Silver Lake

 The day before the 4th of July, we headed up to Silver Lake with Aunt Abi! 

Lance doing a little rock climbing! 

Rock jumping! 

And a little fun on the chair lift!  

And two more moose to add to this summer's roster.  

Hike 7 - Cecret Lake

Early July we headed up Cecret Lake with our friends the Wilkinson's.  

Tallie & Amanda picking some wild flowers!  

Me & My Goose!  He's almost 6! 

It's a beautiful trail - lots of rocks to climb on, streams to cross! 

Up the hill & we made it to the Lake!  

Such beauty! 

 The hiking crew! 

Cute Wilkinson Fam! 

Love my little fam! 

10 Year Anniversary!

Spence & I celebrated our 10 year anniversary on June 28!  

We started off the day with a lovely hike through the mountains.  We decided to hike up Big Cottonwood Canyon and do the Lake Mary, Martha, & Catherine hike up to Sunset Peak.  

First you hike to Lake Mary, then Lake Martha, and finally to Lake Katherine.  This is picture of us at Lake Mary.  Gotta love the person's finger over the lens who took our picture, haha! 

I love this picture of the beautiful Utah mountains.  When I think of my life with Spence, it reminds me of the poem "The Road Not Taken" and the line that says: 

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I - I took the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference!"  

We have done a lot of crazy, unique and fun things in our life together.  Life with Spencer has definitely been full of surprises and I think the 'road less taken' fits us perfectly!   

When we reached Lake Catherine, we decided to keep going and hike to the top of Sunset peak!  

It is the very tip top peak between my hands.  

The view from the top was incredible!  If you look closely you can see all three lakes below.  

We also took time to have a picnic of wheat thins, cheese and fresh basil!  Delic! 

 I had to capture some of the beautiful scenery on the hike back down to the car.  We truly are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place with so many ways to keep in shape right at our footsteps.  

I had to post a picture of the moose we saw because as a family we were keeping track of all the mooses we saw this summer.  I think this was number 5 or 6.  

So - Spencer & I both keep track of how much energy we put out on a daily basis through our Nike fuel bands.  My daily goal is 5,000 fuel points and Spencer's is 4,000.  Well, Spence had the genius plan (sarcasm) of getting to 10,000 fuel points on our 10th anniversary.  WHAT THE!?  That was going to take some serious energy on our part.  So, we both started out the day with a work out, then our big hike, then straight from the hike we took our kids over to Mimi & Papa's for a sleepover where we jumped into the pool fully clothed, because why not!? heck, this is our 10th anniversary!  

Wahoo - 10 years baby!  

(Also a quick swim for some fuel points!) 

After swimming, we quickly changed and headed out for 9 holes of golf, where we walked of course - think fuel points here people!  

For dinner, we went cheap but yummy at Cafe Rio.  I talked to the guy into giving us free drinks and dessert because it was our anniversary!  

After dinner, we went on a quick walk around the neighborhood to ensure this happy ending ... (and then finished the night off at a 10:30 movie!)  

Anyone who does fuel, knows this is a pretty big accomplishment, especially since we could both accomplish such a big number together the same day!  And, for the record, my number is the top one! ;) Spence was so cute and kept saying, 'if we can do 10k fuel points on our 10th anniversary, we will be unstoppable!' haha! I love his zest and positivity for life!   

I am grateful for Spencer and for the life we have created together.  I feel so extremely blessed and happy to be where I am at in my life right now.  We have had tons of ups and some downs, but more than anything we have been able to really stretch ourselves and grow and I am so grateful to be on this journey with Speen, my love and best friend!  

Manti, Utah Temple

We visited the Manti, Utah Temple the end of June.  This temple is absolutely breathtaking, and I was so excited to show it to my children.  

Interesting facts about the Manti, Utah Temple 

3rd operating temple 

Announcement: June 25, 1875

Dedication: May 21-23, 1888 by Lorenzo Snow 

Rededication: June 14-16 by Gordon B. Hinckley 

Perched atop "temple hill" visitors can see the Temple from miles and miles away.  

Third temple built in Utah 

Only temple dedicated by President Lorenzo Snow 

Built on a rattlesnake infested site known as the Manti stone quarry.  

Twin self-supporting, open centered spiral staircases wind up five flights of stairs up each of the octagonal towers on the west side of the Temple.   The dramatic stairways are considered an engineering marvel for the Utah pioneers.  

Hand painted murals are found on the walls of the progressive ordinance rooms. 

There used to be an arched tunnel that cars could drive through to get from one side of the temple to the other; it has since been closed.  

The Manti temple is only one of 7 temples where patrons progress through different rooms.  

The Manti temple is only one of two temples (the SL temple being the other) where live acting is performed for the endowment.  

Lightening struck the temple in 1928 and burned for three hours before it could be extinguished.  

1985 the Manti temple was rededicated after a four year renovation project.  

Thousands of people flock to the Temple every year in June to watch the popular Mormon Miracle Pageant.  

We decided to come down in June to see the Mormon Miracle Pageant - also known as the Manti Pageant.  As we arrived we found a street vendor and got some rice.  It was enough rice to feed our and the Wilkinson's children!

Before the pageant stared, we were able to walk around the Temple grounds and see how beautiful it was.  The Temple does truly sit atop a beautiful hill and it was so neat to see it as we were miles and miles away.  

The pageant was a spectacular site. Hundreds of people dressed up and performing three intertwined gospel stories - the restoration of the gospel, the witness of the Book of Mormon and the journey of the faithful pioneers to the beautiful Sanpete Valley.  It demonstrates the love of Jesus Christ for all people.  

Wow, such a beautiful site!  

I am grateful for this beautiful house of the Lord.