rexburg

a couple weeks ago, craig and i went back to rexburg, idaho. we met there, nine years ago, and haven't been back since we (he) graduated. also, my brother, taylor, is finishing his last semester there so we thought it would be fun to visit him. the day we arrived the weather was perfect so we drove straight up to the new temple to get pictures.

i was very excited to see the new temple. and it didn't disappoint. it was stunning. 

after walking around the temple grounds we headed over to see the campus. it was so fascinating seeing all the new additions they have made since we left. this is the new cafeteria. trust me, a VAST improvement.

my favorite new thing on campus? the freaking sky bridges. 

that night taylor suggested we eat pizza AT broulims. this confused us because broulims is just the dinky local grocery store. but hey, hey! rexburg's not joking around with the updates. now even broulims has a fancy loft with seating and tvs.

my awesome friend from highschool/college, marissa, stopped by with her two girls. loooooved catching up.

the next day, craig and i went to the temple and then walked over to the campus to peek inside the new devotional auditorium. we were laughing at the puny basketball court where we used to go for devotionals when we went to school there.

that afternoon rachelle, taylor's wife (who has to stay behind in seattle this semester while taylor finishes school) joined us! they are such a great couple.

later that night we drove over to the haunted mill. this was one of my favorite parts about living in rexburg so i was excited to go back!

and boy, it didn't disappoint. we were scared out of our ever living minds.

on our way back to the hotel we stopped for ice cream and to get a picture at the new little strip mall in town. it has a jimmy johns, a deseret book, a neilsons frozen custard and a few boutiques. pretty fancy!

then we did our nightly ritual of hot tubbing followed by watching a scary movie. 

the next day we drove over to jackson hole. it was cold but gorgeous.

having fun in the local thrift store.

the town square was so amazing and festive.

the antler arch classic photo op.

after jackson hole, we dropped taylor and rachelle back off in rexburg and headed down to idaho falls. we wanted to recreate our traditional friday date nights we did in college. quite the memory lane weekend!

on our last day we walked around the temple one last time. the weather was perfect.

while we were there we stumbled across an unmarried couple making out on a temple bench. it was a sunday morning. the way those mormon college kids get their kicks, i tell ya.

on our way to the airport we visited bear world. craig and i had never been there before. it was pretty cool. 

look how close we got to a bear!

insane bear posse.

cutest pig ever.

this deer was eating right out of my hand.

we loved bear world!

it was a wonderful weekend. 

pumpkins

tagg and sully were not that interested in having their picture taken an the pumpkin patch. can you imagine? im lucky they turn it out when i ask them too. 

they were, however, interested in getting a ride on the wheelbarrow.

my priceless pumpkins.

picking our pumpkins is one of my favorite traditions of the year. especially if we get there early enough in the season before they are all picked over.

and any outing is better with these two.

scottsdale with jocelyn

a few weeks ago i met up with jocelyn in scottsdale. the first night, we got straight to work.

the next morning we hiked around the resort grounds then sunned at the pool with our piña coladas! not too shabby.

the montelucia. so pretty.

for lunch we had tasty cafe rio.

after lunch we checked into the royal palms (another hotel in scottsdale). the grounds were so beautiful.

royal palms.

that evening we shopped then had dinner at culinary dropout. 

friends.

the next morning we laid by the pool then got ready for the day and found some poor soul to take our 5727289229th picture. 

we had lunch at grimaldis pizza then had our makeup done at bobbi brown. smokey eyes!

we had a late dinner at blanco tacos. the best mexican food ever. we sat under the mist machines. love those misters!

when we got back to the hotel we felt like getting in the hot tub. but we couldn't find towels anywhere. we had to trek across the entire property to ask for towels. we were just a little happy with our fresh, hot towels!

on our last morning we got massages then hogged the pool floaties and soaked up the last bit of sun. it was heaven.

heaven.

honestly one of the best weekends of my life. im so lucky to have jocelyn.

a concert at the gorge

last weekend craig and i went with our friends to a concert at the gorge. it was a perfect night and the views at the gorge are breathtaking.

the place was paaaaaaacked. and even tho it was just the zac brown band (a relatively clean country band) the patrons were (hmmm. how do i put this nicely) not the classiest of souls.

kaitlin and me. and my country garb!

a great night with great friends.

back to school 2013

the boys started school last week. tagg kindergarten and sully preschool. they were very excited.

a few nights before the first day of school tagg had his meet-and-greet. his dang name tag and desk were so cute! he loved every second of it.

finally, it was the first day of school and it was the first time i saw tagg be a little nervous. it made my heart hurt. but he boarded the bus like a brave guy.

a few hours after tagg left, i took sully to his first day of preschool. before we walked inside he got a little sad and said, "but mom, i dont know my letters." again, i got a little lump in my throat. my boys know how to do it to me! but as soon as we walked in the classroom sully was as courageous as can be and never looked back.

the second day of school wasnt such a blur, so i got a chance to take a few pictures of tagg getting on the bus. walking tagg down to the bus stop, with sully, on our fantastic brick road is one of the coolest things i have ever done. 

ward campout

a few months ago craig and i were asked to be in charge of this year's ward campout. we had never been to a ward campout so i felt a little out of my comfort zone. but that didnt mean it wasnt going to happen! so a month before the campout i made these posters to put in the church hallways to get people excited.

then, the week before the campout we passed around little reminder fliers.

finally! it was time to head up to ensign ranch. my boys were in complete heaven.

im not thaaaaaat into camping but this fantastic river was right behind where we pitched our tent. beautiful.

such a sweet little guy!

after scouting out the area around our tent we made our beds. when we first got there i thought "holy crap. we are going to burn up during the night. there are 500 million blankets." didnt matter. i still froze that night. :)

before it got dark the kids played hide and seek. i loved watching tagg & sully play with the big kids.

i borrowed some kid's bike so i could go around the campground and tell everyone when to meet for smores.

there was a state wide fire ban. so we werent able to do a normal big campfire. but this propane firepit did the job. not 100 percent sure THAT was even legal. oh well!

setting up for smores.

when ensign ranch emailed me a week before the campout and informed me that there was a fire ban i freaked out. it was hard enough to get people to come camping but camping without smores?! i was sure craig, the boys and i would be the only ones up there. so i put together these little smores mix bags to lure my friends up there.

it turned out the propane firepits worked out wonderfully and even had the added bonus of not making me smell like sick smoke. loved it!

wouldnt want to plan a campout for 130 people with anyone else!

after smores, songs and a devotional we passed out glow sticks and the kids had a blast. this picture doesnt do it justice, but it looked so cool to have the neon colors running around in the pitch black.

i put it off for as long as i could but at some point we had to "go to bed".

even though craig and i didnt sleep for more than three hours or so that night it was still totally worth it. tagg & sully had such a great time.

the following morning craig and i woke up and served breakfast (not pictured: a hot chocolate bar!) to everyone. who doesnt love a good old costco muffin (really, its basically cake)?

i still cant say i love camping but we had a great time. we loved spending time with our friends and family out in the sticks!