Summer Vacation Part III: Southern Utah

During any vacation, this is probably the hardest thing. Driving. We did it a lot. In fact, we put over 1000 miles on our brand new Jeep Patriot in a 10 day period of time.

We had a lot to keep us busy in the car, though. We had our CDs, but more importantly we had snacks. You can't go on a road trip without necessities, such as easy cheese and crakers, chips, sodas, and various candy conglomerates.

We drove through Zion National Park on our way back to Tropic. We missed Lainey so bad that we didn't even stop to do any hikes. We promised ourselves that we would go back through on our way back home, but we never did. We were too tired. we got some nice pics though!

Here we are stopped waiting for our turn to go through the long tunnel. Great photo op for us to stand in front of our newly broken in 2008 Jeep Patriot.

Doesn't Leslie look HOTT? Notice the other Jeep in the background. There must have been 4 or 5 cars behind us and another in front. We were all out of our vehicles because it was a ten minute wait to allow for a large tour bus to come through the narrow tunnel.

Before settling down in Tropic for the next couple of days we decided to take a random trail in Red Canyon (right before Bryce Canyon National Park) It was great fun!

Summer Vacation Part II: Las Vegas Baby!

I know that this isn't the image that one correlates with Las Vegas, but the visit to the Las Vegas LDS temple was the most edifying part of the trip. We visited the temple before our appointment and timeshare presentation which is the reason we went to Vegas in the first place.


This is the view from the 27th floor of the Sahara, where we were put for two nights for attending the presentation. We upgraded to a suite for an extra $50, and it wasn't bad even if I am used to Marriott...I really wanted to be able to use my Marriott perks in Vegas, but free is better than discounted any day of the week!
We enjoyed walking around and seeing the sights, even if it was 107 degrees during the day and 103 degrees at night. We bought a couple of passes for the monorail, and that saved our feet from ast least falling off! I was able to speak to a couple of Italians on the train as well. That made it all worth it.I had to have Leslie take a picture of this. I was hoping for a bigger crowd to show off for, like Tom Hanks had in Big, but I wasn't disappointed as I had the talent but not the extra takes!

This was pretty cool. Leslie caught it in video.

We spent quite a bit of time at Ceasar's Palace, but at least it wasn't hotThese are a few random pics to finish up the post. It was hot and we were ready to go! On to Southern Utah

Summer Vacation Part I: LeFevre Family Reunion

Don't I have the best husband ever?!?! I was impressed... anyways... On our vacation, I took 150 pictures over 10 days, so I think it will be best to post in sections...
I started my new job officially on Monday the 18, but I had workshops August 6,7,8 and we left for Southern Utah on the 8th, so it was a pretty crazy week. On Friday the 8th, I only had to go half day and Josh had stayed home in the morning to watch Lainey and so after I got out of my workshop, we all went to Park City and Lainey and I chilled and swam at the hotel until Josh got off at 5 and then we drove to Tropic. We had planned to go out to Deer Range (my Grandpa LeFevre's ranch that is between Tropic and Kanab via the Grand Staircase National Monument... if that makes any sense...) But it had been pounded by rainstorms and everyone was stuck at the ranch and we couldn't drive there until Saturday morning. When we finally got out there, we were glad to be there, but had to be shuttled on 4wheelers from the gate to the cabin because of the mud... it was really bad! We were looking forward to riding horses and Josh wanted to drive Grandpa's old CJ5 Jeep, but it was too muddy and the jeep was missing a battery for some reason... We did get to enjoy visiting with family and playing 'reunion' games for a few hours before the afternoon thunderstorms started again. Everyone was running around like ants trying to get things packed in trucks so we could get out of there before we got really stuck- One truck did slide into a pond but there were able to pull it out with a tractor. My family headed back to Tropic and everyone else headed to Kanab (dirt roads) and they ended up having to wait 3 hours while a flash flood had ran its course, so I guess we were the lucky ones. On Sunday, my cousin reported his mission in Orderville, and the weather was considerably better. We had a really good dinner and extra time with extended family. It was really good to be all together and honor the memory of Grandpa LeFevre by keeping the family reunion tradition alive.





To be continued...

Because I can

I just wanted to write a quick little note, because I am able to access the blog now. Instead of posting pictures that we took while on our anniversary trip, I wanted to take the time to praise Leslie and what a wonderful and strong woman she is. It has been hard for her to leave Lainey, and today was the first official day away. It was a teacher preparation day at the elementary school, and Leslie has been gone all day to make sure that her classroom is ready. I was left to nurse a wicked sunburn that I received at the Marriott Charity Golf Tournament today and to try my hardest to take care of Lainey tonight. Leslie is the most amazing woman and the best wife that I could ask for. She is a great example to me. I hope to someday be as great as her. I LOVE YOU!

Just because

I really wanted to post tonight, but my camera is downstairs somewhere, and I'm not... So I decided that this post will be dedicated to my wonderful husband...Josh. Every Saturday, he is the one to wake up with Lainey and is so wonderful to take her everyday after work so I can have a little time to myself. Lainey was so excited that he was home today and she wouldn't even come to me... it made me a little sad, but I know she just needed a change! I couldn't have asked for a better husband! He knows me so much better than I know myself. When I'm down or just having one of those days, he knows exactly what to do to help me feel better. And when I can't figure out what I want, he can... he is so understanding, so caring, and so much fun! He really is my favorite person and my best friend. We are planning a trip to Vegas (courtesy of WorldMark timeshares, i.e. a two night trip because we went to a presentation and we have to go to another one down there) and St. George (Zion) in a few weeks for our anniversary and I am so excited to have a little vacation with just the two of us! Lainey is great and she is so much fun, but there comes a time... after a baby turns 1 I think... that a break from them is a good thing!!!

I am so grateful that Josh is a worthy priesthood holder and that he makes the Gospel and his family his priorities. The best thing about Josh (other than he is the best kisser ever!!!) is that I know he loves me no matter what... makeup or not, fat or thin, blonde or red headed... I know he loves me for me and I could not be more grateful for that!

WARNING: Its a long one!!!

Afer I finished uploading pictures, I realized that they are in reverse chronological order and I didn't want to move them around, so I'll tell the story in reverse! We had such a fun time in Tropic. Lainey and I both loved being down there and were grateful we could spend as much time as we did with my family!

This picture was taken the Sunday after we got home... she was so tired, she fell asleep with her Goldfish crackers in her hand! Lainey and Gramma April- look how good they match... and it wasn't even on purpose!

Josh took this picture... isn't it sweet? We went camping at Pine Lake on the 4th of July and Lainey loved being out in the wilderness. She had a good time collecting rocks and pinecones. When we were getting ready to leave, we had the doors open in the Jeep, and as we were loading in, we found a little line of rocks inside the door that I guess she wanted to take home!

This is another picture Josh took... The old and the new... We took the old one down for Lesha to use since she'll be 16 in January and we didn't really have the space to keep it up here...

4th celebration at the Tropic park

She sure loved that snow cone! She loved the big bathtub! We don't have one yet, but after this trip, I think we might have to get one!
July 3rd was my grandpa Art's 91st birthday (He's the one with the cane... his brother Al is the other guy...) They're both just a couple of 'old farts'! It was great to be able to visit them while we were down.

We went to the swimming pool in Parowan when we were there visiting Grandma and Grandpa Evans... It brought back alot of fun childhood memories!
Here, Lainey is flirting and waving to some boys... hmmm I wonder where she gets that from?!

I had tried several times to catch Lainey making the 'lamb' sound on video, and finally did! Logan and Lesha are raising lambs for 4H and Lainey loved them! The first minute of this clip is really the best part, but I think it lasts for about 2...

Like I mentioned earlier, Lainey loved the big bathtub! She would try to eat the bubbles by putting her face in the water... It was so cute!

Pictures for Dad

So we are in Tropic for the week... yes, again! I've got to get my fill before I become a full time teacher in August... Lainey went swimming for the first time today in a big pool and she had a blast! I was nervous to have her in so much water, but it was a lot of fun!

"No, No Lainey!" This is a naughty moment caught in picture... She thinks its funny to get into grandma April's plants and eat the dirt.
I thought it was adorable that she took her little beau-dog puppy toy to see the real dogs...
We've had a lot of fun so far and I'm sure I'll have more pictures to post in the upcoming days... Josh, we miss you and love you so much. Thanks for letting us have a little get-a-way! Kisses!