moab continued - mountain biking

after lunch we drove to dead horse state park to go mountain biking. even though this park isn't far from arches it's view is COMPLETELY different. it's mostly made of canyons and it is beautiful.


melissa, natalie, emily, katie, me, and mom

most of us have never been mountain biking before so this was quite an adventure. it was pretty crazy to be riding on slick rock and uneven terrain. i think we were all injured trying to climb certain parts but it was still fun.

we rode to a couple places that offered an amazing view. but, watching everyone get so close to the ledge made my stomach sick. i couldn't handle it and had to walk away. i know, just another example of my wimpy side. ;) i enjoy a beautiful view, but from a distance.

melissa, me, and nat
 

emily, melissa, becky, nat, mom, and katie

 

emily, melissa, and me

 

the ladies getting a little too close to the edge for my liking 

melissa

 

the view 

from there we started our drive back to lehi. we made a late stop in spanish fork for me much needed dinner and then they dropped me off in orem.

we all headed home sunday morning. it was a quick, but so much fun. thanks for the good times! 

 

 

moab continued - hike to delicate arch

no rest for the weary. we were up and at 'em saturday morning for our sunrise hike.

there are some things worth waking up early for and this can count as one. natalie provided some goodies to put together that morning. some YUMMY trail mix and apple slices that we soaked in orange and lemon juice while we hiked. she also carried a gallon of HOT cider in her backpack so we could all enjoy a hot drink while we watched the sunrise. it's she so sweet?!


mom, emily, natalie, katie, and melissa and the trail head for delicate arch (3 miles round trip). it's listed as a strenuous hike and i think that would be accurate. we were all so proud of our adventurous mom for doing it with us.

the view at the arch was just amazing. when we got there i was surprised at the number of people already there (mostly photographers). but, everyone was almost reverent as they took in the view. it was very peaceful.
 

delicate arch
 

enjoying the view
 

way to go MOM!
 

 

under the arch

on the way back we also passed some rock art. pretty cool.

 

it was a wonderful way to start our day.

we went back to our hotel room, freshened up, took a nap, and then went to lunch. we had heard the moab brewery was THE place to eat so we went there. we were all pleased with our food.

moab continued-favorite things

once our bellies were full of food we were ready for FAVORITE THINGS aka christmas in october.

we love this part!


all the bags stuffed and ready to go
 

mom always does such a good job putting a cute bag together for all our favorites to go in.
 

katie gave us each a vinyl sign she made and some of her FAVORITE lotion, the naked bee (i had to take a quick typing break just now so i could get it out of my purse and apply some because it's JUST THAT GOOD). 

melissa gave us each a new watch with cute colored wristbands. i don't think i have worn a watch in three years so this was a GREAT gift for me. it's nice to not have to look at my phone for the time. 

nat gave us each a pair of her favorite nylons. which also happen to by my favorite too. nylons are a MUST in the winter. 

mom gave us each a thanksgiving sit-about sign, an adorable glitter pumpkin, and hand stiched thanksgiving hand towel our grandma made. i can't wait to set them out!

emily gave a labor of love and shellacked all of our toes that night! i love them! 

and i gave everyone some of my favorite bubble bath and lotion, aromatherapy SLEEP from bath & body works. 

see, it's like christmas! so fun.

moab continued

after our quick wet hike we put our soggy bodies back in the car and started our drive out of the park.

fiery furnace

 

cute mom enjoying nature

 

 

 

 

and just for good measure we got a picture of us AND balance rock together. 

   

 

once we exited the park we went to the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner. Then, we checked into our hotel room (with a kitchen) and made some yummy pizza and a relaxing night.

and, how did we back the trailer up so we could park? we didn't. we just took it off the hitch and moved it into it's only spot with our muscles. HA! i'm sure we looked hilarious.

 

sister sneak 2012-moab, utah

it's autumn time, which also means it's time for sisters to sneak!

we did our annual sister sneak the second weekend of october. it was HIGHLY anticipated and such a great get away. natalie planned it this year and did a wonderful job.

thursday afternoon my mom and i loaded up my kids and our bikes and headed to malad, idaho where we had a quick visit with grandma freidenberger and met up with my sister, katie. after a quick dinner at the malad drive-in we headed to emily's place in lehi, utah.

katie and my mom stayed at emily's and i headed to orem,ut with the kiddos to spend the night at kevin's parents home. carolyn (kevin's mom) was kind enough to take care of my little ones while i went off to play! THANKS CAROLYN (and fred, laura, rosanne and rafa and whoever else entertained them during my absence)!

friday morning my four sister and mom came to pick me up in orem and we were off to moab, utah! five sisters and our mommy driving a suburban pulling a trailer full of bikes. AND, nobody knows how to back up the trailer. this should be interesting! ;)

the drive was enjoyable. it was fun to catch-up with everyone. but, when we arrived in moab it was raining. which put a damper on our bike ride plans. luckily, we are great at improvising and decided to drive through arches national park instead and moved our bike adventure to saturday.

the drive through the park was breathtaking. nature really is a wonderfully impressive thing.
the rain had kind of let up as we reached balance rock so we hopped out for a photo op.

 

it's quite a bit more impressive in person. just unreal to see that big rock balancing like that.

 

 

we decided to try to take our own picture by balance rock. we got us...but, not the rock. oh well!

 

natalie, me, melissa, mom, katie, emily

 

then, we drove to the end of the park to decided the weather looked good enough to get a quick hike (1.6 miles round trip) in so we could see the longest arch in the park, landscape arch.

 

we snapped a couple pictures along the way.

 

 

 

 

as we were about to reach the arch the rain started dropping. anyone that knows me well at all knows that when i'm outside and it's raining my heart beats fast. 

so, we snapped a couple more pictures and quickly started our walk back. 

delicate arch

as, soon as we started back the THUNDER began. enough said really. i was TERRIFIED! outside, nearly a mile from the car, no shelter really, rain and THUNDER! yeah, i was praying. i probably said 50 prayers. not kidding.

can you see the fear?

 

but, the LORD blessed us. and we made it back to our cars without harm. so thankful. i am so terrified of thunderstorms i'm surprised my legs even let me walk.
 

mom was happy to be back to the car too! we are survivors! ;)

  

general conference weekend

this past weekend was the 182nd semi-annual general conference for the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. this means we are able to listen to/watch our prophet, apostles, and general authorities and presidencies of the church speak to us while we are at home in our pajamas. what's not to love about this scenario.

we have two two-hour segments on saturday (the men actually have a third two-hour segment they attend that evening at stake centers) and then two more two-hour segments on sunday.

kevin worked saturday so we listened to conference in the car while we drove to pocatello and back to spend some time with my sister, katie, and her family while they were supporting their daughter megan during a couple soccer games.

sunday, we had Belgian waffles with whipped cream and fresh strawberries for breakfast (one of my FAVORITE traditions) and then spent the next six hours (four of them watching conference) together in the living room.

there were some beautiful messages given about showing kindness and patience towards those around us, especially our family. judge less and love more. be humble. considering the blessings instead of focusing on the negative. and recommitting our lives to the work of our Savior and Heavenly Father. SERVICE. REPENTANCE. FAITH.

i always walk away with more hope, peace, and a desire to be better.

this year, along with our conference packets, we decided to try something new.

treat bowls.

each bowl has a treat and a picture and whenever the kids heard someone talking about the picture they could grab a treat.

it worked pretty well. i think we will try it again.


scriptures * prophet * family * prayer * faith * temple

the kids HIT it big when marcus nash of the seventy spoke and said "faith" about 20 times. ;)

hope you all had an wonderful weekend as well!