The Amazon

We went to the Amazon at the start of our trip.  There was a group of 14 of us.  We got to go on jungle walks, fishing, visit a village, cruise along the Amazon River, and so much more!  We stayed at Heliconia Lodge about an hour and a half out of Iquitos, Peru via boat.  The accommodations were great!   We had the best time!  Here are some of my favorite pictures.  

Mom feeding a monkey.

So picturesque.  

You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy.  Their vine lassos were the best!  

The leaf fans were very needed!

 Some cows shading up. 

These kids.  So dang cute! 

 Dinner time! 

 Carol killed us all in sapo!

 Giant lily pad

 Lunch.  They always made it look so pretty. 

 Some homes up on stilts.  These were right where we were getting off the boat in Iquitos.  

The little wooden chair on the bike was my favorite! 

The rooftops, the greenery, the sky.  

And here's a fun little video of parts of the trip :)

Moments

Today Harold Hatch spoke in our ward at church.  I really enjoyed his talk.  He read a quote from Elder Neal A. Maxwell that really got me thinking.  

"Moments are the molecules that make up eternity."  

I just loved it.  Then I got to thinking about all of the moments this week.  

Monday morning I went on a trail run with Taffy.  I just remember getting to the end of the trail and being there with my sister and just soaking in the beautiful view.  Great moment.

I made bread this week.  As I worked with the dough I knew it was going to be good.  I pulled it out of the oven and it was the most perfect bread I think I've ever made.  Great moment.  

My dad and I got to go and watch my nephews play soccer up in Afton on Wednesday.  Owen didn't see us before his game started.  As he was running down the field after he had scored a goal he noticed us cheering for him.  He yelled out, "Hi Livi!! Hi Grandpa!!"  Great moment. 

Friday I got home from a branding (thanks again Trev!) and there was a letter for me from Tessa.  I just dropped everything and read it.  She's doing so well and I'm just so happy for her.  Great moment.

Friday night I went with friends up to a roping in Afton.  They roped well and it was so fun for me to be there and watch.  When it was over I told them great job and they were like, "Thanks Liv!"  Just a reminder of how great of friends I have.  Great moment.  

At the roping I got to sit and talk with one of my little friends, Mason.  He reminded me again how wonderful kids are.  They're just so loving and honest and real.  We laughed all night!  Great moment.

Saturday morning I got to help my mom arrange all of her lovely flower pots in front of her greenhouse.  We set them up mixed in with all of the fun, old furniture and equipment that she has collected over the years.  After all the switching pots and moving them back and forth, we finally stepped back and decided we found the perfect balance.  I love doing this each year with my mom.  Great moment.  

Kalbie and I had to take one of our riding lawn mowers to Logan for repairs.  We loaded it, strapped it down, drove there, and unloaded it all by ourselves.  No men minds involved!  It was a good learning experience for both of us.  When we finally got that thing unloaded we both breathed a sigh of relief! haha  Great moment.  

On our way home from Logan we decided to stop and hike to the Wind Caves.  Neither of us had ever been.  We had the best conversations and I was repeatedly reminded about how thankful I am for her in my life.  The hike and the view were beautiful!  Great moment.  

My life is full of moments like these.  Moments that go undocumented.  Moments that get looked over.  Moments that seem unimportant.  BUT, these are the moments that make my life so happy.  Don't get me wrong--I love the big trips, the fun weekends, the picture worthy moments, but nothing quite beats these small, everyday, great moments.  

I don't really know what to title this post, but I miss my sis.  

Some days I just need to talk to her.  Friday was one of those days.  My life really is so great and I'm so happy, but I have questions and I need her to answer them for me.  Or at least validate my crazy thinking?!  I'm not going to lie, I even cried.  Then I went in the mountains on a hike and just talked to my own dang self!  

haha.  Not the same, but as close as I'm probably going to get :)  Miss you Tess! 

The Cemetery Girls

This post is LONG overdue, but I just needed to write a post about three of the most influential girls in my life.  They all have something in common--they were all my work partner up at the cemetery :)  When you spend about 30 hours together every week, just you and them, you get to know each other pretty well!  

Holly and I worked together the first two years.  Boy was it fun!  Neither of us had any clue what we were doing, but we had fun figuring it out together!  We were pretty good friends all growing up, but in those two summers she became one of my best friends!  I was lucky enough to get to watch her fall in love and marry Ryan.  Now she has a baby and lives in Germany?!  Where has the time gone?!  I can't go too long without a good chat with Holly.  Since she's moved to Germany we've had some good skype chats.  I just love her and her little family!  Holly has taught me to never give up--even when there seems no way out.  She taught me to laugh when you want to cry.  She inspired me with her diligent training for her half marathon.  She's a great friend to all, and I'm so glad I was able to spend so many hours with such a great girl!  

She came home for a little bit to bless her baby, and I was lucky enough to get to visit with her and snap this picture :)

After Holly decided she wouldn't be coming back, I was devastated.  I didn't think that I would ever be able to find someone that great to work with.  Then along came Sierra!  In high school Sierra and I referred to each other as "church friends" cause we were besties in our ward, but we both had different best friends.  Well, we became more than church friends that summer.  We did literally everything together!!  The summer started out pretty rough, but we got it turned around.  At the start of each week we would plan all of the fun things we wanted to do, and then we would plan our work schedule around it.  We did so many fun things!  From fishing to shopping, we did it all!  Sierra has such a deep love for our Savior.  She knows that He knows what's best for her, even if it doesn't make sense to us.  Many of our conversations revolved around the Gospel, and she was so good about sharing her testimony with me.  She taught me to love our little valley more than I ever thought was possible.  All summer long we would say we were the same person because we thought so much alike.  Most days we laughed until we cried.  This last month I was lucky enough to be one of her bridesmaids.  I was so excited for her to meet and fall in love with Trevor.  All the heartbreaks were worth it--he's great!  I felt so honored, and I absolutely LOVED getting to spend some extra time with her and her family preparing for, and enjoying the day.  She was a stunning bride, and had the happiest, best attitude the whole day!  What an awesome, inspiring girl!  

Her wedding day was seriously the best!  She didn't seems stressed at all and was smiling to the last minute!  

When Sierra wasn't coming back, I really thought I was in trouble.  I had already lucked out twice, and there was no way I was going to find a third girl that I would get along with that well.  Then along came Kalbie!  I cannot even begin to tell you how much this girl has impacted my life.  When we started work up there in May we had only talked to each other like 3 times.  We were practically strangers.  After the first day, I knew we were going to be great friends!  She is so happy and outgoing and fun!  You can't help but like Kalbie Harmon.  She has that same love for the outdoors as me, and we had fun doing a few adventures together.  We were always thinking about the next place we wanted to go hiking or running.  It's also convenient that she married one of my best friends from high school, cause now I get to see both of them often!  Kalbie taught me about how important it is to constantly be progressing.  She is always trying to become the best person she can be whether it is spiritually, physically, or improving her relationships with others.  She greets everyone with a big smile, and she just makes you feel so loved!  It wasn't unusual to see Kalbie and I talking for another hour after work, because we never seemed to run out of things to talk about.  I'm glad she lives in Cokeville and that I get to see her, but I also love a good phone chat with Kalbie.  She's just so great!

We actually do have a photo of us in nice clothes, but I just like this one better :)  

When I started working at the Cokeville Cemetery in 2012 I had no idea it would have this large of an impact on my life!  I'm forever grateful for these girls and the things I've learned from them.   

A Hike a Week

At the start of the summer I set a goal to do a hike a week, and it turned out to be one of my favorite things of summer!  I was lucky enough to never have to do any of them by myself, so that was great!  I didn't post the location with any of the photos, but here's my list of hikes :)

1. Top of the old life at Pine Creek

2. Rocky Peak

3. The ridge above Backdoor at Pine Creek

4. The first road on the left of Pine Creek Road, then up the mountain a ways after the trail ends :)

5. Trillium Falls Trail in Redwoods National Park in California

6. Grade Creek

7. The top of Waterfall at Pine Creek

8. The ridge to the west of Sam's Creek

9. From Cokeville to Bear Lake

10. Tri-State Monument--Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho

11. The mountain behind Child's house

12. Bear Lake at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado

13. Corral Creek Lake

14. The ridge west of Sam's Creek until we could see Hobble Creek 

15. Top of the lift at Pine Creek

16. Lake Alice

There ya have it, folks.  I don't even know if some of them were normal hikes that people actually do,  and we don't really know the names of them, but we did them.  Some were more adventurous.  Some were kind of idiodic.  Some were close to home.  Some tested our endurance limits.  Some we hurried to do, but we did it!  One.  Each.  Week.  16 weeks of summer.  16 weeks of happiness.  16 weeks of finding our own adventures.  

National Parks

At the start of the summer I made a goal to visit three National Parks before I headed back to school, and ya know what?! I actually accomplished it :)  I visited Redwood National Park, Crater Lake National Park, and Rocky Mountain National Park.  Each one was very different.  Each one was breathtaking.  While I was talking to my Uncle Sam back in July at our family reunion he asked me about my visits to national parks during the year.  I told him I was so amazed at how unique and beautiful each one was.  He then said that he likes to think of national parks as "God's Gallery."  I love that.  So, here are some photos from the three "galleries."

Redwoods National Park (California)

Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)

Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)

June 7th Already?!

I can't believe it's already June 7th.  Where has the first month of summer gone?!  It's been a busy month, but a great month!  

I started work up at the cemetery again for the 4th year in a row.  I guess it's safe to say I love that job.  I got a new work partner, Kalbie Harmon, and she's great!  We've had a good time working together.  The first three weeks were busy trying to get ready for Memorial Day.  We were up there lots of hours and we got wet lots of times.  I haven't been alive for a long time, but this was definitely the rainiest May I've ever experienced.  I just felt like I was always soggy... It was all worth it though, cause the cemetery ended up looking pretty great for Memorial Day, and I got to know Kalbie a TON better.  Very successful month at the cemetery.  

At the start of the summer, Tess decided our family needed to set some goals.  So, we had a family home evening activity where we each wrote down some goals we wanted to accomplish this summer.  My favorite one so far has been "a hike a week."  Because of some crazy schedules, I haven't been able to be as adventurous on the hikes as I've wanted to be, but we've gone on a hike each week none the less.  This next week's hike is going to be pretty legit, so stay posted :) 

Up Rocky Peak.  I love these three.  

What would I do with out this sis?  

Tyson and Candace came down for a few days here this last week and we had a fun time with them.  Sunday afternoon Dad, Tyson, Tess, and I went on a drive up to my Uncle Ron's summer range and Tess and I got to hear story after story of my dad and Tyson's days out cowboyin'.  It was a good afternoon! 

Ron's horses.  Everything was SO green!

One night we all met Tami, Casey, Tel, and Kimball up in Jackson at the Bar J.  It was so fun being together, eating good food, and listening to some great music and jokes.  Those guys are hilarious, and so talented!  

The five members of the Bar J Wranglers.

This past week I've been able to go docking.  I sure do love doing that, and the Child's are nice enough to keep letting me come back!  It's made for some long days, but it's been so worth it! It's so fun being out there with all of them.  They're the best!  Tyson and Candace came out for a few days so that was fun! Tess came out for a day as well.  It was fun introducing her to it, and now she understands why I like going so much :)  So, thanks Child's for yet another fun week out dockin!!

Cute little Mason and Katelyn with some lambs.

Finally, this weekend Tel got baptized.  I'm so proud of him and the choice he made to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  As I watched the baptism, I thought about the covenants I made at my baptism 14 years ago.  I covenanted to take Christ's name upon me, to always remember Him, keep His commandments, and serve Him til the end.  Since I was baptized, I've messed up plenty!  I've had moments when I didn't represent Christ well, when I didn't serve when I could have, and plenty of times when I didn't keep His commandments.  Luckily for me, each week I get to renew these covenants as I take the sacrament.  It's kind of like getting baptized again.  I get to repent of all of the things of screwed up on during the week, and resolve to try my best the next week.  I'm so thankful for the ordinance of the sacrament and the chance I have to renew those baptisimal covenants I made when I was eight, just like Tel.  

One of the most handsome 8-year-olds ya ever did see! 

So, as you can see, my summer is off to a great start!  It'll be fun to see what the next three months will bring :) 

"Look at that sky!"

"Look at that sky!" has been one of my most frequent sayings this summer.  Then, I snap a picture.  Cokeville seriously has some of the best skies.  I don't really know how it happens, but it just does!  And I'm lucky enough to be outside all of the time to witness them!  The other day when I told Sierra to look at the sky for the billionth time she replied with, "You're kinda obsessed with the sky, aren't ya?"  She's right, and here's a little proof. 

Now I know I'm no professional photographer and most of them aren't set perfectly, but these photos were just taken with my iPhone.  No filters, no special effects, just real, natural beauty.  After Sierra called me out on my obsession I started to think about why I am so obsessed.  I think this quote by Elder M. Russell Ballard sums up pretty well how I feel about nature.  

"Men and women in all parts of the world have a desperate need to take time from their demanding routines of everyday life and to quietly observe God's miracles taking place all around them.  Think of what would happen if all of us took time to look carefully at the wonders of nature that surround us…this world that God created for us!"

  I've always loved the earth and knowing that God created it.  Each day the earth changes, and to me those changes are made by God.  So, each time the sky is so beautiful and so different, it reminds me of God's hand in everything I do.  He is constantly putting stepping stones in my path.  I can choose to take a second and be thankful for them, or I can just keep going right along with my life.  Stopping to take a look at the constantly changing sky reminds me to take a look at my constantly changing life and love it.  Every different moment.