Backpacking to Mt. Jefferson September 8-9, 2008

We were able to go on a short backpacking trip with my father-in-law, Tom. It was so fun to be able to spend time out in the wild. I love hiking, and camping. It was a bit chilly, notice the snow, but we had fun making use of it by glaciating down the hills. Sam took a video of me glaciating.. And of course I did fall right on my bum right when he stopped videoing me.. But there is a good picture of it and the aftermath.. Sam fell too I just wasn't able to capture it! It was beautiful up there, lots of wild flowers and berries. We picked some huckleberries on our way back to make a huckleberry cobbler, thanks to Tracy! Thanks Tom for the wonderful Oregon trip!

BYU vs UW in Seattle 09.06.08

This was a fun trip for Sam and I to go on. We were able to go to the BYU game thanks to one of Sam's buddies who was not able to use the tickets. Scott was able to make it up to Seattle too thanks to his job. We had a blast being there and cheering on the Cougs as they beat Washington!!

10 inches... gone!

I cut my hair.. and I love it! What a great feeling to get rid of 10 inches! I did donate it to a great cause! I just thought I would let everyone know.. Thanks so much Genie! You're the best!

Miami sunrise..

We went to the beach the morning we left Miami. It was so peaceful and quiet. It was nice to spend some time there before we had to take off for Oregon.. I will miss Miami so much and I am so grateful we had the opportunity to spend our summer there!

The Last of Miami...

This is just the last of our summer pictures in Miami. We were so sad to leave but will have some wonderful memories that we will always charish. Here are just a few pictures to wrap up our summer there. Sam's manager had one of their last meetings as a pool party. I just took some picutes of the guys playing around. Then there is a picture of me and Christina, one of the girls I played with all summer, running from the beach after it started pouring down rain.. it was a sunny day! I took a picture of a frog that came knocking at my door one night while I was cooking dinner.. It scarred me! We had an opportunity to eat dinner at one of Sam's converts house. Her name is Miraya and she is Nicaraguan and made us yummy carne asada and beans and rice! It was delicious! Sam and I had the opportunity to go to the Everglades before we left. We didn't take a tour but we were able to go out into a swamp and look for alligators.. but no luck, there was just too much water because the summer is the rainy season. When you go out there during the winter you can see a lot of them swimming around because the swamp isn't so swampy! Then we were also able to go to a Marlins game.. It was awesome! We paid 12 bucks each and we were able to scoot down to about 10 rows up from the field because not many fans showed up! I guess that's how pro sports are out in Florida, no one supports them. And then there is a picture of Sam and I at the beach, our last day trip.. It was sad knowing that we were leaving all that behind to go back to rainy Oregon.. And then our last night out to dinner with Grant and Genie. It was so awesome to stay with them. Thank you so much guys for making our summer amazing!

Sam's 25th Birthday- August 17, 2008

What an awesome day we had. First to start it off we were able to borrow Grant and Genie's car, thanks to them going to Guatamala for a week, and drive down to Miami to visit 2 wards from Sam's mission. There are two pictures in there from that fun experience. It was awesome to see a couple of his converts and to go to a Spanish ward! Then we were able to drive around and see a lot of his area. I took a picture by a tree that I absolutly love out here in Miami. They are so awesome, vines grown from the branches, connect to the ground and grow roots, so you end up with multiple tree trunks. I love the vegitation out here, because of the rain that comes in mass quantities it is so green and beautiful! Then we went out to dinner at a place that is like Rodizzo's in SLC, all you can eat meat! Just what Sam loves. His friend Rhett came with us. I made Sam a chocolate cake for his birthday! It was a first for me and surprisingly it turned out pretty good.. he really liked it, or so he says! I gave him a golf driver and a new jordan hat! What a great birthday babe!

And last but not least from Key West

I just loved this picture of Sam and I on the beach in Key West. It was so fun to take off on a weekend and spend it together with family and friends.. although Brody is now a part of the Kelly family.