Bryce Canyon

Well before this year was out and before our America the Beautiful Pass expired we went to Bryce Canyon for my first time. We went to Bryce Canyon with my Dad (it was his first time too) over Father's Day weekend and camped two nights! We spent Saturday going all over the park, seeing everything and hiking around a little bit. My dad took lots of pictures and I did too! I'm really going to enjoy them for years to come. It was the best Father's Day that I've celebrated in a long time.

Here are some of the pictures that we took:

Here is a picture of my two most favorite men at Wall Street!

One of my favorite of the amphitheater!

I'm very afraid of heights and this is a trail that we went on that drops off on both sides, the above picture is a picture of my return from the end of the trail and the below picture is one of me going toward the little hill in the top picture. The whole time that I was doing this I was repeating things to myself like "The only ground that matters is the ground below your feet." "Don't look anywhere but the ground beneath your feet." I'm such a wuss sometimes! :)

Me and my dad!

W and I standing next to a young Bristlecone Pine, this tree is probably only a few hundred years old!

Here's a cool looking Bristlecone!

Same one.

Here's a picture of me with another Bristlecone.

Hair

W has been growing his hair out and so have I!

Movie Extra

By the end of May W and I no longer worked at the after school thing because the school year was over. But W did get to be in a low budget movie! He had a small speaking part and a featured extra. They chose him because they thought he would look like a great pioneer and he did! I even got to make him and shirt and suspenders for it. It was fun!

Basket Weaving

I taught a basket weaving class for the first time this last spring. It was one of those community classes that they do in most areas only I taught it. I had a blast and my students made great baskets. One of them even went on to make dyed baskets for her nieces and nephews for Easter, it was more ambitious than I would have been. I was so proud of all of my students especially the two that were related to me, my mom and dad. :)

My Family

I failed to mention this earlier, but my family ended up moving here as well! My mom, dad, sister and her husband and kids, and my grandma all live here now. I have loved having them close and have really enjoyed being involved in all of the birthdays and other holidays that I have gotten to spend with them. It so nice to go over and see my nieces and nephew and actually have them recognize me and run up to me for a hug yelling "Auntie S!" I love it every time!

Back to Candy

After my trip and our trip, I searched for a full time job. I was unsuccessful but I was able to get two part time jobs that would give me more hours than a full time one. I went back to the little candy store I had worked at, my manager was looking for someone else to hire and I was still looking for work. I was able to get a steady schedule there that allowed me to work for a kids after school program. I ended up becoming a site leader at the elementary school where I worked. It was a lot of fun and I love those kids. I also loved working in the candy store again. I had really missed my manager, my coworkers, and the customers, it has been good to be back.

Our First Time in Great Basin

Shortly after my trip to Montana, W and I went to Great Basin National Park. We only had time for one and a half days there but in that time we both fell in love. Great Basin is in Nevada and it's such a small national park that they don't charge any entrance fees. While there we hiked to the top of Wheeler Peak (13,065 ft). It was the first time I had ever made it to the top of a mountain, I loved it! The next day we were there we went on a tour through Lehman Caves and hiked to the Bristlecone Pine grove. Both experiences were also wonderful. The Lehman Caves are beautiful and full of cave formations. The Bristlecone Pine grove was a much more sacred experience, these trees might be the oldest living organisms that we know of (the oldest ones are around 5,000 years old). It was a great trip for our marriage as well, we learned a lot climbing to the top of that mountain and I'm looking forward to when we can do it together again!

P.S. When I find that dang memory card I'll post some pictures! :)