Dinkey Creek and SLO-town!

We went on vacation at the end of June to Dinkey Creek and then to San Luis for the 4th of July.  This is Dinkey Creek! My family has been going to this spot for family reunions for generations.  Since my mom was 15, her 11 brothers and sisters have been coming here with their parents and now they all bring their kids and grandkids too.  It was so fun to see all of my cousins, but since you don't know most of them, I'll just post pics of Sam and my nieces and nephews as well as my siblings and parents.

The famous Dinkey Creek! I took this picture from our camp.  There are usually natural rock water slides we go on, but this year they got so much snow that the slides were like white water rapids so we couldn't go. It's still beautiful to look at!

Me and my niece Courtney.  She's such a ham- I love her!

Since the rock-slides were too dangerous, we spent most of our free time at Shaver Lake.

Sam with niece and nephew Abigail & Austin ready to ride on the inner-tube

Guess who's driving? My nephew Konner (Brigham and Shandell's son) takes the wheel!

Abigail loving life!

We had the whole lake and the kids played a mud-hole, what could be more fun?!

My nephew Atticus found a new best friend, my beautiful cousin Rachel!

Back at the camp Atticus gets tickled till he squeals like a little pig! I wish I had this on video!

Sam had kitchen duty because he's so good at it!

Later, Sam and I went to the Sequoia's in McKinley Grove about 3 miles from camp

Sam is at the base of the trunk!

Love this place! Sam and I at McKinley Grove in 2010...

Sam and I at McKinley Grove in 2007! Right before we got engaged!

Amazing nephew Emerson and my Awesome step-Dad Dave. We always go to the hungry hut for shakes before we leave Shaver Lake.

Back to San Luis Obispo- my mom's garden gate.  Dave built the gate for her!

4th of July, waiting for the fireworks to start in Cayucous!

Fireworks off the pier!

Berries at Avila Barn the next day- Olallieberries are my favorite (mix between rasberry and blackberry)! We used to pick them every year growing up and my mom makes a mean cobbler out of them!

My mom found this Chicken she loved at the little market store at Avila Barn- she totally got it after weighing the pro's and cons.  She is cracking up here because she wasn't sure she needed it and I told her "Oh- Mom, of COURSE you need it!"

I fell in love with this little goat who jumped up on the stump just to get his picture taken by me. What a cutie!

Avila Beach- if you look close at the sign, you'll see there was a Shark advisory that day... this is the same place where a woman got bitten in half by a great white shark my Freshman year in College... It's the beach I've gone to my whole life- YIKES!

Sam and I snuck under the pier where you can take your boats out onto the ocean- cool shot, eh? The CFO from Patagonia saw me taking the picture and gave me her card and asked if I could send it to her.  Maybe I should have asked for free merchandise in return?

Aren't my parents adorable? My mom's jacket totally matches the tile...

That was our trip! I had SO many pictures, but my blog would be a mile long if I posted them all! We miss you already my lovely Central Coast!

track 1: feel my love

I finally uploaded some songs I recorded when I was 19 onto my new computer.  Here is a little diddy I wrote when I was 17.  Don't forget to push PAUSE on my playlist on the right hand side of the screen- otherwise you'll have other music playing in the background. I will probably post one a week so you can hear some of my old music.

P.S. I made another post earlier today too, so don't forget to scroll down and see my fun vacation to Nauvoo!

Nauvoo litterally means in Hebrew, "The City Beautiful". You can see why...

Somebody told me it was time for a new blog post and I decided not to be a flake and just post already! Well, I have a great reason for a new blog post actually! One of my best friends Chari got married in Nauvoo and I told myself I was going- no matter what! Heaven knows I've missed way too many of my friends weddings and I wasn't about to let it happen again! Some of you know I did a semester of school in Nauvoo.  My time there was Heaven on Earth and so the Temple by the river beckoned me once again!

My fabulous friend Heather and her awesome hubby picked me up from the airport in Kansas city and we drove to Nauvoo that night.  We got there in time to watch the sunset and it just melted my heart! However, the humidity kind of melted my make-up too! Remember, I did my semester here in the Winter.  When I first walked out of the airport I was like, "Whoa! It feels like a sauna out here!" Hello people, I live in Utah, a dry arrid desert and so going to Illinois in June was quite a humid treat! Speaking of treats...

Heather and I threw a little bridal shower for Chari and since she and Chase were going on their honeymoon in Hawaii, we wanted to do a fun little luau theme.  As the mastermind to these fruit kabobs (yes I know, I'm brilliant!) I will take some credit.  However, Heather and her hubby Ronnie put them together and they turned out GORGEOUS! We sprayed whipping cream over the tops of them when we were about to eat them and they were like Strawberry Shortcakes on a stick!

Here's some more of our amazing theme-y decorations

Who doesn't like beverage perasols? These little umbrellas always make me happy!

Apparently shortcake kabobs make us all happy!

Chari even had a kabob as her "last supper" breakfast right before the wedding! How cute is she?!

Chari's dad is one of the funniest guys I know.  He's either always smiling or telling a cheesy funny joke. Gotta love him!

After their Sealing ceremony, we all waited outside for them to make their grand appearance to the world as Nauvoo's newest couple! Of course I found a nice photo-op while I was waiting... I always do!

I love this shot, right after they got outside.  It's like Chari's saying "Hello world! I'm a brand new bride and look at my hunky hubby!"

A storybook kiss before they descend the stairs.

We love our Ruchi (that's our nickname for Chari- those of us that lived in the Porch House together in Rexburg)!

One thing I LOVE about Chase is that he always makes Chari laugh and smile- I couldn't have picked a more perfect person for her if I tried!

Already relaxing on the porch on rocking chairs- like they've been married for 50 years. Gotta love it!

Chari's fam after the lunch at Grandpa John's Cafe.  Chari's mom is so cute and petite and she's got great taste in her clothes too! I LOVE her shirt! P.S. I know you can't tell in this picture, but ladies, Chari's little brother Carl looks just like Jasper from the Twilight movies. No joke!

One last look at the temple before driving out to the reception in Terre Haute, Indiana (about 4 hours away).  Isn't the temple the most beautiful thing you've seen!

Memorial statue of Hyrum and Joseph leaving Nauvoo for Carthage before they were martyrd.  I was standing at this statue when I took the last picture of the temple.  I love how it looks like they're riding on the top of trees, but really it was just a cool vantage point.  They are actually bushes surrounding the base of the statue.

Chari's hilarious brother Darren and his lovely wife Chelsea at the reception.  Darren has a really great Terre Haute-ian accent.  It's cracked me up since I first met him in college.  He loves to Bass fish and right now he's a cook for a ranch.  How COOL is that?!!

Chari's besty's at her reception.  Me, Heather and Jessica on the right.  It was so good to finally meet Jessica after all these years.  She was Chari's best friend from back home in Indiana.

After all of the festivities I was kind of pooped-out! For some CRAZY reason I gave up my seat as a volunteer so someone else could get home.  They gave me $400 worth of Delta travel vouchers and put me up in a king-size bed at the Marriott as well as meal vouchers.  However, I don't think I'll do it ever again because the next morning when I went to the airport to catch my new flight, it was cancelled! So much for being nice and letting someone else have my seat! THEN, the next flight got cancelled again and I ended up leaving the airport at 8:30PM!!!! I got them to give me $100 more in travel vouchers for all of my "trouble", but I'm never volunteering to give up my seat again!

It was an all around amazing experience to be there with Chari and friends and her family for her special day.  I wish them all the happiness in the world!