hopeless

I am a bad blogger. Just thought I'd come out there and say it. I can't seem to write on the blog more than once a month. I love reading other's blogs, but for some reason it's a lot harder to write in one myself. I think I just don't know what to write about half the time, and the other half of the time I know it will take a long time to upload photos and such...so essentially I'm just lazy. Well, for the monthly post of September I'll be telling you all about our trip to New York with Mike and Lauren Schreiner...who knows though, maybe it won't be up until October! Just kidding...I've already started working on it :)

a birthday and some boulders

Adam had a birthday this past week...and turned 25! He's officially a quarter of a century and more handsome and wonderful than ever. I feel special to have shared 3 of those years with him, and can't wait for the many more decades I'll get to spend with him. Finding presents to give him are so hard sometimes, because I'm not sure what I can give him that will show him how much I appreciate and love him. He makes me smile EVERY single day, and just makes my life incredibly sweet! He makes me laugh so much and I feel so blessed to be his wife. We celebrated his birthday twice...once on the Sunday before his birthday because my family was in town helping move Cami and Zach into their new place, and on his actual birthday we celebrated again with friends and a Jurassic Park movie. My mom and dad had to head home early on Sunday, so they weren't able to make it to the celebrations, but we had a barbeque at Washington Park with Cami & Zach, the Schreiners and the Spittlers. It was a little cloudy and rainy to start, but it turned out perfect for our volleyball and frisbee games!

Washington Park with friends and family.

Cadet Chapel with Mom & Dad.




Helping Cami & Zach move in their new place in Boulder, CO where Zach will be going to Grad school at CU.





Garden of the Gods with Cami and Zach.

Although Cami and Zach have been in Colorado for less than a week, it has been so fun to be able to hang out with them! I'm a little sad that we only have a month to spend with them, but so happy we do get that month of only being an hour away from us. It's been over 6 years since I've lived this close to Cami, and I'm so happy! We love them so much and can't wait to take advantage of the last few days of summer!

a south dakota 4th of july

For the 4th of July this year, Adam and I got to visit his mom's hometown in Wessington Springs, South Dakota...population 1011. It was Grandma Schwartz's 90th birthday, and we were able to get together for the weekend with Adam's family...minus Papa Beck :( It was a really special trip because we were able to see Adam's Aunt Cheryl, who was recently diagnosed with cancer, and spend some time with her while she visited. She hasn't been given very much time to live, so it was important for us to make sure we get out there and see her.

Most of our time was spent sleeping, eating, and lighting off fireworks - I'm not gonna lie...there's not much to do in Wessington Springs, so you have to get creative with your time. Don't get me wrong though, I absolutely loved the trip. The speed of life goes so much slower, you just have to adjust to it. I think we're so used to having to speed up, that when we get the chance to sit back and let it slow down...we don't really know what to do. There was no rush hour, there's only one grocery store, and life is just seems to roll at a much slower pace. We went to the town 4th of July parade which consisted of decorated golf carts, old men on motorcycles, and every police car and firetruck the town had to offer...one guy was even cruising on his rascal scooter. It definitely wasn't the longest parade I ever went to, but definitely one of the most memorable.

Cami & Zach's Reception

Once again, I have been a HUGE slacker in updating our blog, but hopefully after these few posts I'll be able to redeem myself. It's a pretty daunting task to update after a three week vacation...Adam and I took so many pictures that I don't even know how to choose which ones I want to post! I'll begin with photos of the reason we went on vacation in the first place...Cami and Zach's wedding! Well, after being in Hawaii for almost two weeks in pure bliss, we seemed to almost forget that we still had to come back to Arizona for the reception. Cami and Zach held their reception in the backyard of their friends, Heather and Vic, and it was absolutely beautiful. Setting up in the Arizona heat was pretty toasty, but once the sun went down it turned into a beautiful evening filled with yummy food (thanks to mom!), wedding wishes, and many of Zach and Cami's close friends and family.

can you say...jealous?

Basically our life is full of adventures, and they just keep getting better every day. This past weekend Adam and I went on a field trip for a canyoneering class that I'm a T.A. for...and it was amazing!!! Adam actually wasn't even in the class, but he was invited to go after dropping me off with all of my camping stuff. He was just hanging out, helping load up the trailer and my teacher asked Adam if he wanted to go because a couple of the other students had bailed and we had enough equipment for him to come along. Of course he said yes...so he hustled home, threw some of his things together and raced to meet us before we took off. We got so lucky! I am so happy he was able to come...overnight trips are never the same without Adam.

For those of you that don't know what canyoneering (or canyoning) is...basically traveling through a canyon using a variety of techniques of exploration...hiking, scrambling over boulders, splashing through water, swimming in freezing cold water, rappelling, and just getting through any way you see fit. It's transforming. I can't even begin to describe how amazing it is. All I can say is that you need to do it at least once in your lifetime. We went down to the San Rafael Swell in southern Utah (next to Goblin Valley) and did Ding & Dang Canyons as a warm up, played midnight sardines in Goblin Valley, and the following day we did the Baptist Draw and the Chute. Hiking Ding & Dang is beautiful, but nothing can compare to the slot canyons. I had the opportunity a couple years ago to do the Subway and Keyhole in Zions, and those were two of the most beautiful slot canyons I've ever been through. Baptist was an awesome canyon with such a variety of terrain and scenery....and an 80 foot rappel. I'm pretty afraid of heights so it was a little scary at first just standing on the rock without being attached to anything, but once I started rappelling it was amazing and the landscape was beautiful. We randomly found the body of a dead cow in the canyon...probably swept in by a flash flood and met his unfortunate ending (made a great picture though! thanks to Adam).

The entire loop of the canyons took us about 6 hours - we dropped in the canyon too early and ended up having to hike back out and work our way over - however, it was totally worth it and the weather was perfect. If it had been sunny and hot I might be whistling another tune (entwined with a bit of complaining) because it's pretty miserable hiking in the heat of the desert, but we had a nice breeze and a cloud cover, so I have nothing to say but great things. I did make more bathroom breaks than I think I ever have before in my life...I was trying to avoid dehydration by drinking water constantly, and inevitably had to make about 10 pitstops along the way. I've learned that water is better to drink and have it in your belly than to save it for when you get thirsty...normally by that point you're dehydrated. At that odd note, we had an unforgettable time, made some really good friends, and made some really amazing memories.

Ding and Dang Canyons

Adam playing around as we climbed down the canyons.

Baptist Draw

Working my way through the canyon :)


Hairy beetle and the flash flood cow :(

Adam starting the big rappel and me finding my way.

just danielle

Here are some more pictures from Danielle's wedding day. I was able to steal some shots of just her while their photographer was taking pictures of Jeremy. It was so neat to be in the temple when she got married...there's just nothing better than knowing that someone's going to be with their sweetheart for time and all eternity. I think I'm extra happy for her because she's my sister...so I'm a little biased, but I can't help it. I love her and I'm so happy for her and Jeremy :)