Youth Conference

This year, for youth conference, the stake decided to do a hike from Ephraim Canyon down to Manti Canyon. Earlier in the year, they asked Jeff and I to be in charge of the activities for the conference. This ended up involving hauling up the tractor, building a bridge, creating a faith walk, over 3,000 otter pops, and so much more! It was a lot of work, but it paid off. The youth had a blast! It was fun to see them enjoying themselves while building their faith. This is such a crucial time in their lives. There is so much working against them that it's nice to be surrounded by youth participating in an activity that is meant to build them up. Dallin and Jonas joined us for the weekend. Dallin participated in the conference while Jonas "helped" Jeff and I. Honestly, I'm not sure how much help Jonas or I were during that time, but we enjoyed buzzing up and down the mountain on the side by side and playing outdoors. One afternoon, Jonas had enough sun and dust so we stayed in Manti (at the RV park we were camping at) and explored the temple, went swimming, played on a playground, and went into town for some ice cream. All in all, I feel like it was a success.

Jeffrey, Tyler, Jaemon, and Dallin

Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful men out there who have ever loved a child and earned that child's love in return! I have been blessed to be surrounding by several men who qualify as "father" in my book. I was raised by a wonderful man who sacrificed more than I can ever truly know to ensure we were cared for physically, emotionally and spiritually. He taught me how to laugh through trials and remain positive. He instilled in me a love of faith, family, and country. He was my constant male support as I searched for a man that could possibly fill his shoes for the children I hoped to have. I found that man. Jeff is a perfect father. Does that mean he is perfect or that he does everything perfectly? No, but it does mean that he loves perfectly and has earned that love in return. Everything he does is for his family. He loves being with all his kids. He in invested in their happiness every step of the way. He would move heaven and earth to make sure his kids (and wife) are ok in every sense of the word. I could not imagine a better father for our 5 kids. In marrying Jeff, I was also blessed to inherit another incredible father, Rodney. In many ways, Jeff and Rodney are so alike. They both love fiercely and place family (and faith) above all else. Rodney has always been supportive of us and is constantly serving. In addition to these wonderful men, I have been privileged to associate with brothers, brothers-in-law, uncles, and grandfathers that have exemplified what it means to be a father. I am grateful for every one of them and for the contribution they have had in my life and in the lives of my children. It was a fun day to celebrate all these men, especially Jeff. Happy Father's Day to all!

From Portland to Payson

This week Jeff and I had the opportunity to enjoy a little business trip/vacation. Jeff found two new work trucks for his employees. One was located in Portland and the other was located in Sacramento...so we decided to make a trip out of it! We splurged a little and flew first class into Portland. (I'm not sure Jeff can go back to flying coach now!) I loved the extra space...but not sure the extra cost is worth the 6 inches and little smoothie we got. Still, it was a very relaxing trip.

Once we got there, we grabbed a taxi and drove through Portland to pick up the truck. Portland looks like a fun city to explore...someday, but we wanted to head to the coast.  (I think my transportation to Portland was much more comfortable than my transportation to Payson.) I was amazed by the lush, green foilage! It was gorgeous. There were tall pine trees with thick moss and the ground was covered with grasses, ferns, and other plants. On our way to the coast, we found a little berry stand by the road and picked up some strawberries to snack on. They were super sweet!

Not quite as comfy as first class. 

We finally made it to Cannon Beach. A couple years ago, I drove from Seattle down the coast to Cannon Beach with my mom. Now I got to pick up where I left off and drive the rest of the coast with Jeff. We had a quick fish and chips lunch in Cannon Beach and walked out to see Haystack rock before moving on. We only drove a few short miles before we stopped at Hug Point. I had visited this part of the coast with my mom and loved it! I thought it was far more beautiful than the beach at Haystack rock and was excited to show Jeff. We hiked down to the beach only to discover that the tide was high enough that it prevented us from making our way around the first rock cliff to find the fresh water stream and shallow caves I explored with my mom. However, Jeff was undeterred. He wanted to see that part of the beach so up we went! We found a primitive trail and hiked up and over the rocky cliff. We literally bushwhacked our way through the trail. It was overgrown with ferns, branches, and more, but it was worth it! We finally made our way down to the little stream that led us to the small waterfall and out onto the beach. We had the beach to ourselves! I'm pretty sure the Oregon coast is close to what heaven looks like...at least my heaven. Haha! I love the mixture of pine trees, thick foliage, sharp rock cliffs, beach and ocean. It's like the best of both worlds - mountains and beach. We explored the little caves, admired the water fall and enjoyed the solitude of the beach before moving on.

Our next stop was Tillamook. We had to stop into their dairy museum and creamery! We briefly walked through the museum before grabbing an ice cream cone (the real reason for our stop!). The ice cream was super creamy! We also bought some cheese to enjoy on the trip as well.

After enjoying our dessert, we kept moving south along the coast. The vistas were breathtaking. I loved seeing the big rocks that decorated the shallow shoreline. Because of those rocks, there was an obvious need for lighthouses. There are several down the coastline, but we only stopped at a couple. The first one we stopped at was Yaquina Head Lighthouse. Unfortunately, the lighthouse was closed, but we were able to walk around it and explore the tide pools. The tide was low enough at this point that we saw tons of mussels, star fish, and other sea anemone. I was actually really fascinated with the smooth, round volcanic rocks that created the beach. They ranged in sizes from softball to small peas. It was a little tricky to walk on, but beautiful to see.

See the orange/pink starfish on the side of the rock?

The day was quickly drawing to a close as we made our way to Coos Bay for the evening. However, we still had one more stop along the way - Thor's Well. This natural sea cave is located on Cape Perpetua. You have to hike down along the sharp, black rocks to find it, but it's easy to locate once the water shoots up. In fact, the water dashes on the shoreline in several places creating huge spouts of water that will soak you if you're not careful! Luckily, we were pretty careful and only got a little spray as we observed the water shows.

Heceta Head Lighthouse in the distance. Definitely going to put that on the bucket list for next trip.

Finally, we made our last push to Coos Bay where we stayed in a quaint little Bed and Breakfast. The house was the oldest house on that part of the Oregon coast. It was built in 1872, but had since been remodeled to accommodate guests. We stayed in the Rose Room. The bed frame was over 160 years old and the room had other treasures, such as an old quilt the owner's great grandmother quilted in the early 1900's. Our stay was quite comfortable and the breakfast was delicious. It was our first time staying in a B&B, and it may not be our last.

The next morning, we left shortly after breakfast to continue our journey down the coast. We definitely made more stops than we had originally planned, but each one was worth it. We wound our way into Shores Acres park in Coos Bay first. There we found several sea lions basking in the sun on the rocks off the coast. Of course, Jeff had to hike down to get a closer look but as soon as he did, the sea lions sounded the alarm and raced to the water. You would think they would be pretty slow but they flew to the water! It was quite a sight to behold. (I was just glad that they didn't fly over to Jeff and drag him into the water with them!)

Next, we stopped in the cute little coastal town of Bandon. We got out and wandered around the shops for a bit before moving on. Bandon reminded me a little of Cannon Beach...just on a smaller scale. While skirting the coastline, we stopped at Face Rock in Bandon. This rock actually looks like a face! As a bonus, we saw a beautiful sand painting on the beach!

 

We picked up the pace after Bandon because we wanted to see the Redwoods, but not before stopping to see another lighthouse - Cape Blanco. This time we were able to go inside. The volunteers there were very knowledgeable. I didn't realize that each lighthouse had a specific signature to alert the captains as to where they were on the coast. Each light would shine for a specific number of seconds then stay dark for a specific number. Interesting! We were able to hike up to see the light (that is still working) before leaving.

We were really close to the border at that point so we made one last stop for a delicious seafood lunch before saying goodbye to Oregon. (Honestly, I was ready to turn around and head back north!).

Finally, we made it to the Redwoods. There are several state and national parks. We knew we wouldn't be able to explore all of them even without all the previous stops we made, but we wanted to make sure to make it to at least one. We stopped at the Trees of Mystery park in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. I'm not sure what the other parks look like, but Jeff and I were in awe of this one! I know it may sound a little silly, but there was a reverence we experienced as we walked around. We witnessed dead trees springing new life. We saw the beautiful nurturing relationship between roots and branches, where a fallen tree still had intact roots to feed the branches that now stretched up to the sun to provide the photosynthesis the tree needed. There were lessons everywhere in the nature God created to teach truth and morals to anyone who was willing to look for it. We loved walking through that park! We found a tree that was 19 feet in diameter and over 250 feet tall! It was all just incredible! We were able to take a gondola ride up the mountain and look out over the tree tops to see the ocean. On our way out, there were several chainsaw carvings for spectators to enjoy as we left the park. We loved all of it!

This is the called the Cathedral Tree. Evidently, you can get married there. We had to kiss in front of the altar.

My favorite tree!

Looking out over the ocean.

Love how new life can come from death and destruction.

This tree burned from the inside after lightning struck it. Yet, there is new growth inside. Just goes to show that nothing is impossible even when all seems lost.

"Pooped" logger

As we headed down the road, we saw a billboard advertising a "drive thru" tree. Of course we had to stop! Unfortunately, our truck was a little too big to actually fit through the tree but we walked through it and snapped a quick before moving on.

We headed south for a few more miles before turning east to Redding. The drive was still pretty through a couple mountain ranges. We even saw a black bear in the wild! It was the first time I'd seen a bear in the wild. Jeff was driving and he was the one who actually spotted the bear. He quickly pulled over (I was a little worried that he was going to pull off the road entirely!). We were able to watch it drink from the river before it noticed us and retreated up the mountain.

We finally made it to Redding after dark...much later than we anticipated but well worth all the stops! The next morning, we headed out as soon as we got up to make it to Sacramento to pick up the next truck. I was a little sad that we weren't able to drive together for the rest of the trip. We did bring walkie talkies so luckily we could still occasionally communicate with each other. After we got the truck, we stopped at In N Out burger (a California staple) for a quick lunch before moving out.\

By this point in our trip, there wasn't many stops we wanted to make; however, I did want to see Lake Tahoe so we drove there first. It was super crowded and there weren't many parking spaces so we didn't stay long. We drove up to Emerald Bay lookout, parked along side of the road, enjoyed the view, snapped a couple pictures, then headed into the town where we found a "beach" so I could feel the water (and feel like I really "experienced" the lake) before moving on. Lake Tahoe is really beautiful, but I missed the secluded, quiet beaches we found along the Oregon coast.

After Lake Tahoe, we crossed the border into Nevada. It was nearing dinner time so we decided to stop in Reno. Of course, we had to go downtown to have a proper Reno experience. This time, we decided to park one truck so we wouldn't have to find parking for two downtown. It was a good thing we did because it just so happened that they were having a Blues, Brews and BBQ festival downtown. All the main streets were shut off. We were lucky to find some parking only a couple blocks away and walked to the festival. The music was great! We didn't indulge in the other two. Instead, we decided to walk into the famed El Dorado casino for dinner (which was honestly subpar and overpriced...but oh well!). While there, I gambled for the first time. I have never had a desire to gamble, but since we were there, I decided to throw a dollar in a machine just to have the experience. I lost 60 cents out of the dollar. The funny thing is I couldn't even figure out how to use the machine. I had to ask a couple nice ladies for help! Needless to say, my gambling career was short lived. Finally, we left and made our way to Winnemucca where we stayed our final night.

Listening to a Blues band.

"Jeff. I don't get how to work this?!"

My nice friends showing me how it's done.

"I'm gambling & I'm horrible at it!"

Our last day, we a steady push home. We literally only made two stops and one was for gas. The other stop was brief one at the Bonneville Salt Flats. I have seen many pictures of this place and wanted to experience it as well. It is surreal! There are just miles and miles of salt! The reflection off the salt can be a little blinding. Plus the way the curvature of the earth in that location gives it an illusion of going on forever. We grabbed a couple pictures then drove the rest of the way home. I love the fact that I get to share these experiences with Jeff. He is truly my best friend. I loved talking to him on the ride as much as the stops we shared together. I was so grateful that Dallin was willing to watch Jonas so Jeff and I could have a little time away and reconnect as husband and wife. I feel like that is so necessary because we can get lost in our parental or work/church duties and forget the most important relationship we have is with each other. I can't imagine going through this life's journey with anyone else! He may not be perfect, but he is my perfect match.

My view on the ride home.