WEST COAST (part one)

What do you do when your husband leaves for a month with the Army during the middle of Summer and you're living with your parents? You talk them into going on a trip they've always wanted to do and take me with them! And because it happened to fall right over the week of my birthday, we had to bring my twin! Happy Birthday to us! Honestly though, I'm so grateful my parent's agreed to go as long as we helped them plan the plane tickets and hotels. They would have been LOST without us! ;)
We made arrangements to fly into Pasco, WA Friday  July 15th and head over to Portland, Oregon and then down the Coast to  fly back from San Francisco on July 22nd. Just a week to get through every little seaside town and beach all the way down the coast!! Sounds impossible right? But we did and most importantly, we enjoyed it!! I wish I had time and the memory to write about the details of each day but instead I'll just share the photos and destinations along our trip.

 Friday June 15th 

Flew into Pasco, WA where we spent the night with some family. That day we headed up to see Cooley Dam and Dry Falls. 

 Saturday July 16th
After picking up our rental car we headed west in search of the Coast. Along the way it went from flat dead fields to incredibly green moss covered hills along the Columbia River. We began to fall in love with Oregon after just entering it. Just before getting into Portland we stopped along the Columbia River highway to do a couple of famous hikes and it ended up being one of our favorite days of the whole trip because of the breathtaking hikes.

Multnomah Falls

Oneonta Gorge

This hike was a total copy of Zion National Park's Narrows hike...only GREEN!!! Absolutely amazing and my favorite one.

After  couple of Hikes we stopped in downtown Portland, which didn't last long. We stumbled into a bad part of Portland and just didn't care much to see anything there, so we headed to the only thing we actually cared about. The LDS Portland, Or temple! After we went to our place in Camus WA for the night at a fireman's house my dad used to work with. We were blessed to have many friends and family offer us places to stay along our trip!

LDS Portland, Or Temple

Summer Training Part 1

June 5th - June 20th, 2016

This picture basically describes what our summer will look like...Him pretending to smile & be happy about sending his wife selfie's to keep her sane while he's away. I love my army man. <3

One thing that I wish I was better at is being on my own. Growing up with an identical twin sister who I was with 24/7, literally, and then getting married 9 months apart meant I never really had that time to be an "Individual" and figure things out on my own. Last Summer was the first time I was actually alone, for four weeks! I mean I had my family, but not my twin, not my partner, not my spouse. It was a hard and long four weeks. Until it was over, which then of course it felt like it flew by, but definitely not in the moment. Why is it that when you dread something it comes so fast and when you are excited for something, it's the complete opposite. Knowing that he was going to be leaving again this summer, made the year FLY by!! So somehow, here we are to Summer again and just like that away went my husband. For his first of two training's this time. The only downside to the army is when they take your husband away for weeks at a time! Luckily this one was only for two weeks, up in SLC and somehow it actually went by fairly quickly! Maybe being able to go up on the weekends had something to do with it! It really helped being able to stay with my parents while he was gone. I honestly don't know how I would get through any of it without them.

 One of our weekend adventures up north, feeding the ducks, until it started raining on us! Fun memories running down this muddy road back to the house. 

Our other weekend adventure consisted of Lagoon and helping some family move. Lagoon was perfect. No long lines, no unbearable heat, and I dominated all of the once "scary" rides!! Our cousin Austyn was awesome to car pool up with me and spend the day with us taking turns to be our riding buddy. She's been such a great cousin/friend for me!

 These cool cousins also did a temple trip with Brandon who is leaving soon to Canada!!

When I sure was missing my husband, their was no better place to be in that in the temple. The peace and comfort you find inside is incredible.

And now we have will have a little over three weeks until his four week training out in Kentucky. The plan at the moment is to make the most of our time TOGETHER and what Summer we have left!! I consider myself so blessed to have Ethan as my husband and best friend. I know it's not easy for him to leave me either and the last thing he wants to worry about on top of all his training and exercises is a miserable wife at home for four weeks. So for him I am doing my best to stay busy, happy, and sane! Coming up in July will be his last training until I will be going with him!! We got this babe!!

 I've learned a few things while he's been away...

1. I'm stronger than I think. It's all about my attitude and keeping things light and happy

2. I'm gaining a lot of respect for my husband nd his sacrifice & hard work.

3. TOGETHER is a wonderful place to be :)

Our month of May Wrapup

From Hikes @ Snow Canyon, building furniture with dad, to camping on Kolob, its been a busy & fun month of May! With the weather heating up this month we have been blessed to spend  A LOT of time outside!! 

I have a few ladies at work that always asking me to make wood projects for them and this one by far has been the most fun! It took dad & I about 5 hours to build with no plans but we've got it figured out. Now I've got about five more to make this summer!! I have the best dad for projects like this! 

H< 3ME

*Life has been flllyyyiinnngg by lately. Literally, how is it already May. I can't seem to keep up with blogging, but because it's my goal & I want it bad enough, I'll continue posting even late updates. :) *

Stopped by the Temple a few weeks ago on my lunch break and snapped this beauty. 

Gosh, It's pretty!! 

Work, well life in general can be long and rough and draining. Spending even just an hour sitting on the temple grounds, listening, reading, or studying, can have a huge impact on the rest of your week. It can change the way you think, and speak. It is a nice little reminder of what's important in life. Who you are. Who loves you most! And a good motivator to keep trying your best and making the most of this earthly life.

Lately I've been so in LOVE with St.G. Maybe it's mostly due to the weather change, but lately while we've been out driving around town I note how beautiful  the mt, the view or just the overall lighting of town are. Am I the only one who notices how majestic the lighting over this little town can be? Sounds cheesy, but I absolutely mean it! I think because I grew up here, I often take for granted this amazing and unique land that we live in.  And growing up I think it's only normal to always be wondering and excited for when and where you'll go next! Being in the Military I'm not sure where life will take us or when. I just know that I need to enjoy living here now and making the most of all that it has to offer. 

Living so close to our families has been another HUGE blessing. Ethan and I are both the adventure seeking kind, him a little more than me! We are always talking about where we'll go next and the possibilities of places we could end up. In fact, I'm the only one in my family who probably won't stay in Hurricane most or all of my life. Granted Washington, Ut is not that far away. haha  Believe me I know how uncommon it is for one, let alone all of the kids in one family to still live within 15 miles from home. I know there will come a time when we are separated by cities and states and I have confidence and am proud to say that we have been building and working on our relationships to withstand the distance and remain more than just family, but friends. I love the bond we have, especially between my twin sister & I. <3

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One of mine & Ethan's favorite things to do lately has been to go explore the walking trails around St.G. Does that make us sound old to admit our hobbies include walking?! Doesn't even bother me! We actually found this one just below our house. Nothing official or paved but beautiful nonetheless.  

Hope you all didn't miss the latest IRONMAN race here in St.George. Ethan had a friend competing in the race so we were up bright & early to watch in awe and cheer them all on as they raced right passed our house! How could you get a more perfect location for a race. You can't. St.George offered breathtaking views of the surrounding canyons, as well as a fairly warm climate for this early-season race. The strength both physically and mentally it would take to compete is just more than I can even comprehend. I'd feel like a champion if I could even make it through a half marathon. Some day! ;) Congrats to all those who participated & helped with such an exciting race!