fact that we watched them on our friends roof. They actually happen to live across from the temple which means we were basically sitting underneath the fireworks! I was very satisfied with our day! How could I not be though?  With the family, friends,  and husband I have in my life, there's never a dull moment!!
 

 

 

However, the holiday weekend was just getting started.  Saturday we made it up to Zion with Whit, Adam and Berkeley! Since we had a baby with us we agreed to just do a short simple hike. I believe we did the lower end of Emerald pools and It was beautiful. The trails seemed to have hikers from all over the world that day. Zion is one famous place! I actually really enjoyed seeing all the different cultures and hearing the accents of various types of people.

  

 

We are so lucky to have Adam, Whitney, and Berkley living back in Southern Utah to go on adventures with. Here's to many many more! 

 

  

Ethan managed to capture some really great pictures of us all and especially some with me and my furry friend. The squirrels up there in Zion are just scampering across the path around you without any fear. This little guy came right up to me and tried getting to the snacks in my camo bag. Brave little fella. I swear I became the center of attention as other hikers cameras started flashing at me and this little curious creature.

 

I'm only adding this one for Ethan's sake. He is quite impressed with his photography skills in this photo. I for one would be very impressed...if it were of anyone but me!