Sunday, July 25, 2010

Pioneer Day...Blazing Our Own Trail!

So traditionally on Pioneer day we go to a parade and have a family BBQ...well tradions can change. Steve wanted to BLAZE his own Pioneer Trail. Yesterday we finally had a day off at the same time. Steve surprised me and planned a WHOLE DAY away. He told me to wear pants and good shoes. Duh, I knew we were taking a road trip on his bike. We started the day by runnnig a few errands in town, then we came home and packed a few things on the bike, most important, my camera! We left around noon and he told me we were going to Mirror Lake in the Uintas. It was a BEAUTIFUL day for a bike trip. This is our first stop. We pulled off to look at the JORDANELLE. Such a beautiful view of the boats and the ski slopes. Here Steve is checking out how much this lot is selling for. Just 1.5 Million for the lot....Glup! Good thing we were just looking!
The next stop was at Bald Mountain. The top of the mountain is BALD, no trees. We are standing on the BALD part taking a picture of the amazing mountains behind us.
Just a closer shot of the view from BALD Mountain. We could see several lakes, and the tempeture dropped to te 60's. Cool, but felt wonderful after coming from the valley were it was high 90's.

Another picture of us with the bike on Bald mountain. A nice lady asked if we wanted a picture together, heck YES, Thanks nice lady!
We made it! This is us at Mirror Lake. Our great FRIENDS the Barth's were there having a family picnic. Mike snapped this shot for us. Mike is Steve's good friend that rode his bike up too. It was great to see them for a minute. The weather was quite cool, and I almost put on my jacket, but I toughed it out knowing we were headed back to the HEAT!
Connie snapped this picture of us as we were loading up to head back down. I know, you are all jealous of our great DO-RAGS! Hey, it least my head didn't get burned.
On the ride back we stopped serveral times for me to snap some pictures. This is Lilly Lake. What a beautiful world we live in!
I kept my camera in my hand and got some pictures of what we saw on the ride. I thougt you might all feel like you were sitting in the back seat checking out the view. It was soo fun!
This is PROVO FALLS. We took our family pictures here a few years ago. We love this spot. Because it was a Holiday weekend, there were soo many people here. We laughed when we kept seeing people arrive in their swim suits. The water is ICE cold, where did they think they were swiming? Sorry, personally I only swim in WARM water with sandy beaches.
Steve and me at Provo Falls. We ran into our neighbors, Dan and Paula and their boys as we were just leaving. Soo funny we ran into friends soo far away from home. On the way home we stopped and had lunch in Kamas at a cute grill, then Steve called Casey and had him get us tickets to a movie. We went and saw INCEPTION, I may have slept a little, but Steve really liked the movie. It was interesting, not what I expected. Then on the way home we went to COLD STONE. I got my Sorbet, and it was the perfect ending of a perfect day. I told Steve, I couldn't remember the last time we had such a FUN date together. I really did get the Best Guy ever. Thanks for BLAZING your own trail and letting me come along. Now I can't wait to have another weekend off together and sneak away for another BIKE TRIP!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Haupt Reunion 2010

Wow, where did the time go? This week was the "Haupt Family Reunion" Once again it was held up at the Girls Camp near Huntsville, UT. We had a fantastic time, and LOVE being together every two years to laugh and play as a family. I was in charge of all the FOOD this year, and I think we all gained 10-lbs. Playing and eating is what the HAUPTS do best. This is the 12 of the 15 brave souls that went on the waterfall hike. It is such a beautiful hike, but very steep. Worth every sore muscle.
Just having some fun on the hike! Rebekah, Hannah, me, Nancy and David.
Proud we made it to the WATERFALL!! Mikie letting Olive feel how cold the water is. She loved it.
Cool Nephew JORDAN, King of the hill.My two cute Nieces Rebekah and Hannah. They let me hangout with them until my family arrived on Friday night. Okay.....The HAUPT FAMILY TALENTSHOW. I promise you would be soo entertained if you could be there. This is Grandpa Haupt and Aunt Vicki with their rendition of "JABBERWOCKY" And then the talent that brought down the HOUSE!!! My soo COOL brother David and his kids did a SYNCHRONIZE swimming skit. Holy Cow. talk about too funny. I tried to download the video of this and it didn't take, so use your imagination.....laugh alot! It was GREAT!!! Courtney treated us with her harmonica and we all had to sing "Silent Night". This wouldn't download either. Dang, you missed some great talent!After the Talent show, we all helped Casey and Kandace get settled in then it was time for the FIRE and SMORES! We all sat around for hours laughing our heads off at the crazy jokes everyone was telling....just ask Courtney to share one of hers.....well, maybe not.Saturday, before we left, I talked my COOL brother David into taking me and my cousin Sandy on a bike ride, just a short 15 miler. (He normally rides 50 miles a day) Here we are on the most beautiful bike ride. It reminded me alot of the scenery in Germany. Breath taking. We had too much fun riding the tandem, what alot of work for two 29 year olds!
When we got back from the ride we helped clean the lodge then we had to say our GOODBYES. In honor of Cameron, I asked the group to pull a "CAMERON POSE" So this one is for you Cameron, your family LOVES YOU!
After we left, we decided to take our time getting home and we stopped in Huntsville. We had a yummy picnic lunch, then my adorable children played on the PLAYGROUND!
This is the girls seeing who can swing the highest. Tineke could hit a branch when she went high!

Courtney had fun on the climbing wall!
And last striking a pose on the play tires. We all had such a great time as a family with our extended family. FAMILES ARE FOREVER!!! And we sure do love our FAMILY!!! Thanks for the great reunion, and we will see you all in 2-very short years! ( And all my missionaries will be back!!!!)

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Adventures from Elder Leavitt

Cameron has been gone almost 9-months now. The area he is currently in has been a bit tough for him. He has been in the area almost 6-months. The teaching has been slow, but he works hard to keep the members active. One thing that you can always count on with Elder Leavitt is his great ATTITUDE and outlook on life. He knows how to have FUN and share his rock solid TESTIMONY at the same time. Cameron found "HERBIE"... how funny is that. OCHO found his way to the Philippines.
Cameron said this was a FHE GAME NIGHT. If you did the task incorrect, you got a black mark on your face. Do you think he is getting it wrong on purpose? Nah....
Having fun with a family they are teaching. Cameron said that the other missionaries told the family that Elder Leavitt was new and didn't understand Tagalog at all. They told them he was working on the language, and had faith he would learn it. By the end of the lesson, Elder Leavitt was speaking fluent Tagalog. The kids thought it was so funny. Never a dull moment with Elder Leavitt.
This was a major MILESTONE in his mission. The Missionaries will take 3- of these pills on their mission, and the last one the day the go home. This means Elder Leavitt has offically been in the PHILIPPINES for SIX MONTHS.
This is one of my favorite pictures he has sent home. What a beautiful little girl. The missionary is kinda handsome too!
TAXI anyone??? Can you even imagine riding around all day giving people rides for a living? This shows how much taller Elder Leavitt is to the average person in the Philippines. I think his knees hit the handlebars when he peddles.
Taking a shortcut through the rice field. Elder Leavitt said that its saves alot of time to cut through the fields but when it is raining, it is quite hard to do. At the end of a day. Elder Leavitt in a rice field at sunset. He is doing great and LOVES his MISSION. He has had some challenges with his health, but is feeling better. We know that he is in the PHILIPPINES to share the gospel and help the members there. What an AMAZING young man, and we are all so proud of him. Hope you enjoyed this weeks entry and time with Elder Leavitt.